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SCUTTLEBUTT 2259 – January 15, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). TIME FOR AN OVERHAUL Larry Ellison's BMW Oracle Racing team is leading a drive to stage the America's Cup every two years instead of four, a switch that may make it difficult for new syndicates to break into sailing's most prestigious event. Most of the 12 teams competing this year are ``strongly in favor'' of a two-year cycle because it would cut costs and provide a more regular revenue stream, said Tom Ehman, a director of the team led by Ellison, chief executive officer of Oracle Corp., the world's third-largest software maker. ``You would get more interest, more excitement, more events in a shorter period of time, more television, more revenue and less money going out the door,'' Ehman, a veteran of nine America's Cups, said in an interview at the London Boat Show. ``It's a much better deal.'' The four-year cycle was designed to give new syndicates time to gather sponsors, boat designers and crew. Oracle and champion Alinghi, backed by biotechnology billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, are each spending more than $100 million on this year's race in Valencia, Spain, where the lineup includes newcomers from China, South Africa, Germany, Spain, Italy and France. Two years would give new teams less time to mount a threat to those who already have their infrastructures in place, said James Pleasance, managing director of Force10 Marketing, which specializes in sailing sponsorships. ``For new challengers to raise the sort of money they need to be competitive against these very well-funded teams, it would be a tighter time frame,'' he said in an interview. ``However, a shorter cycle will boost interest in the cup.'' -- Sam Sheringham, Bloomber.com, full story: http://tinyurl.com/ydjwwj SAFETY AT SEA In light of the growing concerns over safety at sea in the some of the world's high-profile ocean yacht races, Volvo Ocean Race organizers have added a new man-overboard detection device to its Notice of Race 2008-09. Launched at the London Boatshow, the new self-initiated digital-sonar alarm known as the Mermaid id is the brainchild of Matt Hazell - managing director of First Light Solutions. Hazell designed the product for the BBC's Dragon's Den programme and in doing so secured £100,000 funding from 'business angel' Richard Fareleight in August last year. The Mermaid id is still very much in its testing/development phase which means that VOR organisers hope to be very much involved in ensuring the product is designed to specifically meet the needs of the competitors of the VOR. In the new VOR Notice of Race the Mermaid id will be mandatory for all crews. Yachting World, full story: http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070012160938ywnews.html NEW RECORD KEY WEST, FLA. (January 12, 2007) – Stars & Stripes, the Custom 60 multihull owned by Steve and Scott Liebel (Bradenton, Fla.), broke the multihull race record in the 2007 Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race. Reporting maximum boat speed at 32 knots during the race, Stars & Stripes crossed the finish line with an elapsed time of 8 hours, 31 minutes, 4 seconds to take line honors, smashing the old record of 10 hours, 11 minutes established in 2005 by Zephyr. This year’s running of the 160-nautical mile race, which began on January 10, was one of the fastest, with consistent wind of 20-plus-knots the entire night, giving the fleet “a fast and fun experience,” as one crew member characterized it. In fact, this is the third time in the past five years that a race record has been broken. Four boats retired early from the race due to damage. The overall IRC fleet winner, on corrected time, was Decision, the R/P 52 owned by Stephen Murray Jr. (New Orleans, La.), which also won the seven-boat IRC A class. The overall winner in the PHRF fleet, Dreadnought, was one of two entries from the U.S. Naval Academy and skippered by Midshipman Burchett (Annapolis, Md.). – Media Pro Int’l, Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race results are online at: http://www.yachtscoring.com LATEST MOUNT GAY RUM GEAR UNLEASHED AT KEY WEST The Pirates Lair and Mount Gay Rum are unleashing their latest product line this week at Key West 07. Rum Flasks, Double Rocks, and moisture wicking shirts top The Pirates Lair's list of Mount Gay Rum gear. Contact us for info on our printed wicking tees, graphics, and general regatta info at http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing THEY’RE OFF A crowd of hundreds came down to the Fremantle Sailing Club to bid goodbye to the five remaining Velux 5 Ocean skippers which began Leg Two through some of the planet’s most desolate and extreme expanses of ocean, round the infamous Cape Horn before finishing 14,200 miles in Norfolk, Virginia (USA). If his mast holds and the keel stays put, Bernard Stamm, the steely Swiss skipper, should have little difficulty in blowing away his opponents in the second gruelling leg of the Velux 5 Oceans Race which starts today in Fremantle. Stamm has been in Australia for 41 days, one day less than it took him to sail the first 12,000 nautical miles leg from Bilbao, which he won despite nearly freezing to death after leaving all his thermal clothing in Spain. The race organizers' decision to put back the restart by a week, due to the late arrival of the other skippers, has given the tiny 43-year-old skipper extra time to tune his Open 60 Cheminees Poujoulat to perfection ahead of this next leg to Norfolk, Virginia, which at 14,000 nautical miles is the longest ever in any race with stopovers. -- Kate Laven, The Daily Telegraph, full story: http://tinyurl.com/y2fldw Event website: http://www.velux5oceans.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE “Few places give me a greater feeling of apprehension than the Southern Ocean, and the leg from Australia to Cape Horn in the Velux 5 Oceans race gives me the greatest. We have to go further south, which means further into the zone of high winds and seas. Ice is always a threat at high latitudes, the sea and winds become a lot colder, the waves higher, and we are in it for up to a month.’ -- Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, http://tinyurl.com/ylsm2a LOOKING GOOD Event director Peter Craig could not have ordered up more ideal conditions for the 20th anniversary of the largest winter regatta in North America. Forecasts call for warm weather, sunny skies and strong winds for Acura Key West 2007, presented by Nautica. People in the Northeast region of the United States are pulling out parkas. Those in the Midwest are dodging nasty ice storms. Meanwhile, as many three thousand sailors will be enjoying 75-80 degree temperatures and 10-20 knot winds on the turquoise-colored waters off the southernmost point of the U.S. -- Event details, entries and results: http://www.Premiere-Racing.com Key members of the America's Cup-holding Alinghi racing team are taking a break from preparations to defend that title by sailing in the Key West 2007 regatta. Ernesto Bertarelli will serve as skipper/helmsman aboard the Farr 40 Alinghi. He will have four members of his America's Cup team aboard, including tactician Brad Butterworth. Mascalzone Latino, owned by Italian Vincenzo Onorato, has returned to Key West to defend its 2006 victory, but he'll be doing it without three-time America's Cup helmsman Russell Coutts aboard.Coutts was tactician during Onorato's wins of last year's regatta and a 2006 Farr world championship, -- http://tinyurl.com/v8jn3 HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE RULES? If you would like to feel more confident about racing near other boats, you should get Learn The Racing Rules! This new two-part DVD, written and narrated by David Dellenbaugh, uses live sailing action and computerized animation to explain all the important right-of-way rules in the 2005-2008 rulebook. Part 1 covers the essential rules that apply whenever boats meet. Part 2 explains the often-confusing rules about marks and obstructions. Each is an hour long and includes the text of all rules discussed. Produced by SEA-TV, it makes a great gift! To learn more or to place an order: http://www.SpeedandSmarts.com SAILING SHORTS * The United States Coast and the US Department of Transportation (in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security) are seeking public input from interested mariners on the fate of the Long Range Navigation System, otherwise known as LORAN-C. At question is whether the system should be decommissioned, maintained "as is," or up-graded to an enhanced LORAN system (eLORAN), which could be used either as a back-up to the GPS (Global Position Satellite) System, or a complimentary system to GPS. Everyone is welcome to submit his or her input, but it has to be received on or by February 7, 2006. -- Full report: http://sailing.about.com/b/a/216045.htm * The Victory Challenge Syndicate’s new AC boat, SWE 96, has arrived in Valencia after a five day trip by lorry from Göteborg. Work to complete SWE 96 will now begin immediately. The boat is to be equipped with winches, hydraulics and electronics. Fin, bulb and mast are to be mounted.. SWE 96 has, like SWE 63 and SWE 73, been designed by Mani Frers (now alongside his father, German Frers). – http://www.victorychallenge.com * With 47 entries in 40 days, the 30th anniversary Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race is off to an incredible start in registrations for the 2007 race. -- http://www.marionbermuda.com * The 6th year of the Brooke Gonzalez Advanced Racing Clinic has been scheduled for June 14-17 at the Sail Newport Sailing Center. The three and a half day program based on the success of the CISA clinic in Southern California is be held in the Laser Full Rig, 29er and Club 420's. Applicants 14 years or older will be selected based upon their resume. Although some boats may be available for charter to out-of-area applicants, it’s best to bring your own boat. Detailed schedule and resume builder can be found at http://www.sailnewport.org/npt/m/_general/cliniclanding.asp * This is the first time anyone has squeezed an America’s Cup sailing boat into the London Boat Show. The BMW Oracle USA-61 juts out emphatically from the tightly packed displays of plush yachts and pleasure cruisers. -- http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2105-2543542.html * Farr 40 Class Secretary Renee Mehl has accepted a position as Vanderstar Chair with the US Naval Academy, and will resign her present duties as at the end of January. Her new job with the USNA sailing program is to help ensure the safety of boats, equipment and teaching methods, and assessing their standard operating procedures on an ongoing basis. * The dormant Port America's Cup is showing the first clear signs of waking up. Some of the teams are away, training in warmer and windier locations, but all of them present here are gradually beginning to fire up their "engines" and get ready for the last Louis Vuitton Act and the all important Louis Vuitton Cup in exactly three months. Valencia Sailing took advantage of a relatively calm Sunday morning to tour Port America's Cup and report on the latest developments from all teams. Some of the photos are very interesting and revealing. -- http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ EIGHT BELLS Phil Drips passed away late on December 23, 2006 in hospital after a year long struggle with various health problems. Phil was the principal race officer or "PRO" for the Waikiki Yacht Club from 1979 to 2005. He was the hardest working Race Officer in Hawaii for over 25 years. Phil was a lead regatta organizer, administrator, and race official for the Pan Am Clipper Cups, Kenwood Cups, Asahi Cups, the Waikiki Inshore and Offshore Series and the Hawaii State Championships for J24’s, Solings and Etchells. In 2005 he was awarded the title of PRO Emeritus by the Waikiki Yacht Club. Over the years Phil has been the Rear Commodore for Sail at both the Waikiki and Hawaii Yacht Clubs. In recognition of his teaching efforts, Phil was named "2003 Yachtsman of the Year" by the Hawaii Yacht Racing Association. Phil last visited the Waikiki Yacht Club December 10, 2006 where he finished the boats in the Phil Drips Day Regatta from his wheel chair for the last time. The Waikiki Yacht Club is planning a proper memorial for Phil Saturday January 20th. Noon scattering of Phils ashes off Waikiki. 1:30 p.m. a celebration of Phils life at the Waikiki Yacht Club. Jim Markey is organizing the memorial. Anyone interested in assisting should contact Jim Markey at 478-5611. -- Michael Roth SEAMARSHALL HAS A BETTER WAY: Keeping your crew from going overboard is Rule One. But all too frequently, man-overboards tragically occur. Only SeaMarshall’s water-activated beacons mated to our new, affordable, direction-finding receiver offer the world’s best system for locating a victim even in severe conditions. Prepare now for the worst case. Contact Chip Barber: mailto:admin@chabrber.com; http://www.chbarber.com/seamarshall.html LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Chris Boome: After being out of laser sailing for over 20 years, I went to a local regatta about 4 years ago and received my "wake up call" as to how much had changed to the laser and to laser racing techniques. One of the things that had NOT changed, was the camaraderie of the laser sailors. Both on the water and later in the bar, I was coached and encouraged by the winner that day. Over the ensuing 4 years the only thing that has changed is that I have I have been fortunate to become better friends with that day's winner, Brodie Cobb. * From Walt Spevak: For the past two seasons I’ve had the pleasure of competing against Brodie Cobb in Laser races and have always found him to be a supportive competitor. On multiple occasions Brodie has shared go fast tips with me on the water both between races and while practicing. He has also provided encouragement to this 52 year old sailor after being thrashed around more than once on the San Francisco city front. In other words Brodie has “supported the needs of the sailors around you” just as described in your January 11th Scuttleblog. * From Dan O'Grady: I’m not sure I agree with Chris Eickson’s comments and conclusion – to give up doing the major regattas. We purchased our first Etchells 3 years ago as the fleet was starting here in Howth (Dublin) and have had some great sailing locally, with a fleet now approaching 30. Two months ago we competed in the Freemantle Worlds and, despite a decidedly average performance by us, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of getting beaten by some great sailors. We learned more and more as the week went on, primarily by observing the top guys on the water, picking their brains on the dock, and loosening their tongues over a few beers. As a fanatical teenage sailor in the 80’s, I grew up devouring everything I could find about the Americas Cup in 83 and 87. To be sailing in the same fleet as 4 of the Australia II crew and competing against a selection of other top professionals (or full timers as I differentiate them) and a few of the current AC sailors made the event for me. Ten years ago I used to sail much more than now. Like many, I am a 30 something (just) with a young family and a business, and sailing is my pastime. There are very few other sports where part-timers compete with the top pros and, just occasionally, we have a decent result. That does it for me. * From Ray Tostado: In issue 2251 letters, I found what is perhaps the best all around portrait of the sailing world psyche. The contents consisted of "Ban the Race"; "Who gets solo credit"; "Inspire kids to super achieve in a adult man sport."; "Producing public interest programming."; and then there are the innuendos suggesting "my way," (RC) or else. This is, to my personal history, within the racing community exactly what I hear at the YC at the end of any event. We carry a lot of baggage with our sport. And it's all about what we, (I), want. Someone please answer how anyone could package this quagmire of personalities as public entertainment to a general television audience. It would seem to me that we ourselves are to blame for not keying in to fully understanding our own sport. Believe me, I am not suggesting that I have the answers which I beg. It would follow that by some manner of conciliation there be born a Quorum of 70, and these august souls would hold general sessions to define the sport as other sports have found definition and success as a media commodity. Perhaps excluding most of our current sport representatives. We need a new mirror. * From Jordan J. Dobrikin: (edited to the 250-word limit) To grow the sport, we need multi-faceted exposure and marketing of the Sport. The Scuttlebutt newsletter and forum are doing their part, but in essence they are preaching to the converted. What is also needed is a way to get people into raceable boats, and then out on the water, participating in local racing programs. TV/Cable is voracious in its quest to fill air time and has spawned many of these ‘Pimp my car’ or ‘extreme makeover’ type of shows. How sailboats getting into the mix? Recreate what Dennis Conner did in San Diego, taking a plain vanilla Cruiser/Racer, and do a ratings optimization/ refit. Extend this into several older/ classic, but relatively abundant, medium priced keelboats and centreboarders. Then test the result(s) by taking the boat(s) out into some local racing, with some "Name" skippers/ crews for added TV interest. The big problem is to get a consortium of stake holders to make the commitment(s) needed to get a pilot and/or a few shows produced, in a format that will lend itself to reruns/ syndication, so as to make a reasonable profit/ return on investment for the producer(s), and then a commitment of some advertising monies to get air time on TV and cable. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION One man practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it." --Knute Rockne, Special thanks to The Pirate’s Lair, Speed and Smarts, and C.H. Barber. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
