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SCUTTLEBUTT 1457 - November 13, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. ISAF ROLEX WORLD SAILOR OF THE YEAR AWARDS Russell Coutts (SUI) and Siren Sundby (NOR) are the winners of the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2003, in recognition of outstanding sailing achievement during the period September 2002 through to September 2003. Coutts was honoured in respect of his victory as skipper of Alinghi in the 2003 America's Cup. With the victory, Russell became the all time winning skipper in the America's Cup Match. He won 14 races without a loss, adding the five wins of 2003 to the nine he earned with Team New Zealand in the 1995 and 2000 campaigns, surpassing Dennis Conner for total victories and Charlie Barr for most without a loss. His third consecutive America's Cup victory ties him with Harold Vanderbilt and Charlie Barr. Sundby of Norway was awarded the female trophy for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2003 in recognition of her successes in the Europe Class. At just 20 years of age, Siren has reached the top of her discipline, surpassing the rest of the fleet to claim many Championship titles over the past twelve months. The pinnacle being the 2003 ISAF World Championship in Cadiz, which she won with a race to spare having sat in a medal position from the outset. The other nominees for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year awards were: MALE: Darren Bundock and John Forbes (AUS); Neville Crichton (NZL); Augie Diaz (USA); Chris Draper and Simon Hiscocks (GBR); Gal Fridman (ISR); Torben Grael (BRA); Gustavo Lima (POR); Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL); Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau (FRA); Gabrio Zandona and Andrea Trani (ITA). FEMALE: Betsy Alison, Suzy Leech and Lee Icyda (USA); Adrienne Cahalan (AUS); Lee Korsiz (ISR); Malin Millbourn, Linda Yström, Åsa Aronsson and Kim Kulstad (SWE); Hannah Swett, Joan Touchette and Melissa Purdy (USA); VOLVO OCEAN RACE Vigo Spain, in the northwest region of Galicia, has been chosen to host the start of the Volvo Ocean Race on November 12, 2005. But it continues tradition by also confirming that it will take part in the event by entering a team in the race, headed by Pedro Campos. The major sponsor of the syndicate is Telefónica, the leading Spanish telecoms company, with additional funding coming from other companies and the Galician Government. Telefónica is not new to the sailing world and, by providing funding, the company moves up to a new level in sailing sponsorship. In addition to its other sponsorships including Formula 1, Telefónica has been supporting former America's Cup skipper Pedro Campos with his IMS race boat campaigns for several seasons. This is the first time that the round the world race, first staged in 1973, has started outside Britain, although a stopover in the UK is planned in the spring of 2006. The fleet will be challenged immediately by racing straight out into the Atlantic Ocean, which will provide an exciting first leg towards the first scoring gate at Ilha de Noronha on the Brazilian coast before finishing in Cape Town, South Africa in early December. - Lizzie Green, www.volvooceanrace.org TROPHY BRAID UPGRADED For years Trophy Braid has been a staple at Samson Rope. Our customers love it for its soft, easy to grip hand, variety of colors and value. Look at the cruising boats at the dock and many will have Trophy Braid coiled around the winches. Now look again. We have improved Trophy Braid with new fiber that is stronger, more abrasion resistant, colorfast, and still supple in the hand - and the price hasn't changed. What a bonus! Enjoy. http://www.samsonrope.com/ TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE The mileage between the top three monohull 60s - Virbac, Sill and Ecover - fluctuates a little, but there are no major gains among these leaders. There is a 120m West-East difference between the top monohull and multihull, as they both begin to anticipate the fickle conditions of the ITCZ up ahead. Roland Jourdain on Sill said, "It looks like the multi's will cross through the Doldrums more easily than us. And looking at certain weather models there could be some 'snack-stops' for some of the monohulls. The forecast gets slightly less favorable the nearer we get … only when we're in it will we see what the effects will really be. We should experience the effects of a tropical system just before the Doldrums this afternoon coming from the East which will generate 25/30 knots, even 40 at points, and of course lots of rain. We're going to need to be on our toes as it will be a bit of a roller coaster ride and a critical area to get through safely!" Standings - 0300 GMT on November 13: Open 60 Monohulls: 1. Virbac, Jean-Pierre Dick & Nicolas Abiven, 1445 miles to finish; 2. Sill, Roland Jourdain & Alex Thomson, 165 miles from leader; 3. Ecover, Mike Golding & Brian Thompson, 196 mfl. Open 60 Multihulls: 1. Groupama, Franck Cammas & Franck Proffit, 1318 miles from finish; 2. Belgacom, Jean-Luc Nélias & Loick Peyron, 139 mfl; 3. Geant, Michel Desjoyeaux & Hervé Jan, 140 mfl. - www.jacques-vabre.com NEWS BRIEFS * Challenge Business has announced the names of the 12 skippers chosen to skipper the boats in the Global Challenge round-the-world yacht race 2004/5. The 11 men and one woman were selected from nearly 400 who originally applied - a process, which has taken over a year to complete: James Allen, UK, 28; Denise Caffari, UK, 30: Clive Cosby, UK, 28; Andrew Forbes, Australian, 36; Duggie Gillespie, UK, 36; Stuart Jackson, UK, 27; Paul Kelly, UK, 27; Eero Lehtinen, Finnish, 39; Laurence Marriott, UK, 29; David Melville, UK, 40; Matthew Riddell, Australian, 29; Amedeo Sorrentino, Italian, 49. - www.challengebusiness.com * New Zealand's Wayne Boberg has been awarded the first annual Colorcraft Umpire Recognition Award which recognizes the top umpire on the Swedish Match Tour, based upon the criteria of fairness, respect, and congeniality. Over the past year, skippers, crew and event organizers had been asked to nominate one umpire for this honor, with the winner ultimately determined by representatives from Colorcraft and the Swedish Match Tour. - www.swedishmatchtour.com * Last Saturday, while running the annual Snow and Satisfaction regatta at Yale Corinthian YC, YCYC Commodore Dana Worth and Regatta Chairman Erik Hayward noticed something looking not quite right a little way off the course. Going over for closer inspection, they found two sailors hanging onto their capsized Albacore. Wind speeds were gusting into the twenties; temps were in the low 40s. The capsized sailors were not wearing life jackets or any protective gear, and had been in the water for some time by the time Erik and Dana rescued them. - Dave Kirkpatrick, davek@teamvanguard.com * The classified ads section of the Scuttlebutt website provides complimentary job postings for yacht clubs that are beginning their search for next season's sailing instructors. Ad categories also include boats for sale from eight to eighty feet and enough equipment available to fill your garage. Ad listings and posting information available at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/classifieds ARAMID RIGGING AT FARR INVITATIONAL & KEY WEST PRE-RACE Aramid Rigging is onsite in Miami for all your rigging needs starting November 17th for the Rolex Farr Invitational. For advance orders call 401-683-6966. Onsite contact (401) 345-1907. Look for us at Key West as well! Receive 10% off any rope order when you join our email list at http://www.aramidrigging.com/m/_general/contactus.asp BEACH CATS MARATHONS The Tybee Island Sailing Association, organizers of the successful Tybee 500 that debuted last May, has teamed up with the Outer Banks Catamaran Club to produce two back-to-back five-hundred-mile races starting next year. The contests will form a new 1000-mile annual challenge called the Atlantic 1000. According to race organizers, these two events the Tybee 500 and the Outer Banks 500 will culminate in a third award honoring the sailors with the best combined time for both. Race registration will begin on January 1, 2004, with surf sailors given the choice of entering either or both events. The Tybee 500 will run the same course as last year from Islamorada, Florida, to Tybee Island, Georgia, May 10-15. The Outer Banks 500 will start on May 17th where the Tybee leaves off, ending at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, on May 22nd. Each race will have five mandatory checkpoints between start and finish Classes will consist of 18- and 20-foot production catamarans, factory spinnaker-rigged with beams of no more than 8.5 feet, including Inter 20, Nacra 6.0, Hobie 20, and the NAF 18. Website addresses are: www.tybee500.com, www.obx500.com, www.atlantic1000.com. - Diana Prentice BALTIMORE TO BALTIMORE TRANSATLANTIC RACE In co-operation with the City of Baltimore, USA, the towns of Baltimore and Schull, Ireland, Failte Ireland-The National Tourist Development Authority and The Storm Trysail Club, Ocean Race Chesapeake announced the St. Brendan's Cup Challenge for May 2004 and a date in 2007 to coincide with the America's Cup in Europe. The St. Brendan's Cup will leave from Baltimore, USA and finish in Baltimore, Ireland. The St. Brendan's Cup is open to racing and cruising yachts in excess of 45 feet. The yachts will rendezvous in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, in conjunction with a celebration of Sail & Irish Culture, as guests of the City of Baltimore and Ocean Race Chesapeake. The start will be off Ft. McHenry (home of the Star Spangled Banner) on May 30. The fleet will be welcomed as guests by the towns of Baltimore and Schull in southwest Ireland. Participants can then compete in Cork Week-the biennial international sailing event which takes place along the Irish coast from July 10th to 16th. A Dublin Bucket will be organized for fleet participants and local yachts. "We are building an event for 2004 and 2007 that will promote ocean racing and off shore cruising for those wintering in the Caribbean and wishing to join a fleet on their return to Europe as well as those interested in the challenge of an Atlantic crossing" indicated Jim Muldoon, Co-Chair of the St. Brendan's Cup Committee. The entry fee will benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and The Royal National Lifeboat Station-Baltimore. - Lee Tawney, www.oceanracechesapeake.org DAWN RILEY DESIGNS FOR WOMEN Your woman and fellow crewmembers will love these foul weather gear sets -- salopettes, dry vest and bottoms by Dawn Riley. Light weight, non-bulking and breathable foul weather gear in great colors that will keep you dry and comfortable as you get 'round-the-buoys' or to your favorite weekend gunk hole. With gear that is designed by women for women, your woman will thank you for this thoughtful and fitting gift. Find it at Sailing Angles, the home of padded sailing shorts and long pants, and now Dawn Riley designs: 1-800-666-3616 http://www.sailingangles.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Charles "Butch" Ulmer: I read the Curmudgeon's comments about the Bitter End Pro-Am yesterday and liked what he had to say. I've been a "guest" skipper there for a number of years and besides making a lot of friends, I think I passed on some good tips and helped "hype" our sport. As Tom said, that's what the event is all about! Regarding J.D. Stone's comments, he's right that a Bitter End vacation isn't cheap but neither is it prohibitively expensive. He's way off base when he lumps all those in attendance as the "idle rich". Last year my crew for the whole event (Mom's Racing Team from Richmond, CA) consisted of hard working, middle class folks. They planned their vacation together, had a great time and I'm sure would tell Mr. Stone it was worth every penny! Regarding Tom Donlan's question, I think those of us in the sailing industry would support such events "pro bono" no matter where they were held. My guess is that the real "pro's" would do the same. * From Wayne Bruce: If J.D. Stone ever scheduled a vacation around the Bitter End YC's Pro-Am Regatta, he'd be surprised to find that most of the guests are not the 'idle rich,' but working people on budgets who are having the time of their lives experiencing all the water sports activities they can handle. * From Cory E. Friedman: Low turnout for our trials results from the fact that US Sailing only recognizes (US Youths, Bemis/ Smyth) un-tunable Club 420s and Standard Lasers. (Girls also get the Leiter in Radials.) Competitive 420 crews must sail at 220-250 lbs. Average size male teenagers need not apply, unless paired with tiny females. Very fit boys (no girls need apply) below 6'/170 lbs. can be competitive in Jr. Lasers, but are in trouble if it blows, when the big boys take over. Boys in the middle 50% of the size range are out of luck. Fit through the eye of this needle and sail 15 minute college races in un-tunable boats without chutes - usually in light air venues. Those that want to sail an Olympic class other than Lasers or Stars (for jumbo sailors with jumbo wallets) find no significant regattas in North America and must virtually become Europeans for competition. Competitive Olympic boats are not cheap, but moving to Europe is another order of magnitude of expense. Buying boats for sailors is a red herring. To quote Larry Summers, "no one has ever washed a rented car." US Sailing should sponsor -- and significantly recognize -- a major series of Jr./college events in the Olympic classes. The Olympic Development Regatta was a start. Show the kids that the investment in an Olympic boat gives them the potential for recognition. Invite the college coaches to coach/scout them. Stop whining about money and develop what we have that will work. * From Eric Hall: I liked Wiz Deas' ideas on ballast. They really got me thinking. The idea of a movable out-of-water bulb filled with water makes a lot of sense. I also liked the idea that in lighter air you could let the water out, lightening the boat. Then if you had to crash tack the boat, why its empty tank buoyancy would even keep the boat upright. No worries with the 10 degree rule here either! Here's an even wackier thought: Why not stick it out to leeward empty ALL the time then you'd never have to fill it. Since it's light, you could afford to have one just like it on the other side so you wouldn't have to move it when you tacked. It might even look good because symmetry, after all, is the very essence of elegance. Is this just a dog of a different gender or am I on to something? * From Mike Zuilhof: Spare us the bashing, name-calling rants. Incomprehensible as it is to some, there are those who care about and work for causes for no personal gain. Far from wanting to keep Baja "for themselves," many people with environmental concerns never have, nor never will benefit personally from protecting the world's last Great Places. Yes, sometimes intelligent growth is possible, but not when environmental considerations are ridiculed, dismissed and ignored. Perhaps it will be found that some development is desirable, but that does not validate a reckless, economically wasteful, subsidized approach. As for the Gray Whales, there are two other distinct populations of the same species to contemplate. The Atlantic population is extinct. The Western Pacific population may soon see the same fate. Yes, after 60 years of protection the Eastern Pacific Gray Whale population is doing fine and survive migration along the West coast. But the Baja lagoons are their primary breed and calving place. If these are polluted and disrupted by unmitigated development their fate could change. * From Tom Willson: It's interesting to watch the 'Butt writers attempt to export their environmental wisdom to Mexico. San Pedro, Long Beach, Newport Beach, San Diego and Mission Bay certainly were easy on the coastlines. No environmental impact there! And for the delicate desert environments we can show them our shining examples of Las Vegas and Palm Springs. * From Wylie Nisbet, Los Barriles, BCS, Mexico: The Mexican government thinks that it will attract 50,000 boats a year to their proposed new Marinas along the Baja. To get that many boats they would have to empty all the Marinas along the west coast, twice. There is one new breakwater/marina at Santa Rosalillita. It is so far off the route north or south I doubt that it will see much use. It would be really nice if the Gov would improve the facilities at Turtle Bay and Santa Rosalia (on the East Coast) and maybe put some new facilities on the East Cape south of La Paz. You do not need a marina every fifty/hundred miles to enjoy the Baja. If you think that you do you shouldn't be out there. * From Brooks Benjamin: I argue that characterizing sailing as a "rich mans sport" is a misconception. In my opinion the vast majority of those who participate in this wonderful sport are club racers, a.k.a. weekend warriors. Guys and gals who put together a low budget campaign solely to enjoy a day on the water. It's true that the big buck owners, mega yachts, AC boats and rock star Olympic teams spend lots of money, they grab all the press and deservedly so. That's eye candy to the club racer and that's what gets us to the starting line. But I'm sure the numbers would speak for themselves. Sorry if I shock anyone but the "majority" of those who race sailboats may not actually be "rich" or "men" for that matter. * From David Howie: Anyone who cannot observe for themselves that the vast majority of participants in sailboat races are light skinned, male, and have either a net worth or annual income well in excess of the national average, must have their masthead stuck in the sand. * From Georges Bonello DuPuis, Malta: Is it just me or what? All I read about is Lisbon and Naples having problems with the locals protesting hosting the America's Cup. On the other hand, Valencia has the King pushing in the right direction and the Spaniards are all sailing crazy. Can't stop wondering were the cup is going ... CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses. |
