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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 940 - November 8, 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.
TRANSAT JACQUES VABRE Monohull Fleet :For both the Open 60 and 50's on the direct route ahead lies a dangerous parking lot in the form of a weak depression, and after the first few physically arduous days to gain crucial miles and get well positioned, everything could turn on its head. The drama will be played out off the North coast of Africa, the West side boys staying in a more established breeze but adding to their mileage, the East side boys sailing the shorter route but taking the risk of negotiating lighter airs. Open 60 leader Ecover (Golding/Hutchinson) strides out even further West. Immediate rivals Sill Plein Fruit (Jourdain/Le Cleach) have reeled back the lost miles and lie just 5 miles behind, heading more Southwards for the time being. Third placed monohull Voila.fr (Gallay/De Pavant) is levelled with Casto-Darty-But (Moloney/Turner), claiming a mere 3m lead. The phenomenal lead of 66 miles held by Open 50 One Dream One Mission (Bennett/Larsen) over Saving (Le Youdec/Bacave) could for the first time be seriously threatened.
Multihull Positions at 1500hrs GMT
Open 60 Monohull Positions
Open 50 Monohull Positions Event site: www.jacques-vabre.com
ULTRASONIC WIND AND BOATSPEED
US SAILING ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Paralympian Paul Callahan (Newport, RI) was named a US Sailing Vice President. Callahan currently serves on a number of committees, including Sailors with Special Needs, Olympic Sailing and the Olympic Sailing Executive Committees. During the meeting, the Board of Directors approved the 2002 budget that provides for investment spending of approximately $275,000 in connection with Operation Hullspeed and other priority goals. These priorities include the installation of a fully integrated financial and membership management system. Another step forward was the Board's adoption of the C.R.E.W. Member Agreement. "This partnership agreement between the professional staff and volunteers helps establish clear, mutual expectations and will further our pursuit of peak performance," saidRosekrans. A copy of this agreement can be found at www.ussailing.org/images/crew.gif. For the first time, US Sailing provided an all-day Technology Training, providing an opportunity to volunteers to learn more about some of the US Sailing website's key features. The US Sailing Board agreed to recommendations on creating a 2002 Directory and an end-of-year "state of the association" communication to the membership. Jim Teeters of the Offshore Committee gave a demonstration of the web-based Toolbox/Ratings Plus; more information about Offshore activities is available at www.ussailing.org/offshore. The announcement was also made that the U.S. Disabled Team will now be managed by the Olympic Sailing Committee and disabled sailors are fully represented in the Olympic Sailing Committee. The Paralympic classes have also been included in the prestigious Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. For a complete update of committee minutes see www.ussailing.org.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE Skipper Neal McDonald was happy with his new men. "They have all the qualities we were looking for in this leg. And that means, good helmsmen with experience on a VO 60 in the Southern Ocean. Both of them came highly recommended. I sailed with Herve onboard Club Med and I doubt there are any people out there with more Southern Ocean miles than Herve. I did not have to see his CV and he is one of the few madmen who really likes sailing in that part of the world. Chunny has sailed with three guys in our team and they agreed on him straight away. His experience ranges from Olympic classes, America's Cup and Whitbread. Both of them are Southern Ocean expert helmsmen and that is what we need." -- www.volvooceanrace.org
BIG GUNS FOR LATER LEGS? Yet the real interest lies in the bigger guns in the shape of Lawrie Smith and Paul Cayard who may join the race after the Southern Ocean stages are completed. Smith has strong links with the Assa Abloy crew and shore team and could still be available to add some tactical clout when the race moves into American and European waters: "If they asked, I'd be interested." Similarly Cayard, winner of the last Whitbread when twinned with Assa Abloy's navigator Mark Rudger, has been approached by several Volvo Ocean Race teams since his sidelining by Larry Ellison's Oracle Racing America's Cup team. "I'm still employed as an adviser to the team," said Cayard. "But the situation is that my position will be reviewed in five to six weeks' time." -- Tim Jeffery, in the Telegraph Complete article at (cumbersome URL, but worth the trouble): sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/
FINN GOLD CUP: BAINBRIDGE SAILCLOTH: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
GOLD RUSH SAILING ATTEMPT HITS HEAVY WEATHER Wilson's trimaran was today 1,880 nautical miles southeast of Cape Town, South Africa, and 2,754 miles southwest of Cape Leeuwin, Western Australia, at 24 degrees 29 minutes south latitude and 57 degrees 6 minutes west longitude. Sailing in big seas and 35 to 40 knot winds with no sail except a heavily-reefed jib, Great American IIÊ lost ground over the last few days and is currently only 600 miles ahead of Mandarin's comparable position. "We have passed Isles Crozet, and the next mark on our course across this desolate ocean is Kerguelen Island," Wilson said today. On her present heading, Great American II will pass 400 miles north of Kerguelen, remote home for a French weather and scientific base. "I'm in touch via satellite email with Capt. Murray Lister aboard the containership Cape Sorrell. Murray was Mate aboard the containership New Zealand Pacific which rescued me when my trimaran Great American capsized off Cape Horn in 1990. New Zealand Pacific is 810 feet long and capable of handling the roughest weather, but Murray says they never took her south of Kerguelen. "I understand a bit better now why some solo round the world sailors race once, maybe twice around the world, but almost never a third time. Who would want to come back here?" "Great American II holds together although she took a pounding in the last blow. We have retreated somewhat north and are trying to make 5 degrees of longitude (222 nautical miles) per day. Our chart of the Southern Indian Ocean is folded to show South Africa to Kerguelen Island. When we get to 70 degrees east, then we can turn it over, and see Australia. That will be a good day!" -- Keith Taylor Follow their progress at www.sitesalive.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From John Cladianos, re: ESPN2: You people are just figuring this out? I'm a San Francisco resident and I watched the entire America's Cup on Virtual Spectator in 1999. Thank God for them. I actually ordered the AT&T Digital Cable upgrade in 1999 as my support representative told me flat out that ESPN2 was covered on the digital product though not on my current analog service. I didn't want to miss a minute of the action, so $200 worth of equipment and upgrades later I had a sevice twice as expensive on the monthly bill, which also didn't have ESPN2. Imagine my fury! Several calls to AT&T Cable got me somebody willing to listen to my story, after several transfers to unanswered extensions. I was told in 1999 that they would be adding ESPN2 very soon, and in the meantime I would need to move to Berkeley or Oakland. Here it is the latter of 2001 and still no ESPN2. I have written to AT&T; cancelled my cable service altogether; written the commodores of StFYC, SFYC, and GGYC; written the SF YRA, and the California Public Utilities Commission; and written my congressman. All true, and all to no avail. If you've got any good advice on the subject I would certainly welcome it! San Francisco has to be among the top Cable Markets as well as top Sailing Markets on the entire continent. Very confusing indeed. * From Bill Dutcher: The "implosion of windsurfing" wasn't just because of unlimited pumping. It was because about 15 years ago the windsurfing industry & mags began to extol the wonderfulness of planing on a shortboard. Yes, it is a wonderful sensation, but it was a fatally poor strategic decision because on most days, most parts of the civilized world don't happen to offer up a steady diet of planing conditions (15+kts.) Non-planing was then perceived as Dullsville, yet that's what many users got, sub-planing conditions, which weren't much fun on one's new shortboard. Except for Olympic windsurfing, the sport has generally retreated to those areas which provide steady strong winds. How do I know? Because I was deeply involved in this sport for about 20 years as both consumer and dealer. I also started a regional windsurfing club (http://www.abcsail.org), and successfully raced windsurfers at the regional level, but chronic back pain caused me to abandon the sport last year. I believe that unlimited pumping hastened my departure. However, every cloud has a silver lining. My departure from windsurfing added another arrival to sitdown sailing when I bought a Lightning last year. It's a great class and a new challenge. Now I can torture my stomach muscles. * From Senet Bischoff (edited to our 250 word max.) When they can't get umpires, US team racers use "three-minute justice" to settle their dispute, and despite some growing pains it works pretty well. Each party grabs one competitor to act as their judge in the hearing (and sometimes those judges pick a third independent competitor as a judge), and then each party gets one minute to state their case and ask questions of the other side, with no witnesses. The jury has one minute to make a decision, and that's it. It's quick, there are no forms and the decisive factors in the judges' decisions are generally (1) who tells the more likely story, and (2) the reputation of the parties for truthfulness, which is usually quite well known by those they sail against. If you are going to have a formal protest hearing, I am a big fan of 'open hearings'. We used to have these at the US Youth Champs, and they were well attended and fostered discussion of the rules. We found that competitors were fall less likely to try to 'BS' their way through a protest when they knew their peers were there, watching and listening. Competitors learned a great deal when they saw a protest from the outside, and I thought there was far less second-guessing of decisions when competitors saw the evidence that was presented. Judges usually elected to close their deliberations; when they didn't the open deliberations added to the learning process. * From George Bailey: Paul Henderson says "I do not believe "Air Rowing" is Sailing which uses "Wind"." I agree 100%. But at the Olympics, as elsewhere, there are many ways to race on the water. Boat races that require both pumping and sailing will be won by people who combine fitness and talent, just as with races that restrict competitors to wind power. Prevous posts suggest that some race officals in some places agree not to enforce certain RSS rules governing wind-propulsion classes and that sailors are coached on how to "bend" these rules ( rule 42.2(c) in college racing, for example). Any boat-racing class is free to define itself as a pumping, rocking, ooching or sculling class, to replace the RRS with its own rules, and to try to get acceptance at the Olympics. Without enforcement of the rules governing the permitted means of propulsion in a specific type of boat racing, there are no rules. That is the problem.
AMERICA'S CUP "This has been a wonderful collaborative process that has been more open to new ideas than any campaign I have been on," said one of OneWorld's three lead designers Laurie Davidson. "That will become obvious when you see our boats on the water." Davidson is joined on the design team by America's Cup veterans Bruce Nelson and Phil Kaiko. * Two America's Cup yachts arrived in Auckland aboard the same Antonov transport plane today: Sweden's Victory Challenge boat (SWE 63) and the Alinghi Swiss Challenge boat (SUI 64). While some syndicates have training boats here, last night's arrivals are the first to be built in their home countries and brought to New Zealand. Russell Coutts' Swiss Challenge is the latest syndicate to set up shop at the Viaduct Basin. After six months, their Ugo Brunoni-designed base - which appears the biggest of all the syndicates - is complete. Alinghi and Victory Challenge join American syndicates Oracle and One World, Italy's Prada, the Great Britain Challenge and Team New Zealand, who are already testing and training in Auckland. -- New Zealand Herald -- www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/
NEW CHANNEL RECORD TROPHY ATTEMPT The first boat to attempt a new record will be Playstation, skippered by Steve Fossett with a crew of 14, including Ben Wright and navigator Stan Honey. They have scheduled a start between 0400 and 0700 French time on Thursday November 8, and with the current weather forecast could reach the Bay of Saint Malo in as little as 5 hours. Ongoing coverage at www.madforsailing.com and www.fossettchallenge.com
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
