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SCUTTLEBUTT 2364 - June 13, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). LEADERS HAVE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES An edgy America’s Cup competition grew edgier Monday, when the head of Alinghi expressed disappointment with the opposition’s plans and suggested that its leaders were ungrateful for the financial support he had provided when they were struggling to create a syndicate. Alinghi, the defending champion, will defend the America’s Cup against Emirates Team New Zealand in a best-of-nine series that begins here June 23. Many New Zealanders view it as a grudge match, but Ernesto Bertarelli, the Swiss billionaire who is president of the Alinghi team, sees it through a different lens. He views it as the climax of the competition that he and his deputies have reshaped into a more profitable and modern event with a more global approach. And he is upset that Team New Zealand’s managing director, Grant Dalton, has said that he intends to reinstate some form of a nationality rule if the Kiwis win back the Cup. “If he was to win, that basically would put three-quarters of the people around this harbor out of work,” Bertarelli said in an interview on the terrace at Alinghi’s base. “And more surprisingly so, they are probably friends of his, since a lot of teams have Kiwis in their ranks.” Alinghi scrapped the nationality rule after winning the Cup in 2003 in New Zealand, allowing sailors from any nation to work for a syndicate without having to fulfill a citizenship or residency requirement. Its team is now cosmopolitan to the core, with sailors from 11 nations listed on the roster of its 36-member team. “The nationality rule he’s speaking about is obviously mainly directed to Alinghi, so I guess that’s the thank-you note for helping him get his team together,” Bertarelli said, referring to Dalton. -- NY Times, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2yod82 AMERICA’S CUP MATCH First team to win 5 races in the 9 race series Challenger: Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 Defender: Alinghi (SUI) _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 * Race schedule: Racing begins Saturday, June 23rd, with the second race on Sunday before the first rest day on Monday. -- Complete schedule: http://www.americascup.com/en/americascup/program/calendrier.php * North Sails has developed an online "forum" where Cup fans can submit questions to the Sail Designers who have designed and developed sails for ten of the eleven Louis Vuitton Cup Challengers and the America's Cup defender, Alinghi. The North Sails team already has responded to many questions, and continues each week to answer more and post their responses online: http://www.northsails.com/americascup SPANGLISH TRANSLATION Ever wonder what Team New Zealand's Dean Barker and Terry Hutchinson mean when they say, "We learned some things" in sailing those tough, late challenger rounds? One guy who knows a piece of it is (American) Hartwell Jordan, mainsail trimmer on Desafio Español, who helped teach them a few of those things—and has sparred with the defender, by the way, and has a few thoughts about Alinghi. You will recall that the Spanish team took two races off Emirates Team New Zealand in the semifinal round. Here's Jordan: "It turns out that in 14 knots down to the water, you can gybe, go deep, and keep your air clear astern. We beat New Zealand twice at that game. Now they know the deal." In the two races won by Desafio Español over NZL 92, now the official challenger, "They knew they could sail as well as they were sailing," Jordan says. "We did not know that we could sail as well as we did. We caught them by surprise, and it probably did even more for them than it did for us." Jordan, who grew up sailing on San Francisco Bay, has been part of big boat racing in the Med—especially in Spain—since 1994. He took the full IMS ride in the European fleet and then played a role in the decision that the TP52 would be the next instrument of choice for grand prix racing in the Mediterranean. He quickly spun around from his duties with Desafio Español to duties aboard Bribon, a Judl-Vrolek TP52 racing now at Alicante with King Juan Carlos of Spain on the helm. When we talked (starting with some chatter about the ceramic bearings he was installing later that day on the bicycle that he bought for $2,900 on eBay) it was at the Desafio Español base at Port America's Cup, Valencia, where Bribon was sitting on the hard, ready for delivery to Alicante. -- SAIL, full story: http://sailmag.com/HartwellJordan MOUNT GAY RUM QUICK DRY SHORTS AT THE PIRATES LAIR Cruise on by The Pirate’s Lair webstore to buy our new sailing shorts available with the Mount Gay Rum logo. See them up close at Long Beach Race Week, Level Regatta, and others this summer, or give us a call to order shorts and gear with your regatta logo on them. For info, call (888) SAIL-BUM or go straight to the store at http://www.pirateslair.com/store BERMUDA SLEEPS, HARRIS CELEBRATES! St. George's Bermuda - (June 12, 2007) While Bermuda slept, Joe Harris celebrated. Joe sailed his Open 50 Gryphon Solo across the finish line off St Georges setting a new solo record for the Bermuda 1-2. Taking his own time, he finished at 1:37 EDT. His unofficial elapse time was 62 hours and 37 minutes from his 11:00 AM EDT start on Saturday June 9th. The old Bermuda 1-2 solo course record of 66h:57m was set in 2005 by Kip Stone aboard the Open 50 Artforms. The results are unofficial until verified by the race committee. Winds held through the evening after Joe's last report to keep him on the record setting pace. As he approached Bermuda he attempted to radio the race committee on VHF, but apparently they were not awake to catch him breaking the record. Joe talked with Bermuda Harbour Radio to advise them of his position as he approached and notified them of his finish. He has now anchored in the harbour to sleep and wait for customs to open in the morning. -- Full report: http://www.gryphonsolo.com/mail/view/a3923f2YPbFPpvs * American Dobbs Davis will be joining Harris for the double-handed return trip of the Bermuda 1-2 race starting June 22nd from St George, Bermuda. Event site: http://www.bermuda1-2.org FROM SEEDS GROW TREES (This is a great story about a youth in Maine learning to sail in a city program, later starting a sailing team at her high school, and then being awarded the school’s most distinguished female athlete. Read on.) Stephanie Dowling is the only girl on the nascent Portland High sailing team. She's also the captain and, at season's end, was named most valuable sailor. "She's such a fast learner and she has incredible drive as a person," said Sarah Helming, a SailMaine instructor who coaches the Portland sailors along with those from Cape Elizabeth, Cheverus, Falmouth and other high schools that have yet to accord varsity status to sailing. "She's a very driven young lady." Dowling learned sailing through a city parks and recreation program, but only since she was a sophomore has she made it her focus. She sailed for a conglomerate team last year and then led a drive to get sailing recognized as a varsity sport by Portland High, starting a club, making posters and brochures, and speaking before the school board. There were some setbacks along the way, but Dowling persevered. The sailors of Portland High, wearing over their life vests navy blue pinnies with a P in the back and a bulldog in the front, competed in more than a dozen regattas this spring. -- Portland Press Herald, full story: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=111303&ac=PHspt PLAY GOLF WITH TIGER WOODS For sailors, playing golf with Tiger Woods would be quite similar to heading to the Bitter End Yacht Club for their 21st annual Pro Am Regatta on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands this Fall, set for October 27-November 3, 2007. Pro Am Regatta Week offers amateur and old salt sailors the rare opportunity to learn from and race with the rock stars and legends of sailing. In addition to the Pro Am team racing, additional events include the Musto Scuttlebutt Sailing Championships, the Defiance Day Regatta, and lay day racing on Wednesday for those who want even more on-the-water time. Participating skippers already on board include Russell Coutts, Paul Cayard, Ken Read, Dawn Riley, Ben Ainslie, Lowell North, Keith Musto, Rod Johnstone, Bruce Kirby, and Butch Ulmer. Competition takes place on a variety of boats, including Lasers, IC-24s, Hunter 216’s, Freedom 30s and Hobie Getaways. -- Contact John Glynn for info at mailto:jglynn@beyc.com or http://www.beyc.com AC RIG DEVELOPMENT - IT'S MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE While the winner of the 32nd AC is clearly unknown, one thing is certain - we all stand to gain from this Cup. Many of the major AC developments have happened above the waterline where rigs and sail plans have seen big advances. These advances will undoubtedly filter through to other racing and cruising rigs. Having built ETNZ's rig and two other LV semi-finalists, Southern Spars has published a review of AC rig technology on its website, written by two of their Rig Designers currently working for AC teams. For more on AC Rig Development, visit http://www.southernspars.com SAILING SHORTS * Events now being shown on t2p.tv are the First Team Real Estate Regatta for the Hoag Cup and the New York Yacht Club 153rd Annual Regatta. -- http://www.T2P.TV * A new record entry of 256 sailors for the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) World Championship is reported for the event hosted this year in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. 56 countries will be represented by up to five sailors per country. While this is a record number of sailors, it is not a record number of countries. That record was set in 2000 when 59 countries participated. * North Sails has partnered with Sailing Weather Services to provide FREE weather forecasts for the Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD Regatta from June 15-17, 2007. To received these daily detailed forecasts, log on to North Sails' Weather Center: http://na.northsails.com/ew/ew_main.taf * St. Tropez, France/ Genoa, Italy (June 12, 2007) - Despite the light winds on the third and final day of inshore races at the 2007 Giraglia Rolex, Alfa Romeo maintained its top position in the Overall standings, followed by Magic Carpet Squared in 2nd and Wild Oats XI in 3rd. In the IMS Class Group A, Edimetra VI came 1st overall, followed by Atalanta II and Nikimar who took 2nd and 3rd overall respectively. Group B saw Calima take 1st overall, followed by Citta' Di Genova in 2nd and Lima Golf 3 in 3rd. -- Full story: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1637&lang=1 * US Sailing's One-Design Sailing Symposium (ODSS) will be held in Columbus, Ohio, from November 17-18. One-design sailors and class and regatta organizers from throughout the US are encouraged to participate in this annual think tank designed to keep the one-design sector of the sport healthy and thriving. The Symposium will feature seminars, workshops, and forums on a wide range of topics: from the nuts and bolts of running a class to strategies on how to build your fleet and keep class members coming back to the starting line, along with four go-fast workshops being lead by one-design champions throughout the weekend. -- www.ussailing.org * ISAF is inviting athletes to nominate candidates to represent their Olympic event on the ISAF Athletes Commission. Formed in September 2005, and reporting directly to the ISAF Executive Committee, the Athletes Commission represents the interests of the sailors in the Olympic Classes. -- http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j69FnAAAB&format=popup * The new website for the Beijing 2008 Games has recently been launched at http://www.beijing2008.com BRUCE GOLDSMITH UPDATE The Memorial Service for Goldsmith will be June 30 at 1:00 p.m. at Devil's Lake Yacht Club. The address is 2097 Marsh Dr., Manitou Beach, MI 49253. Phone (517) 547-8132. Email: info@devilslakeyachtclub.com. Organizers are seeking a head count so that they don't run out of food (or drinks, for that matter). Those planning to attend are encouraged to sign-up here: http://www.lightningclass.org/Forms/whoscoming_Bruin.asp?EventID=9 Also, a memorial fund for Bruce has been set-up to benefit the youth sailing. Any donations can go to: Bruce Goldsmith Memorial Fund, 22593 210th Avenue, Tustin, MI 49688. ASSISTANT CLUB MANAGER NEEDED OCSC Sailing, the premier sailing school on San Francisco Bay, is seeking an experienced sailor with a talent for sales and customer service. Sell our award-winning program; Counsel, mentor and delight our students/ members; Guide OCSC's daily operations. Additional information: http://www.ocscsailing.com/About/Our_People/Join_Our_Team.htm Resume and cover letter to mailto:anthony@ocscsailing.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Bill Hughes: I watched T2P.tv's NYYC Annual Regatta coverage. The announcer kept pronouncing Melges as 'mel-jes'. Having learned to sail on Lake Geneva, WI, I used to race Buddy in the weekend Lightning races. All of us in the races and throughout the midwest knew to pronounce his last name as 'mel-ges'. I even found a recent YouTube interview with Buddy from Key West where he pronounces his boats and last name as ‘mel-ges’. Please help spread the word for these folks up here in Newport on properly pronouncing Buddy's last name. * From Mark Powell: Re: Roger Clark's comment (in Issue 2363) about Mike Gebhardt "jumping back" into the Olympic Windsurfing World... Mike never left it. He's been coaching some of the top Olympic windsurfers from different nations for the past two quads. He's still a very fit and talented sailor, so look for his results to improve. As far as "how far North America is removed from the medal podium,” the key is getting support to develop young sailors. We need an alternative pipeline from the Junior YC/ College programs into the boards as well as the dinghies and skiffs. Mike and the other North American sailors are training hard to qualify their countries for the Olympics and compete in the trials and could use your support! => Curmudgeon’s comment: Regarding Mark’s closing comment, it is not a given that the US, Canada, or any other country will be able to have their leading windsurfers in the Olympics. Through a qualification process that begins with the 2007 ISAF World Championship in Cascais, Portugal, only the top 34 countries in the men’s division and only the top 27 countries in the women’s division will be permitted to participate in the 2008 Olympics. * From Robert Johnston, Rockland, ME: For those of us blindsided by DirectTV's pre-AC upgrade of ex-OLN to a premium channel and not willing to pay the price, the radio feed and limited animation at the AC Website is a lifesaver, once you get it to work on a Mac. Kudos to the announcers, like their TV cousins, who keep it lively and informative. However, be it noted that the written scroll and rounding data on-screen are several minutes behind. Following the action in your head from the announcers' commentary takes some concentration but in some says forces you to think about what's happening more than just sitting back and watching it go by. An unlikely but very nice marriage of high and low technology! * From Howard Paul: The Americas Cup has gone into the professional ranks of sports and is no longer a friendly competition between nations. It is time to break down the last remaining wall. All of the final 4 challengers have trained with the defender. Therefore, when a boat wins the 32nd America’s Cup, they win have the right to stage the next event at the venue of their choice… but that should be it. For the next Cup, let them compete with all the other boats like they did in the Acts. Let them compete to race for the America’s Cup like all the other syndicates. Let the best syndicates race for the Cup. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: There is just one small problem with this idea, and that is how the winner of the America’s Cup (along with a challenger of their choosing) gets to set the rules for the next event. I have a hunch that this idea might be too altruistic to occur now, or maybe ever. * From Bob Bausch: (edited to the 250-word limit) Yesterday I got out my old Beta tapes from 1987 and watched Dennis Conner and Stars and Stripes win back the Cup. Quite an emotional experience for a lot of people in Fremantle and the USA. One thing I was amazed at, as I had forgotten, was the big wind they had there, the “Fremantle Doctor.” The final Cup race against Kookaburra was sailed in like 18-20 knots of breeze. But I am now watching the last race of the Challenger finals, with Dennis against Chris Dickson in Kiwi Magic, and I just heard Gary Jobson say they were sailing in 28+ knots of wind, with 6-foot waves. The current AC boats would probably be reduced to shards of carbon fibre in this kind of breeze, and sea. I have gained a new respect for the 12 metre AC boats. They have a classic beauty that harks back to the J class, and they are strong boats not afraid of big wind and big seas. I gather they were slower than the current IACC boats, but how much? What does it mean if we are only talking a couple of knots? They sure look more seaworthy than this “new” class. Anyway, I am just as impressed as I was 20 years ago with the Cup Down Under. This is the real thing! And no logos! But I will still definitely be tuned in on June 23! I am hoping New Zealand will bring the Cup back to the Hauraki Gulf! CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION There are only four words in the English language that end in ‘dous’: tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. Special thanks to Pirate’s Lair, Southern Spars, and OCSC Sailing. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
