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SCUTTLEBUTT 2888 - Friday, July 17, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are Speed & Smarts and PredictWind.com. LET'S SETTLE THIS ON THE WATER By Chris Buydos: As a Long Island Sound sailor, I have had the pleasure of sailing and bar hopping in both venues (Annapolis and Newport) and this title designation - America's Sailing Capital - could be argued for ever in both respects. Honestly, both venues are equally deserving of this title. I think it has to come down to who wants the title more! I have to agree with Nick von der Wense (Scuttlebutt 2887), that this needs to be settled on the water, though not just in Lasers. Both venues have fantastic sailing venues (Sail Newport & Sail Annapolis) that make other sailing venues jealous and could be excellent hosts. I would like to throw out the idea of a regatta every 4-5 years for the sailing Capitol Cup. I think the 4-5 year designation is important for the host city to be able to properly market the designation that they have received. The regatta should take place in both one design and PHRF/IRC classes. I would also like to see junior sailors involved as well. The best of the best from both areas (amateur designations) compete for the right to call themselves the sailing capitol. This is a regatta that I can see a wonderful collaboration between both local sailors as well as area businesses. Though this type of regatta may not have the national appeal of some, it will certainly have the eyes and ears of most sailors from Virginia to Massachusetts. I have contacted two friends who I feel would be excellent ambassadors for their respected venues to hopefully start the buzz for a 2010 event. I would like to see if this idea would actually have legs. Since I am not a resident of either location I would like be the first to volunteer my services (marketing, graphic design, basic race management) as a neutral body in the coordination and execution of the event. It would be interesting to see who would like to step up to make this happen. Are these two venues going to continue to talk the talk or are they ready to practice what they preach? Let's settle the debate on the water in true Corinthian spirit! Game on! -- Scuttlebutt Forum, http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7830#7830 SUNDERLAND COMPLETES SOLO SAIL AROUND THE WORLD Zac Sunderland, who left Marina del Rey 13 months ago with a bold ambition to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone (with stops), returned to complete that quest today at 10:30 a.m. Sunderland, 17, who was greeted offshore and escorted in by an armada of well-wishers aboard dozens of sailboats and fancy yachts, cleared the breakwater beneath a clearing sky and stepped ashore at Fisherman's Village in bright sunshine. Sunderland, 17, who departed Marina del Rey when he was 16 on June 14, 2008, becomes the youngest person to have sailed alone around the world -- and the first to do it before turning 18. He beat a record held by Australia's Jesse Martin, who was 18 when he finished his voyage in 1999. After departing on a westerly course, he crossed three oceans and five seas, and crossed the equator twice, covering more than 25,000 miles. He endured a pirate scare, a broken boom, broken tiller, broken forestay rigging, a broken bulkhead, and he was swamped and almost washed overboard by a rogue wave off Grenada. Unfortunately for Sunderland, a Brit named Mike Perham, who is a few months younger, embarked on a similar quest last November and is expected to complete his solo-circumnavigation, aboard a 50-foot racing yacht, in about three weeks. If Perham is successful, he will become the new record holder, leaving Sunderland as simply the youngest American to have solo-circumnavigated the planet. -- LA Times, full story: http://tinyurl.com/lad9h3 HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE NEW RACING RULES? Improve your confidence in tight situations with David Dellenbaugh's brand new 'Learn The Racing Rules' for 2009-2012! This two-part DVD set uses live sailing and animation to explain the right-of-way rules and their limitations (Part 1) plus the rules at marks and obstructions (Part 2). To order or get more info: http://www.speedandsmarts.com/products OLYMPIC CHAMPIONSHIPS * Charlottenlund, Denmark (July 16, 2009; Day 6) - The outcome of the 96-boat Women's European Laser Radial Championship in Denmark hung in the balance until the very end, as leader Paige Railey (USA) opened the day with a 20th to promptly erase the 17.5 point margin she had entering the day. However, in the finale Railey had pulled out to an almighty lead by the first leeward gate, and proceeded to manage the shifty winds to score a resounding victory, not only in that race but in the overall points score. The European title went to Tina Mihelic of Croatia, finishing 13.5 points back of Railey, but who would have run close for the overall title had she not forgotten to sign off after racing on the first day, for which she incurred a 10-point penalty to add on to her score. As it was, Mihelic only beat World Champion Sarah Steyaert (FRA) by 2.5 points, and only 10 points separated 2nd place to 9th place overall. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7832#7832 * Riva del Garda, Italy (July 16, 2009; Day 3) - For the 2009 49er Worlds held on Lake Garda, Italy, there were three races in 18 knots to complete the qualifying round for the 89 boats. The top 25 positions now comprise the gold fleet with the remainder split into silver and bronze. British teammates Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes and John Pink and Rick Peacock are tied for the lead, with the top North American being twenty-ninth place Billy Gooderham/ Ian Hogan of Canada. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7834#7834 VOLVO YOUTH SAILING ISAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Buzios, Brazil (July 16, 2009) - The 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship enjoyed a bright and breezy day six, where Brazilian Girl's 420 team Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze, Hong Kong windsurfer Hei Man Chan and Laser Radial Boy Sam Meech of New Zealand have all established unbeatable leads with only one race remaining to be sailed on Friday. In contrast, the battle for gold is set to go down to the wire in four other events, with Australia, France, Great Britain and Singapore currently holding the top spots. In the contest for the best-nation prize, France has secured the Volvo Trophy for the 10th time. The top North America is third place Morgan Kiss and Laura McKenna (USA) in the 420 Girls. -- Race website: http://www.isafyouthworlds.com/editions/2009/index.php => Curmudgeon's Comment: Pretty good year for the Grael family when dad Torben wins the premier ocean race and daughter Martine wins the premier youth championship. Pretty dreamy marketing opportunity too, as they were both Volvo sponsored events. VIDEO OF THE WEEK Have you got your wearable, waterproof video camera to record your action moments? Probably not too many of us do (yet), though one nearly jumped into the Scuttlebutt shopping card during a tour of Costco. Anyway, their price point has dropped, and their ease of use has spurned their growth. This week's video shows what it looks like to go skiff sailing in 30 knots, courtesy of the helmet-mounted Predator VX360 waterproof actioncam aboard the high performance RS800.. Click here for this week's video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/09/0717 * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week's Video of the Week to mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com SAILING SHORTS * Newport, RI (July 16, 2009; Day 1) - Twenty yachts are competing in the NYYC Swan 42 Nationals, held at the NYYC's Harbour Court July 16-19. Teams sailed three races on a gray and lumpy Rhode Island Sound, and winds were 15 knots from the south, moving right to the southwest. On the first day of racing, preliminary results show Andrew Fisher (Greenwich, CT) won the first two races with Bandit. However, a 13th in Race 3 saw Phil Lotz (New Canaan, CT) and Arethusa take the lead. Behind Fisher, now in second, is John Hele (Toronto, Can.), sailing Daring. The results are pending protests: http://www.nyyc.org/swan42 * Corona del Mar, CA (July 16, 2009; Day 2) - In Balboa Yacht Club's ISAF Grade 3 Governor's Cup International Junior Match Racing Championship, strong winds did not thwart the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Men's team, which remains undefeated with 10 wins among the twelve competing teams. With 7 wins apiece are Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and Newport Harbor Yacht Club, with CCYA in second on the tie-breaker. Racing continues through July 19th. -- Full story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7840#7840 * Riva del Garda, Italy (July 16, 2009) - Winning 6 of the 9 races, Finnish sailor Silja Lehtinen with crew Will Howard sailed brilliantly to win the 2009 29erXX Gold Cup. Swedish sailors Sara Engstrom and Hanna Dahlborg posted mostly top 10 finishes to secure second place. Americans Jen Morgan-Glass and German Billoch posted good finishes on the final day to move them into third position. -- Full story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7833#7833 * The US Sailing Center Sheboygan and the Women's International Match Racing Association will host the first Olympic Class Elliot 6m match race event in North America, The Buddy Melges Challenge in Sheboygan, WI, on September 10-13. The deadline to request invitations for this twelve team event is August 1st. The Notice of Race and Invitation Request form are available at http://www.ussailingcentersheboygan.org/n-2009-melgeschallenge-main.php * Kingston, ONT - The 39th Hobie 16 North American Championship will be hosted by the CORK organization and sailed out of the Portsmouth Olympic harbor, home of the first Olympic catamaran event in 1976. The event starts July 17-19 with the Youth and Women's Championship followed by the Open Championship on July 20-24. Competitors from six countries and eleven U.S. states will include five former Olympians and four past Hobie 16 North American Champions. Additional information at http://www.hcana.hobieclass.com * At the 0600 roll call on July 16, 2009 for the 2,225 mile Transpac Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu, 42 boats had finished and two had retired from the 47-boat fleet. All three remaining teams are from Division 7 that started on June 29th. now 15 days at sea: Catalina 42 'Far Niente' (27 miles), Tall Ship 78 'Lynx' (120 miles), and Catalina 38 'Hassle' (166 miles). -- Standings: http://tinyurl.com/nhda9y * West Marine today reported net sales of US$215.4m for its second quarter ended July 4, 2009, a five per cent drop compared to the same period a year ago. Same-store sales were off by US$2.0m or 1 per cent. The company said the decline was mainly due to store closures in 2008 and that sales figures exceeded their plans. -- IBI Magazine, full story: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090616144853ibinews.html * The U.S. Optimist National Championships will hit the West Coast for the first time Sunday with three days of Team Racing, to be followed by the one-day Girls Nationals and four-day open Nationals through the following weekend, all hosted by the Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. With streaming live video coverage, the climactic 2009 competition will see Christopher Williford, 14, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., among more than 200 sailors ages 7 to 15 from 16 states and two Canadian provinces defending the title he won last year at Patchogue, N.Y., on the southern shore of Long Island. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7838#7838 * Among the 350 boats that will be starting the 101st Chicago to Mackinac Race on July 17-18, 250 of the boats are equipped with GPS transponders and can be tracked on-line at http://maps.iboattrack.com/races/2009_chicago_mackinac/htdocs EXPERT WIND FORECASTS - FREE 1 MONTH TRIAL! Want a competitive edge in your next regatta? Use a forecast from PredictWind.com! We are the choice of champion sailors around the world...read about it at http://www.predictwind.com/Customer+Feedback.html Using proprietary technology we generate 2 independent forecasts twice daily. For Offshore Sailors we generate 7 day forecasts with truly global coverage. For Inshore Sailors we use an incredible 1km resolution model with local topography to generate a forecast of unparalleled accuracy for your sailing area. High resolution equals better accuracy. Get your FREE 1 month trial at http://www.PredictWind.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include summer sabot sailing, wedding bliss, aloha arrival, the fulfillment of a dream, the staging area for a record, a freak occurrence, and the memories from Larchmont Yacht Club Race 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/09/0717 * Transpac: Sharon Green was in a helicopter at the start of the Transpac race and at the finish. If you were ever curious why 47 boats and their crew would want to sail 2,225 miles across the Pacific Ocean, these photos might explain why: START: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0707a FINISH: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0716a * Tall Ships in Boston: Photographer Leighton O'Connor shares a gallery of black & white images that capture the grandeur of these ships: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0716/ * Justin Chisholm of the Offshore Rules website was the first journalist to get the chance to test the long awaited asymmetric single hander from RS Sailboats. Photos and report: http://www.offshorerules.com/articles/showArticle.aspx?id=298 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Please submit your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Peter Commette: Regarding story in Scuttlebutt 2887, thanks for the kind words about LYC and three of our young champions, Chris Williford, Erika Reineke, and Chanel Miller, but without a number of components coming together at LYC, their natural ability and desire would not have been nurtured: 1. Others pushing and leading them over the years (Duncan Williford, 6th at NA's; Marissa Lihan, current US rep at the World Youth Champs in the Laser Radial; Mac Agnese, second at 29er US Youth Champs, chosen for US Sailing's U-18 team; Christina Lewis, currently at I-420 French Nationals as part of U-18 team; Intercollegiate Women's Singlehanded Champ Anne Haeger; former US Youth Champs Colin Smith and Luke Lawrence, freshmen at Brown and RWU; former Snipe National Champ crew, Megan Place, freshman at RWU; Sarah Lihan, 3rd in Olympic Trials and junior on Yale's team now; that's just a few); 2. Coaches: Olympic Champion and LYC member Anna Tunnicliffe Funk; Brad Funk, second at Laser Olympic Trials; International Opti Coach Ben Williams; Lindsay Allen, 11th at Laser Radial Olympic Trials; International Opti Coach Juan Carlos Romero; Patrick Rynne, unbelievably great interscholastic and team racing coach; Marek Valasek, seven national Finn and Laser titles in Slovakia; 3. Championship culture top to bottom, all of whom support junior sailing here: Roger Sturgeon, Jeff Ecklund, Morgan and Louise Reeser, Tom Lihan, Mike Toppa, Chris Cantrick, Peter Grimm, Bob Meagher, John Ulbrich, Clyde Wright; 4. Supportive, proud and informed Board of Governors, General Manager and membership; 5. Fantastic venue; 6. We keep it fun. * From Ray Tostado: Well, it seems that claiming excellence of venue seems to be the topic, I wish to submit that Marina del Rey, California, is the "Floating/storage Capital of America". Less than 6% of all vessels stored there ever see the breakwater more than 3 times a year. OK, on a great day maybe 8% hit the high seas. A risk bonanza for insurance companies. Not bad for having the title of the largest man-made-marina in the US. And at $19.50 per foot per month. * From Brooks Magruder, Persian Gulf, Doha, Qatar: Interesting that many claim Annapolis's right to the title of sailing capital of USA is based on a few winter sailing events staged there -- arguing extended sailing season over RI. If that's the basis of claim, then let's hear from Florida's & California's enthusiasts about their "frost bite" series from fetching ice-beers in February. Which region has a better local sailing rag than SF's Latitude 38? Checkmate. * From D. B. Tanner, Golden, CO: I just can't help but put my .02 worth in since I live in neither Annapolis nor Newport but spend a bit of time each year in both for more than 20 years. Newport, founded in 1639, summer home of the New York Yacht Club and the Naval War College. Weekly J/22, J/24, Melges 24, Shields and PHRF races (and others I'm sure I haven't mentioned). Home of Americas Cup racing for 53 years. Deep cold water. Narragansett Bay with islands, coves, beaches, great wind, Long Island Sound on the front door. Vibrant sailing community with HUGE boats. Annapolis, capital of Maryland, founded in 1649, home of the US Naval Academy. Weekly races in more one design classes and PHRF than I'd like to count. Shallow warm water. Chesapeake Bay with tons of inlets and wonderful for cruising. Huge sailing community with more one-designs than anywhere I know. Which one is the sailing capital? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... I honestly love both, have wonderful friends in both, raced in both, cruised Chesapeake Bay, am familiar with some of the history of both and really can't choose - how about a poll? => Curmudgeon's Comment: I fear all a poll will determine is how many Scuttlebutt readers are in each town. As Chris Buydos calls for in his commentary earlier in this issue, it is time to stop the hopeless debate, and to take this to the water. In fact, it is shocking that a challenge event has not yet been held. Any takers? Post further comments in the Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7826#7826 * From Mark H. Baxter: So 4 sausage races with 1-mile legs and a 17-mile distance race determines the IRC Champion of the Great Lakes last weekend? Offshore class championships used to include a mix of buoy, middle and long distance races. Why bother with the expense of building interiors and headroom if the intent is to only sail a few hours a day? And shouldn't class championships be held at the end of the season so crews can build up to them? * From Tom Arthur, Christchurch, New Zealand: I was amused to read the "Marital Tactics" article in Issue 2885 and wonder how many other husband/ wife rivalries exist. My wife Thysje, and I used to compete against each other in the same class of dinghys, but now in middle age Thysje has moved from dinghy sailing to radio controlled yacht sailing so I aquired one to keep up the rivalry. A typical club sailing day is a 7 race series, so we keep a tally of wins to decide the winner for the day. Our stakes for the winner is they can demand as many cups of tea served for the rest of that day at any time. Our rivalry has become a source of amusement to the other club members who keep tabs on who is winning have named it the "Lipton Stakes" in honour of the Americas Cup sailor Thomas Lipton's own tea brand. For the record I have to admit to being the tea maker most often. * From Jim Thompson, Grosse Pointe, MI: In response to D Randy West of St Barth (Scuttlebutt 2887), can you please take up twitter or a tracking harpoon so the rest of us can be intimately aware of your whereabouts at all time? As someone who has spent much of his life on or near the water and never even had a far miss with lightning, I would like to know where you are at all times so I can remain a "safe" distance from you. Nothing personal, but I don't want to be too close the next time you test your conductivity. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "Lightning is a lot like woman. She'll never do what you want her to do, but if you help her do what she wants to do, she just might cooperate with you." - William LeFevre Special thanks to Speed & Smarts and PredictWind.com. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
