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SCUTTLEBUTT 2109 - June 6, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.GROWING THE J-CLASS Plans to build three new J Class yachts have been revealed by the J Class Association which has also announced changes to the J Class Rule to introduce a maximum rating and do away with the current waterline length limitation. The American J Yankee, the British yacht Endeavour II and a Thor Holm design for a Swedish challenge started in 1938 but thwarted by World War II, have all been submitted to the J Class Association with a view to building replicas. To control the development of the class which currently includes Endeavour, Velsheda, Ranger and Shamrock V, new builds have to be based on a design from history. -- David Glenn/Yachting World, full story: http://tinyurl.com/h9om6 MATURING GRACEFULLY "This Cup is donated upon the conditions that it shall be preserved as a perpetual Challenge Cup for friendly competition between foreign countries." --America's Cup Deed of Gift. Those simple but powerful words were penned in in 1857, six years after the yacht America won that most famous race around the Isle of Wight. In today's highly mobile, networked global economy it is easy to forget that competition (friendly or otherwise) between foreign countries was a novel if not radical idea in those pre-Civil War days in the USA -- forty years before the modern Olympics. From time to time during the Cup's history that concept of "friendly competition" has been severely tested. Last evening, however, the donors' spirit and intent were alive and well in the Port America's Cup. Following an afternoon of intermural racing between our two teams, ETNZ invited the BWM Oracle Racing team around for an adult beverage or two. "The invitation and acceptance," a senior ETNZ manager joked, "is clear evidence that Dalts and Dicko are getting old and going soft." Truth is it's just another example of Cup world growing up a bit, or maybe getting back to the more fraternal times in Newport before the controversies of 83, 87 and 88 caused teams to wall themselves off from each other -- figuratively and literally. Last night was a chance for many old mates regardless of nationality to catch up after a good, hard day at the office. The Kiwis present (and between our two teams we have something like 150 New Zealanders) had no trouble drinking a healthy quantity of Spanish beer, and for some it was a reminder of just how much we enjoy a good NZ Pinot Noir. A fun, relaxed evening. With thanks to our ETNZ mates for the hospitality. -- Tom Ehman, BMW Oracle Racing blog, http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/stories/2112208/ DENNIS CONNER Antibes, France - Dennis Conner's beautifully restored 1925 Anker-Jensen "Q" boat "Cotton Blossom II" made here debut in the Mediterranean Sea winning the "Trophe d' Pasque" held in Villefrance, near Monaco. "Cotton Blossom II" is now racing in the Antibes Panerai Regatta. There are 59 lovely wooden boats entered with "Cambria" being the largest at 128 feet. "Tuiga" and her main competitor "Moombeam IV" are making a spectacular sight. CB II won the first race sailed in 12 to 22 knots finishing ahead of the Sparkman & Stephens famous "Stormy Weather" and "Bona Fida" in second and third position. Cotton Blossom was honored with the "Trophe de Elegance" for the most beautiful boat of the fleet. Dennis responded by saying "it is very gratifying to win this honor after all the hard work and passion I have put into the boat" -- http://www.stars-stripes.com/ Fronco Pace/Panerai photo: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/conner.jpg THE RACE IS ON... With the Newport to Bermuda Race just days away...time is running out! Teams are buying gear that will give them the performance and protection they need when they hit the Gulf Stream. Camet fast drying sailing shorts and Code Zero shirts are ideal for these conditions. Get prepared at your local dealer or see our new website, the new Rio shorts and the latest gear. http://www.camet.com STILL CLUSTERED With half of the food onboard already consumed and not even a third of the way into leg eight of the Volvo Ocean Race, it will be a slimmer set of sailors who eventually arrive in Rotterdam after their scenic tour of Ireland. At present, the fleet is gybing up the western coast of Ireland and slipping along quite nicely in 12 - 14 knots of breeze. The leaders are 34 miles west of Slyne Head and just 11 miles separate the boats from east to west, with Brasil 1 (Torben Grael), the nearest to the shore. Although there has been little wind, the scenery has more than made up for it and this morning began when dawn revealed some of the most rugged and beautiful coastlines imaginable. Jerry Kirby, from Pirates of the Caribbean, said that the racing was great but the scenery was spectacular. The day was spent gybing in and out of every bay to take advantage of the wind shifts and taking a closer look at coast at the same time. Simon Fisher from ABN Amro Two wrote: "Our day started sailing in and out of the mist rolling down off the hills and, as the sun rose and the mist burnt off, it gave way to spectacular views of rolling green hills and a weather-beaten rocky coastline. With castles and towers stationed on each headland, it gives you the feeling of sailing through a scene out of Lord of the Rings." Weather forecasts indicate that there will be very little wind for the rest of this leg, so gazing at the scenery will at least occupy some curious minds and help reduce the boredom. --http://www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 on Monday: 1. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, 1001 miles to finish 2. Ericsson Racing Team, Neal McDonald, +1 miles 3. Brunel, Matt Humphries, + 3 miles 4. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +6 miles 4. ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +6 miles 6. ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, + 7 miles QUOTE / UNQUOTE "Our basic strategy is to stay close to Brasil 1 on this leg. The weather is quite volatile and variable so we just don't want to risk a big separation with them. If we are right behind them, we essentially move foreword in closing down on second place over all. If we beat them, then that is obviously better." -- Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean skipper "Hard work out here and very frustrating. I guess this is what the rest of the fleet has been experiencing with us. You line up with a boat and they just sail past you. The first day we had the pleasure of being rolled twice by Brasil in a couple of hours. The other night the three Farr boats sailed away from us doing a knot quicker and today we had Pirates sail away at about half a knot quicker vmg. So where are we? About a quarter mile behind the Pirates." -- Mark Christensen, ABN Amro One Watch Captain SARDINIA ROLEX CUP Seven teams to compete for Sardinia Cup and ISAF Offshore Team World Championship titles in the idyllic setting of Porto Cervo, Sardinia. The Sardinia Rolex Cup has always been a team event where sailing nations send their finest racing yachts and crews to battle not for individual honors, but for the international prestige that comes with representing the best team on the water. This year, the event attracted seven teams: Alpe Adria, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Sardinia, Spain and USA. The USA team is composed of Wokita.com, John Buchan, TP 52; Atlantica Racing, Carlo Perrone Swan 45; and Vita Sangemini, Giovanni Arrivabene, Farr 40. The Sardinia Cup has been held every two years since 1978, and in 2004 its status as a grand prix event was further enhanced when it was granted the accolade of ISAF Offshore Team World Championship. -- http://www.sardiniarolexcup.com 2006 US YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS On June 22-29 in Grosse Point, Michigan, Vanguard Sailboats will sponsor the 2006 US Youth Championships. This event features 150 of the best youth sailors in the country. There are very few regattas like the US Youth Championships that consistently produce future All American, Olympic, and Americas Cup sailors. This year's batch of competitors is sure not to disappoint. Stay tuned to teamvanguard.com between June 22-29 for daily results and updates. Vanguard is a proud sponsor of the US Youth Championships. For more information on the 2006 US Youth Championships visit, http://www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/youthchamp SCUTTLEBUTT PODCAST: PAIGE RAILEY (June 5, 2006) American Paige Railey, currently the ISAF #1 ranked Laser Radial sailor, chats with Scuttlebutt during her training in Europe, just prior to the Laser Radial Europeans in Riccione, Italy. Paige discusses the Laser Radial becoming an Olympic class, her suitability to the class, her climb to the top of sailing, her propensity for the OCS, and some of the other secrets to this budding Olympic star. Listen and learn: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/06/pr SAILING SHORTS * Montreal, Canada -- Former world champion Dirk Kneulman returned to his winning ways last weekend, capturing the Canadian Etchells championship hosted by Pointe Claire Yacht Club. Teaming with Mike Wolfer and reigning Canadian champion and former Olympian Hank Lammens, Kneulman scored five bullets in the eight-race series to outpace Marblehead's Wade Edwards (2nd) and Greenwich's Jonathan Nye (3rd) in a three-day regatta that saw racing cancelled the first day due to light and variable winds, but climb first to 15-20 on Saturday and then to 20-30 knots on Sunday. For complete results, visit: http://www.pcyc.qc.ca/index.php?action=race_res * America's Cup Hall of Famer and friend of many sailors, Ed du Moulin passed away March 29. Halsey Herreshoff and Rich du Moulin invite Ed's sailing friends to join them for a Celebration and Party at the Herreshoff Marine Museum (One Burnside Street) this Friday evening June 9 in Bristol, Rhode Island. Stories and remarks by Halsey, Gary Jobson, Malin Burnham, Tom Whidden and Richard. The bar opens at 5:30, the remarks about 6:30, and buffet dinner to follow. Late arrivals are welcome! * The 2006 Leukemia Cup regatta, hosted by the Dana West Yacht Club, reached a milestone this past weekend by surpassing a mark of $1 million raised over the years for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This year, the event raised $120,000 for the cause. The Dana West junior sailing program, which participated in the regatta for the first time this year, raised more than $18,000. The race also marked the 10th anniversary of the fundraiser. -- http://tinyurl.com/n6arc * If you are longing for a taste of the old days, the Scuttlebutt website has a new photo gallery from the Quarter Ton Cup that began this week in England. Nineteen teams are competing, currently led by Ed Dubois sailing Enigma, a boat he designed in 1977 and built in a barn in Northern Ireland, later proving to be an important turning point in his career when she came to Cowes Week in her first season and caught the eye of several clients to be. Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0605 * US Sailing has determined the ranking system for the 2007 US Sailing Team. The ranking system names at least three qualifying events for each Olympic class, but US Sailing's 2007 Rolex Miami OCR and the Pre-Trials are mandatory events for all 11 classes. The ranking system for the 2007 US Sailing Team determines the top-ranked athlete in each class who will be selected to compete in the 2007 Olympic Test event, scheduled for August, 2007, in Qingdao, China. The qualifying events for each class are posted at: http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/usst.htm * The TAG-Heuer Nations Cup Regional Final will be held in the Charlotte Amalie Harbor Thursday, June 8 to Sunday June 11. Seven national open teams and four women's teams will compete for the opportunity to represent the North American region at the Grand Final in Ireland. Teams will be coming from Bermuda, BVI, Canada, Cayman Islands, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, USVI, and USA. * Jonathan Banks, a marketing consultant with an extensive background in all facets of sailing and the marine industry, has been named as the new executive director of Sail America. Banks will take the helm of Sail America the first week of July. He brings over 20 years experience in international business management with leading companies in the marine, electric vehicle, automotive, sporting goods, and telecommunications industries. * Thursday is the start of racing in the XII edition of the Roberto Trombini Challenge Trophy, an Italian ISAF Grade 1 match racing event in Marina di Ravenna to be sailed in Tom 28s. The skippers include: including Paolo Cian, Chris Dickson (NZL), Mathieu Richard (FRA), Lars Nordbjaerg (DEN), Peter Wibroe (Danish), Andrew Arbuzov (Russian), Martin Angsell (Swedish), Simon Minoprio (New Zealand), Tino Ellegast (Danish) and Damien Iehl (French). -- http://www.matchracetrombini.com * French adventurer Bruno Peyron and his 121 foot Orange II are on Code Red standby -- waiting for a "window of opportunity" to break American Steve Fossett's North Atlantic crossing record from New York to The Lizard, in England. (Code Red: No potential start within 7 days.) The best weather would be a low pressure system, with constant wind at 27-35 knots (and no waves), that Orange II could ride across the entire ocean. Orange II is at the Newport Shipyard and will take approximately 10 hours to get to its New York starting point (Ambrose Light). J/80 WORLDS COMING TO CORPUS CHRISTI Ruairidh Scott of the UK will defend his world title at the 2006 J/80 Worlds, July 9-14 in Corpus Christi, Texas. It won't be an easy task, as a strong US fleet is expected, including Glen Darden, Kerry Klingler, John Kolius, Jay Lutz, and more. New boats still available! http://www.2006j80worlds.com 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. 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, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Ken Legler (Re: Tom Jarecki's observation about lack of women skippers at college dinghy nationals): Only one female skipper started this year's dinghy championship, the other 35 were male. Usually there are more but not many. In short there are two reasons; 1. Most women in college sailing prefer crewing and 2. It's actually faster to have the larger sailor skippering in most cases. I'll defer the long explanation of 1. To a sociologist. The Tufts Sailing Team has a very large roster but typical in terms of ratios, service academies notwithstanding. Of 50 active sailors there are usually 23 males (21 skippers, 2 crew) and 27 females (4 skippers and 23 crew.) The female skippers have female crew in order to compete in the women's only events. They do sail in some coed events but are sometimes compelled to sail in the women's only events to ensure participation in pre-scheduled regattas. The average ability of the four Tufts women's boats is about the same as average ability of the 21 coed boats but rarely hits top two. Speed in college sailing is more about speed through the turns rather than the text book straight line speed. As such tall slender crews are sometimes overrated. It's actually faster to have a shorter and more muscular crew for lateral quickness and agility via lower center of gravity. Also, there is very little space in the front of a college dinghy restricted by the centerboard trunk, boom vang and control lines. * From Scott Truesdell: 34 years ago UC Irvine became the first team to field a varsity boat in the PCICYRA with a female skipper. The reason was simple; put your best people forward. Terri Taylor earned her position and won a fair share of races. It sure pissed off the girls from UC Berkeley, that bellwether of '70s feminism. They were outraged that they were not the first! * From Ron Wall: Well, I've picked myself up off the floor, and am back in my chair. Hooray for Bill Lee. Leave it to Mr. "Fast is Fun" to come up with this idea, or at least put it forth at this time. Catamarans for the America's Cup -- what a great concept. He's right on all points. I've been an avid Mariner for over 40 years, on vessels of all types. My introduction to Cats came in San Clemente & Dana Point, and has flourished ever since. Not that I'd turn down a ride on a SC 70 or comparable Sleds, but there's not a monohull around that can compare to the speed & responsiveness and just the darn thrill of a similar sized catamaran. We tried a few years in the Vic-Maui Race to include Multi-hulls and though still opposed by the mainstream, they brought more technology, speed, and fun to the race than any other single class, except perhaps the Sleds. Look at the effect on Trans-Pac. Any regular reader of Scuttlebutt can't have missed the plethora of coverage and continuing hoopla over the Big Cats and their speed & distance records. Mr. Lee's dead-on as far as spectators go too! Shorter courses, more races, greater speed, and in many ways, more attainable for yachties & non-sailors as well. Heck, even Switzerland got a few lakes big enough to host 12 or so of these 60+ foot, shallow draft speed demons. Wouldn't that open up the AC competition. * From Chris Upton: The wizard, whose motto is Fast is fun, may have forgotten that in match racing being fast is not important. What is, is being "faster." * From Geoff Brieden: While the multi-hull slappies out there laud Bill Lee and his call for an AC boat change, the reality of the situation is that it will not happen, as it does not translate in practicality. Never mind that the lack of a tactical duel with two cats match racing would be a yawner (regardless of how fast you're going), it's just simply doesn't make a connection with the majority of the sailing population. Multi-hulls are very fun to sail off the beach or in a straight line, but remember, sailing isn't just about speed. Otherwise, we'd all have powerboats. Multi-hulls do not appeal to the vast majority of the sailing population (sailing, mind you, not necessarily racing), who, like it or not, do make up the majority of the audience, and furthermore, marketplace. After all, it is about the flow of money. For the majority of folks, they are just simply not practical. For multi-hulls, you can't find decent mooring for anything other than a beach cat, they are harder to control and can be more dangerous in the wrong hands, you can't take the young family (or the big, sedentary customer) out cruising on it, and there is more risk of catastrophic failure (capsize) when the 'stuff' hits the fan. The reality of the situation is that, even as slow boats, huge lead bulbs, ridiculous budgets, people can relate to them Sorry multi-lovers, you just have to live for 'The Race.' The AC isn't changing. * From David Chivers: There are not enough protests. I hear at so many regattas that this or that was wrong, but the complainer has never protested. Too much effort? Can't be bothered? Don't want to get involved? No confidence in the protest Committee or Jury? Would like someone else to do it for them? All these reasons are possible. However, it is in every sailors power to enforce the rules, but only when they give the Jury or the Protest Committee the power to do so. A Jury cannot see everything that goes on, but when they do know the details the have the tools and the power to deal with everything from a misunderstanding through to cheats and bullies. Deal strongly with the latter and a very clear message will soon travel through the sport. Yes not all judges or protest committees make the right decision, but the more the system is supported the better it will be and the more experienced judges can become. Clubs must stop treating protests as dirty and unfriendly and help the sport to control itself and stop things getting out of hand before sailors progress to major regattas. CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL The bonds of matrimony are a good investment, only when the interest is kept up. Special thanks to Camet International, Vanguard Sailboats, and J/Boats. |
