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SCUTTLEBUTT 2968 - Monday, November 9, 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. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today's sponsors are JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Hall Spars & Rigging, and LaserPerformance. SECRET WEAPON REVEALED (November 8, 2009) - The latest development by the BMW ORACLE Racing team was unveiled today when an enormous wing was prepared to be wheeled out of the tent at the team base in San Diego. The wing will be tested as an option to increase performance compared with a traditional soft sail rig as previously sea-trialed on the BOR 90, the 90-foot trimaran the team has built for the 33rd America’s Cup. The construction of the wing took place at Core Builders, the team’s boatbuilding facility in Anacortes, Washington, with finishing work completed at the team base in San Diego.“This was a massive undertaking,” said Tim Smyth (NZL), who, along with Mark Turner (NZL), has been overseeing the wing construction team in Anacortes and in San Diego. “Building a wing of this size was something new for all of us, and we’re proud our guys were able to rise to the challenge.” A wing of this scale has never been built for a race boat. In terms of size, the wing on BOR 90 dwarfs those on modern aircraft. Towering nearly 190 ft (57 m) above the deck, it is 80 percent bigger than a wing on a 747 airplane (102 ft / 31 m). The primary advantage of the wing over a soft sail is that it is easier to control and does not distort. This makes it easier for the trimmers on board to maintain an optimum aerofoil shape in a wide range of conditions. Full-scale, on-the-water testing of the wing will begin later this week as the team resumes sea trials in preparation for the 33rd America’s Cup Match in February. -- http://tinyurl.com/yg3gq9d => Curmudgeon’s Comment: BOR says the wing rig is being looked at as an option, but the team will not disclose yet what the other options are. To date they have tested three soft sail rigs, each one progressively getting longer, but they broke the biggest rig last week. Photos of the wing: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/11/wing-and-prayer.html WAITING, WAITING, WAITING Following the hearing at the New York Supreme Court before Justice Kornreich last Friday, both the Société Nautique de Genève, the America's Cup Defender and the Golden Gate Yacht Club, the challenger, met in New York over the weekend to discuss the venue for the 33rd America's Cup. Among the topics discussed was SNG’s announcement last Thursday of their interest to hold the 33rd Match on the east coast of Australia. On Monday November 9, both sides are to report to Justice Kornreich on the venue and timing questions addressed in Court on Friday. Separate from these talks, both SNG and GGYC presented evidence to the three former America's Cup jurors on Saturday on the five specific sailing and measurement questions referred to them by Justice Kornreich. The report and recommendations of Graham McKenzie (NZL), David Tillett (AUS) and Bryan Willis (GBR) will be received by the Court on Monday. HUGE YEAR END SAVINGS ON DEMO MODELS IN STOCK! JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Inc. is motivated to move our last remaining 2009 Models. We don’t have to convince you that fast is fun, right?! The all carbon Santa Cruz 37 is ready to take honors on the race course. Contact Jeff Brown mailto:jeff@jk3yachts.com or (619) 224-6200 to make a deal on this amazing new design. If small power is your choice, then the Back Cove 29 is just the boat for you. This Down East style cruiser has classic lines with all the modern day conveniences ready to hit the island with style and comfort. For more information contact John Zagorski at mailto:john@jk3yachts.com or (949) 675-8053. WE ARE READY TO MAKE DEALS! BLISTERING PACE (November 8, 2009) - It’s been an excellent weekend for Franck Cammas and his nine crew onboard the 105-foot maxi trimaran in their quest to gain a new reference time in the Jules Verne Trophy, the round the world record held by Bruno Peyron and his crew since 2005 (50d 16h 20m). After crossing the start line off of Ushant, France last Thursday (Nov. 5th), the team trailed the current record until a pivotal gybe Saturday evening which led to a 24 hour run of 712.4 nm and now lead Peyron’s pace by over 300 nm. Commented watch leader Steve Ravussin, "It’s very wet but it's nice! Nevertheless, we did have to carry out a fair number of manoeuvres Saturday night with squalls and gusts up to 36 knots. Added to that the short seas made for an exciting ride; we went down to two reefs in the mainsail and Solent! We clocked up some top speeds of 42 knots, but it wasn't our aim to go very fast; our main focus is making good headway.” For Monday, it is highly likely that they will be ahead by a day and a half, so at this rate, the equator may well be crossed in less than six days this coming Wednesday. -- Team website: http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en/ Current position as of November 9, 2009 (01:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: +322.8 nm Speed over past 24 hours: 28.6 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 685.3 nm Tracking: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne2009/?lg=en * Groupama 3 must cross finish line off Ushant, France before December 26th at 08:09:26 (UT) to set new record. As for setting a new 24 hour distance record, Groupama 3 has a little ways to go as the current mark was set this year by the 131-foot trimaran Banque Populaire 5, where skipper Pascal Bidegorry averaged 37.84 knots to travel 908.2 nm. -- http://www.sailspeedrecords.com VINEYARD VINES PRO AM REGATTA The annual fantasy camp for sailors - the Vineyard Vines Pro Am Regatta - was held last week at the Bitter End Yacht Club, a premiere luxury water sports resort in Virgin Gorda, BVI. The Pro Am event schedule combined the skills of well known professional skippers with the desire of hotel guests in a series of racing events. Here is the event’s final report: (November 6, 2009) - “Let me tell you - she knows what she’s doing.” Those were the first words I heard from Ken Read after he narrowly defeated Anna Tunnicliffe in their fifth and final match race, to win the Vineyard Vines Pro Am Regatta. No one had to throw the winning skipper into the water - Read jumped off of his IC24 seconds after he got the bullet - just 12 feet in front of Tunnicliffe’s bow. Read was exhausted. The 81 degree water was refreshing. Read has been off the match race circuit for a couple years as he’s focused on his recently completed Volvo round the world campaign for Puma. How would he do on the circuit today? “He’d kick ass,” Tunnicliffe said without hesitation. “Not only is he smart - he’s really fast.” Read’s victory at the BEYC Pro Am was his third since the series started in 1987. Tunnicliffe finished second with Zack Railey taking third, and the invited amateur skipper Craig Albrecht taking a very respectable fourth place. - Full story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8553#8553 TRIVIA QUESTION Who recently said this quote: "I think it's too soon to say whether I regret anything or not . . . It's like the America's Cup; you won it, they can't take it away from you. So now you try this and you see what happens." (Answer below) SOCIAL MEDIA WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER On Tuesday, November 10th, the world’s top male and female sailors in 2009 will be celebrated in Busan, Korea at the 2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards Dinner and Presentation. While everyone in attendance will immediately know the outcome, when will the ‘buttheads find out? Busan is 17 hours ahead of Scuttlebutt headquarters, so it will be early Tuesday morning when the outcome is announced. By the time the Wednesday newsletter is distributed, the news will be growing cobwebs. However, if you follow Scuttlebutt on Twitter, or you are a fan on Scuttlebutt’s Facebook page, you will be among the first to hear the news. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook ISAF microsite: http://www.sailing.org/worldsailor THE CARBON RIGGING END GAME Hall rocked the composite rigging world in 2008 with the introduction of SCR, the seamless carbon rigging that reduced drag by 15% over other composite products on the market. Get ready to be blown away again - SCR is now available in an ultra-low-drag airfoil shape. SCR/S - Seamless Carbon Rigging/Streamlined - slips through the wind, reducing windage by another 30% over SCR, and a full 50% over other composite products. If your end game is maximum speed, SCR/S is your next move. SCR/S will be formally introduced at METS next week. http://www.hallspars.com AMERICA’S CUP “STYLE” RACING RETURNS TO THE WATER Nice, France (November 8, 2009) - It was an inauspicious opening weekend at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur as challenging winds and boat damage hampered the race schedule for the eight teams competing in this two week event. “The conditions are tricky because the wind has been so light,” said Ray Davies, the tactician for Emirates Team New Zealand. “This can be a very variable place. With the potential for the mistral wind on either side, it creates very different conditions. But it’s what we expected.” The event schedule was thrown into flux Friday morning when ITA-99, one of two boats on loan from Italy’s Mascalzone Latino team, was damaged during practice. The combined French/German team ALL4ONE was sailing ITA-99 when it clipped the transom of the race committee boat, inflicting a two-meter cut in the starboard side of the hull. Therefore only four races have been completed thus far using the other pair of boats, FRA-93 and GBR-75. Event organisers hope to get back on schedule Monday with eight matches planned, as repairs are completed for the return of ITA-90 and ITA-99. Racing continues through November 22nd, with Virtual Eye playback of each race on the event website. Standings Competing teams - Country - Skipper - Record Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) - Dean Barker, 2-0 Swedish Challenge Artemis (SWE) - Paul Cayard, 1-0 TeamOrigin (GBR) - Ben Ainslie, 1-0 ALL4ONE (FRA/GER) - Jochen Schuemann, 0-1 Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS) - Karol Jablonski, 0-1 Team French Spirit (FRA) - Bertrand Pacé, 0-2 Azzurra (ITA) - Francesco Bruni, no races yet BMW ORACLE Racing (USA) - Russell Coutts, no races yet BACKGOUND: The Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Cote d’Azur is the inaugural event of the World Sailing Teams Association. Founded in September, the WSTA is a group of professional sailing teams that have banded together in an effort to create consistent exposure. The WSTA event is designed to be a cost-effective format for the teams. They do not bring their boats to the event. Rather, the four boats being used in Nice are on loan from three teams: ALL4ONE (FRA-93), Mascalzone Latino (ITA-90, ITA-99) and TeamOrigin (GBR-75). The boats have been equalised as much as possible to create a level playing field that will test the sailors’ skill more than their boat’s speed. Event website: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/ Video interviews: http://www.youtube.com/user/btsbroadcast COLLEGE SINGLEHANDED NATIONALS Corpus Christi, Texas (November 8, 2009) - Although Corpus Christi did not quite live up to the reputation that gives it the distinction of being the windiest coastal city in North America, it did provide great racing for the ICSA / LaserPerformance Men’s and Women’s Singlehanded National Championships. Juan Maegli, a sophomore from College of Charleston, bested the fleet of 18 qualifiers with 10 top-three finishes and no finishes worse than 9th in the 18 races sailed in the Olympic class Laser. Second place finisher was Fred Strammer, Brown University, and third place was won by Thomas Barrows of Yale. In the women’s Laser Radial fleet Anne Hager, a sophomore from Boston College, won her second straight ICSA / LaserPerformance Women’s Singlehanded National Championship with 10 top-three finishes in the 18 races. Hager edged out a Claire Dennis, Yale, by 6 points, while Allie Blecher, College of Charleston finished third. -- Results: http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/fall09/singles/results.asp ON A ROLL When it comes to winning World Championships, the Americans have been on a roll in 2009. Here are the U.S. winners that have been spotted in Scuttlebutt: Farr 40 - Jim Richardson 505 - Mike Martin Lightning - Matt Fisher Melges 24 - Chris Larsen Melges 32 - Pieter Taselaar Moth - Bora Gulari Star - George Szabo Sunfish - David Loring Team Racing - Levesque, Hall, Merrick, Callahan, Bischoff and Keith 2.4 mR - John Ruf US SAILING continues to accept nominations for the Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards, which recognize one female sailor and one male sailor for their individual outstanding on-the-water achievements within the calendar year. Last year's winners were Anna Tunnicliffe and Terry Hutchinson. Nominations close on November 30th: http://tinyurl.com/ycfpukp FREE GEAR FROM LASERPERFORMANCE! Purchase a new LaserPerformance boat before December 31st and receive your choice of a Seitech dolly, Storm boat covers or a Magic Marine gear package. Take delivery before October 31st and get a Free Blade Bag! For more details and to find your local dealer, visit http://www.laserperformance.com PIRATE ATTACK IN THE CARIBBEAN Well-known Michigan racer Juan Pablo 'J.P.' Del Solar Goldsmith was the victim of a pirate attack aboard his Beneteau 47.7 Blu Interlude at the Honduran/Nicaraguan border. Here's his report: “At 0700 on Monday, October 26, 2009, we were underway along the Nicaraguan Banks, about 16 miles off Cabo Gracias a Dios (15° 4.7' N, 82° 55.1 W). We were flagged down by a 25-ft green panga with four men on board. Some of the pirates were wearing paramilitary clothing. We slowed the boat down, then the pirates pulled shotguns and pistols and boarded us. At gun point, they tied up all three of us and took cameras, money, the dinghy outboard, watches, sunglasses, handheld GPS and VHF radios and cell phones. They were aboard for about 45 minutes searching the boat for valuables. The attack was reported to the Coast Guard at San Andreas Island, Colombia, on Tuesday October 27, 2009.” -- Latitude 38, http://tinyurl.com/yhds8rm LEE TO GUIDE TRANSPAC RACE Bill Lee was unanimously elected last Friday night to be the new Commodore of the Transpacific Yacht Club, host of the biennial Transpac Race. As a designer, Lee revolutionized West Coast racing with his downwind flyers, and a model of his legendary Merlin was dedicated in 2009 as the first-to-finish trophy for the unlimited division. Also elected to flag officer positions were Dave Cort, Vice Commodore, and Leslie DeMeuse-Disney, Rear Commodore and now the first woman to serve on the flags of the Transpacific Yacht Club. Bill Lee sailed his first Transpac in 1971, on a Cal 37, fulfilling a dream that began when he was a teenager following the race by radio. His first Transpac win, as a designer, came in 1973 with Chutzpah. In 1977, as designer, builder, owner and skipper, he sailed Merlin to a new course record and redefined the game at the top. With his Santa Cruz 70s, he set the stage for a new era. The first start of the 46th Transpac is set for July 4, 2011. New commodore Bill Lee said, “As Commodore, I am inviting the widest range of skippers and crews to race Transpac. We encourage the first timers, the family crews, and the hard hitters. Our ORR based handicap system covers entries from the 100 foot boat that can race the course in 5 1/2 days all the way down to the 40 footers that race the course in 17 days. Our Aloha class provides great competition for the more traditional cruising yachts and our partners in Hawaii provide the best finish reception of any race in the world.” A 2012 Tahiti Race is also a possibility, if there is interest. -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1108/ TRIVIA ANSWER On the source of the quote, "I think it's too soon to say whether I regret anything or not . . . It's like the America's Cup; you won it, they can't take it away from you. So now you try this and you see what happens", it was Jay Leno commenting on the poor ratings of his new 10pm show. -- Read more: http://tinyurl.com/yfr4h4g SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 * From Michael H. Koster: I read Bill Canfield's Opti comments (in Scuttlebutt 2967) and found myself quickly checking the calendar to see if it was April 1st so soon. Talk about enabling - and is he serious about the "keg"? * From Mark Eustis: Before the sports gig Stan Honey started Etak, a cool early-to-market tech company that made digital maps and car navigation systems. Some of the streets that Stan mapped in the 80’s are probably still inside Tom Tom GPS, Ford in-dash naviguessers, and until about three weeks ago were the streets networks inside Google maps. Stan got his seed money from the guy who started Chuck E. Cheese. Ya never know who you’ll meet on a boat. * From Jim Champ: (re, letter from Adrian Morgan in Scuttlebutt 2967) Dear Adrian, I fear you misunderstand the purpose of a legal system. You assume it’s to produce justice. I submit, based on empirical observation, that its primary purpose is to make lawyers rich. If you consider this principle, much suddenly it becomes clear about its operation, both in the US and the UK. * From Chip Pitcairn: How sad to watch the onboard video of BOR and hear the revving note of the engine powering the winches. We all draw our belief lines in the sand on what is appropriate for sailing. To me using an engine to create power to harness the power of the wind is quasi sailing. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers! Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Hall Spars & Rigging, and LaserPerformance. 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