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SCUTTLEBUTT 2404 - August 6, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday with the support of its sponsors. TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR CLUB RACING Family racing, club racing, twilight racing, around-the buoys, beer-can racing, whatever you call it, is gaining in popularity. In recent summers, from the Gulf of Maine to San Diego Harbor, semi-protected waters seemed to have filled up with racing fleets that tend to involve young people, families, and even old-timers who are "done" with the competitive racing circuit. This is truly low-key "fun" racing. Caution: Club racing should not be confused with one-design competition, which remains greatly -- even fiercely -- competitive. It's not overnight racing or distance racing (Newport to Ensenada, Marion to Bermuda), which seems to be growing in intensity. Lastly, it's not the high-profile hotly competitive regional racing events, such as Block Island Race Week and the Big Boat Series in San Francisco Bay. What I am describing is the growing participation in around-the-buoys club racing, frequented by unrated yachts with novice skippers participating as guests in PHRF events. Such racing is great family fun, win or lose. The races are short, they are highly social events, and there's little at stake in terms of trophies and ego. Such racing, however, is not without its dark side. The rewards are accompanied by some risks, and because this must be acknowledged, there are some important "rules" or "commandments" -- sometimes described as "Ten Commandments for Skippers" -- that pertain to this activity. For the complete list of commandments by Bernie Weiss, read on at SAILjazz (and H20Notes): http://www.sailjazz.com/editorial/read/129 LATIN RASCAL RESOLUTION (August 3, 2007) A statement was issued by Vincenzo Onorato, syndicate head of the Italian Mascalzone Latino team from the 32nd America’s Cup, where he outlines the problems of the event Protocol issued for the 33rd event, and the revisions needed to get BMW Oracle Racing/GGYC to withdraw the Court actions and to allow for the recruitment of sponsors and teams for the next event. The specific issues to be amended are: * Use V5 America’s Cup yachts, with each team permitted to build one new yacht and modify one old yacht up to 50%. * All AC 33 competitors agree, by entering AC 32, that in case of winning AC 33 they will use the new Alinghi 90' design in AC 34, with the final rule to be worked out between Alinghi and the CC (which would of course include the current COR) in the meantime, and starting now. * The Protocol be substantially the same as AC 32, but with changes to be negotiated by SNG/Alinghi with the Challenger Commission. The revision of the Protocol should particularly solve the area of most concern of the recent adopted Protocol: SNG’s unilateral ability, through ACM, to disqualify a challenging team, in particular for disputing any provision in the Protocol; ACM’s ability to accept not all otherwise valid challengers, ACM’s ability to unilaterally reject a challenging team; appointment of the arbitration panel and jury by the Defender and COR only and their ability to dismiss the members of the panel and jury at will; ACM’s exclusive power to appoint race committee, measurement committee, umpires and any other event officials; ACM’s powers and rights which far exceed the position of any Defender in the past, including the power to impose a penalty to competitors; ACM’s power to “unilaterally” establish the rules for the all the events, including the Challenger Selection Series, the lack of any accountability by either ACM or COR to the challengers and the absence of any requirement of neutral management, the participation of the Defender in the CSS. The execution of a revised Protocol with these provisions should then convince GGYC to withdraw the Court actions, and it would attract more sponsors and, therefore, more teams to the event. -- Complete release on Yachts and Yachting: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/?article=137764 33RD CUP: COMING AND GOING * COMING: German syndicate United Internet Team Germany confirmed that it intends to compete in the 2009 America's Cup race and hopes to recruit the services of Olympic gold-medallist Jochen Schuemann. Schuemann was Alinghi's sport director for their wins in 2003 and 2007. The Germans have already recruited Polish veteran Karol Jablonski, who was the helm for the Desafío Español team at the 32nd America’s Cup. -- CNN, full report: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/sailing/08/05/germany.cup * GOING: Luna Rossa of Italy will not compete in the 2009 America's Cup, marking Prada's exit from the competition after 10 years. "Participation in the next America's Cup was carefully analyzed, and while significant human and financial resources are already available, it was decided that, after three campaigns, a cycle had come to an end," team boss and Prada chairman Patrizio Bertelli said in a statement Friday. The team, which was established by Bertelli in 1997 and has an estimated budget of $123 million, has competed in three Cups and was runner-up to Kiwi boat New Zealand in 2000 in Auckland. -- ESPN, full release: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/ac07/news/story?id=2960042 * WAFFLING: The Swedish entry in the 32nd America’s Cup, Victory Challenge, has called upon SNG and Alinghi to take heed of Vincenzo Onorato’s statement (see above). Speaking for Victory Challenge, Bert Willborg said, “We applaud Vincenzo Onorato’s initiative. Not only do we applaud his initiative, but we whole heartedly endorse what he has said in his statement.” -- BYM News, full report: http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=13241 NEW CLASSY CLOTHING FROM VANGUARD, LASER, AND SUNFISH The new line of Vanguard, Laser, and Sunfish clothing can be found at Team One Newport. Wear the awesome floral hat, colorful polos, and warm fleece vests with the Vanguard, Laser, and Sunfish logos. Visit http://www.team1newport.com and click on the Merchandise and Event Gear button! When online, you can also browse around for your favorite sunglasses from Kaenon, Harken, Native Eyewear, and Hobie. Or look for some great quick drying shorts from Camet, Henri-Lloyd, Musto, Gill, Railriders, and Slam! Team One Newport has the best clothing on the planet! Any questions, call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327). STAR NAs Vancouver, British Columbia (August 4, 2007) -- With seven freighters filling English Bay in Vancouver, the 49-boat star fleet was feeling the squeeze on Friday. When regatta leaders Andy Horton/Brad Nichol failed to recognize the significant current advantage on the right side of the course, they found themselves back in the pack during the day’s lone race, setting up a tight finale amongst the top teams on Saturday. With the westerly winds beginning at 6-7 knots at the start and soon building to 12-15 knots in the afternoon, Horton/Nichol gathered a deuce to seal their championship victory. -- Event reports: http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=1151 Final Results: 1. USA - Andy Horton/Brad Nichol, 1-6-1-1-(28)-2, 11 points 2. CAN - Ross Macdonald/Tyler Bjorn, 4-1-4-2-3-(18), 14 3. USA - George Szabo/Andrew Scott, 5-2-(OCS)-4-1-4, 16 4. USA - Brian Ledbetter/Mark Brink, 2-8-3-3-(10)-6, 22 5. USA - Mark Mendelblatt/Magnus Liljedahl, 8-4-2-5-4-(DNF), 23 Complete results: http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=1151#results THE RAID The Archipelago Raid, the extreme race through the 100,000 islands of the Archipelago region, began July 30th, and for five intense days and nights saw 29 teams navigate the amazing labyrinth of islands and rocks on Formula 18 catamarans. Amidst the Scandinavian Islands between Sweden and Finland, the teams had to find almost 30 checkpoints located on beaches, pontoons, boats, and lighthouses along. Five retired due to a number of things ranging from dismasting to broken daggerboards. But in the spirit of the Raid for those that could, they made every attempt to finish this unique endurance event. One team, White Knuckles Express managed to purchase another boat after a near sinking and continued the race. Another, Voltaren, managed to hold a sail up when their mast came down and ‘sail’ to the beach to fix their mast and carry on. Photographer Thierry Martinez followed the chase, which was won by the French team of Jean Christophe Mourniac/ Franck Citeau sailing a Hobie Tiger. -- Photos and event information: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/0803 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar IN THE MED Palma de Mallorca, Spain (August 4, 2007) Alberto Roemmers' Argentinian owned, Spanish sponsored Siemens clinched the overall title in the 22 strong grand prix TP52 class at the 26th Copa del Rey Camper Audi Saturday on the Bay of Palma (3rd of 5 MedCup events). Twenty years after he last won the Mediterranean's premier trophy on the Maxi Il Moro di Venezia, Paul Cayard called the tactics successfully for owner Roemmers and skipper-helmsman Guilermo Parada, winning a closely fought series by just six points from Vasco Vascotto's 2005 Breitling MedCup winning team on Mutua Madrilena. Siemens Matador's owner Roemmers' enthusiasm and dedication on board the Judel Vrolijk designed TP52 belies his 80 plus years. His first title victory in the Copa del Rey complements a string of international successes with his Alexia yachts including the Maxi World Championships, the Giraglia, Fastnet and Newport to Bermuda Races. It comes exactly one year after he gave the green light to skipper Guilermo Parada during last year's Copa del Rey, to start up the TP52 project in the Matador name – the line of boats owned and run by his son Alberto Jr. -- Full story: http://2007.medcup.org/news/?idioma=2&id=2350 Final Results: 1. Siemens (A Roemmers, ARG-Judel Vrolijk 2007), 55 points 2. Mutua Madrilena (V Vascotto, ESP-Botin Carkeek 2007), 61 3. CxG Corporacion Caixa Galicia (R Bermudez de Castro ESP), 73 4. Patches (I Walker, IRL-Reichel Pugh 2007), 77 5. Artemis (T Torbjorn, SWE-Judel Vrolijk 2007), 79 Complete results: http://2007.medcup.org/resultados/index2_real.php?id_regatta=3&idioma=2 * Photos: The TP 52 fleet in the Med is about as Grand Prix as the sport is presently providing, and the boats look to be as cool as the top pros are good. Some have tillers, some have wheels, but they all have huge cockpits and hard-hiking crew. Expert shooters Max Ranchi and Gilles Martin-Raget bring us onboard in Palma: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/0804 KAENON POLARIZED. LUXURY PERFORMANCE. What do you really want from your sunglasses? Protection. Breeze Reading. Style? At Kaenon Polarized we provide all of it for both men and women. We call it Luxury Performance. Frame designs that fit, function, and protect - on and off the water - worn with your dry suit or your business suit. Exclusively featuring our SR-91 polarized lens that separates Kaenon Polarized from every other sunglass on the planet - patented, unique, and superior. Prescription-ready. Locate a dealer and view the new Gauge - released today - and the entire Luxury Performance collection at http://www.kaenon.com Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. LITTLE LEAGUE SAILING There have been a few posts out there in the cyber sailing world about coaching from the sidelines as it were... When kids race solo (or single handed), they're sometimes followed around the course (at various distances...) by a parent. Such support boats are often referred to as Mommy Boats. The thoughtful parents follow at a distance. There's no yelling or obnoxious coaching. They're there in case of an emergency (meaning the boat is swamped and the kid has trouble righting the boat type of thing... not a "YOU NEED MORE VANG" emergency). Not all Mommy Boats are as courteous and thoughtful of others... Imagine all of the little league parents being able to following their son or daughter around the field giving direction and "encouragement". Sometimes it's bad enough when they're relegated to the sidelines. My approach is to be in the same boat... racing together as a team. -- Read on: http://another-msquared.blogspot.com/2007/06/little-league-sailing.html SAILING SHORTS * A celebration of life for Wendy Siegal, the Cal 40 owner/skipper whose efforts and leadership revived the 40-year-old class with 10 Transpacific Yacht Race entries in 2003 and 14 in 2005, is scheduled Thursday, Aug. 9, 3:30 p.m. at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club in Long Beach, CA. Siegal, 55, a schoolteacher and Transpacific Yacht Club director, was found drowned near her boat on July 5 four days before the first Transpac start. Dress for the event is casual. -- http://abyc.org * British Team Basilica won the iShares Cup after dominating three days of Extreme 40 sailing at Skandia Cowes Week (3rd- 5th August). The Team gave home crowds something to shout about by making it a hat-trick; winning all three days at Cowes as well as three leg wins following victory in Munich and Marseille. The Team will now go to the final leg in Amsterdam seven points ahead of second place Holmatro with thirty points. -- Full report: http://www.isharescup.com/container.asp?section=news&artid=7901 * Lysekil, Sweden (August 4, 2007) -- In her third attempt to win the Lysekil Women's Match, Swede Linda Rahm and her Team Stena Bulk - Therese Torgersson, Helena Barne, Anna Nordlander, Annika Olsson and Vendela Zachrisson - succeeded. With three victories and only one loss in the final against former ISAF world ranking leader Marie Björling, she secured SEK 100 000 (15,000 USD), 25 percent of the largest prize purse in women's matchracing. Long Beach Mayor’s Cup winner Liz Baylis (USA) finished ninth. -- http://www.wimra.org/news_detail.asp?rk=57 * The Women's International Match Racing Association (WIMRA) Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 8, 2007, during the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship in St Quay, France. -- http://www.wimra.org/news_detail.asp?rk=56 * Lake Dillon, Colorado (August 3, 2007) -- Despite finishing tenth in the qualifying series of the 63-boat US Snipe Nationals, Ernesto Rodriguez and Megan Place (Miami, FL) rolled a 2-2-1-1 in the shortened championship series to claim their second title in the past three years. Fresh from the Pan Am Games, 2006 champion Augie Diaz with Kathleen Tocke (Miami, FL) finished second, with Brian Bissell and Carly Chamberlain (Annapolis, MD) in third. -- Results: http://www.snipe2007.org/results.htm * Marblehead, MA (August 4, 2007) -- Going in to the last race of U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship, Mayumi Roller was trailing leader Carolyn Prioleau by only three points. Off the start line, Carolyn let Mayumi get away to the right, where she parlayed the separation and rounded the first weather mark in fifth with Carolyn now in the teens. However, Carolyn fought her way back to sixth, and with Mayumi’s third, the two were tied on points, with Carolyn’s four 1st place finishes to Mimi’s three 1st place finishes giving her the title. Winning the final three races was third place finisher Eliza Richartz. -- http://www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/usjrw/single * With 64-entrants at the Thistle National Championships in Eugene, Oregon, there was only table scraps left after the team of Mike Ingham, John Baker, and Delia Ingham from Rochester Canoe Club blitzed the fleet for the win. Remaining in the top two for all six races during the five day event on Fern Ridge Reservoir, the champions built up an eighteen point lead over second place skipper Scott Griffin, with Terry Lettenmaier finishing in third. -- Results: http://www.nw1d.com/Nationals/2007/results.html THE YEAR OF THE J J sailors are cranking it up this summer: 1st Overall Transpac Race (J/125 Reinrag); 1st Overall Chicago-Mac (J/105 Vytis); 1st Overall Round Long Island (J/145 Sweet Lorraine); 1st Overall Bayview Mac (J/120 Carinthia) - and that's to add to overall wins in Ft. Lauderdale Race, Pineapple Cup, Annapolis-Newport and Charleston-Bermuda. Congratulations! http://www.jboats.com 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 Bill Sloger: (Regarding Harry Walkers letter in Issue 2403 of Bill Faude’s comments of Rio's harbor waters at the Pan Am Games) Please understand Mr.Walker that North Americans tend to call a spade a spade, or as in this case, sewage. I have sailed on a lake in North Carolina that was infamous for the contents after a heavy spring rainfall including tires, dogs, pigs, bottles, dog houses, fence posts with wire attached… you name it. I will admit that no world-class sailors were produced on that lake, so perhaps it is okay to call a spade a spade in this case. * From Rick Matters: The thrill of international competition is often tempered by the realities of the circumstance. I applaud the Pan American Games reports by American Lightning sailor Bill Faude that were criticized by Harry Walker in Issue 2403. They gave us perspective, brought us onboard, and shared an event with an audience that likely will never get to experience it first hand. Bill was not alone in his commentary either. I read elsewhere that the current lines could not be crossed for fear of catching the trash that resided within, or that thunderhead cloud formations were misconstrued with the city’s trash fires. It was not long ago that we were reading of the pollution observed in Valencia by the America’s Cup sailors and media. Perhaps if we talk about this enough, the a-holes that toss their cigarette butts where they please will realize their errors, as will the others who have a hand in the pollution problems of our planet. * From Ken Legler: The Sailing World Magazine ranking panelists are once again writing their pre-season College racing prognostications for the SW website. Please send them any information regarding incoming freshmen who may have an impact this coming year, or any other team members who may be returning or who may not be competing in the 07-08 season. Deadline is Tuesday, Aug 7, and info should be sent to: NEISA, MCSA and SEISA: Ken Legler, mailto:kenneth.legler@tufts.edu MAISA, SAISA: Mike Callahan, mailto:HoyaSail@aol.com PCCSA, NWICSA: Mike Segerblom, mailto:MikeSego@collegesailing.org * From Jeffry Matzdorff: Excuse me but why doesn't a boat like Between The Sheets get the credit in the Transpac Race she deserves. She's a measured boat in Americap just like the others. BTS has three (3) consecutive Aloha A class victories in the past 3 races, plus she's won the last two consecutive Cabo races in class (‘06-’07) along with a second in ‘05. Has this ever been done before? A three-peat for first in class on a Transpac? Shame on those who do not promote what BTS has accomplished and will continue to accomplish. * From Michael H. Koster: (Regarding floating billboards) One of the reasons I enjoy being out on the water, whether it's racing, cruising, or fishing, is that you get to leave a little bit of the 'real' world behind. The further you get away from shore, the more you get to leave behind. For me, this is both relaxing and therapeutic. The thought of floating billboards encroaching on our waters is one more example of the world closing in on us, making it more difficult to find the space where we can get away from it all. * From Bill Ando: It's easy enough to get rid of the billboards: Don't buy from the businesses that advertise on them. Quiet litigation. They'll soon learn that "waterside" advertising is too costly. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION I was in the grocery store and saw a sign that said, "pet supplies." So I did. Then I went outside and saw a sign that said "compact cars"… Special thanks to Team One Newport, Kaenon Polarized, and J Boats. |
