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SCUTTLEBUTT 1563 - April 16, 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, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. JOHN BERTRAND At present Bertrand is just sailing the Etchells. He says, "My business activities are all consuming for me. I have a television production company in Melbourne and I'm heavily involved in the philanthropic area. I'm Chairman of the [Australian] Prime Minister's Alannah and Madeline Foundation which raises money for kids who suffer abuse child abuse. We are a world leader in anti-bullying methods in schools throughout Australia. That takes up pretty much all my time, so the sailing's very much on the side. It's a lot of fun and I enjoy it, as long as we continue to be able to get an Etchells around the track! "I'm 57. I keep in pretty good shape. Also racing boats like Etchells keeps you really active. I've got fit for the Etchells for the World Championship. I'm in the gym and doing a little bit of road work. That's terrific. I need projects like that to get myself organised. I teamed up with [my present crew] about twelve months ago." For after the Etchells Worlds in Mooloolaba, Queensland, this August, Bertrand says, "I'm going to take my wife across to Italy next year for the Finn Gold Cup Masters Championships Lake Garda in Italy. The last time I sailed [a Finn] was the 1976 Olympic Games. That's going to be fun. Meet a whole bunch of old mates that I haven't seen for years and have fun and it'll be great for my wife to go along too. - Anne Hinton, full story: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/0415bertrand SAILROCKET It's been dubbed the drag racer of the high seas. Sailrocket is set to blast its way into the record books this year by claiming the world speed sailing record for Britain if the ambitious plans of a Southampton-based designer bear fruit. The £80,000 craft ($143,000 USD), paid for by a host of companies around the Solent (UK), is set to slice through the water at a staggering 50 knots (57 miles per hour) - nearly twice as fast as the speed of a competition yacht. And if its forthcoming sea trials are successful - and designer Malcolm Barnsley is confident they will be - the world speed sailing record could be on its way back to Britain for the first time since the 1980s. Companies from around the Solent including SP Systems on the Isle of Wight and sail clothing makers, Musto have helped to pay for the construction of Sailrocket which will be officially launched from its base at Merlin Quay in Southampton by Lady Caroline Johnson on April 23. From there, the super sleek craft will be taken to Weymouth for bedding in trials expected to last for five weeks before pilot Paul Larsen makes his world record attempt. Said Larsen, " We are trying a very new boat and going for a very extreme speed. You have to imagine it is like a drag car racer - purely built for speed." - David Newble, Southern Daily Echo, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2bjsd THIRD BID Looks like the ball continues to roll for hopeful America's Cup team the Sausalito Challenge and their efforts to attain sponsorship via live auction on the eBay Motors site. Within the last twenty-four hours, a second and third bid has been submitted, now raising the ante to $18,600,100 from the opening bid of $18 million. - eBay Motors, http://tinyurl.com/2j2b7 IT'S TILLER TIME To become a better sailor you've got to spend as much time on the water as you can. Nothing beats tiller time. But when it comes to replacing one, tiller time often means unsuccessful hours searching or spent behind a belt sander only to wind up with your fingers varnished together. Don't let yourself get the short end of the tiller. APS has wood tillers in a myriad of shapes and sizes in stock. If they don't have one that'll work for you they can have one custom made. For more on tiller time… http://www.apsltd.com/scuttlebutt AMERICA'S CUP Following the reunion of America's Cup Teams in Valencia last week where 18 teams from 9 countries were present, fifteen teams publicised their attendance and three wished to stay anonymous. Much speculation surrounds the three anonymous challengers attendees. One reputed to be a German / Polish syndicate, another from America believed to be Stars and Stripes and the third South/West Asian based syndicate previously known as C7 and originally based in Australia (Melbourne) Melbourne's C7 Syndicate Head Kristine Condell was heard saying that the C7 syndicate is now Asian based, China. "As there was some contacts thru our other businesses that came forward when we said that we would not be doing their regular business and we were going to be doing the next America's Cup," Kristine said. The fall-out of C7 in Australia saw the announcement last week of Simon Reffold (General Manager Sailing) resigning from the syndicate. "Unfortunately the C7 Syndicate will never be able to deliver what I originally thought it would." said Mr Reffold "I am not sure of the C7 Syndicates current position on many areas such as Sailing, Location, Design, Construction and Finances," he added. With C7 now in South/West Asia (China) bidding for a spot in the line-up in 2007 only one syndicate remains in contention for Australia. "There is certainly a place for an Australian Team at the next America's Cup and I sincerely hope there is one," concluded Mr Reffold. - http://www.boating-online.com.au/welcome.cfm FOR THE RECORD * (15 APRIL 16:10) Geronimo really is accumulating weather problems - it's almost as if she was frightening the wind away. The trade winds are feeble, and the trimaran has been forced to sail close-hauled for yet another day, still under staysail and full main. The future holds out a faint hope that they will be able to break out the gennaker before the Equator, but still upwind. It's like circling the world the "wrong" way round. The crew is regretting the absence of Orange 2, whose presence would have added a little spice and interest in these light and unstable wind conditions. It would also have been comforting to know that there was another boat behind them during the storms of the Southern Ocean in waters well beyond the reach of rescue services... * (15 APRIL 19:10) We're off again! The wind has already strengthened to 13, 14 and even 15 knots - something we haven't seen for far too long. In the hours ahead - during the second half of tonight - we'll be in the permanent trades. That's not to say that the wind will be more powerful, but we will have a beam wind, which means an end to sailing close-hauled and should boost our average considerably from 10 knots to around 15 knots. Between now and this time tomorrow, the aim is to carry on putting some distance between us and the coast: to begin with, this won't necessarily mean high speeds, but we should manage 13 to 15 knots, I suppose. Even that will be very different to what we have now. - http://www.trimaran-geronimo.com/index.php?lang=en WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS * Tornado Worlds (Palma de Mallorca, Spain): A shifty NE wind, 15-18 knots with gusts reaching 20 knots, provided the competitors with good conditions for the 5th and 6th races on day 3 of the Worlds. Race 5 had 12 boats early over the line including Dutch team Mitch Booth/Herbert Dercksen who won the race. British McMillan/Bulkeley had to dropout during Race 6: "The main sail split in half after a jibe. Fortunately we had a 2nd in race 5", explained McMillan. Results after six races, one drop: 1. NED, Mitch Booth/Herbert Dercksen, 25 pts 2. ARG, Santiago Lange/Carlos Espinola, 25 pts 3. GBR, Leigh McMillan/Mark Bulkeley, 25 pts 4. USA, John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree, 36 pts 5. AUS, Darren Bundock/John Forbes, 36 pts 14. CAN, Oskar Johansson/John Curtis, 74 pts Event website: http://www.cnarenal.com/regata.php * 49er Worlds (Athens, Greece): High winds and extreme shifts forced all the races on Day 2 to be cancelled. Results after three races: 1. ESP, Iker Martinez/Xabier Fernandez, 6 pts 2. GBR, Chris Draper/Simon Hiscocks, 7 pts 3. NOR, Christoffer Sundby/Frode Bovim, 8 pts 4. GER, Markus Baur/Max Groy, 11 pts 5. SUI, Christopher Rast/Christian Steiger, 12 pts 13. USA, Tim Wadlow/Pete Spaulding, 18 pts Complete results: http://www.eio.gr/2004_49er/results.html EXTRAORDINARY VOYAGE Berths available: incredible passages & legendary landfalls. June: Newport Beach (CA) - Easter Island (4,000 miles non-stop); July: Easter Island - Pitcarin - Marquesas. Aboard 65' S&S sloop Alaska Eagle, led by professional skipper, mate & cook. Program is designed for sailors interested in building modern offshore/navigation skills. 949-645-9412, http://www.occsailing.com NEWPORT-BERMUDA RACE (152 entrants are now signed up for this race. Here are a few excerpts from a story on the Bang the Corner website) Mega-yachts, cutters, ketches, yawls and sloops race for many different trophies including the Onion Patch Series which includes inshore racing in Newport , RI and Bermuda. But the main event is the 635-mile race to Bermuda requiring the yachts to negotiate their way across the Gulf stream. This demanding route across one of the oceans most powerful currents has posed navigational and sailing challenges to racing sailors for nearly a century. Said Race Chairman John Winder: * Regarding the canting keel maxis: "We will not restrict the degree of canting; however these boats must meet all ISAF Special Regulations for Cat 1 for Offshore Sailing. They must meet stability minimums set especially for this type of boat by the ORC. If this cannot be achieved, they will need to modify and/or restrict the latitude of their ballast transfer range. Finally, they must be able to demonstrate a MOB recovery using the 'quick-stop' method. We are doing everything possible to make sure safety is top of the list for all skippers in the race." * About race tactics: "The race is typically said to be three races; 1) Getting away from land and reaching the proper entry to the stream; 2) making the best and avoiding the worst of the Gulf Stream, and 3) getting from the exit of the stream to Bermuda. I would add a fourth race-- the final 50 miles approaching Bermuda, coming around Kitchen Shoals and finishing off St. David's Lighthouse. Light air, rain squalls and unexpected currents on the Bermuda approach have won and lost the Bermuda race for many sailors." - Bang the Corner, complete interview: http://www.bangthecorner.com/default.asp?m=da&id=11182 SEA TRIALS The 245-foot (75 metre) Mirabella V, the world's largest sloop, set her sails at sea for the first time this week. The sail trials are stage three of the trial programme for commissioning the yacht as she approaches the end of her three-year construction programme. Basin trials were successfully carried out early April, motor trials last week and sailing trials in the Solent commenced on Tuesday. The wind was light on both days so, when they realised they were not going to put the yacht through her paces on this occasion, the technical team took advantage of the calm weather to test the systems that will hoist and lower the 3,700 square metres (40,000 square feet) of sail. Said designer Ron Holland, "I can now envisage that her crew will easily be able to handle this rig, even though the mainsail and UPS are by far the largest sails ever built." The yacht has been designed with the top end of the luxury charter market in mind. Mirabella V's guest facilities include a 20 person Jacuzzi and a dip pool on her foredeck, a 9 metre (29 foot) Hinckley tender, 4 Laser dinghies, 2 remote controlled models of Mirabella V, scuba diving equipment, and jet skis all contained in her Thunderbirds style 'garage', or lazarette, an open air cinema and al fresco dining on her sky deck, a gym and sauna, a 600 bottle wine cellar, a sophisticated entertainment and Internet system - not forgetting spacious guest suites for twelve, with baths in each of the en-suite bathrooms. Mirabella V will continue her sea trials and fitting out in Portsmouth before departing for the Mediterranean towards the end of May. - Ron Holland Design, for sailing photo: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/mirabella/0415 NEWS BRIEFS * Federal officials are investigating whether Holland America Line's Noordam improperly discharged oily water while sailing in the Caribbean. The line told U.S. and Netherlands authorities that ''one of its chief engineers had admitted to improperly processing bilge water'' on the ship, Carnival Corp., the Miami-based parent company, said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week. The incident is the latest involving cruise lines and allegations of pollution. In June 1998, Holland America pleaded guilty to federal pollution charges. It paid $2 million and was placed on five years' probation for pumping oily waste into the Inside Passage. - The Miami Herald, http://tinyurl.com/22nfv * A Florida judge ruled recently that Nautical Solutions Marketing Inc. of St. Petersburg did not infringe on copyrights held by boats.com. U.S. District Court judge Steven D. Merryday ruled that Nautical Solutions, which runs a web site called YachtBroker.com, would be allowed to use its software to "harvest" yacht sale information from other web sites, including those belonging to boats.com. "This has pretty broad implications across the Internet because a lot of companies are using their own private search engines to build databases like this," said an attorney representing Nautical Solutions. - IBI News, http://tinyurl.com/2yx24 OCKAMSOFT WITHOUT THE OCKAM? OS4 features a NMEA translator module allowing direct connection of a GPS or other NMEA output instrument system. For the first time, you don't have to have an onboard Ockam system to put (some of) the power of OckamSoft in your hands. Plot courses on Maptech BSB charts, turn your computer's screen into a custom instrument display, and analyze data on multiple function stripcharts. Fully functional modules will run in timeout mode, with easy screen-prompted full registration. OS4 everybody? Get ready for Ockam on your boat - OS4 can be downloaded at http://www.ockam.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar STAR SPRING CHAMPIONSHIPS (New Orleans, LA) Since the team of Andy Lovell/Magnus Liljedahl were second at the US Star Olympic Trials, they continue to perform at the highest level. After winning the tune-up regatta for the Star Spring Championship of the Western Hemisphere with all firsts, their scores during the first day of the Springs follow a similar theme. Results after two races: 1. Andy Lovell/Magnus Liljedahl, New Orleans Gulf, 2 pts 2. Mark Reynolds/Will Stout, San Diego, 5 pts 3. John MacCausland/Brad Nichol, Cooper River, 7 pts 4. George Szabo/Darin Jensen, San Diego, 7 pts 5. Larry Whipple/Mark Strube, Puget Sound, 13 pts Complete results: http://www.southernyachtclub.org/regattas/2004/starsprings.html 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 David Redfern, Bristol, England (Re, Australia II Keel): My memory fades with age, but I am sure I remember an article in Scientific American that analysed the winged keel dispassionately and came to the conclusion that the main benefit to increasing speed was through reduced drag that the keel caused by its influence on the water flow beneath the hull and in particular as it caused the water to flow beneath the transom. This would have given the boat the increased percentage of speed required to win. The same article, I think, also concluded that Stars and Stripes hull was quicker if it was turned round, with the blunt end at the front, and the sharp end at the back! Does anyone recall this article and maybe endorse or correct my recollections? * From Steve Brown: In response to Tornado Worlds International Jury chairman Pat Healy's not understanding why some of the competitors don't fly their protest flag on time. It's my understanding that in the world of Tornado cats at that level, some of the sailors start the races with the flag flying, anticipating the problem of timely display. I too have been either relieved or disappointed when the Jury has used the flag up too late, not to validate a protest. Making this part of the rules, the classic technicality. * From Betsy Kulle: I really enjoyed your article this morning which talked about Gary Jobson's continuing struggle with the disease that has plagued him for the past year and his incredible contributions to sailing and professional racing. There will be an opportunity, that your readers may want to participate in, to show continuing support for Gary and have a premier viewing of his new film 25 Years of Sailing. On May 11th at 7:00 PM at Maryland Hall in Annapolis,MD there will be a special preview of this film. For additional info: betsy.kulle@oceanracechesapeake.org * From Graham Kelly: In S'butt 1562, Jeff Stall made the following comment regarding the 1983 America's Cup: "It should also be noted that the NYYC had the right, under the rules, to inspect the challenger of record for '83 at the time of her measurement and certification and despite the "skirt" hiding the keel and all the secrecy that Jones and Bond promoted, the NYYC didn't even bother to appear." The statement that "the NYYC didn't even bother to appear" is not true. Johann Valentine, one of the Freedom/ Liberty Campaign's designers, was asked to attend the measurement, which was carried out late at night in Barrington RI. When he appeared, the manager of the Australia II syndicate challenged his right to attend the measurement, and demanded that he provide written authorization. Johann had not anticipated any such demand, and was barred from attending the measurement, on the basis of that challenge. It may be doubtful that the American defenders could have modified their boat at that late date, but it was the Aussies' legal manuever, rather than inattention, that made it impossible for the defenders to design wings to imitate those on the challenger. THE CURMUDGEON'S QUOTATIONS "I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry." - Rita Rudner |
