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SCUTTLEBUTT 3202 - Wednesday, October 20, 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: Summit Yachts, North Sails, and Ocean Racing. NO SAVING NEEDED Dallas Johnson submitted a letter in the September issue of Sailing World magazine, where he commented that while everyone is talking these days about “Saving Sailing”, there are still sailing areas - such as his home waters of Lake Minnetonka - that are doing just fine. As current Commodore of Wayzata Yacht Club, Dallas provides some insight into what’s going right at his “inland lake fly-over world” in the U.S. state of Minnesota. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There's no magic bullet or super genius running our programs, but there are some basics: - We focus on having a well rounded board of directors who are focused on our club mission statement of being "a dedicated, passionate sailboat racing club", and it's a working board where everyone is expected to be energetic and do more than contribute their opinions. They take their jobs seriously. - We own our club property: Year after year that Board of Directors has made the commitment to invest in our club (often against the wishes of vocal club members) and provided us with a substantial base of operations. We do not live like a bird on a wire with rented or borrowed property smiling at how little we spent to get there. - Two tiered mooring rates. By far our biggest asset has been to provide "owner" mooring rates to boats that race at least 15 races per year. All other boats pay about double for a slip rate which is equivalent to commercial marinas on the lake. This gets rid of the dead wood. - One Design racing fed by handicap fleets: We love the simplicity and comradeship of one design, and we structure our fleets to have different flavors of non-competing one design fleets so that even the casual/family racer has a one design fleet to join. It's not an accident that we are home to J/24 and J/22 fleet #1. - Great RC: We spend copious amounts of money on our RC equipment and paid RC staff. They provide us with what many visitors tell me is the best staff in the country. - Seminars: I've lost count of how many seminars we do each year. All of them are inexpensive and mostly volunteer run. - Inexpensive Crew Membership levels: All those people who don't own boats can join or club for a measly $100 per year, and it creates commitment. - Crew Needing A Ride Table: Before every race we have a table on the patio reserved for anyone who wants to pick up a ride (member or not). Excellent recruiting tool. - Women: Specifically, women sailors. We court them, encourage them, train them. Women are half the population, it's a big market, and they are really fun to sail with and somehow they bring in more men to the club. I am told that many clubs are not female friendly. There’s more, read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/1019 DAVID VS. GOLIATH With entries for the 30th Annual Student Yachting World Cup (SYWC) at La Rochelle, France (Oct. 24-29) nearly finalized, it is clear that for the U.S. team from The California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, it will truly be a case of David vs. Goliath. With its enrollment of about 850 students, Cal Maritime will be by far the smallest school among the 11 international universities entered from the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Japan. Cal Maritime Sailing Director Charlie Arms Cartee says she and her team don’t worry much about those figures. “We have a history of doing well against much larger competitors. We took the Kennedy Cup in the 2009 National Intercollegiate Offshore Championships last fall to win the right to compete in France, and we recently beat Navy to take our fifth Shields Trophy in seven tries at Annapolis, MD, against teams from the U.S. service and maritime academies.” Arms Cartee says Cal Maritime’s small size can be an advantage. “Many on TeamUSA have sailed with each other for two and three years in a variety of boat classifications and conditions. Going to France to sail on a brand new class of boat (Grand Surprise 32s) and the unfamiliar waters and wind conditions at La Rochelle doesn’t faze us. As the first team from the West Coast to compete for the U.S. in this event in its 30-year history, we think we have some demonstrated strengths in sailing in the kind of heavier winds we’re told are the norm in late October on the Atlantic Coast of France. Many on our team are comfortable with the stronger winds we often find in northern California and especially on San Francisco Bay. But we’ve also got team members with skills in light winds, as we demonstrated with our recent Shields victory.” Sail-World story: http://tinyurl.com/Sail-World-101910 Event website: http://sywoc.org/ TeamUSA website: http://followteamusa.csum.edu/ BOAT SHOWS A SUCCESS FOR SUMMIT YACHTS Now that we have completed the Newport and Annapolis Boat Shows for 2010, Summit Yachts considers them a rousing success! Popularity of the Summit 35 and Summit 40 is at an all time high, with sales occurring in both models. The dual purpose nature of the Mark Mills designs, the quality of the workmanship, and the all out ability to win races make these boats the ideal choice in the Racer/Cruiser category. Order yours now for sailing next summer. Check out both of these great models at http://www.summit-yachts.com VELUX 5 OCEANS: "THE MODEL IS BROKEN" By Elaine Bunting, Yachting World Why is the Velux 5 Oceans solo round the world struggling by with a mere five entries and no top skippers or boats? This, remember, is the firestarter race of solo round the world racing. Set up as the BOC Challenge by Philippe Jeantot in 1982 it is the precursor of the Vendée Globe, though the upstart imitator has long since surpassed the original in profile and popularity. Yes, these are straitened economic times, but look: the solo Route du Rhum transatlantic race next week is brimming with over 80 entries and the johnny-come-lately Barcelona World Race in December is groaning with two-handed entries and the latest IMOCA 60s. Startlingly - especially considering the Velux 5 Oceans started and finishes in La Rochelle - it boasts not a single French entry. Arguably, you don't have a major round the world race in Open 60s without a French skipper. They invented this, they perfected it, they dominate it and they are the engine of its popularity. There are several factors at work, but I think these are the top two. Firstly, the Velux 5 Oceans clashes every four years with the Route du Rhum. For any French sponsor, this famous transatlantic skirmish is a must. So the top skippers and yachts are in 'le Rhum' and most of the IMOCA 60 skippers are following it up with the Barcelona World Race, which offers sponsors some serious tax incentives- more of that another time. That leaves the ‘Eco 60' class. This slightly misleading term really only means older Open 60s that are no longer competitive, boats that would otherwise have little prospect of a grand prix racing life. (Personally, I think there's mileage in developing the ecological side of the tag in a more meaningful way.) Since these can be bought relatively cheaply, possibly 250,000 Euros or less in some cases, the organisers, Clipper Ventures, very reasonably assumed it would foster a sizeable second league class of adventurer-racers. But it hasn't worked out this way. The older boats don't appeal to French skippers - when I ask a French journalist why he thinks none of his countrymen are here he waves a hand at the boats and pinches his nose between finger and thumb in a mime of extreme disdain. At the same time the lower budget adventurer campaigns from further afield have been hard hit by the evaporation of corporate sponsorship. Another factor is the squeeze placed by the inexorable rise of the Class 40s, which will have their own two-handed and solo round the world races in the next few years. This class is affordable - just - to aspiring younger professionals, is buttressed by a large group of wealthy owner-drivers, and resale values are high. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/YW-101910 SCOREBOARD: After the race start on October 17th, Brad Van Liew is holding a 59 nm lead over Zbigniew Gutkowski on the first leg from La Rochelle, France to Cape Town, South Africa (7500 nm). Race viewer here: http://raceviewer.velux5oceans.com/app/index.html?sprint=1 BACKGROUND: The Velux 5 Oceans is the longest running solo round the world race, and has 28 years of rich heritage as the BOC Challenge and then the Around Alone. This edition covers 30,000 miles and features five ocean sprints over nine months. After setting off on October 17 from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the race will then take in Wellington in New Zealand, Salvador in Brazil and Charleston in the U.S. before returning back across the Atlantic to France. -- http://www.velux5oceans.com/ Brad Van Liew (USA): http://www.oceanracing.org Derek Hatfield (CAN): http://spiritofcanada.net CLASSIC CHALLENGE RACING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST The international sailing rivalry in the Pacific Northwest goes back many years. Records show that the first international match race took place July 4th, 1891, between the Canadian cutter, Siren and the Herreshoff-designed Ariadne. Capt. Billy Watts of Vancouver won the day and with it a purse of gold worth $80! Over the years competition flourished and, in 1907, Seattle and Vancouver met in the first match for the Alexandra Cup. The cup was donated by the Province of British Columbia’s Lt. Governor, the Rt. Hon. James Dunsmuir. Both cities commissioned designs for racing sloops in the mid 40 foot range built to the “29” rater rule. Seattle built Spirit designed and sailed by Ted Geary while Vancouver responded with Alexandra designed by William Fyfe of England and built in Vancouver by Capt. Billy Watts. The races for the Alexandra Cup caused great excitement in both cities; newspapers gave the match extensive front page coverage and, without radio or television, citizens waited for the breathless dispatches that came every few moments via telegraph. Both cities where young and booming, still small enough to be full of local pride. The 1907 match took place in Seattle and was won by Seattle’s Spirit in a close fought series. In 1908, the action shifted to Vancouver where Alexandra, skippered by Jimmy Deane, won the match for RVYC over Ted Geary in Seattle’s Spirit. However, the train got derailed in 1909. During the match that year in Seattle, a dispute over the measurements of the new Seattle yacht Spirit II saw the Canadians withdraw from the event and leave for Vancouver before a winner had been declared. After this acrimonious dispute, there was no competition for the Alexandra Cup for 100 years. In June of 2008, this century long hiatus finally came to an end. In 2007, in recognition of the special relationship enjoyed today between Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and Seattle Yacht Club, a move was made to resurrect the 100-year old rivalry for the Alexandra Cup. The following year, the Cup was contested at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club in 40 foot, International 6 Metre sloops that were loaned by RVYC owners, with the host club successfully defending the cup. Now with the train chugging forward again, Seattle Yacht Club challenged for 2010 using “bring your own” R boats. On the Canadian side, the 1923 (San Diego YC) Aloha and RVYC’s Lady Van (1928) sailed off in the defender series. Lady Van, skippered by Don Martin, won the defender series and raced last week for the Cup against the 1926 Los Angeles, Geary designed Pirate representing Seattle YC, where Martin and the Lady Van team won all nine races to defend the Cup. Two groups from San Francisco are restoring R-boats from the ‘20s, one of which (the Ace group) has already issued an intent to challenge for the Alexandra Cup representing St Francis YC. Looks like classic challenge racing can be found again in the Pacific Northwest. More here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10701 TEAM RAMROD DOMINATES FARR 40 NORTH AMERICANS Sailing in heavy breeze and among tough competition, Rod Jabin and crew onboard Ramrod won the Rolex Farr 40 North Americans in Annapolis, MD this past weekend. Team Ramrod scored eight bullets in nine races and Jabin credited new sails, rig tune and crew work for their win. “We had the rig right and with fresh sails we felt like we were going really well,” said Jabin. “My hat’s off to the whole crew, especially (tactician) Chris Larson who did a really, really special job picking the shifts.” North-powered boats in finished 1,2,3,5. When performance counts, the choice is clear: http://na.northsails.com LUDERITZ SPEED CHALLENGE 2010 The Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010 is being held October 4 to 31 in Luderitz, Namibia, just over 1100 miles north of Cape Town, SA along the western African continent. This is the 4th edition of the event, which is held under the scrutiny of the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). A custom trench has been dug along the shoreline to create a smooth water surface. The trench is roughly 10m wide and 50-100cm deep, with the challenge to see who will set the fastest average speed over a 500-meter distance. Here is the latest update: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (October 19, 2010) - Today was spent training. It was not an official day of racing. Wind speeds averaged in the mid 20's, peaking to 30 knots for about 30 minutes - not strong enough to open the race. The next big winds are forecast for later this week, giving competitors a few days break. New competitors have arrived from the USA, France and Algeria. They spent their first day getting used to the channel and the general environment of Luderitz 2nd Lagoon. American Rob Douglas, who set the second fastest time in the world on October 15th of 52.58 knots, is currently chasing Alex Caizergues’ (FRA) leading time of 54.10 knots that he laid down on October 12th. Here is an up close video of what it’s like to go that fast, taken from on board kiter Sebastien Cattelan following windsurfer Anders Bringdal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_VBOpAw8tk Luderitz Speed Challenge: http://www.luderitz-speed.com World Sailing Speed Record Council: http://www.sailspeedrecords.com Rob Douglas: http://nassp.net/nassp/ SAILING SHORTS * Throughout the first half of 2010, the U.S. sailboat brokerage market recorded gains in both unit sales and sales valuation compared to the same month a year earlier. However, sales results from July to September, as reported by yacht brokerage members of YachtWorld.com, reversed that trend. Unit sales dropped 8 percent from 1586 boats sold in those months in 2009, to 1459 boats in the same months in 2010. Sales valuation also slipped from $111 million to $101 million. -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/1018/ * The kids of Treasure Island Sailing Center (Treasure Island, CA) received a check for $35,000 at the 6th Annual BIG Team Regatta fundraiser held on Friday, October 1, at OCSC SAILING in Berkeley. Six four-person corporate teams competed in the race on San Francisco Bay for bragging rights and to show their support for youth and adaptive sailing. The BIG Team Regatta, an annual corporate sailing challenge founded by the team-building experts of Group Experiential Learning (GEL), has been a critical source of funding for TISC’s youth and adaptive sailing programs for the past six years. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/TISC-101710 * Potential America’s Cup challengers will meet this Friday in Paris with America’s Cup Race Management CEO Iain Murray to hear about regatta programs which begin next year in 45-foot versions of the larger AC 72 wing cat that will be used in the 34th America’s Cup in 2013. No list of participants has been released for the meeting, but new teams, including possibly one from Austria, are expected to line up alongside established groups from New Zealand, Sweden and Russia to better understand the commitment prior to the entry period opening November 1st. -- http://tinyurl.com/The-Independent-101910 * The 2010 Financial Results (year ended March 31, 2010) demonstrate that the Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) has maintained progress in restoring the organization’s financial stability. The excess of revenues over expenses for the second year running underpins the Board’s determination to ensure the financial health of the CYA. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/CYA-101910 GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS Optimum Time sailing watches feature large digital displays, pre-programmed ISAF start sequences, synchronization to the next gun, are waterproof and shock-resistant. Ocean Racing's waterproof Offshore Duffel and Backpack utilize heavy-duty waterproof material, waterproof zippers and have seams that are sewn, taped and RF welded so your stuff stays dry. http://www.OceanRacing.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 are 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 Sorensen: The America’s Cup is very disconnected to my own reality of sailing, however, I have sailed on two of the contenders/defender: Stars and Stripes (IACC version) and Weatherly, a 12 meter that was in sad condition at the time with an engine that was a salt pile. It was thrilling to be able to drive the IACC with the beat up sails it had, all duct taped to stay together. For $100 I got a 3-hour brush with another challenger One World in San Diego along with five other paying customers on the Stars and Stripes. We were able to grind and steer. The steering was notable on the Stars and Stripes, with the wheel having small line wrapped around a hub about 5 times instead of chain drive like my Catalina 42. That must be why you didn't see more of the C-42s in the AC series. I would pay more to get a ride on either of the multihulls from AC33. I did challenge the Dogzilla (pre wing) to a double handed race when it was in Anacortes but they must have heard we were the defending champions two years running and declined the offer. The connection between the AC and recreational sailing is distant and remote, but somehow it is something that draws me in and keeps me interested. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Eric lives near the BMW Oracle team’s building site in northern Washington, where he was able to see the launch and early trials of the 90-foot trimaran for himself. And to really ‘get’ the America’s Cup, you just might have to be that close to the activity, as it’s hard not to be impressed and drawn in when you are amid the boats and their teams. * From Gunther E. Hering, Hamburg / Germany: Regarding Nick Hayes’ comments in Scuttlebutt 3201, without the nationality clause of the DoG and a limit on paid crew / travelling mercenaries, the America’s Cup is dead in the water. Let’s just forget about the new version and enjoy the memories of a historical class act. POST YOUR BUSINESS UPDATES HERE The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity for companies to announce new products and services, with recent postings included in the THURSDAY edition of the Scuttlebutt newsletter. Here is the link to post Industry News updates: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/INDUSTRY_NEWS_C15/ CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION "Life is short. In an instant you can lose it. Don't worry so much about money. Live your life. Live every second of your life!" - Mario Sepulveda Espina, rescued Chilean miner Special thanks to Summit Yachts, North Sails, and Ocean Racing. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
