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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 895 - September 6, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE A number of the syndicates will provide corporate hospitality and host public exhibitions during the stopover. SEB, a Scandinavian bank, is bringing a purpose-built marquee valued at $1.5 million to host 60 of its most important clients during the Auckland stopover. The money spent by this group alone is estimated to be around $500,000. SEB will bring construction and maintenance crew with them, as will the Volvo company. Some of the other syndicates will also have exhibition and hospitality marquees in the Viaduct. Team Tyco syndicate is hosting the company's Global Chairman's Council while in Auckland which will bring 700 delegates into the city not directly associated with yachting. Victoria Carter, chair of the Auckland City Council's city attractions committee, says these 700 people were expected to spend on average $500 a day, which would mean $2.45 million spent on their week-long stay. "The economic benefit of the race goes far beyond the immediate spin-off for the hospitality and accommodation sectors," she said. "Three of the VO-60 yachts were built at Cookson's Boats in Auckland, each costing between $3.5 and $4 million and taking between 15 and 20 people six months to build." In addition to the considerable economic activity generated by the syndicates, Volvo Event Management, the Volvo Ocean Race organisers, will have a contingent of between 30 and 35 support people in Auckland. Granada Television will also be in Auckland throughout the stopover, producing three half-hour documentaries using local production facilities. Robin Bailey, NZ Herald www.nzherald.co.nzport
PERSPECTIVE However, if there has been a constant in the IC45 class used for the One Ton Cup in recent years it has been George Andreadis's Atalanti X. The Greek-owned boat's American tactician, Robbie Haines, and Kiwi helmsman, Gavin Brady, won two races from two starts in yesterday's shifty 8-10 knot sou-westerly. "We made less mistakes than the others," said Haines simply. - Tim Jeffery, The Telegraph, UK. Full story: sport.telegraph.co.uk
SOG STAINLESS STEEL POWERLOCK MULTI TOOL
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From J. Joseph Bainton: I disagree with Dave Dellenbaugh's criticism of the unnamed A/C boat that successfully relied upon its tender to quickly retrieve an overboard crew member within roughly two minutes of his hitting the water. I question whether the best of teams can douse an A/C chute and return to a point upwind in anything like two minutes. Summoning the tender, which absent exception in the sailing instructions would constitute the disqualifying event of accepting outside assistance, looks like the course of action most likely to save the swimmer the soonest while at the same time eliminating any danger to the rest of the crew that might flow from an unannounced, crash u turn. A/C boats are dangerous machines. The absence of life lines combined with one or more ever present tailing tenders reflect a laudable, realistic approach to safety that should not be criticized because it cannot readily be transferred to the sonar fleet. * From Mike Whitehead (re man overboard): Why is this situation coming up again? This happened in the Scottish series quite a few years ago and the 3/4 tonners just ignored the person in the water as they were having a close race.(This was at night as well). This is very irresponsible on the part of the skipper and crew. Just send a tender. I think for that behavior they should be disqualified from the regatta. Are we getting to the point were cups mean more than people? * From Ralph Taylor: I'm with David Dellenbaugh in wondering about the implications of the crew overboard incident he describes. I suspect that the timidity of the jury is a common phenomenon. Perhaps, shock disabled their good sense? To me, the described incident resembles "gross misconduct" and should have triggered a Rule 69 hearing. If the skipper continues to get crew, it tells me that the game has gotten completely out of hand. * From Peter Godfrey (edited to our 250-word limit): When juries don't enforce the rules when handed the opportunity, is it any wonder that sailors pump, ooch and rock their way around the course in obvious violation of the rules? As a race officer, I have tried and failed to protest competitors who are violating rule 42, but have yet to find a jury willing to disqualify a competitor, even when the jurors have witnessed the offending action with their own eyes -- after having ordered racing to proceed in very light air and against the better judgment of the RC. Experience also shows that the competitors certainly won't protest each other. No one protests skiers for pumping and ooching down a race course -- it is part of good race technique. Can you imagine a sprinter running without pumping his arms? If ooching and rocking are the primary means of making the boat move forward, the solution is not to race until a stronger breeze fills in. If two pumps on the main sheet promote planing, why not three, or continuous pumping if it makes the boat go faster? Who would tell a rowing coach that his crew cannot row more than 34 strokes a minute if he thinks that 36 or 38 will make the boat faster? If sailing is a sport, dump rule 42, and let classes decide for themselves what the minimum acceptable sailing breeze is. If sailors have to train harder as a result, that's part of what being good at a sport entails. * From Jeff Martin (re kinetics): Brian Todd commented about Lasers. The class is reviewing the exclusion clause after the third yellow flag. After it's Worlds where I met Brian one of the sailors excluded won the Laser European Championship (without getting a single penalty) with ideal kinetic conditions in every race and a tough jury. He acknowledged his problem as did his coach. His lesson was well learnt. Over the last two months I have conducted an informal survey of top Laser sailors and coaches. The majority are happy with the current rule and level of policing at World and European championships. They don't want a free for all. A minority favour the go/no go flag option - I would suggest that only solves the problem for certain conditions. There is concern about judging consistency. This exists in other sports that involve a referee. It is an education problem, not a reason to change the rule. We are working on this in the Laser class. It needs to be class specific. There is a problem in some countries and lower level regattas where there is no rule 42 enforcement hence the surprise and increase in calls at major events where there is enforcement. Again this is not a reason to change the rule. Most start calls at the Laser Worlds were for pumping by athwartships body movement. None were for the often seen practice of strong tiller movement on one side of the centreline to "head up" or "bear away" a stationary boat. * From Pat Healy (re Kinetics): Talk has once again surfaced on legalizing kinetics. Please don't. It will change our sport for the worst. At the moment sailing is a competition based, sub-maximal energy system sport. We get good by sailing in regattas and, although overall fitness is an important factor, we rarely need to use our maximum strength or endurance to compete. Competitors reach the highest levels by going to regattas and gaining experience. If we allow unlimited kinetics this all change. Sailing becomes a training based sport dependent on lactic acid (pain) tolerance. Whoever can pump the longest and hardest wins. Training to pump means hours in the gym to improve strength and increase the amount of lactic acid your muscles can tolerate. Look at the face of a middle distance runner or a bike racer in a time trial and decide for yourself whether doing away with kinetic rules will increase participation in our sport. * From Alan Blunt: Paul Henderson's guest editorial in #892 about kinetics is spot on. As a slightly overweight grand master Laser sailor, a rule change allowing kinetics would drive me and many like me away from competitive sailing. Contrary to Dallas Johnson's letter in the same 'Butt, it would harm both sailors and sailing. Some of our rule makers may be unfit, but 'lazy'? Never! Competitive sailing is not just for elite athletes and any rules that bring in or keep more people are great. * From Ted Beier: Hooray for Paul Henderson! The prez got it right again in his editorial in 'Butt 892. I agree that the sport I want to be associated with is SAILING and not air rowing. There is enough blame to go around from permissive competitors, to timid judging, to class appeals committees who won't back their judges up, to junior instructors and coaches who aren't emphatic in their distain for rule violators. I won't use the term cheating because many do not know what that means. We must all work hard to clean up. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: On this positive note, we declare the kinetics thread officially dead! * From Will Loe: I'm surprised with the selection of the 29er as the only double handed boat for boys or girls at the 2002 Youth Worlds in Canada, yet will not even be included in the next two Worlds. As recently reported here, the 29er US National Championship had only 21 boats. There are not very many 29ers in the US and probably many other sailing countries. Skills in 420's, FJs or similar boats do not transfer very well to skiffs, ie you can't train in a 420 and sail a 29er competitively. Shouldn't the 29er have been introduced as a new, exciting development class and the 420 sailed as it has been for years and for the next several worlds? Is is too late to change?
JUNIOR SAILING The Annapolis mailbox of Rolex IWKC Outreach Committee Chair Sue Mikulski was flooded with essays from juniors around the country. They were asked to write about three topics ("what I enjoy about sailing," "my sailing experiences" and "what I think I will gain from spending a weekend at the Rolex IWKC") and were selected based on their answers. - Dana Paxton Next Step Program of Events: Friday, Sept. 21 Welcome Party and Workshop Asymmetrical sailing with Rolex IWKC competitors Sponsored by J Port Sailing Club and J World Annapolis. Saturday, Sept. 22 J/22 clinic with America's Cup campaign veteran Tucker Thompson and US SAILING Instructor Trainer Nan Leute Walker, director of J Port Sailing Club. Barbecue at AYC. Sunday, Sept. 23 Pease Glaser, Olympic 470 Silver Medallist and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, will talk about her Olympic experiences over breakfast at AYC. Former US Sailing president Jim Muldoon will host the juniors aboard his well-known offshore racer Donnybrook, for lunch and to observe the Rolex IWKC practice race. Participants will be presented with certificates of achievement from Rolex. Participants include: Meredith Adams, Davidsonville, Md., Annapolis YC; Allie Blecher, Fullerton, Calif. California YC; Sarah Brown, Southampton, N.Y., Shelter Island YC; Laura Browning, Plandome, N.Y., Manhasset Bay YC; Kate Brush, Burlington, Vt., Lake Champlain Community; Case Hathaway-Zepeda, Pasadena, Calif., California YC; Martha Fisher, Gahana, Ohio; Meredith Ginley, Franklin, Mass., Chapoquoit YC; Michelle Grocke, Novelty, Ohio; Taylor Grimes, Newport Beach, Calif.; Jessie Guild, Cohasset, Mass., Cohasset YC; Abigail Logan, Richmond, Va., Fishing Bay YC; Maggie Lumkes, River Forest, Ill., Chicago YC; Sarah Marsh, Youngstown, N.Y., Youngstown YC; Anne-Marie Martin, Youngstown, N.Y., Youngstown YC; Jamie McKinnon, Newport Beach, Calif., Lido Isle YC; Julie Papanek, Chicago, Ill., Chicago YC; Adrienne Patterson, Corona del Mar, Calif.; Elizabeth Rath, Villa Park, Ill., Sea Scout; Nicole Rothstein, Chicago, Ill., Chicago YC; Kate Schellie, Annapolis, Md., Annapolis YC; Kimberly Ulmer, Cohasset, Mass., Cohasset YC; Adele Wilhelm, Chicago, Ill., Chicago YC; Casey Williams, Kentfield, Calif., San Francisco YC; Carissa Zill, Burr Ridge, Ill., Sea Scouts.
NEXUS WIND DATA
RACING ONLINE A new page on the Club's website invites sailors to watch the racing, attend the press conferences, and meet and greet top match racers like America's Dennis Conner and Ed Baird, Australia's Peter Gilmour, and Sweden's Magnus Holmberg.. www.bermudagoldcup.com/visit&view The Colorcraft Gold Cup is raced in 33-foot International One Design sloops on short windward-leeward courses set inside the narrow confines of Hamilton Harbor in front of the RBYC. - Keith Taylor
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
RULES QUIZ
DOCK TALK Sutcliffe says that they have merely been repainting the bow of their race boat. "I think it is quite funny that dockside gossip has spun this into our having a complete new bow," Sutcliffe commented. "The problem was that the paint job on the bow was too dull - it literally wasn't bright enough. We have a pink team and we want it to be very pink." - Volvo Ocean Race website, www.volvooceanrace.org
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
