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SCUTTLEBUTT 1606 - June 17, 2004Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest 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. SAILING WORLD HALL OF FAME Sailing World magazine has announced three new inductees to its Hall of Fame. In its July/ August issue of the magazine, Bill Buchan, Vince Brun, and John Kostecki will be formally added to the prestigious roster of the sport's all-time best racing sailors, designers, and innovators. John Kostecki, 40, of Reno, Nevada, won the Sears Cup (U.S. junior championship) and the Sunfish class world championship by the time he was 18. Since then Kostecki has earned an Olympic silver medal (1988) plus two world titles in the Soling class. Hešs won the J/24 Worlds and world championships in big boats such as the Mumm 36 and the Farr 40 classes. He skippered illbruck, the winning boat in the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race (around the world) and is now involved in his third Americašs Cup campaign as tactician for BMW ORACLE Racing, the Challenger of Record for the 32nd America's Cup. Vince Brun grew up sailing and racing in Brazil, winning the Olympic Soling class world championship with his brother in 1978. He moved to the United States and became a sailmaker at North Sails, settling in San Diego, and has been the world champion not only of the Soling class but also of all the other major international keelboat classes of the 1980s and 1990s, including the Star, Melges 24, J/24, and Etchells. Now 57, Brun is also a veteran of America's Cup and Farr 40 campaigns and shows no sign of slowing down, with the Melges 24, Farr 40 and Etchells Worlds all on his schedule over the next 18 months. Bill Buchan, 69, built houses and boats all his life, and first sailed in the Star class North Americans in 1953 when the event came to his native Seattle. Hešll be racing the Star NAs again in 2004 and has a remarkable collection of Star class trophies to show for the racing hešs done in the intervening 51 years. That includes Star world championships in three different decades and an Olympic gold medal in 1984. Buchan also won a Soling class world championship in 1975 and steered Intrepid in the 1974 U.S. America's Cup defense trials. The 46 Sailing World Hall of Fame members are Ben Lexcen, Bill Lee, Bill Buchan, Bob Bavier, Bruce Farr, Bruce Kirby, Buddy Melges, Bus Mosbacher, Charlie Barr, Dave Perry, Dave Ullman, Dennis Conner, Doug Peterson, Eric Tabarly, Sir Francis Chichester, Gary Jobson, George O'Day, German Frers, Halsey Herreshoff, Harold Vanderbilt, Hobie Alter, Jochen Schuemann, John Bertrand (Aus.), John Bertrand (U.S.), John Kostecki, Lowell North, Manfred Curry, Mark Reynolds, Nathanael Herreshoff, Olaf Harken, Olin Stephens, Paul Cayard, Paul Elvström, Peter Barrett, Sir Peter Blake, Peter Harken, Randy Smyth, Rod Johnstone, Rod Stephens, Russell Coutts, Stuart Walker, Ted Hood, Ted Turner, Tom Blackaller, Uffa Fox, and Vince Brun,. A panel of 11 journalists and current Hall of Fame members made the selections. More information about the three new selectees will be posted later today at: www.sailingworld.com BEST RACING VENUES In Scuttlebutt 1600 we printed excerpts from a Sail magazine story identifying what they consider to be the USA's 10 most sail-friendly towns and harbors. We liked that idea, but because most of our readers are more focused on racing than on 'access to cruising grounds,' we put together our own panel of experts to help select the top racing venues in the US. What makes a great venue? There are plenty of variables, but being able to sail everyday in dependable wind conditions ranked highest. Maybe not each venue listed is best for all types of boats, or every size of event. But if given the choice, the list may provide some insight as to what venues will keep us racing, not waiting. For the seventeen sites that made the list, plus location maps and expert commentary on each venue, go to: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/racingsites-us COLLEGIATE SAILING It was over a week ago in Scuttlebutt 1599 that we leaked the names the college sailors who were named to the 2004 All-American Team, as well as the College Sailor of the Year and the Quantum Collegiate Woman Sailor of the Year. http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/archived_Detail.asp?key=2832) The official announcement has now been made, and it should also be noted that College of Charleston senior John Bowden (Austin, Texas) has received the Robert H. Hobbs Trophy as the Outstanding Sportsman of the Year; Annie Johnson (Vancouver, Wash.) has been recognized with the ICSA Student Leadership Award; and the Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy, recognizing the year's best all-around performance was awarded to Harvard University for the fourth consecutive year. http://www.collegesailing.org/nwicsa/na/awards.htm FAST SAILS DEMAND FAST CLOTH! Why are Ullman Sails the fastest sails on the planet? Simple, fast designs demand fast cloth! At Ullman Sails we choose only the best sail cloth from Contender, Dimension / Polyant and Bainbridge International. What good is a fast sail design if the cloth can't hold the shape? Our fast designs combined with superior sailcloth continue collecting trophies for our customers. If you and your crew are ready, let Ullman Sails bring our speed technology to your sails. Call your nearest Ullman Sails loft or visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com ON THE OLYMPIC TRAIL (Washington Post columnist Angus Phillips did a piece on the USA's Yngling Olympic team, Carol Cronin, Liz Filter and Nancy Haberland. Here are a couple of excerpts.) Cronin as usual flew the flag of her longtime sponsor Atkins here, plastering the logo on hats, shirts and whatever else she could find. That's the popular Atkins Diet, which thumbs its nose at carbohydrates, and Cronin is a keen proponent. The system works, she said, and she should know. She and her crew may be the only people who use it to gain pounds as well as lose them. "Weight is critical in Ynglings," the 22-foot sloops selected for the first women's Olympic keelboat event, said Filter, the sail trimmer. "The weight limit for the Games is 451 pounds total for the three of us, and we need to be right at the limit. You give away too much if you come in light. Atkins is giving us lots of nutritional information to gauge how to carbo-load to reach maximum weight." She proved she wasn't kidding by tucking cheerfully into a breakfast of three eggs, juice and a bagel and cream cheese while she and others at the championships waited on shore for a sea breeze to fill one day last week. At the Olympics," said Haberland. "It'll come down to who handles stress best. At the trials we were at our psychological peak. We were underdogs so no one expected much. Other teams had high expectations, and when they weren't realized, we watched them fall apart. If we had a bad day, we said, 'Okay, how can we do better tomorrow?'" Cronin and Filter are both 39 years old, and Haberland is 43, putting them among the older athletes making the journey to Athens. Cronin says adding a women's keelboat event to the Games was a good move. "It gives us a place to go when we age out of dinghies. That's the good thing about our sport - you can stay with it your whole life." - Angus Phillips, Washington Post, full story: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37020-2004Jun12.html YOU CAN'T PLEASE THEM ALL Yachting boss Grant Dalton faces a daunting challenge winning back public support for the 2007 America's Cup challenge, if an Otago Daily Times reader survey is any guide. Yesterday, readers were asked to voice their opinions on the question: "Do you support Emirates Team New Zealand's bid to win 2007 America's Cup in Spain?" There were 82 responses to the Teletopics phone line or by email and the result was a one-sided 64 "no" votes (78 per cent), 17 "yes" and one undecided. There were common themes in many of the responses, particularly stern opposition to the Government's $33 million "investment" in the campaign. Many readers felt the money would have been better spent in meeting the needs of the under-funded health and education areas, or given to the minor sports that often struggle for money. "A complete waste of money" was an oft-repeated phrase, while there were many references to the taxpayer having to fork out good money to indulge "rich boys and their toys". While many of the anti-brigade were vociferous in their criticism of the challenge, those who have remained "loyal" took a more moderate view. One caller reasoned the $33 million Government subsidy averaged out to about $8 a person in New Zealand, which was "less than the price of a Big Mac combo". Another supporter said the challenge was sure to bring some "much-needed excitement into our lives, to keep us going," but hoped the action would be shown live on free-to-air television. - Otago Daily Times, posted on the StuffNZ website, full story: www.stuff.co.nz/otago/0,2106,2943563a6017,00.html THE TRANSAT American skipper, Kip Stone, in his very first solo offshore race has won the Open 50 monohull class on board 'Artforms' - it is a spectacular performance from a sailor who until competing in The Transat had not raced solo before. Stone has also earned in place in the history books as the first American to score a victory since Phil Weld won the 1980 edition of the race on board his 51ft trimaran 'Moxie'. Stone crossed the Boston Harbour finish line at 18:20:27 GMT yesterday evening (15.6.04) in an elapsed time of 15 days, 5 hours, 20 minutes and 27 seconds at an average speed of 7.66 knots. To compare, Stone has finished ahead of four Open 60s still racing and only one day slower than the Open 60s finishing in 6th, 7th and 8th place, sailed by skippers who have graced the podiums of major solo events. At 0300 GMT, Joe Harris' Open 50 Wells Fargo - American Pioneer was approaching the finish line to take second place in that class. Complete standing are posted at: http://www.thetransat.com/ GET A GRIP Sheets slipping? Painful rope burn? Why go though the embarrassment of looking second rate when a pair of Harken sailing gloves with extra tacky Black MagicŽ Palm Material solves your problems. The best boats use the best equipment, and wearing the best gloves is no exception. Look good and incredibly stylish gripping that "Dark and Stormy" after the Bermuda race. Be smart, try them on for yourself at Team One Newport or order online at: http://www.team1newport.com FASTEST SAILBOAT ON THE PLANET? Under IRC a maxZ86s rates 1.648 and Mari Cha while not having an IRC certificate is thought to rate about the same. So imagine a mono hull with an IRC rating of 1.704! The yacht Full Pelt is off the Richter scale - 36ft long and weighs in at 1600kg (3527 pounds) and 800kg of that is the keel bulb which cants 55 degrees(110 total). The hull is made of wet lay carbon/ nomex, she has a Proctor carbon rig, and a better displacement length ratio than a 49er. Read all about and see the pictures on the Bang the Corner website: www.bangthecorner.com/default.asp?m=da&id=11426 NEWS BRIEFS * Following recent speculation regarding the suitability of Valencia as a venue for the pre-regatta's in September / October of this year, OzBoyz (Australian) Challenge has today decided to withdraw its participation. "Our primary focus must be the America's Cup in 2007. Sponsors, partners and our sports objective was to test the venue and facilities in Valencia this year. Yet, unfortunately Valencia is not ready and won't be ready for us to do this," said Sebastien Destremau, OzBoyz Challenge spokesperson. * Gill North America is continuing in its role as "Exclusive Technical Apparel Supplier" to the US Sailing Team, the US Disabled Sailing Team, and the US Youth World Team. Gill has developed an all-encompassing product support plan designed to meet the needs of the individual athletes and will provide its latest technical gear and other products to all team members going to Athens this summer. - www.ussailing.org/Olympics QUOTE / UNQUOTE (Heard at the Rolex America's Cup Hall of Fame Induction.) "I accept this award hesitantly. Because one of the problems about being honored like this is all the guys I've sailed with - Matthew Mason, Simon Daubney, Murray Jones, Russell Coutts, Warwick Fleury - are the best guys there are and I wouldn't be standing here without them." - Brad Butterworth "For those of you who like to dream, reach and go for it. It's amazing what you can accomplish." - Tom Whidden WEST MARINE'S SAN DIEGO STORE CELEBRATION IS JUNE 18-20 Join the grand opening of the biggest and most exciting boat supply store. On Saturday, June 19, a portion of store sales will benefit the Challenged America organization, helping disabled adults and children enjoy sailing. Tour the Challenged America fleet and stay for the evening luau. Call 619-225-884 for information. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (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 J. Joseph Bainton (re US Sailing's Mission): The organizations our children know as US Sailing and ISAF were known to we 50 something's for many years as the North American Yacht Racing Union and the International Yacht Racing Union. I wonder how many 'Butt readers would support "spinning off" the purely racing functions of both organizations to newly created organizations bearing those old, respected and focused names. I for one think that both US Sailing and ISAF have for far too long been trying to be all things to all people all the time, which has required them to spread their respective resources too thin. One obvious consequence of such a "spin off" would be that the Olympic monies would be available only for the racers. How bad would that really be? * From Brennan Gerster (re growth of the sport): It is great to hear that US Sailing wants to promote the sport and see it grow. I also agree in non-yacht club venues will help promote growth. But, can the governing body maintain so many areas of focus and still bring racing to the public: big boats, cruising, windsurfing, Olympic style classes ... how can a non-sailor put their hands around what "sailing" is? Sailing is a confusing expensive sport, but other sports like it have made it (triathlon). Right now it is not sexy or accessible outsiders. To grow the sport and bring people to the venues (YC or not) small boat racing is the best feeder. US sailing should be working with online register sites such as active.com and local grass roots sports magazines like Metro Sports. Weekend warriors are picking up every sport they can and Active is their access and guide. If people are willing to tri a weekend of "Adventure Racing" ... shouldn't we be able to get them to come and do a one day Laser regatta? * From Bud Elsaesser: Steve Gregory misses the point (what's wrong with our sport, butt 1604) where in Wimbeldon and golf (the "P" in LPGA & PGA means professional) the sport is "the real job" with huge cash prizes and endorsement income streams, as opposed to our sport which has real peachy trophies and medals with however much pride of accomplishment. With lack of major bucks our elite stay in volunteer host homes and must buy the extremely cheap advance purchase air fares requiring detailed travel planning. So how many make up days should a regatta organizer schedule, while still allowing for competitors minimum time away from the all important "real job". I have watched organizers do their absolute best to get ahead of schedule when it looks like weather is not going to cooperate, as I believe was done in this most recent match race, however I also appreciate the fact that I know exactly what days of work I will "miss" back home, which allows for planning additional travel regattas while still keeping that all income rolling in. Besides which I am not sure any of these competitors grumbled about the eventual outcome of the standings determined by a complex but fair set of calculations recognizing the week's competition. * From Betsy Alison (re Women's Match Racing Worlds): Eastport YC and its volunteer team did a fabulous job at the Worlds just concluded, as did the umpire team. Being one of the competitors in the event, I believe that the entire team did the best they could with the weather conditions they were presented with. We sailed two complete round robins early on -- for 16 teams -- that amounted to 240 matches before moving into the Quarterfinals. Sally Barkow and her teammates were right at the top of the leader board at that point in time. They were, by performance, the top team going into the latter rounds. We finished second to Sally and the girls in the overall standings, and would have loved to have sailed against them in the Finals (we split our earlier two matches) but the wind gods did not cooperate. Sally and her team are very worthy World Champions! * From Chris Boome: I am continually amazed at how much time, money, frustration and BS goes into discussions about how terrible the rating rules are and how expensive it is to have fun racing sailboats. The problem has already been solved here in San Francisco. A few years ago the people who run the Islander 36 class (1970's Alan Gurney design) got together to address the problem of dwindling participation in races. The answer was a One Design class that has no spinnakers, and max 135% jibs. The result is over 20 boats registered for the season and roughly 18 boats on the line every race. The Islander 36 class was the largest one design class for the season opening Vallejo race. The class sponsored a "Racers Clinic" at the beginning of the year to help the "middle of the fleet" guys that was a huge success. The class website has a "Racer's Lessons" section where some of the more experienced sailors give their impression of what went right and wrong during the weekend's races. There is very, very close racing throughout the entire fleet and most everybody is having a great time sailing their boat and building friendships. The pieces are already in place for people to enjoy their boats, we don't need another rule, another design or more restrictions about what category of person you can or cannot invite on your boat. http://www.islander36.org/index.html#menu * From From Steve Wyman: There is much discussion of dwindling participation in yacht racing. Taking Mr. Buchan's rating credit for dogs and live-aboards in another direction; How about a limited (2 seconds per, 6 seconds max?) weeknight race rating credit for having a novice racer (first season?) or junior (under 16?) aboard? These are the people that can reverse the negative participation trend, and these are the races that most of us were pulled into the sport by. Skippers not already inviting them on casual races might be encouraged to do so and those that routinely do would improve their results. A 10 second corrected time loss this week just might be enough to get more newbies and, or kids onboard "competitive" boats next week. When everybody maxes out their limited credit, the relative ratings even out and more potential racers go racing. THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Why do "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing? |
