|
SCUTTLEBUTT 1498 - January 16, 2004Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. GUEST EDITORIAL - Peter Harken There are not enough superlatives to describe our buddy and Rolex winner, Augie Diaz. In the heydays of the Olympic 470 Class in the 70s and 80s our affections and respect were numbered in the amounts of insults and pranks we heaped upon each other at the many regattas we attended. Augie was one of the top of that class and so in respect we rigged his boat for him, at midnight, ready to go, sails and all! There was a flurry of four letter Spanish words and such upon the following morn at the Davis Island YC swimming pool where Augie's boat floated serenely, but ready! Many of those top sailors would come to our factory in Pewaukee Wis. and "help" us during the build of their boat and so did Augie - arriving in January when our waters are hard and the sailing fast. A few intelligent pointers from us like "aw, it's simple and brainless" and off we sent an excited Augie into the dim late afternoon light on his first iceboat ride, solo! The ice was black and hard and in seconds he was gone into the void! About 30 seconds later we heard an anguished yelling mixture of Spanish and English four letter words and others including "muerte" and "I could have died" from somewhere out on the lake. We jumped into our own iceboats and found him jumping up and down and waving his arms and rather wet to boot. Our "Ice boat version of the Miami Heat" had found the lone hole in the lake! His hot Latin blood and words kept him from freezing, and after insulting his predicament with laughter we sailed him back to the bar and pumped hot chili and copious amounts of beer into him and soon he was laughing and bragging his exploits like a true ice! Augie Diaz, the best - and he did it all himself! OFFICIAL WORD FROM THE US COAST GUARD: The USCG is exploring many options to improve PFD wear rates, including possible rulemaking. However, there are no current proposed legislation or regulatory action. We are looking forward to getting input from the meeting at the Miami Boat Show on Feb. 13th that Mr. Hawley will be moderating, as to suggestions from the boating public and industry on possible efforts to increase PFD wear within the world of boating. We will take that input back to the National Boating Safety Advisory Committee (NBSAC) who may advise us further concerning this subject. - Richard V Kanehl, Recreational Boating Safety Specialist, USCG, G-OPB-3, 202-267-0976 AT LONG LAST . . . Three years of waiting is almost at an end for more than 200 crew volunteers who will discover on Saturday (17th January 2004) who they will race around the world with in the Global Challenge 2004/5. Dubbed "the world's toughest yacht race," this around the globe the "wrong way" against the prevailing winds and currents was full before the BT Global Challenge 2000/1 had even set sail. Crew Volunteers have had to wait all this time to find out which yacht they will be in, who their skipper is, and who their crewmates are. The crew lists, which have been kept secret, even from staff at race organisers Challenge Business, will be announced at 18.00 in the Waterfront Rooms at this year's Schroders London Boat Show, ExCeL, by Sir Chay Blyth. Crewmembers have traveled from far and wide to hear the announcement. One volunteer, Maro Antonio Prieto Barreto, is journeying to London from Brazil, even though he is a reserve crewmember and not guaranteed a place on a boat. After a party on Saturday night, the crews will settle down to the serious process of getting to know each other and learning to work together essential since they face more than 18 months in each other's company in the build up to and during the race. The overall cost of a berth for Global Challenge is £26,750. - Rachel Anning, http://www.challengebusiness.com/ HIT THE MARK Remember thinking to yourself "these really should be replaced" when you were putting away the club's race marks at season's end? If so, here's your happy little reminder to do it. A few years ago Annapolis Performance Sailing set out to make practical racing marks that would hold up for multiple seasons without breaking the bank. Custom manufactured with wide heat-sealed seams and ½" and 1" two-way valves for inflation and deflation, available in yellow or orange and 32" x 32" or 32" x 48" sizes, we think we hit the mark with these. Available here http://www.apsltd.com/depts/dept3594.asp THE OLYMPICS Team New Zealand's America's Cup loss may boost New Zealand's medal chances at this year's Olympics as several professional sailors return to the mix. New Zealand has so far qualified in seven out of a possible 11 Olympic sailing classes. Trials begin today to determine which New Zealanders will sail in five of those classes - the men's 470, women's 470, Laser, Europe and men's Mistral. The Finn representative will be selected after a series of regattas in Europe. Team New Zealand's loss of the Auld Mug has seen skipper Dean Barker turn his focus to securing the Finn spot while his former America's Cup team-mates Hamish Pepper and Dan Slater are in contention for the Laser spot. Adam Beashel has teamed up with former OneWorld sailor Ed Smyth to try to qualify New Zealand a place in the 49ers. "The America's Cup, although it was fantastic to have it here, it actually was pretty tough on our Olympic programme because you lost so many people," says Yachting New Zealand's high performance manager Peter Lester. "So to have a few of them come back is great." - Julie ash, NZ Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/yrsjt NEWS BRIEFS * 505s from across the country trekked south to St. Petersburg last weekend for the 2004 505 Midwinter Championship. While the weekend temperatures were warmer than those in the northeast, the cold air mass sweeping the nation still chilled Florida, with morning temps in the 40s, never going higher than the low 50s and gusts over 20 kts. Ethan Bixby and Erik Boothe dominated the regatta for the 4th consecutive year, winning 7 of the 8 races. Ali Meller and Jesse Falsone finished in second place followed by Macy Nelson and Tom Hurwitch. - Full results: http://tinyurl.com/2medl * Former SP Systems Germany changed their name to Composit Technologie & Material GmbH (CTM) to conform with the SP trademark and corporate identity standards. Except for the name, nothing else changes. C T M GmbH located at Schleswig in North Germany supplies composite technology and materials, stocks the comprehensive product range of SP Systems, UK, as well as related materials and is the SP representative for the German, Polish and Baltic States marine market. www.CTMat.de * As Jean Luc Van den Heede is preparing to round Cape Leeuwin, the second mythical marker in his 'backwards' round the world record attempt, the Indian Ocean has decided to give him a very warm welcome. On the 69th day of the passage, the 84-foot aluminum VDH has reached the point where record holder Philippe Monnet was after 87 days at sea. - www.vdh.fr * Bernice McArdle has written back to Scuttlebutt to advise us that the NBSAC is not a Committee, but a Council. * The nine applicant cities for the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012 had to return the questionnaire that the IOC asked them to complete by 15 January 2004. Paris (FRA), Leipzig (GER), New York (USA), Moscow (RUS), Istanbul (TUR), Havana (CUB), London (GBR), Madrid (ESP) and Rio de Janeiro (BRA) are in the running to take the next step: to convert from an "applicant city" to a "candidate city". The election of the city that will organize the Games of the XXX Olympiad will be held during the IOC Session in July 2005 in Singapore. - ISAF website, http://www.sailing.org/ CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar IN MEMORIAM * Clay Eich, 23, of Palmetto, formerly of St. Petersburg, died Tuesday (Jan. 13, 2004) at home. A native of St. Petersburg, he had recently moved to Palmetto. He was a 1999 graduate of St. Petersburg High School. He received an associate of arts degree from St. Petersburg College in 2003. He sailed for St. Petersburg Yacht Club for 10 years. He represented the United States at three European championships in Ireland, Holland and Turkey before the age of 15. He raced for St. Petersburg High School's sailing team for four years. * The curmudgeon has just learned that one of Southern California's most successful offshore racers, Dick Pennington, passed away Wednesday evening at his home in Huntington Beach. I believe Dick was 72 years old. We understand that funeral services will be held this weekend. I had the pleasure of doing two Transpac races with Dick, at least a half dozen Mexican races and a lot of regattas. During the period his Peterson-designed ULDB 70 set a new elapsed time record for the Los Angles Yacht Club's race around Guadalupe Island to Cabo San Lucas; won line honors in the Ensenada Race and came within a freckle of winning the California Cup. Dick was truly one of the good guys in our sport … and gave new meaning to the term 'colorful.' He had a heart as big as the Hollywood sign, and certainly enjoyed life to the fullest. Those of us who were privileged to sail with Dick Pennington were easily recognized after the regatta by the big smiles on our faces. SIXTY-FIVE KNOTS DEAD DOWNWIND AND HEADING TO KEY WEST The Harken service trailer has just port-tacked traffic jams on the Jersey Turnpike, with room at the mark coming into Key West. Don't be the slow boat because your crew parties too hard instead of cleaning winches. Four Harken service techs will be on hand to assist. Is your boat equipped with brand X? No worries. Our guys can help there too! Stop by the Harken trailer to learn servicing secrets. If no one's trailerside, check the Hog's Breath! http://www.harken.com/scuttlebutt/keywest.html LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Art Engel: The ISAF Advertising Code can be confusing. Unfortunately, Nick Barran's letter (Scuttlebutt 1497) may make matters worse. ISAF Reg. 20.10(h) defines "Competitor Advertising." However, as pointed out in the preamble to Reg. 20.10 not all definitions are actually used and "Competitor Advertising" is one of those that is not used. The definition of "Advertising" is set forth in Reg. 20.1 and is "the name, logo, slogan, description, depiction, a variation or distortion thereof, or any other form of communication that promotes an organization, person, product, service, brand or idea so as to call attention to it or to persuade persons or organizations to buy, approve or otherwise support it." Even the lightning bolt on a Lightning sail is "advertising" [but is exempted under Reg. 20.3(a)]. Clearly, the name and logo of a business would be "advertising" regardless of whether any money changed hands. At the recent ISAF Meeting Reg. 20.8 was amended to change the word "should" to "shall" so the provision now says "There shall be no variation of entry fees based on the competitor's category of advertising for the boat in which he is competing." Presumably the new 2004 ISAF Regulations will contain the new language when they are released sometime later in 2004. * From Alan Newcomb: Nick Barran's dissertation in Issue 1497 about advertising is badly flawed. He quotes the ISAF definition of "Competitor Advertising" which says that there must be a correlation between the advertising on the competitor's boat and the compensation for such advertising. True, but the ISAF Advertising Code (Appendix 1, Rule 20) speaks of and restricts "Advertising," which has a definition that does not require this correlation. But even if it did, Nick's example of a business owner wanting to advertise their business on their boat, and stating that the business owner is not receiving compensation for such advertising, is questionable. I would want to be checking that business owner's company expense logs before making that assumption. I would imagine that pretty soon his regatta expenses are going to get laundered through his business accounting as a marketing expense, which seems like sufficient compensation to violate the definition of "Competitor Advertising." * From Kimball Livingston, Senior Editor, West Coast, Sail magazine: I wrote the item that gave David Sligh the opportunity to (good-naturedly) flail SAIL Magazine for writing as if soft-water sailing speed records are the records, period. I am reminded of my late mother in law, a powerful woman who insisted upon adding, "with the help of God," to any promise or plan. I loved her dearly. But it was always my premise that God was smart enough to know that I implicitly placed a lot of qualifiers in front of any statement I might ever make (As in, "It will be a 3-day passage.") In the same vein, even though Sail runs stories about hard-water sailing, I don't think we have to explain too often that we're keenly focused on soft-water sailing. On a different note, I've talked twice this week with keenly-focused Daniel Kampo, who is set up at Ferry Canyon Lake, Montana in his ongoing effort to break the ice sailing speed record. He calls his boat Miss Wisconsin, and you can check out the latest pics at his web site at http://www.miswislandiceyacht.com. The current record--143 mph in a 72 mph breeze--was set in 1938 on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin by John Buckstaff in the stern steerer Debutante. That's a record that has its believers and its doubters, but either way it's a hard mark to beat. And I admit, even half that is way-doggies fast. Keep fighting for what you love, David, because we love people who love their sailing. * From Gregory Scott (edited to our 250-word limit): I have read the various PFD references and appreciate enough is enough and points have been well addressed on both sides. No one advocates for reckless use of our water ways! However, I must wade in on this because of a statement made in today's editorial section of Butt. The words; "At the NASBLA conference last October, a lengthy discussion took place about Canada's implementation of mandatory lifejacket legislation for all boaters." I am a Canadian boater and was surprised to learn something that I wasn't aware of. I then spoke to a representative from the Canadian Coast Guard and queried this news. They were not aware of this "mandatory legislation" being referenced in Butt So I contacted the writer, Bernice McArdle and according to Ms. McArdle there seems to be a mistake. The error was not in what Butt published but what was submitted. Somewhere along the way the words "proposed" legislation - became "implemented" legislation. And what was really being suggested was that Canada was considering heading in this direction - not that Canada was already leading the pack. Anyone interested can find the Canadian rules online. They do not say you must wear a PFD, they say you must have one on board. I wanted to assure my Canadian friends that they haven't missed something slipped past us over the holidays. http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/obs-bsn/sbg-gsn/main_e.htm * From Gregory Scott: I was one of the many who supported Derek's dash around the world. It was quite rewarding seeing the faces of my four children as they saw their names printed on the side of Spirit of Canada knowing their names were going around the world. They had no doubt he was going to make it. I am very proud of Derek and those who came to his further support to bring those names home and allow him to "finish" his journey. * From Graham Kelly: It was interesting to see Jerry Kaye's letter in S'butt 1497 which noted the reluctance of protest committees to throw out cheaters, and suggested a change in the rules designed to help the committee sort out the facts presented at protest hearings. He also complained about arrogance, and judges who are unwilling to apply the rules in a uniform manner. I don't know where Mr. Kaye does his sailing, but his observations suggest that his area may be plagued by a shortage of qualified judges, and the lack of judges with sailing experience makes it difficult to successfully protest the cheaters and lineshavers in his sailing area. My suggestion is that he assemble a group of like-minded individuals to attend a judges' seminar, pass the test, and become judges. I think that nothing is more likely to deter the cheaters than the likelihood that protests will be heard by judges with sailing experience and the willingness to punish habitual offenders. And all of the sailors who attend would become well versed in the requirements for filing a protest, so that no future PC could ever say "It's too late" to enforce the Rules. * From Jeff Carlile: According to the ISAF website presenting the Q&A -- "Unlike the ISAF Cases, which are authoritative interpretations and explanations of the rules, these answers are solely to assist judges in applying the rules in a consistent way." By my reading of the rules, I agree with the general answer that 'yes, a race committee is allowed to score a boat under rule A5 after the race,' but not for the reason given. A5 clearly states: A boat that did not start, comply with rule 30.2 or 30.3, or finish, or that takes a penalty under rule 44.3 or retires after finishing, shall be scored accordingly by the race committee without a hearing. Only the protest committee may take other scoring actions that worsen a boat's score. Given the rule, particularly the last sentence, it is a bit misleading to say that "Under rule A5, the race committee may score a boat, or correct a score, at any time." Clearly, there are limits to the race committee's scoring actions.As for the specific example in Q&A #115, the race committee decision to score Boat C OCS under rule A5 without a hearing is appropriate since Boat C did not, by definition, start ("A boat starts when after her starting signal any part of her hull, crew or equipment first crosses the starting line and she has complied with rule 29.1 and rule 30.1 if it applies.") CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUMS Is it true that the only difference between a yard sale and a trash pickup is how close to the street the stuff is placed? |
