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SCUTTLEBUTT 2663 - Tuesday, August 19, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. OLYMPIC GAMES – AUSTRALIAN SWEEP Qingdao, China (August 18, 2008; Day Ten) The 470 Men and Women events completed their medal race, with the Australian team sweeping both events. Each team entered the race assured a medal, with Nathan Wilmot/Malcolm Page already having locked up the gold medal going into the race, and Elise Rechichi/Tessa Parkinson guaranteed a silver, and needed only to avoid getting last if the Dutch team were to win. The men, who stated prior to these Olympics that they planned to retire afterwards, went out in style, winning the medal race. The women took manners into their own hands, and held the Dutch team back in the ranks long enough to prevent them from earning a win. Both teams were coached by Victor Kovalenko, who coached both the Australian 470 Men's and Women's Teams to Gold in the 2000 Games and the Ukraine Teams to 470 Men's Gold and Women's Silver in 1996 Games. The Laser and Laser Radial completed three races (started in 16 knots, decreasing to 7 knots), with the top ten positions proceeding to their medal race on Tuesday. Paul Goodison (GBR) has locked up the silver in the Laser event, and to win the gold, Goodison must only avoid getting last if Sweden’s Rasmus Myrgren were to win the race. Leading the Laser Radial is American Anna Tunnicliffe, who is assured at least a bronze medal, and can hold onto the gold as long as she doesn’t give away too many points to the sailors from Lithuania or China in the medal race. The RS:X Men and Women completed two races (started in 20 knots, decreasing to 11 knots), and will set out on Tuesday for one race to complete their 10-race opening series, and then the top ten positions will compete in their medal race on Wednesday. The Star and Tornado completed three races (started in 13 knots, decreasing to 6 knots), and will seek to complete three more races between Tuesday and Wednesday before their medal race on Thursday. The pending protests in the 49er medal race were dismissed, and the results following their medal race on Sunday were confirmed. However, the story might not end there. The initial protests were a result of the Danish team breaking their mast prior to the medal race, and using an unauthorized replacement boat in the race. Following the protest decision and medal ceremony, new protests have been lodged by the Spain and Italy, two teams that finished second and fourth respectively. Recap with protest decision here: http://www.sailing.org/olympics/24763.php > ISAF reports: http://www.sailing.org/olympics/Olympicshome.php > US reports: http://olympics.ussailing.org/Olympics.htm > Canadian reports: http://www.sailing.ca/home.asp > NBC sailing microsite: http://www.nbcolympics.com/sailing Final Results ** 470 Men (29 entrants) 1. AUS, Nathan Wilmot/Malcolm Page, 4-7-3-3-3-4-5-(16)-3-10-1/2, 44 2. GBR, Nick Rogers/Joe Glanfield, 19-5-1-4-9-6-20-(OCS/30)-2-3-3/6, 75 3. FRA, Nicolas Charbonnier/Olivier Bausset,6-3-8-1-6-18-3-14-7-(20)-6/12,78 ----------------------------------------------------------- 4. NED, Sven Coster/Kalle Coster, 11-(15)-12-2-8-15-2-8-4-2-7/14, 78 5. ESP, Onan Barreiros/Aaron Sarmiento, 8-2-6-9-13-13-13-4-11-(18)-4/8, 79 13. USA, Stuart McNay/Graham Biehl, 26-12-(OCS/30)-17-15-1-4-1-6-23, 105 29. CAN, Locas/Bone, 25-25-(OCS/30)-20-23-22-(OCS/30)-18-26-16, 205 470 Women (19 entrants) 1. AUS, Elise Rechichi/Tessa Parkinson, 2-2-4-1-(9)-4-2-5-3-2-9/18, 43 2. NED, Marcelien De Koning/Lobke Berkhout,3-1-9-5-2-2-10-7-4-(16)-5/10,53 3. BRA, Fernanda Oliveira/Isabel Swan, 11-(16)-5-10-7-6-6-2-7-4-1/2, 60 ----------------------------------------------------------- 4. ISR, Nike Kornecki/Vered Buskila, 8-13-1-2-8-(19)-3-1-11-15-2/4, 66 5. ITA, Giulia Conti/Giovanna Micol, 14-7-6-3-6-11-4-(19)-12-6-3/6, 75 12. USA, Amanda Clark/Sarah Mergenthaler, 12-12-10-14-4-(17)-7-6-17-7, 89 Finn (26 entrants) 1. GBR, Ben Ainslie, (10)-1-4-1-1-10-2-1/2, 23 2. USA, Zach Railey, 2-5-2-2-7-8-7-(19)-6/12, 45 3. FRA, Guillaume Florent, 5-8-20-3-4-6-4-(21)-4/8, 58 ----------------------------------------------------------- 4. SWE, Daniel Birgmark, 14-(17)-1-6-12-3-3-5-7/14, 58 5. CAN, Christopher Cook, 8-3-7-10-(23)-5-15-3-8/16, 67 Yngling (15 entrants) 1. GBR, Sarah Ayton/Sarah Webb/Pippa Wilson, 2-3-4-(7)-4-2-2-5-1/2, 24 2. NED, Mandy Mulder/Annemieke Bes/Merel Witteveen,9-1-2-(13)-1-5-4-1-4/8,31 3. GRE, Bekatorou/Papadopoulou/Kravarioti, 10-12-9-3-2-(16/OCS)-3-3-3/6, 48 ----------------------------------------------------------- 4. GER,Ulrike Schuemann/Ute Hoepfner/Julia Bleck,8-7-7-11-11-3-5-(13)-2/4,56 5. FRA, Anne Le Helley/ Lepesant/ Gerecht, 4-(15)-1-14-5-10-10-2-5/10, 56 7.USA,Sally Barkow/Carolyn Howe/Deborah Capozzi,(14)-2-8-5-6-11-1-10-9/18,61 13. CAN, Jennifer Provan/Henderson/Abbott, 5-4-10-(15)-9-12-11-15, 66 49er (19 entrants) 1. DEN, Jonas Warrer/Martin Kirketerp Ibsen, 2-4-(10)-4-2-3-4-2-9-2-7-8-7/14, 61 2. ESP, Lizarduy/Gaztañaga, 1-10-17-2-(OCS/20)-5-7-10-3-4-1-2-1/2, 64 3. GER, Jan-Peter Peckolt/Hannes Peckolt,(15)-6-11-6-3-2-2-12-4-5-4-7-2/4,66 ----------------------------------------------------------- 4. ITA, Pietro Sibello/Gianfranco Sibello,3-9-1-1-6-9-3-8-12-(17)-3-3-4/8,66 5.AUS, Nathan Outteridge/Ben Austin,(DSQ/20)-1-7-3-1-1-6-4-6-12-2-18-6/12,73 6. USA, Tim Wadlow/Christopher Rast, 5-14-15-(16)-5-10-1-1-1-3-8-4-DNF/22,89 14. CAN, Gordon Cook/Ben Remocker, 13-12-13-10-7-6-16-16-10-(18)-15-16, 134 ** Final results include a medal race for entrants in the top ten. Both medal race position and points are shown (position/points). Current Results Laser (43 entrants) 1. GBR, Paul Goodison, (15)-2-15-1-9-7-1-4-6, 45 2. SWE, Rasmus Myrgren, 7-16-8-2-8-13-(22)-7-2, 63 3. POR, Gustavo Lima, 5-8-3-(27)-17-6-16-8-3, 66 4. SLO, Vasilij Zbogar, (24)-4-14-6-2-11-18-1-11, 67 5. ITA, Diego Romero, 6-3-5-(36)-10-15-11-9-10, 69 10. CAN, Michael Leigh, 13-23-26-5-4-3-(28)-2-19, 95 ----------------------------------------------------------- 21. ISV, Thomas Barrows, III, 20-28-20-24-26-(31)-15-10-21, 164 25. USA, Andrew Campbell, 14-18-1-26-32-(BFD/44)-8-DSQ/44-31, 174 Laser Radial (28 entrants) 1. USA, Anna Tunnicliffe, 4-5-6-5-6-3-(15)-2-2, 33 2. LTU, Gintare Volungeviciute, 3-13-8-1-1-4-(21)-6-4, 40 3. CHN, Lijia Xu, (24)-3-10-6-5-2-1-11-6, 44 4. AUS, Sarah Blanck, 6-11-7-(19)-4-12-8-1-5, 54 5. FRA, Sarah Steyaert, 11-1-21-3-(BFD/29)-1-3-10-11, 61 ----------------------------------------------------------- 13. MEX, Tania Elias Calles Wolf, 27-25-(DNF/29)-13-15-16-7-3-1, 107 17. CAN, Lisa Ross, 16-23-13-11-7-9-(OCS/29)-25-7, 111 RS:X Men (35 entrants) 1. NZL, Tom Ashley, 4-7-7-1-5-5-3-6-(8), 38 2. GBR, Nick Dempsey, 11-9-3-2-1-7-(17)-5-3, 41 3. FRA, Julien Bontemps, (13)-1-5-4-10-8-2-10-3, 42 4. ISR, Shahar Zubari, 1-3-1-3-17-6-(19)-19-1, 51 5. BRA, Ricardo Santos, 12-6-(13)-7-6-3-6-7-5, 52 17. MEX, David Mier y Teran, 16-5-17-6-12-(29)-23-22-4, 105 23. CAN, Zachary Plavsic, 23-25-22-21-(30)-12-26-12-29, 170 26. USA, Ben Barger, 21-22-24-26-26-(32)-25-18-25, 187 RS:X Women (27 entrants) 1. ITA, Alessandra Sensini, 6-2-9-1-(DSQ/28)-3-2-2-5, 30 2. CHN, Jian Yin, 1-1-1-3-3-(13)-7-8-8, 32 3. ESP, Marina Alabau, 3-5-5-2-5-(11)-8-5-4, 37 4. GBR, Bryony Shaw, 4-3-11-6-(OCS/28)-6-5-3-1, 39 5. AUS, Jessica Crisp, 2-4-3-8-1-8-9-(14)-6, 41 17. CAN, Nikola Girke, 11-14-13-14-12-15-13-(DNF/28)-18, 110 21. MEX, Demita Vega, 23-21-(25)-25-17-21-20-19-19, 165 26. USA, Nancy Rios, 25-24-22-26-24-27-(DNF/28)-DNF/28-26, 202 Star (16 entrants) 1. SWE, Fredrik Loof/Anders Ekstrom, 1-4-(15)-3-6-1-8, 23 2. GBR, Iain Percy/Andrew Simpson, 7-(13)-3-5-8-2-1, 26 3. FRA, Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau, 12-1-5-4-7-6-9, 32 4. POL, Mateusz Kusznierewicz/Dominik Zycki, 5-6-8-2-(10)-9-3, 33 5. GER, Marc Pickel/Ingo Borkowski, 2-(14)-1-8-3-8-14, 36 12. USA, John Dane/Austin Sperry, 8-2-4-12-15-15-(16), 56 Tornado (15 entrants) 1. ESP, Fernando Echavarri/Anton Paz Blanco, 1-6-1-4-7-(13)-1, 20 2. AUS, Darren Bundock/Glenn Ashby, 5-4-3-1-5-(9)-2, 20 3. GRE, Iordanis Paschalidis/Konstantinos Trigonis, 2-5-(12)-7-2-12-4, 32 4. ARG, Santiago Lange/Carlos Espínola, (13)-1-1-12-4-6-9, 33 5. ITA, Francesco Marcolini/Edoardo Bianchi, (15)-9-4-2-8-4-6, 33 8. CAN, Oskar Johansson/Kevin Stittle, 8-3-9-9-1-(15)-11, 41 14. USA, John Lovell/Charles Ogletree, 14-12-7-11-12-14-(15), 70 Complete results: http://www.sailing.org/olympics/resultscentre.php NORTH-POWERED BOATS DOMINATE THE 2008 OLYMPICS Congratulations to Finn Medalists Ben Ainslie (GBR), Zach Railey (USA), and Guillaume Florent (FRA) for earning Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively, all using North sails exclusively. Nearly 75% of the Finn fleet (38 of 52 measured sails total) chose North to power them in Qingdao! Congratulations also to 470 women's Gold Medalists Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson (AUS) and 470 men's Gold Medalists Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page (AUS), both powered by North, on their impressive victories. When results matter, head North. http://www.northsails.com OLYMPIC GAMES - DEALING WITH THE DETAILS * RACE SCHEDULE: Excluding the 49er, the Notice of Race called for each event to have 10 open races, plus one medal race (the 49er was to have 15 open races plus one medal race). Not every class got in their full schedule of open races, but there is a good chance that the remaining events will. Here is the plan for Tuesday, August 19th: Course A: 1300 - Laser and Laser Radial (medal race) Course B: 1100 - RS:X men and women (1 race each) Course E: 1300 - Star and Tornado (2 races each) This will be the final open race for the RS:X Men and Women before the top ten positions advance to their medal race on Wednesday. The Star and Tornado will seek to complete three more races between Tuesday and Wednesday before their medal race on Thursday. In the medal race, finishing position points are doubled, and the score cannot be discarded. * WEATHER FORECAST - Qingdao Olympic Venue: For Tuesday, August 19th, there is a big difference between the models in terms of direction, but the GFS model is showing wind strength of around 6 knots, from SW most of the afternoon. The outlook for Wednesday is east at 10 knots, with Thursday (and Friday) looking like 18 knots from the north. An archive of the maps/graphs from each day are at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/olyweather - to get the animated hour by hour forecast map images, sign up for free worldwide forecasts at www.predictwind.com * RACE WATCHING: For television and online viewers, the event has advanced to the medal races, and it is only these races that will compete on Course A, which is the featured course for coverage. The Laser and Laser Radial will have their medal race on Tuesday. Racing is scheduled to be completed on Thursday, August 21st. > U.S. viewing schedule: http://tinyurl.com/NBCsked > Canadian viewing schedule: http://www.sailing.ca/feature/2008/07/bold.html POSITIONED FOR THE PODIUM Here are the countries that currently have entrants in the top three: Great Britain - 6 France - 4 Australia - 3 Spain - 3 China - 2 Greece - 2 Netherlands - 2 Sweden - 2 United States - 2 Brazil - 1 Denmark - 1 Germany - 1 Italy - 1 Lithuania - 1 New Zealand - 1 Portugal -1 The medals have been decided in five of the eleven events, with sixteen countries having either already secured their medal or are currently in the top three of the standings. In 2004, 20 countries received at least one sailing medal. Going into Monday’s races, the British team had three entrants in podium positions, but they doubled that figure by day’s end, with a real possibility of the team medaling in seven events by the end of the 2008 Games. This would exceed their medal haul from 2000 and 2004, where they captured five medals in each of the events. Here are some links from the 2004 Olympic Games: > Medal Count: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/medals > Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/olympics WAS THE WEATHER TOO EXTREME FOR THE 49ER MEDAL RACE? The 49er fleet clearly could not handle the wind and wave conditions that they had for their medal race. This begs the question, should they have been racing. Here is an excerpt from a post that American 49er skipper Tim Wadlow had on his website: “We started a race in conditions that we probably shouldn't have started, but welcome to the Olympics. Unfortunately for Chris and I, our jib blocks ripped out at 7 minutes to the start. At this point it was 19 knots of wind, and 5ft waves. Other dramas included the FRA boat breaking their bow pole, and the DEN boat breaking their mast. “From what we understand ITA, AUS and GER all had multiple flips trying to get to the finish. ESP came from 5th place, only flipped once on the run, and won the race. GBR and BRA were also capsized on the run. BRA took the main down, and finished under jib alone. Onshore, 49er sailors where watching the race on TV, continually recalculating the scores with each capsize. For a moment ITA had the gold, only needing to make one jibe. They capsized. Then AUS only needed one jibe to win the Gold. Same results. Now GER. Same. It was incredible drama. “On the water and onshore we requested redress for an error by the race committee in starting and racing in conditions that were outside the limits set by ISAF. Four of the 10 boats were damaged to the point where they couldn't race properly, and at one point 7 of the 10 boats were capsized. ESP won the race with 3 capsizes. We felt these facts indicated the race committee made an error by starting the race. There was a very lengthy hearing last night that involved all ten 49ers, the RC and the jury. I'll spare you all the details, but essentially there is not much chance to get redress in this situation, and our request was denied. It was an exciting race, with lot of drama, but we have to wonder if it was really a test of skill, or a test of whose boat would or would not break. -- Complete report: http://www.wadlowrast.com/2008/08/even-people-who-watched-race-on-tv.html NEW COLOR FOR FALL! As one of the most popular sailing shorts on the market, the Camet 3000 Sailing Shorts now come in a new color...grey with a red stripe! The 3000 sailing shorts are made of Supplex for fast drying and are reinforced with a Cordura seat patch. The shorts have two deep side pockets as well as adjustable Velcro waist straps. A 1/4 inch foam can be inserted into the seat patch for added comfort. Come and take a look at http://www.camet.com OLYMPIC GAMES – NEWS AND NOTES * For the 2012 Olympic sailing events, the race course area boasts a sheltered flat water area in Portland Harbour with more challenging conditions out in Weymouth Bay, all with the back drop of the stunning Jurassic coastline. The final construction work for the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy - the site of the sailing events - is due for completion in November 2008. View aerial photos at http://tinyurl.com/oly2012 * Finn Gold medalist Ben Ainslie's final run-in to the Olympics did not begin the way he intended. “Three days before racing began in my Finn class I was in bed with mumps,” he said. “I had never had it before, and this was a relatively mild form, but the doctors told me to take it easy and keep away from the rest of the GB squad. So on the Wednesday before the Games began I was in bed all day. The next day I went out for a practice sail - not least because I didn't want to let my rivals know I was ill - but I was pretty knackered and struggled.” -- Read on: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4561038.ece * While most sailors talked of losing body weight for the light winds that were expected for the Olympics, American teams in the Star and Tornado may have gone too far in gearing their equipment for the lower wind range. Monday’s medium-strength breeze was too strong for John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree in the Tornado event, where their small gennaker was to provide a decided edge in light winds. In the Star, John Dane III and Austin Sperry had chosen a hull designed for Qingdao’s predicted light winds, but as Dane said, “We used the light air equipment, but we haven’t sailed in any light air.” On this day, both teams recorded scores that were either last or near last. More bad news is in the forecast, for after Tuesday’s light air predictions, the wind is expected to steadily increase through the rest of the week. LIFE AT GROUND ZERO Qingdao, China -- After the day's sailing, American Star skipper John Dane III was standing in the middle of the dock area, reliving, with a few reporters, all of the jockeying he had done on the water over the past five hours -- the clever maneuvers, the strategic planning, his almost psychic reading of the winds -- when the dang thing almost clocked him in the head. "Watch out!" A wind-surfing sail, carried overhead by a Brazilian competitor, was caught by a gust as he walked past. Dane bobbed, the guy lifted the sail a few inches, and a nasty bump on the noggin' was avoided by an eyelash. Dane didn't give it a second thought, and the chat continued almost without a beat. "Man, it's dangerous out here," a European reporter mumbled. On the Olympic docks in the Sailing City, it's chaos when the afternoon's races are finished and exhausted competitors and their crews, racing against daylight and their appetites and tempers, are rushing to get their boats out of the bay and into storage. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/nj-com SAILING SHORTS * Erie, PA - After three beautiful days of sailing, 190 team races were completed for the 17 teams, with the crown ultimately being awarded to the New York Yacht Club Silver Panda team as the 2008 U.S. Team Racing Champion, defeating British team West Kirby Hawks in Sunday's finals without losing a single race. Silver Panda, consisting of Peter Levesque/Elizabeth Hall, Clay Bischoff/Lisa Keith, and Colin Merrick/Amanda Callahan, has once again qualified to represent the USA at the Team Racing World Championship to be held in Australia in early 2009. This is the team’s third consecutive win, and fourth time overall. -- http://www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/ustrc * The three day 2008 Verve Cup Offshore Regatta had 168 boats competing one design and PHRF fleets, with Bob Vickery’s Beneteau First 40.7 Collaboration 2 taking the 2008 Overall Verve Cup. In addition to the awards given to the top finishers in each section, the overall Verve Cup honor is given to the section winner whose fleet demonstrated the closest most competitive racing. This year the 40.7 fleet earned the recognition. -- Daily reports and results: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6257 * The acclaimed ‘voice of the Volvo Ocean Race’, Guy Swindells, and his team have been signed up to provide radio coverage of the 2008-09 edition. They will be producing dedicated reports from the race course for radio stations across the world in six languages. The team will be joined by multilingual reporter Amanda Blackley and a host of guest reporters. As well as race reporting, the team will be present at the stopovers to provide production facilities for visiting radio stations locally, nationally and internationally. It will be Swindells' third race providing radio coverage and Blackley's second. -- Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/vor0818 NEED A CAREER CHANGE, OR JUST A NEW BOAT? Sail1Design is sailing’s classified ad source, from boats to jobs. Today’s S1D spotlights: Head Coach, US Naval Academy; Eastern Yacht Sales, Marblehead MA, seeks a broker; Encinal Yacht Club, Alameda, CA seeks full-time Program Director; Hampton YC, Hampton VA seeks 8-month Sailing Coach. Lots more, and great boats for sale too! http://www.Sail1Design.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Lynn Rast: (re, the weather conditions for the 49er medal race) I wish I could say I had the "pleasure" of watching the 49er Medal race live online--but that would be totally untrue. I had the "horror" of watching these young sailors from all over the world (to include my son, Chris Rast) fight wind and water conditions that were totally over the top for 49ers, to say the least. I watched in total terror as one boat after the other disappeared into chop and flipped. At one point Mr Jobson asks, "What happened to the USA team? Where is the USA team? Nine out of ten boats are now flipped!" I was sick. Do these conditions qualify putting our loved ones and our friends at risk of losing their lives, let alone the extreme damage done to almost all the boats? Who made the final decision to hold these races that day? It was not a "race"; it was a a survivor training course held in extremely dangerous conditions. Although, I am sorry my son and Tim Wadlow did not finish the race, I feel my fervent prayers were answered as I witnessed this race---both of them made it back to shore alive. Am I the only parent, wife, husband, sibling, friend--who feels this race should not have taken place on Sunday?! * From Stephen A. Van Dyck, Clearwater, FL: Zach Railey is to be congratulated and cheered by all Americans. His Silver Medal is a wonderful achievement and brings great credit to the American Sailing Olympic Effort, Clearwater YC, and himself. That other team achievements (or lack thereof) garner more press in no way diminishes the fact that Zach beat every Finn sailor save four time Olympic medal winner Ainslie, a world-class professional who gets paid to sail. Zach embodies the finest of what we celebrate in American sports, start as a boy in an Optimist program, come to dream of an Olympic medal, and arrive as a man on the Olympic medal podium. In the Olympic tradition the disappointments of others only highlight Zach's achievement. * From Bill Sandberg: I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Faye Bennet (in Issue 2662). She was in short a class act. She spent many hours volunteering for sailing and her enthusiasm for it never waned. Our sport has lost a true champion. * From Nicole Breault: Good-bye, Faye Bennet. Thank you for being an important leader to many of us in the sport of sailing. * From Eric Wallischeck, ICSA Secretary: (re, Faye Bennet's passing) Faye was also a great supporter of college sailing, and judged many times at Kings Point and other MAISA schools. Obviously she will be remembered for her service to our sport, but she was just fun to be around. Her rapid-fire delivery was a trademark, as was her acerbic wit and occasional curmudgeon-ness. I always wanted to visit her at the Duck House, and can only imagine how she would have held court there, or at her local club. Our sport deserves characters who bring talent, passion, and color commentary to the table, and she brought all three in spades. Godspeed, Faye Bennet! * From Manfred C. Schreiber: (re, Richard Spencer’s letter in Butt 2662 concerning) I cannot agree with this as I do think that the judges only did good for our sport with their decision making in the 49er class. Putting sportsmanship in front of rules in this "strange" case. Haven´t they heard from all the Medal Race competitors before coming to a decision? That´s what I read today. The 49er class and the jury has shown great sportsmanship. Something which cannot be said for all classes. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Richard’s letter was written before the decision regarding the 49er medal race, while Manfred has commented after the decision. I must add a couple things: Richard was pointing out that the online protest information has not included the facts found, which has been a frequent complaint (though they have now been added); Richard also was wondering why the official race documents (SI’s, NOR, etc.) did not quickly resolve the issue. As for the final decision to validate the Danish 49er team’s medal race, I would like to think that it was based on the facts founds and not swayed by sentimentality or sportsmanship. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION The future ain’t what it used to be. Special thanks to North Sails, Camet, and Sail1Design. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
