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SCUTTLEBUTT 1558 - April 9, 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. VOLVO OCEAN RACE Pinnacle Race Management Group (PRMG), a U.S.-based syndicate, announced that Volvo Ocean Race veteran Chris Larson will skipper their bid to race in the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race. The PRMG yacht will be designed by Farr Yacht Design, and built by Goetz Custom Yachts. Hall Spars will design and build the mast, and Harken will provide the hardware and accessories. Grant Spanhake, a four-time Volvo Veteran and sail designer from North Sails will develop the sail inventory. "In a nut shell we are a "no compromise" affiliation focused on delivering results," said PRMG Syndicate Director, Michael Castania. "Chris' inclusion signals a significant milestone in our team preparation and fund raising efforts. We've spent the last 18 months searching for the most talented and most capable people." Because the past two Volvo races have been won by U.S. skippers on foreign-flagged boats, PRMG's aim was to have a U.S. skipper on a U.S.-flagged boat. Minneapolis-based Pinnacle Race Management Group produces one-of-a-kind sponsorship and sports marketing opportunities for blue chip global clients to maximize business results and increase their brand's share of mind with their internal and external audiences by participating in The 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race. - http://www.pinnaclermg.com/ HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Thirty years ago today - at 1330 GMT on April 9, 1974 - Great Britain II crossed the finishing line to complete the first Whitbread Round the World Race. She had been 144 days at sea, and at that time, it was a record for a round the world passage under sail. The new Volvo Open 70s are predicted to race around the 31,000 nm course in 2005-06 in just 103 days, achieving over 500 miles in a 24-hour period and reaching top speeds of over 40 knots in extreme conditions. The Volvo Ocean Race will start with an in-port race in Sanxenxo, Galicia, on November 5, 2005. The start of leg one, the first offshore leg, will be from Vigo, on November 12, 2005. - www.volvooceanrace.org TECHNOLOGY For those who can't be on Belmont Pier to see the 40th Congressional Cup from a front-row seat April 20-24, the next best place will be at their computers - wherever they are in the world. The match racing classic may be the only sailing event on the planet that offers live radio commentary and nightly video replays, both on the Internet. Streaming video highlights and live radio reports of the Long Beach Yacht Club's prestigious Swedish Match Tour event were introduced last year to popular response. Expert sailing journalist and participant Dobbs Davis and local sailor Steve Steiner will split the radio broadcast commentary, Steiner working the first two days and Davis the last three. Both are past competitors in the event. The shows will originate on local radio 810 AM, receivable within a four-mile radius, and be distributed worldwide on www.KLBC.org through the cooperation of Long Beach City College, in partnership with LBYC. Video highlights of each day's racing will be shown that evening on the club's Web site. Video of past Congressional Cup action is available on the site now. - Rich Roberts, www.lbyc.org TRIVIA QUESTION What is the longest coral reef in the world? (Answer below) WE GOT GAME The road to your championship begins at Hall Spars & Rigging. Chris Larson, two-time J/22 World Champ, began his 2004 training with a call to Hall Spars & Rigging. We have him prepped for the big game -- the J/22 Worlds in Annapolis. An optimized spinnaker pole, the latest in running rigging, and impeccable standing rigging -- it's all being delivered right to his door. Make Hall Spars & Rigging your go-to team, too. You'll get the same equipment used by prime-time players like Chris. Call us or buy online, baby: http://www.hallspars.com "NEVER AGAIN" Having rounded Cape Horn, the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran is making headway due north to the west of the Falkland Islands. The crew is still stunned by their 10-day beating in icy cold temperatures. "Never again, whatever happens. If we'd known, we'd have stopped at New Zealand. Now that we're out of danger and look back at what we've been through, you have to admit that what we did was bloody stupid and we must never repeat the same mistake...", said the skipper this morning, reflecting the huge relief felt by all eleven men. As soon as they were able to gain the shelter of the South American coast, Geronimo helmed to port. With 30 knots of well established wind, she is now making due North at over 20 knots in normal seas. "We can get back to doing some yachting here...". The weather forecasts for the coming week seem pretty good, raising hopes of a rapid passage north to the Equator. The huge expanse of cold air from the Antarctic, combined with the unusually northerly position of the Atlantic low pressure areas, should feed air into all the ocean's weather systems, at least in the South Atlantic. Despite the fact that every member of the crew is completely exhausted, they will not be slow to recover their appetite for doing battle with the stopwatch. Day 41 update: 420 nautical miles covered in 24 hours, at an average speed of 17.5 knots. www.trimaran-geronimo.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar VOTER REGISTRATION Do you see things in our sport that you would like to have changed? Members of US Sailing, who are active racers competing on a regional or national level, may become involved by registering as a sailor-athlete. This enables them to join other active racing sailors who elect the members of the Sailor Athlete Council (SAC). Elections will be held this fall for half the seats on SAC. Every registered athlete can nominate people and vote, and all A and B level athletes are eligible for election to SAC. The Council has a permanent seat on the US Sailing Executive Committee, can nominate individuals to the USSA Board of Directors and can place registered sailor athletes throughout the organization. There is no cost for US Sailing members to register as an athlete - it can be done on the US Sailing website. And if you are not a US Sailing member, the Sailor Athlete Council is asking active sailors to join the organization, register as a sailor-athlete and be heard. You can view the definition of a sailor athlete at: http://www.ussailing.org/saac/definition.htm NEWS BRIEFS * According the Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, the former K-Challenge skipper John Cutler (who was also Technical Director and design team coordinator) has now signed with Mascalzone Latino. Good news for the Italian team if it's true. Another bad signal from the French challenger which had announced last June the signing of the New-Zealander. - Cup in Europe website, full story: http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/2007MascalzoneLN.htm * The Minister of Sport, Mr Ngconde Balfour, will be officially introduced to the sailing and shore crew of the South African America's Cup Challenge 2007 this Saturday, April 10 at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. Weather permitting Mr Balfour will be offered the opportunity of trying his hand at the helm of the first America's Cup yacht ever seen in South Africa - the Italian Prada America's Cup 2003 Challenge. The South African America's Cup Challenge will be officially launched in the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Monday, April 19. - iafrica.com, full story: http://sport.iafrica.com/news/315139.htm * Paul Goodison put in a remarkable effort to win the RYA UK Olympic Trials 2004 and today was named by the British Olympic Association (BOA) as the eighteenth and final member of the sailing squad for Team GB Athens 2004. The RYA UK Olympic Trials took place from the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy and Goodison, who is currently ranked number three in the world, won six out of the eleven races sailed to win the event by nineteen points from nearest rival Ed Wright. - The Daily Sail, full story: http://www.thedailysail.com LEGENDARY VOYAGE Berths available: incredible passages & legendary landfalls. June: Newport Beach (CA) - Easter Island (4,000 miles non-stop); July: Easter Island - Pitcarin - Marquesas. Aboard 65' S&S sloop Alaska Eagle, led by professional skipper, mate & cook. Program is designed for sailors interested in building modern offshore/navigation skills. 949-645-9412, http://www.occsailing.com EBAY UPDATE The eBay auction for sponsorship of the Sausalito Challenge syndicate will have ended by the time most 'Buttheads read this, and the Kan-Do auction ends this weekend. While there are presently no bids listed on either of those auction web pages, that could change before our next issue. Below are the dates and times that each auction ends, plus an abbreviated link to each auction page: - Sausalito Challenge-America's Cup (Apr 9, 2:00 PDT): http://tinyurl.com/2angu - Kan-Do-Volvo Ocean Race (Apr 11, 6:00 PDT): http://tinyurl.com/3hg67 - Team Adventure-Oryx Cup (Apr 13, 8:30 PDT): http://tinyurl.com/35w9w HUGE There are 528 Olympic (and former Olympic) class boats racing right now at HRH Princess Sofia Trophy - XXIX Palma International Week at Palma de Mallorca. On Thursday, shifting winds on most courses forced postponements for several classes but all completed at least one race. After winning the sole race of the day in the Europe Women fleet, American Meg Gaillard maintains her lead. In the Tornado class, the American team of Lovell and Ogletree are also maintaining their lead In the Men's 470 fleet, Americans Foerster and Burnham have moved up into third position overall. Scuttlebutt will do a complete rundown on this huge event on Monday, but for the moment here are the leaders in each class along with the top North American boats (if any): Tornado (53 boats-8 races w/1 discard) 1. John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree (USA) 33. (10 point lead) Europe Women (126 boats - 9 races w/1 discard) 1. Meg Gaillard (USA) 28 (5 point lead) Europe Men (58 boats - 7 races w/1 discard) 1. Christopher Gundersen (NOR) 18 470 men (71 boats - 9 races w/ 1 discard) 1. Javier Conte/Juan de la Fuente (ARG) 39; 3. Paul Foerster/ Kevin Burnham (USA) 55 470 women (36 boats - 8 races w/ 1 discard) 1. Natalia Via-Dufresne/ Sandra Azon (ESP) 50; 16. Katie McDowell/ Isabelle Kinsolving (USA) 108 Laser (58 boats - 11 races w/2 discards) 1. Karl Suneson (SWE) 23, 5. Mark Mendelblatt (USA) 69 Finn (53 boats - 7 races w/1 discard) 1. Ben Ainslie (GBR) 6, 8. Kevin Hall (USA) 74 Yngling (30 boats - 10 races w/1 discard) 1. Annelies Thies/ Annemieke Bes/ Petronella de Jong (NED) 44; 9. Carol Cronin/ Elizabeth Filter/ Nancy Haberland (USA) 94 Dragon (43 boats - 8-races w/1 discard) 1. Harm Müller Spreer/ Vicent Hoesch/ Bahr Gunnar (GER) 26. Event website: http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/ CALL GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS More than 3.000 people - competitors, parents, coaches, relatives - are in Riva del Garda for 22nd annual International Optimist Class Meeting. Hosted by the Fraglia Vela Riva, this regatta has already been listed in past Guinness World Records. However, this year the event has reached a new record of entries: 784. The following nations are represented: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lituania, Norway, Poland, Republic of San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, USA. Snow-capped mountains and the bright blue waters of Lake Garda provided the perfect backdrop for this April 8 to 11 festival of sailing. - www.fragliavelariva.com TRIVIA ANSWER The Great Barrier Reef, along the continental shelf of northeastern Australia, is the longest coral reef measuring about 1,243 miles long. COOL RUNNING DDW in the Southern Ocean? Yeah, that could be considered cool running but that's not what we mean. We're talking about cool running rigging. A blend of Zylon® (PBO) and Vectran® fibers, Samson's new ICE™ cover makes for some cool running rigging engineered to beat the heat that quickly degrades lesser covers. Designed to mate with high performance 12-strand single braided lines, it's easy to install for any length of coverage required providing the ultimate protection for applications like running back stays. Samson ICE and the rest of Samson's other "cool runnings" are available at APS… http://www.apsltd.com/scuttlebutt 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 Wesley Cartwright: Let me see if I have this straight. The French wanted 30,000 Euros - more than $36,000 - from Steve Fossett for the opportunity to potentially have his name engraved on the Jules Verne Trophy, should he be fortunate enough to break the Round the World speed record - about a 50/ 50 chance according to most knowledgeable observers. Or Fossett could take that money and buy a new Lexus, or Mercedes or whatever. Duh - you don't need Fossett's business credentials to make that call. The real losers here are the French. They once had a trophy that symbolized something special - but not anymore. Because of what appears to be greed, the Jules Verne Trophy will now only recognize the 'has-beens'… and maybe some future 'also-rans.' Steve Fossett owns the record, and the Jules Verne Trophy Association is left clinging to memories of their former significance. Maybe the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club should donate a perpetual trophy to recognize sailing's Round the World speed record. It would instantly become more important than the Jules Verne Trophy. * From Mark Gray: There is a lot of misconception regarding the awarding the Jules Verne Trophy, so let me help by explaining the situation a bit clearer. The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the second fastest circumnavigation of the world, this of course could end up going to the third, fourth or even more in later years, it all depends on how much you pay. Steve Fossette and his crew obviously were not good enough, and did not achieve what the Trustees of the Jules Verne Trophy really wanted, being money. It is simple * From Christian Fevrier: Let's try to raise up the debate. And look at what has been done positively. On October 20, 1992, five French ministers signed the the Jules Verne Trophy Association's birth. Sir Peter Blake, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Bernard Moitessier attended the signature ceremony at the Yacht Club de France. They were totally enthusiastic at this idea, not arguing with the fee. Because nothing of this kind existed before. JVT rules were ratified on April 21st 1992, both by the IYRU and the WSSRC. Jack Lang, the respected French Minister of Culture, launched an internal competition for the prize. American artist Tom Shannon won it with his magnetic hull sculpture, probably the purest yachting award worldwide. Bruno Peyron, then Peter Blake and Robin Knox Johnston, followed by Olivier de Kersauson and again by Peyron have created the unmistakable worldwide aura of the event. What others countries have offered similar? Nothing! The WSSRC was more than happy to use the JVT starting line as their benchmark for the Round the World non-stop record. Steve Fossett refused to paid his entry fee like all other international sailors including Elen MacArthur and Tracy Edwards. He chose to start behind the JVT starting line, being sure to beat this recognized record if he was succesful. In spite of the Cheyenne's outstanding new performance, I must say that I have mixed and bitter feelings with this controversy. Most of the world most respected sailors have created the decor. Steve Fossett decided to ignore it, still using its spirit. * From Richard Fischel: I chuckled when I read the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric position update in Scuttlebutt 1557, in which two time references were given: one comparing it to the current Jules Verne Trophy holder; the other to Steve Fossett's round-the-world record, certified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. Now that the Jules Verne Trophy does not represent the award for the fastest time around, why continue to report it? It would seem that the importance of that trophy has been trivialized until such time that it once again represents the fastest time around. I'm sure Mr. Peyron is very proud to be the holder of a trophy that recognizes second best, as will Mr. de Kersauson be to follow in his footsteps, but why should Scuttlebutt perpetuate the fallacy that the Jules Verne Trophy stands for anything other than an asterisk in the record books. I can't wait to see the headlines in the French newspapers: de Kersauson breaks Peyron's record; wins Jules Verne Trophy signifying the second fastest trip by a sailboat around the world. Three cheers for the holder of the new round-the-world record, and a Bronx cheer for those individuals that would attempt to diminish the accomplishment. * From Michael McCutchon: I applaud George Bailey for thinking outside the box. Unfortunately, when he says that lifting a canting keel out of the water would make the boat a multihull, he is confusing ballast with form stability. While both achieve the same end--righting moment--it is not ballast that contributes to a multihull's performance, it is form stability. The value of thinking outside the box is that it generates ideas that lead to new innovations. The ultimate goal is to pile on sail area, with maximum righting moment, and limited weight and wetted surface, right? Lifting the canting keel out of the water would help achieve these goals. Perhaps, instead of canting the ballast, it could be shuttled across the deck and out over the water with each tack. But wait, we've already done that one, too. It's called an International Canoe. Canoes are famous for their speed, but I assume they're quite difficult to sail. The next step, as I see it, is to take the human factor out of the International Canoe. Somebody needs to start working on a boat that automates the process of shifting ballast out over the water, adjusting it to each puff of wind, and keeping the heel of the boat level. Then, you could just pile on the sail area, and watch it go. The key word is "watch." I wouldn't want to be the crash test dummy in that R&D process. THE CURMUDGEON'S QUOTATIONS "After you turn 70, you still chase women, but only downhill." - Bob Hope |
