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SCUTTLEBUTT 2041 – March 1, 2006
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,
features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.
TO BUILD AN AUDIENCE
Peter Huston’s letter in Issue 2040 made some observations about Olympic
sailing that deserve additional attention. Peter stated that “if the prime
issue is TV for the Olympics - then there must be a focus on the thing that
people watch TV for - fascinating personalities.” He goes on to say that
“the global TV audience does not know or care about the boats, they only
care about the players.”
Anyone who follows professional football (sorry, US football) knows that
when the Super Bowl comes around, the two-week media build-up prior to the
game is all about personalities. During that period we move well beyond the
spotlight players (ie, the quarterback), and dig deep into the background of
every other starter on the team. Given that the majority of the viewing
audience does not have their home team in the game, the media works hard to
create a bond between the audience and the teams. This is Peter’s point, as
it is this bond that connects us to the event.
Peter’s comments also reminded me of an experience we had here at
Scuttlebutt with Glennon Stratton, who has become one of our popular
photographers. Scuttlebutt frequently gets images sent to us, but they are
usually from glamorous offshore events. When the boats are already very cool
looking, they literally jump off the screen in the big breeze (photographer
Sharon Green’s favorite weather forecast is “fresh to frightening”). Well,
Glennon was shooting at a light air laser regatta, and his images were
straining to communicate the intensity of the day.
The lesson was that within an image, dinghy boats struggle to capture the
imagination of the viewer when compared to offshore boats. So rather than
concentrating on the boats, Glennon went back out the next day and directed
his attention on the sailors. He focused on the crew movement in a roll
tack, the strain on their faces while hiking, the active eyes when viewing
the fleet… and his images succeeded in capturing the action that was missing
the day before. A great example of this is within his work at the 2005
College Nationals (see Scuttlebutt photo gallery).
For Olympic sailing to build an audience, both the imagery and the storyline
need to connect with the sailors. Until we can become intimate with the
sailors, and have the cameras zoom in and feel their strain, no amount of
event format changes will improve Olympic sailing’s chances to grow its
viewership beyond the hardcore sailors. - Craig Leweck. Scuttlebutt
SPECIAL DELIVERY
An Antonov cargo plane landed Tuesday in Valencia carrying unusual precious
cargo – the new America’s Cup Class yacht of BMW Oracle Racing. Thirteen
hours and 8,900 kilometres after departing from Seattle, WA in the USA, the
24-metre carbon fiber hull was delivered today to the Challenger in
Valencia, site of the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007. By flying the boat, the
team shaved almost three weeks off the traditional method of transporting
the boat via truck and container ship.
The team will now add the remaining components including keel, hardware, and
mast before the new boat can touch water for the first time. The team will
take the boat through a commissioning process where the engineers will test
loads and ensure it is structurally sound before starting a training and
testing program with the boat’s trial horse and tuning partner, USA-76. The
new generation racing yacht will be launched at a christening ceremony March
27 at the team’s new training operations base at the Port America’s Cup in
Valencia. ~ www.bmworacleracing.com
Unloading photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/0228/
LITIGATION
Auckland, NZ -- With her voice straining, and taking rests in her
wheelchair, an American boardsailor yesterday told the High Court in
Wellington why it should hear her $15 million damages claim against Olympic
gold medallist Bruce Kendall. Once the United States' top female
boardsailor, Kimberly Birkenfeld suffered severe brain and spinal injuries
in an accident with a Yachting New Zealand-owned motorboat driven by Kendall
in Greece in August 2002.
She claims she had stopped when he ploughed into her. He claims she came at
him at high speed and he could not avoid her. Neither dispute that Kendall -
former coach of Ms Birkenfeld, who is a friend of sister Barbara Kendall -
pulled her out of the water and resuscitated her, saving her life. She needs
a wheelchair to move more than short distances and struggles to speak. Ms
Birkenfeld is suing Kendall and Yachting NZ for general damages of $15
million, plus an undisclosed amount for special damages, including loss of
earnings and medical bills. ~ NZ Herald, full story:
http://tinyurl.com/quxg8
X-RATED
Massachusetts -- Senator Ted Kennedy was embarrassed today when he was
mistakenly cited by police for being topless in public. Kennedy, who was
sailing without a shirt, was mistaken by the Harbor Patrol for an elderly
woman who was sunbathing topless in public. "It was an honest mistake," said
Officer Joe Kopechne. "He really looked like an elderly topless woman. I
mean, come on. He's a D-cup. When he said he was Ted Kennedy, I thought it
was a woman just trying to get out of the ticket. It was only after I
realized he was sweating pure vodka that I knew it was really Ted Kennedy. I
asked him to please put on a shirt, and I tore up the ticket." ~ Story and
revealing photo:
http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=19804
WHEN IT MATTERS
Stagg Yachts of Annapolis MD is the best source for top racing and
cruiser/racing boats, and in addition to the Farr 40 One Design, Farr 395
One Design and IRC models, Farr 36 One Design and Mumm 30, we are pleased to
offer in the USA the DK46 and DK40, both IRC specials by Mills Design. We
are also the best and most knowledgeable source for brokerage boats for the
discerning racer either at club level or grand prix. Contact Geoff Stagg or
Tink Chambers at mailto:info@staggyachts.com, and for complete information
please visit our website at http://www.staggyachts.com
DRAG RACE
You could almost forgive ABN Amro One skipper Mike Sanderson for ordering
the champagne to be put on ice as the black boat’s lead reaches 40 miles and
the spectre of Cape Horn and its scoring gate loom larger on the horizon.
The three and a half points accredited to its first visitor is now just 850
miles away and given Mike Sanderson’s current progress – sailing a knot
faster than the 21 blowing them from the north east - those points should be
in the bag by Thursday afternoon.
More worryingly for the chasing horde is that, as Marcel van Triest of
Brasil 1 stated in a radio interview this afternoon, the race is now a drag
race due east to the Horn and the record of the Juan Kouyoumdjian boats in
tests of pure speed in strong winds doesn’t need to be restated. Similarly
at the back of the fleet Sebastien Josse must be kissing a picture of Juan K
for designing his Volvo Open 70, which in 19 knots of wind is sailing at a
shade greater than 20 knots, thus reducing a once imperious deficit to fifth
placed Ericsson to a mere 14 miles. Such speeds have brought their 24 hour
run to a staggering 492 miles, the largest in the fleet.
Ericsson’s skipper Neal McDonald confesses he doesn’t understand why the
other boats sail consistently faster than Ericsson. “If I knew, then I could
do something about it. But as things are, all we can do is try as hard as we
can. I am proud of the guys for doing this.” ~ www.volvooceanrace.org
Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Tuesday
1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 3111 miles to finish
2. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +43 miles
3. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +54 miles
4. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +102 miles
5. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald, +160 miles
6. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +174 miles
QUOTES FROM THE BOATS
“Last night was the coldest up to now, so Capey (Andrew Cape) thought we
should give the heater a go. Always an argument, some are in favour some
against using it. In favour because it is nice warm, against heaps of
condensation and it starts "raining" inside from of the ceiling. But Capey
won, but not for long. After 5 minutes running the thing it was more foggy
inside the boat than outside. Pure exhaust fumes filled the interior. Capey,
stubborn as he can be, said: this is just the start up and most of it is
steam. But is got worse and worse, so finally switched the damn thing off
and had to open all the hatches, so it way colder than before. As Skippy
(Chris Nicholson) is in charge of this department, and happens also to be
one of the persons who is against using it, the solution is easy. It won't
get fixed, argument closed!” ~ Bouwe Bekking, moviestar skipper
FULL ON STORM
Dee Caffari had never sailed single-handed or even been alone for more than
a few hours before leaving Portsmouth last November to embark on her attempt
to become the first woman to sail round the world solo and non-stop against
the prevailing winds and currents. But today she marks her 100th day at sea
in the depths of the Southern Ocean and tonight faces what weather
forecaster Mike Broughton describes as a ‘full-on’ storm.
“Even when doing the sea trials for Aviva, although I did all the sailing, I
always had someone else onboard with me. Before this adventure I’d never
really spent any time on my own. I’ve never even lived on my own, I’ve
always shared accommodation. We’re talking hours spent on my own as opposed
to days.” Doctor Jean-Yves Chauve works with the world’s top solo
round-the-world racers, and says mental problems are almost always
encountered: “For some people [round-the-world solo] sailing is a dream, but
sometimes the reality is not the same as the dream and the navigation in the
south is very, very difficult”
“On Tuesday night and into Wednesday a very vigorous cold front with winds
in the high 50s and low 60s is going to generate violent conditions and
there will be no hiding place. “Looking forward to Friday we’re going to
change tactics and head southwest to go underneath a secondary low-pressure
system so we avoid the stronger winds to the north. But for tonight Dee will
be facing a ‘full-on’ storm.” ~ www.avivachallenge.com
NO CHANGES CONTEMPLATED
“Many of you are aware of the ongoing discussion on hiking in the (Melges
24) class. There have been many views expressed in emails and on the
Scuttlebutt forum, both for and against the various methods we use. At this
time the IMCA Technical Committee has no intention of proposing a specific
rule change as currently there are many differing opinions being expressed
and there is no clear direction emerging from the discussion. We do hope
however, to see ongoing discussion on the Melges 24 Class forum.” ~ IMCA
Technical Advisor David Chivers,
http://www.melges24.com/displayarticles.asp?year=2006&id=957
PIT STOP
Subic Bay, Philippines -- The eight boats from of the Clipper 05-06 Round
the World Yacht Race are out of the water with the final two due out
Wednesday. The keels have removed, and the prepping work is nearly finished
on four of the boats while two others are being marked up and their outer
skin is being removed in what looks like drastic surgery. All of the work
inside in removing engines, tanks, battery trays and batteries has been
done. The Race Team is expecting to get the materials for the lamination on
site on Thursday, at which point it will be possible to estimate the time
frame for completing the repair. An announcement is expected at the end of
the week on the scheduled restart date. ~
http://www.clipper-ventures.co.uk/2006/
NEWS BRIEFS
* Reichel Pugh’s new Grand Prix 42 design will be built in limited
production by McConaghy International. McConaghy International is a joint
venture owned by McConaghy Boats, Australia and JinLi Composites, China. The
boats will be constructed at McConaghy International’s new, purpose-built
30m x 100m factory, located adjacent to the current JinLi factory. Based on
a five boat order the price of a Grand Prix 42 will be US $382,000.00 each
complete with a carbon rig from King Composites of Argentina. This price is
excluding freight from Hong Kong for the yacht and freight from Argentina
for the rig. ~ www.reichel-pugh.com
Images of the boat: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/0228-RP/
* Now playing on www.t2p.tv: US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of
the Year.
* Americas Cup history is for sale on eBay, where a Carbon Fiber 1/3 scale
tank testing model is now being offered. First used by Paul Cayard and the
America One Team for testing in the tank, they later rigged two of these
boats for foil and sail design testing. Oracle BMW Racing then gained them
prior to the 2003 challenge for testing (remember Cayard’s golden
handcuffs). Rigged and ready to sail… and all to scale. -
http://tinyurl.com/jz48v
GOING SOUTH… PROTECT YOURSELF!!
If you are heading South for racing or cruising, remember to protect your
eyes and skin from the harsh UV Rays. Team One Newport has sunglasses from
Kaenon and Native Eyewear. Be sure to pack your Magic Marine Rash Guard and
your Camet Sailing shorts and pads. You might want some new Harken Gloves or
the new waterproof hats from Henri-Lloyd. There is also the Patagonia
Silkweight Capiliene shirts and the Railriders shorts option. Then pack it
all in a new Gill duffle! Call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327) or visit
http://www.team1newport.com
Curmudgeon’s Comment: Team One Newport recently completed a remodel of their
retail store… with some photos now posted on the Scuttlebutt website:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/t1n
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 Paul Henderson (edited to our 250-word limit): Ben Lexcen was a
genius and bizarre character. I knew him sailing FD's when his name was Bob
Miller. When he changed his name we who knew him well called him "BenBob".
The last night of the Acapulco '68 Olympics the Aussies were throwing their
usual bash at the Olympic Village. BenBob thought the party was dragging so
we drove his Pink Jeep down to the Whiskey-A-Go-Go and Ben went in and hired
the 7 piece Mariachi Band and he piled them, brass and all, into the back of
the Jeep.
We drove through security and Ben was conducting them when they realized the
transgression and security threw them out. Ben was livid and said he wanted
to go see Buddy Melges in Zenda Wisconsin. Dressed in his usual sandals and
shorts and flowered shirt, bought at Goodwill, I drove him at midnight to
the airport. He had no luggage. He approached the woman at the desk and
asked: "I want a ticket." She said, "To where?" Ben said "That is not the
questioned I asked. Anywhere."
There was only one more plane that night out of Acapulco. About three days
later I was worried what had happened to Ben so I phoned Buddy to inquire.
Buddy responded that Ben was there and asked if I’d like to talk to him. He
had flown to Columbia, Miami, Dallas, Chicago and Zenda International
dressed as usual. What fond memories of a truly unique and deserving human
being BenBob Lexcen was.
* From Skip Lissiman - Australia II '83 (re Ben Lexcen): As a great mate of
Benny's who sailed with him in the 1980 America's Cup and worked closely
with him from 1980 - 1990 on the 1983 & 1987 America's Cup projects, I echo
Dave Pederick's comments. Ben left school at 14 years old and as such was
not constrained to conventional thinking taught to naval architects and
engineers. He often had ideas that were often unconventional. Sometimes they
worked sometimes they didn't. There is no doubt that the wing keel on
Australia II was just one of these "whacky" ideas that in this case proved
to be very successful in its application on the bottom of a very fast hull.
Just look at how fast the conventional keeled near sister ship to "Australia
II" "Challenge 12" has proven to be in recent years.
Not only was it very innovative and courageous to design a winged keel
12meter to challenge for the Americas Cup but also courageous of Alan Bond
and Warren Jones to back Benny in his design and build the boat. Let’s not
forget that wings on a keel are only effective upwind and in the seventh and
deciding race of the 1983 Americas Cup Australia II sailed past Liberty on a
downwind leg - so there is a lot more to the 1983 AC win than just the
winged keel on Australia II.
* From: Larry Law (Re: Scuttlebutt 2040 - Fixing the Olympics): We have
viewed the thread about fixing sailing to meet TV's needs. Now, a thread
that analyzes the need to fix the whole Olympics since viewer-ship is down.
Might I suggest an alternative? My humble observation - since NBC secured
broadcast rights to these great athletic events, the ship has been scuttled
and is headed straight down, with no chance for recovery. Their persistent
use of the "fireside chat" format with sport snippets is enough to drive any
sport enthusiast to sleep. Example: Bob Costas and Tom Brokaw sitting around
the fireside stirring up the audience with their take on the sport of
snowboard racing - enough said!
I stopped watching most of the Olympics after the Atlanta Games. NBC has
made the Olympic TV venue about as interesting as hanging wallpaper. Maybe
it's not a sport/viewer problem. Sure, we don't have lances on the front of
our 470 fleet to cause Roman warrior-like damage at mark rounding's, or put
landmines in the long-jump pit......maybe we suffer from a poor presentation
of an extremely interesting event. Maybe this time we should shoot the
messenger!
* From Dieter Giese: People are confusing the roles of the parties involved
in the Olympics. It's about athletes. Not TV, marketing, buzz, coolness or
even young Americans. The athletes need to run, jump, sail as best they can.
The TV syndicates need to figure out how to package the events to maximize
their advertising revenues which, in the end, is all that matters to them.
It is no more up to the sailors to make sailing marketable for TV, than it
is up to the TV crews to sail the boats. If TV can’t figure out how to
handle sailing (or any other sport) then get out of the way and let someone
else do it, like streaming events over the internet.
If marketing experts are allowed to have their way, the entire Olympics will
degrade into a daily one hour Survivor show- eg. "the helmsman has just been
voted off the boat". Return the Olympics to the athletes, use web cams to
bring the events to those of us that want to watch.
* From Martin Dudley: As I understand boat registration it is to the port
where the vessel is registered (see photo of Martin Tasker as he departs
from his TVNZ on board interview on The Black Pearl in ‘Butt 2040), that I
noticed she is registered in "Isla de Muerta", curious to know where this is
I googled it and discovered: "Isla de Muerta (Spanish for "Isle of Dead
Woman") is the fictional mysterious island on which the pirate crew of the
Black Pearl stored all the treasures it had looted. Isla de Muerta is
featured in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
starring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.
According to lore, Isla de Muerta is "an isle of the dead what cannot be
found, except for those who know where it is." Captain Sparrow has a special
compass which points in the direction of this island." Now I am baffled as I
would have thought somewhere in the race rules this sort of signage on the
transom has to be fact not fantasy?
CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
You know you’re a true senior citizen when you start thinking of going home
before you get to where you’re going.
Special thanks to Stagg Yachts and Team One Newport.
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