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SCUTTLEBUTT 3598 - Thursday, May 24, 2012Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Summit Yachts and Ullman Sails. WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN ELEPHANT HERDER By Carrie Gentile, SpinSheet It's not a hot-shot fleet. The boats are not particularly handsome or fast. In fact, Sailing World dubbed them the "dancing elephants" based on their wide berth and billowy spinnakers resembling an elephant's behind. The PHRF rating is 222, and the last new Cal 25 was built before I was born. Despite all this, it's a Chesapeake Bay fleet that won't die and that's mostly because of Charlie Husar. He's called the Godfather of the fleet. He's been racing on Cal 25s in Annapolis since the early 1990s, and owns two of them: Chicken Little and Farfegnugen. He also cruises his Cal 40 when he's not racing in the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design or NOOD Regatta, Chesapeake Bay YRA (CBYRA) Annapolis Race Week, Annapolis YC Frostbites, or Eastport YC's Friday night beer can series. All that racing has earned him six or seven (he can't recall the exact number) top finishes in CBYRA's High Point series. "I'm not the best racer out there, but I am consistent. I always show up," Husar says. His method of growing, or more truthfully, maintaining fleet numbers and participation is to teach his crew members all he knows about racing, then persuade them to fly the coop and purchase their own Cal 25. "The survivability of a fleet relies on the third and fourth generation of owners. The key is to get people interested, keep them interested with good competition, and help them develop their skills." His theory has worked. Husar has spawned six or so Cal owners from his own crew. "It has hurt a number of times," he says, referring to teaching tactics and boat handling to his crew and then having them take these skills to their own boat. "But, that's how it's done. Get the crew excited and make them care." According to Husar, the more competitive the fleet is, the stronger the fleet is. He says, "It's not fun to race if the fleet as a whole is not competitive." That's why he shares his knowledge with anyone who asks. A few years ago, he organized pre-frostbite seminars as a chance for skippers to share tactics. He's also the fleet's social chair and organizes all the fleet dinners and unofficial races across the Bay to Hemingway's on Kent Island, MD. Charlie Husar "I'm not the best racer out there, but I am consistent. I always show up." For all his success in cultivating the fleet, Husar seems a bit glum about the future. In the last few years, he has noticed a shift in mentality of new crew members and says that dedication seems to be missing. "When I started out racing on my friend's Bristol 22, we raced year-round for six years, and I only missed three races. Back then, it was a privilege to crew for someone. But there seems to be a whole different attitude now with young people. Back then, being on a team was important. People are much more self-centered now." -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/12/0511/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SpinSheet, the Annapolis-based magazine for Chesapeake Bay sailors: http://www.spinsheet.com/ BETTING AND ANTI-CORRUPTION REGULATIONS By Jos Spijkerman As a judge and umpire at events I'm privileged to hear a lot of information that is not (yet) readily available to the public. I must be aware of my limitations to blog about such information. I have made mistakes in that regard in the past. That's why I'm always on the look out for anything that is published or written by ISAF about this subject. In this years mid-year meeting a submission has been approved that has gone into effect on 05/04/2012: Betting and Anti-Corruption - New Appendix 5 Purpose or Objective of the submission: To establish rules on betting and anti-corruption. Proposal: To adopt the ASOIF Model rules on betting and anti-corruption as Appendix 5. Notes: 1. The Constitution Committee to complete the relevant details. 2. The Executive Committee to publish draft sanctions by the end of July 2012 for final consideration and ratification by Council in November 2012. The approved text still has a lot of holes and still needs a lot of work before it is clear. But there are also paragraphs which raise more questions than answer them: Let's have a look at 'inside information'. This is defined as: "Inside Information" means any information relating to any Competition or Event that a Participant possesses by virtue of his position within the sport. Such information includes, but is not limited to, factual information regarding the competitors, the conditions, tactical considerations or any other aspect of the Competition or Event, but does not include such information that is already published or a matter of public record, readily acquired by an interested member of the public or disclosed according to the rules and regulations governing the relevant Competition or Event; Example: Racing has been postponed. But at one o'clock the jury is told racing will start at three. This is not yet announced on the noticeboard or anywhere else, in other words; it's inside information. Back to the text... read on: http://tinyurl.com/RRS-052312 BUILT IN THE USA, DESIGNED BY MARK MILLS Summit Yachts has expanded its already comprehensive line of high quality yachts for 2012. Available are the Summit 35 racer/cruiser, a dual purpose yacht with the emphasis on "Racer", moving up the performance scale to the Summit 40, the most successful IRC 40 foot race boat worldwide over the last 3 years, to the ultimate, semi-custom, all carbon race boat, the Summit 45. All models are built to the highest standards, and all rate well in each of the most popular rating systems. All three models are able to compete at the highest level of competition. Built in the USA, and designed by Mark Mills, check them out at http://www.summit-yachts.com ALERT: PIVOTAL MOMENT APPROACHING (May 23, 2012; Day 4) - Telefonica continues to prove their northern track to be the right track as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet tackles the tactical options that remain following their encounter with Tropical Storm Alberto. But the hopes in the fleet for a direct route to Lisbon, away from the more traditional (and much colder) route high into the North Atlantic, may soon be thwarted. "Probably the most important decision will come in the next day and a half when we approach the light air and the high pressure," Telefonica skipper Iker Martinez explained. "That's when all the boats will make their big moves. We will have to think about how to position for that and that is going to be the most interesting moment for sure." "It looks as if the wind will shift astern of us and may open up the leg a bit more," observed Telefonica media crew Diego Fructuoso, "because it will mean having to jibe and according to when each boat chooses to make the move, the result might be better or worse. Cape (navigator Andrew Cape) and Iker are concentrating hard at the chart table, thinking about where the best option might lie." Unstable weather conditions ahead could see the teams cut their losses and head north on a more customary route as far north as Canada. A clocking breeze to the SW, which has provided for broader reaching angles, was enough incentive for CAMPER to cash in their fading position to the south of the fleet and dodge an area of light winds ahead that threatened to ensnare them. Leg 7 - Miami, USA to Lisbon, Portugal (3,590 nm) Standings as of Wednesday, 23 May 2012, 22:05:06 UTC 1. Telefonica (ESP), Iker Martinez (ESP), 2481.0 nm Distance to Finish 2. Groupama 4 (FRA), Frank Cammas (FRA), 3.3 nm Distance to Lead 3. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE), Ian Walker (GBR), 24.6 nm DTL 4. PUMA Ocean Racing (USA), Ken Read (USA), 48.1 nm DTL 5. Team Sanya (CHN), Mike Sanderson (NZL), 78.5 nm DTL 6. CAMPER (NZL), Chris Nicholson (AUS), 85.4 nm DTL Tracker/Standings: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/racetracker/rdc.html Schedule: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-2011-12-schedule Video reports: http://www.youtube.com/user/volvooceanracevideos BACKGROUND: During the nine months of the Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante, Spain (Oct. 29) and concludes in Galway, Ireland during early July 2012, six professional teams will sail over 39,000 nautical miles around the world via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajai, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient. Teams accumulate points through nine distance legs and ten In-Port races. - http://www.volvooceanrace.com THEY'RE COMING... THEY'RE HERE... THEY'RE GONE... The route around the world for the Volvo Ocean Race is determined by the 10 international ports that host the fleet during the event. The 2011-12 edition arrived in Miami on May 9 from Brazil, re-starting their next leg to Portugal on May 20. Providing a debrief from the host committee Volvo Ocean Race Miami, Inc. is Wendy Kamilar... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For more than two years, VORMiami, Inc. had planned for a big event and big turnout for the big boats to arrive in Miami. The local Miami team formed as a charitable foundation and is ALL VOLUNTEERS. Our mission is to support water based sports, activities and education with any monies left after the big event. For those of us who worked tirelessly to bring the race to Miami we are proud to have put on a great event, built a fantastic village, filled it with great exhibits, food, entertainment, beautiful docks, and showcased Miami and Sailing to the U.S. and the world. A little History... In 2002 the Volvo Ocean Race made its last stop in Miami. The 2002 Village was on a 3 acre lot behind the AA Arena. There were 4 large tents and of course the boats. When the race left town it did so with little fanfare and several hundred thousand dollars in unpaid bills. Our goals were simple: to build a great village, run great races, give people a reason to come, tell them we're here and pay our bills. The challenges were large. Logistics came first. There is only one place with deep enough draft, enough room for the village and open access to the public for the boats to go - Bicentennial Park. The park has no infrastructure. No electrical power, only 1 fire hydrant for water, plenty of uneven unusable surfaces, and no docks. And the boats had to pass through a federal channel, impassable when cruise ships were in port. Permits, immigration, environmental issues, Federal, state and local authorities all coming together. We had to drive pilings to attach the temporary docks, get special permits for the temporary structures in a hurricane zone, bring in generators and water and fuel and thousands of pounds of mulch. The second challenge was the racing, which was the easiest to tackle with the help of Biscayne Bay and Coral Reef Yacht Clubs. These two organizations stepped up as host clubs, staffed and administered the racing needs of the Youth Team Racing and Volvo Ocean Race finish, Practice race, Pro-Am races, In-Port Race and Leg Restart. With over 130 local RC volunteers coordinating with the 20 VOR staff and countless press and spectator boat captains it was a flawless execution. Next challenge was to give people a reason to come. Volvo Ocean Race comes with a traveling set of pavilions and activities; a bounce house, grinding challenge, 3D Cinema, sailing simulator, cultural showcases, movie dome, shops, boats to sail and lots more. Our challenge was to add the entertainment and local activation part. We signed a deal with Sony Entertainment to put on 3-4 major headliner concerts in the Village. The names of artist being talked about was amazing. But after 7 months of unsuccessfully trying to obtain sponsors to pay for the concerts Sony had to drop out in January 2012. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/12/0523 U.S. EXPLAINS THEIR SUPPORT OF OLYMPIC KITEBOARDING By Dean Brenner, Chairman, US Olympic Sailing Committee Every four years, difficult decisions are made about Olympic sailing events. The choices made always leave some part of the sailing community frustrated and feeling, at least on some level, disenfranchised. I say this as a former Soling sailor who was quite upset with decisions made in November 2000, and a long-time keelboat sailor who did not agree with the recent decisions to exclude keelboats from the Games entirely. I know, first hand, how it feels to have the part of the sport I care most about excluded. There is no right and wrong here, or good and bad. On behalf of US Sailing, I would like to raise my hand and explain the reasoning behind the votes. While the Board of US Sailing makes final decisions on all recommendations to our ISAF delegation, much of the thinking on Olympic events and equipment originates in the Olympic Sailing Committee, which I lead. The OSC believes, and I continue to support this 100%, that kites will be good for the sport of sailing, worldwide. The reasons are simple... read on: http://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/2012/Brenner_052312.htm "FIDELIS II" SCORES PODIUM FINISH IN REGATA AL SOL There's nothing like a great race to Mexico and Ullman Sails customers have been picking up plenty of trophies south of the border this year. Congratulations to Steve Montagnet and his crew on the Beneteau Oceanus 440 "Fidelis II" - the team scored first in Cruising Class B and second overall in the Regata Al Sol 2012 last week! Fully powered by Ullman Sails, the "Fidelis II" team managed hardware breakdowns and breezes ranging from 8-30kts during their 555nm race south from Pensacola, Florida to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Whether cruising, racing, day sailing or offshore - invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com SAILING SHORTS * Nevin Snow, the 18 year old San Diego match racer, is now the #1 ranked match racer in the United States, and #31 in the World, based on the May 2012 ISAF Match Racing Open Ranking list. He jumps from the #5 spot he held this winter. Snow won the 2011 Governor's Cup, and has recently won the Italiana Cup and an event at the Chicago Match Race Center (CMRC). In the Women's Division, Anna Tunnicliffe from Plantation, Florida remains the number one ranked skipper in the ISAF Rankings. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/USS-052312 * There are still a couple more places available in the Rose Cup, a U.S. national youth match racing event for competitors ages 16-20 years (in 2012). Hosted by St. Petersburg Yacht Club in St. Petersburg, Florida on June 20-24, with racing to be held in Sonars. The entry fee is $250 a team, and includes coaching throughout the event by Dave Perry, current national match racing champion. The winning skipper from the event will be invited to the 2012 Governor's Cup at Balboa Yacht Club, an international youth match racing event July 17-22. Details: http://tinyurl.com/SPYC-052312 * A ship's captain was convicted of obstructing a Coast Guard inspection last September in the port of Mobile, Ala., after the vessel discharged hundreds of plastic pipes into the ocean. The plastic pipes had previously contained insecticide and were used to fumigate a grain shipment. -- Soundings Trade Only, full report: http://tinyurl.com/STO-052312 * Artemis Racing, which represents the Royal Swedish Yacht Club and is the challenger of record for the America's Cup, is leasing a 110,000-square-foot former airplane hangar at Alameda Point, across the Bay from the piers that have been designated for the event in San Francisco. -- SF Chronicle, full story: http://tinyurl.com/SFC-052312 INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity for companies to announce new products and services. Here are some of recent postings: * Harken PowerSeat * Ockam GPS Interface 041D3 * Morris Yachts Opens Newport, RI Office View updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend: * May 25-28 - Figawi Race Weekend - Nantucket, MA, USA * May 25 - Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race - Stamford, CT, USA * May 26-28 - Swiftsure International Yacht Race - Victoria, BC, Canada View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Andreas Borrink, Hamburg, Germany: As a long time competitor of Joerg's in the Laser Class, I want to put some things into perspective from the story, "THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOCK", in Scuttlebutt 3597. Jorg is by no means an over sponsored young talent having to care for nothing. Quite the opposite applies: he is one of the toughest and most determined fighters I have ever met. He started his professional career in an old Mini and has climbed up the ladder the hard way, paying bills by himself and happily competing in underequipped boats. His first own building campaign ended in a complete disaster when an incompetent "boatbuilder" took his money and supplied a real dog which immediately started and never stopped falling apart. Others would have quit at this point - not so Jorg. He got back on his feet and finally found some luck with his Sponsor Mare who never failed to believe in his skills and strengths. It has also to be taken into account that Jorg is a German. Germany is a country with limited access to the sea and thus a rather small sailing audience. A generously estimated 2 million people of a total of 82 million citizens maybe, just maybe interested in competitive sailing. This figure will go further down the drain when looking at open ocean racing. Finding a big-time sponsor is next to impossible in this country, as numerous unsuccessful campaigns in all the big sailing events (America's Cup, Formula 40 etc.) have proved. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/SW-052312 * From Dana Timmer: I am interested in how these suspensions (listed in Scuttlebutt 3597) come about, are arbitrated and what kinds of offenses are considered a breach of good manners and sportsmanship. COMMENT: I am too. If ISAF is to maintain a list of sailors who have been suspended from the sport, it would seem fair that a report of their due process, and an explanation of their infringement, be available too. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt * From John Riise: Regarding Alex Stout's query (in Scuttlebutt 3597) about a hammerhead sprit - it's been done. Or at least tried. In its original configuration, Warren Luhrs' Open 60 Hunters Child (later Thurdays Child), built in the early 80s, had a hammerhead on the bow for exactly the purpose Alex notes. However, although the thing looked pretty cool, there were apparently enough glitches with it that it was removed. Luhrs and 2 or 3 crew set a new sailing record from NY to SF with the boat in the mid 80s. The original intent was for Luhrs to do a BOC (now called Five oceans), but he never did. The boat did though - Steve Pettingill solo'd it round the world in the late 80s. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Herman was driving down the freeway when his wife called. "Herman," she said. "I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on the Interstate. Be careful!" "It's not just one car," said Herman. "It's hundreds of them!" SPONSORS THIS WEEK Harken - Doyle Sailmakers - North U - North Sails - SailFast Team One Newport - New England Rope - Dieball Sailing Summit Yachts - Ullman Sails - Samson Rope - BIC North America Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
