|
SCUTTLEBUTT No. 574 - May 22, 2000AMERICA'S CUP(The following excerpts are from Herb McCormick's story in Sunday's New York Times.) In the flush of victory after Team New Zealand's thrashing of Italy's Prada Challenge in the finals of February's America's Cup competition, the triumphant Kiwi skipper, Russell Coutts, struck a resounding chord with his countrymen when he proclaimed that he hoped to be at the forefront of a sailing dynasty that would retain the cup for at least the next two decades. With the reins of administrative power for the team being handed over to Coutts and his lieutenants, the tactician Brad Butterworth and the navigator Tom Schnackenberg - and a solid corps of the world's best sailors on their flanks - no one accused Coutts of idle boasting. But now, Coutts's patriotic nautical vision seems emptier than a deflated balloon. On Friday in Auckland, in an unexpected bombshell that rocked their nation to its core, Coutts and Butterworth declared that they were resigning from Team New Zealand effective immediately. Yesterday's front-page headline in the country's largest newspaper, The New Zealand Herald, captured the mood of a stunned populace: We Feel Betrayed. For Team New Zealand supporters, the news soon went from bad to worse. On Friday, people in New Zealand and the United States with knowledge of the arrangement confirmed that Coutts and Butterworth had agreed to join forces with Ernesto Bertarelli, a Swiss pharmaceutical heir, in an unannounced campaign to return home in 2002-3 as the key components of an overseas cup challenge. Moreover, they will be joined by three of Team New Zealand's most talented veterans: the sail trimmers Simon Daubney and Warwick Fleury and the bowman Dean Phipps. Sailing under the banner of Team Magic, the five Kiwi sailors have been a powerful force on the international match-racing circuit, also winning the world championship in 1996. For weeks, speculation about Kiwi defections has swept through the sailing community. Several American billionaires, including Bill Gates, denied their reported involvement. Because of his stature with Team New Zealand, Coutts was widely believed to be untouchable. And Bertarelli's name came as a surprise to many. Perhaps it shouldn't have. The Italian-born, Swiss-bred Bertarelli, who is in his mid-30's, is the chief executive of Ares-Serono - a world leader in fertility drugs. He took over the position from his father. A graduate of Babson College in Boston, where he played squash, he later earned an M.B.A. at Harvard. Forbes magazine has listed the Bertarelli fortune at $4.2 billion. Bertarelli is a yachtsman who has campaigned several multihull racing boats and at one stage bankrolled an eight-boat fleet of 80-foot maxi yachts in an international series of regattas patterned after the Formula One car-racing circuit. With his recruitment of Coutts and his mates, Bertarelli instantly becomes a cup player. He may also be a trend setter. Cup insiders believe that at least two other members of Forbes's ranking of the world's 100 wealthiest people are close to committing to first-time cup challenges. If so, the veteran cup helmsmen Chris Dickson, a Kiwi, and the Australian Peter Gilmour, are next in line for major overseas paydays. Such maneuverings, says Marcus Hutchinson, a spokesman for the Louis Vuitton challenger's series, "shows how the America's Cup has become a sport, not unlike Formula One, where drivers move from team to team beyond national barriers." That may be true, but in the wake of the Team New Zealand breakup, it will be a tough sell to the average New Zealander. A person familiar with the team's inner workings, however, said that Coutts and Butterworth, as administrators, found themselves in an untenable financial situation. The final barrier may have been a deal arranged by the previous team trust, fronted by Sir Peter Blake, which gave the team's five major corporate sponsors the right of first refusal to come aboard for the next defense. The deal locked the sponsors in at the same monetary commitment as the 2000 campaign, for a budget of about $25 million. Many believe it will take a minimum of $50 million to be competitive next time. In effect, the arrangement presented Coutts with a conservative cap on salaries and technology research and development that may have been unrealistic in the face of his own expectations. A government grant of several million dollar to the Team New Zealand coffers late last week appeared to be too little, too late. - Herb McCormick Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/library/sports/outdoors/052100boat-new-zealand.html AS SEEN IN NEW ZEALAND After a weekend of bitter fallout, maybe it is not so surprising that Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth bailed out of running the next America's Cup. The telltale signs were there. Disputes with the old guard, long absences on the other side of the world, a kind of reticence as their crewmates back home grew more and more confused about their own futures. The overwhelming public reaction, mostly anger, may have been too harsh. Yachting is more profession than sport, where patriotism has been scrubbed from the sailor's vocabulary, and most go where the pile of money is highest. It's their living. But the guys' timing was off - Butterworth and Coutts could have left two months ago, the day after Team New Zealand won the Cup again. But now Butterworth says they could not walk away from their old team without a new deal being done - Team New Zealand would have fallen apart. No matter how or when they did it, the leaders would still be vilified for quitting a team which has become a national icon. There is a definite split within the big black shed now about whether what Coutts and Butterworth did was wrong. Some call them traitors, who asked the team to remain loyal then left. Others say it was for the best, that it would have been worse having an unhappy leadership. Maybe it all became too complicated. Coutts and Butterworth are true competitive sportsmen - on the water, on the golf course - they like being outdoors. Their decision to leave was apparently made on a golfing break on some foreign shores. Perhaps they did not want to be chained to a desk, coercing sponsors for more dollars, running a cut-throat business like the America's Cup. Or maybe they just wanted to sail again. And then there is the money. Breaking his vow of silence on radio yesterday, Butterworth maintained it was all about the business end of the deal. He and Coutts could not accept the obligations the old trust and the sponsors had placed on the new Team New Zealand. Increasingly the word is that the new regime wanted to start their defence with a clean slate. They did not want to inherit the debts of the past campaign, supposedly somewhere around $5 million. And it seems they wanted one major backer - rather than the Family of Five, who brought their own rules, like first right of refusal on additional sponsors. Now they have their one-man band - and a very rich man in multi-billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli. They will never have to worry about where the money for the next mainsail is coming from. They will not have to lease out NZL32, the glory boat of the 95 victory, to the highest bidder to add money to the coffers. They will not have to rely on red socks to buy a mast. And they can probably get in a few more rounds of golf. - Suzanne McFadden, NZ Herald Website: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ac2000/ AC NEWS FROM THE USA The New York Yacht Club and St. Francis Yacht Club have been exploring a possible joint challenge for America's Cup XXXI, in 2002-2003. A decision has been made by both parties not to pursue this alliance any further. It did not appear to be in the best interest of either club or, of the America's Cup. New York and St. Francis have long and valued ties, and their flag officers remain close. Each club wishes the other good luck and fair sailing in their America's Cup endeavors. - Michael Levitt STAR WORLDS - Report by Dave Gendell Annapolis MD - In a chilly spring mist this afternoon, Americans Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljedahl sailed to a 28th which was their worst finish of the Nautica 2000 Star Class World Championship but was more than enough to secure them the overall victory at the regatta. Discarding today's finish, Reynolds and Liljedahl sailed to a 1-3-22-3-1 for the week, and their 30 point total earned them the regatta's top honor by a comfortable 15 point margin. The 112 boat fleet was hosted by the Annapolis Yacht Club and included the winners of 12 Olympic Medals and nine previous Star World Championships. In second overall was 1994 World Champion Ross MacDonald who was sailing in Annapolis with crew Kai Bjorn. MacDonald and Bjorn's performance in Annapolis earned them the right to represent their native Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Bermudians Peter Bromby and Lee White secured themselves a spot in Sydney with a second place finish today which moved them into 16th overall. The third place spot in Race #6 was occupied by 1990 World Champions Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira. Adams and Nevel finished fourth. At regatta's end, eight nations had earned the right to sail in the Star Class at Sydney this September. All 17 Star class spots in Sydney have now been determined. Among the nations who qualified in Annapolis are Ireland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Bermuda, Norway, Greece, and Argentina. It is unclear at this time if all of these nations will send teams to Sydney. FINAL STANDINGS: 1. USA 7995 Reynolds/Liljedahl 1-3-22-3-1-[28] 30 points ; 2. CAN 7876 MacDonald/Bjorn 16-2-6-2-[113/DNF]-19 45 ; 3. IRL 7763 Mansfield/O'Brien 10-17-11-[30]-6-9 53 ; 4. USA 7425 Schofield/Schofield, Jr. 7-6-15-21-[64]-8 57 ; 5. GBR 7953 Walker/Covell 6-[60]-8-18-15-10 57 ; 6. ESP 7937 Van Der Ploeg/Trujillo 14-[16]-14-9-11-12 60 ; 7. NZL 7939 Brady/Gale 5-1-10-[52]-13-37 66 ; 8. GER 7954 Hoesch/Fendt 15-19-19-8-[25]-5 66 ; 9. AUS 8006 Beashel/Giles [36]-31-23-7-3-6 70 ; 10. ITA 7879 D'Ali/Colaninno 11-5-[31]-13-22-21 72. Website: http://www.annapolisyc.com/starworlds2000/ WORRELL 1000 FINAL LEG - Zack Leonard Team Rudee's, sailed by Brett Dryland and Rod Waterhouse, emerged from the fog ahead of the pack, but they couldn't keep Randy Smyth and Matt Struble of Blockade Runner far enough back to steal the overall victory. Smyth and Struble finished 52 seconds behind Dryland to seal the overall win with a total elapsed time of 77 hours and 30 seconds, the second fastest time ever. Dryland and Waterhouse pushed Smyth the whole way and sailed a fantastic race to take second overall. Third in today's leg and third overall was the Dutch team of Loos and Heemskerk, who edged out Alexander's on the Bay, sailed By Lambert and Livingston. Alexander's was 4th today and 4th overall. Sunnucks and Self of Great Britain finished 5th today and 5th in the overall standings. The overall title was far from over 1/2 way through today's leg. After the start the wind became unstable and shifted all over the compass. Puffs would fill from one direction, die, and then the wind would shift 100 degrees. In the middle of the leg the Aussies held a huge lead over Smyth and looked to cover the 29 minute spread that would give them the title. "At one point they were so far ahead that we couldn't even see them," said Smyth, noting that someone out of sight in light air could easily be 1/2 hour ahead. But the wind shifted to the North and filled in at 10 knots while a light fog descended. The fleet still had 25 miles to sail and Smyth began his comeback. "We really started flying upwind," said Smyth, "but we were back in 7th place." Boatspead saved the day as Smyth was able to close the gap and sail through the fleet to finish 2nd. This is Smyth's 6th Worrell 1000 victory and his 4th consecutive win. It's easy to wonder how one person with 4 different crews can be so dominant in such a difficult race. Dumb luck can take you out of this race with one bad wave, yet Smyth has survived and competed each time. Sailing a small catamaran in the ocean requires a sensitivity and seamanship that is impossible to appreciate until you've tried it. " Rick Deppe is a Whitbread veteran and he's seen a lot of ocean miles, "This gets an 8 out of 10 for Danger," said an exhausted Deppe. What will it take to beat Smyth? William Sunnucks thinks it will take a determined effort, "You need to spend 6 months 2 boat tuning with someone fast so you can be consistently quick in all conditions, then you have to have the balls to stick to the beach the whole way like he does." 18 of the 19 entrants sailed the full course this year. "The sailors seem more prepared mentally and physically for the race than they used to be," said Worrell, "even the English team came in January to attend our seminar on how to get ready for this race." Susan Korzeniewski and Sandra Tartaglino worked hard to prepare and became the first female skippers to finish the race. "Mentally I was a little disappointed with my performance, so I want to try it again," said Korzeniewski, "I'm glad it was light this year, I need to work on my heavy air sailing." Tom Weaver and Richard Deppe of P Yacht have just surfed onto the beach. "I'm spent," said Deppe, "I've been spent for a week. I've sailed a Whitbread, I've sailed a lot of miles, and this really is some hard core shit." Mike Worrell has already begun to work on next year's race. His notebook is full of improvements that he hopes to make in the future. The race is taking on a new momentum. New competitors are crawling out of the woodwork, sponsors are taking notice and websites are registering millions of hits during the event. This race deserves the attention. This race deserves the effort. - Zack Leonard Website: http://www.worrell1000.com/ EDITOR'S NOTE We get a lot of inquires about what it takes to get regatta coverage in 'Butt. Certainly the event's overall significance to sailboat racing in North America is the prime criteria. But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that crisp, well-written and timely press releases - such as we've gotten this past week from Zack Leonard (Worrell 1000) and Dave Gendell (Star Worlds) - doesn't result in extra space in Scuttlebutt. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) and to exclude personal attacks or irresponsible statements. This is not a chat room. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Jonathan R. Harley, Olympic Director, US SAILING (re Walt Duffy's letter in Scuttlebutt # 573) - It appears that Mr. Duffy is badly misinformed about The United Airlines program is called "Fly for America's Team." Unfortunately, the misinformation in his letter will just tend to get individuals excited without knowing the true facts. As of today the US Sailing Team has not received ANY mileage credits - least of all the 2.5 million miles Mr. Duffy suggests. The United Airlines "Fly for America's Team" program runs from April 2000 to August 31, 2000. Any individual that flies on United may register and have miles donated to the US Olympic Team for DOMESTIC travel. Fliers does not lose their own miles. In addition, individuals have the option of selecting a specific NGB, US Sailing, that will benefit from the donation. The USOC will allocate 50% of the miles it receives from a customer to the designated NGB. People can register online at http://www.united.com/moments or by calling 800-447-6772 (code 32). The process is simple and only takes 2 minutes to register. The US Sailing Team/Olympic team would be most appreciative if any/all of you designate your miles to US SAILING for the Team's benefit. I hope that Mr. Duffy will lead by example and on his next United flight will register, as I have, and have the US Sailing Team receive 50% of his travel miles. -- From David Munge - Star sailing will never be a mass media sport, and if 49er sailors chase this, as the reason for sailing, then its likely they will be disappointed. Those who talk of Star sailing and brute force are also missing the point. Sailing a Star to windward is everything but brute force. Sure a heavy crew sets the rig up. But from then on its a tad of this and nats whisker of that, that blends the rig and hull into the absolutely best boat, yet designed. If you miss this point, then go back and start again. When a Star boat has hit the grove, its the finest adjustments, that make the biggest differences. When she is the grove, you are in tune with the wind and sea, like no other boat. We call it the sweet spot, on our boat. -- From Kevin Hall - It seems that different Olympic classes are touted as "the most competitive". Based on which criteria? Records? Participation? How easy or hard it is to get into the class and finish at a certain level at a world championship? If the latter were the criterion, the 49er would likely be the hardest class (due to the time it takes mastering learning how to get around the course) and one could argue, with Gavin Brady and Jamie Gale's phenomenal success, that the Star is the easiest! Clearly these are both inane propositions. We have one of the very few sports where an athlete passionate about the sport can choose an event which suits his or her body size and have reasonable hopes of competing at a very high level. Not everyone who loves basketball, even with enough talent and determination, will get to play at the Olympics. Sailing is also a sport where striking the optimum balance between the wisdom of experience and the vigor of youth is a difficult challenge. Having Olympic classes which spread this balance across as wide a spectrum as possible seems to me to promote sailing's continued status as a sport which does not discriminate on the basis of physique. I've messed around in 470s, Finns, Lasers, and 49ers, in that order, and I just bought a Star. They're all competitive, and they're each a little different. The discussion should remain focused on for whom we want Olympic sailing to be in the future. -- From Doug Logan (on the Team NZ moves) - Even in a sport where much passion is spent on little of importance, it's easy to understand the gravity of the Coutts-Butterworth departure and the sad light in which it's viewed in New Zealand, no matter how many talented sailors are there to fill in the ranks. Simple mercenary urges are one thing, but for the Kiwis this must be like George Washington pulling up stakes to join the Hessians. -- From Chris Bouzaid - Why would New Zealand want to put a man on the moon? They have so many great places to visit that have no people and you can get there by car! To win the America's Cup you need the best people in every position, New Zealand had this so of course other syndicates will want them. With so much money involved there has to be greed. The obvious solution to the nationality problem is that a person's nationality can only be changed before the start of the trials for the previous America's Cup. Why are we wasting our time on this dribble? You talk about stopping the PHRF thread, isn't it time to do the same with the America's Cup for a while? For those frustrated PHRF people there still is the www.PHRF.com site to vent your frustrations. SPEED SAILING Currently less than 400 miles from the Lizard, PlayStation and her crew of 13 should arrive at Ocean Village Marina (2 Channel Way, Southampton) on Monday (22 May) afternoon or evening. The latest projection is to cross the line at the Lizard early on Monday, 175-180 hours after departing New York harbour last Sunday, 14 May. Despite not breaking the existing record, it has still been a very fast passage and an excellent opportunity for the crew to work through a wide variety of conditions. PlayStation's first TransAtlantic attempt of the summer has been a very positive experience for skipper and crew. Steve Fossett: "This has been an excellent crossing - we'll be back for another shot as soon as possible. Avoiding catching up to slow weather patterns will be the key to breaking the TransAt record. This is another reminder that the record set by Jet Services V a decade ago is one of the hardest records to break." Website: http://www.fossettchallenge.com/ THE RACE 18 knots of wind, sea calm, ideal conditions for the first sea trials of the 33.50 m (110-foot) catamaran Club Med. After setting off with reduced mainsail (one reef) and a staysail (small jib) Club Med soon picked up speed, sailing a few minutes later on just one hull at between 32 and 34 knots. Back in La Trinite, the crew couldn1t hide their pleasure at having been able to sail without the slightest hitch on this impressive machine, just a few days after rigging. Gilles Ollier, the designer and builder of the boat, visibly enthusiastic by the first sail of his latest creation, spoke of the apparent ease and fantastic manoeuvrability of the boat. A promising debut for the future, Grant Dalton also expressed his relief after this first sail. Bruno Peyron, recently appointed the boat1s co-skipper for her coming record attempts on the Atlantic gave us three major impressions about the boat1s behaviour : "I'm impressed with the balance, the power and the simplicity of the boat. The conditions today were ideal and easy. The serious work remains to be done. Now we must work on the safety and reliability of the boat in high seas conditions." Club Med will be continuing her trials in order to be ready to qualify for The Race on the Atlantic crossing record course between Cadiz and San Salvador (Bahamas). Website: http://wwwclubmed.com 470 WORLDS BALATONFURED, LAKE BALATON, HUNGARY - Final results - Men (112 boats): 1. AUS King Tom /Turnbull Mark (39 points) 2. FRA Philippe Gildas /Cariou Tanguy (47) 3. UKR Braslavets Euhen /Matuiienko Ihor (61) 4. USA FOERSTER PAUL/ MERRICK BOB (66) 5. GRE Kosmatopoulos Andreas /Trigonis Kostas (95) WOMEN (58 boats): 1. GRE Bekatorou Sofia /Tsoulfa Emilia (35 points) 2. AUS Armstrong Jenny /Stowell Belinda (44) 3. ESP Via-Dufresne Natalia /Azon Sandra (55) 4. UKR Taran Ruslana /Pakholchyk (62) 5. JPN Shige Yumiko /Kinoshita Alicia (68) 11. USA ISLER JJ/ GLASER PEASE (102) Complete results: http://www.hunsail.hu/470/frameindex.htm LIPTON CUP - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA At press time, the San Diego YC still had not posted the final results on their website. However, the curmudgeon was there and saw the SDYC team, with Keith Lorence driving the boat, successfully defend the cup against nine other SoCal Yacht Clubs. We hope to have complete results tomorrow. THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was. |
