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SCUTTLEBUTT 2188 - September 26, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk, with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt isdistributed each weekday, with America’s Cup coverage in Scuttlebutt brought to you by UBS (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). (NOT) ANTICIPATING THE SHIFT (Monday, September 25, 2006 -- Following is a statement Scuttlebutt received from Larry Leonard, formerly of Quantum Sails.) “For the past 10 years, I have been extremely proud to be a member of the Quantum team, having founded the company and helped it grow from a few passionate people in Annapolis to become one of the leading sailmakers in the world. So, it is deeply disappointing to confirm that I recently received notice that Quantum wished to terminate my employment with the company effective September 15. I received this surprise news via letter and have been given no plausible cause or explanation for it. To add insult to injury, Quantum s new management and majority shareholder have refused to meet with me to discuss their action or my continuing role as a member of the company going forward. “While many questions remain, the facts are undeniable. Through the ingenuity and hard work of many people, Quantum has enjoyed some amazing successes. We introduced breakthrough technologies in sailmaking. We built a first class network of 65 Quantum affiliates in 15 countries. We helped win the America’s Cup. And that’s just to name a few. “While the past week has obviously been very difficult for me and my family, the outpouring of support from so many friends, clients and business associates has been humbling and a great source of great comfort. As always, my gratitude goes to the sailing community for its support. I look forward to continuing to work with my friends and colleagues in the sailing community in whatever capacity my future holds.” -- Larry Leonard, http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/LL SOMETHING FROM NOTHING Building something from nothing was the theme for the 2006 US Team Racing Championship, held in San Diego on September 6-10, and hosted by San Diego YC. When the club found out all the details for the event, they soon realized that the on-the-water portion would not fit into the sailing bay that is adjacent to the club. The Vanguard 15 boats were too fast for the small bay, plus you add in the size of the course needed to hold three races simultaneously plus umpire boats, etc, and it became clear that an alternate site was needed. The organizing committee now had to find an alternative sailing site with available dock space for staging. Think about it: San Diego and its harbor area are among the most visited places in the US, and either the Navy or private enterprise has gobbled up any available waterfront space. Getting dock space was a dream, which meant that EVERYTHING needed to be towed and transported 45 minutes each way to the sailing site each day. Not only were they losing the visibility of hosting the event, but now they were also going to add inconvenience to both competitors and the on-the-water components of hosting the event. Read on to hear how the event hosts not only overcame the problem, but were also able to bring sailing “out of the closet.” -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/0925 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MATES Newport, Rhode Island, Monday, September 26th, 1983 at 17:20…The moment when the United States lost the America’s Cup. Today marks the 23rd anniversary of Australia II’s legendary victory. “All I can say is ‘Mate’. That is the very finest Australian saying. And all the summer it’s been ‘check’ to the New York Yacht Club, to the British, to Dennis, or whatever it was. We were playing chess with them. ‘Check, Check, Check, Check’. And today we say ‘Mate’!” Twenty-three years later, it is difficult to imagine a better summary of the 25th America’s Cup than the words spoken by Warren Jones, the executive director of the Australian syndicate, on Monday evening, September 26th, 1983 at Newport, just moments after Australia II KA-6, had beaten Liberty US-40, to secure the America’s Cup for Australia. After three attempts, Alan Bond had just put an end to 132-years of American supremacy. For the Australians, it was a culmination of over one decade of attempts at the Cup, resulting in a dream team of highly motivated sailors, led by skipper John Bertrand and sailing a brilliantly innovative Ben Lexcen designed 12-metre. -- America’s Cup website, to read the rest of the story of that dramatic AC series: http://tinyurl.com/pldxs HEAD NORTH FOR GREAT FALL GEAR North Sails has added new hats, jackets and bags to our collection of gear chosen and tested by sailors worldwide! From our North Sails daypack to our wide selection of hats and jackets, we have gear to outfit men, women, kids, racers and cruisers! And men, while you're shopping, why not buy something PINK for the lady in your life? $2 from every pink North Sails hat, t-shirt, and belt will be donated to help fight breast cancer! http://na.northsails.com/NorthGear.htm BIG WIND The final day of the Bacardi J/24 NAs at the Rochester YC was sailed in big wind with many of the boats either not competing, not finishing, or in two cases -- sinking. Here are a couple of excerpts from a report by Robert Mendenhall posted on the event’s website: “Today’s themes are “nuclear puffs”, “hike fat” and “blow the vang”. I haven’t looked at the final score sheet but I know that probably half the fleet didn’t finish this race. Everyone carried jibs and many didn’t fly chutes. On the first leeward leg we set a chute and had a great ride with only one round-up. We ended up circling one boat that had all their crew thrown into the lake. After seeing them all get back onboard a floating boat we continued down the course. The blood on the deck seemed to be minor so we continued upwind for the third of five legs. On the second leeward run right before we set another boat rounded up hard and went all the way over with their keel pointing to the sky. We decided to abort our race at that point to stay with the sinking boat. Racing took a back seat to the most important rule. “Upside down and sinking, two boats ended up in bad situations today. Without many people and spectator boats assistance the ending may have not been so happy, with all crew safe and both boats being plucked out of the water by Skip’s crane at the leeward side of the jetty’s. It was amazing to see them towed without going to the bottom of the lake. I’ll never leave the front hatch unsecured again. “Last thoughts from me and others, recognize and acknowledge what the conditions are and wear a PFD when needed. Sailors in the water told me that their gear definitely made it very hard to stay above water without positive floatation.” -- Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/kyf5e Final Results - 61 boats, 11 races with one discard): 1. Rossi Milev, Clear Air, 68pts 2. Mauricio Santa Cruz, Bruschetta, 77pts 3. John Mollicone, Rooster, 79pts 4. Mike Ingham, Brain Cramp, 90pts 5. Will Wells, Cougar, 93pts Event website: http://www.j24na2006.com/ LASER MASTER WORLDS Only one race was completed on Day Two of the Jeju Laser World Masters Championship Monday after the fleet were held ashore waiting for the wind to settle. The wait was worthwhile when finally a 12 knot south easterly filled in after the wind had previously visited 75% of the compass! Steve Cockerill GBR moved into the overall lead in the Radial fleet after a scoring his third consecutive second place this time behind Mark Page NZL. In the Great Grand Master fleet(over 65 years) Peter Seidenberg CAN, once again led the largest fleet across the finish line and also scored a creditable fourth place in the overall line honours. Standard Rig Standings: 1. 181706 Brett Beyer, AUS, Apprentice 3pts; 2. Giles Grigg, , NZL, Apprentice 6pts; 3. GBR Orlando Gledhill, Apprentice 11pts; 4. Mark Bear, USA, Master 18pts; 5. Tracy Usher, USA, Master 20pts. Radial Rig Standings: 1. Stephen Cockerill, GBR, Apprentice, 6pts; 2. David Early, AUS, Apprentice, 11pts; 3. Mark Page, NZL, Apprentice, 13pts; 4. Greg Adams, AUS, Master, 14pts; 5. Peter Seidenberg, USA, GGMaster 15pts; 6. Bruce Martinson, USA, Master, 15pts. Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/qupsa US WORLD TEAM US Sailing has announced the qualifying events for the 2007 US Youth World Team, which will represent the U.S. at the 2007 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF (International Sailing Federation) World Championships. Open to sailors who will not turn 19 in 2007, the Youth World Championships feature competition in five events: Hobie 16 (open multihull), Laser (boys singlehanded), Laser Radial (girls singlehanded), Neil Pryde RS:X (boys and girls boardsailing), and 29er (boys and girls doublehanded). The 2007 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships will be held July 12-21 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The qualifying events for the 2007 US Youth World Team are: * Open Multihull (Hobie 16): 2006 U.S. Youth Multihull Championship (already held) * Boys Singlehanded (Laser): 2007 Laser Midwinters East, to be held February 22-25 at Clearwater Yacht Club, Clearwater, Fla. * Girls Singlehanded (Laser Radial): 2006 U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship (already held) * Boys and Girls Boardsailing (Neil Pryde RS:X): 2007 RS:X North American Championship, January 12-15, Miami, Fla. * Boys and Girls Doublehanded (29er): 2007 U.S. Youth Championship, dates to be determined, Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, La. For more information: http://www.ussailing.org COMING TO THE US SAILBOAT SHOW This year at the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Euro Marine Trading will debut a new line of One Piece Frame blocks from Antal. These sleek blocks feature a housing machined from a single piece of aluminum. The block has no side pins or screws, resulting in the lightest, strongest structure possible. OPF blocks are available in a complete range of sizes, from 60-160mm, and styles including fiddle and deck blocks. Please visit Euro Marine Trading, Inc. at Land booth number 57 for the first look at these modern, stylish blocks. Also, check them out online at http://www.euromarinetrading.com FATAL COLLISION NEW HAVEN, Conn. September 21, -- The five crew members who were on the bridge of a coal freighter when it collided with a sailboat on Long Island Sound Wednesday did not have alcohol in their systems, the Coast Guard said Thursday. The 600-foot freighter Barkald and the 92-foot sailboat, the Essence, collided at about 4 a.m. Wednesday about five miles north of Roanoke Point Shoals, which is north of Riverhead, N.Y., along Long Island's north shore. Gina Bortolotti, a chef on the Essence, was killed in the accident.Two men on the sailboat were rescued. First Mate Nardus Bothma was treated for mild hypothermia and Ian Robberts, the boat's captain, was reported in good condition. Their ages and hometowns were not released. The names of the freighter's crew had not been released Thursday. The cause of the collision was still under investigation. -- AP, full story: http://tinyurl.com/p5jsa SAILING SHORTS * Art Brereton and crew Harry Melges are Melges 17 National Champions for a second consecutive time. Sunday's conditions were a complete 180 degree turn around from Saturday. Glorious blue skies with prevailing sunshine, and the wind was good too. A steady 10-15 and occasionally a higher gust would blow through. Final results (30-boats): 1. Art Brereton, 12pts; 2 Iggy Labanauskas, 21pts; 3. Harris Buddig, 25pts; 4. Ken Wruk, 29pts; 5. Blaine Unicume, 37pts. -- http://www.lgyc.com/2006_results_ClassM17_Nationals.html * Correction: In Issue 2187 we included a link for images from the 12 Meter North Americans, but we neglected to mention that photographer Amory Ross contributed to this gallery: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/12mnas * The college singlehanded championship for the Pacific Coast district was held last weekend on Santa Monica Bay, and hosted by UCLA. After 24 races, Emory Wager of Stanford won with Chris Wenner of Cal in second to qualify them both for the national championship to be hosted in November by Roger Williams University. Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0925 * Thanks to photographer Fran Grenon, the Scuttlebutt website now has images from the Etchells North Americans that concluded last weekend in South Dartmouth, MA. Enjoy: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/etchellsnas/ * Sixty nine sailors from 22 countries are in Palamos, Spain for the Finn European the Senior and Junior Championships. Ben Ainslie, busy with America’s Cup commitments ,will not be defending his title. The first race was started in 14 to 16 knots of wind, and the Oscar flag was raised allowing free kinetics until the last upwind to the finish when the wind dropped under 10 knots. Leaders after two races: 1. Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) 6pts; 2. Edward Wright Parkstone (GBR) 8pts; 3. 5 Gasper Vincec (SLO) 8pts. 15. Chris Cook (CAN) 31 pts; 20. Zack Railey (USA) 38pts.-- http://www.cvpalamos.org/finneuropean/ * Elvström Sobstad Sailmakers, headquartered in Aabenraa, Denmark, has announced that its super yacht division - Elvström Superyacht - and production of all super yacht sails will be moved to the Group’s two central production facilities in Denmark and France. The relocation of the Elvström Superyacht division represents a further move by the Elvström Group to centralise production of all its sail products within its own premises. -- http://www.elvstromsobstad.com * Caixa Galicia will be build their new TP52 boat in Castellón, Spain at the Longitud Cero boatyard. The team lead by Vicente Tirado chooses Marcelino Botín as designer and will share the hull mould with Mutua Madrileña, winner of the 2006 Breitling MedCup circuit. Caixa Galicia will compete in the 2007 Breitling Medcup circuit with a new TP52 boat. According to the team owner Vicente Tirado, they will share the female mould with another leading project, the new TP52 boat of Mutua Madrileña, winner of the 2006 Breitling MedCup circuit. -- Valencia Sailing, full story: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ * Bennet Greenwald from San Diego, California, was the proverbial kid in the candy store today as the avid amateur racing sailor spent the day with the BMW ORACLE Racing crew on board USA 87 during an in-house racing session. Greenwald was the high bidder at the San Diego Yacht Club stop of the team’s USA Yacht Club Tour last autumn. He bid $7,000 for the chance to sail as 18th man and said it was worth every cent. The money raised benefited the San Diego YC junior sailing program and Gulf coast junior programmes destroyed by last year’s Hurricane Katrina. -- BYM News, full story: http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/35610/50/ * Stanford International has announced its title sponsorship of the 40th Antigua Sailing Week to be held 29 April through 4 May 2007. Stanford International Bank President Juan Rodriguez-Tolentino commenting on the sponsorship said: "We have always looked forward to Antigua Sailing Week, and are delighted to expand our support as title sponsor for the 40th anniversary of this great event." -- Yachting World, full story: http://tinyurl.com/zg7nn 2007 MOORINGS BROCHURE NOW AVAILABLE The Moorings offer over 30 exotic sailing grounds from Belize to Tonga, with rate specials now including 10% off bareboat charters from January 5 to February 17, 2007. Order a new 2007 brochure and learn about their newest monohulls and catamarans, including the innovative Moorings 4600, at http://www.moorings.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or space (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, there are no word or frequency limits on comments sent to the Scuttlebutt Forums. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forums: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Rick Tears: I think that you are doing a horrible disservice regarding Scott Young’s five-time winning of the Mallory Cup. Both, repeat both of his crews (John Morran and Doug Kern) have also won the Mallory Cup as crews – in one case multiple times! In another case, both also crewing for Scott Young helming! I continue to be amazed at how little attention is given to the crew members – especially so in the USSA round robin events! In your own report you point out that the second place team had a previous Mallory Cup winner as crew, but found that Doug Kern’s and John Morran’s previous accomplishments to be “lacking!” * From Russell Painton: Having known and sailed with and against Scott Young for years, I can only say that I am not in the least bit surprised by Scott's latest accomplishment. In addition to being a fine gentleman, he is a natural as a sailor. Scott rarely needs to practice, and he can jump in just about any boat there is, and sail it better than just about any other person on any lake or bay. It seems to just come naturally to him, whereas folks like me, have to work so hard at doing well. * From Edward Fryer: Surely the way to get greater separation between boats at the windward mark is a longer first beat? Have the committee boat well to leeward of the leeward mark for the start to make the first beat longer than the following legs, giving greater time for the fleet to sort themselves out and get a bit of separation between front and back. * From David Searle: Our philosophy on running dinghy regattas is simple. The racers want to race. We have developed a three-step program keep them racing. First, we run three-minute sequences.Secondly, we start a fleet as soon as they finish. No waiting around for all fleets to finish before sending them off again. We set a “hook” finish around the leeward mark to a line off the bow of the Signal boat, with a separate team to finish one fleet while we start another. Finally, we use different coloured windward marks, displaying corresponding coloured flags at the start. A yellow flag displayed with a fleet’s warning signal indicates their weather mark for that race is yellow. If the wind shifts, we set an orange mark for the next fleet, and display an orange flag for their start. If the shift is small for the “yellow” fleet, we’ll change course using the drag-and-drop provision in the RRS. If the shift is too large, we’ll shorten their race at the leeward end and restart them to the new course. The key is keeping the fleets under control at the starts, but we have found that not to be a problem. We have lots of line judges to catch OCS boats, and I strongly believe that they behave themselves because they appreciate what we are trying to accomplish for them! It gets hectic, but our record is fifty-five starts in a two-day, five-fleet regatta, so it works! CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM Do you think if they served alcohol at work it would reduce complaints about low pay? Special thanks to North Sails, Euro Marine Trading, and The Moorings. America’s Cup coverage in Scuttlebutt is brought to you by UBS. |
