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SCUTTLEBUTT 3059 - Tuesday, March 30, 2010Scuttlebutt 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. Scuttlebutt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Scuttlebutt on Facebook: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/facebook Today's sponsors: Melges Performance Sailboats, North Sails, and Dinghy Locker. THE SAILING EQUIVALENT OF "FIELD OF DREAMS" Peter Lane and his wife Kristen are best known for their two-boat all professional Melges 24 Brick House Team. While enjoying the high stakes sailing game in that class, Peter recently had a revelation into the simpler side of the sport. and he liked it. Here he shares his story: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I perhaps have an insight into the making sailing fun and expand sailing debate - Scows. Now, I must admit that I was more than a little dismissive of Scow sailing for many years (43 of my last 44 to be exact). But after racing in the Melges 17 Midwinters at Lake Eustis Sailing Club (Eustis, FL), not only am I a Scow convert and a new Melges 17 owner but, I think I have glimpsed a way to keep sailing fun, friendly, and really competitive. It may just be that Scows have Midwestern roots, but they were all, to a person, the nicest, most accommodating people I have ever met sailing. Everyone helps each other rig and launch boats. The local organizers invited everyone out to dinner the night before the regatta started and we had a great time meeting the other teams. The C Scows sail with two or three - your choice and the race committee will hold your extra crew for you between races. One C Scow had a four year old as the third and he was loving it. Another C Scow sailed with five or six different people over the three days and had a podium finish. I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of teenagers sailing with their parents and apparently enjoying themselves. We had two husband/wife teams, a couple of people sailing M17s for the first time, and some seasoned pros that I have also raced against in the M24 fleet. No weight requirements, flexible crew numbers, and catered lunches ashore between the morning and afternoon races. The boats are inexpensive (new or used), plentiful (I heard rumors that they lend out MC Scows to anyone who is interested), easy to sail and begin racing, but technical enough to require real skill to do well and despite their outward appearances they are pretty exciting. Others in the fleet clocked speeds over 15 knots downwind and (6 to 7 knots upwind) on the winder days. The Melges 17 is every bit as exciting and high tech as my Melges 24. We had a blast ripping up and downwind when it was blowing 20 and learned a lot about lake tactics when the wind was 8 to 10 knots. If you are looking to fix your fleet, your junior program or your relationship with your family, I urge you to spend a weekend this summer sailing Scows in the Midwest. You don't need to buy a Scow, but we can all learn a lot from how they build their fleets. Consider it the sailing equivalent of "Field of Dreams." -- Forum, http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=9548 OLYMPIC EVENT: SOFIA MAPFRE Palma, Spain (March 29, 2010; Day 2) - It is still spring in the Med, and wind conditions for the second day of the 41st Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia Mapfre have been anything but steady. "It was definitely an interesting day on the water," noted American Clay Johnson, currently 4th in the Laser event. "It seemed like there were 2-3 big, persistent shifts on each beat, and the tough call was when to dig in to your side and when to lead the group to the next shift." While Johnson maintained his day one position, some fared better while others stumbled. Stu McNay/ Graham Biehl (USA) fell from the lead in the 470 to 12th; Amanda Clark/ Sarah Chin (USA) moved up in the 470 from 7th to 4th; Paige Railey (USA) remains 8th in the Laser Radial while brother Zach Railey (USA) stumbled out of the gate with BFD in the Finn. At the match racing event, Sally Barkow (USA) won her qualifying group and advances to the quarterfinals, while teammate Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) struggled today and will need to claim one of the two remaining slots in the repecharge round. A change in the weather is forecasted for this third event of the ISAF Sailing World Cup. Said Johnson, "Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty gnarly. Thirty-five knots and eight foot waves are forecasted, so there is already talk of postponing in the morning to let the conditions settle down a bit. Hopefully we get two more races in!" Event website: http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org Clay Johnson website: http://www.claysails.com Clay Johnson video: http://tinyurl.com/ygnefr7 MELGES SPRING RUSH The Spring Rush is on at Melges USA as new Melges 32's, Melges 24's, Audi Melges 20's, and Melges Scows are all being sent out the front doors of the Melges Headquarters in Zenda, Wisconsin. With the Spring Rush brings special deals which are noted at melges.com. Check out the Audi Melges 20 Charter Boats which will be available June 1st. Stay tuned to melges.com for further spring specials and new boat availability. http://www.melges.com PHOTO GALLERIES If you have a preference for Caribbean competition, this past weekend offered something for everybody. For the 100+ foot maxi yachts, the place to be was the St Barths Bucket in the French West Indies. For all the 'smaller' boats, the International Rolex Regatta was hosted by St Thomas Yacht Club in the USVI. Photos from both below: * St Barths Bucket: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0328/ * Intl. Rolex Regatta: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0329/ SCUTTLEBUTT TRIVIA In the history of the America's Cup, only seven countries have reached the America's Cup finals. What are they? (Answer below) THE SAIL NAME GAME From the North Sails' Q&A forum, Stubby asked the following questions: What is a screacher? What is a code zero? Is the code zero set on the end of a bow sprit or aft of the fore stay as a staysail? What is the ideal wind conditions for the code zero, screacher, A-kite genoa, symmetrical chute and any other foresails I might be missing? Comments from Chris Williams, Sail Designer: Good question, after looking over our website I could not find any information to provide links to visually describe each sail. To make matters a little confusing different cultures and different classes sometimes have similar names for sails which are actually quite different. However, typically what is called a screecher is only used on multihulls. This is generally a sail similar to a genoa flown off the spirt and a higher halyard than the headstay. This sail can be used at tighter angles than a Code Zero. A Code Zero is typically flown off the bow, spirt and sometimes the pole. The Code Zero usually has a mid girth of 75% of the foot length. This was a requirement in the RRS (Racing Rules of Sailing ) to allow the sail to be defined as a "spinnaker". However, this is typically regulated by handicap rules or class rules now. Due to this girth restriction, the Code Zero is typically larger or deeper in shape than ideal if the sail was unconstrained by rules to allow the sails girth to measure in as 75% of the foot. If you are looking for a sail only to cruise with we offer a product called a G0, which has a smaller girth and is a much nicer sail than a racing Code Zero. Wind angles which sails are used vary with windspeed. Typically the lighter the wind the tighter angles you can sail with a sail. Generally you would use the sails in the following order of apparent wind angles: Genoa -> Screecher -> G0 -> Code Zero -> Asymmetric ->Symmetrical Spinnaker Obviously few if any boats carry all these sails, so you tailor your inventory to the fewest possible sails to meet your needs, for example: - If you were cruising maybe you have a Genoa a G0 and maybe an Asymmetric. - If you were racing you would have a Genoa or Jib then a Code Zero and several Asymmetric's for different wind speeds. - If you had a multihull a possible inventory would be a Jib, Screecher and an Asymmetric. Q&A forum: http://tinyurl.com/yloo8eb FREE SAIL CARE & REPAIR FROM NORTH SAILS North Sails is providing free sail care & repair on all new North sails purchased in 2010. Honored anywhere in North's worldwide network of sail care locations, you will be in good hands no matter where your travels take you. Free sail care & repair is available on North cruising, racing, and one-design sails. Sails MUST be registered online & some restrictions apply. When performance & durability matter, the choice is clear: http://na.northsails.com * North Sails is offering a free hat to any North-powered boats who finished 1,2,3 in North America in 2009 (the North Victory List). The deadline to 'RSVP' for a free hat is April 1st. -- Details: http://www.na.northsails.com/tabid/17356/Default.aspx WHEN A DSQ BECOMES A DNF By Jos M Spijkerman, International Umpire/Judge Summary of the Facts Between the preparatory and starting signals, Ephesian on starboard tack and Jupa on port tack approached each other head-to-head. Both boats were heavy keelboats, 33 feet (10 m) long. Neither boat was aware of the other. The bowmen on both boats, who normally would have been stationed by the forestay, were handling their genoas, and no other crew members were keeping a lookout. Ephesian was moving slowly with limited manoeuvrability. They collided, causing serious damage to Jupa, who therefore retired. In the resulting protest, Jupa was disqualified under rule 10 (opposite tacks), and Ephesian was disqualified under rule 14 (avoiding contact). Ephesian appealed, claiming that she could not have avoided Jupa by changing course or speed. Decision Rule 14 begins 'A boat shall avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible.' This requirement means a boat must do everything that can reasonably be expected of her in the prevailing conditions to avoid contact. This includes keeping a good lookout, particularly in a crowded starting line situation. The protest committee concluded that if either boat had seen the other a collision could have been avoided, even at the last minute, particularly if Ephesian had hailed Jupa when it was clear that Jupa was not changing course to keep clear. Until that moment, rule 14(a) allows a right-of-way boat to delay acting to avoid contact. It follows that at that moment she must begin to act in an effort to avoid contact. The word 'act' is not restricted to changing course or speed. Hailing was an action that Ephesian could and should have taken. Ephesian broke rule 14. Because the collision resulted in damage, the protest committee's decision to disqualify Ephesian was correct (see rules 14(b) and 64.1(a)). Her appeal is therefore dismissed. Clearly, Jupa broke rule 10. As a result of the serious damage she suffered in the collision, she retired from the race and thus took the applicable penalty (see rule 44.1(b)). Rule 64.1(b) prohibits penalizing her further. The disqualification of Jupa is reversed and she is to be scored DNF. Source: http://rrsstudy.blogspot.com/2010/03/pillowcase-of-week-9-107.html SAILING SHORTS * (March 29, 2010) - They nine teams on the Qingdao to San Francisco leg of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race have been racing for four weeks now, with lead yacht 'Cape Breton Island' now just over 200 miles from the finish. Trailing teams continue to escort the dismasted 'California', which hopes to soon augment their engine power with a jury rig sail plan. The team has had only engine power since the incident occurred on March 2st. -- Race website: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com * Nineteen-year-old Oscar Mead from the United Kingdom has confirmed his entry into the oldest solo round the world yacht race, the 30,000-mile VELUX 5 OCEANS which starts in France in October. Oscar hit the headlines last year after becoming, at the tender age of 18, the youngest person ever to compete in the Original Singlehanded Transatlantic Race (OSTAR). Initial funding has enabled him to start the process of acquiring his chosen boat, with a prospect lined up in France to be inspected within the next 10 days. -- http://www.teamoscarmead.co.uk * An increase in pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden should be anticipated, with as many vessels held by pirates pending ransom negotiations last week as roughly half the level experienced over the past year. Pirates are now ranging ever further across the Somali Basin, with the possibility of attacks occurring as far east as the coast of India and as far south as Madagascar. In response to these warnings, the International Sailing Federation has updated and re-issued its guidelines to yachts contemplating making a passage through this region. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/32211.php * Newport, RI (March 29, 2010) - Sail Newport's 2010 Brooke E. Gonzalez Advanced Racing Clinic application deadline is April 1. The intense three-day schedule (June 17-20) includes on-the-water drills, multiple debriefs, and race training with an emphasis on boat speed and personal best performance. Enrollment in the prestigious clinic is limited and sailors are chosen through a resume process. Applicants must be at least 14 years old. Interested Club 420, International 420, 29er, Laser Full Rig and Laser Radial sailors are invited to submit resumes at http://www.sailnewport.org/npt/cliniclanding.aspx * CORRECTION: The World Sailing Speed Record Council announced that the previous record holder of the outright Round the World record was skipper Bruno Peyron (FRA) onboard 'Explorer'. Actually, Peyron set the record in 2005 sailing 'Orange 2'. -- http://www.sailspeedrecords.com DINGHY LOCKER BOAT SWAP & SPRING TENT SALE SAT 4/17 9-3 Great deals at Dinghy Locker's upcoming 2010 Boat Swap and Tent Sale! Find used Optis, C420s, Pixels and Lasers; 40% off select end-of-season merchandise from Patagonia, Gill, Musto, Atlantis, Henri Lloyd. Plus burgers and dogs! Call/click for info: (800) 941-2219, http://www.DinghyLocker.com. 151 Harvard Ave, Stamford, CT (I-95 Ex 6). TRIVIA ANSWER In the previous Matches of the America's Cup, only seven countries have reached the America's Cup finals: Australia, Canada, England, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland, and United States. -- http://tinyurl.com/ydf5dnf LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). 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 Gail M. Turluck: (re, Matthew Tobriner letter in Scuttlebutt 3058) Sailboat races ARE scheduled. Most of them start on time. There really is no difference from no-wind or huge storm Sailboat Race Starts to Major League Baseball Rain Delays, Professional Golf thunderstorm stops, College Football lightning game stops, etc. Look at all the skiing rescheduling this past Olympics! There just has not been enough education on the vagaries of weather and how critical those changes are to starting a sailboat race on time and establishing a "rain-out policy" that media producers can wrap their arms around. We have Gary Jobson, Tucker Thompson and others to help improve this situation. * From John McNeill: (re, letter in Scuttlebutt 3057) Thank you, John Rumsey, for finally picking up the critical element to making any regatta worth watching! Speed and the edge of disaster may make for exciting times for the sailors, but it is the tactical encounters in a pre-start or at a mark that truly bring the "oohs" from any viewing audience. To give up tacking duels and the roundup exercise for speed takes our sport one more step to boring for the spectator. This was evident in the 33rd America's Cup, as the end of race one was the end of the competition for all intents and purposes, and also evident in the recent Louis Vuitton Series, as tactical maneuvers elicited "oohs" from the crowd in the Village every time. Whatever the design selected for the 34th Match, I truly hope that a way will be found to preserve the tactical skill element and close combat that brings the viewer to compelling attention. * From Damian Christie: (re, Stephen Roffey letter in Scuttlebutt 3058) Larry Ellison won the America's Cup on the water - there is little else to be gained from continuing litigation. Future trustees of the Cup (including GGYC) should heed the lessons of the 33rd Cup match and realise that there is more to lose than gain from attempting to manipulate the rules. For example, a smarter, less arrogant Ernesto Bertarelli may have enhanced his prospects of victory if he had acceded to a 32nd America's Cup-style protocol for the 33rd match. Instead he gambled on a one on one match in the most extreme yachts permitted under the Deed of Gift and lost - VERY BADLY. Even if his catamaran had been competitive, Bertarelli was still taking a big gamble. It will never be addressed by the court now but there was enough doubt about the legitimacy of Alinghi's US-built sails to put it in contempt of the Deed's construction in country provisions. In a conventional America's Cup regatta, this issue would have been settled by mutual consent. Perhaps the persisting doubts over the CIC issue in Deed of Gift matches may act as a deterrent. The behaviour of the Swiss - from Bertarelli down to the SNG race committee - was reprehensible, but ultimately, they are the ones with egg on their faces. Future trustees will hopefully conclude that they will always benefit more from the Cup's mutual consent arrangements than they ever will from a Russian roulette-style Deed of Gift match! * From David Shulman: I see the wisdom of dropping the litigation in the NYS Courts. I do NOT see any wisdom in ISAF not proceeding to investigate and resolve the Race Committee staff revolt issue. If ISAF is to regain the respect of the sailors, it must preserve the self-policing principles of sailboat racing by giving all those who participate the discipline to follow the RRS even if contestants (or others) believe no one is watching. ISAF already damaged itself with the '' secret Alinghi deal". World governing credibility is at stake here. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION When someone says, "Can I help with dinner?" they really are saying, "Why isn't it already on the table?" Special thanks to Melges Performance Sailboats, North Sails, and Dinghy Locker. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
