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SCUTTLEBUTT 2358 - June 5, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). IT’S A MATTER OF ODDS (T2P.tv’s Tucker Thompson is in Valencia, Spain as part of the Versus television team of experts providing coverage of the America's Cup. Here is the latest posting to his America’s Cup diary.) Can Luna Rossa’s James Spithill reverse the trend of losing to Team New Zealand which now stands at 0-3? If he asked BMW Oracle’s former helmsman, Chris Dickson, I am sure he wouldn’t like the answer. So why are we seeing these one-sided series? Like many other things, it comes down to a game of odds. The America’s Cup has changed a lot over recent decades. Refinements in hull, appendage, rig, and sail design have reached impressive levels, and that has allowed the game to revert back to a true test of sailing. What has amazed me the most in this recent Cup generation is how far the sailors have evolved within the game. “The sailors have gotten smarter than the racecourse!” BMW Oracle’s Gavin Brady recently told me. The patterns within given wind ranges are relatively known thanks to almost a decade of meteorological study in Valencia and weather geniuses on the racecourse updating the sailors with what they can expect throughout the race. The racecourse is also a known constant. Even the modes of the other boats are well known so that for a given series with a given competitor the boats can be optimized to capitalize on their strengths and take advantage of a competitor’s weaknesses. The opposition is doing the same. Even the skill level of the sailors is a constant among the top teams. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/t2p/#June4 Preliminary results (winning team is the first to 5 in the 9 race series) 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) 1-1-1-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 3 3. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) 0-0-0-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 * Race schedule: Having raced Friday through Sunday, the teams had a scheduled rest day on Monday. The teams begin racing again on Tuesday and Wednesday before their next rest day on Thursday. -- Complete schedule: http://www.americascup.com/en/americascup/program/calendrier.php * TV schedule: VERSUS (USA) and TSN (Canada) will provide live coverage of the Finals from 8:30 a.m.–11 a.m. ET. VERSUS will also have replays from 12-2:30 p.m. and 6:30–9 p.m. ET. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar/shows/#6 * Review time: If you haven’t been following all the action and need to get caught up, now playing on t2p.tv are the daily America’s Cup reports from Versus TV. Round Robin’s 1 & 2 and daily Louis Vuitton Cup racing wrap-ups every day from Tucker Thompson’s Versus reports on the water. -- http://www.t2p.tv/guide/ac07.php * Analysis: ‘Butthead Andrew Wilson has created a spreadsheet from official published ACM (Americas Cup Management) Timing Sheets from the semi-final races comparing the speeds of the final four challengers. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0602 * More analysis: If you are curious about the number of sandwiches served at the Defender Bar on Sundays, how many bottles of Moët & Chandon have been consumed in Port America’s Cup, the volume of visits to the event website, or countless other statistics, here you go: http://www.americascup.com/en/news/detail.php?idRubr=22&idContent=25464 * Weather forecast: The report for Tuesday on the ETNZ website is for southeast wind, 8 to 13 knots, cloudy with the possibility of rain. Temperature in the mid 20'sº C (mid 70’sº F). ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SHORTS One of the most popular shorts, the Rio shorts, are made out of fast drying Supplex nylon with a reinforced Cordura seat patch for an optional foam pad. They have a plain front, two roomy side cargo pockets with Velcro closure flap, and an internal phone pocket. Designed with two deep side pockets, Velcro waist adjustment straps, and gusset design for a full range of motion. Fabric has a UV rating of 40, blocks 97.5 % of UV rays, and provides excellent skin protection. Available in Graphite and Navy w/tan stripe. http://www.camet.com/?Click=289 CELEBRATING SUMMER Why do so many boats never leave their slips? Sailboats designed for crossing oceans often serve their owners faithfully only as weekend hotel rooms or barbecue platforms. Seven years ago, John Arndt grew tired of seeing boats tied up, always waiting to do what they were built to do - go out sailing. He decided to try to empty the marinas by creating a common holiday for all sailors globally. Arndt founded an event on the weekend closest to the first day of summer, the solstice, and named it Summer Sailstice. This year's celebration is on June 23-24. "In The States, nobody does much with the summer solstice, but in Scandinavia, it's Midsummer," said Arndt. "I wanted to create a date when people think 'It's sailing time!'" At first the idea took off slowly. Arndt and a few Bay Area friends and their families went sailing for the weekend, rafting their boats together, and having fun.But Arndt was in the perfect position to build momentum for the event. In the 20 years that he sold advertising for Mill Valley's Latitude 38 sailing magazine, he built many industry contacts. Approaching them all, he amassed event sponsors and more than 200 prizes, and the event took off globally. "Last year we had about 2,600 boats signed up worldwide," said Arndt. "Forty-nine states in the USA and twenty countries. From Shanghai to Japan, to Mexico, to Newfoundland, to Europe and on around the world." -- Jan Pehrson, Marin Independent Journal, full story: http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_5971304 => Details on Summer Sailstice are at http://www.summersailstice.com GIVING BACK – LOOKING FORWARD (Boston, MA) At the Piers Park Sailing Center’s first “Give Sailing a Try” program last weekend, handicapped boaters fell in love with the freedom of the seas after a veteran sailor - disabled herself - shared with them her passion for the sport. “The purpose of the day was to allow for people to get a feel of what sailing is like with a disability,” said Maureen McKinnon-Tucker of Marblehead, the center’s 42-year-old adaptive sailing coordinator. A competitive sailor, she suffered an oceanside spinal cord injury in 1995 but since has competed as a six-time member of the U.S. Disabled Sailing Team and is a candidate for the Beijing Paralympic Games in 2008. “It’s a way for me to give back and share my passion for sailing,” she said. “This is a wonderful chance for them to not feel hindered by their equipment or by landscapes.” -- Boston Herald, full story: http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=1004558 * Maureen McKinnon-Tucker will be teaming up with 2005 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Nick Scandone as the American skipper makes the switch from the 2.4mR class to the SKUD 18. A christening party for their new boat was held a couple weeks ago, and their first regatta will be July 13-15 in Newport, RI, where the Paralympic trials will be held. -- http://www.alove4sailing.com/index.php/2007/05/29/new-skud-gets-christened OLYMPIC UPDATE: EUROPEAN CHAMPS * Laser Europeans, Hyeres, France: (June 4, 2007) The second day of the Laser European Championships saw two light air races sailed in diminishing 6-8 knot winds. In the 155-boat Senior fleet, Canadian Michael Leigh consolidated his 2nd overall position with another consistent 2-3 performance. American's Andrew Campbell and John Pearce both scored wins today, while American Brad Funk slipped a bit down to 16th, a reflection of his conservative starts that kept him from the favored left-hand side of the first beats. In the 105-boat Youth division, American Fred Strammer enjoyed the lighter winds and scored the second best day's score with a 7-5 finish. He jumps to 13th overall as the top American. A drop race will occur once the fleet completes five races. -- Brad Funk, event website: http://coych.nikopo.com/?page=affnews * 470 Europeans, Thessaloniki, Greece: (June 4, 2007) Monday through Wednesday is flight racing that will be used to qualify for the gold division, which will be held Thursday through Sunday. Three races were completed in a steady 9-12 knot sea breeze on Monday, with lighter conditions forecast for Tuesday. In the 92-boat men’s fleet, the top North American team is Mikee Anderson/ David Hughes (USA) in 21st, and in the 48-boat women’s fleet, it is Amanda Clark/ Sarah Merghenthaler (USA) in 12th. -- Event website: http://www.ncth.gr/470/ * Finn Europeans, Lake Balaton, Hungary: (June 4, 2007) With a wind forecast that would depress even the most avid light wind expert, the first day of the 2007 Finn European Championship was a non-starter. All the weather reports for today predicted no more than 4 knots, and by 16.00 the race officer abandoned racing for the day. The real concern is the forecast for the coming days is not much better. -- Event website: http://www.spartacus.hu/eng/fooldal.htm HARKEN/MCLUBE INTERVIEWS ANDREW CAMPBELL Harken Speedteam sailor Andrew Campbell is a member of the U.S. Sailing Team and the top-ranked Laser sailor in the United States. What is his secret to winning? How does he keep line and friction on his boat to a minimum? What would he miss most if he forgot it? Find the answers to these questions and more in the Harken/ McLube interview with this extraordinary competitor. http://www.harken.com/speedteam/AndrewCampbell.php SAILING SHORTS * Newport, RI (June 3, 2007) In light winds and gray skies, Decision crossed the Annapolis to Newport Race finish line at Castle Hill Light at 1842 hours Sunday evening. Donnybrook followed soon after at 1858 hours. Sjambok was third across the line at 2008 hours and Tomcat finished the race at 2144 hours. -- Race website: http://www.annapolisyc.org/newport07 * A small boat carrying two drunken North Korean men drifted into South Korean waters early Saturday but the pair was allowed to go home after it was decided they were not spies, the military said. The boat came four kilometres (2.5 miles) into South Korean waters in the Yellow Sea at about 2 a.m., the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The authorities tried to turn the boat back at the scene but were unable to do so because the North Koreans were too drunk to follow safety measures, said the statement quoted by Yonhap news agency. -- Khaleej Times, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2k9lth * The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will stop in France for the first time during the 07-08 Race. The stopover in La Rochelle from 19-23 September coincides with Le Grand Pavois, one of the world’s largest floating international boat shows and the ten-strong Clipper fleet will add their presence to the event. Each of the 68-foot Clipper yachts has an international crew of 18 drawn from all walks of life, the only professional on board being the skipper. Clipper 07-08 starts from Liverpool on 16 September 2007. – Full report: http://tinyurl.com/2sxw3y * Annapolis, MD (June 3, 2007) - Former Snipe US Champion Ernesto Rodriguez and junior crew Megan Place (Miami, FL) earned a decisive victory in the highly competitive Snipe Colonial Cup held June 2-3 at Severn Sailing Association. 35 boats including 2-time Snipe World Champ and 2003 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, Augie Diaz, were closely matched in the 5-race, no throw-out regatta. Brian Bissell and Danny Pletsch (Annapolis, MD) pulled an upset to come in second, beating Augie Diaz/Wilson Stout (Miami) who took third. -- Complete report and results at http://www.snipeus.org/news/news.asp?nk=28 * Marine web portal iboats.com has launched a new online service that is designed to help US-based boat dealers sell more boats in their local areas. The 'New Boat Showroom', which can be accessed via the iboats.com website, features a wide selection of new boats and engines from more than 286 manufacturers across the US. -- IBI Magazine, full story: http://tinyurl.com/3x7dxb * Entries for the Metre Class Centenary Regatta (22-27 July) in Cowes topped 50 this week, as yachts built to the one-hundred year old Metre Rule prepare to travel from around the world to the Solent for the July celebrations of the formula which has spawned so many famous yachts, classes, and challenges since it was first introduced in 1907. -- Yachting World, full report: http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070504155829ywnews.html EIGHT BELLS One of Michigan's best known sailors, who had twice won the Lightning class World Championship, was a 4 time North American Champion and a gold medalist in the 1967 and 1975 Pan Am Games, was killed in a storm on Lake Erie while racing Sunday afternoon. Bruce Gray Goldsmith, 71, formerly of Lenawee and Hillsdale counties, was pronounced dead at the Port of Monroe about an hour after he was thrown overboard from his boat, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Mr. Goldsmith, who was the skipper on his boat, Send in the Clowns, was competing in the North Cape Yacht Club's Commodore Perry Race, when he ran into heavy rain and waves that were 6 to 8 feet high at about 1 p.m. near Monroe. The boat's aluminum boom swung around and hit him in the head, throwing him into the water, according to the sheriff's office. One of Mr. Goldsmith's crew members jumped into the water, put a life jacket on Mr. Goldsmith, and struggled to hold him up for 10 minutes until competing boats heard their distress calls and got near enough to help. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3yc7oj => Curmudgeon’s Comment: This is a big loss, and deserves the broad support of the Scuttlebutt community. Please take a moment, and join Peter Harken, Bill Faude, David Corcoran, John Rousmaniere, and others to share your thoughts on the passing of “The Bruin.” -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/07/bg J/122 SIZZLES IN SAILING DEBUT In one month of action in Europe and USA, the new Al Johnstone designed J/122 has notched IRC wins at Obelix Trophy, American Spring Series, Cervantes Trophy Race, and Greenwich Cup. With orders into 2008, the J/122 is already one of J Boats' most popular introductions ever. For pix and news: http://www.jboats.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Bill Goggins, Commercial Manager, Harken: Watching the recent Scuttlebutt Video of the Week with the foiling windsurfer gave us a flashback here at Harken from a project we tried back in the early 80’s. When we still operated Vanguard, we put into production something similar, but at that time it seemed like people just “weren’t ready” for such a concept. Hopefully they are now as it is a pretty neat idea, and a tribute to the innovations that have been coming from Peter and Olaf Harken for the past forty years. Curmudgeon’s Comment: Bill sent us a photo showing Olympian Annie Nelson on the Harken Hydrofoil: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0604 * From Dierk Polzin: (edited to the 250-word limit) Regarding college sailing eliminating the district qualifiers and going to a Semi-Finals format for Nationals selection, lets not pick on one district here. The reality is that all but the most funded and elite programs that have the ability to attract star sailing talent will qualify under the new system. Specialization of our society and hyper parents who fund their kids flying off to regattas with paid coaches have taken over youth sailing and expect the same when their kids go off to college. Just like Tennis and Basketball camps, the same disease has percolated to sub-prime sports like sailing. There won't be any teams at Nationals from the Pacific Northwest or the Texas, Tulane, South East like there were 20 years ago. Some great sailors have come out of those districts who have gone a long way and contributed to sport not only in their region but also in the industry. What is distressing is that I see these districts disintegrating with an even faster acceleration. It is too bad because so many great leaders of the entire industry came out of the MCSA. Hall Spars, Vanguard, Harken, North Sails, Lands End, etc. All these companies were the result of the creativity and industriousness of the young people that were forced to invent and motivate their peers to get involved and get organized toward getting to Nationals and develop their teams. * From Craig Dymock: Having raced for many seasons as a "foreigner" in the Caribbean, being one of the thousands of boats that do not stay over the Hurricane season I am bemused by Mr Chen's comments on the introduction of IRC into Caribbean regattas (in Issue 2357). Only a handful of boats optimise for CSA spoiling the international nature of many Caribbean regattas. While the rest of the world seems to be adopting the IRC rule as a "level playing field" internationally he seems stalwartly stuck to his own parochial system. The last line in his article "Jeffrey Chen, Chief Measurer, Caribbean Sailing Association" does bring to mind the phrase "Well he would say that, wouldn't he!" * From Tim Bohan: Is it me or does the boat that wins the starboard end of the line always win the race? I haven't been keeping track but it seems that every race, the team on the right gets the first lift and pulls ahead, just like today with TNZ, who was behind at the start, but got the right hand shift and lifted up above Luna Rossa. Is there any way you could check the wins for the past 10 matches or so and see if the boat who started on the right won each race? Curmudgeon’s Comment: We know of several races that were won by the leeward boat off the line, but don’t have all the stats handy. If someone has this info, please send it to us so we can reprint it for those interested. * From Mark Johnson, Boca Raton, FL: (edited to the 250-word limit) While watching the race Sunday morning on Versus, I was amazed by the move Spithill made to let ETNZ off the hook. Those Kiwi's were toast. I'm no match-racing expert, but this move (or lack of a commitment to sail around the end of the line at the committee boat - with ETNZ significantly behind and still controlling both the right and left) has to go down as one of the major blunders of the LV CUP this year. Cayard had it right: "but then with 1 minute to go and his opponent trapped above the line, he mysteriously gybed away and went for the left end of the line." If Luna Rossa wanted left they still would have had that option – IF - they rounded the committee boat with the Kiwi's on their tail. The big bonus would have been the controlling position - AHEAD - in case the ETNZ tacked right after crossing the line, significantly behind. The right has been favored on all 3 races - and after two losses going left, why wouldn't you want to get right just to have that chance - especially if you have a significant advantage of "starting ahead". Starting both clear ahead and significantly ahead would have allowed the Italians the ability to go whichever way they wanted. Sure, James Spithill and Luna Rossa hit the line on the money and with speed, but this advantage paled in comparison to what they gave up with a minute to go. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried. Special thanks to Camet International, Harken, and J Boats. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
