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SCUTTLEBUTT 2469 – November 6, 2007

Scuttlebutt 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.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE CHICAGO TRAGEDY
by Erin L. Schanen, Sailing Magazine
Three sailors died and a fourth crewmember was treated for hypothermia when
the J/35 they were on smashed into a breakwall during a man overboard rescue
in Chicago, Illinois, October 24. The accident happened at about 8:15 p.m.
near the end of a short trip to a local boatyard for the winter. Killed were
the boat’s owner John Finn, 45, Alexander Childers, 38, and Adam Kronen, 33.
Another crewmember, Joseph Sunshine, 34, was treated at an area hospital.
Three were wearing Type I vest-style life jackets and another wore a properly
functioning self-inflating jacket. They were not wearing harnesses.

The foursome left aboard the 35-foot Jason earlier in the evening from
Columbia Yacht Club in downtown Chicago in rough conditions to take the boat
south to Crowley’s Yacht Yard up the Calumet River about 12 nautical miles
away. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoy in the middle of
southern Lake Michigan reported north winds from 21 to 30 knots and waves
seven to nine feet high at the time of the ill-fated delivery.

A couple hours later, Finn and his crew attempted to take down the only sail
they had set - a No. 3 jib - outside of Calumet Harbor near the southern end
of the breakwall, instead of entering a gap at the northern end of the harbor
or tucking in around the south end of the wall to douse the sail. Childers
was on deck pulling the jib down when he fell overboard, said Petty Officer
Michael Arnold of U.S. Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor, who coordinated
the rescue. Finn immediately turned the boat to rescue Childers, and the crew
called the Coast Guard.

The crew was able to reach Childers, but did not get him back on board,
Arnold said, based on an interview with survivor Sunshine.“They were able to
recover the guy enough to latch back onto him, but then they started having
problems with the sea state,” Arnold said. “The winds were pushing them into
the breakwater and they had the engine on full power but it was not enough.”
He estimated the waves at 10 to 12 feet high as they rebounded from the
breakwall. -- Read one: http://www.sailingmagazine.net/launchings_1207.html

CYA GOVERNANCE CHANGES
Gerry Giffin, the newly elected President of the Canadian Yachting
Association (CYA), has announced the unanimous acceptance by the membership
of a new Governance Structure for the CYA at the organizations Annual General
Meeting held in Kingston on October 27, 2007. The change will be effective
upon the approval of the updated Bylaws by Industry Canada, which is expected
to be completed before December 31, 2007. This change was driven by the new
realities of operating a National Sport Organization. These realities include
the need to be more strategic, while at the same time effective at delivering
programs and services. The new structure reduces the size of the Board of
Directors from 21 to eight members, and introduces terms of office for the
Directors to ensure regular turnover at the Board level. -- Complete report:
http://www.sailing.ca/feature/2007/11/governance.html

TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE
Reporting on the Transat Jacques Vabre, a 4,300-mile doublehanded ocean race
from Le Harve, France to Salvador, Brazil, that started last weekend:

(November 5, 2007) A massive high sitting over the Transat Jacques Vabre
fleet means that progress is tediously slow as the fleet heads across the Bay
of Biscay. The IMOCA Open 60 fleet is making the most of the light, fairly
unstable north-easterly breeze with Marc Guillemot and Charles Coudrelier on
Safran establishing a good lead overnight with Loick Peyron and Jean Baptiste
Levaillant on Gitana through into second place. Peyron commenting from the
boat said: "The wind is shifting a lot, still under spinnaker but the sea,
unlike the Channel, is choppy."

Mike Golding and Bruno Dubois who led the race from Le Havre on Saturday and
were lying in second place last night, have dropped down the rankings
overnight to fifth, but currently have good speed and are only 20 miles off
the leader. Commenting from Ecover, Golding said: "The French worked well
yesterday evening around Ushant. But there is still a long way to go. The
boat works well and we are pleased with her performance but we are looking
forward to finding more more wind. For the moment, it alternates between
spinnaker and gennaker." -- Yachting World, read on:
http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20071005151743ywnews.html

Current Standings - Monohulls
* Open 60 (17 entered): Safran, Marc Guillemot/Charles Caudrelier
* Class 40 (30 entered): Télécom Italia, Giovanni Soldini/Pietro D'ali
Current Standings - Multihulls
* ORMA 60 (5 entered): Gitana 11, Lionel Lemonchois /Yann Guichard
* Class 50 (8 entered):Crèpes Whaou!,Franck Yves Escoffier/Karine Fauconnier
Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/2jvkt4
Event website: http://www.jacques-vabre.com/en

HIGH PERFORMERS
The ideal crew gear is one of the new Camet High Tech Breathable Code Zero
shirts and the Camet fast drying padded shorts. The shirts are made out of a
microblend double circular knit fabric that moves the moisture away from the
skin through the fabric and into the air. The unique microblend makes it
lightweight, resistant, and soft to the touch. Designed to be washed and
worn. High UV protection. The Camet shorts are made of a breathable fast
drying Supplex, with a reinforced Cordura seat pocket for optional foam pads,
available in several models and different colors. http://www.camet.com

YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES
The International Olympic Committee have confirmed there will be four sailing
events at the first edition of the Youth Olympic Games, scheduled for 2010. A
total of 100 athletes, aged between 15-16 years, will compete across the four
events. The events will be One person dinghy men, One person dinghy women,
Windsurfing men, and Windsurfing women. The equipment for the four Youth
Olympic Games events will be decided by the ISAF Executive Committee.

The aim of the IOC is also to get young people involved in the officiating of
the Youth Olympic Games. ISAF is fully supportive of this aim and is
provisionally suggesting at least 50% of the race officials should be under
the age of 30, with a possible 25% of the total number between the ages of
16-18. Eleven cities have bid to host the first Games in 2010, with the final
decision on the host city to be made at the IOC Session in January 2008. The
first Youth Olympic Games will feature all the sports on the programme for
the 2012 Olympic Games, but with a more limited number of disciplines and
events. It will be limited to 3,200 athletes and 800 officials. -- Complete
details: http://www.sailing.org/21198.php

NEW ROUTE – NEW CHALLENGES
Mike Sanderson, the man who took overall honours as skipper of ABN AMRO ONE
in the 2005-06 Volvo Ocean Race, believes the new route for the next edition
of the race will provide stern challenges – not least for the variety of
designers involved this time. Kiwi Sanderson, who has swapped foul-weather
gear for a business suit in his role as team director for the British America
’s Cup campaign Team Origin, also supports the race organisers’ decision to
further ‘globalise’ the event by taking it to uncharted waters.

Taking the 39,000-nautical mile race to the Middle East, Southeast Asia,
China and India while retaining the traditional traits will place unique
demands on design teams, he says. Writing exclusively in Life At The Extreme,
the official Volvo Ocean Race magazine, Sanderson says: “The challenges of
the new route will be fantastic. At the end of the day, it demands the same
of everyone; you still have to do a better job than anyone else and come up
with a faster boat and go the right way, so it is just a different set of
challenges for the designers.

“The variety of designers involved with this edition of the race is very
exciting. It’s amazing to see guys like Marcelino Botin and Shaun Carkeek,
Rob Humphreys, Juan Kouyoumdjian, and Farr Yacht Design all involved. It’s
going to be a clash of the titans among the designers, and for them there is
plenty of room remaining in the Volvo 70 rule to be innovative.” -- Read on:
http://tinyurl.com/2z9wxc

ENCOURAGING GROWTH IN WOMEN’S SAILING
With the November 1 entry deadline closed for U.S. Sailing’s upcoming Rolex
International Women’s Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC), 41 international
teams representing four countries and 12 U.S. states have entered including
two-time defending champion Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.) with her Team 7.
The biennial regatta, celebrating its 12th anniversary of offering women of
all abilities the opportunity for top-level competition, is scheduled for
November 14-17 and hosted by the Houston Yacht Club in LaPorte, Texas.

One of the long-term goals of the Rolex IWKC is encouraging growth in women’s
sailing and among the local host’s region. The Houston area is represented by
15 teams and one of them is Team Over the Edge, a mixture of friends and
family who enjoy the challenge of racing. “Our team is very excited and proud
to be members of the host club,” said skipper Anne Lee, an owner of a
landscape design company in Houston. Lee, who competed as crew in the 2005
Rolex IWKC, has been sailing all her life, but has only recently chosen to
take the helm in serious racing and will fill the role of skipper. She is
joined by Diana Strickler, on bow, a very busy mother to young sons, Reaves
and Jacob; Terry Eukel, trimmer, who loves to race sailboats and is mother to
teenagers, Alex and Phillip; and Neave Nunes, on tactics, a veteran racer and
crew in several major regattas. -- Complete report:
http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2007/riwkcpreview1.asp

RENOVATIONS UNDERWAY AT THE ANNAPOLIS CITY DOCK
By the time the groundbreaking ceremony for Annapolis City Dock renovations
took place on October 19, forklifts, cranes, shovels, an active team of
workers, and a large barge had already taken over and broken quite a bit of
ground at the Susan B. Campbell Park along Ego Alley. They weren’t kidding
when they said they would begin just after the Boat Shows.

“This is a 12-month job, and we’re doing it in six,” says Eamonn McGeady,
general manager for Corman Imbach Marine, Inc, the company the city hired to
do what Mayor Ellen Moyer called “an essential project,” rebuilding what will
be “a magical spot” upon completion. The renovations will include new piers
to accommodate larger boats, replacement of the boardwalk and bulkheads, a
leveled and re-bricked park space, new cabling and electrical supply for
piers, and rain gardens to collect and filter parking lot runoff. The piling
driving will be noisy for the first six weeks between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. from
Monday though Saturday. -- Floatline, read on:
http://www.floatline.com/floatline/2007/11/renovations-und.html

THE NEW MELGES 20
Melges is preparing to release some hot information regarding the highly
anticipated Melges 20. The latest release of news on the Melges 20 website
will feature drawings, the philosophy behind the new Melges 20, design notes,
and a way to reserve your production position. Exciting news will be posted
soon at http://www.Melges20.com

* Scuttlebutt spoke to Andy Burdick, President of Melges Performance
Sailboats, for an update on the Melges 20 project. Said Andy, “We had a lot
of interest from the production of the Melges 24, and many people wanted a
larger boat, and many wanted a smaller boat. We started with the Melges 32
first, but the Melges 20 has been in the works for a number of years, and now
we are starting to get it out to the public, and look forward to having a
boat sometime next summer.” -- Listen to the complete 2:06 minute audio
interview: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/07/1105.mp3

YET ANOTHER TWIST IN THE CNEV SAGA
The Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) "saga" that is haunting the 33rd
America's Cup took another interesting twist on Saturday, during a press
conference given by Gerardo Pombo and Manuel Chirivella. The two men,
respectively president and vice-president of the Spanish Sailing Federation
(RFEV), talked to an audience of dozens of Spanish journalists on the opening
day of the Barcelona Boat Show.

According to an article that appeared on Sunday's "Sport" (Spain's third
largest sports newspaper), journalists were surprised to hear from Manuel
Chirivella (president of the CNEV) that they created the yacht club because
"they were told so by part of Valencia's authorities", while Pombo stated
that they did it "for the well being of Spain, in agreement with all
institutions involved in the project", adding that they "were part of a
necessity". Not only that, Chirivella went on to say that the CNEV was a
"legal adjustment" in order to allow Desafío Español to become the Challenger
of Record. Talking about shooting one's own foot... -- Valencia Sailing, read
on: http://tinyurl.com/2293qv

CARIBBEAN 1500 UNDERWAY
Annapolis was not the only Chesapeake Bay town buzzing with activity over the
past weekend. Over the past few days (and weeks), a very serious, very fired
up bunch of sailors were in Hampton prepping for the Caribbean 1500 Rally.
Sixty-nine boats and crews departed the Bay at noon Sunday bound for Tortola,
BVI, about 1500 miles to the southeast. These are larger, well-equipped boats
and the fact that the Caribbean 1500 fleet remains so healthy
year-after-years says a lot about this segment of the sport and the
commitment of the sailors involved.

Early report from a participant onboard a Tayana 58 via the event website:
"It's been a slow start. Apparently Hurricane Noel sucked all the energy out
of the area. So there has been little wind which means we have had to motor
mostly. We have just crossed the Gulfstream where we were able to watch the
water temperature climb from 68 degrees to 78 degrees within a matter of
minutes. Where we are now, the water temperature is 80 degrees so the
sweatpants and sweatshirts are suddenly unnecessary." -- Floatline, complete
details: http://www.floatline.com/floatline/2007/11/caribbean-1500-.html

* Position reporting with Google Earth: http://tinyurl.com/ysl977

HEARD IN THE FORUM
Sailing Forum
* VHF radio use in dinghy one-design racing: “On calling OCS boats over the
VHF, one major problem is if one radio on that channel is keyed, it will
block the RC transmission from being received on nearby radios, whether done
intentionally or by accident [sitting on it for instance]. The Flying Scot
class has been debating VHFs for several years and there are vocal proponents
pro & con. So while it has been experimented with at some regattas, it has
not been approved to allow VHFs for general use at class-sanctioned regattas.
Boats are allowed to carry one for emergency use, as long as it is not turned
on otherwise. I think the ICOM M-88 is the best portable VHF available.”

College Forum
* Coaching tip - Protests and Penalties: “At Coronado High, we've instituted
a Mandatory protest hearing at the end of our practices for all collisions
that occur during practice. If someone does their penalty turns we don't make
them sit through a whole hearing. However, if no one spins we sit through a
hearing with all team members required to stay, regardless of the next
activity they have planned after practice. Talk about peer pressure. The kids
don't want to stick around, plus it cleans up the collisions almost 100%. Not
to mention, the kids learn tons about the rules.”
-- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum

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 DJ Parker: In Issue 2468, Chertoff said that although a lot of effort
has been expended on screening cargo containers for bombs, “I haven't heard
anybody talk about small boats…And a nuclear bomb on a small boat can do just
as much damage as one in a container.” He pointed to the small vessel used by
al-Qaida in the suicide bombing of the guided missile destroyer USS Cole in
October 2000.

Mr. Chertoff, sir... no one is talking about small boats and nukes... because
they weigh so much a small boat might be the most unwieldy platform for
launching a nuke. "Oh the terrorists decided to sail upwind 1000 miles in a
small boat with a nuke to detonate it." Come on! The small boat that attacked
the USS Cole was a zodiac boat pulling alongside & detonating what appeared
to be C4. Keep your eye on the ball and actually develop a system that can
tell the difference between a container full of bananas and a nuke. Leave the
average boater/ sailor in peace and let the Coasties do their job without
having to hassle their greatest supporters.

* From John Wade, NAVFACNW: (Regarding the note in 'Butt 2468 about Homeland
Security and small boat inspections) It seems like that in the name of
security, our Government wants to take away every freedom available to us,
everything that the USA stands for (used to stand for?). The old saw
attributed to Ben Franklin, that " Those who value security over freedom,
deserve neither security nor freedom." is becoming more and more relevant.
Are we to become a police state that we will have fight our way out of all
over again?

Osama and the Al Qaeda boys have not deprived us of any of the freedoms we
used to enjoy, our Government has. Now we can't even go sailing because
somebody might put a bomb in a sailboat. Hell, somebody might put a bomb in a
go-cart, or a Spalding football, or a can Campbell's soup. If our Government
spent as much money and effort living up to our Constitutional commitments,
as they do to catering to the fear mongers, we might not have so many
enemies; we might even expand an interest is sailing and racing, as opposed
to killing each other.

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CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATIONS
“When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who
perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that
individual is crazy.” -- Dave Barry

Special thanks to Camet International and Melges Performance Sailboats.