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SCUTTLEBUTT 3221 - Tuesday, November 16, 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Summit Yachts, North Sails, and Ocean Racing. HENDERSON SAID Scuttlebutt founder Tom Leweck, who was one of the keynote speakers this past weekend at the U.S. SAILING One Design Sailing Symposium, shared an observation that he had gained from past ISAF President Paul Henderson about good club racing. Henderson said: "Unfortunately.we have taken the fun out of the game and made it too technical--too much emphasis on boat speed. Sailboats should be no more expensive than the cost of a second car.and the time spent fixing them should be one hour for every ten hours on the water. In my opinion it is the pro's desire to win at all cost without respect for the sport that has caused our problems." Henderson felt boats should be: - Gender-equal - Last a long time - Keep their value - Be tactical - not technical - No trapezes - Heavy one-designs--not sensitive to crew weight - Sails that last at least a season - Sailmakers should not be allowed to use their own sails Henderson felt races should be: - Geared to new reality of two income family & need for quality family time - Races start from front of YC not requiring 10-mile sail for upwind start - Should race on week nights, leaving weekends free Henderson said: "We all seem to have forgotten what sailing is all about. It should be fun--good racing, good food .and a drink at the yacht club. The best day you can have in your life is two great races, back to the club to smile a lot, rehash the races and join together with other sailors who will become your lifelong friends." Scuttleblog: http://sailingscuttlebutt.blogspot.com/2010/11/henderson-said.html Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck said, "Paul Henderson has blazed a trail from his early days on Toronto Island in Canada through three decades of Olympic sailing competition, ultimately becoming the president of the sport's highest administrative body - International Sailing Federation - from 1994 to 2004. His hand in the development of Toronto sailing, and his influence amid the International Olympic Committee, are stuff of legend. "And at the tender age of 75 years, Paul provided the stories of his life in a book titled 'The Pope" of Sailing'. Paul has lived his life far from the constraints of the politically correct world, and his strong opinions provide enlightened reading. This book is truly a behind-the-scenes tour, and Paul is as likely to salute people's intelligence and generosity as he is to flame others for their self-serving tactics that short changed the sport. The depth of his stories is remarkable, and Paul pulls no punches in telling them. From start to finish, this is a tale full of life and love." Book details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10267 "THERE IS STILL A LOT OF WORK TO DO" The decision by the International Sailing Federation was made in 2007 for what events would be used in the 2012 Olympics. It was mandated that ISAF decrease the number of events from 11 to 10, so something had to go. But when the multihull got eliminated, the backlash came quick. During a time when the International Olympic Committee was eager to see sailing events that demonstrated excitement and athleticism, how could ISAF eliminate one of its most electric disciplines? A lot of work has transpired in the past three years, and the recent decision at the ISAF Annual Meeting to provisionally support the multihull's return for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition bears witness to that. But for the multihull community, they see their work as being far from complete. Here is a report from Paul Pascoe, who led the multihull representatives as chairman of the Multihull Commission at ISAF's Annual Conference in Athens last week: "The following is not an official report from the ISAF Multihull Commission, but an unofficial account including a number of personal opinions on the subject of multihulls and the process of getting them back into the 2016 Olympic Games from one of the 'insiders'. "As everyone will be aware, the ISAF Council voted 19 - 16 to support the recommendations of the Events Committee for a slate of 10 events for the 2016 Olympic Games, including a mixed multihull. This slate is a recommendation only with the aim to provide direction and allow people to plan further ahead than in previous Olympic cycles. The final decision on events will be made at the May 2011 Mid-year meeting to be held at St Petersburg in Russia. Unfortunately a 19 - 16 vote is not an overwhelming vote of support and it would only require a re-think by 2 Council members to overturn this decision in May, so there is still a lot of work to do between now and May." So to recap the events that lead to this decision, and to gain direction on how to solidify it, read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10812#10812 SUMMIT 40 BLONDIE TOPS PODIUM AT CHINA COAST RACE When a great venue like Hong Kong decides to focus on a single boat type, fantastic sailing is sure to follow. In 2010, Hong Kong decided to get into 40 ft, IRC racing in a big way, with the biggest event being the RHKYC China Coast Regatta. Summit 40 "Blondie" took the top honors in IRC B with 5 firsts and a second, without having to sail the final race. Second and third were "Ambush" and "Mandrake", both custom Mills designs. For the newest from Summit Yachts, and Mark Mills, go to http://www.summit-yachts.com IS IT STILL FAIR GAME TO DRIVE THEM DEEP? By Matt Knowles, Unruly blog ISAF just posted Q&A 2010-038, which simply asks if the conclusion of ISAF Case 78 holds for an event that is not raced in one-design boats. Case 78 holds that: "A boat may position herself in a tactically controlling position over another boat and then slow that boat's progress so that other boats pass both of them, provided that, if she is protested under rule 2 (Fair Sailing) for doing so, the protest committee finds that that there was a reasonable chance of her tactic benefiting her series result. However, she breaks rule 2 if she intentionally breaks another rule to increase the likelihood of the tactic succeeding." I think most people agree that in one design racing it is legitimate for a boat to cover another (or otherwise try to make her race worse) as long as two conditions are met: 1) the first boat is acting to improve her position in the race or series, rather than out of spite, to get revenge, or so on; and 2) the first boat does not break any rules in order to hinder the performance of the second boat. However, I think it is a much harder call in a handicap fleet such as IRC or PHRF. Consider a scenario where a faster boat needs to drive a slower boat to the back of the fleet in the last race of a series in order to force the slower boat to burn her throwout on the race. Now, in one design racing, keeping a cover and driving someone deep takes quite a bit of skill. On the other hand, if you have a faster boat, it is quite easy; even if you mess up and the boat passes you, you can pass them right back. There is almost nothing the slower boat can do to escape. Is it still fair game to drive them deep? I'm not so sure... but even though this Q&A is not binding, it would now be hard to satisfy the strict requirement for penalization under rule 2 that the act be a clear-cut breach of sportsmanship given that there is an ISAF document saying it is OK. What do you think? AUTHOR: Matt Knowles is a member of the US SAILING Racing Rules Committee and publishes the 'Unruly' rules blog. -- http://tinyurl.com/Unruly-111510 RIDING UP THE LEARNING CURVE American Terry Hutchinson's star has risen from a two-time College Sailor of the Year at Old Dominion University (1989 and 1990) to a 3-time America's Cup competitor. But for his fourth campaign, his position on America's Cup challenger Artemis Racing team will be his first on the helm, and as fate would have it, the helm this time is attached to a catamaran. Scuttlebutt will occasionally share updates from Terry to join him on his ride up this learning curve: "The last two days of two boat sailing in Key Biscayne, Florida have been remarkable. North to northeast breeze, 8-16 knots. Lots of refinement going on with both boats. I would still be giving the edge to Santi (Tornado World Champion and Olympic medalist Santiago Lange) and the guys upwind but we are getting a lot closer. Rake adjustments, rig tune, diamond tension and remembering that while there are two hulls it is still a sailboat and applying all the same principals to sail trim is all in order. The process is great and we are incredibly fortunate to have the help of all the guys. "To give you a little bit of an idea of our process of testing Coach Nick (Moloney) sets up a windward-leeward course with a gate. We do a 3 minute sequence to our respective ends and get in a good time and distance drill. From the start it is a drag race to the top mark working on mode and technique. At the top mark it is another race to the leeward gate where we do the bottom mark rounding stop assess the boats' performance up and downwind and then off again. All and all over the last two days we have done 12 runs. "Five hours a day on one of these boats is much different and more difficult than anything we are used to. We are all whipped, and though it is a lot of work it is great fun too." Team website: http://www.artemisracing.com ISAF SUSPENDED SAILORS The following sailors have their ISAF eligibility suspended: Adrian Elsener (SUI), Anti doping violation (3 months), until Jan 12, 2011 Axel Trehin (FRA), Anti doping violation (6 months), until March 16, 2011 Jean-Pierre Nicol (FRA), Anti doping violation (6 months), until Apr 7, 2011 Etienne van Zyl (RSA), Anti doping violation (2 years), until Nov 22, 2011 The above mentioned sailors - according to ISAF Regulation 19 - may not participate in the following events: 1. the sailing regatta of the Olympic Sailing Competition; 2. the sailing events of Regional Games recognized by the International Olympic Committee; 3. events including "ISAF" in their titles; 4. world and continental championships of ISAF classes and world championships of the IMS, Major Events and other events approved by ISAF as a World Championship; 5. any event at which the Organizing Authority, Member National Authority or ISAF has appointed an International Jury or International Umpires, International Race Officers, International Measurers or ISAF Technical Delegates to serve in their capacity for which they hold a Certificate of Appointment issued by ISAF; 6. any event approved by a Member National Authority of the ISAF as an Olympic qualifying event; and 7. any event designated by a Member National Authority within its jurisdiction as requiring ISAF eligibility. Source: http://www.sailing.org/sailors/suspended-sailors.php => Curmudgeon's Comment: I would have thought that if ISAF went to the trouble of suspending someone from the sport, then they would REALLY suspend them from the sport. The list of events a suspended sailing is not allowed to participate in is hardly limiting. FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS FROM NORTH SAILS GEAR Jump start your holiday shopping this week and save $$$ with free shipping on all orders from North Sails Gear through Sunday, November 21st.* We have new bags, a huge selection of tees, and a variety of cozy sweatshirts and fleece tops to choose from. We have also just added a slew of new items to our clearance section including camouflage tees, kids jackets & vests, sweatshirts, sandals and more! Offer valid on surface shipping in North America only. Use coupon code SHIPBLUE at checkout. http://www.northsailsgear.com LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY DUBAI Dubai, UAE (November 15, 2010) - Light winds postponed the start of racing for the second day at the Louis Vuitton Dubai, finally getting under way an hour and a half later in a building northerly breeze. Later in the afternoon a gusty, dusty breeze off the desert heralded an easterly wind shift and briefly postponed competition before racing restarted in 15-knot northeaster. The delays ultimately forced the postponement of the second match between Synergy Russian Sailing Team and Mascalzone Latino Audi until tomorrow (Tuesday). While both BMW Oracle Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand won both their races against Artemis Racing and All4One, respectively, things did not go as smoothly for Mascalzone Latino Audi. Sailing NZL-84, their first breakage was the gearbox of the winch, restricting the team's grinders when tacking or gybing. This failure was followed by the accidental opening of the spinnaker halyard clip that allowed Synergy Russian Sailing Team to pass and win their lone race. The short, tight racecourses - the first leg is measuring .8 nautical miles and the start-finish line serves as a mid-course gate - has proven to place a premium on accurate laylines. "From a navigator's point of view there's plenty going on," said Ian Moore, BMW Oracle navigator. "With the mid-course gate there's a whole new set of laylines to worry about upwind and downwind. You need a slightly different mindset because there's a chance of a penalty situation at the gate, but it's good. It's a change, it's different, it's interesting." Current standings (Team, Country, Helm, Tactician) 1. BMW Oracle Racing (USA), James Spithill/John Kostecki, 4-0, 4 pt 2. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker/Ray Davies, 3-1, 2.5 pt* 3. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS), Francesco Bruni/Rod Dawson, 2-1, 2 pt 4. Artemis (SWE), Cameron Appleton/Iain Percy, 1-3, 1 pt 5. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (ITA), Gavin Brady/Morgan Larson, 1-2, 0 pt* 5. ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), Sebastien Col/John Cutler, 0-4, 0 pt * Scoring penalty deducted by Umpires VIDEO: Ever see a spinnaker pole spear through a hull? Here it is from Sunday when Emirates Team New Zealand stuck their pole into the side of Mascalzone Latino: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0zA-xHJdgU BACKGROUND: The Louis Vuitton Trophy series was designed to be a cost-effective format for match racing competition in Version 5 America's Cup Class boats. Racing will continue to the November 27th. There will be live streaming coverage with VirtualEye for the entire regatta, with video highlights after racing. Look for enhanced live coverage of the final days of racing. Event website: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/ SAILING SHORTS * (November 15, 2010; Day 30) - While American Brad Van Liew has been reveling in his victory in the first ocean sprint of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, the rest of the fleet have been making frustratingly slow progress towards Cape Town. Next to finish should be Zbigniew Gutkowski (POL), expected to complete his 493 nm to the finish by Wednesday. -- Race website: http://www.velux5oceans.com * Buccaneer Yacht Club in Mobile, Alabama hosted twenty-four competitors including ones from the UK, France and Poland for the 2010 North American Finn Masters Championship held Nov 12-14. With warm, sunny skies and mild winds greeting the fleet, Rob Coutts - Russell's brother - led the standings each day but had only a slim two point lead after five races over Michael Mark going into the penultimate day. Coutts then won all three races on Sunday to win the championship over Mark and Peter Frissell, second and third respectively.-- Results: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10814 * Delegates from the 10 stopover ports, six sailing teams and the partners and sponsors of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race will be in Alicante this week for the first Volvo Ocean Race Conference for the 2011-12 edition, from 16-19 November. The event is an opportunity for the ports, teams and the Volvo Ocean Race team to share their knowledge and ambitions. During the 2008-9 race, a daily average of 24,399 spectators visited the race village in each stopover. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-111510 * (November 15, 2010; Day 16) - Lionel Lemonchois secured first place in the Multi 50 class in the 3542 nm Route du Rhum (France to West Indies). This victory completes a notable double in the race's history by Lemonchois winning this multihull class after winning the race outright in 2006 when he set the current course record of 7 days 7 hours 19 mins, 06 secs. -- Event website: http://www.routedurhum-labanquepostale.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php * CORRECTION: In Scuttlebutt 3220 it was incorrectly noted by yachting journalist Kimball Livingston that the Host City Agreement (HCA) between the America's Cup Event Authority and the office of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was signed on Tuesday. While the HCA has been agreed to by both parties, it has not yet been formally signed. -- http://kimballlivingston.com/?p=5311 LIFE AS A PRO SAILOR When your primary source of income is through racing sailboats, there is a very delicate balance committing to teams that are planning to do a lot of events, have a chance of succeeding and hopefully will be a fun team to be involved with. There can often be complicated calendar matrix that develops when trying to figure out the next season of racing, especially when involved with several different classes that have conflicting events. Even though you have an opportunity to win a few events in one class with a particular team, the sailing days are much less than they are with a different team in a different class of boat and when the dates collide, there are some tough decisions to be made. The other thing that is tricky is the all important "commitment". Commitment is all you have. There are no contracts. You are banking on a commitment from the team you are with, and you are giving your commitment to them. If they break theirs, you are left looking for a ride that will be very hard to find if you have turned other teams down already. If you break yours, it had better be for a darn good reason.chances are that bridge is burned. It is always a tense moment when you sign on with a team, inform several others that you are no longer available, than you come to find out that what you had lined up has fallen through, and the teams that were interested before are no longer are. -- by Sam Rogers, read on: http://42marine.com/2011-shaping-up/ GREAT HOLIDAY GIFTS FROM OCEAN RACING Watches make great gifts and for sailors the best come from Optimum Time. They have preprogrammed countdown functions, large displays and waterproof construction. Our waterproof Offshore Backpack & Duffel will hold all your gear, have comfy straps, waterproof zippers plus seams that are sewn and RF welded and taped. http://www.OceanRacing.com SAILING FAMILY OF THE YEAR Sailing is not just a life sport, but also a sport that can be done by all forms of people. Big or small, old or young, man or woman. Even family members. To recognize those families that participate in the sport of sailing, Scuttlebutt launched the "SAILING FAMILY OF THE YEAR" award. This is the inaugural year for the SFOTY award, and interest has gone far beyond expectations. The entry period has now closed, so the real hard work lies ahead for the selection committee. We had originally hoped to announce the winner by November 24th, but have now revised it to December 6th. Some things just can't be rushed. The winning family will be outfitted in team gear courtesy of Atlantis WeatherGear, Camet International, and Harken, along with receiving international recognition and commemorative trophies. Details: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/SFOTY/ CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM So where did Noah keep the woodpeckers on his ark? SPONSORS THIS WEEK Ultimate Sailing - Interlux - Summit Yachts - North Sails Ocean Racing - Doyle Sails - Atlantis WeatherGear - Lewmar Ullman Sails - Harken - The Pirates Lair - Team One Newport Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
