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SCUTTLEBUTT 1796 - March 16, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. RTW RECORD TO BE ANNIHILATED The fact that Bruno Peyron and the crew on the maxi-catamaran Orange II have been stalled off the Quessant finish line for several hours does not alter the fact that the round the world sailing record is about to be annihilated. At 0526 GMT Wednesday Orange II was less than 24 miles away from smashing Steve Fossett's 'absolute' round the world speed record, as well as Peyron's own Jules Verne Trophy record. Peyron's time will undoubtedly be close to 51 days - obliterating the record of 58 days 9 hours 32 minutes 45 seconds set by Fossett last year with his 125-foot catamaran, Cheyenne. www.maxicatamaran-orange.com/ HIGH PERFORMANCE SAILING (Following is a brief excerpt from a feature on The Daily Sail subscription website presenting an update on the International 14 class from the UK perspective.) Like the Moth class, the International 14s are entering a 'period of consolidation' after inclinable rudder T-foils became de rigeur a couple of years ago transforming the performance and the necessary technique required to sail the boat. After attempts at putting foils at the bottom of the rudder, the class norm is now to fit the foil half way up and there is a general trend towards thinner foils. At present there are still essentially two systems for altering the pitch of the rudder T-foil: the Paul Bieker set-up which contains an internal push rod, the foil moving independently of the rudder blade and the RMW Marine/Morrison system where the foil and rudder are one part that is inclined in its entirety relative to the hull. Bieker it seems may be moving towards the RMW system as at the Worlds he was trialing a one part system - the advantage of this is that with no moving parts to squeeze in and the foils can have a thinner section. At present 'period of consolidation' does not equate with the 14s following the Moths in going fully foiling. At the Dinghy Show we spoke to the class' Dave Spragg who in fact has successfully tried fully foiling his 14 using the exact same gear as the Moths (lifting foils and the wand made by John Ilett's Flatacraft company in Perth) but all of it 50% bigger. "I've got one. I've flown it, but I don't think it is way forward for the class in the short and medium term," says Spragg. - The Daily Sail, full story and pictures: www.thedailysail.com PARTY TIME An army of more than 300 volunteers on about 20 committees is already preparing to meet each member of this year's Transpac Race fleet with the warmest welcome in sailing. Traditionally, an assigned group of 5 to 20 hosts, depending on the size of the crew, greets each finisher at Ala Wai Yacht Harbor in Waikiki with full Hawaiian hospitality of food, drink, music and sometimes hula girls, no matter what time of day or night its arrival. With 37 paid entries already filed---almost halfway to the record of 80 boats in 1979---this year may be a challenge. "It's getting harder," said Don Brown, the 2005 Honolulu chairman for the race. "But the tradition will go on as always. The aloha spirit endures. Every boat will have the usual party." - Rich Roberts, www.transpacificyc.org/ YOU CAN'T BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE ALL OF THE TIME You can't be everything to everyone all of the time...or can you? If you were the patented Dryshirt™ you'd be fast becoming just that - the Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter do it all gear we've all been waiting for. The Dryshirt's™ material is completely different than Nike Dryfit or Coolmax™. The Dryshirt™ material repels water, is breathable, maintains SPF of 50 whether fully immersed or on deck in the baking sun. Find out why teams with Z-86s, Farr 40s, TP-52s, 29ers and more are selecting the Dryshirt™. For a list of dealers call 800-354-7245 or http://www.sailingproshop.com/dryshirt.htm PRIORITIES Great job getting to the top mark in the front pack, now what. Often we focus on the start, then the first beat and by the time the top mark appears we are not sure what sail is correct, what is the favored gibe and most important, the target angle. Prior to the start, sailing down wind is equally important to sailing upwind. The proper spinnaker should be used and sorting out the proper True Wind Angle (TWA) to sail is a high priority. Knowing the favored gibe prior to the start is also important. This favored gibe could change during the first beat, yet having the crew prepared early will allow you to sail on the offensive after the top mark. The first goal to a successful leeward leg is the hoist. In symmetrical spinnaker boats the hoist should occur with the wind just aft of 90 apparent to eliminate head wraps and allow the spinnaker to fill outside the boat. The asymmetrical spinnaker should be hoisted with apparent aft of 60 degrees to get a set. Once the sail is set is the time to focus on the proper true wind angle number. This is the number that you first determined is the best VMG and is good relative to the competition. The trimmer should base his or her discussions on TWA (True Wind Angle) to the helmsman. Surely speed should be monitored, yet the key to consistent speed is a steady TWA number. - Excerpt from a story by Wally Cross, WCSailing.com. Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/4cwoj ORYX QUEST 2005 Doha 2006 has further extended their lead over Daedalus opening up the gap to an impressive 3665 nautical miles. The Qatari catamaran is shredding the planet, sailing the South Atlantic in 500 mile-a-day chunks. At Tuesday morning's poll Doha 2006 was sailing at 24.95 knots on a course that will take them directly over Schwabenland Seamount. While Doha 2006 is enjoying a fast ride south, Tony Bullimore and his crew on Daedalus are enjoying a fast ride north. At the 10:00 GMT poll on Tuesday they were 45 miles due west of the Falkland Islands sailing at 15 knots. Standings at 0013 GMT Wednesday: 1. Doha 2006, 6245 miles to finish, 2. Daedalus 3665 miles to leader; Retired: Geronimo & Cheyenne. - www.oryxquest.com/ LUCKIEST SAILOR IN THE WORLD? Is Tony Bullimore the luckiest man in sailing? It will take another 10,000 miles to find out. When four boats left Doha, Qatar on February 5, racing around the world for prize money in the Oryx Quest, Bullimore's catamaran Daedalus was the odd duck of the fleet. The boat was fast-once, along about 13 years and umpteen name changes ago, when it was known as ENZA. It's still fast, but not in present company, and if it was here to race there had to be reasons, such as: 1) Appearance money had made it possible, so if you're Tony Bullimore, why not keep your hand (and name) in the game? 2) If you're the tortoise to three hares, there's always the chance that one of them could break, and you'd be in the thing to the tune of $200,000 in third-place prize money. That door opened early on, as Olivier De Kersausan's trimaran, Geronimo, developed cracks in the forward crossbeam, stopped in Fremantle, Australia for repairs, restarted, and then withdrew when the main structure began to delaminate. Then Cheyenne-Steve Fossett's current around-the-world record holder-lost its rig north of the Falklands after rounding Cape Horn on Tuesday. That's a sad thing, but there were no injuries, and now Bullimore is in the hunt for $300,000 in second-place money, if he can just keep the machinery going. It makes me grin to imagine him crawling into his bunk and trying so hard not to jinx himself by thinking about, maybe, Doha 2006 breaking and opening the door to first place and a million bucks. - Excerpt from a story by Kimball Livingston on the Sail magazine website, full story: http://sailmag.com/TonyBullimore/ HOW SKIP NOVAK TAMES HIS MAIN Skip Novak on reefing: "When I think back on the bloodied hand-and-finger struggles I've had reefing, the Harken Battcar system is a dream come true. A reliable and smooth-running mast track system is a must for a vessel like Pelagic Australis. We regularly operate in 30-knot plus winds and reefing easily, especially downwind in big seas where it is not prudent to come into the wind, is of paramount importance." For more on Skip Novak and taming your main: http://www.harken.com/mainsail/tamemain.php AHEAD OF HIS PLAN On the Global Challenge RTW Race, SAIC La Jolla skipper Eero Lehntinen will be looking forward to the lighter conditions, as he has been strapped to his bunk with a nasty case of hemorrhoids. He explains: "I am eating painkillers like nuts but the pain remains there and has actually got worse. All I can do is to stay in my bunk and get on with the very basics in life. The paying crew is sailing the boat while the paid skipper is traveling in First Class! "They are doing it well and I am seeing my goal for the last leg happening already now, me being a passenger while the crew races the boat. I'm ahead of my plan, but that was not the plan!" Meanwhile, Pindar has been slowly creeping up the leaderboard the past few days, now in sixth - five miles back of Spirit of Sark, winner of Leg 2, and ahead of BG Spirit, winner of Leg 3. They are now eager to get back in the running with 1st place BP Explorer who they beat in the last leg. The yachts are still exceptionally close on Leg 4 less than 40 miles separating the middle pack (5th to 10th), with changes constantly occurring in the leaderboard. - http://www.globalchallenge2004.com NEWS BRIEFS * The Commodore of the Naval Academy Sailing Squadron and the President of the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association will rededicate the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Hall of Fame Saturday, March 19. The rededication ceremony at the Robert Crown Center beginning at 6 PM is open to the public. Gary Bodie, US Olympic Sailing Team Head Coach and past sailing coach at the Naval Academy is scheduled as the keynote speaker. The ceremony is being held commensurate with the Truxtun Umsted Intersectional Regatta which sailing teams from all over the country will attend. For details: www.collegesailing.org/hof_rededication.shtml * Laser Radial Rolex Miami OCR winner Paige Railey will compete later this week in the Princess Sofia Trophy held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. * Emirates Team New Zealand has selected patented performance enhancement software from Pavilion Technologies Inc. of Austin, Texas for design modeling and performance optimization onboard their race yachts. Pavilion's software will also be used extensively by the team for data collection and aggregation both onshore and onboard their Americas Cup yachts. The software will allow the team to visualize, analyze, and model the massive amounts of navigational, structural, and meteorological data that they collect every day, resulting in improved design performance and lower development costs. - www.pavtech.com FOR SALE Flirt IRC49, Corby design from 2002, fully optimised in 2004. Flirt has the best of everything including a substantial sail wardrobe, carbon spars, B&G electronics etc. Class winner at many premier regattas in UK and Caribbean. Owner launching larger yacht soon, so no reasonable offer refused. Details from mailto:brokerage@oystermarine.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From David McNicoll: Having observed Tom Whidden over several America's Cups since the 1980s (where he was generally telling Dennis Conner what to do), I can only agree with David Tew (Butt 1795) about the change in his character. He was sailing with John Thompson Jnr at the recent Farr 40 worlds in Sydney -- and he was smiling all the time! Solution did not win. Cheers, * From Kirk Elliott (Re the backward finish of Mir in the '69 Transpac): After discarding the mainmast, we decided the only way to finish would be to hoist the mizzen, backwind it,to gain steerage. By the time we gained steerage, we'd crossed the finish line, stern first! We did set the mizzen spinnaker after the finish, just for drill, and to get ourselves to the Ala Wai faster for the first of many Mai Tai's. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION A toothache is a pain that can drive to extraction. |
