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SCUTTLEBUTT 2532 – February 13, 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. THINK THIS IS UGLY? YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN 1988 by Rich Roberts If you think the America's Cup has turned ugly in 2008, consider this: it's been tea at the Ritz compared to the '88 defense in San Diego. On the 20th anniversary of courtroom collisions, mudslinging and name-calling cloaking the mismatch between Michael Fay's 130-foot monohull, KZ-1, and Dennis Conner's 60-foot catamaran, Stars & Stripes, the current dust-up is a faint echo of that fiasco. In '88, following Fay's rogue challenge, it quickly became the Acrimonious Cup. When New York Supreme Court Justice Carmen Ciparick (1988's Herman Cahn) had dissected the Deed of Gift and decided she had heard enough legal squabbling she told the adversaries to try to settle it on the water --- and then come back to court if they still had a problem. Describing the actual racing as a mind-numbing bore would be generous. It entered America's Cup lore as the "Coma off Point Loma." While reporters and photographers on press boats nodded off through the best-of-three series, the cat swept the Kiwi colossus by just over and under 20 minutes in two races over a 40-mile course. But Fay appealed his defeat, so . . . hello, Justice Ciparick, here we are again, back in the AC's glorified protest room. Six months later Ciparick stripped Stars & Stripes of its shallow victory and awarded the Auld Mug to New Zealand. Later, that call was switched back to S&S, but by then nobody cared because all of the wonderful vibes from DC's glorious victory at Fremantle in '87 that had lifted sailing to new heights of interest and enthusiasm in the world---especially America---had died of disenchantment. As the racing of 2007 is dying now. The 1988 drama hit its low point at the final press conference which ended with Bruce Farr, who designed the New Zealand boat, calling Stars & Stripes design chief John Marshall "a liar" and Conner calling Farr "a loser." -- Really good stuff, read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0212a CLARIFICATION ABOUT WORLD SAILING SPEED RECORD CLAIMS by John Reed, Secretary to the WSSR Council There have always been unsubstantiated speed record claims, to such an extent that this was the reason for the establishment of the ISAF World Sailing Speed Record rules in the early 1970s. As WSSR rule 1 states, "the purpose of these rules is to enable attempts to be made on Sailing Speed Records in any part of the world under comparable conditions." There can be a number of ambiguities connected to any claim - for example: 1. The course length (500m) may be inaccurate. 2. The timing equipment may not be accurate. 3. The record craft may be power assisted or even be a powerboat. 4. The record attempt may be current or tide assisted. The independent ISAF WSSR Council has initiated a series of safeguards to cover any such eventualities, with the sole reason of fulfilling the principle of rule 1. In the same order as above, these are: 1. A qualified surveyor shall carry out all necessary measurements and provide a report for the WSSRC. 2. Timing equipment shall have a certificate of accuracy published by an official timekeeping body. The attempt shall be videoed so that the timing can be subsequently checked. 3. Attempts shall be made in the presence of a WSSR Commissioner (one of a small group of experienced officials appointed as a result of their experience and probity). 4. Current is checked by our commissioner and allowance made for the resolved component of any tide or current. A venue is not suitable for record breaking if the current is more than 1 knot. Complete report: http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/content/view/78/3/ * Curmudgeon’s Comment: John’s comments above are in response to other media – and not Scuttlebutt – reporting that there had been a new world sailing speed record established. The current record holder is Finian Maynard with a speed of 48.70 kts and, to date, there has been no claim to the WSSR Council that this record has been exceeded. IT’S GOING TO GET UGLY by Len Bose Newport Beach, CA - I am sure you will all remember the Cuban Missile Standoff of the 1960s, and then the term Mexican Standoff of the 1970s, and I am sure none of you will ever forget the Surf Board Standoff on Oahu’s North Shore. Well, the Newport Standoff may begin this Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 6:00 pm in the Newport City Council Chambers. Recently the Harbor Department has changed their interpretation of a number of policies and the one bringing the issue to a boil is enforcing the speed limit for sailboats racing in the bay. This strict enforcement of the 5 mph will shut down all keelboat racing in Newport Harbor. That’s right, no Monday night American Legion races, and no Beer Can races this summer. I am sure someone else will point out all the other type of boating that exceeds the speed limit, and if we have to stop exceeding the speed limit, why don’t they have to as well? -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/2vm8az * Curmudgeon’s Comment: Len is encouraging all SoCal yachties to attend the meeting Wednesday night. While the confines of the harbor are cramped, it remains a prominent host of countless events in the region, and I can see every local racing fleet hitting the 5 mph mark when the conditions are right. KEY WEST BY THE NUMBERS Numbers, Dan Meyers’ new Judel-Vrolijk 66’, was the winner of the IRC 1 class at Key West Race Week 2008. Built by Goetz Custom Boats in 2007, she finished with five bullets out of eight races, and has a full competition calendar ahead of her in 2008. Goetz Custom Boats was pleased to be at Key West for her victory, and was also able to provide repair service to several grand prix racers during KWRW. For stellar performance builds like Numbers, or top notch refits and IRC optimizations, please contact John Boone at Goetz Custom Boats, http://www.goetzboats.com or 401.253.2670. OLYMPIC CLASS WORLDS * Terrigal, Australia (February 12, 2008) - World champion Tom Slingsby (AUS) stayed cool under pressure at the Laser World Championship on Tuesday, grabbing two wins to snatch the lead back from Julio Alsogaray (ARG). With Alsogaray finishing sixth and ninth in Races 9 and 10, he trails Slingsby by a mere two points going into the final day of racing on Wednesday. With ten races now completed, the fleet was permitted a second drop race, which helped raise American Brad Funk up to now 10th overall, despite him having his worst day yet with a 33-18. -- http://aus08.laserinternational.org * Miami, FL (February 12, 2008) - After six races at the Yngling Worlds, the GBR team of Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb, and Pippa Wilson is beginning to distance themselves from the field. The top North American team – Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe, and Debbie Capozzi (USA) – helped their cause by winning Tuesday’s final race, and remain a strong contender for a podium finish. Racing continues for the twenty-eight boat fleet on Wednesday and Thursday before the top ten face off in the final medal race on Friday. As the Worlds is the final opportunity for a country to qualify for one of the fifteen slots at the 2008 Olympics, there is a big battle amongst the eight nations fighting for the four Olympic places that are still up for grabs. Of those countries vying for the slots, the pecking order is presently France, Norway, Greece, Italy, Canada that are in, with Denmark, Japan, and Ukraine on the outside. -- http://www.yngling.org/wwc2008/080212.html AN INVITE THAT TURNED INTO AN OLYMPIC CAMPAIGN As team captain and an All American from Boston College, American Carrie Howe was a formidable competitor at the helm and in the bow of two person dinghies. Among her biggest competitors were the women from ODU, including Sally Barkow, Debbie Capozzi and Anna Tunnicliffe. When Sally Barkow called Carrie and asked if she could be the third person on an Yngling for a couple of regattas, she didn’t think anything about it. She just thought that Sally and Debbie knew that she had a lot of experience sailing three person boats and that she was the right size to sail with them. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t set whether she would do the bow or the middle and she had no idea that it was going to turn into an Olympic campaign. “We won the 2003 Miami OCR and the next thing I knew, Gary Bodie (head US Olympic sailing coach) was asking what my plan was for the summer. I was just thinking about going back to school because I had to take a finance exam. The win had qualified us for the US Sailing Team and Sally kept pushing on the schedule,” said Howe, recounting the story of how the US Olympic Women’s Keelboat crew came together. “We did some campaigning for the 2004 US Trials, but 2008 was always our plan,” said Howe. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/lf BARCELONA WORLD RACE Open 60 doublehanded round the world race (started Nov 11; 25,000-miles) (Day 94 - February 12, 2008) After 93 days at sea, exactly three months after the start, Paprec-Virbac 2 won the inaugural Barcelona World Race when skippers Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall crossed the finish line at 20:49 GMT Monday night. Hugo Boss will be the next team scheduled to finish (est. by Wednesday), but conditions remain uncomfortable for Alex Thomson and Andrew Cape as strong headwinds of up to 30 knots are forecast between their position and the finish in Barcelona, Spain, making their last days of the race to be among the hardest they’ve faced. In third is Temenos II, who is on track to reach the Strait of Gibraltar - the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea - by Thursday morning. -- http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com Positions at 18:00 UTC 1-Paprec-Virbac 2, Jean-Pierre Dick/ Damian Foxall, finished 2-Hugo Boss, Alex Thomson/ Andrew Cape, 296 nm distance to finish 3-Temenos II, Dominique Wavre/ Michéle Paret, 903 nm DTF 4-Mutua Madrilena, Javier Sanso Windmann/ Pachi Rivero, 1,178 nm DTF 5-Educación sin Fronteras, Servane Escoffier/ Albert Bargues, 2,645 nm DTF 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) * Photographer Thierry Martinez shares his finish line photos of the winner: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0212 THE BARCELONA WORLD RACE WAS RIGGED! 25,000 miles, sailing short-handed, non-stop round-the-world.…Paprec-Virbac 2’s victory was totally rigged by Southern Spars and EC6+ rigging. In a race that saw nearly half the fleet drop out from breakages, Southern wishes to acknowledge Paprec-Virbac 2’s outstanding performance in the Barcelona-World-Race, along with the four other finishing teams’ equally brilliant achievements. All 5 yachts use Southern Spars. Paprec-Virbac 2 also uses EC6+ carbon-rigging. “We’re thrilled with this result. Having our spars on yachts that undergo the harshest conditions for 3 months along with the winning yacht using EC6+ rigging, says everything,” comments Mark Hauser, Southern Spars. http://www.southernspars.com * Curmudgeon’s Comment: Southern Spars is being pretty humble here. Considering all the broken masts that occurred in the race, none of those entries were using Southern Spars. Over half the fleet had Southern Spars, and unless something changes, those will be the only boats that finish. WHAT TO WEAR WHEN IT IS COLD Few racetracks can demonstrate the difference between right and wrong sailing gear like the Southern Ocean. During the stretch from South Africa to Australia, when Barcelona World Race winner Paprec-Virbac 2 came across their first icebergs and were faced with equally freezing temperatures inside their boat, here is the clothing schedule worn by skippers Jean-Pierre Dick and Damian Foxall: 3 pairs of socks 1 pair of Gore-Tex oversocks 1 pair of boots 1 long john 2 fleece trousers 1 waterproof fleece salopette 1 undervest 2 fleece jackets 1 waterproof jacket 1 pair of Neoprene gloves 1 Gore-Tex survival suit 1 pair of Arnette goggles Race recap: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com/default.asp?section=0&sid=13098 FOR THE RECORD * Jules Verne Trophy (crewed circumnavigation around the three capes): (Day 19 - February 12, 2008; 22:15 UTC) Whilst the situation is improving along 51-degrees South, the 103-foot maxi trimaran Groupama 3 is wondering just what this Deep South is all about as conditions have not been very favourable and after three days of swell on the beam, a day of transition, and a good 24 hours of slipping along nicely, the giant multihull has found itself under a front, which it is unable to overtake, lying just 160 miles ahead. With winds no more than 25 knots, Franck Cammas and his men are making headway all the same, and expect to pass the longitude of Cape Leeuwin (Western Australia) on Wednesday. For the past 24-hours, their average speed has risen to 25.3 knots while gaining 607.6 nm down the track, but their advance over the record has slipped slightly to 490.7 nm. -- http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en * Route de l'Or (crewed route from New York to San Francisco): (Day 27 - February 12, 2008; 22:30 UTC) The 110-foot maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 is currently sailing up the coast of Chile at the 30-degree South latitude, taking full advantage of the trade winds today. Under full main and the big gennaker, Gitana 13 is using the breeze of around 15 knots to improve their average speed of 17.6 knots over the past 24 hours while traveling 421.2 nm along the route, and are now 4,779 nm from the finish. The ten sailors could, however, face a weakening breeze in the next few days. -- http://www.gitana-team.com/en/gitana10/homepage.asp SAILING SHORTS * An upcoming show on The History Channel will take a historical look at the development of sailing ships beginning back a few thousand years before Christ, where ancient Egyptians used sails on Nile barges and reed boats as early as 2000 BC. Host Hunter Ellis trains with Navy midshipmen onboard a sail-driven 44-footer, and goes to sea with an America's Cup team for time trials. The show will be on Thursday, February 14, at 07:00 am EST. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar/shows * Sparkman & Stephens announced the resignation and departure of Greg Matzat, who had been with the firm for 19 years and most recently as President, and Chief Naval Architect. Located on New York’s Fifth Avenue, S&S was established in 1929 to engage in the practice of naval architecture and to conduct the business of yacht brokerage, charter and insurance. The company, founded by then-21-year-old yacht designer Olin J. Stephens II and yacht broker Drake Sparkman, remains one of the most enduring and venerated brands in yachting having delivered more than 2,700 commercial, military and pleasure craft designs throughout its storied history. -- Complete announcement: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5810 * An online version of the 2008 IRC Yearbook is now available for viewing or download from the RORC website. The online version is complimentary, and not an alternative to the hugely popular hard copy version that will continue to be available. -- http://rorcrating.com/ir2000/irc/irc_yearbook_online.htm * The entry deadline of 15th February is looming for the 13th edition of The Artemis Transat, the next prominent shorthanded race on the international schedule. Originally known as the OSTAR when founded in 1960, this singlehanded 2,800-mile dash from Plymouth, England to Boston, MA will start May 11, 2008. The fleet seems a bit thin with six in the Open 60’ class and six in Class 40 class, though the event has so far attracted the likes of Dee Caffari, Mike Golding, Sebastien Josse, Jonny Malbon, and Brian Thompson. -- Event site: http://www.theartemistransat.com * Tampa, FL (February 12, 2008) After three days of racing at the J/24 Midwinter Championship, Chris/ Waldek Zaleski hold a twelve-point lead in the 42-boat fleet. Tied for second are Tony Parker and Mark Hillman, with racing concluding on Wednesday. -- http://midwinters.j24d10.org 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 David Redfern, Kent, England: (in ref to Lucia Nebel White’s letter in Issue 2531): Regarding the America’s Cup, or the Hundred Pound Cup as it was originally titled, if ever there was a neutral club, a not-for-profit organization, and a paragon of tradition with a table where the Cup could stand, it must surely be from whence it came - the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes, England. That's where it all started! Remember the 150th anniversary races run by the RYS? * From Chip Nilsen: For the past few years I have enjoyed reading Scuttlebutt as it brought a voice to the sailing community, but in the last few months the whole America’s Cup thing has turned the daily sailing voice into lawyer issues. Frankly, there is so much more to sailing than the Cup. I am interested in the Cup, but let’s get back to sailing. We have so much in sailing that should not be overshadowed by this lawyer stuff. MAY I HAVE A SB3 RIDE… PLEASE? LaserPerformance’s SB3 continues to excite the sailing world. We now have boats stationed in the North East, California, and Seattle. Get in touch with us to experience why Sailing World named the SB3 its 2008 Boat of the Year. Contact SB3info.NorthAmerica@LaserPerformance.com to schedule a demo, or find more info at http://www.laserperformance.com CURMUDGEON’S CONVERSION Ratio of an igloo's circumference to its diameter = Eskimo Pi Special thanks to Goetz Custom Boats, Southern Spars, and LaserPerformance. A complete list of Scuttlebutt’s preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
