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SCUTTLEBUTT 2933 - Monday, September 21, 2009Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are The Pirate's Lair, Morris Yachts, and LaserPerformance COMMENTARY Following is an excerpt from Editor Rich Hazelton's column in 48 Degrees North, as he takes a backwards glance in the magazine's 28th Anniversary issue. Racing has seen the demise of the IOR rule and the sputtering popularity of IMS. Both these rules had a great effect on boat design and it's interesting to see how today's boats basically put function first, namely speed, and race one design, or find a slot in PHRF. Ah yes, PHRF. Like a flawed but gallant Shakespearean character, she struggles on, and we thank her. There is nothing else that has gotten more boats out on the water than PHRF. Of course, at its inception we were basically "station wagon" racing. The family cruiser / racer ruled the roost, and the boats were all pretty similar. Now, with such a tremendous diversity in hull designs, with boats skimming over the water instead of through it, good old PHRF is still trying to keep up, trying to keep everyone happy, which is an impossible task. That hasn't changed in 28 years. - http://www.48north.com IT'S A TOUGH JOB - BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT Scuttlebutt reader Sarah Callahan found a story in the Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine, "Spirit," that cited a new survey by careercast.com that identified and ranked the top eight most demanding jobs - based on work hours, stress, and physical demands. Standby - here's the list of "The nation's eight most-demanding jobs." 1) Firefighter 2) Surgeon 3) Senior corporate executive 4) Police officer 5) Roustabout 6) Sailor 7) General practice physician 8) Psychiatrist Full story: http://www.spiritmag.com/click_this/article/tough_jobs/ And here's a link to careercast.com that goes into much more detail about their data: http://tinyurl.com/oy7w96 REGATTA RECEIVES HIGH SCORES Newport, R.I., USA (Sept. 19, 2009) - No one knew quite what to expect, even though a year and a half of planning went into getting 19 teams from 14 nations to Newport, R.I., for the inaugural New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. The event, which started on Wednesday (Sept. 16) , and concluded today (Saturday, Sept. 19), was conceived and very well received as a high-profile regatta for amateur yacht club teams. To that end, the New York Yacht Club put forth its best effort not only to host the event but also to field its own team, which won after 11 spectacular races on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay. The victory was no cake walk for NYYC skipper Phil Lotz and crew, even though they wound up with 11 points on their closest overall competitor, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club with Terry McLaughlin skippering. Only one Category 3 (or professional) sailor was allowed per team, and Ken Read, most recently credited for his Volvo Ocean Race success, was it for the NYYC team. Read, a NYYC member, was humbled, however, by the equanimity of his teammates. "Lord knows these guys I'm sailing with can get around the track without me," said Read, pointing out that Rick Merriman, a three-time All American from Navy, is part of the "speed loop" with Lotz that keeps the boat going while allowing Read the luxury of solely focusing on tactics. 1. New York Yacht Club (USA), Phil Lotz, 44 2. Royal Canadian Yacht Club (CAN), Terry McLaughlin, 55 3. Japan Sailing Federation (JPN), Makoto Uematsu, 70 4. Nylandska Jaktklubben (FIN), Leonardo Ferragamo, 79.2 5. Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL), Anthony O'Leary, 80. Reports, blogs, video and results: http://www.nyyc.org/eventnews Online video reports: http://jobsonsailing.com/ Live-race tracking by Kattack: http://tinyurl.com/oyue8a CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER! Mount Gay Rum goodies and gear make the perfect birthday or Christmas gift. Pick up a technical shirt or jacket with your favorite rum logo. Log on to http://www.pirateslair.com/store/index.html or call (888)724-5286 for event and team gear. MATT FISHER - LIGHTNING WORLD CHAMPION Malletts Bay Boat Club, Colchester, Vermont. - At the beginning of the final beat of the final race of the Lightning World Championship, any of the top three boats had a shot at claiming the title. The day began with Matt Fisher, from Westerville, Ohio, in first place with 33 points. David Starck, from Amherst, New York, was 5 points back in second place and four-time World Champion Tito Gonzales, from Champa, Chile was in third with 43 points. Gonzales started the final leg in first, Fisher was seventh, and Starck had jumped back up to ninth from very deep in the fleet. With Gonzales leading, Fisher had to finish in the top 10, and within 5 points of Starck to win the Championship. Gonzales went on to win the race and Starck slipped by Fisher to finish in the fifth spot. But with a seventh place finish, Fisher, along with crew Tobi and Dan Moriarty, held on to claim the 2009 World Champion title.- Alan Ouellette, Final Results 1. Matt Fisher (USA) - 3 - (13) - 9 - 8 - 1 - 5 - 6 - 1 - 7 = 40 Pts. 2. David Starck (USA) 6 - (34) - 1 - 1 - 2 - 13 - 5 - 10 - 5 = 43 Pts. 3. Tito Gonzales (CHI) - 1 - (DSQ) - 26 - 2 - 6 - 2 - 1 - 5 - 1 = 44 Pts. 4. Allan Terhune, Jr. (USA) - 10 - 8 - 3 - 4 - 13 - 3 - (20) - 6 - 4 = 51 Pts. 5. Jody Lutz (USA) 5 - 4 - 10 - 12 - 8 - 16 - 3 - (17) - 6 = 64 Pts. Event details: http://tinyurl.com/mylyfj SAIL FOR GOLD REGATTA Weymouth, England - On Saturday, the final day of the 2009 Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth, UK was set to be a spectacular finale with TV cameras on the water and in the sky and live online tracking - the only thing missing was the wind. By 12.00 four classes had already been abandoned. An overnight change in the weather had brought soaring temperatures, sunny skies and light winds in the early morning and then a postponement as what wind there was fizzled away. After a week of strong winds and great sailing, despite a massive media presence, nature had the last laugh. Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) won a bronze in the Finn class and Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.), crew Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (Redwood City, Calif.) and Alice Manard (Charleston, S.C.) won a bronze in the new Elliott 6 m. Medal Races were cancelled in the Finn, Star and Men's and Women's RS:X classes, which frustrated some sailors who wanted one last showdown. "I would have liked to get a medal race in because you always want to have the opportunity to keep moving up and working harder," said Railey. "But I am happy with another podium finish this year." In the new Women's Match Racing Event, Tunnicliffe and her team battled France's Claire LeRoy in the petit-finals, ultimately winning 2-1. On Friday, It only took one race for USA sailors Scott Whitman (Brick, N.J.) and Julia Dorsett (Westchester, Pa./Boca Raton, Fla.) to clinch the gold in the doublehanded SKUD-18 class, but they sailed the second race and won that too. The Sonar team of Rick Doerr (Clifton, N.J.), Hugh Freund (So. Freeport, Me.) and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) also won a gold medal in the Sonar class after two tough races Friday and a successful week of bullets. Sail for Gold is the seventh and final stop of the ISAF Sailing World Cup 2008-2009 series, and the leaders in the Sailing World Cup standings were also awarded today. Tunnicliffe won the Laser Radial class, and Stu McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.) finished second in the Men's 470. Skandia Team GBR landed a spectacular seven medals in front of the home crowd on Saturday with two gold, four silver and one bronze adding to the two silvers won in the Paralympic classes on Friday to ensure the largest medal haul of any nation at the event. Results: http://www.sailracer.co.uk/events/18401/results.htm JUST AN OBSERVER THIS TIME Britain's most successful Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie checked out his competition as they raced for the first time on the 2012 (Olympic) waters. The three-time gold medallist is not competing in this week's Skandia Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth and Portland. He explained: "The conditions are very variable so it's a very good testing venue. It's never really the same every day. The competitors will have to keep their wits about them and make some tough tactical calls." He believes local knowledge of Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour, where the way the tides move around the bay and the winds move over the Purbeck hills, could help the British Olympic bid for 2012 medals. "There will be an element of home advantage, we need to maximize that as much as we can," Ainslie said. "But the competition will be difficult. They are all full-time athletes and tremendous sailors. They will have picked up most of the tricks by the time it comes to 2012. Ainslie is certain that the British high achievers in 2012 will feel enormous fulfillment. He said: "For those who are successful in the home country I don't think there can be any greater feeling in sport."To be sailing out here in Weymouth and have all the locals and all the people in sailing cheering us on will have a positive effect." CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SIMPLY THE BEST Emirates Team New Zealand won their fourth regatta on the trot and are Audi MedCup 2009 TP52 champions. Immaculate team work, consistently strong tactics and perfect reliability underpinned a comprehensive overall victory for Emirates Team New Zealand who lifted the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit Trophy in Cartagena, Murcia, Spain. Lead by skipper Dean Barker (NZL), the New Zealand team won four of this season's five regattas culminating in their dominant performance at this Caja Mediterraneo Region of Murcia regatta. With a second place there, they won by 13 points over Portugal's Bigamist 7, while Quantum Racing (USA), the outgoing champions, finished third in the regatta and secured the runners-up on the season standings 78 points behind the Kiwi team. Artemis (SWE) finished third in the season standings, six points behind Quantum. - Event website: http://2009.medcup.org CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTAS * Westport, CT - Beautiful 12-15 knot conditions for the final two races of the Star North Americans. Horton and Erickson (USA) were on fire. Clarke and Bjorn (CAN) were in hot pursuit, but once Horton/ Erickson got ahead there was no catching them. This is Horton's second North American Championship and Erickson's first. 1. Andy Horton/ Steve Erikson (USA) - 5, (13), 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1 - 15 2. Richard Clarke/ Tyler Bjorn (CAN) - (16), 3, 1, 1, 6, 2, 2, 3 - 19 3. George Szabo/ Rick Peters (USA) - 2, 4, 4, 2, (12), 11, 9, 4 - 36 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/rckvto * Soling World Championship, Etobicoke Yacht Club, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 1. CAN, Bill Abbott, Paul Davis, Joanne Abbott, 20 2. GER, Roman Koch, Maxl Koch, Gregor Bornemann, 23 3. CAN, Peter Hall, Phillip Kerrigan, Gavin Flinn, 26 4. CAN, Hans Fogh, Roger Cheer, Gord Devries, 29 5. BRA, George Nehm, Marcos Ribeiro, Samuel Albrecht, 29 Results (24 boats): http://tinyurl.com/mnk5xp * Etchells North Americans, Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Toronto, Canada 1. Marvin Beckmann, Detking/ Lee (USA) 9 2. Hank Lammens, Kneulman (CAN) 14 3. Burce Burton, Burton/ Easley (USA) 19 4. Wade Edwards (USA) 25 5. Keith Longson, Weld/ Vinelli (USA) 25 Complete result (31 boats): http://tinyurl.com/m9xvyx Photos: http://tinyurl.com/l8fo2p * 29er U.S. National Championship, St. Francis YC, San Francisco, Calif. 1. Maxwell Fraser/David Liebenberg, 10 2. Sterling Henken/Hans Henken, 30 3. JP Barnes/Chris Rast, 37 4. Finn Nilsen/Alek Nilsen, 38 5. Julia Paxton/Nina Malingri, 40 Final Results (25 boats): http://tinyurl.com/lsgvvw LASERPERFORMANCE'S FREE GEAR PROMOTION IS ON! From now through December 31st buy a boat from LaserPerformance and get a dolly or covers PLUS a Ronstan Race Watch or Gill Dry Bag and Floatable Sunglasses - for free! It's that simple. It's that great a deal. Some restrictions apply. Contact your local dealer or go to http://www.LaserPerformance.com for all the details. SAILING SHORTS * The eulogy for Hugh Moore given by Robin Wallace at the funeral last Friday has been posted on the Scuttlebutt Forum. http://tinyurl.com/rxatrz * The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) is inviting bids to host the Grand Final and Regional Finals of the 2011 ISAF Nations Cup, the global competition to find the world's top match racing nation. Held five times previously, the Nations Cup triggers a pyramid of events, with nations holding club and then national championships to select their teams to attend the Regional Finals, which in turn lead to the Grand Final. The event organisers must have the full endorsement from their ISAF Member National Authority (MNA). Further information, including the Event Description and Bidding Information is posted at http://www.sailing.org/nationscup. * Bill Hardesty, the Director of the Chicago Match Race Center, won both of the ISAF Grade 3 match race regattas held at the Chicago Match Race Center in the past week in the center's Tom 28s. Results of the first regatta: 1. Bill Hardesty, San Diego, CA; 2. Alan Field, Los Angeles, CA, 3. Chris Nesbitt, Corona del Mar, CA. Results of the second regatta: 1. Bill Hardesty, 2. Nathan Hollerbach, Chicago, IL 2. Alan Field. - http://www.chicagomatchrace.org/ * In a confidential letter to the International Sailing Federation, BMW Oracle Racing skipper and CEO, Sir Russell Coutts requested a meeting with the ISAF Executive Committee. The Executive Committee met last weekend in Copenhagen, Denmark and Sail-World understands that a meeting took place, with both BMW Oracle Racing and Alinghi, meeting separately with the ISAF. There does not appear to have been any direct outcome from that meeting. - Sail-World.com, full story: http://tinyurl.com/lxg7pq * VocaLink, the international payments specialist, has appointed Mike Perham as corporate social responsibility (CSR) ambassador. As the youngest person to complete a record breaking journey to circumnavigate the world single-handed, Mike has secured VocaLink as a corporate sponsor for his next adventure which retraces the steps of the stranded crew from the Mutiny on the Bounty. Mike will take up the position of 'second-in-command' to Australian adventurer Don McIntyre's 2010 'Bounty Boat Expedition' which will re-enact Captain William Bligh's epic 4,000-mile voyage escaping the mutiny on HMS Bounty in 1789. http://www.vocalink.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Please submit your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). 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 Doran Cushing It's distressing to me, let alone the Scuttlebutt readers who might have to read my comments, that on two successive days I've found subjects that demand comment. Alinghi will continue to corrupt the process and rules to embarrass and "depower" any challenger. It is a disgrace to honesty, to ethics, and to civility. But that is the path our society has chosen to follow since the "sheep" allow it to happen. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Police were called to a daycare center where a three-year-old was resisting a rest. Special thanks to The Pirate's Lair, Morris Yachts, and LaserPerformance Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
