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SCUTTLEBUTT 1981 -- December 6, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.DISMISSED In a brutally executed move, a tearful Adrienne Cahalan was yesterday chopped from the navigator's chair for the Brasil 1 team in the Volvo Ocean Race. The 41-year-old from Sydney was navigator through all the build-up and for the first leg, in which she was third, from Vigo, Spain, but her dismissal came like a bolt from the blue. She was the only woman among the 10-person crews on the seven boats in the fleet. "I had no inkling at all that this was coming," she said, until called in at breakfast to be told the news by the team's chief executive, Alan Adler. "I was pretty upset about it and, yes, I shed a tear," she added, also disappointed that her skipper, five-time Olympic medallist Torben Grael, had not told her himself. Torben can be quite fiery, but I certainly wasn't singled out," she said. "They didn't really give me a reason except I didn't speak Portuguese and wasn't experienced enough." This is Cahalan's fifth round-the-world campaign and she was flying home yesterday hoping, unexpectedly, to take part in her 14th Sydney to Hobart race. -- Stuart Alexander in Cape Town, the Independent, complete story: http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article331392.ece ADRIENNE SPEAKS (Dismissed Brasil 1 navigator Adrienne Cahalan discusses why she thinks she was asked to leave in a story posted on The Daily Sail website. Here's a brief excerpt.) Prior to her conversation with Adler yesterday she says she had no inkling that change was afoot on board. "Obviously in this type of race there is a lot of wear and tear, there is tension on board and everybody on board is very competitive. I have been on boats before where individual crew members don't talk to each other on the same watch and that certainly wasn't the case here. People got on well. Torben is obviously very competitive himself and certainly can be quite fiery on board but I certainly wasn't singled out, in fact I thought he was quite hard on a couple of the younger boys. So I didn't know and I was in quite a bit of shock yesterday when I found out and very disappointed." Even the navigator-skipper relationship on board between Cahalan and Grael, she feels was good. "I have been on boats where as navigator you had quite a lot of conceptual disagreements with the skipper, but I actually enjoyed working with Torben and I thought we thought the same way and in fact we generally agreed where to go, so it wasn't very onerous in that regard. It is not perfect and maybe they are expecting perfection and it is their inexperience that they don't recognize what a good team is yet, because I thought it was a very good team. -- www.thedailysail.com WHAT NOW? Brasil 1's team have issued a statement putting their side of the situation concerning navigator Adrienne Cahalan and her position aboard the boat: "The Brasil 1 Team was surprised by Adrienne Cahalan's statement that she was out of the team for the remaining of the Volvo Ocean Race. No decisions have been taken so far. This subject will be discussed in a meeting (on) Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro. During the first leg, trimmer Marcelo Ferreira was out of the sailing watches for some days due to a medical problem and Adrienne Cahalan wasn't planned to take part in the watches. The only issue here being the great physical strength required for the job. The situation of having two crewmembers out of the sailing watches will be the subject of the scheduled meeting. "The idea that will be discussed is having Adrienne on the Brasil 1 as team's meteorologist and including a navigator who will be a part of the sailing watches for the Southern Ocean legs. Afterwards, there is the possibility of having Adrienne back to the crew for the remainder of the race. That idea is still the one we are supporting: Adrienne has done an important job for the team and we do not want her to stop helping us," Brasil 1 skipper Torben Grael stated. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.com/ THE DESIRE FOR LIGHT, BREATHABLE CLOTHING CONTINUES To meet these needs, Camet International has introduced a new line of sportswear to satisfy it's sports-minded and outdoor enthusiast customers. The collection offers an array of possibilities from highly technical products that scream "performance," to lightweight, wrinkle-free products for on-the-water and off-the-water activities. We look for fabrics that move perspiration away from the body, dry quickly, and are wrinkle-resistant; characteristics sought by adventurers and sailors alike. Our line of clothing not only serves a purpose, it's also very fashionable. With solid color schemes, Hawaiian prints, and multi-functional designs. Check them out at http://www.camet.com - request catalog at mailto:camet@camet.com STEPPING DOWN The Chairman of the Jury for the 32nd America's Cup, Bryan Willis (GBR), has stepped down from his role as Chief Umpire, effective at the end of 2005. This move, proposed by Willis and supported by the Defender, the Challenger of Record, Challenge Commission, and the organizers of the 32nd America's Cup, is to ensure the complete independence of the Jury. Willis held this dual role for the last two America's Cups, but now the jurisdiction of the Jury includes areas previously undertaken by the Arbitration Panel. Accordingly, Willis says he feels it is important there be no conflict, real or perceived, between the two positions. 'The America's Cup Jury is empowered to resolve a wide range of disputes,' Willis said. "Its status as a 'no appeal' judicial body, whose decisions are final and binding, is vital to the smooth running of the event. It is therefore essential that the Jury is, and is seen to be, totally independent." The Regatta Director, Dyer Jones, will now appoint a new Chief Umpire in accordance with the Protocol for the 32nd America's Cup. -- http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6vFh0~Bl A GATHERING OF THE EAGLES One hundred teams from nine countries have entered the 2005 Corum Melges 24 World Championship at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, which starts December 11. Australian America's Cup skipper James Spithill is an early favorite to win in Key Largo based on his team's recent victory at the 2005 Carloan.com Melges 24 King's Day Regatta/Atlantic Coast Championship. Newport Beach sailmaker Dave Ullman, whose sails helped power Spithill to victory, posted a second place and served notice of his determination to add a Melges 24 World title to his numerous other championship credits which include three 470 Class World Championship wins. Italian helmsman Gabrio Zandonā who won the Melges 24 European Championship this year was third in Jacksonville, while two-time World Champion Vince Brun from San Diego, Calif., was fourth. Heading the list of US-based contenders who didn't sail at Jacksonville is the Pegasus 575 team headed by San Francisco software developer Philippe Kahn with three-time America's Cup winning skipper Russell Coutts as his tactician. Kahn's 16-year-old son Shark, who won the World Championship in 2003, has entered Pegasus 492 and is another favorite for top honors. There is an equally strong line up from Europe. It includes Italy's multiple World Champion and America's Cup helmsman Flavio Favini who is steering for Switzerland's Franco Rossini. England's Jamie Lea is now sailing with Stuart Simpson and determined to add World Champion to his list of Melges 24 honors. France's Francois Brenac recently joined Philippe Ligot's reigning Melges 24 World Championship Team, which is expected to make a strong showing. From England, Stuart Rix and Quentin Strauss, who came a close second to Zandonā at the recent Europeans, will attempt to take the laurels this time around. -- Keith Taylor, http://www.2005corumm24worlds.com THE PLACE TO BE The first entry deadline for Acura Key West 2006, Presented by Nautica is still a week off and never in the 19 year history of North America's premiere mid-winter regatta has it seen such a gathering of international grand prix boats and sailing greats. With all the headliners, there will once again be up to 200 top club racers making the annual pilgrimage to Key West to race on one of the four race circles. The combination of elite and grass roots sailor makes Key West a unique regatta. There will be no shortage of elite names with the likes of Coutts, Kostecki, Chieffi, Butterworth, Baird and Melges among the who's who Key West afterguard,. The Melges 24 may be the smallest boat in fleet but they remain the biggest class by a considerable margin. A December World Championship in Key Largo will translate into record numbers of international entries continuing their battles in Key West. A 70-boat turnout of these hi-octane racers is expected.The Swan 45 Gold Cup - featuring 16 of Nautor's Swan luxury racing boats from Italy, Japan, the UK and the US - will crown a 2006 World Champion at week's end. 2004 Gold Cup Champion, At least 9 Transpac 52s will be tuning up for their inaugural Global Championships at Premiere Racing's Acura Miami Race Week in March. The Farr 40 start at Key West will again be a photographer's dream with an impressive 25-boat fleet. A world championship caliber fleet hails from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Canada and both US coasts and the Great Lakes. The inaugural IRC National Championship will ensure that the handicap racing next January rivals any taking place in the one design arena. Nick Lykiardopulo's Kerr 55 Aera is an early favorite in this disparate 10 boat class. Event details and entries: www.Premiere-Racing.com THE ORANGE CRUSH The 2006 Vanguard Sailing Team debuts at the Orange Bowl Regatta in Miami Dec 26-30. A talent-laden squad including Charlie Buckingham, Megan Magill, Tyler Sinks, and Sean Kelly will head south to do battle against the best junior sailors in North America. Follow them at http://www.teamvanguard.com LASER RADIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Fortaleza, Brasil -- Standings for the Men's Division after four races with no discards (90 boats): 1. Igor Lisovenko, RUS, 17pts; 2. Fábio Dutra Pillar e Silva, BRA, 19pts; 3. Eduardo C. de Magalhães Couto, BRA, 19pts; 4. Tiago Côrtes Rodrigues, BRA, 23pts; 5. Carlo de Paoli, ITA, 23pts. Women's Division standings after four races with no discards (76 boats): 1. Sarah Blanck, AUS, 18pts; 2. Penny Mountford, GBR, 25pts; 3. Paige Railey, USA, 29pts; 4. Petra Niemann, GER, 30pts; 5. Cecilia Carranza Saroli, ARG, 33pts. Full results: http://www.2005laserworlds.com.br/ NEWS BRIEFS * During every race, there are sailors demonstrating good sportsmanship behavior and US Sailing would like to hear about it. They are now accepting nominations for their national sportsmanship award, the W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. Trophy. In the sport of sailing, sportsmanship is especially crucial. This award recognizes that individual who best exemplifies the spirit of sportsmanship in sailing. The nomination may be for the individual for a single outstanding example of sportsmanship during the year 2005 or it can be based on years of continuous sportsmanship conduct. -- George Fisher, (Gfisher@Fisherskrobot.com), www.ussailing.org/sportsmanship * As much of the country was dealing with snow, sleet and freezing rain, Coral Reef YC hosted the Commodore's Cup for 33 Star boats in beautiful sunny and eighty degree weather. Unfortunately, the high-pressure system that kept the sky free of clouds also kept away most of the wind. Final results (Two races): 1. Brian Cramer/ Tyler Bjorn, CAN, 5pts; 2 Andy Horton/ Brad Nichol, USA, 6pts; 3 Mateusz Kusznierewicz/ Dominik Zycki, POL, 18pts; 4. Doug Smith/ Mike Moore, USA, 18pts; 5 John Dane III/ Austin, USA, 19pts; 6 Hans Fogh/ David Caesar, CAN, 19pts. -- http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=840 * The Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Racers are reporting their fastest-yet boat speeds. First Glasgow reported 27.3kts only to be trumped by Jersey who posted 29.1knots shortly after. These speeds are attributed to the strong trade winds at around 40 degrees South. Durban Clipper is hanging on to the top spot this morning despite a relatively slow 24 hour run that saw a storming Victoria gain ground to only 26 miles behind. Qingdao and westernaustralia.com continue their match race and remain jostling for 3rd position about 7 miles further back. -- http://www.clipper-ventures.co.uk/2006/ * On Thursday, December 8, the early registration discount ends for US Sailing's 2006 National Sailing Programs Symposium, presented by Vanguard Sailboats. This is shaping up to be an outstanding event for any sailing program organizer, with many educational seminars and workshops on the event's agenda. The purpose of the annual Symposium is to network with other organizers and to share ideas on what it takes to run a successful sailing program. The 5-day event will be held January 18-22, 2006 at the Long Beach Marriott in Long Beach, Calif. -- www.ussailing.org/training/nsps/2006/index.htm * The Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission awarded the International Yacht Restoration School with a $100,000 State Preservation Grant to be used toward the restoration of the 1831 Aquidneck Mill Building, a 30,000-square-foot building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. IYRS was one of 21 sites from 13 towns and cities that received State Preservation Grants. The school was one of four organizations that received the top award of $100,000. The mill is being restored to help IYRS meet a growing demand for its educational programs. -- www.iyrs.org * On average, some 600 times a day (one day reaching 1,200), people are checking in to Donna Lange's website to follow the progress of her five month, non-stop trip from Portsmouth R.I. to Auckland, New Zealand on her 28-foot Southern Cross. According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Epsilon will curl back southwest in front of Donna's course of 110 degrees. The website carries a dramatic graphic to show Donna's proximity to the storm. -- www.donnalange.com THE ART OF SAILING Onne van der Wal's amazing photography is the perfect Holiday gift for the sailors on your list. All prints are on sale now and start as low as $39 for framed mini prints. Check out the complete collection online and sail through your holiday shopping list. 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 space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Carter Utzig, ILCA President: I thought about how to respond to Jorge Lopez's comments about "final results are still not posted" to the web for our recent world championship. For someone to call this group of individuals apathetic is wrong. They spent countless volunteer hours over the last few years, stopped their lives to put on some of our top events (Master Worlds, South American Championship and The Worlds) over a very intense two weeks, and did not instantly post the results!? Yes, I agree it would have been nice to have the results up posted more quickly. But I must applaud these individuals who gave of their personal time and money in today's very hectic world to put on such great events and host sailors from around the world. That is one of the things that makes the ILCA great - volunteers such as the ones who put on these events. Thank you to all the people for the hundreds of wonderful things you have done to make these events possible. * From Mark Brueggemann (edited to our 250-word limit): Interestingly, after one afternoon of racing at the Bitter End YC's Pro Am, an impromptu sailing forum broke out and one of the topics of conversation was bringing new people into the sport of sailing. It was mentioned that we need to remember that sailing is not just racing, but that for some people sometimes a great day of sailing is just a quiet sail into the sunset. It occurred to me that when I was first introducing my wife to sailing years ago, I was careful to take her out on nice days and sailed long easy reaches so that she would appreciate the wind and the water without being intimidated by lots of sail trimming and barked orders. Pro-Ams and exposure to professional sailors is exciting and motivating to those of us who love racing. but we shouldn't expect them to be the ones responsible for propagating the sport of sailing. That is up to us as the ones that people with an interest in sailing will most likely meet. How much damage has been done to newbies that have stepped on a sail boat only to be intimidated by intensity and complexity that they don't understand? We talk a lot about changing gears on the water, but sometimes the hardest one to find is the pleasure mode. And yet that is the one that will introduce more people to the joys of sailing. Racing will follow for those that are interested. * Tony Whitman: Claudia Feres queried, "This year's Volvo Ocean Race does not return to its starting point (Vigo), nor does the race cross its outbound track in the Northern Hemisphere, so is the VOR technically a "round the world" race?" Minoru Saito completed all of the requirements in his sail around the world having traveled over 25,000 nm except that according to the WSSRC his shortest orthodromic track was short by about 1,000 nm. If one is to study this further it becomes very clear that one can never achieve all of the requirements if departing from any port in the northern hemisphere on the Pacific ocean as Saito-san did. Not having to sail around the land masses of Africa and Brazil is the reason. So as long as you depart from a port in the Atlantic you become eligible. Some might conclude it is rigged to favor a selected group of sailors. * From Gary Wood: Re: J.P. Clowes comment about the worst thing that could happen when a Formula 1 car breaks down is that the driver has to walk back to the pits. How about those behind him that hit him at 150 MPH? * From Chuck Gilchrest: With respect to J.P Clowes (Scuttlebutt 1980) contention that the worst outcome of an F1 race car engine failure is a walk to the pits or a ride in a tow truck, keep in mind that a F1 race car engine spins in excess of 20,000 rpm and if failure occurs, say in mid corner while the racer is traveling at speeds approaching 200mph, bad things can and do happen, including the loss of life. Whether it is morbid curious or human nature, the more dangerous the activity, the more the masses tend to be attracted to its outcome. Rarely do sailing or motor sports events become "newsworthy" unless there is some disaster, crash, or other trauma that becomes fodder for water cooler conversations at the office. Sad, but true. * From George Bailey: The pressure to bring home a trophy is planted into the youth's mindset by the Yacht Club? It's parents that create all the problems. Clubs respond to what parents want. I bet 85% of the kids who have raced Opti's for two or more years would quit on the spot if their parents would let them. Opti's are awful boats and totally out of step with the times, for all the reasons already covered here. The only thing worse than being forced to race by one's parents is being forced to race a clunky Opti. Thank goodness my old man was a professional boat builder so I got to switch to Moths at age twelve. I was not allowed to stop racing until college. Free at last, I did not race for the next 35 years (I showed him!). With a very laid-back mindset, I have enjoyed racing for the last six years (Moths and PHRF). Down with Opti's and parents who force their kids to race! * From Donald Ricketts: Perhaps we can please several constituencies by requiring that any private Opti coaching be strictly limited to developing the skills inherent in avoiding sea life and flotsam. * From Peter Branning: Team racing in 49ers or the equivalent would finally turn sailing into a spectator sport. The America's Cup (yawn) never will. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Rental car -- the only 'true' all-terrain vehicle. Special thanks to Camet Gear, Vanguard Sailboats, and Onne van der Wal, Inc. |
