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SCUTTLEBUTT 3250 - Wednesday, January 5, 2011Scuttlebutt 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: Point Loma Outfitting, North Sails, and J Boats. ARGUMENT FOR "IS SAILING A SPORT" When we need information, we tend to use our favorite internet search engine. And when the information cannot be found, there are websites where you can ask your question. Here is what somebody asked on Answers.Yahoo.com: “Okay, so I personally know sailing is a sport, although some a-hole in my school (excuse my French) is deliberately trying to explain to me that it is in fact not a sport because all you do is move a tiller around. Obviously this is not true. “His argument is based upon that he does not see any ‘professional sailors’ around on TV all the time, and he doesn't watch Olympic sailing. He also says he does not see sailing in the sports column on the internet. We argue on the bus, and so far on the bus they say that sailing is not a sport (they did a survey with five people), and I did admit it was not a popular sport in America. “Can you help me formulate some kind of argument to beat him?” ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Answers Below: * “Yeah, I don't recall any Olympic sailing, but there is the America's Cup which does get into the papers. And sure racing is a competition.” ---------- * “Look up the definition of ‘sport’. Any organized, competitive, entertaining and skillful activity. As for your argument. You should never argue with an idiot, somebody might not be able to tell the difference.” ---------- * “Isn't sailing considered to be one of the most complex sports ever? “Physical and mental preparation of the person. Needing natural skill and talent, as well as training for hours a day. Plus years of competition to enable you to achieve any reasonable result. “And then you have the boat preparation: weight all up, weight distribution, surface details, boat design, mast shape, sail shape, control lines to control the shapes - all of which must be meticulous and not break at the inopportune moment. “And then you are competing in a natural element - wind and waves and tide all make a difference to the speed of the boat. “And then you are (often) in a team of people, all of whom have to work together to get anywhere. “And finally (?) you are competing: so you are in a large mental game of chess - positioning your boat in relation to others to improve your chances of success and minimizing their chances. “Yup, definitely: The most complex sport in the world.” ---------- * “Of course it is! I would be very offended in your position. Tell him it is organized, and it is an activity. Also tell him that you commit a lot to this sport and you don't care what he thinks about it. Ask him how he would feel if you judged how much of a sport (any sport he plays) was based on the amount of well-known professional players. If you know any other people who sail ask them their opinion, and I know a lot of sailors, as it has been in my family for generations. Twenty nine people I know so far say that sailing is a sport, and that includes my family.” Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110103132956AAOKHs8 “WORST OF OUR LIVES” (January 4, 2011: Day 5) Since the start of the Barcelona World Race on December 31st at Barcelona, Spain, the fourteen boat fleet has faced fickle winds to exit the Mediterranean Sea to tackle the meat of this non-stop race. And just when each doublehanded team thinks they can sniff the Atlantic Ocean, the difficult combination of very light winds and fast flowing westerly current in the Gibraltar Straits has halted their pace for many hours. The span of the Straits is just 7.7 nm which separates Europe and Africa, and due to the varying water salinity of the Med and the Atlantic, the surface current is typically flowing against the fleet. The lone U.S. skipper Ryan Breymaier, with co-skipper Boris Herrmann (GER), onboard Neutrogena have finally escaped the clutches of Gibraltar this evening in fifth position. “It’s been the worst of our lives,” shared Hermann. “In fact in 24 hours we had not moved any metres west. We tried the north coast and are trying the south coast. We missed getting away with Mirabaud by about half an hour. Mirabaud overtook us in the Strait and took a slightly different route. After that it shut down. It’s frustrating, disappointing. It is tough.” Of the leaders (as of 20:50), Jean-Pierre Dick and Loick Peyron on Virbac Paprec 3 has stretched out a 70-mile advantage over Foncia (Michel Desjoyeaux/ François Gabart) as both power south-west along the African shoreline. A further 30 miles back is Mirabaud (Dominique Wavre/ Michele Paret) in third. REPLAY: British distance racer Mike Golding joins ESPN sailing commentator Gary Jobson for video coverage of the race. To relive the live start as it was aired on ESPN3.com, go to http://espn.go.com/espn3/player?id=112618&league=Sailing BACKGROUND: This is the second edition of the non-stop Barcelona World Race, the only double-handed race around the world. Fourteen teams are competing on Open 60s which started December 31st and is expected to finish by late March. The 25,000 nautical mile course is from Barcelona to Barcelona via three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, Cook Strait, putting Antarctica to starboard. Race website: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org LEAVE LAND MORE! If you are doing some sailing this winter and need to freshen up your kit, check us out! Point Loma Outfitting has the largest selection of SLAM, Patagonia and Atlantis Weather Gear; as well as Musto and Gill. We have the experience to put you in the right gear, for the right conditions, and budget. http://www.pointlomaoutfitting.com/scuttlebutt.html => Curmudgeon’s Comment: I am very pleased to introduce Point Loma Outfitting as the latest member of the Scuttlebutt sponsor family. They have a wonderful retail store and online hub in San Diego that neighbors North Sails and the Sail Ho golf course... in case you need an excuse for a SoCal trip this winter. RACE TO THE RACE Hugo Boss skipper Alex Thomson is in a ‘Race to the Race’ following his emergency appendectomy just 48 hours before the start of the non-stop doublehanded Barcelona World Race. After discussion with the race organization, and with the majority backing of his fellow Open 60 skippers, it was ruled that HUGO BOSS would be allowed to start the race with the team’s substitute skipper, Wouter Verbraak, and Alex will be able to join the boat after he is declared medically fit to sail. The race ruling dictates that Alex must be medically assessed within 10 days of the race start, and the date and place at which he will join his boat HUGO BOSS will then be agreed with the race organisation together with the medical team. At this point the logical locations are the Cape Verdes off the coast of Western Africa or the Fernando de Noronha Islands off Brazil. -- Full report: http://alexthomsonracing.com/news/view/a_race_to_the_race/ MOMMIES GONE WILD By Tillerman We've had a good rant, er, intelligent rational discussion here before about the topic of Mommy Boats, the pestilence of so-called "coach boats" that infest an increasing number of Laser regattas these days. In the comments to my previous posts Mommy Boats and Ban Mommy Boats NOW the discussions were lively and heated. Some agreed with me, that the "mommification" of our sport has gone too far. The practice of certain sailors having Mommy Boats bringing them warm coats and hot drinks between races, and of course towing them to and from the course area, is undermining the spirit of independence and self-reliance which is the very essence of our sport of single-handed sailing. Others pointed out the unfairness of a competition in which only a few competitors have Mommy Boat drivers to provide them with physical and moral support, not to mention passing on information obtained by radio from other Mommy Boat drivers of what the wind is doing around the course. Of course access to a Mommy Boat gives a sailor an unfair advantage. That's why, at the highest levels of competition, the major international Laser regattas, almost every sailor has a Mommy Boat. You can't hope to compete at that level without your Mommy to help you. US Olympic hopeful Clay Johnson reported that at the Laser World Championship in England last year there were over One Hundred Mommy Boats and, in a wry understatement, that the chop from all these Mommy Boats "doesn't help". Crazy! And it's getting worse. Read on: http://propercourse.blogspot.com/2011/01/mommies-gone-wild.html RINGING ENDORSEMENT, SORT OF... Grant Dalton, Team New Zealand managing director, on the selection of San Francisco to host the 2013 America's Cup: “It was by far the best venue. Newport Rhode Island has great history and tradition but San Francisco is the best overall canvas to work from. It suits the boats. It is a natural amphitheatre - much like Auckland - which won't allow the huge separation that has been feared by many people. I've been talking to potential sponsors for the last six months but now we have something to sell....(but) if we can't reach the level of funding required to be a strong challenger, then we won't be going ahead. We will not be entering just for the sake of it.” -- NZ Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10697468 * TRAINING: Among the 73 entries competing this week in the Australian A-Cat Nationals is Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker, who is faring well so far in this singlehanded catamaran class. History reminds us that Jimmy Spithill, who steered Golden Gate Yacht Club’s trimaran to victory in the 33rd America’s Cup, initially cut his multihull teeth at the 2008 A-Cat North Americans. Barker is in fifth after two days at the Aussie Nationals, compared to Spithill who was in ninth at the same stage of the North Americans. Spithill eventually finished eighth overall. Interestingly, two of the people that beat Spithill were Pete Melvin, who helped create the design rule for the next America’s Cup, and Ben Hall whose company Hall Spars & Rigging helped to build the masts used to win the 33rd Match. -- http://results.lcsc.org.au/Nationals/SGrp3.htm * REJECTION: Team Shosholoza, the first ever America's Cup challenger from Africa when they competed in 2007, has announced they will not participate in the 2013 event. Citing the heightened cost and the format change to multihulls, Shosholoza joins Luna Rossa/Prada, United Internet Team Germany, and Alinghi as teams from the 32nd edition that will not return. The British Team Origin, which formed in 2007 to prepare for the America’s Cup, has also declined involvement in the 34th Match. An update on entered and possible challengers for 2013: http://www.cupinfo.com/en/americas-cup-challenger-index-2013-34-01.php PARTY: If you want to bathe in the celebration of the 34th America’s Cup coming to San Francisco, the America’s Cup Event Authority and the San Francisco America’s Cup Organizing Committee are hosting a public celebration at the City Hall (in the Rotunda) on Wednesday, January 5 at 3:00 PM Pacific Coast Time. NEW YEAR, NEW SAILS? If you’re in the market for new sails, consider this: North Sails has become the world leader in sailmaking through an ongoing commitment to making sails that are faster, lighter and longer lasting than any other sails in the world. Whether you race or cruise, North Sails is committed to designing and building sails that are just right for you! All new sails come with 1 year free sail care & repair* throughout our worldwide network of sail lofts, so whether you’re 25 or 2,500 miles from home, we’ve got you covered. When performance counts, the choice is clear: http://www.northsails.com. *Restrictions apply. NATION'S LARGEST Long Beach, CA (January 4, 2011) - Yes, there will be a Rose Bowl for USC's Trojans this month, but it won't be football, and fans will have to come down to the beach this weekend on Saturday and Sunday to see it. It's the 26th annual Rose Bowl Regatta, hosted by the University of Southern California Sailing Team, which is not affected by NCAA post-season sanctions imposed on the football team. The event is organized by the US Sailing Center of Long Beach and based at the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. The lineups feature 31 of the nation's best collegiate programs from Hawaii to the East Coast and 56 high school teams from throughout California. That makes it the nation's largest combined collegiate and high school sailing event, contested on 13-foot, two-person CFJ dinghies, which will have plenty of room after moving outside from the limited space in Alamitos Bay to the Long Beach Harbor waters surrounding the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier. The defending champions are Georgetown University of Washington D.C. and Point Loma High School of San Diego. Georgetown's toughest rival figures to be top-ranked Boston College, which nosed it out for No. 1 this season. Full report here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11065 GOING TO THE BOTTOM OF THE EARTH (January 4, 2011) - Nearly 40 Australian and international scientists will leave Hobart today on the Aurora Australis icebreaker for a month-long voyage to deploy underwater cameras, moorings and sensors at the Mertz Glacier in eastern Antarctica. The expedition comes 100 years after explorer and geologist Sir Douglas Mawson led and barely survived the first Australasian expedition to Antarctica. A century on, there are many still burning scientific questions to be answered at the bottom of the world. The latest expeditioners are looking for the effects of climate change in Australia's Antarctic waters. "The oceans, in general, play a big role in climate," said expedition leader and CSIRO oceanographer Dr Steve Rintoul. "They store and transport huge amounts of heat and of carbon. So when we talk about global warming over the last 50 years, what we really mean is ocean warming. More than 90 per cent of the extra heat that has been stored is in the ocean." The scientific team will be testing the Southern Ocean for changes in salinity, temperature and carbon as the ship heads towards a gigantic Antarctic ice oddity - the Mertz Glacier ice tongue. The ACT-sized ice mass flowing out off the Antarctic continent was rammed and severed by an enormous iceberg in February. "That calving event, that breaking of the ice tongue, formed an iceberg that was about 80 kilometres by 40 kilometres wide, and drifted off. That is going to change how this whole part of the Antarctic shelf works," Dr Rintoul said. The area around the Mertz Glacier is important for the ocean currents that influence the Earth's climate system. A fragile combination of extreme winds, temperatures and geology creates patches in Antarctic sea ice called polynyas. They, in turn, create heavy cold water, known as Antarctic bottom water, that sinks rapidly to the deep ocean floor and then gets sent off around the planet, cooling as it goes. Climate models suggest this process will slow as climate change happens and that will tend to accelerate the rate of further climate change. "What we really need to do is understand the physics of this process," Dr Rintoul said. "That will help us improve the models we have." -- Read on: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/04/3106172.htm?section=justin SAILING SHORTS * (January 4, 2011; Day 20) - The four remaining solo skippers in the VELUX 5 OCEANS are preparing for more than 40 knots of breeze and giant swells on their second leg from South Africa to New Zealand. American Brad Van Liew’s lead over second placed Derek Hatfield (CAN) has grown to 246 nm with 2,597 nm to the finish line in Wellington, New Zealand. -- http://www.velux5oceans.com/ * Mar del Plata, Argentina (January 4, 2011) - The second day of racing for the 29er Worlds rolled through three races on the two qualifying courses, with bright skies and 16 to 20+ knots providing perfect conditions for high adrenaline entertainment. The Argentine teams of Belen Tavella/ Franco Greggi and Pepe Bettini/ Fernando Gwozdz remain tied after the 6 race series. Qualifying continues on Wednesday followed by three days of the final series. -- Full report/results: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11064#11064 * The 15-year-old Dutch sailor Laura Dekker who has embarked on a round world sailing journey is in need of cash and looking for new financial sponsors. Laura's father, Dick Dekker told Dutch paper Volkskrant that the team backing her, which consists of family members and others, needs money to visit her during her journey and carry out major repairs which might be needed to her boat Guppy. Read more: http://tinyurl.com/SW-010410 JOIN THE J/80 FUN FOR 2011 You know a class is strong when, two months after a Worlds, you can't find a boat! 2011 looks to be another banner year starting with the J/80 Midwinters at Key West and culminating in the J/80 North Americans at Larchmont, NY. Special boat/trailer packages are still available for spring delivery. http://www.jboats.com/j80/ INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum encourages companies to post their new hirings, product and service updates. Scuttlebutt editors will select Industry update each week to include in the Thursday edition of the Scuttlebutt newsletter. Here is the link to post Industry News updates: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news 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 Sutter A Schumacher: (re, Andy Burton's quote/unquote in issue #3249) Truer words have never been spoken on these virtual pages. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), taking care of the ones in the pack requires an investment of time and energy by each of us in the greater sailing community. The question is whether we are willing to make this commitment, or whether we're just sailing for our own personal gain? This is something I need to ask myself, too. * From Ray Tostado: (re, Bogart and Santana in Scuttlebutt 3249) This I read in an expose’ of the flashy lives of the Hollywood stars when they ruled Avalon, Catalina Island. Most had yachts and ran great party weekends at the island. Bogart had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and the end was near. A close friend, fellow actor David Niven, was persuaded to be a part of Bogart’s end, along with his beloved Santana. The plan was for Bogart and Niven to motor out to sea where Bogart had planned to chain himself to the binnacle and sink Santana as his coffin. Niven’s task was to open the sea cocks and begin the process; when upon he would board a towed dinghy and return to Newport. Bogart's wife somehow became aware of this plot and called the NB harbor and local CG who responded immediately and stopped this plot from occurring. Both men were arrested and Bogart returned to the custody of his wife. He passed on in a bed. Niven recalls this in the first person in his book, "BRING ON THE EMPTY HORSES". A real entertaining book on being part of the Hollywood party elite. They were reckless rascals. I seek correction if required. Didn't Bogart rig Santana as a yawl when he owned her? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Famous Last Words: “I wonder where the mother bear is.” SPONSORS THIS WEEK Doyle Sails - Summit Yachts - Team One Newport - North Sails J Boats - Point Loma Outfitting - Melges Performance Sailboats Harken - Ullman Sails - IYRS - North U Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
