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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 1120 - July 23, 2002Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
ONE OF THE FASTEST MACS EVER Strong storms swept the length of Lake Michigan Sunday night and Monday morning with wind readings as high as 60 to 80 mph, and left a brisk wind behind. "Usually after a storm, the doldrums hit and the race slows dramatically," said Race Spokesperson Dick Schweers. "The winds from this storm just blew the rest of the fleet right in to the finish, making it one of the fastest Mac races ever." The storms forced at least 18 boats to withdraw, many within sight of the finish line, and caused extensive damage to a few boats, but there were no major injuries. Additional information is available about the rescue of the crew of the multihull Caliente. The freighter Algo Marine stopped to assist the overturned boat and put out a second distress call for Caliente. It then stayed near the scene for 90 minutes with a search light on the boat and two crew members stranded in the water, until the racing yacht Kokomo was able to pick up the six sailors and continue in the race.
Preliminary Race results:
Race results at www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac.
QUANTUM J/24 WORLDS Top five after today's races:
1. Britt Hughes, USA, 5 points
VOLVO YOUTH SAILING ISAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Class leaders after Sunday's racing: Complete results on www.worldyouthsailingcanada.com
PLAN AHEAD WITH CAMET GEAR
IL MORO TROPHY REGATTA Yachts at the start line will include previous IACCSF regatta winner Oracle (USA-49), NZL 14, NZL 20, Stars and Stripes (USA-11), and Il Moro (ITA-1). Format for the weekend racing comprises one buoy race starting at 2pm on Friday July 26, two buoy races starting at 10:30am on Saturday July 27, and a distance race starting at 10:30am on Sunday July 28, with an Awards Ceremony at the Sausalito Yacht Club at 4pm. The schedule is subject to change depending on weather. Times are approximate and will be listed on the information board in the Sausalito Yacht Club over the weekend.
ISAF SURVEY OF SINGLE-HANDED OFFSHORE RACING
The survey can be found via the following link and ISAF would ask that the survey be completed and returned by 15 August 2002.
BLAKE'S SPIRIT LIVES WITH SCHOONER High and dry on the pavement of the Newport Shipyard in Rhode Island, the 118-foot icebreaking schooner Seamaster bears scant resemblance to the immaculate, gleaming pleasure yachts lining the nearby slips. With its unfinished aluminum hull, massive double rig and general workmanlike appearance, in more ways than one it's a ship out of water. Among the neighboring boats with their polished metal fittings and varnished brightwork, Seamaster looks like a vessel straight from the movie "Waterworld." The first mate, the New Zealand sailor Errol Olphert - better known as Ollie - disagrees. "A lot of people think she's ugly, but when you've been on her and sailed on her, she's a beautiful baby," Olphert said. "She feels so safe." Had Seamaster followed the five-year itinerary laid out for it when the boat left New Zealand in November 2000, this summer it would be plying the waters above the Arctic Circle on the sort of scientific expedition for which it was built. But those plans changed last Dec. 5 when Seamaster's former skipper, the renowned New Zealand yachtsman and environmentalist Sir Peter Blake, was murdered by bandits off the coastal city of Macapa, Brazil, after a voyage up the Amazon River. While Seamaster's immediate future is uncertain, after its current maintenance refit Olphert vows that Blake's ongoing environmental group, blakexpeditions, will continue to pursue its founder's vision. "There's only one direction to go and that's straight ahead," Olphert said. Complete text at www.nytimes.com/2002/07/21/sports/othersports/21BOAT.html
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (dmccreary@boats.com -- until the Curmudgeon returns next week) * From Jane Watkins: I was deeply affected by the senseless murder of US Sailing's Ally Zapp. Her final regatta was the Jr. Olympic Sailing Event in Santa Barbara the weekend before her death which is where I met and worked with her. She was a petite, energetic and charismatic 30 year old who was so excited about her future in the sailing realm. She was on her way to New Zealand to look for work with an AC campaign. I only knew her for a few days, but she was wonderful and my heart goes out to all those who knew her and loved her. She was so special and I cried a lot over the loss of a new friend. It will make me work harder to keep the system from releasing rapists and murderers. The sailing world has lost a great person under the worst circumstances imaginable. * From: Keri Shining: I did not know Ally Zapp, but the few shocking facts provided about her tragic death in a public rest area made me think about the unsung heroes of the shore support team, the trailer/van driver. I know I've done my share of lugging duffles, extra gear and gasoline cans across this country's interstates. Many van drivers don't get enough credit. When you are the van driver, you can't leave until after "your" boat's section starts (this is to make sure the boat doesn't head back to the dock for some unexpected forgotten item, like the number 2 headsail). Then you drive to your apartment to finally pack your own bag because you've been getting the dry ice that the boat captain forgot to order, or the snatch block that the trimmer forgot to pick up at the rigger. When you finally head out of town, you drive as far as you physically can toward Mackinac, Miami, Maine, etc. Endurance is key. Caffeine is essential. Endurance also helps when the van blows a flat and it turns out the spare has a flat as well at 1:00 a.m. just outside Paw Paw. Often, you find yourself late at night, alone and tired pulling into an unfamiliar rest area. Let's all pause in memory of Ms. Zapp and give our shore support some extra goodwill for the selfless, underpaid or often unpaid work they do to support sailing programs across the country. * From: Andrew Troup: Re: TNZL pay scales: The politics of envy is even less appetizing on a sailing forum than other political topics. It won't have escaped most readers that there is only one reason why TNZ have to pay whatever they have to pay. * Grant Longstreet: If Dean Barker is only making a half a million dollar annual salary (and with apologies to my Kiwi brethren, but if that's NZ dollars it's only $238,455 in real money at today's exchange rate), it's because he did chose NOT to sail for a team other than New Zealand. TNZ could not begin to match the checkbooks of the billionaires. If Barker can get that kind of money from TNZ, good. It's about time top professionals in sailing made some money. For many, many years, they certainly did not. Anyone who thinks that this is a plum, easy job should spend a day aboard an IACC yacht -- and then go back to the shed and cart around a few tons of sails and gear. Add to that enough jetlag to kill a mere mortal, and these guys earn every dime. Barker certainly does. * From Harold Denton: I have entered a Trintella 47 (non spinnaker) in the Around Long Island Regatta starting July 25. Due to injury I have lost a watch captain and trimmer. Anyone interested please call Hal Denton 609 951 9500. Thanks for your help. Guest Editor's note: Harold's letter here was published as a favor to a friend, PLEASE do not besiege either myself or the Curmudgeon with crew needed letters!
BLOKART ANYWHERE ANYTIME
UBS CHALLENGE SAILING CHAMPIONSHIP The UBS Challenge Finals mark the historic return of America's Cup contenders to Newport for the first time since 1983. Newport residents and visitors can take advantage of one of the last major opportunities these crews will have to race against each other before the 2003 America's Cup. Currently, nine America's Cup crews and four top-ranked professional sailors are confirmed to race. UBS Challenge Week events open to the public include: UBS Challenge U.S. Championship (July 27-29), UBS Challenge Sponsor Pro-Am Event (July 30), UBS Challenge Junior Sailing Program, with America's Cup Skippers (August 1) and UBS Challenge Finals (August 1-4). All events will set sail from the Hyatt on Goat Island. The UBS Challenge is the first and only sailing championship to pit the United States' best amateur sailors against America's Cup teams. The tournament began in May with a series of regional qualifying races in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Houston, New York and Boston. In the UBS Challenge U.S. Championship, regional winners will compete against last year's top finishers from the U.S. Match Racing Championship, Mason Woodworth, Andy Lovell, and Scott Dickson; Brad Funk, a leading college sailor from Old Dominion University; John R. Gochberg from the New York Yacht Club; and Sally Barkow, top-ranked female sailor from Old Dominion University. The top three finishers of the UBS Challenge U.S. Championship will advance to the UBS Challenge Finals, where they will compete against nine America's Cup contenders, including Jean Claude Monnin of Team Alinghi; Ken Read of Team Dennis Conner; and Gavin Brady of Prada Challenge. The UBS Challenge is sanctioned by U.S. Sailing. For a complete list of events and times, please refer to www.ubs.com/ubschallenge.
49ER GORGE REGATTA
1st Team Wadlow/Spaulding, Tim Wadlow & Pete Spaulding, 12pts Next up for CGRA is the Columbia Gorge One-Design and Sail Festival August 8-11th. CGOD classes will include the following: I-14 North Americans, Tasar North Americans, Snipe Pacific Coast Championships, 505, Melges 24, Laser, Europe and Finn.
WORLD CHAMPIONS
2002 420 World Champion - Open - Farokh Tarapore and Vikas Kapila (IND)
MEXICO TARGETS US BOATERS WITH $1.9B MARINA PROJECT The plan calls for 22 new or upgraded ports to be built on the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez to attract up to 76,400 recreational boaters annually by 2010, according to the AP. Opponents of the project, which has long drawn criticism include advocates for environmental causes as well as some members of the recreational boating industry, according to the AP. "There is no need for so many marinas, especially in such environmentally-sensitive areas," Patricia Martinez, director of Pro Esteros, a wetlands advocacy group, told AP. Richard Spindler, editor of the sailing magazine Latitude 38 and co-founder of the annual San Diego-to-Cabo San Lucas sailing event, cast doubt on Escalera Nautica's tourist projections. "The numbers are absolutely ridiculous, pure fantasy," Spindler told the AP. "They would have to empty every marina in California to get 75,000 boats." -- Boating Industry International, full text at www.boating-industry.com/news.asp?mode=4&N_ID=33025
THE CURMUDGEON'S QUOTATIONS |
