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SCUTTLEBUTT 1826 - April 27, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. MORE POPULAR THAN EVER (The Daily Sail subscription website talked with Formula 18 UK Class President Don Findley about this growing class and their upcoming World Championship. Here are a few excerpts.) One of the world's most successful dinghy classes at present is the Formula 18 catamaran. This year the class will be holding its World Championship at the Hoek of Holland from 9-16 July and this for this entries are having to be capped at a whopping 160 boats - up from 153 last year. Internationally Hobie are the dominant force in the class, but they do not have it all their own way. While Hobie had just over half the hardware at the Worlds in Puntala last year, 18% sailed the French Cirrus, the Nacra F18 14%, followed by the Italian Mattia, the new Martin Fischer-designed Dreadnought-bowed Capricorn from Australia, the Flyer from Germany, the KL Phenix from France and the Dart Hawk. At present there are more than 14 different designs of Formula 18 in existence. That the Formula 18 is a box rule with so many different manufacturers does make for a slight administrative headache, says (UK Class President Don) Findley. "We aren't a class like the Tornado and the RYA have had difficulty grasping this. We are an association of classes. The Hobie Tiger is a class, as is the Sirrus and the Nacra F18 is a class. So we are an association of classes working on the same box measurement." Interestingly despite the Formula 18 being a box rule - no one has pitched up at the Worlds in a fully custom-built boat. However a small amount of customization of production boats does go on within what is allowed under class rules. - The Daily Sail, www.thedailysail.com ETNZ Team New Zealand is close to securing another major sponsorship deal which would all but complete their funding for Valencia 2007. Rumors abound the new backer is a giant Spanish brewery. Team boss Grant Dalton is giving little away, apart from saying the deal is nearly done. However, Dalton admits the contract negotiations are the most difficult he has ever been involved in. It is understood the brewery is after a tax break from the Spanish government, should they fork out some sponsorship for Team New Zealand. Dalton says they need to secure the latest sponsorship backing, or else he might have to go with his beggars bowl to major sponsor Emirates. Meanwhile, golden boy Ben Ainslie is leaving Team New Zealand, for the time being anyway. The double Olympic gold medalist is not wanted in the team's afterguard for the upcoming northern summer regattas. Englishman Ainslie says he can understand the decision, but will not stick around, needing to be involved in more match racing. He says he is doing five or six international match racing events this year, then he might spend some time back with Team New Zealand in Valencia. Ainslie says he needs more time on the helm of a boat, rather than taking just a back-up role within Team New Zealand. The team has selected a three-man afterguard for the upcoming Valencia regattas - Dean Barker and Americans Kevin Hall and Terry Hutchinson. - NZCity, http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=49760 SPONSORING THE HOME TEAM The Valencian Government yesterday revealed that it has signed an agreement to sponsor the 'Spanish Challenge' in the Americas Cup Races. At the signing ceremony yesterday, Francisco Camps, the President of the Valencian Community confirmed his interest in the syndicate and added that one of the stipulations of the agreement was that the two ships to be built for the syndicate would be constructed in shipyards in the Valencian Community. As a result of the agreement yesterday, it is expected that the logo of the Valencian Community will appear on the largest sail on the 'Spanish Challenge'. Thus far, the Spanish syndicate has collected 22 million Euros from electricity company Iberdrola; 12 from the bank Caja Madrid, and the eight million yesterday from the Valencian Government. It is expected that the remaining 18 million Euros required to ensure a sixty million Euro bond in order to participate in the races will come from a partnership formed between beer company San Miguel/ Mahou and the Lladro ceramics company. - Valencia Life Network, www.valencialife.net TEAM OF ONE OR A CAST OF THOUSANDS Whether you're a one man wrecking crew, or a member of an elite syndicate working with dozens of team members, we have the gear that sets you apart from those who are still wearing last year's technology. The RSD Dryshirt™ and all new DryGuard™ are in a class by themselves. No other product provides better UV protection while keeping you comfortable on and off the water. From Olympic medalists to MaxZ-86 crews to yacht club junior programs, the Dryshirt™ and DryGuard™ is the 'must have' gear for 2005. Call 800-354-7245 or go to http://www.sailingproshop.com/dryshirt.htm for a dealer near you. GRAND PRIX CLASSES Progress at the Offshore Racing Congress continues on schedule for development of the package of parameters and measurement requirements for its three new Grand Prix classes to be published in June. The new International Level Classes are set at three levels of maximum length: 26, 33 and 42 feet. A set of parameters for each class establishes limits to control design including length, beam, displacement, draft and a number of other limitations for rig, appendages, materials and sails. In all classes, the boats are intended to yield very high performance relative to existing boats of the same size. A low maximum crew weight has been set in order to help reduce campaign costs and materials limitations are set for the same reason. Consideration has been given to a revised interior height formula to prevent exaggerated coachroof size with the eventual prospect of revising the Racing Division IMS Regulations, permitting the new class yachts to participate in conventional IMS racing. The ORC's Management Committee, led by Chairman Bruno Finzi, has been closely following the rule developments by the group of designers and technicians coordinated by Paolo Massarini, leading up to the rule's finalization. It is expected to circulate "Revision 3" of the rule shortly through the final loop of review, with special attention to measurement issues and the stability assessment. Various Yacht Clubs have been contacted with the aim of creating a circuit of regattas in 2006. A number of owners already expressed their interest and are awaiting final decisions on the rule details. Royal Ocean Racing Club Commodore, Chris Little, said "We shall continue to discuss the new Grand Prix Rule vigorously with the ORC and others to ensure there is a clearer and more competitive rule for the Admiral's Cup in years to come." The ORC views with interest the Storm Trysail Club (USA) initiative regarding a new Box Rule 65' along lines similar to those of the ORC classes and the prospect of a synergy among the several classes being launched. - www.orc.org FUND RAISER Auckland, NZ - Graeme Kendall is certain boredom won't be a problem when he sets out to become the first yachtsman to sail non-stop around the world via the Northwest Passage. He is paying for the venture himself in aid of Variety, the children's charity, for which he hopes to raise $1 million. His journey on his 12.5m (41-foot) cruising yacht Astral Express is expected to take him up to six months. The passage is blocked by ice for most of the year. "The ice, which tends to freeze up in some places to 2m thick, generally thaws in the late summer months of August and September," he said. The Astral Express, launched two months ago, had a kevlar hull with a reinforced bow and a steel retractable keel. It was built for Arctic conditions, where minimum temperatures in the summer could fall to minus 15C taking in the wind chill factor. - NZ Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/cfwh4 BELATED RETIREMENT News has just emerged that Skipper Amedeo and his team onboard VAIO have taken the decision to retire from Leg 4 of the Global Challenge. At the finish of Leg 4 it appears that when VAIO crossed the finish line, they subsequently drifted onto and struck the finish mark. They failed to mention this in their Leg Finish Declarations and it wasn't until the team reconvened after their break in Cape Town that they realized that, according to the Racing Rules, this should have been declared. VAIO did not exonerate themselves at the time and were therefore in breach of this rule. At Tuesday morning's skippers' meeting Amedeo Sorrentino, VAIO skipper, announced VAIO's retirement from Leg 4 of Global Challenge. VAIO had been the last boat to finish Leg 4 and will now sacrifice one point in accordance with the rules and therefore depart on Sunday, May 1 in equal 9th position with Pindar on the overall leaderboard. - www.globalchallenge2004.com/en/ SAMSON SUPPORTS SAILING ACROSS THE COUNTRY From Key West to Honolulu, Samson is involved in sailing events. Recently Samson sponsored Key West Race Week, Congressional Cup in Long Beach, US Sailing Alter Cup at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, Mallory Cup, and Waikiki Yacht Club youth programs. Coming up in June, look for us at Block Island Race Week and in Hawaii at the Waikiki Cup July 31 - August 6. Sailing is a sport you love and Samson will continue to be involved with quality products and event and program support. http://www.samsonrope.com NEWS BRIEFS * Mascalzone Latino announces the name of their Challenge for the 32 America's Cup: Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia. The team, representing the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, was accepted as a challenger on March 9 and will make its debut in the Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts 4 & 5 (June 16-26) * With the start of the 32nd America's Cup just under two years away, the transformation of the Port of Valencia, aka the Dársena Interior, is well underway. Last week, journalist Anne Hinton compiled photos and text to provide an update on the construction progress, and to detail exactly where the challengers and defender will be calling home as they prepare for the event: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/darsena0426 * The Race committee at Semaine Olympique Française had to make hard calls Tuesday morning to decide how to make the most of the extreme weather conditions forecast for the day. The Yngling fleet with the American team of Sally Barkow, Debbie Capozzi, and Carrie Howe, managed to complete two races today. The Americans finished in third place in both races today, moving them to second overall position, trailing by three points behind the British team skippered by Sarah Ayton. - http://62.193.237.105/gbr/news/home.asp?intitule=informations * At 0400 GMT Monday April 25, the search and rescue authorities at the CROSS Gris Nez were informed of the capsize of Yves Parlier's radical 60ft catamaran Médiatis Région Aquitaine. Chilean cargo ship deviated from its course to collect Parlier who is now out of danger. Parlier is suffering from broken ribs. The cargo ship is currently bound for Spain and is scheduled to dock in Tarragona on Thursday April 28. The capsize took place during Parlier's second attempt on Laurent Bourngnon's singlehanded 24 hour record. - Full story, The Daily Sail subscription website, www.thedailysail.com *There's more to sailing than just racing and for those readers who enjoy all aspects of the sport we recommend a site is called, "Zephyr - Sailing Culture for Voyagers, Zealots, Poets and Populists." We think you'll like it: http://zephyrsail.blogspot.com * The Volvo Open 70 Telefonica MoviStar has withdrawn from the New York Yacht Club's Rolex Transatlantic Challenge - replaced by Tempest, the classic 80-foot (24.4m) Sparkman & Stephens maxi ketch. co-chartered and co-skippered by Arthur Bugs Baer, and fellow NYYC member William Hubbard III. www.transatlanticchallenge.org * Since the start of the year, the International Tornado Association has allowed the use of carbon in their mast. "Things have changed for the better" explains Johannes Polar from Germany "The mast is now much lighter (10kgs - 22 lbs less) and stiffer. This makes sailing downwind more exciting. With the aluminium mast, the boat used to nose dive and in choppy water it was slowing the boat down but especially we used to break lots of masts." Despite an initial price twice expensive than an aluminum mast, the longevity of the carbon mast makes it a must have for any Olympic campaigners. - http://tinyurl.com/bo4h8 * Unwanted by Team New Zealand, former tactician Hamish Pepper has been signed up by Italian syndicate Mascalzone Latino for the next America's Cup. - http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=49738&cat=1000 * Two new links have been added to the Scuttlebutt website to aid the traveler: Google Maps and The Weather Channel. The Google Maps link lets you drop any address into their search box, which then provides an area map, a satellite map, and the option for directions. The Weather Channel link provides instant weather information after inputting city information - with a direct link provided for Valencia, Spain, home of the 2007 America's Cup. - http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com * After an intense period of testing and release of Beta versions, the new Windows based Velum NG software was released by the Offshore Racing Congress in early April. It handles the full spectrum of IMS scoring options, from the simplest to the most complex ones.. Velum NG allows ample customization of results and combination of Classes and Groups, and features the possibility of constructing the course by direct entry of GPS lat/ long data. The software is offered for a price of 320 Euro (215 pounds) per license, and can be ordered through: www.orc.org NEW GAMES The News & Extras section of the Scuttlebutt website is getting a bit long on extras, with the addition of several new games like Chasing Sheep, Uncle Sam, Dot Driving, and Notebook Invaders. If you haven't been there lately, you might also have missed the game Drunk Sailor and the hilarious Accident Voice Mail. While none of this has to do with sailing, it will keep you busy until your next regatta. However, if you find that your game access is blocked by your employer's internet settings, perhaps you are having too much work and not enough play: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news ETCHELLS FOR SALE USA 1171 - 2000 Ontario impeccably maintained. Open card for 2005, race ready with newer stiff Proctor mast and all the goodies. Bertek low-rider trailer, boxes, cover. Current Doyle/Curtis inventory. Will deliver to Chicago North Americans. Contact J.D. Stone, Holland, MI: mailto:jds@jdstone.net or 616-392-5585w. 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 not 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.) * From Lee Jerry (In response to Howard Strube's diatribe against monohulls in 'Butt 1824- edited to our 250-word limit): Naval architecture is basically an exercise in compromise. As such, while form stability for sailing vessels does provide advantages, it is not the be all and end all of yacht design. Both mono- and multihulls have their place. The advantages of one over the other depend on many aspects, including purpose (cruiser or racer). For the latter, it's a catch-22, but club racing opportunities are limited for larger multihulls, especially in the States, and could be an issue for that demographic. Some other general disadvantages of multihulls might include: accommodation issues, particularly on smaller craft; aesthetics; transportation and mooring issues associated with beam; risk of capsize; handling and motions in a seaway; greater sensitivity to weight and higher cost. Canting rigs for big boats have been in existence for at least a decade. The big advantage is aerodynamic, but it also contributes a CG shift to windward. They made early in-roads in the 60' multihulls (ORMA or OSTAR or whatever), but have been found lately on monohulls (Open 60s, maxi Maiden Hong Kong, Mini 6.5s). You don't see them more because most rating rules (PHRF, IMS, etc.) prohibit them from racing and the performance enhancements aren't justified for cruising. Finally, let's not forget that the sailing speed record is held by a monohull with a canting rig and movable ballast. * From Bob Lang (Comments by Chris Erickson): I read your comments about why do multi-hull sailors rag on us who prefer monohulls. Because as we blow past you -(depending on the wind speed) we keep asking ourselves-why do these guys spend so much money to go 8-9 kts. when they could spend 1/3 the money and fly around having-in our estimation even more fun. Recently I had the opportunity to sail on the New Corsair 31 One Design. It has ever go fast gadget you could ever dream of--including a canting mast. Going 15 kts in 20 kts of wind-just seems like more fun then going 8-9 kts. * From Richard Collins (re the best bottom surface): Olympic swimmers went from shaved, lubed bodies to full body suits of a type of shark skin pattern. Fad or modern technology by Speedo and Tyr? I am leaning toward too smooth is too slow. Interesting debate since swimmers don't tend to be one design. Then again, neither are boats. * From Bruce Parsons (edited to our 250-word limit): The grooved 3M tape was in fact a direct copy of shark skin, and to the best of my knowledge was used first, and banned first, on New Zealand Olympic canoes and kayaks. It has also been banned in IACC competition, for the good reason that it works - about an 8% drag reduction. No one can get the 3M product outside the USA, as it is considered of strategic importance. Speedo however, claims to use similar technology. There are many explanations of how it works, to reducing the contact area between the peaks of the grooves with the vortices in the water, to straightening out cross flow, to a workless randomization of the phase of the constituent waves in the turbulent flow. I have done some work in a cavitation tunnels on different finishes, and beyond 400 grit there is no improvement, though I know lots believe that as high as 2000 and 2400 grit, which results in a matte finish, has been used on IACC hulls. It is insufficient to characterize a rough surface on just the grit of finish - there are lots of longer wavelength structures that are relevant - and thus the importance of a very good long-boarding job. The long-boarding is done with low git and then one loses that overall fairness when you go back by hand and do it with 2000 grit, creating local hollows etc. I've heard that soap is very good, for the first leg and before it wears off. * From Tim Patterson The other day someone mentioned Team Phillips and used the words disaster to describe the overall effort. I have to say that if no one pushes the envelope, there is no development. Pete Goss pushed it as hard as anyone has in recent memory. I feel sure that there were results that will come from his efforts and from the efforts of Team Phillips that will improve safety and speed for sailors to come. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. - Thomas Edison |
