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SCUTTLEBUTT #437 - November 10, 1999CMAC CHANGESThe Farr 40 one design will join the Australian designed Sydney 40 and an IMS 50-foot rating band racer as the three classes for the 2001 Champagne Mumm Admiral's Cup ocean racing team championship in England. The inclusion of the Farr 40 at the expense of the Mumm 36 one design reflects the growing stature of the class around the world. The decision on the make-up of the competition for what is essentially the world ocean racing championship was made at a meeting of the Admiral's Cup management committee during the International Sailing Federation annual conference in Sydney yesterday. The committee agreed that the rating band for the 50ft division would be "very narrow" so the competition would remain as tight as possible. It was anticipated that the Farr 40 and the Sydney 40 fleets would comprise mainly charter yachts made available in Cowes at the time of the regatta. Class rules would apply. In a separate move yesterday the Sydney 40 was not granted international status but retained its 'provisional' classification as the world fleet remained two short of the desired number of 20 yachts. The move allows the class to stage a world championship. -- Rob Mundle, The Australian Newspaper ISAF YACHTIES OF THE YEAR SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -- The 1999 ISAF/Sperry World Sailor of the Year awards went to: Margriet Matthijse (NED) - Female World Sailor of the Year, and Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) - Male World Sailor of the Year. In August 1999, ISAF selected the sailors meritous of being put forward as nominees for the World Sailor of the Year Awards. A voting process, involving all ISAF Member National Authorities, Committee Members, classes and the international sailing media, was then undertaken in order that the world of sailing could determine the winners. Margriet was voted as the female ISAF/Sperry World Sailor of the Year in recognition of her outstanding successes in the Europe Class. Margriet has swept in to set the leading pace in the Europe Class in 1999, with successive bullets taking her to the top of the rankings from 1 June, a position she still retains. Her top places at 1998/1999 ISAF graded events have been numerous, with wins at Sydney International Regatta, Europe Open Week, Europe World Championship, New Zealand Olympic Sail, Semaine Olympique Francaise, Spa Regatta, Tuborg Spring Cup, European Championship, 1999 Sydney Harbour Olympic Test Event, and top three placings at 1998 Sydney Olympic Test Event, Sail Auckland, Sailing for Ostend, Europe Class Open Week. Margriet_s most recent success was the Gold at the 1999 Olympic Test Event, which she dominated and won with a race to spare on a remarkable scorecard of five wins, two seconds, one fourth and one sixth. Aged twenty-two, Margriet has sailed since the age of seven, and has been one of the top competitors in the Europe Class since 1994. She represented the Netherlands at the 1996 Olympic Games where she claimed a Silver Medal, and since then has won the 1997 and 1999 World and European Europe Class Championships. Her aspiration is not surprisingly a Gold in 2000. Mateusz found himself on the nominee shortlist for the fourth successive year in 1999, a clear indication of the years he has been at the forefront of the Finn Class. His 1998/99 achievements have kept him leading the world rankings, a position he has held continuously since 2 February 1999. Clearly voted as the male World Sailor of the Year, Mateusz received the recognition due for so clearly dominating the Finn Class over the year of nomination, August 1998 to August 1999. Amongst others, he has competed in thirteen pinnacle ISAF graded international events, and for these has not placed outside a second position for any event, claiming nine first places and four seconds - an incredible achievement. His bullets come from the 1998 Finn Gold Cup, Finn Australian Nationals, Go for Gold, New Zealand Olympic Sail, Sail Auckland, Semaine Olympique Francaise, 30th HRH Princess Sofia Trophy, Spa Regatta, Kiel Week, and second places at the Sydney International Regatta, 1999 Finn Gold Cup, Finn Europeans, 1999 Olympic Test Event Mateusz successes in a class which is so notoriously difficult to dominate are impressive. Aged twenty-four, Mateusz won a Gold Medal at the 1996 Olympics when a tender twenty-one, and is looking to equal that in 2000. The other nominees for the 1999 ISAF/Sperry World Sailor of the Year Awards were: Female Barbara Kendall (NZL) Shirley Robertson (GBR) Male Roy Heiner (NED) Fredrik Loof (SWE) Aaron McIntosh (NZL) Chris Nicholson (AUS) ISAF extends congratulations to the winners and nominees. -- Luissa Smith, ISAF Secretariat, http://www.sailing.org TESTING - 1, 2, 3 Testing means different things to different manufacturers of foul weather gear. And you can be assured there aren't many of them testing their products in the Southern Ocean. But that's exactly what Douglas Gill did. Working with the crew of Chessie Racing in the last Whitbread Race, they pushed their products to the limits, and then listened to the sailors about modifications. As a result of this interaction, Gill has increased the comfort and protection for everyone who sails. For the full story: http://www.douglasgill.com LOUIS VUITTON CUP Wednesday's racing has been postponed, wind conditions are outside the range agreed in the Notice of Race. In the Hauraki Gulf, North-East winds of 25 knots, gusting to 35 were recorded this morning. North 35 knots, gusting to 45 knots are forecast for this afternoon. Wave height was recorded at two metres this morning, forecasted to rise to three metres by this afternoon. -- Louis Vuitton Cup website, http://www.louisvuittoncup.com YOUNG AMERICA UPDATE The International Jury has approved a request by Young America to race a substitute boat for the remainder of Round Robin Two of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The syndicate will add reinforcing to the second boat before racing it, and is preparing to repair the boat that buckled and nearly sank yesterday. Boat builder Eric Goetz and three of his expert staff are already on a plane to New Zealand to help expedite the work on both boats. Syndicate head John Marshall and skipper Ed Baird spoke with the media via a conference call on Wednesday morning. On whether USA-58 is subject to the same failure as USA-53: BAIRD: We don't know. We've yet to finish determining exactly what caused the damage in the first place on USA-53. We're certainly going to be cautious and look at it hard. MARSHALL: Basically the structural layout of the boats is very similar and consequently we are concerned about USA-58. The prudent thing is probably to build some extra reinforcing into USA-58 so we don't have any doubts. We'll use some of the down time (now) to put some extra structure into USA-58 and if it turns out it's not necessary, when we get a full analysis that tells that USA-58 has a clean bill of health, then we can always take that out at a subsequent time. But we want to compete in the rest of this round without any undue risk. It's way too early to estimate the cost of repairs. On repairs to USA-53: BAIRD: I think it's very important to fix the boat because it's a very known trial horse for the other boat. It's the right way to win the America's Cup. Having that second boat there is our stopwatch, it's our only way to be sure that what we're doing (changes) are faster. MARSHALL: Two days should be adequate to do the reinforcing to USA-58. If we felt that it was prudent to take another day to be sure, then we would do that. We wouldn't take a lot of risk with the boat if we didn't have things buttoned up to our satisfaction. MARSHALL: Eric Goetz and three of his top people are on a flight right now for New Zealand. The team at the compound has already received drawings and specifications for reinforcements to USA-58. The ability to respond to a problem like this in a constructive way with good answers is a very key component of having a winning team. I feel confident that we'll be back on the race-course in a couple of days in a competitive boat that will achieve a high level of success. MARSHALL: As incredible as it may seem when you look at the boat that is essentially broken in half, the damage is repairable and repairable in a reasonable period of time, some number of weeks, not months. It's a major project, but fortunately, the damage is virtually entirely isolated in the deck and hull shell as opposed to the very complex support structures. I think that we're talking about a repair period of a number of weeks, certainly not months. MARSHALL: When you have areas that are very light, you sometimes do get some crackling or preliminary failure, but this is a massively structured part of the boat, and these side decks on these very narrow boats are the primary compression member in the structure. If you had a cross section of one you'd be amazed how much material is there and they understand one piece of it broke. On whether the team would set wind limits on sailing the second boat USA-58: MARSHALL: I wouldn't want to speculate one way or another. As much as the damage is very distressing we can't let it distract us from the fact that we have to raise our game to have a realistic chance to win the America's Cup. Racing in tough conditions is part of that. We know our competitors will be well prepared in tough conditions so we have to be as well. MARSHALL: We want to make sure that we reinforce USA-58 adequately and that we pair that with a thorough analysis of the damage to USA-53 and then we'll take each day as it comes and make the appropriate decision. BAIRD: We're out there trying to win every raceyou don't sit back and think I shouldn't turn here because the boat might not handle it. It's actually the opposite. If you're going to learn something, even if its catastrophic, you want to learn it now when the points are less. We've got to push when it's time to push. On weather delays giving Young America some time to ready USA-58 for racing: BAIRD: Mother Nature might be giving us a little hand here. -- Louis Vuitton Cup, http://www.louisvuittoncup * Young America will have to forfeit valuable America's Cup points before they return to sea. With one boat bent like the letter V, the New Yorkers will have to turn to their untried USA58 for at least the rest of round two of the Louis Vuitton Cup. But under the challenger rules, a campaign must forfeit the points from their next race before they can introduce the replacement boat. So in effect, Young America have already lost eight points, and could forfeit more if they decide they need more time to work on the new boat before it goes out to race for the first time. But that is the least of skipper Ed Baird's worries right now. The burning question is: can the damaged boat be saved? Baird and his ground crew in Auckland, and the Bruce Farr design office in San Francisco, worked through the night last night, examining the boat to determine just what went wrong, and figuring out what could be done to rebuild it. There is also the question of whether boat No 2 must be strengthened before it enters the fray. "At this point the major structural pieces [on USA53] are in place. From a layman's point of view we will be putting it back together," Baird said. But it could be a very costly exercise. The Young Americans have a budget of $80 million (NZ), but a near-sinking is not a planned expenditure. "The boat is both priceless and potentially a big expense. But these are the types of things we have to be prepared for," Baird said. No one could be truly prepared for what happened on the Hauraki Gulf yesterday. At 2.10pm, Young America was leading Nippon by 26s as it neared the final mark rounding. The winds were nothing out of the ordinary, 17 knots gusting to 22, with one-metre seas. The problem, though, was the waves. It was wind against tide, and the waves were often sharp and quick. Young America was out on the left-hand layline, and went to tack. A rogue wave rolled under the boat and the bow reared up. The boat came crashing down - and a second big wave hit them immediately. The deck caved in in a matter of seconds. The hull tore on either side, at a weak point just behind the mast. The boat began to bend up violently like a banana. All but two of the 17 crew dived into the water, where support and rescue boats had pulled alongside. The two men who stayed on the boat tried to salvage some sails, but then the call came for them to jump overboard as well. The boat was bucking back and forth in the waves and looked certain to sink. But when it became clear it was not going down in a hurry, a couple of crew clambered back on board and a salvage mission began. The trip back to the dock was a long and arduous one, taking more than three hours, but the Young America team worked tirelessly to keep their pride and joy afloat. Before 9 PM it was lifted out of the water, skirts hiding the damage, and put away for the night. -- Suzanne McFadden, NZ Herald, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ * "Young America is the only boat that has a cockpit that carries forward right up to the mast, where the critical load is on the hull and deck. There is no bridge deck. Not having a deck there, makes the boat weaker. Also, the sharp corner where the foredeck and the side deck intersects appears to be critical. A larger radius is stronger and poses less of a hard point in the structure. All the other challengers are completely different and must be infinitely stronger." -- John Roake, Defence 2000 quoting an unnamed Swiss engineer * Young America sailors who dived for their lives yesterday thought they were reliving the tragedy they were part of when OneAustralia slipped to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean four years ago. Two of the men on board the ill-fated America's Cup boat USA53, which tore and bent like a banana on the furthest reaches of the Hauraki Gulf racecourse, were witnesses to the 1995 sinking in San Diego. Kiwi Ross Halcrow was a trimmer on Team New Zealand, who were racing against OneAustralia. Yesterday, he was a trimmer on Young America, jumping overboard with the rest of the crew as USA53 began cracking and taking on water. Young America skipper Ed Baird was 17th man on board Team New Zealand in March 1995. One of the Young America back-up crew, Jamie Gale, was among the Kiwis who helped rescue the Australians. There was another spooky coincidence hanging over yesterday's watery drama. OneAustralia skipper John Bertrand had just arrived in Auckland to watch the racing, and was out on the gulf when Young America sent out a mayday call. One Australia skipper John Bertrand could not believe the feeling of deja vu. "It's a remarkably similar situation to our boat sinking. The bend in the boat is very similar. But our keel ripped the hull apart underneath," he said. "It appears to be a compression failure through the deck. It didn't rip apart through the hull otherwise it would have sunk. "The conditions were not as bad here as they were in San Diego. It was about 18 to 20 knots, where we had 22. But the frequency of waves, and wind against tide, was what did it." -- Suzanne McFadden, NZ Herald, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (tomleweck@taitech.co.nz) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Ross Morrissey -- Young America's new sponsor - Banana Boat??? -- From Chris Welch -- A little perspective. Having a second boat fail from a design/ construction/materials problem just illustrates the parallels between the America's Cup and Formula 1 and other high level sporting events. In the last year, there have been numerous failures of gearboxes, engines, brakes, clutches, wings, and suspension members on the Formula 1 circuit. There is very little recrimination about these failures - they are understood to be part of the cost of competing at the pinnacle of a sport. There are still elements of art and judgement in the design process, and on the water failures are where you find out where the limit is. The amazing thing is this boat will likely sail again. -- From George Bski -- Who would have thought we'd ever see Louis Vuitton sponsoring a demolition derby? The demographics don't fit. One wonders if the current "yacht racing" on the Hauraki Gulf makes anyone wish for the return of the 12-metres. They may have been slow and boring (to spectators) but at least they got around the course and we knew who was the winner. and as far as I can recall, there were always two boats in a race, and the both had two sails set. The IACC boats were introduced to make the racing more exciting, and they sure have: now we have collisions, crews leaping into the water, massive rescue operations, gear exploding, all kinds of gear failures, including a mainsheet clue coming apart (?), sails ripping, etc. The next thing you know there'll be a weekly injury report ala the NFL. The whole scene maybe makes great excitement except nobody sees it except the rescue teams. What the America's Cup in its present state needs is new management, true, but has anyone thought of turning it over to the World Wrestling Federation? That's where it belongs. If I ever saw kindred spirits, there they are. FACES IN THE FLEET US SAILING's Faces in the Fleet, a list of who's who in sailing, is debuting on the National Governing Body's web site, www.ussailing.org/faces. Created in 1998, the purpose of this list is to highlight the year's greatest sailors and present them to the thousands of people who visit our web site each week. In addition, it also assists US SAILING members in nominating sailors for the Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year Award. An invitation is hereby given to all national and world champions to submit their sailing resume and photo for inclusion in Faces in the Fleet. The following are the guidelines: . You must be a United States citizen . You must have a national or international regatta win in 1999 . Your resume must be for 1999 events . There are no age limits Please submit your resume and photo to www.ussailing.org/faces/submit.htm. If you do not have a scanned photo, you may mail a photo to Harborwatch, 58 Ledge Rd., Burlington, VT 05401. -- Susan Cook ATTENTION REGATTA ORGANIZERS This is the time of year that 'checked-out' regatta organizers start planning for next season's big event. And if it's a really big event, they're considering hull and sail graphics, bow numbers, banners, backstay pennants and flags. And obviously, it all has to fit within the budget. Who can make that happen?. Well, the Mumm 30s, the Mumm 36s, the Corel 45s the Farr 40s, the Hobies 16s, the 49ers, the SoCal Volvo regatta and lots of others learned North Graphics was the best place to go. Why? Just call Whitney Gladstone and you'll find out: (619) 224-8667, http://www.northsails.com/graphics/ OLYMPICS The International Sailing Federation's Annual Conference in Sydney this week heard that SOCOG will be shipping sailing equipment to Sydney free of charge for the 2000 Games. In a presentation to conference delegates, SOCOG representatives told Member National Authorities (MNAs) that those competing in the Sydney Games will have their equipment brought out to Australia compliments of SOCOG. "It was a big commitment to ship equipment to Sydney when we made our bid for the Olympics," said SOCOG Competition Manager, Sailing, Glenn Bourke. "SOCOG will be providing freight free of charge for all competition boats across the Olympic Classes, with the exception of the Laser, which will be provided here." NOC Freight Management Services, who have already distributed a shipping manual to all National Olympic Committees (NOC), will provide the shipping. MNAs will need to contact their NOC to get details of the deal. All bookings will need to be made before 1 April 2000. -- Megan Seton, Media Officer, ISAF Conference, http://www.sailing.org THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Don't you wonder why Noah didn't swat the two mosquitoes on his ark? |
