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SCUTTLEBUTT 1997 -- December 29, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.WHAT HAPPENED? (In Scuttlebutt 1995 we carried a posting from the Australian International 420 Class Association in which the International 420 President, Nino Schmell announced that the 2007 ISAF Youth Worlds will not be held in San Diego. We asked San Diego Yacht Club's Bill Munster what happened, and he provided us with the following information.) It is unfortunate that Mr. Schmeuli (I-420 President) announced that ISAF has "dumped San Diego for the 2007 Youth Worlds" without having all the facts and Mr. Carney of Australia chose to "quote" him! What they should know are the following: San Diego Yacht Club asked for charter arrangements from the various boats allowed: in the doublehanded class, it's the I420 or the 29er. The I-420 came in with: A.) purchase the boats (approx. 60) or, B.) charge a large charter fee (to be absorbed by the organizing committee.) In the US, the I-420 class does not currently exist, so to whom would the organizers 60 boats be sold to? The 29er class offered to provide boats free of charge. The facts stand that to host an ISAF Youth Worlds a country must follow a list of contractual requirements from ISAF (food, housing, boats (including charter & shipping), entertainment, transportation, etc.) To host this event, the country must raise a minimum of $200k (USD) (recommended by ISAF) and, hopefully break even. True, Volvo's contract with ISAF includes a $75k (USD) sponsorship, but this is not included in the $200k. In addition, ISAF sets a per person/ per day fee for all competitors and coaches and the host may not charge for any additional costs. At the pp/pd fee ISAF wrote into the contract, SDYC stood to lose a minimum of $50k (on top of the $200k it needed to run the event). This is a huge event with an average of 300 competitors for 10 days. In the US, the government and/ or Sailing Federation does not provide funding, so private sponsorship is a must (many host nations in the past have received public works from govt. sponsorship…a new sewer system, marina, etc.) After 1.5 years of negotiations with ISAF, SDYC and ISAF could not agree to mutually acceptable terms. At the current rate of ISAF's demands, what yacht club in the US could raise $250k to run the ISAF Youth Worlds? With these financial constraints, it will be hard for any yacht club in the US to host this prestigious event. - Bill Munster, San Diego Yacht Club WILD OATS STILL ON COURSE FOR TREBLE Bob Oatley's 98ft super-maxi, Wild Oats XI, was still on course last night to achieve what no yacht has managed since the inaugural Rolex Sydney-Hobart classic in 1945 - line honours, a course record and overall victory on handicap. Sixty years ago, Captain John Illingworth's Rani achieved the feat in the first edition of this tough 628-mile bluewater classic. Since then yachts have come close to this historic treble but none has managed it. After an incredibly fast passage that saw Wild Oats IX shave more than an hour off the 1999 race record of Nokia to give the huge canting keel maxi a total time of one day, 18 hours and 40 minutes, she was still leading on handicap last night. Several smaller yachts in the 85-strong fleet capable of beating Oatley were still out on the water, but time was running out as they battled unhelpful westerly winds in Bass Strait. All went well on Wild Oats IX, despite direct hits with three sunfish and a shark, until the final ten miles, when the mainsail was damaged in a manoeuvre, forcing the crew to sail with just a jib up the Derwent River to the finish. - Excerpts from a story by Edward Gorman, The Times, complete story: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4041-1961744,00.html ASSISTANCE REQUIRED The moment Skandia crossed the finish line of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Grant Wharington's 98-foot maxi required assistance to make it safely into Constitution Dock. The yacht's engine had failed, which normally isn't too much of a problem for a sailing boat, but in the world of hydraulically-powered canting-keel boats, it means you can't cant your keel. Not easily anyway. When Skandia's engine broke down about 24 hours into the race, Wharington must have wondered if he was heading for a repeat of last year's disastrous race. "We have the option of moving the keel from one side to the other with a small electric motor but it takes about 8 minutes, whereas the engine takes 30 seconds," he explained. "We think we turned the engine off at one stage and it gulped water back in through the exhaust." "The biggest problem was that while we were trying to fix the keel, we were sailing the wrong gybe for about three hours, and that lost us a lot of time, perhaps 20 miles," he said. For a while the engine did its work, and Wharington estimates they gybed about 15 or 20 times. But when it failed for a second time, that was the end of it, and Skandia was forced to sail with the keel locked on the centreline." * AAPT, the former line honours winning (as Nicorette 2004) 92-footer raced by Sean Langman this year has finished 9th across the line, reaching Hobart with the most visible damage on any boat so far - a broken boom. * The second smallest boat in the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet, Tow Truck, this morning reported that last night's conditions were hard work and, at times, frightening. "We had some really wild rides last night and yesterday - it was terrifying," said navigator Brett Filby aboard the 9.43m boat from Lake Macquarie NSW. "It's so wet out here and we've had a lot of knockdowns. The conditions have worked through the boat's supply of sails but, typical of this competitive crew and their little boat, they are committed to continuing the fight today. "We've worked our way through our spinnaker wardrobe and now have a No 3 jib up with two reefs in the mainsail to reduce the sail area," said Filby. * Victorian entrant Ice Fire has become the third yacht to retire from this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. The yacht has sustained damage to its mast. With 21 yachts now docked in Hobart and three retired, there are still 61 boats racing. -- http://rolexsydneyhobart.com Photo link for Sydney Hobart race. (Parts look like fun - parts look like no fun at all. You be the judge): http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/sydneyhobart/ DECISION TIME The last 24 hours have seen Dee Caffari working hard to solve the autopilot problems that continue to threaten the Aviva Challenge, her single-handed attempt to sail non-stop round the world against the prevailing winds. Caffari has slowed Aviva's progress as she makes her way towards the Falklands and Cape Horn to allow more time to isolate the autopilot system faults. This testing is likely to continue for a further two or more days. However, as weather conditions look set to worsen, the pressure is now on to solve the faults as soon as possible. Caffari has to contend with problems on both her main autopilot, which began losing hydraulic fluid on Christmas Day and her back-up system, which has experienced glitches for several weeks now. She and her shore team agree that the voyage cannot safely continue around Cape Horn unless the causes can be traced and fixed. Aviva Challenge Project Director Andrew Roberts said, "Yesterday, we believed that we had a 50/50 chance of finding a solution, we are feeling more confident today as Dee starts to make her way through the various tests. However, we will know more tomorrow when we have completed more of the tests." -- http://www.avivachallenge.com/ COUNTDOWN With just 18 days before 2006 Acura Key West, there's still time to get your team orders in at Sailing Pro Shop for Dryshirt's™ or the other gear that will set your boat apart from the rest of the pack. Team pricing is always available for group orders and SPS offers screening and embroidery. It's no secret that sharp looking crew gear makes the crew feel appreciated and will help draw in the best talent. See what's new from all the top brands or call toll free 1(800) 354-7245, http://www.sailingproshop.com NUMBER ONE - WITH A BULLET If the 11 challengers for the 32nd America's Cup thought that Alinghi was going to roll over and play dead after a sub-par 2004 season that saw it finish third behind Emirates Team New Zealand and BMW Oracle Racing, and lose the skipper who won the past three America's Cup Matches, the dominating performance of the Swiss Defender in 2005 must have come as a hard dose of reality. In 2005, Alinghi won five of six Louis Vuitton Acts and didn't lose a match race until the final day of the Trapani Louis Vuitton Act 8, en route to 31 wins against two losses. In the fleet racing, the Swiss were nearly as powerful, winning two of three fleet racing regattas and four of 13 races. The team finished outside the top three just three times in the 13 fleet races, the best cumulative record of any team. "It's just a matter of sailing time," said helmsman Ed Baird after the season finished in Trapani. "In 2004, the team didn't put the time in ahead of the events. Now, we're sailing whenever we can. As you do that, you improve. You're equipment gets better and you get better as well." Remarkably, Baird was one of three helmsmen Alinghi used in the Louis Vuitton Acts in 2005. After Russell Coutts left the team, Alinghi split time on the wheel equally between Peter Holmberg (Valencia), Jochen Schuemann (Malmö-Skåne), and Baird in Trapani. The sharing is part of the team plan to build at least two 'Cup-capable' sailing teams. After the opening fleet racing Louis Vuitton Act in 2007, the team is on its own for training purposes whilst the challengers build each other up through the Louis Vuitton Cup. The biggest trouble the team may have is finding a place for all of that talent on the race boat during the America's Cup Match itself. "I think we can improve," says team CEO Ernesto Bertarelli. "We have tried a number of people on board. We've mixed it up with helmsmen, and we're in the process of getting better. I wouldn't say we're at our best. What is pleasing however is that we can see when we go out and race that we're learning something. That's the process we have to take to be successful in 2007." -- - Peter Rusch, America's Cup website, complete story: http://tinyurl.com/7mrdu RESTART Each of the ten boats in this year's Clipper Round the World Yacht Race has gone through a series of maintenance tests over the last ten days, from sail repairs to hull checks as all the teams have seen their boats lifted out of the water at their temporary home of Fremantle Sailing Club. The Christmas stop-over has been one of hard work for many as they race against time to get their boat back in top condition for the next stage of the race to Singapore which starts on New Year's Day. Overall Race Standings: 1. westernaustralia.com, 32.5ptspts; 2. Liverpool 08, 24.5pts; 3. Durban, 23pts; 4. New York, 22.5pts; 5. Cardiff, 21pts; 6. Qingdao, 18pts; 7. Uniquely Singapore, 16pts; 8. Victoria, 15.5pts; 9. Jersey, 12pts; 10. Glasgow, 4.5pts. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A CENTURY MAKES! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1905: The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub. There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California. There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30. Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school. The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents per hour. There is much more: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/05/1905/ NEWS BRIEFS * For its 2006 race to Mackinac, the Chicago YC will offer experimental IRC overlay scoring to any monohull competitor submitting a valid IRC endorsed or un-endorsed certificate in addition to the required ORR certificate. IRC brag flags will be awarded based on a formula published in the Notice and Conditions of Race. * On December 27, sailors and shore crew from all of the Volvo Ocean Race teams assembled for the Leg One prize-giving ceremony at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Amongst the prizes awarded, Richard Mason, kiwi crewmember onboard Ericsson, picked up the "Seamanship" award for his bravery when Ericsson's keel movement system failed during the leg. "His quick thinking and knowledge of the system onboard Ericsson enabled him to lock the keel in the middle and keep sailing the boat to Cape Town," said Ericsson skipper Neal McDonald (GBR) who nominated Richard for the trophy. * The host of the first ISAF Team Racing World Championship, West Kirby Sailing Club on the Wirral, Great Britain is set to see the Championship return to their waters in 2007 from August 18-25. At the ISAF Annual Conference in Singapore India withdrew their bid to host the 2007 event. As the unsuccessful bidders for 2007, West Kirby Sailing Club was approached to see if they wished to host the event. Now, Great Britain will join the USA as the only two nations to have hosted the ISAF Team Racing World Championship twice. WSKC will be the first repeat venue. -- http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j8~Fh0AB8 ULLMAN SAILS WIN 2005 CORUM MELGES 24 WORLDS Ullman Sails delivered the speed advantage to capture 3 of the top 5 places and win 7 of 11 races in the competitive 98-boat 2005 Corum Melges 24 World Championship. Congratulations to: 1st place, James Spithill "Team Luna Rossa"; 3rd place, Dave Ullman "Pegasus 505"; and 4th place, Neil Sullivan/ Morgan Reeser " Mfatic." All three teams flew full inventories from Ullman Sails. When boat speed is the most important ingredient, one choice is clear: Ullman Sails are simply the "Fastest Sails on the Planet." Contact your local Ullman Sails loft or visit on line at http://www.ullmansails.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. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From John Longley: I have just had great idea for Alpha Romeo, Wild Thing XI et al. Seeing they have to run the engine all the time why don't they simply put a stainless steel shaft through the bottom of the hull, connect it to the engine and put one of those bladed things called propellers on the end. Then they would not have to use all those expensive sails, * From R.C. Keefe (re Wild Oats XI): Seems like a lot of money and effort to build a big new very complicated boat to finish a 43 hour race first. * From Gerard Sheridan: The following quote from Neville Crichton following his defeat for line honors in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart puts him in very poor light in my opinion. "Maybe they're smarter than I am. Maybe if we had had someone we could have copied with a perfect boat we would have done the same. I would rather they hadn't copied the boat but they've done it. That's life unfortunately." And will he be back with Alfa Romeo next year? "Right now not in a million years, but who knows..." What a sore looser I say. You compete and do your best with your team and your boat. It's natural to be disappointed in loosing but to harp on about the winner building an identical boat to his and to say he never wants to do this race again just smacks of poor sportsmanship and shows up his only interest is in winning line honors at all costs and not necessarily facing identical or very similar competition on the water. IRC wasn't meant to rate boats like these so I'm glad he got beaten on the water with an identical boat. And I'm glad Adrienne Cahalan had a hand in doing it also for her sake considering here recent departure from the Volvo Round the World race. We never saw a class act like Roy Disney behave like this, did we? Curmudgeon's Comment: Here's the story with Crichton's quotes: http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/news.asp?key=2244 *From James Marta: With regard to Barry Carroll's remarks for IRC, there is only one really big problem with the IRC, and it's not with the ratings. Years ago we had a pretty good rule with the IOR system, the problem wasn't just that it created boats that wouldn't sail downwind well, but that there were different time allowance curves used from place to place while using the same ratings. The IRC uses a Time on Time system, while PHRF can use either Time on Distance, or Time on Time. Generally, Seattle sailing at the higher level is Time on Distance due to the many equalizers we experience on Puget Sound's distance races. Time on Distance is the larger boats choice, while the Time on Time is the choice of smaller boats. I don't see the IRC system being able to use Time on Distance at this time. * From: "Jordan J. Dobrikin (To Mssrs, McClement,Carroll, duMoulin, Moores,et.al.): Why not look at the Portsmouth Rating System, or better yet take a page from their book and use a consistant, rational, analysis, of an on going data base, of actual Racing Data, to hone, fine tune, and improve the accuracy/validity of the Ratings. With todays modern economical tools of GPS, Lap Top Computers, Electronic Timers, and the WWW it is quite simple for the Race Committees to gather, record, and transmit the data from each and every race. Hence in a few short months we could have a substantial database to allow the Mathematicians/Statisticians to do their thing. To reiterate what us "Weekend Warriors" want is a Rating system that takes the boats design, construction and configuration out of the equation. That belongs in the America's Cup, Volvo, Hobart, and other Big League Events/Venues.What is being tested in Sail Racing is the TEAM: Skipper, Crew, Sailmaker, and Maintenance/ Preperation Persons. Not the Designer/Manufacturer of the boat. * From: Ralph Taylor: Dave Moore (in 'Butt 1995) takes Barry Carroll's compliments of IRC & turns them into an indictment of PHRF. It's like criticizing the family mini-van for not being a Ferrari. It's true that a local PHRF committee has a hard time rating a boat class of which it doesn't have many. That makes it hard to use results to sort out the boat's potential from the crew's actual. Similarly, it's hard to fairly rate classes that are typically not sailed to their potentials. PHRF builds in the fact that prevailing conditions have a lot to do with how boats perform against each other -- the "local" rating aspect of it. For example, some boats don't do well in light air or chop; some areas have lots of one or both; some areas don't. A uniform national or international one-number system can't deal with this. Multiple-number systems bring in complexities many RCs don't want to deal with. There is, of course, a US national rating system that's even cheaper (i.e., free) than PHRF, eliminates subjectivity, and accounts for varying wind speeds. It's called the "Portsmouth Yardstick". So, sailors dissatisfied with PHRF can convince their clubs to use Portsmouth to handicap the racing. So far as cost, I doubt any system but Portsmouth can beat our region's PHRF; $15/year for a family membership, plus $5 per each boat rated. * From Kerry Deaver: Oxymoron alert -- statistical PHRF. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Special thanks to Sailing Pro Shop and Ullman Sails. |
