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SCUTTLEBUTT 1283 - March 11, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. GUEST EDITORIAL - Dave Hubbard It was a shock to learn of the proposal to hold the next ICCT event in eighteen foot One Design beach catamarans. I have been involved in C Class development since the very beginning, starting with the first match at the Seacliff YC in 1962 and most recently at the McCrae YC in Australia in 1996 , I feel betrayed. Having spent considerable time and effort designing, researching , building and campaigning C Class Catamarans and, among others, bringing their performance to their unequaled high level I feel betrayed by the lowering of the standards of the event. Those dedicated to Class C have, through international competition and through many design and testing iterations, have produced a type of craft that is fast, exciting to sail and interesting to watch . Port-starboard tack closing rates are well above 30 knots. Their efficiency and light weight makes the boats very responsive . The wind shadows are too small to be used as a serious tactical tool thus making for more open racing. Little America's Cup campaigns involve most of the elements of the full size America's Cup ones at a small fraction of the cost. (and with fewer legal acrimonies) . The design constraints are minimal and the rules are easy to interpret and there is still room for performance increases. Winning a Challenge is the recognition of a successful combination of the ingredients of design, construction, campaigning and sailing over a two to three year period . Seacliff YC's decision reduces the magnitude of the trophy to a one week event for sailors barely indistinguishable from any other regatta. Dumbing down is indeed an appropriate word for it. I am heartened that there is an Australian Class C Challenge to be sailed in Newport in 2004. May the yachting world of sailors and journalists recognize it for what it is and give it the continued support as it has in the past. - David Hubbard FROM THE ICCT TRUSTEES (John Dawson, Jr., Chairman of the Trustees for the International Catamaran Challenge Trophy has posted an open letter on their website. Following are some excerpts.) The Trustees decided that in the best interest of international match racing competition they would select another class of catamaran. This decision was not reached in a vacuum, but after much open discussion with Steve Clark and Duncan MacLane, and in addition, with representatives from a potential challenger from Britain and from Australia. It was not a snap decision but the culmination and consideration of all the input and issues raised for more than two years. In fact, about four years ago, I met with Steve Clark, Dave Hubbard (a long-time affiliation with C-Class catamarans and designer of the Patient Lady series of cats owned by Tony Mauro), and a representative from the Yellow Pages Edge team from Australia, at Dave's home, to see if we could come up with ideas to generate interest in another event. Duncan may have been present also. We were unable to reach any conclusion. Again, after four years had elapsed from the last event, we renewed our meetings with more urgency. Steve and Duncan were invited to attend and did so, although their remoteness from Sea Cliff prevented their presence at each meeting. The discussions were far ranging, including a change of class, either one design or open, from the Formula 40's to the round the world catamarans like Team Adventure. We even talked about the open trimaran 60's and the type of events that were being successfully held in Europe. I had telephone conversations and exchanged emails with representatives from both Australia and Britain and hosted a dinner for Steve, Duncan, John Downey, a representative from Britain (and the skipper of the 1987 British challenge) and the Trustees as recently as last September, to discuss the status of the Trophy. At that time, as well as beforehand, we talked about a need for change. Permit two trapezes; remove sail area limitations; set a minimum weight, etc. More than a year ago we responded to an inquiry about our acceptance of a challenge even though the four- year period had expired a year earlier. We indicated that we would consider such a challenge if it were received prior to September 1, 2002, for a Race in September of 2003. Such a challenge was not received. We have revised the Deed of Gift and selected the F-18HT Class as the class in which the event will be held starting September 27, 2003 and concluding October 2, 2003. That class will be the class for the following event as well, in order to maintain continuity. The Trustees retain the right to select other classes in the future, including the C-Class, if it should become viable. - John Dawson, Jr., full text: www.icct2003.org/ PROTECT YOUR ASSETS Camet Sailing Shorts and Pants not only protect your body from the elements but they now also protect your skin from the sun. They are made out of breathable, fast drying Supplex® with a UV rating of 40+ (blocks 97.5% of UV rays) and reinforced with a Cordura® seat patch to insert an optional foam pad. Get your team ready for the 2003 season. Check out all the different styles at http://www.camet.com UBS CHALLENGE CANCELLED UBS has discontinued their support of the UBS Challenge, which has caused cancellation of this match racing series. "Obviously, we are very disappointed," said Scott MacLeod, senior vice president of Octagon, which organized the event. "The inaugural UBS Challenge was a huge breakthrough in sailing in the United States and a great platform for match racing and the competitors." The UBS Challenge was a multi-tiered match racing series featuring both professional and amateur sailors. In 2002, regional qualifying regattas took place in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Detroit and Houston, with the U.S. Championships held in Newport RI. Over the past several months, the event had received the President's Award from U.S. Sailing, and recognized in several other awards programs. Given the success of the event, Octagon will continue to pursue new sponsorship opportunities on its behalf, with the goal of resurrecting the event in the future. FROM THE RNZYS COMMODORE To the Curmudgeon - Here is a transcript of my speech, delivered extempore at the America's Cup closing ceremony. I leave it for your readers to decide whether the aspersions cast by Mr. Roberts are justified. - Bill Endean, Commodore, Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron "Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron I offer my sincerest congratulations to Ernesto Berterelli and his team for an outstanding performance. As the Herald newspaper said this morning, from zero to hero in three years is an incredibly outstanding performance and our congratulations to you and your team for making America's Cup history by achieving such a huge milestone in such a short period of time. "I also would like to thank Harold Bennett and his team for the pressure that they withstood during the contest. To Peter Carr and his team of volunteers who looked after the course marshal and spectator fleet. I also would like to say it was almost another precedent set in America's Cup history with the Defender not having a team to represent it and in that regard I would like to make a special thanks and recognition to the boys in black who made the sacrifices, who turned down what might have been the more attractive offer, to stay with their Team, to stay with their Club and to stay with their Country. My appreciation to you all for the sacrifices that you made. "The Squadron has had a magnificent partnership with Team New Zealand. It goes back 10 years now, back to 1993 when we first signed our agreement with the Team right through to this day and it gives us at the Squadron enormous pleasure to be involved with an outstanding team, thank you. You fought hard, you fought fair but your best was not good enough. We have to acknowledge that the better team won on the day. "As a yachtsman it gave me great pleasure to see how expertly both teams sailed their boats. Faultless performances and crew work on both boats and as I said, as a yachtsman's perspective it could not have been better. Thank you very much to both teams for your competition. "The Squadron has enjoyed its place in the sun. We hope to revisit this place again in terms of the America's Cup and we look forward to a further partnership with Team New Zealand. In the meantime, to Societe Nautique de Geneve our congratulations to you and we hope that you will be as worthy custodians of the Cup as we believe we have been." TRANSPAC With a total of 59 entries already signed up, the 42nd biennial Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii will have its largest fleet since the mid-80s when the ULDB 70 "sleds" held sway. The current list, representing five countries, three continents and home ports from Honolulu to Florida, includes 35 boats in the four racing divisions and 10 in the Aloha class, along with five doublehanders and nine Cal 40s celebrating the 40th anniversary of the class and their dominance of the race in the 60s. Transpac entries hit a peak with 80 in 1979, but had totaled only 33 in each of the last two races. This year's race, scheduled to start July 1, 4 and 6 off the Palos Verdes Peninsula south of Los Angeles, includes six foreign entries---two each from Australia and Canada, one from New Zealand and Karl Kwok's new Transpac 52, Beau Geste, from Hong Kong, with Gavin Brady on board. - Rich Roberts, list of entries: www.transpacificyc.org JULES VERNE TROPHY - DAY 59 In the 24 hours to 03:00 GMT today, the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran covered 340 nautical miles at an average speed of 14.18 knots. Geronimo retains a lead of 91 nautical miles over Orange, but as they approach the Tropic of Cancer, Olivier de Kersauson and his 10-man crew have run into the slack winds characteristic of the tail end of the trade winds. Worse still, forecasts of the weather now awaiting the crew are not hugely encouraging either. Here's what the skipper had to say on the subject: "There's no way through. We're in the calms and in front of us we have an anticyclone and a depression. If we skirt around the first, we'll find ourselves in the head winds of the depression. Instead of helping us, it'll block our way. If we leave the anticyclone to port to find the best route to the depression, the whole of it will be against us. Today, there's been no feasible opening to the north-east. It's impossible to leave it to port by heading for Spain. The only other option is to leave it to starboard, even though we know that that's not much good either." - www.grandsrecords.com DID YOU MISS SORC AND THE AWESOME SORC GEAR? Team One Newport designed some of the best SORC clothing yet!! It is still available on their website. They have just received the video from last year's Terra Nova Trading's Key West Race Week and that is available as well. Their new 2003 catalog looks spectacular so get a copy by calling 800-VIP-GEAR or visit their website for the latest sailing gear and request a catalog. They have some great technical gear from Henri-Lloyd, Musto, Gill, Patagonia, Kaenon, Harken and lots more! Plus, they have the best service! http://www.team1newport.com AROUND ALONE Despite a stop in Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands to repair a badly damaged keel, Bernard Stamm has taken line honors in Class 1 arriving in Salvador, Brazil at 09:39:07 local time (12:39:07 GMT). It was another spectacular performance by a skipper who has constantly amazed everyone that has followed this race. It seems as if he unstoppable; even a serious problem with his keel caused by some particularly violent weather at Cape Horn did not take away another stunning victory. If the 48-hour penalty he faces for stopping bothered him, the broad smile on his tired looking face disguised any negative sentiment. Just under four hours after Bernard Stamm crossed the finish line in Salvador, 13:23:30 local time (16:23:30 GMT) to be exact, Thierry Dubois sailed into port on Solidaires to take first place for the leg. It was a bittersweet victory for the French skipper who had led on the water until yesterday morning, but a final push by Stamm thwarted his chances of taking line honors. He does however take overall honors for the leg because Stamm will be assessed a 48-hour penalty, For the next two days, Stamm will be watching the progress of Simone Bianchetti on Tiscali and Emma Richards on Pindar. If they finish outside of 48 hours, Bernard will take second for the leg and will go into the final leg of the race with a 2 point lead over Solidaires. Should Tiscali finish within the 48 hour period it will bump Stamm back into third narrowing the point spread between Bobst Group Armor lux and Solidaires. - Excerpts from stories by Brian Hancock. Full report: www.aroundalone.com STANDINGS: 2200 UTC March 11 CLASS 1. Bobst Group-Armor Lux, Bernard Stamm Solidaires, finished; 2. Thierry Dubois, finished; 14; 3. Tiscali, Simone Bianchetti, 397 miles from finish; 4. Pindar, Emma Richards, 529 mff 5. Ocean Planet, Bruce Schwab, 1608 mff; Hexagon, Graham Dalton, dismasted. CLASS 2: 1. Tommy Hilfiger, Brad Van Liew, 661 miles from finish; 2. Everest Horizontal, Tim Kent, 1637 mff; 3. Spirit of yukoh, Kojiro Shiraishi, 1692 mff; 4. BTC Velocity, Alan Paris, 2363 mff; Spirit of Canada, Derek Hatfield, dismasted. IT'S TIME AGAIN Does your website include Scuttlebutt as a featured page or provide a link to the Scuttlebutt website? Harken, Carroll Marine and the Snipe Class are doing it. Our judges are on alert, and finalists will be announced here next Tuesday, March 18th. Send a note to info@sailingscuttlebutt.com if you have incorporated Scuttlebutt into your site, or see what we are talking about at: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/affiliate 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 or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Wiz Deas (edited to our 250-word limit): Thanks to Steve Clark for reminding us which are the fastest boats around a course. Bring on the new Little Americas Cup soon - before I die of boredom reading of boats with 25 ton lumps of lead hanging off them and how advanced they are. The racing needs to be close, with thrills and spills. In this sense, the current AC boats are OK but in every other sense they are a joke. If TNZ had won would we all have had to tie a bucket to the back of our boats to call them technically advanced? Sailing is the last "free" pursuit we have to fire our imagination without bounds and restriction, except for the natural elements of wind and wave. What a fantastic challenge it is to dream of ways over and through these 2 very different media. Adrian Thompson (succinctly) pointed out to me once, at Weymouth Speedweek in the UK, that one is still allowed to dream up the ultimate sailing machine, bung it in the water - and then watch it fail. No one is allowed to do that with such freedom in the confines of motorsport or architecture. Cast our minds back to the ingenious trimaran "Adrenalin" with it's vertically articulating amas, to "Rozierre", the giant proa, to "Hydroptere" and countless others. Talk about a steep learning curve. I love it! * From Max Cumming: When I was a kid in Aussie I watched a wing masted C - Class cat called Miss Nylex do 30 knots before pitchpoling along Port Phillip Bay .. Now I live in Kiwiland and I have been watching the high end of monohull technology strive to gain a second at each mark . Both are incredible craft but to do away with the premier event for the multihulls would be like saying to Orville and Wilbur ( or Richard Pearce) "Don't put a motor in that thing, mate - you may create some thing efficient and exciting!". How would the Ernesto and the Swiss have got that big drinking vessel home to Switzealand in under a day if we had stifled airplane technology? * From Jim Gardiner: I shall never forget the thrill that I experienced when a young boatbuilder, (Me), started his first day working for the Gougeon Brothers in Bay City Michigan 30 years ago and I saw the Little Americas Cup C-class cat Patient Lady III under construction on the shop floor. How sad to read about the catalyst for this magnificent class of boat fade away. * From Kris Anderson: As an American of Danish descent, I can only hope that the proximity of the up-coming (2007?) A.C. will generate an interest from the home country. With guys like Jesper Radich and Jes Gram-Hansen nearly dominating the Swedish Match Tour, you'd think the home support would be overwhelming. Denmark has never mounted a challenge which is odd considering it has more sailboats per capita than almost any other country. It also has the second highest per capita income in the world not to mention that it's designers have greatly influenced modern design since the middle of the last century in everything from furniture to aircraft. Unleash this kind of talent on the Cup and it will go north for a very long time. * From Dick Johnson: I suspect that professional sailors are hoping that the predictions of 12 or more syndicates for the next America's Cup are accurate, because there seems to be a lot of 'free agents' available. The short list of available helmsmen undoubtedly includes, Paul Cayard, Peter Holmberg, Peter Gilmour, James Spithill, Andy Green, Francesco de Angelis, Rod Davis, Gavin Brady, Kenny Read and perhaps Bretrand Pace and John Kostecki. It also appears that there is no shortage of experienced designers. It looks like Doug Peterson, Bruce Nelson, Laurie Davidson, Mani Frers, Juan Kouyoumdjian and Reichel/Pugh are still unsigned. With all of this talent available, it's possible that the AC contracts might be a bit more modest this time around. * From Tom Donlan: Is there anyone out there who could do something about creating a friendly sailing competition among nations? How about a tournament of team races in identical one-design keel boats, such as Etchells or Farr 40s? It would be the Davis Cup of sailing. National teams could be selected by national sailing authorities, and composed entirely of passport-holding citizens. I'd prefer them to be amateurs, too, but I suppose the pursuit of excellence at all cost has gone too far for that. THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Why are there no beds in the restrooms? |
