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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 548 - April 13, 2000OLYMPICS(Following is an excerpt of an interview that Gary Jobson did with Olympic athletes John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree for the NBC Olympics website.) With the conclusion of the U.S. Tornado Olympic Trials, the trend of Olympians returning to the Games continues for the United States. After seven years of continuous training, John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree defeated 17 other teams to earn the right to represent the United States in Sydney. Winning was not easy. The final result was in question right up to the last day. In a repeat of the trials in 1996, the Lovell/Ogletree team defeated Lars Guck and P.J. Schaffer, who finished second again. A day after the regatta, I had a chance to do an exclusive interview with the winning duo. Jobson: Was it emotional between you and Lars Guck? Lovell: Well, it was emotional, particularly since Lars finished second to us in 1996. But all this is part of racing, and he understood it was necessary. I'm sure if the score were reversed, it would have been the same tactic for them. Jobson: You've been in the class a long time. Do you feel comfortable sailing against the top teams? Lovell: I've been sailing against the guys from Europe for three years now, and we have a good understanding of their techniques and capabilities. Jobson: How much time have you spent training in Sydney? Lovell: We've done the last three Olympic regattas. We spent time there in November and in January. We have been there quite a bit, and we are going back down in July. Jobson: The number of boats in the trials (18) is close to the number in the Olympics (16). Was this helpful? Lovell: I'm not sure, because we expect the competition at the Games to be a lot tougher and deeper. Jobson: Were the conditions in Santa Cruz analogous to Sydney? Lovell: Well, certainly for the outside course. But we had a little of everything, and that helps. We did have a couple of races right under the beach to keep us close to land, like Sydney Harbour. But it is not exactly like being right inside. It's good that we have been there practicing. Jobson: How important was the tight competition of the trials in helping prepare for the Games? Ogletree: We trust the close trials with Lars was good. We had to make sure he didn't win the last race. It was emotional but necessary. This kind of racing will help us a lot. Jobson: Who are you training with? Ogletree: We've lined up Santiago Lange, who lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is really great and a big help. We are also going to work with a British team, but they have to get through their trials first. Full interview: http://www.nbcolympics.com/ LONG BEACH, Calif. -- To hear Bertrand Pace' tell it, the sailors don't have the foggiest notion what the wind will do next in the 36th Congressional Cup -- and he's the one sitting on a two-win lead after 13 of 18 races. "In these conditions anybody can beat anybody," Pace' said despite winning four of his five races Wednesday. "You can make a bad choice or a good choice. Today we made two good choices and three bad choices, but twice we came back to win the right side. Conditions change very fast." Long Beach Harbor can usually be counted on for prevailing southwesterlies to 15 knots, but this week it's been a house of mirrors made worse by fog on the last two days. Wednesday's racing was delayed for 45 minutes because of poor visibility, then suspended for an hour after the first flight when the pea soup took a curtain call before bowing out to sunshine. But while the wind built from 6 to 13 knots, it never settled into a dependable direction. Some of the matches saw rivals taking flyers into opposite corners of the half-mile windward-leeward course, but when Pace' got in front he played it by the match-racing book. His only loss was by seven seconds to two-time defending champion Peter Holmberg of the U.S. Virgin Islands, who otherwise is barely hanging on to a shot at the semifinals at 6-7. New Zealand's Dean Barker went from 3-0 Tuesday to 0-3 in his first three races Wednesday. Then he righted his Catalina 37 to stop a 3-0 run by Germany's Markus Wieser and dispatch local hope Scott Dickson to share second place with Denmark's No. 1-ranked Sten Mohr at 8-5. Australia's Sebastien Destremau and James Spithill, France's Luc Pillot and Wieser are clumped at 7-6. That sets up Thursday as knockout day for the last semifinal slot. STANDINGS (13 of 18 races) -- 1. Pace', 10-3; 2. tie between Mohr and Barker, 8-5; 4. tie among Wieser, Spithill, Pillot and Destremau, 7-6; 8. Holmberg, 6-7; 9. Dickson, 4-9; 10. Iehl, 1-12. QUOTES AND NOTES: Denmark's Sten Mohr, suggesting inconsistent calls in similar situations by different umpires, one of which may have cost him a loss to Markus Wieser: "We just tried to stay out of trouble today and we still couldn't stay out of trouble. We were out of synch with the umpires." New Zealand's Dean Barker, after losing his first three races but winning the last two: "The first three we kept hitting the wrong side -- and it wasn't always the same side." Germany's Markus Wieser, second and fourth in the previous two Congressional Cups, says this is his last match racing event. "I've had enough," he said. Wieser, 35, wants to spend more time with his wife and four daughters at home in Munich. He is currently ranked 12th in the world but has been a regular resident of the top 10 in recent years. Four of this year's entries are among the top 10 in the latest International Sailing Federation (ISAF) rankings issued this week and thus will be competing in the World Match Racing Championship at Croatia in May: Denmark's Sten Mohr, No. 1; France's Bertrand Pace, No. 2; France's Luc Pillot, No. 5, and New Zealand's Dean Barker, No. 6. Congressional Cup performance does not count toward the final qualifying list, although it remains a Grade 1 event. -- Rich Roberts Event website: http://www.lbyc.org REGATTA INSIGHT (Ned Jones provides an inside look at the Laser Class Olympic Trials taking place at the San Francisco YC) It is halftime here at the Laser Olympic Trials - the mandatory lay day. Four days of racing down, four days to go. There are no major surprises in the results; Mendelblatt, Myrdal, Davis, Hurley and Hardesty round out the top five. It is no wonder these sailors have risen to the top of the fleet, as the conditions have been fairly rugged. Typical conditions have been 15-22 kts with short steep chop and strong current. The most experienced quickly distance themselves from the rest of fleet during the trapezoid courses. The beats are around .7 to .8 miles long, putting a high demand on good starts and strong strategy for the first leg. Often the first mark roundings are crowded and then the fleet spreads out as the reaches and runs show who has been sailing Lasers full-time, and who is here on vacation time. A vacation it is not. Races are slated to start at 1100 each day. San Francisco Yacht Club is several miles from the racing area, mandating tows leave by 0930. Two races each day, 18 kts, 54 degree water, 64 degree air. A far cry from a casual weekend warrior event. The tension among the competitors in the hunt for the berth to Sydney is evident, but there is time for it to heat up further. 8 races to go, and the pressure to maintain your position or move up will build as we move into the weekend. Some protests, and redress requests have been heard, not very many. Vanguard Sailboats has supplied the boats, less tiller and lines, making the playing field very level. Most sailors have coaches with support boats, visiting family with cheering sections, and some of the thickest spectator boat fleet I have seen for a 32-boat regatta. The race committee work has been excellent, the jury fair, and the weather cooperative. Who ever emerges from this regatta the winner, surely will be a contender for a medal in Sydney. -- Ned Jones 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 Pete Mohler, US I 14 Assoc. -- Paul Miller's comments in # 547 about the Richmond YC (RYC) being able to put on a quality regatta without sponsorship reminded me of that regatta ('97 I14 worlds). I personally think the reason that the RYC didn't win the USSA St Petersburg Trophy for regatta excellence that year was likely due to the lack of proper politicking by the 14 fleet as opposed to some shortcoming with running the regatta. I am sure that whoever won that regatta excellence trophy that year was deserving, but the RYC did a wonderful job with the I 14 Worlds. It must be said that the members at RYC are a bit rabid about sponsorship issues and have a excellent base of volunteers. The races were run correctly and on the social side they managed to arrange for free beer by allowing daily winners and past members buy kegs for the fleet at a reduced cost. Running an I 14 regatta for 140 boats is more difficult than you might first think. The number of crash boats and qualified volunteers required is by itself staggering. I for one was grateful for the number of crash boats, as we managed to break 3 masts that regatta (world record). You can make a regatta work without sponsorship but it takes a dedicated, qualified volunteer base and in some areas, for many reasons, that is just not available. -- From David Shore (Re: 'Butt 547, Paul Miller's letter about producing "...hoards of volunteers by keeping it fun and rewarding for them.") -- Attracting volunteers for all aspects of regatta management is always a task that goes a long way to determining the success of an event. I'd like to know what Paul and others have done to make it fun and rewarding for the volunteers. If you know successful strategies for this, please share them. -- From Rob Emmet -- While reviewing the Newsletters for the upcoming Newport to Bermuda race, one of our more observant customers noticed a change to the ORC rule that affects crew safety requirements. The Newsletter, which is posted at http://www.bermudarace.com/news_5.html states: "ORC 5.02 will be changed to require at least 30% of crews to have safety lines (tethers) fitted with either a second safety line (1m/3ft long) or a single safety line with an extra mid-point hook." Given that there have been nearly 200 requests for entry packages, we anticipate that there could be a last-minute scramble to find compliant tethers if competitors in this and other events are not informed. We have posted the notice on our website, and informed our suppliers to be prepared for increased sales of double hook tethers. Compliant tethers can be purchased from http://www.pyacht.com/wichard.htm CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: I'm not sure, but I think I just posted an advertisement without collecting any ad revenue. -- From David Holt, Auckland (Re Douglas Holthaus saying New Zealand has for some time suffered from a unique malady known as the tall poppy syndrome - Scuttlebutt #545) "It has a up side: New Zealanders not able to "live alone" roam the world like Jason (of the Argonauts) of old looking for the Golden Fleece (Or the AMERICAS CUP!) finding it and bringing it home! BAD BAKING Tests on the hull of Pete Goss's giant catamaran have revealed why the vessel's bow snapped off just two weeks after launch. The BBC has had exclusive access to information which identifies particular production problems, ending speculation that the calamity was caused by a design flaw. Team Philips ran into trouble off the Isles of Scilly when a 40ft section of bow broke off during sea trials in the Atlantic. Experts now say the break-up was caused by the L4m boat's carbon fibre skin of the main load-bearing area failing to bond with its honeycomb paper core. The flaw in the delicate production process left the two massive hulls inherently fragile. The weakness, introduced during the baking process, runs the entire length of the 120ft vessel. Although the craft was designed to cruise through the waves at more than 40 knots, it broke up in winds of 25 knots, only two weeks after the Queen officially named her. -- BBC Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_708000/708721.stm REGATTA ATTENDANCE (The following notes are from the Panel Discussion on One-Design Class Growth and Promotion held during the Spring meeting of US SAILING) Ali Meller's best advice for getting people to regattas is to eliminate excuses. Whatever problems they mention, solve them. Find crew. Help inexperienced sailors tune their boats so they are not always at the back of the pack. Do whatever it takes to make boats available for people to use: lend or make charter boats available. Double decking boat trailers to get more/extra boats to regattas. If all else fails, shame people into sailing. Ali mentioned that in regatta reports he sometimes includes mention of "Lame Excuses" which lists everyone's reason for not sailing. One E-Scow regatta chair worked for a year to get 130 plus boats to come to a regatta. The sailor went to regattas talking up his regatta and encouraging everyone to come. He raffled a brand new E-Scow, had individual race awards consisting of massages, wine/cheese baskets, and other items to bolster participation and fun. The consensus was that it takes a "sparkplug" to get an event going, but once that happens the event will build on itself as more and more people hear about it and plan to participate. An event is not going to just happen; it takes hard work, and sailors must perceive they are going to have fun or they won't go. Kerry Nielan explained the Coach TCA program at Thistle Class Association Midwinters East which is responsible for adding 20-25 boats each year to the event. The coach program is a week long total immersion in sailing. The coaches are a top group of Thistle sailors who are paired with the students. The students get help setting up and tuning their boats before the event. They get daily weather and tactics discussions and on the water coaching in their boat. Additionally, both the coach and participants are video taped each day and the tape is then used as a learning tool. Pairing sailors was discussed as a good method to break down barriers (whether they are real or perceived) between the top sailors and the middle/back part of the fleet. If the performance level is raised then the middle/back of the pack will have more fun and stay involved. Additionally, the social aspects must be stressed so that everyone is having fun. If a sailor knows more people, the fun factor is likely to be increased. Top sailors get their rewards no matter what, so put the emphasis on the middle and back of the fleet at regattas. Help sailors make improvements. The 505 class ranks everyone based on the previous years regattas. Then first and last place boats are paired, the second and second-to-last, etc. The scores are then kept and a trophy given out for the team with the best combined score. These pairings help people meet one another and help the slower boats go faster. A J/24 fleet promoted having the top five skippers (after the season championship had been settled) sail on the last five place boats. The crews of the top five boats had to sail their boats without their regular skippers. This helps the boats at the back of the fleet and gives the top crews a chance to steer, possibly even producing future skippers. The Hobies use "GEP," Guest Expert Program, where they bring in experts to help with tuning. Recommend that newcomers focus on making improvements from one regatta to the next. Help them with one skill to work on at each regatta. The full summary of this panel discussion: http://www.ussailing.org/odcc/growth_panel.htm NARRAGANSETT BAY CALENDAR * June 29-July 2 -- Over 50 tall ships, representing 14 nations, are joining Newport's four-day festival, which also includes concerts, art exhibits, block parties and fireworks. http://www.tallshipsnewport.com * July 7-8 -- Sailing notables team with Wall Street and business world executives for the two-day Wall Street and Corporate Challenge Cup Regatta contested in vintage America's Cup 12-meter yachts. http://www.wsccc.org * July 14-23 -- The New York YC's Race Week at Newport. The first half of the week is devoted to the Rolex IMS Offshore World Championship (July 14-19) and PHRF Championship Racing (July 14-18), while the second half is geared to One-Design Championship Racing (July 20-23). http://www.nyyc.org THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS A fool and his money are soon partying. |
