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SCUTTLEBUTT 2464 – October 30, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, featuresand dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. NEVER TOO OLD TO DREAM It is a safe bet that Barry Bonds won't be hitting home runs 10 years from now. His days of splashing balls into McCovey Cove are over. But in sailing, unlike baseball and many other sports, you don't have to be young to compete successfully at the top levels. On some days, the winds are light and fickle, brains are more important than muscle and experience pays. On those days, the old guys rock. Don Jesberg, a 52-year-old Mill Valley investment advisor, hit the nautical equivalent of a homer this month at the Finn dinghy Olympic Trials in Southern California. On Day 6 of the nine-day regatta, Jesberg rounded the first weather mark - think of it like first base in the water - in front of the 42 competitors in the Finn class, which is the men's single-handed Olympic class for sailing. The Finn is one of 14 classes of boats that will compete in the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Qingdao, China. For Jesberg, who entered the regatta "for the fun of it" and hadn't sailed in an Olympic trial since 1976, the moment was pure magic. "The wind was blowing at about 5 or 6 knots," said Jesberg, a Finn flyweight at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds. "In those conditions I had good boat speed compared to the other boats because I weighed less than they did. I started free and clear on the left side of the line. The wind shifted left and I crossed the whole fleet. The breeze freshened, and I stretched and stretched my lead." A lifelong sailor who grew up in the San Francisco Yacht Club's junior program in Belvedere Cove, Jesberg had a 40-year track record of success on the water, mostly in big boats. Now he was reliving his youth, sailing a small 15-foot dinghy in the Olympic Trials with a bunch of kids breathing down his neck. -- Jan Pehrson, Marin Independent Journal, full story: http://origin.marinij.com/sports/ci_7272157 COACHING TIP - PROTESTS AND PENALTIES Longtime Tufts University coach and event PRO Kenneth Legler reminds us that good sailing ethics must become part of our practice routine: “Cutting corners is human nature. In regattas, we have all tried to get away with spinning penalty turns for harmless (and not so harmless) fouls. Most sailors don't like to protest as it is time consuming, stressful, and can lead to having a bad reputation and not getting breaks, especially from the team you protest. “Sailing isn't so fun, however, if we play without enforcing the rules. Of course, some sailors are more willing to take penalty turns than others. Two great college sailors come to mind when practicing penalty turns. When John Shadden (USC '85) was a freshman at BU, he did full penalty turns in practice when there was even a chance he was wrong. He used these penalties as a challenge to come back in those races at practice. He also learned how to spin without fouling another boat while spinning and how costly it is to spin in the first place. The result was that at regattas, he was more careful not to foul and when he did, his penalty turns were very efficient. “While observing a practice at BC last month, I saw the same attitude from a current sailor. Adam Roberts and crew took a penalty turn for a very minor and questionable non-contact foul. After spinning he and his crew made their comeback. A Tufts sailor mentioned that at a Minor event recently, the race committee discouraged protests during the competitor’s briefing because there were no judges. I was about to say something when I realized I have done the same when running Minors. However, it's fouls we need to discourage, not protests.” -- Read on, and post comments at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5407 THIRTY YEARS SAIL BY Tripp Fellabom runs UK-Halsey Sailmakers Charleston, and from his sail loft in the Charleston City Marina, he recently shared his perspective on the Charleston sailing scene on the occasion of his 30-year anniversary in the sailmaking and repair business in the Holy City. "I was delivering boats after graduating from Clemson, and I started working for a sail loft in Annapolis (in the 1970s) on what was supposed to be a temporary basis," Fellabom reminisced. "Later, the owners offered me the chance to open a loft in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. I felt like Fort Lauderdale was the better place to open a new location, and was on my way to do that. I was passing through Charleston, went out one night with Walter Ehrhardt and Kit Regnery, and they convinced me to stay in Charleston. It was a lot like Annapolis was in the 1950s — a few marinas, not a whole lot of sailing." Annapolis in the 1970s was a happening place as far as sailing was concerned, second only perhaps to Newport, R.I., on the East Coast. By contrast, Charleston's racing scene wasn't exactly bustling. "Charleston Ocean Racing Association had been organized in about 1968,'' Fellabom said. "By the mid-70s, it had a couple of harbor and ocean races, and there were maybe 15 boats involved. It was very low key." So, to help promote his new sailmaking business, he jumped in and helped promote the sport. He volunteered with CORA and helped start the popular Wednesday night races, now known as the Summer Series. -- The Post and Courier, full story: http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/oct/26/thirty_years_sail_by20213/ FIRST IN THE CALM, FIRST IN THE STORM Last year, the Rolex Middle Sea Race was an extreme light air affair; this year the fleet sailed in a 57-knot gale. Yet one aspect remained unchanged in this 606-mile bash around Sicily: Arthur Podesta, sailing “Medbank Elusive,” a Beneteau 45f5, achieved back-to-back triumphs using a 3-year-old UK-Halsey Tape-Drive main, our latest MatriX genoas and spinnakers, all made by UK-Halsey France. Podesta, with his daughter and two sons, won IRC Class 4 and was fourth overall in IRC. For info on developments in string sail technology, call 800-253-2002; for that and links to dramatic photos, go to http://www.ukhalsey.com TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE CNEV Imagine you wanted to join the yacht club whose privilege is to be the Challenger of Record in the world's oldest and most prestigious sailing competition in order to show off at your friends and boast about over dinner talk. According to the story that Jaume Soler's blog runs today, this is next to impossible. Macarena Lainez, a well-known sailing journalist in Spain and director of the monthly magazine "Barcos a Vela", wanted to write an article on the required procedure in order for someone to become member of the CNEV (Club Nautico Español de Vela) and inform the general public about the organization, activities and services of the yacht club that challenges Alinghi in the 33rd America's Cup. Nevertheless, what was supposed to be a simple task, gather some basic information, turned out to be an odyssey. – Valencia Sailing, read on: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com * If joining the CNEV proves to be a challenge, don’t forget that the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club is available. This week we are having our Club Championships in the BVI at the Bitter End YC resort, with participating sailors including Russell Coutts, Paul Cayard, Ken Read, Dawn Riley, Ben Ainslie, Ed Baird, Terry Hutchinson, Lowell North, Keith Musto, Rod Johnstone, Bruce Kirby, and Butch Ulmer. Race officials include Tom and Barbara Farquhar, Robert Q. Phillips, Bob and Carolyn Burgess, and Brad Dellenbaugh. Details to follow. Event site: http://www.beyc.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=181 * If you are interested in visiting the Bitter End YC, the resort has donated a special guest package to a local womens sailing team as a fundraiser, and it has a fixed price that is purported to be a great deal. Information is available at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/09/houston-or-bust.html FROM THE VIEW OF THE DEFENSE After a weekend of Challenger Meetings, some behind the scenes negotiations, and several radio interviews, and even a plea from a hospital bed, in South Africa, it seems that the respective parties are still at loggerheads in the 33 America’s Cup. The lack of progress in negotiations has reached the point of becoming embarrassing, and the focus of the arguments increasingly diluted. A so-called compromise plan put forward by BMW Oracle Racing is said to have been scuppered by Alinghi, while the entered Challengers discussed draft twenty something of the new 90ft class rule. As the clock continued to run down, the prospect of the America’s Cup moving to a new date became increasingly real, as did the prospect of Justice Herman Cahn being the one to break the deadlock. Many of the protagonists are in New Zealand, among them Brad Butterworth and Hamish Ross (Alinghi) and Jim Farmer (ETNZ). The rest are in Europe – and 12 hour time zones don’t aid a negotiation process. It has been normal practice over recent Cups for the design rule to be seen by all potential competitors well in advance of entries closing for the event. To be fair, while the new Rule has had input only from entered teams, entries have not yet closed. Much has been made of the so-called shift in position by BMW Oracle Racing with the submission of a nine point plan (or set of requests) by CEO and skipper, Russell Coutts. On Sunday, Sail-World contacted Hamish Ross, General Counsel for Alinghi for an update on their position and their perspective on the general state of play. -- Excerpts from a Sail World, full story: http://www.sail-world.com * According to Michel Hodaro, America’s Cup Management COO, he has said that at this stage and considering the situation in NY, the disclosure (of the new 90ft class rule) is intended for entered and accepted competitors only. ABSOLUTELY HANGING ON Francis Joyon is getting ready; the clock is counting down. Any week now when the weather is right, the 51-year-old Frenchman will be leaving in his 97ft Nigel Irens designed trimaran IDEC, with every intention of wresting the solo round the world record he set in 2004 back from Ellen MacArthur. For her part, Ellen is a little torn. She is godmother to the rival contestant, her pal Thomas Coville's Sodeb'O, a slightly larger and much more complex Irens trimaran. But one thing she seems resigned to is that, one way or the other, the record will tumble. "I'm sure one of them will break the record this winter," she says, pointing to three good reasons why this should be so. "They' re both bigger boats so, in theory, they'll be faster. We spent a lot of time with a reef in so even if you had a bigger boat with the same size mast it's still going to be as quick or quicker than B&Q. And I remember that I was five days ahead at Cape Horn and had the worst South Atlantic you could possibly have, so yes it's beatable." The steepest hurdle with this kind of sailing is the intense stress it places on the sailor - something that is bound to increase if Joyon and Coville find each other in direct competition. As Ellen explains it: "It's far harder than the Vendée Globe, where the stress levels are quite different because the boat's just not going as fast. This is like driving at 90mph rather than 60; you are absolutely hanging on to the steering wheel.” -- Elaine Bunting, Yachting Worlds, read on: http://www.yachtingworld.com/yw/blog/20070925140610blog_elaine_bunting.html * Posted on the Cowes Online website: “As Joyon's website is exclusively in French, we emailed his PR to ask if they would be publishing reports in English for Joyon's many fans who don't speak French. The response winged it's way promptly across the English Channel from PR spokesperson Fabrice Thomazeau who said, ‘Bonjour, Malheureusement, nous ne communiquerons pas en anglais. Le sponsor du bateau n'ayant pas d'objectif à l'international.’ It didn't take a linguist to work this one out - the sponsor has no international objectives so there's won't be any English language communications. -- http://www.cowes.co.uk/zonexml/story?story_id=3533;cp=0 J/105’S DRAWS RECORD FLEET Annapolis, MD -- When the entry period officially closed on Wednesday, October 17, a record fleet of 69 J/105s from across North America were in the mix for the upcoming J/105 North American Championship, set for Thursday-Sunday, November 1-4. Among the entries are 40 boats that will be traveling from outside the Chesapeake Bay. Defending North American Champion Thomas Coates from San Francisco, CA, will be on hand with his Masquerade team, hoping to repeat his 2006 win. In addition, Steve Phillips of Arnold, MD, who earned the championship title in 2000 and again in 2002, will be among the 27 representatives of Annapolis’ Fleet 3, sailing Le Renard. The lineup of competitors is not only challenging, but also diverse. Along with past champions and consistently strong performers from 15 J/105 fleets in North America, two teams of Naval Academy midshipmen also will compete. These collegians are not the youngest participants, however; that honor goes to the Storm Trysail Club’s Chessie Team, made up of five junior sailors and their coach. -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/1029a * Over the past couple weeks, the Annapolis area has been host to the Albacore Internationals, 505 North Americans, U.S. Sailing Offshore Championship, J/24 East Coast Championship, and Melges 24 Northeast District Championship. Following the J/105 North Americans this week will be the IRC East Coast Championship (“sold out” at 45 boats) on November 2-4, and then the J/80 North American Championship on November 9-11. When does winter stop sailing here? – Excerpt from Floatline: http://www.floatline.com/floatline/2007/10/game-on.html IN WITH THE NEW…SALE ON THE OLD With the 2008 Henri Lloyd Gore-Tex styles coming, the 2007 Gore-Tex Cruiser/Racer Jacket is available now at a great value. Low-bulk, three-layer, high-vis hood with two-way adjustment and Polartec 200 fleece-lined collar. Cinch in the draw cord hem and sink your hands deep into the hand warmer facility. Retail price: $450. Sale price: $250. Limited supply – view here: http://www.henrilloydonline.com/cart/product.php?cat=&mfg=&prodID=355 SAILING SHORTS * As part of its Centenary year celebrations, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) is launching the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame. Six inductees from across the world of sailing will enter the ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame in this inaugural year. They will be announced and awarded on Monday, November 5th as part of the ISAF Annual Conference being held in Estoril, Portugal. The ISAF Sailing Hall of Fame will be a quadrennial event. -- http://www.sailing.org/halloffame * Long Beach, CA - The father/son team Brian and Stephen Tedeschi, sailing their boat Tastes Like Chicken, Newport, R.I., won the second annual J/109 North American Championships last weekend in the waters off Long Beach. With crew Tony Tedeschi, Mark Ploch, Mark “Gonzo” Gonzales, Alex Millet, Melody Schleusner, and Peter Hamm, they won through consistency, being the only team to collect only top five scores. Complete reports from all three days are here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/1028/ * Annapolis, MD (October 29, 2007) - Going into the final day last Sunday of the 2007 US Offshore Championship for the Lloyd Phoenix Trophy, Chuck Nichols ’ team from San Diego, CA was holding a small lead over the 11-boat fleet of Navy 44’s. Winds ranged from high teens to high twenties for the final two races, and it was Nichols’ cast that stayed in the hunt, capitalizing on the mistakes of others to win both races and the series. Sailing with Nichols was Matthew Brown, Bruce Buddenhagen, Kyle Clark, Kelly McKeown, John Reiter, James Sakasegawa, and Wayne Terry. -- Event website: http://www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/usoffshore/index.asp 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 the Forum (phoebe): I am heading off to university next year, and was planning to go into naval architecture/ marine engineering (they seem to be interchangeable?). I realized there are no degrees in Canada, but a lot of Diplomas. What is the difference? The diplomas are 4-year courses at real universities. Degrees are in the US or GBR. They are the same length, and seem to cover the same topics, but cost so much more with international fees. Is there a difference? -- Reply to editor or post reply to Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5435 * From Tom Priest: With regards to Bruce Thompson’s comments regarding the fatal accident in Chicago (from Issue 2463), where he wonders what it will take for people to wear safety harnesses, as the condition at least on paper seemed to warrant it. I suppose MOST of the time that's a fair question, but I also thought I read somewhere that this boat hit the rocks and split in two. If true, I'm quite sure I DON'T want to be 'strapped' to that mess! I'll take my chances 'in the drink'. But then again, I REALLY hope I never have to make that choice! * From Andy Stagg: (In response to letters in Issue 2463 regarding Loki) How do you know they were not prepared for such things as a "high tech carbon rudder failure"? Have you taken into consideration the conditions at the time? Might it not have been a judgment call on the skippers behalf, that it was safer to get the crew off? Could you imagine trying to deploy a secondary means of steerage in high swell and howling wind? Would you have faith in your crews ability to do so? how about the engineering of the secondary system? What if it failed further away from help, closer to rocks, etc? Let's face it, you weren't there and neither was I, however, I would rather sail with a skipper who brought their crew home safe - period. All that was lost was a yacht; due to the skippers judgment everyone on board is ALIVE. * From Bill Tyler: Regarding a couple of opinions (in Issue 2463) as to the poor seamanship and poor preparation of the yacht LOKI and her crew in the Middle Sea Race, I think they are confusing the prudent (required) emergency tiller with carrying an emergency rudder. Reasonable backups and spares are required and carried by offshore racing boats, but the loss of a mast, rudder, or keel (quite rare) isn't something one can carry a "spare" for. The descriptions I read from Cameron Miles sound like every effort was made to save LOKI and to avoid being airlifted off, but they were in extremely difficult conditions and on a lee shore with time running out. Fingers can sometimes be pointed at sailors - not just racers - for being unprepared for what Mother Nature can dish out, but I certainly don't believe it's warranted in this instance. CURMUDGEON’S COUNSEL To keep a healthy level of insanity, specify that your drive-through order is "to go". Special thanks to UK Halsey Sailmakers and Henri Lloyd. |
