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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 3043 - Monday, March 8, 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: Holmatro and New England Ropes. UNH BOATHOUSE FIRE RULED ARSON Members of the University of New Hampshire sailing team barely had to time to grapple with the total loss of their equipment and boats in a Wednesday night fire before learning the fire was arson. "Why would anybody do this to us?" Former Boat Manager Gregg Griffin said following a news conference Friday morning. "We haven't done anything to anybody and we are doing a good thing for the community." The state fire marshal's office officially confirmed Friday morning that arson was the cause of the fire at the closed-up boathouse off Route 4 near Mendum's Pond in Barrington, reaffirming the suspicions of the handful of team members that were on scene at the fire. "We knew there wasn't power and we knew we did all of the precautions," Griffin said. The blaze destroyed 55 boats, five motors, three launches, trailers and additional equipment - totaling a complete loss for both the sailing team, the UNH Community Sailing Program, a summer program for youths between 6 years old and 18 years old, and a combined junior and senior high school sailing team. The damage is estimated to exceed $500,000, university spokesman Erika Mantz said. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/ybk6zml * DONATIONS: To help expedite donations, Scuttlebutt has established an account that will be accepting funds this week. Use this link to submit your donation by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or PayPal: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/store/ * PURCHASES: Z Blok sunblock will donate $1 to the UNH Sailing Team for each tube of Z Blok sold on-line in the month of March. This donation includes all sales retroactively since March 1. -- Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9347 SOUTH BEACH DELIVERS Miami Beach, FL (March 7, 2010) - The four day Miami Grand Prix had no trouble completing the 10-race series as winds rarely dropped below 10 knots and often reached the upper teens, without a single protest among the championship caliber competition. Skipper Jean-Francois Cruette and his crew on Teasing Machine displayed tremendous consistency to capture the Melges 32 championship. It was French team’s first regatta title since joining the popular sport boat class a year ago. Teasing Machine took first place in four of 10 races and held off strong closing charges by Full Throttle and Star top a talent-laden fleet of 23 Melges 32s. Owner Helmut Jahn and the boys on Flash Gordon also made a bit of a breakthrough by capturing the Farr 40 class by a mere point over the Italian entry Nerone. It marked the first victory in an international regatta for the Chicago-based syndicate, which previously won the Farr 40 North American Championship that had no foreign entries. Skipper Jim Bishop completed a wire-to-wire win in IRC class with a first and a second in Sunday’s two races. The Rhode Island skipper steered his 20-year-old J/44 to victory in five races and finished no worse than second in totaling 19 points. Decision, a TP52 owned by Stephen Murray of New Orleans, closed the regatta with a bullet and overtook the J/125 Stark Raving Mad (James Madden, Oyster Bay, N.Y.) for second. -- Full report: http://www.premiere-racing.com/miami10/pages/MGP10_news.htm Final Results IRC (6 Boats) 1. Gold Digger II, James Bishop Jamestown, RI, 2-3-1-3-1-4-1-1-1-2, 19 2. Decision, Stephen Murray, New Orleans, LA, 1-6-6-1-4-2-5-3-3-1, 32 3. Stark Raving Mad, James Madden, Oyster Bay, NY, 4-5-3-2-3-6-3-2-5-5, 38 Farr 40 (10 Boats) 1. Flash Gordon, Helmut Jahn, Chicago, IL, 4-1-9-2-4-4-1-6-1-5, 37 2. Nerone Massimo, ITA, 1-6-1-7-10-2-7-1-2-1, 38 3. Goombay Smash, William Douglass, Newport, RI, 6-3-4-1-9-1-3-3-5-6, 41 Melges 32 (23 Boats) 1. Teasing Machine, JeanFran.Cruette, FRA, 5-1-1-10-9-1-1-10-11-6, 44 2. Full Throttle, John Porter, Lake Geneva, WI, 12-5-5-1-12-5-12-5-4-1, 50 3. Star, Jeff Ecklund, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 4-4-19-3-1-17-5-11-2-3, 50 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/y8kywzd Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0307/ HOLMATRO WORLDWIDE SERVICE NETWORK EXPANDS You deserve the best possible information and service when it comes to the selection, use and maintenance of your marine equipment. To insure knowledgeable and convenient service and sales, Holmatro has an ever-expanding network of Dealers and Authorized Service Centers whose employees are factory trained in the latest equipment, tools and service techniques. In the last month, two training sessions were completed; one at Holmatro headquarters in the Netherlands and another at Holmatro’s facility in Maryland. Manufacturing the best products possible and providing outstanding customer service are our primary concerns and the key to our success. http://www.holmatro.com/marine TEACHER BEATS STUDENT (March 6, 2010) - The best was definitely left to last in the Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta, which saw Dean Barker of Emirates Team New Zealand overcome a scratchy beginning to the regatta to beat British Team Origin skipper Ben Ainslie in an enthralling final. Ainslie was the big performer in the round robins, losing just two matches, while Barker struggled and at one stage looked unlikely to make the final four. However, their fortunes reversed when the second round robin could not be completed, bringing into play a countback system, which saw Barker advance. “We scraped into the semi-final on a countback, much to our surprise,” admitted Barker. “We had the boat packed up and we were not really expecting to be still racing. For once the tie-breaker worked in our favour.” Once into the sharp end of the action, Barker and his Emirates Team New Zealand crew shook off their earlier lack of form and came out with all guns blazing, first defeating Adam Minoprio and his young BlackMatch team 2-0 in the semi-final and then defeating Ainslie by the same score. Ainslie said he was pleased with the way he and his crew had sailed, but were disappointed with the final, “But that is the game,” he said. “Dean Barker sailed really well in the last couple of hours.” -- Full story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9353#9353 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Interesting to note that Ainslie’s apprenticeship as a match race helm came during the Emirates Team New Zealand’s campaign for the 32nd America’s Cup, where Ainslie was the B skipper to Barker. Now with Team Origin, Ainslie will get another chance at Barker next week when these two teams join six other syndicates at the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Auckland. Racing starts Tuesday, 9th March. Teams will take turns on the two Emirates Team New Zealand yachts NZL 84 and NZL 92 that have been fitted out, optimized and rigged after a year in storage. They will race four matches a day to complete a round robin seeding series before a ladder elimination culminating in the finals on Sunday, 21st March. -- Event website: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/lvtrophy/auckland_presentation WE CAME, WE SAILED, MEXICO DELIVERED By Kimball Livingston, yachting journalist Regata Copa México is important because it is not. That is, whether it was the MEXORC series for big boats just completed or the J/24 racing soon to be under way on Bahia de Banderas, there is nothing here to re-chart the course of boat design or competitive technique. What we have instead is an example of just how fine sailing can be, for the sake of bringing family and friends together simply in the name of sailing, and I submit to you that this is good. In Mexico there is no conversation about “Saving Sailing.” The 15 boats up from Acapulco are sailed by family teams. That’s the way they do it. And I keep hearing people around me remarking “world-class event” which is exactly what the organizers set out to achieve in the Edición Nextel Bicentenario. And - I guess you had to be here to fully appreciate the accomplishment of Olympic Laser sailor Tania Elias, sailing her Laser from Cabo to the mainland as one component of Regata Copa México. To see the tired in her walk and the light in her eyes. Sure, it’s a silly stunt on the one hand, but she had escort, and despite the escort she packed her own food and water, “rested” only on the Laser, and completed a 65-hour journey - 300 miles through the water - entirely on her own. Think ambition, guts, and a sincere desire to attract attention and encourage people to come on down and train with her for the 2011 Pan Am Games on Bahia de Banderas. The standing, shouting ovation Tania Elias received in the MEXORC tent required no prompting. The winning MEXORC entry, Flojito y Cooperando, wasn’t purchased because owner Bernardo Mincow was heavily into sailing, rather because he had family members addicted to the game. The boat is a Farr 40 that was raced in the class worlds on San Francisco Bay in 2004 and then sold into the Farr 40 diaspora (which may be coalescing in Acapulco; more on that later). Lorenzo Berho’s Kernan 68, Peligroso - winner of the San Diego-Puerto Vallarta Race - did not figure in the MEXORC standings but continued as a platform for training promising young Mexican sailors for offshore competition, which was Berho’s goal when he bought the boat last year. And let’s slip it in here that the president of Mexico sails boats and has directed his Navy to buy boats and train enlisted (yes, enlisted) men to sail. Look beyond the headlines about the horrific “drug wars” (which are a consequence of stupid American laws, but let’s talk politics later) and Mexico is happening, baby. -- Read on: http://kimballlivingston.com/?p=2178 FOR THE RECORD (Day 36 - March 7, 2010; 16:45 UTC) - After rounding Cape Horn on Thursday (1830 UTC), Groupama 3’s ascent of the Southern Atlantic has seen her though slowly hemorrhaging miles to the Jules Verne Trophy champion as skipper Franck Cammas and his team find themselves sailing in less than ideal conditions. "We haven't tacked for a very long time and, from this evening, we'll be making two or three changes of tack to gently make headway to the North,” noted bowman Jacques Caraes. “It’s at that point that we'll lose the greatest distance in relation to Orange 2, but we're left with no other alternative if we are to locate a system which is more favourable to our progress. The fact that things are very tight as regards the record time is highly motivating and we know we've got a real battle on our hands. Since rounding the Cape, Groupama 3 has lost over 300 miles to the reference time, which in 2005 saw Orange 2 have a superb climb to the equator (8d 05h 36'), but then struggled to make the Ushant, France finish 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 7, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: -205.2 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 15.8 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 379.3 nm Distance to go: 5,850 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. INTRODUCING JUNIOR SAILORS TO OFFSHORE SAILING Junior sailors from Narragansett Bay and the surrounding region will be able to extend their summer sailing season this year by 150 miles. The Organizing Committee of the Ida Lewis Distance Race has announced the introduction of its Youth Challenge--aimed specifically at introducing junior sailors to offshore sailing--for this year's sixth edition of the race, scheduled to start on Friday, August, 20, 2010. Regional yacht clubs and sailing organizations are invited to field youth-crewed teams on the 150 nm mile course that is offered for PHRF classes. (The other course, reserved for IRC classes, is 177 nm.) "The idea of the Ida Lewis Distance Race Youth Challenge is to give junior programs an incentive to organize teams and develop the skills necessary to succeed in a medium-distance overnight race," said Committee Member Joe Cooper, who is spearheading the effort. "We have already had various teams compete in the race with kids onboard, and we have recognized that because it is a manageable distance - not too long but not too short, either -- it lends itself to this." -- Read on: http://www.ildistancerace.org/2010/news_releases/2010_youth_challenge.htm HOT NEW PRODUCTS FOR 2010 New England Ropes, in partnership with DSM Dyneema, has introduced their latest innovation in fiber technology - DSM Dyneema SK90. Offering superior performance in stretch resistance as compared to traditional SK75 fibers, DSM Dyneema SK90 looks to be the perfect companion product to New England Ropes 2009 performance standout, Poly-Tec. -- http://www.neropes.com * Here is a video with Kevin Coughlin of New England Ropes where he demonstrates the tools available to select the right line, and provides details of their new Dyneema SK90: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XvAe9oomWI SAILING SHORTS * Dubai, UAE (March 7, 2010) - There are 44 entries for the PUMA 2010 International Moth Class World Championship, which begins Monday at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club. A mixed bag of conditions at the UAE National Championship on Friday and Saturday found local Chris Graham on top with Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI) in second and current World Champion Bora Gulari (USA) in third. -- Photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156608&id=82078958838 * St. Petersburg, FL (March 5, 2010) - Hailing from Annapolis, MD, Greg Fisher, JoAnn Fisher and Jeff Eiber dominated the 43 entrants at the Thistle Midwinter East, hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club. After the seven race no drop series, Fisher beat second place Jim Barnash, Nick Moreau, and Cody McCoun of Rochester, NY by eighteen points, with Erik Goethert, Kirsten Barton, and Caroline Gates of Belmont, MA in third. -- Final results: http://tinyurl.com/yc4pfuc * (March 7, 2010; Day 6) - The forecast headwinds have not yet materialised for the nine boats in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race on their 5,680-mile leg from Qingdao to San Francisco. Instead most of the teams on board the 68-foot ocean racing yachts are contending with spells of variable and light winds which are playing havoc with their speeds and ability to sail the course they want. However Spirit of Australia, on a more northerly course than the others, has been dealt a different hand, enabling them to pull out a 40nm lead over second place California with 4720nm remaining. -- Full report: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/race_news/?item=1616 * Puerto Vallarta, MEX (March 7, 2010) - Nine races were completed at the 2010 North American Kiteboard Racing Continentals, which saw Adam Koch (USA) walking away with the event victory and Steph Bridge (GBR) taking the womens title. All eyes are set now to the upcoming first PKRA tour stop in Thailand, and then the 2010 Course Racing World Championship for the end of April in Corpus Christi, Texas. -- Details: http://tinyurl.com/y9alllg * The Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC) will be hosting Race Cayman on 10th - 16th March 2010. This is the largest international sailing event ever to be held in Cayman and underpins the growth of sailing in Cayman and the development of young Caymanian sailors to an Olympic standard. Over 80 sailors are registered in the event with 17 countries represented from around the North American and Caribbean region and Europe, with the event to feature the Youth Olympic Games Regional Qualifier, the Byte CII North American Championship, and the CISC International Invitational J/22 Regatta. -- Full report: http://www.caribbeanracing.com/artman/publish/article_1190.shtml * On March 27-28, 2010, the Marine Trades Association of Maryland and the United States Naval Academy Sailing will host the 31st annual Annapolis Safety-at-Sea Seminar. Nationally presented by Cruising World magazine, Sailing World magazine, West Marine Products, US SAILING and Landfall Navigation, the Safety-at-Sea seminars are the most authoritative source on safe seamanship, heavy weather tactics, weather forecasting, communications and boat preparation. -- Details on all seminars here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9348 SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Ted Jones: (re. square rigger safety) With a fore-and-aft sailplan one eases or dumps the sheet or rounds up to minimize the affect of a knockdown. Square riggers do not have that option which makes it obligatory to have built-in weak points as was true in the glory days of sail. They lost sails, carried away spars, but the ships survived -- mostly. Building them too strong will, inevitably, end in disaster and often has: Pamir, Albatross, Pride of Baltimore, Marques; to name, off the top of my head, a few which will never be seen again. * From Eric Sorensen: Geoffry Emanuel (in Scuttlebutt 3041) has the same idea I have. Go down in size and complexity. I quit the big fast boats in the Seattle area after 35 years and started club racing my own Catalina 42 in 2005. The goal was to not be last in class. Good for party on as soon as one leaves the dock but still a lot of boat to deal with and leave us not forget.... slow and heavy with 10,000 lbs of cruising gear on board. Next will be a small dry launch boat. I would be interested in a forum that targets this sort of racing for old dudes. I am thinking of a Santana 20 which can be had full race and trailer for $7-8k. I will have to research this Capri 22. Is it the same as a Catalina 22? Less crew and way smaller loads! * From Ted Garman: Trust Scuttlebutt to provide an association between yacht racing and TV remote controls: less complexity - more satisfaction! More seriously, Mr. Emanuel’s comments about the benefits of a simplified approach to racing reminded me of one of the most helpful articles that I have ever read, “Think simple thoughts” by Ed Baird, published in the August, 1996 issue of Sailing World. I review it at least once a season and recommend it highly. (Article link: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/Think_Simple_Thoughts.pdf) => Curmudgeon’s Comment: This is a revealing thread in how people have simplified their sport so as to continue their passion for it. Do you have something to add? Post it here in the Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9341 * From John Alofsin, J World: Regardless of which side of the argument you favor, you have to keep in mind that the definition of a professional in sailing is completely different than ANY other sport, and is in my opinion part of the "problem" being discussed. I manage a sailing school that happens to teach racing as well as cruising and learn to sail. I do not teach myself and I haven't raced on a sailboat in many years. Despite the above, I am considered a professional. This is akin to the manager (not the teaching pro) of a golf course being deemed a golf pro because he is affiliated somehow with competitive golf. This is also like the president of Wilson tennis rackets being considered a pro despite never stepping on a tennis court. In EVERY other sport a pro is someone who collects prize money for winning or (sometimes) is paid directly for coaching. Even some paid coaches are not considered pros - the distinction is appropriately made between coaches and athletes. In sailing, those who are ALREADY good sailors gravitate to jobs in the industry. They should not be penalized just because they stitch sails, lay down carbon fiber or run a sailing school. Let's change the definition of a pro to match the rest of the sports world. There are very few people who are true pros in sailing, and I'm sure they will not be upset at being limited to certain competitions where they can earn a living. -- Forum thread: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9354#9354 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: John’s comment has to do with the ISAF Sailor Classification Code, which was discussed in the Forum in January: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8963 * From Theodor Beier: As time goes by it becomes more likely that ISAF will sweep the America’s Cup race committee mutiny under the rug which they are adept at. I don't expect anything will be done unless very heavy pressure is applied to ISAF as they have a very large rug. As part of the boat measurement team for the 1984 Olympics, I saw a fair amount of this type of sweeping. At that time, what we measurers considered to be letting cheaters off the hook, the ISAF people considered diplomacy. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION “You can observe a lot by just watching.” - Yogi Berra Special thanks to Holmatro and New England Ropes. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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