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SCUTTLEBUTT 1604 - June 15, 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. THE NEW US SAILING In the fall of 2003, the President of US Sailing appointed a five-member task force to create a proposal for the re-structuring of US Sailing. The revived interest in re-structuring the organization came after hearing a report given by McKinsey & Company at the organization's annual general meeting. The report detailed somewhat alarming national and international statistics showing a decline in participation in sailing. About 100,000 fewer US sailors enjoy our sport each year since 1992. While new people are trying out the sport, their numbers remain small and also small is our retention of those sailors in the sport. McKinsey listed various reasons for this lack of growth. The advice is: US Sailing must become nimble and efficient in order to develop and execute the solutions for growth. McKinsey, other consultants before them, and many volunteers recommend fixing the structure of US Sailing. Why Change? In a word, Participation.[i] "The sport of sailing isn't growing."[ii] Our current structure focuses so intently on racing that we have not effectively addressed this part of our Mission, "to encourage participation...in sailing."[iii] If our structure worked effectively, we would have already solved the problem of growth in participation. A six-page proposal has been drafted outlining the structure of the "New US Sailing and is now online. It represents a rather dramatic change in the way US Sailing does business. The comment period on this proposal ends in August. To read the proposal: www.ussailing.org/bod/FY2004_Board_of_Directors/ppt/NewUSSAILINGproposal.pdf HANDICAP RACING (The Sail magazine website has a fascinating handicapping story Bruce Bingman, Technical Chair for PHRF on the Chesapeake. Here are two excerpts to whet your appetite.) Several years ago in the Chesapeake, as IMS dwindled and the really "hot" boats came into PHRF, I proposed, along with several other people, that two PHRF fleets be formed, a "Racing" fleet and a "Corinthian" fleet. The proposed rules were, basically, for an anything-goes approach in the Racing fleet, but with the Corinthian fleet to have limits on new sails per year as well as material limits, that they could not be dry sailed, could not have more than one or two group 2's or 3's aboard (and they could not drive) and other rules generally designed to favor more average racer-cruisers. Much to my surprise, the measure was voted down in the annual meeting by the members said they did not want to be put into two separate fleets, one of which would have a more "cruising" connotation! That choice puts the handicap board in the position of having to rate each boat as though it was fully prepped for flat out racing-a situation which I think is really unfair to the average sailor. I conclude from observation of Mumm-30 regattas that a new set of sails is at least a 3-seconds to 6-seconds per mile advantage over one-year-old sails, and 2-year-old sails are only good for "Friday night" casual races. Yet many (most?) PHRF sailors are out there with perhaps a single new sail and others 2 or 3 years old, and the boats are wet sailed. They are already giving away close to 6 seconds-per-mile in sail shape! Add in the difference of a dry sailed burnished epoxy bottom and they are probably giving away 9 second-per-mile before they even line up at the start. How can this be factored into the handicap? Throw in a few sportboats and a heavy displacement Baltic or Swan with wildly different performance characteristics in varying wind and course configurations and the true dilemma of the handicapper becomes apparent. Much (most?) of the griping about ratings comes from the problem of trying to sort out all these factors-especially when a single number is used for all conditions. - Bruce Bingman, Sail Magazine website, full story: www.sailmagazine.com/features/phrf/ PROTECT YOUR ASSETS Camet Sailing Shorts and Pants not only protect your body from the elements but they now also protect your skin from the sun. They are made out of breathable, fast drying Supplex® with a UV rating of 40+ (blocks 97.5% of UV rays) and reinforced with a Cordura® seat patch to insert an optional foam pad. Combine the shorts or pants with a Coolmax® shirt, which reduces skin temperature, maintains hydration and dries extremely fast, and this is the best clothing for the hot summer days. http://www.camet.com THE TEAM About 70 people had been signed on by the Emirates Team New Zealand syndicate, who were expected to be 90-strong when at full strength. Of the 26 so far secured in the sailing crew, just over half remain from last year's defense. In the sailing team, led by skipper Dean Barker, those in the afterguard would include British Olympic Laser gold medallist Ben Ainslie and American Kevin Hall. Those three will have divided loyalties between now and August, when they will sail against one another in the Finn dinghy event at the Athens Olympics. Adam Beashel (Australia/New Zealand), Kelvin Harrap (New Zealand), Ray Davies (New Zealand) and Terry Hutchinson (United States) will also be in this crowded afterguard. Former America's Cup skipper and Olympic champion Rod Davis will be the afterguard coach. (Syndicate managing director Grant Dalton says the 'tight five' are Kiwi Dean Barker, Ben Ainsley from England, Aussie Adam Beashell, and Americans Kevin Hall and Terry Hutchinson.) The trimmers already signed include Don Cowie, James Dagg, Grant Loretz, Tony Rae, Chris Salthouse. The design team includes Andrew Claughton (United Kingdom) design team co-ordinator, Giovanni Belgrano (Italy) principal composites engineer, Marcelino Botin (Spain) principal designer, Clay Oliver (United States) principal designer, Jamie France (New Zealand) design engineer, Christopher Miller (United States) software engineer and Tom Schnackenberg (New Zealand) design and data analyst. Roger Badham (Australia) returns to the syndicate weather team. Joe Allen - a bowman with vast experience -will be the technical sailing coach and video analyst. - For a complete list and bios of the entire team: www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/CU0406/S00091.htm Curmudgeon's Comment: As a preview of coming attractions, we've posted photos of the ACC boats from both Emirates Team New Zealand and Alinghi in their new livery: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/0614acup/ THE TRANSAT French skipper, Eric Bruneel, on Trilogic has stormed to victory in the 50ft multihull division. Bruneel crossed the line at 14:23:37 GMT in a time of 14 days, 1 hour, 23 minutes and 37 seconds at an average speed of 8.32 knots. This is a major win for Bruneel who, although, is an experienced sailor especially in dinghy catamarans, has never won an offshore solo race. Bruneel has led this division the entire length of the 2800 mile course and racked up a significant 200+ mile lead in the early stages which no other skipper in his class could dent. Sunday night saw the arrival of the final ORMA 60 competitor, French skipper, Yves Parlier on board his twin-masted, catamaran Médiatis Region Aquitaine who finished in 13 days, 7 hours, 11 minutes and 35 seconds - over four days behind the ORMA winner Michel Desjoyeax. In the Open 60 division, Australian skipper Nick Moloney on Skandia finshed a couple of hours later in 13 days, 9 hours and 13 minutes, 11 hours ahead of his main rival Britain's Conrad Humphreys on Hellomoto who finished at 0924 GMT Monday morning. Marc Thiercelin, skipper of Open 60 Pro-Form finished in sixth place. - http://www.thetransat.com/ Standings @ 0300 GMT on June 15: Open 50 Multihulls: 1. Trilogic, Eric Bruneel, finished; 2. Great American II, Richard Wilson, 113 nm to leader. Open 50 Monohulls: 1. Artforms, Kip Stone 128 nm to finish; 2. Okami, Jacques Bouchacourt, 268 to leader WHERE'S VANGUARD THIS MONTH? You can find Vanguard this month as a sponsor at the Youth Championships in Charleston, SC, June 18 - 24 and a week later at the Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship for the Ida Lewis Trophy in Oxford, MD, June 27-July 3. For results and updates visit http://www.teamvanguard.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE * "In the downwind conditions expected early in this (Newport Bermuda) race, Morning Glory, Pyewacket and Windquest could easily make 500 mile days and could cover the 635-mile course in about 30 hours. With conditions similar to Newport Bermuda 2002, we would be in Bermuda in around thirty-six hours. We'll have to wear our goggles through the Gulf Stream. It's a real fast ride, but wet." - Dee Smith, Morning Glory sailing team * "Research has shown that our investment (in Emirates Team New Zealand) of NZ$33.75 million (US$21.3 million) will be more than recouped as we leverage tourism and trade spin-offs from the European regattas." - Trevor Mallard, New Zealand's Minister for the America's Cup * "We can't go this fast round the world, no way. We will have to slow the tempo." - Open 60 Skandia skipper Nick Moloney discussing the upcoming Vendee Globe race. NEWS BRIEFS * Ocean racing skipper Grant Wharington added another dimension to his illustrious sailing career today when he narrowly outsailed former America's Cup winner John Bertrand in a cliff-hanger match-race final heat of the 2004 Etchells Australian Winter Championship off Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Wharington, at the helm of Sutu II, finished just two boat lengths but two vital placings in front to Bertrand, steering Two Saints and a Magpie, to win the championship by two points. Third place overall in the record 67 boat fleet was the young Brisbane sailor Jason Muir at the helm of Racer XY. - Peter Campbell *Entrepreneur Richard Branson has set a new world record by driving across the English Channel in an amphibious sports car in under two hours. Branson crossed the 22-mile (35 km) stretch of water to Calais in France in a smooth run in the £75,000 ($135,000) sleek gray and black Aquada sports car in just one hour 40 minutes and six seconds. The amphibious car, which seats 3 people, can travel at more than 100 miles per hour on land and 30 miles per hour on sea. - CNN.com, http://tinyurl.com/2d69t * For images of a hot, high flying new one-design: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/sailplane/ * Alinghi's skipper, Russell Coutts, and tactician Brad Butterworth will take time out from the UBS Trophy Race next week to visit Bill Koch's regatta and address the young racers. Bill Koch's 2004 Sea Scout Cup race at Mass. Maritime Academy on Buzzards Bay will bring together a fleet of young sailors from Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Norway, and Canada in a weeklong regatta. The Koch Cup sails about 100 entrants who have qualified through local regattas. They use a fleet of 420s and swap boats in order to put as little emphasis as possible on expensive technology. - http://tinyurl.com/2mjd3 * The New York Yacht Club's Annual Regatta presented by Rolex is the longest running event of its kind in the United States. For this year's 150th anniversary, 100 boats turned out for Friday's first-ever Around the Island Race, which turned the traditional two-day event into a three-day one that then hosted 127 boats in 14 classes. The Rolex Cup, awarded to the top two-boat team in Friday's Around the Island Race, went to the Indian Harbor Yacht Club team comprised of John Wayt's Vixen, (Swan 44) and Martin Jacobson's Crescendo (Swan 44). Complete results: www.nyyc.org * Palau, Sardinia - John 'Woody' Winning, Anthony 'Jack' Young and Euan McNicol sailing Computer Associates won the final two races in fine style on Saturday to take the 18 foot Skiff Velamare Cup international championship. Omega Smeg sailed by Trevor Barnabas, Phil Hebden and Trent Barnabas were second with Fisher & Paykel sailed by Grant Rollerson, Glenn Raphael and Chris Cleary took third. The USA's West Marine team of HowardHamlin, Tony Hannan and Jonny Meers finished sixth in the 23-boat fleet. - www.velamareskiff.it/eng/index.php * The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has published the Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens 2004. The Rules are applicable from the period commencing on the date of the opening of the Olympic village for the Olympic Games on 30 July 2004, up to and including the day of the Closing Ceremony on 29 August 2004. All participants in the 2004 Olympic Games will be bound to accept these Rules as a condition of participation and are presumed to have agreed to comply with them. To read the 22-page rules: http://tinyurl.com/yrpas * Having a bad day? It could be worse: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/badday/ DRYSHIRT™ WANNA-BEES... There's only one Dryshirt™. Several companies have come out with shirts with names that sound like the " Dryshirt™," but that's where the similarities end. There's simply nothing on the market today that performs like the Dryshirt™. Maybe that's why many of the leading Max Z-86, Trans-Pac-52, Farr 40, J-109, J-105, and skiff crews are outfitting their boats with this revolutionary gear. Yacht clubs and large groups are eligible for special pricing. Available in black, gray, white and exclusively through the Sailing Pro Shop and their distributors listed on this link: http://www.sailingproshop.com/dryshirt.htm 1(800) 354-7245 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.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 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 Steve Gregory: In the "What's Wrong with our Sport Department," when the final standings of an event as prominent as the 2004 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship have to be decided based on "a complex series of calculations of tie-breakers and points earned throughout the regatta," all I have to say is...What about Monday? In tennis, when it rains at Wimbledon, they wait until the rains stops and continue play, whether it be later in the day or the next. In golf, tournaments don't always end on Sunday like they are "supposed to." For sailing, how about planning for an extra day to finish a major championship the right way? * From R.J. Lewy: I know Warren Miller's style has never been copied (with the exception of Bruce Brown) and that he has done a lot for the sport of Skiing, but we do have an Emmy-winning producer, commentator, lecturer, author, global sailor and America's Cup winner that is still working in our sport of sailing and he has brought the sport of sailing into more homes in the world than any single T.V. station. In case you haven't guessed by now who that is, just say his name: Gary Jobson. Godspeed to Gary * From Frank Betz: Graham Kelly is right about sailing's Warren Miller being, well... Warren Miller. I thought Warren was just the world's best photographer of skiing films until he made some early promotional films for Windsurfing International in the early 1970's. The boardsailing equipment and the dazzling aerobatics we see today are generations ahead, but the original videos that Warren produced are still as stunning and compelling as when they were introduced. * From John Rumsey: Yesterday (6/13) I ran across The Darts World Championships on ESPN. Certainly sailing coverage is more interesting than darts. * From Meaghan Van Liew: I wholeheartedly agree with Magnus Wheatley that Offshore Challenges has done a brilliant job at managing The Transat. A note to say that there are some very mainstream (and American) companies involved in sponsorship of entries in the race, including Motorola (named Hellomoto) and Wells Fargo, plus European companies actively doing business in the U.S. such as Ecover and AlphaGraphics. They are seeing the kind of professional production of a race that sponsors deserve. This makes a world of difference doing our job on land with sponsor fulfillment and PR. * From Roger Martin: The Transat Race seems to be a great success. But you keep on reporting 'records broken'. There are no records for an inaugural race, but elapsed times. They will be the times to beat next time on the same course, in which case they will be The Records. * From Pat Werner: I was concerned when I read that "boaters' GPS devices" would be jammed as described in 'Butt 1603 for "waters up to 60 miles off North Carolina and ... Florida" from June 11th through June 20th. The USCG Navigation Center web page carried a link to the official announcement which included the fact that the outages were scheduled for only 3 to 4 hours per day (although in prime operating hours). Which isn't nearly as significant as I had pictured for boaters attempting an offshore passage. I noted it also mentioned that mariners using the Intracoastal Waterway should not rely on GPS nor cell phones during those periods. * From Steve Dashew (Re the GPS jamming): The military have been running jamming tests on land out of New Mexico and the FAA flight service stations have been giving warnings to pilots. I have been flying my glider in and out of areas in which the jamming tests should have affected my GPS and have so far not had any problems. The military test coordinator in our region has told me that the data they give to the FAA is worst case scenario, and that the tests are not on 100% of the time. If this is the case with the East Coast tests the time between fixes should be fine for the typical boat. * From David Munge: Ian Walkers comments about the high cost of campaigning have high-lighted a situation here in the UK. The vast cost of campaigning at an Olympic level, which is supported in the UK, by a variety of sources including the National lottery, and company sponsorship, has meant that we have less and less sailors taking part in Olympic campaigns. I only have experience in Stars, but twenty years ago, and less, there were 8/9 boats doing some sort of campaigns, and attending selection trials. Now Ian Percy, and Steve Mitchell, quite rightly, get pre-selected, making any attempt by somebody not supported by the established system quite futile. The system is good for Britain, with a high medal count, good for the exalted sailors in the system, but it has, I feel sure, eliminated many young sailors dreams. Something nags me as not quite right. We finance the development of super sailors, who at the same time get corporate sponsorships, and then finally go abroad, and become very rich individuals. That certainly does not fit within the Corinthian ideal, but of course that is long since dead. * From J.D. Stone: Yes it is possible to spend a small fortune pursuing this wonderful sport of yacht racing, or is it boat racing - anyway the Etchells class has it down pretty good - strict rules on sail allotment each year - strictly controlled design rules such that older hulls are as competitive as the new ones - there is only so much you can spend. I've got friends in the Farr 40 class and am awed by the budget they must come up with. So who is having more fun? For those that want to spend the big bucks and sail with some pros I say go for it, but I'm happy where I am and still get to sail against some of the best - as in Dennis, Jud, Dirk, Kenny, and the Piper boys and am still able to make my mortgage payments. THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and think, 'Well, that's not going to happen. |
