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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 1117 - July 18, 2002Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
PROFESSIONAL SAILING "People within Octoagon like sailing and think it has some opportunities. The difficulty with sailing is that it is not a cut and dry sport - it comes in different forms and it's a question of where you dip your toe. Should we be investing in 60ft tris or a cat in The Race. At some point you need to position yourself. With the (Swedish Match) Tour we think we've done that." He says he is amazed at the amount of money that goes into sponsorship in sailing worldwide (after a 30 second calculation - we guesstimate it could be in the region of $100-200 million per year). "That is a significant amount of money, but it's spread out over the year and the world. In tennis you only have one place to go." A recent project Octagon have taken on is developing the endorsement opportunities for one Ellen MacArthur. "She has a tremendous amount of marketing value in the English and French markets. We're helping Offshore Challenges to exploit that," says MacLeod. In my mind I am conjuring up interesting comparisons between Ellen and Anna Kournakova. "We're looking for some specific categories - watches, clothing, auto. She's got a tremendous story that transcends sailing. Hers is a human interest story." Read Boyd's entire story: www.madforsailing.com
AMERICA'S CUP ROUNDUP Team Dennis Conner's boats will be transported to New Zealand separately via container ship. The first boat is scheduled to arrive in Auckland during the second week in August with the next boat following soon after. All of the team's storage and working containers will also be shipped with the boats.
Ken Read, Terry Hutchinson, Morgan Trubovich and Jerry Kirby will race in the UBS Match Race Regatta in Newport, Rhode Island starting on July 27 through August 4, 2002. - Veronica Brown, www.stars-stripes.com * TNZ: The original Black Magic, NZL32, is coming home. Team New Zealand's famous America's Cup winner has finished her year-long sojourn in France, helping one of the challengers for the 2003 Cup. NZL32, the International America's Cup Class yacht which Team New Zealand raced in the successful 1995 cup match in San Diego, is due to arrive in Auckland at the end of August. French challenger Le Defi Areva have been using NZL32 as a training partner for their 2000-generation cup yacht FRA-49 while they designed new boats for their latest campaign. Once back in New Zealand, NZL32 will be put on display in Auckland during the America's Cup regatta. When the cup is over, the historic boat will move to its new home at Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, in Wellington. * Ian Walker and his GBR Challenge crew have taken their first tentative sail in GBR 70, Wight Lightning, in Auckland. Although she is the first British America's Cup boat built in more than 15 years, the occasion was kept deliberately low key. Wight Lightning sailed under mainsail and spinnaker only, in very light 3-6 knot winds, ideal for bedding-in before the boat is loaded up in fresher conditions. - Tim Jeffery, Daily Telegraph, UK, sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ * Le Defi Areva's newest America's Cup boat, FRA 79 made it's first sail in Lorient waters. FRA-79 is a mixture of old and new - she has a new hull and deck, made from FRA-69's moulds, but her mast, boom, poles, sails and deck hardware are from the old FRA-49 FRA-79 is a mixture of old and new - she has a new hull and deck, made from FRA-69's moulds, but her mast, boom, poles, sails and deck hardware are from the old FRA-49. Take a peak: www.ledefi.com/IMG_phototheque/arton914.jpg * PRADA: Luna Rossa's Summer days in Punta Ala are spent between sail training sessions, comparative tests and tune-ups. Francesco de Angelis wants to make sure that ITA 74 is well tested and tuned up before shipping it to New Zealand at the end of the month. Crew members are kept busy with match-racing bouts and physical training. - www.pradalunarossa.com * VICTORY CHALLENGE: The clear weather has continued, and winds have neither been too light nor too strong for sailing an America's Cup boat. 'Brilliant', is helmsman Magnus Holmberg's summary of the result of today's two-boat practice in the Hauraki Gulf. This doesn't mean that he likes the winter weather in New Zealand, however much sun there is. Especially when he thinks about the sun-drenched Swedish summer he has just left. - www.victorychallenge.com/start.phtml?lang_id=1 * An estimated 150 - 200 super yachts are intending to be in and around Auckland to partake in the (America's Cup) festivities, racing and the spectacular millennium super yacht regatta. - Cupviews website, full story: cupviews.com/
HENRI LLOYD TECHNOLOGY
NEWS BRIEFS * Three days into Ford Cork Week many boats are still waiting for enough breeze to show their true speed. The wind dropped from its midday maximum of 10 knots to less than a knot in the afternoon, making racing for many competitors a waiting game. The morning races saw postponements while the wind filled in, and later races required several course movements to cope with constant wind shifts in very little breeze. - Yachting World website, www.yachting-world.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Michelle E. Slade: I am a NZ'er, have lived in the US for 18 years and work in media in the US. I spend significant periods of time in NZ and find media there refreshingly honest & written/produced with integrity. Like many other western nations, NZ'ers are fanatical about their sports and with due credit, proud of their accomplishments. Media coverage of sports events in NZ is no different to any other western country and for the most part, superior given that NZ'ers do take a lively interest in and demand coverage of, international events outside of their own country. In this age of commercialized sporting events, sports media by definition anywhere in the world has become over sensationalized. With the exception of Scuttlebutt of course * From Antony Payne: Living on the other side of the Pacific in California, we AC/LVC fans have to either watch the TV coverage on the Outdoor Network (only available to digital cable & satellite subscribers) or follow along using the Virtual Spectator. It would be great if Kiwi radio was to simulcast on the web. Or if Bob Fisher's on-the-water commentary to the spectator fleet and LV media center be streamed on the web. Imagine a commentary accompanied with a dramatic slide show of stills from the race course and press conferences... streamed "live" and also edited to a convenient length for streaming or downloading. I believe that IMG has the worldwide TV rights and these may impede any iniative to increase audio and video coverage of the event via the web. The antics at the press conferences are often more dramatic than on the race course. The competition of egos, power, wealth, the back stabbing, and the patronism are what make this event so intriguing. The international fleet of mega yachts, the goings-on behind the scenes, the parties, the espionage, who's with whom... these are things that make this the Mount Everest of yachting regattas. It's not just the racing, stupid!
BOOK REVIEW But this book is much more than just the story of that race. In fact, the first half of the book is devoted to the history of extreme sailing starting with the nineteenth-century clipper ships. The readers learn about the personalities who have driven this sport, like Joshua Slocum, Francis Chichester, Robin Knox-Johnston, Eric Tabarly and other pioneering spirits. And there are lots of pictures. I enjoyed 'sailing with' Slocum and Chichester, but it was even more fascinating re-living the build up to, and the drama of 'The Race,' as seen through the eyes of Bruno Peyton, Pete Goss, Grant Dalton, Cam Lewis, Steve Fossett, Loick Peyton, Skip Novak and so many others. The curmudgeon really liked Tim Zimmerman's The Race, published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. It's a book I know I'll want to read again.
FREE SAILING GEAR
WEST MARINE PACIFIC CUP
Double handers: 1) Wildflower, Wylie 27; 2) Two Guys, Sonoma 30 Complete standing: www.pacificcup.org All night we jibed on every shift. This was a pitch-dark night as the moon set early. We executed each jibe like clockworks. Wind ranged from 18 to 26 knots. Jibing Pegasus 77 is a challenging process because our pole is excessively long to make it through the forestay triangle. So the first step is to roll the staysail, transfer the spinnaker tack to the bow, slide the 42 ft pole on the deck. Then pick a wave, start surfing, jibe the kite outside of the shrouds, then set the pole on the other board and transfer back and reset the staysail. We are getting fast at the whole cycle and can complete the jibe end-to-end in the dark in less than 7 minutes. By jibing all night, we were able to make little gains and more importantly avoid being pegged against the course lay lines. At 9 am, it was time to see what our competitors had been up to all day yesterday and all night. I'm still seeing waves when I take a nap as I steered Pegasus 77 for 9 hours in the last 24 hours. That makes for deep sleep amid the rumbling of grinders, winches as we surf down the huge swells. No need for earplugs. - Philippe Kahn, Pegasus 77, www.pegasus.com/log.htm
RACE WEEK CLASS WINNERS: IMS Racing Class 1: Neva, Swan 56, Bob Watson; PHRF Class 2: Rumours, CSTM35, Tim Woodhouse; 12M Class 2: Fiddler, 12M, Alfred Van Liew; PHRF Class 3: Wairere, T30, Chris Bouzaid; PHRF Class 4: Wazimo, QST31, Barrett Holby; PHRF Class 5: Vigilant, NVY44, Robert Aho. - www.nyyc.org
WEB ART
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS |
