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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 636 - August 30, 2000BUMMER, NO RECORD...CHICAGO FINANCIER AND ADVENTURER EXTRAORDINAIRE STEVE FOSSET AND HIS "PLAYSTATION" MISS BY A HAIR(The Lizard, 00:00:00)- "Time's up. A record would have required crossing Lizard Head this morning at 0752 GMT, and we were still 124 miles out. What had started as one of the most promising weather patterns of the year ended in light headwinds and very slow sailing. For the first 3 1//2 days we maintained pace for a 5 1/2 day Atlantic crossing.. Then we came under the influence of the trough we were running ahead of, which slowed our progress. Ultimately the low trough passed over us, leaving us with light winds - and a struggle to get to the finish line. This is a keen disappointment to the PlayStation crew. The TransAtlantic record was our primary objective for this year, and we have made 3 Atlantic crossings this summer. PlayStation is strong enough and fast enough for this record. But there is a reason why the record has stood for 10 years - and resisted 21 attempts: It is very difficult to get a weather pattern which has good winds all the way across. Next summer the TransAtlantic record will surely be broken. PlayStation will be back and we will have new competitors: The unlimited catamarans which are being built for 'The RACE' will surely target this record in their summer programs.."-- Steve Fossett. More info at http://www.fossettchallenge.com/ VINCE BRUN WINS ETCHELLS 22 WORLDS (SAN DIEGO, CA) - More news to come..... here is the regatta report after four race. Peter Isler and crew Steve Grillon and Artie Means were the first boat to post two bullets in the SailNet.com International Etchells Class World Championship. "It was an exciting day," Isler said of the racing action in a fleet featuring eight nations and 74 boats . "The wind was so steady it was just a good racing day. We had a good start and just wanted to be in the lead pack at the first mark." He was fifth, then passed four boats downwind and kept stretching out past the last three marks to the finish. "We tacked a lot more than most of the boats," said Isler, who took a conservative route up the middle that paid off. After three days of sun, Monday's weather turned cool under overcast skies and winds ranged from seven to 11 knots. Principal race officer Charley Cook's crew had the 2.2-nautical mile windward-leeward course set at 225 when the wind started swinging right, and it was an hour-and-a-half later at 2:00 before they could reset the course to start the race. After today's Race Five, everybody's worst race will be discarded. Isler will discard his opening-race 31, although a 29th in the second race will still be hard to swallow. Vince Brun, who paced the pack more than two minutes behind Isler Monday, is working on a 5-1-2-2 string with a 34-point lead over second-place Bruce Nelson, and 36 over the Camets-brothers Brian and Alex and dad Daniel-and 42 over Gary Weisman, who temporarily slipped from second to sixth with his 36th-place finish yesterday. Nelson, the Camets and Weisman (all from San Diego) have finished in the top 10 three out of four days, and if they can stay there today they're assured of at least getting back within sight of Brun's sail numbers. The best Brun can do is discard a fifth, but he has one large, comforting edge over everyone: a bad race to give. For more information see http://www.sailnet.com/etchells/ The Top 10 (after 4 of 6 races) 1. Vince Brun/Bill Bennett/Rick Merriman, San Diego (5-1-2-2) 10 2. Bruce Nelson/Jon Rogers/Mike Dorgan, San Diego (3-27-7-7) 44 3. Brian Camet/Alex Camet/Daniel Camet, San Diego (2-34-5-5) 46 4. Roy Gunsolus/Fritz Lanzinger/Scott Smith, Seattle (8-5-16-18) 47 5. Jud Smith/Henry Frazer/Don Later, Marblehead, Mass. (1-26-4-20) 51 6. Gary Weisman/Jeff Pape/Andrew Whittome, San Diego (4-3-8-37) 52 6. Dennis Conner/Noel Drennan/David Barnes, San Diego (18-16-3-15) 52 8. Robbie Doyle/Tyler Doyle/Ben Richardson, Marblehead, Mass. (10-9-15-21) 55 9. Peter Isler/Steve Grillon/Artie Means, San Diego (31-29-1-1) 62 10. Dirk Kneulman/Phil Sustronk/Dwayne Smithers, Canada (11-24-6-25) 66 10. Michael Goldfarb/Mark Brink/Michael Lenkeit, Los Angeles (12-20-23-11) 66 TRENDS When you attend a big regatta like the Etchells World championship, you quickly find out what's hot, and what's not. And this past week in San Diego it was instantly obvious that the curmudgeon's glowing descriptions of Camet sailing shorts have not fallen on deaf ears. Camet shorts were everywhere. And although everyone loves the advantages of the drying Supplex, and the reinforced Cordura seat patch, I think what's pushed them over the top is the fact that they look so bitchin'. See for yourself, and while you're at it don't forget to get one of the great mylar bags. http://www.camet.com RHODE ISLAND'S HANNAH SWETT WINS ROLEX THOMSON MATCH RACE (Oyster Bay, N.Y.- August 27, 2000) - Hannah Swett (Jamestown, R.I./New York, N.Y.) won two straight matches today, defeating Great Britain's Cordelia Eglin/Team Musto in a best-of-three round to win the finals at the Rolex Thompson Cup, a prestigious grade one women's match racing event sailed in Sonars. The competition, hosted by Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club and presented by Conde Nast Publications and Self Magazine, began Thursday, August 24 on Long Island Sound (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and concluded today in 5-6 knots of winds. Bermuda's Paula Lewin, who advanced to the petit final round after winning a sail-off against New Zealand's Sharon Ferris and Cory Sertl (Rochester, N.Y.) earlier today, defeated Germany's Nadine Stegenwalner to take third in the regatta. Swett, who sailed with crew Melissa Purdy (Tiburon, Calif.), Meg Gaillard (Pelham, N.Y.) and Dawn Riley (San Francisco, Calif.), advanced to the finals with a perfect win-loss record and goes home undefeated with a perfect 7-0 win-loss record. Eglin's final score was 5-2, which included today's two losses. While the event's 11 other skippers were invited based on their international rankings, Swett qualified to enter the Rolex Thompson Cup by winning the Rolex Alpena Invitational earlier this year. With this grade one victory, Swett expects her international ranking of 25 to possibly catapult into the teens and hopes her performance here, combined with other resume builders this past year, will gain her entry into the Rolex 2000 ISAF World Match Racing Championship later this year. For it, too, Swett's ranking did not win her an invitation to compete; however, there is one wild card entry for the U.S. to be determined by US SAILING. "We're happy to have this win, but there's a lot more work to do," said Swett. Asked to summarize her victory, Swett said, "A big part of match racing is putting together a good crew. It's not about doing anything brilliant, but no one on our team made any major mistakes and there were none that we couldn't recover from quickly." At today's awards ceremony, Event Chair Bruce Cook announced that next year, the Rolex Thompson Cup would likely be held in late September or early October instead of August, when winds are typically light on Long Island Sound. The statement was met with laughter and applause from the appreciative competitors, who gave the race committee high scores for rolling with Mother Nature's punches: Thursday's racing had to be cancelled and Saturday's races were delayed until dinnertime due to lack of wind. Other skippers competing were Dru Slattery (Marblehead, Mass.), Sandy Grosvenor (Annapolis, Md.), Liz Baylis (San Rafael, Calif.), Lotte Pedersen (Copenhagen, DEN), Christine Briand/Team Primagaz (La Rochelle, FRA) and Sabrina Gurioli (Forli, ITA). Full results and team bios are available at www.ThompsonCup.org LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. -- From Mark Weeger ( Re: Box Rules and RO's by Tom Priest) Oh come on Tom! Sounds like you were on the losing end of an Owner with the means to put together a faster and better sailed boat. Some of your so called RO's are at the heart of the matter in that they want level racing. Let's see, From an Andrews Turbo 70 to a Schock 40 Class boat, another from a Santa Cruz 70 to racing Farr 40 Class racing and one ex-Sled racer who I believe still owns and races his Melges 24. Your right that the "Box" will always be stretched. It happens in class racing by those who get the best crew, afford the best and newest equipment and sails. It happens in PHRF by the guy who optimizes his boat in the same way to beat the given rating. Heck just look at the Cal 20 fleet in Long Beach, Ca. to find how a "box" however small can be stretched. Let it go! Get in with a good group and have FUN! STU J== Hmmm...one-design is always the measure of better sailing, and more fun..ask anyone in keelboat classes like Cal 20s, Farr 40s, Melges 24s, J/22s, J/24s, J/105s, J/120s, Shock 35s, OD35s, and so forth. By default, these "boxes" enjoy great participation because owners voted with their feet and wallets. And, note that many of these owners are gazillionaires...so the "money" race isn't the motivator, it's the fun of racing with family and friends. See Ron's note below.... --From Ron Baerwitz (Re: Comment by Tom Priest regarding Transpac) I must agree with my old friend, Tom Preist regarding the solution to a fair Transpac: ONE DESIGN. When a few Sled owners TURBOed their boats they were doing nothing to promote the race for the long term. What is the point of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to modify a boat so you can be first across the line but correct out last? Is there some satisfaction in that? Are you showing your skill as a yacht racer? Do you HAVE to be first to the bar? It's one of the biggest jokes in yacht racing and one of the primary reasons Tanspac has diminished in popularity. All the focus was on first across the line and not who won the race. That made it a money race and, as many know, that is the end of any class, handicap or one-design. --From Andrew Burton (RE:Albatross YC ruling) I would like to see the wording of the relevant portion of the Ted Stevens Act and see whether US Sailing made the right decision to interfere with the Albatross YC or whether they were behaving, as they too often do, like a 500 lb gorilla. AYC said to a rather obnoxious competitor "We won't let you sail with us any more." Their other, less pleasant, option would surely have involved protesting him under rule 69 and possibly having him banned from racing altogether. I can't imagine how bad this person must have been for a whole executive board to decide to defy USSA in order to not have to share a race course with him! But if he was that bad I would be surprised if RRS 69 didn't fit him some way. So AYC, in rejecting his entry, may have gone easy on him. Unfortunately for them US Sailing has an image problem in our sport and the extremity of their action with the Albatross YC is likely to exacerbate it. In conversation with many racing sailors around here the consensus seems to be that we should ALL tell US Sailing to (as Vince Cooke puts it) "stuff it." STU J== In all due respect, we all know organizations like US Sailing can make mistakes as none of us are perfect. Nevertheless, in the interests of hearing out the issues it is important for "US", the sailors, to ensure our voices are heard and that such items are actionable in the proper manner by US Sailing or other such organizations which help oversee our sport like the FFV in France or RYA in England. It is quite another matter altogether if US Sailing is perceived as unresponsive. Perhaps, Andy, it would make sense for you and other 'Buttheads to coalesce around such issues and put forth reasonable suggestions for dealing with such matters. US Sailing has generally been responsive in the past, so it is unreasonable to assume this debate is falling on deaf ears on the powers at be in Newport. Heck...give them a call!
THANKS DAVE
LARGEST J/22 WORLDS IN FULL GEAR
"CAYARDINI" AND BERTARELLI FLYING AT SWAN CUP (PORTO CERVO, SARDINIA, ITALY- AUG. 30)- The Swan Cup 2000 fleet raced through the Maddalena Archipelago for the Telecom Italia Race Day on Day Two of the regatta. The start of the 25 nautical mile race saw the fleet powering up in a 12 knot Northwesterly, with the leaders from Day One again in strong positions on the pin end of the starting line. 'Alalunga' , (Bertarelli) a Swan 80, started at the pin end of the line with Louis Vuitton Cup finalist Paul Cayard providing a helping hand to skipper Ernesto Bertarelli, himself expected to officially launch his Swiss America's Cup Challenge next week. 'Maligaya' (Soriano), another 80 footer started with speed mid-line as the fleet charged into shore taking advantage of the better pressure along Capo Ferro. Shortly after the start, 'Alalunga' had to dip behind the starboard tack 'Solleone' , the new Swan 82 RS, owner Leonardo Ferragamo stretching the legs of the Swan company flagship. 'Maligaya' led through the Bisce Strait, with the Swan 68 'Defiance' (Kinsbergen), yesterday's overall winner on corrected time, staying close. As the race went on, the sea breeze developed, settling in at 12 knots and swinging the wind right, towards the North. In bright sunshine, 'Alalunga' took line honours, but took a hard hit on corrected time, dropping out of the top ten. The winner in both Class D and overall was 'Sotto Voce', Arien Van Vemde's Swan 60. The race was decided near the top mark, with small, sharp left shifts allowing boats to find passing lanes, and make up valuable time. By Peter Rusch. More info at http://www.swancup.com/ |
