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SCUTTLEBUTT 2025 -- February 7, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary,opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. DONE IN BY OLYMPIC SCORING Miami, Florida -- The double weighted medal race in the ISAF Grade C1 Yngling North American Championship proved to be the undoing of World Champions Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Deborah Cappozzi (USA). Going into that race, the Americans held a three point lead in the championship. Sunday's Medal Race was sailed in a very shifty northwesterly breeze behind the front. Barkow appeared to have a great start, but the boats that got off onto port early hit a major shift and established an insurmountable lead. Barkow finished ninth in the 10-boat double-weighted, “un-discardable” final Medal Race. Monica Azon, Graciela Pisonero and Sandra Azon (ESP) won a crucial Medal Race to claim the championship by 13 points and secure their first victory in an ISAF Graded event since they lifted the World title back in 2002. Barkow only just held on to second place with 27 points, with 2003 World Champion Hannah Swett, Melissa Purdy and Liz Filter (USA) seventh in the Medal Race, leaving them just a point behind their team mates with 28 points. Britain’s Olympic gold medal winners Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb along with Victoria Rawkubgson came in fourth overall (31pts), with the fifth spot in the twelve strong fleet going to Carol Cronin, Kimberly Couranz and Margaret Podlich (USA) with 34 points. -- http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/RolexMiamiOCR/Yngling49erNas.htm * At the same venue Dalton Bergan and Zach Maxam (USA) with just 17 points were a class apart at the 19-boat ISAF Grade C1 49er North American Championship, scoring six bullets on their way to an impressive 18 point victory in Miami, Florida. The new Olympic scoring system was not used in for this 49er championship. Second place went to the number four crew in the ISAF World Sailing Rankings, Nico Delle Karth and Nicko Resch (AUT) with 35 points. World Champions Rodion Luka and George Leonchuk (UKR) completed the top three with 36 points, while Pawel Kacprowski and Fedusio Arkadiusz (POL) took fourth with 43 points and Tom Lonnqvist and Jacob Grinquist (FIN) fifth with 54 points. -- http://tinyurl.com/c7z6s * Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN) produced a strong finish in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, to take victory at the ISAF Grade 1 Finn Midwinters, ahead of Olympic silver medallist Rafael Trujillo (ESP). The Dane’s consistency proved the key to his victory as he never once slipped outside the top four in the ten race series. American Zach Railey took third place in this championship which did not use the Olympic scoring system. Victory for Hoegh-Christensen in the 20 strong Finn fleet, combined with his third place at the ISAF Grade 1 Rolex Miami OCR at the end of January could well be enough to propel him above Ben Ainslie (GBR) and back to the top of the ISAF World Sailing Rankings when they are released this Wednesday 8 February. -- http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1/Fh/zv2 REQUEST FOR REDRESS Ericsson, fourth placed in Saturday’s Melbourne In-Port Race today protested its recall at the start, demanding redress for the points it lost in responding to the call. An international jury will hear Ericsson’s case on Thursday. There is much at stake. In Saturday’s race, ABN Amro Two and Ericsson were each recalled to the start line after having been adjudged to be across the line when the gun fired on the iron barque James Craig at 1400 local time. Amro Two appears to have been clearly across the line, but Ericsson maintains it was not premature. It also appeared to respond much later to a recall than ABN Amro Two, losing at least two minutes on the rest of the fleet. That it only lost the race to ABN Amro One by one minute 59 seconds, after clawing its way back through the fleet over the four laps of the windward/leeward course, will be relevant in its case to the jury. Ericsson could well argue it was the fastest boat in the fleet on Saturday. Ericsson today signalled that it wants to see the evidence of the premature start and the timing of the recall. In a press statement the team said, “The Ericsson Racing Team has strong reasons to believe that there was confusion on the race committee boat, which resulted in Ericsson being erroneously recalled. “The return to the start clearly affected Ericsson’s finishing position in this race; hence the team’s decision to submit a claim for redress to the international jury.” -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org/ OLD RIVALS One of the world sport's most celebrated rivalries will be reignited this weekend when Australian yachtsman John Bertrand goes head-to-head against America's Cup arch-rival Dennis Conner for the first time since 1983. Bertrand and the vanquished Conner have competed in events involving other contestants since their epic encounter 23 years ago, but never in a match race simulating the America's Cup. Conner will arrive in Melbourne on Friday before sailing off against Bertrand in a three-match series hosted by the Sandringham Yacht Club, all part of a southern sojourn for a fleet of yachts circumnavigating the globe in the Volvo Ocean Race. The two men will face off in Volvo 60 yachts, the ones that were used in the round-the-world race four years ago. Each boat will have a crew of eight, and the matching of yacht and skipper will be determined by the toss of a coin. The course will be much shorter than at the America's Cup encounters, with each race expected to take about 20 minutes. -- Richard Gluyas, The Australian, full story: http://tinyurl.com/c8ylt YOU CAN SPEND A LIFETIME LEARNING TO BE A BETTER SAILOR NorthU accelerates the process. 55 NorthU seminars are scheduled throughout North America. This weekend NorthU will be in San Francisco for Rules & Tactics, and Detroit and Chicago for both Cruising & Seamanship and Weather for Sailors. Soon NorthU will be coming to a town near you. Or try a Florida Race Week, Bluewater Miles Passage, Expedition Performance Software Seminar, or Bonnell Cove Foundation Suddenly Alone Seminar. See the latest in books, CDs and DVDs. Learn more and try the NorthU quiz at http://www.NorthU.com IN FOCUS Excuse the pun, but the widely-read German weekly magazine Focus has recently focused its substantial media spotlight onto the America's Cup. Journalist Till Behrend, who covers the AC for Focus writes today that: "I was recently invited to a sportsponsoring congress in Munich. Preparing for the panel, I went through all my sailing stories of 2005. To my own surprise, they added up to 13 full pages (plus a number smaller articles). 12 of the 13 dealt with the America's Cup. So, for the first time, there was about as much America's Cup in Focus as there was Formula 1. – Excerpt of a posting on the BMW Oracle Racing blog, http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/stories/1521722/ 500 KIDS KIDNAPPED BY PIRATES The villains from Paul Cayard’s Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean put on a show, hosted by sponsor Pescanova, on Melbourne’s Central Pier that instilled in the kids the allure and the fascination of the Volvo Ocean Race around the world. The children, from State schools around the city, turned out in Pescanova-branded yellow foul weather oilskins, like little lighthouse keepers with ears keenly tuned for tales of the sea. Black Pearl’s participation in the race is a partnership between the Walt Disney Company and Volvo Ocean Race, supporting the July release of the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. At each of the ports of call in the race, the Pirates of the Caribbean with Pescanova is hosting a major children’s event. The Melbourne show today was uniquely Australian, with stories of shearers, bushrangers and the local fauna. Central Pier was transformed from a concrete block into a Pirate City by means of spectacular décor – a red carpet walkway lined with barrels and old sea chests bursting with treasure, muskets and sails. – www.volvooceanrace.org FROM THE FORUMS The recent discussion in Scuttlebutt concerning the aggressive hiking in the Melges 24 class racing has prompted the following post in the Scuttlebutt Forums from the International Melges 24 Class Executive Committee: “The Melges 24 is an owner-driven class and the question of hiking line rules has been periodically discussed and amended since the boat's introduction in the early 1990s with the last amendment being made in 2002. The recent appearance of various hiking aids/hooks has reopened discussions about hiking line tension, hiking methods, and the use of hiking aids. At the request of the owners, the IMCA Technical Advisor is currently undertaking a further review of the relevant rules, and the timing of the Scuttlebutt poll is therefore most fortuitous. The IMCA is watching the poll results with interest and very much appreciates all the comments submitted, particularly those from sailors with Melges 24 experience.” Additional comments on this subject can be posted here: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1871#1871 NORTH SAILS CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Master a skill that can launch your career in the marine industry. Enjoy a fun lifestyle. Realize great sailing opportunities. North Sails is hiring in all three North American manufacturing sites - Milford, CT, Stevensville, MD, and Toronto, Canada. Each site runs two shifts with excellent work hours, good pay, and benefits. Hiring all levels of expertise. Many top sailing professionals have started their careers with us. If you are interested in joining the industry leader, head North. Contact Pete Colby at pete@nmg.northsails.com or 203-783-4203. - http://www.northsails.com HE’S AT IT AGAIN Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett aims to take off this week on what promises to be the longest non-stop flight in aviation history, and the most difficult part will be the journey's dangerous start. Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett aims to take off this week on what promises to be the longest non-stop flight in aviation history, and the most difficult part will be the journey's dangerous start. Steve Fossett taxis off the runway after landing the GlobalFlyer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. GlobalFlyer's wings and their twin booms will be filled with 18,000 pounds of jet fuel. The airplane's ultralight frame will have to bear a load 13 times its own weight to get off the ground. Any turbulence during the three-hour climb to cruising altitude could rip the aircraft apart. Fossett has climbed the highest mountains on six continents. He swam the English Channel in 1985, mushed the 1,165-mile Iditarod sled dog race in 1992, competed in the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii in 1996 and drove the 24 Hours of LeMans auto race twice, in 1993 and 1996. An accomplished sailor and pilot, Fossett also has set 109 world speed and distance records in airplanes, balloons, gliders and sailing vessels. Sixty-nine of those records still stand. -- Todd Halvorson, USA Today, full story: http://tinyurl.com/9mma8 NEWS BRIEFS * Sailors from around the world have begun their preparations for Acura Miami Race Week which begins March 9. The TP52 class will hold its first ever global championship at Premiere Racing’s Miami event. Swan 45s, Farr 40s, J/105s, Mumm 30s, and Melges 32s, Melges 24s and J/24s have been invited to compete on the Ocean Courses in the waters off Miami Beach. Handicap racing will return next month under both the IRC and PHRF rules. The Rolex TP52 Global Championship will feature an expanded racing format over 6 days and includes both a distance and coastal race. -- http://www.Premiere-Racing.com * The future base of the America's Cup first German challenger ever is finally off the ground. Within a week from our latest visit in Port America's Cup, construction has started and the first steel beams of the base's structure are now clearly visible. Despite the very bad winter weather that brought cold, rain and even snow in Valencia, construction is progressing at an extremely fast pace. Crews were unloading truckloads of material necessary for the base and construction will begin in full earnest on Monday. – Valencia Sailing, story and pictures: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ * After taking their VO70 out the water and removing the mast, the Brasil 1 team got together to discuss the team’s calendar of activities until the start of the race and the preparations required for the next two legs. One of the things that Torben Grael and technical director Horacio Carabelli are evaluating is what spare parts to load. * Marine industry veteran Olivier Criou has been sales manager of Harken Yacht Equipment's French operation. Criou brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new position, having worked for Marlow Ropes as European Sales Manager, and for Euronav and B & G, leading suppliers of navigational and electronic equipment. Home base for Criou is the La Rochelle office. He will travel extensively throughout the country, supplying customers with high performance winches and hardware for sailboats from dinghies to super yachts. * With just 12 knots of breeze, solo circumnavigator Dee Caffari on the 72-foot Aviva Challenge was able to hoist a full main, and open the hatches on her ‘westabout’ record attempt. “The blue sky had a scattering of stratos cloud, and the sea was reduced to an ocean swell rather than waves that can break. It had taken on a deep blue colour again and both the sea temperature and air temperature rose as the sun rose,” she said. With 14,000 miles still to go, Aviva made 132 miles in the last 24 hours -- a 4.7 knot average. – www.avivachallenge.com IS INSURANCE COVERAGE TROUBLING YOU? Gowrie, Barden & Brett has insurance solutions if you race offshore or around the buoys. We are the exclusive insurance provider for US Sailing. “We worry about your risk, so you can concentrate on boat speed.” Get a quote today; Email Rod Clingman at rodc@gowrie.com or call 800-BOAT-911. - http://www.gowrie.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 thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Robin Wallace (celebration of the International Sailing Federation's 100th anniversary): The amount requested by ISAF as a "rights fee" to be the host port for the 2007 Sail The World event in 2007 is 500,000 Euro which is about US$650,000 Also there are significant additional costs to a potential host port that make it a very difficult sell in the USA for a two day event occurring over the Labor Day weekend in 2007. However I hope that Newport, Annapolis and many other renowned sailing venues will pick up the invitation from ISAF to hold their own events in 2007 to salute the centenary of the formation of the governing body of sailing world wide, now known as ISAF. * From Steve Brown: Your thread on insurance is missing the point; there are no West Coast insurance companies who will cover anything other than a sail to Avalon (on Catalina Island). I have quit my insurance carrier and moved to US Sailing permanently. * From Manfred C. Schreiber: Sailing on TV - every now and than this debate is on and my view is plain simple. They just don´t do it right. No matter how many races, how its being counted, what courses they lay. The TV guys should improve covering our sport. E.g: watching the 2hrs DVD which came with Yachting World, the Seamaster Series. Not much change since cancelling my subscription. The same style of coverage all over the various events. Don´t get me wrong. Great pictures, not easy to do but with lot´s of repetition, cleverly cut together. Hat´s off for the guys doing this! But still boats just passing through the picture. You could not even watch Ben Ainsle coming out of the start -- what would he do next; how does he end up after a crowded mark rounding/ All zap, zap. This you do not have in Golf. They show the ball flying, rolling, coming to a halt, the player reading the green from all angles. Cameramen should be told to stay with an "object“. This makes it more interesting. Not the on-going changes implemented to the sport by people who probably don’t watch it as a real spectator, but changing the rules. It is about time that the active sailors have a word. Their appearance in interviews and press-conferences helps pulling sponsors into the sport. Which helps spectators coming, which pulls the TV. Not the other way round. All very intelligently said by Julian Bethwaite in the CompuServe Forum many years ago. * From Ted Graves: Thanks to Malcolm McKeag for his perspective (Butt 2023) regarding the difficulties of selling sailing on TV. Background music and accelerated wipe outs? Ouch! This sort of confirms my suspicion that key to appreciating (selling) what we do is, in fact, having an audience that's at least done it once or twice. My son could never understand what my dazed look and silly smile were all about until I took he and a Little League friend of his out for their first sail. I put him on the tiller just before we caught a little puff and, as the boat took off, I heard him utter one quiet word to himself. "Awesome!" O.K., so he went back to playing baseball, but the kid he brought with him came back and is now a very fine Laser sailor. Take someone sailing for the first time and let them steer for a bit. If the sun is shining and there's a little breeze, you probably won't need background music. * From Charlie Hartman: Alas, we have forgotten that the Olympics are about the competitors, and made it more about the spectators. I can imagine nothing more fun than an day on the water with the wind blowing and a bunch other sailors trying to see who is the fastest around the course. Having also worked on race committee, I also know that for spectators, sailing can be difficult to observe. It is hard to assess positions, and when the wind is not blowing particularly hard, to an observers the racing can seem less than exciting. I'm a sailor, and for the non-sailor, sailboat racing must seem less like a race and more like leisure activity. Never the less, I would hate to see sailing dropped from the Olympics because it is not photogenic. * From James Stevralia: Some time ago, maybe 15 years I was at a breakfast presentation by some members of the USOC and IOC boards. I was married at the time to an equestrian instructor (yes some sport participants take regular coaching--even adults) so I had a particular interest in the riding events as well as the sailing. There was much speculation at the time about reducing the number of events and of mention was always riding and "yachting". After the breakfast I approached one of the prime speakers who happens to be quite famous--at least in the US for other involvement-and asked about the plans to eliminate events. His answer was wonderful and I have respected him ever since. He said so long as he had influence the Olympics would never eliminate events--maybe even add more. He continued that sure some events are great for mass media viewing on tv, others for mass spectating, but others geared to interested but enthusiastic followers. The Olympics have a place for all. The media has the mass viewing to show, but it cannot control all. That is what pro sports are for! The Olympics are for all sports and sports men and women! Oh yes, the person was a great sportsman -- George Steinbrenner. * From Bruce Thompson: This month's Chemical Engineering magazine has an editorial, "A deplorable tendency for accident-related risks". It warns against the tendency toward "normalizing abnormalities". Please remember that NASA normalized o-ring erosion and got the Challenger disaster. Then they normalized sloughing insulation and got the Columbia disaster. Currently, the space shuttle remains grounded. As regards Formula One, look at what happened on the tire front in 2005. All the teams using Michelin tires sat out a race when the manufacturer withdrew its tires. Their experts told the drivers it was too dangerous! Talking about "60 ft seas and in the 45 knot winds" when the fleet did not experience those conditions, but likely will on leg 4, seems quite optimistic. But the competitors now at least recognize they have always had the responsibility for their own safety. Do they also recognize the limits of their knowledge? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION A lot of money is tainted - It taint yours and it taint mine. Special thanks to North U, North Sails, and Gowrie, Barden & Brett. |
