|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2935 - Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Scuttlebutt 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 MyBoatsGear.com and Annapolis Performance Sailing
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT
The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) is under new management. Regal Faith Ltd, and
its consortium of investors based in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia, has
purchased the equity of F10 Holdings Ltd, the exclusive rights holder of the
WMRT. Match racing veteran Peter Gilmour has been appointed Acting President and
will become the Tour Advisor once a full time replacement has been found.
Outgoing President Scott Macleod from F10 Holdings Ltd commented, "After over 20
years involvement with Tour from its early stages then through the Swedish Match
Tour up to its current status as the ISAF sanctioned World Match Racing Tour I
have taken considerable pride in the development of the sport. I am very happy
to be passing the control of the World Match Racing Tour to the team at Regal
Faith Ltd who have the experience and investment to realize the full potential
of the Tour."
For all WMRT events it will be business as usual. The WMRT will be holding the
annual Tour Summit for all event organizers on the day immediately following the
World Yacht Racing Forum in Monaco on 11th December 2009. Following consultation
with the Tour's event promoters and stakeholders a detailed presentation laying
out the re-energized ambition and vision of the Tour will be unveiled during the
opening weeks of 2010. - http://www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com
"TOO GOOD A YEAR"
Following on from their success at the Beijing Olympics in which Skandia Team
GBR won six medals including four golds, the squad has claimed a string of world
titles in 2009. Windsurfer Nick Dempsey and Laser sailor Paul Goodison both won
their world championships while Ed Wright has already secured the first ISAF
Sailing World Cup title in the Finn class and Paul Campbell-James was leading
the highly competitive 49er class before his recent split with Mark Asquith.
But Park, who has coached and managed the British team since 2001 and overseen
the team's success at Athens and Beijing is charged with maximizing Britain's
medal winning opportunities in Weymouth in three years time at the London
Olympic Games 2012. "Arguably you could say we have had too good a year this
year," said Park. "We have had a lot of good world championship results so we
have to be wary of peaking too early."
The pressure on the British team to perform at the Skandia Sail for Gold regatta
this week is growing, Park adds, due to the expectations associated with hosting
an Olympic games. "It helps if you can deliver well in an Olympic venue. But it
is not the end of the world if you don't, so long as you continue to make
progress because by 2012, our sailors will be confident in this venue. But we
need to make sure that those at the top end of the programme don't go too hard
too early and peter off towards the end." With 34 months to go before the
Olympic Games starts in Weymouth, half of his current squad have moved down to
live and train there. It is not required of them but most have realized that
time wasted on travelling could be more gainfully spent on the water. - Excerpts
from a story published in The Telegraph, full story: http://tinyurl.com/lx23xl
* Curmudgeon's Comment: This interview was done prior to the completion of the
Sail for Gold Regatta where Skandia Team GBR two Gold medals, four Silvers and
one Bronze in the Olympic classes, plus two Silvers in the Paralympic classes.
LESSONS LEARNED
Andrew Campbell looks back at the Sail for Gold regatta and analyzes what went
wrong.
What a regatta Sail for Gold ended up being! Yikes. It didn't seem like we were
able to get any breaks throughout the event. In the final race of the event we
got off the line in great shape beside Freddie Loof and Iain Percy and held for
seven minutes on their windward hip giving us great confidence that we were
doing alright for pace. They eventually tacked and ducked us, we continued 10 or
12 more boat-lengths further into what we thought was a left-hand shift. When we
eventually came back together the fleet forced the three of us further left.
The starboard tack advantage they had gained on us allowed them to squeak around
the front of the major part of the pack, and we had to take a big duck behind
the group going into the windward mark. The differences between a race in the
top 5 and a race in the bottom 5 was often less than a boat-length on the first
beat. Getting your nose out in front at all in the final approach to the first
windward mark was by far the most important factor to having a good event.
Anybody rounding in the body of the fleet could finish from 5th to 15th without
any trouble. The fleet was absolutely top-notch and very much humbled me as much
as the wind conditions.
So what are the major lessons from our first trip to Weymouth:
1. Settings from one tack to another often needed to be very different, due to
confused seastate and proximity to the shore-line. Sometimes port would be
straight into 1 meter swell, while starboard was extremely smooth with waves
loading and unloading the boat to the point that the crews were in the water
very often if the boat wasn't properly powered at all times.
2. Geography has a major impact on the game. The valleys and cliffs surrounding
the sailing area make enormous impact on the shifts and Portland Bill makes a
huge impact on the current (it causes a 6 knot run of current at the end of the
point during max ebb and max flood, thankfully we don't have to race out there).
3. Racing inside the breakwater can be scary for the starboats in heavy air! Not
having waves makes it incredible difficult to unload the main for gybes.
Conclusion: I'll probably need arms like Arnold for next year!
4. Everybody has bad races. Recovery wins regattas. This is a college sailing
lesson. Chipping away when you're up front as well as when you're behind is the
only way to win long series. When things aren't going your way, just keep
showing up until they do.
5. Bring more fleece next year and a thicker wetsuit to dive on the bottom.
Sailing in England in September makes you realize why the English started
sailing everywhere else in the world to find their empire (Barbados, BVI, India
etc.) - Full report: http://tinyurl.com/na3qna
MARINE REFRIGERATION
How does a refrigeration system work? What equipment do you need and how do you
go about installation. To find out read here:
http://myboatsgear.com/newsletter/200915.asp . First decide what you are looking
to do. Is it to replace ice? If so you will need a fridge temperature between 34
and 39 degrees F, or do you need partly freeze or full time freeze? Freezer
temperatures are from 10-20 F. RSS feeds from http://Myboatsgear.com lets you
get all the latest reviews direct to your PC.
AS SEEN BY "FISH"
Respected international yachting journalist Bob Fisher has written a long column
in The Guardian about the current state of the America's Cup. Here's a brief
excerpt.
In a letter to the ISAF the challenger's skipper, Russell Coutts, has queried
almost every item of the "secret" agreement. "[The] ISAF has overstepped its
authority and given blanket advance approval for any change in any racing rule,"
he wrote, adding that "there is no independent review available to the Golden
Gate Yacht Club".
"We don't know when we go out to race what trick they are going to pull," said
the challenging team's owner, Larry Ellison. "We can finish first, only for them
to say, 'You have broken this or that rule.' We probably will be ruled out of
every race."
SNG is also demanding that all members of the race jury be bilingual in French
and English, which is in direct contravention of ISAF regulations in which
English is the only language for the sport, until the ISAF council votes
otherwise. It is particularly remarkable as the majority of the Alinghi team
that will represent the SNG are not Swiss, but New Zealanders and others whose
native tongue is English. In making this demand, SNG is effectively ruling out
many potential high-level members of the jury.
ISAF claims that its appointments working party has suggested the top people for
the jury based on their technical skills and "as it happens three of the five
are fluent in French as well as English". The move is seen by some highly
qualified international judges as being unnecessarily restrictive, particularly
as two jurists must be "practicing lawyers".
GGYC and BMW Oracle are considering further action in the New York courts, where
the America's Cup is held in trust, against SNG for failing to meet its duties
under the Deed of Gift that controls the way the cup races are managed. - To
read Fisher's full story: http://tinyurl.com/n2ej8t
BREAKING NEWS
A New York judge has denied a motion by America's Cup champion Alinghi of
Switzerland to disqualify challenger BMW Oracle Racing because the U.S.-based
syndicate hasn't provided a measurement certificate for its 90-foot trimaran.
Justice Shirley Kornreich of the Supreme Court of the State of New York said BMW
Oracle Racing, owned by software tycoon Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp., must
provide Alinghi with the final documentation at least two weeks before Feb. 8.
That's the start date for the best-of-3 showdown off Ras al-Khaimah, United Arab
Emirates. Kornreich also wrote that "unsportsmanlike behavior" by the U.S.
syndicate has "substantially" reduced the Swiss team's advantage as defender. -
Bernie Wilson, AP, http://tinyurl.com/m8cdfp
AND THE WINNER IS.
Okay, who won this round in the court? For those "faithful followers," we have
put up links to the SNG statement, and to the GGYC statement - and we also have
expert analysis from Cory Friedman. Faithful followers - enjoy!
* SNG Statement: http://tinyurl.com/m84plf
* GGYC Statement: http://tinyurl.com/mcckn6
* From Cory Friedman: "No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship
alongside that of the enemy." Horatio Lord Nelson.
A major battle, or series of battles, is brewing which will determine whether
the Cup will be decided on the water in February or will be tied up in
litigation for quite a while. Since the New York Court of Appeals ruled in favor
of Challenger Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), GGYC has skirmished with Societe
Nautique De Geneve's (SNG) over the date of the Match and Custom House Registry
(now Certificate of Documentation). (NEWS FLASH - Justice Kornreich has ruled on
the CoD issue, holding that GGYC need not provide its CoD earlier than two weeks
before the first gun of the Match. According to Justice Kornreich, by exercising
its rights under the Deed, GGYC is "unsportsmanlike" by reducing an advantage
SNG has under the Deed that she just ruled SNG does not have. Go figure.)
Those relatively minor engagements are over and an all out fleet engagement is
taking shape. Having abandoned the quick orders to show cause that by not
allowing reply papers prevented thorough presentations of the issues, GGYC has
added an additional law firm, Boies, Schiller & Flexner, and has filed a
comprehensive motion on a number of key issues. Looming just over the horizon is
an even bigger battle regarding SNG's exercise of its duty as trustee of the
Cup.
To complicate matters, the facts at issue have changed since GGYC filed its
motion, which included a branch seeking public disclosure of then secret ISAF -
SNG Agreement. Before SNG could even respond, ISAF secured SNG's agreement to
public disclosure of the Agreement as well as some cosmetic changes. (Having
moved for public disclosure, I will not be foolish enough to attempt to provide
objective, unbiased comment of that phase of the litigation.) Thus, as in a real
battle, the target GGYC was aiming at has gained some camouflage. Nevertheless,
the focus of GGYC's motion is to reargue Justice Kornreich's July 30, 2009
decision allowing SNG to change the rules at will, to prevent SNG from imposing
measurement standards that will DSQ GGYC and to prevent SNG from reading the
"not to be exceeded" clause out of the Deed's treatment of the Challenger's
dimensions provided in the Challenge. - Read on: http://tinyurl.com/lhdz9h
SAILING SHORTS
* Eight US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) members, five former ICSA College
Sailors of the Year, and three former ICSA Quantum Women Sailors of the Year
will be on the water this coming weekend at the U.S. Team Racing Championship
hosted by the Beverly Yacht Club (Marion, Mass.) A total of 16 teams, sailing in
Vanguard 15s will race in a three-boat/ six-sailor team format. The defending
champions, NYYC's Silver Panda will be looking for an unprecedented fourth
consecutive title. - http://tinyurl.com/nkjuzh
* One of the worst kept secrets of the last few months is on the verge of being
officially confirmed: Fiat is to sponsor an Italian Volvo Ocean Race campaign
skippered by Giovanni Soldini. Rumors have been doing the rounds since August,
when Soldini was in negotiations to buy Torben Grael's victorious Ericsson 4 as
a training boat. Word is that the sponsorship will fund the design and build of
a new boat for the next race in 2011. That will make it the first Italian
campaign since Brooksfield in the 1993/4 Whitbread Race. - Elaine Bunting,
http://tinyurl.com/5lavps
* Martin 242 Canadian Championship, Vancouver, B.C.
1. Mike George, California YC (USA), 32 points
2. Richard Spooner, Vancouver, 37 points
3. Wicked Racing Team,Vancouver, 46 points
4. Chuck Lawson, Vancouver, 46 points
5. Craig Strand, Vancouver 154 points
Complete results (10 races with one discard - 20 boats):
http://tinyurl.com/m4kwyg
FALL SAILING IS FINALLY HERE
Remember those base layers that stank so badly your wife made you strip down
before coming in the house after sailing? Remember those worn out and smelly
socks you threw out at the end of last season? There's no doubt that Fall
sailing is some of the best. But, to enjoy it you'd better be prepared and that
means one thing, donning more gear. Need replacements? APS, "The World Leader in
Outfitting Performance Sailors" has all the latest in layers from top companies
like Slam, Musto, Gill, Henri Lloyd and more. For instance, the new Nano Puff
from Patagonia: http://www.apsltd.com/c-4959-hot-new-items.aspx
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
Please submit 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 Tom Webster
As the world has now read the protocol of the February match for the America's
Cup and Russell Coutt's open letter to ISAF asking for appropriate changes, one
must ask, "How did an International Federation become a part of an agreement in
which one side of an international competition was granted control of the rules
and judges in such an advantageous manner?" People and sports federations
obviously make mistakes. The character and reputation of ISAF are on the line,
not so much in what they have done, but in how and the manner in which they
handle this going forward. ISAF must take control, show leadership and protect
the integrity of sailing's most prestigious event, the Americas cup. Any
hesitation to do so immediately will probably lead to irreparable damage to
ISAF's role as controlling body of the sport of sailing in the future. Taking
the correct actions at this time should be the only item on the agenda... no one
should care who is at fault. It is unimportant at this time!. What is important,
is that the leadership and council of ISAF step forward now and regain their
role as protector of the rules and integrity of our sport.
* From Hal Smith
It was a stirring account of the NYYC parade of RC and Swan 42's provided by
Darren Thurman (SButt 2934) as he was struck by the dignity and beauty of it
all. Such class is in contrast to the steady reports of the AC mud wrestling
contest. However, while Darren was glued to the pomp and circumstance of the
Newport environs, there was another regatta underway in Charleston, SC. Melges
24's had gathered for the annual Charleston Harbor Challenge (last year it was
the Nationals) and the customary RC crew held the attention of the competitors
from as far away as Canada. The races all started on time with good courses and
fair competition for 7 total races in 2 days. I could not help but react to
Darren's comment about the NYYC committee boat carrying the RC decked out in
their dress blues. Not knowing that we had fashion standards being set
elsewhere, we all donned parrot hats and played Jimmy Buffet music at the finish
of the last race and while establishing our last docking time. We had a lot of
fun. I hope the folks in Newport did also.
* From Alex Arnold
So much for the eight most stressful and responsible jobs as listed here. I find
it a bit strange, but not really surprising, that the kindergarten teacher is
not near the top of the list.
* From Ken Miller
I agree with Kimball Livingston (SButt 2934) that the NYYC has put an
interesting (twist?) on international amateur racing. I attended the post race
gala Sunday night and it was exciting to see "kids" from many nations hanging
out and having a great time instead of professional sailors heading for the
airport. All NYYC needs to do now is send a NOR to challenging nations with a
custom built boat in mind. It's time to take back the spirit, competition, and
public interest wasted by the current AC concerns.
* From Geri Conser
Thanks so much for having Kimball on the line for us all (SButt 2934). Thanks to
Kimball for the wit and Yachting information that can make us all laugh. Keep up
the witty side of sailing, opps, I mean yachting.
=
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS
Before I became the 'Butt editor, I worked in a muffler factory, but that was
too exhausting.
Special thanks to MyBoatsGear.com and Annapolis Performance Sailing.
Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
|
| |