SCUTTLEBUTT #756 - February 20, 2001

Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk... with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome. Send them to scuttlebutt@boats.com.

THE RACE
Club Med continues to stretch out its lead over second place Innovation Explorer. With just under 4000 miles to go, Grant Dalton and his crew have an insurmountable lead of over 1000 miles. Barring a catastrophe, Club Med will finish days ahead of Peyron and crew. Club Med is about to cross the equator and "turn the map over".

Dalton had this to say: "It must be frustrating for Innovation Explorer. They have sailed a really good race so far. They are not out of the woods down there at all. They have had to tack back and forth a few times trying to extract themselves from their situation. They are probably suffering with their broken daggerboard at the moment. Going upwind without the full span is not good for boatspeed. But I think our lead of 1000 miles now is more significant than when we had this distance in the South. Down there, 1000 miles sometimes represented just two days in a straight line. Here it is 1000 miles closer to the finish through several complex weather systems, systems where you cannot sail directly at the mark. So for them these are tough miles to win back, hard yards."

Cam Lewis and Team Adventure are gaining on Warta Polpharma in the Southern Ocean, they put in a 540 mile day yesterday. The two boats are on either side of a strong depression that has winds of over 60 knots at its center. Team Legato is in port in Wellington and will restart tomorrow.

1.Club Med / distance to finish 3771.5 miles 2.Innovation Explorer / distance to leader 1071.4 miles 3.Warta Polpharma / dtl 6686.2 miles 4.TeamAdventure / dtl 7015.0 miles 5.Team Legato / dtl 7545.6 miles Official site: www.therace.org

VENDEE GLOBE: WHIRLPOOL DISMASTED, THIERCELIN FINISHES
Whirlpool was sailing upwind in 20 knots of wind from the North East, heading 97 degrees on port tack, when the Open 60, skippered by Catherine Chabaud, dismasted at 0235hrs French time on Tuesday morning.

After calling her shore team, Catherine undertook the painstaking operation to cut away the rig and clear the debris from the deck, to limit any further damage to the hull. The greatest danger in this situation is that the mast could perforate the hull, knocking against the side of the boat while it remains attached via the rigging. This took 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete. No spar was saved in the process, and the lifelines and stanchions on the starboard side, as well as the antenna holder at the stern, which contains the antenna for the Argos beacon, were ripped off. Whirlpool was at 42.41 North and 13.27 West and was drifting at 3 knots on a heading of 230 in 25 knots of wind.

Catherine Chabaud decided to start her motor at 0516hrs and thus declared herself to be outside the race rankings from that point.

Situated at 250 miles from Vigo, the Spanish port, she has 90 litres of fuel, which will only get her between 60 - 100 miles, depending on the sea state, nearer to land. Not having the means herself to get into port, her shore team is doing everything in their power to assist her. -- Source: Hickory Sports

Marc Thiercelin (Active Wear) crossed the finish line of the Vendee Globe in 4th position at 1248 hrs and 49 seconds.

The French skipper has spent 102 days, 20 hours, 37 minutes and 49 seconds at sea. His elapsed time after winner Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) is 9 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 17 seconds.

He remarked: "The rookies got to the podium, good on them. It's one heck of a race, and I'll try to recount it all bit by bit. The last stage was interminable. Whatever direction I headed in, the wind was always on the nose. My first circumnavigation was idyllic, just pure fun. I have lasting impressions from it still. The second was very tough. The third testing, tactical. The guys ahead got all the breaks, but not those behind."
Event site: www.vendeeglobe.com

COLD WATER SAILING
Right now is the time for small boat sailors to get ready for the spring sailing that will soon be here. At the top of your list should be Camet 2001 neoprene hiking pants. The Heavy Cordura padding covers the reinforced battens that have been designed for effective hiking Don't forget to check out the Kiwi ² length Hiking pants, they protect your knees and keep you warm. Either will help you hike longer and harder ... while they keep your little buns warm. Check out all the performance apparel on:
http://www.camet.com

NORTH AMERICAN SAILING INDUSTRY STUDY
Findings released from the North American Sailing Industry Study, an annual survey of sailboat builders in the United States and Canada, reveal a 5% unit increase in sailboat production in 2000 and a 26% rise in estimated retail value, compared to 1999 figures.

The results of this study were released on February 16 to the marine industry at a breakfast presentation held during the Miami (Fla.) International Boat Show. The North American Sailing Industry Study is produced by The Sailing Company (Newport, R.I.), publishers of Cruising World and Sailing World magazines.

The size range that accounted for the most growth were the 20- to 35-foot boats (up by 15%). However, boats under 19 feet still occupy the largest share of the sailboat marketplace; in 2000, these smaller boats accounted for 79% of the market.

Compared to 1999 figures, a total of 995 more boats were produced in 2000, which brings the overall number of units for last year to 22,164 boats. -- Cynthia Goss
Full story: http://www.boats.com/content/default_detail.jsp?contentid=12840

SEATTLE TO KEY WEST AND EVERYWHERE IN BETWEEN
People from every corner of the US are realizing the benefits of owning a Protector Cabin RIB. Not only do they make great tenders for race boats but they are also being used for commuting, spectating, fishing, picnic boating, sea kayaking, camping and more. Now you have a chance to see these boats first hand. We will be at Key West Race Week and the Seattle Boat Show all this week so come by at check out what everyone is raving about. If you cannot make it, go to www.protectorusa.com or call 877.664.BOAT

ST. PETERSBURG NOOD
Wind direction at the St. Petersburg Sailing World NOOD, a three-day regatta held on Tampa Bay, may have been changeable and unpredictable; still, there was one steadying wave at this event. The breeze clocked around the compass rose throughout the weekend, but players who have populated the winners' circle in past years sailed steady courses back to their first-place positions. Five skippers successfully defended their wins from the 2000 St. Petersburg NOOD.

The Sailing World NOOD (National Offshore One-Design) regatta was hosted by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, February 16-18. A total of 126 boats, with crews from 21 states and Canada, competed in eleven classes. This Tampa Bay event opens the 2001 season for the NOOD's nine-event national racing circuit.

Eleven classes completed 8 to 11 individual races during the three-day event. Winds on the opening day of racing started at approximately 10 knots from the southeast, followed by an afternoon seabreeze. On Day 2, the fleet started racing in a 12-knot southerly. But velocity was up and down and direction was left and right as a weak cold front moved across the Bay; under black skies, sailors saw an abrupt windshift to the west, followed by a northerly breeze. On the final day of racing, a 15-knot northeasterly blew, bringing a challenging, steep chop to all race courses.
Full results are posted at http://www.sailingworld.com/nood/

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
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. PLEASE NOTE: For the next two weeks, send your emails to scuttlebutt@boats.com, Tom is off sailing until Feb. 27.

*From Aaron Kuriloff <akuriloff@timespicayune.com>
I'd like to second your complaints about regatta organizers and the media. I'm a sports writer at the New Orleans paper, and even during the Olympic trials, it was near impossible to get daily scores in a prompt and efficient manner. I like sailing, and I'd have liked to see those results in the paper, but how many people am I supposed to call at 8 p.m. to get a few lines of agate? Covering sailing quickly becomes more trouble than it's worth. Reporters will work to get information about the NFL, for example, because millions of readers care and millions of dollars are at stake. As a result, they will not work to get information about sailing, because it draws few readers and little is at stake. There's more prize money in your local bass tournament, greater interest in motorcross and more participants in every weekend 5K fun run.

* From Rich Roberts <richroberts@compuserve.com>
It's always amazed me that for all the high-powered movers and shakers involved in sailing, the sport hardly has a clue about how to promote itself. With the boom of mainstream sports on TV and in major media, sailing is a very tough sell. But it does have a hardcore following that will search it out on the Internet and in specialty publications -- if it's offered there. The challenge is, with that limited exposure, to make it worthwhile to sponsors. Quokka tried hard but didn't have the answer, either. Perhaps the answer lies in those captains of industry contributing their expertise, if not their capital, to support the sport they enjoy.

* From Kimball Livingston <sailmag@pacbell.net>
Some (certainly not all) race committees louse up the job of posting results for the public and the press, or they forget to do the job entirely. At times it's because the alleged press officer hits the bar along with everybody else. But I think much more often it's because the ethic of getting out the results is not built into race committee training. It's pretty hard running good races -- a quality race officer is just as alert, minute by minute, as any sailor on the course -- and the job can get even harder when the boats hit the beach. Protests, discrepancies in the finish line tallies, a busted motor on a mark set boat needed for tomorrow...there are lots of ways things get hard. The race officer's first job is to stage a good competition for the sailors. Until that is assured, he/she cannot deal with postings. That's why the job needs a dedicated demon who will post provisional results if that's all there is. For 14 years I chased races on a daily deadline for a newspaper. My classic moment came one very late evening, standing close to a stressed out race officer who turned on me with his eyes bulging out and screamed, "Why do I have to give you the names of the people! I gave you the names of the boats! Don't you realize there wouldn't even have been a race without me!!!" Well, yes, I knew that.

GUEST EDITOR SPEAKS: I opened a nice can of worms yesterday with my comments about race organizers and the media. The letters above are from professional journalists. I now officially close this thread. Let's hope organizers and sponsors get the message. -- David McCreary

* From Bruce Vandeventer <Bruce.Vandeventer@PSS.Boeing.com>
With all the problems with shock damage and crew injuries in The Race, perhaps it is time to consider adding a suspension to these boats. Just as you wouldn't think about building an off-road car with no suspension, a boat travelling over a rough surface at the same speed would benefit by some mechanical isolation of the sea surface effects from the passengers and "engine" (rig). Although it would probably add weight it could also have a significant positive effect of reducing turbulent flow over the sails caused by the pitch and roll of the boat, as well as reducing variations in rig tension due to flex in the structure and mast. Is anyone aware as to whether this has been tried before?

* From Aaron Housten <alumhousten@iit.edu>
Regarding Geoffrey Emanuel's comment, I think there are probably many reasons for quitting US Sailing (see almost any previous version of Scuttlebutt for one of those) but, in the case of the "must be a member of..." to race, it is my understanding that, for once, US Sailing can be held blameless. I am pretty sure that the US contingent was strongly against introducing this new requirement to the ISAF rules.

* From Winship Story <winns@mindspring.com> Having read with interest the discussions regarding the new starting system, my general feeling was leaning to the negative....if it ain't broke don't fix it. However, we just returned from the NOOD's at St. Pete and they used the new system along with some appreciated prompting via VHF. My opinion is they did a great job, and in spite of my own prejudice, the new system works very well and is easy to follow. When my turn comes to be on the RC it will take some more getting used to but i will probably like it from that perspective as well.

THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
The only time the world beats a path to your door is if you're in the bathroom.