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SCUTTLEBUTT 1789 - March 7, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. THE WHALES FIGHT BACK Hopedale, Canada. - The 173rd annual whale and sunfish summit protocol (WASSUP) took place over the weekend in the picturesque waters off Labrador, Canada and was attended by vociferous representatives of every species and gender. The militant Orca contingent presented a detailed progress report on operations in both the North and South Atlantic claiming two keel failures (Maloney & Golding) and a good attempt at wrecking the Orange II record. Said Major General B.B. Mouth-Bass, "that Peyron has to accept that we will not take his persistent attempts to disrupt our natural habitat lightly…I mean you can't even come up for air without a maxi-catamaran piling into your blowhole these days!" The waters echoed with support as the usually docile Blue Whale community announced sweeping changes to their forthcoming targets and promised to create "an immoveable life-force in the way of the increasing numbers of darned RTW attempts." The afternoon sessions were dominated by the Undercover Sunfish Association (USA) who showcased their two year stalking of Grant Wharrington in the Sydney-Hobart by one of their top operatives in the Bass Strait and further outlined their targeting of 'Wharo' if he ever makes it to Melbourne in the VOR. Guest speaker in the evening was Bruce Dick, descendant of Moby, who attracted frowns by admitting he let B&Q pass with only minor damage out of respect for the record attempt and the skipper. "That Stella Macartney or whatever his name is did a fine job on B&Q and it's my firm belief that she might be able to put an end to this annual jamboree!" Catering was lavish with krill soup, followed by krill al dente with baby back krill served for desert. - Magnus Wheatley, Financial Times. AMERICA'S CUP UPDATES * K-Challenge, French Official Challenger for the 32nd America's Cup, is back on the water for testing and training. The team didn't stop the work since the end of the Louis Vuitton Act 3 in Valencia last October, and after more than four months at the Gandia base in Spain with a busy design and shore program, FRA 57 is the first boat modified according to the "Version 5" of the ACC Rule ready, and she has been launched Saturday. FRA 60 will also be ready soon to join FRA 57. The two-boat testing and training program will now start in a few weeks in Gandia, with the goal of the next Louis Vuitton Acts 4&5 in mind. Those next Acts will take place in Valencia in June, then the teams will go to Sweden in Malmö at the end of August for Acts 6&7, and to Trapani in Sicily in October for Acts 8&9. - Stephanie Nadin, www.k-challenge.org * For Emirates Team New Zealand, the beginning of the year has gotten off to a good start with the team running an in-house regatta at the end of January. Designed to test the performance of both GER68 and NZL81, the regatta tested the abilities of both boats, with the crew taking onboard the personal challenge as well. So far, so good - the testing program on the Hauraki Gulf has gone well, with favorable weather and conditions allowing maximum time on the water. The team will be heading over to Europe for the six regattas being held later on this year. Acts 4 and 5 of the pre-regatta series will start in Valencia on June 15 and run through to June 26. Acts 4 and 5 consist of 11 match races and five fleet races. IT'S NEW, IT'S SWIFT... Introducing "Newswift" - the next generation of Gottifredi Maffioli's popular Swiftcord line. The cover blends Dyneema SK 75 (for strength) and Cordura (superior grip), and the core is a lightweight Dyneema SK 75/polypropylene mix. The core prevents water trapping and boosts staying power in a cleat. Lightweight, strong, low stretch - perfect for spinnaker sheets. If you loved Swiftcord you'll flip for Newswift. To celebrate its introduction, Hall Spars & Rigging is offering 10% off Newswift orders placed online through our "Cordage by the Foot" department. Hall is the exclusive U.S. importer of Maffioli rope. http://www.hallspars.com ROLEX FARR 40 WORLDS Richard Perini's Evolution won the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds by a hair's breadth from fellow Aussie Neville Crichton on Shockwave. With both teams finishing equal on 66 points, it was Evolution's race win in the windy conditions two days earlier that gave her overall victory ahead of Shockwave. And just a point further behind the two Aussies was the Italian boat TWT, whose 6th place in the final race dragged her right back into contention. Peter Reggio squeezed out three races in light and fickle conditions today on the rolling swell of the Pacific Ocean. The top American boat was Steve and Fred Howe's fourth place Warpath, with Paul Cayard calling tactics. Last year's World Champion Barking Mad earned themselves a consolation prize by winning the final race by almost two minutes, but the American team were deeply disappointed with their 6th place overall. Tactician Terry Hutchinson said: "I think we sailed better here than we did in San Francisco. You look at the results and that tells a story, but we passed a lot of boats in a lot of these races." If the World Championship was awarded on how many boats you could pass during the course of a race, then Barking Mad would have won because their ability to climb through the fleet was immense." - Complete story and images: www.regattanews.com/event.asp?id=103 Partial results: 1) Evolution, AUS, Richard Perini, 2-7-1-15-6-3-9-2-21, 66 2) Team Shockwave, AUS, Neville Crichton, 4-17-2-3-15-6-4-6-9, 66 3) TWT, ITA, Marco Rodolfi, 67 4) Warpath, USA, Steve and Fred Howe, 72 5) Mascalzone Latino, ITA, Vincenzo Onorato, 75 6) Barking Mad, USA, Jim Richardson, 80 7) Ichi Ban, AUS, Matt Allen, 87 8) Southern Star, AUS, John Calvert-Jones, 88 9) Nerone, ITA, Massimo Mezzaroma/Antonio Sodo Migliori, 89 10) Morning Glory, GER, Hasso Plattner, 92 16) Pegasus USA, Philippe Kahn, 137 22) Solution, USA, John Thomson, 171 25) Venom USA, Brett Neill/Peter Taylor, 183 26) Phish Food USA, Alexis Michas, 193 Complete standings: www.cyca.com.au/sysfile/downloads/f40w_ps.pdf Regatta images: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/farr40worlds/ NEW RECORDS Orange II and Bruno Peyron's crew crossed the Equator for the second time on their round the world voyage on Sunday 6 March at 05.08 GMT. So they are back in the North Atlantic and about to tackle the final stretch towards Ushant. The maxi catamaran, sailing at 16 knots, as she crossed the line still has 3400 miles left to cover to complete her round the world voyage on her attempt to improve on the outright record held by Cheyenne since last year. As she crossed the Equator, she set two new intermediary bench mark times and a new record (subject to World Sailing Speed Record Council ratification) for the journey from the Equator to the Equator. The French catamaran, which set out on 24 January 2005, is back in the North Atlantic after 10 days, 19 hours and 5 minutes of sailing at an average speed of 22 knots. She was thus 9 days and 8 hours ahead of the record time set by the American catamaran for the journey between Ushant and the second Equator crossing. Orange II was also faster than Cheyenne on the leg from Cape Horn to the Equator. Bruno Peyron's crew took 8 days, 5 hours and 36 minutes between these two points, improving by 2 days and 5 hours on the time taken by the Fossett's crew last year. Finally, there is a new record that has been set by Orange II, according to the WSSRC rules 2005-2008. After the Indian and South Pacific crossing records, Orange II should be given the new reference time between the two Equators via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn). This new time, which is subject to ratification by the WSSRC is 33 days, 16 hours and 9 minutes, or 8 days and 5 hours better than Cheyenne on the same stretch. So it is with a lead of 9 days and 8 hours over the outright record that Orange II is tackling the final leg between the Equator and Ushant this morning. A year ago, Cheyenne covered this distance in a record time of 8 days and 6 hours in exceptional weather conditions. The Cheyenne crew was able to take the direct route to reach Ushant, while Orange II, this year, looks like having to take the long way around via the north west, as a high-pressure area is blocking their path. At 010 GMT on Monday Orange II had covered 23089 nm at an average speed of 23.1 knots. Having sailed 438 nm in the previous 24 hours Orange II is now 3054 ahead of the absolute record held by Cheyenne with 3054 nm to go. - www.maxicatamaran-orange.com/ CAN YOU READ THE BREEZE? You spend a lot of money on sails, rigs, electronics, bottom prep, and pros. You seek the speed advantage. But can you read the breeze? Do you see the subtleties? Or, are you a misguided missile? The best breeze readers in the business rely on Kaenon Polarized and the proprietary and award-winning SR-91 polarized lens to enhance their vision. Kostecki, Butterworth, Foerster, Burnham, Swanson, Read…the best in the biz possess the Kaenon Polarized advantage. Speed and smarts win championships. Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. Available in Rx, and at finer locations around the world. http://www.kaenon.com ORYX QUEST 2005 Tony Bullimore on Daedalus has decided to reduce sail and head west to avoid a hurricane in the South Pacific. This just in from Tony. "We received an email from Lee Bruce, our Weather Router, to tell us a massive storm, known as Hurricane Percy, is moving from the Pacific, towards the Southern Ocean, but more important, the present course we were steering, would put us right into the centre of this weather system, by the 7th February. We would then have winds of 50 kts, gusting 60 / 70 kts, with massive, out of control seas. At 03:30 GMT Sunday Saturday night Brian Thompson and his crew on Doha 2006 became the first of the Oryx Quest yachts to round the famous landmark. The wind had moderated a little and the speeds had dropped from consistently being in the mid-twenties, to a more sedate 12 knots as the massive Qatari catamaran cruised stately past, the second time for the big cat, the first time for some of the crew on board. Standings: Doha 2006, 10135 miles to finish, 2. Cheyenne, 901 miles to leader, 3. Deadalus, 2969 mtl; Retired: Geronimo. - www.oryxquest.com/ QUOTE / UNQUOTE * "The speed these boats travel allows the navigator to position the boat within the systems to sail in front of them rather than being run over like the bulls in Pamplona." - - Andy Meiklejohn, Doha 2006 * "It is a little early to talk about arrival times but under some pressure, that gives an ETA window (if all goes well, touch wood etc.) of 29th March (52 days) to the 3rd April (57 days). Given the difficult conditions expected back up the Indian Ocean I would guess closer to the 57 day mark and I stress again if all goes well (I'm certainly superstitious as are most sailors!)" Will Oxley, Doha 2006 NEWS BRIEFS * The second release of the ISAF World Sailing Ranking for 2005 have been published and include the results from nine ISAF Graded events including one World Championship, one C1 event, one Grade 1, three Grade 2 and three Grade 3 events. This is the second ranking release for the Laser Radial and this is so exciting because the number on the ranking lists has now swelled to 84. For those who care, the ranking are now online: www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1fFhyBvw *It was at 17 hours 30 minutes and 40 seconds GMT this Sunday 6th March 2005 that the 60 foot monohull Roxy skippered by Anne Liardet crossed the finish line of the Vendée Globe 2004. The race time to make the 23 680 miles is 119 days 5 hours 28 minutes and 40 seconds at an average theoretical speed across the course of 8.25 knots. She finishes 31 days 18 hours 40 minutes and 45 seconds after the winner, Vincent Riou aboard PRB and becomes the third woman after Catherine Chabaud and Ellen MacArthur to officially complete the Vendée Globe. -www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/infos/4910.html * The 50th annual Thistle Mid-winters East took place last week at St. Petersburg Yacht Club with 63 boats competing in breezy conditions during 5 days of close racing. Paul Abdullah won with 39 points and a thin 2-point margin over 8 races with his crew, Scott Griffin and Sarah Paisley. This is Abdullah's 2nd Mid-winters East title in 3 years, along with crew member Sarah Paisley. - Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/5ntce HEY WAKE UP, IT'S ALMOST SPRING! Goodbye winter - Bongo racing begins next week. The very first Midwinters are in Sarasota, FL, March 18-20 (one charter boat still available), the Annapolis Spring Fling is in April, and the first ever Nationals is July in Newport. Get in now to enjoy the beginning of something new. http://www.sailabongo.com 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. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Andrew Hurst, Editor, Seahorse magazine: Gareth Evans is not the only person to been struck dumb when Bruno Peyron hit 'ten days ahead' of the existing RTW record. Peyron is the class of the field in these big cats, as acknowledged by Cam Lewis is his great book about the first Jules Verne back in 93 (and also his now famous series of articles in Seahorse , plug plug). To those who want a better understanding of the 'depth' of the Jules Verne story, and who don't read French, then I urge you to read Around the World in 79 Days - by Cam Lewis himself. To those who do read French - or want to try - then Bruno himself has a couple of excellent books out, including one beautifully illustrated A4 'Annual' written specifically for children, stilll one of the best sportsman-to children books I've ever come across. There is one word I steer clear of in sailing, but here goes: awesome! * From Christophe Guigueno: Gareth Evans' letter said, "We were all amazed a year ago when Steve Fossett knocked 6 days off the record - a phenomenal achievement. Averaging 15.5 knots for 58 days was quite incredible but so far Orange has averaged 23.5 knots." Cheyenne's average speed of 15.5 knots is the WSSRC average speed calculated over the 21000 nm long orthodromic course. In their website, they did calculate a true 18.3 knots of average speed. In the case of the maxi catamaran Orange II (for who I work as website journalist), the average speed from the start is calculated on an "ideal" route calculated itself from Orange II, Cheyenne and Geronimo's previous routes. It takes in account a true weather route and has been estimated by René Boulaire before the start. This represents a 24500 nm long route. But this is still not Orange II real route. And Bruno Peyron will give us, when back in France, the number of miles covered by Orange II around the world. * From Richard Clark: Steve Fossett claims the record for the solo round the world flight, Non Stop. No argument, if he had stopped to check for the fuel problem he would have fallen out of grace with god so to speak. Orange II on the other hand, was parked in the ocean, "stopped" I believe was the exact word, so how can they claim a non stop around the world sailing record? * From Dave Bandstra: It is inconceivable that the international media would celebrate a reckless act such as the one Steve Fossett just performed by flying solo nonstop around the world. The danger in which he put all other aircraft, not to mention innocent wildlife, that may have been flying in the vicinity of his plane while he was taking a nap shows an utter disdain for the well-being of others in the interest of pursuing selfish goals. All solo distance flying records should be stopped and an end should be put to this madness. * From Olaf Harken: We lost a great one with the passing of Warren Jones but the memories of this man will not be forgotten. Whenever I got a call from him I braced myself for at least ten minutes of abuse before the subject was brought up. The stories are endless but the IRS taxman story is one of my favorites. When asked to see his records Warren handed him a huge cardboard box filled with receipts, invoices, notes, orders, lunch wrappings, drawings etc. When asked for information, Warren told him it wasn't his job to organize the files or find the information and that it was all in the box. After an hour or two sifting through the mess the auditor shook his head and walked out of the store never to return. Chaos should have been his middle name. The store on a Saturday looked like a bomb had gone off inside but whatever you wanted was there, and Warren knew exactly which pile it was in. Good-bye old friend and heaven help Heaven when Warren comes through the gates. * From August Miller: Warren Jones was special. He knew and was loved by sailors from all over. Many students from University Sailing Clubs in Ann Arbor and East Lansing made the pilgrimage to downtown Detroit to find world famous Thomas Hardware and get sorted out by Warren's direct gaze. He knew the location (drawer, cabinet, shelf, isle or under what other item), the price and the number left of every item which must have numbered in the tens of thousands. He knew where in the area to go (like Bill Sarnes or Howard Boston) to obtain objects he didn't stock. When he announced the move to Grosse Pointe Farms because Detroit had become too dangerous, we thought the logistics would be similar to Xerxes moving on Greece. We also knew that Warren wouldn't misplace a single item. Warren was of the old school of service where common sense and humor went along with the seamanly way of solving a customer's problems what ever they might be. Warren Jones' character lives on in all those who knew him. * From Len Davies: Good to see Steve Fossett had not forgotten his sailing roots! Press photographs show him emerging from his aeroplane wearing a pair of DuBarry sailing boots. Was he expecting to take to a liferaft? * From Paul Brown: Unless I missed it, I don't think there has been a word out of Washington in regard Fossett's, Branson's, Rutan's, et al amazing achievement. If Lindbergh had been treated this way we would still be depending on Cunard for our oversea's travel. Is Washington practicing NIH (not invented here)? * From Frank Whitton: The author of the Curmudgeon's Observation in 'Butt 1788 about 'what women must do' - Charlotte Whitton - was the Mayor of the Capitol City of Canada, Ottawa some 60 or so years ago. This was before Womens Lib and before the equity of sexes was considered an issue. Although I never met her, I still hear stories about her while travelling in that beautiful part of Canada. As an aside, the name Whitton is English and has a Family Motto (Ad Litera Tendit). My ancestors were gentlemen farmers from the somewhere in the middle of England. The family crest is a three masted Brigintine and my father used to tell me that the motto translated in English to "Stick to the Shore". CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. - Albert Einstein |
