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SCUTTLEBUTT 3118 - Tuesday, June 22, 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: JK3 Nautical Enterprises, North Sails, and Landfall. MAKING IT HOME FROM HAPPY VALLEY (June 21, 2010) - Bermuda executive Mark Watson made his first race to Bermuda memorable with a corrected time win in Genuine Risk (Dubois 90') in the Open Division for cant-keel boats. Speedboat (Juan K 100'), owned by Alex Jackson, took line honors for the race, finishing just before dawn at 3:47:56 with an elapsed time of 59:17:56, well off the course record. Ran (JV 72'), the Fastnet and Sydney Hobart race winner, finished first in Class 10 and is a strong contender for the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse trophy. Il Mostro (Puma) skippered by Ken Read, crossed the line second and corrected just behind Genuine Risk. "We were ahead of Il Mostro and Speedboat after we all came out of the Gulf Stream west of the rhumb line," Watson said. "We decided to take a more easterly angle to avoid a cold eddy with negative current, but that let Speedboat separate from us." Ralph Steitz, Sailing Director for the US Merchant Marine Academy (owner of Genuine Risk, which Watson sponsored), was one of many sailors who said how much they had enjoyed the race. "This was the easiest Bermuda Race I've ever done and I've done a few." Vanquish (STP 65'), co-skippered by Bermudian Buddy Rego and Americans Russell Lucas and Jamie Hilton, crossed the line first in Class 8 for the big boats in the amateur St. David's Lighthouse Division, but Gus Carlson's Aurora (R/P 66') is the provisional class winner. Some smaller boats have a good shot at winning the division. Carina (CTM 48'), skippered by Rives Potts, has a 60-mile lead over her Class 3 competition. In the highly competitive Class 1, Sinn Fein (Cal 40), Peter Rebovich's Cal 40 and the two-time defending St. David's winner, has sailed farther west than anybody and is fighting for the lead with David Dickerson's Lindy (Peterson 38'). -- Race website: http://www.bermudarace.com/ => Curmudgeon's Comment: There are A LOT of divisions in the N-B Race - at least a two cocktail trophy presentation. WEATHER DELAYS CONTINUE IN GERMANY Kiel, Germany (June 21, 2010; Day 3) - The wind disrupted racing again at Kieler Woche, the sixth stage of the 7 event ISAF Sailing World Cup. Only the 49er, 2.4 mR and the Womens Match Racing competition could finish races today. "We tried to get all classes on the water today but every time we thought we could start the wind dropped again," Jobst Richter, Chairman of Kieler Woche explained. And the forecast for tomorrow promises not much more wind. In this case Jobst Richter and his team may take the decision to cancel the races for the 2.4 mR, who have completed nine races in Kiel, to use this course, which is close to the shore and shows promise of a chance to sail fair races for the other classes. The Gold group of the Womens Match Racing provided a couple of surprises today. Former leaders Lucy Macgregor (GBR) and Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) had a bad day, losing all three of their flights whilst world number two, Claire Leroy (FRA) has revelled in the light conditions winning all three of her flights sailed. Also in the mix is Genevieve Tulloch (USA) winning both her races. The results from the six teams in the Gold group, plus the top two teams that advance from the Repachage series, will determine the pairings for the Quarter Finals. Americans Erik Stork and Trevor Moore continue to improve in the 49er fleet, rolling a 3-15 to move up to 10th overall (and 7th country). Racing for all Olympic fleets concludes Wednesday. Event website: http://www.kieler-woche.de/eng/englishdefault.php USSTAG report: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Events/World_Cup/KW2010.htm JK3 CUSTOMERS LIVING THE DREAM There is nothing that makes us more proud than having helped customers get into the perfect boat to fulfill their dreams of setting sail on the adventure of a lifetime. Recently, two J/160 customers have abandoned their desk jobs and sailed South West towards the crystal waters and steady breeze of the South Pacific. Stephen and Cindy Everett aboard Salacia are gallivanting around a coral atoll island so deserted they named it "Salacia Island". Meanwhile, J/160 owners Bill and Susan Grund aboard Avante are "puddle jumping" the 3,000 mile stretch of the Pacific from the Galapagos to Marquesas. For links to our customers blogs, visit http://www.jk3yachts.com - Offices in San Diego (619-224-6200) and Newport Beach (949-675-8053). ONE ELEVEN: JK3 is a J/Boats dealer, and is pleased to be promoting their new 36-footer taking shape at Custom Composites in Bristol, R.I. When later asked if the J/111 was meant to replace the similarly sized and conceptualized J/105 - the original production sprit boat - J/Boats president Jeff Johnstone chuckled. "I don't think anything could ever replace the 105, and there are a lot of 105 owners who also believe that, but this, the 111, is essentially a 105 on steroids." Read on for a J/111 tech review: http://www.sailingworld.com/sailboats/hatching-a-one-design "MORE MONEY WILL BRING BETTER SAILORS" Malaysian businessman Patrick Lim, Executive Chairman of the ten event World Match Racing Tour, discusses his views and ambitions for the world's match racing championship as new owner of the circuit. In this comment, Lim replies to criticism for focusing excessively on the business and commercial side of the Tour to the detriment of the sports side: "The business side will ensure that in the long term the sports side will have the world's best sailors competing in better venues with better boats. You have to look at it from that perspective. If funding is insufficient then you won't have the adequate sports level. My job is exactly that. We have a very good team put in place now and our job is to listen to event promoters and work with them. They know the sport of sailing inside out. "Frankly, more money will bring better sailors. Talk to any sailor taking part in the Tour and he will tell you that funding is one of their primary, if not the most important, worries. If they can have more income through more prize money then they can be much more focused on sailing. I'm not going to bastardize the Tour and make sailors wear monkey suits in order to make more money. Our focus is the Tour and we want to achieve the highest level of competition and the highest level of sailors. "Talk to the event promoters. What do they need most? More funding. I can assure you that if they get more money they will reinvest it back to their events. They will have the best umpires, the best race officers and the best organization. Someone has to take care of the business side and that's my job. Answering your question, I don't think there's anything wrong with having a strong business focus on that. Having said that, I want to make it clear again that sailing is our top priority. I don't claim I'm a sailing expert but our team has excellent sailing experts and we will always strive to achieve the best." -- Valencia Sailing, complete interview: http://tinyurl.com/37zcazg TO GLOBALLY GROW TEAM RACING By Ken Legler, Tufts University I hereby challenge the ICSA (Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association) to take the lead in getting team racing into the Olympics by 2020. Here is a possible road map to Team Racing 2020. Our college sailing tour of the British Isles takes place every four years with BUSA (British Universities Sailing Association) sailors coming here in between. How about we take our tour on the road every summer beyond the British Isles. We need to hit non-English emerging nations that have great influence within ISAF (International Sailing Federation). Why is spreading team racing so hard? Language. Virtually all the medalists in the eight Team Racing World Championships held to date have been from English speaking countries; namely USA, GBR, NZL, AUS, and IRE. Just as American football is hard to translate to the masses when compared to soccer; so is team racing, when compared to match racing. It can and must be done, however. When watching random sports of the Olympic Games on TV, we viewers become experts in two nights. Even non-sailors can be experts in basic combinations after watching two sessions with a good commentator. We better hurry. There is a rumor that ISAF might lower the status of the Team Racing Worlds if more countries don't show up. There is currently no avenue to the worlds following Optimist Team Racing Worlds. Let's change that. ICSA needs to help other nations enjoy team racing as soon as the next World University Games if not sooner. The USA used to dominate Olympic sailing medals, 1984-92. Then the other countries starting taking these medals seriously, very seriously. Perhaps they could be encouraged to do the same in team racing. Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/Legler-TR SCHEDULED CONFIRMED FOR THE VELUX 5 OCEANS The VELUX 5 OCEANS has announced the dates of the starts of the five ocean sprints in the 2010/11 edition of this solo race, which currently has Brad Van Liew (USA) and Derek Hatfield (CAN) entered in the ECO 60 class (Open 60s launched before January 2003): Ocean Sprint 1: La Rochelle, France to Cape Town, S.A. - 7,500 nm Start date: October 17 Ocean Sprint 2: Cape Town, S.A. to Wellington, N.Z. - 7,000 nm Start date: December 12 Ocean Sprint 3: Wellington, N.Z. to Salvador, Brazil - 7,400 nm Start date: February 6 Ocean Sprint 4: Salvador, Brazil to Charleston, U.S. - 4,000 nm Start date: April 10 Ocean Sprint 5: Charleston, U.S. to La Rochelle, France - 3,600 nm Start date: May 14 The fleet is expected to arrive in La Rochelle in early June 2011 with prize giving on June 11. The race has been billed as The Ultimate Solo Challenge since 1982 because of the stop-start nature of the high speed racing over the Ocean Sprints, covering the greatest distance and time alone at sea of any race around the world. It is also a truly international ocean race, visiting five continents and offering a worldwide media profile over an eight month period. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/V5O-06-21-10 NORTH-POWERED BOATS WIN AT CHICAGO NOOD North Sails-powered boats dominated the 2010 Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD from June 11-13 by winning seven of 13 classes including the overall trophy won by Bob Vickery and crew onboard his Beneteau 40.7 'Collaboration 2'. Congratulations to Vickery and Team 'Collaboration 2' along with: GL 36 winner Adam Berger & Team 'Impetuous'; Farr 40 winner Helmut Jahn & Team 'Flash Gordon 5'; Level 35 winner William Newman & Team 'Aftershock'; T10 winner Martin Plonus & Team 'Tango'; PHRF 3 winner Scott Bruesewitz & Team 'REDRUM'; and PHRF 4 winner Robert Armstrong & Team 'Good Girl.' When performance matters, head North: http://na.northsails.com MARITIME SEARCH AND RESCUE When accidents occur at sea, help is on its way. The first day Abby Sunderland was stranded in the Southern Ocean, Australia's rescue agency chartered a jet to fly over the area where her emergency beacon was activated. The 11-hour flight cost an estimated 110,000 Australian dollars (US $94,500). The second day, after locating her, the agency sent another plane to coordinate her pickup by ships racing toward her damaged and drifting yacht. The Australian military also deployed two Orion aircraft to wait on an Indian Ocean island in case an airdrop or further assistance was needed. An Orion costs about AU$30,000 an hour to operate. In the meantime, the French territory of Reunion Island diverted three ships to Sunderland's location. The fishing vessel that reached her first lost at least three days of work; a commercial ship also sent to her rescue would have added three or four days of travel time to its intended destination. There were no charges for these services, as no country wants people, regardless of nationality or purpose, to hesitate calling for rescue if they are concerned about cost. While Sunderland's rescue got significant publicity, the majority of maritime search and rescue calls are not well known. A recent rescue in the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans points out the breadth of assets that can be routinely used: --------------------- The body of a diver that went missing while spearfishing 30 nautical miles south of Intracoastal City, LA was recovered Sunday. The Coast Guard received a report on Saturday at approximately 1:30 p.m that a group of divers aboard an 18-foot pleasure craft were spearfishing when a fellow diver did not resurface. The following Coast Guard assets searched Saturday and at first light Sunday morning: * Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter, crew * Coast Guard Cutter Razorbill and crew, homeported in Gulfport, Miss. * Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile, Ala., HC-144 aircraft, crew --------------------- A map of the Global Maritime Search and Rescue Areas, and the countries with responsibilities can be seen here: http://tinyurl.com/2bw6b8e Coast Guard story source: http://tinyurl.com/CG-062010 Sunderland story source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/teen_sailor MAYDAY DONE RIGHT Youngsters everywhere are taught how to make a 911 call, but how many children and teenagers (or adults) get on a boat without knowing how to call for help? Soundings Online provides here the steps in placing a proper mayday call: 1. Tune your VHF radio to channel 16, press the push-to-talk button and, speaking slowly and clearly, say: "mayday, mayday, mayday." 2. "This is ..." (give the boat name three times). 3. Repeat "mayday" and the name of boat one more time. 4. Give the position of the boat by latitude and longitude or the bearing (specify true or magnetic) and distance to a well-known landmark or navigational aid, or in any way that will help rescuers find you. 5. State the nature of your distress (sinking, heart attack, fire, etc.). 6. Define the kind of assistance required (pumps, firefighting equipment, medical). 7. Give the number of people on board, any injuries and an estimate of the time the boat has left afloat. 8. Describe the boat, including length, color, type (convertible, sloop, etc.) and any other information that will help rescuers. 9. Say "Over," release the transmit button, and listen for a response. Repeat after 10 seconds if there is no response. Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/29shy4j SAILING SHORTS * (June 21, 2010) - The hare and hounds style pursuit race across the Atlantic is very much on - Cork has emerged from Stealth Mode and the Clipper 09-10 fleet has the Irish target firmly in their sights. Taking the IRC ratings into consideration, the Challenge 67 Cork set off on Race 12 from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Kinsale, Ireland two days ahead of the nine boat Clipper 68. Leading the hounds is Jamaica Lightning Bolt, 192 nm astern of Cork. -- Event website: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/ * Sydney, Australia (June 21, 2010) - An all girl school on Sydney Harbour saw a boat shed blaze early Monday morning destroy between 30 and 35 Laser sail boats, plus associated equipment including rigging and motorised crafts. -- Full Story: http://tinyurl.com/2fs5t32 * The Notice of Race and entry details are now available for the 2010 Farr 30 World Championship, to be held in Hyeres, France on October 23 - 31. -- http://www.farr30.org/2010-world-championship.html DINGHY LOCKER WELCOMES WORLD CHAMP MCLAUGHLIN BOATWORKS Dinghy Locker, the nation's leading Performance Youth Sailing Outfitter, now carries McLaughlin Optimists! Speed, performance, durability can be yours. Built in the USA and in stock! Get your Club or Pro Racer Opti at Dinghy Locker NOW! Visit: Dinghy Locker, 151 Harvard Ave, Stamford (I95, Ex 6), call: 800-941-2219, shop: http://bit.ly/c9JmGL 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 Anton Huggler, Bainbridge Island (re, letters in #3116, 3117) Barbara Thoney versus Adrian Morgan - Oh, those poor professional sailors: "... getting on one little plane after another, sharing a hotel room with your closest 'friends', losing your bags, being in all manner of inclement weather including no wind ..." It is their choice. If they don't like it, they can quit. I agree with Adrian. * From Alan Ouellette (re, Sacrificing the Social Part of the Sport: #3117): An alternate solution for weighing crews: Make the official scale available throughout the regatta. Weigh the crews of the top ten boats at the end of each day of racing. If you are over weight, you are scored DSQ for all the races that day. This puts the onus on the crews to sail below the weight limit for the entire regatta. * From Jeff Borland (re, Sacrificing the Social Part of the Sport: #3117): Actually Craig, I think that all those teams who have spent a week or more doing crazy diets to get below the weight limit and now have to abstain due to re-weighing are the ones missing the point. The teams who have worked to get a group of people together whose "regular" weight allows them to race and enjoy themselves at the same time are the ones who are competing within the rule AND the spirit of the rule. Having to dehydrate oneself of a couple pounds to make weight (only to put it back on with the first glass of water or beer) is clearly not the intent of the rule. If you have a team whose total weight will fluxuate that much in two days, you need to ask yourself if you are cheating. The rule states the crew weight must be less - all the time. How can you as a team think you are abiding by the rule when 20 minutes after weigh-in you are above the weight limit? It is the nature of competition that people will push the rules to their limit, and the Etchells class is doing what it can to try to manage that push. Don't blame the class for your decision to be too close to the limit that you cannot afford a small fluctuation. (and remember, a person typically weighs their least early in the morning). => Curmudgeon's Comment: There is an interesting report posted on Scuttleblog by Mark Johnson of the Sydney, Australia fleet, explaining how the Etchells class crew weight limit is too high, encouraging people to be overweight. At the current weight limit, the average crew weight for three people is 209.44 pounds (but for four people it's 157.08 pounds). Why is there a crew weight limit at all? It was introduced after Dennis Conner dominated a windy 1991 Worlds in San Francisco with a combined crew weight of 818 pounds - an average of 273 pounds per person! Read all the comments here: http://tinyurl.com/26uhuwv CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION I like to go to art museums and name the untitled paintings . . . Kitten On Fire . . . Misunderstood Man . . . Future Subdivision. Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises, North Sails, and Landfall. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
