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SCUTTLEBUTT #294 - March 22, 1999SAN DIEGO NOOD - Report by Rich RobertsIdeal sailing conditions crowned champions in 13 classes as a potentially troublesome dispute was reduced to a footnote on the final day of the GMC Yukon/Sailing World NOOD Regatta. However, if you're an Etchells sailor you'll be watching your weight, because your rivals certainly will. Along with 150 other boats from 11 states, Norm Reynolds' Etchells thrived in bright sunshine and 12 to 18 knots of breeze, although he sailed the last two races under the cloud of a protest by San Diego rival Andy La Dow. La Dow had claimed a day earlier that Reynolds' crew was overweight. The Etchells class limit is a combined 628 pounds for the three people on board. Ultimately, the jury ruled the protest invalid because La Dow failed to notify Reynolds properly-i.e., during or immediately after the day's racing. "I didn't know about it until I got a call at home at 9 o'clock that night," Reynolds said. Earlier, Reynolds held onto his lead on the water with a fifth and a 12th in the 32-boat fleet. La Dow, the defending champion, made a stretch run with a seventh and a first to tie Peter Isler for second place, two points behind Reynolds and one ahead of Gary Weisman-all from San Diego's stellar Etchells clan. Other class winners: --Bruce Ayres of Costa Mesa, Calif. slumped to a 12th and a fourth in the Melges 24s after a string of 2-2-1-2 finishes, but it was just enough to edge Dave Ullman by one point; --David Janes, Newport Beach, started slowly in J Bird but came on strong for a comfortable win in the J/120s; --San Diegans Bob Steen, with Speedy Gonzales, and Stewart Cannon, with J-OK, won five of seven races each overall to dominate the J/LEVEL 108 and J/105 classes, respectively; --Bob and Kathy Patterson, Los Angeles, sailing Fast Lane, won the last four races to sweep past Dennis Dwire and John Plander's Incisor for J/35 honors; - -Dennis and Sharon Case, San Diego, sailed their consistently quick Schock 35 Wings to a two-point win over Andy Folz' Shillelagh from Coronado Cays YC down the bay; --Jeremy Davidson, Fountain Valley, Calif. cleaned up the Star class with four firsts and two seconds; --On the inside course in south San Diego Bay, Mary Snow, San Diego, made husband-crew-sailmaker and top J/24 sailor Chris proud by winning five of six races in that class; --Darren Hamm of Las Vegas won the Holder 20s' first six races, then coasted home with a DNF; --Grif Amies of Irvine won five of six C-Scow races; --Michell Schroeder, Anaheim, came from behind to win the last two Geary 18 races and the overall title; --Elaine Pardey, Salt Lake City, with husband Marshall and Doug DuBois as crew, won four of six Ultimate 20 races for a runaway victory. The Pardeys had never sailed an Ultimate 20 until this past week, after taking delivery of Euphoria Monday and towing it to San Diego. "We've had Lasers for 10 years," she said. She steered, she said, "because I wasn't sure my husband was going to be able to make it. But the first day we did pretty well, so . . ." World champion Vince Brun had an even more remarkable performance. He missed the first two races when his new Melges 24, purchased in partnership with Ben Mitchell, arrived a day late from Zenda, Wis. after being delayed in a rest stop by Midwest storms. But after some quick assembly, Brun logged two third places Saturday and then two victories Sunday to finish 12th in the 31 boat fleet. "It impressed me to get a brand new boat, put it together and be competitive," Brun said. "We didn't have to do anything-nothing. That says a lot for the efficiency of the Melges Boat Works and the Melges 24 concept." The Etchells weight problem was complicated by the absence of Reynolds' third crew-son Mike Shaw-who had left after day two to go skiing in Idaho and wasn't available to be weighed. As it was, Reynolds and his other crew, Eric Rogers, totaled 426 pounds, meaning the boat was legal if Shaw was under 202. La Dow had his doubts about that but took no issue with Shaw's replacement for Sunday: Bob Kettenhoffen, who weighed in at 162. The Sailing Instructions didn't call for weigh-ins because most of the 13 classes don't limit body ballast. That left it to the Etchells, who didn't request weigh-ins for themselves, a point that became moot when the jury ruled La Dow's protest invalid. After it was all over La Dow said, "[Reynolds] sailed a great regatta, [but] it was a mistake not to have a weigh-in." Final standings: MELGES 24 (31 boats, 6 races)-1. Bruce Ayres, Costa Mesa, Calif., 23 points; 2. Dave Ullman, Newport Beach, Calif., 24; 3. Tim Hahnke, San Prego, Calif., 29; 4. Argyle Campbell, Newport Beach, 34; 5. tie between Mark Golison/Steve Flam, Long Beach, Calif., and Jean Albert, Newport Beach, 49. ETCHELLS (32, 6)-1. Norm Reynolds, San Diego, 32; 2. tie between Peter Isler, San Diego, and Andy La Dow, San Diego, 34; 4. Gary Weisman, San Diego, 35; 5. Frank Varasano, East Island, N.Y, 40. STAR (8, 6)-1. Jeremy Davidson, Fountain Valley, Calif., 8; 2. Steve Brown/Miles Connolly, Dana Point, Calif., 16; 3. Lee Kellerhouse, San Diego, 17; 4. James and Mark Butler, San Diego, 27. J/120 (11, 7)-1. J Bird, David Janes, Newport Beach, 15; 2. C.C. Rider, Chuck Nichols/Chick Pyle, San Diego, 24; 3. Doctor No, Jed Olenick, Olivenhain, Calif., 27; 4. Hot Tamale, Doug and Tom Jorgensen, Pasadena, Calif. 36; 5. Simply Red, Kelly Vince, Palos Verdes, Calif., 39. SCHOCK 35 (5, 7)-1. Wings, Dennis and Sharon Case, San Diego, 12; 2. Shillelagh, Andy Folz, San Diego, 14. J/35 (6, 7)-1. Fast Lane, Bob and Kathy Patterson, Los Angeles, 14; 2. Incisor, Dennis Dwire/John Plander, Ventura, Calif., 21; 3. Z Force, Herb Zoehrer, Coronado, 24. J/105 (7, 7)-1. J-OK, Stewart Cannon, San Diego, 10; 2. Perfect Timing 2, Dan Durbeck, Santa Barbara, Calif., 16; 3. Legacy, Betsey Dougherty, Newport Beach, 22. J/LEVEL 108 (4, 7)-1. Speedy Gonzales, Bob Steen, San Diego, 9; 2. Air Boss, Jon Dekker, San Diego, 17. CORSAIR TRIMARANS (7, 7)-1. Delta Vee, Michael Leneman, Venice, Calif., 9; 2. Mental Floss, Jeffrey Cohen, Covina, Calif., 20; 3. Cheekee Monkee, Rick White/Kim Alfreds, Bellingham, Wash., 22. J/24 (11, 6)-1. J/24#5208, Mary Snow, San Diego, 8; 2. Tiny Dancer, B. Zimmerman/W. Davis, Goleta, Calif., 18; 3. Jump Street, Kenny Kieding/Doug Mathews, Santa Barbara, 23; 4. Ho Omele, Scott Tobin, El Segundo, Calif., 29; 5. Majic, Jay Phillips, Oxnard, 30. HOLDER 20 (6, 6)-1. H=MC2, Darren Hamm, Las Vegas, Nev., 12; 2. La Pepita, Michael Kratz, Escondido, Calif., 18; 3. My Sweetie N Me, Jim Rosaschi, Las Vegas, 21. C-SCOW (6, 6)-1. Avery A, Grif Amies, Irvine, 9; 2. tie between C-Scow 100, Michael Daily, Buena Park, Calif., and Iniki, Pete Vander Meyden, Blue Jay, Calif., 23. ULTIMATE 20 (9, 6)-1. Euphoria, Elaine Pardey, Salt Lake City, 9; 2. TGFU, Travis Gregory, Salt Lake City, 15; 3. Pocket Rocket, Marty Christensen, Monument, Colo., 20. GEARY 18 (9, 6)-1. Godzilla, Michell Schroeder, Anaheim, Calif., 9; 2. Nuggett, Chris Knudson, Santa Barbara, 12; 3. Second Wind, Tom Jermin, Atascadero, Calif., 16; 4. Geary18#1189, Mitch Walker, Avila Beach, Calif., 30; 5. A'Belle, Gian Carlo Campolmi, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 33. Complete results with be available soon: http://www.sailingworld.com/nood/noodin99.htm 49ER NAs Sonoma Mexico -- Final Results: 1. Morgan Larson, USA (25) 2. Jonathan McKee USA (33) 3. Jay Renehan USA (53) 4. Andy Mack USA (53) 5. 4 Tina Baylis CAN (65) 6. Jason Rhodes CAN (73) 7. Cristopher Rast SUI (79) 8. Kris Henderson USA (76) 9. Kenji Nakamura JPN (91) 10. Chadwich Hough USA (110) Event site: http://www.orvinet.com/49er_north_american_championship_1999/ SNIPE MIDWINTER CIRCUIT A pair of seconds on the final day of the Dudley/Gamblin Trophy Series sews up the Snipe Midwinter Circuit up for San Diego's George Szabo. He wins all 4 regattas on the circuit to take the Zimmerman trophy with 27.5 points (total score all 4 regattas), showing he is still the guy to beat in the US! - Alex Pline Dudley/Gamblin Trophy Series Final Results: 1. George Szabo (San Diego, CA)/Peter Bruce Wassitch (Nassau, Bahamas) 2. Robert Dunkley/Ted Smith (Nassau, Bahamas) 3. Jimmy Lowe/Gavin McKinney (Nassau, Bahamas) 4. Birger Jansen/Liv Ulveie (Norway) 5. Jim Richter (Indianapolis, IN)/Watt Duffy (New Orleans, LA) Complete Results: http://www.snipe.org/regattas/results/1999/Midwinters99/ TECHNOLOGY As technology moves forward in sail design and materials so it does in custom embroidery as well. New machines software and techniques have been made it possible to produce a product far superior today than in the past. Call Frank Whitton at Pacific Yacht Embroidery and Imprintables (619-226-8033) to stay up with the rest of the world. Don't settle for less when for the same price you can have the best. STEINLAGER LINE 7 CUP - Report by Ivor Wilkens Francesco de Angelis and his crew from the Italian Prada America's Cup team top the leaderboard in the preliminary series of the Steinlager Line 7 Cup match race regatta after a long day's racing in Auckland today. But, with another set of matches still to sail in Round Robin Two, followed by an entire third round robin tomorrow, there is nothing foregone about the result at all. "We all just go back to square one tomorrow," said John Cutler of America True. At the close of sailing today, De Angelis tops the board with nine wins, Cutler is one back on eight and local sailor Phil Douglas on six. On the form so far, de Angelis, Cutler and Douglas look like the likely winners of the three vacant places in the main event, but there is a bunch just behind who have made big moves today and could threaten the top three in the final round. All the skippers commented on a tough day's racing today as the south to south-westerly breeze shifted and varied in strength. "It was very tricky," said de Angelis. "We had shifty winds, lots of current, puffs and holes. It was hard work." The only real drama of the day came in a match between Spithill and Williams. Williams was leading into the leeward mark, but made a wide rounding, which enabled Spithill to sneak in on the inside. Williams luffed hard and Spithill copped a penalty, but the two boats collided, leaving a hole in the bow of the British yacht. In a post-race hearing on the dock, Williams was penalised half a point and will have to pay for the damage on the basis that, even though he held the right of way, he should have avoided the collision. The top three finishers in the preliminary series go through to the main event, which starts in Auckland on Wednesday. Of the seven skippers already in the main draw, all but one of them is, or has been, an America's Cup campaigner. They are Gavin Brady, currently ranked No.2 in the world and until recently a helmsman for America True, British veteran Chris Law, who has helmed in two America's Cup campaigns, former world champion Ed Baird, currently skipper of Young America, Dean Barker of Team New Zealand, Paul Cayard, skipper of One America, and New Zealand ace, Chris Dickson. Preliminary Series Results after day two Francesco de Angelis (ITA) 9 pts John Cutler (USA) 8 pts Phil Douglas (NZL) 6 pts Dean Salthouse (NZL) 5 pts Ian Williams (GBR) 4.5 pts James Spithill (AUS) 4 pts Cameron Miles (AUS) 2 pts Visit the official event website at: http://www.steinlagerline7cup.co.nz USSA SPRING MEETING Nearly 300 volunteers and staff have convened in Dallas, Texas, for the 1999 US SAILING Spring Meeting. For three days, volunteers and staff navigated through some 65 working sessions that cover a broad range of topics: from safety-at-sea, to training, to budget issues, rating rules, youth sailing, and more.US Sailing president Muldoon overviewed key topics that attendees would be looking at throughout the weekend. Communication topped the list. "One of the greatest challenges we face is how do we communicate with our members and sailors in order to reduce misunderstandings about what we do, and what we are trying to do," said Muldoon. "And we need a communication method so we know what we're doing right and wrong-and how we can change." Redevelopment of the current web site was flagged as a priority issue for action at the Fall Meeting, held in Seattle in October 1998. Over the ensuing months, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was sent out and 13 bids for the job of web site developer were received. Harborwatch Publishing of Burlington (Vermont) was the recommendation of the Web site Development Task Force. According to Mike Schoettle, who headed the Task Force, this group was the most economical in their pricing, and they agreed to be flexible enough to make themselves available on weekends for posting material to the site, such as regatta results. After several minutes of debate-which centered largely on the process of selection-the Board passed the motion to appoint Harborwatch by a signigicant majority. Harborwatch's two principals are Mark Gardner and Ken Signorello; Brad Dellenbaugh, who was active in developing the site for the U.S. Naval Academy Sailing Team, will contract services to Harborwatch. Training sessions for volunteers who will be contributing material to the web site are being held throughout the weekend. "One of the greatest challenges that is going on in the sport is the need for access, access, and more access," said Muldoon, in his opening remarks. Sailing Smart, a youth program being developed in partnership with the Aquatic Division of the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), is part of an effort to extend sailing's access. Over the five months separating Fall and Spring meetings, three grant proposals have been sent out for a total of $840,000 (a large portion of which is a U.S. Coast Guard grant earmarked for five years). According to Altman, if funding comes through to run test programs this summer, the plan is to run them at NRPA and other facilities where US SAILING-trained instructors are available. The feedback from these instructors will be used in further developing the program. Muldoon pointed out that some have criticized US SAILING for focusing on creating better access for sailors who are not yet competitive sailors. "But our sport is still not easy to get into," he said. "We must continue to reduce barriers to entry and access to racing if we are to keep a steady influx of sailing competitors." A rundown on some of the other areas of activity during the Spring Meeting follows. CHAMPIONSHIPS: "It is very important that we continue to search for ways to make our championships stronger so that they produce for our sailors the opportunity to excel that our sport should offer," said Muldoon in his opening remarks. Dave Rosekrans, Vice President of US SAILING, was asked to explore the area of championships. Since the Fall Meeting in October, he has conducted 58 interviews with world-class sailors, such as Paul Cayard; media members, such as Gary Jobson, John Burnham; Olympic contenders; industry figures; championship participants and those involved in running championships to collect opinions on constructive ways the system can be refined. Meeting on individual championships are being held here throughout the weekend. HANDICAPPING SYSTEMS: "In the offshore and handicap areas," said Jim Muldoon in his opening comments, "We have been historically focused on too few people, and we are currently working toward the establishment of partnership relationships that will allow us to be of greater service to handicap fleets and sailors." An outline (produced after a conceptual discussion on handicap systems in general, which took place at the Fall Meeting in Seattle) on what a successful rating/handicap system should achieve were put forth in a report here in Dallas. The outline includes issues such as, Gain Wide Acceptance Among Sailors, Accommodate Change, Reduce Complexity, Enjoy Trustworthy Administration, Minimize Rule Changes, and other guidelines. In a meeting of the PHRF Committee, attendees explored the idea of creating new tools for PHRF fleets that could be used by local organizers to enhance the PHRF system in their own fleets. The idea is that these tools could be an elective supplement to the existing system. YOUTH SAILING: The Olympic Path Working Party met today and took a step back and looked at the big picture of youth sailing. In a crowded conference room, attendees mapped out the strengths, weaknesses, existing programs, and what the goals of an organization such as US SAILING should strive for in relation to youth sailing. "What we are really after is getting more kids involved in sailing, and keeping them involved," said committee chair Cory Sertl. The committee mapped out youth programs in place, from grass-roots programs such as camps, Scouts, and community sailing, to elite programs such as ISAF Youth Worlds and the USA Junior Olympic National Championship. According to Sertl, the committee plans to look at other sports (with access issues similar to sailing) to see how they have handled their youth development, and to eventually distill the ideas from this meeting into a set of goals. US Sailing website: http://www.ussailing.org/ Curmudgeon's Comment - Stay tuned. We'll bring you a complete wrap-up from the Spring Meeting as soon as it's available. IOC MUSEUM A large photostat of Paul Elvstrom was handed over to the IOC Museum in Lausanne at the joint meeting of the IOC Executive and the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations at PALACE BEAULIEU Convention Center, Lausanne, Saturday, March20th. Paul Elvstrom was personally present in Lausanne accompanied by his wife Anne and the President of the Danish Sailing Association, Peer Bent Nielsen. ISAF President Paul Henderson joined in the presentation. The idea was formed during International Sailing Federations midyear meeting in Lausanne in spring 1997, where all delegates had the opportunity to visit the IOC Museum. It was ISAF1s President Paul Henderson, long-time sailor/freind with Paul Elvstrom, who came up with the idea, that the sport of sailing should be exposed with a sailor - and this could not be anybody else than Paul Elvstrom, the "Great Dane" in sailing. For 40 years, from 1948 to 1988, Paul Elvstrom was among the sailing elite, as is proved by the countless championships he has won: 4 Olympic Gold Medals, 19 medals at World Championships among these 15 Gold Medals in 8 different boat types, 8 European Championships and numerous victories at International Events all over the world. Paul Participated in 8 Olympics and once as reserve crew. CAN WE TALK? It always helps when you can talk about your problems with someone who really understands. And when those problems involve sailing hardware and rigging, no one will be more understanding and helpful than the experienced staff at Sailing Supply -- the only call you ever need to make for quality solutions and equipment at competitive prices. Sailing Supply has all the good stuff, and when you love what you do, you do it better than anyone else. (800) 532-3831. http://www.sailingsupply.com/ SPEED RECORD After a complete refit of the former Merit Cup 1, recently renamed yess, an intensive training schedule and selection of the crew, Jan van Lierde, Manager of the sponsor firms Kreon and Vektron decided that now is the time to show the potential of the yess concept. If the weather conditions remain, skipper Piet Smet will attack the round Britain and Ireland non-stop speed record from Monday onwards. The speed record around Britain and Ireland is controlled by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. The start will be near Ramsgate, where yess has been berthed for over a week now. Navigator meteorologist Peter Tans (NED, 3 x Whitbread) says that the evolution of the weather will make it possible to chose a counter clockwise route. It will be upwind until they reach the Shetland isles, which they will leave to port. "From there on there will be northerly wind, ideal code zero weather" says skipper Piet Smet. For the moment the record is about eight days but Smet thinks he will make it in six and a half. Tans, looking back at his experiences with Brunel Sunergy talks about five and a half days. yess is in better shape than ever before. The Bruce Farr designed boat was the formerly Grant Dalton's tune up boat for the last Whitbread race. Dalton always regretted leaving this boat behind as she would have been more suited to the weather conditions experienced out on the race track. Since the technical rules of the Volvo Ocean Race do not change dramatically, yess must be the most performing VOR 60' in the water, says Jan van Lierde. At the time the Volvo Ocean Race programme was announced in London, the yess crew were working hard to refit the boat and overhaul the gear, the two containers full of parts and the 45 sails. The mast foot has been reinforced and the hull and deck were completely stripped. Awlgrip experimented with a new type of anti-slip paint for the deck, because the original paint created an ice skating surface with the smallest drop of water on it. On board everything is now in Ocean Race shape. The crew's clothing has been reduced to the strict minimum, although they have now a built in hi-fi station. "The music pumps up the morale,' smiles Smet. The complete food reserve is stored in a not even big clothing bag in order to put it easily in the right place. Peter Tans works with people from the KNMI: `It's a matter of reaching the ideal weather conditions just in time," says Tans who worked already with the Dutch National Meteorological station during The Whitbread. - Lizzie Green GET YOU IN SHAPE FOR THE SAILING SEASON 1. Sleep on the shelf in your closet. 2. Replace the closet door with a curtain. 3. Six hours after you go to sleep, have a friend whip open the curtain, shine a flashlight in your eyes, and mumble "your watch." 4. Renovate your bathroom. Build a wall across the middle of your bathtub and move the shower head down to chest level. 5. Every time there's a thunderstorm, go sit in a wobbly rocking chair and rock as hard as you can until you're nauseous. 6. Buy a trash compactor and only use it once a week. Store up garbage in the other side of your bathtub. 7. Wake up at midnight and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on stale bread. (Optional: cold canned ravioli or soup). 8. Set your alarm clock to go off at random times during the night. When it goes off, jump out of bed and get dressed as fast as you can, then run out into your yard and break out the garden hose. 9. Use 18 scoops of coffee per pot and allow it to sit for 5 or 6 hours before drinking. 10. Raise the thresholds and lower the top sills on your front and back doors so that you either trip over the threshold or hit your head on the sill every time you pass through one of them. 11. Every so often, throw your cat into the swimming pool, shout "Man Overboard", run into the kitchen and sweep all the pots/pans/dishes off the counter onto the floor, then yell at your spouse for not having the place "stowed for sea." THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM How is it possible to have a civil war? |
