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SCUTTLEBUTT 2365 - June 14, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). FAVORED BUT NOT FORMIDABLE Looking forward to the America’s Cup itself, Alinghi is favored by most experts – and for good reason. The Defender was the top team throughout the three years of ACTs and won the finale, ACT 13 a fleet race in early April 2007. Their victory in that ACT was impressive, especially since they were not even sailing their newer - and possibly faster - boat, SUI 100, which appears to be aimed at the lighter winds of the summer. This is the first America’s Cup in history where the Defender has had so many opportunities (both unofficial and official) to race and check in with the challengers. In recent Cups, the Defender has operated in a vacuum and the drama built with the approach of the Cup. But many feel that with the new format where Alinghi has sailed against the Challengers, that the drama is gone as the playing field is so firmly tilted toward the Defender. Not only were they the best and fastest team leaving Auckland in 2003, but they have remained at the head of the pack over the past few years. And observers who have watched the recent (post LVC) “unofficial” racing sessions between Luna Rossa (with Spithill at the helm) and Alinghi say the defender has been strong. The departure of helmsman and Cup legend, Russell Coutts, has not seemed to slow down Ernesto Bertarelli´s machine. But if the experience of the challengers is any indication, the gap between Alinghi and the rest may have closed significantly over the course of the LV Cup. Certainly that is the hope of Grant Dalton and ETNZ, who come into the Cup with the momentum of having swept Luna Rossa in five straight races. ETNZ is sailing well, helmsman Dean Barker and tactician Terry Hutchinson are a formidable pair that complement each other’s sailing styles. Over the course of the LV Cup, this team has made virtually no changes to their boat, but steady improvements to their sails. Their hull is the narrowest in Valencia (about 150 mm narrower than Alinghi´s SUI 100) and seems to like the light to moderate sea breezes and spectator chop that will only build during the Cup. As the underdog, the Kiwis are in a great position. If Alinghi does not still possess the upwind speed advantage that they have held throughout the last few years, then ETNZ can win by simply racing better – as they did to win the LV Cup. But the America’s Cup has nearly always been won by the faster boat, and that´s where the Defender is hoping their money has been spent. -- Peter Isler, Versus television commentator, and BMW Oracle Racing navigator AMERICA’S CUP MATCH First team to win 5 races in the 9 race series Challenger: Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 Defender: Alinghi (SUI) _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 * Race schedule: Racing begins Saturday, June 23rd, with the second race on Sunday before the first rest day on Monday. -- Complete schedule: http://www.americascup.com/en/americascup/program/calendrier.php * The Scuttlebutt Forum is hosting the America’s Cup Hotline through to the last race, which has provided a venue for questions to be answered by Cup insiders. A recent inquiry regarding mainsheet systems was responded to by Luna Rossa mainsheet trimmer Jonathan McKee. Curious about something? Take it here: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * The 12-Metre class, the boats used in the America’s Cup for 30 years from 1958 until 1987, are again a part of the America’s Cup here in Valencia. Beginning on Thursday, June 13th, they will race in the Valencia 12-Metre Regatta, one of many regattas celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first Class Championships. -- http://www.americascup.com/en/acmag/features/index.php?idContent=26228 SCUTTLEBUTT JEOPARDY She is a 74-foot ocean racing ketch, designed by Bill Tripp and built in 1968 in the Abeking & Rasmussen yard in Bremen, Germany. She once took line honors in the Sydney Hobart race, twice claimed line honors in the Newport to Bermuda race, and twice won the Swiftsure International Yacht Race on corrected time, and held the corrected time race record for ten years until it was broken this year. What is...? (see question below) GOING TO THE ROCK Block Island, R.I. -- From June 17-22, 2007, the population of tiny Block Island will swell by over 2000 sailors while marinas fill with an extra 200 plus boats when the Storm Trysail Club arrives to coordinate--for its 22nd time--Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex. One of the most popular sailing weeks in America, the event has repeated itself here biennially since 1965, offering competitors impeccably managed competition on the water and famously friendly rivalry ashore. This year, Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex serves as the first-ever Rolex US-IRC National Championship for boats certified under IRC. Nelson Weidermann (Wakefield, R.I.) has competed six times in the event with his best performance being a second in class. He skippers his J/105 Kima against other J/105s in the one-design division that was started for this class at the 1996 event. "It is one of the bigger one-design classes," said Weidermann. "There were more than 20 J/105s last time, and we expect that again." Weidermann sails with his two sons and friends whose families enjoy vacationing on Block Island. "We rent a house and have the seven grandchildren here. We sail all day while the kids hit the beach; then we all have dinner together every night. "Some of the J/105 sailors are dyed-in-the-wool, around-the-buoys sailors," added Weidermann, "but over the years, we've come to really enjoy the race around the island, which challenges us with all its different currents and weather." -- Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/ynshjq ULLMAN SAILS AUSTRALIAN SAIL LOFTS Ullman Sails International is pleased to announce the addition of Ullman Sails - Melbourne. Sam Haines, owner/ operator, has been a very active sailmaker from North Queensland down to Melbourne. He was involved with the Australian entry in the Volvo Round the World race. Robert Cordingley, is the new owner/ operator of Ullman Sails – Whitsunday. He holds a number of State and National titles. Both sailmakers have a vast amount of experience in both dinghy and keelboat sails. Their full service lofts offer new sails and expert maintenance of existing inventories. For their contact information and biographies, please visit http://www.ullmansails.com ON THE OLYMPIC TRAIL (Last week, the 470 Women’s team of Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler (USA) competed in the 2007 470 European Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece, where they won the medal race and finished in sixth place finish out of the 48 boat women’s fleet. Here is their event report, providing a “fly on the wall” view of their trip.) We departed the USA on May 23, flying to Toulon, France. We picked up the US Team “Euro Diesel Van” and trailer and drove to Ancona, Italy where we caught an overnight ferry to Igoumanitsa, Greece. Once on the Greek side of the Adriatic, we enjoyed a 5 hour white-knuckle drive through the mountains to Thessaloniki. Complete with 10% grade inclines, 180 degree hairpin turns on a road barely wide enough for a cattle cart, we were just praying for our manual van to drag our heavy load in first gear without stalling out! Once safely in Thessaloniki, we had 8 great days of training with our coach and Czech training partners. We rigged up a new mast, slightly stiffer in the mid-section compared to the mast we’ve been using all Spring. We’ve been a little dissatisfied with our light air boat speed and thought a stiffer mast might be the answer. It turned out to be the right call. Another main focus area during our training races was upwind strategy and boat placement in the top third of the beat. We’d been running into problems in bigger fleets with getting strung out to the layline, leaving no options. Instead, we worked on anticipating shifts and tacking before the crowd does, leaving us a better lane. Again, this translated very well for us in the regatta. -- Read on for their complete report: http://www.teamgosail.org/regatta2.html#race9 CHARTING SOFTWARE SOURCES When choosing electronic charting, the myboatsgear.com website has a ‘how-to ’ online guide on the options available for electronic navigation with a PC. They review the equipment needed and the various alternatives available from software suppliers, along with providing a couple of sources to get training on electronic charts and see what's in the future. To get started, you will need to: - Choose a computer (see hardware requirements below). - Gain access to a GPS source - Choose one of the software options - Acquire charts for the area you will be boating in For a complete run-down on how to handle these decisions, go to http://myboatsgear.com/newsletter/charts.asp CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: June 15-16 - Leukemia Cup Regatta - Annapolis, MD, USA June 15 - Marion to Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race - Marion, MA, USA June 16-30 - Cadillac Van Isle 360 Intl. Yacht Race - Nanaimo, BC, Canada June 16-17 - J/Fest Seattle - Seattle, WA, USA June 16-17 - Caribbean One Design Keelboat Champs - St.Maarten June 16-17 - Reggae Regatta - Flowery Branch, GA, USA June 16-17 - Vanguard 15 New England Championship - Larchmont, NY, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * Effective July 1st 2007, Teufelberger AG with headquarters in Wels, Austria, will acquire New England Ropes, Inc. based in Fall River, MA, USA. Teufelberger, founded in 1790, is a family owned company with more than 600 employees, and is the global leader for technical ropes and shares the top position in Europe for premium ropes for the yachting market. New England Ropes Inc., incorporated in 1967, has 150 associates with a product range comprising of fiber ropes for pleasure and commercial marine, climbing, industrial and entertainment applications as well as products for the equine market and safety & rescue equipment. * (June 13, 2007) As if proof is needed that a new 2007 TP52 not a necessity to win on the Breitling MedCup TP52 circuit, the three year old Botin & Carkeek design Balearia stole the thunder from the posse of brand new boats among the 23 strong fleet by winning the first - and only - race of the Trofeo Alicante on Wednesday. With French Olympic 470 gold medallist Thierry Pepponet calling tactics for skipper-helm Gonzalo Araujo, good starting and astute first leg tactics proved much more important than sheer boatspeed today. -- http://2007.medcup.org/news/?idioma=2&id=299 * (Parry Sound, ONT, CAN) Sail Parry Sound received its largest community donation to date for its sailing centre near the old town beach. The Parry Sound Optimist Club has donated $30,000 to the sailing centre, supporting the centre for its youth initiatives, including a sailing school. -- http://www.parrysound.com/press/1181308740/ * As part of an enhanced focus on quality control, the American Sailing Association (ASA) will no longer accept applications for new sailing schools, beginning Sept. 15, 2007. For the first time in its 24-year history, ASA is enacting a moratorium on accepting applications for new sailing schools within the United States for at least one year. The moratorium is part of a dedicated effort to continue to improve quality at the 270 professionally accredited sailing schools currently affiliated with ASA worldwide. -- BYM News, full story: http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=9930 * The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association website announced that the College of Charleston won the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy as the team of the year. Additionally, the site has the fall schedule available along with the latest inductees to the ICSA Hall of Fame. -- http://www.collegesailing.org * (June 13, 2007) The 159 participants left St. Tropez for Genoa today at 13.00 in light south-easterly winds for the 243-mile offshore Giraglia Rolex Cup Race. -- http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1638&lang=1 JEOPARDY QUESTION What is Ondine II? Originally commissioned by Huey Long, Ondine II is now named Atalanta, and is owned by real estate developer Richard Hedreen with her homeport being Seattle, WA. Here is a report from her latest Swiftsure race escapade a few weeks ago: http://sailingnorthwest.blogspot.com/2007/06/swiftsure-2007-on-atalanta.html OCKAM REGATTA SUPPORT At Ockam Instruments, we truly enjoy sailboat racing, and can be found at most regattas providing the highest level of service and support available. Block Island Race Week is just around the corner and Ockam Instrument technicians will be there to solve your instrument service, support, and calibration needs. We also can assist with software and hardware upgrade solutions, system integration as well as give pointers to help fine tune your Ockam system. OCKAM: a distinct competitive advantage. To make an appointment, contact mailto:sales@ockam.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Fred Finkle, Corona del Mar, CA: Sometimes it sure seems like the inmates are running the asylum. When long-time Transpac board member Roy Disney found a loophole in the modified Offshore Racing Rule used to handicap the Transpac Race, the other board members quickly sprang into action -- they adjusted the race's rating cap dramatically upward. This opened the door for Disney's team to cut the bow off their maxZ86 Pyewacket, and add a new longer one. But more importantly, huge wings were also fabricated for the stern of the boat at deck level -- much like those on the Kiwi Big Boat seen at the 1988 America's Cup in San Diego. So the new-look Pyewacket will now have greatly improved downwind stability by using these deck wings for sail stacking -- also allowed by the Transpac race rules. The only question is, where are they going to park Pyewacket after she sets a new Transpac course record in July? There is certainly no slip on Transpac row that will accommodate this grotesque freak. And we wonder why owners are leaving the sport. * From Jack Engel, New Canaan, CT: What is portrayed in many circles as an undesirable result - the return to prominence of the traditional sailing powers (Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, France, etc., should Emirates Team new Zealand take the Cup back to Auckland) - is in fact what most real sailors would like to see. What has Switzerland done prior to 2003 in the sailing arena? The traditional sailing powers USA, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany, South Africa, and more recently even Japan and China have all accomplished more than the Swiss. To endorse Ernesto Bertarelli's changing the long-standing order of International sailing protocol is akin to endorsing George Steinbrenner to challenge for the next cup race and re-write the rules - expense and nationality be damned. Net, net: If Switzerland, Luxemburg, Belgium, etc. can't make it, will they be missed? * From Edward Fryer: (comments about letters in Issue 2364) Regarding Howard Paul, unfortunately for his plan, the deed of gift specifically requires a match - established as a match race between two boat; a defender representing the club holding the cup, and a challenger representing the challenging club. I doubt very much that the NY Supreme Court would agree to changing this, given that the world's oldest international sporting event seems in very robust health, with a more than satisfactory number of challengers. And regarding Bob Bausch, if the AC was being held somewhere with nothing but 25+ knots of breeze and big waves, the boats would be built with that in mind. * From Frank Betz: Probably there has been "edginess" in AC competition from Day Two about 150 years ago. When someone invests moderate nine figures in a successful project, shouldn't he justifiably feel somewhat proprietary about it all? I have tremendous admiration for Ernesto Bertarelli and the amazing AC successes he's engineered under his Swiss flag. Unquestionably his program created enormous social and economic benefits for Spain and the Med. Yet I suspect a huge majority of Cup aficionados worldwide would find the competition much more interesting if (at least some of) the nationality aspects were reinstated. Even if the Cup goes back to NZ, three quarters of AC Village employees will not be out of work. Employment there will stay very full as the support workers remain in demand tending to the ever expanding fleets of visiting superyachts. And pro sailors will go where the action (and money) is. Besides, this competition never had any social or political engineering as an objective anyway. Mr. Bertarelli sounds a bit paranoid that Dalton's remarks are directed toward Alinghi. Which competing syndicate did not rely on multinational crews, designers, and other key participants? Relax, Ernesto. Keep your eye on the ball here, so to speak. Skip the silly WWE trash talk. As for us spectators, how about Scuttlebutt survey its readers asking if the current rules should prevail, or if a level of nationalism should be reinstated in future campaigns? I'd bet nationalism would prevail by about five to one. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Life is like snow. You don't know when it will come, how long it will last, or how much you will get. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Ockam Instruments. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
