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SCUTTLEBUTT 1467 - November 28, 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 focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. WHY VALENCIA WON (Here's a brief excerpt from a report that James Boyd of The Daily Sail filed from the America's Cup venue announcement in Geneva.) The decision, which Bonnefous claims was made only this morning, was based primarily on the sailing conditions. In light of the choice of Valencia this seems slightly unconvincing given the Portugese option was very much the sailor's favourite - it is on the Atlantic coast and offered the possibility of big wind and waves, a repeat of the tremendous conditions experienced during the 1987/8 Cup in Fremantle. It is believed that Valencia came out on top, because while racing off Cascais might have offered more lively conditions, as a venue it was possibly the more volatile with a threat of disputes with the local fisherman, etc. In contrast Valencia has a moderate sea breeze you can set your watch by, a race course which is just a 15 minute ride from the campaign bases and sufficient depth to allow the laying of marks close to the shore giving spectators a bird's eye view of the action. In fact the blurb handed out by ACM states they have been looking for a venue offering 'reliable' rather than exciting wind conditions. This was to avoid a repeat of the Auckland scenario where a ridiculous number of days were cancelled due to either too much or too little wind. This broke up the continuity of the event, turning what might have proved good television into a heavily punctuated nightmare for broadcasters who had paid good money to hold the TV rights to the event. - The Daily Sail, full story: http://www.thedailysail.com/ CUP OBSERVATIONS (Following are several excerpts from a comprehensive story by Tim Jeffery in the UK's Daily Telegraph.) * The first America's Cup in Europe since 1851 will be without one of its iconic figures of the past three decades: Dennis Conner is retiring from the fray. "I raised $40 million last time. Raising $100 million in the United States today for an event that goes on in Europe at three in the morning is a dream," Conner said. "It can't be done. You have to have someone wealthy, it can't be done with sponsorship. Realistically, there are only two who are going to win this. Oracle and Alinghi are way ahead." The only man to have lost, won back and lost the Cup again, Conner said: "I've had a great run: nine cups, four wins. I have no complaints. I wish them well." * The bidding cities proposed impressive cup villages, hotels, superyacht facilities and public grandstands costing over £350 million, as well as a "management fee" inducement. Naples offered almost £35 million, but a source said that had been ratcheted up by the competing bids. * Peter Harrison, of GBR Challenge, has set September next year as his target for finding up to double the £30 million he spent in his first challenge. Harrison has kept on 15 people, only on the design and fund-raising side. "I have made it clear that I require partners and certainly won't carry on over this four-year period without sponsors," Harrison said. * Certainly the recruitment market for sailors and designers has heated up in recent weeks. A notable absentee in Geneva was Paul Cayard, who has been an America's Cup skipper three times. There are strong suggestions that he has secured backing. Full story: http://tinyurl.com/wqb8 SPANISH AMERICA'S CUP SYNDICATE After Valencia was appointed host for the 2007 America's Cup, the project of Desafio Español which Agustín Zulueta considered can be pushed under the limelight. "We are now preparing a Spanish project and details will be revealed over the next few days", said Gerardo Pombo García, President of the Spanish Sailing Federation, who said in October that project is "suspended" until the Swiss have chosen the America's Cup venue. The Spanish Challenge had a few small sponsorship deals but nothing major. But the name of the first of the major could be unveiled over the next few days. Desafio's Zulueta says it is not far from signing sponsorship deal to give it nearly 50 % of the estimated €50 million it needed. The end of December is targeted for having a definite budget. - Cup in Europe website, http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/2007Desafio-LN.htm MADE YOUR LIST YET? No? It's easy: Grab your Layline catalog. Flip through it and circle everything you want in red ink. Hand the catalog to your wife/girlfriend/mom/sister/daughter (or husband/boyfriend/dad/brother/son). Or casually leave it lying on top of their desk/kitchen counter/dresser. They don't know that you already have 40 other sailing books. Or that you don't really need Dubarry boots to sail a 505. All they know is that they need a present for you, and you like to sail. Need more help or a new catalog? Call us: 800.542-5463, or visit our website for gift ideas. http://www.layline.com MATCH RACING RANKING The final ISAF World Match Race Rankings for 2003 are released Thursday, with the results of the recently concluded ISAF Grade 1 Nippon Cup, held in Hakayama, Japan last week, and the ISAF Grade 1 Marseille International Match Race counting. Peter Gilmour has firmly embedded himself back in the open circuit with his second Grade 1 win in a row, striking perhaps a sense of apprehension in his competitors. Those used to his absence may have become a little complacent without "Gillie" on the circuit, and were brought back to reality with a bump as he took the Nippon Cup home with him last week. That result move Gilmour to 17th - his first appearance in the top twenty for over 18 months. In the women's rankings Marie Bjorling (SWE) still leads the 2003 World Champion and ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Nominee Malin Millbourn (SWE) at the top of the rankings, positions which are almost unassailable going into the invitation rankings next January. www.sailing.org/matchrace/mrranking.asp Open rankings: 1 Karol Jablonski, Poland, 10937 2 Ed Baird, USA, 10348 3 Jesper Radich, Denmark, 10340 4 Mathieu Richard, France, 9512 5 James Spithill, USA, 9315 44. Mason Woodworth, USA, 5503 85. Ken Read, USA, 3961 Women's rankings: 1 Marie Bjorling, Sweeden, 9905 2 Malin Millbourn, Sweden, 9624 3 Nina Braestrup, Denmark, 8640 4 Lotte Meldgaared Pedersen, Denmark, 8414 5 Marie Faure, France, 7948 6 Liz Baylis, USA, 7443 7 Betsy Alison, USA, 6947 NEWS BRIEFS * The world's largest cruising sloop, the 247-foot Mirabella V, was launched Wednesday. After several delays and years of design and construction, the carbon-fibre super yacht owned by Joseph Vittoria was launched at VT Ship Builders at Woolston in Southampton. The boat will be available for charter at US$250,000/ week. There are photos on the Yachting Universe website: http://tinyurl.com/wnu1 * Organizers plan to build team compounds and an America's Cup village in the basin of the port of Valencia, a few miles from downtown. Because Valencia's bay deepens close to the shore, races can be held within viewing distance of the city's beaches and waterfront promenade. Spain's finance minister expects the America's Cup to create more than 10,000 jobs. - USA Today, full story: http://tinyurl.com/wqd0 * Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton is keeping quiet on whether the syndicate will be on the start line in the Spanish city of Valencia in 2007. But on the day the venue for the first European America's Cup regatta was unveiled, Dalton revealed the syndicate was close to signing sponsorship deals to give it nearly $100 million of the estimated $150 million needed to mount a challenge. However, he said, that was not enough to confirm a 2007 start. A decision would be made on March 31, although there was an 80 per cent chance the syndicate would compete. - Julie Ash, NZ Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/wtvx SCUTTLEBUTT WEBSITE LINKS Classifieds: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/classifieds Sailing events: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar Photo gallery: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos News & Extras: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news $$$$$$$$$$$$$ The constant wind in the Mediterranean port is believed to have played a significant role in the choice of Valencia, but (Team New Zealand's Grant) Dalton said today Marseille in France had similar wind strengths and patterns. "I'd like to think it (the wind) was a huge factor but I am not so sure money wasn't a major factor as well because Marseille down the road probably has wind that isn't exactly the same but has potentially the right qualities." The choice of Valencia has angered several cities along the Mediterranean coast with Marseille mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin saying it seemed Valencia had made a better financial offer. Dalton said he was surprised at how rough the Mediterranean could get, even with the depth close to shore. "It is quite steep chop because it is virtually a giant bay and you don't get a fetch to the same level as you might get in a northerly in the Hauraki Gulf which fetches down past the barrier and which comes from miles away." He said the venue would mean changes to the rules and boat design but he expected a pre-cup regatta next September would be sailed under the old rules. Team New Zealand had had its first meeting of its new design team on conceptual designs. "I sense in the new designers we have got, coupled with the old designers, already we have changed the boats quite a bit." - NZPA, StuffNZ website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/wq9e SIZE DOES MATTER In the game of optimizing sailboats, doing the most with the least is what it's about. Its no small wonder Harken, Pewaukee's Royal Family of hardware innovation, has just designed a new small wonder to help you measure in. Introducing the 40mm Carbo-Ratchets. From high-performance dinghy jib and spinsheets to keelboat traveler control lines, the list of applications where small ratchets are needed and size and weight are critical, isn't small. The leaders in the performance sailboat optimization game, it's no small wonder they're available in a myriad of configurations at Annapolis Performance Sailing. Stop wondering... http://www.apsltd.com/depts/dept3530.asp PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS "I think people are getting the wrong idea that this is San Diego: 6 to 8 to 10 knots, flat water or gentle swells and light air," said Tom Ehman, a representative of Oracle BMW racing, the San Francisco-based challenger of record. "This is in the teens. That's plenty of breeze, especially for these machines." What would really guarantee a monotony-free event would be closer races. With that in mind, the design rules for America's Cup class yachts have been modified to narrow the design range and increase the downwind sail area. "We wanted the boats to be sportier: to have more lead changes and to keep the racing more interesting," Ehman said. - Christopher Clarey, International Tribune, full story: http://www.iht.com/articles/119455.html 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 Tom Donlan: In addition to Craig Coulsen's suggestions to those developing a new offshore rule regarding soundness for offshore work, I would like to add a brief for beauty. The rule-developers should dig out some Morris Rosenfeld photos from the 40s and 50s to remind themselves that aesthetics is one of the pleasures of sailing. A new rule also should encourage longer overhangs and slender hulls. My personal proposal is that the Concordia 40 is a perfect design: all deviations from that concept would be penalized. I leave it to the naval architects to figure out the technicalities. Sure, the Concordia is not fast, and another rule for speed freaks might be necessary. In that case, I suggest that those who create the new fast-and-ugly rule eliminate scantlings entirely so the boats can go as fast as possible and fall apart as quickly as possible. * From William Elmer: Am I missing something? Isn't the ARC the "Atlantic Rally for Cruisers?" What does a VOR60 have to do with cruising, and if this is a rally and not a race, why should anyone care "Who's in first" to paraphrase the famous baseball comedy routine? * From Andy Johnson: When will Sea Cliff yacht club come to their senses and do the right thing by the by the sailing public and the real participants in the Little America's Cup Steve Clarks's Cogito, Ian Jenkins Australian's and the Invictus team. Their race is an over-hyped joke built on press releases without any of the drama and excitement of the real Little America's Cup. They continue to use the name Little America's Cup when clearly they have no moral justification. By continuing to use "Little America's Cup" sea cliff are sabotaging the efforts of all those keeping the Little America's Cup a bastion of creativity and talent. Simple fact is no marketing manager will commit to sponsorship for any event, without some guarantees about things like name and publicity. This must be hurting the challenging teams. After ignoring the Little America's Cup for 40 years, Sea Cliff are now doing their best to scuttle it. Ian Jenkins's team is becoming mainstream news in Perth, which can only be a good thing for sailing. None of these guys look like they have big money to spend, (I've been watching the team designer Damien Smith push starting his old car for the last six months) So when they win the LAC next September it will be because of guts, determination not dollars * From J. Joseph Bainton (re Change to Olympic Format): I was not surprised to learn that the preemptory change to the format of the Olympic Regatta is the result of an "emergency submission" by ISAF President Henderson. Whether no drop race or forcing all competitors to sail the last race are good or bad ideas is not the issue. The simple fact is that there was no "emergency." Whatever failings, if any, the existing system possessed were open, notorious and therefore subject to deliberative change made effective much sooner than the eve of the Games. The thoughtful words of Tim Patton, President of the International Etchells Class, in his most recent message to Class members should be shared more widely. Tim wrote that at the Barcelona ISAF meeting in addition to taking care of Class specific matters that "I hope that I will have been successful in trying to get the policy making in the sport of sailing left in the hands of the sailors. My sense is that many of us feel that ISAF is an us and them thing when ISAF should be we. The gap between us and them does not seem to be getting any narrower." Tim obviously did not achieve his stated goal, but we sailors owe him and others like him with influence at ISAF our gratitude and support. May they (with our support) keep up the good fight and ultimately return the sport to those whose primary interest is sailboat racing, not "governing" those with such primary interests. * From Fred Ploetz: Southwestern Yacht Club in San Diego has a non-profit Junior Foundation which raises money through fundraisers and donations, and we currently help funding Tim Wadlow's 49er Olympic Campaign. Any funding being channeled through us will go 100% to the athletes. * From Pete Corpstein, PCorpstein@westroc.net: It may come as a surprise to some Scuttlebutt readers that Arizona even has an active yacht club, let alone a charitable sailing foundation... But we do! The Arizona Yacht Club created the Arizona Sailing Foundation to promote our sport and provide the type of charitable channels that can help support Olympic hopefuls and sailing school scholarships for those that do not exactly fit in the "rich man" category. We would gladly pass through 100% of a tax deductible donation to Olympic hopefuls. * From Grif Amies (In response to Fred Hagedorn's explanation which details how the Olympic Sailing Committees $1.4 million annual budget is broken down - edited to our 250-word limit): For the last five years I have had the pleasure of helping Peter Wells fundraise for his Windsurfing Olympic Campaign. Peter has worked hard on the water and off, raising over $45,000 from individuals and local sailing organizations (www.surfwells.com). Two days after winning the trials he was informed by U.S. Sailing that he would receive a cash grant of just $2,000 for the entire time between now and the Olympics (August, 2004). As the U.S. representative in one of the eleven sailing events, Peter will receive just over one tenth of one percent of the annual budget of $1.4 million to help cover his racing and training expenses for the next nine months. Peter was ranked first on the U.S. Sailing Team for the last three years and was given $2,500-$3,000 each year. Am I the only one who thinks that someone who has worked extremely hard to make the Olympic Team should receive more than $2,000 when the budget is $1.4 million? Hagedorn states that the sailors receive 30% of the budget in direct cash grants. While the numbers don't seem to come close to adding up in Peter's case, shouldn't the people holding the tillers at the Olympic regatta receive more than 30% of the budget anyway? I will continue to help Peter fundraise and reach his goal of winning an Olympic medal, but I was nearly as devastated as he was when I learned the amount he would receive. * From Eric Hall: It's clear that the next America's Cup is off to a very promising start. The management team appears to be bringing the event to its highest level yet. It they follow the Valencia announcement with an early and clearly defined TV deal, then surely all this recent hand wringing over event participation will stop. They have the momentum. If they keep it, the next America's Cup will be unprecedented in the excitement it creates. * From Cory E. Friedman: I wasn't the one who said motor racing allows drops (#1466 Malcolm McKeag letter), it was Jim Champ (#1464) - disagreeing with me! 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