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SCUTTLEBUTT 3040 - Wednesday, March 3, 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. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today’s sponsors: Summit Yachts, North Sails, and LaserPerformance. AMERICA’S CUP CYCLE BEGINS NEXT WEEK Now that the dust has settled on one of the bleakest periods in the history of the America's Cup, the next round of the Louis Vuitton Trophy beginning in Auckland next week has taken on a whole new level of significance. A 2-year dispute between BMW Oracle and Alinghi over the rules of the 33rd America's Cup was finally settled on the water last month with the US syndicate's emphatic victory in Valencia. The details of the next America's Cup event have yet to be decided - the where, the when and under what rules are all still being worked through by BMW Oracle owner Larry Ellison and his chief executive Sir Russell Coutts. But given that the American syndicate appear genuine in their desire to get back to a traditional multichallenger event with rules that will create a level playing field for all, the future of the event is looking decidedly rosier. And so, with things appearing to be back on track, Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton believes the Louis Vuitton Trophy Auckland (March 9-21) is effectively the first regatta of the next America's Cup cycle. "I think having some level of clarity with the America's Cup absolutely gives [this event] more teeth. It is the first regatta of the next America's Cup, and it just happens to be in Auckland, which is great," said Dalton. Talks to integrate the Louis Vuitton Trophy as part of the next America's Cup have already taken place between Bruno Trouble, who manages the company's sponsorship programme, and Oracle as part of a series of discussions designed to overhaul the management of the event. They include a reinstatement of a challenger series which, as the old Louis Vuitton Cup, was part of the America's Cup for 25 years before a falling out with Ernesto Bertarelli, the owner of Alinghi (after the 32nd Match in 2007). The French luxury goods maker withdrew its support and in conjunction with World Sailing Teams Association (WSTA), created last year with Team New Zealand as one of its founding partners, set up a rival regatta series known confusingly as the Louis Vuitton Trophy, which started in Nice last November. Trouble said while nothing has been settled, he hopes the current series will become a preamble to the America's Cup. "With the Americans winning it is great news for us because, as you know, Larry Ellison is also founding member of the WSTA. Larry and Russell Coutts are both very strong supporters of the Louis Vuitton Trophy." -- NZ Herald, read on: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10628775 CH-CH-CH-CHANGES… Mark Chisnell, who authored the official book from the 2008-9 Volvo Ocean Race, provides some comments on the 2011-12 route that is slowly being revealed. Here is an excerpt: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Throwing the cards in the air and starting again has been a popular pastime for event organisers of late - Knut Frostad’s mission to drag the Volvo Ocean Race kicking and screaming into the 21st century has been on-going and well-documented. In the last week we’ve passed another minor milestone in this process, with the announcement of the first two stop-over ports for the 2011-12 edition, with another one to come on March 3rd. The first leg will end once again in Cape Town, while the trans-Atlantic crossing that heralds the return to Europe will finish in Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. It's a long, long way south of previous trans-Atlantic finish ports, and will give the strategists plenty to think about, with a high probability that the Azores High will be parked on the great circle route. It might also hint at a North American port some way south of the previous Boston stop-over... It’ll be interesting to see where Wednesday’s announcement takes us - straight up the English Channel to a Scandinavian finish? A stopover in Lorient is what the French reckon - and seems much more likely, with Groupama already having thrown their hat in the ring with an early race entry. I suspect that would leave the Irish a bit miffed after the great show they put on in 2009. The rest of the route will follow between now and the end of March. -- Full story: http://markchisnell.blogspot.com/2010/03/ch-ch-ch-changes.html CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON SUMMIT 40 Summit Yachts has announced the start of construction of the first of the new Summit 40’s. This new model will be an evolutionary advancement over the highly successful King 40. With a new keel, and rudder design by Mark Mills, we will incorporate lessons learned from over 100 successful races worldwide. The rig will be upgraded to an all carbon Southern Spars rig. Other subtle design changes will make this a better all around boat. The 40 is being built alongside the new Summit 35 in Florida, and will complete in time for its debut at the Newport International Boat Show. Check us out at http://www.summit-yachts.com FOR THE RECORD (Day 31 - March 2, 2010; 17:12 UTC) - Around 1,000 miles from Cape Horn, the sailing conditions are fairly sporty with over thirty knots of NW'ly wind and, most importantly, fairly chaotic seas. The obligation to deviate from the direct course by carving out a curved wake which has seen Groupama 3 climb to 47° S, has caused her to lose a large part of the lead she'd acquired in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 750 miles across the ground over the past 24 hours, but just 575 miles of those on a direct course: the detour above a rather angry low, is proving to be highly disadvantageous, to the extent that close to 350 miles have been lost from Groupama 3's lead over the past three days! If all goes to plan, the loss will subside over the coming hours as Orange 2 also had to make a detour the day before she rounded Cape Horn. "The wind is gusting to forty knots and we're being forced to make headway underpowered,” notes skipper Fanck Cammas. “Fortunately the sea state isn't too bad and the boat isn't under too much pressure. The front will roll over the top of us soon and we're going to gybe onto a SE'ly course towards Cape Horn. The wind will then ease gradually and we'll have to hoist more sail aloft, so that is what's on the menu later today (Tuesday).” On rounding the Cape, Cammas explains, "The wind we're trying to keep to our stern behind this low is going to try to get ahead of us. As a result we're likely to have to adopt a rather atypical course, which will take us a very long way South of Cape Horn and continue eastwards across the Southern Ocean for an extra 24 hours. There's a zone of high pressure between Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands we'll have to get round... There is another possibility though. We could hug the coast of South America, but we'd have to brave strong headwinds! We'll make our decision Wednesday." -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/ykryzsu Current position as of March 2, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: +229.1 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 25.9 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 621.6 nm Distance to go: 8,118 nm Data: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/positions.asp?lg=en Map: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/index.asp?lg=en * After their start on January 31, 2010, Franck Cammas and his nine crew on Groupama 3 must cross finish line off Ushant, France before March 23rd (06:14:57 UTC) to establish a new time for the Jules Verne Trophy (21,760 nm) for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions. Current record holder is Bruno Peyron and crew, who in 2005 sailed Orange 2 to a time of 50 days, 16 hours, and 20 minutes at an average of 17.89 knots. PREPARING FOR THE STUDENT WORLD SAILING CUP Intense planning is already underway as The California Maritime Academy’s top sailors map a course to La Rochelle, France in late October to represent the United States in the annual Student Yachting World Cup. Cal Maritime won the annual Kennedy Cup in Annapolis last fall against some of the top U.S. collegiate sailing teams, and the right to represent the U.S. in the world competition. The challenge now is raising funds to transport, house and feed sailors and coaches and figuring out all the logistics. Director of Sailing Charlie Arms Cartee notes that in the past, East Coast sailors have always been the U.S. representative in this world competition, hosted by the French in various locations including Marseille & La Trinité sur Mer. “This is the first time a west coast team has carried the U.S. flag into the Student Yachting World’s and this will be a great opportunity to showcase Cal Maritime and west coast U.S. collegiate sailing.” She also expressed deep thanks to sailing coaches and staff from the University of Rhode Island, the 2009 U.S. representative, who generously provided their expertise on what is involved in preparing for and taking part in the international competition. “Their input on both logistics and fund-raising has been tremendously helpful in our initial planning,” she said. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9047#9047 * A big stepping stone for Cal Maritime toward the Student Yachting World Cup will be the at the third annual Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup/Cal Maritime Invitational Intercollegiate Regatta on March 12-14. There they will face nine other schools, including two time winner Maine Maritime Academy from Castine, ME. Sailed in Catalina 37s---the Congressional Cup match-racing boats---chartered from the Long Beach Yacht Club Sailing Foundation, each team will race with a crew of seven, male and female. Activity ashore will be highlighted by a Saturday night dinner featuring US Sailing President Gary Jobson as keynote speaker. -- http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9221 SAILING IS ROCKET SCIENCE! By Tom Lochhaas, About.com The next time someone doesn't fully appreciate your sailing compendium of knowledge and skills, especially if they try to tell you it's not rocket science, you might explain how high level sailing actually is. Maybe it's even more difficult than rocket science. Case in point: Einstein capsized his sailboat and had to be rescued. The genius who understood physics better than anyone else alive may not have understood everything he needed to know to keep his sailboat upright. So there! I learned this tidbit recently after happening upon the obituary of a man named Don Duso. In the 1940s Duso helped rescue Einstein after he capsized his sailboat on Saranac Lake in upstate New York. I hadn't even known Einstein sailed. But it only stands to reason that the man who discovered relativity by reveling in "thought experiments" would enjoy sailing--and that he might push a small sailboat to its limit while contemplating the complex interactions of energy and mass relative to the speed of wind. E=mw2? -- Read on: http://sailing.about.com/b/2010/01/18/sailing-is-rocket-science.htm MORE FOR LESS... Introducing North 3DL 580, the undisputed value leader among all North 3DL styles. 3DL 580 is made using high performance Carbon fiber yarn combined with Technora yarn and engineered to deliver the performance, durability, affordability and style today’s recreational racing sailors are looking for. Now you can fly 3DL for the price of a 2D sail! -- http://na.northsails.com/3DL580.aspx SAILING SHORTS * Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten (March 2, 2010) - Peter Holmberg, Ben Beer and Maurice Kurg won the Budget Marine Match Racing Regatta for the second year in a row. Holmberg’s team sailed the Jeanneau Sun Fast 20’s better than the rest of the international field with helmsmen such as Gavin Brady, Peter Isler, Chris Nesbit, Colin Rathbun, Marc Fitzgerald, Jakub Pawluk and Eugeny Nikiforov. Holmberg's experienced team from St. Thomas, USVI won $5,000 for their first place effort. -- Full story: http://www.worldregattas.com/ViewInfo.php?ContentID=444 * Class Afloat, owners of the tall ship Concordia that sank after failing to recover from a freak wind gust, say the 18-year-old Polish-built vessel was designed and tested to survive just that sort of knockdown.Concordia's survivors say a powerful blast of wind knocked the 60-metre vessel so far over on its side that its masts and sails were lying on the surface of the South Atlantic Ocean. The ship failed to right itself, capsizing and sinking within 20 minutes last month 550 kilometres off the coast of Brazil. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/yjotodf * (March 2, 2010) - Stuart Alexander (65), yachting correspondent for the UK daily, The Independent, who is in Auckland for the Omega Cup and Louis Vuitton Trophy, was injured when a SUV backed over him, while he was crossing a street in Auckland's downtown area, just after midday. Alexander went underneath the vehicle. Tonight he was resting in Auckland Hospital on his 65th birthday, and is reported to be in stable condition and in remarkably good spirits, despite a leg injury and multiple broken ribs on his right side. It is not known whether charges will be laid against the driver of the SUV. -- Sail World, http://tinyurl.com/yhgq8yo * World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), the world’s leading professional sailing series, has announced the launch of its new website. The new website features a fresh modern design, better and more intuitive navigation and a wealth of information about the Tour. -- http://www.wmrt.com/world-match-racing-tour-launches-new-website.html LETTERS AND FORUM Please email 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 John Lambert On the subject of Nicholas Hayes’ observation of the decline in racing (in Scuttlebutt 3038), which I believe is probably greater than suspected, there are still some bright spots. Different from adult racing, the following areas have continued to grow; Opti and Club 420 racing (I do not know enough to comment on Laser/Laser Radials but I suspect that they also are growing), high school and college racing, and adult team racing. Unlike most adult racing, each of these areas has the advantage of the boat and its gear being largely irrelevant to results. In adult racing, seeking a competitive advantage through gear is encouraged; a sentiment that would be deemed almost unethical in any other sport with the possible exception of auto racing. The next generation of sailors leaving college will, for the most part, have less time and money than prior generations. So long as racing sailboats continues to reward competitive advantage obtained with gear, participation will decline. To not just stop the decline but to grow adult racing, a new division of the sport is needed that discourages arms races and applies Rule 69 as forbidding efforts to gain competitive advantages through gear. To not move in this direction is to consign racing sailboats to an increasingly marginal existence, only for the really affluent. Sailing could truly become a national sport; starting a high school program is cheaper than building a ball field, and the maintenance is also less. But the participation declines if the next step is simply joining an arms race. * From Dave Stringer: (re, letter in 3039) While unemployment is a terrible fate, perhaps the better term to use would have been underemployment. If the America’s Cup had become The Alinghi Cup, as was threatened, there would be few sponsors offering to fund a campaign doomed to failure from the start. While exposure is one key factor in the decision to invest in sponsoring a sport team, the potential to be associated with a winner is, I can assure you, another. If Mr. B’s plan had succeeded, there would be many professional sailors looking for alternate careers, not just a fill-in job. A far worse outcome than that achieved by the Oracle team and its prime funder. Perhaps Mr. Jackson Michael needs to get his name reversed and take up singing and dancing, rather than commenting on the probity of the approach taken to salvage the America’s Cup for future generations of sailor. * From Tom Priest: I would like to know how/where/why Mr. Michaels (in Scuttlebutt 3039) thinks the America's Cup has ANYTHING to do with employment? The AC is a 'game' played by some very wealthy gentlemen...It should be recognized as such. If, someone is LUCKY enough to make a living within the confines of the 'game'...good for them! But to count on that income to support one's family is pure folly. In a down economy (or a messed-up AC cycle)...the 'toys' are the first thing to go! Those who build, support, or race those 'toys' need to be cognizant of that. Charles Darwin, meet the job market! Do you think Alinghi is hiring right now?!?! * From Damian Christie, Melbourne, Australia: I’ve enjoyed Cory E. Friedman’s commentary about the America’s Cup legal saga over the last two years but disagree that BMW Oracle should continue with its breach of fiduciary duty action against Ernesto Bertarelli and SNG. By urging BMW Oracle and GGYC to do their “fiduciary’s best in administering the Cup” and arguing that “democracy has its limits”, Cory proposes closing the door on Bertarelli and SNG’s future participation in the regatta. While George Schuyler may have outlawed Captain Cuthbert in 1882 “for the good of the Cup”, a more recent precedent suggests GGYC cannot simply overstep the mark by excluding a viable challenger from future regattas, be it Bertarelli or anyone else. In 1987, in a bid to stave off Michael Fay’s big boat challenge, SDYC unsuccessfully petitioned the New York Supreme Court to amend the Deed of Gift to give the defender the right to determine the type of boats to be used and the dates of future competition. Ironically, the NYYC opposed this petition and the court threw out the motion. Schuyler as donor was empowered to amend the Deed, but subsequent trustees have not - and fair enough, as each trustee is effectively administering his will. It’s time to move on. Larry Ellison and the GGYC must now prove that they are more sincere than Bertarelli in their promise to govern the Cup fairly, impartially - AND democratically. Expelling a competitor through a BFD motion would suggest they are anything but just, unbiased and egalitarian. * From Bruce Munro: Cory Friedman is absolutely right when he essentially states (in Scuttlebutt 3039) that Larry Ellison has been the savior of the America's Cup. Had the results (both legal and on the water) gone the other way, we would have changed the name to the Bertarelli Cup and forgotten about it. Once Ernesto found out that he could make a lot of money by winning the America's Cup, he tried to stack the deck and pull off all kinds of dirty tricks to see to it that he kept on winning. Thanks to the tenacity of Larry Ellison, that did not happen. We all owe him a big debt of gratitude. The next question is what happens now? Mr. Ellison has publicly stated that the next match will have independent management and independent judges and juries. That is great as far as it goes, but what happens when the next Bertarelli comes along and decides that he wants to make lots of money by winning the Cup over and over? Ernesto is not the only guy out there looking for new ways to make money. What is needed is a long term permanent fix so that future winners cannot do what Bertarelli tried to do. In my opinion this calls for permanent independent management along the lines of other professional sports like baseball, football, etc. This was attempted during the 1999 Louis Vuitton Cup in New Zealand, but it did not get enough support then as we had not yet had the ugly example of the past two years to show the real need for change. Now that need is abundantly clear and Mr. Ellison could do us all a really big favor if he revisited that effort and brought about his own program to set up permanent independent management for the Cup. EXCITING YEAR ON THE HORIZON FOR LASERPERFORMANCE LaserPerformance is gearing up for a busy 2010. They’ve got several new products and great new programs planned. It all starts with the launch of the new Vapor Optimist. The Vapor is manufactured in LaserPerformance's stateside factory in Portsmouth, RI right alongside the Laser, Sunfish, and C420 (among others!). For more information go to http://www.LaserPerformance.com CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical." - Yogi Berra Special thanks to Summit Yachts, North Sails, and LaserPerformance. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
