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SCUTTLEBUTT 2760 - Thursday, January 15, 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. Today's sponsors are Charleston Race Week and Ullman Sails. ANDY BURDICK: LEADING THE SPORTBOAT TRENDS Andy Burdick, President of Melges Performance Sailboats, provides some insight into their sportboat class rules * The Melges 24 class does not restrict Group 3 (professional) sailors or restrict advertising beyond the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) rules. Was this a decision to create a semi-pro league? BURDICK: First, I think that a wide range of sailors are attracted to the Melges 24. The hot shot pro sailors love the speed and performance and the weekend racer loves the simplicity, the ability to tow it anywhere and have it rigged in a short period of time and then of course they too love the exhilaration of a sportboat. To be honest, I know of just a few boats that pay their entire crew. The class is still made up of primarily Corinthian sailors. Sure, there are some crew that are paid on boats but if you look at the numbers, the larger amount of sailors are the weekend sailors that love the sport. The pros that are attracted to the class love the performance and the makeup of the Melges 24. When you love to sail like these people do, you want to race on fun and exciting boats. The Melges 24 offers that. * How has the class rules regarding sailor classification and advertising affected Melges 24 class growth? BURDICK: Allowing sponsorship has probably allowed the class to grow overall. People get sponsors and it helps them to afford regattas, sails, etc. The Melges 24 class is high profile so it helps the sponsors in return. While Europe seems to have more sponsorship opportunities, the classification of sailors has been helpful for both continents. However, having a Corinthian division in our class rules has probably helped even more so though. Again, that is the focus. * Were there lessons learned in the Melges 24 class regarding advertising and sailor classification that were used in setting up the Melges 32 rules? BURDICK: When we set up the Melges 32 class rules we wanted to develop something totally different from the Melges 24. We wanted to have Group 1 (Corinthian) drivers in this class and indeed this has made the Melges 32 class successful. It was more of having something different rather than "learning" from the Melges 24 class. (Class Rule C.9.4. - For sanctioned One Design class events, the crew shall be composed of Group 1 competitors except that up to three (3) crew members may be Group 2 or 3 competitors, but, not more than three (3) may be a Group 3.) * What will the class rules be like for the new Melges 20? -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/tt SAILING IN HIGH DEFINITION (Jan. 14, 2009) - Knut Frostad, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race gave an inspiring presentation to the World Yacht Racing Forum in Monaco in December. Part of the wow factor of his speech was the footage, in particular the high definition sequences of spray coming over the bow of the boat with every single drop captured in crystal detail. The full Volvo Ocean Race experience is being delivered by some ground-breaking endeavours by the boffins at Inmarsat, the global satellite communications company and a key partner of the race. This article comes from the Volvo Ocean Race Site. Until the 1980s when satellite equipment was first hoisted into the stratosphere, the polling of race boats was a haphazard affair and navigators spent weeks or months submerged under piles of paper charts and pilotage books, making the odd ship to shore call over VHF if in range. Messages to supporters and loved ones were handed over mid ocean to passing cargo ships until the development of radiotelephone and radiotelegraphy services via maritime radio station Portishead Radio opened up new opportunities. Almost overnight, these created an audience for the early yacht races which, courtesy of some remarkable technological wizardry over the past three decades, has been expanded, educated and kept thoroughly entertained. Boats are now polled every 15 minutes which has led to a similar tenfold increase in safety levels and navigators can download massive 8mb weather files in the blink of an eye, all of which allows race watchers the opportunity to stay in touch with the fleet and its movements round the clock. -- Yacht Sponsorship, read on: http://linkbee.com/A7ZE * Following each leg, Inmarsat awards the team with the best broadcast material. Here are the winners and videos for each of the first three legs: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/News/08/Inmarsat The fleet begins Leg 4, the 2,500 nm route from Singapore to Qingdao, China, on January 18, 2009. Current standings after Singapore In-Port Race: 1. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 39 points 2. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 33.5 points 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 31.0 points 4. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Anders Lewander/SWE, 24.0 points 5. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 22.5 points 6. Telefonica Black (ESP), F. Echavarri/ESP, 22.5 points 7. Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, 10.5 points 8. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 10 points Race website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race replay and tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com RAYMARINE PRIZES, VINEYARD VINES GIFTS & FREE-FLOWING RUM With over $10,000 in prizes, what are y’all waiting for? Charleston Race Week is April 16-19, 2009 and January is the last month to register with a discount. After great racing, you are going to want to enjoy the award-winning cuisine, charm and hospitality of America's friendliest city. The beaches are mighty fine too! Book your registration and your resort room now, which is spitting distance to the docks and evening beach parties. A second inshore course has been added to accommodate the 32 Vipers registered to date for their Atlantic Coast Championship. Melges 24s are coming in full force too! http://www.charlestonraceweek.com THE BIGGEST STORM OF THIS VENDÉE GLOBE (Jan. 14, 2009; Day 66) - The rich are not presently getting richer, as leader Michel Desjoyeaux has lost over 100 miles to Roland Jourdain this week. The two are sailing upwind in different weather systems, but Desjoyeaux is encouraged that he should not need to tack further until Doldrums. For Marc Guillemot, he spent six and a half hours in the Falklands to make his second repair to his mast track after stopping also in the Auckland Islands. Dee Caffari, Arnaud Boissieres and Brian Thompson are facing some very stormy conditions off Cape Horn. On Wednesday evening, winds for them should be gusting to 50kts, decreasing at the Horn for their arrival on Thursday evening. However, a very active low pressure system will hit them after their rounding, offering N to NE'ly winds up to 80 knots between Thursday and Friday. Meteo France believes this could be the biggest storm of this Vendée Globe race so far. Solo, non-stop, around the world race in Open 60s. Standings as of 18:30 UTC (30 entrants; 12 now competing): 1. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA), Foncia, 4584.9 nm Distance to finish 2. Roland Jourdain (FRA), Veolia Environnement, 231.9 nm Distance to leader 3. Armel Le Cléac´h (FRA), Brit Air, 707.7 nm DTL 3. Vincent Riou (FRA), PRB, Dismasted - Redress Given 4. Samantha Davies (GBR), Roxy, 1642.3 nm DTL 5. Marc Guillemot (FRA), Safran, 2003.3 nm DTL 6. Brian Thompson (GBR), Bahrain Team, 2540.3 nm DTL 7. Arnaud Boissières (FRA), Akena Vérandas, 2716.4 nm DTL 8. Dee Caffari (GBR), Aviva, 2766.7 nm DTL 9. Steve White (GBR), Toe in the Water, 3845.2 nm DTL 10. Rich Wilson (USA), Great American III, 4990.8 nm DTL 11. Norbert Sedlacek (AUT), Nauticsport-Kapsch, 6646.9 nm DTL 12. Raphaël Dinelli (FRA), Fondation Océan Vital, 6669.2 nm DTL Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en Complete standings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html Race tracking: http://tracking.vendeeglobe.org/en GOLDING DOUBTS SAFETY OF YACHTS Mike Golding, one of 18 skippers forced to abandon the Vendee Globe race, has criticised engineers and designers for safety flaws in many of the new generation of 60ft racing boats. Last week, the French skipper Jean Le Cam was rescued by a fellow competitor after spending 18 hours cocooned in the hull of his boat 200 miles off the coast of Chile. In completing the daring rescue in high seas, Vincent Riou suffered damage to his own boat and was later forced to retire from the race. Though no lives have been lost, the high dropout rate in the round-the-world race known as the Everest of the Seas is concerning competitors and race organisers. In particular, Golding, whose own boat, Ecover 3, was dismasted in the Southern Ocean only hours after taking the lead in the gruelling 27,000-mile race, was furious at the keel problems experienced by several competitors. The 48-year-old British skipper said: “Engineers have a lot of questions to answer, and the designers.” -- Times Online, read on: http://linkbee.com/A7ZF ALLAN TERHUNE: WINNER’S PROFILE This past weekend the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club hosted the second regatta of the Etchells class four event Jaguar Series, the Sid Doren Memorial Regatta. Event winner Allan Terhune provides a few details from the weekend: * Is this first time in Etchells racing in Miami? TERHUNE: No, I sailed the last two Jaguar events last year. I also sail Lightning’s in Miami frequently. Miami is a very unique venue and is definitely a place that requires some time to get used to. Also, sailing the Jaguar events last year really helped us to know what to expect this year. Miami is by far one of the best sailing venues in the US. * Is there much difference in the racing Etchells to the Lightning? TERHUNE: The Etchells and the Lightning are quite different. The main difference is the weight and lack of maneuverability of the Etchells. There are also much smaller differences in speed in Etchells which really puts a premium on boat handling, strategy and tactics. Both boats are fun to sail and I really enjoy both of them. The things that are common is that both boats require a great team to sail them well and that it is hard, very hard actually, to win in either fleet. -- SailKarma, read on: http://www.sailkarma.com/2009/01/allan-terhune-on-2009-jaguar-cup.html RACING RULES QUESTION During the starting sequence, the judges observe a boat’s crew breaking Rule 42 (propulsion). While the judges approach the boat to penalize her, the race committee signals a general recall. Approximately 15 seconds after the general recall has been signaled, the judges penalized the competitor by making a sound signal with a whistle, pointing a yellow flag at her and hailing her sail number. Can the judges penalize a competitor under Rule P1 after a general recall has been signaled? (Answer below) FEED ON THIS by Stuart Streuli, Sailing World (Jan. 14, 2009) - Acura Key West Race Week doesn't officially start until Monday at 10:30 a.m. But one could consider 1 p.m. today (Wednesday) the unofficial start to the race week. That's when the warning gun sounds for the annual feeder race. It's probably a little unfair to call the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race a feeder race. This will be 34th running of this 160-mile race along the Florida Keys, which makes it at least a dozen years older than the event it is supposedly feeding. The fleet for this year's edition stands at 46, two down from last year, and 12 down from the five-year high of 58 in 2006, but a very strong fleet given how the main event is fairing in this difficult economic climate. Every year I tell myself that I want to do this race. But getting away from family and work for 12 days, which is what it would take to do both this race and race week, is always a lot more easily said than done. Maybe next year. -- Read on: http://linkbee.com/A7ZG MORE THAN 40 YEARS OF QUALITY SAILS & SERVICE The Ullman Sails group is proudly unique, bringing together individual sail lofts from all over the world that specialize in serving their local markets. With a rich combination of skilled designers and master sailmakers, we work together to ensure every Ullman Sails customer benefits from our international collaboration. We’re ready to answer your questions and customize a plan to fit your budget. So whether you’re contemplating this year’s Transpac racing wardrobe or the best spinnaker for cruising through Chesapeake Bay, make an investment in your performance. Visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com SAILING SHORTS * For those who may worry that gasoline prices will climb back up to more than $4 a gallon this spring and summer - the height of the boating season for many states - take heart. The Energy Information Administration, which provides official energy statistics from the U.S. government, recently issued a report indicating that gasoline and diesel prices probably won’t rise much above their current levels for the remainder of 2009. -- Soundings Trade Only, read on: http://linkbee.com/A7ZH * Saunders Yachtworks says its focus on service enables it to grow despite the weak economy. In an economic shakeup, it’s easy to think doom and gloom, but not at Saunders Yachtworks, a regional yacht service business in Orange Beach, Ala. The company is investing approximately $6 million in a new development - NorthHarbor Yacht Center, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. -- Soundings Trade Only, read on: http://linkbee.com/A7ZI RACING RULES ANSWER Regarding whether judges can penalize a competitor under Rule P1 after a general recall has been signaled, provided that the rule breach occurs before the general recall is signaled, it is proper for the judges to penalize a boat as soon as possible, even if the penalty is being signaled after the general recall is signaled. -- http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/QA2004008-[6778].pdf CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Jan 14-16 - Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA Jan 16-18 - Caribbean Laser Midwinter Regatta - Cabarete, Puerto Plata, D.R. Jan 17-18 - O'pen BIC Midwinter Un-Regatta - Miami, FL, USA Jan 19-23 - Acura Key West 2009 - Key West, FL, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Mike Levesque: (re, coaching story in Issue 2755) As a racing sailor in classes that don't use coaches (Hobie Cats), it is a big change for me to run Opti and Laser events as a PRO (in Newport), and to have so many coach and mom boats on the water (sometimes 30 or more power boats for 100 Optis). Generally speaking, these folks are a tremendous asset to the sport. They are always there to help with logistics (towing in and out in light air), safety (assisting capsizes, escorting individual boats to the beach if they have problems during racing), etc. I have even had occasion to deputize some into helping out as a mark boat. Do I want power boats in the middle of the course? Maybe, if the conditions warrant it and the drivers are capable. Do I want them interfering with starts? Of course not, and that is usually the one area that requires the most finesse with SIs. Like anything, blanket rules are never good. We have to assess each regatta, and the needs of the sailors before anything else. I know I'm not alone when I say that Opti regattas probably wouldn't be as successful without coach boats. * From Peter Lawrence: (re, coaching story in Issue 2755) The issue should be based on the rules of each class: - If a class allows professional sailors to race, then they should not allow coaches as the results should be based on the pro's skill. - If a class limits the number of pro's using the owner-driver rule, then also no coaches, as the results should come from the boats pro's. - If a class has separate scoring for pro's and Corinthian sailors, then the Corinthian sailors should be allowed coaches to improve themselves in the class. - If a class does not allow pros, then no coaching, because it gives the person being coached an advantage. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Every so often, I like to stick my head out the window, look up, and smile for a satellite picture. Special thanks to Charleston Race Week and Ullman Sails. 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