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SCUTTLEBUTT 3788 - Tuesday, March 5, 2013Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: North U, Grand Ambition, and Gladstone's Long Beach. INFILTRATING THE SAILING COMMUNITY Two-time Kiteboarding Course Racing World Champion Johnny Heineken was honored last week at St. Francis Yacht Club as the US Sailing's 2012 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. Johnny became the first male recipient to win the award in board sport, and in typical fashion, became the first award recipient to promptly trade his blazer for a wetsuit and go kiting after the presentation in San Francisco Bay. Here are a few of the nuggets from Johnny's acceptance speech: Skiff sailing... "My dad and I got a 29er when I was in the eighth grade, and that was the first boat that got me totally hooked on sailing. Going 25 knots downwind, out on the trapeze... it was the most exciting sailing I had done at that point. So my dad and I started racing together. I was learning a lot from him, because he had a lot of high performance experience, but I really hadn't raced that much. So we were switching skipper and crew positions during the race. I was too nervous to start, but I could drive upwind, and he was too clumsy to be on the wire downwind. I am sure it looked pretty odd to see him, at the weather mark, running around behind me. I would grab the trapeze from him and he would grab the tiller. It was kind of a nightmare but we got pretty good at sailing the boat. But eventually I traded dad in for a younger more nimble crew, and our highlight was getting third at the 2005 29er Worlds." Evolution... "In 2008 I learned how to kiteboard, and among the crew of kiters in San Francisco, we have been pushing the sport forward to where we are now. The equipment has come a long, long way, and the sport has grown to become global that is now infiltrating the sailing community. We are really proud to be accepted into the mainstream, and it means a lot to be given this award, as much for the sport of kiting as it is for me personally." Pureness... "I think kiting is one of the purest forms of sailing. For those of you that haven't done it, imagine if all the power from the sails goes directly through you and into the water. You are the direct connection; in a way you are the boat. There are so many subtleties to get the board to go fast through the water, to harness this sail that is 25 meters and transfer the power through the body and into the fins that are just skipping across the water. To get all these elements to perfectly work together is one of the most amazing feelings I have had in sailing. It is why I love kiting and racing; I am having so much fun with it. It is not just about the racing. As long as I continue to love kiting than I will continue to be out there racing." Award ceremony video: http://youtu.be/bnKhuwlkh0g RULES QUIZ Two overlapped close-hauled port tack boats are approaching a starboard tacker. The windward port tacker could cross the starboard boat. The leeward boat hails, "I need Room to Tack!" Now What? Would it make a difference if they were approaching a finish boat? See answer below. WHAT A DIFFERENCE A KITE MAKES Kiteboard course racing continues to grow, and while kiteboards ably compete on a typical buoy course, they have enough unique attributes that required the establishment of Appendix F - Kiteboard Racing Rules - in The Racing Rules of Sailing (RRS). Here are excerpts from Appendix F in the RRS: CAPSIZED: A kiteboard is capsized if her kite is in the water, her lines are tangled with another kiteboard's lines, or the competitor has, clearly by accident and for a significant period of time, fallen into the water or become disconnected from the hull. If possible, a kiteboard shall avoid a kiteboard that is capsized or has not regained control after capsizing, is aground, or is trying to help a person or vessel in danger. A kiteboard that is capsized or aground shall not interfere with another kiteboard. STARTING: During the last minute before her starting signal, a kiteboard that stops, slows down significantly, or one that is not making significant forward progress shall keep clear of all others unless she is accidentally capsized. JUMPING: A kiteboard is jumping when her hull, its appendages and the competitor are clear of the water. A kiteboard that is jumping shall keep clear of one that is not. SOURCE: http://www.sailing.org/documents/racingrules/index.php RULES QUIZ ANSWER Even if the windward boat could fetch the obstruction, Rule 20 requires the windward boat to either tack or hail "You Tack." If the port tackers were approaching the finish then the hail would result in a foul on the hailing boat. Learn more about this and dozens of other tactical scenarios at North U Rules & Tactics Seminars and Webinars. The seminar includes Dave Perry's new Racing Rules & Tactics Workbook. US Sailing Memberships and Discounts! Full details and registration: 800-347-2457, http://www.northu.com CHANGES IN THE SAILING LANDSCAPE Grant Dalton, Managing Director of Emirates Team New Zealand, provides his view of the America's Cup activity from the southern hemisphere... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A lot has happened over the last few weeks in this run up to America's Cup although to many observers it may tend to look like business as usual. Well it is to a degree, I guess, but firstly Oracle has re-emerged and Artemis has gone back to the shed. The landscape changed for us on those couple of days that Oracle and Artemis trained together. We got an answer to the questions: Is foiling correct? Is the trade off worth it? We always thought we were right but could never be sure. Even if the answer is still not totally clear, all teams are headed in the foiling direction so that helps us put that one to bed. Our present view of Oracle's sailing probably matches those of other observers: They look really nice up-wind and are starting to sail well down-wind. They look like they are getting their act together really well now (shouldn't be surprised by that) and, with the new boat coming on stream soon, they will take a big step up. Should we make the America's Cup final, we will have our work seriously cut out to beat them. Within Emirates Team New Zealand, it's all about the boat at present. Base set up in San Francisco is underway, the sponsors are great; it's still very much summer in Auckland and the wind has been perfect for testing. Next on the horizon is the AC45 regatta in Naples. We will be there with a full-strength crew. Is it just us or does anyone else think it is hypocrisy that neither Artemis nor Oracle is sending their A team to Naples? These are the teams that said Emirates Team New Zealand wouldn't support the "future". To be clear we simply didn't support linking the AC brand (shackling a future Trustee if in fact that could even be done) to a class that may or may not exist in the future (read cost). Whether the AC45 exists in its own right is not up to us, we fully supported, and still do, the establishment of a 'future' series if that's what Coutts and Cayard want. It's not ours to prevent. So why not send their A teams if the AC45 is the future? I imagine they intend lobbying for permission to sail their AC72s when the Naples regatta is being raced (which under the Protocol is not allowed without prior approval). To compete seriously at the ACWS regattas, teams need to be there to train a week or so before the first race if they're to have any chance of a good showing. That means another week of AC72 sailing lost. We've even heard that Artemis was thinking of paying the US$100K fine if they don't get approval. Now that would be a beauty! -- http://etnzblog.com/#!2013/03/changes-in-the-sailing-landscape DETAILS: Jack Griffin of CupExperience.com explains the mechanics of the challenger series: "The three challengers, Artemis Racing, Emirates Team New Zealand and Prada Luna Rossa will begin with a round robin starting on July 7. There will be one race per day, of approximately one hour. The leader at the end of the round robin will advance to the Louis Vuitton Cup Finals. The other two teams will sail off in a "semi-final" match. The Louis Vuitton Cup semi-final will be best of seven one hour races, one race per day starting August 6. The Louis Vuitton Cup finals (beginning August 17) will be best of 13 (first to win 7), with two 30 minute races per day." -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/CupExp-030413 BUDGET BUMMER: As the city of San Francisco seeks to shore up its budget woes, they won't get help from the Italian sailing team Luna Rossa Challenge 2013 which has announced that they will be based across the Bay in Alameda for the 34th America's Cup this summer. Luna Rossa will join Sweden's Artemis Racing at Alameda Point, or the former Alameda Naval Air Station. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/MN-030413 MOST BIZARRE MOMENT "Probably the most bizarre thing I ever did was diving off my Snipe in the middle of a national championships race. We were drifting in no wind on a Midwest lake in the middle of the summer and the heat combined with the flies all over, I couldn't take it anymore and just stood up and dove in the water. If I remember correctly the race was abandoned soon after but my wife wasn't too happy about me jumping off the boat." - Mark Reynolds (USA), three-time Olympic medalist, http://tinyurl.com/Zagnation-1 GREAT NEW BOOK! G. Bruce Knecht, the author of The Proving Ground, the bestselling account of the deadly 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race, has a new page-turner: GRAND AMBITION: An Extraordinary Yacht, the People Who Built It, and the Millionaire Who Can't Really Afford It. The book describes the construction of a $40 million,187-foot-long floating palace. The main characters are the laborers who actually do the work as well as the private equity investor who, in 2006, agreed to pay for it. But a new character emerged in 2008: the global economy. The yacht's would-be owner suddenly discovered that his lifestyle was unsustainable. Then it got worse: eager to reverse his losses, he sunk much of his remaining fortune, more than $100 million, into what looked like a great investment opportunity...but turned out to be an extraordinary Ponzi scheme. Published by Simon & Schuster, Grand Ambition has received glowing reviews from Tom Brokaw, Steve Forbes and others. "Reads like a novel of suspense and financial intrigue, proving that fact is often stranger and more unbelievable than fiction," says Nelson DeMille. "A great read and a cautionary tale for all of us whose ambitions exceed our means." Amazon link for the book: http://tinyurl.com/Grand-Ambition SAILING SHORTS * A wide range of excellent conditions tested the sailors at the Techno 293 North American Championships at Merritt Island, Florida on February 28- March 3, 2013. Strong teams from USA, Peru, and Mexico, in particular, were duking it out in the U17 and U15 age groups. Steven Cramer of Miami, FL not only bested his U15 age group, but was low point sailor overall. On the calendar later this year are the Techno 293 U.S. Nationals on Martha's Vineyard, MA (July 19-21) and the Worlds in Sopot, Poland (July 27-August 3). -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=15282 * Sixty teams competed in the Etchells Midwinters Regatta, held March 1-3 in Miami, FL. Peter Duncan with crew Jud Smith and Tom Blackwell easily took the title after eight races, posting a 20 point margin over Phil Weherheim in second. Finishing in third was Marvin Beckmann with crew Steve Hunt and Andrew Lee, which was enough to seal the victory in the four event Jaguar Series that began in December. -- Complete report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=15284#15284 * Miami, FL (March 4, 2013) - Light air and chilly temperatures marked the start of the Bacardi Miami Sailing Week, limiting the 56-boat Star class to a single race which saw Lars Grael/ Mario Logos (BRA), Peter O'Leary/ Rodney Hagebols (IRL), and Augie Diaz/ Arnis Baltins (USA) take the top three positions. Racing for the Stars continues daily to March 9, with all other classes (J/70, Melges 20, Melges 24, Viper 640) racing on March 7-9. -- Event details: http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=729 * Newport, RI (March 5, 2013) - North Sails announced today that Kimo Worthington, former general manager of PUMA Ocean Racing for the past two Volvo Ocean Race events, has been named sales manager of North Sails in North America. An experienced sailor and marine industry opinion leader, Worthington will work at the new North Sails corporate office in downtown Newport, RI. -- Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=15283 * Buzios, Brazil (March 3, 2013) - Three races were completed for both men and women on the third day of competition at the RS:X World Championship. With gusts up to 18 knots from the northeast, Olympic gold medalist Dorian van Rijsselberghe (NED) took the lead with one victory and two second places. Among girls, the Israeli Lee El Korsiz had a perfect day, winning all three races to take the lead. The men and women on Tuesday will have the last three races, with the top ten advancing on Wednesday to the medal race. -- Event website: http://tinyurl.com/RSX-030313 * Simpson Bay, St. Maarten (March 3, 2013) - The 33rd running of the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta completed three days of racing for the 202 yachts. Entries were divided into CSA, Melges 24, Bareboat, Multihull, and Lottery classes. -- Event website: http://www.heinekenregatta.com * There will be eight Extreme 40 teams in the starting blocks for Act 1 of the 2013 Extreme Sailing Series beginning March 5 in Muscat, Oman. All eyes will be on the Alinghi team with helm Ernesto Bertarelli (SUI) joined by tactician Morgan Larson (USA), who helmed Oman Air to second overall in 2012. Also of interest is Team Korea with helm Peter Burling (NZL) and tactician Blair Tuke (NZL), who together won the 49er silver medal at the 2012 Olympics, and later this year will be competing in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup. Online live video streaming Wednesday through Friday. -- Details: http://tinyurl.com/Go-Zags * Pacifica, CA. (March 4, 2013) - Three suspects have been arrested after a stolen 82-foot sailboat ran aground at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica. Two men and a woman were onboard the $2.7 million "Darling" when it was reported stolen from the Sausalito Yacht Harbor. The owner of the boat is at the scene; he called police to report the vessel stolen after watching TV news reports this morning. -- Full report and video: http://tinyurl.com/Gonzaga-No-1 GLADSTONE'S LONG BEACH WELCOMES ISLANDS AND CABO RACERS Warm breeze and palm trees at Gladstone's Long Beach - winner of the 2012 Tripadvisor "Certificate of Excellence" serving great seafood, steaks and adult libations made with Mount Gay Rum. Book your Islands and Cabo Race Crew Parties by calling 562-432-8588 or email us at events@gladstoneslongbeach.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From David Cook: I totally agree with Jen French (in Scuttlebutt 3787) that the SKUD 18 is a very exciting boat. Five years ago I remember planing downwind at 14.8 knots in 20 odd knots of wind on Tampa Bay. Regarding the name, SKUD 18 is an acronym for SKiff Universal Design. The founder and visionary was Aussie Chris Mitchell, who then hired Julian Bethwaite to design what would become the doublehanded Paralympic boat. Disabled sailors get a raw deal when it comes to opportunities to race against ABs (able-bodies). I have been disabled all my life, started open sailing and racing at the age of 18 but didn't start disabled sailing until I was 30 (now 54). At that time I thought I was too good and didn't want to rain on their parade, but I soon learned that disabled sailors are equals. One reason ABs don't want to get into a 'gimp' class is because their ego can't take getting beat by people who obviously have more of a disadvantage than themselves. The SKUD18 is a fantastic sportboat and it probably costs a fraction of what the latest fad ones do. If you want to go fast, have fun, don't want to spend an arm and a leg and have some top notch competition, go buy a SKUD18 and race against some of the gimps. * From Frederic Berg: In response to the question, How expensive is sailing?" in Scuttlebutt 3785, I remember getting a used Laser in 1976, sailing at least twice a week and selling it in 1981. Here are the hard numbers: Yacht club dues ($120), storage fees ($120), new sails (2 @ $100), new upper mast section ($75), replacing broken equipment (est. $100), purchase price ($600) and resale ($900), total cost $315. With that I learned a lifelong skill, sailed all my college sailing team practices and learned fiberglass repair. At that time bowling cost about $.50 per game and shoes were $.75. Assuming two games and one shoe rental per bowling session, bowling over the same five years would have cost: $1.75 X 2 times per week X 52 weeks per year X 5 years or $910. Today, I can go anywhere in the world and find a "ride" for free - priceless! * From Mike Esposito, Chicago: Am I the only one who read all the words in Glenn McCarthy's opinion item in Scuttlebutt 3785? His point was to have an answer ready to explain why sailing is NOT (at least not entirely) a millionaire pursuit, and how there are price points for nearly anyone who wants to go sailing. It's similar to something I wrote in the July 29, 2009, Chicago Tribune explaining who is attracted to the Chicago to Mackinac Race: "You never know who might be on the starting line. In the crowd you could find doctors, lawyers, teachers, firefighters, chefs, truck drivers, stock brokers and even professional sailors." DOES YOUR WEBSITE HOST SCUTTLEBUTT NEWS? There are countless websites that host a custom code that allows the latest edition of the Scuttlebutt newsletter to be posted on their site. To all the people that read Scuttlebutt on these sites, we have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Scuttlebutt will soon be launching a new newsletter style and website, both huge steps forward. The bad news is that starting Monday we will no longer be able to support the custom code. We encourage you to inform your website host of this change, and to subscribe to the e-Newsletter to be ready for its new launch. Free subscription info here: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/subscribe/ CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Despite recent technological advances, an intelligent human being at the other end of a telephone line beats the internet every day. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Gowrie Group - Harken - North U - Grand Ambition - Gladstone's Long Beach - Block Island Race Week - North Sails - Waterline Systems - APS - Ullman Sails - Hall Spars & Rigging - Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
