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SCUTTLEBUTT 3058 - Monday, March 29, 2010
Scuttlebutt 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.
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BRUNI DENIES BRADY FIFTH JACKET
Long Beach, CA (March 27, 2010) - Francesco Bruni and his team Azzurra crew
squeezed the last bit of breath out of the 46th Congressional Cup Saturday
to outsail Gavin Brady, 2-1, and deny the four-time winner an unprecedented
fifth Crimson Blazer in the only Grade 1 Open match racing regatta in the
United States.
Instead, it was the affable Italian who donned the traditional prize after
reveling in a champagne shower and a proper dunking at the dock that blew
off the tension of a hard-earned victory. "We were very scared, especially
after the score was one to one," Bruni said, fearing that Mother Nature
would rule the day beyond all of his sailing skill.
Unusually capricious conditions for the venue bedeviled the four
semifinalists - Bruni, Brady, defending champion Johnie Berntsson, and Bill
Hardesty - with a simmering offshore Santa Ana desert breeze arriving at 18
knots from the east. Later, after one round of racing parallel to the
sand-blown beach, the wind switched to 150 degrees onshore from the
southwest but dropped to 7 knots.
Bruni will share his $10,000 prize with his crew of Tom Burnham, tactician;
Ben Durham, main sail trimmer; Pierluigi De Felice., trimmer; Pietro
Mantovani, pit and trimmer, and Matteo Auguadro, bow.
Final results
1. Francesco Bruni, Italy, $10,000
2. Gavin Brady, New Zealand, $6,000
3. Johnie Berntsson, Sweden, $5.000
4. Bill Hardesty, USA, $4,500
5. Dave Perry, USA, $3,500.
6. Evgeniy Neugodnikov, Russia, $3,100
7. Eric Monnin, Switzerland, $2,700
8. Damien Iehl, France, $2,300
9. Sally Barkow, USA, $1,900
10. Simone Ferrarese, Italy, $1,500
Event website: http://www.lbyc.org/html/content.cfm?CID=1170
CASE CLOSED
An agreement has been reached with the previous America's Cup Trustee,
Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), and the current Cup defender, Golden Gate
Yacht Club (GGYC), that all outstanding litigation in the New York courts
concerning the recent 33rd match will be dropped by both sides. This
includes GGYC's Breach of Fiduciary Duty ("BFD") claim against SNG, as well
as all other claims over the design and construction of yachts Alinghi 5 and
USA.
GGYC's representatives have started a consultative process with regard to
the venue, timing, format and type of boat for the 34th America's Cup. GGYC
and the Challenger of Record, Club Nautico di Roma and its sailing team
Mascalzone Latino headed by Vincenzo Onorato, are cooperating closely in
this.
"Good decisions not hasty decisions - this is what the Cup community wants,"
added Russell Coutts, CEO of GGYC's sailing team BMW ORACLE Racing. "Our
focus is on looking ahead and making the 34th edition of the oldest trophy
in international sports the best America's Cup yet."
Discussions will continue over the next six months with the details of the
34th Cup confirmed during 2010. "We will do our best to fulfill Larry
Ellison's vision of a competition which respects the Cup's unique tradition
whilst moving forward with the latest technology to attract an even wider
audience," commented Coutts. -- Full report:
http://www.ggyc.com/Statement%2026%20March%202010%20final.pdf
* SNG/GGYC agreement: http://tinyurl.com/yg3cmbq
* Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth is determined to sail in the next
America's Cup, unequivocally shunning retirement talk, admitting he would
sail for a new syndicate to chase his dream of winning back the Auld Mug,
should his current team fold. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/ykx8d2f
READY TO WIN
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BETTER THAN BEFORE
After a 10-year absence, the Volvo Ocean Race will return to Miami in 2012.
"For us, this will be the Super Bowl of boat races," Miami Mayor Tomas
Regalado said. However, the last time Miami played host to the race was in
2001-02, things didn't go too well. Attendance was poor, promotion of the
event was lax and there were logistical and money problems. City commission
chairman Marc Sarnoff said those mistakes won't happen again.
"There are 60,000 more people potentially living downtown than before,'' he
said. ``This event has grown because of the Internet. By learning what we
did wrong before, I believe we can put on an event that is better because of
the transgressions of the past."
Sarnoff said this time around, the city has come up with around $1 million
in private donations to support the event, and all the local yacht and
sailing clubs are behind it. He believes it will attract between 100,000 and
150,000 visitors. "This is the chance to put Miami as the preeminent sailing
capital of the world," Sarnoff said. -- Miami Herald, full story:
http://tinyurl.com/yjjz4eg
DEBATE ON BOAT SALES TAX IN FLORIDA
(March 28, 2010) - A proposal to cap boat sales taxes at $18,000 in Florida
passed the Florida state Senate 38-0 last Thursday. A similar measure was
also adopted by the state House Finance and Tax Council as part of a broader
set of tax incentives. But it has to pass a number of other legislative
challenges before it becomes law.
Florida industry officials argue that the current six per cent tax on all
new boats in the Sunshine state has pushed potential boat buyers to
neighbouring states as well as offshore locations. "We are finding that the
tax discourages buyers from keeping their boats in Florida," said Kristina
Hebert, chief operating officer of Ward's Marine. The nearby state of South
Carolina has a maximum boat sales tax of US$300, while in neighboring
Georgia, the tax is 3.5 per cent.
But some Florida legislators chafed at passing along tax breaks for luxury
items like yachts when Florida's economy is struggling. Senator Frederica
Wilson told The Miami Herald that she voted for the package. But the yacht
tax break is "hard to justify", she told the paper. "It's a huge tax break
in these hard times for the sale of extremely expensive airplanes and
yachts," she said. -- IBI Magazine, full story:
http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20100226154430ibinews.html
OLYMPIC EVENT: SOFIA MAPFRE
Palma, Spain (March 28, 2010; Day 1) - Low and unstable wind marked the
first day of racing for the 650 entrants at the 41st Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa
Sofia Mapfre, third event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. However, mastering
the fickle conditions best were the top men in the 93-boat 470 event, which
saw Australians Mathew Belcher/ Malcolm Page and Americans Stu McNay/ Graham
Biehl bullet both their qualify races.
Among the 40 nations in attendance, there are 27 teams representing USA and
Canada, where standout performances were in Women's Match Racing. Both
Americans Sally Barkow and Anna Tunnicliffe remain undefeated in their
elimination groups. Others having good days were Clay Johnson (USA), 4th in
Laser; Amanda Clark/ Sarah Chin (USA), 7th in 470; and Paige Railey (USA),
8th in Laser Radial. -- Event website: http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/
INJURED: Members of the two 49er teams from US SAILING Team Alphagraphics
were injured during training prior to the regatta. Skipper Erik Stork
suffered ligament damage in his foot during a capsize, while crew Carl
Horrocks has a badly twisted ankle. Erik's teammate Trevor Moore will now
sail with Carl's teammate Peet Must. -- http://tinyurl.com/ygm226a
INTERNATIONAL ROLEX REGATTA
St. Thomas, USVI (March 28, 2010) - Last year he lost this event in the
final races on the last day, but this year at the 37th International Rolex
Regatta (March 26-28), Puerto Rico's Fraito Lugo had built some good padding
into his score line over two days and followed form on the third, today, to
win the IC 24 class and a Rolex timepiece (which he awarded to his trimmer
Milton Gonzalesz) as proof of his team's prowess shown over 17 races. Lugo
now can claim eight International Rolex Regatta victories in a variety of
classes.
The IC 24s kept with short round-the-buoy races after the event's opening
"town races" on Friday, while their counterparts in six other classes (IRC,
Spinnaker Racing 1 and 2, Non-Spinnaker Racing, Spinnaker Racing/Cruising
and Beach Cats) took to the more scenic winding courses through and around
the cuts, cays and islands off the east end of St. Thomas, USVI, where host
St. Thomas Yacht Club is located.
In IRC class, Richard Oland's (Rothesay, NB, CAN) Vela Veloce, with Brian
Ledbetter (Seattle, Wash.) driving, posted a final score of 13 points to
beat out Austin and Gwen Fragomen's (New York, N.Y.) Interlodge. "It's
pleasing to come from Canada to the Islands and be up against these world
players," said Oland about his first-ever experience racing at the
International Rolex Regatta. Ledbetter, who won an Olympic silver medal in
the Finn class at the 1992 Olympics, called the three days of racing
"magical" compared to the windward/leeward racing he is used to doing.
Event website: http://www.rolexcupregatta.com
Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=299
QUANTUM SAILS WINS THE 2010 LIGHTNING SOUTHERN CIRCUIT!
Ed Adams with crew Neil Fowler and P.J. Shaffer rode their 1st place finish
at the Lightning Midwinter Championships to a 1st overall at the 2010
Lightning Southern Circuit! Powered by Quantum sails, Adams speed was very
good in all conditions. Amazingly, their worst race over the three regatta
circuit was a 7th! They finished 3rd at both of the first two stops of the
circuit held in Savannah, GA and Miami, FL. After totaling all the races
sailed in the three regattas they finished 13 points ahead of second place.
Find your speed at http://www.quantumsails.com
HATFIELD IS BACK
Canada's most experienced round the world yachtsman, Derek Hatfield, has
announced that he will compete in the 2010-11 VELUX 5 OCEANS race, and has
purchased the Eco 60 yacht Great America III (formerly Solidaires) from
veteran American solo sailor Rich Wilson.
The boat will now be renamed Spirit of Canada ahead of the 30,000-mile race
which starts from La Rochelle in France in October. It will be the second
time Derek, a native of New Brunswick, has competed in the VELUX 5 OCEANS
after finishing third in Class II in the 2002/03 race.
Designed by famous naval architect Bernard Nivelt for French single hander
Thierry Dubois, the new Spirit of Canada was launched in 1999 before being
raced in the 2000 Vendee Globe. She was then entered in the 2002/03 edition
of the VELUX 5 OCEANS finishing second in Class I. In both the 2004 and 2008
Vendee Globe races she was skippered to a credible seventh position.
Derek will now race her in the Eco 60 class in the 2010-11 VELUX 5 OCEANS
race, dubbed the Ultimate Solo Challenge. The Eco 60 class is for Open 60
yachts launched before 2003, taking away the emphasis on money and putting
it back on the skill, seamanship and determination of each sailor. Derek
plans to be the first person in history to race around the world without the
use of fossil fuels to operate the boat. -- Event website:
http://www.velux5oceans.com
SAILING SHORTS
* The World Sailing Speed Record Council announced the ratification of a new
outright Round the World record, set by Franck Cammas (FRA) and a crew of 9
onboard the 103-foot trimaran 'Groupama 3'. From January 31, 2010 to March
20, 2010, Cammas covered the 21,760 nm course in 48 days 7 hours 44 minutes
52 seconds (18.76 knots avg. speed). The previous record set in 2005 of 50
days 16 hours 20 minutes 4 seconds was held by skipper Bruno Peyron (FRA)
onboard 'Orange 2'. -- http://www.sailspeedrecords.com
* New Orleans, LA (March 28, 2010) - The 2010 Flying Scot Midwinter
Championship hosted forty-three teams at Southern Yacht Club on March 23-26.
The first two days were marked by light winds, but after a squall went
through on Thursday, the final races on Friday saw the choppy waters of Lake
Pontchartrain kick up for the 15-20 knots. Final results had Allan Terhune
in 1st place with 24 points, Kelly Gough in 2nd place with 34 points, and
Rob Dolittle in 3rd with 41 points; Letty Eby won the Challenger Division.
-- Complete report:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9533
* The New York-Barcelona Transoceanic Sailing Record will begin between
April 5th and the 12th from Ambrose Light in New York and will finish in the
Barcelona port between April 20th and the 30th. The two competing teams are
comprised of Alex Pella, Pepe Ribes and the American Stan Schreyer with
Estrella Damm; and Pachi Rivero, Antonio Piris and Peter Becker with W
Hotels. The New York Yacht Club, which is collaborating with the project,
has picked Edward Cesare as a reserve skipper for both teams. -- Complete
report: http://tinyurl.com/yhl5jp3
* (March 28, 2010) - For the dismasted 'California' team on the Qingdao to
San Francisco leg of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race, big seas
are hampering their attempt at setting up a jury rig. The motion of the
yacht without its full rig in place is uncomfortable, but free climbing the
spar to affix a temporary sail plan must wait until the seas flatten. For
now, the yacht continues to motor towards the finish with the 'Spirit of
Australia' and 'Hull & Humber' teams standing by. Leader 'Cape Breton
Island' is 489 nm from the finish. -- Race website:
http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com
* The top finishers at the 2010 Formula Windsurfing World Championship on
Lake Potrerillos at Mendoza, Argentina were Antoine Albeau (FRA) for the men
and Marta Hlavaty (POL) for the women, with top North American Farah Hall
(USA) taking third. -- Foum,
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9535
SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR
Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar
LETTERS AND FORUM
Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The
Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer
than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One
letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for
elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is
available on the Scuttlebutt Forum.
-- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com
-- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum
* From Ryan Hamm: (re, EIGHT BELLS in Scuttlebutt 3057)
Coach Mac sure was a great man. I was lucky enough to meet him later in life
and raced a bunch of juniors that he helped along in the sailing world. They
were great little sailors. He was still helping out on race committee the
last few years and Carrie Rohde, one of hi mentorees, started a high school
team in Sunbury Georgia where no team existed with some of Coach Mac's kids
and she keeps up his traditions. She was named "USOC Volunteer Sailing Coach
of the Year" last year for her efforts that all started due to a Coach Mac's
efforts with Savannah Yacht Club's, Savannah Sailing Center's, and Richmond
Hill High School's Juniors. He will be missed but not forgotten!
* From Stephen Roffey, Sunshine Coast, Australia:
What a great disappointment that Larry Ellison has dropped his pending
litigation against Alinghi. Ellison started his legal quest in 2007 to
prevent Alinghi from writing the rules in its own favour in its rabid desire
to hold on to the Cup. He spent millions on lawyers in that effort and the
sailing community (plus me, not even a sailor) were grateful to him. Now,
just because he has thrashed Alinghi and won the Cup, doesn't he care
anymore about the principles he fought for?
Dozens of sailors were put out of work by Alinghi's refusal to be brought to
heel. Alinghi should be punished for Bertarelli's obsessive fear of allowing
his nemesis Russell Coutts a fair chance to take the Cup away from him.
Because, let's face it, it was all about Coutts for Bertarelli, wasn't it?
Ellison should have proceeded with his breach of fiduciary duty action - not
to ban Alinghi forever as a potential trustee (and consequently even as a
challenger, which would be going too far in my view), but to preclude any
sordid attempt by any team to bend the rules in the future.
Are we to forget about Alinghi's constant antics? Their refusal to allow
Team NZ on the podium after AC 32, their almost universally scorned
Protocol, their pathetic cartoons, their claim as to which party failed to
sign the Singapore agreement, their telling Oracle where it could or
couldn't park its trimaran, their "We don't want to play anymore!" sulk on
the Race Committee boat before Race 2 in Valencia, their tardiness in
handing over the intellectual property rights to Oracle after Oracle won,
and so on? -- Forum, read on:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9534#9534
* From Ron Baerwitz:
I have to agree with Mr. Rumsey (in Scuttlebutt 3057). The avid sailor got
excited about the look of the big Tri and Cat and marveled at the speeds
that they went in comparison to the wind. Awesome! But the "Match" racing
was plain stupid. Slower boats make better match races. The greater the
speed potential the more likely there will be great differences in distance
not long after the start. Then it's just watching grass grow. The old AC
boats were just fine. Even the 12's were perfect for match racing. The
excitement for the spectator is tight racing. The thrill of a boat going 30
knots in 7 knots of wind is lost on TV.
* From Matthew W. Tobriner Chestertown, MD:
A lot has been said about making the America's Cup racing more available and
exciting for a non-sailing TV audience. One big elephant in the arena is
that TV networks and their sponsors who buy advertising based on a projected
viewership, as well as the viewing public generally have schedules. (I think
I'll watch the semifinals of the NCAA B-ball tonight at 10:00 p.m.) The
inability to start races on a schedule really harms the prospects for
consistent general viewing. RC's want a fair and safe course, laid out in
the proper orientation in the right wind. The contestants want the right to
call for lay days. A different set of team sponsors want opportunities to
fulfill their business objectives on their schedule. And Mother Nature has
her own indifferent logic. Sorting this out and getting the race off at
10:00 a.m. is a challenge and may ultimately limit the networks' and the
non-sailing public's attention span.
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
"Revolt always comes from below. No man with four aces asks for a new deal."
- Richard Needham, newspaper columnist
Special thanks to Summit Yachts and Quantum Sails.
Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
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