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SCUTTLEBUTT 2166 - August 24, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.HOW DO WE STOP THE DECLINE? While there are pockets of growth within various clubs and classes, anyone who thinks that yacht racing in the United States is growing generally would be mistaken. No matter where I look or who I talk to, almost everyone is saying the same thing - the sport is smaller than it was even 10 years ago. The causes of this are many, some societal, like dual income families, and the growth of many new sports and sports programs that are just plain more fun for kids, when all is said and done. We can’t change societal factors, but we can acknowledge them and tailor sailing events to fit within that matrix. But a lot of the decline is of our own making. The biggest problem is not money - the boats are still floating around somewhere. We just haven’t struck upon a chord to get them to untie from the dock or get off their trailer and go back on the race course. Perhaps the reason for this is the shift away from true casual recreational racing to a strict diet of winner take all windward-leeward racing. Time, or rather the abuse of precious weekend time by unthinking and self-serving race organizers is perhaps the biggest culprit. When it’s more effort to get up and rush out of the house to go sailing on a weekend day than it is to go to work during the week, the decision to race or not is simple. Why bother? What we need to do is go back to the future. Look at PHRF type racing. 30 years ago, most of that type of racing was point to point, with really casual low key racing. The focus was really on getting to the party in an organized fashion. Now, what is largely sold is only windward-leeward racing. Not only does this require a specialist crew, it is for the most part really boring to be mostly nothing more than rail meat. Who wants to spend a weekend day like this? Getting your once a week diet of this for a few hours on Wednesday is all of this type of racing most people want. One-design - I don’t get the decline here at all. Except that maybe again it is the notion that everyone is just so hard core - at least as viewed by most people. Personally, I’ve got no problem with the hardest of hard core racing, but that clearly isn’t want people want. Maybe it’s the shift to bigger boats and the exit out of small one designs that has caused fleets to get smaller, and less enthusiastic about sailing on weekends. There are pockets of success in some classes with strong club racing programs, but over and over, from the Great Lakes to the Chesapeake to southern California the trend is overwhelmingly evident in the shift away from good, solid club racing. Maybe what we need is for Sailing World, and perhaps Sail and a few other ink and paper publications, to focus on what makes good club racing, and really promote those successes on a monthly basis. -- Peter Huston, full story: http://peterhuston.wordpress.com/2006/08/23/how-do-we-stop-the-decline/ BIG CURRENT, BUT LITTLE WIND Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre -- Day three of the Qingdao International Regatta for the Olympic classes,got underway in fluctuating conditions, proving a challenge for the Race Committee in their goal to set fair race courses. The media focus was over in the heavyweight dinghy event who commenced their race series today, with the defending Olympic gold medallist, Ben Ainslie (GBR) exchanging his America’s Cup steed for the Finn. Ainslie did just fine, scoring a 1-2, and is tied for the lead with Emilios Papathanasiou (GRE), while the USA’s Zachary Railey is in 10th place in the 18-boat class. After a postponement for the women's RS:X and 49er on Course Area A, and the Laser and Laser Radial fleets on Course Area B, both Laser fleets were sent out onto the race course just before 1330 hours. However, the wind couldn’t settle over in Course Area A, and no racing was held for the 49ers and women’s RS:X. The USA’s Stuart McNay and Graham Biehl scored a 13 - 5 in the challenging conditions to move up from fourth in the Mens’s 470 class to become the fleet leaders. In the Laser Radial class, Paige Railey (USA) is in second place - just a single point, behind the leader, with Mexico’s Tania Elias Calles Wolf in seventh place and Keamia Rasa is the top Canadian in 19th place. Canadian Mike Leigh had a good day in the Laser class and has moved up to 11th place ahead of Bernard Luttmer (CAN - 15th place) and Brad Funk (USA - 24th place). In the tiny 7-boat Star class, George Szabo/ Eric Monroe (USA) are two points behind the leaders -- Diego Negri/ Luigi Viale (ITA), with the USA’s Andy Horton and Brad Nichol just one point further back. With consistent single-digit finishes Tornado sailors John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree (USA) have moved up to second place in the 19-boat Tornado class. -- http://www.2006qdregatta.com/ AS SEEN BY THE USA SAILORS * From Star sailors Andy Horton and Brad Nichol: “The forecast for today did not look promising and when we arrived on the race course we debated putting up our sails but with even a hint of wind this race committee is not afraid of firing one off. We started the first race with the crews hiking to leeward and the current ripping from left to right. We tried for a pin end start and had a hard time with the boats to leeward and tacked out to the right. The whole fleet arrived at the weather mark at the same time and that set the tone for the day; tight racing on short courses. As we prepared for the second race the wind filled and the tide line moved off the bottom of the course. For the first time in the regatta the crews could drop over the side and hike.” MARTIN 242 + ULLMAN SAILS = DOMINATION! Jim Durden and his Martin 242 "ZIP" Flying a full inventory of Ullman Sails dominated class D so decisively at this year's So Cal PHRF Championships earning him the coveted "Boat of the Regatta" perpetual trophy. Jim and his team know the importance of having a well-prepared boat coupled with fast dependable sails makes winning look easy. Jim and "ZIP" captured first in Class D and "Boat of the Regatta" with 1,1,1,1,3. If you and your team are ready for a set of the "Fastest Sails on the Planet", contact your local Ullman Sails loft or visit http://www.ullmansails.com HOT ROD TRENDS (The Daily Sail subscription website has just posted a story about two ambitious sailors who are starting a 12ft skiff class in the UK. Here are a couple of excerpts.) Within the last ten years high performance skiff sailing has taken off in the UK in a big way. We have seen the 18ft Skiff fleet grow to one of the biggest domestic fleets in the world and have had Olympic success in the Australian born 49er. Now another Australian skiff is on its way to our shores, a class many believe to be the most extreme sailing boat currently on the water: the 12ft Skiff. The 12ft Skiff, like many Australian born skiff classes, originates some time back in the late 1800s. During the early part of the 20th Century the boats continued to develop until a significant leap around the 1950s saw the boats much more easily recovered from a capsize and as a result more practical to sail. This led to boats being taken to New Zealand providing the opportunity for an Australia/ New Zealand Championship which in turn led to increased competitiveness and development. Since then the boat has not really taken off in any other countries and has remained solidly in the southern hemisphere … until now. One of the most interesting aspects of the 12ft skiff – and one which makes it very media friendly - is the unlimited sail size. Wary of carrying vast amounts of sail area in heavy winds many 12ft skiffs have multiple mast and sail configurations. Some boats have three masts; some boats have two and some people use jumpers to step the mast up. Some people have three sets of sails, some have four. -- http://www.thedailysail.com RACING RULES QUIZ Multiple choice. A boat that breaks a right-of-way rule may not exonerate herself with a Two-Turns Penalty if she has this kind(s) of contact. A. Contact with no damage B. Contact with damage C. Contact with serious damage D. Contact that causes injury (See answer later in this issue.) VIDEO OF THE WEEK We are not sure whatever happened to the F1 Sail Pro Tour, which was announced November 3, 2004 in Scuttlebutt. However, they did get around to making a pretty cool promo video, and if the tour ever gets off the ground, it should be pretty exciting too. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/06/0821 AHEAD OF THE GAME The Farr 40 class approved masthead spinnakers and a longer spinnaker pole for 2007. Hall Spars & Rigging is ahead of the game, offering both an extension kit for existing Hall carbon poles and a new, longer pole. Get your team out in front by ordering now from Hall – we’ll help you choose a longer halyard and new spinnaker sheets, too. Don’t sail a Farr 40? Visit our other online stores and see what we have for your game. www.hallspars.com SAILING SHORTS * Brodie Cobb, fresh from a third place showing at the windy Laser Master US Championship in San Francisco Bay flew to Oregon on August 19-20 where he dominated the Master's Pacific Coast Championship at The Gorge. Although the legendary winds never came, Brodie was untouchable on Saturday, winning all of the races by a big margin. Al Clark finished second, four points behind Cobb, while third place finisher Dan Falk was the top apprentice and Bill Symes, who finished fourth, was the top Grand Master. -- http://tinyurl.com/h3qod * Mattias Rahm, 33, will be second helmsman when the Victory Challenge begins their two-boat training, announced Magnus Holmberg, skipper and helmsman of the Swedish America’s Cup syndicate. Rahm has won a gold medal in E-dinghy world championship, as well as silver and bronze in 470. He has also won a European Championships gold in 470 and took part in the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Since then he has concentrated on match racing. * Ten girls who sailed round Britain and Ireland in aid of Sail 4 Cancer returned home yesterday morning after a gruelling 14 days, 12 hours and 38 minutes at sea. The group of determined and gutsy girls have been campaigning since January 2006 to raise £100,000 for UK charity Sail 4 Cancer which provides sailing opportunities for individuals and their families who have been affected by cancer. To help fundraise for Sail 4 Cancer, the girls have launched a cookbook ‘Swell Food’ which contains recipes that can be prepared at sea. -- http://www.sail4cancer.org * After three races in the Dennis Conner International Yacht Club Challenge sailed in J/24s in New York Harbor, Yacht Club "Bulgaria" holds a slim two point lead over a team from Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (USA), with St. Francis Yacht Club (USA) in third place. The 15-boat event is intended to promote international goodwill through friendly competition. Other teams represent Ireland, Switzerland, South Africa, Canada, Germany, Sweden, the UK, and Norway. Racing will continue every day through Saturday. -- http://myc.org/iycc/default.htm * Audi Australia has signed a long-term deal with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia which will see the luxury carmaker become naming rights sponsor of three of the Club’s major offshore races as well as its longstanding Winter Series. The sponsorship will also include assisting the CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy in the further development of young sailors through the Academy’s training program. It will provide more opportunities for the Club’s young talent to attend national and international ISAF regattas to gain greater experience. * Oops - wrong week. The participant feedback questionnaire that race organizers have posted online is for Cork Week - not Cowes Week as we mistakenly reported yesterday. http://www.corkweek.ie WHERE’S VANGUARD SAILBOATS? In recent weeks, Vanguard sponsored the Youth Radial World Championship at California YC, Marina Del Rey, CA, the US Junior Singlehanded and US Junior Doublehanded Championships, sailed in Vanguard Lasers and C420s respectively at the Texas Corinthian YC, Kemah, TX. For results, updates and much more: http://www.teamvanguard.com ANSWER TO RACING RULES QUIZ C and D. According to rule 44.1, a boat that breaks a right-of-way rule may exonerate herself with a Two-Turns Penalty, but “if she caused injury or serious damage . . . her penalty shall be to retire.” For 99 more questions like this one, check out the Racing Rules IQ Test at http://www.SpeedandSmarts.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING? - The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet. - The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid. - The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Chris Rogers: As we were working the boat towards the finish line on our third weather leg of the day, I mentioned to my skipper, while hiking over the side, that I thought he should perhaps keep the jib driving, not feather so much, and I would adjust the main to compensate for any overpowering. He replied calmly and right to the point, "Please allow a senior moment" and proceeded to get us the finish line, including a fantastic perfect tack, to a fourth place finish. This occurred during the 2006 New England Star Masters, a three race series held at Milford, Ct. Yacht Club this past weekend. We are all in awe of you Dr. Emil Karlovsky, at the age of 91, competing regularly in the Star Class and having his best race of the series in the 12-15 knot third race. I thought to myself, I wonder if there is anyone else out there enjoying "senior moments" -- sailing competitively (in a Star, no less) at the age of 91? CURMUDGEON’S OXYMORON Soft rock Special thanks to Ullman Sails, Hall Spars & Rigging and Vanguard Sailboats. |
