SCUTTLEBUTT No. 662 - October 6, 2000

AROUND ALONE

Giovanni Soldini on his 60 foot yacht Fila won the 1998/1999 Single-handed Around Alone Race with a complete inventory of Ullman Sails manufactured by Sergio Fabbi in Rapallo, Italy. Ullman Sails is extremely proud of the fact that there were NO failures in the entire sail inventory that carried Giovanni Soldini around the world in 116 days, 20 hours, 7 minutes and 59 seconds. While you may not be planning to race in the Southern Ocean, wouldn't it be nice to have the speed and reliability that Soldini enjoyed? It's more affordable than you think.

http://www.ullmansails.com/

MAINSAIL CONTROLS
(Keeping your mainsail powered up and depowered at the right times is one of the keys to improved performance on the water. In this excerpt from part two of his SailNet website story focusing on mainsail controls, Dan Dickison looks at boom vang.)

The boom vang is definitely the redheaded stepchild of mainsail adjustments-it is often overlooked and almost always the last on the list of adjustments. Essentially what a boom vang does is control the leech of the mainsail-the tighter the vang, the tighter the leech. Racing sailors often use some vang tension in light air upwind to ensure that the boom doesn't bounce, but this control really comes into play in heavy air. Upwind it can help depower the sail plan by flattening the upper leech. Downwind, you simply use the boom vang to ensure that the upper leech of the mainsail is working for you. Until you really have a good feel for what the proper boom vang tension is, have someone sight up the sail from below the boom. Too much tension on the vang and the top batten in the mainsail will be hooked to weather of the boom; too little and it will be flopped to leeward relative to the boom's angle; just enough vang tension and the top batten will be parallel to the boom.

If the breeze gets really strong, you can employ the vang-sheeting technique upwind, which involves setting the vang tension on hard and dumping the mainsheet in the puffs as you drive along on the jib. What the vang does in this situation is to keep the boom from rising when the mainsheet is eased, thus allowing the sail to stay flat and depowered. Downwind in these conditions, it's prudent to have someone standing by to release the vang just before the boat gets overpowered and spins out of control, particularly when sailing on a tight reaching angle with the spinnaker pole near the headstay. On board most keelboats, the vang is looked upon as the throttle in the heaviest wind, and the person trimming it needs to be in constant communication with the helmsman to keep the boat on its feet. - Dan Dickison, SailNet website

Full story: http://www.sailnet.com/collections/seamanship/index.cfm?articleid=3Dddck= sn0341 &tfr=3Dfp

THE RACE
* Team Philips is returning from sea trials this evening. Having left Dartmouth this afternoon Team Philips was sailing in the English Channel when she experienced movement at the base of the port mast. The crew immediately set about stabilising the situation before carrying out a thorough inspection of the mast.

From this there is concern over movement in the lower bearing on which the 135ft mast sits. It is sufficient for skipper, Pete Goss to postpone sea trials and head for Dartmouth under reduced sail at about 8 knots. She is expected to arrive tomorrow. The current sea state is agitated but will improve during the night.

Once a sufficiently large crane has been found the port mast will be removed at Totnes so that an inspection of its base and the bearing can be made. Once this assessment has been made a new programme will be released. - Team Philips website: http://www.teamphilips.com/index.cfm?ArticleID=3D281

* (Following is an update on the progress of Cam Lewis's Team Adventure.)
We have only a few weeks to go until the launch of our big cat. The workers at JMV are doing their best to have the boat ready on time. The biggest part of the job consists in realizing all the laminations between the beams and the hulls, a very long process that requires a lot of attention as it represents the whole integrity of the platform's structure. Another big operation that is taking place at the moment is the modification of both bows. Following what happened to Club Med a few weeks ago when she was on her way to cross the Atlantic and lost her starboard crash box, the design team has decided to modify the design of the bows and to reinforce them. The true bows are therefore being consolidated, adding some material and the crash box area reduced, essentially in the bottom part, which should also help the steering of the boat. - Team Adventure

website, http://www.teamadventure.org/

ISAF NOVEMBER CONFERENCE
All the Agendas and Supporting Papers for the ISAF November Conference are now available in html and PDF format on the ISAF Website: www.sailing.org/2000november/

EPIRB
The International Cospas-Sarsat Program announced, it will terminate satellite processing of distress signals from 121.5 and 243 MHz emergency beacons. Although the use of emergency beacons activating on these frequencies is not under the purview of the Cospas-Sarsat Program, mariners, aviators and other persons will have to switch to emergency beacons operating at 406 MHz in order to be detected by satellites.

The Cospas-Sarsat Program is currently working on the details, including the time frame, of the termination of 121.5 and 243 MHz satellite alerting services. While no effective date has been set yet for this action, it is expected to occur far enough into the future to avoid a crisis situation for persons now using these beacons. - US Coast Guard website

Full story: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-o/g-opr/SARSAT%20121.5%20MHZ.html

NOT ENOUGH WIND TO RACE?
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INNOVATION
Sail California, the J-Boat dealer for the West Coast, announced the creation free concierge service for their boat owners. This unique offering will encompass all levels of services, from regatta support for out of town crews to maintenance of an on line magazine. "Our owners are busy people with full schedules & helping them with all the details of an out of town regatta? Dinner reservations, lodging, dock spaces will help enhance their J-Boat experience" explained Jeff Brown. "The five star hotels are famous for their great concierge service - so should the great boats builders,"
Jeff Trask added. - Karen Hall (619) 222-6560

THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?