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SCUTTLEBUTT 2074 - April 17, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.TEAM GBR HIT THE JACKPOT (Following are a few brief excerpts from a story posted on thedailysail subscription website) £494,000 (Approx. US$866,000) increase in this year's funding for British Olympic sailing team through increased government investment Funding for Olympic and Paralympic sport received a massive boost on Wednesday when UK Sport announced additional awards for the three years through to Beijing 2008. The increased public investment totals £65.3 million (Approx. US$114 million) - conditional upon meeting a series of funding 'triggers' - and is available as a result of the Government's decision last month to allocate up to £300 million to athlete preparations for London 2012. Of this, £58.8 million is earmarked for Summer Olympic support and £6.5 million for Summer Paralympic sports. A total of £17 million is being invested in 2006/7 as some Olympic sports gear up to entering the world class sporting arena for the first time, with a further £23.2 million invested in 2007/8 and £25.1 million in 2008/9. According to UK Sport's comprehensive investment model, the accepted basis for all the new funding being distributed, this will allow athletes from a total of 27 Summer Olympic disciplines the chance to pursue their dreams of competing and winning at a home games in six years time. At present the majority of funding for Olympic sailing comes from UK Sport with money fed down from the National Lottery. On top of this the new government money represents an increase to sailing of some £466,000 over the previous budget from UK Sport. As a result of this total funding for sailing over the 2006-9 period will now amount to a whopping £17,194,000 (more than 30 million USD) and for the 2006-7 year represents £5,730,000 (US$10 million). -- http://www.thedailysail.com BRADY WINS HIS THIRD CONGRESSIONAL CUP Long Beach, Calif. -- Gavin Brady, a native of New Zealand but a resident of Annapolis, Md. for 14 of his 32 years, felt right at home in Long Beach Saturday when he won his third Crimson Blazer in the Long Beach Yacht Club's 42nd Congressional Cup presented by Acura. It was just a while in coming. Brady's first two wins were in 1996 and '97, and since then he had been in the semifinals six times and the finals four times before this victory that put him one behind Rod Davis and Peter Holmberg, who have won four Congressional Cups each. Once Brady got on a roll this week he was next to invincible. He won 16 of his last 17 races, including the last 13 in a row and all four Saturday when he swept local hope Scott Dickson in the semis and Great Britain's Ian Williams in the finals, 2-0 each. "It was just a matter of getting into a rhythm," Brady said, but Williams said the difference between them was how deadly Brady was at the starting line. "He got am exceptional line shot at the starts both times that gave him that little jump," Williams said. "He just got it right every time. We never got the timing we needed." One of Brady's trimmers, Tony Rey agreed. "Gavin won the regatta for us on the starting line," Rey said. "If it was an even start, we were controlling soon after." Brady represented the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club but his crew was mostly American. Like himself, tactician Chris Larson and pitman Ian Gordon live in Annapolis and Rey is from Newport, R.I. Bowman Jeff Brock and main trimmer Skip Baxter are Kiwis. They'll all share the $10,000 first-place prize. The new consolation fleet race for a $1,000 prize was won by New Zealand Simon Minoprio, followed by countryman Cameron Appleton, Brian Angel of Redondo Beach, Peter Wibroe of Denmark and Johnie Berntsson of Sweden. Finland's Staffan Lindberg did not compete. -- Rich Robers, http:www.lbyc.org/concup/ FINAL STANDINGS (with round robin scores): 1. Gavin Brady (15-3) $10,000 2. Ian Williams (15-3) $5700 3. Mathieu Richard (13-5) $4800 4. Scott Dickson (8-10) $4400 5. Simon Minoprio (8.-10) $3800 6. Johnie Berntsson (8-10) $3000 7. Cameron Appleton, (7-11) $2,700 8. Staffan Lindberg (7-11) $2,300 9. Brian Angel (6-12) $1,900 10. Peter Wibroe (3-15) $1,500 Photo link: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/concup To view the event on demand online: http://www.t2p.tv/ PRINCESS SOFIA TROPHY Palma de Mallorca, Spain (April 14, 2006) - There were 939 boats and 1,494 competitors in Palma de Mallorca, Spain for the ISAF Grade 2 Princess Sofia Trophy. The Brits showed their mettle under pressure to take home three gold medals and three silver medals -- led by a dominant Nick Dempsey in the Men’s RS:X, who was named winner of the HRH Princess Sofia Absolute Winner Trophy. The USA Yngling team of Sally Barkow (Nashotah, Wis.), Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.), and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.) kicked off their European sailing season with a major win at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The reigning Yngling World Champions had one mission going into today's final medal race: finishing ahead of the British team led by Sarah Ayton, who was just two points behind when the teams got on the water that morning. The USA team, which won the Women's World Match Racing Championship last year, used its match racing skills to cover the British team, crossing the finish line two spots ahead of Ayton. In the same class, Hannah Swett/Melissa Purdy/Liz Merrifield Filter had strong last race and finished the regatta in sixth place. Canada's Christopher Cook took a third in the final race in the 41-boat Finn fleet to capture the bronze medal in that class, while Amanda Clark & Sarah Mergenthaler (USA) finished third in final race of the 470 Women's Class to move up to sixth place in that 49-boat fleet. Anna Tunnicliffe took a second in the Laser Radial finale, which left her 10 points short of the third spot on the podium. An OCS in that race moved the other American finalist, Paige Railey, down to the eighth spot. Brad Funk (USA) finished the ISAF Grad 2 regatta in seventh place in the Laser class. http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/dinghy/index.html Reports from top US 470 teams at the event: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/us470reports MOISTURE WICKING TEES AT THE PIRATE'S LAIR We are your ‘go to’ source for all moisture wicking base layers. Short sleeve, long sleeve… you name it. Want your team logo on it? Ask us about Dye-Sublimation printing. For your free catalog and to ask for info, log on to http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing LIVE -- FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE PACIFIC On Sunday morning, the curmudgeon had a chance to talk with Olivier de Kersauson -- skipper of the Capgemini / Schneider Electric trimaran Geronimo -- as the maxi-multihull was streaking across the Pacific in an attempt to set a new record for the 4481-mile passage from San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan. The skipper was in a happy mood. Why not -- the boat was barreling along at 20+ knots -- generally sailing two or three knots faster than the wind speed. As we chatted, it was obvious that de Kersauson knows and understands this boat well. He knows when to push it hard and when to back off, and feels that he and his experienced crew are getting fully 95% of the potential out of the boat on this trans-oceanic passage. The boat is now in the Pacific Trade Winds and will be sailing past Hawaii early Monday. de Kersauson readily acknowledged that he understands the Atlantic Ocean much better than the Pacific, and explained that because of the limited number of similar passages, there is not a lot of reliable wind and sea state data available. However, he likes this time of year for the record attempt. “There can be very strong ‘lows’ surrounding Japan in the winter,” he explained. Those lows plus the strong currents in that part of the world can produce ‘a horrible sea,’ which is hardly ideal for a record attempt. Steve Fosset set the San Francisco - Yokohama record in May, 1997 on the 60-foot trimaran Lakota. It took Lakota 19 days and 15 hours. Sailing the 110-foot Geronimo, de Kersauson should knock more than a week off that standard which has stood for nearly a decade. You can follow the progress of Geronimo on the Superyachting Challenge website, which is equipped with the SARS tracking program: http://www.superyachting.com HOME STRETCH As ABN Amro One (Mike Sanderson) and movistar (Bouwe Bekking) prepare to enter the final stage of leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race from Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore, USA. “The trip up the Chesapeake is shaping up to be relatively slow and especially challenging – at least for the leaders,” explains assistant race meteorologist, Jennifer Lilly. Present forecasts are painting very light winds, possibly from the north. If this plays out as forecast, the leaders could be sailing nearly dead up wind, with plenty of tacks as the bay narrows going north towards the finish. In addition, the local tidal currents of the bay will play into this hugely. Combine that with the challenges of heavy shipping, shallow sand bars, fish traps and crab pots, you have got a navigator’s nightmare.” The leaders are 20 nautical miles off Cape Hatteras, part of the National Seashore, which, stretches over 70 barrier islands on the coast of North Carolina. It comprises of a thin strand of islands, which curves out into the Atlantic Ocean and then back again. This area was once dubbed the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’ for its treacherous currents, shoals and storms. This natural barrier has survived the onslaught of wind and sea, but at this moment has a wind speed of around 7 knots directly from the East. ABN Amro One is 62 nautical miles from the entrance to the Chesapeake, from there it is another 130 miles to the finish line at Baltimore. For their trip up the Chesapeake the Pirates of the Caribbean are scheduled to have a famous guest; Gary Jobson. Gary will get onboard just after the entrance of the Bay and ride all the way to Baltimore with them. He is making a TV show on the race for ESPN and will be filming from onboard the Black Pearl. He did the same thing eight years ago with Cayard on EF Language. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Sunday 1. ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 187 miles to finish 2. movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +36 miles 3. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +198 miles 4. Ericsson Racing Team, John Kostecki, +253 miles 5. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +262 miles 6. ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +288 miles WEEKEND QUOTES "When we finally stepped out of that "room" and into the next, we stepped into strong northeasterly winds. In a matter of five minutes the wind went from a 14 knot run to a 25 knots tight reach. That was at about 1600 local time today and ever since then we have been blasting along at 20 knots of boats peed on a tight reach. These are the conditions we term "fire hosing" as the water that fly's off the bow and hits you in the face, does so with the force of a fire hose. This is a constant fire hose - hours of it." -- Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean skipper “This is nearly the most uncomfortable point of sailing on a Volvo 70. Tight reaching, heaps of water over the deck, crashing and banging into the waves. Not to forget typing this daily takes me 4 times as long as normal, hitting the wrong keys all the time, in the mean time trying to avoid to bang my melon into the mainsheet driveshaft or getting launched into the leeward bunk.” -- Bouwe Bekking, movistar skipper FANTASTIC CHARLESTON RACE WEEK RESULTS Ockam Instruments would like to congratulate Steve Stollman and the crew of his C&C 115 Primal Scream for winning the PHRF Overall trophy and also the crew of Brian Keane’s J105 Savasana for winning their class. Kudos also to the crews aboard Yellow Jacket and Shameless for reaching the podium in their respective classes. What do these winning yachts have in common? Ockam Instruments’ superior Tryad processing and Matryx display technology for that distinct competitive advantage. Not just for America’s Cup and Grand Prix racing yachts. At Ockam, we have race winning solutions for everyone. Contact mailto:lat@ockam.com FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER For the first time in its 33 year history a non-American has won the 194 boat Optimist Open South American Championship. Timothy Seet of Singapore benefited from the second discard after the final race to beat his team mate, reigning Asian champion Sean Lee, by a margin of just 4 points, both sailors scoring 6th or better in all races. The championship has been won on a number of occasions by North Americans, most notably twice in the '80s by USA Laser Olympian Mark Mendelblatt, but never by a non-American. The win is a further step in the rise of Asian youth sailing demonstrated by the Optimist Worlds gold taken by Wei Ni (CHN) in 2004 and the ISAF Youth gold won by Wee Chin Teo (SIN) last year. Further evidence of the rise is that the girls' gold and over-all bronze was taken by Rufina Tan of Malaysia and girls' silver by Griselda Khng (SIN). In the "closed" South American scoring 2004 champion Edgar Diminich of Ecuador lost out on countback to his younger compatriot Jonathan Martinetti. Manfredo Finck (URU) was third. -- Robert Wilkes, http://www.suropti2006.com PERFORMANCE ANALYST One of our readers pointed out a job opening with the UK's powerhouse Olympic sailing machine for a "Perfromance Analyst." What's a performance analyst you ask? According to the online posting, the successful candidate would, "develop and deliver performance analysis services for World Class Sailing Programme athletes; attend regional, national and international locations to capture and process individual and group high performance data for Sailing; develop the performance analysis programme within the sport of sailing, providing a blend of innovative solutions alongside current best practice." The qualifications? The posting lists: "a degree (or equivalent) in sports science or a related subject exceptional delivery skills with an ability to present complex technical information to athletes and coaches in a simple and convincing manner; substantial experience in several of the following areas: Performance Analysis, Race-boat Navigation, Naval Architecture, Video Production, IT, Electronics, Biomechanics; at least 6 years' experience of the provision of performance analysis (or closely related discipline) to athletes and coaches in elite sport or a similar role in an elite sailing environment. (Exceptionally qualified candidates with less than 6 years experience may be considered for employment on a lower level.)" The advertised salary is: £32,937 - £43,916 -- which works out to be something like US$57,700 -- US$77,000. -- http://www.uksport.gov.uk/jobs.asp “MAN OVERBOARD!” A dark and stormy night...no moon…poor visibility...bow man washed overboard...a crew's worst nightmare. But with SeaMarshall automatic water-activated beacons and our new SarFinder homing receiver, a potentially tragic situation is turned into a successful rescue. To find out more about SeaMarshall rescue gear contact Chip Barber: mailto:admin@chbarber.com; http://www.chbarber.com/seamarshall.html NEWS BRIEFS * Virtual Spectator (VS) (TM) and commentator, Gary Jobson – the voice of sailing -- are joining forces to bring video news reports of the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR) to your computer. The VS Report with Gary Jobson (TM) takes VOR coverage to another level. Gary Jobson, who has reported on four Whitbread and Volvo Round the World Races for ESPN-TV, presents comprehensive reports which combine in-depth commentary and analysis, raw video sent by satellite from the boats at sea, and the innovative VS Race Viewer clips. Virtual Spectator’s (TM) graphic presentation of the race can be downloaded free: www.virtualspectator.com. * With Multihull skippers expressing strong interest in a shortened course for the Swiftsure Race, the race organizers have provided them the option of choosing the 78.3 nm Juan de Fuca race. Given this option, some of the slower-rated boats can race and return earlier than the faster boats participating in the Cape Flattery race. Finishing early has the added advantage of being able to partake of the party at Ship Point on Saturday evening. -- http://www.swiftsure.org/ *You may subscribe, unsubscribe or to change an e-mail address for free daily delivery of Scuttlebutt at: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/subscribe/ * Veteran ad salesman Phil Troy has been chosen for Sail magazine's Western Regional Manager position and Jason Pinter has been selected to be Sail's Mid-Atlantic Regional Sales Manager. They will be directly responsible for advertising sales for Sail, BoatWorks, and Sail's Sailboat Buyers Guide within their territories. In addition, Arnie Hammerman, who currently represents Sail's sister publication, Power & Motoryacht (PMY) in the western region, will be overseeing the West Coast and Pacific Rim territories for Sail in addition to his PMY responsibilities. Sail is the largest circulation sailing magazine in the world. *The first ever America's Cup challenger from China has now finished painting the hull of its boat, CHN-79, with the colors of the shiny beautiful dragon. The team's schedule is to launch the boat on the 25th of April, leaving a scant two weeks for the red dragon and the crew to prepare for the Louis Vuitton Act 10 and face an uphill battle as during the first day of racing, China Team will have to sail against Luna Rossa and Alinghi. You gotta see the photos posted at Valencia Sailing: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Nick Nicholson: The "forty-foot yacht" Memory you referenced in your trivia question was actually a Herreshoff NY 40, which is 40' on the waterline and 59' on deck. NY 40's were normally rigged as gaff-headed double-headsail sloops, but there was a lot of experimentation in this class, and Memory was rigged as a marconi yawl for the Bermuda Race. Memory was skippered by R. N. Bavier, who was, I believe, the father of that rather well-known more contemporary sailor, Bob Bavier. * From Susan Coulson: Another tribute to Bill Lapworth -- Cal-20 Fleets are thriving up and down the west coast from Canada to southern California, including national and international regattas each summer when we get to go on "road trips." During summer evening series here in Portland, Oregon, we often have 25 Cal-20s on the start line. What a wonderful little boat for sailors of all ages and ability!! CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Sign on a Fence: "Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive." Special thanks to The Pirate’s Lair, Ockam Instruments, and C.H. Barber. |
