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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 1196 - November 11, 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.
LOUIS VUITTON CUP: BOAT CHANGES The only other team to change boats for the quarterfinals will be OneWorld, paired up against Oracle, who will bring in USA-65 in place of USA-67. Today Read said the syndicate had always considered USA-77 their race boat. It had the speed edge over USA-66 and making the change had been an easy decision. Boatbuilders and the team's shore crew had worked hard to get USA-77 to where the team were comfortable with it, he said. Team Dennis Conner had wanted to use USA-77 in the second round robin, but before now had not proved to themselves the boat could be pushed as hard as possible. OneWorld skipper Peter Gilmour said his team's two boats were slightly different and they had been working on those performance differences. The Seattle-based syndicate's decision to change boats came after they won all their races in the first round robin, but looked less impressive in the second, during which they lost three races. One team who might have been seen to change boats -- but did not -- are Prada, whose second boat ITA-80 has undergone extensive modification at an Auckland boatbuilders. Italian skipper Francesco de Angelis confirmed today his team would be sticking with ITA-74. That decision followed some interesting days during which Prada had finally been able to get the two boats out on the water together, he said. -- New Zealand Herald, nzherald.co.nz/americascup
LE DEFI SHAKES UP ITS AFTERGUARD It is not the first time in the competition the French have changed their afterguard. A month ago Pillot, who was then tactician, replaced Presti on the helm and Gellusseau, the then technical director, moved into the tactician's post. The reason citied for Pillot's move to the helm then was because he had more experience in the big boats, however Presti is the better match racer which is why he was called back. Le Defi sailing manager Pierre Mas said Pillot and Destremau are still part of the team but are just not on the boat. -- Julie Ash, New Zealand Herald, nzherald.co.nz/americascup
CALENDAR FOR TOMORROW - NOVEMBER 12
HEY OCKAM WHAT ABOUT ME?
ROUTE DU RHUM Young Swiss Nicolas Pietrequin on Un Autre Regard Ensemble Pour l'UNHCR never left the dock this morning, having problems with his forestay. He will have to replace the forestay with a new one and will leave Saint-Malo for Guadeloupe on Wednesday. Nick Moloney's (Australia) closest rival in the monohull 50' class, Yannick Bestaven on République Dominicaine, tore his brand new main sail one hour before the start and had to head back to the dock. This brand new sail was only used during the delivery to Saint-Malo so Bestaven was very unlucky. He is searching for a sail to borrow in order to head towards Guadeloupe as soon as possible. On Sunday, the 18 impressive 60-foot ORMA trimarans shot off at 13.45 (12.45 GMT). With calmer seas and less wind than yesterday these powerful machines were still blasting away at 15-17 knots of speed pounding against the waves, with one reef in their mains. Yvan Bourgnon on Rexona Men was first over the start line, but Loick Peyron on Fujifilm led the fleet past the mark at Cap Fréhel. The wind is set to pick up in the afternoon and the trimarans are preparing for tougher conditions, with a wind veering to the west. In the upwind conditions the 60-foot trimarans will probably not catch up with the other boats until sometime on Tuesday.
ETCHELLS WORLDS Childerley, Russel and Nick Pearson, had won the 2001 Championship in Lymington. Pearson left the crew last year to sail with GBR Challenge in Auckland and Marino joined the team only recently. The three sailors had only limited practice together before this series. Rumours abound here in Auckland, that more than a few of the America's Cup syndicates are keen to have a quiet ale with Childerley.
Final top ten: www.etchells.org.nz/2002_worlds.htm
AROUND ALONE Since 23rd October, the boat has been moored at the Spanish Naval base 15 miles North East of the commercial port of La Coruna, following her dismasting during the second leg of the Around Alone race. Tiscali is able to set off once more on the race after the replacement of her mast with one made available by competitor and current leader Bernard Stamm, skipper of the Open 60 Bobst Group - Armor Lux, which was transported to Spain on the Hatherleigh trawler owned by Pindar, sponsors of Emma Richards. The boat has a suit of sails entirely customized to the new rig. Rain, with 25-30 knots of wind from the WSW heralded the boat's departure.
Latest positions
Class 2 - 50s and 40s
J/105 NORTH AMERICANS 2002
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON - dmccreary@boats.com * From Jesse Deupree: I noted your mention of the IYRS receiving funding for the restoration of the yacht Coronet. That boat is a tangible expression of much more than a type of yacht now long gone- her story is a "Forrest Gump" like tale of the early 20th century. A small graveyard in Maine holds the remains of her strangest chapter-becoming the physical and spiritual vessel for a religious movement that ended with a catastrophic voyage whose legal repercussions redefined the powers and duties of a ship's Captain and a spiritual leader as well as our government. Her survival from that time until she was taken in hand by Elizabeth Meyer is testimony to the powerful hold that a boat can have on people far removed from yachts and yachting, who kept her alive as a shrine to journeys far removed from cruising and racing. Both Bernard Moitessier and Donald Crowhurst would approve. Shirley Nelson's "Fair, Clear and Terrible" (OOP but available used) tells the Shiloh story, including the Coronet chapter. * From Andrew Bray: It's not easy to get your head round the archaic 'old' British currency when there were 12 pennies to a shilling and 240 pence to a pound so you cannot really blame Christian Fevrier for getting it wrong. A guinea was not 13 shillings but 21 shillings. * From Roger Marshall: Reference Christian Fevrier's note. When I grew up in England a guinea was 21 shillings and a pound was 20 shillings. There were 12 pence in a shilling. * From Damon Linkous: On The Wire, "The Ezine for Hobie Sailors", to cease publication. Located at Catsail.com since 1996, On The Wire introduced thousands of sailors to the joys of sailing beachcats. Created and edited by Bill Mattson, each issue included feature articles, tech tips, and Bill's own brand of irreverent humor. Even if you never visited On The Wire, you may have encountered some of it's content. A humorous article titled "The Ultimate PWC Repellent" may be the most plagiarized work on the Internet. www.west.net/~lpm/hobie/archives/v1-i2/humor.shtml Beachcat sailors from around the world have written Bill over the years thanking him for the information and entertainment provided by On The Wire, it will certainly be missed now. Bill has posted a farewell message at Catsail.com explaining his reasons for discontinuing On The Wire at www.Catsail.com * From Graham Kelly: I was interested to see Ian Hickling's comment (in S'butt 1194) about how the "Squadron Cup" came to be known as the America's Cup: "I enjoy reading the history of the AC debated. One issue I've not seen mentioned is how the name changed from the 100 Guineas Cup to the America's Cup. Is it a matter of possession conferring naming rights, and if so, could we Kiwis now change the name to the Kiwi Cup or Aotearoa Cup (Maori name for New Zealand)?" First, I would address Mr. Hickling's attention to the fact that the name of the trophy is the "America's Cup" with a possessive apostrophe after the name of the boat which was the first winner. I would guess that the name is more the result of the practice of naming trophies in the 19th century, rather than anything to do with nationalistic tendencies in the United States. An issue with renaming the trophy would be that it would have the effect of stripping the trophy it of its past, its standing as the oldest sporting trophy in competition, and much of its prestige. Who would want that? On a practical level, I believe that the terms of Deed of Gift, which governs the RNZYS' possession of the trophy, precludes renaming the Cup. * From Jo Mogle (edited a bit to our 250 word limit): At US Sailing's recent Annual General Meeting in Marina del Rey, CA, two outstanding and worthwhile open forums were held in which input was encouraged from any and all who wished to attend. The first set of forums was composed of NINE Roundtable Discussion Groups. There were twenty or more sailors in each group, every one of whom was encouraged to ask questions, share ideas and yes, register complaints - about any subject involving US Sailing at any level or interest. Some great ideas and suggestions came out of these sessions and extensive notes were taken, a compilation of which will soon be available on the US Sailing website. The second open session provided all attendees a chance to give the Racing Rules Committee ideas on how the protest procedure might be streamlined and made more user friendly. Over 60 people attended and the Rules Committee listened and recorded their input for use as the committee prepares some alternatives to the current protest procedure for the 2005 rulebook. Everyone who wished to voice an opinion at any of these group sessions was listened to respectfully and with sincere interest, and questions were either answered right then and there or were referred to someone for followup. We were all very impressed - and are pleased to learn that similar opportunities for sailors to voice their opinions, ask questions, and share their concerns will be offered again at future meetings of our sport's National Governing Body.
LIFE OF RILEY The prices started at $495 a day (plus GST) for the early Louis Vuitton Cup rounds, $595 for the quarter-finals starting tomorrow, and $1495 (plus GST) for the big show come February. [Editor: prices in NZL dollars, $495 NZ is about $244 US] From breakfast at the Base Club overlooking the Viaduct Basin and right in the heart of the action, until the last of the canapes with a cocktail or three is washed down, long after the wannabe America's Cup challengers are safely tucked away, every whim is looked after. On any given day, [Base Club] will have a catering staff of 20 on board, with five or six looking after the boat and providing the commentaries. A further four remain at the shore base preparing for the post-race activities. Get envious at: www.nzherald.co.nz
BEYC PRO-AM REGATTA Ullmer has won the Pro Am before, but Burdick's performance was particularly impressive considering he normally competes on light-weight high performance boats - quite a contrast to the heavy, slow Freedom 30s used for the event. He admitted later that it had been a while since he raced a boat that had a head, a galley and a steering wheel. The Pro-Am was sailed with a 'Triple Racing' format - a three-boat match race where only the winner collects a point. The 'Juniors' and 'Masters' raced in separate divisions with guests of the resort serving as the crews for the ten invited skippers.
Final results:
ISLA NAVIDAD RACE Thanks to escort boats Orient Express (Peter Tong) and Victoria (Mike Campbell) and their ham radio operators Joe Buck and Conrad Banks. -- Gary Howe
Results (elapsed time - corrected time)
SAILING ON TV * The Yngling team of Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.), Lee Icyda (Stuart, Fla.) and Suzy Leech (Avon, Conn.), will be featured in an upcoming broadcast of "US Olympic Gold", a 30-minute program that focuses exclusively on U.S. athletes as they prepare for their chance at making history.Complete listing for local station times is at www.olympic-usa.org/about_us/calendars/tv_gold.html
OPPORTUNITY FOR TALENTED SAILMAKER No egos please. Just team players that enjoy building and repairing sails, and being productive need apply. There is opportunity here. Reply to doyleli@att.net
BOARDSAILORS NAMED TO 2003 PAN AMERICAN TEAM
Upcoming Pan Am Trials: www.ussailing.org/Olympics/PanAm/
THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM |
