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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 960 - December 7, 2001Scuttlebutt 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.
SIR PETER BLAKE Blake was involved in an expedition on the Amazon River in his "Seamaster" boat to raise international awareness of the threatened environment. He kept a daily log on a website about his progress. The log for Thursday read: "Location-Rio Amazonas. Status-Still motoring. Conditions-pleasant." Blake said in his log that the boat had been travelling down the Amazon at night. "Dusk has turned the surface of the river into a greasy grey -- with the sky quickly darkening after the sun's orange and golds have gone," he wrote. "We always hope for a clear night and tonight the moon will be up soon after 9 p.m. but this means two and a half hours of real blackness before then. There are flashes of lightning up ahead -- with the radar showing a band of rain stretching out either side of our course. There are lights of ships, barge traffic, ferries and small towns." A meticulous planner and a gifted leader, Blake's fierce determination to win always inspired immense loyalty from his crews and unlimited confidence from his backers. In his log, he wrote: "Again I raise the question -- Why are we here? What has been the point of leaving Antarctica in March, refitting in Buenos Aires over the southern winter then undertaking the long haul north to spend some time in the Amazon." Later he answered the question. "We want to make a difference," he wrote. - Sports Illustrated, sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/2001/12/06/skipper_shot/ In March of 2000, Blake said he had received letters from someone threatening to kill him and harm his family. "We've always got crank mail, but it has been going beyond that recently,'' Blake said at the time. "So we have taken all the precautions we were advised to take.'' In November of last year, Blake went on a three-month study of wildlife in the South Pole region. He then traveled to the Amazon for several months of sailing. American skipper Dennis Conner, a three-time America's Cup winner who was beaten by Team New Zealand 5-0 in 1995, was impressed with Blake's determination. "He was a hero and role model for the New Zealand people and obviously a winner that was focused and accomplished his goals, whether it was winning the round-the-world race or the America's Cup,'' Conner said. Bruno Trouble, an organizer of the America's Cup and a friend of Blake, told France-Info radio that Blake "went through life like lightning. Peter was an extraordinary leader of men ... he had an amazing charisma. I think that he was actually hiding his shyness.'' Blake was appointed in July as a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations Environment Program. Before that, he headed the Cousteau Society, an environmental group founded in 1973 by the late undersea explorer Jacque-Yves Cousteau. "I've seen lots of things I want to show kids,'' Blake said last year. "I've gone, 'wow,' 'fantastic' and 'marvelous.' I want to capture some of those now, and get young people interested in the environment.'' - www.cnn.com Blake, 53, was shot last night as masked thieves boarded his boat in Amapa state in northern Brazil, Brazilian news agency Globo said. Two other crew members were injured. Brazilian police has no evidence yet that could lead to the thieves, who escaped with a boat's engine and a watch, the report said. Globo said crew members were "out of danger.'' "We are working with the federal police to establish the facts,'' said Annelies Windmill, an official at the New Zealand embassy in Brasilia. - www.blakexpeditions.com/peter.asp An example of the drive, why he was so successful in his career and the impact of Sir Peter Blake has and would have had on our future can be found in his writing of his Last Log:
We want to restart people caring for the environment as it must be cared for. - Sir Peter Blake's Last Log The BBC website has done a great job of assembling background, tributes, photos and links related to Sir Peter: news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1695000/1695932.stm It is with great sadness Yachting New Zealand sends heart felt condolences to the family and friends of Sir Peter Blake. The tragic death of Sir Peter is an enormous loss to yachting in New Zealand and world-wide, and to humanity. Sir Peter gave so much of himself - his time and his vision, to so many within the yachting community, and through his dream revitalized a nation. Our collective passion for the adventures and victories on the sea were so often inspired by this wondrous and yet humble man. Today, and in the weeks and years ahead, yachties from Bluff to Cape Reinga, and New Zealanders everywhere, will reflect upon the marvellous and lasting contributions Sir Peter Blake made to enhance our lives and our communities. - Yachting New Zealand, New Zealand's national body for yachting If the four armed and hooded bandits who boarded Sir Peter Blake's yacht Seamaster near Macapa on the River Amazon on Wednesday and murdered him were motivated by theft, they took something precious beyond words: the life of not simply New Zealand's greatest sailor but one of the world's finest and most revered yachtsmen. Blake towered over the sport he graced. He never lost the tousled blond Viking hair of his teens, nor his moustache. As an itinerant crew, his nicknames were 'Six-Four' (his height) and 'Blakey'. The latter stuck long after his achievements earned him a MBE (1983), OBE (1991) and KBE (1995). His knighthood was one of the last granted by the British crown before New Zealand created their own honors system. Over three decades, a natural authority saw Blake grow into a consummate skipper and ultimately leader of an America's Cup team whose defeat of Dennis Conner and Paul Cayard in 1995 was only the second by a challenger in the 143-year history of the event to wrest the Cup away from the Americans. Even Sir Edmund Hilary called it New Zealand's defining achievement. - Tim Jeffery, The Telegraph, UK, sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Sir Peter Blake who many of us knew as a friend and all of us reveared as a sailor and competitor. We shared not only his passion for the sport, but his deep concern for the environment and the health of the world's oceans. He will be remembered as a sailing legend and one of the Earth's great citizens. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. - One World Challenge
OVERVIEW - VOLVO OCEAN RACE Their three year work-up to the event is now paying dividends as the crew believes there is no secret edge to their performance, just a well-rounded campaign with a fast boat, good crew work and excellent routing. "I don't think it is just my success, it is the success of everyone on the boat. The boat is very fast and we have got a good team," said navigator Juan Vila. The question now on everybody's lips is whether the illbruck Challenge can carry forward their momentum and dominate the race. That particular feat was last achieved by Sir Peter Blake's big red ketch, Steinlager 2, in the six stage 1989-1990 Whitbread race. Even after their opening night problems when the boat took on serious amounts of water through a broken bow inspection hatch and instantly lost 20 miles, Kostecki was always confident about their leg winning prospects. "I've never really ever worried about falling off the tracks," he said. Showing early signs of real consistency, Team News Corp is next in the overall pecking order on twelve points, but Jez Fanstone and Ross Field believe the best is yet to come. "We will win this event and it's not going to be easy - we have illbruck as a yard stick - but we will be there, there is no doubt," said a confident Field. Back in third overall is Grant Dalton's late entry, Amer Sports One from the Nautor Challenge. Their second placing from leg one has carried their performance from this leg, where the crew endured two medical problems - Keith Kilpatrick and then Dalton himself. They were crucially short of manpower when it mattered most. Amer Sports One was hunted down and overtaken by djuice on the final sprint into Sydney with five points in their sights, but a last minute broach ended any chance of defending their potential fourth place from Knut Frostad's charging team. Second position on this stage has gone some way to restoring SEB's hopes after their leg one debacle. While skipper Gurra Krantz is unhappy to have lost the lead to illbruck when it counted, a serious broach in Bass Strait and sailing the final few hundred miles without a navigator was never an ideal leg-winning scenario. "The feeling was that we should have been first. But the feeling isn't good enough, we have to do it as well and this time we gave illbruck the opportunity to pass," reflected Krantz. "In a couple of days we'll get rid of the bittersweet taste and be very happy." SEB is now fourth overall with ten points. Tied on seven points, djuice and Assa Abloy both have more to prove over the coming legs. Knut Frostad believes that their performance in the Southern Ocean redeemed his campaign, even though they slipped back later in the leg. "I think we are very competitive, we definitely have the speed, we can sail well and the crew is good, so I'm looking forward to the next leg. There are seven more legs to go," commented Frostad. The overall points for djuice and Amer Sports Too are still subject to an outstanding protest with the race committee for contravening the International Regulations For Preventing Collisions At Sea during the first hours of leg two. It is alleged that both Amer Sports Too and djuice sailed into the traffic separation zones off Cape Town, in contravention of the Collision Regulations. This protest will be heard at the earliest opportunity next week. "It will be devastating for us to get penalized. If that rule has a two place penalty then it would be devastating to our team, especially as there was no intention to cheat," added Frostad. For Assa Abloy meanwhile, leg two was a classic case of what could have been. The gold and blue Farr design is certainly competitive but skipper Neal McDonald and navigator Mark Rudiger were punished for a small tactical blunder approaching Bass Strait. "It's an easy thing to fix as we have a good boat and great crew, we just need to work on our side of things. It is amazing how close we were to nailing it," said Rudiger. Both are confident they can turn their fortunes around. Amer Sports Too is about to pass Eden, almost halfway up the coast from Sydney, peaking at 20 knots of boat speed. At 0400 GMT today they were 152 miles from the Sydney finish line. www.volvooceanrace.com
ONE-STOP SHOPPING
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Marc " Rhino" Carmichael Over ten years ago. I left behind my passion, the life of a professional sailor, and became a father and a teacher. In Peter Blake's last log..Isaw that word again.. It is one thing to try and bullshit the ocean and bump around the buoys, it is another to fuel the fire within and share that. Passions don't die, nor will Blakies ideas, wisdom and goals. An old salt once barked across the deck to me, "maybe I can't cut the mustard, but I can still lick the goddamn jar." And Rod Davis spoke of smelling the roses, so lets not forget the joy of the breeze in our faces and the dreams it fuels. Lets celebrate those who shared the fire in their bellies. Namaste Peter. * From Doug Lord: Of all the modern top of the line sailors of my lifetime no one has inspired me like Sir Peter Blake.What a tradedy for all of us to lose such a monumental human being! * From Mark Michaelsen: Peter was in so many ways an idol and a hero to many of us who now find the years creeping up on us. Sir Peter was skilled enough to not only compete in the pinnacle events in the sport of sailing but he conquered them in style even after age forty when most people have selected a Lazy boy and a remote cotrol as their vessel and helm. Peter exemplified the very characteristics in each endeavor most of us only hope to one day achieve. In a time in human history where lives are being cut unexpectedly short through the actions of others, it is my hope that all of you will make experiencing all that life has to offer a priority and reduce your focus on chasing the all mighty dollar. Take your family and go sailing for it offers a unique experience from moment to moment and from voyage to voyage. May the winds always be at your back and the seas warm and tranquil Sir Peter, we'll miss you and all you gave to our sport... * From Kenneth D. Legg: I greatly appreciated Rod Davis' comments about our sport. I for one will keep them in mind as we plan our 2002 season. Our club always tries to inject as much fun into our programs as we can, but there is more to do, and returning to our roots can't be bad. * From Skip Doyle: Rod Davis for President!!!! * From Jerry Driscoll: I can't let Malcolm McKeag's passing remark about the Contender slide by without comment. For his information the Contender class is still thriving, thank you very much; there are nearly 700 boats registered in the UK (genuine numbers, not started at some arbitrary marketing number to make the class look big!), there is a strong class association, the UK nationals still attract over 50 boats, there is a highly active open meeting circuit with about 100 individuals taking part, and most major, and many lesser, clubs in the country have a Contender or two joining in with the handicap racing. And this is only in the UK. The International Contender is indeed a strong international class, with real fleets across Europe and the rest of the world. The 2001 European Championships in France had over 100 boats, as did the 2000 Worlds in Medemblik, and there are not many classes in the world that can claim that! The next worlds are in Australia in January 2002, and there are several container loads of European boats in transit to Australia as I write. For those of us who were not able to get ourselves organized to get out there for this one, the 2003 Worlds are back in the UK, and we are again expecting an entry of 100+. So before anyone writes off this class, please check out the facts - they are readily available of course on the BCA website: www.sailingsource.com/contender/gbr/ * From David Davies: You ask who now sails an International Tempest? Or an International Contender? Well I do actually - An International Contender - and have done for the last 12 years from the age of 26 when lasers got very boring. From the age of some of the more experienced Contenderers' I've got at least another 35 years of Contendering to go as well. In fact the Contender Fleet is alive and kicking in at least 12 Countries worldwide. In the latest copy of Yachts and Yachting (Classes review) I noted the limited information on the numbers of boats at Nationals - because some classes are so coy they dare not put the numbers in print. Some new classes cheat slightly by printing the number of all the boats in their "range" rather than each class! Others also start their numbering at the name of the boat (3,000 for example) which make the numbers look good. The Contender had one of the better turnouts at the last Nationals at around 60 boats. At the worlds in recent years we have (with the exception of the one held in Canada) had 115 in Holland, 80 in Germany, 75 in Sardinia, 120 in Weymouth. Also, At the recent Europeans in France there were 65. So - Before you drag classes down by implication get your facts right! The International Contender is a very successful and very competitive class Worldwide. * From Jay Spalding: I guess I am in the minority as my cable company (Comcast) carries OLN. OLN seems to be embracing many outdoor sports and has been involved in covering sailing for a long time. I have watched 18' skiff racing and 60' trimaran racing on OLN over the last couple of years. It seems they are attempting to be the network for true outdoor sports not constrained by playing fields and the like. They have picked up the Tour de France last year from ESPN and provided many more hours and much more complete coverage. Instead of ESPN 1/2 hour daily report there was two hours of live coverage and a rebroadcast every day. They do a nice job carrying the major league of skiing, the FIS World Cup Alpine ski races. So I would suggest that OLN getting into AC is a good thing, the Tour and Skiing World Cup are good company. If you don't get OLN, complain to your cable company and get your friends that are interested in sailing, cycling and skiing to complain too. * From Bill Ketcham: OLN is in about 40% of U.S. television homes, which of course is less than ESPN . . . but OLN is one of the fastest growing cable networks in the country, and the LVC coverage will help the network add significantly more distribution by the start of the LVC next October. OLN is also available nationally via Direct TV and Dish Network at rates competitive with cable service. Perhaps more important, OLN will air every LVC race-day live, which will fall in prime time (evening). ESPN has extensive programming commitments in the fourth quarter of next year, and could never make this kind of commitment to the Louis Vuitton Cup. Remember the rare LVC telecast on ESPN2 tape delayed to the middle of the night last time? The challengers, to their credit, opted for extensive prime time coverage in more than half the country, rather than no coverage in all of the country. Finally, it can be helpful to your local cable operator to hear what you think...they are no doubt considering adding OLN to their channel line-up, and input from their customers could move them to action.
VOLVO PROTESTS DROPPED Further research brought to light new information from the South African Maritime Safety Authority that the Traffic Scheme does not apply to pleasure yachts involved in sport or recreation, as stated in "Marine Traffic (Inshore Vessel Traffic Services) Regulations 2000". Therefore the Race Committee has decided that because a protest based on non-compliance with Rule 10 of the Collision Regulations would fail in this case it would be inappropriate to proceed with these protests. - www.volvooceanrace.com
THE KEELS WERE DIFFERENT BUT THE CLOTH WAS THE SAME
WELCOME ABOARD Craw previously served as President and CEO of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), a 60,000-member non-profit organization, which sanctions 2,000 amateur and professional motor sports events each year. Craw was responsible for the implementation of services to members that more than doubled membership. Before his seventeen-year tenure at SCCA, Craw was Director of the Peace Corps and a two-time national champion racing driver, running his own team. He brings to US Sailing substantial experience with non-profit agencies and sanctioning organizations. Among other philanthropic activities, Craw has served as Chairman of the National Motorsports Council, President of the SCCA Foundation, and a Director of the National Peace Corps Association. He began his career at Project Hope where he served as Director of Operations and later headed the Department of Development and Public Relations. He is a Cum Laude graduate of Princeton and holds a Harvard MBA. Craw is a life-long sailor, having grown up on Cape Cod (MA) sailing Cotuit Skiffs and later, a Sunfish and Laser. More recently, he has spent five winters cruising in the Grenadines on a Rival 41' Cutter and 38' Maracuja. US Sailing engaged Russell Reynolds, Inc. (New York) to conduct the search; the company identified 125 applicants for the Executive Director position. "This was by no means an easy decision, with so many qualified candidates," said US Sailing President Rosekrans. "In the end, the deciding factor was Craw's proven track record in circumstances similar to those currently facing US Sailing." - Penny Piva Rego, www.ussailing.org
THE BIG TIME Full story: www.sailnet.com
KEITH KILPATRICK Keith said today: "After consulting several specialists it has been decided it is in my best interests to go home to California and recuperate. It has become evident that the trauma experienced by my body is more severe than previously thought. After recuperating for about two months I will be totally fit. Obviously I will not be sailing on the next two legs (from Sydney to Auckland and Auckland to Rio de Janeiro) so in the best interests of the team I have decided to step aside so that a permanent replacement can be made" - www.nautorchallenge.com
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
