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SCUTTLEBUTT 1366 - July 8, 2003
Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is a
digest 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.
NEW BOAT FOR SWEDISH MATCH TOUR
The Swedish Match Tour recently unveiled the Swedish Match 40, a new
custom-built match racing yacht designed for the Swedish Match Tour by
Swedish sailing legend Pelle Petterson. Said Petterson, "The Swedish Match
40 is a unique design based on the most recent America's Cup class yachts.
The Swedish Match 40 will provide sailors and teams a perfect tool to
develop their match racing skills on the road to the next America's Cup in
2007."
After relying on event-supplied yachts for the first four years of the
Swedish Match Tour, a desire arose to design and build an exclusive fleet
of boats for the Swedish Match Tour that could provide a consist quality of
yacht from event-to-event. The goal was to design a boat similar in look
and performance to the America's Cup class yachts, but portable enough to
fit in a 40-foot container allowing a fleet of Swedish Match 40s to be
shipped to each of the events on the Swedish Match Tour. 'We wanted to
create an opportunity to simulate the America's Cup racing and bring it to
as many markets as possible, including those that in the past would have
been unable to host a Swedish Match Tour event due to a lack of a suitable
fleet,' said Scott MacLeod, Swedish Match Tour Director. MacLeod hopes to
introduce the boats into the European events in 2004 and "go global in
2005." -http://www.sail-world.com
INTERVIEW: JOHN BERTRAND
Twenty years after breaking the New York YC's 132-year winning streak in
the America's Cup races, Australia II's skipper talks with Sailing World
after being elected to the Hall of Fame. Here are a few excerpts:
SW: At that point did you have your sights set on possibly going to the
Olympics?
JB: Well, the dream was the Olympic Games and America's Cup if you read the
magazines and listened to the interviews and so on. Really, my world was
Sharpies because they were the hot class and the most active racing. The
Olympic Games classes were very low profile in Australia, but you'd get 100
boats out racing in the Sharpies class. That's where the top sailors were
racing. Actually I went from the Sharpies into the America's Cup when Sir
James Hardy asked me to consider trying out for the America's Cup. As a
result, the very first keelboat I sailed on was Gretel II. I remember
stepping onto the deck of the boat and wondering why didn't it tip over a
little bit. With 20 tons of lead, the dynamics were pretty different. I was
22 then, and I sailed as a port trimmer on Gretel II in the 1970 America's
Cup Challenge.
SW: Which brought you to North America.
JB: Within that period I was able to gain a scholarship to study at MIT in
Boston. Rasa and I had just gotten married before we came to the States for
the America's Cup. She was a nurse, and she supported me going through MIT.
We had absolutely zero financial resources. I had a teaching assitant's
scholarship that paid for some of my fees at MIT and that's about all.
SW: Once you were there you started thinking more about the Olympics?
JB: While at MIT I discovered the intense joys of match racing on the
Charles River at the MIT sailing club and also the frostbite racing up at
Marblehead every second Sunday. My professor Jerry Milgram-crazy man,
brilliant-was a key part of our life. I used to race his Interclub dinghy.
That was a real eye opener in terms of intense North American sailing; it
was the first exposure I had in terms of dinghy sailing. In Marblehead I
met Robbie Doyle and his wife Janet. Robbie introduced me to the Finn; I
ended up borrowing one from MIT and going to Toronto for the Gold Cup in 1971.
SW: How did you make out?
JB: I got 8th out of 110 boats. It was the first regatta I'd raced a Finn
in so that gave me the impetus to consider going to the Olympic Games for
Australia.
The rest of this great interview is at
http://www.sailingworld.com/sw_article.php?articleID=1918
AT THE FARR 40 WORLD'S AND ON TO THE TRANSPAC
Hiking for many hours on the rail is tiring on your legs, which affects
your performance. The Camet Padded Shorts make the difference; new for this
year are the Bemuda length shorts, the Aruba and the women's Ocean shorts.
Made out of a fast drying Supplex® which has a UV protection of 97.5 % and
a Cordura seat patch, which holds the optional foam padding. Several styles
in 7 different colors. Made in California, USA. Go to the Camet web site
for more information on the Shorts, Hiking Pants, Coolmax shirts and more
performance gear. http://www.camet.com
TRANSPAC
Before Sunday's last start in the 42nd Transpacific Yacht Race, Roy E.
Disney's Pyewacket was flying two appropriate battle flags: a cat and a
mouse. The rodent connection is obvious, and the boat is named for the
mystical feline in the movie, "Bell, Book and Candle." But the combination
also heralded what promised to be not just a contest of speed in the
2,225-nautical mile dash to Hawaii but also a game of---right!---cat and mouse.
Monday morning's position reports radioed to the Communications vessel
Alaska Eagle placed Pyewacket, a Reichel/Pugh 75, 11 miles closer to the
Diamond Head finish line although, as Philippe Kahn, owner/skipper of the
rival Reichel/Pugh 77, noted that his boat had sailed two more miles than
Pyewacket. "What does this all mean?" Kahn asked in a report on his Web
site. "On all the race reports Pyewacket will be shown leading in distance
to Honolulu [but] there is more to this. We all know that both boats are
going to get lifted as the winds clock around the [Pacific] high, and in a
lift it's nice to be the inside boat, which is what Pyewacket is doing.
"However, our weather analysis on Pegasus tells us to expect more wind
along a more southerly route [and that] it's well worth sailing extra
distance to get south. So Pyewacket is betting on shift, Pegasus is
counting on more pressure. Given a choice, Pegasus wouldn't trade places
with Pyewacket. The next 24 hours are going to be critical."
Meantime, Maitri, Peter Johnson's J/160 from San Diego, enjoyed the best
24-hour run in the fleet with 228 miles at an average speed of 9.5 knots to
seize the lead on projected overall handicap time from the week-long
leader, Stan and Sally Honey's Cal 40, Illusion.
Pegasus 77's daily logs may be seen at
http://www.pegasusracing.com/log.htm#latest
Daily position reports, charts, news summaries, photos will be posted at
http://www.transpacificyc.org
KEEP YOUR EYE OPEN
Cost effective wireless instrument information and system control - Ockam
introduces OS4 EYE. Load Eye software on your PDA (Pocket PC) and your
Ockam connected WiFi PC. View multiple pages of instrument data, set cals,
averaging and controller functions, and track trends on stripcharts, all in
your pocket. - hiking hard on the rail or monitoring performance from your
bunk! For detailed information and software download, visit
http://www.ockam.com
TNZ GOING GLOBAL?
Team New Zealand, the America's Cup defender defeated 5-0 by the Swiss
Alinghi team in March, may enter the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race as part of
their fightback towards the 2007 America's Cup in Europe. Seven-time
round-the-world race veteran Grant Dalton is the man empowered with
restoring Team New Zealand to commercial and competitive vitality. "If it
was financially beneficial to our bid to win the America's Cup, I would do
it," he said. Dalton would dovetail any Volvo campaign with the America's
Cup effort, so as not to dilute the management, sailing and design process.
"Right now," Dalton said, "we have the three best round-the-world sailors
working here: me, [Kevin] Shoebridge and [John] Kostecki." Dalton is
confident TNZ could run an entry for less than the £10 million it would be
expected to cost, and add significant value for either TNZ's five main
sponsors or new backers. Tim Jeffery, http://sport.telegraph.co.uk
GOTTA LOVE IT
The 2003 Etchells World Championship isn't until this fall, but the
organizers have tapped into a very prominent sponsor who is delivering
their creative theme on the event website:
Four new ratchet blocks: $200
A new mainsail: $1,500
A huge lead at the leeward mark: Priceless
Some things money can buy,
For everything else there is…MasterCard
http://www.etchellsworlds2003.org
US WATERCRAFT J/24 FOR $100?
With only a week to go before the J/24 Silver Anniversary Regatta, there is
still time to buy a $100 raffle chance to win a brand new J/24. Proceeds
benefit the Silver Anniversary Regatta, J/24 Class and Sail Newport youth
sailing. Register online at http://www.j24silver.org
NEWS BRIEFS
* American skipper Scott De Curtis won the ISAF Grade 3 Salerno Youth Week,
an international match race event under for competitors under twenty-five
years of age. Organized by the Circolo Canottieri Irno and held July 2-5 in
the Gulf of Salerno, Italy. De Curtis from Redondo Beach, CA, with crew
Brian Angel and Steve Brown, won the final races by 3-0 against the German
Jan-Eike Andresen. http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=4871
* The new Site of the Month on US Sailing's homepage is Americap II. The
site includes an informational brochure, FAQ's, scratch sheets, measurement
application, etc. http://www.ussailing.org/offshore/Americap/index.htm
* The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) of North America,
governing authority for sailing competition at colleges and universities in
the U.S. and Canada, has recognized four individuals for their significant
service to the organization: Harry Anderson (Newport, R.I.) was presented
with the Lifetime Service Award. Dan Winters (Hampton, VA.) and Gail
Turluck (Chelsea, MI.) were recognized in the category of Outstanding
Service, for their contributions, respectively, as Professional and
Volunteer. Danna Svejkosky (Haltom City, Texas) received the Student
Leadership Award. Winters, Turluck and Svejkosky will be inducted into the
ICSA Hall of Fame (Anderson was previously inducted) and their names will
be added to the permanent display located in the Robert Crown Center at the
U.S. Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland). For more information on these
awards or intercollegiate sailing, visit
http://www.collegesailing.org/00awards/hof2003.htm
* The 2003 Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race saw ninety-six vessels leave
the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead under a clear sky and hot conditions
Sunday afternoon, destined for the finish line off Chebucto Head at the
mouth of Halifax Harbour. The starts were staggered, with a different class
leaving every 10 minutes. Light winds from the northwest posed difficulties
for competitors at all levels. The course record of 33 hours, 29 minutes
and 57 seconds was set by the Santa Cruz 70 sloop, Starlight Express, in
1989. - http://www.bostonyc.org/halifax.htm
* The International Olympic Committee executive board approved the Athens
medal design Monday, replacing the Roman amphitheatre with a Greek stadium
and offering a new image of the victory goddess Nike. Since the 1928
Amsterdam Olympics, the front side of the medals has featured a Roman
stadium and a horse-drawn chariot with Nike holding a laurel wreath above
her head. The new design features the all-marble Panathinaiko stadium,
while the new image of Nike is based on a marble statue by the sculptor
Paionios of Chalkidiki, carved in 421 BC and placed in the Temple of Zeus
in Olympia.
http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=4872
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
* July 26-27: The 30th Annual Youngstown YC Level Regatta on Lake Ontario.
Over three hundred boats are expected; classes include J/22, J/24, J/35,
J/105, C&C 27, C&C 29, C&C 30, C&C 35-3, PHRF, Mulithull division,
non-spinnaker divisions and the Beneteau First 36.7, who will use the event
as their North American Championship. -
http://www.yyc.org/levelregatta/level.htm
* August 7-11: U.S. Singlehanded Sailing Championship hosted by Oklahoma
City Boat Club. In attendance will be the top three finishers from the
Youths, the top men & women intercollegiate singlehanded champions, a
representative from the military and each of the ten US Sailing areas.
Minimum age is 16. Registration information available at
http://www.ussailing.org/championships/Oday
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 John Rousmaniere: As a young sailor on Long Island Sound in the
1950s and sixties I was lucky enough to see Briggs Cunningham in
action. This often meant watching him from afar because he was such a
modest fellow and declined almost every opportunity to take the
spotlight. Sometimes, however, he wanted to make a point. A few months
after he and Columbia beat the British by embarrassing margins to win the
America's Cup match, he presented the prizes for the New York Yacht Club
junior regatta. His audience was a bunch of starry-eyed boys and girls not
quite believing that they were seated in the great Model Room listening to
the world's most famous sailor talk about what sailing meant to him. With
the beaming Commodore at his elbow, Cunningham said he loved winning, but
what he loved more was tight, fair, sportsmanlike competition. That was
what was best for this sport and any sport. And for that reason the finest
thing that could happen in yachting would be for a foreign challenger to
soon win the America's Cup.
By now the Commodore's face was quite red. He eventually recovered his
composure sufficiently to assure us that his great and good friend Mr.
Cunningham surely was exaggerating. As the prizes were handed out in due
order, at least one 15-year old in the room decided that he had heard
something that was not only very fascinating, but very valuable.
* From Ron Sherwin (on the recent death of actor Buddy Ebsen): When I was a
child, my uncle, who used to crew for Mr. Ebsen, took me along for visits
to Mr. Ebsen's home in Newport Harbor, CA. Some of my best sailing
"memories" are Mr. Ebsen's stories about racing Thistles, an L-36, and his
catamaran, "Polynesian Concept." What struck me, even as child, was how
down-home, friendly, and warm Mr. Ebsen was. I concluded at the time that
it required no great feat of acting for Mr. Ebsen to play a kind, lovable
guy on television, for that is what he seemed to be in real life.
* From David M. McClatchy, Jr (regarding last week's simplified racing
rules list): I think Hugh got it mostly right. The sooner we get a copy of
a kid's friendly rules guide in the hands of our youngest racers, the
better off they would be and ditto for the sport. Why throw our bible at a
10 year old? This would be a great project for US Sailing. I don't mean a
dummied down version, but a fun (and funny) version they could comprehend.
Snoopy's Rules for anyone?
* From Dan Hirsch (edited to our 250 word limit): For the Chicago Mac race
coming up, seven Farr 395's are competing. Chicago Yacht Club is using the
Americap system, and the Farr 395 one design I sail on will have to give
time to the other Farr 395's in varying amounts. In the worst case we have
to give another Farr 395 twenty-three minutes. These are one-designs, yet
boats have differing handicaps.
When our skipper contacted Americap about this she was told that
one-designs do come with different ratings! And she was told there's
nothing you can do about it. Our boat is absolutely box stock-we have
changed exactly nothing on the boat, other replace the things that have
broken, halyards and bowsprit extending blocks. Yet we are the scratch
boat! We give every other 395 in this race varying amounts of time.
What is this? Is this Americap's subtle attack on one design fleets? Barry
Carroll said that he stopped building boats because the Grand Prix rule
never came together, thus destroying that market for Carroll Marine. Is
Americap now an effort to destroy one design fleets? Hope I'm wrong-but I
doubt it! As Mark Twain said: "Figures lie and liars figure."
* From Bob Williams, Antarctica Cup Chairman: I was interested to read the
letter regarding the media coverage planned for the Antarctica Cup. How
little does he know of the extent of multi-media coverage that is being
planned! I invite everybody interested in the facts, to contact us to find
out just what we have in store. You will be amazed! Email:
rwilliams@antarcticacup.com. Event website: http://www.antarcticacup.com
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
You're getting old when you don't care where your spouse goes, just as long
as you don't have to go along.
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