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SCUTTLEBUTT 3060 - Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Scuttlebutt 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.
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Today’s sponsors: J World San Diego, Atlantis WeatherGear, and
LaserPerformance.
THE CUP STOPS HERE
By Kimball Livingston, Yachting Journalist
“Every year the City of San Francisco hosts Fleet Week, and we manage more
than a million spectators on the waterfront. We have a history of managing
the logistics, and with the America’s Cup the opportunity for a world-class
spectator event is unparalleled.” Michael Cohen, Director of the Mayor’s
Office of Economic and Workforce Development, City of San Francisco.
Walking around San Francisco - the right place for America’s Cup 34 - I am
continually surprised to find myself talking to people who just won’t
believe that Larry Ellison really wants to race here. (He really wants to
race here.)
And I find myself talking to people who are still confounded by that “free
from headlands” provision in the Deed of Gift. Folks, mutual consent is all
it takes to sail a Cup match anywhere, anyhow, and mutual consent has been a
lot easier to come by since February 14, 2010 (the conclusion of Race Two,
AC 33, Valencia).
At last report, Ellison and his dance partner, a Challenger of Record in the
form of Vincenzo Onorato, are still getting along. Since when was it
difficult to host visitors from Club Nautico di Roma and show them a good
time in the City by the Bay?
In 1987, when Tom Blackaller’s USA campaign made a good run at the Cup in
Australia, the U.S. Coast Guard ran a feasibility study for a Cup in San
Francisco. I talked to the investigating officer, and he said: “I studied
the issues and reported that, yes, it can be done. And I respectfully
request a transfer.”
Which is a laugh line - only. The ideal racing waters are the Alcatraz
Channel, right where upwards of a million people a year view the U.S. Navy’s
Fleet Week demonstrations. They watch from the shoreline, from the hills,
from rooftops, from high-rise apartments, from the deck of the Golden Gate
Bridge. This is also the inbound, Alcatraz Channel for commercial shipping
which has to be diverted, part-time, to the North Channel. -- Read on:
http://kimballlivingston.com/?p=2455
GROWING PAINS
In anticipation of the Women's Match Racing event at the 2012 Olympic games,
seventy McConaghy built Elliott 6's have now been shipped to teams in
eighteen countries around the world for training and of course Olympic
lead-up race events.
While reports have been favorable on the performance of the boat, the
introduction has not been without incident. When asked about the hull panel
flexing reported early on in the programme by some of the teams, McConaghy
Managing Director Mark Evans said, “We were obviously concerned so we
voluntarily halted production and conferred immediately with designer Greg
Elliott of Elliott Marine, and of course High Modulus, the firm that
provided the engineering on this project.”
“It became apparent that High Modulus had made an error in their structural
calculations,” noted Evans. “They responded immediately and provided us with
the revised laminate design for the offending bulkhead and we quickly
integrated it into the Elliott 6 production in our Zhuhai, China facility.”
But for the Elliott 6’s already in use around the world, Evans replied,
“This was a trickier issue to address as it affected 18 boats in 3 countries
over 2 continents, requiring a physically difficult modification while
keeping the yachts within their One Design specification.
“As the situation unfolded, High Modulus put their hand up early in the
process to claim responsibility and engaged McConaghy to perform this tricky
change as we were obviously best positioned to do so. In response we
promptly flew laminate expert and master boat builder Robbie Clarke around
the world starting from our Sydney facility to the USA, England and Germany
where he fixed the 18 affected Elliott 6’s in 17 days!”
The Elliott 6 is produced by McConaghy from the Australian company’s factory
in Zuhai, China, and was selected for the new Women’s Match Race event that
will debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. --
http://www.mcconaghy.com.au/
CHARTER AND RACE A J80 ON THE WEST COAST WITH J WORLD
J/80 North American and World Championships are just around the corner right
here in the US and J/80 sailing is gearing up from Coast to Coast. J World
San Diego recently entered four J/80s into the San Diego NOOD Regatta,
adding to the class totaling 12 competitive boats. Bring your crew to San
Diego and tune up for the season and big races this fall. Yachting Cup 2010
is coming up the first weekend in May. J World San Diego is offering
individual positions as well as full boat charters for the regatta. Contact
us for more information at mailto:info@jworldsandiego.com or
http://www.jworldsandiego.com
HIGH WINDS POSTPONE RACING AT SOFIA MAPFRE
Palma, Spain (March 30, 2010; Day 3) - Predicted strong winds up to 30 knots
and big waves blighted the third day of racing for most classes at the ISAF
Sailing World Cup event in Palma on Tuesday, with only the windsurfers and
women’s match racers seeing any action. The remaining classes participating
at the 41 Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofía Mapfre could not sail and after being
postponed ashore, the Race Committee cancelled the races of the day around
15:00hrs. -- Event website: http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org
* US Sailing has posted a video interview with Zach Railey about Tuesday’s
postponement in Palma, and with Kenneth Andreasen, US Sailing’s High
Performance Director, about the team’s performance and lessons learned thus
far in Palma: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Multimedia/Videos.htm.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE SET TO RETURN TO NZ
Auckland, New Zealand (March 31, 2010) - The greatest global boating grand
prix is set to return to Auckland, with confirmation expected today
(Wednesday) that the City of Sails will host a stopover in the 2011-12 Volvo
Ocean Race.
Auckland has seen some of the closest finishes in the history of the event,
dating back to the late 80s and early 90s when it was known as the Whitbread
round-the-world yacht race. Thousands of spectators lined the Viaduct in the
early hours of the morning to welcome back in port the yachts and local
heroes Grant Dalton, Chris Dickson and the late Sir Peter Blake, who were
all involved in numerous round-the-world campaigns.
Despite its rich history with the event, Auckland hasn't hosted a stopover
since 2002. The race's return is the result of a lengthy campaign to bring
the top event back here and enhance the city's reputation as a sailing
destination.
The next Volvo Ocean Race will start in the Spanish port of Alicante in late
2011 and finish in Galway, Ireland, during the northern summer of 2012. --
Read on: http://tinyurl.com/y8uysu5
WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR ANNOUNCES AWARD PROGRAM
London, England (March 30, 2010) - The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) has
grown significantly in stature and is now seen as a recognized global
sporting brand. It is the leading professional match racing series with the
industry authority on premium match racing. Fitting with this elevated
status, the WMRT has introduced a new long term awards program to recognize
those high achieving individuals, teams and organizations involved with the
Tour.
The WMRT Awards comprise eight different categories for Best Overall Event,
Best Team, Best Spectator Experience, Best Hospitality, Best Still Image,
Best Innovation, Best Branding and Best Race Officer. This is the first time
that the Tour has introduced an annual awards program that not only
recognizes the elite level of teams in the competition but also the full
infrastructure required to run high quality global match racing events.
The 2009 Award Winners have been released; each of the winners will receive
a certificate acknowledging their achievement:
Best Overall Event: Monsoon Cup 2009
Best Team: BlackMatch Racing
Best Spectator Experience: Hot Seat Monsoon Cup 2009
Best Hospitality: St Moritz Match Race 2009
Best Still Image: Loris von Siebenthal
Best Innovation: Monsoon Cup / RedHanded TV
Best Branding: Match Cup Sweden 2009
Best Race Officer: David Tallis Korea Match Race Cup and Monsoon Cup
The WMRT 2010 Tour starts on April 6, in Marseille, France. Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/yaw5yh5
DISCOVER: A SAILOR’S VERSION OF PARADISE
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ratings are more important than waterproof ratings, the only umbrella you
need is the one in your blender drink and the biggest decision you need to
make is what kind of boat or board you want to play with that day. Visit
http://www.AtlantisWeatherGear.com/sailorsparadise to enter the Atlantis
Sailor’s Paradise Sweepstakes to win a trip for two to Bitter End Yacht
Club, and while you’re there, check out the new AWG Spring 2010 product
line. Discover Your Atlantis.
MUSIC, MODELS, REACHING, AND BOOZE
For the nearly ninety entries that will be at the 2010 BVI Spring Regatta
and Sailing Festival this week, the event seems to be focusing on what makes
racing in the Caribbean special:
MUSIC AND MODELS: Bands and DJs are slotted for each night, with all forms
of music to be on display. It is not a stretch to say that the sailing is
merely to keep the sailors busy in between the evening parties. The grand
finale of the weekend will be Bounce, where a full evening of entertainment
is planned from three highly experienced DJs and two VJs (visual
technicians). The lighting includes lasers, linked computer controlled
lights and strobes as well as smoke machines and video footage mixed live on
a computer and projected on to a screen. After racing on Saturday, models
will strut their stuff around the pool showcasing casual and beachwear from
the popular HIHO Spring Fashion collection.
REACHING: Specifically designed for the big boats, two reaching courses have
been added to the program which will give these big boys the opportunity to
strut their stuff. Observed event chairman Bob Phillips, “With the right
wind, a boat like (R/P 75-foot) Titan XV can complete a 60 mile course in
about three hours; they cover an incredible amount of geography in a short
period of time. Reaching, these boats are capable of speeds of 30 knots and
they love doing it, the crews love it. Short little windward leewards are
good fun but when they get the chance to cook the speeds up into the upper
twenties, they like that too.” For the smaller boats, there will also be
some round the rocks, round islands racing. Says Phillips, “We have
beautiful barrier islands and we want to show them off.”
BOOZE: Not many people would turn down a chance to win up to $350 in drink
tickets. That is just what one lucky skipper, who has pre-registered his
boat for BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival, can win in a drawing with
the prize being their registration fee refunded in drink tickets redeemable
at the Regatta Village bar and a bonus Mount Gay hat. Explained regatta
director Judy Petz, “We just wanted an opportunity to recognize those people
who get their act together and register early.”
Event website: http://bvispringregatta.org/
NEW YORK YACHT CLUB TO HOST AMERICA’S CUP 12 M ERA REUNION
Newport, Rhode Island (March 30, 2010) - New York Yacht Club Commodore David
K. Elwell Jr., announced today that the club will host a new event this
summer, the America's Cup 12 Metre Era Reunion, September 16th to 19th at
Harbour Court, NYYC’s on-the-water clubhouse in Newport.
During the 12 Metre era (1958-1987), over 83 12 Metre teams competed as
contenders or defenders for the 10 America’s Cup matches during the period.
The America’s Cup 12 Metre Era Reunion will be a celebration of the yachts,
the crews, syndicate members and the times, considered by many to be a
golden era in the history of the America’s Cup.
Headliners expected to attend the America's Cup 12 Metre Era Reunion include
such iconic figures as Ted Turner, William Ficker, Buddy Melges, Ted Hood,
Halsey Herreshoff, Malin Burnham, Sir James Hardy, Alan Bond, Bruno Trouble,
Pele Petterson and Bruno Bich to name a few. Regatta Co-Chairs include 12
Metre veterans such as Gary Jobson, Jeff Neuberth, Jan Slee and Tom Whidden.
Filmmaker Gary Jobson will premiere his production of the “12 Metre Era
Restrospective” and will be capturing the Reunion events for another video
to be shown on ESPN Classic in November. The Reunion precedes the ISAF
Women’s Match Racing World Championship (September 20th-25th), also hosted
by the NYYC at Harbour Court, for competitors seeking spots in sailing’s
newest Olympic discipline who will participate in the festivities. The
running of the 40th Annual Newport International Boat Show will take place
the same weekend. -- Full story: http://www.nyyc.org/home/article_699/
SAILING SHORTS
* San Francisco, CA. (March 30, 2010) - Just before midday local time and
with the sun breaking through the clouds to herald the yacht’s arrival, the
eagle of Cape Breton Island came swooping under the Golden Gate Bridge as
the Canadian entry arrived victorious in to San Francisco. With their
spinnaker billowing out before them, the team, which promotes the Canadian
Island of Cape Breton as ‘Nova Scotia’s Masterpiece’, has claimed their
second line honours of the 35,000-mile Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht
Race, crossing the Noonday Rock finish line near the North Farallone Islands
at 0725 local time (1425 GMT). -- Full story:
http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/race_news/?item=1770
* (March 30, 2010) - The board of directors of the St. Francis Yacht Club
voted unanimously to become a Founding Member of the National Sailing Hall
of Fame & Sailing Center. St. Francis Yacht Club joins with the New York
Yacht Club, Eastport Yacht Club, Annapolis Yacht Club and Nantucket Yacht
Club as Founding Members.
* The 25th Rolex China Sea Race, organised by Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
(RHKYC ) begins on April 1. The biennial 565-nautical mile race starts from
Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, through the South China Sea, to a finish in
Subic Bay, the Philippines. The race has been held since 1962 and is
considered by many to be the ultimate Asian blue-water offshore sailing
event. -- Event website: http://www.rhkyc.org.hk/rolexchinasearace.htm
VANGUARD SAILING CENTER RHODE ISLAND BOAT SWAP, APRIL 17
This is the perfect opportunity to sell your boat, purchase a used or new
boat, and take advantage of great storewide sales on LaserPerformance parts,
Gill, Zhik, Magic Marine, and more. The event will run from 9AM-6PM, with a
silent boat auction from 10AM-1PM. For more information call (401)683-0400
or send an email to: SaleandSwap@LaserPerformance.com
LETTERS AND FORUM
Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The
Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer
than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). 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 Bill Gibbs: (re, The Sail Name Game Scuttlebutt 3059)
The "sail name game" shines light on sail names but misses one point I
think. The only geometric difference between monos and multi's is that
multi's have a wider beam and can have wider sheeting angles. This is not
the difference that leads to Chris' different sail recommendations.
The key difference is that some multis are faster than some monos and sail
at higher AWAs on all points-of-sail. Sailing at higher AWAs means less
value from "deep" sails like spinnakers and more value from "hot" sails like
screachers. We have stopped using asymetrical spinnakers (except in light
wind) as we find we get downwind with a better vmg using a maxi-screacher.
The same would be true for a top performance mono. It's not a number
of-hulls issue. It's a "how much faster than the wind can you sail" issue.
By the way, "screacher" is supposedly a contraction of "screaming-reacher",
from it's original use as a fast reaching sail on multis.
* From Troy Sears: (re, trivia question in Scuttlebutt 3059)
Hate to be a pest about these things, but your trivia answer is not quite
100% correct. You write "England" in your answer. But in 1887 the challenge
came from the Royal Clyde Yacht Club in Scotland. And in 1899, the first
challenge from Sir Thomas Lipton came from the Royal Ulster Yacht Club (his
others did as well) in Northern Ireland. So, the UK would be the more
correct answer. I am Portuguese, so I don't care too much about these
things, but I can just see my Scottish friends picking up on that.
* From Brendan Hanna: (re, trivia question in Scuttlebutt 3059)
Have you forgotten Ireland? Sir Thomas Lipton was one of the most revered
and well-loved challengers! He in fact won The Cup due to a pre-start foul
by the US, but refused to take the victory “under those circumstances”. Can
you imagine that happening today?
* From Chris Norman: (re, Peter Lane’s scow commentary in Scuttlebutt 3059)
You found out the best kept secret. I grew up on Barnegat Bay, NJ sailing M
Scows, and E scows. Scows do have their roots in the Mid West but there are
fleets scattered all over the East as well. There are E scows on Barnegat
Bay, Little Egg Harbor, Lake Hopatcong, Keuka Lake, and Lake Chautauqua, and
a real hotbed of activity on Lake Eustis in Central Florida! The family
atmosphere is abundant and everyone in the classes are readily willing to
help get new people into boats and sort out any problems that they come
across.
I am fortunate enough to sail with my wife and step children and most boats
are indeed sailed by family members. Some I believe have children for the
very reason that they will always have crew available. The classes are
strong and the boats are a blast, fast and tactical, but mostly the people
are what keeps these classes active. You can sail alone in an MC or you can
have a multi boat E Scow program. Cat-rigged boats or E's and A's big
Asymmetric Chutes are all a challenge to sail. These boats cover the whole
gambit. -- Forum,
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9556#9556
CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This
recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be
ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
Special thanks to J World San Diego, Atlantis WeatherGear, and
LaserPerformance.
Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
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