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SCUTTLEBUTT 1535 - March 9, 2004Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. SAY GOODBYE TO A "NIGHTMARE" The organizers of the Volvo Ocean Race have decided not to allow 'Code Zero' sails in the next race. These huge sails were introduced in 1997-98 to improve upwind performance. Unfortunately, they were not very popular among the people who had to use them. "Code Zeros were a nightmare," says Ross Field, who skippered Yahama to a win in the 1993-94 event. For the next Volvo Ocean Race, a new, faster race boat - the Volvo Open 70 - will be used. It is based on a new set of rules, and as always that opens up the possibilities for interpretation. "We want to safeguard the spirit that we had when we created the rules and therefore we have decided to spell out that 'Code Zero' sails are not allowed," says Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Glenn Bourke. Code Zero sails are huge - 330m2, approximately four times the size of a roomy two-bedroom apartment. "With a new race boat, it's important to create a definitive theme around which the evolution of the class is formed. There is always a risk of loopholes, but the decision to close out 'Code Zero' sails maintains our original ideas," Bourke continued. In considering the situation, event organizers took into account the ability of the crews to efficiently and effectively sail the boat. The fatigue due to slightly reduced crew numbers as well as the development cost for sails, masts and hydraulic handling systems and safety were the primary concerns. The decision was also based on comments from sailors who competed in the 2001-02 event; "In the last race when we had the Code Zeros up in 10-12 knots of wind, bashing into a head sea, we were just waiting for something to break or the rig to be pulled out of the boat," explains Ross Field. "It was an all hands on deck to get the things down even though it was light breeze." At any rate, the new Volvo Open 70 yacht is predicted to break the 500 nautical miles a day barrier, being up to 21 days quicker around the world. This will bring the number of racing days down to 103 from 123 in the last event, even when the controversial code zero sail was permitted. - Lizzie Green, www.volvooceanrace.com/ A SAILING STORY This is a story of the old craftsman and the PC, a tale of wooden boats and rich pages from San Diego's nautical history that refuse to fade. The craftsman is Carl Eichenlaub, at 73 still one of the nation's most respected boat builders. And the PC doesn't stand for politically correct, but for Pacific Class. Were there a flagship for San Diego's recreational boating fleet, it would be the venerable, 32-foot PC sloop. "The PC is unmatched in grace, beauty and performance," says Rish Pavelec, the boat's historian. "It was a boat that was born and built here. And almost everyone of prominence in San Diego sailing has owned or sailed on a PC." Many still do. Although it has been nearly five decades since the last PC was launched, the boat - which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year - continues to race as a class with San Diego hosting the annual national championship regatta. "When you think of sailboats and San Diego, probably the first class that comes to mind is the Star because of all the world and Olympic champions from the area who have sailed the boat," Eichenlaub said recently. "But in terms of connection with San Diego, the PC is probably No. 1." Which is why Eichenlaub started thinking about the PC early last year when trying to find the appropriate salute to his daughter. In less than two years, Betty Sue Sherman will become the first woman commodore in the century-plus history of San Diego Yacht Club. "I wanted to build her a special boat as her flagship," said Eichenlaub. "But what? An ocean racer would be obsolete by the time of her induction. It had to be a boat that fit the occasion. "What better than building a PC?" Indeed. The only problem was that no one had built a PC since 1956. And many of the tools used to create and shape the boat are no longer in use. Eichenlaub is working off blueprints drawn in 1948. Yet, on most every morning, Eichenlaub can be found toiling beneath a tarp in his Shelter Island boatyard - recreating history one mahogany plank at a time, building from scratch parts that have been out of limited production for longer than he can remember. - Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, full story: http://tinyurl.com/37zk2 ALWAYS THE BEST Camet International has the outstanding reputation of always being the best in design, quality, and service. The Camet sailing shorts are the leaders in technology and comfort. They are made out of a breathable, fast drying Supplex® with a UV rating of 40+ (blocks 97.5% of UV rays) and reinforced with a Cordura® seat patch, to insert an optional foam pad. Camet has a variety of mens and womens shorts, pants and colors. Coolmax shirts, Neoprene hiking pants, Mylar bags etc. Ask your dealers for the Camet products or visit the Camet website at http://www.camet.com FOR THE RECORD * Steve Fossett and his crew aboard the 125ft catamaran Cheyenne yesterday recorded their best day yet. They sailed an amazing 623 miles which puts them 2,042 miles ahead of the previous record set by Orange I at this stage of the challenge. The staggering speeds over the last few days are a result of the consistent 25-30kt wind coming from around 300 degrees. - Sue Pelling, Yachting World, http://www.yachting-world.com/yw/home.htm http://www.fossettchallenge.com * It was a good Day 11 for the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran. Despite winds that remained unstable, she covered 521 nautical miles on her 11th day at sea at an average speed of 21.72 knots point-to-point. Here's what the skipper had to say this morning: "We're making about 25 knots over the surface in 20 knots of winds with intermittent squalls under full main and solent. Fortunately, Geronimo is fast in light-to-medium weather conditions. We're not losing any time now, but we certainly need to make some up!" - www.trimaran-geronimo.com * By the time you read this, Jean Luc van den Heede's 84-foot aluminum cutter Adrien will probably be in Les Sables d'Olonne - having broken Philippe Monnet's 'westabout' singlehanded global record. VDH he will undoubtedly peel more than 29 days off of the record. - http://www.vdh.fr/gb/ BACARDI CUP Here are today's 'notes' on the "magnificent" Bacardi Cup website (no story was posted at our distribution time): "March 8 (which the website curiously referred to as Tuesday?) was a tough day on Biscayne Bay as the predicted 15-18 knot northerly was fought by a see (sea?) breeze effect causing light, puffy conditions that shifted wildly and were very unstable." OK - so the copy is a bit confusing, but they do have the standings posted after two races of this six day, ?-race, 93-boat Star regatta: 1. Fredrik Loof & Anders Ekstrom, SWE, 4, 3 - 7 2. Marc Pickel & Ingo Borkowski, GER, 2, 11 - 13 3. Flavio Marazzi & Enrico De Maria, SUI, 9, 4 - 13 4. Afonso Domingos & Bernardo Santos, POR, 7, 7 - 14 5. Ross Macdonald & Mike Wolfs, CAN, 3, 13 - 16 6. Peter Bromby & Lee White, BER, 18, 1 - 19 7. Vince Brun & Mike Dorgan, USA, 17, 2 - 19 8. Mark Reynolds & Steve Erickson, USA, 12, 9 - 21 9. Colin Beashel & David Giles, AUS, 15, 10 - 25 10. Michael Koch & Markus Koy, GER, 11, 19 - 30 43. Paul Cayard & Phil Trinter, USA, 1, 94\OCS - 95 46. Iain Percy & Steve Mitchell, GBR, 94\BFD, 8 - 102 Event website: http://www.bacardicup.com/intro.asp TRIVIA QUESTION What would happen if all the polar ice melted? (Answer below) NEW! THE REGATTA GALLERY AT ULTIMATE SAILING. Featuring Sharon Green custom prints of S.O.R.C. and Key West Race Week. Prints are available in sizes up to 20 x 30. Order now and have your own prints of the sailing action delivered to you in 3 business days. Place your order at http://www.ultimatesailing.com GEAR FAILURE There's no good time for a tiller extension to separate from the tiller. How about having it happen on a packed start line in 20+ knots just moments after the start of a keelboat race? Enjoy these pictures by photographer Tim Wilkes, who caught an SR 33 living a nightmare during the recently held Acura SORC: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/0307wipe THE END OF AN ERA Christmas 2003, the Rolex Sydney to Hobart fleet raced south with the IMS division winner crowned overall winner. Less than a month later, the organizing Club, the CYCA had dumped the IMS class, replacing it with IRC and another 30 days on, there was only a single entrant in the IMS division at Australia's premier offshore sailing championships. Goodbye IMS, the end of an era. - Rob Kothe, www.sail-world.com THE DISASTROUS DELIVERY We get a lot of mail at Scuttlebutt World Headquarters. Sometimes too much to print, other times just not appropriate. We've just posted a letter on our website that is probably somewhere in the middle. We have withheld the names to protect the innocent (and ourselves), but it came from one of our favorite readers, himself an acclaimed sailor having an Olympic medal, an America's Cup victory and a couple world championships to his credit. Hopefully a lesson or two can be learned here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/0308letter/ TRIVIA ANSWER In the unlikely event that all the polar ice melted, the sea level all over the world would rise 500 to 600 feet. As a result, 85 to 90% of the Earth's surface would be covered with water as compared to the current 71%. The U.S. would be split by the Mississippi River, which would connect the Great Lakes with the Gulf of Mexico. ONE WORD ... DRYSHIRT™ What do the leading teams on Z-86s, Transpac 52s, Farr 40s and 29-ers have in common? They've figured out that it's better to sail dry than sail wet. The revolutionary Dryshirt™ is fast becoming standard gear on many of today's most modern racing machines. With an SPF factor of 50, the Dryshirt™ keeps you up to 2 ½ times better protected against harmful UV than a wet tee shirt or a rash guard. No more soggy shirts. No more clingy rash guards. What you'll notice most about this technical shirt...Is that you don't notice it. 1-800-354-7245 or http://www.sailingproshop.com/dryshirt.htm LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Greg Winkler, 1994 Mistral World Masters Champ: Having done Olympic campaigns for 92, 96, and 2000, I have seen our fleets fall in size every 4 years. Why? Lack of financial support from US Sailing, and difficulty in obtaining outside sponsors in the USA. The other countries find a way to get money to their sailors so that they can train all year, and compete worldwide, and this is for more than a few guys and girls. My wife placed 2nd in this year's Trials in November in the Mistral Class (windsurfing), and has gotten nothing but a drug test for all that effort. * From By Baldridge: Forget the first black America's Cup sailor claims for South Africa. Marty Stephan, Art Price, and Woody Carr among others have all been there selected on their ability in past Cup Campaigns. Maori's, Native Americans, all genders and religions are welcome. It is not an issue. * From Bob Kiernan: Before this gets to out of hand I want to say, enough with this "black crew" crap! People sail boats! In my opinion the comment should have read that they have been training young South African sailors for years. Not a racist statement like they made. We are a borderless sport on more ways than most so let's support the equal values sailors have when training and competing. * From Steven Black: About the fancy Bacardi Cup website which doesn't (as yet) provide timely results: I always marvel how many regatta websites make fetching results so difficult. To help remedy this, I have advice for organizers about results on their websites. - Place links to results on the home page, and make the link say "Results" (or Resultados, Résultats, Resultate, Risultati as appropriate) since most western languages share this etymology. I wonder how many English readers will correctly guess that "Press Room" may (or may not) lead to 2004 Bacardi Cup results when they finally appear. - Show results in HTML tables, which are easily pasted into spreadsheets to be sorted by person, race, country, and other interesting ways, and also used by other news organizations. For sailing to be media friendly, results must be easy to publicize. The worst case scenario is results presented in locked-down PDF form. - Where possible, include crew names in results, the more the merrier, or make crew lists easy links off the results. Can you believe that list of past winners on the 2004 Bacardi Cup website omits crew names?? In the Star class, the crew is half the legend (in some cases more than half.) - Offer to share the code of this year's website with next year's organizers. This leads to continuity, incremental improvement, and the preservation of past historical results. More to the point, this avoids the repetition of rookie site design mistakes, year after year. * From Curt Davis: Chuck Coyer, and maybe many others, don't understand the Star weight rule. If the Star rule were used in the Etchells class, Dennis Connor would be able to carry 50 more pounds of crew weight than I would. What the rule basically says is that a boat with a heavier skipper can carry an extra amount of crew weight that is one half of the weight difference between the two skippers. Dennis is about 275 and I'm 175, the difference is 100 lbs and half of that is 50 lbs. How fair would that be in an Etchells? The people who do not side with Iverson mention weight limits in classes like the J24, Etchells, and Farr 40. These classes do indeed have the right to impose a weight limit if they want. At least it's a limit and not a formula. The big issue that you are all missing is that the Star is an Olympic class. And the only one out of eleven that is suited to large people. The Olympics are about crowning the best team in the world, nothing less. Name any other Olympic event, winter or summer where athletes can vote out other athletes who might have an advantage because of size. Most Olympic events have a certain size athlete that has an advantage. Gymnastics, basketball, and swimming come to mind. If you still think the weight limit is right, then I guess you'd have to agree that 470's should have a minimum weight for skippers. * From John Browning: Some of your readers may bitterly disagree with the following extract from Part Two 'Handicap Rating Systems': - For the planned three classes for a Grand Prix Circuit, a 'box rule' would be expected to set a maximum length of 50ft, 40ft and 30ft, with minimum beam waterline/maximum beam, draught, righting moment, displacement, sail area, in order that the design team that produced the best shape, most efficient sail plan, deck layout, best executed by a builder of the owners choice and best sailed would win. - However the RWP (Rules Working Party) of the ORC is reported to be adding a VPP (Velocity Predicted Program) to its 'box' rule, which could surely only insert boats that didn't meet the 'box rule' as written, into the 'box' to the detriment of owners who had invested their money with designers/builders to build within the 'box'. Others, hopefully will agree, discussion either way, will be for the good of our sport, as if we all keep quiet, another dumb IMS/ VPP rule will be a disaster for Grand Prix racing. The complete article can be seen at: www.sailtexas.com/handicaparticlepart2.html * From Peter Harken (Regards using Olympic Class boats in college sailing programs): I was Commodore of the UW Hoofer Sailing Club in Madison,Wis. twice and damn near flunked out spending all my time repairing daily the toughest boats ever built, the MIT and BadgerTech Dinghy which we had as our main fleet and is there to this day plus some of the original ones from the '50s! If collegiate sailing had been a sport in Roman times it would've superceded the Gladiator events in the Coliseum! Between teaching new college sailors, training and racing and being greatly underfunded as a college sport, an Olympic caliber fleet would be demolished in a few days if not hours. A college program with true Olympic class boats would have to be very, very, well funded with a full time 24/7 maintenance crew to survive. College sailing is not about speed, but about starting, tactics, fast boat handling and yes, the best speed .001 extra knot you can get out of a slug! There is no better training for the money and availability and besides it's a hoot! * From Mark Gray: The Geronimo syndicate must be kidding with the comment on the website that the Cheyenne attempt does not comply with the requirements of the Jules Verne Trophy. The only part they do not comply with is not paying over the bucks. They will not fail with their sailing abilities, nor by boat speed, but rather they will fail because a group of bureaucrats have put a price on a trophy, and what do they get for paying?? Do they get extra weather support? Do they get rescue facilities that are not available to the other boats? The answer is quite clearly no, all they get for 30K euro is their name on a trophy. I mean to say that is bloody expensive engraving. I say if they win, we all chip in and give them the "We Beat You" trophy. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Aging is not for wimps. |
