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SCUTTLEBUTT 3015 - Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Scuttlebutt 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.
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Today’s sponsors: North Sails, Melges Performance Sailboats, and Speed &
Smarts.
AMERICA’S CUP TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON INTERNET
The Société Nautique du Genève (SNG), trustee of the America’s Cup, has
delegated the responsibility for organising the media and event activities
for the 33rd America’s Cup to Consorcio Valencia 2007. The 33rd America’s
Cup promises to be a regatta unlike everything which has been seen so far.
The two fastest boats in history will fight for the America’s Cup over race
courses that are up to six times bigger than the ones used in the 32nd
America’s Cup. For this reason, the TV coverage of the racing will be key.
For the first time in history, the races will be broadcast live and free of
charge through americascup.com to reach the biggest, widest possible
audience, including all the fans who will not be able to be in Valencia to
witness live this historic competition
The on-shore action will be concentrated at the Veles e Vents, the landmark
building central to Port America’s Cup. A giant screen will be installed for
fans and spectators to follow the races live as well as enjoying a host of
complementary activities around the Port area. The International media
centre with capacity for 150 journalists will be in close proximity to the
Veles e Vents.
To organise this event in a short time, an international team involved in
the execution of the 32nd America’s Cup has been assembled. This team is led
by Michel Hodara, who was the CEO of the America’s Cup Management in 2007,
consists of seasoned professionals in the field of television, media, public
entertainment and hospitality. -- http://tinyurl.com/yzjk2jz
* The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has announced the Umpire team
who will officiate the races on the water of the 33rd America's Cup Match,
with racing to begin February 8, 2010. The four-person International Umpire
Team will be: Bill Edgerton (Great Britain), Chief Umpire; Gerard Bosse
(France); John Standley (Australia); and Roger Wood (New Zealand). -- Full
report: http://www.sailing.org/31406.php
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: THE WIZARD OF ZENDA
Sailing legend Buddy Melges was in Key West last week, enjoying the warm
weather and checking out the two grand prix classes that bear his name at
Key West Race Week. Melges figured watching a sailboat racing in the Keys
for a few days beat the winter cold of Wisconsin so he hopped a flight to
the southernmost point of Florida and settled into a bunk aboard Jeff
Ecklund’s motor yacht Starlight Express.
Melges grew up on Lake Geneva racing the boats designed and manufactured by
his father - Harry Melges Sr. He eventually took over operation of Melges
Performance Sailboats while at the same time building a remarkable resume as
a competitive sailor. Melges won Olympic medals in the Soling (Gold, 1972)
and Flying Dutchman (Bronze, 1964) classes then captured consecutive Star
world championships (1978, 1979). He is also a five-time E-Scow national
champion and seven-time Skeeter Ice Boat world champion.
He does not take credit for the enormous success of the Melges 24 and 32
sport boat classes, which have attracted many of the finest sailors in the
world. “I didn’t have anything to do with that. That was all due to the work
of the kids,” he said, referring to sons Harry III and Hans. “They went to
Reichel-Pugh and got the 24 designed. That boat obviously did very well so
they went back to Reichel-Pugh and got the 32 designed. Then they added a
17-footer and the 20-footer. All four boats are fun to sail, every damn one
of them.”
“I have to congratulate Harry and his staff. They have done a wonderful job
of providing service to the fleets,” Melges said. “Harry demands quality and
excellence, which is quite clear to me when I come to a big regatta such as
this and see what is going on. What impresses me the most is the level of
sailing that I am seeing in our classes. It is much improved from the first
time we came down here. ”
Melges is pretty much retired now and will be celebrating his 80th birthday
on January 26th. Melges spends his time duck hunting, ice boating and
tinkering in his work shop these days. “Every day is Sunday, but I only go
to church one of the seven,” he joked. “I still love the Skeeter class and
it’s a development program so I am always trying new things in terms of
hardware and equipment.” -- An excerpt from Race Week News (Pg 9):
http://issuu.com/premiere-racing/docs/rwn_012310
* KEY WEST 2010: The Scuttlebutt event micro-site holds all the info, from
weather forecasts to final results, with daily reports, videos, and photos
to fill in the gaps. View it all here:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/kw
* SEAHORSE DISCOUNT: As a special offer to Scuttlebutt readers and
participants at Key West Race Week, SEAHORSE Magazine is offering a
substantial discount rate for 1, 2, 3 and 5-year subscriptions. New
subscribers can save up to 40% off the cover price and 30% off the standard
rates for monthly airmail delivery of the world's premier publication on
international performance sailing. Details here: http://tinyurl.com/yfg8dct
NORTH SAILS-POWERED BOATS WIN 7 OF 11 CLASSES IN KEY WEST
Seven out of 11 class winners at Key West 2010 presented by Nautica were
powered by North sails, including J/105 class winner Brian Keane and team
onboard ‘Savasana.’ “KWRW was our first regatta using the North main and jib
and we were delighted with the results,” said Keane. “In particular, we were
impressed with how quick and easy it was to change gears to match the
conditions.” Congratulations also to the teams onboard: ‘Bella Mente’
(IRC-1), ‘White Heat’ (IRC-2), ‘Joe Fly’ (Farr 40), ‘Samba Pa Ti’ (Melges
32), ‘UKA UKA Racing’ (Melges 24) and ‘Stark Raving Mad’ (PHRF-1). When
performance matters, the choice is clear: http://www.northsails.com
STORMS SHUFFLE OPENING DAY SCHEDULE
Miami, FL (January 25, 2010) - All but two of 13 classes were told to stand
by on land this morning at US SAILING’s 2010 Rolex Miami OCR, the second of
seven stops of the International (ISAF) Sailing World Cup 2009-2010. Though
it seemed to be shaping up as a beautiful day, nasty thunderstorm activity
was on its way, due to bombard Biscayne Bay by mid to late afternoon. As a
result, race organizers opted to ensure the safety of the 633 sailors who
are competing here on 448 boats and representing 45 nations at one of the
world’s most competitive regattas for Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls.
According to Principal Race Officer Ross Wilson from Australia, only the
race courses for the 49er class (Men’s Two Person Dinghy - High Performance)
and Elliott 6ms (Women’s Match Racing) were deemed close enough for racing
to begin, as the sailors could be called home safely, ahead of the storm
threat. “The 49ers were sailing very close to a beach where they could
retreat, but in the case of the Star (Men’s Keelboat) course, it was three
miles away, which was too far.” After the storms -- true to predicted force
-- had passed, Laser Radials (Women’s One Person Dinghy) and Lasers (Men’s
One Person Dingy) joined the lucky classes that got to compete, completing a
single race each. For the balance of classes, racing had already been
cancelled for the day.
“We had three very good races today and a good start to the regatta,” said
2009 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year and US SAILING’s Rolex Yachtswoman
of the Year Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, FL), who, with crew Molly
Vandemoer (Redwood City, CA) and Debbie Capozzi (Bayport, NY), is one of the
USA’s shining stars in the women’s match racing event, which will debut at
the 2012 Olympics. “We had some aggressive pre-starts and we’re very happy
with our boat handling in the big breeze.” -- Read on:
http://rmocr.ussailing.org/Press_Room/2010_Press_Releases/Day_One.htm
Results: http://rmocr.ussailing.org/Results.htm
Twitter page: http://twitter.com/RolexMiamiOCR
Facebook fan page: http://tinyurl.com/OCR10-FB
VIDEO: Live coverage from Sailgroove at 10am ET daily, while T2P will
produce daily racing highlight packages on Wednesday through Saturday:
Sailgroove: http://www.sailgroove.org/sc/miamiocr
T2P.tv: http://www.t2p.tv
CYCLING FOR SAILING FITNESS
Today’s Olympic sailing campaigner can hardly get through an event report
without mentioning their latest bike ride. Clearly, cycling has become an
important exercise for the training of the Olympic athlete. To learn more
about how cycling can benefit everyone who sails, regardless of sailing
level, Harry Legum of Annapolis Sailing Fitness provides this report:
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Cycling along with swimming, running and a multitude of other cardio
exercises can help tremendously in all of your sailing endeavors. Helmsman
and tactician Terry Hutchinson states that cycling helps with quick decision
making and clarity of thought and agrees that its one of the best ways to
relieve stress and gain energy. Here are five additional benefits to riding
a bike:
1. Fantastic way to work the Quadriceps. This in turn will greatly improve
Hiking ability, endurance and stamina.
2. Stationary bikes along with rowing machines are a favorite among sailors
who need to loose a few pounds.
3. Works the Core, enhances balance and coordination
4. Great for beginner to intermediate athlete.
5. In a racing circuit, bikes can be shipped to your location or rented.
Many of the Olympic and Professional sailors that I train do just that.
Check out anything written by Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong’s trainer,
and consult a medical professional before starting any new routine. --
http://www.annapolissailingfitness.com
LIGHTNING GRANT PROGRAM ENTERS FOURTH YEAR
How can a 70-year-old one-design class keep attracting young sailors -
despite an economic downturn and the myriad other leisure attractions that
lure sailors off the water? The short answer: make it easier. For the
International Lightning Class Association, an innovative Boat Grant program
has been doing just that since 2007. “Here in North America,” explained
class president Brian Hayes, “We’ve been able to provide fully race-ready
boats to fifteen young skippers so far. The long-term benefits are super:
we’ve had several Boat Grant skippers purchase boats after their Boat-Grant
years, and we are seeing a lot of new young sailors at all the major
regattas.”
“It's terrific to see the kind of widespread support the program has
fostered in the class,” said Debbie Probst, one of the ILCA Vice-Presidents
of the Boat Grant program. “This year, Terry Kohler of Windway Corporation
in Sheboygan, WI, generously donated six new suits of sails for the program.
Allen Boat Company and Nickels Boat Works have provided the use of new
boats. Sailmakers North, Vermont Sailing Partners, Dieball Sailing, and
Quantum have all supplied sails and equipment and expertise. We have
volunteer mentors and housing hosts, and many of the top sailors in the
class have helped the young teams learn about rig tuning and boat speed.”
The ILCA board is 100% behind the boat grant program and plans to keep it in
place for the foreseeable future. According to class Treasurer John Faus,
“It just makes sense for us to keep the program running and to keep the
fleet current — which is why we upgraded this year by selling one of our
boats and replacing it with a brand new boat. We want to make sure the teams
are able to compete at the top level to get the most out of the program." --
Read on:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8987#8987
MELGES ROCKS
Melges rocked Key West Race Week again this year as the Melges fleets were
again the largest on hand. Leading the way was the buzzing Melges 32 fleet.
Congratulations to John Kilroy and his team as they won the Melges 32
Midwinter Championship and Overall Boat Of The Week. The Melges 24 rocked
too with entries from all around the globe. Lorenzo Santini being this
year’s champion again. Congratulations! -- http://www.melges.com
=> Curmudgeon’s Comment: The Melges team roll with some serious style, as
shown here in three brief video segments from Key West last week:
Harry Melges: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxhCVaZS-lU
The Melges van: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTksWVpJ19A
‘Melges Rocks!’ party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJV57aoWzG8
FUTURE UNCLEAR FOR PUMA AND VOLVO OCEAN RACE
By Ken Read, Puma Ocean Racing skipper
In the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-9, PUMA was putting their trust in us and in
our sport to deliver for them widespread exposure, corporate team building,
a sense of team, competitive results, and certainly helping them 'sell more
stuff' to quote Jochen Zeitz, who is in the business of selling stuff. Not
simply sailing stuff - selling stuff throughout their entire product line.
When asked to write about my Volvo experience most thought that it would be
about the sailing, the camaraderie, the development and the technology. It
would be about the craziness, the boat breaking and the amazing boat fixing,
and certainly the tough times and the wonderful times that an adventure such
as the Volvo can only provide.
But, I think it is more important to explain why we were in this race in the
first place and for whom we were there. Sure, each of us selfishly is living
the dream, but it is clearer now more than ever that in a campaign such as
this it all has to be for the greater good.
A Volvo team cannot afford individuals. Will PUMA be back in the Volvo Ocean
Race? I hope so. We are working hard on it, but these are different and
difficult times.
For me it would be a huge step backwards if a company like PUMA didn't
continue with sailing because sailing needs PUMA and companies like PUMA -
edgy, exciting, young and a bit crazy.
Sailing needs PUMA City, buses riding around the streets with huge
billboards of 'il mostro' and, I hope, a reality style TV show that spreads
the word to the world that sailing has come a long way.
Hopefully this story isn't close to having an ending yet. Time will tell. --
Excerpt from complete story here:
http://www.volvooceanrace.com/news/article/2010/JANUARY/KEN-READ-190110/
SAILING SHORTS
* Only six days after entries opened for the 2010 Newport Bermuda Race on
January 18th, there was 72 entries plus 20 more on the cusp of signing up.
That's ahead of the 2008 pace, when the total was 198 entries - the second
largest fleet in the race's history. The 2010 Newport Bermuda Race will
begin on Friday, June 18. Complete details here: http://www.bermudarace.com/
* Applications are now being accepted for US SAILING’s 2010 U.S. Youth
Championship, the premier youth sailing championship of the year. The event,
sponsored by LaserPerformance, Gill NA and Sperry Top-Sider will be held in
Lasers, Laser Radials, Club 420s, and 29ers at Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club,
San Pedro, California from August 1-4. Applications for the event will be
accepted until March 15. For more information on the U.S. Youth Sailing
Championship, and to apply online, please visit the event website at
http://championships.ussailing.org/Youth/US_Youth_Champs.htm
* Mid-January dates, a shorter show, decent weather and improving consumer
confidence all contributed to a New York Boat Show that surpassed the
expectations of exhibitors and organizers, and led to attendance figures
that were up 51 percent over last year to 47,443, according to organizers.
The 105th New York show took place Jan. 20-24 at the Jacob K. Javits
Convention Center. This year's show was a shift from the usual nine-day
format, and took place well after the holiday season - changes that were
welcomed by exhibitors and the National Marine Manufacturers Association,
which produces the show. -- Soundings, full report:
http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/home/502171-crowds-come-out-for-new-york-show
GET A DEAL ON THE RACING RULES!
Fine-tune your knowledge of the rules with Dave Dellenbaugh’s two-part DVD
set called Learn The Racing Rules. Get 10% off through January 31 by using
the promo code SBUTT55. Get another 10% off if you’re a Speed & Smarts
subscriber (or if you subscribe when buying the video)! To order or learn
more: http://www.LearnTheRacingRules.com
LETTERS AND FORUM
Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The
Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer
than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One
letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for
elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is
available on the Scuttlebutt Forum.
-- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com
-- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum
* From Jim Fulton:
Cory Friedman, in his analysis (in Scuttlebutt 3014) of the
Constructed-in-Country flap touches on a point that I have wondered about
since GGYC broached the issue. He says, "Every time I open up a Made in USA
product I find a collection of Chinese or other nation's pieces." When the
deed of gift was written, marine technology was much simpler (e.g., wooden
hulls, cotton or linen sails, iron fastenings and hardware) and any nation
in a position to challenge (primarily Great Britain) could be assumed to be
self-sufficient in these areas. Now, marine technology has become highly
complex and we live in a much more integrated global economy.
The question before the court is, What has to be constructed in the
challenger's country? The discussion is currently focused on Alinghi's sails
but it could, conceivably go much further. Is it sufficient to assemble the
boat in-country? Does every system have to be made in-country? Every
component or sub-system? Every nut, bolt, and screw? All the fiber and
resin? Cory's comment really makes the point that almost no product of any
significant complexity is really made from start to finish in any one
country. Where does it end? Since this matter is before the court, common
sense may not have much to do with the resolution. The CiC dispute could be
another really bad idea that never goes away.
Alinghi’s latest cross-motion is yet again full of bizarre half-truths and
massive leaps of logic. Oracle's USA-17 is French!?! The wing mast isn’t a
sail!?! Who in the Alinghi camp comes up with this nonsensical stuff?
* From Damian Christie, Melbourne, Australia:
The only other by the book, Deed of Gift America's Cup match - 1988 -
answers these “questions”. So what if a French firm has had design input
into BMW Oracle's yacht and some of that work may even have been done in
France? Michael Fay's 1988 challenger KZ-1 was designed by New Zealander
Bruce Farr at his Annapolis office! The Kiwi challenger certainly wasn’t
thrown out because it was perceived to be technically designed in the United
States. It’s a moot point anyway, as Alinghi 5 certainly hasn’t been
designed solely in Switzerland!
Also, the victorious Stars & Stripes multihull from the 1988 Cup match
carried a wing mast and even completed one race without a foresail! Duncan
MacLane was one of the designers of the S&S cat - the same Mr MacLane who
had enjoyed similar success with his wing-masted Patient Lady cats in the
Little America's Cup. The same Mr MacLane who is now in the Alinghi design
team that is arguing that USA-17 is a blatant copy of French multihull
designs and is carrying a wing mast!
With such half-baked arguments, Alinghi should heed its own advice - don’t
throw nonsensical stones in glass houses! They will ricochet off the windows
and explode in your face!
CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
"Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts."
- Albert Einstein
Special thanks to North Sails, Melges Performance Sailboats, and Speed &
Smarts.
Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
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