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SCUTTLEBUTT 3237 - Friday, December 10, 2010Scuttlebutt 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: Melges Performance Sailboats and The Pirates Lair. SKY-HIGH APPROVAL RATING Paul Henderson ruled the International Sailing Federation as President from 1994-2004 with a will that was truly his own. As a long time contributor to Scuttlebutt, Paul (aka ‘The Pope’) continues to share his valued observations, as he did this week in a story titled ‘Focus on Heroes and Stop Prostituting the Sport’. While his views have not always been wholly endorsed, they were this time... here are excerpts from some of his fan email: * Paul Gingras: “Paul Henderson's note regarding Olympic Sailing is the most reasoned discussion of the issue that I have come across. I suggest that you reprint it once a month for the next two years.” * Andrew McIrvine, Commodore, RORC: “The 'Pope' still makes a lot of sense. Can we have him back - the present hierarchy seem reluctant to appear above the parapet?!” * Scott MacLeod, Force10 Marketing: “Wow, I hate to say this but Paul Henderson is right on the mark. As I keep telling people (having run a few events in my time) it has nothing to do with the boats, it's the people. Chasing ratings is a very dangerous game that sailing won't win but delivering a better TV product at a much lower cost would be a better strategy.” * Urban Miyares, Challenged America co-founder: “As a former U.S. National Alpine Ski Champion, and ranked the world's fastest downhill (total) blind skier, I know first-hand about the media attraction and how it was focus on me and my fellow skiers first, before my skis or any sponsor's equipment. And, as co-founder of the San Diego Challenged America program for sailors with disabilities, we have a saying that ‘It doesn't matter where we finish in a race, the media will be waiting for us at the dock’.” * Tony Furman: “At last...someone voicing something we in the PR/marketing business have known forever (or shouldn't be in the business!). The idea of having "heroes" is not new to us that have been promoting sports (I'm in the game for over 40 years!), especially in the world of "minor sports" and that is not derogatory, but just a matter of number of competitors in the sport.” * Tatjana Pokorny, Sailing Correspondent: “I do not always agree with Paul Henderson’s strong opinions but this time round a hundred percent! How on earth can ISAF even think of eliminating the Star involving so many of the most popular sailors on the planet? Being based in a country where sailing (and thus we as journalists) always (!) have to fight for space in the media (and believe us, we do!), we are very aware of the fact that we simply need popular names to convince the responsible editors of newspapers and general interest magazines (many of them have absolutely no idea about sailing!) to publish sailing stories.” These comments, along with others, can be read in their entirety on the Scuttlebutt Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10959 REVISED AMERICA'S CUP BID LEAVES SOME HESITANT San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's revised bid to host the next America's Cup in San Francisco is giving some members of the Board of Supervisors pause. The board's budget committee on Wednesday asked for an updated financial analysis before voting on the plan, which shifts public race facilities to the northeastern waterfront. It also commits race organizers, led by billionaire Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, to paying at least $55 million to upgrade and stabilize piers in exchange for long-term development rights on at least two city-owned waterfront parcels south of the Bay Bridge. "There's a little more work - some critical work - that needs to be done," Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said at the close of a 4 1/2-hour hearing. The committee is to meet in special session Monday before a final board vote slated for Tuesday on the city's plan to attract a sporting event projected to funnel at least $1.2 billion into the local economy. "We're confident that after a few more days, support will only grow stronger," Newsom spokesman Tony Winnicker said. Under the deal Newsom's administration finalized Wednesday with Ellison's group, if the team selects San Francisco to host the regattas, it would get development rights and a 66-year lease on Piers 30-32 and a 75-year lease on, and possibly title to, Seawall Lot 330 across the Embarcadero at the foot of Bryant Street. The team would also have the option of paying at least $25 million more to shore up nearby Piers 26 and 28 in exchange for 66-year leases on them. The team will pay "commercially reasonable" rent but be given credit for infrastructure work performed. Newsom's revised bid scraps the city's original proposal to concentrate race facilities along the central waterfront, which had steeper up-front costs and included rent-free leases. The current proposal for the first time includes development rights to Pier 26 and Pier 28. Overall, it would require the port to relocate 78 tenants. Read more: http://tinyurl.com/SFG-120910 OPINION: Local yachting journalist Kimball Livingston remains optimistic. “We’re half a step closer to settling San Francisco’s bid for America’s Cup 34,” noted Livingston. “That’s my takeaway from Wednesday’s hearing before the Budget and Finance Subcommittee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors - my eventual takeaway, I could say, from a meeting that started at 1100 and ran to 1711. Without a vote. Thus the season of torture continues. How many times can you go halfway there without getting there? Yet, it had to be so.” -- Read on: http://kimballlivingston.com/?p=5623 FIVE: America’s Cup event organizers today (Dec. 9) confirmed the receipt of the fifth entry for the 34th America’s Cup in 2013. The official announcement by the team is expected in the coming weeks. The three teams that have been officially revealed as entrants are Golden Gate Yacht Club, USA (BMW Oracle Racing team); Club Nautico di Roma, ITA (Mascalzone Latino team); and Royal Swedish Yacht Club, Sweden (Artemis Racing team). The entry period for the 34th America’s Cup runs November 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011. -- http://tinyurl.com/AC34-120910 MELGES RACING HEATS UP IN FLORIDA Over 25 Audi Melges 20’s are lined up for EVENT 1 in the Official Audi Melges 20 Winter Series. It is only the classes second year in Florida and they are already talking of over 30 boats for EVENT 2 and 3. Leave your boat rigged between Events, race, enjoy the warm sun and enjoy a fantastic new boat - The Audi Melges 20. Stay tuned to melges.com and melges20.com for daily updates and racing photos. If you want to come down for a test drive, call Melges Today! -- http://www.melges.com ADAM WERBLOW’S SECRET TO COLLEGE SAILING SUCCESS By Jen Mitchell, Sail1Design I gave Adam Werblow a call while he was on the road to the Hap Moore Team Race Regatta at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Whether it was legal for him to be driving while on the phone with me we will not get into, but we were able to discuss his beginnings and success with the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Sailing Team. Adam has been at St. Mary’s for twenty-three years as their head coach of the varsity sailing team and recently added Director of the Waterfront to his title. He has lead St. Mary’s to 15 national titles, and his sailors have earned over 100 individual All-American honors. I wanted to get the scoop on how he has kept the Seahawks in the top of the game for so long. Adam came to St. Mary’s in 1988 after graduating from Connecticut College. He knew right away that he wanted to coach a college sailing team and produce the best team in the nation. Although he loved his time in college sailing, and had a wonderful experience as a sailor, he was unsatisfied with his career. He knew the Connecticut team could be great and be a much bigger presence on campus. He had some inspired ideas, but as an undergraduate his voice was not heard by the administration at the school. When an opportunity came to build an amazing boathouse at a very good cost, it seemed too good to be true, but the school turned the chance down. The boathouse would have made a huge impact in sailing at Connecticut College. Adam would not have seen it completed in his time at the school, but he understood how it would be great for the program. With this experience, Adam headed off for a lesser-known school in southern Maryland to create his team. At St. Mary’s, Adam found his perfect counter-point in the then Director of the Waterfront, Mike Ironmonger. Adam explains, “Mike said ‘show me and I will believe you’, and he would carry the rally flag and get things done for the team.” With the help of hard working team members, Adam started to build his team. Notes Adam, “It has been the great partnerships I have had working at the waterfront that has made all the difference in my success at St. Mary’s.” He worked with Mike for 20 years and additionally his assistant coaches have all helped him and the team excel. So, what has kept Adam in college sailing for so long? Read on: http://tinyurl.com/S1D-120910 ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO Miami, FL (December 9, 2010) - Canadian Chris Bake’s Team Aqua, led by New Zealand skipper Cameron Appleton, today won the match racing portion of the ORACLE RC 44 Cup Miami. The close victory over Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis Racing, led by American skipper Terry Hutchinson, also gave Team Aqua the season championship under the match racing format. Hutchinson and Artemis won the start of the race, but Appleton was able to get to the right side of the racecourse and then used the advantage of starboard tack to gain control of the match near the first mark. “Terry did a nice job in the pre-start and won comfortably, but we broke free and took advantage of a right shift the guys saw, and that was the difference,” said Appleton. Although Bake watched his crew win the title from off the boat, he’ll be at the helm for the upcoming owner/driver fleet racing schedule on Friday through Sunday. “For me, with limited time away from work and great passion for sailing, I can’t think of a better format to come out and test my skills,” said Bake, who’s been in the class since its inception. -- Full report: http://www.rc44.com/en/regattas/news/index.php?idContent=2716 ORACLE RC 44 Cup Match Racing Final Standings 1. Team Aqua (UAE), Chris Bake/Cameron Appleton 2. Artemis Racing (SWE), Torbjorn Tornqvist/Terry Hutchinson 3. Mascalzone Latino (ITA), Vincenzo Onorato/Francesco Bruni 4. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS), Maxim Logutenko/Evgeniy Neugodnikov 5. Team Sea Dubai (UAE), Harm Müller-Spreer/Markus Wieser 6. BMW ORACLE Racing (USA,) Larry Ellison/Russell Coutts 7. 17 (USA), William Douglass/Jimmy Spithill 8. No Way Back (NED), Pieter Heerema/Ray Davies 9. Katusha (RUS), Guennadi Timtchenko/Paul Cayard 10. Ceeref (SLO), Igor Lah/Rod Davis 11. Ironbound (USA), David Murphy/Ian Williams 12. Peninsula Petroleum (ESP), John Bassadone/Inaki Castaner 13. Islas Canarias Puerto Calero (ESP), Daniel Calero/Jose Maria Ponce 14. AEZ RC 44 Sailing Team (AUT), Rene Mangold/Christian Binder POPCORN: Moviegoers can follow the racing with Live Ticker and Virtual Eye: http://www.rc44.com/en/live/index.php THE TOUGHEST LEG If the first ocean sprint from La Rochelle to Cape Town wasn’t hard enough, life for the five solo Eco 60s competing in the VELUX 5 OCEANS is about to get a lot tougher. Howling winds, freezing temperatures, mountainous seas and icebergs await the fleet as they leave the comfort of Cape Town on December 12th and head into the bleak expanses of the Indian Ocean bound for Wellington in New Zealand. It is here they will encounter some of the worst weather conditions known to man - and they will face them alone. More than 7,000 nautical miles, and countless obstacles, lie between the skippers and their next port of call. One man who knows firsthand the dangers and challenges that lie ahead for the ocean racers is VELUX 5 OCEANS race director David Adams, a veteran of two editions of the race and winner of class two in 1994 event, then known as the BOC Challenge. “Ocean sprint two is probably the most physically demanding,” David explained. “It’s a very tough leg. It’s cold, it’s dark, it’s wet, the sea is a nasty green colour and it is ferocious. For the whole sprint these sailors will be down in the Roaring Forties and the Screaming Fifties. “It’s a very daunting challenge, but it is also the reason you do this race - good speeds, big surfing waves and the weather is behind you pushing you where you want to go. There are the high points and the low points but then there’s this whole other factor to content with: the ice. There are icebergs out there but nobody really knows where they are. You’ve got to be watching all the time, and that’s a real problem.” -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/1209a/ SCOREBOARD: American Brad Van Liew is the current leader of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, which provides points over the course of the five ocean sprints. The VELUX 5 OCEANS skippers will be racing for their share of a 500,000 euro prize pot. Details here: http://tinyurl.com/2csxua7 NOOD, MOUNT GAY RUM, ULTIMATE SAILING, GILL, AND PROFIT Incredible deals on great Christmas gifts at The Pirates Lair! Use promotional code SCUTTLEBUTT for a 10% discount on your entire online order. Visit http://www.pirateslair.com/SFNT.html or call 888-724-5286 to outfit your yacht club, regatta or team. PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include RC44 glam, star power, family time, winter time, bowsmanship, anchor skills, and five seconds to go. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/1210/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK The nine event 2010 World Match Racing Tour concluded last week with its richest event, the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia. Leading into the finale, there were four teams - Adam Minoprio (NZL), Ben Ainslie (GBR), Torvar Mirsky (AUS), and Ian Williams (GBR) - that had a mathematical chance to unseat Tour leader Mathieu Richard (FRA). With it all on the line, this week we have several videos that highlight how aggressive match racing on the Tour can be. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/10/1210 BONUS: Chairman Peter Harken of Harken Inc sits down with Host Jim Peck of Milwaukee Public Television for a lengthy interview about the history of his sailing hardware company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSc5Qcdvpc0 SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com 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 Ginny Jones: (re, 2010 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year in #3236) Rob Douglas comes from Martha's Vineyard.... Nantucket is the OTHER island. * From Urban Miyares, Challenged America co-founder: In Scuttlebutt No. 3236 ("Sad Story")...truly a sad story of the sinking of the ship Raw Faith. But what is also sad is the journalism and the heading of the article mentioned: "...ship designed for wheelchair-bound sailors..." Makes one hope that the sailors in wheelchairs were surely not aboard and tied (bound) to the ship when the tragedy happened. Not very nice as, again, the person is first, whether it be the media or describing of people/sailors with disabilities. * From Ray Tostado: I am a bit puzzled regarding the current conversations of race course configurations. Some endorse the purest courses of ‘windward-leeward’, while others support the inclusion of reaching legs. None of this conversation has mentioned, even once, that designers are the real arbiters of race courses. Some boats are designed to point well, others to reach well, and others to surf. A marketer’s dream world is having a design that dominates in all of these wind angles. Seems obvious that the course selection should favor the majority fleet members with similar performing boats. Or, as has often been incorporated, very specific separate fleets and special courses for them; almost bordering on one-design ratings. True one-design fleets have no such crisis in supporting one course configuration over another as how all of the fleet should have optimum chance to win on any course. The local PHRF fleets have the most arguments as how local ratings are adopted by other areas under the guise of equal conditions. Such imagination is quaint as how equal conditions fail to exist out of the realm of still water in a bath tub. This is because most RCs and rating boards have for decades violated the performance standard inherent in the rules set down by the originators of PHRF. And I won’t even get into the fact of cronyism. I suspect they simply do not know how to interpret results. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Great point Ray, and one that will be followed up on next week. * From John Field: In reply to Peter Bowker letter regarding Cal 40s (in Scuttlebutt 3236), note that George Griffith owned the first production Cal 40 named "Persephone". "Psyche" was owned by Don Salsbury and won Transpac with a crew including Ben Mitchell, Wade Hill, Jack Jensen, Connie Doran, George Griffith, and Don Salisbury. The only "factory" person was Jack Jensen. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Famous Last Words...“ Which wire was I supposed to cut?” SPONSORS THIS WEEK Ultimate Sailing - West Marine - Henri Lloyd Melges Performance Sailboats - North U - Camet - North Sails LaserPerformance - APS - Ullman Sails - Harken - The Pirates Lair Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
