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SCUTTLEBUTT 2766 - Friday, January 23, 2009Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Today's sponsors are Doyle Sails and North U. FRIDAY SET TO DECIDE WINNERS IN KEY WEST Key West, FL (Jan. 22, 2009) - Competition remains hot and the final results are going down to the wire at Acura Key West 2009, presented by Nautica. There was some significant shakeup in the standings for several of the grand prix classes and winners won’t be decided until the final day of racing in the week-long regatta. In the Melges 32 class, only a point separates Star and Red at the top of the standings. Star, owned by Jeff Ecklund of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., led the 20-boat class at the end of the initial three days, but suffered a pair of double digit results on Thursday. That enabled Red, skippered by Joe Woods of Great Britain, to take the narrow lead. However, Red’s tactician Morgan Reeser a two-time Olympian, dislocated his shoulder during Race 7, and after having it reset by an on-water medic, it dislocated again during the eighth race. Reeser was taken to the hospital after racing, and it is unclear of his status for Friday. Farr 40, another professional-laden class, is also totally up for grabs with two races remaining. Barking Mad, which entered Thursday with a seemingly comfortable eight-point cushion, finished last in the 12-boat fleet in Race 8. Skipper Jim Richardson and crew still hold a one-point lead over Mascalzone Latino, the three-time defending world champion owned by Vincenzo Onorato of Napoli, Italy. John Storck Jr. and his team aboard Rumor have been spectacular in J/80 class, winning six of eight races thus far. Racing was particularly tight on Thursday and Rumor was rewarded with the Lewmar Boat of the Day award. Racing for the ten race Acura Key West 2009 concludes Friday. Results and reports: http://www.premiere-racing.com/09_KW_Results/kw09_results_reports.htm * The event newspaper, Race Week News, which includes all the results along with race stories and competitor profiles, is available online in digital form: http://www.premiere-racing.com/09_KW_Results/kw09_race_week_news.htm WHEN COVERING THE FLEET STINKS (Jan. 22, 2009; Day 5) - When leading a race on an upwind leg, the better job you can do at controlling the fleet, the easier it is to stay in the lead. Loose covering your closest opponents to one side of the course is easy; playing the middle when boats behind bang either corner is hard. For the first 1000 nm of the race, the PUMA team held the lead, playing the middle, knowing the leverage from either side could get cashed in with interest. At one point Thursday afternoon, with the fleet on starboard tack, PUMA had Telefonica Black off their leebow by 76 nm, with Ericsson 3 on PUMA’s weather hip by 83 nm. Which side proved better? Scroll down. However, this will all soon be forgotten as deterioration in weather conditions with gusts of 50 knots and big seas is just around the corner. Add into the mix the warm waters of the Kuoshio Current, which flows northeast against the breeze, and makes for a lumpy, confused sea state, and life on board will be far from idyllic. For Green Dragon, damnation arrived sooner than expected when Ian Walker’s men broke their forestay Thursday morning, now marching on under jury rig to Qingdao. Leg Four from Singapore to Qingdao, China is 2,500 nm, with the finish estimated on January 30th. Current positions (as of Jan. 23, 1:00am GMT): 1. Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, 1356 nm Distance to Finish 2. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 9 nm Distance to Leader 3. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 16 nm DTL 4. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 37 nm DTL 5. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 40 nm DTL 6. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 41 nm DTL 7. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 42 nm DTL 8. Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, Did Not Start Race website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com 'MIDLIFE CRISIS' LEADS JAG SERIES Congratulations to Bruce Golison and crew aboard 'Midlife Crisis' for leading the 2009 Jaguar Series after 2 regattas. With 60 boats competing in the series, 'Midlife Crisis' sailed the first 2 of 4 regattas very consistently placing 2nd and 3rd. In a recent interview, Bruce explained his team's approach: "We are confident in our speed, so for us, having clear lanes to sail the angles we like is important." To read more of the interview, go to http://www.doylesails.com/etchells NEW SPONSOR FOR US SAILING TEAM ALPHAGRAPHICS (Jan. 22, 2009) - Atlantis WeatherGear and US SAILING announced today that Atlantis has signed an agreement to become the technical and casual apparel partner of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics for the next Olympic and Paralympic quadrennium. US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is made up of 66 athletes who will train together over the next four years with the goal of winning medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth, UK. Atlantis will also supply clothing to 35 athletes on the newly-launched under 18 and under 23 youth development teams. “As an American sailing apparel brand, we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to work with and support our team as they train for 2012,” said Atlantis Partner Bill Lynn. “Our two organizations are joining forces to pursue our identical goals of reestablishing ourselves as the premier players in our respective fields.” -- Full report: http://olympics.ussailing.org/Current__News/Atlantis_Partnership.htm BILL LYNN: MAKING THE BRAND Bill Lynn provides an update on the return of the Atlantis WeatherGear brand: * How long since the Atlantis WeatherGear brand was resurrected? LYNN: AWG President Chaz Bertrand purchased the brand in April 2006. It was a going concern at the time, although the business had dwindled due to a lack of product innovation and some quality issues. After a year spent on R&D, the brand was relaunched in April 2007 with a completely new product line. * Have there been any big surprises/disappointments? LYNN: We've been pleasantly surprised at how fast the Atlantis brand has become a player in the performance sailing space. We've been incredibly fortunate to have some very impressive people supporting the brand - both sailors and retailers - and the sailing press has been very complimentary of the work we've done. In particular, Dan Meyers essentially made Numbers our R&D platform, and he and the Numbers team have been terrific to work with as we developed the new line. -- Full story: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/tt BIGGEST MARGIN SINCE 1996-7 (Jan. 22, 2009; Day 74) - The gulf between Vendee Globe leader Michel Desjoyeaux and Roland Jourdain grows ever bigger as the Foncia skipper continues to reap the rich reward of being nearly 500 miles clean away into the NE’ly trade winds before his nearest rival has emerged from the disturbed, unpredictable airs of the Doldrums. After dealing with the Azores high pressure system which should only slow him down a little, Desjoyeaux may be looking to a slingshot to the finish at Les Sables d’Olonne, France by typically brisk Westerly airstreams. At the current rate, he could finish between 1.5 and two days ahead of Jourdain, which would be the biggest margin since 1996-7 when Christophe Augin won by six days and 12 hours, triumphing in the last race to have an attrition rate close to that which has prevailed in this epic edition. Certainly, if the current trend continues, then Desjoyeaux’s 2000/2001 margin over second placed Ellen MacArthur of one day and 50 minutes would be exceeded. Solo, non-stop, around the world race in Open 60s. Standings as of 18:30 UTC (30 entrants; 12 now competing): 1. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA), Foncia, 2681.8 nm Distance to finish 2. Roland Jourdain (FRA), Veolia Environnement, 496.0 nm Distance to leader 3. Armel Le Cléac´h (FRA), Brit Air, 1029.9 nm DTL 3. Vincent Riou (FRA), PRB, Dismasted - Redress Given 4. Marc Guillemot (FRA), Safran, 1965.2 nm DTL 5. Samantha Davies (GBR), Roxy, 2001.7 nm DTL 6. Brian Thompson (GBR), Bahrain Team, 2638.0 nm DTL 7. Dee Caffari (GBR), Aviva, 2684.6 nm DTL 8. Arnaud Boissières (FRA), Akena Vérandas, 2810.4 nm DTL 9. Steve White (GBR), Toe in the Water, 3720.4 nm DTL 10. Rich Wilson (USA), Great American III, 5175.6 nm DTL 11. Raphaël Dinelli (FRA), Fondation Océan Vital, 6904.3 nm DTL 12. Norbert Sedlacek (AUT), Nauticsport-Kapsch, 6955.3 nm DTL Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en Complete standings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html Race tracking: http://tracking.vendeeglobe.org/en YOU CAN’T PLAY THE GAME... ...if you don’t know the rules. New Racing Rules took effect January 1. Before your sailing season starts you should attend a US Sailing Racing Rules Seminars. Presented by North U, the seminars cover all the rules – new and old – and include a Racing Rules Workbook created by Dave Perry. US Sailing members save $40. Check the schedule and sign up by visiting NorthU.com or by calling North U at 800-347-2457 or 203-245-0727. http://www.northu.com SAILING SHORTS * Melges Performance Sailboats and Melges Europe announced that Audi has officially been named international title sponsor for the Melges 20. "From the very start, our goal for the Audi Melges 20 was to deliver a boat that was simplistic and sophisticated. With this sponsorship, it has taken another major step toward that goal, ultimately securing its place in sailing history," said Harry Melges, CEO of Melges Performance Sailboats. -- Read on: http://www.melges20.com/news-article-1018.php * SAIL’s annual Pittman Innovation Awards recognize the most-innovative products in the sailboat market each year. Editor-in-chief Peter Nielsen and his team have awarded these 15 new sailing products for 2009, which appear on page 39 of SAIL’s February 2009 issue and will be featured at SAIL’s Innovation Station during the Strictly Sail Chicago Boat Show: January 29-February 1, 2009. Award categories include Cruising Gear, Racing Gear, Safety Gear, Electronics, and Systems. -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0122 * The World Match Racing Tour has announced that Marseille International Match Race (MIMR) has been added as the tenth stop on the 2009 Tour season schedule. The event, organized by the Yachting Club de Point Rouge (YCPR) and supported by the City of Marseille, will be held over March 10-15 and is the first event of this year’s Tour. Twelve teams will race in eight equally-matched J/80 class yachts, and the total prize money purse is $65,000 USD. MIMR’s qualifier event is the Y’s Cup and will draw on two teams from the 10-team format, held over February 7-8 in Marseille at YCPR. -- Full report: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/93260 * The 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit, now in its fifth year, will travel to five different venues from May through to September. The circuit begins and ends in Spain, and is reduced from the six event schedule in 2008, with the Breitling Regatta in Puerto Portals, Majorca being eliminated. -- Details: http://www.medcup.org/2008/mailing/?id=208 * Twenty-two professional teams have registered their desire to enter with the iShares Cup , which will be hosting 5 or 6 events in Europe for Extreme 40 sailors. Event organizer OC Events plan to issue the Notice of Race for 2009 and 2010 by the end of January so the teams can then officially enter the circuit - with entry numbers limited. -- Full report: http://www.isharescup.com/container.asp?id=19622 * Terry Hutchinson and the Quantum Sail Design Group have agreed on a partnership, bringing Terry into the company in a role that is focused on product development and customer awareness. He will work directly with Quantum designers on developing sails and technology, and he will use Quantum sails exclusively on all his racing programs. Along with his other professional racing commitments in 2009, Terry will be helming the TP52 Quantum Racing in the 2009 Medcup, and campaigning Barking Mad in the European Farr 40 Circuit with Quantum sails. * CORRECTION: In Scuttlebutt 2766, the name of the American team who will be looking to defend their title at the 2009 ISAF Team Racing World Championship in Perth, Australia, was incorrectly called the Silver Panda team. For this event, which begins on the 2 February and continues through until 8 February, the team of Clay Bischoff, Lisa Keith, Colin Merrick, Amanda Callahan, Pete Levesque and Liz Hall will be called the New York Yacht Club team. PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include a gathering of the Volvo Ocean Race skippers in Singapore, a new Etchells fleet in New Mexico, the return of America’s Cup racing to Auckland, a drifter in San Francisco, a restoration in Rockport, Maine, a Florida coastal race, and the conclusion of a record attempt in Brest, France. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0123 VIDEO OF THE WEEK The racing action this week was in Key West, Fl, for the annual winter classic: Acura Key West 2009. Five days of racing on three circles, with over 150 boats competing within 13 divisions, plus a lot of video equipment too. We have listed some of the sources available... enjoy: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/08/0919 * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week’s Video of the Week to mailto:craig@sailingscuttlebutt.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Eric Sorensen: (re, navigating through unmarked water) I wonder how many, if any, of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet have FORWARD LOOKING sonars. I know I would like one for visiting the Canadian parks in the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound. It is cool tech but spendy! * From Frederic Laffitte: (re, Coaching during regattas) As a long time one design sailor (J-24 and now Etchells) I have watched the slow demise of fleet after fleet once the amateur guy knows he has no chance to win but also feels like they will never win. Pros on board are a fact of life; actually they are part of reason why us little guys still go sailing in big regattas. We want to measure ourselves against the best, learn a few tricks in the process and if we have a good day and beat a few of them, we are on cloud nine. However, when coach boats are on the water, feeding information to a limited number of boats, then the game is skewed and the thrill is gone. Coaches have their place at practice and post race analysis. They are very important if we want our sport to be able to compete on a worldwide basis. For example, coaches for kids are necessary so they learn the basics, coaches for high school and college teams are a necessity much like football and basketball coaches, private coaches for boats who have a desire to improve or need to prepare for a big regatta also have their place and are perfectly acceptable. Where coaches have NO PLACE AT ALL is during the race, and the race starts when the boat leaves the dock and stops when the boat returns to the dock… PERIOD. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6927 * From John Culter, Vancouver, Canada: (re, Coaching during regattas) Money talks, as usual, but almost all segments of our sport use money to make things more competitive. Better foul weather gear means more endurance; high tech lines mean less stretch, more power; new sails are faster. And so on. Why not add some paid-for brainpower to the mix? If you want to find out what the weather is at mark 1, come out a bit earlier and find out. Or hire someone to tell you, if you think that will make a difference. On a big boat it's possible to get lots of opinions from various members of the crew about the favored side of the course, best place on the line to start, whatever. You'll probably listen harder to a paid opinion, but I doubt it will improve things all that much. Conditions have a way of rewarding good driving and good tactics, never mind the grand strategies. For those who cheat, (red and green sweaters!?) we have well developed rules, and they should be enforced. For major Level 1 regattas where things are too crowded, the organizing authority can take steps to cut down the wash and reduce the numbers. For gear replacement, if the OA doesn't want to have spare parts on the course, it can say so in the SIs. I don't see the need for classes to broad-brush their rules to solve what seem to be very high level management issues. Much as I respect the Star class in general, I think this one is a mistake. BAD UPGRADE STORY Advertisements for household products often refer to “new and improved.” For computer software, the term is “upgrade”. Depending on your needs, some upgrades are great, and occasionally, some fail in their goals. Glen Somerville from Brisbane, Australia believes his recent upgrade would be better termed as a “downgrade”. Read on: “Some 12 months ago I purchased a Garmin GPSmap 76CSx along with the MapSource BlueChart Pacific v9.5 software for my computer and everything worked fine until the recent chart upgrade to 6.14.1. “In the previous version the charts on the computer showed not only the depth contour lines but also spot depths along the lines i.e.4.2, 1.6 etc indicating the depths at those points and for those contours. You can select feet, fathoms or metres as part of the setup. “Using the new charts, when you are planning a route, you have to run the cursor over various localities to see spot depths. Then you would have to create a waypoint at every point where you are satisfied with the depth as a first step, then do a second process to plan a route which connects the waypoints. The alternative is to start the route, and create the waypoint at each point of the route you wish to select. But when you try this approach, you have no idea what the depths are as the cursor won’t show them until after you create the waypoint. That’s silly. It means excessive moving, deleting or adding waypoints just because you can’t see the spot depths. Then there is another major deficiency. That is trying to move a waypoint. The help screen is totally wrong. Select tool + right click on the waypoint, to get the options menu, as the menu does not give the move waypoint option. In fact it is difficult to find out how to move a waypoint, and if you do, it’s by unexplained accident, not via the selected options.” -- Read on and comment here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6925 CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION The difference between a pigeon and a London investment banker? The pigeon can still make a deposit on a BMW. Special thanks to Doyle Sails and North U. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
