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SCUTTLEBUTT 2704 - Thursday, October 16, 2008Scuttlebutt is published each weekday, and is a digest of major sailingnews, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Today's sponsors are Ullman Sails and Harken. A REALLY LONG TUNING SESSION (Oct. 15, 2008; Day 5) - Kimo Worthington, General Manager for the PUMA team, was wondering how their Volvo Ocean Race entry would match up with the others in light air. "Our training boat, the Juan K designed Avante (ex ABN Amro Two in 05/06 race), seemed really good in lighter winds, and the team on PUMA had to work hard to match her in those conditions." It must have been a relief then on Monday, for after a long day of light air running, PUMA appeared to have some legs. However, there was still much to learn, but after PUMA caught up with Torben Grael's Ericsson 4, the two teams have been inseparable on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in a valuable offwind tuning session. "We couldn't have planned this any better," said Worthington. As they approached the Canary Islands, PUMA skipper Ken Read noted, "I was just told that the TP 52 Worlds are going on (next week) here at Lanzarote. Not only did we just sail right past that island, but did so in the middle of a jibing duel with E4 - with about 2 lengths at times between us. No matter how close the TP 52 event is, my guess is that there won't be any tighter racing than E4 and we are having right now. As they zig-zagged all over the lot trying to prevent us from passing on the high or low side, I was watching them with very cool night vision bino's. Very fun though doesn't make for much sleep." While E4 and PUMA jibed their way down the 60+nm channel between the Canary Islands and Africa, Telefonica Black, Ericsson 3, and Green Dragon began early Wednesday facing their reality of having to find a route through the islands. There were many variables, with TBlack at first looking like they were heating up on starboard to sail to windward of the islands, then jibing to port for a way through, and finally jibing back to starboard to sail over them - the Wall Street equivalent of buy high-sell low. E3 and GD were close enough to each other that the later became the first to use the StealthPlay tool, which allows an entrant's position reports to be hidden for 12 hours. The fleet is still enjoying downwind sailing in +/- 20 knots of wind and speed, and while getting through the Canary Islands has provided the kind of tactical entertainment usually found on only inland lakes, the real moment comes when the teams make their move off the African continent, jibing to starboard for their approach to the doldrums, and toward the scoring gate off Brazil. The next 24 hours should reveal a lot. standing by. The length of Leg One is 6500nm, with teams expected to finish by the first week in November. Current standings (as of Oct. 16, 1:00am GMT): 1. Puma, Ken Read, 5268 nm distance to finish 2. Ericsson 4, Torben Grael, 8 nm distance to lead 3. Ericsson 3, Anders Lewander, 13 nm DTL 4. Green Dragon, Ian Walker, 75 nm DTL 5. Delta Lloyd, Ger O'Rourke, 77 nm DTL 6. Team Russia, Andreas Hanakamp, 82 nm DTL 7. Telefonica Blue, Bouwe Bekking, 115 nm DTL 8. Telefonica Black, Fernando Echavarri, 146 nm DTL Race website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org * Correction: In Scuttlebutt 2704, we noted that the teams were carrying the true wind direction at at +/- 218 degrees. Forgive our bad math, as it is more like 140 degrees, and we suspect with boat speed and wind speed being near equal, the apparent wind is well forward of the beam. * New Zealand helmsman/trimmer Tony Mutter onboard Ericsson 4 provides an audio interview on their battle royale with the PUMA team: http://tinyurl.com/3u5f6q WHAT HAPPENED TO OFFSHORE MULTIHULLS RACING? CEO of the OC Group, Mark Turner is one of the most successful and respected events organizers in the sailing business. Skipper of Groupama, Franck Cammas is one of the world's best offshore sailors. Here they comment on the current and future state of offshore multihulls racing. * Why have the 60' multihulls almost disappeared? > Mark Turner: "The main problem was that the ORMA 60 had to face too many compromises. The 60' were sailed alternatively single-handed and with crews, they were used for grand-prix and offshore regattas. Their demise is a real shame, but I wasn't surprised, the commercial equation became unsustainable." > Franck Cammas: "From our (Groupama) point of view, it was perfect. The cost / return ratio was just right and the format was ideal ; however it wasn't promoted well by the Class' skippers and sponsors. I think that the sailors didn't show enough enthusiasm. They should have spoken with one common voice. This has never happened. * Were the boats too expensive? > FC: The budgets for 60' monohulls are roughly similar and they succeed, which is the proof that budgets & costs isn't the issue. > MT: The problem is that the budgets and the risks have increased whilst the return hasn't increased with it. If you look at the IMOCA 60' monohulls, you notice that the fleet is international whereas the ORMA 60 multihulls were all French. The fact of having many countries involved automatically guarantees a better international return to all the teams. That's one of the reasons why the IMOCA 60' monohulls have continued for longer and still have some good years ahead. Complete interview: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/1015 Inshore racing photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/0503LTGP HUNGRY FOR TROPHIES AT PSSC IN SEATTLE In a fleet of 92 competitors, Ullman Sails customers showed superior speed at last weekend's 2008 Puget Sound Sailing Championship in Seattle, claiming several PHRF and one design divisions. Tom Gilbert and Dave Martin's Soverel 33 "Grafix" dominated the PHRF 5 class with five wins in six total races. Mike Schiltz's "Money Shot" had an equally masterful performance in the J/105 fleet, sealing the division win with five bullets. And Gil Lund's "Snappy Tom" won the six-boat San Juan 24 fleet. All three boats were powered by 100% Ullman Sails. Invest in your performance. Visit Ullman Sails at http://www.ullmansails.com MEETING THE TEAM The Morning Light film opens nationwide on October 17th, and this week Scuttlebutt will be introducing the fifteen young people that were selected to participate in the project. Mark Towill, 18, of Kahalu'u, Hawaii, was the youngest of the 30 finalists and grew up near the Transpac's Hawaiian finish line. "As a junior sailor in Hawaii, I used to watch the boats come in after the Transpac finish. We were all so fascinated by the large boats and experienced crew. Back then, I never dreamed that I would be sailing in that race." He plans to study environmental economics at Brown University. Genny Tulloch, 22, of Houston, Texas, was named the Quantum Female College Sailor of the year at Harvard University. The three-year San Francisco resident says she grew up sailing small boats. "I started racing when I was 9." Says Tulloch of the "Morning Light" opportunity: "The entire experience of larger boats and bigger crews and more teamwork took me from a dinghy sailor to the world of ocean racing." A native of La Jolla, Calif., Piet van Os, 23, was a senior at the California Maritime Academy when he heard about "Morning Light." But applying for the opportunity posed a problem since he was on a training cruise in Chile. "I convinced the captain to let me use the Internet on board-which was ridiculously expensive." The lifelong sailor can honestly say it's in his blood. "My grandfather won the Transpac in '61. I have pictures of myself as a little kid standing next to the Barn Door trophy." * For the race, the lone girl was Genny Tulloch, and her proud dad's review of the film is now posted in the Morning Light Forum. Full details on the movie here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/Morning_Light_Movie_Announcements_C16 * The one hour show of how the team was selected was shown on ESPN2 last week, and is being replayed in Canada on TSN at 1:00 am Eastern, Saturday, October 18, 2008 (10:00 pm Friday, Pacific Time). Set you recorder... ON THE CUSP OF A NEW QUAD With the drama of the Beijing Games behind them, it has been a period of consolidation for the world's top Olympic sailors as they reflect on the past four-year cycle and begin to lay down plans for the next. Consequently it has been a relatively low-key couple of months on the ISAF Graded circuit, with just one ISAF Grade 1 event, the Star North American Championship, taking place in the latest Ranking period. However, with the latest release of the World Sailing Rankings on 15 October, time marches on, and since the rankings reflect each sailor's accomplishment within a two year window, with greater emphasis on results less than one year old, there are now new leaders in the Laser, Men's 470 and Men's RS:X rankings whilst Australia and Spain tie for the top nation spot The choice of equipment for the ten events at the 2012 Olympic Sailing Competition, which will take place at the ISAF Annual Conference in Madrid this November, is the next milestone for those sailors with Olympic aspirations. Following that decision it will not take long for the Olympic sailing circuit to burst into life again and this time with a new annual series to sharpen the focus. Sail Melbourne, brought forward to 16-21 December this year, is the first of seven events of the newly launched ISAF Sailing World Cup. Following on from Melbourne, the series moves to Miami, then Palma, Hyeres, Medemblik, Kiel and finally Weymouth. Competitors combine points scored at each of the events of the World Cup series to decide their overall standings meaning Melbourne offers a perfect opportunity to establish an early lead and seize the initiative in the battle of the World Cup trophy. -- Read on: http://www.sailing.org/25619.php?PHPSESSID=84e8b411460676bcba49cad8e8f21d1c LARGEST COLLEGE OFFSHORE REGATTA GETS BIGGER Larchmont, N.Y. (Oct. 15, 2008) -- Just when it seemed the annual Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta couldn't get any bigger, it breezed into Larchmont Yacht Club on Columbus Day Weekend to increase its participants from last year's count of 235 college sailors to a whopping 318 and its borrowed-boat fleet from 31 to 36. In fact, the regatta has grown so much, with 29 different colleges and universities competing this year, that long-time host Larchmont Yacht Club officially joined forces with the event's organizer, the Storm Trysail Club (STC), to run what has become the largest college sailing regatta in the country. And bigger definitely meant better when the owners again sailed on board the borrowed boats as coaches. Not only did they help introduce college sailors to the challenges and teamwork of big boat racing but also they had a good deal of fun themselves. Eric Irwin of the J/105 Dark 'N Stormy said, "Thanks for the opportunity and a very rewarding experience. I walked away with much more knowledge of what it takes for our boat to do well. We will try to include the event in next year's schedule." This was the first year Dark 'N Stormy participated, and the team from Cornell that sailed on the boat won the 11-boat J/105 class. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6536 FREE 2009 HARKEN WALL CALENDAR Get your free Harken Ultimate Sailing calendar with a $100 purchase at HarkenStore.com. Action-packed 17" x 11" images include a rocketing skiff suspended over spray, the rippled graphics of Team Pegasus' hull as the bow is swallowed whole, and twisting water framing the racing schooner Sunshine. View all the store items at http://www.harkenstore.com * Bill Goggins, Commercial Manager of Harken Yacht Equipment in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, was awarded the SAIL Industry Leadership Award on October 10, 2008, during a ceremony at the Annapolis Sailboat Show. Goggins' contributions to the sailing industry include helping grow the Discover Sailing program and his efforts to grow the market for sailing. As President of Sail America, the sailing industry's trade association, Goggins has been an agent of change. His accomplishments include oversight of Sail America's new affiliation agreement with the National Marine Manufacturers Association. -- Complete announcement: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/1015a SAILING SHORTS * St. Petersburg, FL - The list of invited skippers for the 2008 Rolex Osprey Cup has been announced by organizers St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Topping the list at the ISAF Grade 1 women's match racing regatta is Claire Leroy (Nantes, FRA), the world's #1 ranked match racer and ISAF Rolex Sailor of the Year in 2007. Leroy will face a field of the world's top women sailors dueling in a one-on-one format in Sonar class keelboats, from October 22-25 on Tampa Bay. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/43jx2p * The Notice of Race for the 2009 US SAILING International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Youth World Qualifier and U.S. Youth Multihull Championship Regatta has been posted online. Hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA), the regatta will be held from January 17-19, 2009. In its second year, the 2009 Youth World Qualifier Regatta is a multi-class event that will determine the sailors who will represent the United States at the 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship in Buzios, Brazil. -- Details: http://tinyurl.com/47zayd * Organizers of the five day U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis that closed last Monday say this year's event matched, if not exceeded, last year's record attendance. Early estimates show 50,000 people visited the Oct. 9-13 show. About 500 exhibitors were on hand, as well as a dozen or so lenders. Ed Hartman, CEO of United States Yacht Shows, said it's evidence the economy will eventually turn toward better times. "We look forward to a bigger and better 40th [annual] Sailboat Show in 2009," he said. The U.S. Powerboat Show begins Thursday and runs through Sunday. -- Soundings Trade Only, http://tinyurl.com/4dktro * CORRECTION: Scuttlebutt 2703 listed that Chris Wilford, who finished second at the Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup International Optimist Dinghy regatta in Bermuda, as being fifteen years old. Chris, who was representing the US at the event last week with his twin brother, is thirteen years old. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Oct 15-18 - Shields Class National Championship - Oxford, MD Oct 18-19 - Linda Elias Memorial Women's OD Challenge - Long Beach, CA Oct 18-19 - Manhassset Bay Fall Series - Port Washington, NY Oct 20-26 - Melges 24 North American Championship - Annapolis, MD View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar VIDEO OF THE WEEK From Jim Key, crew member on the Santa Cruz 70 Windancer: "In an era of 150 channels on TV, why can't sailors have a channel with sailing as its # 1 theme? This summer during the Chicago to Mac race, we had a camera onboard Windancer for our use, to take shots of interest for a film being made about the race. Our skipper was interviewed, who holds the record of the most Chicago to Mac races (61 as of now). Other skippers were interviewed and 4 boats were featured. The movie trailer gets my heart pumping, as the boat is out of the water but I want more. Maybe this type of film will spark more interest and help grow the sport. Maybe someone out there can help get these kind of movies, documentaries on the air." Click here for this week's video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/08/1017 * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week's Video of the Week to mailto:craig@sailingscuttlebutt.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, 'The Curmudgeon'. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Barry Dunning: If you are going to quote history then to be accurate. It was General Patch who commanded the US 7th Army in the landing of the 15th August 1944 in the south of France, accompanied by the French Second Cops. It was on the 12 September 1944 that French troops from the south met with the French units of General Pattons Third Army near Dijon. The sailing instruction translation was confusing. The boats should have been warned and given the opportunity to conform to the French S.I's which prevailed. => Curmudgeon's Comment: This thread has provided history lessons, and provided insight into the due diligence needed when attending events in unfamiliar countries. We have heard from others that had planned to have advertising on their boat at this event, but were able to learn in advance that it was not permitted. Time to close this thread and move on. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS One of the reasons that alcohol is not served at work is because bosses would be more likely to hand out raises when they are wasted. (But maybe it could be served after work, as Oct 16th is National Boss's Day: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/10/national-bosss-day.html) Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Harken. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
