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SCUTTLEBUTT 1883 - July 19, 2005
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,
features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.
VIEW FROM THE TOP
(Sailing World magazine has posted on its website an interview that Editor
John Burnham had with ISAF President Goran Petersson. Here are a couple of
excerpts.)
Petersson: The biggest challenge to our sport is participation. We are not
only in competition with all other sports, but also with a lot of other
activities. We have to make the sport attractive to young people-and older
people-and we have to make it accessible, affordable, and exciting. We are
providing the frame-the rules, judicial systems, and race officer training.
We have everything from the first Optimist race to the last America's Cup
or Volvo Ocean race-it's a very wide spectrum, so we have to take
initiatives in different areas.
When it comes to professional and elite sailing the format must be exciting
for the media and sponsors. If you look at what's been written about
sailing in the general media in recent months, there's been a lot about
ocean racing and record breaking. That's one type of exciting format. We're
trying to do the same for Olympic sailing.
Sailing World: If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about
our sport, what would that be?
Petersson: I'd make the rules much easier so I could say, "Here's the
rulebook; it's one page." Difficult as it is, we have to try. This is a
very traditional and old sport, and I think we have to be careful with our
values. We shouldn't change everything, but on the other hand, our kids are
growing up in the electronic world and without young people in the boat, it
will be too late.
Full story:
www.sailingworld.com/article.jsp?ID=37752&typeID=419&catID=0&exclude
TRANSPAC
As freshly baked chocolate chip cookies became one boat's saving grace for
"wimpy trade winds" in the middle of the 43rd Transpacific Yacht Race to
Hawaii, the big boats that started Sunday were cooking. Roy Disney's
Pyewacket averaged 12.4 knots over the first 19 hours before Monday
morning's position reports---the same speed a previous Pyewacket made when
it set the current record in 1999---while Hasso Plattner's Morning Glory
and Randall Pittman's Genuine Risk clocked 12.3 and 12.1 knots, respectively.
Pyewacket had sailed 270 nautical miles, the same as Genuine Risk, to rank
in first place, 1,989 nautical miles from Diamond Head. Morning Glory had
sailed 276 miles but was 1,991 miles out because it took a sharp dip 12
miles south of Pyewacket, which was holding a moderate northerly course,
with Genuine Risk halfway in between. Transpac competitors often drop south
to avoid the dreaded "Pacific high" zone of light wind that usually haunts
the rhumb (direct) line of 2,225 miles, hoping to sail farther but faster.
Stan Honey is calling the navigational shots for Pyewacket, Peter Isler for
Morning Glory and Mark Rudiger for Genuine Risk.
John MacLaurin's Davidson 52, Pendragon IV, and Paul Edwards' Catalina 42,
Wind Dancer, Ventura, Calif., became the second and third boats to retire.
Pendragon IV, which started Sunday, experienced a failure in an upper
diagonal rod. The mast was still up, but the boat might return to San Diego
if it had trouble sailing upwind to its home port in Marina del Rey. Wind
Dancer, an Aloha B boat, lost its steering and was proceeding to Hawaii on
auto-pilot, which is allowed only for double-handed boats.
The overall fleet leader is Ralphie - Davis Pillsbury's Cal 40 which
started on Monday, July 11 and is now about half way to Hawaii.
We have posted a couple photos on the Scuttlebutt website showing Dave
Ullman, Ken Read, and Russell Coutts looking busy at the start of the 2005
Transpac: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/tp0718/
Complete results: http://www.transpacificyc.org/
TRANSPAC QUOTES
"There's an old saying among sailors that goes something like this: 'The
gods do not subtract from a man's allotted time on earth the days that he
spends under sail.' And for the crew of the Cal 40 Dancing Bear this
morning, it seems like they might live forever. What profession has a
higher degree of failure and a lower expectation of success than a
meteorologist? Are these guys ever right? And why aren't they held more
accountable for their consistently abysmal performance? And, yes, I'm ranting.
But when the Cal 40 class set off on July 11th, it was with a forecast of
unusually strong tradewinds and a quick dash up the race course. The
reality is, one week into the race, the early starters have yet to see
anything even remotely similar to what one would expect in reliable
tradewind conditions. Instead, this morning the sky remains gloomy and
overcast. In the wee hours last evening, we again labored to make miles in
extremely fluky winds of under ten knots." -- Excerpts from a report from
the Cal 40 Dancing Bear posted on the Cruising World website:
www.cruisingworld.com
FREE! (GLAD TO GET YOUR ATTENTION)
You've already paid a ton to get out racing. Here's a reward: some neat
stuff - free - from UK-Halsey Sailmakers. Our animated Rules Quizzes remain
the clearest explanation of what you can and can't do, set up in situations
you'll probably find yourself, someday. Try them before you get called to
The Room. Download an IRC Calculator: it helps you judge quickly how you're
doing against your competition, based on how long you've been out on the
course. And make your computer friendlier with one of our screensavers. All
this is yours at http://www.ukhalsey.com
THE FUTURE OF THE SPORT
When someone suggested sailing lessons to Maurice Coleman, 11, he hardly
believed his ears. "I thought it was crazy," said Maurice, who lives within
view of Richardson Bay in Marin City, but had never envisioned himself on
the water. But he and five other boys from the community, founded during
World War II to house Sausalito's shipyard workers, set sail recently,
launched with help from America's Cup competitor Dawn Riley. Two one-week
camps include girls this year and have expanded to hold up to 12 students
each. Beginners will attend from 9 a.m. to noon, while last year's
graduates get three extra hours in the afternoon on the 16 1/2-foot Capri
boats.
Riley, who calls Sausalito home, although she is currently living in Spain
to train for the 2007 America's Cup race, said she hopes to change the
image of sailing as a luxury sport. "I get frustrated with the view that
the average person can't go into a yacht club, that they feel they don't
belong," said Riley, who manages the French America's Cup team. "It's true
that image is projected in some places, but really, sailing is something
for everyone."
The True Youth sailing camps began when she organized members of an
Annapolis yacht club to offer sailing classes for underprivileged children.
The nonprofit group now runs 17 camps across the United States, including
one at Lake Merced. "I wanted to do something in my own backyard," said
Riley, who is considered one of the world's top female sailors. "Kids are
the future of the sport, and these are kids who live next to the bay but
might never have gone there."
True Youth coordinates with Performing Stars of Marin, a youth activities
group in Marin City, to sign up campers, then procures boats and
instructors from Sailing Education Adventures, a separate nonprofit group
dedicated to youth sailing. Each camper pays $35 to $50 for the week, which
costs $400 per child, while sponsors contribute the rest. Second-year
graduates will get a training certificate from Sailing Education Adventures
that could help them get work as junior instructors or deck hands, said
Karen Foss, executive director of True Youth. -- Excerpts from a story by
Maura Thurman, San Francisco Chronicle, full story: http://tinyurl.com/bsk4t
CHICAGO MAC
Mackinac Island, Michigan -- Thanks to a welcome change in conditions,
Monday's Race to Mackinac finishers enjoyed big steady breezes. The Dehler
39 Liberty skippered by David Phelps, reported winds of 20 to 25 knots with
gusts up to 30 knots in her final hours of the Race. At 1730 hours on
Monday afternoon, fewer than 40 boats had yet to finish the Race, with 242
skippers having crossed the finish line. Last year at this time, only 23
boats had finished.
Preliminary results show that the yacht Retriever, from the Macatawa Bay
Yacht Club, can claim the Chicago-Mackinac Trophy and that the yacht
Kutty's Ark from Columbia Yacht Club won the Mackinac Cup. Holua, a Great
Lakes 70 -skippered by Chicago Yacht Club member Peter Thornton, crossed
the Mackinac Race finish line at 0314 hours on Monday, July 18, 2005. She
was followed two minutes later by Denali, a Great Lakes 70 skippered by
William F. McKinley of the Bayview Yacht Club. Rocketeer III from the Fort
Walton Yacht Club, won first to finish honors in the Multihull Division.
Chicago Yacht Club Mackinac Committee Chair Rick Lillie described the race
as one with building wind. "It began light and no one knew where to go.
Some went out in the Lake, some went up the shore and some of us went up
the middle and tried to play both sides. There were no home runs." --
Event website: http://chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/
CERTIFIED
Scuttlebutt Sailing Club is pleased to now lay claim within its membership
to a US Sailing certified National Race Officer, the highest level of
certification available from US Sailing. Jeff Johnson is the Regatta
Manager at San Diego Yacht Club, and is typically behind all the major
events held there, which this year includes the Lands End NOOD, Yachting
Cup, and the US Snipe Nationals. But Jeff used his SSC membership when he
applied for his National Race Officer certification. He now has the
'official' credentials to go anywhere in the country and serve as the
principal race officer or race management consultant with any race
committee to properly run any race or regatta, including national
championship events. Any other SSC members interested in following Jeff's
footsteps can learn about the process at
www.ussailing.org/racemgt/Race_Officer_Prog
THE NEW LOOK: THE CAMET PORTO CERVO SHORTS
Give your crew a modern twist on the classic look! These canvas shorts
provide the protection you need while maintaining the comfort and feel of
our original sailing shorts. With attention to detail, these shorts have
become the contemporary look on yachts all over the world. The Camet Porto
Cervo Shorts are made from 9 oz. brushed, soft cotton canvas. They have a
relaxed fit with plain front, zipper fly, belt loops, two deep side
pockets, and two stitched rear-pockets with VelcroŽ closures. They have a
double seat for protection and gusseted crotch for full range of motion.
http://www.camet.com
VOLVO YOUTH WORLDS
Two races were completed on Monday in all of the class's at the 35th Volvo
Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships being held in Busan, Korea. And now
that seven races have been completed in this first stage of the
championship, and the first discard has kicked in. That allowed American
Paige Railey to discard a 13 in race 9 of the 31-boat Laser Radial fleet -
keeping nothing but first and second place finishes. She now has 26-point
lead over her closest rivals - Alison Young (GBR) and Tina Mihelic (CRO).
Other North Americans in the top 10 in their respective classes include
Royce Weber (USA) in fourth in the 36- boat Laser fleet - just nine point
behind Rutger van Schaardenburg (NED); Megan Magill/ Briana Provancha (USA)
are in second place in the 21-boat Girl's 420s; Adam Roberts/ Nicholas
Martin (USA) are currently in fifth place in the 32-boat Boy's 420 fleet;
and T.J. Tullo/ Jerry Tullo (USA) are running sixth in the 11-boat Hobie 16
Class.
France (157 points) leads the overall country rankings, with the USA just
seven points back in second place. Spain (135) Great Britain (119) and
Italy (99) complete the top five in the field of 46 countries. Tomorrow is
the lay day and the organisers have arranged a local cultural tour of
Busan, racing will commence again on Wednesday. Event website:
http://www.worldyouthsailingbusan.com/
NEWS BRIEFS
* Tom Braidwood from Sydney, Australia has joined the Ericsson Racing Team
in the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. "Tommy is a great bowman with no fear and
bags of experience," said Ericsson skipper Neal McDonald. The first time I
sailed with Tommy was 10 years ago in the America's Cup and I have kept
close tabs on his sailing career since then and it's a great pleasure to
get him on board." Braidwood is right now in the process of finishing
building a new super maxi in Sydney. -- www.ericssonracingteam.com
* Clipper Ventures Plc, the AIM-quoted marine events company, and Sports
Marketing Surveys have signed a unique partnership agreement to provide
global TV and press evaluations to the competing cities and their sponsors
for the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race. Sports Marketing Surveys
is the Official Research Supplier for the Race. Following meetings and
discussions to understand the sponsoring cities requirements, the media
evaluation programme has been designed to evaluate the full scope of global
coverage that the race is expected to achieve for all parties. --
http://www.clipper-ventures.co.uk/
* Bows up on the reaches, crews hiking hard upwind, and the thrill of the
sport is exhibited in photos from the US Snipe Nationals now up on the
Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/snipenatl
* Michael Jehle has been named Director of Development for the
Newport-based American Sail Training Association (ASTA). An experienced
mariner who has served aboard several ASTA member sailing vessels, he
brings to ASTA nearly twenty years of non-profit management and development
experience. He has advanced degrees in history and anthropology most
recently he was the Director of Curatorial Affairs and Operations at New
Bedford Whaling Museum. ASTA is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization whose
mission is to encourage character building through sail training, promote
sail training to the North American public and support education under
sail. -- www.tallships.sailtraining.org
J/133 IS DOUBLE WINNER
This 43 footer accelerates so quickly in the lightest of puffs it's easy to
forget she carries a full cruising interior and was named Cruising World
Magazine's 2004 Best Performance Cruiser. Recent IRC class wins at Block
Island (USA) and Spi Ouest (France) are simply icing on the cake!
http://www.jboats.com/j133
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
(Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be
edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is neither a chat room
nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your
best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing,
whining and personal attacks for elsewhere.)
* From Chris Ericksen: In 'Butt 1882, Kris Kristiansen commented on how
"the number of sail racers is dwindling" and suggests it is because of high
costs and the confusion of competing handicap systems. Well, Alamitos Bay
Yacht Club in Long Beach, California, is not seeing dwindling numbers: in
fact, they had well over 150 boats for their two-day Memorial Day
Regatta--the largest turnout for the event since 1981--and 135 boats for
the one-day Fourth of July Regatta. Part of that is attributable to large
turnouts of Naples Sabots; while ABYC hosted the Sabot Senior Nationals in
June and will host the Sabot Junior Nationals in August, which may account
for the big numbers; but both regattas saw all one-design boats--the only
handicap fleets there were multihull and monohull Portsmouth divisions.
I think that one-design sailing is going strong in Southern California, and
junior sailing is one of the high points. Good competition, affordable
costs and good fun: that is what is bringing the sailors to Alamitos Bay
this summer. I wonder if other clubs are seeing similar strength in their
youth and one-design programs.
* From Peter W. Grimm: As an "O.F." in the sailing world, I thoroughly
enjoyed R.C. Keefe's history lesson! Having sailed on the Barlovento and
Blitsen brings back fond memories of the Glory Days of Yachting! One of the
few benefits of being an "O.F."
* From Bob Johnstone (re 'History Lesson- Part II'): Having crewed on P. S.
du Pont III's schooner Barlovento in the 1953 Annapolis-Newport Race, I was
surprised to see Henry B. (Hank) du Pont listed as owner. I checked with
friend Pete (P.S. du Pont IV), who had shanghaied me for that race 42 years
ago and he confirmed that Henry B. was not the owner of Barlovento. So, the
co-author(s) with W.L. Stewart, Jr. was either Henry B. or the owner of
Barlovento, Pierre S...or possibly both.
* From John C. Wade: I don't think handicapping sailors is a good solution
to anything. Rewarding a bad, unmotivated, part time sailor with a trophy
is not conducive to becoming a better sailor. We mostly talk of
handicapping boats for the purpose of leveling the field relative to the
equipment being used. If the golf type system were applied, anyone sailing
in last place enough times would win. It proves nothing and greatly
diminishes the accomplishment of those who work hard and truly love
sailing. I would much rather sail against a pro and loose than sail against
a token sailor, beat him, and then loose. Equating this the boxing: if a
boxer always gets knocked out in the first round, but in the last fight
goes two rounds before he's knocked out, does he win?
* From Robin Baker, In connection with Mr. Thomas' letter concerning "golf"
handicapping systems as applied to sailing ('Butt 1880), I wonder if there
is information out there on applying such a system to sailboat
ratings/handicaps? The information could be useful in trying to avoid
"reinventing the wheel," for those who wanted to implement such a system at
their club.
* From R Jerry Fipps: Having race sailboats for 55 years. I think that PHRF
and IRC handicaps boats in the mid wind strength Fairly Good. However they
do not take in consideration the difference in sec/mile due to wind
strength and course. Therefore when a boat shows up for a race it can check
the wind strength( light or heavy ) and course plus the boats that it will
be racing against and can pretty much decide if it will have a fair or
better chance of winning or not. Which means on the right day of wind
strength and course the boat will have an advantage to trophy with out
sailing the boat to its full potential. A V.P.P. base rule attempts to
level out the advantages or disadvantages of a boat due to course and wind
strengths which requires the boat to race in all conditions to its full
potential. Which could mean why some skipper's may not understand V.P.P.
rule and not trust it. I guess that's why I hear on the docks, that a racer
will say that he can win on his day.
* From Elyse Lowe: The Race Your House Race in San Diego Bay is fun. Racing
all my life, I seldom go out to enjoy a non-competitive day on the water.
However, one day our dock neighbor invited us to "race his House". We
scored extra handicap points when my sister and I raced the event wearing
Cheeta print night gowns (our "fair" weather gear) and were BBQing chicken
off the back of a Cal 30 one year. Cheers to Chula Vista YC for putting on
a fun event.
* From Chris Allen (re Dave Dellenbaugh being referred to as Emily's dad):
As a dad, is that not the best measure of success a dad could receive?
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS
"It is a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do." Walter Winchell
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