SCUTTLEBUTT No. 796 - April 17, 2001

Scuttlebutt 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 and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome.

AMERICA'S CUP
Life isn't perfect around Craig McCaw's Seattle-based Challenge for the America's Cup, but life goes on. That's the spin on One World today.

Contrary to speculation that the One World Challenge might be folding or facing drastic reductions, "we feel very good about where we are," team spokesman Robert Ratliffe told SAIL. And contrary to reports of a Major Announcement today, Ratliffe said, "There's no announcement. We're going on with our work."

That official line is starkly different from the buzz in the press, especially the buzz generated by British writers who have used words such as "foundering" and "collapse." Ratliffe says, "I think I need to talk to those guys." But there's no turning off the buzz because there's no denying a shift in momentum.

One World announced last week that it is seeking sponsorship partners to fill in for the millions that McCaw now can't or doesn't want to spend given the state of the new, new economy. The basic plan called for $80 million from McCaw. Now he's $30 million in and looking to share the load. Ratliffe says, "I went back and looked at our original press announcements, and we did specify at the beginning that we were going to seek to bring in other backers. I don't want to hide from anything I said last week-Craig is seeing the effects of the market-but that doesn't lessen his commitment to the Cup." - Kimball Livingston, Sail Magazine website

There's lots more toLivingston's story:
http://www.sailmag.com/html/briefing.html#havana

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BT GLOBAL CHALLENGE
LG FLATRON was the first yacht to arrive at the pontoon at Cape Town's Victoria and Albert Waterfront, after clinching the 6,200-mile leg. An enthusiastic and unbiased crowd of supporters - representing all of the various Challenge teams welcomed them. The local Abalandlei Brothers Choir serenaded the group as the yacht plied beneath the drawbridge, with flares blazing.

The crew smiled broadly but seemed subdued - perhaps shocked by the realisation that they had walloped their competitors so handily. Chay Blyth, Challenge founder, congratulated Humphreys exclaiming, "You deserve it!" Humphreys, ebullient and proud, said a key tactical move during the first week of the leg gave the team an advantage they built on throughout the following month. "We set ourselves up very early on," Humphreys said. "When we left Sydney [Australia] we had a clear game plan," to go south around a high-pressure system sitting over Tasmania.

Humphreys admitted he was "surprised" that none of his rivals followed suit. The manoeuvre put LG FLATRON nearly one hundred miles ahead of the field in just hours. After that, "we were always first to the new breeze, and it was easy to control the fleet," he revealed.

Humphreys said the team's considerable lead in the Challenge - they have 57 points overall and a solid first place ranking - also allowed the team to "take things easier." That advantage meant LG FLATRON could sail more conservatively. But he hesitated to say they had the Challenge title "in the bag" when asked. "Ask me in La Rochelle," he replied. - Quokka Sports Staff

Full story: http://www.btchallenge.com

LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
(leweck@earthlink.net)
(Letters selected for publication may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We do not publish anonymous letters.)

* From Bruce H. Munro Staff Commodore St. Francis Yacht Club:
Responding to Richard Spindler's comments on why Oracle Racing and Larry Ellison have not yet entered a challenge for the America's Cup, the reasons are just about as stated in Richard's comments - at least as far as the St. Francis Yacht Club is concerned. We would not agree, however, that the reason for being unable to agree on a challenge is because the St. Francis Yacht Club is one of those "small-thinking yacht clubs". You can say what you like about our club, but "small thinking" is not the appropriate adjective.

We made a very serious effort to have Mr. Ellison and Oracle Racing challenge through the St. Francis Yacht Club (he is a member), but we were unable to put a deal together, largely for the reasons stated by Richard. They will find a yacht club eventually, but it will be interesting to see where they find it.

* From Morgan Stinemetz:
This comment came from a friend of mine, Norm Hale, when I complained to him that people at the local cable companies here didn't understand the need for us sailors to have good weather information; I had suggested that the TV people put a real wind direction and velocity map for our local area on one of the channels, run the audio feed from the local NOAA outfit and then put a crawl across the bottom so they could make money on it. I got zero response from the cable companies. They didn't understand. Norm said: "There are people who view new ideas as obstacles and people who view new ideas as opportunities; who would you rather sail with?" I considered it a cogent thought.

* From Bruce Nairn:
In consideration of the monetary significance of today for US taxpayers, let us not forget that the AC, as played by McCaw and his One World campaign, relies heavily on it's 501C3 status as a non-profit organization.

Philosophically this seems incongruent as one does not seem to go in hand with the other. This is not to assail McCaw's obvious concern for environmental issues but you have to admit it is a bit of a stretch to link a historically elitist underhanded and arcane good old boys sporting event with the US tax code's version of touchy feel good altruism at the expense of the rank and file taxpayer.

But then doesn't this make the AC, for the US, a truly nationalistic event regardless of the player's nationalities (a large portion of whom are likely not US taxpayers)?

Gotta run, Uncle Sam's asking for my contribution and I'm happy to give it knowing full well that some part of it will go to returning the America's Cup home. God bless America!

* From Jim Teeters:
In response to Chris Bouzaid and the IRC - Why soft-pedal on the subjective side of IRC, it is certainly a key element to the rule. Any experienced designer or sailor who looks at the input sheets for IRC is likely to conclude that there is insufficient information to accurately assess the speed of a sailboat.

For example, IRC does not measure stability. There is a declaration of keel type and bulb weight, but that is hardly sufficient. IRC, under its previous name CHS, had some notable difficulties with boat that optimized with high stability.

IRC does not use wetted area or hull shape, other than length and beam, which can have large effects.

My conclusion is that IRC is NOT a measurement rule, but one that uses limited measurements and formulas as a starting point, then fills in the gaps with subjective elements. (PHRF does much the same in the US when it uses an IMS certificate for help.)

How does it handle wind speed, course content, tide, rough water? Under PHRF, these effects can be incorporated: your rating reflects where you sail.

Lastly, what are the consequences when a small group that is several thousand miles and 5+ time zones away decides the subjective element? Questions like these need to be asked, particularly when there are alternatives such as AMERICAP, a true measurement rule, which is used for the Bermuda race and is now catching on in California.

* From Bob Austin:
PHRF was derived from the Pacific Arbitrary Handicap System, first used by the Little Ship Fleet of Long Beach California in the mid 1930's (The sailing fleet of Long Beach Yacht Club before WW II, and Corsair Yacht Club after WWII.) Little Ship Fleet (patterned after a sailing fleet on the Thames River England), became a free standing yacht club in the 50's. Although the racing was initially limited to wooden boats less than thirty feet LOA, there were few boats which were alike. To achieve a handicap a boat had to sail three races and then a second per mile handicap was calculated. Since the fleet of boats was small, the ratings were recalculated after each race. As the system spread, it became obvious that areas with different wind conditions and sea conditions favored certain types of boats and thus the ratings were recalculated according to the results in the other areas (Newport Bay, Redondo Beach, San Diego, etc.). In fact the system was never designed to be a "universal" handicap system, but has so evolved. The beauty was, and still is, that it is very inexpensive to administer and as fair a system as the handicappers are honest. Chris B. Bouzaid said in a guest editorial on April 16 "PHRF does not work well for the middle group of racing sailors. These are people who equip their yachts with the best and who race to win." The philosophy of this handicap system was to allow the best sailors to win. If you purchased a new sail, then you might win a race or two, but soon your handicap would be increased and winning would be more difficult. Thus it did give equity to all sailors.

* From Stanley Westfall
Why do race organizers insist on trying to mandate how the racers will be scored, rather than simply letting the marketplace determine what handicap system succeeds and which ones fail?

Now we have St. Francis YC telling the racers that if they want to come to the Big Boat Series in a handicap division, you MUST sail under the Americap rule. Geez - no one has an Americap rating - that's a rule that that the yachting community never bought into.

And then Bruce Golison's North Sails Race Week announced they would double score certain PHRF divisions using Americap.

Wake up guys. You'd be much better off just letting the owners race in your event with the ratings they already have, in the classes they already support. Provide them with starts, finishes and trophies, but let the sailors determine what handicap system they want to race with. It's been shown repeatedly that trying to manipulate the marketplace simply does not work.

THE ROOM
(Dan Dickison has an excellent Protest Room Primer on the SailNet website. Here are some of the conclusions that he draws.)

If you're obliged to go into the protest room and defend what you did on the racecourse, do so in the best way possible-by being prepared. So keep these things in mind:

á áGet your story straight and present only the key facts of the incident. If the jurors ask you to reiterate what happened and your second description differs from your first, your case will look weak. á áIf there were any witnesses to the incident-and they saw what happened the way you think it happened-get them to agree to testify for you. After the protest has been filed and the time and place of the hearing announced, let your witnesses know when and where the hearing will be held. á áMake your presentation and your answers to the jury succinct and clear. á áFigure out how your opponent will state the case and be ready to rebut those arguments if possible. á áDon't get upset or flustered if the protesting party's story seems distorted. That's just human nature.

To read Dickison's story:
http://www.sailnet.com

NEW TOYS
Hasso Plottner's ILC 50 Morning Glory, which has been sitting on the hard at Anderson's Boatyard in Sausalito for years, has been purchased by none other than Dennis Conner. - 'Lectronic Latitude, http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/April2001

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EPIRBs
The decision by the international Cospas-Sarsat Program to terminate satellite processing of distress signals from 121.5/243 MHz beacons (PLBs, EPIRBs & ELTs) from 2009 has been welcomed by many manufacturers and rescue organisations. However the decision means mariners, aviators and individuals using emergency beacons will need to switch to those operating on 406 MHz if they want to be detected by satellites. 121.5/243 MHz beacons will continue to operate after 2009, but signals will only be received by over-flying aircraft, nearby receivers and direction finders. The Cospas-Sarsat system has already saved more than 11,000 lives. The ability to concentrate on 406 MHz signals is predicted to dramatically reduce the number of false alerts that Search And Rescue forces receive, thereby allowing them to concentrate their assets on real emergencies and save even more lives.

Currently 121.5/243 MHz beacons generate a 98% false alert rate. This is due to a higher number of interference sources that look like 121.5 distress signals, as well as the inability to carry a unique vessel ID code, which can be included in 406 MHz beacons.

In recent years technological developments have resulted in 121.5 MHz technology being superseded by 406 MHz. Beacons operating on 406 MHz are considerably more advanced offering the facility for a built-in GPS, which provides the rescue centre with latitude and longitude co-ordinates, thus pinpointing the beacon's position as well as providing regular position updates from the built-in GPS receiver to the search and rescue authorities. - Yachting and Boating website

Full story: http://www.yachtingworld.co.uk

THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM
Have you noticed that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them?