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SCUTTLEBUTT 3031 - Thursday, February 18, 2010Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors, providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today’s sponsors: Hall Spars & Rigging and Ullman Sails. FEASIBILITY OF SAN FRANCISCO By Dick Enersen, Offshore Productions I was invited to a very pleasant gathering at Golden Gate Yacht Club to help celebrate the club's recent America’s Cup victory. One of the principal topics, after the champagne toasts, was "Can we host the next AC here on the Bay?" Lots of e-mails have raised the same question. As a San Francisco native, of course I would love it if we could hold the 34th America's Cup match here, but check this out... (see diagram link below) Going back to the 32nd Cup, the course format was a 3 nautical mile leg sailed windward/leeward, twice around. In all multi-challenger events to date, at least two separate racing areas have been designated, one for the use of the defender(s) and one, or more, for the challengers. There is only one part of the bay which is both open enough and deep enough for a 3 mile, or anything close to it, circle. Even the middle of the bay is not very good, since the marks would have to be set in very deep, very tidal places, and the area is sliced to bits by VTS (shipping) lanes and ferry routes. If the practical maritime concerns aren't enough, please consider also that: * There will be no joy from any governmental body. They may even fight the idea. San Francisco has scant need for more tourist traffic in summer, and very little appetite for an "elitist" activity such as ours, which will require municipal resources and infrastructure. * The local yacht racing association has established rights to set its courses on the Bay, too. * It's hard to find enough real estate for a Halsey Street or Darsena type Cup Village. If you can find it, on Treasure Island, Alameda, or maybe on abandoned piers, it will be terribly expensive, hard to permit, etc. People have floated various other ideas, such as sailing smaller boats on smaller courses, or sailing the Louis Vuitton Challenger Series elsewhere and holding just the Cup match here. The first idea doesn't do justice to the Cup, and the other falls apart for myriad reasons. I wish it were otherwise. See diagram of SF Bay in forum thread: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9187#9187 * Witnesses to how quickly the BMW Oracle Racing team set up their training base in San Diego demonstrated that obstacles can be quickly overcome if you have personal financing and clout. While there is a big difference between building one base and developing an America’s Cup village of bases, Larry Ellison showed in San Diego that he can handle the hurdles without breaking a sweat. * Valencia Mayoress Rita Barbera stated this week that she had absolutely no reason whatsoever to doubt the contents of a letter she had received from Larry Ellison, the head of BMW Oracle Racing, in which he wrote that the 34th edition of the Americas Cup would take place in Valencia. -- Valencia Life Network, publisher@valencialife.net WHEN THE SHOE IS ON THE OTHER FOOT In an interview on Tuesday, Ernesto Bertarelli, president of Alinghi, said he was waiting to learn of the format for the 34th America’s Cup before he determines whether he will participate. He also stated how the Challenger of Record for the 34th America’s Cup (Mascalzone Latino) “must speak for all the other possible challengers and not just be a mouthpiece for the Defender.” For the astute observer, these are curious comments by Bertarelli. Recent history shows that the Alinghi team manufactured a Challenger of Record (Club Nautico Español de Vela) after winning the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007 so as to carry out their much maligned vision for the 33rd Match. And then there was the time in 2008 when the Alinghi team had revised the Protocol, began organizing the event, but would only show the BMW Oracle team the new rules after they dropped their lawsuits and entered the event. So now, with Bertarelli on the outside looking in, he wants a Challenger of Record to help negotiate fair rules, and he would like to see those rules before he commits to the event. Seems like a pretty logical concept… too bad he didn’t think of it over 30 months ago. -- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Forum (with quote from Valencia Life Network), http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9235#9235 THREE STRAIGHT Hall Spars & Rigging, after supplying Cup-winning spars for Alinghi in 2003 and 2007, was once again aboard the America's Cup winner in 2010. From the early "soft sail" rotating masts to major components for the innovative wing mast, Hall figured prominently in BMW Oracle's spar program. Join the world's most successful sailing teams and start your next winning streak at Hall Spars & Rigging. http://www.hallspars.com TOP IPHONE APPS FOR SAILING Yachting World editor Elaine Bunting recently posted a list of what iPhone apps were useful for sailing and whether they were worth paying for. Here's a rundown of what she had used and tested: Navionics charts Met Office Weather Marine Tides Planner Plus Aye Tides Sailmaster Wind Meter Marine Rules & Signals NOAA Buoy Data Reader Her app reviews are listed here: http://tinyurl.com/yfhvo85 Since some of the apps on Elaine’s list were UK centric, Scuttlebutt founder Tom Leweck added the apps currently in use on his iPhone: MotionX GPS Tide Graph RaceTools (timer) Caribbean Racing game Are there more apps missing from this list? Post them here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9220 2010 TOUR CARD ALLOCATION The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) has announced the names of the nine Tour Card Holders for the 2010 season. The Tour Invite Policy, first introduced in 2009, will guarantee the Tour Card holders invites to six of the first nine WMRT events but they can compete in more events if they are able to secure wild card invites from the individual event promoters. After developing the invite policy introduced in 2009, the WMRT has allocated the Tour Cards for 2010 to: Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch - ISAF Match Racing World Champion (2009) Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team - Finished 2nd in 2009 Ben Ainslie (GBR) Team Origin - Finished 3rd in 2009 Francesco Bruni (ITA) Team Azzura Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Hansen Global Team Bertrand Pace (FRA) Aleph Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team Ian Williams (GBR) Team Pindar The Tour Invite Policy was revised for 2010 regarding the allocation of Tour Cards. The Nine Tour Cards were allocated as follows: - Winner of previous year receives a free Tour Card - Second place offered option on a Tour Card; $5000 fee - Third place offered option on a Tour Card; $10,000 fee - Three Tour Cards by sealed bid from the next 10 on the Tour Rankings and the next 10 on the ISAF Rankings after the final event - Three Tour Cards to be decided by WMRT The fees paid for 2010 Tour Cards were not disclosed. For teams that did not receive a Tour Card, there are still opportunities to race on the WMRT through event wild cards or through the events that make up the Tour Qualifying Series that feed into the World Tour events. 2010 Tour Schedule 1. April 6-11, Mondial Match Race Marseille, France 2. May 19-24, Match Race Germany Langenargen, Germany 3. June 8-13, Koreaa Match Cup Gyeonggi, Korea 4. June 22-27, Portugal Match Cuup Troia, Portugal 5. July 5-11, Match Cup Sweden Marstrand,, Sweden 6. August 31 - September 5, St Moritz Match Race St Moritz, Switzerland 7. September 8-12, Danish Open Bornholm,, Denmark 8. September 21-26, Vietnam Match Cup Nha Trang, Vietnam 9. October 4-10, Argo Group Gold Cup Hamilton, Bermuda 10. November 30 - December 5, Monsoon Cup K. Terengganu, Malaysia Complete story: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/102696 2010 Invite Policy: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/2010_invite_policy EAST CHINA SEA SHELLACKING Ten months, 35,000 miles of ocean racing and around 400 people facing the challenge of a lifetime. When the starting gun went off for the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race on September 13, 2009 the fleet of ten identical 68-foot yachts began a seven leg circumnavigation of the globe. Damage has now pared the fleet down to eight boats, and for the participants who signed up for the current leg from Singapore to Qingdao, China, they are getting a shellacking. Here are excerpts from the Day 16 report on February 17th: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Edinburgh Inspiring Capital skipper Matt Pike: "Finally we rounded the island (Myako Shima) and, leaving its lee, we were facing a full on gale. Crew creeping forward on hands and knees constantly washed by spray with the occasional three foot high wall of water washing over them. All you can do is brace and wait until it's over, leaving the snake pit and cockpit full. Then you start counting the yellow hoods... if five went forward you hold your breath until you have counted all five heads. This is repeated every few minutes until the job is completed. "Another sheet goes; I can't believe these have a breaking strain of eight tons and we're snapping them like bits of wool! The nights are black - really black - it is a crazy feeling driving this boat as fast as possible into the darkness but that's what we're doing; everyone taking their turn at the helm and most enjoying the madness of the ride!" Uniquely Singapore skipper Jim Dobie: "Last night was dominated by shipping and at one point I thought I was in a convoy as we had about ten ships all around us. This called for some interesting manoeuvres, including screaming away downwind (wrong direction) to avoid a tug and its tow. The nights have been a struggle for the crew on the helm with the pitch black conditions. With no stars and nothing to reference on, keeping a steady course has been tough. In Hualien, Taiwan, meanwhile, the crew of Team Finland have been continuing with repairs since breaking their mast on Sunday. The Race Office team has been busy sourcing a replacement mast and putting plans in place for it to be fitted. The yacht is due to depart Taiwan shortly and the plan is to replace the mast once Team Finland arrives in Qingdao. -- Full report: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/race_news/?item=1524 SWEET SUCCESS IN ONE DESIGN RACING Ullman Sails customers continue to prove their prowess in one design multihull racing, posting top results in last weekend’s Sperry Top-Sider NOOD in St. Petersburg, FL. Peter Katrcha on “Relentless” won the Corsair 28R class, followed by Miroslav Kaffka on “Evolution.” Edward Dixon and Bob Neff also had a top weekend in the Corsair 24 class, finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Other top results at the NOOD include Ullman Sails’ Doug Fisher and team on “Longboat Key Club” finishing first in the Melges 24 fleet. All five boats are powered by full Ullman inventory. Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com CHAMPIONSHIP ADVICE Eight-time world champion Flavio Favini (ITA), when asked what advice he would give to young sailors who would like to emulate his career in sailing: “My best advice is to always have fun whilst you are sailing. Remember to love what you are doing and don’t get stressed about the results. I believe that if you have fun, sail a lot and train well, then good results will come. “Try to sail dinghies, like the Olympic classes and other small competitive boats for as long as possible. That’s where you can learn more, get the sensibility and establish a true feeling for sailing. Trust me, there is always time to sail bigger boats and there is no rush to make the transition, as good dinghy sailors are always wanted for sailing on the big boats.” -- http://www.melges24.com/?p=news/&id=1764 FOR THE RECORD (Day 18 - February 17, 2010; 17:18 UTC) - The situation for Groupama 3 hasn't been very favourable for nearly 48 hours now, with a front dictating the every changing pace, leading to a succession of course changes to try to break through it. "We're lacking a bit of wind, but we're very hopeful for a change in situation tonight,” noted skipper Franck Cammas. “If everything goes to plan the front is likely to come to a standstill this evening, at which point we should finally hook onto a NW'ly wind! As such we'll be able to make good speed again on course to Cape Leeuwin." However, given that this particular front is moving very swiftly, the sailing team will have to keep up an average speed bordering on 32 knots for several days. The separation in relation to the reference time, which had dipped to an all time low of around 400 miles over the course of Tuesday night, is now beginning to shrink again. -- Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/yh34duy Current position as of February 17, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: - 376.9 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 18.6 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 445.7 nm Data: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/positions.asp?lg=en Map: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/index.asp?lg=en * After their start on January 31, 2010, Franck Cammas and his nine crew on Groupama 3 must cross finish line off Ushant, France before March 23rd (06:14:57 UTC) to establish a new time for the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions. Current record holder is Bruno Peyron and crew, who in 2005 sailed Orange 2 to a time of 50 days, 16 hours, and 20 minutes at an average of 17.89 knots. SAILING SHORTS * LaserPerformance announced that its parent company Full Moon Holdings, will partner with Infused Foils to offer its customers the very best foils on the market regardless of the boat they sail. Infused Foils is led by Simon Cooke and is known world-wide for producing high performance centerboard’s and rudders for a variety of products including the Optimist, i420 and Olympic level 470. -- Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9219 * The growth of match racing in the U.S. continues to progress, with the latest news being that the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Sloop National Championship in the Fall of 2010 has been converted from a fleet racing event to a match racing event. For 2010, there are already three Youth Match Racing clinics scheduled for sailors 16-21 year old. Two of the events will qualify the top skipper to the 2010 Governor’s Cup Match Race, July 20-25, an annual international youth match racing championship run by the Balboa Yacht Club in southern California. -- Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9229 * Sponsorship has been under fire from a few quarters since the Global Economic Crisis put marketing spending under increased scrutiny. In November, alarmist headlines called for sponsorship of sport by alcohol brands to be banned after a report suggested a link between sponsorship and binge drinking. However, new research by Cardiff Business School’s Dr Fiona Davies argues that banning alcohol sponsorship would not have a significant impact on the UK drinking culture. The study, published by the International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship, found that there were no significant statistical correlations between sports sponsorship awareness and attitudes to alcohol use. -- Yacht Sponsorship, full story: http://www.yachtsponsorship.com/2010/02/4144/ LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Pete Martin: America’s Cup PRO Harold Bennett says he will report the ‘mutiny’ of the Swiss RC Team to ISAF for possible Rule 69 penalties, so now the whole world will find out if the Governing Body for the Sport of Sailing has any huevos. What do you suppose the odds are that the blue blazer crowd will do the right thing? * From Jim Nash: Hat's off & three cheers to Harold Bennett & Tom Ehman & the so far unnamed Spanish RO who were able to get the start off. If ISAF doesn't proceed w/Rule 69 against the mutineers & anybody complicit aboard Alinghi, we'll all know how deep their BS sinks. When found guilty, make it a lifetime ban. * From Gunther E. Hering: I have read the interview with Harold Bennett (in Scuttlebutt 3030). Thank God for a man with backbone and integrity. He certainly turned out to be the MVP. I presume that he is proceeding with a report re Rule 69 infraction. If as described the two multihulls were straining at the limit in 10 knots of True and 2 foot waves they have absolutely no business sailing in an AC contest. Let’s go back to real boats, forget the high tech mumbo jumbo and sail in the open seas. Remember the DoG specifies “an arm of the Ocean”, not rubber ducks in a bathtub. * From George Backhus: Without a doubt, the Alinghi and BMOR crews had about as much fun as one could have with their foulies on. Chewing up the juice on the world's fastest and most technologically advanced yachts is something any sailor would give almost anything to experience. From a spectator's point of view, it was tantamount to spending many hours watching someone else's kid ride a rocking horse, or a boxing match where the fighters rarely get close enough to throw a punch. With the cameras so far away, I just didn't get any sensation of the speeds they were doing. The most exciting elements of match racing-close dial ups, tacking duels, close quarters sailing and quick maneuvering-were all conspicuously absent from AC 33. I would remind Larry and Sir Russell to remember that America's Cup is not just about the sailors, but about the spectators as well. For AC 34, I invite these gentlemen to consider a simple box rule (say 60-80 feet LOA) to foster development and innovation, with a mono hull platform to encourage closer racing. I could not think of anything more exciting for sailing fans than to watch a summer full of racing on state-of-the-art mono hulls on relatively short courses laid out on one of America's top sailing venues. And hey, the sponsors just might like it too. * From Robert Bausch: I remember sending to you many months ago that I had tuned out as far as the America's Cup, with all the legal stuff and delay. But after watching the Cup (on my Mac - quite a change! - but I was still able to get Gary Jobson's excellent as always commentary on ESPN streaming), I have been totally won over by BMW Oracle's trimaran, and I now really feel future AC's should be on multihull boats, or whatever the next evolution from where we are to where we can go might be. I think the AC should be the ultimate as far as sailing design and technology, within the parameters of where these boats are sailed regards the Deed of Gift. I think Nat Herreshoff would be in favor of this, after all he designed a cat way back when. Larry Ellison, Russell Coutts, and the BMW Oracle team pushed the envelope, and Alinghi's Ernesto and Brad couldn't keep up, no matter how hard they tried to cheat! The terms "poor loser" and "sour grapes" come to mind. It is amazing the weird things these strange folks did before and after the start of Race 2. What an eye opener this Cup was for me, for how low a defender could stoop in their effort to win, and how high the winner soared over the waves of Valencia. Bravo BMW Oracle! Bravo USA! * From Mike Hein: Perhaps now that the 2010 America's Cup is over, the Golden Gate Yacht Club should take a lesson from the Olympic Games? If someone wants to compete in the America's Cup, they should have a passport from that country. I'm very happy for John Kostecki and Larry Ellison. * From Eric Sorensen: I love the new thinking on maybe multihulls and required citizenship aboard that Russell Coutts is considering, as his input will be VERY influential for the next Cup. I suspect a 90 x 90 platform might be a bit spendy but maybe a 60 x 60? with a bunch of wings hanging all over them? Whatever ships and stores to make it easy. A fleet race start with 10 of a smaller version of Dogzilla would just be a crazy thing to watch! Put the grinders back on board and make it tough again. Engine noise just makes it a delivery not a race! If the organizers can get in some stages in different venues like the '07 cup and agree on a platform with country originated crews (mostly) then the next Cup could be good again. The main thing would be to keep it out of the court and to get it on the water. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Even if the grass is greener on the other side: they, like you, still have to cut it. Special thanks to Hall Spars & Rigging and Ullman Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
