SCUTTLEBUTT No. 784 - March 30, 2001

Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome.

THE RACE
Tony Bullimore's Team Legato has found favorable conditions on the last upwind leg to the finish line in The Race, gaining 48 miles on the Polish boat Warta Polpharma overnight. "After tens of thousands of miles between the hulls, the mere few thousand miles remaining to the finish are a case of so near and yet so far," relayed watch leader Paul Larson. "The majority of these miles will be upwind and therefore slow and indirect. In the sleigh-ride conditions down south we could cover the distance to Marseilles in less than a week. We consider this each time we look at the symbol of our boat making its painfully slow progress across the computer-generated map of the North Atlantic.

Larsen provided some insight as what life onboard is like after eighty nine days of racing around the world, "All the jokes have been told, all the stories heard. Twice, if not more. And as far as little surprises springing from the galley, well, the less said the better!" Never mind that supplies on board are being rationed, with a competitor behind them for one of the first times in this round-the-world race, the crew of Team Legato remains motivated.

Roman Paszke and crew aboard Warta Polpharma have been able to point higher in the zig-zag contest to Gibraltar and the finish in Marseille, suggesting that the final days of The Race may close the epic contest with the tightest finish yet. Warta Polpharma is looking to whittle away at the 209 miles separating the two boats. Their current strategy is to gain northward progress as quickly as possible to set up for favorable southwest winds entering the Straits of Gibraltar.

Bullimore has a finish target date of April 7 or 8, depending on how conditions hold. If the wind shifts more to the east, as it did through Wednesday night, Team Legato is poised to make gains, but if the wind shifts to the north it will benefit the Polish boat. - SailNet website.

Full story: http://www.sailnet.com/

Positions on March 30 @ 0230 GMT: Team Legato, 2450.2 nm from finish, Warta Polpharma, 2718.1 nm - http://www.therace.org

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
The ISAF will be Celebrating 100 years of existence in 2007 and will be looking to create various events celebrating Sailing throughout the World. A working party has been formed, chaired by HM King Constantine, to identify the ways by which 100 years of Sailing can be celebrated and to utilise this opportunity in the best interests of the sport. As a guideline, it is proposed that the Celebrations for 2007 be considered in two ways:

á firstly, the achievements which the ISAF Family - Member National Authorities and Classes - and via them the Sailing world should endeavour to attain by 2007, and

á secondly, the actual celebrations which will culminate in a pinnacle event in 2007.

As part of the promotion of the 2007 Centenary, in Mid-2001 ISAF will launch a Centenary Logo design competition. Open to the youth sailors of the world and promoted via Member National Authorities, the winning logo will be used in all Centennial promotions and merchandising.

The following are some of the ideas already proposed:
á World Sailing Day - an open day of Sailing at clubs and other facilities to encourage as many people as possible to "have a go" at Sailing;
á Handicap Olympic Regatta - a handicap regatta for Olympic Medallists, in which they compete in the class of boat in which they won their Olympic Medal (preferably to the specification of the era);
á History of ISAF - and evolution of Sailing around the world;
á Festival of Sailing - Celebration regatta(s) with major dinghy/yacht classes of the period, dinghies/yachts which have set records and/or made historic achievements, across all disciplines and spectrums of the sport;
á Sailors of the past 100 years / Sailors of the Century - recognise the outstanding achievers;
á Legacy of a Sailing foundation to provide funding for future development.

Submit suggestions on how to celebrate the ISAF Centennary to: sail@isaf.co.uk

REPORTS
(At the recent meeting of US Sailing's National Offshore Council, Bruce Eissner reported on the following ISAF issues.)

1) Advertising Code. US Sailing has taken the position that the advertising category for handicap classes (ie. IMS and PHRF) will be Category C. By designating them Category C, the local fleets then have the authority to limit the amount of Category C advertising within their fleets. This is the best method of compromise since there are mixed opinions within the local fleets and we cannot control what we do not know. We must leave this decision up to the local fleets. NOC should help explain the rationale behind this decision. The question was asked, could an organizing authority limit the amount of Category C advertising in a specific event? At the Race Management Committee meeting on March 24, 2001, Charley Cook informed the committee that under the ISAF advertising code organizing authorities could make a decision whether to designate local and invitational events as either Category A or Category C. However, if they elected to designate an event Category C, they COULD NOT LIMIT the amount of Category C advertising allowed.

2) Eligibility. The new eligibility code from ISAF requires that all competitors, including crewmembers, be members of NGBs or clubs. US Sailing has enacted a prescription to the RRS stating that the maximum penalty for violation of this policy will be a warning. There is currently a submission to the mid-year ISAF meeting to rework the Eligibility Code to make this policy subject to NGB decision. Bruce Eissner recommends we tread lightly on this issue, as many countries already require this. The Chairman recommended forming a Working Party to analyze the policy of developing universal US SAILING membership and report to the Council at the Fall Meeting on how this might be implemented in 2002. John Osmond, Dan Van Heeckeren, Larry Bullman, Bruce Campbell, Bobbi Campbell and Paul Ansfield were appointed to the working party. Upon reconvening the meeting on March 24, 2001, the decision was made to add, "boat membership" to the subject to be reviewed by the working party.

3) The ORC is now a Committee of ISAF and submissions must now be made on the ISAF schedule. The ORC is planning on changing the calendar for publication of the Special Regulations to the 4-year cycle. US SAILING is now planning to put the ORC Special Regulations with US Sailing prescriptions on the US Sailing Web Site. Bruce Eissner also reported that US Sailing is preparing a submission to recommend that a set of equipment regulations be added to cover the lighter sport boats as Categories 5 & 6.

NOOD REGATTA
When Dennis Case's yacht club, San Diego YC, hosted the NOOD regatta, Dennis wanted to race. Case is a two-time Schock 35 National Champion, but the NOOD was not on the Schock's high-point calendar . so he chartered a J/105 with Ullman Sails. It was Case's first regatta in a 105, first regatta with an asymmetrical kite - but he's been using Ullman Sails for a long time. Case topped the 12-boat fleet to win the NOOD by three points. Is Case a good sailor? Oh yea! But you'd be foolish to overlook the importance of Ullman Sails: http://www.ullmansails.com

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON leweck@earthlink.net
(Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold your e-mail address on request.)

* From: Hal Smith dixiewrap@mindspring.com
Comments that bemoan and begrudge the amount of money spent on AC campaigns are naive. It is incorrect to think that the AC money could have been spent in any other way. These are advertising dollars not philanthropic donations. When local Sailing centers, youth programs, even the Olympics can offer the same international billboard that the America's Cup provides, then maybe similar advertising funds can be collected for those very worthy purposes. But please, until then, no crying about the money spent on an AC effort. Cannot the same be said about pro baseball, basketball, golf, etc., paydays and contracts?

* From: Ken Guyer kagptloma@home.com
What great times these are for those who love Sailing! Could not help noticing the help wanted advertisements for North Sails, New England Boatworks, and now Doyle Sailmakers in the "butt". Sailboats are capturing a greater percentage of the recreational boating market, thus production is up accordingly. More competitive sailors are being paid for their efforts and the sport receives a better (granted not much) share of positive coverage in the media. Still lots of work to be done, but it is nice to take time to reflect how far we are progressing!

* From Scott Ridgeway yachtracer@lycos.com
This coming weekend, the 1997-2000 Racing Rules of Sailing fade into the sunset as the new rules become effective. Considering that no one has seen a new rulebook yet, this is sort of the ultimate April Fool's joke from US Sailing. I suspect any protest hearings will have to go online so the judges and the skippers can read the new rules off the US Sailing website. Isn't it amazing how high tech competitive Sailing has gotten?

CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: Interestingly, The Australians have decided not to use the new rules until July . which seems pretty reasonable under the circumstances.

* From: Karen Pearson pearsonk03@yahoo.com
Right On! to US Sailing President Dave Rosecranz for stressing communication. But communication is a two-way street. Individual members can't vote at US Sailing. So, it should be extra careful to solicit and respond to the views of the sailors and clubs that it purports to represent. Unfortunately, it does not do that half of "communicating" very well. Maybe allowing individual members to vote would help. After all, the US claims to be the birthplace of the modern democracy.

One example of failed communication. 95%+ of all races held in the US last year used Starting System #2. Yet that alternative will not be in the new US Sailing rule book, even on an interim basis. Many clubs will continue to use Starting System #2 until they have figured out how to use the new ISAF system. They need and want help. Instead of abandoning its members US Sailing should have provided needed support and guidance. Shame on you, US Sailing. Get your heads out of the Olympics and into the grass roots!

* From: Chris Ericksen Chris6932@aol.com
Let me add my voice to the clamor of acclaim over Dave Perry's receipt of the W. Van Alan Clark Sportsmanship Award from US Sailing. Here in California, Dave Perry is remembered fondly by at least one group, the California International Sailing Association (CISA), a not-for-profit organization who annually runs an Advanced Racing Clinic at Alamitos Bay YC in Long Beach.

The CISA Clinic was one of Dave's earliest triumphs when he came out in 1980 or '81 to lead our Clinic; he was then largely unknown outside of New England, but so charmed the sailors at the Clinic and so impressed CISA with his warmth, wit and gentlemanly spirit that CISA named it's annually awarded Sportsmanship Award for him. He is more than a great sportsman and sailor--Dave Perry is a national treasure.

* From: "Michael Silverman" msilver2@tulane.edu
After reading Gary Jobson's "2025" article, I have to ask: At what point does Sailing become a computer game rather than a sport?

VOLVO OCEAN RACE
Bermuda's official entry in the Volvo Ocean Race has been launched at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Tyco International celebrated the christening with help from Jennifer Smith, Premier of Bermuda, and The Right Reverend Ewen Ratteray, Anglican Bishop of Bermuda.

The 60 ft. (18 m)-long sailboat was constructed by Eric Goetz in Bristol, R.I., Team Tyco will be training at its spring camp in West Palm Beach, Fla., US, for the rest of April. In May, the team moves to Europe for additional training and equipment testing. - www.teamtyco.com

IT DOES EVERYTHING
The SOG stainless PowerLock Multi Tool features a simple, one-handed flip open system for locking folding tools and components in place. This amazing tool features: pliers, a wire cutter, a crimper, a serrated blade, flat screwdrivers, a Phillips screwdriver, a three-sided file, a can/bottle opener, a 1/4" drive, a wood saw, rulers, a lanyard loop and spring tension scissors. For a full selection of fine SOG specialty tools and knives, visit Absolute Knives at:
http://www.absoluteknives.com/cgi/fwg.cgi?page=/index2.html&category=yes&cart_id=&code=scuttlebutt

CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
* April 7-10: CISA Advanced Junior Racing Clinic, Alamitos Bay YC. Some of the 17 coaches this year are: Ben Ainslie, Charlie McKee, Bob Merrick, Morgan Larson, Kevin Hall, Nick Adamson, Crissa Harris and Peter Wells. - www.cisaSailing.org

* April 21-22: Pacific Coast Championships of the Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association, Coronado YC. - http://www.pcisa.org

SPONSORSHIP
United Airlines announced that they are to sponsor the America's Cup Jubilee by becoming the official airline for the regatta. As part of the package, United Airlines will be flying the 'auld mug' from New Zealand to Cowes for the event which takes place from August 18th - 25th. United Airlines will also provide tickets to assist with the fundraising efforts attempting to bring Australia II to the event. - Mark Bullingham

QUOTE / UNQUOTE - Bob Fisher
The body hasn't been officially declared dead, but the funeral preparations are taking place. The Admirals' Cup is hanging on by a thread; whether it lives or dies will depend on a report from its management committee, which in turn will inform the event's organizers, the Royal Ocean Racing Club, of the state of the event's health at noon on Monday. The RORC has already declared that without four bona fide national teams, the event will not take place in 2001. - Bob Fisher, Grand Prix Sailor,
http://www.Sailingworld.com/gps/

CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: Just because we printed Fisher's comments does not mean the Admiral's Cup thread has been reopened. It is still officially closed.

THE CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL
Learn the rules - then break some.