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SCUTTLEBUTT 2926 - Thursday, September 10, 2009
Scuttlebutt 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.
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Today's sponsors are Ullman Sails and Southern Spars
HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG?
In recent weeks there has been a lot discussion on these pages focused on how young is too young to sail around the world. On Monday, this thread was picked up on the editorial pages of the New York Times with a piece by Verlyn Kinkerborg about Laura Dekker, the 13-year-old Dutch girl who wants to sail alone around the world. Here are a few excerpts:
This isn't pure Huck Finn on Laura's part. Huck wasn't trying to be the youngest person to float down the Mississippi. In fact, Laura hopes to beat the record set by Mike Perham, the British 17-year-old who, on Aug. 27, finished a nine-month circuit of the globe in a 50-foot racing yacht. But there's enough Huck Finn in Laura's ambitions to make this a real tangle, just the right mixture of nautical adventure, independent youth, state paternalism and laissez-faire parenting to get everyone upset.
A circumnavigation means knowingly taking your life in your hands, which is something the social contract doesn't ordinarily let parents allow their 13-year-olds to do. Nor does it let parents purposely raise social isolates. Would a 13-year-old be allowed to live alone in a tiny flat in Utrecht? Why then in a very small boat - and the (26-foot) Guppy is a very small boat - on the high seas?
Laura would be at sea, utterly and sometimes abjectly solitary, at just the time in her life when most kids find their social world reknitting itself around them. Some people - looking back on their own adolescence - are likely to wish they could have spent those years alone at sea.
Laura Dekker's desire, as she told Dutch television, is "to live freely." Knowing adults everywhere will hear her youth in that phrase, and they will recall that the usual response to adolescents who want to live freely is, "grow up." She is, in fact, proposing to grow up at sea, to face without relief the almost unrelenting challenge of the ocean. - Complete story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/opinion/08tue4.html?_r=1&emc=eta1
MEANWHILE . . .
The latest teenager hoping to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world has crashed into a 63,000-tonne cargo carrier off the north-east coast of Australia, days before the start of her record-breaking attempt. But 16--year-old Jessica Watson, who survived the collision virtually unscathed, has vowed to try again once her 34ft boat, the Pink Lady, is repaired. "The whole incident gives me confidence, wow, I can actually handle this," she told reporters after navigating the damaged yacht back to harbour.
Watson, from Queensland, was on a trial-run when she collided with the Hong Kong-registered Silver Yang, which was on its way to China. The crash damaged the Pink Lady's mast and deck but Watson escaped with a graze behind the knee. - Full story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/09/teenage-sailor-collides
FIRST TIME EVER
Paul Goodison (UK) came home with the Laser Gold medal from Beijing and has followed this up in 2009 with wins at every regatta he has sailed in, including a successful defense of his European title and for the first time a win of the Laser World Championship, this year held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We think it is the first time any mortal - including Laser Gods of old, Robert Scheidt and Ben Ainslie - has held all three titles simultaneously. - The Daily Sail subscription website, http://www.thedailysail.com
RYAN FINN GETS A TASTE OF MINI CLASSE VICTORY
After almost a year of refitting his 6.50 Mini, Myrna Minkoff, American Ryan Finn had his first taste of Classe Mini racing, taking top honors at the Mini Port-Medoc 2009 in southwest France. Powered by Ullman Sails, Ryan finished the solo 280nm race after 2 days and 9 hours of sail changes and major shifts in wind direction and velocity. "The sails were very fast and very adaptable for the conditions," Ryan said. "Great offshore designs." Ryan is now focused on funding his program with sights on the 2011 Mini Transat. Ullman Sails - Invest in your performance. Visit http://www.ullmansails.com
SIX METRE WORLD CUP
NEWPORT, RI (September 9, 2009) - Competitors arriving at Sail Newport this morning to prepare for the second day of racing in the 2009 Six Metre World Cup were greeted by whitecaps on Narragansett Bay courtesy of a brisk northeasterly (upwards of 15 knots at 0900) that whipped through Newport as a low and a high pressure system fought for control of the day's weather. Going 'outside' for today's race was not an option for these delicate yachts, and, with the conditions humming, the Race Committee elected to utilize course B situated between Jamestown and Gould Islands north of the Newport Bridge.
1992 Star Olympic Bronze Medalist Eric Jespersen (Vancouver, British Columbia), aboard Gallant, leads the standings in the 24-boat Classic division after adding a win today to yesterday's third-place finish. Gallant has four points and a five-point lead over Totem, Goose and Saskia II which are tied with nine points each. In the 10-boat Modern division, Scoundrel, driven by Rob Gray (GBR), and Sophie II have each won a race (2-1 and 1-2, respectively) and are tied with three points each. Sophie II, with Hugo Stenbeck (SWE) at the helm, has Cam Lewis (Lincolnville, Maine), the 1993 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, in the crew. - For complete scores, photos and more information, visit www.6metreworldcup.com
WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR
The Danish Open, the seventh event on the 2009 World Match Racing Tour, sets sail on Thursday off Aarhus. Weather permitting, the format for the Danish Open is a round robin over Thursday and into Saturday, followed by semi-finals and culminating in the finals on Sunday. The lineup for this event includes: Adam Minoprio (NZL); Torvar Mirsky (AUS); Mathieu Richard (FRA); Ian Williams (GBR); Peter Gilmour (AUS); Damien Iehl (FRA) French; Sebastien Col (FRA); Peter Wibroe (DEN) Wibroe Sailing Team; Jes Gram Hansen (DEN); Jonas Warrer (DEN); Mattias Rahm (SWE); and Phil Robertson (NZL).
The Argo Group Gold Cup in Bermuda from October 6-11 will be the following stop on the tour, and their website has just posted the biographies of the 24 skippers who will be sailing there - http://www.bermudagoldcup.com/content/view/81/42/. International teams include four from the USA, three each from Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, and Sweden, two from Bermuda, one each from Denmark, Portugal and Switzerland.
* World Match Racing Tour website: www.worldmatchracingtour.com
SAILING SHORTS
* Sausalito, Calif. (September 8) - Don Jesberg (San Francisco, Calif.) and his entirely Corinthian crew of tactician Zarko Draganic, Andrew Holdsworth, Thomas Iseler, Eric Baumhoff, Stephen Marsh, Jeff Wayne and Kristen Loewenthal won the seven-boat, Melges 32 North American Championship, hosted by the Sausalito Yacht Club. In second place was Stephen Pugh (Sausalito, Calif.) on Taboo and one point further back in third place was John Kilroy (San Francisco, Calif.) on Samba Pa Ti. - Full story: http://www.melges32.com/?p=news&id=476
* San Diego, CA (September 9, 2009) - The top contenders at the Snipe Worlds made themselves known after two races were held in the Pacific Ocean today. With the drop race figured in, the clear leaders are Bruno Amorim and Dante Bianchi of Brazil who hold a 25 point lead over the second place team of Gustavo del Castillo Palop and Felipe Llinares Pascual of Spain. Ernesto Rodriguez and Megan Place (USA), in sixth place, are the top North American competitors. Two races were held in 11-14 knots with big swells, chop and current as well as kelp forests. - Event website: http://www.snipeworlds2009.com/
* Porto Cervo, Italy. (September 9, 2009; Day 3) - Day three of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup saw the prevailing northeasterly winds drop from yesterday's 15+ knots to 10-12 knots, bringing along a shakeup in the overall leaders for at least two of the participating categories. Luna Rossa (ITA) had a disastrous day in the Mini Maxi Racing 00 division, slipping in the overall standings from first to fourth, while Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo (NZL) excelled in the light conditions to move into first overall, ahead of Niklas Zennstrom's Ran (GBR). - Full report: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=100165&lang=1
* Team New Zealand syndicate head Grant Dalton admits he does not yet have the funding in place for the new Louis Vuitton World Series. Team New Zealand is one of eight syndicates signed up for the series with two more to be confirmed. But Dalton says he needs to chase more money. "We are not funded at all completely yet because until we had an event I had nothing to fund. Now that it's announced my next job is to basically get out and pay for it". - http://tinyurl.com/nwtw3x
* Newport (R.I.) - Sun, brilliant blue skies, and northerly breezes that ranged from 7 knots to 15 created a stunning backdrop for the 30th Annual Classic Yacht Regatta sponsored by Panerai and presented by Land Rover North America. This annual regatta drew sailors from North America, Europe and New Zealand. The winners included: 12 Meter Class (Traditional): Northern Light, Kip Curren, Newport, R.I.; 12 Meter Class (Classic): American Eagle, Carol Swift, Newport, R.I.; S-Boat Class: Vindex, Paul Del Nero, Middletown, R.I.;6-Metre Class: Maybe XIV, Christer Salen , Stockholm, Sweden. - http://www.sailnewport.org
* Canadian Peter Hall jumped out in front with a 1-2 at the first day of racing at the International Lightning Masters Championships hosted by the Malletts Bay Boat Club in Colchester, Vermont. However, Bill Mauk (USA) and James Crane (USA) are two points back with just five points each. The USA’s Richard Hallagan and William Neal round out the top five with 10 and 11 points respectively. - http://www.mbbc-vt.org/Events/LightningWorlds09/default.asp
RIG PRO AND RSB RIGGING SOLUTIONS OF PALMA JOIN FORCES
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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:
* September 11-18 - Lightning World Championship Colchester, VT
* September 11-13 - The Buddy Melges Challenge Sheboygan, WI
* September 10-13 -Rolex Big Boat Series and the Rolex US-IRC National Championship San Francisco, CA
View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar
EIGHT BELLS
Don Winton, 67, passed away last week. A life dedicated to teaching, family, and sailing was cut short by a battle with cancer (Melanoma) this year. An always precise artist, teacher, music listener, and sailor Don was a very active sailor in the Northeast - Don approached the sea with his trademark zeal, racing frequently and year-round until earlier this year. He was rarely happier than when manning the foredeck, and was known to share his expertise and enthusiasm.
Scores of his fellow sailors became lifelong friends, who join Don's family in mourning a truly remarkable, generous, and dedicated person. Don will be difficult to be forgotten, his prolific participation in many Northeast deliveries & trips (iceberg flybys included!), J-24 racing, PHRF racing, and years of unforgettable frostbiting in Milford, CT will be remembered by many. - Steve Hackett
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
Please submit your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum.
-- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com
-- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum
* From Geoff Miles, US Virgin Islands.
I want to thank Mr. Irish (Scuttlebutt 2924) for pointing out that I could have my ISAF eligibility suspended for sailing in an event titled as a "World Championship" that is not ISAF approved. i.e. We race a non-ISAF class of boats here in the Virgin Islands and in Texas known as IC24s. Before Texas had a fleet, the only IC24 fleets were in the US Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands. We got together a few years ago for a regatta which was called "IC24 World Championship" in jest since the only fleets that existed were the USVI and BVI fleets. Had I known then that I could have had my eligibility suspended, I definitely would have stayed home and went power boating. Thank you Mr. Irish for pointing this out and I compliment you on our excellent ISAF public relations.
* From Mike McCutcheon
I sincerely hope you or someone puts all the notes and letters about Tom Blackaller in a single, downloadable file. There have been very few folks who have touched, influenced or otherwise come in contact with this remarkable man. A collection of these notes would be a great tribute to him and a keepsake for the rest of us.
=> Curmudgeon's Comment: No problem Mike - they are all posted on the Scuttlebutt website's Forum, with a new entry today from Cam Lewis:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8054
* From David Tabor:
In Scuttlebutt 2923, Paul Cayard hit the proverbial nail on the head by sailing the Defender has a fiduciary duty to the Cup. What I still cannot fathom is how an International governing body (ISAF) can be party to a secret agreement that has no other intention but to put the challenger at a distinct disadvantage. This kind of behavior from OUR ruling body, the same one that dictates what we can and cannot do is inexcusable. I hope we all take a cue from that great man Thomas Jefferson and refresh our proverbial sailing "tree" with some blood from the tyrants. When is the next ISAF election? Shenanigans have always been a part of the AC; to have ISAF a part of the dirty play is disgusting.
* From John Folting, Americas Cup Race Committee Chairman, 1988 and 1992:
I wholeheartedly agree with Paul Cayard on his article (in Scuttlebutt 2923). That is what it is all about in sports; race management should never try managing an event to an outcome. The trustee should be able to trust themselves, that if their entry is the best, they will retain the win, and if not, they lose. It is as simple as that. The only caveat to that is that everyone has to know the rules. No rules, no race.
I am amazed that ISAF would go along with this, and then again maybe not. I can see not divulging the costs, expenses, etc, but anything else should be at least known by both sides of the contest, well in advance. If it is not, then it is a joke, and I personally would not participate as a race officer, period. I think also that this NY judge needs a little refresher in coming to a conclusion that relates to the deed and not whose attorney is more elegant. Sadly, I think those days are long gone!
*From Stephen Roffey, Sunshine Coast, Australia:
In response to Peter Huerlimann, Switzerland (Scuttlebutt 2924), who wrote: "Dear Oracle, 'America's Cup' does NOT mean 'It belongs to America' ", I would reply: "Dear Alinghi, 'Defender' does NOT mean 'Allowed to keep it forever by stacking the deck' ". Does being Swiss preclude a person from seeing that Alinghi is way out of line? It's so transparent to claim that one side is right just because they are your national team. No one can objectively think, hand on heart, that Alinghi/SNG have acted fairly since 2007. I am a Brit and a Kiwi, have lived in Switzerland most of my life, and regard it as home. But I fervently support the Americans in this (at least until Team NZ sail again!) because BMW Oracle/GGYC have honour and have done nothing wrong.
* From Damian Christie, Melbourne, Australia:
Tim Abady (Scuttlebutt 2925) is obviously another Alinghi supporter seeking to obfuscate the facts. He has clearly forgotten a couple of salient facts himself:
1. Paul Cayard is not a former skipper of BMW Oracle. He was the skipper/CEO of 2000 America's Cup challenger America One, whose assets were acquired by Oracle. In fact, the last syndicate Mr. Cayard had reportedly signed with was Desafio Espanol, itself aligned with Alinghi cats paw CNEV!
2. It was not BMW Oracle who thwarted the aspirations of a dozen America's Cup syndicates interested in the 33rd Cup. It was Alinghi that called Oracle's bluff of a one-on-one duel in multihulls rejecting Oracle's offer to return to a multi-challenger event in 2011. Who then is guilty of putting hundreds of yachtsmen and women out of work?
3. From the outset, beginning with its lopsided CNEV protocol in July 2007, Alinghi has sought to stack its own deck, eg announcing it would design the new boat class formula, appointing its own umpires, empowering itself to disqualify challengers for the most trivial reasons and trying to force its way into the challenger selection series - all examples of leveraging every angle for an advantage.
While Oracle hasn't covered itself in glory throughout this debacle, Alinghi is guilty of gross delinquency. There would very likely have been a multi-challenger America's Cup match by now if Alinghi had been prepared to put on a similar defense to the one it staged so magnificently in 2007.
* From Adrian Morgan, UK:
Oh please, Mr. Bernstein. "History torn to shreds..."? "Nation vs. nation..."? "Sportsmanship"...! Since when has that been true? The America's Cup has often been ego against ego (Sopwith vs. Vanderbilt; Fay vs. Conner etc etc). And in the halcyon days the Defenders were all crewed by a bunch of Scandinavians. And let's look at the very first match (or mismatch). America was built to win prize money, and a profit for her owners, who flogged her just as quick as they could once she had "beaten the cream of British yachting..." (Don't get me started on that.)
Sportmanship? Pah. Those who elevate the America's Cup to some mystical, status; a contest that epitomizes all that's best in Corinthian ethics need to read a few more books on the subject. I'm with Tim Abady. Both sides have always tried to "leverage" the outcome. It's a foolish trait to idolize the past, to the exclusion of the facts.
* From Richard Clark, New Zealand:
Re: IT'S DANGEROUS = IT'S LIGHT AIR (Scuttlebutt 2925). Surely the wind is all in New York, in the Courts of Law that is, so why not hold the America's Cup there?
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
You can't spell 'Dynasty' without 'Nasty.'
Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Southern Spars.
Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
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