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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 533 - March 23, 2000
GUEST COMMENTARY -- Peter Johnstone
If the America's Cup does have appeal these days, it's a detached gruesome
spectacle of human behavior. Where else can you watch otherwise successful,
smart adults blow a half billion dollars in the quest to gratify
megalomania, all the while behaving like bullies during kindergarten
recess? The racing, despite excellent packaging and commentating by ESPN,
is boring. Worthy, maybe, of watching the start and five minutes
thereafter. It is not sailing. It is not sport. It is a soap opera that
interests viewers in the same way that a horrible accident might cause
rubber necking of passersby.
For a few mil (a better value), why not get a bi-coastal 'super team'
together to produce sailing's version of the soap opera 'Sopranos'. Call it
'Cuppies & Panties'. Instead of actors parading as mobsters, feature a
bunch of cream-puff day-racers powdered up and saying nasty things about
each other. Throw in some mad scientists, weeping wives, scandalous
patriarchs, and dark underlying intrigue. The only thing stranger than
fiction.....
The America's Cup is sailing's gruesome accident. Let's keep the lanes
moving, and don't look. Keep the eyes on the road ahead. The Volvo and The
Race are the best pinnacle properties for our sport. Real sailor heros,
exciting & diverse footage, pure drama of man vs nature, man vs machine,
and man vs competition, and months of gripping and healthy
entertainment/promotion for sailing.
Wouldn't it be great to see The Volvo or The Race put the squeeze on the
America's Cup by running concurrently some day? Force the issue, move the
sport forward.
LASER WORLDS
CANCUN, MEXICO, Final Day -- Cancun saved the beat for last with a steady,
solid fifteen knots of wind, beautiful sunshine, clear blue seas and superb
surfing waves to close what has been a vintage championships. In perfect
harmony with the venue and the weather, a superb displayed of controlled
sailing saw Robert Scheidt winning the Laser World Championships for an
unprecedented fourth time without so much as having to sail the final race.
Scheidt had led from the very start of the regatta and quite simply
appeared to be in a different class form his nearest rivals.
By winning this week, Scheidt has achieved what no man has ever done
before, taking the Laser world Championships for an unparalleled fourth
time. "It was a title that I was chasing for two years and it finally
came," said Scheidt as he stepped ashore. "It was a tough week as I was
leading from the first day on and that puts a lot of pressure on you
because you are just trying to protect your lead. I think everything went
my way this week, I had a good performance in light and strong winds and
that was the way to win the regatta."
Scheidt attributes his success to "A bit of talent, hard work and being
supported by great supporters like my coach. I had a really big rival in
Brazil, Peter Tanshceidt , and that really helped me to get the first of my
two world titles. From then on I was a professional sailor and I did it
full time." With the Olympics coming up in Sydney in just six months time,
Scheidt was delighted to be crowned world champion again."I think winning a
regatta right now gives me great confidence" he said. "It is going to be
interesting because Sydney is a shifty place but I think the guys who are
on top here are going to be on top in Sydney."
Countries qualifying for the 2000 Olympics at the Laser World Championships
in Cancun were: South Africa, Malaysia, Hungary, China, Turkey, Chile,
Seychelles, Japan. Racing continues next week with the Laser Masters World
Championships. 146 competitors from 20 countries will be competing starting
on the Sunday 26th March. -- Peter Bentley
Final standings (14 races, 2 discards): 1. BRA - Robert Scheidt (30 points)
2. AUS - Michael Blackburn (53) 3. GBR - Ben Ainslie (64) 4. SWE - Karl
Suneson (73) 5. NED - Serge Kats (74) 9. USA - Mark Mendelblatt (109) 12.
USA - John Torgerson (125) 17. USA - Bill Hardesty (153).
Event website: http://www.laserinternational.org/wor2000.htm
PROFESSIONAL SAILING
(On the NBC Olympic website, Gary Jobson has done an interesting analysis
of Olympic medalists who have sailed for and won the America's Cup.
Following are some excerpts from that story,)
Since the America's Cup races were first sailed in 1851, and the modern
Olympics started in 1896, 11 sailors have won both Olympic medals and the
America's Cup. I estimate that over 500 sailors have raced on winning Cup
teams. There are many sailors who have competed in both events, but only a
select few have won both.
In 10 of the 11 cases, an Olympic medal was won prior to an America's Cup.
The credibility earned was helpful in each case.
A larger trend is that small- boat sailors make excellent big-boat
competitors. It is rare that a good big-boat sailor will excel in smaller
boats. The experience of Olympic competition has proven to be beneficial.
The duel winners are: Carl Buchan, Dennis Conner, Russell Coutts, Conn
Findlay, John Marshall, Buddy Melges, Craig Monk, George O'Day and Randy
Smyth.
During America's Cup 2000, a number of former Olympic medalists competed in
the trials: John Bertrand, Jim Brady, John Cutler, Rod Davis, Luis Doreste,
Leslie Egnot, Steve Erickson, Torben Grael, Peter Holmberg, John Kolius,
John Kostecki, Marc Pajot, Thierry Peponnet and Jochen Schumann.
For more details and the full story: http://www.nbcolympics.com/
ISAF EVALUATION TRIALS
QUIBERON, France- The second day of the ISAF Evaluation Event brought weak
sun, a subtle warming trend, and, unfortunately, a wind that faded from a
pleasant 12 knots to virtually zero. Most boats made it on to the water,
with the national authority-nominated testers under instructions to get
rides on as many as possible. No specific rotation schedule was set. This
kept the sailors and the factory people hopping on the beach.
The Tornados, absent from the water yesterday, made it out today. One
French boat sailed with the experimental carbon mast and a spinnaker rig.
As with Monday's sailing, there were no side-by-side comparisons of boats.
But there were hints to be gleaned from the action on the beach as which
boats are earning some points. The Inters in all sizes were kept busy. They
were especially popular with the monohull sailors. The Inter 17, the A Cat,
and the Marstrom 18, as single-handers, are being tested with the other
single-handed boats, rather than being included with the other cats. Since
ISAF is not releasing any of the comments, and there will be no winners,
the beach gossip is important to the builders to evaluate how their boats
might be doing.
Late in the afternoon, there was a race, but the wind fizzled and most
opted to drift to the harbor rather than the finish line. With the fading
wind, strong current, and a clear wind line on the land side, there wasn't
much chance for any boat-to-boat comparisons. It is hoped that conditions
will be better Wednesday, but as this is being written the clouds are
darkening, indicating that the bad weather forecasted for Thursday may be
closer than expected.
Boat Profiles: The Hobie Tiger and Hobie Fox - The Tiger is best described
as Hobie Europe's improved version of the Hobie 18. Its 18 feet long and 8'
6" wide, has a 29' 6" mast, and carries 226 square feet of sail, all on a
platform weighing 397 pounds. The Fox is a newer boat. A somewhat radical
hull shape makes it stand out among the other cats here. The Fox has very
straight lines along both the keel and deck, but a longer deck than keel,
making it look upside down to most observers. The hull design is by A Class
champion Nils Bunkenberg. The rest of the boat, however, isn't so radical,
virtually everything except the hull is copied directly off of the Tiger.
The numbers are a little different. The Fox has 20-foot hulls and the total
weight is 22 pounds more than the Tiger. It also has a slightly smaller
main but a bigger spinnaker. - Jim Young, Sailing World website
Full story: http://www.sailingworld.com/
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net)
Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250
words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject,
so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree.
-- From J. Joseph Bainton (Reply to Mark Chisnell) -- In the early 1970's
the National Football League enacted a Rule that prohibited owners of NFL
teams from having any interest in National Soccer League Teams -- a rule
legally indistinguishable from that of Appendix K3.1(c), which is the basis
for Mark's observation that ISAF might try to ban any sailor who competed
in an AC that had not been sanctioned by ISAF.
The United States Supreme Court quickly characterized the NFL rule as a
"classic group boycott" violative of the antitrust laws. Were ISAF ever to
attempt to enforce its rule, I have little doubt that the result would be
the same and that the damages awarded against not only ISAF, but the
individuals personally responsible for enforcing the boycott would likely
bankrupt them.
If TNZ is serious about a non-sanctioned AC, out of consideration for the
sailors, who can ill afford to be unemployed for the years litigation
consumes, TNZ should promptly go to a United States District Court and
obtain a declaratory judgment that Appendix K3.1 (c) is unenforceable. By
way of anticipatory rejoinder to those 'Buttheads who will inevitably
disagree with these views, I observe that the only opinion that matters at
the end of the day is the opinion of the last court to rule on the matter.
-- From Erc Steinberg -- I believe Bill Menninger's assessment is correct
re Doug Petersons comments. At the time Doug was making his comments, the
talk on the dock was that TNZ was quite nervous about their design (did
they get it right or???). On the other hand, the TNZ dock talk could have
been TNZ doing their own psychological warfare to the challengers.
-- Helen Johnstone Falk -- In regards to Bill Koch's Scuttlebutt, I
understand his point, but, at the same time, it is inexcusable to
indirectly accuse the Kiwis of "mis-using funds". I happen to respect the
kiwis very much, especially after having the honor and learning experience
of working under the "major afterguard" in New Zealand in 1985, at North
Sails New Zealand.
It is my humble opinion that the New Zealander's are going to have the "New
Zealand Cup" for a long time to come, and it is very evident that the
Americans are on the defensive, based on articles published by Paul Cayard,
Bill Koch's Scuttlebutt and the list goes on. It is time for the United
States to accept their defeat with grace and class and LET GO of THE PAST
and MOVE ON...
How about maintaining a low profile, like the New Zealander's do, and come
up with a "Unexpected Super Boat and Crew" and blow the kiwis out of the
water in the next America's Cup? Let's learn to look ahead and stop making
excuses for the past - it is very embarrassing and degrading to our country
as a whole.
-- From Paul Grimes -- Bill Koch's essay asked some very basic questions
that the Kiwi's should have answered long ago - especially if public funds
were used to support the campaign. The personal attacks on him are
unwarranted. His questions are valid.
-- From Charlie Shumway -- I have enjoyed all the various discussions
regarding the AC, both from the technical and the other various aspects and
intrigues the AC. However, I would still prefer a great Team Race any
day, where there are all the aspects of sailing, but many more tactics and
changes occur in every race. This is where the amateurs are moving today,
especially at the NYYC.
As a loyal member for over 25 years, I know from what I have heard about
the NYYC Challenge, I have given my last cent to NYYC AC Challenge. But to
create a new fleet of Team Racing Boats for Newport, count me in.
-- From Bob Kiernan -- All things considered. It was said, back in
September the finals would be between AmericaOne and Prada. This because
they were the best organized teams. The TNZ effort showed overpowering
leadership in the organization in the races, the team cohesiveness and the
politics of the entire affair. Not unlike pro baseball teams who have
tryouts, farm teams (AA & single A), scouts looking for players knowing
what crew needs are. We need leagues (NSL), organized sailing entities to
farm our upcoming team members so we have in place an organization built to
grow into a team with backup personal training to be the "Big Show players
replacing "HighPoint" members moving on.
It is understood we need thinkers like Bill Koch (in the background),
drivers like Paul Cayard (in the foreground) and well-known figures like
Dennis Conner (all around) too. We also need spin doctors controlling
fodder from making to the public.
People like The Yankees' George Steinbriner need to be in on this. Hey, he
also owns a ship building company! For container & boat movement this guy
would be a great participant. We also need designers, boat builders,
graphics artists, webmasters like me working on a system promoted by
journalists and PR staffs to build the interest throughout the world. Team
New Zealand has this type of organization in place and we got to watch the
process in practice. In leadership they showed it works and that's why we
are all heading back to New Zealand.
-- From Richard Hazelton, Editor - 48 North Sailing Magazine -- I just
spent a very pleasant morning with Laurie Davidson in Seattle and one of
the subjects that came up was the combining of the American syndicates into
one "national" challenge. His comment was that, "It's always really been a
club race." And, when you think about it, it always has been. The biggest
difference now as opposed to when it started is where the money is coming
from. If it's not an individual then you need to broaden your involvement
outside the club to get funding. And how do you do that - by making it an
"American" challenge instead of a club challenge. But it's still basically
a club challenge with outside funding.
-- From Mike Wathen -- It might interest Mr. Lambert and other readers to
know that Brad Wheeler has a very long history of sailing with, for, and
against many of the "PRO-SAILORS". Furthermore this has taken place in the
Southern California waters you mention. He is a very accomplished sailor
that has beaten most of these individuals on many occasions. He simply
choose a different career income path or I'm certain he would be one of
these PRO's.
Many in the racing establishment don't want to see a PRO circuit mix in
with the existing forums. It would be like having the NBA participating in
March madness. Would the boys from Podunk U. benefit by having the Lakers
beat the snot out of them? I encourage the professional circuit to develop
their own thing and not "crash" the other parties. Let them see if they can
organize a complete cradle to grave event with everyone involved getting a
few of the bucks that are supposed to be there. How much of the publicity,
hospitality, race management cost, trophies, etc. would the NSL fund?
-- From Ali Meller -- Can we end the whining about millionaire/billionaire
comments, whining about about losing the AC thread? As alternatives, the
Laser World Championship, 49er World Championship, Fireball World
Championship, ISAF Trials to select a high performance singlehander and a
new catamaran, midwinter regattas and frostbiting are all going on right
now (probably lots more too). Maybe some of the whiners should put their
keyboards aside for an afternoon and go sailing.
Curmudgeon's comments: Although whining is probably as much a part of our
sport as is foul weather gear, I can't help thinking about how much shorter
'Butt would be each day without it.
SWEDISH MATCH TOUR
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - It turned into a day of frustration afloat as the
fickle wind made it nearly impossible to set a course in the afternoon
session, followed by a long wait for a jury decision in the evening. The
morning races went smoothly, with Group B completing the second round
robin, and Barker emerging as the clear leader, with twelve wins from
fourteen races, to claim his semi-finals place. Sharing second place, with
a 10 win - 4 loss score, were Frenchman Bertrand Pace and Kiwi veteran
Chris Dickson, and on initial reading of the tie-breaker process, it
appeared that Pace would make the cut on a countback. However the eloquent
Dickson is not that easily discarded, and he argued that the wording of the
clause was ambiguous. The jury eventually agreed with Dickson, and ordered
a one race sail off on Friday morning for the other semi-finals place from
this group.
The afternoon proved incredibly frustrating for both the race organisers
and the sailors, as the wind constantly shifted in direction and varied in
strength. Eventually the sun set with only six of the scheduled sixteen
matches completed. This leaves three skippers fighting for two semi-finals
places, when sailing resumes on Friday - Team AmericaOne's Gavin Brady,
Team New Zealand's Cameron Appleton, and Andy Green's Colorcraft team. -
John Roberson
GROUP B SCORES (Round robins 1 & 2): Dean Barker, 12-2; Chris Dickson,
10-4; Bertrand Pace, 10-4; Peter Holmberg, 8-6; Jes Gram-Hansen, 6-8; Bjorn
Hansen, 5-9; Phil Douglas, 3-11; Luc Pillot, 2-12.
GROUP A SCORES (Round robin 1, plus six races of round robin 2): Cameron
Appleton, 9-2; Andy Green, 8-3; Gavin Brady, 9-3; Magnus Holmberg, 5-6;
Marcus Weiser, 4-8; Peter Gilmour, 5-7; Lars Nordbjerg, 3-9; James
Spithill, 3-8.
TREASURE ISLAND SAILING CENTER
It was just last April that San Francisco's Treasure Island Sailing Center
was christened and later that month the Star Class Olympic Pre-Trials were
held at the site, followed in June by the Soling Class Olympic Pre-Trials.
During the summer of 1999 TISC negotiated an agreement with the local
Vanguard 15 Fleet, to become the home base for their Northern California
sailing activities.
This year the Olympic Team Selection Trials for the Star and Soling class,
Vanguard 15 North American Championship, Optimist Dinghy Pacific Coast
Championship and Star Western Hemisphere Championship are all schedule at
the facility. Discussions are underway with US Sailing's Olympic Sailing
Committee for TISC to become a permanent US Sailing/OSC Training Site.
TheTISC initial fundraising effort in 1999 generated donations of almost
$90,000 in cash and securities to our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization,
the Treasure Island Sailing Center Foundation. As you can see from the
accompanying Financial Review, we've spent all of that - and a lot more.
Where has this gotten us? In the past year TISC has:
-- Rebuilt and installed two hoists, piers and piles, and 250' of floating
dock.
-- Executed a two year lease with TIDA and developed a strong option
position.
-- Hosted Olympic class events here on the Bay, to the benefit of Bay Area
sailors.
-- Established sailing programs for inner city youth, which are growing
exponentially.
-- Procured a fleet of International Optimist Dinghy youth training boats.
-- Provided a base for high school, collegiate and one-design racing fleets.
Amazingly, we have accomplished almost everything we have set out to do in
our 1999 mission - except be better fundraisers. We desperately need help
to continue with the next leg of our race. We have an immediate need for
$70,000 for our capital improvement/rent offset, as identified above. We
have identified another $50,000 in improvements that need to be made in the
next 12 months. Our goal is to raise $125,000 in the next 30 days. -- Matt
Ciesicki, ciesicki@msn.com
TISC website: http://www.TISailing.org
49ER WORLDS
With each of the 25 Nations anticipating the first race of the 2000 49er
Worlds, as expected, in came the famous North-Wester. The top 25 teams in
the world left the beach to sail out to the North course for Race #1 of the
Gold Fleet finals. With 16 Nations in the top 25 there is a balanced
worldwide participation. -- Morgan Larson
Standings (eight races, one discard): 1. ESP - SANTIAGO LOPEZ-VAZQUEZ /
J.DE LA PLAZA (33 points) 2. DEN - MICHAEL HESTBAEK / J.PERSSON (40) 3. AUS
- CHRIS NICHOLSON / D.PHILLIPS (46) 4. GER - MARCUS BAUR / P.BARTH (47) 5.
NOR - CHRISTOFFER SUNDBY / V.ARNHOFF (49) 7. USA - JONATHAN MCKEE / C.MCKEE
(52) 12. USA - ANDY MACK / A.LOWRY (96) 19. CAN - BETTINA BAYLIS / T.BAYLIS
(119)
Complete Standing: http://www.49erworlds2000.org/press/index.html
OFFSHORE
During last night, deep in the desolate wastes of the Southern Ocean, Ellen
MacArthur and her Open 60 'Kingfisher' made a dramatic rendez-vous with a
lone adventurer. Frenchman Jo Le Guen, attempting to row solo across the
Pacific Ocean has been victim of the failure of the Iridium satellite
system which is about to cease operating. With it, his only means of
communication with the outside world will be lost.
'Kingfisher' has just crossed in to what is commonly known as the Screaming
50s, just over 3000 miles to go to Cape Horn, on her long voyage back to
Europe. Ellen made the decision to divert 36 hours ago to attempt to pass
Jo a backup system when it became clear that he could spend the next 3
months totally cut-off.
Ellen and her team arrived on the scene with just over 2 hours remaining of
daylight, and in very difficult conditions. Icy and squally 30 knot winds,
and a confused sea state, made the transfer of Kingfisher's handheld
Magellan email unit extremely hazardous. After 9 failed attempts to pass
the unit via a buoyant sealed bag, they were forced to give up. Anyway, Jo
remains in good spirits, and I think he was still glad to see us.
As many Explorers and Adventurers employ satellite systems such as Iridium,
the potential loss of all communication comes as a stark reminder of our
increasing dependence on these new technologies. Another victim of the
failure of Iridium, French solo skipper Philippe Monnet, could still be cut
off from all contact for many days to come - a tough prospect as he battles
through the same treacherous Southern Ocean in his attempt to beat the west
about solo record of Brit Mike Golding. He is currently passing the bottom
of New Zealand, half way in his round the world race against the clock. He
has already lost his main communication systems after breaking his computer
screens in an earlier storm. -- Mary Ambler,
http://www.kingfisherchallenges.com
THE CURMUDGEON'S QUOTATIONS
"Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must
have somebody to divide it with." -- Mark Twain
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