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SCUTTLEBUTT 2311 – March 29, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). LOOPHOLE LIFTS LIMIT Los Angeles, CA - An unexpected development has prompted the Transpacific Yacht Club board of directors to remove the rating limit for the fastest boats seeking first-to-finish "Barn Door" honors and possibly an elapsed time record in this summer's 44th Transpac from Los Angeles to Honolulu. The new eligibility limits will now allow boats up to 30 meters (98.5 feet) in length overall (LOA) to compete in their maximum configuration. The Transpac race has had a rating limit based on the slightly smaller maxZ86 class (87 feet LOA). A special rating system was used to rate yachts near that limit. The design offices of Juan Kouyoumdjian and Reichel/ Pugh discovered significant loop holes in that rating system which resulted in a large unfair rating advantage for their first-to-finish contenders. Given the short time for first-to-finish yachts to adjust their configurations to the limit, the Transpac board of directors elected to follow parallel paths to simultaneously: (1) request correction of the rating system in favor of fleet-wide fair ratings and (2) delete the rating portion of the eligibility limit so that first-to-finish contenders can complete their configuration changes while the rating system is corrected. The Notice of Race is being revised to state that monohull yachts with lengths between 26 feet and 30 meters, which meet the other race requirements, are eligible for entry in the 2007 Transpac. The eligibility limit now is based on maximum LOA and qualification under the other standards, common to all entries, listed in the Notice of Race. The rating is now immaterial to qualifying for entry at the upper end of the fleet. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0328 IN THE SCUTTLEBUTT SALOON (Twenty years ago, Dennis Conner's comeback win at the America's Cup in Australia inspired a Japanese movie producer to make a feature film about sailboat racing - WIND. Quite a few of the usual suspects of the sailing scene got involved, and Scuttlebutt invited one of them to provide a look back at this project. His title of West Coast Editor notwithstanding, Sail Magazine's Kimball Livingston took time out prior to leaving for Valencia and the 32nd America's Cup to tell some stories from the set. Part 1 of 2.) Late in the production of the 1992 movie, WIND, Peter Gilmour was steering a 12-Meter in the Indian Ocean off Fremantle in just what the camera wanted, lots of breeze and whitecaps. Mind you, this wasn't natural territory for a heavy old Cup campaigner that was being asked to fly a masthead spinnaker where no such thing had flown before. But this 12-Meter was flying . . . The Whomper. First assistant director Dean Jones hovered overhead in a helicopter with the cameras rolling. He was saying something like, "Looks good, guys, looks good." Here's background for anyone who came in late: Carroll Ballard was the director, and Francis Ford Coppola the executive producer, of the one feature film that gave yacht racing feature treatment. Director of Photography John Toll went from WIND to "Legends of the Fall" and won an Oscar for that, then to "Braveheart" and won an Oscar for that, which should complete the case that the talents were extraordinary. But WIND never took off at the box office. Some people liked it, some didn't, and lots of serious sailors walked out grousing that, yeah, maybe the sailing sequences got you going, but the story did not achieve the smell of authentic camel dung in high heat in the desert. Or, you know, something. Carroll was firm that the Good Guys had to come from behind in the Big Moment to win the Big Race (no argument), and he was firm that the critical scene had to turn on something visual that anybody in the audience could see and understand. So why not a supersized masthead spinnaker on a fractional rig? Why not a sail sewed up special by tactician Kate (played by Jennifer Grey) and pulled out of the bag in desperation on a rootin' tootin' screaming reach? Thus "Gilly" on the helm, watching the waves while he steers but doing an awful lot of looking up, and not at the helicopter where Jones is excitedly saying some equivalent of: "Looking good good good." Instead, Gilly's even more excited and his voice is up and he's yelling: "It's coming down it's coming down!" "No, it looks good." The speedo touched 19 knots --- "It's coming down." "Keep it up." "Not the sail. The mast. The F!#@ING MAST IS COMING DOWN!" -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/wind LIVING IN A PERFECT WORLD What if there was an owner-driven class of dual-purpose racer/ cruisers between 41 and 45 feet that maintains identical sets of sails that must be used for their one-design events? You’d think that the arms race was over, that the inmates had returned control of the asylum to the warden, and a perfect world was restored. That would, of course, be what you thought before waking up from your dream. Or maybe Dorothy was wrong, and we are in Kansas after all. Or rather, living amid the J/44 class. Having the benefit of a membership largely based in the Northeast, the J/44 sailors organize a regional one-design race schedule that includes Long Island Sound and Newport, RI. They maintain and periodically upgrade 16 sets of identical sails that are rotated from regatta to regatta so that in the one-design events, which are all owner-driven, the boats are pretty much dead even. No arms race, no measurement discrepancies, just sailing… in a perfect world. -- Scuttleblog, http://tinyurl.com/2elyvv 2007 ULLMAN SAILS INSHORE CHAMPIONSHIPS The first regatta in the 2007 Ullman Sails Inshore Championship series kicks off April 21-22 at NHYC’s Ahmanson Cup; 2nd stop is SDYC’s Yachting Cup, May 5-6; then, CYC’s Cal Race Week, June 2-3; and finishes at Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week, June 22-24. This Championship Series encompasses 4 major Southern California regattas and has grown in popularity and numbers each year. This summer, experience what everyone is talking about… and mark your calendar to be there! For additional information, including the Notice of Race, please visit http://www.ullmansails.com/inshorechamps.htm FIVE DAYS TO GO (March 28, 2007) Up to 33 Louis Vuitton Ranking points can be earned in the final Louis Vuitton Act, which starts on April 3rd. The 'triple' points on offer (last year a win in an Act earned 22 points, and 11 points in 2005) mean there could be some movement on the Ranking table ahead of the Louis Vuitton Cup (which begins April 18). Of course, nearly every team has a new boat to sail - for some its their second new boat, for the smaller challengers, it's their first, so the previous form guide may not hold up. And the changeable spring weather offers another level of unpredictability when assessing each team's chances. To learn more about how your favourite team did last season, browse through the stats and stories from last year: http://www.americascup.com/en FLIP SIDE OF HIGH TECH (SAIL Senior Editor Kimball Livingston is soon leaving for Valencia, where he will be on station for the duration of the event. Before leaving, he posted the following report on the magazine’s new America’s Cup blog.) America's Cup teams are always buzzing about high technology, but what happens where the rubber hits the road? The start line. The finish line. How teched-up are they? The answer, from the man in the hotseat, is teched-up NOT. Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio tells us that starts and finishes in Valencia are governed by eyeball, and he's fine with that. Here's "Luigi, as he's known: "People have talked about using telemetry to track the boats at the start and finish, but things move around so much out there—the race committee boat on its anchor, the pin on its anchor—that telemetry introduces issues of its own. The navigator will ping the RC boat to get a position for his prestart moves, but he won't just ping it once and forget it. He has to keep on pinging." "Pinging" with a laser range finder, that is, to get a position for the tactical navigation software that's an important component of prestart maneuvers. The laser is the same piece of equipment that the navigator or someone uses to track relative bearing to the opposition as the boats make their way around the course. -- Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/2alpxa HOUSEKEEPING The Challenger Commission for the 32nd America's Cup (“CC”) met at the call of the Chair, Alessandra Pandarese (ITA) of Mascalzone Latino Capitalia Team on Tuesday, 27 March from 0900 to 1700. The main decisions and points of discussion were: ~ ACC Rule Amendment - regarding lead in keels and appendages ~ 14 April Boat Parade ~ Umpire Signaling System ~ 18th Person (Crew) Criteria ~ Pairing List and Course Sharing ~ Umpire Calls and Questions & Answers ~ Team Photographer, Helicopter and Image Use Agreement ~ Proposed Protocol Amendment on Yacht Substitution ~ Weather Boat Restrictions ~ Security Update ~ Liquidation of ACM Assets, ACPI, and CC Wind-down ~ AC Village Maintenance ~ Future Events (after the 32nd America’s Cup) Complete report at http://tinyurl.com/yqsc9o SAILING SHORTS * San Diego’s legendary Etchells fleet continues to produce fresh champions, as was evident at the Etchells Midwinter West Championship this past weekend. Their own Bill Hardesty and his young and very talented crew sailing four-up won the event convincingly while leaving a cluster of strong and experienced teams to compete for second place. Tom Hughes of Seattle won the battle for second, coming in just ahead of Chris Busch (also sailing four-up), Vince Brun, and Brian Camet. For complete results, please see: http://sdyc.org/raceinfo/results07/etchellsMids_res.htm * The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water has awarded nearly $50,000 in grants to 23 nonprofit groups from Alaska to Florida (see list below) to spread the message about safe boating practices. Since 1988, the Foundation has awarded over three quarters of a million dollars in boating safety grants to fund projects that promote responsible boating at the local level. Funds are derived from the voluntary contributions of the 670,000 members of Boat Owners Association of The United States, (BoatU.S.). -- http://tinyurl.com/2aef9z * The Monsoon Cup 2006, which was held Nov 29-Dec 3 in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia as part of the World Match Racing Tour, and claims to offer the richest prize purse for a sailing event, MR1 million (approximately $275,000), has concluded an independent audit to learn of the cost benefit of the event. The overall identified and assessed market value has been determined at RM 315 Million (USD 90.5 Million) when accounted against the financial commitment of RM 20.068 Million (event costs). The Monsoon Cup in only its second year has delivered a Return on Investment (ROI) multiplier of near 15 times on the event investment. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/monsooncup * Now playing on t2p.tv is the International Rolex Regatta 2007, which saw some of the Caribbean’s best racing in St. Thomas, USVI last week: http://www.t2p.tv/guide/irr07.php * Try out the newest game on the Scuttlebutt website, this one provided by SunSail (and found on the Live Sail Die website). If you weren’t able to do any bareboat cruising this winter, get your fix here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/games/sunsail/ FREE TRUE WIND BALL CAP Travel in style and distinction with the latest in sailcloth travel bags from True Wind. Made in the USA using new premium Dacron sailcloth, True Wind bags feature authentic nautical accents and an original design that takes its inspiration from maritime signal flags. Durable, strong and water-resistant, these duffels and totes offer spacious main compartments and plenty of zippered pockets to keep items secure. Purchase any bag before April 15 and receive a FREE True Wind Ball Cap when you type “TW Ball Cap” in the “Order Comments” section during check-out. View the collection at http://www.truewindusa.com/index.asp CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Some of the events listed for this week: Mar 29 - Apr 1 - US Sailing Youth Multihull Champs - Long Beach, CA, USA Mar 30 - Apr 1 - BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival - Tortola, B.V.I. Mar 30 - Apr 1 - Leukemia Cup Regatta - New Orleans, LA, USA Mar 30 - Apr 1 - Rollo Wheeler Memorial Regatta - Berkeley, CA, USA Mar 31 - Apr 1 - 28th Joe Duplin Women's Intersectional - Medford, MA, USA Mar 31 - Apr 1 - Olson 30 Southwest Championship - Heath, TX, USA Complete list of events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Scott Corder, S2 9.1 Meter North American Class Commodore: It is delightful to hear from my old friend Bennett Greenwald (in Issue 2310) on a topic near and dear to my own heart – namely that of parenting children and pursuing the sport of sailing. Bennett hit the nail on the head. If we aspire for our children to love sailboat racing, then we must first allow them to simply fall in love with sailing itself. If that basic love turns into a passion for racing, great! If not, then we have at least afforded them a unique opportunity to expand their own horizons and explore their own independence through the sport. If we sacrifice well-rounded maturity and life-balance in the pursuit of competitive success, we are doing more harm than good for the child. Rather than repeat what he wrote, I strongly encourage SB readers to pick up the latest issue of Sailing Magazine (the big glossy mag) and read the April 2007 article by Chris Caswell entitled “On The Wind”. Having bravely pushed my own children off the beach for their first solo sail on their Optimists, I can totally identify with Caswell’s delightful observations about how a parent can properly cultivate their child through sailing. The look of accomplishment in their eyes was all I needed to know that personal discovery and self-confidence (not racing) was the true gift I had given them. It was indeed a better feeling than any regatta trophy I have ever won. * From David Barrow: (regarding letter in #2309) Bill Dixon is right about youth discrimination and how there is a problem attracting youth to our sport in so many ways. I don’t mean the youth that comes to the sport are under a plethora of schemes that are going to boil down a big pack of kids which then turn out a few World or Olympic champions, with a few burnt out along the way. What we need is to somehow get the kids sailing and loving it for the sake and feel of it. They need easy access to our clubs and facilities, being able to try out the sport and perhaps have the freedom to do it as we did when we were kids. I learned to sail by taking a boat out and tipping over until I figured out how to stay upright, and I never will forget the day, even the exact moment, I first coaxed a dinghy onto the plane. Currently, it seems, we are so over regulated that future generations are permanently denied these simple pleasures of learning things for themselves. We were able to spend whole summers down at the club on our own, half a dozen kids just messing about in boats with a sandwich for lunch and not an adult anywhere. Nobody drowned; in fact everyone grew up quite a lot. If you want to get more kids into sailing, treat them more like adults, and let them see that not everything in society has to be regulated to the nth degree. * From Len Davies, Cape Town, South Africa: Some years ago ISAF welcomed the growth of multihull sailing as encouraged by the many beach resort hotels and vacation sites throughout the world. It was said that the most representative of all events could have been the multihulls as virtually each resort, worldwide, had primarily a fleet of Hobie 16's on their shores. Given this fact, imagine how representative of the world's sailing nations the multihull event could be. The USA have gained much success in the Hobie Worlds over the many years of competition and I wish all those filing complaints great success in their mission against a decision which would appear to be most discriminatory. * From Tom Hayhoe: Jesse Falsone needs also to recognize the performance limiting effects of overdosing on caffeine (regarding his letter in Issue 2310). This is best demonstrated by participating in a regatta at Riva on Lake Garda in northern Italy - arguably the very finest piece of sailing water in the world (warm, fresh water and a predictable katabatic wind that comes in at 20 knots at midday - and great food and wine too). The Italians also invented espresso (it was NOT invented in Seattle). A few shots of this elixir while sitting in the morning sun waiting for the wind to come in will result in your bladder crying for mercy as the diuretic effects take over as you sail round the race course. * From John Wade: In days gone by I never had to resort to "substances", legal or illegal, to improve performance or concentration. I found that the girls in the other boat provided all the inspiration I needed to compete well. Now, at an advanced age, the girls still provide the inspiration, I just can't remember why. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and True Wind. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
