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SCUTTLEBUTT 2142 - July 21, 2006
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary,
opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.
DR. LAURA
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, yes, that Dr. Laura, is used to dishing out
tough-love life advice on her nationally syndicated radio show. But when
it came to words of wisdom about how to sail a boat, buy her first
sailboat, and learn to race in a regatta, she was all ears. "This is the
first thing I had ever done in my life that was a team effort," said the
doctor of physiology, who has become a full-fledged sailing junkie since
moving to Santa Barbara.
"The work I do, when I write a book, I don't have anyone helping me. (In
sailing) I had to learn that when something gets screwed up, it's all of
us, and when something goes right, it's all of us too." A lot of things
have been going right for Schlessinger and her racing crew lately.
Sailing her racing boats, Turn Key and Perfect, in the Wet Wednesday
regatta series of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club, she and her crew have
been winning the B Fleet every week.
Schlessinger has a great sense of humor about her sailing experience,
which she tells in extreme animation even over the phone. Formerly
convinced that power boats were the only way to go, she looked into
sailing on a whim after she and her husband, Lew Bishop, moved to Santa
Barbara. It didn't take more than half an hour with instructor and
captain Helene Webb at the Santa Barbara Sailing Center for Schlessinger
to be hooked.
"It was a beautiful, sunny day, there were about 8 knots of wind, and I
could hear the wake behind the boat," she recalled. "Other than that, it
was quiet. I said to her that I could not believe it's just the wind and
the sails. . . . I'm in love!"
With a J-80 as her first boat, (tactician Kenny) Kieding took
Schlessinger out in conditions that were totally different from what
they had been she learned to sail. "It was blowing 20 knots, and I
started to cry like a 4-year-old," she said. "I said I wanted to go home
because we were keeling and jumping up and down, slamming into waves. So
we turned around and started to go back, and of course when we went
downwind, it was comfortable again. So I said, 'OK, I feel a little
better, let's turn back up.' By the time he got me off the water, I was
saying, 'Let's do that again!' "
She now owns four boats, two of which are racers, a 20-footer she can
take out by herself and a 33-foot J-100. "That's just luxury, to take
out and look awfully cool," she said proudly. This summer, she will take
delivery on a 48-foot carbon fiber J-145, which will enable her to move
up a class in competition and put one of the other racing boats up for
sale. It will also require an addition of six people to the crew.
But Schlessinger said that her coup sailing accomplishment is not being
able to move up to bigger boats or bringing home more trophies -- it's
about respect. "I'm really proud that really good, experienced sailors
want to sail with me. I take that as a supreme compliment. I was a dirt
beginner, and a female in a venue that's guy-oriented," she said.
"It's because she tries so hard," Kieding said. "Whatever she does, she
succeeds in, whether it's karate (she has a black belt), or boats or her
business." -- Excerpts from a story by Leah Etling in the Santa Barbara
News Press, full story: http://www.drlaura.com/radio/form2.html
THE SCHOONER AMERICA
If all the passion running about the yacht America over more than 150
years proves anything, it is that, at least to some people, this one
vessel is part of our national identity. We simply will not let this
schooner go gently into that good night.
After E. Jared Bliss (winner of the 1908 Bermuda Race) and Charles
Francis Adams (winner of the 1920 America's Cup) arranged in 1921 to
have the yacht America transferred to the government, there was building
controversy in yachting circles about her condition. I've seen an angry
letter from Herbert L. Stone, the publisher of Yachting magazine, to his
fellow sailor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, concerning the nation's
duty to keep her up. Stone and others became apoplectic after the
collapse of the shed at Annapolis, yet the government had other things
on its mind than complete restorations of yachts, and workmen completed
the shipbreaking exercise that a heavy spring snowfall and a weak roof
conspired to initiate.
She was not immortal. No wooden boat is unless it is treated like an
heirloom. She was a 95-year-old wooden boat that had been driven hard
through her first 40 years, was barely under sail during the next 50,
and had stifled under covers for a long time. She had already been
overhauled at least twice. In the late 1850s in England, Leonard Jerome
turned up to make an offer on her only to find her sunk, on the bottom.
Jerome (who became Winston Churchill's grandfather) passed on her, and
her next owner undertook a major refit. Then in the 1880s in
Massachusetts her owner, Benjamin Butler, had her strengthened and
re-rigged as a cruising boat under the supervision of Edward Burgess,
the designer of three America's Cup defenders. One result was that much
of the distinctive rake was taken out of her masts. -- John Rousmaniere
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
You got to hand it to the Coast Guard in the United States, as they are
there for us when things go bad. It's also nice to know, as this week’s
video shows, that when things go bad for them, their boats can handle
it. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions
for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for the this week’s video:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/#media
SUPERIOR SPEED & SHAPE
North Sails builds the fastest and most reliable sails you can buy -
it's proven. The boat owners who were 1st to Finish and 1st Overall in
the Bermuda Race, along with all seven Volvo Ocean Race teams, chose
North Sails. North Sails' continuous 3DL thermo-molded structure
provides superior speed that stays locked-in over thousands of punishing
miles. North 3DL and 3Dr sails set a performance standard that is second
to none. Contact your North Sails representative for special summer
savings now through July 31. - http://na.northsails.com
VOLVO YOUTH WORLDS
The final day of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships, with
a record breaking 63 nations taking part, brought surprise wins for a
few nations, with one race sailed in the early morning. Tom Phipps, the
helm of the British Hobie Cat 16 team, and Lukasz Grodzicki the Polish
RS:X windsurfer, won their second successive ISAF Youth World gold
medals. The gold, silver and bronze medallists in the seven classes
represented sailors from 16 separate nations. Following the individual
medal presentations, the Volvo Trophy presented for the best team
competing at the event was then awarded to Italy for the first time.
The winners and the top North American Team: 420 Boys: 1. Sebastian Peri
Brusa/ Santiago Masseroni (ARG), 11. Michael Menninger/ Nicholas Martin
(USA); 420 Girls: 1. Belinda Kerl/ Chelsea Hall (AUS), 11. Emily
Dellenbaugh/ Briana Provancha (USA); Laser Boys: 1. Luke Ramsay (CAN),
5. Royce Weber (USA); Laser Girls: 1. Tina Mihelic (CRO), 8. Hayley
McLean (CAN); Board Boys: 1. Lukasz Grodzicki (POL), 11. David Hayes
(CAN), 21. James Sobeck (USA); Board Girls: 1. Laura Linares (ITA), 14.
Nancy Rios (USA); Hobie 16: 1. Tom Phipps/ Richard Glover (GBR) 13. Evan
Miller/ Kyler Hast (USA).
Volvo Trophy Results: 1. ITA 247; 2 GBR, 243; 3. AUS, 219; 4. ISR 196;
5. FRA 166; 14. USA, 89; 15. CAN, 78. --
http://www.youthworlds.org/base.php
RACING CASUALTY?
(Following are a few excerpts from an insightful story posted on
thedailysail subscription website.)
Despite being in our opinion the most exciting race boat class in the
world, the sorry fact is that the 60ft trimaran circuit is in rapid
decline at present with boats actively racing at their lowest number
ever, despite (or because of - depending upon your opinion) Baron
Rothschild's MultiCup, a new circuit introduced this year that focuses
more on fully crewed grand prix events than it does the shorthanded
offshore ones.
The rot set in during the Route du Rhum back in 2002 when a phenomenal
18 of these 60ft long by 60ft wide monsters took the start line. However
due to the exceptionally harsh November weather in the Atlantic, where
the boats genuinely did receive a hammering, only three boats completed
the course, only one of these without stopping to effect repairs. "The
future depends upon other countries coming sailing with us," says
Vincent Borde of what a solution might be. Today the 60ft trimarans
start their MultiCup Grand Prix in Portimao, Portugal where four are
expected to be racing. -- http://thedailysal.com
LONG DAY ON THE WATER
Day two of Stage 1 of the 2006-‘07 World Match Racing Tour season, the
Portugal Match Cup, saw the quarterfinals take shape with six teams
advancing to the next round. Chris Dickson (NZL), BMW Oracle Racing, won
all five of his round robin races and led Group A into the quarters.
Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge, won Group B with a 4-1 record.
With the initial round robin complete the event moved to the Repechage
Round, and the racing intensified. Four out of the six teams are tied
after three of the five flights. Ian Williams (GBR), Chris Law (GBR),
Mathieu Richard (FRA) and Przemek Tarnacki (POL) are all 2-1 in the
repechage round. With teams sailing late into the evening, two flights
remain tomorrow to decide which teams will take the two remaining places
in the quarters. Only the top two move on. - Sean McNeill,
http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/
Round Robin Standings -Group A:
1. Chris Dickson (NZL) BMW Oracle Racing, 5-0*
2. Thierry Peponnet (FRA) Areva Challenge, 4-1*
3. Peter Gilmour (AUS) PST, 3-2*
4. Chris Law (GBR) The Outlaws, 1-4
5. Lotte Meldgaard (DEN) HSH Nordbank, 1-4
6. Mathieu Richard (FRA) Saba Sailing Team, 1-4
Group B:
1. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge, 4-1*
2. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 3-2*
3. Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) Mascalzone Latino –Capitalia Team, 3-2*
4. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Sail Racing, 2-3
5. Álvaro Marinho (POR) Quebramar Match Racing Team, 1.5-3
6. Przemek Tarnacki (POL) Tarnacki Racing/Sopot MR Center, .5-4
* Advances to Quarterfinal Round)
Repechage Round (After 3/5 flights)
1. Ian Williams, 2-1
T. Chris Law, 2-1
T. Mathieu Richard, 2-1
T. Przemek Tarnacki, 2-1
5. Lotte Meldgaard, 1-2
6. Álvaro Marinho, 0-3
AFFORDABLE WIRELESS CONTROL
Introducing the new Lynx, an affordable wireless remote controller for
the Ockam system. Each of the 5 control buttons is capable of being
easily programmed to output any Ockam command. You can scroll through
the pages on any display, operate the stopwatch or control the lighting
to name a few. It’s pre-programmed with a MOB function that switches the
displays to back range and bearing to the point of activation. Like all
Ockam components, the Lynx is designed to be compatible with any Ockam
system. Just simply connect it to the existing bus, no additional wiring
required. Contact mailto:lat@ockam.com
SAILING SHORTS
* The final report now online from the crew overboard rescue Symposium
held August 9-12, 2005 on San Francisco Bay. 115 volunteers conducted
almost 400 tests of 40 types of rescue gear and many maneuvers. The
final report includes information keyed to different types of power and
sailboats involved in a recovery. Also included is a “lessons learned”
section with comments from symposium organizers, who between them have a
total of nearly 200 years of recreational boating experience. --
http://www.boatus.com/foundation/findings/COBfinalreport/
* After what must rank as the most exciting and demanding opening day
yet of any Breitling MedCup TP52 regatta Peter de Ridder’s Mutua
Madrileña leads (the 21-boat TP52 fleet) by seven clear points. After
finishing second and third overall in the first two regattas of the
season, a pair of second places followed by victory in the third and
final race of the day was just the kind of start which has so far eluded
de Ridder and his mainly Emirates Team New Zealand crew. -- Valencia
Sailing, full story: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/
* Sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is set to arrive back home in
Gosport (UK) at 10:00 AM on Friday as he completes the necessary solo
qualifying passage for the upcoming Velux 5 Oceans. --
http://www.velux5oceans.com
* Sarah Buckley and her team on Quantum Racing beat out seventeen other
teams to win the 2006 J24 Women's US Open Championship Regatta hosted by
the Beverly Yacht Club in Marion, MA. Read their report with complete
results at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/0720/
* The Barcelona World Race is a new doublehanded, non-stop round the
world yacht race starting on the November 11, 2007. The world's best
sailors from both solo and fully crewed disciplines will be coming
together to compete along the 25,000-mile route over three months in
high-performance IMOCA Open 60 monohulls. There is now a banner on the
Scuttlebutt website that is linked to the Skipper Support Package, which
is a comprehensive kit containing all the information you need on the
Barcelona World Race, and a set of sales tools to help you secure the
funding to participate in the race.
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/jump/bwr.html
* Outstanding, conditions greeted the 102-boat fleet on the first day of
one design racing at the New York Yacht Club Race Week at Newport
presented by Rolex. Three races were run on each of three race circles
in 10-12 knots of wind, building to 17-18 knots by the third race. Major
championships will be determined including the North American
Championships for the Beneteau First 36.7, Farr 395, Farr 40 classes and
the J/109. The Melges 32 class is sailing for its first-ever National
Championship. Video can be viewed at www.t2p.tv after 9:00pm each night.
-- http://www.nyyc.org
* Sea Scouts from the United States and 20 countries are heading to the
Coral Reef Yacht Club in Miami, Florida to compete in Vanguard 420s at
the third annual William I. Koch International Sea Scout Cup, July
23-29, 2006. This youth sailing regatta is open to young men and women
between the ages of 14 and 21 who are actively registered in the Sea
Scout program. -- https://seascoutcup.org/
* The qualification system for the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships
has been published on www.sailing.org. The Worlds in Cascais, Portugal
will bring together an anticipated 1,700 sailors from right around the
globe to compete for eleven World Championship titles and qualify their
nation for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition. Taking place from 2-13
July in Cascais, the ISAF Worlds will be the pinnacle event for the
Olympic Classes in 2007. 75% of all the national places for the Olympic
Games will be decided in Cascais, with the remaining 25% left to the
respective Class World Championships in 2008. -
http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6qFh`?vw&format=popup
* Over one million boaters used the BoatU.S. website last year to help
them prepare their boats during the hurricane season. The site has been
updated for the 2006 season, and these free tips and "tools" are
available at http://www.BoatUS.com/Hurricanes
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. You only get one letter
per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others
disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for
elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thought at
the Scuttlebutt website:
http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi)
* From Garry Hoyt (edited to our 250-word limit):To reverse the decline
in sailing participation we have only to examine the common denominator
elements of the nation’s most popular sports like fishing, golf, tennis,
surfing, skiing, hunting, biking, roller blading and kayaking. The
common feature shared by these activities is that they all involve
individually operated equipment that can be easily transported by car.
It follows that if sailing aspires to anything approaching the
popularity of these sports, we must begin with individually operated
boats that can easily be transported in or on a car. Once that wider
base of self reliant single handed sailors is created, there is an
abundance of worthy and well established classes and types of sailboats
for those sailors to graduate to.
While the Optimist is the ideal boat for kids to start with, they
quickly outgrow it or become bored with the lack of performance—and the
Opti is completely unsuitable for the adult beginner who is actually the
prime prospect. Yet the Sunfish and the Laser—worthy stalwarts that they
are—do not fit easily on a car—and are not ideal beginner boats. What is
needed is something in between the Opti and the Sunfish/Laser. If a
fraction of the money and effort that is currently lavished on coaxing
one-tenth knot speed increase out of expensive lead mines could instead
be devoted to the above described challenge, sailing might begin to
acquire the popularity it deserves. We need to apply new ingenuity and
new products to this central problem.
* From Rodger Martin: I appreciate your discussing coverage of the
5-Oceans Race coming up in September. I do not think there has been a
good publicity connection made between this race & its spiritual
continuation of the BOC/Around-Alone. It is the same race, though
unfortunately, and understandably, without the 40-49' class. Robin
Knox-Johnson has been involved in the race since the start in 1982, and
the race developed a strong core of participants and followers, as well
as developing the Open Class type that pervades all fast racing
monohulls today, including, mostly trouble-free canting keels (a record
roundly spoilt in the recent 'Volvo,') as well as development of other
commonly accepted sailing systems as outboard chainplates,
non-overlapping jibs (ancient in dinghies!) and other current-use
'innovations' in round-the-buoys and offshore racing yachts
I implore you to give this race good coverage; it is more immediate than
fully-crewed races with multiple crews and many, sometimes bewildering
(geographically) stops, and a lot more adventurous and immediate than
the massively-hyped American Boat Cup, which is sailed in controlled
conditions, and only starts next year!
* From John Arndt: Though the type is smaller than my most recent
Mastercard statement of 'privacy intrusion' I did just read through the
entire slate of candidates for the new US Sailing board. The list is
certainly a credit to US Sailing and demonstrates the type of dedicated,
high caliber people attracted to sailing. I'm not sure I'd want to
thrust myself into the debates on many of the thorny issues the
'winners' will have to resolve but I'm thankful for those that are
willing. I know there's endless politics involved which I sail through
blissfully unaware but it would appear that whoever wins, US Sailing has
earnest and qualified folks ready to give it their best. (Here is the
list: http://www.ussailing.org/BOD/election/)
* Jens Herberg: John McNeill defends the term BN by waxing sentimentally
over the history of the term. The term BN has no place in common sailing
lexicon. That you would doubt its use in polite society is enough to
tell you that it's racist in nature and deserves to go into the ashcan
with all of the other racist terminology we've rid ourselves of.
Curmudgeon’s Comments: We’ll use this thought to kill a thread that
never should have been opened. We’ve moved all the letters to the Forums
-- those that were published plus many that were not. Further comments
may be made at: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/2006/bn
* From Tom Kirwan, Commodore, Chula Vista Yacht Club: I don’t recall
seeing Enrico Ferrari at one of our Junior Steering meetings but he
sounds like he was (regarding his letter in Issue 2140). We keep getting
more boats, putting kids in them, showing them how they can “drive
around with just the wind,” and how much fun it can be testing their
skills. Some move on to competitive sailing. But some of this summer’s
new sailors, when told that Dad was on vacation and they could go to the
big theme parks, said they would rather go to the club and go sailing.
Maybe there is hope.
CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATIONS
"Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's
gross." -- Mark, age 6
Special thanks to North Sails and Ockam Instruments.
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