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SCUTTLEBUTT 2144 - July 25, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.THE FIRST BIG TEST 467 sailors from 42 nations are currently registered to compete in the Qingdao International Regatta, the first Test Event for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition. Taking place in China from 18-31 August, the regatta will give competitors the opportunity to test the waters upon which the next set of Olympic medallists will be decided. Of the 42 nations currently represented on the entry list the hosts China will be represented by the largest contingent of sailors with 49 competitors across the eleven events. France, Great Britain and the USA will also all be sending large teams of 30 plus sailors. The 22 strong Australian team will be aiming for a repeat of their King’s Trophy winning display at the ISAF World Sailing Games, whilst the Italians will be buoyed by the Volvo Trophy success of their young sailors at last week’s Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship. Although competition is sure to be tough in Qingdao, an even bigger focus for many of the competitors will be familiarizing themselves with the venue and the racing areas. The Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre, located at the former Beihai Dockyard on Fushan Bay in East New Zone of Qingdao, will host the regatta. The Race Committee, working with guidelines from ISAF, will set courses as similar as possible to those of the Olympic Sailing Competition. The Qingdao International Regatta is the first of two Test Events scheduled for the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition, and is one of the first test events held by any of the 28 summer sports currently on the Olympic program. -- http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?PID=18890 A BRITISH CHALLENGE? Those who bemoan the lack of a British (America’s Cup) challenge and pin their hopes to the mast of Keith Mills, the man who helped to bring the 2012 Olympic Games to London and is trying to draw together interest for the next America’s Cup after Valencia, are perhaps missing the point. The America’s Cup is no longer a cup of nations, it is a cup of corporations. So expensive and specialized has it become, with the richest teams getting through £60 million (US$ 111 million) per campaign (of usually about four years), that has become inevitable. It is not called Formula One on water for nothing. The Cup is held by a land-locked Swiss team, Emirates, the airline, bankrolls the New Zealand team, a German car manufacturer sponsors the American team, there are Kiwis on every boat and the Germany team is full of Danes. Ferrari want the best driver, they pick Michael Schumacher; Emirates Team New Zealand want the best young helmsman to keep their older one honest, they pick Ben Ainslie, Britain’s double gold medal-winning Olympian. “I see it as an international game now,” (Ian) Percy, who, like (Ben) Ainslie, was not part of the Cowes-based GBR Challenge team, said. “Your mates might be British in the majority, but they certainly won’t be all British and you’re certainly not going to win by having a totally British focused team. Every person in the team — and the sailors are a small part of that — has to have international merit. It could be British-funded, it might have a British flavour for a marketing reason, but to win this thing you don’t handicap yourself. There are a handful of Brits around that standard. “Keith is obviously looking at the project. One of its attractions and one of its problems is ‘where’s it going to be?’, ‘what boat is it going to be in?’ That’s why it has been around 150 years, it’s why it has got all this mystique, but it is also why it is a pain in the a*** for sponsors sometimes.” Mills will not be thinking of putting together a tub-thumping jolly British boat, but Percy would certainly be one of his targets. “Keith Mills is still very interested in heading a British bid,” Rod Carr, the chief executive of the Royal Yachting Association, said. “In this Cup there are four boats at the top, probably four in the middle and four at the bottom. There is no interest in being one of the last. Without being arrogant we would want to compete, and to do that you probably need £15 million (US$ 28 million) a year.” “We were in Valencia in May and answered a few questions. We are well on the way to scoping things out. That hasn’t been finished and it will take the autumn to do that. Keith is determined to make a decision at Christmas.” -- Excerpt from a story by Matthew Pryor, The Times. Full story: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4041-2263061,00.html RACING RULES QUIZ Multiple choice. If you touch a mark and break a right-of-way rule at the same time, what must you do? A) No penalty. B) A one-turn penalty; C) A two-turns penalty; D) A three-turns penalty; E) Retire from the race. (See answer later in this issue.) THE DESIRE FOR LIGHT, BREATHABLE CLOTHING CONTINUES To meet these needs, Camet International has introduced a new line of sportswear to satisfy it's sports-minded and outdoor enthusiast customers. The collection offers an array of possibilities from highly technical products that scream "performance," to lightweight, wrinkle-free products for on-the-water and off-the-water activities. We look for fabrics that move perspiration away from the body, dry quickly, and are wrinkle-resistant; characteristics sought by adventurers and sailors alike. The summer line not only serves a purpose, it is also very fashionable. With solid color schemes, Hawaiian prints, and multi-functional designs. Check them out at http://www.camet.com TRIM TABS (The Daily Sail subscription website has just posted a in interview with designer Jason Ker about his new 50 footer. Here are a few excerpts.) From his position as Principle Designer for the South African team, Ker has been able to transfer some of his new found Cup design know-how to his latest IRC designs. Most apparent is the trim tab on the trailing edge of the keel found. It is of no benefit at all if you’re running but it is good for races where you have a decent amount of upwind racing. It is nice to have height and speed off the line and upwind generally. The trim tab has this effect and is a useful tactical weapon, although Ker acknowledges that it takes some getting used to, a sentiment echoed by many of the crews struggling with them at the Rolex Commodores' Cup. "You have to be set up right to get the full benefit out of it," the designer warns. While trim tabs on Cup boats are operated by a wheel within the main steering wheels, on the new Ker boats it is simply moved by a continuous line, the two ends of which emerge just forward of the backstay and pull the tab in different directions. Aside from the method of control the gear is exactly the same, although scaled down, to what is used on Cup boats. "Normally the tactician or someone else at the back of the boat controls the trim tab and obviously it needs to be controlled in the tacks and then sometimes small adjusts need to be made when you are sailing along in a straight line," says Ker. -- http://www.thedailysail.com LASER OPEN NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP Sixty-two Lasers and 64 Laser Radials with sailors from Canada, Australia, Bermuda, Chile, Ecuador, England, St. Lucia, United States and the Virgin Islands raced at St Margaret's Sailing Club in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the Laser Open North American Championships. Final Results - Laser: 1. Brendan Casey (AUS) 14pts; 2. Michael Leigh (CAN) 25; 3. Bernard Luttmer (CAN) 31; 4. David Wright (CAN) 34; 5. Matias Del Solar Goldsmith (CHI) 49; 6. Andrew Childs (CAN) 51; 7. Michael Kalin (CAN) 51; 8. Brad Funk (USA) 53; 9. Andrew Campbell (USA) 59; 10. Derick Vranizan (USA) 87. Laser Radials: 1. Jerry Tullo Toms (USA) 22pts; 2. Danielle Dube (CAN) 27; Tedd Himler (USA) 31; 4. Ian Sutherland (USA) 35; 5. Randy Hartranft (USA) 35; 6. Rosie Chapman (GBR) 45; 7. Colin Smith (USA) 59; 8. Mathew Archibald (CAN) 66; 9. Alexander Palmeter (CAN) 67; 10. Phillip Norris (USA) 68. -- http://www.lasernorthamericans2006.com/ BMW ORACLE RACING (The following item from the informative blog of the BMW Oracle Racing syndicate gives a quick glimpse at what the America’s Cup teams are doing now that the ‘Acts’ have ended.) Bright and early tomorrow (Tuesday) morning our advance party led by Scotty Sandford (NZL, shore team) and including Capt. Craig Christensen (NZL, support boat mgr), Rodney Daniel (AUS, sailing team) and Tony Kolb (GER, sailing team) leave for Kiel. Following later in the week and early next will be other members of the sailing, support and marketing teams, who likewise will fly the by now familiar Spanair leg to Munich. Then, following a brief layover at MUC's new and comfortable airport, you take one of the many daily LH flights up to Hamburg and drive the hour or so up Germany's A7 autobahn to Kiel. Grass will not be growing on the stones -- or boats -- remaining at our team base in VLC. While some of us are shuttling off to Kiel, the rest are engaged in the two-boating that continues with 76 and 87. Talk about a three-ring circus: it's 71 that has been shipped to Kiel for the upcoming German Sailing Grand Prix. -- http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/ ANSWER TO RACING RULES QUIZ C. Rule 44.4a says, “When a boat intends to take a penalty as provided in rule 44.1 [a Two-Turns Penalty] and in the same incident has touched a mark, she need not take the penalty provided in rule 31.2 [a one-turn penalty].” She just has to take the Two Turns Penalty. For 99 more questions like this, check out the Racing Rules IQ Test at: http://www.SpeedandSmarts.com. CHANGE HEADSAILS FAST WITH THE CARBO RACING FOIL Stay in front this season with Harken’s Carbo Racing Foil. Built of high-strength, impact-resistant engineering resins that are much tougher than commodity plastics, the foil’s super-smooth twin sail grooves let the bowman set, douse, and change headsails fast. For bowman tips on how to use the Carbo Racing Foil and gain that competitive edge read: how to prepare for the hoist, choose the correct groove/halyard combination when racing around buoys, change headsails when you’re overpowered. http://www.harken.com/furling/Carbo_Racing_Foil.php SAILING SHORTS * Doug DeVos’ Windquest, the largest boat in the Chicago Race to Mackinac, took line honors by finishing at 2:30 AM Monday. Windquest preceded the next finisher in the Turbo class, Stripes, by almost six hours. At 6:56 AM, Nitemare, skippered by Tom Neill was the first GL70 and the second entry across the finish line. The first multihull to finish was Adagio at 8:35 AM followed 13 minutes later by Lucretia. -- http://chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/ * The World’s oldest and largest sailing regatta is celebrating its 180th anniversary this year and Skandia Cowes Week might also be celebrating another record entry year in 2006. Over the course of the weekend entries topped 1,000 and currently stand at 1,012. Entries are still coming in online and via snail mail at a rate of 8-10 a day, and organisers Cowes Combined Clubs reckon they could still beat last year’s final entry figure of 1,039. -- http://www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk * Photographer Chris Cameron brings the TP 52 action in the Med to the Scuttlebutt website, providing the 'butthead readers with images from the lastest class event in Mallorca, Spain: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0724/ * The new America’s Cup Class boat for United Internet Team Germany, GER 89, has arrived in Valencia. It is sitting on the German base in the Port America’s Cup. The boat was christened ‘Germany 1’ in Kiel back in April and since that time the team has been outfitting the boat and making it ready for sailing. The boat was designed by a team of 16, led by Axel Mohnhaupt. It was built at the Knierim-Yachtbau shipyard in Kiel. -- http://www.americascup.com/en/ * In the Pacific, Adrian Flanagan, attempting to sail round the world via the polar route, has suffered propeller problems on his 38ft yacht Barrabas. His aim of sailing across the Arctic Ocean could be halted if he does not finish his repairs quickly; thick ice starts forming in mid-August. -- Tim Jeffery, http://tinyurl.com/edjfo. Flanagan’s website: http://www.alphaglobalex.com * Victory Challenge has been made an agreement with Liros Yacht Ropes, as the official supplier of lines & ropes for running rigging on the team’s America’s Cup boats. Each of the boats is equipped with approximately 500 metres (1640 feet) halyards and sheets. An America’s Cup challenge can easily use up to ten kilometres (6+ miles) of line. -- http://www.victorychallenge.com * The 105 boats in the 29er World Championship all completed two races on Monday at England’s Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy. Newly-crowned British National Champions Paul Brotherton and Mari Shepherd scored two bullets, while Will Twemlow and Pete Perera managed a near-perfect 1,2 to sit in second overall, just ahead on Finland's Mikko Hentinen and Miikka Pennanen in third on four points. Judge Ryan and Hans Henken (USA) are the top North American team in tenth place, with Cooper Dressler and Pike Harris (USA) in 12th. -- http://www.9erchamps2006.com/ * There won't be anyone from North America winning the 2006 Moth Worlds in Denmark - there isn't anyone there from North America. But thanks to photographer Thierry Martinez, Scuttlebutt will follow the event through his photos, because these foiling boats are just so impressive to see. It doesn't take much wind to lift the hull out of the water, so as result they are airborne most of the time. View photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/mothworlds/ * Youth exchange program in Valencia -- Last year T-Systems initiated a Youth Exchange Program between young sailors from South Africa and Germany in cooperation with Team Shosholoza, the MSC Izivunguvungu Foundation of Cape Town, the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) and the North German Sailing Association (NRV). This year’s Youth Exchange Program is taking place in Valencia, kicking off Monday morning and lasting till next Sunday, 30 July, 30. Nine young sailors from South Africa have travelled to Valencia, joining German and Spanish youths to talk, sail and have fun together during the whole week. -- Valencia Sailing, full story: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ * North Sails has partnered with expert meteorologist Chris Bedford and his team at Sailing Weather Services to provide free weather forecasts for the Lands' End Marblehead NOOD Regatta from July 27-30. To sign up, visit North Sails' online weather center: http://na.northsails.com/ew/ew_main.taf 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. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Richard Clark: I just hung my Scuttlebutt Pennant from the deck of my Tree House high above the agricultural plains of New Zealand's Wairarapa. As I did so my Curmudgeonly newsletter came sailing in on a breeze and, with a frenzy matched only by rogue waves, I read every word and found myself smiling broadly. What say now, those who dumped on Chris Dickson, the on again off again skipper of Oracle/ Beemer/ Ellison pride. Chris has brought much to the Americas Cup over the years and I wish him a great big Kiwi, "Go Dude", from the landlocked tranquility of my new home. It is interesting the different training regimes of the various teams, Emirates - definitely not a NZ Team, and Oracle going on opposite tacks. Dickson obviously rising to the match racing challenge and I can see, deep within the recesses of his heart and mind, how badly he wants that Cup back in New Zealand with his name all across the Skipper credit. To get off an Air New Zealand flight from LA with the Cup held aloft and Larry one step behind, what a feeling. Do it Dude! Wear those Kiwi made Red Socks with pride. It's okay if you get down to the wire with Dean and Grant et al, in a winner take all race to get that damned Cup back where it belongs. Even if it is for a visit, we know who the real winners are, yep, the skippers. * From Ralph Taylor: Thanks to Mikee Anderson-Mitterling for pointing out, in ‘Butt # 2143, some implications of the new race format – qualifying rounds plus final round(s). that it changes the game (“conservative tactics to achieve consistent scores … replaced by more aggressive, risky tactics to vie for only top scores”) is a concern. Recognizing that it’s not always practical to have all competitors sail in one fleet, race administrators need to take into account that a racing schedule might not be completed due to weather. How to deal with the problem? Two possible solutions come to mind: 1) Seeding: ISAF is already ranking sailors worldwide. Initial fleets could be assigned with ISAF rankings. Competitors could move up (or down) in fleets based on results in each round. This would also give the ISAF rankings some actual meaning. 2) Scoring time-on-time across the entire class: Yes, it sounds radical for one-design, but perhaps necessary when competitors aren’t sailing identical courses in identical conditions. Fleets could then be adjusted based on corrected-time places. This would put the early-round emphasis more on getting around the course fast than on aggressive tactics. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATIONS The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. Special thanks to Camet International and Harken Yacht Equipment. |
