SCUTTLEBUTT No. 795 - April 16, 2001

Scuttlebutt 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 and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome.

GUEST EDITORIAL - Chris B. Bouzaid
It is time for the IRC Handicap system. For years in the United States we have had PHRF for club racing. PHRF is one of the answers for those without or unwilling to spend unlimited money on their yachts. For those more serious and with more money to spend on their racing the choice at present is One Design. The IMS rule is basically defunct (especially in the US) and the new IRM rule is still getting off the ground.

During the past three years more and more US owners of performance yachts have become disillusioned with the IMS rule and, because there is no other viable alternative, have moved to PHRF. PHRF is not the answer for these boats. It is time the leading US yacht clubs to start using the IRC rule. Over 5000 European racers can't be wrong.

PHRF is a subjective performance handicap rule administered on a local basis. So, the better a boat's results, the worse it's handicap. A well-sailed boat will end up with a worse PHRF number. And vice versa. Also, because it is locally administered, different numbers will and do result in different areas. So when fleets come together, which is right?

PHRF does not work well for the middle group of racing sailors. These are people who equip their yachts with the best and who race to win. This group need something better than the PHRF system. They do not want to deal with IMS or IRM. This group of sailors is growing steadily all the time.

There is an economical alternative: The new IRC handicapping system. The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) have developed and administer this new rule. IRC is VERY DIFFERENT from PHRF. IRC by comparison is a rating rule. Each boat's TCC is an objective function of her measurement data. Yes, IRC includes some very limited subjectivity. But: a) they have worked very hard at developing objective methods of arriving at subjective answers and b) because IRC is administered from only two rating offices, there is a very high level of consistency of application. It is also fundamental that the rule is centrally administered. This gets away from all the local handicapper arguments/debates/discussions that are going on in all areas. When the boats come together from al over the place, nobody has to get re-rated with all the ensuing arguments, discussions and dissension.

It is a simple measurement rule, in which the owner of the yacht fills in an Excel spread sheet and from this the measurement office apply their secret formula to arrive at a TCF (Time Correction Factor) for each yacht. It does rely on the honesty of the owner but any handicaps can be protested if the input information is incorrect. I believe that there is a large group of racing yachts that will enjoy much fairer and closer racing under this rule and I encourage event organizers and yacht clubs to look into this rule.

The time has come for the IRC rule to be tried in the United States. I do have a database of information, which I am happy to share with any interested yacht club personal, or any individuals. The IRC rule is the standard in Europe and in many other countries. The Swan owners have adopted it for all their championships. It is time we did the same in the US.

If anyone wants further information they can visit the official website, www.rorc.org/racing or contact me at chris@autoprop.com. I do want to stress that this is not an attack on PHRF it is an attempt to use a more objective system for "leveling the playing field" for more competitive yachts. - Chris B. Bouzaid

AMERICA'S CUP
Following announcements late last week that Craig McCaw was looking for commercial partners in his OneWorld Americas Cup campaign, it has now become clear that the project is close to foundering. McCaw who made his money in telecommunications has been hard hit by the downturn in the US technology stock sector and appears to have run out of cash to fund the operation.

Though no official news has been released, sources close to the challenge suggest that McCaw is looking for a sum close to US$20million in the very near future if the project is to continue. While there are suspicions that the crisis may have been manufactured to prompt action from potential sponsors, it does now appear that there is a very strong chance that the project will fold. An official announcement is expected on Monday. - Peter Bentley, madforsailing website.

Full story: http://www.madforsailing.com/

NEW AND AWESOME
Modeled after the very useful, quick drying, rugged padded Camet Sailing Shorts, Camet has now launched their Camet Sailing Pants. They come in Navy and Khaki, have reinforced Cordura seat and knees, and the optional 1/4" foam seat pads, to make those long beats more bearable. Check them out on: http://www.camet.com

MORE AMERICA'S CUP
Television New Zealand says it will not be sponsoring Team New Zealand in the 2003 America's Cup. Although the TV network is leaving the "family of five" sponsors, it will retain broadcasting rights to the regatta.

TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis said Team New Zealand has increased sponsorship fees considerably, and his company's withdrawal would enable the America's Cup defenders to seek additional funding. "New Zealanders are well aware of TV One's role in bringing the America's Cup into their homes," Elllis said. "We don't need to take valuable signage space to get that message across, but we have retained all the commercial benefits of our association with Team New Zealand."

TVNZ has been a sponsor of Team New Zealand since 1990. - NZ Herald, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
leweck@earthlink.net
(Letters selected for publication may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We do not publish anonymous letters.)

* From Richard Spindler
(RE: From Michael Raabe comments in Scuttlebutt 792) - When we at Latitude wrote that Oracle Racing was "conspicuous by their absence" as an official challenger for the 2003 Cup, we in no way intended to suggest their ultimate participation might be in question. To the contrary, based on everything we know, Ellison and his team are as enthusiastic and committed as ever, and will soon be four-boat testing off Ventura. The reason they are not yet an official challenger is because they have yet to align with a yacht club as is required by the deed of gift. By missing the initial deadline for being an official entry, they will ultimately have to cough up an additional $150,000 - not much out of an $80 million or so budget. It also means they now have almost another year to find a club to represent.

It's our understanding that Oracle Racing is trying to negotiate an entirely different kind of deal with a yacht club, one that would give them significantly more control over the future of the Cup in the event they were capture it in 2003. We've been assured that Larry Ellison's desire for greater control isn't the least bit devious, but is rather necessary to get control of the event away from a series of sometimes small-thinking yacht clubs that have prevented the Cup from being as good and grand an international event as he thinks it can and should be.

* From Paul van Leynseele
On the subject of OneWorld Challenge, I don't understand the position that nationalism is the only, or even the most important thing to beat one's chest about when competing in the America's Cup. Mr. McCaw stated early on that his campaign would leverage the exposure of the event to focus some world (operative word) attention on oceanic environmentalism. This is a mission he feels as passionately about as his sailing (do a Google search using the keywords McCaw Foundation and you'll see that $30M is a drop in the bucket compared to what he's spent on the former).

To this end, he assembled an international crew and named his syndicate OneWorld, the message being, "we're all in this together." So, if success at the America's Cup puts this team in the spotlight, and with it the environmental message it espouses, doesn't it make sense involve as large and as broad a group as possible.

Surely we shouldn't fault Mr. McCaw for stepping away from (beyond?) the "red, white, and blue" message and attempting to spread a "OneGreenWorld" message. I only hope that this ancillary effort won't be lost as other sponsors join the OneWorld campaign. Good on ya Craig, you do America and the world proud.

* From Tad Lacey
Some clarifications on the 1979 Admiral's Cup - Keith Mackeown's comment on sponsorship: Champagne Mumm was the sponsor. They provided the marks and champagne equal to the weight of the skipper of the winning yacht of the third inshore race. The race was won by Dennis Connor on Wlliwaw which insured plenty of bubbly for everyone.

Stuart Burnett's comment on paid crew: There were paid crew on some boats. People just didn't talk about in those days.

Commodore Taft's comments on bananas on IMP: The Commodore was incorrect. The snack du jour on IMP was bananas with peanut butter and mayonnaise. This delicacy engendered many comments onboard.

* From Steve Morton
I was happy to see the story about Chris Rosenberg and his IC24. I was lucky enough to partner with two well known St. Thomas sailors on a derelict J24 from Puerto Rico that was shipped to STT and completely overhauled, cut-up and re-molded during the past few months. The result is spectacular and there are now six (6) in the STYC fleet. For a club that saw its significant J29 fleet disappear during Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, this is great news. Between '86 and '95, we had a number of J29's chasing Peter Holmberg around the islands almost every weekend. The one-design excitement, constant leap-frogging improvement and buzz in club activity was sorely missed and now we finally have something that is affordable and easy to find crew and sail. The best part is we now have a boat that Opti sailors can graduate to with hopes of producing more world-class talent like Holmberg, Rosenberg and others. Credit for this project should also go to Morgan Avery, Peter Holmberg's longtime bowman on the match race circuit. Morgan is a local legend for his sailing and boat building skills and he did much of the work on turning beat-up J24's into (virtually) brand new boats. I'd say ten (10) of these boats next year is conservative. Look for a bunch out of Tortola, St. John, St.Croix and Puerto Rico as well.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Yes, you can get Protectors in these colors. In fact, they come in Yellow, Gray, light blue and black as well. Not only do Protector RIB's have unparalleled performance, they also look great and with a double-bunk cabin, they more useful than you average RIB. Stay dry, stay safe, stay warm! Drive a Protector today. Call toll free 877.664.BOAT(2628) or check us out at http://www.protectorusa.com

THE RACE
The last of the boats taking part in The Race has just completed voyage round the world in 104 days, 20 h and 52 minutes. Team Legato was the oldest boat to have entered the race and was helmed by the Englishman Tony Bullimore. She lowered her sails in front of the Digue des Catalans in Marseille at 10h08 local time today, Sunday morning, crossing the finishing line outside the official time limit.

Team Legato's arrival in the Vieux Port de Marseille marks the end of the first edition of The Race, the non-stop round the world crewed yacht race.

Final rankings:
1. Club Med, finished in Marseille on 3rd March 2001 in 62 d 6 h 56 m
2. Innovation Explorer, finished in Marseille on 6th March 2001 in 64 d 22 h 32 m
3. Team Adventure, finished in Marseille on 24th March 2001 in 82 d 20 h 21 m
4. Warta Polpharma, finished in Marseille on 10th March in 99 d 12 h 31 m (OTL)
5. Team Legato, finished in Marseille on 15th April 2001 in 104 d 20 h 52 m (OTL)
PlayStation - Retired on 14th January 2001

Mireille Vatine, http://www.therace.org

ROLEX CUP REGATTA
St Thomas - US Virgin Islands - Local sailor Chris Rosenberg has won the competitive Melges 24 fleet and lifted the International Rolex Cup in St Thomas for the fourth time. Class winners: Class A: EQUATION, Santa Cruz 68, Bill Alcott: Class B: CACCIA ALLA VOLPE, Vallicelli 44, Carlo Falcone, Class C: EX MERO MOTU, J/80, Antonio Mari Jr., San Juan, Class D: SEABORNE AIRLINES, Melges 24, Chris Rosenberg: Class G: BRAVISSIMO, J/24, Pedro; Class E: COLD BEER, Tartan 10, John Schultheiss; Class H: WILDFLOWER, Sabre 402, Ron Noonan: Class I: BOLERO, J/42, Domingo Pagan: Class K: RED DOG, IC-24, Mike Williams; Class F: CLAIMS PAID, Inter 20, John Holmberg; Class F2: YUISA, Hobie 16, Rosarito Martinez, http://www.rolexcupregatta.com/

CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
* April 18-22: Pacific Sail Expo, Jack London Square, Oakland, CA. Appearances by Ellen MacArthur, Bruce Schwab and his new Open 60, Mark Reynolds, Dawn Riley, Richard Spindler and Gary Jobson. http://www.sailamerica.com/sail_expo_pa.cfm

* June 24-29: Storm Trysail's Block Island Race Week, http://www.blockislandraceweek.com

FIELD TEST
I have no idea who was responsible for the design and the features of Musto's new Competition Watch, but it's obvious that person has been on a starting line before. They've thought of everything any racing sailor could ask for.

For instance, there are four options for the countdown. You can set it for the new 5,4,1,0 system; for five minute periods; for three minute periods; or for any other period with one minute intervals. And after the watch goes though the countdown sequence, it can either repeat the sequence again or start the stopwatch counting up. But perhaps most important, and certainly most innovative feature in the countdown function is the sync button. If you're a bit slow getting the first signal, as is frequently is the case - no problem. Just hit the sync button at the next signal, and the times automatically cycles down to the next full minute. Nice!

And the numbers are huge. Bigger than the Timex, or Casio or even the new Suuntos.

The watch has all the other usual stuff - alarms, stopwatch, time and date and is water resistant to 10 ATM (whatever that means). Also, it has a super night-light that made it easy for me to read the time without my glasses.

Perhaps the thing I like best is that the controls are intuitive. The instruction pamphlet is absolutely tiny - and you may not even need it. I was able to work virtually all of the functions before I read the instructions. Pretty amazing

This watch is a winner. http://www.musto.co.uk/

THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM
Are part-time bandleaders semi-conductors?