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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 973 - December 27, 2001Scuttlebutt 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.
ARE WE HAVING FUN YET? A southwesterly front of 25 to 30 knots hit the fleet early this evening as the leaders neared Jervis Bay but the thunderstorms apparently caused the worse damage. Line favourite Nicorette, the Swedish maxi, was hit by what skipper Ludde Ingvall described as a "twister" with the crew dropping her high tech sails as hail the size of golf balls pounded the boat. Nicorette, the line honors winner last year, tore the mainsail but replaced it with her spare sail and is continuing in the race to Tasmania. She had taken the lead north of Wollongong this afternoon three hours after a mediocre start, but then lost the lead as she hove to in the storm, dropping back to fourth place. The Volvo 60s Tyco from Bermuda and illbruck from Germany took over the lead as Nicorette licked her wounds, with the skiff-like 66-footer Grundig from Sydney sailing past into third place. The harsh weather experienced by some yachts last night could continue. The Bureau of Meteorology says boats leading the race toward the Bass Strait can expect tough conditions in two to four metre swells and westerly winds of up to twenty five knots. Severe weather forecaster for the Bureau, Kenn Batt says the overnight conditions reported were fairly typical of thunderstorms. Nine yachts were forced to retire from the race after a front formed on the southern News South Wales coast. Secret Men's Business and Ausmaid lost their masts, while Sting was forces to retire with mast damage. Broomstick suffered damage to its rigging, and Wild Thing and Cadibarra headed back to Sydney with mainsail damage. Hollywood Boulevard is now returning to Sydney with either mast damage or problems with its mainsail. Simply Red retired from the race with a broken forestay.Yachts affected by the conditions reported wind gusts of up to 80 knots. - s2h.tas.gov.au/2001/news/
VOLVO OCEAN RACE Team News Corp meterologist, Nick White (NZ) commented on the event. "A waterspout is a tornado that forms over the water. It occurs under a severe thunderstorm and in the presence of cumulo-nimbus clouds. There is a potential for wind speeds of hundreds of kilometres an hour at the centre of the spout. The tornado was unexpected and violent. Hot winds came off the Australian mainland and mixed with the sea-breeze to cause this phenomenon." Nick White remains on-shore during the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race, as short-course tactician, Peter Isler (USA) steps into the nav station along side Ross Field. - www.TeamNewsCorp.com * Tyco reported that they are very relieved with their current performance even though they would have preferred easier conditions for their comeback. They are in the vicinity of four other boats and are "smashing their way across Bass Strait" as they call it. With illbruck close by they have a proper pacemaker as the German yacht has proven to be fast in all conditions. Five of the eight yachts, that is illbruck, Tyco, News Corp, Assa Abloy and djuice show identical speed over hours of hard upwind work in up to 10 metre high waves produced by the "Southerly Buster" that is sweeping up the New South Wales coast. The current that goes against the wind makes the waves higher, steeper and more vicious. SEB, Amer Sports One and Amer Sports Too are slowly losing ground on the leading other yachts.
STANDINGS on December 27 @ 0358 GMT:
NOOD
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From AlexWatters (in response to Mr. Beier' comments): I agree with you up to a point. Yes the rule book (42) states quite clearly what can and cannot be done. In a perfect world your statements would be correct. Unfortunately it is far from a perfect world. I have a mental picture of 85 Bytes or Lasers sailing downwind in 10 knots of breeze following the rule book to a tee. This will never happen, some sailor will push a little harder, will interpret the rule a little differently....go faster...voila....the fleet moves to the outer fringes of the rule and beyond. In the real world this is what happens everywhere. Add the fact that there is no real consistency from the on the water judges and we have a problem. The reality is the sailors should police themselves not a 3rd party judge. Trust me when I say I'm not whining...we all know the problem exists, I'm simply seeking a solution for a less than perfect world. * From Bryan McDonald, ICSA Appeals Committee Member: A video for rule 42 is an awesome idea! US Sailing released a video for old rule 54 (same rule intent, different rule number from old rules) and I thought it was extremely helpful. As a former collegiate competitor, I saw a huge difference in interpretation in what was "legal" with regard to kinetics from the West Coast as compared to the East Coast (what was acceptable on the SF Bay was literally DSQ w/out a hearing at Navy). As a judge for many collegiate events, I would embrace the opportunity to review a video "standard" for rule 42. With the advent of the digital hub, it would be extremely easy to post such a video to a common web site (i.e. US Sailing) so competitors and judges could review it via capable hand held personal digital assistants or the ubiquitous portable computer (there seem to be more portable computers at collegiate events nowadays than rule books :-). If a video is is not possible due to lack of funds, time, manpower, etc. then having US Sailing officially condone or approve a common document, such as Pat Healy's excellent web page at Navy, would go a long way to standardizing what's "legal". * From Steve Rienhart: Thank you, Ms Hahnke, for addressing what has appeared to become a fundamental problem in sailing over the past decade- competitors refusing to responsibly own up to their obligations under rule 2 when they violate a section of the RRS, SI's, or Class Rules. Hopefully your insightful editorial will inspire at least a few to revisit rule 2, and make certain that they comply.
WEATHER Equipment is only as good as the team driving it, and Oracle Racing's weather team has a combined sailing and meteorological experience of 150 years. Renowned meteorologist Bob Rice, who previously worked for Team New Zealand in 1995 and last year when they won and retained the cup, heads Oracle's weather team. With 50 years of meteorology experience, Rice manages Oracle Racing's overall weather programme and is responsible for accurately predicting Auckland's variable weather patterns and wind shifts that play a critical role in the outcome of races. Rice has been involved in some of the world's greatest and most adventurous endeavours. He has provided weather support for three successful ascents of Mt Everest. He initiated the role of weather routers for racing sailboats in 1978, and has also provided full meteorological support for 27 long-distance manned balloon flights, most of which set world records and recorded historic firsts for a long list of legendary balloon pilots. - Julie Ash, NZ Herald Full story: www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/
ULTRASONIC WIND AND BOATSPEED
QUOTES FROM THE BOATS
BAD STUFF Earlier, the Navy had questioned a link between its sonar tests and whale beachings. But the joint study released by the Navy and the US National Marine Fisheries Service was based on examinations of the corpses of five of the six dead whales. Each of the whales had hemorrhaged near its ears, said the 66-page report, adding that the wounds would not be fatal but could have caused the animals to become disoriented and swim ashore. "The investigation team concludes that tactical mid-range frequency sonars aboard US Navy ships that were in use during the sonar exercise in question were the most plausible source of this acoustic or impulse trauma," the report said. - SailNet website Full story: www.sailnet.com CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: Can you tell that this is a slow news day?
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
