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SCUTTLEBUTT 2768 - Tuesday, January 27, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Today's sponsors are North U, North Sails, and Pedrick Yacht Designs. MARK MILLS: AN IRC FRIENDLY DESIGNER Yacht designer Mark Mills was born in San Francisco, moved to Ireland when he was 11, and then lived 50/50 on the west coast and UK/Ireland. Now based full time in Ireland, Mills clearly has the hot hand when it comes to IRC designs, as demonstrated by his clients taking three of the top four spots in IRC 2 at Acura Key West 2009. Here he provides Scuttlebutt with an update: * Where did you get started in yacht design? MILLS: Although I grew up across the bay from St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco, I didn’t sail. Once we moved to Ireland my parents signed me up for a sailing course which I loved. It became clear that I enjoyed the design side, and while at Willamette University in Oregon, I applied to work summers with Tom Wylie in San Francisco. After University and then Naval Arch in the UK, I went back and worked a bit for Bob Perry in Seattle, and then started to try and get work as Mills Design in 1994/1995. * What was the boat that launched Mills Design? MILLS: Our first boat was ordered in 1995 and launched in 1996, a 31-foot racer cruiser boat named ‘Aztec’ that did spectacularly well in Ireland in 1996, and then in the UK in 1997. Then after a string of successful custom boats, we started to split our efforts to include production as well starting with the DK 46 in 2003. * What do you attribute the success of your designs in the IRC 2 class at Key West? MILLS: It was great to see such a cross section of our designs there, from the 2003 DK 46 design to the latest King 40's. They span a range from targeted IRC designs like the Mills 43 ‘Cool Breeze’ and the King 40s, to lighter less rating-focused designs like the 46 and the Mills 40 'Ngoni'. IRC does a pretty decent job of rating that range fairly when you look at the results. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/tt COMING SOON TO A TOWN NEAR YOU Cincinnati, Marion, Punta Gorda, Madison, Marina Del Rey, Oklahoma City, Beverly, and Chicago are next, with over 30 more to follow. US SAILING Racing Rules Seminars are now underway. Presented by North U, the seminars cover all the rules - new and old - and include a Racing Rules Workbook created by Dave Perry. US SAILING members save $40. 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 WHAT IS NEXT FOR JACK BAUER? (Jan. 26, 2009; Day 9) - The Volvo Ocean Race report is starting to seem like a season of “24” as we continue finding Jack Bauer having to fend off problem after problem. When we last checked in with our heroes, the lead three boats were safely across the Luzon Strait, held a huge lead over the fleet, short tacking up the eastern coast of Taiwan in winds under 10 knots. Now fast forward a day, and the boom-less PUMA has made big gains by sailing offshore into better breeze. Of course, nothing comes without a price, and the payment this time was skipper Ken Read’s finger, which got snared in the jury rigged mainsheet now needed to trim the sail. He will survive, though he no longer can count to ten while wearing his Pumas. While all the fleet is now safely across the Luzon Strait, things do not appear to be getting any easier. The Ericsson 4 team noted that it only took 40 minutes to go from code zero to a three-reefed mainsail and storm jib. They further reconfigured their sail plan when the tack padeye for the storm jib pulled out, taking some of the deck with it. Telefónica Blue skipper Bouwe Bekking considered the waves at the top of Taiwan even more confused than when crossing the Luzon Strait, and it was in this confusion when T-Blue had a collision with an object that took a chunk out of their bow. The crash bow is now gone, so the next collision is for all the marbles. As for the rest of our cast, Delta Lloyd seems to be managing (all relative at this point), with Green Dragon limping along with structural damage in the bow, and Telefonica Black safely tied up at the Subic Bay Yacht Club in the Philippines with their shore team in attendance to assess the hull damage and determine their next move. Come back tomorrow… same bat channel. Leg Four from Singapore to Qingdao, China is 2,500 nm, with the finish estimated on January 29th. Current positions (as of Jan. 27, 1:00am GMT): 1. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 557 nm Distance to Finish 2. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 62 nm Distance to Leader 3. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 86 nm DTL 4. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 97 nm DTL 5. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 212 nm DTL 6. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 259 nm DTL 7. Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, Did Not Finish 8. Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, Did Not Start Race website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com * GORY DETAILS: If you need to know the gory details of what happened to Ken Read’s finger (blood and guts warning), read on: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2009/January/EMAIL-PUMA-L4-D9 SUBPLOTS RULE THE DAY (Jan. 26, 2009; Day 78) - Age is just another number to mathematician turned Vendée Globe racer Rich Wilson but the race’s oldest skipper rounded Cape Horn today around 1330hrs GMT. Wilson remarked, “The boat is holding up well, this is the fourth time around the world, it is remarkable that the boat is holding up with this sailor just rattling around inside, trying to make it also.” Michel Desjoyeaux is now steering NE, slanted almost directly for the finish. The leader of this epic race for 41 days recounted today the damage to his port rudder which occurred on Christmas Day afternoon in big seas which, had he not dealt with it swiftly, could have jeopardized his lead, if not his race. The duel between Sam Davies and Marc Guillemot for fourth place rages on, swinging back in favour of the British skipper who has been enjoying the better tradewinds offshore. Guillemot was not helped when he sustained damage to his starboard running backstay. -- Complete report: http://linkbee.com/CI7Q Solo, non-stop, around the world race in Open 60s. Standings as of 18:30 UTC (30 entrants; 12 now competing): 1. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA), Foncia, 1785.4 nm Distance to finish 2. Roland Jourdain (FRA), Veolia Environnement, 527.4 nm Distance to leader 3. Armel Le Cléac´h (FRA), Brit Air, 1027.6 nm DTL 3. Vincent Riou (FRA), PRB, Dismasted - Redress Given 4. Marc Guillemot (FRA), Safran, 2123.5 nm DTL 5. Samantha Davies (GBR), Roxy, 2126.1 nm DTL Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en Complete standings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html Race tracking: http://tracking.vendeeglobe.org/en * DAMAGE ROLL CALL: The route of the Vendee Globe 2008/9 has taken its toll on 18 of the 30 original entries that started on November 9, 2008 at Les Sables d’Olonne, France. Aside from Vincent Rou’s dismasting due to damage incurred during his rescue of Jean Le Cam, there have been five other broken rigs. Problems with rudders are next on the list (4), and through all the failures, two boats have been abandoned. Here is what happened to the 18 skippers no longer in the race: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/vg-damage IDEAL CONDITIONS WELCOMES NEW OLYMPIC CYCLE Miami, FL (Jan. 26, 2009) - The skyline of Miami sparkled in the background as US SAILING’s Rolex Miami OCR kicked off today in perfect 8-12 knot breezes. The venue of Biscayne Bay is “one of the finest for sailing in North America,” said US SAILING’s Olympic Sailing Committee Chairman Dean Brenner. The distinction is apropos, especially considering that this regatta is the second and only U.S. stop for the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) World Cup, which moves to seven different countries for as many of its “circuit” events. The Rolex Miami OCR’s solid 20-year track record also has figured in to attracting this year’s fleet of 444 sailors from 41 countries who consider this their first milestone competition in a four-year cycle, one that culminates in July 2012 with the Olympic Games and August 2012 with the Paralympic Games. “Not only does the Bay provide good breezes and protected water but also there’s enough space for running six racing circles and 13 events simultaneously,” added Brenner. The 10 Olympic classes competing at US SAILING’s 2009 Rolex Miami OCR are: Laser Radial, Laser, Finn, Men’s RS:X, Women’s RS:X, 49er, Men’s 470, Women’s 470, Star, and the SB3 Laser (replacing the Elliott 6m only at this regatta, for the new women’s match racing discipline). The three Paralympic classes are: 2.4mR, SKUD-18 and Sonar. -- Daily report and results: http://linkbee.com/CI7V PROOF IS IN THE RESULTS If you plan to buy sails this year, take a moment to review results from Acura Key West Race Week 2009. The top three boats in IRC-1, IRC-2, Farr 40, Melges 32 and the winning boats in PHRF-4, PHRF-2, PHRF-1 and Melges 24 raced with North sails. Every single sail flown in the Farr 40 class (except one spinnaker) was North. And for Daniel Woolery, his win in the IRC-2 class was especially sweet since he just took delivery of "Soozal" - outfitted with 100% North sails - in December. When performance and results matter, the choice is clear: http://www.northsails.com A VIDEO GAME OR A BOAT RACE? One of the interesting aspects of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series will be the step up in the use of Virtual Eye, as organizers are looking to cut the costs of producing a live outside sports broadcast. The idea is to generate the bulk of the coverage from animation, overlay a commentary, and use a single land based camera with a very powerful lens. That means for a two and a half week regatta, covered live for its duration, there will not be a single on the water camera. For the rest of the sailing world, the Auckland experiment should be watched closely as it will allow a far greater coverage of the sport via the internet. Potentially it also has the ability to resolve a few race management issues as well. Regarding the development of sailing graphics and animation over the past 18 years, see this story on Sail-World.com: http://linkbee.com/CI7R * Auckland, NZ (Jan. 26, 2009) - Access Liberty dinghy designer, Chris Mitchell’s fantasy has come true. Sailors of all ages, ability and experience put his design to the test tonight at the Access Liberty – LVPS Challenge. Sailors competing in The Glenn Family Foundation Kiwi Cup, which is the combined IFDS (International Federation for Disabled Sailing) Single Person Dinghy World Championship and the Access Liberty World Championship, went head to head against LVPS sailors in the universal design dinghies. -- Lynn Fitzpatrick, read on: http://www.worldregattas.com/ViewInfo.php?ContentID=178 * Louis Vuitton Pacific Series site: http://www.louisvuitton-pacificseries.com CLASS SPONSORED COACHING AT REGATTAS by Justin Scott, Viper class president The Etchells class and the Star class have recently introduced rules that prohibit coach boats. The Viper class has taken a different route for the last two years. We agree with those that point out that coaching on the day of racing, between races, is a much more effective way of helping a sailor lift his or her game than clinics or training days. We also agree that an expensive coaching program is a hell of an advantage for a boat that can afford the dough and doesn't accord with the Viper philosophy of providing economically affordable racing. We love what coaching can do for sailors trying to improve their skills. But we want a level playing field. In the Viper class we try and get the best of both worlds. Individual coach boats are not present. However we recently introduced Class coach boats at some of our regattas supported by the Class Association and Rondar (class builder). These are a couple of RIBs flying large Viper flags and staffed by some top world class sailors and coaches. They follow the fleet taking pics and notes for all competitors. Between races they station themselves near the pin and any boat can sail past and get tips and pointers. They proactively seek out the bottom third of the fleet and help them address any boat speed issues and comment on strategy and which side of the course is working and why. -- Read on: http://linkbee.com/CI7S SAILING SHORTS * The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) is reviewing the news and event reporting sections of their website and is seeking proposals from interested parties to fulfill this request. -- Full details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6943 * Suspending a 23 metre-long America's Cup-winning yacht inside a building is no mean feat. But that's exactly what's going to happen at the New Zealand National Maritime Museum on the Auckland waterfront this year. The NZ32 Black Magic yacht will be installed into the building as part of a new $9 million memorial, titled Blue Water Black Magic, A Tribute to Sir Peter Blake. It will be the centre-piece of the new exhibition, and will be surrounded by an interactive display over three levels. Sir Peter, one of New Zealand's greatest yachtsmen, was shot and killed by robbers in the Amazon in 2001. -- Full story: http://linkbee.com/CI7T * The BMW Oracle Racing team is poised to move its main boat building operations from Anacortes, Washington to Warkworth, New Zealand. Tim Smyth, who heads up Oracle's construction team alongside fellow New Zealander Mark Turner, said the company had been considering moving operations to this country since the pair joined Oracle in 2000. The company bought the 5300sq m old Rodney Times printing press building in early 2008 and spent the last year refurbishing the office space. -- Complete story: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4827468a13.html PEDRICK YACHT DESIGNS SEEKS A SENIOR NAVAL ARCHITECT Pedrick Yacht Designs, located in Newport, RI, is a progressive sailing yacht design firm whose broad expertise emphasizes high-technology racing and high-performance cruising, as well as refit and restoration services. It has an opening for a degreed naval architect with a substantial design office resume, practical sailing experience and knowledge of yacht construction. Alternative sailing yacht design education in a residential program will be considered if combined with superior skills and experience. Candidates must suit the design culture of the firm, demonstrate proficiency in CAD design tools and engineering skills, and have resident working status in the U.S. to be considered. Qualified candidates may send resumes to: mailto:info@PedrickYacht.com HOW ACTIVE WILL YOU BE IN 2009? The latest Scuttlebutt Survey asked how the current economic climate would affect sailing schedules in 2009 compared to 2008. The results indicated that over a fourth of the respondents would be participating in fewer events this year than last, and that overall event participation would tend to focus on more local events than in traveling to other regions to compete. As always, the comments were interesting and revealing, with a few provided here: * “I can see large events that take a lot of time and high expenses suffering from the economy, but local races that only have a nominal fee to enter should still see good participation.” * “Now I lost my job I have much more time to go sailing.” * “Sailing is my passion and therapy. Once that engine goes off and I hear the shusssh of water on the hull, everything else falls away except the race and the team. This escape/therapy is more important now as we small business owners have to become more competitive and face more stresses and threats to our livelihoods. I’d rather spend my now-less disposable income on the water than on anything else. It keeps me sane, energizes me for work, and the competitive tactics on the boat help me work out competitive issues in business.” Poll results and comments: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/09/0123/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Lori Rosset, Press Officer Garmin (Europe) Ltd: (re, Garmin upgrade problem in Scuttlebutt 2766) I thought you might like to know that there is a resolution to the spot depth detail level. Garmin has released a free software upgrade for the Garmin unit which will solve the query. If you connect your GPSMAP to your PC/MAC and load Web Updater from the Garmin website, this will bring your software up to date. We generally recommend our customers to search for software updates as often as they are able, as this often helps with loading new charts etc. -- Full details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6944 * From the Forum: have a 15 year old NAVICO 5500 tiller pilot that still works for 10 minutes at a time then wanders. The factory no longer supports this unit. Anyone know who can fix them? -- Reply here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6928 * From Peter Jones: (re, Coaching during regattas) I have always thought that racing against someone with an active coach made me think I was racing against the coach which is not appropriate but even worse when you don't know who the coach is. In the past I saw that even when racers where limited to things like age, sex, or to a racing area their coach may not be limited. During high school I was a successful national wrestler because I had a great coach. The coach never instructed us during a match because if he did we would depend on him and of course that would be inappropriate but also not as timely as our own decisions. So the most important thing is to learn to make decisions yourself. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young. Special thanks to North U, North Sails, and Pedrick Yacht Designs. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
