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SCUTTLEBUTT 2985 - Friday, December 4, 2009Scuttlebutt 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 are APS and North U. MIDDLE EAST SAILING - KEEPING IT REAL By Louay Habib, yachting journalist I was working for the sponsor of the 360-nautical mile Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race when the incident happened in the Persian Gulf, where the five British yachtsmen and their Volvo 60 yacht ‘The Kingdom of Bahrain’ were detained for a week by Iran's Revolutionary Guard as they were on their way from Bahrain to Dubai to participate in the race. During my trip to this region, I also visited the Alinghi base at Ras Al Khaimah on the 1st of December and I have spent several days in Oman. To begin with, the taking of the Volvo 60 was not a good advertisement for sailing in the region but put yourself in the Iranian authorities shoes; you have a big argument going on with Britain and a yacht with 5 Britons 4 on board strays into your waters with the Kingdom of Bahrain plastered across it. Imagine an American yacht straying into Cuban waters where the crew have no visas and get on the radio and announcing the name of the boat as Virginia Tobacco and you are beginning to get the picture. In the end this whole incident was a theatre for political posturing; the Iranians were given an open goal and they stuck it in the back of the net. If you really want to know what it is like out here, then spend two weeks travelling the region visiting the Dubai Muscat Offshore Race, RC44s, Alinghi 5, and the amazing work by Oman Sail. I honestly think that RAK would actually be the safest place in the world for a U.S. America’s Cup team; the American military presence in the region is unbelievably huge and the weather conditions are ideal. It is always a good idea to respect the traditions of any country but the vast majority of the people here are extremely friendly and tolerant. Crime is very low and civil behaviour is extremely good. For those of you who may be wondering if I am biased, although I have an Arabic name, I don't speak the language and was brought up as a Roman Catholic and I have lived in the UK all my life. * The Sailing Instructions for the Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race stated: “Any boat found to have sailed into any of these areas may be scored DSQ: Any marked national exclusion zones; Restricted areas surrounding drilling platforms; and, All Iranian or contested territories and waters.” -- http://tinyurl.com/yz5x9o9 * The Daily Sail interviewed Ollie Smith, skipper of Sail Bahrain, where he detailed how the yacht was far enough from the Iranian border, but not far enough away from a number of islands that are disputed territory between Iran and the UAE. “We were trying to stay clear of the oil fields to the south and west and ended up in the wrong area," explained Smith. "It also wasn’t on any of the charts we had that we were actually in Iranian waters and we didn’t know there was a military base there. So we were already sailing away from the island again and on our way when a gunboat turned up. We obviously didn’t realise they were going to be quite so upset we were there." -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/yfanwuj EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION When Rory Ramsden, COO for the RS:X Class Association, distributed a report on the testing program that the class was conducting on the equipment being used for the Olympic boardsailing event, Scuttlebutt was curious how this one design class intended to evolve: * Was the RS:X launched in a bid for the 2008 Olympic boardsailing event? RAMSDEN: The RS:X was selected by ISAF after tests that they themselves conducted in 2004 to find a replacement for the then existing Olympic equipment - the Mistral One Design that had been used in 1996, 2000 and 2004. The RS:X is a hybrid design based on the short wide style used by the Formula Windsurfing Class but with a centre board. The RS:X equipment was used in 2008 with great success and was selected again by ISAF for use in 2012. So the RS:X is equipment designed and built specifically to meet ISAF's requirements for use in the Olympic Regatta. It has a 100% carbon mast and high spec carbon boom. The hull is built on a unique production line. No other equipment is built on the same line. * How often do the elite sailors feel they need to replace their hulls? RAMSDEN: The 2008 Olympic Gold medallist won the RS:X World Championships in Takapuna, New Zealand on a three year old board so they are built to last. The tolerances on the hulls were tightened considerably leading up to the 2008 Olympic Regatta in Qingdao. This has resulted in hulls being very much the same 'speed'. How often a racer feels 'the need' to replace a hull is between him and his maker. How often 'must' a racer replace a hull is down to how well it has been looked after. However, if you said 18-24 months, you would not be far wrong. * Explain how the RS:X Class would like to evolve its equipment. RAMSDEN: The RS:X Class is working closely with Neil Pryde Windsurfing to achieve an 'Evolution' in the performance of the RS:X hull without changing its existing shape, durability or longevity. The mould remains the same. The hull may just get lighter. The 2009 RS:X Annual General Meeting (AGM) approved a submission to carry out a feasibility study to find out whether this is possible without resorting to exotics which could make the hull more expensive. Given Class AGM approval, the RS:X Evo hull would be introduced on January 1, 2013. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1203 START TO FINISH Looking for a place to get your holiday shopping done start to finish? With great gifts for sailors like Gore-Tex socks, Suunto watches, or the ever popular Dr. Crash calendars APS, "The World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors", is poised to throw you a life ring and save you from holiday shopping hassles. So, keep your eyes peeled for our annual holiday mailing to be arriving any day or visit our gift ideas page. APS makes it easy by breaking down your gift options by price and the type of sailor you're shopping for. Now start finishing your shopping! http://www.apsltd.com/GiftIdeas A DAY FOR HEROES AND ZEROS Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, (December 3, 2009) - The 2009 World Match Racing Tour season will be coming to an end for four skippers on Friday, as the 2009 Monsoon Cup round robin series looks to advance the top eight teams to contest the quarter-finals on Saturday. Among the teams on the bubble entering today was Asian Match Racing champion, New Zealander Phil Robertson, at 1-3. However, the Kiwi took on the role of dragon slayer on Day 2, going 5-0 through the heart of the order. With wins over Peter Gilmour (defending Monsoon Cup champion), Torvar Mirsky (tour ranked #2), Adam Minoprio (tour ranked #1), Damien Iehl, and former World Tour Champion Magnus Holmberg, Robertson is now assured a position in the quarter finals. Said Robertson, “Who would have believed this possibility after yesterday? Actually we were pretty much on the pace yesterday but we made a few silly mistakes. Today we won all our starts and the boys just kept us going fast down the track.” Not on track appears to be Ian Williams and Team Pindar, who have dominated the World Tour for the last two years, winning both the 2007 and 2008 World Match Racing Championships. However, at 3-6 with only two matches remaining, Williams looks to be among the four teams to be discarded after the round robin series. Said Williams, “We think that’s it for us; we can't make the cut. We are just going to keep trying and let’s see what happens.” -- Full story: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/101461 Day 2 Round Robin Results (Skipper, Team, Win-Loss) Ben Ainslie (GBR), Team Origin, 7-2 Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team, 6-3 Phil Robertson (NZL), WAKA Racing Team, 6-3 Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge, 5-4 Sebastien Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team/ALL4ONE, 5-3 Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team, 5-3 Adam Minoprio (NZL), ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, 4-4 Peter Gilmour (AUS), YANMAR Racing, 4-4 Damien Iehl (FRA), French Match Racing Team, 4-5 Ian Williams (GBR), Team Pindar, 3-6 Francesco Bruni (ITA), Team Azzurra, 3-6 Hazwan Hazim Dermawan (MAS), Taring Pelangi Team, 0-9 Complete standings and race schedule: http://tinyurl.com/yhch4fq WHO WILL BE THE NEXT ZACH RAILEY? The US Finn Association is welcoming applications for the 2010 Finn Development Program, designed to introduce single-handed sailors under the age of 23 to the Finn and international competition. The selected sailor will be provided a Finn for one year at a nominal cost, access to US Sailing and Finn class training camps, shared coaching and reduced transportation costs to international events. Similar to the US SAILING development program expanded to include more classes, this program introduces top junior and collegiate sailors to Olympic development sailing, and is particularly well suited to 85 kg plus sailors who wish to compete in single-handed Olympic class sailing. Caleb Paine was the 2009 development sailor, competed in the 2009 Finn Gold Cup, and has now purchased a Finn. The selected sailor for 2010 will work closely with 2008 Silver Medalist Zach Railey and US SAILING High Performance Coach Kenneth Andreasen. Selection will be by resume, and the selected sailor will be expected to compete in all major US regattas and training camps, as well as some international events. -- Full details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8682 GROUPAMA 3: THE COMEBACK The 105-foot trimaran Groupama 3, on stopover in Cape Town, South Africa since November 21st after suffering damage during her Jules Verne Trophy attempt, will head back out to sea again Friday morning, bound for Brest. Having been repaired and reinforced by the team's shore crew, the maxi trimaran is likely to take two to three weeks to cover the 6,000 miles (11,500 km) separating her from Brittany. "Once we'd worked out where the damage was, it was necessary to bring in the architects and engineers to determine the cause so that we could be sure about what repairs and reinforcement were required on the beam-float joints. There was great understanding in the collaboration between the Groupama Team's research department and the architects from VPLP and HDS,” said Fred Le Peutrec, who will be the acting skipper during this climb up the Atlantic. "We chose to repair Groupama 3 in Cape Town in order to validate her reliability at sea. Calculations have their limitations. Nothing can beat offshore trials for testing the structure, ” added G3 skipper Franck Cammas. Looking back on their failed attempt, Cammas notes, "We were really on the pace. Despite our retirement, we monitored the evolution of the weather system we'd been sailing in. It was excellent as far as Australia. That goes to prove the quality of the work carried out by Stan Honey, our navigator, as well as Sylvain Mondon, the weather adviser at Météo France. This augurs well for the next stage and the five weeks of stand-by we'll have at our disposal between 1st January and 6th February for our new attempt.” -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/yl48noh GET FAST…AND GET A BACKPACK! North U. Coursebooks and CD/DVDs are the perfect gift for any racing or cruising sailor. All are available at the North U. online store. For your holiday shopping, buy a Race Pack (Tactics and Trim Books and CDs - 4 items altogether) and receive a North Backpack. Be sure to mention S-Butt Backpack in comments box during check-out: http://www.NorthU.com SNOWBIRDS FLOCK SOUTH (December 3, 2009) - Warm air, good breeze and great competition are beckoning Etchells sailors down to balmy Biscayne Bay once again for the 10th Annual Jaguar Series, with four event spanning from December to March in Miami, FL. With a forecast for a southerly 10-15 knots on Saturday and northerly 9-14 on Sunday, the racing looks to be both pleasant and challenging. Bill Hardesty and amateurs Ante Razmilovic (GBR) and Peter Duncan are among the elite group of 52 boats signed up to try to wrest the Jag Cup from Jud Smith and Dirk Kneulman’s sticky fingers. David Brennan, PRO, said yesterday if a slightly smaller number show up for this weekend’s Piana Cup, it’s likely the controversial windward gates will be scrapped for the first time in several years. A last minute rounding decision will likely be a welcome relief for the bowmen’s union. -- Paige Brooks, Etchells NA Correspondent, http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/jaguar/ * COACHING: In an effort to mitigate the influence of coaching during the Jaguar Series, the Sailing Instructions state: “Team and private support boats are allowed to be in the racing area until the warning signal for the first race of the day. Thereafter, they shall not be in contact with any competitor until after the finish of the last race of the day. During and in between races, team and support boats shall not approach closer than 100 yards to any boat (except a boat in distress requiring assistance), mark, or rhumb line of the course, inside the course triangle, or on the right side of the weather leg layline. Support or coach boats breaking these requirements may be barred from the racing area at the discretion of the race committee or jury.” -- http://etchellsfleet20.org/2010_jag/docs/2010JagCupSis.pdf SAILING SHORTS * This week the Volvo Sailing podcast gets the latest from the Dubai to Muscat race, including reaction from Sail Bahrain's Iranian incarceration and a preview of the World Yacht Racing Forum from Mark Covell and editor of the Daily Sail, James Boyd. -- http://tinyurl.com/yl6u8ck * The fate of the America’s Cup remains in the hands of the New York Court system, as a decision in Alinghi's pending appeal on issues regarding venue and boat measurement has not yet been released. The Appellate Division issues decisions on Tuesdays and Thursdays shortly after 1100 EST, and will post them on the court website: http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/slipidx/aidxtable_1.shtml * St. Thomas, USVI (December 3, 2009) - The first flights of Round Robin 1 at the 2nd Annual Carlos Aguilar Match Race were sailed today, with local Peter Holmberg and Jes Gram-Hansen (DEN) remaining undefeated at 5-0 amid the eight team open field. On the women’s side, two-time Women’s World Match Racing Champion, Claire Leroy (FRA) is also at 5-0, with Genny Tulloch (USA), Liz Baylis (USA), and Julie Bossard (FRA) all at 4-1. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8675 * The ISAF Sailing World Cup has announced a revised scoring system for the 2009-2010 season, which begins in Melbourne, Australia later this month. The ISAF Sailing World Cup incorporates seven events across Australia, the USA, Spain, France, The Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain to form the definite series for Olympic and Paralympic sailors. Following its debut season in 2008-2009 - which featured over 2,000 sailors representing 65 nations - the World Cup returns to the same venues in 2009-2010 to build on its initial success. -- Read on: http://www.sailing.org/30816.php PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include sexy, Swedish Laser sailor, Beetle Cat match racing, Club 420's at Cornell, final photos of BOR-90 in San Diego, missing keel in Puerto Rico, and a push button 55 foot day-sailor just launched from the desk of Nelson/Marek and the labor of New England Boatworks. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/1204/ VIDEO OF THE WEEK It’s winter… get over it. We eat too much and sail too little. Happens every year. But for the ice boating contingent, this time of year couldn’t come soon enough, and doesn’t last long enough. This week we have two videos that show how they might be right: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/09/1204/ * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week’s Video of the Week to mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com 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 Forum (Gordon b): I am preparing to take my boat from Cape Cod down towards the Caribbean within the next few days; I'm looking for advice from someone who has made this trip to learn what to expect between here and North Carolina, from there I'll be taking the ICW. (by the way, this is my first long distance trip). Comment here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8668 * From George McCroskey: I always get slightly afraid when I notice ... that the Curmudgeon makes the same observation two days in a row! * From Cameron McIntyre: I was wondering when the correlation between the Iranian Sailors for Hostage program and the proposed Alinghi America’s Cup race course was going to be mentioned. I have reason to believe that Ernesto has a made a deal: if he sails into Iranian waters no problem, but if Oracle BMW sails into Iranian waters he retains the Cup. This recent incident was a test in good faith on part of the Iranian Navy. Not only did the capture and seizure of the “test boat and crew” go according to plan, they now know the exact location of the weather mark. * From Adrian Morgan (regarding the safety of RAK as a sailing venue): Should you see fit to publish my comments, Iranian territorial waters are about 200km from RAK. Surely plenty of room to stage a yacht race. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Apparently the incident where the five British yachtsmen and their Volvo 60 yacht ‘The Kingdom of Bahrain’ were detained for a week by Iran's Revolutionary Guard occurred in an area of islands that are disputed territory between Iran and the UAE. The boat was stopped at Sirri Island which by my calcs is 142km (88 miles) to the west of RAK, while another disputed island - Abu Musa - is closer at 92km (57 miles) from RAK. With the America’s Cup multihulls easily going 30+ knots, the navigator’s job in the Persian Gulf is a balance between course positioning and international incidents. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION “The America’s Cup is something you do after you give up sailing.” -- Damian Foxall, professional sailor, http://www.damianfoxall.com Special thanks to APS and North U. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
