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SCUTTLEBUTT 2583 – April 25 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. “WOULD GALLIANI DISQUALIFY KAKÀ?” Open letter from Giovanni Maspero, owner of Joe Fly, following their disqualification at the recent Farr 40 World Championship in Miami (USA): “The Farr 40 Worlds finished just a few days ago. The winners, as everyone knows, were Mascalzone Latino, who won the competition for the third time in a row, a unique achievement reflecting the qualities of a team of yachtsmen. Their victory came not at the finish line, on the water, but following a protest that the Mascalzone Latino Team made against us, the Joe Fly Team: a protest by a 3rd party that sees another boat, Joe Fly, allegedly commit an infringement against yet another boat, Barking Mad. This is all part of the game I think. The anomaly is that the Jury called upon to decide has manifest conflicts of interest in respect of one of the teams involved. “Everyone knows that Tom Ehman, chairman of the adjudicatory committee, works for the American BMW Oracle team. Likewise Richard Slater, another member of the 2008 Farr 40 Worlds jury. Another judge present, Henry Menin, worked for the Oracle Team in 2000. And John Kostecki, Mascalzone Latino’s tactician in Miami, the person who formally lodged and argued the case against Joe Fly, is also an employee of the BMW Oracle Racing. The close links between Mascalzone Latino and BMW Oracle Racing are common knowledge. “All this is too serious to pass over in silence. An analogy would be if Adriano Galliani, CEO of A.C. Milan (an Italian professional football club), were also to chair a board of adjudicators in a case involving one of his own players against a player in another team. This is what makes the whole game something of a farce.” -- Read on: http://www.joefly.it/e/sc_com.asp?IDcomunicato=602 => Also posted on the Joe Fly website: The options Joe Fly is looking at include abandoning the Farr 40 Class. This would be drastic but perhaps inevitable given how the Class itself accepted without the least reservation a verdict which shows it’s possible to win a regatta despite what happens on the water. -- Complete statement: http://www.joefly.it/e/sc_com.asp?IDcomunicato=599 FRENCH ANNOUNCE CATTLE CALL There’s the definition of Cattle Call, which considers it to be an audition in which a large number of often inexperienced actors or performers try out. There’s also the popular 1950’s song by Eddie Arnold named Cattle Call. And then there was the movie, National Lampoon's Cattle Call, where three guys cook up a scheme to meet women by putting advertisements in the paper and creating a fake casting call for a movie that really doesn't exist (see trailer in Scuttleblog). In the spirit of the circus otherwise known as the America’s Cup, there is now a new variation of the Cattle Call, this coming from Team FRENCH SPIRIT to help them find a designer for their America’s Cup effort. Here are their words: “It is in order to build up that ideal team, to identify talent, tools and means, that Team FRENCH SPIRIT decided to develop an innovative strategy and has thus invited the main French and international naval architect firms to participate in the ‘Designer Competition’ under the presidency of Phillipe Gouard, technical director of the French sailing federation.” The target for the contest is the new AC 90 rule that is expected to be used for the 34th America’s Cup (though we still need to survive the 33rd Deed of Gift ACUP match). The French team plans to invite eight architectural firms to participate in the contest, and they have a host of rules that will be implemented during the six month process. At some point the jury will send half of them home with compensation, while the other half will be asked to continue. Further along there will be another cut, where two will be excused with compensation, and the final two will submit their finalized projects. It all seems so surreal, and perhaps the publicity from the contest will be as rewarding as their innovative efforts to gather a broad spectrum of design ideas at what one would believe to be affordable pricing. -- For complete announcement, contest rules, and funny videos, go to Scuttlblog: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/04/cattle-call.html NO TIME The song ‘No Time’ by The Guess Who came to mind when considering some of the information provided by the Alinghi team on Thursday when they welcomed the media into their compound and announced that Ernesto Bertarelli had committed to building a multihull for the 33rd America’s Cup, according to Brad Butterworth, team skipper and tactician, “as long as we can get the pending issues resolved by the New York courts – including a race date in 2009.” What is interesting to note is that the team also published a timeline on the process to build a maxi-multihull, which stated that their plan required fifteen months. The question that comes to mind is that if the Deed of Gift gives each team ten months from date of challenge, and that their design and construction plan takes fifteen months, it would seem that there is a problem. To solve the problem, it would seem that either there needs to be more time than ten months or a simpler design and construction plan. What is not known is how far into their fifteen month plan they are, and whether their legal maneuvers in the NY courts are to defend their position, or to just provide them the extra time needed to complete their multihull. -- To see the timeline, and the video/lyrics for ‘No Time’, go to http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/04/no-time.html * In Scuttlebutt 2582, there was a report that UBS stockholders were seriously mad about the bank's $37.4 billion (23.65 billion euros) losses in recent months, and had specifically asked for the removal of Ernesto Bertarelli from the Board of Directors. Since then, the editor of the publication has notified Scuttlebutt of a correction on their site which states that Bertarelli has in fact not been asked to step down. -- Link: http://tinyurl.com/59mfl8 TRIPP DESIGN SEEKS NA W/ SE (NVL ARCH W/ SAILING EXP) Tripp Design is experiencing an increased demand for high-end projects and we are looking to expand our team. To join us you will need four years experience in a design office, and your second language shall be Autocad and Solidworks. Intimate knowledge of composite production and composite structural calculations is a must, and FEA experience is a plus. Since we are designing exciting sailboats, having logged countless hours of exciting sailing is in order. Finally, if you enjoy teamwork and fit the Bill, contact us at mailto:jobs@trippdesign.net. To view our designs, visit http://www.trippdesign.net A NEW AMERICAN HOPE IN MATCH RACING Time was in the early days of the Congressional Cup when a competitor from out of the country was a novelty. No foreign-born sailor had claimed the traditional Crimson Blazer until Ireland’s Harold Cudmore won the 22nd edition in 1986. Now they’ve won 13 of the last 22 – plus Coronado, Calif.-born Rod Davis’ last three of four since he moved to New Zealand. Meet Chris VanTol from Detroit’s Bayview Yacht Club who joins the lineup for the 44th Congressional Cup next week, Tuesday through Saturday. There will be only one other American, Dave Perry, who won the Congressional twice just before Cudmore broke the foreign ice. Triple winner Gavin Brady and local resident Scott Dickson have lived in the U.S. since the 90s but are still officially Kiwi. VanTol, 26, is currently the top-ranked American match racer at No. 38 (Perry is No. 48), but significant ISAF ranking points are hard to come by for Americans when there’s only one Grade 1 match racing event in the U.S. - the Congressional Cup - and Europeans can find a Grade 2 or 3 event close to home almost any week of the sailing season. “They do it a lot more than we do,” VanTol said, “so we’re just trying to catch up to them and sail as much we as we can. Most of those guys are doing it for a living, and they’re very professional on and off the water. We’ve had some good races against them.” -- Complete story: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0424 TOP TEN FINALIZED FOR MEDAL RACE Hyeres, France (April 24, 2008) A light sea breeze appeared late allowing minimum racing for all classes on the final day of fleet racing. Reported 49er team Tim Wadlow/ Chris Rast (USA), “The day began with a lengthy delay on shore, and then a further delay on the water. The first race we attempted to start in 3 knots of wind was cancelled because of a massive wind shift. Finally after 3pm, a Southerly filled, and we completed two races in a fickle 5-7 knots of wind.” The conditions suited sailors who have started their preparation for Qingdao (read: being patient), and it is expected for these conditions to continue for Friday when the top ten now move on for the final non-discardable medal race. Here is the list that qualified: 49er, 1st - Tim Wadlow/Chris Rast (USA) Laser, 1st - Michael Leigh (CAN) Laser, 7th - David Wright (CAN) Laser Radial, 2nd - Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) Laser Radial, 10th - Paige Railey (USA) Finn, 8th - Chris Cook (CAN) Finn, 10th - Zach Railey (USA) Yngling, 5th - Sally Barkow/Debbie Capozzi/Carrie Howe (USA) Canadians Oskar Johansson/ Kevin Stittle, lacking the consistency that helped them win the Tornado class in this event last year, won their final race but missed out on making it to the medal race by a single point. -- Regatta website: http://sof.ffvoile.net PROFESSIONAL CIRCUIT * Cagliari, Sardinia (April 24, 2008) -- The winner of the match racing event of the Cagliari RC 44 Cup is Larry Ellison, the only non professional helmsman involved in this event. Ellison won the event with 8 wins and one defeat over a field that included James Spithill and Ben Ainslie, who finished second and third respectively, along with Cameron Appleton, Morten Henrikson / Miroslav Reljanovic, Sébastien Col, Markus Wieser, Jesper Radich, Jes Gram Hansen, and Mateusz Kusznierewicz. The typical format is for the professionals to steer the match racing segment, and the owners steer the fleet racing portion that will be held Friday through Sunday. -- Full report: http://www.rc44.com/en/regattas/news/index.php?idContent=917 * Vitoria, Espirito Santos, Brazil (April 24, 2008) -- A light southeasterly sea breeze stayed long enough through the late morning and afternoon to provide suitable conditions for the finish of Round Robin action here at the Brasil Sailing Cup, the first event on the 2008 World Match Racing Tour. The top six have been decided, but two more will come from the Repechage stage on Friday before the Quarterfinals can start later that day. The top teams presently are: Group A- Ian Williams (5-0), Magnus Holmberg (4-1), and Torvar Mirsky (3-2); Group B- Bjorn Hansen (4-1), Paolo Cian (4-1), and Mattias Rahm (2-3). -- http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com BAILING IS CANCELED! Many ‘Buttheads are writing in, yearning for a new-age dinghy to excite their kids. They want alternative fun for those kids who aren’t into the traditional Opti/Sabot racing track. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l6wIzg3SKI Finally there is the O’Pen BIC - a modern planing hull with contemporary rig, super quick set up, low maintenance, affordable, and completely self-bailing. The O’Pen BIC gets kids just messing in boats, enjoying the game. Tipping over is part of the fun! Contact mailto:info@BicSportNA.com for Fleet Pricing, Dealer Inquiries, Industry Insider Offers, or the 2008 Mid West/New England Demo Tour. Energize your kid today! Visit OpenBIC.com BLACK UNIVERSITY TACKLES COLLEGIATE SAILING At one point in this nation’s segregated past, black colleges were essentially the only institutions of higher learning to admit black students. Being aware of that, people from the northwest corridor and elsewhere who are graduates of black colleges have a special appreciation of their role. And when they meet at social or business events and discover that others there are graduates of these colleges, bonds of kinship can arise. But so can boasting. That is especially so if the conversation turns to years-old or recent athletic matchups and rivalries. However, one historically black institution can boast of a sports achievement that no other black university can. Indeed, as colleges have transitioned into spring sports, Hampton University in Virginia has fielded yet another scrappy team that is raising eyebrows in the rarefied, and mostly white, world of competitive collegiate sailing. Hampton is the only historically black college to have a sailing team, and two Hampton students from Maryland, Jason Major-Henson and Nicole Clark, have been part of the team’s success. -- Community Times, read on: http://tinyurl.com/5cwtek * Curmudgeon’s Comment: While Hampton University did not qualify for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Coed Dinghy Semi-Finals, thirty-six other schools from around the United States will be facing off in the Eastern and Western eliminations this weekend. Hosted by Hobart/WmSmith (Geneva, NY) in 420s and USC (Long Beach, CA) in Flying Juniors, the top nine from each event will move on to the Nationals to be held in Newport, RI on June 2-4, 2008. SAILING SHORTS * Complimentary weather forecasts are available for the Sperry Top-Sider Annapolis NOOD Regatta from April 25-27. Provided by Sailing Weather Services in partnership with North Sails, they can be received by signing up here: http://na.northsails.com/ew/ew_main.taf * Sailing World's College Rankings as of April 22, 2008 find St. Mary's still atop the Coed rankings but has ceded the Women's to College of Charleston. -- Complete list: http://tinyurl.com/5apv8y * The fleet of ten identical 68-foot teams in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race started their next leg on Thursday, leaving Santa Cruz, CA to aim for the Panama Canal and the finish line in Jamaica. -- http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include a view before Antigua Sailing Week, the prized 169-foot ‘Meteor’, vertical mainsail battens by UK-Halsey, the car-boat of Southern California photographer Dennis St. Onge, Jim Swartz’s Reichel/Pugh designed STP65, Moneypenny, naked British Olympic sailors (again), San Francisco sailing, Ellison and Coutts winning with the RC 44, and a photo sequence of a capsized Star from their Worlds last week. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0425 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Charles J. Doane: (re, lead story in #2582) Kudos to John Rousmaniere… he is exactly right! It is our Cup, much more than Bertarelli's. He is indeed a mere trustee, and we, those who follow and enjoy the competition, are the beneficiaries whose interests he is charged with protecting. He did a very good job of it last time and gave us the best competition in years. What the heck happened this time???? * From Jessica Lord: (re, IT'S OUR CUP TOO by John Rousmaniere) BRAVO! I am happy to hear another voice from one who understands that the only thing this b.s. litigious squabbling is doing is putting a tarnish on The Cup that will be nearly impossible to remove. Look how many friendships it has ruined... alliances it has broken... "national pride" it has destroyed... for what? Holy moly! If you can't play by the rules - as John R. points out have been working for 130 years - step aside and let others play... those who respect the deed of gift and the very foundation on which The America's Cup sits. Hasn’t it earned at least that? * From Bruce T Craven, lifelong cup admirer: Thank you John Rousmaniere, I will say my prayers a few minutes a day we can return to the original spirit of the Cup as Stevens and Schuyler defined it. I have admired the Deed of Gift since picking it apart myself during the winged keel thing in 1983. * From Bob Black: Three cheers and a tiger to John Rousmaniere for his well-chosen words on the America's Cup. As a former wire service and free-lance writer covering the Twelve Meter races from 1967 to 1983, I have the fondest memories of the Cup and its participants in those days. As I have for John, with whom I shared a bus one fateful night at the 1976 Olympics. * From John Harwood-Bee: What is it about sailing that has, in recent years, attracted those prepared to sacrifice the very best of sailing on the altar of greed, arrogance, and ego? The latest about-turn by Mr 'we won't appeal' Bertarelli must surely result in the final demise of the America's Cup as a credible sailing competition for sportsman. I am in no doubt that the behavior now associated with the Cup will appeal to those who watch gutter 'gladiatorial' TV shows. I do, however, regret that the AC will now join the list of once respectable events that have suffered at the hands of the unworthy. The self interested politics that currently surround Olympic sailing are a disgrace with total disregard for the true opinions of sailors. In 2004, the awarding of the Jules Verne Trophy to an 'also ran' destroyed its credibility as THE trophy for the fastest circumnavigation (Olivier de Kersauson, Geronimo). The RACE was lost because of wrangling, arrogance, and the high demand on entry fees. Even the lesser, though potentially successful Oryx Cup, was destroyed by greed and arrogance, incompetence, and possibly fraud. In every case, this could have been avoided had it not been for the actions of individuals seemingly hell bent on destruction. These events, whatever spin you try to put on them, are dead and buried. I am not alone in wishing that we could divert the multi-million dollars, once invested in them, towards The Volvo, The Clipper races, the Artemis Transat, and other well run events where sportsmanship is still of paramount importance and ego's are left on the dock. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION There are two times when a man doesn't understand a woman: before marriage and after marriage. (Thanks to all the blog submissions: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/04/marriage-theme.html) Special thanks to Tripp Design and O’Pen BIC. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
