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SCUTTLEBUTT 2799 - Thursday, March 12, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Today's sponsors are Ullman Sails and Summit Yachts. SWITCH TO 406MHZ!! by Anne F. Newton, United States Coast Guard The International Cospas-Sarsat System is the sole provider of all distress alert and location data from distress beacons around the world. They provide this data through satellites and ground facilities and disseminate it to all Rescue Coordination Centers around the world. On 1 February 2009, they have ceased satellite processing of 121.5/243 MHz beacons. All beacon owners and users should replace their 121.5/243 MHz beacons with 406 MHz beacons as soon as possible. This affects all maritime beacons (EPIRBs), all aviation beacons (ELTs) and all personal beacons (PLBs). However, other devices (such as man overboard systems and homing transmitters) that operate at 121.5 MHz and do not rely on satellite detection are not affected by the phase-out of satellite processing at 121.5 MHz. Why Switch? Cospas-Sarsat made the decision to cease satellite processing at 121.5/243 MHz in response to guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). These United Nations organizations mandate safety requirements for aircraft and maritime vessels and have recognized the limitations of the 121.5/243 MHz beacons and the superior capabilities of the 406 MHz alerting system. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0308 VOLVO OCEAN RACE: ICEBERGS AND WEATHER CHANGES (Mar. 11, 2009; Day 26) - It’s 2.30am and pitch black in the Southern Ocean. From above deck on Green Dragon comes a question for skipper Ian Walker who is boiling water below. “Ian, is the radar on?” The query is from New Zealander Andrew McLean. It is followed by a statement from McLean that there are “some objects” in the water. What he meant to say, obviously, was “iceberg, 2 o'clock” – Titanic style. The “objects” were a sharp reminder of the latitude the Irish-Chinese entry found itself in – 50 degrees south. Walker and the crew were in growler (breakaway iceberg) territory. "The three icebergs that we saw in rapid succession (two to windward and one to leeward) were each between 100 metres across and the size of a football pitch as best we could tell in the dark about a half a mile away,” Walker noted. "I was pleased to see that they shone reasonably brightly even at 2 o'clock in the morning in the ambient light. It was a nervous night from then on with every white breaking wave off the bow tricking you into believing there could be small lumps of ice ahead. "I noticed this morning that a few more people are now wearing survival suits and we have made a point of closing all the water-tight doors. Whilst I would love to see an iceberg in the daylight I will be more than happy to not see any more ice this race,” he added in a video clip from the boat the following morning. -- by Cameron Kelleher, read on: http://linkbee.com/IX0J * From Kenny Read, PUMA skipper: “What a difference a day makes. Constant losses to the two guys in front as they sailed away in more pressure made the mood on PUMA's IL Mostro frustrated to say the least. Well, give a group of sailors a few winning position reports in a row and the mood changes quickly. It appears to be our turn for at least a short time, to reel in some miles as the two leaders begin to sail in some lighter winds. We have a few nice sail combinations in these conditions and we are blazing off the miles. Feels good to be heading straight at the mark at an average of about 22 knots. And back to winning scheds!” -- Read on: http://linkbee.com/IX0L Crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Leg Five from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janiero, Brazil is 12,300 nm, with the finish estimated on March 20th. Current positions (as of Mar. 12, 1:15 am GMT): 1. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 4,249 nm Distance to Finish 2. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 168 nm Distance to Leader 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 206 nm DTL 4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 479 nm DTL 5. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 772 nm DTL Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, Did Not Start Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, DNS Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, DNS Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com RAG & FAMISH HOTEL CLAIMS 18FT SKIFF CLUB TROPHY The Australian 18ft skiff team of John Harris, Scott Babbage and Peter Harris on “Rag & Famish Hotel” showed excellent speed and few mistakes Sunday, claiming the 18ft Skiff Club Trophy in the 3-Buoy Race in Sydney Harbor. Competing with 100% Ullman Sails inventory, the team proved to be dominant downwind and controlled the 18-boat fleet for most of the race to take first place. Ullman Sails is committed to providing the best sails and service to every customer. Make an investment in your performance. Contact a local Ullman Sails loft and visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com CULTURE SHOCK by Tom Leweck “I don’t think I’ve been outta bed at five in the morning for five straight days in the last 30 years,” commented Tom Priest as we all stumbled around in the dark - packing our bags for an early morning flight back to California. Priest, and the rest of us in our rented crew house, had just raced on Damon Guizot’s Long Beach, California-based Swan 53 Katrina in the St Maarten Heineken Regatta. For us, the daily 5 a.m. wakeup calls were a bit of culture shock. In California, the sea breeze doesn’t fill in until late morning, so races rarely start before noon. The wind blows all day and all night in the Caribbean, and the Heineken Regatta’s first warning signal was scheduled for 0855 each day. Consequently, our Swan always left the slip at 0700 to insure we didn’t miss the 0730 bridge-opening … trapped in the lagoon while the rest of the 218 boats in the regatta were out racing. -- Scuttleblog, read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/03/culture-shock.html BROMBY/LILJEDAHL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE Miami, FL (Mar. 11, 2009; Day 4) - Bermuda’s Peter Bromby and crew Magnus Liljedhal of Miami held off a late charge by Jon VanderMolen of Gull Lake, Michigan, and crew Geoff Ewenson of Annapolis, Maryland, to win day four at the 82nd Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta on the waters of Biscayne Bay, Miami. With the victory, Bromby and Liljedahl increase their overall lead to seven points with two races to go in the regatta. Winds were 8-10 knots out of the northeast today as Day 4 of the 2009 Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta got underway, picking up to 12 knots and more as the four-leg race progressed. Olympian Peter O’Leary and crew Tim Goodbody (IRE) were among the first boats off the starting line with a pack that took a left tack upwind. However, Bromby and Liljedahl established themselves as the team to beat with the lead at the first mark, and they never looked back. By the third mark, Bromby’s lead was more than eight boat lengths, but it whittled to about one boat at the finish following several strong attacks by the Americans on the final downwind leg. -- Full story and results: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_390.shtml Results (top 10 of 63) 1. BER, Peter Bromby/ Magnus Liljedahl, 1.7/AVG-2-2-1, 6.7 points 2. USA, Jon Vandermolen/ Goeff Ewenson, 2-16-6-2, 26 3. USA, Paul Cayard/ Austin Sperry, 11-10-8-5, 34 4. USA, Mark Mendelblatt/ Bruno Prada, 3-23-1-10, 37 5. USA, Peter Wright/ Nathan Quist, 13-3-19-13, 48 6. IRL, Peter O'Leary/ Tim Goodbody, 4-29-17-4, 54 7. USA, George Szabo/ Rick Peters, 1-20-25-9, 55 8. USA, Augie Diaz/ Mark Strube, 15-5-10-27, 57 9. USA, Arthur Anosov/ Mark Dolan, 17-17-5-21, 60 10. USA, Rick Merriman/ Brian Sharp, 6-44-7-6, 63 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: If you had noted prior issues of Scuttlebutt, it was stated that when three to six races have been completed, each boat’s worst score will be excluded. I read that in the online version of the Notice of Race, which I now have come to learn is not correct. Event organizers, let me say this once, if you are to post information online, please make sure it is correct. AUDI ETCHELLS WORLDS 2009 Melbourne, AUS (Mar. 11, 2009; Day 3) - Going into Race 4 at the 2009 Audi Etchells World Championship today, John Bertrand and his Olympic crew had a handy five point lead - then came the oops - after a general recall, the race committee brought the dreaded Black Flag into play, meaning any boats that broke the start were immediately disqualified from the race – and that is what happened to Bertrand, leaving the field wide-open for the other 84 entrants. A new series leader emerged, as Jason Muir/Matthew Chew/Paul Wyatt/Bucky Smith (AUS) seventh and fifth places in Races 4 and 5 today were enough to leap-frog them over crew Bertrand who, despite their fourth place in Race 5, have dropped down to 14 place overall, scoring 86 points for their Black Flag. However, crews are able to drop their worst race once six races have been put to bed, so Bertrand and crew are still the ones to watch, and were the drop used today, he would be back in first place by three points. Having said that, crew Muir has quietly sailed the most consistent series of any team, their worst score so far a 10th place. Consistency counts for plenty at a world class event such as the Audi Etchells Worlds. -- Read on: http://www.audietchellsworlds2009.com.au/2009/03/11/355 * After five races, the top North American entrant remains Judd Smith, who with Mark Johnson and Nik Burfoot, continues to rise through the ranks, moving up from third to second overall with an 18-13-4-13-1. -- Complete results: http://www.rbyc.org.au/site/yachting/event/18897 SUMMIT 35 TAKES SHAPE The newest model in the Summit Yachts is taking shape at Marine Concepts. Designed by Mark Mills and built by Edgewater Boats in Florida, this high performance racer/cruiser will be a stellar performer in IRC, PHRF and ORC while having a comfortable cruising interior. The 35 will be fitted with the highest quality hardware as standard, and will be equipped with tiller steering, or with twin wheel steering as an available option. Boat number one will be ready for the Newport and Annapolis boat shows, with customer deliveries beginning in September. Several of the first boats have been spoken for, but there are still 35’s available for delivery in time for Key West Race Week in January. Check out the progress at http://www.summit-yachts.com SAILING SHORTS * Amid the 26-boat fleet that began the 800 nm Newport Beach to Cabo San Lucas International Yacht Race '09 on Friday, March 6, and Saturday, March 7, Jim Madden and his team aboard the J/125 Stark Raving Mad IV have swept the event, officially crossing the finish line at 5:14:07 AM PST on March 10th to take line honors, a first in class and first overall. Adding to the hardware, Madden notes, “We also managed to enjoy ourselves with some very nice amenities like Bordeaux’s and barbecued swordfish and steaks.” -- Event thread: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6617 * (Mar. 11, 2009; Day 122) - The two remaining Vendee Globe competitors (19 of the 30 starters abandoned race) are expected to finish this weekend in Les Sables d’Olonne. Raphael Dinelli (FRA), Fondation Ocean Vital, who will be the only skipper to successfully complete this race as well as the last edition, has been making more than nine knots and had less than 370 miles to the finish, while Norbert Sedlacek (AUT), Nauticsport-Kapsch, who is on course to become the first Austrian to sail solo nonstop around the world, has 771 miles to sail to the finish and expects to finish by Sunday. -- Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en * Marseille, FRA (Mar. 11, 2009) - With three-metre seas and blustery 25-35 knot Mistral conditions in the harbor, Principal Race Officer Gerard Bosse and his race management team from the Yachting Club de la Pointe Rouge decided to postpone the start of the Marseille International Match Race until Thursday. The 12 teams assembled for this first event of the World Match Racing Tour stayed ashore to rest up and keep their powder dry, as tomorrow will likely be a full day to try and get through Stage One of the competition, a single Round Robin pitting all teams against each other once. -- Read on: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/95525 * It’s far from summer, and not even spring, but don’t tell that to the New Orleans Yacht Club, the self-proclaimed northernmost Caribbean yacht club in the world. This week, Wednesday night sailing returned to the lake, with the warning signal to start the first class at 6:30 PM and live music at the party starting around 9:00 PM. As for event sponsorship, it should come as no surprise that the racing is supported by the Live Bait Bar & Grill. -- Details: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/NEWS/09/0311/ * According to the Sailing World coaches poll, Georgetown and Charleston are the No. 1 ranked college sailing teams, coed and Women’s respectively, in the country. To see the complete college rankings for March 11 go to http://www.sailingworld.com/ranks * OC Events, organisers of the iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series, announced that prestige watch company Omega is to renew its association as the Official Timekeeper to the series for the next three years. -- Details: http://www.isharescup.com/container.asp?id=20308 * The Notice of Race is now published for the 2009 Windy City Team Race held in Chicago, IL at CCYC on June 2728. This event will be a qualifier regatta for the U.S. Team Race Championship for the George R. Hinman Trophy. For NOR and event information: http://www.spiweb.net/V15/fleet67/windycity09/index.html * The Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco, CA has announced the dates for the second Inter-Yacht Club Challenge. The event will take place over three days, July 24, 25 and 26, 2009. The competition, a Club-centered program, pits club racers—both pros and amateurs—in a unique on-the-water three-day event. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7175 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Mar 13-15 - Grenada Round-the-Island Race - St. George, St. George, W.I. Mar 13-15 - Harbor Cup Intercollegiate Regatta - San Pedro, CA, USA Mar 13-15 - Sunfish International Masters Championship - Tampa, FL, USA Mar 14-15 - The Deep South Regatta - Savannah, GA, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Chris Simon (GBR) IU, IJ: (re, redress decision at Bacardi Cup - SBUTT 2798) It appears that the Jury have not read rule 64.2 carefully. It says “the protest committee .............. shall make as fair an arrangement as possible for all boats affected, whether or not they asked for redress.”. To grant redress only to those who ask for it seems to be a clear breach of the principle. * From Phil Mostyn: When assessing what redress to grant, Rule 64.2 (first sentence) requires PC’s to ”make as fair an arrangement as possible for all the boats affected, whether or not they asked for redress”. That means, of course, that only 6 boats were affected by what the PC decided was an improper action of the RC. What other conclusion can there be? * From Ted Beier: The affected boats that did not receive redress from Race 1 need to request redress now for an omission of the Protest Committee. RRS 64.2 requires the jury to consider "all boats affected whether or not they asked for redress", which, based on the comment in your newsletter, was not done. It may be that the jury does not know that "most boats stopped sailing" in varying degrees, and did not know the extent of the problem. * From Chris Ericksen: Paul Cayard raised a point in 'Butt 2798 about something I've wondered: if a race-committee error occurs that leads to confusion in the fleet and the boats that complain are granted redress, why is that redress not applied across the board or is the race not thrown out? Paul's example happens all the time: sailors assume that something will be done at the start, but when nothing is done most just dig in and get through it, only to find that some got redress. As a race officer who is admittedly pretty experienced but far from perfect, I would like to hear from someone on the protest side of the game to explain to me why redress for some is more fair than redress for all, even those who did not request it. Mightn't the fair thing be for the protest committee under rule 60.3(b) to call a hearing to consider redress for everyone? CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Members of the U.S. Congress should be compelled to wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers, so we can identify their corporate sponsors. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Summit Yachts. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
