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SCUTTLEBUTT 502 - February 11, 2000UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL(The following is an excerpt of an interview Gary Jobson conducted with Olympic medalist Mike Gebhardt for the NBC Olympics website.) Mike Gebhardt, 34, of Ft. Pierce, Fla., has been sailing since he was 8 years old. He was on the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team in 1988, 1992 and 1996, and in 1999 he came in third at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, and won the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. Jobson: You are returning to the Olympics for the fourth time. Two times you won medals and once you came up short. What have you learned from these campaigns to help you with Sydney 2000? Gebhardt: I was blessed to win a silver and bronze medal in the 1992 and 1988 Olympics. I worked hard and was motivated, but more importantly, my attitude and expectations were focused on the reality of winning. In 1996 in Savannah (Georgia, site of the Atlanta Games sailing competitions), I did not spend as much time in my mind's eye seeing myself winning. It was a good lesson. So I have learned to trust the will of God, to work hard and spend time living in the reality inside of seeing the outcome in my mind. He with the most certainty wins! Jobson: Is interest in boardsailing growing in America? Gebhardt: I think the interest in windsurfing is always growing. Many people see it and want to do it or give it a try, but maybe people have so many other options and things to do with their time that it is hard to make a commitment to doing it a lot. Jobson: I remember when you were one of the young guys in this fleet. Now you are going to be one of the older competitors. Does age make a difference? Gebhardt: Age can be seen as a barrier, but I think it is more the collective consciousness of the masses that set limitations to things like aging. Youth has the advantage of focused intensity and more of a drive from a purely ego standpoint. Just as arrogance in athletics is more prevalent at younger ages, as we age or become more mature, we are driven by different forces in our lives. As an example, I am not trying to prove as much anymore, but windsurfing and doing my Olympic campaign are more of an offering to God -- a focused use of the gifts I received. Jobson: How much help do you expect from the coaching staff? Gebhardt: As much as I can take advantage of. Our new U.S. windsurfing coach, Pierre Jeangirard, is a welcome addition ... he is excellent at technical advice and a cool, calm and collected individual. I mean, he is one mellow customer who keeps you focused on the goals and not the results you just accomplished. Also, the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team in general has so much talent, and we bounce ideas off of each other. My old coach, Charlie McKee, and his brother, Jonathan, both past Olympic medalists, always keep me abreast of their observations on the different courses on Sydney Harbor. Also Gary Bodie, Skip Whyte and Luthor Carpenter, the other full-time coaches, keep us working on new perspectives on the water. Jobson: How would you assess your chances of returning to the medal podium in Sydney? Gebhardt: Life is what you make it, and I look forward to finishing my Olympic medal collection. I need a gold one! I have a lot of catching up to do with some of the top competitors, as the other countries have more professional programs to develop their athletes through, but time and training will allow it to become a possibility. My main focus is my physical training as I work on improving my fitness enough to be able to pump my butt off throughout a whole race, a whole regatta. If you are not fit enough, then you get tired and your speed goes out the door. Also, our Olympic event is over the course of seven days, so it is like an ultramarathon. Endurance and recovery are key. Full story: http://www.nbcolympics.com/ AC INTRIGUE WHEN New Zealand's defence of the America's Cup commences a week tomorrow, their rivals from Italy's Prada team will get their first look at 'The Device', an attachment to the mast designed to promote additional performance. The New Zealanders already have the Cup's most novel mast - which has been dubbed the Millennium Rig - and The Device will represent a last refinement. It will added just before the match to prevent the Italians copying it. "We can't say too much about what it will be like or what it will do, but all will be revealed in the first race," said Simon Daubney, the sail trimmer, who has been a key figure in its development. The Device has only been used in secret tests to date. It will take the form of a short top spreader, below the long jumper struts of the Team New Zealand boat. This means that the rig will use just three spreaders, instead of the normal four, to supply its bracing. The rigging is also highly unusual in that the rods criss-cross from side to side against the line of the mast. A normal configuration looks a little like a Christmas tree, but the rigging of the Kiwi boat produces a series of X's, one above the other. The idea is to produce an extra-stiff mast for superior upwind performance. "Effectively, it is a six-spreader rig - but with only three spreaders," explained Sir Peter Blake, who is in charge of the Team New Zealand defence. The Kiwis appear to have a second trick up their sleeve, by now being able to set the powerful Code 0 sails developed by Lawrie Smith and Paul Cayard in the last Whitbread Race. With extra-wide struts at the top of the masts, the Kiwis can support such powerful sails, though Prada has so far shown no sign of copying the move. Blake said: "It has taken a long time to develop. "Anyone who tries to start today would come a cropper." -- Tim Jeffery, Daily Telegraph, UK Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ AUCKLAND CALENDAR * On 14th February Team New Zealand, Defender to the XXX America's Cup, will declare which boat they will race with, NZL 57 or NZL 60. Team Prada, as required by the America's Cup rules, will race Luna Rossa ITA 45 - the same boat which won the Louis Vuitton Cup. * On 15th February both teams, the Challenger and the Defender, will unveil their boats; the hulls and appendages will be shown, once again, to the public. According to the rules, the teams can make modifications to the appendages once the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals are over until the "no-change period" begins on the day of the Unveil. -- Alessandra Ghezzi, Prada Press Office, http://www.Prada-americascup.com DECISION TIME If you believe Team New Zealand skipper Russell Coutts, it is still all in the wind. But the consensus on the water yesterday is that 60 will be New Zealand's lucky number in next week's America's Cup. Coutts says the Kiwis have yet to choose which of the 2000 generation black boats they will sail against Prada's ITA45 in the best-of-nine match. Coutts only grinned when asked if he knows, in his own mind, which boat will defend the Cup. "We're looking at the long-range forecast, and we'll choose the boat that is best for the conditions we expect on the first day of racing," he said. But the America's Cup is not won in a day. -- Suzanne McFadden, NZ Herald Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/ EXPERIENCE COUNTS Lots of companies say they have an experienced staff. Perhaps you should ask, experienced at what? When you do business with Sailing Supply you're dealing with Brian Tehaar and Bill Bennett who have experience crewing for Star Class World Champion Eric Doyle. The staff at Sailing Supply also includes Laser sailors, 505 racers, and guys who race Melges 24s, Lido 14s and Etchells. The boss, Dick Roberts, won the Pacific Ocean Racing Conference in his new J/125, Snoopy. Give them a call -- you'll be dealing with people whose experiences will help you: (800) 532-3831 / http://www.sailingsupply.com/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Michelle M Orr -- While I do agree with Cayard's comments concerning America One's pitfalls, I was dissappointed that he did not display the same sportsmanship demonstrated by DeAngelis at the end of the race. When Jobson interviewed DeAngelis after his triumphant win, DeAngelis was quick to recognize the efforts of the American team. When posed a similar question, Cayard did not once credit the efforts of DeAngelis and his team, but rather, chose to focus his response the $110 million spent by Bertelli. While Cayard's comments concerning funding, his role as Manager, Skipper, etc, and time spent in the Huraki Gulf are valid, he should have given more credit to the Italian's sailing efforts. On a final note, I hope that Cayard's dreams of consolidating an American effort are realized in the next Louis Vuitton Cup Challenge/ America's Cup, and that the American Syndicates can put their egos aside to focus on what's truly important: getting the cup back to The United States. -- From Steve Taft Vice Commodore St. Francis Yacht Club -- The idea of consolidating a U.S. challenge sounds great until you realize that each challenge represents an individual yacht club and that club determines the venue should it win. An attempt at reforming the cup rules this year was rejected by the participants. I don't think that even Rodney King (cant we just all get along?) can unite the U.S. behind a single yacht club for a national challenge. -- From Bruce Parsons St. John's Newfoundland (savagely edited to our 250-word maximum) -- The hulls on old IACC boats are so different one could not make a one design fleet out of them. And the idea that an American sponsor would like to finance a Canadian team is wonderful but I would be surprised if any would go for it. This is about patriotism after all - witness all the hand ringing over the US not being in the America's Cup. I think Dawn Riley actually did far better than Cayard for the money spent and I would suggest they might be the team you all want to get behind. But this is not realistic talk, and talking about one overall US team is just not practical, nor do I think it makes for a winner if you could somehow coral everyone into one group. I would instead like to repeat a proposal a friend of mine from America True made years ago. Every syndicate must put up a finite and significant amount of money very early and this money would be used for generic research in the tow tank or wind tunnel, or on structural design, or some other area where it is felt some improvement can be made. This would be of use to both the AC teams and the general sailing public. This has long seemed to me to be the best way to help keep costs down for smaller syndicates. I think the US needs more teams, not fewer. It's time to run this like a modern sports business. SYNDICATE MERGERS? Team New Zealand holds the Cup and the Italian team Prada will try to wrest it away. Whichever wins, said (commodore of the New York Yacht Club, Dooie) Isdale, will face at least one strong challenge next time from the United States. "Negotiations need to start now and be completed within three months, but I think we're going to have a mega-challenge from the U.S.," said Isdale. "Everybody's inclined that way and we're talking." Isdale said Paul Cayard is among those being courted on the subject of combining the assets and clout of two or three top yacht clubs. "Maybe St. Francis [Cayard's club] and New York could combine with another club," said Isdale. "That ought to drum up interest." Cayard should be all ears. He said, "It's not hard to see how dividing up human and financial resources among five teams, all underfunded compared to the competition, is not the way to put our best foot forward as a country. there's no way to legislate it. You just have to hope the corporate and private world will find a way. One way might be to have some power in the U.S. say, 'Let's select the top two teams and fund them adequately.' " Several U.S. teams talked about combining resources in the early run-up to the Cup, said Dyer Jones, head of the America's Cup Challengers' Association, "but differing agendas and personalities got in the way." Dennis Conner talked with the New York Yacht Club while the two San Francisco efforts, Cayard's and Dawn Riley's, had talks. The upshot was five teams. Three--Conner's Stars & Stripes, Riley's America True and John Kolius's Abracadabra--were woefully underfunded at $10 million to $15 million; the other two--AmericaOne and New York's Young America--had more money but most of it arrived too late to do much good. New York's $40 million operation was stalled for months for lack of funds. Alexandria businessman Al Van Metre is said to be considering acquiring the Young America assets as the foundation for another Cup attempt. "I'm very interested," said Van Metre, "but I want to find others willing to put up significant money--millions of dollars--to make it work so we're not just playing catch-up. One thought was to have a challenger series in the U.S. and then all get behind the winner, rather than tripping each other up. Something like that has to happen so we're not watered-down so much. "We're all talking and thinking," said Van Metre, who allied himself with Young America two years ago and shipped his motor yacht Silver Seas here to watch the Cup. "But until we know where and when the next Cup's going to be, it's hard to make plans." More will be known in a month, when the 30th Cup is history and the next one takes shape. But already the clock is ticking. "You have to start right now," said Isdale. "The time for us to start working on the next one was the day we got eliminated from this one." -- Angus Phillips, Washington Post Full story: http://washingtonpost.com/ BIG Newport (R.I.) February 8, 2000 - Tampa Bay will be the stage for the opening battle of the 2000 Sailing World NOOD (National Offshore One-Design) regatta circuit. The St. Petersburg NOOD, the first stop on this national racing circuit, begins on Friday, February 18 and concludes Sunday, February 20. The three-day regatta will be hosted by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. A steady core of players from East Coast, West Coast, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, and Canadian ports have made this Tampa Bay event a winter sojourn since the St. Pete NOOD joined the circuit in 1998. As this event enters its third year, a history of strong players has been established and racers know which classmates are potential threats for trophies (at presstime, nine defending champions from 1999 were expected to return). Eleven classes are expected on the starting line, including: Henderson 30s, Level 130s, J/24s, J/29s, J/80s, Melges 24s, S2 7.9s, Sonars, SR Max>, Ultimate 20s, and Viper 640s. The J/24s are expected to be the largest class and is expected to top its 28-boat count at last year's NOOD. v The NOOD circuit is a nine-event national racing circuit. The next stop on the circuit is the San Diego NOOD, hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club, March 17-19, 2000. -- Cynthia Goss Event website: http://www.sailingworld.com BIGGER When the Sigma 33 National/World Championship is to be staged by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, during Ford Cork Week 2000, the event is expected to attract nearly 100 boats from all over the UK, as well as from Ireland and Continental Europe. The Ford Cork Week 2000 (July 15th to 21st) fleet is expected to host over 1000 boats in total. Event website: http://www.fordcorkweek.com PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD You're making a big mistake if you think Douglas Gill just produces the world's best foul weather gear. No way. Gill has made the same commitment to insuring that sailors also have proper footwear, no matter what kind of sailing they do. Not just one or two products -- a full line designed specifically for every kind of sailing. From tall thermal sea boots to Aqua Tech Booties, they've touched all the bases - with style and the famous Gill quality. Check out their new Deck Techs. These sailing sneakers are re-designed to be lighter and better looking than ever. http://www.douglasgill.com TNZ CREW SELECTIONS Russell Coutts said all the positions on the boat had at least two potential crewmembers, so that if one was injured or not performing well, another could step in and replace him. Nor did Coutts exclude himself from that assessment, saying (Dean) Barker: "I am sure he would be capable of stepping in to steer the boat. He is a huge talent." Team New Zealand syndicate head, Sir Peter Blake, also spoke of the flexibility in the crew line-up. "Each day a roster will be posted saying who is on the boat," he said. "It may be the same each day. It may be different. It will depend on fatigue, or on heavy weather or light weather." Crew selection decisions would be made by Coutts and the sailing team, for whom Sir Peter expressed great admiration, describing them as "quite superb -- there are none better." But, he added, they would need all their skills when they come out against Prada for their first race on February 19. "They have to come out on the first day at 100 percent efficiency," he said. "They do not have the luxury of 30 to 40 races to develop their techniques. There is a certain nervousness creeping in and that is only right. Coutts said he had always picked Prada as the likely challenger. "They had the best boat," he said, "and their sailing team was underrated. They are very good." But, he said, Team New Zealand would not change its preparation or its sailing style much to meet Prada. "We are not into that mumbo-jumbo stuff. We are going to sail them the same as we would anybody else." -- Ivor Wilkins, Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.americascup.org/ CALENDAR - Feb. 26-27 -- Chrysler Snipe Challenge, San Diego, http://www.snipe.org - March 11-12, 2000 -- US SAILING Advance Race Management Seminar, Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Instructor: Thomas Farquhar, http://www.nhyc.org YOUTH MATCH RACING Two teams achieved unbeaten records in the first Round Robin of the Coca-Cola Cup youth match racing regatta held in Auckland today. In Group A, the Royal Yachting Association (GBR) crew swept to a 7-0 win-loss score, while in Group B, the Californian King Harbor Yacht Club (USA) matched their effort. The top four place-getters from Group A and B have advanced to sail each other in Group One of the second round robin, while the bottom four from each Group have been relegated to Group Two In Group A, St Francis Yacht Club (USA) was disqualified after winning their match against Royal NZ Yacht Squadron B (NZL) when it was found that they had altered the vang system. Any changes to the strictly one-design fleet of yachts are forbidden under the rules. Sixteen teams from seven nations are taking part. This is the largest entry ever in an event which has come to be regarded as the unofficial world championship of youth match racing. The teams, which are competing in a brand new fleet of Elliott 6m yachts, are scheduled to continue racing through to Sunday. -- Ivor Wilkins ROUND ROBIN ONE RESULTS - GROUP A: 1 Royal Yachting Association (GBR) 7-0, 2 Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (AUS) 4-3, 3 Royal NZ Yacht Squadron Blue (NZL) 4-3, 4 Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron (AUS) 4-3, 5 St Francis Yacht Club (USA) 3-4, 6 Royal Danish Yacht Club (DEN) 3-4, 7 Yacht Club Punta Ala (ITA) 1-6, 8 Kanagawa Youth Yacht Club (JPN) 1-6. GROUP B: 1 King Harbor Yacht Club (USA) 7-0, 2 Royal NZ Yacht Squadron Red (NZL) 6-1, 3 Royal Perth Yacht Club (AUS) 5-2, 4 Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (AUS) 4-3, 5 Bucklands Beach Yacht Club (NZL) 3-4, 6 Wakayama Marina City Yacht Club (JPN) 2-5, 7 Circolo della Vela Erix of Lerici (ITA) 1-6, 8 Fukuoka Yacht Club (JPN) 0-7. THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS You don't stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stopped laughing. |
