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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 874 - August 8, 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.
AMERICA'S CUP "There is no better partner to have in this effort than my friend Paul and the team at TechTV," said McCaw. "Paul is a true sports enthusiast (Allen owns the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team and the Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise), a man who shares my concern for environmental stewardship, and someone who loves the adventure of boating and being on the water." Vulcan Northwest Inc. was founded by Paul G. Allen in 1986 to manage his personal and professional endeavors, including various investments, more than 100 portfolio companies, the six Paul G. Allen Foundations, First & Goal Inc., the Experience Music Project museum, Clear Blue Sky Productions and others. Vulcan is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
OLYMPICS Capralos said in an interview on the fourth day of the world athletics championships that he was hoping the number of athletes could be kept close to the proposed 10,500 figure although he added there were requests from international federations to expand their programs. "There are international federations who want to increase the number of teams in sports, like women's football, women's water polo and hockey,'' he said . ``Some sports want to add extra events. Those who don't have relays want to add relays or add mixed doubles.'' * Rogge has spoken out against gigantism after his experience of coordinating last year's Sydney Games. The former Olympic yachtsman believes it is becoming impossible for some countries to stage the event because of its size. - Adrian Warner, Reuters News Service Full story: dailynews.yahoo.com
MORE AMERICA'S CUP Full story: www.chez.com/hauraki/LatestNews/AmericasCup-LN.htm
CARBON SAILCLOTH
VOLVO OCEAN RACE
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Chuck Hawley: It's unfortunate to say the least to have to abandon a beautiful yacht while returning from Transpac (or any other time, for that matter), as the crew had to do on Bonaire. I faced a similar problem in 1983 while returning from Transpac on Nolan Bushnell's Charley. Approximately 300 miles north of Kauai, the keel fell off in 12,000 feet of water. We managed to return to the Ala Wai under power, which still seems miraculous to this day, in a little over two days. There were two oft-repeated questions when we made landfall: "Why didn't the boat capsize?" and "Why didn't you take down the rig to increase the stability?" Even the boat's naval architect Ron Holland was surprised that we were able to stay upright. But I still don't know how I would have cut the rig down if that had seemed like the right thing to do. Lots of opinionated sailors (redundant?) had theories, but no one had actually dropped a large (80') rig at sea, and no one could guarantee that the rig would not puncture the hull and sink the boat. I think the suggestion that Bonaire's crew should have cut the rig down falls in the category of "says easy, does hard." * From Alan Blunt: Yesterday I asked Commodore Tompkins what he would have done faced with the situation Bonaire encountered. His response (and I agree 100%) was "I don't know." Without actually being on board, knowing all the facts and available options, it is useless to criticize or second guess the captain. Consider the logistics of an intentional dismasting at sea - it's incredibly dangerous! After the step collapsed the mast would be hanging on the deck partners, supported only by various bits of hardware like the vang bracket and track. The partners would be the fulcrum for a huge and powerful lever just an instant away from wreaking havoc on the interior, deck and hull. Can you imagine standing directly above one end of this lever with a set of bolt cutters and wondering which way to run when it all comes down, knowing that's when the fun will really start providing the boat doesn't sink immediately? * From Ralph Taylor: Two of your readers think the crew didn't do enough to save the Bonaire, rather than abandon her. Perhaps they don't realize that Orange Coast is a junior college, equivalent to the freshman and sophomore years years at four-year colleges and universities. Would they place this much responsibility on the heads of 18 to 20 year-olds? They suggest taking down the mast. Probably a possibility with experts aboard. Probably unsafe without experts. Despite (or because of) my mature years, I wouldn't want to be sawing on a 12" timber 90 feet in the air. (I'm guessing at the height of the mast.) Finally, wooden boats are romantic. They aren't always seaworthy. Many aren't properly maintained. * From Bill Tyler: In response to George Bailey's suggestion to eliminate the rule prohibiting outside assistance, I would like to point out that one of the most delightful aspects of sailboat racing is that it is largely a self-policed sport. We compete against each other with intensity, but with integrity. The boats on which I race round the required marks in daylight or darkness - whether we are being observed or not. I would not like to see us eliminate all of the rules that require honesty and integrity. * From Kevin Hall (edited to our 250-word limit): It is a shame that speeches at the Hinman and the Hinman Masters were not recorded and transcribed. Though perhaps a little loose due to Heineken's generous sponsorship, I will attempt to paraphrase the salient points, as I believe they bear circulation: Dave Perry - The New York Yacht Club, not always known for its dinghy events, has clearly reinvented itself. 84 Vanguard 15 sailors and about as many Sonar sailors, were welcomed with open arms by Harbor Court. Thank you. Team Racing is one of the coolest formats our sport can offer, combining a need to master all skill-sets: rules, boathandling, boatspeed, teamwork. It is up to the competitors to make sure the sport flourishes by sharing the game and by competing honorably. Stuart Hudson - The competition has always been fierce, but the comraderie has been equally intense and rewarding. The Hinman is one of two premier team racing events in the world, and has the potential to surpass even the Wilson Trophy in competition and spectacle. Zack Leonard - I will always cherish the friendships which team racing has made possible in my life. If you haven't had a chance to do much team racing, or if you had a bad experience in another era, give it another try - it's an incredible way to enjoy and be challenged by sailing. There is tremendous "peer pressure" to "be cool" and few people choose to resist that pressure and yell and scream and be lame.
STILL MORE AMERICA'S CUP
EDS ATLANTIC CHALLENGE "We obviously need a new mast," Jourdain said. "This one is beyond repair. We will need to think about it a bit more, but the best option seems to be to send the boat back to France on a container ship. First I need to talk with my sponsor and tomorrow I will decide what to do." Sill Plein Fruit was leading Leg 4 and overall when the incident happened. - Meaghan Van Liew
Boat Positions:
RAYTHEON SUMMER SALE
IMS 50 WORLDS
STAR WORLDS The Americans Mark Reynolds and Magnus Liljedahl led the field from the first mark on, followed by a strong upcoming Torben Grael and Marcelo Ferreira. Mark confided us just after the race that he was not really worried after he had rounded the first mark in first place. The gap with the rest of the fleet was quite big then already! Third over the finishing line were Vince Brun and Mike Dorgan.
Standings after three races:
JET SKIES Parker called the Coast Guard to report the jet skier, Chief Warrant Officer Kyle Santheson said Tuesday, after Parker had fired a shot from an old musket that had a blank in it, to scare the young man. The jet skier had been operating erratically and when Parker tried to slow him down, the two men had "words exchanged" and then Parker fired the gun, Santheson said. * "I followed the law and now I feel like I'm being prosecuted," Parker said Tuesday. According to Parker, he had every right under U.S. Coast Guard navigation rules to use a gun to signal that his guests and vessel were in distress. Under Rule 7 of the navigation rules for international inland waters, "Every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions to determine if risk of collision exists. If there is any doubt, such risk shall be deemed to exist." The navigation rules also state under Rule 37 that a gun fired at intervals of one minute may be used as a distress signal. When asked about the navigation rules, Minor said that firing a weapon intentionally or to scare off someone is not something the Coast Guard takes lightly. Declining to discuss the rules, Minor said that he did not believe Parker's interpretation was accurate. - Leanne M. Robicheau, Bangor Daily News Full story: www.bangornews.com/cgi-bin/article.cfm?storynumber=38766
LASER SENIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Three of the top four sailors scored their worst result of the championship so far including series leader Robert Scheidt from Brazil. He said "the wind was shifting a lot and I was always on the wrong side of the shifts. I went left out of the start and the right paid then I went right and the left paid. I was very surprised because I got to the top mark last!" When asked how it felt to be last at that point Scheidt was remarkably philosophic saying he just decided to see how far he could catch up. Even though he knew he could discard this result if he stayed at the back his calmness enabled him to work back to 29th which is more than respectable in this high quality fleet. It probably also helped him to know that the second placed overall sailor, Karl Suneson was also nearby him. Shiedt holds a 31 point lead over Lima and only has to finish 29th or better in one of the two races scheduled tomorrow to retain his world champion title.
Overall results after 1 discard: Full results: www.laserinternational.org
BIG WIND Full story: sport.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2001/08/07/soyot08.xml
STEVE FOSSETT Fossett is approximately 825 miles southwest of the Fiji Islands in the South Pacific. On his current trajectory, he will cross the international dateline in roughly 8 hours. - solospirit.wustl.edu/summary.asp
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS |
