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SCUTTLEBUTT 2020 - January 31, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.OLYMPIC SCORING Last week, US Sailing's Rolex Miami Olympic Classes Regatta used the new Olympic scoring plan for the first time in the US. The plan calls for the top ten in each fleet to move on to a final, medal race wherein the race can not be dropped, and the score from the race is doubled before being added to each entrants total. The races were very short (+/- 30 minutes), and held on the same course, with each class starting once the previous class had finished. Here are comments from some of the Americans: * Mark Reynolds, Star Class, 3-time Olympic medalist: The guys that didn't make the cut were not too happy. Probably not a good way to encourage participation by leaving hundreds of sailors on shore. Of course, some class winners were already decided, so I am sure it is being discussed that you need to weigh the last race even more. However, do you really want to take away a win from a team that has dominated all week long due to their performance in the last race? * Charlie Ogletree, Tornado, '04 Silver medalist: It is tough to work so hard during the week and have it come down to a final you cannot discard. Instead of ISAF trying to change our sport for the media, I think they should help the media change to fit our sport. The media has done a nice job making golf exciting with creative camera angles, editing and human-interest stories. They can do the same with sailing. I really wish ISAF would stop trying to change our sport, but focus on promoting and educating about our sport. * Andrew Campbell, Laser, #1 ranked: The format was not nearly as different for the smaller fleets (eg. the 470 men and women) as it was for the larger fleets like the Laser and Star, where I thought it was really great to be racing against the top ten in the event. If there was somebody you needed to go after, it would be easy to find them, but hard to put points on them with only 8 boats on the racecourse to put in between you. With the big wind, I am sure it was a great race to watch for the massive spectator fleet that came out to watch. * Carol Cronin, Yngling, '04 Olympic team: The positive aspect was to see all the other classes racing and all the media boats, which was really cool. The negative aspect was finishing a fantastic week of racing off with one twenty-minute sprint. That felt a bit silly, but I think the concept is good. TREND-SETTING APPROACH With a new world match racing circuit due to start in Brazil in March, what could be a trend-setting approach to winning was on show as New Zealand's America's Cup skipper Dean Barker delighted local supporters by winning the Auckland Match Racing Cup here over the weekend. Watching from what was effectively a floating coaching dug-out were New Zealand's America's Cup coach, Rod Davis, and, making animated observations, British triple Olympic medallist and tune-up helmsman Ben Ainslie. At the end of each race the crew transferred to the support boat for advice. - Stuart Alexander, The Independent, UK, http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article341899.ece COMPARISONS (In a story posted on The Daily Sail subscription website, Brian Thompson compares his ride on ABN Amro One with his previous sailing on Open 60s and large multihulls. Here are a few excerpts.) Thompson reckons the top speed of an Open 60 might be as high if not higher than a VO70, but the average speed of the VO70 will be greater. "The Open 60s are much lighter so downwind you can really get them flying. These [VO70s] are much more efficient and powerful upwind." While an ORMA 60 trimaran would be faster in flat water, on the conditions experienced on this leg if the trimaran made it, it would have been in around the same time as the VO70 thinks Thompson. "I bet we'd go about the same speed as a trimaran because they'd be backed off so much." In a North Atlantic show down, we reckon a 60ft trimaran lining up against a Volvo Open 70 would make for an interesting race, but Thompson reckons it would still be a walk over for the trimaran. For example VO70s are formidably powerful upwind, pointing high and making 12-12.5 knots. However a trimaran is sailing slightly freer but sails upwind at 17-18 knots... Thompson doesn't belong to the lobby that was pushing for G-Class maxi-multihulls to be used for the Volvo Ocean Race prior to the creation of the new Volvo Open 70 monohull. "Because of the way historically how hard they push the boats, I think there would be carnage in terms of boat flipping over, because the mentality is 'win at all costs', although everyone is quite seamanlike. Quite a few people on board our boat were wondering whether they should have just done the Volvo in Open 60s," he says. - www.thedailysail.com TIME TO GO LONG! The new long sleeve Code Zero Shirt from Camet. This high-performance technical shirt is great for Caribbean sailing or an under layer in cooler conditions. Double circular knit polyester is lightweight, breathable, dries quickly, and has a wicking finish to move moisture away from your body while still offering maximum UV protection. Teflon free! Available February 10th. Call your dealer to pre-order it! http://www.camet.com VOLVO OCEAN RACE UPDATE * Yesterday's visitors to the Melbourne Volvo Ocean Race camp were asking two questions: What was happening to the Pirates of the Carribean keel? and Where was Brunel off to? For several days, a number of tubes have been in place, running towards the keel of Paul Cayard's, Pirates of the Caribbean Volvo Open 70. There has been much speculation about their purpose, but no answers, though speculation that tests of the keel hydraulics are being carried out seems plausible. The second question has been answered. Grant Wharington took his newly named Brunel Teamwork out and under the bridge, so the boat could be lifted out in its own yard, rather than in the public gaze at the Volvo site. A new keel 5500 lb keel bulb, with a significantly different shape, has already been delivered to the yard and will replace the old one. The yacht will then be painted in its new Brunel Teamwork colours, before it goes back in the water on Wednesday, so that the team can get into training for the in port race on Saturday. Asked about the effect of the new bulb, Grant Wharington said "It will definitely make a difference." -- BYM Melbourne, http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/24236/48/ * Brasil 1's race against time in Australia continues. While the boat is traveling 4,000 km from the west coast to the east coast on the back of a trailer, the boat's new mast was flown into Sydney Monday. The spare mast was in England, came through Amsterdam and arrived in Sydney at 6:30am (local time in Brasilia). Now, it is on its way to Melbourne, a 1,050 km journey. Unlike the boat, which only travels in the daytime, for safety reasons the mast can only travel at night. The trailer with the boat was supposed to arrive in Melbourne this Tuesday (local time Brasilia) but now it will park at Waterfront City, where the marina is located, only at night (Wednesday morning in Australia). Thee technical director of the Brasil 1 project, Horácio Carabelli, made it very clear that the time left for repairs is short. "We will start working the minute the boat arrives. Regardless of the time, morning, afternoon, evening, or even in the middle of the night. We have a lot to do in very little time," he said. The main goal of this race against time is to get the Brasil 1 ready to compete in the in-port race on Saturday. The start of the third leg, between Melbourne and Wellingtin, in New Zealand, will be on the 12th of February. To ensure that the Brazilians will take part in both events, the organizers of the Australian race stop are doing everything to help. Also, a number of volunteers has shown up at the Brasil 1 base to offer their services.- www.brasil1.com.br JIM MERTZ (As reported in 'Butt 2018, Jim Betts passed away last week at the age of 94. He held the record for number of Newport-Bermuda Races sailed - 30, plus 7 Marion-Bermuda Races. There will be a section on section on Jim Mertz in John Rousmaniere's Bermuda Race history, A Berth to Bermuda which will be out in May. Here's a brief excerpt.) What kept him going was the fun of the game, not whether he won it. "I've never been very competitive. I just go for the experience. I really don't care how we do in the race. I've even dropped out of a couple of races when it's Wednesday and we're out there slatting around." Where one or two other race veterans might say the best crew is the one that sails fastest, Mertz begged to differ: "The best crew is people you get along with. The trip is shorter if it's a happy boat." RIP Jim Mertz. -- John Rousmaniere BROKERAGE REPORT San Diego (CA) - It's been a busy month for Jeff brown and the rest of the Sail California San Diego team with one of the finest equipped J-160's ever built on its way to San Diego from Hawaii and J-65 hull #2 arriving in San Diego this week. Take a look at all the J-boats and brokerage boats they have for sale, both new and used, by visiting http://www.yachtworld.com/sailcal NEWS BRIEFS * The build up to the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship has intensified with the launch of the website and the news that Dexia Private Banking has been named as Title Sponsor of the Championship, taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark from 24-28 May. As defending champion, Sally Barkow (USA) will automatically receive an invite to compete in Copenhagen, and will have the opportunity to complete a hat trick of World titles, after wins in 2004 and last year. -- http://www.wwmr06.kdy.dk/ * No wonder why Southern California keeps churning out top junior sailors. While other parts of the country are in winterized lockdown, the Cali kids were grabbing sandals and board shorts last weekend for a team race regatta in San Diego. Colored sails, close racing bring, and expert photography by Glennon Stratton delivers the action of the event in this gallery on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0130 * Club Nautique in Alameda, California has been awarded US Sailing's Captain Joe Prosser Award for their outstanding instruction in all areas of keelboat sailing education, particularly for their strides in offshore sailing instruction. - www.ussailng.org * At the end of June, Pepsi Americas' Sail 2006, a maritime festival featuring some of the world's most majestic tall ships, will be held in Beaufort and Morehead City, N.C. The Meka II is a 54' tall ship - a half-scale replica of a 17th century pirate brigantine -captained by Sinbad. It is one of seven tall ships that have already committed to participate. Formal invitations have been extended to dozens of ships around the world, and event organizers have received strong interest from many ships. The event expects to attract 15-20 tall ships. -- www.pepsiamericassail.com * North American championships for four one-design classes - Beneteau First 36.7, J/44, J/109, and Farr 395- and National championships for two one-design classes - Farr 40 and Melges 32 - will be determined at the biennial New York Yacht Club (NYYC) Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. Set to take place July 14-23, 2006, the popular regatta is known for its split format, with the first half of the week, July 15-18, devoted to handicap racing under IRC, PHRF, NYYC CR and Classics, as well as the 12 Metres, and the second half, July 20-23, dedicated to one-design racing. -- www.nyyc.org * Only three miles separate the top four in the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race -- westernaustralia.com, Jersey, Liverpool 08 and Durban. The fleet still has nearly 2000 miles to go on Race 6 from Singapore to Qingdao, China. -- http://www.clipper-ventures.co.uk/2006/# * Antigua -Scott Nixon, Ted Kaczmarski, and Kevin Elion, of Annapolis, Maryland have won the 2005 National Offshore One Design Caribbean Rendezvous Regatta on the beautiful island of Antigua. The victory after four days of sailing in different kinds of boats -- Topper Topaz dinghies, Sport 16 dinghies and Hobie Getaways -- at Sunsail's beautiful Club Colonna Resort. The crew won over eight other crews who were the top crews from the eight other Lands' End NOOD Regattas in 2005. Dr. Phillip O'Neil took second place in the event - winning a tiebreaker from Doug Sabin. -- www.sailingworld.com JOIN SKIP NOVAK'S EXPEDITION TO SOUTH GEORGIA In October, Novak's Pelagic Australis is sailing to the wild island of South Georgia for either a 21 or 28 day charter in part to witness the bull elephant seals battling for the harems during early spring. Cost is 12,000 Euros per person or special group rate. mailto:skipnovak@pelagic.co.uk or http://www.pelagic.co.uk LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Chris Ericksen: Thank you, Paul Brotherton and The Daily Sail, for saying what so many of us have thought about the new scheme for scoring the Olympic regatta ('Butt 2019). The goal of this was, as we recall from when the plan was being bruited about, was to eliminate the eventuality (so common in major regattas, as all racing sailors know) that the winner not need to place or even sail the last day; now, the results from the Miami OCR has disproved this definitively and with actual data. God willing the people who came up with this scheme will recognize that this emperor has no clothes and relegate it--along with windward and midcourse gates, other innovations that were promoted to "improve" the Olympic regatta--to the dustbin of history in which it so greatly deserves to be deposited. * From John Standley: Can someone please explain how "Double points" in the final race is an advantage in a low points series. Surely it should be a half point for the winner! * From Roland W. Schulz (edited to our 250-word limit): The photos of the Melges 24 crews hanging on by their sphincters, straining over the lifelines with their heads down staring at the water going by indicates that something is screwed up! I have mostly sailed one-design inshore boats like Stars, Etchells and Shields. Last fall after torturing myself in a similar manner to the Melges 24 crews in the photos, crewing on a J-80 in 30 knots at Manhasset Bay Race Week, I had a minor epiphany. The rules that limit extending the body outside of the lifelines on offshore yachts in distances races are well founded but are anachronistic today for most racing. There is nothing "offshore" about the new breed of sport boats and for most new one design cruiser/racer boats "offshore" means sailing around a couple of rubber buoys anchored to the bottom. If you are just going to buoy race you might as well rig up a trapeze and really go high performance. The prospect of dumping the entire crew into the drink when the lifeline eventually parts or rips out of the deck should give every one pause and it is a miserable experience to hike that way. No wonder everyone wants to quit when it starts to blow! If these boats were properly fitted out everyone would be having a blast rather than crying Uncle! * From Richard Peck: Who is Ron Arnold? Seems you are better off without his subscription. I have known Paul Cayard off and on since he was 18 years old at our YC in San Francisco when he was crew on a dinghy, and worked with him on the AmericaOne project. We sent Paul an email to his personal website yesterday complimenting him on the way he has handled the first two VOR legs and for his very honest and well composed statement of his position on the Volvo 70. I don't want to own any boat with a canting keel, but am enthralled with the tech progress. I have owned 6 race boats and have been sailing over 30 years. We enjoyed the magazine article on the Curmudgeon, thank you for your wonderful and extensive work in supplying this fascinating daily update. It makes following the sport of sailing great, as if it was football or baseball. * From Mike Priest: Paul Cayard raves about the canting keel as the new standard for the future of our sport. This is fine, but what about the havoc it is creating for the NOW of our sport. Many, if not most, of us still sail in handicap fleets and the canting keel is a whole new game. I think it is akin to allowing aluminum bats for just some of the major league baseball players, and thinking no one would notice. Many parties are at fault here, including owners, designers, handicappers, race committees. When multihulls want to race, most race committees tell them if they bring sufficient numbers, they can have their own start. This should be applied to the canting keels. At last years Big Boat Series I sailed on a fixed keel 52 footer, we were in the same handicap class as the super maxi 86 and 90 footers. While it is impressive to watch them blast by, when you see they have their engines running at all times to drive hydraulic systems (even including the jib lead adjusters!) you realize they are playing a different game, by different rules. Just "waiving" RRS 51 and 52 does not level the playing field; they are using different physics to go around the course. I'm all for development and evolution of the sport... but lets not ignore the people who are already in the game. If not, I fear many owners will take their bat and ball and go home! * From Bill Sandberg: I am deeply saddened by the passing of Commodore Jim Mertz. He was a great yachtsman and true gentleman in every sense of the words. A graduate of Yale, he went on to serve with distinction in the Navy during World War II. He was married to Allegra Mertz, sister of Arthur Knapp and herself a 4-time Adams Cup winner and Yachtswoman of the Year. For many years, Leggie and Jim campaigned their 210 and later their Etchells, with Jim sailing the upwind legs and Leggie the downwind. Jim has been a fixture at American, serving as its Commodore and twice as Race Committee Chairman. In addition, he was the first Commodore (in 1926) of the Junior American Yacht Club (JAYC). Last Fall we held a Bermuda Night at American, honoring all members who had either won the overall race ot their division. We recognized Jim that night with the Iron Man award for his 30 Newport-Bermuda races. His acceptance speech consisted of two words "Thank you." He only missed two races-- 1948 when he started his business in VT and 1986, when his partner had to drop out at the last minute. And he usually did the delivery back as well. His boat will do this year's centennial race without him, but you can be certain his spirit will be with them. Sail on, Jim. The sailing world has lost a great friend and hero to many. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Physicist: The person who makes fizzy drinks at the restaurant. Special thanks to Camet Gear, Sail California, and Pelagic Expeditions. |
