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SCUTTLEBUTT 2341 – May 10, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). THE INNOCENCE AND THE INTRIGUE Valencia, 9 May 2007 - Emirates Team New Zealand finished Round Robin Two of the Louis Vuitton Cup at the top of the table, with a win over BMW Oracle Racing capping an unbeaten run in the second round. By finishing as the top challenger, the Kiwi team had the right to choose its opponent for the Semi Finals, and proceeded to choose the 4th ranked team of Desafío Español 2007. Luna Rossa Challenge and the American team will be the other pair for the Semi Final portion of the Louis Vuitton Cup that begins on Monday, 14 May. The first team in each pairing to win five points (one point per win) will advance to the Challenger Final. For the remaining seven challengers, Wednesday marks the end of their participation at the 32nd America's Cup. -- Complete race report from Flight 11: http://tinyurl.com/2ft329 Flight 11 - Wednesday's matches 1. Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team beat Victory Challenge by 0:38 2. Luna Rossa Challenge beat Desafío Español 2007 by 1:54 3. Emirates Team New Zealand beat BMW Oracle Racing by 1:34 4. +39 Challenge beat United Internet Team Germany by 0:30 5. Team Shosholoza beat Areva Challenge by 0:14 Bye - China Team Final Standings (RR1 pts - Matches Sailed RR2 - Matches Won - Total Pts) 1. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 92) 18-10-10-38 2. BMW Oracle Racing (USA 98) 21-10-8-37 3. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA 94) 19-10-8-35 4. Desafío Español 2007 (ESP 97) 17-10-6-29 ------------------------------------------------------ 5. Victory Challenge (SWE 96) 14-10-6-26 6. Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia (ITA 99) 14-10-4-22 7. Team Shosholoza (RSA 83) 12-10-4-20 8. Areva Challenge (FRA 93) 9-10-4-17 9. +39 Challenge (ITA 85) 6-10-2-10 10. United Internet Team Germany (GER 89) 3-10-1-5 11. China Team (CHN 95) 1-10-1-3 Note: 2 points are awarded for each match won. FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT BMW Oracle Racing did not come to Valencia to merely make it into the semi-finals. Nor was their goal to win only the Louis Vuitton Cup. They set out on a mission to beat the defender Alinghi, and to airfreight the America ’s Cup back to San Francisco. So, to achieve that goal, let’s move backwards and think about how this might be done. If they had been the leading team coming out of the Round Robin series, they would have done as the Kiwis did and picked the weakest opponent for their semifinal pairing, that being Desafío Español 2007. Doing anything else would have been highly criticized by supporters and pundits, and the distraction by this debate would have been a detriment to the team vibe. For the sake of argument, what if being the leading team was a disadvantage, whereas it effectively forced you to compete at a lower level? Shouldn’t a team strive to continue to compete at the highest level to continue to improve? Only the Italians can offer that challenge. So, if BMW Oracle Racing purposely let the Kiwis win the final race (blaming the wind gods, of course), they effectively avoided the debate, and continue on the best path to win the America's Cup. Perhaps it is also no coincidence that the American team lost the last race of both Round Robin series, which might be some psychological method of motivation. Something to think about… for the sake of argument. BUTTHEADS HAVE BOUGHT IN The recent Scuttlebutt poll regarding the sporting interest of our readers provided a nice surprise: over half of Scuttlebutt readers were gripped by the America’s Cup Louis Vuitton Challenger series. When asked what sport/ event they had been following most closely over the past week, 54.58% said it was the action in Valencia. With all the criticism the event receives (national teams are full of foreigners, the event is elitist, the boat’s are ridiculous, match racing is boring, etc.), it is interesting to find that most folks have discovered that there remains a great story to follow, and that it exceeds the draw of the most prominent professional sports available. What has been a boost for this Cup is that every challenger series race has been vital. There were no days that didn’t matter. BMW Oracle Racing’s loss to the Chinese proved to be huge. Desafío Español 2007 resailed race over Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia… huge. Now the winds are coming through stronger, the field is trimmed to 4 challengers, and the semi-finals begin on May 14. If you haven’t been sure yet that the event is of interest to you, it is time to buy in. In fact, for the next week, Scuttlebutt has established an America’s Cup hotline to help answer your questions. Curious about something… post your comment or question here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/acup/hotline DISCOVER Sailing gear that works as good as it looks. The Atlantis Grand Prix soft shell is the perfect jacket for spring sailing. Whether you’re shaking out the cobwebs on the cruising boat or getting tuned up for the summer one-design circuit, this jacket is destined to become your best friend. Made from AWG’s waterproof, windproof, breathable Rampage fabric. In three great-looking colors. Discover the new Atlantis WeatherGear. http://www.AtlantisWeatherGear.com MELGES 24 WORLDS Santa Cruz, CA (May 9, 2007) - As inconspicuous as one can be at 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds and with the class’s namesake calling tactics, Brian Porter and his team from America’s heartland have quietly moved into first place in the 2007 Fullpower Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by the Santa Cruz Yacht Club. Francois Brenac, the opening day co-leader sailing Benjamin Cohen’s French entry, led the 58-boat fleet across the finish line in Wednesday’s second race but was disqualified for failing to re-start after starting early. That misstep elevated Porter, of Winnetka, Ill., to the top as the only boat with all single-digit finishes: 3-5-3-6 for 17 points, eight ahead of defending champion Nicola Celon of Italy. Dave Ullman of Santa Ana, Calif. posted his second consecutive win by a full minute in Wednesday’s first race but slipped to 11th in the second. Porter’s tactician is Harry Melges III, who won the 2002 Melges 24 Worlds at Travemunde, Germany, and his brother John and Andy Burdick---class veterans all---complete the crew. “We’ve had three good starts so far,” Porter said, “then a horrible start in the last race. But we got lucky when [the wind] came left. We started to go back to the right---80 per cent of the time on a normal day at Santa Cruz that’s the place to be---and Harry found some more wind on the left.” Thursday’s forecast is for west winds at 10-15 knots, a 2-4 foot swell, and air temperature of 71 F. Racing continues through Saturday. The only throw-out kicks in after the sixth race Thursday. -- Complete story: http://www.melges24.com/displayarticles.asp?year=2007&id=1207 Preliminary Results (After 4 of 10 races; 58 boats) 1. Full Throttle, Brian Porter (USA) 3-5-3-5, 16 points 2. Bete Bossini, Amadori Ezio (ITA) 4-2-16-2, 24 3. Pegasus 575 , Mark Christensen (USA) 16-3-2-8, 29 4. Pegasus 505, David Ullman (USA) 18-1-1-11, 31 5. Team Barbarians, Stuart Simpson (GBR) 14-12-6-1, 33 6. Excellent, John Pollard (GBR) 8-6-10-12, 36 7. Monsoon, Bruce Ayres (USA) 1-7-17-16, 41 8. Gannet, Othmar Mueller von Blumencron (USA) 6-9-23- 4, 42 9. Altea, Andrea Racchelli (ITA) 13-10-4-15, 42 10. Courage X, Edwin Eich (GER) 10-18-14-7, 49 Complete results: http://www.scyc.org/melges24/rr/race-series.html 10 QUESTIONS FOR TIM WADLOW For US Sailing Team members Tim Wadlow (Beverly, Mass.) and Chris Rast (Wake Forest, N.C.), a meticulous sense of detail is crucial for a successful 49er Olympic campaign. Wadlow – who finished fifth in the 49er at the 2004 Olympics – provides an update here during a brief pit stop in Massachusetts before leaving to train in Cascais, Portugal. * You and your crew, Chris Rast, started 2007 with a bang at US SAILING's Rolex Miami OCR in January. Were you happy with your fourth place result in the 49er class? Wadlow: The top 24 out of 25 teams came this year, so it was a strong, international fleet. When the top teams from Britain and Spain show up, everyone else follows. It becomes the place to be. We definitely sailed really well -- and with the exception of the Medal Race, we could have easily won the regatta. We're much further along than where we thought we'd be in our development. * You got fifth place at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. How is this Olympic campaign different than your last? Wadlow: I have a different partner this time, Chris Rast, who I have known for a long time. This campaign has a much different feel to it. The last campaign was much longer because it was the full four years. This time around, we jumped in a little late, so we're more focused and more efficient. We know what we need to do and what we don/t need to do. Chris and I have enough racing experience; we need to get better at sailing the boat. -- Complete interview: http://ussailing.org/olympics/spotlight/spotlight050907.asp THE GL36 FLEET While the pinnacle of professional IMS racing is long gone, the boats that made IMS exciting live on. Now raced by mostly amateur skippers and crew there is a resurgence of these Grand Prix racing machines. In the last year the Lake Michigan Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (LMPHRF) rating has changed for the Mumm 36 making it the same as the Nelson Marek 36 at 51. The boats share the same sails, mast, boom, and rigging. The differences in the boats are mainly in the hull shape ( the N/M is 18" narrower than the Mumm), keel and rudder configurations. The opportunity to race these boats in a one-design fleet will give a whole new generation of sailors the chance to race on professional level racing boats. -- The following is an excerpt from a Canadian Yachting article written by Steve Killing comparing the two boats: http://www.gl36.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=2 CLOSURE Six months after the start of the Velux 5 Oceans race on October 22, Bilbao hosted the final prizegiving of this classic round the world race at the Palacio de Congresos y Musica in Bilbao last Sunday. Four skippers completed the race, with their span at sea between 103 days for the winner Bernard Stamm of Switzerland and 159 days for British sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Race winner Stamm gave tribute to Tim Troy, who fought so bravely to make the start but never crossed the line, Mike Golding and Alex Thomson, who were in the middle of a dramatic rescue in the Southern Ocean before both retiring from the race, and finally Graham Dalton, still in Norfolk after not being arriving in America in time to make the start of the final leg. -- Complete story: http://www.velux5oceans.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,12345~1022989,00.html ULLMAN SAILS AT SAN DIEGO 2007 YACHTING CUP At the second 2007 regatta of the Ullman Sails Inshore Championship series, Yachting Cup hosted by SDYC on May 5-6, Ullman customers swept top places in 5 classes. Thomas Coates’ J/105 “Masquerade” finished 1st*, followed by “Wings”, “Current Obsession”, “Invisible”, and “Rock & Roll”. Dave & Don Michaelis’ Schock 35 “Mako” placed 1st, followed by “Power Play” and “JoAnn” . Jed Olenick’s J/120 “Doctor No” won in a tie-breaker with “Caper”. In PHRF 2, Laura Schlessinger’s “The Doc” was 1st*, “Arana” 2nd. Geoff Longenecker’s “Nemesis” won PHRF 3 with “Penguin” 2nd*. For the “Fastest Sails on the Planet,” visit http://www.ullmansails.com (*partial inventory) COLLEGE NATIONALS * Teams scheduled to attend the ICSA Women's National Championship, to be sailed in 2 divisions of FJs on May 23-25, 2007, at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, are: St. Mary's, Georgetown, Navy, Hobart/WmSmith, Old Dominion, Wisconsin, Michigan, Tufts, Harvard, Boston College, Dartmouth, Boston University, U/Washington, Stanford, UC/Irvine, Charleston, South Florida, and Texas. * Teams scheduled to attend the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship, to be sailed in FJs and 420s on May 27-29, 2007, at US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, are: St. Mary's, Hobart/WmSmith, Navy, Michigan, Wisconsin, Dartmouth, Yale, Harvard, U/Washington, USC, Charleston, South Florida, Texas A&M Galveston, and Texas. * Teams scheduled to attend the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship, to be sailed in 2 divisions of dinghies (FJs, 420s) on May 30- June 1, 2007, at US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, are: Georgetown, St. Mary's, Navy, Hobart/WmSmith, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Boston College, Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, U/Washington, Stanford, Charleston, South Florida, Texas A&M Galveston, South Alabama, Brown, and UC/Irvine. -- http://www.collegesailing.org VIDEO OF THE WEEK Hard to really describe this week’s video other than to say it is very funny. Perhaps the title says it all: "Sail The Cloth Brothers or How I Stopped Worrying And Learned To Love PHRF." Film credits go to Harry Manko, who is somewhat of an icon in the online humorous sailing animation world. A worthy 2:28 minute investment of your time. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/07/0507 SAILING SHORTS * Ian Williams (GBR) becomes the first ever Brit to hit the world #1 spot in the latest release of the ISAF World Match Race Rankings on 9 May. In the Women’s Rankings Claire Leroy (FRA) makes it an incredible two unbroken years at the top. -- http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6qFnA~B8&format=popup * The iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series will comprise of four premier regattas and will showcase some of the world’s most exciting racing, at Europe’s leading sailing venues. Up to seven high-performance Extreme 40s will do battle on race courses set close to the shore, providing awesome views and thrilling racing for spectators. The Extreme 40 crews are studded with past, present and future Olympians – including six sailors who are aiming to compete at Beijing 2008. They will be joined by sailors from the ocean racing world and the America’s Cup. -- http://tinyurl.com/25ylq5 * Australian yachtsman Ken Gourlay completed his solo, non-stop and unassisted round-the-world voyage on Sunday, May 6, 2007, to stake his claim as the first Tasmanian to do so, and will also officially become the fastest Australian solo circumnavigator and, at 51, the oldest. -- http://www.spiritsoloquest.com * The ‘butthead benefit of complimentary photos by Glennon Stratton of GTS Photos Cup to the first five respondents that competed at the Yachting Cup in San Diego did not last long. If you missed out, GTS Photos has additional images for sale: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4788#4788 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Robin Baker: OK, here's a question for you 'Buttheads: Bruce Ayres won a race on Tuesday in the Melges 24 Worlds. The press release says that no Corinthian boat has ever won the Melges 24 Worlds. But, has a Corinthian boat ever won a race in a Melges 24 Worlds before? I'll bet several have, and I've got some ideas about who they may have been, but I wonder what the facts are? * From Christian Jensen: Regarding the "SAFETY HARNESS OR DEATH STRAP?" story in Issue 2340, there is so much false and unclear information in that piece that it actually makes matters worse. * From Phillip M. Lyon, 2007 Bayview Mackinac Race Chairman: My observation shows too few sailors use a harness and tether properly (if at all) in offshore conditions. I would like to post this info on our race website to bring more awareness. * From Bill Wheary: Regarding "Safety Harness or Death Strap" in ‘Butt 2340, Tom Rau recommends having a serrated knife readily available on the boat to cut the tether when all else fails. I do not think that goes far enough. For many years it has been recommended that sailors at all times carry on a lanyard a serrated pocket knife capable of being opened with one hand. Such a knife, available at most marine supply stores, could be invaluable, not only on the relatively infrequent occasions when a harness is worn, but in the more likely event that a line under force were to become wrapped around a leg, arm, or torso. He mentions a sailor being dragged astern when his tether ran down the jackline. To avoid being dragged astern, the jackline should be ‘stopped' with a donut six feet or more forward of the stern or the aft end of the jackline can be secured to the boat six feet or more forward of the stern. Being alongside the boat allows the crew and/or the overboard crew member to exert their efforts to bring the MOB directly onto the boat. Of course, the risk of going overboard can be reduced by hooking onto something appropriate on the high side of the boat and by using the shortest tether available that allows you to do the task at hand. * From Graeme Owens, International Judge: Paul Cayard's May 9 Scuttlebutt comment that dousing a spinnaker to leave it in front of another boat became acceptable in 1992 was clearly "tongue in cheek." I was chief umpire and jury chairman at the 1992 Louis Vuitton Cup when the leading boat unintentionally dropped its spinnaker in the water at the leeward mark. It appeared the rig would be pulled out of the boat but the crew cut the lines in time and the spinnaker was left in the water. But that time the trailing boat did sail into the spinnaker, did stop, and did protest. The international jury had no alternative but to dismiss the protest because there was then no available rule enabling it to take any other action. But the incident was not found to be "acceptable," in fact the jury was emphatic at the press conference that there would have been serious repercussions had it been able to find even the slightest suggestion of intent to interfere with the other boat, and that henceforth boats could be at great risk should they leave any item in the water. Curmudgeon’s Comment: I don’t believe Paul meant to imply that it was an acceptable move to halt the progress of the trailing boat by a water douse, only that the practice of cutting the spinnaker free and letting the chase boat retrieve it first occurred in 1992. Looking at the spinnaker drop done by Victory the other day, they never attempted to pull the spinnaker down by normal means. They saw that they were too late to try, and cut it free well before the leeward gate mark. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION I plan on living forever. So far, so good. Special thanks to Atlantis WeatherGear and Ullman Sails. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
