SCUTTLEBUTT No. 768 - March 8, 2001

Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome.

NEW STARTING RULES - Tom Farquhar, Chairman, US SAILING Race Management Committee

In the Racing Rules of Sailing ("RRS") for 2001-2004, there is only one starting system. This five-minute sequence includes the best parts of System 2, which was used primarily in North America, and System 1. The principal advantage of the new system is that the quality of the racing can be improved, since the race committee has an opportunity to adjust the starting line before each starting sequence (without a postponement) and to change the time between successive starts. For large classes and in some other circumstances, more than one minute is appropriate between the warning and the preparatory signals. If you want to change that interval you need to state the change in the sailing instructions.

A very similar system has been in use for some time. The six-minute version of it was called "System 3", has been in the rulebook since 1997, and was used in many places for both single and multiple class events, including the Olympics in Savannah. System 3 has been discussed for over two years in the US SAILING Race Management Seminars.

There are other advantages of the new system vs. System 2:
á Some flag is up throughout the sequence, including the last minute before the starting signal--competitors should always know what class is in its starting sequence.
á The use of flags gives the race committee flexibility to display the visual signals where they will have maximum visibility. Shapes, commonly used with System 2, were generally on halyards in fixed locations.
á Flags on poles can be displayed or lowered quickly, which is helpful to competitors who are looking for accurate time signals.
á If halyards are used, only two are needed for the starting signals (for one class). More are needed for the recall signals.
á Class flags provide an almost foolproof way of letting the competitors know who is supposed to be starting.
á The race committee uses the same procedure for all starts--those with starting penalties (flag I, Z, Z and I, or black flag) and those without (flag P). This should reduce errors.

Class flags are required to implement this starting system. However, class flags can be whatever the sailing instructions define them to be.

Clubs and other local sailing organizations that want to use some other starting system can do so, as long as they include the system in full in their sailing instructions, and state that it replaces the system in RRS 26.

A more complete description of the starting system and its benefits can be found at www.ussailing.org/racemgmt/New_Starting_System/index.htm.

BACARDI CUP
MIAMI, Fl. (March 7, 2001) - After two days of uncooperative weather, the world's best sailors took to Miami's Biscayne Bay for the second race of the Bacardi Cup Star-Class Regatta. With winds gusting at an average of 12-15 knots, Brazil's Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira chose the left side of the starting line - away from most of the 65-fleet field - and led from start to finish to easily win Wednesday's race.

"We're feeling pretty good about today," Grael said. "This might be the first time a non-North American wins the Bacardi Cup, but it is still too early to talk about this."

The victory, however, was not good enough to catapult the Olympic bronze medalists to first place overall. The top spot in the Bacardi Cup now belongs to Australian skipper Colin Beashel and crew David Giles, who finished in second place for the second consecutive race. Grael and Ferreira, who are competing in their fourth Bacardi Cup, are in second place overall.

Olympic gold medalists Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljedahl, who won the opening race, finished 17th Wednesday, dropping the pair to 5th overall. Liljedahl won the BACARDI Cup in 1997 and 1998 with Reynolds and in 1996 with Vince Brun. Reynolds, from San Diego, is a six-time Bacardi Cup champion.

"We had a lot of opportunities to do better today, but never really did anything with them," said Liljedahl who is from Coral Gables. "We weren't really able to clear our wind so we had to tack several times. We went left and the wind went right, but that is sailboat racing." - http://www.starclass.org/

BACARDI CUP STANDINGS (after two races): 1. Colin Beashel/David Giles (Australia), 2-2, 4; 2. Torben Grael/Marcelo Ferreira (Brazil), 4-1, 5; 3. Rod Davis/Mark Dolan (New Zealand), 6-6, 12; 4. Paul Cayard/Hal Haenel (United States) 3-13, 16; 5. Mark Reynolds/Magnus Liljedahl (San Diego/Coral Gables), 1-17, 18; 6. Douglas Schofield/Robert Schofield (Annapolis), 10-11, 21; 7. John MacCausland/Phil Trinter (United States), 5-18, 23; 8. Ben Mitchell/Rick Peters (Los Angeles),19-7, 26; 9. George Szabo/Billy Hollowesko (San Diego/Nassau), 17-10, 27; 10. James Freeman/Bruce Hatfield (New York), 28-3, 31.

EVERYWHERE
They are absolutely everywhere. They're in Norway, Japan, Spain, the UK and Canada. There are two each in Australia and Mexico. Italy has three and there are 10 in the USA. That's 22 in all, and every one of these Ullman sail lofts will give a quote on a new sail to show you just how affordable improved performance can be for your boats: http://www.ullmansails.com

THE RACE
Team Legato has reported they are caught in the mother of all storms in the Southern Ocean.
Skipper Tony Bullimore was able to send this information just before his boat entered a position which will prevent any further communication until it reach around 83 degrees West, a legacy of their satellite communication pod being washed overboard as they approached New Zealand.

Late on Tuesday GMT, the British skipper reported: "It's cold, bitterly cold, and we are being tossed around like mad because the boat is continually smashing into big waves. There is water just everywhere, including our bunks, and with the continuous banging and bouncing, it is almost impossible to sleep. We had no alternative but to slow down, but we still expect to get to Cape Horn at the weekend."

This latest test of nerves set by the Southern Ocean is sure to hamper Team Legato's efforts to reach Marseille within the 30-day deadline of the winner, Club Med. Bullimore's boat needs to maintain a daily average of 330 nautical miles (nm), but after a chalking up a succession of 400nm days, the latest 24-hour statistic to 09:30 GMT showed a dip in required daily distance to 319nm. - - Martin Cross, NOW Sports website

Full report: http://www.now.com/feature.now?fid=1349295&cid=997704

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON leweck@earthlink.net
(Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold your e-mail address on request.)

* From: John McBrearty mcbrearty@earthlink.net
With all due respect to the gentleman who compared sailboat racing to golf consider the following: Tiger Woods doesn't have (or need) a crew; has no idea what a system 3 start is (me neither); has never sanded the bottom of a boat; and, most importantly, is involved in a pastime (they call it a sport) that millions of people all over the world consider to be their "sport".

Sailboat racing will become popular when, at least, one of the following happens:
1. You can carry a boat on your back for 18 holes. (just joking, you CAN use a cart.)
2. We have a national hero who will capture the psyche of the nation.
3. Or, seriously, we develop a youth program that puts sailing into the mainsteam, as opposed to being looked at as an "elitist sport". How much does a good set of golf clubs cost? Hockey pads? Football gear?

The bottom line is that we will get all the TV coverage, corporate sponsorship, etc., when we shed the image of being elitist and show the world that anyone can crew, skipper and/or own a racing sailboat. If that happens, we will be in for a wild ride.

* From: Sergey Leonidov starcrew@usa.net
I am writing in response to George Bailey's letter about need for direct contact and violence in sailing to promote the sport to the general public. I think his comparison to the popular TV sports is proper. I think the reference to the Survivor show is proper too. However, I think he forgets that in sailing there already exists one great and strong adversary to the crew, the sea. The water can kick your butt like no other line backer can. There is no need to stage violence - there is plenty of it in the races. You just need to film and present it properly, without the usual cheese, melodrama and cliche's of the exsiting sailing programs. Yves stuffed his bow and lost his rig, yet he is most likely to complete the other half of Vendee. In the meantime, he has survived on about 800 calories ration. Isn't this enough drama and violence? How about the big cat's crew breaking his teeth after an impact with the wave?

What we really need is more fun-loving and camera-friendly TV show writers and commentators, the kind that would personify even a battle between two machines made of metal. We may even need some competition in the area of TV production of sailing shows to bring new blood in with fresh modern view on the sport. Then the folk can feel the pain and can associate with it, thus making sailing a popular viewer's sport.

* From: David Bauermeister David.Bauermeister@pfizer.com
In response to George Bailey's comments regarding the attributes of sailing as a successful spectator sport, why not go to a Hockey game?

* From: Allan Johnson allanj@networkcommerce.com
With regards to George Bailey's thread: "How to make sailboat racing a spectator sport", let me suggest that the sailing community already has this: It is called the Olympic 49er Class!

* From: Chris Welsh cawelsh@home.com
You want sailing to be more entertaining a la the XFL? We already have seen the prototype. Big Boat Series, 1983-84 vintage. The boat Shockwave, the Shockettes arriving by limousine, and a pair of speakers at least 4 feet tall lashed to the stern pulpit playing heavy metal. If you were there, you know it was entertainment on a grand level.

The Maxi Circuit was still alive, with 7-8 Maxis present, one or two container/machine shops per boat delivered a week in advance, and crews of 25-30. Boomerang, Nirvana, Kialoa IV, Ondine and others. A thriving 50' Class, with a few very entertaining personalities and their boats - Tomahawk, Carat, Brooke Ann (later Crazy Horse), Blade Runner, and a host of noteworthy other boats - Bullfrog, Camouflage, Scarlett O'Hara, Pendragon, Coyote. Forgive me if I missed or misspelled a few or more, but it has been a while.

It was a big era, especially to a 20 year old.

* From: "Colin J. Case" crannis@compuserve.com
Please forgive my precosciousness, but I have a solution to the rating rule problem, with one exception (see below.)

Put Olin Stephens, Bill Lee, Carl Schumacher and one person chosen by each one of them in a room. By lunchtime there will be a workable solution. By quitting time, there will be a good rule.

By the time most of the yachting public finds out about it, 60% will object for some reason.

What's wrong with this picture?

* From: Tom Priest Thomas.Priest@HSC.com
I have a question regarding Bill Lee's measurement methods for a two-class IMS as he proposes. If one class is the "grandfather class" (ie: somewhat "older" boats) and the other class is the "balls to the wall" class (with all the latest "go-fast" stuff), WHEN and HOW does a "new boat" become an "old boat"? A year from now, how does this former go-fast guy stay fast with the newer boys OR how does he NOT blow the doors off the "older" old guys? It seems to me you have a constantly moving target.

* From: Dave Vickland Davic86@aol.com
Regarding IMS, IOR, CCA, IRC, IRM, IRS, TVA, TWA, and other rules, if one really wants to test one's sailboat racing potential against other sailors, and if one truly wants to discover the joy of competition, win or lose, one will get himself a sailboat just like the sailboats that other people are racing in his area and go to it.

Get out there and test yourself in a one-design fleet. Find out what you are made of, and get out of the "it's not fair, his boat has a longer waterline" arguments. There is a whole lotta whining going on... "Mommy, Johnny won't let me use his bat!"

For joyful and competitive one-design sailors, the competition ends at the finish line; the party begins at the dock.

CLUB MED
The giant blue Club Med catamaran that sailed to Marseilles and victory in The Race on Saturday evening didn't have as trouble free a passage around the world as the crew would have liked. by far the most alarming problem was a primary structural failure resulting in an area of delamination around one of the main crossbeam roots, the area where the crossbeam that supports the mast, joins the hull.

Skipper Grant Dalton explained: "We were fine until about 5000 miles from the finish, which is 75% of the distance around the world, when we suffered some nasty structural core shear, or delamination under one of our beams, exactly where the front beam joins the starboard hull." Apart from a few spare parts we also took three amazing guys - our Three Man Army, Neal MacDonald, Ed Danby and Jan Dekker - they could fix anything, with hardly any parts. And when we found the de-lamination problem they just got inventive. We had to steal parts from other areas in the boat, for example the bolts we used we 'borrowed' from the base of each winch, we took two from each winch, and we took a few from the generator..."

On 7th March they traveled to Club Med World in Paris to meet and celebrate with the rest of the Club Med team Ð including the GOs, Gentils Organisateurs, that work at the Paris Headquarters. After this long weekend together the team will start to go their separate ways. Some of the crew will return to Marseilles to work on the refit of the boat while others will return home to have a holiday before starting their next projects.

Among the latter group navigator Mike Quilter will be returning to New Zealand to rejoin America's Cup defenders Team New Zealand where he will be working with Club Med's weather router Roger "Clouds" Badham. Englishman Neal MacDonald will also be stepping into the America's Cup arena when he joins the Great Britain Challenge team based in Cowes, Isle of Wight. - http://www.catamaran.clubmed.com

HONORS
March 7, 2001 - Francesco de Angelis has been officially invested this morning as "Honorary Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM)" by His Excelleny The Governor-General of New Zealand Sir Michael Hardie Boys in recognition to his services to yachting and Italian-New Zealand relations. The investiture ceremony took place at 10.30 am at Government House in Wellington. Francesco was awarded this title last 4 June, whilst training in Italy, in recognition of "his excellent sporting achievements during the XXX America's Cup. His sportsmanship and the high profile of team Prada considerably enhanced the profile of Italy in New Zealand".

It is the first time that an Italian citizen receives this title. The Order of Merit is for people who "in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits". Besides de Angelis, other 56 people were invested today in recognition to their outstanding services in many different fields - the community, the arts, scientific research, education, business, the army, sport. - Alessandra Ghezzi

GOOD STUFF
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MEXORC
Banderas Bay was crawling with wildlife last week, including whales, dolphins, turtles and even a few sea snakes for the 25th edition of MEXORC. Six windward/leewards, one rainy (and abbreviated) Olympic triangle race, and one beautiful 28-mile distance race were held. Rolexes (for class winners) went to Pendragon (Davidson 52, John MacLaurin, Marina del Rey), Nitissima (R/P 44, Jorge Ripstein, Acapulco), Sidewinder (R/P 43, Ricardo Brockman, Acapulco), Bagheera (J/120, Pancho Guzman, Acapulco) and Azteca (Capri 37, Flores/Myers, Puerto Vallarta). The cantaloupe-colored Nitissima won overall, with tactics by Dave 'Sr. MEXORC' Ullman and his largely gringo crew. - 'Lectronic Latitude

Full report:
http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/Mar2001/March6/Mar6.html#anchor998023
Complete results: http://www.mexorc.com.mx/

TRANSPAC
Following is the present entry list for the Transpacific YC's June/July race to Honolulu in the Racing and Doublehanded divisions - www.transpacificyc.org
á Triumph (Santa Cruz 52), Howard Diethrich, Phoenix, Ariz.
á Grand Illusion (Santa Cruz 70), James McDowell, Haiku, H.I.
á LawnDart (Fast 40), Bill Allan, Nanaimo, B.C.
á Baronesa V (Open 40), Shuichi Ogasawara, Japan
á Ouch (J/120), Ted Mayes, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
á Rocket Science (Riptide 55), Nguyen Le, Amsterdam
á Medicine Man (Andrews 61), Bob Lane, Long Beach, Calif.
á Mystere (Swan 42), Jorge Morales, Laguna Niguel, Calif.
á Pyewacket (Reichel/Pugh 73), Roy e. Disney, Los Angeles, Calif.
á Merlin's Reata (Lee 68), Al Micallef, Ft. Worth, Tex.
á Unnamed (Sydney 41), Seth Radow, Marina del Rey, Calif.
á Uproarious (Olson 40), Robert Bussard, Santa Fe, N.M.
á Firebird (Nelson/Marek 55), Greg Sands, Long Beach, Calif.

DOUBLEHANDED
á ƒtranger (Jutson 50), Howard Gordon, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
á Watercolors (Sabre 402), Michael Abraham, Newport Beach, Calif.

THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
Get the other person's point of view . . . for a lift and a laugh.