SCUTTLEBUTT No. 652 - September 22, 2000

EVERYWHERE

They are absolutely everywhere. They're in Norway, Japan, Spain, the UK and Canada. There are two each in Australia and Mexico. Italy has three and there are 10 in the USA. That's 22 in all, and every one of these Ullman sail lofts will give a quote on a new sail to show you just how affordable improved performance can be for your boats:

http://www.ullmansails.com/

AMERICA'S CUP
The International Sailing Federation, Challenger of Record and Defence (COR/D) today signed an Agreement covering the conditions by which the 2003 America's Cup will be organised. The 2003 America's Cup will be run under the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing, but in order to reflect the specific needs of the America's Cup Class yachts, modifications may be made to the Racing Rules which will only be applicable for events under the direction of COR/D.

ISAF and COR/D will ensure the best and most experienced ISAF Race Officials are appointed to officiate, to ensure a level-playing field and fair play in such a high-profile event. COR/D will pay a sanctioning fee to ISAF, which ISAF in turn will share with the Member National Authorities of the Defender and Challengers. - ISAF website, http://www.sailing.org/office/amcuprelease.html

HIGHLIGHTS
Following are some of the special meetings taking place at US Sailing's Annual General Meeting at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, October 10-15

* Building Sailing Charities, a seminar on fundraising campaigns. Florence Andre of the University of New Orleans will share secrets about how major fundraising campaigns are performed by the major charities. Sailors involved with fundraising, including Junior Foundations, Community Sailing Programs, Sailors With Special Needs, and Sailboat Racing Organizations, are invited to attend. - http://www.ussailing.org/events/meet00fall/.

* Marketing 101 for One-Design sailors - if you want to learn how to give your class or fleet more exposure, then attend! Topics will cover everything from advertising to bumper stickers and attracting traffic to your web site to getting sponsorship for your events. The goal of this seminar is learn new ways to attract new people to one-design sailing. - Patty Lawrence, PLLawrence@aol.com

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net)
Letters selected to be printed are edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.

-- From Mark Findlay - Have we not heard enough of the problems some amateurs have with sailing against better sailors. I think we are all aware that there is a small bunch of 'amateurs' out there that have reached what they consider the top of their sport and do not want to be knocked off the top. So in an effort to secure their positions they want to limit 'professionals'. Their very own local sailmakers, boat builders, yacht designers.

Hello. Wake up. You might not like losing to them, but it might not be these peoples fault that they are better sailors than you. Who are you to say that they are not allowed to sail in 'your' regatta? So if the few amateurs who have a problem with it want to continue this thread maybe you could first go and design and build your own boats, sails, rigging and systems. That way you can create what ever you want in the way of classes and rules. After that we'll see how your sailing skills are and how much fun you'd be having.

-- From Nicole Breault - I can't speak for all amateur racers, but I love sailing against rock stars. Our sport requires a simple formula for preparation (however complicated significantly by money and time), a ton of experience-based learning, and some luck. Given your day to pull these components together, you can beat anybody. And if a rock star sailor is in the mix, that's really awesome!!!

I also feel that making the leaders of our sport more accessible by funneling competition into a few one design classes would help diffuse the knowledge they have among amateurs. Luckily a lot of sailors like to hang out and socialize after racing - and a conversation with a sharp sailor about the day's racing is pretty awesome too.

Lastly, I think one design racing lends itself to better learning. It offers controls to the game so we can truly measure our abilities and decisions in the game. I know that handicaps are in place to determine the winner in multiclass racing. But they leave you guessing about the mistakes you made - whether the botched gybe hurt your standings or maybe your speed is not good ... and you never know how much a mistake hurts you until an hour after the day's racing is over. And there seem to be inherent flaws in handicap systems that leave sailors frustrated. One design eliminates guessing and reinforces learning more quickly. So, Pedro, interesting idea.

-- From John Fox (re Professionals in Sailing and heavily edited to our 250-word limit)) - I think it is high time that the sailing world recognized the difference between a mechanic in the pit crew, a designer, and professional driver. The whole class of "marine industry professional" does a great disservice to both the workers in the industry and the sport of sailing. You either make a living racing sailboats or you are an amateur sailor.

I'm a marine engineer and designer and my company works on a variety of projects, cruising sailboats, powerboats, and also some fairly high profile racing sailboats. Because of this last item, I fall in the category of group 2 marine industry professional. If I race at any time on one of the boats that I engineer or design, I would immediately be reclassified as a group 3 professional. The same can be true for a kid working in a boat factory bolting on hardware. Race on a boat you built and you are a "professional".

I chose the Star Class because the competition is good on many levels and there is no discrimination based on what you do for a living. You can

however go to the Baccardi Cup, continental championships, and worlds to compete side by side with the best professional sailors in the world if you want to. If the Star Class can flourish with both professional and amateur sailors, then perhaps some of the other classes could learn how to do it as well.

-- From John Skinner (edited to our 250-word limit) - I agree that our sport would benefit having racing concentrated in fewer one-design classes. I don't agree that getting beat up on the racecourse by professionals is "one of the coolest things about the sport". Professionals have an unfair competitive advantage because they have more time to devote to boat preparation and experimentation and more time to devote to honing their skills. I do not benefit by having the value of this extra preparation time demonstrated to me on the racecourse. I learn more by having my mistakes pointed out when I make them and being rewarded when I don't make them. In other words, by racing against sailors that have a similar experience level.

I agree that the current systems for defining professionals is inadequate. I suggest that professional status should be based on performance on the race course. US Sailing could easily set up a system that ranks sailors based on regatta wins in class. Once a sailor has won a national or world title in a given class, then they would become ineligible to compete in certain designated local events. Such a ranking system could easily be refined to suit different class structures and different skill levels. In this way sailor's racing skills would be ranked instead of their source of income. Sailors could then choose to race against sailors at higher skill levels in certain events, but would also be able to compete fairly against sailors with similar skill levels at certain designated local events.

-- From Walter Johnson - Sailing need to look towards golf in order to continue its growth and look to start issuing handicaps to its competitors. A simple solution to the handicap system would be to issue everyone a low score.

Lets say every subscriber to scuttlebutt is issued a scuttlebutt handicap card of negative 10 or some other arbitrary number. In order to raise your score you need to request an increase based on your ability level. I.e. everyone is on par at a pro level (-10) unless you request otherwise. Then in the notice of race a regatta would will be run with each yacht allowed to compete with not to exceed combined rating. With the idea that each boat would have to carry those possessing a high handicap in order to make the combined anticipated ability level for the event.

Different events would have different ability levels. Everyone in fleet racing already arrives at a regatta with the idea that if the compete well they will achieve (x) finish. Or those guys over there imported (x) so they should achieve (y) for this regatta. So why not go ahead and put that in motion on paper and award people for sailing better then there combined handicaps in addition to awarding trophies for over all regatta scores.

-- From Andy Besheer - OK, that's 752,000 condoms divided by 11,000 accredited athletes (male and female) divided by 14 days. So if all the athletes are using their 5 condom a day ration, when are they finding time to take part in the televised portion of the games?!!

ENHANCING PERFORMANCE WITH BETTER TEAMWORK
(Taking a systematic approach to organizing and training your crew can pay big dividends when it comes to performance on the water. Betsy Alison takes a look at the key elements of building a successful team on the SailNet website. Here are a couple of excerpts from her story.)

* Look at your potential crew list, then at the available positions and see whose talents fit best in particular roles. You may find that switching folks around might give you a more balanced, efficient team in the process, and give crewmembers a chance to experience a new aspect of sailing the boat. Of course, having several people who know how to do each task on board can also come in very handy since they can provide a backup in an emergency as well as built-in support network for the entire crew.

Personally, the main attributes I look for in teammates are: dedication, commitment, loyalty, boat-handling skills, and a positive attitude-in that order. Skills can be taught and learned, but great attitudes, compatibility, and good chemistry are essential to making a team work smoothly. If someone does not gel within the team, it may be time to reevaluate their participation in your program.

* That is one of the biggest differences between success and disappointment on the racecourse. In the successful programs, each team member commits to the schedule agreed upon. It is understandable that everyone might not be able to make every event, but they should make an attempt for the sake of the team. If a team member cannot be at a scheduled event or practice, he/she should take on the responsibility to replace him or herself with a suitable substitute-someone who is as good, if not better, all for the sake of the team. The formula works because, as the adage goes, a team is always stronger than the sum of its components. Everyone knows that there is strength in numbers, and there is nothing better than the fun and satisfaction that comes from developing as a team, getting to know each other better, and doing it all while playing a sport you love! - Betsy Alison, SailNet website

Full story: http://www.sailnet.com/

OLYMPIC TRIVIA
* Question: Which Yacht Clubs can boast of having more than one of their members skipper a boat that won an Olympic Medal in the same class at the same Olympics?" Answer at the end of this issue of 'Butt.

PROVEN SUCCESS
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ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION
In the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, both Mark Reynolds (Gold) and Rod Davis (Silver) - who was racing for New Zealand at the time - won medals, and both were members of the San Diego Yacht Club.

THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
No amount of advance planning will ever replace dumb luck.