SCUTTLEBUTT No. 650 - September 20, 2000
OLYMPIC RACING
Sydney, Australia (September 20, 2000) - By all measures, today was the
biggest day, offering the best wind yet for the 402 sailors from 69
countries participating in the Olympic sailing event at Rushcutters Bay in
Sydney. Having puttered for three days, the breeze increased its speed to a
steadier 10-14 knots, pleasing sailors as well as officials whose duties
had expanded to serving six classes on five course areas located on Sydney
Harbor and the Pacific Ocean.
Kicking off their first day of competition with a 6-1 to top the scoreboard
were 470 Women's sailors JJ Isler (La Jolla, Calif.) and Pease Glaser (Long
Beach, Calif.). In the race they won, Isler and Glaser secured their lead
at the first mark. Australia managed an identically stellar performance in
race one, but it is Italy, represented by Federica Salva and Emanuela
Sossi, that is USA's closest competitor going into tomorrow. With a 4-4,
Italy has eight points to USA's seven. "To win a race in the Olympics.I've
never done that," said Isler, the 1992 470 Women's Olympic Bronze
Medallist. "In Barcelona, I sailed my throw-out race the first day. I had a
bad first day and came back to medal. I knew if Pease and I just survived
this first day here, we'd be in good shape."
Explaining that the 470 course was laid "outside," just beyond Sydney
Harbour's North and South Heads, Isler added, "I knew the outside would be
difficult. There are wave angles and the current to watch; it's hard to see
the wind up the course. That's one of the great things about this regatta,
though. It will change around. We may sail the ocean one more day or go
inside where it could be flat and totally different."
Also winning a race today were Seattle brothers Jonathan and Charlie McKee.
Sandwiched by two fifth-place finishes, the performance boosted them to
second overall. When asked if the victory had added value here, Charlie
said, "It's just a point, but it sure feels good to win a race at the
Olympics." Jonathan McKee declared that today's second race was "one of
those where everything falls into place and it seems easy." The McKees
rounded the second mark with a narrow lead and held onto it until the end.
"Charlie was brilliant with tactics," added Jonathan.
The first sailors to be eliminated from the Olympic sailing event were
aboard the four Soling teams that did not make today's match racing cut.
But while Spain, Finland, Italy and Canada landed at the bottom of the
scoreboard, the USA, represented by Jeff Madrigali (Novato, Calif.), Craig
Healy (Tiburon, Calif.) and Hartwell Jordan (Discovery Bay, Calif.),
migrated north from yesterday's ninth to a fourth overall with finishes of
2-2 today. "We wanted to be in the top three," said Madrigali, the Soling
Olympic bronze medallist from '96, "but it's good to be out of the bottom
six. There are some really tough sailors that are going to be in that first
round robin." By finishing above seventh place, the team avoids having to
participate in Round Robin 1. The top three boats after today's racing -
Norway, New Zealand and The Netherlands - earned the right to move directly
to the Quarterfinal Round Robin.
Turning in an 8-9 today, 470 Men's sailors Paul Foerster (Garland, Texas)
and Bob Merrick (Portsmouth, R.I.) stand tied for seventh with Argentina.
Foerster, like Isler, has a medal from the '92 Games: a silver in Flying
Dutchman. His task tomorrow will be to outsail today's lead team,
Portugal's Alvaro Marinho and Miguel Nunes, which won both pre-Olympic
regattas here. The Portuguese team finished more than a minute ahead of the
fleet in race one; however, the competition is still wide open and a number
of protests are pending.
From 15th to fifth went Lanee Butler (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) today in the
Mistral Women's class with finishes of 5-7, while Mike Gebhardt (Ft.
Pierce, Fla.) slipped a notch to ninth with finishes of 11-9 in his two
races. In Europes, USA's bronze medallist from Savannah, Courtenay Dey (The
Dalles, Ore./Rye, N.Y.) finished her opening day with a 20-18, putting her
in 21st overall. Laser sailor John Myrdal (Kailua, Hawaii), also sailing
his first races of the Olympic regatta, finished 4-20 for a three-way tie
with Great Britain and Russia for eighth. "Both of my starts weren't as
good as I wanted them to be," said Myrdal. "I kept clawing back (from a
sixth in race one and a 36th in race two), but my speed is there; I'm not
worried about that." The Laser fleet of 43 boats, the largest here, was
very compact on the short, one-hour race courses, and there were many
position changes along the way. The racing was exciting with loud shouting
when large groups of boats arrived together, separated by only seconds, at
turning marks.
Sailing again tomorrow will be Europe, 470, 49er, Laser and Mistral
classes. Tornados will resume racing as well, after taking a reserve day
today. - Barby MacGowan, USOC Press Officer
STANDINGS:
Europe (after two races): 1. GBR, 2. FIN, 3(t), ESP, 3(t) ITA, 21. USA
470 Men (after two races): 1. POR, 2. AUS, 3(t) UKR, 17(t) USA
470 Women (after two races): 1. USA, 2. ITA, 3(t) GER, 3(t) GRE
49er (after five races): 1. GER, 2. USA, 3. FIN
Laser (after two races): 1. BRA, 2.(t) AUT, 2(t) SLO, 8(t) USA
Mistral Men (after six races): 1. AUT, 2. ARG, 3. AUS, 9. USA
Mistral Women (after six races): 1. GER, 2. ITA, 3. NZL, 5. USA
Soling (after six races): 1. NOR, 2. NZL, 3. NED, 4. USA
Tornado (after four races): 1. AUT, 2. AUS, 3. GBR, 4(t). USA
For more information: http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/2000
1D35 NATIONALS
San Francisco YC, Belvedere, CA - Dan Cheresh and his team on 'Extreme' are
well on their way to successfully defending their National Championship
title, having collected another two bullets on the second day of racing in
the 3rd Annual 1D35 National Championships, presented by Carroll Marine.
The Holland, MI-based team's cumulative score of 1-1-1-1-4-1 has put them a
whopping 15 points ahead of the runner-up, Bob Hughes' 'Heartbreaker'.
Wednesday is the final day of competition in the 3-day event.
STANDINGS (18 boats): 1. Extreme Dan Cheresh (9 points) 2. Heartbreaker,
Bob Hughes (24) 3. Windquest, Dick & Doug DeVos (42) 4. Rigel Don Payan
(42) 5. Wild Thing, Kara Zylstra (42)
Complete results:
http://www.sfyc.org/website/regattas/raceresults/natcsv1d35.htm
WELL DESERVED
The International Sailing Federations's most prestigious award, the Beppe
Croce Trophy, has been awarded to a dedicated supporter of sailing, Livius
Sherwood (CAN). Livius is well known both nationally and internationally,
and has been awarded the Trophy in recognition of his outstanding voluntary
contribution to the sport, spanning 46 years, which has benefited sailors
around the world.
Since 1954 Livius has been involved in the sport, not only as a sailor but
also as a president, founder, chairman and member of the Canadian Yachting
Association, ISAF and Olympic Committees. Livius entered the ISAF Structure
in 1974, commencing on the Racing Rules Committee, where he served as a
member until 1998. He was instrumental in the development of the new rules,
having served as a member of the Working Party. Livius was a member of the
Council (then Permanent Committee), the final decision making body of ISAF,
from 1990 through to 1994. He was also the first Chairman of the ISAF
Review Board.
Livius has not limited his activities to serving on Committees. He has been
an International Judge since 1980, serving on the International Jury for at
least 26 World Championships and 3 Olympic Regattas, being Chief Race
Officer at the 1976 Olympic Regatta, Montreal. He has also served as judge
and/or Umpire in 7 America's Cups. On the sailing front, Livius was a
leading light in the International 14 Class, the blue riband Class at that
time. Livius's services to the sport are outstanding and have significantly
contributed to improve the sport to the benefit of sailors worldwide.
Livius retired from ISAF Committees in November 1998, but continues as an
International Judge. - ISAF Website,
http://www.sailing.org/today/sept17.00.html
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quality sailing products from Camet, start with the complete list of Camet
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MATCH RACING
HAMILTON, BERMUDA-A star-studded field of top sailors from the Olympics and
the America's Cup has been added to the final skipper list for the
Colorcraft Gold Cup to be raced in Bermuda in October this year. Adding an
extra element of suspense, the event is the finale of the eight-event,
year-long Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour. A French team headed by
Bertrand Pace is leading that series, while Team New Zealand represented by
Dean Barker is in second place. Pace has elected not to sail in Bermuda but
he can delegate a skipper to represent him in order to have a chance to
claim the first prize of $50,000 for the Tour.
The eight seeded skippers are: Ed Baird (United States), Dean Barker (New
Zealand), Dennis Conner (United States), Russell Coutts (New Zealand),
Peter Gilmour (Australia), Andy Green (United Kingdom), Magnus Holmberg
(Sweden), and Peter Holmberg (US Virgin Islands).
The unseeded skippers named are: Josh Adams (USA), Cameron Appleton (NZ),
Dalton Bergan (USA), John Cutler (NZ), Chris Dickson (NZ), Jes Gram Hansen
(Denmark), Chris Law (UK), Inga Leask (UK), Sten Mohr (Denmark), Murray
Jones (NZ), Kelvin Harrap (NZ) and James Spithill (Australia).
Now in its 52nd year, the Colorcraft Gold Cup is raced in 33-foot
International One Design sloops on short windward-leeward courses inside
Hamilton Harbour, within view of spectators ashore. The event gets under
way on October 22. - Keith Taylor
Event website: http://www.bermudagoldcup.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net)
Letters selected to be printed are edited for clarity, space (250 words
max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a
chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot
and don't whine if others disagree.
-- From Dan Heismann - I have to disagree with Peter Isler's comment in
Butt 646 concerning GET RID OF THE LIMITS ON PROFESSIONAL SAILORS. Most of
us everyday 'amateurs' do not have the luxury of sailing as frequently as
the 'professionals.' We are lucky to sail in the Beer Can Races during the
week and maybe 5 or 6 regattas a year. I feel that it would be very
unlikely that we would be competitive with people who are constantly
sailing in a variety of boats and a variety of conditions.
-- From Nick Gibbens Samba Pa Ti - Peter Isler makes a good point about
being able to compete against the stars of our sport. This is something
that has kept me interested in sailing and certainly did a lot to inspire
me as a kid. But their limitation in the Farr 40 class has been a real boon
for amateurs like me. While maybe dumbing down the level a bit, it has
allowed me to sail with some of the best in the sport. Not just against
them, but with them as a team member. I have learned more by sailing with
them than I would have by sailing against them.
Few sports allow desk jockeys like myself to participate and learn at this
level without a far greater time commitment. Imagine actually playing
doubles with Sampras or playing 18 with Tiger, not just playing in the same
tournament and hoping to pick up a tip from watching their swing. While my
contribution is smaller than a doubles partner, I am contributing nonetheless.
CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: You make some excellent points, but perhaps you
missed one of Pedro's key messages. He wrote, "I'm sure the classes and
organizations that ban or limit the number of professional sailors in races
have great reasons for their rules - but I'm also sure this is bad for the
sport." I think that means if Pedro was King, Farr 40 programs would no
longer be required to include any Category One amateurs on their crews, and
you might be watching the game from the sidelines.
-- From Paul Sustronk (edited to our 250-word limit) - I think most would
agree that handicap racing is silly. So, let's eliminate that. The biggest
problem I see with the handicapping rules is that it does not establish any
class criterion by length (LOA). All other things being reasonably equal,
length is the primary determinant for speed. So, as Peter Isler has
suggested, let's set up classes by length. Class divisions might be better
served with increments of 10 feet ( level 30, level 40, level 50 and so
on). Owners and designers can sometimes get carried away with maximizing
speed by minimizing tolerances so there would be need of some consideration
for equipment, displacement, beam, draft and so on to make sure we had
safe, seaworthy boats. In my opinion, you could even take a version of the
current IACC rule, throw in engines, a galley, bunks, material specs and
scale it down for each class length. This wouldn't necessarily inhibit
designers and builders from developing new and improved products. But the
idea is a compromise between strict one design and the big boat
proliferance of design tangents.
At least in five years or so, you'd have boats of equal lengths and similar
speeds on the same start line racing in a one-design format. This could
apply to local fleets as well as the Admiral's Cups, Key Wests and Sardinia
Cups of the world. The incentive for designers and builders alike would be
to come up with a better 40 footer to suit the boat buying market.
-- From Tony Castro - In reply to Peter Isler and other comments in your
letter, Why do people tend to see only black or white? We don't have to
have only one-design or only Handicap racing. One Design is great racing,
for sure, but most people forget that the pressure of "losing" in
One-Design can only be coped with over a limited period in one's life. -
The competitive years of anyone's life span. That period can go on all for
ever for a serious "pro", the minority, or limited to say 10 years for Mr.
Average, the majority. Most sailors, although they don't admit it, need an
excuse to lose and handicap gives them that and of course much more.
Handicap also appeals to owners that like the organisational challenge of
putting together a whole project and that is very much part of their
sailing life's.
What we have to do is apply One-Design and Handicap where it belongs. One
form of sailing supporting the other and vice-versa. The problem is that
Handicapping is a complex business, often mis-managed and confused with the
rules themselves. For starters Classes should be shorter and handicapping
should not be attempted over very different sizes of boats or types.
Nothing new but often ignored.
-- From Stu Johnstone - In USA Today, the single largest medal count haul
was by two swimmers, Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi- ELEVEN each.
Coincidentally enough, it was a former J/24 sailor, J/36 owner Mark Spitz
of the LA area who won NINE GOLD Medals. Needless to say, no one has
equaled this since.
SO WHAT WENT WRONG?
(The 49ers got an unexpected day off to enable all of the boats to replace
their spinnakers, which had their nation's flags painted on them. On the
Boats.com website, Bob Fisher explains just what went wrong.)
It appears that 49er gennakers are made from a 3/4 ounce Dynalite cloth,
which is silicone coated. In order to "paint" the national flags on these
sails, it was necessary to remove the silicone from one side. In carrying
out this process, the inherent tear strength of the cloth was reduced.
"Small tears are appearing in some gennakers," said Glenn Bourke, the
Competition Manager, "and we are doing this in a precautionary sense rather
than have to deal with a raft of redress requests."
The cost of the new gennakers, to be supplied by McDairmaid Sailmakers was
estimated at $1,000 each. When asked who would be paying for these, the
ISAF Technical Secretary, Jerome Pels, admitted that it would be the ISAF.
The new sails will not have the national flags and Bourke said that he was
disappointed about this as there was overwhelming support from the general
public because of the instant identification of the competitors. The 49ers
will still have national flags, although much smaller than those planned
for the gennakers, on each side of their mainsails. - Bob Fisher, boats.com
website
Full story: http://boats.com/content/default_detail.jsp?contentid=10653
OLYMPIC BRIEFS
* Li Shan Lee, Hong Kong's gold medallist at Atlanta in the women's Mistral
class, suffered a temporary setback when her carbon fiber mast was found to
be 30 grams in excess of the class maximum weight. The official measurers
discussed the situation with the class and the chief measurer and it was
decided that the amount that the mast had exceeded the limit was too small
to be of any benefit. In fact, it was a disadvantage, and allowed it for
the competition.
Darren Bundock and John Forbes, the Australian gold medal hopes in the
Tornado catamarans who had to change the trampoline of their boat because
the weave of the cloth was held open by a plastic coating, contrary to the
class rules, have run into a further problem. Their names have been painted
on each side of their boat, a feature much approved by ISAF President
Henderson, but the measurers have demanded their removal. The only name
allowed on the hull of a boat is that of the builder. - Bob Fisher in
Sydney, Boats.com website,
http://boats.com/content/default_detail.jsp?contentid=10641
* The protest of in the Mistral Men's event with NZL and AUS vs CHN
resulted in the Chinese sailor Yuango ZHOU being stripped of his first
place, in Race 4. The Jury found that after the preparatory signal, CHN
handed his wetsuit over to his coach. By handing over equipment after the
preparatory signal CHN received outside help whilst racing, which
contravenes Rule 41 of the Racing Rules of Sailing. Carlos ESPINOLA (ARG)
became the new race winner. - ISAF morning report,
http://www.sailing.org/olympics2000/today/#MorningReport
* Measurement troubles for the Finn Class Now, this is no more than dock
talk at this point, as I have not seen it reported elsewhere, but I am
reliably informed that the majority of the Finn class competitors have been
found to have lead laminated into the bottom of their carbon masts to bring
them up weight. The story goes that all offending competitors have been
asked to either submit other masts for measurement, or remove the lead and
build the weight up legally using layers of carbon fibre over the length of
the mast. - Andrew Palfrey, sailing-Online website,
http://www.sailing-online.com.au/welcome.cfm
* John Fracisco found a cool map of the sailing venues in Sydney:
http://www.olympic.waterways.nsw.gov.au/shocweb/internet.html
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FROM THE EXPERTS
"The argument regarding the virtues of a polished or a wet sanded (bottom)
finish will probably run and run. My personal preference is for the under
water surfaces to be wet sanded with 1200 grade paper. Once uniformly
smooth, consider to how long the boat is to stay in the water and whether
scuba diving kit is available to clean the boat each day. Over the last
three or four years the lubricant McLube has been used to cover the hull
reducing drag and increasing the hulls resistance to weed/slime growth. I
find this very effective, especially in warmer waters such as the
Mediterranean." - Simon Fry, from the Mumm 30 tuning guide found on the
Yachts and Yachting website
Full report: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/
INDUSTRY NEWS
The Sailing Company, the unit of Miller Sports Group LLC that publishes
Cruising World and Sailing World magazines, has named Jeff Roy to the newly
created post of webmaster. Effective immediately, Roy assumes
responsibility for www.cruisingworld.com and www.sailingworld.com. A
software specialist and seasoned sailor, Roy joins The Sailing Company from
the Naval Undersea Warfare Center where he was senior software engineer.
Among his many accomplishments during his 17 year tenure was the design of
an over water routing system which has several patents pending.
OUTTA HERE
The curmudgeon is about to jump on a plane to San Francisco to race in the
StFYC's Big Boat Series on 'It's Ok', Lew Berry and Andy Rose's 1D48.
Somehow, 'Butt will continue, uninterrupted.
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
Most of the stuff folks worry about never happens.
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