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SCUTTLEBUTT 2936 - Thursday, September 24, 2009
Scuttlebutt 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 Ullman Sails and O’Pen BIC
A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
The Valencia Sailing website has just posted an extensive interview with Peter
Gilmour - the new acting president of the World Match Racing Tour. The interview
contains a number of very insightful and colorful comments from Gilly. Here are
just three of his quotes, on three very different subjects:
“There are several growth areas in match racing at the moment. Obviously Europe
is very, very strong and we still see considerable growth there. More recently
we have seen a little bit of growth occur in Asia but one of the biggest areas
of opportunity in growth right now is the United States. They are, obviously,
clearly struggling from economic difficulties, but if you look at the Grade 2
and 3 level there is quite an interest for an event there and just today we were
contacted by a group that has an interest in doing something. I think that's the
most exciting area for us.”
“The situation with the Louis Vuitton Series is, in our opinion, very clear.
Essentially, the exclusive rights to use the word "World" and be the premier
match racing series or tour in the world, outside of the America's Cup, have
been given to ProMatch Tour Ltd. This is very clear and unequivocal. Obviously,
the LV proposed series got going without consideration for that and they didn't
even talk to ISAF beforehand. I understand ISAF has written and asked them not
to proceed using the words "World Series" and they haven't received any
approval. We plan to meet with Louis Vuitton and the WSTA people in about a
week's time and it really comes down to our right to sanction them, if we so
wish. That's really pretty much where the situation is. We haven't received
anything from them, no information whatsoever. Right now it's wait and see.”
“A lot of people argue this is the end of the America's Cup, this is dreadful,
bad and all of that but I'm convinced it's going to be like 1988. It's only a
blimp in a very colorful history of one of the world's greatest sports
competitions.”
Read the entire Valencia Sailing interview: http://tinyurl.com/n4obs5
“THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE”
I am writing this out of concern for all sailors, competing in regattas, who may
end up concerned for their safety and ultimately their lives. Having nearly
drowned in the second race of the day at the Star Class North American
Championship held off Westport, Ct on Sept 16, 2009, I need to address these
concerns immediately. In my case, the sailing instructions stated that safety of
the boat and her entire management was the sole responsibility of the
owner/entrant. This is not acceptable. We need to know that there are backup
systems in place in case of a life threatening emergency.
Based on my experience we need - in the race instructions - telephone numbers
and VHF numbers to call in case of said emergencies. They should include a link
to the race committee boat, a link to the yacht club, a reminder that 911 can be
called, channel 16 on the VHF can bring help and coast guard numbers. The race
committee boat should have on board a safety person, whose main purpose is to
monitor the cell phone numbers given out to the entrants as well as the VHF
channel. The race committee should advise local marine police of the event, how
many entrants and any other information that the marine police need to provide
safety for the event.
So now on to my thoughts about the race. - Read on for the rest of Thorsten
Cook’s chilling story and his recommendations: http://tinyurl.com/mpwakz
CIRCUMNAVIGATION FOR CANCER SURVIVORS
It's been a long time coming, but the blue horizon is finally in view for
54-year-old Gordon Brown of Buzzards Bay and the sailboat he has spent the past
six years outfitting for a voyage around the globe. On Monday, the Amnesty, a
45-foot, fiberglass sloop, tasted saltwater for the first time at the
Mattapoisett boat ramp. It was the realization of a dream Brown has nurtured
from the age of 12 until, as he puts it, "life got in the way."
It was a dream he very nearly abandoned in 2007 after being diagnosed with
prostate cancer following a routine physical. "It hit me hard and I put the boat
up for sale for short money," Brown said. Averse to chemotherapy and radiation,
Brown disregarded his doctors and pursued alternative therapies to treat his
cancer. He credits holistic remedies and Reiki for his successful battle. "It's
spiritual healing," he said. "The doctor said I'm now more at risk from sailing
round the world than I am from cancer."
While the boat is now afloat, it is still far from ready to venture offshore.
However, Brown, who has no funds or sailing experience, has enlisted two crew
members to help him: Casey Mustone from New Bedford and Greg Downs from Onset.
He has also launched a Web site called The Victory Lap seeking sponsorship and
plans to lead a fleet of cancer survivors on his world voyage, beginning this
winter from the Caribbean. Despite long odds, Brown remains confident that,
after all he has faced, he can succeed. "Everything has gone so perfect so far
that I refuse to believe that it's going to change," he said.
Read about Brown plans for a circumnavigation with other cancer survivors:
http://thevictorylap.org/
QUOTE / UNQUOTE
“It would seem that two years of legal wrangling and acrimony between the
parties involved have produced what no amount of sailing - long or short, good
or bad, close or one-sided - could have ever achieved: complete and utter
indifference.” - From an America’s Cup story by Dobbs Davis in the October issue
of Seahorse
WHERE THERE’S WATER…
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won an intense weekend of racing at the J/80 Danish Open in Aarhus. And in
Australia, Paul Clitheroe recently won Hamilton Island Race Week’s IRC Passage 1
division on his Beneteau First 45 with 100% Ullman inventory. Invest in your
performance. Contact a local loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com
DEJA VU
NEWPORT, R.I. (September 23, 2009) - Some competitors at the 2009 12 Metre World
Championship are certainly experiencing deja vu as a veritable “Who’s Who” of
sailing walked the docks at Bannister and Bowen’s Wharves this morning as the
first day of this long-anticipated event got underway. From current America’s
Cup poster boy Russell Coutts (Auckland, NZL), who is sailing on Kiwi Magic with
Cup patron and skipper Bill Koch (Palm Beach, Fla./Osterville, Mass.), to Dawn
Riley (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) who broke ground as team leader of the first
women’s entry in the Cup, to noted British sailors Harold Cudmore (Cowes, GBR)
and Andy Green (Lymington, GBR), there is a surfeit of recognizable faces.
“It’s wonderful to wander about the docks at Bowen’s and Bannister’s Wharf and
see the 12 Metres here again, where they were in '83, many of them with their
same crews from then,” said Robin Wallace (Newport, R.I.) who was a member of
Race Committee for the Challenger Series in ‘83 and is the Principal Race
Officer for this event.“With the current legal squabbles going on, people have
become disenchanted with the America’s Cup, but this is like a re-awakening of
the class, a reinvention of a competition that celebrates the 50th Anniversary
of the 12 Meters first being used in the Cup.”
Divided into four divisions – Grand Prix, Modern, Traditional and Vintage – the
17 competing yachts sailed three races today, all in different wind levels in
the Twelves old stomping grounds off Brenton Point. The southwesterly breeze
went from light, increasing to 12 knots for race two, and into the mid-teens for
the third race, with a relatively flat sea state until race three.
Regatta Leaders: Division I - Grand Prix: Wright on White-KZ3, Lexi Gahagan
(Wilmington, Del.) 1-1-2, 4pts; Division 2 - Modern (Protests Pending) Victory
83-K22, Dennis Williams (Mashpee, Mass.) 1-1-2, 4pts; Division 3 - Traditional:
Weatherly-US17, Clay Deutsch (Newport, R.I.) 2-1-1, 4pts; Division 4 - Vintage:
Northern Light-US14, Kip Curren (Middletown, R.I.), 1-2-1, 4pts.
Fans can get updates on the racing via Twitter at http://twitter.com/12metre or
watch live tracking of the boats online at http://www.kattack.com/ as each boat
is carrying a Kattack transponder. Additional information on the event,
including complete results is available at: www.goldenyear2009.com
STUPENDOUS PROPORTIONS.
Annapolis, Maryland - Each October, for 40 years, the United States Sailboat
Show (October 8-12) and the United States Powerboat Show (October 15-18) take
over the docks and harbor of the colonial seaport of Annapolis. These two
events, the oldest and largest in-water shows in the industry, are the only
major boat shows not produced in an existing marina. Playing host to hundreds of
water and land exhibitors requires the construction of a temporary facility of
stupendous proportions.
To accommodate more than 250 sailboats and over 400 powerboats, show producers
will drive 62 temporary pilings in the waters of Annapolis harbor. To
accommodate 500 land exhibitors, 250 tents will be erected on over 600 wooden
floor sections covering more than three-quarters of an acre. A temporary marina
is literally built for the two weeks that the Sailboat and Powerboat shows are
in town.
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine)
Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve
tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These
are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend:
Sept. 25-27 - Houston Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta Seabrook, Texas
Sept. 25-27 - J 24 National Championship Belvedere, Calif.
Sept. 26-27 - USODA Southeast Championship Flowery Branch, Georgia
View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar
ANOTHER QUOTE
“The problem is that we’re worn down, tired of the bickering and deeply saddened
that the pinnacle of our game has been so mistreated that it may fail to inspire
the spectre of achievement and excellence it has had for over a century.” -
Dobbs Davis’ America’s Cup story in the October Seahorse
SAILING SHORTS
It’s Official! The World Sailing Speed Record Council has ratified three new
world records for l’Hydroptère. The French trimaran now officially holds the
“World Sailing Speed Record and D class World Records” - 51.36 Knots -
surpassing the previous records (Outright World Record: Alexandre Caizergues
(kitesurf), 50.57 kts: D Class, l’Hydroptère, 46.88 kts). Also, l’Hydroptère now
has the world record for the fastest nautical mile - 48.74 knots - which breaks
her own previous record.
Nice touch - The official programme for the 2009 Argo Group Gold Cup is now
available online. This thirty-six page, full color programme contains a wealth
of information from an historical snapshot of C. Sherman Hoyt, donor of the King
Edward VII Gold Cup trophy to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, to a layman’s guide
to match racing. It is available for viewing in Virtual Paper format or may be
downloaded as a pdf file. http://www.bermudagoldcup.com/content/view/86/46/
* Porto Cervo, Italy (23 September) - The first day of racing at the Audi Melges
32 World Championship, hosted by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda saw two races held in
12-13 knots of breeze from 60° which would remain constant throughout the day
despite a menacing thunderstorm that formed south of the regatta course. After
the first two races, topping the 30-boat fleet is Claudio Recchi on ITA-93 Team
93 (3 pts.). In second overall is Joe Woods on GBR-500 Red (7 pts.) and Pieter
Taselaar on USA-169 Bliksem is seated third (8 pts.). - Complete results:
http://tinyurl.com/ns9tsa. Photo gallery: http://tinyurl.com/kw3faf
* America's Cup Defender, Societe Nautique de Geneve have hinted, through their
legal counsel, Barry Ostrager that the International Sailing Federation could
take action against Golden Gate Yacht Club following the comments made by
Justice Shirley Kornreich suggesting that the Challenger had engaged in
unsportsmanlike behavior. - Sail-World. Com, http://tinyurl.com/njztdp
* Monegasque luxury yacht builder Wally has teamed up with French fashion house
Hermes to create WHY, Wally Hermes Yachts, and unveil a full-size model of its
first creation. The full-size model of the 'revolutionary' 58m (190ft) long, 38m
(125ft) wide yacht will be presented at the operation's Ancona shipyard on
Italy's Adriatic coast. Based on a Norwegian Ramform hull, the 58X38 will offer
'unparalleled living space' including patios, an opening Venetian blind-style
roof, a 25m (82ft) swimming pool and a 36m (118ft) aft deck beach. - IBI News,
http://tinyurl.com/muzs8l
* Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has a rather curious new addition built
in to his latest oversized yacht. The 557-foot boat Eclipse set sail this week
with a slew of show-off features, from two helipads, two swimming pools and
six-foot movie screens in all guest cabins, to a mini-submarine and
missile-proof windows to combat piracy. It might not seem like somebody with
such ostentatious tastes would crave privacy, but along with these expensive
toys, Ambramovich has installed an anti-paparazzi “shield”. Lasers sweep the
surroundings and when they detect a CCD, they fire a bolt of light right at the
camera to obliterate any photograph. - http://tinyurl.com/lzyzbq
JUNIOR PROGRAMS LINE UP FOR 2010
More and more Junior Programs are adding O’Pen BICs and Techno 293 windsurfing
to excite kids who aren’t necessarily into the traditional path of
race-race-race in olden boats. If you want to add new-age excitement for the
kids in your program … and watch your dropout rates fall … now’s the best time
to sign up for your 2010 fleet. The O’Pen BICs and Techno 293s are less
expensive, more durable, completely self-bailing, and kids love them. Now you
can take advantage of fall savings by contacting info@BICSportNA.com by October
15. Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5synxcPELAI for images from the
2009 U.S. O’Pen Cup.
FINAL QUOTE
“By comparison to Alinghi, Oracle’s current boat looks crude and heavy” - Dave
Hollom in the October Seahorse.
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 Jeff Richards
I was at the Churchill Club dinner in San Jose last night the evening’s on stage
entertainment was Ed Zander (fmr CEO of Sun and Motorola) interviewing Larry
Ellison. Most of it was about technology and Oracle’s purchase of Sun, but Ed
wanted a ride on ‘the boat’ and that got Larry started. Here are a few quotes:
* We have the fastest boat, the best crew; if it is a fair race we will win.
* I hired Russell Coutts after the last Americas Cup and Alinghi is so
uncomfortable racing against him they are twisting the rules.
* I went crazy when I saw the rules. Everyone works for them, the on the water
umpires works for them, the protest jury works for them, the race committee
works for them. If I had an NBA team under those rules I could beat Wilt
Chamberlain’s single game scoring record. Every time the other team moved.
‘penalty!’
* He actually wanted to name the trimaran Death Star 1 but his wife and Safra
(Katz the pres of Oracle) didn’t like it.
* He closed with ‘we will win if they don’t cheat.’
* From Dennis Palmer
I am trying to imagine for what possible reason ISAF agreed to allow Alinghi and
SNG's to be able to change the rules of racing for the America's Cup at will. It
was certainly not to ensure a fair competition. The only reason I can think of
is money. A persistent investigator may be able to find a paper trail about
payments or promises of payments that could turn out to be very embarrassing for
ISAF.
* From Jeffery Steed
Dear SNG, After faithfully watching the Challenger Series and America's Cup
competitions for the last 20 years, I no longer care! I was behind some the
early changes you proposed to the competition's format. However, the latest
revelations of a "secret" agreement with ISAF, on top of all the other idiotic,
self-serving, nonsensical changes you've tried making is all too much. Like
Formula1, you have succeeded in making your competition irrelevant to us who
value integrity and fair play.
* From Bob Bausch
I think I just clicked out of any further interest in the America's Cup. In
spite of people talking about "this is the way it's always been", I disagree.
The passage of time has made the stakes and the egos go beyond sanity. I'm back
to sailplanes and motorsports, and happy for it.
* From Pat Moriarty
With all the legal actions and reactions shouldn't the AC be changed to the
Courts Cup to actually represent what it has become? Maybe we could race lawyers
instead of boats and I would definitely make personal flotation devices illegal,
as they say "what do you call a dead lawyer? A start."
CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATIONS
Better late than ... pregnant.
Special thanks to Ullman Sails and O’Pen BIC
Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
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