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SCUTTLEBUTT 2742 - Thursday, December 11, 2008Scuttlebutt 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. Today's sponsors are Ullman Sails and MyBoatsGear.com. U.S. ROLEX NOMINEES ANNOUNCED Joining the year-end "best of" lists is US SAILING's short list of nominees for the 2008 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year awards. Established in 1961, the annual presentation is widely regarded as the sport's ultimate recognition of an individual's outstanding on-the-water achievements for the calendar year. Nominees for US SAILING's 2008 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award: 505 East Coast and Midwinter Champion Ethan Bixby (St. Petersburg, Fla.) J/22 World Champion Greg Fisher (Annapolis, Md./Columbus, Ohio) Etchells World Champion Bill Hardesty (San Diego, Ca.) Sunfish World Champion Paul Foerster (Heath, Texas) TP52 World Champion Terry Hutchinson (Annapolis, Md.) Newport Bermuda Race winner Peter Rebovich (Metuchen, New Jersey) SKUD-18 Paralympic Gold Medalist Nick Scandone (Fountain Valley, Ca.) Finn Olympic Silver Medalist Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) Lightning North American Champion Allan Terhune (Annapolis, Md.) Nominees for US SAILING's 2008 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award: 470 Women's World Champion Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, N.Y.) 470 Women's World Champion Erin Maxwell (Stonington/Norwalk, Conn.) SKUD-18 Paralympic Gold Medalist Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Marblehead, Mass.) U.S. Women's Match Racing Champion Molly O'Bryan Vandemoer (San Diego, Ca.) Laser Radial Olympic Gold Medalist Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.). For full details on each nominee: http://www.ussailing.org/awards/rolex SAILING SPEED RECORDS ON LAND AND ICE Indeed, what about ice and land sailing speed records? Because the ‘buttheads are mostly “soft water” sailors, there is interest in these types of speed records. The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) does a nice job of keeping order in this department, but sailing is sailing, and a desire to use the wind for high speeds on land and on “hard water” exists as well. However, the WSSRC does not handle land or ice records. For land, there does seem to be decent information available, with the North American Land Sailing Association (NALSA) ratifying the current speed record set on March 20th, 1999 by Bob Schumacher, who sailed the 'Iron Duck' to a top speed of 116.7 mph (187.7 kph). Some of the details include: Probable wind speed during the fastest runs: 25-30 mph. Configuration: Asymmetric Length: 39-feet Width: 23-feet Weight: 1600 lbs. Wing Height: 23-feet Side Tires: 14-inch wheel, 23-inch diameter Tire life: ½ to 2 days. Designer: Bob Dill Complete details and photos: http://www.nalsa.org/speed_record.htm#duck Land speed record rules: http://www.nalsa.org/Sept_News/spdreg.html However, for speed records held by ice boaters, there seems to be as much folklore as fact. Here is a report provided to Scuttlebutt by John Harwood-Bee, Chairman of Project 100 Ltd: "We at Project 100 spent some time researching and evaluating the three significant sailing speed records, those of land, ice and water. This was on behalf of our client Steve Fossett. As you know Steve was always looking for the next challenge and we presented this trio as a possible goal for him. He and Peter Hogg gave consideration to the project but it was shelved whilst Steve made attempts on the outright Land Speed record and the Oceanic Depth record. "Our research indicated some confusion in the verification of certain claims. With the water record it was and is easy to check for existing data. Similarly with the land speed record. What was most difficult to establish was an accurate and verifiable ice yacht speed. The fastest speed claimed was 143mph, supposedly attained in 1938 by John Buckstaff on Lake Winnebago. Buckstaff had a 60' long ice yacht carrying almost 1000 sq feet of sail. It is impossible to verify this now and there does not appear to be any record of the equipment used to measure it. The Guinness Book of Records did list it and they are normally very thorough. They however have only been around since 1955 so were probably working from historic detail. "There is controversy surrounding that claim and it is 'examined' in detail by modern ice sailors who, working with the latest GPS equipment etc, have only managed 84 mph.” -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/tt * Here is a classic from the VIDEO OF THE WEEK archives, providing retro footage from the 1930's of an iceboat racing a Chevrolet on a frozen lake in Michigan with 'play-by-play' narration: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/06/1204 WINNING THE ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL (REGATTA) AGAIN Ullman Sails customers enjoyed a successful weekend in New Orleans at Southern Yacht Club’s AllState Sugar Bowl Regatta, December 6-7th. Ken Buhler’s team on J/30 “Jalapeno” continued their winning streak, taking first place overall in the PHRF B division, fully powered by Ullman Sails. Alan Robson’s J/35 “Footloose II” also showed superior speed, winning the six-boat fleet in PHRF A with an Ullman spinnaker and FiberPath jib. And Louis Lambou’s Easterly 30 “Koala” finished second overall in the non-spinnaker division with 100% Ullman inventory. Make an investment in your performance. Contact a local Ullman Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com BETTER MANAGEMENT NEEDED FOR FUTURE OF SPORT Monaco, (Dec. 10, 2008) - The economic situation and the need to better manage our sport, including the America’s Cup, were at the heart of today’s debates at the World Yacht Racing Forum. The Cup debate was definitely one of the highlights of the day, with Tom Ehman and Brad Butterworth trying hard to convince the audience that their point of view is the right one. How do we drive the global growth of our sport? What are the keys to its development? These were some of the key issues debated by ISAF President Göran Petersson, who was on many occasions challenged by some of the speakers and the public. Everyone’s goals are different; ISAF has to please the IOC and work towards the development of sailing, including in developing countries, whilst most participants in the Forum represent commercial organisations, hence the differences in opinions. Mr Petersson and most panellists agreed on the fact that “the key element to the growth of our sport is exposition and media coverage.” A fact confirmed by Knut Frostad, who believes that the sailors are still often a long way behind understanding the importance of media for the development of their sport. Race calendar management is probably one of the easiest targets to achieve between the different sailing classes. Head of communication for the Vendée Globe, Christophe Baudry agrees, “ Having the Vendée Globe and the Volvo Ocean Race taking place at the same time is nonsense. We should talk together.” -- Excerpts from full report: http://worldyachtracingforum.com/news_view.php?nid=23 GOING WHERE NO VOLVO RACE HAS GONE BEFORE… AGAIN The next leg of the Volvo Ocean Race leads the fleet to another heretofore unseen port in the Volvo race. Singapore, an island state at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, will host the fleet through the upcoming holiday season. The 1,950-nautical mile leg from Cochin, India is expected to take between nine and 11 days. "This is a tricky leg," said team meteorologist Chris Bedford. "I'm going to rate its difficulty between six and seven on the weather side, but a 10 on the navigation side." After the start the fleet will work its way southwards down the India coastline battling the light seabreeze and land breeze that marked the finish of Leg 2. Following on the strategies employed approaching the previous finish, expect the boats to stay close to the shoreline on Saturday night as they look for the slightest of zephyrs. Once south of the tip of India and Sri Lanka, the fleet turns easterly towards Sumatra. The upwind route is a precipitous balance between avoiding the southern edge of the northeasterly monsoon, and the northern edge of the equatorial Doldrums. -- Read on: http://SButt121008a.notlong.com * REPLACEMENTS: Tom Addis will replace Laurent Pages on Telefonica Blue; Rob Greenhalgh will replace Robbie Naismith on PUMA Ocean Racing; Steve Hayles and James Carroll will replace Ian Moore and Tom Braidwood (respectively) on Green Dragon; and Sergey Bogdanov will replace Mark Covell on Team Russia. Leg Three from Cochin to Singapore is 1,950 nm, begins December 13th with the finish estimated on December 23rd. Current standings after Leg Two of the ten leg event: 1. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 26 points 2. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 19 points 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 18 points 4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 16 points 5. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Anders Lewander/SWE, 14.5 points 6. Telefonica Black (ESP), F. Echavarri/ESP, 13.5 points 7. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 7.5 points 8. Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, 7.5 points Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Race website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org PEYRON DISMASTS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN (Dec, 10, 2008; Day 31) - Loïck Peyron, who had already fully endorsed his ranking as one of the popular favourites to win this Vendée Globe, reported to the Course Direction early this afternoon that he had dismasted. Peyron, who had lead the pack down the Atlantic for 16 days, was down below in his Farr designed Gitana Eighty studying weather information when he heard a very loud bang. When he got in deck his immediate fears were realized when he found his mast in three or four pieces. Said Peyron, “There was 30 knots of breeze and Gitana Eighty was under one reef mainsail and solent. There was no reason for the boat to be under pressure and everything was going very well aboard when the mast fell violently without any warning.” He spent more than an hour and a half cutting free the rig and sails. Peyron is only left with the boom and had set about building a jury rig with it. He will now see how Gitana Eighty performed under jury rig, before making a decision where he would head too. Cape Town is about 1850 miles to his NNW and Cape Leeuwin, Australia about 3000 miles to the east. The French skipper reported that there was no damage to the hull and that he was uninjured and in good physical shape. Winds were around 30 knots, he was sailing under single reefed main and Solent headsail. Remarked Mike Golding from Ecover 3, “Gitana's dismasting s very bad news for the race as Loïck is such a great ambassador for sailing and French sailing in particular. Conditions are pretty wild, 20kts plus of boatspeed, diving down steep awkward waves with winds ranging between 22 and 35kts from the west. Also add to this that last night was so very cold (SST 3C) that even in full layer thermals and inside my sleeping bag I just could not sleep. So I got up made a drink, hunkering down over the stove. Then I charged the batteries which was a great excuse to have the engine on to warm up the nav station. Then with an almost endless stream of hot drinks of all description I sat and trimmed sails and the pilot for many hours - probably in part accounting for my big gains this morning.” -- Race tracking: http://tracking.vendeeglobe.org/en Solo, non-stop, around the world race in Open 60s. Standings as of 18:30 UTC (Top 5 plus of 30 entrants): 1. Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA), Paprec-Virbac 2, 15925.0 nm Distance to finish 2. Sébastien Josse (FRA), BT, 9.9 nm Distance to leader 3. Roland Jourdain (FRA), Veolia Environnement, 27.3 nm DTL 4. Mike Golding (GBR), Ecover, 35.1nm DTL 5. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA), Foncia, 35.4 DTL 14. Samantha Davies (GBR), Roxy, 608.7 nm DTL 15. Dee Caffari (GBR), Aviva, 766.3 nm DTL 19. Rich Wilson (USA), Great American III, 1360.0 nm DTL 21. Derek Hatfield (CAN), Algimouss Spirit of Canada, 1861.1 nm DTL Complete standings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en * Steering an Open 60 monohull since November 9, 200,000 skippers are participating in the Vendee Globe virtual game. Details at http://www.virtualregatta.com/ NIGHT VISION DEVICES This week we have looked at Night Vision binoculars and Monoculars. Read this newsletter to see how these devices can help navigating at night, plus pros and cons and how much they will cost. Also find links to Binoculars and Image Stabilized Binoculars reviews. MyBoatsGear.com will help you find the best gear, by reviewing hundreds of boating products and bringing the best ones to you. Product information is easily accessed and organized into 200 plus categories. Review: http://myboatsgear.com/newsletter/2008129.asp MyBoatsGear site: http://myboatsgear.com/mbg/index.asp => Curmudgeon’s Comment: In addition to learning about the products available, if you have ever wondered about the technology used for night vision viewing, the review link above provides information that even the Curmudgeon understood. Plus, there is also a really funny video that demonstrates why you should not play soccer with binoculars strapped to your head. CHARLIE MCKEE: THE RISE OF MOTH SAILING IN THE U.S. Three Americans Moth sailors made the trip to Sydney, Australia last week for the ISAF Grade 1 OAMPS Sydney International Regatta, which hosted 220 entrants amid the Olympic and invited classes. The 19 boat Moth fleet held plenty of talent - including the current World Champ John Harris - but the American contingent garnered three of the top four spots. Tops among the group was event winner 2000 Olympic 49er bronze medallist Charlie McKee, who provides Scuttlebutt with this update on the rise of Moth sailing in the U.S.: “The Moth Class is taking off in the U.S. Many talented sailors are getting boats because they are so fun to sail. Having the next Moth Worlds in the U.S. in August 2009 helps too (Cascade Locks, Oregon). Bora Gulari has been our leader; he is the most experienced and talented U.S. Moth sailor. He encouraged us to come down to Australia to sail; this is where many of the top Mothies are. So Bora, Hans Henken (16 year old from Coronado, CA) and myself made the trek down for OAMPS. Hans and I are off to Melbourne for another regatta this weekend (Sail for Gold), Bora is back to the U.S. but comes back down in January to contest the Australian Nationals in late Jan in Geelong.” -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/tt SAILING SHORTS * The Notice of Race and Application have been recently sent out for the Bermuda One-Two Newport to Bermuda Single Handed leg starting June 5, 2009, with the spring Skippers' Forum/Party scheduled for March 7th. Additional information at http://www.bermuda1-2.org * The Royal Yachting Association website is hosting a Powerpoint presentation to guide a viewer through the changes in the Racing Rules for 2009 or to be downloaded to facilitate group presentations. -- http://SButt121008c.notlong.com * When French adventurer Anne Quéméré set out from San Francisco on November 4 bound for Tahiti, getting stuck in the equatorial doldrums (ITCZ) was undoubtedly one of her greatest fears. She was, after all, traveling aboard a 16-ft one-person craft propelled only by a special kite, similar to those used by kitesurfers. Although full details have yet to emerge, an initial report indicates that Quéméré made the difficult decision to give up this week, after idling with no wind for 10 days. During the past month she had completed roughly half of the 4,000-mile voyage. -- Latitude 38, read on: http://SButt121008b.notlong.com * (Dec. 10, 2008) - Lanzarote delivered on its promises of strong wind for the first day of the RC44 Gold Cup, with the six teams battling to master the gusty conditions while also trying to win their five flights of intense match racing. The only boat to keep a clean sheet was Igor Lah’s Team Ceeref, helmed by James Spithill. -- Read on: http://www.rc44.com/en/regattas/news/index.php?idContent=1837 * It's a time for consolidation in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings released on 10 December, with no changes amongst the top-three crews and Australia and Spain still tied for the top nation spot. -- Complete report: http://www.sailing.org/26466.php CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Dec. 13 - BBCC Single-Handed Regatta - Jacksonville, FL, USA Dec. 13-14 - Catalina 22 Florida State Championship - Cocoa, FL, USA Dec. 13-14 - Etchells Jaguar Cup Series, Piana Cup - Miami, FL, USA Dec. 13-21 - 104th NY National Boat Show - New York, NY, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Doran Cushing: Sad to hear of the death of Tom Morris (in SBUTT 2740). I only had one occasion to spend any time with him - it was on a delivery from Florida to the Chesapeake as captain of this magnificent $700,000 (as listed in brokerage) yacht. Three memories come to mind, the first being the fact we caught all the Dorado we could handle in one afternoon along the north Florida coast. The second memory was trying to solve problem with the head/holding tank. Turns out the holding tank lever was frozen. In trying to fix the problem, I came across (in a "spares" locker) a complete head assembly with bowl, base, pump, hose...just bolt in place and don't get your hands messy. The third memory was of the incredible attention to detail on the boat. The bilges were spotless and every cable, thru-hull, valve, or hose was tagged for ID. Of particular note was the typical small boat fan mounted on a panel over the nav station. But unlike the plastic casings that come with these box-shaped fans, this one was wrapped in varnished teak. When I asked Mr. Morris how much it cost to build that little box, he grimaced and said. "Don't ask." But he'd do whatever it took to make the customer happy. * From Anton Huggler: (re Vendee Globe story in SBUTT 2741) Equally impressive as (the comeback by) Michel Desjoyeaux is Bernard Stamm on Cheminees Poujoulat. After colliding with a freighter just 70 miles into the race, returning and spending more than three days to repair the bowsprit and mast, he was 940 miles behind the leaders when he restarted. On Nov. 24th, he was even 1,174 miles behind and at the rear end of the fleet. Since then he has consistently out-sailed his nearest competitors and is now 14th, 534 miles behind the leaders. It's a long race...! I am fascinated reading the e-mails, looking at the photos and watching the videos from both, the Vendee and Volvo races. Wish I was half my age and out there too, instead, I am just warmly dressed. * From Reynald Neron: (re, letter in SBUTT 2741 about putting a kite on a Vendee Globe Open 60) I am sure you will remember that a boat tried that in Sydney Harbour a few years back. It was named AAPT if I recall properly - a former Open 60 yacht, redesigned and modified to be 66ft long, I suspect owned/skippered by Sean Langman. They made a lot of noises and PR efforts about doing the following Sydney-Hobart with that new "rig", but in the try out they did in Sydney Harbour, they managed great speed, but could not settle to a proper direction. I spend a few days on the Harbour watching them getting scared as the boat came quite close to shores and rocks on a regular basis. (Here is an image: http://www.wetasschronicles.com/KiteShip.jpg) * From Peter von Braun: (re, SBUTT 2741 lead story) I may miss the point of modern math, but in the old school math 10 knots x 2.5 = 25 knots and 12 knots x 2.5 = 30 knots. What gives with the story? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and MyBoatsGear.com. Please give consideration to supporting the Scuttlebutt sponsors when making your holiday shopping decisions this year. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
