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SCUTTLEBUTT 1723 - December 2, 2004Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest 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. GUEST EDITORIAL - John Glynn As the father of a six and a half year old daughter, I am quite keen on seeing her enjoy the sport we all know and love. I am not a little league Dad looking to force racing sailing onto her. But I would like her to eventually take part in weeknight and weekend family sailing activities. Sure, my dream would be for her to come race with me at events like Block Island, Key West, and so on. But I'm realistic. I am taking it slow, and not forcing sailing on her. But the competition for her interests is fierce. She is inundated daily with imagery of horseback riding, tennis, ballet, swimming, soccer, even zoo-keeping, and the list goes on. Television, toys, children's readers, computer games, and school curriculum, all focus on the above activities. Where is our sport/past-time? Granted, one can find the occasional toy sailboat, and the random (usually graphically incorrect) sailing reader. But they are lost amongst a sea of other options. But what truly bothers me is a trend I've seen over the last few years amongst the sailing magazines: almost complete inattention to children afloat. Worse still, sailing with/for children is portrayed in unappealing fashion. An Opti event might be covered in the context of cut-throat competition, but did it look/sound fun to the child. Parents may get a primer on how to "cope/put up with toddlers/juniors while cruising." Gee, doesn't that sound enjoyable? It pains me when the only images I can find of kids having fun on the water in sailing magazines these days are in ads for charter companies like Moorings and Sunsail. I commend them on this. For the most part, sailing is a family affair, at least at the grass-roots level. My daughter could care less about the latest Wally Yacht. But she loves seeing other kids jumping off the back of a cruising catamaran. Or young sailors splashing around on Hobies, Picos, and even in Optimists. Children need to see that other children are having fun sailing. Our own sailing media should keep this in mind. And come to think of it, so should US Sailing. I must say, at least Sail America recognizes this issue, and seems to be taking steps. p.s. After exhaustive research, I finally found a good sailing-oriented children's reader (for ages 4-8) that tells a good story, is well illustrated, and is "boat anatomically correct." It's called "Little Rat Sets Sail" by Monika Bang-Campbell (published by Harcourt Books). With the holidays coming, it's a good one to put on the list. - John Glynn ADD TWO MORE The Transpac 52 Class announced two more brand new TP52 programs for 2005, one from Chile and one from the United States. The first South America flagged TP 52 from Chile is named "Pisco Sourâ" (after a very dangerous Chilean Cocktail) and will be skippered by Vasco Vascotto. Design is by Botin and Carkeek, and is being built in Castellan (Spain) by Longitud0. "Pisco Soura" will be competing on the TP52 Med Circuit in 2005. On the East Coast of the United States, New York Yacht Club's Tom Stark (owner-driver) from Greenwich Connecticut is building a Farr designed TP 52 at Cookson in New Zealand for delivery in Autumn 2005. This will be Mr. Stark's 10th race boat named "Rush." He is anticipating competing in Key West Race week against a mixture of US and European TP52's. "We'll have 20 TP 52's from four continents and seven countries sailing by the end of 2005. Hopefully we get a few more guys to get off the fence to build in time to crown the TP52 Global Champion in a multi regatta series in Florida, January 2006" says Tom Pollack, volunteer Executive Director of the TP52 Class. "And 20 TP52's does not count King Harald of Norway whose is scheduled to take delivery of a new boat in April 2006. Plus we have been slow trolling a few more 'players that are just about to take the final plunge into the TP52 class next year. "So all in all, we have witnessed a spectacular build-up in just three years for a 50' grand prix class that does not really advertise, has no central builder or designer in charge, and is run by a vote of 80% of the owners. After doing their due diligence, everybody seems to be coming to the same conclusion about the merits of a tight box rule that does not change from year to year," Pollack concluded. Class website: www.transpac52.org BEHIND THE SCENES As Ellen MacArthur scoots around the world non-stop aiming to better Francis Joyon's exceptionally quick pace, so there are a number of agitated individuals in Cowes keeping fingers and toes crossed that none of their painstaking preparation work on her 75ft trimaran goes awry on this attempt. Remarkably, talking to Neal Graham who manages the technical side of Offshore Challenges' projects, one gets the impression that there hasn't been a great amount of modification work needed since the boat was first launched in Australia in January. The main issues have been sorting out the balance between the three rudders (the outer two are fixed while the centre one kicks up) and sorting some of the deck gear out. Other than that Graham says they have been really impressed with their new half orange half blue trimaran. "One of the things which is great about the boat is that you can push the thing hard. Nigel [Irens - the designer] was right - there is no substitute for buoyancy in the front of the boat for keeping you out of trouble." One idea that B&Q Castorama team has been experimenting with is an automatic sheet release system. This one device has the potential to transform the performance and safety of multihulls in singlehanded offshore events like Ellen's present round the world attempt, but also on the 60ft trimarans in races such as The Transat or Route du Rhum where the overpowered boats are pushed harder and are more susceptible to capsize. - Excerpts from a story on The Daily Sail website, www.thedailysail.com UPGRADE TO MATRYX Turbo-charge your Ockam system. The amazing Matryx display offers more information and control than any other display. Take advantage of up to 18 user defined pages with 1, 2, 3, or 4 lines of data per page. Full system control (cals, averages, night light level, stopwatch and log switches, etc), plus graphical wind/current stripcharts let you hit the shifts like never before, and much more. Trade-in credits for working condition 005 displays (clip-in card type) are available. Strong, light, cost effective aluminum mast brackets for Matryx displays are in stock. Contact Lat Spinney (lat@ockam.com) or visit http://www.ockam.com VENDÉE GLOBE By leaving his fellow escapee Le Cam this morning, Vincent Riou has literally opened up the field of play provoking a good deal of interest and questions. This evening the two sailors are once again on parallel courses at the entrance to the Indian Ocean, with a lateral difference of around 200 miles. But Vincent Riou has regained the top speed of the whole fleet and is doubtless sailing in less built-up seas… 16.9 knot averages in 4 hours (at the Wednesday evening position report at 1900 GMT) for Vincent Riou (PRB) compared with just 13.6 for Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle). Such a difference between the two sailors is essentially translated in the various sea states. In the south, Jean is in a rodeo in chaotic seas, with cross waves due to a shift in wind with the passage of the front. In the north, Vincent is skipping along at full speed (21 knots of instantaneous speed), on a less irregular but slightly shorter course. The enigma facing the leaders in particular tonight is whether it is better to take your foot off the accelerator in difficult seas but on a direct course, or is it more beneficial to remain on a more practicable and thus faster course. More simply, they could look at which option preserves the material better. To win you first have to finish. - www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/ Leaders at 1900 GMT November 30: 1. Bonduelle, Jean Le Cam 2. PRB, Vincent Riou, 68 miles to leader 3. Sill Véolia, Roland Jourdain, 328 mtl 4. VMI, Sébastien Josse, 277 mtl 5. Ecover, Mike Golding, 433 mtl 6. Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson, 891 mtl 7. Virbac-Paprec, Jean-Pierre Dick, 1214 mtl 8. Temenos, Dominique Wavre, 1320 mtl 9. Hellomoto, Conrad Humphreys, 1363 mtl 10. Skandia, Nick Moloney, 1381 mtl 11. UUDS, Hervé Laurent, 1406 mtl 12. Arcelor Dunkerque, Joé Seeten, 1410 mtl 13. Pro-Form, Marc Thiercelin, 1415 mtl 14. Ocean Planet, Bruce Schwab, 1435 mtl 15. VM Matériaux, Patrice Carpentier, 1440 mtl 16. Akena Vérandas, Raphaël Dinelli, 1573 mtl 17. Roxy, Anne Liardet, 1636 mtl 18. Benefic, Karen Leibovici, 1715 mtl 19. Max Havelaar/Best Western, Benoît Parnaudeau, 1716 mtl 20. Brother, Norbert Sedlacek, 2109 mtl QUOTE / UNQUOTE "Pretty hard on the head this gig! Mentally it is so extremely different to the other races [I've done]. Whitbread you stop, and you can really push the boats. Big cat you learn to preserve the boat and stay right side up. Being on your own you are trying to find your own limits." - Nick Moloney, Skandia "I've got this great tactic of putting up all the sail I can manage and going to bed. It seems to have worked out fine." - Mike Golding, Ecover "I don't think I pay too much attention to the actual numbers between the fleet, it's much more about where you are positioned on the race course. Five or 50 miles between boats makes very little difference on a race like this, but where you are positioned is absolutely paramount." Conrad Humphreys, Hellomoto GLOBAL CHALLENGE Pindar lost their heavyweight spinnaker Wednesday morning in the Global Challenge 'wrong way' round the world ocean race. Skipper Loz Marriot called in earlier, "We were putting up our 2.2 oz spinnaker and were hit with about 35 knots of wind from behind. Unfortunately a sheet was released, we lost control of the spinnaker and it shredded into 100 pieces. It then got caught under the rudder, we crash gybed and had to cut it away." With the race so tight at this stage, this incident means that Pindar has now dropped to the back of the fleet, but still only 36 miles behind the leaders with more that 5300 miles of racing still to go on this leg to Wellington, NZ. - www.globalchallenge2004.com/en/ STANDINGS @ 0144 Wednesday 1. Samsung, 5,324 miles to finish = BG Spirit, 5,324 mtf = Spirit of Sark, 5,324 mtf 4. BP Explorer, 5,326 mtf 5. Barclays Adventurer, 5,327 mtf = VAIO, 5,327 mtf 7. SAIC La Jolla, 5,330 mtf 8. Team Stelmar, 5,334 mtf 9. Imagine It. Done, 5,336 mtf 10. Me To You, 5,342 mtf 11. Team Save the Children, 5,353 mtf 12. Pindar, 5,360 mtf LITIGATION The father of two teens electrocuted while sailing in the Trent River July 4, 2003, has answered New Bern's third-party lawsuit against him. Manuel Lourenco, in court documents, says that if he was negligent for having the boat strike power lines over the river, the city also was negligent for allowing exposed power lines to remain in place after a floating crane struck the lines in 1971, knocking out power to the city. Lourenco was operating the 14-foot sailboat when the aluminum mast of the boat hit a low-hanging power line. His sons, Zachary, 17, and Alexander, 14, were electrocuted. Norma S. Lourenco, the wife of Manuel Lorenco and mother of the two boys, sued the city in July of this year, accusing the city of negligence and failing to take measures to protect the public from the danger posed by the power lines that used to parallel the Trent River train trestle. Her suit contends the city did not provide a warning regarding the low power lines, did not act promptly to remove the overhead lines and failed to comply with regulations in maintaining the lines. Her suit demands a jury trial and costs and damages in excess of $10,000 to be determined by a jury. In September, the city answered the suit, refuting it was negligent in the deaths of the two boys and sued the father, saying he was negligent in the holiday sailing mishap. Francine Sawyer, Sun Journal, full story: http://tinyurl.com/3trcf "FASTEST SAILS ON THE PLANET" JUST GOT FASTER Ullman Sails' new FiberPath sails are arguably the lightest, strongest load-bearing fiber sail construction process available. Stronger for its weight than alternatives, superior longevity, and priced with our customers in mind. FiberPath sails use high quality aramid fibers, oriented along both primary and secondary load lines, structurally bonded under high heat and pressure, thereby eliminating cloth delamination. FiberPath customers enjoy sailing their new sails, not waiting months for new sails. Are you ready for the "Fastest Sails on the Planet"? To learn more about FiberPath sails, visit http://www.ullmansails.com/fiberpath.html NEWS BRIEFS * Cloud action causing continuing rapid variability in wind strength is making life less than comfortable for Ellen MacArthur in her attempt to break the solo round the world record onboard her 75-foot trimaran B&Q. The boat speed data shows surges from 8 to 25 knots. Ellen lost some ground on the record overnight, but still is 1 hour 30 minutes ahead at 0310 GTM Wednesday, with over 1500 miles now sailed since the Sunday start. - www.teamellen.com * USCG Auxiliary asks the boating public to be careful when buying Nautical Charts. There have been several reports that retail chart sellers have been selling out-of-date nautical charts to the boating public. "Proper up-to-date nautical charts are the first step in taking any cruise, whether it's around the local bay or from San Diego to Catalina Island," the Coast Guard said in its press release. Each week, the United States Coast Guard's Navigation Center issues nine regional Local Notice to Mariners. These Notices detail specific changes in the waters within the region. -www.navcen.uscg.mil * The South African America's Cup Yacht Shosholoza RSA 48 will be flying a vast Aids ribbon painted on their 33 metre spinnaker on Wednesday 1 December in support of World Aids Day. Weather and wind direction depending Shosholoza will sail as close inshore as possible off Sea Point, Green Point and the V&A Waterfront so that the spinnaker will be easily visible to those on shore. The special flying of the spinnaker is part of Wola Nani's Red Ribbon Campaign around the theme of "Everyone can make a difference" to build awareness around the fight against HIV/Aids. - http://tinyurl.com/4ajlw * Alcatel, the communications solutions provider, will partner with the 32nd America's Cup to provide global distribution to original video and other new media content over mobile and internet platforms. This new content will be available to mobile network operators and ISPs beginning with the Louis Vuitton Act 4 regatta in Valencia, Spain next June. - www.americascup.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 Rick Hatch: With winter fast approaching in North America and warmer winds still several months away, it is both refreshing and engaging to be following stories about truly exciting sailing events like the Global Challenge, the Vendee Globe, Ellen's attempt at the solo circumnavigation record, preparations for the next Volvo Round the World Race, the growth of the TP52 class, even the resurrection of Emirates Team New Zealand from the ashes of the 2003 Cup, instead of seeing more (and, by comparison, boring) drivel about the shortcomings of this or that handicap system, what some people think is or isn't wrong with the America's Cup, television coverage of sailing (if we lived in France or New Zealand, this would not even be a topic of conversation!), etc., etc., etc. Enjoy following the unfolding adventures that are currently underway, keep the competitive aspect of all amateur sport in perspective, and relish the many positive dimensions, both afloat and ashore, of sailboat racing that make it so enjoyable. * From Peter Wickwire (Re: Hunting whales): Having grown up on the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia, it is difficult to share Mr. George's sentiment regarding birthright and way of life knowing well the consequences are too dire. Maritime Canadians have witnessed first hand the disastrous results of taking the ocean's ecosystem for granted while pursuing one's "way of life." It is really sad knowing we'll never be able to offer a reasonable explanation to future generations for what has been done to the world's oceans. "Son, we were very, very, very stupid and we'd do it differently if we could do it over again," just doesn't cut it knowing the latter is likely a boldfaced lie. Much like Mr. Scrooge receiving a visit on Christmas Eve, perhaps Sir Peter Blake's spirit can join Mr. Cousteau's and drop by Mr. George's pad and let him see what's what. If not, and if you'd like to see what a positive legacy looks like, try www.blakexpeditions.com & www.cousteau.org for starters. * From Guy Nowell Hong Kong (re hunting whales): Tom George really is out of order. So maybe it should be the "birthright" of everyone living on the Great Plains to go and slaughter a few buffalo? Leave the poor damn whales alone ... there are so few left, and there is no need for Tom George and his mates to touch any of them. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. |
