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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 2922 - Thursday, September 3, 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 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and Ullman Sails. GOING TO COURT FOR THE SPORT (September 2, 2009) - Secrecy in the realm in the America's Cup is as old as the hills. Kind of like poker players showing their cards. It's just not done. But unlike poker, where the rules of the game are known prior to sitting down at the table, the 33rd Match is being done a little differently. The Defender and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) have agreed to terms on what the rules are to be for the next Cup, but they have decided to keep this a secret. Now, no one can begrudge the Defender from leveraging every angle they have to gain an advantage. But why would ISAF, the international governing body of the sport, join in? For what has been an increasingly bitter and litigated event, this would seem to be a precarious position for the sport's highest authority. Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Perhaps this is all innocent enough, and if everyone has acted properly, there should be no objection to public disclosure to clear the air. Therefore, a motion was made today in the New York Supreme Court - on behalf of sailors everywhere - requesting public disclosure of this agreement. Led by Attorney Cory E. Friedman, who has closely followed this dispute, and has thus far written 43 reports for Scuttlebutt with a view of explaining the litigation and legal system to lay sailors, has taken the initiative, and is asking for the Court to reveal the terms of this agreement. Here is his motion: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0902a/ * Cory Friedman's reports: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/ CONQUERING THE 505 FROM BOTH ENDS OF THE BOAT American Mike Martin first dabbled in 505s in the early 80's, but it wasn't until 1996 when his connection to the class was fully solidified. That was when he began crewing with Howie Hamlin, leading the team to a Worlds win in 1999. At the 505 Worlds last week in San Francisco, Martin's hand was now on the tiller, and along with crew Jeff Nelson, the team dominated the 97 boat fleet, making Martin the first person in class history to win the Worlds from both ends of the boat. Scuttlebutt checks in with the new champion: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- * SBUTT: How did you and Howie connect? MIKE MARTIN: "I had done some 505 sailing with Macy Nelson when I lived in Virginia, and Macy introduced me to Howie when I moved to Long Beach, CA. Howie had a good crew at the time, and did not need another, so I just kept sailing my Finn. Then two years later, he called me up because he needed a crew and we sailed a regatta up at Richmond Yacht Club. We won the regatta and started sailing together after that." * SBUTT: When did you switch to sailing your own boat? MIKE MARTIN: "After Howie and I won the Worlds in 1999, I decided to set a goal of being the first person to win the 505 Worlds both as a skipper and a crew. I sailed the 2000 Worlds in South Africa with Steve Bourdow where we finished 2nd. After that I went back to crewing for a few years, but still had that goal. In 2004, Jeff and I teamed up for the Worlds in Santa Cruz and have been sailing together ever since." * SBUTT: Your domination at the 2009 Worlds was freakish (1-DNF-1-1-1-12-2-1-1). Explain the edge you had, and how it was developed? Complete interview: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0902b BECOME A FAN OF US SAILING TEAM ALPHAGRAPHICS It's been a summer of success for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, with George Szabo, Rick Peters, Anna Tunnicliffe and Zach Railey leading the charge. They've been on the podium in three class world championships, and Team USA also sits atop the Sailing World Cup Standings in two classes - Anna in the Radial and Stu McNay and Graham Biehl in the Men's 470. Next stop is Weymouth, England for the Sail for Gold regatta in September. Live the Olympic dream by becoming a fan of the Team on Facebook http://tinyurl.com/krhovk NEW EVENT ANNOUNCED BY LOUIS VUITTON The event to be known as the Louis Vuitton World Series will be undertaken in association with a new professional sailing group the World Sailing Team Association (WSTA). This group comprises eight teams, with others expected to join the powerful grouping. The co-ordinator of the WSTA is Laurent Esquier (FRA) the long time sailing coach, best known in New Zealand for his development of the KZ-7 crew in Fremantle. The official statement reads: 'Some of the best professional sailing teams, grouped together under the name WSTA (World Sailing Team Association), and Louis Vuitton, a key player in the world of top-level sailing for more than 25 years, today announced the creation of an international regatta circuit. 'The WSTA (World Sailing Team Association) groups together the participants in previous Louis Vuitton Cup regattas (K-Challenge (France), BMW Oracle Racing (USA), Emirates Team New Zealand, Mascalzone Latino (Italy) and welcomes newcomers such as Team Artemis (Sweden), Team Synergy (Russia), Joe Fly Italia (Italy) and Team French Spirit (France). Other teams will join the association in the coming weeks.' -- Sail-World, read on: http://tinyurl.com/muhmyv REMEMBERING TOM BLACKALLER In Scuttlebutt 2914 (August 24, 2009), Chris Caswell submitted a story titled 'I MISS MY HEROES' where he wrote, "The America's Cup used to be a floating circus of fascinating characters--some you liked, some you didn't--but all combined to add something to the sport. (But now) where are the Ted Turners? The Tom Blackallers? The Baron Bichs? At times, they seemed to be a taco short of a combination plate, but they brought the America's Cup to life, because they were all bigger than life." If you were not sure what Chris meant, this story by Bill Campbell on the Scuttlebutt Forum might help, where a thread has been honoring the legacy of Tom Blackaller and the anniversary of his death 20 years ago: "So we were sailing the America's Cup trials back in Newport RI in the summer of 1982. Tom and Gary Jobson were the honchos on Defender 12-US-33, and I was navigator for John Kolius on Courageous 12-US-26. "There had been a fair amount of smack talk, particularly after Courageous started to get the better of Defender on the race course. The movie "Das Boot" debuted that summer. It is a movie about a German U-boat crew and their struggles against the allies, the Atlantic ocean, and their own hierarchy during WWII. The great part about the movie is that you end up rooting for the Germans by the end. "The gentleman who sailed with me for four years at the Naval Academy happened to be the Commanding Officer of a submarine that was in Newport at the time, so we organized a day when the crews of the 12's could visit the submarine and the crew of the submarine could visit the 12's. We had a great time because each crew thought the other's boat was the coolest thing they had ever seen." -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8180#8180 WHEN FEEL IS ALL YOU HAVE Yachting champion Dennis Conner once said he cuts the hair short on his neck to help feel the wind. But what if you were blind, and feel was all you had? Here is a story from the San Diego based Challenged America program, written by first time sailor Karen Shrawder: ----------------------------------------------------------------- I came to sail for the first time ever today! What an incredible experience! The feeling of controlling that sailboat was amazing! I feel like it was some type of peaceful work; the entire experience was peaceful and enjoyable, but I also learned that sailing takes a lot of work and concentration. I like that! I had never really thought about which way the wind is blowing: whether it was on my nose, on my right ear, or over my shoulder. Learning to analyze this, I was able to maneuver the sailboat without continuous "hints" from my "teacher," John (Evans). John was one of the most gifted teachers I've ever met! He started by explaining and describing every part of the Martin 16, and then as we moved away from the dock, the descriptions became more vivid. Although I am totally blind, I felt like I was seeing the seals sun bathing on top of the buoys, the birds surrounding a small fishing boat, waiting for something to eat, or the various types of "traffic" that passed us throughout our short voyage. I learned how to tack, how to move the boat so that it hit the small waves at a 45-degree angle rather than sideways, and how to pull the sail in when it begins to flap in the wind. John never stopped teaching during those two hours of sailing, and I could have learned from him all day! -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0902/file.htm#letter.block9 RECORD OVERNIGHT MATCH RACE WON WITH ULLMAN SAILS In a race for the record books (literally), Kevin Grainger and crew on J/105 "Gumption 3" took part in an extreme version of match racing and long distance racing to win first in division and second overall in the 2009 Stamford Yacht Club Annual Overnight Race. Powered by Ullman Sails, Grainger's team defeated the only other J/105 "Eclipse" by 15 seconds after 47.6 miles of unfavorable tides, squalls and no wind. The race is the longest/closest J/105 match race in history, earning the Gumption team two new J/105 Hall of Fame honors. Ullman Sails - Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com * Did anyone else notice the sweet Ullman ad on the back cover of Sailing World's September issue? Here it is: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/08/back-cover.html WILLIAMS OFF TO FAST START IN ST. MORITZ St. Moritz, Switzerland (September 2, 2009; Day 1) - The twelve teams involved in the St. Moritz Match Race and the quest for the sixth stage of the World Match Racing Tour had fabulous conditions, with the sun shining and the thermal breeze growing up to 15-20 knots over the afternoon. Ten flights were completed, which is half the round robin. Two-time Tour champ Ian Williams' Team Pindar (GBR) dominated his races, winning each one of them convincingly. Said Williams, "In those conditions, you always need a bit of luck and you must be able to benefit from all the opportunities. It is the fifth time that we sail here in St. Moritz and we really love it here; we feel very comfortable." Not as comfortable with the racing was Bill Edgerton, Chief Umpire, who noted,"We've had to judge too many collisions today; certainly more than we should see at this level, it is really regrettable. There is quite a bit of wind and the sailors need to get familiar with the boats.". The event format consists of a Single Round Robin, with the winner of the round going straight to the Semi Finals. The next six teams will advance to the Quarter Finals round. -- Full story and scores: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/99758 HAMLIN THINKS SMALL AND GOES BIG Big rig or small rig? That was the decision some of the players had to make on Day 3 of the eighth annual 18' Skiff International Regatta hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club. Others had no choice. They were better off. That's how Howie Hamlin got the jump on father and son John (Woody) Winning and John Jr. (Herman) to move into first place after 6 of 10 races, three points ahead of the elder Winning and fellow Australian veteran Trevor Barnabas, who won Wednesday's second race as handily as Hamlin won the first. "I guess the smaller rigs won out," Barnabas said. Hamlin, 56, is the lone American in contention against an armada of Aussies, most of whom arrived with extra, taller masts in case San Francisco Bay fell short of its perennial promise of big breeze. Hamlin had only his short rig measuring 9.5 meters compared to 10.38 meters (31 to 34 feet) for the big one. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8187#8187 NY REQUIRES LIFE JACKETS FOR COLD WEATHER BOATERS Seizing on the chilling fact that drowning happens faster in cold water, New York has become the first U.S. state to require life jackets on everyone in all small boats during the coldest half of the year. More boating accidents happen in the summer, when more people are out on the water, but the fatality rate rises in the colder months, from 8 percent nationally in July to 25 percent in November last year. Officials say the scarcity of other boaters to help with rescues also increases the risk of death. Falling into cold water can trigger shock, as well as gasping, causing the unexpected swimmer to suddenly inhale water. Immersion in water colder than 40 degrees Fahrenheit can lead to hypothermia and passing out within 15 minutes. Starting Nov. 1, kayakers, canoeists and those aboard all other boats under 21 feet must wear Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices while on New York's coastal waters, lakes, rivers and other waterways. The rule will remain in effect through May 1. Violators face fines ranging from $25 to $100. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/lyn7of SAILING SHORTS * The 2009 Mercury class U.S. Nationals were hosted by Richmond YC on San Francisco, CA August 28-30, with 27 teams competing in a mix of conditions. Winning the event for a third straight time was Chris Raab and Kenny Dair. -- Complete story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8183 * The 2009 Northeast 29er Grand Prix Circuit wrapped up at CORK OCR / 29er North Americans. Max Fraser and David Liebenberg (CA, USA) dominated the circuit for the second year in a row. They finished up with a 45-point lead over the 2nd place team Tyler Macdonald and Brian Bolton (CA, USA). The 5-event circuit included the 29er Canadians (KYC, ON), East Coast Championships (Sail Newport, RI), Buzzards Bay Regatta (BYC, MA), Quebec Skiff Championships (ANBB, QC) and CORK OCR (POH, ON). -- Final standings: http://www.29ernorthamerican.org/2009/results/GPCdn2009.pdf * Barely a month after launching the latest generation of its BlueChart cartography, Garmin announced a world-wide recall of the new chart cards. Errors in the depth data on the new cards may have been at least partly to blame for two boats running aground in Sweden and Denmark. So far, the problem seems to be confined to Scandinavian waters, but Garmin says it cannot be certain that other areas are not similarly affected. -- SAIL, read on: http://sailmagazine.com/cruising/news/garmin_chart_recall/ * A federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Monday granted Star brite's motion for a preliminary injunction against ValvTect Petroleum Products in a lawsuit over comparison advertisements from ValvTect. "The court concludes that the claims in the ads in this case were not literally false, though they were misleading," U.S. District Judge James Cohn wrote in his opinion. The court ordered ValvTect to stop running advertisements stating that certain lab tests show ValvTect Ethanol Gasoline Treatment outperforms Star brite's Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment. -- Trade Only, read on: http://tinyurl.com/neyusr CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) The Audi Melges 20 class has an eight event North American tour of events planned for 2010, plus the class is now included in a 20-foot Sportboat class at this year's Key West Race Week: 1. December 11-13 - Miami, Florida 2. February 5-7 - Miami, Florida 3. March 11-13 - Miami, Florida 4. April 7-11 - Charleston Race Week - Charleston, South Carolina 5. June 4-6 - Sperry Top-Sider Detroit NOOD - Detroit, Michigan 6. June 18-20 - Toronto Regatta - Toronto, Ontario 7. August 27-29 - U.S. National Championship - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 8. October 2-3 - Fall Championship Regatta - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin Are your events posted on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? Post them here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die. Special thanks to US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics and Ullman Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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