|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2737 - Thursday, December 4, 2008Scuttlebutt 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 Ultimate Sailing, Ullman Sails, and Judel/Vrolijk IRC 66 ‘Numbers’. THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE GETTING UNDERWAY... by Anne F. Newton, Petty Officer 1st Class, United States Coast Guard I was recently transferred to work at the Coast Guard Pacific Area Rescue Coordination Center in Alameda, CA. One of the main things we do here is deal with all the EPIRB's that go off in the Pacific and calls from family members worried about a loved one. Just in the 6 months I have been here I have seen many cases that could have been easily solved if the boater would have done a few simple things before they left on a voyage. It would have saved the Coast Guard a lot of time, the family members a lot of heartache and (in some cases) maybe even saved the lives of the people on board. First let's talk about EPIRB's. When your EPIRB is activated, a satellite hopefully picks up the signal and through a few steps it appears on our computer screens. When we pull up that alert there is extremely important information in it that is only as good as what the boaters put in it. What I mean is that the boater is responsible for that information and to ensure it is up to date and correct. One of the biggest mistakes we see is that boaters do not have the correct information on the electronic registration of the EPIRB. We need vessel details, contact information, family or friends contact information - just all kinds of stuff. We desperately need this information to help us with the case. The most common thing we get is the information in the EPIRB alert is from the previous owner so we spend valuable time trying to figure out the current owner and their information. If you own an EPIRB, it is incredibly important to register it with your most recent information. This can easily be done online. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/1203/ OLYMPIC ENTHUSIASM By Ben Barger, 2008 US Olympic RS:X Men representative As with anything in life change is met by much resistance, but change can be for the better, as long as you make use of every change and opportunity that comes your way. I went through all the options in front of me. I took out my notebook and listed all the goods, bads, and uglys that I had done in the past four years. I then decided there is nothing in my life that could quite compare to competing at the Olympic Games again. If I could be there one more time, I’d do it differently, and I think I could win with proper preparation this next time around. The reality is I've found renewed energy for competition, something found deep inside my heart. I have not ever felt so motivated to compete again. The reception since the Olympic Games has been a heartwarming delight and to share with schools and organizations has inspired me as well to continue competing. I’ve heard plenty of “you must be so proud to have just been there”, and I was, but I left empty handed. Deep inside of me I want to win, and now in my new circumstances, I can do just that unequivocally. -- Complete report: http://benbarger.com/olympics/?p=254 A CAPTIVATING IDEA FROM ULTIMATE SAILING “Hold on to your hat”... the retractable strap on your Ultimate Sailing cap allows you to tether it to your shirt or jacket. Navy or Beige at $19.95 each. Available online with other cool products that won’t break the bank: Sharon Green’s Ultimate Sailing Calendar, t-shirts & notecards. -- http://www.ultimatesailing.com THE FLEET IS IN - LET THE PARTY BEGIN (Dec. 3, 2008) Andreas Hanakamp and his men onboard Kosatka Team Russia were the final finisher of leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race in Cochin when they crossed the line at 16:02:06 GMT after being at sea for 18 days, 2 hours 3 minutes and 30 seconds - over two days longer than seventh place Green Dragon. They were treated to a raucous welcome onshore as their arrival happened to coincide with the inauguration of the race village in Cochin. Thousands turned out to cheer the eighth place finisher. Team Russia skipper Andreas Hanakamp/AUT was in good spirits as the boat pulled alongside the pontoon, and philosophical about their leg: “It's been up and down. It was our conditions in the Southern Ocean and we felt really comfortable there, we had a lot of fun and kept pushing hard. The first transition zone I don't think we got it perfect and then we had this meeting where we decided to go to the east, which made a lot of sense at the time, so we sacrificed 100 miles there in the hope we'd gain a couple of hundred miles, but...well, you know what happened. We risked, we went for it, and it didn't work – that’s sailing.” As a final insult, the team became entangled in an unlit fishing net on Monday night, which required them to lower the sails and stop the boat for upwards of two hours as the crew set about freeing themselves. Leg Three from Cochin to Singapore is 1,950 nm, begins December 13th with the finish estimated on December 23rd. Current standings after Leg Two of the ten leg event: 1. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 26 points 2. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 19 points 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 18 points 4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 16 points 5. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Anders Lewander/SWE, 14.5 points 6. Telefonica Black (ESP), F. Echavarri/ESP, 13.5 points 7. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 7.5 points 8. Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, 7.5 points Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Race website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org FULL ON HORSE RACE AT 42 DEGREES SOUTH (Dec, 3, 2008; Day 24) - As expected Seb Josse (BT) and Yann Eliès (Generali) were first and second to pass the first of eight ice gates that are intended to prevent the Vendee Globe fleet from dipping too far south into iceberg country. They effectively satisfied the rule - that one part of their boat must pass with the gate to their south - during the afternoon as they passed heading SE across the N-S transit of the west end of the gate. Eliès had closed over thirty miles in the past day, effectively leveraging his northern latitude route, and then gybing to starboard to head south toward the gate where he met up with Josse, who gybed inside of him to pace his rival to the gate. These former crewmates, who cut their teeth in the Southern Ocean together as crew on the maxi cat Orange, will now be faced with how to balance the need to push their boats versus protecting the gear and conserving energy. Following the last observations regarding ice movements, the Race Committee has decided to move the second ice gate - the Kerguelen Ice Gate - further north. “We might still see some ice," explained Josse. "But to go further south would have been quite risky, so I'm happy with their decision." Speeds among the chasing pack have risen sharply as the stronger winds kick in from astern, heralding the arrival of the expected low pressure system. Notably rising through the rankings is 2001 winner Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia), now 176.5 nm behind the leaders in tenth after starting nearly two days late after returning to fix a water ballast system leak and faulty engine. -- Race tracking: http://tracking.vendeeglobe.org/en Solo, non-stop, around the world race in Open 60s. Standings as of 18:30 UTC (Top 5 plus of 30 entrants): 1. Sébastien Josse (FRA), BT, 18190.5 nm Distance to finish 2. Yann Eliès (FRA), Generali, 5.6 nm DTL 3. Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA), Paprec-Virbac 2, 40.1 nm DTL 4. Loïck Peyron (FRA), Gitana Eighty, 55 nm Distance to leader 5. Jean Le Cam (FRA), VM Matériaux, 77.3 nm DTL 14. Samantha Davies (GBR), Roxy, 594.9 nm DTL 15. Dee Caffari (GBR), Aviva, 658.8 nm DTL 20. Rich Wilson (USA), Great American III, 923.2 nm DTL 22. Derek Hatfield (CAN), Algimouss Spirit of Canada, 1488.7 nm DTL Complete standings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ MATCH RACING WORLD TITLE UP FOR GRABS (Dec. 3, 2008) - The first day of the Monsoon Cup started with pomp and ceremony as the fourth edition of the final event in the World Match Racing Tour was officially launched today in Terengganu, Malaysia. On the water three flights were conducted in the late afternoon breeze with tactics and strategy the key factor in achieving success on a race course with challenging tidal conditions and shifting breezes. In Flight 1 the toughest match was between Sebastien Col, who is vying for the World Title and Ben Ainslie, selected as the International Sailing Federation 2008 World Sailor of the Year. From the start Ainslie kept a tight cover on Col. On the last leg Col gybed to get into less current, but Ainslie still held the lead. Col then tried to use the left-hand side of the course to utilise the western river current successfully closing the gap between the boats. The finish was a heart-stopper as both boats slipped gently towards the finish with only a matter of half a boat length between them on the line. The day concluded with defending Monsoon Cup and Match Racing World Champion Ian Williams and his old foe Paolo Cian. Cian went into the match unbeaten in the regatta with two wins already to his name. Cian won the start with Williams squeezed under the start boat. A red flag penalty on the start did not deter Cian from hunting Williams around the course as the breeze softened and shifted. On the last leg Williams covered Cian gybe to gybe to win his first match in the 2008 Monsoon Cup. -- Full story: http://www.sail-world.com/newsfeed_show.cfm?nfid=19&nid=51468 Round robin standings after 3 of 17 flights: Ian Williams (GBR) 1-0 Sebastien Col (FRA) 1-2 Mathieu Richard (FRA) 1-2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) 1-0 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) 2-0 Magnus Holmberg (SWE) 1-1 Paolo Cian (ITA) 2-1 Johnie Berntsson (SWE) 0-2 Ben Ainslie (GRB) 2-1 Peter Gilmour (AUS) 1-0 Keith Swinton (AUS) 0-2 Nurul Ain bt Md Isa (MAL) 0-1 Event website: http://www.monsooncup.com.my * The Monsoon Cup is the final event of the World Match Race Tour, with the points earned from this event used to determine the International Sailing Federation 2008 Match Racing World Champion title. The remaining skippers with a chance at the World title are Ian Williams, Sebastien Col, and Mathieu Richard. ULLMAN SAILS GOES CLASSIC One of the largest gatherings of tall ships took place in Liverpool, England, this summer for the start of the 2008 Tall Ships Race, July 18-21. Over 70 tall ships filled Liverpool’s quayside, including 102-year-old Falmouth Yawl “Moosk,” based in Cremyll, Cornwall. Ullman Sails helped prepare the tall ship for the event, which included a race from the northern coast of Ireland to Norway, followed by a coastal race down to Holland. “Moosk” finished fourth overall, using a new Ullman Sails storm jib and traditionally constructed #2 headsail. Make an investment in your performance. Visit Ullman Sails at http://www.ullmansails.com TALK IS CHEAP… SHOW ME THE CHANGES by Russell Coutts, CEO and Skipper, BMW Oracle Racing Dear America’s Cup colleagues, as you know, my colleagues and I at BMW ORACLE Racing are eager to join the Challengers for AC33 and we’ve made genuinely constructive suggestions and concessions to make that happen, including embracing ISAF’s willingness to mediate this dispute. We share your interest in having a world-class field of Challengers for our sport’s pinnacle event, and appreciate your belief that BMW Oracle’s participation is essential. We are willing to consider entering the competition by 15 December even though it is a totally arbitrary deadline. However, inasmuch as we’ve been excluded to date from the discussions, we need further clarity on fundamental issues (which you say have been addressed) to meet our concerns, and those of others, about fair and competitive rules. Specifically, we ask that you arrange to have the Defender send us by Monday, 8 December the current drafts of the protocol, event regulations, and competition regulations. This would give us a week to properly review them against our Ten Point Plan and determine our course of action before the 15 December deadline. -- Read on: http://www.ggyc.com/Letter%20to%20AYRE1.pdf OBSERVATIONS FROM METS by David Barrow, Barrow International The Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS), the premier European exhibition of equipment, materials, systems and services for the international leisure craft trade and industry, concluded last month in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was certainly noticed that there was more activity from Adriatic, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Turkey, and some activity from the Far East. The quality of attendee was good and there are certain trends becoming apparent: > The boat building business in the smaller end of the market below 50, maybe even up to 60 feet, is in general in crisis. > There is a headlong dash by many equipment suppliers towards the aftermarket as it is believed that existing boat owners will be looking to keep boating. However they will also be looking to reduce costs wherever possible and product that can be pitched in that area will see good opportunities. -- Read on, and post additional comments here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6730 SAILING SHORTS * In co-operation with US-IRC, US SAILING has agreed that all new 2008 certificates or re-validations issued after September 30, 2008 will be priced at 50% off the regular price. Discounted certificates issued after September 30th will be valid for all IRC events from October 1 through December 31, 2008 and for Lauderdale to Key West and Acura Key West in 2009. For more information, go to http://www.us-irc.org/newsfull.cfm?ID=119 * With the second leg of the Portimão Global Ocean Race from Cape Town to Wellington, New Zealand to begin December 13th, race officials have announced that this first time event has been renewed and will occur again with the same course in 2010. -- Event website: http://portimaorace.com * The US boating industry has dodged a bullet that could have put many US marine manufacturers out of business, according to a statement from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA). The NMMA, and other industry partners, including the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), took issue with a trade regulation called "10 plus 2", proposed by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20081103163826ibinews.html FOR SALE: J/V 66 - “NUMBERS” The highly successful Goetz built Judel/Vrolijk IRC 66 is for sale. Meticulously and professionally maintained with no expense sparred. Lifting keel, Harken hardware, B&G, extensive North Carbon 3DL wardrobe, shipping cradle, container, tools, and spares. 2008 results include Key West - 1st; NYYC Regatta - 1st; Cork Week - 1st; Sardinia Maxi Worlds - 1st. Contact 781-424-9666, mailto:Numbers119@verizon.net SCUTTLEBUTT TOOL BOX Here are some of the tools on the Scuttlebutt website that are free, self-service, and receive huge views each month: > Event Calendar: Communicate your events to a broader audience > Classified ads: Expand your efforts to sell, seek, and hire. > Industry News: Guaranteed way to publicize your business updates. Do these apply to you? Find each of these free services among the navigation options on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com 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 Andi Robertson: (re, story in SBUTT 2736) The Vendee Globe rules with regard to the first Ice Gate may not have been very clear but there is no direct requirement to pass between the two points, only that at some point the gate marks must lie to the south, hence Generali may indeed pass with both gates to her south, or alternately a skipper on a more southerly route may pass between both 'marks', south to north, gybe once through the gate, and return south. * From Richard Hazelton, Editor 48 ° North Sailing Magazine: It's fun to read the Ted Turner stories that have been in Scuttlebutt of late. I've just finished "Call Me Ted," and many of those stories are in there. Shows how much the guy did in his life when winning the America's Cup only takes a chapter of your biography. I don't think there was a sailor, other than a few stuffed shirts, that didn't get a chuckle out of his "celebration" after winning the cup. Regarding the speed records: Times have changed, add some new categories. People will know what pertains to their view of sailing. As an example, when the old Clipper ship records fell to the modern, lightweight racing yachts, I always liked to ask, "how many goats did they have on board." * From David Foscarini: Interesting quote (in SBUTT 2735) from Wikipedia regarding the entry for “Kites”. But a modern Kite Sail has no spars! They have rigging. I say make up another category. Didn’t Hydroptere just reset the Class “D” record? I say let them at it. Something that floats, some wind (ok a lot of wind), some cloth (probably a loose definition), a “person” and let’er rip. And another thing... I am so glad that there are few 4 day weekends in the year. By Saturday I am suffering from Scuttlebutt withdrawal!! Keep up the great work * From Roger Willcox, Norwalk, CT: In 1957, Bus Mosbacher, Howie McMichael, and my younger brother, Warner M. Willcox -- all top flight amateur sailors at the time -- joined in creating the Mamaroneck Frostbite Association (MFA), sailing out of Mamaroneck, Westchester County, NY. We sailed 8-foot Dyer Dhows, like several other frostbite fleets on Long Island Sound. Two of the original MFA members are still racing with this fleet, both in "A" division. Sandy Waters is MFA's Chair and I am Safety Officer. I got lucky in 2003-2004 and won the fleet championship that year when I was 84 years old. Sandy is a few years younger. I can't successfully race when the wind is much over ten knots now, but Sandy can still sail in any weather. My reason for writing this is to proclaim that dinghy racing is a challenging winter sport for even those in their seventies and eighties! We can still take on and compete against sailors fifty or more years younger! CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION My weight is perfect for my height ... which varies. Special thanks to Ultimate Sailing, Ullman Sails, and Judel/Vrolijk IRC 66 ‘Numbers’. Please give consideration to supporting the Scuttlebutt sponsors when making your holiday shopping decisions this year. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
