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SCUTTLEBUTT #516 - February 27, 2000 SPECIAL WEEKEND 'BUTT! Courtesy your guest editor. Tom Leweck is still somewhere in Mexico having way too much fun. AMERICA'S CUP: RACE 4 ABANDONDED DUE TO LIGHT WINDS The America's Cup Match continues to be plagued by light winds on the Hauraki Gulf. On Sunday, Race Four became the latest casualty. At 15:30 hours, Race Director Harold Bennett hoisted the AP over Alpha flag to abandon racing for the day. It's the third race day to be abandoned due to light wind. It was again a beautiful day in Auckland, and on the Hauraki Gulf. A bright sunny afternoon didn't generate enough heat to build a sea breeze, and the gradient wind wasn't strong enough for racing. When the boats left this morning, the wind was calm. There were short puffs of a Southerly wind that moved along the race course from the city, but the velocity only exceeded seven knots for a short time, and the breeze didn't last. Race Four is now scheduled to start at 13:15 on Tuesday afternoon. Team New Zealand leads the Prada Challenge 3-0 in the best of nine America's Cup Match. Despite three race days being lost, the scheduled programme of race days will not change, with racing scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, before reserve days, starting with Sunday 5 March, need to be used. -- America's Cup 2000 Louis Vuitton Cup Media Centre WHAT PRADA NEEDS TO DO What Francesco de Angelis, Torben Grael and team have been through over the last few days is what any boxer would have experienced on entering the ring against Muhammed Ali at his best. The punches came quick and fast at a speed and acceleration not seen before. Before the boxer knew it, he was on his back, stars circling, wondering, "What happened?" Such was the case for the Prada team in each of the races so far. So what happens to these teams? How much do they burn up, if at all? In Race 1, perhaps if the Italians had been able to cross to the right side on that first beat to windward the results might have been different. Race 2 and 3 were rollovers for various reasons, but the Kiwis have been sailing magnificently, and aboard a fast boat at that. For the Prada team to come back and take a race off the Kiwis requires a new level of aggression that it has yet to demonstrate. Looking back on it, in the '95 AC after our race boat, oneAustralia, had sunk in such spectacular fashion, we resurrected our training boat and went on to take on Team New Zealand in the Louis Vuitton Cup finals. We were sailing a decidedly slower boat at the time, compared to our sunken boat, but we still managed to win one of the races by nailing Coutts and team at the start. In my opinion, the speed difference between Team NZ and Prada is minimal. The key for the Prada team is to shake loose of its passiveness and get on with it in their starting sequence. The Italians know this and they would have had more time today to reflect on what is required. They will go home tonight a little less bruised as a result of today's layover and, I believe, will come out tougher in the next day's racing on Tuesday. There is nothing like time to heal scarred tissue. -- John Bertand. Full story at www.americascup.org PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES Craig Monk, Grinder for Team New Zealand, on possible crew rotations: "It has always been a policy for us to bring a younger crew on and it wouldn't be surprising if we did see some rotations in the next few races so, yeah, definitely it could happen. It is Russells call. We haven't heard yet, but maybe." Brad Butterworth, on a possible generation gap between the two boats: "It would be hard to say that. I think there are a lot of good ideas on both boats. We for sure have been looking very closely at the Luna Rossa, at a lot of the ideas that they've got. We would certainly like to try a few of them and I would say that they are looking at our boat thinking the same way. But there doesnt seem to be a hell of a lot in it, we have managed to get ahead in the three races and when weve got ahead I think weve done a good job in making sure the other boat stays behind. Especially today, it was a tough day to pass, and I definitely wouldnt call the boats generations apart." BID YOUR HEART OUT Closing on JAN. 19th -- BID NOW on our exclusive Team Young Australia autographed jersey. This is the official team jersey issued only to the team, and signed by the entire crew. A true collector's piece for the America's Cup fan. Hey, maybe they didn't win and were home for Christmas, but you gotta hand it to the boys from OZ, they are a styling crew. Bid today and hand it out to your friends in 'da hood. Check it out at http://www.AmericasCupStore.com WEATHER PROBLEMS FOR TEAM PHILIPS Not enough wind in the Hauraki Gulf to race IACC yachts, too much wind in England to launch the world's largest catamaran. Such is sailing. Pete Goss and team are keeping a close eye on weather charts as they prepare to launch the new 'Team Philips'. Even 12 miles inland at Totnes, Devon, Force 8 winds could delay the scheduled Tuesday launch of the $4.5 million catamaran. And keep a few insurance agents waking up in the middle of the night screaming. The ceiling for launch is 15 knots. Said Goss: "I feel like an expectant father. The boat is ready with the bows outside the building and the whole team is on standby." Serious boat on view at www.petegoss.com ARE YOU READY FOR INSPECTION? The riggers at Sailing Supply are constantly asked to perform inspections of rigging. Inspections are really paramount in keeping your rigging in good order -- to prevent the loss of a mast. But you can do a lot of this yourself, and there are some great hints on the Sailing Supply website: http://www.sailingsupply.com/articles/ You'll have no problems if you follow their simple instructions. But if you uncover some trouble, just give Sailing Supply a call. They're all sailors there, and they'll be able to fix you up in a hurry: (800) 532-3831 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (scuttlebutt@boats.com -- note temporary address for guest editor) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Joe Dervin Another frustrating postponement and a bit of time to reflect on where this cup competition is at this point. First, let me say I am absolutely rooting for the Kiwis. After all, which of us left-coasters in our right minds wants to look forward to getting up at 4am to watch live Cup coverage the next time around. However, I can't imagine any serious sail racing fan wanting this one to go down five straight to the home team, or end without us having a chance to witness a real serious race. John Bertrand has it absolutely right when he encourages Prada to go out and kick ass in the next start, win that start and then camp all over the black boat for the rest of the race. I hope Rod Davis kept a tape of the '95 race between Black Magic and One Australia (the one that didn't sink). I hope he has run it a few times for the Prada team. -- From George Middleton I've been watchng the "Cup" on television and listening intently to the live on-board dialog. Please, can you tell me which is the English speaking team? -- From Eric Johnson I am a strong advocate of the legalization of Jet Skeeting. This is a sport where sailors use old flares to shoot at Jet Skis (aka:Personal Water Craft, or PWC's) for points and to help clean the gene pool. The attached web page address is from some Hobie Cat sailors who have raised the bar to a new level. It is brilliantly funny. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/sailor570/pwchelp.htm (Guest Editor's note: Insert obligatory legal disclaimer here. Don't try this at home. We're kidding, PWC's and their owners/riders are usually all Mensa-level guys. No one should ever shoot flares at anyone. Or missiles. You could poke your eye out. Etc.) -- From Mike and Carol Fahle It has been fun to read about "Kellyisms" (Jim Kelly's America's Cup reporting on ESPN2) that other Buttheads have noted. It was so aggravating to us that we made a game out of recording them each race to see if he would establish any new records! Maybe it is indicative of the lopsided racing also, but here is the list of Kellyisms that we score each race: The already mentioned: "WIRE TO WIRE" (interestingly not used last night) and "IF YOU WILL"Also on our list is: "BEAT TO WINDWARD" and its sibling "DOWNWIND RUN". Rounding out the list are: "IRONICALLY", and "LITERALLY". By making a game out of scoring Kellyisms they are much less annoying. We recently learned that he is a fellow native Toledoan, so we feel compelled to support a local boy made good. So... GO JIM!! COASTAL & INSHORE SAILING They're absolutely ideal for coastal and inshore sailing. And they look and feel great onshore too! Check out Gill's new Tradewinds Jacket and coordinating Trousers. As part of Gill's "O2" line of breathable foul weather garments they feature lifejacket/safety harness attachment tabs, a peaked hood that stows in the collar pocket, a fleece-lined collar, and internal and external cuffs. The Tradewinds Trousers have a high cut back, reinforced seat and knees and Velcro ankle adjustment tabs, wide braces, an inner pocket and elastic waistband. http://www.douglasgill.com THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM: If the "blackbox" flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash,why isn't the whole damn airplane made out of that stuff? -- George Carlin Note: Nelson Weiderman has created a "Curmudgeon Server" at http://noeticharbor.com/curmudgeon/. It randomly pulls Curmudgeonly wit from a database loaded with past 'Butt Observations, Counsels, etc. Check it out! |
