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SCUTTLEBUTT 3226 - Tuesday, November 23, 2010Scuttlebutt 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: North Sails, APS, and Atlantis WeatherGear. BROADENING THE SCOPE OF JUNIOR PROGRAMS Before Nevin Sayre was a five-time U.S. National Windsurfing Champion, he was a four time college sailing All-American. Sayre not only understands the competitive side of sailing, he understands that competition isn't what sailing is all about. So it is no shock to him that the sport in the U.S. is struggling to turn youth sailors into life sailors, because the focus in most junior programs is to turn youth sailors into youth racers. From his position with BIC Sports, Nevin provides his observations in the second half of this two part series: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sailing could learn a lot from the history of the snow industry. There was a time when archaic long skis were strapped on to a kid's boots and he/she was shown primarily one option. If they made it through basic training, most kids were introduced to gates and racing was the one game to play. Snow sports at that time were on the fringe. Then came a revolutionary new era in the mountain industry, inspired by snowboarding, technology, innovation, and new materials. A combination of modern equipment, new formats, and style made snow sports (boarding and modern skiing alike) attractive to kids. The gear and culture was COOL and junior programs started to offer new alternatives for free riding, freestyle, etc for the kids who weren't inspired by the same one format their parents were weaned on. And you know what? There was still probably the same number of racers, but snow sports became attractive to "other kids", and participation numbers went through the roof! Would the explosion of snow sports have happened if kids were introduced to skiing with gear from 50 years ago and racing gates was the only focus of every junior program? So why is sailing so popular in, say, a country like France? One of the reasons has got to be that kids in France are as likely to learn to sail on a windsurfer or multihull or skiff as they are in an old school dinghy. Kids are given modern gear and can choose alternative formats that they find attractive. More kids become passionate about sailing. The U.S. has been particularly slow in changing its one-dimensional thinking, but it is encouraging to see more junior programs are finding new alternatives that strike a chord with the "other kids". More and more programs now offer windsurfing and recreational "Reachers" programs with low emphasis on race results and a stronger focus on sailing a variety of different modern boats. Instead of going around buoys until the kids are dizzy, on a given day they might borrow a big boat, try windsurfing, practice freestyle sailing, or "adventure sail" to a different harbor for ice cream. They are getting a wide range of valuable sailing skills, and, like at the mountain, the experience is more about hanging with their buds - doing the sport with each other and not always against each other. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/1113/#p2 WORLD TITLE TO BE DECIDED IN MALAYSIA With five skippers still in with a chance of winning the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) as the series heads for the final event of the season at the Monsoon Cup in Maylasia (Nov. 30-Dec. 5), WMRT has drawn comparisons to the recent grandstand finish in Formula 1 which saw four drivers go into the final Grand Prix of the year with a shot at winning the title. (or NASCAR on Sunday that had three drivers vying for the season championship) Matthieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team will go into the final event of the year with a 15 point lead over defending Champion Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing while Ben Ainslie (GBR) TEAMORIGIN is just two points further back. Australia's Torvar Mirsky, Mirsky Racing Team and two-time World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar are also still in with an outside chance. Sailing pundit Mark Chisnell, who has watched the action unfold throughout the season, has called into question championship leader Matthieu Richard's preparation saying: "I was interested to see that he's chosen to race in Perth just before the Monsoon Cup. Mathieu is very methodical in his preparation, and I'm sure he's got a plan, but this year his worst results have come in events that followed closely one after another - not a particularly good omen for him." While Chisnell believes the race is too close to call between Richard, Minoprio and Ainslie, he has all but written off the chances of Williams and Mirsky adding, "Even if I was a betting man, I wouldn't put a pound on it, it's just too close. I'd only say that it will be Richard, Minoprio or Ainslie - too much has to go the way of Mirsky or Williams for them to come from behind and take it. But after that, it's wide open." Chisnell has also warned of the impact the rest of the field will have in deciding the outcome. With all the skippers having to take part in the Qualifying Round Robin to win their place in the knock out stages no-one is guaranteed a place in the final. Alluding to the importance of the rest of the teams, Chisnell said, "They could have a huge impact - last year, it was decided when Peter Gilmour beat Torvar Mirsky in the quarter-finals. Gilly couldn't overhaul Minoprio to win it by then, but instead, he stopped the man who could." With so many permutations and possible final results still to be decided, the following table gives a simple overview of who needs to do what to become the new ISAF Match Racing World Champion: http://tinyurl.com/WMRT-112210 NOW'S THE TIME TO WASH & INSPECT YOUR SAILS...! With the winter months upon us, now is a great time to take your sail into your local North Sails loft to have it washed and inspected before you store it until next season. North Sails' certified sail care experts recommend washing sails at least once per year to ensure maximum sail life. Instead of tumble washing, we will soak your sail in a proprietary solution giving you a cleaner, longer-lasting sail. For additional sail care tips and to find the North Sails sail care location closest to you, log on to: http://www.na.northsails.com/tabid/1929/Default.aspx "IT'S NEVER LIKE THIS" SYNDROME For the eight Olympic classes competing last week at the Perth International Regatta in Australia, the event was to provide a preview of the 2011 ISAF Combined World Championship to be held at the venue in a year's time. Given that the event will also be widely used by countries to finalize their Olympic team selections for the 2012 Games, the importance was not lost on the U.S. team of Erik Storck and Trevor Moore, who are climbing the learning curve of their first campaign. Unfortunately, the "it's never like this" syndrome plagued the event. Here are Erik's comments: "We made the trip down under purely to be better prepared for the ISAF Worlds to be held here in 12 months' time. We are very glad we have, though not necessarily for the reason we thought. Though Fremantle is world-renowned for its reliable sea breeze, we have in fact only had two races over the last three days due to a lack of breeze. It has been invaluable to be on the different racecourses in both the morning and afternoon breezes. This place can serve up a multitude of scenarios, and we have already seen a plethora of them. "All of the racecourses are very close to shore in order to cater to spectators. The wind is liable to do strange things when running up against a shoreline, whether it is an onshore or offshore wind. We are confident in having learned some of the nuances of each of the courses and their local effects. It was great to have Doug Charko, USSTAG meteorologist on the water with our coach, Rigo de Nijs. There seem to be some very fundamental strategies in a given direction and course location, and we will continue to experiment with those in our next two weeks of training here." The Olympic trail will now take all the teams to Sail Melbourne 2010 in Melbourne, Australia (Dec. 12-18), the first the first regatta of the seven event 2010-2011 ISAF Sailing World Cup series. Erik Storck/ Trevor Moore: http://storckmooresailing.com Perth International Regatta: http://www.perth2011.com Sail Melbourne 2010: http://sailmelbourne.com.au FINAL FOUR TO BE DECIDED ON TUESDAY Dubai, UAE (November 22, 2010) - Two come-from-behind victories boosted the fortunes of Italy's Mascalzone Latino Audi today at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai. With wins over Sweden's Artemis Racing and Synergy Russian Sailing team, their performance today lifted Mascalzone Latino Audi, the challenger of record for the next America's Cup, from a distant fifth-equal place to third. "We'd done the math and we knew we had to win those two races today to keep control of our own destiny," Brady said. "We had a race where we led comfortably and one where we had to come from behind. BMW Oracle Racing clinched the top spot in the double round robin of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai with a victory today over Emirates Team New Zealand, whose chances of a victory plummeted when a messy takedown saw them flying their spinnaker like a giant out-of-control flag from the top of their mast before they were able to cut it free. Four matches tomorrow (Tuesday) will wrap up the round robin and confirm the four semi-finalists. BMW Oracle Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand and Mascalzone Latino are all poised to go through to the semis but, with all races counting for two points and the possibility two penalty point deductions for infractions or collisions, nothing is certain. Provisional Results after Day Three of RR2 (Team, Country, Helm, Tactician) 1. BMW Oracle Racing (USA), James Spithill/John Kostecki, 12-2, 15 pt 2. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker/Ray Davies, 7-6, 8.5 pt* 3. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (ITA), Gavin Brady/Morgan Larson, 6-8, 8 pt* 4. ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), Sebastien Col/John Cutler, 5-8, 6 pt 4. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS),Francesco Bruni/Rod Dawson, 6-8, 6 pt* 6. Artemis (SWE), Cameron Appleton/Iain Percy, 5-9, 5 pt * Scoring penalty assessed by the umpires LIVE COVERAGE: ESPN3, the online member of the ESPN sports network, will be airing live the final three days (November 25-27) of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai. Show time on the website is listed at 3:30 am ET. - http://espn.go.com/espn3/ BACKGROUND: The Louis Vuitton Trophy series was designed to be a cost-effective format for match racing competition in Version 5 America's Cup Class boats. Racing will continue to the November 27th. The event website will have live streaming coverage with VirtualEye for the entire regatta, with video highlights after racing. Look for enhanced live coverage of the final days of racing. Event website: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/ UN-AMERICAN TO DIET ON THANKSGIVING? By Sam Rogers, professional sailor As we approach the most gluttonous day of the American calendar year, most true patriots will be priming their stomachs for a mass amount of Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cheesy mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, yams, green-bean casserole, fresh baked rolls, gravy, pudding, apple pie, french silk pie, gravy, pumpkin pie and many more traditional family favorites, like gravy. For Melges 32 sailors preparing for the Gold Cup, which begins one week after our nations hearty holiday, they are faced with a weigh-in that will require a more modest serving of the tasty treats our Pilgrim friends brought to Plymouth Rock. While there is a constant debate over the nature of weigh-ins, their effectiveness, and whether or not to do away with them, the only concern I have is that it might be highly Un-American to partake in a crash diet over Thanksgiving; is this any way to pay respects to the people who invented the Cornucopia? While the idea of an actual weigh in is not the problem, where to set the limit and how often to perform checks is. Most often, there is a limit set by the class in conjunction with the builder that helps provide safe tolerances for the boat. The weigh-in usually only takes place at the beginning of the event, and with the goal of the team to be 60-70 lbs over while racing, every team member is given a "target weight" which is typically 3-15 lbs below their normal weight. This target weight largely depends on their size, and how much the person who is making the targets actually likes them. The day of weigh in, everyone reaches their target through 2-3 weeks of painful dieting and immediately after finds the nearest restaurant that serves tasty comfort food, putting the team highly over the limit. Not only is this unhealthy as most team members often resort to days of starvation and dehydration causing people to faint in some cases, but it also defeats the purpose of having a weight limit as every team is over it while racing. The other option would be to raise the weight limit and require that teams remain under it with spot checks throughout the event. That way teams could then build their crew around this weight, stay under it and feel comfortable knowing they are not 70 lbs less than the boats they are racing against. Of course I might be a little bit biased at the moment since I am in the middle of trying to lose 14 lbs and all I can think about is gravy, but I think this option is much better. -- Read on: http://42marine.com/un-american-to-diet-on-thanksgiving/ => Curmudgeon's Comment: Actually, I have two comments. While it may depend on the boat, I wonder if raising the crew weight may just push the same situation toward either bigger crew, or more crew, without resolving the dieting. Also, having experienced mid regatta weigh-ins during the 2010 Etchells North Americans, these morning checks also limited the fun at the regatta parties the night before. While the event hosts wanted everyone to have a good time, the weigh in rules got in the way. START TO FINISH Looking for a place to get your holiday shopping done start to finish? With great gifts for sailors like the new Gill Regatta Master II watch, Carbon Money Clips, the new Night Vision LED Cap, or the ever popular Musto Washbags APS, "The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors", is poised to throw you a life ring and save you from holiday shopping hassles. What's more, this year we're offering Free Ground Shipping on qualifying orders! What could be easier? Shopping for your favorite sailor is not only fun and easy at APS but Free Shipping also awaits you. http://bit.ly/gzmcH3 VINCENZO ONORATO RESPONDS TO HIS CRITICS By Pierre Orphanidis, Valencia Sailing editor Vincenzo Onorato, owner of Mascalzone Latino, Challenger of Record of the 34th America's Cup, has been widely criticized for his silence and the, allegedly, inexistent role his team has in shaping the current edition of the pinnacle event of the sport of sailing. Onorato being Italian received the bulk of the criticism in his home country. As a result, he used Italy's main sailing media, FareVela, to reply to his critics. We would like to thank our friend Michele Tognozzi, editor of FareVela, for allowing us to reproduce Onorato's letter. Here's what the owner of the Challenger of Record had to say [Note: the translation of the original text in Italian is mine]: "Dear Michele, I read Fare Vela Online with interest, every day. I have also read the criticism leveled at my club, seen as a sleeping partner of the Defender rather than a Challenger of Record worthy of its name. I partly feel responsible for these opinions as a direct result of our scant communication on the work we are carrying out. Oracle and Mascalzone, and their respective yachts clubs, inherited a disastrous Cup in terms of image, a result of the long and, I point out, legitimate litigation with Bertarelli. Russell and I meet almost every week and our teams are in daily contact. All decisions taken are thoroughly discussed and thought through. It is also true we are going through an international economic environment to say the least disastrous and this is a further incentive to act with utmost care and caution. My silence doesn't mean I'm not doing anything but that we are humbly working, among other things, on carrying water to our mill. I'm Italian and my mill is called Italy, I would like to take to our country a series of events of the next Cup, just like I did last summer in La Maddalena. A Jesuit that taught me in school used to say: Look at the substance of things, not their form. That's what I'm doing. Your faithful and devoted reader, Vincenzo Onorato" Full story: http://tinyurl.com/VS-112210 => Curmudgeon's Comment: The America's Cup is the one event we believe belongs to the sport, and not necessarily the holder of the trophy. But it doesn't work that way, and there is a lot of smoke to clear before we deem the American's vision for this next America's Cup to be better than what the Swiss had planned. The December issue of Seahorse has an article titled 'Rules of Engagement (4)' by Dave Hollom that details how the game is not nearly as equitable as the Americans would like us to believe. Hollom closes his commentary with a famous line attributed to Dennis Conner: "Bet on self-interest... it's always running." SAILING SHORTS * Winner of the 31st and 32nd America's Cup, the Alinghi team will be among the field on the Extreme 40 catamaran circuit in 2011, taking part in an Extreme Sailing Series that will be held over three continents. Alinghi competed in the 2008 Extreme Sailing Series (iShares Cup), with their four-man team led by Ed Baird winning the overall title. -- http://www.alinghi.com/en/racing/x40_series/index.php?idContent=22681 * A Cheboygan, Mich., mariner has been sentenced to 50 months in custody as a result of having been found guilty on charges related to the sinking of a boat and polluting the water, U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade announced Wednesday. Wayne T. Duffiney, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington and ordered to pay $57,308.05 in restitution to the U.S. Coast Guard. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/CG-112210 * Following a successful inaugural year, Bacardi Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) will return to Coconut Grove in Miami, Fla., for its second annual running from March 6-12, 2011. In addition, the organizing committee has announced the creation of Bacardi Newport Sailing Week, which will be held in Newport, R.I., from June 23-26, 2011. Both events will be presented by EFG Bank with Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. reconfirmed as the title sponsor. Featured at the week-long regatta in Miami will be the Star, Viper 640, Melges 20, Melges 24 and J/24. Details here: http://www.miamisailingweek.com/news.html DISCOVER: THE CORPORATE GIFT THEY DON'T ALREADY HAVE Some of the top professional sailors in the world go to "work" wearing Atlantis Grand Prix softshells because they love the way our gear performs and they love the way it looks. When you take care of your partners and employees, give them something that makes a statement about your company - something that reeks of performance, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. Give them real gear designed by real sailors. Visit http://www.AtlantisWeatherGear.com to find a dealer near you or ask your corporate apparel provider to call us at (877) 333-SAIL (7245). Discover Your Atlantis. 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 Brent Boyd, San Diego: Who does the City think will benefit from businesses generating billion dollars of revenue in San Francisco? Has anyone ever heard of taxes? Has anyone thought about the good will and worldwide publicity this will generate? What about the rehabilitation of SF's deteriorating waterfront? The bean counters really never do get it. The AC was a huge boost to San Diego in so many ways; the benefits keep appearing here in San Diego years after the actual event. Wake up and smell the roses; in other words, get your heads out of your asses. If you want to be a world class city - ACT LIKE ONE. * From Bill Canfield, St Thomas: After reading the latest (temporary) decisions by the folks at ISAF on what classes will be sailed in 2016 Olympics, I'm less inclined than ever to believe that sailing will remain in the Olympics as a sport. If they believe that choosing kite boarding and a class that does not even currently exist (women's skiffs) as a way to save sailing I believe the battle is lost. Sometimes the solutions are so simple that they are overlooked. Why not get a fleet of lasers and lasers radials and race them on short college type courses with lots of starts and finishes. That's what people like to see. Your single handed classes are solved. Get a 2nd fleet of Vanguard 15's (or similar two person boats) and have each nation send a male and female team again raced on short courses. In addition each country would send a 2 person match race team and 3 boat team racing team. All the sailing disciplines are covered, You would easily be able to pick out the best sailing nation. Small countries become just as competitive as big countries (that probably kills it right there) and you could film the entire event with a single camera like Curling that certainly gets it share of TV time. I'm sure to get this idea accepted by most countries we might have to throw in a multi hull class. Probably this idea is too sensible for ISAF to consider but it might make a great World Championship after sailing is no longer part of the Olympics with the ideas that are currently putting out there. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The first testicular guard - the "Cup" - was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize their brain is important too. SPONSORS THIS WEEK North U - Ultimate Sailing - Quantum Sails North Sails - APS - Atlantis WeatherGear West Marine - Ullman Sails Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
