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SCUTTLEBUTT 1504 - January 26, 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. KEY WEST Upstaging the Farr 40 establishment, the way Peter De Ridder cleaned house Friday at Terra Nova Trading Key West 2004, presented by Nautica, he'll be paying excess baggage charges on his way home to Monaco and The Netherlands. The Dutch investor is a longtime presence in world sailing with a series of Mean Machine racers but a relative novice in the slambang Farr 40 class. "We started low key," he said, "sneaked into second place [Thursday] with a fourth and a second, and all of a sudden..." Winners of the class. Terra Nova Trading Trophy Boat of the Week for winning the most competitive class. A share of the Nautica Trophy International Team Competition victory, courtesy of the presenting sponsor. Mean Machine was paired with Kristian Nergaard's Melges 24, Baghdad, from Norway as the Europe B team, which outsailed nine other Farr 40-Melges 24 global alliances. Kelly, Andrew Cheney's Beneteau 1st 10 from St. Petersburg, Fla., received the Lewmar Trophy as PHRF Boat of the Week for winning PHRF 9, where six of the 10 racers won races but he won three. Rumor, John Storck Jr.'s J/30 from Huntington, N.Y. was Terra Nova Trading Day Boat of the Day for winning Friday's finale, which earned fourth place overall. France made a strong runner-up bid for the Nautica Trophy with Sebastian Col's victory over 14-year-old Samuel (Shark) Kahn in the Melges 24s---although Kahn won his third race in a row Friday---but Erik Maris' Twins 2 was too far back in the Farr 40s in 13th. Kahn, the current world champion, won four of nine races and led most of the week as Col, sailing Philippe Ligot's P&P Sailing Team entry, dragged a 59-point anchor around the course for jumping the starting line Monday. But when Col was able to discard that score after the seventh race, the contest turned around. Kahn, now trailing by five points, did everything he could except put the necessary boats between himself and the Frenchman. He match-raced Col off the pin end of the line and chased him relentlessly around the seven-leg, 14-mile course until passing him on the last upwind beat to the finish to win by three boat lengths, with his father Philippe a close third to claim fifth place overall. Rich Bergmann's Zuni Bear from San Diego, last year's Boat of the Week, repeated its J/105 victory---by a hair---in an all-California showdown with Tom Coates' onrushing Masquerade from San Francisco. Zuni Bear won four of six races, then slipped to 9-6-7 as Masquerade closed out the week 1-4-1. That left both with 28 points but Zuni Bear with more wins for the tiebreaker. The conditions all week were such that most of the 3,000 sailors who worked 301 boats from 18 countries and 32 states were going home happy, no matter where they finished. - Rich Roberts Complete results: www.premiere-racing.com/04_KW_Results/kw_2004_releases.htm There are really great photos in our Key West photo gallery: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/keywest/ AMERICA'S CUP The Swiss are demanding a £700,000 (approx. US$1,274,000) bond from teams wanting to challenge Alinghi for the America's Cup in Valencia in 2007. However the start-up costs for challengers have received a welcome reduction by the waiving of the entry fee, which had been set at £320,000 (approx. US$582,500). Costs and the distribution of revenue are the key areas of interest for the first America's Cup to be held in Europe. The management company is based in Geneva. The Swiss have felt able to drop the entry fee by virtue of holding a bidding auction for host cities. Valencia's winning offer and the sale of title sponsor rights to Louis Vuitton and Endesa mean the Swiss have raised at least £71 million. Some challengers are bound to feel uncomfortable by the rights the Swiss have locked up for themselves, claiming branding space on yacht hulls and banning teams from selling merchandise from their own bases. - Tim Jeffery, The Daily Telegraph, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2ylyv QUOTE / UNQUOTE "I've just returned from meetings in New Zealand and Australia with some top sailors and designers. The trip yielded a healthy dose of reality of what teams are facing this time to compete. It's clear that other than the big two (Oracle and Alinghi), there maybe only one or two other mega teams possible if at all. After looking at the options of what we already have in place in San Francisco, it seems logical to take the Sausalito Yacht Club America's Cup Challenge to the next level." - John Sweeney, www.2007ac.com forum NEW ONLINE CATALOG AT PIRATESLAIR.COM Browse through our 293-page online catalog while waiting for your paper version via snailmail. Search by brand name or product style. Book a regatta with us by March and receive free giveaways, sponsorships, and other goodies for your regatta. Browse the online catalog at http://www.pirateslair.com/html/catalogmain.html or request a free catalog and complimentary widget at http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing JULES VERNE TROPHY 2004 * No Round the World start for the 125-foot catamaran Cheyenne as poor winds are forecasted for the leg to the equator. Skipper Steve Fossett and crew remain ready to respond to changes, but no new likely weather until the second week of February., "What looked potentially acceptable 24 hours ago has worsened," Fossett said. "We would be giving up too much at the start with a slow trip south." Watch Captain David Scully added, "You have to know when to go - and when to say no." * Since her launch, December 22nd, the 124-foot catamaran Orange II has been tested at sea in the perspective of the Jules Verne Trophy attempt. The boat has returned to the shipyard for a week at the beginning of January for a few technical modifications, and is currently carrying on a set-up and optimisation process. "We sailed recently in stronger wind and sea conditions, in order to validate the choices made for the sail plan once and for all," said Bruno Peyron. "We also had to finish working on details of the deck layout, on the mast foot and on deck hardware. The first technical evaluation is positive, everything is going well as far as structure, sails and deck hardware are concerned. There's still a bit of work to be done on the deck layout, and we need to optimize the rudder systems, as well as the rudder blades." Peyron said that the boat should be at the Lorient technical base by next week. The base was formerly occupied by the Défi Français (America's Cup French Syndicate). From this date, the catamaran will enter her final preparation phase and should be on stand-by from February 15. The crew selection process set up by Bruno Peyron is faithful to the values he defends: human qualities, technical abilities, and experience sharing. "If we respect that, we'll have a homogenous group which will work smoothly. One must not get his priorities mixed up. The team that was with me in 2002 of course has priority, I think that's just fair from a human point of view." - http://www.boatsyachtsmarinas.com/orange/html/the_boat.html NZ OLYMPIC TRIALS Hamish Pepper, the former Team New Zealand America's Cup tactician, won the New Zealand Olympic trials in the men's Laser with a race to spare, fending off rivals Andrew Murdoch, Dan Slater and Rod Dawson. Others to secure a nomination include Sarah Macky who won the Olympic nomination in the Europe class after winning the trials with a race to spare at Torbay. Andrew Brown and Jamie Hunt won the men's 470s while Melinda Henshaw and Jan Shearer took out the women's 470s, pipping Shelley Hesson and Linda Dickson. Thomas Ashley took out the men's boards, ahead of James Wells and men's world number one, Jon Paul Tobin, while Barbara Kendall had already qualified for the Games in the women's. The names of the winners are now forwarded to the Yachting New Zealand selectors, who may send those names on automatically to the New Zealand Olympic Committee. However, if the selectors have any concerns, they can wait for the results of some international regattas through the first few months of the year. NZ City, full story: http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=39218 NEWS BRIEFS * Some 450 boats competed on Sydney Harbour today in the 168th Australia Day Regatta, the world's oldest continuous sailing regatta. Modern and classic yachts and Sydney's famous 18-footers and historical replicas, will sail on Sydney Harbour while many of Australia's leading ocean racing yachts raced offshore to Botany Bay and return. The first formally organized Australia Day Regatta was held on Sydney Harbour on 26 January 1836, with sailing and rowing events to entertain the citizens of the first settlement in Australia, then a colony of England. Today, Sydney has a population of near 4.5 million. * Sixty three Star boats gathered at Coral Reef YC for the Biscayne Bay Trophy Regatta. Sailed in 5-7 knots of breeze, only two of the three races were scored, and 18 boats picked up a Black Flag disqualification. Final results: 1. Freddy Loof/ Andey Ekstrom, 3pts; 2. Afonso Domingos/ Bernardo Sanyos, 10; 3. Peter Wright/ Dan Wright, 14; 4. Mark Reynolds/ Steve Erickson, 18; 5. George Szabo/ Mark Strube, 18; 6. Argle Campbell/ Dmitry Yakovenko, 19; 7. Paul Cayard/ Rod Davis, 20; 8. Roberto Benamati/ Filippo Domenical, 23; 9. Jay Makila/ Eki Heinonen, 23 10. Xavier Romart/ Pascal Rambeau, 23. http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=294 * Nick Moloney's 2004 Vendée Globe campaign was given a huge boost as Skandia announced crucial sponsorship which enables Moloney to secure Ellen MacArthur's Open 60 (ex-Kingfisher). Moloney will modify the boat for the May Transat Race prior to the November start of the Vendée Globe. He will become the first Australian to ever compete in the Vendée Globe non-stop round the world race. - http://www.offshorechallenges.com/ WEAPONS FOR THE WINTER SAILING WARS! Is your gear ready for your class Midwinters, the Acura SORC or the Caribbean racing circuit? Padded Sailing Shorts/Long Pants with optional rear seat pads (optional knee pads for Longs), Kontrol Gloves with aggressive-gripped palm-wrap, Waterproof Gloves and Socks, High Collared SunBlocker Sailing Shirts, Floatable Waterproof Gear Bags, and Knee Sleeves are only some of the weapons Sailing Angles has to help you win this winter/spring's wind wars! New quick-dry Shoreline Shorts are ideal, inexpensive team gear. Embroidery available. Team discounts available with a minimum of 3. Order by phone at 800-666-3616 or 305-661-7200 or go online at http://www.sailingangles.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE - Josh Adams "You have to be there to appreciate how well this regatta (Terra Nova Trading Key West 2004) is run. In our fleet, every first race of the day started on time and finished at 1155. Every second race finished between 1430 and 1445. They've really got this down, and it seems that every year the event gets more streamlined ashore and afloat. They're very professional. They have the best PROs, and they fill the time ashore with things that make you a better sailor. There's a weather debriefing every day, and there are lots of seminars - and yes, there's always a party, too. In the mornings you have a regatta newspaper and a weather report, and you're on your way." - Sail magazine deputy editor Josh Adams, complete comments: http://www.sailmagazine.com/ 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 Emma Paull: Tom Keogh and Chris Erickson in Butt 1503 are slightly missing the point. Paul Henderson's 'rant' in Butt 1502 possibly came as reply to Jerry Kaye's letter in Butt 1501 that said there are a lot less than 25% active racing women sailors worldwide or in the US and the quota appears to be a lame attempt to meet some nice girls. ISAF looks after all forms of racing and whilst yacht racing in some countries maybe lacking in female participation, the overall number of women racing is high especially in dinghies, windsurfing and keelboats. This is not always represented in the decision-making areas of the sport. There are lots of people (like Tom and Chris) that recognize that women are equal sailors but there are still a lot of chauvinists out there who just don't see it. I think Paul Henderson is trying to address the problem and his mandate is one way to make some of the older guard move over and let some new faces in. ISAF is political but so are the RYA, US Sailing, even your yacht/sailing club. Hopefully in a couple of years the mandate can be binned but it's a good way to force the issue. * From Peter Huston (edited to our 250-word limit): OK, so Paul Henderson is a man who makes many strong points. Perhaps at times he doesn't put his comments in a form that some would deem to be politically correct, but perhaps they should check their bias before assaulting him in print. While some people want to nitpick various things over his style, let's stop and look at the big picture. One of the important things that the Henderson legacy will have to include is the use of the internet by ISAF. While we all take getting Henderson's viewpoints via email for granted in 2004, were you paying attention in the early/mid 90's when he was pushing ISAF on to the web? Compared to another major national governing body that should know better, ISAF is light years ahead when it comes to using the web. I don't recall past US Sailing President Jim Muldoon, or current Executive Director Nick Craw ever opining in 'butt. What's better, a leader who communicates a lot, even if you don't always like what you hear, or a leader you never hear from? And anyone who took exception to Henderson's comments about "where the girls are the boys will be" simply doesn't know the guy. That was his sly Canadian humor coming through, and you know what, once again he's right. If the following offends anyone, too bad, but from my bias as a flaming heterosexual I really don't much enjoy post race socializing with only a bunch of large males. * From Rona Cant: I am amazed at the email from Scott Ridgeway! The Global Challenge was my only opportunity of racing a magnificent yacht around the world and I am grateful to Chay for that opportunity. It cost under a £1 a mile but the money was insignificant if you look at the goal, the achievement and the dream! If you want something badly enough with a 'gut burning desire' it doesn't matter if you get on with them or not (read my book 'A Challenge Too Far?') you learn to work together and get on even if you would not be friends on dry land where there is choice! Out of a crew of 28 (in total) there were only about 4 who really grated but you ignore that and focus on the others. Your reason to 'go back for more' is your reason. I have been back, I was on the winning yacht in the Round Britain Challenge. Again I did not know any of the crew but I wanted to sail round Britain. When we step out of our comfort zone (for you 'sailing with the unknown') you are pleasantly surprised and it widens your horizons. For me the key to saying 'yes' or 'no' is - do I want to do it? If the answer is 'yes' then I do it and make a whole circle of new friends that I would not otherwise have had the opportunity and good fortune to know. * From Ralph Taylor (edited to our 250-word limit): When to signal an individual or general recall is one of the key topics in the US SAILING race management seminars. Having attended several of these, I can attest that the approved answer in this country is closer to Mr. Brooke's (Perfection may not be attainable.) than it is to Mr. Treacy's (Don't ever allow any unidentified premature starters.) In short, a race officer sometimes has to balance degrees of unfairness. An interesting case was discussed in a recent class: How to deal with an OCS boat unidentified by the RC at the starting signal, but later identified by competitors. If the RC is satisfied with the information, it can score the boat OCS without a hearing. If that boat doesn't like it, they can file for redress from an error by the race committee. So, if your competitor "gets a lucky head start", you can tell the RC. An RC shouldn't automatically assign blame for general recalls to the competitors' aggression and haul out the black flag (which can result in more unfairness.) It should first look at whether its starting line is long enough and square to the wind. General recalls are more likely to happen when too many boats are trying to squeeze into too small a space or a skewed line causes them all to bunch at one end. In real life, OCS boats that don't get identified by the RC are screened from view by other boats, who are also OCS. * From Frank Whitton: I couldn't agree more with Rich du Moulin's overall assessment of safety responsibility. As race organizer for Mexorc, and a sailing enthusiast, I have experienced this issue that has to be addressed by everyone at whatever level. The sailor many times is not the one best to assess complete safety issues. Often sailors are out there because the Race Committee fired off the gun and it wouldn't be "Macho" to not start or to drop out. Individual abilities don't just affect those individuals. They affect everyone out there not to mention any would be rescuers that aren't. Over the recent past sailing platforms have become much more complex and structural materials have greatly increased the strength to weight ratio. Unfortunately, the human strength to weight ratio hasn't evolved at anywhere near the same rate. The result is the loads on rigs, hulls, lines, etc. are much higher and can be more dangerous to humans. In conclusion, if a Race Committee or organizing authority opts to postpone or cancel a race, don't be so quick to criticize their decision. I have been in several sailing events that have had fatalities and when I'm sitting in the bar and looking backwards I have to ask myself, "Was it really important in the overall scheme of things to push ourselves and our platforms to the limit? * From Giancarlo Basile, Italy: Let's say it again: "Any boat failing to immediately attempt to aid a person overboard should be disqualified and the skipper banned from racing for life". As far as the procedure to be followed to rescue a MOB, it is absolutely unreasonable to depart from him with the wind abeam, i.e. at maximum speed, and gybe when all hands are on deck ready for the maneuver. This procedure is still the official one in Italy! I hope they will understand that first thing to do is stop the boat, and this can be done only by immediately going into the wind, letting run guy, sheet and halyard if under spinnaker. A man's life is more important than a spinnaker! CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS Marriage is like a castle under siege - a whole lot of people on the outside trying to get in, and a whole lot of people on the inside trying to get out. |
