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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 729 - January 15, 2001PLAYSTATION WITHDRAWS FROM THE RACESunday 14.01.01: After the port daggarboard was shattered late on Saturday night, Skipper Steve Fossett of the 125' maxi-catamaran PlayStation has advised The RACE officials early this morning that he has reluctantly had to take the decision to withdraw from the 23,000 mile race around the world. "Now it's the daggarboard. Fossett explained. "Just after we hoisted the Mainsail after a day of repairs, the port side daggarboard was shattered and broke away. I suppose we probably could sail around the world with just the starboard daggarboard, but the real issue is the Sails: "We bought a new set of sails for The Race because we doubted our old sails were fit to make it around the world. When the new Mainsail and Solent broke before we got out of the Mediterranean we knew we were in trouble, but we were game to give it a try with the old sails. Today's repair of the first reef clew by Nick Moloney looks good, but then the second reef clew looks like it is starting to fail. We are destined to be struggling with sail repairs for the rest of the way. "We just aren't prepared to tackle the Southern Ocean. "I laid out my reservations about our continuing in The Race and asked the crew to tell me what they thought. They have thown their every effort into this project for months and in some cases years. Some of them would like just to finish the passage even if we were uncompetitive. I get to make the tough decisions. Unless the crew could offer a persuasive argument to continue we would have to turn back. "The crew talked it over and came back to tell me they all supported my decision. I turned the boat around and we're heading for Miami. I doubt that it is the way a Skipper is supposed to make a decision, but that is how it was done on PlayStation," Fossett concluded. Fossett has advised that all was well onboard and that they would arrive in Miami/Ft Lauderdale in 10-14 days time. The mood onboard is "one of disappointment, of course, but morale is pretty good, considering. We are still very confident in the boat and her structure - and in her tremendous speed and record-setting potential." Following replacement of the daggarboard and and refitting of new sails in Miami/Ft Lauderdale, Steve, PlayStation and crew are now looking at targeting the Miami-NYC record and the TransAtlantic records - beginning this May. The boat is now 3300 milles from Miami. - www.fossettchallenge.com MORE ABOUT THE RACE (Club Med skipper Grant) Dalton was upbeat and happier now he had re-taken the lead. "We are ahead in The Race but, significantly, we are further south than Team Adventure. Yesterday, we got the wind just right. We are just punching through the South Atlantic high," he said. "Being further south is really important. You are the first to get picked up and just dragged along with the weather when it comes." Dalton remains concerned by Team Adventure's superior straight-line speed, and is searching for an explaination. He said: "In moderate airs, he [Team Adventure] is faster than us. We wouldn't be surprised to find he has a small reacher/gennaker on board. We built one but we didn't like it and so we didn't bring it. For the light airs we built a Code Zero sail from North 3DL, which we are really happy with. This sail is the main reason we pulled forwards on Team Adventure since the wind has dropped." - Martin Cross, NOW Sports website Full story: http://www.now.com/feature.now?cid=997704&fid=1157111 STANDINGS - Monday, January 15, 04:31 GMT - 15:00 GMT: 1. Club Med, 2. TeamAdventure, 39 miles behind leader, 3. Innovation Explorer, 169 mbl, 4. Warta Polpharma, 1606 mbl, 5. Team Legato, 2479 mbl. www.therace.org EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS RIGHT HERE! The last time you bought a sail did you ask about the cloth? Sailcloth.com is a new web site by Bainbridge International designed especially for the boat owner and sailor. It is packed full of easy to follow information and handy tips to explain why you should be talking to your sailmaker about a better quality cloth. http://www.sailcloth.com CRAIG MCCAW (Following is a brief excerpt from a story by Herb McCormick in Sunday's New York Times.) Craig McCaw, the Seattle telecommunications entrepreneur, has at least two things in common with Larry Ellison, the president and chief executive officer of the Oracle Corporation: a fortune that is reportedly worth billions, and a new syndicate readying to race for the America's Cup in 2003. What was not known until recently is that, had the timing been different, McCaw and Ellison could have been allies - instead of opponents - in an unprecedented cup challenge. It appears that Ellison, one of several fledgling challengers for the America's Cup in 2003, may not have entered the on-the-water fray for strictly competitive reasons. His involvement may have stemmed from a desire to trump one of his present or former business rivals, the co- founders of Microsoft, Bill Gates and Paul Allen. That revelation came out last week in an e-mail interview with McCaw, who was making his first public comments about his own cup program, the One World Challenge, since launching it last June. He said of Ellison: "Ironically, it turns out that part of his motivation for competing in 2003 was as a result of a perception that either Gates or Allen was behind the Seattle effort. By the time we talked, we were both past the point of either stopping or merging our efforts. His team will be a very, very tough opponent." Now that the lines have been drawn, McCaw's will be, too. His sailing team - which is already training in New Zealand - is led by the Australian cup veteran Peter Gilmour, and features a core group of sailors from last year's cup-winning Team New Zealand. Other cup veterans include the Americans Kimo Worthington, Morgan Larson and Kevin Hall, and the Australian James Spithill. Among the cup newcomers are Jonathan and Charlie McKee, from Seattle, who won bronze medals at the Sydney Olympics, and Ben Ainslie, from Britain, who won gold at the Summer Games. McCaw's design team also has a seasoned, international flavor. The program is headed by Lawrie Davidson, one of the masterminds of the last two winning New Zealand efforts. The latest addition is the American naval architect Bruce Nelson, who oversaw Paul Cayard's America One technical team in 2000. - Herb McCormick, NY Times. There is much more to McCormick's story: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/14/sports/14BOAT.html 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: Stan Honey, Navigator PlayStation, Atlantic Doldrums (not Horse Latitudes) - Ocean Racing sure has changed when you can log into the internet from the middle of the ocean and get weathermaps, ftp weather information, and critically, pick up your Scuttlebutt. Please subscribe Playstation to Scuttlebutt for the duration of The Race. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: When Stan sent me this email on Friday, I'm sure he did not realize how short ". . . the duration of The Race" would be for the PlayStation crew. * From Ed du Moulin Acup98@aol.com In Herb McCormick's January 14 NY Times article he quotes Craig McCaw "These new elements - from the antics of Dennis Conner......" Wonder what antics he refers to. He then says "I've occasionally found his antics...quite amusing." I did not, however, admire the way he pandered for every last dollar." His use of "pandered", even after I looked it up in the dictionary, leaves me perplexed. Dennis sure did pretty well in the last Cup with his miniscule budget * From: Ken Guyer kagptloma@home.com Compromise is the name of the game of fairness. The nationality issue surrounding the America's Cup can be solved in a way that keeps the spirit of what the originators of the deed sought and still allow the sailors to use their talent to make a living. Keep the original intent of the rules intact with regard to the challenge organization, skippers, designers, and afterguard. Allow the residency rules to be the guide for the rest of the crew. It is one thing to have trimmers, grinders, mast, and bow positions international, and very much another to have a Kiwi designing a yacht for a U.S. challenge, and haveing that yacht skippered by an Australian. The goal of the deed was to encourage countries to put their best designs forward. Granted it was also the goal of the deed to have those designs then sailed by teams comprised completely of fellow countrymen making it a true competition among nations. But this sort of compromise will not dilute so much the goal of national competition in the America's Cup. It goes a long way in allowing a skilled and talented sailor a chance to make a living doing what he/she does best. * From: "Simon Jackson" simon@simonsails.com I am finding the chat about the Americas Cup and nationality quite amusing, especially after Patric Kershaw's comments (No 728), as he is so very right. In 1887's a John Barr skippered the challenger Thistle. While in the States he found that skippers were held in a much higher esteem than they were in Scotland and got a salary to match. After the challenge series was over, he and his brother, Charles, were persuaded (with nice large salaries and a better life style) to stay in the States after the challenge, rather than returning to the Clyde in Scotland. A couple of years later Charles was helming the American defenders Columbia in 1899 & 1901 and Reliance in 1903. A Scotsman defending the Americas cup for America !!) Nothing new with hiring in the big guns in this game. * From: John McBrearty mcbrearty@earthlink.net I went to the ISAF website and the Eligibility Code rule is there and it is effective January 1. This is asinine! Essentially, what it means is that no new crew, outside of people who come out of YC junior programs, would ever exist. I met three guys on my crew on ham radio. I said: "Ya wanna go out sailboat racing on Wednesday?" They said: "Sure!" We had never met in person until they showed up at the boat. They would NEVER have considered paying for the privilege by joining any association or club. They didn't even know if they liked sailboat racing until they had tried it. What kept them coming back was imported beer and the idea that they were becoming part of a team. This stupid rule will eliminate the idea of introducing rookies to the sport. * From: Dave Vickland Davic86@aol.com It will go something like this: "Sorry, Friend. I know you want to learn about sailboat racing, but, you are not a member of anything. If we take you along with us in the race, we will be cheating and subject to protest and disqualification. Yes, really, sailing and racing are really enjoyable endeavors, honest, Friend." From: "Randall Risvold" risvold@earthlink.net Anyone organizing a lynching party for the ISAF in regards to rules RR 21.2.1(h) and RRS 21.1(b) (ii)? These people are not in the real world. There is not one good reason to enforce these rules or except any protests in races that I will be running this year. It's hard enough to get boats out on the race course as it is. Limiting who can crew is just plain stupid. Anyone bringing protest under these rules should perhaps consider another recreational activity. All race committees should include in their sailing instruction wording deleting these requirements. * From: Tucker Strasser Rtswood@aol.com This new ISAF Eligibility Code is counterproductive and just plain silly. But upon reflection I think it would be wise to strictly enforce this new rule because by the end of the day there would be so much outrage over this the ISAF would have to be disbanded over this and we would get some sensibility back in racing. * From: "Lemke, Dick" Dick.Lemke@co.dakota.mn.us Regarding the new ISAF eligibility rules - can anyone advise the position US Sailing is going to take? Will they simply accept this - or is there room to negotiate? I for one, have on occasion taken a friend or co-worker out to race. Obviously it is intended as a social function. If US Sailing is going along with this stupid idea, perhaps this is another example of ISAF being in their own little world. Doesn't anyone vote on this - and how did our US Sailing representatives vote? Obviously we as sailors can easily impact this vote simply by boycotting membership - since ISAF is a recipient of a portion of our dues. I'm sure US Sailing would be quick to pressure ISAF to remove this rule if the pocket book took a hit. Next thing you know, they will be requiring the owner to be on board when racing! OFFICIAL REACTION (A flood of email has been pouring into Scuttlebutt World Headquarters as a result of the new ISAF Eligibility Code. We've also gotten copies of official correspondence and other items that shed additional light on the subject.) * The January 12 issue of the ISAF's aptly named newsletter, "Making Waves," states: "It is anticipated that rather than hindering participation in sailing, such a membership requirement will further support our sport by providing a system by which competitors become MNA or club members." - http://www.sailing.org/makingwaves/makingwaves70/ * However, ISAF President Paul Henderson has a different view. In a recent letter to the ISAF office he wrote: "There has arisen a major discussion about the additional clauses to the ISAF Eligibility Code which were instituted because of difficulties experienced in the last few years. Although some jurisdictions welcome the additions, there have been interpretations made which are indicating a major impact at the entry level of the sport. This was never intended although it can be seen to result in what is being questioned. "In overview I feel it is imperative that all dedicated sailors be members of the jurisdiction that they wish to compete in especially at the international level and at the national or regional level where appropriate. This is normal in most sports. The problem facing sailing is that it is a participatory sport where very elite sailors can and do compete with entry level and even first time participants and therein lies the dilemma which I am sure can be addressed in the best interests of all concerned. The use of the Internet has allowed ISAF to immediately send to all sailors in the World any new regulations. The corollary of which is that the various constituencies can react ensuring all issues are fully debated. ISAF will always immediately address any such difficulty and adjust them where required. With regard to this issue the ISAF Executive will meet Feb. 4-7 in Dublin and immediately respond positively to the concerns." * In the mean time Jim Capron, Chairman of the US Sailing Judges Committee, sent the following messages to USSA certified judges: The new ISAF Eligibility Code creates a problem that the US Sailing ISAF Delegation first recognized in preparation for the ISAF Annual Meeting in Edinburgh. There is a requirement in Regulation 21 that every competitor must be a member of a national authority (such as US Sailing) or a member of a club or other organization affiliated with his or her national authority. For most countries around the world, this wording is of little consequence since membership in a sport's governing body is mandated nationally. That is not the case in the U.S. where membership is voluntary. While we are waiting for the final rule book to see how this and other issues involving the three codes are addressed, we must still compete and judge events under the old rules and the new codes. Regulation 21 has replaced Appendix K in its entirety, and cannot be changed by the Sailing Instructions. Neither can rule 75.2 which invokes the Eligibility Code. However, we can carefully modify a boat's right to protest under a rule. In order to prevent a technical protest by a boat under this new requirement, the US Sailing Judges and Race Management Committees recommend that Sailing Instructions include the following language: "A boat may not protest a boat for an alleged breach of RRS 75.2 with respect to ISAF Regulation 21.1(b) This changes rule 60.1(a)." This language denies protests by a boat only under the rule requiring US Sailing or club membership. This suggested wording still allows protests for other parts of the Eligibility Code which may be needed. * Early Sunday morning Paul Henderson responded to a note from the curmudgeon with the following: "The sea lawyers are interpreting the rule in a way not intended. Event organizers at all levels should check their liability insurance because in most policies it does not cover non-members. In the UK they have solved the problem for several years by stating that in entering, all crew are members for the duration of the event. Competitive sport administration is not as simple as the critics appear to observe." To read the new Eligibility Code: http://www.sailing.org/regulations/eligibilitycode.pdf
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VENDEE GLOBE - By Philippe Jeantot |
