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SCUTTLEBUTT 2798 - Wednesday, March 11, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Today's sponsors are North Sails and Harken. NAVAL ARCHITECTURE OR MECHANICAL ENGINEERING? Phoeb3 wrote in the Scuttlebutt Forum: “I'm a first year university student and I have received conflicting advice regarding what degree will help me the most in the "real world". A bit of background: I've raced Laser radials 420's and 29ers and my dream is to work designing boats, preferably sailing boats. But I am also interested in engineering in general. I have been told to stick with Naval Architecture (my current major) as it will get me good marine jobs, and apparently also the option of Mechanical Engineering jobs. I have also been told the opposite, that Mechanical gives a broader base and I will be just as likely to get hired for the Naval jobs as if I had Naval Arch and far more likely to get Mechanical Jobs. Does anyone have any advice?” Here are excerpts from a few esteemed ‘buttheads: * From Mark Mills, MILLS DESIGN: “I think that can be a fine hair to split as there are many factors that could affect the outcome. I would say that the NavArch is likely to be preferred for a job in a Design firm like ours which already has an engineering partner, unless he is only looking to specialise in engineering work which is a limited field. I don't know much about non-marine engineering fields, but I think only for that specific engineering/modelling oriented role in a large office the MechEng might be better than the NavArch.“ -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7137#7137 * From Rod Johnstone, J/Boats: “My best advice would be to take as broad a range of courses as possible your first two years of college and put off committing to a particular field of study until it is required. It's not the subject matter that counts, but the self-discipline to learn how to think straight so you can analyze and solve problems. As a first year student you can probably choose a dual major at this point. Who knows? You might take a course in the next year in some other field that gets you going in a totally different direction.” -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7145#7145 * From Ioannis Moatsos, MEng (Hons), PhD, Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design: “In the real world even though the positions in yacht design, engineering and shipbuilding companies can be few and coveted there are many paths that one could take that will provide you the skills required for successful employment in a design office, whether this is for ship & yacht building & design or offshore engineering. At the end of the day, I believe, ideally you would want the subject of your studies to coincide with your engineering interests and what you would enjoy the most being involved with in such an environment.” -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7156#7156 WILSON COMPLETES VENDEE GLOBE (Mar. 10, 2009; Day 121) - Crossing the finish line off Les Sables d’Olonne at 12h 43 19s GMT, Rich Wilson (USA) completed the 24,840 mile Vendée Globe solo non-stop round the world race in ninth place from the original 30 starters. Wilson finished 121 days 00 hours, 41 minutes and 19 seconds after leaving Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday November 9th. Wilson averaged 9.84 knots on the water covering 28,590 miles. He sailed the 24,840 theoretical miles at an average speed of 8.55 knots. Raphaël Dinelli (FRA) and Norbert Sedlacek (AUT) are the remaining skippers still competing, now 557.6 nm and 980.2 nm from the finish respectively. Sailing Great American III, which was built in 1999 to a design by Bernard Nivelt for Thierry Dubois, Wilson, of Marblehead, MA becomes only the second American ever to finish the Vendée Globe after Bruce Schwab finished ninth from 20 starters in the 2004-5 race on his Ocean Planet. Wilson safely completed his boat’s third circumnavigation after Dubois sailed her in the 2000-1 Vendée Globe and then the 2002 Around Alone. -- Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en QUITE LITERALLY BORN TO WINDSURF The youngest member of the 2009 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is 17-year-old Solvig Sayre. A resident of Vineyard Haven, MA, Solvig (pronounced sole-vay), has a friendly, gentle demeanor that belies a fierce determination: she’s intensely focused on her goal of representing the United States in the Women’s RS:X Windsurfing class at the 2012 Olympic Regatta in England. Solvig was quite literally born to windsurf, blessed with natural athleticism and an innate desire to excel. “Both of my parents were professional sailors,” she explains. Her mother, Stina Hellgren Sayre, is a former Swedish National Windsurfing Champion and her father, Nevin, is a five-time U.S. National Champ who won several international events in the 1980s. “He’s taught me almost everything up until this past year, when I’ve had different people coaching me,” she says. -- WindCheck, read on: http://linkbee.com/IUVK NORTH'S CSD SAILS USED ON WINNING MELGES 32 North Sails would like to congratulate Pieter Taselaar and crew aboard his Melges 32 Bliksem for winning Acura Miami Grand Prix by 8 points! "Pieter and his team race with our Class Sail Development sails, which are available to all Melges 32s," said Per Andersson, North's NA Design Manager. "We are all thrilled with how these sails performed and I hope more Melges 32 owners will take advantage of their proven out-of-the-bag design and durability." http://www.na.northsails.com/tabid/1955/Default.aspx ERICSSON TEAM POWER REACHING AWAY FROM FLEET (Mar. 10, 2009; Day 25) - With the two ice gates positioned between New Zealand and Cape Horn - intended to keep the fleet north of potential ice areas - all five teams have passed the first one and are now setting up their approach to the second gate. Each team must be on or north of the designated latitude at some point between the two stated lines of longitude. Here are a couple reports from the trenches: * Ken Read, PUMA skipper: “We feel like we are in a bit of a drag race but we are dragging some tires around from the back bumper. These two Ericsson boats are quick power reaching - check that, they are never really slow - and have essentially jumped a weather system on us. Especially Ericsson 3, who is just smoking away right now. Ericsson 4 has just a tiny more breeze and header than we do every sched due to their forward position in the band of pressure, therefore gains a few miles every sched. It gets taxing on the brain, and at times tough to keep moral up.” -- Read on: http://linkbee.com/IUVL * Ian Walker, Green Dragon skipper: “We have been making excellent progress for a few days now since we finally got the spinnaker up. Unfortunately, we have had to sail a lot of extra distance to keep in the stronger wind and it has been a period where the 'rich have got richer'. Those ahead have carried more favourable breeze and a more direct route, but over the next few days that should be reversed - or so we hope. What look like big leads right now should be dramatically reduced by Cape Horn. Cape Horn is already very much on our radar and every weather forecast we get I can't help but look seven days ahead to see what is in store for us. One thing seems certain - it is going to be a very windy, fast, cold blast reach to the Horn in a few days time.“ -- Read on: http://linkbee.com/IUVM Crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Leg Five from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janiero, Brazil is 12,300 nm, with the finish estimated on March 20th. Current positions (as of Mar. 11, 1:15 am GMT): 1. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 4,576 nm Distance to Finish 2. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 280 nm Distance to Leader 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 331 nm DTL 4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 532 nm DTL 5. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 706 nm DTL Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, Did Not Start Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, DNS Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, DNS Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com BROMBY/LILJEDAHL YET TO HAVE DISCARD RACE Miami, FL (Mar. 10, 2009; Day 3) - Mark Mendelblatt, the 2005 Bacardi Cup champion and America’s Cup tactician, and crew Bruno Prada of Brazil won the third race in the six race series at the 82nd Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta on Biscayne Bay, near Miami. Today’s first place finish moves them up six slots to third overall. Mendelblatt credits his win today to Bruno who he is sailing with for the first time. “He called the right off the start, fixed our rig for speed adjustment on the first run, and pulled the seaweed off our bow.” The duo took a sharp left tack off the downwind mark after noticing more wind on the left. “I like the left in Miami,” said Mendelblatt. “It seems the way to go more times than not.” Light wind this morning pushed the race start back an hour, but the six knot breeze had little effect on Bermuda’s Peter Bromby and crew Magnus Liljedahl who had great speed on the course today and finished in second for the second day in a row. -- Full story and results: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_390.shtml Results (top 10 of 63) 1. BER, Peter Bromby/ Magnus Liljedahl, 2/AVG-2-2, 6 points 2. USA, Jon Vandermolen/ Goeff Ewenson, 2-16-6, 24 3. USA, Mark Mendelblatt/ Bruno Prada, 3-23-1, 27 4. USA, Paul Cayard/ Austin Sperry, 11-10-8, 29 5. USA, Augie Diaz/ Mark Strube, 15-5-10, 30 6. ITA, Lucio Boggi/ Manuele LaPorta, 21-1-9, 31 7. USA, Peter Wright/ Nathan Quist, 13-3-19, 35 8. USA, Arthur Anosov/ Mark Dolan, 17-17-5, 39 9. USA, Mark Reynolds/ Hal Haenel, 12-15-12, 39 10. USA, John Maccausland/ Kevin Murphy, 10-28-4, 42 Note: Six races are planned and three races are needed to constitute a series; when three to six races have been completed, each boat’s worst score will be excluded. WILL REDRESS DECISION DETERMINE EVENT OUTCOME? Paul Cayard is competing in the Star class Bacardi Cup, and commented on Monday how the results from Redress protests will be hanging over the event all week: “There was confusion at the start (of Race 1) as the main race committee vessel at the starboard end of the line signaled an individual recall while a committee boat at the port end of the line raced across the bows of the fleet in what appeared to be a general recall. This boat actually raced back across the bows of the fleet a second time. Some competitors went back to the starting area, most stopped sailing, but the main race committee never signaled a general recall and they thought it was a race. Needless to say, it was more than a bit confusing and the jury is going to decide if we even had a race today (Sunday). “ A day later… “The upshot of the redress claims in Sunday’s first race was that the jury gave redress to those who complained. Almost everyone lost something in the confusion; but only four boats filed for redress. I just figured the race was going to be thrown out, but I was wrong. About four people complained, one of them being Peter Bromby of Bermuda who had a great race today (Monday) finishing second. So the four boats who filed for redress will receive the average of their scores for that first race (editor note: 6 are receiving average points for 1st race), making it a bit difficult to calculate the scores as their scores will be a moving average every day.” -- http://www.cayardsailing.com RACING IN THE BUCKET? If you’ll be at the St. Barths Bucket Regatta this March, Harken has you covered. For authorized technical service, stop by Le Shipchandler across from the marina and ask for Niall Rafferty (+1-401-835-7088). Niall, owner of Custom Yacht Fitters in Rhode Island and a 20-year industry veteran, can assist with maintenance, cleaning, servicing, and replacement parts. Corinne Rich from Harken East will also be making the rounds to discuss future projects and upgrades - call her at +1-401-678-9335 to arrange a meeting. http://www.custom-yachtoutfitters.com/harken.html * With a challenging economy, great customer service is vital. From a Harken report, provided by their Parrot Perch Development Team, I think they just pushed the bar a bit higher: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/03/harken-perch.html AUDI ETCHELLS WORLDS 2009 Melbourne, AUS (Mar. 10, 2009; Day 2) - John Bertrand and his crew of Ben Ainslie and Andrew Palfrey (AUS) led the 85-strong 2009 Audi Etchells Worlds fleet from go to whoa in the three-lap windward/leeward Race 3 today, sailed off Royal Brighton Yacht Club, the host for the series. Bertrand increased his lead marginally at each rounding to defeat Chris Busch/Chad Hough/Chuck Sinks/David Hughes (USA) by around one minute and Stuart Childerley/Robert Elliott/Sam Richmond (UK) and Jud Smith/Mark Johnson/Nik Burfoot (AUS) followed. The three threw everything they could at crew Bertrand in breezes that averaged 8.2 knots and peaked at 11 knots on Port Phillip today, but to no avail. “We had a nice start mid-line and decided to play the shifts up the middle,” said Ben Ainslie this afternoon. “We stayed a little ahead of the fleet. We had good speed and from there we got the breaks. We didn’t do or try for anything clever, we just stuck with the other guys and covered,” he said. -- Read on: http://www.audietchellsworlds2009.com.au/2009/03/10/343/ * For North American fans, two of the top three teams at the 2008 Worlds are working their way up the standings after the second day. Second a year ago was Chris Busch, who with Chad Hough/Chuck Sinks/David Hughes moved from 28th to 14th with a 2-60-2. Third last year was perennial favorite Judd Smith, who with Mark Johnson and Nik Burfoot rose from tenth to third with an 18-13-4. -- Complete results: http://www.rbyc.org.au/site/yachting/event/18897 SAILING SHORTS * The Thistle class held their annual Midwinter’s East Championship Feb. 28 - March 6, 2009, hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club. Forty-four boats competed in winds ranging from 4 to 20+ knots, where current class national champion Greg Fisher with crew JoAnn Fisher and Jeff Eiber ran away from the field, beating second place skipper Greg Griffin by 27 points. Skip Dieball finished third in the 9-race, no throwout series. -- Complete results: http://linkbee.com/IUVN * Special guests Bruno Trouble and Jochen Schuemann, and competitors from 19 teams, from 10 clubs representing 6 countries, enjoyed perfect snow, sun, wind and a great friendly atmosphere of this unique event, which was first held 10 years ago in the Swiss resort of Gstaad, where the Gstaad Yacht Club is based. The event creatively combines ski races where consistency (not speed) counts, with match racing in the semi-Olympic indoor pool with remote-controlled America’s cup model replica boats. The Societe Nautique de Geneve narrowly beat Royal Yacht Squadron in the final. -- Full report with photos: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7157 * Sperry Top-Sider and the New York Yacht Club have announced a multi-year partnership to celebrate their shared passion for the sea and commitment to promoting the sport and lifestyle of sailing. Through the new alliance, Sperry Top-Sider will serve as the exclusive footwear sponsor of the inaugural New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup to be held September 15-19, 2009, in Newport, R.I., as well as be involved in additional New York Yacht Club events. -- Full report: http://linkbee.com/IUVO * As the level of competition on the World Match Racing Tour ramps up so the sailors expect more consistent decisions from the umpires. To help achieve this utopia Bill Edgerton (IU/IJ GBR) has agreed to take on the role of 2009 Tour Umpire, charged with providing consistency and development of umpiring across all the World Match Racing Tour events. -- Read on: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/95483 * Sweden's leading sailboat producer, Hallberg-Rassy Varvs AB, has announced that it may have to lay off 98 employees - 91 in production and another seven on the administration side. The company currently employs 242 workers. The yard has full production until this year's summer vacation. -- IBI Magazine, full story: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090210100919ibinews.html * The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has announced that Fiona KIDD of Canada is the Chairman of the ISAF Women's Forum for 2009-2012 and women's representative on the ISAF Council. The Women’s Forum is formed of all the women members of ISAF Committees, Sub-committees and Commissions and meets every year during the ISAF Annual Conference. The Forum was established by the Council, the final decision-making body of ISAF, with principal objective of promoting participation by women in all aspects of sailing and sailing administration. -- Read on: http://www.sailing.org/27536.php?PHPSESSID=043797c56fb243ab13ac4ba7139a9e88 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Tom Coleman, Optiguytom.com (re, “Hell has frozen over” from Scuttlebutt 2797) Perhaps the alternative title should be, “Why are so many So Cal yacht club junior programs turning to the Optimist?” As a long time junior sailing coach, instructor and all-around youth racing supporter, I’d like to offer my perspective on “Hell freezing over”. In the past couple months I have gotten a close-up view of the junior sailing situation in Southern California from helping with a 100 boat Sabot championship at San Diego YC to running a 21 boat Optimist clinic at Balboa YC and Opti regattas at LAYC and CYC. There seems to be a real fear that if the Opti is allowed into Southern California life as we know it will be forever altered. Well, that may be, but no boat that has been around for as long as, is as popular as, and is loved as much as the Sabot should be eliminated (ditto El Toro). It's a proven boat for the light winds of So Cal and has served well for generations. Undeniably, turns out many world-class sailors too! -- Scuttlebutt Forum, read on and post additional comments here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7164#7164 * From Earl Boebert: (re, SB2797) I heartily agree with and support the remarks of Ken Quant and encourage him to continue with his document ("Basic Rules that Every Racer Should Know"). I am attaching my own small effort in the same direction, written from the point of view of a radio sailor, which Scuttlebutt readers may find of some interest. Link: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/dcmyc_rules.pdf CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Mankind has a perfect record in aviation; we never left one up there. Special thanks to North Sails and Harken. 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