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SCUTTLEBUTT 1387 - August 6, 2003Powered 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 and personal attacks for elsewhere. PAN AM GAMES Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic- Mistral sailor Lanee Butler (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) held her lead today at the Pan Am Games by turning in two race victories, widening the gap between herself and Dominique Vallee (Canada), who currently stands in second. Butler is the veteran of the U.S.A.'s 13-member Pan Am Games Team-Sailing, which completed two races on the second day of competition in Santo Domingo. In the J/24, Tim Healy (Newport, R.I.) and crew Nick Judson (Nantucket, Mass.), Gordon Borges (Newport, R.I.) and Davenport Crocker (Cohasset, Mass.) posted a 1-3, leaving them second overall behind their toughest adversaries, the Brazilians. "To be honest with you," said Borges, "there are two or three other teams that can get off the line and really hold a lane going upwind. Brazil has certainly proven that they are one of those teams. Everyone else ends up having to peel off." Complete report: http://www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2003/PAGdaytwo.htm Results from Tuesday: Top Three and U.S. Hobie 16 Open (9 boats) 1. E. Figueroa, PUR, 2-2-1-1; 6 2. J.I. Maegli, GUA, 3-3-2-3; 11 3(t). A. Noriega, MEX, 7-1-4-2; 14 3(t). B. Arndt, BRA, 1-4-5-4; 14 5. Paul/Mary Ann Hess, USA, 5-6-3-6; 20 J/24 Open (11 boats) 1. M. Santa Cruz, BRA, 2-1-2-1; 6 2. Tim Healy/Davenport Crocker/Gordon Borges/Nick Judson, USA, 1-2-1-3; 7 3. E. Lugo, PUR, 9-6-7-2; 24 Laser Male (15 boats) 1. Robert Scheidt, BRA, 1-1-1-1; 4 2(t). M. del Solar, CHI, 4-4-2-2; 12 2(t). D.E. Romero, ARG, 2-2-4-4; 12 5. Ben Richardson, USA, 5-3-6-6; 20 Laser Radial Female (11 boats) 1. T.E. Calles, MEX, 1-1-3-1; 6 2. K. Rasa, CAN, 2-3-1-6; 12 3. F. Cerntti, ARG, 3-5-2-3; 13 5. Sally Barkow, USA, 4-4-6-4; 18 Mistral Male (10 boats) 1. M. Galvan, ARG, 2-1-1-1; 5 2. R. Santos, BRA, 3-3-2-2; 10 3. K. Stittle, CAN, 1-2-3-6; 12 5. Peter Wells, USA, 7-6-5-4; 22 Mistral Female (7 boats) 1. Lanee Butler, USA, 2-1-1-1; 5 2. D. Vallee, CAN, 1-3-3-3; 10 3. C. Walther, ARG, 5-2-5-2; 14 Snipe Open (8 boats) 1. B. Amorim, BRA, 1-3-1-3; 8 2. N. Manso, CUB, 3-1-2-2; 8 3. S. Silveira, URU, 2-4-3-1; 10 5. Henry Filter/Lisa Griffith, USA, 6-6-7-4; 23 Sunfish Open (11 boats) 1. E. Cordero, VEN, 1-5-1-1; 8 2. M.H. Smith, BER, 2-3-2-7; 14 3. M. Vezina, CAN, 9-2-6-2; 19 7. Jeff Linton, USA, 3-8-7-6; 24 PAN AM GAMES EXTRA This comes from Scuttlebutt cub reporter and ISAF President Paul Henderson: "I am at the Pan Am Games in the Dominican Republic. I would like to refute the statement that Carl Eichenlaub totally works as a volunteer. I saw him yesterday and he said he was in deep trouble with the USA team (stated with his usual sneaky smile and USA suspenders). The Canadian girls Mistral Board arrived with major splits in the sides. Carl immediately repaired the Canadian Board and after convincing the measurers that it was not outside the rules the Canadian girl won the first race. It cost me two cigars to get Carl back in his usual laid-back style. He has done this constantly for other teams throughout his career as the 'USA Boat Boy.' What a true Olympian he is. I was so proud to think that the USA Team would pick him to carry the USA flag. You all should have been there to see how proud Carl was." Curmudgeon's comment: Paul somehow got this note through our firewall, but we have updated our settings and have closed again the "Carl" thread. PAN AM GAMES EXTRA EXTRA This comes from Scuttlebutt cub reporter and US Pan Am Team member Lisa Griffith: "Rumor has it that half the US team took advantage of an offer to attend the USA/Dominican Republic baseball game Monday night. We had an awesome ride through town with major security escort. We never stopped at a red light and oftentimes went driving down the wrong side of major highways! We entered the stadium through the players' side door and went up to the stands through the dugout...actually climbing up over the dugout after greeting all the USA players and giving the team the thumbs up. USA fans were definitely outnumbered but we did our good share to support the noise level for team USA. The game was fantastic with the USA team prevailing at the end 2-0. The stadium was built for around 15,000 people and there were more than 20,000 in attendance! "Overall, food is great and our support folk are absolutely fantastic at making sure everything runs seamlessly. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be for the next week or so." COLLEGE/HIGH SCHOOL AND JUNIOR PROGRAM INFORMATION The Gill Team specials are out, and you can get good pricing from a lot of Gill suppliers. But if you want unprecedented package deals, call The Pirate's Lair. Check this out: Buy Five Spray Tops, get five free team hats embroidered with your logo! Buy ten--get hats and polos to match! Order $2,000 in gear and we'll outfit the coach for free! Not to mention great bonus savings on tees, polos, hats and fuzzies all year long. You will not find better deals, but you have to phone us now! (888) SAIL-BUM 724-5286 or online at http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing ISAF EVALUATION TRIALS In March 2003, ISAF invited submissions from sailboard manufacturers to offer a new and exciting step forward in the evolution of Olympic Windsurfing, welcoming any new design concepts put forward. In introducing the trials, ISAF wished to encourage all manufacturers to think "outside the box," with the possibility that a new design could also lead to a new and improved format; that could include slalom and/or marathon racing (formats that require judges are excluded). A two-stage approach has been adopted for the trials, with a preliminary presentation event in September 2003 in Cadiz, followed by the more formal Evaluation Event in Spring 2004. The final list of entries to the Cadiz Presentation Event is as follows (Company-Product): Exocet - Flying Fish Boards and More - One-Design Boards and More - Prodigy Neil Pryde - To be confirmed Austrian Board Project - BLIP Starboard - Olympic Prototype Bic Sport - 293 Bic Sport - Formula Complete report and information on how to participate in the trials is at http://www.raceboard.org/page0001v01news15.htm STATE OF AFFAIRS Before current Class President Jim Richardson competed in the Farr 40 Worlds last month, he sat down with Seahorse Magazine for the following interview: Seahorse: What are the principal areas of debate at owner meetings? Is the issue of escalating crew costs frequently raised for example? Jim Richardson: Crew costs have not frequently been raised at the Owner's level, although one of my fellow owners did suggest recently imposing a salary cap. My tactician, Terry Hutchinson recently won the Congressional Cup with my jib trimmer, Morgan Trubovich sailing with Stars & Stripes helmsman, Kenny Read. Their prize for winning was $6,000, to be split six ways among the crew, less expenses and damages. I suggested a similar formula for Barking Mad but I'm not sure they've completely bought into it. I'd say the biggest issue our owners debate is the sail limitation rule. People who race a lot, particularly internationally, favor allowing more sail buttons. Owners with more conservative budgets don't want to feel disadvantaged. The Executive Committee is working out the details of an earn-up system that will hopefully strike a proper balance between the two concerns and leave both sides happy. We also introduced carbon sails now that they have proven to be more durable than PBO, which will obviate the competitive need for additional sails. SH: With North being dominant sail supplier, how much sail development have you seen in the last couple of years? JR: Obviously North has had a strong foothold in the Class for sometime now. As in most things, healthy competition helps to raise everyone's standards. The Class recently voted to permit Carbon fibers and I think this has allowed some other sailmakers to push the envelope a bit. For example, Quantum has been promoting its Cuben fiber cloth and a West Coast boat called Warpath seems to be going exceptionally well with this material. UK Sailmakers have been supplying Phil Tolhurst's Warlord and they can be very fast as well. Spinnaker development is ongoing but I don't think I have ever witnessed any boat that was so fast downwind that I thought "I better get one of those." SH: And how is that reflected in the way in which the boats are being set up and sailed? JR: From my perspective, we've changed some of our boat set-up to reflect the fact that Carbon sails are flatter with straighter leaches, requiring a looser, more powerful rig tune. The introduction of carbon also has signaled a change in the range in which we can carry our jibs. For example, whereas our Aramid light jib had a range only up to 8 knots, we felt comfortable in our most recent regatta in Punta Ala holding onto to it up until 13 knots. Complete interview: http://www.farr40.org/news/2003/7-28seahorse.htm VICTORY…AGAIN Pegasus 77, winner of Transpac 2003 (and 2001), is for sale. Launched in 2001, she has proven again to be the ultimate Turbo Sled. Designed by Reichel-Pugh, she remains the very best in every aspect and is immediately available for purchase. Additional details and photographs at http://www.pegasus.com/pegasus77 SNIPE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Borstahusen, Landskrona, Sweden- No secrets remain on the race course for day two, as competitors have seen the benefits of the right side on the upwind legs. With a prevalent right wind shift and relief from the current, the conditions have put a premium on getting off the start line with a clean lane to the right. Americans Bryan Lake/ Graham Biehl dominated the first race, gradually extending their lead to an impressive forty boat lengths by the finish. However, the consistency of Brazilians Carlos Henrique Wanderley/ Richard Zietemann, highlighted by their race four win, gives them current overall lead. Look for the results to shuffle after Wednesday's one race, where a throw-out will then be included in calculating the scoring. - SB Results from Tuesday: 1. BRA- Carlos Henrique Wanderley/ Richard Zietemann, 7-10-3-1, 20.75 pts. 2. ESP- Francisco Sanchez/ Marina Sánchez, 3-2-9-11, 25 3. BRA- Alexandre Paradeda/ Eduardo Paradeda, 20-3-2-6, 31 4. USA- George Szabo/ Brian Janney, 5-6-13-8, 32 5. USA- Hal Gilreath/ James Liebl, 16-1-6-20, 42.75 Event report by U.S Team: http://www.snipeus.org/regattareports/2003%20Worlds/Tuesday/tuesday.htm Event website:http://www.borstahusens-ss.org/snipe2003/ NEWS BRIEFS * Ten time America's Cup veteran Jack Sutphen and a crew that included Prada designer/boat speed mechanic Bruce Sutphen, was crowned 2003 winner of the 70th annual Pacific Class Championship sailed July 26-27 on the Coronado Roads. The five-race contest sponsored by San Diego Yacht Club saw Sutphen's 2003 finishes of 3-1-1-1-1 mirror his 2002 PC Nationals results (1-1-1-1-3) and, with the mandated throw-out, the Master once again delivered a perfect performance. - Doug Holthaus. Event photos at http://www.sdsailing.com/pcnats3.htm * Macatawa, MI - John Kostecki and James Spithill were brought in to Western Michigan to help Bob Hughes' Heartbreaker team prepare for the Canada's Cup but many people benefited from their presence. On Thursday morning before the practice started Kostecki and Spithill spent time with the Macatawa Bay YC Junior Program talking to the kids about their sailing successes. After the talk the juniors were taken out on the water to sail and do some practice starts aboard Heartbreaker and Morrigan. Some of the juniors even had a chance to drive the two Farr 40's.This was an amazing opportunity for the juniors and a great gesture by Bob Hughes to set aside the time. - http://www.bowmansunion.com/portal/news/anmviewer.asp?a=878&z=1 * Afterburner, a 52' racing cat, shattered the 81 mile Santa Barbara-King Harbor course record Friday as she was the first yacht to finish for the third year in a row. The second biggest Southern California race, SB-KH is one of two races that combine multi's with the monohull Grand Prix ULDB classes. The Transpac cuts down attendance in odd years, but we had several notables in the 70+ foot sled range. The fastest mono was Victoria 5, a TP 52 recently modified out-of-class with water ballast and a canting keel. 125 boats in all, 14 multis. - Bill Gibbs, http://www.yachtracing.com/submissions/gibbs/080403.htm PERFORMANCE FOR SALE Ullman Sails continues delivering performance; 3 regattas, 3 separate venues, 3 different boat types, and 3 First Place finishes. Dave Janes won the Olson 30 Class in "J-Bird III" at Whidbey Island Race Week, Art & Scott Melendres in "One Time" won the Cal 25 National Championship in Long Beach, and San Diego Yacht Club won the San Francisco Perpetual Match Race in a J-105 in San Diego. If you are ready for the Fastest Sails on the Planet," give your local Ullman Sails loft a call or visit us on line at http://www.ullmansails.com. 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 or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Bruce Nairn: Regarding BoatU.S urging all Bahamas-bound cruisers to join an email campaign to protest the country's sharp increase in its cruising permit fees, consider that there are no other fees collected by the Bahamian Government on traveling boats (no sales tax, boat tax, mooring tax, registration tax, slip tax, amusement tax, pump-out tax, etc. It sounds like a pretty good deal to me. If boaters expect the Bahamas to stay the place they love they better be ready to pony up some money to keep it that way. * From Jan McCollum: I hope you enjoy the deluge of responses you are about to receive in regards to G. H. Schirtzinger's letter. Diatribes like these do not belong on the pages of Butt. Please show more respect for people with the opposite political views in the future. No politics (unless sailing related, of course)! Curmudgeon's comment: Jan, you're right…twice. There was a deluge of responses similar to yours. And, we'll work harder here to let the non-sailing media cover the non-sailing politics. * From Tom Ehman: I wholeheartedly support Pete Lawson's comment in Monday's 'Butt that a jury's job is "to resolve disputes, not create them." The recent Farr 40 Worlds in Sardinia had a high level of rules compliance despite nine very tight short-course races among thirty-seven boats in 18-30 knots. Some possible reasons: 1) Good class rules: The Farr 40's use both the I Flag and a 720 (actually a 360, except that breaking a rule near a mark is still a 720). So it is easy to take a penalty, and you have a choice. Also, there is no throw out. Best take a penalty rather than risk a protest and DSQ that can't be discarded. 2) Shared vision, shared values: The Farr 40 leadership conducts a pre-regatta class meeting with the pros (a gathering of the sport's elite if ever there is one), and there is a polite but firm insistence on strict rules compliance. 3) A jury witness service, not water police: The players were advised that the Jury would be on the water "watching aggressively," but that the responsibility for lodging protests remained with the players, not the jury. After the first night's protests, the word got around that the jury had indeed witnessed most of the incidents. The balance of the regatta saw plenty of I flags and 360's, and relatively few protests. I believe a "jury witness service" helps to resolve disputes whereas "water police" at best creates a negative atmosphere if not more disputes. * From Jim Champ: Have you ever listened to parents shouting at their kids from the waters edge? For all too many of them sportsmanship is a completely alien concept. What chance to the kids stand? And of course coaches are paid by quality of results, not by the quality of sportsmanship of their charges. Curmudgeon's comment: I think this is as good a place as any to halt this thread. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION I used to have a handle on life, but it broke. |
