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SCUTTLEBUTT 2293 – March 5, 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). PAUL HENDERSON: ISSUES WITH SCORING There is a situation that needs to be addressed in the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) scoring system. Once again, the sailors are ahead of the rule makers. Here it is: When you are disqualified from a race, you are not scored for that race. No problem. However, when you are disqualified from the regatta, for whatever reason, you should not be scored for the regatta, and not just dropped down to being last in your flight. The real problem will surface with the new Olympic "Medal Race" (which I do not like), and will produce several new tactical maneuvers. There may be some sailors who will take undue chances, knowing that they can only be shoved down to 10th in that race. If it is gross misconduct, then they must be deleted from the regatta. The last such problem in the scoring system was figured out by the Brits, which was labeled "Strategic Withdrawing." They figured out that, in certain cases, if you withdrew from a race, or get others to do so, you could move up in the finishing order. They were withdrawing from previous races after they had finished the regatta. This was wrong and corrected. I trust ISAF will also correct the latest scoring glitch. The single most pressing challenge to racing is figuring out how to more fairly administer OCS, or as we used call it, premature starting. The object should be to have a fair race - not to disqualify competitors. To sail a whole race and then find out you were OCS is ridiculous. There have been many suggestions, but none acted on. Aside from talking to the competitors by one-way radios and warning them immediately, hopefully soon a cheap electronic system will be developed. -- Paul Henderson, Past President, International Sailing Federation Q & A WITH RUSSELL COUTTS Since he finished with America's Cup holders Alinghi, Russell Coutts has been anything but a landlubber. He has established his own class of yachts, the RC44, been a regular on the TP52 circuit and has recently teamed up with Paul Cayard and launched the World Sailing League - a professional fleet racing circuit which pits nation against nation in catamarans. The New Zealand Herald caught up with Coutts and asked him about his year ahead. The World Sailing League, set to start in 2009, looks very exciting, where did the idea come from? "When you look at the current sailing regattas, there are iconic, professional events in both match racing and ocean racing. However, most of the sailors in the world compete at fleet racing and that is certainly the discipline that the Olympics focus on. We believe it will be good to create a professional fleet racing series in big boats that fills this gap and provides a career path for the Olympic sailors (especially 49er, Tornado and 470 sailors) and other high performance fleet racing specialists. There is also a general move to using faster, more high-performance boats and if one extends that trend 10 years ahead, the multihull seems like the logical progression." -- New Zealand Herald, full interview: http://tinyurl.com/2wqxsg QUOTE / UNQUOTE "There is no chance I will rejoin Alinghi.” - Russell Coutts, on if there was any chance he will rejoin Alinghi for the America’s Cup. (from Herald interview above) SEND PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENTS HERE Every publication receives New Product Announcements, which are informing the media of the latest gadgets now available to the sporting public. In the interest of keeping the Scuttlebutt newsletter at a manageable length, the Curmudgeon has generally tossed these announcements – until now. A new category has been created on the Forum called – you guessed it – New Product Announcements. This will be the place for companies to post their product news, and for the ‘buttheads to stay in touch with what’s soon to come to the stores. So, listen up companies: If you have something to say, say it here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/products ACCURATE, RELIABLE & DEPENDABLE PERFORMANCE Words you wish described your sailing instrument system. Ockam is the leader in providing the most accurate real-time data available. The high-speed Tryad processor combined with an available 3-axis rate stabilized compass utilizes the full motion of the boat to deliver a stable, accurate wind solution that you can depend on. With performance and weight in mind, all sensors interface close to their location allowing the information to stream unimpeded throughout the system’s reliable and robust single cable network. View more lines of information than the competition with the new Matryx II, graphical display that also strip-charts data. Contact: mailto:sales@ockam.com BO WINS REGATTA – POWERBOAT RUINS SERIES This past weekend, the 62-boat Etchells fleet in Miami was not only going to decide the class Midwinter Champion, but also the Jaguar series, as this was the fourth of four events that account for this very popular winter championship. The Jaguar Series looked to be a battle between Jud Smith and Oscar Strugstad, as they were tied on points, but Smith’s normally stellar skills were distracted with a quick trip to NY to accept his Rolex award. With Smith down in the standings, the Jaguar Series title looked to be all for Oscar… as long as he could finish the event (more on that in a minute). As for the Midwinter Championship, that title was earned by the Bo Jackson of sailing and Hockey, Hank Lammens (see Hank’s comments in Scuttleblog last week). So who won the Jaguar Series? Phil Garland slid into the title when Strugstad broke his mast when his boat was forced to cross the breaking wake of a 65-foot powerboat. -- Daily event reports are posted in the Forum, including the dramatic details from the final day. Do you have an opinion? Add it to the Forum thread: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4382#4382 Final Results (top five of 62 boats) 1. CAN, Hank Lammens, 28 points 2. USA, Scott Piper, 40 3. USA, Byron Ehrhart, 50 4. USA, Bruce Gollison / Steve Flam, 51 5. USA, Tom Hughes, 53 Complete results: http://www.etchellsfleet20.org/2007_Jag/midwinters.htm WHAT WOULD JOE SAY? (At the Etchells Midwinters, Lynn Fitzpatrick polled many of the former college sailors competing in hopes of bringing closure to the Scuttlebutt debate) I have vivid memories of my first days at the Mystic Lake over a quarter of a century ago. Tufts had a new coach and not nearly enough Larks for everybody who wanted tryout for the team. If you weren’t first or second in a race, you had to give up your boat to one of the crews who were standing on the floating docks. There were so many eager skippers and crews waiting to tryout that the floating docks were submerged. Competing for a school with a legendary sailing team, one meets and becomes part of the string of legends. I knew that we had a great team during my freshman year, but every upperclassman and alum that I met would tell story after story of Joe Duplin and his Jumbo sailing teams. When Scuttlebutt started the tread about best college sailing teams, my sense was that one of Joe’s late 1970’s teams was truly the best college team ever. The question remained, what year? -- Read on: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4394#4394 DAY ONE AT THE STAR BACARDI CUP A record 23 boats were black flagged at the start of the first race of the Star Bacardi Cup, and found themselves sailing back to Coconut Grove after learning their fate at the first weather mark. For the rest of the boats in the 77-boat fleet, the day belong to the Irish, as Maurice O'Connell and crew Ben Cooke went coast to coast from the first weather mark, never relinquishing their lead to the pressing Kiwi team of Hamish Pepper and David Giles. The “could of-should of” file had one submission, as Pepper was delayed at the leeward gate following a back flip out the boat. Thankfully, while he did his back flip, he hooked the main sheet with his feet and managed to pull himself hand over hand back onto the boat. -- Don’t miss Lynn Fitzpatrick’s Bacardi Cup diary on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/StarBacardiCup Preliminary results after first race (top ten of 77 boats) 1. IRL, Maurice O'Connell/ Ben Cooke 2. NZL, Hamish Pepper/ David Giles 3. GER, Robert Stanjek / Frithjof Kleen 4. POL, Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Dominik Zycki 5. BER, Peter Bromby / Bill McNiven 6. AUS, Ian Murray / Andrew Palfrey 7. GER, Matthias Miller/ Manuel Voigt 8. SWE, Fredrik Loof/ Anders Ekstrom 9. USA, John Dane/ Austin Sperry 10. GER, Marc Pickel/ Ingo Borkowski Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/3278pr CHARLESTON TO BERMUDA Whether you are a die-hard racer or a family crewed adventurer, the Charleston to Bermuda Race is an awesome challenge and a whole 'lot of fun. Enjoy great parties in two prime destinations. The Charleston to Bermuda Race offers low fees and is PHRF, one-design and IRC friendly! Race starts May 18th, 2007, with the fleet arriving to the beauty of Bermuda with parties at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Check out the entries, including a Finot Open-50, with special trophies for J Boats and Beneteaus. For more information, visit http://www.charlestontobermuda.com SAILING SHORTS * New York, NY (March 2, 2007) Jud Smith (Marblehead, Mass.) and Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) took center stage Friday during a special luncheon at the New York Yacht Club in Manhattan. The sailors are US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year, this country’s most prestigious honor in the sport. They were recognized for their outstanding on-the-water performances during the 2006 calendar year and presented with engraved Rolex timepieces. -- For photo and revealing video comments by both award winners: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/0304 * A fleet of 51 boats set sail on Saturday, beginning Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s 14th Annual Newport Beach, CA to Cabo San Lucas (Mexico) Race. However, at press time Sunday night there were no results posted and only meager race notes. If you feel like going to battle for info, you might start here: http://www.07caborace.org * The 27th St. Maarten Heineken Regatta concluded Sunday as more than 200 boats in 20 divisions enjoyed classic Caribbean sailing conditions to wrap-up a event. Highlights of the regatta included the dominating performance of the Volvo 70, ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson's world-beating yacht, which put on a sailing clinic while regularly registering speeds of better than 20-knots; the addition of a first-ever fourth day of racing for the top race boats, which turned out to be a resounding success; and a Boat of the Regatta award to a design that was first introduced some 40 years ago. -- http://www.heinekenregatta.com * There are 69 confirmed entries from 14 different countries for the J/24 UBS World Championship, hosted by the Vallarta Yacht Club in Nuevo Vallarta. The race schedule is Monday through Friday, with the first race of the day starting at 1pm. A satellite regatta tracking system will allow the racing to be followed online, as Globalstar is providing a transponders for each boat. Using their “bent pipe” technology and constellation of 40 Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites, each race can be viewed online at http://www.j24mex.com/worlds2007.asp * (March 3, 2007) Bernard Stamm, onboard his Open 60 Cheminees Poujoulat, this evening crossed the finish line of leg 2 in the Velux 5 Oceans at 22:59:25 local time (3:59:45 UTC). After 48 days, 22 hours and 59 minutes 45 seconds and 15,725 miles of racing, the defending champion arrived in Norfolk (Virginia, USA). With a monumental lead of close to 3,000 miles over second-placed Kojiro Shiraishi of Japan, Stamm has surely sealed overall victory in the Velux 5 Oceans, with only a sprint leg back to the start-finish port of Bilbao (Basque Country) left to complete the circumnavigation of the planet. -- http://www.velux5oceans.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar EIGHT BELLS Amanda Bader of Accord, NY has passed due to an unfortunate accident involving a horse. Amanda was a very big sailboat racer, J24 owner back in the 80s and 90s until she decided to trade in the sailing gear for horse gear. As a little girl growing up in New York City and weekends in upstate NyY she would ride. So it was a natural progression to go back to the early roots. On Feb 17, 2007 Amanda was showing in Florida when her horse fell and unfortunately fell on her head causing severe brain damage, which resulted in her death on Feb 27, 2007. AN ABSORBING INTEREST The America’s Cup starts today . . . with the purchase of the fully illustrated, two-volume history of the event by Bob Fisher. The records of all the races, elimination events, and the stories behind the duels and the men are to be found in “An Absorbing Interest – the America’s Cup 1851-2003, a history.” http://www.wiley.com/go/americas 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 Robert L. Hughes: I find Paul Henderson's comments regarding the RCYC's cancellation of the Canada's Cup very amusing. Is he now speaking for RCYC regarding the Cup? For the last six years that I have been involved, he has not participated in any negotiations or committee's as far as I know. If he is speaking on RCYC's behalf, he should at least get the facts right. RCYC has held the Cup since 2001 when they won it from BYC, not a decade as he claims. Second, he says Canada is too small in population to defend the Cup and participate in the Olympics. I think that statement does injustice to many great Canadian sailors. In addition, he says there is not funding to do the Cup because of the Olympics. The last time the Cup was sailed was 2003 (a year before the Olympics), and it has now been four years. If we have to wait for the Olympics, than are we now waiting till 2009? Will the excuse then be we are out of money from the Olympics? Maybe the reason money is short is because he claims it costs $100,000 to host the event. A first class event can easily be run for under $25,000. But none of this even addresses the point. As dictated by the Deed, a Challenge was issued after four years and accepted by RCYC and now they want to cancel the event...destroy all the momentum that has been built over the last 6 years. Should Alinghi just cancel the America's Cup since Coutts left? RCYC should act in the best interest of the Cup and either race or give it to Mexico and we can call it the Mexican Cup and we will race them. * From Brad Everingham: (Re: Paul Henderson's comments regarding the RCYC delay for the Canada's Cup in 'Butt 2292) It should be unnecessary to note that the dates for the Qingdao Olympics have not changed ... they are very likely scheduled for roughly the exact same dates now as they were when the Defender last accepted the Cup challenge. From this perspective, to use the participation/ support of Canadian Olympic Teams as sole justification to delay the Canada's Cup just doesn't hold water. * From Jack Clayton: Clearly Russell Painton was born yesterday (regarding Painton’s letter in Issue 2292). Every single rating rule invented, including the old waterline rules of the 1800s, was/is a dynamic entity that must continually respond to changes in technology and innovation. Why? Because beside every rule inventor stands a cadre of designers looking for loopholes in the rule to exploit (it's even worse when the designers come up with the rule). I have heard the phrase "closing the loophole" for CCA, IOR, IMS, MORC, PHRF, Americap, Americap II, Open Class, IMOCA, IACC, International Rule, and numerous One Designs. So there shouldn't be any surprise to hear IRC doing the same thing. * From Christian H. Jensen: (In response to Russell Painton) Come on Russell - take a deep breath and start the thinking cap. The spinoa's are sails that clearly aims to exploit a loophole in the IRC rules and giving the user an unfair advantage. In addition they are really stupid sails - think about having to lover the sail halfway in order to tack (to clear the battens). These sails are only there to exploit the rule - nobody in their right mind would ever put such a sail on a boat unless it was a loop hole in the rules. IRC is aimed at rating sensible boats (think big bang for the buck) and discourage unnecessary cost to obtain minimal advantages. RORC/UNCL chose not to outlaw Spinoa's (they are illegal in PHRF, IMS, IOR) but to access a proper (maybe even a bit harsh) rating penalty for these sails. What is really the problem in that? * From Bill Canfield, St. Thomas, USVI: The coaching issue for young kids is a very difficult one to deal with if you are not at a large yacht club with a big program. Over the past few years St. Thomas Yacht Club, Virgin Islands has been very successful in junior events and we have done it with very little coaching. To highlight a few accomplishments of our program in the past 4 years: winning two divisions at the Youth Champs, North American Championship 420, 1st place HS Baker & Mallory, 2nd's in Bemis and Smythe, and 6th at the Youth Worlds to name just a few. We have exposed our sailors to all the best coaches but in very small doses at clinics and for weekends. Our kids rarely have coaches on the water at regattas. The secret is to create an atmosphere where kids like to be together on the water and they spend quality time having fun, learning from and pushing each other - maybe not being controlled by a regimented system all the time. There are many ways of being successful in junior sailing, but stressing the fun of boats moving through the water with your friends may be the best. * From Jerry Moulton: (Re: Laptop gag in Issue 2291) Lighten up guys, Funny is still funny. If we can't laugh at ourselves, I sort of think we're doomed. * From Bob Colpitts: Like most of my friends, I thought it was a hoot. But, geez, there are a lot of sensitive people out here, aren't there? It's tough being on the edge, congratulations for taking the chance. "If you're not on the edge, you're taking up too much space." News flash. Obesity kills a gazillion more people than terrorists, so fat jokes are also out, d'ya hear? * From Gordon Livingston: For what it's worth, my wife and I, both reasonably sensitive and politically correct people with advanced degrees in human services, thought it was funny. CURMUDGEON’S COMMENT -- No further comment on the laptop gag. Thread closed. -- For those wanting to continue last week’s thread on ‘Hockey and Sailing - it’s been moved to the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4386#4386 -- In Issue 2290, the Curmudgeon’s Conundrum asked how the weather could be ‘hot as hell one day and cold as hell another.’ For this question, we received a very funny scientific explanation for which we will provide this link and then run like the wind (and please, no letters): http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0302 CURMUDGEON’S OXYMORON Standard deviation. Special thanks to Ockam Instruments, Charleston to Bermuda Race, and Bob Fisher. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
