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SCUTTLEBUTT 1597 - June 4, 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, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. CHANGING THINGS There is little question that our sport is changing, and it's obvious that many active sailors don't always agree with the direction being taken. Since the first issue of Scuttlebutt, our readers have had no problem identifying things to complain about. Apparently it's easier to write to Scuttlebutt than get to take a role in the decision-making process but that could be changing. Several years ago US Sailing created the Sailor Athlete Council (SAC) to include the views of active racing sailors in their policy decisions, mandated that a minimum of 20% of the membership of key committees must be active racing sailors, and a permanent seat was established on the US Sailing Executive Committee for the SAC chair. They've also made it easy to become a member. Anyone US Sailing member who races on the national or international level qualifies and the entire process can be done on-line in less than five minutes. And it's free. But for whatever reason, they have not attracted a lot of members. Of US Sailing's approximately 40,000 members, only slightly more than 500 have gone on-line to register as an athlete and support SAC. It seems reasonable that if more active sailors got involved in the decision making process at the sport's National Governing Body, we should expect to see positive changes. So I've just registered and am now a member of the SAC. It's just possible that if enough active racers join me, it might make a difference. - The Curmudgeon To become a member of the Sailor Athlete Council: www.ussailing.org/sac OTHER CHANGES The 32nd America's Cup is making changes to the format of the event in order to make it a more TV-friendly product. TWI has been contracted as ACM's media consultants and distributors. Among the changes are: - A series of 'pre-regattas' (to be called Acts) around the world. These will be the first Acts, before the main story of the Louis Vuitton Cup and America's Cup Match in 2007, to build anticipation for the climax of the competition. - Shorter races of 90 minutes for easier insertion into TV schedules - The introduction of fleet racing for the first time in recent history, when all boats compete simultaneously, providing the dramatic 'bigger picture'. Match racing (head-to-head duels) will continue to be the heart of the America's Cup - Extension of wind limits to reduce the number of delayed matches due to adverse weather conditions. Improvements being made by TWI to the television coverage include: - Richer 3D 'virtual sailing' animations - Improvements in the on board cameras and microphones to capture the high drama at source - Better access to the teams and skippers behind-the-scenes - the 'stars' of this particular story - played out across the oceans and lakes of the world. (including Spain, France, USA, Switzerland and Italy) - TV magazine programmes concentrating on the glamorous lifestyle and passion of the exclusive world of sailing, as well as human interest stories. OLYMPICS An Olympic Measurement Committee (OMC) has been appointed by ISAF and has the final responsibility of interpreting the class rules for the regatta and for determining whether equipment complies with the class rules. All boats, including their spars, sails and equipment entered for the 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition may be measured in Athens in accordance with their class rules and any special rules contained in the Notice of Race, Sailing Instructions and the Measurement Regulations. The OMC shall have the right to change the Measurement Regulations and any changes that are made during the 2004 Olympic Sailing Competition will be posted on the official notice board. The OMC is headed up by Chief Measurer Jean-Pierre Marmier (SUI) and includes Cliff Norbury (GBR), George Andreadis (GRE) James Schoonmaker (USA), Simon Forbes (ISAF) and Sebastian Edmonds (ISAF). There will also be a team of measurers in Athens responsible for each class - details are available in the Officials section of the ISAF Athens 2004 Microsite. - www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=7254 NEWPORT IS THE PLACE TO BE IN JUNE and throughout the summer. Newport Shipyard is the host site for the UBS Trophy, Rhode Island between Team Alinghi and Oracle BMW Racing June 19-26th. These elite sailing teams know that Newport Shipyard is where the best of the best call homeport, for both our harborage and our expert refit and repair capabilities. However, you do not have to own an America's Cup Class yacht to find satisfaction at Newport Shipyard. Come and see what the buzz is all about in Newport Harbor. http://www.newportshipyard.com THE TRANSAT For the multihull skipper their choice of tactics Thursday night will prove to be one of the most significant moments in The Transat as they tackle their first major depression of the race. Skippers of today's 60ft racing multihulls taking part in The Transat have been liasing with their shore-based meteorologists and routers to monitor the track and speed of this depression using a variety of sophisticated tools from GRIB weather files to satellite images since the start of the race. While the skippers could sail the shortest course down the great circle route this would have presented them with slow and potentially boat-breaking strong headwinds. Instead for the last 48 hours they have been aiming for the bulls eye - the centre of the depression. The object of the exercise is to keep the wind at a favourable angle ie not from ahead, thus allowing the boats to sail fast without threatening their safety. Sailing towards the heart of the depression from the east the multihulls began experiencing southerly winds of 30-35 knots on Thursday afternoon. Past the centre of the depression the wind will rapidly turn to the northwest providing them with a fast wind angle to sail south west out of the depression. In short, instead of surviving the gale, they are not merely racing through it - they are using it to their tactical advantage. Karine Fauconnier on board Sergio Tacchini is trying another tactic and has turned left early in the hope that she can make gains not through sailing as fast but by sailing less miles. At present all the multihulls are well north of the great circle (and shortest) route to Boston. While the next 24 hours are looking rosy for the multihulls' speed, there is also considerable danger ahead as to the southeast of Newfoundland is a minefield of icebergs. In the area between 50 and 51degW and between two and three degrees due east of Newfoundland the latest charts show there to be 85 recorded icebergs currently resident. For the Open 60s monohulls, now some 500 miles astern of the multihulls, the threat of icebergs is greatly reduced as their track currently takes them along the present southerly limit of the iceberg field. Standings at 1700 June 3: ORMA 60 Multis: 1. Geant, Michel Desjoyeaux, 1546 miles to finish; 2 Sodebo, Thomas Coville, 27 mi. distance to leader. 3. Banque Populaire, Lalou Roucayrol, 46 dtl 5. Groupama, Franck Cammas, 85 dtl IMOCA Open 60 Monohulls: 1. Virbac, Jean-Pierre Dick, 1983 mtf; 2. Ecover, Mike Golding, 15; 3. 3. Pindar Alphagraphics, Mike Sanderson, 26 dfl Open 50 Multihulls: 1. Trilogic, Eric Bruneel, 2019 mtf; 2. Crepes Whaou!, F. Y. Escofier, 62 dtl Open 50 Monohulls: 1. Artforms, Kip Stone, 2173 mtf; 2. Wells Fargo - American Pioneer, Joe Harris, 42 dtl. Event website: http://www.thetransat.com/ MOVING THE BALLAST BULB Open 60 Transat skipper Mike Golding on Ecover has been busy puzzling over the next challenge presented to him by the failure of his keel pump motor which cants the ballast bulb from side to side. "I haven`t quite reconciled how I'm going to cope with it downwind. It's not going to be easy." Golding is considering wearing round rather than gybing, as he is not sure that the boat will allow him to gybe with the keel hanging to leeward. "I'm probably going to do what I do upwind, tacking round and doing a full spin from one gybe to the other. But with 30 or 40 knots of breeze, I will probably have to change down the sails before I do the spin. This will mean first getting rid of any big headsails, reefing the mainsail, doing my manoeuvre, and then hanging all the sails out again. It won't be quick doing this, but it should be quicker in the long run." - www.mikegolding.com TRIVIA QUESTION At what latitude was the iceberg that sank the Titanic? (Answer below) BERMUDA RACE WEATHER ADVISORY! Combine weather & currents. Strategize early. Bill Biewenga is bringing Commanders' Weather and OPC meteorologists together Learn about the trends and options in a new online interactive weather seminar convenient to your schedule. Other races available. Be part of the June 10&11 online interactive events. http://www.weather4sailors.com/seminars.htm COMEDY CORNER For those 17 readers who might be interested, we are pleased to announce that the ISAF has just released a new issue of the "Official Rankings for Olympic Classes." The only North American sailors in the top three are Peter Bromby & Lee White in the Star Class (3rd), but a bunch made it into single digits: Paul Foerster & Kevin Burnham (470 men-4), Tim Wadlow & Pete Spaulding (49er- 4), Carol Cronin (Yingling-4), Meg Gaillard (Europe-6), Betsy Alison (Yngling-6), John Lovell & Charlie Ogletree (Tornado-7), Paul Cayard & Phil Trinter (Star-9), Ross MacDonald & Mike Wolfs (Star-9) and Mark Mendelblatt (Laser- 9) We found lots of humor in this issue, but it was hard to stop laughing when we learned that just two weeks after Brazil's Robert Scheidt won his seventh Laser World Championship, the 'Official Rankings' moved him DOWN from first place into second place in that class. (Huh?) We suspect there were other 'interesting' changes, but after that blockbuster we stopped reading the report: www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=7251 NEWS BRIEFS * The second day for the Trofeo TAB, Blurimini 2004 match race Grade 2 ISAF, in Rimini produced another sunny day, with wind of 6-10 knots, and 12 flights sailed. Just two flights (13 and 14) remaining to complete the Round Robin. Current standings: Matteo Simoncelli (ITA) 8-2; James Spithill (AUS) 8-3; Ian Williams (GBR) 8-3; Karol Jablonski (POL) 6-3; Mathieu Richard (FRA) 6-4; Michele Ivaldi (ITA) 5-4; Kelvin Harrap (NZL) 4-5; Philippe Presti (FRA) 4-6; Fabio Mazzoni (ITA) 4-6; Eugeniy Neugodnikov (RUS) 3-7; Staffan Lindberg (FIN) 2-8; Lars Nordbjaerg (DEN) 1-8. - www.blurimini.com/2004/regate/bandi.asp * The New York Yacht Club will host the 2005 International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Team Racing World Championship Sept. 24-Oct. 1 at Harbour Court, its Newport, Rhode Island, clubhouse. The biennial event will be sailed in Vanguard 15s and is expected to draw teams from as many as 20 nations. The 2003 event, held in Auckland, New Zealand, before the 2003 America's Cup Match, was won by the U.S.A. - http://www.nyyc.org/teamracingworlds. * North Sails will be providing complimentary weather forecasts for the Sailing World Detroit NOOD regatta from June 4-6. Daily forecasts will include a brief synopsis, temperatures, current conditions, wind forecasts and much more. To sign up for this service, simply log on to North's Weather Center: http://na.northsails.com/ew/ew_main.taf * At the first day of racing for the Farr 40 North American Championship/ Watts Cup at the Los Angeles YC, the "June Gloom" overcast skies kept the thermal breeze at bay during the first race, but winds built to almost 15 knots by late afternoon. The leaders of the 12-boat regatta after three races are: 1. Samba Pa Ti, 6 pts; 2. Crocodile Rock, 11; 3. Le Renard, 12; 4. Groovederci, 15; 5. Pegasus, 16. www.layc.org/html/racedoc/upload/WattsThursPrelim.htm TRIVIA ANSWER On April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic collided at 22 knots with an iceberg estimated to be 70-150 m long and 20-40 m high above the water surface. The collision happened at a latitude of merely 42° N. It is notable that huge icebergs last to such a low latitude (the same as that of Rome), after drifting from Baffin Bay within the Arctic Circle. Such drifts are relatively rare. It is estimated that of the 15,000 to 30,000 icebergs produced annually by the glaciers of Greenland only one percent (150 to 300) ever make it to the Atlantic Ocean. 'TIS THE SEASON Warm summer breezes. What every sailor waits for all winter after spending hours in garages and huddled under covers gearing our boats up for the season. But, are you geared up? Those breezes and that sun sure feel great but at the end of the day if you're not wearing sun protection you won't be happy. Whether dinghy racing and needing a rash guard, or sailing big boats and in search of polos you can wear straight to the club, APS has you covered. Stocking Camet, Henri Lloyd, Gill and Sailing Angles, we're your "one-stop-shop" for sun protection. http://www.apsltd.com/scuttlebutt 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 Ross Cameron: Noel Field's article points out a couple of interesting issues. First, any event basing entry on age, particularly age by year, should provide volunteers with a large sign identifying the year that controls registration. Since we moved to year end the year is enough. Secondly, and presuming the ruling becomes SOP as far as control at registration is concerned, then it's fair to point out that Race Committees will need to make a notification somewhere in the official paper that it is the responsibility of the competitor to ensure that they are entered in the correct class or division. Now, will that notification go in the Notice of Race? * From John Standley (re to the article by Noel Field): From the facts as set out in Scuttlebutt it would seem that the entry form did not require that the entrants nominate which division they were to sail in. As such it would be up to the "Volunteer" - a Race Committee member - to assign a division to each entrant. If this was done in error, then why did the Jury not give redress for this error of the RC by asking the RC to recalculate the results with the boat assigned to the correct division? This would have been possible as all boats sailed the same course at the same time. It would seem harsh to disqualify 13 and 14 year old sailors from an event for something they should have seen, but presumably didn't. If however they knowingly and deliberately continued to sail in the wrong division then this would be a different story. * From Ralph Taylor (Regarding Noel Field's report): A 13-year-old & 14-year-old are disqualified essentially because of RC errors at entry & scoring and the officials worry about precedent when US Sailing's Appeals Committee overturns the DSQ? What's wrong with this picture? What is the race officials' responsibility to follow their own rules? Should a jury look only at legalistic answers without exploring practical ones? Does this encourage or discourage youth from continuing in the sport? Rule 62.1, Redress, could apply: ".. a boat's finishing place.. has, through no fault of her own, been made significantly worse by: (a) an improper action or omission of the race committee or protest committee." The jury might have directed the race committee to score the boat in the correct division; but it seems to focused on blaming the competitors. Are kids this age as culpable as adults might be? Anyone who's worked with teens knows that they are often confused by our adult tendency toward complex rules; they just want to go sailing. They are also reluctant to speak up against their elders. They were told what division they were in and the posted results agreed. It doesn't help the committee to say the registration clerk is a "volunteer"; paid or not, she is still a member of the RC and it's her decision starting this sad chain of events. Apparently, the RC didn't catch the mistake in a timely fashion; thus it is the RC's & jury's job to find a fair resolution. * From Chuck Sherfey (re Jerry Kaye's response in 'butt 1596 to Noel M. Field Jr's. US Sailing Appeals Committee note): If Mr. Kaye's response is not a personal attack, I have never seen one. * From Jacob Doyle: It is simple really; in the future there should be a line on the registration form for the competitor to fill in that states what division the competitor is entering. This way the burden of selecting the proper division is on the competitor as it should be and not on the regatta volunteers. In the event of a mistake on the competitor's part he gets chucked for failing to meet the specification in the NOR. Curmudgeon's Comment: OK - unless we get a response from US Sailing's Appeals Committee, this thread is now officially dead. * From John Fretwell: Per your news brief today, actually Genuine Risk is in San Diego now. The boat was sailing all afternoon yesterday and then dropped by to watch the start of the first Beer Can race. I guess the boys thought the course was a bit short for their taste. Anyway she's pretty damn impressive, even when dwarfed by (one of) Pittman's other toys, 146' Whirlaway. * From Preston Wake: There is also one other big boat with a canting keel and twin foil to be launched this year it is Magnitude 80, the Andrews 80. Although the lead foil is a dagger board similar to a laser. * From Dave Beck: While I cannot speak for Mike Golding, my guess is that his KISS solution to his ballast strut problems will be to install a more robust hydraulic drive motor. The performance advantage of canting ballast in these light boats is too great to ignore, and the acceptance of powered ballast struts is a done deal. Every innovative technology goes through a period where the best engineering solutions are sorted out in the hard, real world. These solutions then become commonplace and accepted as normal. Anyone who has sailed a performance oriented canting ballast boat knows they are too fast and too much fun to ignore. This is the way to do it. THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Have you ever seen a horse fly? A match box? A jumbo shrimp? |
