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SCUTTLEBUTT 2161 - August 17, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH (Winners of last week's Star European Championship Mark Mendelblatt and Mark Strube discuss their Olympic campaign in an interview just posted on the UK’s thedailysail subscription website. Here are a couple of excerpts.) “I think you could do a competitive campaign on $150,000- 200,000,” says Mendelblatt." This breaks down into new boats - $40-50,000 apiece and campaign costs of $50,000 per year. "That is quite basic - it would give you the money to buy sails and pay a coach a little bit. You can't afford to have a full time coach but you can do the travel and transport for that." Both obviously full time professional sailors now, both Marks have had 'proper' jobs. Mendelblatt was a municipal bond salesman in St Petersburg full time until he moved to New Zealand for the Cup, while Strube has worked at a rigging shop in Palm Beach, a job which allows him to sail as much as he pleases, although he admits his contribution was only about eight weeks last year. Compared to the comparatively fortunate infrastructure Olympic sailors have in the UK and some other European countries, sailors in the US in particular don't receive the same financial support. "Now I have to do a lot of big boat sailing as work to offset the cost of the Star sailing, but I enjoy doing that anyway so it is not a big hassle," admits Mendelblatt. "Pretty much the money I earn for sailing goes straight out the door to fund the Star, so it is pretty crazy." They do have some gear sponsorship in the form of Kaenon sunglasses and Harken deckgear while stargear.net gives them discounts on clothing. However the funding from US Sailing is improving. -- http://www.thedailysail.com MEDIA BOAT DRIVER The America’s Cup is among the premiere events in the world and as such, global exposure is a key goal for the teams, the organisers and their partners. To help achieve this, there are dozens of people working on the teams and with the organization itself to assist media in their efforts to get the story out. The media boat drivers are experts in the art of making life easier for the journalists. They know where to place the boat, anticipate the next great photo opportunity and put the boat in a position to get it. It is due to them that great images of the action of the race course can be captured by photographers and delivered around the planet There are a finite number of people holding the skills necessary to accomplish this mission. The manager of the media boats and press helicopters, Julian Hocken, notes: “The drivers have to have the eye of a professional photographer, have considerable boat handling and seamanship skills, and be able to manage people like a diplomat, because every photographer wants something different, and we try to get everyone what they want.” The boat drivers employed by the 32nd America’s Cup come from a divers background. There is Israel Sánchez Prieto, a documentary director from Spain who finished his first long movie “Siempre Días Azules” (Always blue days, about the Spanish Civil War victims) last year; there is Anne-Soizic Bertin, a French professional match racer; and Guillaume Labarde, a super-yacht skipper; as well as Khushla Draffin, a woman who drives oil tankers around the world when she is not working at the America’s Cup. Many others work as race officers in other regattas or as charter skippers. The America’s Cup puts over 32 photographers on the water each day using six photo boats, 8.5 metre inflatable tenders. Other ribs are used to shuttle film and digital cards back to the media centre, while television uses two ribs and two larger catamarans that follow the action from a privileged position on the race course. Two much larger boats take out written press and other journalists each day. From these bigger media boats, writers and photographers are able to transmit their work from the boat to shore via 3G technology. To run all of this, manager Julian Hocken hired a team of 25 drivers and assistants in 2006. It was an international crew featuring people from Spain, France, the UK, New Zealand and Sweden. -- America’s Cup website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/nzngj LOGISTICS A fleet of sixteen TP52 boats has now arrived in Athens for fifth event in the Breitling MedCup, the Athens Trophy. Eleven of the yachts came direct from the Copa del Rey in Palma on the container ship Apollograch. Four yachts sailed to the Greek capital while Fram is due to arrive by ship later this week. In addition to each yacht, the teams had to also ensure that their support vehicles and boats, containers and work units were all transported the hundreds of miles across the Mediterranean. Chris Reid, boat captain for Mutua Madrilena commented: "An operation like this is never easy. Firstly we loaded the support vehicles, then the RIB, equipment and sails and finally the cradle and then the boat. The total weight of everything, including the boat with its mast still in place, is just over 17 tonnes and as the yachts are quite fragile, they need a certain degree of TLC". Racing is due to start on Monday 21 August. -- http://www.medcup.org/ SWAN 45's LOAD ON DOCKWISE... And Team One Newport was there! While the boats were loading for the upcoming Swan Worlds, Team One Newport was delivering crew uniforms. Plenty, Bandit, Bellicosa, Yasha, Goombay Smash, and Vixen will look spectacular in their custom crew uniforms from Team One Newport. You can get custom crew uniforms with your logo and boat name embroidered or screened on the best sailing gear too. Just think how "fast" you'll look in your embroidered Henri-Lloyd Breeze jacket, Camet shorts, Railrider Hydro-T, Musto Smock, Gill fleece, or Patagonia Capilene! There is so much to choose from! Call 800-VIP-GEAR or visit http://www.team1newport.com IN TOUCH WITH THE SIMPLE SIDE OF THE SPORT Alinghi helmsman Peter Holmberg has opened a 5-0 lead in early round racing at St. Moritz Match Race, Stage 3 of the 2006-’07 World Match Racing Tour. Holmberg looked on form despite not having sailed a Grade 1 event since finishing eighth here last year. His time has been consumed with testing and training for Alinghi’s defense of the America’s Cup. “This event gets you back in touch with the simple side of the sport,” said Holmberg, of the U.S. Virgin Islands. “It’s a breath of fresh air to get in a dinghy and hike out.” Day 1 of the 4th annual regatta at the top of the world got off to a slow start. A weather system produced rain showers in the morning and sapped the area of wind. Group A took to Lake St. Moritz for racing shortly after midday, but could only complete its pre-round fleet race. The wind died away afterwards and as the time approached 3:00 pm the race committee postponed the seven crews for the day. That put Group B on the water and the local Maloja wind filled to provide the energy to get the boats around the course. The Maloja, a southwesterly wind that funnels up the Maloja Pass from Italy, started around 6 or 8 knots and built to nearly 15 knots late in the day. With the Maloja in Lake St. Moritz served up its trademark bag of tricks. No lead is safe on the lake as the wind can shift 30 degrees in the blink of an eye. To compensate for the shifts the race committee used three different windward marks at times. -- Sean McNeill, http://www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com. St. Moritz Match Race Group B Standings (After 5 of 7 flights): 1. Peter Holmberg (ISV) Alinghi, 5-0 2. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailCom.ch, 3-1 3. Sebastian Col (FRA) Areva Challenge, 3-2 4. Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Shosholoza, 1-3 T. Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Viano Mercedes Benz, 1-3 T. Flavio Favini (ITA) Mascalzone Latino – Capitalia, 1-3 7. Wearn Haw Tan (SIN) China Team, 0-4 TONY REY Desafío Español, the Spanish America's Cup challenger, announced this morning the incorporation of Tony Rey in the position of tactician. The Washington, DC-born American sailor, has a vast sailing experience as well as involvement in the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race. Rey's America's Cup experience started in 2000 when he held the role of tactician and strategist aboard the Young America team. In addition, in the same year he sailed as helmsman of Prada during threee months, after the Italian challenger bought the American team's boats. In the 2003 America's Cup campagin, Tony Rey was the tactician of Stars & Stripes. In 1995 Tony Rey sailed as tactician with Ed Baird in the Match Racing World Championship and were crowned champions while in 1996 and 1997 they were second. Finally, Rey was the coach of US Olympic sailing team in the 2004 Athens Olympics as well coach of the Star and Soling classes in 1992, 1996 and 2000 respectively. -- Valencia Sailing, http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ SAILING SHORTS * The World Sailing Speed Record Council has ratified a new world record for the greatest distance sailed in 24 hours -singlehanded. That record is now 610.45 nautical miles for an average speed of 25.76 knot and was set by the 60-foot trimaran ‘Brossard’ sailed by Yvan Bourgnon (SUI) on August 6-7. This new mark substantially tops the previous record set in May 2006 by Yves Parlier on ‘Mediatis-Region Aquitane’ of 586.00 nm. * Dermatologists worldwide agree that the Australians’ use of the word “slop!” accurately describes how sunscreen should be used. Most people do not apply enough sunscreen to help protect against harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. One ounce, enough to fill a shot glass, is considered by the Academy to be the amount needed to cover the exposed areas of the body properly. So when applying sunscreen, remember to “slop!” it on. -- Skin CancerNet, full story: http://www.skincarephysicians.com/skincancernet/prevention.html *The sailing crew of the first German America’s Cup campaign has sailed the new yacht Germany I in Valencia. After a seven month phase of planning and constructing and three months after the christening, the crew around skipper Jesper Bank has made its first experiences on the America´s Cup yacht – the first cupper ever built in Germany. "Our boat has passed all tests without complications. For sure we impressed the other teams who are doing their trainings in Valencia right now", said Eberhard Magg, Technical Director of the United Internet Team Germany. -- http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/33962/50/ * Corrections -- Unfortunately, the results from the Laser Master Nationals in yesterday’s issue were not the final standings. The top five as reported did not change, but by the end of the event, Bill Symes had moved up to the top Grand Master spot finishing seventh overall, with Chris Boome taking second in that division and finishing tenth in the 40-boat fleet. Dan Faulk who finished fourth in fleet was the top placing Apprentice while Peter Seidenberg won the top Great Grand Master prize and placed ninth overall. -- http://tinyurl.com/g24dw EIGHT BELLS Norman S. Wright - Founder and President of Nicro Corp passed away last Wednesday.Norm was a pioneer in ventation, snap shackles and soft cheek snatch blocks and sold many of the OEMs in the early 1970s through the 1990s. He was a competitor to Fred Schaeffer and Franklin Merriman and was a strong influence in the distribution of sailboat hardware world wide. Norm Wright gave me my start in business and continued to be an influence in the lives of young businessmen and business women around the world. He was a member of St. Francis Yacht Club. -- Bruce Brown ULLMAN'S "FIBERPATH" PROVEN PERFORMANCE! Ullman Sails "FiberPath", dominated Southern California's PHRF Championships in both Class A & B. PHRF A - 1st Alec Oberschmidt's "Staghound" 2nd Phil Friedman's "Black Knight" PHRF B -1st Jim & Rick Yabsley's "Yabsolutely", 2nd Mick Shlens "Blade" 3rd Biff Bunney's "Power Point". Also flying a full inventory of Ullman Sails, "Team Altitude Sickness" lead by Payson Infelise dominated the Santana 20 Class Championship with four firsts, a third and a fifth to win by five points over the competition. For a set of the "Fastest Sails on the Planet" contact your local Ullman loft and visit www.ullmansails.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Stan Honey (Response to letter from Max Rosenberg in Scuttlebutt 2160): The first two or three days of the Transpac can involve very windy beating and reaching, for which a delivery from Hawaii to San Francisco would be good practice. Further, an offshore passage is terrific preparation for any long offshore race. It is useful for the crew to use the boat including cooking, changing sails, becoming familiar with the watch system, using the head, electronics, etc. Typically an offshore voyage completed in preparation for an offshore race will result in a long "to-do" list of items that will improve the boat's preparation for the race. Roy Disney is aware of this. Roy has completed very rough Transatlantic crossings, windy upwind Bermuda Races, in addition to his fifteen Transpacific races over the last thirty years. * From Ron Wall (re the comments of Max Rosenberg): Funny how the more people who read something, the more different interpretations you wind up with… I too read the comment about Roy Disney asking his eager young charges of the Morning Light crew if, “… anyone wanted to sail from Hawaii back to LA!” The fact that the obviously young (but not inexperienced) and possibly still a wee bit naive response was, “Sure!” My first thought was, boy, are they gonna be in for a surprise, and one heck of a great learning experience. It never occurred to me that Mr. Disney’s credentials would be questioned. Obviously, Mr. Rosenberg’s not familiar with them, but I suspect he will be shortly. I’m not gonna presume to list them, but I do know he’s been everywhere (upwind or otherwise) he’s ever sent his Crew’s, and not just once. And what better ways to season a sailor, than with the return trip everyone hates? * From Neil Harrell: I couldn’t agree more with Rob McNeal’s comment in Scuttlebutt 2159. Racing Sunfish is great fun. That’s why at age 51 I race one myself. It is probably the least expensive and purest one-design sailboat that both juniors and adults can race together. Many adults are returning to the Sunfish as crews are harder to find for multi-crew one-designs. The class has some of the friendliest people you will find, as well as, top notch competition. This year’s North American Championship was won by multi-class and Olympic champion Paul Foerster. Longtime Sunfish sailors, Greg Gust and Tom Whitehurst were second and third. My suggestion to Rob is he buy a good used Sunfish (many old boats are still competitive) add the racing sail and daggerboard upgrade and find some local Sunfish races. It is still great fun. * From Gail M. Turluck: The good old days are the ‘Good New Days!’ The Sunfish is alive and well. The US Class has over 1500 members annually. Fleets are active all over the country. The Class is as family friendly as ever. The Pan American Class Sunfish is also low priced--about half the cost of a full-up Laser or Opti, yet sailors age 8 to 90 and 90 to 220 lbs. are competitive. The racing sail (circa 1989) and racing daggerboard (circa 1994) made the boats truly level racing platforms. We're still cranking out leading college sailors, AC crews, and RTW team members. Visit www.sunfishclass.org and click on "Fleets and locations," "Class Office," or Regional web sites to learn more about what's happening near you. Those age 40 and up are welcome at the US Masters the end of August, and we'll find a boat for as many as we can! Come. Have Fun! * From Matthew Reid: As a Hawaii resident who is cognizant of the harm the broken/unbroken pieces of water balloons can do the marine life, I do think that we should all be aware that turtles mistake them for jellyfish, as do pelagic fish and seabirds...not to mention how much crap we already dump in the oceans that just floats around out there--mainly plastic stuffs that just keeps breaking up into smaller bits, but doesn't go away. I realize I may be tainting the 'fun factor', especially for the younger crowd--maybe there is a biodegradable balloon product that could be used. As guests of the oceans and caretakers of our planet, however, I do believe we should try and limit our abuse with refuse into the waters. This thought extends to releasing huge amounts of balloons into the sky...especially near a coast ...e eventually, they lose positive buoyancy and drop down into the water, only to become additional detritus, not to mention a danger to marine life. *From Tyler Carder (re "Pirate battles" with water balloons): Whilst there are few things as satisfying as plonking a loaded water balloon onto the head of an adversary, rubber balloons are definitely not sea-creature-friendly. The pieces of a broken balloon can be mistaken for bits of bait, all too often leading to the death of the eater, be the eater fish, sea-turtle, or seabird. Even worse are Mylar balloons. I took a miles-long walk one day along the beaches of Chatham, MA and saw little flotsam and jetsam save scores of Mylar balloons littering the sand. Let's all try to have fun sailing, sure, but not at the expense the creatures who's lives depend on a clean marine environment. * From Chip Pitcairn: The Corpus Christi Yacht Club used to host a really fun event sailed in sunfish. The Watermelon race was fun and easy. Paint or mark numbers on the watermelons, assign each boat one of the numbers. Grease the melons with Crisco, then drop all the watermelons in the harbor. Start from the dock( Le Mans style), first one to return to a designated spot on land with the watermelon bearing his or her number wins. We sailed in 2 person teams. Shoreside spectators had almost as much fun as the participants. CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM Go with Plan B. Plan A is just a fantasy. Special thanks to Team One Newport and Ullman Sails. |
