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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 822 - May 24, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
SPRING TRAINING Once again the racing season is in full swing. Everyone's had the winter to look at the new rules, read up on the latest tactics, get their sails cleaned or buy new ones, put on the new go-fast gear, and clean the bottom. But that's about it for the one-design sailors. The PHRF sailors get to do one more thing for the entire year, and that's bitch about their rating. There's one glaring omission in the above list of things to do to get ready for a successful season-practice. Of all the things done to prepare, practice doesn't get nearly as much attention as new sails or hot gear. But it's not all this shiny new gear that's going to get you around the course faster. It's being in the right place at the right time to catch the wind shifts and using the tides to leave your competition in your wake. But let's get even more basic than that. What about practicing tacking, jibing, changing sails, putting the chute up and down. Now we're talking getting better. * Whether you're a crew of one or a crew of 10, sailing the boat proficiently will keep you up front. This doesn't mean just sailing around before the start every other weekend to make sure the sails go up and down. This means taking a few hours to practice setting up for mark roundings and what you're going to do after you round the mark. Pretty soon things will get smoother, you'll get faster, you can relax and have some fun on the races, and you'll start getting the occasional trophy. You didn't change the boat, you just got to be better sailors. Of course then someone will complain about your rating. Wouldn't that be great! - Richard Hazelton, 48 Degrees North Full editorial: www.48north.com/may2001/edit.htm
CHALLENGE MONDIAL ASSISTANCE "It's a great start to the season with Alain," said MacArthur, who has teamed up with Gautier on his 60ft trimaran this season, almost certainly as a precursor to her own campaign next year. "It was a very different experience to the Vendee Globe," she said of the race from Cherbourg, around the Azores and back to Tarragona, Spain, "but I am very lucky to be sailing with such a great skipper and crew." Foncia-Kingfisher's winning margin yesterday was just 12 minutes, some 400 metres, from Jean-Luc Nelias's Belgacom in a race notable for its slowness. - Tim Jeffery, Daily Telegraph, UK Full story: sport.telegraph.co.uk/ STANDINGS: 1. Foncia Finished 23/05/01 at 08:15:44 in 10 Days 19h 15min 44s; 2. Belgacom Finished 23/05/01 at 08/27/42 in 10 Days 19h 27min 42s; 3. Groupama Finished 23/05/01 at 12/13/42 in 10 Days 23h 13min 42s; 4. Bayer Finished 23/05/01 at 13/19/17 in 11 Days 00h 19min 17s. - www.challenge-mondialassistance.com
HALL SPARS & RIGGING IS HIRING
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Malcolm McKeag; Here in jolly old England (should that be 'olde'?) the RYA recommended to clubs about twenty years ago that they not charge a protest fee, and most quickly obliged. In twenty years of sitting on protest committees, I have never come across a so-called 'frivolous' protest - although I have come across the occasional petty or even mischievous protest, none of which would have been deterred by the requirement for a fee. Things like 'he wasn't wearing his lifejacket with his oilskin jacket' (a requirement now in some offshore races) come to mind. Certainly, it is iniquitous for sailors to be required to back their protest with a fee, which they forfeit if the protest is dismissed. Well done, US * From: Art LeVasseur (edited to our 250-word limit): It is interesting that US Sailing is trying to ban protest fees on the theory that the right to protest is part of game, but it charges an appeal fee even though RRS 70.1 gives competitors the right to appeal most decisions of a protest committee. The appeal fee is $75 for non-US Sailing members and $25 for members. See the US prescription Appendix F2.1 (www.ussailing.org/rules/Prescriptions.pdf) From a policy perspective I see no distinction between the right to file a protest and the right to appeal the decision of a protest committee under the RRS. Therefore, if a ban on protest fees charged by clubs is appropriate, it should be extended to ban appeal fees charged by regional appeals committees and US Sailing itself. However, irrespective of the merits of the policy, I think that a club that wishes to charge a protest fee can legally do so if it takes the necessary steps to avoid having the US prescriptions apply to its regatta. Under the RRS, the prescriptions of the national authority are applicable "unless the sailing instructions state they do not apply". Since this provision is part of the definition of the term "Rule", it cannot be changed by prescription of the national authority. (See Rule 86.1) If a club wishes to charge a protest fee it would appear that all that is necessary is to include a statement in the sailing instructions that the prescriptions of the national authority do not apply. * From Rich Roberts (Re protest fees): a better way to discourage frivolous protests might be peer pressure. Keep the bar closed until all protests are resolved.
ROLL TACKING First, roll-tacking simply means using moveable ballast (i.e. the crew weight) to assist the boat in turning through the wind. Although the concept sounds simple, effective roll-tacks come from well-orchestrated maneuvers that require practice, coordination, and team effort. Generally, roll-tacking isn't necessary or beneficial in strong winds or aboard very heavy boats, but when the wind is in the light-to-moderate range, almost any monohull, from a single-handed dinghy to a grand-prix racer, can benefit from the crew rolling the boat through the tack. Before you try this, make sure everyone on board is aware that you'll be executing a roll-tack. Then, as the boat approaches the spot where you'll tack, have the crew members in their normal racing positions. In light air, some of them may be below, or laying on the deck. In heavier air, they'll likely be fully hiked. It's important for the crew boss or skipper to communicate what the expected move(s) will be-a big roll, a slight roll, or a moderate roll-particularly if you're tacking near other boats. If the timing between the team members is off, the tack won't be optimized. When we go into a tack on the boats I race, I favor a verbal countdown so that everyone is aware of the timing and can move simultaneously. We count "3-2-1" and turn the boat at 0, or "tack." The idea is to have the crew move to the new leeward side in unison as the boat comes through the wind, effectively rolling the hull, keel (or centerboard or daggerboard), and rudder through the water. In very light air, it's important to heel the boat to leeward just before the tack. If done properly, a roll-tack will feel as though the boat is rolling on top of you when you're on the new leeward side. Then, as the sail is trimmed on the new side, the crew should quickly and smoothly move back to the weather side to flatten the boat. On lighter boats, this actually produces a brief increase in forward motion as the keel, rudder, and sails push against their respective mediums. Then the crew should smoothly return to their normal racing positions. Roll-tacking is beneficial under the water because it helps the keel and rudder re-connect with the proper flow by lessening the drag caused when the rudder is turned independently of the other appendages (keel, centerboard, or daggerboard). What this means is that the lighter the wind conditions, the more effective the maneuver. - PJ Schaffer, SailNet website. Full story: www.sailnet.com
QUOTE / UNQUOTE - Ernest K. Gann
LEWMAR CARBON FIBER WINCH HANDLE
NEWS BRIEFS * KAIKOURA, NEW ZEALAND-An important feeding ground for whales, dolphins, and seas has been threatened after a truck loaded with rat poison overturned on a narrow coastal highway and plunged into the sea, according to a BBC report. The truck had been carrying 18 tons of rat poison, and a small amount of paint, which soon turned 400 square meters of the sea bright green. Officials have warned fishermen to stay away from the area and a temporary ban has also been placed on fish and shellfish. - www.bbc.com
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * June 2: Dave Perry Rules Seminar, 7:30 PM, Alamitos Bay YC, $20 Adults, $8 Students.
MATCH RACING Sweden's Magnus Holmberg of Team StoraEnso and the Swedish Victory Challenge headlines the list of skippers. With three events remaining Holmberg is leading the Swedish Match Tour with 80 points. Joining Holmberg off the coast of Dalmatia is Team New Zealand's Bertrand Pace. Pace is Holmberg's closest challenger for the overall championship crown with 49 championship points entering the regatta. Pace, champion of the inaugural Swedish Match Tour, showed he is on top of his game in 2001, winning the recent Steinlager Line 7 Cup in Auckland, NZ, in March. A strong showing in Split by Pace will add significant pressure to Holmberg with only two events remaining on the Tour. Other skippers lining up in Split include Pace's Team New Zealand boss Dean Barker as well as Gavin Brady of the Prada Challenge, who has sailed extremely well at the last two events on the Swedish Match Tour. Brady was a runner-up at both the Steinlager Line 7 Cup and the Sun Microsystems Australia Cup, finishing second to Pace in Auckland and Peter Gilmour of Team Pizza La and the One World Challenge in Perth. James Spithill of the OneWorld Challenge, Andy Green of the GBR Challenge, Chris Dickson of the Oracle Racing Team and Paolo Cian of Mascalzone Latino are the additional America's Cuppers competing in Split. Danes Jesper Radich and Jes Gram-Hansen, regulars on the Tour, will also be skippering entries. Rounding out the are Karol Jablonski of Poland and native sons Tonci Antunovic and Ante Vanjaka. Spanning the globe, the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour is comprised of eight of the world's leading professional sailing events and is proving to be the ultimate battleground of sailing. In addition to over US$400,000 in individual event prize money, the Swedish Match Grand Prix Sailing Tour awards US$200,000 to the top eight sailors on the Tour. The overall winners are determined by a point system based on a sailor's best six of eight finishes, with the first-place skipper netting US$60,000. - www.sports.com/sailing/
THE CURMUDGEON'S DEFINITIONS |
