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SCUTTLEBUTT 2136 - July 13, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.DISASTER IN MARBLEHEAD Shortly after the fleet came in from racing on Tuesday, July 11 during the 2006 Flying Scot North American Championship Regatta, at Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA, a micro-burst tornado devastated the Flying Scot fleet and many of the Yacht Clubs' boats and docks. Boats that were on the dock were flipped 8-10 feet in the air, with at least 30 of the 63 competing boats turtled, with damage to many more. Fortunately, all Scot sailors and Corinthian YC people were injury free. It will be at least two weeks before the yacht club facilities will be available to use again, so as a result, the Flying Scot North American Championship have been cancelled. - See photo on class website: http://www.fssa.com - See local TV report: http://tinyurl.com/js4rb FINAL 30 ANNOUNCED Los Angeles - The 30 young men and women chosen from among 538 applicants for Roy Disney's Morning Light film project share one quality: unlimited ambition. One typical teenage candidate will enter Yale University in the fall while another is shooting for the stars as she studies to become an atypical female astrophysicist. The 30 will participate in Selection Trials in Long Beach Aug. 5-13, all expenses paid by Pacific High Productions. The final team of 15 will be announced at the end of those trials and will undergo four months of training on the Transpac 52 Morning Light in Hawaii starting in January. Then 11 or 12 will race Morning Light from Los Angeles to Hawaii in the 44th Transpacific Yacht Race starting July 15, 2007, without professional assistance on board. The 30, including five females and representing 14 states, plus Canada, Australia and the West Indies, were selected through résumés and personal interviews, but youth was one firm standard. Together they will be the youngest crew ever to sail Transpac. - For the complete report and the list of thirty nominees: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/0712 WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR Porto Azzurro, Elba Island, Italy (July 12, 2006) — On the strength of an unbeaten day, Ian Williams has moved into the lead at the Locman Cup – Elba Island, the eighth and final stage of the 2005-’06 World Match Racing Tour season. Williams (GBR), skipper of Williams Sail Racing, went 4-0 on the day to run his record to 7-1. He’s tied with Peter Gilmour (AUS), PST, on wins, but gained the tiebreak advantage when he beat Gilmour head-to-head in the next-to-last flight of the first round. For Williams, his spot at the top of the leaderboard is unfamiliar territory after taking up match-racing full time last year.“It feels like we’ve been improving all year,” said Williams. “It feels like it’s coming together. I have the same crew as in Germany and that’s important.”Williams placed third last month at Match Race Germany after faltering in the semifinal round. He lost that round to Gilmour, but exacted a bit of revenge today when he beat Gilmour handily. The day started slowly, with racing not getting underway until after 2:00 pm. Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio postponed this morning rather than racing in the light easterly winds that frustrated competitors yesterday. He decided to wait for the afternoon seabreeze to fill, and it was a good decision. When the wind filled from the west it was between 12 and 15 knots. By the end of the day, around 6:00 pm, it was blowing 15 to 18 knots with gusts up to 20 knots. - Complete report: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/ Provisional Standings (After 10 of 20 scheduled flights) 1. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 7-1 (Crew: Bill Hardesty, Mark Nicholls, Simon Shaw, Mark Williams) 2. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 7-1 (Crew: Christian Scherrer, Rod Dawson, Kazuhiko Sofuku, Yasuhiro Yaji) 3. Cameron Dunn (NZL) Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, 5-3 (Crew: Matteo Auguadro, Maciel Chicchetti, Rasmus Kostner, Chresten Plinius) 4. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 4.5-3 (Crew: Johan Backman, Robert Skarp, Carl-Johan Uckelstam, Emil Wiberg) 5. Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Shosholoza, 4-4 (Crew: Mike Giles, Charles Nankin, David Rae, Mark Sadler) 6. Thierry Peponnet (FRA) Areva Challenge, 2-6 (Crew: Benoit Briand, Tanguy Cariou, Herve Cunningham, Thierry Douillard) 7. Pierre Mas (FRA) China Team, 1-7 (Crew: Xavier Husson, Jeremy Koo, Charles Lim, Wearn Haw Tan) 8. Giovanni Segnini (ITA) Locman Sailing Team, 0-7 (Crew: Leonardo Chiarugi, Giuseppe Lallai, Cesare Landi, Enrico Menno) ARE YOU ON TOP OF YOUR SAILING GEAR GAME??? If not, then it’s time to call Lands’ End Business Outfitters 800-490-6402 to place an order for the legendary Mount Gay Rum gear - jackets, polos, bags, fleece items and more. Look for the Mount Gay Rum regatta gear line at July sponsored regattas - Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac 2006 sold at the Island House, Mackinac Island, Larchmont Race Week, Hook Race, Level Regatta, Around the Island Regatta, Screwpile, Around Long Island, NOODs, and at more sponsored regattas. Visit Mount Gay Rum’s website to view the calendar of sponsored regattas at http://www.mountgay.com TRIVIA QUESTION What does the name of the America’s Cup defender “Alinghi” mean? (Answer below) A FRIENDLY COMPETITION BETWEEN NATIONS No, we are not talking about the America’s Cup, but rather a new event that was added to the 29er European Championship in Denia, Spain – The Nations Cup. Two boats from each country were nominated by their team. The racing format was a 300m windward/ leeward course in the harbour. In the first race, all the teams competed, with the team with the lowest combined points score was then eliminated from the next race. This was repeated until there were three teams in the final. Watched by a crowd on the shore and three large spectator boats, the first country to be knocked out was France followed by an unlucky Germany through an OCS. On the water judging was tight and harsh and included Americas Cup jury members from just down the road. The final was between Spain, Italy and Great Britain. It looked like Spain had the upper hand, but with a bit of team racing and some lucky gusts in the dock, GBR took the first 2 places in the race and with it the 29er Nations Cup. Spain followed in second with Italy third. VICTORIA BC TO MAUI RACE (Wednesday, July 12) First raced in 1965, this year’s race marks the 20th bi-annual running of the 2300nm Victoria BC to Maui race. Today is day 10 of what is usually a 14 to 16 day race. This year has been particularly challenging as the Pacific High extends a long way south. Many of the boats that lead their divisions have done well by sailing south from Victoria and not turning for Maui till they reached the same latitude as San Diego! The larger boats in the fleet have sailed through the slower Transpac divisions (Transpac starts later then the Vic Maui). The southern side of the Pacific high pressure zone has continues to affect the competitors. - A few days ago we saw Vancouver based Kinetic, a Beneteau 47.7, sail a little too close to the high and lose a few positions as she “bounced off” the light air zone and headed south again looking for better winds. Over the last couple of days a number of other boats, including Cassiopeia (Davidson 72) and Voodoo Child (Santa Cruz 52), have also bounced into the lighter winds of the high which extend further to the south the farther west the boats get. The pressure is on for the navigators on each boat to find a way to get through to the south of the high pressure zone.- Complete report: http://www.vicmaui.org/2006/index.php?page=Interface.Article&article=31 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * After setting the Atlantic crossing record, the Orange II crew headed off towards the boat's technical base in Lorient, France in order to carry out the necessary repairs on the port rudder blade and for a quick overall check-up. Here’s an image of what was still hanging onto the rudderpost when they finished the crossing: http://www.mer-media.com/upload/images/photos/1152714133-Dsc02107.jpg * Thomas Akin's Santa Cruz 52, Lightning, is holding the lead of both the entire fleet along with the downwind "big" boats in Division E of, the 14th Biennial West Marine Pacific Cup. In the other classes, The Contessa, a Swede 55 sailed by Neil Weinberg and Shawn Throwe, has moved into the lead of the doublehanded division. One boat will take the Million Mile Trophy sometime tomorrow. The West Marine Pacific Cup will have clocked a million miles of sailing by Wednesday. Contenders for the trophy are ET, Lightning, Basic Instinct, Orizaba, Sapphire, Synge and The Contessa. - http://www.pacificcup.org/ * The inaugural Vineyard Cup to benefit Sail Martha's Vineyard, the Island organization that teaches Island children from the fifth grade through high school to sail for free, was held Sunday, July 8th with 43 boats competing. The Grand Prix Division sailing in 16 knot southwesterly on Vineyard Sound was won by Chuck Parrish’s 12-meter Onawa. The Heritage Division raced a 15 nm course in Nantucket Sound and was won by Havilah Hawkins' 53-foot gaff rigged cutter, Vela. Team competition for the Bronze Lobster was won by the team of Andiamo II sailed by Bob Jewitt and Jim Swartz's Moneypenny. - http://www.vineyardcup.com * The WSSR Council announced the ratification of a new World Record for the Outright Greatest distance sailed in 24 hours. It was achieved by the 120 ft catamaran Orange II, with skipper Bruno Peyron and his crew of 11 on 2nd to the 3rd July 2006. The distance sailed was 766.8 nm at an average speed of 31.95kts. Bruno Peyron and Orange II also held the previous record, where in 2004 they covered 706.2nm at an average speed of 29.42kts. - John Reed, Secretary to the WSSR Council * Olympic sailor Amanda Clark, along with Becca Dellenbaugh, Leigh Hammel, and other prominent sailors will coach over 70 young girls, aged 9 to 15, in an Optimist Class dinghy racing clinic and regatta on July 16-17. Noroton Yacht Club, in Darien, will host the event which last year drew girls from Maine, Long Island Sound, to New Jersey. The goal of the clinic is to impart more racing skills and confidence in the young girls in the hopes that they will develop into a broader base of US women sailors competing in national and international sailing competitions. - http://www.norotonyc.org * Australian Yachting Awards winners in six categories were announced today at a black tie gala dinner held at Doltone House at Pyrmont in Sydney. Luna Rossa helm James Spithill was named Male Sailor of the Year, whilst Formula Windsurfing World Champion Allison Shreeve picked up the female award. - http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j62Fh`~BD&format=popup Correction: In the Scuttlebutt eNewsletter Issue 2135, the Optimist North American Championship 2006 results wrongly listed third place finisher Iván Aponte as being from Peru, rather than his actual country of Puerto Rico. TRIVIA ANSWER The name of the America’s Cup defender, “Alinghi,” has no literal meaning, but was a name that Syndicate Head Ernesto Bertarelli and his sister made up as children. J/22 WORLDS - ULLMAN SAILS 3-PEAT!! For the 3rd year in a row, the winning team flew a complete inventory of Ullman Sails at the 2006 J/22 World Championships. Congratulations to Jeroen Den Boer and crew Truus Vissia, Martijn Punt, and Sanne Botterweg, topping forty-three teams to capture the title of J/22 World Champions. The 12-race regatta in Quiberon, France was sailed June 30 - July 7. Again, and again, World Champions have come to depend on the Ullman Sails’ speed advantage to win at the highest levels of competition. For the "Fastest Sails on the Planet" contact your nearest Ullman loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.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. 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 thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Gail M. Turluck: (re, Paul Henderson’s comments to improve NA racing) Oh, the ex-Pope is so right! But, getting back what is lost is extremely difficult! Where the Fork and Knife have moved in, the people who sailed and raced have been brushed aside, the diners have no interest in water, rigging, physical activity, just "making an impression." Their kids are off playing soccer, football, baseball, going to sleep away camp, in band, and all the rest. I've watched the change from my youth--yacht clubs used to have big boat fleets AND active one-design fleets and boasted how many different Olympic Classes they hosted. Kids started in local bathtubs (El Toro, Lehman, InterClub, etc.), progressed up into two-person slightly higher performance boats (Blue Jay, X-Boats, Enterprise, etc.), and then on to 3-person (Lightning, Thistle, etc.). A treasured ride on a Star, FD, Finn was an honor. The regional pride of programs and their equipment is fading. Opti! 420! Laser! Kids today that DO sail snub their nose at anything that floats that "isn't in program," choosing to play video games rather than sail a major championship in their neighborhood that's not in their "Class of choice." Major YC's in the US that used to have one-design programs now have big-boat one-design programs and the kids think that's it! NAYRU would be great and would be just the thing for bringing dinghy sailing back to life in North America! * From Paul Dietrich: (edited to our 250 word limit) Regarding Mr. Henderson comments in Scuttlebutt 2135, I think he misses a key component which has added to the disarray in small boat one-design racing. He harkens back to the 60s and 70s when Europe came to race in the USA. He believes Yanks don't feel loved today. Indeed, he has a point here, but I believe the population bubble is great factor in this calculation. In the 60s and 70s, the great designers were building boats for a market of burgeoning youth. The Baby Boomers were in their 20s and 30s and could afford these famous one-designs. The Cal 20 and the Santana 22 were popular West Coast examples. As the Boomers began to earn more, they took a step up to buyer newer and larger boats. Today these same boomers are earning real money and buying their dream boats. A Farr 40 or even a J/105 cost a big money to race competitively. The boomers are the market in sailing, in automobiles, in vacations, in housing, in insurance, and in medicine to name a few. That generation has a tremendous impact on markets around the world. Maybe in 10-20 years, when they start losing some of their consuming power, the small boat one-design market will have a new audience. Are there any designers or builders who agree with me? I don't mean to dismiss Mr. Henderson's desire to bring back small boat one-design; I’d love to see it, but I hope this factor is considered and addressed. * From Ray Wulff: For 99.999% of the sailing public (not just racers I dare say), ISAF is irrelevant. Their enjoyment of the sport and the camaraderie we enjoy is not dependent upon the governing power or representation on such-and-such committee. Growth in small boat sailing is achieved by bottoms up support by passionate individuals - Ali Meller, Jesse F, Chris Doyle, Todd Hiller to name a few - not by committee members sitting in a stuffy hotel in Europe. Until the international governing bodies of sailing understand how to make themselves relevant to the common racer, the internal pointing of fingers will continue until their demise. I do not long for the "Good ol days of sailing," but more so cheer the efforts of our current crop of outstanding high potentials, and recommend everyone support them with their wallets rather than long for times gone by. * From David Tew: (edited to our 250 word limit) After learning and instructing at Northeast yacht clubs in the summers during the 60s and 70s, I have particular memories of those years that had an impact on enthusiasm for the sport: Parents let us boys and girls do all kinds of sailing under own supervision- tow boats in lines to other clubs for team races, sail at night to informal beach party/ bonfire/ clam digging sites, organize overnight cruises to other harbors and coves, participate in annual yacht club cruises aboard our own racing boats, where we'd raft up by ourselves, sleeping and eating aboard. I was encouraged to take our family's 32' cruising boat out with friends around Nantucket Sound for pretty extensive cruises starting at about age sixteen. There was a lot of non-racing activity that met a broad range of youthful inclinations toward sailing, and it was not (always) tightly planned or managed. Instructors seemed willing and eager to spend their off hours with young sailors of all ages, and the older kids in the 'programs' included younger ones in non-sailing activities like miniature golf, drive-in movies, indoor and outdoor games day and night, water skiing, camping, etc. The older kids also passed on seamanship skills and a pride in doing them well. All this had a deeper impact on kids enjoyment of 'summertime life' and being on the water. I know these memories are very real for others, and me, and that we cherish those times as formative of our love of sailing and racing. * From Gary Bruner: I have really appreciated the news and links from the Pacific Cup, as two acquaintances are doing the double handed thing on a Moore 24 called Keeli Quinn. But why no news from the Single Handed Transpac? I have been following the Olson 30, Foolish Muse, which won her class and was 2nd overall, but saw little or nothing in 'Butt. The BIG single handed races get great press for months; surely this race is worth a little cyber-ink. Curmudgeon’s Comment: This might come as a big surprise, but we weren’t aware of the Fifteenth Biennial Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race from San Francisco to Kauai, Hawaii that started on June 24th, with lead boats now finishing. The reality is that unless race organizers or competitors send us info, this can happen. Thankfully, Google helped us find the race link: http://www.sfbaysss.org/TransPac/transpac2006/index.html * From Michael D. Ewing: Since when does the Curmudgeon flack for Bayview Yacht Club? The world’s oldest and largest freshwater yacht race concludes at Mackinac Island, true, but originates one mile offshore from Chicago, not anywhere near Port Huron. The Island Goat Sailing Society was founded by and for sailors who completed 25 Chicago-Mackinac races. Among other worthy deeds, it raised the money required to rebuild the Round Island Light, which serves as one end of the finish line for and a familiar icon of that 335-mile transit of Lake Michigan. * From Philip Walwyn: In Issue # 2135 it is said that the Port Huron Mackinac race is the largest fresh water event in the world with 265 starters, however, the Bol d'Or last month on Lake Geneva had 560 starters. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION When someone says, "Do you want my opinion?" - it's always a negative one. Special thanks to Mount Gay Rum and Ullman Sails. |
