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SCUTTLEBUTT 3148 - Wednesday, August 4, 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: Southern Spars, Morris Yachts, and J Boats. TEAMORIGIN TAKES TWO AT COWES WEEK 1851 CUP Cowes, England, (August 3, 2010) - BMW Oracle Racing (BOR) dropped two heats today to TEAMORIGIN on the first day of The 1851 Cup, a one-off match racing regatta between the two teams racing in BOR's two V5 America's Cup Class sloops. In Race 1, BOR skipper Jimmy Spithill of Australia took the right side of the racecourse and won a tacking duel up the first leg to lead at the first windward mark after a leg of 1.2 nautical miles. The two crews went through the leeward gate together, each taking opposite sides, and up the second windward leg TEAMORIGIN opened a lead on the right hand side. "In the first race we had an advantage off the start line, but probably chose the wrong leeward gate to round," said BOR tactician John Kostecki. "Up the second beat they got a little shift to the right but fault on us. We have to get it right next time." In the second race TEAMORIGIN got an early lead when BOR jumped the start early and lost valuable time restarting. The BOR crew was tight on TEAMORIGIN's lee bow trying to force them over the start line early, but instead the westerly flowing tide swept BOR over the line early and handed the British a sizeable advantage. The race was shortened at the leeward gate with the wind blowing 22 knots and gusting higher. "We would've preferred another lap," said Murray Jones, BOR strategist. "We were a long way behind so in that situation you're hoping for a handling error or a breakdown on your opponent. But I enjoyed today." -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2ax3h46 * Racing in The 1851 Cup continues on Wednesday and Friday. The "Round the Island Race' (RTI) will be raced on Thursday. The matches on Friday count 3 points per win, as opposed to 1 point for the earlier matches. The RTI race is for a separate trophy, The Trafalgar Cup, and will also serve as the tie breaker should the two teams be tied at the end of the 1851 Cup matches. Cowes Online is covering each day of Cowes Week racing with video reports on the daily action, which includes live cameras on the start and finish lines, plus some special reports on subjects including Charity Day, The 1851 Cup, the Extreme Racing Series. All video reports can be found at Cowes Online http://www.cowes.co.uk, as can the live streaming cameras. Team websites: http://www.bmworacleracing.com http://www.teamorigin.com USA 87 REBUILD COMPLETE The last time the two V5 ACC sloops USA 87 and USA 98 were on the water together occurred during the Louis Vuitton Trophy event in La Maddalena, Italy, in late May. During Day 4, the French team Aleph and Italy's Azzurra were dueling in pre-start maneuvers when Aleph, aboard USA 98, attempted to duck Azzurra but seemed to misjudge the amount of overlap - video replays show the bowman signaling all clear to the helmsman - and plowed into the starboard aft quarter of USA 87. Here's what it took to rebuild USA 87: ------------------------------------------------ The collision crushed the bow of 87, rendering it unusable for the rest of the regatta. Additionally, USA 98 suffered damage near the running backstay sheave box that sent it shoreside. USA 87 absorbed the brunt of the hit near the running backstay sheave box and stern compression bar, a strongly built area of the yacht. An ultrasound was required to ensure the carbon fiber laminates hadn't come unglued. Aboard USA 98, the damage to the bow occurred forward of the forestay bulkhead, so no integral structural was damaged. The piece does carry a bit of load, however, in the form of the spinnaker pole downhaul, which leads through the point. The repair was fairly straightforward for the team's expert boatbuilders, led by Tim Smyth and Mark Turner. "We built a new section at our facility in Warkworth (New Zealand)," said Smyth. "The picture (above) shows half of the new bow on our five axis milling machine. We made two halves, glued them together and then shipped it to Cowes where the shore team bonded it to the yacht." That's where Turner takes over the project. In about four and a half days the shore crew bonded the section in place and had it painted in familiar livery. -- Read on: http://bmworacleracingblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/rebuild-complete.html RIGGED FOR CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE The epitome of high performance one design class racing will be showcased at the Marinepool Melges 24 World Championships starting this week in Estonia. Due to the highly competitive nature of Melges 24 racing, this will definitely be a regatta to truly test the abilities of the 84 teams entered. As the official supplier of the Melges 24 one design masts, Southern Spars wishes all teams a successful regatta and unforgettable sailing. In the end there can be only one winner. To find out what goes into designing a world class performance rig, visit: http://www.southernspars.com FIERCE COMPETITION CONTINUES AT US YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS San Pedro, Calif. (August 3, 2010) - Sailing conditions were fantastic again in the Port of Los Angeles for day two of the US Youth Sailing Championships, hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. The standings remain close atop the leaderboard in three-of-the-four fleets, which bodes well for a climactic conclusion to the championship on Wednesday. Mitchell Kiss (Mascatawa Bay Yacht Club) asserted himself today in the Radial fleet. He won the final two races of the day to take a two-point lead into tomorrow. He led by one after yesterday's four races. His throwout race is a 10th place finish in race six. Trailing closely is Mateo Vargas (St. Petersburg Yacht Club). He finished third in the final two races of the day to stay within striking distance tomorrow. John Wallace (St. Petersburg Yacht Club), another USSDT member, has a commanding lead in the Laser fleet. He is nearly flawless through eight races. Wallace has won seven-of-eight, with a sixth place finish in race six. He is 15 points ahead of Trey Hartman (Lakewood YC / GCYSA), who is in second place In the 29er fleet, Antoine Screve and James Moody (San Francisco Yacht Club) have taken a four point lead after winning two of the last three races of the day. They lead Sterling and Hans Henken (Coronado Yacht Club) who moved into second place with consistent racing today. However, their throwout race is a 12th place finish in race one yesterday. Screve, Moody, Agnese, and Nilson are all USSDT members. -- Full story: http://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/2010_USYSC_D2.htm DAY 5 BRINGS SHIFTY CONDITIONS AT 505 WORLDS Aarhus, Denmark (August 3, 2010) - Jorgen and Jacob Bojsen-Møller sailed a magnificent day in the most tactically challenging conditions yet seen at the SAP 5O5 World Championships, taking place in Aarhus, Denmark. The Danish brothers needed to sail out of their skins if they were to stop the German team of Wolfgang Hunger and Julien Kleiner running away with the regatta. The Bojsen-Møllers scored a 2nd and 1st in light offshore breezes which were shifting up to 40 degrees from the north-west. "It was a bit scary sailing today," said Jorgen, "because the wind was very, very shifty. So I'm happy not to have done a bad race. At one point we thought Hunger had already won, but actually he is not there yet." The Germans now sit on 12 points overall, after scoring a 5, 2 today, with the Bojsen-Møllers now on 14 points. With two races to go, and with two discards from a nine-race series, Hunger cannot afford too many mistakes, although mistakes are not usually in his repertoire. Kleiner's girlfriend, Meike Schomaeker, continued her progress up the fleet. Crewed by former 5O5 World Champion Holger Jess, she now sits in 5th place overall despite also complaining of a lack of upwind speed in today's tricky conditions. Sitting ahead of her in 4th is 1999 World Champion from the USA, Howie Hamlin crewed by Andy Zinn, and continuing to lie in 3rd overall are former World Champions Ian Pinnell and Ian Mitchell from Great Britain. -- Full story: http://www.505sapworldchampionship2010.com/ Top ten after 6 races: 1. Dr. Wolfgang Hunger / Julian Kleiner, GER, 12 points 2. Jorgen Bojsen-Moller / Jacob Bojsen-Moller, DEN, 14 3. Ian Pinnell / Ian Mitchell, GBR, 22 4. Howard Hamlin / Andy Zinn, USA, 46 5. Meike Schomaeker / Holger Jess, GER, 55 6. Stefan Bohm / Gerald Roos, GER, 56 7. Ebbe Rosen / Olle Wenrup, SWE, 73 8. Christian Kellner / Martin Scholer, GER, 89 9. Martin Goerge / Rainer Goerge, GER, 93 10. Tom Bojland / Anders Friis, DEN, 96 AWESOME DAY FOR OPTIS Newport, RI (August 3, 2010) - Today Newport delivered what sailors from seven countries came for - a 15-20 knot steady southwesterly race day with brilliant sunny skies. The perfect sailing day on the waters of Narragansett Bay kicked off the 2010 Ernst & Young USODA New England Championship at Sail Newport. The regatta is expected to be the third largest one-design regatta in the world this year. 11-year old Jack Parkin (Greenwich, CT) leads the fleet of Optimist sailors with a 5-2-1-1 (9) and an impressive early lead. The top girl after the first day of racing is 14 year-old Meredith Megarry (Ontario, Canada). Sitting in 8th place overall, Meredith is the current Canadian Optimist Champion. 376 sailors from U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Argentina, British and U.S. Virgin Islands, and Switzerland are in Newport for two more days of racing. Full results: http://www.sailnewport.org/npt/m/_general/2009optineresults.asp MAINE'S GOVERNOR BALDACCI SALUTES MORRIS YACHTS! Yesterday, Cuyler Morris welcomed Governor Baldacci, other top Maine officials, and editors from Cruising World Magazine to Morris Yachts' State of the Yard meeting. Cuyler accepted the Bristol Award from Cruising World Magazine on behalf of the Morris Crew for the M52. 2010 has been a good year at Morris Yachts. Ten new boats have been sold including seven new M29s. Brokerage sales have also been strong with 12 boats changing hands. Cuyler and the Governor reminded the gathering that Maine has adjusted the Maine State tax - essentially reducing the tax from 5% to 2%. For more information: http://www.morrisyachts.com/news/ WELCOME HOME JAMIE ROSS On Sunday July 25, Australian quadriplegic Jamie Ross completed his solo, unassisted circumnavigation of Australia. Jamie became a C5 quadriplegic in a gold pouring accident at Meekatharra in 1988. His story of recovery from near suicidal depression to the peak of his sport, a gold medal at the 2000 Paralympic Games, is an impressive one that offers genuine inspiration. To crown a fantastic accomplishment the new world record holder sailed the final 2000 nautical miles in his S&S 34 The Spirit of Rockingham, home from Darwin non-stop successfully to claim not only the new world record for a quadriplegic sailing solo unassisted around Australia, but breaking his own previously set solo unassisted distance record. He said, "I'm still in shock that I have completed the trip and am still alive and in one piece! I'm sure I have a guardian angel that was looking after me - there were a number of extremely close calls. I keep looking at the tracker page with the red line circling around the whole of Australia and I just can't believe that Spirit and I made that track!" He continued, "I am pretty pleased about the time I did it in, basically beating the 1990 record by 11 days. It took 57 days of sailing time to do the actual circumnavigation excluding the time at the stops". In a journey of highs and lows, Albany to Hobart, the longest distance prior to the homeward leg, prepared Jamie for the long distance hauls, Hobart to Sydney prepared him for dodging ships, Sydney to Airlie taught him about the little squalls that come through and the kind of wind that goes with them while between Airlie and Darwin Jamie learned about current against wind and navigating through reef. The final leg, between Darwin and Perth however had everything in extremes. -- Full story: http://www.solo1.com.au/ EIGHT BELLS John Chick, a good friend and competitor over three decades to many in the Chicago sailing community, passed away July 31. John was owner or partner in a number of successful racing yachts including Hot Flash, Whiteout, X-Press, Bad Dog, and Mumm 30's USA 56 and USA 41. Together with partners Michael Elam and Jeff Diemand, John's Bad Dog won its section at this year's Key West Race Week with a perfect record of 10 first places. John was a veteran of 25 Chicago-Mackinac races and another 15 Port Huron-Macs. A memorial service is planned for 4;30 Friday afternoon, August 6 at All Saints Episcopal Church, 4370 Woodland Avenue, Western Springs IL. SAILING SHORTS * (August 2, 2010) - In the 81-mile Santa Barbara to King Harbor (Redondo Beach) Race raced last weekend the top 3 spots went to the Class A Ultra Lights: Akela, the R/P 77 sailed by Doug Baker (Long Beach YC) took first by 40 minutes; in second place by ten minutes was Medicine Man, the Andrews 63 sailed by Bob Lane (Long Beach YC); and in third Jorge Ripstein (Acapulco YC) on the TP 52 Patches. -- Complete results at: http://www.khyc.org/racing/2010/sb-khyc/sb_kh_results.pdf * (August 2, 2010) - Nominations are now invited for the 2010 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards, the most prestigious award of recognition in the sport of sailing. Nominations may be made by anyone and the only criterion for sailors is "outstanding achievement in the sport of sailing" during the qualifying period of 1 September 2009 to 31 August 2010. Nominations should be sent to ISAF by 12:00 (UTC) on Monday 6 September 2010 using the Official Nomination Form at: http://www.sailing.org/33576.php * (July 30, 2010) - Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Britain's greatest living sailor, has just released a new book, "Knox-Johnston On Sailing", where he shares a collection of distilled wisdom, acute observations and fascinating anecdotes. Knox-Johnston became internationally famous in 1969 as the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world. Knox-Johnston On Sailing is a selection of the most provoking, insightful and perceptive columns from the pages of Yachting World magazine. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2bfntsu * St Louis, MO (August 2, 2010) - In a recent research report, analyst Tim Conder (Wells Fargo) predicts a best-case scenario of peak cyclical marine industry retail demand is now in 2014/2015, given that (1) Retail credit availability/affordability has only modestly improved YTD, (2) Weakening U.S. consumer confidence/broad retail trends, (3) Uncertain sustainability of European demand coupled w/ adverse FX, (4) Impact that expiring Bush tax cuts/Obamacare taxes will have on demand for 35'+ boats ($250K+ income customer), and (5) Gulf oil spill. -- Full story: http://www.boating-industry.com/output.cfm?id=2567017 THE HOTTEST 40 FOOTER IN NORTH AMERICA? In the past month, J/122s have won both the Chicago-Mac Race and the Doublehanded Mac Race, plus division wins in the Bayview-Mac, NYYC Rolex IRC Nationals and IRC Great Lakes. All this and the second class North American championship in Newport. For a great all-around race, cruise and just plain fun boat, check out the J/122. -- http://www.jboats.com/j122 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 * Chris Szepessy, Senior Editor, WindCheck Magazine: I am saddened to learn of the passing of Hans Zimmer. I interviewed Hans for WindCheck Magazine's monthly 'Sound People' page a couple summers ago. His stories, including his family's escape from Germany during World War II with the Russian army's guns within earshot, racing his souped-up lobster boat in Maine and the magnificent restoration of Bolero that he oversaw, were utterly captivating. During lunch, I learned that Hans and I shared a passion for classic Lotus sports cars. When we returned to Brewer Pilots Point Marina in Westbrook, CT, we stopped at a boat shed where he proudly showed off the many custom features of his Brunton Stalker, a Lotus Seven replica that he'd built himself. Punctuating his assertion that his diminutive hot rod was "absolutely faster than your Elan," he fired up its very loud Chevy V6 and left two long, black strips on the concrete. Hans was indeed, as Rives Potts has stated, bigger than life. The WindCheck crew sends condolences to his family. Sail on, Hans. * From Ian Duff (re, Scuttlebutt 3147): Re: "Fred Strammer remained on track today to seal the win comfortably in the men's Laser division." Two of my children are fortunate enough to have Fred as an instructor at Beverly Yacht Club, and for one of them, he's the 420 Race Coach. He must use the same low-key, people focused intensity racing his Laser as he does with the Beverly kids, as it's not clear to me where he's more successful, winning the O'Day, or teaching my kids. Stand-outs like Fred are one of the ingredients to Saving Sailing, making it fun for kids and their parents. Hear, hear, Fred, and congratulations! * From Taylor Michie (re, Scuttlebutt 3147): Having seen Charlie St. Cloud just yesterday, I have to disagree with the statement that VELUX 5 OCEANS is featured prominently. I understand it's a great accomplishment to be featured at all, but the only mention of V5O is a brief showing of their flag on one of the boats. It is never called by name, nor are any logos prominently displayed. I wish they were, though. * From Donna Womble: Regarding your observation...Entropy has us outnumbered. With a physics background, I can't help but comment that perhaps entropy is a better description of the paths of upwind sailor's paths in those 60+ one-design fleets of J/22s just after the starting gun. What is the best route to clear air using the best shifts? In human terms, entropy has our behaviors outnumbered! Happy Hump day, and Wednesday night sailing! * From Bill Elmer (re, Scuttlebutt 3146): I couldn't agree more with Dave King's reply about Opti's. Just this past weekend my daughter had a friend from Miami visit us here in Seattle. We took the big boat out for an overnighter. They originally met doing Opti's as she worked hard to qualify for the US Team and did North Americans two years running, as well as international regattas. There are friends from South America to Germany (oh what Facebook hath wrought) that she met and stays in touch with. In addition, the sailing carried over to Lasers and 420's where in the latter last summer she sailed and finished highly on the 420 circuit back east, and then capped it all off with a top ten at Orange Bowl. Now she's coaching locally and off to college this fall, planning to be on her school's team. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "The past should be a springboard, not a hammock."- Ivern Ball, author Special thanks to Southern Spars, Morris Yachts, and J Boats. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
