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SCUTTLEBUTT #412 - October 6, 1999WORLD SAILOR OF THE YEARThe World Sailor of the Year Awards, will be presented for the sixth year, during the ISAF Annual Conference, November 1999. The Awards recognize the outstanding achievements of male and female sailors, regardless of discipline of the sport, over the past year, and are acknowledged as the ultimate recognition of achievement a sailor can receive from the world of sailing. Two "World Sailor of the Year Awards" are presented, one to a male sailor and one to a female sailor. For 1999, ISAF is delighted to see eight illustrious sailors, representing the diversity of our sport, vying for the coveted accolade `World Sailor of the Year'. ISAF and Sperry are delighted to announce the nominees for the World Sailor of the Year Awards 1999, with details of their 1998/99 successes meriting their nomination: MALE NOMINEES: - Roy Heiner (NED) -- In recognition of Roy's overwhelming results in the Soling class, after an absence of several years, combined with his contribution as part of the winning Dutch team for the 1999 Admirals Cup. Roy continues to hold first position in the rankings, attained as of 29 June 1999. January 1999 - Soling World Championship (Grade W) - 3rd January 1999 - Infanta Cristina Trophy 1999 (Grade 1) - 3rd April 1999 - Sete Soling Match Racing International (Grade 2) - 3rd April 1999 - Fleet Racing Semaine Olympique Francaise (Grade 1) - 1st April 1999 - Match Racing Semaine Olympique Francaise (Grade 3) - 1st May 1999 - Fleet Racing Spa Regatta (Grade 1) - 1st May 1999 - Match Racing Spa Regatta (Grade 3) - 1st July 1999 - Soling European Championship (Grade 1) - 1st July 1999 - Soling European Match Championship (Grade 2) - 2nd August 1999 - Admiral's Cup - 1st September 1999 - Fleet Racing Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event (Grade 1) - 6th September 1999 - Overall Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event (Grade 3) - 3rd - Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) -- 1999 is Mateusz' fourth year as a nominee for the World Sailor of the Year Awards; clear indication of the years he has been at the forefront of the Finn Class. His 1999 achievements keep him leading the world rankings, a position he has held since 2 February 1999. August 1998 - Finn Gold Cup (Grade W) - 1st December 1998 - Finn Australian Nationals (Grade1) - 1st December 1998 - Sydney International (Grade 2) - 2nd December 1998 - Go for Gold (Grade 2) - 1st January 1999 - Finn Gold Cup (Grade W) - 2nd February 1999 - New Zealand Olympic Sail (Grade 3) - 1st February 1999 - Sail Auckland (Grade 3) - 1st April 1999 - Semaine Olympique Francaise (Grade 1) - 1st April 1999 - 30th HRH Princess Sofia Trophy (Grade 2) - 1st May 1999 - Spa Regatta (Grade 1) - 1st June 1999 - Kiel Week (Grade 1) - 1st June 1999 - Finn Europeans - (Grade 1) - 2nd September 1999 - Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event (Grade 1) - 2nd - Fredrik Loof (SWE) -- Rival to Mateusz, Fredrik secured the Finn Gold Cup in 1999, making this his third win since 1994, which in itself makes Fredrik one of the best Finn sailors ever. Alongside his Finn campaign, Fredrik has participated in various match racing events demonstrating his versatility, with current placings of 3rd on the Finn Rankings and 22nd on the Open Match Race Rankings. Finn August 1998 - Finn Gold Cup (Grade W) - 2nd September 1998 - Sydney Olympic Test Event (Grade 3) - 1st December 1998 - Sydney International (Grade 2) - 1st January 1999 - Finn Gold Cup (Grade W) - 1st April 1999 - Semaine Olympique Francaise (Grade 1) - 4th May 1999 - Spa Regatta (Grade 1) - 3rd May 1999 - Sailing for Ostend (Grade 3) - 3rd September 1999 - Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event (Grade 1) - 3rd Match Racing August 1998 - Swedish Match Race Championship (Grade 3) - 2nd October 1998 - Hostmachen (Grade 3) - 2nd July 1999 - Trygg Hansa Cup (Grade 2) - 2nd July 1999 - KSSS Cup (Grade 3) - 2nd August 1999 - Swedish National Match Race Championship (Grade 3) - 2nd - Aaron McIntosh (NZL) -- Aaron has been at the top of the Mistral Class for a number of years, with 1998/99 his most successful year to date, including for the second consecutive year being voted as Yachting New Zealand Sailor of the Year in 1998. He has retained pole position on the world rankings since January 1999. September 1998 - Mistral Oceanic Championship (Grade 1) - 1st September 1998 - Sydney Olympic Test Event - (Grade 2) - 1st October 1998 - Mistral World Championship (Grade W) - 1st December 1998 - Sydney International Regatta (Grade 2) - 2nd January 1999 - Mistral Oceanic Continental Championship (Grade 1) - 1st February 1999 - Sail Auckland (Grade 1) - 1st February 1999 - New Zealand Olympic Sail (Grade 2) - 1st April 1999 - Sail Sydney (Grade 3) - 3rd April 1999 - Semaine Olympique Francaise (Grade 1) - 6th May 1999 - Spa Regatta (Grade 1) - 1st July 1999 - North American Championship - (Grade 2) - 3rd - Chris Nicholson (AUS) -- In recognition of his outstanding successes in the 49er Class, including his hat-trick achievement as triple 49er World Champion (1997 Sydney, 1998 France, 1999 Melbourne). September 1998 - Sydney Olympic Test Event (Grade 1) - 1st December 1998 - Sail Brisbane (Grade 3) - 2nd December 1998 - Sydney International (Grade 1) - 2nd January 1999 - 49er World Championship (Grade W) - 1st April 1999 - Sail Sydney (Grade 3) - 1st May 1999 - 49er Grand Prix I (Grade 2) - 2nd May 1999 - 49er Grand Prix II (Grade 2) - 3rd May 1999 - Spa Regatta (Grade 1) - 2nd June 1999 - Tuborg Spring Cup (Grade 2) - 1st August 1999 - 49er Grand Prix III (Grade 1) - 2nd FEMALE NOMINEES -Barbara Kendall (NZL) -- Barbara is the one of the most consistent female boardsailor during the 90's, twice Olympic Medallist and World Champion. She is amongst the top-level performers in the history of New Zealand sport and New Zealand's most successful Olympic yachtswoman. Her 1998 credits include: September 1998 - Mistral Oceanic Championship (Grade 1) - 1st September 1998 Sydney Harbour Pre-Olympic Regatta (Grade 2) - 1st October 1998 - Mistral World Championship (Grade W) - 1st February 1999 - Olympic Sail Auckland (Grade 1) - 1st February 1999 - New Zealand OlympicSail (Grade 2) - 1st April 1999 - Sail Sydney (Grade 3) - 1st May 1999 Spa Regatta (Grade 1) - 2nd June 1999 - XIV Windsurfing Festival - Sicily Grand Prix (Grade 2) - 1st July 1999 - North American Championship (Grade 2) - 1st September 1999 - Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event (Grade 1) - 1st - Margriet Matthijsse (NED) -- Magriet has swept in to set the leading pace in the Europe Class in 1999, with successive bullets taking her to the top of the rankings from 1 June 1999. August 1998 - Europe World Championship (Grade W) - 4th September 1998 - Sydney Olympic Test Event (Grade W) - 3rd December 1998 - Sydney International (Grade 1) - 1st January 1999 - Europe Open Week (Grade 2) - 1st January 1999 - Europe World Championship (Grade W) - 1st February 1999 - Sail Auckland (Grade 2) - 2nd February 1999 - New Zealand Olympic Sail (Grade 3) - 1st April 1999 - Semaine Olympique Francaise (Grade 1) - 1st May 1999 - Spa Regatta (Grade 1) - 1st May 1999 - Sailing for Ostend (Grade 3) - 2nd June 1999 - Tuborg Spring Cup (Grade 2) - 1st July 1999 - Europe Dinghy European Championship (Grade 1) - 1st July 1999 - Europe Class Open Week (Grade 2) - 2nd September 1999 - Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event - 1st - Shirley Robertson (GBR) -- Successes over 1998/99 at top-level whilst competing in two entirely different disciplines of the sport at the same time demonstrates Shirley's skill and versatility, with current placings of 1st on the Women's Match Racing Rankings, and 3rd on the Europe Class Rankings. Europe Single Handed Women August 1998 - Europe World Championship (Grade W) - 2nd September 1998 - Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event (Grade 1) - 5th January 1999 - Europe World Championship (Grade W) - 3rd April 1999 - Semaine Olympique Francaise (Grade 1) - 4th July 1999 - Europe Dinghy European Championship (Grade 1) - 2nd September 1999 - Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event (Grade 1) - 3rd Open and Women's Match Race September 1998 - Tuborg Golden Lady Cup (Grade 2) - 2nd June 1999 - Tuborg Golden Lady Cup (Grade 2) - 2nd June 1999 - BOAT/U.S. Santa Maria Cup (Grade 1) - 2nd June 1999 - Midnight Sun Ladies Match (Grade 2) - 3rd The recipients of the Awards are determined by popular vote, received from the world of sailing. Voting is currently underway and will be completed by 19 October 1999. The winners will be announced on Tuesday 9 November 1999 at the ISAF Annual Dinner and World Sailor of the Year Awards Presentation in Sydney, Australia. To be hosted by leading sailing personalities, the evening will be a celebration of sailing and sailors. The winners will receive their Awards from His Majesty King Constantine. -- David McCreary, http://www.sailing.org J/24 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Day Two Report -- After a stormy night, a light to moderate northerly breeze greeted the fleet as they left the marina outside the Yacht Club Italiano for the scheduled two races. The race officer once again set a course towards the Genoa coastline with a windward mark close to the shore. During the start sequence the wind increased to gusting above 20 knots. This caused the majority of the fleet to change from the genoa they had set to a jib at very short notice. Before the start sequence the line looked square but it was soon apparent that the boats at the pin end were gaining an advantage. Several boats were caught over the line and scored OCS. At both ends of the line incidents went to the protest room as the top class fleet jostled to gain the best advantage at the start. -- Mark Jardine, http://www.j24class.org Standings after two races: 1. ITA, Vasco Vascotto; 2. CHI, Alberto Gonzales Mas, 3. USA, Tim Healy . AWESOME NEW STUFF One of the latest designs to leave the Camet International testing waters is the Camet 4000 Breathable Smock. It features include a water-resistant material that allows moisture to escape, while keeping the wind and water out. It has an adjustable elastic waist strap and a soft form fitting Polartec collar with a LycraR velour inner surface. The smock is lightweight and extremely comfortable to wear in any type of condition. This one you gotta see: http://www.camet.com AMERICA'S CUP * A Queen Street parade will officially welcome the eleven challengers for America's Cup 2000 to Auckland on Friday, October 15th. Just three days before the start of racing in the first Round Robin of the Louis Vuitton Cup the overseas syndicates will be brought together for the first time on Auckland's main street. "After five years of anticipation New Zealand is ready to host the America's Cup. It is time to give an enthusiastic welcome to all of our overseas visitors and to recognise what has been achieved in and around the New Zealand Cup Village," said Sir Peter Blake. Team New Zealand's crew will join the challengers in a Welcome Parade that will be both colourful and noisy. The organisers will provide spectators with a selection of 70,000 paper flags. These will represent each of the seven nations competing in the challenger series - the United States, Australia, Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain and Japan. There will also be a plentiful supply of New Zealand flags. A national flag and a banner will introduce each syndicate and thirteen marching bands, including the New Zealand Army Band from Christchurch, will accompany the parade. The pageantry will include more than 20 entertainment groups, including marching teams, dance schools and cheer leaders. Colourful costumes have been created and appropriate music will accompany each syndicate. Leading the Welcome Parade will be the 150-year-old America's Cup and following further back in the procession will be the Louis Vuitton Cup which the challengers contest to win the right to race against Team New Zealand in the America's Cup match. The parade will also include officials and volunteers involved in the four and half month long event. Each syndicate has been invited to parade their full team line-up which will involve shore crew and administration personnel. (Oh my, that includes the curmudgeon -- and I love a parade.) In total there will be over 1,000 people marching down Queen Street. Auckland's gala Welcome Parade will start at 5.00 PM from the intersection of Queen Street and Mayoral Drive. The now familiar painted blue lines on either side of the road will indicate where the public can spectate along the 1.4 km route which runs down Queen Street and left into Custom Street. The procession is expected to finish at the junction of Custom Street and Albert Street by approximately 5.45 PM. Jointly organised by America's Cup 2000 and Louis Vuitton, with the support of the Auckland City Council; the public Welcome Parade will be followed by the official opening ceremony in the New Zealand Cup Village. There is ticketed seating for invited guests and the team participants involved in this event which is being held at Waitemata Plaza. -- Murray Taylor, Communications Manager, America's Cup 2000, http://www.americascup.org * John Kolius wouldn't have been surprised if he had found his Hawaiian America's Cup crew had mutinied when he arrived in Auckland. The Abracadabra camp had worked round the clock - three shifts a day - for a fortnight to get their new boat USA54 seaworthy. The new Abracadabra 2000 is now in the water, but battling to be race ready for the start of round robin one of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series in 11 days' time. Skipper Kolius has just arrived in Auckland, after staying on in the United States in the continuing search for more money. "When I got here I was surprised that morale was so good," he said. "It's been tough - 40 guys working three shifts, 24 hours a day. For the first two weeks, the lights never went off at the base. "We've really had to put the hammer down." How did they get into this situation? Kolius says they built their first boat USA50, then spent too much time tinkering with it instead of concentrating on finishing USA54 - the boat which will race in the first round robin. When their ship came in to transport the boats from Hawaii to New Zealand, Abracadabra No 2 was still some way off being completed. "In a perfect world we would have left it in Hawaii for another three weeks. "But when a free ship says it's time to go, you can't argue," he said. "We interrupted the project and just had to pick it up at the other end. "I guess we've missed a couple of weeks' sailing the boat here because of it. "But hey, it's not a perfect world." For now, USA50, the boat which trialled off the south-west coast of Oahu, will stay in the shed in the cup village. The two boats won't go out sailing together for a while yet. The two Abracadabras have been designed for different conditions. USA54 was always planned to race first in what are expected to be stronger winds than the fleet will get at the business end of the draw. -- Suzanne McFadden, NZ Herald, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. -- From Alex Pline -- It should be mentioned that this regatta (Vanguard 15 nationals) was won by two regular Snipe Sailors: Funch/Duffy. Watt Duffy in fact just finished the Snipe Worlds in Spain as crew (with Pedro Lorson) and is an accomplished skipper in his own right. Kevin (with brother Mike) have a long Snipe history and just finished 9th in the Snipe NAs in Boston in an old borrowed boat. Here's what Watt had to say: "Just back from Chicago! Kevin Funsch and I teamed up to cross train in the Vangaurd 15 Nationals. We are training for the Snipe South American Championships in 2000. We picked the Vangaurd Nationals because we thought it might be windy and wavy. This is what the SA's promises in Brazil. "The wind was never less than 12 knots and most of the time between 20-25 knots. At times we saw winds around 28 knots. We were not the heavy guys. We were 298 on Sat. and less on Sunday! We used our Snipe skills to change the tune of the boat. There were other snipe sailors in the regatta -- Doug Nugent from Canada and San Francisco won the OLD MAN award and finished 6th with 70 points. He impressed a lot of sailors with his skills and control of the boat. "Kevin and I had only sailed together 3 days before the regatta in a Vangaurd 15. These sailors were all asking us how we did it. We said it was from years of sailing Snipe!" -- From Matt Brown (In response to Bill Carey's comments in Butt #411 regarding bow work on a Mumm 30) -- For the past few years now I have been sailing the latest generation sprit boats including the new Schock 40, and I gotta say if I ever sail on a boat with a symmetric chute again it'll be too soon! Being able to sail off shore with a crew of three or four and not having to send anyone forward a night to jibe is so nice. The simplicity of these rigs allows you to carry huge 1400 to 1600 square foot kites on a40 foot boat with ease and safety. With the boats being so fast, speeds running upwards of 30 knots, you're usually reaching down wind so the asymmetrics perform wonderfully. I strongly suggest that everyone give these things a try, you'll love it! -- From Thomas Moulds (In response to Bill Carey's comment about working on the Bow of a Mumm 30) -- I have found over the years that there are no easy positions on any boat when you are sailing competitively, that's what I love about the sport. From my own experiences I find the mental aggressiveness of driving a two person dingy (Front Runner) to physical/mental crew work as a bowman/jib trimmer on a 30 footer (S2 9.1), it is all exciting and challenging. As for other crew positions on the boat, evaluate the importance just after something goes wrong...as for the difficulty of a Mumm 30, we all have things we bump our shins into... On another subject, acknowledge the (your) crew! Most sailing is a team sport. When I fist started sailing the skipper had a rule that if we took first in a regatta than He would make the crew trophies (nice Jefferson cups), it meant a lot to show my parents and friends. I still have mine on display and carry on the tradition. HARBOR 20 NATIONALS This past weekend 24 boats in two fleets turned out for the second Harbor 20 Championship regatta hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Racers were treated to fantastic sailing conditions all weekend with varied wind strengths and varied courses which brought them to often unseen areas of the harbor during races. It was a real family affair with John and Jennifer Drayton running the races, while "John John" and Wells Drayton watched their grandparents George and Phyllis Drayton race from the RC boat Arthur Strock and Jane Schock looked like a shoe in for the crown title until an OCS call in the final race opened the door allowing Bob Emett and Bill Ficker to claim the top spot followed closely by Terry Gloege and Byron Capps and finally Arthur and Jane. B Fleet saw tight racing with Terry and Sally Welsh coming on strong in the final two races, but didn't have the scores in initial races to bring them the top spot. First was reserved for Anna Francis Parker and Suzanne Spangler, followed in second place by George and Phyllis Drayton. Results A Fleet: 1. Bob Emett/Bill Ficker 2. Terry Gloege/Byron Capps 3. Arthur Strock/Jane Schock 4. Jack Woodhull/Dennis Durgan 5. Bob Yates/Pat Kincaid, B Fleet: 1. Anna Francis Parker/Suzanne Spangler 2. Terry Welsh/Sally Welsh 3. George Drayton/Phyllis Drayton 4. Tom Mitchell/Greg Hatton 5. Neil MacFarlane/Roy Woolsey. OFR The curmudgeon was a happy camper after the Masters Regatta. So happy, I picked up a neat blue "pouch jacket" with the regatta logo tastefully embroidered on it. What a great jacket, and as you might suspect, it was supplied by Pacific Embroidery. Pacific Embroidery supplied all of the Masters regatta apparel and St Francis YC made a bunch of money without taking any risks whatsoever. To find out how earn extra money for your regatta without risk, just call Frank Whitton. While you're at it, you might also order a 'Butthead tee shirt: Pacyacht@aol.com / 619-226-8033 MINI TRANSAT (Note: The Mini Transat is a single-handed race for boats of 6.5 meters (21 feet) in length. The fleet is currently sailing the first of two legs from France to the Canary Islands.) Sebastien Magnen (Voile Magazine/Jeanneau) arrived in Lanzarote at 8.40am French time as the winner of the first leg of the Mini-Transat, completing the 1270 miles from Concarneau in 8 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 30 seconds. Looking a little dishevelled but on good form after snatching some sleep on the last tack, Sebastien Magnen recounted his experiences: "After starting with a good wind which helped me to get to the front, I continued upwind until I was 5 miles from the Spanish coast. The front came through that first night from the West and kept me on starboard tack for nearly 3 days until I reached the Spanish coastline." Sebastien Magnen knew exactly what was in store for him in the Gulf of Gascogne, after thorough consultation with the weather-router Pierre Lasnier, and this analysis prepared him mentally for the impending front. "I kept in the shelter of the Northern Spanish coastline avoiding the front but the wind was blowing SE 35 knots (50 in the gusts) for atleast 20 hours, and the swell was coming from the NNW - this was not helped by the fact that I was sailing into shallower waters around Cap Finisterre - so the seas were very heavy. But when you know what you are going into it is easier to deal with. I slept for a total of 4 hours over this period - you just cannot afford to sleep during those extreme conditions - and my autopilot was broken as well. So the experience was very much like being in a washing machine and my head was banged against the boat incessantly!" -- Offshore Challenges Full positions and charts at http://www.mini-transat.org Links from http://www.offshorechallenges.com MELGES 24 WORLDS Competition begins today for the 1999 International Melges 24 World Championship Regatta, hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. The 50 boats from three European countries, Canada and the USA are all in the water. Defending Class Champion Vince Brun of San Diego, CA, and sailmaking rival Dave Ullman of Newport Beach, CA, have to be strong contenders, along with Brian Porter of Winnetka, IL, US Olympic Soling sailor Jeff Madrigali of Alameda, CA, and local favorites Mark Golison and Steve Flam of Long Beach. And don't forget the Wizard of Zenda himself: Buddy Melges--two-time Olympic medallist, America's Cup winner and champion in classes ranging from Stars to 5.5 Meters to J-boats--will be a formidable presence on the race course. -- Chris Ericksen, http://abyc.org THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Should vegetarians eat animal crackers? |
