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SCUTTLEBUTT 3290 - Thursday, March 3, 2011Scuttlebutt 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. PROFESSIONAL TOUR EMBRACES SAN DIEGO STADIUM By Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt (March 2, 2011) - The launch of the RC44 Championship Tour is in San Diego this week, with racing today welcoming the fleet of eleven international teams to the stadium setting of San Diego Bay. With the start line within a winch handle throw of Broadway Pier, spectators crowding the wharf end were engaged by commentator Annie Gardner during a day that saw 30 matches completed. “We have raced in a couple of similarly sized venues, but this is about as small a venue as we have raced it,” noted skipper Paul Cayard (USA) of Katusha. “Sailing in a venue like this, in front of the San Diego downtown district, it’s really what we need to be doing with sailing. This is about as close as you can get to putting it in a stadium. Racing this size of boat inside San Diego Bay is great.” The event format for the tour in 2010 typically had two days of match racing with a professional at the helm, three days of fleet racing with the owner at the helm, and one practice day in between. But that has been revised this year. “What tended to happen was that it was hard to complete the match race schedule,” said Cayard. “To do so, we either would have to shorten the schedule, or use the fleet race practice day, or both.” This year’s format has just one day of match, with the scores from the six tour events to be combined for a season ranking. The schedule then rolls into four days of fleet racing, where the race scores will celebrate winners at each event, and then also be included toward the season championship. Teams continue to be comprised of an equal balance of professional and amateur sailors, with a crew weight limit keeping everyone on an equal footing. Topping the match race segment with 4-1 scores were Artemis Racing (Morgan Larson, USA), Team Katusha (Paul Cayard, USA), and Team Aqua (Cameron Appleton, NZL). Full scores here: http://www.rc44.com/news/view/oracle_rc44_cup_san_diego_match_racing_results DETERMINING THE BEST ROAD FOR AMERICAN OLYMPIC SUCCESS By Dean Brenner, US Olympic Sailing Program Chairman I really enjoyed Joe Morris’s comments in Scuttlebutt 3289 about Olympic Development. It’s an important issue and one that the leadership of US Olympic Sailing takes very seriously. Joe is correct that as of only a few years ago there was no formal development program as part of the US Olympic effort. We are now in our fifth year of this program, and we have made some adjustments each year in an effort to get the program where we want it and need it to be. Joe brings up some important questions, the most fundamental of which is “can a sailor pursue Olympic and college goals at the same time?” We think the answer is yes, but it requires collaboration among the college coach, the Olympic program and the athlete. Some athletes will make college sailing their priority, and that’s great. Other athletes will make Olympic sailing their priority, and that’s also a great choice. It’s really up to the athlete to decide what their own goals are, and then it’s up to the Olympic program and the college coach to help facilitate those goals. Some college programs are clearly willing to help interested athletes pursue both sets of goals, and we’ve partnered with several of them. It’s not always easy, but with good communication and collaboration we usually get to a great place for everyone. One point we feel strongly about, however, is that if a sailor wants to achieve college goals AND Olympic goals, then the wrong way to pursue their Olympic goals is to put them completely on hold for four years. That may help them with their college goals, but ignoring Olympic sailing for that length of time will put the sailor years and years behind their international peers. The best model, we think, is to find a college program where the coach is open to parallel goals, and then create an annual plan that allows for both college sailing and some Olympic sailing. It likely means that neither set of goals gets 100% of the sailor’s attention, but from an Olympic perspective, we would rather have a talented athlete at least partially focused on Olympic sailing for four years, so that when they graduate and focus exclusively on the Games, they are at least part way up the learning curve and not starting from square one. But ultimately, the path needs to start with what the sailor wants, and what he or she (and their family) thinks is best. Good coaches (college and Olympic) will then collaborate in the best interest of the athlete. College sailing and Olympic sailing require different skill sets, as Joe correctly points out. And if the athlete wants both, then both sets of skills need to be developed in a parallel fashion. Will it be easy? No way. But if it were everyone would be a national champion, an All-American and an Olympic medalist. NOTE: The original article by Joe Morris can be found on Airwaves: http://tinyurl.com/S1D-030111 SHARING TIME ABOARD A SUMMIT WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS Summer 2011 will have the usual mix of great competitive events, from Block Island Race Week to the Big Boat Series, and many in between. But there will also be an endless number of picturesque harbors and quiet coves that your family can experience aboard the Summit 35 and Summit 40. There is more than silver to be won when sharing time aboard a Summit with family and friends. Check out the details on these great dual purpose boats at http://www.summit-yachts.com WEARING LIFEJACKETS MUCH MORE THE NORM A story in Scuttlebutt 3284 reported on the near-drowning of a competitor in the North American Windsurfing Championship in Cozumel, Mexico. The incident involved a rescue at sea by a 13 year old American Techno sailor of an 18 year old Mexican girl in the RS:X class. The girl had lost her board and rigging, and was left swimming alone in a strong offshore current, and was wearing no life jacket. She was quoted as saying, "I thought I was going to die. I'm never going on the water without a life jacket again." The report got the attention of JoAnn Mogle, who is Vice Chair of the US SAILING Training Committee. She was curious if this event had been sanctioned or held under the auspices of US SAILING, would the participants have been required to wear life jackets? Given that the Techno 293 World Championship is going to be held at St. Francis YC in July (where over 200 kids are expected to participate), US SAILING's policy regarding life jackets could take on added importance. JoAnn inquired with US SAILING Race Administration Director Chris Petracco, who offered this reply: “The short answer is that U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets are required to be worn at all US SAILING championships. As for events when US SAILING is not the Organizing Authority, we have influence from the prescription to rule 40 and also the US prescriptions to the ISAF Offshore Special Regulations. “What I have seen is the great effort that has gone into teaching to wear jackets from youth programs and college sailing and today it has become much more the norm,” added Petracco. “Also for adults most of the keelboat team racing requires adults to wear lifejackets, which further provides a good role model.” Regarding the trickle down of wearing lifejacket, JoAnn Mogle said, “Since the beginning of US SAILING's Training Program back in the mid Eighties, life jackets have been required at our training courses, the result being that the vast majority of learn-to-sail programs in the US now require them as well. As do a great many racing events -- especially small boats, but increasingly in keelboats as well.” The prescription for US SAILING championships can be found on page 13 of the US SAILING REGULATIONS: http://about.ussailing.org/Assets/Bylaws/US+SAILING+Regs08.pdf APPROACHING THE HORN (March 2, 2011: Day 62) - Cape Horn is the round the world racer’s ultimate milestone. It is the time that the bow is finally directed in a northerly direction, what feels like homewards. In theory the wind ravaged Cape puts behind them the wild challenges of the southern oceans and starts the final long 10000 miles ascent of the Atlantic. For the leading Barcelona World Race pair aboard Virbac-Paprec 3, it will be their respective third racing passages of Cape Horn. Jean Pierre Dick passed in his first Vendée Globe in 2005 and subsequently en route to winning the first Barcelona World Race, whilst Loic Peyron passed whilst en route to second in the first ever edition of the Vendée Globe. For the MAPFRE duo it will be Iker Martinez’s second but Xabi Fernandez’s third, having rounded twice in successive Volvo Ocean races. Both have been spearing east towards the Horn at between 18 and 21 knots with the full expectation of a passage of the promontory in breezes which will vary between just plain windy and very windy. They are still expecting the race’s final encounter with ex cyclone Atu, with MAPFRE expecting worse conditions, due to arrive at the Cape some five hours after Virbac-Paprec 3. Race Tracker: http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org Standings (top 5 of 14 as of 20.01.08) 1. Virbac-Paprec 3, Jean Pierre Dick/Loick Peyron (FRA/FRA), 7177 nm DTF 2. Mapfre, Iker Martinez/Xabi Fernandez (ESP/ESP), 70 nm DTL 3. Renault, Pachi Rivero/Antonio Piris (ESP/ESP), 383.5 nm DTL 4. Neutrogena, Boris Herrmann/Ryan Breymaier (GER/USA), 431.2 nm DTL 5. Mirabaud, Dominique Wavre & Michele Paret (FRA/SUI), 641.9 nm DTL Full rankings: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org/en/ranking/ BACKGROUND: This is the second edition of the non-stop Barcelona World Race, the only double-handed race around the world. Fourteen teams are competing on Open 60s which started December 31st and is expected to finish by late March. The 25,000 nautical mile course is from Barcelona to Barcelona via three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, Cook Strait, putting Antarctica to starboard. Race website: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org MELGES 20 CLASS SEEKS TO EARN ‘GOLD’ CLEAN REGATTA STATUS Miami, FL (February 28, 2011) - In an effort to reduce waste at regattas and preserve our lakes and oceans, the U.S. Audi Melges 20 Class will be teaming up with Melges Performance Sailboats, Coconut Grove Sailing Club and Eco Sports Bottles to earn 'Gold Level, Clean Regatta' status with Sailors for the Sea. To complete the task of cleaning up regattas and earn Gold status, the Audi Melges 20 Class must complete 15 or more of the items listed on the best practices list provided by Sailors for the Sea. While a few of these are very simple to achieve, some are more complex, like ridding regattas of trash and eliminating the biggest culprit of ocean destruction, plastic water bottles. In a typical 25 boat, 3-day event, over 600 plastic water bottles will be disposed of at the end of the regatta, and if lucky, they will all find their way to the recycling bin. Unfortunately, most end up in our landfills, and even worse, floating in our oceans. Melges Performance Sailboats has teamed up with Eco Sports Bottles to provide each Audi Melges 20 competitor at BACARDI Miami Sailing Week, with a 30 oz, reusable aluminum water bottle to be used throughout the event, and at future events. By competitors making the extra effort to fill up these bottles at the beginning and throughout the day, this will reduce a massive amount of plastic at the end of an event. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/4u77css ULLMAN SAILS WELCOMES A LOFT IN TURKEY Ullman Sails announces the addition of Ullman Sails Turkey to our international group of sailmakers! Previously Yelkenbicer Sailmakers, the sail loft in Izmir has a distinguished history as a leader in the Turkish marine industry for over 120 years. Owned and operated by M.Ali Yelkenbicer (fourth generation), the loft offers complete service and sails to both cruisers and racers on the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Black Seas. The Ullman group is proud to welcome M.Ali onboard to continue a tradition of exceptional customer service and a high standard of sailmaking. Ullman Sails - Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com 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: Mar 3-6 - Flying Tiger FT10 North Americans - Pensacola, FL, USA Mar 3-6 - St. Maarten Heineken Regatta - St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles Mar 5-11 - Thistle Midwinters East - St Petersburg, FL, USA Mar 7-11 - 2011 Flying Scot Midwinters - Sarasota, FL, USA Mar 7-12 - BACARDI Miami Sailing Week - Miami, FL, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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: * New Halyard Clip from SOAK prevents upwind shrimping * Schaefer Marine announces US Distribution agreement w/ Sea Sure Products * Cruising World receives wave of awards View and/or post Industry News updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news EIGHT BELLS Captain Amos W. “Wild Bill” Billings, crossed the bar to meet his pilot on February 27, 2011 at the age of 86, at his home in Fort Lauderdale. Capt. Bill grew up in the family schooner business out of Deer Isle, Maine. As a boy he drove draft horses through the snowy woods, dragging logs down to the shore. Hand loading pulp wood aboard the family’s schooner, The Mercantile, built his arms into mighty tree trunks. Sailing commercial schooners prepared him for running small boats during WWII, and later skippering both sail and motor yachts of all sizes and types. From the fast sleek “commuters,” delivering millionaire executives from their Long Island estates to their Manhattan offices to large offshore sailing vessels, cruising between New England and the West Indies, Captain Billings was the consummate old school yacht captain. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/4evtcag SAILING SHORTS * (March 2, 2011) - In response to a request by the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) is working to ensure that radio distress signals sent by mariners contain GPS information that will enable search and rescue (SAR) teams to locate vessels quickly and efficiently. Rear Admiral R.E. Day explained, “Of the roughly 100 digital selective calling distress alerts we are now receiving each month, approximately nine out of 10 do not have position information and approximately six out of 10 have not registered their MMSI. -- Full story: http://www.boating-industry.com/output.cfm?id=2727433 * (March 2, 2011) - The Racing Rules for the 34th America’s Cup have been issued today following months of consultation with the entered teams to ensure spectacular racing in the next edition of sailing’s pinnacle event. The rules have been simplified to take into account the significant investment in technology that will improve the experience of watching America’s Cup racing. -- View Racing Rules: http://tinyurl.com/4rgtrb2 * (March 2, 2011) - US SAILING has entered a multi-year partnership agreement with Gill North America, the North American importer and distributor of the Gill brand, as the official technical apparel sponsor of US SAILING. The sponsorship agreement includes direct financial support for the organization, including support for US SAILING National Championship events and Junior Olympic Festivals. Members of US SAILING will have opportunities to purchase Gill products at a discounted price. JOIN ME IN SUPPORTING TWO GREAT CAUSES By Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt editor When breast cancer entered my home, I was reminded of how fragile life was, and how prevalent breast cancer is. During my education, I also learned that early detection remains a key component in the battle against breast cancer. We were fortunate to have caught our occurrence early, and it is through heightened awareness that I hope others will be as fortunate. Scuttlebutt has launched a new T-Shirt that promotes sailing with one of the Curmudgeon’s Observations, but also proudly displays the pink ribbon symbol that is an international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Please join me in supporting two great causes, with all the proceeds going to breast cancer research. All Scuttlebutt gear can be purchased at the Scuttlebutt Store: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/store 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 John Faus, Secretary International Lightning Class Association: I have been reading the different comments/ideas regarding ‘life after college sailing’. The Lightning Class took a hard look at this over 5 years ago, and thanks to Allan Terhune and Bill Fastiggi we developed the Lightning Boat Grant program. It seems that there is a sailing ‘burn out’ factor that occurs after college. Many of the higher level sailors have been in regimented sailing programs since Opti days - and some are pushed beyond belief with the Soccer Mom/Dad approach. In order to retain post grad sailors, racing classes and organized sailing must consider adding the ‘fun’ factor back in. This can be done while also being competitive. An Olympic campaign is entirely different! Some sailors who I have spoken to and who have chosen the Olympic path feel that the initial Olympic campaign is your training ground. ILCA Boat Grant Program information: http://www.lightningclass.org/racing/boatGrant/about.asp *From Cory Friedman: The present response to piracy in the Indian Ocean seems to be remarkably ineffective. That would indicate that the present cost of piracy is one the world community is willing to accept and pass on to consumers. Alternatives are obvious. One would be a short, sharp punitive action against the pirates’ shore bases like the raids President Jefferson authorized on the “shores of Tripoli” against the Barbary Pirates in the 19th Century. We seem to have lost sight of the option of hitting hard and leaving, instead of sticking around for an endless quagmire of nation building and hearts and minds winning, which are not necessary. In any event, as one military thinker once noted: “When you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds are sure to follow.” This does not have to be Black Hawk Down Redux. Hit hard, leave, and come back again if they do not get the message the first time. This is about teaching a lesson, not arresting “criminals.” It may not be PC, but neither is piracy. -- Read on at Scuttlebutt Forum: http://tinyurl.com/4zft9sd * From Tony Nunes, Houston, TX (re, Scuttlebutt 3287): I refer to your lead article in Monday's Scuttlebutt about getting North America back on the map and match racing being on the rise. I have one comment that may get me in a lot of trouble with the purists of our sport. My comment is that, except for the start of a match race (which is over very quickly), match racing is very boring for spectators. It is a great challenge for the participants and a lot of fun for the winner, but for spectators, in my view, fleet racing or team racing, is far more interesting. As the article states, I think it is fantastic that there has been a rapid rise in our youth getting involved in match racing, because any increase in involvement by the youth is good for the sport generally. But in my humble view if the goal is to get more of the public involved in our sport and thus attract more young talent, match racing is hardly likely to be the future of our sport. But I could be wrong and I invite comments. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Confusion creates jobs. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Team One Newport - Doyle Sails - IYRS - North U - LaserPerformance North Sails - Melges Performance Sailboats - Lewmar Summit Yachts - Ullman Sails - Morris Yachts Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
