|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2121 - June 22, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.A SPONSOR'S VIEWPOINT (Bert Nordberg, Ericsson's Executive Vice-President Sales and Marketing spoke to thedailysail about their interest in the Volvo Ocean Race. Here are a couple of excerpts.) "If you want to do something global, then it becomes very limited what you can do: Football doesn’t work in the US. Cricket doesn’t work up in my countries. Golf works but doesn’t get the attention because when you come in from the 18th hole you don’t get journalists meeting you unless you have Tiger Woods with you. "Then you look at Formula 1 which I happen to think is very noisy. I have been to a few Formula 1 Grand Prix and it seems to be more consumer orientated. We are business to business. So I was looking for something where you could spend quality time with your customers, where you can show your products and not only make it for fun because it requires also that you do some professional work. I don’t think it is fair to invite people just for fun. It needs to also give them something back, some discussion." An interesting lesson in corporate entertainment this - more diligent executives won't be enticed if your event is only 'for fun'. Ericsson have been shipping around the world from port to port a striking square ended, oval-sectioned two storey high hospitality suite - piggy backing around the world, transported in eight containers and taking a week to erect. The building has its own balcony on the upper floor, while the space inside is flexible and has not only been used to host dinners and cocktail parties but has been transformed into a lecture theatre, conference room and a listening room. -- Complete story and photos of the hospitability facilities: http://www.thedailysail.com THE FORMAT CHANGES The stage is set for the final act of the 2006 America's Cup competition season, Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 12, which begins on Thursday. At stake is the 2006 America's Cup Class season championship, along with Louis Vuitton Ranking points for the challengers. The Port America's Cup is ready to receive an influx of hundreds of boats and thousands of spectators each day, while the teams have completed their final preparations and are ready to compete. One of the highlights of the week is sure to come on Friday 23 June. That day marks 'one year to go' to the first race of the 32nd America's Cup Match. In light of that, Act 12 is significant for the Defender, Alinghi; this is their last match racing competition against the challengers before the Match next year. Louis Vuitton Act 12 differs from previous Acts in format - it's almost like a mini Louis Vuitton Cup, with a round robin, semi final and final. The difference is that here the Defender, Alinghi, is competing and no teams are eliminated after the round robin. Instead, at the conclusion of the round robin the 12 teams are ranked and grouped into three divisions of four boats. Each division races its own semi finals, final and petit final to determine placings within the group. Each semi final and final is a 'first to win two' series. At the pre-Act press conference on Wednesday, Desafío Español tactician John Cutler said the team is excited to be using its new boat, ESP 88, but the decision wasn't taken lightly. "We thought long and hard about whether to use ESP 88 for this regatta, but we're trying to improve and we felt that getting the boat out there and learning more about how to race it would be the best thing. We'll see in two weeks whether or not that was the right call," he explained. Now that the Volvo Ocean Race has ended, Torben Grael is available to rejoin the Luna Rossa Challenge. “Adding a talent like Torben’s to the mix is always good and we view it as a plus for the whole team,” commented the syndicate’s current tactician Charlie McKee. “For sure it will take some time for the pieces to fit together but we are already working at it. Will I be on board with him as well? Well, you will soon find out!” The Alinghi syndicated revealed that Peter Holmberg will be their helmsman for Louis Vuitton Act 12 -- the last time the Defender will meet the challengers in a match race until the start of the first race of the America ’s Cup Match in 2007. And the syndicate will be racing SUI75, electing not to showcase the performance of their new boat to the Challengers. Holmberg, from the US Virgin Islands, is one of the three Alinghi drivers - the other two being Alinghi sports director Jochen Schuemann, and Ed Baird who steered in Act 10 & 11. What can fans expect of the America’s Cup Defender in this Act? “You are going to see our standard package. Our squad will go out there in rotation,” says Holmberg, adding: “We are still a year away. We have a different challenge to the other teams. We are the Defender, so all that matters for us is one year from now to be perfectly race ready, so our focus now is on boat development and little by little ticking away at the crew development. So, during this Act, we will rotate the crew, still going for a winning result of course, but trying to give everybody equal time to develop our whole team.” -- http://www.americascup.com AND IT’S ON THE TUBE OLN will broadcast coverage of the Louis Vuitton ACT 12 regatta with t2p.tv’ s Tucker Thompson. Five shows will cover the racing action in Valencia at the following times. Friday, June 30 -- 4:30 5:00 PM Saturday, July 1 -- 11:00 11:30 AM Saturday, July 1 -- 4:30 5:00 PM Sunday, July 2 -- 4:30 5:00 PM Monday July 3 -- 4:30 5:00 PM These dates have been added to the Scuttlebutt show calendar: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar/shows/ VIDEO OF THE WEEK With the sailing season completely on now in North America, this week's video might keep us from taking the good weather for granted, and insure that the memory of last winter is not completely forgotten. Layer up for this four-minute video of big breeze DN sailing from November 2005. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for the video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/#media PROTECT YOUR FEET... Team One Newport has a great footwear selection along with their notorious foul weather gear selection (which is the best in the US!). Look on the website for shoes and boots from Dubarry, Slam, Sperry, Harken, Ronstan, Gill, Henri-Lloyd, Magic Marine, Teva, Reef, and even the new radical shoes from Mion. Boy, we do have a lot! Call 800-VIP-GEAR for a free catalog or visit online. We also have great fashion wear from Patagonia, Railriders, Horny Toad, Salt, Bretton Reds, Hiho, and more... http://www.team1newport.com GIBBS HILL LIGHTHOUSE TROPHIES Hamilton, Bermuda – The long wait is nearly over for many among the 263-boat fleet participating in the Newport Bermuda Centennial race. With over 200 yachts reaching the finish over the last 24 hours, the provisional winners are eyeing up the coveted Gibbs Hill and St. David’s Lighthouse Trophies. The man with most anticipation is Dr. Richard Shulman from Barrington, Rhode Island, whose lifelong dream of winning the Lighthouse trophy finally looks set to become reality. His IMX 45 Temptress, not only heads her class but the entire professional ORR section of the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division racing for the ORR Gibbs Hill Lighthouse trophy including Hap Fauth’s line honors victor Bella Menta. In the IRC rating rule section of the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division, Timothy McAdams’ 44-foot Four Stars has also earned the coveted trophy. -- - Laurie Fullerton, http://www.bermudarace.com Curmudgeon’s Comment: Although the race’s press release did not say anything about what happened in the St. David's Lighthouse Division, it sure looks to us like Peter S. Rebovich’s venerable Cal 40 Sinn Fein has won that sought after award with the best corrected time in the entire 263-boat fleet. FREQUENT FLYERS The America's Cup and Louis Vuitton Cup trophies returned to Europe on Tuesday afternoon after spending a week in New York. The visit to the United States was a homecoming for the America's Cup trophy which spent 132-years (from 1851 to 1983) in the New York Yacht Club trophy room. The Louis Vuitton Cup has a shorter history in the 'big apple' - it was won by Australia II at the first opportunity in Newport in 1983 and has since been competed for in Fremantle, San Diego, Auckland and now Valencia. In New York the two trophies made the regular sight-seeing stops of any tourist, posing for photographs in front of the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall, the Brooklyn Bridge and taking a horse and buggy ride in Central Park. The highlight was a public visit to the Rockefeller Center on Sunday and Monday to support an America's Cup Exhibition featuring the American challenger, BMW ORACLE Racing and supported by the current Cup organizers. Beginning on Thursday, the first day of racing in Louis Vuitton Act 12, the trophies will take up position in the Port America's Cup at the Veles e Vents building, on display to the public who visit the America's Cup Park. -- http://www.americascup.com CLASS BY HERSELF In the genre of yachting coffee-table books, bigger is often deemed better, glossier becomes classier, more colorful begets more importance. But, occasionally a gem appears with more paragraphs than pictures, the best of those being black and white from a half century past. In a Class by Herself: The Yawl Bolero and the Passion for Craftsmanship is John Rousmaniere’s tenth sailing book, underlining his passion for our sport. More than a history of one of the wooden era’s best known racers or a recount of the reconstruction of the rotting hulk she became, this is a story of people, her owners, designers, builders, sailmakers, skippers and, finally, restorers. Bolero’s journey introduces us to the John Nicholas Brown family, who conceived their latest boat to be a family cruiser, albeit a fast one, designers Olin and Rod Stephens, boat builder Henry Nevins, mold loft manager Nils Halvorsen, sailmaker Ernest Ratsey, and her “amateur” racing skipper Cornelius “Corny” Shields. And, for those of us who remember the other “B” boat, Henry Taylor’s Baruna, her near-sistership, is in there, too. It’s also a tale of racing, Bermuda, Newport-Annapolis, SORC, and the unforgettable Bolero-Baruna duels on San Francisco Bay. In the end, it’s a story of restoring beauty and regaining racing prowess, thanks to the unbelievable commitment of her new owners, Ed Kane and Marty Wallace. Leaf through the historical photos or settle in for a fascinating read, either way Rousmaniere’s tribute to Bolero published by Mystic Seaport is a most enjoyable armchair experience. ANTIPODAL WAYPOINT After seven months and 23 days at sea, Adrian Flanagan has reached his ‘antipodal point’ as he sails the 38-foot Barrabas towards the Bering Strait on his ‘North-South’ solo circumnavigation record attempt. “This position is diametrically opposed to my position on 3rd January 2006 while off the coast of Brazil at 24.11 south 36.38 west,” Flanigan explained. “If one imagines a stick passed through the very centre of the earth, the points where the stick enters the surface and where it exits are antipodal to one another. Pairs of antipodal points lie on a 'great circle'. All meridians of longitude, which meet at the poles are great circles as is the equator. All other circles of latitude north and south of the equator are 'small circles', shrinking towards the poles. “At least one pair of antipodal points are required on a circumnavigation to define a great circle route. There were many other coordinates I could have selected but which would have meant navigating through the myriad of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. When it became apparent that I would have to go towards Honolulu to pick up spares and then discovering the damage to the mast that required me to put into Honolulu, the antipodal point at 24.11 north 143.22 east became self-selecting. A major planning consideration was that from Honolulu towards the AP was a 3,200 mile downwind run in the NE trade winds. I have now altered course to 030 degrees, towards the Bering Strait. I have marked a waypoint at 60.00 north 175.00 west as a target and which lies 2,750 NNE of the antipodal position." -- http://www.alphaglobalex.com/ WANTED: TWO SAIL MAKERS FOR ULLMAN SAILS Ullman Sails, Inc. is looking for responsible go-getters to fill two vacant sail making positions within the Ullman Sails Newport Beach loft. Persons needed are: one experienced Spinnaker Production and Nylon Repair department individual with 2 to 5 years experience, and one reliable Handworker/ Sail Finisher with sailing knowledge a plus, but not necessary and willing to train the right candidate. For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Corrin Pilkington at (714) 432-1860 or email mailto:cpilkington@ullmansails.com SAILING SHORTS * Confirming yesterday’s news leak, Volvo Ocean Race officials acknowledged that the port of Alicante, Spain will host the start of the 2008-09 race. The right to host the start includes a Spanish entry in the race and mirrors the proven model of the 2005-06 race where the start port of Vigo, Spain was coupled with the movistar entry in the event. As outlined at the announcement in Gothenburg last week, the route for the 2008-09 race is likely to include port stopovers in Asia, the Middle East and the west coast of the United States. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.com * PHRF Committees take notice -- A press release from Future Fibres Rigging Systems S.L.U. quoted a 500K (1100+ pounds aloft) weight saving when they converted the 100-foot Alexia from conventional rod rigging to PBO standing rigging. Additionally, they claimed that PBO has a stretch equivalent of Nitronic 50 rod, but 75 percent lighter … which quite obviously impacts speed, balance, stability, and motion at sea. Is this where the sport is going? * ITA-85 has reached the +39 Challenge base. Wednesday morning, the new boat of the sicilian-gardesano America's Cup challenger arrived by truck from Tarragona, where a ship had previously taken her from Livorno. The boat had left from Alfonsine (Ravenna), after being given the final touches at Fabio Soleri’s shipyard with the workers of Dannaval and Sicilcraft shipyards in Palermo, under the supervision of principal designer Giovanni Ceccarelli. -- http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ * This week's video report from Cowes Online features the Colonial Cup, a four-boat team racing event between the Daring Association and an Australian team from the Royal Perth and Royal Freshwater Bay yacht clubs, the RORC Morgan Cup, Etchells Nationals, and the latest weekend racing for the Cowes Keelboat Solent Series. Also featured is the J-Class yacht Velsheda sailing in the Solent on Saturday. See the latest weekly video at: http://www.cowes.co.uk/cb/zone?p=story2;story_id=1747;cp= * Since March, Scuttlebutt has been posting reports from the top US Mens and Womens 470 teams during a European training schedule that took them to regattas in Spain, France, Austria, and Hungary. Three months later, they are back in the US to recharge, fundraise, and prepare for the August events in China: the Olympic Test Event (Quingdao) followed by the 470 World Championships (Rhizhao). Their reports can be read at: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/us470reports/ * The first Farr-designed ORC GP42 has been launched -- Filippo Faruffini’s ‘Roma.’ The ORC GP42 Level-Class Rule produces a boat with light displacement, simple fractional rig with non-overlapping jibs, no running backstays and generous sail area. The result is a boat with great performances at a relatively affordable price. “Particularly impressive is the performance in light winds, in 9-11 knots of true wind speed sailing upwind at over 7 knots and downwind at 9 knots,” said Paolo Semeraro of Bank Sails Italy. Certainly this class will compliment the active TP52 racing taking place in the Med. Take peak: http://www.romagp42.it/ * The USA’s 150 top youth sailors will arrive at Grosse Pointe Yacht Club in Grosse Pointe, Mich., this week to compete in the nation's premier youth sailing regatta, the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship. The regatta kicks off on Friday, June 23 with a three-day advanced racing clinic taught by some of the country's best coaches. Racing for the National Championship title will be take place from Monday, June 26 through Wednesday, June 28 in four different classes of boats: the singlehanded Laser and Laser Radial as well as the doublehanded Club 420 and 29er. – http://www.ussailing.org/youthchamp EIGHT BELLS The Daily Sail subscription website reported that British yachtsman Kit Hobday last night lost his battle with cancer. Hobday, co-owner of the Farr 52 Bear of Britain, was a keen campaigner on the UK sailing circuit for many years. Two years ago he was diagnosed as having terminal cancer of the prostate. For many years Hobday has encouraged new sailing talent through the crew of Bear of Britain, most notably the Campbell-James brothers. Most recently he teamed up with fellow Farr 52 owner Peter Harrison to launch the Yacht Racing Academy in Cowes. -- http://www.thedailysail.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From John Rumsey: It won't be the Volvo Around the World Race any more. It will become a commercial circus. A race through the Indian ocean? The China sea? Perhaps a stop and a trip through the Panama Canal. All for sponsorship money not for the sailors. Someone will start another real crewed race around which takes the shortest course through the Southern Ocean. * From John Harwood-Bee: Keep multihulls out of the AC. Let the purists have the circus and let fans of multihulls find our own playgrounds on which to perform. AC is akin to F1 racing. Frequently boring, often led by the same vehicle (vessel) and incredibly expensive. Multihulls are more like Le Mans sports cars. Faster, more exciting and built for endurance. Each has its own supporters (and detractors) although I have found the prejudice in yachting mostly one way. Monohull aficionados would die rather than sail a Cat and some display an air of acquired superiority. Mutihull sailors enjoy and appreciate both but get the best kicks from the pure energy of two or more hulls. I feel sorry for those who refuse to try it. As a young boy I started sailing in Hornets. A lucky invitation to sail a Shearwater Cat converted me. Then it was a Tornado as well as a series of cruising cats. As a dedicated multihull fan I am delighted to see that despite a few hiccups in the past couple of years, the hulls are flying again. The success of the Volvo Extremes, the new breed of 'G' class boats and the events professionally planned for the next five years will I am sure, gain a new enthusiastic audience as well as serious sponsorship. Rather than attempt to muscle in on the AC we must seize the opportunity to create our own more exciting competitions. * From Cliff Bradford: I'm not sure how "Gipsy Moth IV, [is] the vessel used in the first true solo circumnavigation of the globe". As far as I know Joshua Slocum never had anyone aboard unless you count the goat that sailed with him for a short period and the ship's captain he hallucinated. Please correct me if I'm wrong. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION God must love stupid people; He made so many. Special thanks to Team One Newport and Ullman Sails. |
