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SCUTTLEBUTT 2270 – January 30, 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). BAD HABITS Paige Railey is suffering from a bout of bad habits. During her Scuttlebutt podcast last June, we discussed her propensity for gaining OCS scores. She has won a lot of events carrying an OCS as her drop, and lost a few because of it. Now, however, her bad habits have heightened, as she is collecting kinetic penalties like a toddler collects Easter eggs. Back in August, she was disqualified from the Laser Radial Women’s Worlds because of kinetics, and now again last week at the Miami Olympic Classes Regatta. To back up slightly, you do not get disqualified from an event due to kinetics without some effort. The system gives you three chances. The first offense during an event earns you (720) penalty turns, and the second offense earns you a DSQ from the race. It is not until the third offense that you get shown the door. Complete disqualification from the event. Strike three… goodbye. To be fair, Paige wasn’t the only boat racing last week breaking the kinetic rules. In all, there were 77 penalties handed amongst seven Olympic classes. Of those 77 penalties, eleven were in the Laser Radial class, with three earned by Paige - all of them for excessive rocking. US Sailing Olympic High Performance Director Gary Bodie compares the three strike system to that of basketball, wherein a player who collects six fouls in the NBA is pulled from the game. Basketball players carrying fouls are forced to play more cautiously or risk fouling out. With this comparison, Paige failed to adjust her game, having earned her third foul in just race six of the thirteen race series. If she were playing basketball, she would have fouled out before half time. There were purportedly many observers and competitors who felt that Paige was crossing the line. But where is the line between acceptable and excessive amounts of artificial propulsion? Other competitors have sought out the counseling of umpires, and through one-on-one sessions, have learned where the line is with Rule 42. During his post-event debrief with Railey and her personal coach, Bodie believes that they will seek out similar help. As the incumbent ISAF Female World Sailor of the Year, and the US Sailing Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, the spotlight for her has never been brighter. However, her continued success as both a role model to young sailors, and as an Olympic contender, rests largely on how she deals with her bad habits, while not losing the aggressive style of sailing that has made her a top contender in the Laser Radial class. -- Craig Leweck, Scuttleblog, http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/01/bad-habits.html DISAPPOINTING BRITISH OLYMPIC TEAM? Has it come to this? One news site headlined the results of the British Olympic squad at the Miami regatta - 'Disappointing result for Skandia Team GBR'. It seems that nine medals across 14 Olympic and Paralympic classes is now considered something of a disaster for the British team members. This result put Team GBR top country by some way in Miami - the host nation, USA, winning six medals and the next, Australia, four. Of course the British Olympic sailing effort over the last years has raised the bar to giddy heights, thus the wailing and gnashing when any performance fails to deliver the expected result. Also the RYA Team GBR now runs our Olympic sailing effort on a 'cradle to the grave' style that would put the former USSR gymnastic teams to shame. A vast amount of time and money has gone into spotting talent and nurturing the future Olympic competitors, from the age of eleven, through the various National Junior Squads and then into the recognised Youth classes training programs, preparing them for Olympic selection. This regime has taken sailing to be Britain's top-performing Olympic sport. -- Sail World, full story: http://www.sail-world.com/UK/index.cfm?Nid=30767&seid= QUOTE / UNQUOTE “With such a well-stocked cellar, it could be a problem deciding which bottle to open next, but I have resolved that scientifically. I grab the first to come to hand!” -- Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, on Leg 2 tactics during the Velux 5 Oceans from Fremantle, Western Australia to Norfolk, USA. -- http://www.teamsagainsurance.co.uk MELGES MOMENTUM The Melges 32 made a major step up at this year’s Key West Race Week as the fleet moved to 20 boats on the starting line, declaring a mass following for this new sportboat. The Melges 32 Winter Series continues with the St. Petersburg NOOD Regatta and then on to Miami Race Week. The Annapolis NOOD will be the Melges 32's East Coast Championship, with the National Championship in Newport this July. New boats are available and ready to go - join the Melges 32 Momentum. http://melges32.com DEFENDER NOT SITTING STILL Peter Gilmour, Australian match racing veteran, will be sailing with Alinghi periodically over the next few months to sharpen Alinghi’s match racing edge in the lead up to the America’s Cup Match that starts on 23 June in Valencia, Spain. Comments team skipper Brad Butterworth, “We look forward to having Peter Gilmour on board as a consultant to provide us with a fresh, objective analysis of our performance,” he says, adding: “when you race in-house as regularly as we do, it is vital to measure yourself against outside competitors and as there is just a fleet race left before the Match, we won’t have this opportunity. Therefore we are seeking an objective point of view and bringing in an outsider of Peter’s calibre will hopefully bring some new ideas and a critical analysis of our match race skills.” Tthe Alinghi team has scheduled two rounds of trials in Dubai to help determine who will be sailing for the final Act in April. Round 1 of the UBS Dubai Defender Trials starts on January 31 through February 3. Round 2 is scheduled for February 16-19, followed immediately with the announcement of the helmsman and afterguard for Louis Vuitton Act 13. – http://www.alinghi.com 505 WORLDS (Jan 29) A two-race day in non-Australian conditions is the best way to describe the Day 3 action at the 2007 SAP International 505 World Championship. Adelaide is one of the few places in the World to experience days without tidal movement, or a ‘dodge tide’ as it is called, and Day 3 racing was one of those days. Generally, a flooding tide helps the sea breeze build, by bringing cold water up the Gulf, but with no tidal movement, the sea breeze hardly got moving. With light wind, flat water conditions more suited to a European or US lake than the Australian Southern Ocean, it was those more accustomed to these conditions who shone. -- http://www.505worlds2007.com Results after five races 1. Jan Saugmann/ Morten Ramsbaek (DEN) - 17 pts 2. Mike Martin/ Jeff Nelson (USA) - 18 3. Sandy Higgins/ Paul Marsh (AUS/SA) - 22 4. Nick Adamson/ Steve Bourdow (USA) - 24 pts 5. Ian Pinnell/ Steve Hunt (GBR) - 32 6. Howie Hamlin/ Fritz Lanzinger (USA) - 33 7. Mike Holt/ Carl Smit (USA) - 35 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/2g7jco VROLIJK TO DESIGN MEAN MACHINE Mean Machine has announced that Rolf Vrolijk is to design the team’s Volvo Open 70 for the next Volvo Ocean Race. With Ericsson having already snapped up Juan Kouyoumdjian in an exclusive deal, and with Farr Yacht Design bound to make a strong return for 2008/09, the next race is shaping up to be the most competitive offshore design contest witnessed for some time. Add to that the uncertainties of a new course that takes the race fleet to uncharted waters in the Far East (in V.O.R. terms at least) and the design challenge will be fascinating. The fact that Vrolijk has been named as the man to bring the Mean Machine VO 70 to life is no coincidence. One can look back as far as 20 years to see that a considerable number of the team’s successes have had the Vrolijk touch. These two decades of teamwork have borne a healthy list of successes, which are all down to the special chemistry that comes from putting talent such as Mean Machine, Vrolijk and Peter de Ridder together. It’s a unique and special formula that few can enjoy. -- Sailing Talk, full report: http://tinyurl.com/2c89e3 HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE RULES? If you would like to feel more confident about racing near other boats, you should get Learn The Racing Rules! This new two-part DVD, written and narrated by David Dellenbaugh, uses live sailing action and computerized animation to explain all the important right-of-way rules in the 2005-2008 rulebook. Part 1 covers the essential rules that apply whenever boats meet. Part 2 explains the often-confusing rules about marks and obstructions. Each is an hour long and includes the text of all rules discussed. Produced by SEA-TV, it makes a great gift! To learn more or to place an order: http://www.SpeedandSmarts.com STARTING OVER For more than ten years, Helmut Jahn successfully campaigned a series of yachts named Flash Gordon, winning multiple major titles including the IMS World Championships, the Commodore’s Cup, and the Admiral’s Cup. These were custom built one-off designs raced during the heyday of big-boat handicap racing. Throughout these years Flash Gordon, arguably, had one of the most competitive sailing programs in the World. Helmut ran a sailing organization that was committed to winning, and which mirrored the success he had achieved in his professional life. The “no stone, left unturned” policy applied. Second place was simply not an option. Usually, these projects had largely professional crews, and employed top sailors like Ken Read and Terry Hutchinson as helmsman. As IMS began to collapse, Helmut sold his last IMS boat. Taking a step back, he realized that he still loved racing sailboats, but decided that he wanted to take a different approach. First, he would race one-design where there was no hiding behind a better design or better rating. Second, he would learn how to drive the boat himself. The result was a Farr 40 and a quick move from the top of the ladder, back down to the bottom! -- Dave Gerber, D1D, full story: http://tinyurl.com/23dgkq INTERCLUB DINGHY MIDWINTERS (Annapolis, MD) The New York team of Paul-Jon and Anne Patin, Pedro Lorson, and Mimi Berry won the 2007 InterClub Dinghy Midwinters, held last weekend in light conditions, only allowing 12 total races (6 for each division). A bit of snow on Sunday added to the frostbite allure. The IC Midwinters, a collegiate-style regatta, is one of 5 regattas that comprise a new frostbite championship series instituted by long-time IC sailor, Steve Benjamin. The new series competition, known as "The Warf Rat Challenge" will be awarded for the first time this year to the helmsman scoring best at three of the five events, including the national championship. The Patins, now winners of two events (they also won the 76th Annual New Year's Regatta), are the front-runners going into the IC Nationals being held this year at Manhasset Bay Yacht Club on April 14-15, 2007. -- http://www.interclub.org Final Results 1 - Paul-Jon Patin, Anne Patin, Pedro Lorson, Mimi Berry 2 - Garth Reynolds, Meredith Gingley, Mathew Cohen, Ginny Holt 3 - Pete Levesque, Caroline Hall, Jesse Falsone, Thomas Falsone SAILING SHORTS * The entry deadline for nations to apply to priority places at the 2007 ISAF Sailing World Championships passes this Wednesday 31 January. Over 60 nations have already applied for entry for the ISAF Worlds in Cascais, Portugal, which will be the pinnacle event for the Olympic Classes in 2007 with 75% of all the national places for the 2008 Olympic Games to be decided. -- http://tinyurl.com/yrbe3o * The Coast Guard is searching for a San Francisco man who never completed a roundtrip sailing trip from San Francisco to the Farallon Islands. A Coast Guard spokesperson says 63-year old Jim Gray left alone on his 40-foot sailboat "Tenacious" sometime yesterday morning and was expected back Sunday evening. His wife called the Coast Guard around 8:30 last night when he did not return or answer her calls. -- http://www.nbc11.com/news/10870582/detail.html * Thanks to action taken by the US Congress in December, tax filers who made a large purchase in 2006, such as a boat, may deduct state and local sales taxes paid if the tax rate applied to the boat was the same as the state's general sales tax. "Some taxpayers may be confused because the usual extension of these provisions were not approved by Congress until after the IRS had already printed its forms in November for the 2006 tax year," said Elaine Dickinson, assistant vice president of BoatU.S. Government Affairs. -- Full report: http://www.boatus.com/news/releases/2007/january/tax.asp * SLAM, the Italian sailing & sportswear provider, has teamed up with the Macquarie Speed Sailing Team, currently undertaking preparations to shatter the 50 knot speed barrier with “Macquarie Design”, at Sandy Point, Victoria, Australia -- Attempts at breaking records in 2006 resulted in their fastest 500m run of 45.16 kts (world record - 48.70 kts), where they experienced a maximum speed of 48.42 kts. For 2007, their hope is to make another attempt at the record before Easter, again at Sandy Point, however, consideration will be given to changing the base should the hoped for wind conditions not materialize. * BoatU.S. Towing Services, the nation's largest on-the-water assistance program with 670,000 members, reports that it had over 60,000 requests for assistance in 2006, an increase of 2.5% over the previous year. Those requests, which include tows back to port, fuel drop offs, ungroundings and other services, were handled by the organization's 500 TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist tow boats across the country. -- Full report: http://www.boatus.com/news/releases/2007/january/towing.asp * Correction: The Star results for the Miami OCR mistakenly listed Afonso Domingos/ Bernardo Santos (POR) in third. They were in fact fourth, with Canadians Ross MacDonald/ Mike Wolfs finishing third. DON'T MISS GREAT RACING AND TRUE SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY Charleston Race Week, scheduled for April 12-15, 2007, is PHRF, one-design and IRC friendly. Free storage for trailered boats before event, free dock space for first 50 boats registered, fabulous parties, and great racing in the harbor and offshore. Bring friends to enjoy Gosling's Dark & Stormies! Register at http://www.charlestonraceweek.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 * Jim Mona Anderson: (regarding Paige Railey getting DSQ’d from the OCR) I wonder what Rolex thinks of Paige now… * From William Peters: Maybe Paige Railey could pawn her ISAF Sailor of the Year Rolex watch to pay for the on-the-water umpiring needed to control her. The only good news is that she is getting tossed for a white-collar crime, rather than the previous Rule 69 offenders that the class has been spawning. * From J. Joseph Bainton: (reply to One Design Survey in Issue 2269) I was speaking with an American Olympic Gold Medalist Sunday afternoon, who was critical of the allocation of US Sailing's Budget as between, for example, maintaining the US Sailing complex in Portsmouth and funding Olympic sailors. He would spend most of the money on the sailors. Then this morning, I read about US Sailing's One Design Survey reporting a 100+ demise in membership in the International Etchells Class. While it is likely true that some Etchells folks may have forgotten to pay Class dues last year (I was almost one of them), it is for me far more relevant in evaluating the health of the Etchells Class that almost 70 Etchells participated in a weekend regatta last weekend. None of the participants were funded and no boat bore any advertising. So, I again wonder if the governance of our sport has not come to resemble the government of the former Soviet Union, whose bureaucrats produced countless reports of arguable, if any, value at the expense of those Soviet citizens who actually contributed to the USSR's GDP. * From Steve Morrell, Editor, Southwinds Magazine: Doran Cushing's letter (in Issue 2269) on the sailboat going through 70-knot winds without a problem is particularly important here in the south where recent hurricanes have been disastrous. I particularly agree about how many boatowners do nothing to prepare their boats for high winds and others end up paying for it through higher insurance rates. 70-knot winds aren't much when talking about hurricanes, as they are only a category 1 storm. When we start getting up to the Category 2, 3, 4 and 5s, we are all hoping they remove those furled sails - even in tropical storm winds. I believe that people who intentionally leave roller furled sails up when a tropical storm is coming should be keel-hauled - without a trial, either. Down here in Florida, insurance rates have skyrocketed for boats because of recent hurricanes. I know some people who can't even get any insurance for an older boat these days. We need new rules on insurance that make people pay up if they take no precautions for a storm. * From Dave Jacobs: Awesome numbers of Americans attending the 29er Worlds last week, and the 505 Worlds this week. While top sailors from other countries might be vested in the Olympic classes, maybe the US is spreading itself out elsewhere. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION In just two days, tomorrow will be yesterday. Special thanks to Melges Performance Sailboats, Speed & Smarts, and Charleston Race Week. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
