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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 3036 - Thursday, February 25, 2010Scuttlebutt 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. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today’s sponsors: Ullman Sails and Interlux. TIDYING UP THE REDFORD IN THE SKY By Michael Lovett, Sailing World For my stack of plastic boxes - labeled "car cleaning," "rags," "misc. cables," etc - I hold Jack Bauer personally responsible. Jack was a perennial champion in the Thistle and Highlander classes, one of the best sailors with whom I've ever shared a racecourse, but what I admired most about him was his mastery of cleanliness and organization. As I get older, I aspire to Jack's pinnacle of neatness. It's a summit I know I'll never achieve. The epicenter of Jack's carefully controlled universe was his red Ford Econoline van. He called it the Redford. As in, "Where you staying tonight, Jack?" "Oh, over at the Redford." At a place like Pennsylvania's Pymatuning YC, the Redford boasted the finest accommodations in town. I know because I stayed at the Blueford. I thought the plywood bed my dad built for the back of our van was nice until I saw Jack's setup. His bed was topped by a thick, plush mattress that didn't smell like shop dust - thanks to the Dustbuster vacuum stationed near the side doors - and the hatches opened upon rows of tightly rolled sails, canvas duffels, and toolboxes. I once made the mistake of jumping into the back of the Redford without removing my shoes. I never saw a nicer guy look more distressed. The van was only part of the ensemble. Jack kept his Thistle so clean you could drink the bilge water. At his house in Lakewood, Ohio, the carpets smelled like baby powder. He carried a clean rag in his back pocket, so nothing in his possession ever had time to get truly dirty. The proudest I ever saw Jack was when his son, Fred, maybe four years old at the time, began parading around the living room with the push sweeper. They say the sailor who wins is the one who's best prepared, which explains part of Jack's success on the racecourse. But he was as crafty as he was clean. No matter how lousy his start, he'd always battle back, finessing his way up the beat by patiently playing the shifts. (When I read Ken Read's recent From the Experts story, "Staging a Comeback in Shifty Conditions," I couldn't help but think of Jack.) In blustery conditions that would see the majority of the fleet capsize at the jibe mark, you'd look up from your bailing bucket to see Jack, all 145 pounds of him, planing downhill with his mesmerized crew - often his wife, Cherie, and fellow Cleveland YC member Kevin Carroll - peering out through the spray. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/yfug8sb => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Jack died earlier this month, a victim of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - Lou Gehrig's disease. PICTURING YACHT RACING Photographers Jürg Kaufmann and Daniel Forster were in Valencia for the 33rd America’s Cup, and share their observations with CupInfo.com on the event and the sport: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * You have both been to many America’s Cups, Daniel going back to 1977. Which was your favorite as a photographer? Jürg: I think this America's Cup is great. It's down to the basics, two personalities with almost unlimited resources showing up at the event with amazing boats, fighting for the oldest sports trophy by giving their best. It would be better if this would happen in the summer, or a bit more south with more constant wind and warmer temperatures, but it's happening here and now and that's good. Daniel: My favorite one as a photographer was the 1987 Cup in Perth/Fremantle. Every day by 11:00 am the “Fremantle Doctor” arrived: 25-30 knots of wind with big waves and bright sunshine and the 12mJI yachts sailed, unlike here! * How has the America’s Cup changed over the time you have been going? Daniel: The Newport events in the 70’s and 80’s were a two-week event, run by the New York Yacht Club. The sailors had their expenses paid and some pocket money. In 1987, the whole family moved to Australia. In 1992 and 1995, crew and families spent 18 month in San Diego: America’s Cup Sailor became a job description. And that set the tone for Auckland and Valencia. Over 100 families lost their jobs after the 2007/2008 decisions. And now they are using motors: another group, the grinders, is gone. What would Darwin say? * What’s your favorite yachting event not counting the America’s Cup? Jürg: There are many very outstanding events and it is hard and unfair to talk only about one. For sure, one of the most spectacular events is the Voiles de Saint-Tropez where we made a book together called Classic & Modern Yachts in Saint-Tropez. Daniel: The Rolex Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race. A tough race where it gets colder the closer you get to the finish. Too short to get a decent length of sleep. Only the well experienced sailors attempt it. Working for Rolex I covered it for the last ten years. One year by helicopter, 20 hours in three days, and the other year on a boat, the start and then the finish with the majestic Cape Raul or Tasman Island in the background. Full interview: http://tinyurl.com/y9zqfua QUALITY FOUNDED IN ONE DESIGN Ullman Sails is often perceived as a one design sailmaker. In reality, this distinction is the reason why we are the choice sailmaker for both cruising and racing sails. After years of racing and testing sails in one design fleets, our designers use the same development techniques to build and deliver consistently fast big boat sails. Our sailmakers also follow a “one design” standard, closely monitoring the quality of every sail from construction to finishing. Be confident that every detail is built to the highest standard. Ullman Sails – Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com ROBBIE FERRON A DYNAMIC DRIVING FORCE FOR THIRTY YEARS The self-effacing organizer of the 30th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta from the very beginning doesn't like to be put in the limelight, but rather chooses to work - and work hard - behind the scenes, just because he likes what he's doing. When Robbie Ferron takes the microphone on the first day of another great regatta, it seems as if he never did anything else. Besides organizing races and serving as a past President of the Caribbean Sailing Association, Robbie is also known as a successful entrepreneur. He's the founder and group manager of Budget Marine, a yacht chandlery which doesn't need any introduction in the Caribbean. Ferron calls St. Maarten his home, but that was not always the case. In his office on the second floor of the Budget Marine building in Cole Bay, he tells me his story: "Born to Dutch parents, I grew up in South Africa in a town that's very closely related to the sea. My bedroom allowed me a look over Table Bay, the bay of the capital of Cape Town. I watched ships coming in and out and learned about all kinds of vessels with the greatest of ease.” After finishing his education in Cape Town, Ferron went to his parents' homeland, which they left after the war, to continue his studies in Amsterdam and The Hague. But that was later. "First I signed up on a sailing yacht. There were always a lot of cruisers, making a stop in Cape Town while circumnavigating. At that time I was very involved in the Anti-Apartheid Party. Lots of friends were jailed, some left the country. The graduates didn't have high expectations for the future. In 1975, age 25, I got on a boat and just left. It didn't bother me; I was ready for something totally different. The Caribbean was an obvious choice. When you sail out of Cape Town you go where the wind takes you.” -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/ykgefjo * There are 227 entries for the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta on March 4-7: http://www.heinekenregatta.com/ FOR THE RECORD (Day 25 - February 24, 2010; 18:02 UTC) - On track to pass between New Zealand and Auckland Island, Franck Cammas and his nine crew have eased off the throttle slightly to negotiate a slightly more chaotic sea. After picking up the record for the Indian Ocean crossing on Wednesday morning (8d 17h 39'), Groupama 3 is plunging towards the SE, regularly extending her lead over the reference time. There is not a lot at the entrance to the Pacific Ocean, though there is a swell... A fine W'ly swell which is enabling Groupama 3 to continue to lengthen her stride, pushed by a twenty-five knot SW'ly wind. The climate is still mild and (at last) there is a seascape to contemplate as the clouds have given way to a starry sky. "We don't need to push the boat too hard because it would serve no purpose to be too quick due to the weather situation which awaits us over the next few days. In addition, the seas aren't very organised following the wind shift and we're sailing with one reef in the mainsail and small gennaker" said Franck Cammas. Naturally the skipper of Groupama 3 was happy to have broken their first WSSRC record on this Jules Verne Trophy (from the Agulhas Cape to the South of Tasmania: 8d 18h 39'). Most important of all though is the 200 mile lead the crew are boasting at the entrance to the Pacific, which has resulted in them tracking nearly half a day ahead of Orange 2's course. The midway point of this round the world has also been crossed this Wednesday, at around 0630 UTC, which means that Franck Cammas and his men are closing inexorably on the finish now... "This record for the Indian Ocean crossing is a great surprise: Groupama 3 is a boat which isn't supposed to be quicker on this particular section of the course. However, the weather did favour us for two thirds of that ocean... However, we've got to get to Cape Horn yet and it's a long old haul!" -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/yfh6mzu Current position as of February 24, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: +265.4 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 27.1 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 649.6 nm Distance to go: 11,821 nm Data: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/positions.asp?lg=en Map: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/index.asp?lg=en * After their start on January 31, 2010, Franck Cammas and his nine crew on Groupama 3 must cross finish line off Ushant, France before March 23rd (06:14:57 UTC) to establish a new time for the Jules Verne Trophy (21,760 nm) for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions. Current record holder is Bruno Peyron and crew, who in 2005 sailed Orange 2 to a time of 50 days, 16 hours, and 20 minutes at an average of 17.89 knots. ONE STEP CLOSER The Maryland Board of Public Works voted unanimously Wednesday to lease state-owned space in Annapolis to a fledgling museum, the National Sailing Hall of Fame. The 50-year lease is for space formerly occupied by the Department of Natural Resources adjacent to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis’ City Dock. The museum bought adjacent space, once part of a Phillips Restaurant, last year for $3 million. The museum will be 20,000 square feet in size and is being designed by Boggs & Partners. Museum officials still need to raise around $30 million to cover construction and operating costs before the project can begin. Lee Tawney, the museum’s executive director, said Wednesday’s vote was the first step to jump-starting the fundraising campaign. “The National Sailing Hall of Fame and Sailing Center will be a national attraction that will strengthen our city’s economy, inspire our children, and contribute to Annapolis’s rich quality of life as America’s Sailing Capital,” Annapolis Mayor Josh Cohen said in a statement. A 2007 Maryland Stadium Authority found the could draw between 50,000 and 150,000 visitors per year. The attraction could support 95 jobs, $4 million in labor income and $8.7 million in business sales, according to the study. -- http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2010/02/22/daily32.html HOW FAST IS YOUR BOTTOM? Winning is what Interlux is all about. Fast bottoms are what we do, performance is who we are, and speed is what we sell. Learn more about the high performance yacht and marine coatings from Interlux here: http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa LETTERS AND FORUM Please email 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 Herb Motley: (re, JJ Fetter and women's sailing) Back in the dark ages of 1964, I was designated skipper for the Harvard Sailing Team for an event at the Coast Guard Academy to be sailed in Ravens, the exciting four person (as we shall see) planning centerboarder of about 24 feet. We only had three from the Harvard Team, but we stopped in Providence on the way down to New London and gathered in Bobbi Ro and another woman (dates) from RISD. It was a great sailing day. The two women traded off alternate races and we won the regatta. When it was all over, we had to withdraw, not because we had team members from another school, but because they were women! Today I almost always have women aboard my International One Design in Marblehead and we always do better with them aboard. * From Ken Quant, Broad Reach Marketing: It is time for the sailing community to make a concerted effort to replace the AC as our sport's most high profile event. Ask any non-sailor to name a sailing event and the answer will inevidably be the AC. That needs to change. After years of court room antics, we finally get a two race event that generates exactly 6 seconds of coverage on Monday's Sports Center. Pathetic. I realize that the AC players could care less about U.S. mass-market exposure, but if they are so short-sighted as to schedule their races to compete with Olympics, Daytona 500 and NBA All-Star game, maybe it time for the U.S. sailing industry to move-on. As sailors we need a grassroots promotional effort to rally behind an event that shows the real excitement of sailboat racing. As an example of the appeal of exciting sailing action, take at look at the crowds that gather around the Ronstan booth at any show to watch the Austrailian skiffs. Even experienced sailors get excited by the breathtaking action. Certainly non-saillors would have a better chance of getting excited about such an event as compared to the AC, and hopefully that excitement would turn into a general interest in sailing. How do we start? How about by just getting the sailing media outlets to focus more on these high-excitement events and less on court-room hearings. The AC bores me, just think about how quickly non-sailor loose interest. Contrary to the opinion of many in the sailing media outlets, it's OK to show the thrills and danger in sailing. It's what people want to see. If bass fishing can get a whole network, certainly we can at least get a few shows. * From Kimberly Skeen-Jones: I, like so many other ardent Cup fans and supporters, am still basking in the glow of an amazing couple of races and victory by BMW Oracle. As far as venue is concerned, I believe we are so lucky to have things in the very capable hands of Larry Ellison, Russell Coutts and Company. What better stewards than these? I am really looking forward to their decision and know intrinsically that wherever it may be will be for all the right reasons....after all, hasn't this recent victory been the best example of leadership and vision in this game so many of us love? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION A little ignorance can go a long way. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Interlux. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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