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SCUTTLEBUTT 2833 - Wednesday, April 29, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are North Sails and Melges Performance Sailboats. SAILING FINALLY HAS A HOME by Gary Jobson In 1998 I emceed a skipper's forum on the Annapolis (Md.) City Dock, hosting the skippers of the Whitbread Round the World Race. Paul Cayard, skipper of the victorious EF Language syndicate, was on the panel, explaining to more than 1,000 people in the audience what it was like to sail in the Southern Ocean. Dennis Conner, whose Volvo 60 Toshiba sat nearby, was another panelist, and as he compared the Whitbread to the America's Cup, the crowd hung on his every word. It was at this moment I realized the sport of sailing needed a Hall of Fame to celebrate the accomplishments of these great sailors and many others. I had no idea then that in 10 years time the very place where the forum was taking place would soon be sailing's permanent home. It's long overdue. Many of our sport's greatest moments are chronicled on film, on plaques and trophies, and in logs, yearbooks, magazines, and websites. But sailing has never had its own unified "place," a physical space bearing the history that reminds us what sailing, in its many forms, is about. Sailing needs a home that trumpets its achievements and inspires generations to excel on the water, and to serve the sport. The desire for such a home was the easy part; finding the best place to hang a shingle, however, was a challenge. There are many cities and towns worthy of the National Sailing Hall of Fame, but Annapolis, Md., emerged for many reasons. -- Sailing World, read on: http://tinyurl.com/czjspl THE CAMARADERIE & "SPORTSMANSHIP” SHOULD BE OVERWHELMING by Cory Friedman, Scuttlebutt legal analyst (April 28, 2009) In what should be a surprise only to ‘Buttheads who have spent the last two years on Mars, Société Nautique De Genève (SNG) and Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) are back in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York with a hearing set for May 14, 2009 to determine when the 33rd America's Cup DoG match will be sailed. Full disclosure. I will be Oracle’s guest at the America’s Cup Hall of Fame Dinner at NYYC on April 30. I was concerned that accepting Oracle’s offer would have the appearance of impropriety, so I checked with the Columbia University School of Journalism and was referred to the Society of Professional Journalists, which opined that full disclosure would cure any question of conflict of interest, which is why I am bringing this out. By the way, I informed Alinghi that, had it offered, I would have accepted its offer - or offers from both teams. In any event, if, after all that I have written any ‘Butthead thinks I can be bought, make me an offer and I will consider it. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cF/#p36 ESPN story: http://tinyurl.com/ESPN-042809 Court filing: http://tinyurl.com/CONTEMPT-042809 GGYC statement: http://tinyurl.com/GGYC-042809 Alinghi statement: None yet => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Since the America’s Cup has arguably reached soap opera status, will the Big Apple’s paparazzi be out in force for the America’s Cup Hall of Fame Dinner? I understand the Alinghi “Crips” will include Brad Butterworth, Murray Jones, and Dan Meyers while the BMW Oracle “Bloods” will include Tom Ehman, Melinda Erkelens, and Marcus Young (GGYC). Tickets still available until April 29 at http://tinyurl.com/Party-On-Garth THEY’VE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN! “To say the least we are thrilled with our 2009 Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD J/30 Class victory,” said an elated David McConaughy after his team finished 10 points ahead of the 2nd place boat last weekend. “The boat was well prepared, our North sails were fast and we had excellent crew work.” Peter Firey was also pumped about winning the Beneteau 36.7 class by just one point. I've been a North customer for over 10 years because of North’s reputation for performance and quality and because of my experience with the products and the support the Chesapeake loft has given me.” http://www.northsails.com OLYMPIC DEBRIEF - HYERES, FRANCE US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics competed in the Semaine Olympique Francaise in Hyeres, FRA (April 18-24, 2009), the fourth of seven International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup events. Kenneth Andreasen, U.S. High Performance Director/Head Coach, provides Scuttlebutt with a debrief following the event: * Any unique challenges that the team or its members had to overcome? KENNETH ANDREASEN: “We are always working on challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of our sailing. Whether it is testing new equipment, trying a new starting technique, or a different body movement, we always strive to find the fastest mode. All the sailors have different goals for each event and we are all looking to 2012 and making as many improvements as possible.” * It seemed like there were flashes of brilliance across the board, but only Anna Tunnicliffe (#1 U.S, #1 World) had the consistency. What will it take, for instance, the mens and womens 470 teams that were there to be more consistent? ANDREASEN: “If you look closely at the way the men's and women's 470 have sailed in the past events, you will see big improvements in the way they are sailing now. Stu McNay/Graham Biehl (#1 U.S.) have been in four medal races, in four events. They still have things to learn and other skills to perfect, but they have taken a big step this spring. Molly Carapiet/Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (#2 U.S.) are working really hard. Their starts are 80% perfect now and that has made the biggest difference. They are now moving ahead with other tactical and strategic ideas. Look for them to start putting more top ten finishes in the book. “Surely Anna sailed a great event and she did show that she had the mental edge on the sailors in Hyeres. Coming back from a rough start to the event shows her fantastic abilities.” -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0428 AROUND THE YARD (Apr. 28, 2009) - "We are actually pretty happy," said Johnny Smullen, the Green Dragon shore manager. It was a line chorused by all his shore-side rivals after the 4,900-nautical mile leg from Rio de Janeiro to Boston. The seven yachts have now all been hoisted from the water and work is underway to ready the fleet for the May 9 in-port race. It's a considerably lighter schedule than most have had to keep in previous stopovers and the consensus is that four boats will go back on the water on Monday, with Ericsson 3 and the Telefonica twins following on Tuesday. In between, there will be much "routine maintenance and servicing", but there is a notable absence of stress and extra staff called in to deal with the workload. Telefonica Black, on visual inspection, appear to have the most on. They endured one torrid night where they hit a whale and suffered repeated failures from their jib halyard lock. The collision has left superficial cracks around the keel, while a sizeable hole was found in the crash bow. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/cf3wef Crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. The next event is the Boston In-Port race on May 9th, followed by the 2,550 nm transatlantic Leg 7 from Boston to Galway, Ireland that starts May 16th and is expected to finish by May 23rd. Current standings: 1. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 77.5 points 2. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 64.5 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 64.0 4. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 53.0 5. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 44.0 6. Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, 29.0 7. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 21.0 8. Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, 10.5 Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 * David Schmidt with SAIL caught up with PUMA skipper Kenny Read less than 24 hours after il mostro sailed into Boston Harbor, and recorded an audio interview. Listen here: http://sailmagazine.com/racing/two-part_podcast_with_ken_read * Chris Nicholson injured his knee sailing on Puma Racing on the second leg from Cape Town to Cochin. He pressed on for the next leg to Singapore when it became obvious that he’d really damage himself if he carried on any further. An audio interview on SailJuice.com discusses what it’s like to be following the progress of the Volvo Ocean Race from his home, what his thoughts are on latest Cats n DoG developments in the America’s Cup, and his input on Olympic campaigning. Listen here: http://www.sailjuice.com/articles/sailing-talk-podcast-4 CHRIS LARSON: BACK ON THE BIKE The 2009 J/24 World Championship, hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club, has 82 entries from eighteen countries, with racing to occur May 4-8. The fleet includes five former J/24 World Champions together with five North American champions; a four-time European champion; two South American and five US Midwinter Champions. Among the past World Champions competing is Chris Larson, whose victory was back in 1996 (Porto Rotundo, Italy). Scuttlebutt checked in with Chris for an update: * How long has it been since you seriously competed in the class? CHRIS LARSON: “The last time I competed in a J/24 World Championship was 1998 in San Francisco, CA (finishing third).” * Getting back in it... just like riding a bike? Has much changed? LARSON: “Well, I’ll have to say there has been quite a bit of rust rubbed off over the past week. The J/24 is very “old school” by having to sail upwind inside of the genoa all of the time. It’s taken me about 2 or 3 days to remember that trick. Not too much has changed with sailing the boat other than the implementation of a Kevlar genoa which just took effect in March.” * What are the normal conditions this time of year for the Chesapeake, and is that what you are anticipating? -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0428a MELGES WELCOMES FOUR NEW SERVICE & SUPPORT AGENTS Melges Performance Sailboats has officially added four new Sales and Customer Service Agents to the Melges team — Anthony Kotoun, Seadon Wijsen, Mike Wolfs and Eric Hood. These great sailors bring an extra-added level of experience, knowledge, professionalism and excellence to the Melges USA program. The popularity of Melges boats remains at an all-time high. Whether you have a scow or sportboat, Spring is here and the sailing season is really starting to heat up! Parts, accessories and the latest gear are always available online at Melges. Be prepared to outperform by contacting a Melges Agent near you! Melges.com (http://www.melges.com/?p=pages/contact-melges-agents-na) TOP HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS OFF TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Qualifications are now completed for the Interscholastic Sailing Association (ISSA) High School National Doublehanded Championship for the Clifford D. Mallory Trophy, to be held May 8-10 in St. Petersburg, FL. The teams that will compete in this U.S. championship are: MASSA: Christchurch School (Christchurch, VA); Norfolk Collegiate (Norfolk, VA); Severn School (Annapolis, MD). MISSA: New Trier HS (Winnetka, IL); Loyola Academy (Wilmette, IL). NESSA: St. George’s (Middletown, RI); Portsmouth Abbey (Portsmouth, RI); Tabor Academy (Marion, MA); The Williams School (New London, CT). NWISA: Orchs HS (Eastsound, WA). PCISA: Newport Harbor HS (Newport Beach, CA); Pt Loma HS (San Diego, CA); Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, CA); Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, CA); Francis Parker (San Diego, CA). SAISA: Sarasota HS (Sarasota, FL); Martin Country HS (Stuart, FL); Antilles School (St Thomas, VI); HB Plant HS (Tampa, FL). SEISA: Brother Martin HS (New Orleans, LA). ISSA website: http://www.highschoolsailingusa.org SAILING IN BERMUDA GETS JUICES FLOWING FOR FARRAR It is somewhat difficult to fathom how a simple can of concentrated orange juice could launch the career of one of the world's top International One Design (IOD) sailors. But that is exactly how it all began for past IOD world and Bermuda International Invitational Race Week champion Kevin Farrar. "My first remembrance of sailing were basically in the bilge of my parents sailboat. If they didn't find a babysitter then basically I was onboard for the weekend races," he recalled. "In those days in New England we never had fresh oranges and so we had these cans of concentrated orange juice which made for a very good kids-sized bailing cup. I can still remember scooping the water out with the little cup." -- The Royal Gazette, read on: http://tinyurl.com/Bilge-Babysitter => Curmudgeon’s Comment: How many people had their first sailing experiences in the bilge of a boat? I know I did... a Santana 22 to be exact. Everyone that submits their “The Bilge Was My Babysitter” story is entered in a raffle sponsored by McLube and could win some of their Hullkote speed polish. Raffle to occur May 4, 2009 at 9am PT. Post your story here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7361#7361 SCUTTLEBUTT OFFER - FREE CAL 25 Driscoll Boat Works in San Diego, CA recently took possession of a Cal 25 in lieu of payment, and they are willing now to give it to a ‘butthead as a fixit project. It has mast and rigging up, and has what looks like a new main and jib, and used spinnaker. There is a 9.9hp Johnson outboard, of indeterminate age and condition (though not frozen up) with the boat. The boat is currently in the water – needs bottom scraped and painted. The interior is empty and dirty - though not nasty! We’d haul, scrape and load to a trailer or truck - no charge. We’d sand and prime and paint bottom at a discounted cost. And yes, they have papers on title. -- Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7382 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Bill Gibbs, Ocean Racing Catamaran Association (ORCA) President: I have to take exception to Steve Dashew's comments about ORCA politics. I should mention that Steve Dashew is something of a legend and that I have fond memories of meeting him and seeing his last Beowolf cruising mono, a very impressive boat. He was a pioneer of early multihull racing in California. But his recollections of old ORCA and Vic Stern are 30 years out-of-date. There are no commercial interests in ORCA today, promoting one style of boat versus another. Virtually all ORCA races today are hosted by yacht clubs primarily focused on monohull PHRF classes. When a multihull capsizes in a race, all racers are disrupted by the need to lend assistance and race results are now determined after redress. When a spat of R33 capsizes occurred a few years back, there was a mono racer backlash at the disruption to their races. They didn't like race results determined after redress. Who can blame them? ORCA was in danger of losing invitations. Secondly, when a beachcat/skiff capsizes, people get wet and climb back on board. When a 30' and larger boat capsizes, boats can break and people can get hurt. ORCA is of the opinion that capsizing in ocean races is dangerous and disruptive to other racers. The ORCA class does not include boats that regularly capsize, like beach cats. This is no different than PHRF excluding skiffs from offshore classes. Does anyone want a Laser to line up against an SC50 in a race to Mexico? -- Scuttlebutt Forum, read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7381 * From Bob Clark, MetalCraft Marine: (re, New England Boatworks fire) The CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological & Nuclear Explosion) Fireboats that we built for East Providence, Providence and Cranston responded to provide shoreside water supply to the land companies (during the New England Boatworks fire). The boats have systems for CBRNE detection and protective suits and breathable air plug ins for all crew, plus survivors. As you will note in the articles 8 firemen were subject to Cyanide gas poisoning.This is the second major fire in the last three weeks that the boats have responded to. The last was a tug on fire tied to a pier next to the Motiva Fuel Storage facility the largest storage facility on the East coast. Video: http://tinyurl.com/NEB-Video Photos: http://tinyurl.com/NEB-Photos * From Bill Sandberg: Further to your story about Charleston (in Scuttlebutt 2832), I attended my first event there as a member of the Race Committee on one of the ocean circles for PHRF boats. This was one of the best regattas I have ever been to. The host site, Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, was perfect. All the amenities and docks needed and a great beach to host after sailing events. The group of volunteers was outstanding, with all local yacht clubs pitching in. Most of all, you got a real taste of Southern hospitality. Every volunteer, from those who drove the golf carts to ferry people from their cars to the event organizers, had a smile on their face and aimed to please. Add to that good wind and race management, and you have a real winner. Congratulations to Brad Van Liew and his team for a great event. I can't wait to go back. * From Paul Gingras, Palm Beach, FL: Brad Butterworth's recent statement about the reasoning for choosing a multihull America's Cup event, "In these financial times, it's just a waste if we don't use them", (Scuttlebutt 2830) is about the dumbest statement I have read in a long while. Both of these billionaires, Larry and Ernesto, could walk away from their multihull efforts and the sailing economy would barely notice. A multi challenger event in monohulls in a year or two, however, would provide a much needed stimulus to the boat building industry as well as to the professional sailors who man these boats. Brad, give us a break. * From John A. Glynn: I’d like to put out an ABP looking for the noted marine photographer, Tom Leutwiler. Back in the 70s and early 80s, he was “top of the game” and shot many well-recognized photos (the Yacht Racing Magazine gatefold cover of Love Machine at the SORC, also used as a Helly Hansen ad, comes to mind). Rumor has it he gave up marine photography about 15 years ago, and donated some of his stuff to the Mystic Seaport library. But I’d like to track down some of his work. Maybe some readers of Scuttlebutt would know how to reach him. If so, email me at mailto:jglynn@beyc.com CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices, and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want. Special thanks North Sails and Melges Performance Sailboats. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
