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SCUTTLEBUTT 3405 - Monday, August 15, 2011Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Harken and Kaenon Polarized. KIWIS WIN AMERICA'S CUP WORLD SERIES CASCAIS Cascais, Portugal (August 14, 2010) -- Emirates Team New Zealand made an incredible recovery during the 'winner takes all' fleet race on Sunday to win the America's Cup World Series Cascais, the first event of a new global series leading up to San Francisco in 2013. With nine boats on the start line, the competition was close, and with a tricky, patchy race course area, there were passing lanes throughout the day. ORACLE Racing Spithill jumped out to a convincing lead early, but couldn't protect it. On the second lap of the race course, Kiwi skipper Dean Barker found more wind on his side of the race course to make the pass. "For us it was fantastic," Barker said. "It was always going to be a very difficult race, as the breeze never really established. There were big 'holes' in the race course, so it was about being at the right place at the right time." Artemis Racing, too, was able to work its way up to a second place finish from being back in the pack early; the early leader, ORACLE Racing Spithill, was forced to settle for third. However, on Saturday, Spithill and his ORACLE Racing crew swept aside the previously ascendant Emirates Team New Zealand to win the Cascais AC Match Race Championship. Many of the matches featured close starts, blazing speed runs to the first turning mark and early passing lanes. With the race course boundaries crowded by spectator boats, Spithill and his crew sailed near flawless races on Saturday, with good starts, strong crew work, and winning decision-making. -- Full reports: http://www.americascup.com Fleet Race Championship Final Results (delta, pts) 1. Emirates Team NZ: 37m 41s, 10 pts 2. Artemis Racing: 0m 21s, 9 pts 3. Oracle Racing Spithill: 0m 34s, 8 pts 4. Oracle Racing Coutts: 0m 52s, 7 pts 5. Green Comm Racing: 2m 12s, 6 pts 6. Aleph: 2m 26s, 5pts 7. Team Korea: 2m 33s, 4 pts 8. Energy Team: 2m 43s, 3 pts 9. China Team: 2m 49s, 3 pts Match Race Championship Final Results 1. Oracle Racing Spithill: 10 pts 2. Emirates Team New Zealand: 9 pts 3. Artemis Racing: 8 pts 4. Team Korea: 7 pts 5. Oracle Racing Coutts: 6 pts 6. Team Energy: 5 pts 7. Green Comm: 4 pts 8. Aleph: 3 pts 9. China Team: 3 pts Cascais race program: http://tinyurl.com/2011-ACWS-Cascais Fan features: http://tinyurl.com/ACWS-fan-features CALENDAR: Next stop on the America's Cup World Series is Plymouth, England on September 10-18, followed by the final 2011 stop in San Diego, USA on November 12-20. AC MACHINE KEEPS ON ROLLING Other announcements from the Americas Cup over the weekend include news that event organizers of the 34th America's Cup and YouTube have formed a global partnership. Combining the world-class content developed by the in-house America's Cup Television (ACTV) and Technology teams with YouTube's powerful media platform and livestreaming capabilities, the online partnership will deliver into people's homes like never before. America's Cup racing will now offer online viewers the choice of different video and audio streams - instead of one just view - thanks to the YouTube multi-screen experience. With the player, viewers can choose from live footage onboard with a team, a graphical overview or an eagle's eye view as part of the daily livestreaming from race events. In addition, viewers can select different audio tracks, either expert sailing or standard sports commentary. This feature will be available on both the America's Cup YouTube channel and the America's Cup website, and will compliment the live and highlights coverage offered by traditional broadcasters. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3ejs8zj Additionally, it was announced that Newport, RI will be the final stop of the 2011-2012 AC World Series. Current plans call for holding the racing inside Newport Harbor, with the start/finish line just off the shoreline and spectator access along numerous points on the waterfront. -- Story at: http://tinyurl.com/3ngvp65 LIP-FLOPS WITH A SAILING SOLE Who says flip-flops aren't boat shoes? You might not be ready for foredeck, but with Harken's Antigua flip-flops you'll have our famous 360-degree grip along with a non-marking sole and no-stub toe protection. Orthotic-grade support plus a durable construction make them perfect for light work on wet surfaces or as everyday wear. Check out the men's and women's Antigua styles at: http://www.harkensport.com/cat/shoes.html OLYMPIC TEST EVENT WRAPS UP Weymouth - Portland, GBR (August 13, 2011) - Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen (AUS) clinched the 49er gold medal on the final day of the Weymouth and Portland International Regatta following a fantastic medal race. Spain's Iker Martinez and Xabier Hernandez led the Australians by four points before the Medal Race meaning that for the Australians to win they had to finish ahead of the Spaniards by two places. In winds of 9-11 knots Outteridge and Jensen did exactly that as they finished in fourth with the Spaniards coming in sixth. Both teams ended on 63 points but the Australians took the gold after they finished ahead in the final race. New Zealand's Peter Burling and Blair Tuke took the bronze medal. Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) wrapped up the Star gold medal ahead of the Medal Race. The Brazilians went into the final race with an unassailable 24 point lead. However the competition for the silver and bronze medal in the build up to the Medal Race was significantly closer with just two points separating Peter O'Leary and David Burrows (IRL), Mateusz Kusznierewicz and David Burrows (POL) and Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR). US sailors Mark Mendelblatt and Brian Fatih finished in 7th for an overall 10th. In the Finn, Ben Ainslie (GBR) brought a 19 point lead into the Medal Race, only a disqualification for the Brit would have come in between him and the gold medal. But he made no errors to win the Medal Race by 11 seconds ahead of Dan Slater (NZL). US sailor Zach Railey finished in 9th for an overall 9th place. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/london2012/news/36480.php Canadian Sailing Team: http://tinyurl.com/CYA-080411 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics: http://tinyurl.com/USSTAG-073111 BACKGROUND: The 2011 Weymouth and Portland International Regatta is designed to test the Olympic sailing venue and its operations in advance of the 2012 Games. 325 entries representing 135 countries competed across five courses on Portland Harbor and Weymouth Bay. Consistent with the Olympic Games, each country was allowed just one representative in each event. A-CLASS CAT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP UNDERWAY Aarhus, Denmark (August 15, 2011) - The 2011 Ronstan A-Class Catamaran World Championship in Aarhus is just getting underway; Saturday and Sunday saw measurement of the 100 cats and first practices will take place in advance of the five days of World Championship races, with the finals being raced on Friday 19th August. For the first time in many years, reigning world champion Glenn Ashby from Australia is not present to defend his title. The shift to catamarans in the America's Cup has prompted several AC teams to take on A-Cat sailors, and an overlap between the A-Cat Worlds and the first AC45 races in the Americas Cup Series has resulted in Glenn and others having to pull out of the A-Cat Worlds. Designer Martin Fischer, who is renowned for various successful catamaran designs including the F18-Class, has produced a new A-Cat which will have its debut in Aarhus. The boat is of a radical new design with an S-shaped leeboard and L-shaped rudder, and the name 'MayFly' hints at the inspiration behind it. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/4x9bu2l THE WAVE, MUSCAT WINS ACT 5 EXTREME SAILING SERIES Cowes, GBR (August 12, 2011) - A week of big winds and high adrenalin action, Act 5 of the Extreme Sailing Series at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week delivered some of the closest and intense 'Stadium Racing' the circuit has ever seen - in front of the biggest crowds ever recorded for the event. The ultimate winner was The Wave, Muscat, skippered by local Isle of Wight born Leigh McMillan, Britain's Olympic Tornado representative in Beijing 2008. For last year's overall winners, this was the Omani team's first Act win this year. For the 48 sailors from 15 nations, Act 5 concluded in a more manageable 10-15 knots for the 11 Extreme 40s but with a powerful three to four knot tide testing each team's tactical prowess. Incredibly, considering the giant race schedule, the outcome once again came down to the last race with The Wave, Muscat team having to finish within six places of second placed Luna Rossa if they were to hold onto the Act 5 title. The Wave, Muscat's fourth place was enough to secure her victory. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3wxxnqp Overall standings after 5 Acts Position / Team / Points 1. Emirates Team New Zealand 44 points 2. Luna Rossa 43 points 3. Groupe Edmond de Rothschild 40 points 4. Artemis Racing 38 points 5. The Wave, Muscat 38 points 6. Red Bull Extreme Sailing 36 points 7. Alinghi 33 points 8. Oman Air 22 points 9. Team GAC Pindar 13 points 10. Niceforyou 12 points 11. Team Extreme 11 points BACKGROUND: The Extreme Sailing Season is embarking on its fifth season, with Cowes as the fifth stop for the nine event tour that will travel through Asia, Europe, and North America this year. The platform used is the one design Extreme 40 catamaran, with each five day event combining 'open-water' racing with 'stadium' short-course racing in front of the public. The 2011 ESS has grown in part due to the multihull format planned for the 34th America's Cup in 2013. -- http://www.extremesailingseries.com/ RULES CHANGES APPROVED During their July meeting, the Board of Directors of US SAILING unanimously approved twelve Submissions to ISAF for changes in the 2013-2016 Racing Rules of Sailing. These Submissions were prepared by the US Racing Rules Committee, which met 19 times since last October to consider, discuss, and revise the proposed changes. Additionally, the committee members exchanged literally hundreds of e-mail messages with comments and proposed rewording of the rules in question. The 2011 Submissions are posted on the US SAILING website, http://raceadmin.ussailing.org. Most are simple rewordings of existing rules, where the existing language is imprecise, unclear, or (in one case) nonsensical. But there are three important changes. They concern a new rule 6, Environmental Responsibility, a rewrite of rule 20, Hailing for Room to Tack, and changes to rule 63.6, Taking Evidence and Finding Facts. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3ntqm6w BRAZIL SWEEPS SNIPE WORLDS (August 14, 2011) - The Brazilian sailors made their mark on the Snipe Worlds, hosted by The Royal Danish Yacht Club and Espergaerde Yacht Club, that finished Saturday in Rungsted, Denmark by securing all three podium places. In a great show of sailing and sportsmanship by competitors from 18 countries, eventual winner Alexandre Tinoco and Gabriel Borges did not sail the last race and cheered on their fellow sailors and countrymen on the sidelines after a tough series marred by fluky winds, rain and conditions that kept the race committee never at rest. Tinoco, commenting on his consistency said, "In such a high level of championship and competition it is better to sail in a more conservative manner than to take risks for the win. It is better to sail with the fleet in these conditions, for any mistake can create a huge difference." Finishing second overall and eight points behind was 2001 Snipe World Champion Alexandre Paradeda and Gabriel Kieling (BRA) and third overall, 2009 Snipe World Champion Bruno Bethlem and Dante Bianchi (BRA). Former US Olympic sailor Carol Cronin finished 33rd overall out of 59 boats, after a tricky final race day. "We knew we would struggle in the bigger breeze against larger teams, so our finishes today (29, 27, 31) felt like a victory," Cronin said. "With better starts and some good speed on the runs, we hung with (and passed) some of the Snipe greats. We also learned a lot about reaching, and about maneuvering in (and sometimes under) waves bigger than we usually get at home." -- Event website and results: http://www.snipeworlds.kdy.dk THIS IS WHERE WE PERFORM What a week for sailing! AC45 in Cascais, Pre-Olympics in Weymouth and the Jr. Sabot Nationals in Newport Beach. Big events, extreme boats and conditions, with extraordinary sailors. At Kaenon Polarized, we call this our test lab.the proving ground. And we like what we see. Bravo, Russell - Cats - move of the century! Wow, Iker and Xabi - back in the 49er - and a medal! Joseph Hou, you pulled the very rare double this summer = winning the 12-and-under, AND the Jr. Sabot nationals! All wore, and relied on Kaenon Polarized. What a week! That's what this sport is all about. Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. http://www.kaenon.com SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * San Francisco's trademark current and wild wind made a final appearance for the conclusion of the 2011 Laser Masters Worlds on Saturday after six long days of sailing for seven divisions. 35-year old Ben Richardson (USA) soundly won the Standard Apprentice Masters Fleet, with six bullets. The Standard Masters, the deepest and largest fleet proved to be a nail biter to the very end as Arnoud Hummel (NED) and Brett Beyer (AUS) were tied for first going into the final races with Hummel ultimately prevailing. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3u8n8do * (August 12, 2011) - Three champions were crowned Friday on Toms River, NJ, at the 2011 Chubb U.S. Junior Championships. Nick Valente (Oakdale, N.Y.) of the Wet Pants Sailing Club won the U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship. Sail Newport's Pearson Potts (Newport, R.I.) and crew Tristan Sess (Center Moriches, N.Y.) won the U.S. Junior Doublehanded Championship, and the team from the Mystic River Mudhead Sailing Association, including skipper O.J. O'Connell (Niantic, Conn.) and crew members Ben Wilkinson (Noank, Conn.) and Kyle Seniff (Glastonbury, Conn.) won the U.S. Junior Triplehanded Championship. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3oaeyst * On Sunday a record-sized Rolex Fastnet Race fleet of 314 set sail from Cowes in classic conditions - a beat westward up the Solent in a building west-southwesterly and sunshine, but with an ominous looking cloud line over the mainland. The first start at 1100 BST saw the giant multihulls heading off. Fastest out of the blocks was Gitana 11 (FRA), the 23.5m trimaran skippered by Vendee Globe and Volvo Ocean Race skipper Sebastien Josse and Roland Jourdain's MOD70 Veolia Environnement (FRA). -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3rwnwbd GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum From Casey Baldwin, Nova Scotia (re Scuttlebutt 3404): Having been a broadcast commentator during the ACup 12 meter era, I think Mr. McIntyre's remark that "commentators are horrible" at just completed ACWS in Portugal, is entirely unfair. All of the broadcast team did an excellent job in explaining a new America's Cup format where events happen much more quickly. Top-notch sailor Genny Tulloch was particularly good at helping newbies by using terms such as "front of the boat" and "rolling and unrolling big forward sail" when changing direction. Former winning AC bowman Jordy Schaefer, who was on the water with the racers, did a great job explaining wind shifts and what the "dark patches' on the water meant. And the highly experienced Peter Montgomery held it all together with explanations of penalties, the new boundaries, and the right of way boat having the wind coming over its right-hand side. Would Mr. McIntyre prefer long-winded details about asymetric dagger-boards and other tech esoterica? I had my doubts about the new Cup cats and whether they would engender new interest in sailing...not anymore. The first series in Cascais using the 45 foot cats was exciting, dramatic on occasion, and a great success. Now I can't wait for the next series in Plymouth and San Diego, and beyond that when they start using the 72 foot cats that will be the boats that contest the Cup in 2013. * From Paul Oliva, San Francisco, CA (re Scuttlebutt 3404): Regarding Craig Rowell's concerns about Debra Self and America's Cup Environmental Council criticisms of the draft environmental impact report (EIR). First, what's not worrisome: I don't think Deb's trying to torpedo the Cup. Her organization and its coalition generally support Cup hosting. What they are doing is (1) firing a shot across the bow to keep the process honest, and (2) getting concerns on record they'd like to see addressed. Sure, there's some posturing, but not like it can be (or will be if there are glib responses). What is worrisome? Rowell's right that the process here brings out the worst kind of policy comment, with lawyers and citizens firing off rounds of mutually contradictory criticisms to kill the subject. Thus, the worrisome bit is whether the AC Event Authority will treat the situation as the dangerous one it is, formulate the right responses, and have the right touch to be credible so that the volume of criticisms stays manageable. That's where the testimony during today's Planning Commission got me worried. Not Deb Self. Rather, the parade of Dolphin and South End Rowing Club members frightened about the JumboTron to be floated in Aquatic Park. If you know many of the thousands of people who swim and row there you know it's a spiritual place. Yet a JumboTron got into the plan without ACEA/ACOC successfully getting locals comfortable with a massive TV plunked in their sanctuary. And the volume notched up. * From Matthew Fortune Reid: I totally agree that the people who are laying down the gauntlet against the AC in S.F. are way off base. The energy they are putting forth to stop the AC from happening could be much better used to help needy people around the world, the state of California and their own neighborhoods. Too much money and free time leads to this kind of chest-thumping, over-righteous attitude. Indeed, they could and should work WITH the AC management team to make sure the AC does happen and in a way that would not be of such an impact (balony!) on the environment. Shades of the party of 'just say no'. What a disappointment that, after all this time, suddenly, this group has decided now that the AC is the 8th deadly sin. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Ambivalent? Well yes and no. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Harken - Kaenon Polarized - Team One Newport - North Sails LaserPerformance - Doyle Sails - Atlantis WeatherGear - Lewmar Summit Yachts - Ullman Sails - The Pirates Lair - JK3 Nautical Enterprises Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
