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SCUTTLEBUTT 2484 – November 28, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, featuresand dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. SPANISH OUT – GGYC IN As a result of problems seen with the Protocol for the 33rd America’s Cup, the Golden Gate Yacht Club, the sponsoring club of the BMW Oracle Racing team, had filed a lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), the sponsoring club of the defender Alinghi. As the Deed of Gift requires disputes to be settled in the NY courts, the first day in court was September 10th, and on November 27th, a decision by Justice Herman Cahn was handed down, agreeing with the position of GGYC, which was that Alinghi had enlisted the services of an invalid Challenger of Record to create the Protocol. Here are statements from the team: * Statement from Alinghi, SNG and AC Management: Today’s decision against the validity of the Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV), the Challenger of Record, is a disappointment to the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG), AC Management (ACM), Alinghi and the seven entered Challengers affected by the outcome. There will now be a thorough review of the Judge’s decision and an analysis of the various options offered by the Deed of Gift. Ernesto Bertarelli, President of Alinghi, says: “We are disappointed that a technicality made the CNEV invalid and we are now looking forward to discussions with the Golden Gate Yacht Club to keep the America’s Cup functioning.” * Statement from GGYC: The Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) today welcomed a ruling by the New York State Supreme Court that its challenge for the 33rd America’s Cup was valid. “We are very pleased by the decision as it enables everyone to focus on getting the Cup back on track quickly,” said Russell Coutts, CEO of the club’s BMW ORACLE Racing team. He said GGYC wanted to see a conventional America’s Cup regatta in Valencia and is planning to speak with Alinghi as soon as possible to organize a meeting seeking a mutual consent challenge. GGYC’s first preferences would be to: 1) Seek to agree rules with all competitors along the lines of the October 17 “nine points” compromise proposal and race a conventional America’s Cup competition in Valencia in 2009; 2) If a Deed of Gift challenge went ahead, the club would seek to race under the AC90 monohull rule already published. If Alinghi did not agree to that, in multi-hulls, and; 3) In all scenarios, GGYC would seek by mutual consent to have a Challenger Selection Series with as many challengers as possible. “We will immediately endeavour to meet with the other challengers to mutually agree a fair set of rules negotiated with all the other teams,” Coutts said. “We will be very happy if we can put the last few months behind us and get on with sailing.” QUOTE / UNQUOTE Prior to the beginning of the court proceedings, on whether SNG would prevail in the NY Supreme Court, Ernesto Bertarelli said, "It is not possible that we will lose. We have the best lawyers." JUSTICE CAHN TIGHTLY CLOSES THE DOOR by Cory E. Friedman, Scuttlebutt legal analyst (November 27, 2007) The yachting sky has not fallen and sailing’s Chicken Littles have had a bad day, because Justice Cahn has done exactly what a Justice of the Commercial Division is supposed to do. He has quickly and carefully disposed of the dispute between GGYC (Oracle) and SNG (Alinghi) in a way that makes a successful appeal unlikely and puts the parties where they belong – on the water. To cut to the chase, he has handed GGYC complete victory, ruling that the Spanish CNEV is not a valid challenger and that GGYC is the Challenger of Record. SNG and GGYC will either negotiate a Protocol or meet in 90-foot catamarans for the fastest match races ever. As expected, Justice Cahn’s decision was based upon the Court of Appeals’ Mercury Bay decision and went straight to George Schuyler’s intent, as expressed within the four corners of the Deed of Gift. The two issues were whether CNEV is an organized yacht club and whether it qualifies by “having” an annual regatta. The way he dealt with the organized yacht club issues demonstrates how an experienced judge works. Rather than stretch to resolve the issue, and possibly be reversed, he decided that resolution of the meaning of the term would require an evidentiary hearing – a trial on “custom and practice in the sport.” Talk about an open ended inquiry. He was free to take that position because he could decide the case based upon the “having” issue alone and did not need to resolve it. On the “having” issue he found, as a matter of law, that CNEV did not qualify as a valid challenger and thus, was out and the next challenger in line, GGYC, was in. End of case. Why it really is the end of the case is that it puts SNG between a rock and a hard place. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/cf/#p9 * Curmudgeon’s Comment: The decision of Justice Herman Cahn is posted on the Scuttlebutt website. It is 19 pages, and far from light reading, so we are fortunate to have Cory Friedman’s analysis. It is a shame that CNEV went to the trouble of finally hosting their “annual” regatta last weekend. Now I wonder if they plan to host it again next year, or if the club will even exist then. -- Court decision: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/1127 STEP UP TO A HIGHER LEVEL Next spring is closer than you think, and it's time to get going on those improvements for next season! Ockam provides simple upgrade paths for any of its systems, from those installed in the 1980's to those installed yesterday. Whether it's adding a new high-visibility Matryx display, a Lynx programmable wireless controller, or a T2 Multiplex wind/speed/NMEA interface, Ockam makes it easy to expand and improve your instrument system. We can even upgrade many older items! Contact Ockam today to discuss your instrument needs: mailto:sales@ockam.com THE PROCESS OF CHOOSING OLYMPIC EVENTS by The Daily Sail (subscription website) Two and a half weeks ago we saw the ISAF, at their Annual Conference in Estoril, make the huge decision not to include a women’s high performance skiff in the 2012 Games, to swap women’s keelboat fleet racing for match racing and to drop the multihull from competition. Just how unpopular this proved to be quickly became evident with much of the sailing community expressing its distaste and often anger at the outcome. Perhaps now this feeling has begun to dissipate a little it is worth taking some time to investigate just how an unpopular decision was able to be made. A key point in the process that riled many was that at the Conference the ISAF Events Committee met the day before the ISAF Council were due to make their decision and voted on a list of suggested events. The Events Committee is made up of experts in Olympic sailing and classes and with the brief that they had to drop two classes to be replaced by one – the women’s high performance skiff - they came up with a list many were happy with. Effectively they chose to get rid of the two keelboat classes. Their decision was then passed onto the ISAF Council who appeared to completely ignore the expert advice, making up their own mind. Before we further blast the ISAF for their decision it is worth taking a moment to understand who exactly makes up the ISAF Council and who therefore has a vote in the Olympic Events that are selected for the Games. The Council itself is made up of one President, seven Vice-Presidents, 28 MNA (Member National Authority) representatives, one Offshore representative, one ISAF Classes Committee Representative and one Women’s representative. Essentially, then, the biggest contributors to the council are MNA reps. In theory, if you are a member of your national sailing authority like the RYA, you should be able to have some say about the direction of your MNA and so the way in which they vote. But of course if this were actually the case, clearly we would not now be in a situation with so many disgruntled sailors. -- Read on http://tinyurl.com/3cyl5r * Curmudgeon’s Comment: It would seem that self-interest is a leading consideration when MNA’s are placing their votes. If they are to be choosing what is best for the future of Olympic sailing, than it seems that the process is clearly flawed. There has been a lot of criticism of how some of the MNAs have voted, but we suspect that the following adage applies to this circumstance: “Don’t hate the player – hate the game.” BOARDSAILING BATTLEGROUND The US Olympic Trials finished five weeks ago, but not in the minds of some of the boardsailing contestants. Bad blood between winner Ben Barger and runner-up Mike Gebhardt (Ben’s former coach) allegedly existed before the Trials, but surfaced at the event during measurement with equipment protests, continued during the event with heated dialogue and allegations of Barger lying to get out of a protest with Robert Willis, and now continues with the filing of misconduct reports to US Sailing: Gebhardt filed one against Barger, and the event PRO filed one against Gebhardt. Depending on the validity of these separate reports, they will either be disallowed or a Rule 69 hearing will commence. On the women’s side, runner-up Farrah Hall continues to pursue avenues to vindicate her loss, after her leading position was changed following a last race redress hearing that resulted in a reduction of Nancy Rios’ points total to give her the win. Hall is seeking consideration from both US Sailing and the USOC, and has retained legal counsel to facilitate her case. Hall continues to train, currently in Europe with the Polish Olympic Team, and in January will be heading to the World Championships in New Zealand. -- The Curmudgeon HARNESSING WIND POWER The Wind Dam Project uses a giant spinnaker sail suspended in a mountain gorge near Northern Russia’s Lake Ladoga. The £2.5 million dam will include a unique cup-shaped spinnaker sail (25 meters high and 75 meters wide), which will capture and harness wind to generate renewable energy by funneling wind through an attached turbine. The spinnaker shape is similar to the mainsail of a yacht, and is thought to be particularly effective in capturing the wind with its kite-like properties. Project architect Laurie Chetwood stated that the shape of the sail was influenced by functionality and a desire to produce something “sculptural”. “The sail looks like a bird dipping its beak into the water, which will be much less of a blot on this beautiful and unblemished landscape…It is also highly effective at capturing the wind because it replicates the work of a dam and doesn’t let the wind escape in the way it does using traditional propellers.” -- Litoralis blog, full story: http://litoralis.blogspot.com/2007/11/wind-dam.html BARCELONA WORLD RACE Open 60 doublehanded round the world race (started Nov 11; 25,000-miles) (November 27, 2007) The top seven boats in the Barcelona World Race fleet have escaped the clutches of the doldrums and are now racing on a tight reach towards the third scoring gate, off the coast of Brazil, at Fernando de Noronha. PRB and Paprec-Virbac 2, as race leaders, were first to pick up the southeast tradewinds and as a result of sailing in stronger winds, have added to their lead over the chasing group. This afternoon, the only team still lingering in the doldrums is Estrella Damm. A tired sounding Guillermo Altadill said he can’t wait to get into the trade winds and get further south. -- http://www.barcelonaworldrace.com Day 17 Positions - November 27, 2007 - 18:00 (GMT) 1. PRB - Vincent Riou (FRA)/Sébastien Josse (FRA), 21,257 DTF 2. Paprec-Virbac 2 - Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA)/Damian Foxall (IRE), 34 miles DTL 3. Veolia Environnement - Roland Jourdain (FRA)/Jean-Luc Nélias (FRA), 176 4. Hugo Boss - Alex Thomson (GBR)/Andrew Cape (AUS), 286 5. Delta Dore - Jérémie Beyou (FRA)/Sidney Gavignet (FRA), 264 6. Mutua Madrilena - Javier Sanso Windmann (ESP)/Pachi Rivero (ESP), 306 7. Temenos II - Dominique Wavre (SUI)/Michéle Paret (FRA), 306 8. Estrella Damm - Guillermo Altadill (ESP)/Jonathan McKee (USA), 469 9. Educación sin Fronteras -Albert Bargués (ESP)/Servanne Escoffier (FRA),637 * Curmudgeon’s Comment: The BWR has nine boats, a decent fleet for a first time event, though it is now looking like a two-boat contest. The leaders are now sailing at a pace that is twice as fast as a week ago, and in the past 24 hours, have put 100+ miles on those from 4th to 7th, and nearly 200 miles on Estrella Damm. The Scuttlebutt website is taking a weekly snapshot of the fleet, and this week we see that they have been on a long port tack toward the third scoring gate, which now has them closer to South America than Africa. When we took the snapshot, Estrella Damm was the only boat seeking some separation on starboard tack. Race tracker: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/bwr * (November 27, 2007) After beginning his assault on the solo round the world record last Friday, Francis Joyon and the giant multihull IDEC have gradually extended themselves from the pace world record holder Ellen Macarthur set in 2005. As of 17:00 UTC, Joyon enjoyed a 313 mile advance, due in large part to his second consecutive 500+ mile day where the speedo was averaging 24.2 knots. At his current pace, Joyon will be passing the Barcelona World Race fleet later in the week. -- http://www.trimaran-idec.com BE THE ULTIMATE GIFT GIVER! Sharon Green’s fabulous photography is always the Ultimate gift! A 2008 Ultimate Sailing calendar, t-shirt, cap, book, note-cards, and custom prints will delight all the Ultimate Sailors on your list. To select your Ultimate gifts, visit us at http://www.ultimatesailing.com SAILING SHORTS * Between February and October, six world championship titles were settled in wave sailing, slalom racing, and freestyle during the 2007 Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) Season between the most talented men and women windsurfers on the globe. Event recaps at http://tinyurl.com/23ytu4 * Hall Spars & Rigging has done an extreme makeover of their website, and have expanded it into a boat parts superstore. Besides being a builder of custom and production masts, Hall is now vying to be the most complete rigging resource on the web. -- http://www.hallspars.com/ * California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed into legislation a law that would require a dealer or buyer of a marine engine under 500hp to submit documentation to the state verifying it meets California emissions requirements. The new law will start on July 1, 2008. For engines over 500hp, dealers or owners will submit the registration documents on January 1, 2009. The law is designed to prevent Californians from purchasing a recreational boat outside the state with a non-compliant engine in order to circumvent the new emissions requirement. -- IBI News, full report: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20071012025724ibinews.html * On Monday morning at 03 hours 02 minutes and 22 seconds, French hour, Giovanni Soldini and Pietro d' Ali crossed the finishing line of this 8th edition of the Transatlantic race Jacques Vabre as winners in Class 40. "Italia Telecom" sailed the course in 22 days 13 hours of race, nearly five hours ahead of "Atao Audio System". Arriving in the afternoon to take the final podium position was Monbana Chocolates. -- Scuttlebutt Europe, full story: http://www.scuttlebutteurope.com/content/view/327/5/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Rich Roberts: (From the Alinghi press release) “We are disappointed that a technicality made the CNEV invalid . . ." Gotta feel sorry for Bertarelli. Like the guys at Enron, those darn technicalities (laws, rules, Deeds of Gift) will trip you up every time. * From Adrian Morgan: Judge Cahn sits at his mahogany desk this morning and sighs. "What is the world coming to?" He has three cases of major company fraud, involving the pension funds of seven million Americans, six violations of bankruptcy and a dozen involving money laundering through drug dealing, child slavery and prostitution. And then he allows himself a little chuckle. "Ah yes. It is time to settle that case where one billionaire wants me to tell another billionaire that he's jimmying the rules over, let me see, a yacht race!" Now that's more like it. He can rest assured that all his legal training and years of practice in the pursuit of truth and justice have not been in vain. * From Rob Snyders: I've been reading daily Scuttlebutt messages more often lately. Many of the articles and response messages make me undertand how Andy Rooney (the old dude on 60 minutes) stays on as a reporter of sort. I usually enjoy drinking my coffee and reading Scuttlebutt as the sun rises each morning to learn about fun stuff, how old friends are performing, and about race results. Your site has offered this great opportunity prior to checking the stock market and going to work each day. Can the court BS move on to Court TV rather than to your sailing website? Coffee tastes much better with soul rather than with an attorney in mind. * From Geri Conser: Goodbye Steve Fossett, thank you for sharing your spirit of adventure with the sailing and flying world. You did what many of us would have loved to do. Sharing with the world you gave us the thrill of all your adventures. We will join you in that wide blue yonder where adventurers gather to trade stories of their thrills and grand fun. It was an honor to know you. * From Bob Colpitts: Some readers may be left with the impression that it was Il Moro di Venezia's loss to America 3 that was the cause of Gardini's suicide. Rather it was the knowledge he was about to be jailed prior to trial (and almost certain conviction) for the huge fraud and bribery scandal that rocked the Italian political scene in the early '90's. Death before dishonor. * From Mason Chrisman: I would remind those who are proud of not supporting US SAILING because "their only criterion was to support the classes that gave the USA its best medal prospects", that the organization is much more than just an Olympic Committee. US SAILING is also about training, safety, youth activities, racing rules, judging certification, running regattas, insurance for sailing clubs, supporting disabled sailors, and much more. To condemn the whole organization just because you disagree with the focus of one committee chairman out of many seems to me to be unsound logic. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION "Bravery is being the only one who knows you're afraid." -- Col. David Hackworth Special thanks to Ockam Instruments and Ultimate Sailing. |
