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SCUTTLEBUTT 2822 - Tuesday, April 14, 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. Today's sponsors are North Sails, Camet, and 43rd Annual Governor's Cup Regatta. TROPICAL WEATHER DISCUSSION - 2009 by Rob Lightbown, Crown Weather Services This is an update to my previous look at the possibilities for the 2009 Hurricane Season. As many of you know, Colorado State University and Tropical Storm Risk, Inc have released their April forecast updates for the 2009 Hurricane Season. I have taken a look at both forecasts and have cross-referenced the material in the forecasts. What I have found is pretty interesting and I am going to go over this with you. The first item of interest is that Colorado State is forecasting 12 Named Storms, 6 of those Storms becoming Hurricanes and 2 of those Hurricanes becoming Major Hurricanes. The current La Nina conditions are expected to transition into at least neutral conditions and very possibly El Nino conditions by the later parts of the Hurricane Season. If El Nino conditions do develop, it would increase levels of vertical wind shear and thus decrease levels of Atlantic hurricane activity. Another factor to watch is the anomalous cooling of sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic. Cooler waters are associated with less Atlantic hurricane activity. There is some question on whether this cooling will continue. The Azores High has been somewhat weaker than average during March 2009, implying weaker trade winds which should lead to some anomalous warming in the Main Development Region. If this occurs then hurricane activity may be more active than what is being forecast. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0413/ MODERNIZING THE MC SCOW For one design dinghy classes, March is Midwinter Regatta season. Despite all the economic doom and gloom news reports, the MC class had more entrants at their 2009 MC Midwinters Regatta than they have enjoyed in a decade. So what attracted 80 competitors to Lake Eustis SC, FL on March 19-21? A big topic within the class has been a project to modernize the boat. Andy Burdick, president of Melges Performance Sailboats, provides an update on the MC class and the scow world: * What motivated the redesign? Andy Burdick: "The MC class was instrumental in advancing the boat. Many years ago we (WE = Melges and the MC Class) knew what the next step would be and that is a new look to make the boat look modern / advanced and also add in the safety factor. The boat with the sealed deck is much safer which is key in a singlehanded boat. The new boat looks hot and more modern." * Where does the MC fit into the scow world? Andy Burdick: "The Melges MC is a 16’ boat designed back in the 1950’s by Melges. It is a miniature C scow in a sense. Designed to be singlehanded but the cool thing is that the boat will accept a crew when it is windy. So, many families get involved. Perfect for young sailors, wives or girlfriends. This gives the boat an added bonus as it is comfortable to sail with crew." * What other boats does it compete with for market share? Andy Burdick: "Not sure it competes with anything in the market share just because it can be singlehanded, it can take a crew whenever you want – not many boats have this feature. A lot more comfortable than a Laser – much more stable. Less aggressive than a Finn. The boat is a ton of fun and very unique – a recipe for success." -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0413a PUMA’S ‘IL MOSTRO’ ON ITS WAY TO BOSTON… … So we recommend you dress appropriately! North Sails has a great selection of PUMA Ocean Racing Gear including men's & ladies tees, pullovers, shorts & hoodies. Through Sunday, April 19, enjoy free shipping on all PUMA items (surface shipping within the US only. Write 'scuttlebutt' in comments box during check-out & shipping charges will be deducted from your order.) http://www.northsailsgear.com/store/?c=67 AIMING AT THE SCORING GATE (Apr. 13, 2009; Day 3) - For once, the seven-strong Volvo fleet is heading NNE, straight towards the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha (eastern tip of Brazil) at speeds that feel fast, at least when compared with the drifting conditions and horrible rolling swell of the first 36 hours. The fleet has reached the southeast trade winds and speeds are up to a staggering 14 knots, carrying leader Telefonica Blue to within 884 nm from the gate. “Fourteen knots seems like potential passing out/nose bleed speed, similar to the first few days that Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’ hit the track,’” says Ericsson 4’s MCM Guy Salter. Adds Green Dragon navigator Wouter Verbraak, “Day three is always a huge improvement from days one and two. Everybody has had a chance to catch up with lost sleep, meals are defining the rhythm of the day and even coffees are being made for the next watch,” Wouter says. Unfortunately for GD, the third day has also brought a beam reach wind angle, a condition she’s been unable to excel in, and she now finds herself at the bottom of the standings. -- Excerpts from race website Crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Leg Six from Rio de Janiero, Brazil to Boston, MA, USA is 4,900 nm, with the finish estimated on April 27th. Current positions (as of Apr. 13, 22:15 GMT): 1. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 4,417 nm Distance to Finish 2. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 12 nm DTL 3. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 20 nm DTL 4. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 23 nm DTL 5. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 26 nm DTL 6. Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, 28 nm DTL 7. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 40 nm Distance to Leader Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, Did Not Start Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 SEEKING FAIRNESS FOR ALL BOATS At the start of an IRC keelboat race, the race officer decided to start the race early as it looked like the wind would die later in the afternoon and so he made an announcement to that effect on the radio. With the exception of one boat, the fleet heard the call over the radio, and started. One boat, without a radio, did not hear the announcement and arrived at the starting area only to see the fleet already racing, about 10 min up the track in very light air. In an effort to recover from their error, the race committee told the boat to start and took his time across the starting line and, later, at the finishing line. The finishing times of the rest of the fleet were recorded in the normal way. After the race, the race committee lodged a request for redress on behalf of the 'late starter'. The protest committee granted redress which was to give the boats - including the late starter, their actual elapsed times, corrected in accordance with their respective TCF's. As it happened, this gave the late starter a result some 4 minutes ahead of the next boat on corrected time. As a result, he won the race, the final race in the series, and this, in turn, critically altered the overall score of other boats in the race and the series. The boat displaced from first place in the series, lodged a request for redress, claiming that the protest committee did not properly consider the fairness to all of the competitors. -- Read on: http://rrsstudy.blogspot.com/2009/04/ltw-readers-q-23-redressing.html TRIVIA QUESTION What animal in French yachting lore is believed to bring bad luck, and may have been the cause of adversity onboard one of the Volvo Ocean Race entrants? TOPICS ON THE TABLE Here are a couple items that were among the minutes of the March 2009 US SAILING Board of Directors meeting: * The ISAF (International Sailing Federation) is in the process of allocating the first 80 Elliott 6M boats in support of developing competitors for the Women’s Match Racing Event in the 2012 Olympics. US SAILING has approved requests for two fleets, 8 boats in one and 4 in the other. It was also noted that the ISAF is getting some pressure to reverse the decision to include Women's Match Racing in the 2012 Olympics. Our ISAF Delegation will be monitoring this development, however, such a reversal would require a 75% majority vote of the ISAF Council to overturn the previous decision to include match racing in the London Olympics. * A MOTION was introduced to consider suspending the spring meeting in 2010 and 2011, and utilized a sequence of Conference Calls and other technology enhanced communications approaches. The hope is that this will be discussed over the course of this weekend. A number of individuals noted the value of observation, our need to ensure breadth of information flow. It was asked how many NGB’s (National Governing Body) have more than one face-to-face meeting per year – (Executive Director) Charlie Leighton will take this question to the other NGBs and will bring this information back to the association. An idea was put forward that some committees lend themselves to Regional Meetings, and that this may be a way to reach out and attract new, younger members to participate. It was also noted that if this does become our approach, we will need to provide guidelines of communication expectations. Meeting minutes: http://www2.ussailing.org/Assets/BOD/BOD+Minutes+2009_03_26+Final.pdf => Curmudgeon’s Comment: I understand that the Elliott 6M boats mentioned above are destined for the US Sailing Center of Sheboygan (WI) and the Chicago Match Race Center, and will be used to help support athletes training for the Olympic women’s match race event. SPRING FOR CAMET GEAR! It’s that time of year when the snow is melting and the boatyards are coming alive as sailors gear up for all the summer events. So don’t be left behind without covering your behind with the new grey and red stripe, fast drying padded 3000 Shorts from Camet. Many models and colors to choose from. Also check out the all new Skiff Wetsuit! http://www.camet.com/?Click=1147 TULLOCH WINS 2009 ROLEX WOMEN’S MATCH St. Petersburg, Fla. (April 13, 2009) - Genny Tulloch (Tiburon, Calif.) and her team won the 2009 Rolex Women’s Match, hosted April 9-12 by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Sailing with Tulloch, who is ranked #1 on the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, were crew members Liz Hall (Bristol, R.I.), Jamie Haines (Newport, R.I.) and Chafee Emory (Newport, R.I.). A total of 10 teams competed in the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 3 match-racing regatta, which was created in 2002 to improve opportunities for women sailors specifically interested in match racing. With the win, #43 world-ranked Tulloch, along with second-place finisher Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), gained an automatic invitation to the Rolex Osprey Cup, an ISAF Grade 1 regatta, to be held October 21-24, at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0413b BRITISH INVASION Nick Thompson (GBR) is on a tear, having won the Laser event in the last two ISAF Sailing World Cup Olympic events (January in Miami and April in Palma). Since Nick left University last December, he has been in Florida training with American Brad Funk, who just missed out in his bid to represent the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics. Why did Nick come to the U.S.? Here he explains: “Since leaving University I have been able to focus all my attention on my sailing. It was therefore important for me to get some long productive hours on the water and Florida was the ideal base to do this. Sailing out of Clearwater, Ft Lauderdale and Miami gave me a perfect mix of conditions; whilst using Brad Funk, James Espey (IRL) and Paige Railey as training partners kept me on my toes whilst still having great fun. A typical days training would include a early morning two hour bike ride, three hour sail and an evening weight session.” On why Nick is training with Brad, he explains, “Brad was great as a training partner as he has a lot of experience, great boat speed and has a great outlook on life. He is always keen to try new ideas on the water, which would often lead to some interesting exploits, such as hiking off a balance ball in our Lasers and foiling moth sailing for co-ordination and balance. Currently I have been able to place higher in regattas than Brad with 2 World Cup wins in Miami and Palma and wins in the Caribbean Mid Winters and Midwinters East regatta in Clearwater. However Brad has a few areas which he can develop and I'm sure we will be seeing him at the top again soon; which just goes to show you that it doesn’t matter how long you have been sailing Lasers there is still room for improvement.” -- Offshore Rules, full interview: http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=196 TRIVIA ANSWER Regarding French superstitions surrounding animals and yachting, PUMA skipper Kenny Read describes the first day of the Volvo Ocean Race leg from Rio to Boston: “Sidney Gavignet (PUMA watch captain) is a very passionate Frenchman who has a love for the sea and a love for competition. But like most of us he has a few superstitions and there is one in particular that is shared by nearly all of his French sailing counterparts. They have a huge fear of little fuzzy hopping animals with long ears (I am not even allowed to say the name of this animal - that is how deep rooted the superstition is.) “As legend has it, the furry animals with long ears used to be taken aboard the old sailing ships alive and eaten in the old days, long before refrigeration or freeze-dried food. Live animals were carried then to eaten by the crew. The furry little animals with long ears supposedly had a different plan though. They would eat through the wooden hulls and sink the ships before they made it to the cooker, or made the boat made it to port. Since then the French have forbidden any sort of mention or likeness of the big-eared ship sinkers to be on any boat.” -- Read on: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2009/April/EMAIL-PUMA-L6-D3-1507 ENTRIES NOW OPEN FOR INTERNATIONAL YOUTH MATCH RACE Youth match race competitors are invited to follow in the footsteps of Olympic, America's Cup, and professional match racing circuit leaders by applying to compete in Balboa Yacht Club's 43rd Annual Governor's Cup Regatta, an ISAF Grade 3 event, on July 14-19, 2009 in Newport Beach, California. For information or bid package, email mailto:sailing@balboayachtclub.com or view http://www.govcupracing.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Andy Kostanecki: (re, story ‘Is Shallow Water Better For Speed?’ in Scuttlebutt 2821) Do you guys all remember that when "The Wizard of Bristol," Nahtaniel Herreshoff, was designing and building high speed torpedo boats for the Navy during the last part of the 19th century, he stipulated by contract that his boats would be speed tested in a particular stretch of (shallow) water in Narragansett Bay? He was certain by his own testing that shallower water resulted in higher speed. (Not as shallow as the ditches in France, of course). * From Jo and Dale Mogle, Punta Gorda, FL: What a neat piece in Scuttlebutt 2821 on the Friday Nite Races in Honolulu! Great photos, too. Thanks for bringing back such great memories of our sailing days in Hawaii (1960-1993). One of our sons (Rick) is lucky enough to still be living and racing there in the "Friday-Nighters" (aboard HeartBeat). Those races are still the favorite times of many, many lucky sailors. * From Damian Christie, Melbourne, AUS: (re, letter in Scuttlebutt 2821) Dan Meyers, you’ve clearly not followed the America's Cup legal drama closely. The NYYC, in its amicus brief to the New York courts, did not support a Deed of Gift match between SNG and GGYC. To quote from NYYC's brief, its interest in the litigation stemmed from its "desire to have the competition remain faithful to the Deed of Gift drafted by the settlors and to see that the races for the challenger selection series and the America's Cup are fair and even-handed competitions for all participants". Team New Zealand and RNZYS mounted the anti-trust case against Alinghi on similar grounds. The now defunct SNG/CNEV protocol would have given Alinghi autocratic control over the Cup competition, including the potential to appoint umpires and to exclude eligible, established yacht clubs from the competition (in clear violation of the Deed). Most importantly, the protocol would have enabled SNG to sail in the challenger selection series and select the type of boat to be used (which Alinghi could develop in secret and unveil at a time of its own choosing). At least now there is the potential for a new protocol that will give challengers more input into the running of the Cup competition. Ironically, NYYC may even have opened the door for itself to return to that competition. Therefore, the communiqué is no joke. The NYYC and the other trustees should be applauded for upholding the spirit of the Cup competition that Ernesto Bertarelli and Alinghi have so brazenly ignored. * From Peter Wilkie: It is nice to see that Dan Meyers affiliation with Ernesto Bertarelli, Brad Butterworth, and the rest of the Alinghi team is alive and well, and that he is willing to write Scuttlebutt a letter (#2821) in their defense. Much like the lawyers that Alinghi had hired (aka “the best lawyers”), Mr. Meyers also has no problem jigging the truth to make a case. While he states that the purpose of the New York Yacht Club amicus brief filing with the New York courts was to support “the American challenger, the Deed of Gift Match, and the traditions of the Club to uphold valid challenges for the America's Cup”, he makes this statement in complete contradiction with what is actually stated in the filing. At the risk of further embarrassing Mr. Meyers, I will provide for those ‘buttheads who are interested enough the amicus brief link so they can read the filing for themselves: http://nyyc.org/gui/nyyc1/uploadedfiles/Dups_home/AB.pdf CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION "Sex is one of the most wholesome, beautiful and natural experiences money can buy." - Steve Martin Special thanks to North Sails, Camet, and 43rd Annual Governor's Cup Regatta. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
