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SCUTTLEBUTT 3234 - Tuesday, December 7, 2010Scuttlebutt 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: Harken, Camet, and North U. SAILING FAMILY OF THE YEAR Scuttlebutt is pleased to announce that the Storck family of Huntington, NY has been recognized as the 2010 "SAILING FAMILY OF THE YEAR". In addition to the international recognition and the commemorative SFOTY trophy, the Storck family will be outfitted in gear courtesy of award sponsor Atlantis WeatherGear, Camet International, and Harken. This is the inaugural year for this award, and based on the sheer number of submissions, this type of recognition is long overdue. During the review process, it quickly became evident that determining a winner would not be the mission of the judges, but rather to recognize one family this year, and to look forward to recognizing many more in the future. The Storck family received wide spread support though numerous submissions. One nominee considered them "probably sailing family of the decade". Another nominee remarked, "As soon as I read the description for this (award), the first family that jumped to mind is the Storck family." A third said, "This is a total no-brainer. Super sailors across the board and nice people. What else could you ask for?" And on and on it went. While success in the sport was not a vital component of the award, there is a lot of success in this clan. Whether sailing together, like they did winning the J/80 North Americans and finishing 12th in the World Championship, or following their individual pursuits, the Storck family is bonded by the sport. John Storck Jr., has said on many occasions that it is truly a blessing that his four children have taken to sailing with such enthusiasm. However, it is no accident that John III, Erik, Kaity and Ian Storck have come to love sailing as much as their father. All four were introduced to the sport in a positive environment that fostered a passion. He has watched their collective sailing experiences define their individual personalities and the relationships among them. "It's because of the sailing that they're all very close," he says, "and it's because of the sailing that they have the utmost respect for each other, on and off the water." John Storck Jr., and wife Colette, brought each child aboard the family cruiser-racer Jonrob, when they were babies. The kids learned the basic fundamentals of sailing while cruising Long Island Sound aboard the Ericson 39, and were later introduced to the competitive side of the sport as crew for their father when he raced in local events sponsored by Centerport Yacht Club or Lloyd Harbor Yacht Club. "Our kids literally grew up on the Jonrob doing summer cruises and were able to experience sailing in its purest form," Storck said. All four children attended sailing school to further hone their skills, learning how to steer and trim in the Optimist dinghy and Club 420 classes. During those years, John Jr., and Colette were the absolute antithesis of the infamous "helicopter parents", who push their kids to compete and focus solely on results. "When my kids were junior sailors, I rarely ever went to the regatta unless I was working on the race committee," Storck said. "If John and Erik were doing a big regatta, I would take Kaity and Ian to the zoo. My wife and I never wanted to put any pressure on the kids." More to come from the 2010 SFOTY - The Storck family. http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/SFOTY CREDIT: Special thanks to Bill Wagner/Premiere Racing and Dave Reed/Sailing World for contributing to this report. LOSE THE CHILL, KEEP THE CHEER Harken fleece jackets and pullovers are cozy, warm, and great for layering - perfect whether you're frostbiting or just playing in the snow! Right now you can save 20%, so treat yourself or surprise your favorite sailors! Click here for all Harken Holiday Specials: http://www.harkensport.com/cat/SpecialOffers.html OLYMPIC SAILING - IS THE MEN'S KEELBOAT ERA OVER? Among the ten sailing events that will be held at the 2012 Olympics, none is more senior than the men's keelboat, and no class has been in more Olympics than the Star. But when the tentative list of events for the 2016 Olympics was voted on at the ISAF Annual Meeting last month (to be finalized in May 2011), the men's keelboat event was gone, possibly ending a history of Olympic keelboat competition that began when sailing was included at the 1900 Games in Paris, France. Intimately familiar with the Olympic Games is American Mark Reynolds, whose four appearances earned him a Silver and two Gold medals, with his Star accomplishments in 2000 earning him ISAF's highest honor - World Sailor of the Year. Scuttlebutt checked in with Mark about ISAF's decision... here is Part 2 of this three part interview: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- * When we use the word 'athlete', it conjures up a certain ideal, and when we say 'Olympic athlete' it pushes the standard up higher. Is there a perception that Star sailors do not measure up this standard? MARK REYNOLDS: There is little difference between the athleticism of today's Olympic men's keelboat sailors and any of the other sailors at the Olympics. The pure anaerobic and aerobic fitness may be a different mix. For instance, the aerobic fitness of the board sailor may be more important to winning then it is for the keelboat sailor. But just because it's not as important, the Olympic athlete isn't going to give up any advantage. You can put any of the top Olympic keelboat sailors on the erg next to a board sailor, and he will do just fine. The keelboat provides the largest range of crew weights, which is the primary reason so many top sailors are drawn to the keelboat. Although the helmsman tends to be slightly smaller than the crew, this isn't always the case. If you are small you sail with big crew and vice versa. Without the trapeze the helm and crew are virtually interchangeable. The only limiting factor on the bottom end weight for the helmsman is having the strength to trim the large main. The range of crew weights is over two times as large as any other Olympic class. This graph from the top ten at the 2007 ISAF combined Worlds illustrates this well. The whole argument on what is more athletic or not is a moot point. All the sailors at the Olympics are very athletic, period. Remember that those riding horses, shooting bullets or arrows, are "Olympic athletes" as well. The IOC charter states that "Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind." * When the multihull was eliminated from the 2012 Games, the multihull contingent argued that the Olympics must represent all disciplines of the sport: board sailing, multihull, singlehanded, doublehanded, and keelboat. Does this remain to be a valid argument for keeping the men's keelboat? MARK REYNOLDS: Sailing is a very diverse sport, but many others are as well. In fact, the IOC encourages sports to be as diverse as possible with their "events". However, at the end of the day the most important thing is that the best sailors have a place to compete at the Olympics. First and most important is having a boat that fits every physique, weight and height. Part 1 and 2: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/10/1205/ STRONGER THAN STEEL Superman might be most well known for his heroic acts, his affliction from Kryptonite, and his alter ego Clark Kent. But one thing that nobody gives him credit for, was his smarts, and apparently, his future prophecy's. It is possible to be stronger than steel. Stainless steel has long been accepted and assumed to be the industry standard for shackles, padeyes and other sailing hardware. Well it is time to expand our thinking! Dyneema is a fiber made by the Dutch company DSM. It is not new in general, nor new specifically to the yachting industry. As a woven product it has been used for high tech rope, whether as a core or cover, chafe resistant pads on decks and spars, and in sails for years. Weight for weight, Dyneema is 15 times stronger than steel. It is highly resistant to abrasion, moisture, UV rays and chemicals. With a specific weight lower than water's, Dyneema will float. Over the years, much effort and time has been put in to improve "dyneema". It now comes to the yachting industry in many different grades. Having had rope made from Dyneema for years, sailors and riggers have looked into new applications of this "wonder" fiber on boats. Racers are always weight conscious. Cruisers are always wear and tear, and damage conscious (no one likes steel hardware banging around on the deck or mast!). Everyone loves reliability, make that dependability. Well, enter the Soft Shackle. Easy to make with any grade Dyneema, these are strong, light and dependable. As with any fiber product, the limit in strength and size comes down to the termination of the fiber. For composite or fiber standing rigging manufacturers, the battle is all over the smallest and strongest termination, or end fitting. These shackles employ two terminations. One end is a knot, which has shown not only great strength, but ability to not "slip out" under load. The other end is a splice, creating a slipping loop, which can open wide enough to accept the knot to be passed through it, and when closed chokes around the neck of the knot, not allowing it to pass back through. -- Read on: http://wmriggingnewport.wordpress.com/2010/12/04/soft-shackles/ VIEWING WITH AN OPEN MIND While Dennis Conner remains a fierce competitor, he admits to have mellowed. With 28 World Championships, 4 America's Cups, and an Olympic medal on display at his newly opened Dennis Conner Museum in San Diego, who could blame him. But he remains opinionated, and shared some of his views about the Americas Cup past and present during a chat with Martin Devlin on his RadioLIVE show this past weekend. Here is an excerpt: * Concerning the switch from monohulls to multihulls: "I don't know. I have an open mind. I think if the boats were going 35 knots in opposite directions, I don't think that would be very exciting. They would be out of sight in ten minutes. But I am hoping they will come up with some sort of format where they will only be able to go four or five miles and have to tack, like a fence in the race course. If they do have the event in San Francisco, they'll have a natural amphitheater because they can only go from one side of the bay to another. I am thinking that if they start off of Pier 39 there in downtown San Francisco would be pretty spectacular. I am not sure if the event is really going to go there, but if it goes to San Francisco, I have an open mind. Let's wait and give Larry (Ellison) and Russell (Coutts) a chance to see what they can do." * Regarding the extreme wealth needed now to compete: "It's always been that way. Sir Thomas Lipton against Vanderbilt and Rockefeller. The America's Cup has always been an event where people with a great deal of wherewithal went up against each other. This is not a homeless against homeless. This is about rich, powerful people who are used to being successful going up against each other, and I don't see it changing. Just because now the rich, powerful people are from the United Arab Emirates or China going up against Larry Ellison, I don't really see how there has really been a change. It has always been about the rich and powerful. There was just a small bit of time there during the 60s and 70s and 80s where poor people could race like Dennis Conner. Now it's back to the rich and famous." Complete interview: http://tinyurl.com/RLS-120610 SURPRISE: If the mention above of the Dennis Conner Museum caught you by surprise, consider yourself now informed: Photos: http://tinyurl.com/Scuttleblog-120610 Video: http://www.kusi.com/story/13626724/world-of-wonder GOING BEYOND ITALIAN FASHION...GET FUNCTION AND QUALITY Camet Performance sailing shorts design and materials are much more sophisticated and take advantage of a proprietary technology that allows the material to literally assist in your own body's thermoregulation process! DWR Supplex fabric provides excellent skin protection with a UV rating of 40, blocking 97.5% of UV rays. Chosen by crews time after time for major racing programs and rated "best and most popular" by sailors. Learn more at: http://www.camet.com FREE CLASSIFIED ADS The Scuttlebutt Classified Ads provide a marketplace for private parties to buy and sell, or for businesses to post job openings. Here are recent ads: * Tacktick Racemaster * Helly Hansen Coastal Jacket * Henri Lloyd, Women's Offshore Foulies View/post ads here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/classified_ads SAILING SHORTS * Richard Clarke was awarded British Columbia's Sailor of the Year Award at a December 4th dinner in Vancouver, B.C. Among Clarke's outstanding sailing achievements during 2010 were his podium finishes at the 2009 Star North American Championship and the 2010 Star Western Hemisphere Championship and at several US-IRC events. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/CBS-120610 * The 2010 championship of the RC 44 Class will be decided this week at the season's final event, the ORACLE RC 44 Cup Miami. Leading the fleet after the first five events is BMW ORACLE Racing, led by Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts. The crew has the low score of 8 points and leads Pieter Heerema's No Way Back, last season's champion, by 2 points. Two crews are tied for third, James Spithill's 17 and Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis Racing, while Chris Bake's Team Aqua holds fifth with 13 points. -- Read on: http://www.rc44.com/en/regattas/news/index.php?idContent=2676 * The World Sailing Speed Record Council has ratified a new World Women's Sailing Speed Record. On October 28th, Charlotte Consorti (FRA) set a new speed of 50.43 knots on the 500 meter course at Luderitz, Namibia on a kite board. Charlotte is the first women to have exceeded 50 kts. The previous record of 45.2 knots was held by Sjoukje Bredenkamp (RSA). -- http://tinyurl.com/WSSRC-120610 * Entries for this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race have officially closed with 90 skippers completing the entry requirements for the blue water classic that will start in a blaze of colour on Sydney Harbour at 1pm AEDT on Boxing Day, December 26. All Australian states plus the ACT are represented with six international entries sailing for the UK, USA, France, Italy and two part Russian crewed boats. Last year 100 yachts were on the starting line and 95 reached the finish line off Hobart's historic Battery Point.To view the list of yachts applied to enter go to http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/yachts.asp?key=526 * The reconstruction of Alamitos Bay Marina in Long Beach, California is scheduled to go ahead next spring. The project, which has been held up in permitting for several years now, will see the replacement of the existing 1,967 slip marina over a period of four or five years. In addition to the docks and other marina structures, the marina's parking lots, restrooms, gangways, seawall and utilities will also be rebuilt. The first phase of the reconstruction project is scheduled to begin in April of 2011, courtesy of marina developer Bellingham Marine. -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20101025112503ibinews.html * (December 6, 2010) - Solo sailor Christophe Bullens arrived in Cape Town this morning to finish the grueling six-week first leg in the VELUX 5 OCEANS round the world yacht race. The 49-year-old sailed into the South African port 49 days, 22 hours and 55 minutes after the race start in La Rochelle, France, on October 17. Bullens was forced to stop in the Canaries after his yacht was damaged in strong winds and then again in the Cape Verde Islands to make repairs and seek medical advice. The next leg from Cape Town to Wellington, NZL starts on December 12th. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/V5O-120610 VICTORY 2011 Now is the time to start planning for next season's triumphs. North U is ready to help with the books, CDs DVDs, and the best Sail Trim, Tactics, Rules and Match Racing materials (with free shipping), and a full tour of 2011 Tactics Seminars (with a free T-Shirt). We're also gearing up for our Eleventh Annual Performance Race Week to be held in Captiva next April. Next season's success starts with special deals now at http://www.northu.com 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 Peder Lunde, Jr.: Regarding the story, 'Is the men's keelboat racing era over?' in Scuttlebutt 3233, it was also a great disappointment for me to read the ISAF proposal for events for the future Olympic sailing. No keelboat and actually no boat for the world's best and most experienced sailors. To win a yacht race in international competition you must have experience and tactical skill. Nothing is more interesting to watch than a match race between good sailors in a class where boats are equally fast and the tactics plays a major role. These races are mainly done in keelboats like the Star, for which reason the class has remained so popular. The class attracts the worlds best sailors of which young and adults can both compete. As participants in four Olympic Games I must say I fully support the article written by another Olympian Mark Reynolds. I hope more international sailors will express their opinion and support Olympic sailing for good adult sailors in keelboats where they can show why they are the worlds best tactical yachtsmen. => Curmudgeon's Comment: It should be noted that Mr. Lunde of Norway speaks from experience, having won for Olympic Gold in the Flying Dutchman (1960) and Olympic Silver in the Star (1968), and is a third generation yachtsman winning Olympic medals. * From Jim Champ: Regarding this quote from Ben Ainslie in Scuttlebutt 3233 - "I think that match racing will be a very small part of the next regatta. It will mostly be about trying to develop the fastest boat possible." - Ben must realize it always has been, always will be about developing the fastest boat. One of the reasons that post war Brit challenges for the AC have always underperformed is a tendency for skippers with generous egos to say "just give me an equal boat and I'll do the rest". However what happens is that their team turns up with a current state of the art boat, and someone else's team turns up with something new and special and decidedly unequal, and that's it: game over. * From Tom Hovey: Regarding the race course conundrum, I'll take it one step further. Does anyone remember buoy racing? Edgartown Regatta, Block Island Race Week, BBR 12 Meter Trials out of Newport and many more. Today no matter where you go to race, it's the same windward leeward. Boring! When there are so many government marks that can be used to create interesting courses. Those downwind starts in Edgartown were thrilling. Close reaches, broad reaches, climbing up over someone was always exciting! Coming up COMING UP!! Mastline! Don't hear that much anymore. Turn back the clock it was much more fun. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Famous Last Words..."I made the deciding vote on the jury, so what of it?" 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