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SCUTTLEBUTT 1990 -- December 19, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.SPITHILL IS NEW WORLD CHAMPION Light weather conditions on the final day of the 2005 Corum Melges 24 World Championship at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo today turned the 99-boat fleet inside out but James Spithill's Italian Luna Rossa team held on to a diminished lead to prevail with an eight point margin. The 11th and final race, on flat water with a puffy six to eight knot northeaster, saw Spithill post his worst score of the week, a 27th place caused when he and other boats in the middle of the course were disadvantaged by a 30 degree wind shift that reshuffled the deck for all the competitors. "With one race today, all we had to do was stay close to Dave Ullman," said Spithill. Ullman, the sailmaker from Newport Beach, California, sailing his Pegasus 505, had started the day in second place but dropped to third at the finish. "We had a 20-boat cushion," Spithill continued, "but the conditions were extremely tough. We got off the start line in good shape but in these light conditions everyone does the same speed, so we stayed in close contact with Dave." Spithill, the 26-year-old Australian skipper of Italy's Luna Rossa Challenge for the America's Cup, was sailing with three other members of his America's Cup crew, with additional help from 11-year-old Mac Agnese from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. There was only one Italian passport holder on the sleek white 24-foot sportboat and that belonged to Manuel Modena, a 49er sailor from Italy's Lake Garda. The other two crew members were American brothers Jonathan and Charlie McKee, from Seattle, Washington. Both McKees are double Olympic sailing medalists. Ullman, a 59-year-old veteran with numerous world and national championships to his credit, dropped to third on points. "This was by far the best Melges Worlds ever sailed," Ullman said. - Keith Taylor 1. James Spithill, Luna Rossa, Italy, 68 points; 2. Gabriele Benussi, Marrachech Express, Italy, 76; 3. David Ullman, Pegasus505, Newport Beach, Calif., 93; 4. Morgan Reeser, Mfatic, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 102; 5. Gabrio Zandona, Joe Fly, Como, Italy, 108; 6. François Brenac, Partner & Partners, France, 111; 7. Brian Porter, Full Throttle, Winnetka, Ill., 138; 8. Flavio Favini, Blu Moon, Italy, 141; 9. John Bertrand, Fusion M, Annapolis, Maryland, 146; 10. Nicola Celon, Ale Ali, Italy, 161. New Photos: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/m24worlds/index6.asp Full results at: http://www.2005corumm24worlds.com/teamphotos/Overall.htm DID YOU SAIL IN THE MELGES 24 WORLDS? Scuttlebutt is looking for stories from the 2005 Melges 24 Worlds. However, we don't want stories about how James Spithill's team consistently hit all the shifts to win. We want to hear about what happened elsewhere… like in 67th place… like in the yacht club bar… like in the trailer park… like stuck in a snowstorm just trying to get there. Are you getting the idea yet? The pages of Scuttlebutt have been filled with how the star-laden teams faired, but now we want to hear the "rest of the story." Of course this is also a contest, so if you didn't have your "A Game" last week at the regatta, here's another chance to win some booty. Post your story on the Forums: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1298#1298 IMPROVING IRC COMPETITIVENESS (Now that the 2006 IRC Rule changes have been released, Greg Stewart at Nelson/Marek Yacht Design, Inc. has prepared a write-up to help understand the favored IRC type, to explain the changes for 2006 and to suggest a few ideas to maximize your boat's competitiveness under IRC. Here's an excerpt.) For boats not designed to the IRC, there are several things to consider that may improve the rating/performance. A partial list in increasing order of complication include: Update Sail Dimensions -- For yachts that will be using existing sails in 2006 it may be worth having the Mainsail, largest Jib, longest Luff jib, and largest spinnaker re-measured. Refinement to the Mainsail cross width requirements for 2006 increases the potential for a handicap reduction if the cross widths are less than the defaults and within the rated range. Bow Down Trim -- The IRC favors bow down trim to decrease the forward overhang and maximize the aft overhang. Since the IRC measurement is done empty, it can be difficult to alter the natural trim of the boat without permanently relocating allowable onboard items. Fit New Keel -- Since the rule favors high stability and no internal ballast, it can be advantageous to fit a keel that includes all of the ballast. If the keel is of the same IRC type, the TCC should decrease even if the boat becomes stiffer by putting the Internal ballast weight into the keel. Before fitting a new keel, a through engineering check of structure inway of the keel attachment and chainplates, etc. should be undertaken. Change Rig Type -- It is our expectation that the simple rig type described above will continue to be favored by the IRC and will be one of the biggest means of improving the IRC TCC for existing boats with more complicated rigs. Before fitting a simple rig, a through engineering check of structure inway of the chaninplates, maststep, etc. should be undertaken. Note: The IRC allows up to 6 Trial Certificates to be run each year that can be run to study the affect of hypothesized change. - For copies of the entire write up: nmyd@cts.com TECHNOLOGY Two years have made quite a difference in international maxi yacht design. The two newest 98ft maxis designed by John Reichel and Jim Pugh, Alfa Romeo (Neville Crichton) and Wild Oats XI (Bob Oatley) were in a class of their own in the Rolex Trophy series, which ended off Sydney yesterday. Between them they took line honours in seven of eight races, with the two yachts so close in speed they should stage a match race at the head of the Rolex Sydney-Hobart fleet, starting on Boxing Day. But most significantly, they were beating a strong candidate in the previous two Hobart races, Stewart Thwaites' Konica Minolta from Wellington, by margins of between four minutes and nine minutes around short courses of only 10 miles. - Bob Ross, The Telegraph, UK, complete story: http://tinyurl.com/72rbe * You simply must see the incredible images of the Maxis provided by photographers Carlo Borlenghi and Andrea Francolini at the Rolex Trophy Regatta: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/rolextrophy-maxi * 'Alfa Romeo' and her rivals may be the most advanced super maxis to ever take part in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race when they set off on Boxing Day, but skipper Neville Crichton believes that the deciding factor in which boat takes line honours will not be technology, but traditional sailing skills."Alfa Romeo may be the fastest, most technically advanced yacht ever to bid for a race win, but the technology will be worth nothing if the crew don't do their jobs right or if we are not spot on with our navigation and analysis of the weather," says the winner of the 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race. The complexity of 'Alfa Romeo' raises the obvious question of what happens if it goes wrong or breaks."There is no doubt that we will be sailing 'Alfa Romeo' right at the limit of her ability," says Crichton, "and that means there is always the risk of something breaking or the technology failing, whether it's a sunfish hitting a rudder, a plastic bag blocking the cooling inlet of the engine or something simply breaking under the strain." For this reason, Crichton, who has been intimately involved with every aspect of 'Alfa Romeo' from design, through construction to crew training, to ensure that every safety precaution has been taken, but when the technology is this cutting edge, it is not possible to foresee every potential problem. "Ultimately the skipper is totally responsible for the safety of the yacht and her crew," says Crichton, "and it is something I take very seriously, as I demonstrated in 2000 when I turned around rather than risk the crew to get to the finish line."This means that the canting keel can be returned to its normal vertical position with battery power, the hydraulically operated winches can be top-cranked by hand if required and on table navigator's table, alongside the computers and satellite receivers, are a traditional brass navigator's compass and pencils, with a sextant sitting in a drawer that makes setting a course by the stars and the sun possible if communication with the GPS satellites is not available. WINTER DEALS AT THE PIRATE'S LAIR If you're a planner, then you're a saver. Email us for great winter rates on caps, tees, fuzzies, and regatta packages for 2006. This is when we plan our regatta sponsorships as well, so plan ahead and contact us at 888-724-5286 or log on at http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing LASER RADIAL YOUTH WORLDS Fortaleza, Brazil - On the final day of the 102-boat Laser Radial Youth Worlds a complete absence of cloud meant that the 18 knot winds were the most stable they have been for all the championship, only swinging through 10 degrees instead of the more normal 20. From the very beginning of this event it was strictly a two boat contest between Blair McLay, from New Zealand, and Frederico Melo, from Portugal. And it wasn't decided until the last race when McLay won the crown by just a single point over Melo. McLay's success follows in the footsteps of other notable Kiwis -- Russell Coutts, Dean Barker and Chris Dickson - all of whom claimed youth world titles. The top North American was Kyle Rogachenko (USA) in eigth place. - Complete results: http://www.2005laserworlds.com.br/results_youth.html C&C 115 WINS TOP AWARD The C&C 115, built by Novis Composites, took top honors as overall Boat of the Year and Best Racer/Cruiser in Sailing World magazine's 2006 Boat of the Year Awards. "It's a very well done racer/ cruiser with grand-prix accouterments such as a carbon rig and a stiff epoxy hull, and an interior any cruiser could envy,' said BOTY director Tony Bessinger. "With 37 boats already sold, the 37-footer has the potential to be a strong one-design class as well as being a capable handicap racer."" Fifteen nominated boats were inspected and sailed by independent judges Meade Gougeon, of Gougeon Brothers, Alan Andrews, of Alan Andrews Yacht Design, and Chuck Allen, head of North Sails One Design for New England. Judges toured the boats at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Md., and sailed them over four days on Chesapeake Bay. In addition to an overall award, the judges named Boat of the Year winners in three categories: Best Dinghy is Vanguard Sailboats' RS Feva, Best Multihull is the Reynolds 33, and Best Innovation is the Wyliecat 44. Models introduced to the North American market between the 2004 and 2005 U.S. Sailboat Shows were eligible for Sailing World's contest, which encourages entries of boats designed and built with racing in mind. All of the boats will be featured in the January/February 2006 issue of Sailing World magazine which subscribers will start receiving December 19. -- www.sailingworld.com VENUE CHANGE The 2006 U.S. Youth Sailing Championship, the country's top event for young sailors organized by US Sailing will be held June 22-29, 2006 and hosted by Grosse Point Yacht Club in Grosse Point, Mich. Originally scheduled to be hosted by Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans, La., which received significant damage during Hurricane Katrina, the event location was moved to Grosse Point to allow Southern Yacht Club the time to re-build and host the event in 2007. Applications for the event will be accepted January 2 - March 15, 2006. Traditionally sailed in Club 420s (doublehanded dinghy), Lasers and Laser Radials (both singlehanded dinghies), a fourth class has been added for this year's event: the 29er. A doublehanded skiff much like the Olympic 49er class, the 29er is being introduced as part of US Sailing's Olympic development program. The U.S. Youth Championship every year brings together up to 150 of the country's top youth sailors and features two days of advanced racing clinics and three days of high level racing. Competitors are selected based on sailing resumes which must be submitted online. -- Marlieke de Lange Eaton, www.ussailing.org/championships/youth/youthchamp NEWS BRIEFS * Just four miles separated the first and second place boats on 4350 mile Leg 4 of the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race from Durban, South Africa to Fremantle, Australia. Durban got the bullet with Victoria just behind. The Canadian Victoria, skippered by Ewan Hind, has been continually closing the gap on the South Africans for the last week but was beaten to the post after experiencing steering problems on the final day. Western Australia finished five hours later to take third, followed by Qingdao, Jersey, Liverpool and New York. -- http://www.clipper-ventures.co.uk/2006/# * Elite International Yachting photographer Rick Tomlinson has moved his base from Hamble to Cowes and has opened a new gallery displaying photographs, calendars and his book, "Shooting H20." Situated close to the two marinas in Cowes, the gallery comprises a picture display area and office. Tomlinson started his career as a professional sailor racing in 4 Whitbread Round the World Races. He has enjoyed a highly successful photographic career being commissioned by many high profile projects including Ellen McAthur, Team Phillips, GBR Challenge and the Volvo Ocean Race. His current projects include the Ericsson Racing Team. -- www.rick-tomlinson.com * Joseph F. Horan died Wednesday at his home after a long illness. He was the husband of Charlene M. (Sherman) Horan. An avid sailor, he was one of the three original sailors who started the annual Figawi Sailboat Regatta from Hyannis to Nantucket in 1972. While services are private, a celebration of his life will be at a later date at Gina's by the Sea, Dennis. Memorial donations may be made to National Leiomyosarcoma Foundation, The Friends & Family of Joe Horan Fund, 129 Hawkins Road, Maryland, NY 12116. * Following a mutual understanding between the Ericsson Racing Team and Tony Kolb, it was announced that Kolb will not continue his involvement with the Volvo Ocean Race. Kolb, 29 years of age and born in Munich, describes the reason as personal. Kolb's replacement is not yet finalized but skipper Neal McDonald is looking at several options to ensure he selects the right person for the team. -- www.ericssonracingteam.com * Last week we began polling the 'buttheads on who would win the 2005 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Award. Unfortunately, in one place we asked, "who should win" and in another we asked, "who will win." While you could debate that the final answer would be different based on how the question is asked, here is the percentage of the vote each nominee had as of late Sunday: 1. Sally Barkow, 50.70%; 2. Paige Railey, 45.12%; 3. Anna Tunnicliffe, 4.19%. The polls close Monday afternoon, so please take a moment to view their qualification and cast your opinion at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/05/1215 * J/World, the Performance Sailing School, announced that their new location in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is up and running - using a fleet of modern 26 foot J/80s as the primary trainers. Named "the best in the business" for more than 16 years running by Practical Sailor Magazine, J/World is offering its full range of courses in Puerto Vallarta, addressing all skill levels from first time sailors to advanced racers and offshore cruisers. J/World was founded in 1981, and has facilities in Newport RI, Annapolis, Key West, San Diego, and San Francisco. -- www.sailing-jworld.com DON'T BE THE MISGUIDED MISSILE You're giving your Christmas bonus to the sailmaker for the new rags…the rigger will freshen the gear…the bottom will be faired and polished. You'll buy the speed. But what about your tactician and breeze reader…are their eyes tuned? Don't be the misguided missile. Kaenon Polarized will sharpen and enhance their vision - hi-def for your eyes! Available in Rx, too! Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. Team One, APS, Island Sports, Boat Locker, Sailing Supply, Vanguard, Crook & Crook, Paragon, Lombardi's and Sport Chalet. Get it gift-wrapped, more information and an authorized dealer nearest you at http://www.kaenon.com EIGHT BELLS John Bennetto, a "legend in Australian yachting", has died in Hobart after a brief illness. Bennetto, 79, passed away in hospital late yesterday, only nine days before the start of the 61st Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in which he had hoped to compete for the 45th time. The 'Sydney Race', as Tasmanian yachtsmen refer to the blue water classic, was the love of his life. He first sailed in 1947 aboard Kintail and the following year crewed on the winning Tasmania boat Westward. His current yacht, Quest, will be sailed in his memory by longtime members of his crew, many of whom have sailed with him for the past 20 years and longer. It is understood that John has asked that his ashes be scattered on the Derwent River as Quest crosses the finish line off Hobart's Castray Esplanade at Battery Point. His record of 44 races, mostly as skipper of his own yacht including 17 straight races without a retirement with his Frers 47 Mirrabooka, stands as a record for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and is probably unprecedented in world ocean racing. -- Nicole Browne LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Blake Middleton: Kudos to Peter Huston for his comments in 'Butt 1989 regarding Nick Scandone's fantastic sailing accomplishments recently while battling ALS. The distinguished folks who will vote on the Rolex awards would be well served to give Nick serious consideration. In my opinion, Nick deserves far more than just a "tip of the hat" nomination for Yachtsman of the Year. Let's make it happen! * From Barbara Gold: Sally Barkow has had an amazing year and should win hands down for Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year. the other girls are on their way, but just don't have enough yet. next in line is definitely Paige who is quite impressive at such a young age. One thing about the short list of men is Mike Ingham not only won the J24 nationals and the Thistle Nationals, he also won the Champion of Champions. Mike should be on the short short list for sure. He has had many other sailing accomplishments over the years that I hope everyone is aware of. * From Charlie Iliff (re Robie Pierce's recall of the 1960 Bermuda Race): On Alaris, a sister ship to Swamp Yankee, we were several hours back, and corrected to 8th. The day before the storm, dawn saw Finisterre on our hip, to our dismay since we gave her time. By sundown, we could barely see the top of her rig astern. We were severely shortened, nearly hove to, in the storm that night, with little thought but survival. World class sailors on Finisterre drove her hard, added sail whenever it moderated, and their cook served hot food at each watch change. Other boats were sailed well, but Finisterre outsailed the fleet to win her third overall. Mitch wrote for Sports Illustrated that the day watching Alaris sail away proved that Finisterre had been out designed. SI edited that part out. He was too modest to write the real truth. He and his crew out prepared and then out sailed the rest of us. * From Ray Tostado: I totally agree with Ken Guyer's observation. The America's Cup has undeniably lost it's national prestige. Remember, there are still a few of us American loyalist lurking around the weathered pier pilings. Our spectator emotions are very nationalistic. The rules during my generation strictly stated, and regulated, the event as being an international, as in nation Vs. nation challenge. And as Ken referred to: "Our technology, (U.S.) against your (Challenger) technology." But slowly, era to era those rules and intentions dissolved into what today is outsourced mega spending for bragging rights and venue revenue. The deed never should have allowed the host to alter the terms.Give the NYYC back their event, The America's Cup, and the cup back it's national dignity. Set up a satellite sports channel and stage your programs. Call it whatever you want. Make a lot of money. Good luck. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened Special thanks to Pirates Lair and Kaenon |
