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SCUTTLEBUTT 3114 - Wednesday, June 16, 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt Kindle: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/kindle RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Morris Yachts, Doyle Sails, and Landfall. CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF SAILING Imagine...the whole world sailing June 19, 2010. Summer Sailstice is a global holiday celebrating sailing held annually on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice, the longest sailing days of the year. For the tenth year, an organized effort led by John Arndt is encouraging people to get on the water, and is willing to bribe them to do so. Summer Sailstice participants simply register, go sailing and automatically become eligible to win one of over 400 prizes from event supporters, from a yacht charter with The Moorings to sailing gear from their favorite marine suppliers. "When I first heard of Summer Sailstice I thought it was a great idea. Obviously sailing has been a big part my life and the Summer Sailstice holiday is a great way to celebrate what sailing has meant to all of us. I've sailed on all kinds boats and regardless of the type of boat, it's always great to be on the water under sail. It doesn't matter what you sail - a windsurfer or a wooden classic, there should be a day where we all get out on the water and connect on a day dedicated just to sailing." - Peter Holmberg, Silver Medalist and three-time America's Cup Helmsman "When I started sailing as a youth it was all about voyages of discovery and exploring. The Summer Sailstice concept of letting all sailors participate with their own sailing adventure is a terrific way to involve all sailors in a common celebration. From mega yacht to sailing dinghy, we all love to get on the water under sail. We should all join in a holiday celebrating the spirit of sailing." - Ron Holland, Yacht Designer Sign up here: http://www.summersailstice.com/ SPORTSMANSHIP AND INTEGRITY Qualifying for the annual Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Coed Dinghy National Championship can be brutal. There are seven districts spread throughout the U.S., so for the colleges in the northeast, only the top sailing teams from the New England Dinghy Championship advance. But when the top teams at the New Englands are frequently the top teams at the Nationals, a lot of very strong schools don't get the chance to test their team on the national stage. John Mollicone, head coach of the Brown University (Providence, RI) sailing team, had an opportunity to accept a qualifying bid for his coed team to attend the Nationals in 2009, but Mollicone turned this chance down. A day after the Bears missed out on qualifying by one spot at the 2009 New England Dinghy Championship, he was informed that his team could advance due to a non-sailing administrative error by qualifying team, Connecticut College. Mollicone had about two hours to make a decision on accepting the bid, and without enough time to consult his team, he was forced to make a difficult decision on his own. On one hand, Brown had a successful season and would be a worthy competitor at the nationals. On the other hand, they had earned a bid by penalty and not based on their accomplishments on the water. After considering his options, Mollicone passed on the spot. "NEISA is such a hard district in college sailing and Connecticut College sailed a great event at the New England Championship," said Mollicone. "I didn't think they should be penalized for improper paperwork." Recognizing the breadth of this decision, US SAILING President Gary Jobson presented the W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. National Sportsmanship Award to John Mollicone earlier this month at the ICSA National Championships in Madison, Wisc. This US SAILING award is presented annually and recognizes an individual who best exemplifies the spirit of sportsmanship in sailing. -- Full report: http://media.ussailing.org/US_SAILING_Media_Home/Sailor_of_the_Week.htm MORRIS YACHTS BOAT SHOW, JULY 16-18, NE HARBOR, ME You've been studying the Morris Brokerage listings all spring; now is your chance to see them. Morris Yachts will host the sixth annual Morris Boat Show at their service yard in Northeast Harbor, Maine, July 16-18. This event will showcase a variety Morris Yachts from the latest M-Series daysailers to worthy blue water cruisers to classic Justines and other Morrises. Do not miss this once a year opportunity to board the widest selection of Morris Yachts. Show hours 10-6 on Friday and Saturday; 10-4 on Sunday. Click here for current brokerage list: http://www.morrisyachts.com/brokerage or a call 1-207-244-5509 IT ALL CHANGED IN 1980 This year marks the 30th anniversary of the marriage of two technological revolutions that brought the 635-mile Newport Bermuda Race into the modern age. One was precise electronic navigation, the other a new approach to analyzing the Gulf Stream. In 1980 for the first time sailors were allowed to use Loran-C navigation throughout the race. Though not as precise as satellite navigation and GPS, which both came later, Loran was much more accurate than celestial navigation. If you wanted to know where you were, and if you needed to get somewhere precisely, the cutting-edge tool was Loran. One of the first sailors to appreciate the implications of Loran was 30-year-old Richard Wilson, skipper-navigator of the heavy 43-foot cruising ketch Holger Danske, designed by Aage Nielsen. Deciding to enter the 1980 Newport Bermuda Race, Wilson retained the old wind direction indicator (a wind sock) and anemometer ("the traditional, highly calibrated wet finger"), but bought a Loran-C set, which cost a pricy $2,100. He recruited a youthful crew of small-boat racers ("we had one old guy, in his fifties") and used the Loran to test his helmsmen's ability to hold a course. Loran also guided Holger Danske to three waypoints on the chart that Wilson marked at favorable Gulf Stream eddies and meanders. He had chosen those waypoints with the assistance of a young oceanographer whom he found after a long search for a scientist who could offer practical advice about exploiting the Gulf Stream. "Deep down in NOAA there was this amazing woman called Jenifer Wartha who knew everything about the Stream. All winter before the race, she was faxing me weekly analyses that I studied to familiarize myself with the Stream." Before then, a typical sailor's knowledge of the Gulf Stream came from a pre-race briefing and a regimen of taking the water's temperature by dipping a thermometer into a bucket of sea water. An especially ambitious skipper might charter a plane a day before the start and fly out to look at the Stream. Bermuda Race navigators' big concern about the Stream could be summarized in six words: Don't stray from the rhumb line. All that changed in 1980. Building on previous research and using newly available satellite imagery, Jenifer Wartha (who later married Dane Clark) advised Richard Wilson to get away from the rhumb line into favorable current. Holger Danske won the race decisively. She had a good rating, but Wilson knew that was only part of it. "As we edged up to the good side of a big warm eddy, we saw a lot of other boats footing off and sailing away from it. 'Well,' I thought, 'all those boats just took themselves right out of the race." -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/26h9uyj The 2010 N-B Race, which was founded in 1906, starts June 18th. Additional feature stories here: http://tinyurl.com/2cgqj9w ENERGIZING CLUB AND SAILING PROGRAMS Gowrie Group's 2010 yacht club survey in May 2010 sought to capture what clubs are doing to successfully energize and evolve their club's programs and sailing activities. Over 100 clubs of all different sizes and types from across the United States participated in the survey. Probing Questions Asked We asked clubs to rate the amount (from too few to too many), of each of the following at their club or organization: 1. Numbers of teens involved in sailing related activities. 2. Numbers of young adults and young families joining their clubs. 3. Amount of inter-generational interactions at their club. 4. Amount of hours members are devoting to club and sailing activities. It is clear from the response that clubs are passionate about these themes, and committed to the future success of their club and programs. Passion Evoking Trends More than half (61%) of clubs say the amount of time members spend enjoying sailing and boating is "About Right" at their club. And only about a third (29% of clubs) say that today their club members spend "Too Few" hours simply enjoying sailing and boating in general. However, three-quarters (74%) of clubs believe that there are "Too Few" teenagers participating in sailing at their club. The majority (73%) of clubs feel that "Too Few" young adults and young family members are joining their clubs. These responses underscore themes discussed in Nicholas Hayes' recent book, Saving Sailing, where Hayes notes that the average age of yacht club members today is around 60 and that teens and young families have competing demands on their time outside of sailing. Best Practices, in 3 Parts While the survey results pointed to the importance of addressing these issues, respondents went beyond mere diagnosis of the problem and provided a variety of suggestions and examples of best practices that are currently being utilized at their clubs across the country. The heart of the survey results are represented in these strategies and best practice ideas for invigorating a club's family and youth oriented activities. PART 1: Keeping juniors interested in sailing as they become teenagers. PART 2: Ways to increase membership among the 20-35 age group. PART 3: Ideas for increasing interaction between the generations of sailors. Complete report: http://gowrie.com/pdfs/GowrieGroupClubBestPractices2010.pdf ANSWERS ABOUT ETHANOL In the five years since ethanol began to be widely used in the United States, a lot has been written about its properties, the problems it has created, and how to best cope with its possible effects. Some of the advice has been based on science and some on hearsay. Seaworthy, the BoatUS Marine Insurance damage-avoidance publication, talked to two engineers who have over 75 years of combined experience working with gasoline: Jim Simnick, technical advisor at Global Fuels Technology and Lew Gibbs, a senior engineering consultant and a Chevron Fellow. Seaworthy asked three questions about popular "myths" of how to deal with ethanol-enhanced gasoline. Their answers are summarized below. 1) Does ethanol-enhanced gasoline (E-10) lose octane much faster than regular gasoline? This is an especially important question because many mechanics believe that octane loss during winter storage could be great enough to damage an engine when it is run in the spring. 2) Since E-10 attracts water, is it important to install a water separator to prevent the water reaching the engine? 3) Are there additives that will prevent phase separation? Here are their answers: http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/ethanol0610.asp GOLISON WINS 2010 ETCHELLS NORTH AMERICANS Bruce Golison with crew Bill Lynn, Dina Corsi and Jud Smith won the 2010 Etchells North American Championship held in San Diego. 42 boats competed in challenging "Catalina Eddy" lumpy and confused conditions ranging from 5-15 knots. Knowing that they had good speed, Golison's team sailed conservatively through the entire series. The strategy paid off. They went into the final race with a 13 point lead, which was enough to hold onto a 2 point margin over Bruce Nelson's team that won the last two races in the fresher conditions. Read more at http://www.doylesails.com/news DITTO: "This event saw about as wide a range of conditions as San Diego can offer, and their steady speed and onboard smarts gave them the opportunity to win. Definitely among the favored teams when the Worlds come to San Diego in 2011." -- Craig Leweck, on 5th place LineHonors.com SAILING SHORTS * The Charles River Open Team Race hosted by MIT returned after a one year hiatus. The event exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism in sailing, where in order to be eligible all competitors must either be current college or high school sailors and have volunteered to help coach, judge, or run races in the past year. The finals were held in MIT's brand new fleet of 16.5' Ayres Pond Catboats with colored sails (Tanbark and cream). Winning the 30 team event was Team Indecisive with Baker Potts and John Stork/ Keisha Pearson, Matt Duggan/ Alie Bittl, and Brian Kamilar/ Adrienne Patterson. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10036#10036 * A Dutch court will decide on Thursday whether to grant a 14-year-old girl's dream to attempt to become the youngest person to sail around the world solo. Laura Dekker needs to complete the trip before she turns 17 on September 20, 2012 to set the record. Her plans to set sail in September 2009 were thwarted by the intervention of child care officials and a subsequent court ruling placing her under their supervision. The court will rule on a bid by child protection services to prolong Laura Dekker's official supervision, possibly thwarting her plans. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2dwlmdd * New York City artist, adventurer and sailor Reid Stowe, on his 70-ft. gaff-rigged schooner Anne, returns to New York on June 17th at 1:00 pm ET from an epic 1,152-day non-stop and non-resupplied sea voyage. No human has ever been away from land for this duration. Stowe, 58, will disembark at W. 42nd Street where he will be reunited with his companion, Soanya Ahmad, who sailed with Stowe for the first 306 days of the voyage. Stowe will also meet, for the first time, his son Darshen, who was conceived at sea and is now almost two years old. -- Details: http://tinyurl.com/2dcp5k7 * The Monsoon Cup, the final event on the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has released positive figures for the Return on Investment (ROI) that the 2009 edition produced. Analysis of the results concluded that Stage 10 of the 2009 World Match Racing Tour delivered an overall KPI achievement of 97.5% and the Event Media and Brand Value to Malaysia was valued at RM 538,833,381 (USD 164,806,049). This produces an incredible 26 point multiple on the overall Return on Investment. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/255afhu * Marseille, France (June 15, 2010) - The Marseille Trophy, the second of the five event TP52 Audi MedCup Series, saw its practice race cancelled today due to stormy, wet conditions and an unsettled breeze. The forecast for the first day of racing on Wednesday is more promising, when three races for the 10 boat fleet is due to start at 13:30hrs. All the races from the Marseille Trophy will be broadcast live on line, starting at 1250hrs on http://www.medcup.org EIGHT BELLS Some have known Joe Cochran as a builder of great racing boats (Seasmoke). Many have known him as the tireless Race Committee Chair and general facilitator of most major events in Hawaii (Clipper, Kenwood, Transpac, Offshores). Some have known him as a US SAILING judge. I have been privileged to know Joe as all of those and as good friend for many years and I am sorry to say that we lost Joe to ALS last night (June 14, 2010). The sailing community will miss him greatly. -- Barry Ault, Scuttlebutt Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10038#10038 GET FREE SHIPPING ON THE HOTTEST DECKSHOES AT LANDFALL! Don't forget your feet - treat them like royalty! Landfall now carries the hottest deckshoes from SLAM and Dubarry for Men and Women! Here is the link: http://bit.ly/dynxSj Get free ground shipping on your shoe order with code SHOE10. Visit Landfall: 151 Harvard Ave, Stamford (I95, Ex 6), call: 800-941-2219. Offer expires 6/30/2010. LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Paul Pascoe (re, Eight Bells: John Bonds): I was saddened to hear of the passing of John Bonds, whom I had the pleasure of working with while living in the US some time ago. One thing many people may not know or remember was that John was one of the early adopters of electronic communications prior to the internet becoming widespread. John had used CompuServe to send email, and harassed many other sailors into using the system, not only for email, but also for posting of results, long before the web became the standard. Results were posted on CompuServe bulletin boards, and every sailor or sailing administrator worth their salt had a CompuServe address, mostly as a result of John's pestering. Sailing as a sport subsequently was way ahead of the game with the adoption of the internet, but John had the foresight to see the future when the internet was still in nappies. -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10040#10040 * From John Jourdane, renowned racing navigator: I have a bit of firsthand knowledge of the Southern Ocean. I sailed through the area where Abby lost her boat a couple times in the Whitbread Round the Word Race (1985 on "NZI Enterprise", a Farr 80; 1989 on "Fisher and Paykel, New Zealand", a Farr 82). We were sailing 80 and 82 foot maxi yachts designed and built to race around the world, and crewed by 16 to 18 world class sailors. We raced across the Southern Ocean in the summer, and encountered some very nasty, scary conditions, and at times, were hoping the boat would hold together. And this was the good weather time of the year To sail across the same ocean solo in a 40 foot boat (age or gender not withstanding) at the start of the Southern Ocean winter with much rougher conditions, just doesn't make sense. In my mind, there was a serious lack of judgment by whoever was calling the shots. * From David Pedrick, president, Pedrick Yacht Designs: Am I the only one offended by Abby Sunderland's mother's comment that they should be entitled to a government bailout for Abby's rescue? Parents of a minor child are responsible for their child's actions, debts and safety. Children are guided by parental influences, for better and for worse. It's apparent that Abby was a passenger on her parents' ego trip, and her parents are responsible for paying the fare. Better than a memorial service. * From Roy Cundiff: Tufts University Coach Ken Legler "What could go Wrong" article (in Scuttlebutt 3113) is a great approach to keeping sailors new or old out of trouble. By studying and understanding and applying his methodology one can achieve a top finish every time ..... by sailing clean. Good teaching for every sailor whether just Wet Wednesday racing or Race Week! I note however a Glitch in his wording of "Barging" in the middle of the start line ..... one can only Barge at the starting mark or committee boat, otherwise rule 11, windward leeward & rule 16.1, changing course apply. "Racing Rules of Sailing through 2012" Dave Perry pp:134 Good article and everyone should read it a time or two! Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/2fuqpcm * From Ken Legler (re Rule 30 - Starting penalties) As a US SAILING national race officer I read with interest the rules questions re the black flag penalty (in Scuttlebutt 3113). I also read the ISAF guidelines for using the black flag and was unhappy to see they recommend always using flag P for any first start and black flag for any start subsequent to a general recall. When serving as PRO for a 470 Class Worlds many years ago (before the black flag), I asked Olympic veteran Gardner Cox what to do when too many boats keep starting over early despite good starting lines. "At some point," he said, "you have to start sending the worst offenders home." But everyone at this regatta, and all the other events our team ran that summer, traveled a very long way to compete, and I didn't want to tell anyone they couldn't race. With the help of the Inland Lake methods, and with mentor Bill Bentsen, we figured out how to prevent recalls without disqualifying any boat before a start. We added a mid-line boat and a one-minute rule (now rule 30.1 I flag) and voila, almost no general recalls and no need for any sort of pre-start death penalty. I understand the I flag penalty can be uneven for offenders, depending upon where they start, but general recalls are far more unfair for those that started properly while giving offenders a do-over. I really like the rest of the ISAF RM policies document and I recommend reading it before running anything big, even though they were written for running the Olympics. No need to follow them verbatim, unless of course, you are running the Olympics. Here is a link to the document: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/0615/ CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. Special thanks to Morris Yachts, Doyle Sails, and Landfall. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
