SCUTTLEBUTT No. 832 - June 8, 2001
Scuttlebutt 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.
DRUG TESTING
The Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) of US Sailing has reached an agreement with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) defining those athletes who will be subject to "in-competition" drug testing. The agreement does not affect members of the national team who are required to make themselves available for both out-of-competition testing, as well as in-competition testing.
USADA has agreed that only 'registered' elite-level athletes competing in the nine Olympic class boats (divisions) — Europe (women); Finn (men); 470 (men and women); Laser (open); Mistral (men and women); 49er, Star, Tornado (all open); and Yngling (women) — will constitute the pool of athletes which may be tested. The determination as to who is an elite athlete will be made between the OSC and the athlete in a two-part interactive process wherein athletes will be invited to register for selective email list serves administered by the OSC. Upon registering, sailors will be notified that by signing up for the list, they consent to be designated an elite athlete, and therefore agree to in-competition testing at Olympic class events selected by USADA. Sailors who sign up for the list serves will be screened to confirm that they are eligible.
Sailors currently registered on the list serves, with the exception of administrators, coaches and members of the 2001 US Sailing Team, will be asked to affirm their membership on the list by June 15, 2001. Any athlete wishing to remove him or herself will be given the opportunity. Athletes who remain registered on the maintained lists should make themselves familiar with banned substances in the sport of sailing, (www.sailing.org/medical), as well as USADA policies and procedures (www.usantidoping.org). The list of athletes subject to in-competition testing will be supplied to USADA upon request.
"This is a huge positive step for sailing," said OSC Chairman Fred Hagedorn (Chicago, Ill.). "This agreement should eliminate the many concerns expressed by competitors sailing Olympic class boats who do not intend to pursue a course of representing the U.S.A. in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens."
USADA is dedicated to eliminating the practice of doping in sport, including U.S. Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic athletes. USADA is the independent anti-doping agency for Olympic sports in the U.S., and is responsible for managing the testing and adjudication process for the athletes. USADA is dedicated to preserving the well being of sport, the integrity of competition and ensuring the health of athletes through research initiatives and educational programs. - Jan Harley
RACING OFFSHORE
The Transpac Yacht Club has voted to waive an IMS rule and permit competitors to temporarily unfasten the headstay when jibing a spinnaker downwind so as to allow the pole to be moved to the new windward side. If a boat were sailing upwind, of course, the mast would fall down.
"It sounds scary but it makes a lot of sense," said Dale Nordin, a director and Transpac veteran. "It would be safer than taking the butt end of the pole off the mast and risking a serious injury to someone."
Many ocean racers are using longer spinnaker poles these days. Longtime Transpac campaigner Bob Lane said the pole on his modified Andrews 61 Medicine Man extends nine feet beyond the headstay. "It's actually safer to remove the headstay," Lane said. "It's only off for 10 or 15 seconds and we aren't jibing during that time."
As a safety precaution, Lane said, his crew attaches two halyards on opposite sides of the bow during the maneuver, then removes the fastpin securing the headstay. "Those are strong enough to hold up the mast if something should go wrong," he said. "If you do it right, the pole doesn't even move. You just move the headstay, which is slack, anyway, to the other side of the pole. We have done it in 30 to 35 knots of wind." - Rich Roberts, www.transpacificyc.org
THE BIG FOUR
Boatspeed, Target Boatspeed, Wind Direction, and TrueWindspeed are very often considered the most important functions of an integrated instrument system. The "big four" rely on high quality sensor input from the paddlewheel, the wind sensor at the masthead (ideally on a wand 4' or more), and the compass. Accurate sensor calibration is vital, and systems which integrate heel measurement into the wind solution are capable of truly amazing wnd dection accuracy. The math behind accurate wind direction is complex, but when executed properly provides a powerful weapon on the racecourse. To download an Ockam system manual: www.ockam.com
ATTENTION LASER SAILORS
Pending the approval of the ISAF there could be four new choices for Laser boom vang rigging as early as August. Also, there are some recommendations for changes to the cunningham and outhaul controls to make easier to handle for lighter weight sailors and people joining the class. ILCA Executive Secretary Jeff Martin has posted a detailed description with photos of the new rigging on the ILCA web site. www.laserinternational.org
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
leweck@earthlink.net
(Only signed letters will be selected for publication, and they may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.)
* From Andrew Palfrey: Re the football / sailing article, I was disappointed that it ended up on Scuttlebutt, or indeed around the internet at all! It was largely borrowed from Dave Perry's "Winning in One Designs" and was a text I used as a verbal presentation I gave to our local institute of sport in Melbourne. I used it as a way to explain to high-level athletes from a range of sports, how many variables our sport contains. It was then posted on their website - from there to several sites - bit scary really!
Anyway, I can't change that now. But what I can do is offer all credit to Mr Dave Perry. His book is my favotite sailing book and refer to it often, having first read it in the late 80's. If you can get hold of a copy, it's well worth a read. Apologies to those who were upset.
* From Andrew Hurst, editor, Seahorse magazine: I would just like to add my own personal 'definitely' to the credit coming in for Dave Perry's masterpiece. 'Winning in One Designs.' This book is quite simply both seminal and readable - a rare combination.
I used to copy and tape the pages of two books to my borrowed Laser when I first was learning the game hacking around SF Bay. One was Dave's book, the other Start to Win by the late, great Eric Twiname. If you can get both these 20 odd year old texts logged into your brain, and get fit, then nothing and nobody will get in your way. And you'll have fun.
* From Jamie McWilliam, Hong Kong: Peter Allen's letter is priceless It is not a case of "it would be nice if some method could be developed to let a 20-year old Swan and boats such as Nokia race on the same course on equal footing". This method already exists, and it's called IRC.
I was on board the 20-year old Swan "Jacobite" in Ford Cork Week 2000 and we had ding-dong racing with "rocket ships" such as the Ker 30 Shakermaker. In races from light air windward-leewards to lumpy coastals the corrected time finishes were nailbitingly close. Although the big heavy boats were hitting the laylines and the small light boats were tacking up the middle, the challenge was still there to pick the wind and get the most out of your boat. In the end, the boat that did this best won the regatta. In this cynical world it is nice to know that the "height of optimism" is sometimes realism.
* From Craig Dymock: I was intrigued by your subscriber who wrote of IR2000 "It is the height of optimism to expect any handicap rule to provide a level playing field between rocket ships use as Nokia and anything that looks much like a traditional racer/cruiser." Did he have a look at the results? Nokia won the regatta by two points - from a Swan 60! She was beaten in the eight race regatta by the Swan 60 four times, an IMX 40 once and a Swan 48 once. The playing field seems pretty level to me.
* From Peter Bentley: I am not usually one to complain about seeing my work in print, but the way I have been excerpted (is that a word?) in this morning's Scuttlebutt completely distorts the meaning of the piece. My original piece was supposed to be amusing and vaguely in support of IRC. The excerpt chosen for Scuttlebutt makes me look like a sad old bastard vaguely against IRC.
* From Edward Fryer: Responding Peter Allen statement ("It is the height of optimism to expect any handicap rule to provide a level playing field between rocket ships use as Nokia and anything that looks much like a traditional racer/cruiser"). I believe that this is the point Peter Bentley was making. IRC is the simplified racer-cruiser rule. Nokia should be racing in IRM, rather than pot-hunting in IRC.
* From Michael Roth, Honolulu, HI: Regarding the article on Football vs. Sailing; I tell novice that sailboat racing is like grand prix auto racing, but you have to take your pit crew with you.
* From Paul Henderson: Sailing and Baseball - My son said when he was 10 that "Baseball is a very democratic game. Every nine times you get to bat and if the ball is hit to your field you must catch it and throw it back in. Other sports like soccer or Hockey as soon as you go to shoot somebody knocks the hell out of you and steals the puck or ball." Fleet racing in Sailing is also very democratic. Want to sail against the best in the World like Mark Reynolds just buy a Star and show up at Bacardi Cup and for about 5 seconds at the start you are equal or a Laser and compete against Ben Ainslie. (If you join the class. Cheap Shot). Try starting in any other sport against the best!
Everyone of the best sailors will help you get better at no charge. Maybe one day you will be forced the wrong way and the wind will do a 30 degree shift in your direction and then you can talk about it for the rest of your life as you beat Ben to the first mark. After the race you can go back to the bar and the Cayards, Melges, Dennis, Ding, Vince, Gus and the others are all there pontificating and you are again equals. That is the joy of Racing Sailboats.
* From Richard Hazelton, Editor 48¡ North Sailing Magazine: Congratulations are due to "Dragonfly" and their new record in the CAPE FLATTERY. One of the reasons it's a "daysail", aside from "Dragonfly's" blistering speed, is that the true SWIFTSURE CLASSIC, the only race of the group that still goes out into the ocean to where the Swiftsure Lightship used to be, is 140 NM as opposed to 103 NM for Cape Flattery. Let's congratulate the top three in that race which continues the tradition of the original Swiftsure. 1. "Jam" John McPhail-J/160; 2. "Marda Gras" Marda Phelps-Santa Cruz 52; 3. "Jeito"Tom Huseby-J/145.
* From Bill Elmer: Oooooo it makes me so upset when Swiftsure "honors" the multi hull class as overall winner. While Dragonfly's time on the course she sailed was admirable, and they can go ahead and enjoy their beer, the message that they sailed the venerable Swiftsure Lightship Classic is simply not accurate. They went to Neah Bay, and as such basically sailed a 40 mile shorter course with NO open ocean conditions. In fact, I would doubt that the boat would survive a lively Swiftsure Lightship Classic with 10 foot plus sea state offshore as occurs every 3-5 years or so!
Taking a different viewpoint, while the regatta is called the Swiftsure, the fact is that there is dwindling participation in the old classic with only a very few (say 25 boats out of 250) of the fleet having the will or interest in slapping around all night to round the mark and hopefully finish sometime in the late afternoon on Sunday. Almost all the boats now go to Neah Bay, and even some of the "sleds" bailed out and participated in a shorter "Exhibition" race this year.
* From Gary Sander: Most of you who use PHRF know that the light air boat wins in light air as does the heavy air boat in her wind conditions. What you might not know is that PHRF and Portsmouth may be practically equal in the Beaufort 2-3 wind range and Portsmouth allows for handicap adjustments for light and heavy air. I was surprised when I ran a comparison of 50 boats sailed in the Oklahoma-Texas using PHRF numbers to Portsmouth numbers in the DPN 2-3 wind range and 48 lined up in the same order. The wind adjustment factors validated my own experience within our club competitors. I would encourage of you PHRF handicappers to do your own comparison. Nothing beats a well managed local handicapping system with periodic adjustments but it seems as though the two systems have merged over a period of time into a common database that can be a good resource of handicapping committees.
* From Craig Fletcher: Good on ya Betsy Alison. I for one hope we can go back to a simpler time where the quality of your lunch and the amount of crew gear you receive is less important than sailing with good friends and maybe winning a few races. Lets put winning over whining and go out and have fun.
MATCH RACING
The second annual Blackaller Intergalactic Sled Matchracing Invitational Championship (BISMIC), hosted by the Sheboygan Yacht Club, kicks off June 8-10 in the waters of Lake Michigan. Each of the four Santa Cruz 70s will have a guest tactician from North Sails aboard.
Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes Tactician and President of North Marine Group, Tom Whidden, will again call the shots for skipper Terry Kohler aboard his new SC70 Evolution. North Sails President and West Coast sailor, Gary Weisman, is aboard Mike Brotz's Chance from Sheboygan. Olympic and America's Cup sailor, Andreas Josenhans, is tactician aboard last year's Great Lakes 70 class champion Mirage, skippered by Mike Bucklo of Deerfield, Ill. Tom McLaughlin, will be calling tactics for former U.S. Sailing president Bill Martin. Martin, who normally sails his SC70 Stripes out of Detroit, is chartering Kohler's other SC70 Cynosure. - Greta Schanen, www.greatlakes70.org
FOR THE RECORD
June 7, 2001 - Yachtsman Steve Fossett's goal is to make the first solo round the world balloon flight. However, the short-term prospects for launch of the Solo Spirit balloon remain unfavorable. Or as meteorologist Bob Rice puts it: "We continue to have high amplitude, short wavelength features in the projected path, which means very large north-south deviations in air movements and thus in movement of the balloon. ...
These difficulties could probably be corrected by flying higher, but at the expense of shortening flight duration because Pilot Steve Fossett would have to leave fuel behind to lighten the balloon. However, the unfavorable weather features we are seeing have finite life spans, and we hope for an improved outlook next week." - solospirit.wustl.edu
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
* June 15-17: Sailing World Chicago NOOD (National Offshore One-Design) Regatta A fleet of some 280 boats will be racing in 24 individual classes. www.sailingworld.com
* June 16: Safety at Sea seminar - the last opportunity for Transpacific Yacht Race entries to meet a prime requirement of the competition ("At least 30% of a yacht's crew including the skipper must have attended a US Sailing-sanctioned Safety at Sea seminar within the last five years.") Orange Coast College School of Sailing & Seamanship. (949) 645-9412.
* June 29-July 4: Snipe Junior World Championships, Mentor Harbor Yacht Club. - tod@faretec.com
QUOTE / UNQUOTE
"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it." - Dame Margaret Thatcher
REFINANCE YOUR BOAT LOAN
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J/80 WORLDS
Newport, R.I., USA (June 7, 2001) - Kerry Klinger of Larchmont, N.Y. and his crew aboard USA 352 won the first race of the inaugural J/80 World Championship, and combined that score with a sixth in the second race to take the lead in the 40-boat international fleet that includes America's Cup, Olympic, Whitbread and champion one-design sailors. Klinger, the current J/80 Midwinter champion, edged out the second-place team of Paul and Marie-Claude Heys, from Southampton, U.K., aboard Jem, by one point. Rick Schaffer of Ft. Worth, Texas is in third place. Dana Paxton, www.sailnewport.org/j80worlds
COLLEGE SAILING
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (June 7, 2001) - With twelve of eighteen planned races completed, Boston College leads the 2001 ICSA North American Coed Dinghy Championship Sponsored by Gill North America. The Eagles have 126 points. Georgetown University is in second place with 132 points. Dartmouth College trails in third with 143. - Derek Webster, www.collegesailing.org
IT HAPPENED ON THURSDAY
On Thursday, June 7, Scuttlebutt added subscriber number 10,000. Even for the normally immodest curmudgeon, that's mind-boggling.
Scuttlebutt started less than four years ago, in September, 1997, as an occasional gossip sheet to a couple dozen of my sailing friends in Southern California. We discussed weighty issues like the Marina del Rey Schock 35 crew party, and how long Craig Fletcher was likely to hang onto his new job. Letters were not limited to 250-words and personal attacks were quite commonplace. For a long, long time, I knew the name of every reader.
Obviously things have changed a lot since issue #1, which was of course, unnumbered. For the most part, it's been a fun ride and a gratifying experience. I certainly appreciate the many racers, thought leaders and publicists who have contributed to our growth through their participation and their contributions. And I'm totally indebted to the many journalists and website operators who have allowed me to excerpt their material without suing me for copyright violations. - The Curmudgeon
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
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