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SCUTTLEBUTT 3764 - Tuesday, January 29, 2013Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: North U, Doyle Sailmakers, and Marion Bermuda Race. NEW BEGINNINGS Miami, FL (January 28, 2013) - The 311 sailors representing 37 countries were greeted with spectacular, yet challenging conditions for the first of six days of racing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami. Sailors from five racecourses on Biscayne Bay welcomed sunny skies with temperatures in the mid-70s and moderate to strong winds. All ten Olympic classes and two of the three Paralympic classes will compete this week. Making their second appearance on the ISAF World Cup series is the 49er FX women's skiff event. Olympians Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich of Italy teamed up in the 49er FX and were rejuvenated to be on the racecourse today with a new challenge. Conti is making the switch from the 470 and Clapcich is transitioning from the Laser Radial. "We've been training on Lake Garda in this type of wind and probably stronger," said Conti. They finished first, fifth and second in today's three races. They have a narrow lead over Brazilians Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze in the eight boat fleet. "After two Olympic campaigns in the 470 we wanted to try something else," explained Conti. "Francesca and I feel reborn in this class. "We couldn't get off to a good start in the second race, but we maneuvered well around the course today in general." Swedish 470 Olympian Sebastian Ostling, who is now making a shift to the 49er men's skiff, has teamed with Kalle Torlen this week and the duo are in first place through three races. They posted first, third and second results to take a slight lead over Canadians John Ladha and Daniel Inkpen. Americans Fred Strammer and Zach Brown are surging into the 49er scene as well. They sailed well on Monday and are in third place. The 49er FX and 49er fleets sailed in 9 to 12 knots for most of the day. The Nacra 17, a mixed multihull event, made their official ISAF Sailing World Cup debut this afternoon with seven competitive teams looking to make their mark on the new Olympic class. Two American teams comprised of Sarah Newberry and John Casey are tied atop the leaderboard with Sarah Streater and Matthew Whitehead. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/ISAF-012813 Results: http://mocrresults.ussailing.org/2013/24/24.html Canada team report: http://tinyurl.com/CAN-012813 USA team report: http://tinyurl.com/USA-012813 SUPERVISION: There are 75 coaches registered for the 240 boats competing at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami. That's one coach for every 3.2 boats. -- http://mocr.ussailing.org/index.php/registration/view BACKGROUND: The six-day ISAF Sailing World Cup Miami (Jan 28-Feb 2) is the second event on the 2012-13 ISAF Sailing World Cup season. The season began in Melbourne, Australia (Dec 2-8) and will move next to Palma Spain (Mar 30-Apr 6). The ISAF Sailing World Cup is open to the sailing classes (equipment) chosen for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. -- http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/home.php PERRY, ISLER, DELLENBAUGH Dave Perry, Peter Isler and David Dellenbaugh are featured instructors on the 2013 Seminar and Webinar Tour. US Sailing Racing Rules & Tactics Seminars are underway, and Rules Webinars and Expedition Webinars are coming up soon. Presented by North U, the seminars and webinars will improve your racing. Check the schedule and sign up by visiting NorthU.com or by calling North U at 800-347-2457 or 203-245-0727. http://www.northu.com FEELING GOOD RIGHT NOW When two-time Olympic medalist Charlie McKee (Coronado, CA) was appointed High Performance Director of the U.S. Olympic Sailing Program, it was a significant hire that followed the team's medal-less performance at the 2012 Games. Last week Scuttlebutt publisher Craig Leweck rode with Charlie on the water as he interacted with the athletes. Beyond Charlie's personal knowledge having sailed in the classes, his enthusiasm and attentive eye translated into effective communication and learning. He is a motivator, but we suspect he could make this quad fun too. Here are his goals for this week in Miami: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Primary among our goals right now is to understand the sailors, what it is that they want to achieve, and start off on a track where we can do that together. We need to determine what the team can do to be most helpful for them. Also, we are seeking to foster a cooperative effort within each class as much as possible and recognize that different classes have different needs and that there is no one right way to do things. We strongly believe is that it is no one thing that you need to do to succeed; it's fifty tiny things to get a little better. While we are called the US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider, this remains an individual sport. Everyone's campaign is going to be different depending on where they are in life, whether they are in school, etc. We need to identify each person's specific goals and needs and embrace the individuality within each campaign. This puts people in a positive state of mind knowing that there is a systematic approach to insure they can take steps toward improvement. There is a lot positive energy right now. There has been a lot of good work done from the previous quad, and I am seeing a lot of enthusiasm and confidence that we are on the right track for this next quad. I am sure we are going to make some mistakes, and there are a lot of long term ideas and complicated questions where there is no one solution or easy answers. But where we are and what we are doing right now feels good. QUOTE / UNQUOTE "I think the mixed experience helped me be selected. Sailing dinghies teaches you fundamental points in sailing and also tactics. Skiff sailing was a fresh breath for me as it's a lot more about boat speed and going fast so that kept me interested. The bigger boats, particularly the Melges 24s and then J/125s, taught me about the importance of teamwork." - Tommy Pastalka, 22, of Belvedere, CA, member of the American Youth Sailing Force team which will compete in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup on September 1-4. -- http://tinyurl.com/MIJ-012813 TOTALLY WORTH IT Ohio University student Abby Freeman took off from school last week and headed for South Florida and Quantum Key West Race Week. Abby teamed up with Melges 24 US National Champion Bora Gulari and crew Jeremy Wilmot, George Peet, and Mike Rehe to claim third overall. Here she reports: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sitting on my plane heading back to school, I find myself making extensive to do lists and mentally preparing myself for the inevitable all-nighter I will need to catch up on the course work I missed. At this point, any sane person would start questioning whether taking a week off school was all worth it. Before I started to get too negative about this particular life decision, I decided to think back on all the experiences, big and small, that made Key West Race Week 2013 worth it: - The best sailing conditions we could've possibly asked for. - Sailing on a M24, which always provides for some heart-pounding fun. - Being around the top names of the sport. - Our friends on Full Throttle being named Boat of the Week. - The "Top Gun" theme song being played at the awards ceremony. - Feeding the Tarpon right off the dock. - Hopefully getting a new Facebook profile picture. - Attempting the Lewmar Grinding Pedestal's co-ed division and only getting spun off once. - Making new friends and seeing old ones. - Getting the best tan I could manage. - Not being frozen up north. - Racing some of the most intense and tight races I have in a while. - Hearing the national anthem every morning at 8 a.m. - Learning more each and every time I got on the boat. Those are just a few of the many experiences that helped make Key West Race Week worth it for me. My team has a habit of asking, "Are you living this right now?" as if to bring every situation back to its very essence. Now that I am on my way back to Ohio, I can finally appreciate that little reminder to slow down and take it all in. I can say with confidence that I lived this year's Key West Race Week. -- Sailing World, http://tinyurl.com/SW-012813 SHOCKWAVES IN KEY WEST Doyle Sailmakers' cutting edge CFD/FEA engineering and sailmaking combined with years of experience working with yacht and rig designers plus a great crew, powered Shockwave, a five year old mini maxi to defeat reigning World Champion, Bella Mente, at Key West Race Week. Grand prix racing success requires a full package of support. Let the engineers and sailmakers at Doyle give your race program the power you need to win. http://www.doylesails.com, 800-94-DOYLE, http://www.doylecfd.com RE-LIVE IT Whoever thought of mixing great weather, great race management, and a great party town with a "what happens here, stays here" vibe should have a drink named after them. Pure brilliance! Once again Quantum Key West Race Week checked off all the boxes last week. Heck, it was so good that photographers even splurged on a helicopter rental. Thanks to shooters Sharon Green, Ingrid Abery, Leighton O'Connor, PhotoBoat.com, and Steve Lapkin for providing this epic gallery: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/13/kw/ Additional photos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt THOMSON'S RACE IS FAR FROM OVER (January 28, 2013; Day 80) - While Francois Gabart (MACIF) and Armel Le Cleac'h (Banque Populaire) bath in the glow of world media attention following their finish on Sunday just three hour apart, the race for Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) is far from over as he faces conditions ranging from 35 knots of wind gusting up to 45 knots. "I just want to finish the race as safely as possible," admitted Thomson. "My foot is off the pedal. I am taking it easy. I don't really care when I finish as long as I finish. 45 knots of wind in a IMOCA Open 60 is not enjoyable at all." The last days of Thomson's race don't look like they are going to be easy. He will face heavy weather in the busy shipping lanes of the Bay of Biscay. It's the equivalent of leaving the open road and sailing blind and fast into a three-dimensional congested super highway. "At the beginning the Organisation were talking about 77 days and I thought that was ridiculous. How wrong I was. To finish in third place would be absolutely awesome, especially in the (older generation) boat that I have got and that is what I aiming for. It's highly unlikely that I'll finish after 83 days but if I do it means I have a serious problem. I just want to get the boat to the finish. I am going to nurse her to the finish and look forward to my cheeseburger at the end." Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3) sails at the latitude of Lisbon continuing his journey without a keel to the Portuguese coast. He will make a decision within about 2 days, whether it is safe for him to continue to Les Sables d'Olonne. He admitted that 40 knots of wind in the Bay of Biscay would not be safe for him. Pragmatically, he surmised that although completing the course was important for both him and the team it was not worth risking his life. Tracking: http://tracking2012.vendeeglobe.org/en/ Top 5 of 20 - Rankings as of Monday, January 28, 2013, 20h00 (FR) 1. Francois Gabart (FRA), Macif: Jan 27, 14:18:40UTC, 78:02:16:40 2. Armel Le Cleac'h(FRA),Banque Populaire: Jan 27, 17:35:52UTC, 78:05:33:52 3. Alex Thomson (GBR), Hugo Boss: 599.5 nm Distance to Finish 4. Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA), Virbac Paprec 3: 821.6 nm DTF 5. Jean Le Cam (FRA), SynerCiel: 2212.8 nm DTF Full rankings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html BACKGROUND: Twenty skippers began the 24,000-nm Vendee Globe, a solo, non-stop around the world race in the IMOCA Open 60 class. Starting in Les Sables d'Olonne, France on November 10, the west to east course passes the three major capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn before returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) set the course record of 84 days in the 2008-9 edition. -- http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ THE NEW RULES CLARIFY "SHUTTING THE DOOR" The new edition of The Racing Rules of Sailing went into effect on January 1, 2013. These rules are locked in through 2016, the year of the next Summer Olympic Games. Rules authority Dave Perry helps explain some of the significant changes. Dave is chairman of the US Sailing Appeals Committee, Rules Advisor to the US Olympic Sailing Team and Artemis Racing, the Challenger for the America's Cup, co-author of the North U Rules & Tactics seminar, and author of two books on the subject. Here Dave discusses the new 'Trash' rule: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Consider two boats approaching a leeward mark with A clear ahead of B at the zone. B must give A "mark-room." If A swings extra wide and B tries to sneak in between A and the mark, the question is: How far and fast can A turn to "shut the door" on B? New rule 18.2(c)(2) answers this question. As long as A is still taking the mark-room to which she is entitled, if B sticks her bow inside of A, she must give A room to sail her (A's) proper course. And as long as A is sailing her "proper course," she will be exonerated (freed from blame) under rule 21, Exoneration, if she breaks one of the right-of-way rules in Part 2, Section A (port-starboard, windward-leeward, etc.), or rules 15 (Acquiring Right of Way) or 16 (Changing Course) in the process. However, if A sails *above* her "proper course," she will not be exonerated if she breaks one of the rules listed above. For instance, rounding a leeward mark onto a windward leg, a boat's proper course is typically to go from a downwind course up to close-hauled. A is allowed to luff up to close-hauled and if B cannot keep clear or is forced to hit the mark, then A has broken rule 16.1, but she will be exonerated under rule 21, and B will be penalized. But if A were to sail *above* close-hauled to shut the door, and B was unable to avoid hitting her or the mark, then A has broken rule 16.1, and will not be exonerated under rule 21. Note: this is not a game change from the 2009-2012 rules. Important in this discussion is to remember that rule 14 (Avoiding Contact) always applies to all boats whether entitled to room or not. And if a right-of-way boat or one entitled to room or mark-room fails to avoid contact, she will be penalized as well unless the contact does not cause damage or injury. Rule 18.2(c)(2), Giving Mark-Room (c) When a boat is required to give mark-room by rule 18.2(b), (2) if she becomes overlapped inside the boat entitled to mark-room, she shall also give that boat room to sail her proper course while they remain overlapped. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more on the rules, get Dave Perry's two books Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing through 2016 (which includes the complete rule book) and Dave Perry's 100 Best Racing Rules Quizzes available at US Sailing, 800 US SAIL-1, or http://www.ussailing.org; and attend a North U Rules & Tactics Seminar led by Dave and others (go to http://www.northu.com). SAFETY AT SEA SYMPOSIUM-BOSTON-PREP FOR BERMUDA/HALIFAX Register for the U.S. Sailing sanctioned Safety at Sea seminar, March 23-24, 2013 at U. Mass/Boston campus. Moderated once again by John Rousmaniere, a very experienced group of speakers will address a series of topics of vital interest to all serious offshore sailors and racers. Details & Registration: http://www.marionbermuda.com/sas/index.php SAILING SHORTS * Applications are due February 1 for the 2013 CISA Advanced Racing Clinic on April 13-16 in Long Beach, CA. This prominent youth training program will focus training for the Club FJ, Club 420, International 420, 29er, Laser, and Laser Radial. The confirmed coaches so far are Andrew Campbell, Leandro Spina, Harry Legum, Ryan Minth, Cy Thompson, Nigel Cochrane, Stu McNay, Dave Wright, and Alice Leonard. Evening speakers will include US Sailing Team High Performance Director Charlie McKee. -- Details: http://tinyurl.com/CISA-012813 * (January 28, 2013) - It was announced that Auckland, New Zealand will be a stopover port for the next two editions of the Volvo Ocean Race. Auckland is the fourth port announced for the 2014-15 edition so far, and will begin the leg across the Pacific Ocean to Itajai, Brazil. The other two ports are for the first leg of the race from Alicante, Spain to Recife, Brazil. The rest of the route for 2014-15 will be revealed over the coming weeks. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-012813 * Thirteen teams have confirmed they will compete in the opening Championship Tour event, the RC44 Oman Cup on January Jan 30-Feb 3 in Muscat, Oman. After dominating the fleet racing leaderboard throughout 2011-2012, Chris Bake's Team Aqua (GBR) with tactician Cameron Appleton (NZL) will once again start the season as the defending Tour Champions. There's no change to the afterguard on last year's Match Race Champions, Ed Baird will be back supporting Valentin Zavadnikov and his Synergy Russian Sailing Team. Newcomer Brian Benjamin's Aegir Racing (GBR) will be joined for the season's opener by class founder Russell Coutts. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/RC44-012813 GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Fritz Mueller: Happy that Francois Gabart won the Vendee Globe with such a huge victory. But I have to say that the Frenchmen have long mastered open ocean racing in an expert way, and for such a long time, that it is truly out of this world. They manage to organize, design, build, and have the personal fortitude that escapes the rest of the modern racing world in such venues...and it is not without drama. They push the limit, with huge sacrifice, without any doubt! Congratulations Francois! Against the meager percentage of us to challenge, and anyone else, the story continues to be almost insurmountable against them. FREE CLASSIFIED ADS The Scuttlebutt website provides a marketplace for private parties to buy and sell, or for businesses to post job openings...for free! As a bonus, each week the Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent ad postings. Have an ad? Post it in the Classified Ad section of the Forum. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "Enthusiasm releases the drive to carry you over obstacles and adds significance to all you do." - Norman Vincent Peale SPONSORS THIS WEEK UsedBoatEquipment.com - Farr 40 Class - North U - Doyle Sailmakers - College of Charleston - Team One Newport - North Sails - Marion Bermuda Race - Melges Performance Sailboats - Ullman Sails - Ribcraft - Block Island Race Week - Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
