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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 656 - September 28, 2000OLYMPIC RACINGIn a spectacular conclusion to the 470 racing at the Sydney Olympic Regatta, USA won silver medals in both the men's and women's divisions. An 11th and final race today, held in 15-knot breezes on Sydney Harbour, determined the outcome of separate but likewise hard-fought series. First up were the women, with JJ Isler (La Jolla, Calif.) and crew Pease Glaser (Long Beach, Calif.) performing pure magic on the last leg of a seven-leg course to move from ninth to sixth. To an outsider, catching three boats on a fly downwind might not have seemed such an impressive act, but to Isler and Glaser, it meant a medal where before there was none. It was this move that gave them the edge over Ukraine's Ruslana Taran and Olena Pakholchyk, who finished the race third and ultimately claimed the bronze medal. Australia's Jenny Armstrong and Belinda Stowell had laid claim to the gold with their untouchable lead, established by the third mark. "Early on, we were deep," said Isler, explaining that they rounded the first windward mark in tenth and fell to eleventh halfway into the race, "but Pease did an awesome job of staying really calm. It was a matter of who beat whom, and we were now just keeping track of Ukraine. Then we decided to go way over to Bradleys Head. The Dutch really had made out there on the last downwind leg. All of a sudden, I realized that Ukraine was only three boats ahead." Though the wind is typically favored closer to the heads, current can sometimes negate any gains. "Talk about remaining calm," said Glaser, "near the end, JJ very quietly said, 'Pease, we're passing Israel, we've got Ukraine (in the standings),' and I thought to myself, 'Yesss!'" This is Isler's second Olympic medal. She skippered to win the 470 Women's bronze in Barcelona and is a three-time Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, the highest accolade given for competitive sailing in the U.S. Though it is Glaser's first medal, she has tried for the Olympics three times as a skipper, first in the 470 Women's class and then in Tornado. Her husband and coach, Jay, is the 1984 Tornado Silver Medallist. "We started our campaign late," said Isler. "Our best international finish was a seventh all year. It was fun being the underdog." For 470 Men's sailors Paul Foerster (Garland, Texas) and crew Bob Merrick (Portsmouth, R.I.), a winning start that carried through to a stellar victory in the last race wasn't good enough for gold, but they were ecstatic to win silver. To have taken the top spot on the podium, the two would have had to put five boats between them and series leaders Tom King and Mark Turnbull of Australia. Oddly enough, the Aussies' gold-medal chances seemed dashed shortly after the start and a rounding of tenth at the first mark. It glimmered then shined, however, as they fought their way back to a second-place finish. "We were the only ones who could beat them," said Merrick, "so they tried to take us out at the start. We took a couple of shifts early in the race to lead, and it got easier by the third lap; it was the same pattern by then." "At one point we looked back and Australia was in ninth and we were winning," said Foerster, "but when it's really windy, they are one of the top teams for sure, and they came storming back. At the end we talked about maybe covering them; if this were college sailing, maybe we'd hold back and try to cause a foul, but we knew that it would be really hard to put boats between us, because the top three had broken away from the pack. So instead, we congratulated each other on three good years together." A three-time Olympian, Foerster, like Isler, has an Olympic medal from Barcelona - a silver in the Flying Dutchman class. He also skippered a Flying Dutchman in the '88 Seoul Games, where sailing took place in Pusan. This is a first-time medal and the first Olympics for Merrick, who dreamed of competing in the Olympics in hockey and then running when those were his sports of choice. Shortly before coming to Sydney, he and Foerster topped the world rankings in their class. Two days ago, John Myrdal (Kailua, Hawaii) talked with certainty about having talent enough to make up for his shaky start in the Laser series. Today, he proved himself, building on his most recent pair of second-place finishes with finishes of 1-2 today and moving up to eighth overall. "He's smoking," said Head Coach Gary Bodie. "The way I look at it, if they have even one race tomorrow, a second throwout kicks in. If you look at his score now with a second throwout, he's in fourth overall. He just has to keep sailing like he has." Myrdal turned in his performances despite unpredictable conditions, which started with wind fluky enough to warrant a postponement, then filled in with 12-15 knots, capsizing several boats in downwind legs of the first race. Today's second race was restarted after a premature start by several boats, and an attempt at a third catch-up race was eventually abandoned. The Laser fleet is due to sail races 10 and 11 - the two races remaining in their series - tomorrow. The difficult conditions extended to the Stars, who sailed offshore in light winds and lumpy seas. Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Magnus Liljedahl (Miami, Fla.) won today's single race, moving themselves to sixth overall. "There was a lot of current at the start," said Liljedahl, "and everyone was way back except us. Our lead at the top mark would have been huge except we were going to the wrong mark (the second windward mark of the trapezoid)." The mistake, realized in the nick of time, resulted in a narrower lead, as the team cracked off to make the true mark and rounded just inside Spain and Great Britain. "If we continue to sail well, we can be back in there," said Reynolds, conceding that the bigger picture has "no room for error." Race management had hoped to sail two races after losing two yesterday. There are now four races to be sailed on the final two days of the regatta. Racing for this Star and the Finns will resume tomorrow, a scheduled reserve day, with the weather forecast predicting gusty conditions. For Finn sailor Russ Silvestri (San Francisco, Calif.) an 18th today dropped him to ninth overall. The strong current created havoc at the first weather mark, and halfway through the race, the wind dropped, making it a struggle for the last half of the fleet to cross the finish line. After a one-hour postponement to the start of a second race, the wind was still calm and racing was abandoned for the day. An attempt to sail a second race for Europes had to be abandoned as well. This leaves this fleet with two more races to complete tomorrow, the scheduled last day of competition. Europe sailor Courtenay Dey (The Dalles, Ore./Rye, N.Y.) finished 13th today and stands in 16th overall. - Barby MacGowan, USOC Press Officer STANDINGS: EUROPE - 1. GBR (34) 2. ARG (45) 3. NED (56) 16. USA (98) FINN - 1. GBR (19) 2. SWE (27) 3. ITA (31) 9. USA (56) LASER - 1. GBR, (40) 2. BRA (44) 3. AUS (62) 8. USA (92) STAR - 1. BRA (20) 2. GBR (24) 3. AUS (28) 6. USA (35) SOLING - Qualified for Quarterfinals DEN, 4-1; 4 GER, 3-2; 3 RUS, 3-2; 3; Eliminated: SWE, 3-2; 3 AUS, 1-4; 1 USA, 1-4; 1 470 M (Final) - 1. AUS (38) 2. USA (42) 3. ARG (57) 470 W (Final) - 1. AUS (33) 2. USA (47) 3. UKR (48) 49er (Final) - 1. FIN (55) 2. GBR (60) 3. USA (64) MISTRAL M (Final) - 1. AUT (38) 2. ARG (43) 3. NZL (48) 11. USA (92) MISTRAL W (Final) - 1. ITA (15) 2. GER (15) 3. NZL (19) 4. USA (45) TORNADO (Final) - 1. AUT (16) 2. AUS (25) 3. GER (38) 7. USA (57) For more information: http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/2000 MFS REGATTA J/24 WORLDS NEWPORT, R.I., USA (September 27, 2000) - With the completion of races 4 and 5 today, the MFS Regatta J/24 World Championship is officially a series and competitors can now drop their worst score. Factoring in a thowout race, the scoreboard is tied between Brad Read (Middletown, R.I.) and 1999 J/24 World Champion Vasco Vascotto (Trieste, ITA), each with 16 points. Tricky wind shifts contributed to a handful of general recalls, a couple of black flags, short tempers at the marks and a multitude of incidents that have once again filled the International Jury's docket for the evening. Preliminary scores, with protests pending, have been posted and once each matter is solved official scores will be posted to www.sailnewport.org/worlds. Nine races are scheduled for the week, with Friday, September 29 as the last day of sailing After patiently waiting for close to two hours for the wind to fill in from the northwest, Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio (Essex, Conn.) started the fleet under sunny skies and in 15 knots. Not once, but twice the fleet was recalled for too many over-early boats at the start. With two general recalls, it was black flag time, or automatic disqualification for starting early. Two boats were determined OCS (on course side): Tony Parker's Bangor Packet (Annapolis, Md.) and Tito Gonzalez's 35 Sur (Santiago, Chile). By the start of race two, the wind had increased to approximately 18 knots. Again, the start went to a black flag. All boats were determined clear at the start by the Race Committee. A solid start for Vascotto and his crew on Bagua gave him a comfortable jump to the first weather mark, where he rounded in the top 10, increased the lead with each subsequent mark and finished fifth. This moved him into second place overall. - Dana Paxton Cumulative Scores, with protests pending, after five races (including a throwout race): 1. Brad Read (Middletown, R.I.) 16 points 2. Vasco Vascotto (Trieste, ITA) 16 points 3. Keith Whittemore (Seattle, Wash.) 29 points 4. Andrew Pimental (Newport, R.I.) 39 points 5. Chris Snow (San Diego, Calif.) 40 points 6. Geoff Moore (Newport, R.I.) 40 points 7. Chris Zaleski (Norwalk, Conn.) 41 points 8. Jeff Johnstone (Portsmouth, R.I.) 52 points 9. Carlos Campolo (Buenos Aires, ARG) 57 points 10. Roberto Martinez (Torino, ITA) 58 points. Event website: http://www.sailnewport.org/worlds WINNING SOLUTIONS FROM SAILCLOTH.COM The 2000 Etchells Worlds and Mumm 30 European winners used AIRX in their winning arsenal. Next time, ask your sailmaker to use AIRX, the revolutionary new spinnaker fabric from Bainbridge International exclusively from Bainbridge International, where power and performance are cut from the same cloth. For more information, visit http://www.sailcloth.com AUCTION Mission America skipper Brad Van Liew announced that the 5th crew position on his new Open-60 competition yacht is up for grabs during the first of his team's seven race series. Individuals willing to take on the role of 'Professor' to a worldwide audience of students will fill the crew position, available for each of five legs during a new race around the Atlantic Ocean. A silent bidding process at will determine the crew positions. High bidders will adopt the 'Professor' positions and make their contribution to the California Corinthian Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Participants will join the Mission America crew in port, train for several days, and fulfill vital duties aboard the competition yacht. Winning bidders will be offered crew lodging in port, a full set of Guy Cotten foul weather gear, team apparel and onboard provisions. The 'Professor' will be an integral member of Mission America's 5-person crew in the upcoming L'Atlantique Challenge race. An online curriculum will lead students through a series of lessons relevant to the geography and history of the racecourse, and incorporate the team's tactical decisions with lessons in Math and Science. Those individuals with winning bids for the 'Professor' role will be responsible for supporting the team on deck and interacting daily with students online through written dispatches and digital photos/video. Participants can engage in their first transatlantic competition or choose one of the shorter courses of the race between two European ports. The race around the Atlantic is a new event managed by Sir Chay Blyth and his Challenge Business (www.challengebusiness.com). Beginning on July 8, 2001 in St. Malo, France, ports include Wilhelmshaven, Germany, Portsmouth, England, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Baltimore, Maryland. The fleet crosses the St. Malo finish line after approximately seventy-five days. Sailors interested in being a 'Professor' aboard Mission America should submit their bid online at www.oceanracing.org beginning October 1, 2000. The bidding process will close on Thanksgiving Day at midnight. For more information, contact the Mission America team at (310) 306-6686. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. -- From David Barrow - How many people have actually tried two-boat team racing? It is the best. Three-boat team racing is fun but you still have do calculate points all of the time. With two boat racing there is only one scoring rule last boat loses!! Imagine the fun on the last beat with all four boats trying not to be last. On the water judging is viable and the penalty is one 360 turn. Give the Olympics two boat team racing and then you will get an audience. -- From Charles Schmeckle - One of the healthiest and important aspects of sailing is the social side. But, please don't confuse this with women's desired involvement in the sport. We all see a dropout of the numbers of women competing by their mid-teens, but I believe this is due to other factors (like prioritizing shopping at the mall, to mention one) and "not" the lack of appreciation by males of these women in the sport. I don't see many ladies standing on the dock looking for a ride, and if there are any, they aren't without a ride for long. We look forward to having good and accountable crew on our Farr 40, no matter what sex or religion they profess to be. Many of us "males" have been great advocates of competing women in this sport since collegiate sailing, and have gone to lengths to have separate "women's only" classes or trophies specially for them. And, yet, this doesn't seem to bolster the numbers of women competing, so why try to limit anyone's racing by demanding a crew/sex ratio? In some ways, some classes have done this by weight limits. Typically lighter women will allow more hands on the crew. Hasn't there been enough said about "all" women crews? If they are equal (which I believe they are), should there be a specific point made even about them? And, when an all women's team wins, why is there so much hoopla? They are equal, period! Those that want to race or compete, do! -- From Peter Johnstone (cut drastically to our 250-word limit) - Keelboat racing has a long way to go to become attractive to most women. Quotas do not address the problem. There may be clues to what women seek in sailing in some areas of success: 1. Beach sailing in Sunfish, Hobies, Escapes, and cats (in general). Each have approximately 40% women participants. What are they doing right? 2. Multihulls. Friendly sailing. Women seem to love boats like the Maine Cat 30. Why? 3. Leiter Trophy (US SAILING). Junior women in Laser Radials. Anyone that's witnessed this event can tell you what a great atmosphere it is. Major comraderie. Here's some solutions: 1. If you want women to sail, create boats that women will like. 2. If you want women to participate in racing, create events that women will enjoy. 3. If you want junior women to keep sailing, broaden and emphasize the non-competitive curriculum. Afterall, 95% of sailors do not race, yet racing is the focus of YC and US SAILING curriculums. 4. Be careful where you get your info. 99% of women do not sail. Get your answers from this segment, because that's where the numbers and mainstream opinions are. The solutions are not among us 'Butt readers. We're conditioned to the 'charms' of traditional sailboat racing. Taking the blinders off begs questions that results in answers that might not be too comforting to us enthusiasts. -- From Cindy Norman (re Pedro's suggestions and ruthlessly edited to our 250-word limit) - Sailing is a very aggressive sport. When you're learning, you don't typically have a safe situation in which to make your mistakes and go on. It's usually a brutally honest, in your face, experience which is intimidating to many women. So, in sailing now, you find those women who have a lot of confidence but you lose the ones who find it too frustrating to continue to learn to get up to speed. Along with this, men love to help women, which is wonderful, but the usual style is to tell women "what" to do rather than "why". I can say that sailing with an all-women's crew is vastly different than sailing with a mixed crew. For a woman, it is an awesome experience and is always extremely encouraging to the participants. Perhaps the way to get more women into sailing is to produce the right environment, maybe some local all-women's regattas. That won't solve the social problem (that Peter talks about) initially but will build the female sailor population which will, undoubtedly, integrate into the whole. Lastly, I think that we have to be careful about having quotas. It would be a somewhat insulting experience to be asked onto a boat for this reason. I want to be asked because they want a kick-ass sailor and they think that I'm the one. No one walks away with an excess of respect when you're filling quotas. -- From Bert Brown - F-1 is not sport. That stopped years ago and F1 is strictly business these days. F1 drivers are strictly controlled and they cannot drive in other series. They get fined for not being at the right place at the right time. They cannot even speak their minds in open interviews without being called to Paris to appear in front of a tribunal. (Witness Villeneuve a couple years ago). We don't want this to happen to sailing. Give up on this idea that America's Cup is the pinnacle of our sport. It is simply a challenge between very rich people with very large egos, and has been that way for 150 years. Don't revise a thing! Sit back and enjoy the show! -- From Fendall Halliburton, Auckland New Zealand - Re a world circuit for the Americas Cup. To the rest of the world enthusiasm for this concept seems to have only taken root since the loss of the AC in San Diego by the greatest nation in the free world to one of the small nations. We have all followed the history of the Americas Cup, and that has been that winner takes all. New Zealand is unlikely to match the winning streak of the USA and thus I am quite sure that in time a successful USA challenger will have the opportunity to drive change. When that happens we shall see how great the enthusiasm for the circuit concept proves to be. SEASON CHAMPION In winning last weekend's St. Francis YC Big Boat Series, a tally of the year's results reveal that Bob Hughes' 'Heartbreaker' has also won the year's overall 1D35 Season Championship Series. Both results were close-fought, with the Big Boat Series win earned only through a tie-break with John Wylie's 'Tabasco', and the Season Championship victory over Dan Cheresh's 'Extreme' achieved by a mere quarter point. The Season Championship Series this year consisted of low point scoring the best three-of-six events from among the following events: GMC Yukon/Yachting Key West Race Week in January; Sailing World's Annapolis NOOD Regatta in April; the Newport Gold Regatta in June; the 1D35 Great Lakes Championships in Holland, MI in August; and the two final events in San Francisco last week, for which the National Championship had a bonus in points value. - http://www.1D35.com Season championship: 1. Heartbreaker, Bob Hughes (3.5 points) 2. Extreme, Dan Cheresh (3.75) 3. Widowmaker, Nick & Tina Worth (8) 4. Tabasco, John Wylie (10) 5. Joss, Owen Kratz (11) 6. Windquest, Dick & Doug DeVos Holland, (12) MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION When you need the latest high-tech gear for your boat, you: A) Get in the car, drive to the store, wait for someone to show you a catalog. B) Dig out the "Old Boat Supply" catalog, and call for pricing on obsolete products. C) Visit ?????.com, and learn how to tie some knots or dock your boat. D) Call Performance Yacht Systems at 1-877-3pyacht. Click below for answers: http://www.pyacht.com, hardware / rigging / sails / clothing / marine electronics THE RACE Team Philips is primed and ready to go, but the age old traditions of seamanship dictate the prudent approach of skipper Pete Goss. The giant catamaran's six man crew completed the last major task in the early hours of this morning when the two sails were bent onto the twin rotating masts. "That was the last of the show stoppers." said Goss. "By that we mean important operations which are weather dependent, like the launch, the stepping of the masts and the installation of the rudders. It is likely that Team Philips will not leave Dart Marina, Dartmouth until Friday afternoon at the earliest. Winds will increase to force 8 or 9 (Beaufort Scale) in squalls this evening and though they will decrease significantly early tomorrow morning they will then strengthen to a steady 30 knots. On Friday winds will drop from an initial 20 knots to around 10. Saturday, when winds will be extremely light may give the crew an ideal opportunity to calibrate their instruments out at sea. "We could go right now, but seamanship dictates that we wait." stressed Goss. "No seaman in his right mind would take a vessel of this nature through a very narrow entrance to a harbour like Dartmouth straight onto a lee shore with a gale.- http://www.teamphilips.com/index.cfm?ArticleID=2639 MARY PERA The Memorial Service for Mary Pera will take place on Thursday 2nd November 2000 at 11:00 AM at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, London, SW1. Everyone is welcome. Please contact Janet Grosvenor if you intend to be there: rorc@saintjames.co.uk THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION As long as there are exams, there will be prayer in public schools. |
