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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 971 - December 24, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
SIR PETER BLAKE The event, organised by Yachting New Zealand, gave boaties a chance to pay their last respects to their hero, who was shot dead by pirates this month when they boarded his yacht, Seamaster, on the Amazon River in Brazil. - Ainsley Thompson, NZ Herald Full story: www.nzherald.co.nz * Sir Peter Blake will be given "a sailor's send-off" before the start of the third leg of the round-the-world yacht race from Sydney to Auckland on Boxing Day. Instead of heading to the start-line one by one, with their team music blaring, the eight boats in the Volvo Ocean Race fleet will leave the dock together in silence. They will then form a circle with their sterns just off the dock, drop wreaths into the water and observe a minute's silence. Blake, the five-time Whitbread round-the-world sailor and double America's Cup winner, was murdered in the Amazon this month. Volvo Ocean Race director of logistics Chris Cooney said the idea for Blake's tribute came from New Zealanders Grant Dalton (Amer Sports One), Kevin Shoebridge (Tyco) and Ross Field (News Corp) - all close friends of Blake. "They came up with the idea and then it was discussed with all the skippers, who were keen for a tribute," said Cooney. He said there was a tremendous amount of respect for Blake throughout the yachting world, and his death was a huge loss. "Sir Peter really wrote the book of ocean racing, and the sailors really wanted to give him their own send-off - a sailor's send-off." - Julie Ash, NZ Herald Full story: www.nzherald.co.nz
TITAN WINCH HANDLES
TROUBLE The question is: has the GBR Challenge flouted the rules in the America's Cup Protocol which forbid teams from buying up "plans, specifications and design information" from another team - rules which are designed to ensure each syndicate entering the Louis Vuitton Cup has its own independent designers and is not the product of shared technology. In the case of the GBR Challenge it is clear that the Japanese boats - both of which sailed in the 2000 Louis Vuitton series for the Nippon Challenge - have been the base point, or point of departure for the design team. - Ed Gorman, madforsailing website Full story: www.madforsailing.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Mark Weinheimer: Dave Millett hit the nail on the head when referring to the "chess match" on the race course. Over the years my observation is that the back third of the fleet doesn't know it is in a board game, the middle third is playing checkers, and the top is playing chess. If you enjoy the game, you move up in the fleet through a combination of sailing skill and rules knowledge. "Simplifying" the rules won't bring the bottom up if they don't like the game, but it will alienate the top by dumbing- down the match. Checkers is boring after you've played chess. * From Nick Barran: The World Champion referred to by Tucker Thompson in his letter (Butt 969) has apparently taken the recommendation "you should go so far as to be warned by the judges once per event" and made it a rule (or standard) for himself. In so doing, he is basically saying, I will cheat every day until someone tells me not to, whereas the rules tell us not to cheat at all. The rules should be clear enough and simple enough so that we have lines not to go over, not envelopes to push. Then all can race fairly. Until they are, those of that champion's way of thinking will gain unfair advantage, will win improperly and drive others from racing. Clear rules are essential to the success of our sport and it is worth the trouble exploring new wordings and new methods to incubate a perfect set. * From Gail M. Turluck: I can't wait to see the debate as we try to apply the same kinetic "standards" to the Olympic level, weekend warrior level, collegiate level, high school level, keelboats, catamarans, dinghies, and all those in between! This will be a fun ride. * From Jim Champ: Surely some correspondents have missed the point about simplified rules. No one's proposing that they're a replacement for the current rules, but people new to sailing find the current set intimidating. If folks start by learning Don Becker's list of 9, apply them and don't push their luck by getting into complicated situations, then they can participate in club racing without being a risk to themselves or others. The simplified set isn't enough for match or team racing, it isn't enough for top level sailing, and it isn't really enough for racing against those who wish to exploit the limit of the rules. It is good enough for fun enjoyable and competitive club racing without collisions. Sailing against people who know the top 9 will be better than sailing against people know no rules well, and especially better than having people not sailing because they've been put off the sport. I'd like to ask the purist who says that everyone should know all the rules if they know the complete criminal law, or do they know a subset that's good enough to keep them out of jail and live with others in their society? * From John McCarthy: I have read with dismay the debate about the "new" vs the "new-new" vs the "old" racing rules. The thing I love most about sailboat racing is its complexity. It isn't easy. Boat prep, sail program, crew training, tactics, strategy, and (oh yes) the rules. All of these contribute to getting around the course faster than someone else. That is the point. If the competition didn't matter, we would need no results, standings, or trophies. The truth is, it is a race. That's why we all go out there. It is a test of skill between people who are out there for that reason. Why should the rules be simple? Why would we cater to those who claim an inability or unwillingness to learn them? People choose to go racing as opposed to simply sailing. With that choice comes responsibility. Our sport is self-policing. Lots goes on - tight roundings, close crossings, crowded starts. Surely we can be expected to make an effort to learn our rights and responsibilities. Part 2 of the rulebook is a grand total of five pages. How hard can it be? Has anyone ever looked at the ASA Softball Rulebook? If one chooses to race, one must also choose to learn the rules. It really is that simple. No one has to go out there. Day sailing and cruising are great too. No rules required.
SYDNEY-HOBART RACE Dr Roger Badham, meteorologist to the Nautor Challenge's Amer Sports One and Amer Sports Too in the Volvo fleet plus a number of the Sydney-Hobart race starters, said the weather forecast modelling pattern - which last week promised the fleet west to south-west winds of gale force in Bass Strait - had changed. An intense low in the Southern Ocean would now pass through earlier. "During the race, we should just get the tail-end of all that rubbish," he said yesterday. "It looks as though we should get a surfeit of southerly changes during the first 36 hours of the race." Badham expected the winds would be moderate south-easterlies during the day, leaving the yachts sailing down the New South Wales coast on port tack with sheets just cracked. The wind would then back to the south and strengthen, with a second front, as the yachts got further south, putting them hard on the wind. In Bass Strait, between the Australian mainland and Tasmania, the winds would be 20-25 knots from the southwest, followed by softening south-easters and sea breezes on the Tasmanian coast under the influence of a ridge of high pressure. "This will play havoc with the Volvo fleet because they have to get into Hobart up the Derwent River and then out again," Badham said. "They will battle to finish late Friday night. By Saturday morning, they will have to row up the river." He said the weather pattern would give the maxis at the head of the Sydney-Hobart fleet a good chance of cleaning up the handicap trophies if they could finish within 2.5 days, leaving the smaller boats struggling to finish in lighter winds. These conditions would also rob the eight Volvo boats of any chance of beating the maxis into Hobart. The favorite is the Swedish maxi Nicorette, skippered by Ludde Ingvall, who has now made his home in Sydney.This water-ballasted 79-footer was first to finish in last year's Sydney-Hobart, sailed in strong to gale-force headwinds for all but 150 miles of the 630-mile course, five hours ahead of Grant Wharington's 83-footer Wild Thing. Since, Nicorette has finished second in Britain's offshore classic, the Fastnet race. Ingvall said that, through his northern hemisphere campaigning in the summer, he remained focused on this year's Sydney-Hobart. The boat is sailing in substantially the same ballast configuration as in its 2000 win. - Bob Ross, The Telegraph, UK Full story: sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/
PRESSURE * For (Mark) Rudiger, the (Volvo Ocean) race thus far has been a character-building experience, especially compared to his performance in the last around-the- world race four years ago. As navigator for a fellow San Franciscan, Paul Cayard, on EF Language, Rudiger played a prominent role in a winning campaign. Asked in a phone interview late last week to sum up his personal take on the current race, Rudiger was succinct. "Tough," he said. The New Zealand skipper Grant Dalton, whose Amer Sports One is in third place, is on record as saying that he believes Assa Abloy may be the fastest boat in the fleet. Rudiger does not dispute the observation. "We're very happy with our boat speed," he said. In the fiercely competitive Volvo fleet, however, a fast boat has little chance if it is in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Rudiger admits that tactical errors have been made in each of the first two legs. "I think on both legs I was pushing too hard to try and get into the lead and taking too many risks," he said. "I think we're learning that in this fleet you have to keep your spot and not risk losing it and then try working up to the next spot. But you have to be patient while you do. But it's not in my nature to sit in third place and not try and find a way to get around the boat in front. Still, we don't have room for any more mistakes, that's for sure." * Assa Abloy has enlisted the services of the Annapolis, Md.- based sailmaker and tactician Chris Larson. "We needed another set of eyes thinking more about short-term tactics," Rudiger said. "I think the mentality we've had on board has been centered around the style of long ocean races," he said. "We need someone like Chris who can get a little excited about the next 20 minutes or hour, someone who can help us win all the short little races that go to make up the entire leg." So now, with a three-man brain trust signaling a willingness - and a need - to try something new, Assa Abloy will once again enter the fray. And Mark Rudiger will hope that his next leg-ending missive will be a proclamation of triumph, not a mea culpa. - Herb McCormick, New York Times Full story: www.nytimes.com/2001/12/23/sports/
STANDINGS
A HARD SAIL IS GOOD TO FIND
FOR THE RECORD
ON THE HAURAKI GULF On TVNZ's sailnz.tv programme screened this morning one of the items featured an on the water tour of syndicate bases. In the course of the commentary it was mentioned that Team Dennis Conner was expected to re-locate to Auckland in August 2002 with the illbruck America's Cup operation arriving in June or July 2002. At the Viaduct Basin most syndicates seem to have closed their doors for a Christmas break. The ACC boats belonging to Team NZ, One World Challenge, and Oracle are no longer visible, presumably housed within their boat sheds. Sweden's SWE 38 and Prada's boats have been completely stripped down and are sitting on the base forecourt. The new SWE -63 Orn is in its boat shed de-rigged as is Alinghi's new SUI-64 and one of the GBR boats. The only rigged boats at the moment are SUI-59 (the former BeHappy) and the remaining GBR. The compounds belonging to TDC and Illbruck, formerly used for keel boat storage and haul out services, have been completely cleared no doubt in preparation for the arrival of the Volvo Ocean Race 60 fleet on 3 January 2002. -Cheryl, 2003ac website forum, www.2003ac.com/
POLITICALLY CORRECT
His workers no longer would answer to "Elves. "
Equal Employment had already made it quite clear,
All the runners were removed from Santa's sleigh;
To demonstrate the strangeness of life's ebbs and flows,
Half the reindeer were gone; along with his wife,
As for the gifts, why, he had never a notion,
Nothing that might be construed to pollute.
Nothing that hinted of being gender specific.
So Santa just stood there, disheveled, perplexed.
His sack was quite empty, flung on the ground.
An offering that would satisfy, with no indecision,
HOLIDAYS
THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM |
