|
SCUTTLEBUTT No. 725 - January 9, 2001THE RACE - by Sean McNeill, for Quokka SportsFresh trade wind conditions and a calm sea last weekend spurred the leading catamarans in The Race to blistering speeds that threatened the world 24-hour distance record. Cam Lewis' Team Adventure came closest to slaying the 625-mile record. Between 1700 GMT on Saturday and Sunday Team Adventure logged 586.5 miles. During that period Team Adventure rocketed into second place, overtaking Innovation Explorer, and also slashed its deficit to leader Club Med to 81.4 miles, more than halving the previous 216-mile deficit. "Speed, speed, speed! That's the theme here, nothing but go fast, fast, fast!" Lewis reported yesterday. "Have you ever imagined winding a boat up to wind speed ... going 27.5 knots for four hours, only 40 degrees above dead downwind in 27 knots of true wind!?" As the navigators and routers were preparing to negotiate the Doldrums, Team Adventure continued to close up on Club Med, trailing by 71 miles at the 2030 GMT position reports. Team Adventure took 10 miles out of Club Med since this morning's 1030 GMT report, while also legging out on Innovation Explorer, which dropped to 330 miles behind Club Med. "We don't seem to have the same pace as the other two," Dalton said yesterday, referring to Team Adventure and Innovation Explorer. "We have more than 1200 square meters of sail area set right now - a huge gennaker, staysail and a shelf in the mainsail - absolutely every scrap of cloth on the boat, and they still seem to be a bit faster. "I'm really impressed by the pace," Dalton said. "I didn't think they (Team Adventure and Innovation Explorer) would be pushing so hard. We are really racing hard." Sailing the 110-foot catamarans at top speed is balancing a fine line between exhilaration and catastrophe. All of the skippers were confident before the start of The Race that their steeds could withstand the rigors of a global circumnavigation - provided that they weren't pushed too hard. But lurking in the back of everyone's mind was the catastrophe factor if they did push too hard: capsizing. Grant Dalton's Club Med straddled that fine line last night. "We had a big scare," Dalton said, "sailing along at huge speed when a steering cable came off the quadrant. The boat broached, unusual for a catamaran, with the gennaker up. We were lucky. I was in the leeward hull looking out the window and I saw the weather hull rise up - blue sky underneath. We were lucky, very lucky. - Sean McNeill, for Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.quokkasailing.com/stories/2001/01/SLQ_0108_therace_WFC.html Standings 2200GMT: 1. Club Med 2. Team Adventure, 65 miles behind leader, 3. Innovation Explorer, 344 miles behind leader, 4. PlayStation, 608 miles behind leader, 5. Warta-Polpharma, 892 miles behind leader, 6. Team Legato, 1905 miles behind leader. Event website: http://www.therace.org/asp/accueil.asp PLAYSTATION PlayStation skipper Steve Fossett has confirmed his boat and crew came very close to disaster. In his Sunday night report to The Race headquarters in Paris, France, Fossett said "One of the most feared equipment failures occurred. The mainsheet broke at 07:30 GMT." Not surprisingly, for a skipper with so many miles of ocean under his belt, this was not the first time such a failure had occurred. Fossett said: "The last time this happened to me was on the Stars and Stripes catamaran. The shock load caused the mast to break and fall over. "The PlayStation mainsheet is one of the most highly loaded points of the boat with a potential load of 15 tons. We we're lucky." This latest setback - so soon after the boat lost 48 hours to replace a ripped mainsail and jib - temporarily halted the yacht chasing down the leading pack of three. But, the delay for repairs was not as devastating as the earlier episode. The skipper added: "The crew immediately rigged an emergency mainsheet system so we could continue sailing at least half speed while a new mainsheet was prepared and installed. Five hours later the job was done. We are sailing full speed again. Fortunately, we had the rigging skills to fix the mainsheet." With the running repairs finished, PlayStation not only picked up speed again but was soon the fastest boat in the fleet again. At 23 knots, she is one knot faster than the three boats ahead. - Colin M Jarman, NOW Sport website Full story: http://www.now.com/feature.now?cid=997704&fid=1125306 ABOARD INNOVATION EXPLORER - By Skip Novak For a boat that was designed for reaching and running at speed, up until yesterday we have had precious little of it. It is day seven of The Race and Innovation Explorer has broken out into a 30-knot trade wind after laboring for five days against persistent headwinds. We are currently just north of the Cape Verde Islands running hard with the reacher and having doused the big gennaker an hour ago when the steering became tricky in the building sea. Eleven thousand square feet of sail out of control usually ends in tatters and tears, so we got smart. An average over the last six hours shows 28 knots and we are regularly seeing 30-32 knots on the speedo! The sun is shining, snow white spray is continually peppering us aft from both bows searching the waves, and well, I can't imagine where in the world I would rather be. But it's a relief to be running free at speed after what was a brutal pounding. This unfavorable condition was well predicted and no one was relishing the prospect in Barcelona. It is hard on gear and hard on the crew both above and below decks, literally a bone-shaking exercise as 33 meters of catamaran pitches and slams into the headseas with the helmsman trying to keep the speed down to a safe 10 to 12 knots. Twelve knots may sound like a lot to a monohull sailor (you could leave Cowes, England after lunch and be in Cherbourg, France for dinner for example), but when you are used to reaching along comfortably at 25 to 30 it's simply demoralizing. The start on Sunday was a beautiful crisp winter's day off Barcelona and everything went according to plan for Bruno Peyron's organization. After all the problems and doubts that have always been associated with this project, one can only imagine and hope that he is now sleeping easier with the fleet on its way. The raw speed Team Adventure showed off the line was incredible, and we must assume all other things being equal that her sail wardrobe of Cuben Fiber fabric was worth the extra couple of hundred thousand dollars! She literally marched away from the fleet, pointing higher and going faster as they say, and although we were amazed it must have given Grant Dalton and Co. on Club Med a bigger shock. Having the time and cash to experiment with some lighter and higher tech 3DL fabrics for their fore and aft sails, they thought twice, left them ashore and returned to the proven Spectra suit, although somewhat lighter than what we are carrying. - By Skip Novak, Outside Online website. Full story: http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure/adventurers/therace2000/index.html ONE-STOP SHOPPING When you need the good stuff for your boat, have you noticed it can be hard to find? At Performance Yacht Systems in Annapolis, we are constantly searching, locating and delivering products that our competitors will tell you are out of stock. How do we do it? We work directly with manufacturers and every major independent marine distributor in the United States. Why can't they do it? They work only with manufacturers, and compete with the independents that collectively hold more inventory. Check out our website at http://www.pyacht.com, or call 1-877-3pyacht to speak with someone who cares. VENDEE GLOBE For the first time since Thursday, PRB's boat speed is inferior to that of her two main rivals Kingfisher & Sill. The distance between leader and second place has reduced from 543 to 535 miles in 9 hours. This distance - the same mileage between Paris and Madrid - is enough to keep Michel Desjoyeaux more serene. "The squally weather here is always hard going as you never know whether to stick up more sail or reef it in. I must be managing this kind of situation better now as I feel less stressed about it. I spent last night on the couchette, oilskins at the ready beside me but I slept really well." He hopes to pass round the Horn on Wednesday or Thursday, pushed along by the last breath of wind offered by the tail end of the depression he has been getting a tow from in the Pacific. "Harder day today: the wind varied from 17 - 38 knots often in a matter of seconds, and so I never had the best sail configuration up. The anenometer hits 38 knots, you furl the solent, the squall passes and you slow up to 10 knots. Hesitatingly, you unfurl again but 10 minutes later it all starts again. I don't play with the main sail as I don't have the time to breath otherwise in between these manoeuvres." Desjoyeaux said. - Eric Coquerel, Carre Mer Standings on January 8 at 15:00 UT: 1. PRB (Desjoyeaux) 2. Kingfisher (MacArthur) 541 mile behind leader, 3. SILL Matines La Potagere (Jourdain) 673 miles behind leader, 4. Active Wear (Thiercelin) 735 miles behind leader, 5. Sodebo (Coville) 1131miles behind leader. Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.com/home.asp?lang=us LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) (Letters selected to be printed may be 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. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold your e-mail address on request.) * From T.L. Lewis - From an early age in Australia, I was taught that the possession of bananas on a racing boat was a source of bad luck, imagine my amazement when out on a charter fishing boat in Destin, Florida, that the same superstition was observed. Yet many of my sailboat racing acquaintances in the U.S. were unaware of this protocol. Can you or any of your subscribers shed light on this matter and perhaps it's origins, by the way, some sailors also include watermelons in the forbidden fruit list. * FROM: "Tom Ehman" tfe@compuserve.com (In re. David Redfern's bow-and-arrow trophy which was understood to be a regional or national event.) The America's Cup is normally, and I believe properly called "the oldest trophy in international sport." The ancient Olympics notwithstanding, I'm not aware of any enduring competition which by practice and definition ("for friendly competition between foreign countries") is international and predates the America's Cup. Regarding the nationality rules, there is nothing in the Deed of Gift requiring crew to be from the same country as the yacht club for which they are sailing. (Design and construction of the yacht is another matter.) The long history of the Cup has Americans sailing on challengers, and non-Americans sailing on American defenders. Indeed, according to Lawson and others, the original yacht America had an English pilot and six other Brit seamen. It was not until 1980 that NYYC issued an "interpretive resolution" requiring that, subsequent to the 1980 match, "members of a candidate's crew shall be nationals of the country in which the club represented by the candidate is located." This was in response to an American in the afterguard of the Australian challenger that year. Whether this relatively recent rule is good for the event, or is in fact too weak is of course debatable. One thing to keep in mind: in the other global event often compared with the America's Cup - Formula One - no one thinks of Ferrari as anything other than an Italian team, regardless that their star driver is a German who lives in Switzerland and their other is a Brazilian who lives in Monaco. * From: Jim Barton bartondc@email.msn.com All of you who "deplore" the lack of nationalism in America's Cup, and really want to support someone sailing for their country, should get behind the US Sailing team. I know they could use a couple of hundred million dollars. Besides if you turn it in to a contest between nations, we may never get it away from the Kiwis. * From Ron Baerwitz LaffingBaer@aol.com Re: Ken Guyer 'Butt' 722 - Without the wealth of dollars being poured into the AC, there would be no true professional sailors. Many of these top racers decided to go professional years ago before the ability to make a stable living. Now, they have found the opportunity to make real dollars from their skills. I personally don't care what the deed of the AC says. It's a yacht race of the highest caliber and it brings our sport new technology and our best sailors the compensation they deserve. I'm only jealous that many of my old friends are making more money and having more fun than me! * From: "Jonathan Goddard" jongoddard@inetmail.att.net To all those who thinks man will be surfing solar blasts from planet to planet in 100 years, think about Stanley Kubrich's '2001' when you're driving your 130hp Chevette to work tomorrow. In a hundred years, I'll be sailing my Vanguard-15 after applying some anti-aging cream in just the right places. FOR THE RECORD It is a mark that has stood untouched for 29 years, and is one of the few older monohull records untoppled in an age of faster, lighter more efficient boats - 811 miles from Florida to Jamaica in 3 days, 3 hour, 40 minutes and 7 seconds. Next month, Roy E. Disney's 75 foot Reichel/Pugh IMS sled Pyewacket and her sistership, Robert McNeil's record holding Zephyrus IV, will be looking to slam the course record for the Pineapple Cup - Montego Bay Race, set by the Alan Gurney-designed 70-foot Windward Passage in an outstanding feat in 1971. Other maxis that have already entered and are capable of eclipsing the Windward Passage record include James Dolan's 76-foot Langan-designed Sagamore. Two strong contenders are the Andrews-designed sleds Trader, owned by Fred Detwiler, and Magnitude, campaigned by Doug Baker. Two other big boats in the growing list of confirmed entries include Hunting Sheldon's Reichel-Pugh 66-footer Zaraffa and Robert Schwartz' Sydney 60 Yes/Diane The 2001 Pineapple Cup - Montego Bay Race will start on February 2, off Port Everglades, Florida, sending a distinguished fleet on the classic 811-mile passage to Montego Bay. The course, across the Gulf Stream, down through the islands of the Bahamas and the Windward Passage to Montego Bay, Jamaica, typically provides a beat, a gradually broadening reach and an exhilarating run to the finish line. The varying conditions along the route stretch the seamanship and navigational skills of the race participants. Fondly called the "Mobay" by participants, the race is run biennially under the management of a joint race committee of the Storm Trysail Club, the Montego Bay Yacht Club and the Jamaica Yachting Association. Roy Disney has a special interest in the record. Two years ago, after a strong first two-thirds of the race, Pyewacket finished just two hours and three minutes short of the record in dying tradewinds. In '97 Larry Ellison's Sayonara was also unsuccessful. Recent records broken by Zephryus include the Cape Town to Rio Race where she took nearly two days off the old record and this year's Middle Sea Race where she lopped eight hours off the old mark. Zephryus got a new rig after a dismasting in the Key West to Baltimore Race last year and now sports a slightly taller mast, a fully-battened Volvo 60-style mainsail, longer spinnaker poles and a bigger A-Sail. The weather in '71 helped Windward Passage owner Robert Johnson establish his record passage, with a strong southerly at the start, forerunner of an approaching front that provided a fast reach across the Gulf Stream instead of the normal beat. Then the frontal passage with a fresh northwesterly enabled spinnakers to be set before Eleuthra and carried all the way to the finish. Monohull boats in IMS and PHRF divisions will vie for the Pineapple Cup, awarded for best overall performance, the IMS Seahorse Trophy, the PHRF Arawack trophy, and the Windward Passage Challenge Trophy, awarded for breaking the course record. The race also includes a multihull division, eligible only for its individual class trophies. The 1999 race saw Steve Fossett in his 60-foot trimaran Lakota smashing his own multihull course record set in 1995 by an astounding 7 hours, 47 minutes and 15 seconds, setting a new multihull course record of 2 days, 20 hours, 8 minutes and 5 seconds. It was a fitting swan song for Lakota under Fossett's ownership with a track record of six race records and eight world records. - Keith Taylor, www.montegobayrace.com TURN YOUR PASSION INTO YOUR CAREER Because of North Sails unprecedented growth, North Sails Manufacturing is hiring at all levels, all skills, all over the country. Excellent wages, 401K with company match, Health and Dental Insurance. These opportunities offer room for advancement, growth potential, & structured training. Join our team and let your sailing skills work for you. Specific locations include: North Sails Manufacturing in Long Island, Rhode Island, San Diego, Toronto, Connecticut & Maryland. Contact Kallie Gordon (Kallie@nmo.northsails.com)- 203-783-0871 for the opportunity nearest or best suited for you. ROSE BOWL REGATTA More that 350 sailors, representing 16 colleges and 45 high schools, participated in the 2001 Rose Bowl Regatta, held Saturday and Sunday, January 6-7, in Long Beach, California. The event, co-hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, the US Sailing Center in Long Beach and the University of Southern California Sailing Team, was sailed on two venues on Alamitos Bay. Results are determined by combining the scores from competition in "A" and "B" divisions resulting in each school's total. Racing was held in CFJ sloops, with each school sharing a boat and swapping teams on the beach between races. The toughest competition of the weekend occurred among the top three teams in the collegiate division. In the end, St. Mary's College of Maryland eked out a one-point win against Dartmouth College of Hanover, NH; third place went to the University of California, Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara's "A" team was tops in its division and Dartmouth's "B" team tops in theirs; but the consistent performance of the St. Mary's "A" team of Danny Pletsch and Leah Anderson and the "B" team of Brent Jansen and Sarah McCarron led to their win. The 45 high schools, all from within California, were divided into two groups. Coronado High School of Coronado, with an "A" team of Brian Haines and Blaire Herron and a "B" team of Mikee Anderson-Mitterling and Lauren Usrey, were first in the 24-school Gold Division. Servite High School of Anaheim, with an "A" team of Ryan Mulvania and Dustin Delgado and a "B" team of Jamie DeWolfe and Ryan Gautshi, won the 21-school Silver Division. A feature of the Rose Bowl Regatta is the Saturday-night dinner at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club where top high-school sailors and their parents meet and listen to presentations from collegiate coaches and team members. More that 300 dinners were served, and 20 collegiate sailing programs from all over the United States were represented. - Michael H. Segerblom, Head Coach, USC Varsity Sailing Team COLLEGIATE DIVISION (16 schools): 1. St. Mary's College, St. Mary's, Maryland (83 points); 2. Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (84); 3. UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA (84); 4. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (100); 5. Boston College, Boston, MA (104). HIGH SCHOOL GOLD DIVISION (24): 1. Coronado HS, Coronado, CA (96); 2. Santa Barbara HS, Santa Barbara, CA (106); 3. University HS, San Diego, CA (130); 4. LaJolla HS, San Diego, CA (179); 5. Marin Catholic HS, Belvedere, CA (179). HIGH SCHOOL SILVER DIVISION (21): 1. Servite HS, Anaheim, CA (83); 2. Newport Harbor HS JV, Newport Beach, CA (100); 3. Coronado HS JV, Coronado, CA (116); 4. Polytechnic School, Pasadena, CA (121). Complete scores: www.uscsailing.org THE CURMUDGEON'S OXYMORONS Friendly argument |
