SCUTTLEBUTT #296 - March 24, 1999
STEINLAGER LINE 7 CUP - Report by Ivor Wilkins
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, Wednesday, March 24 -- Dean Barker of Team New
Zealand and Paul Cayard of AmericaOne opened their accounts in the
Steinlager Line 7 Cup in excellent form in Auckland today, each dropping
only one match of the seven sailed so far. Racing in Round Robin One of the
grand prix event got off in a 13-15 knot northerly breeze, with a powerful
ebb tide across the track adding to the tacticians' headaches in the
afternoon.
Barker streaked away to an unbeaten five-race record, before losing to top
seed Gavin Brady of New Zealand in flight six. In three of his first five
wins, Barker had to come from behind to take the gun. "It was really close
racing," said Barker. "The wind was quite streaky and it was very important
to get to the puffs. We did not make any major mistakes, which is always
nice."
Cayard went away on a four-win streak before he fell in the fifth flight,
also to Brady. But, Brady, who is ranked No.2 in the world, had a much
slower start to the day, losing his first three matches to qualifiers Dean
Salthouse of New Zealand, John Cutler of America True and Francesco de
Angelis of Prada Italy. He then won the next four in a row, his first at
the expense of New Zealand's Chris Dickson, a three-times match racing
world champion and Brady's boss on Tag Heuer in the 1995 America's Cup. "We
seemed to come right after lunch, so hopefully tomorrow's lunch will be
good for us as well," he quipped.
At the end of racing today, seven of nine flights in Round Robin One were
completed with Barker and Cayard topping the board on six wins each,
followed by Young America's Ed Baird on five wins.
ROUND ROBIN ONE results (after seven of nine flights) GAVIN BRADY (NZL)
beat Dickson (NZL), Cayard (USA), Barker (NZL), Holmberg (SWE) = 4pt CHRIS
LAW (GBR) beat Dickson (NZL), de Angelis (ITA) = 2pt ED BAIRD (USA) beat de
Angelis (ITA), Salthouse (NZL), Cutler (USA), Dickson (NZL), Law (GBR) =
5pt MAGNUS HOLMBERG (SWE) beat Cutler (USA) = 1pt DEAN BARKER (NZL) beat
Dickson (NZL), Baird (USA), Holmberg (SWE), Salthouse (NZL), Law (GBR), de
Angelis (ITA) = 6pt PAUL CAYARD (USA) beat Holmberg (SWE), de Angelis
(ITA), Cutler (USA), Baird (USA), Law (GBR), Salthouse (NZL) = 6pt CHRIS
DICKSON (NZL) beat Holmberg (SWE), Salthouse (NZL), Cutler (USA) = 3pt
FRANCESCO DE ANGELIS (ITA) beat Brady (NZL), Holmberg (SWE) = 2pt JOHN
CUTLER (USA) beat Law (GBR), Brady (NZL), de Angelis (ITA) = 3pt DEAN
SALTHOUSE (NZL) beat Brady (NZL), Law (GBR), Holmberg (SWE) = 3pt
Event website: http://www.steinlagerline7cup.co.nz
Or the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron site: http://rnzys.org.nz
CAYARD'S COMMENTS
"AmericaOne is now back in Auckland for the Steinlager/Line 7 Match Race
regatta. Today was a practice day so we spent four hours on the track
getting warmed up. The wind was across the current today so that made for
interesting calls on laylines. That is not an uncommon phenomenon here so
we could likely end up racing in those conditions. Sailing on the
AmericaOne team is; Skipper Paul Cayard, Tactician John Kostecki, Mainsheet
trimmer Sean Clarkson, Genoa Trimmer Morgan Turbovich and Bowman Curtis
Blewett. Our big hurdle (Tuesday) was making the weigh in. We were at the
gym bright and early as usual but had to go for the extra Sauna after wards
to loose a few extra pounds of water. The average weight per crew member
is 87.5 kgs and we have four crew who weigh more than that and Morgan who
weighs less." -- Paul Cayard
SAN DIEGO NOOD
When the J/120s lined up at the SD NOOD for the first race of their 1999
High Point Series, there were a lot of crispy new sails in evidence. Yet
Dave Janes' JBird, won the event -- with last year's Ullman Sails. And
JBird won it by NINE points. Ullman Sails also won the Schock 35 class.
Hmmm, do you see a pattern there? Check out the Ullman website to see how
affordable improved performance can be:
http://www.ullmansails.com/
GUEST EDITORIAL
(Frank Whitton offers his perspective of US Sailing's Spring Meeting.)
After 8 or 10 years of absence from meetings of sailing's National
Governing Body, I was surprised to see the concerns expressed in
Scuttlebutt to be shared by the bulk of these people. There were many
'Buttheads who recognized me and I had no trouble collecting the cards from
many who wanted a 'Butthead shirt. I attended five or more meetings and
was confronted by people who are trying to solve the problems I think are
of major importance.
Several committees were a part of task force in Chicago to try and form an
outline to produce a simple, user-friendly measurement system that can be
adapted at the local level at a low cost. That is a tall task to accomplish
and may or may not be possible. It was also recognized that the major
missing ingredient in the past is a marketing effort to sell whatever comes
out of these efforts. Their attempt is to produce a "Toolbox " of a
combination of PHRF and VPP-driven measurement system that can be adapted
in part or in full by a local authority. I see it fitting in somewhere
between the two systems and may have the political ability to be acceptable
because of its adaptability at the local level. Also if the numbers don't
fit the baseline can be modified and made to fit. Whether this lofty goal
can be attained remains to be seen but never the less a serious attempt is
being made.
In summation, I found the so called bureaucrats are nothing more than
concerned and dedicated people giving freely of their time and efforts to
better the sport of sailing. If nothing else I got the message loud and
clear that they are listening to our complaints and share many of them as
well. They were very receptive to criticism and would welcome anyone to
come and pitch in to solve the problems that have been pounded on in this
forum. In fact, they sorely need our help because there is more work than
people to do the work.
Rather than turn on and tune out please tune in and turn out. It can be a
rewarding experience that all of us would benefit from. - Frank Whitton
Curmudgeon's comments: We will carry the official report of the Spring
Meetingas soon as it works its way through the approval process at US
Sailing.
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
We read all of your e-mail, but simply can't publish every submission.
Those that are published are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words
max) or to exclude personal attacks.
-- From Ken Brooke, Australia -- One of the aspects of the America's Cup
which to my mind detracts from the inter nations aspect of the competition
is the ease with which skippers and crew members can change their national
qualification each time the competition is held.
While the competition for the Mug is between clubs, the original intent of
restricting participation in all aspects of design, building, manning and
helming to a particular country has been largely lost by allowing these
switches. I have no quarrel with the employment of foreign coaches, the use
of testing equipment in centres other than the home country, the building
of sails masts and the modification of boats in the country in which the
event is held provided that the work is carried out by nationals of the
team concerned. Of course equipment freely available to all is of no
concern. Any one care to comment?
I also was pleased to note in Scuttlebutt recently where one of the classes
has restricted participation to owner/drivers in their championship. The
use of professional and semi-professional jockeys as helmsmen and crews in
Australian National and State Championships has become commonplace and has
led to much disgruntlement! Amongst those who sail year round in their
class and find their chances of taking a title almost non-existent.
-- From Jim Durden -- Thought I would pass on a brief note about the great
committee work SCCYC had this last weekend for the Les Storres series. Mike
Priest and his volunteers provided exceptional assistance in their
management of a four-race series by providing all participants with a
detailed commentary of courses to be sailed by each class, before the start
of the first race and continued to supply that information after subsequent
starts, via VHF radio. The information was clear and precise, as long as
you had a VHF radio. Unfortunately there are no rare hardwood radios that I
know of, so most of the PC fleet relied on the old standby form of
communication, which was extended as courteously and forthwith as the
electronic version.
This is a huge step in the right direction, in an attempt to make sailboat
racing more user friendly, and I hope does not go by unnoticed by other
clubs within VHF radio reach. If this "action" step is cheerfully adopted
by the other clubs, I for see a bright future for an increased number of
boats showing up on starting lines the rest of the season.
ROLE MODEL
Joseph "Joey" Harris was recently awarded the US SAILING W. Van Alan Clark,
Jr. Trophy for Sportsmanship. Harris is sailing master at Chicago's
Columbia Yacht Club, a Level I and II Instructor Trainer, and in charge of
Columbia's Junior Sailing Program. "Although sportsmanship at times is
difficult to define, we all recognize it when we see it," said USSA
President Jim Muldoon in presenting this award.
Harris set an example for his students at the Midwest High School
Championships. One of his sailors was in contention for a top-three slot
(which would have qualified him for the ISSA Cressy Nationals), but the
skipper in the lead broke his spar and would have surely missed the next
race. Harris assisted the fleet leader, by helping to de-rig the boat and
rushing to shore for a replacement spar. By the time Harris returned, the
disabled boat's throw-out race had been completed, the next race was ready
to start, and Harris and others made the needed repairs in time for the
fleet leader to sail the final race and keep his lead. And Harris' student
still sailed on to finish in third place.
Muldoon commended Harris for being a stellar role model for his students.
"At this level, these young sailors are learning the essence of good
sportsmanship. . . This is where a true role model like Joey can do a great
deal of good." -- Cynthia Goss
AUCKLAND UPDATE
(The following is an excerpt from DEFENCE 2000, which is available from
John@roake.gen.nz -- US $48 per year.)
Bar bosses in Auckland's downtown waterfront are joining forces to fight
proposed restrictive licensing hours in the lead up to the America's Cup.
The Loaded Hog restaurant and bar, already well known to America's Cup
sailors in Auckland, is heading the charge by applying for a 24-hour tavern
licence. Auckland city police are opposing the application request, and are
also opposing an alternative request for a 3 am license. The police want a
10 pm closing Monday through Thursday, and an 11 PM closing on Fridays and
Saturdays. Closed of course on Sundays!
BEAT THE CROWD
If you act fast, you can be the first one on your block with an Official
Transpac polo shirt. Or a '99 Transpac T-shirt or hat. Laurie Gaylord, the
official apparel supplier to the Transpac YC, has a full line of '99
Transpac apparel available NOW. It's good looking stuff, and you don't have
to go to Hawaii to get it. Just contact with Laurie: (949) 548-4527 or
gaylordspt@aol.com
SAILING BUM
Although we published this about a year ago, we've added more than 800 new
'Buttheads since that time, and it's a slow news day.
You might be a sailing bum if:
-- you think a Rhodes Scholar is someone who knows all about a famous boat
designer...
-- any of your wedding gifts came from West Marine...
-- you think girls look "hot" in wet weather gear...
-- your doctor reports your injuries to Abuse Authorities...
-- you think rum is the official state drink..
-- your best shoes are Topsiders...
-- your car's hood ornament is the top off of a sailing trophy...
-- your idol is Jimmy Buffet...
-- your halyards are brand new, but your belt has two splices...
-- you read Latitude 38 under the covers with a flashlight...
-- your underwear has a North Sails logo...
-- your bar tab equals your paycheck...
-- you have a beer can crusher mounted on your mast...
-- you use a marlin spike to break sunburn blisters...
-- you have at least one broken boat part in your car at all times...
-- you have a Mount Gay poster in your living room...
-- you've ever traded a Dramamine for a beer...
-- you have a Jello mold in the shape of a J/22...
-- your vacation plans center around championship regattas...
-- you have to dress up to go to Wal-Mart..
-- you think of duct tape as a long term investment..
-- you've been involved in a fight over the last chocolate chip cookie...
-- you wear a sailing cap to church..
-- people are afraid to touch your foul weather gear...
-- you think matching wet weather boots are an acceptable wedding gift...
-- you've ever written your resume on a bar napkin...
-- your wind instruments cost $2,000, and you have a bucket for a head...
-- the local boat yard's phone number is number one on your speed dialer...
-- you'll marry a girl just to keep a good foredeck person...
Yes, you just might be!
StFYC SPRING ONE DESIGN INVITATIONAL
11 Metre: 1. TEAM SVENDSEN'S, S. SVENDSEN (10.00) 2. KODAK, B. WELLS
(11.00) 3 RED BULL, T. WELLS (11.00) Express 37: 1 SPINDRIFT, V L. & L.
WRIGHT (7.00) 2 RE-QUEST, G. ISAACSON (8.00) J/105: 1. ADVANTAGE 3, W. & P.
(16.00) 2. BELLA ROSA, D. TAMBELLINI (18.00) 3. SPEEDWELL, WATTS/THAYER
(29.00) 4. WE BE JAMMIN 2, J. ZAKIN (29.00) 5. SAILS CALL, I. CHARLES (
29.00) J/29: 1. 5150, H. BIGALL (4.00) 2. ADVANTAGE II, G. CHURCHLEY (8.00)
J/35 Races: 1. MAJOR DAMAGE, C. PERKINS/D. WILSON (4.00) Olson 30: 1. RUN
WILD, D. IRVING (12.00) 2. CISCO, G. REDELBERGER (13.00) 3. HOOT, A. MACFIE
(15.00) Santana 35: 1. SWELL DANCER, J. GRAHAM (7.00) 2. ICE NINE, B. BUSCH
(9.00)
Complete results: http://www.stfyc.com/race-office/
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.
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