|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2903 - Friday, August 7, 2009Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are Bill Smith and Team One Newport. WHAT YOUTH SAILING REALLY NEEDS This week in Scuttlebutt were two profiles of how the Club 420 and the Lightning were looking to make changes so as to better appeal to youth sailing. Here are comments from two parents that have already been done the youth sailing road, and think what kids really need is less…not more: From Bill Canfield, St Thomas Yacht Club: "Why did the group of St. Thomas Yacht Club sailors do so well at the Collegiate Championships last spring and perform well in almost any sailing endeavor they have taken up? The answer is simple - they sail because they love to sail! This particular group had no organized program and almost no coaching in their Opti days. Sailing was an adventure to them and remains a passion. There was no structure, there were no expectations, it was about kids sailing together and sharing wonderful experiences. People always ask why they have been so successful. My standard answer is ask 'Huckleberry Finn'. "I believe most U.S. club programs are too rigid and coach driven (ours has unfortunately been pushed that way by parents expecting great things). The answer to keeping kids in sailing is the approach and it has to involve "fun". Before you make radical boat changes and reinvent the equipment ask the kids - 'Are you having fun in the sailing program'. The answer may surprise you." From Chris Bulger: "As a former junior sailor in the 70's, who has now had three junior sailors go thru Opti's and 420's, I don't believe you need another boat or rig to address attrition. My twin girls collected a lot of trophies on Narragansett Bay in Opti's, then quit the sport in favor of running (they continue to collect trophies) because they found all the Opti adults suffocating and wanted a sport where they could literally run away and be self sufficient with other kids. My son sailed 420 with minimal enthusiasm and similar results - until he was introduced to a 29er - a boat that is too fast for a coach boat to keep up and where very few adults can offer any advice. We can't pry him out of the boat and he just took second at the 29er East Coast Championships. "Kids want to hang out with kids - not adults. Kids want to socialize and sailing eats more hours than any other sport - so it’s gotta be fun. Kids (old and young) want to be cool and go really fast. You want to reduce the drop-out rate - here's my advice: 1. Make Saturday Dances mandatory at regattas and hide the chaperons . 2. Ban coach boats in favor of crash boats at Opti Events. 3. Ban coaches and parents from rigging areas at 420 and Opti events before and after racing - except for Green Fleet who should have its own area. 4. Play the video of the 2009 29er Worlds 24-7 in your club house. Problem solved. "Then take the money that you were going to spend on yet another youth toy and buy yourself a V15 or Lightning to show the kids that dinghy sailing is for life!" => Do you think you have the answer? Post your comments in this Scuttlebutt Forum thread: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8002 “WE WANT TO RACE IN FEBRUARY” The 33rd America’s cup challenger, BMW Oracle Racing, said on Thursday that it wants to get the race going as soon as possible, in a possible indication that they might not challenge the cup holder Alinghi’s selection of Ras Al Khaimah as the venue for the event in February 2010. The recent history of the megabuck event is replete with challenges - not just on water. Courts have been moved to arbitrate in disputes and it was feared that the holder’s choice, by prerogative, might come in for one such challenge. “We want to race in February. We are certainly keen to get the race going as soon as possible, hopefully,” Russell Coutts, skipper of BMW Oracle told Khaleej Times in a telephone interview from New York. However, the racing legend said that he needed more information about the wind conditions and infrastructure in the emirate before making a final decision. “I have raced in Dubai and I have been to Abu Dhabi sailing club, but I have never been to Ras Al Khaimah,” he said. “We do not know anything about the venue.” -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/nug4lf * CORRECTION: The Curmudgeon screwed up! In Scuttlebutt 2902, the story regarding the America’s Cup venue announcement noted that legal analyst Cory Friedman believed the venue options available to the Defender were those limited by the Deed of Gift, which allows only Southern Hemisphere sites in February, and Valencia, Spain in the Northern Hemisphere due to an earlier court ruling. WRONG! Here is a clarification from Cory: “You misunderstood me. I don't think (Justice) Cahn allowed Valencia. He was saying that if you are contractually bound, you will have to get GGYC's consent to Valencia to avoid breaching your contract, because you are not allowed to choose Valencia without consent. If you can't get consent, you'll just have to breach your contract (with the city) and take the consequences. Your contract has nothing to do with where you can sail.” * (August 7, 2009) - Alinghi, America's Cup holder team, will transport on Friday its catamaran from Le Bouveret, Switzerland, to Genoa, Italy. For the transport will be used a Mil Mi-26T helicopter, the biggest in the world, that will have the task to lift the 120-ton ship. To keep its balance a sort of paraglider will be installed on the aft. The ship's mast, 52-meters tall, will be carried by another helicopter, an Eurocopter Super Puma AS-332C1. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/l48g8k TIBURON, CA WATERFRONT HOUSE WITH BOAT DOCK This south-facing property on Raccoon Strait is bathed in sunshine and boasts expansive views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, and Angel Island. Four bedrooms and two bathrooms in the main house and a separate studio apartment make this house very functional. The steel piles and dock are two years old. Boat lift is rated for 6,000 lbs. The lift is in adequate water for almost all tides. Mar East is one of Tiburon’s quietest streets with easy access to town - like living in a year-round vacation home. $3,900,000. -- http://www.2304MarEast.com IT’S A BIRD, IT’S A BOAT…IT’S A MOTH The focus in the International Moth Class, that foiling singlehander having as much in common with flying as sailing, is in Oregon now as the U.S. Nationals and CST Composites International Moth Class World Championships are hosted by the Columbia Gorge Racing Association at Cascade Locks through August 15, 2009. Among the attendees is 2-time World Champion Rohan Veal, who has played a huge role in the refinement of the Moth’s foiling system, and the transition of boats from being custom only garage-built machines to mass production. During his early training at the Gorge, Veal discovered his initial pace and control was not as quick as the competition, and in his best “moth-speak”, explains the adjustments he made: “Firstly I had too much gearing in my centerboard so the boat was bouncing around downwind at 20 knots like a kid on a pogo-stick. Once I sorted that out, reduced the ski-out on my wand to get better ride height on port tack, then added an adjustable wand elastic (on both sides of the boat using a Ronstan pivoting lead block) and took off a heap of positive lift off my flap as it was stalling upwind with the massive AOA I am currently running.” Got all that? Here is more: http://www.rohanveal.com Worlds website: http://www.mothworlds2009.org STAR WORLDS Varberg, Sweden (August 6, 2009; Day 5) - It was Robert Stanjek's and Markus Koy's (GER) turn to lead the 86-boat 2009 Star World Championship fleet around the race course. The fleet started under a black flag, lots of sunshine, flat water and wind that clocked right, right, right throughout the afternoon. Stanjek and Koy were on pins and needles trying to protect their position against fellow German teammates Jojo Plogar and Tim Kroeger; two-time Star World Champion, Alexander Hagen and Kai Falkentahl. Americans George Szabo and Rick Peters and Kiwis Hamish Pepper and Craig Monk were also a threat throughout the race. "We are so happy," said Robert Stanjek following the race. "We didn't have any extra special speed. It was a very tactical race and we were fortunate that there was only one way to go on each upwind and downwind." Stanjek was also very happy for Jojo Polgar who finished second in the race and is in sixth overall going into the final race. "It was just like ideal Tornado sailing conditions," said Stanjek. "You hit the corner and do one tack. You can't afford to make unnecessary tacks in conditions like these." The 2009 Star World Championship will be decided in the sixth and final race on Friday. The 2006 Star World Champion, Hamish Pepper and his crew Craig Monk have a single point advantage over Americans George Szabo and Rick Peters and Swiss sailors, Flavio Marazzi and Enrico De Maria. Three points behind the Kiwis is the 2-time World Champ Lööf with Tillander (SWE), who recovered today from a low teens first mark rounding to a seventh place finish. -- Full story: http://www.worldregattas.com/ViewInfo.php?ContentID=315 Preliminary Results - Top 10 of 86 1. NZL, Hamish Pepper/ Craig Monk, (11)-9-1-11-5, 26 2. USA, George Szabo/ Rick Peters, (54)-1-3-20-3, 27 3. SUI, Flavio Marazzi/ Enrico De Maria, 3-3-(35)-1-20, 27 4. SWE, Fredrik Loof/ Johan Tillander, 2-5-15-(23)-7, 29 5. USA, Andrew Campbell/ Magnus Liljedahl, (14)-14-4-8-8, 34 6. GER, Johannes Polgar/ Tim Kroeger, (31)-22-7-4-2, 35 7. POL, Mateusz Kusznierewicz/ Dominik Zycki, 1-12-(50)-18-6, 37 8. USA, Mark Mendelblatt/ Mark Strube, 8-4-2-26-(35), 40 9. GER, Alexander Schlonski/ Frithjof Kleen, 9-17-11-5-(32), 42 10. BRA, Lars Schmidt Grael/ Ronald Seifert, (30)-6-14-14-12, 46 Results: http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=1654 SAILING SHORTS * While Wisconsin DN skipper Kyle Metzloff is in New Zealand to attend an engineering conference, he plans to scout ice with the goal of introducing the sport of ice sailing to New Zealand, along with becoming the first person to sail an ice boat there. For this attempt, Kyle will be sailing a Blokart land sailing boat fitted with runners. -- Full report: http://www.iceboat.org/index.html * The World Sailing Speed Record Council has ratified two new World Records, both by Banque Populaire 5. Skipper Pascal Bidegorry (FRA) and 11 crewmembers aboard the 131-foot maxi trimaran set a new outright Transatlantic record of 3 days, 15 hours, 25 minutes, and 48 seconds (average speed: 32.94 knots) on July 29-Aug 2. In the process of the Transatlantic record, the team also set a new outright 24 hour record of 908.2 miles (average speed: 37.84 knots). Both records were previously held by Groupama 3 and skipper Franck Cammas (FRA) in 2007. -- http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/ * A yacht racing fleet of historic proportions will crowd the starting line on Bristol Harbor (RI) this weekend. Enterprise, Shamrock, Rainbow - J Class yachts a dozen strong will jockey for position out front of the place where some of these great America’s Cup yachts were built nearly 80 years ago. Even at 1/16 scale, a model of the enormous J Class yachts is still big - eight feet long, 10-foot masts, displacement of up to 90 pounds. In the world of model boat sailing, just as was the case with the real thing back in the 1930s, the J Class is top end. -- Full story: http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/130564.html SMART AND FUNCTIONAL… … is the type of gear that you will always get when you order from Team One Newport. The Foul Weather Gear Experts are always looking for the best gear to make you look great and keep you warm, dry and comfortable. They have a terrific Musto Soft Shell jacket on sale; check out http://www.team1newport.com/prodinfo.asp?number=MUSB0060 to see this and then browse through the website for more awesome product from Henri-Lloyd, Musto, Gill, Atlantis, Camet, Harken, Patagonia, Puma, Sperry. Sebago, OluKai, Dubarry and much more. They also create the best crew uniforms around. You can also call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327). BIG YOUTH TEAM RACE EVENT For 2009, the Club 420 class designated the CJ Buckley Team Race as this year’s Club 420 National Junior Team Racing Championship. With 24 teams and 144 junior sailors from as far as Texas, the United States Virgin Islands, and Wisconsin, the CJ Buckley Team Race is the largest team race in the United States this year, and with regatta organizers completing 340 races over three days. Winning the event was Team Boss, from Lake Beulah YC (WI), with team members Will Haeger, Ian Schappe, Chris Banholzer, Nick Clemence, George Kutschenreuter, and Ellie Banholzer. The event was named after CJ Buckley, who lost a valiant fight with cancer in 2002, at the age of 17. A member of the Tabor Academy and Greenwich Bay Sailing Teams, he was a fierce competitor who especially enjoyed team racing. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8005#8005 BIG YOUTH ONE DESIGN EVENT Newport, RI (Aug. 6, 2009) - “They said we could never do it,” says Brad Read today, reflecting on a challenge to run the year’s biggest Optimist regatta with 363 youth sailors and no general recalls, no Z flag and no black flag. The final results today proved that Sail Newport and PRO Ken Legler were up to the challenge. Racing concluded today in the very successful 2009 USODA New England Championship after 18 races and 45 starts but no general recalls, no “ZFP” and no “BFP” on the board. The race management team created a new approach for their Opti trapezoid course with a three-segment, four-boat starting line and reach finish. With entrants from fourteen states and five countries, the Championship fleet totaled 321 while PRO Matt Hill managed the 45 Green Fleet beginners who finished as many races as the Championship Fleet on Narragansett Bay. The overall winner was Andy Widmeier of Brant Beach, N.J., who after one throw-out, scored fifth place or better throughout the entire series. Harry Koeppel of Larchmont, New York was second with Duncan Williford, who won the last race but was OCS, in third. The New England Championship is used as a qualifier for the 2010 U.S. team trials. For full results, photos, and video, go to: http://www.sailnewport.org/npt/m/_general/2009optineresults.asp POST YOUR EVENT STORIES If you are attending the Buzzards Bay Regatta in South Dartmouth, MA, or the Verve Cup Regatta in Chicago, IL, post your regatta stories in the Scuttlebutt Forum event threads for a Scuttlebutt gear raffle: BBR: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7995 Verve: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7996 PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include new launches, youth sailing in Holland, Italy, and Hungary, Harken engine testing in P-Ville, J/120 sailing in San Francisco, and coaching techniques in Quebec. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0807 VIDEO OF THE WEEK This video is as much about the Kiteboard Course Racing World Championship going on this week on San Francisco Bay, as it is about yacht clubs having relationships with local television. The Kite Worlds PRO James Kiriakis sits down with KRON 4 Gary Radnich, and gets the kind of event publicity that is hard to buy. Sixty-four competitors are participating in this inaugural event. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/09/0807/ * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week’s Video of the Week to mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Please submit your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Paul Henderson: Any good stand-up comic knows that to get laughs you must twist what is reality to the absurd. The America's Cup has taken the sport of Sailing to the absurd. After the great success of Valencia, which took professional sailing to unprecedented heights led by Luis Vuitton and the other sponsors, approaching Wimbledon Tennis and the Masters Golf, the egos of Alinghi and Oracle have brought our beloved sport to the lowest possible level of humour. Sailing will survive without the America's Cup although Sailing will suffer in the short term. The saddest thing to me is that the ISAF AC Match Racing proponents have put the Women's Olympic Keelboat event into this exclusive and expensive format. * From Chris Ericksen: Congratulations to John Harwood-Bee for voicing the most original idea about the America's Cup ('Butt 2902) I have heard so far, suggesting it is time to return the Cup to the New York Yacht Club as the current round is pointedly not "friendly competition between foreign countries." Assuming that is so, and agreeing that the Deed of Gift is in fact conditional, is the New York Yacht Club entitled to reclaim the Cup? The original Deed of Gift of 1857 does not include the complete text quoted by Mister Harwood-Bee; it appears in the third Deed of Gift, dated October 24, 1887, and made by George L. Schuyler, "sole surviving owner of the Cup won by the yacht America at Cowes, England, August 22, 1851." Does it then follow that only Mister Schuyler's survivors are entitled to reclaim the Cup? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION The words ‘race car’ spelled backwards still spells ‘race car’. Special thanks to Bill Smith and Team One Newport. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
