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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 528 - March 16, 2000BACK IN BUSINESSAfter spending five days in a Computer Critical Care unit, my notebook computer is once again 'squeaky clean.' The dreaded Pretty Worm virus has been surgically removed from all components, and we are back in business again. You'll be happy to know that I've installed even higher fences to keep the bad bugs out of Scuttlebutt World Headquarters, which hopefully will eliminate (or at least minimize) any future interruptions. FYI -- A lot of readers wrote in with their recommendations for a new computer. Dell was the brand named most often, followed by Mac and Gateway. YACHTIES OF THE YEAR NEW YORK, N.Y. (March 15, 2000)--Eric Doyle, age 31, of San Diego, California, and Dawn Riley, age 35, of San Francisco, California and Detroit, Michigan, were honored today as the 1999 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year at a ceremony in the Model Room of the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan. The annual award - administered since 1961 by US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, and sponsored since 1980 by Rolex Watch U.S.A. - recognizes outstanding on-the-water achievement in the calendar year just concluded. Riley, one of seven finalists for the Rolex Yachtswoman award, was recognized for her match racing as well as organizational skills, while Doyle, one of nine finalists for the Rolex Yachtsman award, was recognized in large part for his performances in the Star class. Both first-time winners, Riley and Doyle were nominated by US SAILING's membership and selected by a distinguished panel of sailing journalists. Eric Doyle Doyle skippered to win the Star class Midwinters, North Americans and World Championships. His Star World victory - hard-fought among 129 teams of such notables as Olympic gold medallists Jose Maria van der Ploeg (Spain), Mark Reynolds (San Diego) and Torben Grael (Brazil) - also qualified the U.S. for its Star berth at the 2000 Olympic Games. The panel also acknowledged Doyle's second-place finish among 93 Star teams at the highly competitive Bacardi Cup, as well as his third-place finish out of 85 boats at the Star Italian National Championship. "I'm tremendously honored, grateful and a little astonished to have my name associated with other Rolex Yachtsmen such as Ed Adams, Dennis Conner and Ted Turner," said Doyle. "The panel's selection gives great credit to the Star class itself, which consists of incredibly accomplished sailors." In Melges 24s, Doyle crewed for fellow Rolex Yachtsman finalist Vince Brun (San Diego) to win the Yachting Cup and Balboa Cup Challenge and take third at Key West Race Week. Throughout the America's Cup Challenger Series, he served as the mainsail trimmer aboard Stars & Stripes, Dennis Conner's San Diego Yacht Club challenge for the America's Cup. Born in Washington, D.C., Doyle grew up in Pass Christian, Miss., where he learned to sail at Pass Christian Yacht Club and attended St. Stanislaus High School. A graduate of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, Doyle and wife Sheila, a three-time Olympic kayaker, reside in San Diego. A sail maker at North Sails One Design, Doyle plans to compete in the April U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the Star class with crew Tom Olsen of E. Dennis, Massachusetts. Dawn Riley As CEO of America True, the San Francisco Yacht Club's challenge for the America's Cup 2000, Riley became the first woman in the world to manage an America's Cup team. In December, at the conclusion of the third round-robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup, America True - with Riley crewing - stood third overall out of 11 teams and led all U.S. syndicates in points going into the 2000 semifinals. Among Riley's other accomplishments was an impressive victory at the Boat U.S. Santa Maria Cup, the 12-boat invitational that hosted top ranked match racers including past Rolex Yachtswomen Betsy Alison (Newport, Rhode Island) and Cory Sertl (Rochester, New York) as well as Paula Lewin (Bermuda) and Shirley Robertson (Great Britain). Additionally, Riley was the mainsail trimmer aboard the third-place boat in the New Zealand Match Racing Championships, racing against such formidable competitors as Francesco de Angelis (Italy), Chris Dickson (New Zealand) and Gavin Brady (New Zealand). "I've been a Rolex Yachtswoman nominee six times for my long-term projects," said Riley, who was team captain of America3, the historic women's 1995 America's Cup team; a member of the winning 1992 America's Cup team (also America3); skipper of Heineken, the all-woman team in the 1993-94 Whitbread 'Round the World sailing marathon; and watch captain of Maiden, the first-ever all woman Whitbread team, which finished second overall in the 1989-90 event. "I was beginning to feel a bit like Susan Lucci. This year, however, the years of organizing combined with some great support from donors and sponsors allowed me to get on the water for some other events. I'm very honored to have won." Growing up in Detroit, where she sailed on Lake St. Claire, Riley's obsession with racing began at age 13 when she joined North Star Sail Club and was named commodore of the junior sailing program. She attended South Lake and L'Anse Creuse High Schools and Macomb Community College before graduating from Michigan State University. Riley's future plans include leading the America True campaign in its challenge for the next America's Cup. A board member of the Women's Sports Foundation, author and public speaker, Riley travels around the world motivating young people through presentations focusing on team building and personal success. -- Barby MacGowan, http://www.ussailing.org WILL LACK OF CANDOR SPOIL THE VICTORY? -- by Bill Koch Take a deep breath New Zealand, and enjoy the glory that comes with having defended the America's Cup. Consider it a job well done. But before everyone gets carried away with all of the accolades, it's time to address some thorny questions. Because if these questions persist, then Auckland runs the risk that the America's Cup, an event that is dear to me, could turn into the next international sports scandal. In yachting circles, questions continue to be raised by challengers, sponsors and the press about a small group of individuals who form "the brain trust" behind Team New Zealand. And all of the questions involve money and fundraising. Some of the confusion starts with Team New Zealand's own media guide, where the team advertises itself as a charitable trust. Public corporate records, however, show what appears to be a for-profit company with the name "Trustee" grandly inserted in its name. The guide also leads the public to believe that Peter Blake, Alan Sefton, and Scott Chapman form some kind of brain trust behind TNZ. In the media guide, Blake lists himself as chief executive, while Sefton and Chapman claim to be executive directors. Yet none of these people appear in the public corporate records. From what I can gather, Team New Zealand Corporation (TNZC) has two entities: the sailing side and the commercial side. The sailing side is also called Team New Zealand (TNZ). It is Russell Coutts, Brad Butterworth, and Tom Schnackenberg, to name a few. The commercial side is AC 2000. It appears to be comprised of Peter Blake, Alan Sefton, Scott Chapman and Tony Thomas among others. AC 2000 seems even more of a mystery. There are no corporate papers identifying any of the officers. When my staff called over to AC 2000 looking for the titles of the officers, they were told none existed. "We don't believe in titles," the receptionist said. Based on the team's literature, we know it was AC 2000 that secured the sponsors, or "family of five" - Lotto, Television One, Steinlager, Toyota and Telecom New Zealand - that appear on Black Magic. Sources say TNZ only communicated with AC 2000 in writing. When the sailing side needed funds, they made a formal request to AC 2000. In a brief interview Sefton said the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron did not have the resources to stage a regatta. The brain trust created AC 2000 to help pay for the races. By all estimates, they did a super job. Much of the money for the regatta came from sponsors like Telecom NZ, Compaq, Fuji/Xerox, Air New Zealand, Ericsson and Omega. Sources close to the regatta suggest each sponsor contributed $3 million (NZ). AC 2000 also sold media rights and red socks, licensed the name and image of America's Cup as well as their own logo, took in challenger fees and sold official flags which allowed a few boats to follow the racing yachts. They also received a $2 million grant from the government. They could account for another $11 million (NZ). That means AC 2000 might have taken in close to $26 million (NZ). Seems like good business. Sources close to the regatta say AC 2000's expenses were in the neighborhood of a $1 million (NZ). One thing appears to be certain, AC 2000 had little expenses. Louis Vuitton paid for the media center and a good portion of the challenger series. That cost around $20 million (NZ). Ticket sales and sponsors funded the America's Cup Ball. AC 2000, which is managing the event, borrowed boats from the America's Cup Challenger Association (ACCA) for the press, the race committee and umpires. ACCA also loaned the marks for the race course and telemetry equipment needed for television coverage. "They [AC 2000] have paid cash for the services of the measurement committee, they paid cash for the services of the jury and the umpires, including housing and per diems, lunches and fuel for the boats on the race course. The regatta expenses are quite, quite small," said one high-ranking ACCA official who estimated the total costs would be less than $250,000 (NZ). If all this is true, it would mean AC 2000 make $25 million in profit. If TNZC is a business, then TNZC has done an excellent job in making such a large profit. There is nothing wrong with making a profit. The profit motive is what drives the most successful economies is the world. As most profitable businesses do, it should reinvest a portion of the profits in the business and pay the rest out as dividends to its shareholders. If TNZC is a charitable trust, it should use its profits for charitable purposes, as does, for example, Auckland's ASB Charitable Trust. Every year, ASB Charitable Trust uses the dividends they earn form ASB's profits to support charitable causes around New Zealand. At the end of the fiscal year, their books are opened and widely published. Anyone can see how much money ASB Charitable Trust raised and where it was spent. There is nothing wrong with making money off the America's Cup. Nor is there anything wrong with bending the rules in favor of the defender. Both are long established traditions of the Cup. TNZC has been superb at both, far outdoing the New York Yacht Club. What is very offensive, however, is Peter Blake's hypocritical claims that he would run the fairest and cleanest Cup regatta ever. He has done just the opposite. He has not clarified whether TNZC is a for-profit organization or a charitable trust. He has refused to answer questions pertaining to finances, even declaring at a press conference in front of the world's media that TNZC's finances "were no one's business". Yet in a May 1995 interview, John Lusk, a TNZC director, stated that the details about who would benefit from TNZC's financial arrangements would surface later. "There aren't going to be any secrets about it," Lusk said. Why haven't the details come out? When asked hard questions, the brain trust has claimed that the press has not been supportive. They hide behind the flag. Deep secrecy and mystery is fertilizer for rumors and speculation about motives. An Auckland magazine reported recently that there was an ugly waterfront rumor that Blake and Sefton were sending sponsors' money abroad rather than diverting it into TNZ funds. Now we hear as well that TNZ (has no money) to fly the crew to ChristChurch and Dunedin to acknowledge the huge support of south islanders for their campaign. Where is the money? Why should the taxpayers have to fly the team in air force planes? Blake can put an end to all this immediately by opening up the books and answering questions about TNZC's finances in an up-front, honest way. This would show he has nothing to hide. He can start by answering the following dozen simple questions: - How much money has been raised? - How much has been spent and for what? - Where is the rest of the money? - Is Team New Zealand Corporation a charitable trust? - Exactly who are the beneficiaries? - If Team New Zealand/AC 2000 are for-profit organizations then who gets the benefits of the profits? Who are the shareholders? Who are the officers? And how much is their compensation? - How much money has gone to the sailors? How much to the executives? - How much money has gone to the sailing operations? - How much has the Cup regatta cost? - Why did sailors aboard Black Magic bring their own tupperware boxes containing home cut lunches to work every day? - What was the cause of the rift between the sailors and management? - Has money been going overseas? If it did leave the country, what was its purpose? What did it pay for? Simple, clear facts will clean up a lot of questions. All Blake has to do is to be open and honest, or as we in the USA would say, be "up-front". Sean Reeves, the lawyer for TNZC has said he believes it is impossible "to be up-front in the America's Cup." I strongly disagree. In 1992 when I defended the Cup, I released to the public a detailed analysis of America3's income and expenses, even though I had no obligations to do so and was subject to much criticism. Dennis Connor clearly and openly states his objective to profit from the Cup. Prada revealed its budget, as did AmericaOne. What does Peter Blake and company have to hide? Have they made money off the backs of the working sailor and the New Zealand people? Since money has come from the government and sponsorship from publicly-funded organizations (TVNZ and Lotto), the public has a right to know how their money was spent. Russell Coutts, Brad Butterworth and the rest of the crew aboard Black Magic were straight forward in their purpose: to win the America's Cup. They performed brilliantly. It would be a pity if Blake and company's obsession with hiding the facts overshadowed this great achievement by refusing to open the books and answer straight forward questions. -- Bill Koch THE RACE On Thursday March 16th during a press conference in Paris, Club Med, another challenger in The Race, will unveil the final design of the 33.50 m catamaran in the colours of its partners. This press conference will also be the occasion to reveal the name of the major French corporation that will be partners of Club Med in The Race. Launching is scheduled for the end of this coming April. -- Stephanie Schroeder The Race website: http://www.therace.org/english/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Lt Cmdr. Edgar Sherman, USPS -- Regarding a "Super Challenge" for the AC by the United States, Scuttlebutt quotes George Isdale, Commodore of the New York yacht Club: "The biggest problem (with a super challenge) is managing the egos. It's difficult but not impossible" Isdale was right on target because; "Wisdom and ego walk not the same path." --From Paul Lombardi -- The super challenge!! The New York yacht club and St Francis yacht club would be a very powerful team but I have one question? What if they win the cup where would the races be held? In Newport or San Francisco? Then the battle will take place between the two clubs for where they would sail. -- From Ray Pendleton (Re New York Yacht Club Commodore George "Dooie" Isdale and St. Francis Yacht Club Commodore Bruce Munro the possibility of a bicoastal super challenge that would pool the resources of the two clubs is being discussed.) -- This raises an interesting question...how would they decide on which coast to race, if they won the Cup? Or might they split the difference and have a Great Lakes venue? -- From Richard Kelton -- Chuck Gravengood's criticism of Doug Peterson, I think it is difficult to judge the potential of his design when Luna Rosa's crew lost every start, tacked very poorly, failed to cover, and may have made poor sail choices at times. Jobson said what I believe to be correct, put the New Zealand crew on Luna Rosa and she would have beaten the Italians on Black Magic. Keep in mind my disclosure, I own and race a Peterson design. -- Paul Bishop -- Once again it seems that you're ignoring the Scuttlebutt vow of "..save your personal attacks for elsewhere." I guess the Notes from Chris Welsh and Dan Somers in #525 and the Notes from Chuck Gravelgood and Ron Martyn in #526 aren't considered personal attacks? When Jimmy Jones or Pat Riley raise their voices to the teams they lead they are great motivators, but when Bertelli does it he is deflating team morale? By the way, where did Peterson ever slam "the whole country of NZ"? I think a careful analysis of boat performance shows that most of what was actually said by Peterson (NOT what was inaccurately reported to have been said) was correct. You are astute enough to know that if Coutts/Butterworth and their boys were swapped for DeAngelis/Grael and Co. the result would still have been 5-0, with the silver boat on top. TNZ would have dominated had they been sailing the best boats from America One, Young America, or Nippon. Sailors won these races, not technological advances or superior boatspeed. If you're going to print this stuff you should at least comment on the inaccurate portions. Most of it stinks of sour grapes by followers of teams that were eliminated by Prada. I think your vast knowledge of racing might be well served to enlighten some of the less experienced letter writers. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: I see a big difference between critical comment and a personal attack and former will always be welcome on these pages. Also, we don't mind serving up an occasional helping of sour grapes. Rather than impose my personal views on the readers, I prefer to provide them with enough rope to hang themselves. -- From Mike O'Brien -- Christopher Patterson and Patrick Rynne deserve the Congressional Medal of Honor, in addition to the US SAILING's Hansen Rescue Medal. STRICTLY SAIL Strictly Sail New England opens today at the Connecticut Expo Center: * Sunday, 3/19 ESPN Analyst Gary Jobson will give his first stateside recap of the America's Cup and preview the 2000 Olympics! * Saturday, 3/18 Yacht Clubs from around the Northeast will compete in the Yacht Club Challenge for the title of "Fastest Yacht Club in the Northeast" at the RC Pond! * Educational seminars running daily throughout the show, prize giveaways and Allstate Safety Day where the first 100 kids 12 and under will receive a free life jacket! For more details: http://www.strictlysail.com NOOD On Friday, March 17, the waters off San Diego will be a battleground for sailors from nine states and Canada competing at the Sailing World NOOD (National Offshore One-Design) Regatta, a three-day event that returns to San Diego for the third year. The regatta is hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club, March 17 to 19. Events on the NOOD circuit-a nine-event national series--draw sailors who are vying to be their region's best. But at this year's San Diego NOOD, competitors in the Etchells class are coming to the starting line with global aspirations. The 2000 Etchells Worlds will be held in San Diego in late August. Out-of-state skippers have brought their boats to the home of this year's Worlds (Etchells skippers from the East Coast, West Coast, Great Lakes, and Gulf of Mexico are entered in the NOOD), and sailors in the local fleet will be tuning up on the eve of their qualifying races for the Worlds. "I've been working on my boat, tuning it up. . . the NOOD is a key regatta to find out where I stand in this fleet," says Andy La Dow (San Diego), who won the Etchells class at the '98 NOOD and tied for second in '99. At press time, Cup veteran Peter Isler (San Diego) and two-time Melges 24 World Champion Vince Brun (San Diego) are among the world-class contenders in the Etchells class. Fourteen one-design classes and some 125 boats will compete at the NOOD. One-design classes expected on the starting line include: Corsair Trimarans, Etchells, Holder 20s, International 14s, J/24s, J/105s, J/120s, Melges 24s, One Design 35s (1D35), Schock 35s, Santana 20s, Solings, Star Class, and Ultimate 20s. -- Cynthia Goss Event websites: http://www.sailingworld.com http://www.sdyc.org SUNFISH MASTERS MARCH 10-12, 2000 - SARASOTA FL -- This was the second of two Sunfish Class Masters events conducted with a trial of weighted scoring based on age. The first, the US Masters at Lewes YC in Delaware in October 1999, and this event have provided scores and participant input which will be examined to determine if the Sunfish Class desires to continue any form of Masters scoring handicapping. At first overview it is looking unlikely. Conditions: Friday, medium breeze, dying to 5 knots but constant, no big holes. Saturday, 10-15, maybe a couple puffs to 18 at the end of the day. Sunday, front coming through, 28 knots, no racing. Shoreside fun and games with teams were well organized both Friday and Saturday night. -- Gail M. Turluck Final Results: 1. JOE BLOUIN (12 points) 2. DICK TILLMAN (16) 3. PETER BRANNING (18) 4. CHARLIE CLIFTON (27) 5. RICK PANTALL (37) ETCHELLS MIDWINTERS WEST 55 boats attended this year's Etchells Midwinter regatta held at the San Diego Yacht Club/Fleet 13. Competitors were treated to two beautiful sunny days of 8-10 knots breeze with temperatures around 70 degrees. Top competition included: Dennis Connor, Bruce Nelson, Peter Isler, Gary Weisman, and Ben Altman. -- James Buley FINAL RESULTS: 1.Craig Healy (20) 2. Jud Smith (21) 3. Brian Camet (22) 4. Vince Brun (22) Website: http://www.sdyc.org/raceinfo/ THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The trouble with life is there's no background music. |
