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SCUTTLEBUTT 2064 - April 3, 2006
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary,
opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.
LANDMARK RULING
Round-the-world yachtswoman Tracy Edwards MBE has won a landmark ruling
in her legal battle in Qatar to clear her name after her Oryx Quest 2005
yacht race was left with £2.6m of debts. The ruling from the Civil Court
of Qatar, in Doha cleared Edwards of financial responsibility following
the compulsory liquidation at the end of 2005 of her company Quest
International Sports Events Ltd, which ran the Oryx round-the-world
yacht race. Tracy Edwards, 43, of south-west London, is now free to
pursue a personal injury claim against the Qatari Government in the
International Court of Justice at The Hague.
Edwards’ company went bust after £6million of sponsorship was not paid
by Qatar Sports International (QSI), which was set up by the now Crown
Prince of Qatar, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Khalid Al Thani, to promote the
image of the Gulf State. QSI was then dissolved at the beginning of
2005. The £6million was promised in a legal agreement as part of a four
year £38m sailing programme in the Gulf state.When QSI reneged on the
deal, Edwards, who won Sportswoman of the Year and was awarded an MBE in
1990, was left with the seven-figure debt, which included $500,000
(£286,200) prize money to the winner, Britain¹s Brian Thompson, and the
second place prize of $350,000 (£200,340) to Tony Bullimore.
Edwards personally borrowed $14.5 million (£8.3 million) to ensure the
success of the event, believing that agreements with QSI would
ultimately be honoured. In the two years it took to set up the round the
world race all the suppliers and employees had been paid in full, it was
only after the race was over that QSI refused to pay and Quest was
unable to meet the final liabilities owed. As a consequence Edwards was
left with substantial personal debts and was forced into bankruptcy
shortly afterwards in September 2005, and lost her 1m home in Reading.
The amazing and incredible story of her recent time in Qatar, the Oryx
Quest 2005 round-the-world yacht race and the true story surrounding her
recent bankruptcy, will form the basis of a book and major TV
documentary to be released in 2007. ~ Sean O'Brien (click here for comments.)
DICKSON DEFENDS KEEL DESIGN
Just like the Formula One pit lane where one team's advance is
immediately spotted by the others, Chris Dickson, chief executive and
skipper of BMW Oracle Racing, knows his America's Cup rivals are
convinced that the new USA 87 has a radical keel configuration. "They
know as of a week ago what we've done," he says. The word in Valencia is
that a member of Italy's Luna Rossa caught a glimpse of a rudderless
twin keel soon after USA 87 was flown in from Washington State where it
was built.
Even with the skirts concealing the underwater part of the hull, the
mast position is 6-8ft further forward than the team's previous boats.
Given a yacht's need to balance the sail forces in the rig with the
resistance and righting forces in the keel, the mast's location gives a
good clue to what is below the water. "This boat is not a refinement of
something we've done before, it's a big leap in many areas,'' says
Dickson, neither confirming nor denying talk of an unusual keel.
Already Alinghi, the Swiss holders of the Cup, have expressed surprise
that a team owned by American software billionaire Larry Ellison would
take a risk with such a radical design. Of the 87 America's Cup Class
yachts built, there have been three notable attempts to make such a
configuration work before, all without success. ~ Tim Jeffery, The Daily
Telegraph, full story: http://tinyurl.com/ovp5v
WEIGH-IN WOES
Last week the Scuttlebutt Forums had a post titled “Weigh-In Woes, where
the question was posed on how best to lose weight in six weeks for
particular regatta. One of the responses came from a fitness consultant
who provided the following advice: “If you are ‘committed’ to losing
15lbs, then do it right. You have over a month. For eating: Eat your
higher carb meals earlier in the day; Wean to higher ratio of protein by
late afternoon; Drop out any high carb beverages after 5pm (hmm . .
beer); Try to eat dinner by 5 and if you need a snack from then till
bedtime, have a handful of roasted nuts, popcorn (good fiber); Drop any
extra sugars other than fruit based and trade up wasteful carb’d for
whole grains, brown rice and such (you'll be less hungry). For a
workout: Run, row, swimming are all great cardio for sailing.
Additionally, do not dehydrate yourself for a month - drink tons of
water!” `~ http://tinyurl.com/kpna6
POLE VAULT
Spring ahead with a carbon-fiber spinnaker pole from Hall Spars &
Rigging. Our high-performance poles are mandrel-molded and
autoclave-cured using the same process as our exceptional carbon masts.
Light and strong, each pole is made to order. Our lightweight carbon
poles save weight on deck, are easier to handle (half the weight of
aluminum), and are incredibly tough. For ultra high performance on boats
over 50 feet, ask about our double-tapered pole and our sleek new
low-profile end fittings. Price sheet available online at
http://www.hallspars.com
HEADING NORTH
Over 20,000 spectators lined Copacabana Beach and thousands more took to
the water to wave off the competitors of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06.
As the six boats in racing in the Volvo Ocean Race fleet head north on
the last of the longer legs of the race, it was Ericsson, under the
command of new skipper, John Kostecki from the USA, which led the race
out to sea. With 5,000 nautical miles to sail until reaching Baltimore,
and a scoring gate once again at the Ilha da Noronha, 1200 nm ahead and
off the Brazilian coast, there will be plenty to keep the fleet
occupied. Rather than being a cold leg, the trip to Baltimore will be a
very hot one, possibly with very light breeze and it is expected to be
very tactical at the end as the fleet negotiates the Chesapeake Bay.
Shortly after the start when overall race leader ABN Amro One’s head
sail dropped to the deck due to a broken halyard. Mike Sanderson (NZ)
and his team made a quick recovery but sailed out of Guanabara Bay in
sixth place behind the fleet. Tonight, as only three nautical miles
separates the fleet, ABN Amro Two (Sebastien Josse) heads the fleet from
the two US skippers onboard Ericsson (John Kostecki) and Pirates of the
Caribbean (Paul Cayard). The Black Pearl picked up a large stick on her
keel just after the run out of Copacabana and the Pirates tried many
different ways to remove it, but none were successful. Eventually the
fleet stopped under a large cloud and Anthony Merrington was able to
dive over the side and remove the offending object.
Currently the Pirates is very close to movistar (Bouwe Bekking), ABN
Amro Two and Ericsson. There is only five knots of wind and the forecast
is for very light conditions tonight. The fleet is approximately 16
knots from Cabo Frio, which will then present an opportunity to turn
left about 30 degrees. ~ www.volvooceanrace.org
Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Sunday
1. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, 4889 miles to finish
2. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald, +1 miles
3. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +1 miles
4. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +1 miles
5. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +2 miles
6. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, +3 miles
KOSTECKI LAUNCHES RESCUE MISSION
With overall honours well out of reach, it is a matter of trying to
salvage something respectable for a gilt-edged sponsor as far as the
beleaguered Ericsson syndicate in the Volvo Ocean Race is concerned. No
one can accuse this team, which has the most Britons in key roles of all
six crews in the race, of giving up. Far from it. As they set sail on
the long and tactically tricky leg five from Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore
yesterday, they were in determined mood under their new skipper, John
Kostecki. “This stopover has been special,” Kostecki said as he prepared
to set sail from Rio’s Guanabara Bay. “We have managed to accomplish our
goal of being on the podium in the in-port race and we have also made a
few crew changes. It’s quite refreshing as it brings a new energy to the
team.”
After the shock of finding themselves in last place in Brazil, something
that was not foreseen when Ericsson won the first in-port race in Spain
in November, the syndicate has struggled to fathom precisely what had
gone wrong. Was it the boat, the sails, the people, or a combination of
all three? By the time Ericsson arrived in Rio at the end of the
Southern Ocean leg from New Zealand last month, one thing had become
clear to Richard Brisius, the syndicate director. Under Neal McDonald’s
leadership, morale had become dangerously low and a change of skipper
was required. ~ Edward Gorman, The Times, full story:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,4041-2116005,00.html
DOWN MEXICO WAY
Twenty three boats sailed in the Balboa YC’s inaugural 800-mile downwind
race from Newport Beach, California to Cabo San Lucas on the tip of
Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. For those boats racing under the Americap
handicap system. Thomas Garnier’s J/125 Reinrag 2 squeaked out a 15
minute victory over Craig Reynolds’ Nelson/Marek 55 Bolt, with Ed Feo’s
Andrews 45 Locomotion taking third overall -- just 35 minutes further
back.
The fleet was also scored under PHRF, but the results were not anywhere
near as tight. In spite of taking a penalty for “T-boning” the BYC Race
Committee boat while attempting to start, Audrey Steele Burnand’s
58-foot yawl Odyssey won the PHRF overall prize by nearly four hours
over second place Reinrag 2, with Ross Pearlman’s Jeanneau 52.2 Between
the Sheets an hour and a half further back in third overall. Doug
Baker’s Alan Andrews-designed Magnitude 80 beat Doug Devos’s MaxZ86
Windquest by nearly two hours to take line honors and established the
course record for this inaugural event by finishing in just under three
days.
Americap Class winners - Maxi Class: Grand Illusion, SC 70, Edward
McDowell; Class A: Reinrag 2; Class B: Black Knight, Farr 39, Philip
Friedman, Class C: Between the Sheets. PHRF Class winners - Maxi Class:
Grand Illusion; Class A: Reinrag 2; Class B: Black Knight; Class C:
Odyssey. ~ Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/mdlza
(Read the Curmudgeon’s daily Cabo Race reports from onboard ‘Between the
Sheets’ on Scuttleblog, along with FlagShip Race Tracking images of the
fleet’s course down Mexico's Baja California peninsula:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2006/cabo)
OLYMPIC CLASSES
Zach Railey, 21, of Clearwater, Fla. and Darrell Peck, 41, of Gresham,
Ore. may seem unlikely buddies, but they'll be hanging out a lot
together for the next couple of years. Railey, the top-ranked U.S.
sailor in the single-handed Finn class, won five of seven races in a
fleet of 20 boats in Alamitos Bay Yacht Club's 46th Olympic Classes
Regatta Saturday and Sunday, while Peck's close second place jumped him
from fifth to second ranking. The top two in each Olympic class qualify
for the pre-Olympic regatta at Qingdao, China in August, so Railey and
Peck officially became a team.
Besides the Olympic preview this year, they'll train and sail alongside
each other in other events in Europe, Canada and the U.S., all leading
up to the U.S. Olympic Trials at Newport Beach in October of 2007. Bryan
Boyd of Annapolis, Md., ranked No. 4, remains in the Olympic chase and
was planning to compete for the China trip here but drove a chisel into
his left hand two days before the event, putting him out of competition
indefinitely. The other two sailors that Peck had to leapfrog didn't
compete, either.
Erik Lidecis of nearby Huntington Beach and crew Kyle Henehan won four
races and claimed the 11-boat Star class by one point over Ben Mitchell
of San Diego and crew Michael Marzahi. John Pearce of Menlo Park,
Calif., edged ABYC's Chris Raab by a point among 31 Lasers. Michael
Schalka of Seattle shaded Jon Scott of Vancouver, B.C. by two points
among 16 Laser Radials. In moderate winds Saturday and light 5-knot
shifty breeze Sunday, Peck won the only two Finn races that Railey
didn't and had four seconds and a fifth, which he discarded. ~ Rich
Roberts, Complete results at abyc.org
NEW US SAILING TEAM APPAREL
There’s a new way for you to look great while supporting the US Sailing
Team. US SAILING Authentic Collection has introduced a new collection of
US Sailing Team apparel featuring an exciting new graphic look. The
Spring 2006 collection ranges from caps to technical T-shirts. The items
were designed for sailors of all types to enjoy. Order yours today and
be the first on the dock this spring with new US Sailing Team apparel.
Shop now at http://www.ussailinggear.com
NEWS BRIEFS
* This past weekend, 154 boats sailed in the BVI Spring Regatta,
presented by Nanny Cay and this makes the event’s 35th anniversary the
biggest year yet. The boats were split into sixteen classes and range in
size from the 75’ Reichel Pugh, Titan XII, supporting a crew of twenty,
to the one man Lasers and windsurfers. Each day of this regatta,
conditions have improved and Sunday, sailors (and photographers) enjoyed
a picture perfect day with wonderful sunshine and 10 12 knots of
breeze. Full results: http://www.bvispringregatta.org
* The 2006 North American Portsmouth Yardstick Tables for centerboard
boats, multihulls, keelboats and offshore classes are now available at
http://www.ussailing.org/portsmouth
* The countdown begins for the sixth annual Summer Sailstice and
regardless of where you sail in the world. In 2005, sailors from 48
States and 12 countries in the Northern Hemisphere participated in this
growing celebration of sailing with all but North Dakota and West
Virginia represented. This year's prizes include a one-week charter in
the BVI from the Moorings, a new Hunter Xcite sailboat, several $200
gift certificates from West Marine, a one-week Fast Track to Cruising
Course from Offshore Sailing, a Hobie kayak and over 200 other prizes
from Summer Sailstice sponsors. To sign up:
http://www.SummerSailstice.com
* The America's Cup Visits Beijing. On the eve of the promotional event
taking place on Saturday in the Tian Qiao Theatre in Beijing, the Auld
Mug has touched down in China for the very first time. The America’s
Cup, along with its sister, the Louis Vuitton Cup, spent Friday as any
other tourist would when visiting Beijing for the first time. The
trophies went on tour to many of the most famous sites in the city,
including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. ~
http://www.americascup.com/en/acmag/letter/index.php?idContent=5326
* This year the ISAF Mid-Year Meetings will take place in Berlin,
Germany from 4-8 May. Papers for the ISAF Council and ISAF Events
Committee are now available online. The meetings in Berlin will begin on
Friday 5 May, with the Events Committee and ISAF Equipment Committee.
Saturday and Sunday 6-7 May will see ISAF President Göran Petersson
(SWE) chair the Council in two full days of meetings. The ISAF Executive
Committee and ISAF Audit Committee will also be holding meetings. ~
Meeting schedule: http://tinyurl.com/kx6qx
* Photographer Andrea Francolini was at the start of the 21st annual
Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, which takes the fleet 384 miles from
Sydney to Southport, Australia. Snotty conditions for sure, as the
photos show: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0402
* Alinghi’s third boat SUI91 left Décision Boatyard in Vevey,
Switzerland on March 30. The new boat was shrouded in secrecy as it was
wheeled out of the Swiss yard on the truck and trailer (in all 25m
long), provided by Alinghi’s official supplier, the transport company
Planzer, that is shipping it to Valencia, Spain. She is the first of two
new boats that the Defender will build for the 32nd America’s Cup in
2007 and has taken 25 boatbuilders from both the boatyard and the
Alinghi shore crew almost 20,000 man hours to complete. ~ Valencia
Sailing, http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/
* Annapolis Yacht Club recently received a significant honor that left
commodore Bill Chambers beaming. US Sailing named AYC as its One Design
Yacht Club of the Year. Past commodore and longtime race committee
chairman Ron Ward accepted the prestigious award at the US Sailing
spring meeting, held in Chicago in early March. "This is a wonderful
recognition that goes to the core of what makes Annapolis Yacht Club so
special. It speaks to the vitality of the club," Chambers said. ~ Bill
Wagner, The Capital,
http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2006/04_02-76/TOP
* Ellen MacArthur’s 75-foot B&Q trimaran crossed the finish line off
Dallian, on the north-east coast of mainland China, to complete Leg 2 of
the Asian Record Circuit establishing two further records. Ellen and her
crew crossed the line at 10:11:41 GMT Saturday to set their second
record from Jeju Island, South Korea to Dalian, China in a time of 1d
23h 57m 27s. In finishing they have also established The Manchu Record –
the total elapsed time from Yokohama, Japan to Dalian in a time of 7d
11h 8m 18s ~ www.teamellen.com
BE A PART OF THE TEAM
The Vanguard Sailing Team is a group of hard working sailors committed
to performing at their best while using the best equipment available. If
you have the desire to join the ranks of Anna Tunnicliffe and Tyler
Sinks visit http://www.teamvanguard.com. The 2006 Team will be announced
after the May 15 application deadline.
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 thoughts at
the Scuttlebutt website:
http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi)
* From Ralph Taylor: George Bailey (letter in 'Butt #2063) is on to
something. We don't have enough humor. Naturally, more humor would make
sailing much more fun. Of course, humor requires wit and the ability to
not take oneself too seriously. Those might be the missing ingredients.
As a great comedian said, "Dying is easy, comedy is hard." Despite my
witlessness and sober-sided nature, I'll try to do my part to look for
and point up the humor in sailing.
* From David Anderson (Regarding Mr. Robert Johnston's question
concerning how Switzerland was and is able to compete for the America's
Cup without actually having a yacht club on an ocean or an arm of the
sea): The long answer is that there have been many changes and
reinterpretations of the Deed of Gifts, written in 1887 between George
L. Schuyler, the then sole surviving owner of the Cup won by the yacht
AMERICA at Cowes in 1851, and the New York Yacht Club, the trustee. One
such amendment involves a yacht club's location. Specifically, in 1984,
the Chicago Yacht Club was given the right to compete for the America's
Cup by a judgment from the New York Supreme Court. (CYC was the first
yacht club that organized a challenge for the cup that was not located
on a sea, or an arm of the sea.) But the short answer is the governing
body wanted to find a way for them to compete, so they changed the deed,
hence subsequent yacht clubs wishing to compete that are not located on
a sea or arm of a sea, can site the same change to the deed.
Two other such changes to the deed, for example, are the
must-be-sailed-to-the-competition-on-her-own-bottom rule, and that
sails, equipment, design, etc.., be made only in the country of the
representative challenging nation. But the big change to the
interpretation of the deed, in my thinking, is basically the allowance
of a sailor to compete for a yacht club located in a country that is not
native to that individual. That really opened up a whole new ballgame,
* From James Marta: Re George Bailey's comments re the lack of humor in
racing fleets. A couple of funny racing quotes come to mind; 1. "Nothing
goes up wind like money", and 2. "In sailboat racing there are but two
things that are common to racers; One is sailing and the other is
bitching. Many specialize in one, or the other, but seldom are able to
do both well."
* From Cliff Bradford: The SeaCart 30 that Pete Goss is going sail
around Britain and Ireland is a trimaran. See
http://www.oceanlakemarine.com
CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
I’m still hot - it just comes in flashes.
Thanks to Hall Spars & Rigging, US Sailing Authentic Collection and
Vanguard.
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