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SCUTTLEBUTT 3740 - Monday, December 17, 2012Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Team One Newport and Doyle Sails. GETTING YOUNG PEOPLE INVESTED IN THE SPORT Gary Jobson's Sailing World article in Scuttlebutt 3739 - Weighty Issues of College Sailing - and comments that followed it by Scuttlebutt editor Craig Leweck stirred the mailbox at Scuttlebutt World Headquarters. An email from Moose McClintock grabbed our attention. Who is Moose? "Moose is without a doubt one of sailings greats," said Terry Hutchinson, 2008 U.S. Rolex Yachtsman of the Year. "From Laser frostbiting to winning J-24 Worlds, whatever he does it is always for the 'love of the game'. Having had the opportunity to race through the years with and against Moose, you won't find a better competitor on or off the water." Here's what Moose had to say: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If the mission is to prepare and encourage young sailors for a lifetime sailing, I think the Scuttlebutt editor is right about what sailors do before college reflects on what they become after college. When I was younger, I didn't take sailing lessons or have a boat to sail, though I loved sailing and hung around my yacht club begging for rides. I was pretty big so I ended up crewing on a lot of boats, mostly keelboats, with really good sailors who taught me the basics of a broad spectrum of sailing. When I graduated from high school, my dad got the brand new class of boat - a Laser. That was my introduction to planing boats (other than a little crewing on International 420's, for which I was too big). I have sailed the Laser non-stop until last year when I hurt my back, and it kept me sailing in competitive fleets that rewarded fitness and tactical sailing. At college, I was too big to be a skipper at the major regattas but I sailed every minor event I could, and sailed in every practice. I developed the tactical acumen (not great but good enough) to be sought after as a crew, and with my big boat background, I sailed in all the prominent college keelboat regattas. At the same time, besides the Laser I also sailed 505s in the summers and midwinters with some very good sailors who taught me a lot about tuning and speed. After college, I couldn't find a job so I worked in a sail loft where I learned more about sail shape and construction, and its values to boat speed. As crew, I did an Olympic campaign that fit my weight (Soling) with college acquaintances, which I think is the biggest value of college sailing, the opportunity to sail with a wide variety of backgrounds in the sport. This then led to more contacts, I was soon sailing bigger and bigger boats, getting involved on the world match racing scene, and eventually the America's Cup. In this instance, my size was a benefit to the sailing I chose to do; maybe was forced me to do. I used college sailing to become a better sailor, knowing that I wouldn't be a "starter", but developing the tactical and boat handling skills I would need to keep sailing in the future. My experience might be a bit different from most but it was incredibly varied, and my current sailing is a derivative of what these experiences. I sail all over the place and see juniors sailing all the time. I watch them in Newport (RI) in the middle of the winter doing 6-7 hour clinics in 35 degree weather, and in Ft Lauderdale (FL) in the sun and warmth, and they all have a bit of a glazed look on their faces from the repetition of it all. I know that if I had to do that, I wouldn't have continued sailing as I did. -- Forum, read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14992#14992 KIWIS ALERT FOR SAFETY SHENANIGANS While their America's Cup rivals struggle for sailing days, Emirates Team New Zealand are already well into the build of their second boat, to be launched in February. Their reliance in a wide range of conditions comes in stark contrast to the problems that have handicapped cup holder Oracle who totally demolished their AC72 in a dramatic capsize in San Francisco and are hurriedly building their second boat in a game of catch-up. Swedish challengers Artemis Racing have also experienced problems in the Californian city that will host the Louis Vuitton Cup and America's Cup between July and September next year. TNZ's concern is that the opposition, seeing their ability to handle the high-powered monster so comfortably at the top end of the 33-knot limit set for cup racing, will seek to have that wind range reduced to help even the field. "We have proved that you can sail these boats safely in the conditions that the protocol is set up for us to do," Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton said. "Maybe Artemis and maybe Oracle, who in the end are kind of running the whole show, are having a few problems in that area. "So we start to see the start of a thread where 'well, maybe it's too much wind or maybe the races should change a little earlier in the day when there's less wind', which would be nothing more, from our point of view, than them attempting to hobble us. Ad Feedback "If someone pulls out the word safety, it's one of those words where you're look like you're not mean-spirited but just reckless if you don't abide. "So we are watching that pretty closely now. But if our opposition feels they have an issue, I think we have a lot of water to flow under the bridge yet in terms of them thinking that maybe they are going to move the goalposts." Can they do that? "Well, that's the question." It's the murky world of the America's Cup where lawyers play as big a part as the action on the water. -- Stuff NZ, full story: http://tinyurl.com/Stuff-121612 HO, HO, HO... SANTA'S GOT A SURPRISE FOR YOU! Have you made your list and checked it twice? Still need something for those who are Rowdy and Nice? Santa and our elves have a surprise for you! If you spend $50 or more, you'll get a free $10 Gift Card! PLUS, if you spend $99 or more, you'll get Free Ground Shipping as well! Enter promo code SBGIFT12 at checkout to claim these promotions! Shop online at Team One Newport (and check out the brand new website) for this and the other deals that Santa has up his sleeve this holiday season. Offer expires 12/24/12: http://www.team1newport.com RETOOLING THE OLDEST OLYMPIC REGATTA IN NORTH AMERICA It was reported in Scuttlebutt 3739 that among the recommendations to improve the U.S. Olympic sailing program was to limit the reliance on traveling to Europe for the athletes to improve their competitiveness, and that domestic training needed to become a strength. To fulfill this mandate, a new event this February by Lauderdale Yacht Club (Ft Lauderdale, FL) would follow the ISAF Sailing World Cup event in Miami. These two events will offer the best winter training opportunities in the Northern Hemisphere, and act as an ideal lead in to the summer European season. And now Alamitos Bay Yacht Club (Long Beach, CA) has retooled the oldest Olympic regatta in North America to better meet the needs of the continental athletes. "The winners of the perpetual trophies read like a who's who of yachting," said Mark Townsend, club member and ISAF International Race Officer. "Names such as Mark Reynolds, Robbie Haines, John Kostecki, John Lovell, Russell Coutts, John Bertrand, Steve Benjamin, Ross MacDonald, Bill Buchan, Jonathan McKee, and John Shaden all appear on the trophies." Alamitos Bay Yacht Club's Olympic Classes Regatta has been held every year since 1961. In 2013, the event will be open to all Olympic classes as well as the Junior Olympic classes, Kiteboards and other invited classes. More importantly, it will be held September 14-15. Traditionally held in the early spring, upwards of 250 boats competed in the late 80's and early 90's when the ABYC's regatta was part of the CanAm series including regattas in Canada (CORK) and Marblehead. But when the emphasis shifted to winter training in South Florida and spring events in Europe, event participation suffered. Working in conjunction with the US Sailing team, ABYC has moved the regatta to late summer to better fit the Olympic calendar, and to coincide with what is arguably the best time of year for sailing conditions in North America. -- http://www.abyc.org/home.cfm HOLIDAY CHEER COCKTAIL GUIDE The Boats.com team, who spend their sleepless nights to see that the boating industry is helping to grow the sport of boating, is gathering holiday drinks recipes from sailing enthusiasts. Here's their spiel: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In some parts of the world, the holidays are chilly. In others, the boating season is full speed ahead. Wherever you're located at this time of year, we want to know what you like to put in your glass at the end of the day, whether the resulting liquid is high-test or virgin state. What is your favorite? Among our editorial team, an informal poll suggests rum, vodka, and beer are preferred ingredients, but by no means the only ones. Checking in with two of the bars in the running for the 2012 Wight Vodka Favourite Yachting Bar, we noted that the Original Painkiller is the specialty drink at The Soggy Dollar on Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. And the Gladstone's "Queen" Mary, reputed to be "As majestic as the ship herself" is at Gladstone's in Long Beach, California. Speaking of your favorite bar, have you voted yet? Details on how to vote for your favorite bar and where to submit your drink recipe here: http://tinyurl.com/Boats-121612 AND THEN THERE WERE TWO (December 16, 2012; Day 37) - The Vendee Globe train has clearly left the station, with the 'Dominant Duo' of Francois Gabart and Armel Le Cleac'h leaving Jean-Pierre Dick on the platform. For most of last week, the delta between Dick and the Duo was 80+/- nm, but Dick admitted on Thursday he was concerned about the weather picture."I fear the high pressure bubble coming behind me as according to the files there is no wind in this ridge," Dick explained. "I'm trying to get away from it as fast as possible. If it catches me, I could lose hundreds of miles, even some days on the leaders, and they won't be easy to catch." Dick is now over 400nm behind. Gabart is now broad reaching in an ESE direction, with Le Cleac'h directly astern. They are midway across the span of Australia, and have descended to a latitude of 52 degrees south. "It is freezing here," shared Gabart. "I even have little snowflakes this morning! It doesn't snow everyday on Macif 60. I must wear some gloves. It is beyond comprehension, yet it is summer here, and we are not so far from Australia where I imagine everyone is on the beach in a swimsuit. Moreover, we found some icebergs ahead; we'd better leave quickly." Tracking: http://tracking2012.vendeeglobe.org/en/ Top 5 of 20 - Rankings as of Sunday, December 16, 2012, 20h00 (FR) 1. Francois Gabart (FRA), Macif: 12830.1 nm Distance to Finish 2. Armel Le Cleac'h (FRA), Banque Populaire: 41.4 nm Distance to Lead 3. Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA), Virbac Paprec 3: 459.1 nm DTL 4. Alex Thomson (GBR), Hugo Boss: 778.3 nm DTL 5. Bernard Stamm (SUI), Cheminees Poujoulat: 823.7 nm DTL Full rankings: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ranking.html BACKGROUND: Twenty skippers began the Vendee Globe, a solo, non-stop around the world race in the IMOCA Open 60 class. Starting in Les Sables d'Olonne, France on November 10, the west to east course passes the three major capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn before returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) set the course record of 84 days in the 2008-9 edition. -- http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ BUY AMERICAN When buying products manufactured in this country you are supporting American workers. When you buy a Doyle sail handcrafted in this country, you are buying a custom sail suited to your needs at a competitive price. And, for years to come, your local Doyle sailmaker will be there to service and ensure your sail continues to perform as intended. Buy local. It's good for America and good for you. Find out why discerning sailors worldwide buy American. 800-94-DOYLE, http://www.doylesails.com SAILING SHORTS * The World Sailing Speed Record Council has published the rule amendments and clarifications for the 2013 rules. New items for 2013 are printed in red. Among the changes include the introduction of the new "doublehanded category" in the Offshore Course directory. Details: http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/rules-2010.html * (December 14, 2012) - The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act, which authorizes $8.6 billion in fiscal 2013 and $8.7 billion in fiscal 2014 for the activities of the Coast Guard, cleared the Senate Wednesday and is headed to President Obama for his signature. The House last week approved a bill that resolved differences between earlier versions of the legislation. The Senate's action on the compromise bill sends it to the president. -- Sounding, read on: http://tinyurl.com/TOT-121612 * Spirit Yachts has begun building a new £15 million J class racing yacht, the first to be built in Britain for 75 years. The new J to be named Cheveyo, will take three years to build to the Ranger 77B design, one of the original series of six designs submitted by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens to Harold Vanderbilt for the 1937 America's Cup defence. The 135-foot long yacht will be only the eleventh J-class yacht to be built, and will be built in wood rather than aluminum. The yacht has been commissioned by a US-based syndicate of investors and sailing enthusiasts. -- Full report: http://abrushwithsail.blogspot.com/2012/12/exciting-new-j-class-yacht.html SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar ALMOST WORTHY OF A NAVIN R. JOHNSON OUTBURST By Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Back when Steve Martin was funny, and the phone book was how you shopped for a plumber, the 1979 classic 'The Jerk' featured the excitement of Martin's character Navin R. Johnson on the arrival of the new phone book. "The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!" At Scuttlebutt World Headquarters, we now get several phone books each year and they automatically get tossed in the recycle bin. But the Racing Rules of Sailing... that's different. "The new rule book's here! The new rule book's here!" Distributed only every four years, the arrival of the Racing Rules of Sailing marks the completion of another attempt by the rules gurus to improve the sport. By my guesstimate, this is the tenth edition of the rule book I've received, but not all of them survived the book's four year term. Pages got torn, stuck together, or worse... completely wet. But for this latest edition, US Sailing has published an optional waterproof edition, and I got one. The pages are harder to tear, and you can read it - and drop it - in the bathtub. This model looks ready for the four year enduro. While the paper book is free to US Sailing members, the waterproof version is available for purchase on the association website, and is almost worthy of a Navin R. Johnson outburst... like this one from the movie: http://youtu.be/kOTDn2A7hcY GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Adrian Morgan, United Kingdom: You people (and this is not to bash Americans or the enviable and in so many ways admirable American way of life and reverence for life) have taught us some terrible things, not least that "someone must always be to blame". The Farallones race tragedy was perhaps just that: a tragedy. It may have resulted from a failure of judgment; more likely it was just one of those things that happen when people race competitively and take risks at sea. Rather than sue, as reported in Scuttlebutt 3939, why not simply mourn and seek to learn lessons rather than line the pockets of Messrs Sue, Grabbit and Runn, those greedy attorneys who hover like vultures over the scene of any accident? No wonder U.S. sailing is in the doldrums; what's happened to your vaunted reputation for taking risks, whatever the consequences? Why would a hefty settlement, or a jail sentence, make the human loss any easier to bear, or make a bean of difference in future cases? * From Peter Rugg: I appreciate your comment on Gary Jobson's Sailing World Article about the inability of mainstream college sailing to properly foster a lifetime addiction to sailing (Scuttlebutt 3739). However, I think you and Gary are both well aware that the Storm Trysail Foundation's Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, the largest intercollegiate regatta on the planet, is sailed in big boats. http://stormtrysailfoundation.org/intercollegiate.htm This is central to the foundation's purpose to teach young sailors to safely command big boats and to develop the skills to be lifelong blue water sailors. Let us not condemn without reference to the solution. * From Herb Motley, Past President, IOD Class: As a nearly 70 year old sailor, I am in awe of the skill set developed by today's collegiate sailors. Never a lightweight, I remember crewing for Mike Horn in what was clearly the fourth boat on a Harvard team sailing at the Coast Guard Academy in their International 12 dinghies, where we were at a significant disadvantage. But I also had the honor of being the skipper for a series of races over the years sailed there in their fleet of Ravens which carried a crew of four where weight was far less sensitive. Even won a couple! From my perspective today as a designated "O.F." in the International One Design Class (IOD) of 33 foot, 7100 lb sloops, I also reflect on the wonderful virtues of sailing as what we used to call a "Carry over" sport, which people can enjoy later in life. We've just had the retirement of a skipper who is 87! Racing in a Metre boat (based on a Six Metre design) is at its best with courses long enough to develop boat speed and this requires delicate tuning of a fractional rig, including adjustable jumper stays on the front of the mast. This is a Stradivarius with a sail purchase plan limited to one new sail per year, so the competition is based on sailor skill not deep pockets. How do we welcome the collegiate sailor into a fleet such as ours? It requires a change of culture where the rules are not tactical weapons, but guidelines to keep boats apart. -- Forum, read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14994#14994 PRO BONO The Scuttlebutt website allows marine companies to post their personnel, product and service updates. For free. As a bonus, each week the Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent updates. Are you in the marine industry? Post your updates in the Industry News section of the Forum. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Team One Newport - Doyle Sails - Harken - North Sails Soft Deck - Melges Performance Sailboats Quantum Sails - Southern Spars - Ullman Sails Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
