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SCUTTLEBUTT 2077 - April 20, 2006
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing
news, commentary, opinions, features and dock
talk . . . with a North American focus.
NOTHING TO DECLARE
Shallow water and the lack of a suitable area in
the heart of the Inner Harbour sadly precludes
keeping the Volvo Open 70 fleet in, or close to,
the public view while the shore teams work on the
boats. The shore teams, as usual, have to ensure
that the boats are in perfect shape for an
inshore race which will be critical, and for the
short, sprint leg to New York.
It is short drive from the main Race Village site
on the Inner Harbour to the Port Covington Marine
Centre dock where a relatively anonymous piece of
hard-standing is now a hive of frantic activity.
In contrast to previous stops where there have
been some pretty serious structural issues to
contend with on at least one of the boats, here
most of the crews are concentrating on catching
up with the small jobs that have fallen off the
end of the work lists at other stopovers; plus,
of course the routine maintenance that the boats
newd every time they make port.
The pit crews for every team share the same basic
facility, with the workshops, sailmaker's tents
and containers all set up cheek by jowl in a
makeshift, very rudimentary courtyard. But while,
during previous stops, there was just the
challenge of getting the boats back into full
racing shape, this time, as competition hots up,
the tension is on the rise as the need to avoid
even the smallest gear failure, which could lose
vital points is paramount. - Volvo Ocean Race
website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/l5owg
UNEXPECTED WEATHER IN VALENCIA
Among the many advantages of the Meteorological
Data System (MDS), is that it constantly monitors
the race course area off Valencia. Day or night,
every day of the year, data is collected from the
weather buoys dotted around the race course.
Indeed, from a weather point of view, this is now
perhaps the most intensely studied body of water
in the world. The teams use the data generated by
the MDS to aid in designing their boats and to
pick the windshifts during racing.
For the rest of us, the MDS data sometimes
reveals some unexpected weather phenomena. This
past Easter weekend was one of those occasions,
when some of the buoys registered winds gusting
over 60-knots. This isn't the first time this has
happened. Last year, the MDS graphs showed a
short burst of wind approaching 80-knots. And in
2004, one of the MDS boat drivers saw a
waterspout forming near the race course area and
managed to snap off a couple of photos on his camera phone.
Waterspouts are like mini-tornados over the sea.
Although very small in area, they generate very
intense winds - as the MDS data shows. Notice
that at the same time weather buoy BO 044 was
reading 78.4 knots, the other buoys, close by,
were showing wind speed from 7.0 to 14.3 knots.
While teams are often looking to find their own
gust of wind during racing, that might be a
little too extreme! - Story from the official
America's Cup website, http://tinyurl.com/ekllm
RECORD ENTRY YOUTH WORLDS
Around 250 of the world's best young sailors from
a record 62 nations will flock to Great Britain
this July for the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World
Championship 2006. Home of the 2012 Olympic
Sailing Competition, the Weymouth and Portland
National Sailing Academy will host the 36th
edition of this premier youth event from 12-21
July, with potential young Olympians hoping that
a podium finish at this summer's regatta could
translate to an Olympic medal at the very same venue in six years' time.
A total of seven gold medals will be up for grabs
in Weymouth in July, with racing taking place in
the single-handed Laser (boys) and Laser Radial
(girls), the double-handed 420 (boys and girls),
the RS:X windsurfer (boys and girls), and
multihull Hobie 16 (open). ome 43 sailors will
take to the water in the Laser fleet, with 41 to
compete in the Laser Radial event. With 33 boats,
the boy's 420 fleet sees the next highest entry;
25 boats will start in the girl's 420, while the
RS:X windsurf sees 29 boys and 18 girls line up.
The multihull Hobie 16 has the smallest entry with 14 boats.
Through the funding support of the ISAF Athlete
Participation Programme, 25 sailors from 17
countries have been assisted to compete at the
Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, with
Barbados set to compete for the first time,
represented by Gregory Douglas in the Laser.
Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Jamaica and Pakistan
will appear in only their second ever Youth
Worlds through the support of the Programme. - http://www.rya.org.uk
EXCLUSIVE EVENT AT WEST MARINE ANNAPOLIS
The famed skipper of the Pirates of the
Caribbean, Paul Cayard, will be at the Annapolis,
MD West Marine store on Thursday, April 27,
4:30-6:00pm. As one of the most recognizable
sailors in the world, Paul will give a
presentation about his amazing experience in the
Volvo Ocean Race. See footage of The Black Pearl/
Pirates of the Caribbean in action followed by an
informal Q & A. Receive a team poster, while
supplies last. West Marine, 113 Hillsmere Drive,
Bay Ridge Plaza, (410) 268-0129.
Curmudgeon's Comment: I guess this answers the
question we asked in Scuttleblog back in February
in the "Nothing to Sign" post:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2006/02/nothing-to-sign.html
ISAF WORLD SAILING RANKINGS
The start of a season of European sailing is upon
us, with three major all Olympic Classes regattas
set to mark the early challengers for gold in
Beijing 2008. With the preparatory regattas
completed the latest release of the ISAF World
Sailing Rankings sees one of the long time
leaders fall from their perch and the most
successful nation, Britain lose the final of its number one spots.
After 20 consecutive releases and a run of over
18 months in the number one spot Chris Draper and
Simon Hiscocks (GBR) are replaced by Rodion LUKA
and George Leonchuk (UKR) at the top of the 49er
standings. Amongst the Rankings for the eleven
Olympic events, ISAF Rolex World Sailors of the
Year and Tornado World and European Champions
Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz (ESP) continue
to hold the biggest points total of 5075.
Paige Railey (USA) also maintains by far the
biggest lead (in the Laser Radial), extending
this month from 344 to 366 points despite her
near-yearlong string of podium places coming to
an end in Palma. France's 470 crew of Ingrid
Petitjean and Nadege Doroux are now exclusive
holders of the longest leaders title. They have
held 21 consecutive number one spots since 1
October 2003 and with 242 points separating them
from Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark (GBR)
in second place, look good to make it 22 on 3 May.
Despite their lack of leaders, Britain can still
claim more crews in the top threes than any other
nation at seven, with France remaining in second
place with five. Spain also stay third on four
crews, although New Zealand drop back to just
their two leaders. Both Austria and the USA are
also putting in very strong performances with
three crews apiece in the top three positions. -
ISAF, http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1,Fh`j7w&format=popup
BOAT IN A BOX
Container Yachts of Middletown (RI) will launch
the first cruising yacht designed to be
container-shipped. The Far Harbour 39, a 39-foot
motorsailer designed for a cruising couple, will
fit into a standard shipping container so the
boat can be transported economically to cruising
destinations around the world. The concept is
suited to those boaters who are long on cruising dreams and short on time.
Container Yachts tapped the design talent of
Robert H. Perry, the Seattle-based naval
architect known for many notable cruising
designs, to execute the concept. Perry started
with a strict parameter, in terms of the boat's
maximum length and beam; he ended with a
pilothouse design with strong performance
characteristics and cruising comfort.
The Far Harbour 39 has a 7.4-foot beam (2.3m), to
fit into the confines of a shipping container
that measures 40 feet by 8 feet. The boat is
designed so it can be loaded and unloaded using
standard boatyard equipment. The cost of shipping
a container is a fraction of what it costs to
ship a yacht of similar size. The routes for
shipping yachts are also limited to certain ports
and the schedules are rigid, but containers can
be shipped at any time, anywhere in the world. - http://www.containeryachts.com
2006 US NATIONAL SAILING TEAM
(April 19, 2006) - US Sailing has announced the
members of the 2006 US Sailing Team, which
annually recognizes the top-five ranked sailors
in each of the boat-classes selected for the next
Olympic regatta. Rankings are based on attendance
and performance at qualifying events. Athletes
who have qualified for the US Sailing Team are
identified as strong contenders for an Olympic
berth and, as members of the Team, they will be
assisted with coaching, training, and other
benefits. The top ranked members of the 2006 US Sailing Team are as follows:
49er (Open Skiff): Morgan Larson (Capitola,
Calif.)/Pete Spaulding (Lafayette, Ind.); 470 Men
(Men's Two-Person Dinghy): Mike
Anderson-Mitterling (Coronado, Calif.)/David
Hughes (San Diego, Calif.); 470 Women (Women's
Two-Person Dinghy): Amanda Clark (Shelter Island,
N.Y.)/Sarah Mergenthaler (Harvey Cedars, N.J.);
Finn (Heavyweight Dinghy): Zach Railey
(Clearwater, Fla.); Laser (Men's One Person
Dinghy): Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.);
Laser Radial (Women's One-Person Dinghy): Anna
Tunnicliffe (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); Neil Pryde
RS:X Men (Men's Windsurfer): Ben Barger (St.
Petersburg, Fla.); Neil Pryde RS:X Women (Women's
Windsurfer): Nancy Rios (Cocoa, Fla.); Star
(Men's Keelboat): Andy Horton (Newport,
R.I.)/Brad Nichol (Hanover, N.H.); Tornado
(Multihull): John Lovell (New Orleans, La.)/
Charlie Ogletree (Kemah, TX); Yngling (Women's
Keelboat): Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.)/ Deb
Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.)/ Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.).
The complete 2006 US Sailing Team can be found at
http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/2006/team.htm
VOR VIDEOS
The Scuttlebutt Forums are increasingly becoming
a source for commentary and information. This
post is part of the "VOR Videos Aren't for
Spectators" thread, and details many of the
hurdles that the Volvo Ocean Race may be facing in providing onboard video:
1. Bandwidth: The bigger and higher quality the
video, the more transferring the site will need
to do. Being a very popular site worldwide, I'd
imagine that they are trying to reduce costs like
this wherever possible. I seem to remember the
videos from the South African in-port races were
of much higher quality, but that has changed into
the postage stamp sized clips we get now.
2. Logistics: Far from shore, the ability to send
video would be severely limited by their
bandwidth usage. I'm sure the emails and weather
downloads take up a significant amount of their
daily allotted time, and each minute would likely
cost more than I'm willing to contemplate. Also
their likely aren't many good shots during the
days. It would be tough to filter through all the
useless film to get to the good stuff. This
leaves us with videos of the in-port racing, and
starts/scoring gates/finishes.
3. Impact: Although we would love to think that
the videos are there solely for our benefit, and
viewing enjoyment, I would surmise that the
reality of the situation is that the videos allow
syndicates to charge more to their advertisers
(although if I were Disney I'd want a refund
after seeing some of the Pirates videos) than
they would were there no coverage at all. The
ability to get their name/logo out in front of
the millions who will follow this race is a big
bonus to the companies willing to sponsor such monsterous campaigns.
4. Ownership: I have been following the weekly
television show which is (thankfully) played on a
cable station here. This seems to be the best
location to get any decent video of the boats,
and I would imagine that the footage is owned by
Volvo, or whatever subsidiary is in control of
the show's production. Again, sponsorship being
one of the largest issues here. Volvo wants as
much content as possible to play while simultaneously pushing it's name.
Additional comments can be made at
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=5
ULLMAN SAILS POWER "SAVASANA" TO VICTORY
Congratulations to Brian Keane and his crew
aboard "Savasana" who captured top J/105 honors
at the 2006 Charleston Race Week, April 6-9.
Powered by a full inventory of Ullman Sails,
"Savasana" recorded 4 bullets and a 2nd to
dominate the J/105 class. World class sail design
and cloth selection, durable construction, and
outstanding customer service continue to be the
hallmark of the Ullman Sails team worldwide! If
you and your crew are ready for the "Fastest
Sails on the Planet," contact your nearest Ullman
Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com
NEWS BRIEFS
* West coast publication Latitude 38 has
announced that Herb McCormick will become the
editor as of June 1st. His duties will be to
oversee the entire editorial content of the
magazine, plus covering all local and regional
racing. Additionally, John Arndt, one of two
Latitude account executives for the last 18
years, has been appointed to the position of
Associate Publisher. Current Publisher/Executive
Editor Richard Spindler will remain in charge of
the Letters and Changes in Latitudes sections
along with writing for the publication. - http://tinyurl.com/hytjx
* SAIL magazine is looking for interns to help
produce their Sailboat Buyers Guide. Great
opportunity to learn & work on either the
editorial or production side of the magazine.
Additional information at http://sailmag.com/Internship
* BoatU.S., the nation's leading advocate for
recreational boaters, would like to know more
about how women got started in recreational
boating. To do this a new 15-question survey for
women boaters is posted online that asks them
about their boat training and educational
experience. Here is the survey: http://tinyurl.com/f5tf2
* With just over 4,000 miles to go, Dee Caffari
comments about the current conditions as she
nears the completion of her round the world
attempt: Now as we approach the equator the
temperatures have soared and my steel tank is
imitating an oven very well. On deck during the
day it is so hot I can't walk on the deck in bare
feet and at night the stifling heat of the day
doesn't seem to be lost below. - http://www.avivachallenge.com
* Correction: Yesterday's Yale Cordage ad
discussing their remarkable Yale Loup® had plenty
of extra "R's" as our software had a hiccup with
the registered trademark symbol that was included
in the ad. For details on Yale Cordage products,
visit their booth at Oakland Strictly Sail or
online at http://www.yalecordage.com
IN MEMORIAM
We lost a great friend Tuesday night, with Robert
G. Stone Jr. passing away from a stroke he
suffered a week ago. Stoney was a mentor, and a
benefactor to many causes and individuals. His
home was Marion, MA, where he had been a member
of New York Yacht Club since 1964 (Commodore
1981-1983), along with Cruising Club of America,
Beverly Yacht Club, and Storm Trysail Club. Bob
had participated in over 30 Newport-Bermuda Races
along with many Annapolis-Newport and Halifax
Races. Cruising in Maine was a passion whether on
a NYYC Cruise or on his own with friends and
family. He was involved in many America's Cup
syndicates, and had a tremendous impact on many
lives. He will be missed. - Thomas Hovey
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. You only get one letter
per subject, so give it your best shot and don't
whine if others disagree. And please save your
bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For
those that prefer a Forum, you can post your
thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website:
http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi)
* From Andy Radel: Reference the Trivia Question
in Butt #2075 regarding the rescue of Mr Sierks
by the Destroyer Douglas A Monroe, I was in the
Air Force stationed in Hawaii at the time, and
recall the incident well. What is even more
amazing is that according to reports at the time,
the Monroe had been released from the search, and
had resumed her course for the West Coast when Mr
Sierks was sighted, and eventually rescued!
* From Skip Masters, Friday Harbor, WA: You are
probably already aware of this but I thought I
would pass it along after viewing the Yachting
World article in Scuttlebutt 2076. Our friends to
the north have done a considerable amount of work
in this area and their findings are available
on-line at: http://www.tc.gc.ca/MarineSafety/TP/Tp13822/menu.htm
I take a look at their report at least once a
year to remind me of the danger that exists in
this area and I encourage all that are headed to
colder waters to do the same. Thank you for
bringing this to the attention of your readers
and thank you as well for your fine publication.
* From Dennis Palmer: The stats in the (Yachting
World) story about cold water deaths in 'Butt 20
2076 are skewed. The story states that of 182
deaths, only two occurred in water above 70
degrees. Duh! Except for some of the smaller
lakes for a few weeks in August, there IS no
water in the NW above 70 degrees. The temperature
of Puget sound ranges from 47 degrees in the
winter all the way up to 50 degrees in the
summer. If you were to draw a similar conclusion
of water related deaths in the Caribbean, one
would conclude that most deaths are due to warm
water, since there is no cold water there.
* From Fred Roswold: (re, letter in Issue 2076)
Ryan Hamm is completely wrong stating that
sailing is a rich man's sport. If you want to go
to the top levels, you can spend a lot of money.
If you are an average guy, or gal, sailing is
accessible and open to you. For every rich owner,
there are a few dozen middle class families who
own boats, and a lot of them race those boats.
The clubs in and around Seattle are filled with
average people who treasure their family boat and
look forward to the occasional, or frequent,
race. They do it on a budget. The race fees are
low, crew don't expect hotels or air fares, and a
new sail is a big deal. These owners are not
rich, and they are an important part of our sport.
Every race boat also needs crew. You don't have
to be rich, or even middle class to be a crew
member. When I started I couldn't even afford a
decent set of foulies, yet, because I was willing
to commit to a season of racing on a friend's
boat, I got to sail for free every week. When I
met my wife Judy, I was 40, still not rich, but
we both had decent jobs, and we decided to buy a
boat instead of a house. For 20 years we have
raced that boat. We've had a great time and so
have our crews over the years, and I can't think
of one of them who were a rich man or woman,
except rich in the sailing experiences we all
shared. Generally, when I hear the price of a
round of golf, I figure I can't afford it.
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
"Life is something to do when you can't get to sleep." - Fran Lebowitz
Special thanks to West Marine and Ullman Sails.
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