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SCUTTLEBUTT 2836 - Monday, May 4, 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are Annapolis Performance Sailing, MyBoatsGear.com, and J Boats. THE MANY SIDES OF JERRY KIRBY It's around midday on Friday and the mist is making its way across the rich suburbs of Newport, Rhode Island. Through the grey it's hard to see from one end of a gigantic striped lawn to the other, tougher still to fully make out the mansions obscured on the far side. We're looking for Jerry Kirby. Our car pulls up at the crossroads where Webster Street dissects Bellevue Avenue. Some of the enormous buildings here are five stories high and more, with upwards of 30 rooms, the surrounding grounds usually covering several acres. One stunning property is undergoing some kind of work. A sign on one of the wood panelled walls reads "Kirby Perkins Construction", but the house is empty. We drive further down the street. It's the kind of place mere millionaires might find too expensive, though the moniker "Millionaires' Row" is applied to this and several other streets in Newport. There are tens of these stately manor-like buildings, many dating back to the 19th century and earlier when barons of industry thrived in the absence of an income tax. In today's world many of the properties are worth well in excess of $10 million. Rock Cliff is among the grandest, facing out to the ocean on one side. We conclude our trip up the driveway just as Jerry is coming round from the back garden. "What d'ya reckon?" he laughs as we approach. He is wearing a black t-shirt with a Kirby Perkins Construction logo on the chest and dusty work boots. Jerry has worked on more than 60% of these lavish properties and is the man the millionaires turn to. "I love working on these old buildings," he adds before explaining the structural difficulties of sea-facing doors. “It's crazy isn't it?" he says looking at the enormous mansion ahead of him. "What am I doing here?" -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/Jerry-Kirby => Curmudgeon’s Comment: In case you didn’t know, Jerry is sailing with the PUMA entry on the Volvo Ocean Race. STRONG ATTENDANCE AT BOSTON STOPOVER (May 2, 2009) The Volvo Ocean Race village attendance figures for the arrivals are in and Boston stopover manager Peter Craig admitted he was “stunned” by how many people visited. Crowds of “more than 20,000 people” flocked to Fan Pier to see the fleet complete its 4,900-nautical mile journey from Rio de Janeiro, a turnout that exceeded Craig’s expectations. “I make a living out of this sport and know there is a high level of interest in this sport to say the very least, especially here in Boston,” he said. “But I’d be embarrassed to tell you the figures I predicted for the finish day because we exceeded it by a factor of 10. “On that Sunday (when the first boats arrived), I was stunned. There were so many people on the coast watching. I have never seen anything like that in the US for a sailing event, even in San Diego for the America’s Cup in 1992.” He added: “What fell in our favour is that we had three consecutive record heat days, beautiful weather. That was wonderful. But word is getting out around the New England region that the race is here and I’m confident many more will come by to see it.” To that end, he is predicting bumper crowds for the May 9 in-port race and also the May 16 leg seven departure for Galway. “The big weekends should be around the in-port race and again the following Saturday for the restart,” he said. “I’m not in a position to say ‘there will be 100,000 people’ but I will say it will be far more than the 50,000 to 75,000 people I predicted six short months ago.” -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-5-3-09 * VOLVO OCEAN RACE: Began Oct. 4, 2008, crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. The next event is the Boston In-Port race on May 9th, followed by the 2,550 nm transatlantic Leg 7 from Boston to Galway, Ireland that starts May 16th and is expected to finish by May 23rd. Seven of the eight teams are expected to compete (Team Russia will not compete). Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 STICK SHIFT GEAR SELECTION Sun, rain, sleet, or snow… sailors are like the postman. Foul weather doesn't stop us. At APS we know the key to comfort is wearing the right gear and with an unmatched selection and knowledge-base. We not only stock the gear you need, we are also trained and experienced foul weather gear experts. So when it's time for new gear there's only one shift to follow, coming to APS, The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors. Team gear? Of course! Whether traditional embroidery or the latest technologies like dye sublimation, we can customize just about anything. Details and video... http://www.apsltd.com/c-5536-team-gear.aspx 2009 ICSA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS Boston, MA (May 3, 2009) - The Boston Fan Pier was the place to see and be seen this weekend as the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) held the semifinal rounds of its ICSA/Gill Coed National Championship. The ICSA National Championship Eastern Semifinals and the ICSA National Championship Western Semifinals, hosted, respectively, by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University (both Cambridge, Mass.), were integrated into the North American stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) giving the 36 competing college sailing teams an unforgettable experience. Between run-of-the-mill tourists, locals in-the-know and sailors drawn for the VOR spectacle, those who turned out to support their favorite school had plenty of company along the waterfront with its prime view of the racing on Boston’s Inner Harbor. Light air on day one and a wait for the wind to settle on day two meant each semifinal – teams were seeded into the Western or Eastern Semifinals based on their conference ranking – saw only eight races completed in both A and B Divisions. There was a great show of conference strength by the teams from MAISA (the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association), which saw all eight of its schools qualify for Nationals. All four Boston–area schools (BC, BU, Harvard, and Tufts) qualified, as did Old Dominion University who edged out Vermont by one point to sail again. Winning the Western Semifinals was Yale and winning the Eastern Semifinals was Georgetown. -- Full story and results: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7404 STARTING WILL BE DIFFICULT! By Chuck Allen Annapolis, MD (May 3, 2009) - One thing we learned today: Starting is going to be really hard, there are a ton of good teams here in Annapolis for the J/24 Worlds and it was quite obvious at the practice race today. Showing 30-60 degree wind direction with an incoming tide, basically pushing the boats over the line, and on top of that our wind shots were coming up 25 degrees left of the posted 065 on The R/C. It started to stack up hard toward the pin boat and sure enough a general recall would follow with over half the fleet OCS, maybe knowing it was “a practice start” helped too… I am thinking The R/C may have made a mistake when they announced “we will not call boats back on the next start because it is a practice race…” and guess what happened next? That is right each team jockeyed to keep their bows out and the fleet was over by an average of two lengths, there were some squads that totally launched, the R/C went through their procedures: calling bow numbers, etc… nope-the fleet was off like a heard of donkeys (yes the J/24 is a slow boat). -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7405 AMERICA’S CUP AGREEMENT…A ONE NIGHT STAND By John Burnham Let it be recorded that for one night, April 30, 2009, representatives of Alinghi and BMW Oracle sat together in the same room in support of the same cause…the America’s Cup. Both organizations were sponsors of the Herreshoff Marine Museum’s America’s Cup Hall of Fame event last night at the New York Yacht Club, a celebration of the America’s Cup’s 167 years of competition and a night to officially induct three new members to the Hall of Fame. The club’s model room looked spectacular, and surrounded by full models of nearly every past Cup defender and challenger, more than 300 black-tie guests ate fish or filet mignon while listening to an extremely long yet enjoyable round of slides, video, speechifying and storytelling, moderated by Halsey Herreshoff, president of the Museum. -- Read on: http://www.boats.com/blog/2009/05/americas-cup-agreementa-one-night-stand LAZY JACKS MAIN HANDLING SYSTEM Cruisers love to sail, but one of the problems is handing the mainsail, especially short-handed. How many times have you seen a cruiser with just the Genoa set? This is because, it’s easier to furl a Genoa in a hurry with a furler, than to drop a main. The Lazy Jack system allows for easy handling of the mainsail when short-handed, gathering the sail and keeping it out of harm’s way. For a review of mainsail handling system: http://www.myboatsgear.com/newsletter/200952.asp MOLTO BELLA FOTOS! * Photog master Carlo Borlenghi shared the work of his assistants Bruno Cocozza and Guido Trombetta who were in Italy this weekend for an Audi Melges 20 regatta. Link: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0503 * Master Borlenghi was in Santa Margherita, Italy for an International Maxi Association event. This photo gallery was mentioned on Friday, and has been further enhanced during the weekend. -- http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0501a * Leaving the Med for some Formula 18 racing on the Atlantic side, Pierrick Contin provides a gallery from Eurocat 2009 in Carnac, Brittany, France: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0503a ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK Falmouth Harbour, Antigua (April 30) – The list of boat names is legendary: Titan. Kialoa. Infinity. Sayonara. Morning Glory. Pyewacket. The roster of yachts and sailors who have captured overall honors at Antigua Sailing Week is certainly long and distinguished. And today, on the sixth and final day of competition for the Division A race boats at the annual regatta, a new skipper and boat joined that illustrious list of champions when Charles Dunstone’s Transpac 52, Rio, capped a dominating performance with two more victories to win overall honors for the 2009 edition of Antigua Sailing Week. Rio, a Judel/Vrolijk design built by the renowned Green Marine boatyard in Lymington, U.K., was originally called Stay Calm. Since her purchase by Dunstone a year ago, Rio has been overhauled for IRC competition and had recorded second-place finishes in both Skandia Race Week and in the recently completed Acura Miami Grand Prix, and a third in IRC-1 at the 2009 Acura Key West Race Week, prior to her success in Antigua. -- Complete story: http://www.sailingweek.com/v2/news.php?id=123 Tim Wright photos: http://www.photoaction.com/asw09/asw09.htm SAILING SHORTS * The fate of Russell Coutts' multi-million-dollar holiday home is uncertain after much of the Arrowtown (NZL) house was destroyed by fire on April 27th. Firefighters were alerted by Coutts' caretaker Philip Bancroft, who suffered a heart attack after making the call and died. Builders were several months into the renovations when the house caught fire. Fire investigation officer Mike Cahill said the blaze started after a worker using a blowtorch set fire to dry material in the building's old frame. An ember was fed by an "almost gale force wind" and burst into flames. Coutts bought the property in November 2005. -- Complete story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10570046 * (May 3, 2009) - Having rounded the easternmost tip of South America, the Portimao Global Ocean Race fleet are heading north-west (toward Charleston) along the continental shelf between the Brazilian mainland and the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago with the German duo of Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme holding first place on Beluga Racer with a ten mile lead over Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz on Desafio Cabo de Hornos. As the four boats approach the equator and the Doldrums, weather forecasting is already becoming unreliable and virtually meaningless. -- Read on: http://www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com/?page=news&news_id=282&lang=en * Robby Wilkins, of Lexington, SC, won the 56th Mug Race in a Melges E-Scow, ending 25 years during which the race was dominated by an ever-fancier set of catamarans. Mug Race uses a pursuit start, and runs one-way from Palatka, FL for 38.5 nm along the St. Johns River to its end near the sponsoring Rudder Club of Jacksonville. This year's race (Saturday May 2) had winds that were moderate during the early morning when the monohulls and smaller catamarans were starting. By mid-morning, as the Supercats and RC-27s prepared to start, the winds had lightened. -- Read on: http://e-scow.org/2009files/WilkinsMugRaceWinner.html * The Yachting Cup was hosted by San Diego Yacht Club this past weekend, where 97 boats competed amid 11 one design and PHRF classes. The largest of the classes was the J/105 with 17 teams, won by Bill Logan’s ‘Pholly’ On Friday was the Leukemia Cup, where Rick Goebel’s J/105 ‘Sanity’ beat out 44 other teams to win the overall title. -- Results: http://www.sdyc.org/yachtingcup/results.htm * In conjunction with the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR), the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) is hosting a drawing competition to create the VOR boat of the future. Entry deadline is June 6th, and the winners will be announced June 25th to coincide with the launch of the new IODA website and the start of the final leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. -- Details: http://www.cloosweb.com/newIODA-3/volvo * After three days of racing and well over three hundred races, the 2009 British Open Team Racing Championship for the Wilson Trophy came to a breathtaking finale on the marine lake at West Kirby Sailing Club, when in front of a large crowd of enthusiastic spectators who had packed the grandstand and lined the promenade, local heroes West Kirby Hawks overcame the visiting US team from Larchmont Yacht Club in a wild and windy five race final. Sailing for Larchmont was Tim Wadlow and Ery Wadlow, The FLEA and Dani Neri, and Danny Pletsch and Carrie Howe. -- Complete report: http://www.wksc.net/wilsontrophy/results.asp * The board of creditors for insolvent German shipyard Dehler accepted a bid from German sailboat builder HanseYachts AG to acquire its brand. -- Soundings Trade Only, read on: http://tinyurl.com/STO-5-3-09 J BOATS LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE DESIGN The new J/95 is here…a 31’ performance daysailor with “big boat” feel, J acceleration, and 3’ draft. Even with the board up, she can sail 6.5 kts upwind in 12 kts, tacking through 85 degrees. The wheel steering and twin rudders provide fingertip control, and the cockpit seats eight. Wow! -- http://www.jboats.com/j95 CASE CLOSED ON FATAL HAWAII CATAMARAN ACCIDENTS (Honolulu, HI) - The U.S. Coast Guard has released a Report of Investigation for each of two fatal catamaran cases that occurred less than four months apart two years ago in Hawaii waters. A 13-year-old male passenger died aboard the Na Hoku II off Diamond Head Dec. 1, 2006, and a 48-year-old male passenger died aboard the Kiele V off Kaanapali, Maui, March 25, 2007. In both cases, the masts of the sailing catamaran failed in strong winds and the victims were struck and killed by the collapsing masts. In April and May 2007, Coast Guard inspectors boarded all 59 inspected sailing vessels in Hawaii to conduct detailed examinations as a result of the two fatal cases. Of the 59 vessels inspected during that “surge operation,” 41 passed without discrepancies but discrepancies were uncovered in the remaining 18. Of those 18, 11 vessels were found to have serious deficiencies that required action before the Coast Guard would approve the resumption of sail operations. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/CG050309 SAILING QUEST TESTS COUPLE'S SKILLS AND BOND A thousand days at sea — that was the couple's dreamy plan. They'd crisscross oceans aboard their 70-foot sailboat, the Anne, never making landfall, never resupplying. It would be an inspired adventure, which they viewed in different ways. The voyage "is an experiment in the psychology of what it takes for humans to live in a dangerous situation, isolated and self-sufficient," Reid Stowe told The Associated Press, speaking from the Anne in the rugged South Atlantic, with the satellite telephone line dropping several times. His crewmate Soanya Ahmad, now back on dry land in Queens, N.Y., where she's raising the baby son conceived on board, sums up the trip in a phrase: "A voyage of the heart." That's the title of a book she's writing. It's quite a story, with an ending that's still to be written, and a middle full of thrills, perils and even a quest for a world record. The story's beginning has a quirky, almost Hollywood quality. Ahmad was a 20-year-old college student when she first met Stowe a half dozen years ago. She was photographing Manhattan's West Side waterfront where he had docked his rugged, homemade schooner at Pier 66. "He invited me aboard. It was my first time on a sailboat," says the daughter of ethnic Indian immigrants from Guyana, both accountants who raised her and her two brothers in Queens. "Reid was looking for someone to go with him," says Ahmad, "And at first, I said no. But then..." -- The Examiner, read on: http://tinyurl.com/d9rj9a * It was Day 741 on May 3rd. Here’s Stowe’s website: http://1000days.net/home THE BILGE WAS MY BABYSITTER How many people had their first sailing experiences in the bilge of a boat? Your parents thought it would be neat to bring you sailing at a young age, but pretty soon you were down below by the bilge, leaving you to wonder why they hadn’t just left you at home. Do you have a memory like this (and have worked through therapy)? Everyone that submits their “The Bilge Was My Babysitter” story is entered in a raffle sponsored by McLube and could win some of their Hullkote speed polish. Raffle to occur May 4, 2009 at 9am PT. Post your story here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7361#7361 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Adrian Morgan: Regarding Leslie Valmadre's observations (in Scuttlebutt 2835) concerning the evil machinations of the dastardly Swiss (I'm surprised they weren’t also called gnomes or cuckoo clock makers). For a start there is no call for comparisons between an Iraqi propaganda minister and heads of America's Cup syndicates (I expect the former would sue for defamation if he could). As for the sport being one for sportsmen and sportswomen, it reminds me of a quote from an old shellback, often quoted in relation to the America's Cup in the "good old NYYC days" before rule jimmying became prevalent: "Yachting is a sport of gentlemen, and you can't be too careful dealing with gentlemen..." * From David Barrow: OK I give up!!! I do not want to hear anything more about AC or RC, BB, LE, and EB. When the rest of the world markets are up to 50 percent down do we really care about the incredibly boring court activities of these gentlemen. It would be very interesting to see the result of a Scuttlebutt poll on losing AC news from content for a while, but I bet soap opera type addiction will win the day. As has been proved time and time again, unless the Cup is held under independent management to provide a level playing field for the competitors we will always have the defender manipulating the system. It could well be that EB has learnt well from NYYC in the good old Newport days. Nobody can say this has not happened before. Just remind me how did we end up with a 130 footer racing another boat with two 65 foot hulls? Not that particular event was NYYC issue as far as I can remember. The document behind the trophy seems flawed and now so devalued that one has to wonder why we are all still fussing around it so much. Time to move on perhaps? Permanently!!! Yawn CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION I went to the museum where they had all the heads and arms from the statues that are in all the other museums. Special thanks to Annapolis Performance Sailing, MyBoatsGear.com, and J Boats. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
