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SCUTTLEBUTT 2185 - September 21, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk ... with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with America’s Cup coverage in Scuttlebutt brought to you by UBS (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). IT’S OFFICIAL The official race rule for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09, released today, shows subtle refinements from its predecessor with the main focus on improving durability while safeguarding the Volvo Open 70’s status as the world’s fastest ocean going monohull. To that end, weight distribution, restrictions on appendages and the integrity of construction materials in keel mechanisms are the main elements of version 2 of the Volvo Open 70 rule – upgraded from the 2005-06 race. The race organizers and Rule Management Group (RMG), led by chief measurer James Dadd, have concentrated on the issues which contributed to structural problems in the previous race – particularly in the area of canting keels. The intention has been to stay true to the stated philosophy of producing ‘fast, single mast, monohull keelboats of similar performance, suitable for long distance racing offshore at the highest level of the sport’. A summary of the key changes are as follows: - Maximum weight for keel, fin and bulb of 7.4 tonnes (To ensure weight saved in the structure could not be added to the keel to improve performance) - A reduction in the overall weight range of the boat to 13.86-14.00 tonnes (previously 12.5-14 tonnes) (To ensure there is enough structure put into the boat to improve durability) - A ban on bomb doors (To prevent water ingress) - All spinnakers may be furled and one additional masthead spinnaker to be added to the inventory (To make handling easier and safer for the crews and improve light air performance) - Set appendage configuration – two dagger boards and one or two rudders (Reduce research and development costs and retain the characteristics of ocean racing boats) - No spinnaker poles (To cut down on the research costs for different sail configurations) - Ban on titanium in keel rams (To reduce cost and increase reliability) Commenting on the Rule, Glenn Bourke, CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race, said: ‘Evolution rather than revolution was uppermost in our thoughts when we considered changes to the Volvo Open 70 Rule. We firmly believe that we have arrived at a sound formula without detracting from the exhilarating performance of the boats. What we don’t want is a situation where, having created the world’s fastest monohull ocean racer, we are asking the designers to apply the hand brake.’ Meanwhile, the new route continues to take shape with the Volvo Ocean Race commercial team travelling to talks with port representatives in Asia and the Middle East. The next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race will start in the autumn of 2008 in Alicante, Spain. To download your copy of the Volvo Open 70 Rule: http://www.volvooceanrace.org THE BREEDING GROUND In Sydney, Australia, in 2000, one Italian sailor fights hard against a British competitor for the Olympic Gold medal in the Finn Class ... Luca Devoti against Iain Percy. At the end, it was the younger Percy who walked away with gold around his neck. Then they were rivals, but today these two men are responsible for the sailing team on +39 Challenge; a team loaded with Olympic talent. Devoti is the sports and technical director, and nominal skipper. Percy is the helmsman and the leader on board. But they aren't the only two crew members onboard ITA 59 to come from the Finn class. There is also Rafael Trujillo, winner of the Silver medal in Athens in 2004. He is one of many examples of sailors who, through hard work, talent and persistence, has risen to the top of his sport. Trujillo is the mainsail trimmer on board. Although Percy, Devoti and Trujillo are the most celebrated sailors on board, they aren't the only ones to graduate from the Finn to the America's Cup on +39 Challenge. There's also: Stig Westergaard, coach onboard, three times World Champion in the 1980s and Olympic contender; Chris Brittle, third in the 2002 World Championships in 2002; Micael Maier, who was also in the Athens Olympics and is the best Finn sailor in the Czech Republic; Anthony Nossiter, sixth in Athens; Andrew Simpson, third in the 2003 World Championships; and Piero Romeo. They all come from the same Finn class dinghy, but in the bigger picture there are also other champions in Olympic classes. Names like Gabriele Bruni, European Vice-champion in 49er and Italian contender in Sydney; Alejandro Colla, a Laser specialist; and Ian Walker, double Olympic silver in 470 and Star. And if all these achievements aren't enough, apart from his record as a sailor, Devoti has also designed and built the Finns that have won the last three Olympic Games. -- America’s Cup website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/kk5wu VIDEO OF THE WEEK Thanks to Charles Barthold, who last week forwarded Scuttlebutt the link for this week’s video. A recent thread in Scuttlebutt concerned the extreme weather conditions during the Stamford YC 2006 Vineyard Race, where 50+ knot winds greeted the fleet for the 234-mile race on September 1-3. Of the 54 entries, only 26 started, and three finished. One of the finishers was Robert Towse's Blue Yankee, where crewman Tom McCarthy took 11 minutes of video during their smok'n offwind leg. If you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/#media "FASTEST SAILS ON THE PLANET" JUST GOT FASTER! Ullman Sail's New FiberPath Sails are arguably the lightest, strongest load-bearing fiber sail construction process available. Stronger for its weight than alternatives, superior longevity, and priced with our customers in mind. FiberPath Sails use high quality aramid fibers, oriented along both primary and secondary load lines, structurally bonded under high heat and pressure, thereby eliminating cloth delamination. Are you ready for the "Fastest Sails on the Planet?" To learn more about Fiber Path Sails, visit http://www.ullmansails.com/fiberpath.html AC ANTI-SPYING TECHNOLOGY Concerns about underwater security threats have been raised by attacks on military and high value maritime targets in recent years. The main technical challenge in safeguarding ships and harbours from such threats has been the difficulty in locating a human diver because of the lack of a strong sonar target return. Extremely limited underwater visibility greatly reduces the effect of underwater surveillance techniques relying on cameras operating in the visible band. QinetiQ's high performance swimmer detection sonar system, Cerberus, has been successfully deployed in a non-military environment for the first time. The system formed part of the security measures to protect the America's Cup facilities during this summer's ranking events in Valencia. Two unauthorized divers were detected during the deployment - although it transpired that they posed no security threat. -- Complete story: http://www.securitypark.co.uk/article.asp?articleid=25832&CategoryID=1 PROFESSIONAL SAILING * In tricky conditions, a patchy oscillating SE’ly breeze that could never quite summon double figures and mostly averaged between four and seven knots, Breitling MedCup TP52 championship series leader Mutua Madrileña won the first race of three, following up with a fourth and sixth in the series’ final event - the Trofeo Balearia Ibiza y Formentara regatta. Owner Peter de Ridder and his mainly Emirates Team New Zealand crew not only lead the Trofeo Balearia Ibiza y Formentara regatta, but more than doubled their 14 points lead that they started the day with over their nearest rival Warpath, Steve and Fred Howe’s boat skippered by Dean Barker. Day one standings after three races: 1. Mean Machine Mutua Madrilena (Peter de Ridder/Peter Ridder, Monaco) 11pts, 2. Caixa Galicia (Roberto Bermudez/Vicente Tirado/ Spain) 12pts, 3. Siemens (Ian Walker/Eamon Conneely/Ireland) 15pts, 4. Rush (Tom Stark/Tom Stark, USA) 20pts, 5. Orlanda (Lorenzo Bressani/Alessandro Pirera, Italy) 21pts. -- Full results and further details: http://www.medcup.org * Paul Cayard announced his joining the crew of of New Zealand maxi yacht Maximus for the Rolex Middle Sea Race next month. Cayard comes fresh from the Swan Worlds in Porto Cervo Sardinia and will be joining joint owners Charles St Clare Brown and Bill Buckley and a Maximus crew line up including former Volvo Ocean Race skipper Matt Humphries and an impressive list of Italian sailors including Stefano Rizzi, Lorenzo Bodini, Gaetano Granara, Andrea Scarpa, Stefano Raspadori and Francesco Mongelli. The President of Gruppo Intermatica, Claudio Castellani, will also be on board as they battle it out against old maxi rivals Alfa Romeo and Morning Glory on the challenging 608nm long course around Sicily. -- Excerpt from a story posted on the Daily Sail subscription website, full story: http://www.thedailysail.com SAILING SHORTS * Thirty five year old Michael Blackburn won his first Laser Senior World Championship title after an exciting pre-start dual with the young, fellow Australian Tom Slingsby in the only race completed Wednesday in Jeju, Korea. Overall Results after seven races and one discard (64 boats): 1. Michael Blackburn, AUS, 16 pts; 2. Tom Slingsby, AUS, 24 pts; 3. Rasmus Mygren, SWE, 33 pts; 4. Michael Leigh, CAN 39, pts; 5. Gustavo Lima, POR, 41 pts. -- http://www.laserworld2006.com/ * Thirty two boats from ten lakes sailed in the Inland 20 National Championship on Lake Mendota in Madison Wisconsin, with the winner of the five race series decided with a tie-breaker: 1. Grog, Aaron Lynn/ Keith Rosenbaum, 15 pts; 2. Lanakila, Emily Green/ Miles Clark. 15 pts; 3. Tippy Canoe, Kyle Metzloff/ Liz Metzloff, 30 pts; 4. Zephyr, Steve Scheck/ Leigh Leonard, 31 pts; 5. Adrenaline Rush Joe Terry/ LaCinda Terry, 40 pts. -- http://www.rc.mendotayc.org/MYC2006/w06i20natl.htm * The Water Channel, the world's first television network devoted exclusively to water lifestyle programming, is now broadcasting 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. The only network that showcases water related sports, family lifestyles, water recreation and leisure entertainment, continues its nationwide expansion by adding Time Warner Cable beginning in New York, Minnesota and Ohio. The Water Channel is now carried to over 15 million homes by Dish Network and Time Warner Cable. The Water Channel will add new shows to its lineup that already includes boat racing, extreme water sports, fishing, entertainment and travel programming. -- http://www.waterchannel.com * Sébastien Col (FRA) and Claire Leroy (FRA) hold on to their respective top spots in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings. Behind Col, Peter Gilmour (AUS) falls out of the top two for the first time in almost two years, edged by Paolo Cian of Italy. At the same time, the World Match Racing Tour 2006-2007 events have been upgraded to an ISAF Grade WC status. Complete Open and Women’s rankings are now posted: -- http://www.sailing.org/matchrace/mrranking.asp * Tony Bullimore’s 102ft catamaran has been re-named Doha 2006 for his attempt to beat the 70 day barrier for sailing solo non-stop around the world. He will depart from Doha next week bound for Hobart, and the start the 27,000 mile circumnavigation. The campaign will promote the 2006 Asian Games in December which is sponsored by the Doha Asian Games Committee (DAGOC), the Qatar National Bank and Mistral Internet. The big multihull has undergone an extensive refit in Qatar. Bullimore and his delivery crew will use the three-week voyage to Australia to shake down the new equipment. * Scott Tonguis’ Zephyr from the New Orleans YC won the first four races of the J-30 North American Championship at the Cedar Point YC in Westport, Connecticut. He then coasted to a seven point regatta win over Larry Christy’s Big Kahuna from the Annapolis YC. Bengt Johansson’s Fuzzy, Wuzzy took third in the seven race, 17-boat series. Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/rmeea * The 2006 North American 8 Metre Championship were hosted last month by Sodus Bay Yacht Club on Lake Ontario, and photographer Wolf Tinz was kind enough to send Scuttlebutt some images of the event. If you are longing for the good ole days of yachting, you will want to get your fix here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0920/ FREE HARKEN WALL CALENDAR FOR ‘07 Purchase $100 of Harken products from the Harken Store to get the new Harken Ultimate Sailing Calendar by Sharon Green… for free! Action packed photographs provide 365 days of pure sailing pleasure: a wild ride aboard Harken-equipped ABN AMRO, a skiff’s bowsprit pointed skyward, Windquest streaking down the Molokai Channel. The perfect place for logging your favorite weekend regattas and must-see races like the Velux 5-Oceans, Sydney-Hobart, Key West and 32nd America’s Cup. http://www.harken.com/scuttlebutt/Harken_2007SailingCalendar.php LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or space (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, there are no word or frequency limits on comments sent to the Scuttlebutt Forums. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forums: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Gilmour Manuel, International Judge, Scotland: In reply to Peter Houston's proposed remedy for starboard stackups at weather marks anyone still alive who was at the Dragon Gold Cup in Marstrand Sweeden in 1963 will remember vividly the chaos that ensued at the first starboard rounding. The then new " Olympic Circle " course was being tried - ie eight fixed marks in a circle of which three were used for any course. The election was starboard around. The first four/five starboard tackers got onto port and around OK but the next over-laped starboard tackers could not tack to port because of boats on their hip and had to carry on. The port tack fleet failed to bear away or tack to starboard in time. The result was a raft up or some 60/70 boats. You could have walked across 50 meters of deck. I took along time to sort out. Some boats making the approach several times and meeting a like situation. A resounding “No” from me to starboard hand weather marks in big fleets. * From Bob Phillips, International Race Officer, Tortola, BVI: We have been using the weather gate in IC24 regattas in the BVI for several years now with success; it creates more options for the windward mark approach and widens the running lane by two or three times. The IC is a modified J/24, Melges 24 cockpit, that is usually sailed without spinnakers, so the runs become very much a follow the leader with just one windward mark. Setting the gates is easier with two boats, each with a mark and equal length rodes. Stream together four of the lengths of the boats that are racing apart and drop simultaneously. If the depth varies you just go back and the give the mark to windward a quick tug downwind. The initial fear was that rounding the starboard mark would be a mess with starboard tackers trying to tack with no rights, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Everyone adapted and it made for an easy way to get out of the procession. * From Bruce Kirby (In response to Peter Huston’s comments on windward mark roundings - edited to our 250 word limit): Experience shows that whether you leave the mark to port or starboard there are problems of stack-ups. In the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne I was racing the Finn in a fleet of 25 and we were leaving all marks to starboard. So if you came in anywhere near the port layline you were faced with starboard tackers forcing you to tack or duck. Tacking meant you had to tack back as soon as the way was clear, and a quick double tack is oh so slow! To get around the mark tightly in traffic you had to be on the starboard layline. If you were even a length below it there was the danger of a boat on your hip preventing you from tacking to round. The system caused just as much angst as the present problem with the starboard stack-ups and the port tack impenetrable wall. Some of us solved the problem by overstanding on port to sail above the confusion at the mark, and this could work well as you would then be laying off onto the reach with good speed instead of tacking through more than 100 degrees to get onto the course for the reach. Hans Fogh frequently solves the present-day windward mark confusion in similar fashion. He pokes through on port about 50 yards from the mark and then purposely overstands so when he tacks onto starboard he is falling off and going very fast while the boats on the layline are struggling in backwind. * From Chris Boome: Mr. duMoulin is absolutely right about practicing tough maneuvers in tough conditions. One year back in the 80's I was sailing the SORC with Dick Deaver and a young sailor, Tom Curtis, who I had sailed OK Dinghys with and was working for S&S at the time, was killed during an accidental gybe on the St. Pete to Ft. Lauderdale race. Before the next race, after Dick had given everybody very specific jobs (written on his famous index cards), we went out in the Gulf Stream and practiced an "accidental" gybe with the chute up in a nice breeze. Everybody did their job, there was no panic and no problems. We were all much better off for the rest of the SORC and for many years to come. * From Stevan Johnson: Before the thread on the starting sequence dies (which should be soon), I'd like to get my two cents in. I agree the sequence isn't easily described, and I was a thorough skeptic at the beginning, being something of a curmudgeon myself. But now I have really come to appreciate the new signals. The four and one minute sounds and signals really help get the fleet in rhythm and, for those of us who are occasionally slow on our watches, give second and third chances to get in sync. Experienced on the water, the system makes a lot of sense. My only objection is for the first start in large boats, where a five-minute warning is too short to make final sail selections and such. Most good committees have taken to giving an early alert or even using the AP flag to give the first start a bit more notice. * From Hamish Ross (Alinghi): In fact the 18th September is a more famous date in the pages of America's Cup history than you report. The unmentioned victory on this date was Enterprise's victory over the last Lipton Challenge in Shamrock V ' in 1930. The 18th September remains the only date in the calendar on which the Cup was been won three times. There are three dates on which it has been won twice. * From Kay Kilpatrick: I must correct the science news bite in #2184 about the NASA study on phytoplankton and carbon. The reporter of the on-line news service you grabbed this from got the results a bit confused. The study did not find that the tropical Pacific is a source for CO2, rather it found that the phytoplankton in this region of the ocean were not as healthy, as previously thought based on satellite measurements of chlorophyll due to iron limitation, and as a result do not take up the expected amount of CO2. Why are these results important? The oceans are a major sink for CO2 due to photosynthesis of phytopankton. If they are less healthy then more CO2 remains in the atmosphere and this has important implications on the accuracy of our models used to understand, predict, and ultimately do something about global climate change and warming. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all. Scuttlebutt provided by Ullman Sails and Harken Yacht Equipment. America’s Cup coverage is brought to you by UBS. |
