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SCUTTLEBUTT 1291 - March 21, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. CADIZ WORLDS 2003 US Sailing has announced the selection process for the Cadiz Worlds 2003: 1. Any berths that are awarded by ISAF or the International Class Association to specifically named sailors, such as former World Champions in the Star Class, are awarded to the respective named sailors. 2. The first four berths that are granted to US Sailing are awarded to the top four ranked boats of the 2003 US Sailing Team (USST). If any of the top four ranked boats of the 2003 USST are either named in the paragraph above or subsequently decline entry to the 2003 World Championship, then those berths do not trickle down to the next ranked boat on the USST, but are awarded by the next paragraph. 3. Any berths that are not awarded in the paragraphs above, will be awarded at the discretion of the Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) of US Sailing with input from the OSC staff coaches and OSC class representatives based on past performance in the following categories; (These categories are not necessarily listed in any priority order) - World Championships 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 - US Olympic Trials for Sailing 2000 - 2003 USST Rankings including 2003 Rolex Miami OCR and 2002-03 Pre Trials - Other significant 2002 and 2003 results prior to 1 April 2003. - Historic class system for determining US entries to World Championships. 4. The awarding of berths is subject to ISAF confirming the number of berths assigned to US Sailing. 5. The awarded berths will be announced by the OSC on or before 14 April 2003. 6. Any additional berths that may be awarded to US SAILING by ISAF or the International Class Association after the initial allocation, will be awarded based on paragraphs 1 and 3 above. - www.ussailing.org MATCH RACING The new ISAF World Match Race Rankings shows no change at the top with the forerunners in both the Open and the Women's holding on tight to their number one world ranking. Karol Jablonski remains in the number 1 spot which he has held since 27 November 2002. Not far behind however is Jesper Radich (DEN) only 16 points behind Jablonski and Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) at number who is only 20 points behind Radich. Peter Holmberg (4) and Ed Baird (8) are the only US sailors in the top twenty. Marie Bjorling (SWE) continues to exert her dominance in the women's rankings, having retained her place as the world's number 1 since 2001. Her margin of more than 2000 points, will ensure her position for a while yet. The top ranked US women's match racers are Liz Baylis (8) and Betsy Alison (9) - www.sailing.org/matchrace/mrranking.asp LAYLINE INTRODUCES HOT NEW DINGHY RACING PRODUCTS 1. Trapeze Hook System with Emergency-Release. Exclusively imported by Layline from SeaSure, this emergency-release system was developed by Olympians and SeaSure in response to recent accidents. Retrofits to most any harness. Works great and saves lives! 2. Layline's New Laser Compass Mount. Developed by Walt in response to his own Laser needs. Perfectly compatible with your boat's new control line set-ups! Always bringing you the latest and the best, these products are exclusive to Layline in the USA! See them on-line or call 1-800-542-5463 if you want talk about sailboat racin': http://www.layline.com SAILING SHORTS * With the arrival of Ocean Planet at 13:13:50 GMT on Thursday, all of the Class 1 boats are now in Salvador, Brazil. Class 2 leader Brad Van Liew has been in Brazil since March 16, and Tim Kent's Everest Horizontal is now less than 200 miles from the finish line. - www.aroundalone.com * Direct merchant Lands'End® will outfit sailors from the US national teams during the 2003 season.. The 150 athletes of the U.S. Sailing Team, U.S. Disabled Sailing Team, Pan Am Games Team, and U.S. Youth World Team, will receive a variety of Land's End classic apparel, including chinos, Drifter™ sweaters, podium caps, and Oxford shirts. Much of the apparel will feature the U.S. Sailing Team logos and the Lands' End signature logo. * Keane, Inc. will be the Title Sponsor of the 2003 US Snipe National Championships. Headquartered in Boston, Keane, Inc partners with Global 2000 companies and government agencies to plan, build, and manage application software to enable their business strategies. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * April 5-6: IC Dinghy National Championship Regatta, Larchmont YC. - www.interclub.org / www.larchmontyc.org * May 24-26: Oyster Bay Advanced Racing Clinic, United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point. - www.OBSF.org * August 2-9: Skandia Cowes Week, Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. Over 1,000 boats are anticipated, with an influx of international entries due to the Admiral's Cup and Fastnet. - www.cowesweek.co.uk. * September 2-6: 18-foot skiffs will be racing at St. Francis YC on the San Francisco Bay. This should be great sailing and even better 'spectating.' JULES VERNE RECORD Olivier De Kersauson's attempt to break the non-stop round the world record in the Jules Verne Trophy ended in failure yesterday when his yacht Geronimo crossed the finish line off Ushant, a rock off the coast of Brittany, after 68 days 1hr 58min 2sec at sea. Geronimo's failure means the record - set by Bruno Peyron last year - still stands at 64 days 8hr 37min. Britain's Ellen MacArthur, who had to withdraw from the record attempt when the mast on Kingfisher 2 snapped in the Southern Ocean last month, expressed sympathy for Kersauson. "I'm gutted for Olivier, it's an incredible journey," she said. "I cannot imagine what it must feel like to have made it round, a feat in itself, but to have not broken the record." It had been a harsh time in the last few days for Kersauson and his crew to come to terms with missing out. It was his sixth attempt on the Jules Verne record since 1993. He was successful in 1997, setting a new record of 71 days 14hr 22min on board Sport Elec. - Lucy Markham, The Independent, UK, http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/story.jsp?story=389173 LIGHT AIR After three days at sea, Great American II, the 53-foot trimaran aiming to break a clipper ship record from Hong Kong to New York, is positioned some 500 miles south of Hong Kong. For American sailing adventurers Rich Wilson (Rockport, Mass.) and Rich du Moulin (Larchmont, NY), who set out from Hong Kong on Sunday, March 16, the first days of their offshore campaign have been marked by light, variable winds. The duo is sailing 15,000 miles non-stop to New York to chase a 154-year-old sailing record and bring a live adventure to thousands of school children through a unique educational program called sitesALIVE. If they can break Sea Witch's record of 74 days 14 hours, the two sailors are expected to arrive in New York the week of May 26. - Cynthia Goss, www.sitesalive.com/ DON'T BE FOOLED Don't let a warm day fool you. Cold water is still lurking below. If immersion is the risk, a drysuit is a must. While wicking layers get sweat away from your skin, with traditional drysuits moisture can only go so far. Enter Henri Lloyd, proudly presenting their new TP3 Breathing Drysuit. 100% waterproof and breathable, the TP3 drysuit offers complete protection from outside elements while allowing moisture to exit freely. Best selling point? It's price point. Annapolis Performance Sailing reminds you not to fool around with safety. Check them, their great price, and their site out: http://www.apsltd.com/scuttlebutt.asp 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. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * Jamie Horner, Vancouver, Canada: John Berry's comments against allowing the Americas Cup to take place in France appear to be in anger at France's lack of support for the War against Iraq. While politics and military options were an essential part of sailing several hundred years ago, with the likes of the Battle of Trafalgar, the sailing I know today is a sport that I value for the very reason that it is above politics, and protest hearings are a little more civilized. I think a country's right to stage a international yacht regatta should be judged on its sailing merits, not because its foreign policy decisions and opinions differ from your own. * From Ann Brunskill: Sailing should and does transcend many barriers and prejudices to the benefit of all Any attempt to influence the venue for the next Americas Cup because one country does not agree with another country's activities to my mind brings Politics with a capital P into an area where it should not intrude. Controversy is one thing but prejudice is another and I am saddened that Scuttlebutt should permit such prejudice onto its otherwise excellent and pages. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: You are absolutely correct - this political thread should never have been given room on these pages, and it certainly will not get any more space. * From David Redfern (Re comments of Tom Donlan -Butt 1290): Advertising and sponsorship for AC boats does not necessarily mean painting the boats and sails with lurid logos. Alan Bond deliberately went the way of having lots of sponsors, but no names on the boat. That remained pure and simple on screen and in camera as the infamous Australia II. He always argued fervently that it was a fairer way of doing things without having to have a sponsorship hierarchy. * From Tim Prophit (Re comments of Tom Donlan): I'm not a professional sailor by any means, but I sure do enjoy all the sponsored events I have the opportunity to participate in because someone sponsored them. If you don't like advertising and sponsorship of regattas, go run your own, on your own funding. I bet that will get old real fast. * From Malcolm McKeag: Tom Dolan writes: "Nuts to advertising, nuts to sponsorship of regattas and nuts to professional sailboat racing" Good on ya, Tom. To these agents of degeneration one should add nuts to all those who try to 'promote' our sport and bring into it people who cannot sail (for goodness sakes!!!). Do these desecrators not realize that the more people who come into the sport, the less there is for us? The more they try to change it, the worse they make it compared to what it was? Our rivers and creeks fill with moorings and marinas, so there is nowhere left to cruise to. Our race courses become crowded with refugees from squash courts and golf courses who appear to think they should have as much say in what goes on as those of who have spent a life on the foreshore. They want expensive committee boat starts and marks that get moved to suit the wind (who ever heard of the ball park being turned around because the sun was in the pitcher's eyes?). They call a proper reaching start, off a fixed line close to the rocks unfair. They want safety boats They want... they want... I could go on - but I must already be near my 250 words. I'm with Tom. Time for regime change. * From David Sligh: Mr. Stephens is right. We work every day for the bottom line so we can spend precious few moments on wonderful traditions. It would be a shame for the AC to turn into a commercial event. I can see bumper stickers on the AC boats now . . . "If you can read this the 17th man fell off". * From Bill Trenkle: As a great fan of Olin Stephens it is hard for me to take issue with his comments, but with all due respect I would like to offer my opinion. I have had the pleasure of being involved in the good old traditional days and the new modern sponsored days and I can tell you Olin that most contemporary America's Cup team members care as much about the traditions of the America's Cup as they did before corporate sponsorships. Yes we have to put logos on our sails but that is so we can be involved in a sport that brings so much pleasure to us. The drive to win, the excitement of being on a Cup team is not diminished because we now use corporate money to pay the bills, rather than private donations like the pre-sponsorship days, it has just evolved out of necessity. The bottom line to most people in the Cup these days is still the same one you fought for and won many times, it is still about success on the water and enjoying that challenge. * From Paul Henderson, ISAF President: The Advertising Code was not forced on anyone by ISAF. We responded to the needs of the sailor and provided a choice. There are two options: Cat "C" classes choose to what level their sailors want advertising. Cat "A" White boats no advertising. Except for Olympic Classes the sailor chooses and can sail a white boat if they wish. Personally I have never and will never sail with advertising on my boat and nobody can force me to do so. But I do understand others who are not "plumbers" who want to do so. Their choice and ISAF has provided the necessary regulations to opt in or out. It is the same with the Nationality Code. The rule is there if a jurisdiction wants to use it or not except for the Olympic Classes where the IOC demands it. (I am one of the few sailors in the World who when you say he sails like a "plumber" it is a compliment.) * From Murray Spence (edited to our 250-word limit): I am disappointed that the CYCA is restricting the entry of exciting yachts for it's premier offshore event the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. In maintaining an antiquated rating cap the CYCA is needlessly limiting the field of bigger, faster, newer boats that are able to enter the race. Alfa Romeo was sailed in our "slow" configuration with a heavy bulb and no water ballast to meet the Sydney Hobart IRC rating limit. That race out of the way, we have changed to the originally intended design using a lighter bulb and water ballast for a dramatic increase in performance. Under the new 2003 race rules we are no longer eligible to enter. We have no desire to return to the "slow" Hobart configuration despite a wish to compete again in the Sydney to Hobart race. I know of at least one of the exciting new Z86 class yachts that would be very keen to enter the race and there are several 90ft plus boats currently being built that would be tempted to enter the race if the rating limit allowed. These are the type of boats that the media love to follow and should be actively encouraged to participate in the event. Let the designers and builders come up with the fastest most exhilarating boats possible without rating encumbrances. The Line Honours race was never meant for the faint hearted! * From Andrew Burton (Re Peter Commette and Robbie Doyle's comments): I must respectfully disagree with my talented and sportsmanlike competitors. I believe that they are missing the point of the attacks on kinetics in sailing. Yes, a well done roll tack is a thing of beauty but roll tacking your way up the weather leg requires far less skill than making your boat sail in 2-4 knots of air. As a judge at a college regatta one winter, I had the misfortune to witness an example of the behavior that so irritates some of the previous correspondents. A talented sailor rounded the weather mark in a 420 in 14th place on a day when the breeze was about 8 knots. I watched as he rocked and pumped his main at intervals of about 6 seconds all the way down both short reaching legs until he had passed all but one of the boats who had been ahead of him. We must not allow our sport to degenerate into an "air rowing" or rocking or ooching contest. I didn't think allowing unlimited kinetics was a good idea when I sailed OK's, Lasers, Fireballs, 420's, 470's or 505's and I still don't now that I sail 110's, Shields and Swans. The sport of sailing should remain a contest of virtuosity rather than becoming a trial of pure athleticism. * From coach Jon Rogers: Coronado Yacht Club Juniors are stoked that Jerelyn Biehl was recognized for the US Youth Championship Regatta. The kids who applied, got accepted and sailed in that event experienced an event that was as close to a world championship as they could get. Most importantly, Jerelyn's idea of a cool regatta is perfect for all sailors. As her Snipe class says, "Serious Sailing, Serious Fun." Watching those kids sail all day and then sumo wrestle or flip upside down onto the velcro wall made my week. * From Ralph Taylor: Hear, hear for Rob Drury's suggestion that a box rule makes more sense for Grand Prix racing than a handicap rule. Why, when the boats are custom-built, would you think first to handicap them rather than establish design parameters which allow them to race boat for boat? Handicapping is necessary for production boats of differing design, but it's never the ideal racing. It introduces complexities of scoring and knowing where one stands on the course. Worse, for one-offs, it inevitably results in boats that are slow but look slower to the rule. * From Peter Harken: William Mavrogiannis - there was a man of our country! What an amazing individual! It is indeed an honor for all of us in the U.S. to have had him designing and working in our sailing world! I hope one of our sailing magazines tells his courageous gut filled story. It's important for all of us. I'm awe struck! Thanks much Bill, have a great flight! THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS Hospitality: Making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were. |
