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SCUTTLEBUTT 2958 - Monday, October 26, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are Doyle Sails and Summit Yachts. JOBSON ELECTED PRESIDENT OF US SAILING On Saturday night at US SAILING’s Annual General Meeting, Gary Jobson was elected by the new board of directors as the next president of the sport’s national governing body. The US SAILING President serves for a one-year term and a maximum of three consecutive terms. Former US SAILING President Jim Capron (Annapolis, Md.), has led the organization since November 2006. In his acceptance speech at the board of directors meeting, Jobson highlighted his plans for US SAILING. He discussed the philosophy of the organization and explained US SAILING’s goal to create opportunities for more people to sail and encourage participation, especially among youth. “We want to make sailing safe, easy, and fair,” said Jobson. “We’ll work to make sailing available to everyone.” Increased visibility for US SAILING and awareness of the sport is a high priority for Jobson. He also put an emphasis on elevating US SAILING’s National Championships. Jobson is focusing on creating value for the US SAILING membership. “We will not make a US SAILING membership mandatory,” Jobson stated. “We want people and organizations to become members of US SAILING because we provide a great service for sailors, and we want to inspire others to get involved with the sport.” -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/USSA-10-25-09 * Video of Gary Jobson’s acceptance speech: http://tinyurl.com/GJ-10-25-09 * US SAILING members voted to fill three positions on the organization's board of directors. The elected members of the board of directors - all of whom will serve for a three-year term are Walter Chamberlain (Bay St. Louis, Miss.), John Craig (San Rafael, Calif.), and Tom Hubbell (Delaware, Ohio). This is the fourth year that US SAILING held elections to determine members of its board of directors. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/USSA-10-25-09a * US SAILING announced Terry Kohler as the recipient of the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in this country. Kohler (Brule, Wis.), President and CEO of the Windway Capital Corporation, a holding company for subsidiaries including North Sails Group, has been active in the Women’s International Match Racing Association. He played in intricate role in a successful international campaign to get women’s match racing into the 2012 Olympics. Kohler is a major supporter of the Sheboygan Youth Sailing Center (Wis.) and has provided organizational leadership to Sail Sheboygan, a US SAILING Center. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/USSA-10-25-09b US SAILING ANNUAL AWARDS At the US SAILING Annual General Meeting, the following awards were presented to those who made an extraordinary impact in the areas of sailing education, race management, and disabled sailing. US SAILING’s Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy -- Betsy Alison Head coach of the US Disabled Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, Betsy Alison, was awarded the Gay S. Lynn Memorial Trophy award for her outstanding contribution to sailors with disabilities. “Disabled sailing enriches our sport,” said Alison. “I’m proud to know that so many people want to embrace disabled sailing.” US SAILING's Timothea Larr Award -- Dick Allsopp Dick Allsopp has received US SAILING's Timothea Larr Award for his life-long commitment to quality sailing education. Prior to becoming a US SAILING Instructor Trainer and member of the National Faculty, Allsopp spent 32 years as a naval officer and aviator with the U.S. Navy. The experiences he gained in the Navy fully prepared him for his career in training sailors and powerboat operation. US SAILING’s St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy -- Carolina Yacht Club The Carolina Yacht Club of North Carolina (CYC-NC) received US SAILING’s St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy for their excellence in race management. The CYC-NC was honored for their excellence for overall outstanding regatta organization, and execution of race management decisions for the 2009 Laser Masters North American Championships held on May 15-17 in Wrightsville Beach, N.C. The event’s Principal Race Officer, Gifford Usher, gained race management experience by training and serving at the 1996 Olympics as the Deputy Race Officer on the Laser Europe circle in Savannah, Ga. Founded in 1853, the CYC-NC is one of the oldest clubs in the country. US SAILING’s Harman Hawkins -- Barbara and Tom Farquhar Together and separately, Barbara and Tom Farquhar have been involved in all aspects of race management. The Farquhars have been extraordinarily influential in the areas of race management, from running races, to judging and umpiring, to teaching race management, and judging and umpiring seminars extensively around the World. The Harman Hawkins Trophy is awarded yearly to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing in the field of Race Administration (Judging, Race Management, Appeals and Racing Rules). Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/USSA-10-25-09c BEST PRICING AVAILABLE NOW! Fall is discount season at your local Doyle loft. So call now to lock in the best pricing of the season. Looking for an even sweeter deal? Check out our Internet Specials. Fall is also the perfect time to bring your sails in for a wash and check over. Contact your local DOYLE loft, 800-94-DOYLE, http://www.doylesails.com IN DEFENCE OF MR. SCHUYLER’S DEED By Brad Butterworth, Alinghi skipper, America’s Cup defender Some have been calling for a rewrite of the America’s Cup Deed of Gift, offering the Defender their own vision for the sailing competition. These shrill calls have been common before every match in recent times, usually from those with no record of success in the Cup. Claims of imminent death of America’s Cup competition have always proven to be greatly exaggerated. Two American yacht clubs: the New York Yacht Club and the San Diego Yacht Club held the America’s Cup between them for 140 years. For them everything was perfect, “the wind was in their sails,” as some would say. There were no calls then to strip the winner of its trusteeship, to strip the winner of organising the next regatta or for an independent entity to manage the America’s Cup (although they perhaps did pass a few of those Trustee Interpretive Resolutions to keep the challengers at bay.) Now the Cup is again in foreign hands and after nine failed American challenges to get the Cup back - all failing even to make it to the match - it is time (according to some Americans and their fellow travellers) while their tenth challenge is in progress to rewrite the Deed of Gift; to strip the winner of its fruits of victory, making it easier for a challenger to win. -- Read on: http://www.alinghi.com/en/news/news/index.php?idIndex=200&idContent=20663 * The BMW ORACLE Racing team returns to the water this week to resume testing their 90-foot trimaran ahead of the 33rd America's Cup Match. The boat has been 'on the hard' for a month and extensive modifications have been made, including the addition of an engine, major changes to the deck configuration and layout on board and reworking of numerous on-board systems. The most noticeable change is the sailing crew will be without the grinders as they have been replaced by the engine. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/ykrh2yx * By hosting the 33rd America’s Cup in the Ras al-Khaimah of the United Arab Eremites (UAE), the defender Alinghi team is eager to expose the region to yachting at its highest range. Given the view of the Dubai Traditional 22ft Dhow Sailing Championship this past weekend, there would seem to be quite a distance in that range. The 22 ft dhow is used to train and introduce youngsters to sailing, with the design of the boat possibly pre-dating the first Cup match. -- See photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/10/uae-yachting.html COLLEGE SLOOP NATIONALS (New London, CT) - Ten teams met for the 2009-2010 Inter-Collegiate Sloop National Championship, hosted by Coast Guard in Colgate 26’s (crew of 4). Three races were completed on Friday in difficult conditions in around 5-8 knots of wind. St. Mary's College won the first two races day, but the average points they would receive from a breakdown in the third race would challenge scorekeepers for the rest of the event. Saturday morning brought light rain with southerly winds ranging from 10-14 knots, with the fleet completing four races before a brief lunch break. SMC was now tied with Boston College when teams went back out to 15-18 knot winds for the eighth race. Winds decreased to under 10 knots for the final two races, with the Championship coming down to the last race between St. Mary's and Boston College. BC got behind on the first beat while St. Mary's had the points needed to win, but BC skipper Taylor Canfield fought hard enough to pass one boat on the final run to finish tied with St. Mary's and won the tie breaker on virtue of their three 1st place finishes. Winning BC team was Taylor Canfield ('11), Christian Manchester ('10), Christopher Protasewich ('10), and Jonathan Lutz ('13). Final Standings (top 5 of 10; 10 races) 1. Boston College, 26 points 2. St. Mary's College, 26 3. Navy, 39 4. Brown University, 43 5. College of Charleston, 46 Event information: http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/fall09/sloops/ Kattack tracking: http://americanregatta.com/regattas/2009/icsasloop/ Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/1025/ * On possible format changes to the Sloop Nationals, Mitchell Brindley, President, Intercollegiate Sailing Association, provides this update: “There is certainly growing support for shift from fleet racing to match racing for the ICSA Sloop National Championship. I hope to have an acceptable proposal in place for the ICSA Winter meeting for implementation in 2010; however we still have a lot of work to do.” MELGES 24 WORLDS The scene is set this week for a showdown of biblical proportions when the best one-design sportsboat sailors from across the US and Europe square up to each other at the Sheehy Lexus of Annapolis 2009 Melges 24 World Championship in Annapolis, MD. If the results of the Pre-Worlds Regatta give any indication of form, the reigning World and European Champions from Italy, 'UKA UKA Racing' steered by Lorenzo Bressani, cemented their position as the pundits’ favourite, with victory ahead of Italian America’s Cup helmsman Flavio Favini on the Swiss registered 'Blu Moon'. Down the standings was local favorite Terry Hutchinson, who won the North American Championship a year ago on the Worlds race course. How has his team been preparing for the Worlds? “We have been slowly gearing up for the Worlds with a few select regattas this year, including the St Pete NOOD, Charleston Race Week and the Sail Newport Regatta,” noted tactician Scott Nixon. “Our team is from all corners of the USA and all but our bowgirl Amy Ironmonger are professionals, so we have each been doing full schedules in a variety of classes and boats. Terry has been busy in the Farr 40 and TP52 so we have been doing some training and testing as a group to make sure that we are ready for the intense October schedule when he gets back on board.” The Corinthian division at the Worlds, in which competitors are required to hold ISAF amateur status, accounts for twenty five percent of the overall fleet, with teams vying for a dedicated trophy along with a Tacktick Maxi system worth over $1000. Leading contenders include Corinthian Champion Othmar Mueller von Blumencron (USA) from the 2008 North American Championship, who was also won the division at the 2007 World Championship in Santa Cruz, CA. Another Corinthian contender is Bruce Ayres (USA) who has finished runner up on several occasions in the Corinthian division at Melges 24 Worlds. Racing will be from Monday through Saturday. Additional background info of top teams: http://tinyurl.com/ylf2ewf By Sunday morning, the forecast for Monday showed a light and unfilled 05-10 kt NE’ly is expected early in the day, trending right in the afternoon to the ENE/E and increasing slightly to 08-13 kts. There will be a cool start with temperatures in the mid 40s F (06-07 C) but warming to a pleasant high in the mid 60s F (17-18 C). -- Complete forecast: http://tinyurl.com/yks94ec Event website: http://www.melges24worlds2009.com Here are some sources for video and live updates: Class blog: http://www.melges24worlds2009.com/IMCABlog.asp T2P.TV (daily video show by 9pm EST): http://tinyurl.com/T2P-tv Sail22: http://sailingupdates.com/?page_id=3 SailGroove: http://tinyurl.com/yjw2qe6 SUMMIT 35 RECEIVES RAVE REVIEWS! The new Summit 35, recently introduced at both the Newport and Annapolis Boat Shows has already started winning awards in the form of Best Sailboat at the Newport Show. This all new design by Mark Mills, built in the USA, has hit the water running. Summit has boats available now, and as a close relative to the very successful Summit 40, should be a winner on the race course as well. As a true dual purpose boat this racer/cruiser is sure to meet a wide range of demands from true performance sailors. Check us out at http://www.summit-yachts.com ROLEX OSPREY CUP St. Petersburg, FL (October 25, 2009) - Italy’s Giulia Conti won the 2009 Rolex Osprey Cup - one of only two ISAF Grade 1 women’s match racing events in the U.S. - held at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.), from October 21-24. Along with crew Lisa Lardani, Alessandra Angelini and Giovanna Micol, Conti (Toscolano Maderno, Italy) defeated Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) in the ‘first to win three’ final match format. A total of 111 matches were run by Principal Race Officer Pat Seidenspinner on Tampa Bay for the four-person teams sailing in Sonar class keelboats. Conti, the 2008/05 Rolex Osprey Cup champion and runner-up in 2007, came out of the double round robin winning 15 of her matches, second to an undefeated Tunnicliffe with 18 wins. In the semi-final round, Conti defeated world #7 ranked match racer and 2008 Olympian Anne-Claire Le Berre (Brest, FRA), 3-0; while Tunnicliffe and her crew Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.), Liz Bower (Rochester, N.Y.) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) defeated Karin Hagstrom, (SWE), world #19, and crew Nina Bake, Emilie Lidén and Åsa Carlsson, 3-0. -- Complete story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8487#8487 Final Standings 1. Giulia Conti (Toscalano Maderno, ITA) 2. Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla., USA) 3. Anne-Claire Le Berre (Brest, FRA) 4. Karin Hagstrom (Gothenburg, SWE) 5. Samantha Osborne (Kerikeri, NZL) 6. Katy Lovell (New Orleans, La., USA) 7. JoAnn Fisher (Annapolis, Md., USA) 8. Jen Provan (Toronto, Ontario, CAN) 9. Lisa Ross (Halifax, Nova Scotia, CAN) 10. Rachael Silverstein (St. Petersburg, Fla., USA) SAILING SHORTS * Nassau, Bahamas (October 24, 2009) - David Loring was awarded his third Sunfish World Championship trophy today at the Nassau Yacht Club in the Bahamas. Loring, of the USA, narrowly beat Paul-Jon Patin (2nd) and David Mendelblatt (3rd) for the top prize. Also receiving awards were the brother-sister duo Phillipine Van Aanholt (top woman, 17th overall) and Ard Van Aanholt (top junior, 8th overall) from Curacao. -- Details: http://sunfish2009.nassauyachtclub.org/results-sunfish-worlds/results.html * Marseille, France (October 25, 2009) - The first day of the 2009 Student Yachting World Cup brought clear, sunny skies, and warm temperatures around 70, with 12 teams from 10 countries to compete in the Grand Surprises. The lone North American team, University of Rhode Island, showed promise by rolling a 1-2-7, only to have the bullet rescored as OCS. Tactician Alex Baittinger notes, “We know what our strengths are (boat-speed and boat-handling) and we know what our weakness are (starts), so we are looking to improve. The results are very tight, and with 5 more days of racing, we are confident that we can move up the scoreboard.” -- Full report: http://sywc2009.blogspot.com/2009/10/day-1-student-yachting-world-cup.html * Clearwater, FL (October 23, 2009) - US SAILING’s 2009 U.S. Multihull Championship for the Hobie Alter Cup was won by John Casey (Longwood, Fla.) and crew John Williams (Long Beach, Calif.), who had also won the event in 2007. Twenty teams competed in the five day event hosted by Hosted by Clearwater Yacht Club and Clearwater Community Sailing Center, and sailed in Australian High Performance Catamaran’s Viper F-16. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/ykvwdg7 * On October 26, a court in the Netherlands will decide whether 13-year-old Laura Dekker is allowed to fulfill her dream of sailing around the world -- solo. In August, Dutch authorities placed the girl under state care for two months, following her parents' refusal to prevent her from undertaking the potentially dangerous voyage. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/yfclqgt *CORRECTION: In Scuttlebutt 2957, there was a quote that said there were only eight boats at the Farr 40 Nationals on the Great Lakes in 2009. The event was actually the 2009 Farr 40 North Americans, and there were nine boats competing. SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Eric Wallischeck: Thanks for posting the comments from Dennis Connor and John Bertrand. Insightful comments from two great sailors. Dennis’s comments about the New York Yacht Club really made an impression. It reminded me that despite the NYYC’s reputation - since long dispelled by their enormous contributions to the sport post ’83 Match - to retain the America’s Cup at any cost, their ultimate decision to race was focused on the ADVANCING THE SPORT, the noble concept idea of SPORTSMANSHIP, and their GOOD NAME. While the sight of men in straw hats and Brenton Reds might seem outmoded today, the NYYC America’s Cup Committee served us well. Sailors first, lawyers second. * From Bob Billingham: What an interesting chapter DC describes (in Scuttlebutt 2957) with the NYYC's 5-4 vote. What a tough decision for that committee! You hear a lot of s--t about the NYYC doing whatever it took to keep the Cup over the years. It certainly sounds like they made the decision in the best interests of the sport. Wonder how many of the 5 regret their vote? Well, it sure wouldn't have gone that way in 2009! Great story about great Club! * From Vernon Merritt: In his latest opinion piece, Cory Friedman never once mentions what should be the fulcrum upon which the entire matter of venue for AC33 turns - the Deed. The Deed expressly states that a race in February will be in the southern hemisphere. Period. End of story. While Justice Cahn has somewhat famously decided that the match could take place "anywhere" that SNG decided, as CF points out that was somewhat - OK, altogether - chimerical. His written opinion flat out contradicts the terms of the Deed. Haven't read any of the papers, obviously, but wondering why Boies or anybody from GGYC has not - apparently - made this argument. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: I asked Cory about this, and he has posted an additional report detailing why Justice Kornreich cannot simply look at the Deed and decide the disputed venue issue, and why she cannot just ask Justice Cahn what he meant. Here is his report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/#p47a * From Andy Aitken: In #2953 Ernesto Bertarelli says, "We can't force the Americans to show up if they don't want to show up.” He said there is no option to postpone the race and Alinghi would be open to racing another team if BMW Oracle refuses to come and is ruled as a forfeit by the America's Cup overseers. Of course a person would read this and say "who else are you going to race with a boat like that?" But then look what turns up 2 days later in #2955: After four months of assembly in Oman's southern most port of Salalah, skipper Paul Standbridge has been stretching the legs of Oman Sail's new Arabian 100-foot trimaran during sea-trials off the Omani coast. Now named Majan, after the ancient name for Oman, Oman Sail's new flagship is now operational and is heading into the Gulf and a tour of neighbouring countries. I think this is a little bit past coincidental. * From John Cladianos: Right on for Mike Campbell with the launch of the Campbell Cup. May it have a great run for many years. Hell of a guy, great competitor, sorely missed. Thank you for running the story (in #2957). CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood. Special thanks to Doyle Sails and Summit Yachts. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
