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SCUTTLEBUTT 1279 - March 5, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. TELEVISUAL CUP PLANNED Switzerland's Alinghi Challenge return for Saturday's victory parade in Geneva, but one of their last acts here was to map out a vision for the 32nd America's Cup. Plans to relax the nationality rules and set up new independent bodies to control the marketing and race organisation aspects were foreseen in Monday's Daily Telegraph, but yesterday skipper Russell Coutts brought up other changes. A key aspect is to fit the event into time frames to appeal to fans and television audiences. In the series just ended the challenger trials and cup match started on Oct 1 and finished last Sunday. Alinghi would like to halve that time. Likewise, instead of races lasting 2.25 hours, it is likely that the race director will be empowered to reduce the number of laps and the length of the legs to fit a race into 90 minutes. An announcement on the venue will be made by Dec 15 this year for a series which will probably be staged in 2007. Then, a springtime fleet race will be used, along with annual championships in the United States and Europe, to seed challengers into two or three pools. Cities wishing to host the next America's Cup, which will not be contested in Switzerland, have a few weeks to express interest before a selection process starts. Not only will reliable winds be a high priority for Alinghi, but so too will infrastructure and financial and political support. Lisbon, Sete, Marseilles, Barcelona, Palma, Malta and southern Italy have all been mooted, with the first two front-runners. - Tim Jeffery in Auckland, The Telegraph, UK, http://sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;$sessionid$01YCSA3QVLMGPQFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?xml=/sport/2003/03/05/soyots05.xml&sSheet=/sport/2003/03/05/ixothspt.html NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS The most controversial element of the new protocol is the decision to eliminate nationality requirements for crews. The founding document of the regatta, the Deed of Gift, calls for a "friendly competition between nations," and some have argued that without nationalism to spur the public's interest, the Cup would lose its appeal. In the just-completed Cup, teams were required to establish residency in their home countries for their crews. Russell Coutts, for example, the Kiwi sailor who skippered Alinghi, had to maintain an empty apartment in Switzerland during the regatta. Hamish Ross, Alinghi's rules adviser, called the residency requirement "an absurd waste of money." He said sailors should be free to choose what teams they sail for. "We believe in freedom of choice," he said. "Others believe in restriction of personal liberties." John Rousmaniere, an America's Cup historian, said scrapping the nationality requirement seemed at odds with the idea of making it more popular. "Russell wants all those TV viewers, yet we all know that broad public's interests are driven very largely by patriotism," he said. "It seems to me that you can't have wide public interest if the boat's flag is merely one of convenience." David K. Elwell, the New York Yacht Club's representative in Auckland, said he was disappointed with the decision on nationality but that over all, the changes were welcome. "It's as big a change as we've ever seen in the protocol," Elwell said. "There's more good than bad. The event desperately needed to be modernized." - Warren St. John, NY Times, full story: www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/sports/othersports/05BOAT.html RUSSELL COUTTS SPEAKS "The future of our sport lies in providing the youth of the world with products that are exciting, fast and physical. If we don't grab their attention now, there are dozens of other sports that will. The 29er skiff, an International Class used as a World Youth boat for the first time in 2002, is one such product. Built and sailed worldwide, it is capturing the imagination of young sailors everywhere and that gives me a good feeling for the future." Russell Coutts, Team Alinghi. You will find the 29er built in North America at PS2000. http://www.ps2000.ca JULES VERNE TROPHY On her 52nd day at sea, the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran covered 402 nautical miles at an average speed of 16.73 knots. Now though, Geronimo has reached an area of ocean where the winds are uncertain in strength and direction, the sky is full of black clouds and violent squalls are interspersed with lightning flashes: this is the Doldrums, also known as the intertropical convergence zone. On day 52 Geronimo still hold a lead of 115 miles over the current Jules Verne record set by Orange. - http://www.grandsrecords.com/ BACARDI CUP Coral Reef YC - Standings after three races (112 Star boats): 1/ Peter Bromby / Martin Seise, BER, 19; 2. George Szabo / Chrisian Finnsgard, USA, 24; 3. Ian Percy / Steve Mitchell, UK, 28; 4. Mark Reynolds / Magnus Liljedahl, USA, 28; 5. Andy Lovell / Eric Oetgen, USA, 31; 6. Augie Diaz / Mark Strude, USA, 38; 7. Ian Walker / Nick Williams, AUS, 38; John Kostecki / Austin Sperry, USA, 48. - www.stardistrict20.org/racing/2003/index.html AROUND ALONE Bernard Stamm (Bobst Group Armor lux) and Thierry Dubois (Solidaires) at the front of the pack are still locked in a tight race for the first boat into Brazil. More interesting is the race for third. Simone Bianchetti (Tiscali) and Emma Richards (Pindar) are only 21 miles apart with Emma gaining at each poll. - www.aroundalone.com STANDINGS: 2200 UTC March 3 CLASS 1: 1. Solidaires, Thierry Dubois, 984 miles from finish; 2. Bobst Group-Armor Lux, Bernard Stamm, 75 miles behind leader; 3. Tiscali, Simone Bianchetti, 321 mbl; 4. Pindar, Emma Richards, 342 mbl 5. Hexagon, Graham Dalton, 1288 mbl; 6. Ocean Planet, Bruce Schwab, 1540 mbl. CLASS 2: 1. Tommy Hilfiger, Brad Van Liew, 1697 miles from finish; 2. Everest Horizontal, Tim Kent, 891 mbl; 3. Spirit of yukoh, Kojiro Shiraishi, 1054 mbl; 4. BTC Velocity, Alan Paris, 1688 mbl; 5. Spirit of Canada, Derek Hatfield, 1787 mbl. ST. PETERSBURG NOOD 2003 From the 2003 Key West Race Week to the West Coast SCYA Midwinters, and now at the St. Petersburg NOOD, Ullman Sails has delivered fast, durable sails that have helped owners maximize boat speed. At St. Petersburg our customers finished 1st and 2nd in the Henderson 30 class, 1st and 2nd in the SR21's, and won the Melges 24 and the Olson 30 classes. If the "Fastest Sails on the Planet" can help your competitive efforts, call your nearest Ullman Sails loft or visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * April 10-13: Rolex Women's Match, St. Petersburg, YC. ISAF grade 4 women's match racing event preceded by a skills and rules clinic by Ed Baird. www.spyc.org * May 3: First annual Sail-Cuba.com Regatta from Tampa Bay, Florida, to the Marina Hemingway at Havana, Cuba. A PHRF regatta for offshore-equipped multihulls and monohulls 24 feet or longer. www.sail-cuba.com/ * July 19: Bacardi Bayview Mackinac Yacht Race, Bayview YC, - www.byc.com *IACCSF announced its revised schedule for the upcoming 2003 season. The Sausalito Cup will be held June 20-22, IL Moro Trophy July 25-27, Golden Gate Series September 6-14 and the IACC World's October 13-19. The fleet racing will consist of two groups, Vintage (1992 and 1995 yachts) and Grand Prix (2000-2003 yachts). Both divisions are owner driver. - www.iaccsf.com CUP VENUE The southern Spanish city of Cadiz, which will host the world sailing championships in September, has made a formal offer to host the next America's Cup last week but it was formally announced Tuesday. Alinghi is committed to visiting Cadiz over the next two weeks to tour marina facilities and receive a detailed report on weather and sea conditions in the Bay of Cadiz, said Carmen Horta, spokeswoman for a grouping of town halls in Cadiz province. Moreover, the Secretary General of the Irish Sailing Association, Paddy Boyd has written to Ernesto Bertarelli, asking him to consider Ireland as a potential venue for the title defence in three years time. "I wrote to him before they won the event, asking him to consider us as a venue in the event of their success," Mr Boyd said yesterday. "Obviously the Mediterranean will come in for consideration given its closeness to Switzerland but indications are that they will explore options throughout Europe." "There are a number of factors to be considered," the ISA secretary general added. "The area must have reasonably good weather. There must be reasonable landscape for each syndicate, for their facilities and for their back-up teams. The issue, for example with the Med is that these areas are well developed and are costly". "The Swiss will also hope to host it somewhere neutral and not give advantage to nations like France or Italy, who may themselves be competing", Mr Boyd said, who believes that Ireland can easily match the requirements of the organisers. - Hauraki News, full story: www.hauraki-news.com/LatestNews/XXXII-LN9.htm TNZ Team New Zealand was one of a handful of teams that tried to finance its campaign primarily with corporate sponsors. The result was what Alinghi mockingly called "the tower of tombstones" on TNZ's mainsail -- a huge block of space devoted to ads for five title sponsors -- Lotto, the phone company Telecom, Steinlager beer, Toyota and the German software company SAP. Alinghi was proud to have no ads on its sails, and in truth it was much prettier to look at. - Angus Phillips, Washington Post, full story: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30272-2003Mar2.html PICTURES ARE WORTH MORE THAN 1000 WORDS Momentos of Americas Cup 2003: Alinghi, Team New Zealand and the America's Cup, the Louis Vuitton Cup and OneWorld Challenge ...custom prints of the action as captured by award-winning photographer, Sharon Green, can be yours immediately. Order now at http://www.ultimatesailing.com MOVING DAY The America's Cup, international sport's oldest trophy, will arrive in Switzerland on Saturday, making its return to Europe after an absence of 152 years, officials said Wednesday. Cup winners Alinghi, carrying the trophy aboard a charter flight from Auckland, will land at Geneva airport in the early afternoon and will be met by federal, regional and Geneva municipal dignitaries. A public celebration of Alinghi's victory will be held in the evening in downtown Geneva. Alinghi syndicate spokesman Bernard Schopfer said. The Cup leaves Auckland Friday afternoon, ending an eight year stay in New Zealand. Team New Zealand won the trophy from the United States in San Diego in 1995 and successfully defended it in 2000, before Alinghi's successful 2003 challenge. - Fox Sports website, full story: http://foxsports.lycos.com/content/view?contentId=935760 HTML To read Scuttlebutt in HTML format, just double click on the Sailing Scuttlebutt URL next to the date at the top of each issue. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Ken Guyer: The pundits have written that Coutts has more Cup wins than Dennis Conner. They say 13 for Dennis and 14 for Coutts. I count 17 total for Dennis. Beginning with the 4 wins in 1974 (Courageous - co-skipper with Ted Hood), 4 in 1980 (Freedom), 3 in 1983 (Liberty), 4 in 1987 (Stars & Stripes '87), and 2 in 1988 (Stars & Stripes '88).The way Coutts is going though, if Dennis doesn't win anymore, Russell will eventually break the record, no doubt. * From John Callahan: In response to the change of protocol from 'Butt Extra March 4, this sentence is very interesting: "The lead-up events, which will culminate in a fleet race, including the defenders, at the cup venue early in 2007, would help to determine seedings for the challengers' series." Will this break the long standing tradition of the challengers and defender(s) staying in separate corners until the opening bell of the America's Cup? What type of sandbagging and showmanship will go on in these lead-up events? This was different from the Road to the America's Cup format when v. 1.0 boats were being sailed and not the syndicates "best and final" boat. It is conceivable that if a challenger or challengers appear notably faster than the defender(s) that the LVC could be a more interesting regatta than the AC. Heck, if we are going to toss them all in the same sandbox early on, why not just run the AC like the Final Four. 64 teams enter, one team leaves - Thunderdome style! This way, the defender(s) get more races under their belt and their sponsors get more exposure to their branding and bang for their buck. * From Lawrence (Lance) Harasym: I would like to add a suggestion in response to the potential changes to the America's Cup Protocol. If a syndicate has more than one boat available for racing, let the competitors choose whichever boat they want to sail on that particular day of racing. Will that create an issue for syndicates with only one boat? Yes, but I believe it will allow for more racing on days that were deemed either too light or too strong. * From Nelson Weiderman Am I the only reader who believes that four and a half years is too long an interval between Cups? Am I the only one who believes that Europe is big enough to host both the Americas Cup and the World Cup in the same year? From the paucity of commentary in Scuttlebutt on these topics, perhaps I am. Or maybe there are other reasons for waiting that long. Is it a done deal or should Scuttlebutt readers question the trial balloon that appears to be floating around? * From Bob Sweet I know the dollar has been very weak lately but this is going a little too far! Perhaps somebody was celebrating the Alinghi victory or mourning the NZ loss too much when they did the AC entry fee conversion from Euros to Dollars in butt EXTRA? The AC entry fees of Euro 450,000 would be closer to $490,000US instead of $876,300US. * From Eric Hall: Paul Page's note to Scuttlebutt showed a lot of style. I have enjoyed his Indy coverage, but was frankly aghast when he appeared on America's Cup coverage (who's next, I thought, John Madden?).But Paul did an excellent job and if he is not and has not been an avid sailor for a long time, then you could have fooled me. He was totally at ease describing the racing in his role as co-anchor for the coverage. He appears to have enjoyed his work and I did too. * From Jeff Dahl: While watching the fifth and last race, as TNZ dropped further behind with the call for the asymmetrical, I commented that "at least we won't have to watch anymore Lincoln Navigator ads." My eight year old responded: "Dad, we should be grateful to Lincoln Aviator for sponsoring this show." He was, of course, absolutely correct. Thank you to ESPN, OLN, Lincoln, Pacific Life and all the other sponsors who made it possible for us to watch these great events. While we can never expect non-sailors to completely understand the passion we have for sailing in all its forms, both networks did a great job of making these events approachable. At the same time, we sailors had a wonderful opportunity to bear witness to people at the pinnacle of our sport working those great machines around the course. It was heartening to hear that even an AC crew, after rounding a leeward mark, needed to be reminded to get their heads out of the boat. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: Enough - the America's Cup TV coverage thread is now officially dead. * From Ian Farquharson: Forget the America's Cup guys - I just tuned in to my new TV channel, "Xtreme Sports", last night (in Canada). They seem to show a lot of sailing so I subscribed to check it out. It was match racing in Australian skiffs - wow! It made the America's Cup look like a gardening show where we watch the grass grow. The coverage is incredible because these guys wear "headcam's". The pre-start wind up was awesome - talk about manoeuverability and acceleration. These things took off like a rocket. You would think that with 10 seconds to go luffing near the RC you could afford to bear off for speed - wrong! After 3 seconds you are already down at the pin and too early. It was very exciting - God knows what it must be like when the wind is more than 6 knots! * From Marty Browne: I believe that the increased safety regulation of participants by Race Committees is a bad trend. RCs should regulate Junior, youth or school, and adult-school racers but not adult racers racing privately owned vessels. It seems inappropriate for RCs to dictate when safety equipment will be used. It will create a liability issue if RCs break the barrier that says that boats, skippers, and crews must decide for themselves, when, where, and why to race in any given weather condition. If the RCs break that barrier, then someone will decide that the RCs are responsible for the actions of any boat in its race. RCs should recommend, suggest, or require certain equipment to be on-board their participating racing boats. The RC may or should require proof of knowledge of usage of that equipment and proof that the equipment is functioning or inspected. . RCs should not specify when, where or why that equipment is to be used. I don't know of any rule or regulation that prohibits the use of PFDs or safety harnesses. I don't want any rule or regulation that requires their use either. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: Somehow or other I let the PFD thread get reopened. Let me correct mistake that now and shut it down again! THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS Life is full of surprises - just say 'never' and you'll see. |
