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SCUTTLEBUTT 2182 - September 18, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with America’s Cup coverage in Scuttlebutt brought to you by UBS (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). VOR HINDSIGHT Bouwe Bekking says he would have preferred to be writing this piece from the cockpit of movistar, but since she is either somewhere at the bottom of the ocean or floating face down he has had to do it sitting on the sofa at home! Here’s his view of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06. “Of course, I still have very mixed feelings about all that happened to us. Having to abandon a boat is not a good feeling, and not being able to finish the Volvo Ocean Race in ‘Movistar’ makes it even worse. It was, nevertheless, flattering that I was asked by one of the competitors to join them, but wrapping up the Movistar campaign took a lot of time. I had to say no. It has been a rollercoaster event for our team. Many highs and some lows. Like all of the other teams we encountered challenges and probably more than our fair share of misfortune. Where I can question myself is in the area of hydraulic rams, though here I learned a lot. We lost quite a lot of time because the design advice we received told us to go with carbon fibre rams. These arrived nine months late and only two months before the start. We quickly discovered that they did not work. Of the options available to us we elected to take a prudent path and go for the same type of rams as two of the other competitors. Along with these other teams we had difficulties with these but over time found the right solutions.” - VOR website, complete story: http://tinyurl.com/mesat INBREADING In 2004, the gold medal winning team in the Yngling Olympic class was the UK trio of Shirley Robertson, Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb. When Robertson was uncertain of her 2008 Olympic plans (partly clouded by her pregnancy), Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb rolled into their own 2008 campaign for the China games. For their third teammate, they chose for the front end the highly decorated Victoria Rawlinson, who had won gold and silver medals at the Youth World Championships in the 420 class in 2000 and 2001. Now, Rawlinson has decided to start her own Yngling campaign for Beijing 2008 and London 2012, teaming with her younger sister Emma to recreate the partnership that had helped to garner the victories at the Youth Worlds. Given the overall success of the British Olympic team, perhaps part of their formula is… inbreeding. I-14 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Long Beach, CA.-- Six years ago, Kris Bundy and crew Jamie Hanseler of Seattle won the International 14 Class World Championship at Beer, England. This past week they placed fourth and were delighted. With only two double-digit finishes in seven races in a 71-boat fleet, they were one point ahead of defending champions Lindsay Irwin and crew Andrew Perry of Australia, although just off the pace of runners-up wife and husband Tina and Trevor Baylis of Santa Cruz and third-place Samuel (Shark) Kahn and crew Paul Allen of Aptos, Calif. The new champions, Howard Hamlin of Long Beach and crew Euan McNicol of Australia, did not race Saturday, having secured the title a day earlier. Kahn and Allen won the last race in their favorite conditions: 18 knots of breeze blowing up a gnarly sea that left the competitors to sail through a minefield of whitecaps. Among the back markers capsizes were so common, especially at the reach and jibing points, that some crews were caught between racing and surviving, and three or four boats were often down at the same time. That's why the Baylises, though leading the race that could have been their second consecutive win, throttled back a bit while leading Kahn and Allen, who earned the victory by continuing to push hard. All they (Baylises) needed go do was to keep Kahn and Allen from putting four boats between them, and that was never close to possible. Their rivals passed them on the third downwind leg. - Full report: http://www.abyc.org/upload/I14worlds06pr10.doc Standings (71 boats; 7 races): 1. Howard Hamlin/Euan McNicol, Long Beach, 1-(4)-2-2-2-3, 10 points. 2. Tina Baylis/Trevor Baylis, Santa Cruz, Calif., (OCS)-5-5-3-5-1-2, 21. 3. Samuel (Shark) Kahn/Paul Allen, Aptos, Calif., 5-2-1-(14)-14-2-1, 25. 4. Kris Bundy/Jamie Hanseler, Seattle, 3-(25)-7-6-4-10-8, 38. 5. Lindsay Irwin/Andrew Perry, Australia, 9-1-9-(11)-11-6-3, 39. Complete results: http://www.abyc.org/upload/2006_I_14_Worlds4.htm * Thanks to photographers Sharon Green, Glennon Stratton, and Rich Roberts for providing the superb images on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/i14 UPF 50+ RASH GUARDS AND TECHNICAL SHIRTS FOR UNDER $15? Yes, it’s true and here’s the best part: You can have your company logo or event name screened onto them for that custom look. These make great jerseys for groups on a budget or companies looking to promote their name instead of someone else’s brand. Our rash guards feature premium four-way-stretch Lycra and fade-resistant Spandasol inks, along with six needle flat-lock stitching for the most comfortable fit in the business. Maybe that’s why Rusty, Billabong, Town and Country, and other top brands have selected our technical shirts to carry their brand name. Your company or event can too…562-773-0552, http://www.DryUV.com AMERICA’S CUP NEWS * Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America’s Cup, has chosen Dubai to continue the two boat training and testing programme for three months over the winter. Team skipper and tactician Brad Butterworth explains the selection process: The fact that we couldn't train efficiently in Spain last winter was a weakness, just like everywhere else in the world, Valencia has climate changes. We've taken this decision to help us win the America's Cup again in 2007." The Swiss team plans to relocate 60 members of the 132-strong team to Dubai, including 34 sailors (the full squad), designers, boatbuilders and engineers. Their two boats will be transported in early November and the team will sail from late November until the end of February. The host city, aside from a steady 8-14knot breeze, offers excellent facilities and the Dubai International Marine Club is hosting the team. – Alinghi team website, full announcement: http://tinyurl.com/mtepd * ACC Technical Director Ken McAlpine (AUS) announced that sail number 94 has been allocated, meaning that another team has commenced construction of a new yacht. The Technical Director only reports numbers allocated, not to which team. The likely teams are: China Team (CHN), Desafío Español (ESP), Victory Challenge (SWE), Luna Rossa (ITA), Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia Team (ITA), BMW Oracle Racing (USA), or Alinghi (SUI). - Challenger Commission blog, full report: http://tinyurl.com/rfqnc * With summer now over and after a week of strong rains here in Valencia we thought it was appropriate to take advantage of the nice sunny Saturday and give an update on the status of the twelve America's Cup teams in Port America's Cup. - Valencia Sailing, full story: http://tinyurl.com/o5cux LASER WORLDS (Jeju Island, Korea) Another early start for racing on the fourth day (Saturday) of the Jeju Laser Worlds looked as if it might give a good days racing in a forecast 12 to 18 knot north easterly wind. At 0800 a 10-knot northerly wind afloat looked promising. Before the race committee set the course the wind had backed to the northwest but pressure remained at 10 knots with a large westerly ground. After the course was set to the new wind, hopes were high until just before the start when the wind backed a further 25 degrees and the start was postponed. The course was re-set twice before the first fleet was finally started, only to have the race abandoned as the wind dropped to 3 knots and backed to the west direction halfway down the first down wind leg. With the second fleet unable to start, a further two hour wait saw no improvement in conditions so the fleet was sent ashore to help move 130 boats from the beach as a precaution against a storm surge from the predicated close passing of typhoon ShanShan tomorrow afternoon (Sunday). With all the Lasers off the beach and the race organization and coaches ribs and committee boat craned out there will be no racing on Sunday. A decision on Monday’s racing will be made at 1500 hours local time, the latest time when all Lasers can be returned to the beach in time for racing to start on Monday when the fleets will be split into gold and silver groups. Event website: http://www.laserworld2006.com Curmudgeon’s Comment: Here is a photo of the typhoon: http://tinyurl.com/r8gwk LEADING THE WAY IN THE NEW GP42 Latini Marine’s Roma was recently launched as the first yacht built for the new GP42 class and B&G were proud to be chosen to supply the electronics for this pioneering project. The WTP2 system installed builds on our successes in the IMS fleets and recent developments in the TP52 class where it is used by 9 of the top 10 boats. As B&G was also chosen by the next two GP42s, we look forward to supporting the class in 2007 - with competitors settling for nothing but the best in their electronics, the racing promises to be equally uncompromising. - http://www.bandg.com SAILING SHORTS * It was a Californian sweep at the end as Area G's team of Vicki Sodaro (Tiburon, CA), Stephanie Wondolleck (San Rafael, CA), Karina Vogen Shelton (Watsonville, CA), Emily French (Santa Cruz, CA) representing Northern California won the 2006 U.S. Women's Championship for the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Trophy. Hosted by Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland, OH, the event was held on Lake Erie September 13-17 and sailed in J/24s. This was the second time Vick Sodaro has won the Adams Cup as it is known, one of the oldest women's sporting trophies in the United States. – Event website: http://www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/women/uswsc/ * Four winners from four nations. DSK wins battle of the Swan 45s and Moneypenny takes Swan 601 title, while Aqua Equinox tops the Grand Prix division and Jacobite the Classic division. The hard-fought quest for overall honours in the 14th Rolex Swan Cup, organised by Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, ended with a testing day of racing. With the legendary northwesterly Mistral gusting up to 30 knots and heavy seas outside the islands, the 99 entries tackled a 17-mile coastal course. The tie-break rules came into effect, where Moneypenny won the race and with it the title. Complete report and results: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1516&lang=1 * Terry Flynn of Texas added another J/22 championship to his collection as he prevailed over 58 other teams to win the 2006 J/22 North American Championship on September 13-15 at Wayzata Yacht Club. Although the first day of racing was abandoned due to a lack of wind, the two days of racing that occurred featured breezes ranging from 7-18 knots. With a total score of only 15 points spanning seven races, Flynn’s consistency dominated the regatta despite very puffy and shifty conditions on Lake Minnetonka. Chris Doyle of New York won the award for top amateur sailor. Complete results: http://www.j22northamericans.com * Enrique Figueroa with wife Carla Malatrasi won his sixth Hobie 16 North American Championship last week in Narragansett Rhode Island. In a repeat of last year’s championship, the Guatemalans Juan Maegli sailing with Enrique Arathoon finished the week in second. Rounding out the top three was the former Olympic board sailor from Venezuela. Yamil Saba. sailing with Gonzalo Cendra. In fourth with the final Pan Am Games spot awarded at this event was former North American Champions from Mexico, Armando Noriega and Roderigo Achach. Americans Bob Merrick and Eliza Cleveland finished in fifth place. – Full report and results: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/H16na0917.htm * Hopefully the St Francis YC will find time soon to post final results and race details from the Big Boat Series, which they hosted this past weekend. There wasn’t anything current as of our press time Sunday evening, but fortunately photographers Glennon Stratton, Chris Ray, and Eric Simonson did have time to provide the superb images that are now on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/bbs CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar JOB OPENING AT VANGUARD Vanguard Sailboats needs a Quality Assurance Manager to manage their product quality programs. They are the leading supplier of quality small sailboats including Sunfish, Laser, the exciting new Feva, Sailing World's 2006 Boat of the Year, and Seitech dollies, the leading small sailboat dolly. For more information go to http://www.teamvanguard.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or space (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and please save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, you can post your comments on the Scuttlebutt Forums, wherein we may include your submission in the newsletter. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forums: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Eric Mueller: What do you do if a PHRF committee decides to eliminate a class? This question comes from NCPHRF recent actions against Hobie33's. They have been reducing the rating, especially over the last year, to the point where it is impossible to race the boat successfully in HDA. The current rating for a standard class rigged Hobie33 is 78. This has resulted in no HDA registered boats. In August the committee rejected multiple appeals. The committee's timing is interesting. They made their latest change just before a two-month break they take during summer in advance of their own schedule. This was followed by a delay in publishing the minutes of the August meeting until contacted and it was too late to submit a response. Their promised response to the apellates has not yet been sent out a month later. A lot of this centers around a single boat that has been doing well in the single-handed division and coastal races. I do not own a Hobie33, but have been looking at purchasing one. These actions by the committee have resulted in Northern California boats being sold and moved out of state to areas like the Northwest and elsewhere where the class has seen resurgence. At what point does a witch-hunt by a PHRF committee destroy a class? Should they have this ability or should there be limitations to how far they can go? * From Richard du Moulin: Cy Gilette had friends all over the world. I had the pleasure of racing with Cy on Huey Long's Ondine years ago. A great gentleman and competitor, and always calm, friendly, and polite in the midst of the most challenging situations at sea, and in the protest room! Our condolences to Greg and family. * From Roger Vaughan: Even though he was 92, I'm surprised as well as sadden by Cy Gillette's passing. He was one of those "forever" people who always looked about the same, who's judgment was well-considered, who's balance was unshakable, who always took your calls, who loved a good laugh, and who always seemed to enjoy what he was doing. Cy was one of sailings' true gentlemen. We are all fortunate that sailing was his passion. He'll be warmly remembered. * From Max Rosenberg: Fin hits the starting sequence on the head (in Issue 2181). The starting sequence now is a disaster. Try explaining the new sequence (Flags in particular) to a newbie. Good luck. First sound, drop your sandwich and get to work! We are racing in less than 5 minutes. Better yet, try doing race committee sometime. I miss white, blue and red. * From Fred Young: I just finished reading your article about your trip to Tahiti. Very well done; it brought back many fond memories. I was there a couple of years ago, also on an M-525. I’m thinking that when I return, I will go in June for the Tahiti Nui Cup and race around the islands. I hear Huahinee really opens up during that time. Anyway, thanks again for reminding me of that great part of the world. Curmudgeon’s Comment: If you’re thinking of bareboat cruising and/ or going to French Polynesia, first read the Scuttlebutt report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/tahiti * From Manfred C. Schreiber, Germany: (re, Art Ahrens letter in SC 2181) Sailors need to get their community leaders and board of directors on their side.... they are sponsoring a clean sport. Oh no, don’t say this loud. If we have a race week, say Kiel week or Travemünde Week, the marinas and the waters are "polluted" with RIBS and 2-stroke smoke. Watch the trainers/ parents driving their teams in and out to the racecourse in planning mode and you know we are moving away from operating in a clean sport…. at least in the competitive arena. * From George Schirtzinger: Somehow I think most people will deal with this sensibly in terms of access and uses (regarding “ONLY IN AMERICA” in Issue 2181). It does ring with the reaction against the Kelo decision by the Supreme Court, a truly flawed piece of work. From that standpoint, preserving property rights of owners, this is a good thing. It also may play into the definition of "wetlands" under the purview of EPA and the Corps of Engineers, where both agencies have largely succeeded in controlling property that has no relationship to or impact on the original intent of the Clean Water Act through an arbitrary and very expansive interpretation of the language, backed up with the force (legal and monetary) of the government. In some cases this activity has approached a "taking" as defined in the Constitution, but that is another matter. * From J. Dirk Schwenk: A quick internet search shows that there is a lot of hype out there about the Parm v. Shumate case -- described Friday in Scuttlebutt (in Issue 2181) as a "bizarre" decision that "it is criminal trespass for the American boating public to boat, fish, or hunt on the Mississippi River and other navigable waters in the US." Since the description of the case seems to violate every principle of riparian rights law (land under water owned by state; waterfront owners allowed to wharf out, but not to charge for access to waters in front of their property; public entitled to access beach, navigable waters reserved to public use, etc.) it did seem to be a bizarre decision. Reading it, however, shows that it is not at all bizarre -- its holdings are just being misinterpreted or misrepresented by advocacy groups, particularly fishing groups. In the case, Mr. Parm was fishing over private property that was under the Mississipi River, because the Mississipi had flooded its bank above mean high water. The Court held that fishing and hunting on a flooded private bank of the river was not allowed "because these activities do not 'meet the definition of using the bank of a river at its high water mark for a navigational purpose." There is some interesting discussion about Louisiana law and the right to public use of the riverbank, but there is definitely not a holding that it is criminal trespass to boat, fish or hunt on the navigable waters of the US. If Scuttlebutt readers would like to judge for themselves, I posted the decision on our website as an article titled Riparian Rights and Flooded Lands: http://www.boatinglaw.com/document.cfm/document58 * From Jim and Mac Lyle, CYC, Seattle, WA: (In reply to Fin Beven letter in Issue 2181 about the decline in racing) In response to Mr. Beven's suggestion that the new starting system may be discouraging to new sailors, my 8 year old son seemed to pick up on the "new" starting system pretty fast at his first regatta this year. From his perspective - class flag up, "Hey that's me," blue flag up, "still have 4 minutes of waiting around," blue flag down, "get on the line," class flag down, "GO." And they even blow horns to wake him up with every signal. Pretty cool for him. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Sometimes too much to drink is not enough. Scuttlebutt provided by DryUV, B&G Instruments, and Vanguard. America’s Cup coverage in Scuttlebutt is brought to you by UBS. |
