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SCUTTLEBUTT 2529 - February 8, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. “FAIR RACING IS POSSIBLE” BBC Sports -- The man overseeing this year's Olympic sailing has played down concerns that conditions at the Qingdao venue could turn medal events into a lottery. Great Britain team manager Stephen Park believes light winds could limit the number of races and make results unpredictable. But Jerome Pels, secretary general of the International Sailing Federation, told BBC Sport the Qingdao venue had performed well in test events. Pels said conditions were not ideal but he insisted 'fair' racing was possible. Pels, the International Olympic Committee's technical delegate for Qingdao, is overseeing the organization of the Olympic sailing events. He insisted there was no danger of the schedule - normally the best of 11 races in some classes, or 16 in others - being drastically shortened. "We have used almost the maximum number of competition days in the Games," said Pels. "I don't think we'll get a full series out of every class, but that's not the aim. We just want fair, good racing under good conditions." -- BBC Sport, full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/sailing/7222340.stm WHAT’S IN A NAME? Boat names can reveal much about the personality, lifestyle, passions or experiences of a boat owner. For 2007, the BoatU.S. list of Top Ten Most Popular Boat Names is particularly revealing: 1) Black Pearl: The name of a fast, stealthy and intimidating fictional ship from the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean films, a recreational boat with this moniker was probably named by the kids. 2) Liberty: A patriotic name that first appeared on the Top Ten List just after 9-11, the owner of this vessel is clearly passionate about the freedoms enjoyed in the U.S. 3) Second Wind: Perhaps this boat owner has had a life changing experience and feels that their boat now gives them a second lease on life. 4) Amazing Grace: It could be that this boat name borrowed from a hymn provides the boat owner with a new spiritual outlet. 5) Aquaholic: This name illustrates a boater’s chronic love for the waterways. This boat is probably the first one out of the slip in the morning and the last one back in at the end of the day. 6) Knot on Call: Perhaps named by a boater in a professional field or industry with non-traditional work hours, this boat name affirms a desire break away from work pressures. 7) Second Chance: See #3, Second Wind. 8) Wanderlust: Defined as “A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel,” this boat owner clearly has a passion to cruise and explore the waterways. 9) The Dog House: Being in one (Dog House) isn’t necessarily bad for this boat owner as their vessel likely provides a “walled-off” escape away from the distractions of everyday life. 10) Carpe Diem or Seas the Day: This boat owner likely believes that boating allows them to enjoy life at its fullest. -- http://www.BoatUS.com LANDING ON HIS FEET Glenn Bourke, the former CEO for the Volvo Ocean Race round the world and the man credited with delivering the world’s best ever Olympic sailing regatta, is to become the new Chief Executive Officer for Australia’s premier tropical island destination, Hamilton Island. The island is going through an impressive phase of development that includes the secluded ultra-luxury destination, qualia, the new 18-hole golf course which is nearing completion, and major upgrades to existing accommodations. The highly innovative new Hamilton Island Yacht Club and associated luxury villa precinct is also well advanced. Brouke will be based on the island and be responsible to the Oatley family for all island operations -- quite a change from the extensive traveling he’s done for the past seven years. As a yachtsman Glenn Bourke has won seven world sailing championships including, remarkably, three consecutive world titles in the Olympic Laser dinghy class, in 1988, 1989 and 1990. He represented Australia in the Finn dinghy class at the 1992 Olympics, has sailed in the America’s Cup and Admiral’s Cup, and was named Australian Yachtsman of the Year in 1989 and 1990. -- Full story: http://bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=22202 YOU CAN’T PLAY THE GAME... ..if you don’t know the rules. Dave Perry, David Dellenbaugh, and Brad Dellenbaugh are teaching Rules and Tactics Seminars this winter. From fundamental principles to nuances highlighting the difference between right-of-way and control, understand the rules and the tactics the rules dictate so you can turn rules situations into tactical opportunities. Enrollment is limited. Sign up now (risk free) and receive Perry’s Rules Quiz book and Dellebaugh’s Rules DVDs with the course. Learn more at NorthU. Call 800-347-2457 or http://www.northu.com BARCELONA WORLD RACE Open 60 doublehanded round the world race (started Nov 11; 25,000-miles) (Day 89 – February 7, 2008) With the finishing line just 700 miles away for the two sailors on Paprec-Virbac 2, the wind and waves have picked up dramatically, and the second placed boat is closing fast. To add to the difficult circumstances on board, food is now in short supply with the finish still four days away. Piling the pressure on the leader is Hugo Boss. The black boat has completed a phenomenal 24 hours in gaining just a shade under 200 miles. -- http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com February 7 positions at 18:00 UTC 1-Paprec-Virbac 2, Jean-Pierre Dick/ Damian Foxall, 671 nm DTF 2-Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson/ Andrew Cape, 378 nm DTL 3-Temenos II, Dominique Wavre/ Michéle Paret, 1,532 4-Mutua Madrilena, Javier Sanso Windmann/ Pachi Rivero, 1,645 5-Educación sin Fronteras, Servane Escoffier/ Albert Bargues, 2,858 Retired - PRB, Vincent Riou/ Sébastien Josse (broken mast) Retired -Delta Dore, Jérémie Beyou/ Sidney Gavignet (broken mast) Retired - Estrella Damm, Guillermo Altadill/ Jonathan McKee, (rudder damage) Retired - Veolia Environnement, Roland Jourdain/Jean-Luc Nélias (broken mast) FOR THE RECORD * Jules Verne Trophy (crewed circumnavigation around the three capes): (February 7, 18:06 UTC) While Groupama 3 has been racking up a fine day's upwind sailing with 620 miles at an average of 26 knots, the giant trimaran is continuing to lose its lead over the reference time set by Orange II! And the hemorrhage is severe: half the 600 miles accumulated two days ago, have been reduced to just 290 miles on Thursday afternoon. http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en * Route de l'Or (crewed route from New York to San Francisco): (Day 22 - February 7) After waiting five days at the doorstep to Cape Horn, the website tracking is now showing that the maxi catamaran Gitana 13 has (finally) rounded the cape and is in the Pacific Ocean - but is still more than 6000 miles from their California destination. -- http://www.gitana-team.com/en/gitana10/homepage.asp SAILING SHORTS * (February 7, 2008) Race Officials at the Laser World Championship, being sailed off Terrigal, Australia were forced to abandon attempts at racing on day one. Racing was finally called off for the day at 15:30 local time with reports of more thunderstorms on the way up from Sydney. Earlier in the day, the Australian Laser Dealers Qualifier races 1 and 2 were postponed due to extremely light shifty breezes. Then organizers sent the 160 competitors from 56 nations on the water, only to have them return when severe south-easterly winds and a thunderstorm arrived. -- http://aus08.laserinternational.org * It was just seven days ago that entries opened up for the US Women's Junior Doublehanded Championship for the Ida Lewis Trophy. And although this regatta is not until July, the hosting Sausalito YC reports that 20 teams have already entered the event. With a regatta limit of just 35 teams, it’s obvious that there are a lot of young female sailors who do not want to get locked out of this championship. -- http://www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/usjrw/double * An Australian court has upheld the conviction and large fine levied against a yachtsman who was convicted by a customs magistrate of failing to announce the intended arrival of his vessel and crew into Australia. The magistrate assessed a fine of $4,000 and $15,000 in court costs. The yachtsman appealed the lower court's conviction, but last week a District Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the magistrate's finding. To add slap to face, the higher court awarded costs of the appeal to the Commonwealth. -- about.com, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2xvhaf * Some very nice prizes will be awarded at this year’s Virgin Islands Race Week -- March 28 to April 6. The top CSA yacht will receive a week for two at the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda. The top IRC yacht will collect a week’s complimentary stay at the new Marriott’s Frenchman’s Cove in St. Thomas. Certificates for dinners at local restaurants are also part of the prize package. Winners will be based on combined scores from the International Rolex Regatta held in St.Thomas and the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival, out of Tortola and Virgin Gorda. * US Watercraft of Portsmouth, RI has been named as the new USA builder for the J/105, the prolific 34.5’ one-design sprit boat with over 650 boats sailing in 14 countries. The 2008 model J/105 includes several upgrades such as race-ready keel and rudder, composite tiller, racing mainsheet system, new galley layout and more. http://www.jboats.com * Britain’s big boat stars of the future have the chance to help realize their yachting ambitions as the RYA stages its first of seven Open Keelboat Training events of 2008 next week. Any young sailor between the ages of 16-24, is welcome to attend Open Keelboat Training where they will receive first class coaching in the RYA’s fleet of J80s. With ongoing assessment of sailing ability, teamwork and potential taking place over the course of the Training event, those showing the required standards will be invited to attend the Volvo RYA Keelboat Programme selection event in September. – http://www.rya.org * Correction: In our report in Issue 2528 of the top ranked North American sailors in the new ISAF ranking, we unfortunately overlooked four Canadian sailors -- Mike Leigh, who is ranked fifth in the Lasers, the 12th ranked Finn sailor, Christopher Cook plus Oskar Johanssson and Kevin Stittle who are ranked sixth in Tornado. And we also overlooked Bermudians Peter Bromby and Lee White who are ranked 14th in the Star class. Sorry about that. PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include famous multihulls with keels, the first Mark Mills-designed King 40 rolling out of the factory, training for the Ice and Snow Sailing World Championship, Andrew Burke’s campaign to increase cancer awareness in Barbados, a Boston fundraiser for the Courageous Sailing Center, a creepy Homeland Security sign in Key West, and the first winner of the Dutch Solo Challenge Award. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0208 * The place to be for sailing in North America right now is southern Florida. However, for the New England and Mid-Atlantic sailors that just won’t take no for an answer, they stay put and go frostbiting. Here are photos from the 2008 InterClub Midwinters in Annapolis, MD, and while it is not snowing, a look at the gear being worn will tell you that this is definitely not Miami. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/ic BOATLOAD OF AMATEURS BEATS THE PRO’S AT KWRW One of the nicer stories from Key West is the J/80 class victory of the Storck family: dad, two sons, daughter, and a family friend kicked butt in a very competitive class. Without a single pro on board, they beat a 3x KWRW and 3x NA winner (also World Champion), who came in second behind them. Both crews relied on UK-Halsey sails as did the equally non-pro 2nd and 3rd J/105’s. So, if you’re racing without a professional on board, maybe you need the edge the Storcks took to Key West: great sails from UK-Halsey. 800-253-2002 or http://www.ukhalsey.com EIGHT BELLS Chattanooga, TN - Marge Lamb, known throughout the international Snipe class community, died Wednesday, February 6th at the age of 78 years as a result of a stroke she had suffered the previous week. Along with her husband Buzz (who died in 2005), the two of them managed the Snipe Class International Racing Association (SCIRA) office from 1971 until their retirement in 1987. Class headquarters was their home at Privateer Yacht Club in Chattanooga, TN, and the two of them traveled widely to provide a "face" for the SCIRA organization. Services will be held at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Hixson, TN on Tuesday, February 12th. Contributions may be made to the Snipe Class USA Perpetual Fund, P.O. Box 83866, Lincoln, NE 68501. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Charles J. Doane: I disagree with those inclined to impugn Malin Burnham’s proposal to reform the AC Deed of Gift (No. 2528). It would address the enormous inherent contradiction that has prompted both the current court battle and the last one over San Diego’s defense, which is that the defender must act both as a trustee charged with acting selflessly in the best interests of the trust’s beneficiaries and as a competitor interested in defeating putative beneficiaries on the race course. Petitioning the court to reform the trust and appoint an independent trustee makes a great deal of sense. That independent trustee could be a specially created entity, as Mr. Burnham suggests, or perhaps it could be the New York Yacht Club itself, so long as it is willing not to compete for the Cup in the future. Frankly, I think the NYYC would make a great trustee, as it has by far the most experience and embodies, and is presumably interested in preserving, the best traditions of AC competition. I also don’t see why such a petition could not be filed by any one individual wanna-be challenger or by a group of them. * From Chris Ashcroft, Blue Hill, Maine (edited to our 250-word limit): George Schuyler must be turning in his grave with sadness as he witnesses the magnificent event turn into an utterly unattractive fiasco by men who are evidently spoilt, nouveau riche business brats who fail to understand the importance of sportsmanship and good sports stewardship. I do not care who you are and what station in life you hail from but almost all sailors and competitors alike are wonderfully descent, fantastic people who race by the rules and have the grace and presence to admit defeat and are invariably the first to congratulate a winner. The “Cup” is now the domain of ego, money and so-called clever lawyers, the latter believing that their interpretation of the Deed of Gift supersedes the original intention and I frankly say “bollocks to the lot of you.” You have two choices, either race under the rules which have survived the test of time or simply do not race. I do not see Formula One racing, the World Series, the Super Bowl, The World Cup, succumb to litigation simply because contestants abide by the rules. What is so difficult about that? Unfortunately, we started down the slippery slope of “Cup” related litigation in the 80’s and it simply opened the door from then on. The door should have stayed firmly shut – this is a mono-hull race with one keel allowed. If the nouveau riche or business brats want their formula one race with multi-hulls- then go ahead but not under the pretext of the America’s Cup. * From Manfred C. Schreiber: Reading with a smile Mike Titgemeyer´s AC conspiracy in the 2527 edition, I thought the same when I first heart about the 90 x 90 thing but due to the language barrier and possible misunderstanding, did not like to respond or make noise about it. Maybe our friends from the Alps, who sometimes seem to be rather humorless have not got the message and have fallen into this ridiculous scenario trap and now have problems to dig themselves out without looking silly. Lawyers are not helping either as they would not understand the sarcasm which lies in the DoG 90 x 90 challenge. * From Bruce McPherson: As Cory Friedman notes, GGYC's appeal letter requests Justice Cahn consider "the Deed, the Deed and the Deed." Paragraph five, last sentence of that Deed: "....Center-board or sliding keel vessels shall always be allowed to compete in any race for this Cup, and no restriction nor limitation whatever shall be placed upon the use of such center-board or sliding keel, nor shall the centerboard or sliding keel be considered a part of the vessel for any purposes of measurement." Note: three times, "...center-board or sliding keel..." Always in the singular, just one! The following phrase, "...no restriction nor limitation shall be placed upon the use of such..." refers to the movement and the timing of such use, not the permitted number. My admission ticket may have the words "Admit holder." Again, singular, just one; it cannot be construed to admit another even if that other is also "holding" the ticket physically! Just because past legalities carefully ignored such a reading is no reason to ignore it now! * From Rick Hatch: Except for an additional year's delay when in 1987, 1992, 2000 and 2007 the defence of the America's Cup moved between the northern and southern hemispheres, it took a World War to cause the kind of delay between AC contests that the present trend of affairs between the current defender and BMW Oracle Racing is precipitating. AC #33 - likely to be in 90 ft waterline multi-hulled "keel yachts", AC #34 - in IACC or AC90 monohulls --whatever. Like remaining in harbour while weathering out the storm of the century, which eventually blows itself out (they always do), I'm settling in for a long wait. In the meantime and probably like most prospective sponsors of this extravaganza, I'm turning my attention to other kinds of racing, the kind that's actually entertaining - like NASCAR (which kicks into gear again this Saturday night). Eventually and in good time, the New York Courts will identify the miscreant among the litigants. The America's Cup survived even a World War; it will survive this pathetic episode. * From David Barrow: Nothing would sort the America's cup quicker than to starve it of the oxygen of publicity. Curmudgeon I am surprised you have let this thread run so long. You normally lose your patience long before this. End the thread and let them get on with it in as dark a place as possible. They can give us a call when they get out of court. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw. Special thanks to North U and UK-Halsey Sailmakers. A complete list of Scuttlebutt’s preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
