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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 2858 - Thursday, June 4, 2009Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are Harken Yacht Equipment and Ullman Sails. LIFE AT THE LEADING EDGE American Morgan Larson is versatile. When you have been a World Champion in the 505 and TP52 classes, you have demonstrated some range. Throw in a couple 49er Olympic campaigns and America’s Cup programs, and you get the idea that wherever Morgan is, so is the leading edge of the sport. Last weekend he was enjoying his latest endeavor, competing in the Ronstan Moth Oregon State Championship at Cascade Locks. Scuttlebutt checked in with Morgan for a quick update: * What do you see as the keys for the International Moth class to grow in the U.S.? MORGAN LARSON:”The development of alternative sailing venues (not your typical yacht club dock set up). Places like Cascade Locks, Oregon and venues with a beach or grass to the water. As the boats gain popularity the price should fall (the new Assassin is bringing the price point down). Also, the perception of what is possible. American's are typically the last in sailing to take a risk and try something on the edge.” * We hear how Cascade Locks is such a great venue. What is it about the place? MORGAN LARSON:”Consistent wind, fresh water, beautiful scenery, great launching and a tactically challenging race track. Plus Portland Airport is 30 minutes away and connects to most major cities.” * Your sailing now is varied: Moth, Melges 24, and TP52. How schizophrenic are you feeling? What adjustments must you consciously make for each boat? MORGAN LARSON:”Good question! They are all such different disciplines but each lends lessons that help the other. The Moth is quite pure, sailing alone and above the water. The TP52 is a big machine and there are many aspects that go into making it successful. Sailing a Melges 24 or our Moore 24 at home in Santa Cruz, CA is the most enjoyable. A team of 4 or 5 people working well together on a lively little boat makes for a fun time.” -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0603 * Here is the report from the Ronstan Moth Oregon State Championship: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7621 ST. MARY’S WINS COLLEGE COED NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP San Francisco, CA (June 3, 2009) - All the pieces were in place today for an exciting finale to determine the 2009 ICSA/Gill National Championship on San Francisco Bay, from warmer air and sea conditions, to good breeze, to a close contest between the two frontrunners for the title - St. Mary’s College (St. Mary’s, Md.) and Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) - who were separated by just seven points with only eight races left to sail. When all was said and done, after 36 races over three days contested by 123 sailors from the most competitive 18 schools in the nation, the St. Mary’s Seahawks had won the title for the third time in school history. A-Division was up first and Yale’s junior skipper Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas, USVI), alternating crew between sophomore Blair Belling (Newport Beach, Calif.) and junior Marla Menninger (Newport Beach, Calif.), posted finishes of 9-2 to eliminate the seven-point lead St. Mary’s had over Yale when the day started. St. Mary’s junior skipper Jesse Kirkland (Warwick, Bermuda), with crew sophomore Madeline Jackson (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) and Megan Magill (San Diego, Calif.), finished 13-5, and while the schools were now tied on points, St. Mary’s had the edge on a tie-break. The lead then took another swing as St. Mary’s regained ground over Yale after the first set in B-Division put them ahead 157 to 166, before a photo finish in A-Division’s final race of the day, during which Yale and St. Mary’s rounded every mark 1-2, went to Yale and moved the Elis back into the lead 169-172. It was now down to B-Division to settle the score. -- Read on: http://2009icsa.blogspot.com/2009/06/st-marys-wins-2009-icsagill-national.html Final Standings (18 complete sets): 1. St. Mary's College, 179 (A-2, B-1) 2. Yale University, 199 (A-1, B-4) 3. Georgetown University, 231 (A-4, B-2) 4. Old Dominion University, 262 (A-3, B-6) 5. Boston College, 315 (A-5, B-7) Complete results: http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/spring09/coedresults.asp Event website: http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/spring09 SailGroove video: http://www.sailgroove.org/sc/icsa2009spring Kattack tracking: http://americanregatta.com/regattas/2009/icsa * Highlights from the ICSA/Gill National Championship will be on ESPNU, set to air Saturday, June 20 at 3:00 p.m. and Wednesday, July 1 at 3:00 a.m. TESTIVOITTAJA! In an independent test of 14 leading deck shoes, Finnish sailing mag Vene dubbed Harken deck shoes “TESTIVOITTAJA.” While we were only a little bit worried, we checked with our Finnish distributor and were relieved to learn it means "test winner" (not "fish loaf," as one of our loose-cannon interns suggested). To view the results, find a local dealer, or buy online, visit http://www.harkensailinggear.com/shoes/vene_review.php SOMETIMES IT TAKES LOSING TO GET BETTER During their last three international regattas, Americans Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving have been steady contenders on the Olympic 470 women's scene: First at the 2008 Worlds, second at the 2009 Miami Olympic Classes Regatta, and last week they were third at the 2009 Delta Lloyd Regatta. However, it was at the U.S. Trials for the 2008 Olympics where they failed to advance. Scuttlebutt checked in with Erin for an update… here is Part 2: * After failing to make the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, what is your motivation now to continue campaigning for the Olympics? ERIN MAXWELL: “We have a few motivations. “First of all, sailing is fun. We enjoy sailing together and look forward to every day we get to spend on the water. I use all my vacation days from my job for 470 regattas. I can’t think of a better “vacation day.” “Secondly, we have a little bit of “unfinished business.” We have the same dreams of most campaigners… an Olympic medal. And, although Iz has been to the Games in 2004, I have never been. I have had the dream of getting to walk in the opening ceremonies with the rest of the US Olympic athletes in team uniform from as young as I can remember. Getting to represent your country at the highest level on a world stage is pretty cool. We will hopefully get that chance and make all our supporters who have stood by us through the many years proud.” * During the last Olympic quad, U.S. women were very competitive internationally in the Laser Radial and Yngling, but not so much in the 470. What has changed now? -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0602/#p2 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Look for the final part of our interview with Erin in Scuttlebutt 2859, where she theorizes on what is going right for U.S. women sailing now, and details what life will be like for herself and Isabelle for the next four years. REGATTA DEBRIEF - THE MEDAL RACE Andrew Campbell and Brad Nichol are a new Star team for the U.S., and they are enjoying some early success, having qualified for the US Sailing Team Alphagraphics and getting fifth last week in the prominent Olympic level event, The Delta Lloyd Regatta. Here Andrew shares the drama that played out in the final, double points, non-discard Medal Race: “What a week it turned out to be in Holland! The sun was out and the breeze was on for the last four days of the regatta, a phenomenon that does not often happen in northern Europe. We were treated to some great racing from the Dutch organizers and race committees who are legendary for running on-time races and never letting a boat over early slip past them. “Sunday’s medal race was no different. We watched the Finn and Men’s 470 races from the coach boat, but the course was set up less than 100 yards from the shoreline, so a crowd of locals and sailors alike stood and watched the action. The courses were windward-leeward three times around the smaller than average track for a target time of around 30 minutes, instead of the regular hour and fifteen minute races we had been having all week. “The intensity ramps up for these short sprints and you would be amazed at the stuff that happens. We were cheering on the Radials during their race on Saturday night and Paige Railey flipped near the top mark after leading the first leg, then the local Dutch girl behind her sailed to the finish after only two laps while the fleet rounded the marks to head upwind for the last lap. Ed Wright from England in the Finn class re-started after being over the line and even with the light air, he battled back to be second in the race. His competition Giles Scott was top 5 most of the way around the course and was given a Rule 42 penalty near the finish.” -- Read on: http://campbellsailing.com/index.php/2009/06/02/delta-lloyd-regatta-wrap-up SO MUCH FOR AN EASY ENDGAME The fleet is approaching the final few turns of the Volvo Ocean Race track but, as the Ericsson Racing Team navigation briefing proved, there are a few bumps in the road to Marstrand on leg eight. "It's not straightforward by any means," said Jules Salter, the Ericsson 4 navigator. "There are a lot of navigational challenges," added Chris Bedford, the team meteorologist. This next leg, barring a surge across the Celtic Sea from Ireland to the waters south west of England, will be comprised of predominantly coastal sailing. "There is some open ocean stuff, but a lot of the time will be playing the breezes around topographical features, using land breezes, sea breezes and coastal currents," Bedford said. "There are a lot of aspects and a lot of navigation challenges." -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-6-3-09 * The last edition of the Volvo Ocean Race (2005-'06) brought the concept of pit stops into the race for the first time. These Wellington (N.Z.) and New York fly-bys were intended to bring the race, and its supporting sponsors, to key, high-concentration markets without the added expense of shuffling the massive Volvo Village to an extra port. Depending on whom you ask, the Big Apple stop in particular was either a nuisance to the sailors eager to go transatlantic or a public relations boon in the world's most influential city. Either way, the pit stop is here to stay, and this time it's in Marstrand before the fleet heads (on Leg 9) to Stockholm for Ericsson Racing Team's big homecoming. -- Sailing World, read on: http://tinyurl.com/SW-6-3-09 * VOLVO OCEAN RACE: Began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 4, 2008, crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Finish is in St Petersburg, Russia on June 27th. The next event is Leg 8 from Galway to Marstrand, Sweden (950 miles), which starts on Saturday, June 6th and is expected to finish by June 10th. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org/schedule/ Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 ULLMAN SAILS FINISH STRONG IN MELGES 24 IN DETROIT Alan Field’s SoCal Melges 24 team sailing ‘WTF’ took top honors at the 2009 Detroit NOOD last weekend, followed closely by John Podmajersky’s USA 511. ‘WTF’ never faltered over the three-day event, finishing no worse than fourth place in the 24-boat fleet and narrowly missing the NOOD overall title for top boat at the regatta. Only six points behind, Podmajersky’s USA 511 claimed second place fully powered by 100% Ullman inventory. The two boats won five of the eight total races. Ullman Sails - Make an investment in your performance. Contact a local loft and visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com FOG, CURRENT, AND JETLAG Gyeonggi, Korea (June 3, 2009; Day 1) - After a brisk training day when the Bakewell White designed KM36s were being pushed to the limit in 25+ knot winds, so a night of rain, thunder and lightning gave way to an afternoon of racing that started in 8-10 knots and got progressively lighter. An added complexity for the six boats racing off the giant Korea International Boat Show site, in addition to a current flowing across the course early in the afternoon, was the fog. “It is very tricky,” stated Bahrain Team Pindar’s Ian Williams. “The wind is quite light and also with the visibility it is not always that easy to see where the best pressure is.” With a short course positioned so close to the end of the breakwater at Jeongok Marina that you could regularly see the whites of the crews’ eyes, so today just four flights were sailed in the round robin. This relatively short day of racing was something many of the teams were profoundly grateful for having had just 24 hours to make it half way around the world to southwest Korea from Match Race Germany, which concluded on Monday. -- Full story: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/98225 Results after four flights Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin, 2-0 Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar, 2-0 Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing, 2-0 Sebastien Col (FRA) French Team/K-Challenge, 1-1 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team, 1-1 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, 1-1 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard, 1-1 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team, 1-1 Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza, 1-1 Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team, 0-2 Laurie Jury (NZL), 0-2 Byeong Ki Park (KOR), 0-2 Match results: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/kmc09results SAILING SHORTS * The top Olympic athletes were out in force for the fifth event of the 2008-09 ISAF Sailing World Cup at the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, with results having a major influence in the latest release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings on June 3, 2009. Spain has now moved to the top in the national standings, with U.S. Laser Radial skipper and Beijing gold medallist Anna Tunnicliffe being the only sailor to hold the double honor of a world #1 Ranking and top position in the World Cup standings. -- Full story: http://www.sailing.org/28441.php * Applications are still being accepted for the 2009 BoatUS Foundation Environmental Leadership Award, which will be given to a group, organization, company, marina or individual who have made a significant contribution towards improving waterway health and educating boaters about environmental issues. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2009. - Details: http://www.boatus.com/news/PR_Full.asp?ID=403 * Stephen Park, the man who led Britain’s sailing team to their record-breaking medal haul at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, has been honoured by the Queen. The Royal Yachting Association’s Olympic Manager received his OBE for services to sport at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 2nd. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/qchv7f * The final leg of the Portimao Global Ocean Race from Charleston, South Carolina, to Portimao, Portugal, is scheduled to start at 1030 local (1430 UTC) on Thursday, June 4th. The 3,500 mile North Atlantic leg includes an ice limit and scoring gate to reduce the risk of encountering icebergs and berg fragments identified south-east of Newfoundland. -- Full story: http://www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com/?page=news&news_id=307&lang=en * One of Britain's foremost international sailing events, the Admiral's Cup, could be revived in 2011 if the results of a study to be carried out by the Royal Ocean Club are positive. At one time the event, staged every two years in odd years, attracted up to 19 international, three-boat teams from all over the world but it declined in the late '90s and the last was in 2003, when it had been reduced to two boats and was contested by clubs rather than countries. -- The Independent, full story: http://tinyurl.com/pk42eb CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend: June 5-23 - 2009 Bermuda One-Two Race - Newport, RI, USA June 5-6 - The Leukemia Cup Regatta - Newport, RI, USA June 6-7 - Florida State Laser Championships - Ft Walton Beach, FL, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar THROUGH THE EYES OF RICH WILSON In wake of the world’s most extreme ocean racing odyssey known as the Vendée Globe, sailing enthusiasts have had a chance to learn about the solo, non-stop, around the world race. But how much can spectators really know about this great nautical adventure? And what can we learn from someone who has braved the most dangerous elements known to man, and made major sacrifices to do so? Maybe it is time we discover and learn through the eyes of only the second American to ever finish the famed Vendée Globe. After covering 28,590 miles in just over 121 days, US SAILING had the opportunity to interview Rich Wilson, the race’s senior skipper at 58 years-of-age, to get his detailed and often opinionated take on many topics surrounding this race and the sport of sailing in general. * The race is so grueling; would you have prepared differently knowing what you know now? RICH WILSON: “This answer could go on for pages! I don’t think that you can know what you need to know for a Vendée Globe until you’ve done one. I said to many before the start, when they asked if I was ready, that at the finish I would be ready to start, and it turned out to be true. “I prepared physically with Marti Shea of Select Fitness in Marblehead [Mass.]. She was extraordinary, and I was probably in the best physical condition of my life, including back to my teenage and college years. I simply said to her that I would never be the strongest, or the best aerobically (my asthma), but that at the end of the training, I wanted her to be able to say that no one ever worked harder than me, and at the end, she said that was true. There was one day when in the middle of the workout, I excused myself briefly to go to the men’s room, threw up, and came back. Marti knew what happened and said, ‘I’m sorry I pushed you so hard,’ and I replied, ‘No, it’s just right, and now we both know that I’m working at, and you’re pushing at, my limit, so this is perfect.’ It was just like in high school!”-- Read on: http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2009/Wilson_Q&A.asp CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION When you rearrange the letters ‘ELEVEN PLUS TWO’, it spells ‘TWELVE PLUS ONE’. Special thanks to Harken Yacht Equipment and Ullman Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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