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SCUTTLEBUTT 1841 - May 18, 2005
Scuttlebutt is a digest 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.
I WAS WRONG ABOUT THE INTERNET - Rupert Murdoch
(The following is an excerpt from a speech by Rupert Murdoch posted on the
Sail-World website.)
We need to realize that the next generation of people accessing news and
information, whether from newspapers or any other source, have a different
set of expectations about the kind of news they will get, including when
and how they will get it, where they will get it from, and who they will
get it from. Anyone who doubts this should read a recent report by the
Carnegie Corporation about young peoples changing habits of news
consumption and what they mean for the future of the news industry.
According to this report, and I quote, There's a dramatic revolution taking
place in the news business today, and it isn't about TV anchor changes,
scandals at storied newspapers or embedded reporters. The future course of
news, says the study's author, Merrill Brown, is being altered by
technology-savvy young people no longer wedded to traditional news outlets
or even accessing news in traditional ways. Instead, as the study
illustrates, consumers between the ages of 18-34 are increasingly using the
web as their medium of choice for news consumption.
While local TV news remains the most accessed source of news, the Internet,
and more specifically, Internet portals, are quickly becoming the favored
destination for news among young consumers. Forty-four percent of the
study's respondents said they use a portal at least once a day for news, as
compared to just 19 percent who use a printed newspaper on a daily basis.
More ominously, looking out three years, the study found that 39 percent
expected to use the internet more to learn about the news, versus only 8
percent who expected to use traditional newspapers more and their attitudes
towards newspapers are especially alarming. Only nine percent describe us
as trustworthy, a scant eight percent find us useful, and only four percent
of respondents think were entertaining.
Among major news sources, our beloved newspaper is the least likely to be
the preferred choice for local, national or international news going
forward. What is happening is, in short, a revolution in the way young
people are accessing news. They don't want to rely on the morning paper for
their up-to-date information. They don't want to rely on a god-like figure
from above to tell them what's important. And to carry the religion analogy
a bit further, they certainly don't want news presented as gospel. Instead,
they want their news on demand, when it works for them. They want control
over their media, instead of being controlled by it. - Rupert Murdoch, News
Corporation. The full text is posted on the Sail-World website -
www.sail-world.com/
LEARNING SOMETHING
(In the fictional novel 'Slim and None,' author Dan Jenkins portrays
forty-four year old touring professional golfer Bobby Joe Grooves in his
bid to win his first major championship. The quote below is following
another near miss at the British Open, wherein Grooves has a revelation
that fits in very well with the sport of sailing.)
"You know, I started thinking back there on the last hole. All I've done my
whole life is play golf, work golf, study golf, listen to golf, read about
golf. I've worked to build a game I can rely on, make a living with. Find a
'repeating swing,' as (Ben) Hogan called it. I've experimented with all the
equipment - graphite, metal, titanium. I've found what works best for me,
for my body, my swing. This year I come up with some solid chances to win a
big one. After all the years and all the hard work out here, my game's
ready to win a major. But what happens? I get a lousy ruling at Augusta… I
get a lousy ruling at Pinehurst… and I get another one here. Each time I
let it beat me. I really let it beat me. So I'm thinking my hard-headed ass
has finally learned something. Golf's not about equipment… technique…
distance… practice… saving shots… the putting stroke… any of that. Once you
know how to hold the damn club, golf is about one thing. How you handle bad
breaks."
Details on the novel 'Slim and None' are available at http://www.doubleday.com
MARION - BERMUDA RACE WEATHER ADVISORY!
Combine weather and currents. Strategize early. Cutting edge technology
will help you do the pre-race homework, increasing both safety and
competitiveness. Bill Biewenga is bringing Commanders' Weather and OPC
meteorologists together. Draw upon our skills developed over hundreds of
thousands of offshore miles and decades of dealing with the weather. Learn
about the trends and options in an online interactive weather seminar
convenient to your schedule and specific to your race. Sessions will be
archived for thorough preparation and review. Other races available. Be
part of the June 12th online interactive event.
http://www.weather4sailors.com/seminars.htm
NARRAGANSETT BAY
Supertankers carrying up to 33 million gallons of liquefied natural gas
would shut down Newport Harbor as they move up the East Passage of
Narragansett Bay, between Jamestown and the harbor, heading for proposed
LNG terminals in Providence and Fall River, Mass. That's what Attorney
General Patrick C. Lynch told more than 50 boaters and others who gathered
Monday night at Hibernian Hall. Lynch was invited to the city to talk about
the LNG proposals by Sail Newport, the nonprofit sailing center at Fort Adams.
As the supertankers navigate the 29 miles up the bay to Providence or the
26 miles to Fall River, they would interfere with both commercial and
recreational boat traffic, Lynch said. The Coast Guard must maintain a
security "exclusion zone" around the supertankers that extends two miles
off the bow, one mile off the stern, and more than a half mile on either
side of the vessel. Lynch showed a map with the moving "exclusion zone"
drawn in. The zone would cover the width of the waterway between Fort Adams
in Newport and the eastern shore of Jamestown. "You can't get in or out of
Newport Harbor when an LNG tanker is coming through," Lynch said.
Weaver's Cove Energy LLC is proposing to build a large LNG terminal in Fall
River that would receive shipments from tankers traveling the length of
Narragansett Bay before arriving at its terminal on the Taunton River at
the northern end of Mount Hope Bay. Lynch said that if both these proposals
are approved, a supertanker would move north up the bay, and then south on
the return trip, every two to three days. The exclusion zone would be in
effect for the supertankers both ways. - Excerpts from a story by Sean
Flynn, Daily News, full story:
www.newportdailynews.com/articles/2005/05/17/news/news4.txt
DYNASTY
Bryan Rigby has spent most of his three seasons with Point Loma High's
sailing team as a reserve skipper to All-Americans Adam Roberts and Parker
Shinn. Not this time. Rigby, a senior, won seven of 12 races over the
weekend at Port Angeles, Wash., to dominate the B division and lead the
Pointers to a third consecutive national title in the Interscholastic
Sailing Association's fleet racing championships.
A trio of skippers - seniors Shinn and Roberts and sophomore Tyler Sinks -
co-sailed the second Point Loma entry to the championship in the A division
of the 21-school competition also known as US Sailing's Mallory Cup. The
sweep of the two divisions gave Point Loma a 58-point victory over
runner-up Newport Harbor High of Orange County. "Bryan was the star of the
regatta," said Point Loma sailing coach Rob Hallawell. "He deserves the
credit." - Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune,
www.signonsandiego.com/sports/outdoors/20050516-9999-lz1s16sailing.html
We hope that full results will soon be posted: www.highschoolsailingusa.org/
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine)
Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar
WHAT A LIST, WHAT A WEEK!
The crew at Team One Newport has been extremely busy outfitting the crews
on Whisper, Carrera, Stad Amsterdam, Leopard, Sumurun, Sariyah, Anemos, and
Drumbeat for the Rolex Transatlantc Challenge. We made sure all the
sailors had the proper layers from socks and underwear by Patagonia; foul
weather gear from Musto, Henri-Lloyd, and Gill; boots from Dubarry and
Sperry; and sunglasses by Kaenon and Harken. They came to Team One Newport
for their expert advice and left very prepared for this Challenge! You can
use Team One's expertise as well. Call 800-VIP-GEAR or visit
http://www.team1newport.com
NEWS BRIEFS
* Big wind and near survival conditions took their toll on the 24-boat
fleet at the Moore 24 Pacific Coast Championships at Santa Cruz, California
this past weekend. Crews came from as far away as Seattle, Colorado and New
Zealand to enjoy classic Spring Monterey Bay sailing conditions, but the
20-30 knot breezes with higher gusts caused numerous broken poles, shredded
kites and some minor crew injuries. On a tie-breaker, Scott Walecka's
Adios with Ian Klitza driving and sailmaker David Hodges trimming bested
Brad Butler's Eclipse with Tyler Bech driving. Ruby, owned by Andy Manzi/
Steve McCarthy, took third. - www.scyc.org
* The website of the America's Cup Challenger Commission has just added a
list of "Challenger-Friendly Sites" to its 'Navigation Bar.' It's a great
reference tool. www.challengercommission.com/
* Those interested in following the progress of the Charleston to Bermuda
Race fleet can do so virtually in real time because of the automatic
positions from the GPS tracking devices onboard the race boats. -
http://charlestontobermuda.com/racetrack.php
* Ellen MacArthur has been named 'Alternative Sportsperson of the Year' at
this year's Laureus Sports Awards. The Laureus Sports Academy was
established in 2000 and is committed to promoting and celebrating all that
is positive in sport and those who have excelled within their field. It is
a worldwide sports awards ceremony to honor the best in sportsmen and women
for their achievements across all disciplines and was beamed to a worldwide
TV audience of 460 million. At a showbiz-style ceremony in Estoril,
Portugal Monday night, MacArthur joined other athletes, film stars and
sports personalities from around the world. - www.laureus.com
*Over the next few days, Global Challenge onboard tacticians will be
preoccupied with negotiating their way through the ITCZ or doldrums with as
little possible hindrance. However, with no clear course to take through
the area, decision making will be tough and teams will be monitoring each
other's progress very closely. "Looks like there might be several 'right
ways' to take," writes Eero Lehtinen, skipper of SAIC La Jolla. "SAIC is
currently in fourth place - just six miles behind both BG Spirit and BP
Explorer and three back of VAIO. - www.globalchallenge2004.com/en
* There are a bunch of new free video shows on the T2Productions website,
including footage from the recent USODA Team Trials plus interviews with
both James Spithill and Dean Barker. - www.t2p.tv/
* US Sailing is currently accepting bids from clubs around the country to
host U.S. National Championships for 2006-2009. Available Championships
include youth, junior, women's, men's, and multihull events, as well as
match and team racing. In some instances, US SAILING is looking for clubs
in specific geographic areas; in others, any area may apply. In most cases,
submitted bids will be voted on in October at US Sailing's Annual General
Meeting. Clubs interested in hosting a Championship can download a host
club bid packet. - www.ussailing.org/championships/PlanningCal.asp
* Doug Sparks, from Clearwater, FL, has joined the Offshore Sailing school
as Southern Regional Manager. Sparks, 44, has more than 12 years of
maritime management experience in all areas of operations, maintenance,
crewing, marketing, sales and financial management. In his new position,
Sparks will oversee daily operations of Offshore locations in Florida, the
Bahamas and British Virgin Islands. For the past five years Sparks was
executive vice president of Maritrans Operating Co. based in Tampa,
Florida, where he developed and implemented organizational design for the
company, meeting the operational requirements of the fleet and strategic
goals of the company.- www.offshore-sailing.com
* Lewmar has introduced a new deck switch to make the operation of electric
winches easier and smoother than ever. The new model, in both standard and
illuminated versions, are lighter and smaller than previous switches, but a
simple conversion plate means they can be fitted directly into the place of
your old ones. The illuminated switch uses a calm yet visible orange
night-lighting, but for those yacht owners not planning on sailing at
night, an unlit version is an alternative lower cost choice. Both switches
are available either as an open or closed lid option. - www.lewmar.com
UNBELIEVABLY FAST AND RESPONSIVE
Safe, durable and stable, the Colgate 26 is a winning combination of
performance sailing and family fun! Designed by Steve Colgate and Jim
Taylor, this virtually unsinkable boat features an oversized cockpit and
rudder. Sail one at Marblehead NOODs July 28-31. Contact
mailto:Carmen@colgate26.com or visit http://www.colgate26.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
(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 John Burnham, Editor, Sailing World magazine (in response to Olaf
Harken's questions about the One-design survey - edited to our 250-word
limit): When Lee Parks and I conducted the 2004 US Sailing/ Sailing World
one-design survey last fall, we asked class officers to fill out a website
survey form. About 50 classes responded, including the MC Scow class
(listed 16th in the survey). After distributing the original results at the
US Sailing One-Design Symposium last November, we followed up with a couple
dozen larger classes we were missing, including the big scow classes. This
resulted in adding a listing for the A Scow's 38 members. We never got
numbers from a few of the scow classes; one exception was the National E
Scow Class. Although they didn't fill out the website form, we received a
report showing eight years tracking of regular and associate members.
Unfortunately, although I mentioned the report in my story, I neglected to
then input the numbers. The class had 473 members (now shown as 18th in our
listing).
In my view, the main value in doing the survey isn't the gross numbers or
the rankings, but rather in creating another reason for each class to focus
on the importance of membership. Through the discipline of an annual report
such as the E Scow's, class leaders can recognize trends and develop
strategies to generate long-term health. To do our part better, we'd
appreciate any suggestions, or corrections, including updated class
contacts (leeparks@ussailing.org, john.burnham@sailingworld.com). And class
leaders, please help us out next fall by filling in the survey form promptly.
* From Roy Joyson: With a sport so dependent on wind, why do event
organizers continue to plan events in venues with crummy conditions? The
early press releases for the Swedish Match Tour event in Germany warned of
fickle winds, and these conditions plagued the event throughout. When the
quality of the finals is affected by the conditions, you lose the
legitimacy of the event. Is it time for Scuttlebutt to assemble an expert
panel to determine the proper racing venues in the world? The results of
their US survey is an absolute roadmap for success.
Curmudgeon's Comment: The survey Roy is referring to is at
www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/racingsites-us
* From Wes Oliver: To further Cory Friedman's and John Hammel's comments
about the need for a "crossover" or "transition" double handed trainer for
young sailors graduating from the "Opti genre" of starter boats, there is a
new boat on the scene. The concept of the Pixel, Bruce Kirby's new design,
grew from the perception that a new "inexpensive, self rescuing double
handed boat" was needed. Pixel may be unique in that it has been designed
specifically to be the crossover, or transition boat for young sailors
moving to their first double handed experience with a symmetrical
spinnaker. See the February, 2005 issue of Sailing World for John
Burnham's first hand review of the Pixel, The March, 2005 issue of Offshore
Magazine, and the December, 2004 issue of WindCheck Magazine.
Curmudgeon's Comment: Another source of Pixel information:
www.cymagazine.ca/fullStoryViewer.php?page=7000000187
* From Chris Pomfret, Sydney Australia (edited to our 250-word limit): It
seems what juniors should sail is a universal issue. We are all asking what
will offer kids a modern performance, deliver inexpensive off-the-shelf
racing and something to easily feed kids up into established youth classes?
Some Aussie ex 18' Skiff sailors may have a solution for our/your kids, the
Nippa. The Nippa is; modern in looks and materials, fast, simple yet
challenging to sail, self bailing, can be sailed by 1 or 2 kids (can even
fit Mum or Dad), light to lift, freestanding rig, bolt-rope luff for
safety, simple comfortable layout, one design, balanced helm and a top
performer that is relatively stable. It could fit nicely as a feeder for
4.7's or 420's.
Most importantly, when kids look at established boats like the Sabot or
Opti sitting on the beach next to the Nippa it's a no-brainer decision to
them what they want to sail (2004 or pre-1960 design?). Sailing is up
against the wall when they compare sailing to what they perceive as 'cool'
sports like surfing and skate boarding (where brand and image rules the
culture). We need a 'cool' reaction from kids to get kids wanting to go
sailing. When I recently asked Peter Gilmour's kids what they like to sail
for fun? They said their Nippa. Why? Peter Gilmour reckons it's the way of
the future. Having said all that, the perfect boat is a critical step in
the right direction, the right program will get you over the line.
* From Louie Bartos: My only comment regarding the thread on the cost of
IRC: With IRC there are no smoke filled rooms with ratings made by
committee, no gift ratings and I hope no more in fleet bickering about the
ratings If you don't like the cost of getting a IRC rating, go into one
design racing, you just don't have to worry about ratings there.
* From Harold Hoffman: With regards to the current thread discussing the
cost and benefit of an IRC rating vs. PHRF, perhaps one of the disputants
can enlighten me: IRC = secret "measurement" formula administered from
England.+ empirical rating adjustments applied by secret(?) committee in
England (read PHRF) + costly measurement process + cumbersome measurement
process + costly annual certificate renewal vs. PHRF = empirical rating
applied by local committee in public forum + no hassle "measurement"
process + $25 annual rating fee. At some point the power structure of the
sport will understand why the majority of the handicap sailors have voted
with their feet and run away from rating systems imposed from the top down.
* From Arvel Gentry: In Scuttlebutt No. 1821, Douglas Johnstone briefly
discussed how sails generate lift and referenced the book The Art and
Science of Sails, by Tom Whidden and Michael Levitt. Chapter 5 of their
book is primarily based on my sail aerodynamics research conducted back in
the early '70s. All of the books by C. A. Marchaj also make use of my
technical papers and magazine articles on sail aerodynamics. I do not wish
to start a new Scuttlebutt thread on this subject, but for those interested
in this aspect of sailing, I have recently prepared a web site containing
all of this original material: www.arvelgentry.com
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming
only things that are good for you.
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