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SCUTTLEBUTT 1340 - May 30, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. US OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC PROGRAMS - Fred Hagedorn Ginny Lovell and others have recently highlighted the disparity in funding of our USA Sailors who are campaigning for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the sailors of other countries, most notably the GBR. US Sailing, and its Olympic Sailing Committee, is painfully aware of this disparity, and has teamed up with the US Sailing Foundation to initiate a campaign to raise funds to assist the sailors. These solicitation letters will be going out over the next month and our goal this year is to raise in excess of $250,000. Next year the goal will be to raise $500,000. This is a drop in the bucket compared with the $10,000,000 annual budget of the GBR, but it is a 20% increase for 2003 and a 40% increase over our current dollars for 2004. We don't get government subsidies in the USA, so we must turn to the sailors of the USA and ask for their assistance and commitment to our country's sailors! If you want more information on how to help us raise these funds, please contact Hortensia S. Hacker, Treasurer of the USSF at Hortensia@ussailing.net. We recognize that fundraising is a drain on our athletes, we want to ease that burden as quickly as possible, but we will only be able to do so with the direct support and assistance of the US sailing community. - Fred Hagedorn, Chairman of the US Olympic Sailing Committee Sailors who to support this effort may make a tax-deductible donation online: https://secure.ussailing.org/forms/donate.asp THE AMAZING JONATHAN Jonathan McKee and four of the leaders from the first leg were penalised for missing a mark at the opening stage of the leg north from La Rochelle. "There was bad visibility. It wasn't a turning mark, it was more of a channel mark," commented McKee. While the race committee were threatening to throw out those who had missed in the mark, in the event McKee was given a time penalty of four hours - so he is still the winner of leg one of the Mini Pavois. (On Leg Two, McKee's Team McLube crossed the finish line in the Breton port of Douarnanez early Wednesday morning - three hours ahead of the second placed boat ASNQ of Spanish competitor Pascal Doin.) From here McKee is now en route back home to Seattle to consolidate with his family. He will not be taking part in the Mini Fastnet race but will be back in mid-July to compete in the Open Demi Cle from Locmiquélic to Port Bourgenay and in the final major event of the season prior to the transatlantic race, the Transgascoigne from Port Bourgenay to Gijon and back. - From an in-depth interview with McKee posted on the Daily Sail website. Full interview: http://thedailysail.com/ LAYLINE RECOMMENDS "WARMING UP" HALYARDS BEFORE RACING In any form of racing, having your gear in "racing trim" before the start is key. Before competing, athletes warm-up/stretch, race cars "scuff" their tires, and Layline recommends that sailors "dock load" their halyards every day before hitting the racecourse. If you've had a chance to study our line elongation graphs, you should have an appreciation for how modern lines perform and understand the benefits of pre-loading your halyards before hoisting your sails. Pre-stress your lines at the dock so they don't stretch while you're racing. Check out the details at http://www.layline.com/llf/articles/art_halyards_best_practices.htm SWEDISH MATCH TOUR Split, Croatia - It was another day, or afternoon at least, of frustration on the waters off the ACI Marina in Split, Croatia, for day three of the Swedish Match Tour's ACI HTmobile Cup. With a northeasterly breeze blowing off the land early this morning, the racing got underway at 9:30am local time with the final flights from round robin one taking place in a solid breeze that fluctuated from 15 to 25 knots. Progress was made through to the final race in the second flight of round robin two. This was abandoned when the wind died completely. With no breeze on the race course coinciding with lunchtime, the boats returned to ACI Marina only to leave again mid-afternoon to await a sea breeze that only partially materialized. A cheer went up from local spectators when in the first flight of the second round robin local Split sailor Frane Brate managed to dispatch Swedish Match Tour leader Jes Gram-Hansen of Denmark. This is Brate's only win in the competition to date. Losing to the novice Croatian was just one of a catalogue of disasters for Jes Gram-Hansen, the present Swedish Match Tour leader, who today dropped matches to Paolo Cian - the Mascalzone Latino America's Cup team skipper also not on form - and to fellow Swede Mattias Rahm. Gram-Hansen is now lying eighth in the overall results after three days of racing. Meanwhile Chris Law staged a come back with his band of Outlaws, who aside from Law comprise tactician Dobbs Davis and three local sailors, Ante Vanjaka, Ivan Kljakovic-Gaspic and Darko Supuk. Law today beat Magnus Holmberg, Allan Coutts and Paolo Cian, only losing to James Spithill. - Shawn McBride, www.swedishmatchtour.com. Leaderboard: James Spithill, 10-3 Karol Jablonski, 9-2 Magnus Holmberg, 8-4 Jesper Radich, 8-4 Chris Law, 7-5 Mattias Rahm, 6-6 Jes Gram-Hansen, 5-7 Paolo Cian, 5-7 Johnie Berntsson, 4-8 Allan Coutts, 3-9 Frane Brate, 1-11 SANTA MARIA CUP Annapolis, MD - Day Two of the BoatU.S. Santa Maria Cup Grade 1 international women's match racing regatta brought light, fickle breeze and produced only two more flights in the first round-robin series of a double round-robin planned for the event, bringing the total flights sailed in the first two days to eight of a planned 18 sailed out of Eastport Yacht Club in J/22 sloops. Californian Liz Baylis, reigning Women's World Match Racing Champion, remains undefeated after another pair of victories today. Sailing with Baylis on Team San Francisco are fellow Californians Aimee Hess and Karina Shelton, and Annapolitan Nancy Haberland. Baylis' victory this afternoon over 17-year-old Italian Olympic hopeful Giulia Conti, while Netherlander Klaartje Zuiderbaan posted wins in both of her contests today, brought Zuiderbaan into second place in the series and dropped Conti to third. Racing will continue through Saturday. www.santamariacup.org Leaderboard: Liz Baylis, 8-0 Klaartje Zuiderbaan, 6-2 Giulia Conti, 5-3 Betsy Alison, 4-4 Paula Lewin, 4-4 Malin Kallstrom, 4 wins, 4 losses, ½-point penalty Marie Faure, 3-5 Carol Cronin, 3-5 Deborah Willits, 3-5 Arabella Denvir, 0-8 NEWS BRIEFS * Howie Hamlin and Peter Alarie teamed up to win the 505 Pacific Coast Championships hosted by Mission Bay Yacht Club, but with only three firsts it was no blow-out. The trophy was up for grabs until the last race. The first two days saw generally light air but the wind finally picked up on Day 3 to allow trapezing and planing upwind and downwind for the last two races. Doug Hagan and Stuart Park finished the regatta in second place, seven points back, with Doug Hagan and Stuart Park taking third. - www.sandiego505.com * 'Fighting Finish', the official story of the Volvo Ocean Race, has been voted Best Sports Book of 2002 at the Independent Publisher Book Awards in America. This is an annual competition dedicated to recognising and honouring books published by presses not owned by publicly traded corporations, ranging in size from small publishers to major university presses. Nine hundred and fifty two publishers entered more than 1,500 titles in 52 categories in this year's Independent Publisher Book Awards. - www.volvooceanrace.org * The last Around Alone boat is almost home. Strong headwinds have been impeding the progress of the Spirit of Canada across the Gulf Stream. However, there now less than 200 miles to go and Canadian skipper Derek Hatfield he is reaching in Southwesterlies on a bee line to the finish line Newport. - http://www.aroundalone.com * Here's your chance to race Dean Barker and Ellen MacArthur. The Manhattan Sailing Club is making available 20 identical J/24s (is that an oxymoron?) for a charity event - the Omega Fantasy Regatta - to support a program designed inspire kids, get them outdoors, show them the best of Manhattan. For a donation of $1,000 or more you can bring your crew and test your skills against these champions. For a copy of a PowerPoint presentation which provides more details and an entry form, contact Michael Fortenbaugh, mike@myc.org * Pindar, a leading British-based international print and electronic media company, has purchased Graham Dalton's Open 60, Hexagon, to continue its sponsorship with Emma Richards. Richards who has just completed an Around Alone 2002 - 2003 campaign, and who has been sponsored Pindar for the past four years, will now have the opportunity to compete at the front of the fleet in a selection of high profile short-handed and crewed offshore races. - Yachting World http://www.yachting-world.com/yw/home.htm * New Zealand's newly-formed Mana Youth Sailing Trust hopes to unearth the next big name in America's Cup yachting after being gifted Team New Zealand's four Etchells. The former America's Cup holders sailed the 9.2m (30ft) boats in a series of regional regattas to boost public support and for in-house match-racing and rules sessions before this year's doomed defence on the Hauraki Gulf. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/0,2106,2504987a6033,00.html * Don't miss Roger Vaughan's story on Olin Stephens in the June issue of Sail magazine now finding its way onto the news stands. NEO-WEAR Looking for the latest Matrix sailing gear? Look no further, you won't find it here. But, what you will find is Gul Marine's neoprene gear. Gul is the oldest and largest wetsuit maker in Europe. With over thirty years of design and manufacturing experience, Gul makes neoprene gear suited to fit the specific ergonomic needs of sailors. From Dinghy shorties, to battened hiking pants, to neoprene knee pads, it's the gear you need to be cooler than Keanu. So where can you get Gul? Annapolis Performance Sailing, your source for all your performance sailing needs. Check Gul out: http://www.apsltd.com/scuttlebutt.asp PLANNING SESSION On the weekend of June 7-8, representatives from the nine Swedish Match Tour events, potential future events and other leading ISAF Grade 1 match racing events, will meet for the Swedish Match Tour's and Match Racing Association's Annual General Meetings at Match Race Germany in Langenargen, Germany, on the shores of Lake Constance. The Saturday session will include discussions about the issues affecting organizers of match race events and the growth and future of the Swedish Match Tour. Additionally, the Swedish Match Tour will finalize its event schedule for the 2003/2004 season and discuss plans for the new Swedish Match Tour fleet. On Sunday, June 8, the Match Racing Association will hold their own meetings with the election of directors and officers for the coming year. In addition, each event in attendance will be offering presentations and updates. All ISAF Grade 1 & 2 match racing events, as well as anyone interested in learning about the match racing scene, are invited to attend the meeting. For more information, contact Melissa Duhaime, Swedish Match Tour Manager at +1 203 352 5225 or shawn.mcbride@octagon.com STERN SCOOP Knowledgeable insiders insist that the Harvard educated Aga Khan, who has an elegant residence on Lake Geneva, is about to make the committee responsible for designating the next America's Cup venue "an offer they can't refuse" to host the event in Sardinia. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Bill Caldwell: Add my applause to the efforts of the two Great American II adventurers to put anything worthwhile into the heads of the Nation's schoolchildren. In my 80 years, I've watched readin' and writin' and 'rithmatic go down the toilet along with schoolroom discipline, prayer and family values. My 45 years of sailing my 16 foot scow on the local mud hole leaves my imagination far short of the excitement that 72 days of blue water sailing must have put in the minds of those lucky school kids. I just hope their teachers stayed awake. * From John Rumsey: It was a great adventure but I would hardly rate the Great American sailing time from Hong Kong a record relating to the Sea Witch voyage. They forgot the 400 tons of tea. * From Richard Johnson: In 'Butt 1339, US Sailing's Bruce Eissner stated, "Americap is growing…" Huh? If there are any yacht clubs left that routinely offer an Americap class in their regular weekend or week night regatta schedules, I'd be very interested in learning where those lonely holdouts are located. It's truly time for US Sailing to unplug the Americap 'life support system,' and let it die peacefully. * From Zane Murdoch: Regarding US (North American) performance in the Olympic classes... Money is important, sure, especially at top levels, but in developing the rank and file to a very high level the Brits have an important advantage. In many dinghy classes in Great Britain sailors can go to a different regatta every weekend a short way from home (relative to N.A. distances!) and compete against a very good field. Their weekend sailor can rise a lot farther a lot faster than those of us in many parts of this continent that have to drive a day or days to reach the competition. Density and numbers, not just money, is the issue. The result: an overall stronger small-boat sailing culture. * From Charles Allen: The British RYA that several of your correspondents wish US Sailing would emulate also represents powerboaters, windsurfers and users of personal watercraft (jetskis). The RYA provides a world class training system for all these groups and yes, publishes excellent books and videos. The only shame is that just a small proportion of water users take advantage of the Association and become members. * From Murphy Graham:I thought it was pretty impressive that the American women listed in Scuttlebutt accounted for 20% of the top 20 in the latest ISAF match racing rankings. And that number increases to 25% when you count all of the Americans - Debby Willits (#12) was inadvertently left off your list. * From Richard Jepsen: I have read many provocative letters from Peter Huston. From those I have gained respect for him as someone who tackles issues without an axe to grind. As regards the powerboat book, what seems crystal clear to him is not clear to me . Many racing sailors who volunteer their time at US Sailing believe it has helped fulfill US Sailing's commitment to the sport in this country. Training is a national priority for the health of the sport. B y comparison to many sailing organizations around the world, US Sailing has a smaller, younger effort. I t is much more robust than in its infancy 20 years ago. Training's positive impact on youth and adult sailing in the US has been matched by its contribution to US Sailing's economic health. A Powerboat Training book appearing out of nowhere might raise the hackles of many a sailor. But its creation is rooted in safe sailing events. We must improve power boat safety and boat handling skills of race support personnel and those in safety and rescue boats. US Sailing did that with this program, a natural extension of which included texts. And, those texts found a market and provided US Sailing with more revenue to support its budget. Powerboats are a necessary part of sailboat racing and training. Having them operated safely is a US Sailing priority. * From Jim Lyle: As a graduate of US Sailing's Small Powerboat Training class, I have to comment on Peter Huston's letter in 'butt 1338. Perhaps Mr. Huston has failed to notice the number of powerboats required to run a regatta or to teach our kids how to sail. The powerboat class specifically focuses on training sailing coaches, race committees, and rescue boat operators. While basic boat handling is covered, so is rescue, towing techniques, safety considerations, and many other topics required to operate a powerboat in support of sailing events. By providing the course, US Sailing enables clubs and sailing organizations a means to objectively certify, in a sailing context, their powerboat operators. This is especially important when powerboats are used to support junior sailors. By publishing this information US Sailing is beginning to share best practices and standardized procedures which are essential to future improvement. This is one effort on the part of US Sailing that deserves kudos and encouragement. * From Larry Law (re Powerboat training): It may come as a shock to some, but I suggest that re-inventing the wheel again (we humans are real good at this) is not necessary here. Contact your local Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary, they have small boat training courses and materials (and big boat courses as well) perfect for instructors and others - especially for the guy that plunks down the cash, buys the boat, the gas and hits the throttle. Look out! My suggestion is that US Sailing call the Coast Guard, thank them for handling this and then include the Coast Guard contact information for these courses in the US Sailing information material under "Powerboats - See Coast Guard". It's called networking. It makes for better utilization of resources. Then maybe the Coast Guard will return the favor and list US Sailing as a contact for folks that want to help develop youth and Olympic sailing. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. |
