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SCUTTLEBUTT 2267 – January 25, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). ROLEX MIAMI OCR (Jan 24, 2007) The wind remained light for a second consecutive day at US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR, but for the 855 sailors from 49 countries competing here, it replicated the conditions expected in Qingdao, China for the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Regattas. In fact, this event -- the largest in its 18 years of blanketing Biscayne Bay and area clubs with elite sailors and their finely-tuned boats -- also replicates the sailing format that will be followed at the Games: fleet racing held over multiple days and a final medal race on Saturday for the top 10 sailors in each class. "The number of racing participants here is about twice as many as will have the honor of representing their countries at the Games two years from now," said Dean Brenner, chairman of US Sailing's Olympic Sailing Committee, "so that would be the only big difference. Sailors are definitely dealing with quantity, but it's really the quality of the competition that makes this one of the most important regattas on the world circuit." The regatta is especially important as a ranking regatta for American sailors hoping to qualify for the US Sailing Team and the US Disabled Sailing Team, which distinguish the top three sailors in each Olympic or Paralympic class. Scheduled are five days of fleet racing through Friday, January 26, and one day of medal racing (for Olympic classes only) on Saturday, January 27. Saturday's medal races follow the new Olympic format, lining up the top 10 teams in each class on the starting line on the final day of racing. -- Full report: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1590 Day 3 Provisional Results (top three with top North American): Finn (49 boats) -- 7 races 1. Peer Moberg (NOR), 26; 2. Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN), 26; 3. Dan Slater (NZL), 29; 4. Christopher Cook (CAN), 30. 49er (47 boats) -- 7 races 1. Stevie Morrison/ Ben Rhodes (GBR), 19; 2. Iker Martinez de Lizarduy/ Xabier Fernadez (ESP), 19; 3. Morgan Larson/ Pete Spaulding (USA), 19. 470 Men's (31 boats) -- 6 races 1. Nick Rogers/ Joe Glanfield (GBR), 15; 2. Gustavo Martinez/ Dimas Wood (ESP), 21; 3. Gideon Kliger/ Udi Gal (ISR), 32; 9. Mikee Anderson-Mitterling/ Dave Hughes (USA), 43. 470 Women's (18 boats) -- 7 races 1. Marcelien de Koning/ Lobke Berkhout (NED), 18; 2. Erin Maxwell/ Isabelle Kinsolving (USA), 20; 3. Giulia Conti/ Giovanna Micol (ITA), 21. Laser (69 boats) -- 6 races 1. Michael Blackburn (AUS), 13; 2. Tom Slingsby (AUS), 20; 3. Matias Del Solar (CHI), 20; 6. Andrew Campbell (USA), 31. Laser Radial (69 boats) -- 6 races 1. Anna Tunnicliffe (USA), 10; 2. Tania Elias Calles (MEX), 16; 3. Karin Soderstrom (SWE), 18. RS:X Men (44 boats) -- 5 races 1. Samual Launay (FRA), 19; 2. Przeymslaw Miarczynski (POL), 19; 3. Nick Dempsey (GBR), 22; 14. Benjamin Barger (USA), 48. RS:X Women (28 boats) -- 5 races 1. Marina Alabau (ESP), 14; 2. Bryony SHaw (GBR), 16; 3. Marta Hlavaty (POL), 23; 15. Nikola Girke (CAN), 45. SKUD-18 (10 boats) – 8 races 1. Scott Whitman (USA), 16; 2. Karen Mitchell/ JP Creignou (USA), 20; 3. David Cook/ Brenda Hopkin (CAN), 20 Sonar (14 boats) -- 8 races 1. John Robertson/ Hannah Stodel/ Stephen Thomas (GBR), 21; 2. Dan Parsons/ Tom Pygall/ Guy Draper (GBR), 22; 3. Vasilis Christoforou/ Nikos Paterakis/ Kostaris AN. Alexas TH. (GRE), 33; 4. Alphonsus Doerr/ Angle/ Donohue (USA), 36. Star (67 boats) – 5 races 1. Fredrik Loof/ Anders Ekstrom (SWE), 7; 2. Xavier Rohart/ Pascal Rambeau (FRA), 12; 3. Afonso Domingos/ Bernardo Santos (POR), 15; 4. John Dane/ Austin Sperry (USA), 15. Tornado (43 boats) – 5 races 1. Darren Bundock/ Glenn Ashby (AUS), 12; 2. Leigh McMillan/ William Howden (GBR), 12; 3. Olivier Backes/ Paul Ambroise Sevestre (FRA), 15; 12. John Lovell/ Charlie Ogletree (USA), 40. 2.4 mR (25 boats) -- 7 races 1. Stellan Berlin (SWE), 21; 2. Megan Pascoe (GBR), 21; 3. Helena Lucas (GBR), 26; 4. Allan Leibel (CAN), 33. Yngling (18 boats) -- 7 races 1. Anne Le Helley/ Marion Deplanque/ Catherine Lepresant (FRA), 20; 2. Sally Barkow/ Carrie Howe/ Debbie Cappozi (USA), 20; 3. Silja Lehtinen/ Maria Klemetz/ Livia Varesmaa, (FIN), 23. -- Complete results: http://www.rolexmiamiocr.org/results/index.htm -- Nightly video reports from Gary Jobson: http://www.jobsonsailing.com KEEPING THE PRESSURE ON The duel between American Laser Radial sailors Paige Railey and Anna Tunnicliffe in 2006 likely made the voting very close for the Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, and their battle for supremacy will likely continue all the way to the trials to see who will represent the US in the Olympics. From a report by Tunnicliffe after the second day of the Miami OCR, the two continue to keep the pressure on. Below is an excerpt: “I turned in a strong sailing performance on the water today, finishing in fourth place in the Blue Fleet after a less than wonderful start. However a difference of opinion at the last leeward mark led to boat contact, a visit to the protest room after we got ashore, and disqualification. Despite all that, I’m still in 20th place overall in the Laser Radials with an opportunity to drop my DSQ after we’ve sailed enough races and the discard kicks in. “Paige Railey, my team mate on the US Sailing Team, was behind me on the last run but gained ground as we came into the mark. She established a late overlap inside me as we rounded. There was contact and she protested successfully. I’m disappointed with the outcome because I believe I was within my rights, but it’s done and I’m moving on. It has been a valuable lesson. I’ve vowed it will be a mighty long time before I leave myself vulnerable to another mark rounding situation like that one. This race is already firmly fixed in my head as my discard race and I’ll be focusing especially hard to keep all my remaining places in the single digits.” -- http://www.annatunnicliffe.com/content/view/68/81/ I APOLOGIZE Patrizio Bertelli, the President of the Luna Rossa Syndicate that is competing in the Americas Cup, has formally written a of apology to Valencia Mayoress Rita Barbera over a speech he made at the inauguration of the syndicate’s new craft. In his letter, Mr. Bertelli wrote that both he and his syndicate considered Valencia ‘as a perfect city, a perfect public and a perfect site’ for the Cup races. On top of that, Mr. Bertelli also thanked the Town Hall for all the support the syndicate had received whilst in Valencia. It was last Friday when Mrs. Barbera expressed her ‘profound disgust’ at the allegations made in a speech by Mr. Bertelli and strongly defended both Valencian interests in the event as well as the designation of the City of Valencia to stage the event. She also stated that she was ‘disappointed’ that no member of the Americas Cup Management Committee, the organizing committee nor any member of the Consortium, of which she is president had been invited to the event. In his letter, Mr. Bertelli stated that the President of ACM was invited to the launch, but declined. -- The Valencia Life Network News, mailto:publisher@valencialife.net Curmudgeon’s Comment: Mr. Bertelli’s original comments were carried in Issue 2263 from an article posted on The Independent website: http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article2165411.ece TIME IS ON YOUR SIDE Races can be won or lost by seconds. Hall Spars & Rigging can save you seconds by saving you pounds with an optimized rigging package. Minimizing weight on deck and aloft using lightweight, low stretch Dyneema sheets and halyards is an easy first step. Or really go for it with a lighter carbon headfoil or Hall high-performance carbon spinnaker pole. For more time-saving ideas, call today and talk to one of our experts or buy online at http://www.hallspars.com EN ROUTE The second new boat for the defender of the 32nd America’s Cup, Alinghi, assigned number SUI 100, is on its way to Valencia. With snow falling in Vevey, Switzerland, SUI 100 was loaded onto a truck at the Décision boatshed for its five day journey to Port America’s Cup. SUI 100 is the final boat to be assigned a number by the technical director of the America’s Cup Class during this cycle. While many of the challengers are already sailing their second new boats, Alinghi has a little bit more time to prepare. The challengers need to race in the Louis Vuitton Cup, beginning April 16, to earn the right to face Alinghi. The Swiss defender, after competing in Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13, doesn’t race until the America’s Cup Match beginning June 23rd. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2mryee AUCKLAND MATCH RACING CUP On a day made challenging by light winds and powerful tides, the ISAF Grade 1 Auckland Match Racing Cup saw two major upsets as the regatta got under way in Auckland, New Zealand. Before racing began, Takumi Nakamura (JPN) declared his one ambition was to beat defending champion Dean Barker (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand crew on their home waters and in their first encounter of the regatta, the Japanese skipper achieved his goal. The other major upset of the day came when the Russian team led by Eugeny Neugodnikov took another America’s Cup scalp by beating James Spithill (AUS) and his Luna Rossa crew. Racing took place on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour in light, fickle southwesterly breezes that seldom got above 6-7 knots. 'There are no easy races in these conditions,' commented Barker. 'It is not going to be an easy race track for the next few days, if it stays like this.' By the end of the day, six flights of the first round robin had been completed. Barker was one of four skippers sharing the top of the leaderboard on 4-2. Spithill was also in that group along with world #2 Ian Williams (GBR) and world #3 Matthieu Richard (FRA). -- Full report: http://www.aucklandmatchracingcup.co.nz/news.php?id=27 SAILING SHORTS * (Jan 24, 2007) After four races three, USA teams top the overall leaderboard in the 505 Australian Nationals being used as a warm-up event by competitors to the SAP 505 Worlds. Mike Martin and Jeff Nelson are leaders with Nick Adamson and Steve Bourdow in second and Howie Hamlin and Fritz Lanzinger in third place. In fourth are Ian Pinnell and Steve Hunt (GBR) and fifth are Jens Findel and Johannes Tellen (GER). Two more races will complete the event. The Worlds get underway on Saturday. -- http://www.505worlds2007.com * Applications will be accepted until March 15 for the 2007 U.S. Youth Champs to be held at Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, LA, June 22-28. Racing will be held in Laser, Radials, Club 420s, and 29ers. The 2007 U.S. Youth Champs will be the qualifier for the doublehanded boys and girls in the 29er for the 2007 ISAF Youth Worlds, to be held in Canada in July 2007. Full details at http://www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/youthchamp/ * Marking the ten-year anniversary of the camera phone, USA Today has an interesting article on it inventor, Philippe Kahn, who is as passionate on land as he is on the racecourse. Kahn describes how the concept originated, and the path it took before gaining the traction that it has today: http://tinyurl.com/2nuhy7 * Jim Capron, newly elected president of US Sailing will appear at Chicago's Strictly Sail on Saturday, Feb. 3rd at 3:00 PM, as the guest of Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation. The session will be open format, when after Jim's opening remarks, he will answer all questions concerning US Sailing's involvement in the Olympics, Offshore boat rating rules, services to sail racers, and what he sees is the future for US Sailing. The session is free to all participants, and discount tickets to the show are available at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/jump/SS-C07.html * In addition to the America’s Cup coverage by Versus that was announced in Issue 2266, they will also provide highlight shows at the conclusion of Act 13 and Louis Vuitton Round Robin 1 & 2. Air dates of those shows is TBD. Their live coverage will begin with the Louis Vuitton Semi-Finals on May 14th. ULLMAN SAILS J/105'S AT KEY WEST For eight consecutive Acura Key West Race Weeks, Ullman Sails has been at the top class. There has to be a reason why the top five J/105’s had Ullman Sails*, four of the top five teams raced with full Ullman inventories. The reason is power and speed! Top teams demand speed and reliability from their sails to aggressively compete, and Ullman Sails has consistently delivered. From local club sailing to International regattas, only one company is constantly delivering the "Fastest Sail on the Planet." Contact an Ullman Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com (* Masquerade partial). VIDEO OF THE WEEK Acura Key West 2007 has helped launch the sailing season, and among the classes sharing the spotlight was the Melges 32. The Stewball team traveled from Northern California to complete in the class, and team member Matthew Sessions has created a 2:08 minute visual montage of their trip, which hops to the music of the Black Eyed Peas. If you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/07/0122 * A reminder that Scuttlebutt will publish any of the stories submitted this week from the Div 4 course. Send your contribution to mailto:craig@sailingscuttlebutt.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From David Sprague, member ISAF Team Race Committee: (RE, Olympics and Match Racing in Issues 2265 and 2264) Match Racing is good but we should also look at Team racing as a viewing spectacle for the Olympics. The racing is far tighter even than match racing, and races are the shortest in our sport, lasting typically 6-12 minutes (which is probably just short enough for television to show the whole race). With 4 or 6 boats on the track, distinguished by coloured sails, and up to 100 races per day, there is no better "day at the races" and in the 4 boat format, simple (Last boat loses). Wire the competitors, put a camera on the judge boats and you have great TV or Internet. Last week the Australian Youth Olympic Festival showcased team racing in front of the Sydney Opera House. Last summer, the ISAF World Sailing Games most watched event was the finals of the team racing. As an Olympic spectacle it would be fantastic: pick a City centre location, erect grandstands at the water's edge, 10 nations and 2-boat teams so 40 sailors in total, and you could run the whole event in a single day, or two if you want to be leisurely. And it is not expensive to put on - it's a popular student sport and events are usually funded by sailors' entry fees. What we need is the sailing community’s’ commitment to try different things to showcase our sport to the public. The Olympics are our one “free” ad to the world of sports every 4 years lets use it wisely. * From Cressida Robson: I'm in Miami sailing ding-a-lings and your quote/unquote was mirrored this morning at breakfast by my flatmate (who everyone in Miami must know, the outstanding Meredith Bass, a director at Shake-a-leg) who has just returned from Key West. She told me that it took her the whole week to work out that Camet is a shorts brand and that not everyone wearing Camet on their thigh was sailing on 'Camet' the boat (aka, the Farr 40 ‘Flash Gordon 5’) in Key West week. That must have been a big crew! * From Bob Harden, Austin, TX: I too was involved in a similar situation (as described in the Monday Morning Tactician, ‘butt 2265). Without getting drug into rules interpretations, it is very clear to me that a boat clear astern approaching a mark should be the boat clear astern leaving the mark. If the rules provide an opportunity for a port tack boat clear astern to become "offensive" to a lead boat when rounding a weather mark to port, this is a form of a game called chicken involving lots of other boats on the opposite tack. (More protests and damage). Instead, the racing rules of sailing should support and encourage free and clear sailing as fast as we can around marks of the course, not who can maneuver into a tight, even dangerous, screwball position to gain an advantage around the mark. The requirement for a boat, tacking to round a weather mark, to also stay clear of a boat clear astern should go away, and a new rule should be written that ensures a boat clear ahead can tack to round a mark and get out of a very congested area as fast as he can to make room for the next guys. * From Matthew Reid: Being a resident of the State of Hawaii, it is no wonder that mainlanders think of Key West as the southern most point of the United States. South point on the Big Island is indeed the Jeopardy Question to the answer, "the southern most point in the US." This is in addition to the other bar bet winner of "What is the tallest mountain in the world?" Most people think it is Mount Everest, but us locals know it is really Mauna Kea. And finally, to put it all to rest, I can't even count the times when on the mainland people have remarked that I live in the Country of Hawaii! * From Steve Hawthorne: It doesn’t take much Googling to learn that Key West is “only” the southernmost point of the continental US, but Hawaii holds the title as the actual holder of the title for the country (Ka Lae, Hawaii - 18°55'N). When you are in Key West, it is easy to be mislead, as there are plenty of businesses that have ‘Southernmost’ in their name. However, on a particular tourist landmark that claims to be the actual point of land that is most south, it does clearly state that its recognition is only within the continental US: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/FLKEYsouthernmost.html Curmudgeon’s Comment: It looks like we have cleared this up...thread now closed. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION When you're throwing your weight around, be ready to have it thrown around by somebody else. Special thanks to Hall Spars & Rigging and Ullman Sails. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
