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SCUTTLEBUTT 2094 - May 15, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.HITTING THE HIGH SPOTS Since the last issue of Scuttlebutt there have been five flights and 30 races in Act 10 of the Louis Vuitton Series in Valencia. Those who are really interested probably spent the weekend on the America’s Cup website following the action. For those with a more limited interest, here are some of the weekend highlights. Three of the ‘Big Four’ suffered a loss during the weekend races of Act 10. A burst spinnaker on Luna Rosa helped Desafío Español defeat the Italian boat in Flight Four (34 seconds). *The blog of BMW Oracle Racing reported on Saturday, “…the media are in a lather about the "Big Four" now being the Big Five. Truth is Luna Rossa has been struggling for weeks with their new ITA 86. In pre-Act informal racing with various teams, including BMW Oracle, (ITA) 86 appeared a bit off the pace, as she clearly showed again yesterday. So, at least for the moment, maybe it's actually the Big Three?” (http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/) In Flight Five, Emirates Team New Zealand tore one of their kites to shreds during a jibbing duel with BMW Oracle, which contributed to their only loss (47 seconds). NewsTalkZB reported, “Despite suffering their first loss of the pre-America's Cup regatta in Valencia, Team New Zealand appears to have one of the faster boats. NZL 84 has been beaten by Oracle in round five, although Team, New Zealand was leading until suffering a blown out spinnaker. Yachting correspondent Tim Jeffery doubts New Zealand would have lost, had the spinnaker held. He says from observing all boats, Team New Zealand looks to have one of the better ones.” (http://tinyurl.com/htwa2) In the same flight, Luna Rossa appeared to tie up Alinghi in knots during the pre-start, leading the Defenders off the start line and sailing out to a comfortable lead which resulted in a 34 second victory. In Flight Six, BMW Oracle was sailing to an easy victory over +39 Challenge until the fickle breeze slowed the match down to the point where the time limit for the race expired and that match will have to be re-sailed. And on Saturday, South African flags flew, champagne popped and the mainly Spanish weekend crowds lining the canal leading into the Port America’s Cup cheered wildly as Team Shosholoza returned triumphant to the dock after scoring victories over both Areva Challenge (14 sec) and Desafío Español (33 seconds). The light and shifty breeze on Sunday allowed only one race on each course with Flight Eight postponed. So, after seven flights, BMW Oracle remains the only unbeaten team, although technically they are tied with Alinghi, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa Challenge who also have six points: 1. BMW Oracle Racing, 6-0 1. Alinghi, 6-1 1. Emirates Team New Zealand, 6-1 1. Luna Rossa Challenge, 6-1 5. Victory Challenge, 5-2 6. Desafío Español 2007, 4-3 7. Team Shosholoza, 2-5 7. AREVA Challenge, 2-5 7. Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team, 2-5 10. +39 Challenge, 1-5 10. United Internet Team Germany, 1-6 12 - China Team, 0-7 Event website: http://www.americascup.com SPECULATION What was interesting was to see how tightly the new American boat (BMW Oracle) can turn without losing pace. Just as impressive is the boat's ability to perform the America's Cup equivalent of a handbrake turn, carving to a halt before accelerating away once Dickson's foot is back on the gas. Such nimble behavior could well increase the speculation as to what lies beneath the waterline, but the clear waters off the Valencian coast are starting to reveal more and clarify part of the picture. It seems more likely now that USA-87 has a 'conventional' rudder and keel configuration. The question now, is whether she has a trim tab on the back of the keel or perhaps a forward rudder. Part of the reason for the widespread speculation is the position of the rig and the bow sprit that goes with it. But Shosholoza tactician Dee Smith believes that the reason for the difference is far simpler. "BMW Oracle does not have anything strange under the water," he said. "All the rigs in the fleet are further forward because of the fat top mainsails. Also, the jibs are bigger, the boats are lighter and so the rigs have to go forwards.” -- Matthew Sheahan, Yachting World , complete story: http://tinyurl.com/ztzz7 FORTY BUCKS FOR COOL MAX? JUST PLAIN STUPID... Moisture wicking tees with your event logos, sponsors, and photographs dye-sublimated from $10.50-$20.00. Call The Pirate's Lair now for details and for any other regatta gear. 888-724-5286 or http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing LONG HARD SLOG After three days of racing just 30 miles divide the Volvo Ocean Race fleet as they continue their journey to Portsmouth, England. In one of his routine interviews, Volvo Ocean Race Radio reporter Guy Swindells asked the usual question – how’s the race going? - when he called ABN Amro One this afternoon and got a reply he wasn’t expecting. Mike Sanderson reported that they had suffered three big incidents including a keel problem and a collision that has caused structural damage. First on the list was the tactical decision to change from being the boat furthest north to be the boat furthest south. As Mike said to Guy, “There are things you fear the most out here - not having a tactical decision pan out. We found ourselves in the north and the weather system changing and decided that we had to bite the bullet and get out of there.” So, tactical problem out of the way – Mike professed to being more or less happy with their position at the moment as a set up for the weather to come and for the course towards the Western Approaches – then the second of the three problems smacked them in the chops. For the first time in the race – or the first time they have admitted it anyway – ABN Amro One has suffered a keel problem. They realized that the keel wasn’t canting fully and an inspection showed that hydraulic fluid had leaked through a seal and into the bilge. As Mike said, “We got the awful sinking feeling you get on a canting keel boat when you discover that we had dumped all the oil out of the system and were losing cant.” Luckily the ABN boats are designed so that any leak will be contained in a special compartment and not run throughout the boat – and in extremis the oil can be re-used. Whatever the problem, on board keel guru David Endean was quickly in action and managed to refill the system and get the keel canting fully once more. Then ABN One also had the misfortune of hitting a whale. It stopped the boat dead and sheered off one of the dagger boards and has done some damage around the case. They’d carried a spare dagger board for the whole race and it looks like it might have paid off. “The big question for us is: what is the extent of the damage in the case,” Sanderson said. “We can see some cracking on the inside but we are not seeing any movement and it all seems fine at the moment. We’re just playing it semi softly at the moment and not pushing the boat to 100 per cent until we get some comfort back that the structural integrity is there.” As for the whale - the crew is sure it was a whale that they collided with as they saw its tail slide down the side of the boat. Sanderson says that it appeared to swim away after the accident so hopefully, a few aspirin later, it will be fine! --http://www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 Sunday: 1. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, 2371 miles to finish 2. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +4 miles 3. ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +10 miles 4. Ericsson Racing Team, Neal McDonald, +11 miles 5. ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, +18 miles 6. Brunel, Matt Humphries, + 23 miles 7. movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +30 miles QUOTE / UNQUOTE “We got a second fish of some kind stuck on the keel early Friday morning so we had to back down again to clear the fish. We are getting pretty good at catching fish with smooth, blunt, instruments.” -- Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean skipper “Well some of you may have heard yesterday we had snagged several large fish on all the foils for several hours. We had to do three slow downs and three back-downs, each costing us over a mile. Very frustrating after working so hard beating all the way and doing pretty well with the leaders. Today it is more a case of frozen fish. The water temp. has plummeted to 5 deg C or about 42 deg F!! and the chill factor is near freezing.” -- Mark Rudiger, Erucssib Racing Team navigaror ISAF WORLD SAILING GAMES A consistent breeze saw today's scheduled races at the ISAF World Sailing Games on Lake Neusiedl in Austria. completed, and those making the cut rewarded by qualifying to the gold fleet. The top ten boats in the gold fleet will then battle for victory in the final Medal Race. After two days of waiting, the weather rewarded the with exciting racing across all the courses. The perfect weather meant racing got underway as scheduled, with only the Lasers sailing on into the later afternoon to catch up with the slightly convoluted scheduled caused by their late finish last night. North American’s who made the top 10 in each fleet include: Lasers - 3. Michael Leigh (CAN) & 10. Brad Funk (USA); Laser Radial: 8. Sarah Lihan (USA); 470 Men: 5. Stuart McNay/ Graham Biehl, (USA) 6. Mikee Anderson-Mitterling/ David Hughes (USA). Hobie Tiger: 1. Greg Thomas/ Jacques Bernier (USA): Neil Pryde RS:X: 10. Dominique Vallee (CAN); Hobie 16: 2. Annie Nelson/ Susan Korzeniewski (USA); 8. Pamela Noriega/ Andrea Mier y Teran (MEX). -- http://www.worldsailinggames2006.at, NEW MODELS FROM RIBCRAFT Not just for yacht clubs and safety professionals any more, the new line of recreational RIBs from Ribcraft will meet your family’s every boating need. Ranging from 15’ to 30’, Ribcraft has a rigid inflatable boat that’s perfect for you. Contact Ribcraft today or go online to learn more: http://www/ribcraftusa.com/recreation GOOD IDEA The city of Newport Beach and the Orange County Healthcare Agency are making it a little easier for boaters in Newport Harbor to prevent oil spills. The city is expanding an existing program that allows boaters to dispose of dirty bilge pads -- absorbent materials used to soak up oil in boat hulls before it can get mixed with water and pumped into the ocean. Boaters can return used bilge pads and exchange them for new ones at six locations in Newport Harbor. The bilge pads are placed in the engine cavity and soak up leaked petroleum products. In 2005 the bilge pads soaked up an estimated 1,050 gallons of oil in Newport Beach boats that otherwise would have gone into the ocean. -- Lauren Vane, Daily Pilot, full story: http://tinyurl.com/zqod9 SAILING SHORTS * PC Sailing has sold ownership and rights to the Bongo to Konrad Lewinski of Ontario, Canada. The Bongo, the single-handed sport boat first launched in 2004, will continue to be built at Abbott boats in Sarnia, Canada. Information at: http://www.sailabongo.com * Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad came from behind with bullets in the final two races to squeeze out a single point victory over Matt Allen’s Ichiban at the Farr 40 East Coast Championship held at the Annapolis Yacht Club. Jeff Siegal’s Appreciation took the final spot on the podium ahead of Californian Alan Field’s Temptress and Ramrod sailed by Rod Jabin. -- http://tinyurl.com/fx7co * MapMuse.com, an Internet mapping website, has recently added marinas and sailing clubs to its interactive mapping services. There presently are over 8,000 marinas, and 70 sailing clubs included on the MapMuse maps. A typical entry provides the name of a marina or club, descriptive text, a photo, contact information, and a link to a website. Visitors can easily add places, edit existing information, or remove places through links located on the site. When a visitor suggests a change to a map, MapMuse reviews the suggestion for appropriateness, and then posts it within a few hours. Marinas: http://find.mapmuse.com/re1/interest.php?brandID=marinas Sailing Clubs: http://find.mapmuse.com/re1/interest.php?brandID=sailing_clubs * Video of the 2006 Vallejo Race is now playing on http://www.t2p.tv: * While the sailing team of Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team is racing off Valencia's coast, the technical team has been working hard to fit out ITA-90, the Italian team's brand new boat, who peeked out of the boat shed for the first time yesterday evening. -- http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ * Twenty teams from 13 countries participated in the first of the season's Optimist team racing regattas. Three days of ideal conditions on Venice lagoon enabled completion of the ambitious programme of double round robins followed by semi finals and finals within each group of four teams. In the absence of last year's winners Poland, the Italian national team had few problems in winning all their matches. USA New York won their first round pool with nine victories but two later defeats by Slovenia relegated them to third place. The Castorama Cup for Italian provincial teams was won for the first time by Emilia-Romagna. -- http://www.rizzottisail.it FROM GREEN FLEET TO GOLD MEDAL The Vanguard Optimist, best known as a club trainer, is now competing at the country's top events. From the Orange Bowl to the Team Trials, this Opti is making an impression. Check out http://www.teamvanguard.com and go see a Vanguard Opti on display at the Sailing Hall of Fame in Annapolis. 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. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From: Brian Hancock (re Dee Caffari/Portsmouth): Sometimes I have to wonder. To suggest that there is no room at Gunwharf Quay in Portsmouth for Dee and her boat because the VOR fleet is in town is bordering on the absurd. Her accomplishment far exceeds anything that the VOR fleet has done both in terms of physical endurance and inspiring a nation. I agree with Charlie Iliff - this is a PR moment made in heaven - why oh why does sailing yet again miss such a great opportunity to promote this sport we all love. I know that Southampton is not far from Portsmouth, but I think its a crime to deny her the opportunity to tie up at the very same dock where she left from. One of the most memorable lines in sailing history is the one that Robin Knox Johnston said when he crossed the finish line in Falmouth, England at the end of the first ever solo nonstop circumnavigation. "Where from," asked British Customs, "From Falmouth," he replied. * From Andrew Beeston: Dee Caffari has made a wise decision to berth in Southampton (UK), having been denied dock space in Portsmouth. Just ask German cyclist Heinz Stucke who traveled 335,500 miles on the same bicycle, then had it stolen within hours of arriving in Portsmouth earlier this week. To quote a national newspaper, “Portsmouth is one of the most anomalous cities in Britain. Packed as it is on to Portsea Island, it is the most densely populated urban area of Europe, being also one of the most pugnacious. And that is being kind!” * From By Baldridge (re Disney feature film): Come on, 18 year-olds are veterans on many offshore boats. Rome Kirby, Taylor Lutz and dozens of others all ready have the ability to pull off a Transpac much younger than 18. I have a fourteen year old navigator at home who is waiting for a call. Ask John Kolius, Paul Cayard and Robbie Haines at what age they were ready. * From Richard Johnson: If Roy Disney wants to make a really interesting sailing movie, he should buy another TP52, recruit a crew of AARP members, and show the differences between how his kiddie crew and the geezers handle similar situations. * From Ted Livingston: More power to Disney, Haines and Co. The "Morning Light" film project sounds great. Keep in mind some other young Transpac Crews. 1967 ("Skip" Allan and youngish crew of First Overall aboard the Cal 40 Holiday II) 1971 (Informal "race within the race for crews composed mainly of college sailors plus a coach or owner-skipper:) 1. Cal-40 Duello, chartered by the late Carl VanDuyne, coach, and all midshipmen crew from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis. 2. "Fickle Duck" owner plus mainly students from U.C.Santa Barbara. 3. One other whose name I forget. At that time, TPYC refused to recognize any "races within the race", and the idea died. "Morning Light " may well usher in a new era. * From Brad Van Liew: I have been to the intersection of Easy Street and Whiskey Street in Aiken South Carolina, which is indeed a very nice place to chill. Closer to Heaven than Hell I would guess. * From Mark Eustis: Google says there are about one million, twenty thousand Easy Streets in the good ol' US of A. Do you suppose they all serve beer? I love this country. * From Dieter Giese: The "Video of the Week" link (VOR at Eclipse Island) in Scuttlebutt 2093 is a good example of what can happen when the media gets hold of sailing images and does their polished marketing best. The two minute 39 second clip by Quest Sail Media contains approximately 45 seconds of sailing footage. Six to 10 seconds of these are static shots that don't show much action. I love the artistry: the video is good, the editing tight and the music is nicely sync'ed to the action. The problem is that the clip is more about the media than the subject. More about the helicopter than the boats racing. To re-arrange our sport to make it more appealing for media coverage is a very high price to pay for an occasional half hour of exposure on mainstream TV. http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/#media * From Adrian Morgan: Spelling, please gentlemen. Here we go again: first “Taberly” ( for Tabarly) now the chair of the museum of yachting himself can’t spell Blondie Hasler (“Hassler”). Send it back to the UK where it belongs (and where we can spell our heroes’ names). We might then consider sending back the Elgin Marbles to Greece... Oh, and what other British treasures does the museum hold? Ellen Macarthur’s teddy bear? Sir Francis Chichester’s socks? I think we should be told. * From Liz Cabrall (Re Paul Cayard's El Toro): Paul took his first sailing lessons at Lake Merritt in Oakland, and his first El Toro was built for him by his carpenter father. The boat was built of scraps, eight differest kinds of wood, and weighed considerably more than the minimum 80 pounds. According to Paul he sold the boat and he doesn't know where it is today. In spite of the weight handicap he routinely beat kids his senior at the lake. * From Buzz Billik: Over the years I watched Bob Tiedemann develop a way of life driven by passion. His energy was contagious He helped create an entire movement for others who shared his commitment to restoring classic wooden boats,and living it. Bob also provided traction and tremendous value to the City of Newport and the State of Rhode Island. Thanks Bob, we will miss you dearly. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATIONS Rather than call a man is a “bad dancer,” it’s more politically correct to say he’s “overly Caucasian.” Special thanks to The Pirate’s Lair, Ribcraft, and Vanguard Sailboats. |
