|
SCUTTLEBUTT No. 859 - July 18 2001Scuttlebutt 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 TIGER BY THE TAIL The low-pressure system reached the front yachts late Monday afternoon abruptly changing the conditions. Sill Plein Fruit, the northernmost boat got the wind shift first and spent the early evening heavily reefed with a steady 40-45 knots of wind. Their position relative to leg leader Ecover allowed them to take advantage of the change in wind direction, and they soon retook the lead. The wind is forecast to abate throughout the day with light winds forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. The first yachts are expected to reach Baltimore on the east coast of the United States by July 31. At 10:45 GMT, on a distance to finish (DTF) reading, the positions were as follows:
1st Sill Plein Fruit (Gael Le Cleac'h - FR) DTF - 2764 miles Complete information and updates at www.edsatlanticchallenge.com
INTERIM DIRECTOR TAKES US SAILING HELM "During this transition, as the search for a permanent Executive Director is underway, I will seek to continue the momentum the organization has achieved in the last few years, focusing on operational, accounting and customer service issues," said Placke. Before coming to US Sailing, Placke was President and CEO of First Trade Union Bank. Prior to that assignment, he was President and COO of Centerbank, a three billion dollar banking company based in Waterbury, CT. "For the last ten years, I have been involved repositioning companies, improving operational efficiencies and striving to achieve higher levels of profitability and performance," he said. "I hope to bring to bear some of these same experiences with US Sailing." Anyone interested in submitting an application for the permanent US SAILING Executive Director position is encouraged to visit www.ussailing.org/News/2001/Executive_Director_Search.htm for a complete description of the position. For more information, contact Penny Rego at PennyPivaRego@ussailing.org.
JACQUES ROGGE ELECTED IOC PRESIDENT The first few days of his Rogge's presidency have been marred by churlish actions from two of the candidates he defeated. Korean presidential candidate Kim Un-Yong refused to attend the announcement ceremony, and has since accused outgoing IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch of manipulating the voting by leaking an accusation that Un-Yong had promised IOC members at least $50,000 in expense money per year. The IOC Ethics Committee found that accusation baseless and has dismissed it. Canadian candidate Richard Pound, reportedly incensed at being beaten in the voting not only by Rogge, but by Un-Yong, whom he investigated for ethical violations, immediately submitted his resignation from the IOC marketing and anti-doping committees. He also reportedly accused Samaranch of undermining his candidacy. Rogge has asked Pound to reconsider his resignations and said he wanted him back in charge of the two powerful committees. With the IOC still embroiled over financial improprieties and over-commercialization of the Games, one would think that all senior IOC officials would want to behave as statesmen (at least in public). There is a bright side to all of this though: anyone who has doubts as to whether the IOC chose the right person for President need only compare the graciousness of Dr. Rogge in victory to the pettiness of Messrs. Pound and Un-Yong in defeat. -- David McCreary
GORI
TRANSPAC WINNER 'Bull' also used Bainbridge Internationals AIRX spinnaker fabrics that have found fame on projects including Team New Zealand and Ellen MacArthurs 'Kingfisher'. Both DIAX-OS-HMC and AIRX are available from your sailmaker. For more information visit www.sailcloth.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Scott Rohrer: I am really surprised to hear these folks describing cargo vessels deliberately trying to run them down in the ocean. Obviously, these folks have never had the con of a ship. "Needle in a haystack" doesn't come close to describing how difficult this would be given the yacht's relatively small size and the ships' limited maneuverability. Yes, they often fail to monitor VHF. Yes, they don't always keep a bow lookout. Knowing this, stay clear. * From Ron Sherwin My take on "blowing like stink" is that "stink" is used to replace another word beginning with "s" often used to mean "extremely nasty and foul." Hey, we're sailors here. We invent colorful terms. But maybe we've gone too far with "blowing like stink." From now on, I am restricting myself and my crew to using "golly," "gee whiz," and "jeepers" in place of more descriptive terms. * From Mike Blecher: Thank you, Vic Snyder! Sailors have been using "colorful" language since there were iron men and wooden ships. When I think back on my days as a merchant seaman, some of the characters I remember best had the most interesting vocabulary...and various parts of the ships had names, too, official ones at that, for which there were no others that were more politically correct. Anyone that has served aboard a Navy ship knows the name of the 6 foot long pipe, bent to hang down at its forward third, that has a remarkable resemblance to a donkey's you-know-what. As far as I am concerned, "fire nozzle" doesn't describe this device well enough. * From Tom Henderson: Victor Snyder is bang-on-the-money with his comments regarding the broad spectrum of our sailing lexicon. We ought to be able to express ourselves fully and colorfully without being absurdly PC, while simultaneously respecting the sensitivities of those around us. I propose that we let Victor's words close this thread. EDITOR: Good idea, this thread is officially closed.
CATAMARAN CHALLENGE The giant multihulls are preparing for an attack on the transatlantic sailing record. They are splitting their standby time between New York and Newport, RI, as they wait for a favorable weather window. Team Adventure will be campaigned by Lewis, from Lincolnville, ME and his Swiss/French co-skipper Laurent Bourgnon. They will sail with an international crew of 15, including Larry Rosenfeld, Lewis' partner in Team Adventure, who will be navigator. Lewis acknowledged that Fossett is about to put his sailing plans on hold while he attempts a solo round-the-world balloon flight, starting from Australia. "If we get a suitable weather window opportunity while Steve's away, we'll go without him," Lewis said. "If we're still waiting for the weather when he returns, we look forward to match racing PlayStation for the record." The existing mark of 6 days, 13 hours, 3 min, and 32 sec was set by French skipper Serge Madec sailing the 75-foot catamaran Jet Services V, in June 1990. Madec and his crew averaged 18.42 knots (34.5 kph) for the crossing. Two years ago, sailing Bourgnon's 60-foot trimaran Foncia Immoblier, Lewis and Bourgnon narrowly missed breaking the record when they ran out of wind only 46 miles from the finish. Theirs was the closest of nine attempts in the last 11 years to eclipse Madec's time. A prize of 200,000 French francs ($US26,000) and a beautiful trophy has been posted by Roger Caille, former president of the French courier operation Jet Services, for any boat that breaks the record of the boat his company sponsored. -- Keith Taylor For more information on Team Adventure, go to www.TeamAdventure.org.
OPTIMIST WORLDS Weather conditions are difficult in the extreme, alternating from torrential rain and days of fog to boiling temperatures with very light winds and massive shifts which nobody seems able to predict, including the Race Officer. Interestingly, Qingdao has just been announced as the venue for sailing in the 2008 Olympic Games. Light winds resulted in the practice race being abandoned as the strong tide made racing impossible. Yesterday, the Race Officer had two attempts at getting the three fleets racing. In the end, racing was abandoned when a 180 degree wind shift caught the first start as they were on the first reach. The third fleet were left struggling to get over the start line against the tide. Today saw another day of boiling temperatures and light variable winds, including multiple wind shifts of 180 degrees. After five hours on the water one race was on the score board, reflecting what was a total lottery. The three fleets were headed up by Echuerdo Lopez from Spain, Abdul Rahim from Malaysia and Baldyga Emil from Poland. -- Vaughan Smedley, Mad for Sailing: www.madforsailing.com Reports are also available on the Optimist Class website: www.optiworld.org/01worlds.html and the Official event site: www.2001opworlds.com
J CLASS REGATTA The three remaining J Class yachts from the 1930's era , Shamrock V (JK3), Endeavour (JK4) and Velsheda (JK7) will compete on courses set in Christchurch Bay. J Class yachts are around 130 feet long, displacing up to 180 tons and carry a sail area of up to 10,000 squ feet. All three yachts were originally built in the UK between 1929 and 1934. The class website is www.jclassyachts.com -- David Pitman, www.sailsail.com
ILYA E-SCOW INVITATIONAL
THE (GUEST) CURMUDGEON'S CONFESSION |
