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SCUTTLEBUTT 2335 – May 2, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). HOSTILE ENVIROMENT Valencia, Spain -- The wind has not been kind to the America's Cup. Tuesday's racing was abandoned because there was too much wind, gusting into the high 20s. The upper limit for racing is 23 knots (41 kph). Last month, it was the opposite problem with teams floating about on still waters off Valencia and finishing the first round robin of the challenger play-offs almost a week late. The irony for Valencia is that one of the reasons the Spanish city was chosen to host the America's Cup was because of the regular sea breeze that makes it easy to plan both the racing and television coverage of the regattas. Historical data show there is usually enough wind to sail in Valencia 80 to 90 percent of the time in April-June, according to Jon Bilger, who leads the weather team for defender Alinghi. Last month it was about 50 percent. Normally, the wind disappears for a maximum of three days. In April there was one day of wind in 11. -- Reuters, http://sport.guardian.co.uk/breakingnews/feedstory/0,,-6600612,00.html * Flights 3 and 4 are now on the schedule for Wednesday afternoon, where the outlook is for Southwesterly breeze, 10-12 knots, dry, cooler with the risk of rain and a maximum temperature of near 63 degrees F. -- http://www.americascup.com/en/ I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS Most disappointed people in Valencia were the photographers. 'The light was perfect and the action was bound to have been good,' said one as he came ashore, dragging his box of kit on wheels. 'Today’s photographs might have restored public confidence in the Cup.' It sorely needs a boost like that. With another day’s racing lost, the pressure will come on the organizers to change their minds to accommodate the rest of the racing in time for the semi-finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The smaller teams deserve the full opportunity to try to reach that stage, but they are being squeezed out of it. ACM has taken their money and the teams deserve better treatment than they will get from it if the decision to cease racing on May 9th is maintained. -- Bob Fisher, Sail-World website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/36ptyc BUT IT’S HAPPENED TWICE? (During an interview posted on the America’s Cup website. Ian Burns, Design Coordinator for BMW Oracle Racing looked at their recurring headfoil problem that cost the San Francisco-based challenger a race against the China Team on Monday.) “We don’t really know exactly why the failure occurred. We’ve got it on the deck now and we’ve been looking at it. Certainly it has a fair bit of damage. We’ll be going right through it and figuring out how to make better foils and improve that, but it is definitely design and manufacture and it is too light. It basically delaminated – it is carbon/Kevlar and a few other materials and once a rope has forced its way out it fractures the laminate and it becomes quite soft. It is a credit to the guys that they were able to sail the second beat with the sail because the thing was quite severely damaged.” Question: The challengers are improving dramatically but will they be strong enough to take on Alinghi? Burns: “That is the unknown. We don’t know whether Alinghi was putting on a show in Act 13. And they don’t know what we’ve had on show with Team NZ and ourselves not using our newest boats. So it is a real game of uncertainties. One thing is for sure, with these close races, our guys come in and say ‘those guys - we thought they wouldn’t be hard to beat and they were incredibly hard to beat’. They were the same speed as us and we needed a couple of shifts to get past them. That is every day now. It is not like any of the teams are slow or weak. The encouraging thing is I’m sure that with their improvement we are improving too - hard to measure. But it means that all the challengers are gaining ground. Is it enough? We’ll only find out at the end of June.” -- Full interview: http://tinyurl.com/2ffg2q SUCCESS STORY The North Sails website has posted an interview with Dan Borrer - skipper of ‘Jesus Lizard’ - who won the St. Pete NOOD and the J/24 Pan Am Trials. From early racing experiences in Denver on his family’s Catalina 25, he soon found rides in the fabled Texas J/24 Circuit, and than embarked on a Soling Olympic campaign for the 2002 Games. Here are a few of Dan’s tips that he finds as the basis for his team’s current success: * I think doing the Texas J/24 Circuit and the Soling campaign were key to my growth as a one-design sailor as they relate to my level of competitiveness and enjoyment of the sport today. * I have found that maintaining my equipment at a top level, consistency, and keeping my sail inventory fresh are probably the biggest factors. We work hard to make sure that we have our boat up to the level of our top competition. I think this is key to winning. * I feel we have an extremely dedicated crew that is always pushing hard to win. * (On how others can improve their programs) I would say, to me, the things that most people could work on are learning to use the tuning numbers. That is something everyone can do. Aside from that, shifting gears is extremely important. You must be trimmed right at all times. This is especially important as it applies to all of the different gears you need to shift in these boats. Trimming right for flat water versus waves and puffs and lulls etc. are key to success. Again, I think this is something everyone can do with practice and experience. To read the complete interview: http://www.onedesign.com/class/j24/j24_whatsnew.html#52 SPRING IS UPON US! New sails & rigging, a refinished bottom? It’s that time again, to start thinking about improvements to enhance your boats’ performance for the 2007 sailing season. How about your instrument system? Imagine the advantage of upgrading your older Ockam system to take advantage of the latest and most advanced technology available. Since backward/ forward compatibility is a mainstay of Ockam’s design, it’s easy with our trade-up program. We are the only brand to offer trade-in credit for your existing components towards your upgrade. Ockam’s proven performance means your race winning decisions will be more reliable than ever! Contact Ockam. mailto:sales@ockam.com WALKING IN THE OTHER PERSON’S SHOES The USA’s top ranked Laser sailor Andrew Campbell spent last weekend as an umpire for the Pacific Coast High School’s qualifiers for their Team Race National Championships and the Baker Trophy. “This was my first experience with team racing from the judges’ side of the game and it provides a great deal as far as lessons on the utility and capacity of the umpire in team racing or match racing as well as the on-the-water judge in fleet racing,” he said. “Being knowledgeable about the judges and umpires while you are racing can make or break a race. Especially in the 7-10 minute team race, a call made by the jury can impose a massive impact on the race and often times knowing the ins and outs of jury-oriented strategy can make the difference.” -- To read about Campbell’s experience: http://tinyurl.com/3ddw3c 10,000 EUROS (On Monday, Mascalzone Latino was fined 10,000 Euros for a “technical violation of the measurement rule for the America’s Cup Class.” The Italian team used a different paint from that called for in the America’s Cup Class Rule. But how could such a situation arise at such a late stage? Matthew Sheahan explains it all in a story posted on the Yachting World website. Here’s a brief excerpt.) As usual the issue is not a clear cut one. When teams enter the Cup they need to sign a document that states that they will comply with the class rules, the Italian team did this but are said to have also attached an additional note stating the hull coating that they had used. Whether this was missed by the measurement committee is unclear. The issue only surfaced a few days ago when samples for each of the boats that were sent for analysis in March this year were returned. The post analysis identified that the Italian paint job was not one of the approved two. So why the fuss anyway? Surface coatings have long been an issue in the America's Cup and for good reason. The principle of altering the resistance of a hull by modifying its boundary layer is well known. Fast swimming fish such as dolphins are believed to change the cross sectional shape of their skins' surface to change the boundary layer and allow them to swim more efficiently at high speed. Man made vessels can achieve similar results by modifying the water close to the surface of the hull by leeching chemicals to change the water's viscosity. Not a very green approach granted, but it does work. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/34xxfm SPOKESPEOPLE FOR THE SPORT Last week we asked the ‘buttheads who they felt to be the leading spokespeople for the sport. Our loosely worded guidelines sought out those individuals that could draw a crowd, whose opinion matters, and whose advice we should be seeking. Thus far, the list includes Betsy Alison, Paul Cayard, Greg Fisher, Peter Isler, Gary Jobson, Peter Lester, NZ, Buddy Melges, Peter Montgomery, Jud Smith, Olin Stephens, Martin Tasker NZ, Tucker Thompson, Tom Whidden. If you find that there is a name missing, you can easily post your suggestion to the the Guest section of the Forum, where no log-in is required: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4686#4686 A GATHERING OF THE EAGLES Sixty Melges 24s from seven countries are gathered in Santa Cruz, California right now -- preparing for the Pre-Worlds tune-up regatta Saturday and Sunday, May 5-6, preceding the Fullpower Melges 24 World Championship on May 8-12. Brian Porter blew away the competition in the Pacific Coast Championship with four first-place finishes in six races on nearby San Francisco Bay last month, but not all of the major players were there. Other strong contenders in Santa Cruz will include veteran Dave Ullman, current U.S. national champion Chris Larson, driving for Scott Holmgren; Italy's Gabrio Zandona, driving Joe Fly for owner Giovanni Maspero; Riccardo Simoneschi, the recent Key West winner, and past world champions Vince Brun (1998 and '99) and Samuel (Shark) Kahn (2003). The entry list also includes 27 Corinthians---boats without pros on board---led by German legend Alba Batzill driving for Eddy Eich as the current European Corinthian champions; 2002 U.S. national champion Bruce Ayres of Newport Beach, and St. Petersburg NOOD winner Othmar Mueller von Blumencron, a Swiss national living in Great Falls, Va. -- Rich Roberts, http://www.melges24worlds2007.com. *SPRING SAIL* Spring is here... and now is a great time to put superior North Sails performance, quality, and durability on your boat. North Sails designs and manufactures its own premium NorDac, NorLam, NorLon, and NorLite sail fabrics to outperform and outlast any other sailcloth in their category. Call your North Sails representative today for North's surprisingly competitive pricing on many North fabric styles. It's one more reason why more sailors rely on North than any other sailmaker in the world. http://www.northsails.com SAILING SHORTS * There were 93 bids on the eBay website for a ride as the “18th Man” on the BMW Oracle Racing ACC boat in Valencia -- benefiting “Susan G. Komen for the Cure.” The winning bid, which came from Beverly Hills, California, was US $102,600.00. Let’s hope appropriate wind shows up the day the winning bidder is scheduled to collect the prize. - http://tinyurl.com/2astkj * In ISAF's Centenary year, the 2007 ISAF Mid-Year Meeting takes places from 4-6 May in Paris, France, the birthplace of the International Yacht Racing Union (IYRU). The meetings in Paris will begin on Friday 4 May, with the ISAF Events Committee. Saturday and Sunday 5-6 May will see ISAF President Göran Petersson (SWE) chair the ISAF Council in two full days of meetings. The key focus of the Council meeting is to consider financial issues and follow up on matters deferred from the 2006 ISAF Annual Conference. – http://www.sailing.org * Vincenzo Onorato, the head of the Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team has acknowledged that, “Five losses in a row have seriously affected our morale, it would be wrong to deny.” So Onorato has decided to change the helmsman, for the next race, from Flavio Favini to Cameron Dunn. “We have very qualified and capable replacements and now is the time to make use of them.” * When the 2008 Pacific Cup Race to Hawaii announced a pre-entry program, they never expected such a strong early turnout. Twenty-two boats have stepped up already, with a good number more reportedly in the process. Obviously, many offshore racers were eager to get a head start on the race, a reserved spot, plus $25 off the final entry fee. -- http://www.pacificcup.org/enternow * Two-time Olympic silver medallist Randy Smyth of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, last week won the 2007 Corsair Trimaran Nationals Championship hosted by Pensacola YC. Sailing his F-25C in PHRF A, Smyth was undefeated in eight races, with Tony Hammer of Windsor, Canada, taking second in his F-25C. Thirty boats from 12 states participated in four classes, experiencing a variety of wind and sea conditions for the bay racing and 26-mile distance race. Bob Hodges of Mandeville, Louisiana, won the Corsair Trimaran Nationals Amateur Championship as the top overall finisher without a sailing industry professional on board. -- http://www.gulfsailing.com * In Round Robin One of the Louis Vuitton Series, Areva Challenge's penalty turn and subsequent scoring as Did Not Finish (DNF) in their match with Shosholoza generated a lot of discussion and some questions. The Cup Info website has posted are some very interesting diagrams that will help explain what happened: http://cupinfo.com/en/lvc_arevapenalty_1.php * Day Two of Stanford Antigua Sailing Week produced bright sunshine, passing rain squalls, fluky wind under 10 knots , radical wind shifts -- and finally, stiff easterly 20 knot tradewinds. It was a day to remember for Volvo Ocean Race winner ABN Amro One, winner of the Yachting World magazine Round-the-Island Trophy for fastest elapsed time in the pair of races around Antigua. For information, updated standings, photographs and more: http://www.sailingweek.com WHAT MATTERS ON YOUR BOAT? Scuttlebutt is supporting a sailing survey that is seeking to learn more about how you use your boat and your preferences about the equipment on board. This is a short survey; it takes about ten minutes and asks some thought-provoking questions that will hopefully help to improve your sport. Everyone who takes the survey is eligible to win a $100 VISA card to spend on those boat projects this spring. Grab a beverage and point your browser to http://www.sailingsurvey.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From John Mendez, Executive Director, US-IRC: Newport to Bermuda committee members are still trying to justify the decision on handicap and prize structure for their 2008 race while the rest of the world looks on and wonders! An analysis of the 2006 race shows that when the big boats out front in an offshore fleet hit a big high pressure ridge, small boats usually win. Sail under any handicap structure in those conditions and all bets are off. In 2006, one system did not trump the other. Mother Nature took the day. IRC is the rule of choice for Sydney to Hobart, Fastnet, Middle Sea and so many other ocean races. The next Fastnet Race has been capped at 360 yachts. Would the Newport Bermuda Race like to see such a record fleet? In the last Sydney to Hobart the winner was a 1970's S&S and the runner up a brand new IRC55...the IRC rule worked out! In Newport Bermuda 2006, the small boat classes in each division took the silver. Maybe the Bermuda Race Committee should offer a choice of rules, parallel races in both ORR or IRC, and let the competitors decide how they wish to compete. * From Bill Elmer (Regarding the Junior Olympics schedule) As the Chair of the Junior Programs at Seattle Yacht Club, it is worth noting that this year for the Junior Olympics August 17-19, we will be decamping the program from the sometime summer light air condition in Puget Sound and, in cooperation with the Columbia Gorge Racing Association (CGRA) holding the event in the Gorge. * From Eric A Sorensen: Paul Cayard is correct about the losing and getting back on the horse if you just fell off. Attitude is (and will always be) everything! * From Mike Priest: With all due respect to the accomplishments of the owner and crew of Staghound ... I think Rich Roberts has finally "spun" a sailing story too far. I doubt that owner Alec Oberschmidt would ever think that his boat, launched some time since the Y2K, would deserve the moniker of "venerable" that Roberts tagged it with in his coverage of the Ensenada race! Great job on the race course though! Curmudgeon’s Comment: The word ‘venerable,” does seem a bit inappropriate for describing Oberschmidt’s 21st century, plumb-bowed, custom Reichel/Pugh 50. As defined by dictionary.com, venerable means: “Commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity; impressive or interesting because of age, antique appearance; extremely old or obsolete.” CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” -- Gloria Steinem Special thanks to Ockam Instruments and North Sails. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
