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SCUTTLEBUTT 2049 – March 13, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.HIGH DRAMA As if to prove that the TP52 class is now one of the most competitive and hardest fought games in sailing, the two leaders – Philippe Kahn's Pegasus 52 and Irishman Eamon Conneely's Patches – entered the final day and two windward-leeward races of the Rolex TP52 Global Championship, sailed in conjunction with Acura Miami Race Week, with Kahn's boat ahead by just 0.75 points. At the end of the first race today Patches had regained first place, though leading Pegasus 52 by just 0.25 points. The outcome would come down to the final race. Patches and Pegasus 52 tackled the pre-start of this last line-up like an America's Cup match race, the two boats aggressively circling one another beyond the committee boat. Their progress up the first beat was relatively even until the approach to the weather mark where Patches was approaching on starboard with rights while Pegasus was on port attempting to barge its way in between the starboard tack boats. "It was going to be close to cross with them as they had Glory right above them, but we had them, had them, had them - no problem - and kept going fast, but they did a nice job," said Pegasus' Ken Read on what transpired just prior to the mark rounding. "All of a sudden I think they got a flat spot and were hunting a bit. In about 15 seconds it went from a cross to a no cross. But by that time we were committed in there and there was no bailing out." Patches was forced into a crash tack to avoid colliding with Pegasus' transom, its crew protesting loudly. Pegasus immediately carried out a 360-degree penalty turn relegating it to last position. Finally, after rounding the mark the team had to perform another turn for having fouled within two boat lengths of the mark. "If you live by the sword you die by the sword," said Read. This weather mark incident was clearly the deciding moment of the race, but while most teams might have taken it as a final knockout blow, Pegasus did not. Kahn's team admittedly brought up the rear for the next legs, but by the time the race finished they had done an admirable job climbing back to third place, immediately behind Patches. The finish wasn’t enough to beat them overall. Eamon Conneely's team, led by British double Olympic medallist Ian Walker, won the regatta by just 32.25 points to Pegasus’ total of 33.5. The final race was won by John Coumantaros’ Bambakou. Bambakou also earned the Offshore Trophy for best performance in the two offshore races this week, Thursday’s 200-mile overnight race and Saturday’s 35-mile coastal race. "With 15-20 knots all week, it couldn’t have been better conditions," concluded Coumantaros. ~ Media Pro Int’l, http://www.premiere-racing.com/ Final Standings - 10 races with no discard: 1. Patches, Eamon Conneely, Galway, IRL, 32.25 pts 2. Pegasus 52, Philippe Kahn, USA, 33.5 3. Beau Geste, Kark Kwok, Hong Kong, CHN, 44.5 4. Bambakou, John Coumantaros, USA, 46.75 5. Rush, Thomas Stark, USA, 51.75 6. Stay Calm, Stuart Robinson, UK, 3 55.25 7. Sjambok, Michael Brennan, USA, 60.5 8. Glory, John Buchan, USA, 69 9. Braveheart, Charles Burnett, USA, 94.25 Curmudgeon's Comment: You've got to see the incredible Global Championship trophy donated by TP52 Executive Director Tom Pollack and founding class member Jim Demetriades: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/tp52.jpg THRILLING CONCLUSION There's nothing more thrilling than to have a major sailing regatta come down to the last race of the last day. That proved the case in multiple classes at Acura Miami Race Week. Just ask Eamon Conneely, owner of the Irish TP 52 Patches. Conneely and crew captured the inaugural Rolex TP52 Global Championship (story above). Actually, the IRC 1 class was closer as the Swan 601 Moneypenny nipped the Ker 55 Aera by tiebreaker after both boats totaled 13 points. Owner Jim Swartz and his team aboard the recently launched Moneypenny broke the deadlock by winning the last race. "It reinforces what I was saying about how close the IRC rule has gotten these two boats," said Moneypenny navigator Mark Rudiger, part of an all-star afterguard that included helmsman Mike Toppa and tactician Gary Weisman. Things were tense on the Farr 40 dock as a result of a protest involving on-water winner Heartbreaker. Skipper Robert Hughes vaulted from third to first on the last day, edging week-long leader Norwegian Steam by a mere point. However, the Italian entry Nerone protested Heartbreaker for tacking too close in Race 10 and that led to an uneasy two-hour period of waiting for the outcome. Hughes was ecstatic when word came the protest had been dismissed. He also took home the Acura Trophy as overall Boat of the Week and the Baxter Trophy as top performing Farr 40. Tactician Bill Hardesty and trimmer Wally Cross were key crew members for Hughes, a two-time winner of Farr 40 Nationals. Five other classes were decided by two points or less with all but one coming down to the last race. One of the more impressive victories came in J/105 as skipper Worth Harris steered Rum at Six to first or second in nine of 10 starts. However, it was another J/105, Philip Lotz's Indefatigable, that picked up the Acura Boat of the Day award after posting a pair of bullets on Sunday. Italian skipper Riccardo Simoneschi gave a command performance in the 25-boat Melges 24 class while Massachusetts sailmaker Jud Smith was equally dominant in the 28-entry Etchells class. Simoneschi was one of six winners of the Acura Grand Prix Trophy, awarded for combined excellence at the two winters regattas organized by Premiere Racing. ~ Bill Wagner, www.Premiere-Racing.com Curmudgeon’s Comment: Photographer Sharon Green was on the water and in the air for the riveting photos she took of the Acura Miami Race Week, and a bunch are now posted on the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/mrw DANE AND SPERRY WIN BACARDI CUP The father and son-in-law team of John Dane and crew Austin Sperry are the winners of the 2006 Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta. The duo from Gulfport, Mississippi, finished fourth in the regatta’s final race to assure them the overall victory with six points over Germany’s Marc Pickel and crew Ingo Borkowski, who finished second in the regatta’s final race and second in the overall standings. It is the first Trofeo Bacardi for both Dane and Sperry and Dane becomes the only Master sailor to win the Bacardi Cup in the regatta's 79-year history. ~ Janet Maizner, complete story and results: http://tinyurl.com/g8hn8 Final results (six races with one discard - 92 boats): 1. John Dane/Austin Sperry (USA) 15 2. Marc Pickel/Ingo Borkowski (GER) 21 3. Peter Bromby/Bill McNiven (BER) 27 4. Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau (FRA) 28 5. Mateusz Kusznierewicz/ Dominick Zycki (POL) 41 6. Afonso Domingos/ Bernardo Santos (POR) 43 7. Iain Murray/Andrew Palfrey AUS 45 8. Joseph Londrigan/David Giles (USA) 47 9. Robert Scheidt/Bruno Prada (BRA) 50 10. Andy Beadsworth/David Carr (GBR) 53 Curmudgeon’s Comment: Read Bacardi reports from 2005 Star North American champion George Szabo: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog FORTY FOOT RIB New listing at Sail California San Diego: 40-foot Raider Rib 1200. Was previously used and owned by the Genuine Risk boat program and would be ideal for a similar grand prix program. Also very well suited for a yacht club or sailing facility as a race committee or support boat. Raider 1200 has the capability to carry an 80-foot yacht’s mainsail, or loads of people, marks, gear, etc. Call Sail California at 619-224-6200 for appointment, or view images and listings at http://www.yachtworld.com/sailcalsandiego/. Raider Ribs will soon be building models in the US – look for a new model soon. ABN AMRO ONE WINS AGAIN ABN Amro One drifted across the finish line Saturday in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro at 00:18:23 local time (03:18:23 GMT) after 20 days, one hour, 48 minutes and 3 seconds at sea to claim first place. The team collected 3.5 points for passing the Cape Horn scoring gate first, and seven points for the leg win, bringing their total now to 49 points and putting them solidly at the top of the overall scoreboard. “You need a skipper like Moose [Mike Sanderson] who has the guts to make the decisions,” said navigator Stan Honey (USA). “We work really close together and it is very rewarding working with him. He is a very smart guy.” Nearly four hours later, after 20 days and 6,700 nautical miles of racing, the battle for the second and third podium positions raged until the very last moment. In the last hours of the leg, Paul Cayard (USA) and Pirates of the Caribbean team regained second position to cross the line at 07:06:50 GMT (04:06:50 local time) followed just 30 minutes later by the young guns on ABN Amro Two led by Frenchman Sebastien Josse. Local heroes, Brasil 1 skippered by multiple Olympic medallist, Torben Grael (BRA), missed a podium position in Rio de Janeiro, their home port, by the slimmest of margins, finishing 25 minutes behind the Dutch boat. More tha 11 hours later a disappointed The Ericsson Racing Team finished alone. “What an incredible afternoon and night,” Paul Cayard said. “I have never been in so much rain. It has been one squall after another with huge down pours. Of course this reeked havoc on the wind. It was a 15 hour work out-changing sails one after another.We got passed by Brasil1 yesterday afternoon but we somehow managed a little better in all the crazy conditions to grab second place back. We broke the watch system off at the point when Brasil1 passed us. No one wanted to go to sleep until we had passed them back. To have to sprint like that right at the end of a 6700 mile - three week leg - was tough for everyone - Brasil 1 and ABN Amro Two also.” ~ www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Leg Four Finish Times 1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 11/03/06 - 03:18:23 2. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, 11/03/06 - 07:06:50 3. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, 11/03/06 - 07:36:10 4. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, 11/03/06 - 07:55:04 5. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald, 11/03/06 - 19:12:52 6. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking, 699 miles to finish BUILDING SPEED Ian Burns, the design coordinator for BMW Oracle Racing, says there are two conflicting methods of deciding how to end up with the fastest boat for the competition. Resolving this conflict is a large part of the winning strategy for any America’s Cup team. “The two opposite schools of thought are to launch two identical boats early and then develop everything for as long as possible through testing on the water, or the other extreme is to do the second boat as late as possible, even to the extent that you deliver it halfway through the regatta. That way you get the full benefit of more design research and you get to see what the opposition has come up with in their first boat. Neither theory should by underrate.” History is instructive in looking at the potential pitfalls at either extreme. In the last America’s Cup, the American OneWorld challenge had two of the first sail numbers assigned, USA 65 and USA 67. The team tested and modified those boats against each other longer than any other team, and burst out of the gates by sweeping the first round robin. But as the regatta went on, it became clear the team had already found its maximum speed, and as other teams became faster, OneWorld fell back, eventually eliminated in the semi finals. In contrast, the 2003 Team New Zealand had the last two sail numbers assigned in the 31st America’s Cup, with NZL 81 and NZL 82. Although the team didn’t have to compete in the Louis Vuitton Cup, freeing up time for testing ahead of the America’s Cup Match, it still failed to find all the potential faults in the boats or to fully develop their speed potential. The result was multiple gear failures in the Cup Match and a sweep by the challenger, Alinghi. But with just a few more months of sailing time, NZL 81 and NZL 82 are now the boats the Kiwis used to win the ACC season championship in 2004 and finish second of the 12 teams in 2005. The new Emirates Team New Zealand appears to have learned from that lesson; NZL 84 was the first new boat to be launched by one of the ‘big four’ teams, hitting the water just before Christmas in Auckland. ~ Excerpt from a major story on the America’s Cup website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/hoqbq ULLMAN SAILS LONG BEACH RACE WEEK JUNE 23-25 Is this a regatta with great keelboat racing and some serious party time thrown in, or is it the other way around? It may be hard to tell, but the Long Beach and Alamitos Bay Yacht Club organizers will set the table for nightly soirees with snacks, entertainment, and shore boat shuttles between the two clubs, all complimentary, as is boat docking for the weekend. The rest is up to the sailors. Registration is not free, but you can save a few bucks by filing your entry before May 31st. Details at http://www.lbrw.org NEWS BRIEFS * The Elvström Sobstad Group has acquired Sobstad UK in the final phase of its purchase of the Sobstad Corp.,which began in 2002. Based at Port Hamble, England, Sobstad UK will be re-named Elvström Sobstad UK. The design and development team at Elvström Sobstad has benefited recently from the appointment of Andrew Smith as Group Project Manager. Formerly Technical Director at North Sails, Smith has more than 20 years experience in the sailmaking industry. He is currently overseeing the design and development of Elvström Sobstad’s next generation of patented sails. ~ www.elvstromsobstad.co.uk * Aimee Graham and Samantha Treadwell have won the 15-boat, five race Snipe Class Women's National Championship sponsored by the Suddath Companies, at Florida YC. Graham and Treadwell, San Diego, Califronia edged out Stacey Szabo and Julie Mitchell, San Diego, with Morgan Commette and Barb Evans, Ft Lauderdale, taking third. Former national champion and 2004 Olympian, Carol Cronin, Bristol, RI sailing with Jerelyn Biehl challenged Graham and Treadwell, but a penalty for premature start in the last race resulting in them tumbling to fifth place. Local high school sailors, Jenni Stone and Anna Nord, captured the top junior award. www.snipeus.org * The first German America’s Cup yacht GER-89 is taking shape. This weekend the deck was fitted to the hull at the Knierim-Yachtbau shipyard in Kiel. This was another milestone on the way to the boat’s official christening on April 24. The boat will not be used by the United Internet Team Germany in the Acts 10 to 12, the pre-regattas leading up to the 32nd AC in May and June. Skipper Jesper Bank wants to take his time and carefully tune the boat for the bigger challenges lying ahead. ~ www.United-Internet-Team-Germany.de * Some of the world's best Laser sailors can be seen this week training hard in the warm winds, and great wave conditions of Cabarete, Dominican Republic. US sailors Brad Funk, and Anna Tunnacliffe have joined the likes of Olympians Gustavo Lima (POR), Diego Romero (ARG), Bernard Luttmer (CAN) and Alejandro Fogilia (URU) at the Laser Training Center, Cabarete. The Radial fleet includes Canadians Keamia Rasa and Lisa Ross. It is not very common to have competitors of this level training together, but the sailing conditions and the high level of coaching at this venue have brought them together. www.caribwind.com/ltc * This year’s Strictly Sail Pacific (April 19 23) - the largest sailboat show on the West Coast - will feature over 300 exhibitors from 25 states, Australia, Canada, Portugal, and Sweden and over 90 seminars, which are free with the price of admission. The fleet on display will include a wide range of vessels—from small sailing dinghies to the large, luxurious 92-foot cruising yacht Locura. Majestic classics include Seaward, an 82-foot staysail schooner outfitted for ocean passagemaking, Yankee, a classic 52-foot sloop built on the San Francisco Cityfront in 1906, plus the legendary 80-foot racer Kialoa III. ~ www.strictlysail.com * More than 150 entrants are expected for the Charleston Race Week presented by Seabrook Island - April 6-9. Among those boats will be entries from as far away as Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New York, New Hampshire, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, plus a Melges 32 team from Torquay, England. ~ www.charlestonraceweek.com/ * Photographer Andrea Francolini sent Scuttlebutt some great images of the Sydney 38 One Design class competing in the First InterNations Cup in Sydney, Australia. Enjoy: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0312 * BoatU.S. has established an online National Recall Alert Registry which allows boaters to register their less than ten-year old vessel so a manufacturer can contact them directly in the event of a recall action. Consumers can also view a list of current recalls as well as visit the U.S. Coast Guard's Recall Database at: http://www.BoatUS.com/recall * More than a dozen nations are expected to send teams to compete in the 2006 IFDS (International Foundation of Disabled Sailors) Blind Sailing World Championship sixth world championship for blind sailors from September 20-27 in Newport, R.I., hosted by the New York Yacht Club with the assistance of Sail Newport. Each team will include two vision-impaired sailors – skipper and one crew – accompanied by two sighted guides who provide verbal information to tactically position the boat as it navigates the race course. The rules mandate that only a blind sailor can steer, while the other blind crew trims the sails. ~ www.nyyc.org MAN OVERBOARD! Racing to Bermuda in June? Cruising closer to home? Whatever your challenge, your crew deserves SeaMarshall fully automatic rescue beacons. Matched with the new SarFinder® homing receiver, you have the absolute best man-overboard locating system available. Now used by the UK Coast Guard. For information: Chip Barber - mailto:admin@chbarber.com; http://www.chbarber.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. 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 thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Alan McReynolds (edited to our 250-word limit): I find myself a little shocked by the marketing of the Volvo race stuff. First of all I want to say that these boats are so cool, that must be some ride! Anyway, I have been running to my computer every 6 hours (ok, I do miss the update at 3:00 a.m. most times) to see the latest positions in the race. Virtual Spectator is fantastic; I just wish I would have installed it 2 months ago instead of 2 weeks ago. I've been watching the tracks, second guessing the tactics and strategies, and wondering just what in the heck is going on out there, wishing I were there, etc. Anyway, I just saw a picture of Paul Cayard at the dock in Rio in a really cool hat. I spent an hour online looking for a place to buy that great hat and can't find it. Look I am not a fashion follower or anything, but I do like to support my favorite teams. Anyway, all I can find online is a message that I can't buy Musto Volvo Ocean race clothing in the US (that's OK because those hats aren't that great anyway). But how do I support "my" team? The other thing is virtual contact. During the Vendee globe race I was able to email Bruce Schwab in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and send him encouragement during some really hard times. And he sent a note back thanking me, how cool is that? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION "Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." - Napoleon Bonaparte Special thanks to Sail California San Diego, Long Beach RW, and CH Barber. |
