|
SCUTTLEBUTT 1342 - June 3, 2003Powered 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. DISPUTE (In Scuttlebutt 1341 we directed readers to ISAF President Paul Henderson's lengthy open letter about match racing posted on the federation's website. Swedish Match Tour Director Scott MacLeod took that advice, read the story and sent us this response.) I read the open letter that the ISAF President wrote on the ISAF website this morning. I am not going to try and counter the numerous factual and historical errors. Obviously, the President is trying to use his office and control of the ISAF website to air his side of a private discussion in an open forum which is unnecessary. This is obviously in response to a letter that I sent to the sailors on the Swedish Match Tour about ISAF sending invoices to our events charging a 10% fee on the prize money that was published in scuttlebutt. Let me set the record straight: The Swedish Match Tour and Swedish Match Tour events have paid fees and supported ISAF programs to well over $200,000 in the last three years. We are not aware of any unpaid amounts owed to ISAF and have asked them to please provide the proper documentation with regards to these amounts they are purporting we owe. We have received nothing in response and we do not have any outstanding invoices form 2002, or prior, on our books. We would like to continue working with members of ISAF on the programs that we have mutually developed over the last three years including the payment to umpires to attend events, supporting the development of the umpire discipline and the assistance of travel for international umpires. We are very aware that ISAF has expenses in providing these services to sailing and the Swedish Match Tour has always agreed to support the reasonable expenses associated with these services. We look forward to having positive discussions with VP's Bolin, Schoonmaker and Ryan to move the discipline of match racing and sport of sailing forward. - Scott MacLeod AROUND ALONE It's finally all over. The 2002/03 Around Alone has officially come to an end with the arrival of Derek Hatfield on Spirit of Canada. The whole fleet is now safely back in port. The event website will remain active for the foreseeable future so that you will be able to return as often as you want to relive some of the highlights from the past year. I have been watching the numerous TV shows about Mount Everest now that it's the 50th anniversary of Hillary and Norgay's amazing ascent, and I am struck that more than 10 times more people have stood atop the highest peak on the planet than have sailed around the world single-handed. Approximately 125 people have completed a solo circumnavigation and returned to talk about it. The next race is scheduled for 2006 and will be called 5-Oceans rather than Around Alone. The new name has more appeal for corporate sponsors. The future of this event will rely heavily on corporate support. This time around, without a title sponsor, race organizers estimate that they subsidized each competitor to the tune of around $100,000 dollars. Obviously that can't be repeated and have the company hope to stay in business. - Brian Hancock http://www.aroundalone.com WHAT DOES YOUR GEAR SUPPLIER DO FOR YOU? If you want value added back to your regatta, choose The Pirate's Lair! Order your tees, hats and fuzzies and receive Keg sponsorships, Henri Lloyd and Gill give always, functional trophy items and always the best graphics in the marine industry. For a free catalog or info call (888) SAIL-BUM (724-5286) or log on to http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing RUSSELL COUTTS (James Boyd did an extensive interview with Russell Coutts for The Daily Sail website. This brief excerpt gives some insight about what Coutts has been up to lately.) "I've been busy trying to sign sponsors. So I've been working on that and signing up personnel." He says that this is both in the design and sailing teams. "I think we've hired 55% of our total staff. We've pretty much got all of our design team and we've got 23 sailors." Currently both Alinghi's race boats are in Cherbourg having been shipped back from Auckland. 64 is soon to be sent across to San Francisco for their match with Oracle later this year. This will be followed by the first of 'seed' events to be held on the east coast of the US in May next year. "The Cup is a long way way and I think the sponsors need continuity," says Coutts. "They need some extra events. You can't have one event and these other events will be good racing. We've got these boats, so we may as well use them." - The Daily Sail website, full story: http://thedailysail.com/ ROAD TO THE OLYMPICS For the first time ever, US Sailing is conducting an Olympic Development Regatta. Scheduled for June 17-21 at Sail Newport in Newport, RI, the event is specifically for sailors between the ages of 19 and 25 who are interested in starting an Olympic campaign or learning more about an Olympic class. During the first three days of the event, participants will attend an advanced racing clinic coordinated by U.S. Sailing Team (USST) coaches Gary Bodie, Luther Carpenter and Skip Whyte. The clinic will be followed by a two-day regatta. The following classes can participate in the event: 470 (men and women), Mistral (men and women), Finn, Europe, 49er, Tornado and Yngling. Housing, transportation and meals are the responsibility of the sailors. - Marlieke de Lange Eaton www.ussailing.org/youth/racing QUOTE / UNQUOTE Looking into my crystal ball, I see a (Volvo Ocean) race where there are more and more mixed teams of 10. I see a race that continues to adapt to the changing environment. I see a race that recaptures the imagination of the world. But don't assume that all of the teams of 10 will be 50% female. You might see an otherwise all-woman's team elect to sail with 10 so they can have a male cook! Here's a message to all of those smart-asses who yelled out to Maiden or Heineken: "Hey chicks - you need a cook?" Well, the all the right qualifications we might just take you up on it. - Dawn Riley, Volvo Ocean Race website, full story: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/press/030523_magic.html FOR SALE Farr 40 OD "Shadow I" for sale. Excellent condition, professionally maintained, never damaged, lightly used. Proven fast boat with winning record. 3DL inventory, spare pole, B&G, DGPS, wheel, cradle. I have two F40s, so one has to go. More info at 925-258-0175, pstoneberg@usa.net or http://www.stonebergs.com/shadow NEWS BRIEFS * Cox Business Services will provide media services to the accredited on-site media for DaimlerChrysler North Atlantic Challenge. .The Cox Business Services Media Center will be located at Harbour Court - New York Yacht Club's on-the-water clubhouse in Newport, R.I. The media center will provide Internet, phone and video services to the more than 50 print and broadcast journalists from overseas who are expected in Newport to cover the world's largest transatlantic race for monohull, fully crewed yachts, set to start on June 14. - www.dcnac.de. * US Sailing's new Judges Manual is now available. To order call 1-800 877-2451 or visit: www.ussailing.org/merchandise * The new marinamap website provides worldwide comprehensive information about marinas and other services necessary for every skipper - such as sail makers, engine services, yacht shops or boat fuel docks. The website enables the user to search based on a geographic position. Some of the marinamap boating information is input by the users. Registered marinas may publish dates of sailing races or newsletters free of charge. http://www.marinamap.com/en/ * Fresh from finishing the ACI HT Mobile Cup last week-end, the America's Cuppers will contest the third BluRimini Match Race (an ISAF Grade 2 regatta) in Italy, from Wednesday to Saturday this week. On board of the BLUSails '24 Sport, it's an occasion to see some of the world famous participants in the America's Cup, such as Paolo Cian of Mascalzone Latino, James Spithill and Kelvin Harrap of One World Challenge, Andy Green of GBR Challenge, Sebastien Col of le Défi Areva and many other match-race specialists. - Cup in Europe website, full story: http://www.cupineurope.com/MatchRace/03Blurimini-EN.htm * Looking for a new cruising boat? A big one? We found a listing on the internet for a nice 673-foot, steel cruising boat built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited, England in 1945. This 17,500 ton boat has plenty of power - 36,000 SHP. It has a cruising range of 12,000 miles at 14 knots … and you can also land airplanes on it: http://www.frenchcreekboatsales.com/details.asp?File_Number=BOP12 CLIPPER 2002 RACE Bristol Clipper, skippered by Richard Butler, crossed the finish line of Race 11 to Mauritius at 23:31 GMT on Thursday, 29 May to clinch their third victory of the eleven-month Clipper 2002 series. On the overall leaderboard, this closes the gap between first placed Jersey Clipper and the chasing Bristolians to a thrilling 3 points after some 22,500 miles of racing so far.Clipper 2002 Provisional Overall Results after Race 11: 1. Jersey, 63 2. Bristol, 60 3. Hong Kong, 50 4. Liverpool, 47.5 5. Glasgow, 42 6. London, 41 7. New York, 33 8. Cape Town, 15 Event website: www.clipper-ventures.com COLLEGIATE WOMEN'S NAs Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan - Tufts University (Medford, Mass.) jumped to a 17-point lead during the first day of the 2003 Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Women's North American Championship. Seventy-degree air and partly cloudy skies greeted the sailors at Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, near Detroit. The wind direction shifted from southeast to east over the day, but remained a relatively calm 5-8 knots. Racing took place on Lake St. Clair in new Vanguard 420s provided by Vanguard Sailboats (Portsmouth, R.I.), a partner in the ICSA Growth and Development Project. Spectators were able to watch all the action from shore at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club. The University of Michigan and the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association are the hosts of record. Today's conditions were so favorable that racing continued until past 6pm in the evening. The series continues Tuesday and Wednesday, with 18 races planned in each division. - Derek Webster Overall Results after 6 races in A-division and 4 races in B-division (A + B = Total Points) 1. Tufts University 21 + 8 = 29 2. Dartmouth College 34 + 12 = 46 3. St. Mary's Coll. MD 36 + 17 = 53 4. Harvard University 23 + 35 = 58 5. Old Dominion Univ. 41 + 28 = 69 6. University of Hawaii 39 + 31 = 70 7. Brown University 49 + 25 = 74 8. Coll of Charleston 51 + 27 = 78 9. Yale University 56 + 27 = 83 10. Tulane University 38 + 62 = 100 Complete results: http://www.collegesailing.org/2003 NEW CAMET ARUBA SHORTS The new design of Camet Shorts have a plain front style made out of fast drying Supplex® nylon, with a reinforced Cordura® seat patch for an optional foam pad. Features include a roomy right side cargo pocket with Velcro® closure flap and an internal phone pocket, two deep side pockets as well as Velcro® waist adjustment straps. Gusset design for full range of motion. Fabric has a UV rating of 40, blocking 97.5 % of UV rays for excellent skin protection. All the different styles and colors of the Camet shorts and the Coolmax shirts are available at http://www.camet.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * June 3-11: ISAF International One Metre World Championships, Royal Vancouver YC. 82 skippers from 16 countries have registered, including 18 from the USA. http://www.royalvan.com/racing_details.asp?ID=25 * June 7-8: J/120 East Coast Championships, Stamford YC, Stamford, Connecticut. http://stamfordyc.com * July 20-23: Screwpile Challenge, Southern Maryland Sailing Association. 13 divisions, 4 courses, for PHRF, PHRF non-spin, MORC and One-Design. Entries will be cut off at 170 boats because of limited dockage. http://www.screwpile.org/ * July 20-26: Albacore International Championships, Portsmouth Olympic Harbor, Kingston, Ontario. http://www.cork.org/nor-albacore2003.html WATTS TROPHY The Watts Trophy Regatta at the Los Angeles YC was the third stop on the Southern California Farr 40 circuit. After the three races on Saturday, Non Sequitur, Dick Watts, StFYC, was tied with Crocodile Rock, Alexandra Geremia/ Scott Harris, SBYC, each having 8 points. On Sunday, if the final race had finished at the last windward mark there would have been a three way tie for first place in the regatta. At the finish Non Sequitur held on to a one point lead to place her name on the Kenneth Watts Perpetual Trophy, while John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti squeaked into second place tied with Crocodile Rock in third. - Dave Cort, complete results: www.layc.org 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 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 Dan Tucker (edited to our 250-word limit): The recent letter from Ginny Lovell and reply from Fred Hagerdorn almost passed me by, unnoticed, as I am in Cowes with US Disabled Sailing Team members Rick Doerr, Tim Angle and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker where we placed 2nd, just 3 points behind Paralympic Gold medalist Andy Cassell in the UK Two-Sail National Championship. Tomorrow we depart for Sweden in a 13 year old minivan we shipped from the states along with our Sonar. I've spent a lot of time on the coach boat taking pictures to post on the team's website every night, as I work till 1 AM every night to keep our supporters apprised of the team's progress. All in the name of fundraising. As the second ranked team on the US Disabled Sailing Team, Team Odyssey received a paltry $3000 from US Sailing. While every dollar certainly counts, that doesn't even cover airfare and lodging for the team at this one event, never mind covering expenses for our coach, rental of a coach-boat, sails, food, ground transportation, or $30,000 for a Sonar. We've worked hard to raise about $18,000 from our local sailing communities, friends and families. It's a tremendous distraction. Our initial budget for 2 years of the campaign approached $80,000. That's with all of the sailing team employed to pay their living expenses, not living off the donors. * From Paul Andersen (Re Jan Visser's urgings to support Olympic aspirants): I have been sailing and racing for 44 years and I too, when young had a desire to sail in the Olympics. The reason I won't support a young aspirant, is that for the most part, the true spirit of the Olympics are gone. The Olympics, like college athletics, have become the farm system for professional sports. It's not that I'm against pros, it's just that I'm not going to subsidize someone so that they can get a high paying job. I had to pay my way to get my training/education. If you want to embark on this career path get a job and save money. * From Bill Artuzzi: The Chair of US Sailing's Offshore Committee asserted that Transpac numbered among the events "using Americap II". Well, the NOR for Transpac 2003 clearly states "The race is open to monohull and multihull yachts with an IMS or Americap II certificate ...". However, the use of Americap II and IMS ratings is solely to provide speed predictions so that the Transpacific Yacht Club can "assign each yacht a TPYC rating, primarily from IMS and Americap II certificate data." Since Americap II, and IMS, is a rating and scoring system, and the TPYC is doing their own thing (and doing it well), it seems a stretch to proclaim this Transpac to be an Americap II event. And, we'll find those WMD's real soon. * Craig Montrose: When will the US join the rest of the world? Americans drink by the ounce while the rest of the world drinks by the pint. American boats are measured in feet while all other boats are measured in meters. I guess it makes sense that the U.S. has to have Americap while the rest of the planet is enjoying the IRC system. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS Beauty is only a light switch away. |
