|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2004 - January 9, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.SANDERSON TRIPLES LEAD Mike Sanderson's ABN Amro One was the beneficiary of a change in the weather over the weekend, riding a small overhead cold front to triple his lead during the second leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. His pursuers, meanwhile, found to their frustration that they were slowed down in the lighter winds behind the front. The turnaround has been dramatic. In the six-hour period to 1600 GMT Sunday, ABN Amro One pulled out 50 miles on Paul Cayard's Pirates of the Caribbean and Sebastien Josse's ABN Two, averaging 21 knots to their 14 knots. Probably feeling the pain most, however, is Bouwe Bekking's Movistar crew. The pre-race favourites came to the start as the world 24-hour record holders and the most well-prepared boat, but were knocked out of the first leg. Trying to make amends on the second leg, Movistar sailed a solitary and more easterly course out of Cape Town to hold the lead for the first couple of days until its rivals picked up speed in the Roaring Forties and sped past. Bekking realized his tactical mistake on Friday as he watched the boats some 60 miles to the south sail faster in fresher winds. "Angry with myself?" he said. "Yes. Should have stuck a little closer to the fleet." Then Movistar endured a second setback as this earlier loss was amplified by the passage of the weather front, and Bekking's annoyance is even more evident: "Ouch, that hurt," he said. "The fear of not being able to hang on to the front has come true. The predictions were wrong and we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." -- Tim Jeffery, The Daily Telegraph, UK, full story: http://tinyurl.com/anl3q COMING BACK In Port Elizabeth, South Africa the decision was made by the Brasil 1 team that the damage to the boat could be repaired and that the team will be back out on the race track to complete leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race next Tuesday. The ground crew of six have been working on the boat since yesterday afternoon. Technical director, Horacio Carabelli, said, "We are repairing the damaged areas and adding some structural parts to strengthen this region even further. These repairs should be of a definite nature so that when we arrive in Australia, we don't have to work too much on the boat to get it ready for the in-port race in Melbourne and for the leg to Rio de Janeiro." Brasil 1 should arrive in Melbourne just in time for the in-port race, scheduled for February 4. It will be a tough turnaround for this team, who will have approximately four days before the in-port race and then another five days before the start of the third off-shore leg, to get the boat ready. "Somos brasileiros e não desistimos nunca," translated from Portuguese means, "We are Brazilians, and we never give up." Ericsson (Neal McDonald), the other boat to suffer damage, has reached Port Elizabeth and has suspended racing. Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Sunday 1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 4134 miles to finish 2. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +201 miles 3. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +211 miles 4. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +282 miles 5. ING Real Estate Brunel, Grant Wharington, +474 miles 6. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +1602 miles 7. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald, retired Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/ QUOTE / UNQUOTE * "We spent a lot of time worrying if we had the right sail on today when ABN 2 caught us. We haven't had enough time yet to be sure of our sail cross-overs. Also we are learning where there is too much overlap in some sails and where we have holes in our inventory. ABN 2 had a very nice specialty sail on today that we got to have a look at. For a long time they were flying it stealth in the fog, but then a clearing came and we got a good look at it. s this class is new and some of the boats in this race are of fairly different design, not all sails work on all boats and not all boats need the same sails that other boats need. So it is a complex problem to understand what is fast, if it is fast on your boat, or is it not the sail but some other attribute that makes a certain boat fast in certain conditions. There is no substitute for time in the boat in order to figure all this out. That was out biggest loss from leg 1. Time in the boat. Not the points." -- Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean skipper * "We are teetering on the front edge of this cold front which is the reason for the nice gains, but the conditions here are quite quickly getting worse and we go from not having quite enough sail up, as we are working hard to try and keep this missile under control, and then off she goes roaring down a wave at 30 plus knots.... I mean the boat is in perfect control, as long as all is going well, but we have done some jumps at the end of some of these waves that would make Evil Knievel proud, and it will only take one really bad one and for sure damage will follow. So I sit here typing to you guys with that sick feeling in my stomach just out of worry. I know this could be the windiest night of the leg and so we are doing a lot to throttle back. It's like thinking your safe on your bike without brakes because there are no hills, then you turn a corner in the middle of a pitch black night and remember that you live in San Francisco!" - Mike Sanderson, ABM Amro One skipper POP QUIZ New quiz questions (and answers) on racing, cruising, weather, and performance instruments are posted at NorthU.com, including this one: Two boats are on port tack, with Red about 2 boat lengths ahead and to leeward of Blue. Red hails, "we're tacking" and puts the helm down. Blue continues on port, and as Red comes to course she's headed at Blue's chain plates. Red ducks Blue and protests. Was there a foul? Enter your answers to this and other quiz questions at NorthU.com. Right or wrong, you could win a prize, plus get info on seminars for all sailors: http://www.NorthU.com KEY WEST Racing sailors from 14 countries and a record 37 US states are streaming down the Florida Keys for Acura Key West 2006, presented by Nautica. The event has a star-studded scratch sheet and 286 boats vying for 19 class championships. IRC handicap racing is making its Key West debut this week with two classes. . Sixteen Swans 45's will compete for their second Gold Cup and their first official World Championship. The 17 boats in the IRC1 and IRC 2 classes will be competing for the inaugural US-IRC National Championship Trophy which will be awarded at week's end to the top boat in the combined IRC fleet. Acura Key West 2006 is the designated Mid-Winter Championships for the Melges 24s, C&C 99s, J/109s and J/80s. Always the events largest fleet, the Melges 24 class has 60 entrants. J/Boats have their usual impressive numbers with 3 one design classes (58 boats) and entries in 5 of the handicap classes (17 boats). The J/124 Wild Blue is making her debut in IRC2. -- www.Premiere-Racing.com FIT RACING INTO YOUR ISLAND VACATION One of the best ways to fit a race into your island cruising is to race in a charter-boat class at the BVI Spring Regatta, St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, Angostura Tobago Sailweek, or Rolex Antigua Sailing Week. Another great information source for Caribbean sailing is CaribbeanRacing.com. Some companies make it easy by providing entry, yacht prep and measurement, and other support for an additional fee (plus damage deposit). By the way, the BVI Spring Regatta has been stretched to cover most of a week so it now includes a sailing festival segment; this features point-to-point races and other fun events that may suit crews who prefer to race with a lower adrenaline output. At each of these events, you can extend your stay to take time cruising the nearby islands before or after the regatta. And if your cruising crew isn't inclined to race with you, they may be quite happy hanging by the pool at a resort like the Bitter End YC on Virgin Gorda or Sunsail's Club Colonna on Antigua. If I were going to repeat the trip I described in my Sailing World story (Jan/Feb. '06), I'd take two weeks instead of 8 days so I could slow the pace while cruising in the British Virgin Islands, explore more of St. John-and then sail all three days of the International Rolex Regatta if I could find a crewing job. If I couldn't take the extra time, I'd probably simplify the plan by chartering with a company in the USVIs. - John Burnham, Sailing World website, full story: http://www.sailingworld.com/article.jsp?ID=40709&typeID=419&catID=0 FINAL COUNTDOWN TO ACURA KEY WEST 2006 But don't worry if you've got a last minute purchase or any repairs during the Key West event - West Marine will be there to help! For all your racing needs in Key West, visit the West Marine store at 725 Caroline St. On-site rigging will be available as well as all the latest and greatest gear from New England Rope, Harken, Lewmar, Ronstan, Tacktick, Gill, Sperry Top-Sider, and more. And be sure to attend the West Marine night at the Schooner Wharf for fun prizes and giveaways. http://www.westmarine.com NEWS BRIEFS * At the opening day of the London Boat Show at ExCel the Ellen MacArthur Trust was awarded cheques totaling over £40,000 (US$70,781.20). Launched by Ellen MacArthur in 2003, the Trust takes young people aged between 8-18 sailing to help them regain their confidence, on their way to recovery from cancer, leukemia and other serious illness. The Ellen MacArthur Trust makes sailing accessible to children who, because of their illness would not otherwise been given the opportunity. - Excerpts from a story on the Yachting World website, http://tinyurl.com/ahnhg * The BMW Oracle blog points out with justifiable pride that their sailing team members Rodney Daniel (AUS), Robbie Naismith (NZL) and Paul Westlake (AUS)were crew members of Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI, the first yacht since the inaugural Sydney-Hobart race 60 years ago to "treble" -- first to finish, first on corrected time, and setting a new course record. -- http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/ *Shorthanded Offshore Sailors of Texas is being formed to address the single and double handed sailors on the Texas Coast. Sam Ausmus III is heading up the organization. The first goal is to get things organized to the point that local clubs will offer single and double handed classes in their regattas or offer starts and finishes for SOS-TEX members. Lakewood Yacht Club (LYC) and Galveston Bay Cruising Association (GBCA), sponsors of the 'Regata de Amigos', Galveston, TX to Veracruz, Mexico in June have invited members of SOS-TEX. The group's plans also include three shorthanded races on Galveston Bay. -- www.sos-tex.info * The yacht HiFidelity, skippered by Eddie de Villiers and Allan Dawson, has officially withdrawn from the Heineken Cape to Bahia yacht race. The highly successful Asian racer was widely considered as the favourite for taking line honours in Salvador, the new finishing port in Bahia, Brazil. The yacht officially retired today and is currently heading back to Saldanha after sustaining serious rudder damage in a collision with a whale. Gawie Fagan on Suidoos2 continues to lead the race for handicap honours with Rob Meek and his crew on Windsong maintaining their second place. -- http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6~Fh/BBw *After scoring mixed results in her third season in the Figaro class followed by the natural conclusion of her sponsorship with Skandia and then her departure from the Offshore Challenges Racing Team stable back in November, so within just two months British solo sailor Sam Davies seems to have landed on her feet. At London Boat Show Sam announced a new sponsorship with leading international clothing brand Roxy that will not only see her through another season in the Figaro class but will also continue in an Open 60 with the aim of competing in the 2008 Vendee Globe. - The Daily Sail subscription website, www.thedailysail.com * Sail Melbourne's Olympic & Invited Classes Regatta gets underway at Sandringham Yacht Club Monday and the club was a hive of activity again today as many competitors arrived to register in their various classes. The only ISAF Grade 1 event in the Southern hemisphere, the regatta once again has fielded not only entries from all over Australia, but from around the world as well. -- http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1,Fh/BBl RECAPTURE THE JOY OF SAILING There's nothing quite like steering a sleek, fast boat with a light touch on the tiller, being close to the water and sliding through waves with barely a wake or whisper. If the joy of sailing is your priority, then the new J/100 may be just about perfect! http://www.jboats.com/j100 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 Jim Fulton: Few of the comments posted with the poll or published in Scuttlebutt take into account the interests of the multiple stakeholders in the VOR. As spectators, we want entertainment. Beyond that, the sailors' point of view is the easiest to understand: If I were out there, I'm sure that I would want to continue. Whether I were skipper or crew, I would sail to win, but I would do everything I could to keep the boat together. However, if I were a sponsor or the organizer, it would probably become more of a cost/ benefit calculation. In either case I would want an exciting event that gave my brand positive attention. but if I were Volvo, having built a reputation for safety, would I want to be associated with a demolition derby that could cost lives? If I were Disney, advertising a movie aimed (I guess) at kids and families, would I want to risk the movie namesake advertising vehicle going down at sea? Does anyone know what the rights of the individual sponsors are? Can anyone besides the race organizer or the skipper cause a boat to withdraw? * From Big Mikey Howard (re dangers of Volvo Race): I wonder what Columbus was thinking when he left the Med with no e-pirb, life rafts for his crew and only a Sextant to set out into the North Atlantic to prove the world round. Or Captain Cook. Sailing into the Southern Ocean in search of the Pacific Islands. No charts to show the treachery of the shallow reef´s that exist there. Most recently Ellen Mc Arthur sailing her Tri around the world alone this time last year. ALONE! Pushing herself to the end of Human limits. Our Volvo brothers are no different. We are sailors. This is what we do. We deal with our world. In this case 70 feet of rocking, pitching and yes sometimes dangerous and damaged yachts. We take what the sea gives us, what it teaches. The first thing, respect. We all have choice. Throw off the dock lines and the choice has been made. We must be strong, wise and humble to make the right choices. The boys will be fine. To call the boats back would be like telling Columbus he could not set sail because the World was Flat. * From Andrew Dickinson: To encourage building stronger boats and more responsible seamanship, how about invoking a stiffer penalty in the scoring to a boat that has to retire? * From Peter W. Grimm, Sparkman & Stephens: I should have known! Paul Cayard reads 'Butt under way in the Volvo Race! After I stated that the fleet should be re-called, he kindly invited me to do the 4th leg to Rio. How thoughtful of him to do that! A hair shy of 70, I must decline his generous invitation and get my thrill for 2006 doing the Newport Bermuda Race aboard Rabbit [ex-Sagamore I] an older Maxi with the likes of Llwyd Ecclestone, Dan Dyer and Gary Jobson. Curmudgeon's Comment: Now that you've turned Paul down for Leg 4, I checked my calendar -- just in case I'm the next geezer on Paul's list. Happily, I found a previous commitment. * From Christian H. Jensen (Re the comments of Fietje Judel): DSU (Danish Sailing Union) is so far out of touch with reality. While Denmark has a lot of really good sailors (arguably some of the world's greatest) the handicap racing in Denmark is a farce. DH is pathetic and why IRC hasn't been adopted is beyond me. Hope this will change... * From Michael W. Fortenbaugh: Philippe Kahn's fifth suggestion was to use a high tech system to determine if boats are over the starting line. Does such a system exist? If so, can we demo it here in Neew York city? We start our races from a floating clubhouse which has 110v power and computers. * From Adrian Morgan: Volvo 70s, your time's up. Return to shore immediately. For once I agree with Magnus. There was a time when boats were stronger than their crews. A disaster in mid Southern Ocean would impact on all of us in the form of more regulation, more interference. I blame the designers. The responsibility for designing a safe structure, be it a boat or a building, rests with them. They can always refuse a commission. Hands up all those who enthused about how "exciting" they were? And the lawyers will be circling if, god forbid, anyone is lost. * From Jessica Lord: Can we please let the golf/ sailing handicap comparison, and while we are at it, the whole, um, "forward thinking" thread on how to "improve sailing" just shrivel up and die? Less is more, and I tend to agree with Donal McClement's suggestion of three rules, above all else I've read. Today, John Arndt said it perfectly: no one is ever going to be satisfied with any way that it is, ever. By the way? My favorite 'Butthead April Fool's article was the one where it was reported that it had been decided that the America's Cup was to be contended for on stock Santa Cruz 70s and held in San Francisco Bay. For a brief moment, Tom, you had me! Curmudgeon's Comment: Jessica - your wish is my command. The golf handicapping thread is now officially dead. However, I think we will always be looking for and discussing positive ways to improve the sport. * From Ralph Taylor: Gee. Anyone who wants to simplify the racing rules must not have read them lately. The fundamental rules & right-of-way rules take up pages 3-10 of a pocket-sized book. And, three of those pages have to do with rules 18-22, two pages alone for the bemoaned 18 (room at marks & obstructions). The rest of the book has to do with things we might not want to throw away, like: RC signals, power, starts, changing course, scoring, protests, etc. Way back in marketing class, our professor chanted "You can eliminate the 'middle man', but you can't eliminate the services he performs." Well, we could eliminate those supposedly superfluous rules, but we'd soon be forced to bring them back. Not that I'm against Philipe Kahn's suggestions, especially the simplified golf-like handicap. It seems to have a place in lower-level events. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. Special thanks to North U, West Marine, and J/Boats |
