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SCUTTLEBUTT 3418 - Thursday, September 1, 2011Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Ullman Sails and Camet. COMMENTATORS ARE KEY The broadcast ability of the 34th America's Cup has been presented as a significant priority. But while the magazine show - America's Cup Uncovered - has been crisp and professional, the broadcast of the inaugural America's Cup World Series event in Cascais was much less so. With the next America's Cup World Series event in Plymouth, UK on September 10-18, Scuttlebutt checked in with Gary Lovejoy, head of America's Cup TV, for an update. Here is the second half of the interview that began in Scuttlebutt 3417: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Who will be the commentators in Plymouth? GARY LOVEJOY: We have a squad of commentators that we're testing - they will all do at least one event in 2011. We're looking for who connects best with the audience, which teams have the best chemistry and who can deliver commentary that is a real compliment to the overall production, and not a distraction. For Plymouth, we'll have four commentators back from Cascais: Rob Brown (AUS), former America's Cup winning trimmer; Geordie Shaver (USA), former America's Cup bowman; Mark Heeley (GBR), former America's Cup sailor; and Peter Rusch (CAN), AC32 radio commentator. And we're adding two new members - Annie Gardner, who sailed as part of the America3 challenge; and Mitch Booth, two-time Tornado Olympic medalist. Our viewers wanted a commentator with strong catamaran experience, so we've brought in Mitch for Plymouth with his firsthand AC45 experience. Commentators are a key element to of our broadcast strategy. Many are starting as amateurs but were picked for their potential. We want to develop our own team, mixing the levels of experience so we can have a fresh perspective on the racing. As we reach out to new audiences, the commentators must be part-enthusiast, part-educator and part-storyteller. And part of reaching new audiences is having a variety of perspectives. * Are the commentators being instructed to call the event to an educated audience, or to 'dumb it down'? GARY LOVEJOY: Our first few broadcasts featured just one commentary track and we were trying to balance between educating audiences new to the sport while keeping our core sailing audience engaged. But we really weren't meeting the needs of the sailing audience, so we introduced the multi-screen player as part of our new partnership with YouTube. Now, we can offer audiences more choice, which is really important as we work to introduce more people to the sport of sailing. Viewers can now choose their video option as well as their audio stream. We have a sporting commentary stream that is designed for those newer to sailing - it is more educational in its delivery - while the sailing option is available for those want a more technical commentary. * Are alternatives being considered to the helicopters? It has been noted they are noisy, environmentally unfriendly, and unable to fly in overcast conditions. GARY LOVEJOY: We have studied several alternatives including gliders, airships and tethered balloons ... read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/11/0830#part2 COMMENT: The challenge ACTV faces is to improve their broadcast in full view. The defending Oracle Racing team has made lofty assurances that their changes to the America's Cup will make for a better broadcast, which now puts the pressure squarely on ACTV to deliver. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt SAN DIEGO: A raffle has been launched to award 4 VIP Experience tickets to the America's Cup World Series (ACWS) San Diego (Nov. 12-20). These 4 VIP tickets grant the winner and 3 friends to an unrivalled hospitality experience. Entry deadline is October 15th. Details here: http://tinyurl.com/ACUP-082811 ISAF OPEN WORLD TEAM RACING CHAMPIONSHIP West Cork, Ireland (August 31, 2011) - Full championship racing got under way in Schull Harbour on Wednesday as twelve international sailing teams contest the ISAF Open World Team Racing Championship and eight teams compete for the Youth Worlds. The first day of full competitive racing took place in perfect conditions with a strong easterly breeze, which gradually swung southeast, allowing for a full round robin of 96 scheduled races to be completed on the day. At this early stage of competition, the top four places in the Open Championship are occupied by American and British teams. The American first team, NYYC Team Extreme (USA 1), this year's winners of the Wilson Trophy British Open Team Racing Championship, dominated exchanges with ten wins from eleven races. Two British teams, the British University Sailing Association (BUSA) team and West Kirby Hawks share the second and third spots with nine wins from ten races and USA 2 team, The Woonsocket Rockets from Newport, Rhode Island, in fourth place on the round robin table. USA 1 - NYYC Team Extreme Zach Brown (San Diego, CA) and Emmet Smith (New Haven, CT) Pete Levesque (Tiverton, RI) and Marla Menninger (Newport Beach, CA) Stu McNay and Michael Hession (Boston, MA) USA 2 - Woonsocket Rockets Joel Hanneman (Newport, RI) and Alexa Schuler (Newport, RI) Brian Kamilar (Miami, FL) and Lyndsey Gibbons-Neff (Boston, MA) Justin Law (Washington, DC) and Adrienne Patterson (Miami, FL) Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12527#12527 PODIUM SWEEP AT MARTIN 242 NORTH AMERICANS Ullman Sails customers dominated the battle for the 2011 Martin 242 North American Championships last weekend in Santa Monica Bay, sweeping the top three spots in the 22-boat fleet! Congratulations to Mike George (skipper), Mike Pentecost, Ken Dair, and Jennifer Arrington on "All In" who secured the title with a bullet in the final race. Paul Zambriski's "Pau Hana" finished second overall with just two points behind "All In". And partners Peter Stazicker and Bill Petersen on "Trolley Car" took third place with two first place finishes in the series. The entire podium was powered by 100% Ullman Sails. http://www.ullmansails.com HURRICANE SEASON Sailing Weather Services, a firm focused on highly specific marine weather and wind forecasting, pointed us to Dr Jeff Masters blog, which provides an excellent post-Hurricane Irene forecast assessment and the challenges facing hurricane forecasters. Here is an excerpt: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Recovery from the destruction left behind by Hurricane Irene continues in the mid-Atlantic and New England states today. Irene's storm surge, winds, and record rains likely did $3 - $6 billion in insured damage to the U.S., according to AIR-Worldwide. Since actual damages are typically double insured losses, Irene's total price tag will likely be $6 - $12 billion, making it one of the top 20 most expensive hurricanes to hit the U.S. Irene will be one of the most expensive Category 1 hurricanes ever; the record is held by 1972's Hurricane Agnes, which did $11.8 billion in damage (2010 dollars.) As AIR Worldwide notes in their press release, part of this damage is due to the costs of evacuation for the 2 million people that were evacuated. It costs approximately $1 million to evacuate each mile of U.S. coast warned (Aberson et al., 2006). Tropical Storm Katia continues its long trek across the Atlantic Ocean today, and is expected to arrive at a position several hundred miles north of the Northern Lesser Antilles Islands by Monday. At this time, it appears unlikely that the islands will receive tropical storm-force winds from Katia. Satellite images show that Katia is a well-organized storm with plenty of heavy thunderstorms. The storm has good upper-level outflow channels to the north and south, is under light wind shear, and is traversing warm waters, so it should be able to overcome any dry air problems by Thursday and intensify into a hurricane. It is looking less likely that Katia will affect land. Dr. Bob Hart's Historical Tropical Cyclone Probability web page suggests shows that tropical storms in Katia's current position have an 11% chance of hitting North Carolina, a 12% chance of hitting Canada, a 5% chance of hitting Florida, and a 62% chance of never hitting land. It will be two more days before our computer models will be able to assess the threat to land, though, as Katia is currently still very far out at sea. Full report: http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1910 LEAP FROG ON LAKE ONTARIO Rochester, NY (August 31, 2011) - When they say the wait is worth it, it usually is, and in this case the wait for the elusive breeze on Lake Ontario paid off for 36 teams on the second day of racing at US SAILING's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC). It was early afternoon before the light and variable wind gave way and breeze began to build from the east, eventually settling in around 12 knots which allowed a spirited game of leap frog to take place amongst the teams at the top of the standings. When the defending champion Anna Tunnicliffe won race two of the day, her team went from fourth to first in the overall standings. After trailing day one leader Sally Barkow across the finish of the third race, Tunnicliffe's low score of 2-1-3 for the day finds these two favorites now tied for the lead. With today's three races added to the five completed yesterday, the final day of the championship takes place tomorrow, Thursday, September 1. Standings - Top 5 of 36 after 8 races 1. Anna Tunnicliffe/Debbie Capozzi/Molly O'Bryan/Liz Bower, 24 2. Sally Barkow/Annie Lush/Alana O'Reilly/Jacqueline Campbell, 24 3. Cory Sertl/Amy Moran/Annemarie Cook/Jane Mastrandrea, 29 4. Carol Cronin/Margaret/Bonds Podlich/Karina Vogen Shelton/Kim Couranz, 38 5. Jo Ann Fisher/Lynda Hiller/Linda Epstein/Lesley Cook/Terry Hamilton, 38 Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/11/0831/ Results: http://tinyurl.com/RIWKC-2011-results STILL ROLLING St. Moritz, Switzerland (August 31, 2011) - Ian Williams continued his rich vein of form in the opening Qualifying Session at the St. Moritz Match Race winning all five matches to take a joint overnight lead alongside Johnie Berntsson. It was a telling display from the in-form Team GAC Pindar at the start of the sixth stage of the World Match Racing Tour, while defending 'King of the Mountain' Mathieu Richard fell to four defeats from five. Double match racing World Champion Williams came into St. Moritz following back-to-back wins in Portugal and Sweden. Key scalps for his team today included early wins over Pierre Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan and Eric Monnin (SUI) Oklays Corum Sailing Team. Those points set the tone for his day with further big wins over the French Match Racing Team duo of Richard and Damien Iehl. Williams, who is third in the overall Tour standings behind Francesco Bruni (ITA) and Peter Gilmour (AUS), noted how a little bit of luck is handy when sailing on Lake St. Moritz. "The conditions are always tricky and shifty here and all of our races have been a bit touch and go but we've managed to stay loose and to roll with the punches," explained Williams. The lake is at an elevation of 5,624 feet (1,856 meters) above sea level, and is surrounded by peaks surpassing 10,000 feet. "It's always important to get off to a good start but you still have to stay focused," observed Williams. "We've found in the past that when you get off to a bad start you can tighten up and things become harder for you so having a few wins behind you and a loose style of sailing helps. There is however a fine line between being loose and becoming too casual." -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/WMRT-083111 Standings after the First Qualifying Session: Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 5-0 Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 5-0 Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) Extreme Team Morbihan 4-1 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat 3-2 Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 3-2 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Mekonomen Sailing Team 3-2 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Bruni Racing 2-3 Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 2-3 Jepser Radich (DEN) Adrian Lee & Partners 1-4 Eric Monnin (SUI) Oklays Corum Sailing Team 1-4 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 1-4 Jerome Clerc (SUI) Team CER 0-5 COVERAGE: Live coverage begins tomorrow (1 September) from 1400 to 1600 local time (GMT +2). The WMRT Morning Show with Hannah White is on at 1100 local time (GMT +2) and a review of the day on The WMRT Today Show after racing finishes. Details: http://www.wmrt.com/live.html BACKGROUND: The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) is the leading professional sailing series, with St. Moritz Match Race as the sixth stage of the eight event circuit sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with "Special Event" status. Prize money is awarded for each event, with event points culminating in the crowning of the "ISAF Match Racing World Champion". -- http://www.wmrt.com BE PREPARED! When the wind is blowing and the seas are rough nothing protects you better then a pair of CAMET padded sailing shorts. Proven to be comfortable and durable. The whole range of CAMET products are design to maximize your ability to weather the storm. Used under your foul weather gear or as outwear on a hot summer days. These quick dry performance products deliver when you need them most. Learn more about all our new shirts and shorts at http://www.camet.com/?Click=1992 SAILING SHORTS * Lake Geneva's Vincent Porter and his Full Throttle Melges 17 won the 2011 U.S. National Championship this past weekend, hosted by White Lake Yacht Club IN Whitehall, MI (Aug. 26-28). At 33 boats, it was the largest championship ever for the sporty, Reichel-Pugh designed scow. Porter won the event by an impressive 18 point margin, not needing to sail in the final race. -- Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=515 * Sixteen teams competed in the International 2.4mR North American Championships, which was hosted at The Royal Hamilton Yacht Club in Hamilton, Ontario. After 11 races over the three days (Aug. 29-31), the new N.A. Champion is Alan Leibel of the National Yacht Club with Bruce Millar of Royal Vancouver YC in second and Gerry Wendt of the RHYC in third. Top American was John Ruf from the Pewaukee YC in fourth spot. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12526 * Oyster Bay, NY (August 31, 2011) - Racing kicked off today for the Oakcliff International Grade 2 Match Race Regatta, the final regatta in the US Grand Slam Match Race Series. Light winds prevailed all day, limiting the field to only three races. Mike Buckley (USA), who came into the event ranked 119th in the world, the lowest ranking among the ten competitors, scored big wins against Oli Pekka Lumijarvi (Finland, ranked 33rd) in the first match and took Dave Perry (USA, ranked 31st). -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12531#12531 * (August 30, 2011) - The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) recognized recipients of the 2011 Marine Industry CSI Awards for the award period from April 2010 through March 2011. A total of 41 boat and engine manufacturers were recognized for excellence in customer satisfaction as part of NMMA's Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) program. -- Read on: http://www.nmma.org/news.aspx?id=18006 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend: Sept 2 - Vineyard Race - Stamford, CT, USA Sept 2-4 - Museum of Yachting Classic Yacht Regatta - Newport, RI, USA Sept 2-4 - Stingray Point Regatta - Deltaville, VA, USA Sept 3-4 - Bronte Rocks Regatta - Oakville, ON, CAN Sept 3-4 - J/24 Spud Cup - Sand Point, ID, USA Sept 5-6 - Farr 30 Pre-World Championship - Belvedere, CA, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity for companies to announce new products and services. Here are some of recent postings: - Rudders - Finco merges with Foss Foam - Cinema by the sea seals week of success for Big Screen Media - AED for boats View and/or post Industry News updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Bob Hofmann: It is an interesting thought to raise the individual recall even if you don't know if anyone is over early and then rely on your own people and/or the other committee boat to confirm that there was or was not someone over (as reported in Scuttlebutt 3417). No confirmation? All clear. No foul. But what about the guy who was really close to the line, but not over, who either on his own, because he thought he might have been over, or at the hail of a competitor, decided to return to make a fair start. If the over early flag was not raised, he wouldn't have returned and lost the ground caused by an improper signal. I don't think he should have to file for redress, but what other alternative is there? *From Ralph Taylor: Helmer Schweizer's suggestion in SB 3417 that a judge could "walk up to the sailor and tell about the observation and very brief on the possible/potential actions by the judge and the resulting consequences" mistakes the judge's role and the rules that govern them. There's a reason judges don't announce decisions before holding hearings. At the moment one opens his or her mouth to express an opinion before a hearing's concluded, he or she is no longer a judge but merely a witness. When a judge discusses an incident with a competitor, he or she is bound to take no further part in judging any dispute, especially if the judge initiated the discussion. The judge has disclosed a bias and become an "interested party"; that judge is now precluded from protesting and his or her report shall not be the basis for a protest. See rules 60.2(a) and 60.3(a) limiting protsts by race committees and protest committees. So far as the "educational role", that should come after the proest hearing, not before. As to hailing "Starboard" when on port tack, IMHO, it's a violation of Rule 2, Fair Sailing -- not to mention announcing an intent not to keep clear as required by Rule 10. Those who do it are flirting with a disciplinary hearing under Rule 69. A race official who witnesses it should consider protesting according to 60.2 or 60.3. File the paper, appear as a party and witness, but don't also sit on the PC. -- Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12528 * From Jim Champ: In Scuttlebutt 3417, Helmer Schweizer said, "I read with interest the part on ZERO TOLERANCE in Scuttlebutt 3416. In my opinion, judges sometimes overact and want to make use of their power, demonstrate it to themselves and the others on the water. In other words: They police more than the police does." Whilst I sort of see Helmer's point: consider this... In a complex on the water protest situation you can go into the protest hearing genuinely believing you had complied with the rules as your interpretation of how a no-contact situation evolved and come out with a DSQ because the PC reckoned that, on balance, you were mistaken in the exact sequence of events. By contrast, the "starboard when on port" yeller is deliberately cheating, and even worse is most likely doing so in a way that is verbal bullying of the inexperienced competitor and even may put them off the sport. There's also a safety aspect: deliberately confuse a beginner about the rules and what will happen in the next situation they are in? The two seem to me to be entirely different levels of offence, and I submit that a DND from a Rule 2 hearing is by no means an inappropriate penalty even for a first offence. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Real friends are the ones who survive transitions between address books. SPONSORS THIS WEEK JK3 Nautical Enterprises - Interlux North Sails - Melges Performance Sailboats US Sailing - Team One Newport - LaserPerformance SailFast - Ullman Sails - Camet - West Marine - Doyle Sails Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
