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SCUTTLEBUTT 3041 - Thursday, March 4, 2010Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today’s sponsors: Melges Performance Sailboats and Ullman Sails. TIPS FOR GETTING OFF THE STARTING LINE Dave Perry is one of several renowned sailing experts participating in US SAILING's 2010 Speaker Series. Here he offers a couple tips for getting off the starting line: Location… Location… Location Just like buying a new home, the key to getting a good start is location, location, location. I divide the starting line into three regions. I call the quarter of the line nearest the pin end of the line - The Pin, the quarter of the line nearest the race committee boat - The Boat, and the section in between - The Middle. Before every start I decide which region, and what part of each region I am going to start in. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/y9a25ao Know Thy Neighbor Regardless of whether there are three boats starting or 30 or 130, the only two boats that really matter to you right off the starting line are the boats just to windward and to leeward of you. I call these boats my “neighbors.” Therefore, one of the secrets to getting a good start is picking your neighbors wisely. A well-known sailor tells a story about a Midwinter event he participated in many years ago. Despite a poor result, he was proud of his good starts because he was always lined up next to the eventual winner. However, after the regatta he was listening to the winner describe his starting strategy: “I always try to line up next to a “marshmallow” or someone who I know will be really slow off the line.” The sailor’s heart sank as he realized that he was the marshmallow. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/yaohlum GUEST COMMENTARY I recently moved from Maine to Texas and race on a lake outside of Dallas. I sold my fully equpped PHRF 30 footer with a full complement of racing sails. I bought a used Capri 22 that came with just a main and roller furling jib. Initialy, I planned to replace the roller furler with a wire headstay and acquire a new genoa, working jib and an assymetric chute. My mental state was unchanged from my longstanding approach to the sport: gear the new boat up to its full PHRF racing potential. The first time I raced my boat, I marveled how easy everything was. I only had to hoist and flake one sail. I could race the boat with as little as one other person. I could relax a little on the downwind legs now that there was no chute to set, jibe and douse. In subsequent races, I increasingly enjoyed the lack of complexity, not having to manage a large crew and deal with exponentially higher expenses. I think I'm sailing better too. Having a lot less to think about, I can concentrate on getting better starts and on the tactical side. Less crew means less weight. Though I need a spinnaker to be competitive downwind, I am not very excited about giving up those blissful downwind legs! Most handicap and one-design racing has become a lot more complex, expensive and intense. I have always considered myself a very competitive sailor and had always enjoyed the entire process. My new experience has changed me. I conclude that everyone ought to try a simpler, less complex approach to sailing and see what it does for your overall sailing psyche, as well as your results. I highly recommend it -- Geoffrey Emanuel MELGES MANIA IN MIAMI Some of the best Melges Racing is taking place in Miami. The Audi Melges 20 Class just finished up Series Event 2. Check out melges.com for video, photos and race talk. This class is on fire as is the Melges 32 and Melges 24. Miami Race Week is up to bat next for the Melges 32 - over 25 entries for this championship. The Melges 24 has the Bacardi Miami Race Week next where they will have a racing circle with the Audi Melges 20. Then the 24 has a full plate of Nationals, North Americans and World Championship in Texas USA slated for 2011. -- http://www.melges.com FOR THE RECORD (Day 32 - March 3, 2010; 17:44 UTC) - After carving out a big arc up to 47 degrees S over previous days, Groupama 3 has begun her parabolic descent towards Drake's Passage (56 degrees S) on starboard tack, at what must be considered as reasonable speeds given the sea state. She should round Cape Horn in light airs on Thursday though the next stage of the Atlantic program is still uncertain... “Conditions continue to provide thirty knots of wind, sun and a big four to five metre swell,” indicated helmsman Lionel Lemonchois (already a 5-time Cape Horner). “The boat is dropping off the back of some big waves synonymous with the Southern Ocean... Since Tuesday evening we haven't had much sail aloft with two reefs in the mainsail and small gennaker. There's no need for a lot of sail because we're having to bear away to line up with the direction of the sea and be able to surf down the waves. If we try to luff up things become too brutal for the boat. "We're getting a little bit shaken about and by the end of a period on watch we're really cold. We're battling against the dampness! We're a little disappointed to have lost so much time dealing with this low: we thought we'd have a two day lead at the Horn but in reality we'll be making our rounding at virtually the same time. However, the trimaran is in perfect shape, ready to make the 7,000 mile climb up the Atlantic to Ushant (France) and make up our losses!" -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/yepr9yg Current position as of March 3, 2010 (22:00:00 UTC): Ahead/behind record: +280.0 nm Speed (avg) over past 24 hours: 27.8 knots Distance over past 24 hours: 666.0 nm Distance to go: 7,537 nm Data: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/positions.asp?lg=en Map: http://cammas-groupama.geovoile.com/julesverne/index.asp?lg=en * After their start on January 31, 2010, Franck Cammas and his nine crew on Groupama 3 must cross finish line off Ushant, France before March 23rd (06:14:57 UTC) to establish a new time for the Jules Verne Trophy (21,760 nm) for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions. Current record holder is Bruno Peyron and crew, who in 2005 sailed Orange 2 to a time of 50 days, 16 hours, and 20 minutes at an average of 17.89 knots. DIARY OF A NAVIGATOR Navigator Stan Honey (USA) is among the nine crew sailing with skipper Franck Cammas onboard the 103-foot maxi trimaran Groupama 3 during their attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy, a fully crewed round the world record attempt under sail. Here Stan shares the strategy to safely round Cape Horn: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sometimes rounding the Horn can be a cakewalk in shirt-sleeve weather. We may get reasonable weather for our upcoming rounding. On the other hand, when the weather is bad, it is often very bad just west of the Horn. The weather improves quickly once the Horn is passed. One guideline is to approach the Horn from due west. It is particularly dicey to approach the Horn from the NW. If you get a windy northwesterly, then it is particularly windy NW of the Horn because of the ducting along the mountains. If you instead get a windy southwesterly and are approaching from the NW, you may have trouble laying it, and you're on a lee shore. Unless your timing is perfect to pass west of a low coming off the mainland, I prefer passing well South of the Horn, and well outside of the Falklands. It is often light between the Falklands and the mainland. Staying a bit longer in the westerlies can provide some very inexpensive easting that you will need eventually before the equator. Complete diary: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1111 SAILING SHORTS * (March 3, 2010) - Shifty winds and strong tides on Auckland’s Waitemata harbour tested the teams competing in the opening day of the Omega Auckland Match Racing Regatta today and produced a results board that defied any form guide. Spectators were treated to extremely close racing, with spectacular luffing duels, tight finishes, penalties and collisions as teams fought for ascendancy. At the end of a full day’s racing, Ben Ainslie of Great Britain topped the leaderboard with a 6-2 score while Dean Barker (NZL, Adam Minoprio (NZL) and Bertrand Pace (FRA) were on 5-3 each. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9330#9330 * (March 3, 2010) - The nine remaining teams competing in the 35,000-mile Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race were treated to a spectacular send off on March 2nd for Race 7 from Qingdao, China to San Francisco, USA. The team competing on ‘California’ currently holds a slim lead after two days of what will be a 5,680-mile race to California, USA, the longest leg in the history of the Clipper Race. -- Race website: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com * France returns to host the Volvo Ocean Race with the confirmation today of Lorient, in Brittany on the northwest coast of France, as the penultimate stopover for the 2011-12 event. Like La Rochelle before it (1997-98 and 2001-02), Lorient will be included in two editions of the race. The French port will also stage a stopover in the 2014-15 edition. The announcement of Lorient follows that of start port Alicante, and Cape Town and Lisbon as host ports. Lisbon in Portugal will be the start port of the leg to Lorient, approximately 700 nautical miles. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/yalz66v * The Global Ocean Race (GOR) announced entry #13 for the 2011-12, double-handed circumnavigation in Class40s. Italian-born, UK-based yachtsman, Marco Nannini, has secured his place on the start line and will be competing against the event’s growing international fleet. In the past week, 32 year-old Nannini has bought Class40 Akilaria, Mowgli - the yacht sailed by the British duo of Jeremy Salvesen and David Thomson in the 2008-09 Portimão Global Ocean Race - and can now begin planning for the race. -- Read on: http://portimaorace.com/?page=news&news_id=387&lang=en * The International Kiteboarding Class has confirmed that the 2010 Course Racing World Championship will be held from April 21-25, 2010, in Corpus Christi, Texas. A prize purse of 20,000 USD is up for grabs, and registration is open from now on. All the best kiteboard racers in the world like reigning word champions Sean Farley and Steph Bridge as well as the top riders from the mens and womens world rankings like Bruno Sroka, Kristin Boese, Dirk Hanel are expected to attend this event. -- Details: http://2010ikaworlds.sailspace.net/index.php/the-event/ * The 2010 Swan Caribbean Challenge begins this week with the St Maarten Heineken Regatta, 4-7 March 2010. The 2010 series will be awarded for performance over a combination of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, the International Rolex Regatta, the BVI Regatta and Antigua Sailing Week. The series is open to all Swan owners, with the best performing boat within the four events being awarded the magnificent Silver Asprey Trophy at Antigua Sailing Week’s prize giving, the final event of the series. -- Carolyn Lashmar, Racing-office@nautorswan.com “ALCHEMY” & “HORIZON” KEEP ON WINNING Adding bullets to their arsenal seems par for the course for these winners. In the 2010 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta race, Per Petersen’s Alan Andrews 68 “Alchemy” won Division 2 and finished 3rd Overall, while Jack Taylor’s Santa Cruz 50 “Horizon” took 1st Place honors in Division 3. Another “par for the course” is that both crews raced with 100% Ullman Sails. When competitors want the very best, they select Ullman for performance, durability, and plain outright boat speed. Join the winning team, contact your nearest Ullman Sails loft, and visit http://www.ullmansails.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend: Mar 4-7 - 2010 Miami Grand Prix - Miami Beach, FL, USA Mar 4-7 - St. Maarten Heineken Regatta - Simpson Bay, St. Maarten, N.A. Mar 4-7 - T293 North American Championships - Merritt Island, FL, USA Mar 6-7 - 17th Conquistador Cup Regatta - Punta Gorda, FL, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Behan on Scuttleblog: My husband and I are cruisers, former racing sailors, enjoying the sun & breezes on the Pacific coast of Mexico. Our boat/home is currently in La Cruz, center of the action for the ongoing MEXORC series. Today’s excitement was the arrival of Tania Elias Calles, who sailed a laser from Cabo San Lucas to Puerto Vallarta. This amazing young woman is just 17 years old, and hopes to represent Mexico in the 2012 Olympics. Her crossing of the Sea of Cortez to set a Guinness World Record had a clear objective: “por mi, por Mexico” (for me, for Mexico). She’s hoping this brings attention and support for her goal to represent Mexico in the 2012 Olympics, and more coordinated support from the Mexican companies who help fund their journey to the event. Watching her come in was a proud moment! Her big smile and triumphant thumbs-up to the supporting crowd said all we needed to know. I could feel my old dinghy racing past creeping up as I watched her come in with my daughters- it was truly inspiring. -- See photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2010/03/tania-elias-calles.html * From Nicholas Hayes, author of ‘Saving Sailing’: My statement to US Sailing and reported in Scuttlebutt a few days ago (Issue 3038) apparently ruffled some professional sailing feathers. I said, "Frankly, pros have no place in the vast majority of sailing as it is done today." I meant what I said, neither critically nor presumptively, just as a fact supported by data: more than 99% of sailing is amateur. Consider that today so few people make a living from sailing that the entire market is barely a rounding error on just one state’s annual pension obligation. Or that all of the sailing pros in the US could fit in the bleacher seats of a high school football field. Meanwhile, in sailboat racing we have a higher ratio of pros to amateurs than in any other sporting pastime, which means that pros must fight ten times harder for much smaller scraps, while the larger market that they depend on is shrinking at an ever-quickening pace. Pros should take solace that the book explains that they are among the victims of the debacle and not its villains. Saving Sailing isn’t a call to save sailing from pros. It is a call to fix much larger problems than these. And it offers practical and time-honored ways that any sailor, whether a pro, amateur, competitive or leisure can contribute to sailing, starting now. * From Jim Champ: (re, amateurs competing against professionals) Doesn't it depend on the professional? This dinghy sailor is delighted to sail with friends who are industry professionals, be it boat builders, rig designers or whatever. We are all friends who enjoy racing sailboats. If the pros have access to trade discounts, then they also have to work for industry incomes, which don't compare favourably to those who work in the finance business... If they want to practice sailing all week it has to come out of their holidays or out of their income generating time like the rest of us. Its as level a playing field with them as it is with anyone else. People who are sponsored full time sailors with equipment supplied and time to practice every day are a different matter I suspect. I haven't sailed in a class where this happens, but I can imagine being uncomfortable. There the playing field is not remotely level. There isn't a clear boundary of the course, and the days of "amateur" sailing demonstrated that no-one has ever come up with a way to distinguish the two, which I imagine is why the ISAF classification doesn't attempt to. Here are a couple of examples to consider the difficulties... read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9334#9334 * From Richard Eberhard, Newport, RI: (re, story in Scuttlebutt 3040) The sinking of the Concordia is only the last of a series of sinking of large square rigged training ships, starting with Pamir in the 1950’s. In every case these disasters could have been avoided by the use of proper sail materials. Prior to WWII sailing ships used canvas, which acted as built in safety valve. If there was too much load on the sails, they blew out, thereby reducing the load on the vessel. Now, with the use of synthetic materials, this safety valve has eliminated. * From Jeroen van der Beek: With reference to Cory Friedman’s latest article TO PURSUE, OR NOT TO PURSUE (Scuttlebutt 3039), I say pursue. Over time memories fade but for historical reasons the written word is needed to accurately record Allinghi’s time as trustees of the America’s Cup. * From Chris Ericksen: Reading Bruce Munro's musing (in Scuttlebutt 3040) that the America's Cup needs "permanent independent management along the lines of other professional sports like baseball, football, etc.", I thought to myself, too bad Gary Jobson is so busy as president of US SAILING and spokesperson for the Leukemia Cup regattas: he'd be exactly the right guy to have as Commissioner of the America's Cup. * From John C. Quigley: (re, story in Scuttlebutt 3040) Whilst wishing Stuart Alexander a very swift recovery and hoping it only hurts when he laughs, I hope I know him well enough to correctly judge that he will forgive the comic vision that passes through my mind (and I am sure many others) of the cartoon potential of his unfortunate accident (one assumes) which offers a multitude of potential faces from the sailing world of past decades in 'Professor Moriarty' guise that have been the victim (doubtless warranted) of his acerbic commentary over time behind the wheel of the SUV. Get well soon! * From Bruce Parsons: (re, story from Scuttlebutt 3040) Of course Einstein sailed - but what he really liked was when there was no wind so he could whip out pencil and paper. Most physicists know this even if sailors don't. My son was at the Canada Summer games this past year and the best part was staying in the athletes village. His fellow competitors were astonished. Up at six every morning, at least 6 hrs on the water, then put away the boats, then coaching sessions, long days. The regatta itself was five days long, again lots of long hrs. By comparison the divers were in the pool for two hrs a day and then hung around. The marathoners spent two days in bed before their race. The bikers also had a few hrs a day and then rested for two days before their competition. The other athletes were just astonished at the level of effort the sailing took. By the way I am guessing Einstein did not know rocket science - a very specialized branch of fluid mechanics. Why? When were rockets invented? Not to say he couldn’t understand it, just that he wasn't exposed. * From Andrew Besheer (re, John Lambert’s letter in SBUTT 3040) I couldn’t help but thinking when I read the following… “In adult racing, seeking a competitive advantage through gear is encouraged; a sentiment that would be deemed almost unethical in any other sport with the possible exception of auto racing.” …that the author has apparently never watched the commercials during a professional golf or tennis tournament. Ah, bigger Big Bertha, where art thou? CURMUDGEON’S ADOLESCENT OBSERVATION If your sibling hits you, don't hit them back. They always catch the second person. Special thanks to Melges Performance Sailboats and Ullman Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
