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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 3042 - Friday, March 5, 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: North U and Team McLube. FIRE DESTROYS SAILING CENTER By Diana Weidenbacker, Head Coach, UNH Sailing Team On Wednesday March 3, 2010, the University of New Hampshire Sailing Centre burned to the ground. There were no injuries, but over 55 boats, motors, tools, etc. were totally lost to the tune of over $500,000. The Sailing Centre is home to the UNH Sailing Team (currently ranked 16th in NEISA), a combined Junior/Senior High School Sailing Team, and the UNH Community Sailing Centre, a summer program, which serves youth ages 6 to adulthood and a junior racing team as well. The fire is still under investigation, but suffice it to say that the Sailing Centre has no electricity nor were there any other acts of nature at that time. The team is a club team and as such raises almost every penny for boats, equipment, regatta travel, coach’s salaries and so forth. The sailors maintain all the boats, build the docks and essentially develop an ongoing deep sense of pride, commitment and leadership by being members of the UNH Sailing Team. We are extremely saddened by our loss but are grateful for the many emails, phone calls and offers of support. This team will not be shut down. We will rebuild the centre, acquire boats and become stronger through adversity. Hopefully through the support of the greater community of sailing that process will happen sooner than later. We open our spring season this weekend at the Thames River Team Race. -- Team website: http://www.unh.edu/sailing-club/ NEW BREED OF TEAMS EMERGE FOR NEXT AMERICA’S CUP Meet the new names of America's Cup class sailing. With new-look syndicates lining up in next week's Louis Vuitton Trophy in Auckland, the two-week regatta makes for a fascinating contest. Of the eight teams competing in the second round of the newly established world tour, only two, including Emirates Team New Zealand, raced in the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series last year. The Pacific Series became a world series when a global circuit kicked off in Nice last year - when Italian syndicate Azzurra surprisingly beat Team New Zealand in the final. Among those missing from last year's flagship event are Luna Rossa, Team Shosholoza, China Team, Damiani Italia and Greek Challenge. The timing of next week's regatta meant the "big two" glamour syndicates - BMW Oracle and Alinghi - also haven't returned, with much of their focus over the past 12 months being on the just-completed Deed of Gift match in Valencia. Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton, who is one of the founding members of the World Sailing Teams Association - the entity established to run the events - admits he is disappointed not to have the new Cup holders and Alinghi competing in Auckland this month. "We'd love to have Oracle here but they'd be unlikely to perform all that well because their focus ... has been on Valencia. It's takes a while to change disciplines, get your team together and re-grow," said Dalton. "Who knows what the future for Alinghi is? Probably they don't even know right now." While Dalton has a frosty relationship with the Swiss syndicate, he said he would "absolutely" welcome their inclusion in the Louis Vuitton series for future events. In the absence of the big-name syndicates that have dominated the headlines over the last few years, the spotlight in Auckland will fall on the new breed of teams that have kicked in to life now some certainty to the America's Cup has been restored. -- NZ Herald, read on: http://tinyurl.com/yddz5oj FAST SAILS ARE REQUIRED But fast sails alone are not sufficient. The path to victory in 2010 includes a North U TRIM Seminar where you learn to control and balance power for better upwind performance, trim your spinnaker (A or S) to run faster and deeper, and how to set, jibe, and douse like a pro, all in one day; plus you’ll take home the NorthU TRIM Seminar-on-CD for review and home study. All for about $100. US Sailing member discounts. Coming soon to 12 more towns. Visit http://www.northu.com or call 800-347-2457 for full info and schedule. MORE THAN A DREAM? It was Walt Disney, the ultimate dreamer, who said, “All Dreams Can Come True, if we have the courage to pursue them.” For the SpeedDream team, their dream is to create the fastest monohull on the planet, capable of competing on equal terms with the record-setting multihulls. Here is an update: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "If everything comes together as anticipated our revolutionary boat will be capable of reaching and maintaining unprecedented openocean speeds," says project leader Vlad Murnikov. Murnikov is confident that many new records will be set in open ocean conditions including the fastest transatlantic crossing as well as the fastest nonstop global circumnavigation.” “For decades catamarans and trimarans have proven themselves to be the fastest boats under sail," says Murnikov. "All this time these multihulls have enjoyed unrestricted development leaving their designers free to explore every possible recipe for speed. Monohull development, on the other hand, has always been governed by strict class rules which puts a big damper on single-hull performance capabilities. “Advancements in modern technology and design make it possible to produce a monohull with a comparable weight and righting moment of a multihull while taking full advantage of the drag reduction of a high-speed planing hull,” says Murnikov. “Our preliminary estimates show that the SpeedDream concept would result in a monohull capable of reaching speed in excess of 50 knots and maintaining an average speed on par with the fastest multihulls. Creating the world’s fastest monohull questions the status quo and shatters existing stereotypes of high performance sailing, while adding a new level of excitement to the never-ending quest for speed.” Complete report with 3D renderings by Tyler Doyle of Doyle Sailmaker: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/0304/ * CLOSER TO FULFILLMENT: The team behind the 60-feet Hydroptère trimaran, which has beaten two world speed records at an average speed of over 50 knots in 2009 in the Mediterranean, seeks now to extend the limits of the project and has planned to develop two new boats, with the ultimate objective of sailing around the world in approximately 40 days on l'Hydroptère maxi. To reach this objective, the team will build on a reduced scale a test model called l'Hydroptère.ch. This will serve as a lab boat whose main purpose is to test geometries and behaviours in varied real conditions for the development of l’Hydroptère maxi. l'Hydroptère.ch should be launched for testing in the Mediterranean by early summer 2010. -- Details: http://www.hydroptere.com/_en/actu_detail.php?id_actu=59#centre SUNSHINE, STRONG WINDS AND THREE GREAT RACES Miami Beach, FL (March 4, 2010) - It was an action-packed and often-times thrilling afternoon off South Beach as strong and shifty winds challenged skippers and crews on the opening day of the 2010 Miami Grand Prix. Principal race officer Dave Brennan completed three races in northwest winds that averaged 15-18 knots but gusted to 25 at times. Regular shifts ranging as significant as 40 degrees kept tacticians on their toes as staying on the proper side of the course proved crucial. “It was quite shifty and the positions changes were huge,” said Dick Neville, who is serving as Brennan’s right-hand man aboard the committee boat. “That being said, it was still a very good day for sailboat racing. We had plenty of wind and lots of excitement. It was a fun day on the water.” -- Full report: http://www.premiere-racing.com/miami10/pages/MGP10_news.htm Class leaders after three races IRC (6 Boats) 1. Gold Digger II, J/44, James Bishop, Jamestown, RI, USA, 2-3-1= 6 2. Vitesse, Swan 42, Jon Halbert, Dallas, TX, USA, 5-2-2= 9 3. Gumption, J/105, Kevin Grainger, Rye, NY, USA, 6-1-4=11 Farr 40 (10 Boats) 1. Nerone, Massimo Mezzaroma, Punta Ala, ITA, 1-6-1=8 2. Barking Mad, James Richardson, Newport, RI, USA, 5-4-2=11 3. Fiamma, Allesandro Barnaba, Rome, ITA, 3-2-7=12 Melges 32 (23 Boats) 1. Teasing Machine, Jean Francois Cruette, La Rochelle, FRA, 5-1-1=7 2. Red, Joe Woods, Torquay, GBR, 2-10-4=16 3. Bliksem, Pieter Taselaar, NYYC, NY, 1-2-14=17 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/y8kywzd FOR THE RECORD (Day 33 - March 4, 2010; 20:32 UTC) - While Cape Horn certainly deserves its reputation, the situation offshore of this boundary today for the Groupama 3 team doesn't quite measure up to its legend! Indeed, skipper Franck Cammas and his nine crew are coming into sight of the coast of Chile with just a dozen knots or so of N'ly breeze after 32 days at sea, forcing them to pass a long way offshore of the extreme tip of South America. Furthermore, the headwinds, which have settled over Drake's Passage, have dramatically slowed the giant trimaran's progress. Indicated skipper Franck Cammas, “This is always a complicated sector: difficult for the boat, difficult for the men and a little dangerous too... It's the end of the Southern Ocean and the start of the Atlantic." On rounding Cape Horn at 1830 UTC this Thursday, March 4th, the rather peculiar conditions, which have been reigning over the Pacific, have not enabled Groupama 3 to beat the WSSRC record for traversing the largest ocean in the world. And even though Groupama 3 is still a few miles ahead of the reference time right now, she is set to lose the majority of this advantage over the coming days. The headwinds reigning over the East coast of Patagonia will make a serious dent in the giant trimaran's capital. However, there is still 7,000 miles to go before they reach the finish line off Ushant, a route where Bruno Peyron and his crew took over eighteen days to climb up the Atlantic. Back in 2005 the champion Jules Verne Trophy catamaran had a superb climb to the equator (8d 05h 36'), but she struggled to make Ushant once she got into the northern hemisphere (9d 11h 15'). As such Groupama 3 is still on track to improve on the round the world record: fifty days is still within grasp. -- Team website: http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en Current position as of March 4, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: +124.8 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 16.9 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 405.6 nm Distance to go: 7,137 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. * Banque Populaire V, which had beat Groupama 3 last August in their attempt to set a new northern transatlantic crossing record, has also had their eye on setting a new Jules Verne Trophy record. Since mid-November 2009, Pascal Bidegorry and his team have been looking at every weather opportunity but had not found the proper conditions. The team has now decided to reschedule their crewed round the world attempt to fall 2010. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/ye5mulx FAST SAILS ARE REQUIRED But fast sails alone are not sufficient. The path to victory in 2010 includes a North U TRIM Seminar where you learn to control and balance power for better upwind performance, trim your spinnaker (A or S) to run faster and deeper, and how to set, jibe, and douse like a pro, all in one day; plus you’ll take home the NorthU TRIM Seminar-on-CD for review and home study. All for about $100. US Sailing member discounts. Coming soon to 12 more towns. Visit http://www.northu.com or call 800-347-2457 for full info and schedule. WISCONSIN SELECTED FOR ISAF NATIONS CUP The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has announced the selection of Sheboygan, in Wisconsin, USA as host venue for the Grand Final of the 2011 ISAF Nations Cup. The US SAILING Center Sheboygan will host the Grand Final of the sixth edition of the ISAF Nations Cup from September 13-18, 2011. Competition will be held on Lake Michigan in the Sonar (with a crew of three) for the men’s event and the Elliott 6m (with a crew of three) for the women’s event. The ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final is the culmination of an 18-month competition staged over a series of Regional Finals held across the globe to find the world’s top match racing nation in both men’s and women’s events. The venues, dates and country allocations for the Regional Finals of the 2011 ISAF Nations Cup will be announced later this month. Busan, Korea; Chicago, USA; Gdynia, Poland; and Sheboygan, USA all submitted bids to host the 2011 ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final, with the final decision made by the ISAF Match Racing Committee based upon the recommendation of the Nations Cup Working Party. -- Full story: http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/news/31895.php SAILING SHORTS * (March 4, 2010) - Winds gusting over 25 knots and big windshifts forced an early end to the second day of racing in the Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta today. Two flights were completed before race officials sent the yachts off the race track, with Britain’s Ben Ainslie strengthening his hold on the leaderboard. Ainslie is alone at the top of the leaderboard on 8-2, with three teams, Dean Barker of Emirates Team New Zealand, world match race champion Adam Minoprio and Polish ace Karol Jablonski on 6-4. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9339#9339 * (March 4, 2010; Day 3) - It would be fair to say there’s never a dull moment racing through the Yellow Sea for the nine teams on the 5,680-mile leg from Qingdao to San Francisco in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. Edinburgh Inspiring Capital’s skipper, Matt Pike, sums it up, saying, “It’s been the coldest blackest night yet. The wind built and so we worked our way up through the sail wardrobe and pushed our way around endless tankers and container ships, before finally finding our way into a circle of fishing boats.” -- Read on: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/race_news/?item=1603 * Puerto Vallarta, MEX (March 4, 2010) - After six races completed at the 2010 North American Kiteboard Racing Continentals, Sean Farley (MEX) has taken the lead in the mens fleet ahead of Adam Koch (USA) and Bruno Sroka (FRA), only 3 points behind. Steph Bridge (GBR) is now clearly leading the womens fleet after 3 consecutive bullets in the races 4-6, followed by Melissa Gil and Sandy Parker, both USA. -- Details: http://tinyurl.com/ybymask * The Notice of Race for the 46th running of the Transpac Race, beginning July 4th, 2011, is now online. The 2225-mile Transpac, extending from San Pedro, California to Honolulu, Hawaii, is the oldest and longest enduring ocean race in the world. The Transpacific Yacht Club is seeking a diverse fleet of boats between 30 and 100 feet long, with new changes to allow Satphones and not require Celestial. -- Details: http://tinyurl.com/yd335em * A sailing director in Fort Myers (Florida) has been charged with providing obscene materials to one of his students. On February 26, deputies with the Lee County Sheriff's Office say they were notified of a possible sexual crime involving a teacher/instructor and student in Fort Myers. Investigators learned the juvenile female victim had been receiving several sexually explicit letters and written materials from her sailing coach, identified as 58-year-old Steve Olive – the sailing instructor and Executive Director of the Edison Sailing School, located at 20000 W. First Street, Fort Myers. -- Full story: http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=12086244 PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include Auckland action, New York bling, mistakes will happen, growing trends, superyacht cocktail hour, hungry spinnaker, and pajama crew uniforms. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0305/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK With winter approaching the end of its annual grip of North America, it is better late than never to pay homage to those that relish the arctic air and frozen water - the ice sailors. From iceboarding on Lake Wequaquet in Massachusetts, to iceboating on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, three videos this week will provide every possible exciting sensation of ice sailing without freezing off your cajones. Music ranges from The Who to Queens of the Stone Age. You can tell it's been a long winter based on the high production quality of these videos by Jeff Brown. Enjoy: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/10/0305/ SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.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 Paul Newell, Isle of Wight: The observations by Geoffrey Emanuel (in Scuttlebutt 3041) are so true. I've been sailing a fractional rigged half tonner with the family for the last 20 years with six head sails and three spinnakers to choose from, runners and check stays to play with and up to 27 ropes coming into the cockpit plus all the maintenance to be done. None of which I mind, but we were recently given a very old and incomplete Tornado cat. After some time putting it back together with a new trampoline and some cheap second hand sails, we went sailing. The delight from the family was extraordinary. Apart from the speed of the beast, which everyone loves, the simplicity of the rig means that maximum fun can be had with so much less effort than the half tonner and without all the fuss. We still have the half tonner but the Tornado has become one of the family too and we'll continue to enjoy both with equal measure. * From Dean Dietrich, Tiburon, CA: Regarding Geoffrey Emanuel's discovery of simple sailing in his Capri 22 (in Scuttlebutt 3041), welcome to sailing Valhalla. I purchased an Alerion Express 28 several years ago after racing my J/105, Blackhawk, for 9 years in San Francisco Bay. The sloop rigged vessel comes with a Hoyt boom that makes the jib self-tending and makes wing 'n wing sailing as easy as upwind tacking. I've actually raced single-handed in a one-design fleet and the only handicap was having to open my own beer cans. I call it a "geezer boat" for obvious reasons but it has extended my sailing shelf life for a few years. * From Ron Baerwitz (Re: pro sailing thread this week) I completely agree with Jim Champ (great sailing name too!). I welcome all pro and non-pro on the course. What I do dislike is the rock star jumping into the major regatta of a OD he/she never supported. Most classes have rules against that of course. Jeff Linton is a great example of a "full time" sailor who constantly kicks our asses in the Flying Scot class. But he supports that class and others. I'm jumping for joy when I can cross a tack ahead of him. Ask him. It happened once. Also, what came first, the pro sailors great skills or his pro status. Meaning, a sailor turns pro because he/she is good. They don't suddenly become good because they went to work for a sail maker or boat builder. Why should they be deemed different just because they are taking what they are good at and love and making a living of it? Finally, there is near zero professional sailing. There are plenty of rock stars paid a lot of money by rich fellows who will buy themselves glory. But that is far less job security that I'd accept. Bring em on! * From Clark Chapin: I’m of two minds about whether BMW Oracle should continue its lawsuits against SNG and Alinghi. On the one hand, I would like to see the Cup move beyond the 33rd Match as quickly as possible, but on the other hand there are reasons to go forward as well. On the Constructed in Country issue, even if future Cups are governed by mutual consent, perhaps it would be good to have a ruling as to whether or not sails are part of the boat. After all, another Deed of Gift match is not impossible. On the Breach of Fiduciary Duty issue, after hearing a lot of the discussion and Cory’s comments, my conclusion is: Lacking any sort of remorse or apology, the next time Ernesto will be just as evil and might not be so stupid. The Cup couldn’t afford that. * From David Redfern: (re, letter in Scuttlebutt 3041) On a square rigger I was involved with, we discussed this matter with the naval architect (Colin Mudie) in particular with reference to the 'Marques' disaster during the Tall Ships race in 1984 and whilst we used modern line and sails, he looked at building in weak points in the lines that would give, if there was a sudden squall strain. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk. Special thanks to North U and Team McLube. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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