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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 815 - May 15, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; 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.
WORRELL 1000 - By Zack Leonard Sail for Sight, crewed by Carl Roberts and David Lennard, were satisfied with their 3rd place finish. "Carl just wanted to beat the black boat (Alexander's), now he's happy," remarked Lennard, "we finally got those guys." The breeze was from the East for most of the race, but died as the leg progressed. The leaders all stayed as close to shore as possible after Cape Romain. They were able to fly the spinnaker for more than an hour paralleling the beach in the light winds. "We actually sailed inside the surfline with the spinnaker for a long time," commented Carl Roberts. He and Lennard heard breaking waves outside of them at several points in the evening. Jamie Livingston of Alexander's figures that the time they lost on Guidant was due to getting a little too far off the beach at the Cape. The leg was extremely long and was made longer and more difficult by a wind shift just miles from the finish. At about 5 AM the wind shifted North, and what had been a tight, jib reach straight to the finish turned into a beat. Anybody who was off shore at all got hammered and was still out there at 7:24 AM. As the Northerly filled the temperature dropped and the teams that arrived in the dawn were cold. The cat and mouse game of boat identification is tricky at night. Some teams try to illuminate their closest rivals to identify how they are doing while some try to sail stealth, hiding their identity. But one thing is sure. The flashlight is a safety tool when commercial ships approach at night. Alex Shafer of Tommy Bahama shined a light on his own sail to illuminate his boat as a shrimp boat approached in the early morning hours. "It seemed like he headed right at us after we made ourselves known," noted a bemused Shafer. It's very difficult to exaggerate how hard the shore support teams work in this race. The first boats hit the beach in the darkness just before the dawn this morning. But the real spectacle was the shore crews. Splayed out on beach chairs and wrapped in hotel bedspreads like cocoons, the shore crews stood a loyal vigil waiting for their boats. Some of the racer's called their teams to let them know it would be a late finish and to get some sleep, but others got "No Service" when they tried to make the call. At least 50 people slept on the beach awaiting the finish. The shore crews have been tested more and earlier than usual this year. There were quite a few late nights of boat repairs early in the race. Add the usual grind of hotel logistics, van hassles, laundry and then an all-night wait for the finish on this night leg and you have some tired teams. The racers and their support crews both sorely need the day off today. It is probably a relief to some shore support teams that the wind was so light last night. The boats are unlikely to need repairs. OFFICIAL STANDINGS: 1. Alexander's on the Bay, 2. Guidant, 03:04:51 (behind leader) 3. Tommy Bahama, 05:07:54 (bl), 4. Sail For Sight, 05:40:09 (bl) 5. Dinghy Shop, 06:22:29. Full standings: www.worrell1000.com
CHALLENGE MONDIAL ASSISTANCE "The past 24 hours have been complicated," said MacArthur, "because we had to cope with lows to the north and to the south." The eight-boat fleet was reduced to five as Marc Guillemot's La Trinitaine retired after smashing her starboard float on an object while Jean le Cam's Bonduelle almost lost her mast when a fitting anchoring the rig to the hull broke. Lalou Roucayrol's Banque Populaire is in Port la Foret, Brittany, for halyard repairs but will resume racing. - Tim Jeffery, Daily Telegraph, UK Full story: sport.telegraph.co.uk
CARNAGE - CHALLENGE MONDIAL ASSISTANCE The crew were lifted by the French frigate 'Surcouf's' Panther helicopter. The Frigate is following the participants of this race carrying media, and to provide exactly this response in the face of a crisis. How refreshing that an international race team have provided a means for the rescue of their own. - Damian, BOATmagic website, www.boatmagic.com Event website: www.challenge-mondialassistance.com
ONE-DESIGN
MATCH RACING Joining Holmberg off the coast of Dalmatia is Team New Zealand's Bertrand Pace. Pace is Holmberg's closest challenger for the overall championship crown with 49 championship points entering the regatta. Pace, champion of the inaugural Swedish Match Tour, showed he is on top of his game in 2001, winning the recent Steinlager Line 7 Cup in Auckland, NZ, in March. A strong showing in Split by Pace will add significant pressure to Holmberg with only two events remaining on the Tour. Other skippers lining up in Split include Gavin Brady of the Prada Challenge who has sailed extremely well at the last two events on the Swedish Match Tour. Brady was a runner-up at both the Steinlager Line 7 Cup and the Sun Microsystems Australia Cup, finishing second to Pace in Auckland and Peter Gilmour of Team Pizza La and the One World Challenge in Perth. Andy Green of the GBR Challenge and Chris Dickson of the Oracle Racing Team are two additional America's Cuppers competing in Split. Danes Jesper Radich and Jes Gram-Hansen, regulars on the Tour, will also be skippering entries. Rounding out the list of competitors is Italian Paolo Cian of Mascalzone Latino and the Croatian National Match Racing Champion. * A world-class fleet will sail May 31 - June 4, in the Match Race Lake Constance (MRLC) in Langenargen at Lake Constance in the south of Germany. This one and only German grade one event represents the seventh stopover of the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour and will be presented by Volvo. Twelve skippers representing nine countries and six America's Cup campaigns will compete for a total prize purse of USD100,000 including a brand new Volvo V40. The starter's list in Germany includes the 1996 ISAF Yachtsman of the year and three time Olympic champion Jochen Schümann, representing Ernesto Bertarelli's Swiss America's Cup campaign as well as the current leader of the Swedish Match Tour Magnus Holmberg (Sweden) of Team StoraEnso and the Swedish Victory Challenge. Other prominent matchracers such as Luc Pillot from France, Chris Dickson (representing the US America's Cup Challenge Oracle Racing Team) and the two young Danish top ten skippers Jesper Radich Johanesen and Jes Gram Hansen. - www.sports.com/sailing/ * The Notice of Race for the 2001 Rolex Osprey Cup at St. Petersburg Yacht Club is now available online. The event is an ISAF Grade 1 event. The event may be re-graded when there is clear reason to do so. - www.spyc.org/Womens/OspreyCup/2001/NOR.htm
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Don McNair: I'd like to mention something that's bothered me for years and which, it seems, has never really been discussed. It deals with the danger of single-handed ocean racing. Huge Monohulls and extremely fast multihulls are racing around with nobody on watch, which is in violation of the international rules of the road and a hazard to anyone who is unfortunate enough to get in their way. Shame on those companies who sponsor such irresponsible races! I don't know of any cases where a fatality has occurred from a collision caused by one of these single-handers, but it's only a matter of time. There's nothing that couldn't be developed or proven more safely were these races to be required to have two persons racing the boats, with one of the always on watch. (Disqualify the yacht if it can be determined that at least one person was not on watch all of the time.) * From Jack Tallman: The Americas Cup is supposed to be a race "for friendly competition between foreign countries." If that what the Deed of Gift says; then, that's what it should be and I can respect that. A syndicate should draw it's resources and personnel from it's own nation. That is the simple answer but, possibly for a simpler time or a limited perspective. These campaigns are getting very technologically and financially demanding. It occurs to me, an American, that this really handicaps the smaller nations, as they do not have the breadth and depth of resources of our technology and skilled personnel. Maybe this is an argument for the mobility of sailors, designers and even source of equipment (even if I do like the simple answer). * From Richard Kelton (edited to our 250-word limit): All sport is the process of succeeding within the limitations self imposed by the sport. In golf you have to use the club, not throw or roll the ball. Sailboat racing imposes is own limitations, the most obvious of which is not using an engine. By its nature sailing is an archaic mode of transportion. We chose to participate in it because of the love of its traditions. I have watched with mixed feelings of disappointment and relief as celestial position finding has been replaced by button pushing. I would not want to throw my GPS overboard, but I believe celestial navigation is a skill which should be preserved as a part of the tradition of the sport. It is more time consuming and less accurate than GPS use, so why not provide a time allowance bonus for participants who rely solely on good old celestial navigation. We could provide more of an allowance for getting rid of all electronics which are in the process of turning helmsmen into needle pointers. For safety, GPS's and all the hi tech aids could be carried (as are engines), but their use would eliminate the time allowance bonus. This would be a method of restoring and rewarding the true archaics who love the tradition of shooting the sun and stars and steering by the feel of the sea and the wind and their interplay with the sails. We don't have to go back to the 17th century - about the 1950s would do. * From Fred Vance: Well, of course there's nothing new or fashionable about deploring new ways and glorifying traditional ones. I'm sure that when the sextant was invented, the old salts said "Darn new-fangled easy way out, you can't beat the old cross-staff". I don't doubt many vessels prudently carried multiple units as the early ones were likely subject to breakdowns. When the modern system of astro-navigation with tables was introduced, there were those who felt it was an easy way out of having to solve the spherical triangle by hand. I even carried my Dacron genoa for the first year in case the new Mylar blew up.
A BOAT WITH A REAL BEEF No, not Radow. His Sydney 40 OD-T was built in Australia and scheduled to be shipped to the U.S. in good time to arrive for final rigging and outfitting. "Shipment was delayed due to, of all things, the beef scare in Europe," Radow said. "Apparently, Europe is buying beef from Australia and it is being shipped in refrigerated containers stacked eight high through the Port of Long Beach. My boat has been repeatedly bumped in favor of more lucrative cargo." However, Radow's boat embarked on May 1 and is due to arrive May 26 on Memorial Day weekend and be unloaded no earlier than May 29. "Figuring the boat needs to clear customs and be shipped to MdR for final commissioning, I am guessing that the boat will not get launched until approximately June 6," Radow said. Meanwhile, the boat fit in nicely with the beef. Radow has named it Bull. - Rich Roberts, www.transpacificyc.org
IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMER TIME
NEWS BRIEFS * A record number of 65 yachts have entered this year's Swan European Regatta, taking place in Cowes, UK, from 8 - 14th June 2001. The bi-annual event that has been hosted by the Royal Yacht Squadron since 1995. - www.swanregattas.com * On Sunday, Elisabeth Rehn, Sweden's ormer Finnish Minister of Defence and presidential candidate had the honour of breaking the traditional bottle on the bow of Assa Abloy's new Volvo Ocean 60. The syndicate's second boat is scheduled for launching in a few days. - www.assaabloyracingteam.com * djuice dragons, the Norwegian entry into the Volvo Ocean Race, is sailing out of Miami on Tuesday May 15 after two and a half month's training on their identical Laurie Davidson-designed V.O.60s. The two dragons are heading to Baltimore/Annapolis in leg one of their qualification race. The two boats will arrive in Annapolis on May 18, stopping for 36 hours before setting out for La Rochelle on Sunday 20th.
QUOTE / UNQUOTE - Jim Kilroy
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * June 9 - 24: Cadillac Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race - 580 nms around Vancouver Island, B.C, - www.vanisle360.nisa.com * June 22-24: Sunfish US Masters National Championship, Yacht Club of Stone Harbor Stone Harbor, NJ. World Championship Qualifying Event. - www.sunfishclass.org
MALLORY CUP Full results: www.highschoolsailingusa.org
PACIFIC COAST TEAM RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS Top Five: 1. Habitual Offenders, 2. Shadow Eyes, 3. Swamp Donkey (Graves, Fousek; Sellers, Sellers; Doyle, Kirivkovich) 3. (tie) NADs (Stout, Museler; Balcirak, Balcirak; Bischoff, Alsina) 5. OBYC (O'Hare, O'Hare; Soldo, Humble;Gilliam, Jonas-Hackworth)
THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM |
