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SCUTTLEBUTT 1376 - July 22, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and docktalk . . . 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. ADMIRAL'S CUP Cowes is full of grinning Australian faces, and it is a long time since they've had cause to celebrate at the end of the Admiral's Cup, 1979 was the last time they won, and that wasn't a year for great frivolity. This victory by the team from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club is remarkable in that the challenge was put together by two owners with no previous Admiral's Cup experience. Bob Oatley, the owner of Wild Oats, is one of Australia's foremost wine industry figures, with a long sailing history, but mostly on the domestic circuit, with this being his first major international regatta. The owner of Aftershock is business man Colin O'Neil and he is following in a the footsteps of his brother, who sailed in the Admiral's Cup back in the eighties, but this regatta was also a first foray into international competition for Colin. For Oatley the performance of Wild Oats has vindicated his decision to go for a radical, canting keel design, that is a touch avant-garde, "we're more than satisfied with what Reichel/Pugh have delivered. "The concept of the keel is one of the greatest things to have happened in yachting, the boat sails like a Laser, delicate and wonderful, but she's also very safe - she always stands up again, sailing her has been a real learning process." After a battle that had kept followers on the edge of their seats throughout the nine race series, Spain's Real Club Nautico de Sangenjo took second place, the Cup slipping from their grasp in the dying stages of the final race. The King of Spain's Bribon Telefonica Movistar had put together a remarkable series, masterminded by Eddie Warden Owen, and with Bouwe Beking as principal helmsman. They chalked up seven first places and one second, before crashing to fifth place in the final race, the race which cost them the Cup, though they weren't helped by the disqualification of their small boat from race three of the series. Pedro Campos, skipper of the small boat in this team, Telefonica Movistar, had also been remarkably consistent, except for his one fall from grace, and survived a long hard battle to win the his class in the final race. - Susan McKeag, http://www.rorc.org/ Final Results 1. Royal Prince Alfred Team, AUS, 56 2. Telefonica Movistar Sailing Team, ESP, 63 3. Sailability RORC Team, GBR, 76 4. Team Royal Southern, GBR, 110 5. Team Bear - RTYC, GBR, 147 6. Team Paprec Recyclage - UNCL, FRA, 157 7. Estrella Galicia Sailing Team, ESP, 162, 7 8. Sailability CCYC Team, GBR, 179 MOËT CUP Alinghi, the America's Cup winner, and Louis Vuitton Cup finalist Oracle BMW Racing will compete against each other for the first time since the races concluded in New Zealand. On September 15-20 the two syndicates will race for the Moët Cup on the San Francisco Bay with a short course match racing format that should provide quite a show along the shoreline. There will be a five-race Owner/ Driver Series with Larry Ellison steering Oracle BMW Racing, and Ernesto Bertarelli at the helm of Alinghi. A second match race series of the Moët Cup will be a seven-race Pro/ Driver Series. Chris Dickson will skipper Oracle BMW Racing, with Gavin Brady on the helm. Russell Coutts will be Alinghi's skipper with Jochen Schuemann, as his tactician. Each of the 12 races will be worth one point, and the team with the most points will be awarded the silver Moët Cup. The windward/ leeward race course will be located between Treasure Island and the Golden Gate Bridge, within viewing distance of Pier 39 and the Marina District. Oracle BMW Racing will be representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and will sail USA 76 with a crew that includes David Brooke, Eric Doyle, Robbie Naismith, Matt Welling and Bob Wylie. Alinghi, representing Société de Nautique de Genève of Switzerland will race SUI 64 with Josh Belsky, Curtis Blewett and Francesco Rapetti aboard. As at the America's Cup, International umpires will make calls from patrol boats on the race course. The Golden Gate Yacht Club in partnership with the Treasure Island Sailing Center will run the Moët Cup on-the-water Race Committee. Information about the regatta plus race results and updates during the event can be found at the Golden Gate Yacht Club website: www.ggyc.com VICTORY...AGAIN Pegasus 77, winner of Transpac 2003 (and 2001), is for sale. Launched in 2001, she has proven again to be the ultimate Turbo Sled. Designed by Reichel-Pugh, she remains the very best in every aspect and is immediately available for purchase. Additional details and photographs at http://www.pegasus.com/pegasus77 THE BEAST (James Boyd had a snoop around Admiral's Cup Champion Wild Oats - originally designed as a fast, fun day sailor for Australian wine magnate Bob Oatley. Boyd examines the secrets of her canting keel and forward rudder system in his story posted on the Daily Sail website. Here's a brief excerpt.) She has been conceived loosely with IRC (used in Australian events like Hamilton Island) in mind. Both her rudders are fine with a short cord, but are deep and her forward rudder is only about 1ft shorter drawing around 8.5ft. As her keel strut is simply used to move the bulb around, it can be the smallest size possible. Under normal circumstances the rudders are set in such a way that the aft one turns conventionally while the forward rudder turns in the opposite direction. Hildebrand says the experience of Wild Oats going round corners compared to a single rudder yacht is just the same as a four wheel drive car compared to a two wheel drive one. "Not only does your back come around but your bow goes down quite quickly as well. So it is faster and very direct. Downwind it is very direct - you can poke it into holes where you want..." Otherwise, he says, it doesn't feel unstable, it feels like a normal boat. But this is only part of the story: The clever part is that the forward rudder can be rotated (using the inner wheel - similar to the trim tab wheel on America's Cup boats) to point to weather when sailing upwind. With both rudders effectively pointing slightly upwind, Wild Oats not only points higher, but also crab sideways to weather. - James Boyd, The Daily Sail, full story: http://thedailysail.com THE GAMES OF THE XXX OLYMPIAD IN 2012 The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that nine National Olympic Committees (NOCs)/ cities have submitted their application to host the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012. The cities, in alphabetical order, are: Havana (CUB), Istanbul (TUR), Leipzig (GER), London (GBR), Madrid (ESP), Moscow (RUS), New York (USA), Paris (FRA), and Rio de Janeiro (BRA). Interested cities will have to go through a candidature acceptance procedure whereby the IOC will review their potential to organise the 2012 Olympic Games. No city will become a candidate until it is selected as such by the IOC Executive Board in May 2004. - http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=4975 YNGLING WORLDS After the Yngling World Championship was officially opened last night by local dignitaries, 86 competitors took to the waters off Warnemunde, Germany for the first day of racing. The Race Committee faced a daunting task today, as finicky winds shifted through a 360 degree range over the course of several hours. The start of race one was postponed for a while as officials jockeyed the line into position with the breeze shifting back and forth from west to north, and varying widely in velocity. On the second attempt to get a start off, 7 boats suffered a black flag disqualification, so on the third the fleet was a bit more timid on their approach to the line. As the group headed up the beat, the breeze continually died and clocked hard to the right. The RC abandoned the race and sent everyone back to the harbor to await further developments. Mid-afternoon looked no better and racing was abandoned for the day. Three races had been scheduled for the first day of the series with the same scheduled for Tuesday. Racing will commence on Tuesday with the resail of race #1. The forecast looks better with the passing of a frontal system for continuation of the 10 race series. - Team Challenge US [Betsy Alison, Lee Icyda and Suzy Leech], http://www.challengeUS.org Event website: http://www.yngling-worlds.de/ EYE TIME The seamless merger of computers and onboard instruments takes a big step forward with Ockam's new OS4 Eye system. WiFi connecting your Pocket PC PDA to the Ockam system via Eye software puts information and control in your hands anywhere, anytime on the boat. Eye's debut at Block Island Race Week 2003 was a great success - is it Eye time on your boat now? For detailed information and software download, visit http://www.ockam.com YOUTH WORLDS Madeira, Portugal - It is the southern hemisphere, and in particular the Australian Sailing Team who are emerging as a force to be reckoned with at the 33rd ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship being held from the new Marina of Quinta do Lorde and the races at the beautiful Caniçal Bay. Now leading in three out of the four dinghy classes, they are proving masters of the moderate conditions, but finding the lighter stuff is more challenging. Australian sailors now lead both double-handed fleets, the single-handed boys, and Krystal Weir, leading going into today, has dropped to third. We can safely assume at the moment that, although not fully calculated, Australia are leading the Volvo Trophy overall going into the lay-day tomorrow. Paige Railey, of Clearwater, Fla. is currently just one point the leader in the Girls Laser Fleet - well positioned to improve on the bronze medal she earned at last year's Youth Worlds. During the third day of competition, conditions across the board that dropped to around three knots in the lulls, with huge shifts on every course, racing was tight and tough, with huge position changes in every fleet and scorelines that reflect the tough competition, with even the best dropping races into the discard pile. Results after seven races with one throw-out: Girls Single-Handed - Laser 1. NZL, Jo Alem, 24 2. USA, Paige Railey, 25 3. AUS, Krystal Weir, 29 15. CAN, Nicole Bastet, 70 Boys Single-Handed - Laser 1. AUS, Ricky Ironmonger, 35 2. POL, Norbert Wilandt, 36 3. CAN, Alex Steele, 39 16. USA, Christopher Branning, 73 Girls Double-handed - 420 1. AUS, Elise Rechichi & Rayshele Martin, 14 2. FRA, Camille Lecointre & Gwendolyn Lemaitre, 22 3. SIN, Liying Toh & Shiu Wun S. Tam, 6. USA, Caroline Young & Shannon Heauster, 44 20. CAN, Brooke Campbell & Anna Millar, 110 Boys Double Handed - 420 1. AUS, Natha Outteridge & Ayden Menzies, 11 2. FRA, Loic Le Bacquer & Yannick Peduzzi, 21 3. NZL, Scott Kennedy & Allistair Thompson, 33 11. USA, Zachary Brown & Graham Biehl, 62 20. CAN, Andrew Costa & Robert Date, 92 Mistral Girls 1. POL, Zofia Klepacka, ,6 2. ITA, Flavia Tartaglini, 19 3. NZL, Anna Eason, 23 11. USA, Nancy Rios, 64 Mistral - Boys 1. ARG, Mariano Benitez, 13 2. HKG, Wing Ho Yu, 16 3. GRE, Biron Kokalanis, 23 17. USA, Philip Muller, 89 20. CAN, Hugo Vallee-Poliot, 100 Event website: http://www.isafyouthworld2003.com/ SANTANA 20 NATIONALS Two-time Olympian Charlie Ogletree fresh from winning the Tornado class at Kiel week in Germany and his team of Mike Pinckney and John Papadopoulos on " Cal trans" won the Santana 20 Nationals with 5 first places a 2nd and a 6th in a 28-boat fleet that featured teams from Canada, Oregon, Oklahoma, Colorado, and California. With 7 races over a period of 3 day's the "Cal trans" team started the regatta quickly posting 3 bullets and never looked back. With the beautiful venue of Huntington Lake as a backdrop the fleet enjoyed very tight racing. The heavy premium in the regatta was put on tacking in good velocity and staying in phase with the wind shifts up the shorelines as well as Jibing downwind to stay in the puffs on the downwind legs. College all American and 2002 Farr 40 World Champion crew Willem van Waay and his team of Travis Wilson and Peter van Waay sailing "Head First " were second with multiple one design champion Bruce Golison and his team of Andrew Kerr and Bill Ramacciotti on "Mini Me' close behind in 3rd. Complete results and pictures http://www.s20.org NEWS BRIEFS * In the 300 years since the first navigators ventured into the great Southern Ocean there is still a stretch of the ocean that has never been raced across. Legs 4, 5, and 6 of the planed Antarctica Cup Race traverse the 3,200 nautical miles of Southern Ocean between Cape Horn and directly South of Cape Agulhus, the southern most point of Africa. If this race gets off the ground, its competitors will be the first men and women in history to race across this stretch of ocean. * The New York Yacht Club reclaimed the Madcap Trophy this past weekend from St. Francis Yacht Club by a score of 9-6. Racing a three-on-three team race in J/105s at Harbour Court, the event celebrates the close relationship between these two yacht clubs. The trophy was originally awarded to the yacht Madcap in the NYYC Autumn Regatta in 1876. http://www.nyyc.org/index.cfm?menu=12# VISIT CAMET.COM Cargo shorts at Camet.com. 3000 Shorts at Camet.com. Aruba shorts at Camet.com. Bermuda Shorts at Camet.com. Long pants.at Camet.com. Coolmax shirts at Camet.com. Neoprene hiking pants at Camet.com. Gear bags at Camet.com. Bubble tops at Camet.com. Women's Ocean and 3000 Shorts at Camet.com. All your sailing gear is just a click away at http://www.camet.com or contact your local dealer, they have the Camet products in stock. DEADLINE APPROACHING The 2003 Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC) Outreach Committee reminds junior women sailors that the August 1 deadline to enter in the Rolex Next Step Program is quickly approaching. The development program offers young women the opportunity to learn alongside the top sailors in the world and takes place in conjunction with the Rolex IWKC, to be held September 27-October 3 at the Annapolis Yacht Club. Junior women sailors, of all ability levels and 13 to 19 years old, should write, in 250 words or less, what they enjoy about sailing, their sailing experiences, and what they think they will gain from spending a weekend at the opening of the Rolex IWKC. Entries should include a letter of recommendation from a sailing coach or instructor and be submitted to Sue Mikulski at SuMikulski@aol.com. Attach the essay and reference letter as Word documents and put "Rolex IWKC Outreach Committee" in the subject line. Junior women can also apply online. - Dana Paxton, www.annapolisyc.org/rolexkeelboats CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * September 24-27: US Sailing's Championship of Champions regatta, Lake Geneva YC, Fontana, Wisconsin. Sailed in MC Scows. Nominations now being accepted for the twenty available spots from current National, North American or world champions of their respective classes. https://secure.ussailing.org/ussis/register/index.asp?eventid=11794 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 Richard W. Kempe (BER) IJ/IU (Reference Robert Wilkes' report on the Optimist North Americans in Scuttlebutt 1375) Mr. Wilkes has certainly taken an unwarranted swipe at the Bermuda sailors when he says "OK, so this is their first team in competition with the second teams of most of the other countries" All countries have the opportunity to send their best, and for someone to say that they did not send their best to represent their country is a disservice to their own sailors. Even worse is for him to run down the successful competitors (especially youth sailors) from another country by implying that they would not have succeeded if he had sent his best is despicable. If Mr. Wilkes would like his country to win, send his best. Last year, a Bermuda sailor won the North Americans and was fourth in the world. Not bad for a country of 60,000 people. * From William F. Cook: Wireless instruments generally have a very small range. Seriously, does your Bluetooth or 802.11b transmitter even work to the edge of your own yard? Just because it's over water doesn't mean it's going to work miles away. Having a transmitter powerful enough for that is a pretty large drain on the battery, anyway. The America's Cup guys have already been through this, and believe me there is no more paranoid group than that. I really don't think it's going to be a problem. As for the interception of telemetry, there are two schools of thought. The first is that there need to be strong rules preventing the unauthorized interception and use of radio communications between a boat and its support team. The second, more cynical but slightly more realistic viewpoint is that if you really want to confuse your competitors, you should burn all of your raw data onto a CD-ROM and distribute it to them. Sailing is extremely difficult to analyze, and chances are you are having a hard enough time interpreting your own data. If your competitor is wasting time on it, then you've successfully distracted him or her more fruitful pursuits. CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL Get the last word in - Apologize. |
