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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 774 - March 16, 2001Scuttlebutt 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 and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome. THE US ADMIRAL'S CUP TEAM - By Philippe Kahn First let me preface that it's easy for anyone to understand which are the strong one-design classes in the United States. Just go to Key West Race Week, one of the most significant OD regattas in the world, and look at the racing. This year there were 37 Farr 40s, 20 1D35s, 31 Mumm 30s, 25 J105s, 57 Melges 24s. There was not a single Sydney 40. There were enough competitive IMS boats to field 4 US teams. But not a single Sydney 40. There wasn't a single Corel 45 either. Yes and not one single Sydney 40. Owners have voted with their, feet, hearts and wallets. Its very hard to find a single owner who's want to buy racing sails, put a whole crew together, do 3 or 4 regattas to learn the boat and be competitive and then never sail the boat again. It doesn't matter whether the use of a Sydney 40 is free. The investment is in training and preparing professionally in order to do justice to the US team and represent the US with pride, not as a bunch of hackers. As a Farr 40 owner and skipper, I find great excitement in the fact that there is a lively class worldwide in which our team can compete. We can race in Sydney, in Cowes in San Francisco and really get challenged. That's also true for classes such as Mumm 30s (thanks to the Tour the France) and the Melges 24 (thanks to a great fun modern design). But that is not the case for the Sydney 40, and less and less the case for the Corel 45.(specially in the United States). What I'm getting at is that if we want to put together International events, lets make sure that we are choosing yachts that are sailed internationally. And if we can't find an appropriate one-design class that meets our requirements, then we should focus on IMS classes, as there is always a way to make competitive IMS yachts, and IMS yacht owners are usually happy to participate to major International events. Picking the Farr 40 was an obvious choice given the level of competition worldwide. Now picking the two other yachts is a bit more complex. With the success of the Tour de France, the Mumm 30 is an obvious choice. In fact the dates are such that the two events are even compatible. For now, completing the team with an IMS 50 boat would work well. . I was in numerous meetings, working on getting the US team together and I can say that I witnessed our selection committee try everything that they could to field a competitive team. But no committed owner came forward saying, "I'll race the Sydney 40". Nobody. We race to win and the Admiral's Cup is a team event. Our Farr 40 Pegasus is second to none. We'd expect the same from the Sydney 40 and the Corel 45. Otherwise even before we get to the starting line, we don't have a chance. The next International team racing event is the Kenwood Cup in the summer of 2002 in Hawaii, with what are arguably the best sailing conditions in the world: Big wind, big waves to surf and warm water. Kenwood Cup, (http://www.kenwoodcup.com) with limited resources has done a very good job of creating real competition among numerous teams and classes. I suggest that we can get our national teams to compete against each other every year, once for Kenwood Cup and once for the Admiral's Cup provided that we have some similar requirements. If we agree on how to build these teams we will all find better sailing, more competition and more real challenges. And when we pick those two other yachts, let's make sure that we pick yachts that are raced competitively around the world. There are no winners in the decision that US Sailing had to make. We have a chance to turn this challenge into an opportunity and make National Team Racing exciting again. Seriously. - Philippe Kahn AS SEEN FROM ACROSS THE OCEAN David Minords, the general manager of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, says four nations plus one other second string team - perhaps styled as from "Europe" or the "Commonwealth" - is the absolute minimum to ensure the 2001 Admiral's Cup goes ahead. Even if this year's event is cancelled, Minords is adament it will return in two year's time. "The bare minimum is probably four nations and one other," he told madforsailing. Asked whether holding this once great championship with that low level of participants might do it more harm than not holding it all, he replied: "It's obviously a debatable point - it's a management committee decision. If the players are happy with four then that's it. If they're not, one of them will pull out and the Admiral's Cup won't happen." But he emphasised that the Admiral's Cup which has been held every other year since 1957 will not die. "It'll come back in two years - I have absolutely no doubt about that whatever - unequivocally it will be back. If it doesn't happen there is obviously going to a lot of thought about what is needed next time. It would be a different format because you can't reinforce failure. But the Admiral's Cup will be back if it doesn't happen this time - it's going through a hiatus." * Amid the conflicting but loud complaints from all over the sailing world about various aspects of the present format - including the decision on whether or not to include an IMS-rated big boat and the inclusion of the highly unpopular Sydney 40 - Minords said change at this late stage was not impossible, but was unlikely. For example, some have called for the Sydney 40 to be dropped in favour of the Mumm 30. "I don't think it would do the event any good because if you change the Sydney 40 for the Mumm 30 - would the Spanish come? I doubt it," Minords said. "People make their plans. The Americans might come but I don't know if anyone else would. I suspect that, at the end of this, we're going to be damed if we do and damned if we don't. The best we can do is to try and take the moral high ground and try to do the right thing," he added. - Ed Gorman, madforsailing website. Full story: http://www.madforsailing.com THANKS DAVE STEINLAGER / LINE 7 CUP 'HEADS UP' FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS After finishing The Race next week, and following a brief refit, the mega-catamaran will sail to Cadiz, Spain. From Cadiz she will set out on the 3,885-mile transatlantic voyage to San Salvador Island on the southeastern extremes of the Bahamas where Columbus first landed. The modern tradition of the "Route of Discovery" was established in 1984 with a sailing race from Spain to San Salvador. Like Columbus and the other sailors who followed him, Team Adventure will sail via the Canary Islands. - Keith Taylor LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON leweck@earthlink.net * From: Peter Huston Sorry chaps, the Queen is dead - or at least the Admiral. Why it died doesn't matter. Bury the sucker for once and all. If you want people to come race in your event, learn to make it fun and interesting for everyone, just like the RNZYS has done so well. There is no shame in the US not sending a team this year. Simply put, nobody wanted to buy what you were selling. Don't blame Ken Morrison for not allowing the US to be the chump in your deal. * From: James Stevralia JStevralia@squadronlaw.com * From: "Mike Nash " mike@ayresgroup.net I don't recall the Americans complaining about the lack of a U.K. Team at last years Kenwood Cup. It may not be the same as their event in prestige, but Trade Winds and girls on the beach sure sound good to me. * From: Morgan Larson MorganLar@aol.com * From: Seth A. Radow sethrad@thegrid.net My Sydney 40 is, purposefully, NOT built to One Design specifications and, as such, the boat will not qualify for the Admirals Cup, although numerous requests have been made by the US sailing community. Allow me clear up a misconception. This boat is an OUTSTANDING 40 foot grand prix race boat in One Design trim. It is designed and built to withstand very heavy offshore conditions unlike many others within her size range. The boat, in One Design Trim is, to say the least, thrilling to drive. Many current owners choose to race the boat in IMS trim for local competitive reasons. The boat is clearly slower in IMS trim. As I understand it, the boat was designed in One Design trim to be technically demanding for highly skilled sailors and probably the reason why it never caught on with the sailing community at large. * From: Russ Lenarz Bycsailor@aol.com * From: "Herb Garcia" hgarcia@barr.com Who can blame an owner for wanting to spend the big $$$ on a program based on their own boat? The politics in just picking a one-design seem to be every bit as intense as ratings potilics. It seems in the RORC's zeal to delegitimize IMS they hit the Admiral's Cup with a ricochet. And it is definitely interesting that they did not elect to use their own IRM rule for the Admiral's Cup. One would think if you are jumping off a cliff you do a proper job of it. * From: Tim Robinson tim@euromarinetrading.com Frankly, suiting up in my foulies and life jacket, and then a helmet, is still a big stretch in my mind. But hey, so were lifejackets on big boats a few years ago. I think it is a sad reflection on competitor's adherence to the racing rules that helmets would ever even be discussed, but the reality of the situation (ie we race boats pretty darn aggressively these days), not pride in our racing rules, is what needs to rule the day in this discussion. And I think it will be a good look to see some of our fellow sailors wearing helmets. THE RACE After a run of 321 nautical miles (nm) to 07:00 GMT on 14 March, Legato slipped back to 216nm to 07:00 GMT on 15 March. In order to reach the finishing line in Marseilles before the cutoff deadline of 20:56 GMT on 2 April, Team Legato needs to average 319nm per day. - Martin Cross, NOW Sports website, http://www.now.com/feature.now?fid=1379825&cid=997704 POSITIONS - March 16 @ 0500 GMT: Team Adventure, 2366 nm to go, Warta Polpharma, 3539 nm Team Legato, 5705 nm.http://www.therace.org/asp/classtBateau.asp AMERICA'S CUP "I wouldn't rule it out," he said. "I think we'll have to see where we've got to and if it fits in with what we are trying to achieve." Walker said he was concerned that his own team may not be ready to try-out against the Swiss who have many more experienced sailors and are further ahead in the game. He felt it might prove a counter-productive step. - Ed Gorman, madforsailing website. Full story: http://www.madforsailing.comDECKMAN FOR WINDOWS / WEATHERTRAC SEMINARS PUTTING TECHNOLOGY TO WORK . The Vizzavi Webcast team will broadcast live the entire arrival on Friday afternoon for two hours; from Parlier sailing across the finish line, to stepping on to dry land for the first time in 127 days. Moreover, spectators will be able to watch Yves Parlier giving his initial impressions of his extraordinary adventure to repair and race his dismasted boat all the way home, completely unaided, surviving on a 'cast-away' diet of seaweed and flying fish. ALSO - the Vizzavi Webcast team will also bring you an exclusive live-chat in French and English right after Yves' arrival with sailing star, ELLEN MACARTHUR, who finished this Vendee Globe just over one month ago in 2nd place. Beginning at 1900hrs GMT, Ellen MacArthur will be online to talk about her summer sailing programme: http://www.vizzavivendeeglobe.co.uk RUMOR MILL THE PERILS OF THE SEA The Cho Yang Park was not the only vessel that suffered damage in the severe North Atlantic storm. Some 29 containers on a Hapag Lloyd vessel were apparently lost or damaged, industry sources said. - William Armbruster, JoC Online Full story: http://www.joc.com/enews/20010313/sections/ocean/w56070.shtml LIGHTNING MIDWINTERS THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
