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SCUTTLEBUTT 3030 - Wednesday, February 17, 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.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today’s sponsors: JK3 Nautical Enterprises, APS, and Quantum Sails. “A BIT OF A MUTINY” By Stuart Streuli, Sailing World New Zealander Harold Bennett was the principal race officer for the 33rd America's Cup. However, the Swiss team on Alinghi 5 didn't want to race (on Sunday), feeling most likely that the waves were too high, and relayed that to members of the Société Nautique de Genève working on the race committee boat. What happened next is just one last piece of absurdity in what has been a fairly unique chapter in the history of the America's Cup. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * Harold, what happened on the boat when you tried to start Race 2? Is it true that the SNG members on the boat refused to perform their jobs? HAROLD BENNETT: We had a bit of a mutiny. I don't think SNG wanted to go, so they decided they weren't going to do flags. So Tom [Ehman, BMW Oracle Racing's head of external affairs] took the AP down and my boat driver, who's also an international umpire, he shot up forward and did the rest of the signals. * Does this stray into Rule 69 territory? Would you normal write a report for ISAF? HAROLD BENNETT: Yes I do have to and obviously that's going to be included in any report. That's what you do, you've got outline what's going on on the boat, whether it's good or bad. * When you said, 'Let's get this race off.' They just said, 'We're not doing it.'? No reason? HAROLD BENNETT: Well one guy was over my shoulder, telling me that the waves were too big, that the boats were going to break. I just said, I don't believe that. I know that boat boats when they were going upwind the alarms were going off. I understand that, I was told by the sailors of both teams afterward, last night. They were taking a little bit of strain. But crikey, if the boats are that flimsy, I guess it's a problem, isn't it. Complete interview on Sailing World’s America’s Cup micro-site (dated February 16, 2010): http://tinyurl.com/ye9fyej MANY QUESTIONS REMAIN ON CUP FUTURE (February 15, 2010) - Golden Gate Yacht Club’s America’s Cup victory was the culmination of a partnership with software mogul Larry Ellison that began when Norbert Bajurin was elected commodore of GGYC 10 years ago and was flabbergasted to learn that the small organization was saddled with debts totaling $450,000. That was quickly remedied when GGYC agreed to sponsor software mogul Larry Elllison’s first America’s Cup bid, and Ellison enrolled more than 100 of his BMW-Oracle team members as club members. Ellison also hired Russell Coutts away from the Alinghi team after Coutts was fired by Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli. Coutts, who has won the America’s Cup four times for his home country, Switzerland and the U.S, said today he had changed his mind about multihulls and now thinks they might be a good idea for the next cup. “Only a couple of months ago, I was pretty strong that it should return to a monohull, but the racing was pretty spectacular, and maybe we should give multihulls consideration,” he said. Coutts said he also likes the idea of changing the rules to require that a specified number of the crew be from the country fielding the boat. In this cup, the only Americans on USA 17 were tactician John Kostecki and Ellison -- and Bertarelli was the only Swiss national on Alinghi. USA-17’s helmsman was Australian James Spithill, 30, the youngest cup boat driver ever. -- Detroit Free Press, full story: http://tinyurl.com/y8resup GET READY FOR THIS SUMMER'S REGATTAS WITH JK3 Summer is quickly approaching and with a regatta every weekend, there's no place you should be other than on the water. JK3 Nautical Enterprises has a wide selection of quality brokerage racing sailboats. If you like to race, we have 3 - J/105s, 3 - J/109s, 2 - J/120s, a J/80 and a J/22. We also have 2 beautiful CrossCurrent 33s, a proven winner Farr 60, and the brand new carbon Santa Cruz 37 - at special Boat Show pricing. Whatever your style or budget, we have the perfect boat to get you out on the water this summer! For a complete list of brokerage yachts, visit http://www.jk3yachts.com or call 619-224-6200 in San Diego or 949-675-8053 in Newport Beach. http://www.jk3yachts.com QUIZZING THE NEW CHALLENGER As the new Challenger of Record for the 34th America’s Cup, the Mascalzone Latino team is in Valencia this week to train for the Louis Vuitton regattas in Auckland next month. Valencia Sailing quizzed skipper Gavin Brady (NZL) on his opinions for the next Match: * One of the key points that will be decided is the new America's Cup yacht. What would you like to see if it was up to you? GAVIN BRADY: I've done a lot of match racing in one design boats, I've done the match race circuit, I've been involved with the Volvo races and the America's Cup and I actually enjoy the development of a new boat, something different. The sports of sailing is progressing quite quickly at the moment with IRC. The IRC allowed people to really start experimenting while IMS was very confining. While the America's Cup have been out of action for 2-3 years, people have been out sailing boats like the one I put together, Beau Geste. I think it needs to be a fast boat downwind because fast boats downwind create passing opportunities and exciting racing. I think the boats have to be borderline out of control, so that you see the world's best sailors controlling their boats. In the history of the America's Cup maybe just two boats have lost control. I like to see a boat that is more dynamic, faster and more exciting. A lot of people think that this doesn't produce good match racing but it's actually quite the opposite. If you took two SM40's and two Melges 32 without any doubt in my mind the most fun for the sailors and the media will be the Melges 32, because of the action. * Whatever the new rule is are you in favor of having only one boat per team? GAVIN BRADY: I think that trying to police new rules will create more problems. Take for example the teams that had one boat last time. One thing we've learned about carbon fiber is that you can do a heck of a lot modifications. If you look at USA-87, we made enormous modifications. Even if we could modify up to 49% of the boat, that was still a lot of modifications and the amount of man-hours spent and cost to make these modifications are extreme. It isn't much different to building a second boat. -- Read full interview: http://tinyurl.com/yahgyea EAST CHINA SEA SHELLACKING Ten months, 35,000 miles of ocean racing and around 400 people facing the challenge of a lifetime. When the starting gun went off for the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race on September 13, 2009 the fleet of ten identical 68-foot yachts began a seven leg circumnavigation of the globe. Damage has now pared the fleet down to eight boats, and for the participants who signed up for the current leg from Singapore to Qingdao, China, they are getting a shellacking. Here is an excerpt from the Day 15 report on February 16th: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Brendan Hall, the Brisbane-based skipper of the Australian entry reported, "Last night was quite something. I have never felt the boat take such a beating by the steep sided waves. The sound the hull and rig make as they come crashing down off the crest into the next trough is incredible, like the sound of a car crash. Again and again and again. We were reefed down to our smallest possible sail plan and still making very fast speeds. California skipper Pete Rollason reported, "As the temperatures are dropping quite considerably we are now down to a maximum of one hour on deck before the need get below and warm up becomes vital. The sea state is atrocious and the wind even worse…” Cape Breton Island skipper Jan Ridd noted, "It was as daylight broke that we saw the true size of the storm we were in. During the night we just had numbers on the instruments, the howling of the wind in the rigging and being caught completely unawares as a wave broke on the deck, flooding the whole of the cockpit area but this morning, in a miserable, grey, rainy light we could see what we had been sailing through in the night. There were five metre steep seas regularly breaking and wind gusting up to 50 knots.” -- Full report: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/race_news/?item=1521&p=1 FOR THE RECORD (Day 17 - February 16, 2010; 17:22 UTC) - To the chagrin of Groupama 3, their entrance into the Indian Ocean has begun with an overly peaceful night in a zone of confluence with little wind, and hence their chance to hook onto a N'ly air flow has been late in coming. As a result the giant trimaran has lost further ground on the reference time. "We've been in a tricky zone for nearly twenty hours now and we're unable to cross this front, which is fusing with the previous one that pushed us along as far as the Indian Ocean. The sea state isn't very pleasant: we're heading South again, ready for another gybe! It's especially difficult on port tack with the swell coming directly at you whilst the W'ly wind remains weak." explained skipper Franck Cammas. This Tuesday evening, Groupama 3 should begin to feel the first breaths of N'ly wind heralding the southern edge of what is a fairly extensive anticyclone, since it extends beyond the Kerguelen Islands. "It's not a typical Indian! We haven't got particularly violent winds or big seas, but rather a light wind and a NE'ly sea, which is extremely rare in this zone. Ahead of us we have a N'ly wind, which is what is providing us with a swell that's hitting us head on, hampering our progress." -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/ybtqexk Current position as of February 16, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: - 327.1 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 16.0 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 383.1 nm Data: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/positions.asp?lg=en Map: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/index.asp?lg=en * After their start on January 31, 2010, Franck Cammas and his nine crew on Groupama 3 must cross finish line off Ushant, France before March 23rd (06:14:57 UTC) to establish a new time for the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions. Current record holder is Bruno Peyron and crew, who in 2005 sailed Orange 2 to a time of 50 days, 16 hours, and 20 minutes at an average of 17.89 knots. RACING THE CLOCK Whether you enjoy racing the clock or one design the feeling of victory is the same. And while the memories may last forever there's one thing that won't, APS' Annual Rigging Sale. With just 11 days left in the month of February time is running out for you to save 15% off rigging services, 10% off one design packages, and 10% off cut lengths of cordage and wire. So we at APS, "The World Leaders in Outfitting Performance Sailors", encourage you to act now and take advantage of our great deal before it becomes nothing more than a faded memory. http://tiny.cc/a3MNC 2010 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM ANNOUNCED US SAILING has announced the members of the new 2010 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG), the national sailing team comprised of Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls. The 2010 USSTAG includes at least the top two boats in each class selected for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions in Weymouth/Portland, England. Nine of the team members are Olympians and two are Olympic medalists, two are Paralympians and Paralympic medalists, five are World Champions and three are ISAF Sailing World Cup champions. Three athletes have been promoted to the USSTAG from the US Sailing Development Team (USSDT), and 10 athletes are brand new to the team this year. Four athletes are currently leading the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Sailing World Cup standings in their respective classes, and three are ranked top five in the world by ISAF. The members of the 2010 USSTAG are (listed in order of USSTAG ranking): Olympic Classes Laser (Men’s One Person Dinghy): Kyle Rogachenko (Collegeville, PA) Rob Crane (Darien, CT) Laser Radial (Women’s One Person Dinghy): Paige Railey (Clearwater, FL) Claire Dennis (Saratoga, CA) Finn (Men’s One Person Dinghy Heavy): Zach Railey (Clearwater, FL) Bryan Boyd (Annapolis, MD) Men’s RS:X (Men’s Windsurfer): Ben Barger (St. Petersburg. FL) James Sobeck (East Quogue, NY) Women’s RS:X (Women’s Windsurfer): Farrah Hall (Annapolis, MD) Solvig Sayre (Vineyard Haven, MA) Men’s 470 (Men’s Two Person Dinghy): Stu McNay (Newton, MA)/ Graham Biehl (San Diego, CA) Mikee Anderson-Mitterling (Newport Beach, CA)/ David Hughes (San Diego, CA) Women’s 470 (Women's Two Person Dinghy): Erin Maxwell (Stonington, CT)/Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar (New York, NY) Molly Carapiet (Belvedere, Calif.)/ Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.)/ Sarah Chin (Hoboken, N.J.) 49er (Men’s Two Person Dinghy High Performance): Erik Storck (Huntington, NY)/ Trevor Moore (North Pomfret, VT) Peeter Must (Toms River, NJ)/ Carl Horrocks (Point Pleasant, NJ) Star (Men’s Keelboat): George Szabo (San Diego, CA)/ Andrew Campbell (San Diego, CA)/ Brad Nichol (Miami Beach, FL) Mark Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, FL)/ John von Schwarz (Annapolis, MD) Andy Horton (So. Burlington, VT)/ James Lyne (Granville, VT) Andy MacDonald (Laguna Beach, CA)/ Brian Fatih (Miami, FL) Elliott 6m (Women’s Keelboat Match Racing): Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, FL)/ Molly Vandemoer (Redwood City, CA)/ Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, NY) Genny Tulloch (San Francisco, CA)/ Alice Manard (Charleston, SC)/ Karina Vogen Shelton (Watsonville, CA) Paralympic Classes 2.4mR (Open One Person Keelboat) John Ruf (Pewaukee, WI) Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, LA) Charles Rosenfield (Woodstock, CT) SKUD-18 (Mixed Two Person Keelboat) Scott Whitman (Brick, NJ)/ Julia Dorsett (Westchester, PA/ Boca Raton, FL) Jen French (St. Petersburg, FL)/ Sarah Skeels (Tiverton, RI)/ Bob Jones (Issaquah, WA) Sonar (Open Three Person Keelboat) Rick Doerr (Clifton, NJ)/ Brad Kendell (Tampa, FL)/ Hugh Freund (South Freeport, ME) Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, FL/ Newport, RI)/ Michael Hersey (Hyannis, MA)/ Chris Murphy (Annapolis, MD)/ James Leatherman (Baltimore, MD)/ Alex Cogburn (Bath, ME) Complete report: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Releases/2010_USSTAG.htm SAILING SHORTS * The US Sailing Center of Martin County, Jensen Beach, Florida, hosted the 2010 Club 420 Mid-Winter Championship Saturday through Monday this past weekend. The 85 boat fleet were treated to 20 + knots winds and temperatures in the high 40's and low 50's on Saturday, warming slightly for the next two days as winds progressively decreased. Declan Whitmyer & Ian Storck with 23 points took the top honors, with Kieran Chung & Ryan Davidson (39), Jordan Factor & Matthew Wefer (42), Deirdre Lambert & Tracy Doherty (44 and top female), and Luke Lawrence & Nic Muller (44) rounding out the top five. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9194 * The New York Yacht Club will be hosting an advanced Women's Match Racing Clinic & Regatta from May 10-14, 2010 in Sonars at its Harbour Court clubhouse in Newport, RI. In addition to the USSTAG members, the event is looking to add one or more 'up and coming' teams, who may be interested in campaigning to be the U.S. Women's Match Racing representative in the 2016 Olympics, to participate in this event. -- Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9188 * (February 16, 2010) - Thirty-one entrants are in Sydney, Australia this week for the J.J. Giltinan Championship, the premier event for the 18-footer class. While racing was cancelled today due to unsuitable conditions, the current leaders after two races are Thurlow Fisher Lawyers (Michael Coxon) with 4 points, followed by Gotta Love It 7 (Seve Jarvin) on 7 points, and Project Racing (Andy Budgen) on 8. Five Kiwis, two Brits, and one team apiece from Sweden and the U.S. join the Australian contingent. The seven race series concludes on Sunday. -- http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9067 EIGHT BELLS It is with much regret that we inform you of the passing of Bernard Smith on February the 12th (1910-2010). A brilliant mind in many fields not least of which was sailing. Born in New York’s Lower East side in 1910 from a long line of blacksmiths, Bernard went on to be one of the founders of American rocket science and later to become director of the Naval Weapons Laboratory in Dahlgren, Virginia. Amongst all this, Bernard’s seminal book, “The 40-knot sailboat” was published in 1963. It was a simple and easy to read book that outlined Bernard’s farsighted concepts for tackling the issues of high speed sailing. Most of Bernard’s radical concepts confronted the big issues of sailboat stability head on and were free of the shackles of convention. His book and the craft within (which he described as ‘aero-hydrofoils’) inspired many designers aiming to unlock their secrets and the potential for power and stability that they promised over conventional craft. It wasn’t until the 27th of November, 2007 that the Vestas Sailrocket team finally broke through 40 knots in a craft based on Smith’s ideas. They were delighted to contact Bernard and tell him at the ripe old age of 97 that his vision was realised. A year later they called him to tell him that his 40 knot concept was in fact a 50 knot concept and at that stage the fastest sailing ‘boat’ in the world. Bernard remained sharp as a tack until his passing in Boca Raton, Florida last week. The Vestas Sailrocket team continue to develop his concepts and believe that one day, he will be broadly acknowledged in the sailing world for the true visionary genius that he was and the originator of a whole new era in high speed sailing. -- Paul Larsen, post comments here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9206 QUANTUM SAILS, 2ND AND 4TH (AND 1ST) AT J/24 MIDWINTERS Quantum sails crowded the podium at the 2010 J/24 Midwinters which had 33 boats competing over 10 races. Quantum equipped Peter Bream’s Tar Heel was the 1st amateur team and 4th overall, while Tim Healy’s Quantum boat took 2nd overall. Discover your winning ways at http://www.quantumsails.com 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 Jeff Hall, Southport, NC: I would like to query if anyone has been able to purchase 33rd Cup gear from the America's Cup.com shopping site. I attempted to order an AC cap and they do not sell to the U.S. nor accept the US$. I find this very negligent in promoting the AC as a world sport especially from the originating country of the AC. On the other hand, I was able to pick up a nice jacket from BMW/ Oracles shop, although their inventory was sparse. -- Forum, http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9107 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Oh geez, please tell me the AC store was not purposely designed to block U.S. purchases.. * From Mike Taggett: Well... wow...hard to believe it actually, finally ended! I must say I patiently (after much frustration) waited til the first race... up at 3 AM on Mon and Wed and waiting for the EXCITEMENT of seeing the "world's fastest boats" race... well let me say, "Watching Paint Dry!" No crashing through waves, zero athleticism, no on boat coverage...in fact with their scale they don't even appear to be moving fast...what a bore!... didn't watch race 2! Please Russell and Larry, make the new rules as follows: 70' box rule...if it fits it can race... 10 sails max at time racing begins...one boat campaign... majority of crew from the country (at least 3 years residency)....triangle course... HUMAN POWER ONLY! Tacking duels, athletes setting sails, spinnakers popping into shape, on board cameras, big grinder guys working their butts off! Retired VOR boats would be great to retrofit to race..canting keels... anything goes as long as humans do it... well that's my two cents... * From David Redfern, Kent, England: Regarding Valencia, I'm a traditional America’s Cup fan, but watching Oracle was as exciting as seeing the Concorde fly, which always gave a thrill no matter how many times you saw it. Sensational boat! * From John D. Irvin: Now that the nonsense is over perhaps saner skippers and owners will prevail. One-design is the way to go, perhaps with an eight year design window. Look how successful and competitive the Canada's Cup is! * From Howard Bentley: (re, quote in Scuttlebutt 3029) "They got a little help from the legal system in New York. That always makes things difficult for us Europeans to get the same advantages," Alinghi owner Ernesto Bertarelli said. "It's not the Europeans' Cup; it's America's Cup. It's very difficult for a European to win." Truth and fairness is the same in any language. Good to see you taking the multiple ass kickings so well. At least you are consistent in your poor sportsmanship and obfuscation of the truth EB. * From Lee Griffith: After reading Cory Friedman's reporting of the race committee boat shenanigans before the start of race two, it dawned on me what might have happened to cause Alinghi to cop their prestart penalty ("free" penalty as Butterworth called it, though it seemed pretty costly). For Alinghi to be in such a wrong place that they were still within the start box prestart was, to me, stunning, shocking, and completely inexplicable for professional sailors. Something mumbled by Brad about spectator boats getting in the way sure sounds like horse manure to me. In retrospect, does anyone else wonder if Ernesto and Brad were so busy making hand signals to the SNG committee boat mutiny members not to race that they simply neglected to focus on their position in the crucial 5-7 minutes before the entry?? (like, "oh S%^&!, they found someone to raise a flag and fire a gun". "Uh, Ernie there is going to be a start, uh where are we, oh S%^@#! get over to the committee boat side of the line!"). In all seriousness, if these shenanigans are confirmed, then I agree that SNG/Alinghi should be reported to ISAF for possible Rule 69 violation. PRO Bennett should be nominated for MVP of the 2010 Americas Cup. By the way, it is so clear that Alinghi made a huge strategic error to design for extreme and consistent light air AND flat water and then RAK didn't work out; hence the pressure on the RC to stand down in winds over 15 and waves over 1 meter. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: It is widely suspected now that the gantry of structural components under the Alinghi 5 platform was not designed to endure the pressure of strong wave contact. If you missed it, here was Cory’s report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/#p59 CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM How many roads must a man travel down before he admits he is lost? Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises, APS, and Quantum Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
