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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 2673 - Wednesday, September 3, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. UNITED 889 TO BEIJING While America barbecued, America's Paralympic teams flew to China over Labor Day weekend and settled into their quarters on a mission brightly vivid, highly emotional, long-sought. SKUD 18 crew Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, waiting on Friday morning to board United 889, San Francisco to Beijing, said, "I've been in tears more than once over the last 48 hours, just thinking about the opportunity and the responsibility." Team USA first gathered in Colorado Springs for "processing," or as one-armed Sonar crew Tim Angle put it, "to receive official team gear, learn how to be a good ambassador of our country, and sign a ton of flags." He couldn't avoid the thought, "Michael Phelps slept here." The team then flew via Denver to San Francisco for an overnight stop and morning boarding to Beijing and a connection to Qingdao. The signs at Counter 29, Aisle 3 of SFO's international terminal read, Counter Closed. Meaning, in effect, reserved for Team USA. When Sonar crew Tim Angle said hi but quickly excused himself, "It seems I don't have a ticket to Qingdao," this looked to me to be some hassle. But Tim (with the one hand he has left, he could hurt you) later said no to that: "With this many people and 28 bags, United has been doing a great job for us. They're a sponsor, and everything gets worked out in a hurry." Thanks to a benefactor in Boston, there were upgrades to first class. Tim: "I've never sat upstairs in a 747." Maureen: "If we arrive rested, that's an extra day on the water." -- Kimball Livingston, Sail Magazine, full story: http://sailmagazine.blogspot.com/2008/08/united-889-to-beijing.html SKIP ALLAN SCUTTLES WILDFLOWER (September 2, 2008) Skip Allan, who was on his way home from Hawaii after handily winning the Singlehanded TransPac aboard his custom Wylie 27 Wildflower, was picked up by a freighter yesterday afternoon after scuttling his boat 250 miles west of San Francisco. Wildflower had made good time on the return trip, and Skip had been looking at a Monday or Tuesday arrival in Santa Cruz. But the gale force conditions he was experiencing on Sunday morning grew worse throughout the day. By Sunday afternoon, the Coast Guard received a pan pan from Wildflower, informing them of his position and status. Skip reported that he was running under bare poles in 30- to 40-knot winds and 10- to 15-ft seas, but he did not plan to abandon ship. The Coast Guard put him on a two-hour comm schedule through the night. By yesterday morning, the seas had built to 18 to 20 feet and the winds were upwards of 50 knots. According to USCG Petty Officer Kevin Neff, unspecified damage to Wildflower and the worsening sea state prompted Skip to request assistance around 11 a.m. As he was about 250 miles offshore and it would take some time to get assets to his location, the Coast Guard put out an alert to all vessels in his area. The Liberian-flagged freighter MSC Toronto was nearby and made it to Wildflower's position by early afternoon. They were slated to arrive in L.A. sometime today. -- Latitude 38, read on: http://tinyurl.com/LAT38 MELGES 20 SAILING Two Melges 20's were testing and sailing in San Francisco Bay this past weekend. The new boats were based out of the San Francisco Yacht Club. The new Melges 20 is a fantastic boat! A special boat in a word! For a modern and Melges looking sportboat - this is it! The Melges 20! The boats travel from San Francisco to the Newport Show in Newport RI and then to the Annapolis Show - you better see this boat! -- http://www.melges20.com TRAVEL TO EXOTIC LANDS - MEET TOTALLY RIPPED GIRLS Could be a catchy headline for the mass of American teenage boys who endlessly practice their roll tacks drills. The boardsailing results from the Olympics were dismal for the North Americans, but are not a fair reflection on the athletes that earned them. David Mier y Teran and Demita Vega of Mexico, Zachary Plavsic and Nikola Girke of Canada, and Ben Barger and Nancy Rios of the USA left it all on the water, but were held back by the deficiencies in their continent – largely a lack of competitive numbers. These six athletes are building blocks, nothing less. Getting youth to leave their dinghy roots and cross over to the dark side is the challenge, and opportunities by the RS:X class to compete in their Youth Worlds might be the hook that catches the fish. If you are under the age of 19 years (on December 31 2008), and want to charter equipment and fly to Thailand – and what teenager wouldn’t – this link is for you: http://rsxclass.com/blog/?tag=2008-rsx-youth-word-championship * Also, if you want to see what a totally ripped boardsailor looks like, get a glimpse of Bryony Shaw (GBR): http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/08/totally-ripped.html TRIVIA QUESTION Windsurfing has a special section of the rule book - Appendix B - where their racing rules have been modified. Can you list five of the big rule modifications for windsurfing? (Answer below) GROWING, GROWING, GROWING . . . The STP65 fleet is building in numbers, with a third boat soon to be launched and three additional campaigns having signed on to create their own versions of the much heralded 65’ “Box Rule” racing yacht. At the end of this month, Udo Schütz (Selters, Germany) will launch his Judel/Vrolijk-designed Container, built at Germany’s Knierim Boatyard. Three additional owners have begun the process of designing and building STP65s. They are: Patrizio Bertelli (Arezzo, Italy), with his Judel/Vrolijk-designed Luna Rossa; Dario Ferrari (Milan, Italy), with his Reichel/Pugh-designed Cannonball; and Carlo Puri Negri, with his Umberto Felci-designed Atalanta III. Luna Rossa is being built by Richard Gillies of 3DM Composite and has a scheduled launch date of November, 2008, while Cannonball, to be built by Cookson Boats in New Zealand, follows with a launch date sometime in March. Atalanta III is scheduled for launch in the summer of 2009. Already sailing are the Farr-designed Rosebud/Team DYT, owned by Roger Sturgeon (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), and the Reichel/Pugh-designed Moneypenny, owned by Jim Swartz (Edgartown, Mass.). Rosebud/Team DYT was built by California’s Westerly Marine and launched in June 2007, while Moneypenny was built by Australia’s McConaghy's Boat Yard and launched in April of this year. -- http://www.stp-65.org/2008-STP-65-PR-8-30-08-txt.html “LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS, TAKE ONLY MEMORIES” This headline is often heard when we tour a rare or special place, with the idea of preserving it so others can enjoy it in the future. However, the concept seems to go out the window when we get back to our normal lives, with cigarette smokers flicking butts out the car window, food wrappers flying about public parks, and sailors – yes sailors – tossing their aluminum cans in the ocean to make “hermit crab homes.” Of course, this is all miniscule when compared to industrial waste, but it is interesting to notice the habits among us. While the debate regarding global warming rages on, what has been gained (so far) is an increasing awareness of our habits. We have gotten pretty comfy relying on the earth to take care of us, without much reciprocating going on. Nothing lasts forever, and efforts are increasing to make us aware of our habits and their effect on the environment. One group that has recently contacted Scuttlebutt is Sailors for the Sea. In 2004, David Rockefeller, Jr. founded Sailors for the Sea, a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit organization, to collaborate with many organizations and individuals – marinas, yacht clubs, harbor masters, and more – and to increase individuals’ effectiveness in creating change. A few of the projects and programs designed by Sailors for the Sea include: * Clean Regattas program – certifies yacht clubs and regatta organizers as providing clean events that minimize impact upon our oceans. * Blue Marinas – focuses on dockside and shoreside facilities by offering yacht clubs and marinas opportunities to protect and thereby restore their local waters using Best Management Practices. * The Rainy Day Kits program – offers youth sailing instructors the opportunity to download fun, engaging, and easy to use environmental lessons for young sailors. * The Ocean Watch program – provides ocean conservation essays to the sailing community and is a major resource through which boaters can find opportunities to take positive environmental action. A full report on this group is on the Scuttlebutt Forum, with their website address available to follow-up for further information and links: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6336 SECRETS TO SUCCESS ON THE WATER Comfort leads to success, and sadly, your favorite regatta t-shirts are your enemy on the water. Here is the lesson: cotton retains 28% of its weight in water. When you perspire, the cotton clothing against your skin absorbs the moisture and stays damp, and when you stop moving and the temperature drops, the moist cotton chills your body (and could cause hypothermia). The easy fix is to get some great Patagonia Capilene underwear from Team One Newport and wick all of that dangerous moisture away from your body. Questions? Visit http://www.team1newport.com and go to “Ask Martha or call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327). SAILING SHORTS * Porto Cervo, Italy (September 2, 2008) - After the first days racing in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo the leaders of the forty-strong fleet, divided into four divisions, are Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo (NZL) for the Racing division; Ernesto Bertarelli’s Numbers (USA) for the Mini Maxi division; John Williams’ Ranger (CAY.ISL) for the Cruising Division and Magic Carpet2 (FRA), owned by Lindsay Owen Jones, for the Wally division. The day's single race was a Coastal Race, with buoy races on schedule for Wednesday. Racing continues through Saturday, September 6th. Daily report: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1974&lang=1 Results: http://www.yccsresults.com/maxi08/results1.htm * With the selection of women’s match racing among the events to be sailed at the 2012 Olympics, look for events already serving this entree to become increasingly competitive. From September 10th through 14th, a preview of the top U.S. talent will be attending the U.S. Women's Match Racing Championship (USWMRC) in Rochester, NY. This International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 3 event will feature twelve teams in Sonars, hosted by Rochester Yacht Club. Skippers joining defending champion Liz Baylis are Anna Tunnicliffe, Deborah Capozzi, Katy Pilley-Lovell, Molly Carapiet, Elizabeth Hjorth, Anne Gardner Nelson, Maegan Ruhlman, JoAnn Fisher, Killian Corbishley, Andrea Cabito , and Ginny Tulloch. – Full report: http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2008/womensmatch_preview.asp * Grow Boating Australia Ltd, the industry body established to promote boating in Australia, has been placed into administration. The company said in a statement that Melbourne chartered accountants Dye & Co Pty Ltd were appointed as administrators. The announcement last week took place several weeks after five members of the board abruptly resigned. -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20080802011115ibinews.html * The 50-member San Francisco International One Design (IOD) Fleet will welcome 12 world-class teams from 5 countries on September 28th – October 3rd 2008 for the IOD World Championship Regatta. Current World Champion, Charlie Van Voorhis from Fishers Island, NY, has won the event twice in the past five years including last year’s event in Nantucket. Nine-time World Champion, William S. Widnall from Marblehead, MA and six-time World Champion Eugene “Penny” Simmons from Bermuda will also be in attendance. – Complete report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6339 * Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (September 2, 2008) - Dates for two of the United States’ offshore distance races were announced by SORC (Southern Ocean Racing Conference) Management, which is made up of members from the Storm Trysail Club and Lauderdale Yacht Club. While both races begin in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., one races south in January against the Gulf Stream to tropical Key West to deliver the fleet in time for Acura Key West Race Week, and the other is an April sleigh ride North in the Gulf Stream to the historic city of Charleston, S.C. in time for Charleston Race Week. -- Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/STC0902 * The deadline to nominate a candidate for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2008 is 10.00hrs (UTC) on Friday 5 September 2008. Nominations can be made by anyone and the only criteria are that sailors must have performed an “outstanding achievement in the sport” during the qualifying period of 1 September 2007 to 31 August 2008. Details at http://www.sailing.org/24847.php * The ISAF In-House Certification (IHC) programme passed a major milestone in Qingdao with the first set of self-certified sails used at the Olympic Sailing Competition. The IHC programme is being developed so competitors can buy self-certified equipment which is race-legal at the point of purchase. ISAF is implementing an international system of IHC, with the aim to give sailors worldwide the benefits of self-certificated equipment - principally savings in time and cost. Sails used by competitors in the 470, Finn and Yngling fleets, self certified by North Sails OD in Gosport, were measured in Qingdao and passed the equipment inspection with no problems. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/olympics/24849.php EIGHT BELLS Peter Duff’s long and uneasy dance with Parkinson’s Disease ended at home on Saturday 30 August, 2008; he is busily now re-engineering Fiddler’s Green. Peter was born in 1936 and grew up in the western suburbs of Boston, MA. A 1958 graduate of Tufts University with a degree in nuclear physics, Peter co-founded Edey & Duff, Inc. in Mattapoisett, MA in 1968. Edey & Duff was to provide the bully pulpit for Peter’s maritime expression, producing such gems as the Stone Horse, Doughdish, Dovekie and Shearwater. Edey & Duff also provided an opportunity to explore the geography and demography of this country, leading to visiting most, if not all, of the 50 states, having a gam with people everywhere, afloat or ashore, and finding many life-long friends. There will be a memorial service later this fall. In lieu of flowers or other thoughtful remembrances, please feel free to make a donation in Peter’s name to the American Parkinson Disease Association, 135 Parkinson Avenue, Staten Island, NY, 10305, www.apdaparkinson.org, (800) 223-2732 or (718) 981-8001. – Complete obituary: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6338 LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE, FAST ENOUGH TO EXHILARATE The Bahia is one of the newest boats from LaserPerformance. It's big enough for a great day-sail. It can also be rowed or motored. Add a trapeze, set the gennaker and the Bahia's light hull flies across the water. To find out more, check out http://www.laserperformance.com TRIVIA ANSWER Windsurfing events are governed by the rules as defined in the 2005-2008 Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS), as modified by Apendix B. For racing, windsurfers are allowed to pump their sail (no restriction), where water bottles (1 litre), complete only one 360-degree turn for an alternative penalty (no requirement for tacks and gybes), hit marks, and must always give room at marks (no two boat length restriction). LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From John Harwood-Bee: That a thorough professional such as Ed Gorman (Scutt 2672) should be surprised at the lack of Americas Cup evidence at the recent F1 race in Valencia is strange. Why would Bernie Ecclestone, in control of the most professional if sometimes boring sporting circus on the planet, wish to be remotely associated with what amounts to little more than a cowboy outfit. Ecclestone took Grand Prix racing and made it the success it is today by bringing together teams, sponsors, broadcasters and circuits. He then melded them into a viable sporting extravaganza. Whatever his methods, he ensured that everybody had a chance and all involved benefitted from the financial success, not least himself. Whenever a team appeared to be too far ahead of the competition, thereby numbing the excitement, he leveled the playing field to give other teams a chance. Contrast this with the childish, self-serving attempts to control the AC, the constant bickering and the 'spoilt brat' behaviour now associated with it and it is no wonder that Bernie ensured that the Valencia Grand Prix was not hijacked by this apology for a sporting event. It is just possible that a sailing version of Mr Ecclestone could salvage something from the wreckage of the AC but to do so would take a man of vision who could command the respect of those who wish to participate. On current standings that definitely means an outsider. * From Toby Reiley, Marblehead: I want to share what a great job the people at the Hyannis Yacht Club do hosting their Hyannis Regatta, a One-Design and PHRF classes is held annually the last weekend in July in the waters of Nantucket Sound, and fun daily parties. While Cape Cod Bay is an exciting place to sail, it is the people running the regatta who make this a special place. After my 15 year old son ran aground on the Laser course while approaching the leeward mark in 22 knots of breeze, the committee 1) acknowledged their mistake, 2) moved the course, 3) granted redress and 4) replaced the damaged centerboard. All without fanfare or fuss, without any “attitude”, and with very welcome candor. We’ll be back for years to come! Well done! FREE ADVERTISING FOR THE SAILOR AND THE SELLER If your mission is to stretch your ad dollars, placing your message on the Scuttlebutt website - for free - is a no-brainer. The Classified Ad section takes ads for jobs, gear, boats, and items wanted. The New Product Announcement section includes postings for equipment/services, boats, clothing, and accessories. All for free, all self-serve. Post your ads here: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Bumper sticker: EARTH FIRST! We'll strip mine the other planets later. Special thanks to Melges Performance Sailboats, Team One Newport, and LaserPerformance. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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