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SCUTTLEBUTT 1445 - October 28, 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 focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. EXTREME SAILING Last February, after an 82-hour sailing marathon Brazilian Roberto Pandiani and South African Duncan Ross became the first sailors to cross the Drakes Passage aboard an open 21-foot catamaran. The Drake's Passage infamous for its shipwrecks, huge quadrangular waves, unpredictable storms, icebergs and freezing temperatures presented a formidable challenge to the two sailors. Stretching from Cape Horn to The Antarctic Peninsula, it represents 500 miles of the most respected and feared waters in the world. The vessel was a custom built Catamaran based on the Hobie 21 hull shape. Construction and engineering of which was carried out by Barracuda Technologies, Rio de Janeiro. Kevlar and Carbon Fibres surrounding a 12mm Divinycell PVC Foam core were infused with epoxy, producing a bulletproof platform. Further modifications included - foam filled "crash boxes" and a total of five watertight compartments in each hull. A powerful rig including a 24 square meter spinnaker and a 9.6-meter tall mast complemented the three-meter beam to produce a fast and stable vessel. Two narrow ultra light wings constructed in Carbon further increased the beam and provided a place to rest and store essential safety equipment which included Personal EPIRBS, Satellite phones, a Rescue Pod and a Inmarsat C Satellite tracking system. The expedition started in the most southern city of South America, Ushuaia, Argentina. The Drake Passage served up a mixture of conditions ranging from dead calm to 25 knots with seas running at up to five meters. Seasickness, freezing air and water temperatures left the sailors exhausted to point of experiencing mild hallucinations as the reached the Peninsula in the early hours of the morning. On the next leg to the Melchior Archipelago 120 miles away, the monster awoke and left the duo on the limit of survival. The weather forecasted 4 to 8 knots, but by the end of the day they were down to 3 reefs in the mainsail in 37 knots of wind. Rolling white water on the tops of a long-range swell coming in from the west met a wind generated swell from the NE to produce an unenviable sea condition. A near collision with a whale, snow, mist and the constant threat of floating ice made this day one to be remembered. - Excerpts from a story by Duncan Ross. To read the whole story and see photos of this open catamaran whizzing past icebergs: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news AMERICA'S CUP SEARCHABLE DATABASE Marine historians, sailing enthusiasts, and everyone interested in the history of the America's Cup competition now have a powerful research tool in the new America's Cup searchable database on the Herreshoff Marine Museum/ America's Cup Hall of Fame web site, www.herreshoff.org. The new database, the brainchild of Edward I. du Moulin, a Year 2000 Hall of Fame inductee, provides users with easy "point and click" access to 5600 participants in the America's Cup from 1851 to the present, including detailed information such as names of crew, boat name, syndicate, year, countries, support groups, chroniclers, yacht clubs, judges, and other related data. Mr. du Moulin, John Thomson, Horace Hagedorn and Fidelity Investments sponsored the project. The America's Cup Database is constantly evolving and information will be updated on a monthly basis. The museum encourages anyone who has an interest in or participated in the Cup competition to visit the site. Modifications, corrections and additions should be sent to the attention of Norene Rickson at cjato@etal.uri.edu or James Russell at j.russell@herreshoff.org. Norene has volunteered her time to create and maintain the database. "I have been closely involved with the America's Cup Hall of Fame since its beginning eleven years ago" du Moulin says. "With our rules permitting up to three nominations per year, with four in certain cases, it bothered me that literally thousands of men and women will never enter the Hall of Fame. To recognize them, I suggested the idea of a Database in which they could be included. This would enable their friends, families, and others to access this information from their own computers, and to compile and print out their own participation in the l52-year history of the America's Cup." The direct link to the query page is: http://www.herreshoff.org/db/yacht_search.asp. TRIVIA QUESTION If all the salt content of the sea was extracted, to what depth would salt cover the continents of the world? (Answer below) NEW OCKAMSOFT RELEASE! OS4 FOR WINDOWS The wait is over - next generation OckamSoft for Windows is here. Compatible with Maptech NOAA/BSB charts and featuring our simplest ever user interface, OckamSoft goes far beyond any plotter program. Why? OckamSoft dynamically integrates wind speed/direction and your boat's polar data, opening a new world of functions- laylines, VMC heading, Wally adjustment to Target and more. Visit the Ockam website for or a download: http://www.ockam.com WHAT'S IN A NAME? Sailing's 'original' single-handed Trans-Atlantic ocean race has been renamed - again. Established in 1960 as the 'OSTAR' and since known by a number of variations of the word 'STAR' (Carlsberg, Europe1, Europe1NewMan STAR etc.), the single-handed transatlantic race will now officially be known as "The Transat." Interestingly, it has been known in France for some time as 'La Transat Anglaise'. "We weren't reading the same name of the race twice in a row - always another variation - we wanted to give it a cleaner identity, whilst continuing to communicate that this race was established in 1960 as the OSTAR" commented Mark Turner, CEO of Offshore Challenges Events (OCE). This race is arguably the toughest of trans-ocean races, taking competitors nearly 3000 miles upwind across the treacherous, North Atlantic. "The Transat" will run four classes: IMOCA Open 60 monohulls, ORMA Open 60 multihulls, Class 2 Multihulls (48.1 foot to 50 foot) and Class 2 Monohulls (48.1 foot to 50 foot). OCE have chosen to keep a single start and the same course for all classes of boats - in tune with the original philosophy of the race - 'one man, one boat, the sea'. The start will be from Plymouth at 1400 on Monday 31 May 2004, a holiday weekend in both the UK and France. Newport, Rhode Island has been the finish point for every race edition since the first race in 1960 that finished in New York. However, as the level of competitor professionalism has increased, so too have the demands placed on the start and finish locations. Following a broad evaluation of alternatives, Boston has been selected as the venue that will deliver the best event for all stakeholders (sponsors, sailors, shore support and media), and be capable of receiving the fleet of potentially over 40 fifty and sixty foot race boats. Boston was also the home port of Joshua Slocum, the very first person to sail solo around the world over a hundred years ago. The race is the key event in both the IMOCA and ORMA class 2004 calendars. For the 60 foot monohulls it is the effective prologue to the Vendée Globe, and, for the multihulls it will be the first solo race since the storm-lashed devastation of the 2002 Route du Rhum. For the 50-foot class it will be an opportunity to line up on the same start line as the very best of ocean racers. The Notice of Race and Entry Form can be downloaded from http://www.thetransat.com ROUND THE WORLD Clipper Ventures plc has selected the City of Liverpool as the host port for the start and finish of its 2005/ 6 and 2007/ 8 Round the World Yacht Races and granted the City title sponsorship rights for its own yacht entry in both events. In return for these rights, the City of Liverpool will pay cash fees of £1.8 million and provide top quality event hosting infrastructure and services. The landmark six-year cooperation is also the single largest sponsorship deal negotiated by the race organizers to date and is unprecedented in the arena of round the world yacht race hosting. Ten new Clipper Dubois 68' racing yachts will be berthed at Liverpool's award-winning Albert Dock for the start and finish of the fifth Clipper Round the World Series, setting sail in September 2005. Each yacht will be sponsored by a major international city. More than 700 crew members will compete on the two events. "This deal is the first of several city sponsorship agreements, which we expect to announce in the coming months, and really sets us up to deliver a Clipper 2005 race which can generate a three fold increase in revenues over its 2002 edition," said William Ward, Chief Executive of Clipper Ventures. - www.clipper-ventures.com MULTIHULL TRIALS Underway now in Quiberon, France, are the ISAF Youth Multihull Trials. With an objective to identify a new Youth Multihull be available for selection to be used at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship from 2005 onwards. ISAF has sought invitations from interested classes, with all boats entering required to comply with a set of fundamental criteria, which as an overview requires an average combined crew weight of between 120 and 140 Kg, a gennaker, twin trapezes and be able to be sailed by both male and female crews between the ages of 16 and 19. As it has long been a tradition that for equality, new boats are provided for competitors at the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship and so it has been decided that relevant manufacturers should be able to provide boats at no cost to the organisers of the event. Nine boats have entered the trials. To find out more: http://www.sailing.org/sc.asp?id=Youth_Multihull_Trials SPECULATION In its latest edition, the Swiss Sailing Magazine Skippers published a survey regarding the preference of Swiss yacht club presidents about the host city for the 32nd America's Cup. 1) What city will be chosen? Marseille 44%; Cascais 39%; Valencia 5%; Palma 5%; Naples 5% 2) What city should host the event in 2007? Marseille 72%; Cascais 19%; Valencia 3%; Palma 5%; Naples 0% "One shouldn't have to wonder what is better for the Swiss", Michel Bonnefous relativizes. "The goal is to find what is better for the event". It's interesting to note that Alinghi sponsors have examined the exact same questions and gotten strikingly different answers. They mentioned Cascais and Valencia but Marseille and Naples are out of the race. - Cup in Europe website, http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/Where9.htm COOL WEATHER SAILING. Sailors get ready for the cool sailing that soon will be here. At the top of your list should be the Camet Neoprene hiking pants. The power grip padding covering the reinforced battens have been designed for effective hiking. They come in ¾ length, or knee high, in 2 or 3mm neoprene. Used by sailors from the Optimist to the Star class, etc. The Breathable Neoprene Bubble top works by a pumping action to keep you dry and warm as trapped vapors disappear quickly while sailing. Check these out and the Camet Padded Shorts, Coolmax shirts etc. at http://www.camet.com NEWS BRIEFS * Because of the fires in Southern California, some of the 125 entries in the tenth annual Baja Ha-Ha rally from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico missed or were late for Monday's start, as the skippers waited for crews to arrive. Many flights were canceled over the weekend and I-5 was intermittently closed. However the 125 boats that checked in at the Cabrillo Isle Marina represented a 15% increase over the highest number ever before to sail in this 'nothing serious' event. The smallest boat to sail is a 27-footer, the largest are four 65-ft monohulls. Updates will be posted at: http://www.latitude38.com * Professional sailor Terry Hutchinson and his wife Shell are the proud new parents of a son, Phillip Aden Hutchinson. The child was born at 1:13 AM on Monday, and is 7lbs. 7oz., 20 inches long - and very healthy. Terry reports that, "Mother and baby are doing great and yet again I remain in awe of my wife. Shell is an incredible person with an unbelievable inner strength." * The weather gods delivered Chesapeake Bay fall racing at its best for the 505 Mid Atlantics, with two days of 15-20+ knots. The breezy conditions had the 505s planing upwind and wire-running downwind at over fifteen knots on most of the legs. Alexander Meller/ Jesse Falsone from Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis MD made up for capsizes in two of the races by winning the other four, and won a tie breaker over Henry Amthor/ Douglas Amthor from Hampton Yacht Club to win the event. Barney Harris/ George Saunders from West River Sailing Club in Galesville MD took third. www.int505.org/fleet19/events/20031025MidAtlantics/200310MidAtlanticsREP.htm FOR THE RECORD The British Windjet team who had to suspend their last attempt at the ice speed record earlier this year on Ghost Lake near Calgary, Canada is on standby once again. This time it's an attempt to break the world land speed record. Windjet, the craft behind the British campaign to shatter three World Speed Records on Land, Ice and Water using wind power alone, already holds the British land speed record of 113.4 mph traveling a staggering 'five times' the real wind speed. The current land record stands at 116.7 mph (187.8 km/h) and is held by America. The current water record stands at 46.52 knots (53.53 mph, 86.2 km/h) held by the Australians. And, the current ice record, also held by the Americans, stands at 143 mph (230.1 km/h). - Yachting World website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/sm61 Windjet website: http://www.windjet.co.uk/ TROUBLE DOWN UNDER The City of Sails (Auckland, NZ) is grappling with public access to some of its most popular waterfront land at Westhaven Marina and the Viaduct Harbour. A plan by Ports of Auckland to sell Westhaven on the international market to the highest bidder has angered yachties and local politicians; councils are bickering about keeping (the America's Cup) Syndicate Row at the Viaduct Harbour in public hands; and support is growing for a new memorial to Sir Peter Blake. At stake is tens of millions of ratepayer and taxpayer dollars to keep public access to land and infrastructure that already is in public hands. In a bid to try to soothe the anger of yachties and councils, Ports company chairman Neville Darrow said there was every chance the marina would stay in New Zealand hands. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is seeking backing from clubs and marina berth holders to set up a charitable trust to buy the marina - although the Ponsonby and Victoria Cruising Clubs want the marina and surrounding land kept in public ownership. - Bernard Orsman and Wayne Thompson, NZ Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/sius HOUSING AVAILABLE Where else can you handle your housing needs for 2004 Key West Race Week, learn of someone who wants your old KVH displays, buy and sell winches, find job ads for the Caribbean, San Diego, etc, and shop for used sails? The classified ads section on the Scuttlebutt website provides all that (and much more) in addition to boat listings from 8 to 80 feet at: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/classifieds TRIVIA ANSWER The sea contains enough salt to cover the continents with a layer of salt 500 feet thick. 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 Joe Guthrie: It's good news to hear that some politicians are talking about opening Cuba , There could be nothing better for Cuba, than to have some rich tourists going down there, spreading some prosperity around. The best revenge is living well. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS A hangover is the wrath of grapes. |
