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SCUTTLEBUTT 2101 - May 24, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.JUST ONE MINUTE AWAY Hans Horrevoets was just one minute away from fitting his harness and life jacket when he was tragically washed overboard, the crew of ABN AMRO TWO explained this morning. Speaking for the first time since the Dutch sailor died in the accident last week the team, who will make a decision on their continued involvement in the race over the coming days, revealed Horrevoets was the last in line to go below deck and get suitably equipped for the rapidly deteriorating conditions. As he waited, a wave swept over the deck at 0210 and he disappeared. At a Press Conference at Gunwharf Quays today, the assembled media, who also heard the full details of how the grieving crew moved on from their tragedy to rescue crew from the sinking movistar, were told how troubles began when conditions suddenly shifted from benign to stormy. Having just completed a sail change to deal with the increasing wind – the wind jumped from 12 to 25 knots in a matter of minutes – skipper Sebastien Josse gave the call for the crew on watch to attach their harnesses and wear their life jackets. As Horrevoets, 32, was trimming the spinnaker, watch captain Nick Bice explained, it is accepted practice that whoever is trimming the spinnaker sheet is the last to go below deck, but in the short time he had to wait, a wave washed over the deck and as the water cleared the Dutchman was no longer onboard. The cause of death will be determined by the autopsy currently being performed in Holland. Bice said, “All the people on the deck at the time, except for Hans, were clipped on. Unfortunately Hans was on the spinnaker sheet when we went slamming forward, which was the most important sail at the time. Any sailor knows the last person to get clipped on is that guy. “In a matter of 30 seconds or a minute he would have been down there and put his harness on to come back on deck.” -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/o7rbh WILL THE ABN 2 CONTINUE RACING? “I think it is too early to say anything, it is completely the choice of the crew if they carry on or not. But what we have said is that there will be no new team members. Either everyone has to do it or no one does it.” -- Roy Heiner, Technical Sailing Director Team ABN Amro WHERE’S MOVISTAR? Bouwe Bekking: “Right now we actually don’t have a position on the boat. The last position was more than a day ago and we had a beacon but that disappeared at ten o’clock on Sunday night so that’s very bad news. The weather conditions improved today so much that we are able to send out a plane so we can get a visual sight on the area where the last position was known. There’s an aeroplane right now on the way. “I hope the boat is still upright. I really have my doubts about it because of the damage and the amount of water which was coming in at such a rate and that was in quite fair conditions. Yet when the whole thing started it was 25 knots, and when ABN Amro Two picked us up it was 10 - 15 knots. But the seas were getting higher and higher and especially with the forecast and we know there have been 10 metre waves and fifty knots plus wind. So I have serious doubts the boat will be still be afloat. If not I think the keel may have fallen off and the boat flipped upside down. How the next couple of days will go we will have to wait to see. If they see the boat today, we will make a couple of decisions over the next few days as we have 25 people over here working for our team. There are families over here and of course we have obligations to our sponsors. “I don’t think we will race this boat again even if we get her back. So some of us will come to Rotterdam, because there are some containers over there and of course we will show up at the final prize giving in Gothenburg to show our respect for all the other competitors in this race. And hopefully we will be back -- all of us are sailors. “I personally hope that we can keep sailing on these boats in future Volvo Ocean Races. I think all the sailors - at least myself - love these boats. They are fantastic to sail. We know a lot of things have happened but designers are not stupid and they are all thinking and a lot of people are communicating with each other to see what we can do to make the boats safer for the future. So, even if the race is in three years time we have enough development time and feedback from all the teams and I think that next time we will have a second generation class and we won’t have any problems anymore.” -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org TRIVIA QUESTION Which prominent crew member on the America’s Cup team, BMW Oracle Racing, and on ABN Amro One of the Volvo Ocean Race, were once college roommates? NEW FIBER – NEW ROPE Samson has teamed up with DSM Dyneema to announce AS-78, the newest member to the AmSteel family of single braid high performance Dyneema fiber ropes, with the latest fiber technology: SK-78. What does AS-78 bring to the table? It has about 80% less creep than SK-75 and improved durability as well. If you’re looking for the ultimate lightweight, low creep, single braid for halyards and control lines, AS-78 is the product for you. Fisheries Supply in Seattle, Washington has all four sizes currently in stock and ready to service all your rigging needs. Contact the rig shop: 800-426-6930, http://www.fisheriessupply.com GUEST COMMENTARY -- Steve Taylor Having been out of high-level dinghy racing for nearly 30 years, I enjoyed the chance to anchor my cruising boat off the weather mark of the New England Interscholastic Team Racing Championships on Martha's Vineyard this weekend. There I saw some brilliant and efficient race committee work by a fabulous team of volunteers that produced 40 races in 5 hours of sailing on a gorgeous, windy day. (This same crew will run the interscholastic nationals next weekend; all the qualified teams are in for a treat at a great venue with good boats and a quality operation all around). I also saw some great performances on the water; talented young 420 sailors whose tactics and boat handling were every bit as good or better than what I remember back when I won that class' World Championship twice three decades ago. However, despite considerable use of "exonerating turns" after rules incidents on the water, the event was marred by a stunning number of protests: 21 actually filed for the 28-race qualifying round alone. Three hous were then wasted hearing these before the finals could begin! Once completed on the water (12 efficient races, as before), the final round was not decided until two more hours of protest hearings brought a dreary ending to an otherwise great day. This happened despite the presence of three top flight on-the-water judges, each with his own nimble power boat, watching every move of every race pairing. I've been out of it for a long while, but as one who once experienced the pain and frustration of losing a 470 world championship over a disputed kinetics protest filed late by a non-contender that was heard by judges who had never sailed a dinghy, I couldn't help feeling that our sport has made only limited progress in putting all the racing back on the water. A few of the teams' coaches (happily, not all of them!) seemed as though they'd have been better cast as characters on Court TV than coaching 420 sailors - these are not good messages to be sending to the kids who represent our future. I couldn't help but wonder why, after decades of experience with interscholastic & intercollegiate racing, we haven't found a way to turn judges into on-the-spot umpires, eliminating the unpleasant haze that always surrounds the protest room. THE HARDEST GAME IN THE WORLD (Following is an excerpt from a recent posting by America’s Cup veteran Tom Ehman on the blog of the BMW Oracle Racing Team.) It is said you learn more from failing; and failing to take risks and trying new things is a recipe for losing the Cup. As any student of Cup history will tell you, innovation, taking carefully calculated risks, and striving for constant improvement is what usually wins: + 1983: Aus II's winged keel. + 1987: DC's last minute decision to build a third, more powerful hull. + 1988: DC's audacious catamaran when faced with no time to build a big monohull. + 1992: Bill Koch's last minute appendage swap which tested well in the tank and computer but with which they had little full-scale experience. + 1995: TNZ's brave new shapes above the water. + 2000: TNZ's brave new shapes below the water. + 2003: Alinghi's innovative new shapes above and below the water. (TNZ took calculated risks as well, but failed to take into account the structural impact of a windy AC final -- and large spectator fleet. Likewise our team's mantra has to be innovation and constant improvement. Sure, at times we will take two steps forward and one backward. But make your mistakes in a hurry, learn from them, and fix them just as fast. There is "no excuse for excellence" -- excellence is simply not good enough. Superiority in all critical success factors, which in this game means just about every department. The best teams are not those with the most money, but those with clear goals, the best strategy, the best people, and are best at judging and then acting on risk/reward and cost/benefit. Each evening every one of us needs ask, "Did I do my job just a little better today than yesterday?" And in the morning you must look yourself in the mirror and ask, no matter how tired and beaten up you may be from the day before, "How can I do my job even better today?" There is a good reason why these Cup endeavors are called "campaigns" not "seasons" or "championships." That's because doing the Cup is like a political campaign: first you have to have a party platform, raise the money, mold the candidate, win the primary election, then win the general election; if you win you get to govern; lose, well, as the Queen Victoria's aid supposedly said, "there is no second." Sometimes not even a second chance. Or as Larry Ellison has said, "Sport has this finite, clear ending that is not present in business. That clarity between winning and losing is a dramatic difference. In business, there are more gray areas. In business, there are lots of winners. Being second is not so bad. In the America’s Cup, there is no second.” And the AC is even harder than other sports -- lose in Formula One or the NFL, there's always next season. Bottom line -- the America's Cup is the hardest game in the world, but the best game. -- Full commentary: http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/stories/2025515/ FUN, FAST AND COOL The Iain Murray designed Nippa Sailing Dinghy was awarded a commendation at the Australian Boat of the Year Awards in the Sailing Trailerable Category. Points were awarded for many factors including innovation, appearance, design, safety features, construction, value for money, ergonomics, comfort, storage and performance. The 44-pound Nippa is a 8'6" introductory sailing dinghy specifically designed for children aged between 5 and 14 years. It’s a strict one design and can be sailed by either one or two children with up to 265 pounds combined weight. The Nippa features a flow-through cockpit that eliminates bailing. The flush centerboard case provides added room. This feature also allows an adult to fit in the boat so they can share a child’s learning experience. Iain Murray designed the Nippa so his three daughters could enjoy their learn to sail experience. Murray was given strict instructions as his daughters told him it had to be fun, fast and above all look cool. -- http://www.nippasailing.com/news.php?news=3 MORE THAN THE CLASS: THE WHOLE FLEET Steve Harris’ J/120 “TamaJama” not only won her class at San Diego’s Yachting Cup (2 firsts, 2 seconds in this high-stakes 5-race series) but was also named Boat of the Week. Her inventory: UK-Halsey. With so many other brands rampant, notice how UK-Halsey keeps increasing its podiums in hot one-design classes. Safety note: the tragedy on "ABN Amro" last week proves again the importance of knowing how to perform a Crash Stop MOB recovery; please see - and share with your crew - our on-line MOB video: it could save a life. New videos posted every other week. http://www.ukhalsey.com SAILING SHORTS * The first day of racing for the Western Hemisphere Championship at the Annapolis YC was under sunny skies but with a cold, gusty northwest wind of 15 knots with a temperature in the high 50s (F). After two races the leaders in the 42-boat fleet are: 1. Iain Murray/ Andrew Palfrey (AUS) 4pts; 2. Mark Reynolds/ Hal Haenel (USA) 5pts; 3. Jim Vander Molen/ Mike Wolfs (USA) 11pts; 4. Maurice O'Connell/ Ed Peel (IRL) 14pts; 5. John Dane/ Austin Sperry (USA) 16pts; 6. Arthur Anosov/ David Caesar (USA) 16pts; 7. Rick Merriman/ Rick Peters (USA) 18pts. -- Full results: http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=792 * With the official closing date for challenges now passed, the 2006 Rolex Commodores’ Cup entry list has a very healthy look. Currently, the RORC anticipate 14 teams, with 13 so far confirmed from Great Britain (4), France (3), Ireland (3), Russia (1), Belgium (1) and The Netherlands (1). The Rolex Commodores' Cup will be held off Cowes, Isle of Wight, from 25th June to 2nd July 2006. For further information: http://www.rorc.org/comcup/index.php On June 15-18, speed sailors will have an opportunity to record extreme sailing speeds in conditions as they exist on a daily basis in one of the best sailing venues worldwide, San Francisco Bay. The concept is simple - go as fast as you can with your sail-powered watercraft, straight line sailing through a 500 meter course (about one third of a mile), racing against the clock and the elements.??San Francisco Speed Event is open to ALL sail craft: Catamarans large and small, Olympic and International Skiffs, Windsurfers, Kiteboarders, Monohulls, One Design and all other types of sailboats are encouraged. -- http://www.sanfranciscospeed.com * The ACI Adris Match Race Cup -- Stage 6 of the 2005-’06 World Match Racing Tour -- gets underway on Wednesday in Rovinj, Croatia. The event will be sailed in Jeanneau 35 one-designs with some $63,000 in prize money on the line. The skippers include: Johnie Berntsson (SWE), Paolo Cian (ITA), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Björn Hansen (SWE), Dario Kliba (CRO), Staffan Lindberg (FIN), Pierre-Antoine Moravn (FRA), Evgeniy Neugodnikov (RUS), Philippe Presti (FRA), Mathieu Richard (FRA), and Ian Williams (GBR). -- http://www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com *The Mutua Madrileña team has chosen Marcelino Botín to be the designer of the new TP52 boat the team will use to race during next year´s 2007 season. This will be the second time Botín puts his signature on a design for Vasco Vascotto in the TP52 class, after the excellent results achieved in last year’s season when Vascotto won the Breitling MedCup 2005. Currently, Botín is the principal designer of Emirates Team New Zealand while he and his partner have designed five of the 21 TP52 boats racing in the Breitling MedCup 2006. -- Valencia Sailing, Full story: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ * The Dexia Private Banking ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship begins this week on Skovshoved Harbour in Copehagen, Denmark. The skippers for the event are: Claire Leroy (FRA), Marie Bjorling (SWE), Sally Barkow (USA), Nina Braestrup (DEN), Klaartje Zuiderbaan (NED), Malin Kallstrom (SWE), Christelle Philippe (FRA), Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN), Betsy Alison (USA), Linda Rahm (SWE), Silke Hahlbrock (GER) and Dorte Jensen (DEN). -- http://tinyurl.com/rq92m * Anyone that was present at the Optimist Team Trials in Bellport earlier this month was witness to a stellar performance from a rising star. Taylor Lutz, from Houston, TX won the regatta without having to sail the last race. His throw-outs were an 11 and 12 in the 90-boat fleets. If throw-outs were not used, he won by 33 points! The top five at the Optimist Team Trials this year were Taylor Lutz, Antoine Screve, Pearson Potts, Jordan Factor, and Nick Johnstone. They will be headed to Uruguay this summer. * Record-setting aviator Steve Fossett flew to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, in what he called the final flight of the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. Fossett plans to donate the lightweight experimental aircraft, in which he became the first person to fly solo, nonstop around the world, to the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles International Airport. -- AP, full story: http://tinyurl.com/pplsj * The top ranked US 470 Women’s team of Amanda Clark/ Sarah Mergenthaler have submitted their report to Scuttlebutt from the ISAF World Sailing Games, which concluded last week. If you were wondering what it was like to sail there, especially sailing in a class where the boats were provided, they did a nice job of providing a day-by-day analysis. Report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/us470reports/#0523 * The IRC entrants in the Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race have more than doubled over last year, guaranteeing an elevated level of intensity for the annual competition when it begins Friday, May 26, on Long Island Sound. In its 61st year, the Block Island Race will host at least 80 IRC boats, with approximatelya 10 of those sailing with a doublehanded crew and an additional 21 boats sailing in PHRF division. The fleetwill sail the traditional 185-nautical mile distance race from Stamford, Conn., down Long Island Sound, around Block Island, R.I., and back to Stamford. -- http://www.stormtrysail.org * Correction: the proper link to the Ed Baird's video interview is http://www.t2p.tv. TRIVIA ANSWER The navigator on BMW Oracle Racing, Peter Isler and ABN Amro One navigator Stan Honey once shared more than the prominence of being members of the two leading teams in the two leading world events. Isler and Honey were once also college roommates at Yale University in the 1970’s. 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 Elaine Bunting (In answer to Jonathan Saunders): John Guzzwell is certainly deserving of a leading place in solo sailing history, but he is in a slightly different category to Chichester, Knox-Johnston and now Dee Caffari in that he didn't sail non-stop. Guzzwell left Victoria, BC, in 1955 and returned in 1959 with stops in between (he also helped Miles and Beryl Smeeton sail Tzu Hang from Australia across the Southern Ocean, that fateful voyage during which they were dismasted). Guzzwell's other great achievement was to sail what is still the smallest boat to circumnavigate solo: his little wooden ketch Trekka was only 20ft 6in. Talking of special categories, if the same Jonathan Saunders is the Australian single-hander who sailed three times round the world single-handed non-stop, twice eastabout and once westabout, sailing 71,000 miles and spending 657 days at sea to complete the longest solo sailing voyage in history … Wow! * From Ralph Taylor: Recovering someone in the water seems easy until we consider the problems. I once spent 5 minutes in the Merced River (It runs out of Yosemite National Park.) pursuant to a raft capsize, in high summer. Wearing nylon shorts, cotton tee, sneakers & a PFD, I treaded water until the current brought me to a back eddy with a beach. Hypothermia had robbed my muscles of the ability to stand when the depth was three feet or less. I was barely able to crawl out on hands and knees. How could anyone pull themselves up on a boat with clothing full of water? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again. Special thanks to Samson Ropes and UK-Halsey Sailmakers. |
