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SCUTTLEBUTT 3683 - Tuesday, September 25, 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: North Sails, Gowrie Group, and Soft Deck. ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY The date, 25 September 1983, remains vivid in the memories of Australians who watched - perched on the edge of their sofas, thrusting into the air punches of elation - as Australia II crossed the America's Cup finishing line at Newport, USA. It was one of those events where you can remember what you were doing at the precise moment they saw or heard the good news. And, it moved then Prime Minister Bob Hawke enough to famously declare: "Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum." Australians love the water, but yachting is not a spectator sport for the masses. Why then, did the win have such an enormous impact? John Bertrand, skipper of Australia II and now chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, says the many superb performances by Australians - notably Cathy Freeman's gold medal sprint in the Sydney Olympics and Kieran Perkins' win from lane 8 at the Atlanta Olympics - make it difficult to choose the ultimate achievement in Australian sporting history. "We broke 132 years of American domination in winning the America's Cup - we're proud of that!" says John. It was a glow that was shared by many in the country, and more people chose to become naturalised Australians shortly after the win, than ever before or since. John says; "People felt part of this country for the first time. Certainly there was a great injection of both pride and confidence into the country." What about the controversy surrounding the secret weapon that gave the Australian yacht its advantage over its American competitor - the upside down, winged keel? There has been a perennial argument over whether Australia II should have been disqualified because the rules specified that competing yachts had to be designed by residents or citizens of the country they represented. The Americans alleged, but couldn't prove, the boat was not Australian-designed. Then, in 2009, Dutch boat designer Peter van Oossanen claimed Australian II designer, Ben Lexcen, had minimal involvement in the keel's design, and a Dutch team were the true designers. John claims it's a technicality. "Success has many fathers; failure has none," he says. "To win the Cup required a great deal of work by many people, but in terms of any controversy, the key was [that] Ben Lexcen was the chief designer. So under the rules, Australia II was totally legal. Of course, the America's Cup rules now don't even consider nationality." Today, Australia II calls home the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle. Source: Australian Geographic, http://tinyurl.com/AG-092412 NORTH-POWERED BOATS FINISH 1-7 AT ROLEX FARR 40 WORLDS! Congratulations to Helmet Jahn and crew on 'Flash Gordon 6' for winning the Farr 40 Worlds in Chicago last week! Never finishing worse than 7th in the nine race series, Jahn and his crew won the World Championship by an impressive 10 points! North-powered boats finished 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9: (1-Flash Gordon; 2-Enfant Terrible; 3-Transfusion; 4-Struntje Light; 5-Groovederci*; 6-PLENTY; 7-Nightshift*; 9-Kokomo). When performance counts, the choice is clear: http://na.northsails.com (*-partial inventory) TURNING THE TIDE In a bid to get back on top of their AC45 game, Emirates Team New Zealand have called on a San Franciscan to educate them. Dean Barker's crew "failed to spark" in the last event of the America's Cup World Series on San Francisco Bay, finishing seventh in fleet racing and fourth in match racing. So they've gone to Dee Smith, rated by many as one of the world's top tacticians, to clue them up on the nuances of the bay before the next ACWS event on October 3. "We plan to focus on understanding of the venue, the tidal current and the breeze, and the tactical situations that arise," Barker says. Veteran Smith has almost 50 years of racing experience, and was in the afterguard of America True in the 2000 America's Cup in Auckland, and worked with the South African challenge Team Shosholoza in the 2007 Cup in Valencia. Barker's crew are heading to San Francisco early to be better prepared for the regatta than they were for last month's event, when their focus had been on sailing their new AC72. "This regatta is as much about doing well in the event as it is about understanding the conditions here for next year's Louis Vuitton Cup. This is our last opportunity to sail on the course before then," Barker says -- Read on: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/boating/7722597/Dee-Smith-joins-ETNZ ALOHA: Oracle Team USA is moving ahead with its plans to use the only commercial harbor on Lanai as a temporary winter base of its operations, according to a draft environmental assessment filed with the state of Hawaii. Oracle Team USA has applied for several permits, including a Special Management Area Use permit, with the Hawaii Department of Transportation to set up operations at Kamalapau Harbor on Lanai from December through March. The harbor is primarily used by Young Brothers Ltd. for its weekly barge service. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/HI-092412 SPONSOR PROBLEMS Picture for a moment, you are in charge of a college sailing team. You want to build your program... raise money, maintain equipment, attract top sailors. Schools have learned that being a National Championship host can accomplish all three goals. So you submit your bid to the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) to host the Spring Nationals, which is comprised of three doublehanded events: Womens, Team Racing, and Coed. You are exceedingly qualified, but were unaware that you must provide boats from a specific manufacturer. You had other plans. Your bid is rejected. The manufacturer in question is LaserPerformance (LP), a long-time sponsor of ICSA, and the terms of a recently revised sponsorship agreement are now being learned. In the past, the host of the Nationals received funds to help run the event if LP boats were used. The Nationals host could choose to use non-LP boats; they just would not receive the financial support. However, the revised agreement between LP and ICSA, which was drafted over the summer and goes into effect for the 2012-13 season, has removed this option clause, requiring college programs to make a choice. Either they buy LP boats, which are the most expensive option, and become eligible to host the Nationals. Or they buy their boats from another manufacturer, saving money but eliminating the school from being a Nationals host. Correspondence on this issue was buzzing on the ICSA email list over the weekend. ICSA President Mitch Brindley defends the decision to revise the sponsorship agreement, noting that it provides a vital partner with needed exclusivity. But others question whether ICSA has overstepped their authority in revising the agreement, and that the revised terms are no longer in the best interest of ICSA member schools. Clearly, there are some communication issues within ICSA, not helped by their website which is in desperate need of attention. Commentary from MIT Sailing Master Franny Charles and Tufts Coach Ken Legler, along with the minutes from the Annual Meeting in May, can be read here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14539 BERMUDIAN MIXER The Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup in Hamilton, Bermuda will bring 16 international guest skippers - 13 are national champions - to compete against Bermuda's top Opti sailors in what is truly a championship of champion's event that showcases the world's best young sailing talent. Now celebrating its 10th year, this coveted regatta (Oct. 4-7) not only introduces Bermuda sailors to the world's top young Optimist dinghy competitors, but it also gives young locals a chance to demonstrate their maturity both as equal competitors on the water and gracious hosts off the water. The essence of the Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup is much more than three days of grueling racing on the Great Sound. It is on shore, too. There, the young sailors bond as lifelong friends while also gaining professional experience. They speak at a press conference, they sail the fourth and final day on Hamilton Harbour in front of a capacity crowd, they get advice from top coaches from the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and they meet their sailing heroes who are simultaneously racing in the Alpari World Match Racing Tour's penultimate event - the Argo Group Gold Cup. Additionally, the final race in the Renaissance Re Junior Gold Cup sailed on the finals Sunday is always sailed close to shore in Hamilton Harbour. This is a spectator showcase for these young sailors. This year, to accommodate a live TV broadcast of the Argo Group Gold Cup, the Junior Gold Cup will be sailed just prior to the 'senior' Gold Cup finals, so the huge spectator fleet and crowds on shore really add to the excitement. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14538 MY YACHT INSURANCE IS FINE... I THINK? Most boaters don't really know the terms and conditions of their insurance coverage, until it's too late. The boat insurance landscape is changing: premiums change, carriers change, boat values change. You are changing: your boat usage changes, your thresholds change, your assets change, your lifestyle evolves. Act Now! Get boat insurance that's in sync with how you live today. Request a quote online from Gowrie Group, the leading marine insurance experts, at or 800.262.8911 or http://www.gowrie.com/yachtquote (code: Scuttlebutt) THINK OF IT AS ANTICIPATION TRAINING By Kristen Berry, J World Annapolis The other day I was daydreaming about sailing in some far off place and I got to asking myself "Why does sailing occupy so much of my thought space?" I concluded that it has a lot to do with the fact that I can actually sail in my mind at any time. The time spent on the boat is just the execution of what I have already anticipated in my mind. I spend an awful lot of time anticipating my sailing. While most sports require their players to anticipate, sailing requires the most anticipation of them all. Whether you are a racer or a cruiser, sailing well requires you to "play" in the future. To sail well, sailors have to ask and answer questions like: "Will the wind shift left or right?" or "What will the current be like when we go through the canal tomorrow?" The better you get, the farther you can look ahead and the more prepared you are to capitalize on strategic advantages or avoid clear pitfalls. On the racecourse, successful anticipators know not only what the wind will do next, but what they'll do when they get to it. Long before you yell "starboard!," the anticipating racer knows whether she'll tack, duck or cross. The smartest cruisers are no different. They head toward shifts, seek pressure and watch the current just like racers do, and those who can anticipate will take advantage of those environmental opportunities. Anticipating also gives you a chance to check just how good you are. If what you thought would happen does not, you have a great learning opportunity. Simply asking yourself what you failed to include in your thought process and how can you better anticipate in the future will make you a better sailor. Maybe the best part of all is that you now have a very good excuse for spending a little more time thinking about your sailing. Just think of it as "anticipation training." -- http://tinyurl.com/AAS-092412 MATCH RACING DOESN'T CARE WHAT BATHROOM YOU USE By Dave Perry, Chairman, US Sailing Match Racing Committee I want to first congratulate Taylor Canfield and his team of Stephanie Roble, Maggie Shea and Janel Zarkowsky for winning the 2012 U.S. Match Racing Championship this past week. I also want to point out that of the eight sailors in the Finals, sailed in Sonars with four in each boat, five of the sailors were women. Debbie Capozzi and Becca Dellenbaugh were sailing with the other finalist David Dellenbaugh. And many of those women are excellent match racing skippers themselves. Having been an integral part of the U.S. program over the last three years in preparation for the 2012 Olympic women's match racing event, I am often asked what I think will happen to "women's match racing" now that the event has been removed from the 2016 Games. My answer is that match racing can be done by men and women, boys and girls; there is no need to segregate the sailors by gender to play the game. When there was an Olympic event for women's match racing, it was natural to have events for those women on that Olympic path. And I understand the value in having women's-only events, where the sailors can gain experience and confidence, and there are many excellent women's events in the U.S. But the bottom line is that people who are good sailors and enjoy close boat-to-boat tactics will enjoy and excel in match racing, regardless of their gender. They just need to get into situations where they can learn the moves, and then start going to events and getting better. There are opportunities around the U.S. for sailors to learn about and try match racing at a level appropriate to their experience. Match Racing is now used for the Collegiate Sloop National Championship and the Team Racing Nationals are coed. A site listing over 25 clubs and centers actively running match racing in North America, as well as links to the US and ISAF match racing calendars and much more information on match racing, including a free instructional DVD called Welcome to Match Racing, is at: http://racing.ussailing.org/Match_Racing/Match_Racing_Resources.htm SAILING SHORTS * The World Sailing Speed Record Council has ratified a new 24 hour Singlehanded world record. Francis Joyon (FRA), onboard the 95-foot trimaran IDEC, covered a distance of 666.2 nm on July 30-31, 2012 - an average speed of 27.75 knots. The previous record of 628.5 nm was set in 2008 by Thomas Coville (FRA) onboard the 105-foot trimaran Sodebo. -- http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/ * Fifty entries enjoyed favorable winds at the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta San Francisco (Sept. 22-23). Local J/105 skipper J/Scooter Simmons from San Francisco Yacht Club and crew were deemed the overall event winner, earning an invitation to participate in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship Regatta in the British Virgin Islands. This season-ending event aboard Sunsail 44i's brings together all the overall winners in the 2012 NOOD series. -- Results: http://tinyurl.com/SW-092412 * The Audi Azzurra Sailing Team won the Audi Valencia Cup, the final event of the 52 Super Series, earning them the overall season title. The 52 Super Series, which has superseded the defunct MedCup, concluded its inaugural season with three different boats winning regattas, Quantum Racing, Ran and Audi Azzurra Sailing Team. The programme for next season's 52 Super Series is already in place, starting in January in Key West. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/52SS-092412 * The 2012 Tornado World Championships (Sept. 15-22) on Lake Garda, Italy was won by the Greek team of Iordanis Paschalidis and Kostas Trigonis, who won 6 of the 8 races in the 40 boat fleet. Roland and Nahid Gaebler (GER) took the Mixed crown and came second overall. -- Results: http://www.tornadochampionships.com/2012-world-championships-final-results/ * Marseille, France (September 24, 2012) - The world's top match racers are in town for Match Race France this week, the sixth stage of the nine-event Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT). Competing in the J/80, today's practice session was cancelled due to strong wind. Qualifying begins Tuesday. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/WMRT-092412 * The agendas, supporting papers and submissions which will be discussed at the 2012 ISAF Annual Conference in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland this November have been published online on the ISAF Meetings microsite. The 2012 ISAF Annual Conference takes place from 1-11 November 2012 and will bring together the ISAF Council, Committees and Commissions along with other leading figures from the sailing world to debate, discuss and decide upon the key issues in the sailing world. -- Read on: http://www.sailing.org/news/32513.php * Nine teams competed at the FT 10 North American Championship, hosted by Coronado Yacht Club in Coronado, CA on September 21-23, 2012. Two teams, led by John Harrop on Justice and Eric Schlageter on Ruckus, built a significant lead on the fleet, with Harrop winning the final race to take the title by a point over Schlageter. Phillip Infelise on Mile High Klub finished third. -- Results: http://www.regattanetwork.com/event/5836#_newsroom+results SOFT DECK Soft Deck's non skid is easy to install, and provides amazing traction wet or dry. Our soft, barefoot friendly material with a peel and stick backing can be installed over existing nonskid in minutes, and won't tear up your knees or elbows. More information at http://www.Soft-Deck.com 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 Scott Peters: What's up with these Asian teams that decided to enter the 34th America's Cup? First it was the China Team and its revolving door of team members. Now it's the Korean team that's on its third helm in less than a year. This is what happens when teams enter the America's Cup for the wrong reasons. Attention people, the America's Cup is not intended to be a platform to sustain professional sailors, nor is it intended as a marketing vehicle to promote pet projects. It is a sailing competition of the very highest order, and it should only attract syndicates that hold first and foremost the goal of winning. With the likelihood now of only three teams competing in the Louis Vuitton Cup, it is hard to imagine that this meager fleet can build interest for the America's Cup Match next year. After the two month challenger series, during which time it seems all too likely that one of the three teams will be derailed due to damage, I can only think of one word to describe the vision for AC34: Failure. Memo to the group organizing AC35 - try under promising and over delivering. You will always receive criticism, but don't ask for it. SELLING. BUYING. HIRING. The Scuttlebutt website provides a marketplace for private parties to buy and sell, or for businesses to post job openings. For free. As a bonus, each week the Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent ad postings. Have an ad? Post it in the Classified Ad section of the Forum. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Young at heart, slightly older in other places. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Summit Yachts - Doyle Sails - North Sails - Gowrie Group Soft Deck - Team One Newport - Harken - Pure Yachting Camet - Ullman Sails - Henri Lloyd - Hall Spars & Rigging Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
