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SCUTTLEBUTT 2044 - March 6, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.ELLEN MOVES ON "The recent South Georgia expedition and life with the Albatrosses was in many ways a life-changing voyage and adventure for me," explained Ellen MacArthur. "My eyes have been opened to many aspects of the world around us that in our everyday lives we have little time to notice, let alone take in. After nearly ten years of full-on professional sailing including, if you add it up, a year's worth of racing solo, I wanted to use the time down there to think about what I do next. "The conclusion of the amazing title sponsorship with B&Q later this year, gives me a natural opportunity to broaden my horizons and begin the process of working with our fast-growing team at OC Group. This company is co-owned by myself and Mark Turner, who has managed the business since it began in 1995. Whilst I was at sea, Mark held the reins on shore and now it is time for me to put my energy and experience I've gained into the ongoing success of the company and the development of the Offshore Challenges Sailing Team," B&Q's headline sponsorship will conclude as planned following the upcoming 2006 Asian Record Circuit. After the conclusion of the Asian Record Circuit onboard the trimaran B&Q, Ellen's focus will, once again, return to one of the world's largest and most exciting ocean racing fleets - the IMOCA Open 60 monohull class. Ellen's objective is to head-up a two-boat IMOCA 60 team, to include some of the world's best sailors to be selected over the coming months, aiming for victory in the IMOCA World Championship circuit 2007-9. Ellen has decided not to compete in the 2008/09 Vendée Globe although may sail as co-skipper of the second boat in the crewed events of the IMOCA circuit if that is considered to be in the best interest of the development of this new sailing team. ~ www.teamellen.com UTTER DESPAIR Imagine sailing through "an iceberg minefield" thousands of miles from land in the Southern Ocean and having to stay awake for 60 hours to make sure you do not have a collision that could sink your boat. That is what Dee Caffari, of Britain, has been grappling with this weekend and the torture of watching out for and worrying about ice -- especially at night -- has taken her to new depths of despair. "Utter despair took hold today," she reported on her 104th day at sea in her attempt to become the first woman to sail solo and non-stop westwards round the world. "It was the early hours of the morning in the UK and I was sat for the first time on this voyage saying to myself, 'I can't do this'. I didn't even have the strength to cry at first, I was too tired for the physical signs of emotion; there was just this voice inside my head." Caffari found it frightening enough during the day, when she could see as many as six small bergs on either side of her 72-foot steel cutter, Aviva. But the nights were something else as she relied on her radar alarm and her eyes to try to spot them. "The daunting reality of sailing at night among ice was a stressful experience; even my eyes ached from staring at the radar screen or into the night," she said. ~ Edward Gorman, The Times, full story: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4041-2071707,00.html MELGES LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE - MELGES17.COM With continued excitement in the new Melges 17, Melges has launched a new class website for the boat: melges17.com. The growing popularity in this Melges product has been fueled by the dedication of the first class members and boat owners. A perfect example is the first Midwinter Championship for the Melges 17, which took place just a few weeks ago. Fifteen boats traveled for this premiere event. Close racing, exciting rides and evening parties keep this group together and enjoying the sport. If you are looking for a two-person boat, check out the Melges 17 at melges.com and http://melges17.com STRESS-FREE SAILING After a long period of easy reaching the fleet is now hard on the wind and converging as they press on towards Rio de Janeiro and the end of leg four of the Volvo Ocean Race. The winds ahead are lighter, which will slow the fleet, but once through this, the wind will move to the north east and increase and the remaining miles to Rio will click off quickly. But first the teams have to deal with the high pressure ridge ahead, the low pressure system beyond that, and the frustratingly fluky and unstable winds usually found on the approach to Rio. The last twenty-four hours has seen stress-free sailing for the first time in many days and the few sail changes that have been made have been tackled with fresh enthusiasm. ~ www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Sunday 1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 1236 miles to finish 2. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +21 miles 3. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +35 miles 4. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +42 miles 5. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald, +57 miles 6. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +1104 miles FIXED KEEL FOR MOVISTAR Sunday, March 5 -- "We will return to the water later today." Bouwe Bekking has announced from Ushuaia. Ever since the Spanish boat arrived at the capital of Tierra del Fuego, repairs have not stopped, but severe meteorological conditions, with rain and winds of 30 knots have made earlier estimates of finishing over optimistic. Bekking describes the situation: "As we suspected, the cover that covers the union with the keel was destroyed and that was the cause of the water entrance on board. When raising the boat we also found slight damage in the area of the rudder and dagger board, without a doubt caused by the loosening of the keel cover. We have made a repair that will allow us to sail to Rio de Janeiro, where will complete the repairs." "movistar" will be returning to the race, but with limitations on its speed "We will sail with the keel in the fixed position, until we can make a more thorough repair." says Bekking "Under those conditions, our speed will be very much slower." ~ Marian Martin, bym News, http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/25705/48/ QUOTES FROM THE BOATS "The problem is the boats are so fast they become air born much like an offshore power boat, crashing hard into the next wave. The sound down below is deafening and the motion is just outrageous. Multihulls may go faster but they are more elastic and have a bigger margin to move around. These boats are stiff and they crash into the sea like a giant fly squat, with little give in the structure. I am sure all the numbers stack up, but if the designers and structure guys had been on this boat for that period they would have been horrified." ~ Jason Carrington, Ericsson Racing Team "Today has just been one of those days that the Volvo 70 was designed for, reaching along in breezes from 15 to 22 knots pretty much always at least matching wind speed. As I am writing this we are doing 21.7 knots at 95 true wind angle in 19.5 knots of wind. Numbers like that a couple of years ago just weren't achievable in anything other then a Multihull or a super Maxi such as Mari-Cha IV. Every now and then the rule makers stumble on a special boat, quite clearly just lots of thing's just must be in the right proportion. I for one am looking forward to many more years of racing Volvo 70's and now that the excitement level is proven and the new class is proven, I think we should be looking forward to getting twice as many boats on the start line for the next edition of the Volvo Ocean Race." ~ Mike Sanderson, ABN Amro One skipper KAENON POLARIZED Rx One of the most popular and required items in competitive sailing has become Kaenon Polarized. A piece of equipment top racers are using to see detailed-differences. The winning difference. For champions like Sally Barkow, Peter Isler, and Bertrand Pace, Kaenon Polarized allows them to simply see. Kaenon Polarized Vision Correction is the next generation of polarized prescription lens technology. Ask your eyecare professional to fit you in Kaenon Polarized Rx. You're not sight-challenged? Visit your local authorized dealer for a pair of the finest difference makers available today. For men and women. Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. http://www.kaenon.com CRUNCH TIME FOR VOLVO ~ Elaine Bunting Mike Sanderson raises a big question today. The Kiwi skipper of ABN Amro One, who is on course to emerge as the biggest and brightest star of this Volvo Ocean Race, asks what will happen to the race. But he asks it in a manner that confirms many of our suspicions that Volvo's involvement is coming to an end. Sanderson writes: 'It must be close to crunch time for when Volvo has to decide as to the future of their involvement in the race. What ever happens, there is no doubt that there is needed a fully crewed professional race around the world with stops. What was the Whitbread and is now the Volvo is still the pinnacle of offshore racing.' Like him, I believe that there will always be a place for a crewed professional round the world race, but I don't necessarily concur that it is bound to be the pinnacle of offshore sailing. In sport the only thing that ever remains undisputedly 'the Everest' is...well, Everest itself. For the rest, it fluctuates on the tide of public interest. Indeed, the question posed by Sanderson about the future of the VOR is pertinent mainly because there is a sense that the spotlight has already traveled on. The place it has traveled on to is short-handed sailing, ironically a broader arena in which it is easier to feel you know and thus to care about the sailors. That the VOR has fast yachts is neither here nor there. Multihulls are quicker. A 5ft 2in woman can now go round the world faster on her own than a crewed pro race in which women just aren't strong enough to compete. From this gloom, though, Sanderson himself shines brilliantly. A great sailor, a palpably natural leader, a modest guy and, we now find, a terrific writer, his transfer to solo and short-handed sailing in the Pindar Open 60 later this year is another good reason to keep a sharper eye on that circuit. ~ Elaine Bunting, www.elainebunting.blogspot.com NEWS BRIEFS * Greg Fisher, Jeff Eiber, and Sarah Paisley narrowly topped the 50 boat fleet at the 2006 Thistle Midwinter's East Regatta, which ended Friday, at the St Petersburg YC. Fisher won the tie breaker over second place finishers, Scott Griffin, Paul Abdullah and Nicole Finefrock. Scott's brother, Greg Griffin, with Mark Reddaway and Dave DeCamp as crew, took third. The winner was not decided until the final leg of the last race when Greg Fisher passed Elmer Richards, who was competing in his 49th consecutive Thistle Midwinter's East regatta. Eight races were sailed over five days in varying wind conditions. http://tinyurl.com/gcswo *Double Olympic gold medal winning yachtswoman, Shirley Robertson (GBR) announced her two new crew, her title sponsor, her two supporting partners and the news that she is due to give birth in July - to twins. Annie Lush and Lucy Macgregor join Team Shirley Robertson to campaign for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, with Volvo as their principal sponsor and the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership and BT as supporting partners. The three girls are part of Skandia Team GBR. They are also all individually supported by UK Sport. ~ The Daily Sail subscription website, www.thedailysail.com * BMW Oracle Racing sailed for the first time with a mainsail bearing the number of their new Seattle-built boat: USA 87. There is no particular team significance to the number 87, only that it was the next one available at the time the boat was far enough along in construction to receive a number, said Chris Dickson, BMW oracle Racing CEO and Skipper. While the team is now sailing with the new number as they look at new sails, the new boat will not be sailing until later this month. ~ http://bmworacleracing.com/en/ * Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and seven-time Bacardi Cup Champion Mark Reynolds, sailing with crew Christian Finnsgard, finished first in day one of sailing Sunday at the 79th Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta. More than 90 teams representing 19 countries are competing in the six-day regatta that is widely regarded as one of the best and most competitive Star Class events in the world. Standings: 1. Mark Reynolds/ Christian Finnsgard (USA); 2 Erik Lidecis/ Michael Marzahl (USA); 3. John Dane/ Sperry Austin (USA); 4 Peter Bromby/ Bill McNiven (BER); 5. Iain Murray/ Andrew Palfrey (AUS). ~ http://www.starclass.org/search.cgi?Action=view&Event_id=796 * The increasing recognition of sailing as a significant sponsorship opportunity world-wide continues, with German luxury carmaker Audi, announcing two major new sponsorships as part of the company's commitment to sailing in Australia. Speaking at the inaugural Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta on the weekend, managing director, Joerg Hofmann, officially announced the company had signed long-term agreements with two major Australian sailing events, Hamilton Island's Race Week and Geelong Week. ~ Sail-World, full story: http://tinyurl.com/r9e3j * With no wind anywhere, racing was abandoned on the final day of the St Maarten Heineken Regatta 2006. Consequently, the spinnaker classes got in four races, while everyone else apart from the bareboats sailed three, and the bareboats sailed just two. ~ http://www.heinekenregatta.com/ JOB OPENING AT VANGUARD SAILBOATS Do you love sailing small boats but find yourself stuck at a desk trying to sell soap? Would you like to travel to San Diego instead of Dayton? Would you like to work in a fast paced, fun environment? Check out the VP Marketing job at http://www.teamvanguard.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 Dave Few: I could care less if sailing is ever on TV; Perhaps the America Cup races being the one exception and even there the Internet will suffice. * From Russ Saunders: A number of years ago when representing America True at the Oakland Sail Boat Show I had the pleasure of meeting the former commodore of a yacht club on the Columbia River (I am being vague deliberately). In talking about America True's efforts at engaging young people in the sport of sailing, I asked what was being done by this yacht club. The reason this individual was the former commodore was because he quit. He had attempted to have his club reach out to young people and have them learn the sport through his yacht club but his efforts were shot down because "the members whose age was in the middle 70's on average, did not want the disruption of having young people around." He became discouraged and decided that this club was not for him. That is a quote and what I heard. What in the world can be done. If young people are not included and encouraged, sailing as a sport is history except for the very wealthy. * From Jay Sacco: Why do people watch sports like Olympic cross country skiing? It's not the activity they're involved with (cross country skiing) or what equipment they're doing it with (skis and poles), it's what the individual person is going through while they're doing it. The panting faces, the struggle to keep up with the pack, the painful drop from first to second, and the physical collapse and exhaustion at the finish are all things people empathize with. You don't need to know much, if anything, about the activity or equipment to get caught up in the human drama. Sailing TV needs to show facial close-ups, good shots of the sailors' actions during maneuvers, and on-board audio to capture the human struggle. An overhead view of the race course to show the overall fleet movement, with the ability to zoom in on the lead pack, tactical crossings, and mark roundings, would make it easy for the uninitiated to see who's leading and who's dropping back. The boats may be small in the overall shot but the NASCAR technique of the pointer and bubble can be used to highlight which teams are which. In sailing, like golf, there are long periods where essentially nothing is happening. The trick, utilized by golf broadcasts, is to have enough cameras providing good shots of the above content and keep switching between them so there are no boring sequences of boats just sailing along. Short courses and big fleets will also encourage more action to make this easier. * From Andrew Troup: Kudos to TV1 (New Zealand, publicly owned channel). They're going through a tough patch, so I thought all the more reason to commend their Volvo coverage. Every Sunday there's a minimum of 30 minutes of the good stuff, which the evening news not infrequently tops up with day's highlights. Tonight we had thrilling footage (one of several clips) of Pirates and Movistar charging through the Southern Ocean, neck and neck with 100 metres of lateral separation. I hope the fleet outruns the unseasonal weather currently passing over us: we've had snow several times this week, in the deep South. During the LVC and America's Cup the coverage here is frankly more than I believe even the most rabid sailor is entitled to expect from fellow taxpayers. * From John Oliver: I'm an old dinghy sailor in a tiny country, Belize, which once had a strong commercial sailing tradition, when lighters full of sand or fish, (or probably contraband) were sailed up and down the coast in the usually steady winds and shallow waters inside the barrier reef. Now with outboard motors replacing sails for those who must make a living at sea, and finances and time for recreational sailing severely limited, and in spite of strenuous efforts by regatta committees, sea scout instructors, this tradition is rapidly failing, and entries for recreational races are hard to come by. Contrast this with the football situation, where with a semi-pro league, and an actively used football field in even the smallest village, just guess where all the heads will be during the up coming world cup. These are no couch potatoes, but from primary school boys, (and some girls), right on up to ageing members of the referee's committee, all eyes will be on their heroes. Think how it would be if we ever managed to qualify a team! That's participation and viewing with a passion ! * From Allan Johnson: Having watched some of the Torino Winter Olympics, it occurs to me that all of the sports I watched were completed in under 3 minutes! Sure, there are a couple of events that take longer or have heats, but to get TV coverage or people to watch, the race must be short! I say let's conduct downwind starts for skiffs and cats with downwind finishes in races that last less that 3 minutes. I can hear the spectators now: "The German parachute is winning! "Those are called spinnakers, and I think the Italian one on the other side is winning." "Check out the boat in the middle that is flipping over!" * From Mike Milburn: A Finnish inventor, Reijo Salminen, patented the idea of a winged keel that imparts a hydrodynamic downward force. Reijo told me that he discussed his invention with Lexcen under secrecy agreement prior to Lexcen's designing Australia II. So much for secrecy and any acknowledgement of Salminen's contribution! When it came to suing for recognition and compensation, Salminen was hopelessly outgunned by Alan Bond's legal squad. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending; and to have the two as close together as possible." ~ George Burns Special thanks to Melges Performance Boats, Kaenon Polarized, and Vanguard. |
