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SCUTTLEBUTT 1444 - October 27, 2003
Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is a
digest 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.
SWEDISH MATCH TOUR
Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda - Australian Peter Gilmour of the Pizza-La
Sailing Team defeated Chris Dickson, skipper of Oracle BMW Racing, in a
thrilling championship final that went the full five races at the Investors
Guaranty Presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup, the second event on
Swedish Match Tour 2003/2004. The win was Gilmour's third victory at the
King Edward VII Gold Cup and third overall on the Swedish Match Tour,
having previously won the Australia Cup in 2000 and 2001.
The conditions for the finals featured blustery and shifty 14-15 knot winds
on a white-capped Hamilton Harbor resulting in, as race commentator Peter
Montgomery of New Zealand noted, "maritime chess." "It was a little more
than `maritime chess' out there today, it was a real handful to keep the
IODs in one piece and maneuver them at all," commented Dickson.
The win was definitely relished by the four-time America's Cup veteran and
long-time international match racer. "It's a pleasure to be on the podium
again, for us it's been a long time. It's such a unique venue here and this
is one of the high-end, premier stops on the Swedish Match Tour."
In the morning's Petit Finals, defending champion Jesper Radich of Denmark
acquitted himself by defeating Team New Zealand's Dean Barker of the Omega
Match Racing Team, 2-1. With the scoreline tied at 1-1, Barker copped a
penalty in the pre-start of the third match, but sailed well ahead of
Radich around the course to put plenty of position between himself and the
Dane prior to the finish line. However, as bowman Ben Ainslie attempted to
pull down the spinnaker to exonerate the penalty he was unable to get the
chute below the gooseneck, a requirement to have the umpires drop the flag.
As a result, Barker had to attempt the penalty turn again, but the extra
time allowed Radich to close the distance and cross the line to grab the
decisive win. - Shawn McBride, www.swedishmatchtour.com.
Final Standings
1. Peter Gilmour, AUS/Pizza-La Sailing Team, $30,000
2. Chris Dickson, Oracle BMW Racing Team, $18,000
3. Jesper Radich, DEN/Team Radich, $11,500
4. Dean Barker, NZ/Omega Match Race Team, $9,000
5. Russell Coutts, Alinghi Team, $7,500
6. Bill Hardesty, USA, $6,500
7. Jes Gram-Hansen, DEN/Team Colorcraft, $6,000
8. Paula Lewin, BER/Team Ace Grou,p $5,500
Current Swedish Match Tour 2003/2004 Rankings
1. Peter Gilmour, AUS/Pizza-La Sailing Team, 40
2. Jesper Radich, DEN/Team Radich, 27
3. Magnus Holmberg, SWE/Team Continental Airlines, 25
4. Jesper Bank, Denmark, 20
= Chris Dickson, Oracle BMW Racing Team, 20
6. Dean Barker, NZ/Omega Match Racing Team, 12
7. Russell Coutts, Alinghi Team, 10
= Kelvin Harrap, New Zealand, 10
US SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Zak Fanberg, Eugene Shmitt, and Kippy Chamberlain from the Bay Waveland
Yacht Club are the 2003 US Sailing Mallory Cup Champions, winning 9 out of
12 races. Joni Palmer, Meredith Dodd, and Carrie Carpenter from the Deep
Creek Yacht Club edged out K. Cummings, M. Lampe & S. Szabo from the
Mission Bay YC to win the 2003 US Sailing Adams Cup. Rolex Watch U.S.A.
sponsors the championships raced in Highlanders (Men) and Flying Scots (Women)
Mallory Cup Finals:
1. Zak Fanberg, E. Shmitt & K. Chamberlain, Area D, 24
2. K. Taboada, R. Schon & S. Challoner, Area C, 46
3. T. Ingram, S. Van Winkle & T. Ingram Area, C-2, 51
4. J. Morgan, S. Bender & R. Stump, Area A, 60
5. S. Mauney, M. Mittman & S. Comen Area, F, 66
Adams Cup Finals:
1. Joni Palmer, M. Dodd & C. Carpenter, Area C, 31
2. K. Cummings, M. Lampe & S. Szabo, Area J, 33
3. A. Kleinshrodt, S. Hall & J. Culberson Area, D 6, 36
4. N. Coleman-Fuller, A. Coleman & Emily Taylor, Area A, 37
5. M. O'Bryan, A. Moore & G. Simeona Area HW, 54
Event website: http://www.lakenormanyachtclub.com/News/Default.asp
JACQUES VABRE
Le Havre, France - The Transat Jacques Vabre Race Village was opened
officially on Saturday. There is a record 39 boats entered in this
double-handed trans-Atlantic race - 17 multihulls and 22 monohulls - with
38 of the 78 skippers competing for the first time. Out of the nine women
in the race, two are racing on board Open 60 multihulls, Ellen MacArthur on
the Open 60 multihull 'Foncia' and Karine Fauconnier on 'Sergio Tacchini'.
Britain's Emma Richards on 'Pindar' is the only female skipper in the Open
60 monohull class, however legendary Frenchwoman Isabelle Autissier is
co-skipper with Sebastien Josse on 'VMI'. There are 10 nations represented
in this race, with three skippers are from the Southern Hemisphere.
The sixth edition of the race will start on November 1 for the monohulls
and November 2 for the multihulls. Once again, the racecourse takes the
fleet across the equator on its way from Le Havre, France to Salvador de
Bahia in Brazil. The course distance is 5190 miles for the Multihull Open
60s, 4400 miles for the Multihull Open 50s, and 4340 miles for the Open 50
and Open 60 monohulls. - Mary Ambler, http://www.jacques-vabre.com/
SNIPE HALLOWEEN REGATTAS ON BOTH COASTS
Steve Burke and Pricilla Duffy won the Atlanta Halloween Regatta this
weekend sailed on Lake Allatoona. Great parties both nights made it a
success for the 53 teams. George Szabo and Brian Janey won the San Diego
Carolyn Nute Regatta, also sailed this weekend. The fires made the sailing
challenging; ash falling like snow and the Santa Anna winds battled the sea
breeze. Great regattas like these are sailed in the Snipe all year round;
check the website for schedules, great reports, news, and photos of recent
regattas: http://www.SnipeUS.org
HEADING SOUTH
It's a little over 750 miles from San Diego, the state of California's
southernmost port of call, to Cabo San Lucas, the resort town at the tip of
Baja California Sur that marks the turning point for the cruising grounds
of the Sea of Cortez. Generally, it's a mild journey with the wind over the
shoulder (even if it's breezy it's no big deal as long as that "wind over
the shoulder bet" holds true), and the end of October, statistically, marks
the end of the hurricane season in Mexico. So, there are always lots of
boats heading south at this time of year, almost as if someone had rung a bell.
Actually, it's the insurance companies that ring the bell. Tell them you're
leaving earlier, and they become very hard to talk to. One result: There
had to be a cruising rally, and 2003 will be the 10th installment of the
Baja-HaHa, founded by SAIL's friends at Latitude 38 but now operated under
a different legal structure by people who look a whole lot like the same
people.
More than 120 boats are signed up for the journey in 2003, with stops at
Turtle Bay (a fishing village of 3,000) and Bahia Santa Maria (a fishing
village of 6-20, depending). They should make Cabo on November 6. Many of
the boats will cruise Mexico for a few months and then go home. Others will
be in Mexico for a long while, and still others will carry on for the Canal
and the Caribbbean, or west on the Milk Run through the Pacific. - Sail
magazine website, full story:
http://www.sailmagazine.com/news/NEWS/
NEWS BRIEFS
* The prestigious Swiss watchmaker Omega has announced that it will be
supporting Team New Zealand (TNZ) skipper Dean Barker and team on the
Swedish Match Tour. This support will enable Barker to compete on the Tour
while the TNZ challenge for the America's Cup is in its "rebuilding
stages." Patrick Buteux, special events manager for Omega, also hinted at
the possibility of Omega's support of two or three Omega Match Race Teams.
Barker sailed in Bermuda with Tony Rae and James Dagg with English Olympian
Ben Ainslie 'guesting' on the bow. Caribbeanracing.com website, full story:
http://www.caribbeanracing.com/artman/publish/article_356.shtml
* In an AFP press release, Loïck Peyron said he was still waiting for the
commitment of the title sponsor to build a completive 2007 (America's Cup)
campaign but he revealed his Team is currently in talks with many French
companies which include the French sportswear brand Lacoste and TF1 Group,
the most popular channel with the French public. Though Team France have
not finalized anything yet, Loïck Peyron announced the Team will soon
recruit French olympic and federal talent in building two competitive match
racing team for the World Match Racing Circuit. - Cup in Europe website,
full story:
http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/2007TF-LN2.htm
* Apparently, Shawn McBride never got any 'appropriate' questions from the
'Buttheads to ask to the 'rock stars' at the Gold Cup in Bermuda, so we
have nothing to report. :-(
CUBA
Defying a threatened presidential veto, the Senate joined the House
Thursday in moving to end four-decade-old restrictions on travel to Cuba.
"It is not constructive at all to try to slap around Fidel Castro by
imposing limits on the American people's right to travel," said Sen. Byron
Dorgan, D-North Dakota.
The Senate voted 59-36 to bar the use of government money to enforce
current travel restrictions. Last month a nearly identical measure passed
the House, setting up a showdown with the administration, which says
President Bush will veto a $90 billion Transportation and Treasury
Department bill if contains the Cuba language. "The administration believes
that it is essential to maintain sanctions and travel restrictions to deny
economic resources to the brutal Castro regime," the White House said in a
statement.
The Treasury Department estimates that about 160,000 Americans, half of
them Cuban-Americans visiting family members, traveled to Cuba legally last
year. Humanitarian and educational groups, journalists and diplomats are
also allowed visits, but thousands of other Americans visit illegally, by
way of third countries, risking thousands of dollars in fines and
imprisonment. - CNN.com, full story:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/23/cuba.travel.ap/index.html
WOMEN'S MATCH RACING
The skippers roster for next week's Rolex Osprey Cup in St. Petersburg,
Fla., is showing an interesting mix of top Olympic Yngling sailors ready to
do battle against established match racing names. The St. Petersburg Yacht
Club will host 10 teams (including one specially invited junior team) for
the ISAF Grade 1 match racing event, which takes place on Tampa Bay in
four-person Sonars. A double round-robin elimination is scheduled to take
place Thursday and Friday, October 30-31, with semi-final and final rounds
to follow on Saturday and Sunday, November 1-2.
Skippers confirmed for the event are:
· Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis)
· Christine Briand (LaRochelle, France)
· Sarah Buckley (Chicago, Ill)
· Giulia Conti, (Lake Garda, Italy)
· Carol Cronin (Jamestown, RI)
· Elizabeth Kratzig (Houston, Texas/Miami, Fla)
· Claire Leroy (St. Quentin, France)
· Hannah Swett (Jamestown, R.I./New York, N.Y.)
· Deborah Willits (Houston, Texas)
· Rachael Silverstein (St. Petersburg, Fla.), specially invited junior
sailor (age 14)
- Media Pro Int'l, www.spyc.org
TIME TO GEAR UP FOR KEY WEST RACE WEEK.
Right now The Pirate's Lair has incredible deals on printed gear for your
team. Buy five embroidered hats and five embroidered polo shirts and get
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additional discounts or credits toward free Douglas Gill technical wear.
Call (888) SAIL-BUM (724-5286) or log on to http://www.pirateslair.com
2003 SCUTTLEBUTT PHOTO CONTEST - By Kaenon
Any epic moments find their way to your camera in 2003. Scuttlebutt is
having its 1st Annual Photo Contest to seek out all the great photos that
truly communicate the thrill of sailing to the viewer. If you photographed
a sailing scene that was the most spectacular, the most dramatic, the most
horrific moment captured, we want to see it (and so does the Scuttlebutt
community).
Deadline for submitting photos is November 14, 2003. Judges will screen all
entries, delete those we felt didn't qualify, and post the pictures that we
feel are special. All photographers will be credited, and the best will be
rewarded (read: Kaenon Polarized eyewear). Entry information at:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/03/contest/info.html
FANTASY SAIL WITH GARY JOBSON
Forty-five sailors from across the U.S. with a common bond beyond sailboat
racing marked the end of another successful Volvo Leukemia Cup season in
the "Fantasy Sail with Gary Jobson" Saturday. Jobson, TV commentator and
author, has long been the national chairman of the series of 45 regattas
benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Ironically, he was diagnosed
with lymphoma earlier this year.
Jobson did not sail but hosted a reception at the Hyatt Regency Hotel
afterward. He had undergone a chemotherapy treatment in Maryland a day
earlier and was scheduled to start a month-long stem cell transplant
procedure two days later. Earlier this month he was inducted into the Rolex
America's Cup Hall of Fame, along with Alan Bond, who led Australia's
winning campaign at Newport, R.I. in 1983.
Individuals who had raised $7,500 or more for the charity through
participation in their local regattas received an expense-paid trip to Long
Beach. Five skippers were selected off their submitted résumés and the
teams sailed Catalina 37s from the Long Beach Sailing Foundation. Winds
were only 6-8 knots in fog that limited visibility to 100 yards or less,
but Brian Carter of Frisco, Tex. found his way around the short
windward-leeward course for a 3-1-1-2 afternoon. Like most of his rivals,
he had never seen a Catalina 37, never raced with a wheel instead of a
tiller and met his crew at a dinner the previous night.
The Leukemia Cup series has raised $7.5 million over the past six years.
National sponsors have been West Marine, Mt. Gay Rum, Sailing world
magazine, The Moorings, North sails, John McCray and Ken Gardiner. - Rich
Roberts, full story:
http://www.yachtracing.com/regattas03/jobsoncup/102603.htm
Results: 1. Brian Carter, Frisco, Tex. (3-1-1-2), 8 points; 2. Bob Norton,
Edgecomb, Maine (1-2-5-1), 9; 3. Tom Vickers, Grosse Point Farms, Mich.
(2-3-4-3), 12; 4. Bob Maher, Metairie, La. (4-5-2-4), 15; 5. R.J. Lewy,
Dana Point (5-4-3-5), 17.
IN MEMORIAM
James E. Mitchell, artist and long-time resident of Newport, died Thursday,
October 23, 2003, of cancer at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He
was 77.
Mitchell studied illustration at Pratt Institute in New York, and abroad,
studied painting and design under the French master Edouard Goerg at
L'Academie de la Grande-Chaumiere in Paris. Returning to the United States,
he embarked on a painting and illustration career that included commissions
for private and corporate collections, as well as international sailing
magazines, naval and maritime museums, including the Mariners' Museum in
Newport News, Va. and the Peabody Museum of Salem, Mass. In 1980, he
illustrated an edition of Joshua Slocum's "Sailing Alone Around the World."
Mitchell was a founding member and served for a period as President of the
American Society of Marine Artists. Mr. Mitchell was an avid offshore
racing and cruising sailor and a skilled fly fisherman. As a former member
of Ida Lewis Yacht Club, he enjoyed serving on numerous race committees. No
one could run a race committee point boat like he could, with his
binoculars and cassette tape film, checking wind shifts.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 28 at Trinity
Church, 1 Queen Anne's Square, Newport, R.I. Internment will be private.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the
Potter League for Animals or the Seamen's Church Institute in Newport.
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS
If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably
worth it.
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