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SCUTTLEBUTT 2571 – April 9, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. ‘BUTTHEADS TO DECIDE 2012 OLYMPIC EVENTS It was announced last week (#2567) that ISAF had agreed to reconsider the events selected for the 2012 Olympic Games. As a result of the significant outcry from the international sailing community, ISAF will vote at their Mid-Year Meeting to take place in Qingdao, China (May 8-12, 2008) as to whether they choose to reaffirm their decision on the 2012 Olympic Events made in November 2007. A simple majority vote against affirmation sends the voters to the next round, where separate votes for the selected men’s events and the selected women’s events will occur. It will take two-thirds of the voters to agree that change needs to occur at this round, and it could be for only the men, only the women, both, or neither. Assuming that there is a majority vote at the first round against affirmation, the recent Scuttlebutt poll asked the ‘buttheads if they found either of the event lists needed to be changed. The final poll tally finds that either Scuttlebutt is now the most widely read publication in the multihull community, or there are simply a lot of dissatisfied people. Either way, the voters say that change is needed, more so for the men, but still needed for both men and women. The next step now is to vote on what events are preferred. However, after looking at the voter comments from our first poll, there might be some confusion regarding the terms of the 2012 Olympic Events. First off, there will be 6 men events and 4 women events, with no open or mixed events. Also, we are only deciding on events (ie, singlehanded, doublehanded, multihull, etc.) and not equipment (ie, Finn, 29erXX, Star, etc.). The poll has all the suggested event choices, and you are now asked to rate each event in how strongly you feel it should be in the Olympics. To place your vote, go to http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/08/0403/#2 SHIFTING WINDS AFFECT THE MIDS' SAILING PROGRAM Spring is in the air. Around the Chesapeake, boatyards are buzzing as drydocked sail and power boats are readied for the season. An exception is at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, where a change in philosophy is raising concern for one of the recent rites of passage for midshipmen. For years, mids by the hundreds went to sea in the summer on one or another of the academy's fleet of 44-foot sloops to spend a week or two in close quarters, dealing with whatever the ocean threw at them between here and New England. In Navy parlance, it's called small-unit leadership training at sea and is regarded by many as a cornerstone of preparation for budding officers. Two years ago, about 1,000 mids made the summer passage either from Newport, R.I., to Annapolis or the other way around after a week of training on one of the academy's 21 blue 44-footers, said Cmdr. Jay Cavalieri, a former all-American dinghy sailor who now runs the school's sailing program. This year, he expects only 120 or 130 will make the trip. The offshore program and inshore basic sail training in smaller boats are victims of budget cuts, said Cavalieri, who has been struggling to keep them afloat on about one-tenth of the funds he's used to having. Cavalieri said the academy's intercollegiate dinghy racing operation continues to thrive, financed largely by a private grant, but funds for maintaining and operating larger boats and for general sail-training are scarce. In all, the academy keeps a fleet of about 300 sailboats ranging from one-man Lasers to the 66-foot, custom-designed, donated ocean racer Zarafa that, with a crew of mids, was first to finish last year's Governor's Cup Race from Annapolis to St. Mary's City. Cavalieri says the new academy superintendent, Vice Adm. Jeffrey L. Fowler, made clear when he took over last June he was committed to continuing the school's strong NCAA dinghy racing presence but would cut back on noncompetitive offshore and inshore training operations. -- Washington Post, full story: http://tinyurl.com/4xtqqb => Curmudgeon’s Comments: Two members of an oversight committee, Gary Jobson and Tony Parker, voice their concerns regarding the change further into the article, and will be meeting with committee members on April 22nd to discuss. If you have an opinion that you would like to share, send us an email. SPRING SPECIAL Just in time to brush up for sailing season, North U is offering free shipping to Scuttlebutt readers on all mail orders placed in April. This deal applies to the full line of North U Books and CDs, as well as books, CDs and DVDs from Dave Perry, John Rousmaniere, David Dellenbaugh, and Tucker Thompson. Free shipping for US and Canada. Half price for overseas shipping. (Not available for express delivery.) Add “Scuttlebutt Free Shipping” to comments and we’ll deduct the shipping fee before processing charges. 800-347-2457 or http://www.northu.com THE HOME TEAM The Volvo Ocean Race has long resided on the grand scale of international yachting, and for the North American ‘buttheads, skipper Ken Read and his Puma Ocean Racing campaign are officially the home team. There will be a total of seven entries starting this fully crewed event in October - six based in Europe and one emerging from Newport, RI. Following a presentation by Read last week to provide an overview of his team, Sailing World magazine’s Stuart Streuli had these observations: “It appears that Read isn't taking this tremendous opportunity for granted. While he has carved a very successful career in the sailing industry and he's won more than his share of big races, I have wondered whether he would ever truly stamp his mark on the sport. In my mind—at least if you're an American sailor—you do that in one of three ways: win an Olympic medal, win an America's Cup, or win the Volvo Ocean Race. These three achievements require such an exquisite combination of planning, talent, determination, and luck that they stand the test of time. “I don't think you can call Puma a favorite for the VOR crown. That honor, or weight if you prefer, rests with Torben Grael and the two-boat Ericsson campaign. But after last night's presentation I'm moving Puma closer to the top, less of a dark horse and much more of an outside favorite. I was left with three distinct thoughts after the presentation: * Read is totally at peace with the commercial nature of the race. His candor is refreshing. He knows the ultimate success of this venture isn't measured in points or trophies, but at the cash register. Puma is onboard to sell its product. I think this is important, as anyone who believes otherwise at the outset will inevitably have to come to grips with this realization. * The crew is top notch. Read introduced us to 12 members of the team. Most are not household names. Two, however, stuck out. Navigator Andrew Cape, who just finished second in the Barcelona World Race, and Jonathan McKee. The latter is perhaps the most talented American sailor of his generation, which includes Read himself. He's also extremely motivated to make his mark sailing around the world. He was, by all accounts, more than a little upset about pulling out of the Barcelona World Race after sustaining rudder damage. He will prove an invaluable asset. Add Aussie Chris Nicholson and Frenchman Sidney Gavignet, who was a helmsman with ABN AMRO One last time around, and Read's got himself a stacked core squad. “ Editor Dave Reed adds, “The final bits of hardware are going on this week and they're looking at first sailing in early May.” -- http://forums.sailingworld.com/blogs/?q=node/139 SAILING SHORTS * Pete Bethune, the skipper of the 78 foot biodiesel powered trimaran Earthrace has tentatively set the 2008 World Record attempt start for April 27th 2008 from Sagunto in Spain. Earthrace will attempt to set a new world record for a powerboat to circle the globe, running 100% sustainable biodiesel fuel, and a net zero carbon footprint. The crew hopes to complete the voyage in under 65 days. The current record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe is currently 74 days, 23 hours and 53 minutes. This record was set by UK boat ‘Cable & Wireless Adventurer’ in 1998. -- Sail World, full story: http://www.sail-world.com/pda.cfm?Nid=43354&RequestTimeOut=180 * At the Women's International Match Racing Association (WIMRA) General Meeting last week at the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship in Auckland, New Zealand, the Governing Council and Officers for 2008 were elected. Nominations were received from the membership via email prior to the meeting and the members present voted to keep the existing Council and Officers for another year. Leading the group will again be President Liz Baylis (USA). -- Complete announcement: http://www.wimra.org/news_detail.asp?rk=131 * In Fort Pierce, Florida, Gil and Kathi Coombes have run charter boats for years. But it wasn't until this January their business really took off. That's when they added Bikini Girl Charters. Proprietor Kathi Coombes says, 'They will serve drinks and food and sandwiches and run out the baits and lines and do everything a regular mate would do but they're just in a bikini.' Their company features bikini-clad deck mates who, for an extra fee, will drop their tops entirely once they get a few miles off shore. -- Powerboat World, full story: http://www.powerboat-world.com/index.cfm?nid=43348 * Local officials of a small coastal village in northern Somalia dismissed media reports that the 288 feet French luxury yacht Le Ponant hijacked by pirates on Friday Apr. 4 in the Gulf of Aden has anchored near the village of Eyl, 500ikm north of the Somali capital Mogadishu. Officials believe that the hijacked French yacht had passed Eyl and headed south towards coastal waters off the region of Mudug, in central Somalia. Unconfirmed reports emerging from the region of Mudug said the hijacked ship had reached a small coastal town on the Central Somali coast where armed villagers engaged the pirates in a skirmish that killed at least two people. -- Sail World, full story: http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=43342&rid=11 * (April 8, 2008 - 09:09) After nine and a half days at sea, the bows of the 110-foot maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 are now positioned less than 730 miles from the finish. However, the last few hours at sea, in this North Pacific record attempt, promise to be intense for Lionel Lemonchois and his ten crew as strong winds may reach 50 knots and will be accompanied by big seas. At the 0830 ranking this morning, Gitana 13’s lead had stretched to 846 miles, compared with 606 miles at the same time on Monday; a figure which should increase further still before their estimated finish on Wednesday. -- http://www.gitana-team.com/en/gitana/index.asp * Destined for the luxury charter market, Hemisphere (formerly Project Gemini), designed by naval architects Van Peteghem Lauriot Prévost (VPLP) and built by Derecktor Shipyards in Bridgeport, Connecticut is on course to be delivered towards the latter part of this year. At a length overall of 44.2m (145ft), she will set the record as the world's largest sailing catamaran. Her 9.8-foot draft ensures ease of maneuverability and access to ports and lagoons inaccessible to monohulls of comparable size, and tenders are ingeniously stowed out of sight and the port transom houses a full water sports and dive locker served by a large hydraulic swim platform. -- Complete story: http://www.yachtchartersmagazine.com/read/534814.htm DISCOVER THE NAVIGATOR'S CLUB ... WIN FREE GEAR! Join Atlantis WeatherGear's Navigator's Club and you'll instantly beentered to win a Grand Prix Softshell Jacket (Link: http://tinyurl.com/23f8n8). Every Friday, one lucky winner (hopefully you) will be picked at random from the Navigator's Club entries, so sign up now (before we come to our senses and cancel this promotion). Navigator's Club members receive special coupons, discounts on our coolest new gear (the '08 line is on its way) and breaking news straight from Atlantis HQ in Marblehead. Enter now for your chance to win this Friday! Enter here: http://www.atlantisweathergear.com/cust-service-subscribe.html Discover Atlantis WeatherGear ON THE ROAD by John Pearce Like many sailors, I've seen a lot of this country traveling to and from regattas. I pulled into Ithaca, NY last night after 2,900 miles of driving from San Francisco, and the funny thing is that I enjoyed it. The wide open spaces of Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming are spectacularly empty, and the constant hum of the road gives you plenty of time to think and dream. Although my goal is to win sailboat races, what I'm doing isn't really even about sailing. It is mostly about doing something that I WANT to do, something that I am fully engaged in and attentive to. Whether it is driving across America, exercising in the gym, or reading the wind on the water before a race, the job of the sailing campaigner is to pay attention to the details, and to dedicate themselves to improvement and awareness. From Robert M Pirsig, Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance: "The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called 'yourself'. The study of the art of motorcycle maintenance is really a miniature study of the art of rationality itself. Working on a motorcycle, working well, caring, is to become a part of a process, to achieve an inner peace of mind. The motorcycle is primarily a mental phenomenon." -- http://pearcesailing.blogspot.com/2007/07/on-road.html => Curmudgeon’s Comment: The story above was written last summer, but could just as easily been the sentiments from someone last week. John was training for the US Olympic Trials in the Laser, and hosted a blog to post information and news about his campaign, and to share ideas and lessons learned on the road to the trials. 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 Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Eric W. Sponberg: I have been a subscriber for years, and this is my first entry in a letter to the editor. I read Elaine Bunting's article on Vincent Riou's 60 PRB with the lifting strakes (from SBUTT 2570). I looked at the article and the photograph, and in my opinion, they are not unique. In addition, I personally don't think that those lifting strakes, as designed, will work very well at all. I designed the open class 60 Project Amazon for the 1998 Around Alone Race for competitor Sebastian Reidl. We had full-length lifting strakes built into the aluminum hull, being about 2" wide at the stem, widening to 6" at the stern. They worked remarkably well. But to be really effective, lifting strakes have to be wide and long. The lifting strakes on PRB, to my eye, appear way too narrow and way too short. Probably one of the most remarkable sailboats with lifting strakes, one of my favorite designs which gave me quite the inspiration for Project Amazon, is Mary Falk's QII, a 35' Michael Pocock design from England. I had the pleasure to meet Mary at the finish of her record breaking run in the 1996 Transatlantic Race in Newport, RI. She graciously let me crawl all over QII for photographs and a bit of conversation on her experiences. QII also has full length lifting strakes beautifully sculpted into the hull. Mary has raced QII successfully in many offshore races, and I think that one of the reasons for her remarkable successes, apart from her obvious sailing talent, is due to the unique hull shape of QII. * From Gregory Scott, Kingston, ONT: The pages of Butt have been littered with references to, and a suggested desire to bring AC racing in line with F1. The money, glamour etc. all seem to be something to aspire to. Lost in the mix is the bitterness that often seems to be an underlying sub plot that is F1. It seems as though the current holder of the cup is getting closer to his wishes however. While all the best parts of F1 haven't been reached, we seem to now be on the way. But sadly, have started at the bottom with the nasty sniping between old friends. So thanks Allinghi for eroding old friendships and loyalties and turning this event into a festering boil. It really doesn't matter how much they did or didn't do for Team NZ. They have washed away any good with all they have done since. The tawdry legal battles between two holders of wealth was tolerable. The laying to waste of old friendships, isn't on. Friendships should never be spent like money. Too bad. * From Kris Anderson: Great article about food (in #2570). I've been eating MRE's (an abbreviation for 'Meals Ready to Eat') from an Indian company called MTR and it is very spicy and very good. It's nice to eat fresh food but this is a great way to go. Especially on the longer races and with short crew. This way nobody has to spend an inordinate amount of time in the galley. Also helpful when the ‘fit hits the shan’. * From Stevan Johnson: Please, can someone, provide a definitive defense of keeping the Finn, (a rarely sailed, slow, expensive, heavily weight reliant and long out-designed - I mean, really, a flat plate center board? - clunker) in the Olympics as opposed to the Tornado or a Women's skiff? I guess my bias is showing, but shouldn't the Olympics be about the future, not the past? * From Morgan Larson: (re, letter in #2570 on Olympic event selection) Peter Johnstone, you are my idol! CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Unlike the rules of sex and society, it’s perfectly acceptable to pay a professional to sail with you once in a while. Special thanks to North U and Atlantis WeatherGear. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
