|
SCUTTLEBUTT 3100 - Wednesday, May 26, 2010Scuttlebutt 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. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt Today’s sponsors: Melges Performance Sailboats, APS, and Quantum Sails. BUILDING POPULARITY At the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Mid-Year meeting held earlier this month at Lake Balaton, Hungary, ISAF president Goran Petersson said, “The commitment of ISAF to ensure we strengthen sailing’s position as an Olympic sport is crucial to the long term success of our sport.” To address this need, the newly established Olympic Commission submitted a report to ISAF that identified five core segments to this overarching strategy which link to IOC criteria, among them being to build the popularity of the sport for media and spectators. Here are some of their targeted strategy points: - It is clear from the data released by the IOC that the popularity of sailing from an audience point of view, whether live or remote, is very limited. - It is in the area of building popularity where we have the most to do and the most to gain. Whilst what we do at the Olympic Games is important, it is what we do for the other 206 weeks every four years that will determine our future. - Establish Olympic sailing as a sports entertainment property, addressing each aspect to simplify the product and strengthen audience interest and engagement - The Olympic Games does not and should not lead the sport. Rather it should reflect how the sport is practised and covered at the highest level. If we are able to build strong events that we present in a consistent, interesting, exciting and understandable way, this is how we will be reflected. We need to develop the presentation of ISAF events and then exploit this capability at the Olympic Games. - There are significant benefits to the sport and its stakeholders if we are able to reposition ourselves. A higher profile for sailing will increase interest. Participation will grow as a result. This will benefit Clubs, MNAs and ISAF, as well as the industry that relies on sailing, whether competitive or recreational; Making ‘heroes’ of our leading athletes in the Olympic sailing arena will mean that young people, and importantly those parents that support their sailing careers, will aspire to be like them; Our elite athletes will have a higher profile with greater potential to raise the funds to support their campaigns, eventually becoming full time ‘professional’ athletes as we see in other sports, and in some areas of our own; The sponsorship value of national teams and our profile with funders of national programs, such as governments and NOCs will increase to the benefit of the sport. Here are the categories that the report addresses to build popularity: - Event Presentation - Change the Sport or Change the Coverage - Television Production - Applying New Technology - Distribution Channels - Maximising the ‘Live’ Opportunity - Consistency of Events and Coverage Olympic Commission Draft Report: http://tinyurl.com/2e6vvbh AUDI MELGES 20 IN EUROPE AND THE USA The AUDI Melges 20 Racing Series in the USA and Europe continues to grow. Just this past weekend the Audi Melges 20 Series had over 30 boats in Scarlino, Italy. Melges Europe will be delivering new boats all through the season as the interest is very high. In the USA the Detroit NOOD and Toronto Championship will be the next big Audi Melges 20 events building momentum for the US National Championship in Holland, Michigan late August. -- http://www.melges20.com WEATHER WOES ON DAY ONE OF WOMEN’S NATIONALS Madison, WI. (May 25, 2010) - Try as they may, there was no getting around the weather issues that plagued the start of the semi-final round of the 2010 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Women’s National Championship on Lake Mendota today. The sailors in A-Division were on the water by mid-morning, and back on shore for lunch without a race having been started due to lack of wind. An early afternoon race was ultimately abandoned and the sailors again returned to shore to wait for a change in conditions, which they did - just not for the better. By late afternoon the wind materialized, as did rain, but it was lightning which once again sent the fleet ashore after a final attempt to get the competition underway. Day one ends with no races on the scoreboard, and the possibility of similar weather conditions tomorrow (Wednesday). The ICSA Women's National Championship (May 25-28) is being hosted by the University of Wisconsin, utilizing their fleet of 420s, from the regatta base at Memorial Union and Hoofer Sailing Club. There are 18 schools competing in the semi-final round with only a top-nine finish allowing them to move on to the championship round. There they will face the nine schools who received a bye for this round based on their conference performance throughout the year. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9941#9941 NAVY CLIMBS RANKS OF ELITE SAILING PROGRAMS Navy's intercollegiate sailing team qualified for the national championships in all three disciplines this spring. Second-year head coach Ian Burman hopes the Midshipmen make that an annual habit. "We're shooting to be a perennial top five program," said Burman, referring to the Sailing World rankings. Navy's success this spring provides evidence the program is on the rise after a tough stretch. Qualifying for Intercollegiate Sailing Association nationals in Co-Ed Dinghy, Women's Double-handed and Team Racing shows the overall strength and depth of the Mids (only 8 of 32 competing schools qualified in all three events). "I think the resurgence of the program began a few years ago and my goal was to bring it to the next level," Burman said. "There is no reason why Navy shouldn't field one of the strongest programs in the country. We have a fantastic facility, top-notch equipment and tremendous support from the administration." Burman has fostered across-the-board improvement by focusing on the fundamentals, promoting stiff competition in practice and stressing physical fitness. Navy's coaching staff runs practices like regattas and puts the sailors under pressure to perform. "We're training people to make quick decisions and the only way to do that is by challenging them every day in practice," Burman said. Navy has a large team with 30 men and women on the roster, and Burman has pushed every member to contribute. While roughly a dozen Mids might compete in a given regatta, it takes the backups pushing the starters to achieve excellence. "Every single sailor is crucial to the success of the team. It's all about everyone working together to make the team better," Burman said. While Midshipmen are noted for being in tip-top shape, Burman has taken strength and conditioning to another level by hiring noted Annapolis trainer Harry Legum, who has developed a slew of sailing specific workouts. "I'd like to believe we are the most physically fit team in the country," said Burman, who was a standout sailor at Severn School and Georgetown University. -- The Capital, read on: http://tinyurl.com/Go-Mids QUOTE / UNQUOTE “It takes making sure each sailor has their list checked off to be physically, mentally, and nutritionally prepared to go racing. We do a good job of setting up. Our sailors make sure they are ready to compete on the first day. You can't 'win' a regatta on day one, but you can... certainly lose it.” - US SAILING Team AlphaGraphics High Performance Director Kenneth Andreasen on regatta preparation. - http://www.facebook.com/USSTAG/posts/129316487080532 COUGARS? NO, CRUGEAR! There's a new cat in town but it's not a cougar. Introducing Crugear by APS, "The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors." When you're looking for all the latest in sailing fashions for your team or want to bring your passion for sailing to your next event let APS Crugear outfit your crew. Featuring in house design and decoration backed by APS' top notch customer service and knowledge of sailing apparel from event gear to crew gear to corporate gear Crugear has you covered! Some things might get better with age but that doesn't mean there's time to waste. Visit: http://bit.ly/crugear PART 1: MAKING TIME TO SAIL Saving Sailing Author Nicholas Hayes continues to refine and improve the core ideas of his award-winning book in this 6-part series first published and still running in SpinSheet Magazine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brad, another dad, and I were talking about sailing, and how much we loved it. Then he warned, “Soccer is about to ruin your life.” He was, of course, lamenting family calendar complexity once kids reach the age where competitive sports clutter everyone’s lives. He had felt it like a brick in the head and was telling me to duck, fast. The shuttling, the interrupted weekends, and the new pace at which his family was sprinting through life had made it impossible for him to find an hour for himself. More, he felt powerless to suggest an alternative that might be more local, less fragmented, or just a tad slower. Brad was especially sad that his time with his kids -- just 9 through 15 at the time -- had already come to a close. Hadn’t it just started? And Brad wanted to be sailing. He had grown up with it, reaching the 420 nationals as a teen, and the Olympic trials twice as a young adult with his friends in a Soling. But he wasn’t getting much sailing in anymore. Sailing was his passion, not his family's, so it would take a backseat to soccer, and he would watch from the stands. As the book Saving Sailing explains, while there aren’t many sailors in America anymore, there are many Brads: parents wrestling with packed schedules, outside influences, huge expectations and not much choice when it comes to how time will be spent. Or so it seems. Since the book came out last fall, I’ve been on tour talking with and listening to parents, grandparents and kids, and sailing clubs, instructors and organizers. The tour is designed to collect and share ideas about how to share sailing by helping people who want to sail, sail. This is the first in a series of articles for Spinsheet that will assemble what people are saying. Ways to Save Sailing, if you will. Let’s start with some ideas for Brad and his peers: http://tinyurl.com/SpinSheet-Part-1 MAJOR COLLISION DISRUPTS LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY Sardinia, Italy (May 25, 2010; Day 4) - A major start line collision knocked two America’s Cup Class boats out of action at the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena today and led to a one-race disqualification for the French ALEPH Sailing Team. In their race against Azzura, the two boats were reaching down the start line on starboard with Azzurra leading when Bertrand Pace, ALEPH’s veteran skipper, attempted to duck under his opponent’s stern in an attempt to control the start of the Italian boat. Azzurra, steered by Francesco Bruni was the right-of-way boat. There was hard contact about four metres from Azzurra’s transom. The two boats involved are the BMW Oracle Racing Team Version 5 ACC boats USA98 and USA87 which have been chartered to the regatta organisers for the event. Oracle boatbuilders and technical experts were still assessing the damage tonight. “While unfortunate, this collision will not threaten the regatta,” said Bruno Troublé, spokesman for Louis Vuitton Trophy. “We will continue racing using the Mascalzone boats, while waiting for our very experienced team of 25 boatbuilders to complete repairs.” Today’s conditions were perfect for racing with cloudless skies, bright sun, a westerly 12-14 knot breeze and flat seas, and Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio was able to complete five of six scheduled races. Artemis continued their win streak by defeating BMW Oracle Racing. The start was owned by Terry Hutchinson driving Artemis, who led back for a perfect start, at the committee, with BMW Oracle Racing helm James Spithill trailing astern by a boat length. Oracle short-tacked relentlessly through two upwind legs and clung to Artemis on two runs but the Swedish boat prevailed. -- Full story: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/news/news.php?nws=&id=765 Video of collision: http://tinyurl.com/collision-video Photos of collision: http://tinyurl.com/collision-photos RUST NEVER SLEEPS: The two BMW Oracle Racing boats aren’t the only aspect of the team suffering at the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena. James Spithill, the 30-year-old Aussie, youngest helmsman ever to win an America’s Cup when he whipped BMW Oracle’s trimaran to victory in Valencia in February, admits he’s a bit rusty in the lumbering old Cup boats. “I haven’t really sailed these boats since the finals in 2007,” when he steered Prada against Emirates Team New Zealand for the Louis Vuitton Cup. “It’s been all multihulls since.” Tactician John Kostecki agreed, “I definitely feel rusty. A lot of us have Volvo Ocean Race experience and it’s a similar feeling to when you finish the Volvo. You don’t feel tuned up for the quick action you have to take in this kind of racing.” -- Excerpts from Sailing World blogs: http://www.sailingworld.com/blogs Current standings 1. Artemis, SWE, skipper Paul Cayard (USA), 3-0, 3 pts 2. All4One, FRA/GER, skipper Jochen Schümann (GER), 2-1, 2 pts 2. Azzurra, ITA, skipper Francesco Bruni (ITA), 2-2, 2 pt 2. Synergy, RUS, skipper Karol Jablonski (POL), 2-0, 2 pt 2. TeamOrigin, GBR, skipper Ben Ainslie (GBR), 2-3, 2 pt 6. Emirates Team New Zealand, NZL, skipper Dean Barker (NZL), 1-1, 1 pt 6. Luna Rossa, ITA, skipper Ed Baird (USA), 1-3, 1 pt 6. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team, ITA, skipper Gavin Brady (NZL), 2-1, 1 pt* 9. BMW ORACLE Racing, USA, skipper James Spithill (AUS), 0-3, 0 pts 10. Aleph, FRA, skipper Bertrand Pace (FRA), 2-2, -2 pts* * Penalty deducted by Jury/Umpires Racing is scheduled to start each day with a warning signal at 10:00 local time (GMT+2). Racing concludes June 6th. Complete coverage, including live streaming Virtual Eye tracking of each race of the Louis Vuitton Trophy La Maddalena is available at http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com BACKGROUND: The Louis Vuitton Trophy series is designed to be a cost-effective format for match racing competition in Version 5 America's Cup Class boats. For the La Maddalena event, teams will take turns racing on four equalised America’s Cup Class boats: two have been provided by BMW Oracle Racing (USA 87 and USA 98) and two by Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (ITA 90 and ITA 99). After La Maddalena, the 2010 series continues on to Dubai (Nov. 13-28). SAILING SHORTS * The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has announced that 26 competitors from 12 nations have been approved for Athlete Participation Programme (APP) funding support to attend the 2010 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey on July 8-17. A record of 344 sailors from 63 countries is expected to attend the event. -- Full story: http://www.sailing.org/32755.php * The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) recently released its 2009 Recreational Boating Statistical Abstract providing data that offers an in-depth look at the state of the recreational boating industry. -- Full story: http://www.nmma.org/news/news.asp?id=17831&sid=3 * (May 25, 2010) - The ten teams in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race commenced their race Monday from Jamaica to New York, where they are expected to arrive by June 2. After the first night back at sea the yachts head for the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti. There is still very little distance between them all and, as they continue to tack up the course and through the Caribbean islands, it is likely that positions on the leader board will change often over the course of the next few days. -- http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com * Last year’s Atlantic hurricane season saw the formation of just nine tropical storms - the fewest since 1997. And with news headlines focused on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, marina operators in the Gulf and Atlantic seaboard are questioning whether boaters are distracted or have simply forgotten about making annual storm preparations for the upcoming hurricane season, which begins June 1. Adding to the operators’ worries are forecasts warning that 2010 could be a much more active hurricane season with as many as 18 named storms. -- BoatUS, Read on: http://www.boatus.com/pressroom/release.asp?id=515 QUANTUM DOMINATES THE NOODS After the first four NOOD Regattas of 2010, boats powered by Quantum Sails have captured overall honors in 3 of the 4 events! Tim Healy and his J/24 won in St. Pete; the J/80, ‘B-Team’ won in Annapolis; and the J/24, ‘Hot Pursuit’ won in Seattle. Find your winning ways at http://www.quantumsails.com REVIEW: BHEESTIE BAG CHEMICAL DRIER By Glen Justice, Editor, DIY Boat Owner Imagine your drop your phone, your iPod, your camera or some other precios electronic item into the drink. It shouldn’t be hard. Most of us have done it. Your gadget is dead, right? Well, maybe not. The folks who make the Bheestie Bag say that their product, a sealable foil-covered plastic bag filled with absorbent chemicals, can revive soggly electronics much of the time. The bag has gained a lot of attention, with mentions in Businessweek and the Today Show, and the company invited us to test it. The ability to dry electronics would be useful on just about any boat, so we took up the challenge. After subjecting an innocent Blackberry to some watery torment, we found that the bag shows promise. It is not a perfect solution - and it cannot bring back wet electronics all of the time - but it may still have a place on your boat. For starters, the bag is designed for maintenance, rather than emergencies. The company’s theory is that personal electronics get wet, thanks to sweat, humidity and rain, and that these elements increase corrosion and wear. Dry your gear out regularly, the company reasons, and you will increase its lifespan. The company also says it can save soaked electronics in some cases. In one website testimonial, for example, a customer tells of dropping a mobile phone into his Coke at an Astros game and reviving it with a Bheestie Bag. But the company makes no guarantees. The bags are six inches wide and nine inches long, with a heavy-duty seal at the top, and contain a packet of pellets that absorb water. They sell for $20 and last about a year when used for normal drying, according to the company. Blue “indicator” beads in the bag turn grey when it is spent. We tested the Bheestie Bag (the name comes from the dictionary definition, which is a servant who carries water) on a beach in Puerto Rico, trying hard to simulate an actual accident. Curious how our test went? Read on: http://www.diy-boat.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,183/?p=1631 CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Knowledge is power, and power corrupts. So study hard and be evil. Special thanks to Melges Performance Sailboats, APS, and Quantum Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
