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SCUTTLEBUTT 1312 - April 21, 2003Powered 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 emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. GUEST EDITORIAL (Following are two excerpts from Richard Hazelton's editorial in 48 Degrees North.) I would hazard a guess that most people racing sailboats, whether it's on a lake, a river, or Puget Sound, aren't getting paid for it. They aren't practicing more than one day a week, if that, and not always with the same crew. They work on their boats themselves and get the new sails and equipment every couple years when the budget allows. One-design sailors tend to be more involved in their fleets and their sailing, but most PHRFers race once a week with the occasional weekend series. Does this mean that sailors who aren't Pros are less competitive? Yes and no. Yes - in the sense that they aren't as prepared. They don't spend the time working on their tactics, their crew work, tuning the boats and equipment, and in general just constantly working to improve their sailing. No - in that, when the gun goes off, their competitive juices are flowing, they want to win. * How much enjoyment you get from racing is directly linked to your expectations. If those expectations are unrealistic, so are the chances of having much fun. If you and your team are out practicing, the boat is ready and your teamwork is a thing of beauty, you should expect to do well. However, most everyone I know is not quite so dedicated-the word "recreational" comes to mind. If you mostly sail the boat only during races, with many of the crew introducing themselves to each other as you motor out, you need to realistically look at where you're at and why you're out there. Sailing is your pastime, relax and enjoy the time on the water, the camaraderie and the fun of competition. Who knows, you might just pull one off, but even if you don't, you've had a good time, and isn't that the whole point? So, cross the start line with realistic expectations and you can expect to have a lot more fun. - Richard Hazelton, full editorial: www.48north.com/apr_2003/edit.htm LIGHTNING WORLDS Coral Reef & Biscayne Bay YCs - Tito Gonzalez is the new World Champion of the Lightning class -- for the fourth time. An ostrich farmer in his native Chile, Gonzalez won his first Worlds in 1987 with his brother in Columbia, then later in Finland and then in Ecuador in 1999. Sailing with Gonzalez was usual fore deck crew Claus Engell from Chile and former World Champ Jay Lutz of the U.S. Steve Hayden of Florida came in second by one point. Fresh from winning the International Masters regatta last week in Miami, Jim Crane of CT, came in third after leading the regatta earlier in the week. Canadian Larry MacDonald Jr. took fourth place and Bill Healy was fifth. The next Lightning Worlds is scheduled for 2005 in South America. - Amy Smith Linton, www.lightningworlds.org A PREMIUM ON SAFETY Trapezing is a blast, particularly for kids. However, the chance of getting tangled by a trapeze hook while in the water is a real concern. But now there is a safer alternative to the traditional harness hook. The Bethwaite Safety Harness works without any hook, exposed bars or buckles that can snag. Learn more about the harness and how you can purchase it at the PS2000 or Annapolis Performance Sailing websites. - http://www.ps2000.ca / http://www.apsltd.com AROUND ALONE The wind gods have dealt some unkind hands this leg. They have also been very kind to others and Bernard Stamm and Simone Bianchetti must be smiling to themselves as the scoot north in the northeast trades. They barely slowed down for the doldrums and now have fair winds all the way to New England. One other skipper who has enjoyed fine conditions and is turning in a stellar performance is Brad Van Liew on Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America. Brad is not only leading Class 2, he is ahead on Pindar and Solidaires and nipping at the heels of Ocean Planet. At last poll Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America was only 47 miles behind Ocean Planet and 124 ahead of Solidaires. In fact both Brad and his closest rival Tim Kent on Everest Horizontal are leaving the Class 1 back markers in the dirt. As Brad returns to the Northern Hemisphere his thoughts are turning towards home and the end of the race. "After the many months and many thousand miles I have finally returned to the Northern Hemisphere," he wrote. "I feel like home is just ahead now. I know that for the rest of my life I will yearn to remember and re-live the experiences of the last few months so I continue to tell myself to enjoy the moment, however I am still anxious to complete this odyssey and see Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America gently tugging at her docking lines in Newport." - Brian Hancock, http://www.aroundalone.com/ STANDINGS: 2200 UTC April 20 CLASS 1. Bobst Group-Armor Lux, Bernard Stamm, 2184 miles from finish; 2. Tiscali, Simone Bianchetti, 78 miles from leader; 3. Ocean Planet, Bruce Schwab, 350 mfl. 4. Solidaires, Thierry Dubois, 512 mfl; 5. Pindar, Emma Richards, 547 mfl; CLASS 2: 1. Tommy Hilfiger, Brad Van Liew, 2590 miles from finish; 2. Everest Horizontal, Tim Kent, 124 mfl; 3. Spirit of yukoh, Kojiro Shiraishi, 389 mfl; 4. BTC Velocity, Alan Paris, 532 mfl. - Spirit of Canada, Derek Hatfield, still sailing leg 4. STURGEON There has been a lot of discussion on these pages in recent weeks about the reportedly superior seasick remedy, Sturgeon - a product that is not available in the US. Last Friday, the Curmudgeon got an email from an anonymous skipper from Lake Ontario who wrote, "After a very quick search of the Internet I ordered Sturgeon from www.expresschemist.net in England. I ordered two packages (30 tablets) of Stugeron. Cost was $18 including shipping. I got the pills in two weeks. Very easy. Hope they work (for my crew)." Curmudgeon's Comment: This is not an ad or an endorsement. We are just passing along the information. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * May 2: Eighth Annual Sailors Ball, New York Harbor Sailing Foundation, New York city. www.nyharborsailing.com. * May 3-4: Vallejo Race, YRA/Vallejo YC. More than 300 boats will participate. - www.yra.org 49ER WORLD CUP There has been some conjecture about the plans for the International 49er Class to organise the 49er World Cup 2003. As I am sure you all appreciate, 2002/3 has not been the easiest of years to go out looking for sponsorship and, because of this, we were reluctant to make any announcement about a series which we subsequently might not be able to deliver. However we have received commitments from our promoters that the following events will take place and, as a result, are able to make the preliminary announcement that the title of 49er World Cup Winner 2003 will be awarded by the Class to the leader on points accumulated from the following events: 1. Cannes 8th - 11th May 2. Riva del Garda 15th - 18th May 3. Grimstad, Norway 6th -8th June 4. Helsinki, Finland 12th - 14th June 5. Rungsted, Denmark 19th - 21st June 6. Hunstanton, UK 31st July - 3rd August 7. Taiwan 29th September - 5th October John Reed, 49er Executive Secretary, www.49er.org/ CARRYING THE OCKAM ADVANTAGE FORWARD Ockam systems have always been easy to update, and Ockam has far greater flexibility with specialized sensors and technologies - Gyro compasses, second/aft depth sensors, sonic wind and speed devices are a few examples. Taking advantage of new product developments is possible in older systems, and adding extra capabilities to a basic system is encouraged without product or price "tier" limits. For more information, or to discuss updating your current system, contact Tom Davis (tom@ockam.com). - http://www.ockam.com NEWS BRIEFS * The 'Site of the Month' on US Sailing's website focuses on Training, with an on-line primer course for a newbie to get their feet wet before taking a hands-on commercial training course, to a searchable database for commercial sailing courses for everyone, when in need of a rental sailboat use another searchable database, take a targeted powerboat course for race committee and patrol boat operators, use the job bank to find an instructor for your school (or an instructor place your job needed ad!), get your instructor certified, training awards, publications, and a whole bunch more to get all sailors up to speed: www.ussailing.org * 163 sailors from 15 countries participated in the Optimist South American Championship regatta. Pampero winds of up to 36 knots prevented further sailing on Saturday, the final day, to leave the championship decided on the basis of just six races. Argentina's Tomás Agrimbau took the title ahead of Sebastian Peri Brusa also from Argentina. Third place went to Eric Brockman from Mexico. Nick Voss in 17th place was the top USA finisher. In the unofficial Copa de Naciones, open to teams from outside South America the ranking order finished as: 1. Bermuda, 2. Mexico, 3. U.S.A. - www.ycu.org.uy/optimist/ * The Olympic ranking Princess Sofia Trophy Regatta in Palma Mallorca had a massive entry of 721 Olympic class boats from 40 nations. North Americans stayed away in droves, but in the Yngling class, Bermuda's Paula Lewis took fifth place and Betsy Alison was seventh. Tim Wadlow/ Pete Spaulding took 10th in the 49ers followed by Andy Mack /Adam Lowry three places back. Tania Elias Calles from Mexico was 9th in the Europe with Meg Gaillard in 10th- http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/ * We are in the last day of the latest Scuttlebutt survey where the exact center of the 'Butthead universe is being determined. An absolute dogfight continues between the Northeast US and the Southwest US for ultimate supremacy. Europe has legged out a nice lead in the international race, though Canada and East Asia/ Pacific still could comeback on what will be the final beat to the finish. Today is your last day to cast your ballot in support of your region. - www.sailingscuttlebutt.com SNIPE CLASS NATIONALS SET FOR BUZZARDS BAY The Keane 2003 US Snipe Nationals will be sailed this year in Buzzards Bay out of Beverly Yacht Club. The schedule includes the Women's Nationals and Junior Nationals to be sailed July 12-13, then the Crosby, Wells and Heinzerling series to be sailed July 14-18. This is going to be a great regatta; plan on being there. Check the official website for information: http://snipe.org/nationals2003/, and go to the US Snipe webpage for a calendar of US Snipe events, with reports and photos of all of the recent regattas: http://www.snipeus.org 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 or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Ted Jones (Re: Alan Paris broken ribs and edited to our 250-word limit): Two years ago I broke two ribs in a boating accident. While I had no outward signs of any lung damage, review of my x-rays prompted the hospital to call my family physician to further evaluate a suspicious anomaly in my right lung. My doctor (who sails an Olson 30, an E-scow, and an ice boat) cautioned me to be very careful for the next week or so and to take any change in breathing or chest pain very seriously and immediately seek medical attention. A week later I suddenly became short of breath and very nearly passed out. I barely had enough lung power to call out to my wife to call 911. I spent three days in our local hospital in ICU and was then discharged as my condition improved sufficiently. I was again cautioned to take it easy. A week later I again felt "strange" and my doctor sent me to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center where they drained two liters of fluid from my right lung. Three days later I underwent surgery to scrape away the remaining clotted blood. I'm now fully recovered. I am not qualified to provide a medical opinion but offer my experience as a caution that Alan Paris should be extremely careful. I felt fine between my two episodes, and I wasn't doing anything strenuous. I am thankful that my doctor is a sailor and understands a sailor's penchant to work passed pain, which in my case could have been a fatal miscalculation. * From Tony Lush: Twice while crossing the Atlantic in lighter wind conditions I have come across whales on a collision course, apparently snoozing on the surface. In each case they were much longer and larger than my boat. Only when I tacked or gybed did the boat make enough commotion to wake them. * From Bob Merrick: I think that ISAF President Paul Henderson has done a great thing to combine the Olympic class world championships with Olympic qualifying events and as an added bonus to host them all in the same place at the same time. ISAF has created a true World Championship of Sailing. * From Nelson Stephenson: Mr. Henderson's recent letter to One Design Class leadership was simply amazing, especially for many US Sailors and Women in Sailing. Perhaps his approach is consistent with the "reality based, in your face" style of entertainment popular today. Frankly, as a result, I am sailing a lot more and watching TV a lot less. Mr. Henderson stated: "the success of the multi-class regatta circuit in Europe is the reason, in my opinion, why Europe has become the centre of sailing and North America has deteriorated. The sailors love the interaction especially the Men with the Women." The Presidency of ISAF is a leadership position capable of promoting the Sport of Sailing. Divisive and controversial comments ultimately do little to benefit Sailing. Is there a reaction from Women in Sailing to the comments about "interaction"? Historically, comments of this nature have created a World of Trouble for many men, including the likes of Ben Wright, the former CBS Golf Analyst. I believe we can all quickly agree that the past 18 months has been a very difficult time in the United States. The weaker Economy and serious concerns about National Security have affected Sailing much more than lack of a "multi-class regatta circuit" in the United States. Mr. Henderson's ongoing style of creating controversy with letters and public comments continually challenges all of us to think seriously about the issues at hand. Yet, along with each such challenge comes an increasingly uncomfortable feeling about ISAF. * From Richard Endean (re Olympic classes): After reading Paul Henderson's remarks in yesterdays Scuttlebutt it seems that there still remains some misunderstanding of the ISAF role with the IOC which trickles down, and has done for some time, to the MNA relationship with their own Olympic Committees. The sooner the "blessed" class powers of influence within ISAF and the MNA's realize that they are not each others worst enemy but in fact recognize that they and ISAF are competing with other sports for participation in sailing at all levels then we will be in a position to make some real forward progress. To overcome the historic and current controversy there needs to be an apolitical process that determines the factors required to fulfil sailings obligations to the IOC. At the same time presenting our sport attractively to the Olympic audience and, yes take full advantage of the television opportunity. We are in a new millennium after all so TV is really the best form of communication we have at the moment. Let's try to find a way of using it better. * From Gordon Ettie: I just returned this afternoon from watching the last race of the Lightning World Championships in my Swan 40, and feel that I must comment on what our sailing sport has become. I have raced Lightning's for many years and was always appreciative of the great fair racing and it was a great Jr. boat in LI sound. However somehow this world championship was tainted. An OCS was overruled and hence an award was made that I think should really be questioned. Last year I raced Etchells and did fairly well but was very discouraged about hearing what was happening with crew with payment in an amateur class. I subsequently sold my Etchells. I am just concentrating now on racing my Swan 40 but still have battles with PHRF. Hopefully a more equitable handicap will evolve. I think that more people have to speak out, such as what has been happening in the Star Class with ISAF. We need to make our sport more Corinthian and less about winning with how much money you can spend or how much politics you can play or how much you can intimidate. Sailing is much more an amateur sport than a professional sport and I think that we need to keep it this way. We also need to make sure that fairness is maintained in the sport. THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION When a dog food has new and improved taste, who tests it? |
