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SCUTTLEBUTT 3205 - Monday, October 25, 2010Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Quantum Sails and APS. PRELIMINARY BRIEFING HELD FOR PROSPECTIVE AC TEAMS Paris, France (October 22, 2010) - Twenty-four prospective teams for the 34th Americaıs Cup met today with the newly established independent organization, Americaıs Cup Race Management (ACRM), regarding the details for the next Cup racing cycle set to begin in 2011 with an Americaıs Cup World Series. ³With the entry period for the teams fast approaching, we called the prospective teams together to share with them as much information as is available on all aspects of the Americaıs Cup starting next year and ramping up to the 34th Americaıs Cup in 2013,² said Iain Murray, CEO and Regatta Director for the ACRM. The newly established event organization ACRM is also designed to carry on beyond the 34th Americaıs Cup, no matter which team wins. This will reintroduce certainty to the sport and benefit the teams with the stability of an ongoing event management entity and an ongoing robust racing program. The 45 representatives, on behalf of 24 teams from 13 countries, reviewed the marketing and television plans from the recently formed commercial arm, the Americaıs Cup Event Authority. The ACEA will provide the financial stability to allow the Americaıs Cup the continuity of racing and management from cycle to cycle regardless of Defender/Trustee. The entry period for competitors opens on the 1st of November and closes 31 March 2011. Teams are at an important stage to evaluate and finalize their plans to enter. Fridayıs meeting was a preliminary briefing and it marked the first gathering of prospective competitors with ACRM and ACEA officials. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2b8x6bj IAIN MURRAY CEO OF ACRM TALKS TO VALENCIA SAILING Iain Murray was appointed CEO, about a month ago, of newly-formed America's Cup Race Management, the body set up by BMW Oracle in charge of everything related to the actual racing in the 34th America's Cup.Valencia Sailing caught up with him in order to know more about his past, the meeting in Paris and the main issues he will face in the near future. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Let's start briefly talking about your background and your involvement in the America's Cup in the past. IAIN MURRAY: In 1983 I was originally the skipper of Advance, the challenge from Sydney, and then of the trial horse for Australia II. In 1987 I was the skipper of Kookaburra, one of chief designers as well as CEO of the syndicate. In 1992 I held the same positions and in 1995 I was a sailor on the boat and co-designer of One Australia. * Your first, at least public, meeting with the potential teams of this Cup took place on Friday in Paris. What did you discuss with them? IAIN MURRAY: It was a first briefing that provided potential competitors with the knowledge that we have at this particular time. The aim was to bring them up to speed with who we are, to introduce ourselves, ACRM and ACEA, the people they are going to be dealing with the backgrounds of those people and what those two organizations' plans are for the future. So, we took them through who we are, what we are going to do, how our corporate structure works, who's responsible for what. We took them through some highlights of key dates to do with the protocol, the entry process, the AC45's and the World Series based on what we know at this time. We took them through how to get hold of an AC45, how boats will be delivered and what are thoughts are regarding juries, umpiring, bits and pieces. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/2fcxvk9 QUANTUM: PUTTING TOP-END TECHNOLOGY INTO EVERY SAIL Some sail makers save their best stuff for only the big boat programs. Not Quantum. Their iQ Technology informs the development of every sail from the smallest one design classes right on through to the TP52 and beyond. Quantumıs proprietary process integrates the most technically advanced design, lamination, shaping and manufacturing methods in the industry resulting in sail shapes that are fast, efficient, infinitely repeatable, and the power behind four world championships this year: TP52, J/80, J24 and J/22. Right now, for a limited time, receive special pricing on all inshore One Design sails. Visit http://www.quantumsails.com/Classes/classes.aspx for more information. US SAILING MEMBERSHIP ELECTS THREE NEW DIRECTORS Phoenix, AZ (October 23, 2010) - Saturday night was the culmination of US SAILINGıs 2010 Board of Directors Election. For over six weeks, members of US SAILING submitted their votes to fill three seats on its board of directors. Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) and Ed Adams (Middletown, R.I.) were the top two vote getters. The Nominating Committee nominated four candidates to fill two slots on the board and serve a three-year term. Susan Epstein (Sharon, Mass.) was nominated by the house of delegates and ran for a three-year term unopposed. McKinnon-Tucker won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games with Nick Scandone in the SKUD 18 class as a member of the US SAILING Team AlphaGraphics. She has been the adaptive sailing coordinator for the Piers Park Sailing Center since 2007. In 2009, they received the Outstanding Disabled Sailing Program Award. Adams is a two-time winner of US SAILINGıs Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award (1987, 1991), a two-time U.S. Olympic Athlete of the Year for sailing, and a two-time collegiate All-American. He is on the editorial staff for publications including SAIL, Sailing World, and Practical Sailor. Epstein is a founding member of Sail Nantasket, and a former board member for US SAILING and the National Women's Sailing Association. Epstein has served as the grading secretary for the U.S. Match Race Committee. She is a certified judge and a member of the US SAILING Windsurfing Task Force. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/25tpt6p TULLOCH AND CREW WIN ROLEX OSPREY CUP St Petersburg, FL (October 23, 2010) - Genny Tulloch (USA) and her team (Alice Manard Leonard, Jenn Chamberlin, and Alana OıReilly) have defeated defending champion, Guilia Conti (ITA) and her team (Alessandra Angelini, Lisa Lardani and Giovanna Micol) 3-2 to win the Grade 1 2010 Rolex Osprey Cup in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. In the Petit-Finals Katy Lovell defeated Becca Dellenbaugh 3-2 to finish third. Said Tulloch, ³After completing a single round-robin and 3 races in the second round earlier this week, today we faced off against Becca Dellenbaugh's team in the semi-finals. We had great breeze for the semis and, after dropping the first race to them with a umpire-initiated boathandling penalty on ourselves, we beat them 3-1. We had a pretty exciting finals series with Giulia's team and traded wins each race as the wind dropped off significantly but the Tampa Bay chop persisted. In the end we were able to use our control of the pre-starts and better upwind speed in the lighter breeze to win the series.² -- Results at: http://tinyurl.com/2f4hofc VAN LIEW LEADING VELUX 5 OCEANS After seven days from the start of the 2010 Velux 5 Oceans in La Rochelle, France, Brad Van Liew (US) on Le Pengouin, has sailed his way over Zbigniew Gutkowski on board Operon Racing to again take the lead. Over the weekend, Van Liew wrote in his blog that he was finally experiencing the textbook reaching conditions these boats are built for. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- All of a sudden, the pain of working through and around the low pressure system for the first few days seems a sensible trade. It was a painful baptism by fire but Le Pingouin (LP) and I are better for it. We are forging a great bond, but more on that later. I donıt have all the answers yet to her full cadre of personal charms and challenges. I can tell you that this boat flat out ³hauls the mail² on a flat reach and I have never soloed such a weapon. My Finot 50 (Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America) was a fantastic boat and deserved retirement as a movie star (Charlie St. Cloud), but this thing feels like wielding Excalibur. Sometimes I have to just stop and say there is something just not right about doing 22 knots in 20 knots of breeze on 60 foot monohull. ³Should I really go lie down right now?² ³What would happen if we hit something right now?² It is fantastic to experience and I although the fleet and I will share many videos from offshore, I still donıt feel like enough people have felt the raw exhilaration of such an experience. At least this was my feeling alone by myself on a beautiful full moonlit night. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/27g9vss CHARGE IS ON FOR ROLEX MIDDLE SEA RACE LEADERS (October 24, 2010) At 18:00, with the frontrunner, Esimit Europa 2 halfway down the track to Favignana and Marettimo, at around 13.30 ICAP Leopard made a bold move, heating up about 45 degrees above the rhumb line to avoid a windless area, and in a bid for speed. The Slovenian maxi, Esimit, may be in pole position for line honours but there is a tense battle for the overall lead on corrected time as yachts from three different classes occupy the podium positions at the Messina checkpoint. Lee Satariano and Christian Ripardıs J/122, Artie, from the Royal Malta Yacht Club, is leading on corrected time at Messina. Ripard has won the race before and is recognised as one of the finest yachtsmen in Malta. Just over an hour behind the overall leader is American Bryon Ehrhartıs TP52, Lucky, from the New York Yacht Club, which is very much in contention. The 31st edition of the race began Saturday from Maltaıs Grand Harbour and is a 606 nautical mile rounding of Sicily and its surrounding islands in an anticlockwise direction. George David's Rambler (USA) established the current Course Record of 47 hours, 55 minutes, and 3 seconds in 2007. To break this record, a Class 1 leader would have to finish on Monday morning before 11.35am. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2f8qgxm BACK TO SCHOOL Terry Hutchinson is to go catamaran racing. That is to say after a few weeks pondering whether or not to continue with Quantum Racing, which has a brand new TP52 in build for the 2011 Audi MedCup, he has instead chosen to commit to Artemisı campaign for the 34th Americaıs Cup. Hutchinson admits he is not yet a catamaran sailor but points out that neither was the helmsman aboard the winning boat in the 33rd Americaıs Cup. Just as James Spithill did, he intends to fast track his learning. ³ Two months ago I did an A-Class regatta at home,² says Hutchinson, who resides in Annapolis. ³About five minutes from my house there is a fleet of about 20 A-class cats, so I went out and sailed around. I think the unique thing about the Americaıs Cup is that it has always been an event of technology and an event where the team that best adapts to the current environment is the team that has the best chance.² -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/2fgynt3 TICKETED SPECTATOR AREA FOR 2012 OLYMPIC SAILING (October 24, 2010) - The 2012 Games is taking "Olympic sailing to a new phase" by having a ticketed spectator area, at the Weymouth site, for the first time at any Olympics, 2012 deputy chairman Sir Keith Mills has said. Plans include for the Nothe, an old fort at a high point of land at Weymouth and Portland where the 2012 sailing events are being staged, to be a ticketed area. Sir Keith told the Press Association: "We are going to use a ticketed spectator area of big screens and commentary so spectators can watch the racing. "It is the first time in an Olympic Games: it has never been done before. Will it be successful? We think so. We think there are thousands of sailing fans who will not be able to go out to the water and get close to the sailing and the inspiration of the athletes. We think this is really taking Olympic sailing to a new phase." Talks are ongoing with local officials and organisers to try to formalise the plans. Provided there was a fair race course and good wind conditions, three-time Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie said: "I think it is good to have a place as a focal point where spectators can watch the racing and really get into the racing." -- http://tinyurl.com/2eo32qz START LIKE A PRO EVERY TIME Never be late or on the wrong side of the line again. APS, "The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors" is proud to introduce the Velocitek ProStart, the best GPS distance to line tool ever. Velocitek's Prostart makes measuring distance to line easier than ever by taking the GPS features the pros use for starting and packing them into a clearly marked and simple to use interface any crew can understand. Learn more, see exclusive video of it in action, and be the first to get a ProStart from the place the pros start, APS. http://www.apsltd.com/c-7750-velocitekprostart.aspx SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * Afrit Foued set a new Algerian speed record of 38.48 knots and Zsolt Lenkei set a new Hungarian speed record of 35.34 knots on Saturday at the Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010 underway at Luderitz, Nambia. These speeds still need to be verified by the WSSRC. Saturday marked the start of the next wind cycle at Luderitz with winds 25-33 knots, stronger than the forecast. Monday looks like the best wind day remaining for the event which finishes on October 31. -- Event website: http://www.luderitz-speed.com/ * The Pan Am Selection Trials for the International Lightning Class run October 24-26 in Tampa, FL, at the Davis Island YC. 20 teams will compete, including 2010 NA Champion David Starck of Buffalo, sailing with his wife Jody Starck, past Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year and long-time crew Ian Jones, and several ILCA Boat-Grant skippers, including Will Brown, Andy Carmarda, and Justin Coplan. The ILCA Boat-Grant program provides a race-ready Lightning free of charge to a young team for a racing season, designed to encourage young sailors to explore the class. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2em94cq * Montreal, Canada (October 23, 2010) - Evert Bastet was inducted to the Quebec Sailing Federation Hall of Fame in a ceremony that took place at the top of the Olympic Tower during the Quebec Sailing Federation Gala on Saturday night. By inducting him to the Hall of Fame, the Quebec Sailing Federation wishes to bring recognition to his exceptional achievement as a high performance athlete and Olympian and to his dedication and long term involvement in the sport. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/293ja86 * US SAILING has presented esteemed awards to those who have made extraordinary achievements in the areas of sailing education and race management. Arthur Wullschleger received the Harman Hawkins Trophy for his outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing in the field of race administration. Jim Muldoon received the Timothea Larr Trophy for the vision and guidance he has provided to the advancement of sailor education in the US. The Rochester Yacht Club earned the St. Petersburg Yacht Club for its outstanding organization and execution of the Hospice Regattas National Championship held in June of 2010. -- Full story: http://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/Awards_Dinner.htm * 114 athletes from 16 nations and three continents are assembling in Limassol, Cyprus for the 2010 RS:X Youth World Windsurfing Championships which starts racing on Monday October 25. At the top of the youth men's seeding list is Michalis Malekkides (CYP) who won the 2009 RS:X Youth World Windsurfing championships in Yalikavak, Turkey. At the top of the Youth Women's fleet is Isobel Hamilton (GBR). The schedule plans to race 16 races with a maximum of three races per day if planing conditions exist. -- Event website: http://youthworldwindsurfingchampionships2010.rsxclass.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter are limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Garth Steyn (re, Scuttlebutt 3203): I am an avid follower of your stories and a competitive sailor. When I read how people compare sports like soccer (football), cycling (Tour de France) and their followers and how much it costs to get involved in their sport an average person can afford a ball or a bikebut to buy a boat? We as a sailing worldwide community should not look at all the fancy stuff. If we want people to be better acquainted with the sport, ask the billionaires to come down to the common man and sail in the budget where sailing can still be fast and be fun. You can look to the success of the elite but create affordable classes and keep it fun. * From Richard M. Viggiano (re, Scuttlebutt 3204): I stand corrected, Bob Fisher is right about Richard Broadhead - right scenario, wrong person and brain-fade on my part! The important thing though is that the record was set straight about David White creating the race. This post has had the positive effect of reconnecting people. I heard from Herb McCormick this morning and I quote ³wouldn't believe the cast of characters who came crawling out from under the rocks to check in after that one!² Ditto my bud Randy West! It was a ³cast of characters² and that first race had real soul that, in my opinion, the current high profile races have lost due to egos, dollars and Euros. Hopefully the current compact Velux race will re-spark that soul. I have fond memories of the first Capetown stopover hanging with Herb, Barbara Lloyd and Jim Rouse not to mention the competitors. * From Neil Humphrey: Is there any information on the unbelievable silence that all of the proposed AC events - the World Series and the AC Final - are the sole domain of GGYC/BOR? Iım still dumbfounded given that professional leagues are jointly owned by team owners and not just one team (Formula 1 may be the exception). Also, like many, I am curious how the AC can earn revenues all over the world when itıs a charitable trust in NYC? CURMUDGEONıS OBSERVATION Gaseous clouds have been detected around Uranus. Special thanks to Quantum Sails and APS. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
