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SCUTTLEBUTT 2154 - August 8, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.GUEST EDITORIAL We read great threads in Scuttlebutt, many of them longing for something not quite identifiable - something is missing. Many show frustration, hostility and sometimes anger. How did the sport get this way? After all, it is just a game isn't it? What I believe is missing more than anything else is one word - Fun. While the hierarchy of the sport toils over certification programs for judges, race officers, instructors and such, the sport as a whole continues to focus on high stakes winning always focusing on the pointy end of the pyramid. Many race boats don't even leave the dock unless they have their "A" team on board. What happened to the good old days when they would grab anyone off the dock when short, make new friends and up the game of the person grabbed off the dock? Since the focus is on the top of the pyramid, who is focusing on the base of the pyramid assuring those boats that come out week after week filling out the spots from fourth place to last place are having a good time? It seems that many events consider a keg of beer and a boom box as the definition of "fun." Frankly, I did that stuff when I was 15 (Ok, maybe younger but my family who reads this doesn't need to know everything, do they?). Can I say that there is nothing fun about a keg and a boom box? Here's an example of a fun event when I was a kid. After a big boat race one day, the big boat owners were put on Lasers in the harbor. They didn't have their tacticians, trimmers, navigators, or bow callers. All they had were themselves. A short course in the harbor was set up with a good race committee. It was hilarious. Most had no clue how to sail solo on a centerboard boat. The goings on the dock was even funnier. There was quite a bit of beverage consumption, and seemingly a lot of illegal gambling, but everyone was having a great time. Some were laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. Any good kid on a Laser could have lapped the big boat sailors three times. Have I seen anything close to this in 30 years? No. As wacky as it sounds, I propose that the sport assemble a Committee on Fun. Their job would be to collect ideas of fun times sailors have had and list them on their website. Events around the world could attempt to duplicate these wildly fun times at their own events. We need to bring back fun at all levels in the sport. I have always believed that our sport is competing for entertainment dollars. If it isn't fun, then all we do is show up to spin around the course with the best sailors we can assemble and disappear as soon as we hit the dock. I gotta admit, the sport isn't much fun when done that way. -- Glenn McCarthy BUZZARDS BAY REGATTA (Thanks to Gordon Livingston, who ably represented Scuttlebutt as our on-site media representative for the BBR, and provides the following event report) What makes a great regatta? Weather, efficient management, and a high level of competition are three obvious answers. Throw in a beautiful locale in an exceptionally friendly place and you have the ingredients that for 34 years have made the Buzzards Bay Regatta one of sailboat racing’s premier events. Sailed in one of the most scenic venues in the country, the Beverly Yacht Club and the New Bedford Yacht Club alternate years in taking responsibility for regatta management with the assistance of the two other clubs on Buzzards Bay. With a volunteer staff of 270 and many people for whom this is a nearly year-round planning process, the event attracts the cream of New England racers in 17 classes. The setting is exquisite. The BYC is in the picturesque coastal Massachusetts village of Marion, as yet unspoiled by chain stores or fast-food outlets. A former whaling town, it has the requisite Union soldier atop his monument bearing the names of those who served, the Congregational Church, the 1891 music hall. Real estate is pricey but the citizens are exceptionally friendly and unassuming. Sippican Harbor is packed with moored boats, some of them designed by such fabled names as Burgess and Herreshoff. How the town, apparently effortlessly, accommodates the influx of 1200 racing sailors each year is a mystery. - Complete story: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/bbr ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL Five years after a swimming accident paralyzed Scott Whitman, he is back doing what he loves most: sailing, and competing for a chance to represent his country. With a brand spanking new boat in a new class, he’s already achieved his first goal on his comeback trail, so to speak. In the first-ever regatta for the SKUD 18 class, Whitman picked up the win and has the utmost confidence to continue on the next step. "It was great, obviously, to win the first race ever [for the SKUD 18 class]," said Whitman, a 33-year-old quadriplegic who lives and trains year-round in Brick, N.J. "It still has some issues to get worked out, some bugs. But I think it’s a good choice." That "choice" he talks about is the SKUD 18’s distinction as the double-handed boat of choice for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics by the International Federation of Disabled Sailing. The SKUD (which stands for "SKiff Universal Design") is an 18-foot long and 7.5-foot wide "skiff," a boat that planes due to its flat, lightweight design and a 5.5-foot retractable keel. In layman’s terms, planing means the boat virtually coasts along the top of the water. The SKUD 18 was designed by Bethwaite Design, specifically Julian Bethwaite, of New Zealand. Bethwaite Design also produced the 49er, another Olympic class. - by Joshua Boyd, Marblehead Reporter, full story: www.townonline.com B&G REGATTA SUPPORT TOPS THE INDUSTRY Key West, Miami Beach, Cowes, Valencia, Whidbey Island, Chicago, Newport, San Francisco, San Diego, Block Island. What do these great sailing venues have in common? B&G support, on the water and on the land. You’ll find B&G race specialists at a regatta near you; ready and willing to help you optimize your system’s performance. Look for us at the J/105 North Americans in Marina Del Rey, CA, the Farr 40 Worlds in Newport, RI and the Big Boat Series in San Francisco, CA. When the best sailors gather, B&G is there! For more information, contact mailto:bob.congdon@sim.net THE BIG GUYS The 2006 edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup (3-9 September), organized since 1980 by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, will see 49 of the world's largest and fastest racing yachts competing. This year's line-up smashes the 2005 record of 37 yachts. The event represents potentially the largest ever gathering of Maxi yachts and a fleet that if lined up end-to-end would total 1300 metres (4260 feet). The competing yachts represent 15 nations and will range from 18 metres (59 feet) and upwards in length. The fleet will be divided into five divisions catering to the various design features and capabilities of the boats: Racing, Cruising, Mini-Maxi, W and Spirit of Tradition. The Racing Division will host the most technologically advanced yachts and Australian Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI and New Zealander Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo have both signed up. The Mini Maxi division, a new class which has recently been introduced by the International Maxi Association to accommodate yachts from 18 to 23.9 metres racing under IMS/ORC rules, will be one of the larger divisions with 14 competitors expected to take part. IRC rated boats will also race in this division, but with separate scoring and prizes. This new division will include a taste of the Volvo Ocean Race, with this year's winner ABN Amro One enrolled alongside fifth-placed Ericsson Racing Team. The Spirit of Tradition division is often considered one of the most beautiful with veteran and reproduction yachts such as Holland's Annagine and US entrepreneur George Lindemann's majestic 55 metre (180 foot) Adela providing photographers and spectators with stunning images. -- http://www.yccs.it OPEN FORUMS If you have been hesitant to sign-up to use the Forums, they are open this week for guest usage. Got some good threads to comment on too: * Whale sinks Mureadrittas XL: The yacht’s captain, Nick Barran, provides photos and narrative on this amazing incident. * Gross Misconduct at Laser PCCs: The jury chairman from this event submits the Facts Found from an incident that will lead to a Rule 69 decision. * Virgin Islands: On a lighter note, a ‘butthead is getting organized for some cruising in the British and US Virgin Islands, and had a couple questions for those that had done this before. Enjoy the open access this week, and view all the threads here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum SAILING SHORTS * Karen Mitchell (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) sailing this year with Michael Grimm (Miami Beach, Fla.) has won her fourth consecutive U.S. Independence Cup/ North American Challenge Cup sailing in the Freedom Independence class. Mitchell and Chicago native Mike Jaffe were locked in a tie with 9 points after five races. In the 2.4m R division, Roger Cleworth (Lithia, Fla.) won a tie breaker for the 2006 Championship. Cleworth, a member of the 2006 US Disabled Sailing Team and winner of the event in 2002, finished even with John Ruf (Pewaukee, Wisc.). -- http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org * Wind shifts and black flags were all are part of the first day of the Laser Radial Youth Worlds at California YC. And by the second race of the day, the Santa Monica Bay had a mild sprinkling of white caps and some substantial lumps. The first day results are posted at: http://tinyurl.com/kj8ug * Augi Hernandez sailing with Jorgen Johnsson and Martin Johnsson have won the 15-boat Soling NAs in a four-race regatta at the Milwaukee YC that concluded with storms, lightning and heavy rain. In an event that also saw lots light, shifty and at times non-existent wind, Jim Medley/ Marc Hulburt/ Chris Roberts won a tie-breaker with Charlie Kamps/ Vytas Kasniunas/ Jon Bailey to claim second place. -- http://www.soling.com/na/2006/index.asp * Ideal conditions greeted 30 finalists Sunday on the first day of tryouts for Roy E. Disney's Morning Light crew. With cameras grinding away from all angles, they spent the afternoon sailing Catalina 37s on the Long Beach outer harbor. When the tryouts conclude Saturday, 15 will advance to training in Hawaii early next year on the Transpac 52 that 11 or 12 will sail in next summer's Transpacific Yacht Race, without coaches or advisors on board. The tryouts were the first phase of a true film documentary by Disney's Pacific High Productions planned for theatrical release in 2008. -- http://www.pacifichighproductions.com/ * ISAF #1 ranked Laser Radial sailor Paige Railey (USA) just completed the 2006 Laser Radial Worlds, which she had won in 2005. The event didn't go too well, and as she regularly does, has provided the following report to provide some insight into the event and how she goes forward with her 2008 Olympic Campaign: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/2006/pr * The Danish Open (August 9-13), Stage 2 of the 2006-’07 match racing World Tour, has attracted the event defending champion, a past two-time champion, three of the top eight in World Championship standings, four of the top 10 in ISAF Open World Match Race Ranking List, the reigning Women’s World Champion and five teams representing syndicates for the America’s Cup: Jesper Bank (DEN), Sebastien Col (FRA), Jes Gram Hansen (DEN), Björn Hansen (SWE), Dorte O. Jensen (DEN), Staffan Lindberg (FIN), Simon Minoprio (NZL), Sten Mohr (DEN), Philippe Presti (FRA), Mathieu Richard (FRA), Peter Wibroe (DEN) and Ian Williams, GBR. -- http://www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com. * USA Olympic Laser sailor turned Star helm Mark Mendelblatt with crew Mark Strube gained an early advantage by winning today's first race at the 80-boat Star European Championship, part of Rolex Baltic Week, here at Neustadt, Germany. It was a photo finish for second place between Brazilians Robert Scheidt/ Bruno Prada and Frederick Loof/ Anders Ekström (SWE), with the Brazilians winning out. The present ISAF top ranked Star team of George Szabo/ Eric Monroe (USA) finished fourth. -- http://www.rolex-baltic-week.com/ IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE! With record temperatures across the board, staying cool and dry is becoming a hard thing to do! With the Camet Coolmax and Code Zero Performance lines, it's as simple as putting one on. Being lightweight and breathable with moisture management, they're the only shirts to offer all around protection from the sun. For more information and the latest news, go to http://www.camet.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. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Emory Heisler: In other sports the connection to the elite in sport trickles down to kids and their parents in a very personal way. My Jimmy Foxx model bat and Ron Peranoski baseball glove (yes, Ron Peranoski, not Sandy Kofax) and the various products they hawked connected me with the greats of both current teams and with past greats of the sport. They were right there with us. Where is that connection today? The America's Cup teams and their sponsors need to connect with us at the grass roots level, just like being able to have a "professional model" glove made me feel connected when I was 12, and they could help build the sport while they are at it. Hey, Ernesto, Larry, how about special edition BMW Oracle or Alinghi model Optis, Sabots, Lasers, Capri 14.2s, etc, etc.? Spend a smidgen of those hundreds of millions to support youth and "non-Yacht club" sailing by donating some of those "special edition" boats all dolled up with Alinghi, Oracle-BMW colors, logos and the whole nine yards to organizations like the Baltimore Downtown Sailing Center (DSC) and the Arizona Sailing Foundation (ASF). You’ll get more visibility for the America's Cup and its sponsors in the form of eyes and wallets, both with future buyers and with parents of those children that are the target market of today. * ISAF #1 ranked Laser Radial sailor Paige Railey (USA) just completed the 2006 Laser Radial Worlds, which she had won in 2005. The event didn't go too well, and as she regularly does, has provided the following report to provide some insight into the event and how she goes forward with her 2008 Olympic Campaign: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/2006/pr * From Toby Reiley: (edited to our 250 word limit) Thanks for covering the US Junior Women's Singlehanded Champion for the Nancy Leiter Trophy. As the father of 3 girls, ages 10, 17 and 19, after a total of 5 "Leiters," this regatta is by far and away our older girls' favorite regatta year after year. Strong friendships made at Bay Head YC / Mantaloking YC, NJ, (2004) and at the California YC (2005) have lasted the test of time and distance, with reports from the Houston YC last week being equally enthusiastic. I encourage yacht clubs and sailing programs to plan now to send their junior women next summer (July29th) to Marblehead, MA, where Nancy Leiter started sailing as a child at the Pleon YC. This is an open regatta (no qualification) with top-notch race coaching for all levels and logistics for women who have reached their 13th birthday, but not their 19th birthday during the current calendar year. Held in Laser Radials, the format combines two days of clinics, both on and off the water, as well as three days of racing. If there is ever a method to keep young girls committed to our sport, it is to have them sail with and against new and old friends from all over the country. With all due respect to this year's winner (Sarah Lihan, now a family friend and past house guest), ten years from now most of us will forget who won and who came in second, but the friendships & sailing camaraderie will last forever. * From Gene Hinkel (sailing with Kerry Gruson in the Sonar Class at Cowes): Most US sailors do not understand the issues in Cowes since the RYS is fixed at one end of the line. They have made every effort to correct this being a problem. Last couple days are with winds from North/ NW, so reaching starts. They did what they had to do to get the attention of the Class; otherwise all goes pear shaped. The next day after the flap there was a perfect start. With 38 classes, the RC cannot allow delays. This is the 180th Cowes Week, so I think they might be on to something. How many other YC's deal with over 1000 boats? Good on you RC. * From Reynald Neron (edited to our 250-word limit): I am referring to the letter wondering if the yacht racing should expect to be given the right of way even when they are on port tack vs starboard tack (letter in Issue 2150). A skipper yelling "get out of the way, we are racing" should probably go back home and learn the rules in the first place. When two boats meets, the regulations to prevent collision at sea should be applied. There is nothing in the Collregs that give the racing yachts a special right when it comes to avoid other boats. After all, if you are not a local, how do you know if they are racing, and where they are going? What do racing skippers expect from the cruising yacht - just disappear from the surface of the earth for their own convenience? When I do skipper a racing yacht, I assume that "right of way" boat is just a movable obstacle on the race course. Sometime it is annoying for me, sometime it is annoying for another racing yacht. However, one sure way to limit the loss of time is to plan early to avoid the right of way boat. Yes, sailing etiquette says that the right of way vessel may want to avoid getting in the way of a racing fleet. But sometimes, it is just no possible, as it is the case (in my example) on Sydney Harbour on the week-end. If you start avoiding every races fleet you meet, you might as well stay home. * From Eric Watsky: With regards to you’re your story entitled, ‘Seeking A Wider Audience,’ there is a second important message from sailing which, along with the extremely rich one on team work, also has tremendous relevance particularly to the business environment. The interplay of strategy and tactics in sailing provides great lessons on how to plan with the best information in hand and to be prepared to modify those plans as events unfold. This requires flexibility and the willingness, and necessity, to weigh new information against the strategy and make judgments on appropriate modifications. * From Chris Ericksen: I can only join Keith Taylor in the cheering for Rich Roberts ('Butt 2153). I first met Rich more than 35 years ago when I was a college journalist filling in nights at our local paper, where he covered pro sports and worked the sports desk. He is almost literally born with printer's ink in his veins: his family owned the newspaper in Wilmington, California. He had another career at the Los Angeles Times after leaving the local paper and was instrumental in keeping sailboat racing in that paper for years. I have had the pleasure of driving a photo boat for him many times and always have found him to be knowledgeable and diligent in his coverage of sailing events, from the America's Cup matches in New Zealand to the Junior Sabot Nationals on Alamitos Bay. Mister Taylor is exactly right: would that there were more yachting journalists of the knowledge, dedication and just pure niceness around. CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak? Today’s Scuttlebutt provided by B&G Instruments and Camet International. |
