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SCUTTLEBUTT #475 - January 5, 2000LOUIS VUITTON CUP SEMIFINALS* The wind returned to normal strength today, 14 knots, but the nerves of the sailors competing in the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinals were ratcheted higher with more gear failures and tight close-quarter action. The most dramatic image of the day was Prada's mast breaking in two halfway up the first beat in a match against AmericaOne. Paul Cayard's crew from San Francisco picked up a valuable victory by completing the course unopposed and moved to 2-1 in the standings while Prada fell to 1-2. There was also action in Team Dennis Conner's match against Le Defi Bouygues Telecom-Transiciel. The French earned their second penalty of the day at the first leeward mark when they altered course while holding right of way. At the beginning of the match the French were penalised for entering the start box before the five-minute gun sounded. Team Dennis Conner remains atop the leaderboard with a perfect 3-0 record, while France remains at the bottom, still searching for its first victory of the semis. Nippon, meanwhile, improved to 2-1 with a 1:31 victory over America True that dropped Dawn Riley's team to 1-2 in the standings. -- Quokka sports, http://www.americascup.org/ STARS & STRIPES BEAT LE DEFI - DELTA 03:06 Bertrand Pace, skipper of Le Defi (FRA-46) was early to enter the start box, handing his opponent Ken Read on Stars & Stripes (USA-55) an advantage five minutes before the start. The Umpires penalised Pace, and that would become a factor later in the race. Read gained a position of control in the pre-start, but Bertrand Pace fought him off, forcing Stars & Stripes to tack away. Le Defi however was early for the start, and in falling off to stay below the start line, Pace stalled the boat. Read hit the line with good speed. Stars & Stripes held the early advantage around the windward mark, but Ken Read could only watch as the orange French boat steamed up behind him on the run - Le Defi again showing great speed downwind. But Bertrand Pace was too anxious to throw a penalty onto the Americans. With the starboard tack advantage, he didn't give Stars & Stripes room when Read looked clear to cross in front of Le Defi on a port tack. The French bow hit the American stern scoop. The Umpires assessed another penalty to Le Defi, and Pace was obligated to clear one immediately. The result was a messy leeward mark rounding, as the French tried to douse their spinnaker, raise their headsail and complete a penalty turn all at once. Read sailed on ahead, and Stars & Stripes was never threatened again. ASURA BEAT AMERICA TRUE - DELTA 01:31 John Cutler on America True (USA-51) got in some serious trouble during the pre-start. Peter Gilmour on Asura (JPN-44) had Cutler locked out to the left of the pin end. Cutler did a nice job to escape from that nasty position with the use of a spectator boat. After that Asura trailed America True on port tack underneath the start line. At 23 seconds to the start America True tacked to starboard to start. Gilmour continued and tacked to starboard near the committee boat. America True won the start, but Asura won the right side with considerable separation. On the beat the Japanese defended the right side in a fierce tacking duel with success. The race was very close until the end of that first beat where a one boat lead turned into a three-boat lead, as Asura pointed better with more speed. With a 27 seconds lead, Gilmour rounded the top mark. On the run America True gained one second on Gilmour but after that Asura gained on every leg to win the race, looking strong and regaining confidence. AMERICAONE WON LUNA ROSSA DID NOT FINISH The much awaited line-up of AmericaOne (USA-61), Paul Cayard's new boat, and the top scorer of the Round Robins, Luna Rossa (ITA-45) didn't really happen today. Cayard pulled off a feisty start that saw his opponents fruitlessly waving the protest flag. With less than a minute to the start, Cayard slammed in a full circle around the Race Committee boat as Luna Rossa, sailed by Francesco de Angelis came the other way and tried to shut him out. AmericaOne ducked through a narrow gap between its opponent and the Race Committee and Luna Rossa protested for failing to keep clear. The Umpires green-flagged the protest and Luna Rossa trailed over the start line 12 seconds astern. Luna Rossa fought to get back into the game for six tacks and 17 minutes. The boats were close in speed with perhaps the edge on Luna Rossa's side. Then the Italians' mast broke suddenly at the third spreader in 10-12 knots of breeze. With the pressure off, AmericaOne cruised around the remaining five legs to collect one point. -- Peter Rusch, Keith Taylor, Simon Keijzer, Louis Vuitton Cup website, http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/ * The International Jury for the Louis Vuitton Cup worked late tonight, hearing a request by Team Dennis Conner for 48 hours to repair its boat, damaged today in a collision with France's Le Defi challenger. After hearing evidence about the collision, the Jury also initiated a Rule 14 (Avoiding Contact) protest against Le Defi. The Jury will hear evidence in the Rule 14 case tomorrow night. If it finds against Le Defi, the French team, which is currently without any points, could find itself with a negative score. After hearing from the Chief Measurer Ken McAlpine and Stars & Stripes shore boss Mick Harvey, and visiting the Stars & Stripes compound to view repair work already under way, the Jury gave the American team 24 hours to complete repairs. The Jury said it would consider additional time for repairs if Stars & Stripes was able to show cause before at 1800 hours on Thursday The French boat hit Stars & Stripes cracking the outer skin of the hull from the sheerline to the centreline at a point about one meter from the extreme end of the transom. McAlpine and Harvey each gave evidence that it would take a minimum of 24 hours to make structurally sound repairs to the American boat. It would take an additional 24 hours to finish cosmetic work to return the boat to as-new condition. -- - Keith Taylor, Louis Vuitton Cup website. Full story: http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/ SEMIFINALS STANDINGS (1 point per win) 3 pts - USA 55 (Stars & Stripes) 2 pts - USA 61 (AmericaOne) 2 pts - JPN 44 (Asura) 1 pt - ITA 45 (Luna Rossa) 1 pts - USA 51 (America True) 0 pts - FRA 46 (6eme Sens) LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Bob Fisher -- No one is in any doubt as to the extension of the acronym,"BN", and whatever we may try to do to correct this, it has to come from those to whom it has been applied. They, seemingly, attach themselves to the acronym with an almost fierce sense of proprietorship. None of them liked the old fashioned "paid hand", regarding that as some form of feudal serfdom, and even formed the IBNA, their dockside equivalent of our SINS. They certainly didn't take to the idea of a black boat owner who referred to his boat captain as a "White Marine Domestic." So, perhaps we should ask them just how they wish to be known and adopt their wishes. -- From Matthew Gurl -- I read the letter from Andy calling Mark a BN with out giving it a second thought. ( both are friends of mine from Newport) It wasn't till I read the letters that I realize how many people need to get off their high horses with their laptops and get a life! It is a term we in the industry call ourselves! There is no political or racist meaning to it! Let it go! I am sure the people against the term are probably bitter because they can't afford a BN and probably never stepped foot in boatyard let alone wet-sanded a maxi or pulled an all-nighter to repair a boat so it could race the next day. Let us not forget the"BN Ball", which was started to raise money for the young families of some sailors who died offshore. Since then BN balls have raised money for other charities. What's next change the term " Dolphin Striker" because it is cruel to animals!!!!!! -- From Susan Harper -- It's always been "Boat Nanny" to me! -- From Robert Bethune (re the Brendan Voyage) -- The book will be republished next April under the title of The Brendan Voyage. Further information is available on the "Sailing History" page of the bookstore on the web at Freshwater Seas: http://www.freshwaterseas.com/bookstore/sailing--history.htm#0375755241 -- From Chris Bouzaid -- It's has been interesting to watch the first three days races of the Louis Vuitton Semi Finals. We have seen a blown out spinnaker, busted headstay, broken mast and a whole days racing cancelled because of too much wind. While all this has been happening we have watched a parade of Kiwis beating back to Auckland to be home for work today. About two miles away is the premier junior sailing event in New Zealand taking place. It is called the Tauranga Cup and here over 100 under 15 year olds are battling the elements. They are not canceling their event, or postponing their races, they are racing. They are learning to race in all conditions. In my opinion The America's Cup in its present format is not setting a good example for our junior sailors nor is it giving the sailing public a good perspective of the sport. If this does not change I believe we will see the Volvo Ocean Race supersede the America's Cup in prestige and viewer participation. It is also interesting to note how few spectators are on the course, there seems to be more police and patrol boats than spectator boats. -- From Jean Fischer / Dart Davis -- We appreciate the coverage of the Louis Vuitton Cup races on ESPN 2, but as sailers sure would like more of the boats in the individual races and a lot less of people. Since it is mostly sailers watching at this point I have to say we don't care about the people in the pit, or profiles of New Zealand. We care about how the boats are sailing, the tactics being used, the computerized sail profiles, and watching jib or spinniker sets. Hope you can pass this on to whomever might have a say in what is covered in the last 6 races of these semi-finals. -- From Craig Fletcher -- After watching the crew work on ESPN on Sunday I can understand why the America Cup challengers would not want to sail in any breeze. May be a little harsh, but a picture is worth a thousand words. PARALYMPICS The Ross-Duggan Paralympics Challenge for the is interested in adding members with minimal physical disabilities, i.e., lower extremity amputation above or below the knee or ankle or upper extremity amputation above or below the elbow or wrist. Individuals with other disabilities could also potentially be considered for the team. The team brought home a bronze medal in 1996 in Atlanta and has won both the nationals and North Americans championships. Ross-Duggan have been ranked #1 in the US over the last two years and are one of the top teams in contention to win the trials and go to Sydney in 2000. The crewed boat in the paralympics is the Sonar. The sonar is a 23' sloop with a 900 pound keel and is raced by three individuals with disabilities. Spinnakers aren't allowed and the jib uses a whisker pole. The team will practice from January through April. The paralympic trials will be in St. Petersburg, Florida April 12-16. Interested parties contact: (949) 675 1532, jrduggan@aol.com. NYYC RACE WEEK NEWPORT, R.I. (January 4, 2000) - Offshore and one-design sailors alike will find top-flight competition, including a shot at the Rolex IMS Offshore World Racer and Cruiser/Racer titles, at the second biennial New York Yacht Club (NYYC) Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex. The event, scheduled for July 14-23 at the NYYC's Harbour Court in Newport, R.I., is building on the success of its unique split format-racing schedule introduced in 1998. The race week will incorporate the Rolex IMS Offshore World Championship into the first half of the week along with PHRF championship racing. It will then change gears in the second half of the week to serve as championships for multiple one-design classes, which so far include Farr 40, J/35, J/44, J/120, J/105, Melges 24, Mumm 30 and One-Design 35. Buoy races for IMS, PHRF and one-design sailors will take place on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. Distance races for IMS and PHRF also have been scheduled. "I know of no other single race week where offshore and one-design sailors can converge for such high caliber racing," said Event Chair Tom Harrington, "and also have the choice of racing during one part of the week or both." "I expect this to be an even stronger trend in 2000," said Harrington, "especially with the America's Cup being over and having the Rolex IMS Worlds included. In addition, several of the one-design classes are expected to designate the event, as they did last time, for their national or North American championships." The overall winning yacht in PHRF will be awarded a Rolex timepiece. Rolex timepieces also will be awarded to first- and second-place finishers in both IMS divisions as well as to winners of one-design classes that meet specific requirements. -- Barby MacGowan Notice of Race, entry and accommodation information: http://www.nyyc.org EVEN MORE SAILING ON TV ESPN coverage of the 1999 Transpacific Yacht Race will air again on Thursday, January 6 @ 3:00pm ET, or 12:00pmPT, or 10am HT. Roy E. Disney sets another record 2 years in a row, Double Bullet flips over and is rescued by the coast guard. That and more on the TRANSPAC. Check your local listings to confirm the time in your area. -- Leslie DeMeuse QUOTE / UNQUOTE Francesco de Angelis, skipper of Luna Rossa on the dismasting: "Basically we broke the tip cup at the third spreader fitting and the cap shroud got disconnected. There will be a little work to do on the mainsail. The rig broke quite cleanly so the rig can be fixed. We are replacing the rig right now and will go sailing for a short check late this evening." Louis Vuitton Cup website, http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/ THE CURMUDGEON'S OXYMORONS Terribly pleased |
