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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 817 - May 17, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
SAILORS' CLASSIFICATION The ISAF Sailors' Classification Code was introduced in November 2000 to provide one standard international system of professional/amateur classification, to service those classes and events which limit the number of professional sailors who can crew on a boat. Most classes will continue to have open competitions, the ISAF Sailors' Classification Code is purely to provide the worldwide standard defining what constitutes a professional or amateur, for those events that have chosen to limit the number of professional crew members. It should be noted that the Olympic Classes will not be able to restrict professional participation. Upon registering, each sailor will be given a unique number identification. Sailors will be able to update their personal information, which will remain completely confidential and secure, whilst users will be able to look at the classification of other sailors. Whilst at this stage it is not mandatory to use the ISAF Classification Code, from November 2002 the Code will be the only system used for international events. If an event is to use the ISAF Sailors' Classification Code, it will be stated in the Notice of Race that the ISAF Code applies. The first events to require use of the Code are the Swan Europeans, Cowes, Great Britain from 8-14 June, followed by the America's Cup 150th Jubilee, Cowes, Great Britain from 16-25 August. Registration is provided free of charge by ISAF as a service to all sailors. In due time as it is expanded, other facilities available will include; direct online entry to events, subscribe to receive specific ISAF information and other sailing publications, event reports, and the options go on . To take advantage of such services, all sailors are invited to register online, regardless of whether or not you are competing in an event which requires a professional/amateur classification. The introduction of the Sailors' Classification Code is the first stage in a series of ISAF website systems currently being developed for introduction over the coming months. In Mid-June the ISAF Rankings System will be completely interactive, allowing users to interrogate skipper's reports, view a skipper's progress through the rankings and research historical results over the past ten years. This will be followed by the facility to enable event organizers to enter results of graded events online which will then be directly linked to the ISAF Rankings System, and for event reports to be posted. In due time, sailor's profiles will be accessible, with sailor's able to update personal details themselves. This will provide a comprehensive up-to-date information service, which can be used by the media, event organisers, sponsors, national authorities and sailors. - ISAF Website, www.sailing.org The full wording of the ISAF Sailors' Classification Code: www.sailing.org/regulations/classificationcode.pdf Direct access to the ISAF Sailors' Classification: www.sailing.org/classification
WORRELL 1000 - By Zack Leonard As the boats surfed onto the beach they were saluted with a martial display of bagpipe prowess by Robert Copenhaver. Robert planned his vacation from Virginia to coincide with the Worrell 1000 passage through the Outer Banks. "I just wanted to play something celebratory to finish them and I'll pipe them off tomorrow for the start," explained the humble Copenhaver Lambert and Waterhouse traded leads and tacks for 67 miles today. This leg was a bit like the America's Cup of catamaran distance racing. For the last 5 miles of the leg Alexander's used match racing tactics to protect the shore, tacking on the wind of Guidant when Waterhouse pointed his boat towards the shore and allowing him clear air position when he pointed out away from the shore on port tack. The strategy worked to perfection. Today's leg was like an epic prizefight between two stubborn, punch-drunk champions who were determined to make it to the decision. Alexander's and Guidant swapped the lead at least a dozen times and when they arrived at the beach, an energized and gracious Rod Waterhouse sought out Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston of Alexander's to say "great race." Lambert was ecstatic as he faced the cadre of TV cameras at the finish. "It was a tactical and nerve wracking day," said Lambert, "we lost track after the first 100 tacks." "This is my favorite leg, we've won it three of the last 4 years," added the smiling Lambert. Nigel Pitt of Tommy Bahama was happy to see the shore after the long day on the water. "It was like they kept moving the weather mark," commented the jocular Pitt. The GPS has revolutionized this race from a competition and safety standpoint. But today a GPS helped from a statistical standpoint. Mike Walker, shore chief for Dinghy Shop, plugs his team's GPS into his laptop at the end of each day and voila! The track that the team sailed is illuminated on a chart for criticism and acclaim. Looking at the track today he counted 80 tacks for the Dinghy Shop team. Tomorrow the wind should rotate around to the East and provide a smoother run. Tomorrow is also the craziest leg for the shore-side staff. The land-route to Hatteras requires a ferry from the mainland to Okracoke Island, and then another ferry from Okracoke over to Hatteras. If you miss the ferry, you miss the finish. STANDINGS: 1. Alexander's on the Bay, 2. Guidant, 03:07:52 (behind leader) 3. Tommy Bahama, 05:36:10 (bl) 4. Sail For Sight, 06:05:08 (bl), 5. Tybee Island, 06:50:12 (bl). Complete standings: www.worrell1000.com/
LEWMAR CARBON FIBER WINCH HANDLE
CHALLENGE MONDIAL ASSISTANCE Event website: www.challenge-mondialassistance.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Jim Champ (re Rand Milton's list of America's Cup contributions to yachting): Please don't spoil your argument with inaccuracies - half that list trickled down to the Americas Cup from various types of skiff. The boats I sail started the whole modern design revolution in 1951, had asymmetric spinnakers in 1958, saw sandwich hulls with alloy space frames in 1969, carbon fibre in 1974, kevlar in 1979, and that's just one class. When the enthusiasts who do that stuff get older and work in the industry they take what they've learnt and innovated, scale it up, add more money and hey, that's Americas Cup development. * From Harry Powell (In response to Rand Milton's observations on the AC and its contributions to sailing.): I would like to add not only has the AC provided the sailing community the mostly technological benefits Rand speaks of but has provided us with some bigger than life heroes whose personal and professional dedication to the sport should not be overlooked. From the Paul Cayards and Buddy Melgeses of AC competition to the nameless "B" boat grinders and sewer persons, the examples of focused dedication and sacrifice and spirit and sportsmanship are an absolute inspiration! The trickle down here is not only on to race course but into all levels of competition and especially the community and yacht club junior programs both at home and overseas. These personal examples know no national boundaries and, in fact, erase them in ways that can only benefit those both in and out of sailing. I recalI from years past the focus of People to People Sports was to increase international awareness and cooperation though competitive sports. To this end we can all contribute and all benefit and the cross-national teams do much to further this end. I thank all of the "heroes" of the sailing world regardless of nationality for the opportunities I have had to sail with you and to work with and for you over the years and thank you especially for the role models and examples you have provided for my son who will join thousands of 8 year olds this summer in their respective junior sailing programs. Regardless of country. * From Bob Billingham: Bravo to John Riise for succinctly describing the real facts of the AC nationality issue. Its the same thing that we have seen in all successful international professional sports - soccer, rugby, ice hockey and ... sailing. Let's get our heads out of the sand and realize there is plenty of room in our sport for both the professional (international) level of competition and events based on nationality. This is a good thing. * From William Rothschild (Reply to John Riise comments on Nationality in the America's Cup): You hit the nail on the head. Those guys who sail for a living will because they can and good on them. Let's for once see a Cup that is a knock down scrap where the likes of Cayard, Dickson, Coutts, and co put their stuff on the line day after day. I cannot wait. * Ryan Werner: It's hard to understand the concern over whether single-handers -- in what, at most 60 foot sail boats averaging 10 knots or less -- are keeping proper watch when there are massive crewed freighters powering at 20 knots all over the oceans that are for all practical purposes keeping no watch at all. We see numerous accounts of sailors having to avoid those freighters, and occasional accounts of sailors not being able to avoid them, but I can think of only one account of a single-hander actually hitting another boat due to lack of proper watch. For all practical purposes, the biggest collision risks involved in single-handed sailing seem to be hitting partially submerged shipping containers and getting run down by freighters. * From Tom Priest (In reply to McNair's solo concerns): No "competitive" solo-sailor does so without high confidence in his electronics equipment, further more they wouldn't leave the deck in a crowd or near shore/port.....once offshore, its not as if the oceans of the world are crowded like the 405 freeway! There are far greater risks than this in the world worth worrying about. A solo-sailor collision is right there with Mir satellite bits and pieces hittin' ya on the noggin - very remote! * Charles J. Doane: I don't know about the Coast Guard cadets, but Stephen Wells' statement with respect to cadets at Annapolis is incorrect. Navy cadets are still required to learn celestial navigation. All that has changed is that they are not required to reduce sights by hand, but may use calculators instead. Like the Navy, we would be foolish to abandon celestial altogether. GPS is reliable, but not perfectly so. Furthermore, it requires electrical power. A sailor who absolutely depends on electrical power to function is sort of missing the point, in my opinion. * David Addleman: Usually forgotten when relying on GPS is that multiple receivers do not assure reliability. While the government side of the system has been remarkably reliable so far, there are reports of unexplained unscheduled system wide failures. The satellites are managed minute-by-minute from the ground. Software can fail. Coffee can spill. A visitor might bump the big red switch. Unless a sailor to Hawaii is comfortable with dead reckoning from California, perhaps a sextant and almanac are a good backup. The Transpac is respecting tradition while encouraging a well rounded skill set. Otherwise we are sailing with only the sea, the wind, our skills... and the continuous support of a billion dollar gizmo. * From Mike Blecher (In response to Doug Johnstone, Butt 816): Until just a few years ago, your average sized container ship barreling along at the same 28 knots as Stan Honey's racing sailboat was navigated at sea with a sextant. And, no, the ship's officers didn't necessarily increase the plotting of LOP's and running fixes to every 30 minutes--rather, that was (and I presume still is) the norm. The problem with GPS and yachts is that it makes possible for people to go to sea, most of the time perfectly safely, without a sound basic knowledge of navigation. One can push a button, and presto-position. These same folks must understand that if a ship is traveling at 28 knots, and that if the GPS system were to go out for only 24 hours, the ship would be nearly 700 NM further along--rather a dangerous place to be, almost anywhere from where you started out. Good navigation practice requires position finding from a number of sources, GPS being only one of them. There is only one other reasonably reliable method of fixing one's position at sea--celestial observation.
NOT A PRETTY STORY Nigel Irens, designer of La Trinitaine-Team Ethypharm, has issued a statement about why the crash box on her port bow broke. Here's an excerpt from the madforsailing website: "It has now become known that the bows of La Trinitaine - Team Ethypharm were built to a design produced by the building yard, Tresco, and not to the design issued jointly by Nigel Irens Design and structural engineers High Modulus Ltd. "Nigel Irens Design was not made aware of a number of important changes that were made to the original design, which is based on well-established and proven principles. In our opinion the replacement design is flawed and fails to meet the design criteria on a number of counts." - madforsailing website. Full story: www.madforsailing.com
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CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * June 15-17: Long Beach Race Week, Long Beach YC. www.lbyc.org * June 2-3: Cal Race Week, California Yacht Club, Marina del Rey. One-Design and PHRF. Dual scoring for Americap II. www.calyachtclub.com * September 22-28: Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship, Annapolis Yacht Club. J/22. www.ussailing.org/riwkc
THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM |
