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SCUTTLEBUTT 1788 - March 4, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest 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. THE SOUND OF JACK HAMMERS The works in the Port of Valencia in preparation for the 32nd America's Cup are a massive project. In addition to building up to a dozen team bases, there is a superyacht pier to be constructed, a canal to be dug that links the Darsena directly to the Sea, and a couple of breakwaters to be laid. Steel girders reach from the ground to the sky; first one, then another, and soon dozens have been erected, the most visible sign of progress for the team bases. Construction is well under way on the new homes for the +39 Challenge, Team Shosholoza and Luna Rossa Challenge. The bases for the remaining teams are scheduled to follow in short order. In the middle of the bases, one of the most visible additions to the Dársena will be the construction of a 'superyacht' pier from the Western corner, extending nearly 250-metres out towards the centre of the basin. This will be the main area for superyacht berthing, and once completed, it will be among the most attractive marinas of its kind in the Mediterranean. The superyacht pier is expected to provide berthing for 30 boats this year, and at least 50 in 2006. The land reclamation in the Dársena for the bases is among the most impressive aspects of the works. Over 700 000 tonnes of gravel have come in by truck to be used as fill, while more than 20 000 cubic metres of concrete will be poured to finish the ground for the bases. In total, nearly 4-million kilograms of steel girders have been ordered for this massive construction and land reclamation project in the Port. The works in the Port are a long term project. The first massive phase will take place before the Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts in June this year. Then, once the teams leave Valencia for the events in Malmö-Skåne and Trapani, the workers can take advantage of an open site once again to advance the major works. That's when work on the AC Park and the Foredeck Club in the Northeast corner of the Dársena will begin. Those projects will be ready for the 2006 season. - www.americascup.com/en/newsletter/002/newsletter02.html CRUSTY November's Volvo Ocean Race will be the fourth for 35 year old New Zealander Mark 'Crusty' Christensen, who's remarkable career in the crewed round the world race followed up a fourth place on board Dennis Conner's Winston in 1993-4 with wins on both Paul Cayard's EF Language and John Kostecki's illbruck Challenge. While his fellow illbruck crew Stu Bannatyne and Richard Clarke have signed up with Pedro Campos' Telefonica (most of the rest are with BMW Oracle Racing) Christensen has joined Mike Sanderson's ABN AMRO team where his winning experience makes him a prize assessment. With the crew now training on their new first generation Volvo Open 70 Christensen says he has been genuinely surprised by the pace of the new boat. "Having sailed the old boat for so long - three years ago that was about as quick as you went. Maxis might have gone quicker upwind but they didn't go any quicker downwind in a breeze. And I hadn't hopped on a canting keel boat before. So to go on this for the first time was like 'wow'. They are quite different - just amazing speed and incredible power. "I was more surprised when we went to a design meeting and Juan K showed us the polars and we thought 'that can't be right'. On the last race the first leg took 30-32 days for the first boat and most times when Juan's run the router the first leg this time is around 20 days - 50% faster. - Excerpt from a major story on The Daily Sail subscription website, www.thedailysail.com EVACUATION Team Save the Children has successfully evacuated an injured Crew Volunteer, who sustained a hip injury following the yacht freefalling off a freak wave, on Leg 4 of the Global Challenge. Adrian Albrighton, a 31-year-old Field Technician from West Bromwich, was in his bunk in one of the mid-cabins when the yacht was hit by a wave and became airborne. Current reports indicate that Adrian - a legger - was injured when the subsequent impact threw him against a heavily padded bunk tube. The transfer was safely executed in gale force conditions. A paramedic rendezvoused with the yacht at Storm Bay, near Hobart, Tasmania in position. Adrian was then transferred to a RIB before being airlifted to hospital via helicopter. His condition is described as stable. - Yachting Monthly, www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20050203134059ymnews.html At our distribution time, Imagine it Done was in a dead heat with Barclays Adventure at the top of the fleet, 5386 miles from Cape Town, with BP Explorer 20 miles further back. - www.globalchallenge2004.com/en/ ORANGE II Flat seas, no wind - Bruno Peyron encountered the perfect conditions to come to a stop, this morning between 10 and noon, off Brazil. The crew was able to undertake an extensive check, and dive under the hull in order to inspect the port rudder and daggerboard, damaged when the catamaran hit a cetacean* last Sunday. The outcome is very reassuring, and Bruno Peyron acknowledged the fact that the incident would not have major consequences as far as the record is concerned. The boat is in great shape, except for a minor dent in the port bow crash-box, and of course the damaged first layer on the port rudder blade". Along with Nicolas de Castro, the skipper dove to assess the damage. "We went closer to have a good look. We sawed off the fences, since the front part was torn off. The 90°-oriented carbon layers* are gone, but the 45° layers look strong. As it had been planned when the crew rounded the cape Horn, Peyron took advantage of this pit-stop to examine the whole boat. "We checked the mast, the mainsail traveller, and changed the bearings of the headboard traveller. Meanwhile, the mainsail and the Solent jib were down". The maxi-catamaran has only been stopped for two hours, between 10 and noon (French time) for inspection purposes. She will now sail on towards the Equator, with Ushant and Cheyenne's reference time as final objectives. At 1000 GMT Thursday, Orange II was located roughly 60 miles ahead of Fossett's day 48 position, which gives the French maxi-cat a 10-day lead, when at the same time last year Cheyenne still had 10 and a half days to reach Ushant. Yet, Orange II should pick up speed rather slowly now. Bruno Peyron confirms that the wind will increase, but gradually. At 0038 GMT on Friday Orange II had covered 21711 nm at an average speed of 23.4 knots. Having sailed 172 nm in the previous 24 hours Orange II is now 3285 ahead of the absolute record held by Cheyenne with 4362 nm to go. - www.maxicatamaran-orange.com/ SAVE 50-75% ON JACKETS< BIBS< SMOCKS AND MORE>>>>>>>>> Check out outstanding opportunities on great Henri Lloyd discontinued clothing now, while the selection is good and spring weather is near. You'll find Jackets, Bibs, Spray Tops and Smocks, all with superior construction, incomparable fit, and exceptional details, everything you expect from Henri Lloyd, now at dramatic savings. Buy one or more and take them everywhere you go, but don't take too long to decide -- these web specials won't be around for long! http://www.henrilloydonline.com/scuttlebutt VENDÉE GLOBE * Benoît Parnaudeau (Max Havelaar-Best Western), from La Rochelle on France's Atlantic coast, is the 10th competitor to have completed this 5th version of the Vendée Globe, a single-handed round the world yacht race, without stopovers and without assistance. Benoît made his circumnavigation in a time of 116 days, 1 hour 6 minutes and 54 seconds; a convincing performance for this 32 year old Franco-Canadian on a boat originally launched nearly 15 years ago (ex DDP/60ème Sud). - www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/infos/4827.html * After completing the Vendee Globe Race, the first steps back on land are difficult. They have to find their feet on a stable surface. It is not easy when the vestibular system controlling our balance has been functioning for 3 months on a surface in constant movement. Perfectly adapted to this movement after a difficult start, it takes time for the system to get used to the fact that the ground is stable. This land sickness affects the skippers and can take several hours or several days to get used to. The drunken feeling can show itself in a hesitant and unstable walk, often blamed on too much champagne. The legs find it difficult to bear the weight. For the past three months, the only steps taken have been within the 18 metres of the hull. 20 steps in one direction and 20 in the other, no more. Most activities on board are done sitting down, whether you're talking about being at the helm or in front of the computer screen. If you add to that the hours lying down sleeping the little time that remains is spent moving from one foot to the other without really walking. The consequence is that the muscles haven't been used. The apparent thinning out of the lower part of the body is exaggerated by the widening of the shoulders and arms, which are used at the helm or during manoeuvres like hoisting sails or pulling on sheets. - Jean-Yves Chauve, event website, full story, http://www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/magazine/4342.html ROLEX FARR 40 WORLDS Italian boat TWT shot up the rankings in the Rolex Farr 40 Worlds with victories in two out of three races today. This puts Marco Rodolfi's team just a point behind Evolution, the local Sydney boat which turned in a solid performance in very testing conditions. TWT revelled in the light 8-knot southerly of the first race, with a sickening swell rolling through the 1.7-mile race course. The team led by 1 minute 40 seconds at the top mark and extended to a winning margin of 2 minutes 33 seconds by the finish, an enormous lead in such a tightly-fought class as the Farr 40. Jim Richardson and Barking Mad put their defense of the world title in severe jeopardy by ay premature starter. The American boat turned back to restart, and did their usual amazing recovery job to pull back to 14th by the finish, but it is looking increasingly likely that we will see a new winner at the prize-giving on Friday evening. With only one race completed in the tempestuous conditions of the previous day, Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio was under pressure to get another race underway. He wasn't given much to work with as the wind virtually died to nothing. Six of the 10 scheduled races have now been completed, enough to constitute a championship. Reggio predicts a good end to the championship tomorrow: "I've seen everything from north-east to north-west on the forecasts, but we will have wind. - Complete story and images, www.regattanews.com/event.asp?id=103 Partial standings: 1) Evolution, AUS, Richard Perini, 34 2) TWT, ITA, Marco Rodolfi, 35 3) Team Shockwave, AUS, Neville Crichton, 47 4) Emotional Hooligan, AUS, Marcus Blackmore, 48 5) Nerone, ITA, Massimo Mezzaroma/Antonio Sodo Migliori, 50 6) Warpath, USA, Steve and Fred Howe, 54 7) Morning Glory, GER, Hasso Plattner, 54 8) Ichi Ban, AUS, Matt Allen, 55 9) Southern Star, AUS, John Calvert-Jones, 56 10) Mascalzone Latino, ITA, Vincenzo Onorato, 56 11) Barking Mad, USA, Jim Richardson, 58 14) Pegasus, USA, Philippe Kahn 88 20) Solution, USA, John Thomson, 20 Complete standings: www.cyca.com.au/sysfile/downloads/f40w_ps.pdf CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar ORYX QUEST 2005 As Cheyenne pounds across the deep south, the boat and the crew in their foul weather gear are the only color in an otherwise bleak landscape. Fog, drizzle and low overcast skies are the order of the day as Wouter Verbraak describes in his daily log. "Our world at the moment is rather gray," he wrote. "The sky is gray, the water is gray, the birds are gray, even our skippers beard is turning gray! An hour ago we saw part of the sun through a little hole in the clouds for a few moments. It was such a historic moment that Anders took a picture of it. I am sure it will be mainly gray." Cheyenne is the most southern of the three remaining boats in the Oryx Quest 2005. Standings: Doha 2006, 11436 miles to finish, 2. Cheyenne, 1214 miles to leader, 3. Deadalus, 2092 mtl, Geranimo, retired. - www.oryxquest.com/ OLYMPICS The Irish Sailing Association (ISA) held its first Olympic Squad session of 2005 in Dublin on 26 February, formally announcing squad members and introducing new staff. The event marked the official campaign start for several new young squad sailors aspiring to compete in the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition in Beijing. Included in the squad are several veterans of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions in Athens. The session was spent reviewing progress since Athens and addressing how the team could most effectively go forward. The process has put in place a solid foundation for the ISA's ongoing 2008 Olympic Games campaign. - ISAF website, full story: www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j12FhyBkC ISN'T IT TIME? It's that time of the year again, to start thinking about the improvements you can make to your boat to enhance the performance for the 2005 season. Just imagine the advantages of upgrading your outdated or inadequate Brand "X" system with Ockam's proven Tryad based system. And since backward/forward compatibility is a mainstay of Ockam's design it is simple to update your older Ockam system to current specs. We even offer trade in credits! Ockam's proven performance means your race winning decisions will be more reliable than ever. Break away from the middle of the pack! Contact Ockam: mailto:lat@ockam.com NEWS BRIEFS * AED Institute Inc. has agreed to provide a free automatic external defibrillator to every boat in this year's Transpac Race that requests one and will qualify with a minimum of two crew members trained and certified in its use. Defibrillation is the definitive treatment for returning a normal heartbeat. The battery powered device delivers an electrical current to stop ineffective heart action and allow a normal heartbeat to return. It has an 80-90% survival rate if used within the first few minutes of sudden cardiac arrest. A training session takes 4 to 6 hours and costs $75 per person. - info@aedinstitute.com * Adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to make a nonstop, solo flight around the world without refueling, landing in Kansas on Thursday after nearly three days in the air. His single-engine jet-powered experimental plane touched down at the Salina Municipal Airport at 2:48 p.m. EST in a smooth landing about 67 hours after he left. Fossett, the first person to make a solo, nonstop balloon trip around the world. Jeana Yeager and Dick Rutan were the first to make a nonstop, flight around the world without refueling in 1986 with a nine-day circumnavigation covering 26,366 miles. - Reuters. http://tinyurl.com/4jhet * The final total of entries for the 2005 St Maarten Heineken regatta is 261, five more than the previous record of 256 set four years ago. Spanning a size range from the 115ft Sojana, Peter Harrison¹s ketch to the 16ft beach cats, the regatta splits its entry between 19 classes. There are Bareboats, spinnaker and non spinnaker classes, racing and cruising multihulls, beach cats, and of course the open class and in Bareboat and Spinnaker for instance, there are six divisions each. * Sail magazine editor, Peter Nielsen, was honored by BoatU.S. with the 2004 Moulton H. "Monk" Farnham Award for Excellence in Editorial Commentary. The award recognizes editors of boating and fishing magazines who have a passion for boating, a crusading spirit and a willingness to use their editorial page to lead the debate on issues facing the recreational boating community and marine industry. Nielsen was recognized by BoatU.S. Vice President Michael Sciulla for his editorial column, "Setting Sail," and especially for three editorials challenging the federal government's interest in requiring all boaters to wear a life jacket. * For most of North America, the spring season is just around the corner. However, for the photos in our 'Brutal Winter' gallery, it is hard to believe that winter will ever end. Think you have had a tough winter? Think again: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/winter/ 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. 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 Gareth Evans: Am I the only person sitting here in disbelief at the progress of Orange II? We were all amazed a year ago when Steve Fossett knocked 6 days off the record - a phenomenal achievement. Averaging 15.5 knots for 58 days was quite incredible but so far Orange has averaged 23.5 knots. Good luck to Bruno and his crew - let's hope that they manage to solve their problems and go on to smash the unbreakable record! Judging on current progress they may even get it under 50 days. And I bet Steve Fossett will be first in line to congratulate Bruno, with none of the snide remarks of a year ago when the situations were reversed. What a year this is turning out to be - first Ellen, and now Orange are well on course. And it's only March! Also congratulations to Steve Fossett on breaking another round the world record. By the time you read this I bet he'll be enjoying a well earned rest! * From Joe Quinn (re Warren Jones): The Detroit and national, sailing scene has lost a "great one". All who knew Warren Jones, had a story about him. He was legendary, acerbic, and affectionate. What always struck me about Warren, besides his knowledge about boats, and the location, and price, of each item of inventory (amazing, considering there had to be thousands of items. Some say he made up the prices), was the time he spent mentoring those who were new to the sport. He genuinely tried to help all those who expressed an interest. He made them feel welcome; he made sure that they were taken care of. This is something that all members of our sport need to encourage to help continue growth. * From Doug Fredericks: I was shocked and saddened to read Bruce Geffen's notice in this morning's Scuttlebutt about the passing of Warren Jones. Warren was a mentor and patron to many of us young sailors who grew up in the Detroit area. Back in the late '60's and early '70's crew typically funded their own travel expenses to offshore events. Warren always had a job for the hardcore sailors who needed to replenish their coffers before heading off on another adventure. I considered Warren Jones and Thomas Hardware my grad school. Warren taught us about rigging, outfitting, business and life. He was a crusty curmudgeon and probably one of the kindest souls who ever lived. Fair winds Warren. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. - Charlotte Whitton |
