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SCUTTLEBUTT 1944 -- October 13, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.LOOKING AT THE SUPER MAXIS -- Richard Gladwell Sail-World NZL had the opportunity to look over Neville Crichton's new Reichel/Pugh designed super maxi Alfa Romeo 2, which is currently in Auckland. It is hard not to keep drawing comparisons between her and the Greg Elliott designed super maxi Maximus. First up the boats are very, very different - probably the only common items are the fact that they are the same length, have a prodder (bowsprit) and twin steering wheels. Alfa Romeo is a hydraulically driven boat - meaning that there are no grinder pedestals - all winch power comes from the engine, which must be constantly running while sailing. When talking to the sailing master, Murray Spence, there is constant reference to the PLC - which those in the IT field will know stands for Process Logic Controller. This is the heart, or rather brains, of the boat. PLC's are in common use in industry and are basically a closed box computer noted for its speed of processing, reliability and lack of human intervention. This one has a expected no failure time of about once every 30,000 hours. The PLC is capable of taking the inputs from various functions throughout the boat and coordinating these so that the systems and boat runs smoothly and in synchronization. Spence gives the example of canting the keel between tacks - a process that takes 11 seconds. The PLC controls the swing process of the keel driving the hydraulics controlling the motor revs so that the required power is available when required, and the controls the power and the swing of the keel so that it cants in a smooth process without sending the usual shock through the boat. Similarly with the retractable propeller which is also pulled into the boat under PLC control, coordinating a number of functions along the way - and doing preventing inadvertent operator error, too. The cockpit of Alfa Romeo is completely clear - there are none of the usual grinder pedestals - and all winches are push-button hydraulically driven models at the top end of the standard Harken range. The fact that she lacks manual power will mean that Alfa Romeo 2 is ineligible for many of the recognized race records, however under super maxi and event rules, she is still entitled to race for line and overall honours plus trophies. (Maximus can work in both hydraulic and manual mode). -- There is much more to this story by Richard Gladwell posted on the KiwiSpy website, with photos that you really must see: http://www.kiwispy.com/Offshore/AlfaRomeo.htm THE MULTIHULL MAXIS (The Ravussin brothers' trimaran joins forces with Bruno Peyron's maxi-catamaran in a story just posted on the Daily Sail subscription website. Here's an excerpt.) Orange and France Telecom group have renewed their backing of endeavor on the high seas with the creation of the Orange Sailing Team. Cornerstone of this project is Bruno Peyron and his maxi-catamaran Jules Verne Trophy record holder Orange II but joining the party is the trimaran Orange Project. Sailed by Swiss multihull sailors Stève and Yvan Ravussin, Orange Project will compete in the Transat Jacques Vabre starting on 6 November and in next year's Route du Rhum. In the Route du Rhum 2002, Stève Ravussin was leading the race by a considerable margin before his trimaran capsized a few days short of the finish. Meanwhile Peyron's Orange II will be making an attempt on the outright fully crewed passage across the Atlantic, currently held by Steve Fossett's PlayStation. Peyron is also continuing to look at the possibility of carrying out a solo 24 hour record on his 125ft catamaran. -- www.thedailysail.com MAJOR MONEY Boat Owners Association of The United States estimates that damage to recreational vessels as a result of Hurricane Katrina is between $650 to $750 million. Of that amount only about half, or $300 to $400 million in damage, was covered by insurance. Katrina's losses far surpass last year's four hurricane total of about $330 million in damages as well as the $500 million in losses attributed to 1992's Hurricane Andrew - which until now was believed to be the single most costly natural catastrophe to effect recreational boating. Hurricane Katrina also destroyed an estimated 75% of the marinas along 150 miles of the Gulf Coast. On the heels of Katrina, Hurricane Rita wreaked havoc on coastal areas of eastern Texas and the Louisiana bayou on Sept. 24, and figures for boat losses attributed to this storm aren't expected for a few more weeks. -- http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp VPC MAKES BOAT SHOW DEBUT Project VPC, the hybrid sheet for performance cruisers and club racers, was launched by New England Ropes at the Newport International Boat Show September 15-19, 2005. This supple durable sheet and halyard features a tough polyester jacket over a coated composite core of Vectran and MFP. The result is a lighter weight higher tensile alternative to polyester and all other blended lines. For more information or to sample the latest in the hybrid rope category, look for New England Ropes on the boat show circuit or online at http://www.neropes.com ARE YOU READY? (There is only one month left before the Volvo Ocean Race fleet departs for Leg One to Cape Town, and just three weeks before the first in-port race! We get up close and personal with Ericsson Racing Team skipper Neal McDonald, to talk about the many bridges crossed and the hills still to climb. Here are some of McDonald's comments.) "There are a lot of decisions that we have made so far and we won't really know the full extent of their effect until some way into the race. We hope that we have got them right! There is so much that we don't know about the boats. In the previous races we have known a huge amount. If you ask our Technical Director, Magnus Olsson about the VO 60, he has had 12 years experience with them, whereas we have had just over 12 weeks to learn the idiosyncrasies of this current class. We have no real idea how the boats will compare to one another until the race begins or which boats will be fast in which conditions. "All the teams have made their own decisions on how best to configure their boat and to optimize the various systems. It is very rare in a campaign like this for none of the boats to have lined up against each other before the start - it certainly makes it all the more exciting. The in-port races themselves are an unknown. It will also be tough to finish a leg knowing that in a short space of time we've got to do an inshore race. It will be like finishing a really long rally race then doing a formula one race in between. "There is a huge limit on improvement because technically the teams are not allowed to change anything other than the sails during the race. On the other hand, our understanding of the boat and how to get the best out of her will improve a lot and we have to make sure that our learning curve is steeper than our competitors. We have achieved a huge amount in the past three months since the boat hit the water. We've sailed over 5000 miles, tried out numerous sails, completed our 2000 mile qualifier for the Volvo Ocean Race, optimized lots of systems, and most importantly made our sail choice for the first leg. The crew I have been fortunate enough to gather together is simply superb, with so much talent and experience. The sailing crew alone has 30 round the world yacht races to its credit, and I am hoping that this experience will pull us through." -- Ericsson Racing Team skipper Neal McDonald, www.ericssonracingteam.com PIRATE UPDATE -- Paul Cayard We are in the middle of a work week on the boat. The mast is down, the keel is off and the boat is in the shed. The later fact has been a great move as it has been raining a lot this week. Following the 2000 miler and the trip to Holland and back, we got enough time in the boat to know what things we wanted to change. We lined up 14 boat builders from around the world, rented a shed, got the parts lined up and hit it hard last Thursday. Code name for the project is "Pimp my ride". Special edition T-Shirts are being made. The boat should come out of the shed this weekend and we will start sailing on Monday. We have 15 outside contractors working on the boat this week plus our own shore team. We have four boat builders from Switzerland who work on Alinghi, we call them the Ski Team, we have four guys from Green Marine in the UK, we have 3 guys from the USA, and 5 painters from England. All these guys do is work, eat, work, sleep and work. Mark Rehana has been taking good care of them with the food. This is proving once again to be a big plus to have not just an in-house cook but to have Mark Rehana and his able assistant, Jo. They are simply the best! Three of our competitors are also working on their boats this week. Both ABN boats and Ericsson are out of the water. Brasil 1 arrived today from their training base in Portugal. Volvo event management is setting up the race village near the club. Things are heating up in Sanxenxo. -- Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean OLYMPIC CLASSES US Sailing has teamed up with several U.S. and North American Class Associations to create a new Winter Circuit for Olympic and Paralympic class sailors in the Biscayne Bay area. Thus far, twenty regattas and training camps in various classes complementing the January 22 to 27 Rolex Miami OCR have been scheduled to date, with more to come. The Pan American Sailing Federation and ISAF have selected the Grade 1 2006 Rolex Miami OCR as a country qualifier for the 2007 Pan American Games for the Laser, Laser Radial and Neil Pryde RS:X (Men and Women) classes. The ISAF is scheduled to announce a third and new Paralympic class in November, but due to the short time-frame, this equipment will not be used in the 2006 Rolex Miami OCR. -- www.ussailing.org/Olympics/RolexMiamiOCR NEWS BRIEFS * Tundra Rose sailed by Keith Whittemore (USA) won the 27-boat J/24 Canadian Championships at the West Vancouver YC. Canadian Rossi Milev was second, nine points back, with Harry Dursch (USA) in third place in the seven race event. -- http://www.j24canadians.com/ * Berkeley, California -- $51,095 was raised for the Treasure Island Sailing Center's youth and adaptive sailing programs by the October 7 inaugural BIG Team Regatta San Francisco 2005. The regatta and awards party silent auction were organized by GEL, a national provider of sailboat-based team building experiences, and OCSC Sailing, a sailing school in Berkeley. * The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced the launch of its new Doping Quiz, an online interactive tool to educate athletes about the dangers and consequences of doping. The Doping Quiz, an integral part of WADA's Athlete Outreach Programme, can be played in nine different languages, including English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Greek, Chinese, Portuguese, and Russian. Soon it will be available in Arabic, Polish, and Finnish. To test your knowledge about the fight against doping in sport and play the Doping Quiz. Go to the WADA website and click on the Doping Quiz link. -- http://www.wada-ama.org/en/ * Ocean Race Adventure is a new classroom website to help students learn while following the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race and the U.S. entry Disney's The Black Pearl. This race makes it an excellent academic study tool for ocean literacy, world wide weather patterns, nature and the environment, global hazards and Earth observation from space. Classes will also compete to predict the exact time the first boat will cross the finish line on the leg between Rio de Janeiro and Baltimore in April, 2006. Up to two winning classes will participate in Ocean Race Adventure Kids Day, April 28, 2006. -- www.oceanraceadventure.net * The Olympic windsurfing equipment, the Neil Pryde RS:X has a new website. The newly launched website includes information on upcoming events, event reports, the latest class news, downloads, an event calendar and an image gallery as well as information on the board. -- www.neilpryde-rsx.com * Five days into the second leg of the solo Mini Transat Race, first-leg winner Corentin Douguet is holding the lead in the 70-boat fleet as they head south from the Canaries stopover to the next turning point at the Cape Verde Islands. -- Tim Jeffery, the Telegraph, http://tinyurl.com/czeqo ULLMAN SAILS CONTINUES TO DELIVER ONE-DESIGN CHAMPIONS! Ullman Sails powered both the 2005 J/22 World Champion and the J/105 North American Champion. Ullman Sails additional 2005 one-design results include winning the Cal 20 Nationals, Mercury Nationals, and Lido 14 Nationals. Ullman Sails then swept the 2005 Naples Sabot National Championships, delivering 1st in the Juniors, 1st in Seniors, 1st in Masters, and 1st in the Grand Masters Division. With the 2006 one-design season just a few months away, it's not too early to get a set of the "Fastest Sails on the Planet." Contact your local Ullman Sails loft or visit http://wwwullmansails.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. This is neither a chat room nor a bulletin board - 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.) * From Scott Truesdell: I wish more research on rotating rigs could be done at America's Cup level. AC has provided a non-stop parade of trickle-down technology since, well, since 1851. Big heavy yachts need efficient rigs too! The benefits are proven; all we need is cost-effective off-the-shelf hardware. * From John Fox (re Chris Ericksen's comments RE use of gates): US Sailing does cover gates and offset marks quite well in its certification courses for race managers. I believe it is also covered in the Race Management Manual. I don't think that any more needs to be said in RRS because the Rule 18 already covers how boats need to treat each other at marks. The race management manual can be downloaded free from the ISAF website. It's a great help for those RC volunteers who do not have the time to go to a US Sailing seminar. Its also great for us competitors because it gives considerable insight into how the RC should do things. * From Tom Ehman: Further to Mr. Ericksen's letter in 'Butt about the leeward gates, the NOR and SIs for all 2005 AC racing, including Acts 8 and 9 in Trapani are posted on the Challenger Commission Blog and both contain language and diagrams referring to the use of gates (both match and fleet racing). -- www.challengercommission.com * From John Roberson: Behind all the euphoria surrounding the Louis Vuitton Acts in Trapani, I heard from cruising friends recently, who tried to check into a local marina, in Marsala, about 14 miles away. They were told that during the Louis Vuitton series the rate was Euro 350 per night. They are used to paying Euro 30 -35 per night in this area, including power and water. My friends met other cruising people who'd had similar experiences. The locals who lived in Trapani might have been able to stroll down to the America's Cup Park, and enjoy the action, but were they spending money earned by ripping off visiting yachties. This doesn't encourage people to visit places when the LV circus is in town. * From Roger Marshall (Re Ole Eichorn's letter): I don't think there's a freighter in the world that goes at 40+ knots! Eighteen to twenty is high for most frieghters, car ferries and the like around 24 to 28 maybe. Back in the 1970s, David Vietor, who was then at Ratsey and Lapthorn, set a regular triangular sail on an oil rig and sailed transatlatic. As I remember, they estimated that it gave the rig less than half a knot of speed, but saved around 5,000 gallons of fuel. * From Peter Willcox: There have been a number of useful sail rigs put on commercial cargo ships over the years. Ratsey & Lapthorn even put roller furling sails on an oil rig. But in my opinion, it is going to be the cost of oil that increases the use of sails on merchant ships. I also think that a rather radical new idea like a kite sail will have to be proven on yachts before a shipping owner will consider it. Mr. Eichhorn's comment about ships "typically traveling at over 40 knots", is a bit of an overstatement. The fastest merchant ships today are container ships. The fast ones travel at 25 or 26 knots. Tankers and bulk carriers are normally going 12 to 15. The rig that wins the trust of a ship owner will be simple, not dramatically increase manning levels, and operate in a wide range of conditions. The proven rigs exist today. Ship owners will wait for the economic advantage. > * From Jim Champ: Ole Eichhorn wrote, "First, kites are only good for going downwind of course." Oh dear! Let's just say that that is not in fact the case as a quick glance at any kite surfer would have told you. * From Chris B. McKesson, PE, Naval Architect: As I'm sure other correspondents will point out, kites work on a broad range of headings, not only dead downwind. But speaking as a commercial ship designer there are very few (none?) oceangoing freighters capable of 40+ knots. Modern fast container ships make speeds of 20-25 knots. Tankers are generally slower. General cargo ships cover a wide range from about 10 knots to as much as 20. Nobody is going 40. * From Mike Esposito: Ole Eichhorn is mistaken about the speed of oceangoing freighters. Their average speed is usually in the low 20s (knots). A quick check of a couple average ships: Canmar Honour (deadweight, 40,879 tons; 2,806 container capacity) steams at 21 knots, P&O Nedlloyd Newark (deadweight, 48,000 tons; 2,758 container capacity) steams at 22 knots. * From Jesse Falsone: I'm not sure where Ole Eichhorn gets his vessel speed data from, but merchant ships don't go anywhere near 40 knots. Not only is it insanely expensive to travel much over 20, but the faster you go, the less cargo you can carry because of all the extra fuel oil required. Very few large naval vessels can achieve these speeds, and the ones that can don't use oil for power. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS You know it's 2005 when you haven't played solitaire with real cards in years. |
