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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 2919 - Monday, August 31, 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 New England Rope, North Sails, and LaserPerformance. RAISING THE BAR By Matthew Sheahan, Yachting World To create a new class of boat that would push the world's top professional sailors to their limits, break world records, and draw the public's attention, was an ambitious target. With a generation of globe-trotting monster multihulls scorching around at breathtaking speeds, questions were raised as to whether a monohull could provide the most suitable, exciting, and challenging racing machine for the world's oldest and most notorious fully-crewed round the world race. Some said such a brief couldn't be achieved and pointed to the serious teething problems of the previous Volvo Ocean Race in evidence. But now, with another circumnavigation under its belt, during which time the racing has frequently been staggeringly close, the Volvo Open 70 class can rightly claim to be the fastest and most developed of its breed. A new standard has been set. But at what cost? A modern Volvo Open 70 is an expensive machine and, with a full entourage of shore support travelling to 10 stopovers around the world, campaign costs can be high. Set this against the current economic backdrop and the incentive to reduce costs is strong. But can this be achieved without clipping the wings of a new breed of boat that has made its reputation at the leading edge of offshore racing yacht design? -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/nwpe3q 505 WORLDS San Francisco, CA (August 29, 2009; Day 7) - Mother Nature gave Mike Martin the 18 knots of wind he asked for and he and crew Jeff Nelson took care of the rest of their business Saturday to win the 2009 SAP 505 World Championship with an artistic runaway performance. And they earned it. Their climactic 46-second victory mirrored their earlier mastery of the cold, strong winds that San Francisco promised but surprisingly substituted with its apparent two days of summer near the end of the week, momentarily taking them off their game. Earlier, they used one of their discards when they broke their mast in the mud of the shallow Berkeley Circle in the East Bay while running a close second to Mike Holt and crew Carl Smit, then had to swallow a 12th place when the breeze turned light and tricky, but successfully recharged their winning form to beat off the bid of Mike Holt and Carl Smit convincingly over the last two days. In the end, after the breeze had built from 12 knots to past 20 in the 3 1/2-lap, hour-and-a-half race, Martin and Nelson were at home in their element again, invincible in their sixth first place in the nine-race series. Martin is the first person to win the class world championship as both crew (for Howie Hamlin in 1999) and skipper. -- Daily reports: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7921 Final Results (Top 10 of 97; 9 races, 2 discards) 1. Mike Martin/Jeff Nelson, USA, 1-(DNF)-1-1-1-(12)-2-1-1, 8 points. 2. Mike Holt/Carl Smit, USA, 2-1-2-2-2-3-(4)-(9)-4, 16. 3. Chris Nicholson/Casey Smith, AUS, 4-3-3-3-3-7-(8)-(8)-3. 26. 4. Jens Findel/Johannes Tellen, GER, (72)-5-6-(15)-12-2-3-10-5, 36. 5. Dalton Bergan/Fritz Lanzinger, USA, 8-8-4-10-(15)-1-5-2-(16), 38. 6. Nick Adamson/Steve Bourdow, USA, 9-2-13-4-4-4-(17)-(14)-2, 38. 7. Howie Hamlin/Paul Cayard, USA, 5-6-(RAF)-7-(14)-5-10-5-6, 44. 8. Tyler Moore/Geoff Ewenson, USA, 11-13-11-(15)-(16)-8-6-4-10, 63. 9. Ryan Cox/Stuart Park, USA, 12-11-12-6-8-6-(15)-(22)-8, 63. 10. Ian Pinnell/Carl Gibbon, GBR, 7-(14)-8-13-(20)-10-11-3-(DNF), 66. Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/l46o4x Sailgroove video: http://tinyurl.com/Sailgroove-505-Worlds Photos: Thanks to Sharon Green, Eric Simonson, Dave Keane, and Christophe Favreau for the comprehensive 505 Worlds photo gallery now on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0830/ MINI V TRIED AND TRUE New England Ropes expands the dinghy and small boat range with its latest new product, miniV. The miniV is constructed of a range of small diameter vectran cored lines. The range in sizes is from 1.8mm - 4mm and comes in a variety of colors. miniV is ideally suited for control lines, sail ties and almost any application where you're looking for high strength, low stretch with excellent knotability and holding power. New England Ropes with collaboration from Olympic Sailors, in the US, spearheaded this development. For more information, contact New England Ropes or visit our website... http://www.neropes.com UPDATE FROM THE CREWS’ UNION By Kimball Livingston There is no reason to sail a 505 except for the love of the game, love of the challenge, love of the people. Sure, you have some Olympic-level talents, but the 505 is no stepping stone to a six-figure America’s Cup salary (which, though scarce, still exist). The 505 is also a realm where mere helmsmen have been put in their place. Crews are eyes-on-the-course on these 16-foot dinghies. They’re also mojo-on-the-wire. And with the dominant win by Mike Martin and Jeff Nelson at the SAP 505 Worlds on San Francisco Bay, a ten-year mission is accomplished. Ten years is how long it took Mike Martin, after crewing Howie Hamlin to the 1999 Worlds win, to become the first person ever to win the championship from both ends of the boat. At a rousing awards ceremony on Saturday night, Martin told a packed house: “I did this for all the crews out there, to prove what we’ve always known - those guys in the back of the boat are nothin’.” -- Read on: http://kimballlivingston.com/?p=229 WHAT’S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST? If racing an 80-foot maxi yacht in the Sydney to Hobart Race is on your Bucket List, a posting on the Scuttlebutt Forum may have what you are looking for, assuming you have an extra $12,000 U.S. to back up this dream. The maxi yacht, Brindabella, is looking for Sydney to Hobart crew for this year's big race. Brindabella is arguably Australia's most famous yacht and she still holds the record for Hobart for a conventionally ballasted boat. You will need to have some offshore experience along with the crew fee that covers all yacht costs, insurance, race entry, accommodations, food, etc. as well as training days before the race. -- Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8040 * If $12 grand and a flight Down Under aren’t in the budget, the 12 Metre World Championship in Newport, RI September 22-27 has crew positions for sale. The “17th Crew” is part of every 12 Metre Worlds sponsorship package, with the recipient receiving a unique Atlantis WeatherGear sailing vest along with a 12 Metre Worlds hat and tickets for that day’s dockside party. Sponsorships begin at $2000. For more information, contact Connie12Metre@AOL.com SKUD 18'S TOUR NORTH EAST The two Team Paradise SKUD 18's have been living quite a life this summer! Since mid July, the T.P. SKUDs went on a 4 city, 3 state tour of the North East to expose more people to both the joys of disabled sailing and the sporty nature of the SKUD 18. Sail Challenge Inspire, a foundation began by SKUD 18 Paralympic gold medalist Maureen McKinnon-Tucker and her husband Dan Tucker, chartered the two boats for the multiple purposes of: - Holding a learn to sail clinic for the disabled at Sail Salem, Salem, MA. - Making boats easily available for important disabled events in New England - Providing the many Adaptive Members a chance to try out the boats at Piers Park Sailing Center (PPSC). Maureen is the Adaptive Coordinator for the PPSC program on Boston Harbor. She notes, "People with disabilities don't get the chance to even see such fun & sporty boats customizable for their disability, never mind get a chance to sail one. This was a great opportunity for Boston area sailors." -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8149 * Team Paradise is based in Miami, FL, and provides Paralympic equipment and coaching support to disabled athletes from around the globe. Here is a report when Scuttlebutt test drove the SKUD 18 in 2008: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/skud/ TEAM ‘TRIPLE PLAY’ WIN J/105 SO CAL CHAMPIONSHIP Equipped with a new North VMG spinnaker, Chuck Driscoll and his crew onboard ‘Triple Play’ raced to victory last week at the J/105 So Cal Championship in Long Beach, CA. “Our new North VMG chute definitely helped us and our upwind speed was exceptional, too,” explained Driscoll. “I’ve never owned anything but a North sail,” he said, and after last weekend, he probably never will... When performance and speed matter, the choice is clear: http://na.northsails.com * August 31st is the final day to take advantage of North’s used sail recycling program than can lead to a 25% savings toward a new sail purchase. Full details at http://na.northsails.com/tabid/14647/Default.aspx SAILING SHORTS * San Diego, CA (August 28, 2009; Day 5) - The fifth and final day of the Snipe Junior World Championship was dealt the lightest winds of the week, forcing the abandonment and resail of one of the races that did not meet the time limit. Regardless, the top three remained unchanged from Thursday, with defending champions Mario Tinoco and Matheus Gonçalves (BRA) taking the title, Norihiko Kiyama & Kenichi Inada (JPN) in second, and Raul Rios and Antonio Sifre from Puerto Rico in third. Tinoco became the first 3-time winner of the Jr. Worlds in class history. -- Full report: http://www.snipeworlds2009.com/news/ * At the recently completed Byte CII World Championship in Kingston, Ontario, Singapore sailors took the top three positions with Darren Choy as the new 2009 World Champion. He sailed an incredibly consistent series in tremendously varying conditions without winning any of the 14 races. The series was used by many of the nine countries as a training event for the NA Youth Olympic Games Qualifier to be sailed in Cayman in March. -- Results: http://cork.org/results2009/BWC.HTM * Ninety-one competitors attended the 2009 Canadian Optimist Dinghy Championships hosted by Royal Victoria Yacht Club on August 24-28 in Victoria, BC. Dominating the event was Meredith Megarry, building a 32 point lead during the 10 race series over second place Zachary Baum, with Peter Ehvert in third. -- Event website: http://www.opti2009.ca * Halifax, NS (August 30, 2009) - With a little patience, St. Margaret’s Bay didn’t disappointment the 300 sailors participating in the 2009 Nautel Laser Masters Championship. Under sunny skies, on the first day of competition, the winds started light, but then the Bay’s famous sea breeze kicked in for winds up to 18 knots. With competitors ranging in age from 35 to 77 years - the Masters is part major competition and part old home week for sailors from 26 countries around the world. There are three age divisions in the Full Rig and four age divisions in the Radial Rig. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8147#8147 * Sean and Tiffany Fidler beat out 17 other teams to win the 2009 Melges 17 U.S. National Championship held at Glen Lake, Michigan. . In second overall was hard-core competitor Coye Harrett with Meg Six as crew and in third, Mike and Stephanie Dow. Harrett and Dow were dead even in the points, however Harrett won the tiebreaker. -- Full report: http://www.melges17.com/?p=news&id=1128 * Representing Port Credit, Ontario, Richard Reid and his Zingara team won the 28 boat Beneteau First 36.7 North American Championship, held at Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, MI on August 27-30. After leading off with what would become his throwout, Reid into a consistent series of top 7 scores to build an 8 point margin on second place Gary & Melanie Tisdale on First Today. Tisdale’s team from Lewiston, NY was also recognized as the winner of the Corinthian division. -- Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=229 * Copenhagen, Denmark (August 29, 2009; Day 7) - The medal races for the 470 World Championship took place in conditions varying so wildly that Beijing Gold medallist Malcolm Page described them as “like four seasons rolled into one”. Following the double points scoring races for the top ten placers in the mens and womens divisions, Croatian men Fantela Sime and Marenic Igor and Dutch women Lisa Westerhof and Lobke Berkhout are the new World Champions. The top North Americans men were Stu McNay/Graham Biehl (USA) were 21st while defending womens world champs Erin Maxwell/ Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar (USA) finished 10th. -- Event website: http://worlds470.kdy.dk/ * Kiel, Germany (August 30, 2009) - Oman Sail Masirah could not have produced a more nail-biting finish to round 4 of the six event Extreme 40 iShares Cup at Kiel, Germany. Last off the start line, their Oman Sail stablemate Renaissance, the only ones who could snatch victory, got a strong start and went on to win the race, whilst Masirah came in 8th to tie on overall points. But it was Pete Cumming’s Masirah team that won the tiebreaker over Loick Peyron’s Renaissance squad. Masirah leads the circuit overall as they head to Round 5 of the iShares Cup in Amsterdam September 25-27. -- http://www.isharescup.com/en/ * Hyeres, France (August, 29 2009) - Among the 86 entrants, the 2009 Melges 24 European Championship was won by UKA UKA Racing, owned by Lorenzo Santini and steered by Lorenzo Bressani, building a 22 point margin, while in the Corinthian Division, the Norwegian Storm Capital Sail Racing Team syndicate with their helmsman Sivert Dinneche, concluded with a 10 point edge. -- Results: http://tinyurl.com/ltvhwp * San Francisco, CA (August 30, 2009) - The diverse Bay sailing scene has shifted over the last couple of days from a splash and crash 505 dinghy Worlds last week to a wooden boat regatta Sunday and now to perhaps the wildest exhibition of racing on the edge: the eighth annual 18' Skiff International Regatta Monday through Friday. About a dozen crews of three were still checking in Sunday afternoon, led by three-time winner Howard Hamlin. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8148#8148 * A Dutch court ruled Friday that a 13-year-old girl cannot set sail on a solo round-the-world voyage next month and ordered her to be placed in the temporary care of social services. In a judgment that was welcomed by young Laura Decker's lawyer, the court judges did not rule out the possibility of her eventually embarking on the record-breaking quest but said a full study was needed to assess the dangers. The girl had planned to set out on her 8.3-metre-long Hurley 800 named Guppy in September, financed by sponsors, while pursuing her education by Internet correspondence. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/kp55t7 THE SUNFISH -- THE BOAT OF THE WEEK. This week only get 15% off red & white Sunfish sails. Check out that and a whole lot more at http://shop.laserperformance.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) The J/80 class in the U.S. 2010 has an incredible East Coast tour of events - starting in Key West, FL and then working up the coast to culminate at the J/80 World Championship in Newport, RI: Jan 18-22 - Key West Race Week - Key West, FL (J/80 Midwinters) Feb 12-14 - St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta - St. Petersburg, FL Apr 9-11 - Charleston Race Week - Charleston, SC Apr 23-25 - Annapolis NOOD Regatta - Annapolis, MD Jun 6-7 - Sprit Fest - Sag Harbor, NY Jul 9-11 - Sail Newport Regatta - Newport, RI (Pre-Worlds) Aug 6-8 - Buzzards Bay Regatta - Marion, MA Sep 9-12 - North American Championship - Marion, MA Oct 4-9 - J/80 World Championship - Newport, RI Are your events posted on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? Post them here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Please submit your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). 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 Dennis Toews: Regarding Sportsmanship, in the early 60's I was crewing for Ron Ormiston in an International 14 regatta, The Buzzards Bay Bowl. Fred Anfossie and crew Rod Miller from Ottawa were leading the last "long distance race" by a country mile, with Dave Kirby (Bruce's brother) second about 150 yards behind Fred and we where another 50 yards behind. The breeze was over 30 knots when Fred rounded the weather mark, where we saw he was not on the reach leg but was headed back to the yacht club. Ron and I assumed that he must have experienced some gear failure. When we finished the race and returned to the club I asked Fred what had happened. He replied that as they rounded the weather mark, the leach of the main touched the mark. He then withdrew from the race. Only two people knew what happened. I will never know of the races that Fred and Rod won but this sure established in my mind the quality of people I was privileged to know and sail against! * From Ray Tostado: Let the sailing world make a statement that will protect young people from any further exploitation based on being young in order to matter or make headlines. Leave that to the old age has beens. Simply arrive at a world consensus from all major sailing bodies that there will be no record for any circumnavigation for any sailor under the age of 18. Cut and dried, that's it. Those existing marks will be notated and honored, with asterisk. The new rule will simply read that a participant must be 18 years of age. What will remain as a competitive record will be the total time for the circumnavigation adjusted to time in port, to a yet to be defined adjustment rule. In short, how much real time at sea is credited. Apart from the adjust to port call class would be the honor of a total at sea non- stop circumnavigation. There will be rule development by argument. But when the salt spray settles the playing field will be fair, challenging, and inviting to those still enamored with the task. I have seen too many capable young bodies severely injured, physically and emotionally, just because they were parented into premature competition. They have enough challenges awaiting their maturity in the coming times. * From David Tabor: As to the issue of how young is too young (to sail around the world), I wonder if any of these families (and yes it IS a family undertaking) would consider attempting a circumnavigation if they weren't getting publicity? How many would just say "see ya, good luck" and let their offspring sail off w/o fanfare or months of prior notice? I've always felt the buildup in press leads to making poor decisions so why not just do it and talk about it afterwards? I also wonder what Robin Lee Graham thinks about this issue. Speaking of RLG, where is he and what has he been doing for the past few decades? Other than a second book about life in the wilderness of Montana I believe I haven't heard anything else from or about him. * From Mike Hobson: Regarding Udo Schroff off base bashing of Ted Kennedy in Scuttlebutt 2918, this letter has no position in Scuttlebutt as its clearly a political bash about a wind farm and a personal dislike. I have no idea about Teds objection to a wind farm, as I would have argued with him, but he has his opinion. About being luffed by the Senator, is that Illegal? Seems proper to me defend being overtaken. Before the Senator was even buried and while the rest of us are remembering his accomplishments, this man is bashing him in a forum that should not allow it. Ted championed the poor, children, women, education and did more than any other. He had his dark sides - don’t we all - and we did not have to deal with two brothers being murdered. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Thread closed. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION One of the signs that you have grown up is when you go from 130 days of vacation time to 14. Special thanks to New England Rope, North Sails, and LaserPerformance. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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