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SCUTTLEBUTT 3355 - Friday, June 3, 2011Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: IYRS and Sperry Top-Sider. COLLEGIATE SAILING HONORS AWARDED Cascade Locks, OR (June 2, 2011) - A highlight of the collegiate sailing year, Collegiate Sailing Honors were awarded at the final Nationals banquet at Cascade Locks, OR, after the last day of racing for the Gill/ICSA Dinghy National Championship. For the second time, College Sailor of the Year was awarded to Georgetown senior Charlie Buckingham, who was also the winner of A-division at the 2011 Gill/ICSA Dinghy National Championship and this fall won the Laser Performance/ICSA Men’s Singlehanded National Championship. He previously won the honor in 2009 and has also been a collegiate All-American four times (2011, 2010, 2009, 2008) in his career. The winner of the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy for best overall collegiate team was Boston College. The Fowle trophy is determined by the team with the most points that are compiled results of the Women's Singlehanded, Men's Singlehanded, ICSA Match Racing, Women's Dinghy, Team Racing, and Coed Dinghy North American Championships. Robert Vann (Tampa, FL.), a graduating senior from the U.S. Naval Academy, was awarded the Robert H. Hobbs Sportsmanship Award. Vann has been named an ICSA Honorable Mention All-American three times (2009, 2010, 2011) and has shown outstanding sportsmanship in his collegiate sailing career. The James Rousmaniere Award for Student Leadership was awarded to Georgetown’s graduating senior Michael Campbell (San Diego, CA) who has been a leader on his team and in his district contributing to improving college sailing. All of these names will be added to the ICSA Hall of Fame display located in the Robert Crown Sailing Center at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. -- Full report and the 2011 ICSA All America Team: http://tinyurl.com/3qobpky GIVING HELP WHEN IN DANGER The very first rule in the 2009-12 Racing Rules of Sailing is Safety- Helping Those in Danger. In rule 1.1, it says, “A boat or competitor shall give help to any person or vessel in danger.” In the race of life, Mark Powell would like us to respect this rule as well. Here is Mark’s plea: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Many Scuttlebutt readers may know Jim Kirk, a Buffalo (NY) native who now resides in Long Beach (CA) and sails out of Alamitos Bay YC. Jim sailed Finns with Olympic campaigns in the 1970s and 80s, then Lasers, windsurfers, and occasionally 5O5s and "big boats". Jim even coached sailing at the U. S. Naval Academy for a spell. When I lived in Miami, Jim and his Finn buddies would often crash on my floor. When he moved to Long Beach, he and his wonderful wife Ellen returned the favor to me and many other sailors for various events in Southern California. Jim has been diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a genetic disorder that prevents bone marrow from producing the necessary elements in the blood. The only cure for the disease is a bone marrow transplant. I'd like to encourage those who know Jim and others who may wish to help, to join the Bone Marrow Donor Registry. You can get complete information on the donation process and join online at http://www.marrow.org. The process is pretty simple. Once you join you will receive a swab kit to collect DNA from inside your cheek, send it back and wait to see if your marrow is a close enough match to help Jim (or another patient in need). The chance of matching any patient in need is about 1 in 540. Donation is either from peripheral blood cells (a non surgical method) or by an outpatient surgical procedure in which marrow is extracted from the pelvic bone. For each type of donation, the donor goes home the same day they donate. When joining the registry be sure to use the code Hope4All to waive costs (generously provided by the City of Hope). The more folks on the registry, the better chance Jim and others can find matches that will save their lives! JOIN GRADUATION AT IYRS Come to IYRS on Saturday, June 4, at 10 am, to watch a unique graduation rite: instead of collecting diplomas that prove hours of learning, students launch the boats they built and restored while hundreds of onlookers flock to the school docks to join the celebration. Boatbuilding & Restoration students restored a fleet of Beetle Cats, a Columbia Lifeboat, a Herreshoff 12 ½, and an R-Class sloop. The first graduating class in the new Composites Technology program will showcase their final project: the tooling and construction of Moths, the single-handed hydrofoils considered one of the fastest sailboats on the planet. For more information: http://www.iyrs.org. AMERICA’S CUP WORLD SERIES TO BE AN X-40 “ME-TOO” (June 1, 2011) - In the lead-up to the 2007 America’s Cup, the then organisers created a series of Acts which gave multiple cities around the world a chance to see the boats that would ultimately go on to compete for the prize. The intent of the new organisers was to create a ‘World Tour’ that would be something special - something that the world’s latent sailing fanbase would book hundreds of hotel nights to come and watch - but instead the America’s Cup World Series will now only feature the ‘mini-me’ 45 foot versions of the wingsailed catamarans. Described by Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton as “conservative” - the AC45 is being talked up by the promoters and the PR spin is the boat has been “selected by competitors for use in all America’s Cup World Series events.” There is no doubt that the boats can provide a great event package. The Extreme Sailing Series has shown that their format is exciting and provides a challenge for the best sailors in the world. Now it seems the America’s Cup World Series will be a copycat version of the Extreme Series, with the only real differentiator being a wing-sail and the America’s Cup ‘brand’. The first event will be held in Cascais in August. Supporters of the race say that 5 star hotels are booked out all the way to Lisbon as a result, but a quick search of popular travel websites shows that not to be the case. Lisbon, Estoril and Cascais are expected to benefit from tensions in North Africa, which means that the America’s Cup World Series event might also benefit from a slightly higher number of people in the region, but it would be a stretch to say that the cup event is the reason for any influx over and above the media entourage. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3qs9ne7 MOTH NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS UNDERWAY By Chris Eriksen In the world of small-boat racing, there are basically two kinds of boats - one-design classes and development classes. In a one-design class, each boat is made as identical to every other boat as possible so that the competition is among skippers and crews. One-design classes are generally controlled by strict rules that restrict innovation. In development classes, however, while the skill of skippers and crews is hugely important, individual innovation is encouraged within the very basic rules of the class. An example of this is the International A-class catamaran. It basically has four rules limiting overall length, width and sail area, but within those rules generally anything goes. The International Moth is a long-time development class. Originally created in the United States, it combined with a similar Australian boat and became a worldwide class. The class saw the development in Switzerland of hiking racks or wings that extended the skipper farther outboard for enhanced stability, a feature now seen on other development and even one-design boats. A one-design variant of a European Moth became the Europe dinghy, from 1992 to 2004 the women’s single-handed Olympic boat. But the introduction of hydrofoils onto the daggerboard and rudder of the Moth has revitalized the class. It is now at the very leading edge of excitement and challenge in the sport of sailing. And Alamitos Bay has become a noted center of Moth sailing, hosting this weekend the International Moth 2011 North American Championship. The regatta starts Friday, June 3, and runs through Sunday, June 5. What it lacks in sheer numbers - there ought to be fewer than a dozen boats - they more than make up for in intensity. Racing a modern “foiling Moth” is a very intricate balancing act. Controlling the set of the sails, angle of the boat to the wind and trim of the foils leads to a very fast ride, both upwind and downwind - but get any of it wrong and the boat will capsize or pitchpole, often spectacularly. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/3pkt5ry * Even website: http://www.abyc.org/event.cfm?id=412 MACLAREN CAPITALIZE ON UNDER REPRESENTED AUDIENCE Sailing does a pretty bad job of appealing to a female audience. You’d think that sailing would be more attractive to women than a sport like NASCAR, but the America’s Cup Facebook page has an estimated breakdown of the gender demographics being about 74/26 in favour of men while NASCAR has a ratio of 54/46. The audience for a sport obviously impacts upon the sponsorships that are available. Brands that are looking to develop relationships with women may have better options than sailing, though there are big exceptions. There are real opportunities for brands who are willing to back the female stars of the sport. Team Tunnicliffe, a trio of Olympic sailors: Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi have announced a sailing sponsorship deal with Maclaren. Maclaren is a global lifestyle brand leader for parenting products. For nearly 50 years Maclaren has stood for excellence, empowerment and innovation, and is best known for the creation of the first umbrella buggy which revolutionized baby transport. It is the first time the brand has sponsored the sport. The Team will now be re-named Team Maclaren. Sailing of course has all the elements to promote a brand like Maclaren, but it is not a obvious choice for the mostly male sponsorship hunters who are looking to earn big commissions from financial services companies. Like many companies that sponsor sailing, the fit between a commitment to excellence and a platform to promote lifestyle, attributes, and heritage comes together in one place. The sponsorship is the beginning of a larger initiative for Maclaren to align with the sport of sailing globally. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/3p2vkuv UNITING SPORT AND STATE In the first part of June of this school year (the 2nd through 8th), several Oshkosh, Wisconsin schools will participate in Oshkosh Schools SailWeek. During this program, hundreds of students between grades 4 through 7 get exposed to the self-confidence, environmental connection, quick-thinking, and first-hand connection to the intensely international sport of sailing. Between 35 and 75 students per day will learn to sail, and will likely have sufficient "tiller time" to become somewhat proficient at skippering the singlehanded youth sailboats, the O'pen BIC. Among the program goals is to expose students tangibly to the applied sciences -- hydro/aero dynamics, forces and loads, math for sailors -- along with empowering them to "take on", and master, the wind and the waves by putting natural forces to work for pleasure, for transport, for competition. Helping to accomplish these goals is Oshkosh native Jim Young, who went from learning the ropes on the waters of Miller's Bay to representing the US Olympic Sailing Team in 1980, from which he went on to a global career as a coach for multiple national sailing teams. Also leading the effort will be Kevin Gratton, of Fond du Lac (WI), who went from youth boat sailing in the FDL harbor to becoming the 1989 Mistral World Championship. Jim and Kevin have taught countless hundreds of young sailors around the nation (and the world), providing the students with a powerful example of what's possible with one's life, if only for the hard work and dedication towards the accomplishment of one's goals. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11852 PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include Opti sailor in Iraq, June calendar, 2012 Olympic and Paralympic venue, Block Island Race winner, Platu 25 Worlds, Farr 40 NAs, father-son sailing, and 60ft traditional dhow sailing. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/11/0603/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK The Xtranormal.com website states that "If you can type, you can make movies." We are not sure who the originator of this week's video was, but we have a hunch it was a frustrated yacht broker. Titled 'I want to sell my yacht', this video presents an introductory interview between a yacht broker and a potential client. What begins as a cordial conversation soon turns into complete comedy as the demands of the boat owner are met with the limitations of the broker. If you can handle a couple of s-words later in the video, you should get a good laugh from this insider view of the yacht brokering world. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/11/0603/ BONUS: The Mahalo Daily network on YouTube includes ‘How-To’ videos, so why not sailing. Join instructor Pease Glaser and boat manufacturer Mike George for this how-to sailing video: http://youtu.be/HvGx64MlWTM BONUS: There was a big crash at the Extreme Sailing Series in Istanbul between Alinghi and Team Extreme. The noise of the impact of these Extreme 40 catamarans could be heard 500 metres away. In breezy conditions and gusts over 19 knots, it was a classic port/starboard incident, as Alinghi tried to go behind Team Extreme but didn’t make it. One of the Alinghi crew suffered a minor injury in the collision and was taken off the boat just after the crash: http://youtu.be/0rbyqWIZe5U SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com SAILING SHORTS * (June 2, 2011) - If you've been planning on playing hooky anytime in the near future, you might want to save it for next week. Oracle Racing will have two AC45s on San Francisco Bay starting next Monday. After some practice time through June 10, they'll be used to test the regatta operations and media side of the event for the ensuing couple weeks. Events for local media will be held June 13 and 14, and should make for good viewing off the Cityfront. -- Report at: http://tinyurl.com/3lxmhsj * Newport, RI (June 1, 2011) - Sailors For The Sea, the only ocean conservation nonprofit focused on the sailing and boating community, recognized the 40th Annual Figawi Race Week, held Memorial Day weekend, with gold level Clean Regattas certification. Considered one of the top sailing events on the east coast, this year’s Fugawi included over 240 boats and 3,000+ sailors, visitors and locals. Clean Regattas certification provides independent, third-party verification that a yacht club, sailing program, or regatta is environmentally responsible, and is doing its utmost to protect the waters upon which people sail. -- Report at: http://tinyurl.com/43kqzzl * The Macatawa Bay Yacht Club (MBYC) will host an open house on Friday June 3, 6pm, to unveil the newly renovated racing boat Heritage, which will compete for a chance to represent the US in the 2011 Canada’s Cup US Defender Trials on August 26-29, 2011. The public are invited to attend Friday’s event and to meet special guest, America’s Cup champion Ed Baird. For information contact Heather DeWitt ph (989) 330-4528. The Canada's Cup Championship is scheduled for September 1-4, 2011. -- Event website: http://www.canadascup2011.us. * The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins June 1. Forecasters are already predicting an above-normal hurricane season. Farther inland, deadly storms have already devastated swaths of the Southeast and Midwest. As the nation braces for an extra-stormy season, here's look back at the biggest hurricanes in U.S. history: http://tinyurl.com/42nvqcc SPERRY TOP-SIDER CHEERS ON US SAILING TEAM ALPHAGRAPHICS Sperry Top-Sider will be in Weymouth next week supporting the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics at the Sail for Gold Regatta, as these athletes set their sights on qualifying for the US Olympic Sailing Team. We will also announce Team Sperry Top-Sider, our recently signed endorsees from the US and Europe, who are vying for the 2012 podium. As a proud sponsor and Official Footwear Provider, we also want to thank the USSTAG athletes and coaches for their support of our brand, and we’re excited to support the team in the coming months. http://www.sperrytopsider.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Jeff Borland (re, ISAF Classification, edited to 250 word limit): All this complaining about the ISAF classification system is a bit misdirected, in my opinion. Sure, ISAF refined it, but the concept was started by some classes who wanted to have a way to keep people from "purchasing" their trophies. ISAF was brought in to try to make it uniform, so the pros would know where they stood across classes who chose to use it. The rules are complex - because as soon as you put out a rule, people will look for the loophole. Look at the state of the handicap/rating systems! Many of those started out simply, then a designer or an owner found a loophole to make their boat go faster. Same thing with the Pro classifications. The rules were written, and then owners found a way around it. So it got more complicated. The most important thing to remember is: "fleets who chose to use it". All these writers who lambast ISAF for how they administer the system, and the rules in place, have missed this important point, that CLASSES have decided to use this, and they are the ones that are trying to limit or ban the pros - ISAF is not forcing this on anyone. If you don't like it, don't sail a Farr 40, Farr 30, NYYC 42, or try to enter the Corinthian class in the Melges 24! Sail an Etchells or Lightning or J-22 or J-24 or TP52 or whatever! CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Melges Performance Sailboats - North Sails - Lewmar - Morris Yachts Quantum Sails - LaserPerformance - Gowrie Group - Ullman Sails International Yacht Restoration School - US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics Need stuff? 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