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SCUTTLEBUTT 1755 - January 17, 2005Powered 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. PUGET SOUND SELECTED An entry for the 2007 America's Cup will be built in Skagit County by BMW Oracle Racing. The mold for the sleek, 80-foot sloop will be constructed at Janicki Industries in Sedro-Woolley and the high-tech hull will be built of composite materials in Anacortes. BMW Oracle Racing - the new incarnation of 2003 America's Cup contender Oracle Racing - said Thursday that it plans to lease a 20,000-square-foot industrial building in Anacortes which currently houses North Island Boat Co. As it did while building the 2003 yachts, the team plans to rely on Puget Sound's boat and aerospace industry to help it construct much of its 2007 America's Cup racers, said Jane Eagleson, a spokeswoman for the team. "We'll be building a number of major components in the Seattle area," Eagleson said. Members of the racing team said they wanted to be close to Janicki Industries, which built a hull mold for BMW Oracle in 2001. The yacht built from that mold competed in New Zealand in the last America's Cup, held in 2003, and is still raced and used for training purposes. Tim Smyth, a member of BMW Oracle Racing, said the 10-nation team chose Anacortes for the hull construction process because the members would be able to fit into the community and it was close to Janicki Industries. "When you come with a bunch of people and families and all that … you rely on the towns that have a sort of a tourist population," Smyth said." They tend to accommodate people for the short-term better." Janicki-made molds were used to build one of the team's 2003 America's Cup yachts. The boat was built in Ventura, Calif. - Skagit Valley Herald, www.skagitvalleyherald.com/articles/2005/01/14/news/news99.txt RECORDS OBLITERATED The racing records for both monohull and multihull classes in the Storm Trysail and Lauderdale Yacht Clubs' Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race were obliterated on January 13 when Carrera, the Reichel/ Pugh 81 owned by Joe Dockery (Stamford, Conn.), and Zephyr, the Antrim 40 multihull owned by Duane Zelinsky (Ontario, Canada), completed the 160 nautical mile race in less that 11 hours. In fact, with favorable north/northeast wind and regular 25- to 30-knot gusts, the majority of competitors finished faster than the old records, which were 13 hours, 14 minutes, 21 seconds set in 1995 for monohulls and 13 hours, 10 minutes, 14 seconds set in 2003 for multihulls. The new elapsed time records set by Carerra and Zephyr are, respectively, 10 hours, 24 seconds, 2 minutes and 10 hours, 11 minutes, 35 seconds. Overall winner on corrected time was Sjambok, the TP52 owned by Michael Brennan (Annapolis, Md.), which also claimed first in class and broke the race record. A 43-boat fleet departed Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on January 12 for the 30th annual sprint south to Key West, Fla. The race is collaboration between the Storm Trysail and Lauderdale Yacht Clubs. - Media Pro Int'l For race results and more information: www.keywestrace.org/ THE REST OF THE STORY (Tom Meade has a story in the Providence Journal that adds new perspective to Carrera's record braking run in the Fort Lauderdale-Key West Race. It seems they finished the race virtually rudderless. Here's an excerpt from the story.) (Skipper Ken) Read and his crew were flying along, approaching the bottom mark, off Key West when they heard a loud bang at the back of the boat. "We hear the bang and the boat flips over. Wipes out," he said. "We were going from 20-plus knots to zero in about two seconds. The boat flips over, and boom, the spinnaker explodes. We're lying there on our side, and we thought the steering cables had broke, [but] it was the rudder. Three quarters of it snapped, sheared right off. Eight feet of it popped up like a breaching whale. "We had two feet of rudder left on an 81-foot boat and it was blowing 31 knots at the time." Knowing they had locked up the race and the record, (owner Joe) Dockery, Read and the crew decided to limp across the fishing line, steering with sail trim. "The guys did an amazing job," Read said. "We knew we were three hours ahead of the record. For the next hour, we had two reefs in the mainsail, a No. 4 jib up, and we got around the bottom mark -- which was hairy -- and limped in. The guys did a phenomenal job with their seamanship." - Tom Meade, Projo.com, complete story: www.projo.com/sailing/content/projo_20050115_sail15.2116b9.html KEY WEST MEANS NEW CATALOGS AT THE PIRATE'S LAIR If you are involved in regatta planning this year, or anticipate needing to outfit a team with sailing gear, take a moment to log on to the Pirate's Lair website for their free 2005 printed clothing catalog. Additionally, the Pirate's Lair is a dealer for Gill, Stohlquist, and Steiner - all available at (888) 724-5286 or on their website at http://www.pirateslair.com VENDEE GLOBE Four days after breaking his mainsail halyard, history repeated itself aboard Ecover. Mike Golding was under 30 miles from the top spot in this Vendée Globe when the main halyard broke again causing him to scale the mast once again. It was not an easy journey, taking him three hours in total. But it cost him more than that. Vincent Riou (PRB) now has a lead of 132 miles over Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) and with Golding in third place - 227 miles behind the leader The French yachtsman Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) was the eighth competitor to round The Horn. Still at the front, Vincent Riou (PRB) has a lead of 132 miles over Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) and 227 miles over Mike Golding (Ecover). - - www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/ Standings at 1900 GMT January 16: 1. PRB, Vincent Riou, 3949 miles to finish 2. Bonduelle, Jean Le Cam, 132 miles to leader 3. Ecover, Mike Golding, 227 mtl 4. Temenos, Dominique Wavre, 826 mtl 5. VMI, Sébastien Josse, 829 mtl 6. Virbac-Paprec, Jean-Pierre Dick 2169 mtl 7. Skandia, Nick Moloney, 2729 mtl 8. Arcelor Dunkerque, Joé Seeten, 3070 mtl 9. Hellomoto, Conrad Humphreys, 3529 mtl 10. Ocean Planet, Bruce Schwab, 3724 mtl 11. Max Havelaar / Best Western, Benoît Parnaudeau, 4133 mtl 12. Roxy. Anne Liardet, 5391 mtl 13. Akena Vérandas, Raphaël Dinelli, 5600 mtl 14. Benefic, Karen Leibovici, 6088 mtl QUOTE / UNQUOTE "I don't know - I'm all out of miracles. The Doldrums are notoriously unpredictable and there is no saying which of the front three boats this strange equatorial phenomenon will favor this time. We'll just have to wait and see, that's what I need, but it won't happen by willpower." - Mike Golding, Ecover EROSION Ellen MacArthur's lead on the solo singlehanded round the world record presently held by Francis Joyon has eroded to 3 days 21 hours. "I have been trying to sleep at any opportunity - I am feeling better but am shattered really," MacArthur said. "Just have to accept we are going to be slow for the next three days. Tactically, the choices are not obvious but I am trying to find myself the best option to rest and keep pushing to get across the ridge of high pressure but, for sure, the winds will be get lighter and we will lose some more time - there is no doubt about it." - . - www.teamellen.com AFTER 50 DAYS AT SEA The stress of managing a powerful, unforgiving, 75ft multihull is taking its toll. For good measure, a flailing rope cracked (Ellen) MacArthur on forehead. "Since Cape Horn, which seems to me like weeks ago now, I have had nothing but changeable conditions. We've had every sail up, bar the gennaker, and the mainsail through its full range on several occasions," she reported. "Yesterday I was more tired than I've been on the whole trip - and conditions worsening through the day. My body ached with the strain of the trip so far, my joints throbbed - together with the lump on my head, I just felt like I was empty. "I've tried so hard to rest but when things are changing with the weather and the boat's safety is in danger, it's very, very hard to switch off. Disconnecting the brain does not come easily." - Tim Jeffery, The Telegraph, full story: http://tinyurl.com/4vhfm LEARN MORE Get more out of your sailing in 2005. Start your season at a North U. Seminar. Nearly 70 Racing, Cruising and Weather Seminars are scheduled throughout North America. At North U Seminars you learn from expert instructors. Not just great sailors, North U seminar leaders combine outstanding sailing skills with years of teaching experience. The focus is on your sailing, not their sea stories. Bring your questions. Leave with answers. To learn more, call 800-347-2457 or visit http://www.NorthU.com NEWS BRIEFS * The t2p.tv website has some new programs posted that are available with either a free or a paid connection. They will broadcast daily race shows from Key West each day of racing, available after 9 PM every night, plus a wrap up show at the end of the regatta. Additionally there will be a show on the Fort Lauderdale to Key West Race and an interview with Gavin Brady. www.t2p.tv/ * For the start of racing in Key West today, the Weather.com website has forecast temperatures in the low to mid 60s with winds in the 20+ range. - http://tinyurl.com/6hyzf * Brian Bissell, a Newport Beach, California native, has joined the North Sails One Design team. Bissell will concentrate primarily on the J/24 Class in the Mid-Atlantic region and the Optimist Class Nationwide. He will share an office with Greg Fisher at the North Sails office in Annapolis and will also be involved with the J/22 class. Bissell, an accomplished dinghy sailor, is a three-time All-American from Georgetown University and a member of a three-time winning Inter-Scholastic Sailing Association (ISSA) National Championship team. For the past two years he worked part-time in the Marketing Department at North Sails. - www.onedesign.com/ RANKINGS The first ISAF World Match Race Ranking for 2005 was released and includes the results from 16 open events which have taken place since the last ranking of November 26, 2004. Two time World Champion Ed Baird (USA) keeps hold of the top spot with Peter Gilmour (AUS) remaining in the number two position ahead of his countryman James Spithill in third. The top five is completed by Mathieu Richard (FRA) and Karol Jablonski (POL). There have been no graded women's match racing events since the last ranking release and there is subsequently no change to the top five. Marie Bjorling (SWE) remains in the top spot where she has resided since 27 October after returning in top form from a rankings holiday. Claire Leyroy (FRA) stays in second place and will be hoping to continue her winning ways in 2005 and perhaps make up the 1311 points with which she trails Björling. Starting the year in third place is Lotte Meldgaard- Pedersen (DEN) www.sailing.org/isafsailor Full story: http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=ju/Fht6CD IN MEMORIAM Charles Edward Riley, 62 took his last breath the morning of January 13th, 2004 aboard his boat, Southern Star. He has been surrounded by many, many friends who knew him as, Chuck, Charlie, Chuckles, Uncle Chuck or Cheese J. A world sailor, his wanderlust was sparked in Michigan where he began traveling with his family in their Airstream 'Land Yacht' but his passion was reserved for racing and cruising the Great Lakes, Eastern Seaboard, Bahamas and Caribbean with his family and later, after relocating to Sausalito his horizons expanded to the West Coast and Mexico. Riley was a founding member of the Great Lakes Single and Double Handed Sailing Society and a member of Bayview YC in Detroit and St.Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. He is survived by Children, Dawn, Dana, Todd, all passionate sailors, Stepdaughter Krissy Hannon, Granddaughter Emma, Sister Marion, and Brother Howard Jr. In lieu of flowers, donations in the name of Charles Riley may be sent to the above charities or to: Chuck Riley Memorial Fund c/o Northern Trust Bank/ATTN Banking Dept. 580 California St. Suite 1800 San Francisco, CA 94104. These funds will be used for sailing scholarships in Detroit and in the San Francisco Bay Area. There will be a celebration of his life at the Sausalito Yacht Club Wednesday, January 19th from 3-7pm. Strawberry Sundaes and Rum & OJ for everyone. Anyone who cannot attend is encouraged to toast Chuck on that day - preferably from the deck of a boat. BECOME A BETTER SPORT BOAT SAILOR Philippe Kahn on sport boats: "Shark and I think that the Bongo is the coolest possible singlehanded Melges! Shark would know as he's a world champion! If you sail a Melges 24 or ever dreamed about it, get a Bongo - a planing, singlehanded pocket-rocket with an asymmetrical kite!" http://www.sailabongo.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (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 Troy Sears: As Assistant to the President of America's Cup '95, I was responsible for budgets and cash management. It amazes me to read the government support for the America's Cup overseas. We received no federal, state or municipal financial support. We did get about $3,000,000 from the Port of San Diego which was critical to our event. The almost $300,000,000 that Valencia will receive is beyond comprehension. During that same time period our local government gave millions for the Super Bowl even though the America's Cup had a much greater financial impact. We simply lacked the popular support needed for politicians to recommend public spending. The result is that we have no legacy on our waterfront. Fremantle and Auckland used the Cup to redevelop tired areas of their waterfront that created a great atmosphere for the Cup and a lasting legacy for those cities. * From Paul Jacobs: I propose a new dimensionless number to characterize some performance aspects of sailboats. Dimensionless ratios are important in fluid physics. An example is the Reynolds Number, the ratio of inertial to viscous forces in a fluid flow; describing the tendency of a fluid to transition from laminar to turbulent flow. Many sailors are aware of the "Displacement / Length", or "D/L" ratio. I have four problems with the D/L ratio. 1. "D/L" is NOT dimensionless. 2. The "D/L" ratio involves mixed units (metric tons and cubic feet) and is thus logically inconsistent. 3. It has a totally arbitrary constant (100) in the denominator. 4. "D/L" is an "inverse ratio" (i.e. smaller is better). To honor Nathaniel Herreshoff, I propose "The Herreshoff Number": H = L / h Here L = LWL and h is the cube root of the ratio (D / d), where D = displacement, and d = density of seawater. One can measure L in meters, D in kg, and d in kg / cubic meter. Or, one can measure L in ft, D in lbs, and d in lbs / cubic ft. The value for H is the same! Also, there are NO arbitrary constants, a bigger value is better, and the range of H is: 4-5 for heavy cruising sailboats, 5-6 for "cruiser-racers", 6-7 for "racer-cruisers", 7-8 for many current racing sailboats, 8- 9 for boats capable of planing off the wind, and finally 9-10 for boats capable of planing to weather. * From Ron Rezac: I would like to kill the handicap discussion. If you want to "unfairly" handicap different boats you can use a one-number system. If you want to "fairly" handicap under all conditions, you need to measure everything. I race Stars one design, each boat is different, the handicaps are "unfair" but never discussing handicaps is priceless. * From Skip Doyle: The two lead articles today are, "What a coach can do for you" and "The pains of weighing in". Do you think perhaps we are taking this game we play too seriously? * From Scott Crawford (re Wally Cross's article on weighing in for regattas - edited to our 250-word limit) : Bear in mind that without the sudden increase in cardiovascular exercise, the low carb, water depletion diet is more suited for one-off weigh ins. The majority of weight loss is a direct result of water loss rather than loss of fat or muscle. Essentially you are overloading the body's natural water balance which in turn triggers a 'purge' response. The body will increase its output of 'fluid' to attempt to regulate its normal level. By dropping the water intake over the 2 -3 days prior to weigh in you achieve a situation where your body is still purging even though you are now no longer consuming excess fluid. With careful timing and elimination of carbohydrate foods you can achieve maximum depletion of fluid on weigh in day and then replenish fluid levels straight after weigh in. The 'side effect' to this method is the retention of fluid by the body as it struggles to restore natural balance. This effectively renders this method useless in a 'spot weigh' regatta. Most of the sailors I put through this depletion plan put back the weight lost and a few pounds more until the body restores its balance. This method of achieving weigh in targets is not recommended for sailors with any history of heart, stomach, kidney or liver condition and you should consult your doctor or coach before attempting it. Obviously it's better for your health and your body to simply eat a clean diet, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy target weight. * From Ron Baerwitz: Tony Rey's story on coaching is so right on the button. When I sailed Dinghies on the international circuit with my good friend, Tom Pollack we sailed 300+ days a year, 75% I would estimate being practice days. About 25% of those days with a coach. The coaching days were more productive than all the other days combined. Coaching and practice are critical to improving performance yet so few actually do it. And, many of those weekend warriors are quick to ban pro's or semi-pros simply because they practiced enough and became good enough to support themselves in our industry/sport. When you think about the dollars an owner spends on purchasing a boat, buying fast sails, provisions for the crew as well as the time spent putting the entire program together the cost and time of utilizing a coach is pennies in comparison. Yet, it improves the learning/performance far beyond what it would be without coaching. There are top notch, rock star sailors in every community who would love to pick up a few bucks coaching. Just ask! CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM "I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult." -Rita Rudner |
