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SCUTTLEBUTT 3424 - Monday, September 12, 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: Summit Yachts and IYRS. EVEN MIDDLE-OF-THE-FLEETERS CAN WIN IF THEY NEVER GIVE UP By Chris Caswell, SAILING Magazine We were slogging along in the middle of the fleet, which was our usual position and one that was quite comfortable, because we knew all the other middle-of-the-fleeters around us. The hotshots were out in front, of course, and we only saw them when we were launching and hauling out. The rest of the time they sailed their own race. But occasionally the gods need a good laugh. We had just peeled away from the rest of the fleet because one of the hotshots had tacked on our wind out of what I can only attribute to pure spite and meanness, because there was no way that we could match him for boat speed. And then it happened. Out of nowhere, there was first a darker spot on the water ahead and then, there it was: our own private breeze. It was a lift. A big lift. A strong lift. Suddenly, my crew and I were hiking as hard as we could, and we were laying the weather mark easily. And no one (no one!) else in the fleet had our lift. Tee hee. We rounded the weather mark eons ahead, and after the chute was up and drawing, the first thing I did was check the course chart to make sure I wasn’t doing something colossally stupid, which wouldn’t exactly have been surprising. But, no, we were just out in front. Way. Out. Front. I looked at the bulky back of my crew and asked rhetorically, “What the heck was that all about?” “That,” he said with the voice of Moses handing down the tablet, “was a Gift Shift.” So it was. Somewhere the gods were laughing. And thus I came to recognize that every so often, especially for those of us who sail in that Never-Never Land between DFL and somewhere up toward the front, the gods toss down the occasional rosebud to keep us interested. To keep us believing that we really can beat the hotshot sailors. We call it Never-Never Land because we are never going to get a trophy and we are never going to get back to the dock before there is a long waiting line for the hoist. We really ought to call it Never-Never-Never Land, because we’re never going to get to the showers while there is still hot water, either. So be it. I would like to claim that we won that particular race through sheer boat speed combined with tactical brilliance, but I’m happy to just say that we won the race. The hotshots were carving our lead down at a great rate, but luckily for us, there was a mathematical absolute at work. The rate at which they were diminishing our lead did not equal the distance to the finish line. And so we won. Not only did we win, but we were first to the hoist, first to the showers, and were awarded a daily first trophy, which quite clearly amazed everyone. Us included. More important than any of those things, however, is that I learned a very important rule of sailing that isn’t in any of the official rule books. In fact, it’s actually a Rule of Life as well. Don’t give up too soon.... read on: http://tinyurl.com/432q28x SCUTTLEBUTT TRIVIA What is the International Sailing Federation’s longest running event? ACTION AND ENTERTAINMENT Plymouth, UK (September 11, 2011) - After the inaugural event of the America’s Cup World Series in Cascais, Portugal (Aug. 6-14) introduced the world to AC45 racing, nine teams met in Plymouth, UK this weekend to showcase their talents in the second edition of the ACWS, which will continue on to September 18th. With the race course set up in the Sound, just meters offshore from the Plymouth Hoe, the AC Plymouth Open offered ‘stadium sailing’ for the thousands that lined the shores. "It was pretty awesome to see a crowd like that supporting the sport,” said Artemis Racing skipper Terry Hutchinson. “I don’t think anyone expected something like that. Imagine what could happen with a sunny day.” After the opening races on Saturday demonstrated manageable racing with winds peaking at 20 knots, it was the show on Sunday that will be replayed on the Internet again and again for viewers worldwide. With winds gusting close to 30 knots, three capsizes tell the story as the blustery conditions pushed the crews and the boats to their limits, and in some cases beyond. The swim club this day included the French Aleph, Team Korea and Spain’s Green Comm Racing. In each case, the crews escaped unscathed, the boats, with minor damage to their wings. The attrition was compounded when Artemis Racing damaged their wing when the runner hit the trailing edge and were forced to retire. For the sporting fan that seeks out the extreme moments, here is a video compilation of the wipeouts: http://youtu.be/Jvk4D-GlUgE Holding the top three positions for the series were Dean Baker/ Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Jimmy Spithill/ ORACLE Racing Spithill (USA), and Terry Hutchinson/ Artemis Racing (SWE). Monday and Tuesday are off days at the America’s Cup World Series Plymouth allowing the teams a chance to rest and repair both man and machine. Racing resumes on Wednesday with qualifying races for the Plymouth AC Match Race Championship. Event website: http://tinyurl.com/ACWS-Plymouth Race schedule: http://tinyurl.com/ACWS-Plymouth-2011 Saturday video highlights: http://youtu.be/DBgB0ypyuUY Sunday video highlights: http://youtu.be/-PaBrBD6RHc Complete video index: http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericasCup MONEY: The America's Cup is costing Plymouth City Council up to 200,000 pounds (317,636.77 USD) in support costs, a Freedom of Information request by BBC News has revealed. The council said the money had paid for facilities which included pontoons, stages and toilets. It said it could not reveal how much, if anything, it had paid to organisers to secure the event in the first place. -- http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-14857687 MARK MILLS DESIGNED RACER/CRUISER Excited about the fall boat show season? Anxious to see the latest sailboats from around the world? Well start this week with the Newport International Boat Show, and as far as the latest and best, check out the 2011 Summit 35. This Mark Mills designed racer/cruiser will impress with its large, comfortable interior, and huge cockpit, and built in the US quality. It already has an impressive race record, and doubles as a fast family cruiser as well. Stop in and see George and Barry at the Newport Show, and check out all of our models at http://www.summit-yachts.com STAR CLASS CENTENNIAL The Star is turning 100! Since the first Star sailed on Long Island Sound in 1911 over 8400 boats have been built, the venerable one design continues to attract the best sailors in the world! To celebrate this milestone the International Star Class Yacht Racing Association is holding a Centennial Celebration at the Larchmont Yacht Club (Larchmont, NY) on September 12-18, 2011. Larchmont has been the site of many Star regattas since the beginning and was chosen for their enthusiasm and ability to host an event of this magnitude. This event will focus on the people who love Star boats. It will feature racing for vintage and modern Stars, as well as a display of Star history. There will be a Gala Celebration with a gathering of Star luminaries and notable characters. Some of the notables include Bill and Carl Buchan sailing together, Colin Beashel and David Giles are back on Star 7828, the boat which they won the 1998 Worlds. Mark Reynolds and Hal Haenel are together, and are rumored to be using their gold medal boat (7592) from the 1992 Olympics. The Star has been an Olympic Class since 1932 and is sailed throughout the World. With many active fleets in Europe, there is a similar event being planned for late October 2011 in St. Tropez. Many fleets are also planning 100th events of their own. To mark the occasion the Star Class also designed a special 100th logo for use by all Star fleets for their celebrations. -- http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12573 TRIBUTE AND TRIUMPH San Francisco, CA (September 11, 2011) - After enduring Saturday’s high wind survival conditions, the hundreds of sailors on 81 teams at the 47th annual Rolex Big Boat Series would no doubt agree that handling today’s 14-17 knots on San Francisco Bay was a piece of cake. And rich was the cake’s icing: sunshine unobstructed by fog, with temperatures that had warmed by double digits to 68 degrees. A single “Bay Tour” distance race showed seven classes (IRC A, B, C, D J/105, J/120, Express 37) the four corners of San Francisco Bay, visually anchored by the Golden Gate Bridge to the west, Alacatraz Island in the middle, and Treasure Island and Bay Bridge to the East, while an eighth class (Farr 30) topped off its world championship with four feisty races on the “North Course” that was their racing home for the regatta’s entire four days. Spectators, too, were treated to the true beauty, emotion and power of sail when, before racing, all boats paraded in honor of 9/11 victims, and for the finish, a colorful lineup of spinnakers roared past the stretch of land closest to Crissy Field, triggering cannon fire from the uppermost decks of nearby St. Francis Yacht Club where later six perpetual trophies as well as Rolex Oyster Perpetual Stainless Steel Submariners would be awarded to winners in six of the classes. Full report: http://www.rolexbigboatseries.com/Files/Day%204.pdf Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=527 SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * Chicago, IL (September 10, 2011) - With conditions a far cry from yesterday's chop and varying winds, today's final day of the CMRC Autumn Open A event was a nail-biting day of comebacks and fallouts, with the Hong Kong-Kiwi team led by skipper Seah Chin Yew emerging on top of the field of 10 teams from 5 nations in this Grade 3 event. Seah raced with Laurie Jury Logan Fraser and Michael Edmonds, who themselves are on a winning streak after capturing last week's 4-event US Grand Slam Series title. -- Full report: http://chicagomatchrace.com/PressRelease/article.asp?p=10098 * Toronto, Ont (September 11, 2011) - Twenty-nine teams competed at the 2011 Beneteau First 36.7 North American Championship, hosted by National Yacht Club on September 8-11. With ten races completed, the title would be decided in the final race between defending champion Gary Tisdale from Youngston, NY and local Richard Reid. Tisdale left no doubt by winning the final race to take both the open title and the Corinthian award. -- Event website: http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=422 * Long Beach, CA (September 11, 2011) - The 2011 Finn U.S. Nationals saw 30 boats compete in the three day event hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. 2008 Olympic silver medalist Zach Railey conducted a clinic through the nine race event, completing a perfect score of all first place finishes to take the title. Also dominating the field was Caleb Paine, finishing second and clear by 21 points of third place finisher Henry Sprague. -- Full results: http://www.abyc.org/upload/2011_Finn_Nationals6.htm * Newport, RI (September 11, 2011) - One of the most anticipated sailing events of the year - the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex - starts Monday for the 22 yacht clubs representing 16 nations from six different continents. Swan 42s will be used in the competition, and the event site will provide live updates, tracking, video, etc. at http://www.invitationalcup.org * Co. Dublin, Ireland (September 9, 2011) - Another first place in the penultimate race for Italians Diego Negri and Enrico Voltolini sealed their series-long domination and overall victory at the Star European Championship. Canadians Richard Clarke/Tyler Bjorn charge up the standings landed them in third place in the 27-boat fleet from 18 nations. -- Event website: http://www.rsgyc.ie/stareuro2011/ * Porto Cervo, Italy (September 10, 2011) - The 2011 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup concluded in dramatic style with the completion of the scheduled programme for all classes. This year’s class victors are: Mini Maxi Rolex World Championship: Niklas Zennström’s Rán 2 (GBR); Maxi Racing: Sir Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling (MON); Maxi Racing/Cruising division: Danilo Salsi’s DSK Pioneer Investments (ITA); Supermaxi: Filip Balcaen’s Nilaya (GBR); Wally: Claus-Peter Offen’s Y3K (GER). -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/Maxi-Yacht-Rolex-Cup-2011 * The Natalie J, owned by Dr. Philip D. O’Niel III of Bloomfield Hills, MI, is the winner of the 2011 Clark DeRoy Trophy. The Trophy is awarded to the yacht with the lowest combined corrected time for the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac and the Bayview Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. Dr. O’Niel, a member of the Bayview Yacht Club, also won the Point Betsie Trophy, given to the winner of the 2011 Yacht Club Challenge for club teams with 5+ boats sailing under its name. In second was St. Joseph River Yacht Club and Macatawa Bay Yacht Club in third. * A well-known Nassau sailing enthusiast who had been missing for some time has died after falling eight floors from the balcony of his hotel in Puerto Rico. Jack Donald, 53, died of his injuries in hospital. Police confirmed the tragedy took place last Friday. Mr Donald's death has been categorised as a suicide, according to detectives who discovered a note inside his room at the Radisson Ambassador Plaza Hotel & Casino, in San Juan. -- Read on: http://www.tribune242.com/09092011_sailingclubjack_news_pg1 * The World Sailing Speed Record Council announced the ratification of a new Singlehanded Around Australia record by Bruce Arms (AUS) onboard the 46 ft catamaran Big Wave Rider. Completed on August 8th, Arms completed the 6536 nm route in 38 days 21 hours 41 minutes and 42 seconds (avg speed 7 kts). -- http://tinyurl.com/WSSRC-091111 SHOP BOATS, SHOP FUTURES A trip this week to the Newport International Boat Show is not only a chance to indulge your passion for all things boating: it is also an opportunity to learn if the industry holds a professional future for you. IYRS will be at the boat show (September 15-18) and staff will be on hand to talk about IYRS programs in Boatbuilding & Restoration, Marine Systems, and Composites Technology - programs that have launched many marine careers. Combine an IYRS boat show visit with a tour of the school’s main campus, only a short walk from the show. http://www.iyrs.org TRIVIA ANSWER The ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship is the International Sailing Federation’s longest running event, having taken place every year since the first championships hosted by Sweden in 1971. The event has been held in 24 countries over the past 41 years. In 2012 the Youth Worlds heads to Dublin Bay in Ireland, followed by Limassol, Cyprus in 2013 and Tavira in Portugal 2014. ISAF is now inviting bids to host the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships from 2015 onwards. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/36583.php 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 Bill Canfield, St. Thomas, VI: Gary Bodie has given some excellent advice (in Scuttlebutt 3423) for US Olympic sailors who hope to compete in Rio in 2016, but when you examine his words you wonder how small a percentage of our elite junior sailors to whom they really pertain. Gary admits that many body types and sizes are eliminated immediately as they don't fit the Olympic boats. He further suggests that to be successful it is necessary to forgo possibly the most fun sailing you will ever do racing against your peers for eight years in HS and college. Rather you must jump into a single boat type for at least 6 - 8 years. He points out how fickle the IOC is by eliminating one class before it was tested and another that was possible the showcase of the sport and was the one class the host country, Brazil, really wanted. He then admits the format for 2016 is still unknown. Who knows if your class will be there when you peak out. If you look at the situation with a sensible mind, it tells you Olympic sailing has gone off the tracks as far as American sailors are concerned and like most things ISAF is involved with decisions are driven by a small group of European countries. The Olympics is very important to ISAF and it provides a major percent of their funding but I question how long it will remain an Olympic sport. In the days of media coverage and especially TV the class that offered spectators and TV has been eliminated without a test and the class that brought familiar sailing names to the sport has also been dropped. Again sensible minds should question both those decisions. I think elite junior sailors that have Olympic aspirations should follow their dreams and Gary's advice but should expect disappointments. To the 99.5 other US elite sailors enjoy the sport of sailing! COMMENT: I contend that Gary’s advice - which I agree with - is a partly due to the changes that have occurred in U.S. youth sailing. In many cases, the type of boats sailed by the current USSTAG team members during their teen years are not the same boats that were used by the U.S. teams in the 80’s. Today’s boats are simplified, and teach a fraction of the lessons needed to be successful at the Olympic level. Before American John Shadden won the bronze medal in the 470 at the 1988 Olympics, he spent his teen years racing Snipes. The lessons he learned in the Snipe made for a much easier transition into the 470 than if he had raced only FJs and Club 420s. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Life is too complicated in the morning. 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