|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2815 - Friday, April 3, 2009Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Today's sponsors are The Pirate’s Lair and Quantum Sails. COURT OF APPEALS STRAIGHTENS IT ALL OUT by Cory Friedman, Scuttlebutt legal analyst (April 2, 2009) There is a famous photograph of Joe DiMaggio’s swing in which the Yankee Clipper demonstrates seemingly effortless power. Today, the New York Court of Appeals demonstrated the same effortless power as it made crushing Société Nautique De Genève (SNG) look as easy as DiMaggio or Ruth crushing one deep into the stands. Just another day’s work applying the KISS principle on Eagle Street. Indeed, the unanimous decision, which only cites a single case other than Mercury Bay and no statutes, is so straightforward and accessible that there is little to explain. Having means having, not going to have, wanting to have, thinking about having, or day dreaming about having. Annual means you have done it at least once and plan to do it every year thereafter. In other words, the Deed means what it says and what it says is what everyone has to live with. All that remains is sweeping up SNG’s flaming wreckage. The interesting issues are where we go from here and some of the subtle things the court wrote to dissuade a SNG reappearance in court. (Irony challenged ‘Buttheads on a jihad against lawyers, the legal system, and traditional notions of fair play should jump ship here, before I cause them to hit the send button.) The court reversed the Appellate Division and reinstated now retired Justice Cahn’s “orders” – all of them. A nice belated Valentine for Justice Cahn. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/#p35 * Société Nautique de Genève statement: “It has consistently been our view that the America's Cup should be fought on the water. Today through the American courts the Golden Gate Yacht Club has won the right to challenge the Société Nautique de Genève. We will now discuss the terms for the regatta with them and will prepare our defence of the 33rd America's Cup.” * Club Náutico Español de Vela statement: “Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV) and Desafío Español have received the news of the New York Court’s decision with disappointment. The court’s decision confirms Golden Gate Yacht Club as the Challenger of Record, to the detriment of the Spanish club. Confirmation is now awaited on statements made by the BMW Oracle Racing Team indicating the possibility of a conventional America’s Cup with multiple teams, reaching an agreement with current defender Alinghi.” * Golden Gate Yacht Club statement: None yet. * Vincenzo Onorato, Mascalzone Latino team: “I am happy for Oracle's victory. I would like to remind everyone that Mr. Bertarelli was the one who excluded Russell Coutts from the last edition of the America's Cup: the greatest race in the world without the greatest yachtsman of all time! Get lost Alinghi and the same goes to all those teams of cunning professionals who hypocritically supported him until now. The boat race returns to the water, as the judges of the Supreme Court of New York have written and sanctioned. We will live the super match of the third millennium among the two "trima-monsters" of Oracle and Alinghi in a showdown at the OK Corral.” PUTTING A PRICE ON SAVING A LIFE The race may be over, but the Vendée Globe has just dropped one of its biggest bombshells - one that ought to bring race organisers everywhere out in goosebumps. The prospect is of the race being mired, America's Cup style, in litigation. But it has much wider implications. This dispute is over who should bear the financial consequences of saving a life at sea, something that until now no-one has dared publicly place a price on. One sponsor now has. PRB, backers of Vicent Riou, says it cost them 750,000 euros (about 1 million dollars) to cover the costs of rescuing of Jean Le Cam near Cape Horn in January - and they want someone else to pay it back. Vincent Riou damaged PRB's deck spreader when he hit the keel of the upturned VM Matériaux trying to get close enough to rescue Le Cam. Several days later, at the entrance to the Beagle Channel, the mast came down. The boat was repaired, shipped back to France and a new mast is being built. To recoup its costs, PRB is investigating possible legal action against the race organisers, race directors, the owners of VM Matériaux, the boat's underwriters and Jean Le Cam. The move is being led by PRB's chief executive, Jean-Jacques Laurent. Riou says he is not involved but "welcomes the initiative". -- Yachting World, read on: http://www.yachtingworld.com/yw/blog/20090302160439blog_elaine_bunting.html OFFICIAL MOUNT GAY RUM GEAR AT THE PIRATES LAIR Pick up moisture wicking tees, fuzzy vests, jackets, and other excellent loot today. Also check out official Newport to Ensenada shirts, hats, and outerwear. Log on to http://www.pirateslair.com/store/index.html to shop. DENIED The Volvo Ocean Race international jury on April 2nd has ruled against the Telefonica Blue team in their request for redress filed on March 29th, which was based on the incident at the start of Leg 5 in Qingdao when the team went aground, and were delayed 19 hours to affect repairs. The team believed the incident could have been avoided had the Race Committee and/or Organising Authority not held the start in an area that was insufficiently charted, or hosted the event at a site with inadequate depth to allow Telefonica Blue back into the harbour. Link to original redress filing: http://noticeboard.volvooceanrace.org/wp-content/uploads/tela-redress.pdf Seven of the eight teams (Team Russia is not racing) are expected to be ready for the Rio de Janeiro In-Port Race on April 4th, with Leg 6 from Rio to Boston (4,900 nm) to begin April 11th, with the teams expected to begin finishing by April 27th. Live video, audio, and tracking for the Rio de Janeiro In-Port Race on April 4th starts 15:45 GMT (8:45 am Pacific Time). -- VOR TV, http://www.volvooceanrace.tv/page/Live/0,,12573,00.html Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com SAILING FITNESS: MAST Harry Legum of Annapolis Sailing Fitness has been a trainer/coach for over twenty years, and has created a ‘fitness for sailing’ program utilized by many teams and illustrious sailors such as Terry Hutchinson and Anna Tunnicliffe. Here he provides some exercises to aid the ‘mast’ position on larger keelboats, where the job includes pulling in the halyards along the mast to facilitate speedy headsail and spinnaker hoists. Here are his tips: Jumping halyards occurs at this position. Speed is needed and a good amount of upper body strength. These exercises will be great for this position: * Lat Pulldowns and Rows (standing and seated). These back exercises would be considered essential. They will not only get your back strong but work the shoulders, arms, core and forearms. Depending upon your grip, wide or narrow, you will be working different areas of the back. Harry’s nuggets: At the cable machine, use a rope when doing pulldowns or rows. * Standing Rows will focus on the middle aspect of your back known as the rhomboids. Do this exercise on a Bosu Ball or some other device that will challenge your balance and stability. Many other exercises will be included into a routine for working the mast. These include shoulders, biceps, forearms, core, speed and agility training as well as ensuring that our lower half is conditioned to give us a rock solid foundation. Additional tips here: http://www.na.northsails.com/tabid/13139/Default.aspx BOOT CAMP FOR ELITE YOUTH SAILORS (Long Beach, CA) - Seven months after the Olympic Games, the glow is still there drawing the USA's best young sailing prospects to the California International Sailing Association's 32nd annual Advanced Racing Clinic at Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Saturday through Tuesday. But it's no spring break. More than 100 boys and girls ages 13 to 18 selected on the basis of their sailing résumés will be coached and lectured by an elite team of instructors led by director and 2008 Olympic Laser class competitor Andrew Campbell of San Diego. "I'm excited to be working with this group of kids," said Campbell, 25. "They're at least one sailing generation behind me . . . a whole fresh group of sailors." -- Full story: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0402 BACK IN BLACK!!! Quantum’s FUSION M "all black" Technora sails turn heads with top results in class championships all over the world! Top Corinthian teams & Pro teams are turning to Quantum for the fastest and easiest sails to set up in the Melges 24 Class. Check out the cool speed at http://www.quantumsails.com/classes/class_detail.aspx?class=30 SAILING SHORTS * The 2009 J/24 World Championship, hosted by Annapolis Yacht Club, April 30-May 8, already has 78 entries from eighteen countries. All competitors qualify through a regional, national or international event or nomination to represent their country in the World Championship. Entries close April 8th. The fleet includes five former J/24 World Champions together with five North American champions; a four-time European champion; two South American and five US Midwinter Champions. Chris Larsen returns to try and repeat his 1996 win along with two-time World Champion, Mauricio Santa Cruz of Brazil. There are over 5500 J/24 boats worldwide. -- Event site: http://www.j24worldchampionship2009.com * Boats.com, the National Marine Manufacturers Association and Soundings Trade Only announced the winners of the 2009 North American Marine Industry Web Awards. More than 100 marine businesses were nominated for the awards between Dec. 8 and Jan. 15. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/cymrxw * When 470 members of the Biloxi Yacht Club hold a grand opening for their $4 million clubhouse, they will celebrate a history of sailing that dates to the mid-1800s. BYC’s history reflects the Mississippi Coast’s determination to persist despite hurricanes, economic downturns and war. The latest structure was dedicated last Saturday and is the fourth clubhouse, with previous ones destroyed in 1915, 1969 and 2005 storms. -- Read on: http://www.sunherald.com/sports/story/1234887.html * Alex Cittidini, director of a boatbuilding firm in Australia, was today found guilty of manslaughter relating to a fatal capsize seven years ago. A jury in NSW District Court found Cittadini guilty on four counts, following the deaths of four sailors during a nighttime run in September 2002. -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090302150319ibinews.html * Following on from their double success at the ISAF Nations Cup Grand Final, France's match racers continue to occupy both top spots in the latest release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings on 1 April 2009. Claire LEROY (FRA) won her second consecutive ISAF Nations Cup title at the recent Grand Final held in Porto Alegre, Brazil and she remains well clear of the chasing pack at the top of the Women’s Rankings. Sébastien COL (FRA) also holds on to the top spot in the Open Rankings, with another French skipper, Mathieu RICHARD (FRA), moving up to second place. -- http://www.sailing.org/27704.php * (Cleveland, OH) - William J. Edwards, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and Rear Adm. Peter V. Neffenger, Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District, today announced the filing of a criminal indictment charging Frederico C. Flores, age 21, of Toledo, Ohio, with communicating false distress messages to the United States Coast Guard. The indictment charges that on about March 12, 2009, Flores issued distress messages to the United States Coast Guard knowing no such emergency existed. -- Coast Guard News, read on: http://tinyurl.com/c2ydqb * In a final sprint for the Portimão Global Ocean Race Leg 3 finish line in Ilhabela, Brazil, Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz on Desafio Cabo de Hornos took the lead from Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme on Beluga Racer at 1020 GMT this morning (02/04) with just 37 miles of the 7,500 mile course from Wellington, New Zealand, remaining. Having held the lead for nine days, the German duo – victors of Leg 1 and Leg 2 - could only watch as the Chilean team finished just 52 minutes ahead after 40 days at sea. -- Full report: http://portimaorace.com/index.php?page=news&news_id=256&lang=en * CORRECTION #1: Scuttlebutt 2814 stated that the 2009 BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival had a record turnout of 48 boats. Actually, the 48 boats were the ones that participated in the BVI Sailing Festival, which is the precursor to the BVI Spring Regatta on April 3-5 that is expecting about 120 boats split amongst three race areas. * CORRECTION #2: Scuttlebutt 2814 said that of the seven ISAF Sailing World Cup events, only three of them would include a Women’s Match Race class (Delta Lloyd Regatta, Kiel Week, and Skandia Sail For Gold Regatta). Actually, the Women’s Match Race class was part of the Miami OCR in January, which was the second event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup series. PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include speed sailing, spoof sailing, high school sailing, skiff sailing, crowded sailing, high wind sailing, and postponed sailing. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0403 VIDEO OF THE WEEK The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta focuses hard on providing great parties, perhaps because great sailing conditions in the Caribbean are a given. The event also has produces fun videos, and this week we have the wrap-up from the 2009 event that was held March 5-8, and a promo for the 2010 edition. If you are looking for examples on how to market your event, here are two good ones: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/09/0403 * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week’s Video of the Week to mailto:craig@sailingscuttlebutt.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 Magnus Liljedahl, Team Paradise: Thank you for making the excellent point (in Scuttlebutt 2814) that we need to cross-pollinate the sport of sailing (we TOTALLY agree with you). This is even more poignant for people with disabilities. There was one missing link from the posting that should be addressed: a vital component of the event today was Team Paradise, a 501C3 non-profit organization that provides equipment, coaching and sailing opportunities for international athletes with Paralympic ambition. Some people may ask; Why should we do this? We say, Why not? We have nationally recognized open-wheel auto racers in St. Petersburg for the Honda Grand Prix this weekend. Why not introduce them to an alternative racing vehicle that can easily be adapted to accommodate disabled people. Boats do not recognize disabilities. The use of adaptive equipment equalizes the playing field. This is an excellent occasion for disabled athletes from any sport to realize the opportunity that exists in sailing. Team Paradise was an integral part in Thursday’s event because they not only provided the paralympic Skud18 boats and adaptive equipment, but also brought in the experienced sailors who helped make it actually come to fruition in extreme (20-25 knots of breeze) conditions - their safety and expertise were invaluable. St. Petersburg Yacht Club extended their hand of hospitality by providing the race committee, the facilities and the local volunteers - our gratitude cannot go unmentioned. This entire event was the collaboration of these organizations and also the Sam Schmidt Foundation and the City of St. Petersburg Therapeutic Recreation Department. Special thanks to Sam Schmidt for his courageous attitude and willingness and determination to conquer new endeavors. -- http://www.teamparadise.org * From David Irish: (re, Fastnet story in Scuttlebutt 2811) Early IOR boats were generally stiff, able, and seaworthy; probably more so than designs generated late by the CCA rule which IOR replaced in the USA. The Peterson Ganbare Type One Tonner, of which I raced an example for 13 years, was such a good IOR boat, and there were many others. I was a member of the Offshore Racing Council during most of the IOR era, and share the responsibility for the failure of the rule. In managing the IOR, we played an endless game of catch-up, and were ultimately unsuccessful. The sequence was: The ORC would publish the rule. The designers would design boats that were faster in relation to their rating than existing boats, albeit sometimes with undesirable characteristics. We, the ORC, would seek to check the undesirable trends and fleet obsolescence with carefully considered modifications to the rule, and the process would repeat. In the end, competitively successful IOR boats were so undesirable as sailboats that owners and sailors did not want to sail them and the game ended. * From Cam Lewis: (re, keels falling off in Scuttlebutt 2812) While in NZ for 1980 Finn Gold Cup, my friend Tim Gurr was finishing up an exquisite build on Cotton Blossom, a cold molded Farr cruising boat built with a rare local timber called Kauri - Tim was mentoring and assisting me with some exotic hardware on my Finn. I was introduced by Tim to Monel as the only correct material to use in keel bolts in almost any application. However, stainless steel is much less expensive and has been widely used in the marine industry - especially production boats. Unlike the fiberglass blister problems of the past and present, I fear a lot of lives will be lost and have been lost by keel failures and some of them can be attributed to cost saving measures (read liability) by the builders who have opted to use stainless steel. A quick Google search turned this up - worth a read: http://www.kastenmarine.com/mbqMetRef.pdf * From Keith Stump, Auburn, WA: (re, court decision in Scuttlebutt Extra) Justice . . . at last! The tiresome tribulations of the America's Cup lawsuit revealed the strengths and weaknesses of America's judicial system. Unfortunately a persuasive legal counsel convinced a one judge majority of the Appellate Division to become confused as to the plain meaning of the Deed of Gift, and delay the final decision for months. Fortunately, New York's highest Court were not so persuaded, and correctly rejected CNEV's Notice of Challenge. Having seen BMW Oracles BOR 90 trimaran, I hope that Bertarelli retains his obstinate ways enabling a DOG match to ensue. Just envision two 15 story tall masts approaching each other at over sixty knots while on the verge of capsizing at the windward mark; what a spectacle! * From Mike Brown, Chicago, IL: It appears that "common sense" prevailed in the decision that took an appellate and a supreme court to rule on. For the sake of racing and our sport, let’s not go down this road again. Mainly, because if we are all involved in a supposed Corinthian spirited sport that referees itself during regattas, beer can racing, NA's championships, etc. then let’s send a message to the masses that we are not a bunch of uppity and snobbish yachties that cannot settle their differences outside of the courts. I am embarrassed to be associated with a sport that based on century old doctrines continues an argument about what constitutes a yacht club. If you have the opportunity of sailing out of one or are a member of a yacht club, read the verdict,...and you can't tell me that you’re not somewhat ashamed of all of it. CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread to begin with? Special thanks to The Pirate’s Lair and Quantum Sails. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
