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SCUTTLEBUTT 2438 - September 24, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday with the support of its sponsors. TRAVELING BACK IN TIME September 23, 2007 -- For America’s Cup veteran Paul Cayard, this week he is traveling between parallel realities, going back twenty years in time. Here are some comments: “I have joined Bill Koch's team here in Cannes for the 12 Meter World Championship next week. This past Saturday was my first day on a 12 meter since 1987. Talk about a time warp. Of course the wind has been light here in Cannes so that makes the sensation of sailing a 12 meter even more distinctive. Relative to the current class of America's Cup yachts, the predecessor class weighs about 7 tons more, is 5 meters shorter, is wider, has 1 meter less draft and about half the sail area. Does that sound underpowered? Well in 4 knots if wind, it really feels like it. “There are about twenty 12 meters here. Everything from 1945 vintage boats to the last ones built for Fremantle. Bill Koch owns Kiwi Magic and this boat, along with the likes of Kookaburra, South Australia, KZ3 and KZ5, race in the grand prix division. Then the boats like Freedom, Courageous, etc. race in the modern division and then there are the classics. These boats have pretty lines and are majestic to look at. Most of the older wooden ones are in perfect shape and they are truly beautiful! “On Sunday and Monday, we are racing the "pre-worlds," a tune-up regatta. In fact today's race was SNG's "annual regatta." SNG is the club from which Alinghi challenges for the America's Cup, and under the deed of gift they must hold an annual regatta on the sea.” -- Complete report: http://www.cayardsailing.com/cs_Reports.cfm?evtID=77&csRpt=634 STAR-STUDDED LAUNCH The Barcelona World Race is a new two-handed, non-stop round the world race for Open 60 class yachts starting on the 11th November, 2007 [and to be held every four years]. Alex Thomson has recently been testing his new HUGO BOSS, but when you are sponsored by a high-end German fashion house, your “official launch” parties can get high-end too. We’ll let Alex tell the story: “We brought the boat up the Elbe right into the centre of Hamburg early on Tuesday morning where a 400 tonne crane was waiting to lift her out of the water. The weather forecast was 'changeable' and so we were all keeping our fingers crossed that the rain would stop and the wind wouldn't pick up. We had been liaising for months with the event organizers and crane company to try and ensure that everything would run smoothly and that the pressure new from the new boat could be hoisted safely 30m into the air. As with all big jobs, there were one or two last minute challenges to overcome, but after lots of initiative, head scratching and careful translation, everyone was finally ready. At 9pm the guests started to arrive, including legions of 6ft tall blond supermodels and German TV celebrities.” -- Scuttleblog, read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/09/glam-yachting.html BRITISH BOATING & BOOZE It's a tradition that goes back to the early days of sailing. For years, pleasure boating has gone hand in hand with enjoying an ice-cold beer or a stiff G&T. However, (British) Government plans to introduce a new "drink-drive" limit for sailors could end the age-old tradition of having a drink on the water. The news of the plans sparked outrage from the boating community, who labeled them unnecessary. Now even the Government's own boating chief poured cold water on the plans to crack down on sailors who drink too much booze. Lord Drayson, the minister in charge of the marine sector, said he "isn't sure there is a problem" with drinking and sailing, and called for careful consideration to be taken when regulating the marine sector. Impending legislation will limit sailors to two pints of beer or glasses of wine. -- Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/37bklw FROM TOILETS TO TELLTALES. HOW DO YOU McLUBE? We’re always impressed when clever sailors come up with creative non-sailing uses for McLube. Mike L McLubes his low-flow toilet bowl to keep it sparkling clean for months. Jud S McLubes telltales to keep them flying freely even when wet. Howie H McLubes his 505 centerboard so he can adjust it easily. Terry H McLubes full length mainsail battens for easier tacking and gybing. Herman H McLubes sandpaper so it lasts much longer. Click on http://mclube.com/sailkote/recreation to see more creative sailing and non-sailing McLube applications, and we invite you to share your favorites with us. How do you McLube? QUOTE / UNQUOTE “If it's America's Cup, America has to be there. That's what most saltwater Americans believe. And if asked, most regular Americans, as well. But be assured, no American wants any American team hog-tied by rules that are draconian in their intent, and absurd in their application. Ernesto seems to be rethinking what he originally created. God bless him.” -- America’s Cup View blog, http://americascupview.blogspot.com/2007/09/keep-us-good-work-ernesto.html GOOD TIMES IN CLEVELAND (September 23, 2007) Prominent multi-class one design stalwart Mike Ingham provides the following report from the J/22 North Americans: “I wrote a letter to the Curmudgeon a few weeks ago noting that some of the lesser known but larger regattas we go to are not covered by Scuttlebutt. My punishment for sending that letter was a call this morning from the publisher, Craig Leweck, asking for a write up of the J/22 NA’s that just wrapped up this weekend, so here goes… “This year’s J/22 NA’s were held in Cleveland, Ohio and had 68 entries. Greg Fisher with Todd Hiller and Jeff Eiber won but not without some challenge from Kelson Elam. Lake Erie can have any kind of weather this time of year, even snow, but this year temperatures were in the 80’s and it was sunny all week. With that comes the fear of no wind, and sure enough, Wednesday’s practice race was a drifter. But we were pleasantly surprised to get four good races in on Thursday in 10kts of wind, where Greg Fisher’s team showed great speed and consistency to top the leader board, but only by a few points over Elam and local Fred Hunger. Lake Erie is by far the shallowest of the Great Lakes, and this makes for lots of chop, so there were big differences in boat speed in these tricky conditions. “It all changed on Friday, as there was no sign of wind – none all day. The regatta organizers showed great wisdom in two ways: by not sending us out to drift around, and by not tapping the Keg too early. Both good moves, which suitably set up for a very fun band and a late night. Our final day on Saturday began with a 10Kt SW breeze that built for the second race of the day, then continually died for the remaining two races. Kelson got close to Greg early on in the day, but after eight races with one throw, Greg seemed to have just a little edge and was able to beat him by five points. When all was said and done, we had tight competition and sailed in shorts and t-shirts… not bad for late September on the Great lakes.” -- Mike Ingham Final Results (Top 5 of 68) 1. Greg Fisher, 2-[9]-4-1-5-1-7-1, 21 2. Kelson Elam, 1-4-[7]-6-1-6-4-4, 26 3. Chris Carroll, 4-[13]-1-4-3-9-5-5, 31 4. Terry Flynn, [18]-17-10-5-7-3-2-7, 51 5. Mike Ingham, 10-12-[37]-3-4-2-16-10, 57 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/33canb ORACLE REBUFFS PROTOCOL AMENDMENT BMW Oracle rebuffed changes Alinghi made to the America's Cup rules on Friday and demanded a direct negotiation before they would drop a lawsuit against the Swiss syndicate. BMW Oracle has taken Cup holders Alinghi to court over rules they say are unfairly weighted in the defender's favor, including the right to disqualify teams or bar them from entering. On Thursday Alinghi tweaked the rules to address some of those issues but BMW Oracle, bankrolled by software billionaire Larry Ellison, said that was not enough. "We welcome some new points, but the changes are largely cosmetic and do not address the central issues," Tom Ehman, head of external affairs at BMW Oracle told Reuters by email. Asked if the U.S. team would drop its court case and challenge under the new protocol, he said: "No, not based on yesterday's amendments. This should be resolved by negotiating face to face. "So far Alinghi have rejected our offers to try to negotiate a settlement through mediation." If Alinghi and BMW Oracle cannot settle their differences out of court, the case is due to be heard in New York on Oct. 22. -- Guardian Unlimited, complete story: http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6939203,00.html J/122 FULL SPEED AHEAD The J/122 is one of J Boats’ hottest introductions ever. Just ask Andrew Weiss, owner of the J/122 “Christopher Dragon,” who followed up his American Spring Series win with a Greenwich Cup win. For more information on how Doyle can power your boat to victory, contact your local Doyle loft, 800-94-DOYLE, http://www.doylesails.com SURVIVING STARTS AT SONAR WORLDS Marblehead, MA (September 23, 2007) Light, variable winds and challenging start line management proved to be the reoccurring theme for the Sperry Top-Sider Sonar Worlds, hosted by Eastern Yacht Club, and finished this past weekend. Besides local Bill Lynn overcoming a couple of early so-so races to win, Toby Reiley provides this side story regarding the event’s use of the KATTACK race tracker. Comments Reiliy, “At the end of each day, the 209 competitors on 51 boats traded-in their KATTACK race tracker GPS for ice cold Sam Adams. It turns out that some of the best boat handling was jockeying for position to get the frosty Sam Adams! The beer boat was so popular that Regatta Chairs Roger and Janet Drumm had more beer brought in for the last day.” When the GPS devices are returned at the end of each day, their information is downloaded to provide the track of each boat to facilitate the replay of each race. -- Photos and story: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/09/making-it-fun.html Final Results (Top 5 of 51) 1. Bill Lynn, 11-[52/BFD]-2-6-5-4, 28 2. Greg Anthony, 8-2-[26]-10-11-6, 37 3. Rick Dominique, 9-1-6-14-8-[28/ZFP], 38 4. Peter Galloway, 6-12-[52/DSQ]-2-2-17, 39 5. Dirk Kneulman, 20-4-4-13-[26]-1, 42 Complete results: http://www.sonarworlds.org/sw07_results PORTER CROWNED MELGES 24 U.S. CHAMPION Detroit, MI (September 23, 2007) - In yet another day of warm, 8-12 knot breeze, Brian Porter’s Full Throttle team held off World Champion Dave Ullman, helming Scott Holmgren’s Rosebud, to win the Audi Melges 24 US National Championship. “We were 1-2 at Worlds, we were 1-2 at North Americans, and now we’re 1-2 here, with Brian getting the win,” Ullman said. Porter’s crew included Melges Performance Sailboats President Harry Melges III and VP Andy Burdick, also from Lake Geneva, WI. On the difficulty of the racing conditions, Porter said, “There was just no predictability at all to the wind shifts. The lake would just fake you out in between regular shifts, and the only solution was speed.” Detroit-based Flyer, with Bora Gulari, helming won the Corinthian division with a phenomenal final-day surge. -- http://melges24racing.com/nationals Final Results (Top 5 of 55) 1. Brian Porter, 23-1-1-1-15-1-9-5-[23], 33 2. Scott Holmgren, 16-2-3-7-10-2-6-6-[16], 36 3. Alan Field, 6-4-26-6-17-3-1-[26], 38 4. David Ford, 2-5-2-11-11-6-18-2-[18], 39 5. Othmar Blumencron, 3-7-16-2-2-11-11-8-[16], 44 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/2l7lcv ‘MADE FOR TV’ SAILING The first season of the iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series was deemed a great success by sailors, sponsors, and the public and is now set to get bigger and better in 2008. The 2007 circuit brought crash-and-burn racing to the doorstep of the public, providing great entertainment and top-level sport to select destinations around Europe. Subject to final agreements being concluded, OC Events, the circuit owner, with the support of title partner iShares, is to take the European series to the four existing countries of the UK, France, Germany, and Holland, and add two new venues in Italy and Switzerland. Bids from cities in these six countries are now being invited by OC Events. With nine Extreme 40 boats already in existence, TornadoSport, builders of the 40-ft catamarans has strong interest for up to another six new builds and the teams from 2007 have already expressed their desire to compete again. The mix of top class adrenaline-pumping racing, with excellent VIP hospitality has proven to be a compelling attraction for sponsors and sailors alike. -- Full story: http://www.isharescup.com/container.asp?section=news&artid=9198 * American Cam Lewis was in Amsterdam for the final event on September 14-16, with his images profiling both the racing and the great spectating that the proximity of the event provided: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/09/bringing-it-to-people.html IT'S TIME FOR NEXT SUMMER If you're responsible for a junior sailing program or race committee, you know it's already time to make plans for next season. When it comes to safety, coach, and mark boats, the Ribcraft line of professional grade RIBs has you covered. Look to Ribcraft, The official RIB of US SAILING. http://www.ribcraftusa.com SAILING SHORTS * Newport, R.I. (September 23, 2007) -- The Southern California team of Brian Angel, Payson Infelise, and Michael Delanty won the U.S. Match Racing Championship for the Prince of Wales Bowl, after four days of racing in Sonars. The Finals pairing was a repeat from last year's event, with Angel once again facing off against skipper Dave Perry (Southport, CT). Last year, Perry and his crew triumphed, however, this year Angel came out on top to win 3-1. In the Petit Finals, Jon Singsen (Old Greenwich, CT) defeated Chris Van Tol (Grosse Pointe Park, MI) in their best of three matches.--http://www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/usmrc * (September 23, 2007) Nearly 100 boats competed in 12 fleets for three days of racing at the 2007 Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta in Houston. TX. Among the winners, Tom Reese (Niagara Falls, NY) not only took home the top spot in the Corsair 28R fleet, but also claimed the overall win in Houston. Reese will join the eight other overall champions from the 2007 Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta circuit at the championship event held in the British Virgin Island in November. -- http://sailingworld.com/nood_regatta.jsp?location=705 * Western Australia last week submitted its written proposal to host the 2011 International Sailing Federation Sailing World Championships, which could be one of the biggest sailing events for the area since the 1987 America's Cup. The championships are a key qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympic games and could attract 5,000 visitors to WA, injecting millions into the State's economy. WA officials will make its presentation to the ISAF in Southampton on October 10. -- http://tinyurl.com/2r6jrd * Toronto, ONT (September 20, 2007) -- The International C Class Championship hosted last week at Royal Canadian Yacht Club saw the home team of Fred Eaton/ Magnus Clarke (Alpha/ CAN) dominate, using their decided speed advantage to beat Steve Clark/ Duncan MacLean (Cogita/ USA) in the match racing finals 5-0. -- Daily reports: http://www.rcyc.ca/Portals/0/C%20class%20results%20final%20copy.pdf * Sardinia, Italy -- The Rolex TP 52 Global Championship kicked off on Sunday at the Costa Smeralda Yacht Club with an official training day, with racing held from Monday, September 24 through September 29, with a maximum of 9 windward-leeward races and 2 offshore races (a shorter 5 hour race, and a medium distance race of about ten hours in duration) will be sailed. -- http://www.regattanews.com/event.asp?id=171 * Weekend Celebrations: Happy Birthday wishes go out to Ernesto Bertarelli, who turned 42 years on September 22nd, and the beginning of fall with occurred on September 23rd. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Ned Hall: Wonderful first story (Supporting the Troops in Issue 2437). I assume there is more of that going on in the country. If not, there should be. * From John Williams: Supporting the armed services of your country is a pretty righteous thing to do. The story in Issue 2437 is a handy reminder how easy it is to reach out, and if your town is home to an armed service base, that this should definitely be on the to-do list. * From Susie Powell: I was cracking up about the “What About Bob” story in Issue 2437, as my husband and I use the “baby steps” saying all the time. I am not sure if there was any further hidden meaning in the example, but there sure could be. Bill Murray’s character could be Alinghi, and the psychiatrist (played by Richard Dreyfuss), who is tormented by Murray, could be the challengers. * From Wayne Galloway: Having followed the press releases of Alinghi and Golden Gate YC, I must give the Swiss credit for finally trying to “appear” like good guys, even if their Protocol concessions were nearly groundless with regard to Golden Gate YC’s primary issues. Nice try, but certainly better than Bertarelli saying it is all bullsh&t. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Special thanks to Team McLube, Doyle Sailmakers, and Ribcraft RIBs. |
