|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2102 - May 25, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.END OF THE LINE This is the end (of the race) for us,” movistar skipper Bouwe Bekking said, “I have been working on this project for three years. All the other guys have been working on it for two years as well and it’s really hard to make it successful. We’ve had a lot of down sides, but we’ve always come back. But the moment we stepped off movistar I realised that this was not something we could come back from. This was the end of the race. So it sinks in and I will think a lot more in the next couple of days, but it hit like a hammer. “As everybody knows we have sailed half way round the world before even the race started, but we never had any serious problems. Only blowing out a pad eye or something like that. We were 100 percent confident in the boat and in the first leg we had some structural issues and we had to retire from Leg 1. Then on the second leg we had some ram issues; then everyone knows we had quite a nice leg into Wellington where we actually had a win and in general we were going very fast, and I think that the boat was very competitive, but we didn’t score a lot of points basically because of all the retirements. “The current situation, even with all the retirements and the problems we have had, we are still in third place. So we can look at ourselves and look the guys in the eyes and think that we have achieved quite a lot. Coming back to the damage, we knew as well that we had some issues just before Cape Horn where the boat nearly sank, and that is one of the things that comes back in our minds when on Saturday we had the problems with the keel again. What do you do at that stage? What do we do when it gets really bad and the pumps can’t keep up anymore?” -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/lhl9z NOT TO BE MISSED ABN Amro has posted an incredible video about the events of the last week that is not to be missed: http://team.abnamro.com/web/show/id=182644 FAMILY MATTERS One AC truism oft repeated is, "You're only as good as your 'B' boat." Without a good second boat, and top crew to race it, your testing program is suspect and your training (especially practice starting) is compromised. And without two boats worth of excellent sailors, you lack the necessary depth of talent to succeed in these long, hard campaigns. These days there is another given: "A team is only as happy as their families." In other words, family matters! As the Cup has matured into a global, full-time business with larger and, on average, older teams, the care and comfort of our families, and having their full, enthusiastic support of the campaign, is more important than ever. Senior management recognized this early on. Business Director Russell Green focused our attention on this important issue, and with the strong support of CEO Chris Dickson significant resource was allocated to family matters. A Family Committee of spouses was established to set strategy and help develop policies and activities in support of our families. Admin staff member Sofia Barraclough (GBR/ESP) was tasked by Russell and Base Manager Grant Davidson to work closely with the Committee and to provide follow-up. It's working well, and like every other aspect of our campaign they, too, try to lift their game with each passing week. -- Tom Ehman, BMW Oracle Racing blog, full story: http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/stories/2057580/ DISMANTLING A K-38 (Below are excerpts from a story about a K-38, where it was decided that when saving her hit the mid six figures, cutting her up for parts made more sense.) There seems to be a “renaissance” of sorts in the renovation of wooden classics, but sometimes difficult choices must be made. Too often wooden vessels are left to deteriorate in their slips by well meaning owners who intend to take care of them, but real life intervenes. What we have discovered is that as people age or become ill, they realize too late that they won’t be renovating their woodie. By the time they are emotionally able to say goodbye to it, the deterioration is beyond easy renovation and into serious restoration. At the end of the day the market value of the boats is less than 10% of the renovation costs, and less than 5% of the restoration costs. These choices are not easy to make. But finding a new owner willing to tackle the renovation or restoration while the storage fees rack up places even more pressure to “solve the problem.” So, part of the calculation is whether the cost to save the boat is one that someone can bear. Experience with three other K-38s which each presented some of the accumulated total of deterioration seen in NYMPH told me that the renovation would be a number in the low six figures, more if it was done by a yard. NYMPH came to us for dismantling rather than going as a donation to Sea Scouts and enduring an even slower death by deterioration or losing her as an asset to help other K-38s survive by sinking while underway through the bottom falling out. - Steve Barber, Kettenburg Boat Works and Owners Association, complete story and photos: http://www.kettenburgboats.com/yard22.htm WANTED: TWO SAIL MAKERS FOR ULLMAN SAILS Ullman Sails, Inc. is looking for responsible go-getters to fill two vacant sail making positions within the Ullman Sails Newport Beach loft. Persons needed are: an experienced Spinnaker Production and Nylon Repair department individual with 2 to 5 years experience; and a reliable Handworker/ Sail Finisher with sailing knowledge a plus, but not necessary and willing to train the right candidate. For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Corrin Pilkington at 714-432-1860 or email mailto:cpilkington@ullmansails.com ACI MATCH RACE CUP Five skippers are tied at 1-0 after one flight of racing was completed on Day 1 of the 20th anniversary ACI Adris Match Race Cup, Stage 6 of the 2005- ’06 World Match Racing Tour.Paolo Cian, Bjorn Hansen, Ian Williams Johnie Berntsson and Staffan Lindberg won their matches against, respectively, Dario Kliba, Mathieu Richard, Evgeniy Neugodnikov, Philippe Presti and Pierre-Antoine Morvan. The event’s 11th crew, led by defending ACI Cup champion Peter Gilmour, had a bye in the round. Racing was postponed for the majority of the day due to heavy rains that sapped Rovinj of all wind. The rain let up in the middle of the day and the race committee sent the crews to the racecourse just off Rovinj Harbor, but the rain quickly returned and the postponement was reissued. The teams finally returned to the water around 4:30 pm for the lone flight, which was sailed in a shifty 5-knot easterly wind. -- http://www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com WHAT YOU NEED TO SAIL ROUND THE WORLD What does it take to sail alone round the world - apart from the obvious ingredients of seamanship, experience and dogged determination? Dee Caffari s log books and personal accounts have revealed some less obvious pieces of the jigsaw. On a 29,227-mile circumnavigation with a massive surfeit of wind and water, it’s interesting to see how big a role fuel played: Aviva’s Northern Lights generator ran (trouble-free) for 1,471 hours - or the equivalent of 61 days. That makes a total of 2,293 litres of diesel used for a modern-day record. The punishing regime of the single-hander is graphically illustrated in Dee s log books. She wrote and initialed entries meticulously on the hour, every hour, rarely omitting an entry because she was asleep. Her specially modified saloon bunk was used only a few times, and not once in 89 days in the Southern Ocean did she stretch out in it to sleep. Despite that, Dee returned in good health. The only items used from her medical kit were one small pack of brufen and some latex gloves that went to create a makeshift autopilot hydraulic system breather pipe expansion balloon. Among her tally of gifts to Neptune - accidental and deliberate - were a family photograph, some champagne, one winch handle and a waterproof floating torch (clamped in the mouth but lost when uttering some choice words to a furling drum). Finally, what don’t you need during six months at sea? Money, for one thing. Dee plainly never had failure in mind: she sailed round the world without taking along a single penny. -- http://www.andrewrobertsprojects.com / http://www.avivachallenge.com COLLEGIATE WOMEN'S DINGHY NATIONALS College of Charleston, Charleston, SC -- The first race of the collegiate women’s dinghy nationals started at 12:00 PM. Six A Division races and four B Division races were completed in a SSE breeze ranging from 6-10 knots. With sunny skies and long races, Navy held the lead all day until the final two races of the day, where their A Division team collected a 16-13 compared to a 3-3 for Hobart/William Smith. The regatta leaders are: 1. Hobart/William Smith - 58; 2. Navy - 59; 3. Georgetown - 64; 4. St. Mary's - 71; 5. Charleston - 71; 6. Boston College - 72; 7. Stanford - 78; 8. South Florida- 89; 9. Texas - 89; 10. Tufts – 90. -- http://collegesailing.org/nas/spring06/womens.asp Great photos from Day One: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/icsa-w SAILING SHORTS * Racing on Day Two of the 42-boat Star Western Hemisphere Championship at Annapolis YC was delayed due to light winds. One race was finally competed in the late afternoon. The leaders after three races: 1. Jim Vander Molen/ Mike Wolfs, 13 pts; 2. Mark Reynolds/ Hal Haenel, 13 pts; 3. John Dane/ Austin Sperry, 19 pts; 4. John MacCausland/ Shane Zwingleberg, 21 pts 5. Arthur Anosov/ David Caesar, 27 pts; 6. Brian Cramer/ Tyler Bjorn (CAN), 32 pts; 7. Jock Kohlhas/ Richard Burgess, 33 pts; 8. Peter McChesney/ Mike Jones, 34 pts; 9. Erik Lidecis/ Michael Marzahl, 34pts. -- Full results: http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=792 * Today the Holland Regatta officially started with more than a thousand competitors coming from fifty-seven different countries. Then it took almost a full day before the first boats crossed the start line early in the evening. Due to heavy weather and fierce winds up to 35 knots, the Organizing Committee had to postpone the start of the race several times during that day. Finally, at 7:30 pm, the start signal was given for seven out of the eleven Olympic Classes competing in the sailing event. -- Full results: http://www.hollandregatta.org * Seamen’s Church Institute announced today that the 2006 edition of the Newport Harbor Guide is now available for mariners visiting Newport Harbor, Rhode Island. A comprehensive guide for all things nautical in the City by the Sea, the guide contains articles on a variety of interesting activities that will take place in the 2006 season and features the 100th anniversary of the Newport – Bermuda Race as its cover story. The Newport Harbor Guide is distributed free of charge and is available from the Institute, the Harbormaster’s office, marinas, shops and Oldport launches. * A newly revised AC 32 Umpires Website is now up. The information on the site may be of interest to those beyond AC team afterguards and rules mavens. Match racers and umpires in general, as well as those fans interested in the nitty-gritty of match racing, will also appreciate the site. -- http://www.acumpires.org/en/ * Steve and Fred Howe’s brand new American boat Warpath drew first blood in their first ever race as the 21-boat Breitling MedCup TP52 circuit got under way with a 33-mile coastal inshore race. Warpath’s core crew were Emirates Team New Zealand America’s Cup sailors, with Dean Barker steering the new Botin & Carkeek design. They beat Vincente de Tirado's Caixa Galicia by one minute and 40 seconds. The rest of the top five included: 3. Orlanda (ITA) Alessandro Pirera, 4. Cristabella (GBR) John Cook, and 5. Pinta (GER) Michael Illbruck. -- http://www.medcup.org * BoatU.S. Towing Services, which includes over 500 TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist response vessels, predicts it will receive as many as 3,000 or more requests for assistance from boaters across the country this Memorial Day weekend who will need a jump start, fuel drop off or a tow back to port. Requests for on-the-water assistance has traditionally been a reliable indicator of recreational boating volume on the nation's waterways. * Cowes Online's latest video report on last weekend's racing and events from Cowes includes footage of Dee Caffari and Aviva as well as the Open 70 Brasil 1 storming through the Solent in gale force winds. See the video at: http://www.cowes.co.uk/cb/zone?p=story2;story_id=1638;cp= TRULY REMARKABLE For over 50 years B&G has welcomed the constant challenge to develop new electronic solutions for every sailors’ need. Harnessing technical developments and providing proven solutions has continued to be the focus and keep B&G on the leading edge of advanced marine electronics. Inspirational sailors such as Sir Francis Chichester, Chay Blyth and Ellen MacArthur chose B&G to help them achieve their dreams. B&G now has the pleasure of welcoming home Dee Caffari to become the first woman to west-about circumnavigate the globe using instruments, pilots, wireless control and software from B&G. See what B&G can offer at http://www.bandg.com 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 Scott Diamond (In reply to Steve Taylor’s comments): I could not agree more, better systems need to be experimented with. In 2005 when the Baker Team Race Qualifier was held in Chicago we used on water Judges (not umpires) but we also held protest immediately after the race in the safety boats, the average protest went less than five minutes and a decision was rendered before they raced again. Was it perfect, not by a long shot, but everything was decided on the water and everyone knew where they stood before each race. No one appealed or even complained about any of the on the water hearings. * From Malcolm Kirkland: We support Steve Taylor's observations on the ruinous protesting at the New England High School Team racing qualifiers. It ruined sportsmanship. We missed the racing, but arrived to find the undesirable outcome of the sport. I think analysis should be performed on the high number of protests and corrective actions taken. What rule? What school? What sailor? I saw a lot of the same players in the room. What will prevent re-occurrence this weekend for HS Nationals at same venue? * From Bob Killick (edited to our 250-word limit): I wanted to respond to Steve Taylor's report about his disappointment of the high number of protests which occurred during the New England Team Racing regatta. There is a simple solution to this aggravation ... increase the protest fee to a level which makes the potential protestee think again about that process. We race Historical or classic 18 footer replicas on Sydney Harbour from the Sydney Flying Squadron (SFS) every Saturday of the season. We all (8 skiffs carrying 60-70 crew across the fleet) have a ball because we took the protest option off the table by making the protest fee $1000 or eight kegs of beer. We haven't had a protest in five years and our races are tough affairs side by side (lots of yelling and screaming) but we sort out infringements between ourselves on the water with penalty turns or you do the tit for tat "I owe you one" etc. Sometimes the credit and debit systems fail and some tight directed words are spoken, usually in the showers, so everyone is aware if one skipper is possibly suffering from selective memory loss. I guess it all boils down to whether the sailors are desirous of serious racing with fun, or the flip side, reduced fun with aggravation. Anyway, thought it was worth mentioning, maybe you guys need to pull some of those coaches aside for a quiet word or two. * From Andrew Bray, Editor, Yachting World: I'm quite sure I will have to face the ire of my colleague Elaine Bunting (letters 'Butt 2101) but in making an absolute statement that Trekka is the smallest boat to have been sailed solo around the world she lines herself up with the ducks ready to be shot down. I believe that honour goes to Serge Testa whose boat Acrohc Australis was just 12 feet long. He circumnavigated between 1984 and 1987. Now it's probably my turn... * From Richard Clark: I am saddened by the news from Mt Everest. A British climber lying injured and dying as 40 mountaineers trek past to their own personal glory of summitting. I try not to draw comparisons in life, all situations have their own merit or not. However, Ambro Two's rescue of their crew member and other yachts coming to their aid reminds me once more of the value of life, and the responsibility of others, at sea. To not do all we can for someone who may already be dead for the sake of personal 'honour' somehow has me looking askance at the values of the individual and society today. Sir Edmund Hilary stated that it would never happen whilst he was climbing, we need to listen to those with more experience, otherwise how do we learn, where do our values come from, how can I then live with myself, knowing I did not do all I could for a fellow traveler. I think it an awesome achievement to conquer anything on artificial limbs, as it is for those so challenged to sail any sort of boat. But to then joke that "my fingers are a funny color and I may lose them" really has me saddened. I would hope than any of you, all of you, would come to my aid, no matter how far I am gone. A life is a precious thing and to lose one is to diminish our very own. CURMUDGEON’S OXYMORONS Temporary tax increase. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and B&G Instruments. |
