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SCUTTLEBUTT 1697 - October 26, 2004Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. MASSIVE MAKE-OVER The class of yacht used to decide the oldest trophy in the history of sport, the America's Cup, is destined for a massive make-over under the guidance of Australian Grant Simmer should the Swiss Alinghi team successfully defend it in 2007. Simmer, who was navigator for Australia II's historic cup win in 1983 and now works as design coordinator for Alinghi, says the change is essential because the America's Cup is lagging behind the latest design technology. What is being considered bears a distinct similarity to the design being proposed by former Alinghi helmsman Russell Coutts and associate Paul Cayard for a new international event that has the potential to rival the America's Cup as the world's highest-profile yachting event. Coutts, the most successful skipper in the Cup's 152-year history, has pursued his yet-to-be-announced new regatta in the wake of his falling out with and subsequent sacking by Swiss billionaire and Alinghi boss, Ernesto Bertarelli. I will certainly be pushing for a new class after 2007," Simmer said. "Unfortunately the America's Cup is no longer at the forefront of yachting technology; the designs are really lagging behind the modern ocean racing maxi boats, and it shouldn't be that way. The America's Cup should be showing the way. "I do believe that it was the right decision to stick with the current design in the Cup's first match in Europe, but the class has been around since 1990 and it's time for a change. "My thoughts on the new design are that the yacht should be a lot lighter yet a little larger than the existing boats, and while they will remain a match racing boat they will be a lot faster. The design rule should allow for development. "It was no secret that Russell actually wanted to go to a more extreme, canting keel boat for 2007, and maybe that's where we'll end up. What I do know is that we need more exciting boats for the cup." - Excerpts from a story by Rob Mundle, The Weekend Australian, full story: http://tinyurl.com/4ky6j BIG The list of 205 entries gives a strong indication as to how international the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), organized by the World Cruising Club, has remained over the years, with 24 nations represented in the fleet, not to mention the mixture of nationalities amongst crew members. Entries from the UK last year were over the halfway mark, however this year 43% of the fleet are from Britain, still the largest country entry. Germany is the next largest group with 14% of the fleet and there is a strong presence from the Netherlands, America, Norway, Italy and France. The average size of yacht in the ARC is now 47ft (14.50m), a slight increase on previous years, with 32 boats under 40ft (12m) taking part this year. The smallest yacht in the ARC at 9.09m is Glad, a Comfort 30 from Norway. At the opposite end of the scale are the two giants in this years ARC; Peter Harrison's Sojana at 125 feet (38.11 metres) and Leopard of London at 29.49m, both from the UK. This year's ARC starts on November 21 from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Rodney Bay Marina St. Lucia. The 2700 nm passage will take most of the yachts between 16 and 21 days - www.worldcruising.com/arc MAJOR AWARDS US Sailing recognized several sailing organizations and volunteers at the organization's annual general meeting in Portland, Ore. last Saturday: - Robie Pierce (Newport, RI) was presented with the Gay S. Lynn Trophy for outstanding contributions to disabled sailors and the sport of disabled sailing which have introduced hundreds of disabled people to the joys of sailing and sailboat racing. - John Malatak, a lifelong supporter of boating safety through education and training, has received the Timothea Larr Award for his lifelong commitment to boating safety through education and training and outstanding contributions to the advancement of sailor education and training in the United States. - The President's Award will be presented to Chris Bedford (Watertown, Mass.) for the outstanding meteorological services he donated to the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team in Athens last summer, as well as to the US Sailing Team throughout 2004. - The President's Industry Award will be presented to A.G.A. Correa & Son (Edgecomb, ME) for creating and donating spectacular trophies for the top five winners at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Sailing. - www.ussailing.org WINTER UPGRADES The winter racing season is just around the corner and even older Ockam systems still handily outperform other brand's current systems. Just imagine the advantage of upgrading your system to Ockam's 2004 specs. Ockam offers a Trade-Up program that offers big savings; whether revving up your 001 CPU with Unisyn firmware, upgrading your interfaces and sensors, trading your tired old displays for the amazing multi-function Matryx display, networking a computer with OckamSoft 4 and a wireless PDA running Eye software, or stepping up to a full Tryad system. Contact Lat Spinney (lat@ockam.com) or visit http://www.ockam.com 49 YEAR OLD MAN WITH A SMILE You will have to excuse John Ross-Duggan if he keeps smiling. It helps to understand that the forty-nine-year-old skipper has just returned from Greece after winning the Bronze medal in the sonar class, at the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. "The keys to winning were preparation, that was certainly an element. We had a great team dynamic," Ross-Duggan explained when he returned home. "We had a lot of cohesion. We like each other as a group. There was some friction obviously because of the event but we were real tight and we functioned pretty well under the pressure, which I was very proud of. All but one of these guys hadn't done an event at this level. Brad [Johnson] actually hadn't done any sailing before. You step up to the plate on something like this and you've got the biggest butterflies in your stomach when you hit the starting line in the first race." The win over the Germans was exhilarating but also a little bittersweet for Ross-Duggan. "Well, Jens Kroker, the German skipper and I, have a tremendous amount of mutual respect for each other. We like each other. He's a wonderful sailor, he was a 470 sailor his whole life and he could go out right now and do a 470. So, sailing in the disabled arena for him is less challenging. He's that good a sailor. So to actually tie and then beat him was a real honor. Those guys sailed well enough we probably should have split the Bronze medals with them." Despite life's setbacks and tragedies, the racing doctor still marvels at what takes place on the water. However, with age, have come wisdom and a greater appreciation of what it means to be a sailor. "The feeling of winning is great. I'm actually a guy who enjoys the journey more than the win. I like the path along the way of the racers and the training," Ross-Duggan confided. "I enjoy the growth of my sailing ability. Sailing is like playing chess on the water. You are always going to get better with time. You are always going to learn things. That's what I like about it. It is mentally and physically challenging and you are doing a water sport." So stand aside for the guy with the grin. John Ross-Duggan the sailor and racer will tell you, he has a lot to smile about. - Excerpts from a story by John Gregg posted on the West Marine website: http://tinyurl.com/5oe34 LIGHTER, STRONGER AND FASTER. Dr. Raymond Freymann, Managing Director BMW Group Research and Technology, and Hans-Joachim Stuck, BMW Brand Ambassador and former Formula 1 driver visited BMW Oracle Racing last week to discuss the transfer of technology between BMW and the team's America's Cup effort. The work will focus on structural design and construction materials used in the yachts. "There's no doubt the auto industry is a driver of innovation in industry," Freymann said. "And each of our engineers needs a challenge. This America's Cup is an area where our engineers can really go to the limit." The engineers will perform simulation and optimization of the sailing yacht to a level not employed in yacht design previously with the goal to produce a boat that is lighter, stronger and faster. - www.bmworacleracing.com THE BOARD On Saturday October 23, the following Officers and Board Members of US Sailing for 2004-2005 were elected: President - Janet Baxter; Vice Presidents - Jim Capron, Fred Hagedorn, Tom Hubbell, Bill Munster, Joni Palmer, and Bill Sandberg; Secretary - Dick Hanneman; Treasurer - Leslie Keller; At Large Members of the Board - John Amos, Means Davis, Joey Harris, Betty Sue Sherman and Adam Werblow; Women's Representative - Charlie Arms; Youth Representative - Jerelyn Biehl; Council of Sailing Associations Area Reps: Area B - Bob Counihan; Area D - Norton Brooker; Area F - Karen Smith; Area G - Tom Roberts; Area H - Jan Visser; Area J - Stan Betts. - www.ussailing.org/bod/2004slate.htm CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar MUSTO AND THE VENDÉE GLOBE The Vendée Globe is tough. It is a grueling 27,000-mile solo race - hence Musto is the brand of choice for over 50% of the entries including Mike Golding (Ecover), Nick Moloney (Skandia) and Alex Thompson (Boss). Musto's HPX foul weather gear will protect the skippers from the elements whist in the heart of the Southern Ocean, where towering seas, temperatures below zero, and hurricane force winds are the norm, not forgetting icebergs which are an ever-present danger. You don't need to race solo around Antarctica to experience Musto. Give it a try next time: http://www.musto.co.uk GLOBAL CHALLENGE Vaio moved ahead on Day 21 as previous leaders Samsung (Matt Riddell), continue to hold further east and offshore as the fleet pass the tip of Brazil. After the shake-out going between the Canaries, the fleet have held a pretty settled order, but Samsung has suffered with her pursuers lining up inside her track. The fleet are locked into broad-reaching downwind conditions, the leaders level with the island of Fernando de Noronha, heading for the entrance of the River Plate and a finish in about 10 days. At the back, the leg has been difficult enough already for the Save the Children crew, now fully 600 miles off the lead and even 330 miles behind 11th-placed Pindar (Loz Marriott). Global Challenge Standings: (Leg 1, Portsmouth-Buenos Aires): 1, Vaio (A. Sorrentino) 2,066m to go yesterday 1358GMT; 2, Samsung (M. Riddell) 2,067; 3, Barclays Adventurer (S. Jackson) 2,082; 4, BP Explorer (D. Melville) 2,118; 5, BG Spirit (A. Forbes) 2,127; 6, Spirit of Sark (D. Gillespie) 2,130; 7, SAIC (E. Lehtinen) 2,162; 8, Stelmar (C. Cosby) 2,199; 9, Imagine it. Done. (D. Caffari) 2,222; 10, Me to You (J. Allen) 2,308; 11, Pindar (L. Marriott) 2,346; 12, Save the Children (P. Kelly) 2,673. - Excerpts from a story by Tim Jeffery, the Daily Telegraph, http://tinyurl.com/4t2zt Event website: http://www.globalchallenge2004.com/en/ NEWS BRIEFS * Sunday afternoon 142 skippers checked in for the start of today's Baja Ha-Ha Rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas with stops at Turtle Bay and Bahia Santa Maria. Previously the biggest Ha-Ha fleet was 112 boats, so it's a significant increase. Commander's Weather calls for light air until Thursday afternoon, but which time the fleet should be comfortably at anchor in Turtle Bay. During the event itself, photos should be posted on 'lectronic Latitude via www.latitude38.com * The Transpac 52 class has posted on their website the winning entry in its class logo contest. Who won the prize for this design? The winner has asked to remain anonymous: http://transpac52.org/Documents/mainsaillogo.htm * Tip of the day: Don't waste your joy soap trying to "cut" spilled diesel on the deck when you refill the tank. Instead, pour a coke soda on the spill, and wipe it off. This will easily cut the diesel oil and make clean up easy! - J. M. Marta CLARENCE O. "BUD" JONES International Lightning Class past President Clarence O. "Bud" Jones passed away last week with the same quiet dignity that he led his life. A brilliant engineer, having served as the Chief Engineer of the Niagara Machine Tool company, he used his professional skills in an important role during the critical time in the Lightning Class when the class changed from a wooden mast with jumpers to the now standard aluminum oval section, helping to preserve the integrity of the class that so many people around the world have enjoyed for decades. Bud also served as Commodore of the Niagara Sailing Club and as a Director of the Buffalo Canoe Club. Bud is survived by his wife Audrey and sons Chris and Craig, their wives Colleen and Karen and five grandchildren. Friends from out of town may wish to sign the guest book at: http://tinyurl.com/47vzm OFFSHORE EXPERIENCE Bill Biewenga, veteran ocean racer and weather router is available to coach you, your crew, speak at your club, or provide professional delivery of your yacht. Bill brings over 320,000 ocean miles and 17 years of routing experience to each project. For information, email billbiewenga@compuserve.com or visit http://www.weather4sailors.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. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Bobbi Tosse: The answer to Rob Anderson's question of when does the taxpayer take the write-off (Scuttlebutt 1696) is year of donation. If, by some horrible happenstance, the charity sells the item before the 24 months is up, then the taxpayer is obligated to amend his/her return. (On the assumption that the organization sold the item for less than what was deducted by the taxpayer.) The key is to donate to an organization that you know will wait for at least 24 months to sell. There is no obligation on the part of the organization to report to the IRS if the item sold has been in their possession at least 24 months before selling. Basically, the "new" rules that go into effect Jan. 1, 2005 for donating autos, boats, planes, etc. are the same rules of yore for donations over $5000 - it's just that now they apply to donations over $500. So, there really isn't anything new. All of our donated boats are worth gobs more than $5,000 anyway - right? It's really all those donors of 20 year old automobiles 'worth' over $3,500 that are going to have grief. And, if you're contemplating donating your boat, and its value is less than $5000, donating in 2004 would be easier than waiting until after Jan. 1, 2005. Of course, you should consult with your own tax advisor on this subject. * From Rand Milton (regarding Chris Boome comments about tax laws on donations): Having handled a lot of boat donations for different charities, there are some points to consider for boat donations: 1. Always use a recognized top-notch appraiser. Responsibility of a valid appraisal rests with both the donor and the appraiser, and not the charity. 2. The reality of receiving an appraisal much higher that its true market value is very real. Especially when two appraisals are done - one for the boat itself, and two, for the basement full of old sails that you may think are worthless, but actually have a lot of value in a donation. Always keep a record of all the capital improvements that you have made on a boat as these can help justify a higher appraisal. 3. To prevent a potential problem, it is wise to have the charity keep the donation for at least two years. After two years, the charity may sell the asset for any price and should not cause a problem for the donor even if the price is lower than the appraised value. The charity will also not be required to file Form 8282 with the IRS which is required if the asset is sold within two years. The bottom line is that donating vessels is a great way to support worthy organizations. That said, be sure to ask lots of questions about the charitable organizations plans for your donation. Also, be sure to check with a reputable tax consultant fluent in such transactions before you proceed. * From Franck Pellerin (regarding John Sweeney's on-the-water lecture to a young competitor on the virtues of rule 2 - Scuttlebutt 1696). I respectfully suggest that Mr. Sweeney attempted to teach the wrong lesson. The fact is that the RRS do not contain a single rule which allows a competitor to assign a penalty to another. There is a rule however which allows you to simply 'Protest'. This single word would have put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the young man to decide, pronto, whether to do a 720 or meet later. No need for a lecture. Very time effective. Very quick lesson. Ironically, the young man was also in a position to teach Mr. Sweeney a lesson. He could have entertained the lecture ad infinitum and, should the elder finally protest correctly, allege that he was not informed in the prescribed fashion at the first reasonable opportunity. Fifteen years ago, I wrote a "Protest Etiquette" for our Club and it begins: "Do not, under any circumstance, order or direct someone to 'Do a 720 !!!' and wait for him to do so. You could wait until the cows come home ..." * From Mark Lammens (re John Sweeney's sportsmanship comments - edited to our 250-word limit): It is important not to confuse ignorance of the rules with sportsmanship. I also sense that sometimes youth training does not reflect 'sailing by the rules', (Coaches take note). Perhaps it could have been handled a little differently as well. Having the discussion with him as the incident as developing (it was a light air day) and discuss his obligations before the 2 boat length circle, in a factual, non-emotional manner (You have no overlap at the 2 boat length circle for my bow..... you have to go behind me). As for losing his valuable position, well he passed 5 boats doing something that was illegal, and remind him of that on the dock. Also, make sure you also have a reputation as fair sailor and appropriate mentor and always do your penalty circles when you foul someone and do them without being told' Protest' if you know you are wrong. I believe that this is an opportunity to create a positive learning moment, and it could be done in a manner that does not threaten their sporting existence. My experience with kids is they want to succeed, but sometimes need to be shown how this works. Having said all of that, sometimes the best way to really make an impression is going into the protest room. Juries are also trying to make the protest experience a positive learning opportunity. PS shouldn't he have done 2 circles instead of 1 ? * From Brooks Magruder, Singapore: Regarding F1/ Acup & Ford/ Jaguar pulling out of F1, note that Ford through Volvo is also migrating from elite golfing sponsorship to sailing. In Singapore, Volvo is often a marquee sponsor of regattas and their sponsorship of Volvo Ocean Race/ Open70 shows that branding with sailing, Ford chooses sailing over F1 and over golf for its focused "life-style" marketing dollars. CURMUDGEON'S OXYMORONS Diet ice cream |
