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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 889 - August 28, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
JUBILEE REFLECTIONS While sometimes it seems to only have been about America's Cup vessels, the Jubilee also was about modern yachts, of which there were 74 entered. They joined 60 more vintage and "spirit of tradition" boats to help create the spectacle and enjoy an otherwise straightforward regatta on the Solent. When I joined a Swan 51 team mid-week, I learned, however, that racing here is anything but straightforward, especially since the typically 2-3 knot currents and eight-foot tides were being stretched to new outer limits not seen for 100 years. At one point, on the mainland side of the Solent, we had to weave our way between the land and several racing boats that were grounded on shoals for 20 or more minutes until the rising tide allowed them off. Earlier in the regatta, I had watched as the 12-metre Valiant abruptly stopped racing when she became firmly stuck in the muck closer to Cowes. Her stint on the bottom was longer. It was rumored that the crew stayed with the boat and ordered out for pizza as dinnertime came and darkness fell. With a main street that can be walked in minutes, the small town of Cowes, for seven days, seemed bigger than the world. Here is where the who's who of yachting and the which is what of vessels performed on the stage of the Solent. Meanwhile, a woodstock-style appreciation, for what all of us--in whatever way we have connected ourselves with sailboat racing--have turned into, took shape on the shore. Yachting is a fantastic sport, it does pay personally, if not in large salaries then in freedom, friendships and opportunity. - Barby MacGowan, Scuttlebutt's official Jubilee correspondent in Cowes.
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE Despite all the glitz and glamour, it's hard to avoid one lingering question: What's the lasting value that will be taken away from all of this pomp and circumstance? Certainly many of the sport's leading photographers captured the occasion on film and digitally for posterity; that definitely counts. And we now know for sure that most of the more recent America's Cup boats are faster than their predecessors, which will no doubt make the designers and syndicate heads happy. And we learned that the British-based America's Cup syndicate has the potential to be a serious contender when the Cup matches take place in 2003. But what impact did the Jubilee actually have on the sport in general, and how, if at all, did these proceedings serve the rank and file sailor? Did the movers and shakers in the sport-the powers that be who were on hand to commemorate the occasion in Cowes-make any headway on the myriad problems that face sailing? Did they use this rare opportunity to engender better ideas regarding how to make sailboat racing grow worldwide? Did they foster novel approaches to simplifying the complexity of our sport's rules or it's measurement systems, or come to terms with the many criticisms that our more extreme events regularly elicit? I ask these questions because I think they're pertinent. I can't answer them because I wasn't there, but I can only hope that between the cocktails and the cockpits, amid the hob-nobbing on shore and the bobbing on the Solent, some progressive interaction took place. I'd like to think that the answer is affirmative, but if I were to judge by the press releases that I received and the general tenor of the reports that I've read and heard, I'd say the event ran the risk of coming off as a slightly garish representation of the sport, making sailing seem somewhat exclusionary and its participants self-serving. I hope that I'm wrong, but interpreted through the media coverage we've seen so far, it seems that the only thing missing at the Jamboree, excuse me, Jubilee, was ongoing commentary by Robin Leach. The celebration in Cowes last week was obviously a smashing success with great glitz and glitter, but what the 500 or so credentialed members of the media didn't convey in their ample output was what the Jubilee experience meant to Joe Winchgrinder and Bobby Bowman. We know how Gary Jobson felt about the occasion because we sampled streaming video of him pontificating from the dais during the gala, but we don't know how it all went down for anybody aside from the touted members of the afterguard. And that's the point. Sailing's populace and its future participants aren't, by and large, millionaires and rock stars, they're just regular folks. The Jubilee may have been a grand occasion for them as well, but if so it was left unsaid. Don't blame the organizers, they're efforts were well intentioned; 150 years of sporting competition deserves a little fete, even on a grand scale. And don't blame the participants, they just wanted to sail and have a good time; it's summer in the northern hemisphere after all. Blame me and my colleagues in the media. Maybe those who were on hand were just too engaged in the celebration to spell out the enduring value of this occasion for the rest of us. Either way, it's only fair to suspend full judgement on the issue until all of the print publications have had a chance to deliver their take. With any luck, they'll help the sailing community find meaning behind the grandeur. - Dan Dickison, SailNet website Full story: http://www.sailnet.com/collections/racing/index.cfm?articleid=ddcksn0463&tfr=fp
HAWAIIAN STYLE
MAKO ETCHELLS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
STANDINGS:
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Chris Ericksen (edited to our 250-word limit): The report in 'Butt 888 that US Sailing plans to implement a strategic plan for fundraising with an emphasis on Olympic sailing comes as great news: I hope it is the shape of things to come regarding some separation of Olympic sailing from the day-to-day concerns of rank-and-file sailors. I am proud to support Olympic sailing athletes and do so both directly with contributions and indirectly through organizations to which I belong. But I am increasingly disturbed that a large part of the attention, publicity and finances of US Sailing gets dedicated every four years for 18 to 24 months to support the efforts of a couple dozen sailors. Were US Sailing able to keep eyes on both Olympic sailors and the rank-and-file sailor at the same time, I would not be so concerned; sadly, it seems US Sailing can do one or the other but not both. I hope this might be the first step to divide US Sailing, either functionally or actually, into two sections: one dedicated to Olympic sailing and one to the rank-and-file sailor. Whether this takes the form of a functional division, where Olympic sailing is separately funded, staffed and supported, or an actual division into two separate and distinct organizations, I have no preference. Either way, both groups could continue to interact and support each other, but neither would suffer from what I see as a periodic lack of attention from US Sailing. * From Sean Dwyer: While it's true that I wouldn't subject my yellow lab to the living conditions aboard a Whitbread (Volvo?) 60, I also don't think it's my/our place to tell those racing at the pinnacle of our sport how to do so, as long as they race within the rules. If we start this, why stop there-- I'd suggest requiring air conditioning, tilt steering wheels, and power windows in Formula 1 cars; heaters and shock absorbers in olympic bobsleds, and more comfortable uniforms on the Sumo circuit. These guys & gals are extraordinarily experienced and certainly have their own personal "reasonableness" tests to which they put the prospective program and boat design prior to signing up. They also have the ability to resign, if in their judgment, something is not right. Let's not impose our will on professional athletes competing within the rules. * From Norris McNamara: I couldn't agree more with the ever-sagacious Roger Vaughn on the Volvo 60 crew living conditions. Sounds to me like testosterone-driven Spartanism, creating 21st century galley slaves. And to what end? Creating manly men? Maybe OSHA will investigate at a US port of call. * From Brian Hancock: My, how things have changed. When I did my first Whitbread back in the early 80's I remember complaining about the size of my cabin! * From Marc Herrmann: It would appear that the general consensus to implement a degree of comfort and proper nutritional needs on a VO 60 to be left in the hands of the competitors. Why not organize a VO 60 campaign with all the "necessary" so called comforts of home and include a proper nutritional balanced diet plan? This would prove to everyone once and for all the true comfort value of long distance competition. * From Mark Johnson (re ooching, rocking & pumping in the Opti classes): Back in the early '80's as a member of Apalachee Bay Yacht Club, I was the Judge for a trials/tune-up regatta held for Florida Opti sailors in Shell Point, FL (coast south of Tallahassee). There were 60-75+ kids from all over the state sailing in the event. The site was selected to simulate wind and tide conditions that were expected for the nationals later that year. What Mike O'Sullivan witnessed in Ottawa was exactly the same as I experienced in this regatta. No doubt, with light wind and medium current, virtually every Opti skipper was highly skilled in art & craft of moving the boat by means other than wind against sails. After several morning races, we held a meeting with the regatta organizers and suggested that as "Judge" we would not allow any additional sculling, ooching, pumping! The parents and folks who came with their kids raised a single voice which basically said: "It's expected, they do it world wide, it's the nature of the class!" We SUGGESTED that any further HIGHLY OBVIOUS infractions would result in disqualification. The parents & coaches advised the kids. The problem was significantly reduced in future races. The rest of the story... The best were selected to go on, the ooching and pumping continued at the national event, and ABYC was never asked to hold a significant event as this again. I suppose it's nice to see some things don't change. * From Ken Redler: Sailors who cheat with kinetics do it to get an edge over the rest of the fleet, that's obvious. What's not so obvious is that many sailors would rather not cheat, but feel they have to in order to remain competitive. It's not just with kinetics that sailors are cheating, but also in weighing in of crews (dropping weight to make the prerace weigh-in but then putting it back on for the regatta), altering boats after measurements, and assorted other rule violations that are impossible to monitor. Trying to scale back cheating by increasing enforcement is fine at championship regattas, but it just isn't possible for weekend club races. Cheating is a mentality. Eliminating cheating, whether it is in the form of kinetics, weight violations or whatever else, is going to take a grassroots movement with the top sailors leading by example. I believe it was Paul Elvstrom who once said, "If in winning you have lost the respect of your competitors, then you haven't won anything." This ideal we need to not only teach to new sailors, but also follow ourselves.
QUOTE / UNQUOTE Full story: http://www.chez.com/hauraki/LatestNews/SwissTeam-LN2.htm
CARBON SAILCLOTH
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * September 3-8: One Ton Cup, IC 45s, Pwllheli, Wales. : http://www.onetoncup.com * September 7-9: Larchmont Sailing World NOOD Regatta, Larchmont YC. 15 one-design classes, 140 boats, 700 racers. http://www.sailingworld.com. * September 9: Stamford Denmark Friendship Regatta, Stamford Yacht Club. http://www.stamfordyc.com * October 27: Suddenly Alone Seminar, US Naval Academy, Annapolis, Cruising Club of America. http://www.cruisingclub.org * November 3-10: Annual Meeting of the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club, held concurrently with the Pro-Am regatta at the Bitter End YC on Virgin Gorda in the BVI. SSC members will race for the SSC Club Championship, plus have the opportunity to crew for Robbie Haines, Russell Coutts, Ed Baird, Peter & J.J. Isler, Keith Musto, Butch Ulmer, Rod Johnstone, Lowell North and/ or the curmudgeon. - http://www.beyc.com
INDUSTRY NEWS
SCHOCK 35 NATIONALS
PHRF OF NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP The West Marine Performance Trophy, given to the winner of the class with the closest racing in the top 4 places, was won by Loonatic. Complete results: http://www.phrfne.org/01leadin.htm
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS |
