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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 1468 - December 1, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. NOSTALGIA - OLIN STRPHENS As an old timer I sympathize greatly with sentiments expressed recently by Craig Coulsen and Tom Donlan. Moderate sized yachts that combine comfort, speed, strength and good looks are equally attractive to me. When I began doing designs I was fortunate in inheriting the traditions of Watson, Fife and Herreshoff. A golden age. Against us, there seem to be powerful technical factors. The extremely strong recent synthetics make possible strong hulls and rigs that now incorporate much higher ratios of power to weight, meaning far greater speed, than in the past. With the growth of understanding the place of stability as a speed factor, the effect of crew weight on the weather rail gradually became demanding and is now universal. The attraction of speed and the discomfort of spending the off watch exposed to constant spray and frequent solid water have been powerful incentives to short daytime courses. Added to those fundamentals are the improvements in transportation and communication. Worldwide travel to sail no longer means lengthy separation from family or business, and day racing under sail has attractions that offset the longer races like Bermuda, Fastnet and Sidney/ Hobart that were the big three as I grew up. Fortunately they are still sailed but the winners are different boats. Though the reasons are subtle, my experience with design suggests that a successful design must be all of one piece, balanced in every sense of the word, the components working together, so that old appearance and new performance are difficult, if not impossible, to combine. Fortunately there are options. Available, but little used, is a concept going back to the thirties that can be applied to rating rules for deliberate type forming. By treating varied parameters as bowl shaped curves rather straight lines the desirable features can be treated favorably in a rating formula and those disliked can be penalized more heavily. This may be coming again. It means encouraging slower boats, a way to go back to the past, possible, but not broadly popular. More popular has been the restoration of many beautiful boats from the late nineteenth century to the seventies of the twentieth. I have been happy to take part in the replay of my own past experience. - Olin J. Stephens THE NEW AC RULE In the fever that surrounded the announcement of the new venue for the America's Cup, news of the new class rule for the boats themselves slipped under the net. So what will the boats be like for the next Cup? * "Displacements will be reduced and sail areas increased," said Alinghi's chief designer Grant Simmer. "Typically we're looking at reducing displacement by a tonne to 24 tonnes and a scope for varying the displacement of around 250kg." Increasing the downwind sail area by around 7-8% was seen as a way of increasing the chances of overtaking downwind by helping the boats to accelerate quicker as the puffs roll through. But while more sail area is allowed, the variation has been reduced to keep the boats closer. "Last time around we could vary our sail plan over a range of about 25m2," said Ian (Fresh) Burns of Oracle BMW Racing. "Next time around the limit will be around 5-7m2." Teams will have one more crew member taking the total working crew to 17 plus one for the 18th man and teams will now have to carry additional 100kg ballast if they don't have an 18th man aboard. Among the other changes, keels will be deeper, rigs will be lighter by around 250kg and composite headfoils and forestays will be allowed but non-metallic standing rigging for the shrouds will not. So, as the America's Cup circus rolls into action once again, the next round of racing promises to be closer than ever before with a far greater emphasis on crew work than in the past. Not everyone believes this is what the high octane, design hungry America's Cup really stands for, but aside from all else, few would argue that close racing doesn't appeal. - Excerpts from a story by Matthew Sheahan on the Yachting World website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/wvz6 SANTA'S HELPERS CAN FIND GREAT GIFTS HERE! The Ultimate Sailing calendar, caps, t-shirts, note cards, screen savers, posters and books all feature Sharon Green's brilliant photography. Check out the website for all the sailors on your list: http://www.ultimatesailing.com FROM THE PRESIDENT - Paul Henderson Sailors must face the reality of what ISAF must do and what we are doing with regard to facing the Olympic Challenges while turning more self-administration over to the individual non-Olympic Classes. ISAF has put forth a submission which will hopefully put all ISAF Class Rule changes in the hands of the various classes to change as the sailors wish within broad guidelines. The previous system of having to wait once a year for an ISAF Committee to pass it will be dispensed with. The Etchells, Snipe, FD, Farr 40 or any other non-Olympic Class will have more control over their own rules to change when they feel appropriate. The Olympics is a different story and the event is owned by the IOC and all technical aspects are in the hands of ISAF and the athletes are in the hands of the relevant National Olympic Committee. To take issue with Olympic decisions and relate them to broad-base sailing issues is instigating a non-relevant inflammatory debate. The Olympic Classes choose to be in the Olympics and in doing so subject themselves to extreme scrutiny. Doping is a very good example. ISAF has no control over the testing for performance enhancing drugs and WADA can change the list or the testing procedures whenever they want. ISAF and Olympic athletes must accept that situation. It is the same situation ISAF has with measurement issues or formats. In Athens, ISAF will institute swing tests on Ynglings, exhaustive tests on Boards and more diligent tests on sail alterations even to impounding sails after each race. ISAF has banned any electronics in coach boats and even made a more complete ban based on an "urgent submission" after the Cadiz experiences. I have written just recently on the ISAF Website the differences of the Olympic Regatta. It in no way relates to 99% of what sailors do. ISAF must act and constantly face the challenges of the Olympic Regatta. ISAF submission date is August 1. Cadiz was the World Championship of all Olympic Classes and was after this date. Issues arising out of this outstanding event brought up by sailors, media and classes can only be brought forward as urgent submission by the President to be discussed at the November AGM and are sent out to everyone. ISAF must not have a "Figure Skating Scandal" and must face up to the "Win at all costs" Olympic mentality and endeavor to keep a "level playing field". If Farr 40 wants No Drops and the Etchells wants 6, it is up to them. The 5.5M has an event where you can only go to the finals if you have won a race. Their choice. The bottom line is that if a class wants autonomy do not become Olympic. If a class chooses to be Olympic then they must face the fact that they have partners: IOC, NOCs, MNAs, and ISAF. Olympic Classes always have the right to not apply to be designated Olympic as ISAF never forces a class to apply. This is about the 100th time of explanation. - Paul Henderson, President, ISAF MORE ABOUT THE NEW AC RULE The rule that caused a stir in Valencia is the requirement for teams to drop their skirts - those elaborate contraptions that conceal a vessel's keel from prying eyes while it is berthed. "Imagine that! It's the best thing to happen to the America's Cup," said Dennis Conner, the man who skippered the U.S. Stars & Stripes team to multiple America's Cup victories. It was one such skirt that allowed the Australian team to beat Dennis Conner in 1983, breaking the longest running streak in sports. That year, Australia II hid under its skirt the first ever 'wing keel' -- an invention that revolutionized boat design and secured the Australians the first non-U.S. victory in 132 years. But in the coming America's Cup and its qualifying rounds beginning next fall, teams will only be allowed to shroud their keels in 2006 -- which is seen as a crucial design year. "It will eliminate much of the secrecy that's always gone along with the America's Cup. And that way, it'll also make for more similar designs," said Oracle challenge representative Tom Ehman. Drafters of the protocol also hope the rule will help create level playing field in a sport traditionally dominated by those with the biggest budgets. "If Alinghi and Oracle were able to skirt our boats right up until 2007, we could get a definite advantage over the other teams," said Ehman. "But we're looking to create a race that's more open and fair." CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: To read or download a copy of the latest (58-page) draft of the new America's Cup Class Rules: http://www.americascup.com/datas/textes/acc5_final_draft.pdf CHRISTMAS DEALS ON STEINER, SEALIFE CAMERAS AND PRINTED GEAR Purchase embroidered gear for your team before Christmas and get 15% off Steiner Marine Binoculars, SeaLife dive cameras, or Douglas Gill foulies! All you have to do is call (888) SAIL-BUM or email info@pirateslair.com. Check out all the loot at http://www.pirateslair.com/store NZ SAILOR OF THE YEAR Neville Crichton, owner and skipper of the super maxi yacht 'Alfa Romeo' and one of New Zealand and Australia's leading businessmen, has been awarded the Sir Bernard Fergusson Trophy as the Yachting New Zealand Sailor of the Year in recognition of his remarkable run of wins in Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Crichton won thanks to a remarkably consistent series of wins that started in Australia by winning almost all the local races he could find to compete in including the gruelling 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart. From there he and the team headed to Europe where he picked up line honours in every race at the Rolex Giraglia Cup, smashed the Giraglia Race Record and has just recently won the Rolex Middle Sea Race. Crichton is the first ever to take the European Grand Slam of the above races in 12 months. - Sail-World website, full story: http://www.sail-world.com/ NEWS BRIEFS * The rumor-mill gains momentum on Coutts' continued absence from Alinghi's spotlight. Despite the presence of senior Alinghi sailors and other top America's Cup skippers, Coutts kept a low profile during the venue announcement. He also did not skipper for Alinghi in the Moët Cup. Some say Russell is just taking a break, others see deeper meaning and wonder whether he will be at the wheel in 2007. - Cup Info website, full story: http://www.cupinfo.com/ * Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker is launching a late bid to compete at the Athens Olympics in the same class in which Russell Coutts won gold in 1984. The 30-year-old helmsman will race two Olympic trials next year in an attempt to be New Zealand's entrant in the Finn class. - Cup in Europe website, full story: http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/2007TeamNZ-LN8.htm * Immediately after the America's Cup announcement in Geneva, the America's Cup, along with a 100 strong delegation of the extended Cup family - potential challengers, dignitaries, journalists and officials - departed for Valencia on a private charter flight. Plans announced will see the Port of Valencia upgraded and renewed, with a canal connecting the Port directly to the sea, giving the America's Cup boats quick access to the race course. A metro line from the airport to the Port, and a number of new hotels and services are also planned. - www.americascup.com *The 245 ft. (75 m) Ron Holland-designed Mirabella V launched within 1% of her weight estimate, at a displacement of 478 tonnes. She is floating 3 tonnes lighter than her launch weight prediction. Her 150 tonnes lifting keel will be fitted in Portsmouth next week and her 31 tonnes mast and rigging will be stepped over the Christmas holiday period. Holland is predicting that Mirabella V will achieve 20 kts. downwind under sail, while under power she will reach speeds of up to 16 kts. - www.mirabellayachts.com * In a story posted on The Daily Sail website, Team Dennis Conner Director of Operations Bill Trenkle is quoted as saying, that TDC has not sold USA 66 & USA 77 to the Toscana Challenge, "… but we are talking to them." - http://www.thedailysail.com/ WEST MARINE RIGGING AT KEY WEST RACE WEEK Let WMR take care of all your rigging needs before and during KW Race Week. Located at the West Marine store, 725 Caroline Street. Services & products include: Splicing, Wire Swaging, Shackles and Cordage by NER, Samson and Yale. Contact: 888-447-7444 or Cell 803-979-1298. Stop by and visit our truck. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Richard Hazelton: With all the talk of growing the sport of sailing, I think we're just preaching to the choir. While US Sailing does an admirable job of working with people already involved in sailing, I think some credit should go to Sail America and their Discover Sailing program. Introducing the joys of sailing to non-sailing kids and adults will grow our sport more than just supporting those already there. * From John A. Drayton: I was able to find several books about Admiral Cochrane on Amazon, including the one's Bruce Kirby noted as being out of print, and am looking forward to reading some of these. Just an observation, but over the years, the Curmudgeon and some 'Buttheads have referenced or recommended a number of excellent sailing books, some of which I've actually been able to track down and read (e.g. Lawson's History of the America's Cup, The Wizard of Bristol). Frankly, I've done a lot better with Scuttlebutt's recommendations than either the LA or NY Times Book reviews. With the holiday's coming up, I'm sure there are others out there who would appreciate it if your readers would throw out a list of any good sailing books they've come across recently. * From Jeremy Wyatt, World Cruising Club: In reply to William Elmer's letter "Am I missing something? Isn't the ARC the "Atlantic Rally for Cruisers?" Mr. Elmer is quite correct, the ARC is the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. So what are VOR60's doing taking part? Well we actually have Racing Division within the ARC, run under the auspices of the Royal Ocean Racing Club. This year the Racing Division has attracted entries from 36 yachts, from a total of 208 in the ARC fleet. With a sizeable Racing Division, and a number of yachts hoping to break the course record, we have to talk about who is at the front. However, in our news stories on http://arc.worldcruising.com , the official ARC website, we try to keep the balance in favour of the majority of the fleet, i.e. the cruising yachts. So yesterday's lead was about the first fish strikes of the trip. The ARC is a microcosm of sailing, with participants from many different backgrounds, incomes, and nationalities. We try our best to keep the stories interesting for everyone. * From Bob Kiernan: (Re "$$$; Blah, blah, blah; This guy said...that guy said...whatever): It's not important any longer. Enough already! And, it's only just getting started. We should stop the gripping before it starts. Sailing is the sport and the venue is where and what it is. Go there and sail! Otherwise can the bitching straight way and sort out what it's going to take to first get there and then sail well enough to stay for the big show., * From Hans J. Oen: Regarding time limits when there are no dropped races. Jim Capron's description of Annapolis YC's scoring of TLE is fair and equitable. It is however a fixed number regardless of starters and finishers. I feel this can even be further improved upon by giving all TLE boats a median point score between the number of finishers and the number of starters ( rounded up). I.E. 10 starters - 5 finishers = 8 points for all DNF because of TLE. Granted, if only one boat finishes, he will get a big jump (1 point and the other 9 boats will get 6 points each) but it may not be totally unreasonable to get some reward for finishing. * From Denis Farley: There have been some interesting comments about throwouts, both for and against. The fascinating thing about sailboat racing is that there is no other sport involving racing that is so dependent on the vagaries of wind, tide, sea conditions, and weather. Not only are sailors sailing against their competitors, but they are also battling the elements. In most other racing sports the participants need only deal with their competitors, and weather conditions rarely have much of an effect on finishing order. Anything can happen in sailboat races and usually does because of the very nature of the sport and the variability of conditions. The potential for bad things to happen in a race is enormous; collisions, OCS, major wind shifts, breakdowns, simple bad luck, etc. It only makes sense to have throwouts in this great sport that is the most challenging of any sport I know. * From John Williams: While I enjoyed Michael Foster's letter in SB 1466, one point struck me because it is often trumpeted by detractors of handicap systems - he said that if a pursuit start is used and the handicaps are accurate, then everyone should finish at the same time. I'm sure I'm reading too much into his statement and the context in which it was made, but it bears clarification that everyone would finish at the same time only if they all sailed their rating. Sailing your rating under at least the Portsmouth system assumes you got the start you wanted and sailed a perfect course in the same conditions that everyone else had. There are scoring programs (notably Sailwave) that calculate race statistics including what a competitor's rating would need to have been for them to have won a particular race. We're finding in the multihull fleets that the post-race barroom karate debrief is greatly enhanced (both in decibles and mirth) by comparison of these numbers as well as the normal finish positions. For example, flipping a Nacra Inter 20 three times in a single 55-minute race will make it as fast as a Hobie 16... hey, this gives me an idea for a new regatta format! CURMUDGEON'S DEFINITIONS Miser: A person who lives poor so that he can die rich. |
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