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SCUTTLEBUTT 2432 - September 14, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday with the support of its sponsors. DISPLAYING THE COLORS Here in the United States, the America's Cup is losing its appeal. If Ellison wants the country to support his efforts he needs to recruit an American team. Clearly Alinghi and New Zealand believed in American talent. Ellison recently hired Russell Coutts to be the team's new CEO. BMW Oracle Racing failed with Chris Dickson serving as skipper and overall manager. Coutts will have a lot of pressure taking on the same roles as Dickson. Furthermore, it’s about time that Ellison started flying America's colors. It bothered me and many other American visitors in Spain that we never saw an American ensign flying from the boat, or an American flag painted on the hull or sails or over the team's immense compound. All around the harbor huge national flags flew proudly from the roofs. Italy, Spain, France, China, and New Zealand all had flags, but not the United States. Francis Scott Key surely would be annoyed. A BMW executive in the United States told me that at one point the American ambassador to Spain visited the BMW Oracle compound and noticed the lack of an American flag. So the ambassador sent an American flag to Ellison, but there was never a reply. -- Gary Jobson, Sailing World magazine, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2rkqg3 SCOUTING THE OUTER LIMITS Steve Fossett is—or was, we don’t know yet, but he's missing—a great sailor. He was also different. A great pilot and balloonist, but different in those worlds too. Fossett's transatlantic-record navigator, Stan Honey, recalls, "It was the challenge that Steve cared about. After he had set all the records he could on Playstation I asked him if he would get a different boat. He looked at me as if I were crazy." So it wasn't about sailing, exactly. It was about a drive to set records. Most of them, Fossett knew, would be broken eventually. No matter, as long as he'd been there, done that. He held Pacific sailing records, Atlantic sailing records, and a round-the-world sailing record. Playstation's 2001 transatlantic crossing was the first to break five days, and it was an amazing feat in its moment. "Steve wasn't a sailor the way a lot of us are," Honey said, "but he never stopped being an unassuming good guy while becoming a famous rich guy. It was normal to him to go to dinner with a bunch of mechanics in blue jeans, and if he talked about himself at all it was something self-effacing, like how he swam the English Channel and set a record for the slowest crossing in history. He may also have been the toughest person I've ever known," Honey said, "just in terms of tolerating physical discomfort and going days without sleep. He trained for that. If you talked to Steve about growing up, you got the idea that joining the Boy Scouts was a turning point. Scouting gave him a feel for the outdoors and a vision for meeting challenges. He was an Eagle Scout, and he stayed with Scouting his whole life. -- Excerpts from a story by Kimball Livingston, Sail magazine, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2pvszm THE MODEL OF CONSISTENCY Hyeres, France -- A day of consistency, consolidation and concentration was enough for Russell Coutts and the crew of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s Artemis to inc rease their grip on the overall Breitling MedCup Circuit title in brisk easterly winds on the Bay of Hyères. Although the Swedish flagged Judel-Vrolijk design has not won a regatta yet this season, their main focus today was on building their margin over Caixa Galicia, their nearest rivals for the overall 2007 title. A third and a fifth to Caixa Galicia’s fourth and seventh is insight enough to the Artemis agenda, which they completed comfortably. Once again there was little that Roberto Bermudez de Castro and his team aboard the black hulled Botin & Carkeek design Caixa Galicia could do to puncture the supremacy of Artemis in the 15-21 knot, onshore breeze which kicks up a nasty choppy swell over the shallow waters of the bay, the day belonged to the English and the Irish. Stuart Robinson’s British boat Stay Calm was the top scorer for the day with a second and first, to Eamon Conneely’s Patches which won the first race and then took fourth in the second windward-leeward. Standings after seven races: 1 Artemis (T Tornqvist SWE-Judel Vrolijk 2007) 20pts 2 Patches (E Conneely, IRL- Reichel Pugh 2007) 32pts 3 Mutua Madrilena (V Vascotto, ESP-Botin & Carkeek 2007) 33pts 4 Stay Calm (S Robinson, GBR-Judel Vrolijk 2007) 35pts 5 CxG Corporacion Caixa Galicia (V Tirado-ESP Botin & Carkeek 2007) 35pts Complete report: http://2007.medcup.org/news/?idioma=2 ATTENTION CORPORATE SPONSORS AND EVENT PLANNERS Not another t-shirt, lanyard, or floating key chain! As a corporate sponsor or event planner, you need gifts and premiums that not only convey your direct involvement with sailing, but will also make a powerful branding statement that will set you apart from the competition. Individually handcrafted in the U.S.A., True Wind travel and accessory bags are made exclusively with new Dacron sailcloth and, when customized with your corporate logo or colors, make for distinctive, upscale gifts and premiums that are sure to be well received by clients and prospects alike. View True Wind’s collection of products at http://www.truewindusa.com ADVENTURE This Sunday the starting gun fires for the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race, the crews who have paid for their berths on one of the ten internationally-backed 68-foot yachts are gearing up for the 35,000-mile adventure. The biennial Clipper Round the World Yacht Race will start from Liverpool, the European Capital of Culture 2008. The ten yachts will race between 14 ports on five continents before returning to Liverpool on July 5 next year. The fleet will line up on the River Mersey Sunday for the start of Race 1 of Clipper 07-08 from Liverpool to La Rochelle. The 610-mile race will take approximately three days with the fleet due to arrive on Wednesday September 19. -- http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com WORLD TOUR Rome, Italy (13 September 2007) — The weather gods sent optimum conditions to Fiumicino today allowing Round Robin A and the Repechage to be completed at Stage 12 of the World Match Racing Tour. It was a rich day of match racing with intense challenges. Sébastien Col won both of his matches in the remaining flights which placed him at the top of the Round Robin and secured his place in the Quarter Finals along with Sten Mohr from Group A. The Repechage provided sensational viewing as spectators watched the skippers battle it out for places in the quarter final. The line up saw some teams usually found higher up in the rankings, namely Peter Gilmour, Mathieu Richard and Ian Williams. Friday should provide a further spectacle for all the visitors at the Civitavela Sail Show when the final two spots for the quarter finals are decided and the Quarter Finals get under way. Round Robin A Results: Sébastien Col 4-1 Sten Mohr 3-2 Ian Ainslie 3-2 Peter Gilmour 2-3 Ian Williams 2-3 Jure Orel 1-4 Repechage Results: Peter Gilmour 4-1 Mathieu Richard 4-1 Ian Williams 4-1 Michael Hestbaek 1-4 Victor Lanier 1-4 Jure Orel 1-4 Full details: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/ U.S. MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIPS At the first day of the 2007 U.S. Men's and Women's Championships, hosted by Southwestern Yacht Club in San Diego, a southerly breeze blew 8-10 with gusts of up to 15 knots all day. Seas were lumpy and surfable, yet this converted to choppy conditions during the competitors' boat rotations between races. In the Adams, Colleen Cooke of SWYC is leading overall with 7 points, Kaitlyn Storck of MITNA is in 2nd with 9 points and, Betsy Altman of the Chicago YC is in 3rd with 11 points. In the Mallory, Chris Busch of SDYC is leading overall with 7 points, Brian Camet, another San Diego sailor, is in 2nd with 9 points and, Paul Wilson of Vineyard Haven YC is in 3rd with 11 points. -- http://tinyurl.com/35b326 PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include the Farr 11 that will debut next month at the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis, MD, a helicopter angle of 470 team Amanda Clark and Sarah Mergenthaler training for the US Olympic Trials, various ways teams kept cool at Annapolis Race Week, 117 year old Plymouth Yacht Club’s first ever junior event, a view from the Dragon Worlds, and Morning Light’s Chris Branning battling a big wind day at Kings Point.. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/0914 BIG BOAT SERIES San Francisco, Calif., USA (September 13, 2007) – September on San Francisco Bay: light morning breezes quickly turned into ideal 12-15 knot gusting winds, propelling the 112 racing sailboats into the first day of the 43rd annual Rolex Big Boat Series. Two races were held for each of the 10 classes – four IRC, six one-design – taking the fleet from Treasure Island, around Alcatraz and up to the Golden Gate Bridge for a final lap back and then to the finish line. An exciting debut duel in IRC A class among the five biggest of the boats saw Rosebud, the brand-new STP65 owned by Roger Sturgeon (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Samba Pa Ti, one of the newest TP52s owned by local sailor John Kilroy, battling for an advantage against the Bay’s heavy mid-day flood tide. Overall class leader Samba Pa Ti took two first places, over second-place Sjambok, owned by Michael Brennan (Annapolis, Md.), with Larry Ellison, Gavin Brady, and Sean Clarkson among the top-level sailors fresh from the America’s Cup challenge in Valencia, Spain. Racing continues daily through Sunday, September 16 on San Francisco Bay. Complete results are online: http://tinyurl.com/2a33by DISCOVER The best time of year for sailing. Here in the northeast, we’re winding up the summer sailing season. We’re sad to see it go, but the best sailing days are yet to come. Fall means cool breeze, warm(ish) water, and some of the best regattas of the year. If you like Fall sailing as much as we do, you’re going to want the new Atlantis gear. It keeps you warm when the cold fronts blow through, cool during the Indian Summer heat waves, and dry all the time. Visit us online at http://www.AtlantisWeatherGear.com SAILING SHORTS * One thousand one hundred fifteen boating enthusiasts, an opening-day attendance record, walked the 75,000 feet of docks on Seattle’s South Lake Union Wednesday, exploring over 340 sail and power boats on the first day of the 2007 Lake Union Boats Afloat Show -- the largest floating boat show on the west coast. The show features mega yachts, green boats, classic unlimited hydroplanes and more including 17 motor yachts over 70-feet and 67 sailboats from 16 to 58-feet. The show also includes the 118-foot Mega Yacht After Eight and a 32-foot personal submarine. - http://www.BoatsAfloatShow.com * Twenty-six women sailors from 11 states gathered at Wawasee Yacht Club, Syracuse, Indiana to compete in the Sunfish Women’s North American Championship. Friday’s rain and strong winds gave way to light to medium winds and overcast skies for the weekend. Four races were sailed on Saturday, and three on Sunday. Final results (seven races with one discard): 1. Anne Edwards, 15pts; 2. Linda Tillman, 18pts; 3. Gail Heausler, 25pts; 4. Anne Patin, 29pts; 5. Jean Bergman, 33pts. -- Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/24gmsm * France’s Damien Sequin continues his domination of the 2.4mR class at the IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship at the Rochester Yacht Club, Rochester, NY, USA. His lead over Canadian Bruce Millar after seven races with one discard is now nine points. The USA’s Karen Mitchell and JP Creignou sit on top of the SKUD 18 class with a four point lead over Scott Witman and Julia Dorsett -- also from the USA. Dror Cohen (ISR) holds a five point lead over the USA’s Paul Callahan in the Sonar class in this championship which ends on Saturday. -- http://www.2007ifdsworlds.com/results.html * The fog and the barely blowing wind were the day's special for the TMN Snipe World Championship at Leixões. The Japanese crew Kenji Abe/Hiroshi Yamachica won the only race of the day and took the lead in the overall results. After two races: 1. Kenji Abe & Hiroshi Yamachica, JPN, 2.75pts; 2. Tomas Hornos & Enrique Quintero, USA, 3.75pts; 3. Pablo Defazio & Eduardo Medici, URU, 16pts; 4. Bahuru Kodama & Toshihiko Tanaka, JPN,18pts; 5. Shigeru Matsuzaki & Hiroyuri Sigiura, JPN, 19pts; 6. Paco Sanchez & Marina Sanchez, ESP, 21pts; 7. Peter Commette & Sheehan Commette, USA, 22pts. -- http://www.worldsnipe2007.org/ * Although USA Star sailors are tuning up for the Olympic Trials at the California YC in Marina del Rey, California, 93 teams from 27 nations are racing at the European Championships in Malcesine, Italy. After five races the leaders are: 1 Percy Ian/ Simpson Andrew (GBR) 15pts; 2. Loof Fredrik/ Ekstrom Anders (SWE)17pts; 3. Marazzi Flavio/ De Maria Enrico (SUI) 18pts; 4. Negri Diego/ Viale Luigi (ITA) 24pts; 5. Grael Torben/ Ferreira Marcelo (BRA) 31pts; 6. Bruni Francesco/ Nobili Gilberto (ITA) 41pts; 7. Kusznierewicz Mateusz/ Holc Tomasz (POL) 43pts; 8. Bromby Peter/ White Lee (BER) 44pts. -- Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/2x4qyt * Entitled "A Silver Lining? The Connection between Gas Prices and Obesity," the study found that an additional $1 per gallon in real gasoline prices would reduce U.S. obesity by 15 percent after five years. The report, written by Charles Courtemanche for his doctoral dissertation in health economics, found that the 13 percent rise in obesity between 1979 and 2004 can be attributed to falling pump prices. Higher gasoline prices can reduce obesity by leading people to walk or cycle instead of drive and eat leaner at home instead of rich food at restaurants. -- Reuters, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2p3l65 * Design debuts will be very much a part of Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica on January 21 – 25, 2008. Included will be Dan Meyers’ new IRC 68 Numbers (Rolf Vrolijk); Irvine Laidlaw’s latest Highland Fling (X) – a swing keel Wally 80; brothers Carl and Andrew Allen’s new Sllim 37 No Naked Flames (Mark Mills0; the new J/122, a 40 foot performance sprit boat; a second new IRC cruiser/racer, George Carabetta and Barry Carroll’s King 40 (Mills) and Scott Fox’s Flying Tiger 10M CharSar (Bob Perry). -- http://www.Premiere-Racing.com * US Sailing’s 2008 Youth World Qualifier Regatta, a new multi-class event that will determine the sailors who will represent the U.S. at the 2008 Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship, will be hosted by the Alamitos Bay Yacht Club of Long Beach, California. Racing at the Qualifier Regatta will be held from January 19-21 in Lasers (boys singlehanded), Laser Radials (girls singlehanded), 29er (girls doublehanded, boys doublehanded), RS-X (girls board, boys board), and the SL16 (open mulithull). In previous years, separate class events were selected as the qualifying events for the Youth Worlds. -- http://abyc.org/event.cfm?id=280 * Just in time for Christmas, Farr Yacht Sales will debut the Farr 11s at the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis, MD. The Farr 11s is a 36' high-performance keel boat that incorporates canting keel technology along with twin asymmetric canards and twin retractable rudders. It should be fast. -- http://www.farrdesign.com/613.htm * The Royal Natal Yacht Club situated in Durban South Africa will be celebrating 150 years of existence in May of 2008. The RNYC is the oldest club in Africa and the only club on the continent still holding the Royal Warrant originally issued by Queen Victoria. To Celebrate this noteworthy occasion the Club in conjunction with the City of Durban will be holding an 150th Anniversary International Yacht Club Challenge Regatta from the 1st to 4th May 2008 in the Indian Ocean waters offshore Durban. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Chris Ericksen: George Wendt in 'Butt 2431 says Brad Butterworth's musing that the new ACC rule may not measure downwind sails does not fit his concept of a tight box rule. I will grant him that--and tell him that the International 14 class has been sailing under this rule for years. The ACC class is a box rule; the I-14 class is a box rule. I guess it depends on what the definition of the word, "is," is. * From Charlie Doane: In the interest of accuracy I feel must point out that the Hobie 33 was not the first Hobie Alter monohull. I have very distinct memories of sailing a Hobie 10 during my high-school years, which would be about 10 years prior to the creation of the 33. The H-10 was similar to a Laser, but shorter with a proportionally broader stern and just a shallow dimple of a footwell. I sailed mine in Michigan and Maine and enjoyed it immensely. As to the AC legal coverage... keep it coming! The off-the-water litigation and soap-opera drama is the best part of the America's Cup, IMHO. Corey Friedman's doing a great job as the Scuttlebutt courthouse correspondent. * From Gregory Scott: All you have to do is look at the elegant photos of the Rolex Maxi's and I think realize why we don't need the AC to be sailed in 90 foot boats replicating what is already being done very well. Saving money isn't what J Class boats is or ever was about. CURMUDGEON’S CONUNDRUM What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Anyone can roast beef. Special thanks to True Wind and Atlantis WeatherGear. |
