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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 587 - June 9, 2000GUEST COMMENTARYIt is my opinion that the US Sailing's Women's Sailing Committee erred in its decision to change the boat for the RIWK from a J/24 to a J/22. The boat for this international event should be one that is readily available around the world. It should also be relatively affordable to charter and/or purchase. At a minimum it should have active fleets across the United States. The J/22 has none of the above criteria going for it. Consider this (statistical data for the following contained in attached document): -Number of countries with active fleets: J/22: 7 J/24: 27 - Total number of active fleets in the US: J/22: 55 J/24: 127 - Number of US states with active fleets: J/22: 30 J/24: 38 - Approximate number of boats in the US: J/22: 1263 J/24: 4000+ - Number of used boats listed as being for sale on the official class web site: J/22: 18 J/24: 62 - Lowest priced used boat as listed for sale on the official class web site: J/22: 8,000.00 J/24: $4,200.00 The simple fact that, except for one fleet in Washington State, there are no organized fleets of J/22s on the West Coast should have prevented this change from ever taking place. A person need not be a statistician to understand that competitors from the West Coast are now at a strategic disadvantage compared to their East Coast counterparts. Yes, West Coasters can practice on J/24s with 4 people and jump on a rented J/22 three days before the regatta begins. Would Betsy Allison's team be satisfied with this type of preparation? I think not. In fact, the press release announcing your changes contained the following comment from Betsy Allison "I'm certainly not an expert at sailing a J/22, but I definitely plan on training hard and racing the event in 2001." Well it appears that Betsy and her East Coast contemporaries will be the only teams with the luxury of training on a J/22. The decision to change to a J/22 has also increased the cost of this regatta for participants by a significant amount. No longer will teams be able to use family or local J/24s for the event. Instead participants will have to hand over big bucks to charter a fast J/22. This unexpected cost is going to add thousands of dollars to my team's campaign. Not to mention the cost we will incur trying to find a local J/22 to charter for practice. Finally, you must ask yourselves if this change will really increase participation. The facts are that it takes fewer people to sail a J/22 then it does the J/24. However, your participation mainly depends on the number of helmsmen who wish to compete at this level. Twenty eight women decided to take their teams of 6 to the event in 1999. In all 168 women were on the racecourse. If that same regatta were held today in J/22s only 112 women would be able to participate. Therefore the changes may reduce the number of women who have the opportunity to experience the Rolex. - Kristen Lane, Rolex competitor 1999 FARR 40 WORLDS Newport, RI - After seven races scored and only two remaining to sail in the series, John Calvert-Jones' 'Southern Star' has taken the lead by 6 points in the boats.com Farr 40 World Championship for the World Cup. Calvert-Jones and his team from Australia have earned their position at the top of the leader board by finishing all but one race in the Top Ten, a feat unmatched by any other team in the 27-boat fleet. The 'Southern Star' team is not unaccustomed to competitive pressure, having been the runner-up team in the 1998 World Championship in Miami, and winners of the Rosemount Farr 40 Regatta in Sydney this year. They also plan a campaign to represent Australia for the 2001 Admiral's Cup. Today's racing was held in the Atlantic Ocean south and east of Brenton Reef, where a light 7-9 knot southwesterly breeze in the first race built up to 12-14 knots in the last two. Four-leg windward-leeward courses were set at 8 miles each, and a flood current swept northwards across the course. With only 11 points separating the top five in the standings, the World Cup trophy is up for grabs. Tomorrow there will be only two races to complete the nine-race series, and undoubtedly the outcome will come down to the final moments of the competition. - Dobbs Davis STANDINGS: 1. Southern Star, John Calvert-Jones(AUS) )53 points; 2. Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy (USA) 59; 3. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato (ITA) 60; 4. Atalanti, George Andreadis (GRE) 61; 5. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson (USA) 64; 6. Phoenix, Eduardo Ramos (BRA) 68; 7. Invicta-Nerone, Massimo Mezzaroma, 73 8. Bit of a Coup, Tony Buckingham (GBR) 74 9. Solution, John Thomson (USA) 78; 10. Corinthian Doors, Richard Perini (AUS) 79. Daily releases, photos, and complete results: http://www.farr40.org SOLING OLYMPIC TRIALS St Francis YC, San Francisco, CA - Semi final match racing results (first to win seven races advances to the finals): JEFF MADRIGALI leads MARK MENDELBLATT (5-0); ED BAIRD leads ANDY HORTON (4-1). Website: http://www.stfyc.com/race-office/2000race/062000/Soiling/2000solingresults2. htm PRADA UPDATE Team Prada is working full time once again, from the operations base in Punta Ala. One of the two Young America boats, which team Prada bought at the end of the XXX America's Cup, was out sailing for a couple of hours yesterday - first time in the waters off Punta Ala. In the next few days one of the two yachts Luna Rossa will go in the water, too. The crew will be working on rig and deck gear tuning. The activity will then focus on a series of tests at sea, starting from mid June. Francesco de Angelis, skipper of Luna Rossa, said: "These tests represent an important step in terms of technical development and will be carried out by a small group of sailors. A great effort has been required from our team in order to plan and organise this working session, and we wish to make the most of the time that we have now to complete the evaluations. Therefore it will be impossible for us to take part in any sailing event for the time being". On the basis of the results obtained Francesco de Angelis and his team will then outline the sailing programme from September onwards. Although the long-term plan is still under definition, team Prada will probably move to New Zealand at the beginning of the new year in order to start training again in the Hauraki Gulf. - http://www.Prada-americascup.com THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE Stockholm, Sweden - A new Swedish team, the Lighthouse Project, is today announcing its entry in next year's Volvo Ocean Race (formerly The Whitbread). Matthew Humphries, 28, living in Sweden and already a three time Whitbread veteran, will be the skipper in this new Swedish Volvo Ocean Race challenge. "We have a young team that can challenge the older guys, and a business oriented project, so our ultimate goal is to win the 2001 Volvo Ocean Race", says Matthew Humphries, who was watch captain and helmsman on Swedish Match in the last race, and the youngest skipper ever in the 1993 Whitbread. The Lighthouse Project, based at the island Fjaderholmarna in Stockholm, is now in the process of capitalizing and creating the organisation for its Volvo Ocean Race project. This summer, The Lighthouse Project and Matthew Humphries will sail a V.O.60 Mark II boat, named Kaffeknappen after the main sponsor for the 2000 racing season, in Swedish waters. The boat, sailing as Dennis Conner's Toshiba, was one of the top competitors in the last Whitbread, and the new team will sail her in the Gotland Runt, Tjorn Runt and a number other races this summer. The crew, two of which are Swedes, are already testing new sails. "Our project will stay in Sweden and recruit the rest of its crew among the top 100 sailors around the world", concluded Matthew Humphries. - Lizzie Green LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) and to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a chat room. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- Hans Zuiderbaan, ORC Chairman - In response to Mr Bram Kochx's statement (Scuttlebutt 580), the official IMS Offshore World Championship already exists! Sponsored by Rolex, the inaugural event took place last year in Porto Cervo, Sardinia where some 25 yachts, representing 13 countries, took part. Incidentally, Innovision 7, part of the winning Dutch Admiral's Cup team won the Big Boat Division. In July (from 15th - 19th) this year, a greater fleet of some 75 yachts is expected to gather in Newport, Rhode Island to compete in the second event - an international fleet is anticipated with yachts and crews travelling from Europe to take part. The winners of the Middle Boat Division (Winterthur Yah Man) and the Small Boat Division (Drake) are heading to Newport in an attempt to repeat their success of last year. In 2001, the Rolex IMS Offshore World Championship will return to the Mediterranean by which time enthusiasm for this competition will have grown still further. Furthermore the newly emerged IMS 50 foot class will have its first World Championship in Valencia, Spain from 3 to 9 July with a fleet of 14 boats. In the light of this, the IMS rule is anything but dead. -- From Diana Weidenbacker - I too am extremely disappointed that the Women's Rolex leadership has decided to switch to J/22's. It limits women's participation significantly with no West Coast fleets, and limited East Coast fleets. Degrees of Boredom our J/24 has worked hard for the past 3 Rolex's to introduce more women to this caliber of racing. By doing so the NH and southern ME area saw 2 entries in the last Rolex with a third ready to go. We are expecting more the next time. Most of us cannot afford to lease a J/22 and then buy sails to never use them again. I'm not interested in selling my boat, which is actively sailed, in an active class. We need support if we are to convince the leadership that the change is not in the best interest of women's racing. -- From Jessica Lord - I am in Northern Michigan sailing 22s every Wednesday in a great fleet of 15 others and having the time of my life! We are thrilled that Rolex is now in 22s. In fact, last night at the yacht club, as everyone else was doing the usual lies and alibis, we were sitting in the corner, feverishly planning the logistics and getting VERY stoked. FOR THE RECORD (Report from the maxi catamaran Club Med out to qualify for The Race beat the East/West Atlantic record between Cadiz, Spain and San Salvador in the Bahamas.) After 20 hours racing, Club Med covered 339 miles (610 km) at an average speed of 16.5 knots. Grant Dalton: "We have been going quite fast since the start, but the average has dropped since last night. We should be picking up wind again and continuing our descent towards the Canaries which we will reach tomorrow. Afterwards, we should be able to speed up in the next 3 to 4 days to come. As forecast we are entering a calmer area. At the moment there is less than 10 knots of wind, but the boat is doing 15-16 knots under gennaker and full main. We should be picking up northerly winds from this evening, then a stiff NNW as we pass the Canaries. These conditions should remain with us for the next few days to come". QUOTE/UNQUOTE Bruno Peyron aboard the maxi-catamaran Club Med - "I have the immense impression of being part of a group of pioneers trying to push back the limits of their knowledge. A new generation of boat, newcomers to maxi-multihulls, Olympic champions and old hands of the Southern Ocean, all living the same impression. The impression of discovery and a small step into the unknown. Just how far can we push the boat? How is the structure going to react ? Keeping an eye open - inspecting - learning how to discover and tame this 33-metre giant, it's with the same passion that the crew of 14 sturdy men is learning about the future - and it's really great to witness." IT'S AN EXPENSIVE SPORT Kit and equipment from Team Philips, the revolutionary 110-foot carbon fibre catamaran that hit the headlines in March when her bow broke, is to be auctioned on QXL.com to raise funds that will help with her repair. The giant yacht skippered by Pete Goss is designed and built to win a no rules round the world yacht race called simply, The Race. However, her early progress was set back when her bow broke spectacularly just off the Isles of Scilly during sea trials in March, two weeks after being officially named by Her Majesty The Queen. To help raise the cash for the repair Pete Goss is offering the public the chance to bid for a piece of his historic adventure. From June 8, a series of auctions on QXL.com, the leading pan-European auction house, will take place supported by Team Philips' sponsors, Philips, BT, Sun and Musto. Bidders will see everything from a dinner with the youngest crewmembers to the dog bowls the team eat from when sailing, go under the virtual hammer. The first auction will include pieces of the damaged port bow and the mugs Pete and his crew used to drink tea from when contemplating what to do after the bow broke. Crew shirts, caps and the dog bowls will also be up for grabs in the first auction. Run in four lots over the next three months, hundreds of pieces of Team Philips memorabilia will be auctioned, such as the crew's Musto high performance wet weather gear, a pair of the ultimate sailing shoes from Ecco, books, the yacht's original design plans and other lots provided by Philips, Sun and BT. There will even be private dinner dates with the younger male crew members and a dinner for ten with the whole crew feasting on food that the team would have eaten during a round the world record attempt. As Team Philips' communications sponsor, BT will be offering a mobile satellite phone and other communications equipment that matches the kit aboard the catamaran. Full story: http://www.teamphilips.com/index.cfm?ArticleID=1999 MOM-OLYMPIAN (Cynthia Goss has written a feature story on Olympian JJ Isler for Quokka Sports. Here's a brief excerpt from that piece.) A Mom-Olympian is a pretty rare combination, but (JJ) Isler is the last one to take a place on a pedestal as a role model. "This is what I've chosen to do," she said. "I guess I view the other side of it, in that I could not do this if it were not for (my husband) Peter and my Mom and Dad [who live next door] and having the resources to be able to have a nanny. I think a single mom who works and is able to get her kids to school every day is a lot more impressive." Isler's deeper goal clearly transcends Olympic medals, and that is ensuring that her family is thriving. Despite the juggling act Isler has to perform, her focus in this period of intensive training has not flagged. "She is very organized and very focused," said (crew Pease) Glaser. "She's thinking all the time about how we can get better, how we can improve, what we need to do to get the job done." In late August, Isler and Glaser will board a plane for Australia, and their families won't be far behind. Jay Glaser is heading to the Games as a coach; Peter Isler will bring Marly and Megan, and JJ's parents and two siblings (each with their kids) will come, too. Isler and Glaser agree that experience will count for a lot in Sydney. Sailors could be racing inside, in light and lake-like conditions; they could be on a course that Glaser describes as "a washing machine"; they could be outside in big waves. But these two women are veterans - and they have proven that as a team, they can handle the pressure. "We may not be going in as the favorites," said Isler, "but you wouldn't want to count us out. We've been the underdogs before, and we are pretty good in that role." - Cynthia Goss, for Quokka Sports Full story: http://sailing.quokka.com/stories/06/SLQ__0607_s_isler_WFC.html CALENDAR * June 16 - 18, Sailing World Chicago NOOD (National Offshore One-Design) Regatta. (This is one of the largest big-boat regattas in the nation, and this year's record field of 282 boats marks the largest fleet in the history of the national NOOD regatta circuit.) 24 classes have been established. http://www.sailingworld.com * July 20 - 23, US Singlehanded Sailing Championship for the O'Day Trophy. Santa Barbara Yacht Club. Eight slots available by either resume or invitation - contract Dean Cady at deancady@aol.com. http://www.ussailing.org INDUSTRY NEWS MIAMI BEACH, JUNE 8, 2000-After 59 years as a club-run event, the Acura Southern Ocean Racing Conference regatta has turned to professional management for its continuing growth. Acura and the SORC Board of Governors announced today that the sports marketing company Octagon Marketing, headquartered in Stamford, CT, has been contracted to organize future events. Race management for up to 200 competing boats will remain with the dedicated volunteer SORC Race Committee team. Octagon will handle planning and marketing, plus developing and executing event promotions/advertising and liaison with event sponsors, as well as running on-site administration and operations. "Top level sailing competition demands the support and the commitment that can only come from a dedicated event management team," said Scott MacLeod, Octagon's Event Director. "We know that racers and sponsors alike will benefit from Octagon's involvement, and we look forward to working closely with the SORC organization." Event website: http://www.acurasorc.com THE CURMUDGEON'S QUOTATIONS Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. - Dilbert |
