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SCUTTLEBUTT 2761 - Friday, January 16, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Today's sponsors are Morris Yachts and North U. WHAT TO WATCH FOR (Jan. 15, 2009) - Three circles, 13 divisions, and over 150 boats for 2009 Acura Key West Race Week. Here are some bites of a story by Stuart Streuli of Sailing World magazine where he breaks down the event: 1. IRC 2 could be the most interesting class of the regatta, with three designs new to North American slugging it out among the 14 entries. The Santa Cruz 37, the King 40, and the Archambault A40 RC are all vying for control of the same mid-sized racer/cruiser niche. Since the critical mass required for one-design racing is a long shot for any of these designs, handicap performance, especially under IRC, will be an important selling point. 2. Another new design is the Flying Tiger 7.5, which will be debuting on the East Coast at Key West Race Week. This 24-footer has been slapped with a 78 PHRF rating by the PHRF consortium. It will be hard pressed to live up to that rating in PHRF 2, especially in a class where it's the smallest boat by 9 feet and 16 feet smaller than the biggest, a C&C 121. 3. With 20 boats, the Melges 32 class maybe the most watched of the week, wresting that honor from the Farr 40s who have held it for the last decade. Can anyone catch Mike Carroll and Marty Kullman on New Wave, which has ridden its early start in this class, and a ton of sportboat experience to a number of big wins, the last coming in December at the class' Gold Cup in Fort Lauderdale? -- Complete report: http://linkbee.com/AB0T A DECIDEDLY HARSHER ROUTE (Jan. 15, 2009) - The next leg to Qingdao could be one of the most difficult in the history of the Volvo Ocean Race, according to crews who are dusting down their helmets and neoprene trimmings in preparation for some cold and dark days ahead. When the fleet leaves Singapore, they will have acclimatized to the intense heat and humidity plus a sun that rises at around 7:15am and sets 12 hours later. As they move north to China, upwind and in a straight line, the days will get progressively shorter, with another two hours of darkness added to each grueling day. Temperatures will also plummet and close attention has been paid to reports from the Clipper Race last year where crews faced freezing wind chill and snow on the deck. For the first time, the kit bags will be full to bursting, says Stu Bannatyne, watch leader on Ericsson 4. "I estimate we will be wearing seven layers of clothing - wicking layers, vests, thermals, fleeces, salopettes, waterproof foul weather gear, then hats, goggles, gloves and boots and socks and neoprene face masks. Every time we get up it will take around 25 minutes to get dressed and the same when we come off watch, so sleeping time will be reduced." Unlike Leg 3 from Cochin, India to Singapore, which was mostly a light to moderate air upwind leg in a warm climate, this route will be decidedly harsher. "It looks like we'll be going upwind in 10-15 knots for the first three days, then there should be an increase to 30-35, then it may slack off again," Telefónica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking says. "We can expect big breeze, and when the current is with us there is chance that we'll get huge, steep waves. If we are lucky there is going to be a front passage in the last 600 miles, which means a change in wind direction going into the finish." The fleet begins Leg 4, the 2,500 nm route from Singapore to Qingdao, China, on January 18, 2009, with their finish date estimated to be January 30th. Current standings after Singapore In-Port Race: 1. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 39 points 2. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 33.5 points 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 31.0 points 4. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Anders Lewander/SWE, 24.0 points 5. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 22.5 points 6. Telefonica Black (ESP), F. Echavarri/ESP, 22.5 points 7. Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, 10.5 points 8. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 10 points Race website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race replay and tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com BOOK IT! THE M29 IS HEADED TO MIAMI! You¹ve been waiting all fall to see this boat; maybe you have been waiting your whole life. Now you are just a couple weeks away from seeing her in person… so book that flight to Miami to see the new Morris M29 at Miami Strictly Sail Feb 12-16th. Complete at $185,000, the M29 promises to be the most fun and beautiful introduction this year guaranteed to make you smile. And let’s admit it we can all use some of that right now. See you in Miami! For more info http://www.morrisyachts.com or call us at 207-244-5509 HANGING OUT AT THE HORN (Jan. 15, 2009; Day 67) - In certain circumstance it is not unprecedented for Meteo France and the Vendée Globe Race Direction and safety consultants to give advice to competitors. In the face of a severe storm warning at Cape Horn, they have given a strong advice that the Franco-British trio of Dee Caffari (Aviva), Arnaud Boissières (Akena Veranda) and Brian Thompson (Bahrain Team Pindar) to remain to the south of the island of Tierra del Fuego while the worst of a severe storm is in their north. The warning in particular emphasizes not just the very strong winds, mean 50-55 knots with gusts peaking at 85 knots, and not just the very difficult, at times confused cross seas – a swell of 9-12 metres - but also the fact that, as the depression goes over them the wind direction may suddenly become variable and so having a margin of sea room is also advised. The worst of the weather is expected to pass between midnight tonight and tomorrow afternoon. So the trio will, as Dee Caffari puts it this evening, ‘hang out’ round Cape Horn. Thompson had passed Cape Horn at 0315hrs, and by 1830hrs he had doubled back about 16 miles and was now to the south of the Islas de los Estados, a 25 miles long island which should provide a fairly reasonable wind shield for him. Meantime Arnaud Boissieres is headed to the SE, offshore to gain some sea room while Dee Caffari will likely do the same. Solo, non-stop, around the world race in Open 60s. Standings as of 18:30 UTC (30 entrants; 12 now competing): 1. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA), Foncia, 4386.0 nm Distance to finish 2. Roland Jourdain (FRA), Veolia Environnement, 274.3 nm Distance to leader 3. Armel Le Cléac´h (FRA), Brit Air, 680.5 nm DTL 3. Vincent Riou (FRA), PRB, Dismasted - Redress Given 4. Samantha Davies (GBR), Roxy, 1638.8 nm DTL 5. Marc Guillemot (FRA), Safran, 2001.8 nm DTL 6. Brian Thompson (GBR), Bahrain Team, 2505.9 nm DTL 7. Arnaud Boissières (FRA), Akena Vérandas, 2671.6 nm DTL 8. Dee Caffari (GBR), Aviva, 2713.4 nm DTL 9. Steve White (GBR), Toe in the Water, 3719.0 nm DTL 10. Rich Wilson (USA), Great American III, 4980.0 nm DTL 11. Raphaël Dinelli (FRA), Fondation Océan Vital, 6618.7 nm DTL 12. Norbert Sedlacek (AUT), Nauticsport-Kapsch, 6640.7 nm DTL Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en Complete standings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html Race tracking: http://tracking.vendeeglobe.org/en QUOTE / UNQUOTE Alex Thomson, who retired on Nov. 13th due to hull cracks, comments on the attrition of the Vendee Globe race: “I was asked countless times before the race ‘how many boats would finish?’ and my answer was that 60% would not. Now it is obviously going to be more than that, but probably not by much and the question that everyone asks me now ‘is it acceptable that there are only 40% still out there’? “There is no doubt that the Vendee Globe is the most difficult sporting challenge in our world today and so it should not be easy. Dominique Wavre, the President of IMOCA was quoted a few days ago: ‘The Vendée Globe is a race without outside assistance, which intrinsically means it is a race of elimination’ and I could not agree with this more.” -- The Daily Sail, complete story: http://linkbee.com/AB0U NEW COMMERCIAL STRATEGY FOR AMERICAN OLYMPIC PROGRAM US SAILING has announced an unprecedented Commercial Strategy for the Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Program, which includes new partnership opportunities for sponsors, a new commercial agreement for US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics members and, for the first time, the hiring of a full-time commercial director. The Commercial Strategy consists of several components: the launch of a tiered program of Gold, Silver and Bronze level partnerships that have been constructed around the team’s title sponsor AlphaGraphics; a Commercial Agreement opportunity for the athletes on the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, the result of which will include Gold sponsor branding on hulls and sails and branded clothing for Gold and Silver sponsors of the team; and the first-time hiring of a Commercial Director to orchestrate the strategy. The Olympic Sailing Committee has named Dan Cooney to fill the role of Commercial Director. Cooney joins the established executive team of Olympic Sailing Chairman Dean Brenner, Olympic Director Katie Kelly, and High Performance Director Kenneth Andreasen. Cooney’s responsibilities will include managing all sponsorship fulfillment elements, as well as developing new partners for the Olympic Sailing Programs and leading the execution of the entire commercial strategy. -- Complete announcement: http://linkbee.com/AB0W => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Look for an announcement next week on one of the new commercial partners for the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. PERFORMANCE RACING CLINIC Perhaps you’d be excited about the mix of shoreside seminars and full days of on the water training. Maybe the on board coach would be an attraction. Or the video review. The six days of training and racing might be enticing. But the closer, the reason you should attend the 9th annual North U/ Offshore Sailing School Performance Race Week, is the fun. Come to Florida April 26 - May 2 for the fun, and as a bonus, go home as a winning racer. Details at http://www.northu.com or http://www.offshore-sailing.com/racing.asp ALINGHI CONTINUES TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE Valencia, Spain (Jan. 15, 2009) - After considering various options, talks over the past two days between Alinghi, the Defender of the America’s Cup, Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV), the Challenger of Record, and the rest of the challengers have resulted in a firm commitment for the Challenger Selection Series and the 33rd America’s Cup Match to take place in 2010 in the new class of boat currently under development by the group and due to be made public on January 31st. The group also decided that the two pre-regattas scheduled for 2009, to be sailed in the same class of boat as used in the 2007 America’s Cup, are to be required for all entered teams, regardless of the expected court decision in New York (involving the Golden Gate Yacht Club and BMW Oracle Racing team). The Defender informed the group that negotiations with the Spanish authorities to confirm Valencia as Host City are well advanced and should progress further at an upcoming meeting with the Central Government in Madrid. -- Complete story: http://www.alinghi.com/en/news/news/index.php?idIndex=200&idContent=18770 SAILING SHORTS * Warren, RI (Jan. 15, 2009) - In response to the recent economic downturn, Pearson Composites, LLC, manufacturers of True North Yachts, Alerion Express Sailboats and PDQ Yachts has temporarily cut back its workforce. Effective Friday, January 16th, approximately 50 employees will be laid off. In addition to the True North, Alerion Express and PDQ yachts that Pearson still has to build, the company will continue to build and deliver boats under its contract with the United States Navy. Under that contract, Pearson will be completing many of the 44 foot Sail Training Crafts throughout 2009 for the U.S. Naval Academy. -- Full post: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6891 * The Canadian Yachting Association has announced the 25 members of the 2009 Canadian Youth Sailing Team, which are selected for the Laser, Radial, 29er Male, 29er Female, and Hobie 16. -- Complete list: http://linkbee.com/AB07 * West Marine today reported net sales of US$111.1m for its fourth quarter ended January 3, 2009, a decrease of 6.1 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. It reported a same-store drop in sales of 9.9 per cent compared to the same period a year ago. "Sales levels in the fourth quarter were in line with our expectations. While the challenging economic conditions which have affected boat usage and thus our customer traffic and sales, were very difficult, we are pleased with our overall sales performance in Q4 and for 2008 in total," said Geoff Eisenberg, CEO. -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090015134647ibinews.html * At 03:01:37 local time on Friday (14:01:37GMT Thursday), Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme crossed the finish line in Wellington, New Zealand, on Class 40 Beluga Racer, taking first place in Leg 2 of the Portimão Global Ocean Race. The victorious German duo sailed 6,900 miles through the Southern Ocean from Cape Town, South Africa, starting on 14th December, taking 32 days 3 hours 31 minutes and 37 seconds to complete the course at an average speed of 8.93 knots. -- http://www.portimaorace.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport submitted to Scuttlebutt include frostbite kite sailing in the Pacific Northwest, kitewing sailing in the Northeast, snow-capped backdrop in Southern California, plus award recognition, Caribbean boasting, Australian mothing, and a rummage sale of old America’s Cup boats. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0116/ VIDEO OF THE WEEK A teen boy, sitting on a dock, fishing with a friend, watching a powerboat glide past on the lake. “I sure wish we had a boat,” he comments. What happens next is something we could all use some of these days...good fortune and humor. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/09/0116 * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week’s Video of the Week to mailto:craig@sailingscuttlebutt.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Robert Wilkes: The cautious optimism of Chris Snow from North Sails One Design (Scuttlebutt 2759) about junior sailing in the present economic climate, following record turnout at the Orange Bowl in Miami, may be reinforced by reports from Europe. As reported on the Optimist website www.optiworld.org/ioda-news.html the three big winter holiday regattas in Europe, the Trofeo Ciutat de Palma in Spain, the St. Nicholas in Croatia and the Campobasso in Italy also experienced record participation with a total of over 850 Optimists taking part. * From Manfred Schreiber: (re, Mark Lammens letter w in Issue 2760) I think that Mark does simplify the matter a little bit by suggesting that the people who got upset about NOT getting a quick tow back into the harbour, launched this thread or the rule change in the Star class. Have to say, I am not a member of that class organization but know a few influential people. Those people could well have a huge RIB with trainer and support crew out on the course, all on their own expenses, but they are not doing so. They are as upset with the big numbers of RIB´s hurling around fro and to the marinas, through other course areas, putting a layer of bad smell and ugly wakes on the water, where we sailors with some social intelligence want to be seem environmental friendly. Green sport so to speak. My experience is only from Kiel or Medemblik or Lake Garda and I have seen the RIB´s growing in numbers like there is no tomorrow. We also had bans for parents or coaches changing from a green to a red sweater during start sequences. Hats off for the Star class and their slogan which brought the rule change: "We want to be the first clean class". We can only hope that other classes will follow and that coaching takes place ashore and outside these big regatta events. One or two boats do no harm but the 300 - 400 RIBs (and growing) which are coming to Kieler Woche every year are a big problem which needs to be solved. * From Mike Titgemeyer, Snipe, Thistle & J24 owner, Annapolis, MD (re, Andy Burdick’s comments in #2760) It will be interesting to see how the Melges 20 pans out One-Design wise. I think limiting Group 1 drivers/ owner could be a mistake in a boat this size. I have been a Group 3 for awhile now and although not a paid pro (Yacht Broker), I have sailed Thistles, J22s and J24s a lot. To me a big part of the draw is that I got to race against Greg Fisher, Terry Hutchinson, Ched Proctor, the Read boys and so-on. I just don’t see these guys doing middle or forward on a M20? Anyone ought to be able to own/race/drive the boat, like the rest of the “trail-behind” dinghy fleets. I have had some great moments at regattas with the aforementioned rock stars at various times in their rise to stardom…why limit class development, tuning clinics, boat handling seminars and all that comes with professional sailors? Unless you are going to mandate the sail supplier and generally enact a “big brother” approach like a certain other 20 footer, which is not growing as hoped here in the US compared to Europe? And lastly… what about the weight limit? Early notes said none but I heard otherwise recently. Where does that stand? I know you have to start somewhere and let it develop over time, but I would keep a more open, inclusive approach out of the box, compared to overdoing the limits from the get-go. * From Shaina Brown, St Paul, M: (re, Mike Golding comments in #2760) In my experience, simple material mechanics will suffice to explain why keels of these high performance sailing boats used in the Vendee Globe, and other races, are not able to withstand the conditions that they are intended for. All materials have a fatigue limit (the magnitude of stress at which failure will not occur) and a fatigue life (the number of cycles to cause material failure at a certain stress level). Thus, engineers and designers of these yachts have two uncertainties in their design: 1) How to mimic and measure the largest fluctuating stress (the fatigue limit) that the ocean will impose upon the keel so they can design for that stress. 2) The fatigue life is often uncertain because the fatigue sensitivity of the actual construction materials varies significantly and is very difficult to predict in a design. Normally, an engineer would add in a safety factor to their design to compensate for these uncertainties. In the case of these boats, pushing the envelope has become more important than the practicality and safety of the vessel on the open seas. So, this safety factor is generally reduced or eliminated for minimum weight and maximum speed. To put it simply, without that safety factor there are risks taken in the design and operation of these sailboats. It provides extreme competition for those on board and entertainment for the rest of us. But to put it into perspective, if you were unsure an elevator could handle your weight, would you get in? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Coffee is a beverage that puts one to sleep when not drank. Special thanks to Morris Yachts and North U. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
