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SCUTTLEBUTT 2444 – October 2, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday with the support of its sponsors. IN THE MATTER OF SIMON DAUBNEY Scuttlebutt has come in possession of the jury decision regarding the case of Simon Daubney, genoa trimmer for the defender Alinghi, testing positive for a banned substance during the 32nd America’s Cup. The date of the drug test was June 23rd, which was also the date of the first race of the Match. The jury hearing arose from a report received by the Jury Chairman on July 13th that Daubney had tested positive for the presence of two metabolites of cocaine. The jury, which was comprised of Graham McKenzie, Henry Menin, Henry Peter, David Tillett, and Bryan Willis (Chairman), held the hearing last week, September 26th at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London, England. Here are some excerpts from the jury decision: * A test of the “A” sample of urine from Simon Daubney was completed on 9th July 2007 and, after a request by Simon Daubney, a test of the “B” sample commenced on 8th August 2007…. Simon Daubney did not accept that the metabolites of cocaine that had been found in his sample were in his body at the time of the test and he contended that the custodial procedures were not in accordance with the International Standard for Laboratories. * Laurie Daubney, Russell Coutts, Daniel Meyers, Bradley Butterworth, and Curtis Blewitt all gave evidence (Coutts and Blewitt by telephone) during the hearing as to Simon Daubney’s background and character. Evidence established that Simon Daubney was a highly successful and respected professional sailor. Each had a long term and close professional and social relationship with Simon Daubney. They all testified that in their experience, Simon Daubney had never taken any kind of drug that was in breach of the Anti-Doping Rules, in particular that he had never taken cocaine, and that in their view he was of excellent character and that it was incredible and unbelievable to them that he would have knowingly taken cocaine that was the subject of the positive drug test. * Daubney stated that in the week prior to the drug test being conducted on 23rd June 2007, he had visited one public establishment in Palma and two in Valencia where he had consumed drinks that had not been purchased by himself which could have been tampered with without his knowledge. He gave further evidence of having received in his mailbox at the Alinghi base on the day after his test, a note which stated, “I heard you were tested, how do you think you will get on? Ha Ha.” He discarded the note thinking it was a practical joke being played on him. He stated that in his opinion the likely source of the positive drug test arose through the ‘spiking’ of a drink in these circumstances. He stated unequivocally that he had never taken cocaine or any other prohibited drug. -- Complete report of jury decision: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/1001 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: There are currently seven sailors serving out ISAF sanctions, of which three are listed for doping violations. After reviewing the jury findings in the case of Simon Daubney, how do you feel? Please submit your stance in our poll, and provide comments if desired: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/07/1001 HOW MANY HOURS ON THE WATER DO YOU WANT? In Issue 2443, ‘butthead Bill Heintz took the pulpit and proposed a review in how event organizers and race committees are handling the race schedule during weekend events. Bill’s position is that too often there is a desire to provide a lot of races during a day, which leads to procedural errors and long days on the water. In short, it was quantity over quality. Additionally, he found that it was hard to recruit new folks into the sport when it required for them to sacrifice significant time. Based on Bill’s comments, Scuttlebutt conducted a survey wherein it was asked how many hours on the water each day was preferable for a weekend event. With 85% of the respondents classifying themselves as Group 1 (amateur), the results were: 2-3 hours - 5.74% 3-4 hours - 21.15% 4-5 hours - 35.35% 5-6 hours - 23.56% 6-7 hours - 8.76% 7-8 hours - 5.44% Here are a few of the comments that were provided: * In NZ we see this trend as well. In Auckland the major inshore series has switched to a majority of the racing starting Friday night to finish Saturday morning. These races are 50-90 miles long. * The whole system has been modified to stop wasting time! 5,4,1,GO instead of 10,5,1,GO. Longer races are a waste of time (for dinghys). Shorter races are more useful for training/ learning. * Cleaning out my dad’s attic, I came across some 1950s race circulars from the western Long Lsland Sound NY area that had races start at 10 am in the morning on a weekend and ended with lunch at the club. That’s still my ideal of a nice day’s racing. * Agree completely. Sport is better served with a smaller number of races/ day, each having substance, i.e., multiple legs, interesting course configurations around Gov marks. My crew of over 20 years got burned out sailing w-l courses week after week in the same narrow band of water and we reverted to distance and point to point racing. -- Read all the comments here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/07/0930 MELGES ANNOUNCES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MELGES 20 The next generation sportboat from Melges and Reichel-Pugh is on its way. The Melges 20. An exciting new keelboat with new innovative features that will set the pace in the 20-foot market. Come find out more about the Melges 20 at the Annapolis Boat Show where Melges will have a Melges 32 on display and more information on the new 20 footer. You can also follow the latest news via Melges.com and http://www.Melges20.com Stay tuned for more exciting news! PLAYING HARDBALL When the British sailing team made an announcement on September 18th, they revealed some of the teams that would represent the country in the 2008 Olympics, but not all of them. The Olympic medal making machine, aka Skandia Team GBR, wants to make certain that those selected candidates have both proven that they are capable of winning gold, but also fully focused to get the job done when the games are held in August 2008. Prior to British Olympic announcement, it was revealed that Iain Percy and Ben Ainslie, both leading candidates for the country in the Star and Finn classes respectively, would head the newly formed British America’s Cup team. Bells of concern soon rang loudly in the halls of the Royal Yachting Association. Not to be duped into carelessly anointing these two storied sailors, the RYA said they would wait to announce the appointments in the Star and Finn classes following further discussion with their top candidates. Well, the Brits have now announced that Percy and crew Andrew Simpson will be in China for the games, but in the case of Ainslie, no pile of Olympic medals (3) and World championship titles (9) will strong-arm the RYA when they also have countryman Ed Wright, 2006 Finn European champion, as an option. To test the commitment of Ainslie, the RYA has a list of required Finn events that stretches out to April 2008, wherein they will judge the performance of their sailors, while still maintaining a degree of subjectivity that allows them to disregard any events that they later find to be inadequate for their purposes. -- SBUTT Staff HOW THE WORLDS WAS WON Gandia, Spain (September 29, 2007) The Silver Panda (USA 1) team files this report following their win at the 2007 ISAF Team Racing World Championship: “Saturday was a bit anti-climactic since there was no breeze for most of the fifth and final day of the event. We started out with an 8 team, 8 country knock-out bracket. As the #1 seed, we faced Japan first. In spite of the language barrier, we have been friends with these guys since the last Worlds and have been teaching them team racing at these events. Round 1 of the knock-out series was no time for lessons and we cruised to a 2-0 victory. Soon after this, the breeze died and the racing was postponed. “By 6:45pm, we start wondering what will happen here. The Mayor of Gandia is walking around and the awards were scheduled for 6:30. The race officers decided not to finish the third Gold Round because they felt it would not affect the seeding for the 8 team, 8 country knock-out. So if we don't get any racing in what round do they look at last? We won the second Gold Round, but that was with the help of the 1.5 bonus points we earned by winning the first Gold Round. Everybody on the pier is now anxious and wondering what will happen if there is no racing. “By 7:15pm, the regatta is called and there will be no more racing. The water has been glassy for hours. The race office had not posted what the results are or how they were determined. We are the only team with a winning record against every other team. We won every round we sailed and competitors and officials began congratulating us. In the end, the final standings had another USA 1-2 finish. However, due to quirk of this particular event, only one team from each country can medal. So, our friends on USA 2, whose record was second best overall, graciously cheered and celebrated USA1, GBR2 (Silver) and NZL1 (Bronze) on the podium.” -- Read all the Silver Panda daily reports: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/trw 2007 ISAF Team Racing World Champions NYYC Silver Panda – USA1 Pete Levesque / Liz Hall Colin Merrick / Amanda Callahan Clay Bischoff / Lisa Keith AWARDING SPECIAL AWARDS I have a shelf full of awards in my office. Plaques, plates, cups, mugs, glasses. Some more esoteric items too. The tangible recognition of 25 years of Laser racing. Mainly trash really. Why do I keep them? The object of a race is to win. But if that were the only reason we raced most of us shouldn't bother. Most of the time we don't win. I very rarely win. Regatta organizers know people like to receive awards. So they find ways to give as many as they can afford. Top five in the regatta maybe. Then how about some prizes for special categories? First female. First junior. First old guy. We were having some fun a few days ago speculating on whether Laser regattas should have an award for First Fat Boy too. But wait. Now there's a problem. What if someone in one of these special, "handicapped" categories happens to place in the top five? Should they win two awards? Or should we give the award for First Fat Old Guy With No Hair to the first gentleman in that category who did not succeed in winning any other award? Some organizers go one way. Some the other. You can argue for both methods. Does it really matter? -- Find out by reading on at Proper Course blog: http://propercourse.blogspot.com/2007/09/awards.html A BUSY WEEK FOR UK-HALSEY While UK-Halsey customers were cleaning up in the J/105 and Express 37 classes at the Larchmont NOOD Regatta, UK-Halsey staff was working with the Storm Trysail Club to round up boats and run the largest college sailing regatta in the US… the Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta sailed on one-design offshore boats. We’re nurturing new sailors to fill future starting lines, and we urge everyone to look for ways bring more people into our sport. It’s great that our sails are helping winners, but everyone can be a winner if our sport grows sailors. UK-Halsey: Committed to winning. 800-253-2002, http://www.ukhalsey.com SAILING SHORTS * At the US Boat Show, the Bitter End Yacht Club will be hosting a party on Saturday October 6th, 2007 with some snacks and "Penfolds" tropical cheer. Take a break from the show, and join BEYC's General Manager Mikhail Shamkin, and V.P. Sales & Marketing John Glynn at BEYC's booth (Booth D-21) from 5-7 pm. They will be providing an update on their Virgin Gorda resort, and providing details on the 21st Annual Pro Am Regatta (title-sponsored by vineyard vines), and the 6th Annual Musto Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Championship. Also, see video from the 2007 BVI Spring Regatta, and hear about 2008. – http://www.beyc.com * A single-handed transatlantic race reserved for IMOCA monohulls, the new race between Brazil and Brittany - The Transat B to B – looks to bringing together over half of the contenders from the forthcoming Vendée Globe to start in November 2008. This will be a return trip for those competing in two-handed Jacques Vabre, where the 60’ monohulls will be reaching the Brazilian port of Salvador da Bahia sometime between the 16th and 20th of November 2007. The scheduled start for the Transat B to B is for November 25th. -- http://www.transatbtob.com * Rochester, NY (September 30, 2007) Nine invited teams participated in the 2007 Richardson Trophy event at Rochester Yacht Club on September 27-30. Considered the match racing championship of the Great Lakes, the sailors came from the six associations that make up the Yacht Racing Union of the Great Lakes (YRUGL). Competing in new Sonars, this ISAF grade 3 match race found Terry McLaughlin and Chris Von Tol in the finals, and after going the full five races, the winner was McLaughlin, John Millen, and James Carminati representing Lake Yacht Racing Association (LYRA) and Royal Canadian YC. The Petite Finals were won by Adam Burns. -- http://tinyurl.com/2mnuxk * Newport, RI (September 29, 2007) –The 75-boat fleet enjoyed near perfect conditions as they circumnavigated Conanicut Island on Narragansett Bay in Sail Newport’s Sail for Hope. A tremendous turnout for the "Last Blast of the Season" made for a spectacular sight during the 18 plus-mile race that raised $18,000 for the Olympic Trials and Paralympic East Coast Trials starting Saturday, October 6 in Newport. A steady 15-18 knot westerly got the four PHRF classes and Multi-Hull entrants off on a clockwise course around the island after a majestic downwind start. Full Results available at http://208.106.141.167/npt/m/_general/07sfhresults.asp * (October 1, 2007) Teams on the ground and in two aircraft have ended a renewed search in Nevada for Steve Fossett. There's been no sign of the millionaire aviator who disappeared September 3rd in a small plane. Analysis of radar data and satellite images from the day Fossett disappeared led Air Force technicians to believe they had spotted clues to his route. That resulted in the weekend search by Civil Air Patrol planes and dozens of search and rescue personnel on the ground. One official says that until more viable leads develop, the hunt for Fossett will again be suspended. -- http://tinyurl.com/3brcxc * The Annapolis YC hosted the J/30 North American Championship over the beautiful and challenging weekend of September 28-30. Twenty boats turned out for six races. Hampton sailor David McConaughy and his team aboard White Boat edged the Annapolis-based Better Mousetrap team (led by Mary Grealy and Bob Putnam) in a tie-breaker for top honors. In a testament to the depth of the fleet and the level of competition at the regatta, neither of the top teams won an individual race and the six contests were won by six different boats. -- http://bluesailboat.typepad.com/floatline/2007/10/j30-north-ameri.html * Update: The plans have been changed for the gathering to follow Doug Mongeon’s memorial service. The reception on Tuesday, October 2nd at 8pm will be held at the Orange County Mining Company at 10000 Crawford Canyon Road. 714-997-7411 BOAT SHOW SPECIALS… NOW… You don’t have to wait for the Boat Show for the Henri-Lloyd specials at Team One Newport! Look for the Breeze jacket at 25% off and the awesome Octane products at 25% off plus others! Visit http://www.team1newport.com and click on the SPECIALS page. Or call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327). LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Toby Reiley: (regarding Are There Too Many Races A Day? in Issue 2443) At Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA), the sailors tell us what we need to do make it fun, both ashore and on the water (even between races). Good sailing and educational post race discussion supported by “free” chowder and drinks from the bar. Sunday, September 30th was the second of three Ponce de Leon Dinghy Series with a noon Skipper's meeting, 6 races, social gathering at 4 PM and home in time to mow the lawn. New this week was a quick white board discussion of the most frequently abused rules: down-wind "proper course" when the leeward boat breaks the overlap. Six people made comments and asked questions, and the discussion only lasted five minutes, but everybody agreed that the white board is a fun and required tool to have at every post race gathering. Two recent requests were implemented: 1) All of the sailors were firmly reminded during the daily skipper's meeting that "Jungle Rules" don't apply. Fouls do happen. Do your circles if you foul. Protest will be heard on the water between races. Report your 720s as you finish. The system works when everybody adheres; and 2) Stretch the weather leg by 25% to spread out the fleet. Good comments, well taken, duly implemented. To Bill Heintz's commentary that racing takes too much time, ask the sailors what they want. Make it fun, and they'll come. The smiles on their faces and the number of enthusiastic THANK YOU’S should be your gauge on Fun Factor. It’s what brings me back to run the races. * From Bill Sandberg: From a personal standpoint, Bill Heintz's editorial could not have been more perfectly timed. I was the PRO on one of the courses for the American Yacht Club Fall Series this past weekend. I was also PRO for the Long Island Sound YRA Champs a few weeks ago that included K6s (sport boat from the UK) and 505s. Sailors at both events (mainly the J/109s, J/105s, K6s and 505s) say they prefer more races with shorter courses. So on Saturday with 15+ knots, we gave them windward-leeward, four legs with three quarter mile legs (also the distance they asked for in this breeze). We got in 4 races on Saturday (first start at 1100 and in by 1600). Most sailors seemed happy, but a few J/109 owners felt the legs should be longer. Rule # 1 in RC work, you'll never come close to pleasing everyone. The point is, as PRO you want to give the entrants what they ask for. It is, however, a real drain on personnel. When you are starting and finishing classes at the same time, even with 6 people on the signal boat, something has to give. You basically have to go to two people taking finishes, with 4 starting the next race, and quality on either the starts or finishes can suffer. Also the fatigue factor can set in. We left the dock at 0915 and never sat down once until 1430. That can be draining. There has to be a distinction between what the competitors want and what the RC can give. Like Mr. Heintz, most RCs are amateurs too, and they are also giving up their weekends. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION You know you're living in the 21st century when cleaning up the dining room means getting the fast food bags out of the back seat of your car. Special thanks to Melges Performance Sailboats, UK-Halsey Sailmakers, and Henri Lloyd. |
