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SCUTTLEBUTT 3328 - Tuesday, April 26, 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: Team One Newport, Melges Performance Sailboats, and Interlux. PUMA'S MAR MOSTRO SEES THE LIGHT OF DAY By Ken Read, Skipper, PUMA Ocean Racing As a team, about a year ago we set May 1, 2011, as our date to have PUMA's new Volvo Open 70 in the water sailing. The fact that we are closing in on that date and it looks as if we'll meet our goal is practically a miracle. There are typically a million reasons during a boat build to continually move the schedule backwards -- all good reasons, by the way. But, the build team refused to buckle under, and everyone has double shifted for nearly the entire build and worked around the clock for the last six weeks to make sure that our sailing date would be met without a loss of quality. What did this extraordinary effort give us? Lots and lots of design time. We started the build as late as possible to give the Juan K (design) office several weeks more than our schedule allowed, which immediately put our build team under the gun. Hopefully it was time well spent -- we certainly think so. Yet even with all that design time, our boat will be the second, third generation V-70 in the water. Fantastic! This is certainly the week to praise our 40+ person build team lead by Brandon Linton, Tim Hacket and their spectacular construction "swat team," as well as the entire work force and management group at New England Boatworks. Brad Jackson has been a fantastic build coordinator from the sailing side, working daily with Nahuel Wilson from the Juan K office on every single detail on the boat. As I have said before, these races are won or lost before the start. Our entire build team has done their job amazingly well, now it's up to the sailors to keep the momentum going. As we stand here on Monday, April 26, we have a complete Volvo Open 70. Over the next week, the entire team (both shore and sailing) will put the finishing touches on Mar Mostro. The boat has moved today from the low roof "building" shed to a high roof "finishing" shed to have the keel put on and the remaining big bits and pieces installed. Later this week, the completed boat will come out of the high roof shed to have the mast stepped. And after a "thank you party" for all the builders and suppliers and a day or so of stress tests, we get to go sailing early next week. I have to admit, we're all antsy to get on our new boat. The final few build weeks is always hard on the team. Each of the sailors has their area of expertise and they're all dying to get on our new toy to try everything out. In a little over a week, we'll start the process of testing this amazing new piece of hardware and try to prove whether this boat will live up to very lofty expectations. -- Read on: http://www.puma.com/sailing/news/the-light-of-day Photos: http://tinyurl.com/FB-042511 Volvo Ocean Race begins in Alicante, Spain on October 29, 2011. Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/ ON POINT In the final days before Christmas last year, San Francisco City Hall emptied out in typical fashion, but a handful of people stayed behind. They included then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, two high-level aides and Kyri McClellan, a San Rafael mother of two who worked in the mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development. McClellan had been the mayor's point person in the bid to host the 34th America's Cup sailing race, and she was now facilitating last-minute negotiations in the face of a looming deadline on New Year's Day. "The joke around my house was, 'we'll celebrate Christmas and New Year's next year,'" McClellan said. On Dec. 31, race officials finally announced San Francisco would be the host, but that only marked the beginning of McClellan's work. For months, she had helped craft a complex scheme whereby an independent group would help cover the city's costs as host. Earlier this month, she became executive director of that very group, the San Francisco America's Cup Organizing Committee, charged with raising $32 million before the 2013 event. The money helps ensure the launch of the world's third-largest sporting event, projected to pump more than $1 billion into the Bay Area economy. "It definitely is the culmination of a lot of different experiences with public service and primarily with City Hall," McClellan said of the new job. "It's also daunting and humbling, and I'm sort of catching the wave and riding it. I guess that's the way I'm approaching it. I'm holding on for dear life." -- Marin IJ, full story: http://www.marinij.com/sanrafael/ci_17903749 GET IT BEFORE IT’S GONE! Take an additional 20% off the Web Special Section at Team One Newport. Now through May 1st, receive an additional 20% off our already ROCK BOTTOM prices in our online Specials section. Add B4GONE to your shopping cart and the discount will be applied before it ships. Great deals from Musto, Henri-Lloyd, Gill, Patagonia, Atlantis, Harken, Sperry, Sebago, Slam and more. Visit http://www.team1newport.com/departments.asp?dept=148 or call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327). Supplies are limited; addition to your shopping cart does not guarantee availability for purchase. Sale ends May 1st and cannot be combined with any other offer or program. KIWI AMERICA'S CUP FUNDING BAFFLING By Martin Devlin, TVNZ columnist/broadcaster I'm confused. Here I am thinking I should be dancing cartwheels, flipping head-over-heels upon hearing the joyous news that we, us taxpayers, have just committed another $36 million to help fund Team New Zealand's 2013 America's Cup challenge - but I'm not. In fact I feel quite the opposite, both underwhelmed and unconvinced. It's an easy decision to criticise and one that, no matter how they attempt to spin, the government knows is nigh impossible to sell to a country reeling from catastrophic natural and industrial tragedies, while still well within the grip of a global economic downturn acknowledged to be among the worst the world has ever had to bear - all of which, in election year, only serves to confuse me more. For a government known to research potential voter reaction to virtually every debatable issue ever raised, it seems nonsensical they'd approve such bloated funding for something so contentious when knowing, in advance, that the majority of Kiwis already utterly oppose it. $36 million is pretty much what RWC boss Martin Snedden estimates we'll lose from hosting that tournament - an amount the government, i.e. us taxpayers, are again expected to underwrite. The counter-weight being, that the event's also expected to inject (an estimated) $500mill into the local economy. Accurately calculating any financial windfall we might receive from an America's Cup campaign two years from now in San Francisco, is the fiscal equivalent of correctly predicting the same regatta's every on-course wind-shift. When you add in the $33.75mill given to Team NZ's 2007 Valencia challenge, plus the $10mill approved by (then Sport and Recreation Minister) Trevor Mallard in the immediate aftermath "to contract vital team members while negotiations continue around details of commercial sponsorship", the running total (in the last five years that we know of) is now at least $79.75million of taxpayer money. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/TVNZ-042511 MEDIA MAESTRO Gary Lovejoy has the challenging job of heading up production for all media - all moving pictures and audio - for the 34th America’s Cup. The first and last time he worked in the America’s Cup was in Perth in ‘86/87, as producer for ITV in the UK. Fifty-six year old Lovejoy, who hails from Plymouth, England (and NO, he swears he’s not the reason the World Series is headed to that city in a few months), comes to the prestigious position at America’s Cup Event Authority with 34 years in broadcasting behind him. In a positive way, Lovejoy is quietly philosophical about the task ahead… SailBlast: Many promises have been made regarding media for AC 34. What’s the most challenging aspect of pulling this off with the new format? Lovejoy: I think doing it all justice, really. We’ve got a fantastic opportunity here which may not be repeated - if we make a mess of this no one may want to try again. We’ve been given the chance with the new boats, with a Cup holder who has vision, with a venue that’s world famous, and the chance to go around the world in the interim and take our traveling road show to lots of different cultures and venues. The crews will be sharp from all that racing, and we’ll have to be sharp by the end of it all. The challenge is to live up to all those things that have been put in place for us. We are privileged in that regard and now have to make it all work. SailBlast: What’s the plan for these next few test weeks in NZ? Lovejoy: The principle reason is to look at the onboard cameras that will go on the AC 45s and also to look at the graphic system that Stan Honey and Ken Milnes have been developing. It’s unique and important enough for us to trial them in NZ several months before the first race. We’ll look at other things as well - like what’s the pace of the whole game now because these boats move so quickly. We’ll be fitting two AC 45s out with their racing kit and we’ll be looking to see how the pictures begin to fit together, how a two-leg sequence for example works, and how much do we rely on these onboard cameras. Are they providing us with more or less than we thought they would? That then dictates what we do with the other cameras. SailBlast: What’s behind managing the sheer number of cameras & equipment? Lovejoy: It’s complicated and it’s not just the video, it’s the audio as well... read on: http://sailblast.blogspot.com/2011/04/gary-lovejoy-ac-34-media-maestro.html KEY PRINCIPLES OF STRENGTH TRAINING Australian Michael Blackburn, a Laser World Champion and an Olympic medalist, also has a PhD in Sports Science. Here he provides tips for conditioning the body for sailing: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Overload: You must gradually work the muscles harder and harder to get stronger. Gradually add to your training - weight, number of repetitions, variety and/or number of sets. 2. Overhaul: Every 4 weeks or so you should revamp your program to give the muscles completely new exercises and loads. 3. Specificity: Your strength gains are specific to the movements and speed of movement you do in training. If you need high arm speed and moderate strength to pull up a kite, then your gym training should reflect this movement speed and muscle groups used. 4. Progression & periodisation: Sequence training such that you start with a period of building muscles, then move towards very sport-specific exercises, loads and movement speeds. As an example, given a period of, say, 6 months to develop your strength, begin with 1 build-up month of 3 x 12-15 reps, followed by 2 months of gradually heavier weights and fewer reps to get you really strong (eg 3-4 sets x 6-10 reps). Then turn towards endurance with a month of 3 x 15-25 followed with a month of circuit-style exercises (40s on, 20s off). Finish with a month of pure strength/endurance work - higher reps of very sailing-specific exercises (see below for examples). 5. Recovery: Allow 48 hours between strength sessions. And, talking of sailing, these are the two key things are especially important when weight training for sailing: 1. Include exercises that improve posture, balance, joint stability, abdominal and back muscles. 2. Be prepared to modify and fine tune your training each day to allow for not feeling 100%, persistent windy weather (meaning harder on-water training) and a desire to add variety. Read on: http://sportstrainingblog.com/sailing/strength-training-for-sailing MELGES MOMENTUM After a seeing the BIG MELGES CIRCLE at Charleston Race Week, many have moved to the Audi Melges 20 and the Melges 24. Summer sailing in Newport, RI is the feature of the Melges 20 class this summer with the National Championship there in August. The Melges 24 hits Texas for the M24 Worlds and then the Nationals are in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin - the official home of the Melges 24. Many Melges events in between. Check it out at http://www.melges.com UPDATE: The Melges 24 results at Charleston Race Week have been revised due to a scoring error in the last race. It is unclear when they will become the final results, as they continue to be labeled as ‘preliminary’ despite the event being completed on April 17th. Results: http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=407 ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP - EVENT FOUR Hyeres, France (April 25, 2011) - With decreasing winds forecasted for later in the week, it was a day of hurry up and wait on day two of the Semaine Olympique Française as start times were moved up to stay on schedule, but morning winds proved insufficient for racing. Following postponements, light to medium winds brought new leaders in five of the classes thirteen Olympic and Paralympic classes. The Star class had one of the longest day on the water with three long races. Three places in the top four have given early leaders Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) a ten points lead over George Szabo and Mark Strube (USA). “We arrived at the yacht club early for a 9am start time, but were postponed on shore,” noted Szabo. “It was a tough day on the water starting off with a big 30-plus degree wind shift on first beat of first race. The race committee did a good job getting us three races, although we had lots of recalls. We finally got back on land around 6pm.” In the women Match-racing, the top six teams from the 24 entrants advanced to the Gold group. Among the Gold group is Sally Barkow/ Elizabeth Kratzig/ Alana O'Reilly (USA). Strong performances among the North Americans are also found in the Paralympic classes, with singlehander Mark LeBlanc (USA) and triplehanders Rick Doerr/ Brad Kendell/ Hugh Freund (USA) are both in third. Several national teams have chosen the Semaine Olympique Française as one of the selection event for these regattas. The Italians have started their Olympic selection in Palma and the SOF is the second of three events. Czechs, Slovenians, and French are starting in Hyeres. “Hyeres has always a very high level of competition and it is the opportunity for us to see how our athletes are handling the pressure;” explains Philippe Gouard, French team manager. Racing continues each day this week and concludes on April 29. Daily report/results: http://sof.ffvoile.net/index.php?page=18&lang=en&news=97 Canada: http://tinyurl.com/CYA-042511 USA: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/Events/World_Cup/SOF.htm THINNING THE HERD The 2010-11 sailing season for the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association held the Mens/ Womens Singlehanded and Match Racing National Championships last fall, and will conclude the season at Cascade Locks in Oregon for the final three National Championships on May 23-June 1: Team Race, Women’s Dinghy and Open Dinghy. The seven ICSA districts have been hosting their qualifiers for these Nationals, and while the top Team Race and Women’s Dinghy teams will go straight to Oregon, the Open Dinghy teams still must survive the Eastern and Western Semifinals that will be held this weekend in Long Beach, CA. The top 36 Open Dinghy colleges will be travelling to US Sailing Center - Long Beach in hopes of finishing in the top half of their group to qualify for the Nationals. Hosted by the University of Southern California Sailing Team, teams will compete in Flying Juniors, with the race venue near the Belmont Pier on the Long Beach Harbor. Here is a list of the teams that qualified for the Semifinals: Eastern Semifinals - Brown University - College Of Charleston - Connecticut College - Cornell University - Georgetown University - Harvard University - Ohio State University - Old Dominion University - Stanford - Texas A&M University - Tufts University - Tulane - U.S. Naval Academy - UC Los Angeles - University Of Florida - University Of Michigan - University Of Minnesota - Western Washington University Western Semifinals - Boston College - Eckerd College - Hobart and William Smith College - Marquette University - Northwestern University - Roger Williams University - St. Mary’s College Of Maryland - SUNY Maritime College - UC Santa Barbara - University Of Miami - University Of Oregon - University Of Rhode Island - University Of South Florida - University Of Southern California - University Of Texas - University Of Wisconsin - Washington College - Yale University Semifinals website: http://2011semis.collegesailing.info/ SAILING SHORTS * At the conclusion of last weekend's New England Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Women's Championships, the NEISA Awards Committee announced the 2011 All-NEISA Women's Teams. In addition to First and Second Team Skippers and Crews, the Committee named the Women's Sailor of the Year and the Women's Rookie of the Year. Competitors named the 2011 Women's Sportsman Of the Year - three sailors tied in the selection process and each was named 2011 Sportsman of the Year. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11738 * US SAILING's Webinar Series on Tuesday, April 26 at 8:15 p.m. EDT is hosted by Chuck Hawley, a US SAILING Safety at Sea Moderator and US SAILING Powerboat Instructor. Hawley will discuss the "Top Ten Items to Take Offshore" during the instructional 30 minute webinar. This webinar is free and open to the public. Register here: http://tinyurl.com/USSA-042511 * A tax break for big yachts might seem like a long shot in these tough times, but a Houston lawmaker is floating the idea as an economic issue. Republican Rep. John Davis said other states have paved the way for his proposal - primarily Florida, which backers of his bill say is No. 1 in boat sales to Texas' No. 2. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/TX-042511 * CORRECTION: Easter treats and adult libations blurred our vision for the lead story in Scuttlebutt 3327. Next month, ISAF will be making decision on the sailing events and equipment for the 2016 Olympics, not the 2012 Olympics. EFFECTIVE ANTIFOULING WITHOUT THE COPPER? BELIEVE IT. Interlux Pacifica Plus is the first high performance, copper-free antifouling paint that uses a controlled biocide release mechanism to combat fouling and Biolux Technology to control slime. Available in clean, crisp, bright colors including blue, black and red. Manufactured and for sale in the USA only. Get more info at http://www.yachtpaint.com/usa 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: For Sale - * New Simrad Autopilot TR22 / HR22 Remote Control * Slip dredging machine, small & portable Now Hiring - * US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD: Vanderstar Chair Position * Junior Sailing Instructors-Upstate NY Boats - * Sonars Wanted * Ericson 35 - a winner in Americap II * Star View/post ads here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/classified_ads 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 Charlie Baker, Etchells 1012: Regarding recent comments on coaching, in sports like golf, golfing professional teachers are common. Every course I'm familiar with has at least one. Why shouldn't sailors want to increase their skills just as much, employ such methods, and benefit themselves and the sport as a whole? Some golf pros are better than others. Some golfers use them more than others. But as far as I'm aware no one thinks they should be outlawed or limited. It seems to me the same should be true for sailing. * From Chris Ericksen: At the risk of sounding bitter and cynical, I relate well to your comments about coaching in response to the letter from Alfred C. Constants III ('Butt 3327). The 2011 Etchells Worlds is happening just over a hundred miles from my home; while I might have qualified to go, I did not even participate in my local Etchells fleet qualifying series as I refuse to sail in a regatta where some of the teams are working with professional coaches and some of the crews are being paid more than it would cost me to compete altogether. I am one of those sailors who feel that "the bar (got) pushed up too high" and I have stopped "trying to chase it." No offense to those who can afford professional crew and coaches - more power to you all; yours is just not a league in which I care to compete. But I hope you all have fun! CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Heroes: What a guy in a boat does. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Point Loma Outfitting - Doyle Sails - North Sails Melges Performance Sailboats - Interlux - Team One Newport Morris Yachts - LaserPerformance - Ullman Sails - Summit Yachts US Sailing - The Pirates Lair - O’pen BIC Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
