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SCUTTLEBUTT 2356 - June 1, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). GAME TIME The American syndicate is no longer in the chase for the 32nd America's Cup, but there is still plenty of American influence left in the regatta. That fact was brought home Thursday during the coin flip to decide which team would start where for the first race of the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals. On the stage was Andy Horton, the pride of Shelburne, Vt., representing Luna Rossa Challenge. Standing opposite Horton, wearing the black and grey of Emirates Team New Zealand was Terry Hutchinson of Harwood, Md. And to ensure that everything was done properly was Connecticut's Peter Reggio, the principal race officer for America's Cup Management. One could've said that there were more Americans on stage than seated among the 75 odd press members listening to the press conference—mainstream media interest having tailed off with the demise of BMW Oracle Racing—and it wouldn't have been far from the truth The other thing that was made abundantly clear during the press conference was how much respect each team has for the other. -- Sailing World, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2kqdw5 CHALLENGER FINALS Racing begins June 1st (best of 9 series) 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 3. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 * Race schedule: The Louis Vuitton challenger finals begin on Friday, June 1st, with racing continuing through Sunday before the first rest day on Monday. The next block of racing is on Tuesday and Wednesday before the second rest day on Thursday. -- Complete schedule: http://www.americascup.com/en/americascup/program/calendrier.php * New TV schedule: VERSUS (USA) and TSN (Canada) will provide live coverage of the Finals from 8:30 a.m.–11 a.m. ET. VERSUS will also have replays from 12-2:30 p.m. and 6:30–9 p.m. ET. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar/shows/#6 * Weather forecast: The outlook is for a sea breeze condition over the next few days, with winds from 9-14 knots. Racing is scheduled to start at 15:00, with the first warning signal at 14:50. WHO HAS THE EDGE? Looking at the three remaining contenders for the 32nd Americas Cup, who has the technological edge when it comes to the boats? The reality is that the evolution of the IACC boats has almost reached its zenith. There have now been 100 of these boats built over the eighteen year life of the class – more than the 12 Metre class that competed for the Americas Cup for the 40+ years following World War Two. This rapid evolution is due largely to the use of computers and the large numbers of challengers in modern times. All of the contenders are in the same corner of the rule ‘box’ and so the difference is in the detail – a sure sign of this is when the boats get ugly. Hard corners, lumps, and extremes are a sure sign that there are no major breakthroughs left in terms of fundamental concept and so the designers have begun to explore how hard they can push the rule to gain those last little fractions. -- Lots of photos and analysis in this story by designer Brett Bakewell-White on the Sail World site: http://www.sail-world.com/indexs.cfm?nid=34184 THE TALK STOPS WHEN THE FLAG DROPS (Mark Chisnell has been doing yeoman work in providing understandable and entertaining commentary for the 32nd America’s Cup. Here he digs in for a bit of analysis and answers, neither of which will buy a cup of coffee in Valencia.) It would be churlish not to join in the punditry for the Louis Vuitton Final. But let me tell you right now - I think it’s too close to call. That’ s not to say that either Luna Rossa or Emirates Team New Zealand won’t go down 5-1 or 5-2, because a tiny edge in this game can be converted into a sweep, but at this point in time I think you’d be foolish to try and predict which team. As ETNZ tactician, Terry Hutchinson said repeatedly at Thursday morning’s opening press conference - it will come down to who does the most things right and the least things wrong on any given day… Now, I’ve got to admit that to prepare for this blog, I haven’t watched every start that Barker and Spithill have done since they were kids – which is what ETNZ's head man, Grant Dalton told Murray Deaker’s New Zealand radio audience that Ben Ainslie had been up to for a report on Jimmy Spithill. I think you can safely assume that Philippe Presti and Charlie McKee at Luna Rossa have put together something very similar on Dean Barker. This is Presti, “As the training helmsman I have to put myself in Dean Barker’s skin. We did the same for Dickson and it worked really well.” Unfortunately, you’re going to have to make do with the conclusions that I can draw from the last two round robin races. -- Read on: http://markchisnell.blogspot.com/2007/05/any-given-friday.html CLOTHE THE KIDS Helping your kids enjoy sailing this summer is about them being comfortable - in their boat and with the weather conditions. If they are cold, they will get tired. If the hiking straps hurt, they won’t hike. If the lifejacket isn’t comfortable, they will feel hindered (or maybe not put it on). All these things will effect their sailing performance, and ultimately their passion for the sport. Make sure your kids have the sailing equipment they need to be a comfortable and confident sailor. Look for the Team One Newport webesite’s special section for gear designed specifically for youth sailors: http://www.team1newport.com COLLEGE NATIONALS Annapolis, Md. (May 31, 2007) – The defending champions -- the College of Charleston Cougars (Charleston, S.C.) -- moved into the lead position today at the 2007 ICSA/Gill Coed National Championship in large part due to the strong performance from their A-Division team of senior skipper Russ O’ Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) and junior crew Megan Riddle (Vermillion, Ohio). It appears to be déjà vu for O’Reilly and Riddle whose near identical move to the top while sailing B-Division last year helped the Cougars clinch the championship title. Today, O’Reilly and Riddle moved from third to first in A-Division after they banged off back-to-back wins [races eight and nine of the series] in the first two races of the day. They lead the A-Division standings with 61 points. Senior skipper Brendan Healy (Arnold, Md.) and sophomore crew Britney Haas (San Diego, Calif.) slipped slightly today in the B-Division standings from sixth to seventh. They contribute 107 toward the Cougar’s 168 points for first overall heading into the final day of the championship. Seniors Erick Storck (Huntington, N.Y.) and Killarney Loufek (Costa Mesa, Calif.), sailing A-Division for Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.), also won two A-Division races today which moved them up three spots to sixth in their division on 102 points. With the addition of 70 points from B-Division’s senior skipper Andrew Loe (New Orleans, La.) and junior crew Betsy Bryant (Tampa, Fla.) – the day’s last race winners – the Big Green moved into second overall from fourth yesterday. Dartmouth has 172 points in the combined scoring. Despite a fall to third in the combined standings today, day one leaders, the Anteaters from UC-Irvine (Irvine, Calif.), are only 16 points out of first place with 92 points coming from both A- and B-Division for a total of 184. Senior skipper Frank Tybor (Coronado, Calif.), is sailing A-Division with crew Emma Nilsson (Woodland Hills, Calif.), a sophomore, and junior Megan Pluth (San Diego, Calif.); and seniors Will Pochereva (Kailua, Hawaii) and Whitney Loufek (Newport Harbor, Calif.) are in B-Division. The Anteaters are each third in their respective divisions. Preliminary Results (top 5 of 18; 14 of 18 races completed in A and B div) 1. Charleston, 168 points (A division=61; B division=107) 2. Dartmouth, 172 points (A division=102; B division=70) 3. UC Irvine, 184 points (A division=92; B division=92) 4. Yale, 198 points (A division=137; B division=61) 5. Boston College, 207 points (A division=102; B division=105) => Results and reports: http://www.collegesailing.org/nas/spring07/teamcoed/coed.asp * Look for online video reports from the Coed Dinghy Nationals on Thursday and Friday nights at http://www.jobsonsailing.com BOAT U.S. SANTA MARIA CUP Annapolis, MD (May 31, 2007) Team 7 Sailing, Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe, and Debbie Capozzi, is undefeated after two days of intense racing on the River Severn in Annapolis, Maryland, at the Boat U.S. Santa Maria Cup US Women’s Match Race Championship. Laser Radial sailor Anna Tunnicliffe is also onboard for this series in J/22s. Conditions here have been awesome on the Chesapeake Bay outside the US Naval Academy and the mouth of the Severn River. Morning postponements have allowed a nice southerly to come in, with the light breeze soon building to 10-12 knots along with a typical Annapolis chop. At the end of Day Two, Team 7 Sailing has a 3-point lead over Liz Baylis and Claire Leroy from France who are tied for second place. Leroy is currently the #1 ranked woman match racer in the world and has dominated women’s match racing since May 2005. There are four races remaining for the ten teams to sail on Friday in Round Robin 2 before the top four teams advance to the semi-final stage. Racing continues through Saturday. -- http://www.santamariacup.org CROSSING PATHS Sisters Julie and Carrie Howe are not always in the same town. Home is Grosse Pointe, Michigan, but with Julie sailing for Boston College, and Carrie being teamed up with Sally Barkow and Debbie Capozzi as the #2 ranked Olympic Yngling team in the world, their online communicating far exceeds any face time. But this week, the Howes find themselves in Annapolis, MD, with Julie competing in the College Nationals (currently in 5th) and Carrie’s Yngling team participating in the Boat U.S. Santa Maria Cup (currently in 1st). When not sailing this summer, look for Carrie to be in charge of the sailing program at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and Julie to be coaching young sailors at the Larchmont Yacht Club. VIDEO OF THE WEEK Think magic carpet ride. Think floating above the water’s surface. Think about the prospect of adding a hydrofoil to a windsurfer. Humming along on a cushion of air, looking down at how far you could fall. What about a surfboard, dropping down the face of the wave, with the board strapped to your feet. If idle hands are the devil's workshop, it looks like they have been busy lately. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/07/0528 A TRIBUTE TO DADS To celebrate Father’s Day on June 17, take a moment to thank your dad, and if they helped you get into sailing, tell us about it. The best letters will be reprinted in the Scuttlebutt newsletter, and all submissions will be eligible to win an Atlantis WeatherGear Grand Prix vest. Here is a sample from some of the great letters posted already: “Thanks dad - your tenacity and willingness to take on mom's vehement opposition to boat ownership cultivated a love of sailing for me that provides not only recreation, but a meager living! Growing up sailing in the Chesapeake Bay - no matter that there was no wind in July and August- taught me not only the skills necessary to move a boat through the water but showed me that sometimes just sitting quietly, waiting for the wind to fill in, listening to the ballgame on the AM radio with your family can fill your soul the way nothing else can.” => Post your letter here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/07/FD FROM THE SWIFTSURE RACE (‘Butthead Scott Simmons shares his story after sailing last week in the premiere long distance sailing race in British Columbia and the US Pacific Northwest area.) On Saturday the 26 of May two sail boats from Salt Spring Island (BC, Canada), Caliente and JJ Flash, raced in the Swiftsure yacht race Victoria, British Columbia. The race is the biggest in the area attracting more than 200 boats from all over the west coast to race in different categories and routes. The course is from Victoria to the Cape Flattery through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. I was on JJ Flash, skippered by Stuart Farson, along with a crew of Saltspringers and three young men from Edmonton on their first ocean race. It was my first Swiftsure and I had butterflies and queasy stomach the night before the race. It was a beehive of activity with all the boats tied up in front of the Empress Hotel in the Victoria inner harbour and about 1500 sailors. I thought I was prepared for the worst but little did I know how wet it would be. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0531 FREE NORTH SAILS GEAR WITH EVERY NEW SAIL PURCHASE During the month of June, every time you buy a new North sail, we'll send you a certificate for 10% of the selling price redeemable toward quality clothing accessories, gear, books, and CD/DVDs listed on the North Sails Gear Web site. Now you can power up with a fast, durable North sail and get FREE North gear to boot! One Design sails included, some restrictions apply. Offer available in North America only - contact your local North Sails representative for details. -- http://na.northsails.com SAILING SHORTS * This week’s Volvo Sailing Podast meets with Andreas Hanakamp, the skipper of the Russian entry for the next Volvo Ocean Race, and Rob Greenhalgh after he and the rest of the Basilica crew win the first Extreme 40 regatta of the summer. Peter Rusch provides his regular letter from Valencia with an update on the Louis Vuitton Cup finals, while British Laser ace Paul Goodison looks back at the recent Olympic class regatta in Holland and ahead to next week's European Championship. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org/podcast * Points East Magazine, the boating magazine for coastal New England, will hold its annual Crew Match Party Friday, June 15, at the Seamen's Church Institute in Newport, Rhode Island. The hours will be 6 to 8:30 p.m. for this event, scheduled to coincide with the Newport Spring Boat Show. For more information, visit http://www.pointseast.com/crewmatch.shtml * For the 35th annual running of the International Rolex Regatta in March 2008, St. Thomas Yacht Club will welcome yachts sailing under the IRC rating rule as well as those sailing under the CSA (Caribbean Sailing Association) rating rule. The move--a first for the regatta and likely to set the trend for other Caribbean regattas--is intended to make it hassle-free for racing sailboats from the United States and Europe to compete. IRC is the only rule endorsed by ISAF (the International Sailing Federation) as an international rating rule and accepted throughout the world. -- http://www.rolexcupregatta.com * (May 31, 2007) The biodiesel powered trimaran Earthrace has abandoned her round the world record attempt in Malaga, Spain. Mechanical issues and collisions have plagued the effort since it began its attempt from Barbados in March. -- http://tinyurl.com/39mj85 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Ryan Hamm, Charleston, SC: I just want to let everyone know that I think that Versus is doing a great job so far. They show it 3 times in the day. Live, and then again 2 more times for 3+ hours. They have knowledgeable people doing the broadcast. It may not be perfect but we never got anything like that from anyone else. And the internet coverage has been good also. I listen to the radio broadcast over the internet and then go home after work and watch it if it sounds worth watching and at least watch the starts. In our sport we complain more than most others about not getting any TV time. Between Versus and Internet this is a great Louis Vuitton Cup. Let sponsors and channels know that you appreciate it so that we keep getting something(no, I have no affiliation with any of them). The finals sound like it may be great. Wish I were there but since I am not, glad I can listen to and watch it all. * From Chip Pitcairn: To all those who think the Cup has gotten to expensive, too international, too professional, too full of big ego rich guys, too high tech, too dangerous. Please read ‘Temple to the Wind’ by Christopher Pastore. A beautifully written book about Reliance and the Cup in 1903. It was all there 100 years ago. * From John Tormey: Curiosity killed the cat, and it might have taken one of ETNZ’s nine lives in their training bout on Wednesday with Alinghi. By entering a situation that can only ask more questions than answer them, they have effectively stalled whatever mental momentum they might have had leading into their match against Luna Rossa. For all those who think the Kiwis are going to roll thru Italy, in the event that it doesn’t happen, be sure to bookmark this moment as a cause for their demise. * From Will Thomson: Given the new format to qualify for the college dinghy nationals, I took a peak to see how some of the weaker districts were doing this week in Annapolis. Out of eighteen schools, Notre Dame was last and Wisconsin was second to last. Safe to say that these schools won’t make it to the show again. * From Greg Bruno: Reading Farrah Hall’s report from Poland, you quickly get a sense of the challenge that lies before these under-funded sailors. When she comments on how “last season in October (she was) stressed out with completely no money and a huge credit card bill, broken and destroyed equipment, and a sense of failure that my racing, and my life, had not greatly improved,” it is easy to grasp how entrenched these sailors get in their quest. Her month in Poland was not glamorous; it sounded brutal. It has been hard to get much respect for US windsurf sailors, as it has been a very long time since they have garnered any decent results. Hopefully this intensive training will pay off. CURMUDGEON’S COUNSEL If you see a bomb technician running, follow him. Special thanks to Team One Newport and North Sails. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
