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SCUTTLEBUTT 2845 - Friday, May 15, 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are Summit Yachts and Hall Spars & Rigging. 'WE HAVE A SCORE TO SETTLE' The wind was blowing 28 knots and the waves were big, upwards of six metres high in some cases. Movistar's crew had been at sea for 10 days on their trip across the Atlantic when Jono Swain, the man at the wheel, braced himself for impact. "I remember shouting to the guys ‘hold on, here we go'," he recalled. "It was a big steep wave." The team had been battling serious keel issues the entire race and when they fell off the back of that wave there was a sharp cracking sound. "It wasn't a good noise," Swain added. An inspection began below deck and the findings were bad. Their heavy landing had broken the aft end of their keel pivot bearing away from the hull. "We knew straight away we had a big problem because we saw the water coming in," added Bouwe Bekking, Swain's skipper then and now with Telefonica Blue. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-5-14-09 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Imagine yourself as Bekking, now in his sixth time in this race, beginning to embark on the same leg across the Atlantic where he had to abandon his last boat. Noting the Movistar’s troubles and the loss of Hans Horrevoets aboard ABN Amro Two, the above story provides a handy reminder of how difficult this next leg can be. * VOLVO OCEAN RACE: Began Oct. 4, 2008, crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. The next event is the 2,550 nm transatlantic Leg 7 from Boston to Galway, Ireland that starts May 16th at 13:00 ET (17:00 GMT) and is expected to finish by May 23rd. Seven of the eight teams are expected to compete (Team Russia will not compete). Leg 7 crew lists: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-Leg-7-Crew-List-2 Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 STATE SPONSORSHIP FOR PORT HURON TO MACKINAC RACE (May 14, 2009) - The Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) is the title sponsor of this year's Port Huron to Mackinac race, spending $100,000 in the hope that the annual race will showcase the state's beauty and resources - and draw more tourist dollars. "It's a great fit for us," said George Zimmermann, vice president for Travel Michigan at the MEDC. "It's an activity that's followed by sailing enthusiasts all over the country, and it's also a big brand fit because what is more Pure Michigan than a sailboat race between two ports on the Great Lakes." The sponsorship, to be formally announced today, means the event will be officially known as the 2009 Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac Race. It begins July 25, with more than 200 boats and 2,500 sailors expected. MEDC has a $10-million budget this year, which Zimmerman said is its largest ever. It is advertising internationally for the first time. -- Detroit Free Press, full story: http://tinyurl.com/DFP-5-14-09 THE LINE IS FORMING FOR SUMMIT YACHTS Interest continues to grow for the new Summit 35 Racer/Cruiser. After its recent west coast introduction at the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show in Oakland, CA, inquiries are on the rise. Hull number one is due to start production in early May, and will hit the water in time for the Newport International Boat Show. Several of the Mark Mills designed boats have been sold specifically to compete in the 2010 Key West Race Week, and two more are available to complete in time for this great event. Visit our web site at http://www.summit-yachts.com for more information. MARK YOUR CALENDAR: FEBRUARY 2010 By Cory Friedman, Scuttlebutt legal analyst (May 14, 2009) There are two constants in the America’s Cup litigation. One is that Société Nautique De Genève (SNG) and Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) cannot agree on anything. The second is that both win every legal engagement. Today they appeared before Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of New York, New York County and both claimed victory. Justice Kornreich was extremely well prepared and thinks, talks, and rules quickly. She does not suffer fools gladly and wants answers to her questions, not recapitulations of briefed arguments she has read and understands. She knows what the law is, acts confidently and decisively, and cuts lawyers off when she has heard enough. Because she speaks quickly, there is some confusion as to exactly what she “directed.” Bloomberg has direct quotes that do not match anyone else’s recollection. The proof of the pudding will be the transcript. Given that Justice Kornreich acknowledged that she is bound by the Judgment, she cannot direct anything inconsistent with the Judgment - just as statements at a skippers meeting cannot change the Race Instructions or Notice of Race. The bottom line is that, barring mutual consent (yea right), the Match will be held in early February 2010, as provided in the Judgment, in Valencia or some other presumably deed compliant venue if SNG so desires. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/#p39 * A summation of recent rulings is posted on Sail World, along with the latest press releases from SNG and GGYC: http://tinyurl.com/SW-5-14-09 QUOTE/UNQUOTE America's Cup defender Alinghi team owner Ernesto Bertarelli, on how a French member of BMW Oracle's design team was allegedly monitoring his team’s boatyard on the shores of Lake Geneva near Montreux last month: "It's rather like someone taking pictures of you through a window while you're taking a shower.” -- http://tinyurl.com/Taking-A-Shower SCHOOLGIRL'S SOLO SAIL 'IRRESPONSIBLE' Family groups have questioned the safety of a planned solo trip around the world by a 15-year-old Sunshine Coast sailor. Jessica Watson, who will be 16 when she sets sail in September, announced plans yesterday to circumnavigate the globe by herself in an attempt to become the youngest person ever to sail solo non-stop around the world. Miss Watson has the support of her parents, including her father, Roger, who quit his job to help her prepare. But John Morrissey, of the Australian Family Association, said the trip was too risky. "I'm a secondary teacher and I've been teaching 15-year-old girls for 42 years and I'd be amazed if any of them could cope with something like that," Mr Morrissey said. "I don't know how closely they are shadowed ... but on long-distance epic journeys like that there is a lot of isolation and it is normally people of 50 or 60 who have the sort of maturity needed to deal with it. "I would definitely encourage her parents to reconsider." Bill Muehlenberg, secretary of the Family Council of Victoria, said the trip was "irresponsible". -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/r6x3eu * Victorian (AUS) adventurer Jesse Martin says people should not criticise 15-year-old Jessica Watson who wants to break his round-the-world solo sailing record. The Sunshine Coast teenager has been sailing for eight years and wants to become the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world non-stop. Jesse Martin set the record in 1999 as an 18-year-old and he says he supports the new record bid. "It's Jessica's choice, she's the one who's making the decision," he said. Family groups have described the eight-month voyage as dangerous and reckless. -- Read on: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/14/2570619.htm?section=justin * 17-year-old British yachtsman Mike Perham, who is planning to become the youngest person to sail single-handed around the world, is to make a brief stop in New Zealand - only days after leaving Australia. Mike, who set off from the UK last November, will be putting into Auckland on Friday morning (15 May). He has reported that the starboard rudder bearing on his boat, Totallymoney.com, is making grating noises and moving excessively. -- Yachting World, read on: http://www.yachting-world.com/auto/newsdesk/20090414094603ywnews.html GETTING SKUNKED IN THE MED Alicante, Spain (May 14, 2009; Day 2) - Capricious early season breezes off Alicante refused to co-operate to allow any racing today on the Audi MedCup Circuit at the City of Alicante Trophy. While the 12 boat TP52 fleet did come under starter’s orders the fitful breeze collapsed, leading to a 90 minute postponement before the fleet returned to the port of Alicante at the request of the race officers. The lost races now mean that Friday’s schedule has been changed, as the coastal race has been put on ice meantime and instead the plan is to try and run three windward-leeward contests. Ed Reynolds (USA), project manager for 2008 Audi MedCup champions Quantum Racing (USA): “I think the race officer on this Circuit is one of the best there is (PRO Maria Torrijo, ESP). It may be almost a déjà vu from last year. It can be difficult here at this time of year to get the races off, but she is beyond reproach. If she says we are not going racing, then I am in (Regarding yesterday), it has been a long time since October, maybe they (Quantum Racing) were a little bit frustrated but I think they were ultimately satisfied what they ended up scoring. They came off the line with an unbelievable start, heading where they wanted to go, you watched three boats get kicked right and round the first mark ahead. It happens enough in the Med and you just have to grin and bear it.” -- Excerpts from event website: http://2009.medcup.org Standings after 1 race: 1. Matador (ARG), Guillermo Parada, 2pts 2. Bigamist 7 (POR), Afonso Domigos, 3pts 3. Marazzi Sailing (SUI), Flavio Marazzi, 4pts 4. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker, 4 pts 5. Quantum Racing (USA), Terry Hutchinson, 5pts Complete results: http://2009.medcup.org/results2/venue.php?trophy=1 DON'T LET YOUR RIGGING SLOW YOU DOWN Replace your standing rigging with SCR 35 from Hall Spars and see immediate, measurable speed gains. SCR's impossibly smooth carbon surface slips through the wind practically unnoticed, and the sleek titanium end fittings are the lowest profile on the market today. Compare SCR's diameter to other composite products and you'll see that there is no comparison. SCR is sleek, strong, and stylish. So, if the only thing standing between you and ultimate speed is the windage in your rigging, talk to the carbon experts at Hall. http://www.hallspars.com SAILING SHORTS * Chase Hillyer, Island Heights Yacht Club, and Eric Horrocks, Lavalette Yacht Club were each awarded a grant of a competitive E-scow for the 2009 racing season. This was made possible through a grant by the Island Heights Sailing Foundation which provides selected young sailors on the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association (BBYRA) an opportunity to experience E-Scow racing at its best. The Foundation sponsors the boats, insurance, boat maintenance and substantial regatta expenses. -- Details: http://www.ihsailingfoundation.org/BBRYA_E-Scow_Grant_Program09final.pdf * In the 0320 GMT position poll this morning (14/05), the Portimão Global Ocean Race fleet of three Class 40s and one Open 40 are devouring the miles to the finish line in Charleston, South Carolina. Race leaders Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme on Beluga Racer are currently just under 600 miles from the finish line averaging 11.5 knots. -- Read on: http://www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com/?page=news&news_id=293&lang=en * Franck Cammas and his crew on the 105-foot maxi trimaran Groupama 3 plan on Friday to attempt to establish a new 458 mile Mediterranean crossing record (Marseilles, France to Carthage, Tunisia). The time to beat is 17 hours 56 minutes 33 seconds, a time set by Bruno Peyron aboard the catamaran Orange II on September 25, 2004 (average speed: 25.53 knots). As Cammas had planned to be at the helm of the Groupama 40 catamaran in Venice, where the first event in the iShares Cup circuit is being held this weekend, he has called upon Gildas Philippe to replace him. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/Groupama-5-14-09 * The UK's Hyde Sails has appointed Olympic Silver medalist Scott Steele as its main North American distributor. Operating from his new office in Annapolis, Maryland, Steele will be the central hub for Hyde's network in North America. -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090414131732ibinews.html PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include Extreme 40s in Venice, extreme foiling on Lake Geneva, extreme solutions in the Vancouver, extreme ideas in the Solent, extreme weather in the Chesapeake, extreme stopover in Boston, and extreme crewing in Ft Lauderdale. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0515 VIDEO OF THE WEEK The teams competing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008/9 leave the Boston stopover on Saturday, May 16th, and the race village that was created will soon be dismantled too. The village was constructed on an area called Fan Pier, which is an area of the city that has long sought development, but to date had very little recognition. It proved to be a tremendous venue, and with a mixed use development project in the works, the recognition that the race provided the area will reap significant dividends. This week's videos provide a look at the area for the Boston stopover: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/09/0515 * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week’s Video of the Week to mailto:craig@sailingscuttlebutt.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Thomas G. Donlan, Barron's Weekly: (responding to Bill Sandberg's article in "WindCheck" promoting regatta sponsorship, which was quoted in Scuttlebutt 2844) It seems Bill's perspective is distorted by having worked at Rolex, and being disappointed when the company wasn't even mentioned in magazine and news reports of the regattas it sponsored. I guess he felt used. Well that's the way I feel when a regatta requires me to put advertising on my boat as a condition of entry. It's the way I feel when I see corporate banners all around the regatta party site. It's the way I feel when I see a competitor who happens to own a small business putting advertising on his boat so he can write off some of his sailing expenses. It's the way I feel when I get a bunch of useless freebies in a goodie bag, when all I really wanted was the sailing instructions. (Yes, I'm talking about the red hats too, Mount Gay.) I feel used, by the sponsors of course, but also by the regatta administrators. As Bill acknowledges in a part of his essay that didn't make it into Scuttlebutt, the sponsors are in it to get their names and logos published. As a professional journalist, I am all too accustomed to being used this way. The flacks (which is what we call PR professionals) call it "free media." They use it and pay for it with sponsor bucks because they think free media is more credible than a paid ad. Bill's right that magazines and newspapers sell ads; but why would he think that we would encourage that kind of underhanded competition? If I ran a sailing magazine, I would never mention a sponsor and I would use Photoshop to blur the ads on boats' bows. -- Scuttlebutt Forum, read on (and post comments) here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7477#7477 * From Derek Bouwer: (re, sponsorship story in Scuttlebutt 2844) What do sponsors want? At Algoa Bay Yacht Club (Port Elizabeth, South Africa) we organized and ran very successful sponsored regattas four years with Continental Tyres (1995-1999) and four years with General Motors (2003-2006). The secret? Bring them onto the organizing committee and they will tell you what they want out of the deal and you organize sailing around this need. Although trips to see the racing may be great, what the sponsor wants is brand exposure to as many people as can be! After all it is a form of advertising! Please, please do not see sponsors as merely cash cows. * From George Oestreich: (re, letter in Scuttlebutt 2844) Will Baillieu hit the nail on the head. Although I may be in the minority, it has gotten to the point where I am losing interest in the America's Cup given all the legalities of what was once a sport. * From Brian Morris: In Scuttlebutt 2844 you say that that the Multihull takes a step closer for 2012 and both the Equipment and Events Committee have made recommendations in favour of the Tornado class. It should be remembered that both the Equipment and Events Committees made the recommendation that the Multihull be included in 2012 but it was sill removed (when ISAF had to reduce the number of Olympic events from 11 to 10). The next question is why ISAF would keep choosing the Tornado. That is the biggest complaint ISAF had for removing the multihull. There was the cost, no representation, small sailing numbers. Then there was the rules issues. Who can forget the spinnaker issues in Qingdao. Last week Scuttlebutt reported a record number of youth entries at the ISAF Youth Words because of the influence of Hobie. If the multihull is to get in at least choose a class that is capable of getting good numbers to participate. Not the same old mess with the declining numbers of the Tornado, with the same old sailors. Get the younger teams and that means a new class that is supporting youth. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: While I know the Tornado class has done a lot of housecleaning since the multihull was not elected to the 2012 Games, I suspect Brian is a still a supporter of the other class that ISAF will consider if the IOC decides in August 2009 to provide sailing with another Olympic event… the Hobie Tiger. SCUTTLEBUTT AUCTION An auction section has been now added to the Scuttlebutt Forum, to help facilitate the transfer of a few items. The first item given away was to Brendan Hanna, who won himself a free Level Regatta 2008 Mount Gay Hat. Here are the other items currently available: * Chapter 1 of Volvo Ocean Race book - free * Autographed t-shirt from Volvo Ocean Race - Charity * Battened Hiking shorts - 40% discount The autographed Scuttlebutt University t-shirt was signed by all the skippers competing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008/9 at the Boston stopover. This is a one-of-a-kind item, and 100% of the proceeds for this item will go to a sailing charity to be named later. View all items here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/auction CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION It used to be only death and taxes, but now there's shipping and handling too. Special thanks to Summit Yachts and Hall Spars & Rigging. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
