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SCUTTLEBUTT 2544 – March 3, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. CANTING KEEL CONTROVERSY Cowes Week organizers have decided that, for 2008, canting keels on boats over 14 metres (46-feet) will have to be pinned in the central position. Chieftain’s owner Ger O’Rourke says “If it wasn’t a safety hazard it would be a joke. This shows a complete lack of understanding of canters, their sail area would be overly canvassed over 10 knots of TWS using same rig & sails with their keels pinned; to ask a canting keel yacht to do so is a serious breach of safety, a total IRC joke, why have an IRC cert at all.” Cowes Week CEO Stuart Quarrie says “There are safety issues with canting keels and Ger is obviously right in saying that his boat would be over-canvassed in anything above 10 knots of breeze if its keel was fixed. However, that does not mean that it would (or should) be dangerous sailing in that configuration. If that was the case, then it brings into question the validity and overall safety of his boat offshore when, as we have seen many times in the past, the canting mechanism could easily fail.” -- http://www.bymnews.com/ ONE AND DONE It should come as no surprise that the Club Nautico Español de Vela (CNEV), which is the Spanish club that Alinghi had selected as the Challenger of Record for the 33rd America’s Cup, but was later removed from that role by the NY Supreme Court, appears to have no plans to repeat its "annual" regatta. Per the America’s Cup Deed of Gift, hosting an annual regatta is a requirement of the COR, and when CNEV hadn’t yet done so, it was just the opening that the BMW Oracle Racing team needed to try to disavow the largely lopsided protocol for the next Cup event. CNEV later held this “annual” regatta in hopes of it being sufficient in the eyes of the court, but based on the event’s absence from the publication of the Spanish Sailing Federation calendar, it may very well go down in history as the shortest annual event. -- Valencia Sailing, http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com LINTON AND BARKOW RECEIVE TOP SAILING AWARDS New York, NY (February 29, 2008) Lightning World Champion Jeff Linton (Tampa, Fla.) and Princess Sofia Trophy Yngling Champion Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) took center stage Friday afternoon during a special luncheon in the model room of the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan. The sailors won US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Award, this country’s most prestigious honor in the sport. They were recognized for their outstanding on-the-water performances during the 2007 calendar year and presented with engraved Rolex timepieces. Emceeing the event was Gary Jobson, while Rolex Vice President and Director of Communications Peter Nicholson awarded the watches with assistance from US Sailing’s President Jim Capron and past Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year Jody Swanson Starck and Cory Sertl. -- Read on: http://www.ussailing.org/awards/rolex * Jobson Sailing produced a brief video presentation of the ceremony that can be viewed here: http://www.jobsonsailing.com/reports/77 OVER 250 SAILING JOB OPENINGS. USED BOATS & GEAR TOO. Sail1Design is your one-design sailing classifieds source, from boats to jobs. This week’s S1D spotlights: Unique opportunity to purchase an established sail loft in USVI; a Melges 32 ready to race, Ken Legler private coaching open dates, Sailing Director, Indian Harbor YC; San Diego YC Seeks Head Coach…. Check these out and more at http://www.Sail1Design.com STORMS CANCEL FINAL DAY AT TORNADO WORLDS Auckland, New Zealand (March 1, 2008) - Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby of Australia have been crowned Tornado World Champions for 2008 after racing was abandoned on the final day of the regatta due to heavy rain and strong north easterly winds in Takapuna, North Shore City, Auckland. It is Bundock's 6th world title in the Tornado having won in 2006, 2003, 2002, 2001 and 1998. As predicted, Takapuna Beach was buffeted by 25-30 knot winds and breaking waves, and with low visibility on the race course, organizers decided at 12:45pm to abandon racing for the day and close the championship. By winning the silver medal in a fleet stacked with the top 20 ranked Tornado sailors in the world, Canadian's Oskar Johansson and Kevin Stittle not only qualified Canada for an Olympic berth but have also signaled to the fleet that they'll be serious medal contenders in China. Canada, Austria, New Zealand and the Ukraine earned Olympic qualification for their respective nations at this event, beating out Russia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Poland, and Venezuela for the final four places that were decided at the Worlds. -- http://www.tornado.org/html/event_details.asp?EventID=169 Final Results (Top 10 of 51) 1. AUS - Darren Bundock/Glen Ashby, 14-(23)-2-2-8-1-1-6, 34 pts 2. CAN - Oskar Johansson/Kevin Stittle, (21)-1-3-1-4-19-7-4, 39 3. FRA - Yann Guichard /Alexandre Guyader, 4-9-1-3-13-4-5-(23), 39 4. GER - Roland Gaebler/Gunnar Struckman, 3-3-4-9-(30)-18-2-5, 44 5. ITA - Francesco Marcolini/Edoardi Bianchi,11-7-10-5-1-(52/OCS)-10-2,46 6. NED - Mitch Booth/Pim Nieuwenhuis, 7-2-6-8-(26)-22-4-3, 52 7. ESP - Fernando Echavarri/Anton Paz, 1-14-8-11-23-(52 OCS)-6-7, 70 8. USA - John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree, 2-5-29-(52/DNF)-3-16-3-13, 71 9. FRA - Xavier Revil/Cristophe Espagnon, 18-12-14-6-6-(52 OCS)-8-8, 72 10. FRA - Billy Besson/Arnaud Jarlegan, 19-(20)-7-4-5-6-16-16, 73 * Commenting on their performance, 2004 Olympic silver medallists John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree (USA) replied, “The biggest positive was that we were quick in a breeze and quick in light air and able to score well in all conditions. We came here with a clear goal. We wanted to see how the advances we made and the things we tested at the American selection trials stacked up against the rest of the world. We confirmed that the equipment we are using is competitive. Also, for three years out of every quadrennial, we are part-time professional sailors. Full-time careers make it difficult to stay at the top of your game. However, from now until the Olympics we’re back to full-time sailing status. We’ll be putting jobs on hold and seeing very little of our families as we ramp up our training and preparation; looking to peak in top form and condition for the Olympics.” -- http://www.t-squaredracing.com/content/view/84/1/ STAR BACARDI CUP The Norwegian sailing team of Eivind Melleby and crew Petter Pederson finished first in day one of sailing Sunday at the 81st Annual Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta on the waters of Biscayne Bay, near Miami. Melleby and Pederson finished a boat length ahead of Brazil’s Alan Adler, the 1989 Star Class World Champion, who sails this week with crew Ricardo Ermel. Adler/Ermel rounded all four marks in first place before losing cover to the Norwegians on the race’s final beat. Winds in excess of 15 knots forced two general recalls before the race’s eventual start; and three teams, including 2008 Rolex Miami OCR Champion Xavier Rohart and crew Pascal Rambeau, were black-flagged and disqualified for crossing the line early. -- Janet Maizner After one race the top ten of the 118 teams representing 26 countries competing in this six-day regatta are: 1. Melleby, Eivind /Pedersen, Petter (NOR); 2. Adler, Alan /Seifert, Ronald (BRA); 3. Percy, Iain /Simpson, Andrew (GBR); 4. Scheidt, Robert /Prada, Bruno (BRA); 5. Spitzauer, Hans /Nehammer, Christian (AUT); 6. Bromby, Peter /White, Lee (BER); 7. Grael, Lars /Jordao, Marcelo (BRA); 8. O'Connell, Maurice /Cooke, Ben (IRL); 9. Diaz, Augie /Trinter, Phil (USA); 10. Reynolds, Mark /Gale, Jamie (USA). -- http://www.bacardicup.com/intro.aspx * Daily video, news reports, interviews and features from the 81st Bacardi Cup are online at http://www.sailing-tv.tv PELIGROSO OVERALL WINNER Mike Campbell and Dale Williams’ Kernan 68, Peligroso, was the overall winner of the San Diego’s YC’s 1000 mile race to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Aided by watch captains Kevin Miller and Malcolm Park from Roger Sturgeon’s STP65 Rosebud, which just won the 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, Peligroso corrected out over Doug Baker’s Magnitude 80 by 26 minutes to capture Class 1 and the overall prize. Other class winners in the 18-boat, ORR-handicapped race were: Class 2 - Holua (SC 70), Brack Duker; Class 3 - Valkyrie (DK 46), Andy Rasdal; Class 4 - Super Gnat (Beneteau 40.7), Cliff Thompson. Magnitude 80 set a new course record, taking more than six hours off the previous record established by Roy Disney’s Pyewacket in 1998. -- http://www.sdyc.org/pv/ DISCOVER THE BEST BOATING PRODUCTS AND MARINE EQUIPMENT MyBoatsGear.com is an online magazine dedicated to finding and reviewing the best boating products. If you want to learn about the latest piece of gear, be it electronics, anchoring, deck gear, rigging or safety gear, we have it for you. Where else would you find this information? MyBoatsGear is a one-stop, boating gear resource for boaters. With gear organized into 20 easily-accessible categories MyBoatsGear.com stores product information for access anytime, anywhere. -- http://www.MyBoatsGear.com THIS WEEK IN SPORTS * March 1, 2000 - With 26-year-old rookie Dean Barker at Black Magic's helm, New Zealand sails into America's Cup history, becoming the first country other than the United States to defend the oldest trophy in sports. * March 2, 2003 - Alinghi takes the America's Cup with a five-race sweep over Team New Zealand, winning the race by 45 seconds. The Swiss team becomes the first European yacht to win the America's Cup in 152 years. Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com * March 3, 2008 - Reflecting on the good ‘ole days. JUMPING SHIP Team New Zealand has suffered its highest profile home-grown defection. Jono Macbeth has jumped ship and joined rival America's Cup syndicate Oracle. The 35-year-old grinder has been a fixture in the Kiwi syndicate since he helped defend the America's Cup in 2000. But Russell Coutts, now chief executive and skipper of the Larry Ellison-owned Oracle, has been busy acquiring sailing talent in anticipation of a one-on-one duel for the Auld Mug against holder Alinghi. Macbeth isn't the only Kiwi Coutts has poached. Big Andrew "Meat" Taylor has also switched teams. Taylor sailed for Team New Zealand in 1987-88, 1992, 1995 and 2000 then for Luna Rossa last year but the Italian syndicate has disbanded so Coutts snapped up him and fellow Kiwi Alan Smith, who was part of Team New Zealand's campaigns in '87 and '92. Coutts has been actively courting others. -- http://www.stuff.co.nz/4422741a1823.html CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * Bill Hardesty from San Diego convincingly won the 81-boat Etchells Midwinters for the Schoonmaker Cup in Miami, FL and with it the Etchells Jaguar Cup Winter Regatta Series. Midwinters final results (81-boats): 1 Bill Hardesty, 21; 2. Jud Smith /Henry Frazer, 68, 3. Andy Beadsworth /Dave Dwyer, 74; 4. Vince Brun /Michael Allen, 77. 5. Jeffrey Siegal, 82. Final results of the Etchells Jaguar Cup Series: 1. Bill Hardesty, 3pts; 2. Jud Smith /Henry Frazer, 9pts; 3. Jeffrey Siegal, 13pts; 4. Andy Beadsworth /Dave Dwyer, 17pts; 5. Tom Lihan, 21pts. -- http://www.etchellsfleet20.org/2008_Jag/ * Despite slight drop-offs in attendance during the 2008 installments of Strictly Sail Chicago and Strictly Sail Miami, exhibitors at both shows report plentiful crowds and eager buyers in their respective markets, organizers reported in a release last week. Visitors from throughout the Chicago and Midwest region visited Strictly Sail Chicago, with total attendance of 18,123, which was close to last year’s gate of 18,523. Strictly Sail Miami drew a larger audience, with a total of 22,556 attendees. That figure is down just three percent from 2007, when a total attendance of 23,327 was recorded. -- Boat Industry, full story: http://www.boating-industry.com/output.cfm?id=1493569 * The top ten in Sailing World’s collegiate coed rankings as determined by Michael Callahan, Georgetown; Ken Legler, Tufts; and Mike Segerblom, USC are: 1. St. Mary's, 2. Boston College, 3. Yale, 4. Georgetown, 5. Charleston, 6. Brown, 7. Harvard, 8. Tufts, 9. Roger Williams, 10. Hobart/WmSmith. The top ranked women’s teams include: 1. Yale, 2. Stanford, 3. Georgetown, 4. Charleston, 5. St. Mary's, 6. Tufts, 7. Navy, 8. Old Dominion, 9. Boston College, 10. Boston University. -- http://www.sailingworld.com * The International GP42 Class announced that Quebramar, the Portugal-based clothing brand, has agreed to sponsor the class’ 2008 international racing circuit of events, to be known collectively as the Quebramar GP42 Cup - 2008. This season championship series, the second for this new and development class, will include six events to be held in Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal from May through October. * It was standing room only as a packed audience at the 2008 RYA Dinghy Sailing Show were given an exclusive insight into life on the Road to Beijing by the stars of Great Britain’s China-bound sailing team. Grilled by Yachts and Yachting editor Gael Pawson on the Main Stage at Alexandra Palace on Saturday 1 March, RYA Olympic Manager Stephen ‘Sparky’ Park, Ben Ainslie, Paul Goodison, Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes discussed in detail how their preparations for Qingdao are being ramped up as August 9 – the Olympic Regatta start date – draws ever closer. – BYM Sailing news, full story: http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=23323 NEW RIG FROM GARRY HOYT ‘The Hoyt Balanced Rig’ is a new, patented invention that features a totally clean leading edge, the optimum square top and the multiple benefits of balance. It will make any hull swifter and safer. Check it out at www.garryhoyt.com * Curmudgeon’s Comment: From founding Freedom Yachts in 1976 and popularizing the concept of free-standing spars, Gary is all about innovation. He has been involved in the development of sea going, pedal powered boats, a Single Line Reefing system, and the Hoyt Jib Boom and Hoyt Gun Mount. Scuttlebutt is excited that Gary asked us to help promote this exciting concept, which can be fully understood from the photos and video on his website. 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 David Lees: I would like to put right one point in Andy Rice's article in Sailjuice, which you reported on in Issue 2543. The ISAF Constitution Committee was asked by the President to give an interpretation of the word 'urgent.' We did that by saying: "There must be some pressing reason for the matter in the submission to be dealt with in May; to put that in other words there must be some reason that, if the matter were to wait until the following November, there would be serious consequences; either the decision by then would be too late or other matters that needed to be decided could not be the subject of a decision because of the delay." We also advised the President that it is for the Executive Committee alone to decide if a submission is urgent. It is not correct that the Constitution Committee advised that the selection issue is not urgent. We did not address that question. It was not our place to do so. * From Charley Cook, Member, ISAF Council/ISAF Constitution Committee: (Regarding Recent SailJuice posting on “RYA vs ISAF” that was carried in Scuttlebutt 2543) I wish SailJuice would take the time to get its facts right before publishing something about me. The recent posting “RYA vs ISAF” (re-posted on Scuttlebutt) was wrong and clearly slanted. SailJuice Editor Andy Rice stated that I was Vice Chairman of the ISAF Constitution Committee. Wrong. He said the Constitution Committee ruled that the RYA submission wasn’t urgent. Wrong, the committee has never seen the submission and made no such ruling. He said the Constitution Committee was not unanimous in its decision. Very misleading. The Constitution Committee was asked to interpret the word “urgent” as used in the ISAF Regulations. Perhaps the Chairman of the Constitution Committee (who Mr. Rice forgot to mention is an RYA appointee) had seen the RYA submission, but the Constitution Committee wasn’t even informed of, much less provided with a copy of, the RYA submission. We simply interpreted the word “urgent.” Mr. Rice stated that the decision wasn’t unanimous. He’s right. But, he forgot to mention that the only person who disagreed with the interpretation was the RYA appointee. There’s been a lot of vitriol from some members of the community disappointed in the decision. Biased and inaccurate postings aren’t constructive. * From Dennis Palmer: I noted your explanation of leap days in Issue 2543. Did you know that each year there are also leap seconds? Seems the US military forgot about those when they implemented the GPS system, so as time go on, the difference between GMT and GPS time grows. I think the difference is about 15 or 20 seconds now. * From William Tuthill, President, WISSA: Regarding what might be required to make a World Championships, for 28 years the WISSA (http://www.wissa.org) has organized a World Championship. Our requirements are that at least 5 countries be represented in order to qualify as a World Championships. We have managed this every year since 1980. Ironically, the WISSA Ice and Snow Sailing World Championships - held on frozen surfaces - is the oldest international competition in the history of windsurfing! * From Tom Hagoort: (from thread beginning in Issue 2542) Comparisons of the California sales tax proposal to the federal luxury tax on boats are off target. Those of us who have paid the sales tax on the purchase of our boats resent those who utilize loopholes to avoid paying any sales tax on their yachts. While the California proposal may be extreme, it is cynical for boaters whose vessels are, in reality, based in California, to claim the right to continue their tax avoidance on the basis of assertions that jobs will be lost if they are required to pay their share of the sales tax. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION I've learned that you shouldn't compare yourself to others - they are more screwed up than you think. Special thanks to Sail1Design, MyBoatsGear.com, and Gary Hoyt. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
