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SCUTTLEBUTT 2537 – February 21, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. IT’S A REAL BIG DEAL It is an event rarely seen in the sporting world of solo sailing, the gathering of many of the great solo sailors from the past, present and future who came together to celebrate the official launch of the 13th edition of the oldest solo race history, now known as The Artemis Transat. Dame Ellen MacArthur, who won the race in 2000 aged 23 years and went onto finish 2nd in the solo Vendée Globe, stood alongside Mike Richey (aged 90) who competed in every edition of the race from 1964 onboard the famous Jester. The first edition of the race in 1960 was founded by Lt Col Blondie Hasler and Sir Francis Chichester (Gipsy Moth III) who was the first to reach New York after 40 days - it now takes the modern-day IMOCA 60 racing machines a little over 10 days to cross the 2800-mile course to Boston. "I think the reason The Artemis Transat is so special is that it is THE race that kicked off and started solo sailing," commented MacArthur. Britain's Mike Golding OBE (Ecover) who won the race in 2004 has every intention of defending his IMOCA 60 title but he will be facing tough competition from the other skippers representing one of the strongest field of IMOCA 60 solo skippers in the history of the race. Fellow Brits Brian Thompson (Pindar), Jonny Malbon (Artemis Ocean Racing), Dee Caffari (Aviva) and Samantha Davies (Roxy) all pose a strong threat, whilst the combined force of the very best of the French solo sailors including Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), Seb Josse (BT), Vincent Riou (PRB) and Roland Jourdain (Veolia Environnement) to name a few, will make the IMOCA 60 title a hotly contested affair. -- http://www.theartemistransat.com * Entries for the Artemis Transat solo race in May have closed at 27 boats. This is a remarkable number given that organizers Ellen MacArthur and Mark Turner took the bold step to cull multihulls and other classes, leaving just the IMOCA Open 60 and Class 40 in the quadrennial transatlantic classic. "We think the 17 IMOCA boats could be a race record for a single class," said Turner. -- Tim Jeffery, The Telegraph, http://tinyurl.com/38fs5w RECOVERY Wednesday, February 20 -- News sources in New Zealand are reporting that the giant French multihull, Groupama 3, has being recovered and is under tow back to New Zealand. The reports say that she is due to arrive sometime this morning, under tow from the Clan MacLeod. Groupama 3 capsized 80nm off the coast of Dunedin early Monday afternoon, NZT. The Clan MacLeod was engaged by the Groupama 3 crew on Tuesday, leaving at 20:00hrs on Tuesday night arriving at the upturned hull and debris on Wednesday morning. At that stage it was expected that the trimaran would have drifted north and out to sea to be 120 nm from the New Zealand coast. The plan was to retrieve the broken mast on board the Clan Macleod, and tow the two pieces of hull structure. Fortunately conditions in the area were perfect for the salvage attempt, and from television footage it would have been expected that the operation would proceed very quickly, if it was going to be possible. It would seem that is exactly what has happened. Next task will be to find a way of shipping the damaged multihull back to France, where it is intended to effect repairs and make another attempt of the Jules Verne Trophy. – Sail-World website, http://www.sail-world.com/uk/index.cfm?nid=42003&rid=3 CHECKING IN WITH ZACH RAILEY by Kimball Livingston, SAIL Zach Railey has seen a few things, going this far with the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team. For one, he saw every journalist's slam dunk brother-sister story of the year go up in smoke when world female Sailor of the Year Paige Railey did not make the team. For another, he went from high-place finishes in lead-up regattas to tanking the Finn class worlds. But there's a reason why this 23-year-old first-generation sailor can wrap it all up in a kit bag and smile. It's not about finishing 28th in the worlds when, as he said, "A week before I had finished fifth against the same competitors, in the same venue, with the same race committee." But it's related. Railey says, "A lot of people, after a bad regatta, just pack up and leave. I never do that. I go to the ceremony and look at someone on the podium holding the award that I wanted to win. I let that sink in. Then I go home and train harder." Railey is home in the US (briefly) after a long stint in the antipodean summer. I caught up with him as he passed through California on his way to the Finn Midwinter Championship starting Friday at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Then it's off to Europe, but really, it's the road to Qingdao. His bottom line on the worlds, where Briton Ben Ainslie won an unprecedented fifth Finn Gold Cup: "There were times when Ben and I were together on the first upwind, and we saw that we couldn't win on that side, and Ben took his losses early. It sounds simple, but I guarantee you it's hard to resist hanging in for the magic shift that's going to change everything. Ben had the discipline and experience to know when to take a risk and when not to. That's my takeaway." -- Read on: http://www.sailmag.com/0208ZachRailey DISCOVER THE NAVIGATOR'S CLUB ... WIN FREE GEAR! Join Atlantis WeatherGear's Navigator's Club and you'll instantly be entered to win a Grand Prix Softshell Jacket (Link: http://tinyurl.com/23f8n8). Every Friday, one lucky winner (hopefully you) will be picked at random from the Navigator's Club entries, so sign up now (before we come to our senses and cancel this promotion). Navigator's Club members receive special coupons, discounts on our coolest new gear (the '08 line is on its way) and breaking news straight from Atlantis HQ in Marblehead. Enter now for your chance to win this Friday! Enter here: http://www.atlantisweathergear.com/cust-service-subscribe.html Discover Atlantis WeatherGear WORLD CHAMPION -- AGAIN Matt Struble, DN US183, of Wixom, Michigan, won his second consecutive DN Gold Cup! The DN Gold Cup (World Championship), which is sailed in the US and Europe in alternating years, was sailed February 17th-20th on Lake Lipno, Czech Republic 183 entrants, including 14 from the US, competed in four fleets, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Aluminum. Matt finished with 18 points in the 50 boat Gold Fleet, besting second place finisher Lukasz Zakrzewski, DN P155, by 10 points. Other Gold Fleet finishers from the US included Ron Sherry, Canton Twp., Michigan – 5th, John Dennis, Mound, Minnesota – 9th and Aaron Stange, Toledo, Ohio – 10th The 47 boat Silver Fleet was won by Leon LeBeau, DN US2000, of St. Clair Shores, Michigan. -- Harold Hoffman, Official results: http://tinyurl.com/32cqb5 WORLDWIDE QUALIFIER SERIES The ISAF World Match Racing Tour announced its new ‘Tour Qualifier Series’, a group of nineteen events which will act as official qualifier regattas to the ten stages of the 2008 World Match Racing Tour. The concept behind the Tour Qualifier Series is to provide up and coming match racing teams a structured gateway to competing on the World Match Racing Tour. As Tour Director Craig Mitchell explains: “In the past, each stage of the World Match Racing Tour has hosted qualifier events in their own country. The new Tour Qualifier Series offers up to two qualifier events to each of the Tour stages, and also in different countries to the host country. The result is the series extends the opportunity for foreign teams to gain entry to the official Tour events.” Two of the qualifying events are in North America -- the Bermuda MR Championship (BDA) and the Knickerbocker Cup (USA) -- both of which serve as qualifiers for the Bermuda Gold Cup. The winner of each Tour Qualifier Event will automatically receive an invitation to the corresponding Tour Stage. “The Tour Qualifier Series is a tremendous development for the Tour” commented Tour President Scott Macleod. “We are constantly receiving requests for entries to the Tour and these qualifier events provide an ideal opportunity for teams to earn their place against the top sailors competing on the Tour”. Contact details for the Tour Qualifier Series events can be found on the Tour website at http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com ON A MISSION Connecticut yachtsman Jeffrey Sochrin, will be sailing his fifth St. Maarten Heineken Regatta this year. Sochrin competes in the bareboat class with his mates from the Milford Yacht Club, and he always calls his entry Team Goldendog. Of course, there’s a story behind the name. It started with a pretty simple notion,” Sochrin said. “We wanted to sail competitively, but with a cause. I’d always wanted a Golden Retriever and I ended up rescuing and adopting a dog back in the States. So it seemed kind of natural to try and identify homeless animals and find them a good home. And it just kind of took off from there.” Last year, Sochrin’s Beneteau was covered with stickers from the 27 sponsors who now back Team Goldendog). In addition to working with the Yankee Golden Retriever Association, they always try to address the problem of stray animals on St. Maarten, an island Sochrin and friends have come to respect and love. Specifically, they contribute to a program that neuters and spades dogs and cats. This year’s St. Maarten Heineken Regatta is March 7-9. -- http://www.heinekenregatta.com http://www.teamgoldendog.org FOR THE RECORD Route de l'Or (crewed route from New York to San Francisco) Gitana 13’s recent return to the northern hemisphere corresponds to the second encounter with the Intertropical Convergence Zone for Lionel Lemonchois and his crew. The ten men onboard Gitana 13’s crew hopes to work through the Intertropical Convergence Zone and find the exit in the next 24 hours. This estimate is purely hypothetical, since the conditions in the zone in which the 33-meter catamaran is now sailing have a propensity to change quickly. http://www.gitana-team.com/en/gitana10/homepage.asp RESULTS IN ON SCYA MIDWINTERS IN SAN DIEGO Ullman Sails customers finished on top at last weekend’s SCYA Midwinters Regatta in San Diego hosted by Southwestern and San Diego Yacht Clubs. Geoff Longnecker’s team on Melges 30 ‘Nemesis’ dominated the PHRF-3 division, winning every race in the 14-boat fleet. In offshore one design racing, John Laun and crew on ‘Caper’ won the J/120 fleet, finishing the regatta with three bullets and two third places. And Flying Tigers ‘Mile High Klub’ and ‘Niuhi’ took second and third in the 10-boat fleet. For more on the ‘Fastest Sails on the Planet,’ contact an Ullman Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com SAILING SHORTS * Not all of the fleet has finished, but American George David's 90-foot Reichel Pugh-designed "Rambler," skippered by Ken Read, managed a hat trick in the 22nd Rolex Buenos Aires - Rio de Janeiro Race, taking line honors, the overall handicap win and setting a new race record for the course, taking 9 hours off the previous record. The American boat was the first boat to finish the 1,123-nautical mile race last Thursday, covering the course between the Argentinean capital of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, with an elapsed time of 4 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes and 45 seconds. -- http://www.yca.org.ar * Thousands of local residents have flocked to the Olympic Sailing Center in Qingdao China to see the Clipper yacht fleet. The Olympic Sailing Committee issued 80,000 tickets to the public to attend a number of open days, which have been organized to showcase their new facilities for Beijing 2008 and their entry in the Clipper 07-08 Round Yachts Race. -- http://tinyurl.com/38ohy6 * USWatercraft, LLC, of Portsmouth, RI is set to begin production of new M 30 One Design sailboats. The class (formerly known as the Mumm 30) is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity world wide and will be holding its 2008 World Championship in Newport, RI on October 1-4. The new boats built at US Watercraft will be the first M 30s with a standard deck package comprised primarily of Harken Yacht Equipment. The first boats out of the molds are scheduled for completion in late spring. Stagg Yachts, Inc. is the sales office for the M 30 -- http://www.staggyachts.com * On Monday 25 February, the first race will start off Takapuna Beach in New Zealand for the 2008 Tornado World Championship, the final qualifier for the 2008 Olympic multihull event. Fifty entries are confirmed with representatives from 21 different countries coming to North Shore City for this World Championships. An important lead-up regatta for those on the road to the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition in Qingdao, China, the Tornado World Championships has attracted an unprecedented fleet of Olympic multihull sailors to New Zealand, including U.S. Olympic Team members John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree, 2004 Olympic silver medallists. -- Event website: http://www.takapunaworlds.org/ * North National Outdoor Group Inc. has announced its partnership with RS Racing for distribution in North America. RS Racing, dba LDC Racing Sailboats, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of recreational and racing sailboats. Headquartered near Southampton, England, RS manufactures a range of 14 boats, including the ISAF recognized Feva and Tera. Their international dealer base now includes 22 different countries around the world. North National Outdoor Group, originally founded in 1981 by 6-time Olympian Hans Fogh, is Harken’s longest serving international distributor, as well as the North American distributor for GUL, Blue Performance and now RS sailboats. -- Complete announcement: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5816 * Mt. Pleasant, SC - A grass- roots campaign for a sailing center at Memorial Waterfront Park is being spearheaded by lawyer William J. Hamilton III, who lashed out at the town last Friday for changing course on the project. Hamilton said that for two years the town has promised a sailing center at the park. Recently, though, it put the program on the back burner, he said. -- The Post and Carrier, complete story: click here CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: March 2-7 -- Bacardi Cup, Miami, FL March 11-12 -- Lightning Midwinter Championship Miami, FL, March 14-16 -- Sailing World NOOD - San Diego San Diego, CA, 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 Richard Clark (regarding rumors that Ernesto Bertarelli is seeking to sell Alinghi - ‘Butt 2536): It appears to this kiwi that both Ernesto and Brad have already sold their souls and so selling Alinghi appears the next logical step. I so loved the America's Cup, but now . . I need to get on with my life. * From Tracy Usher: Just a fun fact -- Peter Seidenberg is sailing in his 25th Master Worlds tying him with Dennis O'Sullivan for the most ever Master Worlds. According to Peter they both missed the first one because "nobody told us about it" but have not missed since. North American Laser sailors are pulling for Peter to win the Great Grandmaster division once again! * From Oliver Dewar (ref offshore backside management recommendation) I am compelled to write and advise strongly against the use of baby powder as a cure or preventative measure for gunwale rot as recommended in your letters section today(‘Butt 2536). Baby powder has minimal antiseptic properties and while the short term relief provided by its use may be profound, the net result of repeated application on extended offshore voyages is an evil, toxic slurry incubating in one’s thermals. Undertaking vital research, I experimented with teat and udder cream (available in most farm supply shops) during a fairly brutal transatlantic race seven years ago: it proved to be 100% effective. Used on cattle and goats (and, presumably, yaks etc) to inhibit the risk of ‘dairy rash’ from intensive milking, the cream’s basic ingredients are paraffin and beeswax. Although smelling like an antiques shop may be embarrassing and applying the cream publicly can prove disturbing for other crew, this product is, I believe, indispensable if a trip beyond the limits of the continental shelf is planned. * From David Redfern (re Daniel Forster baby Powder recommendation in Scuttlebutt 2536): Round about 1990, after a very drawn out interview I did with Australian solo sailor Jon Sanders who from 1986 to 1988 circled the globe three times the wrong way in 657 days, I asked him what was the most important thing in long-distance sailing. He said 'clean underpants - boils on the bum can be a pest!' * From Brian Kfoury (edited to our 250-word limit): As a California sailor, instructor and professional mariner that has watched the AC go farther away from the everyday sailor and club racer, and is seen as less a sport than an alien diversion set on mars for the non-sailing public, please consider the true spirit of the original AC. Combine that with modern sailing technology, and consider the excitement of faster vessels (Formula 1 racing vs Old Formula Ford). Look toward reducing the restrictions and possibly the size. How about: no restrictions on number of hulls or underwater appendages, no formulas. Retractable topmasts and hydrofoils come to mind. All must be human (hydraulic?) powered. I would subscribe to the "square meter" rule, that is say 20 meters square. That is maximum 20m LOA by 20m wide. (the 90' X 90' per the Deed of Gift is too big, reducing the number of teams racing) No other restrictions. No restrictions on rig or sail area. No movable ballast except crew. Now you would see fans worldwide watching tacking duels at combined 50+ knot closing speeds, crews running across 60 feet of beam, tacticians using radar guns to keep track of the speed of their opponents, and jibes on a plane, where the boats can cut hard enough to generate g- forces that can leave crew hanging from their MO harnesses. And stop the snickering of the sailing public with cherry-picked multinational crews. It was the Americas' Cup for a reason. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Mummies have trouble keeping friends because they are so wrapped up in themselves. Special thanks to Atlantis WeatherGear and Ullman Sails. A complete list of Scuttlebutt’s preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
