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SCUTTLEBUTT 505 - February 16, 2000AUCKLAND WEATHERRival America's Cup syndicates seldom find much to agree about. But in Auckland there's universal agreement on one point: the Hauraki Gulf is an extremely complicated sailing arena, full of capricious gusts and shifts -- which places a very strong emphasis on having a sound weather team. Team New Zealand's weatherman Bob Rice is a veteran forecaster, who concedes that the Hauraki Gulf presents a challenge, but objects to the notion that it's a devil's cauldron or some horrible product of Stephen King's imagination. "It is an honest place," he says. "It is not malevolent. There is great variability, certainly, but when something happens there is good reason for it. It is shifty; of course it is. Look at the islands and mountains and different water temperatures. Things that happen have reasons. Every place on earth has its peculiarities and some abuse the privilege. But there are a lot of places that have more variability than Auckland." Having sprung so strongly to Auckland's defence, he does go on to concede: "There are times when it makes you wish you had taken up selling shoes." Unravelling that mystery involves Rice in long days of meticulous work. It commences long before the dawn light begins to hint of a new day. He's up at 2.30 a.m. and watching CNN to catch up with the world's affairs. By 4 a.m. he is at the Team New Zealand base, where he begins compiling his daily weather briefing for the sailing team. Rice described himself in 1995 as a dinosaur, because he relied more on traditional methods of weather forecasting and less on computers. He still thinks of himself that way, although his use of computers and particularly the Internet has increased. Much of his raw weather data comes from various Internet sources -- a far cry from the days, not that long ago, when he would have to wade through a stack of telex reports that snaked out onto his office floor and quickly piled up to a four-foot paper mountain. His four-page weather report is usually finished by about 7.30 a.m. and he gives the Team New Zealand crew a briefing between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. By 9.30 a.m., he is hauling himself aboard Sir Peter Blake's schooner Archangel, which accommodates the team's weather control centre, and heading out to the Gulf for more observations and data recording. The day ends when Archangel docks about 5.30 p.m. and by about 7 p.m. his brain is "like mashed potato". It doesn't leave much time for a social life. "My days of coming into the weather office straight out of the bar are long gone," he muses. Rice doesn't work in isolation. In 1995, Team New Zealand devoted some outstanding sailors to its weather team and has done the same this time. Assisting Rice are Mike Quilter and Kevin Shoebridge, both of whom have sailed hundreds of thousands of miles in round-the-world races and America's Cups. Navigator Peter Evans, who sails on board the black boats in the afterguard, is also closely involved, as is marine scientist Dr. Mark Orams. Every race day, they're out on station at various points of the course, logging weather information and feeding it onto the black boats to help the afterguards formulate their race strategy. At the five-minute gun, all communication must cease, so after that it's up to the tacticians and navigators to use the information they have received from the weather team to make the right call. "You have to do the best you can to predict the overall pattern for the race, but you also have to tell the team what to look for, how to recognise different cloud structures and so on. You pass it all on, but at the end of the day the guys on the boat have to call it. They make the decisions." -- Ivor Wilkins, Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.americascup.org/ VOLVO OCEAN RACE Sir Thomas Davis, KBE, former Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, today launched the Team Cook Islands challenge for the Volvo Ocean Race 2001-2001. Skippered by world champion sailor David Witt, the syndicate has the backing of Tourism Cook Islands and the national government to compete in the race which starts from Southampton, UK in September 2001. Launched in true Polynesian style Team Cook Islands brought native dancers and musicians to Auckland to celebrate the first South Pacific syndicate to challenge for the prestigious Volvo Ocean Race formerly known as the Whitbread Round the World Race. -- Lizzie Green Event website: http://www.VolvoOceanRace.org NEW ZEALAND SOUVENIRS?? You can only say you found it herecheck out AmericasCupStore.com: Souvenirs from New Zealand - without the expensive airfare! The official store of the America's Cup is online with the widest selection of Official America's Cup 2000, America's Cup, Team New Zealand, and America One merchandise. This exciting event is only every four years -- shop the store and melt that card today!! Go to http://www.americascupstore.com DOUG PETERSON SPEAKS AGAIN "We've watched them and they don't seem to have advanced a lot" over the 1995 design he headed, Peterson said. "Their sails don't look too flash. Their boat looks like it'll be okay in a breeze, but if it gets down under 12 knots, they're going to have serious problems." Peterson still smarts over the fact Team New Zealand didn't ask him back after his work on the boat that won the Cup. "I got the flick after designing the winning boat," he said, citing personality clashes for the fallout. "Well," said Peterson, looking forward to this weekend when his newest design gets to race his old employer's, "they're going to look real dumb, real soon." -- Angus Phillips, Washington Post Full story: http://washingtonpost.com/ TRIVIA Blazers -- Uniforms were not common place amongst the lower deck but most captains like to show off their crews for ceremonies and since the captain paid the bills they were able to choose the outfits for their men. The snappy blue jackets worn by the crew of the H.M.S. Blazer were the most memorable and in no time the crew were known as 'the blazers' and that is how the garment got it's name. CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE The full ramifications of the US's absence from the Cup match for the first time in 149 years are now being felt. Both Team New Zealand and Prada have let it be known they will accept a European Challenger of Record to represent the entire challenger group, so the Americans will not even be able to influence how the next Cup is run. -- Tim Jeffery, Daily Telegraph, UK Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Mark Heeley -- Yes it's sad that Champagne Mumm are quitting sponsorship of the Admiral's Cup but what is really surprising is that they stayed involved for so long. Outside of having a name mention (often acronymed to CMAC) in very niche press, what did they achieve? Their withdrawal is probably due to a realisation that it was a poor return on however little their historic deal was costing. Another reason could be the events losing struggle to remain a world class event with any semblance of critical mass. It needs radical change in 2003, the next one in 2001 has kept the 1999 format but introduced the popular Farr 40. The tragedy is that the IMS 50 is likely to be the big boat. This will be the reason why fewer than 10 teams will be able to turn up. There just won't be enough current generation 50's to allow countries with the will and talent to compete. Building a $1m throwaway boat doesn't appeal to many. The solution is to scrap the 50's, use the plentiful Corel 45's and rejoice in 15/20 teams. That single initiative would guarantee the re-emergence of teams from countries such as Ireland , Belgium , Spain , South Africa etc. Level playing field for all and more vitality and action for sponsors and media alike. Sadly the truth is that there are too many people on the selection committee with vested interest in the IMS 50 for it to be declared a healthy state of affairs. -- From Gibby King -- . With respect to American entries in the next America's Cup, it might spice up USA interest in the New Zealand racing if this year's major supporters (hopefully augmented by some who have been spending lavishly to be in the public eye, such as Steve Forbes, Ross Perot, Donald Trump, and Bill Gates) agreed to pool their resources for not more than three entries, with entries to be located on West Coast if New Zealand wins, and on the East Coast if Prada wins. -- From Brian Larky, Direttore, Dalla Terra - landed fine Italian wine -- Chardonnay..........!? I'll defer to you on subjects nautical, you defer to me on subjects vinous.... -- Joe Dervin (NBC) -- From I noted the following in the "Briefly" column in last Thursday's (2/10) Los Angeles Times Sports Section. I hope you will agree it deserves a response. Yachting Crisis: Tony Kornheiser in the Washington Post: "How did we lose a boat race to Italy? We have the Sixth Fleet, and they've got gondolas in Venice. Obviously we're losing our yachting edge. We need to get more funding to get kids into yachting." (He's doing fine up to this point, but now look what happens.) "I'm going to propose a nationwide campaign called 'Yacht-it-up' where kids can get incentives to take up yachting - like free blue blazers with gold buttons and quality stemware for apres-race champagne toasts." I don't know about the rest of the Buttheads, but I think Mr. Kornheiser needs a little educating. It occurred to me that, over the past few months, there have been several letters published on the subject of some of the great junior programs being run by individual clubs and some East Coast cities. Perhaps someone connected with one of those programs could advise Tony on just what a good junior program is all about and how they provide the basic training from which Olympic athletes and Americas Cup sailors spring. Better yet, how about one of those East Coast clubs inviting (challenging?) him to come spend a Saturday on the water watching a junior regatta in progress. They should be sure to let him know that he'll be welcome for a tall cold one back at the host club even if he commits the unpardonable faux pas of showing up in khakis and topsiders (probably doesn't own any). Curmudgeon's Comment: Yes, this letter is a freckle more than 250 words -- but I made that rule so I guess it's OK for me to break it. However, I would not recommend that others count on similar generosity. It's not often I have this much Chardonnay. TEAM UNIFORMS The understated, futuristic uniforms issued to sailors on the Prada Challenge are sought after by Aucklanders and by other crews -- now more than ever since Prada has vanquished 10 other teams for the right to face Team New Zealand in the America's Cup. For racing, each Prada sailor has a set of technical clothing, including custom-made foul-weather gear for heavy-weather days and form-fitting, tri-laminate Lycra-based spray shirts for moderate conditions. Silver, with a distinct red stripe featuring the Prada logo, they would look right at home on a space shuttle. "Then they've got a whole line of street wear to die for," said Martha MacKechnie, the retail operations manager for the New York Yacht Club's Young America syndicate. These include polo shirts, shorts, cotton T-shirts in the team colors of gray, charcoal and red, and vests and jackets, both unlined and fleece-lined. But in a cruel blow to the fashion-minded, the team gear is not for sale; it seems all the more desirable for its inaccessibility -- an echo of Prada's practice of heightening demand for high-fashion items by curtailing the supply at retail. The Prada sailors are under strict orders not to give away or swap any clothing. -- Herb McCormick, NY Times Full story: http://www.nytimes.com JUST FOR YOU Douglas Gill's line of foul weather gear and gloves are some of the most comfortable you can buy. The stuff is so good that Gill guarantees all of it against defects in material and workmanship for the lifetime of the product. You can shop online, and one look at their website will make you a believer. Surf over to http://www.douglasgill.com PRADA Vs TNZ -- John Bertrand I saw two design solutions that were, in fact, quite different. I guess you must expect that, considering the syndicates operated almost exactly halfway around the world from each other in the evolution of their designs. An interesting observation, however, is that the Team New Zealand boat is quite different to the other challengers which bubbled to the top. Prada and AmericaOne were very, very similar in overall concept, and indeed they sailed with very similar speeds, if not almost identical. One would assume the Team New Zealand boat is either going to be faster or slower, but not the same. Could the New Zealanders have screwed up? Could they have made some fundamental errors in choosing which development road to go down? We can all speculate, but in fact nobody knows until the first race. Yes, the bulbs are different, the wings are different, the hull profiles are different and one boat is a little fatter than the other. How big a deal is all this? If there is a difference, it probably will be that Team New Zealand is faster in medium-fresh, say 15 knots plus, conditions and Prada's "silver bullet" is faster below 15 knots. But by how much? With all these differences I still don't believe it's going to be all that significant, compared to the main game of the predominant massive wind shifts off the line and throughout the racing. The knuckle in the bow of Team New Zealand adds maybe 10 to 15 cm more waterline length. The flattened bulb of the Kiwi boat certainly lowers the centre of gravity, but it does increase the overall surface area (we did the same with oneAustralia's keel) -- no big deal. The placement of the wings: yes, they are forward on Team New Zealand, but all the CFD (Computational Flow Development) work we did with oneAustralia suggested there was not a major difference, although our CFD programmes did conclude it was not as good a position as wings aft. This probably only shows that each syndicate is using a different CFD programme and hence each is getting different results. Prada is very smooth in all directions, a beautiful combination of hull form moulded into a keel/bulb/wing combination that is a delight to the eye and probably to the water. In Team New Zealand, I see a hull/keel combination that certainly has been pushed harder, squeezed more in all directions, almost certainly the result of extra time on the team's hands to develop its machinery. Time will tell which combination sails into and with the wind better over a variety of conditions wind and waves. I did like the semi-winged mast of Team New Zealand dubbed the "millennium" mast. Obviously there has been a lot of development work put into this three-spreader rig and multiple shroud configuration, endeavouring in fact to simulate a six-spreader rig. The overall windage will probably be similar, but I think we will see a very, very stiff mast. This should click in above 12 knots, particularly in any seaway where leech control of the mainsail becomes such a vital factor for boat speed. It's now down to the sailors to do their thing, to hit the first wind shift off the start line, to position their boats to neutralise their opposition, to play the game to the ultimate degree of perfection that is humanly possible in this America's Cup of the Year 2000. -- John Bertrand, Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.americascup.org/ WORLD CHAMPION When it comes to boat preparation, Star World Champion Eric Doyle leaves nothing to chance. And for his rigging, Doyle always works with the pros at Sailing Supply. "They are absolute magicians when it comes to innovative rigging solutions," Doyle told the curmudgeon. "And they keep a deep inventory of the most obscure hardware and rigging supplies -- just in case." The staff at Sailing Supply all race sailboats, so they truly understand. One call will show you why some of the world's best sailors call this number for their rigging: (800) 532-3831 / http://www.sailingsupply.com/ BRUCE KIRBY LOOKS AT THE AMERICA'S CUP To New Zealand, where sailboat racing is tantamount to a religion, possessing the America's Cup has for the past five years been a stimulus to the small and wavering economy, and a point of national pride in an island nation that has more sailboats per capita than any other. Losing it would be the equivalent of a near national disaster. For some weeks it has been known that the defenders will race with an unusual mast, one which has only three spreaders instead of the usual four, with additional stiffness derived from "diamond" stays that crisscross the spar. Recently Team New Zealand announced that they will have a masthead reaching sail in their arsenal, similar to the ones used in the Whitbread Round the World Race last year. This could be used for close reaching in the event of a major windshift, or if the boats find themselves above the lay line and have to crack off for the weather mark. To help the rig support this sail, the mast has a set of long jumper struts above the top spreader. Meanwhile the Italian challengers have formally requested that the International Arbitration Panel step in to decide the controversy over the sailing rules. As reported earlier the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron committee in charge of the event wants penalty turns to be executed immediately after the foul, and wants each boat to have an official observer on board to work with the on-water referees to judge the positions and actions of the boats during tight situations. The Italians have objected to both of these rules, neither of which was used during the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series. They point out that having to do a penalty turn before or immediately after the start would effectively end the race right there, as an early lead in a match race nearly always results in victory. If a boat had to do a turn while on a downwind leg, the spinnaker would have to be dropped and again the separation in the boats would turn the race into a procession. Not only would this rule have too great an influence over results, the Italians argue, but it would also greatly detract from spectator interest. When a penalized boat is allowed to do its turn at any time during the race it must fight hard and perhaps take tactical risks it would not otherwise take in order to gain the approximately 40 seconds lead required to make the turn. This can result in more drama rather than less. A penalized boat that does not have to do its turn immediately may also be able to force the other boat into a foul, which would cancel out the first offense and put the boats back on even terms. The LUNA ROSSA team sees the on-board observers as a possible disadvantage for them as there could be a language problem between the Italian crew and a judge who does not speak Italian. As decisions often have to be made very quickly in the heat of a match race, they feel there could be costly misunderstandings. The International Arbitration Panel has two members from the Royal New Zealand yacht Squadron, two from the New York Yacht Club, which is still officially the Challenger of Record, and one independent member, who is from Brazil. -- Bruce Kirby, Sailnet website Full story: http://www.sailnet.com/ THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue |
