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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 679 - October 31, 2000STAN HONEY(As a navigator, Stan Honey is best known for winning seven Trans Pacific Crossings (California to Hawaii) including setting the monohull record for Los Angeles to Hawaii and San Francisco to Hawaii onboard the turbosled, Pyewacket. Along the way, the 45-year-old Honey has also set the single-handed and double-handed (with Paul Simonsen) records to Hawaii. Four year ago, Stan and his wife Sally Lindsay Honey (two-time Yachtswoman of the year) won the West Marine Pacific Cup overall, sailing their Cal 40, Illusion, doublehanded. Now Honey is about to navigate Steve Fossett's PlayStation in The Race. John Gregg interviewed Honey for a story now posted on the West Marine website. Here are a few excerpts from that piece.) West Marine: I'm assuming that no one sets out to be a navigator, so who were your major influences in sailing & racing? Honey: Oddly, I was interested in navigation early on. Even while I was racing Lasers and 505's in high school and college, I was also navigating ocean racers. I navigated my first offshore race, using celestial navigation alone, when I was fifteen, on Al Martin's Lapworth 50, Sumatra, out of Los Angeles Yacht Club. My interest in navigation grew from an early interest in mathematics, astronomy, sea stories, and my dad's stories of his experiences as a navigator. The major influences on my sailing came from the stalwarts at Los Angeles Yacht Club: Morgan Cox, Willard Bell, and Al Martin for seamanship, and from Ben Mitchell for navigation. Ben was particularly supportive as a navigation mentor, even when we were navigating boats that were competing with one another. WM: What will it take to win The Race from a tactical point of view? Honey: The first running of The Race will likely be a durability and seamanship contest between the boats. If it evolves that there are two or more boats that are able to actually race the entire way then the critical tactical issues will be handling the weather systems and not falling a weather system behind. WM: Do you find it frustrating to navigate fast multihulls due to the narrow range of wind angles where they sail efficiently? Honey: No, the wind angles just make it a more challenging puzzle for the navigator to work out the optimum course. WM: What is the Zone of Death in a multihull, and how do you avoid it? Honey: The "Zone of Death" in a multihull is the range of wind angles where there is no easy "exit" from being overpowered, by turning either into or away from the wind. It is approximately on a beam reach. You can avoid it by sailing higher or lower, or you can deal with it by sailing conservatively on that angle. In any event the main traveler and headsail sheets are always handheld. WM: What's the most frightened you've ever been at sea? Honey: I've never been very frightened while actually at sea, there is too much to do in dealing with the situation. It has sometimes been frightening; however, to think back over certain events and consider what might have happened. WM: The Race, as I understand it, has no southern navigational limits, which greatly increases the dangers of running into icebergs. If you were responsible for the course of The Race, what you do differently? Honey: The nature of these Multihulls makes it tactically undesirable to sail deep south in any event, so it is unlikely that a rule imposing a Southern limit is necessary. - John Gregg, West Marine website. Full story: http://www.westmarine.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ExecMacro/news.d2w/report?article=nws_sailing61_1.inc EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS RIGHT HERE! The last time you bought a sail did you ask about the cloth? Sailcloth.com is a new web site by Bainbridge International designed especially for the boat owner and sailor. It is packed full of easy to follow information and handy tips to explain why you should be talking to your sailmaker about a better quality cloth. http://www.sailcloth.com VOLVO OCEAN RACE (Paul Cayard takes a look at the next Volvo Ocean Race in the event's magazine. Here are two excerpts from that overview currently posted on the V.O.R. website.) Going to sea in the Volvo Ocean Race is a bit like going to war. Underlying everything is a massive amount of planning, and that is what all of the syndicates who hope to be there next September are doing now. Then there is the ordnance, the choice of high tech weapons which will be needed to do the job, and the training to ensure that everyone knows exactly how to make everything work on the day and in every condition. In the last race EF had a winter training facility in Portugal, in addition to a home base in Sweden, and it played a significant role in our eventual success. It has been interesting to see that a similar approach has been adopted by both the Illbruck team, where John Kostecki is in charge, and Gunnar Krantz's new Swedish challenge. The addition of a move to Australia by John is a clever one and should give them an extra benefit. They will spend time on part of the course they will race, they have the opportunity to dive south into Southern Ocean conditions. And they are participating in the Sydney to Hobart race at the end of 2000. Time on the water, in race conditions, is what everyone is aiming for, and there is nothing that can adequately substitute for that when the pressure is on. * But, when the chips are down, the latest depression is howling through at 50 knots plus, every bit of the boat and square metre of sail is groaning with the strain, and torrential spray is soaking not just everyone on deck but those attempting to sleep in miserable blackness below, you are back to trench warfare. And that is when all rests not on clipboards and planning, but the sheer determination and bravery of the front line troops... - Paul Cayard, V.O.R. website Full story: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/magazine/00/newsletter_PaulCayard_1027.html LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. -- From Tom George - A friend of mine asked me recently, " Don't you think that it is strange when you go to a regatta that the booze is free, but you are charged for the soda." Regardless of the simple answer that alcohol companies have traditionally provided a great deal of funding and support for the sailing industry, I think that regatta management should include some parity at the bar for non-drinkers. In a sport that is constantly challenged by the image of leisure enthusiast versus hardcore athlete, this is an easy way to start defining our sport. So when you are dragging a keg down to the hoist, try to remember to throw in a couple of sport drinks or sodas, because everyone gets thirsty but not everybody drinks. -- From Gavin O'Hare - The ISAF is looking at different ways to handle team race protest procedure (Appendix D). The current policy is to have umpires make calls only when the protestee does not exonerate himself and the protestor flies yellow flag, asking for judgment. Team racers are experienced and understand the rules. In this manner, competitors govern the majority of conflicts on the water without the aid of umpires. Umpires are passive. Another option is to have umpires make calls any time the protestor raises a protest/red flag. This takes away the opportunity for sailors to sail by the rules and make their own decisions on the water. Perhaps this style is simpler to follow for a spectator. THE RACE Since its launch on October 12th, Code 1 has been on its maiden outings in the bay of Trinite-sur-Mer. Even if Code 1's skipper and crew are aware of the power available to them, these first few sorties (four so far) have not yet delivered the thrills that everyone is so looking forward to. Most of the crew, recruited from teams taking part in the sixty-foot multihulls circuit, are champing at the bit to experience the wild, exhilarating rollercoaster ride that the maxi cat can provide. These first outings have been made in light winds, and the boat is still officially the responsibility of the Multiplast yard (final handover will be around November 10th). This is more a time for fine tuning. "In these early runs, we are trying to evaluate the boat's performance," explains Loic Lemignon. The crew must be attentive to the slightest noise or movement of the giant cat that might indicate a minor adjustment to be made or a modification to some part when they return to port. Jean Maurel, project manager for the three sister ships Club Med, Code 1 and Team Adventure, acknowledges that the process of fine-tuning has been easier on Code 1. "The second time is always easier," he says, alluding to the boat's 'big sister' Club Med. "This time we have had less difficulty with the settings, such as the reefing system which had to be modified on the first boat." The feeling of sailing aboard Code 1 is exactly the same as that aboard Club Med. Blindfold, I couldn't tell the difference," he added. - The Race website, http://www.therace.org/asp/une1.asp?NewsId=944&LangId= DAWN RILEY (Cynthia Goss has written a profile on Dawn Riley for Quokka Sports. Here are two brief excerpts from that story.) * In the new era of the America's Cup - where billionaires are shelling out contracts worth between $125,000 and $250,000 per year for "grunt" positions - one name remains conspicuously absent from preliminary crew lists and management teams: Dawn Riley. The bold leader of the America True syndicate, the one who forced the New York Yacht Club's Young America syndicate to the sidelines last December by sitting out her team's final Round 3 races, announced in early October that she'll sit out the next Cup. Her hand was partially forced. Unable to raise the necessary funds to continue the True cause - to win professional sailing events with co-ed crews - she sold the yellow USA-51 to Craig McCaw's One World Challenge. Riley hopes to reenter the Cup game for 2006, but she's clearly stung by the latest development. For a woman who makes waves in a tradition-steeped sport like sailing, creating new opportunities at the highest level is a fight that Riley says never stops. "If someone slams a door in your face, then I say crawl into the window," said Riley. "Keep in mind that the person who climbs into the window will get scratched, but they'll clear the glass away for those who follow. It's easy to say that I don't get those offers because I am a woman," said Riley. "But I think it's just as much that I'm always fighting for something other than my financial well-being." * Looking ahead, she admits there are days when it's hard to see where the rewards are; there are days when she gets frustrated that she is not offered the multi-million-dollar deals of her male counterparts. But she doesn't consider this recent development a personal setback. "This one does not feel that personal - because I don't know enough billionaires and I think I have become somewhat of a double-edged sword for some of the billionaires. I know I have a lot to offer, but I am a woman and I have a profile. If you are doing this for your ego, why would you bring someone else around you to take away from your profile?" - Cynthia Goss, for Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.quokkasailing.com/stories/10/001020_riley_bio/SLQ_bio_riley_01_WFC.html YACHT CLUBS ON THE INTERNET Over 800 private clubs across the country, including dozens of yacht clubs and sailing organizations, have decided to transform their Web sites into Gated Portals, which are secure, members-only Web sites. Whether you already have a well developed site, or are starting from scratch, LifeCast.com will build, host and maintain your online community. Visit us at www.lifecast.com for more information. AMERICA'S CUP LONDON, UK-British yachtsmen are once again preparing a challenge for the most celebrated prize in sailing, the America's Cup, according to a report in the British newspaper The Sunday Times. Encouraged by the recent British sailing triumphs in the Sydney Olympics, a group of millionaire businessmen are planning to launch the first British bid in 17 years. The consortium has reportedly acquired four old IACC boats to be used for crew training and are confident they will be able to mount an entry in the next race, to be held in New Zealand in 2003. The businessmen expressed hope that this bid would put an end to the embarrassment of Britain's failure to even submit a challenge since 1986. * Commenting on Britain's chances in the upcoming event, Richard Matthews, owner of Oyster Marine said,"It will be a David and Goliath challenge-there are some hugely affluent syndicates involved, so it would take two or three America's Cups to be in a position to win." While these sailing patrons are all extremely wealthy men, they will need to secure sponsorship to raise the minimum L10 million (about $US 15 million)-or more realistic L15m ($US 22 million)-required. - Maria Whiteman, SailNet website Full story: http://www.sailnet.com/collections/news/index.cfm?news_list=ddcksn0355,ddcksn0356,sailne0164,sailne0165&tfr=fp HONORS The University of Florence awarded today the degree honoris causa in Business Economics to Mr Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of the Prada group. The title was handed out by Mr Carlo Vallini, Head of the School of Economics. This important recognition goes to, "A unique example of a captain of industry who has been able to combine in an excellent way certain aspects of the traditional entrepreneur model with typical aspects of the more advanced managerial models." THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done. |
