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SCUTTLEBUTT 2817 - Tuesday, April 7, 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 North U, Morris Yachts, and Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS). HELPFUL IDEAS FOR STORMY TIMES The marine industry has encountered rough seas this year that have impacted dealers, as well as boating enthusiasts. Boat Trader has partnered with Boating Industry to publish a marketing e-white paper with helpful and creative ideas, as well as best practices from some of the recognized leaders in our industry. Here is an excerpt from a story within titled, “Sell the ‘Lifestyle’ not ‘Panic and Price’”: Many boat dealers today are selling “panic and price” instead of selling the boating “lifestyle.” If a dealer leads a sales presentation with “panic and price,” the only place to go after that is to keep lowering the price. This approach skips the very important steps of engaging the customer’s emotions. People don’t buy an expensive recreational product like a boat because of logic. The buying process starts with the emotions. Then logic is used to justify that decision. A homebuilder once told me that the decision to buy a house is made within the first 20 seconds a customer walks through the front door. The rest of the time is spent justifying that emotional decision. I believe the decision to purchase a boat is made in a similar way. Therefore engaging the emotions in the selling process is extremely important. So remember to include selling the boating lifestyle when you design your marketing plan. Complete e-white paper: http://tinyurl.com/dcq7wf A FUN AND SPECTATOR-FRIENDLY RECIPE by Lynn Fitzpatrick, World Regattas Basic Recipe: * The host provides equalized boats. * Create a spectator-friendly environment. * Rotate teams in and out of boats efficiently. * Add shoreside activities including steel drums, a commentator, food and drink. * Mix it to perfection, and Mother Nature is sure to cooperate, especially if it is held in Southern California. Notes: The recipe works for the World Match Racing Tour. It worked for the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series and it proved infallible once again this past weekend during the Newport Harbor Yacht Club Invitational Team Race for the Baldwin M. Baldwin Cup, in Newport Beach, CA. Yacht Club teams throughout Southern California, San Francisco, New York, New Orleans, and Massachusetts were treated to a truly pleasurable three-day weekend by NHYC. Not only did NHYC members contribute 16 Harbor 20’s to the four team racing fleets, they also cleared their boats out of the mooring field in front of the club so that the racing could take place in clear view of EVERYONE - team members in Adirondack chairs on the dock, friends socializing on the yacht club patios, people with one eye glued to March Madness and the other on the race course, neighbors living in homes surrounding the harbor and those cycling, kayaking or driving in the vicinity of the course. -- Read on: http://www.worldregattas.com/ViewInfo.php?ContentID=213 HEY COACH! You can spend a lifetime learning to be a better sailor or you can accelerate the process at North U. Learn more about North U Fleet and Match Racing Clinics, On Board Coaching, or their renowned line of books and CDs at http://www.northu.com AMERICAN WOMEN DOMINATE LASER RADIALS IN SPAIN Palma De Mallorca, Spain (Apr. 6, 2009; Day 2) - A light to medium sea breeze increased to 14 knots on the second day of racing at the 40th edition of the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofía MAPFRE, which is the third stop on the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup for Olympic and Paralympic class events. Among the 630 boats and 880 sailors representing 40 nations from five continents, the North American contingent is predominantly from the United States, with the strongest showing in the Laser Radial class. Paige Railey (USA) continues to lead the 62 Radials with a 5-15 today, while teammate Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) moved up to 2nd overall (from 9th) after posting a 1-7. Other highlights among the North Americans today include Clay Johnson (USA) rolling a third in the first Laser race, and Brian Boyd (USA) nabbing his first World Cup bullet in the first Finn race, moving him up to 7th overall in the 47-boat class. Fleet racing will be sailed until Thursday and on Friday, April 10, the top ten teams in each class will sail the medal race. -- Event website: http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org TROPHY BANQUET DRESS CODE We came across a photo gallery from the New York Yacht Club Annual Awards Dinner 2008, and were impressed to see that it was a black-tie event. It got us to thinking about club awards banquets, and what the dress code was these days. Most clubs seem to have an annual highlight event that awards the season champions, or recognizes individuals for their service during the season. If you can think back to your event, what was the standard of dress you wore? To keep the choices simple, we went with these: * Black tie * Semi-Formal * Dressy Casual * Casual Vote here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/09/0406 INSPIRING DISABLED PEOPLE TO DREAM * An inspirational yachtswoman aims to take the 'dis' out of disabled as she embarks on a world record attempt to sail solo around the UK. Hilary Lister, who lives in Canterbury, was forced to abandon last year's attempt due to bad weather but said she was excited about the re-launch of her Round Britain Dream in May. If the 37-year-old completes the challenge she will become the first quadriplegic woman to have ever achieved it. -- Full story: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=247290 * After becoming the first quadriplegic yachtsman to circle Great Britain solo, honorary Rotarian Geoff Holt is already planning his next epic journey: an independent sailing voyage across the Atlantic. Holt completed the 1,445-mile, 109-day journey around Great Britain on 5 September 2007, exactly 23 years after he became paralyzed. In December, he plans to set sail to become the first quadriplegic yachtsman to independently cross the Atlantic. He will make the journey in a specially adapted catamaran that uses push-button technology. Although he will do all the sailing independently, a personal assistant will help with day-to-day tasks like showering and getting in and out of his chair. -- Full story: http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/090406_news_walkingwater.aspx THE MORRIS M29 SPRING SWING CONTINUES! Morris Yachts wrapped up a very successful weekend in the Naples, FL at Hamilton Harbor Yacht Club. From Naples, Cuyler will tow the M29 to South Carolina to participate in the Charleston Race Week on April 16-19. Then it is off to Annapolis, MD, where the M29 will be shown in Annapolis at the National Sailing Hall of Fame May 1-3. The boat will leave immediately for Connecticut to attend the Delamar Yacht Showcase on May 8-10 at Greenwich’s Delamar Hotel. The M29, M36, and M42 will be showcased at this exclusive event. For more information on these events, please call 1-207-244-5509. -- http://www.morrisyachts.com TOP AMERICAN WOMEN TO FACE OFF IN TAMPA For more than a dozen years, the St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.) has been one of the world’s major hubs for women’s match racing. Along with hosting the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) World Championship in 2000, the club annually hosts the Rolex Osprey Cup - one of three Grade 1 regattas held in the U.S. - as well as its “little sister” the Grade 3 Rolex Women’s Match. Centered on the goal of attracting more women to the sailing discipline, the Rolex Women’s Match takes place later this week, April 9-12, where 10 teams will take to the SPYC’s Sonar keelboats and participate in round robin racing on Tampa Bay. “With women’s match racing making its debut at the 2012 Olympics, we’re experiencing a great deal of interest from women sailors, many new to the discipline,” said Pat Seidenspinner (St. Petersburg), regatta co-chair along with Tom Farquhar (St. Petersburg). Among the ten entrants are Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, Calif.), ranked #1 on the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics after a win at January’s Rolex Miami OCR, will compete against fellow Team members 2008 Olympian Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) and Katy Lovell (New Orleans, La.), ranked #2 and #3 respectively. -- Full report: http://www.rolexwomensmatch.org/RWM/2009/Press%20release_preview_RWM.pdf SAILING SHORTS * Ed Baird - skipper for America's Cup defender Alinghi - will be at St. Petersburg Yacht Club (FL) this coming Wednesday night (April 8) to provide a presentation, presumably about the current America's Cup situation. Scuttlebutt will have a representative attending, who will attempt to have Mr. Baird respond to some questions that Scuttlebutt readers might want answered. Interested? Type your question in the comment box here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/09/0406a/ * State prosecutors say a Newport, RI socialite and former commodities trader now faces 142 separate charges that she scammed millions of dollars from investors - many of whom she had met on the shimmering waterfronts of Newport and the Caribbean. Authorities allege that Elizabeth C. Baldwin netted $7 million from 47 investors through an elaborate pyramid scheme in which she paid off early investors with money she swindled from later investors. Some of their money allegedly allowed Baldwin to buy a 65-foot mahogany sloop that she skippered in the centennial Newport-to-Bermuda race in 2006. -- Providence Journal, full story: http://tinyurl.com/d3zmuj * (Apr. 5, 2009) - The third and last day of the 2009 BVI Spring Regatta dawned with black clouds in the sky. Many thought that the wind would be light and there would be rain, but, as it turned out, the clouds only provided much appreciated sun protection with plenty of breeze with which to race. Throughout Drake Channel, 122 boats competed on the last day of the three day event in 12 - 14 knots of shifty breeze. It was little surprise that Jim Mitchell’s R/P 52 Vincitore took the top spot in Racing A. -- Read on: http://bvispringregatta.org/news.php?news_id=102 * Hosted in Port Saint Louis du Rhone, Alexandre Caizergues (FRA, F-One) and Melissa Gil (USA, Cabrinha) are now the 2009 Kitespeed World Champions. After two races on the first day of the competition, the wind did not return to the event side based at Plage Napoleon, France. Local Alexandre Caizergues defended his title from the past two years, while speed-rookie Melissa Gil overcame both the defending world champion and current world record for her win. -- Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/dd2bt5 * Three new, recently launched TP52's are firmly on schedule with their work-up to the first regatta of the 2009 Audi MedCup Circuit. Emirates Team New Zealand, Artemis and Matador will race for first time in the City of Alicante Trophy (12-17 May) with their brand new TP52’s. -- Read on: http://2008.medcup.org/news/index.php?id=497 * San Francisco sailor Sean Haggerty, 39, was reported missing last week after he failed to arrive in San Diego on time, after reportedly leaving the Bay a few weeks ago earlier aboard his Ranger 26 Sea Hag. Just as Coast Guard searchers were getting ready to return home Sunday night, the crew of a C-130 aircraft spotted Sea Hag about 46 miles southwest of San Diego. The USCG cutter Haddock took the disabled boat — and an uninjured Haggerty — under tow, arriving at Shelter Island around 8 a.m. Monday morning. -- Latitude 38, full story: http://tinyurl.com/ddpk5t THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR With Charleston Race Week, J/24 Worlds, and tons of other events on the horizon, the sailing season is finally here! To help you start your season in style APS, "The World's Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors," has put together a phenomenal deal on customized Henri Lloyd Atmosphere T's... http://www.APSLTD.com/TeamGearSpecial BMW ORACLE STARTS TRAINING ON THEIR EXTREME 40'S Unless Alinghi and BMW Oracle reach an agreement towards the celebration of a multi-challenger conventional America's Cup, one could say that the starting gun of the 33rd America's Cup was fired early this afternoon in Valencia. Obviously, the Challenger of Record have been training since many months on their monster 90ft trimaran but there was always a possibility, no matter how small, that the giant multihull could become obsolete and useless, in case of a negative outcome in the court case, and turn it into what could be the most expensive and high-tech hospitality yacht. As we previewed during last week, BMW Oracle started earlier today their training on the Extreme 40 yachts, together with the French teams Groupama and Team Gitana. The Americans are using two yachts, one helmed by James Spithill, and a second one helmed by Austrian skipper Roman Hagara. -- Valencia Sailing, read on: http://tinyurl.com/c3zhe9 TIME TO DO THE RIGHT THING... RIGHT NOW Yachting journalist Bob Fisher has been covering the America’s Cup since 1967, has authored books on the event, and like the rest of us of late, has been forced to see the event get bruised and battered through the legal wranglings between the defending club, Société Nautique De Genève, and past event participant, Golden Gate Yacht Club. These clubs represent team owners, Ernesto Bertarelli (Alinghi) and Larry Ellison (BMW Oracle Racing) respectively, and Bob Fisher comments here on how it is time for these two men to do the right thing… right now: “Recriminations offer solace only to those who make them. Progress is made by those with vision. The clouds of war are rolling away, or at least there is a break in the sky, so that the America’s Cup problems should shortly be resolved. Both Ernesto Bertarelli and Larry Ellison have publicly stated that their primary wish is for a multi-challenger event as soon as possible. To facilitate that would require compromise on both sides and that, it would seem, could be the sticking point. “Ellison has built, and trialled, a 90-foot trimaran (as per his Deed of Gift challenge) at a reputed cost of $20million. It would be a grand gesture to put it away without a race, but if his primary wish is to materialise, it is a sacrifice he will have to make. “Bertarelli is reported to have a Deed of Gift defender in kit-form in a boatyard in Switzerland, allegedly a 115-foot yawl rigged catamaran. For him too it would be an expensive, but further cost-saving, gesture to shelve this boat. It would, however, clear the way for a sensible outcome.” -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0406 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: What may be most interesting now is the lack of information coming from the Bertarelli and Ellison camps. In fact, there has been no official statement from the American team since the court decision. 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 Art Sanford: Does anyone know location/availability of any old quartertonners? With much help I have identified old names, but having little luck locating boats or contacting owners. I have info on Magic Bus, but no response to e-mails but have phone # still to try. Last seen Afternoon Delight and Blitz/Rat Race were in the King Harbor/MDR area. Summertime Dream is in Alameda Marina and Blivit had moved back east. Star eyed Stella is at Southwestern YC. Trying to find an old "cool" boat to restore and have some fun with the kids. Any help is appreciated. Please post on Scuttlebutt Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7261 * From Gunther E. Hering: (re, Scuttlebutt 2816 story ‘Sarno Loses Credibility’) You have unwittingly put your finger on the problem: there are too many paid professionals around the America’s Cup and not enough Corinthian sportsmen. The AC is not intended to provide a huge salary to paid hands, but because of their presence and dominance, the issue of fairness and sportsmanship was pushed back, viz. the number of teams succumbing to Alinghi and the ACM shenanigans in Valencia. We can only hope that all the big and bruised egos now recede and we go back to competing on the water. * From Damian Christie, Melbourne, Australia: The New York Court of Appeals' disqualification of CNEV was a victory for common sense, but something tells me the end to this saga is a long way off. Reading between the lines, Alinghi’s neutral response to the court’s decision amounted to a begrudging acknowledgement that Oracle had won the right to challenge for the America’s Cup through the US court system and that Alinghi would now dedicate its resources to the Cup’s 33rd defence – namely, the defeat of an unwelcome, unpalatable challenger. Never mind that 19 would-be challengers are sweating on a new mutual consent protocol for America's Cup XXXIII. Ernesto Bertarelli will not cry tears at their demise; he will merely give the Cup community the proverbial “up yours”. Bertarelli won’t be even slightly fazed by the court's ruling. It’s a setback, but the whole court saga has actually bought him the time he needed to prepare Alinghi’s defence. His goal now will be (by hook or by crook) to orchestrate victory in America’s Cup XXXIII and to hijack Cup XXXIV with another one-sided protocol. He has no doubt already assured CNEV that it will be Challenger of Record for the 34th defence in Valencia (by then, the paper club, "having" held several annual regattas, will unfortunately be eligible). The Court of Appeals' ruling may have stymied Bertarelli’s current tinpot plans for Cup domination, but it's only a fly in a very lucrative ointment. He will never play by any rules except his own. * From Jeffrey O. Brown, Stamford, CT: WOW! I was thrilled to read that justice prevailed on the side of GGYC and that the NYS Court of Appeals Justices have clear heads. Thanks to Scuttlebutt for the continued reporting and to Cory Feldman for combining his detailed legal and sailing knowledge, to give us buttheads a perspective on the America’s Cup legal challenge that would not be available in the general media. I look forward to continue reading about the America’s Cup mega-trimaran challenge. Maybe someone can borrow some remote piloted vehicles (RPV’s) from our military and use these to follow and televise the AC trimaran challenge race in a more economical way than trying to follow in helicopters? I also look forward to the on-line satellite telemetry sites that I am sure will appear, so we can follow the race. Cory: Keep up the reporting to the end of the Trimaran challenge and write a book, covering pre- and post- legal details and adding photos, summarized by the conclusion of the trimaran challenge. CURMUDGEON’S (POLITICALLY CORRECT) OBSERVATIONS He is not afraid of "Commitment" - He is "Relationship Challenged." Special thanks to North U, Morris Yachts, and Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS). A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
