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SCUTTLEBUTT 2801 - Monday, March 16, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Today's sponsors are Doyle Sails and Sail1Design. BROMBY / LILJEDAHL WIN BACARDI CUP Miami, FL (Mar. 13, 2009; Day 6) Bermuda’s Peter Bromby and veteran Star Class crew Magnus Liljedahl of Miami won the 2009 Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta Friday on Biscayne Bay in Miami. Bromby and Liljedahl sailed to victory on the final race in the six race regatta to finish with a commanding six-point lead over Floridian Mark Mendelblatt, the 2005 Bacardi Cup champion, and crew Bruno Prada (BRA) who finished second overall. Bromby took an early lead on the left side of the fleet following a very strong start and held the lead at each of the first three marks. He rounded the fourth mark in second place behind seven-time Bacardi Cup Champion Mark Reynolds of San Diego, sailing this week with crew Hal Haenel, but regained the lead on the final leg to capture both the Day Six victory and his third Bacardi Cup championship. -- Full story and results: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_390.shtml Final Results (6 races - 1 discard) 1. BER, Peter Bromby/ Magnus Liljedahl, 7.3/AVG-2-2-1-(24)-1, 13.3 points 2. USA, Mark Mendelblatt/ Bruno Prada, 3-(23)-1-10-3-2, 19 3. USA, Rick Merriman/ Brian Sharp, 6-(44)-7-6-12-8, 39 4. SUI, Flavio Marazzi/ Petter Pedersen, (65/OCS)-12-13-3-5-7, 40 5. USA, Paul Cayard/ Austin Sperry, 11-10-8-5-11-(24), 45 6. USA, Jon Vandermolen/ Goeff Ewenson, 2-16-6-2-20-(30), 46 7. USA, Peter Wright/ Nathan Quist, 13-3-(19)-13-13-10, 52 8. USA, Andy Macdonald/ Brian Fatih, (65/DNF)-13-3-11-8-18, 53 9. GER, Marc Pickel/ Steve Mitchell, 5-26-(45)-8-2-14, 55 10. IRL, Peter O'Leary/ Tim Goodbody, 4-29-17-4-4-65/OCS), 58 Sailing TV video: http://www.sailing-tv.tv/ THE TRAIN HAS (FINALLY) LEFT THE STATION (Mar. 15, 2009; Day 30) - It may have arrived at the station later than expected, but the Southern Ocean Express is here and all in the Volvo Ocean Race fleet have now climbed aboard. Next stop, Cape Horn. A low pressure system is responsible for the gale to storm force winds which have whipped up monstrous following seas. This system should sweep everyone in its path swiftly down to Cape Horn. Average wind speed is in the mid-30 knot range for everyone with the exception of Telefonica Blue, and during Sunday afternoon (GMT), PUMA has seen gusts as high as 50 knots. Green Dragon and PUMA have been surfing waves approaching 7 metres. It's the Southern Ocean at its best. And this is the Southern Ocean proper. Three boats are south of 50-degrees south latitude and PUMA and Green Dragon will be there by late Sunday. Telefonica Blue has passed the second of two ice gates, and joins the fleet in their quest for the scoring gate off Cape Horn. With a true wind angle of 118 degrees, Ericsson 3 is heading ESE and aiming at the gate, 669 nm ahead, rolling through 505 nm during her most recent 24 hr run. -- Full report: http://linkbee.com/JDC7 Crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Leg Five from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janiero, Brazil is 12,300 nm, with the finish estimated on March 20th. Current positions (as of Mar. 16, 10:15 pm GMT): 1. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 2,921 nm Distance to Finish 2. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 33 nm Distance to Leader 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 106 nm DTL 4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 224 nm DTL 5. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 749 nm DTL Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, Did Not Start Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, DNS Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, DNS Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com * Both Telefonica Black and Delta Lloyd are now in Rio de Janiero, and seek to complete repairs by April 4, the day of the next In-Port Race. TO FINISH IS TO WIN! Doyle Sailmakers celebrates Rich Wilson as the second American to ever finish the grueling 28,000 mile Vendee Globe solo nonstop round the world race. After 121 days at sea, Rich crossed the finish line at Les Sables D’Olonne. When asked about troubles at sea, he recounted a few but none of them involved his sails! Sometimes as a sailmaker, it’s great not to be mentioned! For more on Rich’s epic adventure go to http://www.doylesails.com/news. For help achieving your sailing goals, contact your local Doyle loft. HOME SWEET HOME The onboard Volvo Ocean Race reports bring us onboard, and the skipper reports often provide the greatest insight. Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael (BRA) has probably posted the fewest reports among the skippers, but here is one from the weekend: “At last, sailing on Southern Ocean conditions. The rookies must have been wondering if all those stories about it were true. But now, with 1000 miles to go looks that we are all going to have a good taste of it. On a leg as long like this, it feels nice to be fast reaching towards the objective rather than pointing somewhere else to avoid light spots or even going upwind. Yes it is bumpy and quite difficult to type this thing, but so far everyone is happy that the miles to the Cape are shrinking faster. “It will be a sprint with the boats quite close together specially considering the amount of days at sea (29 now) already. Then after the most famous cape in the world, if things go as planned of course, we will be going north for good, up the South American coast and finally into Rio. It seems quite far away still. “Arriving there sooner will save us from eventually rationing food and give us a slightly bigger stopover, which in my case, not being back since the start is a big plus. So much to do, so little time. Stopovers this time are way too short. And with three days dedicated to warm up, in-port and pro-am, even shorter. No good.” QUOTE / UNQUOTE “On days like this you are wondering if you couldn’t have chosen another sport to compete in. It has been pouring with rain without mercy all day again. Snow would have been much nicer, as you don’t get so wet.” -- Telefonica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking (NED), reporting on the Southern Ocean weather this weekend, which most among the Volvo Ocean Race fleet are noting to now be the coldest and greyest of the leg. AUDI ETCHELLS WORLDS 2009 Melbourne, AUS (Mar. 14, 2009; Day 6) - Jason Muir and his crew of Paul Wyatt, Matthew Chew and Bucky Smith (AUS) have outclassed the rest of the 85-strong field at the 2009 Audi Etchells World Championship to win the title a day before the Championship finishes. Heading into Friday’s two races, the Queensland friends were five points behind America’s Cup hero John Bertrand and his Olympic crew of Ben Ainslie (British four time medallist) and Australian Olympian and coach Andrew Palfrey (AUS). In Races 7 and 8, Muir scored ninth and eighth places, while Victorian Bertrand and his crew had their worst day on the course with 12th and 32nd placings, dropping them down the board to third overall with only one race remaining. The final race, Race 9, was abandoned on Saturday when rain and storms raged, and winds from all directions came and went and would not settle. -- Event website: ttp://www.audietchellsworlds2009.com.au Final results (top 5 of 85): 1. AUS, Jason Muir/M. Chew/P. Wyatt/B. Smith, (10)-5-5-7-5-4-9-8, 43 pts 2. AUS, Damien King/S. Cunnington/J. Ware/A. Butler, 15-3-23-(38)-3-8-7-4, 63 3. AUS, John Bertrand/A. Palfrey/B. Ainslie, 3-11-1-(86/BFD)-4-2-12-32, 65 4. USA, Chris Busch/C. Hough/C. Sinks/D. Hughes, 2-(60)-2-6-32-7-6-18, 73 5. USA, Judd Smith/Mark Johnson/Nik Burfoot, 18-13-4-13-1-16-(35)-14, 79 Complete results: http://www.audietchellsworlds2009.com.au/results/ * For everybody who wants to have a look at how an International Jury writes up protests, eleven protests were held during the Etchells Worlds 2009 and published on the official Jury notice board. Not only the particulars but the actual facts found. -- Read on: http://rrsstudy.blogspot.com/2009/03/audi-etchells-worlds-2009-protests.html BREAKING THE CURSE TO WIN FIRST TOUR EVENT Marseille, FRA (Mar. 15, 2009; Day 5) - After a long day that had it all - starting with long delays with no wind, then light and shifty conditions, and ending with a building breeze and waves - 24-year old Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch Racing team won the championship match against Mathieu Richard and his French Match Racing Team/Team French Spirit to win the Marseille International Match Race, the first event of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour. After two years of trying, this is Minoprio’s first-ever victory on the Tour, for which he and his team earned 10,000 EUR (approx. 12,891.52 USD). -- Complete story: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/95718 Final Results 1. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing Team 2. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team/French Spirit 3. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 4. Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 5. Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi 6. Sébastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team 7. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza 8. Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar 9. Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team/French Spirit 10. Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo 11. Pierre Antoine Morvan (FRA) French Match Racing Team 12. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Team Onboard Complete match results: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/95409 WE’LL SELL THE WHOLE SEAT, BUT YOU’LL ONLY NEED THE EDGE Dynamic. That’s Sail1Design. Our classifieds are updated daily with new sailing job opportunities, one-design boats for sale, sailing gear, want ads, and now Airwaves, our interactive, user-submitted sailing articles and regatta/clinic calendar. Stop by our virtual world and find your next coaching job, boat, set of sails, or just check out our articles & the upcoming one-design racing calendar. http://www.sail1design.com CONTAINERS BITE SHIP - SHIP POLLUTES OCEAN by Dieter Loibner Finally, some containers bit the ship that lost them. But be careful what you wish for. The consequences of this incident are far-reaching and fit to ignite more than just a debate about securing deck cargo properly. It's a quadruple-whammy that started in the morning hours of March 11 in very rough weather that stemmed from Cyclone Hamish, off the coast of Queensland, Australia: 1) 31 containers going by the board; 2) They contain 694 tons of ammonium nitrate, a potent industrial fertilizer and potential catalyst for algal bloom. (It also happens to be a good ingredient for making explosives, i.e. in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing); 3) The containers (or at least one of them) holed the side of the ship and its fuel tank; 4) Approx. 30 tons of bunker oil spilled, turning miles of the Sunshine Coast's beaches into a disaster zone, not to mention the effects on marine life in national parks nearby; 5) Surprise: Shipping company executives admit to have "underestimated" original extent of spill. Full story and video: http://linkbee.com/JDC8 SCUTTLEBUTT PHOTO GALLERIES * Combining action and artistry, the ‘buttheads should appreciate the work that shooter Andrea Francolini has done at the 85-boat Etchells World Championship: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0315a/ * Professional photographer Gilles Martin-Raget travels the world, capturing imagery from some of the elite events in the sport. When the World Match Race Tour came to his country, Gilles was there too: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0315/ * March sailing conditions in Miami rarely disappoint, and the Star class was well served during their Bacardi Cup event. Photographer Alex Gort provides two dozen images on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0314/ GETTING SAVANNAHED The first stop on the 3-regatta Lightning Southern Circuit was at the Deep South Regatta in Savannah, GA this past weekend, Savannah is one whacky spot. Forty boats on the line, overcast, dying breeze and a big spring tide. Here are a few opinions gathered at random before the oyster roast on Saturday night: “It’s not the only thing I have been bad at the first time.” “Welcome to Savannah – no no it’s Bugvannah.” “Those damn gnats were a great welcome back to the shore.” “Interesting and educational.” “I have been Savannahed.” “Is it time to anchor? Is it time to anchor?” “All those boats caught us, like twice. Damn.” “It’s not snowing.” After a delay for fog and no air on Sunday, the Deep South wrapped up with Allan Terhune, Katie Terhune, and Colin Kirby winning handily. Quick interview as the fleet packs up and heads south to Miami, by way of the Space Shuttle launch out of Kennedy Space Center at 7:43 pm: * Katie, how was it today? “It was wonderful. There was no stress on our boat. (laughs)” * You are usually fast but how’d you get it dialed in this year? “After 75 queries, we finally got Colin Kirby, one of the Boat Grant kids from last year, to sail with us. He’s easy going, knows what he’s doing, and he deserves all the credit. It was his first Savannah, and he didn’t have any expectations.” * You had great boat speed… “We did? We were fortunate. We didn’t fall into the abyss. Mark roundings were pretty good, except of course the one when we had to spin around, drop the chute, re-set and it wrapped. And after all, it was good we got to sail both days.” Add your comments to the Southern Circuit thread: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7178 SAILING SHORTS * (Mar. 15, 2009; Day 126) - The two remaining Vendee Globe competitors (19 of the 30 starters abandoned race) finished this weekend in Les Sables d’Olonne. Raphael Dinelli (FRA), Fondation Ocean Vital, who was the only skipper to successfully complete this race as well as the last edition, arrived on Mar. 14th (125:02:32:24), while Norbert Sedlacek (AUT), Nauticsport-Kapsch became the first Austrian to sail solo nonstop around the world when he closed out the event on Mar. 15th (126:05:31:56). -- Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en * It has been a majestic rite: tall ships from across the world dotting Boston Harbor in July, recalling the city's maritime history in a parade of billowing white sails and crisply attired sailors. Twice in the last two decades, the event known as Sail Boston has drawn millions to the city. But in what could be a particularly cruel blow to the region's recession-addled psyche and economy, the tall ships extravaganza could be scaled back or even canceled this summer, another victim of the vicious economy. -- Boston Globe, read on: http://linkbee.com/JDC9 * While entering the Walvis Bay 'speed-spot' at 47+ knots on March 13th, a speed record attempt by the Vestas Sailrocket team at Namibia in southern Africa led to disaster when a structural failure caused the craft to turn over. Pilot Paul Larsen was sent to the hospital with a concussion and assorted cuts, and the team is now determining the exact cause of the incident and the extent of the damage. -- http://www.sailrocket.com * The Notice of Race for the 13th running of US SAILING’s Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC) is now available online. This world-class event, one of the highest profile women’s keelboat regattas in the world, will be held October 7-10, 2009 at the Rochester Yacht Club in Rochester, N.Y. -- Details: http://championships.ussailing.org/Adult/RIWKC.htm * A 20% early-bird registration discount for the 2009 World Yacht Racing Forum is available until 1 May. -- Details: http://linkbee.com/JDDA CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 * From Steve Eliasen: Great to hear that the Optimist Class is generating interest and new success in CA, as all sailing is good, and anything that gets KIDS out sailing is even better! Here in the Lake Winnebago area of Wisconsin, we have been having lots of success getting kids (especially those without a "sailing pedigree") out having fun sailing the O'pen BIC. As a dad and community youth sailing organizer, I can say that it seems that kids are immediately attracted to the O'pen BICs design, which looks pretty cool because it shares some windsurfing design elements as well as elements from the current crop of modern dinghy/sport boats. Whenever I have the BICs down at the beach, there are always new kids wanting to touch them, sit on them, play with them and sail them! Once they do, they are amazed at the fun they can have, as rigging is easy and quick, capsizing is no big deal (and super fun, for most) and the open transom means there is no boring bailing session. With the BIC, they get so good, so fast, that they get to do that planing thing early on, rather than years out, and then they're hooked! I suspect that the high attrition rates for youth sailors is going to be smacked down - at least around here as well as in other BIC "hot spots around the world. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7190#7190 * From William Tuthill: WOW! What a great video of the week (in SBUTT 2800). Thirty-five kites all racing in tight quarters. It is really quite a sight. I should point out at this time that the World Ice and Snow Sailing Association (WISSA) has been hosting such races (on skis) for 16 years. I have tried kite racing on snow and it gives me an appreciation for what went on in San Francisco. It is pretty wild at the start line and must be even more so in water. Let’s hope that kite racing in water catches on. What a great spectator sport it could be! * From Alistair Murray: G’day from downunder. I reckon I have just witnessed the most consistent regatta victory ever. Jason Muir and his crew just won the Etchells Worlds in Melbourne in a star studded fleet of 87 boats, without coming 1st, 2nd or 3rd in a single race of the eight sailed. He won the regatta by 20 points with a worst result of a 10th. Well done Jason! At the other end of the consistency scale, Rob Goddard from England finished 42nd with two race wins on his scorecard. A great effort by Rob too, but it just shows you what wins a regatta! * From Bob Bausch: (re, Curmudgeon’s Observation in #2800) I rarely disagree with your observations, but as a lifetime airplane nut, I have to say I don't agree that "if it's unattractive, it's British". An example to make my point would be the Hawker Hunter, surely one of the most beautiful jet fighters ever. I do agree with your observation about French aircraft, and perhaps also Russian, though I am a great fan of Russian planes. * From David Barrow: So the Concord and the Hawker jump jet are unattractive? * From Jim Champ: I bet this one gets a storm... let’s just say: Concorde, Supermarine Spitfire, and A10 Warthog. * From Adrian Morgan: ... Spitfire, Harrier jet, VC10, Comet, Typhoon, Mosquito, Concorde, Jaguar, Sopwith Camel, SE5, come on! * From Mark Chisnell: One word… Spitfire * From Derek Blancké: Spitfire, Hunter, Lightning, Mosquito, Lancaster… get a life! => Curmudgeon’s Comment: The closing observation at the end of each newsletter never intends to offend, though occasionally I miss the mark and overstep the boundaries. Thankfully, the ‘buttheads are quick to point this out. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION You're getting old when you wake up with that morning-after feeling, and you didn't do anything the night before. Special thanks to Doyle Sails and Sail1Design. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
