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SCUTTLEBUTT 3378 - Thursday, July 7, 2011Scuttlebutt 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: Ullman Sails and Point Loma Outfitting. OLYMPIC SAILING: HOME AWAY FROM HOME By Carol Cronin, Boats.com Recently I went to New Bedford Community Boating to celebrate Olympic Day. Besides meeting several aspiring junior sailors and catching up with USSTAG member/2008 Olympian Amanda Clark and 2008 Paralympic Gold medalist Maureen McKinnon-Tucker, I also got to relive the highlights of my own Olympics, way back in 2004. Which offered a great reminder of how much the shoreside support has improved for today's USSailing Team Alphagraphics. Athens 2004 was just plain HOT - 96 degrees at 6 am (we learned to call that "cool"). At the sailing venue, the only place 16 US Olympic Team members had to call our own was a storage container - with no air-conditioning. (Hanging out in the air-conditioned shop container next door would bring down the wrath of boatwright Carl Eichenlaub.) Qingdao 2008 was not as hot, but humidity more than made up for the lower temperatures. USSailing wisely provided an air-conditioned space at the sailing venue, with chairs and a small space for coach and weather briefings. A huge step up from 2004 - but still a container. For Weymouth 2012, the challenge will be staying warm and dry. Thanks to the USSTAG compound, that will be relatively easy. USSailing has renovated a building just outside the Olympic sailing venue that offers athletes, staff, and coaches a home away from home: meeting areas, a couch and several chairs to just kick back and relax, even a clothes drying room. There is also space for boat, sail, and mast storage - wow, what an improvement! And since it's a permanent structure, USSTAG athletes have been able to use this compound as a storage and training base for the past several months, saving on equipment shipping and/or storage in the off-season. -- Read on: http://www.boats.com/blog/2011/07/olympic-sailing-home-away-from-home/ CORPORATE SAILING LEAGUE GETS UNDERWAY IN NEW YORK In the shadow of the Financial District of downtown Manhattan, the new Corporate Sailing League got underway in New York Harbor last Thursday evening (June 30th) with Gerson Lehrman finishing first after 3 races. Cravath Swaine & Moore was in second and Merrill Lynch was in third. Corporate teams in the sailing league compete every Thursday for the next six weeks. The teams are made up of experienced and novice sailors, and will be sailing on the J/24 class sailboats owned by Manhattan Sailing Club. The club is located at Dennis Conner's North Cove in front of the World Financial Center in Battery Park City, Lower Manhattan. The course is set around the club's floating clubhouse anchored north of Ellis Island at the mouth of the Hudson River. With an announcer providing a play-by-play narrative, the club reached its capacity of 149 people who came to cheer on their favorite team. There will also be two special one day industry regattas later this summer. These are the 8th Annual Hedge Fund Regatta on Monday, August 22 and the First Law Regatta on Monday, August 15. Both of these regattas raise money for charity. Full report/photos: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12170 DON'T GET STUCK MOTORING WHEN YOU'D RATHER SAIL As the summer heats up, it's time to escape on the boat with your family. But are your sails ready? There's nothing worse than hoisting sails that need repairs! At Ullman Sails, we provide sail evaluations, maintenance and repairs on all types of sails. We can also work with you on sail handling systems and inventory upgrades that will make cruising safer for your family and more enjoyable for you. Don't get caught out motoring when you'd rather have the sails flying! Contact a local Ullman Sails loft to discuss your cruising inventory and options. Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com BEGINNING TO SMELL THE BREEZE (July 6, 2011) - For the leaders of the 2,225 nm Transpac Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu, they are beginning to smell the ocean breeze they crave as they clear the inner coastal waters for the open Pacific Ocean. The 1D35 owned by Alex Farrell, Alpha Puppy, continues as the handicap leader of Racing Division 6 today, which is always energizing for the crew even though they know very well it is too early in the game for the standings to matter. The fickle winds of the first night (after the start on July 2) have given way to steadier breezes, especially for the fleet leaders who favored the north side of the track and focused from the get-go on making distance west. Along with Alpha Puppy that would be Harry Zanville's SC37, Celerity, the boat farthest-north, and Charles Browning's J/130, BeBe. Historically, distance south of the rhumb line (approx. 250 degrees from Los Angeles to Honolulu) is desirable, but the two boats in the Aloha Division that made an early effort to "take a bite" out of the south side of the track have fared badly. The daily leaders to the north are going to have to come back south at some stage, and that's why they call this a navigator's race. Today's best reported 24-hour run was the 105 miles made by Crash, Jeff Braugh's Aerodyne 43. That's hardly fast for this race, but the numbers should improve beginning Wednesday afternoon as the fleet advances into the synoptic breeze blowing from the northwest, down the California coastline. Race website: http://www.transpacrace.com Tracking/Standings: http://live.adventuretracking.com/transpac2011 COMMENT: The second and final start will be on Friday for the remaining 34 boats. Among them will be Southern Californian Doug Baker's Alan Andrews designed Magnitude 80. Baker won his division of the Transpac in 2007, and finished second in 2009, 2005 and 1999. In 2005, he sailed one of five boats that all broke the previous elapsed record for fastest finish, and in 2009 his elapsed time made Magnitude 80 the fastest American boat ever. Full story: http://www.presstelegram.com/moresports/ci_18415859 TRANSATLANTIC RACE 2011 (July 6, 2011) - In the last 24 hours, the arrival of big breeze and sea state for the fleet in the Transatlantic Race 2011 has seen boat speeds whipped into near record-breaking pace. Rambler 100 has just recorded a 12-hour run of 288.8 nautical miles, and, with the breeze building, a new world record is a definite possibility. By comparison, the standing 24-hour monohull world record was set by the Volvo 70, Ericsson 4, at 596.6 nautical miles in October of 2008. Twenty-four boats are entered in the 2,975 nautical mile race from Newport (RI) to The Lizard off the southeast coast of England. "Some awesome sailing out here," said Peter Isler (San Diego, Calif.), navigator for Rambler 100. "Down below its like riding in a subway car, hurtling along at full speed. Up on deck it's like being on ... well, one of the world's fastest monohulls in big breeze just sending it. No more smooth seas, no more cruise-y ride, it's all on now and the boys (and girl) on Rambler 100 are loving it. It is very wet everywhere... especially on deck where visibility is only a few dozen yards in fog." In IRC Class Four, Carina, skippered by Rives Potts, Jr. (Essex, Conn.) is no longer the closest boat to the finish. Zaraffa has overtaken Carina and many more are sure to follow. Carina, however, is very much the favorite to win the class. The crew on Carina has now been at sea for over 10 days and apart from wildlife nothing else will have existed outside the 48' boat, save miles and miles of ocean. Onboard is Dirk Johnson, Jr., who, at 16 years of age, is the youngest sailor in the race. Also onboard is his father, Dirk Johnson, Sr., an experienced offshore sailor who will no doubt be teaching his son about life on the ocean. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/Transat-070611 WORLD TOUR TRAVELS TO THE SWEDISH ARCHIPELAGO Attracting an estimated 150,000 spectators annually, Match Cup Sweden is one of the largest sporting events in Sweden. The rush of spectators and sailing fans turns the picturesque island of Marstrand, a summer vacation paradise for Swedes, into a bustling community rife with different nationalities and accents. * Marstrand, Sweden (July 6, 2011) - In feather light winds, the French sailor Claire Leroy succeeded to grasp the victory in the Ladies' Final at Stena Match Cup Sweden ahead of American sailor Anna Tunnicliffe. Third on the podium was Ekaterina Skudina from Russia, beating Lucy MacGregor of Great Britain in the Petit Final 2-1. The wind died in Marstrand and the ladies' Finals dragged out in time so that only three flights could be sailed, with the third race finishing just before eight in the evening. After splitting the first two races, Tunnicliffe looked to have the upper hand in the finale when Leroy picked up penalties in both of the upwind legs. However, Leroy's superior offwind speed in the extreme light air allowed the French team to pass Tunnicliffe for the victory. -- Full story: http://www.wmrt.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11934 * Marstrand, Sweden (July 6, 2011) - Swedish skipper Johnie Berntsson kicked off scoring at the Stena Match Cup Sweden - the fifth stage of the eight event World Match Racing Tour - with two wins on his home turf. Tour Card Holder Berntsson (SWE) finished day one of the Stena Match Cup Sweden at the head of the leaderboard alongside Portuguese wildcard Alvaro Marinho (POR) after a short first Qualifying Session. The top four in the Tour Standings - Francesco Bruni (ITA), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Ian Williams (GBR), and Damien Iehl (FRA) - will hit the water on Thursday for their opening matches. -- Full story: http://www.wmrt.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11932 COMMENT: Curious about the result of the Women's Finals, I went to the Tour website and found the racing still to be in play... and being broadcast live online. There are not many live regatta broadcasts that I suffer through, as most are painfully unprofessional and fall far short of presenting the story. But this broadcast was really good (except for the occasional cut away to cover three races). Here is the link for live coverage: http://www.wmrt.com/live.html -- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt TAKE A BREAK! WATCH THIS COOL NEW VIDEO FROM SLAM We just got back from Italy checking out the great new stuff that SLAM will be offering next year! While we were there they showed a very entertaining video about their products, and some of the teams they sponsor. SLAM takes their product development very seriously, and has teamed up with some very good folks for input. When you see the results you will be quite impressed. It's a holiday week, so instead of some sales pitch, kick back and enjoy! http://www.slam-shops.com/scuttle.php LIVING UP TO ITS REPUTATION Weymouth, UK (July 6, 2011) - The race for the medals at the IFDS Disabled Sailing Combined World Championships 2011 is starting to hot up with two days and three races to go. Crews braved winds of more than 20 knots in Portland Harbour today as Weymouth and Portland's finally lived up to its reputation as a breezy venue after three days of light and fluky airs. The stronger winds, which are forecast to remain now for the rest of the week, have shuffled the scores for some of the 155 sailors competing in the three Paralympic classes. For the North American contingent, the conditions created problems in the 2.4mR and Sonar divisions with the Skud teams adapting well. After the strong performance by John Ruf (USA) in the 2.4mR on Tuesday moved him up to second overall, the American tumbled hard with a 14-DNS to now sit in seventh, just behind teammate Mark LeBlanc in sixth. Sonar team Rick Doerr/ Brad Kendell/ Hugh Freund, who entered the day just five points off the lead in fourth, have slid to seventh and are now 14 points from gold. In the Skud, Jennifer French/ Jean-Paul Creignou and Scott Whitman/ Julia Dorsett remain in third and fourth respectively. -- Full report: http://www.ifdsworlds2011.com/eventsites/content.asp?id=5405&eventid=69387 SAILING SHORTS * Copenhagen, Denmark (July 6, 2011) - Sixty-eight teams have descended upon the quaint little seaside village called Dragor, a beautiful town just north of Copenhagen along the seaside of the Baltic Sea, for the 2011 J/80 World Championship. After two days of racing, Glenn Darden's American team on LE TIGRE is hanging on to a tenuous lead of one point after scoring a 2-5-5-18-4. -- Daily reports: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12182 * Cabrillo Beach, CA (July 4, 2011) - A fleet of 187 sailors from 21 countries competed at the Optimist North American Championship, hosted by Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. After four days and ten fleet races, Alberto Lados (URU) edged out Peter Janezic (SLO) by one point for the title. American Russell Clarida finished third, just four points off the lead. Results: http://www.optiworld.org/11namres.pdf * On July 9, 2011, the Pewaukee Yacht Club (Pewaukee , WI) will be holding an event in conjunction with the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight to honor their members' contributions to the United States Armed Forces. The event is to honor veterans and bring awareness and understanding to local youth of the freedoms enjoyed in the United States. The Pewaukee Yacht Club and the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight hope that the event can serve as a template for Yacht Clubs across America to provide similar programs to their members. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12184 * Team Korea, known as the White Tiger Challenge, will commence with their first entry in the America's Cup under the guidance of and helmsman Chris Draper (GBR). The 33 year old Draper, married with a young child, is a two time 49er world champion, multiple vice-world champion, two time European champion, and an Olympic bronze medallist in 2004. In 2008 he switched to the Extreme Sailing Series where he initially finished fourth, then in 2009 was crowned World Champion with the Oman Sail Team. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/AC-070611 * (July 6, 2011) - The latest release of the ISAF World Rankings finds Ben Ainslie (GBR) retaining the #1 position on the Open Rankings, followed by Francesco Bruni (ITA) in second, Ian Williams (GBR) in third, Mathieu Richard (FRA) in fourth and Torvar Mirsky (AUS) in fifth. Britain's Lucy MacGregor retains the women's top position, with Nicky Souter (AUS) in second, Renee Groeneveld (NED) in third, Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) in fourth, and Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) completes the top five. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/36236.php CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend: Jul 7-10 - J/24 Canadian National Championship - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Jul 9-10 - Larchmont Race Week - Larchmont, NY, USA Jul 9-15 - Flying Scot North American Championships - Westport, CT, USA Jul 10 - Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race - Marblehead, MA, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity for companies to announce new products and services. Here are some of recent postings: * Tripp Design Brings in New Talent * Scape Yachts launches new Scape 51' * GeoRacing: Watch your favorites races in 3D Live View and/or post Industry News updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news 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 Bruce Thompson: Regarding the recent death of youth sailor Olivia Constants, teach your kids to take a quick deep breath and hold it if they sense they are about to capsize. This story from the Chicago Tribune gives an account of a drowning by gasp reflex: "A man on another boat said he saw (Christopher) Szmajlo come up for a last gasp of air before he disappeared into the dark waters. Darryl Merschak said he was slowly motoring his sailboat from Monroe Harbor to the lighthouse off Navy Pier following Fourth of July fireworks when he and two passengers saw someone just below the surface of the water. "'We couldn't believe what we saw. He was just under the surface, and for a brief moment the man came up long enough to gasp before going down again. We were about 25 feet away at the time,' Merschak said. 'We tried to get a lifesaver to him, but he was already under,' he said." Show your children how their instinct is to gasp if someone sneaks up behind them and sprays them with cold water from a squirt gun. The instinct is to gasp. However, if your lungs are full, you can't draw anything, air or water, into your already full lungs. In the story above, it seems that the man involuntarily gasped as he hit the water and sucked in a lungful of water. He was conscious and trying, but without air and with reduced buoyancy, he couldn't quite make it. That was a tragedy. Let's give our kids a chance to avoid another one by learning to protect themselves. -- Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12177#12177 * From Tom Speer: Regarding the letter in Scuttlebutt 3377 from Paul P. Nardone, Jr.: "... and wearing a life jacket you can't swim out from beneath the sail, so your only option would be to cut the sail to pop up through it. ...", I'm always surprised at comments like this, that imply the buoyancy from a PFD prevents a person from getting out from under a capsized boat. When I was in the Air Force, we were taught to get out from under a parachute in the water by pushing up on the chute and hand-walking our way (or dragging the chute over our heads) to the edge. I put this training to good use when I found myself under a capsized trimaran, 25 mi offshore in the Pacific. Even though I had an auto-inflate PFD, it was not very difficult to push up on the boat, thereby pushing myself down, and I simply went went hand-over-hand until I was behind the aft beam and free. I did consider using the knife that I carry on my PFD, but it was because I had difficulty releasing the Gibbs hook on my tether, which took three tries on my part before I finally got it off. Looking out from under the cockpit, the scene is a veritable forest of dangling lines, so there is a possibility of getting entangled - one should definitely have a knife available. But it shouldn't be necessary to cut through a sail or the nets of a multihull in order to get to the surface. I think it would be much faster to make one's way to an edge of a sail than to cut through it. It's simply crawling upside down. You don't have to swim. You don't have to fight the PFD buoyancy - instead you use it to keep in contact with the boat as you push yourself free. -- Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12180#12180 CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Did you know....the 963-foot cruise liner QE2, capable of carrying 1,778 passengers and serviced by a crew of 1,016, moves only 40-50 feet for each gallon of diesel it burns. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Kaenon Polarized - Morris Yachts - West Marine Melges Performance Sailboats - North Sails - Lewmar Ullman Sails - Point Loma Outfitting - Team One Newport - Doyle Sails Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
