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SCUTTLEBUTT 3400 - Monday, August 8, 2011Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Point Loma Outfitting and Vineyard Race. EMIRATES TEAM NZ SMOKE WORLD SERIES FLEET RACING Cascais, Portugal (August 7, 2011) - Emirates Team New Zealand were double winners on Sunday, Day 2 of the AC World Series, claiming top spot in the AC Cascais Preliminaries after four fleet races and then going on to record the fastest run in the AC 500 Speed Trial. "We are happy how it went," said skipper Dean Barker. "But we know we have a lot to keep up with. It's nice; a good feeling to start the week, but there is a lot we need to improve on." ORACLE Racing Coutts won today's long fleet race, stealing victory from Emirates Team New Zealand after a member of the crew fell overboard. The Kiwis did their best to hang on, but Coutts managed to grind down the shorthanded New Zealand crew just a few hundred meters from the finish, giving the American team victory in the race and second place overall, with Sweden's Artemis Racing in third spot. In the AC500 Speed Trial, the top three teams needed their third and final runs to record their fastest speeds. The Kiwis, after a disappointing first two tries, had a perfect set-up for their final attempt, screaming down the track at an average speed of 42.35 kph. They were followed closely by Team Korea (39.28) and China Team (37.43), two of the newer, less-practiced teams in the AC45 catamaran. Despite a relative lack of time on the boats, China Team's skipper shared his philosophy for recording a fast run: "There are only two speeds to these boats," said Mitch Booth. "Flat out, and stopped!" But the headline incident on the day was the man overboard on Emirates Team New Zealand. Winston Macfarlane, one of the big grinders on board, was washed overboard during a fast maneuver at a turning mark halfway through the race. Macfarlane was grinding a winch when the winch handle snapped, meaning he lost his balance as the boat accelerated out of the turn. While Macfarlane swam to safety and hauled himself on to the nearby mark-boat, Barker's crew was obliged to sail the rest of the course short-handed. -- Full story: http://media.americascup.com/pressreleases/?id=169 Positions after 4 fleet races (place, total pts) 1. Emirates Team NZ: 3, 2, 2, 2 - 35 2. Oracle Racing Coutts: 4, 3, 5, 1 - 31 3. Artemis Racing: 1, 4, 3, 7 - 29 4. Oracle Racing Spithill: DSQ, 1, 1, 3 - 28 5. China Team: 6, 6, 6, 4 - 22 6. Team Korea: 5, 7, 4, 6 - 22 7. Energy Team: 2, 8, 8, 5 - 21 8. Aleph: 7, 5, 9, 8 - 16 9. Green Comm Racing: 8, 9, 7, 9 - 13 AC 500 Speed Trials results at: http://media.americascup.com/pressreleases/?id=169 Cascais race program: http://tinyurl.com/2011-ACWS-Cascais Fan features: http://tinyurl.com/ACWS-fan-features CALENDAR: Following the inaugural America's Cup World Series event in Cascais, the second stop on the circuit will be Plymouth, England on September 10-18, followed by the final 2011 stop in San Diego, USA on November 12-20. QUOTE/UNQUOTE "We had a great day today, one of the most important days in the long history of the America's Cup. The reaching start is extremely spectacular and a great move to make racing - at least the first minutes which are so essential - more understandable to the general public. I am a happy man tonight." -- Bruno Trouble, spokesperson for Louis Vuitton. Trouble, skipper of FRANCE 1 in 1977, holds the distinction of 34 years continuous involvement with the America's Cup. WILL THEY PREVAIL OFF THE RACECOURSE? (August 7, 2011) - A statement from Emirates Team New Zealand on Sunday August 7, advised that Emirates Team New Zealand's dispute with the America's Cup over restrictions on the team's freedom to host its own America's Cup web site goes to arbitration tomorrow. The protocol for the 34th America's Cup mandates that teams' America's Cup content should be consolidated on the AC web site. Emirates Team New Zealand's position is that teams should be free to host their own sites, effectively creating a mirrored site with the America's Cup site. Managing director Grant Dalton says this freedom is essential for commercial teams which must fund their campaigns through sponsorship. "Sponsors are not interested in being on a site which features competitors. We have a prime example of that - our sponsor Camper, a family owned company, competes with the massive multi-national brand Puma which sponsors not only Oracle Racing, but also the event. "The restriction on independent sites hampers the ability of commercial teams to raise funds. We know how difficult the market is right now. We are relatively well off in comparison to some of the other teams, but we still need to find more funding." -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/3o4p4k5 * Camper, the family-owned shoe company based in Mallorca, confirmed last week that it will join Emirates Team New Zealand as a sponsor of their America's Cup campaign. http://tinyurl.com/3noaldn WHEN THE WIND KICKS, RESPOND WITH FORCE Point Loma Outfitting is pleased to introduce the second new model of foul weather gear from SLAM. The design objective of the Force 3 jacket and salopettes was to provide protection during coastal sailing, while maintaining durability, at a reasonable price. Following the successful introduction of the Force 2 gear earlier this year, the Force 3 provides greater protection, yet increased breathability. Something we all can appreciate during these dog days of August. Check out the link below to see the numerous attributes this gear has! http://www.slam-shops.com/slam-force-3.html LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC TEST EVENT Weymouth/Portland, GBR (August 7, 2011) - The sixth day of the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta saw blustery winds ranging from 19-24 knots welcome the sailors racing at, the Olympic Test Event. It was the Australians who excelled throughout the day as Tom Slingsby took the lead in the Laser, Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen went ahead in the 49er, and Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page notched up double bullets. Belcher and Page put their poor start to the regatta behind them as they won both of their races to move up to second overall in the Men's 470 behind leaders Pierre LeBoucher and Vincent Garas (FRA). Belcher said, "It was nice to be racing inside the harbour and to have that experience again. It felt more like our boat today. We settled down a little bit and we are getting used to the Olympic course." US sailors Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih won the second Star class race of the day to stand 7th overall, while in the Finn, Zach Railey held onto a top-10 spot despite today's 26th in race 3. He explained that the conditions were so unpredictable and the wind so shifty that his tactics didn't pay off quite the way he wanted to, and he wound up being one of many sailors to capsize. -- Event report: http://www.sailing.org/london2012/news/36439.php Canadian Sailing Team: http://tinyurl.com/CYA-080411 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics: http://tinyurl.com/USSTAG-073111 BACKGROUND: The 2011 Weymouth and Portland International Regatta is designed to test the Olympic sailing venue and its operations in advance of the 2012 Games. Racing for the ten Olympic sailing events is August 2-13, where 325 entries representing 135 countries will compete across five courses on Portland Harbor and Weymouth Bay. Consistent with the Olympic Games, each country is allowed just one representative in each event. RACE-ENDING CRASH ON DAY 2 EXTREME SAILING SERIES Cowes, GBR (August 7, 2011) - In the fourth race on the second day of the Extreme Sailing Series Act 5 from Cowes, France's Groupe Edmond de Rothschild ploughed into Sweden's Artemis Racing at the top mark resulting in severe damage to both boats - bad enough to end their racing for the day. A busy night in the pitlanes is expected to get them racing again tomorrow. The breezy conditions on the second day of Act 5, with 20-25 knots steady breeze with bigger gusts earlier in the day, the 12-boat fleet was split into two groups of 6 and raced with reefed mainsails and no gennakers. The first group raced three races and the action was pretty spectacular as the Extreme 40 crews manhandled their boats around the tight stadium racecourse off Egypt Point, Cowes. It was in the first race for the second group that the collision happened between Artemis Racing and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. Artemis Racing, helmed by Santiago Lange, tacked in for the top mark on to starboard in front of Groupe Edmond to Rothschild on port. Artemis Racing went through the tack and Pierre Pennec attempted to bear away around her stern, but the boats crashed - two of the French crew were thrown into the water. As a matter of course, the jury will hold a hearing in the morning. -- Full story and results: http://tinyurl.com/3svec4p Overall standings after 10 races 1. Luna Rossa (ITA) - 60 pts 2. The Wave, Muscat (OMA) - 51 pts 3. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) - 43 pts 4. Alinghi (SUI) - 42 pts 5. Red Bull Extreme Sailing (AUT) - 42 pts 6. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) - 42 pts 7. Oman Air (OMA) - 33 pts 8. Artemis Racing (SWE) - 27 pts 9. Emirates Team NZ (NZL) - 26 pts 10. Niceforyou (ITA) - 24 pts 11. Aberdeen Asset Management (EUR) - 23 pts 12. Team Extreme (EUR) - 12 pts * Check out the Artemis Racing and Groupe Edmond de Rothschild crash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RW8O6n0zmg&feature=youtu.be NUKIN' IN THE GORGE FOR 29ER & 49ER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Cascade Locks, OR (August 7, 2011) - "It has been blowing consistently over 20 knots for the past three days and it's amazing," said Jon Ladha of Newfoundland, Canada, after the final race of this year's Zhik 29erXX and 49er US National Championship. "It's so awesome here that we've just decided that we're staying another week," he continued. That sentiment pretty much sums up what turned out to be a solid weekend of racing in the renowned Columbia River Gorge. In the end, Johnny Goldsberry and Charlie Smythe bested their Canadian training partners, Ladha & Inkpen, by one point to take the overall and US National title in the Olympic 49er class. Nevertheless, the two top boats duked it out right through the last race which decided the title. Johnny and Charlie will be happy with this finish as they battle to stay alive for Olympic selection this December in Perth, Australia. "We had a blast here in Cascade Locks," said Johnny. "Next year we should have our Nationals here again and we should have 25 boats! This place is incredible - the race committee got the races off quickly and sent us in when it was above 30 knots - they really know their stuff. This was great racing!" Meanwhile, in the inaugural 29erXX US National Championship, class president Kristen Lane and Olympic medalist Charlie McKee walked away with the title, besting the hot shot Kiwi team of Alex Maloney and Molly Meach. Lane & McKee carried nine bullets over 11 races, clearly setting the gold standard for XX sailing. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3mbk9mu DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS YEAR'S VINEYARD RACE WEEKEND Take part in the East Coast classic, presented by Thomson Reuters and hosted by Stamford Yacht Club. Three courses to choose from: cruising division; multihull division; race tracking and post-race trophy party. Join Tom Whidden at our skippers' meeting. Start date: Sept. 2. Register today: http://tinyurl.com/43fhc3v TEAM SANYA ANNOUNCE VOLVO OCEAN RACE SAILING TEAM Hamble, GBR (August 6, 2011) - Mike Sanderson, CEO and Skipper of TEAM SANYA, the Chinese entry in the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) announced today nine of his eleven sailing team members for the forthcoming VOR and unveiled the team's new look. The Team Sanya crew: Mike Sanderson, Skipper, Cameron Dunn,Watch Leader, Chris Main, Watch Leader, Aksel Magdahl, Navigator, Richard Mason, Helm/Trimmer, David Swete, Helm/Trimmer, Andy Meiklejohn, Bow, Ryan Houston, Bow, Frankie Leonard, Media crew member. Two further sailing team members are still to be announced. In an unprecedented short period of time of just one and a half months, this new entry in the race has managed to recruit a world class team and put their Volvo Open 70 race boat through a refit and re-brand to ensure it was ready for sailing on Sunday 7th August 2011. Mike Sanderson commented on the team he has recruited so far. "Despite starting this campaign late in the day, I am really excited about the team we have gathered together and that applies to both the sailing and shore team. Without realising it, we have a really young and ambitious sailing team - the average age is 33 and I am the oldest at 40! -- Story at: http://tinyurl.com/3qg94qy SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar CORRECTION In Scuttlebutt 3399 it was incorrectly reported that Scott Ferguson took second place in the St Francis Yacht Club's Heavy Weather Slalom event. Ferguson took third while Ben Richardson took second place. SAILING SHORTS * The overall winner in the Melges 32 class of the 30th Copa del Rey Audi Mapfre in Palma de Mallorca, Spain is the all-American crew of owner/helmsman Jason Carroll aboard Argo. Carroll's team of talent included tactician Cameron Appleton, Anthony Kotoun, Scott Norris, Charles Swanson, Lindsay Bartel, Peter Crawford and Andrew Koch. Since the first day of the championship, Carroll led series. The team of Carroll and Appleton defended their leadership from the attacks of John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti, who won the final race. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/446dyfa * The Laser Masters Worlds kicked off in San Francisco on Sunday, hosted by the St. Francis Yacht Club. The Masters fleets, divided by age, are comprised of seasoned Laser sailors from 35 to over 70 years old. This particular event hosts 240 sailors from 25 countries in seven classes on two side by side race courses. An elite line up of competitors includes Grand Master John Andron (former America's Cup crew), Master Scott Ferguson (2009 and 2010 Masters champion and AC wing designer), and Olympic Medalist Russ Silvestri. Racing continues through Saturday August 13th. -- Report at: http://www.sflaserworlds.com/page/Laser-Masters-Worlds * GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF) has issued its 2011 Mid-season Update for the marine industry. Bruce Van Wagoner, managing director of the Marine division at CDF cites year-to-date results across the nation despite challenging regional weather conditions and an overall "mixed" macro-economic climate. Wholesale shipments in units are up 16% through May, and retail registration data on a like data set through June is indicating a slightly improved overall market performance compared to the same time frame last year. -- Full story: http://www.boating-industry.com/output.cfm?id=2812483 GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum *From John Sangmeister (re, Day 1 World Series, Cascais, Portugal): Congratulations! Thought it was a great first day despite the challenges. Clearly you still need windy venues for compelling television. Crowds would help too. The onboard live footage was much more interesting than the commentators or animation. Finally, the show could use some humor. Bob Roles is the clown of the TdF and Jeremy Clarkson makes Top Gear. Some personality with a mild case of tourrettes (like Blackaller RIP) would be a great addition. * From Leland Smith (re, Scuttlebutt 3399): Stadium sailing, Americas Cup viewing, formidable challenges, and some sound out-of-the-box solutions; but something doesn't ring true. What's the end game here? Providing a couch potato option? I'll take college football any day I'm not sailing. Getting people into high speed catamarans? If that's what we want, OK, but I'm guessing not many Butt readers have that in mind. Getting people into racing? Probably, but not realistic, any more than the Super Bowl gets people into amateur football leagues. What seems realistic to me is the possibility of someone watching a sailboat race, seeing a great Catalina commercial, buying a Catalina 27 (as an example), and getting out on the water. A friend once observed that two boats cruising in the same area in the same direction will soon be racing. Promote sailing and let nature take its course. We all love to sail, don't we? No solution here, I know, but let's rethink starting with a mission. * From Charlie Leighton (re, Scuttlebutt 3399): You gave the names of three of the US Sailing Board nominees but there is a fourth Shannon Bush. From my former vantage point as a Executive Director, like the others, is an outstanding nominee. A most competent and tireless volunteer responsible for running many of our Junior Championships. * From John Glynn: I'd like to think that North Sound, Virgin Gorda, BVI (just off Bitter End Yacht Club) is perhaps the best venue for stadium sailing. Consider this: it's 3 miles long by 1.5 miles wide. It always blows "the long way." And it pretty much always blows 13-19K (considerably more in the winter, a little less in the summer). It's protected by reefs and small islands, yielding flat water. Halfway down the Sound is a large beach with over 100 lounge chairs, ideal for viewing the racing on the Sound. And that beach has a bar. The water temperature is 80+, and the air temperature is 85+, so the racers and spectators are both "photo friendly." * From Gunther E. Hering, Hamburg, Germany Sailing has always been a sport for participants, not spectators. We want to sail and compete on open water, enjoy the breeze and the freedom of the sea. If promoters want to turn sailing into a stadium sport in order to pay for professional sailors, then send them to the Roman Coliseum and let them duke it out up to last man standing. But please spare me the nonsense of having to bow to greedy promoters and TV execs and their minions in my sport. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION You know times are tough when Exxon-Mobil lays off 25 Congressmen. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Vineyard Race - Point Loma Outfitting - North Sails - APS LaserPerformance - Ullman Sails - Gowrie Group - Quantum Sails Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
