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SCUTTLEBUTT 3307 - Monday, March 28, 2011Scuttlebutt 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: Gowrie Group and Summit Yachts. BROADENING THE YOUTH SCOPE TO INCLUDE WINDSURFING Britt Viehman, a U.S. national team coach and certified instructor trainer, is the person behind the Clearwater Community Sailing Center's youth windsurfing team. Viehman of St. Pete Beach (FL) started the team a few years ago as part of the sailing center's summer sailing program, and now its members are competing both nationally and internationally in highly competitive windsurfing regattas. With the focus in the U.S. on Optimist and Club 420s for youth sailing, Viehman comments on what he sees as the 'ingredients' needed to broaden the youth scope in North America to include windsurfing: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I think our experience shows what is possible when you combine kids, equipment, and structure (coaching/ regular practices). The only difference is that our focus is racing boards instead of racing in 420s or Optis. The techniques and equipment are a bit different; however, the principles are the same as any other successful sailing team. When you provide the opportunities for the kids, along with the assistance and coaching so they progress, those kids with vision, talent and determination will rise to the top. Our results show kids are having fun with racing boards and with the thrill of windsurfing, but also by setting goals and striving/training with a coach to achieve those goals. There is excitement that is noticeable just as in a successful boat class. Windsurfing is a sailing sport. Like other sailing classes, in order to attract talent, parental and club support and funding, several key ingredients are needed. This includes exposure of what youth Windsurfing is and the opportunities that are offered, and the infrastructure (coaches/regattas) to help youth sailors make advances rapidly so we are competitive with other nations. Opportunities are available on several different levels: local, regional, and national. Additionally, opportunities exist for fun while learning, training, and competition. Those steps are repeated again and again and again from the basic to advanced levels just like in other sailing classes. Perhaps several of the fears for program directors and other class coaches are that given the opportunity, sailors may migrate to the "more fun" disciplines of windsurfing and not train for the class or program that is heavily promoted. Another fear may be that clubs will think, "I don't know what that is about and I don't want to sacrifice my program dollars for this." But if the bottom line is to enrich a kid's life with sailing, then windsurfing becomes an attractive option. Kids move in and out of sailing programs as interests flow and ebb. I know as a coach it hurts when a kid leaves your program. Some kids will like windsurfing more; some like boats more. Some like to sail both. But having windsurfing as a feature will help to retain some of those kids by allowing a different aspect of sailing, thus keeping them in the overall program. And windsurfing gear is a lot less expensive than boats. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/11/0318/ WILLIAMS BEATS BRUNI WHEN IT COUNTS Long Beach, CA (March 26, 2011) - This win was for mum back in the UK, and her pride in her son shined through Saturday's gloomy overcast that couldn't dim his victory in the Long Beach Yacht Club's 47th Congressional Cup. Leukemia claimed Ian Williams' mother Karen in midweek, but he left his grief on the dock in driving his team to 17 wins, including a 2-0 sweep of defending champion Francesco Bruni of Italy for the championship. "It's a time to keep focused . part of the job," Williams said. "She was a keen sailor. It's what she would have wanted me to do." Williams, 33, parked a barrister's career to pursue match race sailing several years ago. The move has paid off with two world championship events and a tour card for automatic entry into World Match Racing Tour regattas. He currently is ranked No. 5 in the world with updated ISAF rankings late this month. If Williams hadn't been here, Bruni might have gone undefeated. His only losses in 22 races were one to Williams by one second in the double round robin and the two in the title match by seven and 17 seconds. Williams' final count was 17-5. After sweeping former champion Mathieu Richard of France by one and 20 seconds in the semifinals, as Bruni blitzed Finland's Staffan Lindberg by 43 and six seconds, he never trailed against Bruni. "It all depends on getting a good start," Williams said. "Today we called [sailing to] the right [side of the course], and we got the right in all four matches. Long Beach has a particular look to it. You can see the pressure on the water." His tactician was Bill Hardesty, a San Diego native who sailed as skipper for a fourth-place finish a year ago and knows these waters well. "It's all about having the right outlook on the team," Hardesty said. "The outlook on the boat in the last race was the same as in the first race. When you lose that you make bad decisions." Final Standings 1. Ian Williams, Great Britain, $10,000 2. Francesco Bruni, Italy, $6,000 3. Mathieu Richard, France, $5,000 4. Staffan Lindberg, Finland, $4,500 5. Dave Perry, USA, $3,500 6. Simone Ferrarese, Italy, $3,100 7. Johnie Berntsson, Sweden, $2,700 8. Evgeny Neugodnikov, Russia, $2,300 9. Phil Robertson, New Zealand, $1,900 10. Taylor Canfield, U.S. Virgin Islands, $1,500 Fleet race: Canfield $1,000 Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11559#11559 Daily highlight videos: http://www.thecongressionalcup.com/live-feed/ GOWRIE GROUP: CONSOLIDATE TO SAVE AND ELIMINATE GAPS Take advantage of the premium savings available through consolidating your boat, home, umbrella, and auto insurance with one company. Consolidation also ensures that you do not have risky gaps in your coverage, or unnecessary overlaps. The insurance experts at Gowrie Group understand the risks yachts-people face on and off the water, and are committed to getting you the right protection, at the best price. Learn more about Gowrie Group: 800.262.8911, http://www.gowrie.com CROWN JEWEL OF THE CARIBBEAN St. Thomas, USVI (March 27, 2011) - Three days of sun-drenched racing in the International Rolex Regatta for over 700 sailors on 77 teams offered courses that threaded through and around the cuts and cays of St. Thomas and St. John. This was not just a buoy event with endless laps; it was a full buffet table of race options that leveraged this piece of paradise. Big guns, such as Boewe Bekking, Gavin Brady, Ed Baird, Steve Benjamin, Richard Clarke and Chris Larson were in abundance aboard the keelboats that competed, but it by no means took the calling cards of professional sailors to guarantee victory - or a good time - in the eight classes, which included two for IRC, four for CSA, and one each for IC 24s and Beach Cats. "This has been one of the best groups of boats and sailors we've ever had," said Regatta Director Bill Canfield. "Sailors came from around the globe, and each class had a good number of boats with impressive depth of competition." Canfield explained that the largest keelboat competing was the 90-foot Genuine Risk, the recent Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race winner, with Hugo Stenbeck (SWE) steering, while the smallest were 24-footers. (Melges 24s sailed in a CSA Spinnaker class that was populated by sport boats, while IC 24s came in numbers large enough to earn their own One-Design circle.) Ages ranged from in the single digits to mid 70s, and included newcomers, returning veterans and everything in between. The International Rolex Regatta, considered the "Crown Jewel" of the traditional spring Caribbean regattas, is the third of the four-part Caribbean Ocean Racing Circuit (CORC), which also includes major regattas in St. Croix, Puerto Rico and Tortola. Daily reports: http://www.rolexcupregatta.com/press/pr.php Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=388 VIDEO: The largest of the classes was the 16-boat IC 24, which is a J/24 hull that has been Caribbean-ized with a much larger cockpit. Winning the class was Team INTAC skippered by William Bailey of St. Thomas, with his crew including Jenna Barnes (MA), Rob Jennings (Tortola), Thomas Barrows (St. Thomas), and Peter Stanton (St. Croix). Photographer Leighton O'Connor came onboard with Bailey's team to capture video of what it's like to sail this 'new and improved' classic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GtcYBMZLRk PHOTO GALLERIES * This gallery should come with a warning: If you are losing patience with winter weather, you might not want to see how lovely it looked this past weekend in Miami. And if you are one of the lovely bikini-clad ladies in the fifth photo, please contact the Scuttlebutt editor for an internship. (and thanks to photographer Marco Oquendo for his keen eye): http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/11/0327/ * The Caribbean sailing circuit has commenced. A week ago was the Puerto Rico Heineken International Regatta, with photographer Bob Grieser sharing these images: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/11/0324/ * This week the Caribbean racing scene descended on the USVI where St. Thomas Yacht Club hosted the International Rolex Regatta. Images courtesy of Ingrid Abery and Leighton O'Connor: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/11/0326/ * On assignment for Scuttlebutt at the International Rolex Regatta was action sports photography Leighton O'Connor who got up close with Peter Corr's Warwick 82 Aiyana. His video tour of the boat captured the sculptures, paintings, a bar that turns in a bed, transom door, computerized steering, motorized sliding ceiling, Sub-Zero Freezer, Sapelle mahogany, joy sticks for main trim, lifting keel, tons of carbon fiber, and server for six TV's: http://tinyurl.com/Scuttleblog-032711 MID-YEAR MEETING TO CONFIRM OLYMPIC FUTURE ISAF has published the Urgent Submissions for the 2011 ISAF Mid-Year Meeting that will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia from 4-8 May. The Urgent Submissions are all related to the Event and Equipment choices for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition. At the 2010 ISAF Annual Conference (in November), Council agreed that the process for selecting the Olympic Events and Equipment should be changed and approved new Regulation 23. The report from the Olympic Commission recommended the change as a way to better serve the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs) and sailors and to provide greater continuity for the sport. The Commission recommended a selection process that would enable ISAF to improve continuity between Olympic Games' and create a system for Equipment evolution. A total of 65 Urgent Submissions have been received. They relate to the provisional list of Events and Equipment ("the slate") defined in Regulation 23.1.4, the voting system for selecting the slate and Core Events. Submissions can be read here: http://www.sailing.org/35706.php => Curmudgeon's Comment: Based on the number of submissions to change the preliminary slate of events for the 2016 Olympics (see slate below), this could be one heck of a meeting. When will ISAF provide live streaming so we can watch events like this on the internet? SHARING TIME ABOARD A SUMMIT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS Summer 2011 will have the usual mix of great competitive events, from Block Island Race Week to the Big Boat Series, and many in between. But there will also be an endless number of picturesque harbors and quiet coves that your family can experience aboard the Summit 35 and Summit 40. There is more than silver to be won when sharing time aboard a Summit with family and friends. Check out the details on these great dual purpose boats at http://www.summit-yachts.com SUBMISSION: M12-11 Among the submissions for the ISAF Mid-Year meeting is M12-11, which comes from the ISAF Chairman of the Events Committee. This is largely a housecleaning submission to make a clarification on the preliminary slate of events for the 2016 Olympics that was decided upon last November at the ISAF Annual Meetings. The slate is: Men's board or kite board - Evaluation Women's board or kite board - Evaluation Men's one person dinghy - Laser Women's one person dinghy - Laser Radial Men's 2nd one person dinghy - Finn Men's skiff - 49er Women's skiff - Evaluation Women's keelboat - Elliott 6m Mixed multihull - Evaluation Mixed two person dinghy (spinnaker) - 470 However, M12-11 also provides the reasons why this provisional slate should be confirmed for the 2016 Olympics: - It offers a balanced and cost-effective reflection of the types of Equipment and format that are raced today, and supports a wide range of athlete physiques; - It preserves MNA investment in expertise and equipment; - It introduces women's skiff to provide a matched pair of Events using this most challenging and visually exciting Equipment; - It links well to the Events and Equipment sailed at the ISAF Youth Worlds, providing a clear pathway for every sailor at that Championship into Olympic sailing; - It delivers gender equity in terms of Events, and, with the slightly larger fleet sizes in men's Events balanced by the three-person keelboat, will deliver close to gender equity in number of sailors; - It provides for the evaluation and possible inclusion of kite boards; - It will show-case very well the diverse sport of sailing to the world through the Olympics, and through the ISAF Sailing World Cup between Olympics. Source: http://tinyurl.com/ISAF-M12-11 UPWIND TO GIBRALTAR (March 27, 2011, Day 85) - The leaders emerged from 'stealth' mode to reveal a near parallel northerly track to clear the westerly tip of the Canary Islands archipelago. MAPRE co-skipper Iker Martinez (ESP) retains his fierce optimism, believing that there will be chances to pull back some miles on the leading pair after MAPFRE passes the Canary Islands. "As far as strategy goes there is not much before the Canary Islands, we make a mainly northerly course and will tack to the east depending on the evolution of the anticyclone," explains Martinez. "But what seems more complex is after the Canaries to the Straits of Gibraltar when it seems like there will be less wind." The French duo of Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron are still very much in a controlling position on what promises to be a long windward leg to the Straits of Gibraltar, but it is the Azores high pressure which is still dictating terms to the leaders, forcing them east and on the wind. -- http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org/en Race Tracker: http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org Standings (top 5 of 14 as of 21:01:03) 1. Virbac-Paprec 3, Jean Pierre Dick/Loick Peyron (FRA/FRA), 1371 nm DTF 2. Mapfre, Iker Martinez/Xabi Fernandez (ESP/ESP), 243.0 nm DTL 3. Renault, Pachi Rivero/Antonio Piris (ESP/ESP), 1069.1 nm DTL 4. Estrella Damm Sailing Team,Alex Pella/Pepe Rives (ESP/ESP),1228.9 nm DTL 5. Neutrogena, Boris Herrmann/Ryan Breymaier (GER/USA), 1263.7 nm DTL Full Rankings: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org/en/ranking BACKGROUND: This is the second edition of the non-stop Barcelona World Race, the only double-handed race around the world. Fourteen teams are competing on Open 60s which started December 31st and is expected to finish by late March. The 25,000 nautical mile course is from Barcelona to Barcelona via three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, Cook Strait, putting Antarctica to starboard. Race website: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * Hamilton Island, AUS (March 28, 2011) - Defending champion Germany's Wolfgang Hunger and Julien Kleiner struck the first blow to the 85-boat fleet at the 2011 SAP 505 World Championship, winning the opening two races on Saturday in difficult gusty conditions on Catseye Bay. Racing was abandoned on Sunday due to excessive winds, and conditions as of Monday morning have racing postponed due to extreme conditions. Sixteen teams represent USA and Canada, with Americans Ted Conrads/Brian Haines and Mike Holt/Carl Smit in a tie for second. -- http://www.505sapworldchampionship2011.com * (March 28, 2011; 00:45 UTC) - Thomas Coville (FRA) and the 105-foot trimaran Sodebo was seeking to set a new solo round the world record under sail, which required him to cross the finish line off Ushant, France by March 28, 2011 at 00:40:34 (UTC) to break the record (57:13:34:06) set by Francis Joyon in 2008 on the 97-foot trimaran IDEC. But troubling weather patterns plagued Coville's route around the world, leaving him 1484 nm from the finish just after the deadline passed. -- http://www.sodebo-voile.com/ * (March 27, 2011; Day 1) - Polish ocean racer Zbigniew 'Gutek' Gutkowski took an early lead as the fourth ocean sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS got underway from Punta del Este today. This is the fourth of five ocean sprints which will take the solo sailors 5,700 nautical miles to Charleston on the east coast of the US. A new addition for this leg is the 'stealth mode' option to allow each skipper's position to be hidden for 24 hours. Skippers will be allowed to enter stealth mode twice during the leg, but not in the first 48 hours of racing or within 500 nautical miles from the finish line. -- http://www.velux5oceans.com/ BRAINSTORMING The National Sailing Center & Hall of Fame will honor its first class of inductees this year. Nominees must be Americans, 45 years and older, who have made an impact on the growth/development of the sport in the U.S. Information on how to make a formal nomination will be available later this week, but Scuttlebutt has asked for some advance brainstorming to see who should be considered for a nomination. Let's get the blood flowing on this to think of some deserving individuals. Post your idea(s) now on either the Forum or Facebook, and all submissions will be eligible to win an Optimum Time 121/122 sailing watch from Ocean Racing. Random drawing will be held on Tuesday, March 29th. Links: Forum: http://tinyurl.com/Nominate-in-forum Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/Nominate-in-facebook CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION You know you're getting older when your kids are becoming you...and you don't like them...but your grandchildren are perfect. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Gowrie Group - Summit Yachts - Team One Newport Melges Performance Sailboats - Southern Spars Point Loma Outfitting - North Sails - LaserPerformance Ullman Sails - Mount Gay Rum - Doyle Sails - APS Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
