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SCUTTLEBUTT 3179 - Friday, September 17, 2010Scuttlebutt 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: Holmotro and New England Ropes LOCAL PERSPECTIVE: MELGES 32 WORLDS Sailing journalist Michelle Slade chatted to Stephen Pugh, current North American fleet president of the Melges 32, and Don Jesberg, winner of the 2009 Melges 32 North American's held in San Francisco, about the upcoming Melges 32 World Championship. Both Pugh and Jesberg call the Bay Area their home, and are preparing to compete in the event which will be held September 20-25, on the Olympic Circle in San Francisco Bay, and hosted by the St Francis Yacht Club. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * What's involved in the measurement process for the class? JESBERG: It's kind of a mystery actually - I've never seen a measurement certificate for our boat, and others don't have their own measurement certificates. They send someone out from the factory who does have all the information on all the boats and he'll do the inspections and make sure everyone is compliant with the way that the boats were originally set up so there's no room to cheat because you don't know what you're cheating against! * How does the 32 do on the Bay? JESBERG: They have too much sail area to sail in the Bay, that's the reality, so we're all struggling with the boats being over-powered all the time. Down-wind, they are full lit up. It's typical that on a run, you may tip over - that's part of the game. Everybody is going to have to deal with going out of control, broaching and having to get the boat under control, spinnaker back down.whoever can minimize mistakes in a big breeze going downwind will make a big difference. At least it's a little less crazy over at the Circle. * Where do you think the class is headed? JESBERG: I think nationally and internationally the 32 will continue to be very strong. The boats are pretty event driven, so that you'll take the boat to Rhode Island and do an event, to Detroit and do an event, to Miami and so forth. We'll continue to have events on the west coast - we'll never be a J105 kind of a 25-boat fleet because of the challenging nature of 32. Even the best guys in the fleet are in awe of sailing the boats. Even with one thousand three hundred and eighty seven pounds on board, it's all about righting moment. Complete interview: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/0915 SIZING UP THE COMPETITION Rob Greenhalgh (GBR), whose high performance resume includes winning the 18' Skiff Worlds, International 14 Worlds, Volvo Ocean Race, and Extreme 40 Series Champion, will be sailing with Alex Jackson (USA) on Leenabarca for the Melges 32 Worlds. Here Rob sizes up next week's championship: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The crew lists read like a who's who of world class sailors including; Russell Coutts, Stu Bannatyne, Paul Goodison, Hamish Pepper, Flavio Flavini, Chris Larson, Gavin Brady, Nathan Outteridge, Johnathan McKee and Francesco de Angeles. But Leenabarca is not short on talent either; We have a top class crew. The Class allows three pros and beside myself there is my brother, Peter and Chris Draper. Chris will be in charge of the big picture and Alex and myself will be working on the boat on boat tactics, to put us in the right positions. Peter will be leading the trim. Chris and Peter have been together for nearly a year now, competing in the 49er, and they will be bringing a huge amount of skill and experience to the team." The reigning world champion is Pieter Taselaar's Bliksem, and they are back to defend their title. Whilst the competition will be hard fought right across the fleet, John Porter's Full Throttle, Joe Wood's Red, John Kilroy's Samba Pa Ti and Rod Jabin's Ramrod, should all feature. There is no way anybody is going to run away with a win at the Worlds, in a fleet like this it really pays to be consistent. Conditions in San Francisco should be very lively. In September, 20 even 30 knots of wind are likely. The Melges 32 really lights up in big breeze downwind. They are physical boats and as the kite goes up, it is a wet wild ride and gains can be made by keeping the kite working right up to the leeward mark. Upwind is really tactical, getting off the line is going to be crucial. -- http://tinyurl.com/RG-091610 SEE THE HOLMATRO DIFFERENCE AT NEWPORT AND ANNAPOLIS Those who have not yet seen and handled Holmatro's hydraulics and winches will have the opportunity at the Newport and Annapolis boat shows. The innovation, design and finish of Holmatro's products are unsurpassed and shout QUALITY. See the new line of lightweight (without using plastic) winches with a totally unique and more efficient drum. Watch these low maintenance winches disassembled in sixty seconds with no tools! See the only two-speed hydraulic integral backstay adjuster along with emergency cutters, hydraulic control panels and classic bronze winches. Visit us in Newport tent D12 and Annapolis Land Space 59B. http://www.holmatro.com/marine ROLEX BIG BOAT SERIES San Francisco, CA, USA (September 16, 2010) - Though today's two opening races at the 46th annual Rolex Big Boat Series were partly shrouded in fog, it did nothing to dampen the spirits - or dogged competition - among 98 teams competing on San Francisco Bay. Over 1000 sailors have converged on St. Francis Yacht Club for the four-day event, and they include world champions, America's Cup and Volvo Ocean Race veterans as well as California's top names in sailing. The IRC divison - with 25 boats - is split into four classes, while the 73 teams in One Design division are divided into five classes: Melges 32s, J/105, J/120, Express 37 and One Design 35. Pieter Taselaar's (Scarsdale, N.Y.) Bliksem, the 2009 Melges 32 world champion, showed its winning ways when it posted a 1-2 today in what is serving as the 2010 Melges 32 Pre-Worlds. (Twenty-seven of the 32 teams expected to compete next week at the World Championship are on the line.) "We had a really good fight back in the first race after a bad start," said Bliksem's pit man Mike Coxson (Sydney Australia). "In the second race, we hit the first couple shifts just right and then we had Alcatraz (island) in the middle and had to decide 'do we go left or right?' We were happy to go right and when we saw some of the local boats do the same we knew that was a good sign." Coxson said the fog made it difficult to find lay lines but the 12-17 knots balanced that difficulty with "good fun on the downwind legs," of which they had two on twice-around windward leeward courses, each between 10 and 12 miles. It was a tough day for Doug Douglass's Goombay Smash who suffered damage during a T-bone incident with Stuart Simpson's Team Barbarians at the weather mark in the first race. A simple port-starboard incident left the hot-to-trot "Smashers" limping into the harbor with a nasty gash, but with repairs, the boat is expected back in circulation tomorrow. -- Full story: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10532 LASER MASTERS WORLDS Hayling Island, England (September 16, 2010) - There was a whole different set of skills tested on the second day of racing at the Laser Masters World Championships off Hayling Island today. Monday's first two races were something of a baptism of fire, a rude awakening to Hayling Bay's more gnarly waves and bigger winds. After a two day hiatus, waiting for muscular westerlies to abate, for the 350 sailors from 30 different countries racing resumed with a pair of testing heats contested in shifty, puffy conditions varying from 5 knots to 15 knots with some leftover sloppy seas to contend with. It was one of those never-say-die days, which occasionally made kings (and queens) of opportunists, but the shifty breezes also allowed those who made early mistakes to get right back into contention. Peter Vessella (USA), who is leading the Standard Grand Masters (55 and older): "I am very happy with my series so far. I think my boat speed has been good all around, which probably comes from 30 years racing Lasers. I practiced a lot at home in San Francisco, where it is usually windy there. That really helped me the first day when it was really windy and I was really able to get out there and hike hard, to just do my thing from practicing. I have had about 25 days on the water over the last couple of months and that really helps. I am retired so I have plenty of time to practice. I have been third and fifth but this is my first year in Grand Masters. I think it always helps to be the young guy in the ten year age bracket." -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/Laser-Masters-091610 Racing continues Friday and concludes Sunday, September 19. Here are the current standings after four races with one discard: Radial Apprentice Masters (35-44yrs): 1. Scott Leith (NZL) 4pts, 2. Jean-Christophe Leydet (FRA) 7pts, 3. Matthias Bruehl (GER) 8pts Radial Masters (45-54yrs): 1. Steve Cockerill (GBR) 5pts, 2. Jao Ramos (BRA) 9pts, 3. Carlos Eduardo Wanderley (BRA) 9pts Radial Grand Master (55-64yrs) 1. Lyndall Patterson (AUS) 7pts, 2. Bruce Martinson (USA) 7pts, 3. Kevin Pearson (GBR) 11pts Radial Great Grand Masters (65 and over): 1. Keith Wilkins (GBR) 5pts, 2. Peter Seidenberg (USA) 9pts, 3. Kerry Waraker (AUS) 10pts Standard Apprentice Masters (35-44yrs): 1. Adonis Bourgiouris (GRE) 4pts, 2. Brett Beyer (AUS) 5pts, 3. Jyrki Taiminen (FIN) 9pts Standard Masters (45-54yrs): 1. Arnoud Hummel (NED) 3pts, 2. Scott Ferguson (USA) 5pts, 3. Andy Roy (CAN) 8pts Standard Grand Master (55 and older): 1. Peter Vessella (USA) 3pts, 2. Wolfgang Gerz (GER) 6pts, 3. Peter Sundelin (SWE) 7pts Complete results: http://www.laserworlds2010.co.uk/laserworlds/masters/results.htm HURRICANE UPDATE Currently, there are three hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin. As of 5 PM EDT Thursday Hurricane Hunter Aircraft has found that Igor has top winds of 125 mph and was centered about 840 miles south-southeast of Bermuda. Hurricane Julia continues to weaken and is now a category 1 hurricane with top winds of 85 mph. As of 5 PM EDT Thursday Hurricane Julia was located about 1325 miles to the southwest of the Azores and was moving toward the northwest at 25 mph. Hurricane Karl is over the Bay of Campeche and continues to grow stronger. As of 7 PM CDT Thursday it was located about 140 miles east-northeast of Veracruz, Mexico with top winds of 80 mph and is moving towards the west at 12 mph. Complete report: http://www.weather.com/newscenter/tropical/ NEW ENGLAND ROPES ARE STRONGER THAN STEEL New England Ropes introduces its latest innovation: STS-12. Made of 100% Dyneema, the world's strongest fiber, STS-12 is actually 15 times Stronger Than Steel. STS-12 has extremely high tensile strength, ultra low elongation, and it's coated with New England Ropes' unique Marine-Tech coating which enhances the rope's durability, improves its fiber-to-fiber abrasion, and protects it from harmful UV rays. The STS-12 line includes STS-12-75 and STS-12-90. Others make rope, New England Ropes makes rope that's Stronger Than Steel. - http://www.neropes.com CONSTRUCTION BEGINS BMW Oracle Racing look to be set to put the sleepy northern Auckland town of Warkworth on the technology map with the establishment of a new hi-tech boatbuilding facility that will employ between 50-70 people. The new facility (purchased by the team about 18 months ago) to be known as Core Composites is off to a flying start with the production of the new America's Cup 45 class of catamaran (AC45), but will be also supplying to other boat builders and users of composite components. Based in the old Rodney and Waitemata Times production facility, previously a major employer in the area, the building has plenty of open floor area and high ceilings - ideal for some of the big gear either already installed or on order. Already one five axis machining centre is installed - which will handle a component of 6metres x 3 metres by 1.5 metres. Kerry Jones, who is in charge of the machining at Core Composites describes it as 'the Baby'. But it is the biggest machine of its type in New Zealand. A second 'Monster' machining centre will take components up to 26 metres in length. "We have these two five axis CNC machining centers, a CNC lathe and some other equipment basically to handle the capacity that we have rather than outsourcing all the parts that we do for the rigging," explains Jones. "We probably will outsource some specialised components - when it comes to America's Cup boats we will have to do the hulls in America. That is in the Protocol," explains Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Barclay. The grand scheme is to be able to build all components for the AC45 class on site and thanks to some liberal rules in the new Protocol for the 34th America's Cup, only the hulls of the BMW Oracle Racing's AC72 yachts need be constructed in the USA. A special team will be sent from New Zealand to USA to do this. The AC72 wingsail, foils and all other components can be manufactured in the Warkworth facility. -- Sail-World, read on: http://tinyurl.com/Sail-World-091610 BUILT IN THE USA: If you have ever taken the car ferry from Anacortes in upper Washington to the San Juan Islands or British Columbia, you have likely driven by Core Builders - the purpose-built facility BMW Oracle Racing has previously used to build their America's Cup boats, and will likely use again to build their hulls for the next match. SCUTTLEBUTT SPECIAL: TECHIE / SAILOR ALERT The annual Oracle OpenWorld gathering in San Francisco is the world's largest and most important conference for Oracle technologists, business users, and partners. A real "kumbaya" for the techies, but not likely the place to share sea stories and Mount Gay rum drinkies. Or maybe it is. This year's conference in San Francisco, CA will also feature Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's latest acquisition, the America's Cup, with the event schedule beginning Sunday, September 19th: America's Cup Morning Shows and Panels Sunday: 7:35 p.m. - 8:05 p.m. Monday and Tuesday: 10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Wednesday: 10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. BMW Oracle Racing Team Autographs Sunday: 8:05 p.m. - 9:05 p.m. Monday and Tuesday: 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Wednesday: 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. BMW Oracle Racing Team Q&A Sessions Monday - Wednesday: 1:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Normally you'd have to pay $75 to get into the "Discover" portion of Oracle Openworld 2010, which gives you access to OpenWorld, JavaOne and Oracle Develop. But the team is offering free admission to the event exclusively for readers of Scuttlebutt and Latitude 38 so sailors get a shot at seeing the Cup as well. Full details: http://tinyurl.com/Scuttleblog-091610 SAILING SHORTS * Detroit, MI (September 16, 2010) - The first of four days of racing got underway today at the U.S. Match Racing Championship, a US SAILING Adult National Championship hosted by Detroit's Bayview Yacht Club. Three-time U.S. Match Racing Champion (USMRC) Dave Perry is once again making a strong bid to win his fourth title, and a fifth for the Pequot Yacht Club. Perry is 4-0 with wins over Shawn Bennett, Mike Buckley, Kent Colpaert, and Chris Nesbitt. Bennett (St. Francis Yacht Club) went 3-2 and trails Perry by a point. -- Full report: http://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/USMRC_D1_Recap.htm * Chicago, IL (September 16, 2010) - Don Wilson on Convexity dominated day 1 of the J/105 North American Championship at Chicago Yacht Club with first-place finishes in each of the day's two races. Windy conditions greeted the 20 teams on Lake Michigan, with breeze ranging from 16-30 knots. Following Convexity are James Rathbun on Hey Jude (6 points) in second, Blane Shea on Striking and David Wagner on Gigi (tied with 9 points). Racing continues through Sunday. Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=370 * In the Sailing World College rankings as of Sept. 16, 2010, Boston College remains at the top of both the Coed and Women's rankings, but Brown is making some noise, taking some first-place votes in both polls. Wisconsin makes a return to the top 20, slotting in at 15th in the coed rankings. Details: http://tinyurl.com/SW-091610 * The Class40 Association and Josh Hall, Director of GOSV - organisers of the round the world, double-handed, Global Ocean Race 2011-12 (GOR) - have agreed on the schedule for Class40 circumnavigation races through to 2016. Hall and the GOSV team have extended their contract as official organisers of Class40 round the world races for the next six years with three circumnavigation races exclusively for Class40s in 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2015-16. -- Read more: http://globaloceanrace.com/?page=news&news_id=418&lang=en PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include diversity on the water, youth on the water, change on the water, spinnaker in the water, summer on the water, competition on the water, classics on the water, and action on the water. Here are this week's photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0917/ BONUS: After reviewing hundreds of photographer Carlo Borlenghi's images from the Rolex Swan Cup in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, and choosing the best 24 of them, we're convinced that we wish we were there. Eye candy alert here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0916/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK Olympic medalist Shirley Robertson hosts the CNN MainSail show as the program visited the 2010 International C Class Catamaran Championship, affectionately known as the Little America's Cup. Six teams competed in Newport, RI on August 22-28, with Canadians Fred Eaton and Magnus Clarke defending the title they first won in 2007. Robertson spent time sailing the boats and at the New York Yacht Club. There, she met with the designers and the sailors who have created these sailing speed machines for decades. With the recent announcement of the multihull and wing combination for the 34th America's Cup, the show provides an insightful look at what may lay ahead for the 2013 Match. Click here for this week's video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/10/0917/ BONUS 1: One of the key figures behind the new catamaran for the 34th America's Cup is designer Pete Melvin (USA), who helped to develop the concept and write the rule that teams will use to create their boats. But did you know that Pete is also involved in the design of racing paddleboards? If not, then it's time to meet Pete: http://boardworkssup.com/boards/mm.php BONUS 2: There is no doubt that epic video footage will be produced following the Melges 32 Worlds next week in San Francisco Bay. The convergence of a high performance keelboat, big winds, and top talent is almost too good to be true. To get a taste for what you have to look forward to, here is some promotional footage from the class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziFprK2D6EA BONUS 3: She was the bubbly gal that won the gold medal crewing for Shirley Robertson at the 2004 Olympics, and then the focused gal at the helm for her gold medal win at the 2008 Olympics. This British blond bomber with the big smile is none other than Sarah Ayton, and she wants to teach us how to sail downwind. If you're smart, you will let her: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0M_1XXLXRE SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit your comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter are limited to 250 words. One published submission per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Paul Henderson, an old Finn and FD sailor: The America's Cup is sailing's Wimbledon or Masters Golf as it is the one event that non-sailors pay attention to. When the AC went from J-Boats to 12s, the same demise of the America's Cup was predicted but instead it grew in stature. Then the 12 was replaced with the ACC rule and the same complaints came that this was the end of the Auld Mug, but what an event Valencia was with more interest than ever. Now there comes the same negative complaints about catamarans and a new format that I strongly support. Sailing critics sometimes act like rowers who "sit on their after portholes and look backwards". The best sailors look forward for the next shift in the wind and I believe Team Oracle has done this and moved into the modern era. Well done! Bring on the Challengers! * From John Rumsey: With regard to Wormwood's comment (in Scuttlebutt 3178) about how exciting sailing the 72-foot Cat will be, no doubt sailors will love it but watching it from on the small screen will not keep the Joe or Jane 6-pack from clicking the channel changer to go to America's Got Talent. Perhaps some babes in bikinis on the trapezes might help as it has for woman's volleyball. * From David Latta, Seattle, WA: Am I alone here -- what makes the viewing of the AC cat match race interesting??? It's a technical challenge, yes, for engineers but for viewers or monohull sailors and match racing sailors I don't think so. The sport is being taken out of match racing where the skills of the sailor's ability to anticipate the competition, the wind, the sea, the boat, and sail handling in very close proximity are gone! To be replaced by Ph D engineers in shells that may never get close to one another. The fun or challenge is between the designers and the technologist, not the racing community, the sailor or the uninformed public. This show is for themselves, not the market - hardly a forum to generate revenue, only debt and disinterest. But it's time for a change, as change is popular today with Keynesian top down thinking so it's only fitting the AC race the change in SF, WA DC or in Europe's southern countries. With of course the same results, debt, disinterest and boring. * From Bill Elmer: All this blather about multi's not being appealing reminds me of the late 70's when Bill Lee came up with Merlin followed by the SC 50's The wags all said the boats were too light and would fall apart in short order. I think that not one SC 50 has been lost in all these years. So if "fast was fun" that must mean that "faster is more funner." CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "The willow which bends to the tempest, often escapes better than the oak which resists it; and so in great calamities, it sometimes happens that light and frivolous spirits recover their elasticity and presence of mind sooner than those of a loftier character." - Albert Schweitzer, philosopher Special thanks to Holmotro and New England Ropes. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
