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SCUTTLEBUTT 2346 – May 17, 2007
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,
features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is
distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of
Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing).
A GAME OF TWO STARTS…
(May 16, 2007) Two races, two stories, two-one - all settled on the start
line when Desafio and Luna Rossa positioned themselves to the right hand
side of their respective opponents. And the right paid like an on-fire Las
Vegas slot machine. So far, BMW Oracle hasn’t been rounded a single mark in
front of Luna Rossa – they have crossed one finish line ahead, by 13s in the
second race. But in the third of the series, the Italians repeated their
first race clean sweep to take a 31 second win. For Desafio it was even
easier; they stuck a penalty on ETNZ in the pre-start, then took the right
off the line and came home 1 minute 14 seconds in front.
So, the starts… Desafio turning over the Kiwis is going to get the most
attention, so we’ll begin there. The penalty developed from Karol Jablonski,
at the helm of Desafio, repeating the move that Jimmy Spithill used to win
Tuesday’s pre-start against Oracle. From the pin end entry, he bailed out of
the dial-up onto starboard, and then gybed round onto port. It sets you up
to leeward and if the other boat hasn’t got enough speed to get down and
across your bow, you’ve got control.
Dean Barker, at the wheel of ETNZ, may well have been worried about this, or
he may just have felt that it was time to try and stick another one on
Jablonski - either way, he forced another dial-up, and Jablonski repeated
his gybe move. But this time ETNZ tacked away a little too sharply, ended up
real slow, and sure enough, Desafio completed the gybe with plenty of pace,
came screaming in to leeward, got the overlap and now ETNZ were on the
ropes. Barker tried to escape by gybing across Desafio’s bow, and gave away
the penalty. -- by Mark Chisnell, read on:
http://markchisnell.blogspot.com/2007/05/game-of-two-starts.html
First team to win 5 races advances to challenger finals. The pairings are:
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 1-1-0-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 2
4. Desafío Español 2007 (ESP) 0-0-1-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 1
Race 3 stats: Wind speed (11-13kts), Race length (01:26:20), Total tacks/
gybes (ESP-18; NZL-22), Avg boat speed (ESP-10.275; NZL-10.225) --
http://tinyurl.com/34oefx
2. BMW Oracle Racing (USA) 0-1-0-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 1
3. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) 1-0-1-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 2
Race 3 stats: Wind speed (10-13kts), Race length (01:24:17), Total tacks/
gybes (ITA-26; USA-31), Avg boat speed (ITA-10.25; USA-10.35) --
http://tinyurl.com/2wec5r
* Race schedule: Semi-final racing has a scheduled rest day on Thursday. The
next block of racing is on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with the second
reserve day on Monday (previously noted in error as on Sunday). Complete
schedule: http://www.americascup.com/en/americascup/program/calendrier.php
* Mode changes: New measurement certificates had been issued Wednesday for
ESP 97 (Desafío Español) and USA 98 (BMW Oracle Racing). This is needed when
a team makes a modification to the underwater configuration of their boat,
which might mean a change to the keel bulb, winglets, or rudder.
* Short straw: Boats are allowed to receive weather information until just
before their start sequence, and they have onboard communication gear and
personnel to try to make sense of it. However, it all has to get off the
boat before the race, and it tends to be a wet transfer. The Rule 69 Blog
has a dandy photo of the BMW Oracle weather guy getting ready for his swim:
http://www.rule69blog.com/archive/2007/may/380
QUOTE / UNQUOTE
* BMW Oracle Racing navigator, Peter Isler: “We liked the right hand side of
the course long term. We felt sure it would be strong. Our upwind boatspeed
was good, but Luna Rossa Challenge gained a lot on the right hand side up
the first beat. There was a 15° shift to the right on the first windward
leg. It was the most consistent feature of the wind all day. After that, it
settled into smaller left-right oscillations. In those circumstances, when
you are on the right with good separation after a split-tack start, you are
bound to make good gains. Luna Rossa did a nice job on that first beat and
slipped into much more classic covering tactics. They played it much more
conservative, as you might have expected after what happened Tuesday.”
* Dean Barker, Helmsman, Emirates Team New Zealand, on making the pre-start
decisions: “I definitely take full responsibility for the decision. As
helmsman there are times that you have to be able to make judgement calls,
and every now and then you won’t be right, but with these teams you have to
be prepared to be reasonably aggressive at times and this one just didn’t
play out.”
* Karol Jablonski, Helmsman, Desafio Español 2007, on the penalty on ETNZ:
“All the pre-starts are intensive with some pretty close situations, but a
penalty doesn’t win the race. It’s only a small advantage and we had to win
the right hand side and the course which was favoured, and keep racing. The
fight goes on until the end. We know how difficult it is to beat the top
teams and we are happy to be back in the game. 1-2 is better than 0-3!” --
http://tinyurl.com/349sxg
ULLMAN SAILS HELP WIN 3 OF THE LAST 5 MELGES 24 WORLDS
Congratulations to Dave Ullman, and his team of Tactician Bill Hardesty,
Brent Ruhne, Andy Estcourt and Shana Phelan on “Pegasus 505”, topping a
58-boat fleet at the 2007 Fullpower Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by
Santa Cruz YC. Ullman Sails won five of nine races in wind conditions from 5
to 35 knots. While light winds proved tricky, the 35-knot conditions
provided 10-foot surfable swells that put the fleet into the survival mode.
Ullman Sails also powered Melges 24 World Champions in 2003 and 2005. For
the “Fastest Sails on the Planet,” contact Ullman Sails and visit
http://www.ullmansails.com
I WANT TO SEE THE SCORE
I am enjoying the coverage of the 32nd America’s Cup. Every sailing scribe
seems to be in Valencia, and many are producing insightful and entertaining
copy. The online radio is succeeding in communicating the live drama,
bouncing back and forth between several commentators who both know the sport
and the players involved. And now the Versus television network in the US is
showing the Louis Vuitton semi-final races live, and on-air experts Craig
Hummer, Andy Green, and Tucker Thompson maintain a dialogue that translates
the onboard action not always discerned by the viewer. However, one thing is
missing from the television. I want to know the score.
I watch a basketball game on TV, and the score is always in the upper
corner. Same with most every other sport I can think of. The score is what I
cling to, and my emotions change along with it. The technology is
occasionally used to show who is ahead, and by how much, but I want that
information in the corner of my television monitor…. all the time. The
racers probably want it too, like players in all other sports. But for now,
let’s not keep the viewers in the dark. Knowing the score (aka, the
difference in distance between the boats) will give life to the long grind
out to the port tack layline. Knowing the score will confirm whether the
trailing boat downwind is covering the boat ahead. If you tell me the
score - all the time - I become emotionally involved in the show. I applaud
the gains, and shriek at the losses. You give me the score, and you got me
emotionally, and once you have me there, than watching sailing is just like
watching any other sport. It becomes entertainment. -- Scuttleblog,
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/05/i-want-to-see-score.html
CONGRESSIONAL CUP
Long Beach, CA (May 16, 2007) - Sailors from four different
countries---including the first potential winners from Sweden or
France---hold the top four spots in the Long Beach Yacht Club's 43rd
Congressional Cup, presented by Acura, just past the halfway mark of the
double round robin. Johnie Berntsson (9-1), ranked No. 14 in the world
coming in, leaped to the top of the leader board Wednesday by winning all
five of his matches, extending his win streak to eight in a row. He beat
second place Mathieu Richard (8-2) in his first match and third-place Simon
Minoprio of New Zealand (7.75-2), the first-day leader, in his second race
and never looked back.
"We had some aggressive starts but only when it was the right thing to do,"
Berntsson said---like when he forced Richard over the line and into a foul
that settled that outcome right away. On the track there were some really
tight matches," Berntsson said. "We have some more work to do on our speed."
Winds started at 6 knots from south building to 12 from southwest as an
early marine layer surrendered to sunshine on a typical Long Beach spring
day. The total purse will be $41,000, including $10,000 to the winner. --
Complete results, news stories, and video highlights produced by t2p.tv are
available nightly on the event website: http://www.lbyc.org/concup
Standings after 10 flights
1. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) 9-1
2. Mathieu Richard (FRA) 8-2
3. Simon Minoprio (NZL) 7.75-2
4. Eugenly Neugodnikov (RUS) 5-5
5. Scott Dickson (USA) 5-5
6. Brian Angel (USA) 5-5
7. Damien Iehl (FRA) 3-7
8. Andrew Arbuzov (RUS) 3-7
9. Przemek Tarnacki (POL) 2-8
10. Martin Angsell (SWE) 1-9
US SAILING TEAM UPDATE
* Twenty-two US Sailing Team members and 29 Americans total are gearing up
for the Breitling Regatta, formerly known as the Holland Regatta (and prior
to 2005, the SPA Regatta), on the IJsselmeer off Medemblik, The Netherlands.
An International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 1 Event, the Breitling
Regatta will take place from Wednesday, May 23 through Sunday, May 27. The
competition will be raced in all 11 classes chosen for the 2008 Olympic
Games: 49er, 470 (Men & Women), Finn, Laser, Laser Radial, Neil Pryde RS:X
(Men & Women), Tornado and Yngling.
The following USST members are registered to compete:
=> 49er: (72 entries): Morgan Larson (Capitola, Calif.)/Pete Spaulding
(Santa Cruz, Calif.); Tim Wadlow (Beverly, Mass.)/Chris Rast (Wake Forest,
N.C.); Dalton Bergan (Seattle, Wash.)/Zach Maxam (Coronado, Calif.)
=> Finn (88 entries): Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.); Geoffrey Ewenson
(Annapolis, Md.)
=> Laser Radial (88 entries): Anna Tunnicliffe (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
=> RS:X Men (78 entries): Ben Barger (St. Petersburg, Fla.); Bob Willis
(Chicago, Ill.)
=> Star (50 entries): John Dane (Gulfport, Miss.)/Austin Sperry (Gulfport,
Miss.); Andy MacDonald (Laguna Beach, Calif.)/Brian Fatih (Miami, Fla.)
=> Tornado (49 entries): Johnny Lovell (New Orleans, La.)/Charlie Ogletree
(Kemah, Tex.); Don Thinschmidt (Holland, Mich.)/Drew Wierda (Miami, Fla.)
=> Yngling (33 entries): Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.)/Debbie Capozzi
(Bayport, N.Y.)/Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.)
* Several USST members just finished training camps on the waters of Cascais
Bay in Portugal, home of the ISAF Sailing World Championships from June
28-July 13. This regatta is the first Olympic qualifier for all classes. 470
sailor Mikee Anderson-Mitterling (Coronado, Calif.) shared why the ISAF
Sailing World Championships are especially significant for him and his crew,
Dave Hughes (San Diego, Calif.): "The Worlds are very important on a few
different levels. First, we, as a team, are focusing on peaking and Worlds
is a great test for that. The location of Worlds put a huge emphasis on boat
speed, so the training in Cascais will greatly help us out for trials. The
Worlds are also very important for funding. If we get another Top 10 finish
and, even better, a Top 3 finish, we will be able to qualify for more
funding. This is always an important aspect. Finally, doing well at Worlds
will be a great confidence booster, and we all know how important that
is." -- http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/spotlight/spotlight051607.asp
SAMSON SAILS ONBOARD WITH YOUNGEST TRANSPAC CREW
The Morning Light Project, led by Roy E. Disney, is a feature film in the
making that chronicles the real-life experiences of the youngest crew ever
to sail in the L.A. to Honolulu Transpac race. The TP52 yacht and its 15
crew have been sailing since January with Samson lines. The running rigging
package includes WarpSpeed for halyards and sheets; AmSteel for control
lines; and Samson Ice for abrasion resistant covers. Easom Rigging and
Racing of Point Richmond, CA developed and delivered the rigging. The
2,225-mile race starts July 15, 2007. See Samson in action and follow the
project at http://www.morninglightproject.com
SAILING SHORTS
* The website for the 2008 Laser World Championship, which will be held in
February at Terrigal, New South Wales, Australia, is now live:
http://aus08.laserinternational.org
* Racing will be Thursday through Saturday for the A-Cat North Americans,
held in Galesville, Maryland and hosted by West River Sailing Club. --
http://www.westriversc.org
* Primedia has sold the 70 enthusiast magazines, 90 websites and 60 event
programmes of its enthusiast media division to Source Interlink Cos, a home
entertainment distributor, for US$1.2 billion. According to a story in
AdAge, Source Interlink intends to combine Primedia's content with its
magazine-distribution and merchandising programmes to create a full-service
media company. Primedia's 70 titles include the boating titles Power &
Motoryacht, Voyaging, Sail and Boatworks. -- IBI Magazine, full report:
http://tinyurl.com/36vclj
* The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has launched the bid process for
the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016. The 203 National Olympic Committees
(NOCs) have been invited to submit the name of a city within their
jurisdiction as an Applicant to host the Games in nine years’ time. -- ISAF:
http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1qFnA?vD&format=popup
* At the ISAF Mid-Year Meeting in Paris, France, the ISAF Executive
Committee unanimously decided to promote Jerome PELS to ISAF Deputy
Secretary General. Jerome will also remain as the Head of the Competitions
Department. – ISAF website,
http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j12FnA?vr&format=popup
* Capri, Italy (May 16, 2007) - The Rolex Capri Sailing week debuted in good
sailing conditions with a west-southwesterly wind ranging from 8 to 12 knots
and reaching up to 18 during the last leg of racing. The cloudy sky
intimidated in the first race but left space to a sunny weather in last leg
and permitted the Race Committee to complete 5 races in this first day of
competition. The Farr 40 class is led by Kokomo, Lang & Sue Walker (AUS),
the Mini-Maxi class is led by OPS 5, Violati Massimo (ITA), and the Comet S
class is led by Libertine, Biscardi Maurizio (ITA). --
http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1618
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine)
Here are a few of the events that are coming up:
May 18 - Charleston to Bermuda Yacht Race - Charleston, SC, USA
May 18 -20 - Laser Masters U.S. Nationals - Wrightsville Beach, NC, USA
May 18 -20 - Leukemia Cup Regatta - Southport, NC, USA
May 18-20 - Leukemia Cup Regatta - Denver, CO, USA
May 19 - Leukemia Cup Regatta - St. Clair Shores, MI, USA
May 19 - Leukemia Cup/Early Bird Regatta - St. Clair Shores, MI, USA
May 19 - Leukemia Cup Regatta - St. Clair Shores, MI, USA
May 19-20 - Jamie Boeckel Fund Memorial Regatta - Oyster Bay, NY, USA
May 20 - Leukemia Cup Regatta - Newport Beach, CA, USA
View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar
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 Paul Jacobs, Saunderstown, RI: Notwithstanding a remarkable comeback
in Race 2 it seems as though BMW Oracle Racing has been on "the wrong side"
of almost every wind shift on the six weather legs they have raced in the
Louis Vuitton semi-finals. Somehow Torben Grail seems to be able to predict
the shift with uncanny accuracy. However, when BMWOR start to the left...the
wind shift is to the right, and they are soon behind. When BMWOR start to
the right, the wind shifts to the left...and again...they are behind. I
believe they have lost the all-important first weather leg in all three
races so far.
While BMWOR have demonstrated an ability to come from behind, the
"statistics of victory in match racing" surely favor the boat that rounds
the initial weather mark ahead, by a historically wide margin. While
basically an optimist, I fear that if this trend continues against Luna
Rossa the chances that the 33rd America's Cup will be held in San Francisco
grow dimmer with each day.
I know that all the race teams get inputs from world class weather experts,
and they also receive detailed meteorological inputs, wind speeds,
directions, oscillations, trends, etc., right up to the pre-start. However,
I have a phenominally inexpensive suggestion; simply flip a penny just
before the pre start...heads go right, tails go left At least using this
approach they would be "correct" about 50% of the time, which is vastly
better than they have been doing! Even a watch that has stopped is correct
twice a day.
* From Ray Tostado: The world wide coverage of this ACC event has made us
all witnesses. Albeit, relying upon the TV commentators for our insights.
When we comment it is not with a critical judgmental air, but rather a
sincere respectful curiosity drawn from what the screen is centered upon
from moment to moment, and the voice over commentary flavors. I am
consciously aware that Chris Dickson is, what seems by comparison, to be a
violent helmsman, this when compared to viewing the other three vessels and
their wheel movement. It might be the way his vessel is designed where
balance is a fly by wire experience. I most likely will never set hand upon
the wheel of any of those greyhounds. So I am not qualified to judge. But is
very obvious to me.
The commentators discussed some overnight underbody changes made by the
Spanish and the US. The Spanish seemed to have gained by this, something
must have been broken. Was something broken on the US boat to suggest a
change was needed? Anyway, it seems to have lost it's downwind advantage. In
fact, given the performance we witnessed on Tuesday, when the US seemed as
capable of victory as could be desired, given a match race, today's event
has yet to be explained.
* From Cameron McIntyre: Sailing on TV in the USA, freaking fantastic, I’ll
take it any way I can get it, (thank god for the DVR). I am impressed with
the video footage and computer graphics but would like to comment with a
little constructive criticism for the broadcasters. The most popular
televised sports have a long broadcast history and the producers clearly
understand how to deliver the play by play. The producers and commentators
for the Versus network appear to focus too much on trying to explain sailing
to audience who knows nothing about sailing, trust me that audience is not
watch the America’s Cup. I think the play by play and color commentary
should play to the audience who is watching the America’s Cup and knows a
thing or two about sailing. Give us wind direction, boat speed, heading give
us the data we need to make better tactical calls from the comfort of our
couches than the professionals make on the water. That being said I can’t
wait to get home and watch sailing for a solid two hours.
* From Chris Ericksen: Thanks for the link to Chris Caswell's wonderful "On
the Wind" column posted in 'Butt 2345. While the purpose of the piece was to
suggest that sailing was and is a great sport for kids, I was drawn to
Chris' reminiscence of "the bay where (he) learned to sail so many years
ago." I, too, learned to sail on that very bay, near that very dock, in the
very same kind of boat, at about the same time, and my dad gave me very
similar advice. My joy is that I still call that bay my homeport.
CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing.
Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Samson.
Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender
of the 32nd America's Cup.
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