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SCUTTLEBUTT 2975 - Wednesday, November 18, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today’s sponsors are Ultimate Sailing and Team McLube. “YACHT RACING IS CURRENTLY IN A CRISIS” Racing yacht designer and double Volvo Ocean Race winning designer Juan Kouyoumdjian believes there is a big problem in the sport regarding custom boats. Said Juan, “Yacht racing is currently in a crisis because there are no standard rules for the design and construction of racing yachts. Event organisers need clarity; they want to be reassured that racing yachts respect precise safety standards. However, there are no such standards and the norms usually used – for example ISO - are not made for racing yachts. I think that we need to develop a charter and this is one of my objectives for the Yacht Racing Design & Technology Symposium (Dec. 9-10): I want to get our sports’ stakeholders to start working on a concrete project.” “Most of the people involved know each other well. What we need is to be united in the same place at the same time, and start the discussion. First, we need to understand our clients’ needs and this is something that will happen during the Symposium. For example, do they want to race in real time or elapsed time; what sort of budgets do they want to allocate to yacht racing? Once we know this, the designers and builders will be able to start working together.” -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1117a/ LEMONADE, SANS LEMONS By Kimball Livingston So how many cheerleaders came to your sailing club today? Or, to ask the same question differently, can you spell opportunity? Wherever you live, however you sail, there are opportunities to spark something special. If there’s already excitement on the street, why not tap into that? I offer, by way of example, the BIG SAIL. Where I live, our “Big Game” is Cal-Stanford. We’re talking football. And most years, folks elsewhere couldn’t care less about our big game. With Stanford in the running for a Rose Bowl berth, maybe the 2009 edition will attract more notice than other years, but I’m not really stuck on football here, I’m wanting to tell you about the Big Sail, the biggest thing to hit San Francisco Bay this week, simply by way of tapping into the electricity in the air. Isn’t there something in your neck of the woods that might work the same trick for you? Varsity sailors, junior alumni and senior alumni all match raced for the glory of their schools. Bands played - yes, the legendary, raucus Stanford Band along with Cal - and they rocked the San Francisco cityfront. “Fun” is even easier to spell than “opportunity,” and the bands faced off on the race deck of St. Francis Yacht Club in a battle of noise and spirit that you just couldn’t beat. -- Read on: http://kimballlivingston.com/?p=799 MAKING A SPLASH - NOT TRASH! Designed for the environment by Sharon Green. New, eco-friendly, chic, fun and nautical. Our reusable shopping bag is made from recycled woven polypropylene and features an attention grabbing collection of spectacular images that are sure to strike up a conversation. 10% of bag sales are donated to Sailors for the Sea. View this bag and all the Ultimate Sailing products here: http://www.ultimatesailing.com HOTEL RAK “Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back To the place I was before ‘Relax,’ said the night man, We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!” -- Eagles' song "Hotel California”, 1977. When it comes to the legal quagmire that has become the America’s Cup, we all hold a debt of gratitude for the clarity Scuttlebutt contributor Cory E. Friedman has provided. Among Cory’s fans is Eric Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- How’s this as a nightmare scenario for Team Alinghi, Switzerland’s entry in the 2010 America’s Cup, which is supposed to start Feb. 8? Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qassimi, the ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, selling tourists rides on his private yacht, a 115-foot catamaran formerly called Alinghi that he seized from the Swiss team as compensation for the $120 million he blew building a marina for an America’s Cup that was promised to his country but moved to Valencia, Spain? That possibility came to mind after Cory Friedman, a lawyer-sailor from New York City, wrote a fascinating analysis on the Scuttlebutt website about the continuing fight by Alinghi’s sponsor, the Societe Nautique de Geneve, to hold the cup in Ras al Khaimah despite telling a court that it would race a 113-foot American trimaran off Valencia, Spain. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/yfraa94 * Here was Cory’s report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/#p50 EXPLANATIONS FROM FRANCK CAMMAS (November 17, 2009) - The 105-foot trimaran Groupama 3 was forced on Monday to abort their attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy, a fully crewed round the world record attempt under sail. Over the past 24 hours, the crew of Groupama 3 has been working together to contain the damage suffered around the beam bulkhead. The maxi trimaran has also had to let the Brazilian low pass over the top of her, which created strong winds last night. Skipper Franck Cammas looks back at the past few hours in the middle of the Southern Atlantic: * What is your current situation? FRANCK CAMMAS: "We're flirting with the centre of a big low, which has pushed us towards the Cape of Good Hope. However, a secondary low has formed over the cold front, with wind which can very quickly increase to 60 knots! As such we've taken refuge not far from the centre of the big low to let all that get past us. This is why we spent the whole night barepoled, heading due South. Since 0200 UTC this morning, we've been able to hoist more sail aloft as conditions have become more manageable. At the end of the afternoon we're set to gybe and make headway eastwards towards Cape Town, by remaining at the rear of the worst of the bad weather. There will continue to be a swell and big seas and there's still some debate as to how to handle the boat so as to prevent her from suffering. We won't be taking any risks, even if we have to stop..." * Do you have an explanation for this damage? FRANCK CAMMAS: "We think that the stresses and motion of the float are the cause of it. There are always some interference effects which are difficult to model on a computer though. The waves never strike the boat in the same way and the platform is subject to some disorganised behaviour: there are some extremely violent vibrations in a chaotic sea. We think that the float has been able to ripple longitudinally with a series of waves on the stern, whilst the support level with the beam is very rigid. At that stage, the bulkhead cracking was the pivotal point in this scenario..." Complete interview: http://tinyurl.com/yjl5g4a CREAM HAS RISEN TO THE TOP Nice, France (November 17, 2009) - With the completion of the round robin portion of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur, the top four of the eight competing teams will now advance to the semi-final round. Team New Zealand and skipper Dean Barker were the best team in the rounds robin with a 9-1 record, and have selected Synergy Russia Sailing Team to race in the semi final round. On their performance, Barker observes, “We’re a consistent team because we’ve been together so long as a group. That helps us through the tough times.” The Kiwis, however, picked the hottest team at the regatta. Synergy, led by Polish skipper Karol Jablonski, enters the match on a five-race winning streak and has polished its game since starting the regatta at 0-3. Today’s anticipated final found robin match between Team New Zealand and Synergy was cancelled due to insufficient wind. The second semi final match has TeamOrigin from Great Britain racing Azzurra of Italy. Azzurra skipper Francesco Bruni led his crew to a 1 minute defeat of Ben Ainslie and TeamOrigin in the first round. Wednesday is an off day with the semifinals to begin on Thursday. The first team to gain two points in their semi final match will advance to the finals. Racing concludes on Nov. 22nd. Event website: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/ Video interviews: http://www.youtube.com/user/btsbroadcast BACKGROUND: The Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Cote d’Azur is the inaugural event of the World Sailing Teams Association. The WSTA event is designed to be a cost-effective format for the teams, with the four America’s Cup class boats being used in Nice on loan from three teams: ALL4ONE (FRA-93), Mascalzone Latino (ITA-90, ITA-99) and TeamOrigin (GBR-75). The boats have been equalised as much as possible to create a level playing field. SCUTTLEBUTT - SAILING FORUM The Scuttlebutt Forum is the quick and easy way to get your information online. Here are the available categories: - Dock Talk - For all your sailing comments and questions. - Event Reports - For regatta reports and other event commentary. - Holiday Wish List - Post your holiday gift ideas here. - Industry News - Updates on new product and business news. - Classified Ads - Free postings for jobs, gear, and boats. A recent classified ad is seeking to sell two charter-ready International America's Cup Class yachts - NZL10 & NZL12 - that have been operating in The Bahamas. All Forum information at http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum SAFRAN - SOLID AS A TANK (November 17, 2009) - Since last Thursday, Safran has been at the front and setting a fast pace in the Open 60 division of the Transat Jacques Vabre. During the night the halfway point was reached and the duo of Marc Guillemot and Charles Caudrelier Benac hope to reach the Antilles this Thursday. Commented Marc, “Our decision to move off to the south paid off. We’re now sailing along on the direct route towards the Antilles. We should pass through the islands on Thursday lunchtime. Before that, our lead over the others could well increase, with the exception of Groupe Bel, who is clinging on to us. The trade wind is going to be easing off, but from behind, which is perfect for us. Since early in the night, the autopilot has taken over again. That enabled us to get some rest as outside, it’s still like being under a waterfall. Even if the water is warmer now, it’s better taking care of things inside. Following his regular inspection aboard Safran, Marc noted, “Like us, the boat is in fine form. I’m very proud of her, very proud of all the work done by my team and by all the engineers in the Safran group, who worked to make her what she is. We shouldn’t forget that last week she went through what was by far the biggest storm of her career, with the wind blowing steadily at 55 knots. It was much more than she saw in the Vendée Globe. Which just goes to show that even if she is the lightest boat in the fleet, she’s as solid as a tank. What is more, if I hadn’t had total confidence in her, I would never have taken her on that westerly route and we wouldn’t be in the lead in the race today.” -- Full report: http://www.safransixty.com/spip.php?article1827&lang=en * The ninth edition of the 4800-mile doublehanded Transat Jacques Vabre race from France to Costa Rica began on November 8th, with 10 of the 14 Open 60 monohulls and 4 of the 6 Open 50 multihulls starters still competing. -- Event website: http://www.jacques-vabre.com/en THE 19TH ANNUAL DESIGN AWARD METS COMPETITION This week at the Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam, the 19th annual Design Award METS competition attracted a total of 125 products from 108 companies. A total of 53 products were short listed for final consideration in 2009 and these are the ‘Nominated’ products that appear in the DAME stand at METS. From these the Jury selected the Overall DAME Winner, together with 7 outright Category Winners, and two special certificates for 'Most ECO Friendly' and 'Most Innovative' product and 14 Special Mentions. The largest category is almost always Deck equipment, sail and rigging, and this year was no exception. The winner was the Hall Spars & Rigging, SCR. It is solid carbon rigging with a variety of superbly designed end fittings that can be made in lengths up to 54 meters. This rigging is smaller than rod rigging of the same strength and can be retrofitted to existing yachts. The Jury liked the sleekness and simplicity of the design and the ease of installation and even though the SCR is designed for superyachts, it can be scaled down for smaller vessels. -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/NEWS/09/1117B/ SAILING SHORTS * The 35th Annual Ft. Lauderdale - Key West race begins January 13th, with Hap Fauth’s R/P 69 “Belle Mente” and Richard Oland’s R/P 52 “Vela Veloce” among the 20+ boats already signed up for this 160nm sprint. Online tracking will be used for the first time to follow the race’s progress. The early entry deadline is December 11, 2009 with the final entry cutoff on January 8, 2010. -- Full details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8619 * US Sailing championships and a Grade 1 women’s match racing event are the highlights of the 2010 US Sailing Center Sheboygan (WI) event schedule, released this week. The US Sailing Men’s Championship for the Mallory Trophy and the US Sailing Women’s Championship for the Adams Cup will be held September 22 to 25 in Sonars for men and Lightnings for women. Also in September, the center will host its 2nd Annual Buddy Melges Challenge, which will be a Grade 1 match racing event in 2010. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8622 * In recent months, the brokerage market for sailboats in the United States has shown a steady improvement against the first half of the year. According to data reported by YachtWorld.com member brokers, unit sales over the last four months were only 10 percent lower than the same time period in 2008 - a big improvement on the nearly 30 percent year-on-year decline for the first six months of the year. Valuation of boats sold has also steadied out, down only 19 percent in the last four months, compared with a 39-percent drop in valuations over the first half of the year. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1117/ 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 Michael Foster, RRO, SDYC: (re, Monday Morning Tactician in #2973) The issue of which side of the starting mark should be used can be found in the US Sailing 2009-2012 Race Management Handbook at the bottom of page 245: "It is generally accepted that the course side of starting mark (the upwind side in the start is upwind) is used to sight the starting line." (This would be unless there is another description in the SI's.) * From Chris Ericksen: At the risk of divulging secrets, I use the course side of a tetrahedron or buoy when it is the other end of the starting line, just as Robbie Doyle mentioned and as Eric Lind writes in his SI's (as mentioned in "Butt 2974). I don't write in into the SI's and don't keep it a secret--and now the word is out for sure--but I will answer if asked and always am consistent with my line calls, which is the key thing. Regardless, I find the sailors dislike getting overlapped with the buoy, which makes the line a little easier to manage. * From Ken Legler, National Race Officer: With all due respect to Robbie Doyle (letter in Scuttlebutt 2974), I recall the 1980 Finn trials in Newport, RI employed a port line boat with a tall orange flag. I know we had a port line boat at the 1976 Finn trials at Association Island, NY as I was the PRO. A port line boat eliminates this problem of "where's the line?" More important, it eliminates most general recalls which, in my opinion, are unfair and mostly avoidable. It takes only a few minutes to train a sailing instructor how to sight the line from a small port line boat. Just give him or her a good anchor with lots of rode, a dead weight on a ten foot pendant to depress the anchor rode, a radio, a loud hailer, and a script. The Inland Lakes Yachting Association developed this method in the 1960's and it has been working fantastically well ever since. * From Malcolm Kirkland: Thanks to Andrew Campbell for going into writing on the starting line problem at the college singlehanded nationals. I spectated the event from a great spectator boat and reflected that I just could just not see a number of the pin-end OCSs called. I can attest that I heard the problem discussed by the competitors during post-race day scuttlebutt. There were no sour grapes, just subtle confusion with a known requirement by the deepest Laser fleet I have observed in college sailing. Overall, it must be stated that the event was run in an exemplary fashion. * From Dave Wilhite: (re, commentary by John Wilson in Scuttlebutt 2974) OK, John left the door open so I'll walk in. Just tonight, before I opened my email and read the latest Scuttlebutt, while having a beer at the local Eagles Aerie I listened as twenty people agreed that the best Americas Cup ever was the 1987 series fought between Dennis Conner and Chris Dickson off the coast of Fremantle... and almost all of them knew that wasn't a Cup race! Yes the boats never finished overlapped but they did manage to capture more airtime than any Cup before or since, in virtually every bar in America. Although Gary Jobson once stated that the waters off Fremantle weren't suitable for competition (a statement he may feel compelled to retract?), I for one think if the sailing is ever to be a viable television success, sailors and organizers need to recognize that any true sport requires a certain level of danger to qualify as such. I can't remember the last time I observed twenty random Americans in agreement on any subject. * From Bill Tyler: Regarding John Wilson's comments on the AC (in Scuttlebutt 2974), I would have to agree with most of what he states, however, I really can't believe that anyone would think "that if George Schuyler could, he’d have a big ole grin on his face right about now." I don't think ANYONE who cares about the history or the competition that is the AC can smile about what has transpired. * From David Redfern: Regarding John Wilson’s commentary in Scuttlebutt 2974 on what will happen in the next AC. It’s simple. One will go flip, bang - the other will win. Question is who goes flip, bang? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” - Albert Einstein Special thanks to Ultimate Sailing and Team McLube. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
