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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 994 - January 28, 2002Scuttlebutt 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.
HALL OF FAME We plan to name several new members this spring, and if you look at the list, I'm sure some missing names will come to you. We encourage your nominations, which may be made to Sailing World Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 3400, Newport, RI 02840, by e-mail to halloffame@sailingworld.com, or via the www.sailingworld.com website. Speaking of sailingworld.com, please stop by the new Hall of Fame section we are building there. We hope to have a physical home for the Hall of Fame one day, but in the meantime, we're building an online venue. It's important that we continue to acknowledge the best and most influential people in sailboat racing and capture their stories. Time passes, the next season comes and goes, new champions rise as old ones move on, and the history of our sport grows longer. - John Burnham, Sailing World website, www.sailingworld.com/sw_article.php?articleID=587
TERRA NOVA TRADING/YACHTING KEY WEST RACE WEEK That made Thursday's leaders regatta winners and expanded celebrations around the globe. Grecian George Andreadis' Atalanti XI led the cork-popping. The former banker was the Farr 40 winner for the third consecutive year and Yachting Magazine Trophy winner as Boat Of the Week for winning the most competitive class for the second year in a row. Othmar von Blumencron, a former German and Swiss Olympian, now home ported at Annapolis, Md., won the Key West Trophy as PHRF Boat of the Week by outsailing a tight PHRF-5 fleet. Italian veteran Flavio Favini, under siege by the rest of a powerful flock of 76 rivals hoping to check his runaway victory, won the 2001 Melges 24 world championship, which was resurrected after its cancellation at Ft. Lauderdale last autumn. Runner up Harry Melges (helming for Jeff Ecklund) was disappointed not to get a final chance to go up against Favini for the title but was philosophical about the situation. "Unfortunately the wind was too light to get any racing in today. We were hoping for some light to moderate winds so we could maybe mix things up a little bit with Flavio and Franco and their team, but it didn't happen for us. Overnight the protest between Brian Porter and Favini, following an incident in race 8, was dismissed by the jury as it was lodged out of time so the final results after 8 races stand for the overall rankings. Vince Brun, who had been hoping to take a record third Melges 24 World title, had to content himself with 3rd overall while Britain's Jamie Lea (helming for Richard Thompson) took 4th. U.S. National Champion Argyle Campbell of Newport Beach, Calif., won the class's Corinthian award as the top amateur. Bob Johnstone repeated last year's win in the 28-boat J/105 fleet and the winners of three classes were decided with a day to spare. Australia's Richard Perini, clinched the Mumm 30 title on Thursday, as did Chris & Kara Busch's 1D35, and Trice & Chris Bouzaid's Thompson 30 sailing in PHRF 3. - Rich Roberts & Fiona Brown Complete results and photos: www.Premiere-Racing.com CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: The Yacht Racing website has an very graphic photo taken by Rich Roberts of the hole in the side of the Andrews Turbo sled Titan (ex Victoria) left by the T-bone collision with Decision (ex Pegasus & Cheval). Please note that the primary winch is gone - battered to the cockpit sole by the impact. www.yachtracing.com
JOIN THE LEADER IN SAILCLOTH
UNCOMMON ENTHUSIASM By 1000 there was no space for latecomers. Forty-five thousand people crammed into every available space. The balconies were full to capacity. Just as many chose to follow them out on the water instead, in a myriad of spectator crafts. The Auckland crowd cheered, waved and clapped, as the boats left the dock, accompanied by the now-familiar rock music, for the start of leg four of the Volvo Ocean Race, from Auckland, New Zealand to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The 15-knot easterly wind at the start began to build quickly and by yhe first turning mark was 17 knots.At first turning mark, four miles from the start, Tyco led illbruck, Amer Sports One and SEB. News Corp, Djuice, Amer Sports Too and Assa Abloy followed. With No 2 jib and the full main, the yachts started beating through a building seaway towards the second mark. Tyco led to the second mark, followed by Amer Sports One 28 seconds behind, with illbruck 34 seconds behind and SEB 39 seconds News Corp led the trailing pack, one minute 25 seconds behind Tyco followed by djuice at 1 min 42 sec, Assa Abloy at 2min 6 sec and finally Amer Sports Too 2min 20 sec. At 0400 hours on Day Two the fleet had bunched up together close to the coast at East Cape as they struggle to beat around the point in the predicted lighter winds.
Positions on January 28 at 0400 GMT:
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Malcolm McKeag: re multiple rules and multiple entries. There was a story a couple of 'Butts back about a boat that won three of the four divisions in her race, and missed a clean sweep only because she didn't enter the fourth category. Such clean-ups certainly emphasize the superiority (or maybe just better luck) of one entrant over all the others - but do they do anything for anyone else? Surely the whole point of running a race under several different rule types is to encourage as wide a participation as possible. Having one boat clean up all the silverware soon discourages all the others (as well as calling in question the credibility of the handicap systems involved). Is there a case, therefore, for running a mutli-system race, but at the same time saying that participants will be eligible for only one prize list? * From Ross Cameron Chair of CORK: Chris Johannessen has good comments but his assertion that overall awards not be presented need not be the case. In CORK's Offshore division we've continued to present an 'Overall' award but the criteria don't require us to make all boats (big and small) sail the same course. The overall award is based on score in division with ties being broken in favour of the larger division. This approach allowed us to give faster divisions longer races and allowed us the flexibility to shorten races as needed. In other words, it isn't necessary to compare corrected times to be able to assess an overall performance. It's just a definitional issue.. * From Kirt Simmons: I was wondering why only one multiple crew boat in the upcoming ISAF World Sailing Games has a fleet for "mixed" or (all) male crews and one for (all) female crews? Seems a bit prejudicial as well as hypocritical somehow, at least on the part of the other crewed boats, that this "option" is not also offered for those boats (470 and J80)? As a catamaran sailor I am proud of the fact that our representative fleet does allow this option.
TEAM DENNIS CONNER * Obviously the well-funded teams will go into the event as favorites. It's no secret that Larry Ellison is the second richest guy in the world and has a wonderful team there including Bruce Farr who arguably could be the finest designer in the world. Then, of course, Paul Allen with One World and Peter Gilmore - a class act. A very experienced guy who can't be counted out. Then there's the man who everyone loves to hate - that's Russell. He's the talent and he's the defending champion. I think that to win the AC you've got to beat the Swiss. These are the three that come to mind along with Prada. So those are the four at the top of the leader board in my mind. * We have a good boat now; we have a trial horse that we're going to use in Long Beach. We'd like to think we have a chance as things are today. On the other hand, it's been a long time since someone won without two boats. It would be better to have two as long as you can afford it and it doesn't cut into the overall budget. So we're keeping our fingers crossed for a two boat program. But we don't feel it would be an excuse to lose if it didn't happen. * If I can raise the money and have all my fulfillment in place then I'd love to do nothing more than sail. On the other hand, if we're still scratching for funds I need to do the fulfillment to make this a win-win deal for the sponsors. I think in the big picture of things, the best interests of TDC is for me to watch out for the money and take care of the sponsors. You never know - the boat could be fast enough that I get on there and make her go without a lot of practice. Otherwise I think I would be selling my team short to step aboard and think I could sail as well as Tom Whidden and Kenny Read. Read the transcript of the full interview in the forum section of the 2003AC website: www.2003ac.com
WEEKEND WARRIORS AC TRIVIA Ever wondered just how many people it takes to run an America's Cup campaign? Try anywhere between 60 and 100. Switzerland's Alinghi have 95 people working to try to win the America's Cup. That 95 includes 31 sailors, 14 designers, 21 boat builders, seven shore crew, six support people and six marketing and communications people. In comparison, Team New Zealand have around 85 people involved in their campaign. - Julie Ash, NZ Herald, www.nzherald.co.nz
PAUL CAYARD It is tempting to say that Paul Cayard, the San Francisco-based sailor of America's Cup and Whitbread Race fame, has had a winter of discontent. But that is not exactly true. More accurately, Cayard has had a season of disconnect. It was not supposed to be so. When the five-time Cup campaigner was handed the keys to drive the sailing program for the software entrepreneur Larry Ellison, it appeared Cayard was headed back to New Zealand to chase sailing's grandest prize once again. That is, until Ellison booted him off the boat and Cayard found himself in a most unusual position: landlocked. No one in Ellison's Oracle Racing camp is saying precisely what happened, or why Ellison would bench one of his most experienced and talented crewmen. The Oracle team is training off Auckland, and Ellison has proclaimed that he will serve as one of its helmsmen. Meanwhile, Cayard, who is still on Ellison's payroll, has been cooling his heels in California and remaining philosophical. "In some ways it was very much needed for me to spend three months at home with my family," Cayard said in a recent phone interview. "I would've never had the guts to quit at anything, so Larry's decision to sideline me was a bummer from an America's Cup standpoint but really good for me from my family's standpoint." That said, Cayard still remains a competitive yachtsman. And now, it is time for him to cut loose from his enforced vacation and go to sea. Today, Cayard will set out from Auckland aboard Amer Sports One to begin Leg 4 of the around-the- world Volvo Ocean Race to Rio de Janeiro. * As unlikely as it might seem, Cayard did not rule out a possible return to the Oracle Racing campaign before all is said and done. "The whole thing's an odd situation and there's really nothing any of us can do about it," Cayard said. "It's Larry's call. We'll see what happens later in the summer." Until then, Cayard will take it as it comes. For the time being, he is no longer the captain of his immediate destiny. But, always the sailor, he is going sailing anyway. - Herb McCormick, New York Times Full story: www.nytimes.com/2002/01/27/sports/othersports/27BOAT.html
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I'M BACK It would be really hard not to have a good time at KWRW - sailing in warm water with 15 knots of breeze wearing tee shirts and shorts. And Peter Craig's race committee worked diligently to add to the enjoyment with constant and enlightened use of the VHF radio to insure all the competitors know the course their sailing, the distance and bearing to the weather marks, and even the precise time of the next starting sequence. A great daily regatta newspaper provides race results and keeps everyone informed about what's happening. Also, in the spirit of good communications, the RC thoughtfully chose to modify the ISAF starting sequence so it looked a lot like the old system with some extra guns and flags thrown in. However, I came home from KWRW with the feeling that it was not the racing itself that make this regatta so special. It's the fact that the event organizers have provided the venue and facilities for the ultimate weeklong reunion for racing sailors. The event provides a wonderful opportunity to spend time with people we don't get to see often enough. And after all - isn't it the people who make our sport so special?
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS |
