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SCUTTLEBUTT #490 - January 26, 2000LOUIS VUITTON CUP FINALSIt's said that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Based solely on first impressions, Italy's Prada Challenge is sitting pretty to be the 30th challenger for the America's Cup. Despite earning a penalty in the pre-start, Francesco de Angelis and Torben Grael guided Luna Rossa to an impressive win over Paul Cayard, John Kostecki and AmericaOne. The Italians simply sailed away from AmericaOne on the first beat, opened a large enough advantage on the second beat to perform the 270-degree penalty turn before rounding the windward mark, and then fended off a late charge to claim a 24-second victory. Prada now leads the best of nine series 1-0, and stands four points away from advancing to the 30th America's Cup Match. In a good day for match racing, Prada demonstrated fantastic boat speed and confident tactics. In winds averaging around 11 knots, Prada's Grael passed on numerous opportunities to cover AmericaOne, instead opting to sail for better wind pressure and slight oscillations. But when he decided to cover, Luna Rossa tended to sail away from AmericaOne. AmericaOne showed resiliency by fighting back on the final run, at one point closing to within a half-length. But the Italians wouldn't allow the Americans any passing opportunities today, and held on for the victory. Prada has to come away from this victory feeling good about its team. It overcame a penalty and fended off a big comeback by AmericaOne. What's more, they showed outstanding boat speed, constantly posting a higher velocity made good. The first impression of the Louis Vuitton Cup finals is that AmericaOne has a fight on its hands if it is to advance to the America's Cup Match. -- Quokka Sports America's Cup website Full story: http://www.americascup.org/ TONIGHT'S TV SCHEDULE: Wednesday 1/26/00 10:30 PM (EST) ESPN2 (Race 3) SOARING WHALES AND PLAYFUL DOLPHINS? Enjoy the breathtaking works of art from Internationally renowned artist Jim DeWitt. You saw his work on John Kolius's America's Cup contender. Now enjoy it in your home or give it to a friend as a gift. Originals, limited edition prints, giclee prints, posters, apparel and other great gifts are available at http://www.jimdewitt.com. If you are in the 'hood, drop by the new DeWitt Art Gallery at 147 West Richmond Avenue #F, Point Richmond, CA . Or contact us at 800-758-4291 or dewitt@jimdewitt.com if you have ideas for custom paintings or portraits THE RACE Vannes, January 25th 2000 : The catamaran Club Med, under construction since last April at Multiplast in Vannes has just reached an important stage in the construction. Both hulls of the 33.50 metre catamaran have now been finished, raised up and placed in parallel, on each side of the building shop, giving a precise idea of geometry of the boat that will be on the starting line of The Race on December 31st 2000 in Barcelona. Gilles Ollier, the boat's architect stated that the construction of the catamaran was going to plan and that launching was scheduled for this coming April. The two hulls need only the crossbeams and their fairings to assemble them together. Club Med, whose first designated co-skipper is New Zealander Grant Dalton, will be sailing with a crew of 14 people around the world. Her weight should not exceed 20 tonnes displacement and her construction will require 52 000 man hours. 50 people are currently working in Vannes on the construction of this giant of the seas whose mast will top out at 42 metres tall, deploying 800 m2 of sail downwind. The cosmopolitan crew is being recruited in the four corners of the world and should represent 6 to 8 different nations. The crew will be presented next March, at the same time as the general design of the boat will be revealed, in the colours of Club Med. Event website: http://www.therace.org/english/actualite/index.htm LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Steve Morton -- It has been interesting to read everyone's thoughts on the status of the AC. What the event really needs in March 2000 is a new Defender. No offense to the Kiwis because they have done an amazing job and are as close as you can get to a pure sailing franchise, BUT the event could benefit greatly from more frequent change in venues. The Italians would stage an unbelievable event if Prada wins and European entries would emerge from every country. Similarly, I can't think of a more natural and challenging arena than SF Bay. One way or another, the America's Cup needs more frequent racing and an almost constant change in Defenders to capture more attention from around the globe. I'm crossing my fingers that the (arguably) strongest team in New Zealand loses the Cup (in a close match) and we can focus on Europe or San Francisco for 2003 just to make it even better than 2000. -- From Chip Donnelly -- I wanted to point out that W.D. Schock Corp. has graciously invited all Thistles to participate in the March 4,5 W.D. Schock Memorial Regatta -- not just those built by Schock. This weekend, Jan. 28-30, Thistle Midwinters West will be held at the MBYC (Mission Bay, CA), for which over 50 boats have pre-registered. -- From John McBrearty -- I read with interest Chris Ericksen's comments regarding ABYC's 3-minute drills at their regattas. My crew has repeatedly pointed out to me the only flaw in that system, there is no time to stuff your face with a sandwich washed down, of course, with a beverage. Maybe that's why the ABYC sailors seem to be so much skinnier than the rest of the sailors sailing off Long Beach. -- From Marc Skipwith -- Would it be possible to have Chris Ericksen go on a World Tour speaking about Race Management? Efficiency? 3 Minute intervals? Eight to ten races a weekend? Please come see us in Marina del Rey. ONION PATCH The NOR for Onion Patch Series Races 1 and 2 in Newport and Races 4 and 5 in Bermuda is now available from the New York Yacht Club's Sailing Office at (401) 845-9633 or on the Bermuda Race and NYYC Web Sites http://www.bermudarace.com, http://www.nyyc.org Race 3 of the series in the Newport Bermuda Race. Separate entry is required for that race. The 2000 Onion Patch Series has been designated as the IMS North American Championship. The Onion Patch Series is an international event sailed in even years in conjunction with the Newport Bermuda Race. All boats qualified for and entered in the IMS Racing and IMS Cruiser/Racer Divisions of the Newport Bermuda Race are invited to compete in the Onion Patch Series. In 2000, racing starts June 10th in Newport and concludes June 23rd in Bermuda. Three yacht Onion Patch teams will race for the Onion Patch Trophy in addition to individual honors. -- Talbot Wilson For more information: TalbotWilson@compuserve.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE (Following quotes are from the press conference after the first race of the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals. There are more, and they're all on the Louis Vuitton Cup website, http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/) * Paul Cayard, skipper of AmericaOne, on start tactics: "We wanted the right and sometimes we think that starting on port is not that bad. The way the thing shaped up it looked like a good option, but obviously hindsight is 20/20. It looked like they had a little more pressure over there a couple of hundred metres up on our hip. Along the long port tack they were able to make some gains on us and have a one boat-length lead when we came back." * Francesco de Angelis, skipper of Luna Rossa, on winning today: "As you know we had that penalty at the start. That was a mistake from my side. We had to do something different sometime and that was one part, and the other part is the fact that the wind was very shifty so a lot of times you have to sail your own race." * Morgan Larson, AmericaOne weather watcher, on when it helps to be up the mast: "We discussed that today on the way in and today was probably a time when I shouldn't have been up the mast. At probably 12 to 13 knots of wind, somewhere in there, I become too much windage and affect our righting moment and slow the boat down. You have to try to decide whether being up there and seeing some better wind is going to make the difference, or is it going to slow us down by being up there." * Francesco de Angelis, on the importance of winning the first race: "It's just the first race so it's good to start this way. But it's just the first one and we know that all the races will be tough until the end so we just think about tomorrow." * Paul Cayard, on the importance of winning the first race: "I've been behind before, and I certainly expected to lose some races in this round. It happened that we took the first loss. I think it's an interesting challenge because we get to show ourselves, most importantly, if we can come back tomorrow and reverse the cards." * Paul Cayard, on boat performance comparisons: "There were times when the boats were pretty close. My take on it was pretty much the same as we have been saying for the last few weeks. I don't think there was that much in it, upwind or downwind. The boats were similar. It could be that there are some slight differences but I think the shifts were bigger than the differences in speed." * Francesco de Angelis, on boat performance comparisons: "I agree. Today, with these wind conditions we didn't notice anything different in the two boats. I don't know how the weather will be in the next few days, but maybe with a few changes we could see something not seen so far, but today, no big deals." ONE SIZE FITS ALL It's really not important if you like your America's Cup news in bite-sized capsules, or as a more thoughtful and detailed analysis -- the Quokka AC website has it all. Plus photos, audio and video reports. Plus team profiles, commentary and the racing schedule. Plus detailed results and standings. And the people who write the words and shoot the images are the best. And it's updated so frequently, that you always have the very latest scoop. If you're looking for more America's Cup insight, here's the hot link: http://www.americascup.org/ STILL TESTING Auckland, New Zealand -- After radical surgery, Le Defi hit the water again today sporting a brand new bow section. The new addition stands out, the bow section a dull-white in contrast to rest of the bright orange hull. The changed forward section is in quest of better performance in choppy sea conditions. The new bow is more 'V' shaped - its designers feel it will perform better cutting through the waves. Throughout the Semi-Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup, the French shore team built a new bow in a shed on the defunct Spanish Base. Le Defi planned to make the change if the team qualified for the Finals. But when the French were eliminated, the team decided to carry on with the change in hope of finishing its 1999-2000 campaign with the fastest possible boat. If there is another French Challenge, it will have a headstart with a quick boat to test against. On Tuesday, the boat was re-launched, but the heavy weather wasn't conducive to testing. However, when the skies cleared on Wednesday, Le Defi hit the water (ironically on the same day the Louis Vuitton Cup Finalists started racing). While Le Defi didn't have an opponent to test against, the crew returned happy with the new shape and excited about the future. Le Defi is expected to sail more this week to test the bow in different wind and wave conditions. -- Peter Rusch, Louis Vuitton Cup website, http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/ EXTREME SAILING Following her Newport / Bermuda record on Jan. 14, PlayStation will not carry on across the Atlantic as originally planned. Steve Fossett's 105-ft catamaran should return soon - probably around Friday, Jan. 28 - to the United States. She will be based in Charleston (South Carolina) to continue testing and development until Spring. -- http://www.fossettchallenge.com/ ROLEX COMMODORES CUP Over the past 12 months, the Committee has developed on a series of changes to the Rolex Commodores Cup format to ensure we offer highly competitive and fair racing to an international fleet, without unnecessarily burdening the crews with onerous rules inspections said Peter Rutter, newly elected Commodore of RORC and Chair of the RCC 2000 Committee. In keeping with the Corinthian spirit evoked by the Rolex Commodores Cup (RCC), participants will be encouraged to self-police compliance with the rules through open declaration of sail inventories, spot checks rather than complex pre-event inspection and advance notification by the organisers of potential penalties for breaches. of regulations The key objective says Mike Urwin (RORC Rating Office), is to encourage greater involvement within the entire crew of each boat. Making sure craft are equipped to sail inshore and offshore, and comply with the rules and regulations of the competition is, ultimately, about the promotion of fairness and safety. Requests for information and Notices of Race have been received from interested parties in Channel Islands, Australia, Spain, and Germany. Presentations are being made to individuals in Belgium, Italy and Finland over the next two months with a view to securing participation. The signs are very encouraging, says Janet Grosvenor, Racing Manager at RORC, The Notice of Race has yet to be published and we already have the real possibility of 10 or more teams. With the Spi Ouest Challenge between three boat teams from France and Britain taking place this Spring we even have the exciting prospect of a French team taking part at the RCC for the first time since 1992. To ensure maximum attendance, we are keeping the net as wide as possible by accepting regional teams such as Scandinavia and Europe . Even the introduction of IRM as the handicapping rule seems to have received wide endorsement. At a packed IRM Briefing held at the London Boatshow on 13th January there was some excellent and practical information for potential participants on offer. IRM will not prove an expensive deterrent. The existing racing fleet is well suited to the rule and modern one-design boats such as the Farr 40, Sydney 40, Corel 45 and Mumm 30 will compete favourably without any alterations. There are new boats designed to IRM in build and provided early season form shows them to be competitive, a number will undoubtedly be in the running for selection within the various national teams. Also of importance to participants, title sponsors, Rolex, are also pleased to announce that once again the event will be televised with international distribution to some 117 countries worldwide. A half hour video tape will also be available to all competing teams. racing will be spread over a compact 8 day period 50% or over of crew must be RYA Classification Code Group 1. No restriction thereafter on Group 2 or 3. Group 1 competitor must steer during all inshore races and for up to one hour after the start of the offshore race. For Notice of Race and Entry Details: rorc@saintjames.demon.co.uk THE CURMUDGEON'S DEFINITION Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a refund from the IRS, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. |
