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SCUTTLEBUTT 2616 - Thursday, June 12, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. POLL - SHOULD AMERICANS BE JOINING US SAILING? It seems like it’s time to ask this question: Should American sailors who actively compete be joining US SAILING? There has been plenty of information in Scuttlebutt about the current proposal to require a tier of U.S. competitor to be a member of the organization. US SAILING has presented their position, and as is typical amid controversy, the most avid opponents have presented their position. The cost to join is $60 a year, with benefits and tax breaks that might lower that fee. Maybe there will be unrest and damage to the sport, or maybe there is a silent majority that believes active American sailors should be supporting their national sailing authority. What do the ‘Buttheads think? Click on this link to vote: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/08/0611 GETTING READY FOR THE 2008 BERMUDA RACE by Tony Bessinger, Sailing World (June 11, 2008) It's only 9 days until Bermuda Race starts, and 2 until the Onion Patch series, also known as the New York Y.C. Annual Regatta begins. There are 110 boats registered in the Annual Regatta, and 224 registered in the Bermuda Race. Since the annual regatta starts off with a petite distance race around R.I.'s Narragansett Bay, (which is not part of the Onion Patch Series) and ends with two days of buoy racing (which is), it's a great practice session for the Bermuda Race teams. The Annual Regatta will also serve as a first introduction for many to some of the hottest new monohulls to hit the water this year. Hap Fauth's Bella Mente, a Reichel/Pugh 69, Speedboat, Alex Jackson's Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed 99-foot canting keeler, Jim Swartz's STP 65 Moneypenny, and Dan Meyers' Judel/Vrolijk 66 Numbers, will be some of the newcomers. They'll be joined by some of the most heavily and successfully campaigned big boats in the world: George David's R/P 90 Rambler, Bob and Farley Touse's R/P Blue Yankee, the winner of the Block Island Race in late May (another tune-up for Bermuda), the STP 65 Rosebud, skippered by Roger Sturgeon. The IRC 0 and IRC Super Zero classes will be a lot of fun to see race. Another group well worth watching will be the rapidly growing class of NYYC 42s, 14 of which will be racing in this weekend's series, 6 of which will be heading for Bermuda. It will be the first big offshore outing for this class, and it will be interesting to see how well they stack up against their big sisters, the Swan 45s, and the other 40-somethings entered in the event. -- Read on: http://xrl.us/bmvka * Frank Bohlen, a Professor of Oceanography in the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Connecticut, has published an updated Gulf Stream Tutorial for this spring and it is now available on the Newport Bermuda website. The Gulf Stream in the vicinity of the race rhumb line has over the past month continued to display active development with an associated complex pattern of sea surface temperature gradients. -- Details: http://xrl.us/sbutt KITEBOARDERS HOPING SPORT WILL SOAR The deepest secrets in San Francisco were lying on the beach Tuesday at Crissy Field, covered with sand and guarded from prying eyes. No peeking was allowed. Keep away. This means you. In the world of big-time kiteboarding, the designs of the boards and the fins for this year's U.S. championships being held in San Francisco are not something that a big-time kiteboarder wants to share with his foe. Five dozen kiteboarders are in the city to compete in the five-day event. Kiteboarding is a young sport, which means the winner gets only a trophy, the athletes gleefully sign autographs, admission is free and nobody knows what, exactly, the best kiteboard looks like. Nonetheless, the racers were keeping their boards and their top-secret fin designs hidden from one another. Some of the fins, it turned out, were made of fiberglass. Others were resin or carbon fiber. Some were a foot long and skinny, some were 4 inches long and squat. Some boards had four fins, some only two. Hiding a top-secret kiteboard from the enemy is easier than hiding a top-secret America's Cup yacht. You don't need a warehouse, only some strategically placed sand or, perhaps, a beach towel. "We're not out here to have a trade show," said world-class boarder Chip Wasson of San Francisco. "You don't want to have a big conversation about your board before the race. Some things you keep to yourself." -- SF Chronicle, read on: http://xrl.us/scutt 5 MILE WIFI? Our latest featured product is on a piece of equipment called 5 Mile Wifi; yes that’s 5 mile wifi reception. See our test report for details on how it worked (http://myboatsgear.com/featured_product/5mile%20wifi.asp). MyBoatsGear.com will help you find the best gear, by reviewing hundreds of boating products and bringing the best ones to you. MyBoatsGear.com stores product information for access anytime, anywhere, and organize them into 200 plus easily-accessible categories. -- http://myboatsgear.com/mbg/index.asp EUROPE TODAY … NORTH AMERICA TOMORROW? (June 11, 2008) Fishermen and truck drivers protesting at rocketing fuel prices have targeted marinas around France, Italy and Spain, in some cases barricading pleasure ports and in others finding solidarity among boaters. Yesterday Spanish ports came to a standstill as truckers and fishermen formed barricades around the coast. The action came as unions rejected a package of measures proposed by the Ministry of Development to help deal with record fuel prices. In the town of Denia on the Spain's Costa Blanca, the fishing fleet has jammed the harbour since May 30 protesting higher fuel costs. Yesterday hundreds of smaller boats joined the protest. Pleasure craft have not been directly blocked, but many have remained in the marina in solidarity with the fishermen. At the weekend 100 fishermen in Bari, southeast Italy, attempted to prevent leisure boaters from accessing the sea at Bisceglie. Police had to intervene as discussions between protesters and boat owners degenerated. -- IBI Magazine, http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20080511124556ibinews.html MATCH RACING TOUR LAUNCHES NEW KOREAN DEVELOPMENT The Korea Match Cup, Stage 3 of the 2008 World Match Racing Tour, got off with a bang at a star-studded opening ceremony featuring the Prime Minister of Korea, his Excellency the Honourable Seoung Soo Han. The Prime Minster was on hand to open both the Korea International Boat Show and the Korea Match Cup here in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province on the West Coast of Korea. The event and boat show are part of a new economic development plan for the region that includes 4 new marinas and a 15,000 square meter industrial park dedicated to boat building and the marine industry. They are expecting over 100,000 spectators over the next five days of the event. The event is using the newly built KM36’s designed especially for the event by Blakewell-White. The twelve teams will race a full round robin followed by a quarter final, semi-final and the finals on Sunday. Five flights were sailed with Jesper Radich (DEN) leading the day with a score of 4-1. Racing continues Thursday with Ian Williams, Paolo Cian, Magnus Holmberg, Torvar Mirsky, Peter Gilmour, and Wataru Sakamoto on first to try their hand in the tricky conditions of Jeongok Marina. -- Full report and standings: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/81108 OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN: 58 DAYS TO GO * Riva del Garda, Italy (June 11, 2008) - The 86 men and 33 women teams at the 2008 ISAF Grade C1 470 Europeans on Lake Garda are having to adapt and remain consistent in the shifty conditions presented by the surrounding mountain region. After completing 8 of 12 races in the championship series (allowing one discard), Americans Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler remain on top of the women’s division, with Team Japan just one point behind, and the Austrians 8 points back. The forecast over the next two days looks questionable with lots of rain and possible thunderstorms, with the final Medal Race scheduled for Saturday. -- Results: http://abe5.com/4v1 Clark/Mergenthaler website: http://xrl.us/sbutt1 * Heat and humidity rather than air quality will challenge athletes at the Beijing Olympics, says a New Zealand-based meteorologist working for the Canadian Olympic team. Doug Charko monitored weather and air quality in Beijing last August to produce a model which anticipates conditions athletes may encounter during this year's games. Charko, who was the meteorologist for sailing's Luna Rossa team at the last America's Cup, found heat, humidity and solar radiation in Beijing were regularly higher than limits specified by the International Amateur Athletics Federation for safe participation in sport. His studies showed temperatures regularly exceeded 27 or 28 degrees Celsius (80 to 82 Fahrenheit) in August, with high humidity. "If it exceeds 26, 27 degrees, by the international athletics federation handbook you cannot compete," he said. "And yet we saw that condition in Beijing everyday." -- International Herald Tribune, read on: http://xrl.us/bmvkp BENETEAU 36.7s HAVE PLENTY OF SPEED AT GREAT LAKES CHAMPS Ullman Sails customers mastered the breeze last weekend at the Beneteau 36.7 Great Lakes Championship in Vermillion, Ohio, winning two of the nine races and taking second in another five races. Gary Tisdale and his team on “First Today” finished third overall. Impressively, Don Finkle and crew on “Seaweed” finished 6th overall after losing their main halyard, forcing them to sit out the first two races. Hosted by Vermillion Boat Club, the 18-boat fleet competed in 12-25 knots of breeze. Ullman Sails is committed to providing the highest quality sails AND service. Contact a local loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com SAILING SHORTS * Cannigione, Sardinia (June 11, 2008) - Light winds allowed for only one race on the third day of the J/24 World Championship, with the top three teams in the standings all finishing out of the top ten on the day. Five races are now completed and a throw-out permitted, with only two points separating the top four teams. New leader is now Andrea Casale (ITA), followed by Milev Rossi (GBR), Mark Hillman (USA), with defending champion Maurico Santa Cruz (BRA) in fourth. -- Daily report and results: http://xrl.us/bmvkr * The following notice has been issued by RORC/IRC regarding a clarification of the IRC Rule 26.1.6: "Please note that except in special and defined cases, a boat shall not adjust the forestay and/or shrouds while racing – see IRC Rule 26.1.6. This rule must also be read in conjunction with IRC Notice 2008/01 (www.rorcrating.com/ir2000/irc/interpret/IRC-Notice-2008-01-shrouds.pdf), Adjustment of Shrouds and Forestay While Racing. This again is crystal clear and explicit: moving the mast step fore or aft or adjusting mast jack pressure will change shroud tension. Therefore, unless permitted by either Rule 26.1.6 a) or b), neither is permitted." -- http://www.us-irc.org/newsfull.cfm?ID=101 * Los Angeles, CA – After a decision was made to replace his engine, Zac Sunderland's departure to be the youngest American sailor to attempt a solo global circumnavigation was delayed from May 31st to June 14th at 1:00pm. The 16 year-old from Thousand Oaks, California will be leaving from Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey, which coincides with the Marina del Rey Boat Show on June 12-15. -- http://www.zacsunderland.com * The San Diego-based yacht design firm of Reichel/Pugh is BMW Oracle Racing’s principal monohull designer, the team confirmed today. The team’s TP 52 USA 17 is a Reichel/Pugh design, which took first place at the Marseille regatta of the MedCup Circuit last week. When at the team’s base in Valencia, lead designer John Reichel works closely with the team’s other principal monohull designer, Manolo Ruiz de Elvira. Ruiz de Elvira leads the team’s tank testing and was part of Alinghi’s design team in the last two America’s Cups. -- Full report: http://xrl.us/bmvkz * The second event of the 2008 iShares Cup for the Extreme 40 class will be in Hyères, France this week, where the 11 entrants will compete June 13-15. A brand new entry, the French home team 'Twins' , will be joining the fleet, as will be the American team Tommy Hilfiger with Olympian Randy Smyth at the helm. Britain's double Olympic Gold medalist Shirley Robertson returns after winning the first event, as does the America's Cup defender Alinghi team, who will be looking to get back in the game after their dramatic capsize at the first iShares Cup event in Lugano, Switzerland. -- http://www.isharescup.com * (June 10, 2008) Initially reported last fall in Issue 2460, William H. “Howe” Constable, former assistant coach of the Nantucket High School sailing team (MA), has been sentenced to a 25-year prison term on seven counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole Jr. also ordered 54-year-old William H. Constable to serve a life term of supervised release, pay a $50,000 fine, and forfeit property used in his crimes. -- Full report: http://xrl.us/bmvk3 * The Case Book, which details interpretations of The Racing Rules of Sailing, has been updated to include all 2008 Cases and published on the ISAF website. -- http://www.sailing.org/23738.php * Correction: The story in Issue 2615 regarding the High School sailing team took place in Yarmouth, MA and not in Yarmouth, ME as stated. VIDEO OF THE WEEK The 2007 J/24 World Championship in Vallarta, Mexico was said to be an epic event, with the folks at Vallarta Yacht Club going above and beyond to show the entrants a good time. Seventy boats from 14 countries attended, and were treated with great conditions both on and off the water. The pacing of this video is exactly like a typical event - starts serious in the beginning and gradually becomes a huge party. If you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/08/0609 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: June 12-15 - Coastal Cup - Alameda, CA, USA June 13 - Annapolis to Bermuda Ocean Race (BOR) - Annapolis, MD, USA June 13-15 - Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta - Chicago, IL, USA June 13-15 - The 'Bol d'Or Mirabaud - Lake Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Bruce Bates, Durham, NH: In my opinion one of the reasons for the decline in sailing besides the obvious cost is the continued, ever increasing professionalism in the sport. Recently the Press praised Larry Ellison for his win in TP52 MedCup regatta in France. Of course, he had Russell Coutts aboard just to make sandwiches for the rail meat. The boat is now for sale after the regatta is over. Few can compete at that level. Here in New England, checkbook sailing is in high gear with sailmakers and racing pros aboard the top boats in even the most regional events. No wonder the casual “race your boat with the family” type opts out. * From Reynald Neron: Forget the news about America’s Cup politics, you know sailing is a great sport when you read the following: “AMERICAN 49er reps Tim Wadlow and Chris Rast are back in Qingdao, China training everyday in preparation for the Olympic Games. Despite their boats being stuck in customs, they have been able to borrow the CANADIANS boat and the GERMAN'S mast, and have been on the water working closely with their training partners from GERMANY.” I cannot think of any other sport where that would happen. * From Jim Durden: In regards to US SAILING mandatory membership, as a member for 30 years, I whole-heartedly agree with all who question the proposal, for all the logical reason stated. As a small businessman, I still don't understand why USSA mails out countless renewal notices, even after I have re-upped for the year. It's apparent the right hand doesn't know what the left hand has done, and unfortunately, probably doesn't care. They do the same with their Christmas card promo every year, at great expense to the membership. I'm no accountant, but these are two of the obvious leaks in the system. How many more are there? * From John Wade: I am a member of US SAILING, and have been for many years. My problem with the new proposed fee requirement is that most of my crew do not belong to a yacht club, do not have their own boats, and probably would not sail with me if they had to pony up $60. That leaves me with the cost. At any given moment, anyone of my crew might be on the helm. So, with a crew base of 12 -14 people (we sail with as many as 5), I'll have to provide the membership fees for all of them. I already support the sailing program on my boat 100%. I feed 'em, transport them, house them. That's the way I grew up. The skipper provides the necessities of racing the boat, and the crew provides…the CREW! Some of you may say well, you provide the other stuff they ought to at least pay for US SAILING. I say NO. It is not their responsibility to support MY boat, or My sailing addiction. They're out there to have fun, me too; but I am the responsible party here, and I'm not too keen on US SAILING hijacking me, for these additional fees that DO NOT provide any benefit to my crew. What happens if my yacht club, says my crew can't come aboard my boat unless they are club members? I'm sorry US SAILING needs more money, I just don't think my crew is a fair target for their necessity. * From Ian Latham: The Galveston, TX story regarding the Texas A&M race team is a very sad event. Fortunately, thanks to good fortune and the United States Coast Guard, lives were saved. But someone in a position of responsibility needs to think seriously about this event. We have students from an American college that presumably knows sailing. An ocean race of 610 miles. Two safety officers aboard. But no EPIRB? It boggles the mind. I know families that won’t let their sons and daughters take a RIB on the intercoastal waterway (!) without one. Lives are more precious than a few hundred EPIRB dollars. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION The top bunk is a bad choice for a child wearing Superman pajamas. Special thanks to MyBoatsGear.com and Ullman Sails. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
