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SCUTTLEBUTT 3587 - Wednesday, May 8, 2012
Scuttlebutt 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.
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Today's sponsors: Doyle Sails, Summit Yachts, and Soft Deck.
MIAMI HERE WE COME
(May 8, 2012, Day 17) - CAMPER are not letting up on their relentless attack
on longstanding Leg 6 leaders PUMA as the sun sets ahead of the final day’s
racing to Miami. At 1900 UTC CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand were
racing at speeds about two knots quicker than PUMA from 11 nautical miles
astern.
But it is yet to be seen whether CAMPER’s last-ditch effort is enough to
close in on the American team before they round Eleuthera Island and start
the homeward drag race, where passing will be difficult.
Skipper Chris Nicholson is prepared to throw everything at the team’s
attempt to win their first offshore leg. “I think there will be a lot of
opportunities in the next couple of hundred miles, both good and bad,’’
Nicholson said. “It’s always far from over when you’re close to shore.”
Ken Read, PUMA Skipper, said, “To be honest, these are conditions that suit
CAMPER a bit better than us. They have always excelled in the light air and
this is no exception. So for this we are pretty pleased we have held them
off to date. And as we approach a left turn at Harbour Island in the
Bahamas, we are stressing out a bit because overnight we lost sight of them
and in these fickle conditions that could mean disaster. When we see them,
we have a better chance of defending effectively. When we don't see them, we
rely on the 3 hour position reports to tell us what the next move should be
in the chess match.”
The scuffle for third place continues to intensify as Groupama sailing team
pulled another risky move, ducking behind Cat Island while Team Telefónica
have left it to port. Groupama are holding a 15 nm lead. -- Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/89tkhqp
Leg 6 - Itajai, Brazil to Miami, USA (4,800 nm)
Standings as of Tuesday May 8, 2012, 21:01:51 UTC
1. PUMA Ocean Racing (USA), Ken Read (USA), 212.9 nm Distance to Finish
2. CAMPER (NZL), Chris Nicholson (AUS), 8.30 nm Distance to Lead
3. Groupama 4 (FRA), Frank Cammas (FRA), 67.7 nm DTL
4. Telefonica (ESP), Iker Martinez (ESP), 78.5 nm DTL
5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE), Ian Walker (GBR), 137 nm DTL
6. Team Sanya (CHN), Mike Sanderson (NZL), Did not start
Tracker/Standings: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/racetracker/rdc.html
Schedule: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-2011-12-schedule
Video reports: http://www.youtube.com/user/volvooceanracevideos
BACKGROUND: During the nine months of the Volvo Ocean Race, which started in
Alicante, Spain (Oct. 29) and concludes in Galway, Ireland during early July
2012, six professional teams will sail over 39,000 nautical miles around the
world via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajai,
Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient. Teams accumulate points through nine distance
legs and ten In-Port races. - http://www.volvooceanrace.com
FESTIVE WELCOME FOR VOR FLEET
Miami, FL (May 8, 2012) - Tamme Irby Flood, Secretary for the Miami Yacht
Club on Watson Island in Miami, took a shift over the weekend as a volunteer
for the Volvo Ocean Race Miami Village.
“It truly is the perfect place for people who love sailing,” Irby Flood
said. “I met people from all over the world and I think people are really
excited about this! The ribbon cutting for the village was Sunday and it
would have been great to have the boats in...But who can control the wind!?
People need to know that the Race Village is FREE...I think most people
think it is super-exclusive...but it's not at all.
Irby Flood was impressed with the VOR simulator in the village, which lets
people experience what it’s like to do the race - a fun activity to do with
the kids. She added that the village location, at 1075 Biscayne Blvd, Miami,
is in the heart of downtown right next to the American Airlines Arena, so
easy to reach by car or public transportation.
With members of MYC and other local clubs planning to greet the VOR boats at
the finish mark, the welcome should be a good one for a weather-beaten weary
fleet.
Volunteers are still needed at the Event Village, so if you have time and
would like to be part of the action in Miami, check out the event website at
http://www.volvooceanracemiami.org, where you will also find a calendar of
events. -- Michelle Slade, Scuttlebutt
UNSURPASSED RACING TECHNOLOGY
While Doyle's CFD analysis illustrates how powerful and efficient sails can
be made, the results are proving it with two-time Yngling World Champion
Maarten Jamin winning the 2012 Yngling Open Springtime Championship held May
2-5, 2012 in Riva del Garda, Italy. Maarten is powered by Doyle sails
designed and crafted in North America. When the one designs come down to
one, it's Doyle. -- http://www.doylesails.com/onedesign
2012 ATLANTIC CUP GOES CARBON NEUTRAL
By Joseph P. Kahn, Boston Globe
Mike Dreese, the cofounder and CEO of Newbury Comics will pilot his 40-foot
racing yacht, Toothface, in the 2012 Atlantic Cup race, beginning May 11,
joined by crewmate Ken Luczynski. As the first carbon-neutral sailboat race
in the United States, this year’s Atlantic Cup requires teams to charge
their batteries using alternative fuel sources (solar, hydro), eschew
plastic water bottles, recycle waste products, and take other ecofriendly
steps while competing for $30,000 in prize money.
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BG: How long have you been sailing competitively?
MD: When you’re cocooned in a high-pressure job like mine, it’s very
liberating to be out at sea by yourself for three days. I took it up
seriously six years ago, when a group of us bought Shout, a sailboat that
races on Boston Harbor every Wednesday. During a Marblehead-to-Halifax race,
I decided to get a double-handed, technical ocean-racing boat.
BG: What does a boat like Toothface cost to build?
MD: Without equipment, about $300,000. We put another $100,000 into it. It’s
expensive, but it’s also a racing machine, not something you have wine and
cheese on the back of. There’s nothing on it that’s not there to help you
race.
BG: How often do you race it?
MD: Usually about five significant races per year. Boston doesn’t really
have a traditional yachting scene, like Marblehead or Newport does. Class 40
racing isn’t about that, anyway. A lot of these guys are French or German.
They’re rebel types who don’t wear blue blazers or have cannon salutes at
sunset. They’re more Extreme Sports types. This is racing sailing, not
yachting sailing.
BG: Talk about the race’s carbon-neutral feature.
MD: This really started with the French. Because we’re out on the open ocean
a lot, distance racers like myself have more respect for the ocean in
general, I think. We feel close to it. I have solar panels on Toothface, so
when we dock, we don’t plug in anywhere to recharge generators. We probably
use half the diesel fuel that other boats use in the open ocean. On a 25-day
trans-Atlantic race, you don’t want to be carrying all that diesel fuel
anyway. It’s like mountaineering: Everything must be compact and lightweight
and efficient. Being green in general is efficient for racing purposes. --
Full story: http://tinyurl.com/7mxkwlw
BACKGROUND:
The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing is the United States’ premier
Class40 sailing race. The 2012 race will kick off in Charleston, South
Carolina May 11th. From Charleston competitors will race double-handed to
New York City. There will be approximately a 4-5 day stop-over in New York
before the race restarts and competitors sprint to Newport, Rhode Island.
Once in Newport, skippers will race an inshore grand prix with a crew of
six. -- http://atlanticcup.org/race/
FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
Established in 1915, Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit, Michigan is considered
the Midwest’s "Shrine to Nautical Culture". In 2012, this sailing-focused
yacht club intends to launch an inaugural regatta, and expects more than 200
boats to attend. Lofty goal? With already 174 boats entered, they appear to
be on track.
The Bayview One Design Regatta will be held May 31 - June 03 on Lake St.
Clair and the Detroit River. Here are some of the features for this new
event:
- Reduced entry fee with early bird deadline May 11.
- Free launching and free dockage.
- Professional photographer hired for on-the-water and on-shore coverage.
Free access to photos for competitors.
- An emphasis on better racing with new race management, including rolling
starts to get more races in per day and racing circles closer to the club to
reduce travel times.
- New Dingy race area in front of the club.
- Champagne race on Saturday afternoon back to the club (non-counting).
- Great parties with bands booked for each night and exhibition Moth racing
on the river.
- No wristbands, with pay-as-you-go food at reasonable prices including
deeply discounted drink prices: $1 Bell's Beer, $2 Mount Gay Rum drinks.
- Prizes awarded daily. Division and race area overall winners to be
recognized as well as Boat of the Regatta with Bayview One Design Regatta
perpetual trophy and Grand Prize.
Details: http://tinyurl.com/BYC-042512
THEY CALL IT MARKETING
The Industry News Forum allows marine companies to post their personnel,
product and service updates at no charge. As a bonus, each week the
Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent updates. Are you in the
marine industry? Post your updates here:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news
BUSY TIME AT SUMMIT YACHTS
Spring brings more racing and more wins for Summit Yachts. Mike
Bartholomew’s Summit 40 “Tokoloshe” recently won the Spring Big Boat Series
in the UK, and Andrew Kearnan’s Summit 35 L’Altra Donna took a first in the
New South Wales IRC Championship. All this as Summit Yachts prepares to ship
its most recently built S-35 to join the Summit fleet in Japan. Spring also
brings a start to the racing season here in the US, where we expect to see
continued success. Check us out at http://www.summit-yachts.com
SAILING SHORTS
* (May 8, 2012) - Perfect Mediterranean conditions were served up for the
second day of racing for the SEIKO 49er World Championship in Zadar, Croatia
- the kind of conditions where the sailors were able to get the most out of
their boat; flat water with tight racing in 8-15 knots in 30 minute races
under cloudless skies. Tobias Schadewaldt and Hannes Baumann (GER), moved
into the lead ahead of Lukasz Przybytek and Pawel Kolodzinski (POL) are now
tied with current 49er World champions Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen
(AUS). -- Full report: http://www.49erworlds.org
* (May 8, 2012) - The 27th edition of the Regata al Sol from Pensacola FL to
Isla Mujeres MX (a small island off Cancun) starts today with 16 boats
sailing in the Cruising and Adventure Divisions crossing the line with the
"Island of Women" 555 nautical miles away. Another start of 4 racing
division boats will start tomorrow (Thursday May 10). The race is expected
to take 3 days for the scratch boat, Stephen Murray's new Carkeek 40
Decision and as much as 5 days for the cruising boats. Follow the race at
http://www.regataalsol.org and the tracking website
http://www.americanregatta.com/regattas/2012/sol
* (May 8, 2012) - The 38-mile trek up the St. Johns River from Palatka to
Jacksonville - aka the 59th Annual Mug Race - in north Florida was a light
air affair this year. Of the 109 registered boats, 55 finished within the
time limit of 8:15 PM. There was a reverse start, with the slowest boats
starting at 7:30 in the morning and the fastest at about 10:30. First
monohull dinghy was a Raider Turbo sailed by Dave Ellis, placing 7th
overall. Results at: http://www.rudderclub.com/results.html
* (May 8, 2012) - The finals of the Audi Laser World Championship 2012 got
off to a good start today with the wind much more stable than during the
qualifying series. Tom Slingsby (AUS) is steady in the top position while
Croatian Tonci Stipanovic now in second. For some people who fared well in
the lighter conditions the strong winds today resulted in drastic changes in
the results, like David Wright from Canada who scored mostly top ten results
in the qualifying series but dropped to an overall eighth with a 19th and
50th today. -- Full results: http://tinyurl.com/89gsala
* West Palm Beach, FL (May 8, 2012) - The premiere issue of CharterSavvy, an
online magazine devoted exclusively to bareboat chartering, has been
launched by F&F Publishing. Free to subscribers, each quarterly issue is
filled with in-depth features and stunning photography about bareboat
charters worldwide. The editorial team of self-proclaimed "charterholics" is
led by award-winning journalist and charter expert, Chris Caswell, a
well-known veteran of boating publications. The first issue, which reached
an audience 35,000 plus dedicated boating enthusiasts, features bareboat
adventures in the British Virgin Islands, Greece, the San Juan Islands of
the Pacific Northwest, and canal barging in France. -- Details:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13741
SOFT DECK - SOFT AND PADDED NONSKID
This week only Sabot kits are 50% off! If you are a grownup kid like us, or
have kids sailing Sabots we have a great looking, light weight (23oz) pad to
save your knees and provide some traction! Enter promo code SABOT at
checkout from now till May 14th.
http://www.soft-deck.com/collections/sabot-kits
GUEST COMMENTARY
Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community.
Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted
comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250
words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should
save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com
Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum
* From Paul Henderson (re, Scuttlebutt 3686):
I cannot accept that sailing is the second most expensive sport to run in
the Olympics. If the host country is clever they revitalize a piece of
derelict waterfront turning it into a profitable legacy. Barcelona,
Kingston, Athens, Qingdoa now Weymouth have set the standard. In fact
Barcelona Olympic Sailing Marina is so successful they are increasing the
size. City politicians come from all over the world to see how Olympic
Sailing revitalized their waterfront.
ISAF should put forward reality not accept the uninformed pitch that sailing
is more expensive than velodromes, swimming complexes, white water canoeing,
100,000 seat stadiums, rowing courses, and on and on which need continuing
government subsidies when sensible marinas are profitable.
* From Rich Jeffries, ISAF Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Committee:
In Scuttlebutt 3586, Jim DeSilva seems to have blamed Charley for the
ousting of Windsurfing from the Olympic Games. It’s not Charley's fault.
Charley’s one of 36 votes on the ISAF Council and a great contributor to the
sport of Sailing here and world-wide. As the US representative to the ISAF
Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Committee, I feel the problem clearly does not
lie with Charley but with the way ISAF set the stage for the vote.
The Chairman of the Events Committee and The Executive of ISAF positioned
the issue to consider Kites by asking the sailing world: should we have
board and/or kites in the Olympics? Since the ISAF knew that the
International Olympic Committee would not grant sailing an additional medal
or allow us to have more than the 380 athletes one had to go for one to be
added. Should it have been windsurfers? No, but that is the way the ISAF set
the stage. Much like catamarans have fought back and are now back in the
2016 Games in Rio, the windsurfers need to stand up and be counted. The RS:X
class (the Olympic windsurfer) has started a petition drive.
Our Committee is an information and consulting committee and does not make
these decisions. The processes at ISAF our sometimes frustrating but, when
dealing with representatives from so many cultures and languages, things
move slowly and sometimes in directions we, the US, disagree with. Charley
is not the bad guy.
* From Barry Ault:
Windsurfing was doomed to be eliminated from Olympic competition the moment
the rules writers made it an aerobic demonstration rather than a sailing
contest by allowing pumping. The number of people with the ability let alone
the desire to compete dropped and other sailors laughed at the result.
Apparently this was necessary to make the events work in light air and to
help the judges maintain order. Thousands enjoy windsurfing in flat water
and light air but light air is not what windsurfing is about.
Robbie (Yogi) Naish had it right when he said, “To windsurf you need wind
and surf!” Kiting may be a better Olympic choice because of the kite’s
performance in light winds. Time will tell. Windsurfing will continue to be
a great sport where there is wind and where there is surf.
* From Brent Boyd:
Great to see kiteboarding included in the Olympic sailing venue next time
around. Windsurfing with the current gear is exciting, but after two decades
it is time to step up the basic concept and kitesurfing meets all the
requirements. Without going into boring details, let’s just say that the
kites are fun to watch, the speed is incredible, the maneuvering fast and
precise, and the action intense. Just go to Fiesta Island or one of the
beach jetties on a breezy day to watch the fun and notice the large crowds
that gather to spectate. My lone hope is that ISAF does not get heavy handed
with byzantine equipment rules and archaic management that will kill the
spontaneity of the sport.
* From Peter Johnstone:
Kites, cats & skiffs…ISAF is starting to get the Olympic mix right. Just
need some foiling moths….and some bins for the Elvis era dinghies. Create
the right freestyle events, and the kites have the potential to become the
main attraction of the summer games. Think summer version of snowboard half
pipe. Cameras in the kite…Who cares about racing. Let's see what they can
really do!
* From Robert Thuss, Atlantic Highlands, NJ:
No windsurfers or keelboats in the Olympics. As a longtime sailor of both,
I'm in shock.
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
You know you're getting older when you have to find your glasses to make
scrambled eggs.
SPONSORS THIS WEEK
BIC Sport North America - New York Yacht Club
US Sailing - North Sails - Pure Yachting - Doyle Sails
Summit Yachts - Soft Deck - US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider
Ullman Sails - Beneteau Yachts - The Pirates Lair
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