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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 551 - April 18, 2000Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features, dock talk, typos and ads. Corrections, contributions, press releases and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your personal attacks for elsewhere.
INDUSTRY NEWS "Being able to provide an integrated solution to the relationship between spars and sails will give our customers a powerful performance edge," Whidden said. "We saw the effectiveness of this integration in the final round of the last America's Cup." Southern Spars and Omohundro both provided high-tech composite spars for 6 out of the 12 competing teams in the last America's Cup, including the finalist teams Prada of Italy and Team New Zealand. All but one team in the competition used North Sails. Design and production facilities will remain the same at both locations, with existing management retaining their positions at each. Simon Allsopp has been named General Manager to oversee the overall performance of the sparmaking group. Southern Spars has 79 employees at its facility in Auckland, while Omohundro employs 49 people in Minden, NV. Omohundro's production of composite spars for popular one design monohulls, like the Melges 24 and Mumm 30, will continue, as will its production of composite spars for the multihulls, such as Corsair Marine's F-28 and F-31 trimarans, and Performance Catamaran I-17 and I-20 catamarans. -- Debbie Springer
WRAP-UP -- OLYMPIC TRIALS Silvestri and Myrdal, however, were locked in struggles that needed all 16 races to decide. Silvestri, a 38-year-old San Franciscan, could've clinched his spot on the team Saturday but fell one point short. That set up Sunday's showdown with Mark Hermann of Bothell, Wash., breathing down his neck. Hermann, 40, finished first or second in the eight races since Wednesday's day off but couldn't overcome the nine-point lead Silvestri built up in the first half of the regatta. "I'm disappointed," Hermann said while reflecting on numerous races where he could've saved a point or two. He capsized twice early in the regatta, once while leading. While Silvestri is assured of making the Olympic Team, the U.S. still has to qualify to participate in the Finn class at Sydney. Because of the enormous amount of athletes now participating at the Games, quotas were placed on the sailing classes to help control the total number of athletes. Whereas countries used to be able to enter any class, they now must qualify at designated regattas in the years building up to the Olympiad. The U.S. has qualified for every class but the Finn. The last opportunity to qualify will be in June at the Finn Gold Cup in England, where Silvestri and Hermann will be sailing. Finishing among the top 13 countries not already qualified will assure the U.S. an entry in the 29-boat Finn class. In the Laser class, Myrdal, 28, was locked in a titanic struggle with 27-year-old Mark Mendelblatt. The two traded the lead back and forth over the final three days, with Myrdal entering the final races three points ahead. He stretched that gap to six points after winning the first race while Mendelblatt placed fourth. But victory still wasn't assured. Mendelblatt, of St. Petersburg, Fla., rebounded to win the second race and increase the suspense. Myrdal, however, finished third and the berth was his. "I sailed the best regatta I could've sailed; John just out-sailed me. He deserved it," said Mendelblatt. Ten of the 11 representatives for the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team are now secure. This weekend's winners join six qualifiers from trials held last fall. The Soling is the last class to be determined. Those trials will be held in early June. -- Sean McNeill, Quokka Sports
Full story: http://sailing.quokka.com/
WORRELL 1000 The two week mid-May schedule (May 8 - 20) of the race is the result of weather and logistical factors. Earlier than May both the air and water in the northern legs of the race can be quite cold. Later than May winds along the course trend toward the light side. Finally, the considerable logistics of a small armada moving daily to a different beach resort and oceanfront hotel (13 cities - 5 states) dictate that the race be completed before the crowded Memorial Day Holiday (last Monday in May). This year the Worrell 1000 returns to its roots as a one design race. The Inter 20 will be the only boat allowed to race and all boats must be class legal. -- http://www.worrell1000.com
THE NEXT SHOW Infrastructure Auckland, which, through a subsidiary, America's Cup Village Ltd (ACVL), managed the recent event, is keen for someone else to run the next one. It has been holding talks with the Auckland City Council before the existing structure starts to unravel on June 30. From that date, the artificial island goes back to Auckland City, the eastern wharves are returned to Ports of Auckland and ACVL keeps seven syndicate bases. The resource consents ACVL has for the bases and water space also start expiring. Council chief executive Bryan Taylor said yesterday that work was still being done on a preferred option to take to the Government. Auckland City wants the Government to make a sizeable contribution to the running costs of the next America's Cup event. Running the last event cost $9.3 million. Mayor of Auckland Christine Fletcher said the America's Cup was not just a sporting event. It had tourism, marketing and other components that needed to be costed and taken to the Government. -- Bernard Orsman, NZ Herald Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ac2000/
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) >> From Hogan Beatie -- It sure would take a lot of guts for all teams to boycott the Sydney Olympic sailing event until the rightful winners of the Austalian Olympic trial winners in the 49er class are alllowed in · >> From Jennie Fitzhardinge -- Given the bitching that goes on about race committees, perhaps the sailing world could learn from other sports. The Telstra Rally Australia, a world championship motorsport event, is government & sponsor funded but still has to rely on the help of 2000 volunteers to make it happen every year. Some only give up a week of their time but many more work year round on it. More than 700 of them have received commemorative medals for five years involvement in the event and some 200 have worked on every event since 1988. So how does Rally Aus keep them coming back? I think it's because the event gives them the following: 1. TRAINING - they have the opportunity to learn skills from first aid to people management that they may not learn in their day-to-day lives. Plus, there is a 'career' path through the event management. Top level volunteer officials are sent to other world championship events as part of their training. 2. RESPONSIBILITY - there are only about 20 paid staff (mostly focused on sponsorship, marketing & media) so volunteer officials are responsible for the sporting side of the event. 3. RECOGNITION - volunteers aren't called volunteers, they are 'officials' a semantic, yet still important recognition of their role. They are kept informed throughout the year with their own newsletter, they each get a thank you letter and certificate at the end of the event, plus a big party which many of the teams (their heroes) attend. >> From John Rousmaniere -- On tax day it's a wonderful thing to be distracted by friendly disputes over other countries' currency and the names of ancient trophies. Bob Fisher and the others have it about part-right when they talk about what we call the America's Cup. It started life as "the R.Y.S. L100 Cup." That's how it's described on the poster announcing the race reproduced in "The Low Black Schooner," my book on the yacht America. The initials stand for the Royal Yacht Squadron and the amount (whether gentleman's guineas or peasants' pounds) almost certainly refer to a cash prize that would have gone to the winner's professional crew. There was nothing special either about the prize money or the silverware, referred to as an "ordinary trophy." They were the usual awards for the Squadron's usual annual race. That the Squadron invited the yacht America to participate proves its members' inherent competitiveness and generosity, even though they did not send out a boat for the match race that the Americans wanted. The mundaneness of the race and its awards motivated Commodore John Cox Stevens to inflate their importance when he returned to New York. Calling it "the Queen's Cup," he claimed Queen Victoria had presented it to him, which was not true. His name stuck for many years and made the cup an icon everywhere across the United States. The mental picture of some Americans taking a British trophy from the Queen's hands delighted all Americans. Without that (false) image, the trophy might have gathered dust in the New York YC's attic. In the 1870s the trophy came also to be called "the America Cup" (with "the"). By the 1890s it was usually called by its present name, although the old ones occasionally appeared. "America," of course, refers to the vessel, not to the geographic region. >> From James Stark (Regarding Helen Falk's comments in #550) -- While I agree that dinghy racing is the ultimate in racing excitement, I must respectfully disagree with "big boat sailing is boring" and also with the "Cup should be sailed in boats that are all equal." The America's Cup has been oft-compared to the space-race of the 60's, and I agree with that. The AC is *the* grounds for new technologies to be developed and tested. Sure, it costs a lot of money, and may not have the thrills and spills of I-14's, but the Apollo program didn't compare to flying fighter jets, either. Take, for example, the winged keel of the Australian boat that finally wrested the Cup from the US. That design is quite common today (including the keel found on my cruiser). Would this have developed from forcing the AC to be sailed in "equal" boats? While I agree that there must be design limitations (ie 12-meter or IACC or whathaveyou), lest we see another '88, why would we want to make all sailing the same? Hey, I happen to think that bowling is extremely boring, but I don't badmouth the sport and certainty would never consider trying to get them to change it just because *I* don't like it! >> From Ted Rogers (With regard to Helen Johnstone Falk's thoughts on the America's Cup) -- As an International 14 sailor, I have to agree completely that the current format of the America's Cup, held up to the world as the pinnacle of our sport, is a heartbreaking disappointment. I recall reading a description of Nippon losing their mast when the runner slipped after a gybe which included a mention that the boats were surfing "at 14 knots in 25 knots of wind." I almost fell off my chair. Pick any of the skiffs, I-14, 49er, or 18, and, well sailed, you'd be going literally TWICE as fast in the same breeze. Put the resources of an America's Cup campaign into designing a 30 or 40 foot skiff, and you'd have a truly impressive machine. If these are really the best sailors in the world, you'd think they'd welcome the opportunity to match race at 30 knots instead of 10. I know I'd pay good money to watch. And, I'd bet, so would many others, sailor and non-sailor alike. Why is Russell Coutts undefeated in America's Cup competition? Well, many reasons. But the one that gets my respect is that he's the only AC skipper that I know of who's also willing to sail 18's. >> From Steve Glassman -- Anybody for comparing the winnings of the Congressional Cup champion with the fees being paid the North or Sobstad lawyers? Guess which is the more lucrative professional this week . . . any perhaps for several weeks to come. I wonder if the time will come when we see an ad in the magazines touting the lawyers for the winning side of that dispute (a la the race winners we now see). >> From Tripp Alyn -- There was a Seattle Sailing Foundation America's Cup group which campaigned the 12 Metre Intrepid (US-22), in 1974. The skipper was Gerry Driscoll, and Andy MacGowan was on the boat. I believe Bill Buchan was also aboard and a young sailmaker by the name of John Marshall (yes, it's him). A very close series with Courageous, the first aluminum twelve, racing against Intrepid, the wooden two-time defender ('67 & '70) with the motto "Knock on Wood." Valiant (US-24) and Mariner (US-25) also raced. Ted Turner raced a very slow Mariner (with Dennis Conner in the crew) and was known for his famous remark (most of you have heard it) about the lack of taper in the trailing surface of the keel. When down 1-2, Courageous reeled off five consecutive wins (including a squeaker by 0:02); however, Intrepid came storming back to win four straight and tie the finals at 6-6 with three days remaining. After two days of postponements due to insufficient wind, the series went down to the wire with Courageous winning the last race of the Final Defender trials on Sept. 2nd. The delta was 1:47, and US-26 earned a visit and congratulations from the members of the NYYC America's Cup Selection Committee. Intrepid sailed on as a trial horse in later years and almost met an untimely end on the bricks just outside of Nantucket. She has been restored to excellent condition and is now sails on in sleek form in the charter business in Newport, Rhode Island.
INTERCLUB NATIONALS What became the last races of the day were won by Bob/Francesca Monro and Paul-Jon/Anne Patin. With the wind under 2 knots and half the fleet back on the dock (presumably the boats for race 4B), racing was halted for the day. That turned out to be the regatta. No boats even left the dock on Sunday. 2000 InterClub champions: Jim Bowers/Myrna Chan MacRae (Winthrop) 4/1/6 11pts.; 2nd Paul Adam/Kim Queene (Winthrop) 6/5/2 13pts.; 3rd Steve Benjamin/Adam Walsh (Larchmont) 3/3/7 13 pts.; 4th Ned Roseberry/Felicity Ryan (Larchmont) 3/5/5 13pts.; 5th Chad Demarest/Chick Fagan (Scituate) 2/7/5 14pts. Most Improved 99/00 Nationals: Steve Braverman/Kyung Byun (Winthrop); Top Junior: Doug Morea/Jason Hill (Manhasset Bay); Top Master: John/Laura Browning (Manhasset Bay). Full results: http://www.mbycic.org/icnatlsresults.htm.
CHAT ROOM To log on go to http://www.epsails.com, click on the "Live On-Line" button, go to the bottom of that page and click on the "Start Chatting" button. When the sign on screen comes up replace "guest" with your name and click on "Login".
TALL SHIPS This majestic vessel, true to its mission, will play an interesting role in the tall ship Adventure in Learning program, which has been launched by Tall Ships Newport Salute 2000 and will begin the last week of April. Cuauhtemoc will be "wired" by the event's title sponsor Verizon Wireless (formerly Bell Atlantic Mobile) so school children and others can track her voyage from Florida up the Eastern Seaboard to Newport. -- Barby MacGowan Additional information: http://www.tallshipsnewport.com.
ICYRA AFTERGUARD CHAMPIONSHIP / HALL OF FAME DINNER All former college sailors and friends are invited to participate in a day of racing and sailing fun and post-race festivities on Saturday, June 3 at the 2000 ICYRA Afterguard Championship, two days before the ICYRA North American Coed Dinghy Championship. A great day of racing is planned in four disciplines, both competitive and recreational: Vanguard 15 Team Racing, FJ Fleet Racing, Laser Fleet Racing, and J-24 Match Racing. We have meals, trophies, and shoreside activities for the kids. Hotel deals have been lined up, for what promises to be a memorable event. Whether you're out to win the regatta, or just win the party...whether you're fifty-five or twenty-five...whether you're sailing with your old crew or with your grandson...there will be something there for you. In the evening, the celebration continues with an informal barbecue and program which will culminate with the unveiling of a new trophy for the College Sailing Hall of Fame: a "Lifetime Service Award". In this inaugural year, the award will honor the six individuals who, during the twentieth century, have contributed most to the development of college sailing: Leonard M. Fowle, Walter C. Wood, Robert M. Allan, Jr., Hatch Brown, George Griswold, and Ann Campbell. -- Jim Rousmaniere For more details and to register on-line, visit the ICYRA website and follow the links to the Afterguard Championship: http://www.collegesailing.org/2000Championships
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
