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Scuttlebutt Updates
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Archived NewslettersSCUTTLEBUTT 3048 - Monday, March 15, 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: Paul Buttrose Yachts and Summit Yachts. SKIPPER SWITCH AFTER ACCIDENT (March 14, 2010; Day 13) - After sustaining a fracture to his right leg on March 11th, Piers Dudin, Skipper of Hull & Humber in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, has been safely medevaced by the Japanese Coastguard. The 50 metre rescue vessel later rendezvoused with a larger vessel which then took the skipper by helicopter to the city of Sendai, approximately two hours north of Tokyo, where he now rests following a successful surgery on his broken leg. Reports from the boat suggest that a large wave hit the boat, causing the skipper to be swept down the deck which resulted in the injury. "Two of the crew were on the high side and got swept across the deck - one stopping by the helm station and the other at the starboard quarter, explained crew member Tom Salt. “Piers was on the low side of the helm station and was swept into the guard rail and then aft on top of the other crew member who was uninjured. We believe that Piers caught the side of his right leg around the forward starboard stanchion of the pushpit and the force of the water broke his shin.” Following the incident and as one of the nearest vessels, ‘Spirit of Australia’ was called upon to shadow ‘Hull & Humber’ as they headed west to rendezvous with the Japanese Coastguard. With conditions safe enough for a boat to boat transfer, skipper Brendan Hall moved on to ‘Hull & Humber’ to assist with the evacuation and has now taken charge as skipper. In the meantime, round the world crew member Bob Bell has been appointed acting skipper of ‘Spirit of Australia’ on account of his experience and qualifications. Both boats have rejoined the leg from Qingdao to San Francisco. Work on the replacement mast for ‘Team Finland’ continues, and providing everything goes according to plan, ‘Team Finland’ is expected to depart Qingdao by Tuesday evening. -- Event website: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com FINAL SEEDS STILL UP FOR GRABS Auckland, NZL (March 14, 2010; Day 6) - After being unable to race on Friday due to heavy, gusty winds, moderate to fresh conditions on Saturday was still sufficient to test the preparation of the teams. A collision between Britain’s TEAMORIGIN and the French team ALEPH earned the French boat a penalty, plus the loss of a point. Then in race three, Sweden’s Artemis conceded a healthy lead over Italy’s Azzurra when the spinnaker pole went over the side and they went trawling with the spinnaker. Conditions on Sunday were ideal for racing with almost flat water and a southerly breeze that ranged from 12 to 20 knots with some big shifts and puffs. PRO Peter Reggio’s race committee from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron got off four races with time to spare even after pauses for boat repairs and commercial shipping. Two more races remain for each team to complete the round robin to determine the seeding for later stages. Day 6 Match Results All4One, def. ALEPH, 01:06 Emirates Team New Zealand def. Azzurra, 00:42 TEAMORIGIN def. Synergy Russian Sailing team, 01:18 Mascalzone Latino Audi def Artemis, 01:03 Live streaming web coverage of the Louis Vuitton Trophy in Auckland is available on the event website. Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/yf984dy Provisional leaderboard after Flight Five: 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), skipper Dean Barker (NZL), 5-0, 5 pts 2. All4One (FRA/GER), skipper Jochen Schumann (GER), 3-2, 3 pts 2. Azzurra (ITA), skipper Francesco Bruni (ITA), 3-2, 3 pts 2. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (ITA), skipper Gavin Brady (NZL), 3-2, 3 pts 2. TEAMORIGIN (GBR), skipper Ben Ainslie (GBR), 3-2, 3 pts 6. Artemis (SWE), skipper Paul Cayard (USA), 2-3, 2 pts 7. ALEPH Sailing Team (FRA), skipper Bertrand Pace (FRA), 1-4, 0 pts* 8. Synergy Russian Sailing Team, skipper Karol Jablonski (POL), 0-5, 0 pts *Penalty point deducted Team lists: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/teams/EN/ BACKGROUND: The Louis Vuitton Trophy series is designed to be a cost-effective format for match racing competition in Version 5 America’s Cup Class boats. 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 March 21st. The 2010 series continues on to Sardinia (May 22-June 6) and Dubai (Nov. 13-28). AMERICA’S CUP COURSE RIB McMullen & Wing built several serious RIBs for use “on the race course” by America’s Cup syndicates during the challenges in Auckland. Rules dictated a maximum LOA of 13 meters and the syndicates demanded a sturdy RIB; docile for long towing at 10 knots yet capable of hauling a countless number of sails and crew rapidly to shore at 35 knots. An identical RIB was built for the KZ5 HISSAR program, albeit equipped with a modified double tube system. She has the best in electronics and instrumentation for wind readings and one season of running on two new Yamaha F250 4-stroke engines. FOR SALE, call Paul Buttrose 954-294-6962, http://www.paulbuttrose.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE “The motion of a Version 5 America’s Cup Class boat is not unlike to that of a bucking bronco, and when manoeuvring the boat feels as though the hull is swinging from under one. If this is not unsettling, the noise most certainly is. It comes with the full sound effects. These boats are highly stressed carbon fibre drums that amplify the strains imposed by the sheets and running backstays. At times it sounds as though the entire hull structure is about to collapse. There is little noise as sheets or runners are ground in, except the heavy breathing of the winch grinders, but when they are eased and the loaded sheets are straining to go round the stationary winch drums, the din is appalling.” -- Journalist Bob Fisher, from onboard TeamOrigin as 18th man, http://tinyurl.com/ygmrf3v THE CUP’S CORPORATE DEFENDER Bruno Trouble, yachting impresario, public relations genius and promoter of the world's most famous luggage, makes no secret of his hostility towards Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli. "I don't like him at all, Bertarelli," he says. "We have huge fight over the last two years. He has no respect for the America's Cup legend. He's just considering it is professional sport and a good way to make money." For Trouble, this yachting is not mere competition. Since 1983 he has masterminded one of the most enduring partnerships between sport and sponsor. It succeeds, he says, because the wealthy people who raced America's Cup yachts a century ago were clients of Louis Vuitton – and the same is true today. "We are not supporting a sport. We love the tradition." Hence his issues with Bertarelli. Louis Vuitton has invested a great deal in its association with the America's Cup – an association that would have much less value if the Cup turned into just another regatta, a waterborne version of Formula 1. The irony of a corporate sponsor sheltering a sporting event from commercial exploitation is not lost on Trouble. But in the luxury world, heritage and pedigree are worth more than anything Bertarelli can come up with. "For luxury products, image is everything. It's not the price." Indeed, Trouble feigns ignorance of how much Louis Vuitton spends on sponsorship. "To tell you whether it's 2% or 5% of the gross, or more, I don't know. We don't care. It's all about relationships and global thinking. Everyone ask why we invest in New Zealand, but we see the world picture," says Trouble. For all his apparent nonchalance with money, Trouble knows exactly why sponsorship is a good strategy and how much it's worth. "For luxury brands you're limited in terms of advertising," he says. And buying space in mass media is a waste of money – "you don't kill a moth with a bazooka" – so brand image is built through public relations. -- The Timaru Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/ykf99ef CITIES COMPETING FOR THE CUP * San Diego city and port officials think that San Diego and San Francisco could collaborate to ensure that the next America's Cup is held in California. A San Diego host committee was formed this past week to consider opportunities to host America's Cup teams for training, holding a Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta or even the 34th America's Cup if it isn't held in San Francisco. The BMW Oracle Racing syndicate tested its trimaran for 16 months in San Diego before relocating to Valencia late last year. San Diego has hosted the America's Cup in 1988, 1992 and 1995. -- AP, full story: http://tinyurl.com/yzgkksc * Newport Collaborative Architects Inc. has been chosen as the firm to prepare architectural renderings of marine facilities and assets as part of Rhode Island’s bid to have the America’s Cup races return to Newport in 2013. The contract provides for up to $20,000 in services, which includes drawings to be presented when Rhode Island representatives meet with Oracle CEO Lawrence Ellison, the leader of the BMW /Oracle sailing team, which captured the America’s Cup title in February. -- Providence Business News, full story: http://www.pbn.com/detail/48553.html CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON SUMMIT 40 Summit Yachts has announced the start of construction of the first of the new Summit 40’s. This new model will be an evolutionary advancement over the highly successful King 40. With a new keel, and rudder design by Mark Mills, we will incorporate lessons learned from over 100 successful races worldwide. The rig will be upgraded to an all carbon Southern Spars rig. Other subtle design changes will make this a better all around boat. The 40 is being built alongside the new Summit 35 in Florida, and will complete in time for its debut at the Newport International Boat Show. Check us out at http://www.summit-yachts.com FOR THE RECORD (Day 42 - March 14, 2010; 17:57 UTC) - Groupama 3 is finally benefiting from some favourable weather conditions in their bid to conquer the Jules Verne Trophy. However, skipper Franck Cammas remains cautious. "It's true that the forecasts are rather encouraging for the end of our trip,” explained Cammas. “However, it's also true that there is sometimes a discrepancy between the forecasts and the reality.” Current record holder Bruno Peyron and his crew on Orange 2 took 40d 19h 05' in 2005 to cross the equator a second time, but her final sprint to Ushant proved more laborious since Orange 2 beat the round the world record in a time of 50d 16h 20'. Franck Cammas and his nine crew crossed the equator Sunday at 11h 04' 53'' UTC, after 41 days 21 hours 09 minutes at sea. This equates to a deficit of 1d 02h 04' in relation to the reference time, with the ascent of the Atlantic shaping up to be pretty favourable for completing this Jules Verne Trophy record attempt. Now in the final phase between the switch of hemispheres and the island of Ushant some 3,350 miles ahead, Groupama 3 needs to cross the finish line off the island of Ushant before Tuesday, March 23rd at 0714 hours to break the record. -- Team website: http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en Current position as of March 14, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: -359.5 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 19.1 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 457.5 nm Distance to go: 3,135 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. BACARDI MIAMI SAILING WEEK Miami, FL (March 13, 2010) - Americans Rick Merriman and Phil Trinter controlled their destiny by winning the sixth and final day of Star Class sailing to cap their first ever BACARDI Cup. With strong gusty wind conditions puffing up to 24 knots on a clear sunny day, at least five Star Class masts were snapped off navigating strong winds including the contending Bermudian Peter Bromby. "We were right behind him (Bromby) until he broke his mast trying to jibe in one of the bigger puffs at the mark," explained Merriman. "Then the wind luckily backed off for us a little and we were able to survive the jibe and after that, we just focused on sailing conservatively." With wind becoming an increasing concern early in the afternoon, the decision was made to not hold an additional Star Class race to make-up Friday’s cancellation due to windy weather. The inaugural BACARDI Miami Sailing Week also saw Jeff Eckland take his boat Star to the top spot overall dominating the fifteen boat Melges 20 field, while Donald Wilson won out in the standings in the Melges 24 class. In the twenty boat Viper class, Lee Shuckerow won the Viper North American Championship. In other BACARDI Miami Sailing Week classes, J/24 standings were topped by Trish Walker. -- Event website: http://www.miamisailingweek.com Star Class - final results (top 5 of 84) 1. Rick Merriman/ Phil Trinter, USA, 4-2-(23)-2-1, 9 2. Peter O'Leary/ Stephen Milne, IRL, (15)-10-1-3-3, 17 3. Andy Horton/ James Lyne, USA. (8)-5-4-6-5, 20 pts 4. Richard Clarke/ Tyler Bjorn, CAN, (85/BFD)-7-7-5-2, 21 5. Diego Negri/ Nando Colaninno, ITA, 13-(20)-12-1-6, 32 Complete results: http://www.miamisailingweek.com/results.html Star photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0314a/ Viper photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0314b/ Melges photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0314c/ PUMA MOTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Dubai, UAE (March 14, 2010) - Simon Payne (GBR) parlayed his three seconds in mostly light winds on the penultimate day of the Puma Moth World Championship, and then managed the scoreboard today to win the 2010 title. Payne, along with second place finisher Andrew McDougall (AUS), were the two oldest competitors in the fleet (45 and 55, respectively). With Payne leading the fleet going into the final day, the fleet saw the biggest breeze of the event. Two races were on the schedule, and after Payne opened the day with a 14th, the gap narrowed for Brad Funk (USA) or Mach 2 designer McDougall (AUS) to make something happen in the final race. Noted Payne, “When it dawned on me that I hadn't actually won, I put the hammer down.” In a steady 10 knots of breeze, Payne was able to stay in the top five, clinching the 2010 PUMA Moth World Championship. McDougall, who led the event for the first two days, took a bullet in the final race to be even on points with Funk, winning the tie breaker for second overall. After struggling on Saturday, 2009 World Champion Bora Gulari closed with his best day of the event (1-2) to finish sixth overall. Final results (top 6 of 43) 1. GBR, Simon Payne 5-2-1-(41)-3-4-3-1-3-2-2-2-(10)-5, 33 2. AUS, Andrew McDougall, 1-1-(11)-2-(13)-8-11-2-1-4-1-4-6-1, 42 3. USA, Brad Funk, 3-(11)-10-1-1-3-2-5-5-1-(13)-1-3-7, 42 4. SUI, Arnaud Psarofaghis, (17)-9-3-3-2-6-1-3-2-6-(17)-15-5-3, 58 5. USA, Dalton Bergan, 10-(20)-4-4-4-1-4-8-6-5-7-(14)-2-4, 59 6. USA, Bora Gulari, 12-10-2-7-6-5-5-4-10-7-(16)-(20)-1-2, 71 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/y8f9qjl Thierry Martinez photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0314/ Raptor Sails commentary: http://www.raptorsails.com/news SAILING SHORTS * New Orleans, LA (March 14, 2010)- Greg Fisher secured a victory at the J/22 Midwinter Championship, beating his closest competition by 10 points. Sailing with wife Jo Ann, daughter Martha and Jeff Eiber, the team sealed the standings with a bullet in Sunday’s first race. They finished with 29 points, followed by John Loe (39), Max/Jake Scott (64), Chris Doyle and Glenn Darden (tied with 67). -- Daily reports: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9408 * The Lightning Southern Circuit is underway, consisting of three regattas endorsed by the International Lightning Class Association: the Deep South Regatta at the Savannah Yacht Club, Savannah, GA (March 13-14), the Miami Midwinter Regatta at the Coral Reef Yacht Club, Coral Gables, FL (March 16-17) and the Winter Championship at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, St. Petersburg, FL (March 19-21). The 30-boat Savannah event is in the books, where David Stark edged out Marcus Eagan with Ed Adams in third. Updates from the Lightning Southern Circuit will be posted in the Scuttlebutt Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9393 * The Volvo Ocean Race will continue to introduce the new route for 2011-12 on Monday 15 March. A press release will be issued at 0700 GMT, 0800 CET on that day. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.com/ 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 Rich Jeffries, Secretary General, Pan American Sailing Federation: I am glad to see the attention and excitement being generated by the sailing in Banderas Bay. The next Pan Am Games (Oct. 2011) will be in Guadalajara, Mexico and the sailing will take place in Bandaras Bay, Nueve Vallarta. The Pan Am Games are the largest multisport event in the World after the Olympics and give our sailors, from Canada to Chile, including all of the Caribbean, a chance to be more then sailors; they become 'Athletes'. Ralph Nelles, President of the Mexican Sailing Federation and all of the local volunteers are doing a great job! Gracias mi Amigos * From Laurence Mead: I can’t believe how often this one comes up. For everyone who decries the pros in our sport I think there are 10 more who like the fact that in this sport we can play alongside the "Tigers" of this world...OK, maybe I should have said compete alongside! If you want to race Russell Coutts, the best sailor of his (this) generation by a mile, you can race Farr 40's against him (or pay him and sail with him - how cool is that!) or if you want to race good guys but not too many pro's come sail Etchells, and if you want to race at less serious levels there is EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING down to the non-spinnaker classes and Wednesday night beer can racing....Please, let's not pick on the Pro sailors or the structure of our sport as the reason it's not on TV, not growing, or not "cool". There are loads of reasons but pros aren't one of them. -- Forum, http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9417#9417 * From Jamie Leopold: I recently had the distinct pleasure to see Rich Wilson's (of Marblehead) presentation about his participation in the 2008-9 Vendée Globe race. It was an inspiring and great heartfelt tale of adventure, camaraderie, commitment, endurance, and of course, the sea and the elements! For those who are not familiar with and Rich, and the Vendée Globe race, the race is the non-stop, singlehanded, 'round the world race. Thirty boats started, 11 finished, and the 59 year old Rich (the only American participating) finished 9th sailing a boat that was built in 2000. If any sailing group or organization is looking for a great inspirational speaker with a multimedia presentation...look no further, Rich is your guy. You can learn more about Rich and his adventures at: http://vg.sitesalive.com/ CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION "Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours." - Yogi Berra Special thanks to Paul Buttrose Yachts and Summit Yachts. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
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