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SCUTTLEBUTT 1934 -- September 29, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.WINDSURFING Classic San Francisco Bay conditions and a world-class fleet of windsurfers combined this past weekend to put the new Olympic one-design windsurfer through its paces. The Neil Pryde RS:X 2005 Pacific Coast Championship, hosted by Saint Francis Yacht Club, saw 37 racers from many different aspects of competitive windsurfing hit the starting line on brand new charter boards. The highly experienced fleet included current and past windsurfing Olympians, open class World Cup professionals, national and international formula and slalom champions, plus top US juniors and even a Laser class Olympian. The first two races held on Friday afternoon were sailed in 25-35 knots and the notorious Crissy Field chop. Over the next two days of racing, ideal seasonal conditions allowed the constant tuning and testing to progress. Lighter morning breezes showed racers the highly tactical, centerboard-down potential of the board, while the steadily building 20-knot afternoon winds taught them where and when to switch to the fin-only, Formula-style mode. Winning the overall regatta (and men's division) was Wilhelm Schurmann, a Brazilian National and South American Formula champion, and a professional with a strong international reputation. He was very closely followed by Canadian Sam Ireland, likewise a top international pro competitor in many types of windsurf racing. Taking third overall was 21-year old Seth Besse, a former US junior champion who is rapidly moving up the ranks at major world-level Formula events. The women's division champion was Karen Mariott, while second place went to Farrah Hall. The RS:X, designed and produced by Neil Pryde, was chosen as the Olympic board following a series of evaluations by top windsurfers who compared several types of design approaches from a variety of manufacturers. The RS:X is a hybrid of the two main types of race board. The first is a more traditional long board shape utilizing a retractable centerboard, and the second is a 'Formula'-style, wide board, using a single fin. The hybrid approach allows for competitive performance in the widest possible range of wind conditions, an essential element for Olympic venues. -- http://www.stfyc.com/ FIRST IMPRESSIONS Here's a quick impression from this weekend's Neil Pryde RS:X 2005 Pacific Coast Championship. Despite everyone's initial preconceptions about the board, after three days of racing, I think everybody enjoyed racing the boards once they got them tuned in. Sure, it's not the most ideal board for light, medium or heavy wind, but it does the job and covers the range. We had conditions ranging from 30+k on the first day to 10-18k over the next two days. 95% of the time, the fleet was running with the centerboards up and mast tracks back like typical Formula racing. The board doesn't respond as well as a Formula board but many of the same techniques are used in racing. It was a bit more tactical as you could tack easier without much loss, but most people picked a corner and went for it, if there was more wind there. Off the breeze, the board was more comfortable than a fw setup but the were some concerns with the centerboard popping down suddenly. A few minor tweaks could be made to improve the board and rig but overall, it seems like a good way to race with more modern equipment that might bring more people into racing. -- Steve Bodner RESCUE POLL Maritime rescues are not uncommon in this era of record-setting ocean crossings and offshore races. The recent rescue of Dom Mee off the coast of Newfoundland after his failed record attempt led us to wonder who should be footing the bill for the risk and expense associated with such rescues. Clearly, the 'buttheads had an opinion on this, with the results now posted on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/05/0927 ABOARD THE BLACK PEARL -- Paul Cayard (0330 hours Wednesday - 220 miles due west of La Rochele France) We tested different sails today and some keel positions. We are still complete novices at tuning this boat. Friday we have to decide on some of the designs for our race sails as they need to be produced and shipped to Spain before the start. We were commenting today on how little we know and yet we have to make these decisions that normally are the conclusion of months of testing and information. We haven't even lined up side by side with another boat yet. The wind is due to go around to the South West later tomorrow, Wednesday, and build to 25 knots. That should give us a nice ride up the English Channel and into Holland on Thursday. We can check a few of our spinnakers at that time and make so more fast miles. We realize now how good we had it in the 2000 miler going 20 knots all the time. 10 knots seems slow to us. All these days out at sea are good for all of us. I just spent a bit of time steering in the dark. It takes practice to be efficient at steering in the dark. Not much moon now and there is a bit more darkness per 24 hours that day light. DUBARRY: GOOD FOR YOUR FEET, GOOD FOR YOUR MOOD "Ireland is the only place in the world where procrastination takes on a sense of urgency." - Samuel Beckett. When you can't procrastinate any longer, the summer sailing season is over, and it's time to get back to work, at least make your feet happy with a new pair of Dubarry deck shoes. Just as comfortable and wearable on land as at sea, Dubarry's active casual range offers shock absorbent soles - good for your feet and your back-to-work mood. Visit www.dubarryna.com for details! LET THE LOBBYING BEGIN Although the year has not ended, US Sailing has begun accepting nominations for the Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards. Nominations will be accepted online through November 30 for male and female sailors who have turned in outstanding performances on the water during this calendar year. After the nomination period ends, a shortlist of nominees is then presented to a panel of sailing journalists who discuss the merits of each and vote by secret ballot to determine the award winners. In February 2006, the winners each will be presented with a specially-engraved Rolex timepiece and the perpetual Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Trophy: a Steuben crystal interpretation of the yacht America. To nominate athletes for these awards: www.ussailing.org/awards/rolex To lobby for your favorite candidate: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com SCHEIDT DOMINATES THE WORLDS Fortaleza, Brazil -- For the eighth time, Robert Scheidt is the Laser Senior World Champion. He won the title after finishing in second place in the first race on Wednesday. Scheidt did not even need to sail the second race of the day -- but he did -- and he won it. That was his ninth bullet in 14 races in the 136-boat fleet. One of Scheidt's discards was a third place finish -- he kept only firsts and seconds. In addition to his eight World Championships, Scheidt has two Olympic Gold Medals and an Olympic Silver Medal. "As for my career, it is far from being over. I don't want to decide anything right now, because I'm too excited about the title," Scheidt said. "I would rather let this moment pass and talk to some people before making any hard decisions." Final results: 1. BRA, Robert Scheidt, 15 points 2. ARG, Diego Emilio Romero, 49 3. NZL, Andrew Murdoch, 68 4. SLO, Vasilij Zbogar, 76 5. CRO, Mate Arapov, 81 TEAM RACING Turning the surface of Newport harbor into a mirror, a light northerly wind turned calm this morning and kept racers ashore for several hours at New York Yacht Club's Harbour Court on day three of the 2005 Grey Goose ISAF Team Racing World Championship. Around noon when the breeze filled, the race committee was able to keep a consistent pace of racing in the seven knots of breeze by shrinking the course length in order to keep races at seven minutes duration, while working to complete 56 races for the gold and silver fleets. The lighter conditions, maxing out at 10 knots, is plenty of breeze for Vanguard 15s and was not expected to significantly impact the series standings as the boat's rigs had been "powered up" in anticipation of the lighter air. Provisional standings at the end of the day's racing, for the gold fleet: USA 2 (7-0); USA 1 (6-1); GBR 2 (5-2); GBR 1 (4-3); IRL 1 (3-4); NZL 1 (2-5); ISV (1-6); AUS 2 (0-7). In the silver fleet: ITA, JPN 1, NZL 2 (5-2); AUS 1, CZE, IRL 2 (4-3); JPN 2 (1-6); CAN (0-7). -- Michael Levitt, Complete results and photos: www.nyyc.org SONAR WORLDS Cowes, UK -- Reigning Sonar World champion, Steve Shepstone in Nefarious has been the model of consistency ever since his opening race OCS. A first, two seconds, and a third sees Shepstone atop the leaderboard now that six races have been sailed and the discard has come into play. In second is another leading American Sonar sailor, Pete Galloway who has a first, two seconds, a third and fourth on his scorecard and is just one point behind Shepstone with three races still to sail. And in third place it is Paul Bowen (GBR), just a single point behind Galloway but with a comforting eight point gap ahead of David Franzel (USA) in fourth. Yet another American, Greg Anthony in Troll occupies fifth place. Full results, race reports, event photography, race audio commentary, and video coverage at: http://www.cowes.co.uk/cb/zone?p=index;cat_id=118;cp=0-118 AMERICA'S CUP POLL Leading into the final 2005 America's Cup races this week (Acts 8 & 9), we asked the question as to which team needed to do well in these final two events in Trapani, Italy to gain momentum going into 2006. The final results are now posted, and the tally may provide insight into which teams have yet to solidify their position in the view of the public, are felt to be underachieving to this point, or have done sufficiently well thus far. Results are at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/05/0923 NEWS BRIEFS * It appears that the Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championships could have a change of venue. After many years in Newport and a couple of regattas in Annapolis, US Sailing has announced that it is accepting bids for both the 2007 and 2009 regattas. Bid packages can be downloaded at: http://tinyurl.com/ahxjw * Allianz, one of the largest financial services providers in the world, is joining BMW Oracle Racing for the 32nd America's Cup, as "main sponsor." Allianz aims at expanding and further leveraging its presence in global sponsoring platforms such as Formula One and now the America's Cup. -- http://bmworacleracing.com/ * The host Ida Lewis YC won the Patriots' Cup 2005 -- the ninth annual four nation invitational team racing event. Teams from England Ireland and Canada were invited to compete with teams from Storm Trisail, Ida Lewis and Larchmont. The event was sailed in Shields in the waters off Newport, Rhode Island, and is paired with a similar event run in Sigma 33s. This spring's event was run from the River Hamble in England, and next years will be in May in Dublin Bay, Ireland. Final standings: 1. Ida Lewis; 2. Storm Trisail; 3. Hamble River. http://www.racecommittee.org/patriot05/ * Around 100 of the World's best windsurfers from 23 countries are heading to Cadiz, Spain for the largest Neil Pryde RS:X event to date. A line up filled with stars includes Olympic, World and ISAF Youth World Champions, top sailors from the Mistral ISAF World Sailing Rankings and one of the nominees for the 2005 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award -- Blanca Manchon (ESP). -- http://www.sailing.org/ * Meet the man who brought sailing to TV. Gary Jobson shares the details of his life and career with T2P from sailing on Barnegat Bay as a youth, to the America's Cup and beyond. As the "Worldwide Ambassador of Sailing", Gary is a champion sailor, award winning TV commentator, lecturer, and cancer survivor. Join us for a free look at his incredible journey on demand. -- www.t2p.tv * Dutchman Hans Horrevoets joins Team ABN Amro as a crew member onboard ABN Amro Two. Hans will join fellow Dutchmen Gerd Jan Poortman and Simeon Tienpont on one of two boats that the syndicate is entering in the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race. Horrevoets will be the fifth professional yachtsman onboard ABN Amro Two and will join the other six 'high potential' sailors who each won their place through a unique international competition. -- www.abnamro.com/team * Brasil 1 is beginning its last preparations for the Volvo Ocean Race. Brasil 1 arrived in Portugal on September 8th, after leaving from Rio de Janeiro and crossing the Atlantic Ocean in twenty days. "During the crossing the crew got to know the boat much better and because of that they were able to recommend some changes. We are adapting the Brasil 1 to the crew and with these changes the maneuvers of the boat will be much faster and the performance of the boat improved," explained Horácio Carabelli, the technical director of the project. -- www.brasil1.com.br ULLMAN SAILS POWER WINNERS AT THE J105 NORTH AMERICANS Five J105's with Ullman Sails won 9 of the 10 races at the 2005 J105 North American Championships. Congratulations to Alex Baluta and his crew on "Groovador," who captured 1st Place, and all the individual race winners at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club regatta sailed on Lake Ontario, 14-18 September. Again and again, at major national and international championships, Ullman Sails are found on the winning boats that consistently outperform the competition. For the "Fastest Sails on the Planet", that are affordable, durable, and designed by world class sailmakers, contact your nearest Ullman Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is neither a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere.) * From Jean François Eeman, Belgium (About Dom Mee): I would like to stress the fact that the Altantic has already been crossed by a boat towed by a kite. It was around 1995, by a French woman, Nicole van de Kerchove. She crossed the Atlantic alone with a standard Jeanneau One Design 24 (without rig or engine) which was towed by a series of kites. The average speed at time was above 4 knots. Of course there are differences: it was out of Las Palmas and with the trade winds. But that was the real "first time." * From Louay Habib (re Dom Mee's journey and rescue) Anyone is entitled to the opinion that this was an "ill-conceived voyage" but I would point out that the project took a year in planning and that 'Little Murka' was constructed by a boat builder who specializes in ocean-going rowing boats. I would also point out that the huge storm which caused Little Murka to capsize was not the first, in fact for over 30 days the weather pattern had been totally against the norm, this is why the expedition had got so far behind, usually the prevailing wind is from the West and on the few days that this occurred Little Murka was achieving speeds in excess of 12 knots. Finally, I would point out that whilst the rescue would have been expensive and potentially dangerous, the Canadian Coastguard had the right to stop him going and did not. More so Mr. Mee knows all too well about rescuing people from inhospitable places, he has done so for the Royal Marines in Northern Ireland, Middle East, Somalia and Bosnia for 15 years. I respect others points of view, we are lucky to live in a part of the world where freedom of expression is permitted. * From Tom Cain: The issue is "Who should insure the cost of 'Dom Mee's adventure? And why insure it?" Insurance companies would probably not touch this risk for obvious risk management reasons. Mee's campaign most likely could not afford to hire the necessary resources (in advance) to perform a private rescue. That leaves the Mee's "Risk" on the shoulders of the tax payer. The tax payer might be willing to take this risk if they thought that something worthwhile would come out of it for the general benefit of society. However, I suspect that the government has more pressing issues to consider for the distribution of its limited resources. A foundering Space Shuttle would be a much more expensive rescue, but a worthwhile risk, given the science that comes out of program. So, what did Dom Mee do for society that justifies our investment in his rescue? Dom Mee's adventure is an uninsurable gratuitous flirt with death. * From Robbie Wallace (Regarding Dom Mee): From what I understand, a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft cost about $4,244 an hour to operate, Coast Guard helicopters cost about $4,400 an hour, Coast Guard cutters cost about $1,550 an hour to operate and Coast Guard small boats also cost between $300 to $400 an hour to run. Probably more these days with higher fuel costs. Its just what the Coast Guard needs to be doing while in the middle of hurricane relief expenses! Safety at sea is a personal responsibility. These kind of guys should be personally required to post a bond with the Coast Guard for the cost of a typical rescue before departure. I'll bet we would see less of them. Fair enough? * From Paul Zankel: Regarding the issue of who pays for ocean rescues, this is a risk that should be insured against. The voyager should be responsible for the cost of the rescue, and include insurance to cover those costs as part of the expenses of the undertaking. * From Donald Brewster: The rescue services provided by governments, often with costly support by commercial ships, should not be freely given to those deliberately seeking fame (and possibly fortune) in knowingly high-risk ocean adventures. The tax-paying public and the generous maritime industry will lose interest in helping all mariners in direct proportion to the number of hair-brained egotists who overburden the rescue system. Sponsored attempts at record-setting or conspicuously unconventional crossings especially should carry insurance to cover possible rescue costs. * From Paul Rhodes: Of all the male nominees the short list for the 2005 ISAF Rolex World Male Sailor of the Year Award, Rohan Veal is the stand-out for me. He has made a genuine breakthrough in the sport, making the hydrofoil work consistently. The pictures of a foiling moth are just amazing and are fantastic exposure for the sport. As well as winning a world championship, and showing incredible sailing skills, no mean achievement, he has also spent years perfecting the technical aspect of hydrofoils, obviously with the confidence that one day he would crack it. He's also not a professional yachtsman, call me old fashioned, but don't we all have a soft spot for these guys. * From Chris Ericksen: I'm so pleased to see that Tim Hogan has gotten the national recognition he deserves in being elected to the presidency of the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA). It has been my great pleasure to serve on the board of the California International Sailing Association (CISA) for more than 15 years, many of them with Tim as our president. He was the key mover in the phenomenal growth of high-school sailing on the West Coast. ISSA could have no more enthusiastic supporter or a better president. * From Bruce Munro: If you don't know what to do with someone's heart in San Francisco, you must be getting very old! CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. -- Mark Twain |
