|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2245 – December 18, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). GUEST COMMENTARY (Last week, Laura Gainey, a volunteer crewmember aboard the training vessel and tall ship Picton Castle, was washed overboard while enroute from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to Grenada. Some readers questioned the safety standards onboard. Stephanie McMahon would like to provide her perspective.) I sailed on the "Picton Castle" for 3 weeks this past summer. Each of our bunks had a life jacket fully equipped in it. There were several life jacket storage areas throughout the ship. The captain of the ship has one of the highest licenses a captain can have. We spent several days going over safety, both before leaving port and in open water. I am attaching a picture of Laura on board and you will note that the gunwale is at the height of Laura's arm pit. There are some areas on the bow and in the stern where the "railing" is only waist high. There is no place on deck where I would imagine being washed overboard easily. This is a tall ship that does require climbing the rigging and for safety purposes we carried nothing that would catch in the rigging and cause us to fall. We also never went above carrying anything in our pockets that wasn't tied to us, so as not to drop things on the crew below. I have no idea where Laura was when she went over but I do know that the ship is a safe one and very well run. Yes, we should wear life jackets and my crew and I almost always have ours on (maybe not drifting while eating lunch). I did not wear a life jacket while working on the "Picton Castle", it was available to me but it was reasonable to think it wasn't necessary unless the ship was sinking or something similar. I imagine this was an unusual event (rogue wave) and that if the weather was so extreme life jackets might have been on. The president of one of the international tall ship organizations joined us this summer. 15 tall ships rendezvoused in the Great Lakes this summer as they do every year in various locations. Allot of people study safety on these ships and there are hundreds of years experience in running these ships. I trust that life jackets would always be on if it was prudent. I shall miss Laura. -- Photo: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/1215.jpg ANNA SHOULD WIN We asked the ‘buttheads who should be the next Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year awards among nominees Sally Barkow, Claire Dennis, Sarah Lihan, Paige Railey, and Anna Tunnicliffe. In an absolute landslide, it was Anna winning with 75% of the vote. Paige was next - can the ISAF 2006 Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award not also win her country’s award? As both are committed to the Laser Radial, it is possible to compare their head to head battles, where Paige beat Anna in five of nine encounters. However, Anna was more consistent through the year, and when all the boats that they competed against in these nine encounters are counted, Anna beat thirty-five more boats than Paige. Additionally, Anna beat Paige in the final event of the year: the US Sailing Olympic Pre-Trials. This contest will be a tough call for the Rolex voters next month. Here is the final tally: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/06/1213 ** VOTE FOR THE MEN: We will now ask the same question for the men – who should win the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award? The nominees are Bacardi Cup Champion John Dane (Gulfport, MS.); Thistle National Champion Greg Fisher (Annapolis, MD/ Columbus, OH); International-14 World Champion Howard Hamlin (Long Beach, CA.); Volvo Ocean Race winning navigator aboard ABN Amro One Stan Honey (Palo Alto, CA.); Star Kiel Week Champion Mark Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, FL.); and Audi Etchells World Champion Jud Smith (Marblehead, MA.). Place your vote here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/06/1217 MOLD MAKER (Sedro-Woolley) Quaint storefronts and a red-brick clock tower beckon mountain-bound tourists to stop in this small town. But a humming factory complex on the outskirts is what draws intense attention from manufacturers around the world. Strange, bulky objects sit in an industrial yard, many shrouded in white plastic wrap. These massive cylinders and half-pipes are monuments to one man's stubborn insistence that he can out-engineer almost anyone. Peter Janicki, third-generation scion of a pioneer logging family, is founder and chief executive of fast-growing Janicki Industries, which supplies one-of-a-kind manufacturing molds for billionaires' superyachts and fuselages for Boeing's new 787. In a county where the other big employers are a casino and a chicken processor, 500-employee Janicki Industries is Sedro-Woolley's Boeing and Microsoft rolled into one. Yet it employs more than top-notch engineers. An intense 42-year-old with George Clooney looks, Janicki has more cool stuff on the drawing board, including a modernized steam engine that he hopes will someday power eco-friendly cars and buses. For the super-rich at play, Janicki molds shape high-end, high-tech yachts. At the America's Cup races next summer in Spain, Janicki's work will be on display in the sleekly contoured, composite hulls of two BMW Oracle yachts racing for software billionaire Larry Ellison, a repeat customer. The yachts - one completed, the second still under construction - were built in nearby Anacortes, mainly to be close to Janicki Industries. -- by Dominic Gates, The Seattle Time, full story: http://tinyurl.com/yf9hk6 BMW ORACLE AND VOLVO OCEAN RACE GEAR FOR CHRISTMAS The Team One Newport Elves have been working hard. They have some really cool BMW Oracle America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race gear and you can still get it for Christmas. Or you might want to get some new gear from Henri-Lloyd, Musto, Gill, Slam, Harken, Sperry, Railriders, Camet, Ronstan, Patagonia, and more! New Specials go up on the page everyday! Visit http://www.team1newport.com or call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327). Now you can see our full catalogs on-line. Happy and safe holidays to all of our friends! A LOT ON HIS PLATE Grant Wharington is frantically busy. Mr Perpetual Motion of world sailing has some corporate sponsors to entertain, some logistical problems to solve, a journalist waiting for an interview and a plane to catch. It's a little more than a week till the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and situation normal for the man who will be skippering sleek super-maxi Skandia and seeking his second victory in the event. The Sydney to Hobart race is one of sport's greatest challenges, pitting man and high-tech machine against the ocean and the elements. That's why it is so important to Wharington. He's a man on the move for whom winning is everything. He's been described as obsessive, a slave to detail, a hard man to work with and a fierce competitor. He doesn't disagree. "I suppose I'm a very ambitious person, very positive and optimistic, and I love a challenge," he says. "I love it when people say things can't be done because I like to prove them wrong. (But) I'm also a practical person. We've got a set of rules to abide by and we certainly push the limits of those, as does anyone who is competitive.” "There's no point in having a middle-of-the-road attitude; you might as well cruise down to Hobart. We are there to win. A lot of other people are there to have a nice, jolly sail down to Hobart. That's OK, too - the sport's diverse - but there are a lot of boats with one goal: to win the race. Winning the Sydney to Hobart can mean millions of dollars in publicity for our sponsors, and that's important." -- by Winsor Dobbin, The Sydney Morning Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/yjnexb SAILING SHORTS *After three days of sailing, Patient Falcon (29m) Nelson Marek designed sloop owned by Don Smith won the overall trophy at the first Superyacht Cup in Antigua. In second place came Kalikobass II (32M) and third The Maltese Falcon (88m). Photographer Amory Ross supplies a sampling of images from the event: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/1217 * With the completion of the fall college season, rankings have been established for coed and women’s teams in each of the seven conferences: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/1217/ * According to the Tribune de Geneve’s Pierre Nusslé, Peter Holmberg’s crew is leading the UBS Dubai Defender Trials. Peter Holmberg, Virgin Islander and former “driver” for the Oracle BMW Racing is now the best placed for the job of steering the Swiss boat in the next America’s Cup. Each helmsman and his crew are assigned one of the two Alinghi's boats for two days and the other one for the other races. Jochen Schuemann, the third of the three top skippers who was competing for the job, officially gives up and he's going back to focusing in on his former responsibilities. -- Cup in Europe website, full story: http://www.cupineurope.com/NewsEN/2006/Alinghi.htm * The Maryland Stadium Authority has awarded $75,000 to a team of local architects and economists to study the possibility of locating the proposed National Sailing Hall of Fame in Annapolis. The authority, which oversees stadium design and construction projects for the state, said Baltimore's Richter Cornbrooks Gribble Architects and the Center for Applied Business and Economics at Towson University were chosen to spearhead the study. Sailing enthusiasts hope that locating the Hall of Fame in Annapolis will be a draw for the state, especially if the city is chosen to once again co-host with Baltimore the North American stop of the 2009 Volvo Ocean Race. -- Baltimore Business Journal, full story: http://tinyurl.com/ybhhca * This past weekend was moving time for the Victory Challenge, where they transporting their two boats on an Antonov, the gigantic Russian transport plane, to Dubai for winter training. Photos and video are available on their website: http://www.victorychallenge.com * Correction: Last month in Scuttlebutt, there was a notice that the Long Island (New York) Catamaran Sailors Club (LICSA) had reformed and was looking for members. However, the contact information that Scuttlebutt was provided was wrong, and the ‘buttheads had been wondering how to get a hold of this group. Well, for anyone who sails a multihull and is interested in joining - or finding out more about LICSA - can contact the new commodore, Greg Gove at mailto:gildergove@optonline NINETY-SEVEN PEOPLE That’s how many people want to crew at Acura Key West 2007. They’re all signed up on the Scuttlebutt Crew Board, the official crew listing for the event. 97 folks are hoping to get crew jobs for arguably the most exciting multi-class event in the US. The entry count is currently at 259, with classes in IRC (27 boats), PHRF (63), and One Designs (169). Entry deadline is on Dec 26th. Check out the crew board here: http://tinyurl.com/ykdlzn ACCURATE, RELIABLE & DEPENDABLE PERFORMANCE Words you wish described your sailing instrument system. Ockam is the leader in providing the most accurate real-time data available. The high-speed Tryad processor combined with an available 3-axis rate stabilized compass utilizes the full motion of the boat to deliver a stable, accurate wind solution that you can depend on. With performance and weight in mind, all sensors interface close to their location, allowing the information to stream unimpeded throughout the system’s reliable and robust single cable network. View more lines of information than the competition with the new Matryx II, a transflective graphical display that also strip-charts data. Contact: mailto:sales@ockam.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Carol Ewing, CRYC Orange Bowl Registration Team: (In response to the US Sailor of the Week in ‘butt 2244) It is more than commendable that the Listwan family can share sailing so wholeheartedly, but I have to tell you there is one family coming to the Orange Bowl Regatta that has them beat! Curt and Angel Schade of Glen Ridge, New Jersey are bringing, towing, and otherwise dragging four kids who will (get this) be sailing in the Optimist Class as follows: Chris (age 14) in Red Fleet, Emily (age 12) in Blue Fleet, Alden (age 10) in White Fleet, and Harlen (age 9) in Green Fleet. The ultimate sailing vacation! * From Amy Smith Linton: As the VP of the Lightning Southern Circuit, I am well aware of how much the Lightning Class loves sailing on Biscayne Bay for the Miami Midwinters. It's a really great venue -- has been for nearly 50 years -- and the Coral Reef YC welcomes the fleet with open arms and admirable RC work. Still, I must take exception with the expression "former Lightning sailors" in Scuttlebutt 2242. The Jaguar series is an exciting event, but we aren't seeing an exodus of sailors from one class to another. Although last year's Etchells-Worlds-winning team from the Miami area included four Lightning sailors, all are still quite active in the International Lightning Class: Tito Gonzalez went on to win the Lightning Worlds last November with his son Diego, while Bill Mauk won the Lightning North American Masters title, sailing again with Jeff Linton in August. It's part of what we love about living in Florida, that on any given weekend, we have the chance to sail a Lightning or a Sunfish, a Flying Scot or an Etchells, a Melges 24 or a Laser, a Moth, a cat, a windsurfer, a Mumm 30, a J/24 or just about anything else ever floated. The Jaguar and Lightning Southern Circuits don't overlap, and there is plenty of room at both events, so heck, come on down and do both! * From Spencer Ogden: Maybe all of this floating garbage being reported by Esperanza and Thorson Rockwell are just messages in bottles? * From Magnus Wheatley: (Re, ‘Butt 2243) I recently invited 6 non-sailing friends around for dinner and after a delicious meal cooked by my new wife I decided to test out the non-sailors on the Olympic format. I had a video of Big Ben beating Scheidt in Sydney, my own footage from the Star class in Athens and a clip of Rohan Veal doing the foiler Moth thing. Every single one of them was in awe of the Moth and totally didn't get the rest of it. We absolutely, as a sailing community, have to get behind this and insist that the class becomes Olympic. Please, please, please don't bury this in petty politics and narrow viewing reasoned argument. This is the greatest thing to happen in sailing for generations and will create huge interest in sailing at the Games and I don't care whether you class this as 'niche' or non reflective of sailing as a whole. Sailing is dull, boring and uninspiring for the majority and if we don't change, it will be canned from the Olympics. Embrace the new and stop endorsing the stupid classes we currently have or else we're out and that goliath of politics - ISAF - will be terminated for good. Actually on second thoughts perhaps I should get behind the Finn, Star, Yngling, 470 and Tornado because if they stay in the Games, ISAF will be a dead duck by 2016...now there's a thought! * From Chip Nilsen, Fairfield, CA: I have been following the discussions regarding the future of Olympic sailing. The basic problem I see is that everybody is reflecting on the past to make the present, while our youth are moving to the future. Example: My boys had transitioned from the Optimist to the 420 and on the drive home one Saturday my oldest asked me an unusual question. “Dad how much can we get for the Lasers?” I asked why they wanted to sell the boats. They responded, “We want a 29er.” I was completely caught off guard and responded, “What happened today.” With overwhelming enthusiasm they explained that the 29er is “awesome”. Over the next few months it became painfully obvious they where only interested in the 29er. This boat of choice for juniors here is not a boat at all; it is a skiff, “The Snowboard of Sailing”. These high performance skiffs have revolutionized how the youth of today relate to sailing. “Fast is Fun,” “Win or Swim,” and “Ripping” are their mantras. These skiffs provide all the thrills and spills and speed to make sailing on T.V. interesting. They sail fast in the lightest of conditions and will do Mach 5 (22 plus knots) downwind in 15-18 knots. The Olympics of today are not about 50 year olds but the teens, 20 and 30 something’s so we should be looking where these groups are today to understand the future. If only to be 15 again, I would be sailing these skiffs too. * From Mark Jefferies, Annapolis, MD: I do not share in the disgust Roger Jolly expressed in Scuttlebutt 2242; in fact I think the Team Tsunami J/105 program is an excellent idea. It gives these kids the opportunity to sail a keelboat as a team on "their" boat instead of as guests pigeonholed into specific jobs on someone else's boat. Not only does this expand their sailing experiences, it's show them and others that there is more to sailing than the dinghy sailing found in junior programs. I cannot see how anything that broadens their sailing horizons can be bad. And while buying a J/105 is more expensive than buying small boats, the good things are not always the cheapest to do. Hopefully others will follow this lead and provide alternative sailing opportunities for junior sailors. Sailing dinghies in circles is not the solution for all junior sailors. * George Bailey: My problem with putting adolescents on big boats has nothing to do with costs, etc. It is simply that people who learn to sail in single-handed small boats, moving to crewed small boats (boats that reward screw-up with a swim), by and large become better helmsmen and sail trimmers than people who do not learn in small boats. Small boats develop a feel and develop instincts that it seems very hard to learn when sailing larger, less responsive boats. Hence if you check out websites for "crew wanted" for big boagts, you often will find "dinghy racing experience" as a desired qualification. CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM Why do we have hot water heaters? Special thanks to Team One Newport and Ockam Instruments. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
