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SCUTTLEBUTT 2609 - June 3, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. LOICK PEYRON - THE MASTER by David Schmidt, SAIL If you've ever been caught out Laser sailing in a serious squall, you have a taste of what it's like to be completely self-sufficient in an over-canvassed boat, with the safety net of land feeling like an untrustworthy mirage. Now imagine that you're alone in the middle of the North Atlantic, with land nothing more than a week-old memory, on a wildly powerful IMOCA Open 60. Now you're starting to get a feel for the life of Loick Peyron, the only man to have won an historic three Transat races. I caught up with Loick in Boston Harbor, a few days after his trifecta, and joined him for an afternoon of sailing aboard Gitana Eighty, the Farr-designed steed of which Peyron is the skipper. The winds were blowing a moderate 12-15 knots out of the northeast, and the seas were flat. Still, Boston Harbor and the fairway leading out to the open waters beyond the Boston Harbor Islands are hectic. Lobster pots punctuate the otherwise watery canvas, and commercial vessels-many of them in the supertanker category-regularly transit this working waterfront. And that's not to speak of the myriad pleasure boats, ferries, and sailboats that also occupy these waters. So, while these conditions were mere child's play for a man tough enough to win three Transats, they had their own challenges. An Open 60 is designed to make tracks over wide-open expanses. It is hardly suited to close-quarters piloting. -- Read on: http://sailmag.com/racecourse/0508master/ SKUNKED ON DAY TWO OF MELGES 24 WORLDS Porto Cervo, Italy (June 2,2008) - There was no racing today for the 114-boat fleet at the Volvo Melges 24 World Championship hosted by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in Porto Cervo. The second day of the championship dawned with overcast skies, rain showers and extremely light winds, so initially the race committee announced a one-hour postponement to see how the weather would develop. The fleet was sent out with hopes of a 12:30 start, but after over three hours waiting in the hot sun, the fleet was sent in to wait for further signals ashore. However, shortly after 1500 it was clear that the situation wasn't going to improve, and racing was called for the day. With only two races completed, the qualifying series continues Gianni Catalogna's ITA727 Pilot Italia continues as the regatta leader with an 2-1 score-line from Sunday, with the qualifying series continuing Tuesday with three races anticipated. The 12-race series runs until Friday and a minimum of five races is required to complete the series. There are five teams representing the U.S.A. at the Worlds: the Wisconsin team of skipper Brian Porter, sailing with his brother John Porter (both Lake Geneva), and Harry Melges and Andy Burdick (both Zenda) on Full Throttle; the all-California team led by skipper Bruce Ayres with Jon Pinckney (both Newport Beach), Don Smith (Long Beach) and James Malm (Laguna Niguel) on Monsoon; skipper Alex Shafer (Clermont, Fla.) with Martin Kullman (Tampa, Fla.), Leonora Ross (Nashville, Tenn.) and Bill Wiggins (York, S.C.) on Sweaty Betty; Doug Clark (Mystic, Conn.) at the helm of Gazoo with Geoffrey Pierini (Bernardsville, N.J.), Scott Norris (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Anthony Kotoun (Newport, R.I.); and Simon Strauss (New York, N.Y.) with brother Quentin Strauss (GBR), James Hill (GBR) and Bill Hardesty (San Diego, Calif.) aboard Team Sevenstar SLAM. -- http://www.melges24worlds2008.com TULIP TIME VICTORY Doyle sails powered Tom Londrigan Jr. and Steve Cutting to win the 55th Annual Tulip Time Tuneup Regatta held at the Gull Lake Yacht Club. Tom and Steve dominated the fleet of 26 Stars with finishes of 1-2-1-2-1. Doyle sails are fast and easy to trim over a wide range of conditions. For more information on how Doyle can power your boat to victory, contact your local Doyle loft, 800-94-DOYLE, http://www.doylesails.com HARVARD LEADS AFTER DICEY DAY AT COLLEGE NATIONALS Newport, RI (June 2, 2008) - The top 18 college sailing teams in the nation have begun the contest they hope will end with their win of the most coveted title of the year - the ICSA/Gill National Championship. From June 2-4, Narragansett Bay will be the stage for this grand finale of the college sailing year after an exciting lead in over the past week that saw Boston College win back-to-back college national championships at the ICSA Women's National Championship and the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship. Only two races were completed for the first day of this championship due to fluky and light breeze, with Harvard University currently leading with both A and B division teams finishing the day in third place. Georgetown University is second thanks to a 1-2 scoreline by freshman B Division skipper Charlie Buckingham and Alex Tayler ('10), with College of Charleston in third, powered by senior Chris Lash and Britney Haas ('09) leading A division. Racing continues through Wednesday, June 4. Daily report: http://foxholefengshui.com/wordpress/?p=33 Results: http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/spring08/coedresults.asp PREPARING FOR THEIR FINAL OLYMPICS Friends for more than 15 years, Americans Charlie Ogletree and John Lovell have been to three Olympic regattas in the Tornado, bringing home the silver medal from Athens in 2004. With the Tornado voted off the roster for 2012, this will likely be the pair's last Olympic regatta. Here is an excerpt of an interview with Ogletree about his sailing career, the Tornado and what the pair expects from Qingdao: * How does your friendship influence your abilities as a team? Do you think you have an advantage because of it? OGLETREE: It's a big advantage. We've seen everything. We've screwed up everything you can screw up. We used to get mad and yell at each other. But now we're calmer and we know how to deal with adversity. It's like in golf you have 18 holes and if Tiger screws up one hole he knows how to move on. In sailing you have ten or 11 races. If you sail one bad race you can forget about it and move on. * Will the regatta in Qingdao be bittersweet? OGLETREE: It will be bittersweet. It's time for the end in a lot of ways. The Tornado is not in the next Olympics so it forces our retirement. But we've said this was going to be our last Olympic campaign for a while. Johnny has a three-and-a-half year old and I had pretty much decided to stop after this. In a way it makes it easier, but it's also tough because I love the boat. All is not lost though; there is a meeting in May to try to get it back for 2012. -- Complete interview: http://abe5.com/4fp IS IT A RACE OR A DELIVERY? The 3,571-nautical mile race from Los Angeles to Papeete, Tahiti has been run intermittently a dozen times from 1925 to 1994. There had been a 16 year gap before the last race, and now 14 years have transpired prior to this year's event, scheduled to start on June 22. Despite getting 78 starters in last year's 2,225-nautical mile LA to Honolulu Transpac Race, only five have signed up for the latest rendition of this Polynesian adventure. Low turnouts for the Tahiti race are typical, which has averaged not quite 6 entrants from its beginning, and only once reached double digits (14 entrants in 1970). However, five boats would seem to be the bare minimum for an event. Four boat events aren't races, they are deliveries. Sadly, the 2008 rendition may be on the verge of falling into the "delivery status", as Bill Boyd, owner-skipper of the Santa Cruz 50 Mighty Tongaroa, is seeking to add final crew members. For those that are interested, can get away for nearly 3 weeks, and have a checkbook to help share the costs, contact Boyd at 808.230.5551. -- Scuttleblog, http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/06/need-crew.html RAMBLER VS. SPEEDBOAT - THE RACE IS ON! As these two racing yachts square off during the next Newport to Bermuda Race, the one thing they will have in common is their custom designed team shorts from CAMET. From Rambler's custom colored shorts to SPEEDBOAT'S hand tailored design, CAMET design and manufacturing stepped up to deliver innovative designs for these innovative yachts. To get your team onboard, give us a call or checkout http://www.camet.com/?Click=830 for all your team gear! THE MEDEMBLIK REGATTA CENTER Over one week ago, the Delta Lloyd Regatta in Medemblik, Holland was among the final events the Olympic fleet would compete in before they focus on their final training for the Qingdao games. In 2009, the Medemblik event will be among the seven events that form the inaugural ISAF World Cup Circuit. Journalist Lynn Fitzpatrick was onsite to report on the Olympic event, and provides some insight into the facility that hosted the 566 entrants: "Situated approximately 40 kilometers north of Amsterdam, the Medemblik Regatta Center has just about everything going for it. Medemblik is an old community by any standard (founded in the 10th century and established as a village in 1289). Medemblik is a small community (7,600 population). It has lots of tightly packed, well-maintained two story homes; church steeples dotting the skyline; and a main street with outdoor cafes, bars, bakeries, a grocery store and a castle protecting the main harbor entrance." -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/05/medemblik.html SAILING SHORTS * Bladerider International, a leading manufacturer of International Moth Class boats, has announced the forthcoming launch of its new model, the Bladerider FX. In an effort to produce a more affordable option to their World Championship all-carbon X8 model, the FX has a fiberglass hull and simplified rack system to drop the price point down, though raising the weight to approximately 40kg as opposed to 32kg on the X8. Early tests show the FX lifting out of the water in approximately 6-7 knots of wind (as opposed to 5-6 knots on the X8), and showing similar speeds to the X8 once foiling. -- Complete details: http://www.bladerider.com.au/media/releases/Bladerider-FX-launch.htm * The World Sailing Speed Record Council has announced the ratification of a new 60ft Monohull 24 Hour World Record set by Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape onboard the Open 60 Hugo Boss on December 6-7, 2007. Sailing a distance of 501.3 nm at an average speed of 20.9 kts, this record was established during the Barcelona Double handed World Race 2007, but had only recently sought ratification. The previous record was set by Alex Thompson in 2003. -- http://www.sailspeedrecords.com * All ten of the 68-foot yachts of the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race are now in Lower Manhattan's North Cove Marina, arriving overnight Sunday at the end of their latest leg from Jamaica. The fleet will now be preparing for the next leg of the race to Nova Scotia that will begin on Wednesday June 4, where after they will pass through Cork en route to their final finish line in Liverpool, England. -- http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com * Of the fourteen TP52's competing for the City of Marseille Trophy at the second stop on the Med Cup Circuit, which begins on Tuesday, two of the boats are lead by BMW ORACLE Racing crew. Among those on the team's brand new boat will be team owner Larry Ellison at the helm with team skipper Russell Coutts (tactics), James Spithill (strategist), and Michele Ivaldi (navigator). Another ten BMW ORACLE Racing team members will join Torbjorn Tornqvist on board the TP 52 Artemis, led by John Kostecki will calling tactics. Complete crew list here: http://abe5.com/4fq * The Farr designed 100-foot super maxi ICAP Leopard, owned by Mike Slade, is currently on course to break a transatlantic speed record currently held by the 246-foot luxury yacht Phocea of 8d 3h 29m that was set in July 1988. This record is a special sub-category for vessels that utilize powered sailing systems. ICAP Leopard is expected to finish overnight on Tuesday, June 3rd, and must complete the 2,925 nautical mile crossing by 04:30 BST on Wednesday, June 4th in order to break the current record. The outright monohull record is held by the 140-foot "MariCha IV"of 6d 17h 52m 39s set in October 2003. -- http://www.leopard3.com * Henri Lloyd, specialist marine clothing brand has announced their support as the Official Technical Clothing Partner of TEAMORIGIN's Extreme 40 programme and Match Racing Team for 2008. TEAMORIGIN's Extreme 40 team will be competing in the 2008 iShares Extreme 40 Catamaran Circuit skippered by Robert Greenhalgh, while Ben Ainslie and his team will fly TEAMORIGIN's colours at three World Match Racing events this year - in Marstrand at the Swedish Match Cup (30th June - 6th July), in Hamilton at the Bermuda Gold Cup (7th October - 12th October) and in Malaysia at the Monsoon Cup (9th December - 14th December). * Hamilton Bermuda -- To facilitate entry of foreign yachts wishing to compete in the June 27th Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Anniversary Regatta, the club has established a Crew Pool system on its Anniversary Regatta web site. Skippers who are looking for sailors to fill out their crew after arriving on the Newport Bermuda Race and Bermuda sailors or crew aboard arriving boats that are not competing are urged to put their names on the list to find a match. - Details: http://www.rbyc.bm/Default.aspx?tabid=449 ONNE VAN DER WAL GALLERY SALE Summer is here and to celebrate the Onne van der Wal Gallery is offering 10% off everything in the gallery. Our Memorial/ Father's Day sale includes purchases in the gallery and also on our website! We have new photos added to our Limited Edition Collection from Onne's adventures in Thailand. Visit the online gallery: http://www.vanderwal.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 Mark Porter: (re, comments in #2604) I find it unbelievable when Dean Brenner states no money comes from US SAILING to support the Olympic Team and its activities. The staff at US SAILING plans and executes all the activities of the Team. Dean's budget does not include the charges for staff time. Truth and Trust - ho hum. * From Peter Huston: (edited to the 250-word limit) Having been involved with USYRU/US Sailing for a decade, and sitting on a variety of committees, I became highly disenchanted with the organization when it shifted focus away from yacht racing to becoming the waterfront nanny organization it is today. While being an increasingly vocal critic of US Sailing, I reasoned that I needed to take away the potential for the organization to be critical of me for complaining without being a member. So, I rejoined yesterday, which was an interesting process in and of itself given the way their website is set up. But you know what I found utterly ironic? We all know that one way or another US Sailing led the way for the elimination of the multihull from the Olympics. Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman Dean Brenner even bragged about his rationale for wanting to get rid of mulithull's, saying we don't have any clear medal talent in the class. But when I finally figured out the process to rejoin, you know what sort of grayscale image appears on the "membership card" in the "store - a picture of a mutilhull. Go figure, multihulls were a good enough image to help promote the sport on the US Sailing membership card, but multihulls aren't good enough for US Sailing to support as part of the Olympics. Here's the link to that image.... http://abe5.com/4fr And to think that the notion of mandatory membership led to me becoming a member again. Perhaps President Capron should have been careful what he wished for! * From John Walton, San Diego, CA: In Scuttlebutt 2608 the Star Class competitor indicated, "We put 16 variations in the computer of hull shapes. We found one in 8 knots or less of wind that seemed superior than our current boat and the one most competitors will sail". The clear result of that degree of variability in the design specifications for the Star is the requirement for access to extremely sophisticated technology and substantial expense to be competing on a level pitch. Both the level of sophistication and the funding will restrict the breadth of competition further diminishing the willingness of the IOC to support sailing. Further, since those requirements are diametrically opposed to the proffered guidelines of the ISAF used to select Olympic equipment, it is amazing that the Soling and Match Racing have disappeared from Olympic sailing. * From Jackson Phillips: In 'Butt 2608 you carried a story about John Dane and Austin Sperry running 16 Star boat hull variations and came up with one that tested 'unbeatable' for conditions expected at the Olympics in China. Does this mean that a future Star championship events, in addition to several masts, a plethora of sails, the top teams will also bring three or four hulls -- each one designed for a specific wind strength or for varying sea conditions? You gotta love "one-design" racing. * From Michael Rosenauer: Anybody who thinks that large cats in the America's cup will be dull or boring should look at the video of Alinghi's capsize, not so much for the unfortunate turn of events, but for how the other boats handle the carnage in front of them, sheet out and take off. -- Video: http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1581481410 CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The most endangered species.........Dedicated Leaders. Special thanks to Doyle Sails, Camet International, and Onne van der Wal Gallery. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
