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SCUTTLEBUTT 2227 – November 20, 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 support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). NEW PRESIDENT (Nov. 19, 2006) The Board of Directors of US Sailing today has elected Jim Capron of Annapolis, Md., as the organization's new president. Immediate past president Janet Baxter (Chicago, Ill.) passed the helm to Capron at the organization's annual meeting in Newport this morning. Capron has been involved with US Sailing in many capacities over the years. He has served on the organization's Board of Directors since 2001, most recently as a Vice President. He has also been a member of numerous committees, including the Appeals, Judges, Race Administration, and Olympic Sailing Committees. In addition, Capron is a US Sailing Senior Judge and Umpire as well as an International Judge and Umpire certified by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). As an official, he has served as a judge or umpire at many international events, including the Olympic Games, Louis Vuitton Cup, Volvo Ocean Race, and the ISAF World Sailing Games. Capron is an experienced sailor as well, having owned and campaigned various classes of sailboats over the years, from a Penguin to a J/35 racer/cruiser. An engineer by trade, he is the founder and president of Capron Company, Inc., a facility automation design and contracting firm located in Rockville, Maryland. Between cruising the Chesapeake Bay and his volunteer work at US Sailing and ISAF, Capron still finds time to race his Etchells. The US Sailing President serves for a one-year term and a maximum of three consecutive terms. -- US Sailing, full repot: http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2006/presidentcapron.htm * Susie Trotman (Syosset, N.Y.) was awarded the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy for her outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in the U.S. Trotman was presented with the Trophy, US Sailing's most prestigious award, at US Sailing's Annual Meeting in Newport, R.I. -- http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2006/herreshoff.htm * US Sailing has awarded its prestigious St. Petersburg Yacht Club Trophy for excellence in race management to Corpus Christi Yacht Club in Corpus Christi, TX. Corpus Christi Yacht Club was selected from a list of 19 nominations for outstanding organization and execution of the J/80 World Championship held last July. -- http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2006/stpete.htm * US Sailing announced the nine elected members of its Board of Directors, elected by the organization's members after a two-month voting period. This is the first time in US Sailing's history that the organization held member elections for its Board of Directors. -- http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2006/bodelected.htm The new Board members and the length of their terms are: - Dick Allsopp (Orange Park, Fla.) - one-year term - Jim Tichenor (Houston, TX) - one-year term - Susan Epstein (Sharon, Mass.) - one-year term - Amy Gross-Kehoe (Santa Clara, Calif.) - two-year term - Chip Johns (Mattapoisett, Mass.) - two-year term - Bill Stump (Venice, Calif.) - two-year term - Tom Hubbell (Delaware, OH) - three-year term - Patty Lawrence (Cincinnati, OH) - three-year term - Jerome Montgomery (Long Beach, Calif.) - three-year term PLANNING AHEAD (Nov 17, 2006) There are still 137 days left until the start of Act 13 in the context of the 32nd America’s Cup off the Spanish coast. While the United Internet Team Germany around skipper Jesper Bank is preparing day and night for the next challenge off Valencia, preparations for another possible campaign are made in the background. “The timing-factor is very important for a successful participation in the America’s Cup. It is therefore important not to waste time while discussing the future of Team Germany, but instead to step right into the decision process today. If we want to use our technical know-how gathered in Valencia at the best possible rate for another campaign, we now have to work out the basic conditions for a continuation thoroughly,” United Internet Team Germany Technical Manager Eberhard Magg confirms. -- Team website, full report: http://tinyurl.com/ylq8gw THE SECRET! The secret of one-design sailing success is often discussed in sailing circles. Has the J/120 fleet discovered the secret of one-design? They are not the hottest or newest 40-foot boat on the market, but the J/120 fleet is always visible with 8-10 boats showing up in venues and social events on a weekly basis. The J/120 class spends its time sailing in great venues, enjoying great competition on the water and lively social events off the water. If you are looking for a fun, healthy, and outgoing one-design class, discover the secret of the J/120 fleet at http://www.sailingsource.com/j120class US SAILOR OF THE WEEK (The US Sailing‘s Sailor of the Week’ recognition goes to Bill Sandberg. Here is the report.) Bill Sandberg has been a regular on the Long Island Sound sailing scene for many years. Many sailors know him from his various levels of involvement at American Yacht Club in Rye, NY, where he’s been a member since he was 3 years old. Others might know him as a columnist for WindCheck magazine, fundraiser for a Children’s Hospital, marketing guru for fishing tournaments and sailing events, and much, much more. On the national level, Bill is also known as a Vice President for US Sailing. And while Bill will tell you he thoroughly enjoys all positions he has held over the years, perhaps his favorite is chairing the Moosehead Committee. You might have heard of this hilarious committee that annually presents awards for local race committee foul-ups. You’d think race committees would do anything to avoid getting this type of award, but it seems the Moosehead Committee has no problem finding winners. Take for example these most recent winners: the race committee that forgot they were hosting a regatta (literally, they didn’t show up while the competitors did!). Or how about the race committee that left it up to the competitors to figure out who finished when. Bill, we’re glad there are good guys like you around with a good sense of humor! -- US Sailing, http://tinyurl.com/y9f4bx REGATTA ROUNDUP * Melges 24 US Nationals - Chris Larson at the helm for Scott Holmgren on Rosebud is the new, 2006 Melges 24 National Champion, beating out forty-five other boats at Florida YC, Jacksonville, FL. In addition to Larson and Holmgren was the great league of Chuck Norris and Andrew Estcourt. Standing in for second, on his 37th birthday was Scott Nixon at the helm for David Ford on Lightwave Micro with Mark Ivey on board calling tactics, Bell Canty and Brian Smith. Overnight leader John Pollard on Excellent seemed to have everything under control in the first two races of the day, but a very disappointing last race dropped them to third overall. -- http://www.usmelges24.com/news/2004/article/usmcanews442.asp * Star North Americans - The current world order in the Star class remains in place for now, with the final top three standings at the Star North Americans in Miami, FL following the same positioning as the recently held World Championship in San Francisco, CA. Hamish Pepper/ Carl Williams (NZL) continue to stand at the top of the heap, winning the NA’s with a race to spare, with Robert Scheidt/ Bruno Prada (BRA) in second and Xavier Rohar/ Pascal Rambeau (FRA) in third. Top North American sailors in this event were Ross Macdonald/ Mike Wolfs (CAN) in fifth, Andy Horton/ Brad Nichol (USA) in eighth and Peter Bromby/ Bill Mc Niven (BER) in ninth. -- http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_243.shtml * Etchells Worlds – After a win on day one followed by a second today, Marblehead MA sailor Jud Smith leads the 70 boat 2006 Audi Etchells Worlds fleet in Fremantle West Australia. The 'Fremantle Doctor' must have been busy with house calls today as the sea breeze did not lift above 14 knots. Smith, sailing with Canadian Dirk Kneulman, the 1998 Etchells World Champion and two Kiwi's - Andrew Wells the New Zealand Optimist coach and 48kg 14 year old Opti sailor Thomas Saunders - sailed into second place and retained the regatta lead. Dockside Smith first wanted to praise his youngest crewman. 'The four man crew is really working well. Thomas has been really sailing well. He has some good moves, very mature, he is a good yachtie.' - http://tinyurl.com/ydtxo5 (photo gallery courtesy of Andrea Francolini: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/1119) SAILING INTO WEALTH (The Monsoon Cup, part of the World Match Racing Tour, will be held Nov 28-Dec 3 in Maylasia. The local press seems to be embracing the event and its participants, based on some of the excerpts below from a recent article.) How does one become a professional sailor? All it takes is a love of boats, passion for the sea, spirit of adventure, heaps of courage, steely determination and youth. Professional sailing can be a lucrative career and many top sailors are nearly as celebrated as football stars in their home countries and internationally. Take, for example, one of the most expensive teams in sailing, Team Alinghi from Switzerland. Alinghi is the defender of the America’s Cup and, as the world’s strongest team, literally sailed into international fame and fortune, reaped in rich prize money and has become an international icon. Its renowned sailors live incredible lifestyles and enjoy celebrity status wherever they go. They have been immortalized forever on Swiss Post stamps. Malaysians tend to forget that this country has a rich maritime history – Malay sailors in the 15th and 16th century were already navigating the surrounding seas and had a reputation as seamen and skillful boat builders. The country should have produced a set of world-class sailors by now given its long shoreline, ideal weather and young talent. Sadly, Malaysian sailors move from Optimist to Laser classes and stop there, because there is no programme for them to progress into professional sailing careers. This is set to change with the Ministry of Youth and Sports announcing the setting up of sailing academies in five locations in the country, with the first to take off in Pulau Duyung, Terengganu next year. -- by Mimi Kolandasamy, Malaysia Star, full story: http://tinyurl.com/yj63xb GOBBLE, GOBBLE UP SAVINGS AT TEAM ONE NEWPORT Go directly to the Specials Page at the Team One Newport website and collect your savings! Musto Caribbean and Windward jackets are 30% off! So is the Musto MPX Race Jacket! Specials are being put up all the time so check it often. Quantities are limited and once they're gone, that's it! Team One Newport also has great new products such as the Team One Kevlar Wallets, Patagonia Wool Underwear, Calendars, Gerber Suspension Tool, Henri-Lloyd Team 2 jacket, and Gill Infinity jacket. Call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327) visit or http://www.team1newport.com SAILING SHORTS * Faithful Scuttlebutt reader and noted sailing historian John Rousmaniere has just released his latest book, A Berth to Bermuda: 100 Years of the World’s Classic Ocean Race. This large format book features hundreds of photos and many tales of boats and sailors. -- http://tinyurl.com/yd72op * (Crescent City, CA - Nov 17, 2006) Two docks were destroyed after a five-foot surge rolled into the Crescent City Harbor last Wednesday afternoon and caused up to $700,000 in damages. The surge is believed to be the result of an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 8.1 that struck earlier in the day near Japan, prompting tsunami warnings for Japan, Russia and Alaska. -- Full story, http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4765943 * (Nov 18, 2006) After 11 days of silence, Tony Bullimore and his crew on the 102ft catamaran Doha 2006 were finally able to make contact with their support team. Bullimore reported that their Mini M phone had been out of satellite range, and their two satellite phones are having a problem with the aerial connections. Bullimore is sailing to Hobart to make a bid to break the 70-day barrier for sailing solo around the world. His team expects to reach Albany, Western Australia on Tuesday, where they will be making a short pit-stop before continuing on to Hobart Tasmania. -- http://www.teambullimore.com * Sailing World's college rankings based on results through Nov. 13th are now online: http://tinyurl.com/yaptlz * The Daily Sail website reports in a story about Ericsson’s Volvo Ocean Race team is that now only have they signed Juan Kouyoumdjian as their designer, but that it is an exclusive deal, wherein he will only design for them. They comment in if this becomes a trend with other VOR campaigs, it could pave the way for many other design houses to get the chance to be involved with the Volvo Ocean Race. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/ycz8dk * The first winner of Scuttlebutt’s “What is on your gift list” forum thread is Jim Marta, who earned himself a $50 gift certificate for West Marine. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/2006/gifts CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar RACES IN PROGRESS * Alex Thomson, living up to his ‘Maverick’ reputation, is not one to follow the crowd and earlier last week made an astute tactical decision in the Velux 5 Oceans race to break away from the leading pack and head south-west around an area of high pressure that was blocking his path to the Southern Ocean. Taking two steps back to make one giant leap forward, covering many extra miles and heading in the opposite direction to Fremantle, Hugo Boss benefited from more wind than Ecover and Spirit of Yukoh - both caught up in the high pressure - and has now passed them to sail into second place. Meanwhile mid-Fleet Sir Robin Knox Johnston is suffering from broken battens, a temperamental pilot, and rapidly diminishing supply of whisky. The combination of all these problems leaves him debating whether he should incur yet another 48 hour penalty and pit-stop in Cape Town. --Velux 5 Oceans race website: http://www.velux5oceans.com * (Nov. 19, 2006) Most of the multihulls have reached the Route du Rhum finish line off Point à Pitre, Guadeloupe, though there are many monohulls that are still 200 to 700 miles away. The largest class that remains on the course is the Open 40, wherein only the top two of the twenty-five boat fleet are finished. The 3,500-mile solo transatlantic race started October 29 in St. Malo, France. -- http://tinyurl.com/yjl78g 30% OFF OPTIMUM TIME & OCEAN RACING WATCHES Watches make great gifts and we’ve got savings on the ones that racers want just in time for Christmas. Also high on Santa’s list this year are the new waterproof Offshore Backpacks with internal laptop sleeves & matching Offshore duffels. Lot’s of great “stocking stuffers” for under $50 too. http://www.OceanRacing.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (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 save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forums. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forums: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Rick Viggiano: Being in the marine electronics industry and having worked on several Maxi catamarans, I find the recent situation with “Doha 2006” a bit troubling. Either this is a disaster we have yet to learn about, lack of foresight in preparation, or an opportunistic publicity stunt. I certainly hope it is not the later! It seems reasonable, especially after Tony’s harrowing Southern Ocean rescue, that a portable Iridium would be onboard with spare charged batteries to at least get a few calls (and hopefully a lot more) off to his shore team. Reading his barometer (always a good idea) and fondling seaweed? Give me a break, whip out the emergency Iridium and call your shore team for an update and some routing! I also worked with Tony on his Nigel Irens designed 60’ trimaran “Peaches” back in the mid 80’s, coincidently on communications. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Tony and hope we hear some good news soon, but please for $1,500 get the man an Iridium before he departs again! * From John Harwood-Bee: Reflecting on events of the past few days, am I the only person to wonder how fortunate is Tony Bullimore’s radio communication "breakdown?" For a campaign that was receiving minor media interest and was little known outside the sailing world, Tony's RTW attempt is now being covered by 100's of radio and TV stations, news channels and websites around the world. Hits to his website have multiplied ten fold and, before he has even started his solo journey, he is the subject of enormous debate. Whatever his eventual achievement against the record, he has already shown his sponsor Doha an excellent return on their investment. To interest the media it seems, you now need drama. Bullimore, The Volvo, The Velux and Route De Rhum have all only seen increases in coverage the minute the excitement started. This not only applies to sailing but to many other activities including F1 motor racing. It is perhaps a sad reflection on the sanitized life most people now lead that they are only motivated by somebody else’s imminent danger or tragedy. Are we rapidly approaching the world off "Rollerball," the extreme sport in the film of the same name? * From Frederic Berg, Co-Captain, University of Hawaii Sailing Team '80: (regarding the ‘All Academic Sailing Team’ reported in Issue 2226) Looks like the brain trust belongs to the East Coast. Hhhhmmmmmm.... * From Don Taylor: (RE: Becca Ruhm and Tony Herrmann in Issue 2226) I had the pleasure of calling the finish in the first Star boat race that Becca Ruhm won with her grandfather as crew at the Racine Yacht Club. It was hard to tell who, granddaughter or grandfather, was more excited. And every other Star crew in the fleet was excited too. Isn't this what we should all aspire to in our racing careers? Thank you for a great story from the NA's. * From Rasa Bertrand: If that is Tony Herrmann, then he is also a great ex-Finn sailor and great party man. * From Ken Guyer: Interesting the thread regarding sailing the old 12's in St. Maarten (from Issue 2225). I had the privilege of skippering Stars& Stripes '86 here in San Diego for almost 4 years. Sure it was fun to participate in the local racing, but what was also a thrill was to take people out on the bay for a sail with the other 12 meters that used to be here. We were fortunate to be sailing Stars & Stripes immediately following Dennis and the crew's fantastic comeback down in Freo. It was a kick to watch mom and pop from the Midwest come down and gawk at what they thought was the gunsmoke blue yacht they stayed up till all hours of the morning watching race for the United States. Imagine the how they felt to go sailing on such a machine. We had our share of novice to Cup sailors out with us, but I have to admit the smile on the faces of those who sailed, not fully understanding the whole story, but feeling they were out on a legend that represented the true American winning spirit made that 4 years one of the greatest experiences in all my sailing. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something that will last until the coffee is cold. Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Team One Newport, & Ocean Racing. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
