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SCUTTLEBUTT 1776 - February 15, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. SHOSHOLOZA HITS WHALE America's Cup Team Shosholoza struck a whale today (Monday) during a sail training session near their base on Table Bay. Sailing manager Paul Standbridge described the incident, which took place just after midday while sailing at 10 knots under spinnaker, as a "strong impact," bringing the yacht to a dead stop. SA Olympic sailor Ian Ainslie, who was on the helm at the time, fell forward over the port steering wheel, breaking the wheel clean off its mount. Navigator Marc Lagesse, who was checking the compass reading on the starboard steering wheel, also fell forward, breaking the wheel and injuring his collarbone. Skipper Geoff Meek, who was standing alongside Ainslie was flung forward with the impact, injuring his knee on the cross bar linking the two steering wheels. Crewmember Charles Nankin was thrown off the yacht into the sea by the impact and it was some five minutes before the Shosholoza chase boat, which was laying a marker buoy about a kilometre away, retrieved him. He said that besides the two steering wheels being snapped off, the primary pedestal handle was also broken during the impact. "We have found structural damage to the keel at the transition point between the keel structure and the rest of the hull. The yacht will be lifted out the water later today to check for any further damage. We think the keel must have hit the whale full on. I think the yacht will be out of commission for at least three days," commented Standbridge. The entire rig will also be lifted from the yacht and fully checked for damage. - SA Challenge website: http://www.sachallenge.com ORANGE II (Monday, February 14th) Even though they have to slow down a bit at night in order to reduce the risks, Bruno Peyron and his crew aboard the Orange II maxi catamaran still sail amazingly fast. With 631 nautical miles covered at more than 26 knots of average speed over 24 hours and after 21 days at sea, the crew will cross the longitude of Cape Leeuwin, South Western Australia, tonight. On Monday GST at 5.00am, Bruno Peyron commented, "We said we'd try and be aggressive if we had the right conditions, but it's not so easy. The seas are choppy, nights are totally dark and the helmsmen have a hard job maintaining the pace. During the day, things are more agreeable, yet it's not an easy task and at night we definitely have to ease off a bit, otherwise it would be too dangerous. Last night we tried to remain at roughly 20-22 knots of average speed, against the 27 knots we hold during the day. "Our goal is to break new records when passing the longitude of Cape Leeuwin during the coming night. We have our sights set on three benchmark times (Ushant - Leeuwin, Equator - Leeuwin, and Good Hope - Leeuwin). The most difficult to catch is the third one, which implies the crossing of the Indian Ocean. "The good news is that this ocean, arguably the most difficult part of our Round The World journey, is almost behind us. However, the Pacific, traditionally more peaceful, can also have a few bad surprises in store. We're not at mid-course yet, even if today we have a four-day lead over the record." Today at 03:38 GMT, the distance covered had been 11,269 nm, with 13,944 nm to go. Orange II is 1,866 ahead of the Jules Verne record, and 1,850 ahead of the absolute record held by Cheyenne. - http://www.maxicatamaran-orange.com AMERICA'S CUP Trapani, a picturesque city on the western tip of Sicily, Italy will be the venue for the Trapani Louis Vuitton Acts 8 and 9. The back-to-back events, beginning late in September this year and featuring Match and Fleet Racing will conclude the racing season for the America's Cup in 2005. As with other venues used for the 32nd America's Cup, Trapani is able to accommodate the fleet close to the race course, provide reliable sailing conditions, and enable the public to get close to the action, both ashore and afloat. Trapani's race courses have the added attraction of the beautiful Egadi Islands as a stunning backdrop. Four other Louis Vuitton Acts this year in Valencia, Spain (June 16-22 and 24-26) and Malmö-Skåne, in Sweden (Aug 25-Sept 1 and Sept 2-4), will precede the action in Trapani. The Trapani Louis Vuitton Act 8, a Match Racing regatta begins on the 29th of September, 2005. Act 9, a three-day Fleet Racing event, follows immediately, with racing scheduled to start on the 7th of October, 2005. The 2005 America's Cup Class season champion will be crowned following the two Trapani competitions. - http://www.americascup.com SAIL BETTER. SAVE $25. North U Cruising, Weather and Racing Seminars teach the latest in sailing technique. "Cruising and Seamanship," created with John Rousmaniere, teaches skills to improve cruising performance, comfort, and safety. "Weather for Sailors," created with Bill Biewenga, teaches how to gather, analyze, and apply weather information to your sailing or racing. "Racing Trim" teaches the latest in boatspeed and boathandling. Top instructors and multi-media presentations keep the focus on your sailing. Call or add "Scuttlebutt Discount" to the comments when signing up on-line and save $25. Call 800-347-2457 or visit http://www.NorthU.com 2005 STAR WORLDS Buenos Aires, Argentina - Race three was sailed under sunny skies, winds from the east-southeast between 9 and 11 knots. Rounding the first upwind mark were the British team of Iain Percy and crew Steve Mitchell, followed by the French Philippe Presti and crew Jean-Phillipe Saliou, the USA team Mark Reynolds and Phil Trinter, the Brazilian teams Torben Grael and crew Marcelo Ferreira in 4th position and Robert Scheidt and crew Bruno Prada rounding out the top five positions. Percy/ Mitchell maintained their position rounding the first downwind mark with Scheidt/ Prada catching up to round in second, and then taking the lead for good at the second weather mark. Percy/ Mitchell held on for second, matching their score from the previous day. In third was the French team of Rohart/ Rambeau, winners of Race 2, whose consistency has now earned the overall lead. Results after three races: 1. Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau (FRA) 6-1-3, 10 points 2. Fredrik Loof/Anders Ekstrom (SWE), 2-4-6, 12 3. Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira (BRA) 1-6-8, 15 4. Philippe Presti /Jean-Phillipe Saliou (FRA) 5-9-4, 18 5. Robert Scheidt/Bruno Prada (BRA) 10-8-1, 19 7. Mark Reynolds/Phil Trinter (USA) 7-3-11, 21 10. George Szabo/Brian Fatih (USA) 9-11-13, 33 12. Eric Doyle/Brian Sharp (USA) 13-16-12, 41 Event website: http://starworld2005.com/en MAXIMUS A slick silver-coloured yacht aptly named Maximus was launched in Auckland yesterday (Monday), its owners Bill Buckley and Charles Brown confident they have built the fastest and most innovative supermaxi in the world. A staggering 30m (100ft) long with an estimated worth of between $6 million to $10 million, it is the biggest racing yacht built in New Zealand. Designed by Greg Elliot and Clay Oliver and built by Cookson's boat yard, two of the yacht's distinguishing features are its retractable canting keel and revolutionary rotating wing mast, the first of its kind on a maxi yacht. Canting keels or swinging keels are a natural progression in yacht design, however there has been much debate over their safety following the capsizing of Australian supermaxi Skandia in the Sydney to Hobart race, which occurred after a mechanism in the canting keel failed. Skandia's failure did not put them off the concept but prompted them to have another look at it, Brown said. The boat's name originated from the design brief which stated maximum power to weight ratio. There are around 20 supermaxis in the world and it has been predicted that at least five new 30m boats will be on the start line in this year's Sydney to Hobart. Maximus will be shipped to Antigua in mid March for Antigua race week which kicks off a tough schedule that will culminate with the Sydney to Hobart in December. - Julie Ash, New Zealand Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/6mkyc Photos from the launching: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/maximus0214 ORYX QUEST 2005 At the 12:00 GMT poll on Monday, Geronimo had taken a slim 3 mile lead over Doha 2006. The French trimaran is due east of Doha 2006 sailing at 15.2 knots. Doha 2006 seems to be enjoying better winds and is sailing faster at 21.3 knots. From the masthead they should be able to see each other. On board Doha 2006 skipper Brian Thompson shared his thoughts in his log. "It's another hot and sticky day today as we race southwards from the equator to the next transition; the second doldrum belt that will take us into the high pressure 'trade winds' blowing around the high to the west of Australia." The Indian Ocean is different from the Atlantic in that it has two doldrum belts, one north of the equator and one south of the equator. On board Doha 2006 Brian Thompson continued his log. "That will make 3 nights in a row of negotiating continuous rain showers. The initial night was at the first doldrums. We had the clouds all to ourselves and lost a huge amount of distance to Geronimo as we parked most of the night behind a slow moving wall of rain. Last night was squally too, but we managed to keep moving throughout so fingers crossed we have gained some back on Geronimo who should have been in heavier squalls to our west. We are separated laterally so we could be in radically different conditions particularly as we line up to cross these final doldrums." Three hundred miles to the north a similar battle is taking place between Tony Bulimore and his team of Daedalus, and Dave Scully and the crew on Cheyenne. At the 06:00 poll Cheyenne was 75 miles further to the south of Daedalus and slightly ahead on a distance-to-go basis with both boats registering instant boat speeds faster than their counterparts at the front of the pack. - Brian Hancock, event website, http://www.oryxquest.com THE WORLD'S GREATEST TACTICIANS The Camet Dry Erase Board has been chosen the best secret weapon for professional tacticians! There is nothing better for writing down wind angles, tides, tacking angles and GPS locations. It's clean and simple to use. No more messy decks to rub clean. Simply peel, stick and write on, and wipe off! Place it on any smooth surface of your boat...in the cockpit or in the galley - great for sail and powerboats! Also available Padded Shorts & Pants, Rashguards, Coolmax Shirts, and Bags! Check it out now! http://www.camet.com NEWS BRIEFS * Auckland, New Zealand- It was a long day on the Hauraki Gulf for the International 14 World Championships, with a 10:00 am make-up race scheduled due to poor sailing conditions yesterday (Sunday). The morning race started in 18 knots, with a weather front passing through mid-race, bringing wind shifts, huge gusts, chilling rain, and poor visibility for a time. The afternoon race also saw 18 knots, but with higher gusts and small seas. Australians Lindsay Irwin/ Andrew Perry have taken over the overall lead with a 2-1-1; top Americans Zach Berkowitz/ Steve Bordow dropped to 20th with a 5-6-DNF. Results: http://tinyurl.com/4wdok High-octane images from the I-14 Worlds at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/I14Worlds * Indonesian prosecutors sought a six-month jail sentence for an Australian yachtsman charged with smuggling firearms into the resort island of Bali. Millionaire Christopher Packer failed to declare to authorities five guns and some 2,500 rounds of ammunition aboard his ship when he entered Bali last November. Packer's friends in his hometown Perth have said the yachtsman had carried guns on every voyage since a close friend and fellow sailor, America's Cup winner Sir Peter Blake, was murdered by pirates in Brazil three years ago. The judges will deliver their verdict next Thursday. - http://tinyurl.com/4ucp6 * Online registration is now open for the first US Sailing's U.S. National Championship of 2005: the U.S. Multihull Championship, which will be held April 13-17 at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, Long Beach, CA using the Hobie Tiger. Those who have qualified for this National Championship have until February 28 to complete registration. The U.S. Multihull Championship is part of US Sailing's National Adult Championship series, which is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A. The Championship is sailed annually in various types of multihulls and changes location every year. http://www.ussailing.org/ * Challenge Business is now accepting applications for the 2008/09 Global Challenge race. As with the current race that is concluding Leg 3 in Australia, the 2008/09 will see 12 72ft steel hulled yachts compete against each other "the wrong way" around the world, going into the prevailing winds and against the currents. Applications are currently being accepted for core crew (round the world) berths only, as legger spaces are initially offered to yacht sponsors. Applicants must be between 21 and 60 at the start of the race. You can download an information pack, application form and medical questionnaire from http://www.challengebusiness.com/global/2008/index-downld.asp CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar THE BONGO GOES TO EUROPE The first container of Bongos leaves for Europe this week, and the class is gearing up for the first Midwinters here in the US. Order your Bongo by February 20 and have it delivered to the March event. For schedule, race results, used boats, and weekly updates check out http://www.sailabongo.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. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Robin Roser: I was disappointed to read about golf balls being whacked into the Hauraki Gulf by golf pros off of Team NZL's yacht. Plastic pollution is one of the greatest demises of our oceans. This past summer I sailed to several atolls in the NW Hawaiian chain and saw how huge the plastic pollution problem is. It hurt to see albatross carcasses where the cause of death was from plastic ingestion. Plastics do not go away, they even absorb toxins like PCBs. I have heard of golf balls being whacked off of cruise ships - I hope this game has stopped. * From Scot West, Executive Director, Sail America (re; letter in Issue 1775 about getting non-sailors into the sport) The sailing trade association is well aware of and heavily involved with Grow Boating. Grow Boating is the biggest, most comprehensive and exciting outreach campaign that the marine industry has ever undertaken. In fact it is much more than an outreach campaign, but too much to explain here. This campaign is not about power boats, sail boats or any specific type of boats - it is generic in its attempt to promote the joys of boating, and plant the seed of desire for new people to discover everything that is great about being on the water - when it does that, sailing will get our share or more of the new prospects. This is clearly not an "us against them scenario", it is a "we are all in this together" to get more people on the water - and it is going to be great! Sail America is a top 10 contributor to the campaign to date and planning to contribute more soon. Sailing will be properly represented. Our on-going Discover Sailing campaign is set up to help new sailors on the path to sailing. Sail America also has a matching funding model in place for 'sailing' to donate to the Grow Boating Initiative making all donations go twice as far. If any sailors feel so inspired, contributions can be made to Grow Boating Initiative C/O Sail America, 850 Aquidneck Ave, Suite B-4, Middletown, RI 02842. * From Pete Sherwood: I was horrified to read the story about Narraganset Bay being used as an LPG tanker port. I have a friend in the merchant navy who worked as an officer on one of these vessels for only 6 months, leaving because it was "amazingly stressful". He assured me that these types of vessels NEVER come into port, always loading and offloading at offshore "pickup" pipes because they are such obvious terrorist targets. IIRC the "safe distance" if one goes pop is around 15 miles. IIRC the shores of Narraganset Bay are far fairly well populated and a lot narrower than 30 miles. Surely you can't bring one of those things into a place like that? We are talking about a bomb that would make Hiroshima look like a pop gun. Some more information please? * From Chris Ericksen: I presume Jonathan Saunders in 'Butt 1775 meant that John Guzzwell was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world singlehanded. The first Englishmen as a group to circumnavigate the world was led by Francis Drake, who completed his circumnavigation in a vessel that left England as PELICAN in 1577 and came home as GOLDEN HINDE in 1580. As an interesting aside, it is widely thought that the first European to circumnavigate the globe was Ferdinand Magellan. In truth, Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521; a mere eighteen men out of the 237 that started the voyage in 1519 returned to Spain under the leadership of Juan Sebastian del Cano in 1522. Whether or not any Englishmen were included in among these circumnavigators is not known. Legend has it that Drake was knighted on the deck of his vessel lying in Greenwich by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581; at the end of his solo circumnavigation Francis Chichester was similarly knighted in Greenwich with the same sword by Queen Elizabeth II in 1967. Perhaps Ellen MacArthur will be honored in the same way. * From John Arndt, Latitude 38: Congratulations to Ellen and I'm so glad she's finished. In fact the last two or three days I found myself sleeping only 20-30 minutes at a stretch and then having to get up and check teamellen.com to see how she was doing. I probably slept no more than 4 hours a day - it was grueling. I can't imagine keeping this schedule on a boat! I've read about the adventure in the papers and my kids came home from school having learned about it from their teachers. It really was a fantastic adventure and stunning achievement. Thanks Ellen. * From David Tommela: I was describing Ellen's magnificent achievement to some non-sailing friends and received a rather blase response. In exasperation I said, "Imagine Lance Armstrong winning all 6 Tour de France races in a single marathon while undergoing cancer surgery astride his bike and fighting-off attacks from terrorists!" That seemed to get the point across. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The severity of the itch is proportional to the reach. |
