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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 934 - October 31, 2001Scuttlebutt 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, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
ANOTHER PROTEST AGAINST ILLBRUCK "It has come to my attention, that illbruck challenge have carried out modifications to their Volvo Penta supplied S-Drive. A weed-cutting device has been attached to the leading edge over the full exposed length of the S-Drive, and filler compound has been added and faired between the blade edge and the S-Drive body. Additionally the oil drain located at the lower end of the S-Drive has been filled and faired to create a single surface area on the S-Drive. Volvo Ocean 60 Rule 5.4.2 states "Only modifications to specified machinery approved by the chief measurer are permitted. The chief measurer may only approve modification in exceptional circumstances. Modification, which result in lighter specified machinery, will not be approved. All items supplied by Volvo Penta, including engine beds and auxiliary equipment are governed by this rule." The above modifications have not been approved by the chief measurer and as such the illbruck challenge no longer complies with the Volvo Ocean 60 Rule." A protest hearing has yet to be scheduled. - www.VolvoOceanRace.org
VOLVO OCEAN RACE Unfortunately for the crew, arrival did not bring about the realisation of their desires for mountains of burgers and pizza. Because they could only afford to eat a single meal each day for the past four days the crew's bodies were extremely weak. Team chef Arne Bertelsen, fearing that eating large quantities of unhealthy food would damage the sailors' recovery process, instead mixed up a delightful concoction. "The drink will make it easier for the body to rapidly absorb all the vital things it needs," he said. Frostad announced major changes to improve the performance of the next leg, be it people or equipment remains to be seen. In an interview right after entering the harbour he confirmed this without giving away any specific details. On his experience of this leg, he commented: "It was not only the worst leg, it was the worst race I have ever done, awful, horrible. I have never fought so hard for so little." Lisa McDonald's all-women team ghosted into the Victoria and Alfred basin having crossed the Cape Town finish line, positioned at the end of the breakwater, in eighth place at 01.20.12 GMT this morning. Event website: www.VolvoOceanRace.org
CUSTOM
IFDS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Thomas Brown of Northeast Harbor, ME, added a 5-2 record Tuesday to 15-point tally and has a lock on second overall for the world championship regatta. With nine points separating Norway's Bjornar Erikstad (in third) from Ruud van Holsteyn of the Netherlands (in fifth) and Jostein Stordahl of Norway sandwiched between them in fourth place, the third place overall trophy is still up for grabs with one race remaining Oct. 31. On the Sonar course, Canadian skipper Brian Mackie, with crew Brian MacDonald and Paul Tingley, added two more bullets to four earlier first-place finishes. With the exception of one premature start in race five when they were scored OCS (on course side), Mackie's team has won six times and finished second once. They cannot be beaten going into the final day of sailing but the battle for second and third overall will be decided Wednesday between at least four contending teams. STANDINGS: Sonar (15 boats): 1. Brian Mackie, CAN, 8; 2. Andy Cassell, GBR, 29; 3. Jens Kroker, GER, 30; 4. Ken Kelly, CAN, 30; 7. Rick Doerr, USA, 50; 8. John-Ross-Duggan, 50. 2.4mR Class (14 boats): 1. Heiko Kroger, GER, 7; 2. Thomas Brown, USA, 22; 3. Bjornar Erikstad, NOR 40; 4. Jostein Stordahl, NOR, 34; 7. John Ruf, USA 43. Full results: www.spyc.org/World/Results/results.htm
SWEDISH MATCH RACING TOUR "We have made this decision due to heightened security worldwide since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States," said Kenichi Mitsui, Commodore, HMYC. "We feel the risks in arranging transportation for skippers to travel from US and Europe to Japan are too great at this time." As a result, Swedish Match Tour Year 3 will now be comprised of eight events. The Swedish Match Tour Championship Prize Purse will remain at US$200,000 and the scoring will be based upon a skipper's best six-of-eight finishes instead of the previous best seven-of-nine finishes. The next event on the Swedish Match Tour is the Sun Microsystem's Australia Cup, March 12-17, in Perth, Australia. - www.swedishmatchgp.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Gareth Evans: Rule 47.2 states that "A person leaving the boat by accident or to swim shall be back on board before the boat continues in the race." If Dee Smith had fallen overboard and eaten by sharks then he would not be able to re-board the boat, and the boat should retire. Unless of course they could get the shark on board in his place!
* From Craig Fletcher (edited to stay within the bounds of good taste): All of us who have sailed with Dee know it is impossible for him to be eaten by sharks or have fallen overboard: We love you Dee . . . * From Ted Jones: Thanks for opening up the thread on Rule 90. Ever since the discussion began about having fun while racing I've thought that we've got it backwards. Granted, Rule 90 was established as that number was available at the end of the racing rules, but in reality shouldn't it be Rule 1?
MINI TRANSAT
WORLD SAILOR OF THE YEAR The sailor's shortlisted for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Awards 2001 were announced on 10 October 2001, as follows: FEMALE SAILORS: Sofia Bekatorou and Emilia Tsoulfa (GRE), Ellen MacArthur (GBR), Sari Multala (FIN), Lee Lai-Shan (HKG). MALE SAILORS: Grant Dalton (NZL), Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA), Torben Grael (BRA), Heiko Kroger (GER), Fredrik Loof (SWE), Yves Parlier (FRA), Robert Scheidt (BRA). Voting is currently being undertaken amongst all ISAF MNA's who are invited to vote for one of each of the Male and Female Nominees. Voting will conclude on 31 October 2001 and the winners will be announced and awards presented on 13 November 2001, Lisbon, Portugal. For the winners, Rolex has commissioned a stunning new trophy. A solid sphere depicts the world and is crowned by five silver spinnakers representing the continents. Each will also receive a Rolex chronometer. - ISAF Website Full details: www.sailing.org/worldsailor
AMERICA'S CUP The case comes down to Dickson's word against Reeves' and an international telephone conversation on July 17 in which Dickson alleges his old sailing partner told him he got less than he hoped for when he parted company with One World this year and wanted to recover his losses. Reeves denies offering information to anyone and says he will sue One World for defamation. On Friday, Reeves told the Herald that the July 17 conversation - he was at home in Devonport, Dickson at home in California - was prompted by a magazine article he had read on Dickson. Yesterday he said his motivation for ringing Dickson was to recruit him. "Someone had approached me from a wealthy corporation in another country and said they wanted to get involved in the America's Cup," Reeves said. "The real reason I called Chris was to find out if he was still involved with Oracle, because there was a rumour he had been sacked." He said the proposed new British syndicate, backed by a millionaire he would not name, was hoping to be accepted as a challenger if it paid the late entry fee of $US300,000 by next March. He said Dickson seemed the perfect option for skipper as he satisfied the nationality requirement by holding a British passport. But Reeves said Dickson would not be able to verify the story because he never put the proposal to him, as Dickson made it clear from the start of the conversation that he was staying with Oracle. Instead the two men talked about the magazine article and their babies. Reeves said the proposed new syndicate had "faded away", mainly because it had struggled to find a designer, and he was now focusing on his career as a professional tennis coach. - Tony Wall, NZ Herald Full story: www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/
RATIFICATION
QUOTES FROM THE BOATS "It was frustrating. I had a lot of time to think the last eleven days, but this was the worst time. I have had some shockers but this one really hit hard. I lost a few pounds for sure and I lost half of it at Trindade and that is where I added a lot of grey hairs." - Mark Rudiger, Assa Abloy navigator
SYDNEY TO HOBART RACE
JUST FOR YOU
SAN FRANCISCO CHALLENGE
ONE-DESIGN RACING Full results and pictures: www.obyc.com/snipe/
RULE 90
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
