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SCUTTLEBUTT 2880 - Tuesday, July 7, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are Melges Performance Sailboats and Morris Yachts. LATEST MODIFICATIONS COMPLETED FOR ORACLE TRIMARAN (July 6, 2009) - After undergoing modifications since March 2009, BMW ORACLE Racing today launched their trimaran in San Diego as the team prepares to sea trial the 90-foot by 90-foot high-tech racing machine. The mast will be installed dockside and the boat will be load-tested before the huge multihull is tested by the crew in the waters off Point Loma. Early observations show changes to float bow profile and sprit structure. The team will test the trimaran in San Diego this summer in anticipation for the 33rd America's Cup match against the Swiss Defender Alinghi in a best two-of-three head-to-head duel starting February 8. The Defender, who is to name the venue for the competition by August 8, will be launching their catamaran for the first time on July 8. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/BOR-7-6-09 Photos when christened in August 2008: http://tinyurl.com/BOR-Aug-08 Photos when launched after mods in July 2009: http://tinyurl.com/BOR-Jul-09 TWO YEARS AFTER MORNING LIGHT Two years ago, the side story of the Transpac race was the Disney produced Morning Light documentary, wherein the TP52 Morning Light crew was filmed by onboard cameras and a filming platform that followed their race. For the 2009 race, many of the crew has returned, with several onboard Roy Disney's Santa Cruz 70 Pyewacket. Prior to their Sunday start, Scuttlebutt checked in with Pyewacket navigator Piet van Os, who held that same role with Chris Branning two years ago on Morning Light: SBUTT: Being asked to navigate Pyewacket must have been an honor, especially as it is a position normally held by your Morning Light instructor, Stan Honey. Can you tell us what you have been doing to prepare for this role? PIET VAN OS: "Absolutely, it really was an honor to be asked to navigate Pyewacket in Transpac. I wouldn't be anywhere near where I am today without Stan Honey. He has taught me all the racing navigation that I know and I can never thank him enough for it. To hear that Stan recommended me for the job was such an honor. As you can imagine following behind Stan, there are some HUGE shoes to fill. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it. "Pyewacket is actually the second boat I have followed Stan on, Stark Raving Mad being the first. I was at dinner with Stan and (his wife) Sally the other night and mentioned that if I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase 'Well, Stan would know' I would be a wealthy man. After working together for almost a year during Morning Light, Stan and I have a great friendship and I bug him constantly when I run into a problem. Stan seems to know just about everything about everything but the really remarkable part about him is his ability to dumb it down so the rest of us can understand it. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0706 TRANSPACIFIC YACHT RACE (July 6, 2009) - For the 2,225-mile Transpac Race, the Reichel Pugh 100 Alfa Romeo has gotten a good jump by logging 269 nautical miles from Sunday's 1300 start through the Monday 0600 roll call. Neville Crichton's Division 1 super maxi is averaging 14.6 knots, nearly a knot faster than Morning Glory's average during her Transpac record-breaking run in 2005. Tim Fuller and Erik Shampain and their doublehanded Division VI entry Relentless, having started six days earlier on June 29th, remain the fleet leader this morning with 1487 miles to go. Philippe Kahn and Mark Christensen aboard Pegasus 50 reported gusts up to 25 knots and swells 3 meters high washing waves and flying fish over their Owen Clarke Open 50 deck. At 0100 they threw up more sail area and "cracked the sheets and stood on to 14 to 16 knots." According to Kahn, they are "cold, wet and battered by waves, yet happy as can be. We sailed fast and smart." Having much better conditions at and following their start, Division I and II are destined to skirt the Pacific high and are setting up for fast races to Hawaii. Alfa Romeo and Pegasus 50 are on course to establish new course records for the world's most enduring and greatest yacht race. Alfa Romeo is looking at toppling Morning Glory's 6:16:04:11 record and Pegasus 50 is going for a new doublehanded record. -- Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/TPac-7-6-09 July 6th standings: http://tinyurl.com/TPac-Standings MELGES MANIA Exciting events are on the horizon for many of the Melges classes including the Melges 32 U.S. National Championship and the Audi Melges 20 U.S. National Championship along with all the big Scow regattas that run through the summer. Catch much of the action on the official Melges.com website as you can see race results, video, and live updates during many of the championships. The new Audi Melges 20 is taking off big time in the USA and Europe. Watch for regatta updates and race images also at http://www.Melges.com OLYMPIC CHAMPIONSHIPS * Copenhagen, DEN (July 6, 2009; Day 1) - Tricky conditions produced a mixed bag for the 94 entrants on day one at Finn Gold Cup, with two races completed Monday with virtually all the favourites picking up a discard. Race wins went to Bryan Boyd (USA) and Dan Slater (NZL), with Rafal Szukiel (POL) as the most consistent and leads overnight. Five points off the lead in fourth is Silver medalist Zach Raily (USA) in fourth, with Boyd down to tenth after picking up a 30th in the second race. Ten qualification races are scheduled between July 6-10 with the medal race and the final race for the rest on July 11th. -- Full story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7754 * Kiel, GER (July 6, 2009; Day 1) - Eighty-seven entrants opened the 2009 Star Class European Championship with a two-hour delay before the start of racing as committee and competitors waited for the weather to settle. After a cloudy, drizzly morning, a new weather front came through at lunchtime as predicted, bringing sun and around 18 knots of west-south-westerlies. The fleet finally got underway after three postponements due to the shifting winds, and the use of the Black Flag penalty to ward off early starters. The single race in gusty conditions left two boats dismasted and several teams with damage or torn sails. Fredrik Loof/ Johan Tillander won the race with top North American team Mark Mendelblatt/ Mark Strube finishing ninth. Racing continues through July 11th. -- Full story: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_427.shtml REPRESENTING THE ATHLETES The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has announced the 10 sailors who have been elected to the ISAF Athletes' Commission. Explains Mark Reynolds (USA), "the commission was set up four years ago, with representatives from each Olympic class nominated and elected by our peers. We are the Olympic sailors 'voice' at ISAF, reporting directly to the ISAF Executive Committee." The new line up of the Commission represents a wide range of ages, experience, disciplines and nations. Between them, the members of the Athletes' Commission have won five Olympic medals (three of them gold), five World Championship titles in the Olympic events and two Match Racing World Championship titles. The members of the ISAF Athletes' Commission for 2009-2013 are: Laser - Men's One Person Dinghy: Rasmus Myrgren (SWE) Laser Radial - Women's One Person Dinghy: Laura Baldwin (AUS) Finn - Men's One Person Dinghy Heavy: Dan Slater (NZL) RS:X - Men's Windsurfer: Ben Barger (USA) RS:X - Women's Windsurfer: Olga Maslivets (UKR) 470 - Men's Two Person Dinghy: Malcolm Page (AUS) 470 - Women's Two Person Dinghy: Marcelien De Koning (NED) 49er - Men's Two Person Dinghy High Performance: Peter Kruger Andersen (DEN) Star - Men's Keelboat: Mark Reynolds (USA) Elliott 6m - Women's Match Racing: Claire Leroy (FRA) Full report: http://www.sailing.org/news/28725.php Commission role: http://www.sailing.org/1127.php RULES QUIZ The Appeals Book for 2009-2012, which includes The ISAF Case Book for 2009-2012, is loaded with important and useful interpretations of the rules that will help sailors, race officers and judges make the best decisions according to the rules. The hard copy of the Book is available at the US SAILING Store and an online version is free for US SAILING members. Scuttlebutt will be posting four actual appeals to provide a first-hand look at what is in the Book. Here is the third one: Appeal 63 - Boomorang vs. Premature Acceleration Rule 63.3(a), Hearings: Right to Be Present Rule 63.6, Hearings: Taking Evidence and Finding Facts If the protest committee accepts written testimony from witnesses who are not available to be questioned, or fails to exclude witnesses except when they are giving their own testimony, the hearing is invalid. Facts and Decision of the Protest Committee Boomorang believed that she saw Premature Acceleration touch a mark while racing and protested. The protest committee disqualified Premature Acceleration for breaking rule 31 (Touching a Mark). She appealed, claiming that the protest committee had made several procedural errors, including accepting written testimony from witnesses not present and failing to exclude witnesses except when giving evidence, and that the hearing was therefore invalid. Decision of the Appeals Committee here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0604/#63 COME TO THE MORRIS YACHTS BOAT SHOW ON JULY 17-19! Morris Yachts invites you to the fifth annual Morris Boat Show at their Northeast Harbor yard, July 17-19. This year's fleet includes the new M29 and M52; the M36, M42 plus Morris 28s, Justine 36s, Morris 38s, a Hinckley 43, Alden 45, and more. Morris Service reps will be on hand to answer any questions about a service projects. This weekend is a unique opportunity to board the largest variety of Morris Yachts. Please check the website for more details at http://www.morrisyachts.com/Morris-Yachts-Boat-Show Show Hours: Friday and Saturday 10-6pm; Sunday 10-4pm. For more information please call: James Allen at 207-276-5344. SAILING SHORTS * San Francisco windsurfer Paul Mann has gone missing this past week during a summer trip and wedding at the Gorge. Paul was last seen with his friends on a stand up paddle board on Friday July 3 at roughly 12:30pm at the Hook in Hood River Oregon in calm, light wind waters. A windsurfer spotted the paddle board floating approximately 150 yards from Jensen Beach. A passing kayaker was able to help get the board (and paddle) to shore return to the rental shop. The police were contacted and a search began immediately. -- Complete story: http://paulmann.typepad.com/my-blog/2009/07/paul-mann-missing-july-3rd.html * Copenhagen, DEN (July 6, 2009) - The Laser Radial Youth European Championship is now in its fourth day, with 195 entrants representing 33 countries in the boys division and 75 entrants representing 26 countries are on the girls side. With racing scheduled to finish on July 8th, Americans Emily Billing, Claire Dennis and Erika Reineke currently sit in 1st, 2nd and 5th respectively. On the boys side, the top North American is John Wallace (USA), who today rolled a 8-4-5 to be in 14th place. -- Complete story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7748 * Marblehead, MA (July 6, 2009) - With slow winds prevailing, Rambler, a 90 ft. Reichel Pugh designed boat, is leading the 360-mile Marblehead Halifax Ocean Race fleet, passing Brazil Rock early this afternoon, expecting to finish sometime on Tuesday. Diminishing winds have challenged the best of skippers and crew, requiring the most patient of race strategies. At this point, a total of six yachts have withdrawn, some using the opportunity to cruise along the Maine coast. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7758#7758 * VOTE NOW: Hosted by ESPN, the annual ESPY Awards commemorate the past year in sports. Among the 37 categories, 2008 Paralympic sailing gold medalist Maureen McKinnon-Tucker is one of the four nominees in the "Female Athlete with a Disability" category. There's not another sailor in any other category. Finalists are determined by fan voting. There is no easier way to support the sport of sailing than to vote for Maureen. Additional details here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/06/2009-espys.html BRING BACK THE LINNIE CANAL RACE When I read the story below about the 'America's Cardboard Cup Regatta', it brought back great memories of the annual summer Linnie Canal race in Venice, CA (near Los Angeles). Entrants would bring their construction material to one end of the canal and have two hours to build their 'boat'. When time expired, the starting gun would sound, with each team using only sail power to race downwind through the canal to the finish. The channel was narrow, not even 100 feet wide, and the course went under a few low bridges. Spectators lined the sides of the canal, with the most spirited fans on the bridges to douse the racers with all forms of fluid. Some of the savvy racers had fire extinguishers for protection. It was a riot. Hopefully the current holder of the America's Cup, the Swiss Alinghi team, does not seek to shut down the 'America's Cardboard Cup Regatta'. They are very protective of the America's Cup brand usage, and their lawyers do have some free time right now. Enjoy: "Between 40 and 50 boaters raced Saturday (in Illinois) along Crystal Lake's Main Beach to join the 25th annual America's Cardboard Cup Regatta as spectators cheered all ages who designed boats using cardboard, duct tape and creativity. Todd and Lynette Collins came for their fourth year from DeKalb to design three boats. Taking five weeks to build was a Mystery Machine from the Scooby Doo cartoon, proving that vans can float. 'This is the one fun thing we do every year,' Lynette Collins said. 'We put more into it than cardboard and duct tape.'" -- Scuttleblog, read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/07/linnie-canal.html LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Please submit 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 John Rousmaniere: (re, letter in Scuttlebutt 2877) Since my name has come up in recent discussions that include criticism of the Newport Bermuda Race, as that race's historian and a volunteer writer for its web site, I'd like to add some context. Except for a brief period (1907 to 1910), the ocean race now called the Newport Bermuda Race has followed the lead established in 1906 by its visionary founder, Thomas Fleming Day. In the words of a former chairman of the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee, John Winder, the race has an historic "core constituency" of amateur sailors in dual-purpose boats. In recent years there have been three divisions for those sailors and boats: racer-cruisers, cruising boats, and doublehanders. The number of semi-pro and pro sailors (ISAF Groups 2 and 3) was tightly capped, and both groups were barred from steering. The race's overall winner is the top boat in the St. David's Lighthouse Division for amateur racer-cruisers-the largest division with 162 of the 263 starters in 2006 and 122 of last year's 197 starters. The winner of the past two races had a totally amateur Group 1 crew. There also are two hotly contested, smaller divisions for professional sailors (and the amateurs who wish to sail against them)-the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division and the Open Division for cant-keelers. Of the 460 total entries in the 2006 and 2008 Newport Bermuda Races, these pro divisions had 43 boats. The other 417 sailed in the amateur divisions. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7755 * From Alistair Murray, Australia: (re, story in Scuttlebutt 2879) Heartiest congratulations to Ian Bruce of Canada on being awarded the "Order of Canada". Ian is a legend of the sailing world and is a great bloke to boot! He is the co-designer of the Laser and designer of the Byte range of boats. He also had a hand in helping Frank Bethwaite design the Tasar dinghy. Ian has worked tirelessly over more years than I can remember to promote dinghies, dinghy sailing and sailing in general, at boat shows far and wide. He certainly deserves all the accolades he has received, including this latest great honour from his native country. I remember Ian giving me an incredible account of his involvement in a survival at sea adventure. He tells it with great passion and humour, in the way he approaches all aspects of his life on the water. Perhaps if he reads this, he might share it with us! Good on you, Ian! CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Coach Darrel Royal, Univ. of Texas (1957-76) Special thanks to Melges Performance Sailboats and Morris Yachts. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
