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SCUTTLEBUTT 3597 - Wednesday, May 23, 2012Scuttlebutt 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: Team One Newport, New England Rope, and Dieball Sailing. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOCK By Ryan O'Grady, Sailing World In life, there are the haves and the have nots. The same dichotomy exists in Atlantic Cup Class 40 sailing as well. On one side are teams like Germany's Jorg Riechers. Jorg came to Charleston armed with the newest and most expensive Class 40, a shore team, and the resources to be able to fly in some of the world's best crews for Leg 1 and this weekend's inshore series. Thanks to the generous backing of his sponsor, Mare, there is funding for a Class 40, a Mini, and all of the logistics needed to make things run smoothly. It's no surprise then that Jorg has finished first in Leg 1 and second in Leg 2 of the Atlantic Cup. He's a fantastic sailor, and he has the luxury of not having to worry where tomorrow's funding will come from. On the other side of the dock are Americans Emma Creighton and Rob Windsor. At 27, Emma became only the second American woman ever to complete the grueling 4,200-mile Mini Transat Race. Prior to that, Emma got her sea legs by working as a delivery crew and captain. Yet with thousands of ocean miles under her belt, she couldn't find any fully crewed American offshore programs to take her. "They'd take 18-year-old guys who had never been offshore before to race," Emma says, "while I'd only be called for a delivery." Determined to beat the boys' club at their own game, Emma got her hands on a Mini, a 24-foot, singlehanded boat popular in France, and began racing it on the West Coast, placing third in the doublehanded Pacific Cup. She then moved to Europe to find the competition and financial backing needed to properly support a Mini campaign and more. For Emma, the Mini Transat was a huge accomplishment. She was the only female to complete the race, and one of the few mostly self-funded teams to complete the race. Gear donations from Ronstan and Samson helped, as did financial support from the Richmond Yacht Club. The French press is taking notice, too, as Emma became a bit of a media darling after the Transat. She needs that fame if she can hope to break into the world of French sponsorship. Without it, her goal of competing first in the Class 40 circuit, and later in the Barcelona World Race will be daunting. Emma was only able to compete in the Atlantic Cup by bartering for the use of Tanguy De Lamotte's Initiatives in return for delivering it from the Solidaire du Chocolat to the start of the Quebec to St. Malo Race. "When I got the boat, it was just sitting on a mooring," Emma joked. "There weren't even any dock lines, so don't break anything!" -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/SW-052212 SCHEDULE: After doublehanded legs from Charleston, SC to New York City, and then from NYC to Newport, RI, The Atlantic Cup concludes with an inshore series on May 26-27 for a crew of six on the Class40s. -- http://atlanticcup.org/race/ ACRONYMED TO DEATH It's bad enough there are multiple rating rules all seeking to handicap dissimilar boats. How many ratings must a boat owner purchase? But when one of the rules has a multitude of names associated with it, we couldn't tell if we were being dazzled with brilliance or baffled with bullsh#t. A recent update from the Offshore Racing Rule Owners Association (ORROA) was announcing their inaugural season of the Offshore Racing Rule (ORR) East Coast Championship Series. The ORROA had developed this series for East Coast sailors in cooperation with the Offshore Racing Association (ORA) for those interested in racing under the ORR rule. Here are the details... proceed with caution: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13828 SHOP NPT 2 BDA & YOUR ORDER SHIPS FREE! Are you doing the Newport to Bermuda Race and not sure if your sailing gear is up to speed? Order from the Foul Weather Gear Experts at Team One Newport and your order ships via UPS Ground for Free. Not sure what you need? Review our Offshore Checklist and if you purchase 5 or more items from it you save 10% off your entire order. Add Bermuda2012 to your cart to qualify for these deals! http://tinyurl.com/npt2bda - 800.VIP.GEAR (800.847.4327) - Hurry, this offer ends May 31st SUSPENDED SAILORS The following sailors have their ISAF Eligibility suspended: ----------------------- Jeff Carter, Australia Offense not listed; November 3, 2011 - November 2, 2013 Sam Price, Australia Offense not listed; November 23, 2011 - November 22, 2012 Anne Caseneuve, France Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; December 28, 2011 - February 27, 2013 Gildas Maha, France Anti Doping; April 10, 2012 - June 14, 2012 Frank Bode, Germany Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; December 1, 2011 - December 31, 2012 Andrejs Buls, Latvia Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; Aug. 2011 - Dec. 2012 Alberto Campos Perez, Mexico Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; May 7, 2011 - May 6, 2013 Maria del Mar Campos Perez, Mexico Breaches of good manners and sportsmanship; May 7, 2011 - May 6, 2013 ----------------------- A competitor whose ISAF eligibility has been suspended or revoked shall not engage in any competition in the sport of sailing. Source: Sailor list: http://www.sailing.org/sailors/suspended-sailors.php ISAF Regulation, Rule 19: http://www.sailing.org/20162.php FROM THE BOTTOM UP I recall a conversation I had with US Olympic Sailing Team Chairman Dean Brenner, where he was describing the risks in developing rising talent for specific events. I forgot his exact words, but he explained that it was an expensive gamble the U.S. could not afford to make. The problem, he said, is that the Olympic events change. Given how the weakest U.S. event is windsurfing, it seemed that a strategic investment in developing talent would have been good for the team. But with the elimination now of windsurfing as an Olympic event, I was reminded of Dean's words to me. Olympic events change. Building elite talent, at least in the U.S., is largely done from the bottom up. And this is why, in part, the decision to abandon windsurfing has come as a cruel blow. Because work was being done at the bottom, at the grass roots level, to introduce windsurfing as an option to young sailors, and to provide the support needed on their competitive journey. An example of this comes from the No-Excuses sailing team based in Miami, which recently sent three of their young sailors to participate in the European Team Racing Championship that took place as part of the World Beach Festival in the beautiful beach of Mondello, Sicily (Italy). The team also has their eyes on the Techno T293 Worlds to take place in Medemblik, Holland later this summer. -- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Here is a recent report from the No-Excuses team: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/12/0522/ FAR FROM CERTAIN (May 22, 2012; Day 3) - The yacht club bar is where secrets leak. Find your target, refresh their drink, and let the flow of tuning tips and tactical wizardry begin. Nothing gets you to the front of the fleet faster than an open tab. But if you really want to learn something, look to the corner stools where the old salts gather. These guys have seen it all and still know most of it. They were there when the sport was boiling over, when innovation occurred daily. They were there when racing boats.... reached. Perhaps this is part of the adventure that is the Volvo Ocean Race. Reaching, not a staple in most racer's diet, was getting served to the six teams that are angling toward Europe. After surviving the battering of Tropical Storm Alberto, the fleet spent the day beam reaching in an easing wind. A northern and southern track has now grown to over 50 nm. Going north has catapulted Telefonica to the lead, with the southern track doing no favors yet for Camper. Groupama and PUMA are playing the middle, with the correct answer far from certain. What will be the next move? "The weather is very complicated up ahead. It is hard to know which option we're going to take as there are a lot of pitfalls in front," Groupama skipper Franck Cammas said. Leg 7 - Miami, USA to Lisbon, Portugal (3,590 nm) Standings as of Tuesday, 22 May 2012, 22:02:45 UTC 1. Telefonica (ESP), Iker Martinez (ESP), 2862.1 nm Distance to Finish 2. Groupama 4 (FRA), Frank Cammas (FRA), .3 nm Distance to Lead 3. PUMA Ocean Racing (USA), Ken Read (USA), 7.5 nm DTL 4. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE), Ian Walker (GBR), 9.5 nm DTL 5. CAMPER (NZL), Chris Nicholson (AUS), 20.6 nm DTL 6. Team Sanya (CHN), Mike Sanderson (NZL), 30.2 nm DTL Tracker/Standings: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/racetracker/rdc.html Schedule: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-2011-12-schedule Video reports: http://www.youtube.com/user/volvooceanracevideos BACKGROUND: During the nine months of the Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante, Spain (Oct. 29) and concludes in Galway, Ireland during early July 2012, six professional teams will sail over 39,000 nautical miles around the world via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajai, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient. Teams accumulate points through nine distance legs and ten In-Port races. - http://www.volvooceanrace.com ORGANIZE, PROTECT AND OUTFIT YOUR BOAT WITH ROBSHIP! Robship sailing accessories from New England Ropes are now available at West Marine! Rope bags with extra weather protection shield your running rigging, anchor, and dock lines from the elements while covers protect your hardware from premature corrosion. Waterproof pouches protect your personal belongings including your phone, small electronics, and tools, and even clothing items. Like New England Ropes cordage products, Robship products are comprised of the highest quality materials that are meticulously inspected and equipped with extra weather protection. See the entire line of Robship products at http://www.neropes.com or http://www.westmarine.com! TWO MONTHS MORE With a win at the AC World Series in Venice under his belt after leading the regatta from beginning to end, the CEO of America's Cup challenger Energy Team, Bruno Peyron, says his team must set its sights higher than just reaching the podium at the AC World Series. He says the team has to keep pushing, as it did in Italy, for the outright win. It's a goal he set after an initial strong showing in San Diego last November. "In San Diego everyone said it was wonderful we finished on the podium and reached the final for the first time, but I was thinking, we don't have to stop here, we have to work more," Peyron said. "It's not enough just to be with the top guys, let's get in front of them. And now, here we are." In Venice, Energy Team won the Fleet Racing Championship and finished fourth in the Match Racing, equaling ORACLE TEAM USA Spithill (2-3) and Artemis Racing (4-1) as top overall performers in the event. While his brother Loick leads the sailing crew into battle on the water, Bruno is concentrating on managing the team off the water, including securing the necessary resources that will allow Energy Team to continue to fight against the top teams all the way into the Louis Vuitton Cup in 2013. Peyron says a Protocol change voted by the competitors in Venice will help: "Energy Team, along with some of the other teams, requested to move the entry deadline by two months to August 1st. Fortunately, the other challengers and the Defender agreed and voted through a Protocol change, so we now have a little bit more time to secure everything we need for our challenge." He says the win on the water in Venice will help as it demonstrates how competitive Energy Team can be, even against the best teams in the world. But he doesn't expect this win will be a magic key that suddenly unlocks the door to riches. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/ACUP-052212 CLARIFY: The entry deadline extension from June 1 to August 1 is huge. Besides defender Oracle Team USA, the only challengers that are fully funded are Artemis Racing (SWE), Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), and Luna Rossa (ITA). The three remaining challengers have yet to submit the final entry fee... an amount sufficiently significant to divide the haves from the have nots. Still on the fence are China Team (CHN), Energy Team (FRA), and Team Korea (ROK). PHOTO GALLERIES This is a game we call 'Match It'. We have three photo galleries from Snipe, J/105, and AC45 events held last weekend. Match these boats with the cities listed below: New York: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0522a/ San Diego: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0522B/ Venice: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0522c/ SAILING SHORTS * The Interscholastic Sailing Association Team Racing Championship will be held May 26-27 at the MIT Sailing Pavilion on the Charles River in Cambridge, MA. Defending champion Tabor Academy joins 11 other high school teams who have qualified to compete for the Baker Trophy, to be sailed in FJs and Fireflies. Details: http://www.hssailing.org/baker * Matthew Hyde, most recently executive vice president at REI, will join West Marine as president and chief executive officer on June 19. The company's board last week named Hyde, 49, to succeed Geoff Eisenberg, 59, who earlier this year disclosed his intention to step down when a successor was appointed. -- Soundings Trade Only, read on: http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/home/520173-west-marine-names-new-ceo * Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky and US Sailing introduce the inaugural Old Pulteney Maritime Heroes Award. The two brands have partnered to express appreciation to the men and women in sailing communities across the country for their humanitarian achievements. Friends and families are encouraged to nominate an unsung hero to give them the opportunity to receive the recognition they deserve, whether for charitable giving, community advocacy, sailing education or the countless other generous acts. -- Read on: http://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/2012/Maritime_Heroes_050812.htm DIEBALL SAILING - GREAT SAILS, GREAT SUPPORT Have you ever gotten new equipment or gear and then said, "...now what...?" That situation is rare when getting sails from DIEBALL SAILING. You see, we understand the sail buying experience and know that delivering fast and durable sails is only the beginning. Join the Dieball team today: http://www.dieballsailing.com/scuttlebutt EIGHT BELLS Mark Clayton Ewing, 75 of Hanover, NH died May 8, 2012 at home with family after a brief illness with cancer. Mark was born in Neenah Wisconsin on February 20, 1937. Mark was educated at Deerfield Academy, Dartmouth College and Harvard Business School. He was an accomplished world class sailboat racer; including several trans-Atlantic races, the Bermuda Race and races on the Chesapeake Bay and the Great Lakes. His business experience included the founding of several businesses; Nautor Sailboat Inc., and Lyme Angler of Hanover, NH. He had also been V.P. of Palmer Johnson. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13839 FREE CLASSIFIED ADS The Scuttlebutt Classified Ads provide a marketplace for private parties to buy and sell, or for businesses to post job openings. Here are recent for sale ads: * 2008 Lemieux Finn * Swaging machine * J/24 items available View/post ads here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/classified_ads 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 William Tuthill: Regarding Andy Kostenecki's comments (in Scuttlebutt 3596) about kites being viable for Winter Olympics: 1] Ice sailing held the record for human speed throughout history up until the 1900's when railroad trains were finally able to beat iceboats. 2] DN and other ice craft using blades make inclusion into the Winter Olympics tricky due to their specific needs, although the newly developed Short Track Slalom [STS] could change all of that. 3] Sailing on snow was radically changed by the introduction of the windsurfing rig. Prior to that sailing on anything less than hard ice was foiled by the down pressure of the rig. It is the lift from a windsurf rig that made snow sailing possible. 4] Since windsurfing, wings and kites have taken over as the best choices for sailing in snow because of the upward lifting component of their sail area. All three technologies have their plusses and minuses but all three are WAY fun! Some would even say that it is the ultimate form of sailing. Soft water sailors who have never gone hard are hereby invited to give low friction sailing a try: http://www.wissa.org/ * From Alex Stout: I'm looking at all these offshore racing boats (think Volvo 70) with the prod (bowsprit), and I recall it starting with a spin pole longer than the J dimension. Soon some boats went to the articulating bowsprit, and now the prod. My question is, when will we see something that looks like a hammerhead (shark) prod so a track (or blocks) can run the tack of the asymmetrical spinnaker to weather? THEY CALL IT MARKETING The Industry News Forum allows marine companies to post their personnel, product and service updates at no charge. As a bonus, each week the Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent updates. Are you in the marine industry? Post your updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION By the time you have the right answers, no one is asking you questions. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Harken - Doyle Sailmakers - North U - North Sails - SailFast Team One Newport - New England Rope - Dieball Sailing Summit Yachts - Ullman Sails - Samson Rope - BIC North America Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
