|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2054 - March 20, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.US SAILING AWARDS US Sailing, national governing body for the sport, presented its National Sportsmanship award, the W. Van Alan Clark Jr. Trophy, to Greg Storer (Branford, CT) for his outstanding display of sportsmanship behavior at the U.S. Offshore Championship last fall. Additionally, its Harman Hawkins Trophy for excellence in race management to Robin Wallace (Newport, RI), which recognizes outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing in the field of Race Administration (Judging, Race Management, Appeals and Racing Rules). Storer and Wallace were presented with the trophy at US Sailing's Spring Meeting in Chicago, Ill., this past weekend. A Midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy and captain of the Academy's Offshore Sailing Team, Storer had led his team to the top of the scoreboard on day one of the U.S. Offshore Championship, held in Annapolis, Md. On the second day of the three-day event, the competitors sailed a 24-mile point-to-point race and the Midshipmen crossed the finish line in second place. Upon getting back ashore, a competitor pointed out to the Navy crew that it appeared Navy had passed this mark on the incorrect side. Although no protest was filed, Storer admitted that he was uncertain if he had honored the mark and voluntarily decided to withdraw from the race, converting his team's second-place finish to a 12th. The Navy team still managed to win the entire regatta after two races were held on the final day. Robin Wallace has a record of service in race management that is truly extraordinary. He is an indefatigable race officer, having served at all levels of the sport of sailing from the America's Cup Challenger Series to far less formal Wednesday night races. He has received well-deserved praise for his work as Principal Race Officer for fleet races, match races and team races. He currently represents US SAILING at the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) as an International Race Officer and as a member of the Race Management Sub-Committee, the Medical Commission and the World Youth Sailing Trust. In addition, Wallace has served Rhode Island sailors as Chair of the Rhode Island State Yachting Commission. - For the complete report: http://www.ussailing.org BRAZIL SAILING CUP Angra Dos Reis, Brazil (Mar. 19, 2006) - The Final Round of the inaugural Brazil Sailing Cup, Stage 5 of the 2005-'06 World Match Racing Tour, featured two crews that advanced from distinctly different paths. James Spithill (AUS), Luna Rossa Challenge, entered the final as the favorite having won seven straight races. Throughout the week observers commented that he was sailing fast and smooth. Thierry Peponnet (FRA), K-Challenge, advanced to the final after coming through the repechage round, and that after having survived a 1 point penalty that nearly knocked him out of the regatta. Peponnet drew first blood in the final. He defeated Spithill when the Aussie got fouled up at the start. But Spithill rallied to win three straight races, including a riveting finale, and captured his second career World Tour victory. Spithill's crew included Magnus Augustsson (bow), Michele Ivaldi (tactics), Jonathan McKee (mainsail) and Joe Newton (headsails). They finished the regatta with a 10-1 record and won $35,000 of the $100,000 prize purse. Peponnet's crew included Benoit Briand, Tanguy Cariou, Herve Cunningham and Thierry Douillard. They finished the week with a 10-7 record and won $20,000. Spithill and Peponnet advanced to the final after 2-0 wins in the semis. Spithill beat Ben Ainslie (GBR), Emirates Team New Zealand, and Peponnet took down Gavin Brady (NZL), Beau Geste Sailing Team. In the Petite Final, Ainslie closed out Brady 2-0. Brazil Sailing Cup Final Results (Prize Purse: $100,000) 1. James Spithill (AUS) Luna Rossa Challenge, 10-1, $35,000 (Crew: Magnus Augustsson, Michele Ivaldi, Jonathan McKee, Joe Newton) 2. Thierry Peponnet (FRA) K-Challenge, 10-7, $20,000 (Crew: Benoit Briand, Tanguy Cariou, Herve Cunningham, Thierry Douillard) 3. Ben Ainslie (GBR) Emirates Team New Zealand, 7-5, $15,000 (Crew: Kelvin Harrap, Richard Meacham, Tony Rae, Rob Salthouse) 4. Gavin Brady (NZL) Beau Geste Sailing Team, 4-7, $8,000 (Crew: Jon Gunderson, Brett Jones, Tony Rey, Geordie Shaver) 5. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge, 5-2, $7,000 (Crew: Anders Dahlsjo, Niklas Carlzon, Lars Linger, Mattias Rahm) 6. Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi, 3-4, $5,500 (Crew: Rodney Ardern, Nils Frei, Murray Jones, Piet Van Nieuwenhuyzen) 6= Dean Barker (NZL) Emirates Team New Zealand, 4-4, $5,500 (Crew: Don Cowie, James Dagg, Jared Henderson, Terry Hutchinson) 8. Ian Williams (GBR) Williams Racing Team, 5-6, $4,000 (Crew: Bill Hardesty, Gerard Mitchell, Mal Parker, Mark Williams) 9. Staffan Lindberg (FIN) Alandia Sailing Team, 3-6 (Crew: Nils Bjerkås, Robert Skarp, Carl-Johan Uckelstam and Daniel Wallberg) 10. Cameron Dunn (NZL) Mascalzone Latino - Capitalia, 3-6 (Crew: Matteo Auguadro, Maciel Chicchetti, Marco Constant, Antar Vigna) 11. Daniel Glomb (BRA) Brazil Match Race Team, 0-10 (Crew: Eduardo Birkeland, Rene Garrafielo, Jose Paulo, Daniel Santiago) Complete report: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com B&G DOMINATES MIAMI RACE WEEK & TP52 GLOBAL CHAMPS Patches wins hard-fought TP52 event as B&G equipped boats fill out 1st to 4th with six of nine competitors. Moneypenny takes 1st in IRC while other B&G boats are 2nd and 3rd with six of the top nine again! Rick Wessland's El Ocaso continued her winning ways from Key West with PHRF Boat of the Week honors. In the Farr 40 class, B&G equipped boats secure nine of the top 10 spots. B&G instruments dominate the winner's circle, again! Equip yourself to win, contact: http://www.BandG.com COUNTDOWN The countdown of to the start of the Asian Record Circuit 2006 has started. Next Saturday, Ellen MacArthur and an international crew of four set off from Yokohama, Japan, 25th March to cover around 4505 miles of very new territory [the equivalent of sailing from England to Mexico!]. The objective is to establish a series of crewed record times between key Asian ports [or gates] Japan, South Korea, mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Malaysia to Singapore- it is a first of its kind for a major sailing campaign to take to these waters with the aim of setting benchmark times that can be challenged in the future by other sailors. The 75ft trimaran was shipped to Asia from Southampton onboard CMA CGM's container ship the 'Bizet' and arrived in Hong Kong two weeks ago where the shore crew quickly re-assembled B&Q and started their delivery trip to Yokohama, Japan. B&Q is expected to arrive in Yokohama on Monday and Ellen will join the crew to make the final preparations for the start of the record circuit. - http://www.teamellen.com Ellen MacArthur spoke with Cowes Online's Steve Sleight about her time on South Georgia, the recent decision to take a break from single-handed sailing, the forthcoming Asian Tour, and her charity, the Ellen MacArthur Trust. Listen to the audio interview at http://www.cowes.co.uk/cb/zone?p=story2;story_id=1424;cp= THE BACHELOR The ABC network's popular series "The Bachelor" is searching for America's most eligible man and they're turning to the yachting community to find him! Producers are searching for men who are ambitious, charming and successful and who are looking to find love. The ideal candidate is an attractive, single, 28-35 year-old accomplished CEO, Architect, Lawyer, Entrepreneur or Businessman. The yachting community matches this demographic perfectly. According the most recent results on the RegattaDates.com sailing poll, 75% of respondents are male, 30% are age 20-40, 48% own their own boat, 16% earn over $150,000 per year, 75% are from the USA and 29% are single. Full results can be found here: http://www.regattadates.com/survey/demoresults.cfm Filming of this popular romance series will take place in an exotic, tropical location promising to make this the most romantic season ever! If you fit this description and think you can handle twenty-five beautiful girls, contact Daniella Barba, one of the Casting Producers now! For more information, or to apply, send photos, contact information and a mini-bio to mailto:Danielle@kasstinginc.com - Sean Downey, Inside Yachting, http://www.insideyachting.com MATCH RACE EXHIBITION Russell Coutts won the Dubai Match Race Challenge, edging out Jes Gram-Hansen after the second leg of the event was cut short by a heavy storm and ended in darkness. Winds gusting up to 40 knots had threatened to prevent any action, but when racing eventually got under way it was Coutts who came through to defeat the Danish star in an event marking the competitive debut of the RC 44. Trailing 2-1 from Thursday's first leg, Gram-Hansen kept alive his hopes of a first ever match racing victory over the three-times America's Cup-winning helmsman with an opening win after one of the three scheduled races was cancelled. But the series was then decided when the Dane was halted by a broken jib, leaving Coutts clear to record a 3-2 success and add the Dubai Match Race Challenge to his long list of international honours. - Photos from the event: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/dubai0319 SAN DIEGO NOOD John Vincze and Bruce Edwards are dinghy guys. Vincze has been sailing International 14s for over 20 years. While Edwards is relatively new to the twin-trapeze dinghy-today was his 14th day in the 14-foot boat-he's a veteran of the 505 circuit. But despite their collective preference for small, tippy dinghies, the two 40-something sailors were tickled pink when they were named the overall winner of the 2006 Lands' End San Diego NOOD. The overall winners at each of the nine stops of the 2006 Lands' End NOOD tour will receive a Beneteau Oceanis 393 charter boat courtesy of Sunsail for the 2006 Lands' End Caribbean NOOD Regatta in the British Virgin Islands in November. Among the 16 divisions there were four teams that won every races. Topping the list is Chris Winnard who took the Holder 20 Nationals with seven bullets. Judge Ryan won all five races in the 29er division while Simon Garland swept the Flying Dutchman class and Kent Pierce did likewise in the J/24 division. Other winners included Gary Lee in the 505, Wade McDaniel in the Buccaneer, Bill Edwards in the Corsair 28R, Cliff Thompson in the Beneteau 40.7, the Downing/Franco team in the 22-boat J/105 division-the regatta's largest-Ted Marvell in the J/109, Chuck Nichols in the J/120, David Flint in the Catalina 36, Curt Johnson in the J/80, Tom Hurlburt in the Pacific Class, and Mike Ellis in the Ultimate 20 class. - Sailing World, complete story and results: http://tinyurl.com/gmlp4 YOU HAVE NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT Sponsorships, kegs, swag, trophies, and free tees. Drop that local printer and call The Pirate's Lair. You get hot graphics done by sailors, tees, polos, and a company that gives back to your event. Log on to http://www.pirateslair.com/sailing to get a free catalog or call (888) 724-5286. DAMAGE CONTROL Scuttlebutt received the following note from Bernard Schopfer, Communication Manager for Ericsson Racing Team: An article about the Ericsson Racing Team has been published on Sunday in the UK, and there seems to have been a lot of misunderstandings between the journalist and our navigator. I would therefore like to ask you to be so kind and not to publish it on Scuttlebutt. Just for your information: * Our navigator Steve Hayles is contracted until the end of the race and there is no talk about him stepping down. * John Kostecki has been appointed as Ericsson's skipper for leg 5. He may sail other offshore races with us but it is not confirmed yet (mainly because of his other commitments). He will however carry on sailing the in-port races with us, as he has done since the beginning of the Volvo Ocean Race. Curmudgeon's Comment: Out of respect, we have agreed not to include the above mentioned article. However, from the above note, you can likely guess what the news source had stated with respect to Steve Hayles, and his intent to continue with the team. Time will tell. NO MAJOR PROBLEMS (Kimo Worthington, General Manager for the VOR Pirates of the Caribbean team, provided Scuttlebutt with a report on the team status from Rio de Janeiro, where they are preparing for the In-port race on March 25th. Here is an excerpt.) The Black Pearl's in pretty good shape, the best of any of the stopovers so far. We're tackling a huge job list but there's been a major change in this stopover. During previous stopovers we've had major repairs to carry out, but in Rio we're ticking jobs off which are purely maintenance based. The Black Pearl was out of the water for a week and just went back in this afternoon. Every element of the boat has been thoroughly cleaned and checked to ensure she is in peak racing condition. With a new coat of paint on the deck, The Black Pearl will also be looking her best for the Disney and Pescanova VIPs, as well as a number of journalists, coming out sailing with us this week. As I sit here in the beautiful city of Rio, it's extremely difficult to do anything other than go to the beach (not that we've had the chance yet!). The heat is sweltering, so much so that we've had air conditioning installed on the boat for the guys working down below. The team has consumed in excess of 2,000 bottles/cans of fluids and we've only been here just over a week! The conditions for working have been virtually unbearable, but they've stuck at it and powered on. - Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/NEWS/06/poc0319 UP HIGH - DOWN LOW * Salina, KS - Adventurer Steve Fossett said Friday that he had broken the record for flying farther than anyone departing and landing at the same spot, traveling more than 25,000 miles in three days. Fossett landed his lightweight experimental aircraft at Salina Municipal Airport a few hours ahead of schedule, at 9:06 a.m. CST, more than 74 hours after he took off from the same place. Certification of the record could take two weeks to a year. Fossett said he flew about 25,300 miles in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. The previous closed-circuit record of nearly 25,000 miles was set in 1986 by Richard Rutan and Jeana Yeager. - IndyStar.com, complete story: http://tinyurl.com/oxolj * Steve Fossett's record breaking catamaran, Cheyenne, formerly Play Station, is undergoing extensive modification, in San Diego, as Fossett has set his sights on becoming the deepest man in a submarine. The record breaking maxi-catamaran Cheyenne has had the mast & rigging removed and is being converted to act as a platform, from which Fossett's one man submarine will be launched. Fossett's exact plans and the nature of the vessel he will use for his record attempt are a closely guarded secret, but BYM News can reveal that the vessel will NOT be a bathyscaphe and that he is hoping to find a place on the ocean floor that is a few feet deeper than that discovered by "Kaiko." - bymnews.com, full report: http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/26306/82 COACH BOAT, RACE TENDER, OR A JUST FOR FUN BOAT? No matter what you're in the market for, the Ribcraft line of rigid inflatable boats, ranging in size from 15' to 30', will meet your every need. There's still time to place an order for a summer delivery. Contact Ribcraft today or visit http://www.ribcraftusa.com/sailing to learn more. NEWS BRIEFS * Lake Eustis Sailing Club, FL - After three days of light air racing, the winner of the 71-boat MC Midwinters was decided on the last beat. Heading into the last race, the difference between first and fourth was three points. Sam Rogers and Zack Clayton were tied with 9 points, Andy Burdick with 10 and Ted Keller with 11. In the last 50 yards, Andy took advantage of a small puff to win the event by one point, finishing one boatlength ahead of Ted Keller who was a quarter boatlength ahead of Sam Rogers. Results are available at http://www.mcscow.org/fleet04/2006/midwinters/index.shtml * The SL16 class association is seeking American youth applicants interested in competing in the first Gold Cup regatta in La Baule, France June 21-25, 2006. Resumes are being accepting from sailors 15-19 years old. Applicants must submit as a team (skipper and crew), and all male, all female or a combination are acceptable. The main criteria is you must have experience in sailing, preferably with spinnaker. Round trip airfare from New York will be paid by the SL16 association, along with event housing, transportation and meals. Submit resumes by May 12, 2006 to AJ Stevens, chairman, SLica Class Association: mailto:aj.stevens@att.net * As part of a strategic rationalization to better service the key European and Eastern United States markets, international mastmakers Southern Spars is consolidating their One Design manufacturing into a single facility in Cape Town, South Africa through a licensing relationship with Sparcraft. "Because of more efficient shipping options from Cape Town to the major markets in Europe and the eastern seaboard of the United States, it was always our intention to concentrate the One Design manufacturing in South Africa," said Southern Spars One Design general manager John Clinton. Southern Spars custom and corporate office remains in New Zealand. - http://www.southernspars.com/ * T2Productions will be producing daily race shows for all three days of the International Rolex Regatta in St. Thomas, April 24-26. Each show will be available online, on demand each night by 9 PM EST at http://www.t2p.tv * When was the last time you saw a 40-page Notice of Race? For those who want to be the first on their block to actually see such a this historic publication, the NOR for the 2006 Newport Bermuda Race is now online: http://www.bermudarace.com * Photographer Guido Cantini provided us with some remarkable images from Nungwe Town in East Africa, where the locals were building their fishing boats seemingly much from the adjacent trees. Very old school (and very likely that Scuttlebutt is not read there): http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/tanzania 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 Peter Harken: Neal MacDonald is a big, big man, no "whinging", no excuses, just let's get on with it, a super team player without regard for self. Very impressive! * From Jacques Taglang: The baron Marcel Bich, challenged the America's Cup four times and originated the challenger selections trials: 1- In 1970 with France 1 (André Mauric's design) - Bich asked to Britton Chance to design a trial horse : Chancegger (1969) built by Herman Egger in Switzerland; 2 - In 1974 with France 1 again. He intended to challenge with Pol Elvström, so Jan Kjaerulff designed a twelve "France II project" an aluminium hulled boat with a fore bulb (never launched). So France 1 raced in Newport in 1974; 3 - In 1977, France 1 raced again. France 2 (Mauric's design) was not competitive and slower than France 1; 4 - In 1980, France 3 (Johan Valentijn design). CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about. Special thanks to B&G Instruments, The Pirate's Lair, and Ribcraft. |
