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SCUTTLEBUTT 2451 – October 11, 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 the support of its sponsors. US OLYMPIC TRIALS (October 10, 2007) It's only halftime at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Team Trials – Sailing, where 176 entrants have been competing in 13 of the 14 classes (Yngling has a separate system) for berths to the 2008 Games. Many classes are lethally close on the water and in the points scores, but there is a lot more racing to go. Wednesday was a scheduled reserve day for all classes except the Finn, which used the day to get back on schedule due to Monday’s lack of wind on their course. Racing will then continue on all courses each day from Thursday through the final day on Sunday. Here is the Finn report from Wednesday, the fifth day of racing: * For the west coast trials in California, Finn sailor Zach Railey, 23, now has a stranglehold on first place. Besides winning both races - that's six in a row and 7 of 9 - he cashed in a bonus by tossing his worst result - a 12th on Day 2 - to drop his net points from 19 to 9 and now leads Geoffrey Ewenson by 14 and Darrell Peck by 15. Andy Casey of nearby Fountain Valley, Calif., has made a 3-2-2 move over the last two days to reach fourth place. "Zach is just unbelievably fast," Casey said. "It feels good to go out and get beat just by him." - Jenn Lancaster reporting * Note: For all classes except the 49er, a 16 race series is planned, with only three races needed to constitute a series, and one throwout permitted after the completion of eight races. For the 49er, 24 races are planned, with only three races needed to constitute a series, and one throwout permitted after the completion of eight races, and two throwouts permitted after 17 races. Olympic Trials West - preliminary results Star (19 entrants; after nine races) 1. Mark Mendelblatt/Magnus Liljedahl, 3-3-1-(8)-1-3-6-2-5, 24 2. George Szabo/Andrew Scott, 2-1-(11)-7-3-4-9-6-2, 34 3. Andy Horton/Brad Nichol, (18)-7-7-1-5-11-1-3-1, 36 49er (13 entrants; after thirteen races) 1. Tim Wadlow/Chris Rast, 1-2-1-1-3-1-(4)-3-3-1-1-1-1, 19 2. Dalton Bergan/Zack Maxam, 2-4-3-4-1-2-2-2-(14/OCS)-3-4-3-4, 34 3. Morgan Larson/Pete Spaulding, (14/OCS)-1-2-2-9-14/OCS-1-1-1-2-2-2-5, 42 Tornado (6 entrants; after eight races) 1. Robbie Daniel/Hunter Stunzi, 1-(2)-2-1-1-2-2-1, 10 2. John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree, (2)-1-1-2-2-1-1-2, 10 3. Colin Merrick/John Sampson, 4-3-(5)-3-4-4-3-4, 25 Finn (42 entrants; after nine races) 1. Zachary Railey, 1-2-(12)-1-1-1-1-1-1, 9 2. Geoffrey Ewenson, 2-3-(10)-4-3-2-2-4-3, 23 3. Darrell Peck, (4)-4-1-3-2-3-4-3-4, 24 470 Men (8 entrants, after eight races)* 1. Stuart McNay/Graham Biehl, 2-2-2-2-1-2-(4)-1, 12 2. Mikee Anderson-Mitterling/David Hughes, 5-1-(6)-3-4-4-1-5, 20 3. Justin Law/Mike Miller, 11-4-(14/DSQ)-1-6-6-8-2, 38 * 470 Men and Women race and get scored together 470 Women (5 entrants; after eight races)* 1. Amanda Clark/Sarah Mergenthaler, 4-3-1-(6)-3-3-2-4, 20 2. Erin Maxwell/Isabelle Kinsolving, (9)-7-5-5-2-1-5-3, 28 3. Molly Carapiet/Molly O'Bryan, 7-8-4-7-7-8-7-(9), 48 * 470 Men and Women race and get scored together RS:X Men (7 entrants; after eight races) 1. Benjamin Barger, (8/RAF)-1-2-1-2-1-3-2, 12 2. Michael Gebhardt, 2-(3)-1-2-1-2-1-3, 12 3. Robert Willis, 1-2-5-3-(6)-3-2-1, 17 RS:X Women (6 entrants; after eight races) 1. Farrah Hall, (4)-1-4-1-3-3-1-1, 14 2. Lisa Kremer, 1-2-2-4-4-1-(5)-2, 16 3. Nancy Rios, 2-(4)-1-3-2-2-4-4, 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Olympic Trials East - preliminary results Laser (33 entrants; after eight races) 1. Brad Funk, 3-2-2-(9)-4-2-1-1, 15 2. Andrew Campbell, 4-4-1-(20)-1-1-2-5, 18 3. John Pearce, 7-5-3-(8)-6-6-3-6, 36 Laser Radial (22 entrants; after eight races) 1. Anna Tunnicliffe, 1-1-1-(3)-1-1-2-1, 8 2. Paige Railey, 2-2-2-1-2-2-(3)-2, 13 3. Sarah Lihan, 3-3-3-4-4-6-1-(11), 24 Paralympic Trials - preliminary results 2.4mR (4 entrants; after eight races) 1. Mark Bryant, 2-1-2-(3)-2-1-2-1, 11 2. Mark LeBlanc, (4)-2-1-1-3-3-1-2, 13 3. John Ruf, (3)-3-3-2-1-2-3-3, 17 SKUD 18 (5 entrants; after seven races) 1. Nick Scandone/ Maureen Mckinnon-Tucker, 3-1-1-1-1-1-1, 9 2. Karen Mitchell/ JP Creignou, 1-4-2-2-2-2-2, 15 3. Scott Whitman/ Julia Dorsett, 2-2-3-3-3-3-4, 20 Sonar (6 entrants; after nine races) 1. Albert Foster/David Burdett/Jim Thweatt, (5)-1-3-4-2-5-1-1-1, 18 2. Rick Doerr/Tim Angle/Bill Donohue, 1-3-1-1-(7/DSQ)-3-2-4-4, 19 3. Paul Callahan/Roger Cleworth/Tom Brown, 4-(7/DSQ)-2-3-1-1-4-3-3, 21 => Complete Results: http://tinyurl.com/38sxec => Complete Report Index: http://tinyurl.com/3cwatb => Photos: http://tinyurl.com/2kmaoj => Jobson Video Reports: http://tinyurl.com/38hdh7 => Star Video Interviews: http://tinyurl.com/2k4efa * Scuttlebutt’s typical distribution time of 6pm PT will be delayed during the course of the US Olympic trials so as to provide the most current information from each day. TIGHT AT THE TOP The trials format puts it all on the line, and for those classes that find the points tight at the top, match race tactics are now in full swing. Here are excerpts from reports filed after racing on Tuesday: * Anna Tunnicliffe: “Racing in the mouth of the Sakonnet River in a shifty, puffy 12-14 knot northeast breeze, the competition got pretty intense. In the first race, I chased Paige around the bottom mark and then we took offon our own lively one-on-one tacking duel out on the left-hand side of the course. I eventually got past Paige but Sarah sailed a more direct course and comfortably won this one. I was second and Paige third.Our second race was one to remember. Paige won the start and had a handy lead at the weather mark but I overtook her on the run before the judges yellow-flagged me (which, upon review, I deserved). After my two penalty turns, I chased Paige down on the run to round the leeward mark just two boat lengths behind her. We got into a really good tacking duel on the beat but she still led round the last weather mark. I passed her again on the run but she had luffing rights and carried me out to the side of the course on a big reach until I was able to break the overlap. We duked it out from there. Paige kept attacking but there wasn’t enough race course left and I won that one.” -- Complete report: http://www.annatunnicliffe.com/content/view/132/1 * Johnny Lovell/Charlie Ogletree: “What’s that old saying about winning on the swings and losing on the roundabouts? That’s the way it is at the U.S. Sailing Olympic Trials for the Tornado Class, where for the fourth day in a row we beat Robbie Daniel and Hunter Stunzi in one race and finished second to them in the other. For four consecutive days the lead has seesawed between them and us, them and us! With the regatta half over, we are still equal on points, and for that matter, on finishes. The discard rule kicked in today but that didn’t bring any relief. We each dropped a second place. Our pre-start maneuvers quickly turned into match race prestarts and we’ve been pretty darn successful for the last four days in controlling them off the line . What we can’t control are the capricious shifts and puffs that have confounded all our attempts to cover them. One thing’s for sure. This regatta is great practice for whatever crew makes it next year to the notoriously tricky waters of Qingdao.” -- Complete report: http://www.t-squaredracing.com/content/view/67/1 NOT A BAD DAY TO BE OUT RACING Southwestern Yacht Club was host to a picturesque 2007 San Diego to Ensenada International Race last weekend with sunny skies, consistent 18-knot sea breezes, and relatively big swells. Ullman Sails customers crossed the finish line in Mexico all smiles, winning five of the 11 classes in the regatta, including the J/120 class and four PHRF divisions. The closely contested J/120 class saw the top three competitors finish within five minutes of each other after 62 nautical miles of racing. All three used Ullman Sails. For the ‘Fastest Sails on the Planet,’ contact a local Ullman Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com 21ST CANADA’S CUP BATTLE BEGINS FRIDAY Toronto, Ontario (October 10, 2007) – As temperatures on the Great Lakes cool, the competition between two hardened yacht-racing crews is about to heat up on Lake Ontario. The first starting gun on Friday morning will mark Michigan’s Bob Hughes’ third straight attempt to wrest the Canada’s Cup away from the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, which sent Hughes and his Heartbreaker team home in defeat in 2001 and 2003. The team this time consists of skipper Bob Hughes along with Mike Hill, John Trout, Bill Bennett, John Upton, Ellen Johnson, Mike Buckley, Wally Cross, Ted Etheridge, and Dave Dellenbaugh The massive silver trophy is one of the oldest in sailing, and shares more than looks with her betterknown sister, America’s Cup. Both are named after the original racing yacht that first defended them - the RCYC’s Canada won the first-ever match in 1896 on the waters of Lake Erie. Conceived as a tool to help “encourage the building of larger fleets by fostering class racing” on the Great Lakes, the Canada’s Cup is the most prestigious sailing trophy in the United States today. The RCYC took the Cup away from Detroit’s Bayview Yacht Club 2001, when Olympian Terry McLaughlin beat Bob Hughes by the tiniest of margins after 5 days of racing. In 2003 Hughes, now representing Lake Michigan’s Macatawa Bay Yacht Club, came up short in Toronto, again losing by a narrow margin to McLaughlin. Hughes’ and new partner Ted Etheridge now return for a third attempt in 7 years, and they are hoping that the third time’s a charm. “There’s no time to focus on the past, but I can learn from it.” Hughes said. “In 2001 and 2003 we were so close, and my own errors were a big part of our defeat. Team Heartbreaker has worked incredibly hard over the past year to bring our game to a new level, and I think we’re ready to win this thing.” -- Alan Block, read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/1010 * Event site: http://www.rcyc.ca/Sailing/Regattas/CanadasCup/tabid/147/Default.aspx TOP TEN REASONS TO COME TO ANNAPOLIS FOR 505 NA'S For the 2007 505 North American Champs in Annapolis October 15-19, the event organizers have taken the liberty of putting together a list of top 10 reasons for why folks should attend the event: 10. A container load of west coasters are doing it, so if those guys can get here why can't you? 9. We have an excellent PRO for the bargatta/pub crawl. The person's identity is secret for now, but trust me you want to be there to witness the carbomb duel. 8. Crew's union underwriting one of the parties, with skipper/crew arm wrestling and skippers required to wear panties outside their pants if they want to get in without paying. 7. On-water photography from photoboat.com with personalized CDs containing photos of your boat available at the end of the event, plus daily slideshows and custom prints. 6. All boats will be provided with GPS transceivers and Kattack will be providing post-race play-by-play analysis and debriefing (kattack.com). 5. Sailing on the Chesapeake in mid October is epic. Warm water, pleasant air, and lots of breeze. 4. Severn Sailing Association race committee is known for doing a great job. 3. 100% billeting to those who want it, guaranteed. 2. Catered dinner every night included in entry fee. So you eat for free. Plus free beer. Isn't free beer reason enough. And the #1 reason to be at the 505 NA’s: 1. This is the first 505 regatta every to be sponsored by a lingerie shop. In order to grasp the full extent of the ramifications of this, you're just gonna have to show up in Annapolis and find out (alamodelingerie.com) -- http://www.usa505.org/usa/regattas/2007/NorthAmericans VIDEO OF THE WEEK With the 505 NA’s next week in Annapolis, MD, if your social side wasn’t tempted by the top ten list above, this week’s video might spur on the left side of your brain through the mellow music and scenic imagery taken from Howie Hamlin’s helicopter. Yes, that is the same Hamlin that was a Rolex US Sailing of the Year candidate last year, and is a multiple champion in the 505 class. The 3:09 minute video was taken in Long Beach, CA, and features Mike Martin, Kevin Taugher, Jeff Nelson, and Bill Mais, and is really rAlso, 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/07/1008 WORLD TOUR – GOLD CUP Hamilton, Bermuda (Oct. 10, 2007) -- Day 2 of the King Edward VII Gold Cup sees delays and penalties, and as the round robin at the King Edward VII Gold Cup wind down, time’s running out for some crews in their six race opening series. The three group leaders – American Ed Baird, Staffan Lindberg of Finland and Italy’s Paolo Cian – are all undefeated at 4-0. Second in each group – Bermudian Blythe Walker, Mathieu Richard of France and Glenn Astwood, also of Bermuda – have one loss each and control their destiny. Behind the top two in each group a mad scramble’s about to ensue. The top two from each group at the end of round robin racing advance to the Quarterfinal Round. Third and fourth from each group advance to the second chance Repechage Round, from which the top two advance to the quarterfinals. That means that accomplished skippers such as New Zealander-cum-Californian Scott Dickson, Sweden’s Magnus Holmberg and Björn Hansen, and American Sally Barkow, a past Women’s Match Racing World Champion, could be eliminated Thursday. Racing was postponed for nearly five hours while the race committee waited for the wind to settle on Hamilton Harbour. An 8- to 10-knot southwesterly eventually filled. -- Full story and results: http://tinyurl.com/2qf8ff HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOUR FREE GEAR YET? Get Free Gear now with the purchase and delivery of a Vanguard boat by December 31st and receive your choice of a Seitech dolly, Storm covers or a Magic Marine gear package with your new boat. Make your purchase by Halloween and get a blade bag. For complete details http://www.teamvanguard.com THEY KNOW THEY CAN This week in Shanghai, China, the Special Olympics have been in full swing, with the sailing event including 92 competitors from around 14 nations. It has been my honor to watch these young athletes (and some not so young) competing for medals, and for some just to complete the racing on Dianshan Lake to the west of Shanghai. At times the organization has creaked, but you try controlling nearly a hundred competitors, never mind those with intellectual challenges, but the races happened, boats capsized, hands were punched in the air, and some faces wore disappointed expressions. In other words, just as you would get at any regatta. As I sat listening to a coach suggesting to one of his team that a protest would only cause bad feeling as it had no impact on the result my mind drifted back to Robert Scheidt insisting on protesting Ben Ainslie in the last race in Sydney even though it would make no difference to the medal positions - that’s the way it should be done. There are five levels of racing, with varying degrees of support in the boat provided. Level 1 has the athlete onboard in a crew position, all the way to Level 5 where the athlete is on their own in a singlehander. The name of the game is enablement, the motto of these games is “I know I can” but they are no less competitive for all that. A very good example of this is in one Level 5 race, where an entrant was a country mile ahead, but then lost his concentration just 10m from the finish line, and watched as the fleet slowly passed him by. Seeing this, the race officers allowed for the finishing line to drift the 10m downwind togive him a finish. Notice that fine line of disadvantaging the other competitors was not crossed and yet the young man still was given that sense of achievement. These guys need to be applauded! By these guys I mean the Visionaries who developed the Special Olympics, the coaches who give of their time week in and week out, but most of all the competitors who prove to the world - and to themselves - that “They Know They Can.” -- Alistair Skinner * The Special Olympics World Games sailing regatta ended on Wednesday October 10, 2007 in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Fifty-six entries including 75 sailors with intellectual disabilities from nine countries competed in the largest ever sailing regatta at the Special Olympics World Games. Sailors competed at five levels, with a unified partner, double-handed or single-handed. The largest team was from China, with 35 Special Olympians competing. From North America, the USA team included 5 Special Olympians. Typhoon Krosa's approach cancelled racing and all outdoor competition for three days when high winds and heavy rain made racing unsafe. Racing resumed on Wednesday under the direction of the skilled Chinese race management team to complete the regatta. Results are at: http://www.2007specialolympics.com/webenglish/games/cjfb/index.html CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Oct 13-14 - Etchells Long Island Sound Champs - Greenwich, CT, USA Oct 13-14 - Puget Sound Sailing Championship - Seattle, WA, USA Oct 13 - SSA Fall Series/505 NA’s warm-up regatta - Annapolis, MD, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Eric A Sorensen: (regard Cory Friedman’s ACUP lawsuit analysis) Please continue with this type of explanation for those of us without a legal background. Mr. Friedman has explained enough of the lawsuit in 'Butt 2450 to keep me somewhat interested in hearing more. I loved his metaphors or alliteration to the various roughnecked sailing that intrigues all sailors. As to Brad Butterworth saying 'NO' to Coutts.... of course that is what he has to say at the moment. That situation is much the same as our National Attorney General Gonzales saying he will NOT resign. Just a bit of foreshadowing, as is d'regulier in the big leagues. It will all shake out in the wash of the sea. * From Michael Rosenauer: The dialogue written by Cory Friedman is absolutely spot on, fair, and well articulated. You cannot buy better commentary. I am a lawyer and have reviewed all of the briefs and appendices. It is clear from his word selection and analysis that he is not acting as an advocate. This can be extremely challenging. However, he is carrying it off extremely well. He is doing Scuttlebutt proud. * From Kirk Elliott: While I'm as fed up as most of us who follow the Americas Cup, with the lawsuit at hand. I found Cory Friedman's analysis written into sailing vernacular a better way to understand which team might be at the weather mark first. Thanks Cory! * From Gregory Scott: Cory's "observations" are quite assertive. Presuming his assessment is on the mark, the added input from Mascalzone Latino puts Bertarelli in a bad spot. * From John Cole, Portland, OR: I see all the PR (or depending on how you look at it, the BS) that Bertarelli is putting out right now. But for an outsider like me who doesn't have the inside track - it comes down to following the money. If Bertarelli's plan is so great, why would Louis Vuitton pull out of the sponsorship? LVMH mentions that the America's Cup helped build it's strong branding in it's first half report and performance was up by 16%. If Bertarelli's plan is so great - where have all the sponsors gone? * From Eli Slater: Contrary to what some people think, there has been a long history of tweaking within the Optimist class. When I was sailing Optis, the hulls were quite a bit different from one builder to the next, and indeed some hulls were better suited for lighter or heavier sailors. Custom blades, spars, and of course, sails were all available, and all of these items all pushed up the cost of entry. Small items like the line required to tie the sail to the spars were all critical considerations for doing well in this competitive fleet. Indeed, thick booms are nothing new. Because Optis sheet from the middle of the boom, it is natural that older, larger sailors are going to exert more force on it as the breeze increases. Nowadays the choices have actually gotten easier for parents, as there is no difference from one hull manufacturer to the next, despite claims by the builders themselves. The same is true for blades, as the class has closed up tolerances that allowed for a fair amount of interpretation. The simple fact is that the rig and sail are the two places where some extra money is going to pay off as far as speed is concerned. * From Ned Roseberry: I didn’t notice any letters from readers pouring in commending the successes of the US Teams representing the USA at the recent Team Race Worlds. Not only was the Silver Panda team win terrific, but the other US Team, Larchmont YC, ended up with the second best record after the elimination series. Never mind a discussion about the regatta format not allowing two teams from the same country to end up both first and second (seems like Swiss 1 and Swiss II always win Olympic bobsled medals, and no reason Brazilians cant be 1-2 at Snipe worlds, etc.). More importantly, it seems to me the US again fielded two outstanding teams to the event, a testament to the fact that the hard work and practice by everyone involved in Team Racing in the US continues to raise the bar both domestically and internationally. Additionally, I don’t know how this process all works, but the Silver Panda team this past year has won the Hinman, the Wilson Trophy, and the Team Race Worlds, in addition to I believe most other regattas they’ ve entered. Isn’t it time the whole team receives some nominations for Rolex Sailors/Team of the Year awards, both domestically or internationally? SHARON GREEN CALENDAR… CUSTOM AND UNIQUE Your message imprinted on the Ultimate Sailing calendar will remind your clients, crew, and friends of your commitment to excellence. Minimum order 24 calendars, special pricing of $16.95 each. Details online or call 800-827-3186. Offer expires Oct. 20. http://www.ultimatesailing.com/Calendar_custom.html CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION The next time you feel like complaining, remember that your garbage disposal probably eats better than thirty percent of the people in this world. Special thanks to Ullman Sails, Vanguard Sailboats, and Ultimate Sailing. |
