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SCUTTLEBUTT 2431 - September 13, 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 the support of its sponsors. MINI TRANSAT COUNTDOWN (September 12, 2007) There is now just four days to go before the start of the 16th edition of the biennual Transat 6,50 Charente-Maritime/Bahia - the tough, amateur/ semi-professional race formerly known as the Mini Transat. At 1100 next Sunday morning a total of 84 competitors, representing 16 nations including two from the UK plus nine women skippers, sailing Open 6,50s will line up on the Fort Boyard start line off La Rochelle in France for the 16th edition of the race - exactly 30 years after it was first created. This 4,200-mile solo race which is split into two legs (La Rochelle-Madeira/Madeira-Brazil) and sailed for in small, powerful, hi-tech racing yachts is one of the world's toughest ocean races. However, the stringent qualification process which runs over a two-year cycle means the standard of competition is exceptionally high. -- Sue Pelling/Yachting World, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2oga9y ARE WE THERE YET? (September 12, 2007) Following the hearing on September 10th in the New York Supreme Court between Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) and Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) regarding the Protocol for the 33rd America’s Cup, passionate observers have wondered how long this could take. Fortunately, New York attorney Cory E. Friedman has been reporting on the events for Scuttlebutt, and provides his expectations of the process: As I previously wrote (Scuttlebutt 2422), from the Commercial Division to the Appellate Division, to the Court of Appeals, New York’s Courts are prepared to act at whatever speed is necessary under the circumstances. The caveat is that it all depends on the parties and their ability to convince the courts that there is a real reason for haste. GGYC asked for a preliminary injunction. The easy way to end run that difficult issue was to fast track the case for an October 22 hearing on the merits. If Justice Cahn is convinced speed is important, he will rule quickly, perhaps at the hearing, in what will likely be a solid decision. In many cases that would be the end. If there is an appeal and the loser can make a good case for speed, the Appellate Division and Court of Appeals will do whatever needs to be done. In the Mercury Bay case, as in most litigation, there was little reason for speed, as the competition was finished and the issue was whether the Cup should be taken away from San Diego. Here the argument is that the competition is effectively under a cloud, so a speedy resolution of that cloud is important. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/#p4 VIDEO OF THE WEEK If you are in need of a Warren Miller sailing film fix, or just like the idea of some old school footage of Hobie Alter putting his then new Hobie 33 through a series of crash tests, than this week’s video is for you. Alter had made a name for himself with his catamarans, but had never built a monohull before the 33-footer. To be sure that it was tough enough, Alter gathered up some pals, trailered the boat out to Lake Havasu on the Colorado River, corralled Warren Miller to document the action, and then decided to see if they could bust the boat. The 3:25 minute video includes footage of the Hobie 33 surviving multiple groundings and getting dropped from a height of 12 feet. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/07/0910 ANNAPOLIS HOST TO TOP J/105 COMPETITORS Ullman Sails J/105 customers overcrowded the podium at the 26th Hospice Cup in Annapolis, September 8, 2007, and raised money for a good cause too. In a 17-boat fleet, the top ten J/105 finishers ALL competed with full sets of Ullman Sails. The one-day event, which benefits local hospices in the area, followed the successful Annapolis Race Week, September 1-3, 2007, where the first four J/105 finishers all competed with full inventories of Ullman Sails too. Top competitors choose the ‘Fastest Sails on the Planet’ to get the performance they need. Contact an Ullman Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com TWO MORE BULLETS FOR ARTEMIS Hyeres, France (September 12, 2007) -- Artemis eased 11 points clear at the top of the Hyeres Trophy leaderboard and 12 points ahead on the 2007 Breitling MedCup standings after a fabulous three race day on the Bay of Hyères in brisk easterly winds and pleasant late summer sunshine. With owner Torbjorn Tornqvist on the tiller of the 2007 Judel Vrolijk design and Russell Coutts making the tactical calls Artemis had her full afterburners lit on the spectacular downwind legs and was able to compose two back-to-back wins after an opening seventh today. In the duel for the overall 2007 title Artemis’ team of 'galacticos' scarcely put a foot wrong over the three windward -- leewards. In the first race they took the opportunity to bounce their nearest rivals, Vicente Tirado’s Caixa Galicia down the fleet.Caixa Galicia’s 8,2,7 for the day dropped them to fourth overall in the regatta. In windspeeds which topped 22-23 knots and a short, steep Mediterranean chop there was sad, premature end to the regatta and the Breitling MedCup season for Alberto Roemmers’ Copa del Rey winning Siemens Matador. After a second and a third from the first two races it was early on the first beat of the day’s final race when their rig inexplicably broke into three pieces. -- Complete report: http://2007.medcup.org/news/?idioma=2 Standings after five races: 1. Artemis (T Tornqvist SWE-Judel Vrolijk 2007) 12pts 2. Mutua Madrilena (V Vascotto, ESP-Botin & Carkeek 2007) 24pts 3. CxG Corporacion Caixa Galicia (V Tirado-ESP Botin & Carkeek 2007) 24pts, 4. Patches (E Conneely, IRL- Reichel Pugh 2007) 27pts 5. Siemens (A Roemmers, ARG-Judel Vrolijk 2007) 31pts, Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/2euhgf SAILING SHORTS * The umbrella organization for the Spirit of New Zealand has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize after a Norwegian MP put forward Sail Training International for the prestigious award. The Sprit of New Zealand Trust is one of 21 members of the organization. Chief Executive John Lister says it is an indescribable honor to be nominated. More than 75,000 young people have been trainee crew on the ship, or its predecessor the Spirit of Adventure. The Nobel Prize will be awarded next month. -- http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=124128 * The US Sailing Men's Sailing Championship for the Clifford D. Mallory Cup and Women's Sailing Championship for the Mrs. Charles Francis Adams Cup are being held concurrently in San Diego, Calif. this week at Southwestern Yacht Club. Racing started on Wednesday but results were not yet posted at our distribution time. -- http://www.ssop.org/RaceCommittee/Mallory-Adams.htm * The New Zealand marine sector will double in size during the next ten years, supported by a new hub for building super yachts, say industry members. Marine Industry Association executive director Peter Busfield said the sector employed more than 10,000 people, 550 apprentices and was looking to double turnover to $3.4 billion during the next 10 to 12 years. -- NZ Herald, full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/story.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10456876 * Gregory J. Smith has been named chief operating officer of Lewmar USA, the U.S. subsidiary of the international marine equipment supplier, and president of Navtec Corporation, Inc., Lewmar's marine rigging division. He replaces Peter W. Arentzen who has left the company. Smith is the former director of operations for General Electric Aviation's Times Microwaves Systems in Waterbury, Conn. Prior to that he had his own manufacturing business and was general manager of the Windsor (Conn.) division of Barnes Group, Inc., an aerospace component manufacturer. -- http://www.lewmar.com * Rochester, NY (September 12, 2007) -- Three races completed across all three fleets on day three of the IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championships in Rochester, USA. Damien Sequin (FRA) has a 9-point lead over Bruce Millar (CAN) in the 45-boat 2.4mR class, Karen Mitchell/ JP Creignou (USA) holds a four point lead over Scott Witman/ Julia Dorsett (USA) in the 18-boat SKUD-18 class, while Dror Cohen (ISR) holds a five-point lead over Paul Callahan (USA) in the 27-boat Sonar class. -- http://www.2007ifdsworlds.com/results.html * Reminder: US Sailing has agreed that all IRC certificates issued after September 30, 2007 will be priced at 50% off the regular price. This special offer for the 50% discount on certificate costs follows a nationwide effort to make sailing under IRC more accessible to sailors. Start the application process now and the discounted certificates will be issued after September 30th. They will be valid for all IRC events from October 1st through December 31st 2007. Applications are online at http://www.ussailing.org/offshore/IRC * Sea~TV won the Silver Award at this year’s Worldfest Film Festival in Houston, Texas for its two hour long instructional DVD series Learn the Racing Rules. The series, hosted by internationally renowned rules expert, David Dellenbaugh, won the award in the Sailing/ Watersports category from over 100 entries from around the world. A sixty second commercial produced for US Sailing that appears on the Learn the Racing Rules DVD series also won a Silver Award in the Advertising/Promotional category. It also won from over 100 entries worldwide. * US Sailing has selected Peter "Luigi" Reggio as its Sailor of the Week. Reggio is constantly on the road as one of the most in-demand principal race officers (PRO) on the international racing circuit today. He is one of very few people in the world who makes a living as a PRO -- traveling to countless events around the globe from small local regattas to the America's Cup. Next year, Peter will make his debut as PRO in the world of Olympic sailing at the '08 Olympic Games in China. -- http://tinyurl.com/2lawq3 * Racing starts Thursday at the 43rd Rolex Big Boat Series on San Francisco Bay, where 112 boats will confront the big breeze and challenging tides during the four days of racing. Hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club, over 1,000 sailors will compete in either IRC-handicapped racing or in one of the five one-design classes: Express 37, J/105, J/120, 1D35, and Melges 32. At the conclusion of the four-day regatta, specially engraved Rolex timepieces will be awarded to the St. Francis Yacht Club's six Perpetual Trophy winners. -- Full report: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1721&lang=1 * Sir Keith Mills will name key personnel for the new British Origin team in the America's Cup while attending the Southampton Boat Show on Friday. It is almost certain Ben Ainslie, who had just completed Team New Zealand commitments, will be the skipper. -- http://tinyurl.com/2jrk7j * Leixões, Portugal (September 12, 2007) -- After losing the first day of the TMN Snipe World Championship due to too much fog, light winds plagued the second day, and after two general recalls, the 57-boat fleet was only able to complete one race. Standings: 1. Tomas Hornos/ Enrique Quintero, USA; 2. Kenji Abe/ Hiroshi Yamachica, ZPN; 3. Shoji Kajimoto/ Nabuyuki Imai, JPN; 4. Bahuru Kodama/ Toshihiko Tanaka, JPN; 5. Bart Bomans/ Jill Ponet, Belgic, 6. Victor Demaison/ Alexandre Tinoco, BRA; 7. Augie Diaz/ Mark Ivey, USA; 8. Jerry Thompson/ Kevin Funsch, USA. -- http://www.worldsnipe2007.org/ * Newport, RI -- Less than a year after the launch of the ClubSwan 42, the New York Yacht Club will host the inaugural Swan 42 Class US National Championships, with 18 boats set to take part on Sept 14-16. The joint collaboration on the Club Swan 42 between the NYYC and the Nautor's Swan/ Frers Design Team partnership has seen 23 boats delivered to four countries. -- http://www.nyyc.org WHAT’S ON THE DESIGN TABLE FOR THE 2008-09 VO70’S? It’s all in the name of advancing extreme racing. The 2008-09 VO70 design rule amendments are aimed at creating faster, safer, and more reliable yachts. So what’s happening in the design offices one year out from the start? Changes to the rig design alone will see lighter, stiffer, and improved aerodynamic rigs, designed to cope with more upwind code zero type sails. EC6+ rigging will also be used on nearly every VO70 yacht, as it offers a more durable, environmentally inert, low weight, and less windage rigging solution for these extreme yachts. Find out more on VO70 rigs: http://www.southernspars.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Sept 14-16 - J35 North American Championship - Toronto, Ontario, Canada Sept 15-16 - Ideal 18 East Coast Championship - Stamford, CT, USA Sept 16-23 - Sonar World Championship Regatta - Marblehead, MA, USA View all the events 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 * From Ted Beier: After reading Andrew Campbell's description of the Laser Olympic Trials venue in Newport, I was appalled. Is this all the better we can do for our Olympic sailors? Surely with the fine yacht clubs and sailing schools there, US Sailing can find a venue for training and trials with better facilities than an abandoned tourist parking lot and beach. Shame, shame! I bet the Brits have better for their preparation events. * From Tom Lihan: Thanks for putting up the nice words regarding the passing of Timothy “Tiny” Miller. He was a great guy and passed well before he was due. A slight correction is due to the information regarding his memorial service, which will held in conjunction with the Ft. Lauderdale to Key West Race on January 14, 2008. Since Tim was always a stickler for getting things done proper, it ought to be noted that it will be at "Lauderdale Yacht Club," not "The Fort Lauderdale YC" as it stated in Issue 2430. A common mistake, but he would care. * From Robert Thuss: (Re: Microtransat 2008 in ‘butt 2429) Is it April Fool's Day already? What happened to maintaining an active watch on deck? Ships, whales and flotsam are bad enough. This is worse than the self-disintegrating boats that some artist proposed. I sure hope I don't hit one of those unmanned sailing vessels! * From George Wendt: I’m confused. First Brad Butterworth tells us, “Our objective is to create a tight design box rule that will ensure the emphasis remains on sailing skill…” and then he says, “We're even thinking of not even measuring the downwind sails -- just let them put up whatever they want.” How can you produce a tight box rule with unmeasured sail area? * From Jim O'Connell, Manahawkin, NJ: If one is trying to determine the strategy of TeamOrigin backing Alinghi in this America's cup fiasco look no further than the Brits purchased of SUI 75 as a training boat during the last day's of this years cup. As with the other challengers, TeamOrigin's financial ties, all be it not as substantial as the others, to the defender can lead some cynical sailors to see Mike Sanderson and TeamOrigin as less then independent. It makes you wonder how good of a deal the "purchase" was and what strings were attached. * From Derek Blancke, England: Picking up on the thread about Kiwis in sport...there is feeling in the rugby world that the All Blacks have developed a cynical approach in their play. They play right up against the rules and use the professional foul. This has lost them some neutral fans and support from the days when they played a beautiful game. But playing in a beautiful way meant that they have underperformed at the Rugby World Cup for years. The current, hard, win-at-all-costs approach finds them in a position of such strength that on the day their third team is good enough to beat any other world-class side. Look at the Kiwi strength and depth in sailing and you have a pool of talent that is just as hard and skilled as the All Blacks. Difference is the sailing guys are spread all around the America’s Cup teams. They carry that ethos right across the quest for the Cup. Small nation - big hearts - great skills. They've learned the lessons and go out to win.With a population of around 300 million, maybe the US could learn something from these guys. Just to put this Kiwi achievement into context, the population New Zealand is at 4 million, where as the population of metro New York is 22 million. Stop press - Russell Coutts skippers Team BMW Oracle from San Francisco. Now you've got a game. * From Gregory Scott: You have two choices in becoming rich to the degree of the current combatants in the ongoing AC saga. One is to earn it, the other ... inherit it. Both often result in personalities that aren't likely to compromise easily. The hard won fortunes of Ellison vs. the inherited wealth of Bertarelli. While that silver spoon upbringing may have the appearance of a softy .. it appears as though junior can take a punch. It is rare to see such a battering as Bertarelli is taking and, if you take the printed word as fact, with some justification. How hard is it to walk into an awards ceremony and say thank you? With today's "yes men" comment, I think of the fighter who goes to his corner and his trainer says, "keep it up kid, he hasn't laid a glove on ya .” The kid then says, “keep an eye on the ref cuz someone's laying a real beating on me." This guy had better pull a rabbit out of his hat pretty soon or I see the jabs adding up to a solid right hook from the collective sailing world landing squarely on his jaw and any efforts to be saved by the bell will ring hollow. CURMUDGEON’S CONFESSION I'm just working here until a good fast food job opens up. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Southern Spars. |
