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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 931 - October 26, 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.
AMERICA'S CUP In the Prada Auckland operation base - where the shore team has been working since the end of September - there are now three yachts at the dock: the two black Young America USA 53 and USA 58, and one Luna Rossa which was shipped directly from the UK. The team has also two Tom 28s, small one-design yachts, to "play" with in tough match race practice sessions. After six months away spent training in warm Mediterranean waters, Francesco de Angelis and his team were able to get a taste of chilly spring Hauraki Gulf conditions over the last few days sailing one of the two Young America boats. Right now the shore team is working hard on preparing Luna Rossa for her launch, hopefully some time tomorrow. The weather conditions in Auckland have been quite unstable lately, with a number of low-pressure systems and fronts approaching New Zealand. We are still in late spring and the teams will have to wait a few more weeks for warmer and drier sailing days. The plan over the next few months in New Zealand has been outlined and discussed in detail. Francesco de Angelis and his team will go through a very intense training session, both at sea with tests and in-house racing, and on land with daily workout sessions, de-briefings and analysis of the work done. Team Prada will be in Auckland approximately until the beginning of March. From April-May, with the summer season approaching in the northern hemisphere, the team's activities will relocate to Italy in preparation for the launch of the two brand new Luna Rossa yachts that will compete in the next challenger selection series. You can follow team Prada's progress in Auckland by logging onto their website which is updated on a regular basis. Alessandra Ghezzi, www.prada-americascup.com
VOLVO OCEAN RACE Despite the victory, Kostecki is adamant that his boat has plenty of potential still to tap. "With all the boats basically similar in speed, sails will be keen. You can always improve. We have a long list of ideas," he said. While Illbruck works on refinements, Amer Sports One must address fundamentals before the second leg starts to Sydney on Nov 11. Some key components, the sail locks at the top of the boat's mast, were held up in America after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks and Dalton was able to test them for barely an hour in no wind before the start in Southampton. During this leg they pulled out of the mast. Conditions could not be more unpleasant for those still struggling to Cape Town. "It is freezing on deck, spray everywhere and the boat's coming off every second wave," Newscorp's co-navigator, Ross Field, said. With the race determined on points, not time, Field and Fanstone slowed Newscorp down in order to avoid damage as they were under no threat for third place. "The crew are sleeping on the wet sails because you can't stay in your bunk," Field said. "We're third by a good margin and don't want to break anything. What a way to finish. We're not complaining, we could be back 200 miles with Tyco and get it worse there." - Tim Jeffery, The Telegraph, UK Full story: sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/
POSITIONS, October 26, @ 0358 GMT:
JOHN KOSTECKI...ILLBRUCK...KAENON POLARIZED - EVOLVE OPTICALLY
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Andy Rose: Enjoyed the excerpt from Tom Ehman's tribute to Chuck Kober. Two things about Chuck were especially important to me. First, his personality---for those that didn't know him, you might think he was a dry, if efficient sailing administrator. In fact, not only was he an excellent sailor but his attitude was terrific. I crewed for him a couple of times in larger boats and there were some mornings that just cried out for a Bloody Mary. Under Chuck's leadership, we answered the call. Chuck was a lifelong supporter of Stanford University and Stanford sailing from the days when it was tough to get two sailable FJs on the line, to today's excellent program. He meant a lot to me for his help to us when I was a student, and his friendship has meant much throughout my life since then. I will miss him. * From Liv Sherwood - Ottawa, Canada: Chuck Kober will be missed around the world. Over my 25 years at IYRU/ISAF many fine sailors represented US Sailing. Chuck and, before him, Lynn Steadman were two of the most admirable persons I have known and been proud to count as friends. Your great country could not have been better represented.
AWARDS "Andy's service to sailing spans four decades and includes service in the trenches of our committees," said the committee that nominated Kostanecki. The committee noted that he previously served as a US Sailing officer (treasurer and vice president), and provided "leadership of our successful Olympic team in Korea." Kostanecki also served national and international leadership roles as an officer of the United States Olympic Committee, and as representative to and committee chair of the International Sailing Association Federation. He was awarded the ISAF's gold medal in 1996 for outstanding service. To a standing ovation, Kostanecki accepted the award. "I have always thought that the best awards are those that include the names of your peers from years past and years to come. But in this case as I read the names of those that have preceded me, I am reluctant to call them my peers. After all, these are the giants of our sport and I consider myself lots of things, but a giant from within my sport is not one of them." Those who nominated him would surely disagree. "In each and every job, Andy was a leader and served us with distinction," the nomination continued. "He is the only sailor to have ever been elected by all 44 Olympic sports as an officer of the United States Olympic Committee. On the international level, Andy served as Chief de Mission for the recent Sydney Paralympic Games. Sailing's positive reputation among the leadership of America's Olympic family can be traced to Andy's outstanding twelve years of leadership on our behalf." The Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy was donated in 1957 by the National Marine Manufacturers Association and is awarded annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in this country in any associated activity. - Penny Piva Rego, www.ussailing.org
MORE AMERICA'S CUP One World Challenge is suing a former employee, alleging that he tried to sell its design and crew secrets worth $US2.5 million ($6 million) to a rival United States syndicate this year. One World has not identified the individual, even though he has now been named in court papers filed in Seattle. He is expected to contest One World's statement of facts. The court has yet to process all the legal documents, so his name is not publicly available, and Ratliffe refuses to identify him. One World was alerted to the former employee's actions by San Francisco syndicate Oracle Racing, which said it had been offered information "improperly" obtained. - NZ Herald Full story: www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/
QUOTES FROM THE BOATS "The sea state is the biggest factor in riding out a gale and this sea is very nasty indeed. It has no uniform pattern and as we have just moved into the dark hours, the helmsman has an even harder time of steering a smooth course through the waves. He is not driving for maximum speed right now, but to balance our heading with a reasonable speed without stressing the boat too much. Sat down below the motion is horrendous, requiring all your effort to move around and even to stay where you are when the boat launches over the steepest of the waves. You can occasionally hear a muffled cry of 'big wave' or similar from the helmsman to warn the guys on deck to hang on. When you hear this you know that two or three seconds later thousands of kilos of solid cold sea water will crash over the boat producing a very violent slamming motion. The boat crashes into the trough behind the wave and leaves everything including the keel vibrating from the shock loads, you can feel the big 6 ton bulb moving around on the fin for several seconds afterwards during which time the talking stops and a few nervous glances are exchanged." The crew of Tyco
THANK YOU MR. GREENSPAN
WORLD DISABLED SAILING CHAMPIONSHIPS Although attendance by foreign competitors has been affected by heightened national security in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks (cancelled flights and difficulty in obtaining entrance visas have been the most significant problems), many notable competitors will be on hand. - Jan Harley Regatta information, photos and results are available online at: www.spyc.org/WorldChampionships.org
SPECIAL OLYMPICS
FORMULA WINDSURFING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
STANDINGS - Men:
Women:
HULL NUMBERS
* USA-66 Stars & Stripes, Being built at New England Boatworks in Portsmouth, RI Full summary: www.hauraki-news.com/
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
