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SCUTTLEBUTT 2084 - May 1, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.MOVISTAR ENJOYS THE LIGHT AIR Baltimore, Maryland – In front of an armada of boats and an estimated 20,000 spectators, movistar pulled off an impressive victory out on Chesapeake Bay in the fifth in-port race of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. With a light north easterly wind blowing around 8-10 knots, the race got underway as scheduled and it was the American entry Pirates of the Caribbean that was first out of the starting blocks. Paul Cayard (USA) and his band of Pirates, including the newly crowned Miss USA Tara Connor, timed the start to perfection and leapt off the start line closely followed by Ericsson skippered by fellow American John Kostecki. By the first mark Ericsson had the advantage and passed Pirates of the Caribbean to take the lead, seven seconds in front of the Spanish entry movistar. An intense battle between Ericsson and movistar then ensued which resulted in Bouwe Bekking’s (NED) movistar gaining the upper hand to move up into the lead leaving Ericsson to battle it out for second place with Pirates of the Caribbean and Torben Grael’s Brasil 1. With five Olympic medals under his belt, Grael’s experience paid off and he managed to get an inside advantage and get Brasil 1 round in second place. Both movistar and Brasil 1 managed to stay out in front as the wind dropped to five knots and by the time the race committee decided to shorten the course, movistar had established an unbeatable lead and took maximum points in the race. Overall race leaders ABN Amro One skippered by Mike Sanderson (NZ) struggled from the start in the light conditions, which the Juan Kouyoumdjian designed boat is not known to excel in, and finished the race in sixth place just behind their sister-ship ABN Amro Two. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org 1. movistar, Bouwe Bekking, (2h 21m 32s) 3.5 pts 2. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, (2h 26m 07s) 3 pts 3. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, (2h 26m 57s) 2.5 pts 4. Ericsson Racing Team, John Kostecki, (2h 29m 17s) 2 pts 5. ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, (2h 29m 49s) 1.5 pts 6. ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, (2h 35m 18s) 1 pt 7. Brunel, Grant Wharington, (2h 35m 50s) 0.5 pts Current Volvo Ocean Race Leaderboard: 1. ABN Amro One 63.5 pts 2. movistar, 44 pts 3. Pirates of the Caribbean, 41.5 pts 4. ABN Amro Two, 41.0 pts 5. Brasil 1, 37.0 pts 6. Ericsson Racing Team 30.5 pts 7. Brunel, 0.5 pts -- Thanks to photographer Amory Ross for the In-port race photos now on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0430/ FARR DAY It's been a long, hard Volvo Ocean Race for local legend Bruce Farr, who has designed every winner of the prestigious 'round-the-world race since 1985, but whose four entries this time have lagged behind. Saturday, Chesapeake Bay provided a spring bouquet of light and fickle winds. Farr boats went roaring to the front of the fleet and stayed there. "It was Farr day," said Paul Cayard, skipper of Farr-designed Pirates of the Caribbean, which was third in Saturday's 16-mile in-port race just north of the Bay Bridge, behind first-place Movistar and second-place Brasil 1 and just ahead of fourth-place Ericsson. All four are Farr boats. Indeed, the powerful fleet leader, Dutch entry ABN Amro 1, was just one place from last as a soft northerly breeze dwindled under bright sunny skies. ABN's sixth-place finish, just behind sister ship ABN Amro 2, earned it one point, but it still holds a 19 1/2 -point lead over second place Movistar in the overall standings with three legs to go. The slender Farr boats showed a speed edge in light winds over the wider, stabler ABN boats, which are built for stronger winds, and over last-place Australian entry Brunel, which was seventh. Farr and his chief engineer, Russell Bowler, were out among the 1,000 spectators boats crowding the course. They watched from separate power boats, then staged an exuberant race of their own back to Annapolis to celebrate. "Certainly they [the ABN boats] have the pace in some wind strengths and conditions, that's been apparent so far," said Bowler later. "But our guys are catching up. I'm just not sure there's enough race left." -- Angus Phillips, The Washington Post, Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/ljzd3 WIND STARVED Ensenada, Baja Calif. - ‘Wind starved’ aptly described the 59th Lexus Newport to Ensenada International Yacht Race which saw 106 of the 461 racers drop out before the Mexican finish line. The latter included Windquest, Doug DeVos' maxZ86 from Michigan that started well with an eye on the race record; 83-year-old Vic Stern of Long Beach, sailing the venerable catamaran Imi Loa in its 44th race to Baja California, and Dennis Conner sailing a 78-year old, 82-foot chartered schooner, Kelpie. Pyewacket, sailing faster than what little wind there was, led the way in 17 hours 8 minutes 20 seconds---well off the record of 10:44:54 set by its predecessor Pyewacket 77 in 2003 but impressive by the nearly three-hour margin of its victory over Doug Baker's runner-up Magnitude 80. Pyewacket was recently donated by Roy Disney to Orange Coast College and was skippered by Brad Avery and Keith Kilpatrick. Max Rosenberg's Mad Max, with a rating of 69 seconds per mile, was the overall winner in corrected handicap time. The Hobie 33 from the King Harbor YC in Redondo Beach sailed in PHRF Class D with a crew of Jack Lemaire, Tim Harris and Paul Wren. They were one of the smallest D boats but the first to finish in just under 25 hours that corrected out to 22:26:41. Stan Albrecht’s Valkyrie, a Cal 25 won PHRF-L by finishing at 1:51 a.m. Sunday after 36 ½ hours of sailing at an average speed of 3.4 knots. It was Albrecht’s fourth Ensenada Race class win in the boat. -- http://www.nosa.org/06_races-lx.html - If you ever wondered what trophy presentations look like for the largest international race on record, Rich Roberts sends us this to ponder: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/ensenada.jpg VOLVO 70'S CHOOSE SPINLOCK Five Volvo boats use Spinlock Deckware Lifejacket Harnesses. All 7 use Spinlock hardware. Deckware Lifejacket Harnesses bring comfort, safety, and freedom to sailing. Simple to put on, quick to adjust, the Deck Pro Harness with lifejacket offers easy inflation handle, sprayhood, and light. The lifejacket exceeds ISAF and ORC regulations and complies with US race regulations. Visit SpinlockDeckware.com. Spinlock's new PXR Cam Cleat, designed for high performance sailors, is the first cam cleat to offer precision control with 3 stages of adjustment. PXR allows users to fine-tune release pressure depending on application and conditions. For more information visit http://www.spinlock.co.uk WESTERLY SAVES THE DAY The wind gods did not smile upon the Semaine Olympique Francaise in 2006. Following day one's fickle conditions, days two and three were near perfect, but that was the end of it. While the sea breeze was expected for the single “medal race,” it is the westerly wind that saved the day allowing the Medal races to start with only one hour delay. The women’s division in the RS:X and 470 were the only one to miss out and overall results are based on the previous day’s standing without a medal race. Americans Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Debbie Capozzi coasted to a easy victory in the 26-boat Yngling class by finishing secord -- 15 points ahead of Sarah Ayton’s GBR team. The USA’s Nancy Haberland helmed a second GBR team into a tie for the remaining spot on the podium only to loose the tie-breaker. Paige Railey (USA) captured Gold medal in the Laser Radial fleet by successfully match racing her closest competitor -- France’s Sophia DeTurckheim. China’s Lijia Xu won the race and the Bronze medal, with the USA’s Anna Tunnicliffe settling for fifth place and Lisa Ross (CAN) taking ninth. Canadian was the only other North American to medal in this huge regatta -- taking third place in the 137-boat Laser fleet. The USA’s team of Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler finished 13th in the Women’s 470 class - the same place take by the USA’s Mikee Anderson-Mitterling and David Hughes in the Men’s 470.-- Complete standings: http://sof.ffvoile.net/ - Additional photos from outstanding photographer Gilles Martin-Raget have been added to the Scuttlebutt gallery for the Hyeres event: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/hyeres - The top US 470 teams have all submitted updated reports from Hyeres: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/us470reports CARIBBEAN RACING St. John's, Antigua (April 30, 2006) - Early Sunday morning, hundreds of spectators gathered at Shirley Heights, the legendary mountaintop lookout over English Harbour, to witness the start of the 39th annual Rolex Antigua Sailing Week. Two divisions - one for racing and one for cruising - set off toward Dickenson Bay, with the faster boats racing around the island some 35.4 miles to the east and the cruisers going west on a 21.3 mile course. Defending overall champion Titan 12, Tom and Dottie Hill's 75-foot maxi-racer from Puerto Rico took line honors overall but did not have enough lead time to secure first in class. Rosebud, Roger Sturgeon's TP52 from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. holds that honor in Racing Big Boat 1 class. The fleet, representing 30 countries among the 16 classes, will overnight in Dickenson Bay to enjoy the annual beach bash where over 1500 sailors will mix with a crowd 10,000 locals and visitors. Tomorrow, the fleet begins its second race from the Bay toward Jolly Harbour on the west side of the island. Racing continues through Friday, May 6 for all classes except the Bareboats, which have an additional race on Saturday, May 6. The week's activities culminate at the trophy ceremonies and the famed Lord Nelson's Ball on Saturday, May 6. -- Media Pro Int’l, http://www.sailingweek.com. WHERE DO YOU LOUP? Sailors are finding more and more applications for the remarkable Yale Loup. Bending on sheets, securing runner blocks, attaching boom hardware, shroud attachments; you name it, Loups have done it. Multiple spliced coils of UHMPE surrounded by an HMPE sleeve sounds simple, but Yale’s proprietary finishing process maximizes the strength to give outstanding performance with real weight savings over traditional shackles. What is your favorite Loup application? Loups - the new VMG cover from Yale Cordage - for when there’s a lot on the line. http://www.yalecordage.com SAILING SHORTS * Preliminary regattas for the America's Cup get underway in Valencia in Spain in just a couple of weeks but Team New Zealand skipper Grant Dalton says they are still trying to catch up. One of three favourites among the 11 challengers, Dalton sees BMW Oracle from the US and Italy's Luna Rossa as the in form teams. However Dalton insists they will not be caught napping in the preliminaries and says the team has the determination to take revenge for the shock America's Cup victory by Alinghi of Switzerland three years ago. -- http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/707821 * With 277 boats and 18 classes the Annapolis NOOD is one of the largest regattas in the nine-event Lands’ End NOOD series. And this year the event enjoyed three days of near perfect weather and excellent racing. Thomas Coates’ Masquerade won the 36-boat J105 class, Jud Smith was king of the Etchells; Greg Fisher captured the top step on the J/22 podium, Chuck Holzman won Melges 24 class honors while Henry Filter was the top Starboat. -- http://tinyurl.com/pk7vn * Chris Snow from San Diego YC dominated the Sailing Anarchy J/24 Nationals in way that has rarely been seen before. He won the 55-boat event at the Houston YC by an awesome 46 points. Final results: 1. Chris Snow, 25; 2. Mike Ingham, 71 pts; 3. Zaleski / Zaleski, 71 pts; 4. John Kolius, 76 pts; 5. Stuart Challoner, 81 pts; 6. David Klatt, 88 pts; 7. Ryan Cox, 93.50 pts; 8. Bill Worsham, 102pts; 9. Peter Bream, 115 pts; 10. Daniel Borrer, 119 pts. -- http://www.j24nationals.com/ * The World Sailing Speed Record Council has recognized a new World Record route - Taipei to Hong Kong - and the initial world record for that 465nm route established by Ellen Macarthur and six crew on the 75foot Trimaran B&Q of 2 days 16 hours 46 minutes 32 seconds. * With the addition of sail trimmer Richard Bouzaid (NZL), the Ericsson Racing Team lines up a strong crew for the coming legs of the Volvo Ocean Race. Bouzaid brings extensive America's Cup and offshore sailing experience to the team. Ken Read (USA), Mark Rudiger (USA) and Ian "Barney" Walker (AUS) also make their debuts onboard Ericsson for legs six and seven. * The new yacht of Desafío Español 2007 has entered the Port America's Cup. ESP 88 is the first boat built by the Spanish team for its campaign for the Cup. The team has to tune the boat, and has announced that they will use the older ESP 65 in the Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts 10 & 11 which begin in less than two weeks. TOP FINISHES FOR MAGIC MARINE TEAM RIDERS! Congratulations to Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe, and Debbie Capozzi on a first place finish in the Yngling Class and Anna Tunnicliffe who finished fifth in the Radial Class at Hyères, France. Vanguard Sailboats is proud to support these sailors with Magic Marine products as their official gear of choice. http://www.magicmarinegear.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 Phil Wardrop: Listening to the Race commentary on the Volvo Inshore Race from Baltimore, I have to think that “only in America” could such a load of bureaucracy disrupt a supposedly well organized event. Disgusting! * From Tom Priest (re Quietly spoken with a placid demeanor Matt Jones): I had to read the Matt Jones' story twice to convince myself they were talking about the same Matt Jones I know! For the record: He's a great guy, plenty of fun, very good at race management, but he is definitely not quiet nor is he placid! If you wever have the misfortune of being OCS in a race he is running.....you will absolutely understand what I'm talking about. * From Jessica Lord (re Quietly spoken with a placid demeanor Matt Jones): One of my fondest memories of Matt as Race Manager was at the 1996 SF NOODS. Lots of Melgi on the line, big breeze, ebb, and I had it set up for a perfect, right next to the committee boat (favored end) start, with what I thought was everyone else under me, and me with plenty of room to go up or down as needed. Rare, I know! When all of a sudden I heard the crackle of the bull horn come to life, right next to me, louder than anything I needed to hear at that moment. Matt was screeching at a competitor who had come from windward of the Willy and was attempting the ugliest of barges. I will never forget the timber of his voice, nor his choice of words: "Elvis! You can not go in there!!" * From Barry Demak (re: Quietly spok en with a placid demeanor, Matt Jones): Yeah. I'm sure Bay Area one design sailors can relate to Matt's unique brand of quiet speaking and placid demeanor when he's yelling over channel 69 at J/105s to clear the starting area before their warning or that they're too early for their start or when gleefully calling all but a handful of boats OCS! (not that he doesn't have sound reasons to do these things!) "Good on him" for all the great work he does, though!! * From Chris Ericksen: Matthew Sheahan's rant about the Ensenada Race makes some good points -- a 457-boat regatta is not all that remarkable -- but he completely missed the start-in-the-USA-and-finish-in-Mexico part. Luckily for the race organizers, NOSA, there is no comparable race on the Great Lakes or in Europe of which I am aware--but, if there is, somebody'll tell us in Scuttlebutt * From Bruce Thompson: Mr. Palmer is right that the VOR boats have made progress in strengthening their canting keels (although Movistar almost sank on leg 4). Perhaps now they can turn to protecting their crewmen. It is good news that Gerd Jan Poortman and Nick Bice have recovered from their injuries. * From Cliff Bradford: I think that Bill Center's perspective is biased toward the USA. It is my perception that in Europe especially in France, Spain etc that the exposure of top level sailing is as good as it has ever been. The fact that so many sponsorship dependent series (Tour de France a Voile, Mini, IMOCA, TP52, etc) are strong indicates that sponsors are getting return on their investment thru TV, internet, and/or live viewing. The fact that the same level of sponsorship is not forthcoming in the USA indicates that sponsors don't see the same return. It is important to realize that to get exposure you often have push for it yourself (whether you're the sailing team, event organizer or sponsor). Why do you think there's so much paintball and table tennis on TV? Are these sports (?!) significantly more popular than sailing? ESPN, OLN, Fox Sports, etc are not going to chase after coverage of any sport unless it's baseball, football, NASCAR or basketball; they have to be presented with packages that include the programming, advertising etc. Even the websites for US event are substandard relative to their European counterparts. At the same time it seems strange to me that a large media house (Disney) and two large corporations (BMW and Oracle) are sponsoring very expensive VOR and AC campaigns respectively but I haven't seen them make use of the teams from a promotional point of view, so their return on investment will obviously be very poor. * From Eric Matus: I eagerly watched all the events Bill Center referenced in his article, "Sinking Interest". I'm thoroughly disappointed with the American public's lack of interest in sailing. I'm equally disappointed in our sport's failure to create interest. What dominates TV today is reality. "Deadliest Catch" depicting Alaskan Crabbers beats all the sailing on TV times 2, or 3, ... Let's see cameras ashore, onboard, and at sea; feeding editing stations ashore; producing reality TV of ocean racing that grabs my finger nail painting, non-sailing daughter's interest. Sailor's slammed around by huge waves worried about making port; gear failures threatening safety; lovers and parents worried about their loved one at sea; and support teams working 'round the clock to keep their entries in-the-hunt would grab anyone's interest. Glitz & graphics worked before. Now it's time to lead the trends in media. 40% human interest, 30% action, 20% technical marvels, and 10% racing tactics is a good starting point. I'll take the 40% my daughter likes for 60 % of what I like; compared to the 1% on American TV now. * From Ralph Taylor: Bill Center's touched a nerve or so. It's probably a mistake to judge the state of sailing (in the world or the U.S.) by a few high-profile events. I suggest we look at participation broadly. Is it increasing or decreasing at the club level? Are more or fewer people sailing? It seems that no one really knows. Has anyone bothered to find out? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." --George Bernard Shaw, Special thanks to Spinlock, Yale Cordage, and Vanguard Sailboats. |
