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SCUTTLEBUTT 1219 - December 13, 2002Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news ofmajor significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. GUEST EDITORIAL - Bruce Kirby Perhaps the greatest tragedy resulting from the protest hearings in Auckland is the damage the ruckus has done to some innocent people. Chief among them is Laurie Davidson, design team leader for One World and co- designer for New Zealand in 2000 and 1995. During the hearings Seattle designer Bob Perry testified that the One World boats did not bear a close resemblance to NZL 60, and Measurer Ken McAlpine, in possession of key measurements from all AC boats said there was not a significant resemblance between Davidson's work in 2000 and 2002. Davidson was the man who drew the magnificent hull lines of NZL 32 that swept the AC series in 1995 . It's fair to say that every AC design hopeful in the world did his best to simulate the shape of NZL 32 as a lead-in to their 2000 designs. And in 2000 the boats that Davidson came up with for Team New Zealand looked less like NZL 32 than did some of the others on the Hauraki Gulf. In other words Davidson vaulted further from his own work than did other designers. In 2000 he came up with the "Davidson bow" which has been copied this time around by every other syndicate. Laurie Davidson has had a greater influence on America's Cup design than anyone since Olin Stephens ruled in the 12-Meter era. He doesn't have to steal from anyone else. It is his mind that produces the ideas. LOOKING AHEAD (Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, staged an impromptu press conference in Auckland where he discussed the future of the America's Cup. Here's an excerpt from a story by Mike Wise in the New York Times that captures Rogge's thoughts.) "I think the America's Cup needs an independent, neutral body that rules the organization," Rogge said. "Today we are in an ambivalent situation where the defender tries to accumulate as many rights as possible, where the challengers try to team up against the defender, and I think you need an independent body that would decide on format, on the dates, decide on the boats." The deed of gift, written in 1887 by George Schuyler of the New York Yacht Club, is amended every few years before the next America's Cup. The protocol wrangled over and eventually agreed to by the competitors - including boat designs, wind readings for competition and the nationalities of sailors competing for a foreign syndicate - is, in effect, the only law governing the competition. One of Rogge's main complaints was the defender rule, which essentially guarantees that the next competition will be held in the country that wins the Cup in February. Team New Zealand, the defending champion, is guaranteed a berth in the finals without having to compete in any of the challenger series. "Not to know today when the America's Cup will be or where it will be held is not something you would see in other sports organizations, because there the calendar is set for a long time," he said. "For the sport itself, it's maybe not that important. But for sponsorship, for TV audience, to spread the popularity of yachting to the world, it is vital to know where to go and when to go. "The other thing that I think would be welcome would be to have a system where races wouldn't be postponed or abandoned in winds that are considered a medium breeze." - Full story: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/13/sports/othersports/13BOAT.html WHO WILL WIN THE AMERICA'S CUP? (There's more to the Jacque Rogge story, as this excerpt from Angus Phillips' piece in the Washington Post reveals.) Asked who he expected to win the Cup in February, (IOC President Jacque) Rogge said thoughtfully, "I think the team that has in-house some hidden development, something it will show at the end, will have an edge. "But," said Rogge, an ex-Olympic sailor, "I haven't looked under the skirts." The comment comes at an interesting time as whispers of underwater secrets in the stern of Team New Zealand's defense boats have begun to circulate. Cup insiders say there's something funny -- and fast -- under the long, black skirts in which TNZ drapes its boats. The secret is well guarded. TNZ's skirts are worn not just at the dock but halfway out into Hauraki Gulf when the boats are under tow to training grounds, in an effort to keep prying eyes at bay. Team New Zealand and top challenger Alinghi both are conducting training sessions as far as 30 miles from town to keep a distance from rivals. When Alinghi broke its mast in training last week, it was so far out in the Gulf it took almost three hours to tow back to harbor. What's going on? No one knows for sure, but there's plenty of educated guessing. "The biggest story of this America's Cup has yet to be told," said one longtime Cup follower. "You've got to be here on Jan. 7," when Team New Zealand and the surviving two challengers must drop their skirts to reveal hull shapes and underwater appendages. - Angus Phillips, Washington Post, full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47322-2002Dec12.html GET A CLEWGEAR 25 knots, 55-degree waters? Must be summer in San Francisco, birthplace of CLEWGEAR. Developed in 1999 on San Francisco Bay, the perfect location for research and development of lightweight, waterproof, breathable sailing gear, CLEWGEAR provides superior fabric technologies matched with functional, fashion forward designs and comfort. Featuring mesh-lined, microfleece-lined, and microfleece-lined with an innovative internal leg gaiter, CLEWGEAR reinforced seated shorts are the most refined technical sailing shorts yet. This holiday, give your favorite sailor a clew, CLEWGEAR. Get yours at Annapolis Performance Sailing's gift page http://www.apsltd.com/scuttlebutt.asp SEMI FINALS BLOWN OFF The Louis Vuitton Cup Semi Final Round lost its second day of racing today due to winds well in excess of prescribed limits. "We have 2.2 metre seas, average winds of 28 knots at Bean Rock (in the Hauraki Gulf) and puffs well into the 30s," said Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio. This marks the 16th postponed day of racing due to winds either too strong or too light in 46 scheduled race days. Russell Coutts's Team Alinghi leads Oracle BMW Racing and skipper Chris Dickson by 3-0 in the best-of-seven round. Coutts's crew needs one more victory to advance to the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals, scheduled to begin January 11. Peter Gilmour's OneWorld Challenge is tied 1-1 with defending Louis Vuitton Cup champs Prada Challenge and skipper Francesco de Angelis in the other match. OneWorld has won two of three races, but is tied due to a one point penalty imposed by the America's Cup Arbitration Panel. Each team needs to win three more races to advance to the Semi Final Repechage Round, while it'll meet the loser of Alinghi-Oracle BMW Racing. - Louis Vuitton Cup media center, http://www.louisvuittoncup.yahoo.com/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Bruce Bonine: Regarding "intellectual property" & Olin Stephen's comments, in almost every other "design" profession I can think of, including my own -- Architecture, the design is the property of the designer. It is not the property of the client. The client is simply paying a fee for the "one-time use" of the design and has no rights to duplicate or replicate that design for future use, other than for the purpose for which it was purchased. Stephen's is right-on when he talks abot the evolution of design ideas. Design is iterative by nature and each design idea is continually being refined and evolving over time. It is ludicrous for clients to believe that by paying a fee that the design ideas created fir that fee will be fixed in time and will never be developed for any other venue. If that were true, then we would never see improvements in any aspect of our life. * From Gary A. Mintz: While reading the excerpt of Olin Stephen's article this morning in Scuttlebutt 1218 it struck me that there are parallels in other sports to the problem of "intellectual property". When baseball player is traded midseason to another team, he takes with him, knowlege of coaching signals, when a football player is traded, he takes his knowlege of the playbook with him, and when a basketball player is traded, he takes knowlege of his teammates tendencies and favorite shots. Its all in the game! I think that One World has been penalized unfairly. * From: Mark Steinbeck: Wouldn't it be great if we could get audio from the AC boat's on-board microphones via Virtual Spectator? * From Barry Ault: The stunning clarity of Olin's remarks should surprise none of us. The absurdity of the Protocol that allows a designer to take his brain to another country, but requires that he leave his notes behind, speaks for itself. Yacht design is not a closed book test. I am sure that Mr. Disney would be sorely disappointed if John Reichel had started from scratch on the latest Pyewacket. The Protocol may be a can of worms, but New Zealand has properly forced all disagreements to be resolved within the sailing community and it appears that the best teams will prevail. Every sailor and interested spectator should read the Racing Rules of Sailing (http://www.sailing.org/rrs2001/) and in particular, the Basic Principle and Rules 2 & 3. I dread the thought of the Cup returning to the US and falling, once again, under the jurisdiction of our legal system. * From Scott Truesdell: Two words: "Olin rocks!" * From Cheeko Matsusaka In response to the complaints regarding OLN's coverage, I can't help but state the obvious -- in lieu of OLN there would have been nothing but two 1/2 hour spots on ESPN for the first two round robins. I'll gladly take OLN. In addition, I've also heard enough complaints about ESPN's coverage in the past so I guess it does boil down to needing to complain about something. Instead of lamenting the loss of the good old ESPN days, I'd suggest readers send their comments to OLN - they actually do listen to viewer comments. * From David Cowen: I agree with the rants regarding the coverage of the Louis Vuitton Cup. I have been watching bicycle racing over the last couple of years since OLN has picked up a majority coverage during the season. It suffers from the same format that is plaguing the LVC. Not only do the commercials come thick and fast during a two-hour show but they are virtually the same every time they are on. OLN needs to look into reducing the so-called commercial obligations, especially since they only show one from each four or five sponsors. They interrupt a potentially incredible display of sailing and frustrate the viewers. During the Tour de France they have a commercial free last half hour and it really is noticeable when you get to see thirty minutes of uninterrupted coverage. It is a shame it is only thirty minutes. It is too bad we have to speculate as to how Prada passes OneWorld on a downwind leg. Since it isn't live coverage why don't the edit it better? * From: Whit Davis: Last night OLN did it again! Prada started on the right and next we saw they were on the left. Did they cross ahead or behind and by how much? Suggest that Dawn and Peter Isler or Peter Lester have complete control of pre-start maneuvers, particularly from aan match racer/ umpire's point of view. Less hype! Further that they select the cut points for commercials. Also I would like to see OLN break up the commercials. For instance on a drag race to the weather mark have a commercial and then shots of one boat or the other then a commercial and then the other boat. * From Hank Evans: I started in a junior sailing program at seven. The very first summer we learned the basics of racing and one of the very first things learned was to cover your opponent. Every time the America's Cup comes around we hear of races lost by failure to cover. How on earth can sailors reach the world class level and then fail to follow this most basic rule of racing ? It never ceases to amaze me and darned if they don't keep right on doing it. FOR THE RECORD Steve Fossett has yet another new record. Together with co-pilot Terry Delore (NZ), Fossett (USA) set a new Gliding World Speed Record for 1000 kilometers Out and Return. Despite difficult wind and cloud conditions, the duo flew the 1000 kilometer course at an average speed of 166.46 km/h (103.44 mph), breaking the previous record of 152.74 km/h (94.91 mph) set by Walter Binder (GER) in South Africa in 1999. On November 15th the team of Fossett and Delore smashed the 500 kilometer triangle record in 2 hours and 44 minutes - setting a new World Record speed of 185.63 km/h (115 mph). 2002 has been an extraordinarily year for Fossett. The American adventurer has set new World Records for speed in 3 sports - gliding, sailing and ballooning including the 'First Solo Round the World Balloon Flight' in June-July. A NEW WAY TO NASSAU How to get to the Farr 40 Worlds? Last week, we ran two 28' Protectors from Ft. Lauderdale to Nassau. 4 to 6 foot seas couldn't slow our crew down as we made the 160 mile trip in five hours. These boats joined the six boats already in Nassau to support the Farr 40 worlds. Come watch and check out the new 35' Protector with teak decks, or see us in Miami or Key West to see our new 22 foot center-console coach boat. We now have a boat for everyone. Go Anywhere. 877-664-BOAT - http://www.protectorboats.com COVERING Leading America's Cup sailors are defending their tactics after several instances in the past few days in which leading boats have been overtaken after allowing opponents to split. It was the Russell Coutts-skippered Swiss Alinghi team who first allowed opponents Oracle to separate yesterday during one of the semifinals of the cup challenger series on the Hauraki Gulf. A slight windshift, on a day of mainly steady north-northwesterly 12 to 16 knot winds, saw Oracle slip into a lead that the San Francisco boat held until the fifth leg. Then it was the turn of Oracle, skippered by Chris Dickson, to allow Alinghi to separate by up to 700m. Around that time the wind shifted left and Alinghi were back in front, going on to win by 46 seconds, and take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven contest. * On Wednesday it had been OneWorld who lost a lead after allowing Prada to split, and yesterday OneWorld helmsman James Spithill said in many of the tricky conditions on the race course leading boats could not keep covering their opponents. "You cover and you basically give them the other side that you wanted to go to," he said. "It's the Hauraki Gulf and you've just got to make the decision at the time and you hope it's going to pay off. But as we've seen over the past two days, every now and then it doesn't." - NZPA, NZ Herald, full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/americascup/acstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3009269&thesection=sport&thesubsection=americascup&thesecondsubsection=challengers MATCH RACING 101 (A couple of days ago, OneWorld tactician Charlie McKee explained to the nightly press conference attendees why it is not always a good idea for the leading boat to cover the opposition in light to medium air.) "If the boat behind is always choosing when to tack and gybe, and the boat ahead is always responding, and the boat behind is filled with a bunch of smart sailors, then the boat behind is going to tend to make gains because they're making the choices. So as the boat ahead you are letting your lead erode in order to protect your position. The shiftier it gets, the more likely you are to try and make gains because a one or two boat length lead at the top mark is potentially not going to be enough, whereas in a steady wind it more than likely is going to be enough. So, there's the theory." - Charlie McKee http://www.cupmediacentre.com/dscgi/ds.py/Get/File-1533/2002_12_11_PC_transcript.doc MISTRAL WORLDS Thailand - Good breeze filled in from the north after a short postponement. Alessandra Sensini (ITA) won the only women's race of the day with Barbara Kendall (NZL) second . Overall it looks like that the world championship title is there for Barbara to claim, leading Faustine Merretas she does by 12 points. The two races in the men's fleet reconfirmed that the title fight is between Nikos Kaklamanakis (GRE) and Gal Fridman (ISR). Both have dropped a poor result but looking back down the list so have the rest of the top 10. Two races per day are planned for the final 3 days. The leaders - Men: 1. Gal Fridman (ISR) 4; 2. Nikos Kaklamanakis, GRE, 10; 3. Julien Savina, FRA) 12; 4. Zhou Yuanguo, (CHN) 12. Women: 1. Barbara Kendall (NZL), 7; 2. Faustine Merretas (FRA) 19; 3. Alessandra Sensini (ITA) 20. - http://www.windsurfingthailand.com/200212mistral/index.php 505 WORLDS Fremantle, AUS - The Fremantle Doctor was nowhere to be found for the fifth and sixth races of the Grolsch International 505 Worlds 2002. Light air, postponements, restarts and long days on the water replaced the thrilling planing legs experienced earlier in the week. After six races with one throwout the leaders are (98 boats) : 1. Dan Thompson /Andrew Zinn, USA, 18; 2. Howard Hamlin/ Mike Martin, USA, 19; 3. Krister Bergstrom/ Thomas Moss, SWE, 28; 4. Andrew Beeckman/ Ben Benjamin, USA; 5. Ian Barker/ Daniel Cripps, GBR. - http://www.505.com.au/results.htm THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. |
