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SCUTTLEBUTT 3124 - Wednesday, June 30, 2010Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: North Sails, Team One Newport, and US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. THIRTY-SIX DAYS IN EUROPE Scuttlebutt takes the responsibility to follow the elite events in the sport. Many of these events have evolved into professional sailing, where the top sailors are clothed, fed, housed, and paid, yes paid, like 'real' professional athletes. But there is another side of the sport that is far less glamorous, but no less relevant. Olympic sailing. While some countries may treat their athletes like kings, the North American Olympian has much less of a magical carpet ride. Here is insight into the effort exerted by top American Laser sailor Clay Johnson: "Well it was a long trip to Europe. Thirty-six days to be exact. While there, I sailed in three regattas and did lots of good training. While my first two regattas weren't as good as I would have liked, I was able to culminate my trip with an awesome performance in Kiel, Germany. The regatta in Kiel was the 6th stop on the ISAF World Cup circuit, and I was able to win the last race of the opening series and follow that up with an exciting win in the medal race to move up from 11th to 2nd place overall! It was a great way to end the trip. "I learned a lot while in Europe, got some more racing experience against the top guys in the world, and have developed a solid plan to help bring my game to the next level. I'm going to work hard in July and head back to Europe on August 1st for two more events. The first will be the "Sail For Gold" regatta in Weymouth, England -- the site of the Olympic Games. This will be the 7th and last stop on the World Cup tour. After that, I will continue over to Hayling Island, England, for our World Championships at the end of the month." -- Full report: http://www.claysails.com/node/247 HOW CARINA WON ST DAVID'S LIGHTHOUSE By John Rousmaniere, sailing correspondent "How did Carina do all that?" A lot of people have been asking this question at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club since Rives Potts's 48-foot sloop finished the Bermuda Race on Tuesday morning and, that evening, became the winner of the St. David's Lighthouse Division. That refers to two things. First there's Carina's domineering victory margin of more than three and a half hours. To put this in perspective, in Class 4 the top 10 places fit under a tent of only three hours, with first-place (J/120) Windborn's margin over second-place Lapin (Beneteau Frst 40.7) exactly 11 seconds. Then there's this: (Class 3 entry) Carina had all that margin (and more) in the bank when she was half-way down the race course. When she exited the Gulf Stream, her lead was 60 miles. Ask Carina skipper Rives Potts why she did so well, and in his genial southern drawl he'll speak of a good boat, a good crew, and good luck. That she is a good boat has been beyond dispute since she was launched in 1969. Jim McCurdy, her designer, knew how to make boats strong, handsome, and fast - and with a good rating, too. In 2008 a small cousin of Carina's called Selkie, sailed by Jim's daughter Sheila with me (among others) in the crew, almost won a true thrash of a Bermuda Race. The first time I saw Carina in action was in a light-air overnight race on Long Island Sound in 1969. Under her father-son command team of Dick and Richard Nye she took the lead right off the starting line, but lost it and a lot more during an enforced stay on a sand bar off Port Jefferson. After she eventually was extracted by the rising tide, Carina steamed by us in a well-sailed Cal 40 as though we were standing still. Good boats don't necessarily enjoy good luck, but the odds for good fortune are better when they are sailed by a good, aggressive crew. The Nyes were famous for being both good and aggressive. "We used to swing for the fences quite a bit," said Richard, who was known to surprise his crews by sailing off at right angles to the rhumb line in search of favorable current. Rives Potts is not that much of a risk taker. Carina's progress in the recent Bermuda Race, as shown by his iBoattrack line, indicates that he had a distinct plan in mind and improvised when he had to. As most of the other boats worked to the west after the start, he footed off for speed, staying near the rhumb line. When Carina fell among the calms that left many boats motionless for hours, he didn't panic. He would call what happened next "an accumulation of good decisions and good luck. You always know you're going to sail into a hole in this race. The question is whether you can get out. Sometimes the stars will turn out right." So will quick action. "We saw a wind line and tacked over to it on port and got away." -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/2ae4qd7 NORTH-POWERED BOATS WIN ON EAST & WEST COASTS! Whether you're racing on the East or West Coast (or somewhere in between), one thing is for sure, North-powered boats continue to win regattas and dominate the leader board. On the East Coast, team 'Full Throttle' won the highly competitive Melges 32 fleet during last weekend's Northeast Regatta in Newport and Rives Potts and crew onboard 'Carina' won the St. David's Lighthouse Trophy in the 2010 Newport-Bermuda Race. Out west, North-powered boats won 8 of 18 classes, swept the J/120, Beneteau 36.7, Farr 30 & PHRF Random Leg classes at Long Beach Race Week, winning 30 trophies overall. When performance counts, the choice is clear: http://na.northsails.com FOCUSING ON THE FORMULA 18 CLASS The Formula 18 class is now getting a key position in catamaran sailing worlds. The class is becoming very attractive since Tornado have been removed from the Olympic Games. Created in 1993, the class only defines maximum authorized characteristics such as length, width, mast height, sails surfaces, weight or permitted materials so all boats have similar performances. Those box rules permit a close competition among catamarans manufacturers, more than 15, to build the fastest F18 boat. Four teams from the United States will be travelling to Erquy, France to compete in the 2010 Formula 18 World Championship July 3-11. Representing the US will be: Mike Easton and Tripp Burd - Nacra Infusion Robbie Daniel and John Williams - AHPC C2 Greg Thomas and Jacques Bernier - Hobie Wildcat Tyler Burd and Garth Fasano - Hobie Wildcat Thomas/Bernier are the current North American F18 Champions and are returning for their third Worlds. Also in attendance will be James Spithill, recent winning helmsman of the 33rd America's Cup on BMW Oracle. While considered an Australian, Spithill has a home in San Diego with his American wife, and will be crewing for BMW Oracle coach Glenn Ashby during the Worlds in Erquy. Spithill will be in good hands for this event as Ashby is a three time winner of the event in addition to being the current world Champion in both A Class and Tornado Catamarans. Event website: http://ssl2.ovh.net/~cvberquy/f18worlds2010/venue/ Class website: http://www.f18-international.org/ GROWING: While the U.S. Youth Multihull Championship will not be held in 2010, it is back on the schedule for 2011, and an effort is in the works to help grow catamaran youth sailing in the country. The F16 VIPER Club, which will be used for the 2011 championship, is now being imported into North America, and is considered to be an ideal training platform for youth sailors. A subsidized purchase program that includes coaching is in place to help clubs purchase the catamaran. Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10086 CLEVELAND RACE WEEK MARKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY Cleveland Race Week's 30th year just finished after 10 days of racing on June 27 at Edgewater Yacht Club (EWYC) in Cleveland, OH. In 1980, Cleveland Race Week (CRW) began as two separate events and evolved into 10 days of racing for a variety of different sailors. The largest competition on the Great Lakes began Friday, June 18 with the T-10 Lake Erie Championships. Competition continued through the weekend with additional one-design fleets joining the one design action: J-22s, J-24s, Jet 14s, and J105s. Sixty plus boats competed on three separate race courses through Sunday. The weekdays feature events for various niche racing sailors. Monday night featured two fleets of remote control model boat racing with CR914s and Soling 10 meter. Tuesday night had record attendance (and ample wind for once!) for both the women's racing night and the second annual double-handed sailing competition of CRW that was open to both genders. And Wednesday was devoted to junior racing, where 170+ youth raced in Optis, FJs, Thistles, Lasers, Laser Radials and 420s off the north shore of Cleveland. CRW's second weekend, referred to as the Offshore Division weekend, was supposed to begin Thursday evening with a night race but no wind was to be found and the race was scrapped after an hour's wait to go in and enjoy the traditional gumbo on shore. Friday night's race fared much better and racers witnessed a beautiful sunset and a gorgeous full moon rise. Saturday and Sunday completed the series with four races for the 70+ boats that registered. -- Complete report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10089 INTERNATIONAL C CLASS CATAMARAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 In the last week of August a visitor to Newport, RI may look south across the harbor and see the wing sails of seven C Class catamarans on the lawn in front of Harbor Court, New York Yacht Club's Newport Station. This will be quite a sight. The International C Class Catamaran Championship (IC^4) will be hosted at New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI from August 22-28, 2010. The IC^4 is the successor to the Little America's Cup as the championship event for the C class catamarans. Fred Eaton of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) won the trophy from Steve Clark during the last event held by RCYC in September 2007. In the next event Eaton will be defending for RCYC and Clark, who will be representing New York Yacht Club, will be among the challengers. Teams from Great Britain, Canada, and USA will be competing. A profile of the Great Britain effort was in Scuttlebutt 3123, and here is a report on the defending champions from Canada: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CAN - Canada has had the largest growth of C Class catamarans in memory. This is entirely due to the commitment and enthusiasm of Fred Eaton of Toronto and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club. They will enter Alpha, the defending champion. They will also enter Orion, which was launched in 2009 and has an aggressive wave piercing hull form. These two boats were sailed by the BMW Oracle Racing team as they were learning to sail wings prior to the 33rd America's Cup. The lessons from these two boat testing sessions has prompted Fred to commission a new boat and wing for this summer. Which of these boats Fred chooses to sail will be determined in trials due to begin in early June. Fred is playing his cards pretty close and hasn't disclosed much about the new design. All of Fred's boats are excellent, and it will be very hard to unseat the defending champion. Fred will sail with Magnus Clarke. The rest of the Canadian sailing team has not been disclosed. Fred also owns Patient Lady VI, the 1985 defender which was significantly rebuilt in 2003. He is in negotiations with a French team who wishes to charter the boat and gain experience prior to launching a full campaign. But PLVI will be in Newport. Look for Scuttlebutt 3125 to have an update on USA. Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/0521/ BE SAFE WHILE YOU'RE 'SAILABRATING' THE 4TH OF JULY Team One Newport has life jackets by Extrasport, Spinlock, Astral and Mustang to keep you afloat while viewing the fireworks. They also have Gerber Multi-tools and Myerchin knives for when you get into a bind and don't forget your whistle! Visit http://www.team1newport.com and see the best selection of sailing clothing and activewear and experience the great service that Team One Newport's customers have relied on for 25 years! Or call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327) to chat with an expert! Happy 4th of July and safe sailing! ALUMNI WANTED: Team One Newport is celebrating its 25th anniversary and we are having a party!! But we don't have the contact information for all of our alumnae. So, if you have ever worked for Team One Newport or been in one of their catalogs, please email Martha Parker at mailto:Martha@team1newport.com with your contact information and we'll send you an invitation! MIXED BLESSING (June 29, 2010) - The tropical storm plowing across the far side of the Gulf of Mexico could send oil skimmers back to port and make containment booms useless, even from some 500 miles away. But the rough weather also might give nature a hand in breaking down crude from the massive oil spill. Forecasters expect Alex to grow to hurricane strength later Tuesday over the southwestern Gulf on track for the Texas-Mexico border region and away from the oil spill area off Louisiana. But it will blow waves and stormy winds all the way to the open Gulf, where BP PLC is working to cap and contain the oil, and the coastal waters tinged with crude. The effects may be mixed. Waves churned up by Alex - as high as 12 feet - could help break up the patches of oil scattered across the sea. The higher-than-normal winds that radiate far from the storm also could help the crude evaporate faster. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/28fcgf8 IMPROMPTU TEAM-BUILDING EXERCISES Scott Whitney and his boat partner, Jason Woodley ("a couple of Silicon Valley guys," says Whitney), bought their J/105 Risk seven years ago, and thus began the team's methodical rise into the upper ranks of what is arguably one of San Francisco's intriguing one-design keelboat fleets. For most major outings on the Bay, the J/105s bring out the big numbers, and while the fleet at the Sperry Top-Sider San Francisco NOOD only numbered a dozen, the sailing was as competitive as we've come to expect. And after five races, the regatta's San Francisco NOOD's overall trophy - and a trip to the Sperry Top-Sider Caribbean NOOD Championship - went to Whitney and Woodley's squad. When pressed to reveal Risk's edge over the weekend, Whitney emphasized the importance of the team's athleticism as a key to being able to sail fast in the windy conditions. It allows them to recover from mistakes quicker than other teams. He also credits the solid crew they've assembled, and even the impromptu team-building exercise before their class weigh-in. "We all had a good session in the club's sauna," says Whitney. "We shed 7 pounds 30 minutes before weigh-in." Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/2ahxkp2 Final results: http://tinyurl.com/28tdn5s SAILING SHORTS * Kitty James, the longtime editor, writer and photographer for the former Santana magazine, had lost her battle with cancer on April 24, 2010. Friends of Kitty's are gathering at Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club (Corona Del Mar, CA) on July 9th to celebrate and honor her. A service at sea will leave the BCYC docks at 10:00 am. An RSVP to gericonser@earthlink.net or 949-394-5036 by July 5th is requested. * Kingston, ONT (June 29, 2010) - After two days of racing at the Optimist North American Championship, Christopher Williford (USA) leads the field of 196 boats representing 21 countries. Racing concludes on July 3. -- Event website: http://optinam2010.org/ * (June 29, 2010) - Eight teams representing seven nations - Germany, Italy (two teams), Malta, Monaco, Switzerland, Great Britain and United States - are competing in the 2010 ISAF Offshore Team World Championship, also known as the Audi Sardinia Cup taking place in Porto Cervo, Italy from June 28 - July 3. Each team participating in the event organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) is composed of a Melges 32 and a Farr 40. Representing the USA, three-time Farr 40 World Champion (2009, 2004, 1998) Jim Richardson with his Barking Mad and current Melges 32 World Champion Pieter Taselaar with his Bliksem, are currently in sixth place. -- http://tinyurl.com/2bnfn8q * Cesenatico, Italy (June 29, 2010) - One hundred competitors have completed the second day of the A-Cat World Championship. After three races, the field is led by Australian Glenn Ashby, with Ben Hall (USA) leading the North American contingent. Racing concludes Friday. -- Complete results: http://www.congregavelisti.it/anno%202010/Risultati%20Worlds%202010.pdf * Patrizio Bertelli, the owner of Luna Rossa (and three-time America's Cup campaigner), has decided not to take part in the 34th America's Cup. The Louis Vuitton finalist of the 32nd America's Cup will not take part in the current edition of the world's oldest sailing trophy but the rest of its sailing program will continue as scheduled, in the AUDI Medcup circuit and the LV Trophy. -- Valencia Sailing, full report: http://tinyurl.com/2ef3fed LASERPERFORMANCE SALUTES USSTAG'S MEDALS AT KIEL WEEK LaserPerformance, Silver Partner of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG), is very proud of the team's winning performances in Kiel, Germany. LaserPerformance recently stepped up their partnership of the team and will donate two ready-to-sail Lasers scheduled to be auctioned off at the Sailing Foundation of New York's fundraiser in Newport, R.I. on July 31, hosted by the New York Yacht Club. The live auction portion of the program includes the Laser Challenge, featuring USSTAG's Kyle Rogachenko and Paige Railey. Paige and Kyle will rig, sign and brand each of the donated Lasers and compete for bragging rights on whose Laser generates the most support. Check out the Laser Challenge http://www.bit.ly/ceWmA2 LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Paul Hamilton, Watch Captain, Carina: In Scuttlebutt 3122, Bermuda Race Wrap, Turning Point 1, you referenced Patricia Young, navigator of the overall winner Carina and winner of the George W. Mixter Trophy. The next line refers to 'CLARK' as the first woman to win the trophy. Would you please correct this error? Thanks. * From Jon Pinckney (re, Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week): The winner of Naples Sabot Junior Nationals in 1979 was Jay Golison, not Jeff Janov as the press release states (in Scuttlebutt 3123). The big buzz that year was the introduction of the "green Mylar sail" that a few select Alamitos Bay locals had. No one had ever seen anything like it. It may have been the single biggest controversy in Naples Sabot Nationals history. Questions such as "What is Mylar? Is it legal?, Is it too late to get one?" were being asked by kids, coaches, and parents. The new material called Mylar was legal and the controversy just added to the huge psychological advantage for those select few, one of which I believe was Jay. -- http://www.naples-sabot.org/junior_champs_nationals.htm SIDEBAR: Interestingly, Mylar cloth was never legal in the Naples Sabot Class, but this was not realized when Jay used a Mylar sails to win the 1979 Nationals. It was in the mid 80's when I worked for (then) Sobstad Sails, and I sent a couple of the top San Diego kids - I think Brad Rodi and Randy Lake - to the Junior Sabot Nationals in Alamitos Bay with Mylar sails. This was the first time since Jay's win that Mylar sails were to be used in the Nationals, and unbelievably, the measurers deemed them illegal. From my memory, the rule book did not mention sail cloth, but the book did refer to the original plan on some matters. Well, nobody ever bothered to look at the plan before this, but on the plan it did say something like sails could only be made from cotton, nylon or Dacron. Lesson learned. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt editor CURMUDGEON'S DICTIONARY Commitment (ko-mit-ment) n. Female: A desire to get married and raise a family. Male: Trying not to hit on other women while out with this one. Special thanks to North Sails, Team One Newport, and US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
