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SCUTTLEBUTT 2587 - May 1, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. WHEN THE WIND AND WAVES MEASURE SEVENTY There is a group called 180 Degrees, who on April 24th sailed through the Magnetic South Pole, completing their mission of traveling 22,000 miles from pole to pole, and spreading their message about the earth's climate problems. The following report is from the final stretch of their journey, having just left the Kergeulen Islands, one of the few landing sites when deep in the Southern Ocean. If the recent stories from the Barcelona World Race or some of the round the world record attempts didn't live up to the reputation of this wicked stretch of water, here is a posting that will: "As we made a diagonal bee-line southwards we were assisted by a series of low pressure weather systems causing the winds to pick up and the Sea to build. This was all good news until the weather reports we receive showed an intense low with winds of consistently over 50 knots (~ 55 - 60 mph). We watched its track carefully and were buoyed when it seemed to be missing us and veering South, so it was a shock to learn just before it hit that the prediction had changed and put us right in the centre. Over the night of the April 16-17, the winds steadily increased and we reduced the sail area further and further until finally at 6 am on the 17th with a consistent 55 mph blowing we took down the stay sail and were running on bare poles but still making 8 knots! "The swell was huge and messy, with 70 foot waves regularly lifting us up and accelerating us down their faces at frightening speed. A squall came through, the anemometer hit 70 mph, the air was thick with spray, reducing visibility to white-out conditions. At the helm we were being buffeted off our feet. A mountain of water came from behind and as we tried to adjust course against it, the pressure on the rudder was too great and the steering wires snapped. Blizzard careered down the wave turning her starboard side to the swell and we looked up to see another 70 foot beast, but this one was different. The face was sheer, towering above us and the crest, like a frothy avalanche, was crumbling down onto us. I grabbed a pole and wrapped my arms round it with all my strength. The wave made a deafening thud as it raged into the side of the hull and toppled us sideways. I was dangling in mid-air, and then further so that I could look up and notice the Southern Ocean where the sky should have been. It seemed like an eternity before the yacht finally bobbed back up like a cork. Water filled everything that would hold it, ropes lay strewn over the side and the storm jib was escaping through the guard wires." -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0430a/ CUSTOMS HOUSE CERTIFICATE IS MISSING The Societe Nautique de Geneve (SNG) - represented by Alinghi, Defender of the America's Cup - has brought to light a requirement of the Deed of Gift that requires the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) to submit a custom-house registry of the vessel as soon as possible. This certificate provides desirable design information, and since GGYC has yet to submit it, Alinghi Design Team member Tom Schnackenberg, a three-time America's Cup winner of the event, is questioning why. Said Schnackenberg, "They (GGYC) constantly refer to 'complying with the Deed of Gift' but - despite having publicised that their building process is well underway - continue to avoid this customs house requirement. " Schnackenberg makes an interesting reference in a posting on the team's website, saying that "Nine months ago, GGYC promised in their Notice of Challenge, that they would issue their customs house certificate as soon as possible. It's taking longer than a baby!" As to what exactly is a custom house certificate, he says that it is "Analogous to the issuing of a passport to a citizen, and establishes the identity, ownership and nationality of the vessel. The registration documents will contain apart from the vessel name, the builder, year of build and ownership details; gross tons, net tons, length, breadth, and depth." As to why the certificate has not yet been submitted, GGYC team officials follow Schnackenberg's analogy by saying that the baby isn't born yet. The issuing authority in the United Sates is the US Coast Guard, and it is their standard procedure not to issue such certificates until a boat is completed. Since the GGYC boat is under construction, they are not sure why SNG is raising this "red herring", but it remains their intention to submit the certificate "as soon as possible." Complete remarks by Tom Schnackenberg: http://www.alinghi.com/en/news/news/index.php?idIndex=656&idContent=15520 BRADY LEADS KIWI CONTINGENT TO TOP OF THE FLEET Long Beach, CA (April 30, 2008) -- For a day that opened with what his opponent called "a big crash," Gavin Brady's Wednesday turned out fine in the Long Beach Yacht Club's 44th Congressional Cup presented by Acura. In fact, the three New Zealand sailors in the fleet have no complaints after the first of two round-robins leading to Saturday's championship sailoffs. Brady, rolling with eight consecutive wins after an opening loss, leads the Kiwi clan at 8-1, followed by local resident Scott Dickson (6-3) alone in second place and Simon Minoprio in a three-way tie for third at 5-4. But Brady's win against Antoine-Pierre Morvan wasn't pretty. In the pre-start sequence he rammed the Frenchman's transom and his spinnaker pole hooked onto the rival's luff line, leaving the boats temporarily inseparable. Brady drew a penalty, but built enough of a lead to erase it with a turn at the end of the race. On board Brady's boat this week is Jim Swartz, who has hired him to sail his new STP 65, Moneypenny, now under construction. After the incident Swartz asked Brady, "Is this what you do?" Later, Brady thought, "I think I just lost my job sailing Moneypenny." -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0430b TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEW ULLMAN SAILS WEBSITE. Ullman Sails has launched a brand new website! The group's 22 international sail lofts collaborated on the project, making sure that every section has current, comprehensive information on all Ullman Sails products and services. The new homepage has clean, modern graphics; easy navigation; and an awesome image from Ultimate Sailing's Sharon Green. And it's worth taking a look at the updated tuning guides and articles written by the group's top designers and experienced sailmakers. Started in 1968, Ullman Sails has always focused on providing the best sails and service to every customer. Visit our new website at http://www.ullmansails.com FINLAND ORDERS 300 OPTIMISTS FROM CHINA (April 30, 2008) The Finnish Optimist Association has coordinated an innovative deal between 62 Finnish sailing clubs & their member families and the biggest builder of Optimists in the world, Far East Boats of Shanghai, China. The result is that there are now three hundred Optimists on their way from China to Finland, making this the biggest overseas Optimist shipment during the 60 year history of the class. Since 2002, Far East Boats has made over 4000 Optimists sold all around the world, with the capacity increased to 2000 hulls per year in 2008. With experience accumulating, from 2007 Far East Boats has started supplying high quality fully-equipped Optimist packages. "Our aim has been to supply the clubs and families with highest quality, ready to race, plug and play - opti packages", says Tapio Lehtinen of the Finnish Optimist Association. The boats left on the ocean going container ship Hatsu Courage on April 14th and are expected to arrive in Finland on May 24th when a big youth sailing fiesta is being planned with the new boats given over to the clubs and families with TV and media present. "Our aim is to get the entry barrier as low as possible for the beginners in the sport," says Lehtinen. -- Complete story and photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0430 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: May 3-4 - American Yacht Club Spring Series - Rye, NY, USA May 3-4 - Desert Regatta - Richland, WA, USA May 3-4 - Yachting Cup - San Diego, CA, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar VIDEO OF THE WEEK The SailRocket team has returned to Walvis Bay, Namibia, the famed speed record strip on the Atlantic side of the African continent, to seek out the holy grail of all out speed - the 50 knot barrier. While the project has been fraught with high and low moments, the team is extremely thrilled with recent runs that had them recording speeds of mid 40's in less than ideal conditions. Speed sailing is all about big winds and flat water, and the low lying beach and offshore winds of the speed track are ideal when sailing mere feet off the land. This week's video finds the SailRocket team on a day that they were unsure of their steering system, so they held a course further offshore. The water was choppy and the ride was particularly rough, with the video providing an awesome perspective of what it is like to go this fast. Click here to view: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/08/0428 SAILING SHORTS * To make it easier for prospective US SAILING-certified instructors to fulfill course requirements for CPR and First Aid certification, US SAILING has teamed up with the American Red Cross to provide an online training program. All of US SAILING instructor training programs - including all Small Boat Levels, Windsurfing, Powerboat, and Keelboat programs - require current CPR and First Aid certification. The online training program offered through the Red Cross provides convenient, effective, and affordable training for instructors at all levels. -- Read on: http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2008/redcrosstraining.asp * The latest release of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings on April 30th finds Australia as the top nation, with sailors leading in the Laser, 470 Men, and Tornado classes, and as runner-up in the Laser Radial. For the North American contingent, the US remains strong in the Laser Radial (#1), Yngling (#2), 49er (#4), and 470 Women (#6), while the Canadians are strong in the Laser (#5), Tornado (#8), and Finn (#10). -- Complete standings: http://www.sailing.org/23159.php * It was confirmed by Rita Barbera, the mayoress of Valencia, that should BMW Oracle Racing win the 33rd America's Cup, the team this week made a verbal commitment for the 34th edition of the Races to be staged in Valencia. Mrs Barbera also stated that no date was mentioned at all as to when the next events could take place in Valencia (33rd or 34th), but she did add that despite her expectations, no contract had as yet been signed for any sailing event with Alinghi despite their stated intentions that Valencia should be the setting. -- Valencia Life Network, mailto:publisher@valencialife.net * Watsonville, CA (April 30, 2008) -- West Marine, Inc. has released preliminary unaudited operating results for the first quarter of 2008. Pre-tax net loss for the thirteen weeks ended March 29, 2008 was $25.4 million, or ($0.81) per share after-tax, compared to a pre-tax loss of $18.4 million, or ($0.53) per share after-tax last year. Net sales for the thirteen weeks ended March 29, 2008 were $113.3 million, compared to net sales of $125.8 million for the thirteen weeks ended March 31, 2007. Comparable store sales for the thirteen weeks ended March 29, 2008 decreased 9.4% compared to the same period a year ago. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/3skavk THE PERFECT NAUTICAL GIFT Latitude Kinsale's 3D charts are proving very popular as gifts for special occasions, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, or simply treating yourself, made to commission- they are truly unique and personal. A new feature is surround lighting built into the frame, adding a whole new dimension to 3D charts. Have a look at the website and you will see examples including Newport & Hawaii. 'Story board' charts are popular for capturing an event and are great mementos of that lifetime cruise or racing campaign: "From all the crew, thank you skipper!!!" Check out the website today and talk to Latitude Kinsale about your commission. http://www.latitudekinsale.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 Art Weekley, Newport, RI: (Regarding Beware of Threes in 'Butt 286) Cocktails and poo-poos served? It's actually puu-puus, but then poo-poo is what Alinghi has been feeding the sailing world for months! How appropriate to have a cocktail party to celebrate it. * From Dick Schmidt: I have been reading with interest the recent discussion about which boats should and should not be included in the Olympic Games. It occurs to me that a fundamental point has been lost in all this. If we agree that the purpose of the Games is to foster international understanding through sportsmanship, then it follows that the choice of a boat should not arbitrarily preclude certain teams from participating. To me, the cost of a boat is a primary consideration, as many hopefuls in small countries simply cannot afford to compete in some of the high-priced boats. I am a 10-year "veteran" of the Star Class--and I love the Star--but a competitive boat costs upwards of $50k, and this would seem to limit participation. Conversely, inclusion of boats like the Laser and sailboards makes a great deal of sense on these grounds. As someone said in Scuttlebutt recently, there is nothing high-tech (or cost-prohibitive) about a baton in a running race or a ball and grassy field for soccer. * From Jim Champ: In 'Butt 2585, Garry Hoyt wrote how "reliable wind over 10 knots is the single most important element" when it comes to selecting the Olympic sailing site. Garry, do you think ISAF has any influence at all over that? When the bidding cities present and ISAF says that Fredsville is a lousy venue because there's no wind, and every other sport says Fredsville is great, then what do you suppose happens? As for TV - forget it. It's not just an impossible dream, it's a dangerous one. The Canoe slalom event is about to get the chop even though it has tremendous TV coverage because it just doesn't happen in enough countries. Your slate looks suspiciously similar in that respect. The biggest risk to sailing in the games right now seems to be low participation by third world, especially African countries. Your slate also, by the way more or less, spells death to sailing in the Paralympics because there will be no keelboat facilities. Do you want that too? I'm no fan of lead-assisted sailing, but if the price of having sailing in the Paras is to have the dinosaurs in the main games then so be it... * From Steve Pyatt: (regarding the color green and bad luck) The Green boat thing certainly is in Europe, well England anyway. It is my understanding that that is where it came from, down in the West Country where they have Pixies. Green is the colour of the land (the trees, grass etc and the colour of the Pixies too) and if you dare to take the colour of the land to sea you risk untold misfortune, in a similar way to mentioning the noun for a certain four-legged animal on any day that you may go to sea! A group of sailors once tried to cure me of the green thing at a regatta we were 'bound to win' [I had lots of anecdotes on all bad races being the result of something green being worn or used on the boat (tape, burgee etc)] . We had a disaster; gear failures, incidents, you name it. Afterwards they sheepishly came over and pulled a green rag from its concealment in a pouch saying "Sorry Steve, we thought we could show you that you could win with green!" * From Manfred C. Schreiber: The green boat thing is a lie. "IMP" had been successful, fully dressed in green, and made the designer famous. A boat with a positive Karma. Can anyone dig up a photo? * From Justin Scott, President Viper 640 Class Association: (re, bad luck and bananas, Fridays, and green) South Carolina must be a Voodoo free zone. In April, Charleston Race Week began on a Friday. For the first time in thirty-five years of racing we had bananas on board. One of my crew had a seeming addiction to the ghastly things. We finished first in our class. George Radley's very popular Irish winner of PHRF G, the delightful Ron Holland designed "IMP", had a distinctive color scheme of...........green. => Curmudgeon's Comment: The sailing world quickly met designer Ron Holland in the 70's after all the success achieved by the 40-foot IMP. Here are a couple of images that we found: >> Ron Holland Design: http://tinyurl.com/5yzwrt >> CRW: http://www.charlestonraceweek.com/gallery/index.php?id=341 * From Bill Littell: In response to Bill Kasey's letter in issue 2586, I thought sailing was supposed to be fun. Spending time in protest hearings is NOT fun. Rules seminars would be better if they emphasized good sailing and how to avoid situations that result in protests. THE NUMEROLOGICAL MEANING OF SCUTTLEBUTT It was noted in Issue 2586 that the 33rd America's Cup was numerologically doomed. Of course, there was no basis for this, other than to squeeze a value of entertainment from the event's current mess. However, it got us to thinking about the numerological meaning behind Scuttlebutt, and after we Googled our way to a free analysis, we liked what we saw. Here it is: Expression: 28 / 10 / 1 You have an innate ability to get what you want and what you need for your survival. You are primarily concerned about developing the self and acquiring resources for your own enjoyment. Your independence and courageous determination to succeed makes you a good leader, and your unique approach is sure to open the doors to brave new worlds and fascinating discoveries. Soul Urge: 11 / 2 Peace and harmony is your desire. You are a natural mediator as you are genuine, tactful and adaptable. You tend to put your own will aside for others and it is difficult for you to make decisions. This may cause others to see you as shy, or lacking confidence. Your sensitivity and gentleness can be a great healing force bringing harmony and support to others. Personality: 17 / 8 There is an air of affluence about you, no matter your station in life. People assume you are in control. You give the impression that you are the best at what you do, so naturally others look to you for leadership. You have an eye for quality and no matter what it takes you dress for success. Designer clothing of the highest quality is certainly your preference. People cluster around you hoping that some of that luck is contagious. => Get your own reading here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/04/numerology.html CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Tilting at windmills hurts you more than the windmills. - Robert A. Heinlein Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Latitude Kinsale. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
