|
SCUTTLEBUTT No. 534 - March 24, 2000COMMENTARYWith 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 ([email protected]) 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. |
