|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2872 - Wednesday, June 24, 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are Team One Newport and Doyle Sails. TANGIBLE PROOF OF ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION (Detroit, MI) - The "Pure Michigan Bayview Mackinac Race" will have a positive impact on Michigan's economy this summer powering up to $59.5 million in residual spending on tourism, according to an independent study released today. "The estimated economic value of the Bayview Mackinac race under the finest weather and travel conditions is estimated at $59.5 million," stated noted Economist David Littmann in a recent study on the annual race event. "Even with sub-optimal weather conditions overall spending associated with the race, both direct and indirect, is approximately $30.4 million." Littmann, who served as Comerica Bank's Chief Economist for 30 years before joining the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in 2008, added that the weather impact is related to people actually getting out to attend race related events. He noted the fact that the longevity of the race has created a loyal fan following that comes to Michigan every year to be a part of the race. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/m2f23e AMERICA'S CUP - MONOHULL VERSUS MULTIHULL With all the legal wrangling in the past few years over the format and future of the America's Cup, there's been much speculation on what its effects might be on match race sailing. The event has always been a driving force for enticing new talent into this most exciting form of the sport, even though match race talent has not necessarily been a prerequisite for success: most often, the fastest and best prepared boat will win almost regardless of match race tactics. Nonetheless, the gradual evolutionary tightening of the design box into near-equal boats, as seen in the last 2007 event sailed in the Version 5 America's Cup Class, made match race skill more important than ever. Accordingly, many of the teams were regularly out on the World Match Racing Tour honing their skills to use throughout that cycle of the Cup. And even without a clear future on the format of the next Cup, many teams have remained active on the Tour just to stay polished in their skills should there be any break in the legal logjam. But with that impasse seemingly broken now with a Deed of Gift (DoG) match between the Defender and Challenger as looking as a likely solution, and that match likely being sailed in huge multi-hulls, will it have any effect on match race sailing? -- Dobbs Davis, read on: http://tinyurl.com/WMRT-Issue-31 ON THE TOUR Here is how World Match Racing Tour Card holders view their fellow competitors on the circuit: => Which skipper is the most aggressive out on the water? Ian Williams: We always seem to end up crashing with (Peter) Gilmour so I guess it must be him. Torvar Mirsky: Everyone has their different styles, but Gilmour certainly knows how to attack when he wants to. Adam Minoprio: Mathieu Richard, he is always yelling at me in the pre-starts and has hurt my feelings on the odd occasion. But on a serious note Ian Williams is probably the most aggressive. Mathieu Richard: Gilmour. Sebastien Col: Paolo Cian. Ben Ainslie: Probably Ian Williams. Paolo Cian: Myself. => Who is the loudest skipper? Ian Williams: You can normally hear the Italians from the shore. Torvar Mirsky: Without a doubt Paolo Cian. Adam Minoprio: The little General Paolo Cian, when racing him you always know where he is. Mathieu Richard: Cian of course! Sebastien Col: Paolo Cian. Ben Ainslie: Paolo Cian probably has the highest pitched scream. Paolo Cian: Again... myself???? More at http://tinyurl.com/WMRT-Issue-31 GO KENNY, GO PUMA!! Congrats to Kenny and the PUMA crew and good luck on the last leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. It's a grueling race with incredible conditions and the crew used Z BLOCK sunscreen to protect their skin. It is fragrance free so you won't break out when you use it! Visit the Team One Newport website for your Z BLOCK, and while you are there, get the just released Morning Light DVD! Both products are found on the website in the New Arrivals Section. Or call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327) and a customer service expert can help you! -- http://www.team1newport.com PUMA TEAM RECOGNIZED FOR SEAMANSHIP AND SPORTSMANSHIP Stockholm, Sweden (June 23, 2009) - The great and the good of the Volvo Ocean Race gathered on Monday night in Stockholm's beautiful 'Stadshuset' (City Hall) to celebrate the achievements of the teams on Leg Nine, the Swedish sprint from Marstrand to Stockholm. It was a bittersweet evening for Telefonica Blue, who were awarded the best 24-hour run on the leg, along with the Inmarsat Media Prize, which went to Gabriele Olivo. Also singled out for both their seamanship and sportsmanship were four of the shore crew members from PUMA. Bouwe Bekking, the skipper of Telefonica Blue, nominated the quartet - Neil Cox, Sean Healey, Will Oxley and Kimo Worthington - for the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Seamanship Award, for the assistance they rendered to his team after Telefonica Blue ran aground and was stuck hard on the rock. -- Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-6-23-09 * TEAM RUSSIA: The team suspended racing in Singapore after Leg 3 as a consequence of insufficient funds, but has arrived in Stockholm with just one day left to prepare for the final leg to St. Petersburg that starts on Thursday. However, there are significant hurdles to jump through including crew training, remeasurement, and electronics certification. It is not yet known whether the team can satisfy these requirements in time. * VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2008/9: Began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 4, 2008, crewed around the world race in VO 70's, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. The final event will be Leg 10 from Stockholm, Sweden to St Petersburg, Russia (400 nm), starting on June 25th with the finish expected to be on June 27th. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org/schedule Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP Kiel, Germany (June 23, 2009; Day 4) - After the windless conditions of the last two days it was a relief to see the sponsor flags of the 127th Kieler Woche blowing in a nice breeze this morning. All classes finished their program for the day ready for the Medal Races on Wednesday. "After all these hours of waiting the last two days, it was a good feeling today to have all boats on the water racing. And I am happy that we can sail the Medal Races in all classes which we wanted to achieve for the ISAF Sailing World Cup and for the Kieler Woche as well," said Jobst Richter, Chairman of Kieler Woche Race Committee. With just four races, the Star and Finn were the only classes without sufficient races to permit a drop race. As a result, Silver medalist Zach Railey (USA), which started the series with a BFD starting penalty, will be left out of the Finn Medal Race. In the Star, Mark Mendelblatt/ Mark Strube (USA) have all keepers, and are just two points off the lead. The strongest class for North America continues to be the Laser Radial with Americans Paige Railey and Anna Tunnicliffe in first and third, respectively. Typically the weakest event for the continent, the RS:X mens and womens fleets finds four of the five North Americans qualified for the Medal Race. -- http://www.kielerwoche.de/eng/englishdefault.php GAME TIME: FARR 40 WORLDS Porto Cervo, Italy (June 23, 2009) - Twenty six Farr 40 yachts representing 10 nationalities (AUS, DEN, FRA, GBR, GER, GRE, ITA, SUI, UKR, USA) are ready and waiting for Wednesday's start in the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS). Windward-leeward races will take place June 24-27 with a maximum of ten races scheduled for the series. The forecast for the first day is mistral winds of 15 to 18 knots for the early afternoon which should build later in the day. Although the Farr 40 class is highly competitive and victory often hangs on a team's performance in the last race of the last day, Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino (ITA), three-time Farr 40 World Champion and current title holder will certainly be one to watch. Onorato fields a long-standing team which includes America's Cup sailor Adrian Stead (2003, 2007 on tactics as well as 2007 Italian match race champion Matteo Savelli and Whitbread sailor Gerry Mitchell. -- Read on: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=100093&lang=1 * This week in Scuttlebutt, leading Farr 40 tacticians Francesco Bruni (Giovanni Maspero's Joe Fly) and Terry Hutchinson (Jim Richardson's Barking Mad) viewed the following teams to be the most likely threats in their campaign to win the 2009 Worlds (boat name - owner - tactician): Calvi (ITA) - Carlo Alberini - Gabrielle Benussi Estate Master (AUS) - Lisa & Martin Hill - Nathan Outteridge Fiamma (ITA) - Alessandro Barnaba - Tommaso Chieffi Goombay Smash (USA) - William Douglass - Morgan Larson Kokomo (AUS) - Lang Walker - Colin Beashel Mascalzone Latino (ITA) - Vincenzo Onorato - Adrian Stead Nerone (ITA) - Massimo Mezzaroma - Vasco Vascotto Transfusion (AUS) - Guido Belgiorno-Nettis - Tom Slingsby TWT (ITA) - Marco Rodolfi - Tiziano Nava Farr 40 Worlds website: http://www.farr40worldchampionship.com WHEN THE BOATS ARE IDENTICAL Winning sailors know that when the boats are identical, sails become the major opportunity to gain a performance advantage. At the American Yacht Club Spring Series, Doyle customers won the J/105 (Eclipse), J/122 (Christopher Dragon), and Beneteau 36.7 (Whirlwind) classes. J Boat wins continued with Christopher Dragon dominating the J/122 class at the NYYC 155th Annual Regatta, Wings winning the J/122 class in the Around Jamestown Island Race, and J/95 Banjo winning its class in the Off Soundings Spring Series. When the one designs come down to one, it's Doyle. The big difference in one design. -- http://www.doylesails.com/onedesign BLOCK ISLAND RACE WEEK XXIII Block Island, R.I., USA (June 23, 2009; Day 2) - With the wind backing off after howling relentlessly on opening day, the Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race Week XXIII presented by Rolex today offered physical relief for over 1500 sailors competing here. But the mental concentration required no less intensity, as all but one of 17 classes completed three robust around-the-buoys races. (As scheduled, the Navigator's class for non-spinnaker boats sailed one race.) According to Howie Koss (New York, N.Y.) on Whirlwind in the Beneteau 36.7 class, the wind started out stiffer in the morning (18-24 knots) and lessened by the third race. As a bowman, he didn't necessarily agree about demands on his body diminishing with the weakening winds. "I'm tuckered out, from changing headsails all day," he said, adding that the Race Committee is "really on top of their game" for pulling off yesterday's race in such tough conditions and so many races today. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/BIRW-6-23-09 USING THE TRUE WIND DIRECTION By Scott Young While sailing with Glenn Darden in the NYYC 42 event in Newport (this month at the 155th New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta), I quickly had to get up to speed on the amazing sophistication of the electronics packages availalbe on modern, grand prix racing yachts. For a lake sailor who barely uses a compass, this was quite an eye opening experience. It was truly amazing the level of data input that was available. In fact, it is very easy (and tempting) to get sucked into the instrumentation as if one were playing with a yacht racing video game. We had a tablet computer called the "Deck Man" that linked into the on-board computer that pulled all of the data from the instrumentation system on the boat. I saw several of our competitors sailing to either end of the starting line and "pinging" the ends with their GPS systems to create a virtual starting line on the tablet computer screen. The software then had the capability of showing you in real-time how far off the starting line you were at any given time and computing how much "burn time" you had before you crossed the line given your speed and angle. -- Read on: http://scottyoungsailing.blogspot.com/2009/06/true-wind.html THINKING OF LOU COMYNS "The Transpacific Yacht Race is one of the few races in sailing history that dates back to the beginning of yacht racing in America. Transpac is unique because it pits team against team and man against man versus Mother Nature," said Transpac Director Emeritus, Lou Comyns when he returned from the hospital earlier this week. "Dad is a third generation Transpac sailor, and I'm a fourth generation Transpac sailor," said his daughter, Cindy Comyns-Buffa, as she made a mental catalogue of all of the sailing and maritime organizations and traditions that her father has played a major role in over the years. The long list includes being Staff Commodore of Corsair Yacht Club, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, Long Beach Yacht Club and the Long Beach Power Squadron. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/nbs2as SAILING SHORTS * The Notice of Race for the 2009 Rolex Osprey Cup has been posted online by organizers St. Petersburg Yacht Club (St. Petersburg, Fla.), and women interested in competing should apply for an invitation online through the event website by July 15. The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) Grade 1 match racing regatta - scheduled for October 20-24 - annually attracts the top ranked racers, and was won by Giulia Conti (ITA) in 2008. -- http://www.rolexwomensmatch.org * (June 23, 2009) - The latest casualty in the Marion to Bermuda Race is fleet leader Jonathan Brewin's Big Bear, reportedly having withdrawn due to a torn mainsail. Big Bear's withdrawal leaves Class B Crescendo, Martin Jacobson's Swan 44 MkII (Newport, Rhode Island) at the head of the fleet and looking at possible line honours. They are now facing a strong 25-knot headwind but are expected to finish by Wednesday. The total number of 'did not start' and 'retired' yachts now stands at thirteen and leaves thirty-five boats on the course. -- http://www.marionbermuda.com * After 21 years in business, NEI and her two sales divisions, H&S Yacht Sales and Southwestern Yachts, are ceasing operations. At one time, NEI had California offices in San Francisco, Ventura, Marina Del Rey, Newport Beach, and San Dieg, and a satellite office in Lake Pleasant, AZ. Brands sold and carried in the last year include Beneteau, Lagoon, Jeanneau, Hunter, Navigator and Silverton. Southwestern Yachts had been the top seller of Beneteaus in 4 of the last 6 years. -- http://www.neiyachts.com/ * A final decision is still pending on an extension of the highly successful Louis Vuitton Pacific Series, which will introduce a new world series of sailing regattas using America's Cup class yachts. Initially a formal announcement of the series was expected this coming Friday, however it is expected that this date may slide pending a final 'get-go' for the complex arrangements and logistics. -- Sail World, full story: http://tinyurl.com/ksqt4r WHAT IS YOUR 'MUST DO' EVENT? Each sailing region has its "must do" events, and Scuttlebutt wants to hear about the highlight events in your area. All the event submissions qualify for a raffle, with these two posts noting the virtues of the High Sierra Regatta at Huntington Lake, east of Fresno, CA in July: * "Fantastic dinghy sailing with reliable winds, in a beautiful 7000-foot elevation mountain setting." * "Everyday at 10am the wind comes in like clockwork and you get 10-12 kts. The lake is absolutely beautiful and as you are sailing you just look around and see all the snow capped mountain tops. The people there are so nice and welcoming and the camping is first rate. There are really cool condos there you can rent as well. But, what an awesome lake and every sailor I know I tell about it and I definitely would call it my favorite Lake to race on in the West coast!" => Post your event here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7675 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, 'The Curmudgeon'. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Mike Brown, Chicago, IL: (re, NOOD story in Scuttlebutt 2871) The Chicago sailing community is made up of a ton of classy, respectful, and fun sailors. If I had to choose a team or family that is exemplary of these traits, it would be the J/105 crew of Vytis. I may be somewhat biased having sailed with them as well as against them for many years, but I can say that losing to them and knowing their dedication and sincerity runs deep makes me all that more proud to be a part of Fleet 5 here in Chicago, and more importantly, friends of their crew and families. They have put in their time...and now they have their day in the sun, and it was sunny this past weekend, shining on their accomplishment. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION I have the body of a God.Buddha. Special thanks to Team One Newport and Doyle Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
