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SCUTTLEBUTT 2037 – February 23, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.PUTTING A NEW FACE ON U.S. OLYMPIANS As the world focuses on the Winter Olympics in Italy, Dean Brenner, chairman of the U.S. Olympic Sailing Committee, is working on a plan to restore U.S. dominance in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. A competitive sailor himself, Brenner says his committee plans to build a young sailing team that will "play from a position of strength." Since the 1992 Summer Games, American Olympic sailing has weakened. "In 1984, '88 and '92, we won 21 Olympic medals out of 25 opportunities," Brenner says. "To say that we dominated Olympic sailing during those years would be a gross understatement. After '92, a lot of other countries stepped up and professionalized their programs with significant amounts of government money, and the medal count reflected that. "In 1996, 2000, and 2004, there were 32 medal opportunities, and we medaled eight times, which is still a strong performance. But if you contrast the two periods, the drop off is noticeable." After the 2004 Olympics in Greece, the American sailing community decided that the U.S. effort needed reorganization and money. "Most of the other top sailing countries started pumping millions and millions of dollars into their Olympic programs, and we were still operating essentially as amateurs," says Brenner. He took the helm of the Olympic Sailing Committee and brought all of the athletes aboard. They drew a 20-year vision statement and launched a fundraising campaign that would finance the top sailors' campaigns over the next two years leading to the Games in China. "Money is a big part of this game," Brenner says. "If our sailors want to compete for an Olympic medal, they need a certain amount of money each year for equipment, to take the time away from work, to hire coaches, to buy new sails and to travel. If we can't give it to them, they have to fundraise themselves. And a lot of sailors don't have the time, don't have the interest or the expertise. That drives a lot of the top sailors away." Though Brenner declines to go on record about how much the U.S. Olympic Sailing Committee has raised, he acknowledges that the amount is less than 20 percent of what Great Britain is spending on its Olympic sailing team, the best at the 2000 and 2004 Games. The British squad received the equivalent of $9.28 million to prepare for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where the team won two gold medals, a silver, and two bronze medals. To prepare for the 2008 Games in China, the BBC reports that the British team will receive the equivalent of $12.8 million generated by a national lottery. ~ Excerpts from a story by Tom Meade, Providence Journal, full story: http://tinyurl.com/zm6pp RECORD TRAFFIC NBC said Wednesday that its Olympic Web site had record traffic yesterday, sharply contrasting with its less-popular television broadcasts. The Web site, NBCOlympics.com, which has been available to Internet browsers since Jan. 9, hit 261.1 million page views yesterday, 10 million more than the Athens Olympics two years ago. It also delivered over 6.4 million video streams and more than 72,000 hours of video -- double the amount of video from the Athens Olympics. “The success of NBCOlympics.com validates our strategy to utilize the site not only to promote and compliment our network and cable coverage but as a standalone entertainment platform,” says Gary Zenkel, NBCOlympics.com President, in a statement. The online videos feature U.S. athletes’ routines, competitions and interviews. The top three video clips viewed so far were Shaun White Wins Gold in halfpipe, Lindsay Jacobellis’ snowboard cross race and ice dancing. The Web site's popularity contrasts with NBC's TV coverage, which trailed competition like "American Idol" in the ratings. ~ http://www.newyorkbusiness.com/news.cms?id=13016 KEN LEGLER Ken Legler is known as the sailing coach for Tufts University, a premier race officer, and of late, a fighter in his personal battle with cancer. Ken had to forfeit his annual shift as PRO at Acura Key West Race Week 2006 to attend to his health, and recently submitted a report on his health to family and friends. We felt that Ken's influence in the sport deserved a broader audience, so with Ken's permission, we have provided an edited version on the Scuttlebutt website. Additionally, we found Ken's details of his experience too inspirational not to share. Within his report he quotes Tufts President Larry Bacow, who advised, “When others offer help, find ways they can.” We hope that by spreading the word, Ken can receive all the help he needs and deserves. Read his update and post comments: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/kl FIBERPATH SAILS: "FASTEST SAILS ON THE PLANET," PERIOD! The 2006 racing season is here, but is your sail inventory ready? From international grand prix to highly competitive one design to club racing, Ullman Sails has the right sail design technology and fabric selection to deliver you the "The Fastest Sails on the Planet." Ullman Sails new "FiberPath" Sails are arguably the lightest, strongest string load-bearing sails available! "FiberPath" is stronger for it's weight and delivers superior longevity than the alternatives. For more information on "FiberPath," or to get a quote on the "Fastest Sails on the Planet," contact your local Ullman Sails loft or online at http://www.ullmansails.com BIG PAYOFF Mike Sanderson and the crew of ABN Amro one are back at the front of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet after a daring tactical move that saw the crew swap first place for last in a dash to find better conditions further south. Thankfully for Sanderson the maneuver proved to be one of the best tactical decisions of the race so far and put ABN Amro One back into the lead within 30 hours of loosing it. The decision to gybe to the south came on Monday night when concerns over a ridge of low pressure system to the north finally persuaded navigator Stan Honey, 50, of Palo Alto, Calif. and Mike Sanderson to bite the bullet and cut across the fleet to the south. “We did the right thing, which is sometimes very hard to do”, said Sanderson. “We bit the bullet, got behind on a couple of skeds but now we’re back in the lead.” Steve Hayles, navigator for Ericsson Racing Team (Neal McDonald), has had a pretty harrowing few days. He has some very clear plans in his mind, but because each team has a restricted number of sails onboard it is not always possible to sail the boat to the optimum place on the race course with the sails they have. “We have to try and double guess what other competitors are going to do, what the weather is going to do and what sails we have to get us closest to where Steve wants us to be,” explained skipper Neal McDonald today. Onboard ABN Amro Two (Sebastien Joss), the constant companion of Brasil 1 in the north, the nervous times continue as the team has headed into the ridge of high pressure in a bid to cross it early and reach the new breeze on the other side. “While we are battling it out in five knots of breeze, the majority of the fleet is steaming along at 15 knots and the scheds (position reports) make for very dismal reading.” Dismal reading indeed tonight for these two as the 2200 GMT position report shows a loss of 21 miles for ABN Amro Two and worse for Brasil 1 as they post a loss 44 miles in the last six hours. In the past 24 hours, ABN1 advanced 415 miles while Brasil 1 made only 241 miles. ~ www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Wednesday 1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 5535 miles to finish 2. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +3 miles 3. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +8 miles 4. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald, +22 miles 5. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +75 miles 6. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +107 miles QUOTES FROM THE BOATS “ABN1 is taking charge again, blasting through from the south. Not much to do about that except stay close and hope that we find some condition that they are not so fast in. Movistar is pretty quick as well. She is the only Farr boat with "chines" (hard angles on the side of the boat-ABN has them too) and I believe she is wider than Pirates, Ericsson, and Brasil, all three of identical design. During these races I always think how nice it must be for the designers to see the "full scale" testing that we run for them.” ~ Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean skipper “This must look pretty weird on Virtual Spectator. Yes, we have to pass north of the "ice-gate" at 48 degrees south, but it's not easy to get there. Yesterday night we swapped with ABN 1. We went from being furthest south to furthest north, and they the opposite. So who is right and who is wrong? Just like playing poker. What cards do you guys hold? Or no cards at all and just showing up a brave face, trying to make everyone believe something?” ~ Knut Frostad, Brasil 1 “This is the new and improved Volvo Ocean Race, perfect for people over 45. Here is to being 46 and living like 26.” ~ Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean skipper “Rule number one. Never ask anyone from a warm and sunny country to buy the sleeping bags, especially when he is considerably smaller than you.” ~ Knut Frostad, Brasil 1 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar NEWS BRIEFS * On March 16-17 in Dubai, UAE, Russell Coutts and Jes Gram-Hansen will do a match race series in the new Russell Coutts 44s. The Dubai Match Race Challenge will feature six 20-minute matches on a course set between Dubai International Marine Club, its beachside Le Meridian resort hotel and the Palm Jumeirah breakwater, giving spectators a close-up view of the action. The RC 44 boats will also be used in a fleet racing series staged in Dubai from March 11-18. * Dennis Conner is inviting sailors from all over the world to come to New York City for the Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge to be held August 22 to 26, 2006. "We are organizing a regatta to promote international goodwill through friendly competition,” Conner said. The competition will take place on a fleet of identical J/24 sailboats provided by the Manhattan Sailing Club. This event is designed for club sailors who would like to visit New York City with their friends and families. In addition to the competition, there will be a social schedule of dinners and parties. ~ www.thenorthcove.com * NMMA today reported that the Miami International Boat Show saw an attendance increase of 1 per cent for the year. That includes attendance at both MIBS and Strictly Sail, which concluded a five-day run on Monday. According to a statement, attendance at the show was 146,595, compared to 145,355 last year. Besides the 1 per cent year-over-year increase, this year's show also represented a 4 per cent increase from the average attendance figures for the previous three years. ~ Michael Verdon, IBI Magazine, http://tinyurl.com/opmg9 * These days in Valencia those working in and around the Port America's Cup find themselves, to put it politely, in a 24/7 zona en construcción. The conditions are challenging for all concerned, especially the teams' base managers and the ACM infrastructure managers. To a large degree, all are at the mercy of the local host consórcio called Valencia 2007 ("V07" in Cup parlance). As the works progress, the local logistical situation changes daily, sometimes hourly. Regular and rapid communication are key, and in recent days this has gotten a lot better. ~ AC 32 Challenger Commission Blog, http://www.challengercommission.com/ * Dee Caffari, who is attempting to be the first women to complete a solo ‘westabout’ non-stop circumnavigation has reported, “The sea state continues to be very confused and intent on making Aviva spend half her life as a submarine. Just moving around below deck requires careful planning and acrobatic feats as you are constantly living in a braced position to stop yourself falling to the low side of a yacht whose leeward deck is constantly under water. With 11,791 miles still to go on this voyage that began November 20, Caffari advanced 128 miles in the last 24 hours. ~ www.avivachallenge.com * A Volvo Ocean Race Tracking Station featuring Virtual Spectator software and the Ocean Race Adventure web site has been opened in the lobby of the Maryland Science Center, with free access to the public, The Tracking Station will be open through the Baltimore/ Annapolis Stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race until the Race finishes around June 16. * Online entry applications are now available for the Centennial Newport Bermuda 2006 which starts on June 16. ~ http://www.bermudarace.com/entryland/index.php * North Sails has re-located in the Detroit area to a location in the heart of the Nautical Mile, at 25030 Jefferson Avenue in St. Clair Shores. Nestled between West Marine and Mike's Marine Hardware, the new North Sails facility will serve as the official service drop-off hub and sales office for the Great Lakes region. “This new location is also accessible by small craft from Lake St. Clair via a canal that is adjacent to the building,” said Detroit-native Jim Neumann who will manage the loft. ~ jim.neumann@northsails.com 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 sample technical articles on travelers and sign up for e-Bearings. You’ll receive a hot Jon Nash Volvo computer screen wallpaper free of charge. This great shot features Harken-equipped ABN Amro One which finished an awesome 1, 1, 2 in the first three legs of the Volvo Ocean Race. http://www.harken.com/specials/traveleroverview.php 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 Tom Duggan: Mr. Wheatley is correct. The ISAF webpage announcement of the race officer conference needs work. It should read as follows: “Lose two days real life job income while you travel, two days family weekend time while at the conference, spend $1100 US for travel and accommodations, lock yourself in a Holiday Inn for two days discussing race management techniques in the hope that you will improve your skills, work more regattas, and lose more real life job income while missing more family time and getting some of your regatta expenses reimbursed. Sign up today, and get this free bonus- an actual dinner!” Not to mention the opportunity to be insulted as being ‘in the trough’ to every sailor on earth with access to the internet. Nice work, Mr. Wheatley. That ought to help get more people to volunteer for the sport. Mr. Wheatley believes ISAF is doing the sport a disservice by providing a dinner for race officers who care enough about the sport to travel to a meeting from around the world at their own expense. I agree that pate is a little much (real race officers eat burgers), but if I were to take his reference to ‘Five Star Treatment’ and put ‘Holiday Inn’ into the same sentence I would surely be breaking new grammatical ground. I was not going to attend the meeting due to a previous regatta commitment. But now that I know there’s a free dinner involved … maybe I can still get a flight? * From Stefan Lloyd: What a nasty whining editorial you have chosen to publish by Magnus Wheatley, attacking the provision of dinner for the delegates to the ISAF race officers conference. If I look at the list of delegates from my own country, they are people who have put endless weekends into the often thankless task of providing regattas for other people. Magnus is a professional journalist making a living out of our sport. I bet he has eaten a few free dinners in the course of his career. Please can he tell us what unpaid work he has put into sailing, that gives him the right to attack a minor "thank-you" to the race officers without whom none of us would have events to participate in, or indeed to write about. Incidentally, I have no connection with the event, ISAF or any of the delegates. Finally, "The dinner will be free of charge for all delegates attending the conference" does not say it would be free for their partners too. * From Peter Ingram (re Magnus Wheatly's rant about ISAF spending so much sailors money): It is obvious where the money has come from. ISAF sold out sailing to the TV companies. In exchange for a stupid and unwanted Olympic scoring system ISAF got a whole lot more money. They are just spending it the way they see best - a flash night out for all those that went along with the underhand deal! * From Peter Shrubb: I would like to thank my friend, Bjorn Anker-Moller, for writing a perfect response to Magnus Wheatley’s diatribe regarding the ‘free dinner’ ISAF is offering Race Officials. I’m amazed that there people out there who think the way Mr. Wheatley does. I would like to think that after some reflection Mr. Wheatley will offer an apology to all the hard-working and dedicated race officials who offer their time, money and energy to helping the great Corinthian sport of sailing. * From Craig Fletcher: I served on the So Cal PHRF board for 5 years recieving a "free" dinner once a month. There was nothing free about this dinner. It came with endless hour of abuse, "my rating is not fair", endless hours of phone time, (which each volunteer pays for), driving time (no gas or car allowance) and many hours researching to prepare to rate a boat. I would have gladly traded my "free" dinner for a thank you. I suggest we eliminate all volunteers in sailing. Have paid professionals in all positions. This will make a free dinner look cheap. I suggest all you volunteer bashers take a step back and look at the big picture. No Volunteers+ No Sailing. Instead of bashing offer to buy a volunteer a drink or dinner and remember you could be a volunteer some day. Would you like all of the abuse you are offering? * From Sarah Beaugeard, Race Education Manager, Clipper Ventures Plc (In response to Mr Beeston): The current situation with the Clipper Fleet is indeed not an ideal in any way for crews, families or of course the thousands of children who have been avidly following the Clipper Race. Various school visits have been set up around the world with crew and skippers taking the opportunity of this unscheduled stop to visit schools in their home towns. Craig Millar, Skipper of Durban Clipper will be visiting his old prep school who have been emailing his team throughout the race on 3rd March which we hope will be the start of a great series of distractions for the members of Clippers World Classroom! * From Ed Dubois: We read with interest your article regarding Clipper Ventures posted earlier today and in particular the piece attributed to William Ward in which he refers to the Clipper 68 fleet currently being worked on at Subic Bay in the Philippines. We would like to state that while Dubois Naval Architects was responsible for the design of the hull shape, layout (in conjunction with Clipper Ventures) and sail plan, the structural design work was undertaken by separate structural engineers contracted directly by Clipper Ventures. However, the decision to build the yachts at Double Happiness was that of Clipper Ventures as was the project management. These issues aside, we are pleased that both skippers and crews are reporting that the Clipper 68 performs and handles extremely well in all the conditions encountered as they sail around the world. CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM A pessimist is an optimist with more information Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Harken Yacht Equipment. |
