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SCUTTLEBUTT 2390 - July 17, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday with the support of its sponsors. POSTCARDS FROM PORTUGAL With the conclusion of the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships last week in Cascais, Portugal, the top ranked US 49er and Laser sailors provide their reflections on the event: * Morgan Larson, 49er: “It was a physical week of racing with many ups and downs as the 15-25 knot wind raced across the point and through downtown Cascais before reaching our course that was protected under the bluffs. As you could imagine, it was really gusty and shifty. A fleet of 49ers race upwind at 90-100 degree tacking angles and 8-12 knots of boat-speed, so you can separate from the competition quite quickly. Basically it was a wet and physical gamblers game that kept the sailors on edge throughout the event. Early in the series we kept all of our races in the top 5, but stumbled late in the week with more inconsistent results. A late rally and a win in the Medal Race brought our event to an end in 5th place. “It was a bittersweet end for many sailors as this was the culmination of a lifetime of training and dedication (many countries used this event as their Olympic qualifier and only one team per country goes onto Beijing. Cascais is also a favorite to Russell Coutts, whose division from Alinghi started by his belief that Lisbon and Cascais would be the best place to host the Cup. After spending 24 days in Cascais, I'd compare it to San Francisco, Perth, and Santa Cruz when it comes to wind. There's no doubt that the sailing world will be back there again.” -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/pfp/#larson * Brad Funk, Laser: “It was obvious the sailors were their first priority but they also made the public feel welcomed which from a sailors’ perspective was awesome. It is easy to go over the top with pomp and ceremony at events like this but it didn’t happen here. “My only critical comment was that the sheer size of the event and the number of classes dictated numerous race courses. There was a strain on the race committees to get races completed as they rotated through multiple starts and courses to complete racing and stay on schedule. There would be up to four scheduled start times during the day starting at 1p.m. and going as late as 6 p.m. This meant some of the courses were placed in less than ideal locations in order to accommodate races. As an example, on courses two and three it was common to see the weather mark placed just off the rocky coast. This in turn meant massive shifts and fluctuation in the wind pressure that would turn races into lotteries. Absent this pressure to accommodate such a large fleet, I believe Cascais is an ideal place for major championships. Without crowding it is always possible to choose the best place to set the course for a given day. “Having said that, I believe the feeling amongst most sailors is the regatta produced deserving champions in all classes.” -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/pfp/#funk QUOTE / UNQUOTE Regarding the British Olympic squad chosen for the Olympic test event in Qingdao, China next month: “You get some idea of the (British) team’s strength in depth when you consider that last year’s World Champions in the 49er and 470 Men’s classes will be going as tune-up (partners) for the British teams selected to race in China this year!” -- Andy Rice, http://sailjuice.blogspot.com/2007/07/ainslie-gets-wild-card-to-china.html NEWCOMERS HAVE DESIGNS ON SUCCESS The design challenges presented by the second generation of Volvo Open 70 are considerable not least for newcomers to the race, Marcelino Botin and Shaun Carkeek, who have been tasked with penning the lines of the PUMA Racing Team entry. While Carkeek has high hopes for his new design, he’s also acutely aware that his team have started on the back foot with no previous experience to draw on. Then there is the matter of putting their reputations up against Farr Yacht Design and Juan Kouyoumdjian, the Argentine responsible for the radical ABN AMRO 70s. Yet he also believes that Botin & Carkeek’s expertise in high performance boats in the grand prix world is solid grounding for the Volvo Open 70 campaign.“With such a big course, such a variety of racing styles, both offshore and inshore and such a wide range of options available, this is a complex issue for a designer,” Carkeek said. “Our experience with boats like the TP52s allows us to use some of the relevant experience, but there’s no question that it’s challenging.” -- Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/3x52rl * The Russian Volvo Ocean Race 2008/2009 entry has selected Humphreys Yacht Design of Lymington, UK, to design its Volvo Open 70 racing yacht. -- Yachting World, full report: http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070616110656ywnews.html HOT! HOT! HOT! You are probably suffering from the summer heat wherever you are but experience some hot Mount Gay Rum quick dry sailing boardshorts and other gear items – all with the Mount Gay Rum logo. All great items for your boat! If you missed buying Mount Gay gear at STC Block Island Race Week XXII, there’s still a chance. With the continued demand, The Pirate’s Lair has made more items available. Don’t miss out again – quantities are limited. Look for list of the Mount Gay Rum sponsored regattas at mountgay.com; or purchase Mount Gay Rum gear at The Pirate’s Lair at 888-SAIL-BUM or http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing * The Mount Gay Rum hat contest lives on! Last October, Scuttlebutt had a contest to see who had the most hats. Now, Mount Gay is hosting another contest on their website. Details in the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5174#5174 IS THE SOUTH STARTING TO PAY IN TRANSPAC? (July 16, 2007) The puzzle that plagues navigators racing to Hawaii is seldom to find the shortest course but the fastest, and this 44th biennial Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii has evolved into a classic example. Pyewacket's Stan Honey said Sunday before the big boats started that he would make the call---north, south or in between---at "about 6 o'clock tonight," not far past Santa Catalina Island 22 miles off the Southern California coast---and every other eye in the race was on Honey to see which way he'd go. Wouldn't you like to know what the last Volvo Ocean Race winner was thinking? According to Flagship tracking charts Monday, Honey may have gone conservative. Pyewacket was headed generally southwest straight toward the islands, making 13 knots, with Division 1 rivals Doug Baker's Magnitude 80 and Mike Campbell and Dale Williams' Peligroso falling in behind, well ahead of Bob Lane's Medicine Man, which tried the north for awhile before dipping back down on a parallel course. A notable exception was Roger Sturgeon's Rosebud, a new STP 65 that flashed impressive speed in two inshore regattas leading up to Transpac. Rosebud was headed almost due south at 13 knots without losing significant distance to its division rivals, except Pyewacket, and building leverage for when it turns west into the trade winds. -- Full report: http://www.transpacificyc.org/07/news/tp07-press-rel-32.html -- Current standings: http://www.transpacificyc.org/07/tables/tp07-pr-d7.html * Steve Fossett, who had been mum about his dismasted maxi-multihull Cheyenne that had been on the hard in San Diego, apparently has reconfigured the catamaran to serve as a camera platform to follow and film the Morning Light team during the race for the making of Disney’s documentary. * An aerial video clip from the 2007 Transpac start by Franklin Tulloch, perhaps purposely mixed with the Jack Johnson song “Upside Down” where the lyrics begin with “Who's to say what's impossible, well they forgot this world keeps spinning and with each new day I can feel a change in everything...” -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYFki3w0jxI LIGHT WINDS PERSIST FOR CHICAGO TO MACKINAC RACE (16-Jul-07 - 10:47am) After Windquest flew in under spinnaker to beautiful conditions on Mackinac Island Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. CDT, the Chicago Yacht Club flag that was flying high in the wind outside the finish tent dropped still. At the time of this release only one other boat has finished. Equation, skipered by Bill Alcott of St. Clair Shores, Mich. crossed the finish at 10:16 a.m. CDT with an elapsed time of 44 hours 06 minutes and 05 seconds—15 hours, 21 minutes and 22 seconds later. Windquest maintained a corrected time over Equation solidifying the Devos’ as the first place winner in Section One. As to the outcome of the other Divisional winners, we have to wait. Light winds persist, with updates as of 16-Jul-07 - 04:30pm: - Section One: Windquest arrives first and far ahead of the fleet, they should take Section One honors in addition to the Royono Trophy for first to finish. Second and third place are yet to be determined with protests pending on Wooton and Equation. 9 boats are in of the 15-boat fleet. - GL70’s: Nitemare, skippered by Tom Neill corrects over Evolution in the Great Lakes 70 class for the Section Win. This is the second consecutive year Nitemare has won in the section. All 10 boats in the fleet are in. - Multihulls: Cheekee Monkee was the first Multihull to finish. Nice Pair had a man-overboard in the middle of the race, but the skipper and crew executed a textbook man-overboard rescue and all is well. 'We actually performed a man-overboard drill the morning we left for the race,' said skipper of Nice Pair Bruce Geffen of Ann Arbor, Mich. 'He [the crewmember] went over in about 15 knots and it took us about 12 minutes to get him back onboard.' The crew and skipper are fine. Of the 9-boat fleet, 4 have finished and 1 boat, Moxie, has retired. - Section 2: 18-boat fleet, 2 have finished; the Natalie J, a Nelson Marek 46 skippered by Phillip O’Niel III of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. and Fine Line, a Nelson Marek 46 as well, skippered by Rich Montplaishir of Park Ridge, Ill. -- Complete updates at http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/raceupdates.cfm YOUTH WORLDS Kingston, Ontario, Canada (July 16, 2007) As racing on Day 3 at the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship reaches the halfway stage, the American 29er duo of Emily Dellenbaugh and Briana Provancha is leading the North American contingent in second overall. “We’re going pretty well so far, although we were a little nervous going into today,” said Emily Dellenbaugh. “We do OK in the breeze, but we are a bit lighter so it’s a challenge. We finished second in the first race today, but then we capsized in the middle race which pulled us down to ninth. However, we put that behind us and finished third in the last race.” Top Three plus Top North American 29er Girls (18 boats) 1. NED - Anniemiek Bekkering/ Jeske Kisters, (9)-6-1-4-1-1-3-4, 20 2. USA - Emily Dellenbaugh/ Briana Provancha, 1-(9)-3-1-5-2-9-3, 24 3. GBR - Sophie Weguelin/ Sophie Ainsworth, 8-5-2-3-2-5-(11)-1, 26 Windsurfer Boys (21 boards) 1. FRA - Pierre Le Coq, 3-3-3-5-2, 16 2. GRE - Dimitris Vlachakis, 4-7-1-3-3, 18 3. ISR - Ron Asulin, 2-2-8-15-1, 28 4. CAN - David Hayes, 11-11-2-1-6, 31 29er Boys (23 boats) 1. DEN - Henrik Sagaard/ Soren Kristensen, 2-3-1-1-3-(4)-3-4, 17 2. NZL - Paul Snow-Hansen/ Blair Tuke, 1-2-(10)-4-5-3-2-2, 19 3. RSA - Taariq Jacobs/ Neil Malan, 5-1-(11)-7-8-6-9-10, 46 5. USA - Oliver Tool/ William McBride, 7-11-(14)-2-4-11-12-7, 54 Laser Radial (34 boats) 1. SIN - Victoria Chan, 1- (9)-5-8- 8-3, 25 2. FIN - Tuula Tenkanen, (11)-1-9-4-10-6, 30 3. AUS - Gabrielle King, 3- 25-1-1- 2-(35/ DNC), 32 5. USA - Anne Haeger, 2-8-12-10-1-(35/ OCS), 33 Laser (38 boats) 1. CYP - Pavlos Kontides, 3-(6)-1-3-3-1, 11 2. NZL - Josh Junior 2-(18)-3-6-2-4, 17 3. GER - Philipp Buhl,1- 7-5-(9)-1-6, 20 6. USA - Luke Lawrence, (39/ OCS)-9-4-1-7-10, 31 Hobie 16 (15 cats) 1. GBR - Richard Glover/ Andrew Glover, 1-1-(4)-4-2-3-2, 13 2. DEN - Emil Landry/ Jacob Dannefer, 2-(4)-3-2-4-2-1, 14 3. AUS - Jason Waterhouse/ Michael McCormick, 3-2-(8)-1-1-7-7, 21 10. USA - Eric Raybon/ Jason Bilow, 10-5-10-6-(16/ RAF)-5-13, 49 Windsurfer Girls (15 boards) 1. ITA - Laura Linares, 1-1-(3)-3-2-1, 8 2. GER - Moana Delle, (16/ RAF)-2-4-2-4-2, 14 3. AUS - Alisha Kawalla, 10-(12)-1-1-1-3, 16 13. MEX - Mar Campos, 11-5-12-(16/ DNC)-12-12, 52 Complete results: http://youthworlds2007.org/results.shtml THREE OWNERS, THREE VICTORIES, ONE SAILMAKER Over the past three years Doyle sails have powered three different owners of Beneteau 40.7’s to victory in the North American Championships -- Steve Mash and “Hot Lips 4” in 2005, Alan McMillan and “Finesse” in 2006, and Matt Reid and “Barracuda” in 2007. To get the one sailmaker you need, call your local Doyle loft. Contact Doyle Sailmakers at 1-800-94-DOYLE or find your local loft at: http://www.doylesails.com SAILING SHORTS * North Sails has partnered Sailing Weather Services to provide one FREE weather forecast for the 2007 Chrysler Jeep Superstores Bayiew Mackinac Race, which starts this Saturday, July 21st. To sign up, visit North Sails' online weather center: http://na.northsails.com/ew/ew_main.taf * (July 16, 2007) The first day of racing at the 2007 Swan American Regatta, Newport RI, was cancelled due to the lack of wind. The New York Yacht Club Race Committee finally called time at 15:00 after the 34-strong fleet had waited for four hours on the Atlantic Ocean. Racing will resume on Tuesday. -- http://nyyc.org/index.cfm?content=sailingevents_details&eventid=138 * San Diego, CA -- The port of San Diego's board of commissioners has approved a project to bring more of the world's largest yachts to San Diego Bay. Starting immediately, up to eight berths suitable for yachts from 100ft to 400ft (30.5m-121.9m) are available at the port's newly designated megayacht basin along the waterfront Embarcadero. Vessels will be aligned in the "Med Moor" method of berthing alongside each other in parallel formation. -- IBI Magazine, full story: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20070616120055ibinews.html * Mike Golding has chosen ECOVER's longstanding sail programme co-ordinator Bruno Dubois of North Sails France to sail with him in the new boat's first major race, the Transat Jacques Vabre. While Belgian-Canadian Dubois has not raced the famous biennial 4300-mile Transatlantic race from Le Havre to Salvador, Brazil, which starts November 3rd, he has a long and accomplished CV in offshore and inshore racing, and has made the sails for the last two winners of the race. He sailed with Mike on the 1000 Miles of Calais and the Calais Round Britain Race. -- http://www.mikegolding.com PHOTO GALLERIES * Photographer Onne van der Wal was on the water when the classic yachts of Newport, RI shed their docklines for the Robert Tiedemann Memorial Regatta. Turn back the clock and enjoy: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/0716 * The Melges 32 US Nationals was last weekend in Newport, RI, and shooter Andrew Sims was on hand to capture over 400 images from the event: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/m32 EIGHT BELLS * Edward Montague Adams: After a distinguished career in the marine electronics industry, Edward Montague Adams passed away Friday, July 13, 2007. He started with Brookes and Gatehouse, LTD, and was founder and President, Custom Navigation Systems, Inc, Westbrook and Portsmouth, RI. He was a member and served on the Board of the National Marine Electronics Association, member of the New York Yacht Club, Cruising Club of America, Storm Trysail Club and many other sailing clubs. There will be a memorial service Saturday, July 21, 2007 on Bear Island at 2 p.m. Guests attending by vessel may anchor off Bear Island and are requested to dress ship. Cannons welcome. In lieu of flowers, a request for donations be made to Marine 5, Stony Creek Fire Department, Branford, CT 06405. * Carleton Mitchell: The winner of a record three straight Bermuda Races in Finisterre, a cruising sailor and powerboater of great accomplishment, and one of boating’s best and most influential writers and photographers, Carleton Mitchell died of heart failure on July 16, 2007, at his home in Key Biscayne, Florida. He was 96. Mitch (as he was always called) first sailed as a boy in an uncle’s racing sloop off New Orleans. He kept a scrapbook in which he pasted pictures of boats, and when he was 12 he answered an inquiry about his plans for a career by announcing, “I want to sail and write about it.” That dream survived college in Ohio and mundane jobs in the Depression (for a while he sold women’s underwear at Macy’s). It even survived a wretched experience in a leaky old ketch that almost sank in the Gulf Stream. When the ketch staggering into Nassau, he began his lifelong love affair with the Bahamas, where he later worked as a writer and photographer. -- John Rousmaniere, complete announcement: http://tinyurl.com/2sgtno IN NEWPORT FOR THE BUCKET? Forty 1º North would like to entertain you and your guests. Call 401-846-8028 to arrange a regatta pass for Newport’s neatest and newest waterfront restaurant and lounge. http://www.41no.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 Michael Kennedy: It was a little unfair to criticize the spectator fleet at the Transpac start on Sunday (as reported in Issue 2389). We were out there in our Cal 40 and I was well aware that the wind had been southerly until about 3 PM. It was southerly a half-hour before the start but the race committee marshals were herding all the spectator boats to the port end of the line, clearly upwind. We had been headed to the starboard end but obeyed the instructions and joined the spectator fleet as directed. The spectator fleet was about 100 boats, most of them sailboats and many racers that would rather be in the race than merely watching. There were no boats in the zone behind the start line that I saw. It was a beautiful day and a weekend so the fleet was fairly large. Sailing is a sport with little opportunity for spectators to see what is happening. I saw no interference with the racing fleet. * From Jeffry Matzdorff: (In response to Butt #2389) Roy Disney felt he would be too isolated out in the Pacific while worrying about the kids aboard Morning Light. Besides he says, "He has a movie to make, anyway.” Sounds to me like he has stepped aside and has indeed retired as he stated 2 years ago in Hawaii at the awards presentation. The record will be broken and Roy will not be aboard...the only question remains by how many hours Pye will break it. That's got to hurt but at least he's a man of his word. Retirement suits him well. Good on him! Good luck to all boats and all their crews, especially with the impending tropical depressions/storms (TD5 and TD 6). * From Gunther Hering, Hamburg, Germany: I wholeheartedly support the challenge by the Golden Gate Yacht Club and Oracle Racing to the authoritarian attitude of Ernesto Bertarelli and his team. The legality of the Societé Nautique de Genève has always been suspect under the terms of the Deed of Gift of the AC. The legality of the CNEV is nonexistent. The America’s Cup is a sporting event and should not be abused as a pure marketing gimmick. Valencia was already a disgrace with its out and out commercialism by all participants. * From Richard Clark, Masterton, New Zealand: Thank god, with Louis Vuitton quitting, the America's Cup is back where it belongs, in the courtrooms of the World. It is so good to be back to the good old Dennis Conner/ NYYC style wrangling, I feel much more comfortable. It was all too nerve wracking and far too good to last. Close, honest racing, by well-sailed yachts and crews, nah, who needs it. I have a feeling that the ghosts of Coutts/ Butterworth et al are finally coming home to roost. Life, living, and sport are NOT all about money. Sportsmanship has taken a huge battering here. I am smiling as I sit far from the ocean and yachts and monied egos. Where is the New York Yacht Club when you need them; I miss that time dreadfully. My tongue is firmly in my . . . cheek! * From Libby Travella: (Regarding Letters in Issue 2388 & 2389) At 14 I joined Sea Scout Ship 1058 (aka Triton, a Morgan 38) in Newport Beach, CA. Our ship full of teenage girls was entirely responsible for the boat and learned more than we ever wanted to know about diesel engines, bilge pumps, electrical systems, varnishing, sail repair, etc. It was literally our boat - ours to upkeep, ours to fix, and ours to play in! We spent a good part of our summer weekends on Catalina Island and always made a summer “Long Cruise” around the Channel Islands for two weeks. We were given tremendous responsibility, yet had the freedom of the sea other teens could only dream of. There is simply no better lot in life than to be given the opportunity to “mess around in boats.” Give that opportunity to a teenager and you’ll have a sailor for life. Support your local Sea Scout program. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION I am not a perfectionist. My parents were, though. Special thanks to Mount Gay Rum gear, Doyle Sailmakers and Forty 1º North. |
