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SCUTTLEBUTT 2806 - Monday, March 23, 2009Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Today's sponsors are Hall Spars & Rigging and MyBoatsGear.com. ON WHAT’S RIGHT AND WRONG WITH THE SPORT OF SAILING by Marty McOmber, Three Sheets Northwest Sailing hall of famer Gary Jobson talks about state of racing, the role of yacht clubs and the joy of boating in the Northwest. * What do you think has been the most significant change in sailing over the past 40 years? JOBSON: “I think we’ve done a better job on getting committees and judges certified and making it fair. I’m not sure we can ever get the handicap rules perfect, but I think sailing is fairer today. So that is good. “On the other hand, what I see happening is there is kind of a split in sailing abilities. The pro sailors, who are very high end and skilled, and the amateur sailors, who are not very skilled, are separating. I’d actually like to see less pro sailing. I don’t think everybody needs to get paid to go sailing. Mix the professional and the amateurs together and just get people sailing more for the Corinthian aspect as opposed to making a living from it.” * What’s next for you? JOBSON: “Well, I turn 60 next year, which is weighing heavy on my mind. So this summer, I’m going to sail like crazy. I’m a partner in a Swan 42, so I’m going to sail in eight regattas this summer. I’m also racing on a 12-meter Freedom in four regattas. So I have a big summer of racing ahead of me. “Longer term, I really like cruising. I’ve done three trips to Antarctica and I’ve been to 80 degrees north and sailed all up and down the east coast. I’d like to get a good cruising boat. I decided to favor racing for a year or two, then do some heavy cruising.” Among the other questions are: * What is your experience sailing in the Northwest? * What lessons from sailing did you bring to your fight with cancer? * What do you think about the state of competitive sailing today? Read on: http://linkbee.com/KQ3K SUNSCREEN: WHAT DO THE PROS USE? What is the best sunscreen for sailing? Scuttlebutt asked some of the people who are regularly on the water, and here is advice provided by Chris Larson, 1997 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, 7-time World Champion: “Growing up in Florida, I was exposed to the sun from an early age. I’ve had my share of “AK’s” actinic keratosis (pre-cancers), and biopsies. In addition, I had a full lip ‘laser’ resurfacing and Efudex treatment, a "topical chemotherapy" chemical face peel. Trust me; these are not things you want to experience. “I currently use Coppertone Sport 50 SPF breathable sunscreen and have always come back to Coppertone products over the years. It just seems to work best for me. Sunscreens work differently on each individual due skin type and makeup. Trial and error is the best way to find something which gives you the most protection. “Application is ABSOLUTLEY the most important factor in sun protection. I have a morning ritual of taking a shower and then immediately applying 3-4 coats of sunscreen. Heat and moisture from the shower open skin pours allowing it to absorb significantly more product. This method covers me for the whole day. Applying sunscreen on the boat just doesn’t cut it and I inevitably come away with too much sun. “In addition, Lip protection is a must. Zinc Oxide is the best for ultimate protection; however any lip balm w/ a SPF over 30 will work. Lastly, it’s important to see your dermatologist every 6 months.” * Do you have any sunscreen advice? Post it here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7198 SPRING INTO ACTION Spring has sprung and Hall Spars & Rigging is springing into action. On April 18 we're part of the LaserPerformance Tent Sale in Rhode Island, with bargains on rope and other surprises. Starting April 25, we have a special display at Boston's Fan Pier during the stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race. (While you're there, look for the Hall rigs on Telefonica Blue and Black.) And our rigging trailer is off to Annapolis May 4 to support the J/24 Worlds. If you're ready for action, visit us at these events or shop online anytime at http://www.hallspars.com FINAL THREE DAYS TO RIO by Horacio Carabelli, Ericsson 4 trimmer (Mar. 22, 2009; Day 37) - We are slowly progressing towards Rio and we still have a lot to go. We just passed the projection line boarder between Brazil and Uruguay, but still we are below Montevideo in latitude, so in theory we are in Brazilian extended waters, which makes us feel a bit at home for Torben (Torben Grael), Joca (Joca Signorini) and me. I've been sailing along this coast a good part of my life and normally to Rio is a light upwind trip at this time of the year unless you catch a front coming from south. Sailing itself has been pleasant in moderate winds, flat water and quite clear skies, much better than three – four days ago where we were fully dressed with all the underlayers we had available. Nipper (Guy Salter MCM) has reorganised the food for the second time, every time making the day (food) bag emptier, so it will be a painful 800miles from here. The distance between the boats has changed quite a bit as we pass through the west of a high pressure area, gaining and losing on each sked. It’s difficult to say what will happen in the end we have to deal with the approach to Guanabara Bay that can be very tricky. According to the planning we should be in by the 25th at noon, so if we are lucky we have three more nights left in the lady that had carried us by more than 12500nm!! I'm really looking forward to stepping on solid land at Marina da Gloria, have a shower and sleep in a normal bed!! -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2009/March/EMAIL-ERT4-L5-D37-1428/ Crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Leg Five from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janiero, Brazil is 12,300 nm, with the finish estimated on March 25th. Current positions (as of Mar. 22, 10:15 pm GMT): 1. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 694 nm Distance to Finish 2. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 94 nm Distance to Leader 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 138 nm DTL 4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 344 nm DTL 5. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 580 nm DTL Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, Did Not Start Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, DNS Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, DNS Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com SAILING SHORTS * The Lightning Southern Circuit concluded their three event assault with the St. Petersburg Winter Championship (FL) this past weekend. Fifty-eight entrants represented Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Nigeria, USA, and Canada, with newcomer (to the Lightning class anyhow) Marcus Eagan along with dad Marc and Kip Chamberlain winning the event. Of the 16 Masters teams (skipper 55+, with crew age totaling 120), Dick Hallagan of Central New York took top honors. In the Southern Circuit Overall standings, Allan Terhune with crew Katie Terhune and Sarah Merganthaler finished with nearly a 30-point lead after the three regattas to claim the award. -- http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7178 * San Diego, CA (Mar. 22, 2009) - Nearly 1,000 sailors from throughout the United States and beyond voyaged to San Diego, Calif. this weekend to compete in the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (NOOD) Regatta; but as it turns out, the overall winner only had traveled just a few short minutes to compete. San Diego locals, Denis and Sharon Case, were named the overall winners of the 12th annual San Diego NOOD regatta. The Cases competed in the J/105 boat class, the regatta’s largest fleet with a total of 19 boats. -- Daily reports and results: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7239 * The Bahamian sailing community came together last Thursday at the historic Nassau Yacht Club to officially rename the National Junior Sailing Championship in honour of Sir Durward Knowles, the Bahamas’ first Olympic Gold medallist. During the renaming ceremony, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Desmond Bannister commended the organizers for making Sir Durward their selection. “You are honouring one of the greatest Bahamians not just in sports, but of all time,” said Bannister. -- Full story: http://bahamassailing.org/news/files/5ba6fd70cefff50228137ea1d15e58db-18.html * Nineteen teams representing Western Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and USA competed in the World Blind Sailing Championship, held in Rotorua, New Zealand on March 14-21, 2009. The event was held in Nolex 25 Trailer Yachts, where competitors sailed in one of three vision categories set according to the International Blind Sport Associations Sight Grading Categories. -- Event website: http://www.2009worldblindsailingnz.com * With 300 yachts already registered for the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race, the Royal Ocean Racing Club in the UK has taken the unprecedented step of closing the entry list some three months ahead of the date set in the Notice of Race. The 608 nm Rolex Fastnet begins in Cowes, races out the Solent and across the often tempestuous Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock, and returns on a reciprocal course to the finish off Plymouth. -- Full report: http://linkbee.com/KQ3L * (Mar. 20, 2009) - Late Thursday, the Term Asset-Based Securities Lending Facility, more commonly known as TALF, announced that non-auto floorplan loans will now be included as an eligible asset class under the program. This announcement comes on the heels of an NMMA-led call with officials from the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board earlier this week as well as more than 13,000 emails sent to Congress and Treasury expressing the industry’s concerns about floorplan financing. TALF is President Obama’s signature program to increase liquidity in the consumer and business lending market. -- NMMA, read on: http://www.nmma.org/news/news.asp?id=17645&sid=3 * The McNay-Biehl blog reports that Olympic 470 crew Graham Biehl, who with Stu McNay are currently the top ranked American team and leading the ISAF Sailing World Cup standings, will most likely need surgery on his ankle tendon in the coming months. Following the team’s next World Cup event, the Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia MAPFRE in Palma de Majorca on April 4-10, the team will decide when to schedule treatment. -- http://www.teammb.org SATELLITE EMERGENCY DISTRESS We look at the latest offerings in EPIRBs, PLBs and compare them to SPOT the satellite messenger service. If you have any one of these emergency signal devices with internal GPS you will get rescued, after you send an alert. Without an emergency signal it can take days. Your family tells the authorities you have not returned and they have to search for a needle in a haystack. So the question is which device is best for you? Read our analysis here: http://www.myboatsgear.com/newsletter/2009324.asp SEEKING TO BE THE YOUNGEST SOLO SAILOR Jessica Watson’s blog profile describes her ambition is to become the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world. On November 7th, she intends to leave Brisbane, Australia as sixteen year old in an S&S 34 to begin this quest. Here she responds to a few of the questions that she’s been asked recently: * When did I decide to sail around the world? “I first dreamt of sailing around the world after reading about others who has done it and hearing the stories of other adventures from sailors. That was when I was 11 years old and over the last few years have really started making it happen.” * What’s so interesting on the water??! “I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather be, I love the challenge of making my own decisions and overcoming all the problems thrown at you, I love sailing and everything gets real simple.” Read on: http://youngestround.blogspot.com/2009/03/long-delayed-update.html CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From John Jourdane: Thanks for printing the flattering e-Sailing World article about me (in SBUTT 2804). A small correction. I will be racing Transpac this summer on Medicine Man, and will be delivering her back to Long Beach for crossing number 50 and 51. * From Jeff Brown: (re, need for ice sailing speed record authority) I agree, a central organization should be in charge of any speed record claims, not a website (http://www.gps-icesailing.com). The website owners of GPS icesailing makes this clear and are currently working with WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Record Council) for the water record claims, as classified by GPS data. The former IFSA (International Freeskate Association) conducted organized speed trials in the mid 80's, but the sport dwindled when windsurfing soft water popularity declined as well. I was the commodore of that group prior to its end. Today we see the WISSA (World Ice & Snow Sailing Association) where craft class type are designated for the purpose of course racing. We look to merge with that group, or any other sailing group to support standards of GPS data for speed record claims. Until then, you are correct, it's all about bar room bragging rights...but at least it's backed by some credible data, perhaps more than most other GPS claims. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: On Feb 12, 2009, sailing a custom iceboard Freeskate at Long Pond in Harwich/Brewster, MA on Cape Cod, USA, Jeff recorded on his GPS a maximum speed of 64.6mph (103.96km) and sustained a speed of 63.6mph (102.36 km) over a 100m distance. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/03/ice-speed-sailing_11.html * From Andrew Hurst, Editor, Seahorse International Sailing: (re, race report in #2805) Pedant's corner, but while it is great to see a Class 40 round the Horn (in the Portimão Global Ocean Race), Desafio Cabo de Hornos are far from the first people to get a modern 40-footer through the south, there are plenty others in previous Boc, andAround Alone events and other voyages. Personal favourite, my dear friend Viktor Yazykov and his wonderful home-designed and home-built Open 40 Winds of Change, one of the best designed and best balanced sea boats you will ever find anywhere, anytime. Perfect timing to bring Viktor's huge talents back into focus at the same time as you remind us of the breathtaking voyage that was Cam, Bruno and the boys on Commodore Explorer. I have attached a photo of Viktor's latest self-created craft, a new 30-footer in cold mouded timber, also for a round the world solo voyage... The man is very special. -- Photo link: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0322 * From Toby Cooper: We all should thank Mark Chisnell for his colorful TEN ZULU reports on the Volvo Ocean Race site. I admire someone who can write like that and tell good sea stories. But he outdid himself with his account of Cam, Commodore Explorer, and the Horn (in Scuttlebutt 2805). Truly an awesome tale of survival at sea. I have a distant memory of how Cam cut his teeth decades ago at the 505 Worlds when the fleet was hit by what Sally Lindsay used to call a Face-Of-God squall. Cam sailing with Ethan Bixby, and somewhere near the front of the pack on the last downwind leg, saw boats pitchpoling and rigs coming down behind them as the leading edge of the cell swept in. I guess they got the kite down. Then Cam, with his instinctive resourcefulness and seamanship, quickly jury rigged the trapeze wire so he could trap right off the transom bar to support the mast. Ethan somehow kept the boat under the rig and they were about the only boat to finish the race, winning the Worlds. It was no accident that Commodore survived that Force 12 night off the Chilean coast. * From Cam Lewis: Cape Horn has been the subject of a vast variety great voyages ever since nautical tales have been recorded, some good, lots bad, many successful and of course plenty catastrophic. In 1993 we 5 on Commodore Explorer had a few lives left in our two wheeler and were allowed to pass, we were a bit lucky. If anyone wants a new autographed copy of the book Mark refers to, please email at Cam@TeamAdventure.org * From Jim Whistler, Buffalo, NY: Regarding the notice of "Boom Days" in Western New York in ‘Butt 2805, the basis of that festival is the removal of the Ice Boom at the Lake Erie mouth of the Niagara River. An intriguing engineering feat; the man made barrier, anchored to the bottom of the river holds back ice from the 10,000 square miles of Lake Erie to protect the power generating turbines at Niagara Falls. For history and details follow this link: http://www.ijc.org/rel/boards/niagara/ice_glace-info_e.pdf CURMUDGEON’S DICTIONARY OBSERVATION Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach. Special thanks to Hall Spars & Rigging and MyBoatsGear.com A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
