|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2405 - August 7, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday with the support of its sponsors. TSA PERMITS CO2 CYLINDERS In 2006, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the United States permitted CO2 Cylinders With an Inflatable PFD to pass through their security checkpoints, only to reverse that decision roughly 45 days later when the liquids and gels terrorist plot broke open. Effective August 4, 2007, the TSA again permits the CO2 cylinders with an Inflatable PFD through their security checkpoints. The permission process this time went through the White House and Congress. It is expected that this approval will stay in place much longer due to a much broader approval process. TSA Screeners across the United States have been trained already and are prepared to let these through. Look under "Disabling Chemicals & Other Dangerous Items" for specifics: http://tinyurl.com/ptxdw Remember though, it is still each airlines choice whether to allow these on their airplanes and each sets their own policies (roughly 1/2 allow them and 1/2 don't). Check with your airline (and connecting or return flights) or their websites to make sure they allow them before you travel. GREAT AMERICAN III REFIT COMPLETE Portland, Maine: Another major milestone for Rich Wilson’s Great American III (GA III). A 10-month refit project on the Open 60 is complete. The GAIII was launched at Maine Yacht Center in Portland Maine last week, putting Skipper Rich Wilson a step closer in his quest to be the only American to race the 2008 Vendee Globe. The ten-month refit project at Maine Yacht Center included substantial stem repairs; removal and modification of the canting keel; rehab of the engine; total replacement of the electrical system as well as a new deck layout with a new pedestal. The next step for the GAIII: certification by IMOCA for the Vendee Globe race. Later this month, the boat will be hoisted out of Portland Harbor for its mandatory measurements and tests for certification. Then, in November, Wilson, along with co-skipper Mike Birch, will race the GAIII in the Transat Jacques Vabre doublehanded race from France to Brazil. -- For photos and complete report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0806a NO INTENTION TO CHANGE America's Cup champions Alinghi said Monday they would not go back on hotly contested rule changes which the Swiss syndicate plan to introduce for the next event scheduled for 2009 in Valencia, Spain. "We have no intention of going back (on decisions that have been taken)," Michel Hodara, the chief operating officer of America's Cup Management (ACM), set up by Alinghi to organize the yacht race, told AFP. Italian syndicate Mascalzone Latino has also urged a compromise solution on Friday to resolve the impasse. Mascalzone owner Vincente Onorato suggested not changing for 2009 the America's Cup Class yachts used this year but to move to the larger format Alinghi proposes for the following edition after that. The compromise solution was rejected by Hodara, who said the teams which take part 2009 Cup would get information on the characteristics of the new boats from September 15, ahead of an October 31 deadline. "It is a shame that people could think that things would not be carried out in a fair and just way," said Hodara. -- France 24, complete story: http://tinyurl.com/39yd84 * Renowned New Zealand journalist Peter Lester provided a podcast interview on NZ radio last Sunday morning, offering a handy refresher on many of the salient events that have occurred since Alinghi defended at the 32nd America ’s Cup, and how relevant they are to the future of the event. -- Valencia Sailing, click here for audio: http://tinyurl.com/2ny2aw THE MELGES BRAND SPREADS WORLDWIDE You cannot slow down excitement. The Melges 32, Melges 24, and Melges 17 begin to grow internationally with the formation of Melges Europe. The Melges 24 has been extremely strong in Europe with World and European Championships. Now the new Melges 32 takes hold with a racing circuit scheduled for 2008. Here in the USA, the Melges 32 heads west to the Big Boat Series where there will be a well established fleet racing. Then the famous Melges Winter Series will begin. Race to http://www.Melges.com CANADIAN CUPPER Curtis Blewett was the fearless mid bowman on Alinghi, a Canadian with an appetite for all sports - hunting, fishing, biking, mountaineering - and sailing. He grew up next to a lake inland of Vancouver, but packed his bag and headed south to seek his career in sailing. * There aren’t many Canadians in the America’s Cup. How did you get your break into the racing scene? Said Blewett: “I had to move down to California. I packed up when I was at college. I got on the Greyhound bus and went to sail on anything I could get on. I managed to get into the Maxi racing scene. I would do the Transpacs [Transpacific Race]. I worked a lot of years on the bigger Maxis doing the Sydney Hobart Race and a few Kenwood Cups. I did a bit of sailing on Sayonara, on Larry’s boat [Larry Ellison’s Maxi yacht]. That led to Whitbreads and then the Cup.” * So you built a reputation on the offshore scene, but how did you convert that to the Cup scene? Said Blewett: “I did the Whitbread 97-98 with Paul Cayard [whose EF Language team won that edition of round the world race]. Cayard was keen for me to do the Cup. I was kind of reluctant. He was pushing me to come and join AmericaOne. He convinced me to do it in the end. He said: ‘We’ll do the match race circuit, just join the team, you’ll be one of the riggers, I think you’ll like it.’ I wasn’t sure if match racing was my thing. I just liked sailing round the world and climbing mountains. But in the end I got pretty stoked on the inshore racing and the subtleties of the match racing. I did the bow for Paul in that big final against Prada [the Louis Vuitton Cup Final 2000], and that led to a call from Alinghi.” -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/2t7ag6 INDEPENDENCE CUP/NORTH AMERICAN CHALLENGE CUP Chicago, Ill. August 6, 2007 -- Top-ranked disabled sailors competing at the annual U.S. Independence Cup/North American Challenge Cup—hosted August 2-6 by the Chicago Yacht Club--were treated to a range of wind conditions, from light air to teen-strength breeze. Wind conditions may have been varied, but fleet leaders remained consistent in their performances. Mark LeBlanc from New Orleans, in his early 20s, the youngest skipper to become a class winner at this US Sailing Championship, never finished worse than third place to capture a win in the singlehanded 2.4mR class. Freedom Independence winner Karen Mitchell, racing with JP Creignou, became the first five-time champion in the history of this event. The Sonar class was topped by skipper Albert Foster, age 70, sailing with David Burdette and Jim Thweatt. Those who follow this championship cannot but helped be inspired by the disabled sailors who often face enormous hurdles, just to reach the starting line. Sonar contender Lieutenant John Pucillo went from elite Navy diver to disabled Iraq vet to Paralympic hopeful, all in less than a year. He and his team finished fourth, but Pucillo's outlook demonstrates he has already logged a personal victory, just by getting into the game. “Disabled sailing has taught me that you can do extraordinary things, even though bad things have happened,” he said. -- Event site: http://www.ussailing.org/championships/adult/usic ROAD TO ROLEX Portsmouth, RI (Aug. 6) - This past weekend, 18 youth sailors took part in the first ever Junior Road to Rolex Clinic, held at Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. The two-day keelboat clinic is a new initiative of US Sailing and Rolex to support junior women sailors in making the transition from dinghies to keelboats and with an eye toward future competition in the Rolex International Women’s Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC). The girls – ranging in age from 14-18 and traveling from as far away as California and St. Croix – had also participated in the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship, which preceded the clinic. Coaching and classroom instruction featured US Sailing Team member (470 women) Molly O’Bryan Vandemoer while the Sonar keelboats and housing were generously provided by the Sonar Class Association and Eastern Yacht Club with organization by Deborah Noble. HOBART EXTREME SHORTS These shorts are perfect for everyone...from the yacht racer to the day sailor, from the kayaker to the mountain climber. The new nylon fabric is lightweight, yet made for the abuse. It has a DWR (Durable Water Repellent) finish that dries quickly and has a UV rating of 40+. The Hobart Extreme Technical Shorts are the lightest shorts on the market weighing in at a mere 9 ounces. Offset side seams reduce chafing and the improved design, with a clean relaxed profile, gives you extreme flexibility. Lightweight Code Zero shirts, pants, etc. So go and get some at http://www.camet.com/?Click=417 NOTICE TO MARINERS Newport, RI -- With a record 455 entries for the 2007 Optimist New England Championship hosted this week at Sail Newport on August 7-9, you figure that there has to be a Notice to Mariners issued for the Narragansett Bay area. That many boats must fill up the bay, and god-forbid you happen to be downwind of the course when a big blow comes through. With 60% chance of rain on Wednesday accompanied by high winds and scattered thunderstorms, visions of tumbleweeds bounding across the barren desert comes to mind. And these are just daytime concerns. The risk seems high of getting trampled at the Ryan Family Amusement center on Thames Street, which claims to have a “games room featuring over 50 of the hottest/ coolest arcade & skill games.” That would seem to be of interest to at least some of the 455 Opti sailors. No doubt the ‘buttheads of Team One Newport are running low on youth sized everything, and who knows how long the line will be this week at the Cold Stone Creamery on Bellevue Ave. Rough goings could extend to the gas stations too, as an Opti fleet of this size must also carry with it a flotilla of Mommy Boats (aka, support RIBs). Where were the CNN warnings for the locals when they needed them? -- Scuttleblog, http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/08/notice-to-mariners.html SAILING SHORTS * The first ISAF Team Racing World Championships was held in 1995, and since then the event has been held biennially. The teams representing the USA at the 2007 ISAF Team Racing Worlds in Spain this September will be Silver Panda and Larchmont. Team members for Silver Panda are Pete Levesque/ Liz Hall, Clay Bischoff/ Lisa Keith, Mike Buckley/ Amanda Callahan, and the Larchmont team is comprised of Sean Doyle/ Caroline Hall, Cardwell Potts/ Lilly Beck, Danny Pletsch/ Emily Whipple. The Silver Panda team was second at the Worlds in 2005, and is the current U.S. Team Racing Champions. -- http://tinyurl.com/2k57w4 * 107 entries were signed up for last weekend's 35th running of the 81-mile Santa Barbara to King Harbor Race, and they were treated to the variety of conditions that characterizes the course - light air start, windier reach to the gap between Santa Cruz and Anacapa Islands, zephyrs on the back side of Anacapa, stronger winds along the shore to Pt. Dume, and then, once the sun sets, very light - if any wind - to the finish. For the slower boats that decided to stick it out, it was a very long night on the quiet waters of Santa Monica Bay. -- Race report and results at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0806b * The 2007 US Windsurfing National Championship & Formula Windsurfing North American Championship are being held at Crissy Field, San Francisco, California on August 7-11. Approximately 100 racers from around the world will be competing in course racing, long distance, and slalom. Blog reports: http://2007uswnats.blogspot.com Info podcast: http://homepage.mac.com/sailing/fna0107.mp3 * 50 Hobie 16s and 22 Hobie 20s competed in their North American Championships last week in Alameda, CA, with Aaron Worrall/ Brad Wilson and Brian Lambert/ Jamie Livingston claiming the respective titles. -- Complete results: http://www.hobienorthamericans.com/results_8.3.htm * San Francisco, CA -- Last weekend St. Francis Yacht Club hosted the IRC West Coast Championships as part of the Aldo Alessio Regatta presented by Fremont Bank. Racing consisted of a 28-mile offshore race sailed in 6 to 9 knots of wind on Friday and then buoy racing in 10 to 25 knots of wind Saturday and Sunday. The overall winner was Bob Wolfe sailing his TP 52 Mayhem from Vancouver with the top local IRC boat, John Seigel’s Wylie 42 Scorpio, finishing second. Third was Mike Garl’s Beneteau 40.7 White Dove. -- Event site: http://tinyurl.com/3a4sru * Corona del Mar, CA -- Eight southern California teams gathered last weekend at Balboa Yacht Club for the Balboa Challenge 2007, an interclub event sailed in the evenly matched fleet of Governors Cup 21s provided for the event. While Dave Ullman’s team from the host club were the early leaders, it was brothers Mike and John Pinckney, each representing separate clubs from the OC, that ended the regatta tied on points, with Mike’s team of Peter Newbre and Erik Shampain from Bahia Corinthian YC winning the final race to provide the vital tie-breaking edge to garner the title. -- Complete report with photos and results at http://lenboseyachts.blogspot.com/2007/08/balboa-challenge-2007.html VANGUARD GEAR AVAILABLE AT TEAM ONE NEWPORT Vanguard and Team One Newport, two leaders in the industry, have joined forces to provide high end Vanguard, Sunfish, and Laser branded gear. Fleece vests, jackets, polos, hats, belts, and more are available now for purchase for yourself or for your event. To get your gear now, go to http://www.team1newport.com/products.asp?dept=172 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Jim Durden: (edited to the 250-word limit) The piece (in Issue 2404) on the "Ten Commandments For Club Racing" is a concept more Yacht Clubs need to embrace in order to gain more participation from racing sailors and their crew. We need to convince our local clubs that less is more, and quality over quantity. Anytime a spot opens up on the racing calendar, some club wants to fill it with a new event that they are sure will attract the big crowd; but it doesn't. My suggestion is to limit the number of local regattas to one a month, (there should be plenty of "Club" activities aside from racing). During the first weekend in January, my area in Los Angeles gets over 100 boats for a mildly interesting 19-mile up the coast and back race, and it gets that great turnout because there has been NO racing for six weeks. We see over 100 boats racing on Wednesday nights because it's a perfect excuse to get out of the office early and go do a short race with friends and family and then socialize at the club afterwards over a burger and a beer. A lot of skippers and crew get their racing "fix" on Wednesday night, because it is FUN, and don't feel the need to satisfy their racing addiction by committing a lot of quality time to a weekend event that turns out to be less fun than they had on Wednesday night. Less is more. * From Stu Weintraub, CEO, Weintraub Media Group: Thank you for your recent coverage of the floating billboard controversy which involves my company, Weintraub Media Group (beginning from Issue 2402). I am consistently impressed with your community of active readers and thoughtful contributors. As an entrepreneur, responsible business owner, and a “leave-notrace” outdoor recreational enthusiast and friend of the environment, I wish to offer a few of my thoughts in response to reader’s posted comments. One of your readers pointed out that sporting events do have advertising displayed and likely obtained the appropriate licenses to do so. WMG strives to be a friend and abiding company of the city of San Diego, and we believe that our floating billboard could be of immense value to public service campaigns while upholding all regulations. We would embrace and look forward to promoting such messages as, “Help keep San Diego Bay Clean”, Welcome Home Navy Sailors… Thank You for Keeping Us Safe”, or “Don’t Drink and Boat” messages. I feel that these messages are hardly unsightly and actually add, in a favorable way, to our bay side’s scenery. Also, as much as I would like WMG to take credit for being the first company to launch a floating billboard, I must point your readers to the fact that they have been used for several years internationally and by well-respected corporations. Disney, Nike, State Farm Insurance, and American Airlines, among several others, have used floating billboards in areas from Maine to Mexico and plan to use them in events such as the 2008 China Olympics. Thus, floating billboard advertising has not spread “like cancer,” but has been used strategically and appropriately in targeted areas. -- Complete letter: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0806 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: While the feedback thus far has not been too supportive of Stu’s venture, we applaud him coming forward, and we are pleased to provide some balance to the conversation. * From Dennis Palmer: Mr. Weintraub is no doubt looking to get the best return on investment (ROI) he can from his floating billboards. Cost containment is a good way to maximize ROI. There is no need for Mr. Weintraub to go the expense of building floating barges with billboards. If he pays me a modest monthly fee, I would grant him the privilege of providing me with a new suit of sails for my boat with sponsor logos. * From Bob Bausch: (edited to the 250-word limit) While the 32nd America’s Cup ended nearly two months ago, I still have this feeling that there was no official ending to the Cup, other than the victor hoisting the Cup. No festivities where the loser would be feted, or at least acknowledged. ETNZ was shut out of the Alinghi closing press conference, which I guess explains why Versus had nothing on it. When you go to the TNZ site, nothing is there either. They should not be ashamed, they should be proud of what they accomplished. I have a feeling if they had won the “one second race” they would have gone on to win the Cup. I think New Zealand has shown they are the true sportsmen; Alinghi has shown something quite different, and very Swiss. Face it, they are landlubbers, but they can cover it up with money! This Cup was really one of the most exciting ever, but has left me with the most unfinished feeling I’ve ever had from an America’s Cup, now that it’s over. This likely due in part to me being a New Zealander, but also I think because of winner Bertarelli’s arrogant and high handed manner, now apparently dictating the way he will defend the 33rd AC. Sadly, now Butterworth has bought into that system. I sure wouldn’t want to be Brad’s neighbor in the new property he is buying down in New Zealand. Like living next to a traitor. And a braggart. I think he better stay in Switzerland. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION A centipede is merely an ant made to government specifications. Special thanks to Melges Performance Sailboats, Camet International, and Vanguard Sailboats. |
