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SCUTTLEBUTT 3091 - Thursday, May 13, 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. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt Today’s sponsors: Ullman Sails and JK3 Nautical Enterprises. A FIX-IT PLAN TO SECURE OLYMPIC SAILING The Olympics and the sport of sailing are not a perfect fit. One promotes inclusion and opportunity, while the other struggles with it. However, according to Goran Petersson, President of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), “The commitment of ISAF to ensure we strengthen sailing’s position as an Olympic sport is crucial to the long term success of our sport.” Perhaps because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provides ISAF with 65% of its income (2004 figures), an increased effort is now being made to insure that sailing remains as one of the 28 sports at the Summer Olympics. Therefore, following the ISAF Mid-Year meeting last week at Lake Balaton, Hungary, ISAF has published the Olympic Commission Draft Report to the ISAF Executive Committee. Phil Jones, Chairman of the Olympic Commission, explains what the draft Report addresses: “The IOC analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the sports on the Olympic Program and what value they add at the Olympic Games. We have looked at how we are performing, both against the evaluation criteria that the IOC has adopted and against other sports. In some areas we get big ticks and others we have considerable work to do. Our aim must be to strengthen the position of sailing in the Olympic Games." “The Commission has set out to put forward the best solutions to the issues identified. We have considered 5 key areas that need to be addressed, and made recommendations about the changes required in each area. The Report looks at: Increasing Universality, Expanding Qualification Opportunities, Building Popularity, Improving Event Structure and Enhancing the Olympic Games. “The Commission considers that by implementing the changes outlined in the draft Report, ISAF will maximise the value that sailing brings to the Olympic Games. If we do this, the sport in the Olympic Games will become stronger and more popular, and the sailors, Member National Authorities, Class Associations, Clubs and other stakeholders will all benefit. “The view of the Commission, endorsed by the ISAF Council following the presentation, is that ‘to do nothing is not an option’. We face some difficult challenges. The changes necessary require ISAF Committees, MNAs, Class Associations, Athletes and others to work together in a common direction. Only in this way will we secure and strengthen the position of sailing as an Olympic Sport.” In November 2008 the ISAF Council approved Submission 82-08 from Yachting Australia urging the establishment of a comprehensive vision and strategy to strengthen sailing as a sport in the Olympic Games. The Olympic Commission was appointed by the ISAF Executive Committee in March 2009. The Terms of Reference of the Commission as set down by the Executive were: ‘To assist the ISAF Executive Committee in developing, agreeing and promoting a comprehensive vision and strategy on the sport of sailing in the Olympic Games.’ -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/32708.php Olympic Commission Draft Report: http://tinyurl.com/2e6vvbh HALL OF FAME INCLUDES ASTERISK INDUCTEE The America's Cup Hall of Fame was created to honor the challengers, defenders, and legendary personages of the world's most distinguished sporting competition. Commencing with the first induction ceremony in 1993, over 70 legends of the Cup have been selected for membership in the Hall of Fame. Candidates eligible for consideration include skippers, afterguard, crew, designers, builders, organizers, syndicate leaders, managers, supporters, chroniclers, race managers, and other individuals of merit. Each nominee is judged on the basis of outstanding ability, international recognition, character, performance, and contributions to the America’s Cup. Given that the America’s Cup is arguably the premiere event in the sport, it has long attracted some of the most notable sailors, of which the Hall of Fame Honor Roll of Members represents the most elite group. Considering this extremely high standard, it is of interest that the latest selection for induction at the 17th Induction Ceremony on September 18, 2010 includes a candidate that had been banned from the sport. The induction list includes Simon Daubney (NZL), Warwick Fleury (NZL), Murray Jones (NZL), Dean Phipps (NZL), Mike Drummond (NZL), and Halsey Herreshoff (USA). As for the asterisk among the group, it is Daubney, who was banned from the sport by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) from July 14, 2007 to July 13, 2009 as a result of an Anti Doping violation during the 32nd America’s Cup in 2007. The violation hearings process, which had included the America’s Cup jury, ISAF, and the Swiss Olympic Association, concluded when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) agreed with the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) that Daubney was in violation of doping. Following this action, ISAF Secretary General Jerome Pels said, “We are delighted with the outcome of the CAS Hearing. ISAF’s Anti-Doping Programme seeks to preserve what is intrinsically valuable about the spirit of sport; it is the essence of Olympism and how we play true. Doping is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of sport.” ISAF report: http://www.sailing.org/news/25570.php Hall of Fame announcement: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/0512a/ Story link: http://tinyurl.com/Scuttleblog-5-12-10 ULLMAN SAILS WELCOMES NEW LOFTS ON THE GULF OF FINLAND Ullman Sails announces the addition of two major sail lofts in St. Petersburg, Russia and Helsinki, Finland. Loft owner Yuri Kostarev joins the Ullman group after owning and operating one of Russia’s top sail lofts for ten years. Yuri started his career building windsurfing sails and has expanded into all facets of sailing. His sails have powered top one design and offshore competitors in classes from the Yngling to Quarter-Ton. Ullman Sails is excited to welcome another loft to the group that is committed to providing the highest quality sails and service to every customer. Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com FIRST BLOOD TO BRITAIN'S CRISTABELLA (May 12, 2010) - Three different TP52's won the first three races of the new 2010 Audi MedCup Circuit season today off Cascais, Portugal, but it is Britain's much improved Cristabella which leads the TP52 Series after a day in moderate wind conditions which were never easy or consistent. Cristabella, one of the oldest boats in the 11 strong TP52 Series fleet, shrugged off any sailing superstitions that it may be unlucky to win a regatta’s practice race when they emerged from a challenging first day with a very slender lead of just one point over 2008 champions Quantum Racing. Noted John Cutler (GBR/NZL), Cristabella tactician, “I think we all know now that we have a better boat and better equipment and so with that I think everyone has lifted their game, it has gone up a notch. It was good, people say don’t win the practice race, but we had a long season last season where we could not get out of our own way, so we always think we take what we get.” Standings 1. Cristabella (GBR), 2-8-3= 13 points 2. Quantum Racing (USA), 1-5-8= 14 3. Matador (ARG), 7-2-5= 14 4. Synergy (RUS), 8-1-6= 15 5. TeamOrigin (GBR), 4-9-2= 15 6. Artemis (SWE), 3-6-7= 16 7. Luna Rossa (ITA), 5-3-9= 17 8. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), 6-11-1= 18 9. Audi A1 powered by ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), 9-7-4= 20 10. Bigamist 7 (POR), 11-4-11= 26 11. Bribón (ESP), 10-10-10= 30 Complete report: http://www.medcup.org/news/?id=3013 2010 TP52 RULE TEETHING PROBLEMS With a new set of TP 52 class rules for this year, including the abandonment of spinnaker poles in favour of A-sails and bowsprits plus single backstays replaced by twin backstays, so the first regatta of the Audi MedCup in Cascais is causing a fair share of headaches for the rules arbitrators. The areas of controversy that have emerged are the winglets on the keel bulb of TeamOrigin’s brand new TP52, which was designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian, himself no stranger to pushing rules to their limits. But Kouyoumdjian is not alone, for the mainsail on the Judel-Vrolijk designed Matador is also under scrutiny as it is slightly larger than everyone else’s thanks to the team spotting a loophole in the mainsail measurement procedure. The winglet issue is fairly contentious. The bulb on the TeamOrigin TP52 is longer than on the other boats and is fitted with winglets, similar but smaller, than those found on Cup boats, fitted at the aft end of the bulb. The TP52 rule allows a keel’s bulb to have a maximum width of 800mm, so TeamOrigin argue that as clearly a bulb would never be 0.8m across, it would seem that this rule, by implication, allows winglets of some sort. However this conflicts with a rule that Juan K has more than once found himself up against. Rob Whelan, who manages the TP52 Class and who is also its Chief Measurer explains: “We try to keep a unity in the class and the class rule says you can play with dimensions, but you have to stay within what is written within the class rules and the class rule doesn’t say you can have wings on a bulb.” So if this is the case, then why did TeamOrigin’s TP52 pass measurement for the Audi MedCup’s first regatta in Cascais? Whelan says he only got to hear of the winglets for the first time a week or so ago. “It is a long story. Let’s put it this way – if I was 100% sure that they had on purpose presented this to me at a very late moment to create pressure on a possible ruling, then I would have had no doubt about banning this before. There are circumstances that indicate that they didn’t do this on purpose, but for some reason the message didn’t get through to me. So I give them the benefit of the doubt.” -- The Daily Sail, read on (subscription needed): http://tinyurl.com/Daily-Sail-5-12-10 ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC * The very first Melges 32 European Championship sponsored by Audi takes place this weekend, May 13-16, in beautiful Cagliari, Italy. Seventeen teams from eight countries have gathered in Sardinia, a field that includes reigning 2010 Key West Race Week Champion John Kilroy (USA) on his legendary Samba Pa Ti with Stu Bannatyne on tactics. -- Full report: http://www.melges32.com/?p=news&id=606 * Thirteen teams will assemble for the Melges 32 East Coast Championship this weekend at the American Yacht Club (AYC) in Rye, N.Y., almost doubling the attendance from 2009. Leading the field will be 2009 Melges 32 World Champion Pieter Taselaar (USA) on Bliksem with tactician Jeremy Wilmot. -- Full report: http://www.melges32.com/?p=news&id=605 SAILING SHORTS * The ISAF World Sailing Rankings for May 12 have been released, with the next issue of the rankings to be released on June 2 up to and including the Delta Lloyd Regatta (formerly Holland Regatta) in the Netherlands. Among the ten Olympic events, there are six events where North Americans are position in the top ten, with Paige Railey (USA) leading the field as ranked 2nd in the Laser Radial. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/32707.php * Split, Croatia (May 12, 2010; Day 2) - Despite attempts to get the racing back on track, the Finn Open Senior and Junior Europeans Championships was again saddled with uncooperative and unusual weather conditions with the wind playing games with the race officer and the sailors all day. More than 10 starts were attempted, two races were abandoned, and one race stood, with the win going to Finn newcomer Mate Arapov (CRO) from Split. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9849#9849 * The battle over expanding Champlin's Marina on Rhode Island's Block Island is about to resume. The Coastal Resources Management Council, the state agency that first began considering Champlin's expansion plans more than seven years ago, has held 23 hearings and generated more than 3,000 pages of testimony over Champlin's application requesting permission to add 4,000 feet of additional piers, which would cover four acres of Great Salt Pond. Block Island is among the top destinations for boaters in the Northeast, and is forced to turn away potential customers every summer because of insufficient space. -- Soundings, full report: http://tinyurl.com/2fdobtz * Boats entered in the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race in either the St. David’s Lighthouse or Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division are eligible and invited to race the 2010 Onion Patch Series. The Onion Patch Series consists of the New York YC Annual Regatta presented by Rolex on June 12-13, the Newport Bermuda Race starting June 18th and the Royal Bermuda YC Anniversary Regatta on June 25. Twenty individual Onion Patch Series entries are now in hand with entries being received until June 10. Organizers expect more than forty boats to sail the series. -- Details: http://www.onionpatchseries.com/ * More than 200 boats were damaged Monday in a tornado that leveled a marina in Norman, Okla. Bob Davis has owned the Little River Marina on Lake Thunderbird for 21 years. He said the marina was worth about $2 million. "It was a direct hit," he told The Oklahoman newspaper Tuesday morning. "The whole marina is wrapped tight into a cluster. I can't even identify one dock from another." -- Soundings, http://tinyurl.com/24hv3ad J/BOATS ARE SELLING FAST! If you're looking for a J/Boat to race or cruise, JK3 has the boat for you. From the brand new J/111 speedster due to arrive on our docks this summer, to the blue water performance cruising J/160 and everything in between, JK3 has many quality brokerage listings available. 2010 is shaping up to be a great year with the number of boat sales and prices showing to be significantly higher from the same time last year. If you're looking to buy or sell, don't hesitate; contact us in San Diego (619-224-6200) or in Newport Beach (949-675-8053). http://www.jk3yachts.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend: May 14-16 - Natl. Youth Match Race Clinic/Regatta - Corona del Mar, CA, USA May 14-16 - Seattle Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta - Seattle, WA, USA May 15 - Spring Sprint - Distance Race Tune Up - Greenwich, CT, USA May 15-16 - Stone Cup Invitational - San Francisco, CA, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Richard Clark: (re, ‘The Wetass Chronicles: Adventure Lost’ in #3090) Sorry Tim Zimmermann and all the arm chair critics and cynics out there, Jessica Watson is to be totally applauded, forget her PR dweebs and shore teams. Simply look at her achievement. The S&S 34 has always been my most fav yacht, a true blue water classic. She is on her way home. We so dump on the youth of today, it's time to shut our chatter and stand in awe. I wish the wind treat her well and the ocean calm to get her home. * From John Arndt: (re, ‘The Wetass Chronicles: Adventure Lost’ in #3090) I'm thinking the World Sailing Speed Record council ought to open some categories for people who sail around the world but don't tell anyone. Somehow going solo around the world with 'outside assistance' seems like a Barry Bonds home run record. Some of the best 'heroes' are those who anchor out unnoticed and you discover, as they wander up from the dinghy dock, they've just completed 30,000 miles for their own personal challenge or enjoyment. Real gems are often hard to find. * From Tom Leweck: Former SoCal PHRF President Doug Mills (in Scuttlebutt 3090) favors ‘giving newbies a great deal of time in local races.’ Wow! While I too am a former president of SoCal PHRF - many years before Mills - I personally cannot imagine the appeal of a handicap system that rewards mediocrity and punishes excellence. * From Dick Olsen, Staff Commodore, Nawiliwili Yacht Club: I appreciated the recent article in Scuttlebutt 3088 and also RCR Yachts Racer's News #363, April 14, 2010 covering the various handicapping systems and the associated problems. The Nawiliwili Yacht Club in Kauai, Hawaii, has been faced with the same problem: the same people and boats always win, and it's discouraging to the other boats. Our solution was to implement the "Club" handicap system. After each race, we compute the handicap that each boat would have to had to match the finishing time of the first PHRF finisher. This forms the basis of the Club handicap as we are now taking into account the performance of the boat and the crew. We then accumulate this data for a year to get good statistical data as we have approximately 40 races a year. At the end of the year we throw out any outliers for each individual boat (this covers the possibility of "sandbagging" or showing up late for a race) using a statistical formula. We then average each boat's current club handicap with the handicap from the previous year. At our annual awards party, we trophy the top three finishers in PHRF and Club handicap for each race series. I can send you more details and you can see our results at: www.nawiliwiliyachtclub.org. * From Michael A. Rosenauer: Regarding rating systems, the issue is splayed out before all of us. Nobody can dispute that different boats have different attributes which combine to impact their speed around the course. It is equally undisputable that every handicapping system boasts that it truly levels the playing field. The boats themselves do not change (or at least are not suppose to change). Why then, can the rating systems come to such differing conclusions when scrutinizing the identical boat? The answer is the particular system does indeed consider the crews, the particular system stresses differing attributes, or the raters are simply making their best guesses. The frustration for the participants (whether they be owners or crews) emanates from the fact that rigorous analysis will, at times, bring absurd results while observation based handicaps yields identical anomalies because they can integrate personalities and protectionism of certain boats or classes of boats. The fact of the matter is that any handicapping system simply attempts to balance boats and conditions such that the bell curve of results brings about what competitors can call a "fair result". CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION “My pitching philosophy is simple - keep the ball away from the bat.” - Satchel Paige: Special thanks to Ullman Sails and JK3 Nautical Enterprises. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
