|
SCUTTLEBUTT No. 708 - December 12, 2000ABANDON SHIP(Early yesterday morning skipper Pete Goss and his six crewmembers aboard the 120-foot catamaran Team Philips abandoned ship and were rescued by the German cargo ship Hoescht Express. Tim Jeffery provides unique insight in his story posted on the Quokka Sports website. Here's a brief excerpt.) Team Philips had been at sea for a week when the latest misfortune struck. Conditions started to deteriorate over Saturday night. Goss dropped both sails and bore-off downwind to the northeast under bare poles. But still concerned at Team Philips' speed, his crew first streamed warps behind, and then managed to deploy a drogue to throttle the boat back to 12 to 15 knots. "Then they got smacked by three really big waves," explained Mark Orr, managing director for Goss Challenges. "They struck the aft beam and the cockpit pod." A satellite phone antenna was washed clean away but the serious damage was to the underside of the pod where a box containing the hydraulic steering linkages was bonded in. No longer with lock-to lock steering, Goss spoke to his shore team, including meteorologist Lee Bruce and the Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Falmouth. It was decided that to head further away from shipping, toward the path of another particularly severe depression, and with limited steering, would put life at risk. "The Coast Guard was very concerned at their predicament," said Orr, "and we agreed the prudent action would be to evacuate the crew." A Mayday was issued in the early hours. The German ship Hoescht Express was 150 miles away and Goss sped Team Philips up to converge with her. At 0655 Greenwich Mean Time, the Team Philips crew was taken off. Wearing survival suits and lifejackets, they were equipped with personal emergency beacons. They jumped one-by-one into the Atlantic. Lines had been thrown from the ship and each crewman was hauled toward scramble nets and the pilot door, located low on the ship's side. An RAF Nimrod was overhead, its sensors able to track any of the crew by thermal imaging had they become separated in the transfer. Before abandoning her, Goss' crew were able to snug the sails down and raise Team Philips' daggerboards, in the hope that she will slide through the sea's onslaught rather than be wracked to pieces. Orr said: "We do want to recover her." Last night Team Philips' emergency beacon showed her drifting at two knots. - Tim Jeffery, for Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.quokkasailing.com/stories/12/SLQ_1211_therace_WFC.html THE RACE * Team Philips project manager Mark Orr has said he is unsure whether the craft will sail again. "I would like to think so, but we cannot make that decision until we see the boat again, and we do not know when that will be," he said. It remains unclear whether members of the project will bounce back from the latest blow. - BBC News website, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1065000/1065632.stm * It could be several more days before the (Team Philips) yacht's backers can mount a bid to salvage the stricken craft due to the poor weather conditions. There were fears that the catamaran could fall prey to salvage pirates. But a team spokesman today dismissed this. "Even trying to attach a line to her would be very dangerous as she is so aerodynamic," she said. "We hope anyone who comes across her is sensible." The Sun website, UK, http://www.the-sun.co.uk/news/13231226 * Team Philips's absence does not look as if it would trigger a similar unravelling of The Race itself. "I've never seen Team Philips as king-maker in this event," said (club Med skipper Grant) Dalton. "That role falls to Steve Fossett [owner of PlayStation]." Dalton is aware that last week Fossett nearly elected to make a Jules Verne record attempt instead of entering The Race. As owner of PlayStation, he is free to make up his own mind. "To lose PlayStation would hurt the event," said Dalton. "Though Steve says he's on, you must remember he's a futures trader used to making buying and selling decisions up to the last second." Dalton is convinced The Race will go ahead "in some shape or form". - Tim Jeffery, Daily Telegraph, UK, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001648423620749&rtmo=gjgVG7Vu&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/00/12/12/soyots12.html * PlayStation waits in Falmouth, UK for next weather window to continue delivery to RACE start. Wednesday (December 13th) departure on next leg (directly to Barcelona startline) anticipated. A day at dock in Falmouth, UK allowed for further last minute adjustments - and quite a bit of unscheduled - but always welcome - media activity, as western UK - based TV crews, photographers and print media came out to have a chat and a look at the gleaming 125' (38.1m) Skipper Steve Fossett said, "We now believe there is a weather window to leave on Wednesday (Dec 13th) - and round Cap Finisterre, continuing directly on to Barcelona in about 6 days. I am certainly sorry to have disappointed those RACE fans who had hoped to see PlayStation in Monaco - we had been ready to leave Southampton for over a week, but December weather systems just have not cooperated." - http://www.fossettchallenge.com/ * December 11, 2000 - Cam Lewis' Team Adventure mega catamaran has crossed the stormy Bay of Biscay on her way south to the Mediterranean for the start of The Race of the Millenium on December 31. Lewis and his crew sent a satellite email message to team headquarters in Maine today that they were battling 40-knot head winds and rough seas under shortened sail as they fought to get south into warmer, calmer conditions. At 11:47 AM US East Coast time (1647 GMT), the 110-foot catamaran was located 60 miles west of Cape Finisterre, at the north-west tip of Portugal. The boat was making eight knots, after making very slow progress during the night. "Conditions on board are OK, although not comfortable," Lewis said in his message. "We had time this morning to make a safety check and no problem was detected. Sailing upwind in a gale is not the boat's favorite condition as you may guess. At least it makes for a good test and so far so good, except for some minor details." Bill Biewenga, an experienced offshore sailor and navigator who is the onshore router for Team Adventure, said the boat could expect the same rough weather conditions for the next 24 to 36 hours. The boat has another 450 miles to go south before she can turn the corner at the southwest corner of Portugal and another 200 miles to Gibraltar where she will enter the Mediterranean. Light weather conditions are forecast for the last 1,000 miles to Monaco. - http://www.TeamAdventure.org * According to the weather forecast, these extremely unfavourable conditions should persist over the next few days. To prevent the crews and the boats from being exposed to unnecessary risks before the start from Barcelona on 31st December, 2000, the Principality of Monaco, concerned about the challengers' security, have decided to cancel the " Monte-Carlo Prologue " of the " Race ". - Monaco Press Center ONE STOP SHOPPING Have you ever wished you could find all of your sailboat hardware needs in one stop? At Sailing Supply we are distributors for Harken, Schaefer, Lewmar, Ronstan, Forespar, Spinlock, Davis, Titan, Holt Allen, RWO, Tylaska, Wichard, Samson, Yale, Marlow, Loos, Gill, Camet, Johnson, Hayn, and ACR, plus much much more. Our rigging shop makes custom halyards, sheets and standing rigging every day. At Sailing Supply we have the knowledge to support the products, and the service to support our customers. Please give us a call at 1-800-532-3831 or check out our website at www.sailingsupply.com VENDEE GLOBE - By Philippe Jeantot Michel Desjoyeaux ( PRB) and Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagere) who had moved northward to stay in a westerly stream have kept on increasing the distance between them and Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations). Roland Jourdain has made a remarkable come back. Just hours after the start, he had to turn back because of a problem with a halyard. Upset, he caught the leaders at an impressive average speed, without ever returning however in the top three .He was always behind Michel Desjoyeaux, and as he did some good tactics, he managed to reach the second place, only 27 miles from his Breton friend. After more than a month of racing and 8700 miles (which is almost the equivalent of three transats), only two hours separate both leaders. http://www.vendeeglobe.com Standings on December 11 at 16:00 UT: 1. PRB (Desjoyeaux) 2. SILL Matines La Potagere (Jourdain) (+74 miles) 3. Aquitaine Innovations (Parlier) (+182m) 4. Active Wear (Thiercelin) (+301m) 5. Kingfisher (MacArthur) (+329m) LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) (Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold your e-mail address on request.) * From Chris Ericksen Chris6932@aol.com Regarding Zack Leonard's comments on port-tack starts: As a regular PRO at my yacht club--and a regular racer--I have both seen many port-tack starts and even pulled a few off myself. They generally require three things to be successful: a port-end-favored line; a line that is too long; and a fleet that failed to notice that the line was port-end favored and too long, or set in their plan to hit the starboard side of the line. When these three things were not present, I've seen many crash-tacks, crash-ducks and one or two crashes. A word to the wise: if these three things aren't all in place, don't try this at home! * From Zachie J de Beer aerozdb@iafrica.com The Aerodyne 38 like the Shock 40 and many other Sailing World BOTY winners are innovative boats. The Shock brings canting keel performance to the mass market and the Aerodyne 38 brings high performance in a package with cruising proportions and singlehanded ability. Bill Carey equates sales volume to success and the BOTY award to a popularity contest. He prefers to drive a Chevy because they sell a lot more Chevy's than Porsche. The last 98 Chevy will be gone long before the first 98 Porsche. Are we talking about birth rate or life expectancy ? * From John Fox" FCSdesign@compuserve.com I would like to correct Bill Carey's statement that "The Boat of the Year award seems to me to be the Kiss of Death in the boating industry. Just look at the Aerodyne 38, the Synergy." The truth is that the BOTY Award guarantees neither success nor death in the marketplace. Not all companies are set up to build hundreds of boats a year so number sold does not necessarily reflect success. While you may not see Aerodyne 38's lining the Marina's in droves, the BOTY did boost the boats recognition. The 38 was after all Aerodyne's first boat, they were new to the US market and there were only 2 38s built at the time. Aerodyne Marine is now running at capacity, and is working on expansion of both the factory and the product line (with a new 42 footer) to meet demand for this type of boat. Hardly a kiss of death. * From Robert L. Johnstone bobj@jboats.com Sailing World/Cruising World judges aren't doing such a bad job. The J/44 was Overall BOTY in 1990 and is the only class of boat ever to be given a one-design start in the Newport-Bermuda Race. The J/105, BOTY in 1992 and the first sprit boat over 14 ft., is still going strong...now up to 509 boats shipped and on order with good one-design activity nationwide. The J/120, Overall Cruising World BOTY in 1995 is now the most popular 40 ft. One Design with 168 boats. Even last year's BOTY winner, the J/46 reached sales of 30 units in its first year. Yes, they missed the International J/80, which is pushing 400 boats worldwide (not many less than the Melges 24). But, their batting average is pretty good considering they don't have the benefit of hindsight. * From Jay Price jprice@nando.com Bill Carey wrote that being named Boat of the Year is the kiss of death and cites several examples. He's got a point there, but I suspect that the reason isn't just bad mojo. The folks who choose the winners may sometimes by at least faintly influenced by a desire to help an interesting, deserving design do better in the marketplace than it seems fated to do. But more to the point, few designs really take off - one in fifty? Or maybe one in 100 if you exclude Carroll Marine and J-Boats - which means statistically just about anything the judges pick is likely not to sell well. The relatively tiny market for sailboats, particularly race designs, seldom rewards a really bold stroke like the Schock 40. And bold strokes are exactly what SHOULD draw a judge's attention, at least for race boats. If hundreds of thousands of race boats were sold every year, no doubt such groundbreaking items could find a decent niche. As it is, and despite winning Boat of the Year and doing well on the race course, the thing will probably sell six or eight examples. Of course, BOTY perhaps shouldn't be seen as an attempt to certify something that should sell 400 copies. It should be about good design. * From: Bob Perry robertp@abac.com My heart goes out to Pete Goss. My design business is on the periphery of "The Race" technology but I watch it keenly hoping to learn. I think I learn more from the failures. * From Jesse Deupree jdeupree@maine.rr.com I just want to express my excitement and admiration for the Vendee Globe race. Here is a sporting event that has it all and is unique to sailing- 100 days of a race over a complicated course requiring mastery of every facet of our sport. To win requires masterful strategy, tremendous physical strength and endurance, and great personal courage. On top of that, men and women compete as equals. I say this knowing that a competitor may well die during the course of this race. The organizers need to add an appropriate chase boat to deal with the extreme remoteness of the course (as Bruno Peyron has sent out for The Race), and they need to constantly work to increase the safety margin for the sailors; but I salute them all. I don't know what Aquitane Innovations or Gartmore Investments or Kingfisher are selling, but I'll buy it. * From George Backhus, s/v Moonshadow, lying Sydney Gfbackhus@aol.com [Edited to our 250-word limit] - Perhaps, one can compare the large fallout of crew on the BT Global Challenge to the ill-fated '96 Everest expeditions. Were these "amateur sailors" adrenaline junkies or just super-achievers who are just wanting to fill in the "I sailed around the world" box? I don't think any of us who have made passages will say that they have enjoyed every minute of it. Boredom, however is one thing that I don't ever recall experiencing. There is always something to be done out in the middle of the ocean. Sure, all hands on a wildly pitching deck at O-dark hundred for a sail change is not much fun, but at the end of the trip it's what may bond you for life to the rest of the crew. One must be able to shift from the turbo charged, million megahertz world of life on land to the concept of watching the world pass you by at 8 or 10 knots. If you cannot enjoy hours of stargazing, the excitement of dolphin, whale or shark sightings, putting a fresh caught fish to good use, the challenge of gaining a quarter mile on the competition, catching a bit of sleep while sitting (on the rail or elsewhere), watching an amazing sunset that nobody else may see, studying waves and clouds, warming up with a beautiful sunrise, chatting with the other crew or just fantasizing about what's waiting at the next port, then ocean racing and passaging may not be for you. AMERICA'S CUP Auckland, NZ - The America's Cup summer 2001 collection is here, and it's all black and white. Five cup yachts, some of them sporting new attire, will parade on the Hauraki Gulf today, among them Team New Zealand's familiar black boats, out of the shed for the first time since successfully defending the cup in March. Try not to confuse them with the black boats of OneWorld, the wealthy Seattle syndicate who have been sailing on the cup course for the past week. Their charcoal training boats used to be midnight blue (Dennis Conner's Stars and Stripes) and garish yellow (America True). Then there is the pristine white of Oracle Racing, who are down to one model after the other's unfortunate loss of the keel three weeks ago. The three syndicates will not be stepping out together today, although Team NZ want to mix it with the challengers later in the summer. The home team know it is not politically correct in the cup for the defender to joust with a challenger before the regatta. Still, skipper Dean Barker is not perturbed. "We haven't formalised anything but I think they will be keen to line up with us. "We're very keen to race against somebody, once all our new guys on board are used to the boats." Over the next 10 days the many new members of Team NZ will discover the nuances of the Black Magics. Some of the crew have never set foot on a cup boat before. NZL57 and NZL60 were packed up immediately after the final victory over Prada, to keep their secrets from public view. "They will return to the water in the same state," Barker said. - Suzanne McFadden, NZ Herald Full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ac2000/ EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS RIGHT HERE! The last time you bought a sail did you ask about the cloth? Sailcloth.com is a new web site by Bainbridge International designed especially for the boat owner and sailor. It is packed full of easy to follow information and handy tips to explain why you should be talking to your sailmaker about a better quality cloth. http://www.sailcloth.com SAFETY AT SEA The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has placed further emphasis on the experience of crew competing in the 2000 Telstra Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race which starts on Boxing Day, 26 December. The Notice of Race for the 630 nautical mile ocean classic requires that at least 50 per cent of the crew on each competing yacht shall have completed a CYCA Safety Seminar, or an AYF Yacht Safety and Survival Course, or a CYCA approved equivalent course. At least 50 per cent of the crew on each boat must also have had long offshore racing experience, the minimum number of crew on a boat is six, and the minimum age of all crew on a boat is 18 years of age. The NOR also requires that each yacht must complete a qualifying race of at least 150 nautical miles within six months prior to the Boxing Day start of the Telstra Sydney to Hobart Race. New crew safety rules for the 2000 Race also require that at least two crew members shall have a senior first aid certificate or higher, and that at least two crew shall hold a HF radio operators certificate of proficiency issued by a relevant authority. The CYCA also recommends that the skipper or sailing master have a recognised AYF certificate (or equivalent) of at least an Offshore Skipper certification. Rules on personal safety equipment require that personal strobes for each crew member shall be carried on board, along with personal dye markers for each crew member. The CYCA also recommends personal 406 kHz EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) for crew members. Personal safety harnesses must not be more than seven years old and shall be stored in a dry locker. Additional harness strops for at least 30 per cent of the crew shall be carried on board. The CYCA has also recommended crutch straps for all harnesses, along with waistcoat or inflatable PFDs incorporated in a harness. Kapok-filled PFDs will not be accepted, nor will a brand of harnesses listed in the Notice of Race. All yachts in the 2000 Telstra Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race will be fitted with Inmarsat-C satellite tracking and communication units for the second race in succession, provided by Station 12 and Telstra MobileNet. At least four members of the crew of each yacht will be required to attend the compulsory race briefing for the 2000 Telstra Sydney to Hobart Race on December 24, while at least two crew members, including the skipper or navigator, must attend the compulsory weather briefing on the morning of 26 December. If the required attendance at either the race briefing of the weather briefing is not met, the boat will not be eligible to race. - Peter Campbell, sydhobmedia@bigpond.com INDUSTRY NEWS * Two-time J/24 North American Champion, Geoff Moore, has joined the North Sails sales team. A former partner in Shore Sails Ltd., Moore has more than ten years of sailmaking experience. In his new position, he will spend an equal amount of time in the North Sails offices in Rhode Island and Toronto. * The Sailing Source website has just posted 18 color images of Farr 395 hull #1. - http://www.sailingsource.com/photoalbum/farr395/default.html THE CURMUDGEON'S QUOTATIONS "Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others." - Winston Churchill |
