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SCUTTLEBUTT 2369 - June 20, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). WHO WILL WIN THE CUP - Gary Jobson The most exciting moment in the sport of sailing is the first race of the America's Cup. The anticipation is high, the sailors are nervous and the syndicate sponsors and backers are anxious. The stakes are significant because the winner of this regatta takes the America's Cup trophy and the regatta to their home waters. Based on what we have seen in Valencia, Spain, this 156 year old competition is now the "Billion Dollar Cup." The biggest question is always who will win? Emirates Team New Zealand returns to the America's Cup final for the fifth time in the last six Cups. In 2003, the Kiwis were embarrassed on their home waters losing five straight races to Switzerland. But the Swiss boat was sailed by a New Zealand skipper, tactician and sail trimmers. This time, Switzerland has an American helmsman, Ed Baird of St. Petersburg, FL, and the Kiwis have an American tactician, Terry Hutchinson, calling the shots. The performance of these two sailors may be the key to success for both teams. -- Read on for Gary’s complete breakdown of these 2 teams, and his prediction on who will win: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0619 REINSTATE THE NATIONALITY RULES – YES OR NO One of the changes to the 32nd America’s Cup was to abolish the nationality rules for the sailors. The existing rules were being abused, and by removing the borders, sailors were now – for the first time ever – able to sail with whatever team they desired. Every team took advantage of this new reality. The newer teams profited from the available knowledge and experience, while the experienced teams further fine-tuned their profile. Now some folks aren’t so sure that this change was good. Strong countries lost key personnel, fans lost the ability to cheer for their country, and the concept of “a friendly competition between countries" was gone for good. For each Cup the rules can be changed, so the question for the 33rd America’ s Cup is whether the nationality rules should be reinstated. Cast your vote and add your comments: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/07/0619 AMERICA’S CUP MATCH First team to win 5 races in the 9 race series Challenger: Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 Defender: Alinghi (SUI) _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ = 0 * Race schedule: Racing begins Saturday, June 23rd, with the second race on Sunday before the first rest day on Monday. -- Complete schedule: http://www.americascup.com/en/americascup/program/calendrier.php * Security: The Madrid Government has now installed a military detachment to look out for security in the Americas Cup Port as well as Valencia Port due to the possible threat of terrorist action this summer. As a result of the Cup races that start on Saturday, a huge security detail will be on duty to ensure that everything passes off without a hitch. Both Antonio Camacho the Secretary of State for Security and Rita Barbera, the Mayoress of Valencia have assured all concerned that in their opinion there is enough security already in place at the Port for the Races to take place successfully. It has also been revealed that part of the security operation is already in place - the blockade of the airspace around Valencia for the event. All in all some two thousand security personnel are now involved in looking out for the safety of everyone involved in the Americas Cup. -- Valencia Life Network, mailto:publisher@valencialife.net * Waka Wackiness: The 16-paddler waka, originally provided by the Toi Maori (Maori Arts) organisation to show support for Team New Zealand at the start of the challenger series in April, was left in Valencia in hopes of supporting the team if they made it to the America’s Cup match. Rumors have been swirling about how Alinghi has refused permission for a waka to accompany Team New Zealand to the starts of the America's Cup final, but it was ETNZ that has decided against it. -- Full report on the BOR blog: http://blog.bmworacleracing.com/stories/3318348 * Protest upheld: America's Cup Defender, Alinghi, has won a protest over a series of Public Interpretations given by the ACC Technical Director, Ken McAlpine. The three interpretations relate to the seemingly innocuous matter of whether backstays can be led forward when not in use. -- Sail World, full story: http://www.sail-world.com/nz/index.cfm?nid=34718&rid=6 QUOTE / UNQUOTE "We've done a good job at Alinghi. This is not a prediction about the America's Cup. We have to win. We have to keep the Cup in Europe." -- Rolf Vrolijk, principal designer for Alinghi. Full story at Got Live: http://tinyurl.com/2sbqmh WANT THE “EDGE” ON GEAR? For Mount Gay Rum gear – that is! The Pirate’s Lair offers the exclusive line of Mount Gay Rum apparel, gear, and accessories. The line offers moisture wicking items as well as traditional cotton apparel, bags, flasks, glassware and more. Search for an exceptional gift for a sailor - all with the legendary Mount Gay Rum logo. Look for Mount Gay Rum items with regatta names on sale at sponsored regattas in 2007. A list of all the Mount Gay Rum sponsored regattas is at mountgay.com; to purchase Mount Gay Rum gear in advance, call The Pirate’s Lair at 888-SAIL-BUM or http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing LIGHT AIR AND CURRENT FOR ISLAND RACE Block Island, R.I. (June 19, 2007) -- Block Island, where there are no street addresses and where winding dirt roads lead to rented crew houses, today shared its more glorious side with 2000 sailors competing in the Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race Week XXII presented by Rolex. The traditional around-the island race, typically saved for mid-week, was moved up a day by the race committee due to a frontal passage expected Wednesday. The result was a predominantly light-air race that kept tacticians on their toes for 18 miles and provided crews on 183 boats with panoramic views of the island's stunning natural scenery. Landmarks to ogle were the 125-year-old Southeast Lighthouse, the 250-foot Mohegan Bluffs and the Clayhead Nature Trails. For a second day, current played a major role in determining results, and Robert Towse's Blue Yankee, with Steve Benjamin driving, played it the best among boats in the IRC Super Zero class. After a stellar start off New Harbor, Blue Yankee headed to the beach where there was less current and more wind, then led its class around the course while finding lanes to eventually pass 15 classes that started beforehand. With the Rolex US-IRC National Championships at stake here, Blue Yankee is looking to be a top contender. "I can definitely say the boat is performing as it was intended," said Benjamin. "She's doing quite well and sailing to her rating." -- Media Pro Int’l, complete report and results: http://www.blockislandraceweek.com * Daily video shows of each day’s racing: http://www.t2p.tv ERICSSON UPDATES * The Ericsson Racing Team has named seven new sailors to join skipper John Kostecki’s Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 team: Tony Mutter, Dave Endean, Noel Drennan, Brad Jackson, Richard Mason, Stu Bannatyne and Ryan Godfrey. -- Full report: http://www.ericssonracingteam.com/news.html * ABN Amro One, winner of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006, will bid a final goodbye to her homeland on Tuesday. The Dutch Volvo Open 70 will set sail for Stockholm, Sweden, where she will compete in one final regatta, the Eurocard Round Gotland Race, before being handed over to the Ericsson Racing Team who will use her as a training boat for the next Volvo Ocean Race. OLYMPIC UPDATE Only a few days remain until the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships get underway in Cascais. Portugal. From 28 June-13 July, 11 World titles are at stake as well as 75% of the places in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. With the teams now having arrived, the place is starting to feel the nervous buzz typical of the build up to a major competition. 1,564 sailors from 76 nations are expected to compete in 1,037 boats. -- Complete update: http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1qFniBqB&format=popup * Traffic to the World’s website is going to be huge, which means that they are going to need to bolster up their capacity. Hopefully there won’t be a repeat from the 2004 Olympics (or the 2007 Miami Olympic Classes Regatta), where the websites crashed at the start of racing because of the higher-than-expected traffic volume. -- Event site: http://www.cascaisworlds2007.com * Some of the top sailors are using Kieler Woche in Kiel, Germany as a final tune-up for the Worlds. A thermal breeze on Tuesday developed around midday offering moderate sailing conditions for the Olympic classes on all regatta courses, with all fleets getting in 3 races except the Star and Finn, finishing only 2 races. The top North Americans that have qualified to participate in Wednesday’s medal race are: in the Laser Radial (62 entrants) is Tania Elias Calles (MEX; 7th); in the Star (26 entrants) is Rick Merriman/ Rick Peters (USA; 3rd), George Szabo/ Magnus Liljedahl (USA; 4th), and Peter Bromby/ Bill McNiven (BER; 6th); in the RS:X Men windsurfer (48 entrants) is Benjamin Barger (USA; 4th) and Robert Willis (USA; 8th). -- Complete results: http://vivawasser.kielerwoche.de/flash/ergebnisse.html ANNIVERSARY LIST The Scuttlebutt Forum started a thread back in January when it was noticed that there were a ton of anniversaries occurring this year. Among them is Harken’s 40th anniversary, where there is now a section of their website dedicated to their milestones and infamous products. Here’s a story about a Harken product that some of the ‘buttheads might have missed: “About 10 years ago, we had Harken Fly Swatters made up for the Mackinac Race. One was returned broken, with flies stuck all over it from an ‘extremely disappointed customer’ who said he had always thought highly of Harken products, but was really disappointed and angry about the flyswatter which had only lasted a few swats. Upset, our swatter idea man brought it to the manager’s meeting looking for a way to mollify the irate customer. Of course, it was a set up.” An updated list of all the anniversaries, along with a Harken link to send them stories, is at http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5112#5112 FOWLE MEMORIAL TROPHY The Leonard M. Fowle Memorial Trophy, recognizing the year’s best all-around performance in college sailing, has been awarded to the College of Charleston (Charleston, S.C.). The award has been presented since 1972 and is determined by points accumulated at the six major Intercollegiate Sailing Association Championships. Last fall the Cougars had two major victories: at the ICSA/Vanguard Women’s Singlehanded Championship freshman Shannon Heausler (Tampa, Fla.) won the 11-race series with 55 points [teammate and fellow freshman Allison Blecher (Fullerton, Calif.) placed second on 61 points]; and after finishing in the top-five in all but two races, including three bullets, the Cougars won the ICSA Sloop National Championship by a 10-point margin. With their win of the ICSA/Gill Coed National Championship at the beginning of June, the College of Charleston became the first college in 12 years to successfully defend that title. Moving into the lead on day two of the three-day championship, the Cougars’ [senior skipper Russ O’Reilly (Charleston, S.C.) with junior crew Megan Riddle (Vermilion, Ohio) sailing in A-Division, and senior skipper Brendan Healy (Arnold, Md.) with sophomore crew Britney Haas (San Diego, Calif.) in B-Division] tallied 225 points over 36 races (18 in each division) to retain the title by nine points over Dartmouth College. It is the fourth time (1998, 1988, 1986) the College of Charleston has won the Fowle Memorial Trophy. In their 30-year history, they have produced 76 ICSA All-American honorees. -- http://www.collegesailing.org/news/2007awardsrelease.asp SAN DIEGO + ANNAPOLIS + DETROIT + CHICAGO = NOODIFUL What do San Diego, Annapolis, Detroit, and Chicago have in common? They’re all great sailing cities, they’ve all hosted a NOOD this year - and the winner of the Beneteau 36.7 class in each NOOD was powered by Doyle. Doyle offshore one-design clients are finding not only that their sails are faster than the competition but that the Doyle Set-Up and Tuning Guides help them go faster across a wide range of conditions. You can go faster in 2007, too; take the first step by calling Doyle Sailmakers at 1-800-94-DOYLE or by finding your local Doyle loft at: http://www.doylesails.com SOLO CHALLENGE On Saturday, June 23rd the 29th Port Huron to Mackinac Solo Challenge and the 11th Chicago to Mackinac Solo Challenge will begin simultaneously. Sanctioned by the Great Lakes Singlehanded Society, completion of one of these events is required to gain lifetime membership in the Society. The Solo Challenges bring out the ultimate in both boat and skipper – they require a skipper who must manage not only the racecourse, but also the sometimes demanding weather conditions, vessel upkeep, and last but certainly not least, the skipper himself. These events have taken in excess of four days to complete, and something as simple as sleeping must be scheduled carefully. There is no outside assistance allowed, although fellow competitors may offer advice and encouragement. Commercial weather routing is not allowed; it is a truly self-sufficient passage from start to finish. Fewer than 220 sailors have completed the Challenge since the first Port Huron to Mackinac Solo in 1979. The 2007 Mac Solo Challenges will feature nearly 50 skippers, competing in a wide range of vessels from monohulls, to multis, from 23-foot cruisers to 50-foot ocean racers. Tracking software to learn about the entrants and to follow the race is at http://www.solosailor.org SAILING SHORTS * Last November, the OneTouch winch handle won the prestigious DAME award at the trade-only Mets show in Amsterdam. The inventor/ patent holder of the design had licensed the manufacturing and marketing of this metal version, but retained the rights to a composite version that is now available. Details here: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5088#5088 * Twenty-six Finn sailors descended on the idyllic setting of Gull Lake, Michigan during June 13-17 to conduct their 2007 class US Championship. Mother Nature failed to produce, and racing was conducted in very light and shifty conditions. The fleet managed to endure the lengthy onshore postponements with cold kegs, cribbage, and horseshoes. Painfully, four races were finished out of the three days and a series was deemed complete. Andy Casey sailed consistently to win the championship, Geoff Ewenson 2nd, Don Jesberg 3rd, Andy Kern 4th and Tad Springer 5th. Results: http://www.nafinnclass.org/results/nationals.pdf * On June 23-24, over 250 boats will compete at the 2007 Summer Sailstice Celebration in San Francisco Bay making it one of the largest regattas on the West Coast. The Treasure Island Sailing Center and the Yacht Racing Association of SF Bay will host sailing on 5 race-courses featuring One-design, Juniors, and PHRF fleets. Additional information at http://www.tisailing.org/sailstice07/sail07.html * North Sails has partnered with Sailing Weather Services to provide FREE weather forecasts for the Sperry Top-Sider Toronto NOOD Regatta from June 22-24, 2007. To receive these daily detailed forecasts, log on to North Sails' Weather Center: http://na.northsails.com/ew/ew_main.taf LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Steve Old: Reading Chris Caswell's excerpt from Sailing Magazine in 'butt 2368 reminded me of an excerpt from the book "Sopranino," which I'm sure most cruising folk will relate to it: "Cruising" One day an island will rise out of the sea ahead of you like the fairy castle in a child's storybook. Within two days you are part of the place! You have your own pet restaurants and bars, and people hail you as you walk down the street, and as time goes on, you get to know all about the private life of the girl behind the counter in the sweetshop. Then suddenly, one day, you sail away. And all that life and all those people sink into the ocean behind you, as if they had never been, and then for a while you will be alone on the sea, seemingly motionless, until the next place comes up. And you start all over again... Curmudgeon’s Comment: For those interested in learning more about this book, it can be found on Amazon.com at http://tinyurl.com/uzumk * From Dave Few, Past Chair and still active member of NCPHRF handicap committee: Relative to your lead article (in Issue 2368, ‘Where Have All The Dock Parties Gone?’), I suggest you get a berth at Coyote Point Marina, San Mateo CA on dock # 12. We may not have big formal bar-b-q’s but I almost always find someone at my berth to make the lines fast and assist in the berthing of my Cal 25-2 and to share a beer or glass of wine or 2. It was the same from 1979 to 1994 on dock #12 (big end) with my C&C-36 before we downsized to our current senior citizens little Cal 25. * From Alexandra "Sandra " Welsh, Nantucket, MA: The Versus broadcasting has been done well and the reason is Craig, Peter, Andy, and Tucker have kept it simple as in KISS (Keep its Simple, Stupid) .To that end they have acquired many new racing fans. I have been involved with the inimitable Dawn Riley, Skipper and CEO, in many female and mixed-crew sailing endeavors over the years. Dawn's race coverage commentary sets a criterion. I suggest you include female representation in the next Versus America's Cup and /or race coverage. We woman are out there and first woman crews in International Ocean Racing opened the floodgate for female fans all over the world. Hi to Tucker. I recall he was, as a young entrepreneur, trying to corner the market on retainer straps for sailing caps in New Zealand in 2000 with Dawn Riley and America True. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION When you have a lot of things to do, get your nap out of the way first. Special thanks to Mount Gay Rum Gear and Doyle Sailmakers. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
