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SCUTTLEBUTT 3065 - Wednesday, April 7, 2010Scuttlebutt 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. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today's sponsors: North Sails, Melges Performance Sailboats, and Harken. SUPERSTAR SAILORS DESCEND UPON CHARLESTON HARBOR Charleston, SC (April 5, 2010) - Sleek, carbon-fiber racing sailboats are flooding into Charleston with less than a week to go until the first starting gun of 2010 Charleston Race Week, and entry records aren't the only thing being broken. Race Director Randy Draftz was a bit surprised to see more than 16 sailing World Champions spread throughout the fleet along with innumerable National, North American, Collegiate and Olympic standouts. "We've always said that Race Week should be the most enjoyable regatta in the South, and it's great to see so many world-class racers embrace not only the great racing, but the laid-back and fun attitude that Charleston is all about." With names like Harry Melges, Bill Hardesty, and Chuck Norris showing up on crew lists, Charleston Race Week has come a long way from the local regatta it started as some 14 years ago. 2005 Team Race World Champion and 2009 US Coach of the Year Mark Ivey thinks organizers have struck just the right note. "Charleston Race Week mixes professional race management with a relaxed and truly welcoming attitude ashore," said Ivey. "On the water, the competition is as good as anywhere, but off the water, the friendly atmosphere is a nice break from the high-pressure environment of other events." Ivey will sail in the 30-boat Melges 24 fleet on Charleston local Guy Mossman's Battle Rhythm. Melges 32 World Champion skipper and New York Yacht Club sailor Pieter Taselaar will be making his Charleston debut in 2010 in his chartered Viper 640 Bliksem, and with 29 other boats, this Class ties the Melges 24 as the largest at Race Week. "Everyone talks about how great Charleston Race Week is, so we found a way to get down here, but we're not expecting to win," said Taselaar. The Dutch native and New York resident didn't skimp on talent for his crew, which includes multiple World Champ Willem Van Waay and Australian 18-foot skiff champion Michael Coxon. "We're coming because we heard we'd have a great time - if we do well, that's great too," said Taselaar. 191 competing boats are registered for this year's running of the 'Southern Classic,' and they will race in 15 different one-design and handicap classes on four different race courses - two inside the harbor, and two outside. -- Full story: http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/2009/pdf/crwsuperstars.pdf A RULES EVANGELIST How do you get over 100 sailors to give up an entire Saturday to talk about the racing rules and tactics? It's easy. You arrange to have Dave Perry lead the discussion. At least that's what we experienced recently at the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. With virtually every one-design fleet raced in eastern Massachusetts represented by skippers and crews, Dave Perry did what he has been doing for years - he made the Racing Rules understandable, memorable, and fun, and he made the game come alive. There are lots of ways to learn the rules, but none of them compares to a day with Dave. His perspective, as a long-time competitive match racer, coach, rules author, judge, and now as chairman of the US SAILING Appeals committee, is unequaled. But it is the way that Dave teaches the rules that is really the special sauce. Remember your favorite teacher from high school or college? The one who made you laugh and think at the same time? The one who seemed to teach you when you weren't looking? The one who inspired you to understand - not only the 'what', but the 'why'? That's Dave all over. The day at the EYC was full of memorable anecdotes, thoughtful observations, great questions and fantastic answers. Everyone left with a better understanding of the racing rules, and how to apply them in the heat of the moment. As one of our attendees put it, "I haven't learned that much and laughed that hard while doing it in a long time; Dave is more than a teacher, he is a racing rules evangelist!" Those of us on sailing committees at clubs and other sailing organizations are always on the lookout for ways to inspire our sailors to participate more and for ways to bring new sailors into the game. Having seen Dave in action, if you want to energize your local sailing community, consider bringing Dave to your club. You can learn more about Dave's schedule, or how to arrange for Dave to visit your club or association at cleverpig.org/DavePerry. -- Greg Mancusi Ungaro, Sailing Committee Chairman, Eastern Yacht Club, Marblehead, MA. NORTH-POWERED BOATS LEAD THE WAY TO CABO! North-powered boats finished 1st in every PHRF class at the 2010 Corona del Mar to Cabo San Lucas Race last week and 4 out of 5 classes in ORR. Congratulations to the crew onboard 'Grand Illusion' for winning Class B; 'Morpheus' for taking honors in Class C; and 'Sabrina' for winning Class E. A special congratulations to Dr. Laura Schlessinger and her crew onboard 'Warrior' for winning Class D (the largest class) and the overall Trophy. The North-powered J/125s were the offshore class to beat, finishing 1-2-3 in Class D. When performance and speed count, the choice is clear: http://www.na.northsails.com RUNNING FASTER THAN THE WIND By Adam Cort, Sail Magazine It's one of the great ironies of sailing. Going dead downwind, arguably the "easiest" angle of sail, is also the slowest. Thanks to the phenomenon of apparent wind, modern boats regularly sail faster than the true wind speed on a reach. But on a run, there's no getting around the fact that the faster you go, the less pressure there is on your sails - until now. According to Rick Cavallaro, chief scientist at Sportvision Inc., a company founded by renowned navigator Stan Honey, the exercise began as a fun brainteaser, namely "can you build a wind powered-vehicle that goes directly downwind, faster than the wind, steady state?" The result has been a "huge raging debate across literally dozens of internet forums" and a somewhat ungainly looking vehicle affectionately named the BUFC, for "big ugly cart." (Yes, we know that's just three words, none of which starts with "F." You'll have to fill in the blanks yourself!) In March, the BUFC, which is sponsored by Google and the airborne wind turbine company Joby Energy, made a first set of runs at the North American Land Sailing Association (NALSA) Americas' Cup meeting on the dry lakebed in Ivanpah, Nevada. While Cavallaro and Sportvision director of manufacturing John "JB" Borton, had set an initial goal of 2X the true wind speed, the BUFC had no problems going 2.5X the wind speed, and the team now has its eyes set on 3X the wind speed. Cavallaro says the BUFC works - even when there is a stiff apparent wind blowing in the driver's face - because of the apparent wind being created by the spinning blades as they move at an angle to the true wind, like a sailboat sailing on a reach. The team is not revealing precise top speeds at this time, but is planning to make an official NALSA-sanctioned run in the near future. -- Full story: http://sailmagazine.com/racing/running_faster_than_the_wind/ AUSTRALIAN YACHTSMAN SIGNS ON FOR VELUX 5 London, England (April 6, 2010) - Australian yachtsman Garry Golding has become the latest sailor to sign up for the world's oldest solo sailing challenge - the VELUX 5 OCEANS. The experienced yachtsman has made numerous ocean passages clocking up thousands of miles at sea during his sailing career and is now ready to make the jump to racing. Initially Garry had planned to sail round the world non-stop in a bid to break the Australian record of 180 days but after buying Dee Caffari's old boat Aviva he set his sights on the 30,000-mile VELUX 5 OCEANS. Garry will race in the newly launched ECO 60 fleet for Open 60 yachts launched before 2003. Garry said: "This will be the first ocean race I have sailed on my own but I am looking forward to the challenge. I have sailed through plenty of storms and big waves in my time and I reckon I can take them on again. I've got a great boat that is solid and has a proven track record, and I want to go out and be competitive. I have always wanted to do a solo ocean race and what better race to compete in than the VELUX 5 OCEANS." Garry was born in Watford in the UK but moved to Australia when he was a child. After building his own house, he took up sailing in his spare time and there began a love affair that is still going strong. Practical Garry then set about building his own 44ft yacht called Wraith, a project that would take him ten years to complete. Since then he has completed several circumnavigations of Tasmania as well as long distance passages around the coast of Australia. In 2007 he bought a 65ft Macgregor in the US and sailed it back to Australia. The VELUX 5 OCEANS, run by Clipper Ventures PLC, starts from La Rochelle in France on October 17 and features five ocean sprints. After heading from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the US before returning back across the Atlantic to France. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/y9bzksw WATSON NEARS FINISH OF GLOBAL SOLO-SAILING ADVENTURE Abby Sunderland made news last week by rounding dangerous Cape Horn to mark the first major milestone of her around-the-world sail, but Jessica Watson's team has bigger news: The Australian adventurer, who has been sailing for 171 days, has logged more than 19,000 miles and is expected to finish her solo-circumnavigation in early May. Both girls are 16 and both are aspiring to become the youngest people to sail around the world alone. Jessica, who is five months older than Abby, left Sydney in October, more than three months before her counterpart. And both are following each other's journeys. Writes Jessica on her blog: "It was great to hear that Abby Sunderland rounded Cape Horn yesterday. I'm really thrilled for her. It brings back lots of memories of when I was down there. Go Abby!" Whereas Jessica, aboard a 34-foot boat, is bearing down on western Australia - she still has to round Cape Leeuwin and sail around the continent to Sydney - Abby, aboard a 40-foot yacht, is near the Falkland Islands off South America, trying to repair her primary auto-pilot so she can get on with her Southern Ocean excursion. Sunderland, from Thousand Oaks, Calif., also shares exciting news on her blog: "I saw land yesterday for the first time in, I'm guessing, two months. The land I saw was Staten Island, just east of Tierra del Fuego and the Strait de le Maire. It was a little terrifying to be so close to land after so long as you are constantly watching out for it, but it was very exciting to see! It made me miss being on land a little bit ... but not that much. I'm still very happy out here!" That both girls are able to keep their spirits up in trying and often-harsh conditions is truly amazing, if not downright inspirational. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/y8srlw2 Abby Sunderland blog: http://soloround.blogspot.com/ Jessica Watson blog: http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/_blog/Official_Jessica_Watson_Blog/ AUDI MELGES 20 REPORT The Audi Melges 20 races in their 4th Series Event this week. Charleston Race Week is the venue. An ideal venue for the Audi Melges 20. After Charleston the series extends to the Detroit NOOD in early June. For fantastic racing check out the Audi Melges 20. New and used boats are available! http://www.melges20.com and http://www.melges.com SAILING SHORTS * The Board of the San Diego Yacht Club has voted to become a Founding Member of the National Sailing Hall of Fame in Annapolis, Maryland. SDYC joins several other prestigious yacht clubs in the United States, including New York Yacht Club, St. Francis Yacht Club, Annapolis Yacht Club, Eastport (Annapolis) Yacht Club and Nantucket Yacht Club, in supporting the National Sailing Hall of Fame as it moves forward on plans for construction of a new facility on Annapolis City Dock, a place which will become "a home for the Sport of Sailing. * A new racing event, the Voiles de Saint Barth 2010, is now underway through April 11, hosted by the Saint Barth Yacht Club on the Caribbean island of Saint Bartholomew, in the French West Indies. Some of the finest sailing boats in the world from classic yachts to maxis have registered to race, including ICAP Leopard 3 owned by Mike Slade, and at their helms many famous names from offshore racing and round the cans races, including Peter Holmberg at the helm of the Swan 90 Sojana, Ken Read skippering Rambler (formerly Alfa Romeo), as well world match racing champion Claire Leroy, and Loïck Peyron. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/yj8beoa * At least two federal income tax deductions of interest to boat owners remain in place for the 2009 tax year: mortgage interest deductions and state sales tax deductions. If you bought a boat last year, state sales tax or state income tax may be deducted. However, you must choose one; you can't deduct both. -- Complete report: http://www.boatus.com/pressroom/release.asp?id=487 * Japan's Toyota Motor Co., beset by bad news lately, has inked a deal to again become the title sponsor for the Detroit-based historic Bayview Yacht Club's Detroit Cup match race. The 2010 Toyota International Match Race is scheduled for August 18-22, on the Detroit River. Terms of the sponsorship deal were not released. Toyota was fined $16.4 million on Monday by the Obama administration for delaying for four months its 2.3 million-vehicle recall linked to faulty accelerator pedals. -- Full story: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20100406/FREE/100409942# EIGHT BELLS: Peter 'Spike' Doriean 38-year-old Peter 'Spike' Doriean, a regular on the offshore racing circuit is believed to have died from head injuries after falling in the shower at his hotel in St Maarten in the Caribbean. He was in the region to take part in the inaugural Voiles de Saint Barth regatta as a member of George David's Rambler crew. "It is unbelievable," said Kenny Read, crew on Rambler and skipper of PUMA in the last Volvo Ocean Race. "There's a guy who has been through the Southern Ocean a dozen times and is one of the toughest guys you'll ever meet, ever, in any sport. We are all in a state of complete shock and were going to cancel the event but his wife Nicki has asked if the boat can sail in his honour. It may be the best thing for everyone but it is a hard decision - everyone wants to do it for Spike." Doriean had taken part in many top class international races: as trimmer on Movistar in the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race and member of the News Corp team in 2001-2002, he was also a regular in the TP 52 circuit on Audi Q8, in the America's Cup and took part in several Sydney-Hobart races. He leaves his wife Nicki and two children Fox and Jemima. Full story: http://tinyurl.com/yhobfxj WANTED: MECHANICAL ENGINEERS & HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS ENGINEERS Designing for elite AC/Grand Prix teams...making strong, light, and reliable gear...setting industry trends...working with a small, down-to-earth team...sound good? If so, join us at Harken world headquarters in Pewaukee, WI. Read the complete listings at http://www.harken.com/company/jobs.php LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). 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 Mal Emerson: (re, letter Scuttlebutt 3064) I totally agree. If America's Cup 34 isn't sailed in San Francisco Bay it will be because money and/or politics get in the way. Check Six ... * From Larry Zeitlin: I am not much of a fan of exploits based on the age of the participant. They are activities notable only because of a mention in the Guinness Book of Records. Every feat attempted by the "youngest" or "oldest" is simply a challenge to someone still younger or older. The end will be reached only when a babe in arms sails around the world with the aid of autopilots, GPS, and computerized sail tending gear, accompanied by a fully equipped "rescue" ship in case something goes wrong. Where are the responsible parents for these misadventures? Are they so motivated by publicity that they sacrifice their children on the altar of notoriety? How many TV and publishing contracts are necessary to encourage a trip? I shuddered when my 16 year old got his driving license - even though he was a reasonably good driver and a better sailor. Don't encourage these publicity-motivated ventures. They are not good for boating. * From Ted Ritter, Fort Lauderdale, FL: (edited to the 250 word limit) Allow me to chime in with John Rumsey (SB 3057) and Ron Baerwitz (SB 3058) on the choice of AC 34 boats. As suggested by some that high speed off wind boats will add to TV excitement, I have to disagree. Imagine the weather mark leader with, say, a commanding one minute lead. Off they go downwind at 20 knots, leaving the second boat trailing with a gap of two football fields from the get-go. For TV, that's a yawner because the visuals will be shot from above leaving the semi-interested TV audience scratching their heads as to what makes it so interesting. My suggestions: 1. Why not stay with the AC 5 boats? They are fun to watch, fairly equally matched, and 100 have been built offering a great market for prospective challengers to buy training and practice boats which may not be the so-called "state of art", but who cares? 2. An AC Class of TP 52s? A special version of an already organized, quick, fun sloop built to an AC version that could have a legal after life within the TP 52 class organization. An AC 6 version of 90 footers have zero after life marketability. 3. Whooa - go back to lead mine 12 Meters. Slow by today's standards, but a cool to watch on TV with old-fashioned dial ups and close crossing racing. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION In order to get a loan, you must first prove you don't need it. Special thanks to North Sails, Melges Performance Sailboats, and Harken. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
