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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 1044 - April 8, 2002Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
NEW BOATS As the first carbon laminate is placed on the mould for each new ACC boat a new sail number is issued. All ten Louis Vuitton Cup syndicates have been issued with at least one new sail number, several with two. So far the defender, Team New Zealand, has none, although it of course doesn't need new boats until a bit later. GBR Challenge has recently announced that it will build a second new boat, but will not take it to New Zealand. This is not as strange as it sounds as the British Team will benefit, after the next Cup, from possessing two identical, latest generation boats with which to start training for the 32nd America's Cup. Just recently Team Dennis Conner was issued with a second new sail number for this Cup, putting away any thoughts that this syndicate was short of funding. Germany's Illbruck Challenge has a new boat three-quarters finished but is currently in a state of suspended animation whilst the short-term future of Germany's first challenge is decided. '- Louis Vuitton Cup website, full story: www.lvcup.com
TESTING THE TACTICIANS John Kostecki's illbruck has consistently profited from her ability to sustain high speed with few problems; however it took the team three days to get back up to the front of the fleet after the collision with SEB at the start of leg five. Leg six is 875 miles short and is likely to take that same number of days - three - to complete and mistakes will incur heavy costs. With this in mind teams are going to have to take a strategically different view. Assuming no-one on the illbruck crew falls ill or gets injured before this next leg, second navigator Ian Moore will be rejoining the team in place of Australian Noel Drennan. Kostecki's team has always insisted they have a crew of 13; they are simply unable to sail with all 13 and so have to make the decision when to sail with either Moore or Drennan. The tactical battle likely to take place on this next leg has therefore prompted the team to beef up their afterguard. - John Greenland, Volvo Ocean Race website, full story: www.volvooceanrace.org
APEN MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD?
MORE AMERICA'S CUP * In the May issue of Sailing World magazine, Ian Walker was asked about his expectations for the GBR Challenge's America's Cup campaign. Here's his reply: "That's the hardest question to answer, and it's the question that everybody asks, 'How do you think you're going to do?' You can't say, 'We're not going to win,' because nobody wants to enter thinking they don't have a chance. But history suggests that it's a tough event. Every time we make progress and achieve our goals with our team, we feel more comfortable that we'll be competitive." - www.sailingworld.com/sw_article.php?articleID=780 * Team New Zealand members were in Timaru on Sunday as part of a nationwide build up to the 2003 America's Cup. Local sailors from throughout New Zealand were invited to race against a crew from TNZ in a series of regional regattas. It was all smooth sailing, despite an early southerly wind threatening its cancellation. Timaru Yacht and Power Boat Club commodore and race officer Les Baker said he was more than happy with how the day went. "When I woke up I wondered if we would get a regatta at all but once the screaming southerly died down we had ideal sailing conditions, " Mr Baker said. As expected, the TNZ crew won five from five races. - Sarah Jarvis, Stuff NZ website, full story: www.stuff.co.nz * Formula 1 and the America's Cup have a lot in common: in terms of sponsors, money, technology, attitudes and the egos of the big players. There are lots of crossovers, not least in the marketing where a company called "Travel and More" is applying some F1 ideas in the world of sailing. This is run by Tom Ehman, who was in charge of West's sponsorship of McLaren in the early days and nowadays runs a quietly successful VIP entertainment company in F1 circles, looking after the big cheeses, booking flights, getting the best hotels and delivering the VIPs to the door of the Paddock Club. Ehman is now trying to do for the America's Cup what Allsport Management has done for F1. The "Paddock Club" will be replaced by "The Base Club" but the concept is the same - giving VIP guests a good time around the racing scene with the sponsors paying for it. - Grand Prix.com website, full story: www.grandprix.com/gt/gt00215
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Bob Fisher: As you recall the repeat digit America's sail numbers that Dennis Conner has had, don't forget he also had sail number 11.
AROUND ALONE The stop over will coincide with the major holiday season in NZ and so thousands of spectators are expected to watch the arrivals, estimated from the 28th December 2002. The dramatic restart to the second Southern Ocean leg is scheduled for 26th January 2003. The dates also coincide with the lay over period just before the America's Cup finals start, and so Around Alone & Tauranga will have the benefit of the world's media on their doorstep. - Mary Ambler, www.aroundalone.com
HEY OCKAM WHAT ABOUT ME?
TROPHEE JULES VERNE "The boat is now lightened by about a ton and a half of food and fuel consumed. She is more manoeuvrable and easier to position on the waves." The weather is damp and the warm front brought along its batch of clouds and some precipitation. Orange is once again heading back down towards the deep south. They must seek a passage between the highs that are lazily camping between 50 and 60 degrees south. - www.maxicatamaran-orange.com
QUOTE / UNQUOTE "Racing at Key West (Race Week) is like giving blood. At home you think you're the best. Here, you find there's no filler in the fleet because nobody travels 2000 miles with their boat just for fun - they're serious." - Ron Levine, from a story in Sailing World magazine, www.sailingworld.com "I think illbruck's key is they're incredibly well polished. They know their sails, they know their angles, they don't get too flapped about other people. They get on with their own thing and up until now they've been able to slowly sail away from people. I don't think there's been a leg where they've been ahead at the start. They've just not taken too many risks, they've stayed in the middle of the road and sailed cool and eventually they get round people and slowly get ahead. Hopefully the rest of us are catching up with them and that won't happen anymore or as much". - Neal McDonald, skipper Assa Abloy, madforsailing website, full story: www.madforsailing.com
KEEPERS
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
LASER MASTER US NATIONALS
MELGES 24 NAs
HEAVY DUTY Evening talks were presented by Ken Read and Peter Isler, helmsman and navigator, respectively, for Team Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes; Keith Kilpatrick, a Long Beach resident who survived a debilitating illness aboard Amer Sports One in the Southern Ocean during the Volvo Ocean Race, and Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin, who with Trevor Baylis won the 18 Foot Skiff international championship in Australia this year. After three days of intense instruction, the clinic climaxed with a Sunday regatta in light winds. - Rich Roberts, www.cisasailing.org
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