SCUTTLEBUTT #238 -- December 16, 1998
AUSTRALIAN 470 CHAMPIONSHIPS
Middle Harbour Yacht Club, Sydney -- A Long day on the Water for 4 races in
the Australian 470 Class Championships, being sailed on the Delta Course
area of the Sydney Harbour Olympic Site. Most of race 2 and 3 where sailed
in drizzle or rain despite the 22 degree Celsius air temperature. But a
great SouEasterly during the day from 14-18 knots and by the end of the day
there was even some sunshine.
Morgan Reeser said he "couldn't believe I'm still standing" after the
hardest day of sailing in many years.
The regatta concludes today. Standings: Women's Fleet: 1 Federica
Salva/Sossi, ITA, (8) 2 W Connor/Kratzig, USA, (12) 3 J Armstrong/Stowell,
AUS, (13) 4 J. Lidgett / Bucek, AUS, (14) 5 M Henshaw/Egnot, NZL, (21)
Mens & Mixed Fleet: 1 N Wilmot/Smith, AUS, (10) 2 T King/Turnbull, AUS,
(10) 3 G. Philippe/Cariou, FRA, (13) 4 Benoit/Fransais, FRA, (21) 5 C
Hooper/Page, AUS, (22)
AMERICA'S CUP
>> Team New Zealand's design work will not be finalised until after the
completion of their summer sailing program in April. Tom Schnackenberg has
said that the team was constantly weighing up the advantages and the
disadvantages as to when to finish the design and start building. The Black
Boats are back in the water with NZL38 sporting a modified bow. Team New
Zealand has changed the IOR bow to a metre bow. As this has only been done
to one of the two Black Boats, it must be presumed that this is for
performance testing. Meantime, Team New Zealand acknowledges that they will
now be the centre of attention from the challengers. They have already seen
the Japanese hire fast runabouts to take photos of the Team's training and
their boats, and Brad Butterworth expects the same of all the other
challengers. "From a chase boat" says Butterworth" it will be very
difficult to see the changes we have made."
>> An unprecedented demand for superyacht berths in Auckland (yachts over
100 feet in length) has caught America's Cup Village Ltd by surprise.
Inquiries continue to flood into their Auckland offices with over 130
registrations at press time, and more than 50 NZ$35,000 deposits received.
A decision has now been made to provide an additional 20 berths to help
meet the demand. The additional extra berths will be located on the
northern face of the new Viaduct wharf, all with four metre draughts. Those
expecting to have their superyacht tied up at the Basin now reads like the
worlds who's who of industry (read money). Let's recap with a few
additions. Bill Gates (Microsoft), King Juan Carlos of Spain, Rupert
Murdoch, Ted Turner of CNN and wife Jane Fonda, the Aga Khan, and yachts
from Reebok, The House of Gucci, The House of Prada, Netscape, Fiat car
Company - the list gets longer. The cost of getting your floating palace
from North America to New Zealand via the sea transporter - NZ$290,000.
The latest estimate is that superyacht owners will spend not less than
NZ$200million whilst in New Zealand. Now who said the America's Cup was not
worth anything to New Zealand? The Mouth of the South? And lets not forget
that there will also be eight Kiwi owned super yachts that will tie up at
the basin.
Getting things into perspective, we have just learnt of one American
businessman which Fortune magazine says is worth US$4billion, who has
decided to bring 290 of his key employees to New Zealand at Cup time for
not less than three months. Whilst having the opportunity of viewing Cup
races, the staff will continue running the company from Auckland hotels,
using the internet and telecommunications. -- Excerpts from DEFENCE 2000
which is available from John@roake.gen.nz for US $48 per year.
GUEST EDITORIAL - John Drayton
I had the pleasure of running RC for the High School Anteater Regatta at
Newport HarborYC this weekend. Despite frustratingly light conditions, and
having two races cancelled by the transition of a 300' dredging barge, we
managed to get in a dozen races over two days (far more than we were
expecting Sunday morning). It was also refreshing from my viewpoint (15
years removed from high school sailing) to watch 37 top high school teams
sailing on one starting line.
Some general observations (both good and bad): 1. The general level of
sailing skill at the Anteater Regatta was truly impressive. If anyone has
any concerns about the health of our sport, spend a weekend watching our
top juniors. My generation has nothing on these sailors in terms of
sailing skill. If these kids represent our sport's future sailing stars,
we should be in good shape when they start making the leap into Olympic and
International campaigns.
2. Sitting on the RC barge, it was easy to see that the good sailors were
extremely effective with kinetics (just as they were in my time).
Unfortunately, in 15 years, it doesn't appear that anyone has figured out
how, or whether, to enforce this rule. Even with on-the-water judges, the
kinetic rule violations were flagrant (especially so in the front half of
the fleet). On a related note -- the sailors at this event were extremely
reluctant to protest. Despite judges, warnings at skippers meeting,
etc..., we recorded only about a dozen protests, and we saw maybe a couple
dozen 720's. From our vantage point on the RC boat, we observed countless
minor bumps and other minor infractions that were ignored by everyone.
Like many other "club" level sailing events, racers are only interested in
breaking out the rule book at the major regattas.
3. There are a tremendous number of kids learning to sail in these events
-- more than anyplace I've ever seen. Even though this was only a
"California" event, there were over 150 junior sailors, some of whom
appeared to have very limited racing experience. The learning curve for a
new sailor at an event like this must be awesome, and the fact that there
were 5-10 "newer" sailors didn't seem to otherwise affect the quality of
the racing. By contrast, in my time, there was really no such thing as a
"local" high school regatta, at least nothing this side of Annapolis that
attracted a large number of HS sailors.
Bottom Line: Despite some relatively minor concerns about how the kids are
pushing the rules, California high school sailing is a great example of how
to build interest in our sport from a grass roots level. Many kudos to the
organizers of high school sailing out here - they are continuing to do a
great job for our sport. -- John Drayton
THANKS DAVE
Ullman Sails has brought you this issue of Scuttlebutt. Why don't you show
Dave how grateful you are by ordering a complete new inventory for your
boat? At least check into their web site for information or a price quote.
It's more affordable than you think:
http://www.ullmansails.com/
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
Letters may be edited for space (250 words max) or clarity or to exclude
personal attacks.
>> From Steve Kuritz (regarding the curmudgeon's comment in 'Butt #237) --
Quitters never win, winners never quit, but those who never win and never
quit are stupid and thank God or fleets would be very small.
>> From Big Mike Howard -- ERIN AND I ARE SITTING HERE IN NEW ZEALAND
HAVING A BEER AND READING SCUTTLEBUTT. THEY HAVE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB
WITH THE AMERICA'S CUP VILLAGE AND PREPARATION FOR THE EVENT OF THE CENTURY
FOR NEW ZEALAND. WE ARE OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPRESSED, ALTHOUGH SADDEND WHEN WE
ARRIVED TO HEAR OF THE PROBLEM WITH ONE OF OUR COUNTRY MEN WHO WAS
REPRESENTING AMERICA AS A CHALLENGER FOR THE CUP. THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND
ARE VERY UPSET THAT THIS INDIVIDUAL WHO EVER HE IS GOT OFF SCOTT FREE WITH
ASSAULTING A CAB DRIVER AND THEN STEALING THE CAB. THEN FOR THE SYNDICATE
TO TRY AND WITHOLD THE CULPRITS NAME AS WELL AS WHICH SYNDICATE IT WAS IS
TRULY A SLAP TO THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND.
IT IS MY FEELING THAT WHATEVER SYNDICATE WAS RESPONSIBLE SHOULD HAVE COME
FORWARD IMMEDIATELY, ACCEPTED RESPONSIBILITY, FIRED THE GUY INVOLVED AND
SENT A BLANKET LETTER OF APOLOGY TO THE PEOPLE OF NEW ZEALAND. THE LATEST
NEWS FLASH AS OF NOW IS THE IMMIGRATION MINISTER HAS REVOKED THE CULPRITS
VISA AND HE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RETURN. IT IS SAD. ANY NEW ZEALANDER
WOULD STILL BE IN JAIL. I GUESS THAT S WHERE THE TERM "UGLY AMERICAN" COMES
FROM.
>> From Greg Weeger -- Please explain to me why a Congressional Cup 1,200
pound crew weight limit is favorable to accommodate top sailors of any size
and weight? And please also explain what the height of a sailor has
anything to do with professional sailboat racing? Maybe it would better
the NFL and the NBA to limit their players to the average American height
and weight! I bet their scouts would love it but what about the sponsors
and viewers? With this logic we should also limit Star crews to the
average size and weight of a software mogul! How about mandatory skipper
selection based on a formula using IQ, breast and genital size? Come on
guys lets be serious, Has it not been our goal to make sailboat racing a
spectators sport? Please let the skipper select his crew based on his
discretion.
MATCH RACING RANKINGS
Bertrand Pace (FRA) took on the World Champion and top ranked Match Race
sailor, Peter Gilmour (JPN), in the finals of the Marriott Frenchman's Reef
International Match Race in the US Virgin Islands this weekend. Pace was
delighted with his win and the teamwork of his relatively new crew, the
Corum Sailing Team. He defeated Gilmour 3-0 to take the purse of US
$10,000. Gilmour's loss was due to crew work below the usual standard of
the Japanese team, and a tactical mistake in the final race. The strong
winds made it extremely difficult for the 5 crew members to control the J120s.
Pace moves up one place to lie in 4th position on the ISAF World Match Race
Rankings, just 10 points below Gavin Brady (NZL). Chris Law (GBR) defeated
Peter Holmberg (ISV) in the petit-finals in the US Virgin Islands and
increases his points score to retain 2nd position on the Rankings.
Gavin Brady beat his compatriots to take the title of New Zealand Match
Race Champion in Auckland on 6 December. Perth hosted the Australian Match
Race Championships this year - Neville Wittey won his national title and
moves up one place to lie in 12th position on the Rankings.
As the count-down to the next America's Cup begins, it is interesting to
note that seven out of the top ten ranked match race sailors are involved
in America's Cup campaigns. Additional match race skippers involved include
Russell Coutts (ranked 19th); Dean Barker (ranked 25th); Ed Baird (ranked
57th) and Francesco De Angelis (ranked 87th).
Paula Lewin (BER) beat Betsy Alison (USA) in the finals of the Osprey Cup
last week (Grade 2 Regatta) and in so doing gained enough points to clinch
the number one position on the ISAF Women's World Match Race Rankings.
Lewin looked threatening after winning the Iridium Pro-Am Regatta last
month which took her to within 36 points of Alison's score on the 18
November issue of the Rankings. Lewin now lies in 13th position on the
overall match race ranking list.
Top 15: 1 Peter GILMOUR (JPN) 2 Chris LAW (GBR) 3 Gavin BRADY (NZL) 4
Bertrand PACE (FRA) 5 Peter HOLMBERG (ISV) 6 Markus WIESER (GER) 7 Jochen
SCHUMANN (GER) 8 Sten MOHR (DEN) 9 Jesper BANK (DEN) 10 Luc PILLOT (FRA) 11
Magnus HOLMBERG (SWE) 12 Neville WITTEY (AUS) 13 Paula LEWIN (BER) 14
Tomislav BASIC (CRO) 15 Morten HENRIKSEN (DEN).
Complete rankings: http://sailing.org/iyru/mrranking.html
I LOVE IT
While the curmudgeon was in the Caribbean, Sharon Green's 1999 Ultimate
Sailing Calendar arrived, and it is now proudly hanging in the Scuttlebutt
World Headquarters. This beauty is indeed the perfect Christmas gift for
every one of your sailing friends. Unless it's a really good friend -
you'll want to him or her Sharon's coffee table book. Check them out, along
with all the other nifty goodies on Sharon's hot new website:
http://www.ultimatesailing.com
HIGH SCHOOL SAILING
The 1998 Anteater regatta was a great success despite very calm conditions,
barges and a huge fleet in Newport Harbor. This years event was the largest
ever with 37 teams including 10 teams from Northern California and 7 JV teams.
On Saturday we managed to sail 2 "A" races in 0-2 knots of wind.
Unfortunately the second race needed to be resailed when a barge came
through the course. The first "B" race was cancelled when the wind died and
all the sailors were doing roll tacks to move forward. On Sunday, after
offering a freshman sailor to the wind Gods, 10 knots of wind showed up and
we sailed 8 races. - Tim Hogan
Anteater Results: 1. 36 Pts. University High of S.D. - Brian Lake,
Stephanie Ennis, Matt Megla, Tanner Marsh, 2. 53 Pts. Newport Harbor JV -
Scott Hogan, Amy Halversen, Jennifer Porter, Meredith Potter, 3. 67 Pts.
Bishop - Andrew Campbell, Andrew Grotting, Frank Taybor, Andrew McLoed, 4.
90 Pts. Newport Harbor Varsity - Troy Treaccar, Paige Thompson, Charlie
Boukather, Kyle Hubbard, 5. 113 Pts. Stevenson - Alex Mehran, Jimmy Le,
Andrew Carlson, Eddy Quaglieri
"A" Division: 1. 16 Pts. Newport Harbor JV - Scott Hogan, Amy Halversen, 2.
19 Pts. Carpenteria - Willie Edwards, Alex Bernal, 3. 30 Pts. University
High - Brian Lake, Stephanie Ennis, 4. 36 Pts. San Marcos - John Diskant,
Josh Luft, 5. 38 Pts. Newport Harbor Varsity - Troy Treaccar, Paige Thompson.
"B" Division: 1. 6 Pts. University High - Matt Megla, Tanner Marsh, 2. 23
Pts. El Segundo High - Harrison Turner, Lindsey Holloman, 3. 23 Pts. Bishop
- Frank Taybor, Andrew McLoed, 4. 25 Pts. Chaminade - Carlos Roberts,
Vanessa Volz, 5. 37 Pts. Newport Harbor JV - Jennifer Porter, Meredith Potter
AROUND ALONE
"We have 35 knots, with a very big sea. Much bigger than 35 knots of wind,
I think. It's very wet and is very cold out and humid -- so I stay inside."
-- Fila skipper Giovanni Soldini as reported by Emily Robertson, Quokka
Sports Staff
Standings (distance to leader in parenthesis) CLASS I: 1. Thiercelin (0.0)
2. Soldini (20.5) 3. Autissier (36.0) CLASS II: 1. Garside (0.0) 2.
Mouligne (5.0) 3. Van Liew (236.5)
Event website: http://www.aroundalone.com
THE CURMUDGEONS COUNSEL
Never substitute a wishbone for some backbone.
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