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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 902 - September 17, 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.
NAUTOR CHALLENGE Dalton said, "We have hard data on the performance of each boat in various conditions. We have taken that data and run it against weather data from previous races. It was close between the two boats. Some years the Frers would have won and in others it would have been the Farr." "We could have played it safe and taken the Farr boat because the Farr people are very experienced designers to the v.o.60 rule and we knew we would have a boat which is equal to the other Farr boats in the fleet," Dalton continued. "The other option was to go with the Frers design because in the testing it has shown the potential to be a hard boat to beat. In the end it was a subjective decision." Frers design team has been the design house for Nautor's Swan for many years. - Warren Douglas and Mark Bullingham contributed to this story, http://www.nautorchallenge.com/
ROLEX FARR 40 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP It was indeed a great performance by the Swiss sailor who scored 15 less place points than the Australian defending champion, the runner-up this year. Bertarelli and his Alinghi team won the first race of the final day and then consolidated their position with a sixth and a second in conditions that were tricky in the extreme. Bertarelli unreservedly praised his crew which included his America's Cup skipper, Russell Coutts as tactician, the Whitbread winning bowman, Curtiss Blewett, and the Cup winning trimmers, Simon Daubney and Warwick Fleury. 'This team is really good,' said the new champion, 'they know how to trim. All I do is put the bow straight and Simon and Warwick steer the boat for me.' - Bob Fisher
Final results (9 races):
JUST FOR YOU
ASSA ABLOY * Another new (Assa Abloy) crewman is America's Cup tactician Terry Hutchinson who will be joining djuice dragons from Cape Town. Hutchinson used to race with John Kostecki (now illbruck Challenge's skipper) on America One in the America's Cup and will be a valuable asset to the team, stepping into the role left by Ed Baird on board. - James Boyd, Volvo Ocean Race website. Full story: www.volvooceanrace.org/news/prerace/n0_010914_update.html
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Ed Nygard: The sea is in many ways a metaphor for life. Not many of us who love the freedom of the sea would give up sailing because a storm threatened our craft or our course, or a rogue wave roughed us up beyond all imagination. That does not mean we will not prepare for the worst with parachute anchors and drogues, sensible route planning, weather information and a well found boat; but our choice to sail or not will be made on the basis of our passion for living, not fear. And so all freedom loving people will choose to go on living life to the full, growing and nurturing and loving, all the while wisely planning protection from the occasional individuals with twisted minds and shriveled hearts who just can't stand to see people standing tall, and proud and free, caring for others from whom they can derive no measurable benefit. The only victory for evil is when fear causes us to give up the trip. * From Donal McClement: I am writing this on the day that was designated a National Day of Mourning in Ireland and when the whole Country shut down as a mark of respect to all the victims of this most horrific attack. We in Ireland are well used to barbaric actions by the IRA and indeed most rational human beings would have considered the bombing at Omagh to be the ultimate in depravity. Unfortunately New York beats everything but I am sure that all Americans will rally around and not let the Terrorists win. Life must go on and here in Ireland we are all praying for those who died as well as those who have had to face up to the loss of loved ones * From Jamie Boeckel: As an east coast sailor about to participate in the big boat series I would like to applaud the St. Francis YC and the Big Boat series committee on their decision to cancel the regatta in light of recent events. The atrocities committed in New York and Washington are an affront to our nation and although we are all affected to some extent it is comforting to know that people have put aside their own personal problems to remember those of the victims and their loved ones. We are now confronted with the unimaginable task of rebuilding what has been destroyed and helping those who have been hurt. I would like to take this opportunity to suggest that in lieu of sailing this week that the entry fees for cancelled regattas around the country be donated to some form of disaster or victim relief fund to further help those in their most dire hour of need. If we all participate in some small way the returns will be beyond belief. * From Chris Woods: I applaud all athletes and organizers for their postponements or cancellations of sporting activities at this time. While many will say, "don't let the terrorists stop us from doing what we love." The world must recognize those people whose lives have stopped, or been drastically altered, and show complete support. Here in Westport, CT, a "bedroom community" of New York we have many who were, and still are, at the World Trade Towers. I just came from a noonday church service and saw the weeping and the loss of mothers and children whose lives have all but stopped because those they loved are no longer with us. Now is a time to stop everything, except the rescue effort, and think about how truly terrible this is. * From Christian Fevrier: My mouth is still dry of words after what happened... Please know that I deeply share your feelings, as those of my friends from America. Like millions of Europeans today, I respected the three minutes of silence and meditation at midday... * From Peter Harken: We, as a nation, have a legacy to invoke from a young sailor Admiral, John Paul Jones, but I'll add a bit if I may, as our answer: "To hell with them, we have just begun to fight!" Let's get on with it, and better than we ever have, it's our duty to our country!------ * From Madeleine McJones (In response to Brian DeGraw): Information about the correct size of a U.S. Flag on a boat: Here are the general rules from a very good source in case you need to brush up on your Flag Etiquette. layc.org/flag_routine.htm * From Leo Collin (Re the notes in Butt 900 of Brian DeGraw): The fly [top edge of the flag] should be a half inch in length per foot of the highest truck from the water line and the hoist 2/3 the length of the fly. Translation: Mast at 40' off water line, then flag 20" long at the fly and about 13.2" at the hoist. Further translation (standard sizes) 21" x 14" or larger, 24" x 16" or 30" x 20." Then you have two choices: traditional 50 star flag or the "yacht ensign." * From Chris Ericksen: As I recall from my Sea Scout days, it is never appropriate to fly the flag at "half hoist" when flown from a gaff, as is the case at many yacht clubs. I suppose some may view this as bit of nit picking, but such is my memory. Similarly, a pole-mounted flag flown from a building, such as the kind many of us have at home, should not be slid down the pole; to indicate mourning, a black ribbon may be laced through the top grommet of the flag. I recall well a flag so adorned flying from my home in 1963 to commemorate the death of President Kennedy. It is important to honor the dead, make no mistake about it; but it is also important to honor our flag in accordance with established flag etiquette. For anyone interested, flag etiquette was codified by the U.S. Congress; the regulations are available online: www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html. Sadly, while the regulation addresses flags flown from halyard-equipped flagpoles that extend from a building, they do not address flying a flag from a gaff; the best source of that, and other nautical flag etiquette, is probably Chapman's "Piloting, Seamanship & Small Boat Handling."
CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT "The size of a nautical flag is determined by the size of the boat that flies it. On the fly, the ensign should be a minimum of one inch of flag for every one foot of the boat's overall length. The hoist is two-thirds the length of the fly. Fly the ensign from morning colors (8:00 a.m.) to evening colors (sunset) whether the boat is at rest, under sail, or under power. There are exceptions to this rule. The ensign is not flown by a boat in a race, as a signal to other boats. To prevent wear and tear, the flag need not be flown when out of sight of other vessels or when nobody is aboard. The flag is flown while entering or leaving a port, even at night. At morning colors, the ensign is hoisted rapidly before other flags. At evening colors, the ensign is lowered slowly and with ceremony after other flags come down. John Rousmaniere, SailNet website. Full story: www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=sailne0835 FURTHER COMMENT BY THE CURMUDGEON: Rousmaniere correctly points out that ensigns are normally not flown during a race. However, before the regatta was officially cancelled, I know St Francis YC was considering asking competitors to fly their ensigns during the Big Boat Series. I like that idea a lot!
FOR THE RECORD The 53-foot Great American II arrived at Chelsea Piers from Salem, Massachusetts, last week, one day before the tragic attack blocks away at the World Trade Center. The two men abandoned their voyage preparations on Tuesday to provide volunteer support with other helpers at an emergency aid station that was set up Chelsea Piers. The two men are setting sail to introduce sitesALIVE's newest Web-based educational program, Ocean Challenge Live! while simultaneously attempting to break a 145-year-old record set by the clipper ship Mandarin during Australia's gold rush. - Keith Taylor, www.sitesalive.com
IOD WORLDS "The International One Design Class is committed to providing Championships that deliver the highest level of competition between teams in equally prepared boats," said regatta chairman Greg Mancusi-Ungaro. " A World Championship without representatives from our European and west coast fleets is not acceptable. We look forward to rescheduling the event and welcoming all of our competitors to Marblehead." The Marblehead Organizers will work with the International One Design World Class Association and the Marblehead Racing Association to set new dates for the event www.iodworlds.com
NICE!
SMOKE ON THE WATER
E-SCOW NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Final Standings (79 boats- six races with one throw-out):
CANADA'S CUP
ETCHELLS NAs
FINN NATIONALS A dozen expected competitors didn't show because of difficulty getting into the USA. Almost all in the regatta are headed for the Finn Gold Cup which starts in Marblehead next Sunday. The Finn Class considered postponing both regattas but didn't because the membership thought that to do so would be to concede to the terrorists and deny the qualities of human spirit that the Finn symbolizes. Friday's racing was canceled for the Day of Remembrance and Prayer for those killed in last Tuesday's terrorist attacks.
Final Results:
GOOD JOB DAVID
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
