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SCUTTLEBUTT #474 - January 4, 2000LOUIS VUITTON CUPWinds reaching 35 knots Tuesday chased the challengers from the inner Hauraki Gulf, two by two, until the race committee called off the third day of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger semifinals. "If you had a Whitbread [Round the World Race] boat, you'd be happy," said Katie Pettibone, the America True trimmer who sailed aboard the all-woman EF Language in the 1997-98 global race that will debut as the Volvo Ocean Race in 2001. "Today was perfect Whitbread conditions but a dangerous day to race [America's Cup boats]." The three scheduled matches -- Team Dennis Conner (2-0) vs. Le Defi Bouygues Telecom-Transiciel (0-2), America True (1-1) vs. Nippon (1-1) and Prada (1-1) vs. AmericaOne (1-1) -- will be run Wednesday, conditions permitting. No boat had hoisted a mainsail, and America True and Nippon had already left the racecourse about a half-hour before their scheduled 1:25 p.m. start. Stars & Stripes and France's 6eme Sens followed at 2:20 p.m. -- all with the blessing of regatta operations director Vince Cooke. That left only Luna Rossa and AmericaOne, who had said they would let the race committee decide whether they should race. Cooke said, "When I told them I was going to give a warning signal at 1500 (3:00 p.m.) and they would have to get their mainsails up in a lot of breeze, they began to think, 'Maybe this isn't very smart.'" So Cooke made the decision for them. "It was apparent that conditions were never going to get down to where we could race," he said. "The seas were too rough and the winds were too strong." Rule 14.4 of the challengers' Notice of Race through the semifinals stipulate that races won't be started if the wind exceeds 18 knots for a period of five minutes and, once started, will be abandoned if the wind tops 23 knots for five minutes. Those limits won't apply in the finals starting 20 January. "The best we saw was 18 to 23 knots," Cooke said. "During the squalls it was well over 30." The rules also permit Cooke to allow contestants in individual matches to drop out by mutual agreement. It was the first time that challengers had requested such action under Rule 14.4(d), which permits postponements upon unanimous agreement among the race committee and representatives of the competing boats. Stars & Stripes helmsman Ken Read said the winds were screaming "clearly higher than yesterday," when AmericaOne had its headfoil ripped away and others suffered lesser damage. "It was 35 in the squalls. It would have been a hard day on the assets." Pettibone said that on her boat the wind readings peaked at 33 knots and were steady in the mid-20s. Cutler called Cooke by radio to suggest that conditions were unsafe, and minutes later Cooke heard from Nippon skipper Peter Gilmour. "America True has expressed concern that the conditions are too difficult to race in," Cooke said. "Do you agree?" Gilmour, without hesitation, responded, "Yes." The French were first to call Cooke. "It was apparent early on that France didn't want any part of today's racing," said Cooke, who checked with the opponent, Stars & Stripes. Read said, "We made it clear that we wanted to stay until the end," meaning the 3 o'clock deadline for starting races. "When it was still blowing 30 [knots] half an hour before we'd have to put up our mainsail, we decided to call it a day," Read said. It wasn't necessarily fear for personal safety that worried the sailors. "It's just ludicrous to try to sail these boats in those conditions," Pettibone said. "You can't get the main to gybe over when the wind is above 25. The [winch drive] belts will strip. "These boats straight-line pretty well, but I worry most about the starts and the mark roundings -- especially the starts. When you have two of these boats coming at each other at those speeds, it's like having two Indy cars going around the track in opposite directions." There is another reason Pettibone might not have enjoyed racing Tuesday from her position on the leeward side of the boat. "I would have been under water all day," she said. -- Rich Roberts, Quokka Sports, http://www.americascup.org/ * Long ago the challengers agreed that races would not be started in sustained winds over 18 knots, nor continue racing in winds over 23 knots. This somewhat controversial rule is not well understood by some of the fans, but it was deemed necessary to protect the challengers' yachts -- and sailors -- from excessive wear and tear over this long and grueling series of races. These limits seem a bit low to the casual racer. This is because the race committee takes the wind speed measurements from an anemometer mounted ten meters above the water. Wind speed increases as you gain elevation from the surface of the water. This means that 18 knots to a sailor on the deck is aprox 20 knots on the anemometer at ten meters and another 13% higher (23 knots) at the mast head of an IACC boat (34 meters up). The other factor here is that the rule says that the wind must exceed 18 knots for a solid five-minute period, so if once during five minutes, the wind dips to 17.9 knots, the race is still on. Most sailors agree that the wind is generally fluctuates a knot or two most of the time. So for it to blow above 18 knots for a solid five minutes, practically speaking, it's blowing 19-20, then add a couple of knots for the increase between ten and 34 meters and you soon have a pretty blustery day on your hands Dr. Roger "Clouds" Badham's forecast for today was for rain squalls and winds in the 20s gusting into the low 30s. So we knew this morning that the wind was likely to be over the rule limit at race time, but this did not deter our gung-ho race committee chairman, Vince Cooke. Early on he signalled his intentions to try to start racing today as scheduled at 1315. So it was business as usual this morning. The only changes to our normal morning routine was the decision by Paul not to take 49 out as a tune up boat, and to delay our dockstart by 30 minutes to avoid as much as possible beating up the boat and crew. By 11:30 the racing yachts, tenders and support boats were bouncing around in starting area. Clouds' forecast was, as it often is, spot on. At 12:30 the Race Committee began announcing a series of fifteen-minute postponements, hoping that the 20+ knot wind might die down enough to get racing started. The rules provide that, in marginal conditions and with respect to certain deadlines, the individual teams and race committee chairman can confer by radio and agree match-by-match whether or not to proceed. By 14:00 America True and Nippon asked the Race Committee to postpone their match to a later day, and Vince Cooke agreed given that the wind was then above the limits and was predicted not to abate through the afternoon. About 14:15 Stars & Stripes and Le Defi bailed out. Prada and our guys, however, persevered, and finally at about 14:35 agreement was reached with the Race Committee to attempt getting a starting sequence underway at 15:00. This is the deadline in the rules after when no warning signal (10 minute gun) shall be made unless both teams and the Race Committee otherwise agree. It also is, practically speaking, about the latest time a race can be started without keeping the flotilla out past sundown, at least on a light air day when the race can take up to four hours. (The time limit for the full 18.5-mile course by when the first boat must finish for the race to count is 4h 15m.) Well, 25 minutes is a very short time to make final preparations for a race, and the AmericaOne sailing and on-water support teams flew into action. Tender skipper Don Anderson and chase boat driver Will Benedict had their hands full keeping up with the stream of requests coming from navigator Lexi Gahagan aboard USA 61, who is sort of a cross between a receptionist for 61 and chief operating officer afloat. Meanwhile aboard 61 Tactician John Kosteski had his "Race Committee Representative" hat on, handling the sometimes delicate negotiations with Race Committee Chairman Vince Cook and the other team(s). John has developed an excellent working relationship with Vince. Just as the guys were ready to hoist the main on 61, Vince, John and the Prada rep agreed the wind had actually ramped up, was now quite a bit over the wind limits, and that exercising a bit of discretion would be better than a exhibition of "quien es masmacho". Wisely our match was postponed along with the others until tomorrow. As I write this at 18:15 it is still howling here outside Bob's Big Base, but Clouds is calling for moderating winds tonight giving way to a much lighter day tomorrow and, indeed, the balance of this week. -- Tom Ehman, AmericaOne, http://www.americaone.org SEMIFINAL POINTS:
NEXT SCHEDULED RACES: Team Dennis Conner / France America True / Nippon Prada / AmericaOne KWRW Newport, RI - Fast Track Yacht Management of Newport, RI is partnering with Hall Rigging of Bristol, RI for GMC Yukon Yachting's Key West Race Week. In addition to their regular launching, hauling, maintenance and chartering services, the Fast Track Team will have Hall Rigging's pre-made halyards and sheets for Mumm 30, Farr 40, ID35 and other popular classes available at Key West Race Week. In addition, Fast Track will have hardware items available for Mumm 30, Farr 40 and 1D35. Inquiries for gear can be made at the Fast Track Office, based at the Truman Annex Naval Basin, or during the regatta at the Fast Track Box Truck at Conch Harbor Marine. In addition, Hall Rigging will have several representatives at Key West Race Week to serve new and familiar customers. -- Amy M. Gross Kehoe LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From George Carabetta -- As the owner of the Farr 40 OD managed by Mark Van Note, I must comment on the letter written by Andrew Burton. I certainly agree with the skill, dedication and professionalism that Mark brings to our program. However he is referred to as our Boat Captain, or Boat Manager. "BN" is a term that should not be used in our sport or any other. -- From Marc Carmichael, Capt. "Rhino," Carpe Diem -- In response to all the fuss about the term "BN" In 87, I crossed paths with a proud bunch of individuals who had taken over a dockside domain in Freemantle and labelled themselves as the IBNA ( Having just sailed from Sidney, I even got the honour of getting an official T-Shirt!). I am sure that the term was invented prior to that, (in fact Conrad had a great book about the term). As I was told, the term was to be understood as International Boat Nigels Association. While the "N" term can be used in another venue, the relevance of the title is still the same. Unlike the owners and pro's, the BN lives a unique life that can only be appreciated by other BN's. Sure I have limped into Bermuda without an engine, sailed around Hatteras with a broken rudder and seen a broken fan belt repaired with duct tape and a sail tie. The term is a badge of honour amongst peers. Sure we can all be politically correct and mind our P's and Q's but in the end some body has to deal with getting the job done. It is humorous to see that some folks still want to get their shorts in a knot over "politically correct terms". As a previous BN, graduate of four years of Marine Domestic training in Newport and now father and teacher, I cheer on those folks that still get the job done. Whatever the label, you know who you are. -- From Joyce Andersen -- I've read and read everyone's take on the Sailor of the Millenium and figure like most everything else in 'Butt there will always be a difference of opinion. So maybe you can put a lid on it by offering Paul Elvstrom as the Millenium choice and Buddy Melges as Honorable Mention "North American Sailor of the Millenium". Now I must admit that I think Buddy is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the "Great Dane" stands apart..no one will ever accomplish what he has. Maybe it's an "age" thing...the younger sailors know the name Elvstrom but he isn't as visible of late to them. I think if one has the opportunity to visit Denmark and enter the Hellerup Selegklub (yacht club) and see his medals, one will realize this gentleman's awesome talent. -- Sean "Doogie" Couvreux -- Although it is unlikely that Christopher Columbus was the first one to discover the North American Continent, his actions did literally change the world forever. Maybe a thought can be given to him for that? Yet, I would also like to turn peoples attention to another sailor, in the previous millenium. It is widely believed that the Vikings were the first one to discover America. If they did do this, it would have been around 900 A.D. However, around 200 to 400 AD, an Irish Saint called Saint Brendan is believed to have sailed across the frigid north Atlantic to the area of New Foundland. Documents are sketchy about this trip but a man by the name of Tim Severin did some research on this topic and discovered that the boat used was built out of leather and ash wood. To see if such a trip was possible, he decided to build the boat and retrace the voyage. He recreated the boat in much the same manner it would have been originally built. It was thought that the leather would deteriorate and rot in the water, however, the cold water of the North Atlantic preserved the leather. Tim Severin successfully retraced the voyage and discovered some interesting benefits of using leather for the hull. One of those being that it is possible to fix a puncture while under way. Tim wrote a book about the voyage called The Voyage of Saint Brendan. -- From Jim Champ -- If he'd been born American it would have been Elvstrom, no question. As he wasn't its a discussion... So he never won the America's Cup? Only two non-Americans ever have, so its hardly suprising... Whilst winning the AC is a big achievement, it could very well be argued that off the water project management etc are at least as important as the actual sailing of the boat. Designer, Innovator of the Century? The technical aspects of our sport are also worth considering... One candidate might be Uffa Fox, who seemed to have his finger in every pie back in the 30s and 40s, but my vote would be for a relatively obscure New Zealander John Spencer. For those who've never heard of him then they should: Ask Bill Lee where he got the idea for the ULDBs. Ask the Bethwaites where their ideas originated. Ask Ron Holland who taught him to draw boats. Ask Bruce Farr and Russell Bowler who inspired the fertile Kiwi dinghy scene they learned so much in... -- From Ken Guyer -- My nomination for Sailor of the Millennium has a little to do with his rather impressive racing record and ability to master many different types of one designs, multi-hull, SORC, America's Cup yachts, etc. Titles and World Championships aplenty. Those items are important in measuring sailing ability, team management, design, and just all around participation in the sport of sailing, he has all of that. My reason for nominating this skipper is simple, cast aside perhaps unfortunate comments at media conferences and other traits you can chalk up to proving someone is human. My reason is based in the passion this sailor has for his sport. To my knowledge, no other modern day America's Cup skipper and full time racer, has pledged their own assets to have a yacht on the starting line, be it as defender or challenger. Since 1983, my choice has shouldered the responsibility for fielding a team, taking on the financial risks should sponsorship fall short. No one who lists themselves as syndicate head or skipper presently in Auckland has assumed liability for the financial aspects of his or her team. For all of those who have been named here to date, my hat is off to them. All have made substantial contributions to the world of sailing. My choice for sailor of the millennium is the ONLY U.S. skipper in history to ever actually WIN the America's Cup, Dennis Conner. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: It's all been said, so I now declare the Sailor of the Century thread officially dead. A NEW PRIEST Tom and Laura Priest are the proud new parents of Katie Marie. Born December 30, the new Priest weighed in at 8 pounds 9.5 ounces. VIPER 640 Annapolis, MD, December 17, 1999--The Viper 640 one-design class is excited to announce the availability of new boats, technical support, service and parts from Bennett Raceboats, Inc. in Bristol, Rhode Island. Following a long period of negotiation, 640 designer Brian Bennett has purchased the complete tooling package from the lien holder, freeing the project for ongoing development. The Class plans to continue to expand our successful collaboration with the Sailing World NOOD regattas for major events on their US based circuit. This will be supplemented by a National Championship for 2000 (venue to be announced). According to Dan Phelps, class secretary. Class Website: http://www.Viperowners.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE Peter Isler, on the changes to Stars & Stripes that required re-measurement: "We knew this question might come up so we had a couple of flippant answers but the real answer is you have to talk to DC. It's a very subtle change and hopefully it will pay off in the long run." http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/ HARRY WOOD Harry Wood, a legendary lifeguard and sailor on Alamitos Bay and a legendary member of the Lido 14 class, died Dec. 27 following a lengthy illness. He was 76. Harry became a Long Beach Lifeguard in the Forties, patrolling both the beach from a tower and the waterways in a boat. He was credited with rescuing 85 Girl Scouts and their leaders when their chartered boat lost both sails and power in a storm off Long Beach in 1884. He was inducted into the Long Beach Lifeguard Hall of Fame in 1996. Harry sailed and excelled in Skimmers and Pacific Cats, but was probably best known in the Lido 14 class. He was a multiple fleet and class champion in the Lidos starting in the late Fifties and sailing well into the Eighties. In the late Seventies a regatta was named for him by the Newport Beach Lido fleet, a real honor as he wasn't even a member of the fleet! A celebration of Harry's life will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 5, at 11:00 am at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, 7201 E. Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90803. -- Chris Ericksen, Past President Lido 14 International Class Assn. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: More than 30 years ago, I towed my Lido 14 to ABYC for a regatta, even though I did not have a crew. When I pulled into the parking lot, Harry saw my problem and insisted that I take his regular crew -- his wife. He then found a little girl and a big rock (to get up to minimum weight) and went out and won the regatta. Harry was a champion in every sense of the word. THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM If peanut butter cookies are made from peanut butter, then what are Girl Scout cookies made out of? |
