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SCUTTLEBUTT 1810 - April 5, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest 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. GETTING CLOSER After lengthy discussions at their Spring Meeting, on Sunday the US Sailing Board of Directors voted decisively (73% in favor) to approve sending "Bylaws 2005" to the Annual Meeting for a vote. The AGM will be held October 19-23 in Phoenix, Arizona. These bylaws, if approved at that meeting, represent a significant change in the organization. The Board of Directors will be reduced to fourteen and a House of Delegates is created to continue discussion among organizational members. The House of Delegates will have the sole power to amend the Bylaws. A Nomination and Governance Committee will continue to generate nominees. It will have oversight over the performance of the Board of Directors in achieving the mission of the organization. An additional element was added to this Bylaws document that would allow the election of officers in the House of Delegates. 2005 US Sailing Bylaws Draft: http://tinyurl.com/5j44f PRELIMINARY DECISION The AC 32 Challenger Commission website has posted an excerpt from the jury's preliminary decision in ACJ-003. The issue deals with the eligibility of designer Phil Kaiko to join the El Reto AC syndicate. Earlier, Kaiko had done some work for Mascalzone Latino before ML became an official Challenger. The Questions submitted by El Reto were: Question: Is a Competitor permitted to employ a designer who has previously been engaged by a potential challenger, without restriction on what the designer has done for the potential challenger? Answer: No. The Competitor is prohibited by Protocol 13.5 from engaging a Designer as defined by 1.1 (l) of the Protocol, provided that the potential challenger becomes a Competitor. If the potential challenger does not become a Competitor, there is no restriction. Q: In the event that the answer to (i) is no: Is El Reto able to continue its engagement with Mr Kaiko as designer? A: Having considered the responses and submissions received from a number of parties including in particular a considerable number of affidavits presented by El Reto, and Mascalzone Latino, the Jury has decided under Rules of Procedure 6.3 that a hearing is necessary to resolve this issue. Curmudgeon's Comment: The full text of this 'partial decision' is posted on the Challenger Commission's website. Isn't it interesting how much of the real drama of the America's Cup happens on dry land: www.challengercommission.com SERIOUS TRAINING The Spanish VO70 Telefonica MoviStar has completed it first 1450 mile passage from Australia to New Zealand in preparation for the next Volvo Ocean Race. "It was an eventful trip, characterized by rough conditions reminiscent of the famous Sydney-Hobart Race. We faced big waves and strong winds, but the boat rose to the challenge," said Bouwe Bekking, skipper of MoviStar, upon arrival in Wellington. "For the team it was very satisfying to know that the boat and rig could handle these kinds of conditions without any structural problems, as we have 'fallen' off some famously huge Tasmanian waves. We had a goal of testing the boat's resistance - but didn't expect we'd have to go through such a severe exam so early in the game." "Navigation from Australia to New Zealand is all open sea, the same route to be sailed in the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 in February 2006. Hitting a big fish is just one of the risks encountered in sailing through such waters. We collided with something underwater doing over 20 knots of boat speed. We think it was a big fish. We've had to double check the underside of the boat before continuing over to Rio de Janeiro," Bekking said. "Although we didn't find the best sailing conditions, we have been able to cover 470 nautical miles in 24 hours, showing good speed," added navigator Andrew Cape. Pedro Campos, general manager of the team and inshore helmsman, is satisfied with the results of the strategy as planned months back. "In June last year we decided to carry out a major training session en route to Rio, pushing to the limits in the Tasmanian and Southern Pacific oceans, as well as during the voyage around the mystical Cape Horn. These training sessions will allow us valuable margins in maneuverability. The strategy is working perfectly: 1,500 nautical miles from setting out to sea and we have already tested the team and the boat under the most difficult conditions." The next stage of training will take the MoviStar team to Rio de Janeiro, travelling round Cape Horn, a voyage totaling 6,700 miles. - Volvo Ocean Race website, Full story: www.volvooceanrace.com/pages/news/news126.htm IS YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER TIRED OF THE SAME OLD CLOTHES? Spruce things up with the Canvas Collections from Camet! Guaranteed to spice up your love life and put the spark back in your relationship. No significant other? No problem! Camet shorts have been known to help increase your love life. Finally, clothing that helps you on and off the water. Camet... making women happy and helping men look better! Call us for a consultation. 619-224-6737 or visit us at http://www.camet.com. Made in the USA. EMERGENCY (Rich Roberts interviewed sailmaker Bruce Cooper who broke his arm while sailing on the Andrews 70 Alchemy during the recent race from Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Here are some excerpts from that tale published in The Log newspaper.) "We were four hours into the race and 30 miles off the coast, cruising along right underneath [Dennis Conner's] Mongoose and ahead [when] the guy driving the boat heard a bang from under the cockpit. Bob went down to inspect what it was and came up and said there's a problem with the rudder post and can we go take a look at it. "So his son Ken and I crawled into the back of the boat between all the bulkheads. "We looked up and saw that the top bearing that fits into the housing against the bottom of the cockpit had failed. Four of the five screws that hold it up were on the floor in a puddle of water, and the bearing had slipped down about an inch and a half, and the rudder post was kind of playing ping pong up in the housing. "We were reaching at 10.5 to 11 knots and heeled over about 20 degrees." Then the post broke free and nailed Cooper's arm. "My arm was pinned only 10 seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. My first reaction was to pull it out, but with the weight of the rudder post on my arm, I couldn't move it and just prayed that it would not sever my arm and punch through the side of the boat. Because the rudder was now next to the boat rather than under the boat, the boat went into a crash turn, head to wind, and as soon as it came straight up, I was able to remove my arm. "I picked up my arm off the bottom of the boat. It wasn't hanging like a limp noodle but still had some structure to it, so I crawled out from the back of the boat. "At that point, the rudder post was like a big swizzle stick, kind of clearing out that whole back compartment, ripping all the control lines for the engine, all the cables for the steering, right out of their pulleys and blocks. "Water was coming in like a fire hose. I got a splint on my arm, and the crew started grabbing buckets and working the electric bilge pumps." Somebody stuffed a sail bag in the hole in the bottom. A Coast Guard cutter arrived from Avalon in an hour and 20 minutes and transferred four guardsmen on an inflatable. "The boat probably would have been under water in another 30 minutes," Cooper said. "We had water up over the floorboards at that point. I'll tell you: Those guys came on board and were all business, all action, like a commando team. An EMT took all my vitals." Another used a power saw to cut the rudder post, and they jettisoned the rudder and plugged the hole. Vessel Assist came to tow Alchemy into Oceanside. The experience was enlightening even for a veteran racer. - Rich Roberts, full story: www.thelognewspaper.com/columnists/columnistsview.asp?c=152176 SHOOTING THE FINISH LINE Once you know where you are going to finish, you have to get there quickly. Crossing the finish line is unlike any other racing maneuver because after you finish it doesn't matter how fast you are going. Therefore, as you approach the line you can "shoot" it (by heading straight upwind or downwind) to maximize your short-term VMG (velocity-made-good toward or away from the wind). This would usually mean a big loss in the long run, but it's not a worry because you will finish before that happens. In order to shoot the line perfectly, you should approach the favored end from about a boatlength to leeward of the layline to that end (or from above the layline if you are finishing downwind). It's important to start below the layline so when you shoot the line you end up right at the favored end. If it's close at an upwind finish, shoot on starboard tack so you have right of way (on a run this is less important because the buoy room rule applies). As you get closer to the line, the key is knowing when (i.e. how far away from the line) to begin your turn. If you wait too long, you will lose the advantage you'd gain by shooting. But if you start too early you may lose all your momentum before you reach the line! Shooting too late is a more common mistake, but it's obviously much less risky. The point at which you should begin shooting the line depends on a number of factors, including: - Type of boat - A heavy boat holds its momentum longer than a light boat and will therefore coast to the finish from farther away. - Current - If the water is moving toward (or away from) the wind, this can make a gigantic difference in how far you are able to shoot. - Wind Velocity - In stronger winds you will be going faster and therefore you can start shooting the line from farther away. - Waves - Upwind you can coast better in flat water, but downwind you may shoot farther in waves. Normally when you shoot the finish line you should turn the boat until you are head to wind (or dead downwind at a running finish). However, if you are not right at one end of the line and if the line is not square, you should stop turning when your course is perpendicular to the finish line. - Excerpt from a story by David Dellenbaugh posted on the Sailingbreezes.com website, full story: www.sailingbreezes.com/ ORYX QUEST 2005 It's rapidly becoming a high stakes game of cat and mouse as Tony Bullimore and his crew on Daedalus head for the Mauritius turning mark while a massive tropical depression bears down on them. The severe low is located 600 miles to the northeast of the boat moving at approximately 10 knots on a course that will take it directly over the island of Mauritius. Tony and his team are due south of Mauritius sailing at 20 knots with just over 300 miles to go to the tiny island. "It's going to be close," Tony reported in a satellite phone call. "This is a very severe storm and it's packing a punch. We do not believe we are taking any chances by not taking any avoiding action, but it will be rough on board for the next day or so until we are north of Mauritius." Two thousand miles to the north of Daedalus, the only anxiety on board Doha 2006 is the amount of food left on board for the remainder of the trip. Several factors, including errant high pressure systems and a tropical depression have extended the amount of time on the water and the provisions are running low. Fortunately Brian Thompson implemented food rationing two weeks ago and the supply may just last until the dunes of Doha come into view. At 00048 UTC Tuesday, Brian Thompson's Doha 2006 was 771 miles from the finish and 2355 miles ahead of Tony Bullimore's Daedalus. - Brian Hancock, www.oryxquest.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE Earlier this morning we passed through the 1000-mile to go barrier, and after some celebrating we started throwing our rice crackers in the water. Not in a fit of total madness (we are still in food rationing mode) but to offer another gift to Neptune - protection money, you might call it. We have so far paid our bill twice crossing the equator and then once on rounding the Horn, and it seems to be working, so we are continuing with it, keeping the big, bearded guy happy. - Brian Thompson, Doha 2006, www.maxicatdoha.com ULTIMATE CONTROL The Ockam Tryad comes standard with an RS232 port, and you get a free Driver application to control your system. Calibration, averaging, system options, load polars, log data, change jumbo displays, and adjust lighting with a sliding bar. The software OckamSoft4 delivers full system control, buy it in modules: multiple on-screen displays, multiple strip charts, and a powerful racecourse application with charting. Ockam is just as powerful without PC software with the graphic Matryx display. Take complete control of your system - For more information contact lat@ockam.com or visit http://www.ockam.com NEWS BRIEFS Imagine It Done has an 11 nm lead over second place Spirit of Sark in the Global Challenge RTW race, with 220 nm to go on the present leg. They lead third place BP Explorer by 13 nm. Team Stelmar has taken control of forth place and are 32 nm behind the leader. Pindar is in fifth, but they trail Imagine It. Done by 83 nm, so they will be hoping the infamously tricky approach to Cape Town slows the teams in front down. - www.globalchallenge2004.com/en/news.asp?chco_id=15886 *Auckland City purchased the former base used by the BMW Oracle Racing team in the last America's Cup. Deputy Mayor Bruce Hucker says this ensures the building remains in public ownership and keeps options for the area's future open. Auckland City also owns the Eastern Viaduct, Te Wero Island and the former Team New Zealand base (bought in 2003 for $235,000). The other two former Cup bases in the area, One World and Alinghi, are under public ownership by way of America's Cup Village Limited (ACVL), which is owned by Auckland Regional Holdings (ARH). - www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0504/S00014.htm * Volvo Ocean Race will continue its sponsorship of the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship for the next two years. The 2005 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship will take place in Busan in Korea; 2006 will be held in Weymouth, Great Britain; 2007 will be in San Diego, USA. The regatta will host approximately 300 young sailors from up to 35 nations who will be racing in four disciplines Laser (boys and girls), Hobie Cat (mixed), 420 (boys and girls) and the Mistral board (boys and girls). Volvo has sponsored the championship since 1998. - 2005 Website: www.worldyouthsailingbusan.com * Valencia is indeed getting ready for the next America's Cup. To check out images of the progress, go to the Valencia Sailing blogsite: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ * Her back aching and fingers sore, a French woman paddled March 25 into French Polynesia after a grueling 4,287 mile solo voyage across the Pacific, organizers said. With the 72-day voyage, Maud Fontenoy became the first woman to cross the Pacific in a rowboat. She had set out from the Peruvian port of Callao on Jan. 12, to trace the epic 1947 crossing by Thor Heyerdahl and his team on the balsa raft Kon-Tiki. Her vessel Oceor is about 23 feet long, with a sliding seat and oars in the middle and two small cabins at either end. - The Log, full story: http://thelog.com/news/newsview.asp?c=152243 * Bids are open for Balboa YC's 39th Annual Governor's Cup Regatta (US Junior Match Racing Championship) to be held July 18-23 in Newport Beach, California. This yacht club-based match racing regatta is sailed in small keelboats by three person teams. Team member must be under 20 years of age and members of the same yacht club. Housing and boats are provided. Information and bid packages are available from BYC's website, with bids due by May 13th. - http://tinyurl.com/4optt * 140 boats raced in 14 separate classes at the BVI Spring Regatta in Tortola. The three day event attracted a potpourri of sailing classes that included everything from impressive ocean racers to Laser Radials … with plenty of charter boats, beach cats and board sailors in the mix. Complete results: www.bvispringregatta.org/ FOR SALE Flirt IRC49, Corby design from 2002, fully optimised in 2004. Flirt has the best of everything including a substantial sail wardrobe, carbon spars, B&G electronics etc. Class winner at many premier regattas in UK and Caribbean. Owner launching larger yacht soon, so no reasonable offer refused. Details from brokerage@oystermarine.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. 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 Cliff Bradford: May I also recommend Bruce Schwab and (if he can be tempted out of retirement) Brad van Liew for the captaincy of the Pirates of the Caribbean VOR boat. Certainly they are accomplished and American. Curmudgeon's Comment - With all due respect, don't you think there are rather major differences between singled-handed round the world sailing and leading a successful Volvo Ocean Race fully-crewed campaign? For starters, they don't steer the Volvo boats with auto-pilots - and buoy racing, and team building skills are certainly not at the top of the priority list for the single-handed RTW racers. * From Frank Plunkett (re 'Must See' slide show): You're right; that's a "must-see" and glad to hear everybody's OK. But do my eyes deceive me or did the skipper take the boat between the point and the South Tower? Not a good plan, as I'm sure you'll hear from folks with loads more experience than I. (http://sfsurvey.com/photos/sail/imagepages/image1.htm) * From Barry Mac Neil: I think Disney's idea of entering the Volvo Ocean Race is an interesting one and not a far fetched one in light of Roy Disney's long time involvement in maxi racing . Since this entry is primarily a publicity affair, may I suggest that having the boat crewed by disabled sailors may be a consideration . It would certainly draw attention to the abilities if disabled sailors and there are a number of them across America and around the world with the skills necessary to race a Volvo 70. In fact it would attract more attention to the campaign than might otherwise be possible. Even if the Disney entry won the series it would mainly draw attention from the Yachting and sports related press. A boat crewed by disabled sailors would draw world wide attention as a newaworthy item on its own merit. Who would head such a novel approach to this campaign? How about Dennis Conner? He is certainly the Mr. Promotion of the sailing world. Keep in mind that this is first and foremost a public relations exercise to promote a Disney movie. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same." - Oscar Wilde |
