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SCUTTLEBUTT 1775 - February 14, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. TRAFFIC JAM As a sailing promoter who depends on Rhode Island's cachet for world-class yachting and boating, Brad Read is jittery these days. Narragansett Bay -- the great estuary that puts the "island" in Rhode Island -- is envisioned as one of the nation's top destinations for the 950-foot tanker ships that supply liquefied natural gas to the U.S. economy. To defend against terrorists, an armada of gunboats would keep almost all boats on the outskirts of a restricted area around the tankers, a moving "security zone" about half the size of Newport. "The problem is that it's an incredibly busy recreational area," said Read, executive director of Sail Newport, a promotional organization. "I just have this bewilderment as to how they're going to shut this Bay down during transit time," he said. Read is among hundreds of people who are trying to get a handle on what the proposed shipping would mean for life on the Bay, which he calls the "golden jewel of Rhode Island." The answer isn't clear. For the moment, Read finds it hard to believe that the straits of the East Passage can accommodate a steady stream of LNG shipping without severely disrupting, and annoying, the thousands of boaters who pump money into the local economy each summer. The moving security zone for LPG tankers begins 2 miles ahead of the ship, extends 3,000 feet off either side and ends a mile off the stern. It amounts to about 3 1/2 square miles, enough to seal off some stretches of the waterway. John Torgan, of Save the Bay, recently encountered an LPG tanker while he was out on the Bay in a Boston Whaler. The delay was 20 minutes. "It's like an ambulance coming up the Bay," he said. "You have to pull over and stop." - Mark Reynolds, The Providence Journal, full story, http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20050213_lng13.21a9676.html NEW REGIME The Socialist Government has announced that it was taking over the entire control of any decision made regarding the staging of the America's Cup in Valencia in 2007 as well as the works necessary to prepare Valencia Port for the event as well as the prior regattas. The decision means in effect that it will be the Government that has the final say in any sort of activity, instead of the Valencian Government or Valencia Town Hall. The new set of documents regarding the makeup of the Valencia 2007 Consortium also reveal that Valencia Mayoress Rita Barbera is to remain as President of the Consortium, "But may not resolve standoffs between the parties with her vote." This is seen as a rather strange move since The Socialists on the one hand and the Valencian Government and Town Hall on the other have an equal number of members on the Consortium, under the Presidency of Mrs. Barbera, and these new measures effectively remove the powers of the Presidency from her. The Government also announced that the delegate Commission that is charged with fulfilling the contract with the America's Cup Management would be made up of one representative from Valencia Town Hall, another from the Valencian Government and a third from the Madrid Government. The decisions are expected to go the way the Madrid Government wants after Jose Salinas, who had been President of the Commission, was replaced by Fernando Huet as the express request of the Socialist Government. With regard to expenditure and budgets, Point m of Article 8 of the Government document states quite clearly that any spending 'must be agreed to by the representative of the Finance Ministry.' These moves are widely seen by many observers as the Socialist Government in effect 'nationalising' the America's Cup. - http://www.valencialife.net HOLE IN ONE Leading (golf) professionals Craig Parry, Michael Campbell and Nick Dougherty had an early taste of international competition when they helmed the Emirates Team New Zealand America's Cup boats off Gulf Harbour on Tuesday. The trio warmed up for this week's Holden New Zealand Open at Gulf Harbour Country Club sailing with Emirates Team New Zealand NZ81. As an added extra to the sailing, they were invited by skipper Dean Barker to hit some shots off the deck of the sleek racing yacht. Emirates Team New Zealand managing director Grant Dalton, who was on the boat, bet Michael Campbell he couldn't land a shot in the team's following 'chase' boat, just over 100 metres away. Michael Campbell then proceeded to do just that, to the delight of the ETNZ crew. A hole-in-one with a difference. - http://xtramsn.co.nz/sport/0,,12052-4090743,00.html MELGES 17 GOES INTERNATIONAL The Melges 17 will go international in the spring of 2005, with a fleet purchase headed for Italy following an exciting review of the boat at Key West Race Week. Also, Pewaukee, WI and Crystal Lake, MI have ordered enough boats to be fleets 2 and 3. The very first National Championship is scheduled to take place in White Lake, Michigan on August 27-28, 2005. Introductory pricing is still available. Look for photos, pricing and other Melges 17 details on the website, along with information on the all new Melges 32 and all the Melges boats. Race to http://www.melges.com/main.html VOLVO OCEAN RACE Rotterdam (NED), Portsmouth (UK) and Gothenburg (SWE) have been announced as the last two stopover ports and the finish of the 31,250 nm Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. Rotterdam, one of the largest commercial ports in the world, and Portsmouth, famous for hosting the start and finish of four previous races from 1973 to 1986 (previously known as The Whitbread Round the World Race), will be the final two stopover ports of the race. Gothenburg (pending final negotiations) will host the finish. Dates and leg distances for the 31,250 nm Volvo Ocean Race is as follows: November 5: In-port race - Sanxenxo, Spain November 12: Leg 1 - Vigo, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa Distance 6,400 nm; finish approx. December 4 December 26: In-port race - Cape Town, South Africa January 2: Leg 2 - Cape Town, South Africa to Melbourne, Australia Distance 6,100 nm; finish approx. January 19 February 4: In-port race - Melbourne, Australia February 12: Leg 3 - Melbourne, Australia to Wellington, New Zealand Distance 1,450 nm: finish approx. February 17 February 19: Leg 4 - Wellington, New Zealand to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Distance 6,700 nm; finish approx. March 13 March 25: In-port race - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil April 2: Leg 5 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Baltimore/Annapolis, USA Distance 5,000 nm; finish approx. April 20 April 29: In-port race on - Baltimore/Annapolis, USA May 7: Leg 6 - Baltimore/Annapolis, USA to New York, USA Distance 400 nm; finish approx. May 9 May 11: Leg 7 - New York, USA to Portsmouth, England Distance 3,200 nm; finish approx. May 23 May 29: In-port race - Portsmouth, England June 3: Leg 8 - Portsmouth, England to Rotterdam, Netherlands Distance 1,500 nm; finish approx. June 9 June 11: In-port race - Rotterdam, Netherlands June 15: Leg 9 - Rotterdam, Netherlands to Goteborg, Sweden (finish) Distance 500 nm; finish approx. June 17 Event website - http://www.volvooceanrace.org/ 2005 STAR WORLDS Racing for the 2005 Star World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina began Saturday, and 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Torben Grael/ Marcelo Ferreira of Brazil began right where they left off in Athens. Showing the tenacity that won them the gold, they recovered from an 11th place at the 1st mark rounding to win the opening race. In the 18-20 knot conditions, 8 boats did not finish racing, including 2002 World Champs Iain Percy/ Steve Mitchell (GBR), who dismasted during the race. The second race on Saturday found more moderate 14-15 knots, with the 2003 World Champion team Xavier Rohart-Pascal Rambeau of France taking the wire-to-wire victory. Rebounding in second from their dismasting of the previous day was Percy/ Mitchell, with Americans Mark Reynolds/ Phil Trinter, both past World Champions, finishing in third Time will tell as to whether any new faces will surface at the top of the fifty-three boat fleet, or if there will be a repeat champion by the end of the week. Results after two races: 1. Fredrik Loof/Anders Ekstrom (SWE), 2 - 4, 6 points 2. Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira (BRA) 1 - 6, 7 2. Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau (FRA) 6 - 1, 7 4. Mark Reynolds/Phil Trinter (USA) 7 - 3, 10 4. Roy Heiner/ AlexBreuseker (NED) 3 - 7, 10 10. George Szabo/Brian Fatih (USA) 9 - 11, 20 Event website: http://starworld2005.com/en/ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION Just what does it take to be able to sail solo around the world? According to Vendee Globe skipper Mile Golding, "It's an unusual sport for all sorts of reasons, not least the extremity of the distances involved and the length of time which it takes to complete such a challenge. At times when all runs smoothly it can be just a fantastic adventure and experience but, on the other occasions there are times when the sailor is running around like a hamster in a cage for hour after hour and day after day - when it's like this you don't have time to either eat or drink never mind sleep - it is exhausting. Of course it's important to get into the rhythm of the race and the boat - it takes a while at the start of the event to find your pace and to synchronize yourself with what is going on. There's no doubt that it's very hard work, and you definitely need to dig deep and endure some considerable suffering on such a long course but it comes with the job. You can't be a professional solo circumnavigator and not expect it to hurt a little." - http://www.mikegolding.com/ MOISTURE WICKING REGATTA TEES AT THE PIRATE'S LAIR! This year give racers what they want most: Wicking tees with our hot graphics. The Pirate's Lair is leading the industry with technical tees at cotton prices. Call 888-724-5286 for quotes and questions, or to receive The Pirate's Lair free catalog - also available at http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing NEWS BRIEFS * Leg 3 of the Global Challenge was won in spectacular style today by Sydney skipper Andy Forbes, who led his team on BG Spirit home across the Sydney Opera House finish line in a time of 7 days, 2 hours, 11 minutes and 4 seconds. Just 15 minutes and 20 seconds behind them were SAIC La Jolla, their first podium place, and Me to You an agonizing 6 minutes and 20 seconds behind them. With four legs remaining, the overall title remains open to much of the fleet. Leg 4 to Cape Town begins in two weeks. http://www.globalchallenge2004.com * Paul Henderson, ISAF President from 1994-2004, has been awarded ISAF's most prestigious trophy in recognition of 'outstanding voluntary contribution to the sport of sailing', the ISAF Beppe Croce Trophy. The ISAF Beppe Croce was originally presented to ISAF by the Federazione Italiana Vela, in memory of Beppe Croce, ISAF President from 1969-1986. Coincidently, it was Beppe Croce who encouraged Paul to join the then IYRU in 1970. In 1978, Paul was elected an ISAF Vice-President, a position he held until 1994, before leading ISAF as the President from 1994-2004, the first non-European to ever hold this position. - ISAF website, http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j19Fht?vr&format=popup * The 2005-'06 Swedish Match Tour announces the addition of the St. Moritz Match Race, scheduled for August 16-21 and to be held on Lake St. Moritz in the southeastern Swiss Alps. The Streamline 7.15, a three-person skiff-like boat with small winglets and trapezes for the two crewmembers, will be used for the event. Tentatively slotted as Stage 3 on the 2005-'06 calendar, competitors will vie for the 150,000 Swiss Franc (approximately $122,000) prize purse, with 36,000 Swiss Francs (approx. $30,000) going to the champion. The 2005-'06 tour season begins in July with the Portugal Match Cup in Cascais, Portugal. http://www.swedishmatchtour.com * The Hauraki Gulf of Auckland, New Zealand is host this week to the I14 World Championships. 20-22 knots of breeze greeted the 83-boat fleet for the first race on Saturday, where capsizes seemed to be the rule of the day. Australia's Grant Geddes and Dan Wilsdon rounded the first mark in fourth, but after the top three wiped, the pair held on to win the only race of the day. The winds on Sunday failed to stabilize, and after four attempts at starting, the racing was abandoned. American's Zach Berkowitz and Steve Bordow lie in 5th. Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/45tkj * As a warm-up event for the upcoming Farr 40 Worlds in Sydney, Australia on March 1-4, 15 boats from Australia, USA, Italy and New Zealand raced on both the offshore course and in Sydney Harbour this past weekend. Ten races were held over two days, with 2003 World Champions Nerone hitting their title winning form on day two with two firsts, a second, third and fifth. Final results: 1. Nerone (Massimo/ Sodo, ITA) 41; 2. Evolution (Richard Perini, AUS) 49; 3. Pegasus (Philippe Kahn, USA) 57; 4. Barking Mad (Jim Richardson, USA) 60. http://www.farr40.org * Brasil 1's Volvo Ocean Race crewmembers visited the Brazilian boatyard where their boat is under construction. The boat is being built in Marco Landi's ML Boatworks, in Indaiatuba - a city in São Paulo's countryside. The boat is in the final stage of lamination. Deck and hull plugs have already received layers of carbon fibre and nomex and Marco Landi's team has grown from 20 to 30 workers for the last period of construction. "Everything is in the right track and the boat will be ready in the beginning of June", Landi said. - Volvo Ocean Race website, full story: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/pages/news/news114.htm CLUB LIBRARY Take a stroll through the aisles of the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Library, and you will find over 200 book titles suggested by the readers of Scuttlebutt. Listed alphabetically by book title and/or author, each book is linked to a reseller that provides story details, reviews, and purchase information. No library card needed to enter: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/book 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. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Capt. Marty Rijkuris: Stephen Moss's criticism of Ellen's almighty achievement and belittling everything from her B&Q trimaran to the Internet coverage in The Guardian, initially surprised me, but knowing that traditional tabloid editors and news seeking journalists survive on sensationalizing death and placing destruction in front of sporting events has gone to far. After placing sailing a low 10 in the order of priority of sports coverage in a bid to stay newsworthy has probably caused them to loose track of were yachting has been going over the last 10 years. So to put Ellen's achievement in more familiar sporting terms for them, "It would be like doing 10 Dakar Rallies without stopping in a vehicle with sails instead of a engine". Imagine that! Thanks to the advent of modern ICT media tools we can now receive live images and news via satellite from the other side of the planet that are easily displayed and updated on the Internet. A word of warning, though! More is yet to come and don't matter if your man or woman as designing and building the world's fastest and innovative sailboats to set new speed records is the latest game in town. It's no wonder then, that the web has become the chosen form of media for sailors to promote their activities. * From Al Schreitmueller: Am I missing something, or are the authors of notes poopoo-ing Sir Ellen's exploits unworthy of wearing one of her skirts? * From Don Watson: Now that Magnus Wheatley has been spanked I can get on to the second part of the letter I wanted to send yesterday which is that impressive as Ellen's achievement is, I am still amazed at Francois Joyon's previous voyage. He sailed an old boat with old sails around the world one day slower than it had been sailed with a full crew. He did the refit himself and had no website, no shore team, no sponsor and no weather routers. He broke the record by 21 days. Ellen had Joyon's target to aim at, a brand new boat, new sails and a professional support team. Ellen is amazing and given any kind of reasonable weather in the Atlantic might well have taken five days off the record, but, for me, Joyon's seamanship and pure sailing talent are unmatched. * From John Roberts: My congratulations to you on getting a yacht to leave the UK on 28th November 2004, sail 27,354 miles around the world and arrive back 72 days later. Could you please let me know when the kitchen I ordered 96 days ago will be arriving from the warehouse 13 miles away? * From Jonothan Saunders: (re: the first woman to sail round the world) Let us not forget the first Englishman to circumnavigate around the world, John Guzzwell, on Trekka, back in 1954 to ´59. Starting and finishing to a huge crowd in Victoria, BC. * From Captain Ethan Maass: In response to Brad Read's comments about getting non-sailors into the sport, maybe some people in sailing should take a look at the Grow Boating initiative in the powerboating world to co-opt some of its momentum with bringing new blood into boating. * Correction from John Rousmaniere: In my note yesterday (Friday), in Butt 1774, commenting on the nasty black squall of strange complaints that blew up around Ellen MacArthur after she completed her record circumnavigation, I cited an article in an English newspaper that identified Bob Fisher as one of the carpers. Bob assures me he was very seriously misquoted. When he passed on to the reporter the criticisms of others, he distinguished them from his own strong support of Ellen and her efforts. The reporter then proceeded to identify Bob with those criticisms. The mistake was so egregious that, Bob tells me, the paper's editor has called to apologize. CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity. Curmudgeon's Comment: Happy Valentine's Day! |
