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SCUTTLEBUTT 1284 - March 12, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, 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. AC SYNDICATE MERGER? American billionaire Larry Ellison has given control of his Oracle BMW syndicate to veteran New Zealand skipper Chris Dickson, and the Kiwi connection has sparked rumours that Oracle and Team New Zealand may join forces for the next America's Cup. * Sources have told One News that the change may signal positive things for Team New Zealand as Dickson wants to join forces with the Kiwi syndicate. Former OneWorld skipper Peter Gilmour told One News he thought the move would be a good idea. "Just taking the same organisation forward isn't going to do it," said Gilmour. "There's got to be some form of X-factor to change it and quite frankly I think it's at the upper end of management where the changes need to be." Oracle feel they could learn a lot from the Team New Zealand sailors and designers and the amalgamation would mean no more money worries for Team New Zealand. Alinghi scrapped the nationality clause in their new protocol to govern the 2007 America's Cup, meaning sailors and designers can be recruited from around the world. Team New Zealand say they have had no approach from Dickson, who had no comment on the latest speculations. - Fiona McIlroy, nzoom.com website, full story: http://americascup.nzoom.com/americascup_detail/0,2523,174482-296-297,00.html KINETICS An independent poll of college sailors, small boat racers, coaches and judges show a deep divide in the Sailing community related to "Kinetics while Tacking". College sailing has over the last decade altered the Kinetics Rule to allow a more unrestricted style of tacking then has been accepted by the international governing body of sailing. While college sailors and coaches are strong supporters of the altered rule, small-boat racers are split and Judges and those unfamiliar with the college style are deeply opposed to the college alterations. The poll was conducted in late January and early February of 2003 and invited college sailors from across the country, small-boat racers, US and International Judges to voice their views on the ISAF and College rules on tacking. Nine questions were asked and one open anonymous comment was available. Results were compiled and are now available for review. Two Hundred Fifty Seven responses were gathered using an online poll. Rarely have sailors been directly asked for their input into the wording of fundamental rules affecting their sport. Paul Henderson President of ISAF highlighted the issue in the Spring of 2002 as one of the most important issues facing the sport. Just this month Dick Rose highlighted the new enforcement plans of ISAF on the topic. The questions asked in the poll asked about college sailing and it's impact on this rule? Is the college rule better? Is it easier to enforce? Is it enforced? - Dierk Polzin For the full report on Kinetics: http://www.E-Scow.org/KINETICS.pdf AMERICA'S CUP SPARS It's true. You can have a carbon-fiber spar built by the same company that supplied the masts, booms, and spinnaker poles used to win the 2003 America's Cup (in fact, if you own a JBoat, you probably already have one)! Read the background of Hall Spars & Rigging's long involvement with the Cup, and learn why our manufacturing process and experience sets us apart: http://www.hallspars.com SPONSORSHIP Ecover, producers of ecological washing & cleaning products, has committed to the long-term sponsorship of Mike Golding Yacht Racing. The sponsorship allows Golding the opportunity to re-structure his company and run a total of three boats from the team's base in Ocean Village, Southampton, with a dedicated crew and support staff. A brand new Owen Clarke Open 60 is currently being built at Southern Ocean Marine Ltd in Tauranga. The new Open 60 will be in the UK by summer 2003. Golding will race it in the Transat Jacques Vabre in November the Vendée Globe in 2004. The current Finot 60 will race in all 2003 IMOCA events, including the Round Britain Challenge and the classic Fastnet Race. The team's Challenge 67 (winning yacht in the BT Global Challenge), now branded in Ecover colours, will be the centerpiece of a new corporate hospitality project, enabling the public to get a taste of sailing racing thoroughbreds. The Mike Golding Yacht Racing commercial team is actively seeking both new talent and sponsors to campaign the existing 60 in the Transat Jacques Vabre and through to the Vendée Globe. - Sophy Williams, www.mikegolding.com/ GBR CHALLENGE - Magnus Wheatley (Following are a number of excerpts from Magnus Wheatley's story posted on the Yachts and Yachting website.) Negative press seems to go hand in hand with Britain entering the America's Cup so it's time to shed some positive light on what the future can hold for another challenger. Peter Harrison's bold foray back into the murky world of the Cup has had the 'armchair admirals' and the British yachting press throwing their hands up in the air and saying it was a waste of time. Far from it and if you value the views of guys like Russell Coutts, Brad Butterworth and Murray Jones then Britain is one of the few countries that they actually fear will be a major force in the future. Just look at the talent that has emerged and continues to emerge from the RYA's bold foresight in the early 1980's Youth development programme. The guys at the top of the tree in AC terms-Walker, Covell and Stead are backed up with the likes of Iain Percy and Ben Ainslie plus countless others for the key positions on the next boat. * A design team is already in place under Britain's only winner of the America's Cup, Derek Clark. This needs to be built on and added to. Doug Petersen, Laurie Davidson and Mani Frers are all on the market and primed for the taking. Clay Oliver could perhaps be persuaded, wouldn't that be great? Their experience would lend well to the likes of Rob Humphreys, Jason Ker and Ed Dubois and would perhaps stop the team going down a radical, unproven path. * Now comes the one ingredient that is required to make this happen-money. The marketing and advertising opportunities are simply huge in Europe and a made-for-television event like Alinghi are proposing will be massive. Sponsors that we've never seen before in sailing must have their eyes opened to the tremendous opportunities that backing a winning effort will have * Harrison has been a maligned character in this Cup. Sure he's a little egotistical and outspoken but he's the only one who's had the wherewithal and the gumption to stand up to the British media and say we can do it. You notice the word 'we', he can't do it on his own in 2007 and nobody expects it and its time for corporate Europe to see the outstanding potential that the greatest seafaring nation has in this contest. * Technology wise Britain can easily be at the forefront of development. We have the sailmakers and the mast-makers who can deliver alongside some of the best engineering brains in the world. We have a marvellous tank-testing facility in the Wolfson Unit and computing capacity that can handle the wind-tunnel and VPP predictions. * So the ingredients are all there and the future is very very bright for Team GBR and the next Cup. If we can just get a bit of Sir Peter Blake's attitude of 'this is what we're doing' and silence the naysayers who with their attitude never get anything done, then GBR is viable and purposeful. The sailors are there, the designers are there and the most incredible opportunity is there to put Britain back on the pedestal of America's Cup winners. All it takes is a bit of bloody-minded belief. - Magnus Wheatley, Yachts and Yachting website, Full story: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/default2.asp?section=11&article=9044 JULES VERNE TROPHY - DAY 60 In the 24 hours to 03:00 GMT Tuesday, the maxi-trimaran Geronimo had covered just 278 nautical miles; an average speed of 11.60 knots point-to-point. The Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric crew are therefore slightly behind Bruno Peyron and his men, but hope to take a more direct route than Orange. Weather forecasts are changing radically every half day as analysts struggle to anticipate the movements of the three anticyclones and three depressions now making their erratic way through the North Atlantic. So it remains as impossible as ever to forecast the date or time when Geronimo will pass the Créac'h lighthouse at Ushant. - www.grandsrecords.com AMERICA'S CUP OVERSIGHT ISAF has the ultimate responsibility to the sport of sailing for the integrity and fairness of the competition. It is essential that ISAF ensure "Fair Play" and not only provide the services for sailors to go to sea to race, but also to control the use and implementation of the ISAF Rules and Regulations. This responsibility should and must be fulfilled in close cooperation with the MNA's, Yacht Clubs and Syndicates involved in the Challenge and Defence of the America's Cup. An agreement will therefore be entered into between the ISAF and the respective parties for the services of ISAF and its Officials for the America's Cup and related events. Such co-operation will include ISAF providing the Race Officials. ISAF and its Officials will be clearly separated from the commercial or financial interests of any of the organisations or persons involved and no financial or other relations shall exist between the ISAF Officials and any of the yacht clubs and syndicates involved in the event, thus maintaining the absolute integrity of their role. Continuing the excellent training ground established during the XXXI America's Cup, ISAF will as required by the Defender and Challenger Syndicates, coordinate training and education sessions and other appropriate requirements run by ISAF Officials to support the Syndicates. ISAF also intends to develop in conjunction with the Defender and Challenger Syndicates a Code of Ethics, which will set values to contribute to the overall integrity of the event. ISAF also hopes to work with the Syndicates to form an America's Cup Arbitration Panel, which will include ISAF Officials. Respecting the anti-doping position in sport worldwide, drug testing was undertaken at the XXXI America's Cup, and ISAF will in future allow access to WADA to ensure fair and scientifically responsible drug testing. - ISAF website, full story: www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=4080 COACHING TALENT The commitment needed to succeed continues to increase. Not only do you need the best equipment, but you also need the best support. The quality of the support you receive from your sailmaker will determine whether you are maximizing the performance available from your sails and boat. Leading the customer support development at Ullman Sails is Jay Glaser, named US National Coach of the Year, and Dave Ullman, who coached in the last two America's Cup regattas. To insure that your program is receiving the best sails and the best support, visit Ullman at: http://www.ullmansails.com FOR THE RECORD On March 16, Rich Wilson, 52 (Rockport, Mass.) and Rich du Moulin, 56 (Larchmont, N.Y.) will depart from Hong Kong on the 53-foot trimaran Great American II, to take aim at the 15,000-mile non-stop Hong Kong-New York sailing record. The current record was set in 1849 when Captain Robert "Bully" Waterman, made the passage aboard the clipper ship Sea Witch in 74 days and 14 hours. The voyage of Great American II will be followed online by school children from throughout the United States, and students will be able to see how math, sciences such as meteorology and oceanography, and even the lessons of history apply in real-time adventure. - Cynthia Goss, www.sitesalive.com UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES According to a story on the nzoom.com website, after spending most of this last Louis Vuitton Cup Series embroiled in design rows with Team New Zealand and Prada, the Seattle-based OneWorld Syndicate has decided not challenge for the next America's Cup. http://americascup.nzoom.com/americascup_detail/0,2523,174482-296-297,00.html LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Bruce Hollis: All my sailing life I have been in awe of the C class, and as a teenager I devoured books on ICCT history. (A rare innovation for yachting administration was the A, B and C development rules) It is an event that you can relate to, could realistically aim at, and that promotes the intellectual curiosity that is the basis of sailing. To replace the event with match racing (?) in production cats is a pathetic response. This event is unique, and deserves respect and support. Would I have it right that an event management company has got their hands on this trophy by convincing less than interested "trustees" that they will "maximize" and "reinvigorate" the "brand name"? * From Hugh Wainman-Wood: Little America's Cup? How about "World Hosts Ordinary Catamarans and Runs Everyday Sailing" (acronym the "WHO CARES" Cup). As a monohull owner and aficionado I always had a fascination for the design innovations and incredible speeds that flowed out of the C-Class catamarans, and although I didn't follow them closely I always paid attention to the Little America's Cup as the bellwether of development in the multihull world. Now that the organizers of the Little America's Cup have converted it into the Worrell Cup only less interesting because it's not sailed off the beach, I don't think I'll be checking it out. * From E. Eric Johnson: I agree that the Class C is a fast innovative boat and it is great to see that so many people are writing about their interest in keeping them going. However, four years without a challenge sure seems like a dead event to me. Where were all these class stalwarts for the past five years? I think that Sea Cliff Yacht Club and the Trustees should be commended for not letting another great event/ trophy become a memory/ dust collector. * From Russ Lenarz: I want to also show my support to Steve Clark's decision to continue the spirit and tradition of the ICCT, despite the trustees decision to undermine the true nature of the event. The Little Americas Cup has always been about design and development as well as racing. There are already a great many races in the US and the world that cater to one design beach cats. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these type of events, but this particular event is not like any other. Congratulations go to the group form Perth in their efforts to continue their development of a C - Class cat and go forward with their challenge here in the US in 2004 no matter what the event may be. * From John McBrearty: RNZYS's Commodore Bill Endean's "extempore" speech did have more than the politically correct amount of sour grapes mixed in. Consider the following quote: " I also would like to say it was almost another precedent set in America's Cup history with the Defender not having a team to represent it and in that regard I would like to make a special thanks and recognition to the boys in black who made the sacrifices, who turned down what might have been the more attractive offer, to stay with their Team, to stay with their Club and to stay with their Country. My appreciation to you all for the sacrifices that you made." That's nice! The boys that your club designated were not capable of being a team that had the ability to represent the RNZYC, yet you congratulate them for making "sacrifices" and turning down more attractive offers! You damned your own representatives with faint praise while, jingoistically, branding the Kiwis on the winning team as traitors. * From Kelly Mathews: Sorry Commodore, nice to read the speech as a whole, but it still sounds like sour grapes to me. After all, aren't they still Kiwis anyway? I find it to be such a shame that the smoke and mirrors and unveiled spite exist, even after the lady has sung, had her dinner and gone home. Some of your old team members took up another offer, who happened to be the better team at the time. Period. * From Dan Meyers: I find Commodore Endean's congratulations to Ernesto Bertarelli a bit hollow. He is commended for keeping a straight face when he calls a man they publicly taunted a 'hero'. They supported an organization that stalked the wives and children of their opponents and forced them to hire security, and launched a rather nasty publicity campaign. The icing on the cake was the current consideration of tossing two of their members, Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth, out of their club. These guys only won the Cup three times and brought who know how much commerce to Auckland. Who has brought more? And wasn't it the RNZYS that said in 1995 that they were embarrassed by a long history of effort by the New York Yacht Club to manipulate rules and racing conditions to best suit the defender? What just happened in New Zealand? * From Gregory Scott Kingston: In reply to Mr. Donlan, I think he is on the right path. While I was saddened to see only 4 IMS boats at SORC, it does seem as though the Farr 40 is the vessel of choice. The aspect of the size of boat and the number of bodies needed to sail a Farr 40 makes an ideal "team" boat. The right chemistry is needed to make the campaign work. The boat is twitchy enough that boat time in advance of a serious event is essential. So, let's get a citizens only event going using the Farr 40. It satisfies my desire to see a big boat added to the Olympic model. You can't beat getting 9 or 10 crew dialing it up and making one of the big boats go. * From Mark Weinheimer: Friendly competition among nations? It's called the Olympics. There are national teams, sailing identical one -design boats. If the idea is to make possible a more widely followed media event, talk some corporate sponsors into televising the qualifying rounds and Olympic trials regattas from around the world. It might work. THE CURMUDGEON'S OXYMORON Ill health |
