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SCUTTLEBUTT 2602 - May 22, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. THE PITFALLS OF CATAMARAN TRAINING (May 21, 2008) Catamaran training for the America's Cup is proving to be full of lessons, but when you make a mistake like capsizing, the results are generally messy. The Alinghi team learned this on March 29th when they submerged the bows, lost steering, and capsized forward on the 60ft trimaran Foncia off Lorient, France. They snapped the mast, and two of their crew had to be airlifted for transport to the hospital. Now it was the BMW Oracle Racing team's turn to cross the line, and while during an in-house regatta with their two Extreme 40 catamarans today in Valencia, Spain, one of the boats capsized during a downwind luffing match. While no one was seriously hurt during the capsize, team CEO/ Skipper Russell Coutts (NZL) incurred a cut to his leg while the crew was attempting to right the boat that later required nine stitches. The other crew on board with Coutts were helmsman Franck Cammas (FRA), Jonathan Macbeth (NZL) and Alberto Barovier (ITA). There were no other injuries. During the retrieval of the catamaran, the mast broke. The boat and mast were towed back to the team base for repairs. Winds were 17-20 knots at the time of the incident, with the other boat helmed by James Spithill (AUS) with John Kostecki (USA) calling tactics, Dirk de Ridder (NED) grinding and Alan Smith (NZL) on the bow. -- Team report: http://abe5.com/425 (WEB) SURFING VERSUS SAILING by Tristan Nichols, The Herald (UK publication) Now this may come as a shock to some but not really to many, I don't really have much of an interest in sailing. Ok, I hold the post of Maritime Reporter (and in the past yachting types have laughed at the fact I can list my sailing experience on the back of a postage stamp) but it's not really my bag. For me it's too involved. There's too much to do, hoisting sails, twisting this and turning that... I'd much rather be in the water (surfing) than on it (sailing). With that in mind a website dedicated to sailing would have to be pretty special to tempt my gaze. So ladies and gentlemen... let me introduce you to the Artemis Transat's fab website www.theartemistransat.com. The site's developers have gone all out to create something which will be appealing to the masses and not just the sailing enthusiast. As well as race news updated throughout each and every day, the site provides breakdowns of all the teams competing in the race (which started in Plymouth on May 11), as well as pictures and videos from the skippers. However, by far the most appealing are the two live race tracker features which allow visitors to pinpoint exactly where each competitor is, how far they have travelled, how far they have to go, the speed of which they are travelling, and the route they have taken. You can also zoom in and out to show the distance between the competitors on a map of the Atlantic. -- Read on: http://tristannichols.blogspot.com/2008/05/web-surfing-versus-sailing.html VIDEO OF THE WEEK While leading the Open 60 fleet on Day 10 (May 20, 2008) of The Artemis Transat from Plymouth (GBR) to Boston (USA), Vincent Riou onboard PRB was forced to abandon his boat due to keel problems from an apparent collision with a shark. Fortunately, Loick Peyron onboard Gitana Eighty, who was running in second place at the time, was only fifteen miles away, and the weather conditions permitted an easy rescue. Lucky for us, Peyron also had the video camera on during the transfer, which has now been produced into the Day 11 recap. If you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week's Video of the Week. Click here for this week's video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/08/0519 OH HAPPY DAYS Newport Shipyard, born in 1834, came kicking and screaming out of bankruptcy 10 years ago. An anniversary of sorts this summer. Most people at the time said, "forget it".... can't be done, lousy business! But yachts had gotten bigger, order books longer, and the Shipyard was able to brand a new philosophy that shipyards could be clean, capable, action-packed, and well located..... all at the same time. Newport Shipyard got very "can-do" and the crews and owners noticed. The bar had been raised..... http://www.newportshipyard.com OLYMPIC EURO CIRCUIT NOW IN MEDEMBLICK (May 21, 2008) -- Dressed in dry suits and fleece hats, over 566 Olympic class sailboats took to the water on Wednesday for the first day of the Delta Lloyd Regatta 2008 in Medemblick, Holland, which continues on through to the medal race on Sunday, May 25th. For the eleven Olympic class dinghies, skiffs, sailboards and multihulls, variable conditions remained throughout the day as some fleets started their set of races in the morning and others waited to take to the water in the afternoon. The days are long and the nights are short this time of year, and today the winds started out strong but abated in the early to mid-afternoon, only to storm in again in the late afternoon. Many competitors are leading their classes with two bullets. In their home waters, the Dutch are leading the RS:X Men's and the Tornado classes. Tops among the North American contingent would have to be Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) in the Laser Radial, who arrived here on the heels of her wedding and honeymoon (to Laser/Moth sailor Brad Funk), and rolled to a 1-1-2 in the 71-boat fleet. While not all fleets are well-represented, other strong performances would include Johnny Lovell/Charlie Ogletree (USA), fifth in the Tornado; Andrew Campbell (USA), 7th in the Laser; and Stu McNay/Graham Biehl (USA), 7th in the 470 Men. -- Lynn Fitzpatrick, read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0521 * US SAILING has launched a new website dedicated to members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Teams, with athlete bios, event schedules, photos, news, press releases, etc. now available. During the Olympic Regatta on August 8-24, the plan is for the site to be updated daily with news, blogs, and pictures from China. -- http://www2.ussailing.org/site3.aspx IRC IN THE USA * Larchmont, NY -- The Storm Trysail Club's 63rd Block Island Race, an annual distance race that serves as one of New England's first competition tune-ups for the summer season, starts Friday, May 23rd, at 5 p.m. and will host a fleet of more than 100 boats. The fastest boats are expected to finish by early- to mid-afternoon on Saturday after sprinting 185 nautical miles from a starting line just inside Stamford (Conn.) Harbor, down Long Island Sound, clockwise around Block Island (R.I.), and back to Stamford. -- Read on: http://www.us-irc.org/newsfull.cfm?ID=93 * The Storm Trysail Club and the San Francisco Bay IRC Owners Association have agreed to partner and organize the Northern California IRC Championship Series, which will consist of one popular ocean race and four around-the-buoys weekend regattas. The 2008 series started in mid-May with the two-day St. Francis Yacht Club Stone Cup Invitational and ends in mid-September with the St. Francis Yacht Club's Rolex Big Boat Series. -- Full details: http://www.us-irc.org/newsfull.cfm?ID=94 * Newport, RI -- Some of the world's hottest new IRC designs are gathering in Newport, R.I., this summer, and the New York Yacht Club 154th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex ( June 13-15) promises to provide the first glimpse of their collective-competitive prowess. Amongst the 100+ boats sharing the course will be Dan Meyers' Judel-Vrolijk 66 Numbers, Bob and Farley Towse's Reichel/Pugh 66 Blue Yankee, Roger Sturgeon's Farr STP65 Rosebud/Team DYT, Jim Swartz's Reichel/Pugh STP65 Moneypenny, and Hap Fauth's Reichel/Pugh 69 Belle Mente. Also expected is the new Juan Kouyoumdjian 99-foot super maxi Speedboat, George David's Reichel/Pugh 90 Rambler, and Puma Ocean Racing's new VO 70 Il Mostro. -- Complete report: http://www.us-irc.org/newsfull.cfm?ID=92 100 GALLONS AND HIS TANK IS STILL EMPTY The high cost of fuel got a little higher Tuesday for one boater who was feeling a little fuelish in Stuart, Fl. Tuesday when he pumped about 100 gallons of $4.39 gasoline into the boat's fishing rod holder. Not only was it an expensive mistake - the gas tank was still empty at the end of the day. A employee of the Finest Kind Marina said the owner of the approximately 28-foot center console fishing boat was getting ready to fill his gas tank when his cell phone rang. Distracted, he put the fuel hose in the rod holder, which was only about 6 inches from the fuel tank and looks similar to the fuel tank opening. He walked to the other end of the dock to talk on the phone while his "tank" was filling. The fuel went into the bilge and the mistake was discovered when the fuel got high enough to kick on the bilge pump. -- Read on: http://abe5.com/426 SOUTHWESTERN YC CLAIMS LIPTON CUP VICTORY In the final winner-takes-all match race to determine the 95th Lipton Cup Challenge last weekend in San Diego, the Southwestern Yacht Club team came from behind on the final downwind leg to claim victory over the reigning champions from San Diego Yacht Club. The winning team on J/105 'J-OK,' helmed by Ken Manzoni, competed with Ullman Sails, ending SDYC's three-year winning streak. The SDYC team competed on J/105 'Wings' helmed by Bill Hardesty. Ullman Sails have consistently outperformed the competition at Lipton Cup for five years straight! Contact a local Ullman Sails loft and visit our new website http://www.ullmansails.com BLAMING EGYPT FOR RUINING SAILING EVENT (May 20, 2008) Eleven yachts set sail from Tel Aviv nine days ago as part of the Med-Red Rally sailing event, during which they were meant to pass through Egypt's Suez Canal. However, Egyptian authorities delayed the yachts for over a week at Port Said, eventually forcing the disappointed yachtsmen to turn back without completing their long-awaited journey. The Med-Red Rally is considered the largest sailing event in the Middle East, and this year marks its fourth anniversary. The route begins in Turkey, passes by Israel and continues through southern Egypt towards the Red Sea. The yachts left Tel Aviv's port last Sunday on their way to the finish line at Sharm el-Sheik, but were stopped at Port Said. According to the yachtsmen, Egyptian authorities refused to allow them to pass, citing various excuses. "Every day they gave us different excuses," said Commodore Izzy Swisa. "Once it was a large ship that was passing, another time it was heavy traffic....I believe it those were pretexts, and the only reason was that I was Israeli, which is too bad." Swisa was the only Israeli participating in the segment of the sailing event passing through Suez. The other yachts came from various countries worldwide. "The goal of the event is to encourage naval tourism between Israel and its neighbors," Swisa explained. "But unfortunately this year the Egyptians decided to dampen our spirits." On Tuesday the Egyptians finally granted the sailors permission to sail, but unfortunately only back to Israel. -- Complete story: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3545788,00.html SAILING SHORTS * Planning is well underway for the Eighth Annual Summer Sailstice celebration on June 21-22, a world-wide sailing celebration to encourage boating on the longest day of the year. The event is free to all participants and has grown from 200 boats signed up in 2001 to well over 2,000 boats today. Summer Sailstice participants who register automatically become eligible to win one of over 300 prizes from the event sponsors, from yacht charters to sailboats to gift certificates from top sailing retailers. Additional information is at http://www.summersailstice.com * Boating supplies and accessories retailer West Marine, Inc. has announced a multi-store development agreement for Turkey with East Marine Denizcilik & Turizm A.S., and plans to open its first franchise store in Istanbul by July 2008. Other locations are being identified along Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. * ISAF is currently accepting nominations for members of the Committees, Sub-Committees and Commissions of the International Sailing Federation for November 2008-November 2012. The International Sailing Federation holds its quadrennial General Assembly on Saturday 15 November 2008 in Madrid, Spain (at the end of the ISAF Annual Conference). On this occasion the ISAF Officers (President and Vice-Presidents), members of the ISAF Council and all other ISAF Committee, Sub-Committee and Commission members automatically retire and are eligible for re-nomination or new candidates can be nominated. -- http://www.sailing.org/23396.php CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: May 23 - Figawi Race Weekend - Hyannis, MA, USA May 23 - Storm Trysail Block Island Race - Stamford, CT, USA May 23-26 - Swiftsure International Yacht Race - Victoria, BC, Canada May 24-25 - ISSA High School Team Racing Champs - Deephaven, MN, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Nick von der Wense: (re, story from Issue 2599) I suffered my first shoulder dislocation during college sailing, and in the years that followed it got the better of me several times. In the end I faced a difficult decision about a second shoulder surgery. I called Dr. Andrews office and to my amazement, told him I was a sailor and he immediately told me to get on a plane and come see him. During my visit, but he sat with me and my wife and talked about sailing for nearly an hour, wanted to hear what classes I was in and if I knew Abracadabra. I have to say he took so much time with me that his assistant and his residents all piled up by the door to see what was going on. There we sat, talking a language none of them could understand, swapping stories about sailing. * From Adrian Morgan: (re, PUMA christening problems from #2601) Why in this age of obsolescence when consumer goods are programmed to fall apart after a certain time do champagne bottles at launchings so often fail to break? First that big cruise ship, christened by Dame Helen Mirren (which I think ran into trouble soon after) now Puma, all within a few weeks. There is a solution: Craig 'Lightning' Nutter, former America's Cup, Volvo, Round Britain, current TP52 sailor, classic boat owner - the list goes on. His infallible (and secret), champagne bottle breaking technique has saved enormous embarrassment to countless actresses and owners' wives over the years. Hugely expensive no doubt (as it involves skill, precision and many years of painstaking research with champagne bottles), but better that than to risk launching an unlucky ship. => Curmudgeon's Comment: If 'Lightning' is busy or too expensive, an alternative is to buy a specially designed christening bottle for 11.00 USD, which "is scored to allow it to break easily and it comes with a fine mesh bag to ensure that the broken pieces of glass don't end up in the water." -- http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detail.htm?fno=400&group=592 * From Andre Corkum, Halifax, Nova Scotia: (re, PUMA story in #2600) In this post-911 world, it is unfortunate that America's profile is viewed internationally quite poorly. The reality for a company like Puma is that flying the American flag would be bad for business in many parts of the world. The other reality is that Sailing is not a high profile media sport on this continent and would have limited marketing value in the US. * From Reynald Neron: (re, letter in #2601 about Lasers in the NOOD event) Some of your readers are wondering how the Lasers can get the NOOD label (the offshore part of it). I would like to point out that Olympic medalist Michael Blackburn (AUS) has crossed Bass Straight between Australia (mainland) and Tasmania. Since then, Lasers have to be considered as an offshore boat, no? -- Watch the video: http://abe5.com/427 * From Rand, Scuttleblog: (re, Yellow Jersey from Issue 2600-1) I think this is a good idea for events like Block Island Race Week, Key West Race Week, Cowes--esp for crews. The crews would be able to strut their yellow jerseys for a day or so and get a little attention usually the owner/tactician gets--"Hey, yellow, great job on the bow today, how did you get the afterbirds around the course so quickly!" -- Post additional comments: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/05/yellow-jersey.html * From Willii Gohl, IJ, GER: (re, the ISAF Classification Code) To say "it's a joke", "it does not work" is one thing, to say what should be changed is the better thing! Did you really go through the code and the FAQs? After having done this, you can say what should be changed and what is wrong. This is the way to get better results, and this is the seamanlike way. In Germany we say "put some butter to the fish"! You guys failed to do so! -- Post additional comments: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/05/isaf-sailor-code.html * From Jim Good (With reference to the story in #2600 "688 people drowned were not wearing life jackets"). Heading out one morning during 1984 RCYC Level Week, Toronto, we came across a "floater" who'd apparently drowned a couple of days prior. We stood by till Toronto Harbor Police picked the body up. In follow-up questioning by police the next day, we were told that they estimate about half of the male drowning victims are found with their flies down. => Curmudgeon's Comment: Maybe that is what's meant by the title of Tristan Jones' book for shorthanded sailing, "One Hand for Yourself, One for the Ship". CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL "If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for, but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong. If this is too blind for your taste, consult some well-meaning fool (there is always one around) and ask his advice. Then vote the other way. This enables you to be a good citizen (if such is your wish) without spending the enormous amount of time on it that truly intelligent exercise of franchise requires." - A saying of Lazarus Long by Robert A. Heinlein Special thanks to Newport Shipyard and Ullman Sails. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
