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SCUTTLEBUTT 2177 - September 11, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with America’s Cup coverage provided by UBS (http://www.ubs.com). FARR 40 WORLDS Newport, R.I., USA- Vincenzo Onorato has finally won the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, a title that has consistently eluded him since he first took part in 1999. The first three days of the regatta, held in Newport, R.I., were light wind affairs, but with the sea breeze blowing up to 18 knots on Sunday, Onorato's Mascalzone Latino team turned in a masterful performance. In addition to the World Cup, Onorato was presented with a commemorative Rolex timepiece at this evening's Rolex Farr 40 World Championship Awards party, held at Marble House, one of Newport's Gilded Age cottages. "It was not easy," admitted Onorato (Portoferrio, Italy). "The most difficult thing in this kind of racing is how we handle ourselves, because sometimes it is hard to stay confident. I have tried to win this for many years, and finally I have succeeded." - Complete report: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1501&lang=1 Final Results (top ten of thirty-eight): 1. Mascalzone Latino, Vincenzo Onorato, Portoferrio, Italy, 87 points 2. Ichi Ban, Matt Allen, Sydney, AUS, 101 3. Barking Mad, Jim Richardson, Boston, Mass/Newport, RI, USA, 108 4. Opus One, Wolfgang Stolz, Franfurt, Germany, 113 5. Warpath, Steve/Fred Howe, San Diego, Calif., USA, 125 6. Alinghi, Ernesto Bertarelli, Valencia, ESP, 128 7. Norwegian Steam, Eivind Astrup, Oslo, Norway, , 131 8. Le Renard, Steve Phillips, Annapolis, Md., USA, 134 9. Nerone, Mezzaroma/Migliori, Rome, ITA, 138 10. Sled, Takashi Okura, Tokyo, Japan, 140 Complete results: http://nyyc.org/index.cfm?content=sailingevents_details&eventid=108 Outstanding photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/F40 QUOTE / UNQUOTE Vincenzo Onorato, 2006 Farr 40 World Champion: "You had to be cool and concentrate. Italians are hot blooded; I'm hot-blooded, too, but before the last race (tactician Russell Coutts) said this is the time to win a race. So we did it." – Tom Meade, The Providence Journal, full story: http://tinyurl.com/nu4vf SCUTTLEBUTT GOES BAREBOATING This summer, the Scuttlebutt team did a bareboat charter to Tahiti and the French Polynesian islands. Eleven people – six adults, two teens, a twelve year old and two tens – on a boat. One boat. Traveling together for two weeks. Crazy? Perhaps, but it was an adventure of a lifetime, and provided an unmatched ability to discover areas that can only be explored by boat. During the trip, we maintained a daily log of the journey, which will be presented this week in Scuttlebutt as a five part series. If you have ever thought about bareboat chartering but have been hesitant to pull the trigger, or if you are interested in some insight into this Pacific Ocean destination, pay attention as this adventure unfolds. Here is Part 1: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/tahiti AUGIE DIAZ: STILL CLIMBING How often does any athlete hold the title of National Champion, North American Champion, World Champion, and World Master Champion? Not often, but that is exactly where Augie Diaz from Miami, FL sits today, with his Snipe class accolades surrounding him. However, there is one remaining class title that Diaz can claim to complete his collection. On October 22-26, Diaz will be competing on his home waters of Biscayne Bay for the title of Western Hemisphere & Orient Champion, an event sailed in even years (Worlds are only sailed in odd years) for teams from North America, South America, and Asia. Diaz will be among the largest group of sailors to ever compete for that title, as fifty teams (maximum number allowed) will challenge defending champion Alexandre Paradeda and his crew. - Complete story: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/ad THE WORD IS OUT – TRIMMERS LOVE NEWSWIFT At Hall Spars & Rigging we get a lot of fan mail for our products. “I got a chance to use Newswift at the 2006 J24 Nationals,” writes Will Welles. “I think it was perfect for the genoa sheets. It was soft to the hand, ran through the blocks very well and I was very happy with how it performed. This line is very cool!” Get rave reviews from your trimmer by switching to Maffioli’s Newswift, a blend of Dyneema SK75 and polypro with an incredible Dyneema /nonslip cover. http://www.hallspars.com POSTPONED Challenge Business has announced that the fifth running of the Global Challenge Round the World Yacht Race, scheduled for 2008/09, has been postponed after being unable to secure a title sponsor. The race, which is subtitled "the world's toughest yacht race," is unique in that it is the only race that sails around the world "the wrong way" - against the prevailing winds and currents. The first iteration of the Race in 1992 was widely acclaimed as a groundbreaking concept, with ordinary people having the chance to achieve the extraordinary, within the hitherto elitist world of ocean yacht racing. However the current lack of a title sponsor means that the company is unable to commit to the refit of the yachts for the next race, though they will continue their search for a title sponsor. Around 80% of the crew for the race had already signed up. – http://www.challengebusiness.com FROM THE FORUMS: MAGELLAN FX324 Does anybody out there have any experience with the Magellan FX324 chart plotter? I have a chance at getting one for a great deal, but I have read many complaints about the "BlueNav" charts used by this chart plotter. If these complaints are true (only one chart allowed on a card at a time, licensing issues, etc.), then there is no point in getting it since a chart plotter without usable charts is kinda useless, or at least no better than my existing non-plotter GPS. Since Bluenav is based on the Navionics Gold charts, I was wondering if an SD Card loaded with standard Navionics Gold charts would work in the FX324. Any advice would be appreciated. Post comments here: http://tinyurl.com/lugfl MAXI YACHT ROLEX CUP The crystal-clear waters of the Costa Smeralda, this year hosted one of the most impressive gatherings of sailing yachts ever - the 17th edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, which attracted a record fleet of 46 teams representing 15 nations. The event, organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda in conjunction with the International Maxi Association (IMA), ran from 3rd to 9th September, and included five days of racing and one lay-day for the five competing divisions. Throughout the week, the Race Committee selected a variety of inshore race courses off the coast of northeastern Sardinia in and around the Archipelago de La Maddalena, with its narrow straits, rocky outcrops and shifting winds. Over the last two days of the series, the more race-oriented fleets also enjoyed some traditional windward-leeward courses. Light northeasterly winds prevailed through most of the week, with the exception of the final day of the series, when the crews were challenged by a 16-knots north westerly breeze, more typical of this part of Sardinia. - Complete report: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1502&lang=1 Final Standings Racing Division: 1. Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton, NZL, 6 pts; 2. Morning Glory, Hasso Platner, GER, 11; 3. Wild Oats XI, Robert I. Oatley, AUS, 11 VOR: 1. ABN Amro One, ABN Amro Brand, NED, 5 pts; 2. Amer Sport Too, Giovanni Marangon, EUR, 10 Cruising: 1. Roma, Filippo Faruffini, ITA, 6 pts; 2. Velsheda, Tarbat Investments, GBR, 7; 3. Allsmoke, Gunter Herz, GER, 11 Spirit of Tradition: 1. Hetairos, Rockport Ltd, CAY IS, 5 pts; 2. Annagine, C. E. Van Asbeck, NED, 8; 3. Adela, George Lindemann, USA, 10 Mini Maxi: 1. Atalanta II, Carlo Puri Negri, ITA, 8 pts; 2. Edimetra, Ernesto Gismondi, ITA, 14; 3. OPS 5, Massimo Violati, ITA, 16 Wally: 1. Magic Carpet Squared, Lindsay Owen Jones, GBR, 7 pts; 2. Dark Shadow, Antexis Ltd, MON, 13.5; 3. Tango Carlo Sama, MON, 14 Complete results: http://www.yccsmaxi.com/results/results1.htm Outstanding photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/maxi I-14 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Long Beach, CA - Some of the world's best International 14 class sailors will be sailing on eggshells the rest of the week. As the host Alamitos Bay Yacht Club's own Howard Hamlin and crew Euan McNicol of Australia won the first race of the I-14 World Championship Regatta Sunday, followed by Katie Nurton and Nigel Ash of Great Britain, other big names took a big hit for crossing the starting line early in the two-lap, 12-nautical mile race. The 10 guilty boats among 71 entries included past champions Robert Greenhalgh and Roddy Bridge of Great Britain and Grant Geddes of Australia, along with U.S. Nationals runners-up Tina and Trevor Baylis of Santa Cruz, Calif. and Archie Massey, captain of Britain's World Team Racing championship team last Friday. All will discard the 72 points they received for their indiscretions on Thursday following the fifth of seven races, but that's the only throwout allowed. – Complete report: http://www.abyc.org/upload/I14worlds06pr4.doc Standings (71 boats; after 1 of 7 races): 1. Howard Hamlin/Euan McNicol, Long Beach, 1 point. 2. Katie Nurton/Nigel Ash, Great Britain, 2. 3. Kris Bundy/Jamie Hanseler, Seattle, 3. 4. Michael Lennon/Jon Blackburn, Great Britain, 4. 5. Samuel (Shark) Kahn/Paul Allen, Aptos, Calif., 5. Complete results: http://www.abyc.org/upload/2006_I_14Worlds.htm US TEAM RACE CHAMPIONSHIP Downtown San Diego, CA waterfront was the stage for the 2006 US Team Racing Championship. Fifteen teams traveled from across the country for the three-day event, wherein the final day saw the top eight teams competing in a bracket elimination to determine the champion. The knockout format consisted of teams matched by their seeding position in a best of three races for the quarterfinals, with the semis and finals format being the best of five races. Throughout the day, the breeze was 5-8 knots from the Southwest. With a brief wind delay in the morning, all teams were re-weighed to confirm weight minimum required by sailing instructions. The breeze filled in about 11:30am and so began the eight-team quarterfinals. In the semifinals, archrivals Silver Panda battled it out with Cape Code Whishbone, with Silver Panda dominating 3-0. The second semifinal matched Team Newport Storm against Larchmont Yacht Club, with LYC taking the full set to win 3-2. The finals saw classic downtown San Diego conditions with sunshine, 10 knots from the west, and flat water. Silver Panda, the 2002 Champion team, quickly took care of business, winning 3-0 against Larchmont Yacht Club for the title. The winning Silver Panda team consisted of Lisa Keith, Colin Merrick, Peter Levesque, Clay Bischoff, Amanda Callahan, and Elizabeth Hall. Final results: http://www.sdyc.org/raceinfo/results06/hinman_final_res.pdf Event website: http://www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/ustrc Hot photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/tr QINGDAO It’s light…puffy…streaky…and a ton of unpredictable current. Electronics? Nope, don’t think so. Not on a Laser. Not on a 49er. Even the Star…you have a compass and a pair of Kaenon’s. A compass and Kaenon Polarized will be the single greatest weapons in Qingdao. You have to see it…You have to read the water. Kaenon Polarized allows you to read the water. Available in prescription or non-prescription. For men and women. Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. Available at the finest sailing shops in the country: Team One, APS, Boat Locker, Sailing Supply, Fast Lane and Vanguard. http://www.kaenon.com SAILING SHORTS * Milwaukee, WI - The 2006 Laser Masters North American Championship was hosted by Milwaukee Yacht Club on September 8-10. Winds on the final day exceeded 20 mph, with large waves preventing the race committee boats from leaving the breakwater. The racecourse was moved inside Milwaukee Harbor, where Brodie Cobb continued his perfect run of firsts to win overall, and to take the Masters category championship. Peter Seidenberg won the Great Grand Master category, the top Grand Master was Paul Wurtzebach, and Nicklas Friden topped the Apprentice category. - Event website: http://home.wi.rr.com/soling/ * Rizhao, China – 10 Sept. 2006: The first starting signal was given Sunday for the championship series of the 470 World Championships. During six qualifying races over the previous three days, sailors were qualifying for positions in the Gold Fleets. Two races were completed Sunday, where Nic Asher and Elliot Willis (GBR) took over the lead, while Marcelien de Koning and Lobke Berkhout (NED) retain their lead from the qualifying rounds. Top North Americans men are Mikee Anderson/ David Hughes (USA) and women are Amanda Clark/ Sara Mergenthaler (USA). - Complete results: http://470.rz.gov.cn/sfsjg/ * France has done the double in both the mens and womens divisions at the match race event, the ISAF Nations Cup 2006, hosted by the Royal Cork Yacht Club in association with Failte Ireland, the Irish Sports Council, and Smart Telecom. Winning skippers Mathieu Richard and Claire Leroy defeated Ian Ainslie (RSA) and Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN) in closely matched finals. The lone American entrant, Brian ANGEL, completed the round robin series in fourth, but was eliminated 2-0 in the semi-finals against Richard. - Complete report: http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6~Fh?p`l&format=popup * With a marginal northerly drifting across Western Long Island Sound this (Sunday) morning for the second day of the Lands' End Larchmont NOOD Regatta it was impossible to predict what would happen on either of the two racecourses set up by the Larchmont YC race committee. Would the northerly be strong enough to hold, or would the sea breeze fill in before 2:30 p.m. cutoff time? Or even worse, would it die all together before anything could happen? - Sailing World, complete report and results: http://tinyurl.com/q7ogu * Convicted former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski finally sold his 130 foot yacht Endeavour for $13.1 million, less than the $17.3 million he was looking for when it went up for sale last spring. The sale will help Kozlowski, 59, pay $167 million in court- ordered restitution and fines as he serves a sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years for looting Tyco. The former CEO has been trying for more than a year to sell the J Class vessel, a 1934 America's Cup entry and celebrity craft in the yachting world. - Full report: http://tinyurl.com/rb73n * Scuttlebutt received a non-sailing story over the weekend that involves a recent credit card scam, and is now posted on the Scuttlebutt website for review: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/ccscam.htm LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or space (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and please save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, you can post your comments on the Scuttlebutt Forums, wherein we may include your submission in the newsletter. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forums: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Reynald Neron: All the letters referring to the Vineyard race that got started in strong winds inspired me to write the next "Thought of the day": There is a very thin line between heroes and idiots (and that is even more true in sailing). If someone had just had one paper cut during that race, everyone would be complaining about the race committee that decided to start the race. I understand the feeling of achievement described by Richard Du Moulin who was on one of the boats that finished that race. That feeling is what we are all looking for when taking to sea. And I say "Good onya for finishing the race." However, may I remind him that all the experience of the world have never prevented anyone to get injured or to die at sea. I don't know if the race committee was right to start the race. I don't know if the yachts were right to keep racing. But please, trying to make a point using those kind of arguments reminds me of boys trying to find out who has the longest...? (mmm... why do I suspect this letter won't be published....). Anyway Curmudgeon, thank you for your good job! * From John Sutherland: I would like to add to the compliments given to the Stamford YC for not canceling the Vineyard Race. Further east, on Saturday September 2nd, the Fishers Island Yacht Club held their 50th annual Round Island race, with the only concessions to conditions being the cancellation of racing for boats without self bailing cockpits and a decision to keep the course within Fisher’s Island Sound. Sixty boats were on the scratch sheet, 21 showed up at the start but only 14 decided to start and ten of us finished the race. Winds were between 30 to 40 knots and conditions were not for the faint hearted. However, if you had a sturdy boat and good crew, it was not a problem. Details are at http://www.fiyc.net/Round_Island_Race.html together with some great photographs. The Race Committee did a great job of managing the race, and, through their website, made it clear to all competitors that their intention was to run a safe race. Everybody I spoke to had a great day of sailing, and I felt particularly pleased because I squeaked through to win in my division! * From Frederic Berg (edited to our 250-word limit): I often wonder why our national/ international organizations impose themselves on the higher levels of racing in this country with multiple layers of paperwork and bureaucracy. Those that can afford yachts in excess of $50,000 have the proven organizational skills, funding and the will to get the job done. Give them a basic framework (meaning a basic simple set of rules) and let them organize themselves. Allow them to add to the basic rules to suit their fleet/ class in their enabling bylaws. After all, they are closer to their members and know their needs best. If we’re really intent on increasing participation, then our focus should be on creating demand. Let's start where demand starts - with our youth. If we were to refocus 50% of our current overall US Sailing effort on creating programs for middle school and high school students that are not associated with yacht clubs, the result in ten years would be astonishing, in twenty years we would be scratching our heads saying "what were we thinking?!" A basic set of rules these new youth converts can take with them for the rest of their lives to which ever fleet or class they participate in would give everyone a common fiber to weave interest and friendship. Anyone who thinks the rules are simple now should poll their fleets members on what they would do when approaching the windward mark with three boats on starboard and three on port within three boat lengths of each other. * From Gene Levinthal: (regarding NASCAR blog in Issue 2174) To conclude, as you did, that there isn't much to watch in auto racing is probably true of any first time spectator of any sport unless you have some awareness. Could you imagine a golf fan watching a sailboat race not knowing anything about the sport or the participants? Or a sailor, non-golfer, watching a golf match? Come on, give it a break, learn about the drivers, the cars and the competition while watching on your flat screen and then comment. Then again it may not be for you. * From Steve Quant: (RE: Leweck, Rodger Martin comments on NASCAR) Blending sailing and motor racing - Why not mention the original? - Briggs Cunningham. CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM Why is it, whether you sit up or sit down, the result is the same? Scuttlebutt brought to you by Hall Spars & Rigging and Kaenon Polarized. America’s Cup coverage in Scuttlebutt brought to you by UBS. |
