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SCUTTLEBUTT 2631 - Thursday, July 3, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. WINNING WEATHER PREDICTIONS FOR THE CHICAGO-MAC by John Gallagher, Sailing World Every other year during the 330-mile Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac it seems the fleets spend at least half a day becalmed and drifting under the center of a slow moving high pressure system. If such conditions lie in store for this year's Chicago-Mac, skippers who understand the interaction of gradient winds with shoreline thermal breezes will have a competitive advantage. While satellite weather equipment can forecast the size and movement of a high, racers still need to decide where they want to be with respect to the shoreline when the system arrives. Shoreline thermal breezes develop as the result of shoreline land heating up above lake temperature during the day and dropping below lake temperature at night. Sea breezes are directed onshore and land breezes, offshore. Both thermals initially develop perpendicular to the shoreline. Gradient wind is wind that develops from the atmospheric pressure gradient around a high pressure center, often called cyclonic air flow, and around a low pressure center, often called an anti-cyclonic air flow. Wind flows clockwise around the center of a high and counter-clockwise around the center of a low. Air movement is strongest near the center of a low and weakest near the center of a high--that's why a forecast of light and variable winds frequently accompanies the arrival of a high pressure system. While lows typically follow the path of the jet stream, passing fronts can dramatically change the direction of the wind. -- Read on: http://xrl.us/jvbga LOCALS CONTINUE TO LEAD IN MARSTRAND Marstrand, Sweden (July 2, 2008) - The fourth event of the World Match Racing Tour continued with sunny skies today for day two of Match Cup Sweden, but the wind did not. Nonetheless, race officials from the Royal Gothenburg YC (GKSS) valiantly shifted courses in the fiord to suit the morning easterly offshore breeze, then to the westerly sea breeze which never built above about 7 knots. In all, 7 flights were completed in the day's schedule. The shifty breeze seemed to suit the Scandinavian teams most familiar with the DS37's used in the competition, as Dane Jes Gram-Hansen and his Trifork Racing Team won five of seven matches today to take the lead on a 7-3 record. With only one flight left in his eleven-match Round Robin, this guarantees him a place in the next stage of the competition, the Quarter Finals, to be sailed on Friday. Also going to the next stage on six wins each will be Swedes Magnus Holmberg and his Victory Challenge Team, as well as yesterday's leader Mattias Rahm and his Stena Bulk Racing Team. Round robin racing will be completed tomorrow in day three of Match Cup Sweden, with four flights scheduled for the afternoon. More sunny skies, warm temperatures, and light winds are forecast. -- Complete report: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/82502 Results (Round robin completed when each entrant has 11 matches): 1. Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN), Trifork Racing Team 7 - 3 2. Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge 6 - 4 3. Mattias Rahm (SWE), Stena Bulk Racing Team 6 - 4 4. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team 5 - 2 5. Peter Gilmour (AUS), PST Team 5 - 3 6. Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Alandia Sailing Team 4 - 3 7. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team 4 - 4 8. Sebastian Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge 4 - 4 9. Ian Williams (GBR), Team Pindar 3 - 4 10. Damien Iehl (FRA), French Match Racing Team 3 - 5 11. Ben Ainslie (GBR), Team Origin 3 - 7 12. Paolo Cian (ITA), Team Shosholoza 0 - 7 HUTCHINSON & CO. EXECUTE PERFECTION ON THE MED Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy (July 2, 2008) - A pair of well won victories on the Gulf of Cagliari by Terry Hutchinson (USA) and the crew of the TP52 Quantum Racing not only earned the American boat the overall lead on the Audi MedCup Circuit 2008 today, but sees them just one point behind Mean Machine (MON) the leaders of this Audi Region of Sardinia Trophy regatta. While Mean Machine posted a second and third from an interesting day's racing which, despite the slightly one sided courses, proved a good test of starting, upwind and downwind strategies, Quantum's two near identical starts and the ability to earn the lion's share of the favored right early in both races, was the key to their twin successes today. Said Terry Hutchinson, on the team's performance at the third MedCup event, "After Marseille we worked on my starts at the windward end of the line. Ian (Moore, GBR, navigator) and Morgan (Larson, USA, tactician) have done a good job of their analysis of stuff, and when push comes to shove then there are certain times when all of us have to do our jobs on the boat and it's good to be able to do it. But it's a really good fleet. It's the end game we are focused on. We need days like this to win races but then follow up with another good race. A lot of things have to happen well for us." Hutchinson explained. Going into Thursday's Coastal Race, which effectively offers double points, the top two boats have already built a decent points cushion in the quest for the Audi Region of Sardinia Trophy. After five races Bribon lies in third place, 17 points behind Quantum. -- Full report with results: http://2008.medcup.org/news/?id=262 "SINN FEIN" AWARDED SECOND STRAIGHT LIGHTHOUSE TROPHY Congratulations to Ullman Sails customer Peter Rebovich and team on Cal 40 "Sinn Fein" who snatched up multiple honors at this year's Newport Bermuda Race, including the prestigious St. David's Lighthouse trophy for the top finisher in the IRC division. Sailing with full Ullman Sails inventory, this is the second consecutive time the team has won the Lighthouse trophy. "Sinn Fein" also won the Class 1 division for the fourth consecutive time and was the first to receive the North Rock Beacon Trophy. For the "Fastest Sails on the Planet," contact a local Ullman loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com => Curmudgeon's Comment: As mentioned above, Peter Rebovich's Cal 40 took top honors in the entire 123-boat St. David's Lighthouse Division, a category of the race which allows a limited number of professional crew, but only amateurs are permitted to helm the boat. However, they were also the first boat ever to win the North Rock Beacon Trophy, which was donated this year by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club for the winner on corrected time among all of the boats in both the St. David's and the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Divisions, with the later group allowing an unlimited number of professionals aboard, including professional helmsmen. -- http://www.bermudarace.com WANTED: RAIL MEAT Ask any skipper about the best way for an inexperienced sailor to step into the vibrant Bay Area racing scene. The response is quick and surprising. Who wants to be rail meat? The age-old tradition of new sailors pairing themselves up with captains for use as movable ballast continues at yacht clubs all over Marin, CA. "Think of yourself as a big sandbag," said former rail meat CJ Spady of Sausalito. "Skippers need you, because of your weight, to sit on the rail and keep their boats from heeling over too much. Over time, while you are keeping out of everyone's way, you observe. Then you become a sandbag who can do something." - Jan Pehrson, Marin Independent Journal, read on: http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_9767780 LIMPING BACK FROM PACIFIC OCEAN DEFEAT (July 1, 2008) It is the tenth day of the Victoria to Maui International Yacht Race, and Kevin Reath's Beneteau First 40.7 Something Wicked is now safely ashore, having arrived in San Francisco late last night after having lost her rudder. Here is an email from Something Wicked as she limped her way to shore: "We have our emergency rudder lashed in forward position and dragging a drogue that is fastened to the boat as follows. Spinnaker pole lashed across the push pit with either end sticking out sides of boat. At each end a rope that goes back about 20 feet and forward to a winch. When we want to steer to port, we take up on the port line to the drogue or ease the starboard line. For fine tuning we use the mainsail sheet. Works not badly, certainly not as good as having a functioning rudder on a wheel! But it works. "We have been on 12 hour email reporting to San Francisco coast guard; last evening they increased reporting to 6 hours due to seas and face we were taking on our beam. They obviously thought there was a greater danger of a roll over. We did not as long as we did not get hit by a rogue wave. Of course it is pitch black with no moon. "We think the rudder stock may have been bruised when the boat hit the rock in Enterprise Channel. The hull would have flexed and the bearing may have bruised the stock. Carbon fibre is stronger than stainless steel but it does not like to be bruised. It will be interesting to see the broken off part when SW comes out of the water. "First thing I called for after the rudder was gone was to check to see if we were taking on water where the rudder stock protrudes through the hull. A Beneteau 40.1 on the east coast sunk when it lost its rudder and left a large hole in the hull. A relief when I saw no damage or water. We monitored it closely thereafter and now infrequently. As my late father would have said, 'It could have been worse.'" -- http://www.vicmaui.org/index.php?page=Interface.Home SECOND CHANCES Katie Abbott is getting a second chance at Olympic glory. The 21-year-old Sarnia, Ontario woman and her two teammates just missed qualifying (in the Yngling class) for the Beijing games following an equipment failure during their first sailing race together in February (at the class world championship). But thanks to an invitation issued by the International Sailing Federation, the Canadian women's team will fill a vacant spot at the August games. "It's really come as a breath of fresh air for all of us," she said of the news, which came last week. It's a chance to prove what they can do and overcome the frustrating turn of events in Miami (at the worlds) when the upper shroud on the main mast broke 10 minutes before the start. "It was a bit of a shocker for us," Abbott said. "Sailing is a mental game and that was something we had to deal with the best we could." The three-woman crew of Abbott, Jen Provan and Martha Henderson came together just days before the Miami event. But they have a few races under their belts now, including a 7th place finish at an Olympic regatta in Holland in May. -- The Observer, read on: http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1096527 JK3 and the SAN DIEGO BOAT SHOW What better place to explore the energy and excitement of the summer boating season then the San Diego Summer Boat show! The show is July 24-27 at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina, Harbor Island, San Diego. Stop by and say hi to our team and check out the J/Boats line, the Rivolta Coupe 4.5, and the Delphia 40 GT. For more information on new boats, used boats, or similar lines, visit our website at http://www.jk3yachts.com or give our office a call at 619.224.6200. Hope to see you all there! OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN: 37 DAYS TO GO * Americans Ben Barger (RS:X Men), Graham Biehl (470 Men), and Kevin Burnham (Coach) all received some television airtime when they were interviewed for a segment that was aired on NBC Nightly news. What was the subject? You guessed it. algae. Link: http://bentobeijing.com/?p=144 * In the ISAF World Sailing Rankings released on July 2nd, the final World Ranking release before the Olympic Games, Australia reclaims the lead of the national standings from Spain with crews occupying three world #1 spots and one #3 spot across the 11 Olympic events. Spain, Poland and Great Britain also count four crews in top-three positions, plus a timely boost for Japan in the Women's 470 and China in the Laser Radial. Among the North Americans with top ten rankings, from USA are Amanda Clark/ Sarah Mergenthaler (7/ 470 Women), Anna Tunnicliffe (1/ Laser Radial), Sally Barkow/ Deborah Capozzi/ Carolyn Howe (5/Yngling), and Tim Wadlow/Christopher Rast (9/ 49er). Among the Canadians are Oskar Johansson/ Kevin Stittle (7/ Tornado), Christopher Cook (10/ Finn), and Michael Leigh (5/ Laser). -- http://www.sailing.org/24226.php?PHPSESSID=9cfc379e1e5686bd61c5e6a800f074e9 MINIATURE YACHTS CROSSING ATLANTIC Camden, Maine - Baldwin, an experienced ocean solo sailing enthusiast and boat builder, and Starr, a local sailor, have developed the first off-shore miniature yachts that are currently in the open sea in the process of sailing from near Maine to Europe, trying to make the difficult trans-Atlantic voyage. The two 4-foot miniature yachts, named Osolomeo and Running Free, should prove to be strong and self-righting and cross the Atlantic Ocean from the East of the United States to the shores of Europe, Starr said. The hulls of the boats are made of foam core covered with waterproof fiberglass. The hull weight is six pounds, the lead ballast is 10 pounds and the boat's displacement 17 pounds. The boats are 48 inches long, with a beam of 15 inches, a draft of 19 inches and a waterline length of 42 inches. The rigs are made of fiberglass and the sails of nylon Spinnaker. The height of the rig above the deck is 32 inches and the sail area is 340 square inches. Earlier this month, the miniature boats sailed aboard the Maine Maritime Academy yacht Bowdoin, captained by Rick Miller of Camden, to Newfoundland. At that point, the boats were placed in the ocean off the coast of Newfoundland and now they are on their way to the shores of France, England or Spain, depending where the wind and sea take them. GPS information is providing data on the journey of the boats. Their intended destination is the Bay of Biscay in France and the estimated date of arrival is early August. -- Read on: http://waldo.villagesoup.com/Sports/story.cfm?storyID=119841 => Curmudgeon's Comment: Not to seem cynical, but to launch the boats off Newfoundland, aren't the ocean currents rather than the wind doing most of the heavy lifting in this transatlantic passage? SAILING SHORTS * (July 2, 2008) For the Transpacific Yacht Club's 13th Tahiti Race, Doug Baker's Mag 80 is projected to finish the 3,571-nautical mile course at about 2:52 a.m. PDT Friday - midnight Thursday in Tahiti - more than two days under the record of 14 days 21 hours 15 minutes 26 seconds set by Fred Kirschner's Kathmandu in the last Tahiti Race in 1994. -- http://www.transpacificyc.org * Interlux Yacht Finishes is challenging boaters to take steps to help improve their local waterfront - and giving them a $60,000 incentive to do it. The Waterfront Challenge will award eight grants of $5,000 to $25,000 to support grassroot efforts by boaters to create sustainable waterfront environmental improvements in their communities. For more information and to apply for a Waterfront Challenge grant, visit http://www.wfchallenge.com * Tantallon, Nova Scotia - St. Margaret Sailing Club will host the 2009 Laser world sailing championships, organizers announced last week. The worlds will run from August 17-September 5, marking the first time the Laser worlds will be held in Canada in 28 years. The event is expected to bring 135 sailors from 60 countries to St. Margarets Bay for the world championships, and about 350 athletes to the masters event for sailors 35 and over. The club previously hosted the 2006 Laser North American championships and will host nationals this July and a qualifying regatta for the worlds in the fall. -- Complete story: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Sports/1064724.html * The 2009 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championships will take place in Buzios, Brazil. The event dates are July 9-18, 2009. Team Canada selection criteria for Boys' and Girls' One Person and Two Person Dinghy entries is now posted online, along with Athlete eligibility details. -- http://www.sailing.ca/news/headline.asp?numNewsID=1472 * Correction: It was noted in Issue 2630 that the Alinghi team would not be competing in the third iShares Cup for Extreme 40s scheduled for August 2-4 and coinciding with Skandia Cowes Week. The defending America's Cup team Alinghi will in fact be competing in Cowes, along with America's Cup challengers BMW ORACLE Racing team and TEAMORIGIN. A total of 11 teams are currently entered. -- Full details: http://www.isharescup.com/container.asp?id=16854 POLYESTER OUT, NYLON HELIX IN. THE PIRATES LAIR HAS IT! Don't like the stink, roughness, and low UPF of polyester moisture shirts? The Nylon Helix weave of Prowik wicking tees is without peers. 50+UPF, superiorwear, and comfort second to none. Increase your regatta sales by carrying the most effective technical gear. Log on to http://www.pirateslair.com/store/index.html for the Mount Gay Rum versions or (888) 724-5286 for team and regatta planning. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: July 4-5 - Marina del Rey to San Diego Race - MDR/San Diego, CA, USA July 4-6 - Robert H. Tiedemann Classic Yachting Weekend - Newport, RI, USA July 5 - Statue of Liberty Race - Atlantic Highlands, NJ, USA July 5 - Toronto Easter Seals Regatta - Toronto, Ontario, Canada View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar => Curmudgeon's Comment: One of the best ways to market your event to sailors and the media is to post it in the Scuttlebutt Calendar. It's a free, self-service tool to get your event information online. PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include Olympians Andrew Campbell (Laser) and Graham Biehl (470 Men) finding familiarity in China, a foiling 18ft skiffs at the 2008 European International Championship in France, complete chaos in Cowes, big bucks on the Bay, Flying Tigers in Long Beach, super sailing spirit in Newport, and a dandy side story from Bermuda. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week's photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0704 * Photographer Peter Lyons sent a selection of images from the US Youth Championships, where it was essentially nuking for the entire event. Nice group shot too: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0703 FOURTH OF JULY In the United States, Independence Day (commonly known as the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. At Scuttlebutt, we will be declaring independence from working, so there will be no newsletter distributed for July 4th. Look for the next issue of Scuttlebutt on Monday, July 7th. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION You know you're a redneck when your lifetime goal is to own a fireworks stand. Special thanks to Ullman Sails, JK3 Nautical Enterprises, and The Pirate's Lair. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
