SCUTTLEBUTT No. 864 - July 25 2001

Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.

A LEFT COASTER SAILS NEW ENGLAND - By the Curmudgeon
The Annual Cruise of the New York Yacht Club may one of the best-kept secrets in yacht racing - probably because it's strictly a club affair. While it's called a 'cruise,' the event is actually a series of five 'Squadron Runs' - day races that would be called point-to-point races in other parts of the US. This year's event began and ended in Newport, RI, with cruise destinations to Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Hadley's Harbor.

The racing was really extraordinary, with the full range of wind and current considerations. And it was certainly run in a most 'civilized' manner. For instance, when there wasn't enough wind to properly start the Squadron Run from Block Island to Vineyard Haven, the RC boat quickly hoisted a 'follow me' flag and motored up the course at six knots until the wind filled in. At that point, they dropped an anchor, and sent their Protector support boat around to each of the competitors with a printed amendment to the SIs that modified the course appropriately. Because of this, all boats finished well before the time limit expired. Also, after each day's race, that same support boat came around to all of the anchored boats with printed race results and the series standings.

The New York YC may not have written the book on flag etiquette, but they've obviously read it. It was hard to ignore how many of the competitors flew their burgees at the masthead on 'pig sticks' - a practice we rarely see in Southern California. And I wonder if the reason there are so many split rig boats in New England is so those owners have a proper place from which to display their 'Private Signal.'

On our layday in Nantucket, when the cannon sounded for morning colors, most of the yachts were prepared to instantly raise their signal flags to properly dress ship. And those flags came down just as smartly when the cannon sounded again at sunset. For those boats that did not have a copy of Chapman's book on Seamanship aboard, the sailing packet thoughtfully listed the 'recommended' order in which the signal flags should be displayed.

The New York YC race committee was certainly first rate. The radio communication was as helpful as any I've heard... and the precision with which it was delivered is unmatched in my experience. As one might expect, all of the members of the RC wore ties and white uniform hats each day - generally with double-breasted uniform jackets. And on the day it was drizzling at the start of the race, they all wore matching foul weather gear. It was definitely a good look.

The curmudgeon sailed on Trice and Chris Bouzaid's Thompson 30 sportboat, Wairere. Wonderful people - wonderful boat. Wairere does a lot of things very well and is absolutely amazing downwind. Happily, for us, the wind kept moving around to make four of the five races predominantly downwind. This helped us a lot. Although we were the smallest boat on the cruise by eight or nine feet, Wairere generally had the fifth or sixth best elapsed time in the 71-boat fleet. On one occasion, we crossed the finish line fourth, just in front of a 47' IMS boat that started five minutes in front of us. Wairere won Division Three with a 3-1-1-1-1 series.

For this Californian, it was a fantastic experience. It will be a long time before I forget the thrill of doing more than 15 knots on a 30-footer... or racing against a skipper wearing a blazer and a bow tie.

2008 OLYMPICS - Qingdao, China
In response to the sailing federation's request for meteorological information (about Qingdao, China), the organising committee gave windspeed figures of 4-5 metres per second between noon and 5pm when racing is usually held. This is equivalent to 8-10 knots; in other words, very light winds. Just how light is evidenced by the recent Optimist World Championships which concluded at Qingdao on Sunday. Only one race was possible in the first three days and dominating the 208-boat, 45-nation fleet were Asian sailors, noted for their light-wind prowess. Optimist Class representatives noted: "In summer, there is not a lot of wind anywhere in China."

The weather problem in Qingdao is two-fold: too much or too little. "The monsoon can bring heavy rain, which will squash the light wind," said Fiona Campbell, the meteorologist to the Team GBR sailors, "and the heat drawn off the land mass to the west will be intense. There is also the risk of typhoons curling up the coast from the south-east. September is a calmer period between seasons." - Tim Jeffery, The Telegraph, UK

Full story: sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2001/07/24/soyot325.xml

AMERICA'S CUP
(Rich Roberts recently spend some time at Oracle Racing's America's Cup training base in Ventura, California. While there, he talked with Bill Erkelens, Oracle Racing's chief operating officer, about the logistics of staging an America's Cup Regatta on the San Francisco Bay. Here's an excerpt from Roberts' story in The Log.)

"We plan to put a group together to start exploring it in the next year," Erkelens said. "It certainly is doable. If San Francisco weren't able to give us enough space for all the campaigns in the city, we could always just hop across and still race in the Bay. They closed down the military base in Alameda, [so there is] a deepwater port right there, [with] tons of space, empty buildings. There's space for rent right now."

Erkelens said the old Naval base could accommodate as many as 30 teams. "It's huge. We looked originally at building our boats at Alameda, at the Navy base. There are no overhead wires and it's got the perfect view of downtown San Francisco, straight into deep water where the aircraft carriers used to come out. "But, obviously, it would be better for everybody and the city to be in the city. It would not be difficult to put on the regatta in San Francisco, depending on whether the local governments came to the plate."

Commercial shipping traffic might not be a problem. "The city front's clear," Erkelens said. "There are ferryboats, but I think they would be pretty flexible."

Oracle now plans to build its two boats in Ventura instead of one of the traditional boat yards."We have the talent within our team to build the boats," Erkelens said. - Rich Roberts, The Log

GORI
What do Pyewacket, Sayonara, EF Language, Kingfisher, Club Med and Playstation have in common? While there are probably a few correct answers, the one we were thinking of is that they all have Gori Propellers. Gori has a new US distributor, and you can order them online from pyacht.com. www.pyacht.net/online-store/scstore/h-gori_propellers.htm

TRANSPAC IMAGES
Line honors winner Philippe Kahn has some incredible Sharon Green Transpac images posted on his website: www.pegasus.com/gallery/transpac2001.htm

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
leweck@earthlink.net
(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 or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.)

* From Anthony Kotoun (edited to our 250-word limit): As a previous coach for US Sailing's JR Olympics and other JR Championships, I can not tell you how relieved I am when I see a pile of opti kids on the entry list. Optimist sailors encompass a diverse arsenal of what it takes to win races. From wind strategy to fleet management to knowledge of the rules and how to use them, opti sailors prove that their boat (and class) is the best way to become a great sailor. Never to an opti sailor do you have to explain drills and their purpose.

Optimist sailors have continuously won the Balboa Pram Challenge. The Pram Challenge invites the best Sabot, El Toro and Opti sailors together to sail in the different boats...Opti sailors have won the most titles. (I can not remember the last time an el toro or sabot sailor won but I am sure there is one in there somewhere.)

What other class to kids under 15 get to go to the South Americans (15 USA kids are allowed), Europeans (5 USA kids + 1 girl) and Worlds (5 USA kids)? You ask any top optimist kid how many countries they have been to and the answer is always more than 5, not bad for an 15 or younger sailor.

The optimist is the best training ground... One look at the Laser North Americans, and you see opti grads covering the top ten... Mark Mendlblatt, Clay Johnson (17 yrs old!), Brett Davis, Zac Raily (17 as well).

* From Bruce Lines (Re Stephen Wells and Optimists): I suggest he go have a look at the IODA web site. The Optimist also has some of the most stringent one-design rules and there is no need to spend $4,000 on an Optimist, a top one costs less than that. In Bermuda, after its introduction, the Optimist has produced some very promising young sailors who can hold their own in world competitions. They all seem to have transferred their skills to any class they have moved to.

* From Charley Cook, Vice President, US Optimist Dinghy Association (In response to Stephen Wells' letter): Mr. Wells suggested that skills in Optimists aren't transferable to other classes. I think Robert Scheidt (Laser World Champion), Ben Ainslie (Gold Medal - Laser), Iain Percy (Gold Medal - Finn), Mateusz Kusnierewicz (Gold Medal and World Champion - Finn), and Clay Johnson (US SAILING Team - Laser) would disagree. All of these guys were very competitive in the Optimist class and have gone on to be very successful in other classes.

The Opti is a great junior training boat. It is easy to learn to sail, but requires skill to win at the highest levels. There is fierce international competition for those interested. Despite Mr. Wells' comments, there are strict one design rules. All builders make virtually identical boats.

I learned to race in a Blue Jay - the junior boat mentioned by Mr. Wells. Adjusted for inflation, they cost far more than an Opti, and there were wide variations in quality. I wish Optis had been around on Long Island Sound where I learned to sail many years ago.

* From Stephen Reed: Stephen Wells is right- I too doubt there's any evidence that the Opti remains viable (beyond the enormous fleet size) as a youth trainer. Northern California juniors have a great 8' pram, simple enough to train on and optionally complex and tweeky enough to be competitive for advanced juniors and adults. True- in current racing configuration, they are $5k (with carbon mast & blades), but they're a "rule" boat and have continued to evolve. Seems to me that the El Toro is the turbo pram amongst prams and the juniors that come from that class seem to easily step into larger class boats having dealt with halyard tension, vangs, preventors, mast rake, centerboard depth etc. Look into the El Toro - there's a website, and link from SBRA home page. Note also, page 14 of this month's Sail Magazine-- the adult fleet's 48th annual cross S.F.Bay "Bullship" race for the El Toro fleet there.

* From Bob Kiernan: Concerning the life jacket issue, I for one feel the yacht club or venue organizer should credit the skipper and crew with discounts at the bar, tee-shirt & hat concession if they are all wearing PFD's (while racing). I do hope the Coast Guard will get a move on to approve or aid in developing a super light weight PFD that we wouldn't have a problem wearing; even in the tropics.

* From Craig Fletcher: Let's give a six second a mile credit to all boats who leave the people ashore who want to impose their rules on the people who just want to go sailing. Can't we just have fun?

VOLVO OCEAN RACE
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - A new approach for a Dalton-led crew in a round-the-world race: while racing the super catamaran Club Med around the world, he entrusted crew selection for his Nautor Challenge to the first man he appointed to the syndicate, Bouwe Bekking who sailed with Dalton on the second Southern Ocean leg in the 1997-98 event. The result, says Dalton, is a fresh approach for his Volvo Ocean Race crew. "We set out to create a strong afterguard to give us tactical strength. There are nine legs and four of them are short, and each has equal points. We must be able to go to the start of every leg, the shorter ones especially, knowing that our afterguard could win a world keelboat championship around the buoys. If I had any doubts about that, I would have the wrong afterguard."

Following is the Nautor Challenge crew for the Volvo Ocean Race: Grant Dalton, New Zealand, skipper; Bouwe Bekking, Netherlands/Denmark, co-skipper; Roger Nilson, Sweden, navigator; Dee Smith, USA, watch captain, tactician; Peter Pendleton, Canada/USA ; Pepe Ribez, Spain ; Jeff Brock, Canada; Keith Kilpatrick, USA; Chris Nicholson, Australia; Stefano Rizzi, Italy; Claudio Celon, Italy; Phil Airey, New Zealand.

For racing biographies of the crewmembers: www.volvooceanrace.org/press/Pre/01/PR_010723_nautor_WFC.html

TEAM RACING
Fourteen of the country's best team racing teams have been selected to participate in the United States Sailing Association's U.S. Team Race Championship for the Hinman Trophy, to be held August 3-5, 2001 at the New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI. The event will be raced in Vanguard 15s and is sponsored by Rolex and Vanguard. Each team is comprised of three skippers and three crewmembers and was chosen on the basis of their resumes by the US SAILING Hinman Championship Committee.

The following teams will race for the Hinman Trophy: Boston Longfellows: Jonathan Baker (Captain), Ramsay Key, Peter Spaulding, Jessi Dimock, Richard Bell, Elizabeth Spaulding; Capitola Cosmos: Josh Adams (Captain), Morgan Larson, Nick Trotman, Brett Davis, Chelsie Wheeler, Victoria Guck; Chesapeake Chinnuts: Chris Gaffney (Captain), Mark Zagol, Brent Jansen, Abbie Curran, Heather Pescatello, Kate Dutton; Great Britain II: Owen Modrel (Captain), Robert Sherrington, Tom Hebbert, Rich Guy, Helen Mayhew, Susie Short; Habitual Offenders: John Alden Meade, Steve Bourdow, Shane Wells (Captain), Kara Forman, Melissa Purdy, Hannah Swett; Houston Yacht Club: John Lovell , Kevin Funsch, Matthew Rogers, Katy Lovell (Captain), Walt Duffy, Heidi Prather; Kaneohe Yacht Club: Garrett Woodworth (Captain), Jesse Andrews, Mason Woodworth, Abigail Woodworth, Ashley Bowen, Josh Howland; Meadowlark Lemon: Peter Alarie, Kevin Hall, Zack Leonard (Captain), Katherine McDowell, Elizabeth Cleveland, Julie Papanek; New York Yacht Club: Chris McDowell (Captain), Michael Zani, Karl Ziegler, Brandon Prior, Michael Huang, Cecily Kerr; Red Herring: Senet Bischoff (Captain), Robert Richards, Mike Hare, Martha Carleton, Miriam Gordon, Kirsten Wilson; Red Wings: John Baxter, Anthony Kotoun, Mark Ivey, Molly Curtiss (Captain), Matt Lindblad, Howard Cromwell; Spinnaker / Great Britain I: Stuart Hudson (Captain), Steve Tylecote, Dominic Johnson, Amy Smith, Sally Cuthbert, Debs Kershaw; Whishbone: Timothy Wadlow, Erin Largay, Graeme Woodworth, Timothy Fallon (Captain), Karen Renzulli, Lee Lucas; Woodworth Zelda: Colin Merrick (Captain), John Camera, Ryan Costello, John Cline, Dave Gaspar, Katie Hewson

Alternate teams - Buds: John Mollicone, Stan Schreyer (Captain), Brian Stanford, Dan Rabin, Heather Tow-Yick, Richard Feeny; Chuck Thunder: Francis Blesso (Captain), Kyle Welch, Michel Kalin, Alix Manley, B. Joshua Gleason, Meredith Hall - www.ussailing.org/Hinman/

CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
* July 26- 29: The NOOD at Marblehead Race Week, Boston, Corinthian, and Eastern YCs. Some 200 boats in 14 classes with entries from eight states and Canada. www.sailingworld.com

* September 13-15: Laser Masters North Americans, Hyannis Yacht Club www.vigorpc.com/laser

RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Yes, you can get Protectors in these colors. In fact, they come in Yellow, Gray, light blue and black as well. Not only do Protector RIB's have unparalleled performance, they also look great and with a double-bunk cabin, they more useful than you average RIB. Stay dry, stay safe, stay warm! Drive a Protector today. Call toll free 877.664.BOAT(2628) or check us out at www.protectorusa.com

PORT HURON MAC
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) - Lightning, owned by rock musician Bob Seger, was declared the winner of the Port Huron-to-Mackinac Sailboat Race on Tuesday. The 53-foot Lightning was awarded first place overall in PHRF and PHRF Class A with a corrected time of 30 hours, 34 minutes, 53 seconds, race chairwoman Marcia Everingham said.

Strong wind gusts Saturday allowed the first full spinnaker start in several years. Decision, the first single-hull boat to finish, completed the 253-nautical-mile Southampton Course on Lake Huron late Sunday afternoon. But Stephen Murray's 70-foot vessel was disqualified because of a collision preceding the start of the race on Saturday. On Sunday, Earth Voyager was the first of the 272 boats to reach the finish line. The 60-foot trimaran negotiated the Southampton Course in a record unadjusted time of 23 hours, 49 minutes. It was the third straight year that Ray Howe's multihull boat was first to finish the race.

Complete Results: www.byc.com/mack01/index.html

ONE-DESIGN
Fresno Yacht Club - The Lido 14 Class Championships, held on Huntington Lake in California's High Sierra Mountains. Much of the popular four-mile long lake was used to take full advantage of the sunny skies and traditional "Huntington Lake Winds." Final results (38 boats): 1st: Mark Gaudio & Doug McLean, 8; 2nd: Bob Yates & Pat Kincaid, 18; 3rd: Thomas & Bette Jenkins, 18; 4th: Stu Robertson & Cameron Biehl, 24; 5th: Kurt & Anne Wiese, 31. - www.lido14.org

EDS ATLANTIC CHALLENGE
After losing their forestay, effecting a jury rig and carrying out a thorough inspection of the mast and their options, Andrea Scarabelli and his crew aboard Fila have decided to withdraw from Leg 3 of the EDS Atlantic Challenge. With that decision made they altered course for Boston 1,200 miles away.

The three leading yachts, Sill Plein Fruit (Gael Le Cleac'h), Kingfisher (Ellen MacArthur) and Ecover (Mike Golding), are all sailing over the notorious Grand Banks. It is an area abundant in wildlife and the crews have been enjoying dolphins, Minke whales and a lot of sea birds, however the Grand Banks are also known for their dangerous waters and the history of seamen who have perished in that area is well known to the sailors. "This is not an area we are happy to be in," said Ellen MacArthur, skipper of Kingfisher. "Unfortunately it is so vast that you just can't avoid it."

Standings: 1st Sill Plein Fruit (Gael Le Cleac'h - FR) DTF - 1419 miles; 2nd Kingfisher (Ellen MacArthur - UK) DTF + 32 miles; 3rd Ecover (Mike Golding - UK) DTF + 48 miles; 4th Gartmore (Josh Hall - UK) DTF + 401 miles; 5th AlphaGraphics (Helena Darvelid - SWE) DTF + 1049 miles www.edsatlanticchallenge.com/positions

LASER RADIAL YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The hoped for regular "Garbi" wind took a while to establish itself today causing a 11/2 hour delay to the start of the third race. When it did arrive it peaked at 6 knots making only one race was possible. USA had the best country day afloat with Ryan Shauhnessy and Christopher Branning both winning their groups. Meanwhile overall leader Michael Bullot from New Zealand performed another escape act by recovering from a bad first windward leg to work his way up to third in his group.

Overall Standings after three round robin races: 1. NZL Michael Bullot 5 pts (1,1,3); 2. ESP Javier Padron 7 pts (1,2,4); 3. CRO Karlo Krpeljevic 10 pts (7,2,1); 4. FRA Alexandre Monteau 12 pts (1,9,2); 5 GRE Alexandros Rizos 13 ts (3,4,7). www.laserinternational.org/wrad2001/results/youth1.html

THE CURMUDGEON'S DEFINITIONS
Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.