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SCUTTLEBUTT 1580 - May 11, 2004Powered 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, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. OLYMPIC FATE AT HAND - Rich Roberts As the last of the Olympic qualifying events get under way this week, only six countries are assured of competing in all 11 classes at Athens in August---and the U.S. isn't one of them. In fact, with the U.S. Olympic Trials completed, only nine of the winners are certain they're going to Greece. The other two - Kevin Hall in Finn and the women's 470 team of Katie McDowell of Barrington, R.I. and crew Isabelle Kinsolving of New York, N.Y. - should know their fates by the end of the week. But even if they all make it to Athens, the chances of Americans winning medals in sailing appear slim . . . that is, if the latest International Sailing Federation rankings for the Olympic classes are credible, which some people doubt. Hall is still awaiting a renewal of his exemption permitting him to use testosterone, a steroid hormone, following his battle with testicular cancer several years ago. The quirk in McDowell and Kinsolving's Olympic dream is that although they won their trials last November, the U.S. hasn't qualified to compete in the class. Their last chance is this week's 470 world championships at Zadar, Croatia. With the total number of sailors limited to 400, it's one thing to qualify to represent one's country and another for a country to qualify to be represented. Countries with no reasonable chance of winning medals are weeded out in designated qualifying events, most of which are in Europe. What are the women's chances? "Very good," says Jonathan Harley, the Olympic director for US Sailing. An American boat - it doesn't have to be theirs - must finish no worse than fifth in Croatia among countries not yet qualified. If they can't do it, their wild card hope is the team of Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler that finished second in the U.S. trials, only three points behind. They'll have to fight their way through about two dozen other countries with the same desperate intent. Japan and China are mounting mass attacks to qualify in both the men's and women's 470 fleets with 11 and 8 entries, respectively. Harley didn't mention that McDowell recently suffered a back injury and was a doubtful participant as recently as 10 days ago. Coach Skip Whyte went so far as to ask JJ Isler, a two-time Olympic medallist in '92 at 2000, if she could go to Croatia to sail with Kinsolving in McDowell's place just to help qualify the U.S. for the Olympics. Fred Hagedorn, the Olympic Sailing Committee chairman for this quadrennium, said a few days ago, "Katie did injure her back while sailing in Portugal. As she sailed in France at Hyeres she determined that she needed to come back to the USA to be evaluated and treated. "On Thursday [April 29] she underwent evaluations and over the weekend she received treatment. Her prognosis is good and Katie is now back in Croatia and has been sailing with Isabelle." As for Hall, he has been in limbo since dominating the Finn trials in February. It's all up to the International Sailing Federation, the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency. - Rich Roberts for YachtRacing.com, full story: http://www.yachtracing.com/richroberts/050904.htm INDECISION AFFECTS AMERICAS CUP Fifty-five days after the Socialists won the general elections; the new Government still has not named the four delegates that it intends to place on the Americas Cup Committee that is charged with setting up the infrastructures as well as bearing the overall responsibility for the races. A statement from Valencia Town Hall has revealed that the municipality considers these appointments as extremely urgent, as the Consortium is unable to function properly. In the meantime, it has been revealed that the course [meaning "race area" not "course"] for the Americas Cup will be 15 miles long and stretch from el Perello to the Pobla de Farnals. - www.valencialife.net SCUTTLEBUTT CONTEST: GOOGLE IT Fame is fleeting, but getting your name listed in Scuttlebutt lasts forever. The Archived Newsletter section on the Scuttlebutt website provides a Google search tool to help you find information from back issues, but we were curious who the most infamous people are in the sport of sailing thus far during the Scuttlebutt era. Prizes for the top three entrants. For contest rules: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/contest/google IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT... All good Newport-Bermuda race stories start out that way! If you are going out on that dark and stormy night in the near future, be sure to visit Team One Newport so you can stay warm, dry and comfortable! They are the experts at teaching sailors how to dress for any and all conditions and have been doing it for almost 20 years! They have the best from Henri-Lloyd, Musto, Gill, Patagonia, Ronstan, Railriders, Aigles, Camet, Kaenon, and tons more! Call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327) or view all the gear (and check out their cool crew uniform section) at http://www.team1newport.com RULE 69 As a result of an infringement of ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing 69.3 - Gross Misconduct, the ISAF Eligibility of Mr Emil Baldyga (POL) has been suspended with immediate effect and until 31 November 2004. Baldyga committed a gross breach of good manners during the International 470 Class Junior World Championship in Austria in 2003, when he was sailing wearing a jacket with discriminatory text, prepared by himself, thus bringing the sport into disrepute. ISAF informs all ISAF Member National Authorities that in accordance with the ISAF Eligibility Code, Mr Emil Baldyga is not permitted to participate in the events detailed in the ISAF Eligibility Code, Regulation 19.3. For details of the suspension: http://tinyurl.com/2vtxf TRANSPAC 52 Makoto Uematsu's new Transpac 52 Esmeralda went on its first sail last Friday (photos posted on the Scuttlebutt website) and even a blind squirrel can see that the future of 50' Grand Prix sailing is the "box rule." There are now owners from three countries (China, Japan & US). In the United States, owners from the West Coast, the East Coast and the Great Lakes are represented in the Transpac 52 class. The Transpac 52 class benefited from the vision of John MacLaurin who essentially funded the $1mm dollar R&D for the newly emerging Transpac 52 Class when he commissioned Pendragon 4 in 2000. Now, 13 hulls later, this is the most successful inshore/offshore class in the last 20 years. Transpac 52's have no leaky water ballast, mercurial canting keels or difficult runners to operate. Owners and crew can focus on boat speed and tactics instead of successfully operating large complex systems with marginal benefits. In today's crazy world of "build a bigger offshore boat than the next guy", it's great to have a quality inshore/offshore class whose grand prix shelf life is not measured by an egg timer. In 2004, four Transpac 52's will be on the Bermuda Race (Lightwave, Bright Star, Sjambok & Lightwave), six on the Chicago to Mackinac (Beau Geste, Bright Star, Sjambok, Esmeralda, Rosebud & Trader ) & nine Transpac 52's will hit the Big Boat Series starting line racing class. - Tom Pollack, Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/04/esmeralda/ HIGH SCHOOL MALLORY CHAMPIONSHIP Point Loma High School won its second straight Mallory Cup national high school sailing championship in New Orleans. The Pointers' two boats scored a combined 126 points over 40 races and finished with a 58-point edge over Corona del Mar of Newport Beach. University of San Diego High School was third with 220 points. USDHS' Zack Brown won the A Fleet title with Brittany Haas as crew in the 420 class dinghy. The Point Loma tandem of skipper Adam Roberts and crewman Graham Biehl was second. Point Loma's Parker Shinn won the B Fleet title with Briana Provancha as crew. Megan Magill and Anna Brun teamed in USDHS' B boat. After building a big lead, Point Loma turned its A boat over to skipper Tyler Sinks and crewman Ben Todter and the B boat to skipper Brian Rigby and crew Erik Oberg. - SignOnSanDiego.com, full story: www.signonsandiego.com/sports/preps/20040510-9999-1s10p-sail.html Complete results: www.highschoolsailingusa.org/NationalsResults/04MalloryResults.htm "ATLANTIC 1000" CATAMARAN RACE Monday 10 May 2004, Hollywood FL -- Good Easterlies wasted no time sending 15 teams on their way from Islamorada to their first checkpoint in the second annual Tybee 500. Team Tybee (Steve Lohmeyer and Kenny Pierce), last year's T-500 winners took the lead, arriving just shy of 5 hours and 10 minutes after the mass "racing start" near mile marker 12 in the Keys. Close on their heels (5:11:37) was Team Castrol (John Casey and Jay Sonnenklar), another of last year's top three. Team Oz came in third overall at 5:16:11 but the team's Rick Bliss and Brandy Wood were on the first of the four Nacra 6.0's in the fleet. Teams Tybee and Castro are racing Inter 20's. The sixth leg on Saturday completes the first race at Tybee Island GA. Then Monday May 17 sees the debut of its new "sister" race, the Outer Banks 500, which starts where the Tybee leaves off. Eight teams are registered for the OBX connection and only four of those finishing this first leg plan to go the whole distance to Kill Devil Hills NC and vie for highest honors in the first Atlantic 1000. www.tybee500.com and www.obx500.com NO MATTER WHAT TACK YOU ARE ON, YOU ALWAYS LOOK GOOD Camet International has the outstanding reputation of always being the best in design, quality and service. The Camet sailing shorts are the leaders in technology and comfort. They are made out of a 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. Camet has a variety of men's and women's shorts, pants and colors. Coolmax shirts, Neoprene Hiking pants, Mylar bags, belts, etc. Ask your dealers for the Camet products or visit the new Camet website at http://www.camet.com WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS * Yngling Women's Worlds, Santander Spain - The first day of the Yngling World Championships started in light 5-7 knot breezes and heavy rain. With four Olympic qualification places at stake, as well as being the team trials for many of the nations involved, the starts were always going to be aggressive, with a general recall before the fleet got cleanly away the second time. The second race took three general recalls before finally getting away under the black flag. Six boats were over identified as being OCS, but this did not matter as at the bottom mark the wind died and the Race Committee decided to abandon the race. The fleet waited for another hour in a constantly shifting and light breeze before all racing was abandoned for the day at 1600. Standings after one race (37 boats): 1. Sharon Ferris, NZL 2. Trine Palludan, DEN 3. Ulrike Schumann, Ger 4. Dorte Jensen, DEN 5. Anne Le Helley, FRA 6. Lisa Ross, CAN 14. Sally Barkow, USA Event website: www.rcmsantander.com/yngling/index-y-i.htm * International 470 Class World Championship. Zadar Croatia - Familiar names head the Men's leaderboard after day 1. While in the Women's fleet the expected leaders had a day to forget. The day started at 11 am with a postponement followed by abandoned races on both course areas, when the last of a low pressure zone lead to showers and unpredictable breeze headings. After a long wait on the water, racing got underway at 1430 in a comfortable 8-10 knots. Men's Standings after 3 races - 101 boats: 1. FRA Gildas Philippe/ Nicolas Le Berre, 3pts 2. UKR Yevgen Braslavets/ Igor Matvienko, 6 3. SWE Johan Molund/ Martin Andersson, 8 20. USA Paul Foerster/ Kevin Burnham, 29 77. CAN Stephane Locas/ Oliver Bone, 71 Women Standings after 2 races - 53 boats: 1 POL Katarzyna Tylinska/ Zuzanna Gladysz, 7 2 SUI Franziska Duerig/ Monika Meier, 9 3 ITA Elisabetta Saccheggiani/Myriam Cutolo, 9 12 CAN Jennifer Provan/Nikola Girke, 17 27 USA Amanda Clark/ Sarah Mergenthaler, 26 Event website: http://www.uskok.biz.hr/470wc2004/index.htm * Hobie 16 Worlds semi-finals day 1, Barcelo Maya Beach Resort, Riviera Maya, Mexico - The first group was out on the course on time at 10:00 this morning only to be sent in when a thunderstorm moved over the sailing area. After a two-hour postponement racing got under way in difficult conditions. The current was moving up wind, as it has been all week, making for large steep waves. The wind was just strong enough for marginal double trapping. The teams that were the best at powering their boat up on the beats and surfing the waves down wind had the best days. At this point some teams have sailed two races and others have sailed only one. It's a bit pre-mature to count points but the defending World Champions Gavin Colby and Simone Mattfield are on track for a repeat performance. Full results are on the website: www.hobieworlds.com/h16-2004/default.asp * A record number of J/22s will participate in the 2004 World Championship, scheduled for May 18-21 at the Annapolis Yacht Club in Maryland. When registration closed on May 7, 130 teams signed on to be part of the largest J/22 regatta in the Fleet's 20-year history. The regatta, sponsored by Jaguar/Land Rover of Annapolis, will feature 12 races over four days as well as numerous social activities for competitors. In addition to the U.S. teams, four other countries will be represented - Canada, Italy, Cayman Islands and the Netherlands. - www.j22.org NEWS BRIEFS * James Russell, formerly Development Director at the Herreshoff Marine Museum and a Harvard graduate, joined the federally funded, ACCSCT accredited Yacht Restoration School senior staff as Vice-President, Development. Russell has ten years of experience in a variety of nonprofit educational institutions, ranging from a community museum to the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, RI. His role at IYRS will be to help architect and carry out activities associated with the institution's next phase of growth, including focusing on major gift fund raising, the restoration of the Mill Building, membership development, and events. - www.iyrs.org * After starting the 1000 milles de Calais race just 12 days after its launch, the Open 60 Sill has been forced to retire with keel issues. The keel has suffered some delamination between the keel and the bulb and the crew is now heading for Concarneau or Port La Foręt in north-west Brittany. There are just five boats left, but the top four were less than 15 miles apart at 01:40:00 GMT on May 11: 1. Bonduelle, 2. Ecover, 3 Virbac., 4. PRB. - Event website: www.1000millesdecalais.com/indexuk.php TIME TO REPLACE YOUR OLD LINES? Look no further than English Braids for your dinghy line needs. We have a line for every dinghy application. From our 100% Dyneema SK75 Dynamic line to our 100% natural rubber shock cord, we have what you need at a price you can afford. Available at local Vanguard dealers: http://www.teamvanguard.com 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 Paul Henderson, ISAF President (re Sailor Classification): ISAF provides a service for those Events and Classes which want to use it. ISAF forces no class to use it. The decision is left totally up to the sailors in a class to decide by a democratic vote of the class. ISAF recognizes over 60 classes and less than 5 have voted so to do. Please blame the class or change classes. ISAF only took over the system so as there would be uniformity as several countries were setting up different criteria causing chaos. * From Derek Blancké: Geoff Van Gorkom wrote a letter criticizing ISAF categorization from the viewpoint of people working in the marine industry. What he fails to realize is that the majority of people turning out to race every weekend are paying for their racing as an expensive pastime. It is very unfair and a distinct discouragement to people who are good amateur sailors to every weekend turn up and compete against people who are getting paid for their knowledge of yachts and sailing techniques be it hulls, sails, rigging, training, deliveries etc. If someone is working on large commercial shipping can they not get into Class 2 because they work in the marine industry but do not have any influence over the performance of sail boats? * From Scott Larson (In response to Ed Caesare's letter ('butt 1579) regarding owners' opinions of US Sailing's moratorium on participation in the RWP): I think George Bernard Shaw put it best, "Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn". The owners, in the US, have silenced not only their opinions, but also their checkbooks. In fact, the silence has become so deafening that the voicing of opinions and scribbling of checks from owners in Europe can now be clearly heard in California. This causes one to wonder if US Sailing's "wider review of national opinion" will ever recognize this commentary. * From John Drayton: Enjoying the debate/discussion on the practicality of cruising with CBTF. Frankly, I've been trying to convince my wife for years that the CBTF Schock 40 would make a great family cruising boat (what's wrong with a 40' boat that has all the space/ accommodations/amenities of a J24). Admittedly, I've also been trying to convince her that a Porsche is really a great family car, and getting a pilots license could provide economical transportation for family trips. * From Enrico Ferrari: Great comment from George Washburn on the Opti minimalist cruiser. Morning Glory as a cruiser is simply not my idea of cruising. Too big and unsimple. More is less in this case but George's Opti may cross the minimalist line for me. * From Richard Hazelton: Amidst all the continual bitching and moaning about sailing's governing bodies, organizations, people, boats, rating systems, it's great to see the Hobie Cat group just continue to keep going strong, having great regattas in exotic places, with lots of participation locally and around the world. THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Some of the recording artists from the 60s are re-releasing their hits with updated lyrics, like, Paul Simon's - "Fifty Ways To Lose Your Liver." |
