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SCUTTLEBUTT 3317 - Monday, April 11, 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: Summit Yachts and Kaenon Polarized. AINSLIE WINS ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP Palma de Mallorca, Spain (April 9, 2011) - In many classes, leaders in the 42 Trofeo Princesa Sofia MAPFRE in Palma kept their early positions after the double pointers medal race to win the title. Ben Ainslie (GBR) won the medal race from start to finish, coming back to the Finn after taking a break sailing in the Match racing circuit and enjoying successful following wins in Sail Melbourne, a second in Miami and a second SWC win in Palma. The Olympic champion also took the Ultimate Trophy at Palma which crowns the best sailor across all classes in the event. With victory going to Percy and Simpson (GBR) on the penultimate racing day, the battle on the Star medal race was for Silver and Bronze. Robert Stanjeck and Frithjof Kleen (GER) got to their best placing in the event to win second overall on equal points with Torben Grael /Marcelo Feirrera (BRA) and Diego Negri /Enrico Voltolini (ITA). The Women Match racing finals were a hard fought battle with Silja Lehtinen, Silja Kanerva, Mikaela Wulff (FIN) taking the first match by a small margin, then Sally Barkow, Elizabeth Kratzig-Burnham, Alana O'Reilly (USA) winning the next three close matches to win the Gold medal. "It feels really good to win a Sailing World Cup event," Barkow commented. "We came into this event thinking it was going to be a kind of warm up leading up to the first phase of the U.S. Trials in May. We really showed a lot of progress through the event and that was really important." The Finals and Petit-Finals were sailed in perfect conditions after the sea breeze filled in around midday to a steady 7-10 knots. The Petit-Finals saw Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer, and Deb Capozzi (USA) defeat Claire Leroy, Marie Riou, and Claire Pruvot (FRA) in two straight matches to win the Bronze medal. Americans Paige Railey finished 4th in the Laser Radial, while 2008 Olympic Finn Silver Medalist Zach Railey finished a strong second place in the final medal race to put him into 5th overall for the event. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/5ws7cyd Results: http://tinyurl.com/4ysjhn6 USA team report: http://tinyurl.com/3v97dcn Canada team report: http://tinyurl.com/3que6sn * Follow US Olympic sailors in the Princesa Sofia MAPFRE: Brad Funk: http://www.funksailing.com Erin Maxwell/Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar: http://www.470teamusa.com Team Tunnicliffe: http://www.teamtunnicliffe.com Storck Moore Sailing: http://www.storckmooresailing.com/ Campbell Sailing: http://www.campbellsailing.com/ PRICE TAG ON ACRM'S DESIGN PROGRAM (April 10, 2011) - For teams entering the 34th America's Cup, approximately E1.25 million ($1.811 million) will get them the design program announced by America's Cup Race Management last week, a program that's reportedly equal to that which the big boys like ORACLE Racing and Artemis Racing will be using for their AC 72 design. Talking to SailBlast in San Francisco, Iain Murray, America's Cup Race Management CEO said that purchasing the design program will save teams a substantial amount of money but more importantly, time in getting to the start line with a competitive, technology-driven boat. "What we (ACRM) are doing would cost the teams substantially more than that, multiples of that in fact," Murray explained. "But the thing that it saves them, most important, is 8-10 months of design work. If you're just coming in, you can't make that up unless you started in October last year." While all the teams expressed an interest in such a program from the outset, and a number have said they will buy the program, Murray said it's a little too early to say which teams will step up. For those who do, they'll also have consultation access to the design leaders who designed the program - high performance multihull designers VPLP of France and North Technology Group (NTG - designers of the wing and sail package), headquartered in the US. When asked how much of the AC 45 design template was used to create the design program Murray responded, "Obviously the AC 45 has been very helpful for all the designers around the world - they've all given it a pretty thorough looking over. The designers we've got are no different to any other in that they've all been swarming over the AC 45, C-class cats and I'm sure they've been studying all sorts of stuff on USA-17. Having the AC 45 sailing - the most relevant, scaled down boat - has been most helpful for everyone." Teams can launch their AC 72s as early as next January but Murray said it's hard to know when the first will actually hit the water. "Considering that there's about an 8 month build program that would mean teams will probably start in May/June but I think they're probably going to use the design time as long as they can, so I could see them more realistically sailing April/May/June 2012." -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3pmy3cw TRUE DUAL PURPOSE BOATS Spring is here and so is the 2011 sailing season. If your choice is to Race at the leading edge of IRC or PHRF competition, or family cruising, or both, Summit Yachts is the obvious choice. Both the Summit 35 and the Summit 40, designed by Mark Mills, have enviable race records, and their comfortable, contemporary interiors make them true dual purpose boats. The Summit 35 is available for early summer sailing; the Summit 40 takes a bit longer. Both are built in the USA. Check us out at http://www.summit-yachts.com NEUTROGENA TAKES 5TH IN BARCELONA RACE (April 10, 2011) - Ryan Breymaier (USA) and Boris Herrmann (GER) crossed the finish line of the Barcelona World Race at 1513hrs (UTC) to take fifth place. Their elapsed time for the course was 100 days, 3 hours, 13 minutes and 25 seconds, an average speed for the course of 10.49kts for the 25,200 miles theoretical course. They sailed an actual course of 27,850 miles, at an average 11.59 knots. Only the third team to finish this edition of the race without stopping, Herrmann becomes the first German sailor ever to complete a non-stop racing circumnavigation and to finish an IMOCA Open 60 race, whilst Breymaier, a late adopter to sailing who only started sailing seriously at college in 1993, is the first American to finish the Barcelona World Race. Also finishing over the weekend was Renault Z.E. Sailing Team's Pachi Rivero and Antonio Piris who crossed the finish O647hrs (UTC) on Friday in third place, joining MAPFRE and Neutrogena as the only three in the top five to complete the circumnavigation non-stop. The Estrella Damm Sailing Team of Alex Pella (38) and Pepe Ribes (39) finished at 08:45:59hrs (UTC) on Saturday, in fourth. Currently sixth in the rankings, record breaking British yachtswoman Dee Caffari and her Spanish co-skipper Anna Corbella are the only all female crew taking part in the race and will each establish two world records when they complete the race. Dee will become the only female sailor to have sailed non-stop around the world more times than any other in history. Anna Corbella will become the first Spanish woman to circumnavigate the globe non-stop. -- Full reports at event website: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org Standings (top 5 of 14) 1. Virbac-Paprec 3, Jean Pierre Dick/Loick Peyron (FRA/FRA), 93:22:20:36 2. Mapfre, Iker Martinez/Xabi Fernandez (ESP/ESP), 94:21:17:35 3. Renault, Pachi Rivero/Antonio Piris (ESP/ESP), 97:18:47:36 4. Estrella Damm Sailing Team,Alex Pella/Pepe Rives (ESP/ESP), 98:20:45 5. Neutrogena, Boris Herrmann/Ryan Breymaier (GER/USA), 100:3:13:125 BACKGROUND: The Barcelona World Race is the only double-handed race around the world. Fourteen teams competing on Open 60s started December 31st, with the 25,000 nautical mile course extending from Barcelona to Barcelona via three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, Cook Strait, putting Antarctica to starboard. CHEYENNE RIDES AGAIN By Tim Zimmermann (April 8, 2011) - It warms my heart to hear that Cheyenne, nee Playstation, is about to embark on another record-breaking quest. I followed this pace-setting catamaran from her birth in the 1990s and into her run through every major sailing record in the books: 24-hour, Transat, Jules Verne. I even talked my way aboard for an East-West Transatlantic record run, and Steve Fossett, the adventure junkie behind her golden years, was kind enough to send me a World Record certificate after he mowed down yet another mark. My main contributions were making coffee and running sheets... Cheyenne was a revolutionary sailing vessel, though it seems quaint to think that her first 24-hour record, in 1999, was "just" 580 miles. Today the record stands at 908 miles! And while the maxi-multis are so much faster today, I'll never forget the feeling of racing past the Canary Islands in flat water, at 36 knots, with every sheet like a steel bar and the boat absolutely creaking and humming with speed. Pure adrenaline. Over the years that followed, particularly after Fossett went missing in an airplane in 2007, it always made me sad to see Cheyenne sitting abandoned on the hard, and then acting as a mast-less camera platform for the Morning Light project. -- Read on: http://www.sailingworld.com/blogs/racing/cheyenne-rides-again FIRST LICKS ON THE FARR 400 By Bill O'Malley (April 8, 2011) - The anticipation has built in the weeks and days leading up to the launching of the new Farr 400 in Dubai, UAE. The teams at Farr Yacht Design and Premier Composite Technologies have been steadily working toward this day over the past eight months. It's an incredible process to witness as a design concept transitions from an idea to reality and all the phases in between. Premier Composite Technologies, the builder did an impressive job with construction, meeting the design weight, match our weight calculations along the build cycle and the boat a week ahead of schedule, something unheard of in boatbuilding! In the final design phases, as the big picture comes into focus, there is an opportunity to optimize performance. Shifting from a cast iron keel fin to a fabricated steel keel fin reduced the displacement to 8,600 lbs, without increasing costs. This has a very positive impact on its light-wind and downwind performance, without sacrificing heavy-air performance, making the Farr 400 even more versatile. In late March Luke Shingledecker of Farr Yacht Design I, traveled to Dubai to visit Premier, sail the first Farr 400, and conduct a week of sea trials. The schedule for the week was full: including launching, in- and out-of-water IRC and ORC measurement, evening meetings to discuss class administration and rules, and some local racing at the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club. -- Read on: http://www.sailingworld.com/racing/first-licks-on-the-farr-400 CUP SHOWS AT STRICTLY SAIL PACIFIC (April 10, 2011) - Before reading any further, quick, go to the following link and get your Scuttlebutt $5 discount code for a ticket to Strictly Sail Pacific, the largest sail only show west of the Rockies happening in the Bay Area this week: https://v2.interactiveticketing.com/TUF6440149B3 (alternatively, enter "Scuttlebutt" in the promotional code box). With that done, read on. Strictly Sail Pacific runs April 14-17, at Jack London Square in Oakland, California. The America's Cup will be on display at the show throughout the day on Thursday, April 14, followed by an evening presentation and reception at the Waterfront Hotel from 6-8 pm. On hand to provide an update on what's happening with AC 34 will be Kyri McClellan of the America's Cup Organizing Committee (ACOC); Mike Martin, Director of Rules Administration and Umpiring; Ian "Fresh" Burns, Design Team Coordinator with Oracle Racing; and Stephanie Martin, Chief Communications Officer of the America's Cup Event Authority. Great line up. There's no doubt that the America's Cup is already providing a boost to marine-based companies both around the Bay and further afield. Said Jonathan Banks, Director of Sail America, the non-profit organization that organizes Strictly Sail, "Our clients have a greater level of hope, enthusiasm and optimism for the market that the Cup will bring, and when people are feeling buoyant they are more likely to exhibit at shows, advertise in magazines and try to grow their business. From a long term planning perspective there's a stronger commitment to keep the show in the Bay Area, be it Jack London Square or another location." This is especially good news for the show which has had a fairly level attendance over the past two years but a decline since 2007 due to the recession and renovations at Jack London Square which affected space available to the show. Banks says online ticket sales are tracking about 20% ahead of last year, a positive indicator. "We're hoping for attendance similar to last few years (approximately 12,000) with single to low double digit growth. With the America's Cup at the show, it's lining up to be a good one." -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3hhw3bf IKER AND XABI How about these guys! Could they be, quite possibly, the best sailors ever, from Spain? That sailing rich, heritage deep country of explorers and conquerors? Their latest achievement.best boat, non-stop in the Barcelona World Race - first time! Coupled with Olympic medals on the 49er.gold and some other color. And they're best mates. Iker and Xabi have achieved their success wearing the original, award winning Kore - from Kaenon Polarized. Always equipped with C12 and C28 SR-91 polarized lenses no matter what part of the ocean is their playground. Congratulations amigos, you're pretty hot stuff in our book! Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. http://www.kaenon.com SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * (April 9, 2011) - The final day of racing in the Les Voiles de St Barth took the 48-boat fleet on its final circumnavigation counter-clockwise around the eight-square mile island: a 30-nautical mile course for the Maxis, and a 23-nautical mile course for the Racing, Racing Cruising, Classics, and Multihulls. Rambler 100 (USA), owned by George David and skippered by Ken Read took first place in the Maxi division. -- Full report: http://seaclearcommunications.com/mailing/?id=33 * (April 10, 2011) - Emirates Team New Zealand's new round-the-world race yacht CAMPER left the builder's yard in Auckland at 4.30am today, just a year after the project was announced. The 70ft yacht was trucked to the team's Viaduct Harbour base where it will be commissioned this week. The build started at Cookson Boats in August last year, taking close to 35,000 man-hours. Over the next few days, keel, rudder, dagger boards, mast and rigging will be fitted and electronic, electrical and hydraulic systems will commissioned. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3wethob * Charleston, SC (April 8, 2011) - With less than a week left until a record 279 boats take to the water for 2011 Sperry Top-Sider Charleston Race Week, preparations are ramping up to welcome the 2000 sailors and support personnel to the largest keelboat regatta in North America in more than five years. For the first time, the event will feature an exposition of some of sailing's hottest boats right on the beach at event HQ. For juniors, the latest Optimist design will be on display from Layline. RS Sailboats is featuring their brand new RS-100 singlehanded, asymmetric spinnaker racer. -- Even website: http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/ * The 2011 Farr 30 North American Championship will be held in San Francisco, CA, August 26, 27 & 28. Hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club and in conjunction with the Aldo Alessio Perpetual Trophy Regatta teams will have a chance to test the local conditions and themselves as they compete for the North American Championship trophy, the Irish Cup. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/6j3ll4o * The International Audi Melges 20 Class Association has announced the 2011 Newport Sailing Series, comprised of three events: the new Bacardi Newport Sailing Week on June 23-26, the Coastal Living Sail Newport Regatta on July 8-10, and the U.S. National Championship serves as the grand finale on August 26-28. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/5tdwcw7 GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Casey Robert Baldwin (re, Scuttlebutt 3314): I apologize for my error in referring to the new Valencia Club nominated by the Swiss SNG Alinghi as 'Defender of Record', when it was originally chosen to be the 'Challenger of Record' for the 2010 America's Cup. However, I stand by my point that Denis Toothe's opinion (S'Butt 3313) that the Golden Gate Yacht Club's current behaviour as 'Defender' is similar to the lengthy legal circus largely promoted by previous defender Societe Nautique de Geneve, is unfair to both the GGYC and Oracle. The Curmudgeon's comment in Scuttlebutt 3314, that both the chosen 'Challenger of Record' for the 2013 Cup, Club Nautico di Roma and its boat Mascalzone Latino may face financial difficulties and not compete, is not the same as two wealthy syndicates fighting an endless legal battle leading up to the last Cup. The Curmudgeon's further point that current 'COR' Club Nautico di Roma appears to have had little input in shaping the multifarious rules and regs on behalf of the challengers, which is its primary duty, not the Defenders, may have merit. Those of us who love and hope the primacy of the 'auld mug' is rejuvenated, pray the contest is on the water, not the courts. With the restoration of a 'Challenger Series' and the fantastic venue of San Francisco, please gentlemen, keep the land battles to a minimum. * From Steve Quant, Alberqueque, NM (re, Scuttlebutt 3315): Back in the seventies and early 80's, "down the mine" is what was known as a pitchpole, no matter if you were on a Hobie, Prindle or Nacra. * From Brian Hutchinson: Re 1994 Melges 24 PCC's, we had a great time on beautiful Lake Tahoe sailing with Tom Leweck for whom Craig Leweck called tactics. As I recall, he and I were "professional sailors" at the time, but that didn't bother the rest of the fleet, since they managed to beat us on a few legs and races. Many of the others actually thanked us for showing up, and I think we all improved our game. Let's not join those who blame pros for the current level of participation in the Southern West Coast M24 fleet. One glimpse at the European Melges 24 fleets and the resurgence of various US fleets (which has its share of pros) should tell us that it is organization and good venues that helps a fleet grow. The 33-plus, and growing, Pacific Northwest Melges 24 Fleet shows us that a simple 6-event schedule that promotes great venues and encourages family events is what works. When the first Melges 24 came to town (San Diego) in 1993 it was a breath of fresh air and so a dozen boats sprang up in the local fleet. Mark Reynolds and Vince Brun immediately embraced the Melges 24 and have enjoyed many enjoyable years of racing them. The boat presented an easier way to have fun, since it was twice as fast as the Star and E22 downwind in the bigger breeze. -- Read on at Scuttlebutt Forum: http://tinyurl.com/5uxttmf CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The more I learn about terrorism, the more I understand the phone company. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Summit Yachts - Kaenon Polarized - North Sails Atlantis WeatherGear - The Pirates Lair - Doyle Sails - Samson Rope Ullman Sails - LaserPerformance - Mount Gay Rum - Team One Newport Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
