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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 706 - December 8, 2000BOTYNewport (R.I.) December 7, 2000 - Cruising World and Sailing World magazines presented the California-built Schock 40 and South Africa-built Shearwater 45 as overall winners of their prestigious 2001 Boat of the Year (BOTY) Awards. The Schock 40, an innovative 40-footer that utilizes a system of canting ballast, won overall honors as the standout performance boat launched in the past year. The Shearwater 45, a 45-foot offshore voyager that fuses traditional design with contemporary technology, was named the overall cruising design of the year. Cruising World editor Herb McCormick presented the Shearwater 45 as the 2001 Cruising World Overall Cruising Boat of the Year. Judges praised this 45-foot offshore voyager, built by Shearwater Yachts of Cape Town (South Africa), for its blend of time-tested ideas and contemporary forward thinking. "You look down, she's traditional; look up in the rig or under the waterline, she's modern," said one judge. The mix of traditional and modern created a boat that judges lauded for its speed, seakindliness, and quality construction. The Shearwater 45 also captured the Best Traditional Voyager category. Sailing World editor John Burnham presented the Schock 40 as the 2001 Sailing World Overall Performance Boat of the Year. Built by W.D. Schock Corp. (Corona, Calif.), the Schock 40 utilizes an innovative system of underwater foils and canting ballast. This CBTF (Canting-Ballast, Twin-Foil) technology was developed over the course of 14 years, with three prototypes created by the DynaYacht design team. The Schock 40 brings CBTF technology to the production-boat market in a package that judges felt personified performance. "The Schock 40 goes to weather with the fastest 40s and when it turns the corner, in some conditions, will pace a 70-foot sled," noted one judge. The Schock 40 also captured the Best Innovation and Best PHRF/Sportboat categories. SAILING WORLD WINNERS: 2001 Sailing World Overall Performance Boat of the Year - Schock 40 W.D. Schock Corp. (Corona, Calif.) Note: The Schock 40 also won the Best PHRF/Sportboat and Best Innovation categories. Best Performance Dinghy - Vanguard Vector Vanguard Sailboats (Portsmouth, R.I.) Best Offshore Racer - X-482 X-Yachts USA (Annapolis, Md.)/Built by X-Yachts (Denmark) Best Racer/Cruiser - J/145 J Boats, Inc. (Newport, R.I.)/Built by TPI, Inc. (Warren, R.I.) Best Performance Multihull - Taipan 4.9 Taipan America (Bristol, R.I.)/Built by Australian High Performance Catamarans Pty (Australia) CRUISING WORLD WINNERS: 2001 Cruising World Overall Cruising Boat of the Year - Shearwater 45 ShearwaterYachts (Cape Town, South Africa) Note: The Shearwater 45 also won the Best Traditional Voyager category. Best Deck-Saloon Cruiser - Northwind 43 Northwind Yard S.L. (Barcelona, Spain) Best Value - Manta 42 Manta Enterprises, Inc. (Largo, Fla.) Best Production Cruiser (under $200,000) - Moorings 433 The Moorings (Clearwater, Fla.)/Built by Dufour (La Rochelle, France) Best Production Cruiser (over $200,000) - Beneteau 473 Beneteau USA, Inc. (Charleston, S.C.) Best Performance Cruiser - Hunter HC50 Hunter Marine Corp. (Alachua, Fla.) Best Cruising Multihull - Dragonfly 1200 Dragonfly Sailboats (Garwood, N.J.) BOTY webcast archived: http://www.boats.com ENOUGH ALREADY (Some 20 crewmembers have recently quit the BT Global Challenge, citing a variety of reasons. Here are two excerpts from Betsy Crowfoot's story about the situation posted on the official race website.) * Just one-third of the way around the globe, more than 20 crew volunteers have left the 30,000-mile BT Global Challenge 2000/01. Three-quarters of the departing crew have cited, "the Race is not for them" -- a surprising turnover considering the teams have yet to embark on the harsh Southern Ocean legs. But it has not been heavy weather that has disenchanted most of the deserters. "I think the hardest thing is the boredom," said Quadstone team member Julian Johnson. Johnson explained that during the requisite training sessions, the crews continually tackled new sailing skills: "You're always learning something new." Throughout the six-day Qualifying Sail, Race Headquarters tossed an endless stream of emergency scenarios at the teams. "But one week into the first leg I realised the hardest thing is going to be coping with the boredom," Johnson said. "When you're on deck getting sprayed, on the same course for three or four days, just sitting there you realise the whole thing about this race is it's mental, not physical." * The discomfort has been, "harder than I thought it would be," said Johnson. He described one late night when he was below deck as "boiling hot, absolutely miserable. I felt sick, I was sick. We were called up for a sail change and I threw up in the middle of the briefing." In another scenario, he said, "It's blowing a gale at 1:30 in the morning, and you think, 'I don't really want to do this.'" "A lot of crew who got into it for the sailing have found it's not that great," Johnson added. But his motivation to realise a greater ambition, to sail around the world, has kept his dream afloat. "That's what I always think about when I start to feel, 'This is shit.' You know it will end." - Betsy Crowfoot, Quokka Sports, BT Global Challenge website Full story: http://www.btchallenge.com/news/2000/12/news_710.html EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS RIGHT HERE! The last time you bought a sail did you ask about the cloth? Sailcloth.com is a new web site by Bainbridge International designed especially for the boat owner and sailor. It is packed full of easy to follow information and handy tips to explain why you should be talking to your sailmaker about a better quality cloth. http://www.sailcloth.com VENDEE GLOBE - By Philippe Jeantot The high-pressure system, which has crossed right through the route of the leading boats in the Vendee Globe 2000, has doled out some bad cards to certain skippers, and forced others to change their strategy. The three leaders, Parlier, Desjoyeaux and Jourdain were at a safe distance from this anticyclone, and apart from embracing the bitterly cold Southerly winds, they have otherwise not suffered at all. Wavre (UBP), Dubois (Solidaires), Coville (Sodebo) and MacArthur (Kingfisher), the second flank moving Southwards, have had to exert more effort to prevent their boats touching lighter winds and have been duly rewarded with maintaining their average speeds. On the other hand, Josh Hall (EBP/Gartmore) and Marc Thiercelin (Active Wear), positioned further North on the same longitude, were unable to gybe South and consequently slowed down a little overnight. Hall remains confident that he and Thiercelin are well positioned to benefit from the incoming low pressure system. Only Catherine Chabaud (Whirlpool), on an extreme Northern route spent the most time crossing the high pressure system, and has lost 200 miles in a few days - in her own words she echoes that "the gaps are becoming costly". All these leading 10 boats are now back up to an average speed of over 15 knots, except that those further North haven't quite got out of the influence of the anticyclone. Standings: 1. Aquitaine Innovations, Yves Parlier 2. PRB ,Michel Desjoyeaux (+96 miles) 3. Sill Matines & La Potagere, Roland Jourdain (+129m) 4. Sodebo Savourons la Vie, Thomas Coville (+372m) 5. Kingfisher, Ellen MacArthur (+387m) - http://www.vendeeglobe.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) (Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold an e-mail address on request.) -- From Russ Lenarz Bycsailor@aol.com [edited to our 250-word limit] - I think there has been some misconception as to what the Open 30 is really about. The Open 30 primary goal is for short-handed offshore racing. There is little here in the US. that actually caters to this ever growing aspect of sailing. Although there is more structure for this type of sailing in Europe, the budgets for the classes like Open 50 and 60s are quite high and so the Open 30 offers a cost-effective alternative. Not everyone in sailing is interested in one design racing. Designs like the Mumm 30 etc. have made a significant contribution to sailing, and several existing designs actually fit within the Open 30 grandfather clause. As for the comments on being an Open class and the fear of an arms war developing. I can tell you with a fair amount of experience that although there are a few who can spend what seems like an unlimted amount on a design. That number is very small and we have seen time and time again that the biggest budgets do not guarantee victory in a ocean race. The bulk of the interest to date has come from people who are looking for a cost-effective design or already have a boat that fits within the rule. The Open 30 concept gives people who are interested in short handed sailing an alternative that has not been previously available to them. Sailing is an ever-expanding sport. We should promote that growth, and give people the choice. -- From Bill Lee wizard@fastisfun.com [Edited to our 250-word limit] - There is a demand for classes where the boats race level, and where an owner brings his own designer, builder, and innovations. While people often confuse "one design" with "level", the main thing they have in common is that they race boat for boat, other than that they are quite different. In the best one-design classes, the boat should be an equal (and sometimes boring and/or long standing) vehicle for the sailors to demonstrate their skills. In a level class, development is the name of the game and the owner's, designer's, and builder's ability to develop a better boat is at least on par with the test of the sailor's skills. The science of both yacht design and rule making have advanced such that it is very difficult for a good handicap rule to produce a good level class. A more basic rule focused on a size and purpose, will produced a better development class. With regard to the Open 30's, or any other level development classes, safety should not be compromised in the name of "openness". A few common sense rules will make level boats equal enough to race and more practical, but still allow avenues for development. Sailing needs all three, one design racing, development level racing, and of course handicap racing to provide a place to play for the wide range of boats they don't fit in the first two categories at any given time. -- From Nicholas Longhurst, France, Quebec nlonghurst@sti-sun4 Out of all of the boats which Matthew Sessions mentions in his letter, there is only one which could be remotely considered to be a serious offshore boat, and by offshore I mean a long distance race where endurance, navigation and shorthanded sail changing skills are placed at a premium. Currently the only events of this nature which are "affordable" are for mini transats, where fleets regularly top 200 boats, boats which, incidentally, hold their value quite well. An open 30 foot class makes so much sense as an entry level ride to the extremely popular open 40, 50 or even 60 configurations, especially since 30 feet of boat seems to make race committees more comfortable than the prospect of a gaggle of 21.5 foot minis capable of 250 mile days ripping up the racecourse. But what a great idea for enlivening Transpac, a two handed 30 ' class! -- From Chris Ericksen Chris6932@aol.com I hope the comments in 'Butt 704 from ISAF President Paul Henderson were made tongue-in-cheek. As a Canadian, he has no right commenting on how people in the USA select their President; as a member nation of ISAF, however, Americans have every right to comment on how decisions are made when we have a stake in them. Surely an international statesman and leader like Mr. Henderson would not have made such a rude comment in seriousness--he had to be making a joke. -- From Mark Michaelsen, Yank SAILCENTER@aol.com In reply to Mr Henderson: While the election debacle in Florida is a "bad stew" in a pot of our own brewing brought forth by using archaic voting machines, the comments of Mark Reynolds still ring true. The system by which votes were cast in the 2000 US elections were obsolete and you can rest assured we will be changing those prior to the next national election. The subsequent debates and discussions over the Florida election issue are held in public. There are no secret votes by the courts. No silent slips of paper. Even in Congress the Senator's votes are carried on C-SPAN TV live and then PUBLICLY tabulated and maintained in the public record. It is my hope that ISAF will elevate itself to these standards by which all individuals who represent a constituency are accountable for their actions. You may cast thinly veiled jealous comments about our due process here in the states but until ISAF "raises the bar" and meets the US standard set forth in the Freedom of Information Act we humbly suggest you keep your weak defense on that silent and anonymous slip of voting paper the ISAF uses to make PUBLIC policy. -- From Sharon Pearson SHARONPEA@aol.com Paul Henderson, on one hand, purports to be concerned with the best interest of the majority of sailors and then on the other hand makes childish, divisive and inane comments about US politics. In his position as ISAF President it would be prudent for him to think carefully about what he says and/or publishes. -- From Kristen Lane kristen_l@300feetout.com What I find amusing is how quickly people are willing to say the ISAF has lost touch with what the sport of sailing really needs. A little while ago Scuttlebutt was the ONLY sailing publication to publish commentary in response to US Sailing's Women's Keelboat Committee's selection of the J/22 as the official boat of the next Rolex Women's International Keelboat (RWIK) championship. Some comments pointed to a growing feeling among women sailors that the US Sailing committee had lost touch with what the RWIK competitors really wanted. In fact, there was real evidence that pointed to the J/22 as being less available to an international competitor pool then the J/24. If the US sailing community is going to suggest a change in ISAF member selection or voting, we should also examine how US Sailing committee members are selected and make decisions that impact our sport. What's wrong with a little public accountability? -- From Peter Godfrey pgodfre@ix.netcom.com Re Joe Bainton's comments in #704: Open votes: absolutely; fewer bureaucrats: yes; more "elite" sailors: no. Not unless you want ISAF to become the PGA of sailing. -- From Dave White, Chairman of Senior Events - Northeast Sailing Assn. dwhiteme@hotmail.com Hey, folks, stop complaining and get with the program. The Yngling is in for the Women for at least the next Olympics. We now have just short of 4 years to get our women up to speed (the pun WAS intended). Here in Maine, we are in the process of resurrecting an old feet of Ynglings. Some have not been in the water for 6-8 years. Last weekend were able to get two boats rigged/rerigged and in the water. Twelve Women showed up and sailed numerous short races. This weekend we'll add another, and the weekend after that hopefully another. (Yes, I know it is winter, but frost biting these boats is fun!!) The new fleet has elected a Fleet Captain, and started a web page. They are on the way to bigger and better things - Watch out, our women may just turn out to be in the next Olympics. Next summer the Northeast Sailing Association will hold its Adams cup eliminations in these boats. So folks, go find some used boats - they are around - and go sailing. Why wait, time is short. PS - anyone who wants to sail, just let me know and we'll be glad to reserve some space for you. IMS VPP AND RULE CHANGES The hydrodynamic portion of the VPP is unchanged for 2001. The modifications to the drag model made in 2000 have proven to be effective at rating fairly a wide range of hulls. Older designs continue to be competitive as evidenced by the forth place finish by Gaucho at the IMS Worlds - even when over-early at the start in race one. Some needed changes have been made to the 2001 IMS VPP and Rule. Carbon is now permitted in sails. Improvements were made in two areas of sail aerodynamics. Dynamic Allowance and Pitch Gyradius credits were modified. Details follow. In the 2000 VPP, "asymmetric spinnakers set on-centerline effectiveness when running" was reduced to correct over-estimated performance when compared to symmetric spinnakers on poles. The reduction was too great. That was confirmed when some European boats figured this out and began dominating regattas with on-centerline rated boats. They were unbeatable in heavy winds. At the same time tests in the Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel comparing symmetric and asymmetric spinnakers reached a similar conclusion. For the 2001 VPP, the running thrust of asymmetric spinnakers tacked on-centerline has been increased and now are rated almost as effective as symmetrics on poles in strong winds. In heavier winds, when boats rated with overlapping jibs have reduced sail to their number threes or blades, they still owe time to boats rated only with non-overlapping jibs. Examination of the aerodynamic model showed that the center of effort calculation of all jib-mainsail combinations was inaccurate. This has been corrected in the 2001 VPP. This correction eliminates part, but not all, of the heavy air discrepancy. During the year the IMS technical committee will study the sources of the remaining discrepancy plus look into reasons why the non-overlapping jibs are not rated fairly in light airs. Planned wind tunnel testing will guide analyses. These efforts are funded through the generosity of US racers. The recent successes of cruiser/racers, both production and custom boats, caused a review of these terms. The individual DA terms are proportioned from full credit for traditional cruising boats to no allowance for high performance designs. It was determined that the upper bound performance parameters should be made more stringent to reduce credits for racer oriented designs- US Sailing website There are more changes: http://www.ussailing.org/ims/index.htm
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