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SCUTTLEBUTT 3353 - Wednesday, June 1, 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: Morris Yachts, Quantum Sails, and LaserPerformance. RETOOLING YOUR SKILL SET You are a professional sailor making your income in competitive sailing events. But you have built your CV in the monohull world, and the growth of lucrative opportunities in multihulls has you rethinking your skill set. Thinking of expanding your attributes? Australian Glenn Ashby knows what you need to do. Ashby, whose pockets are full of multihull World and Olympic titles, assisted fellow Australian James Spithill to win the 33rd edition of the America's Cup for BMW ORACLE Racing in Valencia, Spain, in 2010. Ashby had taken on the role of multihull coach to former monohull match racer Jimmy Spithill and, under his tutelage, Spithill rapidly acquired the skills necessary to drive the BMW ORACLE Racing USA trimaran to victory over the America's Cup Defenders, Alinghi. Now working with Dean Barker and Emirates Team New Zealand to prepare for the 34th America's Cup, Ashby offers a few of his tips in an interview with Anne Hinton on Sailracewin.com: * What general things do monohull match racers, like Jimmy and Dean, have to un- or re-learn when switching to multis, please? GA: Making quick decisions and learning how the multis accelerate more than monohulls and looking further to the edges of the playing field as well as pushing the boats to the edge. * You started with Dean in A cats. Was that a deliberate choice as the best way to learn multihull sailing? Why A cats, please? GA: Yes as they are light and give you a good appreciation of when you are right and wrong in both steering and trim which gives a good guide to the feelings you have on a bigger boat with more crew. * How has the team's preparation (gym/other off-boat training) changed from monohull sailing to multis, please? GA: I think more endurance and all round fitness will be needed for sailing the bigger multis. The grinders for example will need to be light on their feet and agile. Crew members will need to be able to multi task. Complete interview: http://tinyurl.com/SailRaceWin-053111 CHANGES BEING CONSIDERED (May 31, 2011) - The competitors in the 2013 America's Cup met by teleconference today. Sail-World is informed that the meeting broke up without any decisions being reached - partially explained by the fact that the international group was working across various time zones - and for some it was the early hours of the morning. The meeting is understood to have lasted a couple of hours and was not acrimonious. Given that there is currently a Protocol in place for the event, a number of teams have purchased AC45's and have active design teams for the AC72 program, and a regatta management and media test event has just been concluded in Auckland, it would seem to most observers that the cornerstones were in place for the 34th match due to be staged in San Francisco in September 2013. But against that backdrop is the fact the current Challenger of Record, Club Nautico di Roma recently withdrew, and was replaced by a Swedish club. That decision is believed to be the subject of a yet to be heard complaint to the International Jury (filed by Emirates Team New Zealand), along with some other issues. At least one of the unannounced/confidential entries is believed to have dropped out ahead of the time required to pay the first of the Performance Bonds. Others are believed not to have paid the $200,000 bond on the due date at the end of April. That matter too has apparently been sent off to the International Jury. The total teams now to remain in the event stand at 12, with a comment that 10 will participate in the first AC45 event. As yet there is no announcement made on the television package for either the America's Cup World Series, due to start in Cascais, Portugal from 6-14 August, or the other events in the preliminary series to be sailed this year. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/SailWorld-053111 COMMENT: The American defender Golden Gate Yacht Club has made aggressive changes for the 34th America's Cup, so it should not come as a shock that the plan will not be fulfilled as initially envisioned. With financed entries dwindling, recent rumors include revising fee payment deadlines, postponing when AC72s must be launched, and even delaying the Cup to 2014. What is important now is that GGYC remain transparent, and disclose all updates - both positive and negative - with equal enthusiasm. -- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt editor MORRIS YACHTS DELIVERS SHEARWATER TO THE COAST GUARD ACADEMY Tomorrow in New London, CT Shearwater Hull 1 of the Morris-built Leadership 44 training vessel will be christened with the appropriate fanfare. "Shearwater has been a big part of our lives and we are happy to be able to show folks the work we have done," said Cuyler Morris. "We received the contract at a critical time and we won it over many excellent boat yards. It is a great endorsement and honor." Seven more Leadership 44s will be built at Morris Yachts over the next 18 months. To see sea trials and news coverage go here: http://www.morrisyachts.com/news/ THE FUTURE OF PROFESSIONAL MATCH RACING London, United Kingdom (May 31, 2011) - The World Match Racing Tour today unveiled the seven officially approved new boat designs which will be made available to the Tour's host venues. The designs form a key part of the series' wider development plan which will see a further six new venues added to its current calendar of eight regattas by 2013. The concepts were conceived and developed by pioneering boat design houses from around the world and are the result of a hard-fought competition to become one of the limited number of Tour approved boat designs. The new host venues will each pick the boat design that best fits their needs while existing venues will also be encouraged to update their fleet with one of the new designs. The designers were presented with a tough brief, namely to create a robust, cost-effective boat that is capable of delivering exciting, tactical and fiercely-fought racing across a range of conditions, from variable winds to differing depths and unpredictable currents. The designers were further challenged by the fact the boats need to test performance sailors yet be versatile enough for corporate and club sailors to give venues a diversified income from them. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/WMRT-053111 U.S. OLYMPIC SELECTION SERIES BEGINS NEXT WEEK Over 50 members of US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) are in Weymouth, U.K. preparing for the Sail for Gold regatta, first of two selection events that will be used to determine the athletes that will represent the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games. Scheduled for June 6-11, organizers expect over 1,000 athletes from 62 nations to participate. As the final stop on the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) Sailing World Cup circuit, ISAF will award medals for the overall season standings. In addition to the venue being the same as the one used for the 2012 Games, the top performing American sailors in nine of 10 Olympic classes will qualify for the 2011 Weymouth and Portland International Regatta, which serves as a pre-Olympic test event. Sally Barkow has already earned the right to represent the U.S. in Women's Match Racing. "This is the event that our athletes have been working toward all year," said USSTAG's High Performance Director/Head Coach Kenneth Andreasen (Tampa, Fla.). "We have put countless hours in at the gym and on the water to prepare. Our sailors have spent many days here in Weymouth training in preparation for this regatta. In addition to our entire USSTAG team, we also have 10 members of the US Sailing Development Team competing, along with our full support staff and performance enhancement team." "As the first of two Selection Events, Sail for Gold is where U.S. athletes begin to stake their claim on an Olympic berth," said Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman Dean Brenner (Wallingford, Conn.). "The best combined performance at this and at the second Selection Event, ISAF Sailing World Championship, in December, 2011, will determine our Olympic Team in all classes except Women's Match Racing. We're confident that this process will select our best prospect for medals in 2012." U.S. report: http://tinyurl.com/USSTAG-053111 Sail for Gold website: http://www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk/ COLLEGE FINALS The Intercollegiate Sailing Association's three national championships, Women's, Team Race, and Dinghy titles are now being sailed sailed in Club Flying Juniors (CFJs), on Cascade Locks, OR. Here are the titles already decided: ICSA/Sperry Top-Sider Women's National Champions: University of Rhode Island ICSA/APS Team Race National Champions: Roger Williams University Here is the report after Day 2 of the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship: (May 31, 2011) - The day began with little wind until around noon when the wind came up and B-division headed out to the course first because they finished two races short of A-division yesterday. The wind was a steady 8 knots from a westerly direction with temperatures in the mid to high 50s. Both A-division and B-division completed six races today, however B-division is still two races behind A in the series. Leading A-division by two points from St. Mary's is Michael Menninger '11 with crew Franny Kupersmith '11. "They are a really good team, a nice pairing. They are super quick downwind and they stayed out of trouble. They were also able to judge the lay lines well today, which has been troublesome on the racecourse," explains Adam Werblow St. Mary's head coach. Menninger also sailed a race with Ben Lezin '12 today. Boston College skipper Taylor Canfield '11 with Emily Migliaccio '11 and Patrick Hession '13 have built a dominate 18 point lead in B-division, scoring only one race out of the top four. "They are really quick and got off the line well; there was nothing too special about their sailing today other than they were sailing really well," says Greg Wilkinson, Boston College's head coach. The final day of racing is scheduled to begin Wednesday at 10:00 am PT. Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11995#11995 Top 5 of 18 (10 A races, 8 B races) Team, A score - B score, Total 1. Boston College Eagles, 77 - 28, 105 2. Harvard University Crimson, 62 - 53, 115 3. Hobart and William Smith Colleges Statesmen, 71 - 67, 138 4. St. Mary's College of Maryland Seahawks, 60 - 79, 139 5. College of Charleston Cougars, 95 - 46, 141 Results: http://2011nationals.collegesailing.info/results/co-ed-results/ PHOTOS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/11/cn/ BRAD VAN LIEW CLAIMS VICTORY IN VELUX 5 OCEANS Congratulations to Brad Van Liew on his clean sweep in the Velux 5 Oceans race. Van Liew made history by becoming the first person worldwide to sweep all legs of the VELUX 5 OCEANS for two complete events, both times with Quantum sails. Before leaving Charleston on the final sprint, Van Liew commented on sail performance saying, "We have all the latest lamination technology on the boat and we were able to do that feeling comfortable the durability would be there. What that means is you don't have to compromise shape even when putting thousands and thousands of miles on the sails." See interview here: http://www.QuantumSails.com/News/?p=282 SAILING SHORTS * The Canadian Yachting Association has announced the members of the 2011 Canadian Youth World Sailing Team. The team will be heading to Zadar, Croatia from July 7-16 for the 41st edition of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship. List of team members here: http://tinyurl.com/CYA-053111 * This past weekend the Royal Victoria Yacht Club hosted its annual Swiftsure International Yacht Race, the premier long distance sailing race in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia area. The three distance courses in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the Swiftsure Lightship Classic (138.7 nm), Cape Flattery Race (103.4 nm), and Juan de Fuca Race (79.7 nm), had 117 starters and 98 finishers. Complete results: http://www.swiftsure.org/results * (May 31, 2011) - A woman was killed and six people, including a child, were injured when a powerboat exploded and sank after refueling at the Erie Yacht Club on Monday evening. Investigators on the scene, including those with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, were looking into whether the explosion was related to gas fumes accumulating on the boat, a 32-foot Wellcraft built in the mid-1980s. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/EYC-053111 * Five defendants pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to defrauding banks out of $5.4 million in a conspiracy involving Surfside Boat Center, a high-end boat dealership in Mesa, Arizona, that is now defunct. The charges stem from the defendants' use of the boat dealership, which was owned by the Allen family from May 2001 until it went into bankruptcy in late 2008, to fraudulently obtain millions of dollars in purchase loans from various banks. More than 50 loans from 11 lenders were represented to be for legitimate boat sales but were instead for straw sales, and the funds were put to personal use by the defendants. -- Full story: http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/PR_05242011_Allen.html * Among the 30-strong fleet preparing to compete in the Transatlantic Race 2011 in late June and early July, there are at least as many variations on the theme of traversing 2,975 nautical miles of ocean stretching from the start in Newport, R.I., to the finish at The Lizard on the coast of Cornwall in Southwestern England. For some, sailing across the Atlantic in this race is about the chance to sail into the history books, while for a younger generation of sailors it is about building a foundation for future success in the sport. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11922#11922 POST YOUR INDUSTRY UPDATES HERE The Marine Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum was created so companies could get guaranteed exposure by posting their own personnel, product and service updates online. In addition to website traffic, Scuttlebutt editors randomly select updates each week to include in the Thursday edition of the Scuttlebutt newsletter. Here is the link to post Industry News updates: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news EIGHT BELLS Bermuda Olympian Edward John 'JT' Thompson has died, aged 68. The sailor, who represented the Island at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, passed away early morning on May 29, after battling cancer for the past year and a half. At the end of his military career, he returned to Bermuda in the 1970s, where he quickly became a recognised figure within the Island's sailing community. Thompson was famous for sailing anything that floated, and competed in, among other things, Lasers, Finns, Solings, Fitted Dinghys, Sunfish, J105s and J20s. It was in Finns though, which he sailed throughout his RAF career, that he felt most at home and he represented Bermuda in that class at the Montreal Olympics in 1976. Three years later, alongside Alex Cooper and Hamish Burns, he represented the Island at the Pan-Am Games in Solings. He would have gone on to attend a second Olympics but missed out due to the boycott of the Moscow Games in 1980. Outside of Olympic competition, Thompson also competed in several Marion to Bermuda races, the last of which he raced in 2007, as well taking part in Newport to Bermuda and International Race Weeks as well. He had few scrapes in those races to compare with his adventure on the Atlantic in 1983, when a lightning strike crippled his ship's communication systems. On a journey that usually took five days, Thompson and his crew were gone for little more than two weeks. Using a transistor radio, Thompson would find a station and sail in the direction that the signal seemed to be the strongest. Using this method, and the stars, Thompson and his crew eventually found their way back to Bermuda. As involved with sailing off the water as on it, Thompson was Commodore of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club from 1992 until 1994, and oversaw the Queen's visit during the club's 150th anniversary celebrations. -- Full report: http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110530/SPORT03/705309968/-1/sport LASERPERFORMANCE CLUB420 What do you get when you take world's largest dinghy manufacturer with over 37 years of innovation and continued improvements to their Club 420 and throw on the best line, rigging, mast and hardware on the market today? You get the newly launched Club420 XD from LaserPerformance. LaserPerformance, committed to youth sailing. http://www.LaserPerformance.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 Bud Thompson: I sure hope Brad Van Liew can write and has good pics for a book on his accomplishments. I'll be the first to buy one. * From Damian Christie, Melbourne, Australia: Bravo Team New Zealand for querying the selection of the Challenger of Record for the 34th America's Cup! Even if the International Jury endorses the appointment of Sweden's Artemis challenge, it is essential for the Cup's tarnished image that the selection process is shown to be transparent. Although I don't disagree with the choice of a catamaran for the 2013 Cup, I am yet to be convinced that Oracle and GGYC did not unilaterally decide on the 72ft cat - with a token rubber stamp from former CoR Vincenzo Onorato! They certainly ignored the views of other prospective challengers that favoured a return to monohulls. Onorato was an acquiescent CoR, much like the infamous CNEV, the Spanish puppet "club" originally appointed for the 33rd Cup that Oracle had disqualified in litigation. Larry Ellison would not countenance cronyism and manipulation of the protocol by the then Swiss defender and TNZ is entitled now to question Artemis' appointment as CoR. If indeed TNZ's challenge officially arrived second, then, in accordance with the Deed of Gift, it should be CoR (the suggestion that TNZ's lodgement was premature is a nonsense!). While historically a defender has handpicked a like-minded CoR to conduct the Cup, it is important that cronyism - real or perceived - is driven from the regatta. There should always be a strong Challenger of Record that truly represents and negotiates on behalf of the other challengers and is not just a "yes man" to the defender. * From Alex Stout: Regarding the U.S. youth sailing thread last week, both my sons Bryan and Wilson "did" the junior thing - Opti's & C420's - but also raced with/against adults in Snipes and lead sleds. Nothing has ever been as gratifying as crewing for my son's and doing well in national competition. In the boat, who's paying the bills and who didn't clean up their room doesn't mean $#!T. Clean slate, level playing field. I suggest it to everyone. * From Bruce Thompson: If you want young people to believe that sailing is a sport for life, you need to show them lifetime sailors. The focus on youth sailing does not fill the bill. Showing them professional sailors does not fit the bill. What you need to show is adult amateurs living the sport. Where are the faces of the women who sail? People live in families, I knew we were on to something with our junior fleet when the Moms started to get together and socialize while the kids were out learning. No helicopter moms for us, they are quite happy to let the kids learn while they watch and relax. And now the young couples who race in the Vanguard 15s are looking to promote Junior Fleet so their toddlers will have a place to sail when they get to an appropriate age. I have mentioned Lightnings a few times on Scuttlebutt, because you see families sailing together in them. The third place team at our last big regatta was a family; Dad, Mom and their nine year old son. We have a similar situation with our Rhodes 19 fleet. Pushing kids into singlehanders (Optis and Lasers) isolates them from the opportunities they'd get in double and triplehanded boats suitable for adults (e.g Snipes, Flying Scots etc.) Those classes have survived so long because they are intergenerational. That is where the future lies. * From Ray Tostado: (re, ISAF Classification Code) I spent 15 years as an owner on the race circuit in Marina del Rey - back when even "woodies" could compete amongst the tupperwares. I recall that the birth of the pro racer was nothing less than a bitter reprisal against someone who was faster than you. That a boat had a foredeck hand who worked in a loft made that boat a "cheater". But of course that same complainer had no qualms about his buying drinks and dinner at the club for his crew. Or, loaning out his ski cabin to same. The fundamental to the argument is simply "compensation". If one gets compensation for the services of crewing then the ideal amateur status is void. Hell man, every owner wants as good a crew as he can "afford". Be it from pats on the back, or picking up a dinner tab, or passing over some twenties on the side. The underlying debate is about what percentage a crew person gets in his annual reported income with the IRS. Income from the occupation as a race boat employee. 20%, not a factor; 40%, group #1; 75%, group #2; over 75%, group #3. Or, something along those lines. Then let some JPL wizards design an algorithm to apply this into some manner of handicap profile. Just remember, racing sailboats is all about glory, unless you're in it for the cash. Did I say it right? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION When you marry the right person, you are "Complete". And when you marry the wrong one, you are "Finished". And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are ... "Completely Finished"! SPONSORS THIS WEEK Melges Performance Sailboats - North Sails - Lewmar - Morris Yachts Quantum Sails - LaserPerformance - Gowrie Group - Ullman Sails International Yacht Restoration School - US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
