SCUTTLEBUTT No. 721 - January 3, 2001

WELL DONE

Ullman Sails congratulates the Olympic Sailors for outstanding performances in the 2000 Olympic Games. They trained hard to get to Sydney, and then competed at one of the highest levels in our sport. The Olympians bring great credit to competitive sailing worldwide, to their Countries, and to themselves. Ullman Sails is especially proud that United States Silver Medalist in both the Women's 470 (JJ Isler and Pease Glaser), and in the Men's 470 (Paul Foerster and Bob Merrick) used Ullman Sails, exclusively. Additionally, Ullman Sails were used by the Silver and Bronze Medalist in the Tornado Class.

http://www.ullmansails.com/

SYDNEY TO HOBART - By Peter Campbell
For the third year in succession, strong to galeforce headwinds and heavy seas battered boats and bruised bodies in the Telstra Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Yet this formidable sea challenge failed to dampen the enthusiasm, the sailing skills and seamanship of most of the 850 sailors from around the world who set sail in the traditional and spectacular start from Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, 26 December 2000.

Even when the last boat crossed the line just over seven days later, that determination to reach Hobart was still apparent, as was the hospitality extended by Tasmanians to those who finally reach Hobart. There were the cases of cold beer brewed by Cascade on the slopes of towering Mount Wellington overlooking this beautiful port city on the River Derwent along with the famous scallop pies and many other seafoods that have made this island State more famous that its apples.

This 56th race, the sixth sponsored by Telstra, Australia's largest telecommunications corporation, attracted 82 starters of which 24 retired and 58 boats completed the 630 nautical mile race down the East Coast of mainland Australia, across the galeswept waters of Bass Strait and finally into more gales down the East Coast of the island State of Tasmania.

The race began somewhat in the shadow of the release by the Coroner of New South Wales, less than two weeks before the start of the race, of his findings and recommendations arising from the death of six yachtsmen in the stormswept 1998 Sydney to Hobart. Among his recommendations was to replace certain brands of liferafts and "mae west" type personal buoyancy vests on all boats. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia felt it had a duty of care to follow his directions, even with the possible fall-out of 15 to 20 boats unable to comply so late.

In the end, every boat affected was able to obtain replacement liferafts and personal buoyancy vests and the final entry of 82 boats went to the line on Boxing Day. Two maxis had to make last-minute changes. Nicorette, the Swedish maxi had to build a forward hatch into the foredeck while the Melbourne 83-footer Wild Thing had to replace it's fibreglass staunchions with the conventional metal ones.

While 24 boats retired from the 82 boat fleet, there were no dismastings, only one yacht broke its rudder (although several had steering problems) and only one yacht reported structural hull damage. Several crew suffered injuries in the pounding seas, but none were serious.

Four yachts reported having man overboard situations in which all were successfully recovered, including one crewman washed off the foredeck when not wearing a safety harness nor a lifejacket. Another reported that the crewman's harness strap had broken as the boat sailed out of control after its rudder snapped off. He grabbed the safety line and hauled himself back on board.

The major cause of retirement appeared to be HF radio problems and this forced several boats to pull out when they realised they would not comply with the mandatory check-in at Green Cape just before entering Bass Strait. Here skippers were to advise Telstra Control that the boat, its crew and equipment (including HF radio) were in a fit state to make the crossing of "the paddock" which at that stage was being swept by galeforce winds, described by the Bureau of Meteorology as "vigorous south-westerlies." - http://www.syd-hob.telstra.com.au/index.cfm

ROLEX INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S KEELBOAT CHAMPS
ANNAPOLIS, MD (Jan. 2, 2001) - Organizers say "change" has been the key word used in planning the 9th Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship (IWKC), slated for September 22-28, 2001. The first change was announced last summer when US SAILING reported that the biennial event, after 14 years with the Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport, R.I., was moving to Annapolis, Md. It was decided that the smaller four-person J/22 would replace the J/24 and, for the first time ever in the regatta's history, a Rolex timepiece would be awarded to the winning skipper.

Next, the Annapolis Yacht Club, fresh from hosting the 2000 Nautica Star World Championships, took the helm as the host club. (It has partnered with other local clubs and area sailors to provide a town-wide organizational team.) Finally, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) added women's keelboat fleet racing as the 11th sailing medal for the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

"Based on a dialogue with the women sailors, we're anticipating between 50 and 75 entries representing eight to 12 countries," said Sandy Grosvenor, a three-time Rolex IWKC veteran who serves as co-chair with Anne Harrington. "The new venue and boat have been enthusiastically embraced. And we anticipate that the new Olympic status of keelboat racing for women will bring even more energy and greater participation to the regatta."

Websites: www.annapolisyc.com/rolexkeelboats / www.ussailing.org/riwkc

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: Roger Vaughan RogerVaughan1@compuserve.com About ESPN's YEAR IN SAILING's statement that the Congressional Cup is was the only grade 1 match regatta in the U.S. this year, as the writer of that show I stand corrected. In fact I received an email from Ed duMoulin about the error just a few minutes after the show aired. Ed doesn't miss much when it comes to sailing. For the record, my mis-information came from the Congressional Cup web site: http://www.lbyc.org.cup.html

* From: Stephen Glassman SolonSG@compuserve.com Anyone notice the staying power of some of the past winners of the Rolex award. Two in particular have a lot to crow about (yet don't, which also speaks volumes for them). Buddy Melges won the award 17 years apart (1961/1978) and so did Betsy (Genelitis) Allison 1981/1998). Winning it back to back might not be anywhere near as difficult as winning it again after 17 years. Perhaps more than just the congratulations for winning should go to sailors such as these.

* From Scott Ridgeway yachtracer@lycos.com I could not help but notice that in 1986 the Rolex Yachties of the Year Awards ceremony turned out to be an all San Diego YC affair as DC and JJ each picked up a watch. Do you suppose history will repeat itself for SDYC again this year?

* From: Edward du Moulin ACUP98@aol.com Speaking as one with a longtime interest in the America's Cup, I am not happy about the escalating de-nationalization of the various efforts. Whether this trend can be reversed is problematical but it warrants some serious study.

However, there is much drama in the next defense in 2003 and the trials leading to it. Americans, in particular, should be interested in the New York Yacht Club/Team Dennis Conner challenge. Dennis will have the chance (which he didn't get in 1987 when he regained the Cup for San Diego) to return it to the NYYC. And this will be with an ALL-AMERICAN crew - a true national effort.

As for Sports Illustrated not covering the last Cup event, I think that is nothing to boast about. There was plenty of drama, outstanding action worthy of a photographer of Guy Gurney's talents and a world-wide interest. What could have been more exciting than the Prada-AmericaOne trial races? Frankly, SI missed the boat. I hope they are in Auckland in 2002-3.

WORKING THE BOW
(Frontierland some people call it. The foredeck. It's one of the most critical areas on a racing sailboat, and the people who work up there can be the most high-profile or the least recognized members of the crew. If the pointy end of the boat is your domain, Rich Bowen gives a lot of tips to help you survive up front. Here's a very brief excerpt.)

You might also want to consider lacing your lifelines or having some sort of strap system to hold your headsails on deck and out of the water when they're not hoisted. This is very important because sails dragging in the water or even appearing to be dragging in the water can be a bigger distraction to some people in the back of the boat than you might think.

Footing is also critical on the foredeck. If the boat doesn't already have them, you should consider installing mini toerails in front of the mast so that you can get a good, firm stance when end-for-end jibing. Or you might get some adhesive non-skid and apply it liberally and neatly. Forward hatches made of Lexan can get really slippery when wet.

Check the halyard blocks, ratchets, and cleats, and before you leave the dock or mooring, be sure all lines are led correctly through the ratchets. And make sure that the leads and purchases are fair and not twisted. You should also check the spinnaker and headsail halyards for signs of wear, particularly the area that is normally left in the cleat. Then check the other control lines-the foreguy and the topping lift-for signs of fatigue.

Experienced bowmen and women know that a few tools are indispensable for their job. You should always have that roll of your favorite color rigging tape handy for the pre-race check of all the shackles and clevis and cotter pins in your area. I recommend that you don't tape knots because the tape makes it difficult to see if they are staying tied or working loose. It's also a good idea to throw a wrap or two of that tape on the headsail and spinnaker halyard attachments just to ensure that you avoid any surprises underway. (Both of these are difficult to retrieve if for some reason their shackles should open while they're in use.) - Rich Bowen, Sailnet website.

There's much more:
http://www.sailnet.com/collections/racing/index.cfm?articleid=bowenr0007&tfr=fp

VOLVO YOUTH WORLDS
January 2, 2001 - Sydney Harbour today turned on perfect conditions for the third day of racing in the 2000 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship. Although Australia has narrowed the lead held by France in the Volvo Trophy, the French are still dominating the team event with a 25-point lead over the host nation. The Dutch are in third place whilst New Zealand are currently in fourth, only one point ahead of the British Team - the nation that did so well in the Olympic sailing competition last year.

Under blue sunny skies Sydney1s well-known northeasterly sea breeze hit in today in a big way. When competitors launched from Manly before noon, the breeze was around 12 knots. As the day progressed, the breeze built steadily and in some parts of the harbour it gusted up to 28 knots - making a tough day out for the young competitors. With three races completed in all classes there were a few tired faces around the boat-park by evening time. - Peter Bentley

Results - US Sailors after seven races with 1 discard: Girls Byte, Amanda Clark (10), Girls 420, Julie Papanek (8) , Mistral Boys, Jonathan Azevedo (21), Boys Laser, Andrew Campbell (8), Boys 420, William & Andrew Loe, (21).

Provisional team results posted for Races 7 with 1 discard: 1. FRA 223 pts, 2. AUS 198 pts, 3. NED 160 pts, 4. NZL 147 pts, 5. GBR 146 pts, 6. POL 145 pts, 7. GRE 130 pts, 8. ESP 119 pts, 9. GER 110 pts, 10. DEN 97 pts.

Full results: http://www.boatingoz.com.au/~volvoyouth.htm

IMAGES
As his reward for spending from fourteen hours in the helicopter over the Bass Strait, Daniel Forster got some sizzling pictures of the Sydney to Hobart fleet battling the ferocious waves, 50 knots wind in 5 degrees Celcius/38 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures. There is some real calendar material here: http://www.yachtphoto.com/firstpage.html

THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
There are three signs of old age. The first is your loss of memory; I forgot the other two.