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SCUTTLEBUTT 3761 - Thursday, January 24, 2013Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors, providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Ullman Sails and New England Ropes. “MOVING DAY” AT QUANTUM KEY WEST 2013 Key West, FL, (January 23, 2013) - Wednesday has always been critical at this annual race week off the Florida Keys. By the time Wednesday is complete, the racing is usually more than half over, earning it the moniker of “moving day, amd so it was. Lead changes were the order for many classes as they dealt with heavy air and what is predicted to be the strongest winds of the five-day regatta, challenging crews to really ramp up their performance. There were some sail and gear failures in the big breeze, which held steady between 18 and 22 knots. Several teams made major moves but none more dramatic than that pulled by Decision in the High Performance Class. Spookie, skippered by North Sails professional Steve Benjamin, opened the regatta with four straight victories however, Decision, skippered by Stephen Murray of New Orleans, turned the tables big-time today by winning both races while Spookie finished last in Race 6, shredding its spinnaker on the last downwind leg. Decision now holds a three-point lead over Spookie with two days and four races remaining. “We certainly feel better about our chances now, but there is still a lot of racing to be done. With no throwouts, you’re one bad race away from going from the penthouse to the outhouse,” Murray said. Bombarda, with owner Andrea Pozzi driving and past world champion Lorenzo Bressani calling tactics, remained atop the 11-boat Melges 32 class for the second straight day thanks to a first and second on Wednesday. Bombarda leads fellow Italian entry Mascalzone Latino (Vincenzo Onorato) by three points. Arethusa moved from third to first in Swan 42 class, with skipper Philip Lotz (Newport, RI) steering Arethusa to a first and a fifth to now lead the seven-boat fleet by virtue of a tiebreaker over Stark Raving Mad VI (James Madden, Fort Lauderdale, FL). -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/ansx239 Full Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=716 Tune into the Live Coverage at: http://www.premiere-racing.com/KWRWLive/ Event Website: http://www.premiere-racing.com/QKW2013_event.html BACK AGAIN The Swan 42 Class has been very active since its inception in 2007, including fleets racing at Key West and Sardinia. However with the onset of the financial crisis, the class has concentrated on the east coast centered in Newport, where it has had strong close racing at its Nationals with almost 20 boats and two exceptional NYYC Invitational Cups raced in Swan 42s. Among the top teams is Jim Madden, who has his Swan 42 Stark Raving Mad VI at Key West for the first time. "We believe we have the best Corinthian big boat racing bar none, but when we spoke to other potential owners and sailors not often in Newport, they thought the class had waned,” said Madden. “We all also noticed that the press for Key West is exceptional as its a showcase for top classes. So a few of us registered and invited others to join in. We are excited to have now seven of our top teams in Key West.” "All the credit should go to a few folks who really promoted the event," continued Madden. "Phil Lotz (active class member, owner of "Arethusa") and John Hele (Class President, and owner of "Daring") took the initiative, and Class Marketing Director Diane McConnell did a great job letting the owners know, and promoting the event. This is my third Key West, but first on the 42. If there's any serious breeze, there will also be some good photo opps." Completing the Swan 42 fleet at Key West this year are: Apparition (owner Ken Colburn), Bandit (Andrew & Melissa Fisher), Hoss (Glenn Darden & Philip Williamson, and Vitesse (Jon Halbert). After Key West, Phil Lotz plans to take Arethusa to the Caribbean where he can race competitively under IRC, while others are heading up to Charleston for their spring race week as another class event. -- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt ARE YOU OPTIMIZED FOR YOUR RATING? Managing your handicap rating can be challenging. Ullman Sails can help! We provide handicap optimization so you have the right setup for the ideal rating. Our sail lofts have experience working and competing under a variety of handicap systems. This expertise allows us to evaluate your sails and boat to determine your optimal setup. We not only advise on sail modification and inventory upgrades, but we also address boat systems that can get you the speed you need. Contact your local Ullman Sails loft and learn how you can optimize for the 2013 racing season. Invest in your performance. www.ullmansails.com GOING ALL IN Charlie Buckingham came up short in his quest to represent the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games, but he may now be one of the team's strongest sailors going forward. Since graduating from Georgetown University in the Spring of 2011, where he was twice named College Sailor of the Year, Charlie is finally now able to go all in and focus on just one thing… an Olympic medal. With the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami to begin next week (Jan 28-Feb 2), Charlie shares his thoughts on campaigning and the singlehanded event: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SB: What past lessons are you eager to apply to this quad? CB: A lot of my big lessons came from a campaign management standpoint. There are a lot of variables affecting the success of an Olympic sailing campaign; competition, on the water training, off the water training, time off, travel, boat logistics, good training partners (to name a few), and it simply takes time and experience to figure out how to manage these things efficiently and in a way that works best for you as an individual, while also improving your chances for success. It can be tricky connecting the dots, but I felt like I learned a lot about how I can make my program more efficient in this coming year, at least compared to last year. SB: Did you always hold Olympic aspirations? CB: I always knew an Olympic Campaign was something I could do with my sailing, but I didn’t become truly motivated to push myself further in the sport until I became a student athlete at Georgetown University. Before Georgetown, my junior sailing training was more informal, but I loved sailing and competing. When I got to Georgetown, it was the first time I was involved in a structured training program for sailing and it was fulfilling to see the training pay off at regattas. I sailed Lasers when time permitted during college, but never had the luxury of training full time so by the time graduation came I was pretty motivated to see where I could take my Laser sailing. SB: The Laser is a highly established class in the U.S., yet the country's performance has lagged on the international circuit. To what do you attribute the status of the U.S. in the Laser? CB: From my observations in the year I’ve been doing it full time… read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/13/0123/ You can follow Charlie at… Website: http://www.charliebuckingham.com Twitter: http://twitter.co VIRBAC PAPREC 3 STILL RACING (January 23, 2013; Day 75) - After losing a keel two days ago, Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) has delayed his decision whether he will abandon the race, or to try and make it back to Les Sables d’Olonne until after the Azores. He is currently talking with his architects (Guillaume Verdier and VPLP) and considering whether or not he can use the water ballast system effectively to provide greater stability to his boat. Dick is currently making fair progress down the track and although Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is slowly picking off the miles, on some level Dick is also keeping him at bay. Meanwhile the estimated times of arrival for François Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) are becoming more refined. Le Cléac’h is currently behind by 89 miles, in other words, ten hours of navigation. The weather situation is not complicated and will automatically benefit Gabart who gybed this morning and headed straight towards the stronger breeze, whose generous west southwesterly winds will advance him with unstoppable force. It’s looking like the winner will smash the record of around 77, or 78 days! -- http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/news/article/10875/will-he-won-t-he.html http://tracking2012.vendeeglobe.org/en/ Top 5 of 20 - Rankings as of Wednesday, January 23, 2013, 20h00 (FR) 1. Francois Gabart (FRA), Macif: 1334.9 nm Distance to Finish 2. Armel Le Cleac'h (FRA), Banque Populaire: 94.5 nm Distance to Lead 3. Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA), Virbac Paprec 3: 569.4 nm DTL 4. Alex Thomson (GBR), Hugo Boss: 690.4 nm DTL 5. Jean Le Cam (FRA), SynerCiel: 2231.8 nm DTL Full rankings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html BACKGROUND: Twenty skippers began the 24,000-nm Vendee Globe, a solo, non-stop around the world race in the IMOCA Open 60 class. Starting in Les Sables d'Olonne, France on November 10, the west to east course passes the three major capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn before returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) set the course record of 84 days in the 2008-9 edition. -- http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ QUOTE / UNQUOTE "The attraction of solo and doublehanded sailing is the self-reliance required of the individual participants, which as far as I can tell, is a diminishing value in all walks of life these days. In that sense sailing your own boat around Long Island Sound, out to Catalina Island, trans-ocean or round the world is one of the last remaining activities on the planet where one person can get to terms with himself and is faced with the consequences of his actions in a big way." -- Joe "Coop" Cooper, sailing professional, http://joecoopersailing.com/ TEAM WEST MARINE / NEW ENGLAND ROPES IN FOR KEY WEST! Bora Gulari and team are launched and ready. This year, their Melges 24 is really “pimped out” with the latest products from the New England Ropes design team. With Bora on the race course, New England Ropes is on-site in Key West to see the newest designs and technologies along with partners: West Marine Rigging, Annapolis Rigging, Sail 22, and Florida Rigging and Hydraulics. From our world-renowned STS-12 and Endura Braid to our best-selling cover Polytec, the team at New England Ropes will have all your application needs covered. Follow us on Facebook for updates: http://tinyurl.com/FB-NER-KW RACING RULES - KEEPING IT SIMPLE By Tommy Heausler I am a lifelong racer and have taught rules seminars to juniors and adults who are new to sailing. I find that most people are overwhelmed and intimidated by the complexity of the rules, which I believe is a barrier to the growth of the sport. Additionally, seasoned sailors know that, due to complexity of the rules, a protest may surprisingly or inadvertently occur, and chances in the protest room sometimes appear to be 50-50. As a means to expedite the learning process, and to eliminate or minimize ambiguous or difficult to interpret terms and concepts, I have developed a set of simplified rules. While these proposed simplified rules eliminate many provisions, I don't expect the behavior on most racing events to look much different than with today's rules. Below is a 10 rule simplified version of the Racing Rules of Sailing: 1. Port-tack boat shall keep clear of starboard-tack boat. 2. Windward boat shall keep clear of leeward boat. 3. Boat clear astern shall keep clear of boat clear ahead (both boats on same tack). 4. A boat tacking shall keep clear of all other boats. 5. A boat shall endeavor to avoid contact even when having right-of-way. 6. When a boat acquires right-of-way or changes course, she shall initially give other boats room to keep clear. 7. After the starting signal, a leeward boat shall not sail above close hauled if her bow is behind the windward boat's bow. 8. At marks (other than start marks) and obstructions, when an inside boat's bow is closer to the mark or obstruction than the outside boat's stern, the outside boat shall give room. This rule takes precedent over rules 1 through 4. 9. If a boat uses rules 1 through 4 to force the give-way boat to pass on the wrong side of a mark or to a given side of an obstruction, then the right-of-way boat shall also pass on that same side of the mark or obstruction. 10. If a boat knowingly breaks a rule or has been found to have broken a rule by another boat hailing "protest", then the boat may exonerate herself by performing two turns (i.e. two tacks and two jibes) or one turn if the infraction is contacting a mark. COMMENT: I like the idea of simplified rules, but the current RRS exist in their present state because of the loopholes that exist in simplified rules. However, if people agree to keep it simple, then simple is good. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt SAILING SHORTS * The 2013 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship are set to be held in Busan, Korea on June 4-9. Organized by the Busan Sailing Federation in conjunction with the Korean Sailing Federation and ISAF, the regatta will welcome the world's top female match racers as they battle it out to claim the title and a share of the $100,000 prize fund. Using 9metre Match Racing Yachts with a crew of five, invitations to skippers will be sent based on the 6 February ISAF Match Race Rankings release. -- Details: http://www.sailing.org/news/33830.php * The 2013 Progressive Insurance Strictly Sail Chicago show will be held at Navy Pier, Chicago, January 24-27. In addition to more than 100 boats on display and an array of marine accessories, there are top-notch attractions for all ages including a summer playground with hundreds of free educational seminars from the world’s elite sailors, a sailing simulator, remote control sailboat pond, dozens of product debuts and more. -- Details at: http://www.strictlysailchicago.com/ * New York, NY (January 22, 2013) - A New York judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Golden Gate Yacht Club brought by African Diaspora, an African-American sailing group that sought to compete for a chance to represent the United States at this year's America's Cup. African Diaspora had claimed the yacht club breached its duty to review its application in good faith, sued for $1 million in damages and sought an order directing the yacht club to accept its application. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/azb3fsm * Staten Island, NY (January 23, 2013) - In a stunning reversal of a decision made shortly after Hurricane Sandy devastated Nichols Great Kills Park Marina on New York’s Staten Island, the National Park Service has agreed to extend the marina operator’s permit for three years, the maximum allowable under the law. The 350-slip marina, located on the grounds of the Gateway National Recreation Area, lost all of its docks in the storm and was to be shuttered by April 15, 2013, with the Park Service formerly maintaining that services for 2013 were “not possible.” -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/b7ef4k4 IS YOUR EVENT LISTED BELOW? Posting your event information on the free, self-serve Scuttlebutt Event Calendar tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. But don't stop there. If your event is listed below, please send us your race reports too: * Jan 28-Feb 1 - ISAF Sailing World Cup - Miami, FL, USA * Jan 31-Feb 4 - Charlotte Harbor Regatta - Charlotte Harbor, FL, USA * Jan 31-Feb 5 - Grenada Sailing Week - St. George's, West Indies, Grenada View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity for companies to announce new products and services. Here are some of recent postings: * New custom aluminum boat trailers from 15-45 ft * US Watercraft Rendezvous at new Warren, RI location * VanTol Insurance Group expands Marine Division View updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Alex Thomson, Hugo Boss (posted on his blog): I am shocked and gutted at the news that JP Dick has lost his keel. JP has sailed an awesome race and does not deserve this to happen to him. He has worked so hard and maintained his third position despite having to climb the mast countless times. I am thankful that it has happened here and not in the south although JP will have to go through some significant weather to get to the Azores, potentially up to 40 knots on the 26 January. I never thought we would see a keel failure on this race. IMOCA has of course a history with keel failures but I really thought all those problems were behind us. It will be interesting to review the failures of Virbac and Safran, both penned from the same designer to see exactly why these failures have happened. When I joined the class in 2003 I was a little surprised that I had to change the keel on my first boat because it had exceeded its mileage of 80,000 miles. Since then people have been building keels that last only one round the world race to save a few kilos of weight. I came from the world that a keel lasted for the life of the boat and that is where we need to get to. In 2009 IMOCA brought in some regulations to make keels safer but it obviously has not been enough. Enough is enough, the keels need to be made of solid steel and last the life of the boat, before someone gets hurt. -- Read at: http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/01/22/the-solo-sailing-blog-keel-failures CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Blessed is the end user who expects nothing, for he/she will not be disappointed. SPONSORS THIS WEEK JK3 Nautical Enterprises - Dieball Sailing - North U - North Sails Sail To Prevail - Southern Spars - APS - UK Sailmakers - Ullman Sails New England Ropes - Storm Trysail Block Island Race Week Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
