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SCUTTLEBUTT 2894 - Monday, July 27, 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are The Pirates Lair, Summit Yachts, and Key West 2010. PEOPLE AND BOATS: EDWARD LINSLEY By David Schmidt, SAIL Oftentimes, one’s introduction to sailing influences the path that he/she will explore during his/her career on the water. For instance, the junior sailor who gets exposed to cruising wouldn’t surprise too many people if she sailed into a quiet harbor some thirty years later. But what does surprise people are those sailors who are introduced to sailing via an unconventional path; even more unusual are those who discover sailing later in life, but who strive to innovate the sport. Edward Linsley, 87, of the Montgomery, Alabama area, falls in the latter category. Linsley spent decades around aerodynamics, both as a pilot and later during his work with rockets at NACA and NASA (1950 – 1971) where he was involved with Wernher von Braun’s rocket team and other high-profile space-race projects. Once the first astronaut successfully traveled to the moon and back, Linslsey retired from the space program and focused his attention on his family and developing an unusual-looking sailboat. I caught up with Linsley to get a better handle on his project - dubbed the “Winger” as it uses a Sunfish hull that’s been modified with “wings” and canards to help increase stability and lift - and to see what happens when rocket science meets dinghy sailing. -- Read on: http://sailmagazine.com/boat-reviews/news/edward_linsley AUDI MEDCUP * Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy (July 25, 2009) - For the third stop of the five event Audi MedCup, TP52 Emirates Team New Zealand won their second event in a row by dominating the 10-boat Region of Sardinia Trophy after a composed final day of racing in a building Mistral breeze. The helm/tactician ETNZ team of Dean Barker and Ray Davies have now doubled their lead in the overall MedCup standings over helm Guillermo Parada’s Matador (ESP), while defending champ Quantum Racing (USA) has dropped to third after finishing seventh in Sardinia. -- Full story: http://2009.medcup.org/news/index.php?id=1061 * Posted on the Scuttlebutt website are MedCup photos from Jürg Kaufmann, Chris Cameron, Ian RomaN, Stefano Gattini, and Guido Trombetta: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0724a * Team NZ boss Grant Dalton has confirmed the team will not return to the 2010 MedCup, and that his tenure as general manager of Emirates Team New Zealand is nearing an end, hopefully to conclude with one last America's Cup in 2011. However, should the current legal imbroglio around the cup stymie his plans, his back-up plan would be a round the world campaign. Dalton is in talks with Volvo Ocean Race organizers to bring the race back to Auckland, and preliminary negotiations with the Auckland City Council have already started. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/n36jrn NEW MOISTURE WICKING MOUNT GAY RUM TEES Bring the best wicking tees to your event, team, or store. Contact The Pirates Lair about brand name gear and the latest tech wear, graphics and production. Log on to http://www.pirateslair.com/store/index.html or call (888) SAIL-BUM (724-5286). WHAT IS A DISTANCE RACE? When there are two races both marketing themselves as the longest annually held freshwater race, and they are in the Great Lakes, occur on the same weekend, and are not the same distance, it would seem that one of them needs to relinquish the title. Heck, that might even be the wise move. After all, how about saying your race is the most fun, or the most interesting? When you say your race is the longest, the only thing for sure is that your race is… long. The Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac on Lake Michigan is 289 nm, and calls itself the “longest annual freshwater sailing distance race in the world”. However, over to the east is the Lake Ontario 300, and at 300 nm, it similarly labels itself as “the longest annually held fresh water sailing race in the world.” How can this be? According to Chicago Yacht Club, the fundamental issue is what do you call a distance race? They define the Race to Mackinac as the longest annual distance race, meaning a race that starts at one port and ends at another port. Since the Lake Ontario 300 starts and finishes at the same port, Chicago Yacht Club considers it to be a fundamentally different race than the Race to Mackinac… and thus not a ‘distance race’. There would seem to be little argument that a port to port race includes more logistical issues for both race management and competitor, but does it mean that the Lake Ontario 300 is not a distance race? Time to let the Scuttlebutt community decide what they consider to be the longest annually held fresh water distance race. Vote here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/09/0724/ * A race recap for the Lake Ontario 300 is posted here: http://tinyurl.com/nzm77o TO THE MED BY HELICOPTER While Switzerland’s Lake Geneva provides a safe site for the Alinghi team to trial their new maxi catamaran, the Swiss America’s Cup defender knows they will need to take her to an ocean to really put the boat to the test. But what ocean will it be? She hopes to take this step at the end of August. The journey to the Mediterranean, scheduled to take around ten days time, will see the catamaran transported above the Alps and over the Great St Bernard Pass and land in the Italian port of Genoa. The nearly 200 mile route will be handled by the world's largest helicopter, the Mil Mi-26. From Genoa she will be shipped somewhere, but the final destination has not yet been revealed, with the venue for the 33rd America's Cup in February 2010 only being announced on August 6. The Alinghi team believes that previous court rulings allow them to choose any venue in the world, while the Oracle team contends these rulings limit their choices to the Southern Hemisphere or Valencia, Spain. -- Excerpt from http://tinyurl.com/mygbqp * For the committed America’s Cup enthusiast, Tom Ehman of the BMW Oracle Racing team discusses on the Valencia Sailing website his team’s position regarding the America’s Cup venue and other Deed of Gift issues they are tracking: http://tinyurl.com/mvepbu HELICOPTER HORROR STORIES Hopefully the helicopter trip by the maxi catamaran Alinghi 5 will go better than the experience yachting journalist Martin Tasker of TVNZ had when the 31st America’s Cup was in New Zealand: “Before the 2002-03 America's Cup, an Oracle yacht lost its keel off Waiheke Island and capsized. I jumped into a helicopter with a cameraman and we were just flying over Mairangi Bay when the pilot said the hydraulics had failed and he was going to try and crash land. “As we began to plummet I looked down at the rapidly approaching playfields of Rangitoto College and realised my HUET certificate - helicopter underwater escape training - was going to be a fat lot of use. Then the shrieking siren started warning of ground approaching and I was trying to work out if I could jump out just before impact. “Then as suddenly as it started, the shrieking stopped and the pilot announced he'd sorted the problem and regained control. Phew. What an adrenalin rush. Not recommended.” -- http://tvnz.co.nz/othersports-news/martin-s-med-cup-day-four-2869660 IT’S ALMOST HERE! The new Summit 35 racer/cruiser is almost here. As it proceeds through final assembly, it is obvious that it is as beautiful as its stable mate the King 40. Designed by winning designer Mark Mills, it promises to be just as fast. Summit Yachts is pleased to have its newest creation built by Edgewater Boats, an American Company located in Florida. Check it out at http://www.summit-yachts.com U.S. OPTIMIST NATIONALS San Pedro, Calif. (July 26, 2009) - As expected, Axel Sly held onto his commanding lead Sunday to win the US Optimist National Championships hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, but Christopher Williford, the defending champion, made him earn it in tough conditions against strong competition. Even after Sly, 15, of Weston, Fla., won the first of three races on the final day - his sixth win in the last seven - to all but clinch the glory, Williford, 14, from Ft. Lauderdale, still had some fight left. About 10 seconds after the start of the next race, Williford noted, "I made him do a 720 [degree double] penalty turn. We were luffing and I moved up [from the leeward position with the right of way] and hit him." Sly conceded later that Williford had caught him off guard. "Yes, just before that happened he was far enough away that I didn't think he was going to do anything." Then, in the rush hour traffic of an 80-boat start, Sly had to work for room to do his double turns, "and it was so soon after the start that everybody was passing me." Williford finished sixth as Sly recovered to finish eighth, clinching first place without having to sail a third race, even if there would be enough time before the 2:30 cutoff time … which there was … which Williford won, with Sly second. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7916#7916 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: I was a spectator on Saturday, and witnessed Axel’s superior upwind technique in the bumpy 15 knot conditions. Very fluid in torquing his upper body to help guide the square bow through the waves, while hiking harder than those around him, and using his long reach to constantly bail. Here are two other competitors showing their bailing technique: http://rrrcommunications.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=12&pos=55 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * Remsenburg, NY (July 24, 2009) - Among the 49 competitors at the 2009 U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, 17 year old Molly McKinney (Sarasota, Fla.), had never before competed in a national championship. Regardless, on the third and final day of racing she overtook current leader and defending champion, Arielle deLisser (Miami, Fla.) with a 1-12 to win the Nancy Leiter Clagett Memorial Trophy. Callie Naughton (Marblehead, Mass) finished second, with deLisser falling to third after finishing 9-22 in the light and difficult conditions. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/lyx7og * (July 26, 2009) - It was a smooth start for the 85th running of the Port Huron-to-Mackinac Island Sailboat Race Saturday afternoon in lower Lake Huron, but it didn't take long for the crews to pull on their foul weather gear as a storm rolled through the fleet off Port Sanilac around 4:15 p.m. There were no finishers by Sunday evening, but the Oyster 35 "Flyer" in IRC D was reported to have lost her mainsail off of Harbor Beach in a squall and was now docked at Port Sanilac. The 209 yachts are sailing either the Thunder Bay Course (214 nm) or Cove Island Course (254 nm). -- http://www.byc.com/mack * Kingston, ONT (July 24, 2009) - Puerto Rican sailor Enrique Figueroa has won his seventh North American Hobie 16 title sailing with the young Victor Aponte. Winds were finally out of the thermal directions allowing the sailors to double wire for the first time in the series. Guatemalans Jason Hess/Hugo Guzman finished second place, Pedro Colon/Monica Cabrera (PUR) moved up to third, narrowly edging out Mark Modderman/ Sandra Tartaglino (USA) in fourth. Falling to fifth was Geoff Becker/Krista Hankins (USA) after a costly capsize in a race they were leading. -- Results: http://cork.org/results2009/h16.htm * Riva del Garda, Italy (July 25, 2009) - Australian Steven Thomas repeated his title of 29er World Champion in the 25-boat gold fleet, adding Blair Tuke (NZL) as his crew this time around. The duo carried on their top sailing from the 49er Worlds the week prior pairing up and stepping into the 29er to place no worse than 3rd, and sailing so consistently they were able to not sail the final two races. The top North American team was Maxwell Fraser/David Liebenberg (USA) in ninth, while the 54 boat silver fleet was won by Americans Paris Henken with Chris Rast. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7914#7914 * Director Emeritus of Transpacific Yacht Club Lou Comyns, who had passed away July 12, 2009, will have his memorial services held August 7, 2009 at Long Beach Yacht Club in Long Beach, CA. There will be a 9:00 am departure from Long Beach Yacht Club for a burial at sea, with all vessels welcomed to join in for a final Aloha. Services and refreshments will commence at LBYC at 11:30 am. RSVP attendance if possible: sailorcindy@yahoo.com * A Dana Point, California yacht broker is wanted for questioning in Orange County after more than 20 victims contacted authorities reporting that more than US$200,000 in yacht brokerage accounts is missing. According to The Dana Point Times, Ed Fitzgerald, owner of Dana Island Yachts, has not been seen in more than a week. The Orange County Sheriff's Department wants to question him about the missing funds. "This could be just the tip of the iceberg," department spokesman Jim Amormino told the paper. "The money lost could be in the millions. There are 20 victims that we know of, but they keep coming forward." -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090624152450ibinews.html * (July 26, 2009) - In 20 years of banging around the buoys at Marblehead Race Week, Sam Altreuter has won and lost his share of races, and at this year's Sperry Top-Sider Marblehead NOOD regatta, he racked up two more in the Sonar division to win his class and the regatta's overall title. Thanking his all-family crew, he accepted the glass pitcher and his invitation to the Caribbean NOOD championship where he will join eight other overall NOOD winners in the British Virgin Islands in November in Sunsail charterboats to represent Marblehead and get a racer's tour of the islands. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/mllwgl * (Sea Cliff, NY) - Hosted by the Sea Cliff Yacht Club, the 190 nm Around Long Island Regatta started July 23rd in some of the worst conditions in the event's 33 year history. With 30-40 knots at the start and 8 to 10 foot waves, the first leg was directly upwind and into the waves. Only 10 of the 61 entrants finished, with Bernard Nick’s Reichel Pugh 66 Zaraffa as the overall winner. -- Results: http://tinyurl.com/lf38ly * Chicago, IL (July 26, 2009) - Twenty-one year old Taylor Canfield from the US Virgin Islands won the Chicago Match Race Center’s (CMRC’s) July Grade 3 Event, defeating runner-up Jon Singsen (USA) in an exciting 3-0 Final sailed in front of the Chicago lakefront’s Belmont Harbor. Canfield sailed with Cy Thompson also of the USVI, Matt Clark and Todd Reynolds, who are both from Chicago. In the Petit Final, another young skipper, Dustin Durant (USA) from Long Beach, won third place in a 2-1 round against local-based Steve Lowery (USA). -- Full report: http://www.chicagomatchrace.com/PressRelease/pr.asp?p=10009 KEY WEST RACE WEEK – MARK YOUR CALENDAR! Is North America’s top winter regatta on your calendar? Key West 2010, presented by Nautica, with warm, dependable breezes and world-class competition beckons serious racers from all points of the compass. Shoreside parties and Key West ambience add to the fun. Race dates are January 18-22, 2010. http://www.Premiere-Racing.com SAILING FITNESS: FOREARMS By Harry Legum, Annapolis Sailing Fitness One of the muscle groups that are usually bypassed in workouts are the forearms. With sailing from Opti to big boats, these muscles are the first to go when using the back and doing a rowing movement of any kind. By working the forearms, you will not only be able to utilize the biceps and back better but increase grip strength as well. We need to condition them and a few exercises tend to do the job best: * Standing wrist curls with dumbbells. * Behind the back wrist curls with bar * Reverse Bicep curls Read on: http://tinyurl.com/n6xkxk LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Please submit your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). 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 Gary Mintz: I am a lifelong sailor and a professional in the live theatre business. I was struck by Paul Cayard's advice in Andy Rice's interview (Scuttlebutt 2893) regarding making a choice between two seemingly equal alternatives. It is very similar to words from the French playwright Jean Anouilh, in his play about Joan of Arc called "The Lark". In it, a despairing Joan is confronted with a difficult decision, and her faithful Sargent-at-arms tells her, "Just make a decision, right or wrong, things will probably turn out the same...." The point being, that a good deal of the value of leadership, wether in an army general, or yacht captain, is to make decisions in a timely and decisive manner, thus imparting confidence in those who follow them. I first heard this line when I was in a high school production of "The Lark", and have considered it some of the best advice I have ever heard over the last 40 years or so. => Curmudgeon’s Comments: Gary references this quote from Paul, “One of my philosophies is that if two things are so similar that it makes it hard to decide then you should just pick one, because it doesn’t matter. It is important not to waste any more time on it because there is probably something else that will make much more difference, where you really need the time. If you get it wrong in that case you can lose a lot, but if two things are going to have a similar outcome, it’s not worth wasting any more time on it, since in the end it will be the same anyway.” -- http://www.sailjuice.com/articles/Cayard-decisions * From Barrie Harmsworth, Dubai: I was surprised that it was reported (in Scuttlebutt 2889) how ISAF had entered into a secret deal over anything. Under Paul Henderson and the current President Goran Petersson, I was led to believe that ISAF is a public company with 38 plus board members, those being the Council Members and the Executive. No secrets by law. Perhaps I was mistaken and maybe the lawyers and company secretaries that proliferate the Council can put me, and other less savvy sailors, wise? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION My friend is always late. I think her ancestors arrived on the "Juneflower." Special thanks to The Pirates Lair, Summit Yachts, and Key West 2010. 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