SCUTTLEBUTT No. 702 - December 4, 2000

AROUND ALONE

Giovanni Soldini on his 60 foot yacht Fila won the 1998/1999 Single-handed Around Alone Race with a complete inventory of Ullman Sails manufactured by Sergio Fabbi in Rapallo, Italy. Ullman Sails is extremely proud of the fact that there were NO failures in the entire sail inventory that carried Giovanni Soldini around the world in 116 days, 20 hours, 7 minutes and 59 seconds. While you may not be planning to race in the Southern Ocean, wouldn't it be nice to have the speed and reliability that Soldini enjoyed? It's more affordable than you think.

http://www.ullmansails.com/

AMERICA'S CUP
(New York Times boating columnist Herb McCormick interviewed Dennis Conner for a story in Sunday's issue of the New York Times. Here are two brief excerpts.)

* Conner said the ultimate decision about where to stage any potential future event would lie with the club, it was also clear that New York City now had the inside track. "I think this would be the logical place to sail it," he said. "It started here. The water off Sandy Hook is a great place to sail. Can you imagine how the cup would do here based on the Chelsea Piers or Governors Island? Think of all the sponsors, wouldn't they love to come here? Not only ours, but the overseas backers." And in a reference to the most recent cup challenger, Italy's Prada Challenge, he added, "You don't think Prada wouldn't like to come here?"

Conner said the basis of his arrangement with the club was simple. "I was willing to give the club what they really wanted, which is the cup, if we win, as well as control of the venue," he said. He also stated that other Northeast sites would be given consideration were he triumphant. "The state of Connecticut is trying to rebuild New London, and the State Piers there would be a wonderful place to have it," he said. "And you could make a good case for Boston and a few other places."

* When Conner signed with the New York club, it closed a round of back- and-forth negotiations that could have tilted either way. After the dismal, expensive experience with the Young America challenge, not everyone in the club was enamored with the notion of fielding another challenge, nor with Conner spearheading it.

"A lot of people that put up a lot of money last time were disappointed," Conner said. "Some of them felt this wasn't the right thing for the club to do. But the club's leadership felt it was. And after a while people believed we'd have a program they could be proud of and they supported their flag officers."

More than anyone, Conner knows that if the program sours, it's his head they will seek once again. - Herb McCormick, NY Times

Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/03/sports/03BOAT.html

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net)
(Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold an e-mail address on request.)

-- From Dawn Riley (DRiley@AmericaTrue.Org) - AWESOME THOUGHTS MARK!!!!

-- From Mark Reynolds (mreynolds@quantumsails.com) - I'm a bit embarrassed by the quotes Rich Roberts selected from the long conversation we had together. I'm afraid they portrayed me as being insensitive to the difficulties faced by the members of the ISAF Events Committee. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I've been campaigning on an international level for more than 20 years and fully understand how difficult the communications process can be when there are representatives from nearly two dozen nations involved. And when you factor in the nuances of cultural etiquette and regional customs, a debate process takes on a unique flavor.

There is no question that the Events Committee would benefit from having more world-class competitors involved in the class selection process for the 2004 Olympics. For obvious reasons however, the administrative aspects of our sport is rarely a high priority for those involved with campaigning at an international level.

In spite of all of these difficulties, I feel in the end the ISAF made the right decisions. I believe that women sailors will be better served with a fleet racing event rather than the narrow discipline of match racing. And the Yngling will be a great boat for Woman's fleet racing.

-- From Robbie Ferron, Delegate to ISAF meeting from the Netherlands Antilles (rferron@megatropic.com) [edited to our 250-word limit]- I too was in Edinburgh and not overly impressed by the decision-making processes that took place. But the problem with the decision-making is not connected to the quality of running the meeting or putting athletes on the decision making bodies. What bothered me was that the goals that were to be achieved by the changing of equipment had not been the basis of a consensus. The only clear goal, repeatedly espoused by Henderson, was qualifying in respect of the number of women sailors as required by the IOC and it almost sounded if that could have been better achieved by using Thames Barges.

Mark Reynolds and many others suggest that the decision should be made on the basis of the considerations of the typical Olympic athlete. I would have liked to see the decision being made in terms of which boat is likely to be in the more general interests of the sport of sailing, as the choice of boat will influence sailing more broadly in the future, especially if there is some stability in the equipment choices in years to come. In that respect the choice of boat equipment should be one which makes that equipment viable and attractive to a wide range of sportsmen in a wide range of countries and hence grows the sport of sailing. For that reason I believe the Yngling is an excellent choice, although it was clear that this approach was not the manner in which the decision was made in Edinburgh.

-- From Jeff Martin, GBR (office@laserinternational.org) [Re: 'Butt 107 - ISAF Events Committee]- Running a meeting of 23 persons from different countries is never easy. I have tried it. Meeting procedure varies between countries, subjects are often complicated with different possible outcomes depending on how subjects are presented and voted. I've sat in Mark's seat and made similar comments.

At least 10 members race at International level. Members are selected from national federation nominations. Most of ISAF, including the President, would like more active sailors and younger people involved. The sad fact is only a few national federations nominate like this.

As the classes rep on Events committee for 2 years and Laser Class Secretary I chose not to take part in the discussions on Olympic classes. However like all Olympic class representatives I have a good idea what each of the 120 national federations want for their country.

The Olympic debate is a two-year process. There has been plenty of opportunity for all countries and classes to make submissions. There were no submissions for a mixed gender 470 class therefore this could not be considered.

I have no doubt that if ISAF was a one nation one vote body the results of the Olympic debate would have been no different. In my opinion the chosen Olympic classes are what the majority of countries wanted even if it was a painful process. In the 120 countries in ISAF more countries race dinghies than keel day boats and more countries fleet race than match race irrespective of what individuals or IOC say.

-- From Herb Garcia (hgarcia@barr.com) - I'm so sick of discussions about protocols, gifts, deeds, legalese, this that, etc. etc., ad nauseum. It's almost worse than the presidential election. Are readers here not actually interested in sailing? Right now there is some fascinating racing going on in the Atlantic, fantastic racing coming up in Key West, and fascinating developments from the recent US Sailing and ISAF meetings. I don't remember seeing one comment in th letters about the troubling state of US Sailing's finances, or the implications of bundling the ORC into ISAF. The America's Cup is not for many moons yet, time enough to dwell on the politics later. Or rather, just let the big boys lawyers handle all that.

CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: You'd probably enjoy 'Butt more if you started thinking of it as a buffet table. And just as no one eats everything on a buffet table, dig into on the stuff that strikes your fancy and ignore the rest.

MORE FROM THE RACE
* Team Adventure, a participant in The Race of the Millennium, announced that Monster.com has signed a Sponsor Level Partnership - becoming the first major sponsor of the team. As a sponsor, Monster.com's logo will fly high above the sea on the boat's 150-foot high mainsail. - http://www.TeamAdventure.org

* Team Philips set sail from Dartmouth, Devon at 1000 on Saturday 2nd December for her next set of sea trials. Depending on the weather conditions and the boat, the crew may return in the next few days or may endeavour to stay out for a prolonged period. At 1115 Sunday, she was off Lowestoft, Suffolk, UK and, after a quiet night, is now sailing in light winds in a Northerly direction. The weather will pick up as the head up towards the North of England where they hope to be travelling at approximately 20 - 25 knots. Yesterday she had been sailing at a constant 30 - 35 knots with little effort. - http://www.teamphilips.com/index.cfm?ArticleID=3279

ADMIRALS CUP TRIALS
December 2, 2000 (Miami Beach, Florida) Inshore racing concluded today with two races for the 26 Farr 40s sailing in the Miami Regatta. Top honors were within reach of four different boats when the first gun sounded. It was an overcast day, with 16-18 knots of pretty steady northeasterly pressure.

Newcomers to the fleet sailing aboard Chris Doscher's Twisted scored a fifth and another bullet to win the inshore part of the event. The team has sailed together for four years, and put plenty of practice time on their Farr 40 before starting this regatta. Most of the crew is amateur, and tactician Mark Foster said that it was a good group, who had fun racing together.

The Ocean Race is scheduled for Sunday, November 3. The start has been moved up to 1000 hours, so that the six boats who are competing can hope to finish in daylight hours on the 30 hour race. A building northerly is forecast, which should make the Gulf Stream a bit lumpy. - http://www.farr40.org/

Standings (26 boats): 1. Twisted, Chris Doscher (41 points) 2. Nerone, Massimo Mezzaroma (43) 3. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson (44) 4. Pegasus, Philippe Kahn (45) 5. Phoenix, Eduardo Ramos (64) 6. Defiant, Wright/Cozzens (70)

ALL IT TAKES IS MONEY . . .
Owner/skipper Grant Wharington from Mornington Yacht Club has extended Wild Thing's carbon fibre hull by almost four metres to give her an overall length (LOA) of 25.2 metres - just short of 83 feet. "We have added nine feet to the bow and five feet to the stern and while the working sail area (mainsail and jib) is the same, but we will be able to carry much larger spinnakers, Wharington said. Explaining his reasons for lengthening the boat, Warrington said that while Wild Thing had beaten arch rival, Sydney maxi Brindabella, in ocean races this year, the new 80-footer Shockwave "had absolutely killed us" at Hamilton Island Race Week.

NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Participating in the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) Coaching Recognition Program, US SAILING has recognized its Coaches of the Year for 2000: Jay Glaser (Long Beach, Calif.) is the National Coach of the Year, and Amy Gross-Kehoe (Bayville, N.Y.) is the Developmental Coach of the Year.

Jay Glaser (Long Beach, Calif.) earned Sailing's National Coach of the Year honors based on his significant impact on athletes' performances at the highest levels of competition, with coaching performance related to the 2000 Olympic events a primary focus. Prior to the Olympic Trials, two teams formally approached Glaser to be their coach. They were '96 Tornado Olympians John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Newport Beach, Calif.), against whom Glaser had competed many times, and '92 470 Women's Olympic Silver Medallist JJ Isler (La Jolla, Calif.), who was embarking on a second run for the Olympics with Glaser's wife Pease (Long Beach, Calif.). Jay, an Olympic medallist ('84 Silver) and world champion ('81, '82) in the Tornado catamaran, had the experience of an elite-level

athlete and the technical knowledge to make the boats go fast. His philosophy was to take the things that worked for him and apply them to the sailors he was coaching while ensuring that the athletes maintained focus and gained confidence in their abilities.

Previous winners of sailing's Coach of the Year Award are Luther Carpenter (New Orleans, La.) and Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.).

Combining her degree in Human Development and Youth Psychology from Eckerd College with her love of sailing, Amy Gross-Kehoe (Bayville, N.Y.) has become well known for her work with youth sailing teams. Involved primarily in coaching Optimist sailors, she has been responsible for more sailors making the national Opti Team than any other program in the U.S. For the last five years Gross-Kehoe has coached the Cow Harbor Sailing Team (based in Northport, N.Y.), which was created to give Opti sailors from Maine to New York the opportunity to race year-round when most youth sailing programs only operate during the summer months. Since Gross-Kehoe assumed the leadership at Cow Harbor, participation in the program has doubled - a direct result of her easy-going and friendly-but-firm style that builds confidence while raising the skills of the sailors.

Previous winners of sailing's Developmental Coach of the Year Award are Mike Zani (Bristol, R.I.), Scott Ikle (Geneva/Manhasset, N.Y.) , and Adam Werblow (St. Mary's, Md.). - Jan Harley

WE'LL MAKE A HERO OUT OF YOU
International Crew can turn you into a hero this holiday season with quick delivery of our nautical luxuries from Christmas cards to nautical ornaments, gift baskets to nautical jewelry! If you need the perfect gift for the sailor or boater who has everything, try International Crew. For a complimentary catalog, E-mail sales@internationalcrew.com or call toll-free, 888-891-6601, or shop on-line at www.internationalcrew.com.

NEW ZEALAND MATCH RACING CHAMPS
Auckland, NZ - Rod Davis probably helped his chances of driving the Prada boat in the next America's Cup by unexpectedly winning the New Zealand match racing championships yesterday. The man of many nations, who has sailed for the United States, New Zealand and Australia, is in line to helm the Italian boat in the next cup. He is one of three candidates, along with Kiwi Gavin Brady and Italian hero Francesco de Angelis, who remains the Prada skipper regardless of who is at the wheel.

Davis' case would have been bolstered yesterday when he beat two cup legends in a finicky breeze on the Waitemata Harbour. After scraping into the semifinals, he drew former world champion Bertrand Pace, Team New Zealand's new back-up helmsman, in the semifinals - the top qualifier from the double round-robin - and won 3-1. "I honestly didn't expect to beat him. I just figured we were here for a training run, and we were practising against the very best," he said.

Davis' opponent in the final was his old rival, Chris Dickson, skipper of American challenge Oracle Racing, who had beaten another Team NZ skipper, Cameron Appleton. By Davis' reckoning, he has met Dickson in finals on the Waitemata four times, and now the score is two-all.

"I needed to get back on the match racing circuit to get ready for the next America's Cup - it's been six years since I was on it," Davis said. "Who ends up driving the Prada boat is still open. It won't be decided for a while yet. But you know I love driving boats. "I'm more than happy to do whatever I'm told. If Prada is better off with me sweeping the compound, that's what I'll do." Davis will retain his job from the last America's Cup as Prada team coach, but this time he has Italian residency, so he will sail on the boat. - Suzanne McFadden, NZ Herald

Final results: 1st Rod Davis, 2nd Chris Dickson, 3rd Bertrand Pace, 4th Cameron Appleton, 5th Phil Douglas, 6th Mark Kroenong, 7th Brian Trubovich, 8th Ryan Parkin, 9th Ryan Houston, 10th John Kensington.

Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=163051&thesection=sport&thesubsection=general

VENDEE GLOBE - By Philippe Jeantot
Two days ago the leaders of the Vendee Globe fleet thought that they might escape the effects of the Saint Helen high pressure system lightly and reach the low pressure systems circling from the West without slowing down. This is normally the case, but every norm has its exceptions and here it is no different. It would just take one low pressure system to pass off the coast of Argentina or Brazil to catch the fleet and effectively take them to the second weather system in a smooth transition.

This year, the Saint Helen anticyclone has deceived the fleet of these regular conditions. The high pressure system has enlarged and spread over the whole of the Southern Atlantic, as far South as the 40th degree parallel, and is keeping the depressions pushed down.

The problem comes when the high pressure system spreads and empties of wind, which causes the interior to generate micro systems of wind varying in a rotation of 180 degrees. It loses its own logic at this stage. Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) has paid the heaviest penalty to the Saint Helen system. He was the first to get caught in these light airs. He is continuing South because he knows the Westerlies are much lower, that is the exit route. Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) has come back on Parlier dramatically, averaging 10 knots - three times more in boat speed than the leader consistently in the last 12 hours. - http://www.vendeeglobe.com/

Standings on December 03 at 11:00 UT: 1. Aquitaine Innovations (Parlier) 2. PRB (Desjoyeaux)
+38 miles, 3. SILL Matines La Potagere (Jourdain) +107 miles, 4. Kingfisher (MacArthur)
+117 miles, 5. Whirlpool (Chabaud) +254 miles.

THE CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL
If vegetarians eat vegetables, what do humanitarians eat?