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SCUTTLEBUTT 3710 - Thursday, November 1, 2012Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Ullman Sails and Point Loma Outfitting. HELPING RECOVERY EFFORTS Since its landfall on Monday evening October 29, Hurricane Sandy has left a wake of destruction throughout the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern United States. The sport of sailing proved particularly vulnerable to the powerful winds and storm surge, with extensive damage being reported among the facilities and venues the sport relies on. To help recovery efforts, Scuttlebutt seeks to share information from those affected by Hurricane Sandy. Please send your report to info@sailingscuttlebutt.com ---------------------------------------- This report comes from Dawn Riley, Executive Director of Oakcliff Sailing Center in Oyster Bay, NY: "No one was sure exactly where or when Sandy would come ashore but we tried to prepare for the worst, tying down all of the boats in the yard to heavy equipment, and moving equipment to the higher ground at 3 South Street. "On Monday, as the storm was approaching, a small team of Oakclifers headed out to do final checks and lengthen the spectra storm lines with flotation attached to minimize the chance of wrapping. By the time we were done it was blowing 30 with solid gusts to 50 knots. As we were tying the final lobster boat, we could hear and see trees shattering in the wind and actually wondered if we were safer staying on the boat. But we headed back to the shop to plastic and sandbag all of the doors with two pallets of sandbags. "The midday high tide came just up to the doors but we knew we had one or two more to go. "Monday night was rough, and when I returned on Tuesday, I was happy to see the Ker 50 floating peacefully in the sunshine. Sadly, that feeling did not last long, as I scanned the horizon and was horrified to see eight masts in a row where the Match 40s had been. We are currently waiting for the arrival of the crane barge to float the boats. "I am holding on to the fact that in the old days this was the way that you prepared for a hurricane: Sink the boats. Thankfully, they do not have any electronics or engines, so hopefully we can rinse and sail. I am trying to stay optimistic, and we have kept ourselves busy from sunrise to sunset cleaning up the clubhouse and the shop that was surrounded by two feet of water with only 2-3 inches getting past the sandbags." -- Forum, read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14706#14706 COAST GUARD SEARCH AND RESCUE By Darrell Nicholson, Practical Sailor While many of the facts surrounding the loss of The Bounty are still unknown, and the accident will no doubt come under all kinds of scrutiny, one thing is clear: Fourteen sailors would probably not be alive today were it not for the U.S. Coast Guard. Of all the missions that the U.S. Coast Guard is engaged in - ranging from drug interdiction to navigation-aid maintenance - search and rescue is its most important, in my mind. But it does not come without cost. The price tag for a search-and-rescue operation like the one launched to save the crew of The Bounty is difficult to gauge. Every rescue entails hidden costs - not just in dollars, but in lives. In March of this year, four Coast Guard officers died while training for a mission similar to the one that saved The Bounty's crew. Is it worth it? In 2011, the Coast Guard responded to more than 22,000 search-and-rescue cases and saved more than 4,000 lives. It would be hard to argue that dollars spent on search and rescue offer a bad return. But that doesn't mean they can be squandered. Next spring, the Coast Guard budget will again come under scrutiny. The proposed fiscal year 2013 Coast Guard budget shaved about $370 million from the previous year, and we can expect more proposed cuts this year. I'm not so concerned about the total cuts to the Coast Guard, but I do care about where these cuts are targeted and how they are implemented. Rolled into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2002, the U.S. Coast Guard is engaged in 11 different missions ranging from drug interdiction to maintaining aids to navigation, each with its own tough challenges and inherent waste. In addition to saving more than 4,000 lives, the Coast Guard inspected over 21,600 shipping containers, interdicted over 2,000 illegal migrants, and prevented 300,000 pounds of illegal drugs and millions of gallons of oil from reaching our shores. Its FY 2013 budget was just shy of $10 billion. With an aging fleet of cutters, it is the epitome of a government agency stretched thin. But as citizens and sailors, we need to be aware of how our Coast Guard dollars are spent. Read more: http://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/-10928-1.html HMS Bounty details: http://tinyurl.com/HMSB-103112 UPDATE: (October 31, 2012) - The Coast Guard continues its search Wednesday for the missing captain of the HMS Bounty approximately 145 miles southeast of Hatteras, N.C. Missing is Robin Walbridge, 63. The Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin, a 378-foot high-endurance cutter homeported in Charleston, S.C., arrived on scene at approximately 3 p.m. Tuesday and began searching for Walbridge. The crew aboard the HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., secured their searches for the night at approximately 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/USCG-103112 A QUESTION OF KITES - DO I NEED AN 'A' OR AN 'S'? Having trouble decoding spinnaker classifications? Not sure which kite you should add to your inventory? No need to worry. For 45 years, Ullman Sails has been building the fastest, most efficient racing spinnakers. Our sail consultants will help you evaluate your current downwind inventory and pinpoint which sails will improve your performance around the buoys or offshore. Combine our personalized support with the best range of racing spinnakers on the market and you can rest assured that you made the right choice. Contact a local Ullman Sails loft for more information. Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com A DAY IN THE LIFE OF... Rod Davis, coach for the America's Cup challenger Emirates Team New Zealand, provides some answer to a question he's often asked ... "what do you do out there all day?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When Emirates Team New Zealand goes sailing on the AC72, people might think we just rip around all day up on foils, trying to set a new speed record or outrun our poor, and very faithful, chase boat drivers. We don't, well not any more. We did for a little while, but we needed to get on with a programme to win the America's Cup. There is no typical day when we're sailing the big cat. Each time we go out, we chip away at the huge list of things we need to learn. Here's a very brief precis of the other day's programme: Wing in at 6:30, boat in the water at 7:00, off the dock 8:30 (after boat checks). Forecast was for 10-12 knots of wind. First on the "to learn" list: check a new number two jib, a development of an earlier sail. Jibs are numbered just like any other boat, one being the biggest and four being the smallest. I'm not sure of the logic there. Next sail on the list was the new second-generation "Code Zero". The AC72, like the AC45, has two downwind sails. A gennaker for lighter winds that goes way back, overlapping the wing and a code 0 that looks like a mast-head jib in profile which is used in stronger downwind conditions. Speed testing followed. Foiling vs non-foiling using all possible settings to make each configuration work to the maxim of its potential. The 72 covers a lot of miles in an hour of this kind of work, and we get a long way from home. The downhill runway is put to good use with up-wind sailing back into the gulf. Then it's time for some pre-starts. From our experience with the AC45 we know there is a lot on in the pre-start... deploy the gennaker for the entry, furl it for the dial up (that seems to happen more often than not) then head to wind, bear off, another gennaker deploy and furl in the gybe, for the final run to the start line with the all-important time on distance work. All of the above happens in just two minutes. It's an understatement to say we've got a lot on. Back at the dock, the boat is lifted from the water and packed away. After debriefing the day on what we learned and how to do it better next time some of us get out of the office by 6pm. And the next day we have the same timing with a wing lift at 6:30 am... forever chipping away on the to-learn list. Source: http://etnzblog.com/#!2012/11/one-day-in-the-life-of-the-boys-out-testing BACK WHEN MEN WERE MEN Famous for accumulating more sailing trophies and records than just about any other campaign was Californian Jim Kilroy and his Maxi race boats named Kialoa. From Kialoa 1 in the '50s through to Kialoa 5 in the '80s, it was a historic era in offshore racing. Kilroy has released the beautifully illustrated autobiography - KIALOA US-1: Dare to Win - which recounts the adventures of the KIALOA teams as they raced around the world and the lessons in business, in sailing and in life that they took away from it all. Here is an excerpt: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KIALOA II (1964-1973) - S & S 72-foot But KIALOA II had done it, winning the '69 Transatlantic Race just as her crew predicted. The victory was a testament to the skill and tenacity of our crew, who sailed a fast, technical race. What a victory it was for our dedicated team. As always, they were outstanding. I salute them all. And a further salute to the almost 6-year-old KIALOA II: What a boat. The reaction by the Irish people to a first-generation American Irishman, and several Irish crewmembers, winning the race in honor of the 250th anniversary of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, was simply unbelievable. The Irish humor and celebration now began in earnest. It lasted for quite some time. I have one last story to tell of our race to Ireland, one of the most memorial of my life. Shortly after Huey Long and Ondine had finished, Huey called to ask where we were. This reminded me of the 1959 Honolulu Race when KIALOA I was less than fifty miles form the finish line, sailing well in fresh breeze. Don Haskell of Chubasco, who had already finished, called to ask our position. When I told Don where we were, he said "Congratulations, it looks like you are the winner." I thought back to that unlucky year and the friendly call from Don Haskell, and what transpired almost immediately thereafter. The wind totally died. In big, sloppy seas, with KIALOA I rolling, slatting and banging around, we fell to fifth overall. It was sheer misery. I could not and would not do that again. So, when Huey called, I told him we were well off Cape Clear, about 60 miles out, when in fact we were really at Galley Head, about 27 miles from the finish. Sorry Huey, I didn't mean to deceive you; at least we gave you a few hours of happiness. I just didn't want the wind to go away. As written by Dwight Chapin, from the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times, on July 27th, 1969, Kilroy's yacht, the KIALOA II, and his 13-man crew survived a flood of minor difficulties to beat Ondine on corrected time, 12 days, 21 hours, 6 minutes and 35 seconds. The Atlantic was its usual, unpredictable self. KIALOA II encountered fog, heavy rain, reefs and challenges of every sort. But they were met by a dedicated crew, that included just one salaried hand. And because the challenges were great, so is the satisfaction. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14701#14701 SAILING SHORTS * La Rochelle, France (October 31, 2012) - After 13 races, the University of Dublin (IRL) holds a 12 point lead over Dalhousie University (CAN in the 32nd edition of Student Yachting World Cup). Racing in the 31-foot one-design Grand Surprise continues through November 2. -- http://www.sywoc.org/ * One hundred thirteen entrants will compete in the World O'pen Bic Cup 2012 on November 1-3, hosted by Miami Yacht Club in Miami, FL. -- http://www.worldopenbicmiami.com/ * Fort Worth, TX (October 31, 2012) - Final preparations are underway at Fort Worth Boat Club for this year's J/80 North American Championship, November 2-4, with racing on Eagle Mountain Lake. Thirty-one boats are currently registered for the event, including last year's top five finishers at Larchmont Yacht Club in New York. -- http://www.j80northamericans.com/ * The Global MBA Trophy, which pits graduates from the world's top MBA programs, will compete November 3-4 in Sunsail's Beneteau First40s on San Francisco Bay. Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14709 * The latest release of the ISAF Match Race Rankings (Oct. 30, 2012) finds Ian Williams (GBR) has further strengthened his grip on the top of the Open division which he has held since the turn of the year. Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) continues to hold firm on the World #1 spot in the Women's division after having been dominant over the past 12 months.Taylor Canfield (ISV) is now ranked 9th in the Open division following his victory at the Argo Gold Cup, the penultimate event on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, in Hamilton, Bermuda. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/news/32826.php SLAM SKIFF LINE - USED BY THE BEST - NOW CHEAP SLAM introduced their first generation of Skiff clothing a couple of years ago. It was quickly used by some of the best dinghy sailors in the world. Earlier this year they added a "Coldy" version for those that sailed in colder water, and needed the additional warmth. They also introduced the second generation of their original skiff line, a true refinement of an already good kit. So where does the "Cheap" come in? The first generation now needs to be cleared out, so we've reduced the price by 40%. Just in time for frost biting, and the Holidays! Check out these savings on some great gear at: http://www.pointlomaoutfitting.com/c/slam-clearance.html GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Jim DaSilva: Having just completed our fifth season at Sail Salem, I was encouraged to read of the successes being experienced by Kent Fox and the LYC Sailing Foundation in South Florida (Scuttlebutt 3708). The Salem Community Boating Center (www.sailsalem.org) provides free sailing lessons for those in and around the sailing communities of Salem, MA. One week's worth of lesson costs us $140 and we just, this season, surpassed our 1000th student. Bootstrapped yes, but we are increasing our visibility and donor base from year to year. Being able to afford a full time executive director is our immediate goal, as we all work more than full time, have families, yet believe in squeezing in the hours to provide an opportunity to those less fortunate. Day 1 - "I can't do this" Day 5 - "That was awesome" This is the response after having rigged their own boat, sailed it around Salem Sound and returned to the dock with more confidence that they ever dreamed of. Priceless! A great thanks to all of you sailors who support programs like ours and Kent's. * From Frederick W. Mueller: The French have mastered open ocean racing over many years and with concomitant technology which has had a huge impact on the sport. That Loick Peyron should be singled out for his achievements is amazing and well deserved (as a nominee for 2012 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year). There are many others who deserve respect, notably Eric Tabarley. There is a generation of French sailing extremists who have defined the sport, heroes all. They have led to the Hydroptere project, which has been currently at the threshold of sailing speed. One final comment, and it is about catastrophe, which many Frenchmen know - a price paid for success. French Canadian Gerry Roufs perished while taking part in the 1996-97 edition of the Vendee Globe. Roufs was in second place when his Argos position-indicating beacon ceased to transmit; his boat was found on the coast of Chile in July 1997. In 1978, Roufs along with crew Charles Robitaille had placed second at the 470 class World Championship. Helluva guy, and driven to push the envelope. * From Rob McNeal: Regarding the decision by the HMS Bounty's Captain to sail out into TS Sandy, let's not forget that the captain has apparently paid with his life for that decision. Also, like a lot of sinkings I am aware of, this one appears to be related to a loss of power. Lose power on most any boat in big seas (watch "Deadliest Catch"?) and bad things will happen. I know that technically this was a sailboat but I don't see a crew of volunteers (likely not experienced in heavy weather sailing) actually sailing that ship out of harm's way here. I hope they salvage the vessel while they can. * From John Longley: After my involvement with the America's Cup, my next project was building a replica of the 106-foot HMB Endeavour, Captain James Cook's famous ship of discovery. Like HMS Bounty, she was a replica of a Whitby Cat - small 18th century colliers built with remarkable strength so they could be grounded and loaded at low tide in remote locations. In the southern summer of 1996, Endeavour was touring New Zealand. While on exhibition in the port of Gisborne on the east cape of the North Island, an out-of-season Cyclone (southern hemisphere Hurricane) formed to the north, which was predicted to track down the east coast of New Zealand. The Captain and I were very concerned for the ship as Gisborne had a bad reputation for surge, with ships routinely berthed with wire hawsers to hold them to the wharf. Wooden ships like Endeavour were not designed to go alongside a wharf and in rough conditions can sustain significant damage. During the eighteenth century they would usually have been loaded and unloaded from a mooring or anchor or, as mentioned above, directly off a beach. We knew if we stayed in Gisborne the ship would likely sustain significant damage so we took the decision to go to sea. Fortunately there were good favorable winds and the ship was able to get about 100 nautical miles to sea before the cyclone hit, which by then had been downgraded to a sub-tropical storm. -- Forum, read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14704#14704 INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity for companies to announce new products and services. Here are some of recent postings: * Swan 57 Ocean passage / charter in Carib * New South Florida B&G installer * Book by Renowned Ocean Racer Jim Kilroy View updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION I heard a guy complaining how expensive his wedding is. He is going to be real pissed when he finds out how much his divorce is going to cost. 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