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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 597 - June 23, 2000
SORRY 'BOUT THAT
Yes, I know you got two copies of 'Butt yesterday. I also know they arrived
much later than usual. Sorry 'bout that.
Obviously, I need a vacation, so Saturday morning I'm flying up to Victoria
BC for a week of cruising with Patti and Charles Hathaway on their 75-foot
motor yacht Starr in the San Juan Islands. But not to worry - David
McCreary at Boats.com will be producing 'Butt in my absence.
BLOCK ISLAND
Boatscape.com Block Island Race Week competitors played hide and seek in
the traditional Around the Island race Thursday, sailing in winds between
zero and 18 knots and glorying in what L'Outrage skipper Bruce Gardner, of
Annapolis, called the race that "makes Block Island unique. Where else can
you race around an island?" Gardner asked. "This makes it really exciting."
The excitement included a number of port/starboard surprises as boats
loomed up on each other in the fog and had to quick tack to avoid
collisions. But there was only one collision and that at the starting line
and not due to the minimal visibility as the boats headed off in their
counterclockwise rounding, a distance of 19.54 miles for the bigger boats
and 18.38 miles for the smaller boats.
The race committee was faced with a challenge as the 137-boat fleet
assembled for the start and eventually abandoned the race for the big Class
A boats when a pea soup settled in.
"It was a bit frustrating," said event organizer Peter Craig, of Premiere
Racing, Inc. "As we went through the starting sequence (starting with the
smaller boats) the visibility deteriorated. As Class A was going off the
report from the one of the committee boats at the southwest corner of the
island was three-mile visibility. As we were in the sequence the pin end
was coming and going. At two minutes it went out of sight."
At that point the committee went into postponement hoping the fog would
lift, but after waiting from noon to 1:15, the committee was forced to
abandon. Class A yachts were disappointed, but because they had completed a
race on Day One when all the other classes had had to abandon for lack of
wind, the class will still have a six-race series as hoped.
J/125 Raincloud, Mike Rose, of Houston, TX, won Mt. Gay Boat-of-the- Day
award, after sailing to victory in the tight Class B, PHRF 1. Raincloud and
fellow J/125s Strabo, Marty Fisher, of Annapolis, MD, and Still Crazy, Bill
Helming, Boothbay Harbor, ME dueled in heavy fog over the four miles from
1BI to finish one, two, three, riding on instruments much of the time.
Despite Raincloud's great run home, Rumours, Tim Woodhouse's new Thompson
35, still holds first place in the cumulative scoring with Still Crazy in
second place in the class. Dennis Conner had no trouble in the fog. In the
Soverel 33 National Championship being sailed during Boatscape.com Block
Island Race Week, Conner's Menace XX won the Round the Island by 14 minutes
over nearest competitor Norm Dean in Whacko and holds first place overall
by ten points.
No such easy win is happening in the 30-boat J/105 class. Although Joerg
Esdom's Kincsem won the RTI, the top three boats have emerged as Wonder
Wagon, James Doane, Naples, FL; Tern V, Bob Johnstone; and Plum Crazy,
Andrew Skibo, of Ocean City, NJ. Wonder Wagon has 23 points, Plum Crazy has
28 and Tern V had 32. The last race may determine which of the three wins
Race Week.
Complete standings: http://www.Premiere-Racing.com
TRADEMARK
A lot of racers put a lot of thought into the colors of their spinnaker,
and after a while that chute becomes their trademark. There is no reason
that trademark should not be faithfully reproduced in the embroidery on the
crew shirts. It can be, and it will be if you let Frank Whitton at Pacific
Yacht Embroidery take care of the details for you. Give him a call to learn
just how affordable quality crew attire can be. Frank delivers:
Pacyacht@aol.com/619-226-8033
AMERICA'S CUP
(Sean McNeill interviewed OneWorld skipper Peter Gilmour for a story on the
Quokka Website. Following is an excerpt from that interview.)
Gilmour's sailing team is in good shape and will gel when the time comes.
But the America's Cup is a design contest, which Gilmour understands.
That's the reason he's awed by the prospect of working in the U.S. and the
potential it brings.
"The scope of getting stuff done is so great in this country," said
Gilmour. "If you do have a tech problem in a certain area, you can focus on
that issue. A few of those areas in the AC are software, hardware and
engineering related. This team has already done quite a bit of work in this
area; we're just hoping to improve upon what's been done. Key thing is not
to open up a Pandora's Box, which has been done by some teams in the past.
"This is a design, management and sailing contest," Gilmour continued.
"There is design talent everywhere. It's a matter of focusing and getting
originality out of it. The chance of losing focus and the difficulty of
joining a start-up team, without current winning yachts, is so difficult
that often you're looking at a long-term program, at least two Cup cycles.
However, with Laurie as designer of the current winning yachts, the yachts
we build will be improved upon."
Gilmour hopes to implement a structure similar to that of Team design the
boat. "The thing I very much admired about Team New Zealand was having a
sailing team-led design program. That's what I want to head up. I want to
work closely with Laurie and the other New Zealand's, where the sailing
team played a prominent role in helping technology people." - Sean McNeill,
Quokka Sports
Full story: http://sailing.quokka.com/stories/06/SLQ__0622_s_gilmour_WFC.html
AUCKLAND PERSPECTIVE
(The America's Cup remains big news in New Zealand. Cup insider Suzanne
McFadden has three separate stories in today's NZ Herald. Here are excepts
for each of them.)
* Team New Zealand will fight to the death to keep experienced crewman
Tony Rae from jumping ship. Rae, who declared three weeks ago that he would
rejoin the troubled defenders for the next America's Cup, will decide today
whether he stays or goes.
The talented 38-year-old mainsail trimmer has been the target of serious
courting from the world's richest man, software billionaire Larry Ellison,
and his new United States syndicate. Rae has just returned home from
sailing on Ellison's maxi, Sayonara, in the Newport-Bermuda race, where it
is understood the big offer was made to him.
He met Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker and chief executive Ross
Blackman yesterday to discuss the situation. The Team NZ leaders are
determined to convince Rae to stay with their campaign, but did not want to
comment on their difficult task. Rae has been involved in New Zealand
campaigns since he was a trimmer on KZ7 in 1987. In the last Cup, he was
the man responsible for unclipping and reattaching the backstays in a
revolutionary move on the black boat. He was also part of Barker's five-man
crew who won the world matchracing championships in Croatia. It was there
that he announced he would stay with Team NZ after turning down three other
offers.
Yesterday's news was another jolt to the devastated Kiwi camp, coming just
24 hours after 13 Team NZ crew and designers defected to another big-money
American syndicate, OneWorld Challenge in Seattle. The Ellison challenge,
yet to be given a name, has already lured Team New Zealand trimmer Robbie
Naismith and sail designer Mickey Ickert. It is understood that Kiwi
skipper Chris Dickson will head the sailing team and New Zealand designer
Bruce Farr will draw their boats. - Suzane McFadden, NZ Herald
Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ac2000/
* Team New Zealand are likely to need $20 million more than their last
budget, to keep pace and to reward those who have stayed. Sir Peter (Blake)
believes financial support from New Zealanders will have to be a lot
stronger for this defence. "We were really fortunate to go and win it on a
pittance in '95, and then fortunate to defend it at a low cost," he said.
"I guess $50 million isn't low-cost, but compared to the benefit it has
brought this country - between [$1 billion and $2 billion] - it wasn't that
much." Sponsors would not be able to fund the entire campaign, he said,
suggesting the special lottery. . - Suzane McFadden, NZ Herald
Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ac2000/
* So who will New Zealanders barrack for when the America's Cup
challengers come to town? Will it be the Swiss-Kiwi team, the Seattle-Kiwi
syndicate or the Larry Ellison-Kiwi challenge? Judging by the public's
mortification at the mass defections from Team New Zealand, it is most
likely to be that old crowd favourite Prada, who seem to have left the New
Zealanders alone.
Team New Zealand's defence continues to be plundered and pillaged by the
new breed of money men of the America's Cup: Swiss pharmaceuticals
billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, Seattle telecommunications billionaire
Craig McCaw, and the richest of them all, Oracle mogul Ellison. Cup legend
Dennis Conner has nicknamed them "the Bees" (as in B for billionaire).
So far, 13 frontline sailors have jumped ship to the new big three -
compared with the 16 who have signed up again at Team New Zealand. Former
Team NZ skipper Russell Coutts, who has taken five crew with him to
Bertarelli's Swiss challenge, expects to be pelted with rotten tomatoes
when he sails out of the Viaduct Basin in a different-coloured boat.
And former team boss Sir Peter Blake warns the defectors not to expect a
rousing welcome when they return for the 2002 Louis Vuitton Cup. "They
mustn't be surprised if people here are bitter about it. That feeling is
only going to get stronger. "If they expect people to clap and cheer as
they come into the Viaduct they're in for a big shock." - Suzane McFadden,
NZ Herald
Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ac2000/
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net)
Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250
words max) and to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. You
only get one letter per subject so give it your best shot and don't whine
if others disagree.
-- From Cam Lewis, Team Adventure - Back before my non-stop trip around the
planet on Commodore Explorer in 1993 I started a project to create a system
to alert and hopefully scare Whales out of our way. I got as far as
figuring out (with some experts advice) that if we could transmit the
sounds of Orcas- Killer Whales into the water then we might have a chance
to alert and scare other Whales our of way. The only enemies Whales have
our us humans and our boats and pollution and Orcas. The next trick would
be to find the right sounds of Orcas in attack mode and hope other Orcas
would not attack the boat transmitting.
The other idea would be to have a fish finder- sonar system. Fish finders
work by locating the air inside a fish/Whale. These could work if monitored
and alarmed. For the moment I am not active in developing a system for the
whale collision avoidance problem. If anybody has any ideas that are
practical and might work on race boats traveling slow or really fast, lets
hear about them. There are many difficulties with sorting out these
systems, especially with power consumption, noise inside the boats, water
drag and speed of the boats at 1 to 30 knots operating speeds.
I am very concerned as I smacked into a good size sperm Whale earlier this
week and am building a 110 foot catamaran for The Race. Lets save the
Whales and our boats too!
-- From Roger Marshall - On the recent Bermuda race we had to bear off
rather rapidly to miss two amorous whales on the course. We missed them by
20 feet. They stink.
-- From Jack Rhys - The letter printed in yesterday's newsletter by
Michelle M. Orr is EXACTLY how I feel about this Seattle effort! Could it
be that McCaw is worried about bad press and un-popularity for buying up a
large amount of Team New Zealand, so is trying to appear as a "do gooder"
in order to retain some popularity for his campaign?
Bad press is already beginning to surface as a result of the high bidding
takeovers of Team New Zealand members (not to mention other teams) and
portrays this throwing around of cash as a "frivolous" endeavor. The
environmental issue would help to alleviate some of these negative
connotations.
It is often difficult for people to criticize actions that claim to be
benefiting a cause. This would seem a great way to retain positivity in the
public eye! If McCaw & team truly feel environmentally conscious enough to
base a campaign around it, perhaps they should stick to environmental
causes instead of cup campaigns. With the amount of money being given away
to a sailing effort, a lot more environmental good could be accomplished
and with a lot more respect. While I feel it is a decent "idea" to
contribute to certain causes, I feel the motivation should come from the
right place.
I agree with Michelle Orr that another arena for this type of politics
would be both more sincere and more appropriate and in the long run,
probably better for the whole campaign.
-- From Dougall Johnson - Ms Orr's comments regarding political agendas
seem a little off base to me. If you put that much money down and you're
not advertising yourself (what a breath of fresh air that is), then a clean
ocean is a noble cause.
I'm only 45 and I'm appalled at the lack of clarity in the water in such a
short time I've been able to observe it. Anybody, anyway, anyhow that can
change this trend is a hero in my book. The AC is no longer a blue blood
event, so use it anyway you please.
-- From Dave Gruver - I have two words for those who express "dismay" at
the "politicizing" of the America's Cup by Mr. McCaw- wake up. Many
campaigns in the past had agendas to compliment the simple agenda of
winning the cup. Whether it was Bond trying to sell real estate, Lipton
selling tea, or even Young America promoting education.
Is it really any more rueful to see PETA on a mainsail as opposed to HP, or
the New Zealand Lottery Commission? If someone doesn't like the concept of
protecting the oceans along with the A Cup, then by all means, root for the
Pharmacy magnet, or maybe the Bootmaker. It's a free market, and for the
America's Cup the golden rule of capitalism is in full play this time.
PS It just hit me - will McCaw's campaign fund research for that whale
warning idea?
-- From Scott Brown - The Cup has changed so drastically since its
inception that it's time we change how we refer to the competing teams.
Since professional sailors will sail for whomever they can get the most
money, we should no longer refer to the countries at all. The fact that a
financial backer lives in country X does not make their campaign a
"National" effort.
MEASUREMENT HANDICAP RACING
(Pro sailor Dee Smith has been successfully racing in Spain on 'cutting
edge' IMS boats and provided Scuttlebutt with this exclusive report.)
The first half of the Spanish IMS season is about to be completed. Up to
now four top level events have been held with a numerous and healthy IMS
fleet. Boats are divided in four groups, two for professional crews and the
other two for amateurs.
Group A includes those boats with ILC lower than 670 sec/mi complying with
the following requirements: displaying advertising or having a DA factor
lower than 0.5 with SERIES DATE 1/93 and over. The average participation in
this group is around 20 entries, with 8 IMS 50', one IMS 53 C/R expected
for June, 2 Sydney 46 and a Botin&Carkeek 46, 3 Judel/Vrolijk 44, 2 Corel
45, one Sydney 40 and the new First 47.7 (not as spectacular as the 40.7)
with 3 new boats. The 2 Farr 39 ML are the smallest in this group which
sees a hard fight between the 50' in real time but the best performance is
being reached by the former winner of the Copa del Rey 99, the B&C 46.
Group B includes boats displaying advertising or having a DA lower than 0.5
with SERIES DATE 1/93 and over, but with ILC above 670 sec/mi. The star in
this case is the First 40.7 with nearly 15 entries per event. Competition
is very close, positions change at every mark. The start is the key issue
to get a good position during the first beat and, of course, the whole
race. Although it is tough for different designs to beat the well fed First
40.7 fleet, 2 new designs are under construction intended to be faster on
water.
Group C includes the rest of the fleet with ILC below than 760 sec/mi, i.e.
the amateurs: no advertising, more Cruiser-oriented boats. A new First 47.7
competes regularly in this group, but she has to struggle with several
X-332, X-442, the First 40.7 short keel...
Group D gathers together the smallest boats (ILC above 760 sec/mi), being
the widest fleet but the less prone to win. Thus, separating them in a
different group give more sailors the opportunity to be at the top without
reducing competitiveness.
The professional crews compete in the Spanish Offshore Championship, a 12
events series, from April to October, scoring the best 7 results. Race
Management criteria are the same for those events, i.e.: no race with less
than 6 knots at the start, abandonement if the wind drops below 6 knots
consistently, measurement checkings at every event for the first classified
boats, PCS scoring or single numbers (ISN or OSN) if the wind conditions
are not well recorded, same windward/leeward courses (W/L with a small
close reaching leg to separate fleets)...
The Copa del Rey format will be very similar although the entire fleet will
be divided in just two groups, Group A and Group B, each of one competing
separately for the Copa del Rey tittle.
The interest is on the increase and the participation easily reaches the
numbers mentioned above. More than 700 IMS certificates have been issued to
date.
It can be said that IMS is in good health in Spain. - Dee Smith
COACH OF THE YEAR
US SAILING's Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) is soliciting nominations for
sailing's 2000 Coach of the Year and Developmental Coach of the Year. In
its fifth year, the USOC Coaching Recognition Program draws attention to
the status of coaching as a profession, while giving recognition to the
best coaches in the United States. Working with criteria approved by USOC,
the OSC will evaluate each nominee's accomplishments for the 12-month
period ending October 1, 2000.
COACH OF THE YEAR Nominees must be actively coaching; should meet all
appropriate USOC and US SAILING professional coaching standards; and will
have made a significant impact on athletes' performances at the highest
levels of competition within the 12 months preceding October 1, 2000.
Coaching performance related to Olympic events should be a primary focus.
Consideration may be given for contributions in the field of coaching such
as: educating or mentoring other coaches; developing of coaching materials
(i.e. books or videos); promoting of character development and
sportsmanship; servicing to disadvantaged communities; and pioneering new
training or competition methods.
Previous winners of sailing's Coach of the Year Award are Luther Carpenter
(New Orleans, La.) and Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.).
DEVELOPMENTAL COACH OF THE YEAR Nominees must be actively coaching
developmental athletes; should meet all appropriate USOC and US SAILING
professional coaching standards; and will have made a significant impact in
helping developmental athletes progress to higher levels of sport within
the 12 months preceding October 1, 2000. Understanding that athlete
development is a long-term process, consideration should also be given to a
developmental coach's career record in helping athletes develop to higher
levels of sport and as human beings. Because developing athletes entails
developing more than just athletic technique (i.e. psychological, physical,
and social skills), supporting consideration may reflect: promotion of
character development and ethical sportsmanship; service to disadvantaged
communities; as well as development of athletes who display excellence in
other fields such as citizenship, scholastics, art, etc.
Previous winners of sailing's Developmental Coach of the Year Award are
Mike Zani (Bristol, R.I.), Scott Ikle (Geneva/Manhasset, N.Y.), and Adam
Werblow (St. Mary's, Md.).
Nominations may be sent to: katierichardson@ussailing.org. The winners for
sailing will attend the USOC Coach of the Year Recognition Weekend to be
held January 11-14, 2001, in New York, N.Y., honoring the winning coaches
in 41 Olympic and Pan American sports. An overall USOC National Coach of
the Year and Developmental Coach of the Year will be named at the USOC
Coach of the Year Awards Banquet. - Jan Harley
EXTREME SAILING
(Steve Fossett's 105-foot maxi catamaran PlayStation is presently returning
to North America for another attack on the West to East Trans-Atlantic
record. Following is an excerpt from the log of crewmember David Scully.)
"Reaching and running aboard PlayStation are orgasmic experiences. Upwind,
she becomes the boat from Hell. 105 ft of the stiffest, lightest, material
known to science starts to fly off the tops of waves at 20 mph, falling 2
stories to land on an uncompressible substance, water. Below, you feel like
the human cannonball, on a bungee cord. On deck, the helmsmen battle to
maintain enough speed to march the hulls up the mountainous wave faces,
while trying to control the airtime as PlayStation launches herself from
the top. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, the top bearing of the
roller furling staysail exploded. We moved quickly to cut away the bearing,
and get the sail drawing before it shredded itself in the high winds. Mark,
aloft in the bosun's chair, shivered like a racoon tail on the radio
antenna of a speeding car, as he secured the new halyard. As we were
catching our breath, the leach of the solent began to unfurl, and instantly
tore."
Read all of Scully's report: http://www.fossettchallenge.com/
THE CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL
Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.
And now, I'm outta here. I've got a journey to savor!
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