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SCUTTLEBUTT 3666 - Thursday, August 30, 2012Scuttlebutt 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: Melges Performance Sailboats and Ullman Sails. CROSS PROMOTION It hit us like a sledge hammer during the 2008 Olympics. As favorites for the 470 Men's gold medal, Aussies Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page announced the naming of their 470. And then the Internet blew up. Apparently, Wilmot and Page name all their boats after Academy Award winning actor Nicole Kidman's films. When they named their Olympic boat Dead Calm, it drew a response from Kidman, and this connection of celebrity and sailing led to more stories about sailing in non-sailing publications than we had ever seen before. Cross promotion had arrived. Fast forward to now, the AC World Series last week got a giant gift when Olympic gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson fell off the back of Oracle Team USA's AC45 during a race. News of this splash instantly flooded countless non-sailing websites. And Red Bull's sponsorship of the American team is proving to expose the America's Cup "brand" to its action sports audience. American professional snowboarder Travis Rice, who managed to stay onboard the American boat during a race last week, spoke to ESPN about the experience. Here are a few excerpts that he shared with this non-sailing demographic: "I've always been a little wonderstruck by the act of sailing and the adventure that comes with it. You travel completely sustained by trade winds. It's pretty insane, if you think about it. I mean, look at all the ways we get around on land. It used to be horses, and you could go anywhere. Once our culture came away from horses and paved roads all over the planet, then we became limited to roads." "We're living in a world where it's hard to do dumb s---. What's amazing to me about sailing is how boundless it is. You're not protected by this safety net of stoplights and safety features. You're truly at the mercy of your own decisions, and if you're an idiot you're going to get smacked." "This new style of sailing is amazing. It's like F1 racing. I think it's really going to change the demographic, to take it from this frumpy old man's sport to something that people are way more interested in watching. They're basically turning it into an "action sport," because new boats go over 30 knots. I mean they haul ass, and they flip all the time." Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/ESPN-082912 CONCERN: After the hangover healed from the excitement of the AC World Series last week in San Francisco, the sobering reality of the America's Cup challenger series looms large. With only four challengers, which may be reduced to three teams if Korea can't find additional funding, will there be sufficient fan interest to financially support the 44-day Louis Vuitton Cup? "I guess it's going to be intriguing to see how much the (fan) following is on these boats," regatta director Iain Murray said. "If one boat is dominating, it's probably going to be tough." Read more: http://tinyurl.com/SFC-082912 A STAYSAIL FOR RACING Lawrie Yearsley of St. Paul, Minnesota asks: "I own a 1973 C&C 30. It came with a staysail, which I have never flown. We typically use a mainsail, jib and spinnaker. We race frequently, and I am wondering if the boat would be faster with the staysail on. The sail looks pretty old and grungy, but is usable, and I have noticed them being flown on the large Volvo 70s. Is there any advantage to me using one on my boat?" Win Fowler (Maine Sailing Partners) Replies: "There are many flavors of staysail, and probably the most useful ones for increasing speed every now and then are those you see on the Volvo 70s you mention - lightweight sails with a full hoist, high clew and vertical leech. These work best at apparent wind angles close to a beam reach. On a broad reach or run, they are mostly eclipsed by the mainsail, and on a tight reach there is not much room for them in the slot between a spinnaker and mainsail. A planing boat like a V70 is more likely to sail in the staysail's apparent wind range than a boat like yours, but that doesn't mean you'll never find it useful. The ideal place to tack the sail is 60 to 70 percent of the distance from the mast to the spinnaker tack." Source: SAIL, http://www.sailmagazine.com/boatworks/staysail-racing MELGES FALL SAVINGS This is the time of year to freshen up your sailing program. Especially with the Melges 32, Melges 24 and Audi Melges 20 Winter Series coming up. Whether you want a Melges Sportboat or you want a Melges Performance Scow you can save big during our Fall Savings. Included in this Fall Savings Campaign is the Melges 29er. New boats are being produced now! Race to http://www.melges.com for further details. MEET THE NEW COLLEGIATE 420 By Zach Brown, Airwaves It's an exciting time to be involved in high school and college sailing. Even in the face of an economic downturn, new programs are popping up all over the country. Teams are receiving more support from their Universities in the form of money or varsity status. And the governing body of ICSA has been progressive, introducing new changes over the last years. LaserPerformance is adding to the improvement of college sailing with the introduction of the Collegiate 420. Over the last ten years there has been plenty of discussion about the creation of a modern collegiate boat. The debate has always been between performance and durability with the price tag serving as the moderator. Modern boat building technology combined with an increased focus on advancing collegiate sailing has given LaserPerformance the ability to improve the Club 420's speed and strength without raising the cost. History Lesson Born in France in 1959, the 420 first gained traction as a development boat for the 470. It grew in popularity over the 60's and made its way to the shores of the US. Yale was the first University to create a sailing club, and also the first to order a modified version of the 420 in 1977 from Vanguard. Yale's Club 420 was thicker and stronger, preventing cracking of its rails when it bumped into a dock or another boat. The evolution of the 420 to Club 420 was motivated by the need to lower costs and minimize boat repairs. Although fixing boats taught students valuable lessons about handiwork, boat care, and responsibility, the materials and equipment were expensive. The tradeoff between spending time on boat repair or time on the water drove college programs to request more durable boats. Breakdowns and byes were a common issue that plagued college sailing until the Club 420 evolved into the sturdy but heavy pigs sailed today. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/S1D-082912 INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity for companies to announce new products and services. Here are some of recent postings: * R&W Rope Hires Marine Sales Manager * Travel Group Launches Sailing Team & Regatta Logistics division * Latitude 46: A Tofinou boat in Nantucket View updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news SAILING SHORTS * San Diego, CA (August 29, 2012) - Sunken debris from the 37-foot Hunter 376 Aegean has been found. Theo Mavromatis, owner and skipper of Aegean, and his crew of three perished on April 28 while participating in the 125-mile Lexus Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race. The debris discovery, conducted during dives by Russell Moore of Xplore Offshore and off duty lifeguard Ed Harris, was located at Mexico's Coronado Islands, the site where it was suspected Aegean had collided. Photo and video evidence of the debris, which includes the motor, keel, and spars, has been submitted to the U.S. Coast Guard. -- http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14418#14418 * Gimli, Manitoba (August 29, 2012) - Day one of racing at the Craig & Ross CYA Youth National Championships got off to a great start today with the sun shining and winds between 8 and 12 knots on three courses. The Charlie Course played host to the BIC Techno 293 for 3 races, and the 29er's who completed 4 races. Racing on the Bravo Course were the 420 and 4.7 fleets completing 3 races each and furthest from shore, on the Alpha course the Laser and Laser Radial fleets put in four races apiece. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.ca/features/craig_ross_cya_youth_national_championships/ * (August 29, 2012) - New Orleans appeared to have avoided major damage when Hurricane Isaac came onshore Wednesday, but the city was littered with fallen trees and power lines, and 200,000 residents were without power. By afternoon, the National Weather Service downgraded the system to a tropical storm, but cautioned that significant damage can still occur. Plaquemines Parish to the south took the brunt of the storm. WindAlert.com has created a dedicated Isaac tracking page as a public service, providing free access to their subscriber data which comes from their weather stations positioned in the path of the storm: http://www.windalert.com/storm/isaac * America's Cup defender Oracle Team USA is seeking to launch their first AC72 this week and has tentatively scheduled the first sail on Friday, August 31. The hulls were constructed at the team's base in San Francisco (Pier 80, with the cross beams, wingsail, appendages (rudders and daggerboards) and other key structures made in New Zealand by Core Builders Composites. Prior to sailing, a myriad of mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems that control the steering, wing and sails must be tested and approved. The inaugural outing is contingent on the fulfillment of checks and appropriate weather. -- http://oracle-team-usa.americascup.com * St. Moritz, Switzerland (August 29, 2012) - Laurie Jury (NZL) made an early statement on day one of the St. Moritz Match Race, going undefeated for five wins in shifty winds on Lake St. Moritz. Also posting no losses at the fifth stop of the eight event World Match Racing Tour was Johnie Berntsson (SWE). Twelve teams are competing in the Blu26 One Design. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/WMRT-082912 EIGHT BELLS Helen K. Ingerson, recipient of U.S. Sailing's most prestigious award, the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, passed away on August 25th, 2012. Her late husband, Joseph P. Ingerson, introduced her to his love of sailing and, next to him, it became her greatest passion in life. Helen was an active member and officer of Rochester Yacht Club, and with Joe, initiated the Platinum Point Yacht Club in Punta Gorda, FL, where she served as Commodore. Helen was known world-wide for her commitment and dedication to the sport of sailing. She was a competitor, a Senior Race Officer and Judge for US Sailing, an International Sailing Federation Judge and a leader of other sailing organizations including the Great Lakes Yacht Racing Association. Helen was highly recognized as a pioneer for women in sailing, running racing clinics for women, and being at the forefront at the inception of women's events such as the International Women's Keelboat Championship, the Women's Open and the Adams Cup at the national level. In 1996, she was awarded U.S. Sailing's most prestigious award, the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, for her outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing. She has earned her place in sailing history. -- Complete obituary: http://tinyurl.com/H-K-I-082912 THE NATIONAL TITLES ARE STACKING UP It's been a summer of one design titles for Ullman Sails customers! Jon Thompson and Willie Tippet kicked off the season, claiming the Cal 20 Canadian National title in June. Mark and Bruce Golison quickly followed suit on their Cal 20 "Bandini Mountain," winning the U.S. Nationals in Long Beach. Jerry Thompson and Mandi Smith were crowned the Lido 14 Class Champions last month in Anacortes, WA. And across the pond, Jack Fenwick and John McLaren recently placed 1,2 respectively at the Seascape UK Nationals! All teams competed with the red and blue. Well done! Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Eric Steinberg, America's Cup Race Management: In Scuttlebutt 3665, Olof Hult suggested an improvement for the AC World Series would be a means for the spectators to hear what the broadcast commentators are saying. I have good news, as the TV commentary can be heard on marine VHF channel 20 for all races that are broadcast. This was tested in Newport, and seemed to work well on Thursday through Sunday in San Francisco. Please pass this on to anyone with a marine VHF. * From Jeremy McGeary, Farnham VA: Thank you, Ted Jones, for that wonderful tribute to Alan Gurney (Scuttlebutt 3665). Alan would never have known it but he was a big inspiration to me. For two years I ran Humphrey Simson's 1972 Kittiwake, a brilliant design, and my faith in her was total after we came through Hurricane Gilda on the way to Bermuda in 1973. When I left her in 1975, I asked Alan if I could visit him in his office to discuss "improvements" he could have made to Kittiwake. He gracefully took me in and we went over some of her plans, where I saw that some of my "improvements" would not have been necessary had the builders not made their own "adjustments" to the original design. Our meeting was brief, but I came away from it with his reassurance that if I wanted to be a yacht designer, all I had to do was work hard at it, and not expect riches to follow. To this day, I still have fond memories of those days on Kittiwake, and of the years I spent designing yachts (I dropped out when pixels replaced ink). On my bookshelf, I have "Compass", which is only appropriate, since Alan Gurney helped me set mine. * From Donald Street: In Alan's early career in the states, he had problems designing interior accommodations. He was short, about 5'6" (the English in those days were short), and his interiors and bunks were designed for 5'8 or 5'10" English men... not 6'2" Americans! Hump Simson's first boat was designed as above, but for his second boat (Kittywake), Hump insisted all bunks be 6' 6" long with plenty of headroom and a BIG head. * From Bill Wheary: Regarding Ken Legler's (Scuttlebutt 3664), the Curmudgeon's and others' advocacy of including non-windward/leeward courses in the racing schedule, the Round the Lights Race in Southeastern Virginia is a wonderful example of a "different" race that has become very popular among big boat racers. The race starts in a creek near the entrance into Hampton Roads from the Chesapeake Bay. Upon exiting the creek, approximately 5 miles to port in the Bay is Thimble Shoals Light and about the same distance to starboard in Hampton Roads is Middle Ground Light. The currents in the Bay and the Roads change at different times and in both of these wide bodies of water the currents flow in a variety of directions and strengths. Naturally, the wind 5 miles out in the Bay and nearer to the Atlantic are likely to differ considerably from winds in Hampton Roads in direction, strength and time of day. The race is a pursuit start (spread out over more than an hour and a half) and the course takes the boats first around one lighthouse, then the other and back to the start/finish line. Now here's the good part - the boats may sail the course in either direction (as well as leave either lighthouse to port or starboard). The conditions challenge even the best navigators and it is not unusual to see the fleet fairly evenly divided between those who first head out into the Bay and those who head in the opposite direction. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14417#14417 * From George Wheeler: Occasionally deviating from the 'perfect' windward-leeward course for day races, as Ken Legler suggests (in Scuttlebutt3664) tests a crew in far more ways, and as a result, is far more interesting for the crew. What will be our wind angle? What sails should we use? What will be the fastest course? And if your course is near land, that adds a myriad of questions too. If regatta organizers don't start shuffling the deck on race course selection, we are going to be 'perfecting' ourselves into extinction. * From Paul Warren Redington Beach, FL: Regarding Peter Swanson's inquiry in Scuttlebutt 3663, as a US Sailing certified basic sailing & cruising sailing instructor, I definitely try to teach my students the sailing and seamanship skills they need to have full confidence on the water. Among the things I specifically try to focus on: sailing away from/into the dock/slip; at least a half-dozen knots beyond a square knot, clove hitch and bowline, and when/how to use them; close-quarters maneuvering (my quote: "You're only close if you hit!"); keeping a "weather eye"; and, heavy weather sailing + emergencies-at-sea, to name just a few. Obviously, every sailor is on a lifetime journey of learning: new sailing conditions, different boats, unfamiliar harbors, crew teamwork or not. I see my job as a sailing instructor as entailing three elements: 1) share my passion for sailing and the adventures it brings; 2) build as much competency for a student as I can during my (usually) short period of instruction; and, 3) instill a sense of responsibility for each skipper and/or crew: they're always responsible for the safe operation of the boat and the crew -- a successful cruise/race is when the boat comes back intact and the crew returns with the same number of fingers and toes they left the dock with. Most of all, I like to think that I teach my students to have FUN on the water. Many of them have gone on to long sailing careers of their own, along with boat ownership in many cases. No, Peter ... electronics, engines, air-conditioning, gen-sets are all amenities that, in my opinion, should be "earned" by learning and appreciating the basics of sailing. For the record, I've taught over 1,000 people either basic sailing or advanced racing/cruising during instructor stints at Offshore Sailing School, Annapolis Sailing School and the sailing/racing program at the US Naval Academy. SEND US YOUR RACE REPORTS Posting your event information on the free, self-serve Scuttlebutt Event Calendar tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. But don't stop there... send us your race reports too. Here are some of the upcoming events listed on the calendar: Aug 29 - Sept 2 - Knickerbocker Cup - Port Washington, NY, USA Aug 31 - Vineyard Race - Stamford, CT, USA Sept 1-2 - Bronte Rocks - Oakville, Ontario, Canada Sept 6-9 - Beneteau First 36.7 North Americans - Cleveland, OH, USA Sept 6-9 - Viper 640 North Americans - Marblehead, MA, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Inspiration and perspiration are related by more than rhyme. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Samson Rope - Dieball Sailing - Gowrie Group - North Sails KO Sailing - Summit Yachts - US Sailing - Allen Insurance and Financial Melges Performance Sailboats - Ullman Sails - Doyle Sails - Pure Yachting Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
