|
SCUTTLEBUTT 1675- September 24, 2004Powered 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, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. ATHENS PARALYMPIC SAILING Athens Greece - The final day of competition in the Paralympic Regatta has seen the USA win medals in the two Paralympic sailing events. Tom Brown (Northeast Harbor, Maine) sailed to a silver medal in the 2.4 Metre class; and the Sonar team of John Ross-Duggan (Newport Beach, Calif.), Brad Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis./ Hollywood, Fla.) and J.P. Creignou (St. Petersburg, Fla.) captured the bronze on the waters of the Saronic Gulf. With the USA and German Sonar teams tied for third overall entering the final race of the nine-race series, Duggan, Johnson and Creignou needed to either beat Germany or have them finish no higher than ninth place. The second scenario was the one that played out as the Germans narrowly edged the USA at the finish line for ninth place in the race. The Israeli team of Dror Cohen, Arnon Efrati and Benni Vexler dominated the Sonar fleet throughout most of the series to overcome a disqualification from race two that had toppled them from their lead position early in the regatta. They won four races of the series, including Thursday's final race, and secured the gold medal on 19 points. Udo Hessels, Marcel van de Veen and Mischa Rossen of The Netherlands claimed the silver medal with 28 points. For 2.4 Metre sailor Tom Brown, the winds of fortune proved as fickle as the breezes over the Saronic Gulf in determining his silver medal. The Paralympic 2.4 Metre Bronze Medallist in Sydney, Brown entered today's final race tied with France's Damien Seguin for the fleet lead. But after battling Sequin bow-to-bow to the second mark, Brown dropped to 10th place -- where he would eventually finish the race. Sequin went on to finish third and claim the gold while Thierry Schmitter of The Netherlands earned the bronze. - www.ussailing.org/olympics/OlympicGames/2004/ BAJA-HA-HA The 11th running of the Baja Ha-Ha seems to be doing something right, as a significant increase in entrants are aimed to begin the annual 750-mile Cruisers' Rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas on October 25th. Said Baja Ha-Ha president Lauren Spindler, "The 160+ entries represent a 20% increase in entries over last year, which was the biggest ever. We have no explanation for the dramatic increase - except, perhaps, that it's an election year." Believed to be the second largest distance cruising rally in the world after the Atlantic Rally For Cruisers, the boats will make two stops on their way to the tip of the Baha California peninsula: one in Turtle Bay, about halfway to Cabo, and the other in Bahia Santa Maria, just 180 miles from Cabo. Turtle Bay is a small, dusty - but charming - little fishing village. The Ha-Ha and the people of Turtle Bay have been good friends for years, and they always help put on a great beach party. The Ha-Ha always arrives around Halloween, much to the delight of the kids, who have a thing for candy. The next stop, Bahia Santa Maria, is uninhabited except for a few fishermen in the mangroves. Its rugged natural beauty is spectacular, however, and a few boats always drop out to spend a few extra days there. For the last 10 years, almost all the legs of the Ha-Ha have featured very light to moderate winds, and nothing more than moderate seas. Only once in 30 legs has it been upwind. However, all participants must realize that they may be exposed to the full force of the Pacific Ocean. As the participant waivers state over and over again, the Ha-Ha is a high risk activity that involves the possibility of injury and death. To date, there has been one death caused by a massive heart attack, and only a few minor injuries - such as falling off a bar stool in Cabo. - http://www.baja-haha.com BELL MUMM 30 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Toronto, Canada - The only race Thursday in the Bell Mumm 30 World Championship almost didn't happen, and Philippe Kahn almost wished it hadn't. But there it was: his own son fouled him, he protested and the standings went inside out going into the fourth and final day Friday. The new leader, replacing 15-year-old Samuel (Shark) Kahn, is Fred Sherratt, a local sailor representing the host Royal Canadian Yacht Club, who finished third. The younger Kahn, who led by six points after the first two days, flamed out after the incident at the first windward mark when he and his father, sailing Pegasus 20 and Pegasus 591, were fighting for the lead. After doing a "720" he rejoined the parade in seventh, briefly appeared to be making a comeback but went all the wrong ways as the wind died on the last downwind drift and straggled in 18th, beating only two boats. Principal race officer Mike Milner hoped to sail four races Friday to complete the 11-race schedule. The event rules say none can start after 5 o'clock, so Milner moved the day's starting time up an hour to 10:30 a.m. Ironically, Thursday's race didn't start until 5:34 p.m. after four general recalls following a day of card-playing and lawn bowling before Milner, two miles out on Lake Ontario, decided there was finally enough wind to race-not more than 6 or 7 knots but just enough to race twice around a one-mile windward-leeward course. - Rich Roberts Standings (after 7 of 11 races): 1. Steadfast, Fred Sheratt, Toronto, 36 points. 2. Tramp, Tom Ritter, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 44. 3. Pegasus 20, Samuel Kahn, Honolulu, 45. 4. Pegasus 591, Philippe Kahn, Honolulu, 47. 5. Foreign Affair, Richard Perini, Sydney, Australia, 49. More information and photos: www.mumm30rcyc.com and www.mumm30.org WIN A GOLD MEDAL AT THE 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES! As part of Pegasus Racing's Olympic Gold program, you will be sailing at least 250 days/year, coached by the best and work with fitness trainers and nutritionists. Your focus will be to win medals in 2008… achieved by improving your strength and flexibility while becoming a smarter and faster sailor. If you (and your crew) believe that you have what it takes, we want to hear from you now at Olympic.gold@pegasus-digital.com. Please note that Pegasus Racing is receiving hundreds of applications from around the world, and we are now going through a methodical selection process. Additional details at: http://www.pegasus.com/thelog_interview.htm MATCH RACING ON TV Swedish Match Tour television programs are broadcast around the world. But if you happen to miss one of the programs now there's a broadband Web site broadcasting current and past programs, 24 hours a day. A schedule is easily viewable when the player is launched. Other features of the player include a highlights section, where portions of each 30-minute show are viewable. The viewer may also be reached via the Tour's Web site (www.swedishmatchtour.com). In the left-hand margin of the home page click on Swedish Match Tour TV and the player will launch. Features of the player include the ability to make the viewing window full screen. The viewer is compatible with modems transmitting at 56K per second up to full broadband at 800K per second. Swedish Match Tour programs are broadcast to 324 million households in 190 countries around the world. Tour programs are broadcast on OLN (U.S., Canada and Mexico), Viasat (Sweden and Denmark), Sky Sports (Australia, England and New Zealand), and Canal+ (France), among others.. In a recent two-month span more than 700 people in 41 countries spent more than 60 hours viewing the programs. www.SwedishMatchTour.tv NEWS BRIEFS * After two days of match racing at the International C Class Catamaran Championship, Cogito leads Patient Lady 2-0 in the Grand Finals, and in the Petit Finals, Australia leads Invictus 2-0. Unless things change radically or there is a major breakage, it looks like the series will wrap up in three days. - www.cclasscats.com/ * Judd Smith has won the 53-boat Etchells North American Championship at the Richmond YC. Great Brittan's Ante Razmiloviz tied Smith at 35 points in the seven-race, one discard series, but Smith's pair of bullets decides the tie-breaker. Former Etchells World Champion Vince Brun took third place, just two points back, with Craig Healy and Nils Razmiloviz (GBR) rounding out the top five. - www.sfetchells.org/naduring/results.cfm * The Sausalito Challenge has added Ashley Tobin to the team in the position of general counsel and rules director. Tobin was with BMW-Oracle Racing for the 2003 campaign and assisted in their transition to the 2007 campaign. John Sweeney of Sausalito Challenge has said that a sponsor announcement is imminent, but he won't give us a clue as to who the real sponsor is. - Alan Hugenot, The Log, http://thelog.com/news/newsview.asp?c=124611 * Ex editor of BBC Grandstand and Sportsnight, Harold Anderson, has joined the Volvo Ocean Race to head up the television team responsible for producing and delivering the official Volvo Ocean Race weekly highlights and seven one hour documentaries. Anderson's background is wide and varied. Recently, Anderson was director of sport and Olympics at Channel 7 in Australia, where he was responsible for producing the coverage of the Sydney Olympics for the Australian audience. In his role as executive editor he will be responsible for delivering a true reflection of the event in an authoritative and entertaining style. - www.volvooceanrace.org * The strength of the wind in Marseilles is stronger than forecast and the maxicatamaran Orange II, which is on stand-by in the Old Harbour for an attempt at the Mediterranean crossing record, will not be able to set sail until early Thursday morning. Skipper Bruno Peyron said, "The strong mistral wind and the heavy swell mean that it would be dangerous to try to leave from the Old Harbour this evening." The record to beat: Steve Fossett (PlayStation) 18 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds (24 May 2002). - www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=8022 * Transpac 52 Executive Director Tom Pollack reports that more than 300 entries were received for the Association's contest to pick a class logo. The entries have now been narrowed down to 10 which will be sent to the owners next week for their review and selection. The TP52 Association hopes to have a logo within a month. * The Luna Rosa America's Cup syndicate will announce their sponsors at a press conference on Saturday, but according to a story posted on the Mariantic website, those sponsors will be Italia Telecom with their TIM, Alice (ADSL) and Progetto Italia brands. Prada is, of course, still on board, and the famous red logos on the bows are expected to stay. - www.mariantic.co.uk/ac/six.htm#pc * Kevin Farrar, sailmaker from New London CT has won the World Championship of the International One Design sailboat class. With a day of racing still to go, Farrar mathematically clinches first place by winning 3 of the 6 races held this week. The competition for the next five places is wide open among Penny Simmons of Bermuda, Long Island sailor John McNamara, Martin Rygh of Norway, nine-time champion Bill Widnall from Marblehead MA, Richard Pearce from San Francisco, and defending champion Charlie Van Voorhis of Mattapoisset MA and Fishers Island. - http://fi.iodworlds.com/ * Hyannis MA - With the prospects for diminishing winds, the PRO Tom Duggan called for an early start time in an effort to make up a race lost earlier in the week. Eduardo Cordero earned the title of 2004 Sunfish World Champion with finishes of 1-6-1 in the three races on Thursday. Even though he had tough final day, Jeff Linton held on to capture second place for the series with Paul-Jon Patin finishing strong on the final day to secure third place. - www.sunfishworlds2004.com * The Governing Board of the International 210 Association is looking for a builder to bid on building 5-10 boats. The 210 is a Ray Hunt design, thirty feet in length, one design. Builders should contact Jim Robinson, 38 Fearing Road, Hingham MA 02043 781-749-3259 JRobin210@aol.com The website is www.210class.com * Today sees the official opening of the Global Challenge 2004/05 Race Village at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth. On Sunday 3rd October, 12 identical 72ft yachts will race in some of the most extreme conditions, the wrong way round the world. With each yacht comprised of 17 crew from all walks of life, and one skipper - the only professional sailor on board - the fleet will endure ten months of hard and fast racing, encountering six ports enroute. www.globalchallenge2004.com/en/ CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar CAMPBELL FIELD APPOINTED OCKAM VICE PRESIDENT Ockam Instruments is pleased to introduce Vice President Campbell Field. Campbell directs Ockam Europe from his UK base in Lymington: see www.ockameurope.com Campbell's depth of experience in instrumentation will ensure Ockam continues building its first rate global dealer network with a focus on client service and edge of the art product development. Campbell's responsibilities will include worldwide marketing and sales. Tom Davis will be working closely with Campbell during this transition. Ockam thanks Tom for his contributions during his tenure, and wishes him well in his new role as President of North Cloth. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (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 Chris Pratt (edited to our 250-word limit): Australian yachting is about to take political correctness and duties of care to a new height of madness by mandating the wearing of Personal Flotation Devices on keel boats in day sailing races everywhere. Whether your sailing in a gentle breeze across Lake Burley Griffin or on Port Phillip Bay in a northerly buster or a beautiful sea breeze in a light chop on Moreton Bay we'll all have PFD's on. What is also good is that the regulators forgot to ask the sailors what they thought. I really wonder if our sailing regulators really understand that the fundamental basis of our yachting rules is the onus on the helmsman and their crews for the safety of themselves and their yacht. We all see sense in saying to dinghy sailors, get a PFD on. They tend to capsize or fall out of boats in all weathers. Why don't our regulators deal with something really important like thermal protection, which will kill you faster than not having a PFD on! What about skin cancer. What would the yachting worlds say to a Rule that says if you don't wear a hat, long sleeve shirt and sunscreen then you should be disqualified. After all with skin cancer you might die or worse be a burden to the health system. More sailors are dying of skin cancer than from not wearing a PFD on an Etchell, J24, Dragon or Yngling in a club race just off the shore or in the harbour. * From Michael Craddock: I hope in the future that we can refer to yacht racing athletes as something other than "rock stars". This term connotes to many a legacy of astronomic bar tabs, trashed hotel rooms and colorful criminal records. * From John Quigley (edited to our 250-word limit): The content of the emails from your contributors confirms there is an element within the wider sport who just do not get it. Amateur Yacht or Dinghy racing can be reserved for local consumption and privately funded, but like all other sports when you get to the Professional level racing is expensive and requires commitment of time, funding, individual careers and intellectual exercise in R&D. Sailing has been knocking at the door of TV Consumer Land for many years and mostly only getting limited and off-peak airtime. The presentation format has not altered in essence and with it the public appeal has remained limited. How to communicate a sport to a public audience who have never been and never will be participants in the sport? Look at F1. Football, Rugby, Golf, Tennis, Snooker have all achieved staggering coverage success and the tools they use continue to be developed. To make major financial commitment to international professional sport corporate investors need to guarantee meaningful ROI. TV is a prime key to achieving this. Done intelligently and imaginatively the sport does not need to prostitute itself. Schumacher is still driving around in circles like he always did - we just see it differently. Welcome innovative outsiders to the table and let them show us how our Corinthian and exciting sport can be presented to reach millions of non-sailing TV sports consumers. Achieve that and the corporate sponsors will become stakeholders in the sport and contribute toward growth and its future. * From Fred Bieberbach (Re: One-design is not the "end-all answer" #1672 & #1674): Not that one-design Rhodes 19, Fleet 35 needs to defend itself over costs… there was some interesting (but short) banter in "Scuttlebutt" about "the assertion that one-design racing is the end-all answer to the debates over ratings and is the purest, best racing around" In support of Chris Eriksen's rebuttal: You can be competitive and have fun racing one-design but choose your weapon. Most of Rhodes 19 Class boats certainly meet or exceed the "quarter-century ago" criteria. Fleet 35 spends less than the "small businessman"… probably spends less than a small vagrant. Stuart Lochner's comments that "hot" one-designs "tend to be way over-priced" and "there is no way to justify their typically obscene price tag'? If you want to be "hot"… expect to pay a "hot" price for a boat. If you want to be just "cool"… find a one-design fleet that meets your budget and sail one-designs competitively. Now…In defense of Stuart Lochner's (2) comments: The recent purchase of a "quarter-century ago" Rhodes 19 for $800… "tended (sic) to be way over-priced" Another recent purchase of a Rhodes 19 for $300… was "obscene". I expect both of them to be extremely competitive next season, racing in a small fleet (about 25 boats) on Narragansett Bay. To answer Stuart Lochner's final question: "But how do the folks who bought Farr 40's about 6 years ago feel?" Answer: They should feel the same as I do ... old. * From Craig Nann (In response to Dave Wilhite ):There are several organizations that work very hard to do exactly what you're describing without the pomp and circumstance of the yacht club bar. Look at Sail Newport, the Martin County Sailing Center and similar "community sailing centers". People pay a lot of money to be a member of a private yacht club and expect and deserve the amenities that those clubs provide. The community based sailing programs do everything they can to open doors to the "lay" person who really wants to learn to sail and enjoy the sport. Hats off to those outfits that bend over backwards to provide the public a way to get on the water without it costing a fortune. * From Antony Barran: I just wanted to take a moment to thank the St. Francis Yacht Club for both making the bold decision of running IRC classes and for making this years Big Boat Series one of the singularly best regattas I 've ever had the pleasure of participating. With IRC the attendance was up and we had a fun, large class of 16 in IRC B. But the best part of it all, was that the overwhelming majority of the discussion, at the dock, was focused on the awesome sailing and conditions, not the ratings. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." - Jack E. Leonard |
