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SCUTTLEBUTT 2012 - January 19, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.ACURA KEY WEST Northerly winds that steadily increased to 25 knots made for another thrilling afternoon at Acura Key West 2006, presented by Nautica. Warpath, the Farr 40 owned by the father-son team of Fred and Steve Howe, made a major move up the leader board since the heavy air arrived on Tuesday. Past Volvo Ocean Race winner John Kostecki is calling tactics on Warpath, which is leading the regatta by tiebreaker over Vincenzo Onorato's Italian Farr 40 Mascalzone Latino, with Russell Coutts calling tactics. Goombay Smash continued to extend its lead in the Swan 45 World Championship. Skipper William Douglass and crew posted a third on Wednesday and is now eight points ahead of DSK-Comifin (Danilo Salsi, Italy). British match racing veteran Chris Law is calling tactics for Douglass, who has led the series since Day 1 by relying on a conservative game plan. Two of the regatta's biggest boats - Moneypenny and Aera - are engaged in a terrific battle in IRC 1. Moneypenny, a Swan 601 owned by Jim Swartz of Newport, R.I., placed second in Race 5 and holds a one-point lead over the Ker 55 skippered by Nick Lykiardopulo. A total of 17 boats from IRC 1 and IRC 2 are competing for the championship. Gold Digger, a J/44 owned by James Bishop, has won all five races in IRC 2 and stands fifth in the combined standings. Partners & Partners, a French entry skippered by Philippe Ligot, took over the lead in Melges 24 class with a second place on Wednesday. Blu Moon, a Swiss boat owned by Franco Rossini, fell to second. Dave Ullman (Pegasus 505) was winning Race 5, but wiped out on the last downwind leg. Jeff Madrigali (Pegasus 492) had a clean gybe and wound up snatching victory from his teammate. Ullman is in third place in the standings, four points off the pace, with 'Madro' in fourth, four points behind Ullman. -- Complete results: www.Premiere-Racing.com Updated Images: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/keywest View and post comments: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi View dockside reports at Scuttleblog: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog WRECKAGE STILL MOUNTING -- Tim Jeffery The worrying litany of damage in the Volvo Ocean Race continued with Torben Grael's Brasil 1 dismasted off south-west Australia as it was sailing downwind at 18 knots towards the scoring gate at Eclipse Island. Grael's crew are safe and attempting to make a jury rig in order to score points at Eclipse before stopping at Albany. Grael had already been forced to turn back to South Africa and stop in Port Elizabeth for deck repairs which left him at the back of the fleet. So just like Neal McDonald's Ericsson, Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean and Bouwe Bekking's Movistar, a second or third failure has struck. "The mast broke in three pieces after what seems to be a fitting failure at the lower end of the port vertical shroud," reported Grael after the mast tumbled down at 0630 GMT. Compared to some of the more perplexing keel system failures, there is no mystery about Brasil's problem. "Half of the fitting remaining on the boat and half on the shroud. No other signs of failure have been found so far," reported the man who has won five Olympic medals. "Due to the clement weather conditions we are trying to salvage the final top section of the mast from spreader four to the top. If we're successful this would mean that all pieces have been salvaged," Grael added. Like most teams, the Brazilians have a spare mast in Southampton ready to fly to wherever it is needed. Brasil 1's options seem to be step the spare mast or repair the broken one and try to complete the Cape Town-Melbourne stage, or retire like Ericsson and ship the boat. - Tim Jeffery, the Daily Telegraph, UK, http://tinyurl.com/amotm Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Wednesday 1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 596 miles to finish 2. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +53 miles 3. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +172 miles 4. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +501 miles 5. ING Real Estate Brunel, Grant Wharington, +893 miles 6. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +2069 miles 7. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald, retired Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/ QUOTE / UNQUOTE * "The repair we made yesterday was to simply lock the keel on the centerline of the yacht. I did not want to wait for our spare hydraulic rams to be flown to Albany and the associated minor modifications that would have been necessary. We would not have been able to leave Albany until Friday if all went well. In the big picture, we need to get the boat to Melbourne where our infrastructure is all set up, hull the boat out, get the keel off and repair the structural damage that we have. The structural damage is the big one in my mind. We don't know how extensive it is until we get her all opened up. The fact that this keel ram broke is just another detail that we can't let distract us from the big picture." - Paul Cayard, Black Pearl skipper "Unfortunately, as the start of the next leg is not so far away, we won't be able to finish this one, and the dream of many of us to sail effectively around the world will not come true, although the yacht is still racing and has not official retired from this leg. Now we are back sailing under jury rig. The speed is not great, but it's what we can get under these circumstances." - Torben Grael, Brasil 1 skipper * "Regrettably I have to inform you that ABN Amro One would currently not get a Volvo 70 Certificate ever since Brian Thompson came bursting through the wall of the Toilet !!! Taking the whole side out of the cubicle as the boat got thrown around in a big wave, one of those situations were it was pretty hard not to laugh at even though it looked like it had some good pain potential. But I can confirm that the only injury is too the wall... We do hope the measurers will look lightly upon the infringement as it hasn't had too great an effect on performance!" - Mike Sanderson, ABN Amro One skipper FIRST BALL BEARINGS - NOW ELECTRONIC BEARINGS Harken has introduced its latest innovative product - Electronic Bearings. Unlike the plastic bearings that recirculate smoothly in blocks and travelers, e-Bearings comes right to your computer as an informative monthly technical newsletter. Check out a sample technical article and sign up for e-Bearings. You'll receive hot Jon Nash Volvo computer screen wallpaper free of charge. This great shot features Harken-equipped Leg 1 and Leg 2 Volvo winner ABN AMRO ONE. http://www.harken.com/winches/winchoverview.php MILDEW - PROFILE OF A PROBLEM It is a poorly kept secret that mildew will grow on sails. It's something we loath and wish would go away, and at the same time we do not completely understand it and do not have a lot of good answers for prevention and cure. Here is what we do know and what you should know in dealing with the problem of mildew. - Mildew is a fungus. Therefore, it grows best in damp conditions, and doesn't like daylight. Due to the existence of different strains, it can flourish in climates as diverse as subtropical Florida, the Australian Barrier Reef, and the midwinter Pacific Northwest, all with very different ambient temperatures. - Mildew survives on microscopic organic compounds that it takes from the air, water and even from the surface of the sail. It also feeds on and destroys cotton, linen, and other natural fibres once popular in sails. - Mildew is not unusually attracted to modern sailcloth, including polyester, nylon, aramids, adhesives, finishes, films, etc., and does not cause structural damage to synthetic sails. - Mildew does not affect the integrity or performance of modern sailcloth, so our concern is with the sometimes quite gruesome cosmetic disfiguration it can cause. - Mildew can grow in any environment that is not overtly hostile to it, provided it has sufficient food and water. On boats, this includes anchor cables and mooring lines, sheets and sail covers, dodgers, cockpit cushions, mattresses, bulkheads, and so forth. Mildew spores are carried in the air, especially in rainwater, or are easily transferred by contact. We have developed a profile of circumstances that would increase the likelihood of mildew growth on sails...Most likely type of sail: Roller-furling genoa. Most likely usage pattern: Kept on the forestay but not used for weeks at a time. The rolled sail is an excellent trap and incubator for enriched rainwater, which trickles down into the wraps of sail and can't evaporate. Salt water does not seem to carry mildew spores and salt does not seem to have been a contributor in the worst mildew cases. Most likely location: Florida, and certain ports in the south of France. There seems to be a definite geographical connection. One theory is that the local rainwater is particularly rich owing to the biology of the surrounding waters, or something on land. On the other hand, these are both areas with many out-of-town owners who keep their boats in the water ready to go, but do not get to use them on a regular basis. Most likely material: any laminate with an exposed substrate. There are two reasons laminates seem to grow fungus more readily than woven polyester.- Complete story: -- North Sails, UK, full story: http://www.northsails.co.uk/media/articles/mildew.html NEWS BRIEFS * Waterfront City Race Village - the home away from home for the Volvo Ocean Race yachts and teams - is abuzz with activity as Melbourne prepares to welcome the fleet this weekend. Multi-million dollar team displays, brand new marinas, a smorgasbord of restaurants and bars, public entertainment stages, merchandise outlets and enormous yacht cradles with viewing platforms are ready for action. The first yachts aredexpected to arrive early Saturday morning after a gruelling 6,100 nautical mile voyage from Cape Town * The publication yesterday by the National Statistics Institute of the latest population figures has revealed that 12.4% of the population of the Valencian Community are foreigners. - Valencia Life Network, publisher@valencialife.net * A perfect day's sail with the big gusty south-easterly winds on Port Phillip, Australia at the 40-boat J24 Worlds. The Bruschetta crew, skippered by Mauricio Santa Cruz, handled the gusty and lumpy seas to finish seventh in Race 7 and win Race 8 to lead the 12-race series. Standings (1 discard): 1. Mauricio SantaCruz (Brazil) 27pts; 2. Ian Southworth (GBR) 29pts; .3. Wataru Sakamoto (Japan) 31pts; 4.Luigi Ravioli (Italy) 38pts; 5. Sean Wallis (Australia) 43pts; 6. Doug McGain (Australia) 43pts; 7.Mike Ingham (USA) 50pts; 8. Yasutaka Funazawa (Japan) 56pts; 9. David Klatt (USA) 61pts; 10. Jon Powell (GBR) 71pts. -- http://www.sailmelbourne.com.au/ * Jarlath Cunnane, a retired construction manager, boat builder and adventurer from Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland was selected by the Cruising Club of America to receive the Blue Water Medal. The award is made to Cunnane as builder and skipper of the Irish yacht, Northabout, which completed the first east to west polar circumnavigation in October 2005, during a four-year voyage that started in Westport, Ireland in June 2001. -- http://www.cruisingclub.org * The US Team Race Associations (USTRA) Mid-winter Championship was hosted by the US Sailing Center in Martin County last week and attracted 18 of the country's top team race teams. Sailed in Vanguard 15's over three days in 70-80 degree weather 1st place, Route 3 Split: Colin Merrick & Amanda Callahan, Pat Rynne & Sarah Callahan, Frank Ustach & Xaykham Khamsyvoravong. 2nd place, Larchmont YC: John & Molly Baxter, Danny Pletsch & Jamie Frey, Jay Rhame & Lauren Gillooly. 3rd place, Tap & Go: Justin Law & Danielle Nexi, Aubrey Mayer & Dan Hesse, Vince Porter & Jennifer Chamberlain. -- Complete results: http://www.usscmc.org/regattas/USTRAResultsFinal.xls EIGHT BELLS Theodore W. Kerr 1912-2006: Ted Kerr retired from a successful plastics business and took up sailing around age 60 in his Ericson 32 and later an Ericson 39 "Neophyte" based in Newport Beach. He was 65 before getting involved in yacht racing when he purchased the Custom Hollman 50, "Solution", which he suitably re named "Temerity". From 1978 to 1988 Ted devoted most of his time to racing and upgrading "Temerity". He skippered her in the 1979 and 1981 Transpacs, including doing the return trip to California himself with a small delivery crew. He also sailed her in many Mexico races and countless local races in Southern California. He finished his racing career by finishing 1st and winning the IOR overall trophy in the 1988 Newport-Ensenada race skippering the N/M 68 "Swiftsure" which he chartered for the event. Ted's biggest concern while racing was that everyone on board was having fun, regardless of the circumstances of the race. He attracted a loyal and devoted crew that stayed with him for most of his sailing. Ted suffered a stroke last December passed away on January 15th at age 93. -- Steve Reed ULLMAN SAILS QUALITY INVESTMENT! Why are Ullman Sails the "Fastest Sails on the Planet?" Simple…Ullman selects only premium sailcloth and marine hardware that the sailmaking industry can provide. Ullman Sails combines the latest proven sail design programs with proven construction technique that have an end result of simply the best sails available. Whether you race, cruise, or merely enjoy daysailing, look for top quality sails that combine performance, durability, and service. There is only one clear choice…Ullman Sails. Call your nearest Ullman Sails loft or visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Doran Cushing: Come on Buttheads ... yes, there was carnage at Key West and one very expensive 52-foot boat with a likely crew resembling an NFL defensive squad of a dozen or more sailors "saw 21 knots of speed while screaming downwind." I'd bet the Corsair 28Rs were in double digits upwind and down with four sailors aboard a boat costing less than $100K fully prepped for Key West. If my ancient F-27 can hit 20 knots off the wind with amateurs aboard, what kind of speeds do you think the 28Rs found with Olympic medallists, US Sailing champs...and a whole lot of very good "amateurs"...working as teammates? Most lead-draggers brag when they hit 8 or 9 knots. That's when the Corsairs start looking for kelp on the keel or some other "anchor." Why ignore the fastest ... and possibly strongest ... high performance boats at the venue? * From Johnny Smullen (re big breeze at Key West): Howling? I think the Volvo boys would be rolling around at the simile of a howling 20-25 knots at Key West, surely howling starts at 40. * From Victoria Scott With the news that Brasil 1 has become the most recent VOR casualty, would someone please explain to me (and hopefully others) what this is doing to benefit our sport? Whether or not the sailors are loving or hating the race, from a sponsors point of view, if the boats keeps breaking, it is bound to raise major doubts as to whether sailing sponsorship is the way forward. Disney are the biggest, multinational main-stream brand that has associated itself with sailing in a long time. If their boat keeps falling apart, will there be a Volvo boat named after a Disney blockbuster on the start-line of the next VOR? Probably not. Exhilarating boats and awesome speeds are all very well but no sponsors equals no start-line. * From Andrew Ham, New Zealand: Rob Mundle you have nailed it! I always seem to struggle with Magnus negative comments. With all the failures going on, it is easy to sit back at your computer and be negative about the VOR race. There has been talk on here about how to get more young people into sailing and these boats are the tool to do this. Sports that we are seeing get bigger at the moment are high risk sports like skateboarding, base jumping, freestyle motorcross etc ... For the non sailor, seeing all this action might make some people associate adreniline with sailing, something the high profile events like the Americas Cup fail to do. If anything will make this race a farce it will be the fact that it could be won without sailing all the legs, although this is becoming less likely by the day.So Magnus, grab your blanket, pour yourself a hot toddy, recline the lazy boy and leave the Men (and woman if Adrienne gets the call up again!) to sail these beasts round the world. To the sailors, good luck, enjoy yourselves, and lets see a 575nm run. * From Mark Eustis: The Volvo Race site has a picture of a broken titanium keel ram off Ericsson. The pebbled look to the end of the ram, complete with a 'powdery' grey color is a classic sign of brittle fracture. Metals fail like this when they've passed their tensile strength; it's an abrupt and (obviously) catastrophic failure, as has been reported by the crews. Noisy, too. Now, I'm no materials scientist, but I can tell you high tensile steel has 2x greater tensile strength than a typical titanium alloy. And kevlar has 4+ times the tensile strength. As for elasticity, that's another story entirely, but suffice it to say steel trumps titanium again...and carbon fiber is an order of magnitude stronger. Tough to work with, though. Now, I expect the general idea is to move the short end of that swizzle-stick "keel" back and forth above a fulcrum. Granted, you couldn't push that lever arm with kevlar string...but you could pull on it all you want. Given the Ericsson ram failed under tension (pulling) why not build a space frame with a bunch of kevlar strings running around inside? Set it up like a steering mechanism with some wind-up pulleys and Bob's Your Uncle, Mate. Then again, what's the weight penalty for making the ram twice the size? And out of high tensile steel, at that. http://www.volvooceanrace.org/multimedia/ * From Nat Iyengar: It should be noted that the ABN Amro boats have sailed flawlessly with no structural problems. These seem to have been limited to the Farr boats. I agree with Ross Field's that the cost of the current campaigns has reduced the participant pool. We saw the escalation in budgets in the WOR 60 fleet. It would have been perfect if the same hull could have been used in the VOR and Open 60 races. * From Jim "J.D." Stone: Stevan Johnson (in Butt 2011) forgot my favorite: The Sly Pig - also known as the Cunning Ham!And when its time to tack, as skipper I simply say "Leona!" - that's short for "Helms a lee" . Not sure why I have such high turn-over of crew? * From Douglass Sisk: My personal favorite boat-part-that's-not-found-in-Bristol belongs to the Schock 35 class. The bit of webbing that provides the anchor for the jib halyard to tension the mast forward when running was dubbed the "frackulator" some years ago. It, like its verb construction (to "de-frackulate" or simply "de-frack") is now in universal use not only in the Schock 35 class but also on some bigger-faster racing yachts. That being said, the class still holds with some seafaring traditions... we still call the pointy end the bow - when its not being referred to as "adventure land"! * From Dan Spurr: It's doubtful anyone really cares, but Joseph Launie is incorrect in saying that in boats bulkheads are called ceilings. According to the VNR Dictionary of Ships & The Sea, by John V. Noel, Captain, USN (ret.), a ceiling is "The inside planking, sheathing or plating of a ship, including the flooring of a ship's cargo hold." In modern yachts, the ceiling is most commonly the decorative, horizontal wood strips that cover the bare insides of the hull CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore." -- Vincent Van Gogh Special thanks to Harken and Ullman Sails |
