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SCUTTLEBUTT 1522 - February 19, 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 and personal attacks for elsewhere. ESTABLISHING THE GROUND RULES ISAF will perform very intense measurement at the 2004 Athens Olympics. ISAF will make rulings and interpretations of class rules. These may be in conflict with what has been the custom at Class Championships and in most classes will be more comprehensive than procedures at World Championships. ISAF intends to ensure the One-Design concepts of the Olympic classes. The ISAF Olympic Measurement Committee shall have the sole and final responsibility of interpreting the class rules for the Olympic Regatta. It is ISAF's intention to inform all Olympic sailors of what they can expect at the Olympic Regatta and not spring something unknown when they arrive in Athens. To this end ISAF will publish the Measurement Regulations on the ISAF website and will publish all class rule interpretations. ISAF will be involved in the measurement at several of the final Olympic Qualifiers, so as to ensure the sailors understand the Measurement Procedures which will be used at the 2004 Olympic Regatta. These 2004 Olympic Regatta Measurement Regulations will be published on the ISAF Website and in Making Waves. - Paul Henderson, ISAF website: http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=6442 FOR THE RECORD * After waiting six hours for 'optimal' conditions, the Orange II maxi-catamaran had crossed the Jules Verne Trophy starting line at 07:41 GMT as Bruno Peyron and his crew of 14 will try and break the current round-the-world record, held since May 2002 by Orange I (64d, 8h, 37m). When the line was crossed this morning, the weather conditions were good. The seas were calm, and the boat was sailing with one reef in the main and staysail, in 21-23 knots of easterly wind. Several hours later, Peyron reported the boat is sailing at 25-30 knots. For the coming 24 hours, the wind is expected to increase. - http://www.orange.fr * Steve Fossett and Cheyenne's crew of 12 continued to post strong averages during Wednesday as they progressed South, covering 405 miles at an average of nearly 17 kts for the past 24 hours They should cross the Tropic of Capricorn Wednesday tonight. Weather router Ken Campbell commented that Cheyenne's prognosis for the next 24 hours looks positive, but challenges lie ahead, "Friday and Saturday will become tricky as they attempt to avoid having the wind shift take them towards the High." - http://www.fossettchallenge.com/ * The weather for the next few days seems to be very good for Jean Luc van den Heede's 84-foot aluminum cutter Adrien. VDH may well be getting the Doldrums reduced to a minimum presence, if things develop as forecast. Having covered 239 miles in the last 24 hours he is now 26 days and 13 hours ahead of the 'westabout' singlehanded global record held by Philippe Monnet. - http://www.vdh.fr/gb/ * At exactly 8:45 am BPH Volvo 60 with Captain Roman Paszke and his nine crew crossed the virtual line of the round the world record attempt. Starting in 7 knots of northwest breeze and calm seas Paszke will try to establish fully crewed monohull circumnavigation record. However, as there is no trace of this kind of record with World Sailing Council, Bank BPH yacht would be the first yacht to attempt this. After purchasing two old Assa Abloy yachts last December from Swedish Volvo team, Paszke and the crew have been training in the south of France in preparation for round the world record attempt. As Volvo 60 yachts have been designed with maximum of 30 days on the water in mind, Bank BPH had undergone major refit in order to accommodate all sails, equipment and food necessary for the round the world trip. - Sailhead.com, full story: www.sailhead.com/ TURNING PRO Ecover and Mike Golding Yacht Racing have joined forces to set up an Ecover Ocean Sailing Academy (EOSA) aimed principally at helping young sailors who aim to make the difficult transition from amateur to professional status. EOSA has sought applications from sailors who have already clearly demonstrated their commitment to engaging in professional sailing. The aim is to provide assistance to sailors who are already on the road to becoming professional. In most cases this means sailors who are currently engaged in arenas such as Open Class, Figaro or Mini Transat. EOSA Modules will include expert input in the fields of Boat Design, Health & Physical Care, Media and Sponsor Communication, Mini Transat Campaigns, Nutrition, Project Definition & Management, Sails, Sleep Management, Sponsorship and Weather and Navigation. Each scholarship candidate has signed the Ecover Clean Sea Charter, which provides common sense guidance designed to protect the fragile environment through which we sail. Ecover, producers of ecological washing and cleaning products, is totally dedicated to raising environmental awareness in the yachting community. - info@ecover.com S.C.Y.A. MIDWINTERS Ullman Sails congratulates our customers for their outstanding performances at this year's Southern California Midwinters Regatta. The following is only a partial list; more winners to appear next week in Scuttlebutt: Schock 35- 1. Ray Godwin; Santana 30/30- 1. Dennis Godfirnon; Cal 25- 1. Steve & Jane Horst; J/29- 1. Eric McClure; Capri 22- 1. Steve Ross; Holder 20- 1. Jim Rosaschi; A-Cat- 1. Pete Melvin; F/18- 1. Jay & Pease Glaser; 505- 1. Mike Martin; Etchells- 1. Ed Feo; PHRF A- 1. Oscar Krinsky; PHRF B- 1. Scott Taylor; Cruising- 1. Tom LeBus. Visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com NEWS BRIEFS * The Finn Gold Cup in Rio de Janeiro saw two more races today in superb conditions in Guanabara Bay with fresh winds and great waves. A win in race 5 and a 12th in race 6 saw Ben Ainslie (GBR) move into a 7 point lead over Mateusz Kusznierewicz (POL) with just three races to go. David Burrows (IRL) moved up to 3rd after some consistent races. - www.atividade.com.br/finn * San Diego resident, Joshua Ross (director of Challenged America), is recipient of the 2004 National "Outstanding Director of a Year-Round Program" Award, by the Community Service Council of U.S. Sailing. The announcement cited Ross's use of innovations in technology and an inclusive teaching style to overcome , physical limitations such as paraplegia, quadriplegia, amputation, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, and blindness. Ross was also the guiding force in the development of modifications made to the Challenged America Tripp 40 sailboat (B'Quest) - making the Transpac Race possible for his crew of six, which included those with significant disabilities. - www.ussailing.org * "The World of Model Yachts," is a new exhibit that will be on display from May 15- October 31 at the Museum of Yachting in Newport, RI - approximately 50 models from the 1800's to the present, with boats and material from the United States, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Also, in collaboration the American Model Yachting Association and US Vintage Model Yacht Group, the Museum is presenting a series of model yachting events including radio-controlled racing and youth events. - www.museumofyachting.org. * Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Alexander Wolff whose two-page feature entitled "Mast Appeal" addressed the development of 'Sail Newport' has received the $5000 Sail America John Southam Award for Excellence in Sailing Communications. In the newspaper categories, Claudia L. Bayliss of the South Bend Tribune took home the $1000 prize in the 'Newspapers over 100,000 circulation' category for her article, "Borne By the Wind." Jo Donaldson's story in the Cumberland Times-News, "Sailing Away," edged out 76 other entries in the 'Newspapers under 100,000 circulation' category.' - www.southamaward.com * Meg Galliard, Zach Lenoard, Bob Merrick, Brad Read, Sam Macky, Mike Kalin, Bern Noack, Peter Alarie, Peter Levesque and John Mollicone are just a few of the faculty members at the third annual Sail Newport Advanced Racing Clinic to be held Friday-Sunday, June 11-13, - just before the Youth Championships. Patterned, after the successful CISA Clinic in Southern California, the program will be held in Club 420s (spinnaker and trapeze), Laser Full-rigs, and Laser Radials for sailors ages 14 to 19. Participation is limited to a select number of sailors so applications should be e-mailed early. www.sailnewport.org * Having received five entries for the 50-foot multihull division and six entries for the 50-foot monohull division, Offshore Challenges organizers of The Transat, can confirm the participation of the 50-foot class. The 50ft class often acts as a 'feeder' class for up and coming sailors who go on to compete at a professional level on the IMOCA and ORMA 60ft circuits. This single-handed transatlantic race will start on May 31 from Plymouth, UK racing nearly 3,000 miles across the North Atlantic to Boston, Massachusetts. - www.thetransat.com DECKMAN FOR WINDOWS USA SEMINAR Saturday, March 20th in Newport, RI at the Newport Marriott. Deckman for Windows is the leading tactical and routing software program used by the world's top racing yachts. Come and see how Deckman for Windows can improve the performance of your boat. Register online at: http://www.protechmarine.com SPEED TIPS It's not often that you hear "comfort" as one of the key reasons for winning a competitive regatta. But the British Virgin Islands' Kevin Rowlette, skipper of his Olson 30, Willy T, claimed just that after stepping on the scales and taking away his weight in Cruzan rum at the 11th annual St. Croix International Regatta, held February 14 to 16 out of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Taking his inspiration from the IC-24, a redesign of a J/24 innovated by St. Thomas sailors Chris Rosenberg and Morgan Avery, Rowlette worked over three weeks to cut back the cabin top and extend the cockpit of his Olson forward to create more room. "The crew had much more maneuvering room, and that, along with ideal conditions blowing 15 to 20 knots was our key to success," Rowlette says. - For more on the St. Croix International Regatta: www.caribbeanracing.com or www.stcroixyc.com/sailing/ INDUSTRY NEWS * The 63rd Miami International Boat Show wrapped up on Tuesday with about the same number of visitors as last year but more buoyant sales. ''We're running dead even with last year - about 138,000 - in attendance, but the quality of customer seems to be really good,'' said Cathy Johnston, southern regional manager of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, which puts on the show. Show organizers had hoped to reel in 150,000 visitors to the show, said to be one of the world's largest nautical fairs with more than 2,300 exhibitors. Miami Herald, http://tinyurl.com/2mumw (For reference, The Schroders London Boat reported attendance of 210,300 visitors.) * Multihull sail specialist Calvert Sails of Islamorada, Florida has formed a partnership with Halsey-Lidgard Sailmakers which has 18 lofts world wide. HALBERG AWARD The presence of controversial finalist Russell Coutts in Christchurch has added spice and intrigue to the Halberg Awards. Seldom in its 55-year history have the sports awards been so keenly anticipated as during the lead-up to tonight's black-tie dinner at the Christchurch Convention Centre. Coutts arrived from Sydney tonight in the middle of a brewing storm surrounding his eligibility for the awards. The organizers have taken the "appropriate security measures", but Halberg chief executive officer Dave Currie is not anticipating any difficulties. "We will certainly not have the police surrounding the convention centre," Currie said. Coutts, who will be accompanied by his mother, Beverly, can only be considered for the supreme Halberg Award if he first wins the Sportsman of the Year award. He will have strong competition from world champion canoeist Ben Fouhy, Indycar champion Scott Dixon and world kart champion Wade Cunningham for the Sportsman of the Year award. - NZPA, full story: http://tinyurl.com/22qty SAN DIEGO NOOD ADVANTAGE You can have the advantage at the San Diego NOOD event by having your very own Raider RIB Tender for your use throughout the entire regatta. A Raider Cabin 900 (30 feet) with twin 225HP Honda's is available for charter. This Raider RIB (with driver provided) can give you the same advantages that the Grand Prix fleets have become accustomed to for years! Only one boat is available. Check out the Raider RIB Cabin 900 at the website or call 877-7RAIDER to reserve today. http://www.raiderboat.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 Jef d'Etiveaud: I am somewhat troubled by the fact that some people feel aggressed by record breaking attempt. Having spent a great deal of energy leading racing and record attempt campaigns, I must say that I did so (Up to now) without the least suspicion that I would generate such hatred from fellow sailors. We prepare our boats, kiss our wives and kids and go out there enjoying life and trying to better ourselves in the process. If you are going to throw stones at this kind of exercise you better have a nice pile behind you... I can find worse things to blame. * From Jim Champ: Magnus Wheatley may not be alone thinking that that the current round the world record-breaking attempts are utterly boring, but certainly exaggerated. Among the key arguments for the against the clock thing are: 1. Fastest to do X has a long tradition in human endeavour, and folk find it easy to understand. In athletics etc the world record holder is as big a name as the world champion. Listen to the big extra cheers at Athens when the records go down in races. 2. If there are two of you in the race and one drops out just after the start, say with sail damage, the whole endeavour is left looking pretty pointless. If you're going against the clock you have interest for the sponsor until the clock target finally looks unreachable. 3. World records tend to stay in the history books a bit longer than race results. I agree that the element of luck with the weather is a big factor in long distance racing, but it's also part of the challenge in getting it right. You could argue that to get a "proper" race there should be waypoints set every 50 miles so that competitors sail the same route, so the fastest boat wins, but that would take something out of it too. * From Mark Zaranski: I find these giant multihull globe gallops mildly interesting (how fast can they go? will they explode?) , and they give me hope. The Race was about throttling back and holding the pieces together. Chasing the Jules Verne Trophy gives these crews reason to keep pushing rather than just staying between the competition and the finish line. The hope I have is that these "jaunts" will result in a better designed/better tested/better prepared fleet for the upcoming round the world races for these titans. Personally, I am so bored with AC hype that I can't even get interested in Sausalito's quixotic thoughts of a challenge. * Tom R. Garner: Hopefully Magnus Wheatley is alone in his thinking. If he is so bored with sailing news, maybe he would be better off watching the weather channel. * From Peter Commette: Dierk Polzin's letter in Butt 1520 made a great point. For the Finn, grass roots development is one of the many reasons that it is experiencing one of the best turnouts for the Olympic Trials. Finn sailors look out for their own and develop their own. They put in intensive, unselfish work recruiting and helping new talent and bringing the older talent back up to speed when they return to the class, although they never really seem to leave! The nonprofit US Finn Foundation started by Finn greats Gus Miller, Dave Branch, Ding Schoonmaker, Harry Anderson, Art Diefendorf, and Pat Healy has put on clinics for the Finn's Olympic aspirants over the past five months importing top world ranked Finn talent to teach. It's no coincidence that the top guys right now at the Trials look like any of them could push for a medal, while others are pushing them hard. A veteran from eight years ago, John Porter, has won a race. Henry Sprague and Lou Nady, alternates from the '64 and '72 Olympics, and Andy Kern (a young "old timer") have been fighting for the lead in races. At the other end of the age spectrum, young Finn sailors who have benefited greatly from the Foundation's clinics, and who are doing well at the trials are Brian Boyd in fourth, Jeremy Pape, first in a race, Brad Nieuwstat, second in a race, and Phil Tate, sixth in a race. Hats off to the Finn Class! * From Kyle Henehan (In reference to the Finn and Star being two of the boats that have been on the Olympic chopping block): I think that the top end of the system always thinks that they know what is best for the sport. But I think sometimes they could do more good by taking a step back and either looking at and/or listen to the people in the sport more. It seems like they want to change things to how THEY want them and not to what would be better. * From Richard Hazelton, Editor 48° North Sailing Magazine: A question for Buttheads. We're thinking of running a "sailing competition" at one of our boat shows using a computer sail racing simulator game. Which ones have you found to be the best? * From Paolo Sheaffer (Re: Scott Dixon's Stuff award): Is Chip Ganassi a Kiwi? Team Target Racing is a New Zealand operation? Get over it Kiwis! Your problem was Green, and I mean the person, not the money. Monsieur Coutts organized, recruited and drove a winning team. I say that counts for more than steering a car for a well-funded team around some oval tracks, but maybe I'm missing something. And now these Olympic selection protests! Hamish Pepper lost the A-cup, so he can't be worthy? Come on! * From Bob Davie: I am getting depressed by seeing the Russell Coutts saga arise again. It will particularly strident today if he wins the Halberg award. I like many New Zealand sailors was disappointed that he chose to sail for another Team in the AC. As a professional yachtsman it must have been hard to resist the cash. However, what I really wanted was for him to find a way to make it work with Team New Zealand. That didn't happen and the rest is history. He is still the best sailor to come out of New Zealand. Let's just get over it and enjoy the sailing that our wonderful country has to offer. * From Justin Farr: It's people like you Greg Landon that make me and most other kiwi's embarrassed and ashamed to be known as a proud New Zealander … get off your high horse, and get over it. Furthermore, how can you or anyone, ever place a sportsman (good or bad) in the same sentence as Saddam Hussein … maybe you should leave the country! * From Kitty James: I for one find Greg Langdon's comments on Russell Coutts in 'butt 1521 clearly exceed Scuttlebutt's directive to "save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere." Curmudgeon's Comment: Justin and Kitty both make valid points. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS Generally the right thing to say comes to mind immediately after you've said the wrong thing. |
