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SCUTTLEBUTT 1691 - October 18, 2004Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. AND SO ENDS THE 2004 AMERICA'S CUP SEASON… On Friday, Act 3 racing was initially postponed with the wind very shifty, despite being a full 12-14 knots. The breeze became soft and shifty in the first race, and although it regained velocity later in the afternoon, the shifts continued to make the race course a difficult challenge for the tacticians. The Defender of the America's Cup, Team Alinghi, showed it is still a force to be reckoned with on Friday with two strong races to take the series lead in the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 3. The BMW Oracle Racing team also had two good performances on the day, with a second and third place finish, the former all the more remarkable for having to re-start for being over the starting line early. On Saturday, Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio did everything in his power to start racing, but was unable to squeeze off a start before the wind became too strong to assure safety for the America's Cup crews and their boats. With the offshore breeze gusting above 26-knots, and forecast to build to gale force strength later in the day, Reggio abandoned racing shortly before 13:00. On Sunday, Racing began in the first match in a light, offshore wind, which proved to be very patchy and inconsistent before dying completely and rebuilding in a different direction. The second race took place in a nice Southeasterly seabreeze of 10 to 14 knots. With a pair of top-three performances on the last day of racing, Team Alinghi won the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 3 regatta. However, the 2004 ACC Season Champion title went to Emirates Team New Zealand - a nice recovery from their America's Cup loss in 2003. - www.americascup.com Final Results - Act 3: 1. Team Alinghi, 4 1 3 1 3 2; 40 pts 2. Emirates Team New Zealand, 1 2 1 6 5 1; 38 pts 3. BMW Oracle Racing, 5 6 2 3 1 3; 34 pts 4. Luna Rossa, 3 4 7 2 4 4; 30 pts 5. K-Challenge, 8 3 4 4 2 5; 28 pts 6. Le Defi, 2 7 8 5 7 8; 17 pts 7. Team Shosholoza, 7 5 5 7 8 7; 15 pts 8. +39 Syndicate, 6 8 6 DNF 6 6; 13 pts Final Results - ACC Champion 2004: 1. Emirates Team New Zealand, 6 pts 2. BMW Oracle Racing, 7 pts 3. Team Alinghi, 7 pts 4. Luna Rossa, 13 pts 5. Le Defi, 15 pts 6. K-Challenge, 16 pts 7. Team Shosholoza, 21 pts 8. +39 Syndicate, 22 pts FRUSTRATION Oracle tactician John Kostecki admits the fickle conditions off the coast of Valencia are getting the better of his team. The American syndicate, owned by software billionaire Larry Ellison, have beaten defenders Alinghi in two regattas since the cup and won the opening pre-regatta in Marseille last month. But in Valencia they have failed to fire. We don't seem to be any slower than any of the top boats so we are pretty happy with our boat speed," Kostecki said. "I think if we just sail a little bit better we can get some good races." Admittedly the conditions in Valencia have been extremely shifty and have produced a complete minefield for tacticians and strategists. "It is the time of the year ... the land is cooler and there are more fronts coming through so the sea breeze that we normally get here in the summer is nowhere near as strong," he said. - Julie Ash, NZ Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/4uqxm THE END OF AN ERA? Dennis Conner's (America's) Cup career may very well already be assigned to the history books because of the staggering costs of mounting campaign. Conner, 62, has won and lost the America's Cup more than anyone in its 153-year history. But the next cup, in Valencia, Spain, in 2007, might be the first in nearly 30 years without Conner competing. "I would say I'm not looking good," said Conner, who won the cup four times and lost it twice. "I don't have an extra $200 million in my checking account. I would say that unless someone steps up sometime soon, I will be retired. I simply cannot raise $200 million." Conner estimates the top syndicates, backed by high-tech billionaires, are spending $100 million a year. Relying on corporate backing, Conner spent about $40 million on the last cup, in 2002-03 in New Zealand, and didn't even make it to the challenger finals. "I would love to go, given that I have a reasonable amount of money so I have some chance of winning," said Conner, who still competes in the 30-foot Etchells class. "I don't want to go and just show up. That's not my idea of fun, just to show up and get hammered every day. That's not what sport's about." Looking back at the cup's history, "It's really come full circle, where the B's are racing the B's," he said, referring to billionaires. - Bernie Wilson, AP, full story: http://tinyurl.com/6eszw PICTURE PERFECT There is just no way to describe with words how unbelievable the Dryshirt™ is so we have created some pictures and video on this revolutionary product. If you've been trying to determine how the Dryshirt ™ is different from Nike dryfit, coolmax or other shirts that just wicks water away, you'll immediately see the difference once you watch the shirt in action. The Dryshirt ™ is breathable, repels water, and has an SPF of 50 immersed or dry. Customized team shirts with your club or team logo available. Call 1(800) 354-7245 or view video, pictures and dealer info: http://www.sailingproshop.com/dryshirt.htm STRONG WORLDWIDE MARKET Farr Yacht Design announced today that is has three new designs under development specifically suited for the IRC rating rule. The research and design work commenced in August in response to a strong worldwide market interest in IRC boosted by the recent formation of the US IRC group who are making a powerful effort to establish IRC racing in the USA. The three designs are between 30ft LOA and 42ft LOA, and will be manufactured on a production basis. Farr Yacht Design expects additional production and custom commissions above this size range in the near future. "It is heartening to see an effort on behalf of those administering our sport to adopt a Rule that is used on a world wide basis," said Russ Bowler, President of Farr Yacht Design. IRC is now the rule of choice in a number of important regattas throughout the world, including the Admiral's Cup, Sydney-Hobart Race, Fastnet Race, and to date there are nearly 6000 yachts racing with this Rule. IRC was used for the first time in the US at last month's Rolex St. Francis Big Boat Series, and will be used for several New York YC and Storm Trysail Club events in 2005, including Block Island Race Week. - Excerpts from The Daily Sail, full story www.thedailysail.com DRAGON 75TH ANNIVERSARY REGATTA Swedish sailor Tom Lofstedt from the Royal Swedish Yacht Club, sailing Maria, with Martin Alsen and Martin Larsson, has won the Dragon 75th Anniversary Regatta in St Tropez. Lofstedt and his crew had finished fourth in the qualifying races, with 9th and 1st places on the scoreboard, then added a ninth in Thursday's anniversary race, when all 267 boats started together. In Friday's Champion of Champions race he was robbed of first place on the finishing line by no lesser person than Russell Coutts. Second place went to Denmark's Jorgen Schoenherr sailing African Queen, putting on his best performance of the week, this result goes well with his win at the Gold Cup in Falmouth, England, earlier this year. John Ross-Murphy of Ireland, who won the Anniversary race on Thursday, came home third sailing Rigmarole, to cap a good week for the Irish. Olympic gold medallist, and one of Denmark's sailing legends, Valdemar Bandolowski, took fourth place, ahead of another Dane Soren Pehrsson, with Germany's Hans-Werner Zachariassen sixth. After poor weather conditions had spoiled some of the races earlier in the week, a gutsey final day left the competitors with a smile on their faces, after a good hard race in 25 knots of breeze and sunshine. Russell Coutts who hadn't had a result out of the top ten all week, found himself disqualified for a premature start, and joins an impressive list of those who have suffered the same fate this week, including most of the royalty who are in the regatta. - John Roberson, www.intdragon.org/anniversary/frameset2.html ANOTHER SYNDICATE? According to a long interview given by John Sweeney to the Spanish newspaper Las Provincias, the Sausalito Challenge will soon become the second American syndicate to submit a challenge for the 32nd America's Cup. The Team is negotiating with Mascalzone Latino about buying the former ESP-47 (Bravo España, Spanish boat for America's Cup 2000). Designed by Rolf Vrolijk and Manuel Ruiz, the SUI-64's fathers, she was the best 2000-generation boat according to Bertrand Pacé. Meanwhile, John Sweeney said that their Cup budget is now sufficient (€48 million) and that most of the key people are now secured. - Cup in Europe website, www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/2007-SausalitoLN2.htm FIGAWI FOUL WEATHER BOOT BEATS WINTER BLUES If it's ice and snow, it's H20, and no one knows frozen or flowing water better than the inventor of the boat shoe, Sperry Top-Sider. This winter, keep your feet warm, dry and planted firmly on the ground with Sperry Top-Sider's new Figawi Foul Weather Boot. Featuring wave-siped rubber outsoles for wet or dry traction, seam-sealed construction, nubuck uppers, and toasty sherling linings, the Figawi boot is engineered to perform in the teeth of a squall or in the face of a mud-soaked city street. Available in brown/sherling or charcoal/gold. Visit http://www.sperrytopsider.com NEWS BRIEFS * U.S. solo sailor Bruce Schwab was one of 21 skippers honored at the official opening ceremony of the 2004 Vendee Globe. Two of the 23 original skippers had to withdraw due to lack of funding. Thanks to last minute loans and donations from supporters, Schwab has been able to maintain his standing as the only American in the competition. His final race preparations include installation of new sails, a new boom and a haul-out to repair minor keel damage. Schwab's goal is to becoming the first American to finish the Vendee. The race starts on November 7. - http://www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/ * Kanehoe Yacht Club - With strong and consistent finishes throughout the week, Rush Creek Yacht Club's Kathy Irwin and her crew were awarded the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy as the 2004 winners of the U.S. Women's Sailing Championship. Joni Palmer won a tiebreaker to take second place, the 2003 winner Adams Whitney Besse was third with former Adams' champion Vicki Sodaro fourth. http://tinyurl.com/48ueq * The Italian pre-match race for the America's Cup will take place off Trapani's coast in autumn 2005. The only Italian race of the circuit will include all the teams taking part in Valencia's final. Trapani's harbour is already undergoing renewal to host the event. The dock works will be funded by the government. In order to boost tourism, Italia Navigando allegedly presented a project for a 1,200 boat capacity marina. - AGI online, http://tinyurl.com/3uwxh * Marine clothing company Henri-Lloyd has been appointed an official technology partner to the BMW Oracle Racing team at the 32nd edition of the America's Cup, which begins in Valencia in 2007. The three-year partnership will see the group provide its custom-made clothing and footwear to the entire BMW Oracle team, while a range of luggage and apparel will be given to the shore crew and administrative staff. In addition, a special line of clothing will also be available in retail shops throughout Europe from March 2005 onwards. - www.bmworacleracing.com * The Sonar crew, based in St. Petersburg, and other Paralympic and Olympic athletes will meet the president and his wife on Monday. Fresh from winning international glory in Greece, athletes anchored in St. Petersburg sail into the White House Monday to meet President Bush. The president and Laura Bush will appear at a reception honoring U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes, including the four-member Paralympic team that won a bronze medal for sailing. - St. Petersburg Times, http://tinyurl.com/3kns8 * Stefano Polti's Mintaka (ITA) has won the 20-boat Swan 45 Gold Cup in Capri, Italy - the class' first World Champion. Polti's fifth place finish in the last raced moved him ahead of Marco Salvi and Alberto Signorini's Vertigo (GBR), which finished 20th - moving them off the top of the leaderboard into second overall, three points behind Mintaka. Tom Stark's Rush (USA) finished second place in the final race to nail down third place in the regatta. The next class world championship will be in Key West in January, 2006. www.nautorswan.com/goldcup/ * It took a three hour helicopter-shoot to capture the amazing Jon Nash images of Alex Thompson's Open 60 'Hugo Boss' that we've just posted on our website. The boat often peaked at 25 knots during the spectacle as Alex sent his boat into huge waves in winds of 35 -40 knots. Take a peak: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/hugoboss/ * Royal Vancouver Yacht Club in British Columbia was host to 31 boats for the Martin 242 Penfolds North American Championships. Sixteen-foot tides created interesting currents which, when combined with the offshore easterly winds and over a dozen anchored freighters, gave the sailors more than enough to think about as they picked their way around English Bay. Panique, helmed by Athens Star silver medallist Ross MacDonald and crew Dave Higgs, Bob Neil and Pierre Parkinson narrowly won the event over Mike George and his team aboard 9 Lives. Third place went to 2003 M242 NA winner Todd Pearce. www.royalvan.com/racing_details.asp?ID=38 * Pictures have now been posted on the Scuttlebutt website of Dennis Conner's magnificently restored, 49-foot wooden "Q" boat, Cotton Blossom II. Designed in 1924 by Johan Anker, the leading "Q" Boat designer of the time, and built at the Jensen Shipyard near Oslo, Norway, Conner was able to obtain the original plans from the maritime museum in Oslo for the project. www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/cottonblossom/ * The city of Gandia has become a new sponsor for the French K-Challenge America's Cup syndicate. "In our opinion, the fact that the K-Challenge has decided to install its base in our city represents a magnificent opportunity for our tourist industry in general and nautical tourism in particular," said José Manuel Orengo, Mayor of Gandia. K-Challenge will offer marketing and communication rights to the city as a Licensed Partner until 2007, to develop its notoriety and promote its image, develop its partners network, animate the life of the city, attract companies and tourists. www.k-challenge.org FIGAWI FOUL WEATHER BOOT BEATS WINTER BLUES If it's ice and snow, it's H20, and no one knows frozen or flowing water better than the inventor of the boat shoe, Sperry Top-Sider. This winter, keep your feet warm, dry and planted firmly on the ground with Sperry Top-Sider's new Figawi Foul Weather Boot. Featuring wave-siped rubber outsoles for wet or dry traction, seam-sealed construction, nubuck uppers, and toasty sherling linings, the Figawi boot is engineered to perform in the teeth of a squall or in the face of a mud-soaked city street. Available in brown/sherling or charcoal/gold. Visit http://www.sperrytopsider.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 not 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.) * From Ron Holland: I was impressed to read (Scuttlebutt 1689) of the speed potential of the new Volvo Ocean 70 designs. Too bad not many yachts will be competing. The reason there are going to be so few starters is directly related to cost. I understood after the last race reducing costs was considered a priority. Clearly this new generation of yachts is going to be very expensive. I contend the sponsors don't care about the speeds these yachts can achieve. They are going to be involved on a cost to compete : promotion ratio. The designers and sailors may be excited about canard foils and canting keels, but I believe sponsors don't care about these technical details. Without the sponsors seeing real value, this race is never going to fulfill its potential in having larger fleets and greater public awareness. * From Enrico Ferrari I have had an opportunity to view the www.kiteship.com website and I am amazed at the concept. How soon before this new sail goes through the fleet and leaves the rest of us behind? It looks as if the control lines are about 150' or longer! The leeward mark roundings might be even more fun than they are now if we had a fleet flying these things. * From Jeff Johnstone, J Boats: In 1980, the J/24 Class and J Boats received three reports of known sinkings. The next J/24 Magazine (March 1981) covered the details of each incident, the recommended safety precautions, stability studies, permitted boat modifications, spec changes etc. In these cases, and most cases sited since (including Quicksilver in Seattle) the primary cause was flooding of an aft cockpit locker (when an unsecured lid opened) or the main companionway after a broach in heavy air. The #1 safety precaution published then, repeated since, and highlighted in Steve Johnson's account is: When sailing in rough weather, be sure that all deck openings are secured. This is an essential safety precaution for keelboats with enclosed interiors. Having its origins in the Off Soundings and MORC Rule of the 1970s (which followed ORC guidelines), the J/24 was built to meet those safety requirements including lifelines, pulpits, self-bailing cockpit, securable deck openings. Class equipment followed suit, mandating items such as life ring/drogue, pump/bucket, first aid, fire extinguisher, hacksaw, engine, securing of heavy items below, etc. But as we've unfortunately learned, mandating equipment is only a start. We can never let up in the pursuit of educating all sailors about the importance of taking a pro-active role in their own safety, and that of everyone aboard; not to mention helping a fellow competitor, as was so commendably done in Seattle. The recommendations published in the 1981 J/24 Magazine are as valid then as they are today. To see a reprint, we've posted the following link: http://www.jboats.com/think%20safety.pdf * From Dan Tucker: I raced J/24's pretty competitively on a regional basis for some time. I've only seen one sinking, and I happened to be on board. We were racing USA 2246 in pretty tough conditions (cold, rain, 30ish knots, with higher shifty gusts on a mountain lake). We death rolled the boat twice at the same spot in the course due to a geographic shift and gust well over 35 knots. We were leading the race when we turtled the boat during the 2nd broach. We were so determined to go to the J/24 Worlds that we never stopped racing, just righted the boat. We'd heard the stories about sinking J/24s, so the hatches were secured, but the companionway washboard was not in place... Crew were all fine, but all the skipper could say while were in the water was, "I can't believe we sank the f*#%ing boat!" The boat was recovered and still races. Turtle any keelboat with a cabin and it's highly likely to sink. Properly buttoned up, a J/24 is no more susceptible to sinking than any other keelboat. I've seen people button them up and intentionally capsize the boat to retrieve a lost halyard. There are just more of them, so you hear about it more. A planing spinnaker run in a J/24 is just a rush. I still love it! BTW, we still finished the regatta 7th, with a DNF -Did Not Float * From Charles J. Doane: I don't go back as far as Bob Johnstone and Guy Gurney, but I was reading sailing mags back in the '70s and have worked on staff at three different mags since the mid-80s and have freelanced for several others. Like Guy, I could tell more than a few stories about times I have been stifled as a writer by publishers and editors worried about reactions from advertisers, most particularly boatbuilders. I know for a fact that some builders have raised an enormous hue and cry behind the scenes when boats they build receive anything less than absolutely positive press. Many other builders, I am sure, believe the mags should play it straight. The fact is, both because they fear reactions from those advertisers who do complain, and because the sailing industry is quite small and there is a natural tendency not to want to ruffle feathers within "the family," so to speak, publishers and editors do a very effective job of censoring themselves. Advertisers who are truly concerned with seeing that the sailing public gets straight dope in the magazines they buy should make clear to publishers how they feel and should insist they not receive special treatment. As for the readers, if they really want the straight dope, they need to be willing to pay more for the magazines. Heavily discounted subscription prices give advertisers all the economic clout. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS When people say "It's not the money, it's the principle," you must realize that the principle is that they never let anyone screw them over for the money. |
