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SCUTTLEBUTT 1390 - August 11, 2003Powered 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 and personal attacks for elsewhere. DIAZ & ROGERS WIN SNIPE WORLDS Borstahusen, Landskrona, Sweden - US sailors Augie Diaz with crew Jon Rogers have won the 2003 Snipe World Championship. This was an exciting regatta start to finish; with varying wind strengths, challenging currents, and strong competition from 18 countries. It has been 22 years since an American has won this title. It was strong showing for US sailors with four boats in the top ten and nine boats in the top half of the fleet. Final results - 60 boats, 7 races with one discard: 1. Augie Diaz/ Jon Rogers, USA, 28.75 2. George Szabo/ Brian Janney, USA, 32.75 3. Francisco Sánchez / Marina Sánchez, ESP, 37 4. Alexandre Paradeda/ Eduardo Paradeda, BRA, 51.75 5. Carlos Henrique Wanderley/ Richard Zietemann, BRA, 61.75 7. Hal Gilreath/ James Liebl, USA, 63.75 9. Bryan Lake/ Graham Biehl, USA, 74.75 Event website: http://www.borstahusens-ss.org/snipe2003/ PAN AM GAMES SANTO DOMINGO, R.D. (August 10, 2003) The U.S.A. won its second sailing gold medal Sunday after its J/24 team won the first of two final races at the Pan Am Games, edging out their last-threat -- Brazil -- to do so. Skipper Tim Healy (Newport, R.I.) and crew Nick Judson (Nantucket, Mass.), Gordon Borges (Newport, R.I.) and Davenport Crocker (Cohasset, Mass.) are part of the U.S.A.'s 13-member Pan American Games Team-Sailing, which wrapped up competition today in Santo Domingo. The Pan Am Games sailing competition hosted a total of 114 sailors from 17 countries, sailing in seven classes (eight disciplines). The U.S.A. won its first medal -- also a gold -- when Mistral Women's sailor Lanee Butler (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) turned in two race victories to make it mathematically impossible for anyone to catch her in Sunday's finals. Having secured the gold, Butler sat out Sunday's races. Canada and Argentina took silver and bronze, respectively. "Twenty five percent of our events yielded gold medals, and all of our team members had significant moments of glory," said Team Leader Fred Hagedorn (Chicago, Ill.). - Media Pro Int'l Final Results: Hobie 16 Open (9 boats): 1. E. Figueroa, PUR, 10; 2. A. Noriega, MEX, 24; 3. JI Maegli, GUA, 30; 6. Paul/Mary Ann Hess, USA, 57; J/24 Open (11 boats): 1. Tim Healy/ Davenport Crocker/ Gordon Borges,/ Nick Judson, USA,; 18; 1. M. Santa Cruz, BRA, 22; 3. A. Gonzalez, CHI, 42; Laser Male (15 boats): 1. Robert Scheidt, BRA, 10; 2. B. Luttmer, CAN, 25; 3. M. del Solar, CHI, 29; 5. Ben Richardson, USA, 51; Laser Radial Female (11 boats): 1. T.E. Calles, MEX, 16; 2. K. Rasa, CAN, 24; 3. F. Cerntti, ARG, 26; 5. Sally Barkow, USA, 40; Mistral Male (10 boats): 1. R. Santos, BRA, 13; 2. M. Galvan, ARG, 16; 3. K. Stittle, CAN, 35; 6. Peter Wells, USA, 51; Mistral Female (7 boats): 1. Lanee Butler, USA, 12; 2. D. Vallee, CAN, 24; 3. C. Walther, ARG, 30; Snipe Open (8 boats): 1. B. Amorim, BRA, 19; 2. N. Manso, CUB, 19; 3. S. Silveira, URU, 27; 4. Henry Filter/ Lisa Griffith, USA, 42; Sunfish Open (11 boats): 1. E. Cordero, VEN, 21; 2. M. Smith, BER, 26; 3. R. Aguayo, DOM, 35; 6. Jeff Linton, USA, 54; Complete results: http://www.fdvela.org/results.asp US Team photos: http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/PanAm/2003/photosbyThornton.htm STEVEN BARBANO WINS OPTI NATIONALS Chicago Yacht Club - Heavy air blowing 10 to 15 knots coupled with three-foot swells made for exciting racing for the three hundred sailors, ages 7-15 at the Opti Nationals. The conditions also opened the door for Steven Barbano, 14, of Cranbury, NJ, to move from eighth place to first and become the 2003 Opti US National Champion. Earlier in the week, light winds ranging from zero to eight knots produced delayed starts and choppy waters and threatened to throw the five-day event off schedule. However, race officials were able to run four races Thursday and three races Friday to complete the 12-race, (two discards) schedule. Final Results - Championship Fleet: 1. Steven Barbano, Cranbury, NJ (Toms River Yacht Club) 34 2. Kiel Killeen, New Orleans, La. (Southern Yacht Club) 38 3. Ian Donahue, Brigantine, NJ (Brigantine Yacht Club) 57 Green Fleet: 1. Andrew Pate, Naples, FL (Naples Community Sailing Center), 43 2. Kelly Seago, Grosse Point Shores, MI, (Grosse Pointe Yacht Club), 46 3. Will Dennis, Saratoga, Calif. (San Francisco Yacht Club) 57 Complete results and photos: www.chicagoyachtclub.org. GET PERFECT SAIL TRIM For perfect sail trim, you need cleats that grip and release instantly. Harken ball bearing Cam-Matics® open easily, and the patented cam shape grips line securely. Why let hard-to-open cleats slow you down, when you can get Harken Cam-Matics and blow away the competition. Holding strong since 1974! http://www.harken.com/scuttlebutt/sc-cam.php ADMIRAL'S CUP DELAY? All the signs are that the next Admiral's Cup may not be until 2006, and that it will be in even years from then on, with the Commodores' Cup switching to odd years. The one-week delay in next year's Skandia Cowes Week is a one-off to counter the strongest tides in 150 years, but the manoeuvring behind the restructuring of the Admiral's Cup is much more complex. It hinges on the work being done by an international committee to develop a new system for calculating performance and, therefore, handicap. Unfortunately it has a commercial angle - everyone has to pay to have their boat rated - and, inevitably, it has a political angle as countries defend their points of view. So, it may take another 18 months until a new rule is agreed and boats can be built, which is too late for the 2005 Admiral's Cup - and 2007 is an America's Cup year. The commodore of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, Chris Little, who was bequeathed both the problems of resuscitating the Admiral's Cup and writing the new handicap rules by his predecessor, Peter Rutter, has indicated that a move to 2006 "would be the most sensible thing to do". - The Daily Telegraph, full story: http://sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;$sessionid$HZSI15VQ4JVEPQFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=%2Fsport%2F2003%2F08%2F10%2Fsoyots10.xml LASER RADIAL YOUR WORLDS Riva, Lake Garda, Italy - Final results for Laser Radial Youth Worlds, 11 races with two discards, (72 boats): 1. CRO, Tonci Stipanovic, 28 2. CRO, Tonko Kuzmanic, 33 3. POL, Jonasz Stelmaszyk, 34 4. GBR, Campbell Davidson, 38 5. ESP, Javier Padron, 54 17. USA, Robert Noonan, 121 32. ARG, Cecilia Carranza Sarolli, 158 (First woman) 43. USA, Todd Hawkins, 172 45. USA Greg Helias, 176 47. USA, Parker Shinn, 178 http://www.laserchampionships.org/lrwor03/results/result_y_g_d6.htm BUZZARDS BAY REGATTA The 31st annual Buzzards Bay Regatta, hosted by the New Bedford Yacht Club, attracted 1300 sailors competing on 420 boats. Light winds (8-10 knots) prevailed and on all three days there was a very persistent fog that sometimes reduced visibility to yards. Nearly 100 big boats participated in the event with Glenn Harden taking top honors in the 21-boat J/105 class. Rob Crane of Connecticut took 1st out of a fleet of 57 Lasers while Cy Thompson, of the Virgin Islands topped the fleet of 59 Laser Radials. The 420 Class with 123 boats was won by Ben Sampson and Mike Komar. - http://www.BuzzardsBayRegatta.com/ ONE-DESIGN MEANS NOT HAVING ANY HANDICAPS A lot of sailors swear by one-design sailing. To keep them from swearing at it, Henri Lloyd's One-Design line has everything one-design racers need to stay dry and go fast: TP2 Sprint Hood Smock and Salopette, TP2 Sprint Smock, TP3 Competition Jacket, and TP3 Drysuits. They're all at http://www.henrilloydonline.com NAPLES SABOT JUNIOR NATIONALS 195 competitors gathered in Newport Beach August 4-7 for the Naples Sabot Junior Nationals. After a Qualifying Series Monday and Flight Selection Series Tuesday in sunshine and 6-8 knot southwesterlies, 120 remaining competitors squared off in the Championship Series Wednesday and Thursday. Conditions lightened to a fickle 4-5 knot southerly both days before the afternoon westerly finally filled in at 6-8 knots for the final race. Charlie Buckingham dominated the Gold Flight carding a 2-1-2-2-1, closing the series with a wire to wire horizon job. Charlie also won Flight Selection, and was the low point skipper for the week. Justin Law and Adrienne Patterson closed out their Sabot careers with 2nd and 3rd, and the home fleet took 9 of the top 10 positions. After a disappointing Selection Series, 2002 Champion Tyler Sinks displayed both skill and sportsmanship to capture the Silver Flight. George Saunders captured the Bronze Flight, and Shannon Walker won the Iron Flight. - Scott Mason, http://nhyc.org/ FASTNET RACE A slow, hot race was in prospect but there was a brisk and cooling breeze for the 248 entries in the Rolex Fastnet Race, which set off from Cowes yesterday morning. Ahead of them were 608 miles in conditions where sun block was likely to be more in evidence than oilskins. Just past Yarmouth, before the yachts had even left the Solent, predictions of developing sea breezes from the south-west had already come true, though that meant working against a headwind. Some pessimists, looking forward by two to three days, were predicting a vast, windless area around the Isles of Scilly, which would create a major parking area. The sight of the yachts leaving the Medina River dutifully testing, as the rules require, their storm sails seemed rather incongruous.The 608-mile course takes them down the Channel, across the Irish Sea and out to the Fastnet Rock, with its famous lighthouse, just off the south-west tip of Ireland. Once round it, they make their way back to the finish in Plymouth, and, for some, it could be a long way. - Stuart Alexander, The independent, full story: http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/story.jsp?story=432489 * Robert McNeil's Australian built Zephyrus V made the best start and was first to the new breeze. Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo, having burst a spinnaker on the run down the Solent, lost more time with a re-hoist problem giving the 86 foot sled Zephyrus V a three time mile at the Needles. However 90 miles into the race, Alfa Romeo is now back in the lead, a mile ahead of Zephyrus V. - http://www.boating-online.com.au/welcome.cfm Race website: www.rorc.org/fastnet/index.php JOHN KOSTECKI Team New Zealand has lost out to Oracle BMW Racing in securing veteran American sailor John Kostecki. Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton said yesterday that he understood Kostecki had signed with Chris Dickson's Oracle. "It is unfortunate from our point of view, but it is not the end of the world," Dalton said. "He would have been a good one to have, but there are other people and we are already pursuing other options." Kostecki, an Olympic silver medallist, two-time America's Cup tactician, 10-time world champion in a range of one-design classes, and Whitbread veteran, would be have been a tremendous asset to Team New Zealand, particularly in the back of the boat. "I don't know what it came down to," said Dalton, "but you would have to imagine money was part of it." - Julie Ash, NZ Herald, full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/sportsstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3517211&thesection=sport&thesubsection=americascup&thesecondsubsection=challengers NEWS BRIEFS * Oklahoma City Boat Club, OK August 10, 2003 - Andrew Campbell, the 2002 US Youth Champion from San Diego, captured the George O'Day Trophy, sailed in Lasers, with an impressive ten point margin over Anna Tunnicliffe from Norfolk VA. Anna finished eight points ahead of John Van Tol from Grosse Pointe Park, MI. - http://www.ussailing.org/ * America's Cup challenger OneWorld is suing its former rules adviser, Sean Reeves, the Auckland lawyer at the centre of the spy scandal that rocked the 2002-2003 regatta. Documents filed in the High Court at Auckland last week seek summary judgment, although details of the dispute will be under wraps until a hearing next month. - NZ Herald, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnewsstory.cfm?storyID=3517246&thesection=news&thesubsection=general&thesecondsubsection=latest OCKAM QUALITY AND ACCURACY Ockam components are manufactured and serviced in the USA, and are designed to true instrument standards. Parts and materials are selected based on highest performance and durability over the long haul in the toughest environment. Integrated measured heel in the wind solution is superior to one-size-fits-all assumptions about heel. Fine calibration is possible, providing significant and repeatable accuracy difference. Unlike other systems that force fit boat data to a template and then constantly readjust in varying conditions, Ockam calibrates to a specific boat and remains in synch as conditions change. For more, visit http://www.ockam.com. HOT IDEA / HOT BOAT On the eve of the 37th Governor's Cup Regatta, the United States Junior Match Racing Championship, the Newport Balboa Sailing and Seamanship Association ("NBSSA") christened the initial fleet of the new Governor's Cup 21 class. The first eleven boats of the Class will be used in Balboa Yacht Club's Governor's Cup match racing which runs August 13-17. The 21 foot racing sloop was designed by BYC member Alan Andrews of Long Beach, California and the construction of the fleet was funded entirely through contributions from members of Balboa Yacht Club. The boats, chartered by BYC for the Governor's Cup and another major sailing event, will also be available for charter to other yacht clubs and organizations for events that are consistent with NBSSA's educational and charitable mission. Boats will also be available for sale to other clubs or private owners with the first boats being available in late September, 2003. Andrews and boat builder Bravura Yachts President Leif Beiley are working on a strict set of one design rules to ensure that all of the Governor's Cup 21s remain equal and consistent with the design philosophy. Pictures of the boat: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/ Information about the boat: http://www.andrewsyacht.com/deshome.htm THISTLE NATIONALS Fort Walton YC - 94 boats, final results, Championship Fleet: 1. Brent Barbehenn, Chris Murphy & Scott Lennox, 18 2. Michael Ingham, John Baker & Joy Martin, 36 3. Eric Gesner, Judy Gesner & Dan Fien, 58 4. Blair Dryden, Barret Rhoads & Lauren O'Hara, 62 5. Craig Koschalk, Karl Bradley & Nick Turney, 64 President's Fleet: 1. Loren Hoffman, Chris Granger & Richard Thoma, 22 2. David Hudson, John Hudson & Sara Cooper, 23 3. Sam Brauer, Judy Hanlou & Dave Fletcher, 36 Website: http://www.thistleclass.com/nationals_2003/results.htm LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (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 or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Adrian Morgan: I'd simply like to know why it took 20 years before the man who won the America's Cup for Australia, breaking the 'longest winning streak in history' finally got indicted (is that the word?) into the Hall of Fame. Can anyone be more famous? Has anyone any suggestions why Alan Bond has only joined this illustrious band now? We need to know. * From Cam Lewis: Safety on the water around sailors- kids windsurfers- kite boarders-(my newest sport) anybody for that matter. I have not researched the subject very far, but a few years back I borrowed a great military spec soft bottom, 16 foot Zodiac and Yamaha 40HP jet drive outboard for an Outside magazine shoot from Inflatable Experts. We were using a Formula 40 cat and the combination of inflatable and outboard with driver and photographer could keep up with us at speed. With two quick calls this morning I found that Yamaha makes 40-60-90 &115 HP outboards with jet drives. I would strongly urge everybody involved in the sport of sailing to think long and hard about the type of engines they use near and around other people, especially people in coach boats, tow boats etc. I trust that US Sailing has endorsed this style of power in their manuals for sail training and motor boat handling. As I said I have not looked too far into this, but having started Kite Sailing I am ready to trade in my Yamaha 50 hp prop on my Hobie Power Skiff for a jet drive outboard for safety reasons as I expect to use it in the future as coach and rescue boat for this great sport and for my kids blooming sailing interests. * From Ralph Taylor: Rich Roberts' article on Kimberly Birkenfield, combined with the German Tornado crew's incident, indicates the ISAF may have some unfinished business regarding coach boats during practices. It's probably less important to assign blame than to prevent similar tragedies in the future. My off-the-top-of-the-head take: Separate the practicing teams on the water; don't let 'em mix. Too many boats going fast in too confined a space is a formula for disaster. And, just maybe, there should be some sort of licensing/accreditation procedure for coaches, which should include safety. CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night |
