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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 732 - January 18, 2001THE RACEHow do you say "in a bad mood" in Patagonian? Innovation Explorer, becalmed more than 1500 miles of the Argentinean coast, is straining at the reins. Imperturbable, a huge bubble of high pressure has parked itself right over the heads of this Americano-Swedo-Italo-Gaulois crew, and for once they would just love the sky to fall on their heads. 236 miles behind the leader yesterday, 510 miles today at the same time - a real torture session whilst Club Med and Team Adventure greedily swallow up the miles. 593 miles in 24 hours for Club Med, a little less for Team Adventure. Both these sprinters are now in the Roaring 40s. Warta-Polpharma is continuing her descent along the coast of Brazil and Team Legato is crossing in slow motion the Equator. Since last night, Club Med and Team Adventure have locked onto a 25 knot Southwesterly and are at last in the 'real' roaring forties. To put it clearly, they have managed to pick up a first front and have been steaming along at almost 25 knots average. "The sea was a little difficult last night", said Franck Proffit (Club Med) during the daily chat session. We have a steady 25 knots of wind gusting to 37 knots for half an hour before falling to 28 again. Getting 600 litres of water in the face and sailing with one's eyes glued to the helm is, you have to admit, a little scary!" - www.therace.org THE RACE UPDATE January 17, 2001 - The American catamaran Team Adventure set a new 24-hour record for the Race of the Millennium as she continued to overhaul the leader Club Med in the Southern Ocean, southwest of Cape Town, South Africa today. Speeding in a welter of foam through the long driving swells of the Roaring 40s, Team Adventure logged 612.5 miles for the 24-hour period to 2300 hours GMT today. The distance is only 12.5 miles short of the current world sailing speed record of 625 miles, set by Club Med last year. Team Adventure, skippered by Cam Lewis. - Keith Taylor, http://www.TeamAdventure.org KEY WEST Since she won a silver medal at the Sydney Olympics last September, JJ Isler of La Jolla, Calif. had been folding clothes instead of sails, but Yachting Key West Race Week 2001 was time for her to show that she was not ready to settle into motherhood. In a Farr 40 class that features world-class sailors moonlighting as tacticians - including Star gold medalist Mark Reynolds, San Diego, and America's Cup winner Russell Coutts, New Zealand, not to mention husband Peter Isler - JJ Isler guided Tom Neill's bright red Nitemare from Chicago to its first victory in Wednesday's only race for the class. Nitemare nosed out Oscar Strugstad's Dawn Raid from the UK (Ian Walker tactician) by 11 seconds. Isler, the mother of two young daughters, placed second in a 15 -foot women's 470 at Sydney with Pease Glaser as crew, but she is enjoying the 40 feet of space. "Dinghy sailing is fun, but you have to do so many jobs," she said. "It's great just to be able to look around, and you stay dry all day." The weather was relatively tranquil Wednesday following Tuesday's kaleidoscope of conditions. Winds were 6-10 knots, the emerald seas sailboat-friendly and shifts subtle, although occasionally significant. All classes did only one race each. Three remain to be sailed through Friday. The Farr 40s have had a different leader each of the first three days. Now it's Steve Kaminer's Predator from Annapolis, Md. (Gavin Brady), which moved up from third as Jim Richardson's first-place Barking Mad, Newport, R.I. (Terry Hutchinson) swallowed a 20th place in the eight-race, no-throwout series, and Alexandra Geremia's second-place Crocodile Rock, Santa Barbara, Calif. (Vince Brun) was 25th. Peter Isler is aboard Brack Duker's Revolution, Marina del Rey, Calif., which shares second place with George Andreadis' defending Grecian champion, Atalanti XII (Robbie Haines), four points behind Predator. Philippe Kahn's Pegasus, Santa Cruz, Calif. (Reynolds) is fourth overall and stalking Barking Mad for the U.S. Farr 40 berth in this summer's Admiral's Cup in England. With three YKWRW races and Saturday's distance race to Ft. Lauderdale remaining. Barking Mad leads that contest within the regatta, 3.5 points to 5. Each buoy race is weighted at 0.5, the distance race at 2.5. Two other candidates seem out of contention. In other contests Wednesday, B&N von der Wense's Turbo Duck, Annapolis, continued to command the Mumm 30 class with a fourth-place finish. Two-time defending champion Harry Melges, Zenda, Wis., regained command of the Melges 24s with a third place as Neil Sullivan's Melges 24 M-Fatic, Annapolis, with former Olympian Morgan Reeser driving, finished fifth but sucked up a 58th place on a review in that 59-boat fleet. Most of the PHRF classes were too close to call, although Warren Hudson's Frers 33 Eclipse, Chicago, has four consecutive firsts in PHRF 9. NOTES: Tuesday's Boat of the Day was Brian Porter's Melges 24 Full Throttle from Lake Geneva, Wis., with a 2-1 in the 59-boat fleet - Rich Roberts, Yachting Key West Race Publicity Director Complete results: www.Premiere-Racing.com EXPERIENCE COUNTS For over 28 years Sailing Supply has helped the best sailors in the world prepare for big events. Having a very experienced staff helps. This year alone our staff has won the Etchells 22 world championship, Key West, SORC, Big Boat Series, Santana 20 Nationals, Volvo Inshore Championship, SD Yachting Cup, plus many more local regattas. Our staff is on the water, year round, trying new products and rigging ideas. Please give us a call and let us help you rig your boat to win. 1-800-532-3831 or visit our website at www.sailingsupply.com VENDEE GLOBE - By Philippe Jeantot At the front end of the Vende Globe, the Saint Helen anticyclone is still misbehaving. Leader Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) is battling against his new enemy, this high pressure bubble, which is blocking his route and moving North at the same speed as he is sailing. With a weak Northerly breeze, not only has he been squeezing out just 6 7 knots over the last 12 hours, but also has had to head tighter upwind 50 degrees from the direct route. On the other hand, the next three boats have encountered slightly better winds in force and direction. The comfortable 600 plus mile advance Desjoyeaux pushed out through the Pacific Ocean has halved in a matter of a few days. Ellen MacArthur (Kingfisher) has succeeded, by alone heading East of the Falkland Islands, in coming back to within 350 miles of PRB. She has consistently been sailing around three knots faster and should continue to profit from relatively more stable conditions for several hours to come. She was guarded about her achievement though: "It's been a struggle. We certainly are not yet in a stable weather pattern. The forecasts are subtly changing daily." Stress is enemy number two as the fleet head into the fickle winds associated with the Saint Helen system with the Doldrums further ahead. Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagere) predicts an "awesome final stretch" to this Vende Globe and yet resounded that "the Atlantic is testing our nerves to the limit". He is undoubtedly relieved, though, by his success in hoisting the main sail in full, and his slightly superior speed from his Lombard designed boat over those ahead and behind is proving that the Breton skipper is back on form. He is still hampered by the fact that he has to go straight down to the second reef and must be cautious in reefing with the repair to his mast track still not 100 % sure. The other main news of the day comes from Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations), who finally set off from his temporary shelter off Stewart Island, New Zealand at 0700hrs UT with a self-constructed 18 metre mast simply an incredible feat! He was localised by Argos to be travelling at 8.39 knots, heading 101. After 9 days 'in build,' Yves has achieved, at the price of his own relentless efforts, skill and ingenuity, to give his hull a mast worthy of bringing him home to Les Sables d'Olonne at an honourable speed. - http://www.vendeeglobe.com STANDINGS: 1. PRB, Michel Desjoyeaux, 2. Kingfisher, Ellen MacArthur, 348 MILES BEHIND LEADER, 3. Active Wear, Marc Thiercelin, 599 MBL, 4. Sill Matines & La Potagre, Roland Jourdain, 722 MBL, 5. Sodebo Savourons la Vie, Thomas Coville, 788 MBL. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) (Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold your e-mail address on request.) From: "Manfred C. Schreiber" <manfred.schreiber@SPSystems.de> (Re members of the IMS 40 fleet spend up to $4,000 per winter to blow hot air) - Sorry, I cant resist to answer this one. I think, its a kind of hype. Someone is starting to blow hot air, others are following without proper thoughts. Sure there is some moisture in the boats, inside the cabin, not inside the laminates, these are Epoxy boats, the best production built boats you can get. They don't pick up moisture into the laminates like Polyester/CSM boats do. You can also wipe the boat clean, much cheaper a process but work intensive. Or better get the sails and gear out to dry. Maybe the guys are too lazy to get the sails out and prefer a hot air job instead of carrying the load back and forth. But maybe Steven, they are only dehummiting (?) the boats with dehumidifiers, not hot air blowers. It nearly looks the same from the outside. This had been done during the hottest One Ton and 50era. But only good around here in the mostly grey Baltic Sea with not enough sun to dry out the whole interior, sails, and gear. And also good for burning the fuses. * From: "Zach de Beer" <aerozdb@iafrica.com> (Re Blowing hot air inside a boat over winter) - A typical 45 ft raceboat will have a hull surface area of 70 m^2 and the laminate will have a mass of 2 - 3 kg/m^2 say 150 kg. The equilibrium moisture content of good epoxy resin is 1 % so from the inside skin one could surmise drawing 1.5 kg of moisture. The core may have 15 % moisture and 2 m^3 of core would have a mass of 160 kg so from the core one could surmise drawing 24 kg of water assuming that the epoxy would diffuse that amount over winter. One could also surmise that the outside skin loses water so all in we can lose 27 kg ( about 60 lbs) of moisture for $ 4000. The said boat would have about 10 crew. If they sailed barefoot on empty tummy's one would be about even on the $ 4000. I guess you could cook the boat and make em sail hungry at the same time. * From: Scott Truesdell <truesdel@uci.edu> (Re heating up a boat to lose weight) - When you pull your brewski out of the ice chest, moisture from the air immediately starts to condense on the outside of the can, pulled out of the atmosphere, to make that wet ring on your cocktail napkin. Same thing happens in reverse when those slimy drips condense inside your boat, then drip down onto everything. Cushions, sail bags, boat tee-shirts, charts, sailing instructions, last weeks Carr's biscuits, that half-eaten box of Wheaties are all hygroscopic, capturing the moisture from the air and holding it. You know what's even more hygroscopic? Salt. Ever notice how salty clammy foul weather gear never seems quite dry? What people are using is a "dehumidifier." Keeps things fresher and nicer smelling too. Old trick. $4,000? If you're a cheapskate like me, use a 60-watt light bulb. Does it work as well? Not quite... * From: Tom Donlan <TG.Donlan@barrons.com> Your curmudgeonly comment today, "If it ain't broke, fix it til it is," should be adopted as the motto of US Sailing and the ISAF. But seriously, why are we taking this rule seriously? Just ignore it. Anybody who actually protests a violator of this rule should be ostracized from any sailing fleet or club. People could take turns protesting him every time he's on port tack after the start. They could file against him for unsportsmanlike conduct in every race he enters. The protest committees could adjourn his hearings and require him to show up on another day. His club could accidentally misdirect his dues bill and then drop him for nonpayment. His fellow fleet members could refuse to race against him. None of these things will be necessary, of course, as long as ordinary sailors make it perfectly clear that they won't give this rule any respect. * From: Chris Ericksen <Chris6932@aol.com> In 'Butt 731, Clark E.Chapin identifies the ISAF Eligibility Rule as emanating from "the other side of the pond." I agree--and the pond is Lake Ontario. Is it possible that this is yet another move by ISAF President Paul Henderson to bring the obstreperous sailors of the United States into some kind of control? As many (if not most) European countries already require membership among sailors, only the US remains as the last bastion of defiance to ISAF's world domination of sailing--and US sailors were clearly the targets of this rule. * From Peter O. Allen, Sr., <pquorum@aol.com>, a satisfied member of USSA for many years and presently a USSA Certified Club Race Officer. - Dave Rosekrans, President, US SAILING, has given us a review of the services and benefits to racers of membership in USSA. I doubt than many readers of The 'Butt would argue about the value of USSA or ISAF. I suspect that most racing skippers and many regular crew are already members of USSA. But the majority of the folks who crew on weeknights and weekends are little more than casual friends, family, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, or social acquaintances (we used to be able to say "girl friend" but that doesn't fly any more) of the skipper and core crew. I can only imagine their reaction upon being handed a membership application, either to the host club or to USSA. Is it possible that ISAF is dedicated to the idea of promoting singlehanding? * From: Skip Doyle <chiefedie@webtv.net> It appears to me that Paul Henderson has every intention of dealing with this eligibility flap at the ISAF executive meeting in Dublin Feb 4-7. That's less than three weeks from now! I suggest that before we rewrite all the sailing instructions in North America, we see what comes out of Dublin. I suspect there won't be a problem after that. * From: Bill Taylore <bill_taylore@yahoo.com>> While I will proudly display my new membership card in the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club, I have to ask the question that is first and foremost on all of our minds. Since we'll all have reciprocal privileges at all other virtual yacht clubs, does this also include reciprocal charging privileges at their virtual bar? It appears that we're all going to need a stiff drink in light of the latest bonehead move by ISAF to help chase even more new people away from the sport. Second point, I noted with interest in Dave Rosekrans' letter that ISAF specifically gives US SAIL the right to reproduce the rule book at no cost to US SAIL. So can anyone offer any reason other than "Mine-the-members" why sailing is still the only major sport in the world to not post their rules on their web site? Third, this is just another example of what happens when the so-called professionals running the organization are not accountable to the members who pay the bills. * From: "Mark Kelley" <mkelley@crownbattery.com> Thanks for the membership offer. I will be looking for my card. I belong to another SSC (Sandusky Sailing Club). It's on Western Lake Erie near the Islands. As I proudly support the clubs I belong to, I was wondering if I might support your SSC with an embroidered hat or shirt. Do you have a logo? CURMUDEON'S COMMENT: We're working on the burgee design and for the membership cards right now, and I'm sure embroidered sailing gear won't be far behind. It's times like this that being a curmudgeon is really fun. AMERICA'S CUP KEY WEST, Fla. - A panel of America's Cup personalities at Yachting Key West Race Week 2001 agreed that their event isn't what it used to be, but that change has been for the better, with a few reservations. Tom Whidden, who has called tactics for Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes teams in six Cups, was sitting next to TV commentator Gary Jobson when he said, "Gary and I grew up in a time when we didn't get paid and you sailed for your own country." Later, Jobson, who was Ted Turner's tactician in the successful 1977 defense, drew applause from an audience of about 300 when he said, "I'm not a big fan of the international free agency because the [America's Cup] Deed of Gift is very specific [about 'competition between foreign countries.']" Jobson also noted that the pay has gone up. "I still have everything I earned in '77," he said, "two T-shirts that Ted gave us." Other panelists, left to right, were Gavin Brady, who has switched from the defunct AmericaOne team to Italy's Prada; Stu Bannatyne of the German illbruck team; Ed Baird of defunct Young America; Terry Hutchinson, an AmericaOne veteran who will be with Stars & Stripes in 2002-03, and Ken Read, Stars & Stripes' returning helmsman. Bob Fisher, noted international yachting journalist of the London Guardian, was moderator. Baird's recollections of Auckland were not pleasant. One day his boat cracked in the middle like a melon. Despite his mishap, Baird rhapsodized about the sailing qualities of the International America's Cup Class, commenting that the old 12-Meters were "not very exciting" by comparison." Whidden countered, "I thought the 12-Meters were wonderful." He also said, "It was fun to sail on the catamaran [in 1988], but the event [against New Zealand's big monohull] was horrible." Jobson concluded, "I think the Cup's coming home [to the U.S.] in 2003. I don't know whether it's going to Seattle, San Francisco or New York, but that's my prediction." - Rich Roberts MORE AMERICA'S CUP Auckland, NZ, January 18, 2001 Oracle Racing selects Ventura Harbor, CA for its 2001 summer training sailing facility as it continues preparations to challenge for America's Cup XXXI, scheduled to commence in October 2002 in Auckland, NZ. Mobilization of the California sailing base begins this spring and will operate through summer 2001. Adjacent ends of the Ventura Harbor Boat Yard and the Ventura Isle Marina will be utilized to form the team's training site. Oracle Racing will sail its two 80 foot long International America's Cup Class (IACC) sailboats, USA 49 and USA 61, from the harbor on a daily basis throughout the duration of the program. During early March, the team will relocate its staff, of approximately 70 people, to Ventura to continue its pre-Cup training program. Sailing operations will support boat development testing, crew sail handling and race practice. - Gina von Esmarch, http://www.oracleracing.com/ EASIER SAIL HANDLING If you want easier sail handling and better performance look no further than a SAILMAN full batten system. Designed for yachts from 24ft to 80ft, the range includes track systems, in-mast systems and even slides specifically for composite spars. SAILMAN systems are well engineered, easy to install, simple to maintain and great to use so if you are thinking about full battens, talk to your Sailmaker about SAILMAN by Bainbridge International. More information at: www.sailcloth.com ABOARD INNOVATION EXPLORER - By Skip Novak Team Adventure and Club Med have been trading the lead a few hundred miles ahead, and in these light air conditions we know that even if we are smart enough tactically (which we haven't been so far) to sail up to them, our sail inventory, or lack of it, would quickly relegate us back into our third place position. We started this race missing a medium size gennaker- we have a small one that doubles as a reacher and as the outsize 550 square meter gennaker, but the gap in between those two is noticeable-not only does it represent a fair slice of the downwind sailing angles, but would have been in a way a spare sail. Lack of sponsorship precluded us buying a medium gennaker before the start. We had been negotiating with Grant Dalton to borrow or buy cheaply his first generation sail, but after a month of discussion he gave it the thumbs down. After all, this is 'hard ball' ocean racing and if we beat him, he would have a lot to answer for to his paymasters. To top it all off, the center section of the small gennaker curiously delaminated yesterday, so we have had that down on the aft net making a repair that has quickly consumed the majority of our sail repair materials. All in all this is not good news, as we haven't yet reached the Southern Ocean where things will get a lot tougher. If this gennaker repair explodes (likely) it will leave us without a working downwind sail for the entire southern stretch. But we don't know what is going on with the other boats and no doubt they have their problems. Breakdowns like sail repairs are a nuisance, but more serious problems like rig or rudder failure that can put you out of the race are never far from our minds. - Outside magazine website. Full story: http://www.outsidemag.com/adventure/adventurers/therace2000/index.html QUOTE / UNQUOTE - Cam Lewis "We're going to be pretty conservative - there's no reason to go dodging to the south when they've predicted big winds and 40 knot winds. It's a game out here, trying to go as fast as possible. The wave pattern got a little bit ugly out here." - as reported on the NOW Sports website, http://www.now.com/feature.now?cid=997704&fid=1172224 RICHARD D. RODSETH Richard D. Rodseth age 69 passed away in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Tuesday evening, January 16, 2001. Richard's Peterson 43, "Vagary" sailed out of Muskegon, Mi. for the past 16 years. Richard was one of the leaders with Mr. John Nedeau "Windancer", for the most Chicago-Macinaws races of 51. Richard began his sailing days in Chicago and retired to the Muskegon area in 1983. In the winter he and Lillian resided in St. Petersburg, FL. Dick leaves a very long sailing legacy of different people he has sailed with and against. - Carl and Sue Petersen" <petersen@novagate.com> THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Small minds and big mouths have a way of hooking up. |
