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SCUTTLEBUTT 2087 - May 4, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.THE FUTURE OF CANTING KEELS (The Daily Sail subscription website spoke to a Swedish bearing expert about an alternative to the hydraulic ram. Here’s an excerpt from that comprehensive story.) Perhaps most exciting about canting keel is that so many avenues have yet to be explored. For example when it comes to the mounting of the giant pin around which the keel foil rotates, the arrangements on Volvo Open 70s is very different from other canting keel classes. Open 60s for example have this pin in line with the hull exit, but under the VO70 rule it can mounted inside the boat. The VO70 arrangement possibly makes for a more sound structural mount for the pin, but equally requires a larger aperture in the hull that must be covered up by, in the case of the Farr boats, 'bomb bay doors' and these have created their own set of problems. Conversely the Open 60 arrangement has more of the pin fairing outside of the hull and is more draggy. It seems unlikely that for the next iteration of the VO70 rule mounting the pin inside the boat will still be allowed. While keels canted by hydraulic rams, as favoured on the Volvo Open 70s and Open 60s, may be the norm at present, there are still many new variations yet to be investigated fully. On small yachts, such as Minis, the top of the keel is canted by block and tackle, the top of the keel foil protruding almost to the cabin top inside the boat to give a long enough level arm. This system has been scaled up to a few Open 60s such as Thierry Dubois' Solidaires where its benefits are seen as simplicity and ... no bulky, heavy hydraulic rams. -- http://www.thedailysail FROM CHICAGO TO IRELAND (Always intrigued by adventure, this effort exceeds even our imagination. Their trip began April 27, and they expect it will take between six and seven weeks. Read on.) Naomh Barbara (St. Barbara) is a Galway Hooker class boat built in Chicago, solely by Steve Mulkerrins from Lettermore, Co. Galway (Ireland) who now makes Chicago his home. Truly a labor of love, Steve began planning his project many years ago, while the actual construction began in 2001. Three long years, many long nights and quite an expense later, the project of a lifetime was for almost complete. Only two things remained. One was taken care of by Hon. Mayor Richard J. Daley when he performed his first and only boat Christening at Montrose Harbor on June 4th of 2004. Although obviously a very busy man, Mayor Daley has followed the progress of St. Barbara and we trust he will also follow our journey across the Atlantic to Galway. The second was to “take her home.” While St. Barbara’s specifications don’t add up to your typical ocean-crossing vessel, don’t tell Steve. With a hull length of 47 feet, her boom is 34 feet. Above is a mast of 49 feet with a 26-foot gaff. The hull rises 12.4 feet from the waterline, and extends only 8.5 feet below. All told, the St. Barbara displaces 26 tons. -- Complete story with photos at http://www.sailingtoireland.com TRIVIA QUESTION Since the Olympic Games officially included Womens Windsurfing as a medal event in 1992, only one American has been the Olympic representative during the past four quadrenniums. Who is it? (Answer below) HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE Watching from the shore as Danny McCoy expertly helms his Etchells through punishing conditions in Hamilton harbour it's impossible to tell what distinguishes him from the rest of the fleet of top international sailors. You need to take a close look inside the cockpit to see that he is paralyzed from the chest down and is skippering the boat thanks to an ingenious piece of homemade technology. Crafted from recycled wheelchair wheels, plumbing pipe and a plastic garden chair as well as a few slightly more hi-tech extras, the modified design enables McCoy to steer the boat and marshal his crew. He's the first paraplegic ever to compete in this class at this level. McCoy, from Toronto, last visited Bermuda as a promising semi-pro sailor at International Race Week, 1994. Less than a year later he was involved in a car accident in Buffalo, New York, which put him in hospital for a year and left him unable to walk. At that stage he thought he'd never be back. “Sailing saved my life. I was so depressed. Some very close friends brought me back to the sport and it gave me a new confidence to deal with life in general. It gave me a new sense of being part of the world again. “Today was probably the best day I've had. Tough wind, tough conditions, water coming over the side and I think all I was doing was smiling. “I wish everybody could have been out on the water to see my face close-up,” said McCoy on Monday after coming through a choppy day-two of the race series. The 54-year-old is thrilled to be able to compete against the likes of Bermuda's Pete Bromby and other top international sailors. He's raced before in the Paralympics in Sydney, but until now he's never been able to pit his wits against the best in the business. “I don't care if it rains, blows or whatever. Just to be here in Bermuda and sailing in the Sound with the wind on my face is amazing. -- James Whittaker, The Bermuda Sun, full story” -- http://tinyurl.com/hhr76 ULLMAN SAILS AT 2006 NEWPORT BEACH TO ENSENADA RACE With 461 boats competing, Max Rosenberg’s Hobie 33 “Mad Max” with a full inventory of Ullman Sails was overall winner in corrected handicap time. In all, Ullman customers won 9 of 18 classes: Maxi A, Alec Oberschmidt’s “Staghound”; Sprit A, Jed Olenick’s “Doctor No”; Sprit B, Jim Yabsley’s “Yabsolutely”; PHRF A, Ed Feo’s “Locomotion”; PHRF C, Bud Richley’s “Amante”; PHRF D, “Mad Max”; PHRF G, PK & Vance Edwards’ “Wind Dancer”; PHRF K, Michael Georgia’s “Mighty Mouse”; PHRF L, Don R. Albrecht’s “Valkyrie.” Congratulations all! For the “Fastest Sails on the Planet” contact an Ullman Sails loft. - http://www.ullmansails.com ISAF RANKINGS On Wednesday, the ISAF released their new world rankings for the Olympic classes. Yngling World Champions Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Deborah Capozzi (USA) must be wondering what they have to do to move from fourth spot, staying stationary for the third consecutive release despite their third event victory of the year in Hyères. The Americans did not race at the 2004 Olympic Games, and the lack of a big score from Athens is what is keeping them off the top spot -- in spite of the fact that the Olympics was nearly two years ago??? The Laser Radial was not one of the classes in the 2004 Olympics, so the rankings in that class are a bit more reasonable. Americans Paige Railey and Anna Tunnicliffe are ranked 1-2 with Canadians Lisa Ross, Jen Spaulding and Victoria Crowder ranked 4, 7, and 11. In the 470 Women’s ranking Amanda Clark and Sara Mergenthaler (USA) are ranked fifth with Jennifer Provan and Carol Luttmer (CAN) ranked #8. Zachary Plavsic (CAN) in the #8 ranked Men’s RS:X sailor, while another Canadian Bernard Luttmer is the only North American Men’s Laser sailor in the top ten -- he’s ranked 10th. George Szabo and his boss Mark Reynolds are ranked 2-5 in the Star class with Canadian Brian Cramer ranked 11. Oskar Johansson and Kevin Stittle (CAN) are #6 in the Tornados while John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree slipping to #8. In the Finns, Canada’s Chris Cook at #9 is the sole North American in the top 10. -- Complete rankings: http://www.sailing.org/rankings/ GIPSY MOTH IV The iconic British sailing vessel, Gipsy Moth IV, which Sir Francis Chichester sailed around the world in 1967 remains aground on a small fringing reef off the Rangiroa atoll, near Tahiti, in the South Pacific. Salvage experts are now examining the boat and its site, ahead of salvage attempts. Skipper Antonia Nicholson and local Tahitian salvage experts will be joined by Gipsy Moth's re-fit skipper Richard Baggett, who coordinated her restoration before she set sail on her second circumnavigation in September 2005. Yachting Monthly reports that ‘Local Tahitian salvage expert Bruno Videau, whose team has been on site assessing the situation, has recommended the vessel be lifted while repairs to make her watertight are conducted. A substantial 'skid' would also be constructed beneath the hull to prevent further damage while the yacht is moved to deep water. Captain Kleijwegt of SMIT Salvage will soon be on site to add the weight of his considerable expertise to the safe recovery of Gipsy Moth IV. The French Navy has offered assistance by providing a relief tug to authorities in Tahiti, allowing a tug with 40 tonnes of pulling power to be dispatched from the Island. The tug is 15 hours steaming time away from Rangiroa Atoll and its arrival at the scene will be carefully coordinated to coincide with the completion of the preparatory works to the boat. When the time is right the vessel will be moved into deep water and a tow will take the boat to Tahiti for further repairs. -- Excerpt from a story posted on the Sail-World website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/nal8c ANOTHER BIG ASSIST FROM SHORE TEAM The Aviva shore team has once again come to the aid of Dee Caffari as she attempts to become the first woman to sail solo and non-stop westwards round the world. Caffari reported that, “After my exploits with sailing in circles last Friday, the shore team was keen to solve the issues to enable me to once more have two working pilots with two working rams. At the end of play on Friday I had just one of each. The thought of taking Aviva to bits and testing parts bit by bit was not what I wanted. Given the distance to home I just wanted to keep going with the working pilot. In the back of my mind though I knew that if I risked just having the one pilot working I would encounter a problem and it would be when conditions were difficult, that would be Murphy at work again! “So the questions came through checking step by step the events of Friday. The answers and some pictures were sent back from Aviva and the conversations between the shore team and the designers of the pump units continued. Through diligence, perseverance and patience from the guys at home, they found the problem.” With 2324 miles still to go on this voyage that began on November 20, Caffari advanced 171 miles in the last 24 hours. -- http://www.avivachallenge.com BIG WEEKEND FOR TV For those of you who crave more sailing on TV, OLN has come to the rescue. At 4:30 pm EDT this coming Sunday, OLN will air a show produced and narrated by Gary Jobson about the 286-boat Acura Key West 2006. But the televised sailing action actually starts a half hour earlier. At 4:00 pm EDT OLN will show a 30-minute program on the Volvo Ocean Race. And that’s just the first show in a series of four programs on the Volvo Ocean Race -- all of which will be aired on successive Sunday afternoons. (Program 2 - 5/14, 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm; Program 3 - 5/21, 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm; Program 4, 5/28, 4:30 - 5:00). -- http://www.jobsonsailing.com/tvsched.cfm & http://tinyurl.com/fckrw SAILING SHORTS * The scene at the ‘Spirit of South Carolina’ shipyard is vastly different than one year ago. The behemoth wooden structure is taking shape. The structure of the ship’s hull is nearly complete. The internal longitudinal beams are installed and the bulk heads are complete. The capital campaign underway to raise $4 million currently sits 75% complete, with $1 million to be attained. The foundation staff is confident that within one year all capital funds will be in place and the 140’ tall ship will be ready to launch. -- http://www.scmaritime.org/index.php * Sailors may now register online for The 34th Buzzards Bay Regatta (BBR). This year’s 3 day event will take place on August 4, 5 & 6, 2006 and will be hosted by the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, Massachusetts. With fifteen classes racing, BBR is the largest multi-class regatta in the United States. There will be 13 classes racing out of Sippican Harbor: J/22, J/24, J/80, J/105 & J/109, Shields, Club 420, Vanguard 15, Bullseye, PHRF (Race & Cruise), IRC and Multihulls. Both Laser Standard and Laser Radial will race out of the Community Boating Center of New Bedford. -- www.buzzardsbayregatta.com * Final Baltimore Volvo Extreme 40 Grand Prix Points Standings: 1. Hilfiger, Randy Smyth – 149 points; 2. Holmatro, Mitch Booth –130 points; 3. Basilica, James Grant – 123 points; 4. Motorola, Leigh McMillan –98 points; 5. Volvo Ocean Race, Cam Lewis – 91 points. -- http://www.volvoextreme40.org/ Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0503/ * ABN Amro Two crew member and Brazilian sailor Lucas Brun will retain his place on the boat for the next two legs of the Volvo Ocean Race which will see the boats race into New York and then on to Portsmouth, UK. For Dutch sailor Gerd Jan Poortman this selection means he will not be on board for the next two legs. Nick Bice will return to the crew, fully recovered after his broken hand sidelined him for the last leg. * Driscoll Boat Works in San Diego, Calif. names a new General Manager of Operations and Production Staff. This second generation family owned company wanted to bring the management back to the family and appointed Chuck Driscoll as the General Manager of Operations. Chuck Driscoll will now oversee all aspects of Sales, Marketing, and Production for the two Shelter Island facilities. After twenty one years of running his own Marine Surveying business, Chuck returned to the family business in 1998 to operate Driscoll’s Kettenburg facility. http://www.driscollinc.com SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY PRICING ON REMOTEVISION B&G is offering special pricing on its revolutionary RemoteVision in honor of its 50th Anniversary. Experience wireless control of your Hydra or Hercules system with this advanced handheld remote. You can do everything possible with the Pilot Display, Full Function Displays and more. View system data including boat speed, wind, depth or heading. Alter course a few degrees or conduct emergency maneuvers. And you can do all of this - and much more - from anywhere onboard. It’s our anniversary, but you’re getting the present! For more on this offer, contact your local dealer or call Simrad at 425-778-8821. TRIVIA ANSWER During the past four Olympic games where Womens Windsurfing was a medal event, the only person to represent the United States has been Lanee Butler Beashel. While Lanee failed to medal during her four attempts, she is not alone in her country’s Olympic longevity, as Mark Reynolds also has competed in four games (’88, ’92, ’96, ’00). In the Tornado class, the current number one ranked US team of John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree will be vying for their fourth games in 2008, having already competed in ’96, ’00, and earning Silver in ’04. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Steve Morrell, Editor, Southwinds Magazine (re Declining Sailing Participation - edited to our 250-word limit): For years, I’ve been reading comments about the declining sport of sailing and spectators for events like the Volvo Ocean Race, etc. These boats are all part of very large big-money scene. Most sailors I know are a more modest group, comprised of PHRF racers, yacht club sailors and boat owners who just want to sail around a little, perhaps cruise one day. They don’t pay attention to these big races, but they are the core of the average sailor. The biggest obstacle I see for sailing is the continuing rise in the cost of boat ownership, but it’s not the cost of the boat which is becoming prohibitive. It is the cost of a slip and maintenance. A few years ago, you could get a slip in the $10/foot range, it’s now $12-15/foot and more. Liveaboards are up to $20/foot, but the majority on land think liveaboards are somewhat subhuman, so they are being pushed out. But first you have to find a slip, because public marinas and boatyards are being turned into condos to create private marinas. There is a general trend towards disliking any boater who anchors out, which increases pressure for a slip shortage. Most of these sailors aren’t going to go from sailing to just watching sailing, so as they get pushed out of the sport by costs, they will move on to another sport. If we want to see the sport of sailing grow, we better first all get together and stop this trend * From Frederic Berg (Re: Gary Jobson comments in "It’s Going in the Wrong Direction - edited to our 250-word limit): Eric Taberly (supported in part by the French military) wanted nothing to do with publicity or advertisers when he became a national hero by winning Transat in 1976, but later advertising money lead to a lifelong career in the sport he loved. His storied career brought innovations to the sport, some in use today, some rejected (spent uranium ballast) and elevated sailing to a national pastime in France. Eric Taberly embodied what it is to be French, but what about America? Is nationalism alive here? Would we as a nation rally around "our" boat? Would we want to be limited to "our" (one) boat, particularly if the costs are brought down as suggested? Limiting entries by national origin would stifle innovation and participation. We made a conscious decision to allow advertising in sailing, we now need to embrace advertising and use it to our advantage. We live in a global world now. Advertisers recognize this, so should we. If we want heroes like Paul Cayard, then we need to be prepared to pay fees commensurate with the status. It appears the advertisers are willing to do just that. The Volvo Ocean Race has produced the most exciting boats of any offshore event in history. With the intricacies of swing keels taken out of the equation, we should look forward to a fantastic regatta in four years! If we have done our homework properly, there will be more advertisers than we ever imagined and so many more boats. * From John C. Wade: Why do we need to have TV coverage? And why do we need to "grow the sport?" Sailing has never been a spectator sport, and never will be. It is boring to watch, even for sailors. How many people in the yacht club watch the races that are right out in front of them? Very few. One of the beauties and excitement of sailing is its uniqueness. I don't need to be on the water with hundreds of other boats to feel satisfied. Let's face it; the real, true reason for "growing the sport" is money. Somebody needs to sell more boats, or more equipment, or more clothes, or somebody wants to be paid to sail. I ask you, do we need another plastic boat? Our marinas are chock full of boats that never go anywhere. It's a shame and a waste. Or, what's the satisfaction of hiring someone to sail for you? That's not growing the sport. Boats used to last 40, 50 years and more, and still be useful and competitive. Now they are throw away items. I don't find that to be progress. Today's new boats are a piece of crap, and cost too much. That doesn't make for a seller's market, and a sure way not to grow the sport. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Guns don’t kill people - drivers with cell phones do. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and B&G Instruments. |
