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SCUTTLEBUTT 2342 – May 11, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (Tucker Thompson is in Valencia, Spain, and is part of the Versus television team of commentators providing coverage of the America's Cup. Thompson will be filing reports for Scuttlebutt through the end of the 32nd America's Cup Finals, providing his unique behind-the-scenes perspective.) Sailing needs the America’s Cup. There are those who do not like the event, and it is easy to criticize from their homes and offices about sometimes boring races, slow boats, exorbitant budgets, and giant egos. And these are the people who love sailing just as much as the rest of us. But most of us can only relate to what we know. So if it seems there is too much money being spent on carbon fiber giants being followed by frenzied media and captained by the super wealthy than it is fair to say that most will see much more personal reward on a good beat to windward aboard their own boat at home. That is fair enough, but I would hasten to bet that the America’s Cup critics are for the most part very likely to be those who have not had the pleasure of seeing this spectacle in all of its grandeur first hand. I had not seen it either. Something magical takes place, however, when you first walk through the Port America’s Cup gates and see these floating titans first hand. You can feel the energy of the crew, and it resonates through the vast crowds. The impressive bases line the waterfront in orderly fashion. The Cup village is a virtual sailing city. You pass multitudes of sailing themed restaurants and bars and stores with little brands like Prada and Louis Vuitton and all sorts of America’s Cup memorabilia. It’s hard not to be awed by the history of this event when you see the model exhibit of all 31 previous Cup winners and photos of sailing’s most respected legends. Then you come to a towering building that seems to stretch towards the sea, and there on the second floor in the middle of a crowd sits the 156 year old Cup itself. You can’t help but be impressed, and you haven’t even seen the sailing yet! -- Complete report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/t2p GOING FORWARD Racing in the Semi-Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup begins on Monday, May 14th. The first team in each pairing to win five points (one point per win) will advance to the Final. The pairings are: 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) vs. 4. Desafío Español 2007 (ESP) 2. BMW Oracle Racing (USA) vs. 3. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) As for the 7 eliminated challengers, here’s an update: * 5th Place - Victory Challenge (SWE): Says Skipper Magnus Holmberg, “It’s definitely the intention to continue but we don’t know at this stage, and plenty of work has to be done. I think we have pretty good hopes of looking forward to another challenge.” -- http://tinyurl.com/2smovh * 6th Place - 6. Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia (ITA): Status unknown * 7th Place - Team Shosholoza (RSA): Captain Sarno has already spoken of a second two-boat campaign for Team Shosholoza. However a formal announcement will only be made following the outcome of the America’s Cup match in July. -- Sail World, complete story: http://tinyurl.com/37dc3m * 8th Place - Areva Challenge: Stéphane Kandler, CEO of AREVA Challenge, takes stock of five years of preparation for this America's Cup and announces that the French project will start with an analysis of this first campaign and continue the work that this young team started. -- BYM News, complete story: http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=8291 * 9th Place - +39 Challenge (ITA): Unlikely * 10th Place - United Internet Team Germany (GER): The first ever German challenger to sail at the America’s Cup has said it intends to move forward and begin building a new boat. However, skipper Jesper Bank has resigned from the team after winning just two of 20 matches at the Louis Vuitton Cup. -- http://tinyurl.com/3y8v4d * 11th Place - China Team (CHN): Say Skipper Pierre Mas, “The work starts today for that, a good positive sign that the team will continue for the 33rd America’s Cup, but before that another goal is to develop sailing in China and we have plans over the next month to start activities in China.” -- http://tinyurl.com/2soj4f PAYBACK TIME Underdogs Desafio Espanol thanked Team New Zealand for choosing them as opponents in the America's Cup challengers' yachting semifinals beginning off Valencia next week. The Spaniards lost both their Louis Vuitton Cup round-robin meetings with Team NZ and skipper Karol Jablonski was pleased to get the chance for revenge over counterpart Dean Barker. "Dean made the right choice," he said. "It gives us the chance to pay them back, so thank you now choosing us. It's great for us to race New Zealand. We are really looking forward to it." However, the Pole was realistic about Desafio's chances of producing what would be a big upset in the best-of-nine-race contest beginning on Tuesday (NZT). They go in having lost their last three races and as the bottom-ranked of the four qualifiers. "We are working on a few specific things to make the boat a bit faster and also on our strategy," Jablonski said. "But what you haven't done in 2-1/2 years, you're not going to do in the next two days." Team NZ were given the right of selecting their opponents after they finished the double round-robin phase top of the standings. -- NZ Herald, full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/event/story.cfm?c_id=531&objectid=10438936 J/65 VIDEO TOUR JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Inc. invites you to take a personal tour of the J/65 “Brand New Day” from the comfort of your own chair! Take a video tour and see for yourself the flagship for J Boats, "Brand New Day", the 65-foot custom luxury racer/ cruiser that is currently for sale in San Diego, CA. Don't miss your chance to step aboard a truly a one-of-a-kind sailing yacht. Call Jeff Brown at 619.224.6200 for more information on this and other listings, and visit ”Brand New Day” by clicking on http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7922479841303055047&q=j65&hl=en AGELESS ULLMAN Santa Cruz, CA (May 10, 2007) - SANTA CRUZ, Calif.---At 61, Dave Ullman has discovered the secret of sailing longevity: one win a day keeps the younger dudes away. At least he is making it look that easy in the 2007 Fullpower Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by the Santa Cruz Yacht Club. With a first and fifth Thursday and tossing his 18 from the first race Tuesday, Ullman, of Santa Ana, Calif., leapfrogged three rivals to assume first place by four points over Brian Porter, Winnetka, Ill. Next are defending champion Nicola Celon of Italy and France’s Francois Brenac, who discarded his 59-point disqualification for an early start that cost him a win Wednesday. They all say they love the breeze, and it was close to its Monterey Bay best at a peak of 22 knots, with gusts to 24, that roiled the sea and separated the elite from the bottom half of the 58-boat fleet. Ullman’s real secret, he said, was that “we had trained here for two weeks, almost every day, in more wind than this . . . 30 knots, which is almost too much for sailing. But that’s what you do when you sail for Philippe Kahn and Team Pegasus.” Otherwise, Ullman said, “I go to the gym a lot. At my age, just to be able to get around the course is something.” Friday’s forecast is for more moderate conditions, with racing continuing through Saturday. -- Complete story: http://www.melges24.com/displayarticles.asp?year=2007&id=1208 Preliminary Results (After 6 of 10 races; 58 boats) 1. Pegasus 505, David Ullman (USA), (18)-1-1-11-1-5, 19 points 2. Full Throttle, Brian Porter (USA), 3-5-3-5-(8)-7, 23 3. Bete Bossini, Amadori Ezio (ITA), 4-2-(16)-2-14-4, 26 4. EFG/GroupPartouche, Benjamin Cohen (FRA), 2-4-8-(OCS)-10-3, 27 5. Pegasus 575 , Mark Christensen (USA), (16)-3-2-8-5-13, 31 6. (C) Gannet, Othmar Mueller von Blumencron (USA), 6-9-(23)-4-4-9, 32 7. Team Barbarians, Stuart Simpson (GBR), 14-12-6-1-2-(DNF), 35 8. Altea, Andrea Racchelli (ITA), 13-10-4-(15)-6-8, 41 9. Joe Fly, Giovanni Maspero (ITA), (28)-24-9-6-3-1, 43 10. West Marine Rigging, Chris Larson (USA), 12-8-7-(ZFP)-15-6, 48 C---Corinthian. Complete results: http://www.scyc.org/melges24/rr/race-series.html BOOK REVIEW: BEYOND ENDURANCE The Curmudgeon is a sucker for a good sailing yarn, and I've just finished reading a very enjoyable one. Canadian journalist Adams Mayers' new book, "Beyond Endurance -- 300 boats, 600 miles, and one Deadly Storm" -- looks at the 1979 Fastnet Race disaster as seen through the eyes of the Canadian Admiral's Cup team. Although this historic event took place more than a quarter of a century ago, it stands out as one of the worst tragedies to ever befall an ocean race, and it forever changed many concepts and regulations dealing with offshore safety. Fifteen competitors died, some 24 boats were abandoned and 136 sailors were rescued from the perils of a Force 10 storm. Although Mayers does not speak with the authority of a John Rousmaniere, Rob Mundle or Bruce Knecht, he does a very good job of recreating the drama, the emotion … and the personal feelings of some of the competitors in this deadly ocean race. Forever an editor, the Curmudgeon did find a few typos and minor inaccuracies in the book, but nothing that would diminish the pleasure of an exciting and emotional read about this memorable milestone in ocean racing history - and the lives and feelings of those who were there. -- http://tinyurl.com/3bnk4v BRUSCHETTA BOY (Brazilian Mauricio Santa Cruz, who is a past J/24 and Snipe World Champion, won another J/24 Worlds this past March, and has been profiled on the North Sails website. Here are a few excerpts.) * On sailing the Worlds in Mexico: “The Mexican World J/24 Championship was very well organized. I could say that it was the most organized championship I participated in my life. In relation to the weather conditions, the winds ranged between 4 and 12 knots and as long as the land temperature was hot, it created an “air ball” so the sea breeze had difficultly filling in. We had to keep our attention on both right and left sides to try to find where the sea breeze was getting in. This made the starts very complicated…the winds were instable and the race committee got lost some times.” * On planning for the final day: “On the last day we arrived with a very good ranking and it was only necessary to get 20 places behind Chris Snow – whose boat was on the second place – and 30 places behind the guy who was at the third place.During the dinner on the day before, we talked about every detail. Some minutes before the last day regatta started we talked about which side we were going to choose. We chose the right side where the winds were much stronger. On the first upwind we were very fast and had two choices either keep doing our own race and try to turn the mark between the top five or keep following our main competitors so as disturb them in their ways. So...as long as we had a very good ranking we chose the second option so we were sure that any bad surprise would happen with us.” * On using your trademark black spinnaker: “It is funny and it might be a superstition, but when the winds are light and the days are hot it seems that the black spinnaker works better. Since the beginning our first spinnaker was black because this cloth color was the only one that they had in the Brazil loft. Now I say the black spinnaker is our mark. Everyone recognizes us because of it!” -- Complete interview: http://www.onedesign.com/class/j24/j24_whatsnew.html#53 THE GEAR OF SAILORS Whether you’re racing, cruising, or at the bar after a day on the water, you need to be in the gear of sailors - the Mount Gay Rum line of apparel and sundries offered by The Pirate’s Lair. You’ll find moisture wicking items as well as the new "half-price" inshore foulie jacket, all with the Mount Gay Rum logo. Personalize your Mount Gay Rum items with your boat name or sail number. Look for the calendar of Mount Gay Rum sponsored regattas at mountgay.com, and visit The Pirate’s Lair to view and purchase all your Mount Gay Rum gear. Call 888-SAIL-BUM or http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing SAILING SHORTS * This week’s Volvo Sailing Podcast chats with Canada's Curtis Blewitt from the Alinghi team, where he tells about the waiting for the challenger to emerge and what makes an America's Cup sailor. Additionally, the Shosholoza Team checks in as the first South African campaign comes to a close in Valencia, and American tactician Dee Smith discusses his work in the Cup and his plans for the future. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org/podcast * Twenty high school sailing teams from across the country are set to arrive and compete Saturday and Sunday in the waters off Long Beach, CA for the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA) National High School Doublehanded Championship and the Mallory Trophy, hosted by the United States Sailing Center. The event will be sailed in Vanguard CFJ’s, with teams representing New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Southeast, Mid-West, Northwest and the Pacific Coast states. -- http://www.ussclb.org * After spending two days heading northwards to repair damaged rigging on his 102ft catamaran Doha, British round the world yachtsman Tony Bullimore resumed an easterly course towards Cape Horn overnight to continue in the Blue Ocean Wireless Round the World Challenge. The weather prediction is for the winds to back and increase to 30-35knots later Thursday. Another surge of N to NNW wind will reach Doha on May 11, but that will not be as strong and won't last as long. -- http://www.teambullimore.com * A Swiss crew has sailed a solar-powered catamaran Sun 21 across the Atlantic. They claim that it is the first motorized vessel to cross the Atlantic without oil or steam power. -- http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070410161817pbogeneral.html * (Raleigh, N.C) Coast Guard crews are now in their fourth day of searching for a missing sailboat and its four crew members from Rhode Island. They sent a distress signal early Monday morning during violent seas off the southern North Carolina coast. Officials said the experienced crew on the missing sailboat includes Patrick Topping, 39; Jason Franks, 34; Rhiannon Borisoff, 22; and Christine Grinavic, 26. All four have Rhode Island addresses, said Petty Officer Kip Wadlow, a spokesman for the Coast Guard. -- http://wbztv.com/local/local_story_130112421.html LOCAL CHEERLEADERS Scuttlebutt is asking the ‘buttheads to help compile a list of their local cheerleaders. When sailing thrives on the local level, it is due to the efforts of those individuals who go "above and beyond." The purpose of this thread is to give them the recognition they deserve, and so far the list includes Sandi Svoboda (Detroit, MI), Kim Woodhouse (Newport, RI), Don Finkle (Youngstown, NY), and Joe Cooper (Newport, RI). Who are your local cheerleaders? Submit your nominee on the Guest Forum (no log-in required): http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4777#4777 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: May 12 - 52nd Annual Edlu Distance Race - Larchmont, NY, USA May 12-13 - Melges 17 Spring Championship - Lake Geneva, WI, USA May 14-25 - Louis Vuitton Cup (Semi Finals) - Valencia, Spain May 15-19 - Congressional Cup - Long Beach, CA, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Pat Healy: Jettisoned spinnakers -- A similar situation also happened at the 1995 Louis Vuitton Cup and led to one of the more memorial comments from that series. After France 3 sailed into Rioja de Espana's spinnaker after it had been cut away after a bad douse, skipper Marc Pajot was asked what happened. "Spain had a small problem," he answered. "And they gave it to us." * From Scott Grayson, New Zealand: Are you serious about Oracle purposely letting ETNZ win! They had there assess kicked by a team who sailed better on the day; either Oracle's weather team chose the wrong side of the course or their tactician did the same - either way they were out sailed. At this level of the game, no one can play those games (they are not that good)! Now they have Prada to deal with and James Spithill is no slouch – beware! * From Allan Reid, New Zealand: BMW Oracle throw away the right to choose their semi-final opponent? Yeah right!!! Surely this would not be in Chris Dickson's psyche. Beaten by tactics, I say. Just another one-eyed Kiwi view perhaps? Well, consider this. There are more Kiwis crewing the BMW Oracle yacht than aboard Emirates Team New Zealand - and more Americans on ETNZ than on BMW Oracle!! * From Geoffrey Phillips, Sydney, Australia: The top three Louis Vuitton contenders have already achieved an advanced state of battle readiness and of far more importance would be to gain some time for crew recuperation and opportunity to finesse the boat/ rig/ sail configurations before the challenger finals. Team NZ may well be able to win their semi final series against Desafo Espanol without having to sail nine races while Oracle BMW may have to fight longer and harder to dismiss Luna Rossa - and vice versa. The Kiwis are surely very pleased with their position at this time. * From Robert Thuss: I agree that the results of the recent Scuttlebutt poll regarding the sporting interest of its readers provided a surprise, but not a good one. Presumably 100% of Scuttlebutt readers are sailors, so if only 55% are following the America’s Cup Louis Vuitton Challenger series most closely over the past week, what does that say about the general population? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION You know you live in the 21st century when you start tilting your head sideways to smile. : ) Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises and Mount Gay Rum Gear. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
