|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2088 - May 5, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.TIME FOR TIME ON TIME? (Following is an excerpt from a story by Kimball Livingston posted on Sail magazine’s website.) When the starting gun fires for Race 1 of Downeast Race Week 2006, the fleet will not be racing IRC. They tried that in 2005. Then they went back to PHRF, but not scored Time on Distance. Unlike most racers in the USA, these sailors of Maine will be marching to their own drummer, and scoring Time on Time. Our West Coast editor, Kimball Livingston, reached out to the Mysterious East Coast to find out how this came about. That led to a conversation with Bob Johnstone, regatta chairman for Downeast Race Week 2006. In 2005, Johnstone reports, “the decision was made to run all events in the Eastern region of the Gulf of Maine under IRC. That included Downeast Race Week and the Mt. Desert Invitational Series of the Northeast Harbor Fleet and the Maine Hospice Regatta. IRC was put forth as the forward-thinking rating rule of the moment with high-profile yacht clubs embracing the concept (see Losing Our Religion in the May issue of SAIL), so the organizing committees were encouraged to support the movement. We tried to overcome the difference between the $30 a year for a PHRF rating versus $160-200 annual fee for IRC by offering a “$45 trial IRC certificate program” to encourage participation by boatowners only interested in doing one event”, Johnstone says. And, part of the hope was that IRC would do a better job of handicapping the traditional centerboard cruising boats so popular in this area (think Hinckley).. Trophies for 2005 were awarded based on IRC (including some unofficial handicaps that were extrapolated by comparison to similar boats). At the end of the season, participants were supplied with comparative results for the same races, had they been run under PHRF Time-on-Distance and PHRF Time-on-Time. Skippers received these comparative results as part of a survey in a questionnaire that gave them an opportunity to vote on how they wanted to sail in 2006. It was hard not to notice that each handicap system produced different winners. "What we learned," Johnstone says, "is that a core strength of IRC is its Time-on-Time scoring. TOT seemed to do the fairest job. "Those who favored staying with IRC for 2006 liked the universality of it. They wanted to give it another year to prove itself, and it's not as though IRC doesn't have promise. However, the voting went strongly in favor of going back to PHRF, but scoring the races Time-on-Time." -- Kimball Livingston, full story: http://sailmag.com/PHRFTOT/ ROLLING TOWARDS THE ACTS -- Peter Isler (Following is an excerpt from a report from BMW Oracle navigator Peter Isler in Valencia that is now posted on the Scuttlebutt website.) Today, our BMW Oracle Racing team is enjoying our last day off before what could well be sixteen straight days of sailing. We’re really looking forward to the two back-to-back regattas (Act 10, a match racing event consisting of a single round robin amongst the 12 teams followed by Act 11, a fleet racing event). Of course the America’s Cup is a match race, and as we saw in Auckland in 2003, the sailors are learning how to wheel these 80 foot long, 24 ton sloops around like Lasers on the starting line. So the main focus of all the teams is to develop the boat, sails and skills to excel in match racing. But the fleet racing is great fun and an incredible spectacle – real fun for the sailors. This will be the last fleet racing event in 2006. Act 12 in June/July will be a match racing-only event with a semis and final round following the round robin. But although the Acts provide a central focus, and count for seeding points for next year’s Challenger Selection Series (Louis Vuitton Cup), all the teams must keep an eye on the big picture … winning the Cup. We’ll all be carefully watching the performance of the new generation boats that compete in the Acts and try to learn as much as possible about our own performance so as to be able to continue our process of development that is a never-ending part of the Cup game. What do we expect? Well the classic conditions are a moderate Easterly sea breeze that starts building around noon and lasts into the evening. But this is no sure thing. This week Valencia has been pelted with a Northeast storm which brought 30 knots and rain yesterday and kicked up a nasty swell that will take a few days to subside. So as we’ve learned over the past few months of training, you’ve got to be ready for anything here in Valencia. - Peter Isler, Navigator, BMW Oracle Racing Team. For the full report and action photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/pi0504/ SPECIAL DELIVERY (James Boyd, editor of thedailysail subscription website, describes his delivery trip on board the 60ft trimaran Gitana XI. Here are two excerpts from his story.) Having seen upfront and dirty most on offer in the yacht and dinghy racing worlds, including America's Cup yachts, Volvo Open 70s, Open 60s and even foiling Moths, we can still categorically state that there is nothing that comes close to matching a full-blown 60ft trimaran. They are highly sophisticated having been evolved over a period of at least three decades and here we are not talking one hundredth of a knot America's Cup-style speed increases, but wholesale leaps in performance both in light winds and flat out. And the fact they are hard and potentially dangerous to race through the inevitable threat of capsize and that they have developed an appalling reputation for reliability following the 2002 Route du Rhum and last year's Transat Jacques Vabre causing the fleet to diminish to one third its size, almost adds to their mystique. While 22-24 TP52s may be lining up in the Breitling MedCup this year and many of the owners involved in that class would be more than capable of affording to build and run a 60ft trimaran - roughly two to three times the price, but at least one hundred times the thrill... - there is still the perennial bias against anything without one hull and a keel. The racing wouldn't be close in the same way as near one-designs and the boats are extremely quirky with foils in their floats, canting wingmasts, etc. Newcomers to the class will find themselves up against crews who have been sailing these boats for years and have technical shore teams with experience to match. -- http://thedailysail.com DO YOU REMEMBER “THE PROVING GROUND?” Bruce Knecht, author of the best-selling book about the Sydney to Hobart Race, has a new book: “HOOKED: Pirates, Poaching and the Perfect Fish.” Part high seas adventure, part thought-provoking expose, it describes how an Australian patrol boat chased a pirate fishing vessel halfway around Antarctica, through building-size waves and an obstacle course of icebergs. It also describes how “Chilean Sea Bass” (the pirates’ target) became the fish everyone in America had to have. Tom Brokaw says: “HOOKED is a fish story, a global whodunit, a courtroom drama, and a critically important ecological message all rolled into one.” http://tinyurl.com/oaq6g EXCEEDS ALL EXPECTATIONS On Thursday Baltimore said goodbye to the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 as the fleet headed off on a Parade of Sail to Annapolis. The teams arrived from Rio de Janeiro on the 17th April and have spent over two weeks in Baltimore’s Inner Harbour. Whilst there, they have attracted a record numbers of crowds. Nearly 350,000 people descended on the Inner Harbour for the waterfront festival held in celebration of the race. Tourism officials estimated that half a million guests would attend both the Baltimore and Annapolis stopovers, which means that the crowd estimates during the weekend of the in-port race exceeded all expectations. Visitors waited for more than an hour to access the dockside where the Volvo Open 70 yachts were berthed and enjoyed many of the activities going on in the race village such as the winch grinding, the team’s pavilions and the LEGO Volvo XC90, which took three weeks to design and comprises of over 201,425 standard LEGO bricks. Spectators were also treated to the awesome site of the Volvo Extreme 40 catamarans whizzing around the inner harbour as they competed in the Volvo Extreme 40 grand prix series. At 12 noon Thursday (local) the boats left on the Parade of Sail to Annapolis where they are expected to be welcomed by a large crowd both out on the water and dockside. The seven entries in the race will spend two full days in Annapolis before departing on Sunday 7 May on leg six to Portsmouth, England via a pit-stop in New York. The boats are expected to arrive into New York between the 8-9 May, departing again for England on May 11. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org. SO WHAT KIND OF WIND WILL THEY HAVE? (While some of the skippers in the Volvo Ocean Race are undoubtedly praying for a light air passage on Leg 6 to New York, a couple of others will be hoping for big breeze. Appreciating the importance of this variable, we asked official VOR meteorologist Chris Bedford of Sailing Weather Services to give us a preview. He responded with a very complete analysis, and here's an excerpt.) As of this writing, it looks like the start out of Annapolis will take place in a dying northeast or east breeze. Early morning puffs of 10-15 knot northerlies will ease quickly by race time. Light winds will veer from northeast and east toward the southeast and south with a weak thermal bay breeze developing by mid-afternoon. There may be an awkward transition between the old northeasterly and the new thermal breeze shortly after the start. Once into the southern half of Chesapeake Bay, winds will gradually increase from the south-southeast, perhaps building back up to 15 knots by Sunday evening. Sunday night and early Monday- once out of the Chesapeake - a wind shift to the left will put the boats on the wind initially, until they can free their courses up once they get sufficient leverage offshore off Hampton Roads. The wind will build slowly early Monday morning, possibly reaching 20 knots and veering back to the southeast. This should allow for very fast reaching and then running angles until a little ways north of Cape May. Winds will be lighter to the north and for the arrival at New York where high pressure is expected to hold into later Monday and possibly early Tuesday morning. During Tuesday morning, moderate to strong southeast winds will build into New York Harbor. -- To Bedford’s the complete weather analysis for the next leg of the Volvo Ocean Race: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/0504 TRACEY EDWARDS UPDATE (Scuttlebutt along with most sailing media outlets has received an update from Tracy Edwards regarding the status of her messy financial situation following the Oryx Quest 2005. Here an excerpt from her letter.) There is a rumour circling that HSBC have been paid money by Qatar. This is incorrect. See quote below; "Whilst behind the scenes negotiations with Qatar are ongoing I cannot go into too much detail as I do not want to jeopardize further payments of monies owed. I can say that the $11.5 million borrowed by me from a bank in Qatar (NOT HSBC) and used entirely to get the four entries to the start line and to participate in the event, has been paid by QNOC. This is great news for the bank! However, my trustee has told me that QNOC could now register as a creditor of my estate for that amount and legally seize Maiden II. I have personally written to HH -- The Heir Apparent -- and asked that QNOC do not do this. My trustee has confirmed to me that they have also contacted QNOC to request the same. I have also asked that they release me, from the $3 million loan from QNOC, used by me to pay Quest suppliers. The agreement of these two things would mean that Quest can be released from it’s debt to me of $7 million. The debts of Quest would be reduced substantially and if assets can then be retrieved from the very few creditors who are holding them illegally, they can be sold with an increase to each creditor. If Maiden II is not seized by Qatar then my trustees are hopeful that she can be sold and used to pay my remaining personal creditors (approx £800,000). However, the prize money will have to be paid first so that the crew can release their maritime lien over the vessel. -- The full text of Tracy Edwards is posted in the Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2549#2549 MATCH RACE RANKING There is little change at the top of the Match Racing Open Rankings this month, with the Australian duo of Peter Gilmour (AUS) and 2005 ISAF Match Racing World Champion James Spithill (AUS) still occupying the top two spots. Behind them the rolling Rankings’ calculation sees Ed Baird (USA) leapfrog Russell Coutts (NZL) into third place, whilst Paolo Cian (ITA) remains fifth. The most significant place change in the top 20 also comes at the expense of the Europeans, with Gavin Brady (NZL) third win at the ISAF Grade 1 Congressional Cup lifting him from 21 up to 14 and continues his impressive surge towards the top ten. In the Women’s rankings, Claire Leroy (FRA) makes it ten consecutive Ranking releases and one year in the number one spot, with the Frenchwoman still comfortably clear of World number two Marie Bjorling (SWE). World Champion Sally Barkow (USA) remains third, and with her points total unchanged. Open Rankings Top Ten 1. Peter Gilmour (AUS) 2. James Spithill (AUS) 3. Ed Baird (USA) 4. Russell Coutts (NZL) 5. Paolo Cian (ITA) 6. Ian Williams (GBR) 7. Sebastien Col (FRA) 8. Mathieu Richard (FRA) 9. Eugeniy Neugodnikov (RUS) 10. Bertrand Pace (FRA) Complete rankings: http://www.sailing.org/matchrace/mrranking.asp THE 30-KNOT THINK TANK Why is the head sail designer of Doyle Sailmakers, Richard Bouzaid, joining the Volvo 70 “Ericsson Racing Team” on the next four legs of the Volvo Ocean Race? The maxxed-out Volvo 70s are simply the ultimate think tank for a sail designer, that’s why. And that’s just another way that Doyle is developing faster, tougher sails for boats big and small. Call us at 1- 800-DOYLE or visit us online at http://www.doylesails.com PICTURE-PERFECT Spectacular race conditions greeted the well-rested fleet Thursday at Rolex Antigua Sailing Week. Steady, 12 to 16 knot wind and sunshine created another picture-perfect day. Despite fairly light wind for Antigua - many competitors here talk of years past seeing wind in the high 20s - competitors reveled in the conditions and turned in solid performances. Both Divisions started and finished the South Coast Race just outside Falmouth Harbor and were treated to an approximately 20-mile race along the rocky shores with distant views of neighboring island sisters Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis. With another win Thursday, Tom Hill's Titan 12 from Puerto Rico continues to lead Racing Big Boat I class over Rosebud, the TP52 owned by Roger Sturgeon of the U.S. Additionally, Titan is leading its fleet - a combination of its own class combined with Racing III - with Rosebud in second. The winner of today's race in Racing III was Crash Test Dummies, Tim Kempton's Melges 32 from Trinidad. -- http://www.sailingweek.com SAILING SHORTS * Sam Pascoe yesterday set a new foil Moth speed record of 26.3 knots (30.2 mph) smashing the previous record set less than a month ago by Si Payne of 24.6 knots. Sam set the record in Portland Harbour in flat water with 20 to 25 knots of wind. He was sailing the brand new Mistress 3, built by Fullforce also at Portland. The new boat has low drag elliptical foils, and a smaller wind cheating hull. Last year’s record of 23.9 knots set by Adam May in August already looks pedestrian as the new foil systems are unveiled this season. -- Yachts and Yachting, http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=21268 * US Sailing has established its USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival program (JO) schedule. The schedule includes 25 events being held at sailing organizations across the country starting in May and wrapping up the season in December with the largest event, the "Orange Bowl" in Miami, Fla., which in 2005 saw more than 680 competitors. The JO program is designed to do help young sailors between the ages of 8 and 21 get more experience on the water while having fun participating in clinics and regattas. 5,000 young sailors are expected to participate in JO events this year. -- Complete schedule: http://www.ussailing.org/youth/racing/jo/ * What would keep four-time Tornado World Champion and 2000 Olympic silver medallist Darren Bundock (AUS), who was leading the Tornado class at the ISAF Grade 1 Semaine Olympique Française going into the final day, arguably the biggest Olympic regatta in 2006, from finishing the event? Prior commitments. Bundock, with crew Glenn Ashby, headed over to the Atlantic side to Carnac, France to compete in, and win, the 20th Annual Eurocat regatta. Said Bundock, “The level of competition in Carnac gets tougher every year. The Eurocat is one of the biggest get togethers of performance catamarans in the world.” Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0504/ *Correction: The reference in Issue 2087 regarding Max Rosenberg's Hobie 33 "Mad Max" having a full inventory of Ullman Sails in the Newport to Ensenada Race was in error. 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 Eamonn O’Brien (re John C. Wade’s comment, “Sailing has never been a spectator sport, and never will be. It is boring to watch, even for sailors.”): This idea is at the heart of the very problem with sailing today. As people look for a sport to take up, or to enroll their kids in, overwhelmingly, they do not “see” sailing, as it is not presented in the mass media, such as football, lacrosse or, even now, curling are. Sailing is a fantastic spectator sport, but it is rarely presented to the public as such. Go to any college regatta in the country on a weekend (www.collegesailing.org) and you will see a plethora of teams racing close to shore, in a short course (15-20 minute) format, with lots of starts, lead changes and exciting mark roundings and finishes. In a weekend, most college regattas will rip off 30 or more races, be it team racing or fleet. Even high school sailing is beginning to get on board with this; some districts create a more spectator friendly venue than others, but it is beginning. The problem with sailing, as opposed to say curling, is that sailing is rarely presented as spectator friendly. We race national and world championships on massive courses far away from shore. If we simply did more racing (even on big boats) closer to shore on smaller courses, then people could and would watch! * From Rob Vaughan. Here's to John C. Wade. Unfortunately those of us who share your sentiments are of the minority in a world of "progress". * From Gunther E. Hering. Hamburg, Germany: Steve Morrell is right on. We sail for the fun of it. We like messing about in boats. We race because we are competitive people. We pay for our own fun and enjoyment. I do not need a commercial enterprise to fund my pastime pleasures and make me beholden to their financial objectives. If you need to ask how much, you may not be able to afford it. If you cannot afford it, hire on as crew or play ashore. We do not need to produce ourselves on TV. The only reason for TV coverage is to satisfy my curiosity about the activities of other sailors. If that is not financially satisfying to the TV companies I can always revert to Curmudgeon and the sailing magazines (only their info is always so outdated) CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION “Leadership is, among other things, the ability to inflict pain and get away with it -- short-term pain for long-term gain." --George Will Special thanks to Bruce Knecht and Doyle Sailmakers. |
