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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 3038 - Monday, March 1, 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: APS and JK3 Nautical Enterprises. DECLINE OF SAILING: NOT WHAT SOME WANT TO HEAR Nicholas Hayes, author of “Saving Sailing”, has studied why sailing is in the decline, and is sharing his findings (and they’re not what some want to hear). Here is a recent interview he did with U.S. SAILING: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Amateurs often compete against professionals… Some believe this is great for the sport. What is your take? NICHOLAS HAYES: I don't know many amateurs who think it is great. (I know, snarky... but true.) Seriously, let's start here: sailing is only a sport when sailors race. It is better defined as time spent on the water with family or friends. Racing is just one format, and it represents about 20% of sailing (in terms of time.) Secondly, I like to race, and I like to take home a flag when I do... but the majority of sailors know that a race is meaningless except in the friendships that it secures and the memories that it makes. This perspective is shared by 99% of sailors, and applies to 99% of starts. Frankly, pros have no place in the vast majority of sailing as it is done today, and I don't see that changing much. I go to lengths in the book to explain how sailing as a profession doesn't sync well with sailing as a pastime. I've come to conclude that if someone is able to convince someone else to finance their fun, so be it... but the progress in technique or skill isn't worth the costs in the whole. I hope your readers will consider the evidence that I present and decide for themselves. * You believe we should be honest about our sport. It is difficult, time consuming, frequently changing and sometimes risky… Are you concerned that the sport is being sold under false perceptions? NICHOLAS HAYES: Sailing is most certainly being marketed incorrectly in many places: Compare it to soccer or video gaming, and it takes on the thin veneer of a something only for kids. Or dumb it down for adults, and it loses its grand allure. The fact is that good sailing is hard, but it is almost always worth it. That said, I like to distinguish between easy and accessible at the point of entry. I don't think we should call it easy, but we can say that it is within reach, because it is (at community sailing centers and clubs all over the country).... and we should challenge each other and our friends to try it, and to then get better at it. Let me add: I don't think anyone should be "sold" on sailing. I think it should be presented as an option, and a great one, given its grand benefits (freedom, experience and friendship), and then the person should decide for themselves. Saving Sailing won't happen by making it popular. It will happen when people chose to do it well and for a long time, and when they share their contagious, authentic enthusiasm for it with others along the way. Often, it will start with a simple invitation: "Hey, you want to go sailing?" * Do you believe that sailing is the ultimate family sport if organized and run the right way? If so, why? NICHOLAS HAYES: I do, and I know many sailors who concur. It's hard to imagine a grandma, son and grandson all playing soccer together, but it's easy to find them playing together on a sailboat. There are many examples of this happening now all over the country. -- Complete interview: http://tinyurl.com/yhh6ley FOR THE RECORD (Day 29 - February 28, 2010; 17:55 UTC) - For Groupama 3 on Friday, it had been a week of accumulating 650 to 750 mile days toward their target of Cape Horn, but the sailing conditions became harder by Saturday evening with the arrival of a cold front via the West. With the wind shifting round to the same sector, a series of gybes would now be needed to line up the approach to their third Cape. Making landfall at Cape Horn is the most S'ly point of this Jules Verne Trophy at 55° 58' S and 67° 38' W. Logically, the Chilean islands will be within their sights from Wednesday evening (UTC), but the men on Groupama 3 will have to remain vigilant over the next few days as icebergs have been pinpointed in the area close to the Amundsen Sea. The biting cold of Antarctic was finally making its presence felt. By Sunday, the sailing conditions had become tougher as the low catches up with Groupama 3. Indeed the current aim for the giant trimaran is to try to stay at the front of this system until it rounds Cape Horn... To pull this off she will have to maintain a high speed to benefit from what is expected to be a NW'ly breeze as far as the Falkland Islands. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/yfy6caw Current position as of February 28, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: +470.6 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 23.7 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 569.7 nm Distance to go: 9,177 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. LION TO LAMB SALE It's finally March and at APS, "The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors", that means it's time offer our customers another great deal. This month save an additional 10% off our already discounted prices on Harken hard goods. Bum blocks, sticky travelers, wimpy winches.whatever, we can help you sort it all out and at a great price. So go ahead, let's get the lion's share of the work done now so when the lambs come it'll be time to go sailing! Also, as a bonus we've got some exclusive Harken freebies we'll throw in to sweeten the deal. Details: http://bit.ly/bvuWxZ FIELD SELECTED FOR CONGRESSIONAL CUP For the only open ISAF Grade 1 match race event in the United States, nine of the world's best match racing skippers have accepted invitations to the 46th Congressional Cup March 23-27. A 10th will be Sally Barkow, who didn't wait to be invited. Barkow, 29, of Nashotah, Wis., earned the privilege by winning last summer's Ficker Cup qualifier on the same outer harbor course off Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier where she'll meet the men in the same Catalina 37s. It's the only Grade 1 Open match racing event in North America. The rest of the lineup, alphabetically, with current International Sailing Federation (ISAF) rankings: Johnie Berntsson (9), Sweden, Royal Gothenburg YC Gavin Brady, Annapolis, Md./N. Zealand, Royal Hong Kong YC Francesco Bruni (24), Italy, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Simone Ferrarese (31), Italy, Yacht Club Cortina Bill Hardesty, San Diego, Chicago Match Race Center Damien Iehl, (3) France, APCC Voile Sportive Eric Monnin (30), Switzerland, Yacht Club Immense Evgeniy Neugodnikov (20), Russia , Team Synergy Dave Perry (45), Southport, Conn., Long Beach YC The rankings are based on a sailor's best four results dating back two years. Brady and Hardesty have competed in only two and three events, respectively, in that time. Berntsson is defending champion. Brady is one of three four-time winners. Perry won in 1983 and '84. "We're really excited about it," Barkow said. "It was our goal going to the Ficker Cup." But there's much more than that to the resume of the lady from the Pine Lake Yacht Club: Rolex (American) Yachtswoman of the Year in 2005 and 2007; three-time all-American at Old Dominion University, with a BS in psychology (that helps in match racing); in 2004, with Debbie Capozzi, Carrie Howe and Annie Lush of the UK, the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship; Olympic skipper at Qingdao in 2008. Not bad for a lake sailor from the Midwest, starting at age 5. -- Full story: http://www.lbyc.org/html/content.cfm?CID=1176 ETCHELLS JAGUAR SERIES The third in a series of four race weekends of the Etchells Jaguar Series is now a wrap, which saw Tony Rey (sailing for George Andreadis on Etchells 1368) dominate the event with near Olympic gold medal perfection. With a scoreline of 7,1,1,2 going into the last race, the only remaining threat for Rey and teammates Bill Bennett and Chris Busch was Bill Hardesty, who needed to bullet the race to take the title. But Hardesty was skating on thin ice as he was already holding a 36th from the first race, and when he dropped deep in the fleet on the first beat, Rey’s team headed for the barn for an early celebration. The Florida State Championship is also a run for a trophy among the local fleet members. Saturday’s race 2 ended part-time resident Bryon Erhart’s run for his second Florida State trophy, when he fouled Scott Piper, of Coconut Grove, at the top mark, putting a game-ending hole in his own boat. Ultimately, it was George Andreadis, another part-time local, who won the sought-after trophy. Next up is the Etchells Midwinters at the end of March, with some interesting competition for the Series trophy - several teams are very close in Jaguar Series points: Hardesty 4; Siegal, 5; Beckman, 5; Rey/ Andreadis, 6; Vessella, 6; and Smith/Kneulman 7. -- Paige Brooks, Etchells Class North America Correspondent Final results (top 5 of 54) 1. George Andreadis, Tony Rey, Bill Bennett, Chris Bush - 11 points 2. Jud Smith, Dirk Kneulman, Darby Smith, Tim King - 14 3. Jeffrey Siegal, Jeff Madrigali, Becky Nygren, Willem Van Waay - 18 4. Peter Vessella, John Callahan, Tracey Usher - 22 5. Michael Gavin, Bill Abbott, Ed Fury, Peter Nye - 30 Complete report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/jaguar/#3 Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0228/ SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * (February 26, 2010) - In the second running of the RORC Caribbean 600, Karl Kwok’s Farr 80 Beau Geste cleaned up by earning the best yacht overall under IRC, the line honours trophy for monohulls, and Class trophy for IRC Super Zero. Winner overall of the CSA division and second place overall under IRC is Richard Oland’s Southern Cross 52, Vela Veloce. Winner of IRC Super Zero Canting keel, third overall under IRC and second under CSA was Ron O’Hanley’s Cookson 52, Privateer. Third overall under IRC and CSA was Adrian Lee’s Cookson 50, Lee Overlay Partners. -- Event website: http://caribbean600.rorc.org/ * Dubai, UAE (February 27, 2010) - Chris Bake and his Team Aqua won the fleet regatta portion of the RC 44 Al Maktoum Sailing Trophy, but it was Torbjorn Tornqvist and his Artemis team led by Terry Hutchinson that conquered the overall prize (the combination of the match race and fleet race rankings) ahead of Pieter Heerema’s No Way Back and Markus Wieser’s Team Sea Dubai. This was the opening event for the 2010 RC 44 Championship tour, with the next tour stop April 29 - May 4 on Lake Traunsee in Gmunden, Austria. -- Class website: http://www.rc44.com/en * Rhode Island state leaders have established an America’s Cup 2013 Planning Committee to create a pitch to lure the America’s Cup challenge back to Rhode Island. The governor’s office along with Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed and House Speaker Gordon D. Fox, announced Friday that it has formed the committee, to be coordinated through the Economic Development Corporation. -- Providence Journal, read on: http://tinyurl.com/ygjqlec * The Volvo Ocean Race will continue to introduce the new route for 2011-12 on March 1st and March 3rd, with press releases being issued at 1200 GMT/1300 CET and 1100 GMT/1200 CET respectively. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.com * New York, NY (Feb. 26, 2010) - Neither rain nor sleet nor snow, all of which had combined to cancel flights and delay trains in the Northeast, could deter Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) and Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) from getting to Manhattan today for their moment in the spotlight at US SAILING’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Awards ceremony. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/yb6zw9x * 3M announced its successful collaboration with BMW ORACLE Racing as an Official Supplier for the 33rd America’s Cup Match in Valencia, Spain. 3M supplied BMW ORACLE Racing with an experimental riblet film, custom manufactured for this unique high speed racing vessel. 3M Drag Reduction Riblet Film is based on the microreplication technology that 3M has utilized effectively in several industrial applications since Dennis Conner’s successful America’s Cup challenge in 1987. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/yg83y97 JK3 SAILING UPDATE - JK3 NAUTICAL ENTERPRISES Congratulations to J/160 “Salacia” for completing the 2010 PV race with the fastest elapsed time ever on the course for a J/160. “Salacia” will be joining J/160 “Avante” on their sail to the Galapagos Islands, then continuing on to the South Pacific and ultimately to Australia. With top speeds in the low 20’s, the PV race proves that the J/160 provides the perfect blend of racing and fast cruising. Congratulations also to J/145 Bad Pak for finishing 3rd in class in the PV Race. Contact JK3 to find the ultimate J/Boat for both cruising and racing. San Diego 619-224-6200, Newport Beach 949-675-8053, or http://www.jk3yachts.com 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 David Barrow: An amazing effort by Larry Ellison given the morphed America’s Cup event that happened eventually after years of court argument. A cause for celebration for USA getting the Cup back. But, let us not all have to be subject to seeing almost rabid celebration, and continuous condemnation of people who acted poorly and who will be dealt with . You won a technically brilliant but flawed Cup guys, celebrate when you turn it back into a good one with competition, fair play, and some style. Ugly events do not either promote or develop our sport. Effectively the rest of the world was not even interested in what happened; we disappeared into our own little world to the mild amusement of the public who merely move on, and look at other sports As was quoted in Scuttlebutt 3037, "Force always attracts men of low morality." - Albert Einstein. Let's hope the Cup does not go the same way! * From Ralph Taylor: Jim Champ asks (in Scuttlebutt 3037), regarding the SNG/Alinghi race committee, "..what sanction could ISAF impose that would be worse than what they've already brought down on themselves"{?} In one sense, their deeds and the public disgrace are their own penalties. For we competitors in future races, however, the issue arising from those deeds is not about punishing individuals or organizations. It is about whether ISAF has the muscle to discipline the sport and ensure fairness of competition. If ISAF cannot do so in such a high-profile setting, can it maintain credibility? It is ISAF itself which is now on trial. The issue goes to the foundation of the sport of sailing; a hearing must be held. It may find that there were other factors at work than stacking the competitive deck; perhaps, no sanctions will result. But, without the hearing, the public perceptions of cronyism and injustice stand and the sport is discredited. It is also possible that we need to amend rule 3 to include race officials, as well as competitors & boat owners, among those who accept being governed by the rules. * From Tim Mckeague: Concerning Scuttlebutt 3035- Wings Deemed Impractical for Future Competition, with David Hubbard. I would like to think that sense the wing is a logistical problem and could be posed as a reason for exclusion in the rules of a future AC race. You could pose the rule, requiring any wing have the ability to rotate 360 degrees when not racing. This would allow the boats to overcome significant logistical problems seen in the BMW Oracle Wing and could lead to practical daily use wings for other vessels. This would be a significant engineering challenge, but I would hate to see them excluded from future racing. * From Mal Emerson: I was amazed that you even published Ken Quant's letter (in Scuttlebutt 3036) yet pleased you followed it with the other point of view. The word "replace" itself has the connotation of removal to make room for something else. That's the last thing that sailing needs. I wonder why, in Kens own words, "Ask any non-sailor to name a sailing event and the answer will inevidably (sic) be the AC." Simple, because it is the most high profile sailing event. If Ken wants to promote another event that might surpass the AC; so be it but let's not promote eating our own. The 159 year history of the Cup can certainly make up for only, "6 seconds of coverage on Monday's Sports Center". Pathetic, yes, but not the fault of the Cup. AC 33 was an aberration. Some would say a wonderful aberration. A Deed of Gift match forced by one billionaire's attempt at total control of his defense of the Cup and another billionaire's determination not to let that happen. All many sailors see is the resulting litigation and the subsequent assembly and racing of two boats so different than what they are used to that they display an almost unnatural disdain for them. I suspect if there had been a little more foresight, a little less disdain for wealth, the courts and the boats; a little more awe on the part of the mainstream sailing community; AC 33 might well have been a media or even a financial success. As it was, in terms of technology, it was the most successful America's Cup since 1851 when the event got its name and the grand old mug many of us hold dear. * From Dan Mills: Larry Ellison has promised independent management and a level playing for the next edition of the Cup. Does this mean we'll see a return to defender trials as well? I hope so. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION “I feel it's most important to keep it real and enjoy each moment, you know, take advantage of every opportunity life provides, because who knows what tomorrow may bring." - Posted on Professional extreme skier C.R. Johnson’s MySpace page prior to his death last Wednesday where he fell and hit his head on a rock outcropping while taking a run down a steep chute at California's Squaw Valley. Special thanks to APS and JK3 Nautical Enterprises. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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