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SCUTTLEBUTT 2289 – February 27, 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). JUMPING BACK INTO THE GAME With a solid list of grand-prix clients, and a work schedule that revolved around regattas in fabulous vacation destinations, veteran sailmaker Tom McLaughlin appeared to have it made. Then he traded all that in for the 12-hour, 6-day workweeks of an underfunded America's Cup campaign, signing on as the sailing team coordinator for Dawn Riley's Areva Challenge. The obvious question is why. Stuart Streuli of Sailing World called Tomac, as he is known, early in 2007 to find out just what prompted him to jump back into the America's Cup game. SW: How much of your adult life has been spent as a sailmaker? Tomac: Basically all of it. When I was in college [at San Diego State], I worked with Lowell North in San Diego. When I graduated, I was going to work for Proctor & Gamble and Lowell said, "Why don't you try this for another year and see if it sticks." That was back in 1970. So it's been a while. I think I'm the longest employed North Sails person. I'm about two years ahead of Dave Hirsch and four years ahead of Gary Weisman SW: This gig with Areva Challenge isn't your first America's Cup experience. Tomac: America II. That was Koilus, the New York YC, a different end of the spectrum from where I am now. America II was the challenger of record; we were the first and most well funded challenge. We were sort of on top of the food chain. I joined about halfway through, when we launched the second 12-Meter, as the training helmsman. I was picked, I think, because I was good enough to steer the boat well, but not good enough or ambitious enough to threaten Kolius' or John Bertrand's position. Or that's my evaluation. I enjoyed it, I learned a lot. But at the time I didn't think the America's Cup was worth laying your life down for. Still isn't by the way. What I learned 20 years ago is the America's Cup is about good management. It's still a sailboat race, but to be competitive you have to have good management and make good decisions all along the way. There's design decisions, personnel decisions, lots of things that impact the final result. I left the America II effort with so much respect for the people that spent their money well, their time well, and ended up emerging with strong campaigns. -- Complete Interview: http://tinyurl.com/36344k HOCKEY AND SAILING Maybe it is because parts of the continent are getting hammered this week by winter storms, that Scuttlebutt finds itself discussing… hockey. Who else better to comment on sailing and hockey than the “Bo Jackson” of both… Hank Lammens. Hank played professional hockey for 5 Years with the NY Islanders, the Canadian Olympic Team, and the Ottawa Senators. In sailing, he is a 2-time World Champion in the Finn class and is presently campaigning an E-22. * Hank on hockey and sailing: “I am Canadian, so Hockey was clearly the first sport for me. While there aren't enough hours in the day to play anymore, I do spend some time on the pond with my kids. I found playing Hockey and sailing Finns were very similar, both mentally and physically. Learning how we prepared for Hockey made me more prepared for sailing, and vice versa. I spent a lot of time on the stationary bike for skating, and I feel that directly translated to hiking in a Finn with 40ish lbs of water - plus I was disciplined to spend my time in the weight room.” * Hank’s advice to kids: “The way kids get committed to serious training at a young age, I hope it is for the right reasons. I sailed and played Hockey because I loved it, and not because I was going to win the Finn Gold Cup or play in the Montreal Forum (although these were dreams). I would spend hours on the pond by myself, or hours on end in my Laser with no visions of the Olympics, but I am sure all those hours helped me attain those levels. Can someone successfully compete in two sports today? I am sure they can if their personal trainers and sports physiologists don't get in the way. I think the desire of the athlete is paramount, not if they have the right class to sail (sorry couldn't resist).” -- Scuttleblog, http://tinyurl.com/2wtswd SAIL FASTER AND SMARTER If you want to improve your results on the race course, you should read Speed & Smarts. This bi-monthly newsletter, written by winning America's Cup tactician Dave Dellenbaugh, has been praised by racing sailors worldwide for more than 12 years. Each colorful issue has 16 pages full of race-winning tips on boatspeed, tactics, strategy, rules and more! Whether you are a skipper or crew, on a one-design or big boat, Speed & Smarts will improve your performance. To see a sample issue or sign up for a subscription, visit our website at http://www.SpeedandSmarts.com ACUP TELEVISION SCHEDULE (Feb. 26, 2007) The VERSUS television network (formerly OLN) today announced its schedule of coverage for the 32nd America’s Cup, which begins Saturday, June 23 from Valencia, Spain. Leading up to the America’s Cup, VERSUS will air the America’s Cup 11-team Challenger Series presented by Louis Vuitton. Beginning on April 16, the start of the Round Robin Series, VERSUS will air daily highlight shows, “Cup Dates”, during the network’s coverage of the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs and will have live daily coverage of the Semi-Finals and Finals starting in mid-May. In addition to television coverage, VERSUS.com will provide 24-hour access to race information beginning with the Round Robin series. The site will feature video clips of race footage; sailing features; daily reports from VERSUS commentators and sailing experts; insider information about the races, teams and competitors; photo galleries and updates for overall race standings. The VERSUS team includes veteran broadcaster Craig Hummer as the host of the telecasts and former America’s Cup sailors, Andy Green, who was a helmsman for England as the color analyst, and Tucker Thompson of t2p.tv as the on the water reporter. -- See the updated VERSUS schedule now posted on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar/shows OCEAN RECORD CHAMPIONS * Crewed records: Peyron, King of the Atlantic Thanks to his performance on the route between New York – The Lizard ( 4 d, 8 h, 23 mins and 54 secs) and the improvement achieved on this same crossing of his own 24-hour record (766.8 miles), Bruno Peyron is a clear winner for the title of 2006 Records world champion. The end of the year 2006 however was not to be a relaxing one for Peyron, as he was prematurely dropped by his partner Orange: “Now the boat is called Team Explorer. I decided to buy it in December 2006 and even if it is a little too soon to say what the future holds, her present configuration enables her to sail around the world in 47 days and to cross the Atlantic in less than 4 days. With the developments that are already planned, we can expect to gain another 5% over these figures! So there’s a lot of great things to do, and I’m currently working on several possible options.” We can add that the two new records set by Olivier de Kersauson in the North Pacific mean that he wins second place in the 2006 championship. * Single-handed records: two records set by Coville Achieving two remarkable successes this summer with the Round the British Isles and Channel Crossing records, Thomas Coville has earned the title in the single-handed category, ahead of Yvan Bourgnon and Yves Parlier, who both improved on the 24-hour record this year. Thomas Coville: “I’m pleased for several reasons. First of all because this rewards the work undertaken with Sodeb’O over the past three years. We chose to work on a record-breaking campaign to try something different, and now the 2006 season has rewarded this effort, and showed we made the right choices. I am pleased to see this records circuit becoming more organised, and of course overjoyed to win the title this year, but I am keen to remain modest, as the adventure continues, and this counts more than resting on your laurels. We also need to congratulate Yvan Bourgnon and Yves Parlier on their great performances in setting new 24-hour records, which took some real determination. 2007 looks like being fantastic and next week I’ll be setting off for Australia, where my future giant is being built. Her launch is still planned for 8th June, and we’ll be enjoying ourselves sailing her back to Europe before tackling something more serious, including an attempt around the world, which will be the climax.” -- Read on, which includes an update on new projects: http://www.records-oceaniques.com/en MONDAY MORNING TACTICIAN (US Sailing Team member Andrew Campbell provides the following reflections from the Laser Midwinters East, which concluded last weekend.) So here comes a true Monday Morning Tactician. What could I have done better this past weekend? This seems like a common thread amongst all sailors, and indeed all athletes every time they compete. This will be a little discussion of how I look at the weekend, and the Midwinters in a way that only the hindsight advantage of the Monday Morning tactician can allow. My series this weekend was 3,5/ 2,1,2/ 2,3,5/ 14,8. The glaring errors came on the final day of racing. The final two days were Gold fleet racing, and the breeze was significantly better duing the latter half of the regatta. The details were in the reports from the weekend (posted elsewhere on his blog), so I won’t delve too deeply into those. However, the approach to improvement starts with the details. Having a complete understanding over what every race meant, and where every minor mistake and success happened, ensures a more complete understanding of how to improve our overall sailing. -- Read on for Andrew’s analysis: http://tinyurl.com/2ody8o CAMET ANNOUNCES NEW TECHNICAL SHORTS Camet International Clothing expands their line of technical gear by announcing their new Hobart Extreme Technical Shorts. Designed to be the lightest shorts on the market, they weigh in at only 9 ounces, and are designed with offset side seams to reduce chafing. The improved design provides extreme flexibility, while the Titanium silver nylon fabric has a durable water repellent finish that dries quickly, and has a UV rating of 40+. Features include two back pockets with Velcro closures, adjustable Velcro waist, two deep side-pockets, and a Cordura-reinforced seat for added protection from abrasive surfaces. View all the Camet products: http://www.camet.com/?Click=122 MAKING CHANGES US Sailing has announced two changes to the 2006-2007 ISAF Special Regulations Governing Offshore and Oceanic Equipment and Preparation, including US Sailing Prescriptions. The changes, which apply to races held in U.S. waters who invoke them, were approved by US Sailing’s Board of Directors after careful review and study by the organization’s Safety at Sea Committee. US Sailing will submit the changes to the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) for incorporation in the international regulations. * Change to regulation 3.08.2(a) Regulation 3.08.2(a) previously required that all hatches be above water level when a boat is heeled 90-degrees. However, US Sailing has found that many boats in today's racing fleets may not meet this requirement and that inspectors and designers were not checking this due to uncertainties in test conditions. This regulation has now been waived and US Sailing’s submission to ISAF will address hatch size, off-center hatch placement, vessel displacement, and trim when heeled. * Change to regulation 3.03.1(c) Regulation 3.03.1(c) previously allowed race organizers to approve any entry of boats that did not have design, standards, or construction certification. After learning of a boat that was not built to industry standards incurred internal damage in a race - while a race organizer had approved the boat to compete in that race - it was determined that this regulation had placed a legal burden on race organizers which was never intended. Typically, race organizers are not qualified to inspect construction and certify that a boat meets known industry standards. US Sailing’s submission to ISAF will address alternate methods of compliance if certification to standards is not available, for example when a boat’s designer has passed away or the builder has gone out of business. -- Full report: http://www.usSailing.org/pressreleases/2007/specregs.htm SAILING SHORTS * Every year, US Sailing brings together the country's top current one-design sailors for a face-off at the U.S. Championship of Champions. Applications are now accepted for the 2007 Championship, which will be held October 17-20 at Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego, CA, and raced in Snipes. Eligible competitors are all National, North American and World One-Design Champions who are the current title holder (after July 31, 2006), who normally sail in the U.S., are members of US Sailing, and are members of a club, class or association affiliated with US Sailing. Additional details at http://www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/CofC * Some of the America’s Cup boats have recently undergone substantial modifications to seek improved performance. The Valencia Sailing website has published comparison photos of the two boats where the modifications are more evident, Luna Rossa's ITA-86 and Shosholoza's RSA-83: http://tinyurl.com/3bo4ge * In the Boating Writers International annual writing contest Chris Caswell took First Place for Boating Columns with his long-time column, "On The Wind" in Sailing Magazine. * In their attempt to break the Atlantic crossing record by a four man team, the Dom Mee led British Ocean Rowing team arrived in Barbados on Tuesday 20th February 2007. They completed the crossing from La Palma in the Canaries in 37 days - only the third team to achieve this feat in less than 40 days - but missed setting the record by a single day. -- http://www.bangthecorner.com/news/read/6046 * T2P.tv has compiled some of their best sailing bloopers, editing them into two videos now playing at http://www.t2p.tv/guide/uds07.php CLUB SWAN 42 COMES WEST After much anticipation, the new Club Swan 42 brilliantly won her division at Key West. The East Coast fleet is well established with new boats arriving on a regular basis. The West Coast Club Swan 42 fleet is starting to take shape. Contact Nautor Swan USA West for info: 510-235-5564, mailto:ken@kkmi.com 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 Somers Kempe: I had the liberty of borrowing a fellow sailor's boat one race day; someone I have always been very respectful of as he shows great speed, skill, and sportsmanship on and off the race course. I noticed that day something that has changed the way I sail. He has a plaque fixed to the aft coaming of the cockpit, which reads "Sportsmanship before winning." Important words to live by and maybe these words should be a footnote on every page of the rule book for sailors to be reminded of when they race because cheating by a few can ruin the enjoyment for many. * From Rob Britton: Sailing is an elite sport, a sport for exceptional men and women who understand two fundamental principals: 1. Only a low class fool would spend all that time, energy, and money to cheat; 2. The most important thing is the respect of your competitors (Thank you Paul Elvstrom). As for the primary attractions of yacht racing, they are: 1. To compete with superior people, who play by the rules, without umpires; 2. The chance to compete with the best in the world, and earn their respect. These fundamentals must not change or the sport is finished. * From Jim Champ: In reference to John Manderson, who in Issue 2287 stated, “One of the great and pure joys of sailing certain small light boats is that they demand the use of body weight and other movements in rhythm with waves and wind to be sailed efficiently and fast.” Sure limited kinetics are fun. Unfortunately, unlimited kinetics are not fun at all. Picture a light air Laser race with everyone standing on the bow holding the mast and rocking the boat violently from side to side going dead to windward. I sail a light boat inland, and I love doing things like a quick subtle lean back on significant wavelets to get a little bit of lift of the wavelet and some apparent, and then head back down. It’s a pity such things are borderline illegal. But if unlimited kinetics were allowed, all that subtlety would be right out of the window. Watch a sailboard race. It’s just mechanical pump, pump, pump right round the course. So we can conclude that banning all kinetics reduces the fun, but maybe not as much as permitting all kinetics, because the subtle and skilful kinetic in harmony with waves and wind isn't nearly as effective in most conditions as brute force "air rowing." So, unfortunately, we need a rule that establishes a compromise. No compromises are perfect, and always lead to gray areas and maybe inconsistencies. This one is no exception, but nothing obviously better springs to mind. * From Gail M. Turluck: (regarding sportsmanship) Not only would I drop out if the old rules were in play and I fouled unseen, today when I foul unseen I still take the penalty, whatever it is. People often ask me what in the heck am I doing when I make one of those I-know-way-better moves! CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION In god we trust. All others we polygraph. Special thanks to Speed & Smarts, Camet International Clothing, and Nautor Swan USA West. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
