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SCUTTLEBUTT 1949 -- October 20, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.DELIVERED TO YOUR MOBILE PHONE All the news and drama of the world's fiercest sailing challenge will be delivered direct to mobile phone handsets around the world following Ericsson's appointment by the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 as mobile partner. This appointment completes the final aspect of the electronic media delivery for the race across television, radio and Internet. A range of news services from SMS positional information and story updates, giving users regular insights into the action on the race track, will be enhanced by video and radio clips allowing the public to experience life on board as never before through their mobile handsets. The mobile portal will also allow people to sign up for a series of arcade style games, which will come on stream during the event, in addition to interactive elements of the service including quizzes and blogs which will enable the general public, as well as the sailing fraternity, to find out about the race, the characters, the destinations and life at the extreme end of ocean racing. Ericsson will also oversee the distribution agreements with network providers through its network of companies around the globe. The mobile service will be available on all handsets. -- www.volvooceanrace.org SHOSHOLOZA RISING 2005 was a year of high peaks and low troughs for the fledgling South African America's Cup challenge, Team Shosholoza. After a remarkable debut in 2004, where the team earned plenty of goodwill and praise for its efforts, not to mention a generous sponsorship, the South Africans came into the 2005 season with a new boat (the first Cup boat ever built in Africa), and a determination to earn points, not platitudes. In Trapani the South Africans really started to strut. With the guiding hand of American Dee Smith, Shosholoza won three matches to take 10th place. That was a good start. In the fleet racing however, the team from Africa was the story. The black boat burst out of the gates with two fifth places and a third, en route to fifth place overall - a very impressive result for any team, let alone one a shy of experience as Shosholoza. Behind them, teams like Luna Rossa, +39 Challenge and Victory Challenge, among others. "We're seeing the progression I was looking for," says sailing manager Paul Standbridge. "We're happy, but obviously there's still a lot of work to do. We have to get better in every aspect, from sails and design, to getting the boat around the course and tactics. But yeah, it's nice to be rewarded for the work we have done." The plan for the winter is to consolidate the gains made this season before beginning to ramp up the sailing programme again in Valencia after February. "We won't be sailing much for the next three months," Dipeere says. "We'll be doing a testing programme for the next month, and then we'll go home for a three-month holiday back in South Africa. We'll come back to Europe next February or March. I think we deserve the time away. But that break won't be a complete holiday. We'll still be doing other events in smaller boats, and doing a lot of work in the gym. "We can only go faster from here. Everyone has seen from this regatta, anyone can win. It gives us hope." -- Excerpts from a story on the America's Cup website, http://tinyurl.com/c8ycw WHOLLY INADEQUATE London (Reuters) - The success of the sailing events at London's 2012 Olympics could be hampered by a transport infrastructure which is currently "wholly inadequate", MPs were told on Wednesday.The sailing events are to be staged at the 7.85 million pounds Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy which was opened in June in Dorset. But the House of Commons Transport Committee were told that not only roads but also rail links were a problem and that Weymouth suffers from "being at the end of a cul-de-sac". Miles Butler, Dorset County Council director, told the committee he felt Weymouth's issues of transport were not receiving the same attention as the issues of transport in London. "The evidence is that we are a little bit off-radar," he said, according to a BBC report."We have not yet seen the evidence that the needs of our area are being given the same attention as the events in London, yet interest in sailing is going to be enormous." The transport committee was taking evidence in its continuing inquiry into delivering transport for the 2012 Olympics. -- Ossian Shine, full story: http://tinyurl.com/8qgc3 ULLMAN SAILS QUALITY INVESTMENT! Why are Ullman Sails the "Fastest Sails on the Planet?" Simple…Ullman selects only premium sailcloth and marine hardware that the sailmaking industry can provide. Ullman Sails combines the latest proven sail design programs with proven construction technique that have an end result of simply the best sails available. Whether you race, cruise, or merely enjoy daysailing, look for top quality sails that combine performance, durability, and service. There is only one clear choice…Ullman Sails. Call your nearest Ullman Sails loft or visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com 2006 AC FORMAT During the Trapani Acts ACM announced that agreement had finally been reached among the Challenger Commission, Defender and ACM on the 2006 Schedule. In a nutshell, Acts 10 and 11 at Valencia in May are the same format as Malmo and Trapani -- a match racing round robin for Act 10, two days off, then three days (five races) of fleet racing for Act 11. Act 12 is in late June and early July, also at Valencia. It is a match racing round robin followed by a semi-finals and finals. But there is added value to the normal format -- there will be three groups racing during the semis based on how they did in the round robin: finishers 1-4 will be the "gold group," 5-8 the "silver group," and 9-12 the "bronze group" (the marketing folks may come up with other group names, but you get the gist). Within each group there will be two semi-final matches, then a final and a petit-final (or consolation final as North Americans might call it). That way all 12 teams race to the end of the event. Moreover, you could stand 12th after the round robin, but win your group semi-final and final and end up, for Act 12, as 9th overall. - Challenger's Commission website, http://www.challengercommission.com/ WINDSURFING Neil Pryde has established a dedicated website for all things RS:X. In addition to the rules and regulations of RS:X racing events, there are also guidelines on how to host an event, write Sailing Instructions and suggestions for the best possible courses in all wind conditions will be posted shortly. Very soon you will be able to post all your own event information on this site and update it yourself complete with pictures and downloads such as the Notice of Race, Entry Form and Sailing Instructions. Additionally, Four time windsurfing Olympian Mike Gebhardt has joined the NeilPryde forum as resident RS:X expert and will be available to answer all your RS:X questions and give advice on how to get the most out of your RS:X. The website also features a comprehensive rigging and tuning guide plus Wallpaper and Screensaver downloads. -- www.neilpryde-rsx.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar KNOCK-OUT ROUND Thursday, American Ed Baird, the ISAF #1 ranked match race sailor and a helmsman with the America's Cup defender Alinghi, is going his first win at the Investors Guaranty presentation of the King Edward VII Gold Cup. "I have never won the Gold Cup before and we would like to make it happen," said Baird. However, Russell Coutts has another idea. Coutts, the returning 2004 champion and seven-time Gold Cup winner is ranked #3 by ISAF. "I am going to go for number eight," Coutts said on his way out to a practice session with his teammates Jes Gram Hansen, Christian Kamp and Rasmus Kostner -- the same team he sailed with in 2004. Ten top ranked invited skippers will face off Thursday against six skippers from the Qualifying Event plus Sally Barkow and Betsy Alison, the champion and runner-up from the Virtual Spectator ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship which has just concluded in Bermuda. Wednesday was a practice day for the seeded skippers as well as for the women's winners who have to transition from J24's to IOD's. Other skippers include, James Spithill, Staffan Lindberg, Cameron Appleton, Chris Dickson, Gavin Brady, Mathieu Richard, Karol Jablonski, Bill Hardesty, Takumi Nakamura and Cameron Dunn. Stage 1 of the Gold Cup tournament is a knock-out round. No team can afford a bad day and for the seeded sailors, in particular, to be knocked-out on the first day is a tough way to go. The first team to win three races goes forward while the loser slots into a 5th-8th consolation bracket. www.kingedwardviigoldcup.com SOPHISTICATED AND UNDERSTATED (Tim Jeffery attended Saturday's opening of Alinghi's new base in the America's Cup basin. Here's an excerpt from his report posted on the Daily Sail subscription website.) Look around Valencia's Darsena harbour, the team bases are quite something. Eyesore prize will go to Desafio Español when theirs is finished, unless you like a head-on assault in lime green. Tops for subtley is Luna Rossa's base, which feted architect and sailor Renzo Piano has clad in super-sized images of sails. For visual weight, you can't miss the BMW Oracle base. Its black smoked glass couldn't be anything other than a car showroom or software HQ premises. Which is why Alinghi's Bastion Blanco stands out. It's sophisticated and understated. The outward leaning front wall immediately separates it from every other base from the road side, and the opening positively invites the public in. In Auckland, the Alinghi base was the most welcoming to visitors. Yes, part of the reason was to combat the one-eyed Kiwi reaction (remember Black Heart?) to Bertarelli hiring Coutts away from TNZ along with his Tight Five (Butterworth, Simon Daubney, Warwick Fleury, Murray Jones and Dean Phipps), but a powerful reason was to make the public more welcome. At the other bases, the only open door was to the T-Shirt shop. So the new Blanco Bastion takes this idea further. Much further in fact. For the public there's an audio-visual information gallery and a cinema with fans and and sound system that gives a real flavour of being aboard. It's not quite IMAX but the sensation of a being in the midst of a spinnaker drop is uncannily real. -- www.thedailysail.com FREE HARKEN WALL CALENDAR FOR '06? Purchase $100 of Harken products to get our new Ultimate Sailing Calendar by Sharon Green. Action packed photographs provide 365 days of pure sailing pleasure: Harken's Howie Hamlin ripping in his 18' Skiff, cross-tacking TP 52s, a Melges 24 scaring the fish, Stars battling the elements on beautiful Lake Garda. The perfect place for logging your weekend regattas and must-see races like the Volvo, Sydney-Hobart, Key West, Farr 40 Worlds. http://www.harken.com/2006sailingcalendar.php LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is neither a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere.) * From Percy Winslow: Me thinks the judges for the US Rolex Yachtswomen of the Year will have their shortest meeting on record this year, now that Sally Barkow has added the ISAF Match Racing World Championship to her 2005 Yngling World Championship and the 2005 Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship. And it won't look good for Rolex if they don't also come up with watches for both Debbie Capozzi and Carrie Howe, who were important team members on all three of those championships. Unfortunately, like the Anaheim Angles, I'm afraid the very talented and deserving Paige Railey will have to wait 'til next year. Maybe it's a good thing that the women's award is a slam dunk, because it gives the judges time to thoughtfully consider who should win the Yachtsman of the Year award -- which looks wide open to me. * From Scott Abrams: I've been sailing on commercial ships for the better part of 30 years, generally on the West Coast to Honolulu Run. I don't dispute the fact that in the future, Kites may be of some assistance to a slow speed, non-scheduled, semi commercial operation. For most companies, schedules are time sensitive, 3-4 hour delays are unacceptable. How hard does it need to blow for a 22 knot ship, to benefit from the use of a kite? Obviously over 22 knots and from the correct direction. Ships don't deviate from great circle or rhumb line routes "to look for a following breeze". They do deviate to avoid predicted adverse weather conditions, which would affect the schedule or the safety of the ship, cargo and crew. How do you explain to the steamship companies, that you saved them "20-30% on fuel consumption" when a ship has travel an extra 500 miles and is a day late, because it was looking for ideal wind conditions! You might have a chance on the New Zealand to Cape Town route, or you may have to wait until Fuel oil is $1000 a barrel. At this time, ships are to big and fast. PS: How do you retrieve a kite when the wind drops off, that is set from the bow and now has become a "Sky Anchor" trailing 900 feet aft, from the stern? * From Jordan J. Dobrikin: I have been under the somewhat mistaken impression that the basic fight between Sail and Power was a matter of propulsion, wave making, & noise pollution. Now it seems it is environmental damage and wasting valuable non renewable resources. In R/C Modeling batteries and electric motors have become a successful and viable alternative to the Internal Combustion. In Boating it is now very feasible and effective for the all electric interior for electronics, navigation, instrumentation, cooking, and even heating. We are now on the verge of effective, competitive use of electric motors for auxiliary propulsion of small/medium sized cruising sailboats. So I ask, "Where's the beef? How should we handle electric and/or electrohydraulic power assist in non-propulsion applications. How about power assist in pumping "water ballast' in racing situations? * From Louie Bartos: I know the book I am mentioning is quite out of date and rudimentary but, some people making comments regarding the possibilities of sail on commercial "cargo" vessels should read the following book to at least get the fundamentals of the problem. Priebe, Paul D., 1986, Modern Commercial Sailing Ship Fundamentals, Cornell Maritime Press. * From Geoff Ewenson: Olympic classes have, in general, set up a different standard for kinetics than the rest of the world of sailing. Classes have set up rules which allow for unlimited body movement, pumping whatever, in conditions over a certain wind range. A few years ago a wise poet and Finn sailor named Patrick Weaver wrote a wonderful piece about the merits of being athletic in a boat that rewards athleticism. In his own tongue and cheek way he speculated that hiking in a Finn is technically using kinetics and we should redesign the boat to have a keel and a wheel and we could sit in the cockpit and duel it out mind against mind. In the end I think he even suggested that all Olympic sailing should be done with the joystick control of RC boats so as not to discriminate against those who are less able to use their physical prowess to overcome their opponents. Until that happens we will all keep going to the gym. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS The shortest sentence is "I am." The longest is, "I do." |
