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SCUTTLEBUTT 1540 - March 16, 2004
Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is a
digest 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 and personal attacks for elsewhere.
COMING TO AMERICA
In response to requests from race organizers and some competitors in the
U.S., the US Sailing Offshore Office will assume responsibility for
processing data and distributing IRC certificates for U.S. flagged vessels.
Seahorse Rating Limited will provide the ratings. ISAF recently recognized
IRC as an International Rating System. Individuals and organizers
interested in obtaining further information should contact the US Sailing
Offshore Office at 401-683-0800 or offshore@ussailing.org.
Curmudgeon's Comment: St. Francis YC previously announced they would be
using IRC for the handicap racing classes at this year's Big Boat Series on
the San Francisco Bay. - http://stfyc.org/
RRS
Meeting this week at the ISAF Secretariat is the Racing Rules Committee
working party, with the objective to finalize the text of the ISAF Racing
Rules of Sailing (RRS) 2005-2008. The working party meets at this time
every four years, to finalise the changes made to the ISAF Racing Rules of
Sailing (RRS) over the past years, including most recently the 2003 ISAF
November Conference. During the four year cycle of the RRS, the ISAF Racing
Rules Committee and Council will have considered more than 500 submissions
to amend the RRS, from small clarifications to significant changes. Whilst
some of these changes have been introduced during the period 2001-2004, the
majority will only be introduced from 1 January 2005.
In November 2001, ISAF approved a new streamlined process of making changes
to the RRS, which not only clarified the process of making changes to the
RRS but has also ensured that the RRS will be made available at least six
months prior to their implementation date. Over the coming three days, the
Racing Rules Committee working party under the chairmanship of Bill Bentsen
(USA) with Bernard Bonneau (FRA), Pertti Lipas (FIN), Marianne Middelthon
(NOR), Tony Mooney (AUS) and Dick Rose (USA) will ensure that all the
changes are introduced into the new rule book.
ISAF will make available the final text of the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing
2005-2008 by 30 June 2004, to enable the ISAF Member National Authorities
due time to start the translation process. In November 2001, the ISAF
Council also reversed the current situation where the Racing Rules of
Sailing come into effect at different times in the Northern and Southern
Hemispheres, and approved that the Racing Rules of Sailing for 2005-2008
will come into effect globally on 1 January 2005. - http://www.sailing.org
YET ANOTHER RECORD ATTEMPT
Jeremy Waitt (30) and Chris Burk (21) who live and work on the Isle of
Wight are attempting to circumnavigate the island on a kite powered
catamaran on 20th March 2004. Rounding the island has always been a marked
challenge for yachtsman and the pair will leave from Yaverland Bay at 0930,
rounding anti-clockwise to obtain advantageous tides, completing the task
in less than five hours averaging a speed of 12 knots (approx 17 mph).
The kite -powered craft has been built and designed by the team, who have
pieced together a conventional 16ft catamaran hull and a kitesurfing water
re-launchable kite to create a craft that deals with the eventualities of
sailing. Jeremy believes a kite-powered catamaran could achieve more
consistent average speeds than a conventional sailing craft therefore
beating the current record set by Playstation II in 2001 of 2h 33 min 55
sec. - Excepts from a story on the Yachting World website,
http://www.yachting-world.com
For more Information: www.jeremyonline.co.uk
THE KEY TO FUN SAILING
The key to enhance your sailing enjoyment is the right gear; check out the
Camet web site for new ideas. The Camet Sailing pants are as comfortable
and practical as the shorts, and have the reinforced Cordura® seat pad for
the foam pads. The Camet line of Neoprene Hiking pants have new reinforced
pads and battens, combine these with the Bubble Top which creates and
maintains a comfortable microclimate close to your skin surface.CoolMax®
Shirts, RashGuards, Mylar bags, etc. All these make all the difference for
your sailing comfort. http://www.camet.com
AC ON EBAY
Since the March 1st announcement of the America's Cup team auction on eBay,
the Challenge Series web site has had a record 197,000 hits. More than 1100
companies have downloaded the auction package. We can now see a trend in
who actually has an interest in sponsoring an America's Cup team. This
could be good news for the Sausalito Challenge and other teams. Below is a
list of businesses by sector who have inquired about the exclusive
sponsorship. The question now looms, how many of these will actually bid?
We will see April 2nd on eBay Motors (keyword:sailboat). - John Sweeney
Who's looking: Pharmaceutical - 23; Fashion/Cosmetics - 12; Biotech - 12;
Software - 9; Telecoms - 8; Ad Agencies - 8; Banks/Investment - 7; Tourism
Boards - 6; Automobile - 5; Oil - 4; Resorts/Hotels - 4; Airlines - 3.
FOR THE RECORD
* Despite the less than favorable Southern Ocean conditions Steve Fossett's
crew aboard Cheyenne have managed to carry out repairs to the damaged mast
track en-route for Cape Horn. Initially the crew expected to have to wait
until they reached the shelter of the Falklands later in the week, but the
thought of several more days' slow sailing, then to lose even more time
while stopped was too frustrating after all the efforts of the past five
weeks. Commenting on the repair, Fossett said: "I can't believe these guys
fixed the mast. With a "Do it now" attitude, the Cheyenne crew mobilized on
Sunday morning to make the necessary repairs. As reported earlier, a
section of mainsail track on the mast ripped off early Saturday morning.
Yachting World, http://www.yachting-world.com/
On Day 37 at 1710 GMT, Geronimo was 650 miles W/NW Cape Horn, 1720 miles
ahead of Orange 2002 record. However Steve Fossett and Cheyenne have found
themselves caught in the front edge of a Low pressure system - making
slower (177 miles - avg 14.75 kts) progress in light Northerly winds in the
8 - 10 kt range for the past 1/2 day. At least another 1/2 day of similar
weather is in store - http://www.fossettchallenge.com
* Day 18 - The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran crossed the
longitude of the Cape of Good Hope at 22:15 GMT yesterday, one day ahead of
the current record. She will now continue further south as she heads for
the Kerguelen Islands. On her 18th day at sea, she covered 411 nautical
miles on an easterly heading, averaging 17.13 knots point-to-point in a day
full of gibing. She was still having to progress in zigzag fashion along a
relatively narrow corridor between the slack winds of the high pressure
region to the north and the threat of icebergs to the south. The first 12
hours of the day saw her pick up speed and Geronimo is now taking the risk
of moving further south with a good wind angle. Having covered 286 nautical
miles in 12 hours, the average speed for the day should be approaching 24
knots. - http://www.trimaran-geronimo.com
NEWS BRIEFS
* Current Lightning World Champion Tito Gonzalez from Santiago, Chile has
won the first leg of the 33-boat Lightning Southern Circuit with a two
point win over Larry MacDonald from Carlisle ON. Greg Fisher (Arnold, MD)
finished third with 10 points in the three race event. The circuit
continues with Miami Midwinter Regatta, March 16-17, and St. Petersburg
Winter Championship, March 18-21. Complete results:
www.lightningclass.org/Results/results04/deep_south.htm
* The GBR Challenge shore crew will arrive in Spain next Tuesday in order
to prepare the first step of training in Valencia. The Real Club Nautico de
Valencia will accomodate five syndicate in the former Desafio Español base
for the Louis Vuitton Cup 2000. Also, a new Le Defi team will be assembled
around Luc Gelluseau, Operation manager, with Philippe Presti
(helmsman/skipper), Philipper Mourniac (tactician) and Pierre Mas. From
March 22- May 24 the Le Defi shore crew will prepare FRA 69 and FRA 79 for
sailing. - Cup in Europe website, http://www.cupineurope.com/
* Junior sailors will be the winners when North Sails Race Week (Long
Beach, CA - June 25 - 27) awards the Yacht Club Team Challenge trophy. Each
yacht club team will consist of four PHRF boats, with the winner determined
by the lowest cumulative score. Co-producers Golison & Golison and Premiere
Racing will donate $500 to the junior program of the winning Yacht Club team.
www.Premiere-Racing.com
* Russell Coutts was at the Clube Naval de Cascais over the weekend -
winning 9th S. M. El Rey Juan Carlos I Trophy in a 20 boat Dragon regatta.
Complete results: http://www.cncascais.com/
* The wait is almost over - the next release of the ISAF World Match Race
Rankings will be on March 17, counting results up to and including the ISAF
Grade 1 Marseille International Match Race. Whoopee! -
http://www.sailing.org/matchrace/mrranking.asp
IT'S HERE ...
The New Team One Newport 2004 catalog is here!! Look for it in the mail for
the latest from Henri-Lloyd, Musto, Gill, Patagonia, Ronstan, Harken,
Kaenon, Magic Marine, Columbia, Woolrich, Camet, Railriders and more. They
are even coming out with a Women's catalog in April! If you don't get the
catalog, then call 800-VIP-GEAR or visit the Team One Newport website for
all the cool gear: http://www.team1newport.com
OPENING THE DOORS A BIT WIDER
After discussion between the International Olympic Committee and the ISAF
President the following amendment in the Qualification System for the 2004
Olympic Sailing Regatta. In order to arrive at a number of participants as
close as possible to the total quota of 400, it has been decided to
increase the entry quota for the classes 470-Women, 49er, Tornado, Star and
Yngling with one extra entry place. This will mean that in the last (2004)
qualification regatta the following number of qualification places are
available:
- Double-Handed Dinghy Women - 470 - 5 qualification places (was 4)
- Double-Handed Dinghy Open - 49er - 5 qualification places (was 4)
- Multihull Open - Tornado - 4 qualification places (was 3)
- Keelboat Men - Star - 4 qualification places (was 3)
- Keelboat Women - Yngling - 4 qualification places (was 3)
http://www.sailing.org/events
* Also - for the first time in 2002, ISAF introduced the `Athlete
Participation Programme', to provide financial support to assist athletes
from developing sailing nations to participate in an ISAF Event. To date,
the programme has provided support for two ISAF Events, the 2002 ISAF World
Sailing Games and the 2003 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. The
Athlete Participation Programme aims to encourage participation and assist
athletes from those countries who may not otherwise be able to attend and
provides financial subsidies to assist with travel to the event and the
entry fee. In addition, coaching expertise is provided for the duration of
the Championship.
For 2004, the ISAF Athlete Participation Programme will be available for
athletes participating in the 2004 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World
Championship, 8-17 July 2004 in Gdynia, Poland. Over the longer term and in
response to requests from MNA's, ISAF has also committed funding to the
Athlete Participation Programme for 2005 and 2006, which will be available
for the 2005 and 2006 ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship and the 2006
ISAF World Sailing Games. The objective of the longer term programme is to
provide a clear funding commitment to MNA's which will enable them to plan
participation at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship and ISAF World
Sailing Games, secure in the knowledge that financial support is in place.
- ISAF website, www.sailing.org
APPEALS
Auckland, New Zealand - Sailors seeking to overturn yachting nominations
for the Athens Olympics will find out either late today or tomorrow whether
their bids have been successful. The Sports Tribunal began hearing three
appeals in Auckland yesterday. Two are by Laser sailor Andrew Murdoch, and
by men's 470 crew Simon Cooke and Alastair Gair, who failed to win their
respective classes at the nationals trials in Auckland in January and
missed nomination. The other appeal is from women's 470 crew Melinda
Henshaw and Jan Shearer. They won their event at the trials but have been
told they must compete in the world championships in Croatia in May to
satisfy the selectors that they meet one of the criteria - the ability to
finish in the top 10 in Athens.
In the cases of Murdoch and Cooke and Gair, they argue they have better
credentials than the sailors nominated - former Team New Zealand tactician
Hamish Pepper, and 470 pair Andrew Brown and Jamie Hunt. Murdoch was second
in the national trials behind Pepper, and Cooke and Gair finished third
behind Brown and Hunt, and Stephen and Phillip Keen. - New Zealand Herald,
full story: http://tinyurl.com/3cnaq
QUOTE / UNQUOTE
"During the Olympic Trials, we had a few themes that our coach, Ben Cesare,
he kept repeating to us every day: We were a team and would only win if
working as a team - so keep communicating constantly both on and off the
boat; and secondly to keep improving and correcting our mistakes every
single race and to never stop trying ways to go faster." - Nancy Haberland,
who will represent the United States at the Olympics sailing with Yngling
skipper Carol Cronin and Liz Filter.
http://www.ussailing.org/Olympics/SailingMedallist/04v3/page3.htm
HEAVY SEAS
Scuttlebutt readers who think they've been out in 'heavy seas' should
definitely get a good firm grip on something before clicking on this
website: http://tv-antenna.com/heavy-seas/
THE LATEST BZZZ - GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN THE YNGLING TRIALS?
Team Atkins of Cronin, Filter, and Haberland were. And making its Olympic
Trials debut on board the Team Atkins Yngling was New England Ropes' new
Bzzz Line. Part of New England Ropes new dinghy/one design product
offerings, Bzzz Line is the ultimate in a light weight, buoyant performance
sheet. It's so soft your hands will love you for it. The new mainsheet
choice among Star, Lightning, 49er, Tornado, Laser, and Opti sailors. Go
ahead, catch the Bzzz and get results with the best of them.
Congratulations Carol, Liz, and Nancy! http://www.neropes.com
SORRY ABOUT THAT
Yes - I know we are distributing 'Butt a bit late tonight, but the LA
Lakers played an overtime game - which they won by three. Yes!
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com)
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 Peter Harken: It's time, no, it's well over time for those of reason
and intelligence who make up the Nomination Board for the AC Hall of Fame
to put aside their grudge and induct Ben Lexcen. Quote Dennis Conner,
"There is no excuse!"
* From Skip Lissiman: I am glad to see the obvious (Ben Lexcen's exclusion
from the AC Hall of Fame) was not missed by a number of Scuttlebutt
readers. This issue came up the same time last year when the 2003 list came
out, which included 1983 Australia II Challenge syndicate chairman, Alan
Bond. It seems that a number of the key decision makers at the America's
Cup Hall of Fame are still smarting from Ben Lexcen's innovative 12 meter
design 20+ years ago.
* From Michael H. Koster (edited to our 250-word limit): I can empathize
with George Iverson's situation. A similar situation happened to our crew
in the J105 class several years ago when a decision was rendered by the
class that essentially made it impossible for our crew to compete. It was
not a weight issue, but a competitor classification issue.
When the owner bought the J105, there were no restrictions as to the number
of 'industry' folks that could make up the crew. One of the crew was in
high school when I started sailing with him and his dad, the owner. The
other crew was in college. We were the nucleus of the crew that the owner
managed to keep together for 15 years. As we grew older, three of us ended
up in 'industry' jobs. When the owner purchased a J105, he did so thinking
that he would be able to continue racing with family and friends. At the
time of purchase, the class did not have any classification restrictions
that would have prevented us from competing.
Within two years of the purchase, the class decided to restrict the number
'industry' people competing on J105's. These new rules prevented us from
competing in the class. In our case, the class refused to grandfather our
crew, even though we had a track record of competing together for over 15
years. Whether or not the Star Class or J105 Class made the correct
decisions, people are being disenfranchised. Are these classes any better
when good sailors are excluded?
* From Dan Mangus: To set the record straight, Ding Schoonmaker has won the
Bacardi Cup seven times as a skipper and once as a crew ... so his total is
eight Bacardi wins.
* From Peter Fredricks: Why cover the boring Round the World record
attempts stuff about under-engineered boats performing poorly in
under-planned sailing efforts that are under-interesting? This is fantasy
racing, like a fantasy football league. Boring! They are racing against
imaginary spots moving through the water. Have you noticed in the last 15
year that one-design racing has taken over the sport? What's up with you?
Been on the water lately? The Paul Cayard story is much more interesting
... cover him; drop the RTW record attempts.
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
One reason why so many senior citizens smile all the time is because they
can't hear a thing you're saying.
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