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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 916 - October 5, 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.
CODE GREEN "We will be going out ahead of a low which could become a monster low. If we sail fast ahead of it, we may have good winds all the way. If the low catches us we will be fighting 15 foot seas and winds up to 50 knots. Earliest departure from the dock at Chelsea Piers is now 8 am Friday," Fossett concluded - www.fossettchallenge.com
VOLVO OCEAN RACE Knut Frostad, the chief dragon analysed the situation: "SEB is the most interesting case. Don't write them off. They are either in heaven or hell. As I know their navigator pretty well, Marcel van Triest who sailed with us last time (on Innovation Kvaerner in the 1997-1998 Whitbread), they will take this opportunity all the way out. It will be a hero or zero result. They are right now the closest boat to the new wind, but so far they have been just about 30 miles too late to get it. We have models showing them 300 miles ahead of everyone in a week, and other models showing them 100 miles behind. It all depends on how much time they need to get to the wind along the African coast /where it is strongest at the moment). At the same time, maintaining good speed through variable conditions is very critical."
STANDINGS:
WEEKEND WARRIORS
MINI TRANSAT Shortly after stepping from his boat, Yannick Bestaven admitted to being tired and very hungry. His tiredness was a direct result of the pressure he was put under by the leading gang of four as they took turns challenging for the lead. "Right up to the end I was sure I would be caught by Arnaud - this pushed me on to stretch myself for the finish. I spent a lot of time listening to RF1 for the news of the race positions and this is how I learned about the sad news of Roberto. It is very sad and there but for a slip go any of us". - Offshore Challenges website. Complete results: www.offshorechallenges.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From George Bailey (re late entries): I find this concern a bit odd. No entry filed by the deadline is "late" or in any other way inappropriate. If the deadline was not set so as to enable the staff to do what they need to preparing the race, then it was set too late. That problem would seem to have an easy solution. If you do not want to turn away people who you suspect will race but only if they can register the first day of the regatta, charge them more than those who register earlier. I have no objection to a higher charge for the inconvenience I case the race staff by registering late. My constant, unpredictable schedule changes requires my doing this, since otherwise I will be registering early and not going some of the time. Better to pay a surcharge for registering late. I do that often, BTW. But, if the deadline was set earlier, I would meet it and race if I could (or not and not). * From Bill Elmer: While I am certain that the concerns of race organizers in getting timely entries in is valid, especially when the numbers are large, there are two examples (and maybe more) of popular weekend regatta's run in the Pacific NW where you need to do nothing at all in advance.Just show up, register (for a very nominal fee since it's Canada and not real money), party, race, party, and race.To make sure people stick around at the end, some very nice prizes are drawn by raffle and you have to be there to win.These are the Cowichan Bay Regatta and the Maple Bay Regatta, both with around 50 boats, dinghies to 50 footers, juniors, all spread through multiple classes.At Maple Bay they even run separate courses.The Canadian's seem to know enough about the expected attendance to get the right amount of food, booze, bands, etc. together, make the class splits the first morning, with the result that the competitors have more fun than any "long lead" regatta I have ever attended over my many years of racing.We go back year after year, sometimes we win, and sometimes we get spanked (like this year) but the fun is in the event and the relaxed atmosphere, not when you register.
QUOTE /UNQUOTE - Volvo Ocean Race "It's very uncomfortable onboard. It must be about 40 degrees (104 degrees Fahrenheit) down below, and some of the fans aren't working. There are some very sweaty bodies!". Ross Field, Team News Corp "I wish that I would hear the nice flow of water down the side of the boat but instead we have the slamming and banging of code zeros and mainsail and the BG instruments are showing 1 knot windspeed." - Mikael Lundh, djuice dragons
FOR THE RECORD "Mandarin, departing New York in December, had mostly westerlies and northerlies for the first 9-10 days, and fresh breezes, including a full gale, to drive her south," Wilson said in an email message from his boat today. "With downwind being her strong suit, she really legged out the miles in the early going, and we've had to fight to catch up. We had a 500 mile two day run that brought us back into contention. "When we left New York on September 19, we had the wind against us and continued to beat into southeasterlies for essentially the first nine days. Great American is now on course and sailing south in the northeasterly trades, logging speeds of 12 to 15 knots, as her crew looks for the best path through the doldrums, which lie ahead. The attempt to break Mandarin's record is the latest education adventure program from Wilson's Boston-based sitesALIVE! website. The program enables Wilson and Biewenga to share their experience with schoolchildren by linking to an accredited curriculum delivered on the Internet to classrooms throughout the United States and Australia. - Keith Taylor, www.sitesALIVE.com
POW The higher winds during the afternoon tested team's boat handling skills, but even the leaders were challenged. In the final match of the day, Long Beach Yacht Club's Scott Dickson (after aggressively forcing his opponent high on a downwind leg) broached his J/22. His quick recovery found his spinnaker wrapped around the masthead. The chute rather stubbornly refused to come down and for a short time, spectators were at a loss to see how the sail could be saved. In an impressive demonstration of seamanship and boat handling, Dickson and crew, Tony Stuart and Charlie Ogletree laid their J/22 on its side as if it were a Laser. One stood on the keel while Dickson remained at the helm and one crewman swam to the masthead and untangled the Gordian spinnaker. Amazingly, the sail was unharmed. However, the Windex was less fortunate. At the daily debrief, the umpires proudly presented Scott with a mangled Windex and $20 with which to buy a new one. Results after day two, with 6 of 9 flights completed in the second round robin: Watch Hill YC - 14 points Long Beach YC - 12 Seattle YC - 12 Southern YC - 10 Fort Worth BC - 8 King Harbor YC - 8 E. Greenwich YC - 6 Larchmont YC - 3 Southwestern YC (women) - 2 Southwestern YC (men) - 0. www.ussailing.org/championships/POW/
SMILES PER DOLLAR
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
J 44 NAs The J44 Class maintains 16 sets of class sails that are rotated each weekend throughout the fleet "The unique format keeps the sails fresh for several seasons and keeps the cost down allowing owners to participate in high-level big boat racing at a reasonable cost per regatta". Class Director Tom Castiglione explain's; "The class replaced the mains and spinnakers after four long seasons this winter and our genoas after 3 seasons last year. We have quite a bit of buying power with 15 owners participating in the One Design Class and the savings per boat is considerable. - Tom Castiglione
FINAL RESULTS:
MUMM 30 WORLDS Some proved to be a little too anxious.Eleven boats were OCS in the third race of the series, and none returned around the end of the start line as required by the I-flag flying from the Race Committee boat.Two races were sailed in wind from 3-7 knots.The tacticians had a tough day contending with 20 degree shifts, and numerous changes kept the Race Committee working hard under a hot sun. Several protests were filed as the result of a pile up at the leeward mark of the second race of the day, with rather loud rule discussions in many languages carrying across the water. A third race for the day was not signalled, as the wind was dying more with the sinking sun. Three races are scheduled for tomorrow, with possibly a fourth if the wind cooperates.
STANDINGS after four races:
SPONSORSHIP After previous long time sponsor Telstra gave up the race earlier this year, the club placed all its sponsorship activities in the hands of a major international sporting group. - Rob Mundle, Grand Prix Sailor Full story: www.sailingworld.com
INDUSTRY NEWS Net sales for the thirteen weeks ended September 29, 2001 were $144.0 million, an increase of 3.6% from net sales of $139.1 million for the same period a year ago. Comparable store net sales for the latest thirteen weeks increased 2.5% compared to the same period a year ago. Net sales for the thirty-nine weeks ended September 29, 2001 were $422.0 million, a 0.4% increase from net sales of $420.4 million for the same period a year ago. Comparable store net sales for the latest thirty-nine weeks decreased 0.7% compared to the same period a year ago. West Marine also announced that, in spite of the slowing economy and the recent tragic events in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, they expect to meet the high end of their previous earnings guidance of $0.28 to $0.30 per share. Full story: www.sailsail.com/news/news-article.asp?Articleid=7252
THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM |
