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SCUTTLEBUTT 2693 - Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,
features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is
published each weekday with the support of its sponsors.
PUMA OCEAN RACING: RIGHT ON TIME
By Neil Cox, Shore Team Manager
For both the shore and the sailing teams, one of the greatest aspects of the
Volvo Ocean Race is the fear of the unknown. Not knowing what you might come
up against and how you deal with those situations is key.
For the guys in the shore team, who are working day and night to get the
boat ready for the start, it was strange to leave our comfort zone of the
shore base in Newport, Rhode Island, which had been our home for six months.
There we had everything we could ever need to solve any problem, but here in
Spain, we have much less at our disposal, yet we have the urgent need to
work harder than ever to get the boat into measurement trim. You always
worry about what you may have forgotten, how prepared we all are and whether
the boat is ready. It's also pretty hard to get things sorted when you have
to try to explain things to a machinist who speaks twice as much English as
the five or six words of Spanish that I know. Not a lot of technical
hand-over in those conversations!
The Volvo 70 rule is the rule that all teams have to adhere to when they
build their boat, to ensure the boat is allowed to compete in this race. In
some parts of the boat design, there may be room for different
interpretation and in other cases things are very black and white. Once all
the boats have assembled here in Alicante prior to the start, the Volvo Race
Management Group have to measure in each of the boats, to make sure they fit
the rules. So far things have been moving along well for us and we have
managed get the bulk of our Volvo 70 requirements for the hull, mast and
systems signed off, with just a few smaller ones still to complete. -- Read
on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0930a
BOAT SHOWS ARE "CRUCIAL," SUGGESTS STUDY
In the face of industry concern over the effectiveness of boat shows, boat
show producer the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and the
Recreational Marine Research Center at Michigan State University (MSU) have
unveiled the results of a year-long study, suggesting boat shows "remain a
crucial step in consumers' final decisions to purchase a boat."
Initial exhibitor feedback from NMMA's 2008 fall boat shows supports the MSU
study results, as many exhibitors across all four shows reported quality
buyers and strong sales, despite a smaller turnout at the gate, according to
the boat show producer.
In what NMMA is calling "the largest study of its kind," MSU surveyed more
than 20,000 attendees across all of NMMA's 2008 consumer boat shows. The
results revealed that 55 percent of boat buyers attended a boat show within
six months prior to their purchase, according to the association. Of survey
respondents, 65 percent agreed that attending a boat show actually increased
their desire to purchase a boat, it added. -- Boating Industry, read on:
http://www.boating-industry.com/output.cfm?id=1788013
* There are 20 NMMA boat shows listed on their website:
http://www.boatshows.com
IMPORTING THE BEST TO BERMUDA
Bermuda's best youth sailors will once again have the enviable pleasure and
ultimate challenge of competing against the world's best Optimist dinghy
sailors in the 2008 Renaissance Reinsurance Junior Gold Cup, October 9-12,
sailed on Bermuda's Great Sound and in Hamilton Harbour adjacent to the
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. This year, invitations were sent out to the
Optimist Dinghy associations of 16 countries on 5 continents in an attempt
to lure their best "Opti" sailors to our shores during the second week of
October.
This international regatta in Bermuda is a unique opportunity for local
sailors to compete against the best Optimist sailors in the world in our own
waters. It is the 6th year that Renaissance Reinsurance has sponsored this
event, providing the financial support to fly the guest sailors to Bermuda
at no cost to themselves and providing them with charter boats and equipment
required to compete. The international youth sailors, ages 13 to 15, are
selected by national Optimist associations. Once in Bermuda they are hosted
by local families and gain an insight to Bermuda culture by spending a day
in school with their hosts.
The backdrop of the King Edward VII Gold Cup match-racing event running
concurrently with the youth event provides the real bonus for all the kids
entered in the regatta. they are surrounded by their sailing heroes when not
on the water. The young sailors attend the daily Gold Cup press conferences
and mix and mingle among the teams competing in the main event.
World-renowned sailors and Americas Cup veterans such as Ed Baird, Torben
Grael, Dennis Conner, Russell Coutts and others have given freely of their
time by participating in youth sailing clinics, explaining the finer points
of sailing and sportsmanship. -- Read on:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0930/
ON THE ROAD WITH MORRIS YACHTS!
After jet setting from Newport, Rhode Island to Greenwich, Ct from
Southampton, England with a stop-over in Monaco, the entire Morris sales
team will come together and descend on Annapolis, Maryland for the US
Sailboat Show Oct. 9-13th. Morris Yachts will show four boats this year: the
Morris 48 "Cheshire Cat", Morris 42 "Seadated", M42 "Renardarie" and M36
"Relief". For more information and news from the yard go to
http://www.morrisyachts.com/news or call +1-207-244-5509.
TP52 - NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
There is a great article on the TP 52 class and the MedCup circuit in The
Daily Sail publication. With the America's Cup in drydock, this series has
surfaced as the elite league, offering an extremely high level of
professional sailing, tricked out boats, and Mediterranean weather. As
always, it is nice to see a program with North American roots win the
overall prize, such as Quantum Racing did with American Terry Hutchinson at
the helm. For those curious at what it takes to play the game at this level,
this article provides some interesting insight:
* Hutchinson reckons that mounting a European TP52 campaign costs around 3
million Euros including the boat (approx 4.2 mil USD). But for them getting
18 sailors and shore support in from the four corners of the earth, cost his
team roughly $100,000 for each of the six regattas, along with the extra
training days, hotels, etc.
* Quantum Sails investors Doug de Vos/Fred and Steve Howe backed the new
fully-pro team to show the abilities of the Quantum product. However, the
team also trained more than the other teams, and was the only new boat this
season from designers Botin & Carkeek, and the only team in the top four
with a Hall Spar. Hutchinson notes that there were around 15-18 key areas
where he feels they made a gain.
* The TP52 class mooted the option to remove the spinnaker pole and add a
bowsprit. This would have reduced the cost and enabled a couple of the crew
to be removed and would make the boats more competitive outside of the
MedCup when racing under IRC. However Hutchinson points out that there is a
cost implication to making the modifications and takes the view - 'why fix
it, when it ain't broke?'
Complete article: http://tinyurl.com/4opcbd
BMW ORACLE RACING DOUBLE DOWNS WITH FINAL APPEAL BRIEF
By Cory Friedman, America's Cup legal analyst
(October 1, 2008) "Double Down. A Blackjack term that refers to doubling
your wager after drawing two cards in return for only taking one additional
card."
Winning in the Supreme Court and losing in the Appellate Division is bound
to get one's attention. Golden Gate Yacht Club's (GGYC) response is to
double down. It has made a few changes. Although it has not changed law
firms, it has changed lead counsel, opting for Maureen E. Mahoney, Jim
Kearney's partner from Latham & Watkins' Washington, D.C. office, along with
two lawyers from her Appellate Advocacy team.
Mahoney is an extremely experienced member of the exclusive Supreme Court
Bar of lawyers who regularly argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. Her
impressive credentials are consistent with former Attorney General Ed
Meese's long term project to remake the Federal Judiciary - University of
Chicago Law Review, law clerk to Justice William Rehnquist (succeeded as one
of his clerks by now Chief Justice John Roberts), Assistant Solicitor
General in the George H.W. Bush Justice Department and nominated to the
Federal District Court Bench (lapsed as a result of the election of Bill
Clinton).
Ordinarily, by now she would have been nominated to a U.S. Court of Appeals
slot and then the U.S. Supreme Court after a lucrative career in Supreme
Court advocacy, but, for some reason, it has not happened and she has stayed
on the other side of the bench. Perhaps she just likes winning big cases.
She had done a lot of it. -- Read on:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/#p29
SAILING SHORTS
* Yachting Australia has recently accepted the resignation of Michael Jones,
the Director of the Australian Sailing Team, who will leave the role at the
end of October 2008, having led the team to three medals at the Beijing 2008
Olympic Games.Yachting Australia established the Australian Sailing Team
(AST) in the wake of a disappointing performance at the Athens 2004 Olympic
Games to bring a sharper focus to winning medals. Michael Jones was
appointed as AST Director in 2005 to lead the charge. -- Full story:
http://yachte.com.au/news/story.asp?story=14308
* Rye, NY- American Yacht Club hosted nearly 100 boats last weekend for the
American Yacht Club Fall Regatta that was part of the US-IRC Gulfstream
Series. Rima2 a Reichel-Pugh 55 owned by John Brim won the 13 boat IRC
division 1 and in the process, won the Roger Sherman Trophy for best Spring
and Fall performance. Cabady owned by Matt Bladwin won IRC Division 2 as
well as the best overall IRC performance. Kincsem, owned by Joerg Esdorn and
Duncan Hennes, won the best performance in a one-design class by topping the
19 boat J-105 class. For complete results:
http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=183
* The Equipment Rules of Sailing (ERS) for 2009-2012 has been made available
to download online ahead of the worldwide date of implementation on 1
January 2009. The ERS govern the equipment used in the sport. They are
revised and published every four years by ISAF. -- Read on:
http://www.sailing.org/25543.php
* (October 1, 2008) - Team New Zealand received a boost today with lead
sponsor Emirates confirming its continued support through to the next
America's Cup yachting competition. The announcement gives Team NZ stability
against the background of uncertainty over the timing of the next regatta
because of ongoing court action and the present turmoil in world stock
markets. -- NZ Herald, read on:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10535183
* 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Tunniclife put aside her Laser Radial to
team up with Katheleen Tock for the 2008 Snipe Women's World Championship in
Roquetas de Mar, Spain, finishing one point short of the title in second
behind winners Marina Gallego/Marina Sanchez of Spain. -- Results:
http://www.roquetasalmar.es/es/post/clasificacion-mundial-femenino/41
* Santa Cruz, CA (September 30, 2008) - Lars Guck is leading the 2008
A-Class Catamaran North Americans with a 2, 1, 1 after the first day of
racing in gorgeous conditions in Santa Cruz, California. Pete Melvin is
keeping close company with Guck and finished the day with a 1, 2, 2. -- Full
report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6480
WE'LL MAKE YOUR HEAD BOB
Nautical Luxuries' new Yachtie-Bodies are outrageously fun, custom bobble
heads of you, or your favorite sailor. Each miniature male or female
Yachty-Body bobble head comes dressed in sailing jacket, polo shirt, khaki
shorts and deck shoes, standing at the helm. Send us a photo of your face
and we'll create your own one-of-a-kind Yachty-Body bobble head with
custom-sculpted face, hair and head. To see if you can recognize our newest
Yachtie-Bodies, or order your own, visit http://www.NauticalLuxuries.com
=> Curmudgeon's Comment: I admit it. I love this idea. Christmas is coming,
and this is now on the top of my list. --
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/09/bobble-heads.html
ULTIMATE GAME FOR SAILING GAMERS
Armchair experts now have the chance to test their skills against the best
offshore sailors in the world with the launch of Virtual Volvo Ocean Race
2008-09 - the race's official game. The virtual race will mirror the 37,000
nautical miles of the world's premier ocean race and there's a Volvo C30 up
for grabs for the winner along with a number of other prizes. Just like the
crews aboard the Volvo Open 70s, virtual racers will compete in real time
and real weather conditions on the same race track against the Volvo fleet.
They get to use the weather data available to choose their headings and sail
plan. Developed in partnership with UnitedGames, the game is free to play
but players can also purchase additional information with a share of the
proceeds going to The Save the Albatross Campaign. - Full information:
http://press.volvooceanrace.org/?p=154#more-154
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the
Scuttlebutt editor, aka, 'The Curmudgeon'. Letters selected for publication
must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter
might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per
subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an
alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the
Scuttlebutt Forum.
-- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com
-- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum
* From Larry Fisher, Executive Director, Herreshoff Marine Museum and
America's Cup Hall of Fame: On reading the piece in Tuesday's Scuttlebutt
newsletter (#2692) about academic and sailing obsessive, Peter Edwards,
spending four years trying to track down the footage of the seventh race of
the 1983 America's Cup, I simply had to look into this a bit further.
I contacted the Herreshoff Marine Museum and America's Cup Hall of Fame's
good friend, Mr. Gary Jobson and inquired as to the whereabouts of this
'elusive' film. In preparation for the upcoming America's Cup hall of Fame
Induction Dinner and special America's Cup celebration to be held in New
York City on October 23rd, Gary has spent numerous hours with this year's
Honoree, John Biddle, pouring over John's incredible archive of film
covering the 12 Meter era. Gary's knowledge of the coverage of the America's
Cup races is legendary, and so I thought there was no one better qualified
to respond to this question of the 'lost' footage. Here was Gary's response:
"The footage of Race 7 of 1983 exists in several places in several forms.
First there was the official film that lives at Mystic Seaport museum.
Second, WPRO in Providence, RI should have the show in their library. The
feed sent by WPRO and enhanced by ESPN is in the ESPN archives. In addition,
ABC News had a helicopter make two runs. This footage exists in Washington
and New York. There was a third helicopter that got intermittent footage
during that race. This is also owned by ESPN.
"There was also at least two radio broadcasts of the race. WADK in Newport
and a station that Bruce Stannard and I commentated for a radio station in
Australia. The ABC News material appeared both on Good Morning America and
Nightline. The key moments of leg 5 are in the ESPN Classic show I did last
year on the history of the America's Cup. I believe you all (the Herreshoff
Museum) have a copy of it. There were no on board cameras that day during
the race.
"In addition to this John Biddle also got some race footage on the water
that day and some scenes around the dock afterwards. There are right's
issues and ownership. I hope this clears up the mystery."
* From Larry Keating: Regarding the "missing footage" of the '83 AC race 7,
I am compelled to say that the person didn't look too hard as I have it. If
interested, I can be reached at mailto:larry@mediawave.co.nz
* From Dave Elliott, St. John's, NL: I find it very hard to believe that
footage of the final 1983 race between "Australia II" and "Liberty" no
longer exists. In the account of Peter Edwards search, it mentions that he
contacted all the networks without success. However, it is not clear to me
from the story if he contacted any networks outside of Australia. As I
recall, as I had been surprised to learn it when I did, the America's Cup
Finals had always been broadcast (at least while the Cup was in the US) on
ABC's "Wide World of Sports", going back to the early 1960s (or possibly
even the '50s). Someone must have film of most of the race, if not from
start to finish as Mr. Edwards has been seeking.
* From Jim Champ: (re, letter by Sean Tracy in #2691) Said Sean, "In the
case of the RRS, every added parenthetical phrase and every added limiting
condition noticeably reduces the number of people who really understand the
RRS." Agreed to an extent. The RRS are an amazing piece of work in that they
attempt to legislate for every situation where boats may come into close
proximity and define who has the right of way. I don't think any other sport
attempts to define things to that extent. If the rules were to be greatly
simplified, enough for a half hour scan to get a decent understanding, I
think there are a number of ways it could go. (This is a quick brain dump)
One would be to introduce the concept of a "racing incident" which would
surely make the games of dodgems too prevalent in some fleets even worse,
and handicap racing impossible for those of us with less impact resistant
craft. A variation on that would be to disqualify both parties to a racing
incident if no fault were found on the grounds that both must be partially
to blame!
Another would be to be more like the International Regulations for
Preventing Collisions at Sea (IRPCS), and seek to avoid close proximity
between boats at any time. No boat to approach another closer than three
boats lengths or something. The game as we understand it would be completely
changed.
No doubt there are others, but the main theme is that if you greatly change
the RRS, the oft cherished concept of close boat-for-boat tactical racing
would probably go too. Be careful what you ask for!
* From Matthew Reid: (re, stories in Scuttlebutt about attacks off the coast
of Somalia) I have got to spout off about the pirate situation. This type of
terrorism is as bad or worse than what has transpired on land. With the
latest events, one would assume that our military would become more
engaged...at the least, the U.N. should be doing something more than
chatting about it over cups of coffee. Given that the pirates appear to be
fairly low-tech, it would seem to me that we could address the situation
with minimal risk to man and machine. I'm probably being naive, so would
someone please take the time to explain to me why we can't do a lot more
than we are currently doing?
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
I am no more humble than my talents require.
Special thanks to Morris Yachts and Nautical Luxuries.
A complete list of preferred suppliers is at
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
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