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SCUTTLEBUTT 3219 - Friday, November 12, 2010Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Holmatro and Southern Spars. COUNCIL IN SESSION At the head of the decision-making structure of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) sits the Council - elected every four years - which is the final decision-making body of the ISAF. The Council comprises the President, seven Vice-Presidents, two Officers of Honour (non-voting), twenty-eight appointed members (representing each of the regional groups of sailing nations), and representatives of the Offshore Committee, ISAF Classes Committee and a Women's Representative. With the ISAF Annual Meeting this week in Athens, Greece to conclude on November 14th, the ISAF Council meeting started this afternoon with ISAF President Goran Petersson setting out the challenges ahead as he delivered his opening address to the ISAF Council members. The President made special mention of the success to the Youth Olympic Games emphasising what a good show case this had been for sailing and also pointed out the innovative approach that many sports took to show case their sports. The excellent training work carried out by ISAF this year was highlighted, with special thanks to the Training Commission for getting this up and running. The President outlined the challenging agenda ahead and the importance to see the ISAF Olympic Event and Equipment submissions in the overall scheme of the Olympic Commission’s findings stressing to the council members ‘You are now in the position of being able to shape the future of sailing. You have been given the options and you have been given an outline of the issues with the background information. You need to set the policy and the direction for the future.’ The President went on to thank the Olympic Commission for the work they have done and their dedication to the task. Read the full report at http://www.sailing.org/34693.php OLYMPIC SAILING: As reported in Scuttlebutt 3218, the Events Committee’s recommendations for the 2016 Olympic events will now go to the ISAF Council for consideration. After the Council vote, they are then subject to confirmation at the ISAF Mid-Year meeting in May 2011. -- http://tinyurl.com/36m7kd6 CRITICAL OLYMPIC VOTE STILL TO COME By Stuart Streuli, Sailing World Many sailors see the exclusion of multihulls from the Olympics regatta in November 2007 as a low-water mark for the sport. But it could also prove to be a crucial turning point that helped spur a more logical and forward-thinking method for managing the events and boats for future Olympic regattas. The dropping of the Tornado was due to the intensely political and partisan process by which the ISAF General Council previously selected the events (one-person dinghy, men’s two-person keelboat, etc.) for future Olympics. When one event had to be dropped - either due to the inclusion of a new event, such as for 2004, when the Women’s Keelboat (Yngling) was brought into the fold, or, as in 2007, because the International Olympic Committee required the sport to drop from 11 to 10 medals - it set up a furious game of musical chairs, with the loser determined largely by the political savvy of the classes attached to each event (i.e., the International Tornado Class in the case of the open multihull, the Star for the men’s keelboat) and the members of the ISAF General Council with specific agendas (representatives were sent there to defend/support the classes where their countries has the best medal hopes). The dropping of the fastest and, in some respects, most progressive of the Olympic classes from the docket was an appalling gaffe. Preventing such a mistake from happening again became a point of focus and led, in part at least, to the creation of the Olympic Commission, chaired by Phil Jones, the CEO of Yachting Australia. [It’s more than coincidence that Australia, home of multiple Olympic Tornado medalist Darren Bundock and beach cat whiz kid Glenn Ashby, was among the countries whose medal potential was most hurt by the omission of the multihull.] The Olympic Commission is behind two key submissions, 096-10 and 097-10. The first, says Ben Barger (USA), the chairman of ISAF’s Athletes Commission and, as such, a member of the Olympic Commission, “sets the pathway for how the equipment will be chosen every six years before the Olympic Games, how it will either be evolved equipment, retained equipment, or evaluated equipment.” A part of this submission is the creation of “core classes,” which would require a two-thirds vote of the ISAF Council, but then be locked in for at least two Olympic regattas (six and 10 years from the time of designation). Having some events - up to eight can carry core status at any one time - locked in would drastically streamline the selection process and create continuity while allowing for more regular change. The second submission, 097, uses this pathway to outline the specific selections for the 2016 Olympic Games. “The reason why [the process this time is] different is because the Olympic Commission has made the submission through the Events Committee to council. So that means that instead of having all the events on the table the Olympic Commission already picked out the six events it thought were most important, which is in Vote 1,” says Barger. Those six core events are, one each for men and women, a board sport; a high-performance, two-person dinghy; and the Laser and Laser Radial. “Those were the first ones they wanted everybody to accept and agree upon.” The final four classes will be drawn from a pool of six including a second one-person dinghy for men and women, a mixed (coed) multihull, a mixed two-person dinghy, and a men’s and women’s keelboat. -- Read on: http://www.sailingworld.com/blogs/racing/critical-olympic-vote-still-to-come HOLMATRO’S NEW PUSH BUTTON HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS Holmatro will introduce its range of modular push button hydraulics at METS in November. This innovative modular system will power all hydraulic functions on sailing yachts to 100’. Revolutionary in their simplicity, these compact and energy efficient power packs, manifolds and function blocks automatically adjust to demands and bring hydraulic control to a new level of perfection. A hydraulic system that one can ‘fit and forget’ and enjoy sailing is the goal we have achieved. Holmatro’s new DC or engine driven control systems allow for expansion and can provide data logging and remote monitoring. Be sure to see all our innovative products at METS, stand 01.547. -- http://www.holmatro-marine.com SF BEGINNING TO FEEL THE EXCITEMENT By Michelle Slade, Marin IJ News that the San Francisco Mayor's Office has finalized a host city agreement with the Golden Gate Yacht club, subsequently submitted to the Board of Supervisors, comes hot on the heels of an exciting week for San Francisco with the Giant's claiming the World Series. "It was a big week for us and I think having the parade and the celebration here on the front yard of City Hall really buoyed up our spirits especially as we were on the home stretch of the negotiations," said Kyri McClellan, Project Manager for the San Francisco Mayor's office and one of the key people spearheading the Host City Agreement/bid for AC 34. "I think we're feeling optimistic that if we can bring a major world series celebration and pull that off with about 36-48 hours of planning, just imagine what we can do with a couple of years." According to McClellan, the next step and tentative schedule for the Host City Agreement is December 1, a date agreed on by both Supervisors Chiu and Mirkarimi that the Host City Agreement would be in the Board of Supervisor's Committee of Budget and Finance meeting. The resolution would then go before the full Board of Supervisors (BOS) Tuesday board meeting on December 7. McClellan agreed that realistically, at this point it could be well into December before a venue announcement is made. As for the relationship that has developed since February between BMW Oracle Racing and GGYC, McClellan remains positive, stating that it's been very favorable. "Any negotiation process can be intense and challenging but the Team and GGYC folks have brought resources to the table - members of the Team are very seasoned and they've been through this quite a bit." More recently resources have been brought to the table through ACEA (America's Cup Event Authority) that have helped McClellan's team to advance their vision significantly which has been an asset to them. Likewise, the Mayor has had a standing open door policy with the Team, which McClellan says they've taken advantage of a handful of times. "I think that the Mayor was so directly involved allowed our side to have good direction and their side to feel like the very highest level of government was engaged," she said. Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/MIJ-111110 FROM THREE TO TWO It was revealed in Scuttlebutt 3218 that the possible venues for the 34th America’s Cup had been reduced from three to two. While San Francisco and an Italian site were still in the running, Valencia, Spain was not. What happened to the host of the 32nd and 33rd America’s Cup? Tom Ehman, Golden Gate Yacht Club Spokesman and member of the GGYC America's Cup Committee, explains: “Valencia has been a good AC host. We all appreciate very much what Mayor Barbera and the people of Valencia did to make us welcome and comfortable. For AC34 the offers from Italy and San Francisco were more robust all around, not just in terms of financial support for the event. We hope Valencia and Spain will remain involved by hosting an America's Cup World Series regatta." END OF AN ERA While the America’s Cup was stuck in the New York Supreme Court system, the Louis Vuitton Trophy events provided professional sailing teams a platform to remain competitively intact, while giving their sponsors needed events for which they could leverage their value. Generous teams provide their Version 5 International America’s Cup Class boats, which were equalized to make them as similar as possible in performance for the match racing regatta. But it is now the end of the road for both the Louis Vuitton Trophy and the IACC. The final event hosted by the Dubai International Marine Club starts on Sunday, and it will signal the end of 20 years of racing action for boats designed to the International America’s Cup Class rule. IACC boats were used in five America’s Cup events from 1992 to 2007. The four Version 5 boats racing in Dubai - two from BMW Oracle Racing and two from Emirates Team New Zealand - were amongst the last boats built to the rule. Altogether 100 sail numbers were issued for trial horses and race boats under 13 national flags. Albert Jacobsoone, pitman aboard the French entry All4One, knows the boats by heart. He sailed FRA 2, the second IACC boat launched. “The first America’s Cup Class boats came out in 1991,” Jacobsoone said. “We’ve been sailing them for 20 years! These are heavy monohulls with big spinnakers. I might not be attached to these boats but still, it’s the end of an America’s Cup period.” The IACC will not live on in infamy as the 12 meter and J class has, but they are in use by charter companies set to share the America’s Cup experience. And they are listed in the Scuttlebutt classifieds too: http://tinyurl.com/SBUTT-Classifieds-111110 Competing in Dubai: (Team, Country, Helm, Tactician) ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), Sebastien Col/ John Cutler Artemis (SWE), Cameron Appleton/ Iain Percy BMW Oracle Racing (USA), James Spithill/ John Kostecki Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker/ Ray Davies Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (ITA), Gavin Brady/ Morgan Larson Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS), Francesco Bruni/ Rod Dawson Racing will commence Sunday, November 14th and continue to the 27th. There will be live streaming coverage with VirtualEye for the entire regatta, with video highlights after racing. Look for enhanced live coverage of the final days of racing. Event website: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/ "THEATRE STYLE" RACING The International 49er class will be performing a second test of "Theatre Style" racing in Perth, Australia on November 14th. The overall goal is to trial a style of racing that results in a worthy champion, gives close access to media and the general public, and has the winner of the last race be the winner of the regatta. Designed to last only 8-10 minutes, fleet races are run on a width restricted course, framed by swimming lane lines which will keep the competition tight while providing front row seats for spectating. The idea is that within a two hour time slot, preliminary races will ultimately lead to the top two boats moving on to a match race final to determine the winner. By using the 49er, the quickest Olympic class sailboat, the ‘very’ closed course racing format will bring prominent attention to the performance and athleticism surrounding the skiff boat. The first test was held in Weymouth, England in September, with this second test taking advantage of the prevailing breeze typical for Fremantle. Updates can be found on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/FB-49er-111110 CORRELATION: Starting in 2011, the Extreme Sailing Series and the International 49er Class Association will execute a strategic partnership where there will be 49er racing alongside the Extreme 40 catamaran. The ESS is known for presenting professional sailing teams in ‘Stadium’ entertainment events for shore side spectators. Full report here: http://tinyurl.com/ESS-111110 ITS METS TIME AGAIN … and Southern Spars will be exhibiting with two stands this year. 2010 has been a busy one for the team; we’ve launched a number of exciting projects, had some great race results and are forging ahead with leading-edge technologies. We have also welcomed onboard the team at Southern Spars Europe and are in the midst of moving to a brand new HQ in Auckland. To catch up on all the latest come see us at Stand 01.119 or drop by and meet the SS Europe team at Stand 09.706. We look forward to seeing you there. http://www.southernspars.com SAILING SHORTS * LaserPerformance LLC, holder of the IP rights connected to the Laser and Sunfish sailboats, has sued Gecko Marine LLC of Warren, Rhode Island, which does business as Zim Sailing, for trademark infringement. LaserPerformance also accused a former employee of taking some of its IP to Gecko, and of making “disparaging and derogatory comments” about his ex-employer. Portsmouth, Rhode Island-based LaserPerformance claims the public has been confused by Zim’s actions and that it’s suffered “irreparable harm.” -- Bloomberg, full report: http://tinyurl.com/Bloomberg-111110 * St. Petersburg, FL (November 11, 2010) - The Snipe Class International Racing Association Women’s World Championship has been a light air event, but the fourth day did allow for three races in 5-10 knot winds. The standings were shuffled with the drop race now in play, but the real shake up was the consistency today of Kathleen Tocke/ Kate Sheahan (USA) who rolled all deuces to take over the lead. With only one day remaining, the points are close with Anna Tunnicliffe/ Molly Vandemoer (USA) in second and Trixy Agusti/ Yuyu Agusti (ARG) in third. -- Daily reports: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10465 * (November 11, 2010; Day 26) - American Brad Van Liew continues to distance himself from the field in the VELUX 5 OCEANS, with a margin now of 446 nm over Zbigniew Gutkowski (POL) with 753 nm to the finish in Cape Town, South Africa. -- Race website: http://www.velux5oceans.com * (November 11, 2010; Day 12) - In the 3542 nm Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale (France to West Indies), the IMOCA Open 60’s class is in a tactical battle which is at times painfully slow, testing skippers’ patience and durability. But the for the moment it remains Roland Jourdain who is in control of the IMOCA Class, consolidating his position neatly with an advance of 76 miles on Armel Le Cléac'h (Brit Air). The main group are dealing with the equivalent of a meteorological marsh, a barometric bog which traps the unwary or unlucky for hours in sticky pools of calm. -- Event website: http://www.routedurhum-labanquepostale.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include Caribbean sailing, solo sailing, match racing, kite flying, ocean crossing, sunset gazing, and wind watching. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/1112/ BONUS 1: Practicing for the America’s Cup has just gotten to be a whole lot more fun. Here are photos of Terry Hutchinson leading the America's Cup challenger Artemis Racing team through a day of catamaran practice in Miami on the Extreme 40. After these guys get their hands on these big multihulls, they may never go back to monohulls again: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/1111 BONUS 2: While the high profile college sailing national championships are the doublehanded events in the spring, the singlehanded nationals in the fall deserve their turn in the spotlight. Eighteen men and eighteen women were in St. Petersburg, FL for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association/ LaserPerformance Men’s and Women’s National Singlehanded Championship. Photographer Glennon Stratton was there too, and shares his imagery from the event: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/1108/ BONUS 3: Let’s not make this too complicated. The best sailing venue in the U.S. right now is Miami, Florida. And if you are to sail anywhere from Miami, you would go to Nassau, Bahamas. And that is why the Southern Ocean Racing Conference kicked off its offshore racing season on Thursday with its legendary 176 nm Miami to Nassau Race. Photographer John Payne provides photos from the start: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/1111a/ BONUS 4: Here are some tips for the sailing photographers: Go to where it is sunny and the water is a brilliant blue. Go out when it is windy. Find a location with palm trees in the back drop. Focus on an event with lots of action and spirited sailors. In short, go to Lauderdale Yacht Club for their Opti Team Race Regatta: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/1111b/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK The days are getting shorter and colder in the northern hemisphere, which means the 18 footers are back in season on Sydney Harbour in Australia. Since the birth of 18 footers on Sydney Harbour in the early 1890s, large spectator fleets have followed the speed, the thrills and the spills of the crazy racing machines they call "The Flying 18s" - "Formula One on Water". Thanks to The Flying 18s online magazine, a series of video programs has been launched to provide the ins and outs of this sector of sailing. And if the excitement of 18 foot skiff sailing wasn't enough, their inaugural segment is hosted by the delightful Nicky Cameron. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/10/1112/ SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Bill Babel: In Scuttlebutt 3218, Stuart Streuli says, “ISAF has to start updating the slate of Olympic classes and there's no better place to start than with the oldest design in the fleet." His concept could catch on. In 2016 the oldest event in the Olympics may see an equipment upgrade. Rollerblades may replace shoes in the marathon. No more watching people running for two hours or more. How boring. Speeds will be up and it will be more TV friendly. It's hard to believe that the marathon has stayed the same for so many years. * From Alex Arnold: I've figured it out, with special thanks to Chris Caswell and Lindsay Foster (commentary in Scuttlebutt 3215 and 3216, respectively). The "Flintstoners" would have the America's Cup angled in a way that it might promote the sport of sailing, and Russell and the "Facebookers" would have the Cup aimed at selling cars, software and eventually sneakers. It's as simple as that! And forget the idea that these hyper-cats are going to get kids into Optis and Lasers. * From John Riise: The perfect analogy finally occurred to me recently as I drove down the freeway and spotted a billboard for an airplane museum: dogfighting. In real dogfighting - World Wars I and II - the planes were 'slow' enough that the more skilled and/or experienced pilot prevailed. Nowadays, 'dogfighting' consists of watching digital readouts in the cockpit and firing when the little light says to. The next America's Cup boats will be like todays' jet fighters. They'll all separate so quickly that the sailing skill - and drama - will be minimal. Well, except for all the digital falderal I'm sure those Facebook Generation geeks come up with. Gimme Flintstones IACCs any day. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION A pessimist is one who feels bad when he feels good for fear he'll feel worse when he feels better. SPONSORS THIS WEEK: Ultimate Sailing - Quantum Sails - APS - North U - J Boats North Sails - JK3 Nautical Enterprises - LaserPerformance Hall Spars - Ullman Sails - Holmatro - Southern Spars Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
