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SCUTTLEBUTT 3753 - Monday, January 14, 2013Scuttlebutt 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: New York Yacht Club and Harken BRINGING BACK THE FUN ON THE RACE COURSE By Glenn McCarthy, Commodore, LMSRF Over the 40+ years I've been making "left turns only" when on boats, I have watched what was once a fun recreational activity, turn into the modern game of a competition continually striving for perfection, almost at any cost, where it has become like a business every time I race. I feel the need to wear a suit and tie, wing tip shoes, and a brief case coming down to the boat in the morning. The fun experienced ages ago, just doesn't seem to be there in the amount it used to be, or anywhere near close to it. While almost all competitors who raced back then, that I was aware of, seemed to be friends, liked each other, were from many different walks in life, today I see many with open hostility against fellow competitors. How did we get here? Is this hostility good or needed? It wasn't intentional to create these hostilities; it was done in the pursuit of Olympic perfection, in my humble opinion. ISAF is focused on one thing in the Racing Rules of Sailing and one thing only. It is a 300-person, 14-day regatta that is held once every four-years. The Racing Rules of Sailing cater to this group and this group only, those we call Olympians. People who go to the Olympics are not going for the pursuit of recreation and fun. They are going there for a completely different purpose than we sail for. They are representing their country in the pinnacle of performance. They are going there working as professional sailors, serious about the "business" of sailboat racing. And all of the rest of the world of sailboat racing is to follow in these footsteps. Just look around us, the more serious racing has become, the more rules of eliminating luck and honing all rules on skills has led to fewer of us recreational racers. If the pursuit of perfection was good, the sport should be flourishing, and clearly, it is not. It really is that simple. Strip away the fun, convert it all into being perfect, and the people who do it for pleasure, for exercise, for a family activity, and/or for social purposes have walked away to go to something else in life. A big part of the fun is gone and what is left is Hardcore XXX Racing. There's a lot more to a relationship than pounding it out ... on the race course, I mean. ;-) For the longest time I felt the sport needed a separate set of racing rules, designed for Club Racing. More relaxed, yet competitive, something the newcomers wouldn't be as intimidated by, that relieves tension between competitors, that reduces protests to as few as possible, something that has some wit and most importantly creates bonds between competitors, provides laughter, and builds the numbers on the race course. Then I realized that the Racing Rules of Sailing is a decent set of rules, it just needs a relaxing factor and some additional safety added into them. Hang in there, as you'll see in this seven part series you'll find things that will make sense and others you'll want to challenge. Hold off on the challenges until you see all seven parts, as together they will all make sense. In no way shape or form am I suggesting these are intended to stop Hardcore Racing; that has its place in certain events - Nationals, Worlds, Internationals, some but not all Olympic Class events, etc. It would be a club's options when to adopt these, what I simply call the Fun Rules of Sailing. Hang on, the ride is continuing. Courtesy of the Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation: http://www.lmsrf.org EDITOR: NOTE: On Tuesday we will publish the first 12 rules of the 22 Fun Rules of Sailing. NEW YORK YACHT CLUB ANNOUNCES 2013 RACING SCHEDULE NYYC will host a full calendar of regattas at its Harbour Court clubhouse in Newport, RI in 2013. Scheduled regattas include the RI Leukemia Cup (June 8); 159th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex, first run in 1851 (June 14-16); Etchells North Americans (June 20-22); Tiedemann Classics Regatta (July 6-7); Swan 42 Nationals (July 18-21); Rolex Farr 40 Worlds (Aug. 24-30); the 2013 NYYC Invitational Cup presented by Rolex (Sept. 7-14) with 20 yacht club teams from around the world; and Laser Masters North Americans (Oct. 18-20). For more information, contact sailingoffice@nyyc.org. Details and entry information will be posted at http://www.nyyc.org CLASS OF 2012 Of the thousands of talented youth sailors plying racecourses this year, eight caught Gary Jobson's attention because of their results and their dedication to excel. Here is an excerpt from Gary's report from the January/February 2013 issue of Sailing World: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From what I've seen in my travels around the United States, and from scrutinizing the individual results of nearly 400 sailors in order to select my Jobson Junior All-Star finalists, I'm confident the commitment of parents, coaches, and development programs will result in young sailors that are more advanced in boatspeed and technique than ever before. I'm equally confident that these eight All-Star finalists are individuals we'll be seeing much more of in the years ahead: All-Star Finalists Jack Barton, 17, sails out of San Francisco, CA Scott Buckstaff, recently turned 18, hails from Belvedere, CA Allyson Donahue, 17, is from Brigantine, NJ Audrey Giblin, 14, from Monmouth Beach, NJ Malcolm Lamphere, 16, of Lake Forest, IL Jonathan Lutz, 16, is from Brick, NJ Greg Martinez, from Houston, TX is 19 Hanne Weaver, 17, is from Gig Harbor, WA Honorable Mentions Lindsey Baab, Clay Broussard, Alex Curtiss, Chris Ford, Addison Hackstaff, AJ Libby, Michael Madigan, Harry Melges IV, Lilli Salvesen, Margot Samson, Nick Sertl, Ivan Shestopalov, and Max Simmons. Read on to meet the class of 2012: http://www.sailingworld.com/news/jobson-junior-all-stars GOING GOING GABART (January 13, 2013; Day 65) - Francois Gabart (Macif), who has been trading the Vendee Globe race lead with Armel Le Cleac'h (Banque Populaire) across the Indian and Pacific Oceans for the past month, is now taking full charge in the Atlantic. In 24 hours, the situation at the head of the fleet has changed considerably, with Francois posting a 3.4 knots faster VMG to increase his lead by over 80 nm. Sailing legend, double Vendee Globe winner and Gabart mentor, Michel Desjoyeaux said that he never pushed the boat 100% and that he always held something back. If Gabart is listening to the master then maybe now we are seeing him release that little bit extra that he held back, just enough to comfortably extend his lead. Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) shortcut up the Brazilian coast, which last week pulled him up to third position, has cooled off as he finally received the closehauled winds his peers were facing. While slipped now to fourth, Alex still has 360 nm leverage to the west which may help to shake the table again in the doldrums. Tracking: http://tracking2012.vendeeglobe.org/en/ Top 5 of 20 - Rankings as of Sunday, January 13, 2013, 20h00 (FR) 1. Francois Gabart (FRA), Macif: 3803.8 nm Distance to Finish 2. Armel Le Cleac'h (FRA), Banque Populaire: 263.6 nm Distance to Lead 3. Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA), Virbac Paprec 3: 674.6 nm DTL 4. Alex Thomson (GBR), Hugo Boss: 784.8 nm DTL 5. Jean Le Cam (FRA), SynerCiel: 1759.2 nm DTL Full rankings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html BACKGROUND: Twenty skippers began the 24,000-nm Vendee Globe, a solo, non-stop around the world race in the IMOCA Open 60 class. Starting in Les Sables d'Olonne, France on November 10, the west to east course passes the three major capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn before returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) set the course record of 84 days in the 2008-9 edition. -- http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ THE PROFESSOR'S WINNERS CLUB By Elaine Bunting, Yachting World How has Francois Gabart, a 29-year-old Vendee Globe rookie, come to dominate the solo round race so conclusively? He has a commanding lead closing the Equator on his return to France and has led for much of the race. He's a quick sailor with a background of scrapping hard and ruthlessly in one-design and other tough offshore competition. Sure. But there is so much more to winning this race than competitive ability and it's his all-round mastery that impresses so much. It's worth pointing out a very important thing here: if Gabart does win this race it will mean the unassailed master of the Vendee Globe, Michel Desjoyeaux - aka 'le professeur' - has been the engine of four successive victories. Two of them have been his own; another two will have been substantially reliant on his engineering: Vincent Riou was his boat captain and raced his Finot PRB; now Gabart, the protegee he spotted and brought on during the Barcelona World Race and whose VPLP/Verdier design Macif owes much to Desjoyeaux's thinking, input and experience. What exactly does the Mich Desj tutelage mean? It means deep attention to the minutiae of preparations before the sailing even begins. Boat design is the most obvious area, but it extends to realms where other teams have little expertise or close connections: autopilot software, sail development, special tweaks to routeing software to take account of factors such sea state as well as wind speed and angle, and a team behind the scenes that is devoted to solving technical problems while Gabart is sailing - plus many other factors. "The race is won 80 per cent before the start, in the choices made by the team, how it is organised and our experience," Desjoyeaux told me at the finish of the last race. "It's a whole bunch of things and the remaining 20 per cent is the competition." -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/YW-011313 HAUL, ASK, HARKEN. Time to head as far south as the car will take you for Key West Race Week! The Harken Tech Team will be on site January 17-25 on Caroline Street near West Marine, behind the Schooner Wharf Bar. Stop in and see Harv and the gang at the trailer before and after racing. Pick up a free sample of McLube Anti-Foul Alternative Speed Polish and don't forget to sign up to win a year's supply of your favorite McLube product! Trailer hours may vary due to hangovers and hurricanes. http://www.premiere-racing.com SUSPENDED SAILORS The following sailors have their ISAF Eligibility suspended: ---------------- Anne Caseneuve, France Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; December 28, 2011 - February 27, 2013 Alberto Campos Perez, Mexico Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; May 7, 2011 - May 6, 2013 Maria del Mar Campos Perez, Mexico Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; May 7, 2011 - May 6, 2013 Ann Kuikka, Sweden Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; Oct. 19, 2012 - June 18, 2013 Anders Kuikka, Sweden Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; Oct. 19, 2012 - June 18, 2013 ---------------- A competitor whose ISAF eligibility has been suspended or revoked shall not engage in any competition in the sport of sailing. Source: Sailor list: http://www.sailing.org/sailors/suspended-sailors.php ISAF Eligibility Rules, Rule 19: http://tinyurl.com/ISAF-Reg-19 COMMENT: Scuttlebutt began publishing this list in hopes that public awareness might help to discourage sailors from acting in conflict with Rule 69 (Gross Misconduct). We take no pleasure in affecting the reputation of those on the list, and trust the process that finds them there. Our goal is for this list to need not be published in the future. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt QUOTE / UNQUOTE "Racing, rather than just day-sailing, is emphasized in the Pram program. Experience has shown that this provides the most interest for the skippers and that the character building aspects are better realized when competition is involved." - Cliff McKay, founder of the Optimist pram. SAILING SHORTS * Miami, FL (January 13, 2013) - After the Star Midwinter Championship dusted itself off from a boat battering opener on Thursday, the 24-boat fleet safely rolled through three more days of racing to complete the seven race event. Winning three races, locals Augie Diaz/ Arnis Baltins dominated the Midwinters, the fourth event of the Star Winter Series which concludes on February 9-10. Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=15063#15063 * The World Sailing Speed Record Council has ratified two new 24 hour distance records: 60-foot Monohull and Singlehanded Monohull. Established during the 2012/13 Vendee Globe, Francois Gabart (FRA) covered a distance of 534.48 nm on December 9-10, 2012 at an average speed of 22.27 knots. The previous 60-foot Monohull record had been set by Jean Pierre Dick (FRA) in 2011 (506.33 nm) and the previous Singlehanded Monohull record was set by Alex Thomson (GBR) in 2003 (468.72 nm). -- http://tinyurl.com/WSSRC-011313 * The Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) has formed a new Regatta Sanctioning Committee to help manage the busy Caribbean race calendar. With the continued growth of the major international events taking place in the Caribbean, and no central authority helping to coordinate the events, the CSA has agreed to step in and establish policy to reduce crowding and conflicts on the race calendar. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=15061 * Navico, parent company of the Lowrance, Simrad Yachting and B&G brands, announced that it has successfully concluded litigation with ArCzar regarding patent infringement. In December 2011 ArCzar filed a lawsuit against Navico, asserting patent infringement, according to a statement by Navico. Committed to vigorously defend against such suits, Navico's policy is to refuse speedy cash settlements. As a result, ArCzar's lawsuit backfired and the company wound up paying Navico thousands of dollars to resolve the matter. ArCzar alleged that Navico had infringed upon three of its patents. However, after unsuccessful settlement discussions, ArCzar withdrew its patent infringement lawsuit. -- Soundings, read on: http://tinyurl.com/TOT-011313 SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Paul Fleming: I've been reading Scuttlebutt for a long time, but Clemmie articulated sportsmanship in sailing so beautifully that, well, there is no second place as a certain Queen once said. * From Paul Miller, Sint Maarten: My main problem with Rule 55 is that it rather makes a bother out of the section 'Terminology' in the Introduction where we are told that words appearing in italics in the RRS as defined in the Definitions, but: 'Other words and terms are used in the sense ordinarily understood in nautical or general use.' Among the definitions for 'Trash' in The Oxford English Dictionary are: --------------------- - That which is broken, snapped, or lopped off anything in preparing it for use; broken or torn pieces, as twigs, splinters... - Broken ice mixed with water; trash-ice. - Anything of little or no worth or value; worthless stuff; rubbish; dross. (Said of things material or immaterial.) - Worthless notions, talk, or writing; nonsense... - Contemptuously applied to money or cash... - A worthless or disreputable person; now, usually, such persons collectively. white trash, the poor white population in the Southern States of America; now also used outside the Southern States of American. --------------------- Now, notwithstanding the obvious protection afforded to anyone that is amongst the 'poor white population in the Southern States of America', I think that the choice of terms is particularly bad. Ice? Really? Can we no longer throw ice into the water? Can we in fact throw water into the water if it is 'of little or no worth or value'? As for 'Worthless notions, talk...nonsense; rubbish...': I can think of no sailor I have known that has not littered the water with these things. But the end all has to be 'Money' - surely it is a sin against the very sport of sailing to say that we cannot throw money into the water, as that is essentially all that the sport of sailing is about. PRO BONO The Scuttlebutt website allows marine companies to post their personnel, product and service updates. For free. As a bonus, each week the Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent updates. Are you in the marine industry? Post your updates in the Industry News section of the Forum. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION When in doubt, predict that the present trend will continue. SPONSORS THIS WEEK New York Yacht Club - Harken - North Sails - North U KO Sailing - Doyle Sailmakers - US Sailing UsedBoatEquipment.com - Block Island Race Week Ullman Sails - Hall Spars & Rigging - Mount Gay Rum Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
