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SCUTTLEBUTT 3453 - Friday, October 21, 2011Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: US SAILING and Salt Harbor Studio. FROM TENNIS COURTS TO SAILING STAR As a youngster growing up on Australia's east coast he did not like sailing; Tom Slingsby was bribed by his sisters to crew for them, at 20c a race. What a difference a few years makes - 2010 World Sailor of the Year, four World Championship titles, he is one of the hottest Olympic Gold Medal prospects and has now joined the America's Cup scene. 25 year old Tom Slingsby from Gosford, north of Sydney, NSW is currently training for Perth 2011 with the Australian Sailing Team. Crowned 2010 ISAF World Sailor of the Year, Tom won his third Laser World Championship last year and has been on the podium in the last nine World Cup events. Slingsby tells his story. 'My family got me into sailing. I remember my first sailing season as I didn't enjoy it too much - my twin sisters used to pay me 20 cents per race just to stay on the boat. I sailed the junior classes, went OK but nothing flash. My favourite sport was tennis, I used to train five days a week but then at 15 I wasn't too sure what I wanted to do. "I had all this time on my hands. I didn't really want to do school work so I went out training every afternoon in the Laser and after three months of doing that I finished first at the Nationals. I'd finished 61st the year before. "We lived on Brisbane Waters, it's the sea but it is exactly the same as lake sailing. It is flat water, very shifty and I remember sitting on our front deck every afternoon doing my homework, which I hated. "Watching the boats racing, I remember looking at all the angles of the gusts coming from down the bay and I remember just visualising myself being out there - where I would tack and where I would go and that sort of stuff. "Only later in my sailing career did I realise how much that has helped me. I can look at a gust and know exactly what it is going to do - if it is going to knock me five degrees, if it is going to lift me 10 degrees. "The thing that made me want to sail at the top level was the 2000 Olympics - I went down to Sydney every day for two weeks to watch the sailing. I remember watching Robert Scheidt and Ben Ainslie sailing for the Laser Gold Medal. "From that day forward I have dedicated everything to Olympic Sailing." -- Sail-World, read on: http://tinyurl.com/S-W-102011 100KMH ROCKET RIDES ON BIG WEDNESDAY Since the Vestas Sailrocket team started in 2002, their pursuit has been the all out world speed record, as measured on a 500 meter course. Their best speed so far of 47.36 knots was good enough to set a sub record in 2008 (B Division, 150 - 235 sq.ft), but not enough to surpass the current record of 55.65 knots set in 2010 by kitesurfer Rob Douglas (USA). The team is now in Walvis Bay in Namibia with their latest craft, and on Wednesday they went faster than they ever had gone before...50 knots over the 500 meter course. And they weren't even trying. Here is pilot Paul Larsen's report: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (October 20, 2011) - Well yesterday (Wednesday) turned into a pretty wild day. The way the morning was unfolding we knew the wind was going to outperform the forecast. Vestas Sailrocket 2 had up to now done four runs within a knot of 50 knots. Two over and two under. We weren't sure if we had hit some sort of flow phenomena relating to the radical new foil around this speed. The team here in Namibia had been hurriedly collating all the data from onboard the boat and the shore to send it to the 'brains trust' back in the UK. As no two runs are the same we wanted to get a solid understanding of where we should be performance wise and what our areas of weakness are. As it stands, we feel we should be hitting peak speeds around 60 knots. The 'brains trust' aren't that emotional... they just want good data and the understanding it generates. As is often the case, the weather comes before the understanding and you just have to 'wing' it and get out there. We decided we wouldn't change anything major and that we should simply try and get more information that would better define developing trends. It would be my job to simply do more clean runs down the course to generate more points on the graph. When we got over to 'speed-spot' we noted that the wind was still very West. This means we get a small swell rolling down the course along with the wind chop. It also gives us a TWA (true wind angle) of around 120 degrees which is a bit too downwind for us. When the wind started gusting over 26 knots I decided to do a shakedown run anyway. -- Read on: http://sailrocket.com/node/441 HELP SHAPE HISTORY Submit Your Nominations for US SAILING's 2011 Rolex Yachtsman & Yachtswoman of the Year Awards. Who do you think are the best American sailors of 2011? These prestigious awards recognize one male sailor and one female sailor for their outstanding achievements within the calendar year and are viewed as the nation's top sailing honors. Sailing greats Dennis Conner, Betsy Alison, Ken Read and J.J. Fetter have held this honor. US SAILING members can submit nominations for these awards TODAY. Make your nominations at http://about.ussailing.org/Awards/Rolex.htm SAIL AMERICA UNVEILS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES Financially healthy and growing, Sail America - the trade association for the US sailing industry - presented several new initiatives at the annual industry meeting in Annapolis, MD (Oct. 7th). Sally Helme, Publisher of Cruising World magazine and President of Sail America, revealed the plan before a crowd of key industry personnel attending the United States Sailboat Show. Citing improved financials, diversified revenue streams, and a growing list of partners including the management of a new boat show in Texas, Helme reported growth in the organization's membership and an uptick in attendance at Strictly Sail shows nationwide over the past two years. Jonathan Banks, Sail America Executive Director, kicked off the breakfast program by saying, "The attendance here serves as a reminder that there is still life in the sailing market." He added that he was pleased with how well the industry has coped and adapted as everyone has worked together to improve market conditions in the down economy. Sail America's vision was described as "creating a stronger sailing market" and several objectives were outlined as steps to achieve that goal: Read more: http://tinyurl.com/Boats-com-102011 EVERYBODY NEEDS SOME GRITS The health of the sport is often measured by participation in high profile events. And lately, the interest in high performance sailing seems more like a mandate than a preference. But there is more to recreational racing than the type of boat you sail. Leave it to the South to show how a simpler approach to our sport might be the key. Read on: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The 2nd year of the GRITS (Great Racing In The South) is finished with 40 Catalina 22's competing at 5 venues in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee evenly split between Gold and Silver classes. Another 5 boats competed in a Cruiser fleet for boats not tricked out for racing and inexperienced racers at the helm. The GRITS has brought a lot of C-22's together in the South for some great racing. A number of boats are now regularly competing which had never traveled to out of town regattas before. Over the past few years Chattanooga and Nashville have experienced great growth in their C-22 fleets, partially due to exposure of these races. Chattanooga now has thirty-five C-22's in their fleet, certainly the largest fleet in the country. Nashville just hosted their first C-22 only regatta. The winds weren't great, but everyone went home with bellies full of great food and beer. GRITS has helped bring many new sailors into the racing fraternity the past 2 years. We expect the series to grow every year because the C-22 fleets are so open to new sailors. While the boat is not fast, it is an honest, easy-to-sail boat with all the sail controls of more sophisticated boats, it can be sailed by only 2 people and trailered behind an average SUV. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12800 SAILING SHORTS * Dallas, TX (October 20, 2011) - The 2011 Championship of Champions, hosted by the Corinthian Sailing Club, began today on White Rock Lake. Chris Raab, the defending 2010 Champion, and crew Bill Draheim has a narrow two point lead over Andrew Eagan and crew Marcus Eagan. After an 80 minute delay due to lack of wind, racing was held in winds of 5 to 10 knots in full sun with temperatures in the high 60s. Special guest competitor Tom Ehman with crew Kelson Elam is in fourth place. -- Full story: http://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/2011/2011_C_of_C_D1.htm * On October 26, the top U.S. Olympic hopefuls in Women's Match Racing will begin competition in the U.S. Olympic Team Qualifying Regatta, in Miami, Fla. The ISAF Grade 3 event is scheduled for Oct. 26-30, and will determine the top four teams who will advance to the second, and final, selection event for the 2012 Olympic Team berth in Women's Match Racing. The second selection event is scheduled for May 4-7 at the Weymouth & Portland National Academy, in England, the site of the 2012 Olympic sailing venue. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/USSTAG-102011a * Information has been announced about the American qualifier for the 2012 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth World championship. Details for the multihull event in Florida are not confirmed, but for all other events the qualifier will take place January 13-16, 2012 at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, Calif. The 2012 ISAF Youth World Championship is in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland on July 12-21. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/USSTAG-102011b * A Detroit man was sentenced to 30 months in prison today for making a hoax call about a capsized boat to the U.S. Coast Guard, cost-ing the govern-ment roughly $53,000 in search and res-cue efforts. Craig Sanders, 32, who pleaded guilty to making the false dis-tress call in June, also has been ordered to pay $53,306 in restitution to the U.S. Coast Guard. He was sentenced in Port Huron, before U.S. Dis-trict Judge Lawrence P. Zatkoff. -- Detroit Free Press, read on: http://tinyurl.com/DFP-102011 NAUTICAL HOLIDAY CARDS Create your own Holiday or Christmas card this Season at Salt Harbor Studio! Choose your design and then select your favorite verse for inside. Personalize your cards by adding your own special message and/or name. Request our catalog with the finest nautical Holiday cards available anywhere. Mention "Scuttlebutt" and receive free ground shipping. http://www.SaltHarborStudio.com EIGHT BELLS Jose E. (Tito) Argamasilla Bacardi, 67, native of Cuba, passed away in Miami, Florida on October 18, 2011, surrounded by family and friends. Born in Santiago de Cuba in 1944, Tito joined Bacardi Imports in 1969. During his tenure at the company, Tito founded the Bacardi Museum in Miami, which has evolved into today's very substantial company archive. Tito will be fondly remembered for his role as the animated host of the Bacardi Cup in Miami over several decades. "All Tito's friends in the Star Class send our deepest sympathies to his family," said Star Class President Bill Allen. "We will miss his energy at the event he sponsored so enthusiastically. The Bacardi Cup has been one of our premier events for 84 years. Tito was the primary driver of this event, which has led to the Star Class winter circuit." Funeral services will be held Friday, October 21, 2011. -- Full report: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_590.shtml PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include onboard umbrellas, A Class racing, wrath of Mother Nature, bad day of sailing, trophy worth winning, inventive, go-fast accessories, and near death experiences. Here are this week's photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/11/1021/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK The National Sailing Center & Hall of Fame has announced that the first annual Induction of 15 people to the National Sailing Hall of Fame will be dedicated to the Memory of Walter Cronkite, an avid sailor who served as Honorary Chair on the NSHOF Board of Advisors from September 14, 2006 until his passing on July 17, 2009. The induction ceremony will take place on October 23 at the San Diego Yacht Club. To celebrate Walter's contributions to American sailing on this occasion, the NSHOF website is now featuring a two-part series entitled 'America's Cup: Cronkite Reports' where he chronicles, race by race, the 1987 America's Cup campaign, a watershed event in Fremantle, Western Australia. Here is a 2:48 minute clip from the TV show: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/11/1021/ BONUS: Canadian Star crew Tyler Bjorn, who along with teammate Richard Clarke are strong contenders for Olympic medals in the Men's Keelboat event, was featured on CBC: http://tinyurl.com/CBC-102011 BONUS: Episode 13 of the 'America's Cup Uncovered' magazine show celebrates San Francisco Bay Fleet Week, and chats with the United States Coast Guard about the transformation of San Francisco Bay into a perfect sailing stadium. America's Cup legend John Bertrand shares his opinion on the new race format with Regatta Director Iain Murray and ORACLE Racing's James Spithill. Meet maker of the America's Cup trophy: Garrard in London; but not before AC commentator Annie Gardner shows us around her hometown San Diego: beach, burgers and boats! Tune in on October 22 approx 0800 PDT 1600 BST: http://www.youtube.com/americascup#p/c/915CDC8233C7B14E BONUS: The October 21, Week 42 "World on Water" Global Weekly Boating News Report features Act 8 of the Extreme Sailing Series Almeria, Spain, the opening of the 18 Footers Race season with the R. Watt Memorial Trophy Sydney, Australia, the Monaco Yacht Show Port Hercule, Monaco, the Clipper Race Leg 4 Start Cape Town, South Africa, the UNO Farr 40 European Championships, Istanbul, Turkey, the opening of the Volvo Ocean Race Village Alicante, Spain and in our action segment "Fresh to Frightening" the Southern Ocean rescue of Jean Le Cam in the 2008-09 Vendee Globe single handed round the world race when his yacht's keel bulb fell off and the yacht capsized approaching Cape Horn. See this week's show on www.boatson.tv approx 1200 BST, 0700 EDT Friday Oct 21.11 SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Nathan Dalleska: Regarding the comment that we should all wake up and realize sailing is an expensive sport (in Scuttlebutt 3452), I think the key point here is that at least some sailing options, especially for kids, should not be gratuitously overpriced. Managing costs may mean class restrictions against carbon fiber sails and spars and limiting support boats on the water. Sure, you need time, money and natural ability for any sport. But if the system we (as sailors) build raises the bar on the time and money requirements too high, our sport will miss out on many who have natural ability, and even more who are fun to sail with and against. The thesis of the earlier articles was not that sailing should be free or even really, really cheap, but that it should be as affordable as it can be. And if you can't have FUN on the water without carbon fiber hulls, spars, sails and top of the line polarizing lenses, then you should seek professional help. Or at least some coaching from a good sailor. * From George Sechrist: Regarding the coaching thread...firstly, we need to differentiate between hiring a private or sailing school coach for lessons outside of regattas, versus the coach/mommy boat fiascos that I read about. Although I've never had a coach or lesson in my life, I would never be against lessons or coaching outside of regattas. I have been racing for over 45 yrs, including Star Bacardi Cups & Masters, and currently Laser & Sunfish regattas, and personally have never experienced a coach boat problem, because they were non-existent. I am having the most fun of my life racing small boats, so to me the lesson is: choose your class and regattas carefully. I succeed a lot and I screw up a lot, but I coach myself with a mental critique. I think the coach boat problem only applies to about 1% of sailboat racing, so my advice is "Choose your class and venues carefully and just go out and have fun!" * From Jeremy McGeary: I first encountered the breathless reporting Guy writes about (in Scuttlebutt 3452) during The Race in 2000 (Maxi Cats around the world). I was in Rhode Island, translating into English "reports" from French writers based in Paris. These race updates were posted to the website every four hours and were based on information gathered from "radio rendezvous" and the position-tracking system. No live feeds from the boats . . . and I was connecting from home by dial-up through an AOL email address. Pass the Geritol! I was on the night shift and my first report was supposed to arrive at about 1800 ET. That, of course, was well after dinnertime in Paris, so my oppos would wax long and lyrical about everything that might have happened in a four-hour watch aboard a 100-foot catamaran stuck in the St. Helena High. The prose was less purple, perhaps, than Pinot Noir, and I recognize some of the same phrases (just as poorly translated into English) in so many of the "reports" Guy describes. I wonder if there isn't such a thing as too much information. Anyone remember the tension during the Golden Globe, when we heard nothing from the participants for weeks or months? Then Moitessier shows up in Cape Town, says, "Bugger zis!" and heads for Tahiti. That's fodder for bar chat. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy. SPONSORS THIS WEEK BIC Sport - Hall Spars & Rigging - North Sails - IYRS - Southern Spars Point Loma Outfitting - Quantum Sails - LaserPerformance Ullman Sails - APS - US Sailing - Salt Harbor Studio Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
