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SCUTTLEBUTT 2125 - June 28, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.BERMUDA RACE REFLECTIONS -- John Rousmaniere (Author and sailing historian John Rousmaniere provides his thoughts on the centennial Newport to Bermuda Race 2006.) While slowly making our way from Newport to Bermuda last week, I found myself reflecting on a conversation I had with Jim Mertz when I was writing the race’s history, “A Berth to Bermuda.” “Are all Bermuda Races different?” I asked him. His answer was a simple “YEAH.” Because he had sailed in a record 30 races, the statement was authoritative. Jim, who died last January, should have stayed around for the centennial (and very gentle) thrash to the Onion Patch. It overflowed with novelty and history. Surprises lay everywhere. Boats that took silver went right, went left, or went center. The biggest, fastest boat in the fleet, Maximus, was only second on elapsed time. The top prizes – the famous Lighthouse Trophies – were won by designs from the 2000s and also the 1960s. Other silver was taken by wooden boats whose lines were drawn in the 1930s. Purists may complain, but unpredictability has been typical of the Bermuda Race since the first one in 1906. I think it is a reason for the race’s popularity. Over the past 100 years, some 4,500 boats and 46,000 men and women have raced to Bermuda, most of them with little real hope of winning. Why do they keep coming back? It’s enough to enjoy the interesting ride toward a beautiful destination while – to quote the founder, Tom Day – seizing the opportunity “to get a smell of the sea and forget for the time being that there is such a thing as God’s green earth in the universe.” -- To read the rest of Rousmaniere’s reflections: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/jr0627/ BOX RULES (Following are two excerpts from a story by Tony Bessinger in the current Sailing World eNewsletter.) The popularity of the box-rule TP 52 class inspired the Offshore Racing Congress to create box-rule classes for boats 26, 33, and 42 feet in overall length last year. Until now, all we've seen of the 42-footer have been designer's drawings, but this week, the first ORC GP42 will be sailing off Valencia, Spain. Designed by Farr Yacht Design for Italian owner Filippo Faruffini, this new tiller-driven, carbon-fiber (foam core, honeycomb not allowed) GP42 may be the leading edge of what designers and builders hope is a groundswell of grand-prix owners eager to compete under a new grand-prix rule. One of the major thrusts of a box rule is to produce boats with long competitive lives. In the TP 52 class, with the exception of Rosebud, which picked its venues carefully, that hasn't been the case. Second or third-generation boats built for the East Coast of the United States aren't competitive with fourth and fifth-generation boats built for the Mediterranean. Thanks to a tighter rule, that may not be the case with the GP42s. "You'll see differences in hull volume forward for boats that want to go offshore, but you won't see as much change in beam," says Jim Schmicker, senior naval architect at the Farr office. "They're quite dinghy-like in their hull shape, pushing the waterlines out and the hulls up to get power with the light crew weight. These boats are going to be quite quick." -- http://www.sailingworld.com SPECIAL MOMENTS - Peter Isler So Monday on the day off, I'm thinking about how special this time is here in Valencia during the middle of the round robin of ACT 12. Optimism reigns around the Cup harbor. Most teams are still sailing older boats, and everyone is looking forward optimistically to the arrival of yet another new boat (or two) that could quickly change the balance of power here if their boat is fast. There's been some great racing with the "big four" being pushed hard at times, and on Sunday, Magnus Holmberg and the Victory Challenge did a masterful job of match racing, holding off Alinghi with a bevy of tactical tricks to take the scalp of the Cup defender. Of course Act 12's round robin will be followed by a best of three semis and finals... so the slate will clear again and the real pressure will come on. But with a year to go until the Cup ... it’s kind of cool that every team still has a lot to look forward to, so we can all easily enjoy a night off from the racing. - Peter Isler, Navigator, BMW Oracle Racing Team. Read all of Pedro's comments: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/pi0627/ BOOK NOW AND SAVE 20% ON VOYAGES FROM NEWPORT TO EUROPE What's the fastest, safest way to transport your yacht from Newport to Europe? Dockwise Yacht Transport, of course. Book now and receive a 20% discount on our voyage from Newport to Cherbourg, France, gateway to the UK and Northern Europe and on to Olbia, Sardinia, in the heart of the Med. The ship departs August 2nd, so don't miss the chance to arrive in Europe quickly and safely. Travel light, express your yacht on our unique float on/float off yacht carriers. For more information, please contact our Fort Lauderdale Office 954-525-8707 or for a quotation, go to http://www.yacht-transport.com JUST EIGHT SECONDS The Italian Luna Rossa Challenge stunned America’s BMW Oracle Racing with a come-from-behind win on the final run to the finish. Chris Dickson’s BMW Oracle team had done a great job of building a 27-second lead at the final top mark, but Luna Rossa found a favorable shift on the left side of the run, overhauling the Americans to win by eight seconds. Racing was delayed for two hours on Tuesday afternoon and the race officials waited for a light Easterly breeze to fill in and stabilize. The match between BMW Oracle Racing and Luna Rossa was expected to be a humdinger of a battle, and so it proved. Both James Spithill and Chris Dickson nailed perfect, full-speed starts but USA 87 tacked off to the right almost immediately after the gun fired. The American and Italian teams went hunting for better breeze on opposite sides of the course. When they came back together it was advantage BMW Oracle, who maintained a 10 second lead around the windward mark. Luna Rossa rolled into a gybe-set in search of different – and hopefully better – breeze but the strategy didn’t work as the gap extended to 16 seconds by the leeward gate. The Americans weren’t going to give the Italians a sniff of the lead up the final beat. However on the final run, the Italians broke away to the left once more and Chris Dickson stuck to his guns on the right. This time Luna Rossa’s strategy worked well. When the boats converged towards the finish it was ITA 86 that emerged ahead just meters from the finishing line. FLIGHT 9 RESULTS Desafío Español beat +39 Challenge by 36s Victory Challenge beat United Internet Germany by 35s Areva Challenge beat China Team by 2.58 Emirates Team New Zealand beat Shosholoza by 30s Alinghi beat Mascalzone Latino Capitalia by 52s Luna Rossa Challenge beat BMW Oracle by 8s LOUIS VUITTON ACT 12 STANDINGS 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL84) 9-0 2. Alinghi (SUI75) 8-1 2. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA86) 8-1 4. BMW Oracle Racing (USA87) 7-2 5. Victory Challenge (SWE63) 5-4 5. Desafío Español 2007 (ESP88) 5-4 5. Mascalzone Latino Capitalia (ITA77) 5-4 8. Team Shosholoza (RSA83) 3-6 9. +39 Challenge (ITA59) 2-7 9. Areva Challenge (FRA60) 2-7 11. United Internet Germany (GER72) 0-9 11. China Team (CHN79) 0-9 http://www.www.americascup.com FOUR NOODS. FOUR DOYLE WINS! Beneteau 36.7 sailors have discovered that Doyle sails are faster - a lot faster - and more versatile than sails from any other sailmaker. Need proof? Gary Tisdale and Don Finkle’s "Fandango" won the San Diego NOOD. Chuck Bayer's "Grizzly" won the Annapolis NOOD (partial inventory) and the Detroit NOOD (full Doyle inventory). And Warren Levin’s "Program" won the Chicago NOOD by a whopping 18 points. To find out what’s behind the speed, call us at 1-800-94-DOYLE or click here: http://www.doylesails.com/beneteau36.7-home.htm IRISH TEAMS TIGHTEN THEIR GRIP Ireland Green consolidated their position at the top of the Rolex Commodores' Cup leaderboard after another day of racing in light winds and strong tides. The light conditions, the wind shifting between 90 and 160 degrees, and strong tides made for another taxing day for the tacticians on the 39 boats competing, but at least for the crews relief came with a break in the overcast sky giving way to a more typical mid-summer sun, conditions expected to last for the rest of the week. The three boats in Ireland Green once again posted the most consistent performance of the day with their small boat, Andrew Allen and Colm Monahan's No Naked Flame winning the first race with a corrected time of 1:39:12 ahead of Ireland White's Checkmate on 1:42:16 and posting a second in the second race in this 13 strong class. Standings after four races: 1. Ireland Green, 15.5 pts; 2. Ireland Orange, 22.5 pts; 3. Ireland White, 26.75 pts; 4. France Blue, 28 pts; 5. GBR White, 36 pts; 6. GBR Red, 41.25 pts; 7. GBR Black, 44.25 pts; 8. France White, 48.5 pts; 9. Russia, 49.25 pts; 10. France Red, 50.5 pts; 11. Belgium, 56.5 pts; 12. Holland, 60 pts; 13. GBR Scotland, 67 pts. -- http://rorc.org/comcup/results/ccovos.html BACK TO BASICS Sean Langman is switching from speed to nostalgia by restoring a 1932 built 28-footer to contest this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 70 years after the boat made its only successful voyage to Hobart - having being wrecked on the first attempt. The man dubbed the skipper of the ‘skiff on steroids’, who is well recognized for his many successes with his 66-footer AAPT, and his need for speed, has applied to enter what is likely to be the smallest and oldest boat in this year’s fleet - a gaff-rigged yacht called Maluka. “The Rolex Sydney Hobart is about personal challenge and this year I’m going back to the grass roots, back to why the race came about,” says Langman, who is likely to be amongst those still bobbing around at sea come New Year’s Eve if it’s a light air race. -- Lisa Ratcliff LOCAL GIRL HELPS SHOCK SAILING WORLD Here's a sport I haven't covered in my 49 columns to date: sailing. And it's not because I am the world's most confused sailor. Two weeks ago a Montpelier woman, Sierra Lowell, 32, was one of seven women who piloted one of the greatest upsets in sailing history. The event was the famous 100th Anniversary Newport to Bermuda Race and after five days on the open seas, her boat, Synergy, not only won their class, the Cruiser Division, Class 13, but also the entire Cruising Division, plus beating 14 out of all 17 classes. When the final numbers were crunched, they were the 12th finisher out of 265 boats. "Not bad for a bunch of girls sailing together for the first time." one of the women beamed on their Team WAVE Web site. (www.teamwave.info; WAVE stands for the international organization, Women Against Violence Everywhere) Lowell, who owns a Master Captain's license, is sailing out of Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and has been piloting and crewing boats for the last 10 years. "We smoked the fleet. My girls were awesome!" wrote captain Val Doan. "And we all became very proficient at keeping this heavy old girl (the boat, I mean) moving. We were mostly racing in 4-5 knots of wind, and sometimes, none — millpond flat. But frustration levels were kept at bay, and we would ask the wind gods to help, and they did." Oddly, the key to their success was turning a possible disadvantage into an advantage. The boat lacked what's called an "iboat" tracker transponder, which provides instant updates on the weather. "We didn't have the technology on board for downloading info," said Doan. "(We) were sailing our own race. I think that was a big plus in the end after hearing other boats with trackers having all of a sudden eight opinions on board — all different, causing dissension amongst the ranks." In other words, the seven sailors raised their fingers into the breeze and chartered a course the old-fashioned way. -- Jim Higgins, Time Argus, http://tinyurl.com/ofppo SKIP NOVAK AND PELAGIC EXPEDITIONS OFFER Sail with Skip on Pelagic Australis to South Georgia and see bull elephant seals battling for the harems, October 14th to November 4th. Pelagic Australis is available for expeditions to South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula, or Tierra del Fuego November/December. Also available for Antarctica in Feb-07. Email mailto:skipnovak@pelagic.co.uk or http://www.pelagic.co.uk EIGHT BELLS Former New York Yacht Club Commodore Frank V. Snyder, age 83, died today of a heart attack in his house on Martha’s Vineyard. He was commodore of this club from 1988-90. Snyder was instrumental in fundraising for Harbour Court, the NYYC’s on-the-water clubhouse. Commodore Snyder received the New York Yacht Club’s Medal at the 18th Commissioning of Harbour Court in May 2005. Said Commodore George R. Hinman Jr., “If there was one word to describe Frank Snyder, visionary might be the most appropriate. Frank had a vision for the club, and Harbour Court was central to that vision.” He joined the NYYC in 1970. Snyder owned a series of yachts, many of which were named Chasseur. There was a Swan 44 of that name, a Frers 51 and a Little Harbor 54. He did 20 Bermuda Races, including three aboard Mistress, skippered by NYYC Commodore George E. Roosevelt. Snyder started the NYYC’s safety-at-sea lectures and was a cruiser as much as a racer. He retraced Columbus’s steps through the Bahamas and sailed his Little Harbor 54 to New Zealand with friends. His vision for Harbour Court was pure. He assured the then-governor of Rhode Island and the community - including other yacht clubs—that we were going to make things happen, bring things here. Harbour Court wasn’t going to be just another mansion on a hill. Hosting the Optimist Dinghy Association US Championships and the IYRU O’Neill World Youth Sailing Championship were two early examples of what he saw for Harbour Court and for the NYYC’s future. That spirit was passed to other commodores. Commodore Snyder lived in Shelburne, VT. He is survived by wife, Jessie Snyder, and four children: Dr. Michael Snyder, Jonathan Snyder, Jane Snyder and Suzanne Johnson and several grandchildren. 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 thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Fred Hagedorn: This evening I received Scuttlebutt 2124 at 8:14 pm. In it was a complaint that no one at US Sailing was singing the praises of Mark Mendelblatt and Mark Strube for their news worthy Gold Medal finish at Kiel Week 2006. In this same issue was a Sailing Short that linked to the event's result page. I would be equally disturbed and upset as it is critical that we share the good news of our many successful sailors, except for the fact that US Sailing did send out a Press Release at 2:59 pm this afternoon, well ahead of the assembly time of today's Scuttlebutt issue! Would it be nice to see the Press Release out on Sunday rather than Monday? Probably, but history shows that Press Releases sent out on Sundays often don't get seen in the Sports Departments of the print media companies. We should all join Diane Swintal in wanting to see more and better coverage of our sport, but we should also all enjoy and celebrate the great pieces of PR that are in fact distributed, like this great piece about my friends Mark Mendelblatt and Mark Strube! * From Magnus Liljedahl (edited to our 250-word limit): I feel obligated to comment on the new format of finishing a grade 1 event. I witnessed the Star finals during the recent Kiel regatta and my opinion it was very different from what went out in the event’s press release. It stated that it "offered perfect conditions" and that it was "successfully launched". In my view it was a very sad ending to a super nice event. The racing, up until the finals, was challenging and the leaders were deserving of podium finishes, as usually is the case. The problems in the medal race were three-fold. The course was much to short. Anyone who took a penalty was out of contention. The course location was absurd. There weren’t many spectators at all. Finally and arguably the most serious problem was the officiating. For years sailing has been self-policed, and it still is. The judges need to understand what impact their calls have on the outcome of the race, especially a short one. The first and second place teams were both called for fouls during the run and at least one of them was totally uncalled for. The other one was questionable and that's why it should not have been called. The referees are under a big scrutiny and some will never return to "show time" events. I would agree that the sailing judges is not all a bad thing, but don't go out there and screw up and think that you deserve applause. * From Peter Williams: I read with interest the letters about the alleged irregularities with regard to the use of a carbon tiller at this event where I was a participant. Having had a look at the Etchells published rules on the official website these specifically exclude any controls over the design or construction of, amongst other things, the tiller and tiller extension. Seems to me that you can only complain about irregularities that are in conflict with published rules and not unpublished decisions by a measurer however good the intentions. I sail another one design class where the rules leave no doubt - if it ain't in the rules you can't have it - which seems a much more sensible approach. Perhaps the International Etchells Class had better sort out what it does & what it doesn't want to include in the design parameters and have rules written with no ambiguities. * From John Stovall: I could not agree more with Chris Erickson - I'm at the other end of the age spectrum but still think that the Etchells is one boat that "used to" be able to be sailed by us modest one-design sailors into our 70's - now it has become a $$$ race, just like most of the other international one design keel-boat classes. In the Miami fleet we have three boats "for sale" that are "almost new boats" so that the owners can pay 50-60 for a brand new Etchells hoping to gain 1/3 boat length on the first leg. * From Tom George: Andy MacDonald’s Star crew Brian Fatih is such a good guy that he probably doesn't care that he name is constantly messed up in sailing publications, and just like the hallmark of all Star crews, is a hard working, all guts no glory team player. CURMUDGEON’S COUNSEL Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses. Special thanks to Dockwise Yacht Transport, Doyle Sailmakers and Skip Novak. |
