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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 534 - March 24, 2000
COMMENTARY
With the Evaluation Event for singlehanders and catamarans now underway in
Quiberon, France it is perhaps a good time to contemplate exactly what it
is that ISAF is trying to achieve when selecting classes for use in the
Olympic Games. Every individual and more especially every organisation from
MNA's to class associations has a different perspective and any decision
which is made will inevitably be a compromise which leaves at least some of
the parties disappointed.
For the class associations the agenda is clear. Those who are already in
The Games will do anything they can to stay there. Sailors, boat builders,
and not least the class management, have all worked hard to build the
class, sometimes over a great many years. The investment of time and money
by all concerned is rightly seen as highly valuable and in need of protection.
Those on the outside trying to get in have an equally clear position. They
want to be part of what is universally regarded as the pinnacle of
competitive small boat sailing. For them it is a simple commercial
decision. Acceptance into the five-ring circus is a virtual guarantee of
success as a class - at least as long as the Olympic status continues.
Others have a more philosophical position and see the need for progress to
keep the Olympic spirit alive. Sailing in Sydney harbour would hardly be
attractive to anybody, sailors or spectators alike if it were contested in
Firefly's and Eight Metres. The need for progress must however be tempered
by the need for stability. Just because a boat has been around for a long
time doesn't mean that it can not offer excellent racing. Many of the
smaller nations have worked hard to build up fleets in just one or two
classes and it would be harsh indeed on them if the one boat they have a
realistic chance of competing in were removed from The Games.
There is also a big debate underway on the merits of closed one-designs
(manufactures classes) versus the more open designs that can be produced by
many different builders. We will undoubtedly be looking at this in more
detail next week after the evaluation trials. Despite the ferocity of the
arguments on both sides, the discussion seems pointless with more than
enough space amongst the eleven classes to allow both models to be
represented.
There has for some time been an argument that sailing should be a test of
the skills of the sailor and not of the equipment manufacturers,
sailmakers, and technologists who are always hard at work in our sport.
There are two sides to this story and once again it seems that the Olympics
is big enough to allow both philosophies to exist side by side. Pure
one-designs undoubtedly test the sailor most exactingly but the other
skills are also important. How far forward would our sport have come if
nothing were allowed to change? The skills needed to match luff curve to
mast bend or mast rake to wind strength are just as much a part of the
sport as who can hike hardest longest. We would lose much if every
technical decision in every class were taken away from the sailors.
Cost is always cited as a big issue. It is perhaps as well to point out
that the cost of equipment now represents a very small proportion of the
total cost of running a modern Olympic campaign. The biggest single expense
now comes in terms of people's time. The competitors, coaches and support
staff, who are now largely professional, all have to be paid. Airfares and
hotels take up the next biggest share of the cost with equipment lucky to
make it into double-figure percentages in most instances. For the smaller
nations the cost of equipment is perhaps more significant and for this
reason alone it is imperative that at least one or two inexpensive boats
are retained
So the real question come November is not whether boat 'A' is better than
boat 'B' but how to produce a balanced line-up for the Olympic regatta that
will allow as many sailors as possible the maximum opportunity to win
medals four years later. -- Peter Bentley, ISAF Making Waves newsletter.
Full story: http://www.sailing.org
REPORT FROM THE EVALUATION TRIALS - Jim Young
Wednesday brought a medium haze and 8 to 10 knots of wind, increasing to 15
knots in the afternoon. The evaluators were put under pressure today to
sail more boats. It seems that there were even two sailors among the
singlehanded evaluation crew who had yet to sail any boat.
It is really becoming clear that the numbers and technical details on each
boat are really insignificant compared to the sailor evaluations. The
emphasis on getting as many evaluators as possible on each boat has become
very strong. The questionnaires are filled out upon arrival at the beach,
keeping impressions fresh. The questions are simple; how exciting is the
boat, how physically difficult, how technically difficult, a number of
specific questions on straight-line and maneuvering characteristics,
questions regarding the tester's height, weight, and strength with regard
to sailing the boat, layout questions, and the final one, ease of launch
and recovery.
The skiff-based singlehanders seem to be sailing themselves into a corner.
They are very difficult to launch and they have trouble tacking in any
wind. There is a building consensus that 'thrill' boats have a place in our
sport, but perhaps not in the mainstream, where some have tried to force
them in recent years as an attempt to create more interest in the general
press to cover sailing. Many of the singlehanded testers have been vocal
with their enjoyment of their catamaran rides, and the words that made the
Inter 17 the 2000 Sailing World Boat of the Year, "What have I been doing
all these years?" have been echoed many times as monohull sailors hit the
beach fresh from their rides on the speedy cat.
The ISAF evaluation committee has also started meeting with the
boatbuilders. There is a marked difference in approaches, from
philosophical to the hard sell. There may be an emerging concern for how
any recommendations from here, and eventual ISAF actions, may impact the
overall health of multihull sales and sailing.
In today's races, the standard rig Tornado was awesome upwind. Nobody was
even close. At the finish line, wins went to the modified Tornado and the
Fox. In the singles, the all-carbon A Cat toasted the fleet, with the
production Inter 17 easily beating all the high-tech skiffs as well. -- Jim
Young, Sailing World website
Full report: http://www.sailingworld.com/2000/03/isaf3.html
Pictures: http://www.sailing.org/rating/evalpics2000/
SWEDISH MATCH TOUR
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Team New Zealand's Cameron Appleton will face
Bertrand Pace of the Le Defi Francais America's Cup team in the final of
the Steinlager Line 7 Cup, the opening event on the 2000 Swedish Match Tour.
The 22 year old Appleton caused the upset of the regatta, when he defeated
the new "golden boy of sailing", and fellow Team New Zealand member, Dean
Barker 3 - 0 in the semi-finals. "It's one of the biggest highlights and
most amazing feelings so far," he said after his victory, "next to winning
the America's Cup, so for me beating Dean, three - nil, was amazing, I
still can't believe how he let us do that, I'm just blown away."
The other semi-final, between AmericaOne's Gavin Brady and Frenchman
Bertrand Pace was a much tighter affair, with the French claiming their
finals place after taking the fourth race by just one second.
The conditions on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour were almost perfect for
spectators, and nearly as good for the competitors, with bright sunshine
and a breeze that varied between 10 and 20 knots from the south.
First confrontation of the day was the tie-break sail off between New
Zealand's Chris Dickson and Bertrand Pace for a place in the semi-finals.
The Frenchman and his Le Defi team soon established a commanding position,
which was strengthened when his rival sailed the wrong course.
After that, it didn't take long for Gavin Brady and Cameron Appleton to
claim their semi-finals places as the remaining qualifying rounds were
completed.
With Barker the top scorer in Group B, he was destined to face Team New
Zealand mate Appleton in one semi-final, while Pace lined up against Brady.
Cameron Appleton went into the confrontation as the underdog, but took
control immediately in the pre-start, to dominate the three races and move
on to claim his place in the final.
On the other side of the game, Bertrand Pace took the first heat against
Brady, but the AmericaOne team levelled the score in the next meeting.
Match three saw the French grab another victory, and Brady had his back to
the wall, with heat four a battle to the end, and Pace snatching the gun by
one second to claim his finals berth. - John Roberson
FINAL OVERALL POSITIONS: 5. Chris Dickson (New Zealand) 6. Andy Green
(Britain) 7. Peter Holmberg (US Virgin Islands) 8. Peter Gilmour (Japan)
9. Magnus Holmberg (Sweden) 10. Jes Gram-Hansen (Denmark)
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 Ted Ferrarone -- Peter Johnstone tells it like it is. The America's
Cup is totally unreflective of the state of sailing in America. As we move
toward one-designs, owner-drivers, and competitive multi-race fleet racing,
the America's Cup perpetuates the old standby of sailing as an elitist
sport, dominated by wealthy individuals who, if they can't win on the
water, try to win it elsewhere. Not only that, the America's Cup is boring.
There is no discipline of sailing more boring than match racing, made all
the more boring in this case by TNZ's total domination of the last two
events. Bravo to them for a job well done, now let's move on.
If people are anxious to see a great sailing event on TV, let's see ESPN
cover the College Nationals at Kings Point this June. 20 teams, two
divisions, tactics, drama, excitement. A true one-design event focusing on
the best sailing talent in the United States, you would actually be able to
see some insightful commentary, and tight, tactical racing. You sure won't
see anyone lead at the windward mark in every race.
-- From Keri Shining (In response to Peter Johnstone's comment, "Where else
can you watch otherwise successful, smart adults blow a half billion
dollars in the quest to gratify megalomania, all the while behaving like
bullies during kindergarten recess? ") -- With all due respect to Peter's
decades of skill and experience in yachting, I wonder if he might just be a
Cubs fan at heart. Try reading the attached article on Ken Griffey, Jr.'s
recent trade for a "discounted" price of $116.5 million:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2000/0211/350667.html. The author notes that
this is "[b]ig money, but not so big in an era when Los Angeles pitcher
Kevin Brown averages $15 million and Detroit outfielder Juan Gonzalez is
expected to get $17.5 million a year or more in his extension."
The money that is currently spent on the Cup is NOTHING in the realm of
professional sport, and it just isn't worth noting any more. The issue in
my mind isn't whether the Cup is too expensive or "boring" or whether the
Volvo will be cheaper or more "exciting." Good sports are about good
competition. As long as the best sailors continue to compete in the latest
technology, I'll be tuning in with baited breath to see what happens.
-- From Sandra Bain (RE: Peter Johnstone's guest commentary) -- Lighten up.
-- From Drew Fernandez -- It seems that it may be time to have an AC
Commissioner (all other major sorts have one) or at least an American AC
Governing Commission. As many have said, there is just too much
fragmentation within the USA for the AC.
I don't think combining yacht clubs will work (i.e. NYYC and St. Fran.
/Ego's & politics) but how about a group that organizes, collects, pools
ideas, $$, crews ,designers and builders. They could also raise enough $$
(5 to 10 million) to build 2 identical AC boats. One boat stays the same
while the other can be modified, sails,masts,rudders, keels, bulbs ..bla
bla bla.
Any group that puts up some of the $$ can use the boats for x number of
days /weeks to try out ideas and train crews as well as match race on an
even level. As it is now all the boats are different so how do you really
get a true comparison? NZ is the only country or team that has 2 boats like
this and they get a lot of info from them. These boats would not race for
the cup but would vastly improve the design and building of future boats as
well as provide a good real world test bench for the new ideas.
-- From Pete Mohler -- This is what is great about the Internet - anybody
can say anything, and it is weighted the same. In 'Butt #531 R.W.Bussard
makes an amazing claim that NZ used the winglets on the bulb as foils to
lift the boat out of the water a little bit to reduce drag. Well there is
no free lunch, and the concept sounds unlikely at best.
-- From Peter Huston -- Are all of you who are bashing Bill Koch's comments
so naive as to think a man of his business and legal experience is going to
ask a single question in a public forum for which he doesn't know the answer?
The Kiwi's did not create a level playing field for this past Cup. They
held out so long on a TV deal that it hurt every challengers ability to
raise money, hence the Challengers were always behind the design curve
because their money came late - expect of course for Luna Rossa. Perhaps
they would have won if they spent a bit less money on bottom feeding scum
lawyers and more on a personality coach for their owner.
And the Kiwi's also had a serious advantage of knowing exactly where the
race course was going to be. Perhaps if the Challengers knew they were
going to sail against the Kiwi's in flat water and in breeze never less
than 7 knots, they would have changed their design parameters. For the
Challengers, it was as if they had to design a stock car for Daytona, but
were required to race on a street course like Monaco.
-- From Ken Guyer -- Larry Edward's attempt to state Bill Koch's purpose of
his query into the financial organization of Team New Zealand still fell
short of justification. Being someone very much involved with the Cups held
in San Diego all of us here are acutely aware of Peter Blake's statements
and promises. Like a good politician, they were bold proclamations, which
at the same time took a swipe at our yacht club for perceived wrongs during
the defender selection series in '95.
It appears from what everyone has said about the regatta in Auckland, it
was a good event and the Kiwi's did what they had to do to win and win
fairly. Kudos to Team New Zealand and Peter Blake. No real issues of foul
play came forward during the event and one could say the defense of this
Cup was executed to perfection.
The issue of what happened to money put into their campaign by those
contributing should be raised by those who put up the dollars. If
journalists in New Zealand are concerned, then let them take up the fight.
Let the government over there ask if they are not happy with the outcome
and the way money was handled. Let the Kiwis take care of the Kiwis.
-- From Russ Lenarz -- Sailing is the only sport that I know of that tries
to put so many restrictions on those individuals that have excelled. Rules
such as the marine industry racer restrictions (at the local level) and
owner-driver rules are fine, but there is plenty of room in the sport for
both Pro and Amateur alike. If we keep trying to limit the participation in
our sport then we will continue to limit the sport itself.
The NSL will provide an opportunity for the Top level people in our sport
to compete on a level playing field at some of our sports best events. It
will also give the rising young stars in our sport something to aim for in
the future. If a person wishes to pursue a path towards professional
sailing then give that person the opportunity to do so.
-- From Donal McClement -- As one of the originators of an Eligibility Rule
for Ford Cork Week way back in 1985 I am mildly amused to see that it has
taken almost 15 years for the rest of the world to catch up. The feedback
we, at the Royal Cork, have been getting since 1986 is that a huge
precentage of Owners prefer not to compete against the 'Rock Stars' and
really like to steer their own boats. In recent years we have adopted an
approach that means the bigger boats (Class Zero only) have no restrictions
on Crew members and for the 2000 event Group 3 Sailors are restricted to
this class only.
We must be doing something right as the event has grown from 84 boats in
'86 to over 700 in '00 and we are continually asked to keep our Eligibility
Rules in force. For information on Ford Cork Week 2000:
http://www.fordcorkweek.com
-- From Peter Godfrey -- Interesting that few of the medal winners were
winning Cup skippers. Too focused on the smaller things to lead bigger
teams? Hood, Mosbacher, Cunningham, Ficker, Turner and others were pretty
good sailors who succeeded in the Cup without Olympic medals. Clearly,
having an Olympic medal is not a prerequisite for Cup success, even today.
49ER WORLDS
Standings after 11 races: 1. ESP - SANTIAGO LOPEZ-VAZQUEZ / J.DE LA PLATA
(37 points) 2. GER - MARCUS BAUR / P.BARTH (47) 3. FIN - THOMAS JOHANSON /
J.JARVI (49) 4. DEN - MICHAEL HESTBAEK / J.PERSSON (50) 5. AUS - CHRIS
NICHOLSON / D.PHILLIPS (60) 6. USA - JONATHAN MCKEE / C.MCKEE (70) 13. USA
- ANDY MACK / A.LOWRY (122) 18. CAN - BETTINA BAYLIS / T.BAYLIS (142).
Event website: http://www.49erworlds2000.org/
TORNADO OLYMPIC TRIALS
These 20-foot catamarans can hit 30 mph. But on board, the only speed that
counts is having a little bit more than the competition. This is the quest
of 15 intense crews hoping to earn an Olympic berth through the trials,
March 25-April 2, 2000.
The trials serve two purposes: determining the Olympic Team and providing
an opportunity for training. Under Olympic rules, only 15 boats will
compete in the finals, so the U.S. trials are well matched. In a way, every
boat will help prepare the ultimate winner. The high level of skill should
serve the ultimate winner well. There is five months of training time
before the Games begin in Sydney, and past Olympians have said that
adequate time between the trials and the Games is essential.
U.S. Sailing team leader Hal Haenel is hoping the Tornado class wins a
medal. In successive games dating to 1976, the U.S. has alternated being on
the podium and missing out.
1996 -- 8th, John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree
1992 -- Silver, Randy Smyth/Keith Notary
1988 -- 14th, James Melvin/Pat Muglia
1984 -- Silver, Randy Smyth/Jay Glaser
1980 -- USA did not compete
1976 -- Silver, Dave McFaull/Michael Rothwell
For this set of trials, the class selected Santa Cruz, Calif., for its
venue. The prevailing breezes off Santa Cruz are strong and often steady. I
expect speed will be a big factor this year. Santa Cruz also has a unique
wind gradient. The farther you get off shore, the harder the wind blows.
The Race Committee should be able to run the races in a wide band of wind
strengths to be sure the ultimate winner is versatile. In Sydney, the winds
might not be so steady, but early training will be a big help to the U.S.
representative.
The Tornado was designed in 1966 specifically for Olympic competition, and
it took 10 years to convince the International Yacht Racing Union that
multihulls have a place in the Games. There are 1,300 Tornados being raced
in the world, and even four-time Olympic gold medalist Paul Elvstrom was
attracted to this class. He and his daughter, Trine, finished 15th at the
Games in 1988. At the time, Elvstrom was 60 years old. -- Gary Jobson, NBC
Olympics website
Full story: http://www.nbcolympics.com/
Tornado Trials website: http://www.tornado.org/
THE RACE
Cam Lewis and Project Manager, Peter Grubb were at the JMV yard in
Cherbourg, France last week to take one last look at Club Med before it
goes to top secret mode for final outfitting. At JMV, working under the
supervision of Multiplast and the Ollier Design Team, the third half hull
of the Team Adventure catamaran is nearing completion. The hulls are built
in two halves and will be joined along the keel in the midline of the deck.
Team Adventure's boat is being built from the same mould as two of our
competitors in THE RACE, Club Med and Code 1. Project manager Peter Grubb
reported, "We will soon have a real-time camera installed at the work site
so that you can follow the process through our website,
http://www.teamadventure.org.
THE RACE website: http://www.therace.org/english/
THE CURMUDGEON'S QUOTATIONS
Some days you're the pigeon - some days you're the statue.
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