SCUTTLEBUTT No. 724 - January 8, 2001

THE INSIDE STORY

Own a J/Boat? Crew on a J/Boat? Thinking about buying a J/Boat? Learn more about the J/Boat phenomenon from a panel of J/Boat experts who will tell the whole story at the Newport Beach Ullman Sails loft this Tuesday night at 7pm, 410 29th Street. Please RSVP: (949)675-6970 or Ullman@Ullmansails.com

http://www.ullmansails.com/

VENDEE GLOBE - By Philippe Jeantot
AFTER 60 DAYS AT SEA: The weather system over the leading boats in the Vendee Globe is moving at a majestic pace. Normally, these low pressure systems travel round at 25 knots or so, so two times faster than the boats. So the system catches up with the fleet and passes through within around 48 hours, the boats all the while benefiting from a classic pattern of wind shifts.

The latest depression to reach the leading boats is neither strong nor rapid moving. Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) has put more water in between him and the chasing pack, led by Ellen MacArthur (Kingfisher), thanks to a unique 20 - 30 knot South West breeze flowing at the same speed as his boat. Not even the unstoppable Ellen has found an escape route. The following boats are all stuck in the light wind trough behind, only able to wait for the next system to catch them and send the boats rocketing off in good breeze on the surf again towards Cape Horn.

Since this time, the weather has been stacking up in favour of Desjoyeaux. With 990 miles to go until Cape Horn, PRB has a 480 mile advance, which represents approximately a day and a half of sailing. A comfortable stretch by any means, however Michel Desjoyeaux will not rest on his laurels for the third section of this legendary circumnavigation. "I still hope to increase that lead before Cape Horn. But I'm definitely not going to push it - I1m trying to safeguard the equipment."

Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) is near to Stewart Island where he will be able to effect the repairs to his mast. His master plan is already in place to extend his mast to 18 metres: mooring and consolidation on Monday; dismantling the existing piece of mast on Tuesday; putting together the mast pieces on Wednesday and Thursday; stratification on Friday; putting the new mast in place and rigging. "I hope to get sailing again on Sunday with 200m of sail area."

Yves Parlier has been allowed to stop under the race rules with certain conditions: no physical contact with another ship or any kind of vessel, no new supplies are permitted on board, no outside assistance in mooring, even for medical purposes, no coming alongside a quay or a sailing vessel, and lastly no setting foot on land nor disembarking beyond the limit of the highest tide. Therefore the skipper will be able to moor by his own means, make his repairs and set off within the race rules. - http://www.vendeeglobe.com

1. PRB, Michel Desjoyeaux, 2. Kingfisher, Ellen MacArthur, 481 miles behind leader, 3. Sill Matines & La Potagere ,Roland Jourdain, 587 miles behind leader, 4. Active Wear, Marc Thiercelin, 670 miles behind leader, 5. Sodebo Savourons la Vie, Thomas Coville, 960 mile behind leader.

QUOTE / UNQUOTE - Ellen Mac Arthur
"PRB starting to take what some might assume an unassailable lead - by catching the favourable winds of the next depression he is for the first time one complete system ahead of the fleet, and rocketing towards the famous Cape Horn. He is now able to not push the boat as hard, and cover his competition. This looks like the first major turning point for the race leader."

PERSPECTIVE
LONDON, Jan. 6 - At one time there was only one person in the world who was universally recognizable to sailors everywhere by just his first name: Dennis. But in Britain, at least, the America's Cup veteran Dennis Conner now has first-name- status competition from a slight, enthralling 24-year-old woman whose name is on everyone's lips.

Ellen.

Thousands of miles to the south, Ellen MacArthur is alone battling wind and sea as a competitor in the Vendee Globe race, the extreme solo sprint around the planet that only a masochist or a Frenchman could love. French men, after all, have won all three Vendee races to date. But with two-thirds of the current event completed, MacArthur is in second place and barreling along, about 300 miles astern of the leader, Michel Desjoyeaux, aboard the yacht PRB.

At the current London Boat Show, no one can stop talking about Ellen, who is from Whatstandwell in Derbyshire County, and her dramatic, gutsy performance. As the winner of last summer's single-handed trans- Atlantic race, MacArthur was a high-profile entrant from the outset, but her efforts have still exceeded all the lofty expectations.

Accepting a prize at the British nautical awards on Friday evening, the Olympic gold medalist in the Laser class, Ben Ainslie, singled out MacArthur as a source of inspiration to the entire English team. Later, in a surprise satellite phone call from the Southern Ocean, she addressed the crowd of 700 to hearty applause. - Herb McCormick, New York Times.

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/07/sports/07BOAT.html

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net)
(Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold your e-mail address on request.)

* From: "Helen Johnstone" helenj777@hotmail.com I admire and respect Peter Isler's enthusiastic and positive outlook on where "sailing is going to be in 100 years". The next 100 years is going to be a lot different than the last 100 years with technology and climatology moving and changing as quickly as they are.

I would love to agree with Peter, being the long-time, avid sailor/racer myself, but in all honesty, I don't believe that the word "sailing" will even exist in 100 years. In 100 years, the "people" will be so caught up racing around from planet to planet that the "oceans" (if they even exist then) will become a thing of the past.

In 100 years, the "people" will be more consumed with the interplanetary "oceans" (space and possibly beyond). George Jetson will be the common name. "People" will race their spacepods around planetary orbits. Hopefully, though, some of the "people" in 100 years will have enough keen interest in history to identify, research and comprehend the concept of "sailing".

So, thanks to individuals like you and many others, Peter, who are working avidly on educating our next generation on the sport of sailing . However, each succeeding generation is going to have a real challenge in keeping "sailing" alive as technology and climatology continue to move as rapidly as they are moving now.

* From: "Jack Mallinckrodt" malli@earthlink.net Peter Isler's interesting speculation in Scuttlebutt 723, on 'kite- sails' in the next century, prompts another fascinating possibility: Surely in that case, the point of attachment of the kite "string" to the boat would be such as to balance the boat, not only in the horizontal plane (as at present, to control weather helm) but also in the transverse vertical (roll) plane, to minimize or eliminate heeling moment. Sail area would no longer be limited by available righting moment. Downright scary.

* From: "Robert T. King" kingspoke@earthlink.net With deference to Peter Isler's illustrious character and prescient perspective toward 22nd century sailing, I submit that the Phoenicians of an even more distant future will be sailing spacecraft on cosmic winds. An excerpt from an article entitled Astronomers Capture a Puff of Cosmic Wind follows: "The first of its kind ever discovered, such a phenomenon may help explain how hot gas is transported from inside the disk of the Milky Way, out to the halo that extends far beyond. And judging from this cosmic puff, the galactic atmosphere is every bit as stormy and interesting as the one we're used to dealing with on Earth." - http://exn.ca/Stories/1999/01/18/54.cfm

* From: Larry Butchart lbutchart@FISHERIESSUPPLY.com The cat is out of the bag, Pandora's Box has been opened. The days of volunteer crews, and Millionaires (as opposed to billionaires) has passed. It is a different world now. When "professional" became part of the sailing game, you had to expect that a lot of the tradition of sailing would fall by the way side. I also think you should consider that you can't have it both ways. You can't expect it to remain a quaint little competition between gentleman representing there nations, and also expect to see every moment of it on ESPN.

What is best the sport, and the "event"? There are many brighter folks then I working on that agenda. I would just like people to realize the world changes fast, and to expect our sailing world to lived by tradition alone, although romantic, is not practical. I will continue to watch the Americas Cup for the great gathering of talent and technology that it is, and will support my "local" boat, One World Challenge. Hey, at least we have some natives involved!

* From: Pamela A. Leigh BabeonaBoat@aol.com What I find most ridiculous about the AC nationality discussion is that everyone seems to presume that professional sailors should make career decisions based on the nationality of the corporate entity who is doing the hiring. I certainly wouldn't turn down a lucrative job offer within my industry if the company was owned by a "foreign" corporation. So what if that's what the originators of the Deed thought was appropriate over one hundred years ago! It's time to let professionals make a decent living in the industry they have chosen, without criticism from amateurs. And another thing, Mr. Munro, I believe the skipper of your club's current America's Cup entry, Oracle Racing is from New Zealand?

* From: John Arndt john@latitude38.com I'd agree that the America's Cup loses something as 'the friendly competition between nations' shifts to 'friendly competition between billionaires' but this seems to be the way things evolve over time. It would be interesting if the concept drifted over to the Olympics so that the Italians might purchase Mark Reynolds services to win them a Gold in the Star class or China purchased the NBA All Stars for a gold in basketball.

* From: Jim Barton bartondc@email.msn.com All of you who "deplore" the lack of nationalism in America's Cup, and really want to support someone sailing for their country, should get behind the US Sailing team. I know they could use a couple of hundred million dollars. Besides if you turn it in to a contest between nations, we may never get it away from the Kiwis.

* From David Redfern/America's Cup Jubilee/England Amcup2001@aol.com I couldn't be bothered earlier to send a note re the correspondent who put the birthplace of the America's Cup as the USA. That's now been addressed. To be piddlingly boring however, the Cup - originally the L100 (pound) cup and not the Hundred Guieas Cup is not the world's oldest sporting trophy. There's been a trophy for an archery competition somewhere in the dark north of England that has been competed for continuously since 1673 and I think its called the Scorton Arrow Trophy. I seem to remember that from a childhood Guinness Book of Records.

AMERICA'S CUP
(Last week it was pointed out that Sports Illustrated magazine totally ignored the 2000 America's Cup in Auckland and provided the event with zero coverage. However, one of our readers came across a transcript of a National Public Radio program where Frank Deford, a senior contributing writer at Sports Illustrated, made the following comments.)

FRANK DEFORD (Sports Illustrated): Psst. Who do you like in the America's Cup? Yes, sports' oldest world championship is under way once again in New Zealand and for those of you otherwise occupied with the national rodeo finals or the NFL, it's time to get acquainted with sailboats again. Now a word of advice before you get all cynical and say, `I don't care about a bunch of rich guys sailing their yachts,' consider this: In today's world of sports, the America's Cup has actually become a very modest, middle-class enterprise.

Yes. The most expensive boat in the Cup this year is Prada, which is bankrolled to the tune of $70 million. Hey, chicken feed. Stephon Marbury of the New Jersey Nets, a player you have never heard of on a team you didn't know existed, has a more expensive contract. For the amount of money the Dodgers pay Kevin Brown, $112 million, you could almost match the total financing for all five United States syndicates. If J.P. Morgan were around today, what he would say is, 'If you have to ask how much a shortstop costs to keep, then you can't afford one.'

OK, now that we've established that the America's Cup has become chump change in sports, we get on to your next complaint: It's too complicated. Balderdash. Listen, great American sports fan. Do you have the foggiest idea how the college football people choose their championship bowl teams? Of course you don't. Now by contrast, the America's Cup is as easy as playing a $5 Nassau(ph). First boat home wins.

And I know your next bone to pick: It's too sissy. Hey, there is more neat violent action going on in the America's Cup than on Monday night TV wrestling. Four years ago when New Zealand won the cup from us, the races were sailed in San Diego where the waters were as still as a schooner of stale beer. It was more boring than a nil-nil soccer game. This America's Cup, though, the boats sail out of Auckland Harbour through a gorgeous little channel into the Hauraki Gulf, where essentially they run into waves that have been growling since they left Antarctica. Boats have been getting blitzed like so many NFL quarterbacks.

Moreover, Auckland is gaga about having such a prestigious event. Not since the cup was in Newport, Rhode Island, has it been so alive. The boats are docked smack downtown right off the main drag. American Express has built a fancy floating restaurant opposite the marina. And the ultimate in luxury boxes: a developer has run up a ritzy apartment building with balconies overlooking the docks. These flats going for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Understand, you can't see the races from these apartments, just the boats drifting back into their marina. But, Lord, they are beautiful, these sailing ships, even if like NASCAR racers the America's Cup boats are now loaded down with advertising graffiti.

MORE VENDEE GLOBE
The first and third placed Open 60's in the Vendee Globe, Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) and Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagre), are both powered by Bainbridge Internationals SCL Laminates. This cloth has dominated the world of single handed offshore racing for a number of years because it is strong, tough, low in stretch and above all, dependable. Manufactured from a scrim of Spectra fiber protected by two ultra durable layers of woven spectra it is also used extensively for Super Yachts and, in lighter weights, for cruising yachts over 45ft. For more information: http://www.sailcloth.com

VOLVO YOUTH SAILING ISAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Even four medals for Australia including a Gold, two silver and a bronze could not keep French hands of the Volvo Trophy team prize for the fourth successive year. Though winning only three bronze medals the six crews in the French team have performed more consistently overall to win the Volvo Trophy by a slender 20-point margin. - Peter Bentley

Team results: 1. FRA 373 pts, 2. AUS 353 pts, 3. NED 284 pts 4. GBR 249 pts 5. NZL 240 pts, 6. GRE 231 pts, 7. GER 220 pts, 8. POL 219 pts, 9. ESP 188 pts, 10.DEN 172 pts

US Team results - Girls Byte, Amanda Clark, 4th; Girls 420, Julie Papanek, 10th; Mistral Boys, Jonathan Azevedo, 21st; Boys Laser, Andrew Campbell, 6th; Boys 420, William & Andrew Loe, 19th.

Full results: http://www.boatingoz.com.au/~volvoyouth.htm

CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
February 24: US Umpire's Workshop and Test, Boston Yacht Club, Marblehead, MA. http://www.ussailing.org/judges/workshops/

THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS
Success comes from making good decisions. Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions!