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SCUTTLEBUTT 1410 - September 9, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. VOLVO OCEAN RACE Officials of the Volvo Ocean Races are predicting that the new Volvo Open 70s will be 20 or 21 days quicker around the world than the VO 60s used in the last race - reducing the winning time to something like 103 days. Computers projections say the new boats will achieve top speeds in excess of 35 knots and blast through the 500 nautical mile in a day barrier. The current monohull record for distance covered in 24 hours is 484 nautical miles, set by illbruck in the last edition of the race. At 21.5m (69 feet) the new boats will be 2m (6.5 feet) longer but as much as 1000kg (2005 pounds) lighter. The Volvo Open 70 will carry up to 60 percent more sail area downwind in the spinnaker alone. The mast will be 4m taller, the boom a metre longer and the mainsail 28 per cent bigger than on the 60s. Using hydraulic rams mounted inside the boat, a canting keel can be swung to one side to reduce the heeling of the boat when under sail. The water ballast systems as used on the former Volvo 60s meant that up to 2.5 tonnes of water had to be pumped up onto the high side of the boat to help reduce the heeling. With the water on board the boat was then up to 2.5 tonnes heavier and therefore slower. The new boats will be allowed to have retractable prop shafts, which will reduce drag and increase performance. With props tucked away when sailing boats will have more efficient props for motoring than the low drag small bladed types that have been preferred in the past when the props and shafts were not allowed to be retractable. Carbon fibre will be allowed in the construction of the hull and deck. Previously carbon was prohibited and the previous VO60s were constructed from aramid and glass fibre sandwich laminates. The new laminates will also be sandwich construction using a foam and/or Nomex core. Apart from more space for less crew, the new rules specify minimum bunk sizes as well as a minimum of 10 individual berths. Fewer crew means more emphasis on crew comfort and safety below decks. Galleys will be better positioned and equipped. A navigation station separate from the media station will be required under the new rules and the toilet facilities will be improved. Each boat will have seven fixed cameras on board and teams will have to supply 20 mins/ week of footage. Previously this was 8mins/ week. Better editing facilities will allow crews to control the cameras and even edit the footage from a portable machine on the weather rail! The Royal Ocean Racing Club's Rating Office were contracted to produce the detail of the rule but the overall concepts were drawn from a committee including some of the most experienced designers and technicians around the world. These included designers, Farr Yacht Design, Rob Humphreys, Jim Pugh, Juan Kouyoumdjian, Hugh Welbourne, Rolf Vrolijk and the Wolfson Unit in Southampton. - Lizzie Green, www.volvooceanrace.org SIR PETER BLAKE The life and times and the last great adventure of New Zealand yachting icon Sir Peter Blake will be immortalized in a two-book publishing deal. Sir Peter's long-time friend and business partner, Alan Sefton, will write the two books, The Last Great Adventure of Sir Peter Blake, and the Biography of Sir Peter Blake, in a deal with Penguin Books. The books have been endorsed by Sir Peter's widow, Pippa, Lady Blake, and his company blakexpeditions. The Last Great Adventure will be published in November as a large mat, full-colour book featuring photographs and edited logbooks from the final voyage of Sir Peter's yacht Seamaster from New Zealand to Antarctica and up the Amazon and Negro rivers. Sir Peter was shot dead in December 2001, by pirates on Seamaster near the Amazon River town of Macapa in Amapa state, 1800km north of Brasilia. The biography spans his life and career and will contain unpublished material about Sir Peter's relationship with the Cousteau family and his reactions to private agendas that developed in Team New Zealand 2000. It will be published late next year. - NZ Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/k9sb THEY JUST KEEP GOING AND GOING. At all the regattas around the world, just look at what the crews are wearing. It is no surprise the Camet Padded Shorts, Bermuda Shorts, Cargo Shorts and Pants are everywhere, from Opti sailors to the Farr 40's, Maxi's and cruisers. The comfort of the pads, the reinforced Cordura seat, the quick drying breathable Supplex fabrics and the 97.5% UV protection is the solution to hours on the water. Check out the Shorts, Coolmax shirts, Neoprene Hiking pants, Bubble Tops, Rash Guards and Mylar bags on the Camet web site: http://www.camet.com YOUTH SAILING ISAF and Volvo signed a two-year title sponsorship agreement for the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship, which will in future be known as the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship. The sponsorship agreement is for exclusive title sponsorship including the nations' trophy, to be known as the Volvo Trophy, presented to the best overall performing nation. The Trophy is currently held by Australia. The two- year sponsorship covers the 2004 and 2005 World Championships to be held in Poland and Korea respectively, and follows on from the Volvo sponsorship of the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. - ISAF website, http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=5357 BLAZING SPEED San Francisco - The Ronstan Bridge To Bridge course record was blown away by Professional Formula Sailboarder Micah Buzianis in 16 minutes, 29 seconds - shaving one minute, 35 seconds off the previous record. Average speed - 21 knots. This race pits the top 18 Foot Skiffs, Formula Sailboards and Kite Surfers on a 5.7 nautical mile downwind course from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Bay Bridge. Second place, just twelve seconds behind Micah, was the first Skiff - RMW Marine (Robert Greeenhalgh, Dan Johnson and Sam Gardner) - 16:41. Third place: Kiter Anthony Chavez 17:05. Great Photo: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/03/0908RBtoB/ Results: http://tinyurl.com/mnhr STAR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS After five of six races of the Star European Championship in Cascais, Portugal there's a tie for first and a tie for third. And the leaders must also keep an eye on the fifth or sixth place boats as well. The standings of this 62-boat regatta after five of the six races (with one discard) are: 1. Torben Grael/ Marcelo Ferreira, BRA, 13 2. Mark Neeleman/ Peter Van Niekerk, NED, 13 3. Fredrik Loof/ Anders Ekstrom, SWE, 24 4. Peter Bromby/ Martin Siese, BER, 24 5. Iain Percy/ Steve Mitchell, GBR, 28 6. Colin Beashel/ David Giles, AUS, 31 7. Ross Macdonald/ Kai Bsorn, CAN, 44 11. Mark Reynolds/ Magnus Liljedahl, USA, 50 14. Rick Merriman/ Bill Bennett, USA; 57 Website: http://www.stareuro2003.com/Home_Event.asp NEXT LEVEL SAILING Complete your sailing career by taking the helm of a modern America's Cup yacht. Experience the power of these boats through a variety of options: two-hour bay ride, individual instruction, fantasy camps. A variety of corporate options replace traditional incentives and team building exercises. For additional information: 800-644-3454 or http://www.nextlevelsailing.com NEWS BRIEFS * A hundred or more Lasers are expected on Narragansett Bay next weekend for the Rolex Laser Masters North American Championships, hosted by the New York YC. A Rolex timepiece will be awarded to the overall winner. http://www.nyyc.org * Rory MacDonald of the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron won the Nova Scotia Match Racing Championships in a double round robin sailed in light winds, sunny skies and continually shifting wind directions. Erik Koppernaes took second place with Tony Moore in third. www.nsmrc.com * The official Notice of Race and Application for Entry for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2003 is now available in printed format from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney. With more than three and a half months to the start of the 630 nautical mile race, the CYCA already has received 10 Applications for Entry. www.rolexsydneyhobart.com * Jan MacMillan has joined Cruising World and Sailing World magazines as Regional Sales Manager for the Southeast, the Caribbean and portions of the Midwest and Eastern Canada. MacMillan will be responsible for all advertising accounts within her territories. Previously, she served as the National Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Sales Manager for Soundings and Soundings Trade Only. * Bob Tan (Perryville, MD) was the overall winner of the Laser Masters Atlantic Coasts, as well as the top Apprentice (35-44 years old). Top Master was Martin Willard (Wrightsville Beach, NC); top Grand Master was Mark Saunders. www.laser.org * Engineers Australia has recognized the radical wing sailed catamaran developed by Australian Catamaran Challenge in the 2003 Western Australian Engineering Excellence Awards. The awards judges were impressed by the innovative design and construction solutions developed for the project. The unique vessel has successfully completed its first round of sea trials and is currently being upgraded at the team's Fremantle workshop. The ultimate goal for the award winning design is an event known as "The Little Americas Cup" which will be sailed at Rhode Island in September 2004 against previous winner Steve Clark's Cogito and the British Invictus team. * Nathan Hollerbach bested Dave Rosow, Jr in the finals to win the U.S. Match Racing Championship for the Prince of Wales Bowl. In the petit finals, Benz Faget took third place by beating Jib Kelly. The Bayview YC hosted the regatta in Ultimate 20s on the Detroit River where current is a variable. Winds were, for the most part, out of the SSW, blowing 7-12. http://www.byc.com/ * Sheldon Ecklund of West Palm Beach, Florida won the E-Scow Nationals hosted by Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club in Lakewood, New York. Finishing second was Tom Burton of Deephaven, Minnesota and 3rd was Brian Porter of Winnetka, Illinois. Winds were strong the first day with three races being held in 10-18 knots. The second day the winds subsided a bit with winds 8-16. Sheldon Ecklund, 37 returned to E-Scow racing this summer joining the Lake Geneva fleet in Wisconsin and won both the ILYA Invitational and the ILYA Championship with the help of his crew Harry and Hans Melges. http://www.sailclyc.org/2003nationals/ncesaprn.htm * Coverage of the July Transpac Race airs on ESPN2, today at noon EDT. http://www.jobsonsailing.com/tvsched.html * 1D35 US Nationals, San Francisco YC, standings after six races: 1. John Musa, Jacaibon, 10; 2. David Kirk, Detente, 26; 3. David Rillie, Kill-A-Watt, 32; 4. Dick & Doug DeVos, Windquest, 32; 5. Bill Wright, Zsa-Zsa, 37. - http://www.sfyc.org/Regattas2003/Results/031D35CSV.HTM BERMUDA Hurricane Fabian hammered the island archipelago of Bermuda on Friday with large waves, and winds reportedly gusting as high as 170 miles per hour. According to a report on the Sailing World website (www.sailingworld.com), "The (yacht) club itself survived, and the marina is intact," said Royal Bermuda YC Vice Commodore Jane Correia Monday. "We lost two floating docks, the 420 dock, and part of the Opti rack, but apart from that, you wouldn't know a hurricane had hit the yacht club. We lost five IODs, and we're making them a priority and trying to get them repaired, as we still intend to go ahead with the Gold Cup (match racing series). We think it's very important to run that event, not only for the community, but to show that it's 'business in usual' in Bermuda." Scuttlebutt reader Scott King reported, "People in Bermuda we are picking ourselves up after having survived a Cat 3-4 hurricane on Friday. The damage to the yachting community was extensive ... those boats that did get pulled before the storm survived better than those on "hurricane" moorings for the most part. While there was damage to the new yacht club marinas, they did survive more or less intact. Boats left in the marinas suffered from bow or stern damage against the floats ... some finger piers let go causing collateral damage to other boats in the vicinity. MUSTO AND THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE Musto will be at the start, at every stop over and at the finish as the Official Clothing Supplier of the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race. The new Volvo Open 70 boats will be more powerful, more demanding and much faster than have competed before. The crews will rely more than ever on their clothing to protect them from the elements. Musto uses the latest fabrics and technologies to ensure they will have the best clothing available. You don't need to sail a Volvo Open 70 to experience Musto. Give it a try next time: http://www.musto.co.uk LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Jesse Falsone: John Rumsey asked an interesting question; "does it really matter who wins a medal or trophy" in sailing. For those of us involved in competitive sailing (either as an amateur or professional) I believe it matters a great deal. Many of us have friends and associates who live the Olympic dream, and we live vicariously through their experiences. Many of us come from towns where our top sailors compete in premier events, and we root for them just like a football fan would root for their home team. These sailors are a product of our community. We are inspired by people who find a way to achieve, against long odds, in a sport as competitive as sailing. When our friends and countrymen win a medal or a major championship, we are proud to associate ourselves with them. In so much as who our champions are, and how these champions affect the way we perceive our sport, it matters. * From Tom Donlan: Olympic Yachting and US Sailing have been losing touch with real sailors for years; this is just a tiny symptom that irks me beyond all reason. * From Dave Gendell (edited tour 250-word limit): I thoroughly agree with the spirit of Paul Cayard's comments on the state of Olympic sailing in the United State. American Olympic aspirants face unnecessary challenges off the water. It's obvious that our "system" needs serious review. That said, I cannot agree with his comment that funding our Olympic athletes "is no different than any other charity." It is very different. This past Friday night I attended the kick-off dinner for the National Capital Area Volvo Leukemia Cup Regatta. While there I met three-year-old Leah Holdcraft, the regatta's "Honorary Crewmate." At 21 months of age Leah was diagnosed with Leukemia. She is about to begin another four to five month round of chemotherapy. She has lost her hair and is feeling weak but her parents report that she continues to have a great attitude. Her favorite game is "doctor," which involves her performing pretend spinal taps and bone marrow aspirates on her dolls. She also gives them "chemo" and pretends to draw their blood. Heart-wrenching stuff. Olympic sailing does not involve life and death. Three-year-olds are not cured of cancer as the medal count grows. I am thankful that there are leaders such as Paul Cayard who continue to awe and inspire in the Olympic sailing arena and beyond. But I am more thankful that the Leukemia Cup effort is being led nationally by Volvo and many other committed sponsors and volunteers, including Gary Jobson. Our community should make a stronger effort to support both of these efforts. * From Tim Kent: I have been reading with interest all of the letters about the lack of sportsmanship in racing, communication with the Race Committees, etc. It is interesting that the most popular buoy race of the year in Milwaukee Bay is one that is both a benefit for Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin and is run under the loosest set of sailing instructions ever written. We encourage all sailors, not just racers, to participate and the daysailing and cruising fraternities show up in force. Both the notice of race and the sailing instructions are fun, funny, and enormously popular. The event pulls boats from Chicago and Port Washington and finds double the number of sticks on the line as we find on normal race weekends. We raise serious dollars for Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin, get in a great fall sail and have an enormously good time all while following the request of the RC to Play Nice. In the previous four years, not a single protest. We always get support from North Sails, Harken, Infinity Sails and other local businesses. And for the second year in a row, we have gotten sponsorship from Mount Gay as well. Read the regatta SIs: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/03/0909Louiessi.pdf * From Ron Baerwitz: Last weekend at the Shock 35 Nationals San Diego Yacht Club organized a terrific event with flawless race committee work with only one exception. They continuously broadcasted changes in the wind direction during the race. Now, I am all for the kinder, friendlier approach to race organizing which includes constant communication to competitors prior to the start gun. However, once the race has begun there should be no communication that competitors can hear with regard to course conditions. It is like having a coach on the course which, of course, is not allowed. The "Guessing Game" of predicting wind shifts and favored sides of a course are what tacticians are for. Broadcasting course conditions during a race basically takes away a large dynamic of yacht racing which is the human being trying to predict mother nature. Please stop this practice! * From Bruce Thompson: With regard to Tom Farquhar's comments in Butt 1409, I think your readers should know that he is the current chairperson of US Sailing's Appeals Committee. Therefore, he reflects the current thinking on the part of the judges. My question to him is where do we find out about this proposed rules change at ISAF? I have seen nothing of the proposed change. There is nothing on US Sailing's or ISAF's websites. I am unaware of any of any call for public comment. And, in my capacity as a Senior Race Officer, I have received a half dozen emails asking me to purchase the latest judge's manual, but have not been asked for private comments on a change affecting race management. What gives? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS A game for the over-50 crowd: Hide and go pee. |
