SCUTTLEBUTT No. 942 - November 12, 2001
Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE
The wind Gods were smiling today for the start of the 6,550 nautical mile
leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race to Sydney, providing spectacular sailing
conditions in Table Bay, under the watchful gaze of Table Mountain. A
freshening westerly 24-knot breeze blew out of a clear and cloudless blue
sky, declaring a true beat to windward towards the 200-metre wide gate set
three miles to the west, 2000 metres offshore northwest of Green Point.
Once out in Table Bay, the eight-strong fleet, set up with full mainsail,
number one jib and full water-ballast, jostled for position in the starting
area which was positioned approximately 500 metres to the north west of Cape
Town Harbour entrance, with two blue and yellow Volvo buoys as inner
distance and outer distance marks.
At the ten-minute gun, fired by Robert Norrman, managing director of Volvo
Cars South Africa, a large fog bank was seen on the horizon, temperatures
dropping rapidly. Two hundred spectator boats were pushing close to the
fleet, churning up a huge wash, while above, eight helicopters circled like
vultures.
The whole fleet made a clean start on starboard tack with djuice choosing
the favourable pin end of the line, next to the breakwater. Tyco was the
first boat to tack onto port, the rest of the fleet followed, forced by the
shoreline to tack out. Djuice continued to work the shoreline, sailing into
clear air, Amer Sports One and News Corp hard on her heels, with illbruck
and Assa Abloy covering each other. The wind dropped to 10 knots as the
fleet sailed into the fog bank, but the fight continued, the lead changing
with every tack, Amer Sports One losing precious distance as she bore away
hard to give way to illbruck now back on starboard tack.
News Corp was the first Volvo 60 to reach the gate, three miles up the race
track, followed by illbruck 30 seconds behind her and djuice 5 seconds
behind illbruck. SEB rounded one minute behind djuice with Assa Abloy right
on her transom 10 seconds behind. There was a gap of one minute 20 seconds
before Tyco turned through the gate followed by Amer Sports One five seconds
behind her and Amer Sports Too a further two minutes 10 seconds later.
The fleet continued to sail on the wind, the wind still decreasing, News
Corp was leading illbruck, djuice, SEB and Assa Abloy inshore on starboard
tack, while Tyco, Amer Sports One and Amer Sports Too opted for offshore
route on port tack.
Positions at 1600 GMT Sunday November 11:
1. Tyco - 6474 miles to finish
2. Amer Sports One - 6474
3. djuice dragons - 6475
4. illbruck - 6475
5. News Corp - 6475
6. Team SEB - 6476
7. Amer Sports Two - 6476
8. ASSA ABLOY - 6479
Event site: www.volvooceanrace.org
Daniel Forster took an incredible photo of the fleet slicing through the
fog, see:
www.boats.com
ONE DESIGN 35 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
In an impressive display of consistent sailing in some very difficult
conditions, Dick DeVos and his team on Windquest today captured the 2001
1D35 National Championship title. In the two final races of the eight-race
no-throwout series, the Holland, MI-based team managed to stay a mere two
points ahead of Chris and Kara Busch's runner-up crew from San Diego on Wild
Thing.
DeVos also collected trophies for winning the 1D35 Midwest Regional Series
and was named the class' overall Season Championship Series winner. This
last award was determined only after today's final results were tallied,
since this was the last qualifier of the seven-event series. Windquest's
scores of 4th in Yachting/Key West Race Week, 2nd in the Annapolis NOOD
Regatta, a win at the Chicago YC's Verve Cup, and today's National
Championship victory gave her a four point margin over the Season Series
Runner-up Joss, owned and driven by Owen Kratz of Houston, TX. Nick and Tina
Worth's Widowmaker of Norfolk, VA earned third place in this overall season
series.
The Terra Nova Yachting/Key West Race Week will be the next stop on the 1D35
class calendar, where 20 entries are expected. -- Dobbs Davis
Top Five:
1. Windquest - Dick Devos
2. Wild Thing - Chris & Kara Busch
3. Tabasco - John &Stephanie Wylie
4. Smiling Bulldog - Garth Dennis
5. Joss - Owen Kratz
Complete results at www.1D35.com
ULTIMATESAILING.COM HAS A NEW LOOK
And introduces new products. Visit www.ultimatesailing.com for the
best of Sharon Green's images of competitive sailing. Calendar, note cards,
screen savers, t-shirts, book, poster and custom prints ready for your
holiday purchases.
PLAYSTATION GRABS ANOTHER RECORD
After the disappointment of having to scrap last week's Cowes-St Malo record
attempt due to excessive weather, Skipper Steve Fossett's 125'
Maxi-Catamaran PlayStation and her 13 person crew set out from Empress Dock,
Southampton Friday morning with a target - to reclaim the traditional Isle
of Wight 'Round the Island' record Fossett (USA) had held since 1994 - but
which was broken in June of this year by Rodney Pattison (GBR) and Francis
Joyon (FRA) on the 60' trimaran Dexia Eure et Loire (3 hours 10 minutes).
They achieved their goal, with a new record of 2 hours 33 mins 55 secs, over
36 minutes faster than the previous mark (pending ratification by the
WSSRC).
When Steve set the prior mark (3 hours 35 minutes) aboard the trimaran
Lakota his crew included Ben Wright, Dave Scully and Helena Darvelid - all
of whom were on PlayStation for this record attempt.
"This is a special satisfaction for all of us. Back in 1994 we thought the
best conditions would be a north wind - and today we had really excellent
conditions. We saw 39 kts top speed on the back side of the island.
Wind was between 25-30 kts the whole way. We needed 1 tack (at the Needles)
and 1 gybe (at Bembridge) all the way around".
Navigator Stan Honey: "This was a perfect race. The boat was great, the crew
were sharp, and we had great conditions."
PlayStation's Crew
Steve Fossett (USA) Skipper
Stan Honey (USA) Navigator
Ben Wright (AUS)
Shaun Biddulph (UK)
Dave Scully (USA)
Peter Hogg (NZ)
Chris Tibbs (UK)
Tom Swift (GER)
Paul Hakes (NZ)
Brad Cavanagh (USA)
Helena Darvelid (UK/SWE)
Pascal Blouin (FRA)
Steve Hammond (UK)
As for the Cowes-St Malo Channel Record, Steve advised that no suitable
weather pattern was on the horizon for the next week " so we'll all go home
now and keep a watch out for another opportunity this season."
Fossett Challenges: http://www.fossettchallenge.com
World Sailing Speed Record Council: www.sailspeedrecords.com
TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE
The Transat Jacques Vabre 12 strong multihull fleet enters the second week
of racing and a nail-biting stage of their drag race to Bahia, Brazil. The
leaders have reached 8 degrees North - and the door to the Doldrums is wide
open, as they take the corner like athletes sprinting round the track each
in their own lanes.
Leading the fleet by just 45 miles into this meteorological phenomenon is
Kingfisher-Foncia (Gautier/MacArthur). One thing is clear and in the minds
of all the multihull skippers: the first to leave this zone and round the
Ascension Islands will be the most likely to win this passionately close
transatlantic race.
In the monohull fleet, all Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm (Bobst Group - Armor
Lux) could say was "Groumph!" as he looked at the 195 mile gap between his
boat and the leader Sill Plein Fruit (Jourdain/Le Cleac?h). The red boat is
in a formidable position 80m ahead of Voila.fr (Gallay/De Pavant) coming up
to Cape Verde.
Just off the African coastline, however, SME Negoceane (Sanso/Dumont) and
Fila (Laurent/Rufini) have moved up to 4th & 5th place respectively, even
leaving last week's dominant leader Ecover (Golding/Hutchinson) in 6th
place.
The first signs of frustration are now showing on the faces of leading Open
50 team Alex Bennett & Paul Larsen on One Dream One Mission. An unexpectedly
wide high pressure ridge has flummoxed them, as they try to battle
themselves out of its grip without losing their slimmer 15 mile lead over
Saving (Le Youdec/Bacave) still South of the Canaries.
Multihull Positions at 1300hrs GMT
Foncia - 2514 nautical miles to finish
Groupama - 2559
Fujifilm - 2571
Open 60 Monohull Positions at 1245hrs GMT
Sill Plein Fruit - 2284 nauticalÊ miles to finish (shorter course than the
multhulls)
Voila.fr - 2363
Casto - Darty - But - 2405
Open 50 Monohull Positions at 1245hrs GMT
One Dream : One Mission - 2519 nautical miles to finish
Saving - 2535
Event site: www.jacques-vabre.com
WANNA SEE SOMETHING SLICK?
Sport boats are coming, that's a fact. Are there drawbacks to an
asymmetrical sail? Gybing? Tearing on sets and take-downs? Getting the sail
soaked in a douse? What the sport boat A-sail needs is a water shedding,
high tear strength fabric that gybes smoothly and quickly. Contender's
proprietary DYNALITE spinnaker fabrics redefine offwind performance and
handling. Dynalite Is the ONLY spinnaker fabric on the market with 100%
silicone coating. Results: fast, frictionless gybes. Water runs off in
torrents. Dynalite meets minimum weights for most one design classes.
www.contendersailcloth.com
DRY CREEK VINEYARD PRO-AM REGATTA
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands - The team of Ed Baird and the
curmudgeon (Tom Leweck) came on strong in the last day of racing to run away
with the overall Championship at the Bitter End Yacht Club's 15th Annual
Pro-Am Regatta. Both Baird and the curmudgeon picked up two quick victories,
which eliminated any last minute suspense and relegated the final two
matches of the regatta to positioning for the runner up spots.
Additionally, Ed Baird's four wins earned him the award for top 'Junior'
skipper. It was not quite as easy to determine the king of the Masters
Division. The curmudgeon, Butch Ullmer and Rod Johnstone all had three wins,
and the first tiebreaker failed to break the logjam. However, after applying
the second level tiebreaker the judges awarded the top prize to Johnstone.
Unlike the light and shifty conditions of the first eight matches, the final
two days of the event were sailed in big breeze. All of Freedom 30s had
reefs tucked into their mainsails before they left the dock. With only
subtle wind shifts apparent on the warm flat waters of the BVI's North
Sound, boatspeed became 'king.'
The Pro-Am Championship uses a Triple Race format, which is a three-boat
match race with a rabbit start. The winner of each match gets one point
while the second and third place boats get nothing.
The guests of the BEYC serve as crews for the ten invited skippers - five of
which sailed in the Masters Divisions, while the five contemporary rock
stars were grouped into what was called the Junior Division for lack of a
better term. Everyone agreed that the presence of the 50 members of the
Scuttlebutt Sailing Club, who were gathered at the BEYC for their Annual
Meeting, helped ratchet up the quality of the crew work to new high levels
this year. It was also hard to ignore that the parties definitely ended
later.
Final Results: 1. Ed Baird (4) & Tom Leweck (3) 7 points; 2. J. J. Isler (2)
& Rod Johnstone (3) 5 pts; 3. Peter Isler (1) & Butch Ullmer (3) 4 pts; 4.
Robbie Haines (3) & Lowell North (0) 3 pts; 5. Marie Bjorling (0) & Keith
Musto (1) 1 pt. -- www.beyc.com
SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands - After nearly a week of mild Caribbean
trade winds, Mother Nature surprised the members of the Scuttlebutt Sailing
Club with a healthy dose of heavy air for the long awaited Club Championship
Regatta. The 24 Bitter End YC boats used for the event had been reserved for
weeks, but as race time approached, more and more of the registered skippers
decided the event might be more fun as a spectator than as a participant.
This meant that many of the SSC members on the waiting list were able to get
last minute boat assignments.
Once on the racecourse, many of the skippers surely must have questioned if
they'd made the right decision. The rescue boats had their hands full in the
early afternoon, until attrition ultimately weeded out those less prepared
for the breeze-on conditions.
Eliminations for the finals were held in three classes - Laser, Rhodes 19
and Hobie Wave. Professional sailor Ed Baird danced through the Hobie class
without taking a transom during the entire three race series. Kristen Lane
from Marin County, California, with the help of husband Peter and Marie Lee,
won the Rhodes class with a similar record, but much tighter competition.
In the Laser Class, there were four boats still in contention at the final
weather mark. Donn Zinn from Annapolis, Maryland lead around that mark where
he promptly capsized. This opening the door for Nigel Musto, son of the
former UK Silver Medallist Keith Musto, to win his second race and the three
race series. However, because there were (initially) 12 entries in the Laser
Class, the second place boat also advanced to the finals. That spot went to
Swedish match racing champion Marie Bjorling when she surfed over the top of
Layton Lee just two boat-lengths from the downwind finish line.
The experience Ed Baird gained by qualifying in the Hobie Wave immediately
showed in the finals. Neither Musto nor Bjorling had ever raced a multihull
before, which hurt them in the short three race series.
Baird had straight bullets to claim the 2001 SSC Championship ... not to
mention a bottle of Mount Gay Rum, a magnum of Dry Creek wine and the new
model stainless steel Musto Competition watch which will be introduced early
next year. However the big winner may have been Kristen Lane. As the
top-finishing amateur, she received an invitation to return for a
complimentary week at the Bitter End YC during next year's Pro-Am Series.
Final Results: 1. Ed Baird, 3; 2. Nigel Musto, 6; 3. Kristen Lane 10; 4.
Marie Bjorling 11. - www.beyc.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
dmccreary@boats.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 or a
bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best
shot and don't whine if others disagree.)
* From Bruce Miller: Comments on arbitration. We have found that there is
sometimes a marked difference in the verbal description of the incident
between the arbitration and the jury hearings. It requires a very focused
arbitrator to give a decision withour offering reasons. The competitor can
take that information and "go to school" before the jury hearing. The
arbitrator should only give the reasons for his/her decision after the
parties accept the decision. Even with that "preview" of a hearing, the
competitors can learn something and carry it over to the jury. I agree that
the arbitrator should be available to the jury perhaps as a witness to the
"facts" as previously presented.
* From Hamish Reid: I completely support Rene Appel's argument regarding the
validity of unrestricted pumping in the Olympic boardsailing class. I am
completely horrified at Mr Henderson's response! The olympic boardsailing
class represents the epitomy of sailing athletism - exceptionally talented
sailors combined with elite standards of physical and mental strength,
fitness and agility and is well worthy of Olympic status.
His argument that anyone can be fit is simply ludicrous. Does he really
believe that elite levels of fitness are a learned / trained state exclusive
of the innate talent of an althlete? His comment would suggest that a
relatively sedentry person such as myself could train and win, say the
Olympic Marathon - the ultimate expression of fitness. I don't think so.
It's clear Mr Henderson has a hidden agenda here - I wonder if he's brave
enough to enlighten us?
* From Jim Champ: In my opinion the reason why Paul Henderson has been an
oustanding success as ISAF president is that he's not afraid to talk in
public or upset people, and to an extent has been successful in removing
some of the obscurity and secrecy surrounding ISAF machinations. As a result
he's upset people who knew how to manipulate things in those circumstances,
but I believe he's made ISAF much more relevant to the ordinary sailor. I
may object to some of the things ISAF has done in recent years, but at least
I have some idea why...
WEST MARINE GIVES $50,000 TO SCHOOL SAILING
West Marine said today it has donated $50,000 over the past two years to the
Inter-Scholastic Sailing Association, the organization that governs sailing
education in secondary schools. ISSA, operated entirely by volunteers, has
used the money to help develop and equip high school sailing teams just
getting started.
Since West Marine began its partnership with ISSA in 1999, 125 new school
teams have benefited, the company says."High school sailing is one of the
fastest-growing scholastic sports in America today," said Michelle
Farabaugh, West Marine senior vice president of marketing and strategic
planning. "It is one of the few activities where both males and females can
compete on the same level.".
Based in Niantic, Conn., ISSA provides training, organizes races and runs a
national championship system through seven regional districts and local
leagues. The ISSA now includes 275 school sailing teams nationwide.
West Marine said it plans to continue its contributions to the ISSA in 2002.
New high school teams interested in joining the program should contact Larry
White at ISSA, P.O. Box 397, Niantic, CT 06357-0397.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Australian sailboat hardware manufacturer Ronstan International has
acquired the business of Frederiksen Boat Fittings of Vejle, Denmark.
Frederiksen has supplied the deck hardware for the top boats in the Vendee
Globe and the Whitbread Round the World Race, and the batten systems for
every boat in the race for the Volvo Ocean Race now underway.
Company founder Gert Frederiksen will have an ongoing role in the business,
contributing engineering and product development expertise. Louis Sander,
currently completing a 3 year assignment in Australia as Ronstan's Marketing
and Development Director, will return to Europe to assume responsibility for
Ronstan's European operations including the Danish company. --
www.ronstan.com
* Sydney Yachts celebrates the half-century mark for the Sydney 38. Orders
for the successful One Design have passed 50, with 35 sold into the
Australian market. -- www.SydneyYachts.com
* On 1st November 2001 the management of Ancasta International Boat Sales
Limited successfully completed a management buyout of Europe's largest boat
brokerage network. Nick Griffith and Lis Robinson, who were appointed as
Managing Director and Financial Director respectively of Ancasta
International Boat Sales four years ago, head the new management team. --
www.anacasta.co.uk
* Wayne L. Burdick, CEO of Beneteau USA, Inc. has recently been promoted to
the office of President. Madame Annette Beneteau Roux, the Chairwoman of
Groupe Beneteau, has always held this position and this is the first time
that the sitting CEO has been awarded the title of President. Burdick joined
Beneteau USA 4 years ago. Since his commencement in 1997, the company has
seen over an 80% increase in sales as well as an equivalent dramatic
increase in production at the plant in Marion, SC. Before joining Beneteau
USA, Burdick was the President of Jeanneau America. --
www.beneteauusa.com
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
A committee is a cul-de-sac down which ideas are lured and then quietly
strangled.
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