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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 658 - October 2, 2000OLYMPIC RACINGJesper BANK, Henrik BLAKSKJAER and Thomas JACOBSEN (DEN) snatched the Gold medal in the Soling's from the much-touted and three time Gold Medallist Jochen SCHUEMANN (GER). SCHUEMANN lost the 1st and 4th races right on the finish line, having to take a penalty turn which allowed BANK to get the gun by seconds and with the scores levelled 3-all, he again had penalty flag raised against him as the boats crossed the finish line in the deciding race, enabling BANK to take the gun. The Gold Medal is BANK's 3rd Olympic Medal, have previously taken a Gold in 1992 and Bronze in 1996 in the Soling Class. In the Bronze Medal deciding races between Roy HEINER (NED) and Herman Horn JOHANNESSON (NOR), with the first boat to score 3 points the medal holder, JOHANNESSON defeated HEINER 3-1. - ISAF website, http://www.sailing.org/olympics2000/soling/ GUEST EDITORIAL - Liv Sherwood The recent comments by Bob Fisher and Paul Henderson on the role of coaches on the Olympic race courses are interesting. In 1972, having been named Director of Racing for the 1976 Olympics at Kingston, Canada, I went to Kiel to observe the Olympic racing. The great Otto Schlenzka took me under his wing and I was able to study every aspect of the regatta. The advantages enjoyed by competitors with coach and support boats became obvious. They were towed quickly to the race area each day often riding in comfortable power boat seats while others steered their racing boat. Other competitors had a long tow behind slow diesel powered German boats and their smelly exhausts. All competitors had tide and current information and wind and weather forecasts several hours old. The ones with coaches had last minute forecasts and current measurements taken by the coach boats in areas of their race course up to the last minute. A German landing craft carried spare sails and gear for competitors on each course but the boat had to be got to and then the gear had to be found. The coached competitors had their spare sails and gear on their coach boat which could be alongside almost instantly and give advice on sail or gear changes. On one occasion I saw a coach stationed at the leeward mark change his jacket from a red to a green one twice. Coincidentally his competitor went right when the jacket was green and vice-versa. I do not think this was indicative of the morality of most coaches even then but it did happen. Today's coaches have adopted a high standard of ethics. I became convinced that the playing field itself should be level for all competitors on the race course. For the 1976 Olympic regatta we proposed that all coach boats be removed from the Olympic harbor before racing started and that they not be permitted in the racing area thereafter. A spectator boat for coaches and a spare gear boat would be provided for each course. Coaches would remain on the venue to coach and assist their competitors between races. This provoked a two year battle at the IYRU with the British in particular fighting to keep their coach boats which they used very fairly and effectively. Eventually the IYRU was persuaded that, while coaching should be encouraged in all countries, our proposal should be accepted in fairness to all competitors during the regatta. This was done at Kingston and worked well. Unfortunately at the 1988 Olympic regatta in Pusan we were in a country with little regatta experience. They carried out the regatta well in very difficult conditions but had to use small naval vessels for rescue purposes with personnel inexperienced in rescuing small sailboats. For safety reasons the coaches and their boats were added to the rescue team. They were very helpful in that regard and they have been back on the racecourse ever since. I do not believe that the problem is confined to the Olympics. It is occurring at some youth regattas as well. Children from small clubs competing without coach and support boats have left in tears because of the huge advantages enjoyed by other competitors who are nurse-maided to the course and given last minute help on sail selection, current, weather predictions, etc. The devotion of the coaches to their own youngsters is admirable and some generously help unsupported competitors at times but does it make for fair competition for all ? It is time to revisit the question both at the ISAF and national levels for the Olympics and other, particularly youth, events. - Liv Sherwood ANOTHER VIEWPOINT (Gary Jobson also talks about sailing coaches on the NBC Olympic website. Here's a brief excerpt.) Do coaches make a difference? It's interesting that Paul Henderson, International Sailing Federation president, is talking about eliminating coaches from the sailing venue. In fact, it looks a little silly out on the racecourse, where every country has a small rubber boat anchored to leeward of the starting line. But coaching is the lifeblood of all sports. Take a look at the fantastic job that Tommy Lasorda did with U. S. Olympic Baseball Team. They won a gold medal, defeating the incredibly polished Cuban national team. That probably wouldn't have happened if the Americans hadn't had a special coach. In any case, it's a topic that will be discussed thoroughly over the next couple of years. - Gary Jobson, NBC Olympic website, http://www.nbcolympics.com/
WELL DONE
Medals
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are 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. -- From Scott Ridgeway - Wouldn't it make sense to move the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year presentation from New York to the San Diego Yacht Club? It would certainly be much more convenient for the winners. -- From Sandy Purdon, SDYC Staff Commodore, - It is with great pride that 50% of the sailing Olympic medals (2 of 4) were won by San Diego Yacht Club members Mark Reynolds and J.J. Isler. Congratulations Team San Diego! Curmudgeon's comment: I appreciate your understandable pride commodore, but I know Mark and JJ would be the first ones to point out there were two people on each of the four USA medal winning boats. That's eight medals - not four - which puts the SDYC share at 25%. That's still pretty amazing - an accomplishment of which all SDYC members should be very proud. But let's not ignore the fact that Seattle YC also has two of their members coming home with medals from this Olympiad. -- From Roy Williams - A variation on two boat team racing that frequently provides much more interesting racing than the "two-on-two last boat loses" is the following: A team must have 1,2 to win. This can be set up by staggering the start - one boat from each team starts then 20 seconds later the other two start. (Or, if practicing, you can race all 4 boats to the windward mark and call teams there). The key advantages of this over "last boat loses" are that it requires careful balancing of the pairs, even when you have a 1-2...particularly as you approach the finish; and, the staggered start also allows you to mix sailors of differing ability. -- From Hugh Elliot Member U.S. Disabled Sailing Team Chairman, Sailors with Special Needs Committee U.S. Sailing Association - While women's attitudes to competition undoubtedly have something to do with their scarcity, the establishment gives little more than lip service to women. Have you ever heard of a top level female coach? How about women coaching men? It is, however, worth noting that the USA, GBR and Canadian Paralympic teams all have women (Betsy Alison, Cathy Foster and Kathy Campbell) as coaches. Is that because disabled sailors are forced to accept the dregs of the coaching profession or because we are bright enough to find really good people in non-standard places? These coaches are good and the guys listen to them! -- From Steve Moore - I agree with Pedro that more women in sailing is, as Martha Stewart would say, "A good thing." Unfortunately, the pool of skilled women sailors is smaller than for men. The teenage female dropout rate has been a fact of life since before I was in junior sailing, which according to my kids was before electric lights. Many teenage girls just have different agendas. Recruiting crew may not be a problem for those who sail at Pedro's level. Who wouldn't want to race with someone with his experience? But, I think most skipper's would agree that finding 10 qualified people (male or female) with time to go racing with you every weekend is a big problem. For big race weekends, it can be a real scramble to find enough crew. Worse, crew limits make it difficult to bring along novices. Imposing a gender quota would only make finding crew even tougher. The unintended consequence would make some skippers cut back or give up racing. Affirmative action won't work. However, encouraging other skippers to recruit more women sailors is a good idea. For example, would the junior programs be interested in actively offering their young male and female sailors the opportunity to crew on other boats? -- From Greg Weeger - Great Idea Pedro but you maybe overlooking other demographics of future sales and participation. Why stop at sex? Imagine if race organizers poled each events local population for sex, nationality, race, religion, hair color, sexual preference, and derive a mandatory crew list. We all know many great women sailors and I believe even the few gender biased owners would welcome their talent as well as any women of the A3 '95 team. There will be a day when more women race than men and I hope I can be there. But for now this sport deserves all who it interests. -- From Allan Johnson - To bolster Women's racing participation, there is at least one solution that we could all orchestrate. Hold a Women's Beginning Racing Clinic with your club's boats. Seattle Yacht Club just concluded a 3 night series in September that was extremely successful. Requirements were that you had to know how to sail and have a basic understanding of the racing rules. The emphasis was on fun, starting, upwind sailing and tactics. By the end of just three nights we had 16 proficient racers and some of the most beautiful starts you have ever seen. Interest in this clinic was overwhelming! We had almost SIXTY women who wanted to participate! Unfortunately, we were unable to accommodate this many people, so we will do a follow up day in October and will continue these clinics in the spring. At the end of the event there were many encouraging questions, like: "Which yacht club should I join?", "How do I keep racing and helming?" "Which fleet/class is best for me?" Do something for your sport today, organize a clinic or at least take a new person sailing. AMERICA'S CUP (While covering the Olympics in Sydney, New York Times yachting columnist Herb McCormick had an opportunity to interview America's Cup skipper Russell Coutts. Here's an excerpt from McCormick's story from Sunday's Times.) In New Zealand, not everyone forgives Coutts or the six crewmen who left with him for Switzerland, including the tactician Brad Butterworth who sailed brilliantly while dispatching Italy's Prada Challenge for the cup in a 5-0 drubbing. And Coutts believes certain members of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, the present holders of the cup, have dragged their feet in responding to Bertarelli's official notice of his challenge. "We're copping a little bit of flak there because they're delaying things a little more than what I think is necessary," he said. "It's probably a little of the history of it." He believes such tactics are short- sighted. "It's stupid, really, because I think these teams are good for the sport," he said. "On the one hand, these stalling tactics don't help their reputation any, and on the other they probably make us more determined." When Coutts speaks of "these teams," he refers not only to his new allegiance but also to the campaigns recently begun by the American technology executives Craig McCaw and Larry Ellison. "It's fantastic for the sport," Coutts said. "It's moved it to a new level. I see a lot more competitive syndicates, and I think that's good for the event." In New Zealand, however, questions remain about the past. Specifically, many wish to know more about Team New Zealand's finances, and to what extent the turnover from the syndicate's former leaders, fronted by Sir Peter Blake, to its new directors, led by Coutts and Butterworth, had to do with the latter's departures. Coutts steers carefully through these waters. He said, basically, that he had hoped to have a sponsorship package in place for New Zealand, which would give him the ability to secure contracts with team members, within 90 days after the cup finals at the latest. "But we couldn't get the transfer done quickly and a lot of our options closed up," he said. With many Team New Zealand players essentially free agents, the fledgling syndicates came calling. "I knew that was a danger," Coutts said. "These other players came into the game with immediate funding and pounced." On a trip to Switzerland ostensibly to discuss chartering Bertarelli a Team New Zealand boat, Coutts says the talk turned to other possibilities, and a bond was forged. He says of the 19 sailors who competed for New Zealand last time, only five remain on the Kiwi side. Beyond that, Coutts will not air any dirty laundry about his final days with Team New Zealand. "The true story hasn't come out and probably never will, because it doesn't really benefit anyone," he said. "If I took the time to explain it I don't think there would be many arguments from anyone about what happened." And so, to many Kiwis, Coutts and his mates will be seen as turncoats. "I think about 50 percent of New Zealanders will never forgive them," said the noted Kiwi broadcaster, P. J. Montgomery. "But the other half have looked further and they want to know why. "Why weren't these guys tied up beforehand? What were the old trustees up to?" Coutts says that it's all ancient history to him, and that he holds no grudges. "It's all provided a fantastic opportunity for me," he said. "It's a bit like 1993, when we were starting to put a new team together. I'm excited and re-motivated. Life's wonderful at the moment." - Herb McCormick, New York Times Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/01/sports/01BOAT.html THE RACE * The maxi-catamaran Club Med was re-launched and masted last Friday in Vannes. After 6 weeks spent in the yard, the present holder of the 24 hours record was totally checked: new design of the stem, reinforcement of the aft part and modification of down parts, judged too directional, new inside arrangements. Nothing was left to chance, in order to maximise the boat, 3 months before the start of The Race. For the crew, the French Franck Proffit will join the team, as co-skipper of the boat. Club Med will sail tomorrow towards the British Islands, continuing her training programme, to Southampton, then London, before sailing to Vilamoura (Portugal), where she will stay during one month. * PlayStation is in a yard, to be lengthen of 120 feet. Duration of the work - around 4 weeks. PlayStation has already qualified for The Race. Event website: http://www.therace.org The Science of Comfort At Gill we know the quality of our garments will be measured over years of use. That's why we strive to exceed industry standards in everything we do! From the unique way we work with and listen to the world's sailors to the meticulous attention we give to every garment. Whether you're on the US Sailing Team at the Sydney Olympics or facing the extremes of the Southern Ocean sailors want to stay warm and dry. Don't' take any short cuts when it comes to comfort and quality. Choose Gill gear! http://www.gillna.com PERSPECTIVE (Angus Phillips took one final look at the XXVII Olympiad in Sunday's Washington Post. Here are two excerpts.) * The geriatric U.S. sailing team saved its best for last, bringing in gold on the final day of racing Saturday to finish the Olympics with a respectable four medals. It was nothing like 1992 in Barcelona, where Americans won medals in nine of 10 events, but it wasn't like abysmal Savannah, Ga., in 1996, either, when they managed just two bronzes in front of a disappointed home crowd. "We're extremely happy with a bronze, two silvers and a gold," said team leader Hal Haenel, who watched from high on a bluff at Sydney Heads as his former sailing partner, 44-year-old Mark Reynolds, took his third Olympic medal and second gold in the 22-foot Star class. * Lost in the excitement over Reynolds's comeback was the remarkable story of British silver medalists Ian Walker and Mark Covell, who got together after both lost their sailing partners in fatal accidents. Covell's skipper, Glyn Charles, was lost overboard in the wild Sydney-Hobart Race in December 1998; Walker's partner, John Merricks, with whom he won silver in the 1996 Games, was killed in a car crash in Italy in September 1998. The two got together 16 months ago and now have the silver medal. "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Glyn Charles and Johnny Merricks, who taught us both a lot about sailing and about ourselves," said Covell. - Angus Phillips, Washington Post Full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50324-2000Sep30.html OLYMPIC WRAP-UP (For the past month, US Sailing's Olympic Director, Jonathan Harley has been posting his daily diary on the internet. Here's an excerpt from Sunday's report.) The whole team worked hard all day to get as much done as possible, as almost everyone wanted to make Closing Ceremonies as it generally is much less formal and is a celebration of the friendship between athletes. The countries do not walk in as individual countries, the athletes march in as OLYMPIC ATHLETES, a name they will all have for life. Some of our team have already left Sydney, some leave in the morning (Monday) and the rest will be gone by the end of the week. The venue is like a wasteland. It always amazes me how quickly everything is packed up and out, but then I remember how quickly we do everything and as there are coaches and administrators I've known since 1984, we are all pretty experienced by now. Gary Bodie, Luther Carpenter, Skip Whyte and yours truly will all remain until the 4th to ensure we have all boats and gear packed safely and securely and all equipment is scheduled to arrive at the correct destination. We are also shipping some equipment to Europe so we can begin the next quadrennium. Athens 2004 is only 3 years and 10 months away, and by the time ISAF determines the classes of boats for 2004 we will be another 2 months closer to the Games. The decision by ISAF is to be made in Scotland on November 19, 2000. - Jonathan Harley Full report: http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/2000/diary.htm THE CURMUDGEON'S oxymorons Temporary tax increase |
