|
SCUTTLEBUTT 1995 -- December 27, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.BREEZE ON Mike Sanderson's ABN Amro One left the rest of the Volvo Ocean Race fleet for dust as he consolidated his position at the top of the leaderboard with a sizzling performance around the cans in Cape Town. As forecast, the south easterly winds were lively, peaking at around 40 knots and leaving the seas in the shadow of Table Bay churned up like a white water track. While uncomfortable for the flotilla of spectator boats, there were no better conditions than these to show the Volvo Open 70s at their smokin' best. Several boats wiped out in 40 knots of breeze while others ran aground, broke lines and battens but after Brasil 1 won the start, the Dutch boat took the lead early on in the first leg and sailed an impeccable race round the 25 mile track, increasing their lead with each mark rounding to cross the finish line almost seven minutes ahead of second placed movistar. Such domination was a far cry from ABN Amro One's performance in the first inshore race in Sanxenxo where light winds left them floundering in sixth place and it was this reversal of fortunes that pleased the Kiwi skipper most, he said afterwards. Sanderson put their success down to accurate weather advice, good crew work plus one of the best performing canting keels in the fleet. "Charging into a gybe is like driving a skiff - if you get stuck in the middle, it can be pretty scary but to come out at full righting moment is pretty good. We came out each of ours with windward heel and nowhere close to wiping out." This was in stark contrast to fifth placed Pirates of the Caribbean, which wiped out on every lap costing them several places, to skipper Paul Cayard's deep frustration. "We obviously had a lot of trouble gybing and that was very frustrating and cost us second place," he commented. "We could not get the main to come in. Whatever our technique was, we couldn't get the main to come across and as the keel was swinging, the boat became less and less stable so we were definitely doing something wrong. I will have to look at the tapes and figure it out." "That was the most wind we have ever gybed in so we have never been able to practice that manoevre in those winds. We didn't sail leg one and did not have much time to train but even so, we have all sailed in heavy airs so there was something wrong with our technique. Apart from that we were going OK. Losing is never fun, especially when you have been in second place. It was frustrating." -- www.volvooceanrace.org In-Port Race Results: 1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson (NZL) 2. movistar, Bouwe Bekking (NED) 3. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse (FRA) 4. Brasil 1, Torben Grael (BRA) 5. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard (USA) 6. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald (GBR) 7. ING Real Estate Brunel, Grant Wharington/Barney Walker (AUS) Current Leaderboard: 1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson (NZL) 15 pts 2. Brasil 1, Torben Grael (BRA) 12.5 pts 3. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse (FRA) 12 pts 4. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald (GBR) 11.5 pts 5. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking (NED) 6 pts 6. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard (USA) 5 pts 6. ING Real Estate Brunel, Grant Wharington (AUS) 5 pts QUOTE / UNQUOTE * "It was going well until the last windward mark where we broke a reef line and couldn't tack. It took the whole of the last run to get it sorted out. There were a lot of boats wiping out, but it all came down to crew work and how you dealt with the problems." John Kostecki, in-port tactician for Ericsson Racing Team * "Racing a sailing yacht in a fleet race in 40 knots of wind is something extraordinary. I was very interested to see how the keel movement system would perform after the work we have done since arriving in Cape Town. I am very happy because it has worked perfectly. Of course we would have loved to get a better result, but this shows the level of the fleet. ABN One sailed a very good race; they kept it simple, had a good start and were sailing fast." - Richard Mason, Ericsson Racing Team COMMENTARY The crews that will be disappointed with their performance today will be movistar and Ericsson. Bouwe Bakking and Neal McDonald will be wondering what has gone wrong. Ericsson certainly was fast in the light winds of the Galicia In-Port race, but is no match for the ABN Amro boats in 20 knots and more in Table Bay. movistar was the boat with the miles under her keel, but again, she is struggling in the bigger winds. What has Paul Cayard done to make his version of the Farr-designed Volvo Open 70 go so much faster than her design sisters? Bouwe and Neal will be thinking exactly the same thing. - Sacha Oswald, BYM News, http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/22532/48/ CRUSTY SIDELINED ABN Amro One Watch Captain Mark Christensen, aka Crusty, has been ruled out of the Cape Town in-port race and the next leg of the Volvo Ocean to Melbourne after failing to recover for a wrist and arm injury which he sustained during training in Sanxenxo, Spain. Mark, who has endured considerable pain throughout the first leg of the race. It is hoped that he will be back on board for the 3rd leg from Melbourne to Wellington on 12 February. ABN Amro One skipper Mike Sanderson said, "It's always a blow to lose a crew member and someone like Mark is a good guy to have around. However I am really pleased with Crusty's replacements. Christensen will be replaced by two sailors. Italian, Tommaso Chieffi will take over Mark's duties for the inport race. Chieffi has with a wealth of match racing experience including being part of the 2005/6 Italian America's Cup syndicate +39. British sailor Brian Thompson will join the crew for the 2nd Leg of the race from Cape Town to Melbourne. Brian comes from an ocean sailing background and has competed in a number of Open 60 races including this year's Transat Jaques Vabre and last year Brian was part of the crew that won the Oxyx Quest with the maxi-catamaran Doha 2006. http://press.teamabnamro.com HIGH DEMAND FOR LIGHTWEIGHT, BREATHABLE CLOTHING To meet these needs, Camet International has introduced a new line of sportswear to satisfy it's sports-minded and outdoor enthusiast customers. The collection offers an array of possibilities from highly technical products that scream "performance," to lightweight, wrinkle-free products for on-the-water and off-the-water activities. We look for fabrics that move perspiration away from the body, dry quickly, and are wrinkle-resistant; characteristics sought by adventurers and sailors alike. The summer line not only serves a purpose, it is also very fashionable. With solid color schemes, Hawaiian prints, and multi-functional designs. Check them out at http://www.camet.com WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? International 420 President, Nino Schmell has announced that the 2007 ISAF Youth Worlds will not be held in San Diego Diego. ISAF is currently reviewing three countries, being New Zealand, Italy and Australia. It is widely reported that the boat used will be the 420, and not the 29er as originally reported. - Australian International 420 Class Association, http://www.420.yachting.org.au/default.asp?Page=20504 RECORD PROSPECTS GONE WITH THE WIND Wild Oats XI started to assert itself against rival super maxi Alfa Romeo this morning, after light overnight winds frustrated the Sydney to Hobart yacht fleet and dented prospects of a new race record. The leading boats entered Bass Strait this morning, but their progress was initially slowed by a lack of breeze. New Zealand boat Alfa Romeo and Australian rival Wild Oats XI continued to set the pace, with a third super maxi, Skandia, the closest challenger. As the morning progressed and the wind picked up, the two pacesetters pulled well clear of Skandia and fourth placed AAPT. - The Daily Telegraph, complete story http://tinyurl.com/8xsz7 * Light overnight winds have frustrated the competitors in the Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race, with the fleet strung out along the NSW coast in listless, variable conditions as the sun rose on day two. The yachts have slowed right down and whereas day one was a drag race with all the boats clinging to the rhumb line, this morning the fleet is much more spread out. Wild Oats XI has stayed close to the coast while Alfa Romeo and Skandia have gone further out to sea looking for wind. The same tactical decisions are being reflected further back in the fleet, which is spreading out east to west as well as north to south. The frontrunners have entered Bass Strait with helicopter reports showing Alfa Romeo in the lead. While there have been no official retirements, the German entry Conergy is reported to be heading back to Sydney with a leaking stern gland. Frustrating overnight winds have put a record run in doubt. The leading yachts have slipped behind Nokia's 1999 record schedule and with each hour of fickle wind the prospects of them catching her again are fading. 10 to 15 knot north-easter is forecast for this afternoon, freshening to 20 to 30 knots overnight, and if the breeze does pick up early it could be that the record hangs in the balance right up to the 9:30 deadline in Hobart tomorrow morning, but at the moment that is all wishful thinking. Right now, as Bret Filby on Tow Truck put it further back in the fleet: "we've got more current than wind." Earlier, the 85 yachts had described the first day of the race as close to perfect. "This is champagne sailing," said Andrew Short, a veteran of 13 previous races and skipper of the Volvo 60 ABN Amro."I have never had such a great start to the race." Steve McConaghy on Quantum Racing said, "I've never known the seas to be so flat. It's incredible out here." -- http://rolexsydneyhobart.com Line Honours standings at 12:30 December 27: 1. Wild Oats, Bob Oatley, 298.9 miles to finish 2. Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton, 312.1mtf 3. Skandia, Grant Wharington, 341.6 mtf 4. AAPT, Sean Langman, 356.8 mtf 5. Konica Minolta, Stewart Thwaites, 370.7 mtf THE GAME IN CHANGING (Crosbie Lorimer had a short chat with Konica Minolta's Gavin Brady just before he left the dock on the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. Here are a few excerpts from that story posted on the Sail World website.) "Technology is very low in the sport right now when it comes to downwind sails," said Brady. "Really the only teams pushing the limits in sailcloth in this area are these canting keel big boats. The loads on these boats are just that large that when you get a little rip in the spinnaker it just explodes" he said explaining the need to constantly check for wear and tear. You can carry 'spares' but in reality there's an overlap issue. Normally when you break one spinnaker you think, 'now we've got to put up a compromise sail' and sure as hell that will break too!" "In a round the world race if you tore a kite at the end of the day you could take it downstairs and fix it in 12 to 13 hours. But if you blow up the spinnakers on one of these things you just stuff it in the bag because you'll be in Hobart and half way home to New Zealand before you've fixed it. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the theme behind this race and the bad luck stories will be coming from the guys sailing down the coast in big waves. This race will be won by the boat that doesn't break its spinnakers." Brady also explained the difficulties in steering maxis downwind in a big breeze and waves. "In America's Cup boats we've got spinnaker poles so you can set them squarer and that provides more of a push so the spinnaker doesn't load up. But because the rule penalizes spinnaker poles under IRC we've all got bowsprits' he explained. "The problem with a bowsprit is that you can't pull the pole back and consequently all of the sail is to leeward of the centreline of the boat, so these boats have a terrible tendency to want to wipe out." http://www.sail-world.com/news.cfm?Nid=20714&RequestTimeOut=180&hasFlash=1 DYNAMIC SAILS FOR A DYNARIG There's nothing Doyle likes more than a sailmaking challenge - such as engineering the in-spar furling sails for the soon-to-be-launched 285-foot Maltese Falcon, a groundbreaking square-rigged superyacht. Maltese Falcon's three freestanding carbon-fiber DynaRig masts feature 15 pushbutton-controlled, internally furled squaresails - a challenge that Doyle sail engineers met with, well, better engineering. Look for more on the innovative Maltese Falcon in the months ahead! 1-800-94-DOYLE; a technical paper on the DynaRig and a look at Maltese Falcon is at: www.doylesails.com/maltesefalcon.htm 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. 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. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Donal McClement, Crosshaven, Co. Cork, Ireland: At long last some sensible comments about IRC. I suppose one could say that Barry Carroll has a vested interest but Richard du Moulin's letter ('butt # 1994) is so correct. It is worth remembering that IRC (formally Channel Handicap) was not designed to Rate the 'no compromise flat out' racer. I was to give the 'Ordinary Owner' a handicap system that would fairly rate a wide selection of cruisers and cruiser/racers at a reasonable cost. The fact that the System copes with such a wide variety of different boats is a testament to the people in the Royal Ocean Racing Club Rating Office and their opposite numbers in Paris in UNCL. I am sure that Barry and his team at US Sailing will very quickly be able to have a greater input into the System which will continue to improve it. Richards assertions that you can have lots of funs at zero cost are very true and indeed the IRC is no so refined that I believe we are now at a situation that Race Results are achieved along the lines of 5% the Boat, 25% Boat Preparation 25% sails and 45% the Crew and not as many people seem to think 90% the Boat. * From Ted Livingston: Hark, hark to Commodore du Moulin! A voice of reason and experience. Thank you, Sir. * From Frank Whitton: I find it difficult to call IRC a measurement rule. Weighing the hull and measuring the overhangs isn't much of a measurement rule. As Greg Stewart pointed out in the previous Scuttlebutt put the ballast in the bulb. Stability is not a measured parameter for IRC. * From Dave Moores: Barry Carroll has it dead right when, in comparing PHRF to IRC, he says "For thousands of sailors who are looking for a measurement system that removes the subjectivity of crew skill and local committees and is international in scope, IRC seems to be doing a good job". Despite its widespread use, PHRF has huge issues with subjectivity, parochialism, and the inability to factor-out crew skill and boat tuning from a design's inherent performance. This is especially true for a design that is a one-off in a given PHRF region. Based on my experience here in Ontario, each PHRF region behaves like a petty European principality of the Nineteenth Century, setting its own ratings with little regard for what other regions may have already concluded. What's needed for PHRF to survive is a continent-wide normalization of ratings based on shared results-data. Failing that, let's find a way to make an IRC rating no more costly to obtain that a PHRF rating. Just see what happens then! My guess is PHRF would be gone in a year. * From Rick Nelson: If there is discussion on a new boat for the Olympics my feelings are that one boat that got a raw deal the first time it was chosen as an Olympic class is the Tempest. This boat, hands down, can perform in all conditions, is exciting to watch (two man crew, trapeze, planing hull) and is still a very popular class. The class is increasing the spinnaker size to keep the boat exciting and they are a beautiful boat on the water. The selection committee could reduce the crew number from the current 3 and this would reduce the cost of campaigning a boat for the Olympics. * From Jay Sharkey: It's a farce that the sailing hall of fame is going to be anywhere but Newport, RI. Yes, Annapolis is home to some of the greats, but Newport is America's sailing town. When folks think "Tennis" they think Wimbleton, not Newport. Please, please, please, stop this abomination. The Armory downtown would be a perfect spot. No $2 million needed. *From George Wendt: I hope we can all agree that by irresponsibly and repeatedly ignoring Ben Lexcen for induction into the Newport-based America's Cup Hall of Fame, that community has forfeited its right to be considered as a candidate to host additional tributes to the sailboat racing community. * From Win Stephens: The geographical location of the new Sailing Hall of Fame is not nearly as important as how the inductees are selected. For nearly a quarter of a century, the Sailing World magazine Hall of Fame has done a good job of identifying and honoring "champion sailors, designers, and innovative thinkers who have made an extraordinary impact on sailboat racing." Will that body of work now be ignored (and thus marginalized) by this new, self-appointed group in Annapolis? What mechanism has the Annapolis group established to select inductees for this so-called "National Sailing Hall of Fame?" And scariest of all, will US Sailing have any role in this process? * Bill Doyle, Chair, Board of Trustees & SallyAnne Santos, Creative Director, The Museum of Yachting: While we congratulate Gary Jobson and the City of Annapolis on the formation of a new Sailing Hall of Fame, we can't help but wonder, given the mentions of other local maritime organizations, how this article overlooked The Museum of Yachting in Newport, RI? Since 1980 The Museum of Yachting, has presented the history of sailing through a wide variety of events, educational programs and exhibits including The Single-Handed Sailors' Hall of Fame, an America's Cup Gallery and a large classic yacht collection. Our spectacular events, include the largest Classic Yacht Regatta on the East Coast, in which over 80 classic yachts competed last September. Scholars, marine historians and members have access to a vast library collection of treasures dating back 300 years. Recently, the Museum has undertaken a digital archiving project, which will make available thousands of historically important and rare publications, images and ephemera to the public through a new online database.The Museum of Yachting also boasts a well-rounded educational program including classes in Celestial Navigation, Weather Routing as well as diverse marine artists and authors in our fine arts gallery and lecture series respectively. Although the slight was surely unintentional, it is certainly important to our thousands of members, donors, volunteers and visitors to clarify that Newport has, in fact, a very established and successful organization dedicated to preserving and presenting the history of sailing- The Museum of Yachting. We invite you to visit us at Fort Adams State Park in Newport or our website: www.museumofyachting.org CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception." - Groucho Marx Special thanks to Camet Sailing Gear and Doyle Sailmakers. |
