SCUTTLEBUTT No. 610 - July 21, 2000
PACIFIC CUP
With half of the remaining fleet past the midway mark in the San
Francisco-Kaneohe, West Marine Pacific Cup, Rage and Pegasus are set for a
battle to the finish. Pegasus leads the fleet with a 28 mile lead over
Rage. La Diana, the Doublehanded Contessa 35 has relinquished the fleet
lead she held for ten days but remains well in front of the Doublehanded
Division 1 boats.
Punk Dolphin maintains a slim Division 2, lead over Oeno. Fully crewed
Diminished Capacity holds Division A, Alicante in Division B, Elan in
Division C, ET in Division D and Osprey has retaken the lead from Cha-Ching
in Division E. The big downwind racers see Lina leading the Santa Cruz 50
Division F, Triumph in the Santa Cruz 52 Division G and Rage reported as
leading Division H on handicap while Pegasus is closer to Hawaii. Both are
figured to be in Kaneohe Bay during the weekend.
Pegasus reports that they are in 15-18 knot winds and gaining even more by
surfing down waves. The experience was described as riding a 70-foot carbon
windsurfer. Rage blew a halyard releasing the 4,000 sq. foot spinnaker
rather suddenly with a major wakeup BANG! The kite plapped and whopped
about but was saved without harm. - Ray Sweeney
Complete standings: http://www.pacificcup.org/
SIMILARITY
There are few similarities between Naples Sabot mainsail and the #3 genoa
for a ULDB 70. But there will be one dramatic similarity if both of those
sails have an Ullman Sails tack patch - they will both be fast. The same
applies to a 470 jib, a J/120 A-sail, the main for a 505 or a Schock 35
kite. Right now is the very best time to find out how affordable improved
performance can be:
http://www.ullmansails.com/
IMS
(Andrea Falcon wrote a summary of the recently concluded Rolex IMS World
Championships for Quokka Sports, which underscored the fact that there's no
lack of controversy over the state of the IMS rule. Here's an excerpt from
that piece.)
Geoff Stagg of Farr International, who sailed in the racer division aboard
Peter Gordon's Gaucho, couldn't mask his discomfort with the IMS Rule.
"These days," he said, "the only way to win an IMS World Championship is to
have a brand-new boat like Onorato's, which is way too expensive."
In Stagg's opinion, this is a clear sign that IMS is losing interest with
owners. He said he believes the scoring system is too difficult to
understand. "Technically, it is a very good handicap rule - but also too
complicated. The ORC should listen more to the owners and study a new rule
just for racing boats. The way it is now, the IMS forces you into the
cruiser/racer division."
Tweaks to the IMS Rule in recent years have helped improve the performance
of cruiser/racers, which receive rating credits for design aspects that are
believed to slow down a sailboat. The credits were intended to help older
designs, built of fiberglass with full interiors.
Newer designs built to the IMS Rule tend to be lighter, especially when
Kevlar is used in the hull and interior construction. This is why owners
like Onorato build boats to the cruiser/racer specifications: They get a
new boat and rating credits that make it hard to beat.
"The results of the IMS World Championship show that the rule is working
well," said naval architect David Pedrick, chairman of the ORC's
international technical committee, which oversees many of the rule's
adjustments.
"The winning boats in the different classes are designed by different
designers, and the whole fleet was a balanced mixture of racer and
cruiser/racer boats of different sizes," said Pedrick. "It's true that
the-long distance race favored the smaller boats, but in the races around
the buoys, we saw up to six finishers within the space of one minute." -
Andrea Falcon, for Quokka Sports
Full story: http://sailing.quokka.com/stories/07/SLQ__0720_s_ims_WFC.html
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net)
Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250
words max) and to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. You
only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine
if others disagree.
-- From Dave Few - Regarding Gary's comments on tactician duties, they are
excellent as usual---I have only one nit to pic--the tactician is often the
skipper, if his/her ego can handle it, and the helmsperson is not. The
helmsman/woman in my view should not have to do anything but steer the
boat, watching the waves where possible, the sails and provide feedback
feel to the skipper/tactician. Seems to work for the 3 or 4 of us that race
together on our old Cal.
-- From Bruce B. Nairn - As a further wallowing in sanctimonious puffery
may I offer the following observation on the Blom controversy:
Sailors knowing where the "bar" is, if queried, would rather answer in
geographic rather than philosophic terms. To wit: Any day on an urban
commute is, for an alarming number of people, an exercise in not getting
caught "under the bar". That particular "bar" has been lowered to the point
where incidents, short of road rage gunfights, elicit a collective public
yawn.
It is truly unfortunate that Mr. Blom gets the dubious distinction of
publicly defining our "sensibilities" under Rule 69. However, I don't think
pretending that his actions are so far removed from our own relinquishes
our need to know what he did to deserve his fate.
-- From Jerry Kaye (Re RRS 69) - It's too easy to say "If you don't know in
your own head or heart where the bar is, I don't want you on the same
racecourse with me..." The problem/question is how do you get rid of the
Yahoos and SOB's in the sport??? Anything less than a major Rule 69
infraction is usually met with a "get over it!" from other racers or a
blind eye from the Protest Comittee (understandably, no one wants to stick
around for the fireworks).
There should be a Rule 69 type of Rule for lesser magnatude infractions of
poor sportsmanship like cursing, physical threats, etc. I race with my
wife and don't appreciate her being exposed to remarkably rude language.
The filing could be relayed to the infringer's Commodore for a
warning/hearing. When enough of them are received concerning that
individual, HIS club can take action (including suspension!). Sometimes,
the only way for certain jerks to know where the "bar" is is when it makes
contact with their skull...but that's kinda how Mr. Blom got into this mess!
-- From Scott Greenawalt - I think what we may be missing something here.
US Sailing should not publish the facts of such cases so that the sailing
community knows how far the rules can be pushed. Rather, they should
publish those the facts so that race managers know under what circumstances
punitive action can be taken when unacceptable behavior occurs.
I was recently judging an event where a competitor verbally threatened
another with physical violence in a pre-hearng. I think this is
unacceptable behavior. But without guidelines (and precedent) I do know
what penalty (if any) can be imposed.
CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: This seems like an excellent spot to 'pull the plug'
on this thread. I now declare it to be officially dead. Onward!
MARK ROUNDINGS
(Often intimidating, the corners on a racecourse offer the chance for
making big gains. Dan Dickison discusses mark roundings on the SailNet
website. Here's an excerpt.)
Whether you're rounding an upwind mark, a leeward mark, or a jibe mark, the
main objective is to maintain your speed and momentum. This starts with
carving a smooth, gradual turn around the mark rather than an abrupt, tight
turn. Remember, the more you move the rudder off centerline, and the faster
you do it, the more the boat will slow down. So, for weather-mark roundings
where you plan to execute a bearaway set-or even if you aren't racing with
a spinnaker-try to position your boat slightly above the layline so that
you can pass close to the far side of the mark as you turn downwind
gradually and ease the sails. Even if the crew has a problem getting the
spinnaker up, at least you've maintained your boat speed and are still
making progress down the track.
The same principle of maintaining your boat speed should apply around the
jibe mark and the leeward mark as well, though it's inevitable that you'll
gradually slow down as you come up to a close-hauled course after the
leeward mark. Remember to set up your approach so that you can round in a
gradual turn without making abrupt course changes. The other important
aspect about getting the most out of a mark rounding is to remember that
rounding wide early in the turn and tight late in the turn will put you
closer to the next mark of the course. Having boats around you, of course,
will affect these maneuvers, so if there's any doubt about who has the
right of way, or there is the possibility of a collision, err on the
conservative side and maintain your speed by rounding wide. Fouling someone
is always slow; it's better to lose a boat than to have to do turns to
exonerate yourself from a penalty.
Of course nothing can improve your mark roundings more than a concentrated
practice session where you go around upwind and downwind marks over and
over again. - Dan Dickison, SailNet website.
Full story:
http://www.sailnet.com/collections/racing/index.cfm?articleid=ddcksn251&tfr=fp
CALENDAR
* July 24-27 - USSA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival-Narragansett Bay,
Bristol YC. Laser, Laser Radial, Sunfish, Optimist, Club 420, JY15 classes.
http://www.ussailing.org/youth/racing/jo/index.htm
* July 24 & 25 - USSA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival, Mid-Atlantic
Championship, Island Heights YC. Laser Radial, Club 420, Byte, and Optimist
dinghies. http://www.ussailing.org/youth/racing/jo/index.htm
* July 29 - Aug 4 - USSA Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship for the
Leiter Trophy, Ida Lewis YC. Laser Radials.
http://www.ussailing.org/youth/racing/jc/Leiter/index.htm
FAVORITES
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QUOTE / UNQUOTE
"Follow your dreams. If you believe in yourself just enough to be
competitive and have fun at the sport, then you never know what might
happen. You might end up in the Olympics, or you might end up doing a world
championship." - Russell Coutts, as reported in Jennifer Mitchell's story
on the Quokka website about the America's Cup champion's address to a
junior sailing audience in Marblehead.
Full story: http://sailing.quokka.com/
BILL KOCH
Millionaire yachtsman William I. Koch is facing criminal charges after he
allegedly punched his wife in the stomach and threatened to kill her and
his son with a belt in their luxurious Osterville home.
Barnstable police were summoned to the sprawling estate in a gated
community around 11 p.m. Monday by Angela Koch, who told arriving officers
of her 60-year-old husband's attack, according to police. She also told
police that Koch threatened ''to beat his whole family to death with his
belt,'' Barnstable Deputy Police Chief Michael J. Martin said yesterday.
Koch was arrested at the house. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of
domestic assault and battery and threatening to kill, and was released on
personal recognizance.
Angela Koch, 42, has obtained a restraining order against her husband,
under which he must live in the estate's guest house or beach house while
she is in the main house. He also cannot be at the couple's West Palm Beach
house when she is there, under the order. - John Ellement and Stephanie
Ebbert, Boston Globe.
Full story:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/202/metro/Koch_faces_assault_charges%2b.sh
tml
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS
The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get.
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