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SCUTTLEBUTT 1592 - May 27, 2004Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. HURRY - SPACE IS LIMITED Five teams have confirmed their intention to race in the "Marseille Louis Vuitton Act," the first of three Acts (translation: regattas) scheduled in 2004 for the 32nd America's Cup. Because of space limitations, just three spots remain open for the first Act. Obviously, the defender, the Swiss Alinghi team, and the Challenger of Record, the U.S. Oracle BMW Racing team will be there - 'challenged' by two French teams, Le Défi and the K-Challenge, as well as the South Africa's Shosholoza team. All have signed on to participate in the first three Acts of the 32nd America's Cup. "We want to show our current sponsors and our potential partners what the America's Cup has to offer in Europe," said Stephan Kandler, the CEO of the K-Challenge. Shosholoza captain Salvatore Sarno added, "I think these first races in Marseille will remind our team of how much work we still have to do!" AC Management will ship each team from Valencia, Spain, to Marseille, France, and back again. They will move the race boat, ship's tender, three gear containers, and two masts as part of a package of logistics and shipping assistance to each America's Cup team registered in all three Acts. - Act 1: Fleet and Match Racing - September 5-11 (Marseille) - Act 2: Match Racing - October 5-12 (Valencia) - Act 3: Fleet Racing - October 14-17 (Valencia) Racing for the 32nd America's Cup will continue in 2005 with four more Acts in Europe and America. http://www.americascup.com Curmudgeon's Comment: Am I the only one wondering why it took more than 150 years for the America's Cup to get its "Act together." :-) MORE AMERICA'S CUP * In preparation for the 32nd America's Cup in 2007 in Valencia, BMW and Oracle Racing have announced a new campaign under the name of BMW Oracle Racing. The syndicate made clear the more significant involvement of BMW in the new America's Cup campaign by renaming the sailing team, BMW Oracle Racing. On the technology front, four engineers from the team of Professor Dr. Raymond Freymann, Managing Director BMW Group Research and Technology, will be integrated permanently into the boat's design team. The work of the BMW engineers will focus on structural design and construction materials used in the yacht. - http://tinyurl.com/2fzlr * The construction of the 800-metre canal connecting the Port of Valencia directly to the sea could be affected as Valencia 2007 has yet received four proposals in response to the notice published March 1st, 2004. Considering the Environmental Impact Statement which was just released to the public, nine residents groups claim the construction will adversely affect natural coastal landforms. According to the Report, the canal will cause negative long-term erosion affects on the north beaches. Meanwhile, sand will be transported to the South, and accumulates in the large sand beaches called "Playa de Pinedo" and "playa de El Saler". The late release of this report is a little bit surprising giving that the canal connecting the upgraded and renewed Port directly to the sea was one of the main part of the Valencia America's Cup bid. - Cup in Europe website, http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/ValenciaNews3LN.htm COME JOIN THE FUN The largest 35-foot one design class in North America with over 600 boats sold and one design fleets with 20+ boats in 8 different cities from San Francisco to New England to the Chesapeake to Lake Michigan. The J/105 is continuing to grow - check out how you can join the fun with one of the prettiest boats available on the used market: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/pl_boat_detail.jsp?currency=USD&units=Feet&checked_boats=1201617&slim=quick& TECHNOLOGY With five days to go before they set sail upwind across the North Atlantic, the very last thing teams wish to discover are severe structural problems with their boats. However, this is exactly what has been experienced by teams due to take Monday's start of The Transat. In the Open 60 class for the last two weeks there has been major concern about the canting keels of the brand new Marc Lombard designs Sill and Bonduelle. Since their launch within the last month the keels on both boats have developed an alarming vibration when being pushed hard. During the recent 1000 Mille de Calais race concern over their keel's integrity was enough to prompt Roland Jourdain on board Sill to retire from the race. Ironically her sistership, Jean le Cam's Bonduelle, went on to win the race. Since then both Sill and Bonduelle have been taken out of the water to have their keels fully checked. It appears the vibrations are occurring due to their keel foil twisting when the boat is powered up. After discussions with designer Marc Lombard and the structural engineer Herve Devaux they have attempted to solve this on Sill by casting a new keel bulb and fitting it to the foil, but in a position further aft to alleviate the twist. However this modification has not worked and the team are now back to square one. As a result Sill has been forced to withdraw from The Transat. "It is not a question of taking the risk," commented skipper Roland Jourdain. "This transatlantic race is already hard enough with a perfect boat. To do it with a boat that is not 100% reliable is foolish." Significantly Jourdain competed in the 2000 Vendée Globe and so does not have to take part in The Transat in order to race qualify for November's single-handed round the world race. - http://www.thetransat.com SWEDISH MATCH TOUR Split, Croatia - On a day of predominantly light winds, Bertrand Pacé of France overtook Australian Peter Gilmour for the overall lead at the ACI HTmobile Cup, an event of the Swedish Match Tour. With Round Robin 1 and the first two flights of Round Robin 2 complete, Pacé leads the event with a 10-2 record. After winning his first seven races yesterday, Gilmour stumbled today when he won two of five matches. While the Race Committee rolled off eight flights and 40 matches yesterday, today they were able to complete just five flights and 25 matches. The lighter winds forced a different mode from the crews when compared to yesterday's 15-knot breeze. Sweden's Mattias Rahm explained that it requires a more tactical mindset than when there's more pressure. "You have to be more focused and concentrate harder," Rahm said. Staffan Lindberg proved his resiliency by going 3-2 on the day to move up to ninth overall. Lindberg underwent surgery at the City Hospital of Split to repair the zygomatic arch, the arch of bone that extends along the front or side of the skull beneath the orbit, on the right side of his face. Last night, Lindberg was measured for a special mask that was delivered this morning. Ivancev emphasized to Lindberg that he should wear the mask to protect the damaged arch in the event of another accident. Lindberg was a bit hesitant to wear it. "I can't see that well out of it," he explained about the inhibited periphery vision. "And I might not be able to see the boom if it comes across again." - Sean McNeill, http://www.swedishmatchtour.com ACI HTmobile Cup Standings after 13 of 22 scheduled flights: 1. Bertrand Pacé/FRA, Team France, 10-2 2. Magnus Holmberg/SWE, SeaLife Rangers, 9-3 3. Peter Gilmour/AUS, Pizza-La Sailing Team, 9-3 4. Jes Gram-Hansen/DEN, Team Denmark, 8-3 5. Gavin Brady/NZL, Oracle BMW Racing, 7-5 6. Mathieu Richard/FRA, 6-5 7. Kelvin Harrap/NZL, Team New Zealand, 5-7 8. Mattias Rahm/SWE, Team Stena Bulk, 5-7 9. Staffan Lindberg/SWE, 3-9 10. Frano Brate/CRO, 2-8 11. Mate Arapov/CRO, 1-9 COLLEGIATE NAs The first day of the North American Women's Championships on the Columbia River saw eighteen teams begin the racing in a dreary 8-10 knots and rain. Later in the day a squall bringing rain and winds at 15-20 knots capsized over half of the B Division, wherein after a brief break, the day finished in 10-15 knot breeze and very light rain. A Division completed six races and B Division finished four races. Racing continues in FJ's through Friday. (A Division - B Division, Total Pts) 1. US Naval Academy, 28 -14, 42 pts 2. Yale University, 37-15, 52 3. Old Dominion, 32-22, 54 4. Connecticut College, 40-21, 61 5. Dartmouth College, 38-30, 68 Event website: http://www.collegesailing.org/nwicsa/na/default.htm CLEWGEAR SHORTS AND PANTS CLEWGEAR has the best sailing shorts and pants. All are waterproof, breathable, UV protective and extremely durable. Top of the line materials, construction, fit, function, comfort and styling. Sold at APS, Crowley's Yacht Yard, Left Coast Apparel, Sailing Pro Shop, and Team 1 Newport. http://www.clewgear.com SPA REGATTA Over 1000 competitors representing 61 countries have descended upon the Dutch town of Medemblik for the 20th SPA Regatta. Just three months before the Athens Olympic Games the world's top Olympic sailors have come to compete in all eleven of the Olympic sailing disciplines. The event got underway Wednesday and continues through until Sunday 30 May. It's cold there - 55 digress, with a bit of rain and 8-14 knots of oscillating breeze. You'll want to go to the website for complete results, but we'll list those North American teams who are in the top 10 in their respective classes. - 470 Men (31 boats): 4. Paul Foerster/ Kevin Burnham, USA - 49er (49 boats): 8. Tim Wadlow Pete Spaulding, USA - Europe (63 boats): 6. Meg Gaillard, USA - Laser (74 boats) 7. Andrew Lewis USA; 8. Bernard Luttmer, CAN - Mistral Men (38 boards): 5. Benjamin Barger, USA - Mistral Women (21 boards): 8. Lanee Beashel. USA - Yngling (23 boats): 9. Sally Barkow USA; 10. Felicity Clarke, CAN - Star (33 boats) 4. Paul Cayard/ Phil Trinter USA; 6. Ross Macdonald/ Mike Wolfs, CAN - Tornado (28 boats) 4. John Lovell/ Charlie Ogletree, USA STILL MORE AMERICA'S CUP On 25 March, Clan Des Team revealed themselves as the first official Challenger in the 32nd America's Cup after the Challenge of Record, Oracle BMW Racing. Since then the team have changed their name and are now to be known as +39 (presumably after the international dialing code for Italy rather than the age of the crew). Today Luca Devoti has been announced as skipper of the +39, and Iain Percy helmsman. The latter appointment will come as a blow to GBR Challenge who were anticipating Percy not only being a key member of their afterguard but also one of the spokesmen and ambassadors for their campaign. Devoti and Percy have had a long association. When Percy won Gold in the Finn at the Sydney Olympics, it was Devoti who picked up Silver. Devoti is also well known in the UK for his Burnham-on-Crouch based company Devoti Sailing which he set up in 1992 with Tim Tavinor. They quickly established themselves as builders of 'the' Finn to have and have since moved into the Optimist, 420, 470, Snipe, Melges 24, Star and Musto Performance Skiff. Aside from Percy, +39 has also signed French Star sailor Xavier Rohart and his crew Pasqual Rembeau, who were World Champions in 2003; Spanish Finn sailor Rafael Trujillo, second in the Finn World Championship in 2003 and Britain's number 2 Finn sailor to Ben Ainslie, and Andrew (Bart) Simpson. Devoti says there is a strong possibility of +39 signing other British sailors, although they are not in discussions with Ben Ainslie. - The Daily Sail, full story, http://tinyurl.com/38efb IN MEMORIAM Norris Dresser Hoyt of 9 1/2 Malbone Road, Newport, died Monday, May 24 at the Grand Islander Health Care center in Middletown, R.I. He had celebrated his 90th birthday with friends on March 19. He also spent every summer on boats. He sailed 23 Transatlantics, Bermuda races, Fastnets, and even a Capetown to Rio. And in between, he and Jerry Nevins broadcast the America's Cup races on WADK to the yachting world. In 1975 he and Kitty retired to sail the Bahamas and Caribbean. He sold the final boat at the age of 85. He was a gifted raconteur, as every yacht club and power squadron on the east coast can attest, and his photography was legendary. He became a regular contributor to Sail Magazine, and was an associate editor until shortly before his death. A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, June 6 at 2:00 pm in the St. George's School Chapel, Purgatory Road, Middletown. ULLMAN SAILS NEW SAIL DESIGN SCORE BIG AT J/22 WORLDS Alec Cutler with crew Max Skelly and Paul Murphy, using a newly developed Mainsail and Spinnaker from Ullman Sails, defeated defending 2003 world champion John den Englesman and an additional 128 talented teams to win the 2004 J/22 worlds. With wind conditions ranging from 4 to 14 knots, sail versatility through the wind range was key to Alec Cutler's boat speed. If you and your crew are ready for "The Fastest Sails on the Planet" contact your local Ullman Sails representative or visit us on line at http://www.ullmansails.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Carl Schellbach (Re the NTSB and mandatory PFD item): Is it just me, or is there something telling about a group wanting to "big brother" the boating community being located on L'enfant Plaza? * From Jeff Conery: I too had hoped the mandatory PFD threat (and thread) had gone away. According to the statistics in Butt 1591 only 5% of boaters (in open boats) wear PFDs and yet 15% of drowned boaters have them on! A 300% increased chance of drowning doesn't seem a good enough reason to ruin my suntan. * From Steve Orosz: Maybe we've got it backwards. Instead of a weight limit maybe more classes should institute a minimum weight requirement like the Hobie class (T.L. Lewis, Scuttlebutt 1591). Which is more of a test of a sailor's skill? Winning with a light boat or winning with a heavy boat? A realistic minimum weight requirement would, perhaps, be more inclusive since crews might need to add another person to make weight. Making weight before an important regatta would also be a heck of a lot more fun than it is now. * From Jim McLellan: What we must keep in mind is that the majority of the teams are simply there for a good time. They will not win the event; they are on their vacation. To deprive those people from having a few pops after the racing or to keep them from going out for dinner is not what the sport is all about. If you do that you find that the fleets get smaller because it isn't fun any more. Weight limits are good. But once your event is perceived to be fair, then let's make sure it's fun. * From Kathy Weishampel: I really don't understand the current push to limit crew and skipper weight. In my opinion weight should be a non-issue. When it is windy heavy crews certainly have an advantage, but when it is light those same crews that have had an advantage will pay a penalty because they will squat while the lighter crews pick them off. The only limiter should be that the same skipper and crew should sail the entire regatta-no substitutions. Obsession with weight is not healthy. * From Ian Brown, UK: There are clear advantages to being on or close to the maximum weight limit in any one-design class that imposes such a limit. That means that most people will want to sail close to the weight limit. Fear of disqualification for being too heavy simply encourages sailors to eat and drink poorly throughout the duration of the competition. The potential for causing further health issues than what it solves are obvious. Unfortunately I don't think that there is a simple solution other than letting common sense prevail and choosing your crew carefully. * From Cameron Thorpe: I race Etchells at a competitive level and have competed in the last two worlds. Our combined natural body weights would put us 20kg over, so we diet, dehydrate etc. I personally lose about 8kg. In the Etchells class during the worlds 15% of the fleet are randomly weighed each day. This means you cannot afford to be over weight. Hence my crew stays starving and dehydrated all week which must be even worse for our health than just getting to weight for weigh in. The other effect is that the weight limit ruins the social side of the regatta; crews go home to stay under the limit as they can't afford to eat and drink. The solution - technical way to equalize boats with differing crew weights? I'm not sure if it's possible but it would be great. * From David Bishop: Other sports where weight is an advantage (or disadvantage) use alternative penalties. We could take a page from horse racing, with lead weight added in the ends of the boat to compensate for the advantage of excess weight on the rail. The class designers should be able to come up with a formula to balance that out. Or, divide the Farr 40's into 27 different weight classes, like boxing. That way everyone could be a champion, although it would make the awards ceremonies intolerable. ("and first place in the super middle cruiser weight division goes to..."). Curmudgeon's Comment: Was there a full moon last night? * From Patrick J. Russell: People who have the desire and the money to experiment and to build a new boat every few years should be encouraged. I favor a simple box type rule for what I will call a development or "Open" class. The rule should encourage new innovations by not penalizing things outside the rule. I would suggest that there be a "five year" rule. A boat drops out of the Open class after it is 5 years old. If you take the Open boats out at one end and the PHRF boats on the other end maybe one of the current rules can be made to work. * From Bob Bonney: I'm also disappointed but not surprised that ESPN chose to air Gary Jobson's 25 Years of Sailing on "ESPN Classic". I anxiously anticipated watching this program only to discover that the two ESPN channels I receive with my "basic" cable package don't include the "Classic" flavor. ESPN has never provided decent sailing coverage. OLN provided far better coverage on the 2003 Americas Cup and regularly televise other major sailing events. In spite of the pioneering relationship between Gary and ESPN, he deserves better. His program should have run on the "regular" ESPN channel or better yet, on OLN. * From Leslie DeMeuse - Robert Middemas could not have said it better about those who complain to the networks about air times about ESPN broadcasts... As a program producer and packager for ESPN and a few other networks, I can tell you, it's a tough sales job to get yacht racing air time on the largest sporting network in the world ... and if it were not for Gary Jobson and his ability to promote sailing to the top executives and sponsors, ESPN would have never given sailing the time of day, ever! So, hold your complaints to ESPN. Compliments would work so much better. Curmudgeon's Comment: Enough - this thread is now officially dead. (Better late than never.) THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS An inferiority complex would be a blessing, if only the right people had it. |
