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SCUTTLEBUTT 2850 - Friday, May 22, 2009Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are JK3 Nautical Enterprises and PredictWind.com. BUSTED RUDDERS AND PESKY TURTLES (May 21, 2009, Day 6) Aside from WWE scripting, the plea in Scuttlebutt 2850 was to keep the Volvo Ocean Race close and interesting. The excitement was thus palpable when the fleet was developing some lateral separation, splitting gybes, and not entirely following the tight cover tactics that the 3-hour updates have created. Then it happened… Delta Lloyd and PUMA took the lead on Thursday from Ericsson 4 and the Telefonica boats. Said DL navigator Wouter Verbraak, “The Gulfstream deals us different cards all the time. 2.7 knots of current with us, then minutes later only 1.3 without much warning. Sure we have the latest satellite pictures with the sea surface temperatures, but that only gives a rough guideline as to where to look for the best current. The best tool is the water temperature gauge that shows the transition from colder to warmer water. The trick is to find a good patch of current and try to stick with it by following its temperature trail. The result: constant monitoring and not much sleep....but very cool!” Ericsson 4 has since taken the lead back from DL, but they are also 110 miles to the north, so anything can happen. As for what happened to PUMA, Skipper Kenny Read explains, “Sailing on starboard tack at about 1800 GMT we had about 28 knots of wind and were going pretty quick with an A-zero and full mainsail. The sea state was quite awkward. A ton of water was coming over the deck with each wave but it was no big deal. All of a sudden we got a pretty nasty puff and we were off. We were a bit on the edge and did a small spin out. I heard a bang at the back of the boat and hoped like hell that it was the runner block hitting the boom or something. It wasn't. When the boat sat on its side with the sails flopping and there was nothing that we could do to get it back down away from the wind, it was clear that the leeward rudder had snapped off. “We quickly got the boat going downwind again by using the sails to steer, and finally heeled the boat to windward so the weather rudder would control the boat while we assessed damage. Then we had to literally stop the boat and take down the sails and fit our emergency rudder to proceed to Ireland. We'll race as best we can. Our emergency rudder system is pretty slick. Time will tell if we have more rudder problems. We are all certainly a bit concerned right now.” * TURTLE WARNING: There have been a lot of turtles sightings, but none closer than on Telefonica Black which had to back down after getting one stuck on their keel fin. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/owf6lm * AUCTION CLOSING: The auction for the autographed Scuttlebutt t-shirt, which was signed by all the skippers competing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008/9 at the Boston stopover, will close this Friday (9:00 am PT). This is a one-of-a-kind item, and 100% of the proceeds for this item going to the Traverse Area Community Sailing. Post your bid here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/auction * VOLVO OCEAN RACE: Began Oct. 4, 2008, crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Teams are now on the 2,550 nm transatlantic Leg 7 from Boston to Galway, Ireland that started May 16th and is expected to finish by May 24th. Current positions (as of May 21, 22:00 GMT): 1. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 1,010 nm Distance to Finish 2. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 3 nm Distance to Leader 3. Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, 5 nm DTL 4. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 18 nm DTL 5. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 30 nm DTL 6. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 33 nm DTL 7. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 43 nm DTL Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, Did Not Start Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 CARRIE HOWE: LIFE AFTER THE OLYMPICS Leading into the 2008 Olympics, the successes within the US Team largely occurred with its top Yngling team, sailed by Sally Barkow, Debbie Capozzi, and Carrie Howe. As consensus medal favorites at the Games, they failed to fulfill expectations, with a horrific medal race dropping them to seventh. Since then, the team has gone their separate ways, with Carrie catching the Scuttlebutt spotlight with her second place finish in the Tybee 500 (May 11-16), a 24-team catamaran endurance event that started at the Southern tip of Florida and finished just short of the Georgia-South Carolina border at Tybee Island, GA. Here is our chat with Carrie: * The final chapter of your Olympic campaign lacked a story book ending. What are the lessons you hope to hold onto? CARRIE HOWE: “The ending wasn't story book but the lessons I learned in peaking, preparation, and pressure will stay with me forever. We were at our best when we were confident in our equipment and focused on racing and fine tuning our skills. “Looking back, we were at our best when we had an edge on the others in all aspects early in the quad in terms of our equipment, speed, and time in the boat. We lacked the recipe to maintain this over the long haul as tough, close regattas and strong opponents will always test a team’s strength. Throughout the four years, while the other teams came closer to parity, everything seemed more difficult for us as a team. Measuring and taking risks and testing new ideas became the winning and losing battles and it was quite a fine line. Have confidence in yourself and your teammates, keep it simple, and keep fighting...never give up.” * The Tybee 500 is a long way from Ynglings in the Olympics. How did you get involved in this event? -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0521 J/65 “OPEN HOUSE” IN NEWPORT, RI Please join us May 26th at 4 p.m. for hors d'oeuvres and drinks aboard "Brand New Day". Jeff Brown, J/Boats Dealer, will be on hand to personally show you the boat and answer any questions you might have regarding this elegant yacht. The J/65 is the largest, fastest, most luxurious J ever! “Brand New Day” is a powerful, elegant sailing yacht that offers easy handling, luxurious accommodation and superb performance. Designed to allow owners to maximize sailing time and minimize motoring, the J/65 can be sailed at near-peak performance levels without a professional crew. Please R.S.V.P to mailto:jeff@jk3yachts.com or call 619.709.0697. Unable to attend? Please take a look at the J/65 on our website at http://www.jk3yachts.com STILL AS VALUABLE TODAY - A HALF CENTURY LATER Some things just work. When Torben Grael was winning the Snipe Worlds in the 80’s, and when he is helming Ericsson 4 in the Volvo Ocean Race, in both boats he is looking forward at the telltales on the headsail. With all the technology that has entered the sport, nothing has replaced the telltale. So who was the first to put telltales on their sail? Here is how Dennis Toews remembers it: “In the early 1950's there was a very active International 14 fleet at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto, ONT. One of the sailors in the fleet was Fred Buller. Fred was the chief aeronautical engineer at DeHavilland Canada, who designed many STOL aircraft. (Beaver, Otter, Dash 8). “At the time, Fred was working with scale models that were taken aloft with one aircraft, photographs were taken from a second aircraft to observe the wind flow, including stall characteristics, using strings on the model. Fred soon realized that it was possible to place ‘tell-tails’ to the leading edge of the airfoil (jib luff) and not need to wait until the sail luffed before altering helm. “Originally, Fred was using cotton sails and the tell-tails stuck to the cloth. Another local sailor had orlon sails and the tell-tails worked, and when during the following year dacron became the cloth of choice, the tell tails worked as well. “There was active international activity in the I-14 fleets at this time, with Canadians like Bruce Kirby, Ian Bruce, Bill Gooderham, and Paul Henderson soon revealing their tell-tails on the regatta circuit, as did Americans Stuart Walker, George O'Day, Dick Rose, etc. In the UK, Stewart Morris, Jeremy Pudney, and Mike Peacock were infected. The practice likely moved faster than the recent ‘swine flu’ … and there you have the story!” COMMITTED TO HELP THE U.S. WOMEN’S MATCH RACING Newport, RI (May 21, 2009) - Sally Barkow’s team went undefeated on the first day of racing to lead a talented fleet at the New York Yacht Club Women’s Match Racing Clinic & Regatta. Eight top women’s teams completed the first round robin in a steady 11-14 knot southwester competing in Sonars. Anna Tunnicliffe’s team is one point back after losing a seesaw battle with Barkow. Racing continues on Friday with a second round robin, followed by semi-finals and finals on Saturday. With only three years before the next Olympic Games, NYYC is committed to help the U.S. women’s match racing training effort. Eight teams were invited to train with four top coaches - Dave Perry, Dave Dellenbaugh, Tony Rey and Henry Menin - for two intense days before the Grade 3 regatta. The coaches are on hand throughout the racing for coaching, analysis and debriefing. -- Full story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7523 AMERICA’S CUP UPDATE * From Valencia Sailing: “BMW Oracle, the America's Cup Challenger of Record, organized a press conference this (Thursday) afternoon in their Valencia base. Russell Coutts and Tom Ehman were in charge of informing the Valencian journalists about the latest developments on the Americas' Cup situation. We left the BMW Oracle with the feeling that the legal shenanigans are far from over in the America's Cup.” -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/VS-5-21-09 * BMW Oracle’s club, Golden Gates YC, contends that the February 2010 Match must be in Valencia, the Southern Hemisphere, or a mutually agreed upon Northern Hemisphere site. They say that the boat Alinghi defends in must be a single-masted yacht as that is what their challenge certificate describes as their boat. Reading from the Deed of Gift, it says “vessels, if of one mast, shall be not less than forty-four feet nor more than ninety feet on the load water line; if of more than one mast, they shall be not less than eighty feet nor more than one hundred and fifteen feet on the load water line.” -- GGYC letter: http://www.ggyc.com/GGYC-SNG%20letter%2020%20May%2009.pdf * Dock modifications at the BMW Oracle base in Valencia will permit the berthing of the 103-foot maxi multihull Groupama 3, which will soon be training from the base, continuing a partnership with Franck Cammas who has been a consultant with the team. EXPERT WIND FORECASTS - FREE 1 MONTH TRIAL! Want a competitive edge in your next regatta? Use a forecast from PredictWind.com! We are the choice of champion sailors around the world...read about it at http://www.predictwind.com/Customer+Feedback.html Using proprietary technology we generate 2 independent forecasts twice daily. For Offshore Sailors we generate 7 day forecasts with truly global coverage. For Inshore Sailors we use an incredible 1km resolution model with local topography to generate a forecast of unparalleled accuracy for your sailing area. High resolution equals better accuracy. Get your FREE 1 month trial at http://www.PredictWind.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include a masthead view of TP52 sails, Moth entertainment, early Transpac arrival, Match Racing in Larchmont, King 40 seeking the Alcatraz cone, Charlie Morgan lives on, and action photos of journalism from VO 70 Ericsson 4. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0522 VIDEO OF THE WEEK In anticipation of the Memorial Day holiday weekend (at least for the Americas), this week’s video is actually 20 short clips from our friends at T2P - the online network for Sailing On Demand coverage. Each one is under 2 minutes, providing highs and lows from every corner of the race course, guided by titles such as ’Gun Jumpers’, ‘Claustraphobia’, and Stirred and Shaken’. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/09/t2p * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week’s Video of the Week to mailto:craig@sailingscuttlebutt.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From John Harwood-Bee, Project 100 Ltd: Thankfully Peter Harken (in Scuttlebutt 2848) understands sponsorship and makes a good case. However there is one point on which I should like to comment. A good experienced sponsorship management company will expect to achieve a far better than 1 to 1 return on the $ spent. Obviously, it will depend on the event and the co-operation of all involved but we expect measurable returns in excess of 3 to 1 for our clients and in certain cases far in excess of that. In terms of appropriate sponsors (Mark Lammens - Butt 2849), cigarette promotion is no longer allowed in western Europe so the matter does not arise. Even if it did, the press would refuse to run images. Sponsorship has become far more scientific in recent years and it is advisable to consult experts when considering where to spend the money. There is still the odd case of support for Ballet because the Chairman’s wife loves it, or a racehorse named after the company because the boss loves the nags. Good luck to them, but in the main, companies have a responsibility to obtain a quantifiable return on their investment. Most event organizers are grateful for the financial support and both parties work together for the benefit of each other. Sponsorship is not a dirty word. Without it we would see the demise of many classic events. Rue the day that only the mega wealthy can afford to participate to the detriment of others. * From Howard Bentley: While I applaud anyone who has the ability and wherewithal to sail around the world alone, this continued competition to be the "youngest person to sail around alone" reeks of hubris and will one day likely get someone killed and expend valuable assets if a SAR becomes necessary. Parents should put their egos on hold. Of all the "records", this one is insane. When we do finally find out that someone is too young, it will be a tragic day, and I would expect parents to be held accountable when it goes awry. This is no criticism of any one particular sailor or their abilities but a criticism of the idea that being the "youngest" to do such an endeavor actually has ANY merit. It does not except for the lame "look at me" factor. Anyone who encourages this continued quest for the "title" of "youngest" should have their head examined. Yes parents that means you. Again, How young is too young, and what price are you willing to pay for a pointless and ridiculous record? * From Murray B de Lues: (re, story in Scuttlebutt 2848) Proper course is whatever the leeward boat wants to sail. In theory proper course is what you would sail without any other boats around you. We have this argument on a regular basis when boats flying gennakers are beneath ones with spinnakers. The gennaker boats want to sail higher "away" from the next mark and the spinnaker guys want to go low on a more direct line. That's life and the rules clearly state the gennaker boats have right of way. Then we also have lots of tide which ratchets the whole process up a couple of notches again. Windward skippers get over it. Makes it more interesting in a one design class where the leeward skipper wants to hot up the angle because they feel it is quicker but the same rules apply. Lots more shouting and questions of parent’s marital status at time of birth. * CORRECTION: The ‘Lake Erie Solo Challenge’ story in Scuttlebutt 2849 said that the course ends at the Erie Yacht Club (Erie, NY). Well, sort of. The course does end at Erie YC, but you better be in Erie, PA if you are looking for it. MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 25 in 2009) to commemorate U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. The Scuttlebutt newsletter will not be distributed on Monday, but will resume its normal weekday schedule on Tuesday. CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM Can I get arrested for running into a Fire House yelling “Movie, Movie”? Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises and PredictWind.com. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
