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SCUTTLEBUTT 1311 - April 18, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. FAST (Bruno Peyron talked with The Daily Sail about his new multihull one design. Here are two excerpts.) Bruno Peyron, creator of The Race and the man responsible for the latest generation of maxi-multihulls known as the G-class, has released details of the new one design offshore racing catamaran destined for The Race Tour in 2006. "I wanted this boat to be one design but to last 10-15 years with a very high level of identity," Peyron told The Daily Sail. "It is a very fast catamaran, able to reach more than 600 miles per day, but very simple, safe and strong and the look is very innovative." * The boat will be 80ft long by 45ft wide and will weigh 8 tonnes. Looking at the boat we are reminded of the racing catamaran, VSD, which Derek Kelsall designed for Manx multihull sailor Nick Keig back in the early 1980s where the concept was more or less a trimaran with the central hull clear of the water. The new OD80 has a similar central pod that Peyron says is long, very strong, but very light in design. The idea is an exceptionally good one - one advantage trimarans have over catamarans is that it is possible to get better forestay tension because the chainplate attaches to hull rather than crossbeam. The flying central hull configuration neatly solves this. Unlike the present G-class catamarans where there is a cockpit in each hull to which sail controls are duplicated, the new OD80 will have a single cockpit, similar to a monohull. "This central pod way of sailing is aimed in the direction of newcomers, very good sailors coming from monohulls, so it is very easy to understand," explains Peyron. - The Daily Sail, full story: http://thedailysail.com/ FOR THE RECORD The course of Great American II, the 53-foot trimaran sailing from Hong Kong to New York to challenge a 154-year-old passage record, has mirrored that of her nemesis Sea Witch this week. Although Sea Witch sailed this passage well over a century ago, the wake of the clipper ship is very present to modern adventurers Rich Wilson (Rockport, Mass.) and Rich du Moulin (Larchmont, N.Y.) on Great American II. "GAII and Sea Witch have been winding through each others' wakes the past two weeks," said crewmember du Moulin. "Imagine if we were here at the same time: we probably would have sighted each other. It's a real race to the Cape!" The path these two vessels have cut across the Indian Ocean is the only thing they have in common: 32 days out of Hong Kong, Great American II is reporting sea conditions unlike anything Sea Witch had encountered thus far. For much of the week, GAII has been sailing in large, confused seas--and this boat and her crew have been getting thrashed. "How can a boat survive such a beating?" queried Wilson in a satellite email. In stark contrast, in Sea Witch's logs of January 1849, Captain Robert "Bully" Waterman recounted a string of pleasant days at this point in the journey, with lighter winds and clear weather. The trimaran's course is north of the clipper ship's, but both vessels are neck-and-neck. The logged positions for day 32 are approximately equidistant from the Cape of Good Hope. This week's reports from the GAII crew don't focus as much on the horse race taking place over the span of thousands of ocean miles: Wilson and du Moulin are pushing as hard as they dare, trying to preserve their boat, and reporting on the rigors of daily life inside what Wilson has dubbed "a washing machine." - Keith Taylor, www.sitesalive.com/ ATTENTION ALL BUTTON PUSHERS: PUSH MICRONET'S BUTTONS Pacific Sail Expo, April 23-27, is the official launch of Micronet in the US. Layline is the US importer of Tacktick, and we will be in beautiful Oakland displaying real live Micronet Wireless systems in booth 250-252. We will also be there with Seatrack Software, Wireless Screens and, of course, Looplocks. Come one, come all… Cruisers, Racers, Dealers, Boat Builders, gadget heads… This week on our site, check out a downloadable video of our Digital Analog Display in action. http://www.layline.com/llf/prod/mn/mn.htm AROUND ALONE The 5 Class 1 Open 60's in Around Alone are within 3 degrees of the Equator line and from tonight will one by one cross back over to the Northern Hemisphere for the first time since the end of October 2002. However it is the skippers themselves now who are being put to the extreme physical test, as temperatures soar to 97 F and the breeze comes and goes from whatever direction it pleases. For the skippers this means constant maneuvers - and constant rehydration - on the boat in unforgiving heat with no opportunity or comfort to sleep. Current Leg and overall leader, Swiss skipper Bernard Stamm on Bobst Group - Armor Lux, is being hotly pursued still by Italian skipper Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali over to the West. Both boats are now slowing up as they hit the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone). Stamm said before the start that the Doldrums would be the biggest obstacle and so his strategy was to gain as much mileage over the others beforehand. In Class 2, leader Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America took the inside track on the left hand bend around Brazil and has overtaken Pindar at the back of the Class 1 fleet. There has been some drama, however, as two skippers have needed to call upon medical services in the last 24 hours. Firstly, Alan Paris on BTC Velocity reported in 48 hours after his collision with the whales that one of his ribs gave him a sharp pain, and he was suddenly very nauseous and close to passing out in a cold sweat: "After speaking with the Around Alone medical referral system, it seems I have one fractured rib, maybe two; however, it is not in danger of puncturing a lung as if this was too occur the symptoms would have already shown themselves. Tim Kent has also reported in with "an ominous ache" in one of his lower left molars "Within an hour I could tell that it was clearly going to cause a problem. This is one of the few medical emergencies that I feared the most; a dental problem at sea." He was advised to take an antibiotic called zithromax, along with a strong painkiller. "I am glad I took this advice as I am told it is harder to kill pain in the lower jaw. We'll see what happens in a couple of days when the antibiotics take effect." - Mary Ambler, www.aroundalone.com STANDINGS: 2200 UTC April 17 CLASS 1. Bobst Group-Armor Lux, Bernard Stamm, 3062 miles from finish; 2. Tiscali, Simone Bianchetti, 37 miles from leader; 3. Ocean Planet, Bruce Schwab, 183 mfl. 4. Solidaires, Thierry Dubois, 263 mfl; 5. Pindar, Emma Richards, 265 mfl; CLASS 2: 1. Tommy Hilfiger, Brad Van Liew, 3263 miles from finish; 2. Everest Horizontal, Tim Kent, 35 mfl; 3. Spirit of yukoh, Kojiro Shiraishi, 147 mfl; 4. BTC Velocity, Alan Paris, 210 mfl. - Spirit of Canada, Derek Hatfield, still sailing leg 4. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * April 26: 1st Annual Sailor's Ball to benefit the San Francisco Bay area's Treasure Island Community Sailing Center. www.sailorsball.org * May 31-June 1: Cal Race Week, California YC, Marina del Rey, CA. One-Design and PHRF classes. www.calyachtclub.com/cms/index.cfm?vNavID=35&vSubNavID=18&mainid=5 NEWS BRIEFS * The 86-foot Zephyrus V, owned by Californian Bob McNeil is the latest entry in the DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge, a 3,600-mile offshore sailing race from Newport to Cuxhaven, GER, and then on to Hamburg. As of the April 1 entry deadline, 62 boats had officially entered in what promises to be the largest transatlantic race for fully crewed, monohulled yachts. The majority of the fleet will start on June 14, while the faster, larger yachts will start one week later on June 21. - Dana Paxton, www.dcnac.de. * North Sails now features an on-line Regatta Calendar on their USA home page. Anyone is invited to add a local regatta or sailing event to this calendar by visiting the site and clicking on "Submit Your Event." Users have the option to add dates, location, host yacht club, links for Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions, event contacts, results and more! - Veronica Brown, http://na.northsails.com/event_calendar.taf * Thursday's three races in the Lightning World Championship were held in typical sea breeze conditions on Biscayne Bay - around 12 knots with a sturdy chop - which was a relief for competitors and RC alike as the post. A cold front calm has made for very long races in light air. The racing will end on Friday with a single race. Standing after 8 races: 1. Jim Crane, 49; 2. Larry MacDonald Jr, 52; 3. Tito Gonzalez, 56; 4. Steve Hayden, 60; 5. Bill Healy, 71. - Amy Smith Linton, complete results: www.lightingworlds.org * As a part of the Annapolis NOOD Regatta (May 2-4) there will be 12 Meter match racing with Ted Turner skippering Courageous against Freedom. Courageous is one of only three contenders to successfully defend the America's Cup two times. Media mogul Turner won the America's Cup in 1977 on Courageous as he and his tactician, Gary Jobson, swept the Australians in a dramatic series. Freedom, skippered by Dennis Conner, won the Cup in 1980. - Dean Turcol, www.annapolisyc.com * The race is on! Over 900 respondents have chimed in for this week's Scuttlebutt survey asking which region claims to be the center of the Butthead universe. Currently it is a dead heat between the Southwest and Northeast US. The international contingent is led by Europe, with Canada and East Asia/Pacific (incl. Australia, New Zealand, etc.) not far behind. Go to the Scuttlebutt website to vote for your region. - www.sailingscuttlebutt.com * The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, which precedes Antigua Race Week, attracts some of the world's most beautiful and impressive classic yachts. The emphasis is on sailing together rather than on racing, as well as on the enjoyment of the ideal conditions of the Caribbean Sea. Racing starts Friday 18 April, through until Tuesday 22 April, with other events taking place including the "Concours d'Elegance" and "Classic Yacht Parade". Racing will be held for the Tall Ships on Saturday 19 April and Sunday 20 April, with two races scheduled. Curmudgeon's comment: Walking the docks in Antigua during this regatta may be the best boat show in the world. - www.antiguaclassics.com * Correction: Last weekend's Jackson Cup Regatta reported in 'Butt 1310 was run by the Boston YC. DRY SAILING EVENT The era of prohibition is back and Annapolis Performance Sailing encourages you to prohibit clammy skin. Introducing Musto's new MPX Gore-Tex dry suit. Featuring an extremely durable waterproof front zip, heavy Cordura reinforcements, and latex seals protected by Velcro adjustable fabric tabs to reduce UV damage and protect from tears, it is Musto quality. And you'll be surprised to see the one thing it's missing is an outrageous price. The best part? Waterproof = Beverageproof. Wear it to the party too. If you're looking to make your next sailing event a dry one, check out http://www.apsltd.com/scuttlebutt.asp PRINCESS SOFIA TROPHY A stalled low pressure system to the west provided the sailors in Palma de Mallorca with breezy conditions on the second full day of racing. Team Challenge US (Betsy Alison, Lee Icyda and Suzy Leech) posted some great finished to launch the only US team at the event into second place. This Grade 2 ISAF event is the first major event of the spring season, and many of the European teams are using it a part of their Olympic qualifying system. Winds mounted to 20-24 knots on the course located just off the city of Palma, not quite windy enough to blow "dogs off chains" but enough to make the sailing rough on gear and tough on bodies. The Ynglings sailed trapezoid courses where the reaches proved to be difficult for some of the sailors. Dorte Jensen and her team from Denmark, leads the Yngling fleet after six races with all top ten finishes 2,1,3,7,(9),1 for 14 points. Team Challenge US is only seven points behind after posting a One-Two punch on day two. They now sit with 21 points and finishes of 3,(13),4,1,11,2. Shirley Robertson from Great Britain, a proven heavy air sailor, moved up into third with two German teams Stegenwalner and Schuman rounding out the top five. - www.challengeUS.org / www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/ PATRICIA APPLEGATE US Sailing sadly notes the passing of Patricia Applegate on Saturday, April 12, in Island Heights, New Jersey. Patricia Applegate loved sailing whenever she could and was a long-time volunteer for US Sailing's training department as a regional training coordinator for Area C. Patricia was the first woman commodore of the Barnegat Bay Yachts Racing Association (BBYRA), where she coordinated US Sailing events and Summer Youth Sailing Races. She was an active member of the Lavallette Yacht Club where she was a sailing instructor and she also served as the treasurer of the Toms River Yacht Club. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 26, at the United Methodist Church in Island Heights, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Fox Chase Cancer Center, 7701 Burholme Avenue, Room C-223, Philadelphia, PA 19111. - http://www.ussailing.org/news/2003/PatriciaApplegate.htm LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Chris Ericksen: Thanks for printing ISAF President Paul Henderson's letter in 'Butt 1309. It is apparent to me that he does not get it--or that I don't. All classes, from Optis to 70's, decide themselves how they will run their World Championship. Some classes want to be Olympic Classes, and that designation includes qualification rules. As I understand it, these are two entirely separate issues. Why is President Henderson attempting to link these two separate issues? The Star Class decided to participate in the ISAF World Championships of Olympic Classes but not declare it as their World Championship; as I understand the rules, both Star Class rules and ISAF rules, such is their right. What is the problem? The Star Class is following the rules; why is President Henderson, a racing sailor accustomed to following the rules, complaining about it now? I don't get it. * From Tets Sakai: Whales, as human beings, sleep. While they sleep, they do not transmit echoing noise as you hear on TV. Most of sailboats hit whales while they are asleep on the surface. * From Bob Kiernan (re Branislav Kecman's comments about whales): Sailing back to Hawaii from Tahiti we were blasting along for days each evening it seemed we were the point of rendezvous. It started with clicking and then we could see them; lots of them. Pilot whales were gathering every night at our position and we were not running anything that made real noise. They knew we were there. And, I think they bumped the boat a time or two just to be friendly. In the case of a boat racing along with a blade and bulb below at speeds we call fast the contact may just be a miscalculation on they're part as to what might happen when they cross the bow or lower appendages unsuccessfully. Pulling you finger out of a closed hatch is more damaging than leaving it there until you or someone else aboard gathers the composure to reopen it; in comparison the whale was surprised and bolted thus hurting themselves more. I've watched whales watch me! They know more than they're saying as to what's going on. Oh yeah, sonar is damaging to all in the area so it's bad luck to the one who goes bump; and they might. * From J. Joseph Bainton (Re Paul Henderson's letter in 'Butt 1309): Once again, President Henderson confuses (a) the World Championship of a one-design class ("WC") with (b) Olympic Qualification Events ( "OQ's"). Muddling the two seems like an attempt to leverage ISAF's indisputable right to regulate OQ's into complete and absolute domination of Olympic Classes. This usurpation of power diminishes the quality of both events. Fleet size and course length at the Olympic Regatta are both small. OQ's should obviously try to replicate the Olympic Regatta. One or at most two boats per country sailing short courses is patently best for OQ's. The Rules of the Star Class contemplate a WC with 10+ mile courses and fleets of 100+ boats. The Star Class could easily run at its own expense whatever style OQ ISAF dictates immediately prior to each of its World and Continental Championships. That would provide ISAF with no less than six annual Star OQ's at absolutely no expense to it. If it wanted to allocate some of its budget, these OQ specific events could easily be multi-class. The principled belief of many in the Star Class that Mr. Henderson contentiously characterizes as a "negative assault on ISAF" is that by accepting selection as Olympic Equipment a one-design class does not -- as did Dr. Faustus -- sell its soul. Mr. Henderson's suggestion that this is a uniquely American belief is demonstrably false. * From: "Robin Wallace: Stugeron is now manufactured in the UK by Johnson & Johnson. How about a writing campaign to them here in the U.S.A. to persuade them to get F.D.A. approval for its use over here? THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Why is it that rain drops but snow falls? |
