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SCUTTLEBUTT 3292 - Monday, March 7, 2011Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Today's sponsors: West Marine and APS. KATUSHA TAKES RC44 CUP SAN DIEGO San Diego, CA (March 6, 2011) - The Oracle RC44 Cup San Diego ended with a fabulous victory by the Russian team Katusha, after five days of feverishly competitive sailing off Broadway Pier. Bob Little was on the wheel, with Paul Cayard calling the shots to almost close out the overall win in the first two races of the day. It left them sailing defensively for the final race, watching others wrestle it out for the remaining places on the podium. Things didn’t look too good first thing this morning with heavy and ominous cloud over San Diego Bay, but the sun quickly broke through and the crews were sent out on time. The westerly built in the warm sunshine to around ten knots. Paul Cayard had said earlier in the week that it was all about getting in a position to win the regatta on the final day. A strong performance yesterday maintained a two-point lead over Team Aqua into the home straight. Now they just had to close the deal. They got a big helping hand early on - Team Aqua picked up two penalties in the first race and could only recover to a seventh. Meanwhile, Katusha were battling Larry Ellison’s ORACLE Racing for the race win. Katusha had to settle for second, but it was still enough to move out to a six point lead, as ORACLE Racing’s win leap-frogged them over Team Aqua to take second overall by a single point. Artemis had been fourth going into the day, but they also struggled, scoring a sixth and dropping eight points behind Team Aqua. -- Event website: http://www.rc44.com Overall results after 14 races: 1. Katusha (RUS) 47 2. ORACLE Racing (USA) 54 3. Team Aqua (GBR) 55 4. Artemis (SWE) 56 5. Team Ceeref (SLO) 80 6. Puerto Calero (ESP) 87 7. Ironbound (USA) 95 8. Synergy (RUS) 104 9. AEZ (AUT) 113 10. Peninsula Petroleum (GBR) 117 11. No Way Back (FRA) 120 KILROY WINS MIAMI MELGES 32 CHAMPIONSHIP Miami, FL (March 6, 2011) - All eight races scheduled for the 2011 Melges 32 Miami Championship, hosted by Coconut Grove Sailing Club, sponsored by Melges Performance Sailboats have completed leaving John Kilroy on his famous Samba Pa Ti as champion. Kilroy's team consisted of tactician Nathan Wilmot and crew members Morgan Reeser, Federico Michetti, Martino Tortarolo, Justin Smart, Luca Faravelli and Dean Curtis. He won by an impressive 11 points. Reigning Melges 32 U.S. National Champion, 20-year-old Ryan DeVos on Volpe (Ed Baird, tactician) was second, and Jason Carroll on Argo (Charlie Ogletree, tactician) was third. The first race of the day took place under, what was considered, more civilized conditions than days past. The seas were still pretty lumpy, yet the breeze was absolutely perfect. Sunshine and 15-18 knots at the start allowed Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino (Francesco Bruni, tactician) to get into a winning groove. He rounded the top mark in the lead and extended throughout the race. By the final run, on his way to the finished, his Melges 32 was launched by a mile. Onorato won, Dalton DeVos on Delta found some success taking second, while Kilroy maintained a solid third place position. The 2011 Melges 32 Midwinter Series concluded with the Miami event. Lanfranco Cirillo on Fantastica is the winner, second overall is Joel Ronning on Catapult and Newport's Phil Lotz on Arethusa takes third. The Melges 32 Class moves onward to Rye, N.Y. for the U.S. National Championship, hosted by the American Yacht Club on June 10-12, and the North American Championship takes place in Newport, R.I. on July 29-31. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/46agzuw THE 2011 WEST MARINE SAILING SOURCEBOOK IS HERE! Over 130 pages with over 4,400 products dedicated to sailing specific gear. This is your sailing sourcebook for 2011 with trusted brands like Harken, Ronstan, Profurl, Lewmar, Spinlock, Karver, Schaefer and more. And of course, our custom rigging shop is always ready for your custom rigging needs. You can browse page by page through the digital version of this catalog right now by clicking this link: http://bit.ly/WMSailingBook BACARDI MIAMI SAILING WEEK KICKS OFF Miami, FL (March 4, 2011) - With more than 95 boats registered, the 84th edition of the iconic BACARDI Cup is set to see one of the fiercest title battles in recent years as some of the most recognizable athletes in the sport return to the waters of Biscayne Bay March 7 to 12, for the headline event of BACARDI Miami Sailing Week presented by EFG Bank. Competitors from 25 countries are entered to race in one of five classes: Melges 20, Melges 24, J/24, Star and Viper 640. “We are all looking forward to a great week,” said Bill Allen, President of the International Star Class Association. “The BACARDI Cup is one of the premier events on our racing calendar; only the world championship has a more talented field.” The Olympics being little more than a year away is sure to be a factor driving these elite sailors, as Allen counted off 15 teams with the potential to end up on the podium. “We will have at least five world champions and 10 to 15 continental champions. At least 10 of the top-20 in the world rankings will be competing, and picking the medal winners among these outstanding sailors would be impossible.” Among the elite field is Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.), often referred to as the “Star of the Star Class,” in arguably the world’s most competitive one-design class; Mateusz Kusznierewicz (Poland) who won Olympic gold and bronze in the Finn class (1996 and 2004) before switching to the Star for the 2008 Beijing Olympics; New Zealand’s three-time Olympian (1996, 2004, 2008) Hamish Pepper, and Ireland’s 2008 Olympian Peter O’Leary. -- Event website: http://www.miamisailingweek.com/ AUSSIES LEAD AT INTERNATIONAL 18ft SKIFF CHAMPIONSHIP Sydney, Australia (March 6, 2011) - Australian 18ft Skiff champions Michael Coxon, Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas fought back strongly today aboard Thurlow Fisher Lawyers to score an impressive win in Race 2 of the Winning Appliances JJ Giltinan Championship on Sydney Harbour. The race was another light day with an easterly breeze which fluctuated between 5-12 knots. From the start, the fleet was spread across the harbor on the windward beat to the Rose Bay mark. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers took the lead from the first windward leg of the course and put on a wonderful display of light wind sailing to defeat Race 1 winner, Gotta Love It 7, by 1m23s. Yesterday’s place-getters Smeg (Nick Press) and CST Composites (Howie Hamlin) were buried back in the fleet at 11th and 12th respectively. Smeg and CST Composites had made up four placings over today’s lap but were still 7th and 8th respectively. After two light wind days, most crews are hoping for more breeze on Tuesday for Race 3 of the seven race championship. Early predictions are for 15-18 knot north east winds, which would be ideal conditions for great skiff action. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/4w5bmnj 5 REASONS WHY KITEBOARDING SHOULD BE IN THE OLYMPICS (March 4, 2011) - The submission deadline for the all-deciding ISAF mid-year conference beginning of May in St. Petersburg is approaching fast - in fact it will be 12:00 UTC on Monday, March 10. Here are some quotes from well know members of the Sailing Community that highlight why Kiteboarding should become a part of the future Olympic Sailing Programme. Sir Richard Branson (Chairman of Virgin Group):“Kiteboarding is a fun and spectacular sport that I think would make a tremendously exciting addition to the Olympic Games.” Neil Pryde (Managing Director of Neil Pryde Ltd.): "Kiteboarding today represents the cutting edge of sailing. The Olympic Games stand at the pinnacle of sailing and it is therefore logical and natural that Kiteboarding has a place in Olympic Yachting." Michael Gebhardt (Two time windsurfing Olympic Medallist): "Kiteboarding, the newest discipline of modern high performance sailing, is perfectly positioned to launch the future of Olympic Sailing into the 21st century. The future is here and now. Kiteboarding is the future of Olympic sailing." Ben McNabb (Sports Lawyers Association): "The future of Olympic Sailing rests with Kiteboarding. It's fast, exciting and visually stunning. Kiteboarding at the Olympics is inevitable, and our goal is to see it to fruition at the 2016 games." Jerome Pels (ISAF Secretary General): "Foiling Moths with wing masts and kiteboards are the answer" (in response to a statement from Pierre Ducrey, Head of Sports Operations at IOC, regarding "added value" that sailing needs to provide to the Olympic Games). We invite all MNAs that are planning to put in a submission for a slate of events for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro to discuss combinations with us to achieve our common goal, to make sailing in the Olympic Games more attractive and to secure sailing a place in the Olympic Games long term. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/4pkgwb8 * From the RS:X Olympic Windsurfing Class in support of kiteboarding in the Olympics: http://tinyurl.com/4da3vov LEADERS CONTINUE TO STRETCH IN BARCELONA WORLD RACE (March 6, 2011: Day 66) - Not for the first time in this Barcelona World Race the contrast in fortunes between the pacemakers and the backmarkers of the fleet is vast. The only thing that Loick Peyron and Jean-Pierre Dick seem to be struggling with on their ascent of the south Atlantic on Virbac-Paprec 3 this Sunday afternoon is deciding if their nearest rivals MAPFRE are indeed following in their wake, or whether Iker Martinez and Xabi Fernandez will break to the west of the high pressure system. Pachi Rivero and Toño Piris on Renault Z.E. Sailing Team have been accelerating rapidly towards Cape Horn which the third placed duo should pass Monday evening. As the leading duo engage with their anticyclone in front of them, Rivero and Piris have been fastest in the fleet this afternoon making 18.1 kts and an average VMG of 18.7kts. Meanwhile, sitting at the back of the fleet in 11th, in Wellington, New Zealand, Juan Merediz and Fran Palacio (Central Lechura Asturiana) are desperately trying to convert their huge motivation and desire to finish their Barcelona World Race into a solid, workable plan: a means and methodology to successfully re-join the two broken halves of the mast they broke in the Tasman. Race Tracker: http://tracking.barcelonaworldrace.org Standings (top 5 of 14 as of 20.01.08) 1. Virbac-Paprec 3, Jean Pierre Dick/Loick Peyron (FRA/FRA), 5785 nm DTF 2. Mapfre, Iker Martinez/Xabi Fernandez (ESP/ESP), 264 nm DTL 3. Renault, Pachi Rivero/Antonio Piris (ESP/ESP), 589.1 nm DTL 4. Neutrogena, Boris Herrmann/Ryan Breymaier (GER/USA), 738.8 nm DTL 5. Groupe Bel, Kito De Pavant/Sebastien Audigane (FRA) 878.5 nm DTL Full rankings: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org/en/ranking/ BACKGROUND: This is the second edition of the non-stop Barcelona World Race, the only double-handed race around the world. Fourteen teams are competing on Open 60s which started December 31st and is expected to finish by late March. The 25,000 nautical mile course is from Barcelona to Barcelona via three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, Cook Strait, putting Antarctica to starboard. Race website: http://www.barcelonaworldrace.org TUNNICLIFFE FINISHES TOP WOMEN’S TEAM AT SNIPE REGATTA (March 6, 2011) - On the final day of racing at the Open National Snipe Regatta 2011 in Vilagarcia de Arousa, Spain, Team Tunnicliffe finished the top Women's Team and 12th overall, out of 79 boats. Anna Tunnicliffe reports from her blog: We had a reasonable day finishing with a 26, 11, 20. We are quite happy with our overall place, but know we made plenty of mistakes on which we want/need to work. To our surprise, it was quite breezy and we ended up dropping our pins (adjusting the rigging) once we got out to the course area, since it was blowing about 13kts. We had an alright first start, but couldn't get ourselves out of trouble and struggled to pull into the top 20 to finish in 26th. The second race, we had a great start. We played the middle right up the beat and rounded the top mark in 2nd. It felt very good to be in the top five but then we struggled a bit with our downwind speed and dropped a couple boats by gybing too early. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/4d284h4 GEAR UP FOR SPRING Time to switch gears - we're talking shiny, brand new, ready-to-go winches, blocks, cleats and more. APS, "The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors" hooks you up this March. Save 10% off our already low prices on all hardware from Harken! Deal not sweet enough? Let's throw in free gifts with every Harken hardware purchase over $100.00. Had your eye on a cool document case, roll-top dry bag, or Transition back pack? We're tossing them in with your orders. Now is the time to benefit in more ways than one while updating your Harken hardware. http://bit.ly/HarkenSalewGifts SAILING SHORTS * (March 6, 2011) - Long Beach, CA, was the midway venue of the California Dreamin' Series over the weekend at the Butler Cup match racing competition. 8 teams fought it out, with Will Tiller, 21, of New Zealand defeating Chris Nesbitt, 33, from Balboa Yacht Club 2-0 in the finals on Sunday in a wild finish and flurry of penalties against Nesbitt. -- Results posted at: http://www.lbyc.org * (March 6, 2011; Day 37, 22:00 UTC) - Averaging 21 knot and relieved to have ice behind him, French solo skipper Thomas Coville is approximately 900 miles from Cape Horn and hopes to round on Tuesday morning. He passed within an estimated 3 miles of Estrella Damm (Barcelona World Race) today, making clear visual contact with the IMOCA Open 60. He’s currently 1019 miles behind the solo singlehanded round the world record set by Francis Joyon (FRA) in 2008 on the 97-foot trimaran IDEC. -- http://www.sodebo-voile.com/ * (March 4, 2011) - The 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships to be held in Perth later this year is on track to be the biggest yet, with 661 entries comprising 941 sailors from 72 countries registered so far for the December competition. ISAF events manager Alastair Fox said they’re on track to reach their expected number of 1400 athletes/850 boats from at least 80 nations. The championship runs December 3 to 18, and is a key event in the world sailing calendar second only to the Olympic sailing competition. Applications for the event close on June 30. -- Full story: http://www.sailing.org/35495.php * The St. Thomas Yacht Club, US Virgin Islands, will play host to a full week of some of the best Optimist dinghy training, team and fleet racing in the Caribbean. Registration is now open for the Sea Star Clinic, June 20-22, the Sea Star Team Race, June 23, and Scotiabank International Optimist Regatta, June 24-26. -- Info at: http://www.styc.net/index.php/events/scotia-bank-regatta.html * Sailing World is bringing back the Guide to College Sailing for the first time in some years and they’re looking for an 800 to 1,000-word essay on how to make the most of your first year of college and college sailing. The winning entry will be published in Sailing World and receive a cash prize of $800. Is there a catch? Of course. The deadline in March 14. -- Info at: http://tinyurl.com/4lo4y2s EIGHT BELLS The venerable Moore 24 Fleet lost class patriarch when Joel Verutti died on February 5th at age 56. Joel was the long-time owner/skipper of hull 55 Mercedes. He was devoted to the Moore 24 and served as Class President and Fleet Captain several times. Recently he'd been focusing on Class Historian duties. Joel struggled with an illness for 13 months but that didn't stop him from participating in class events when his endurance permitted. He skippered Mercedes in the Great Pumpkin regatta last Fall, but, despite wanting to, wasn't able to be there for this year's Three Bridge Fiasco.Whether it was Lake Tahoe, Hood River, Cascade Locks, Whiskeytown, or Huntington Lake, no one can recall his missing a Roadmaster event. Joel is survived by his wife Tina and daughter Jocelyn. A service will take place at the Santa Cruz Yacht Club at 1100 on March 12th, followed by many Moore 24s participating in an on-the-water ceremony. -- John Siegel, Secretary/Treasurer of the Moore 24 National Association SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum *From Andy Rice, SailJuice.com (re, Scuttlebutt 3291): I'm a former 49er sailor, who then moved to crewing International 14s and now steering the singlehanded Musto Skiff. My preference would be not to wear a buoyancy aid for the reasons that Tej dismisses as false. I don't agree with Tej that buoyancy aids make you safer in a skiff, but we can argue that until the cows come home. A far more important contributor to safety would be for skiff sailors to be obliged to carry a safety knife on board. This is a class rule in the 18 foot skiff that other classes would be well advised to emulate. It probably would have saved the life of the Tornado sailor who drowned underneath the trampoline of his upturned boat at Palma some years ago, and I'm sure there are many other entrapment examples besides. Buoyancy aids, I could take them or leave them, but as for knives, I take two with me in the Musto Skiff. One in my buoyancy aid (yes, it does have a useful pocket!) and one in the boat. * From John Cole, Portland, OR (re, Scuttlebutt 3291): I had a colleague from Austria die because his PDF trapped him under the boat when it flipped during a race in Spain. The boat was a Tornado – his name was Johannes Haupel. I wear a PDF but it is not a misconception that I can’t get caught under a boat. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Confidence is the feeling you have before you understand the situation. SPONSORS THIS WEEK West Marine - Gowrie Group - Camet North Sails - North U - Quantum Sails - APS LaserPerformance- Ullman Sails - JK3 Nautical Enterprises - IYRS Need stuff? 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