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SCUTTLEBUTT 2213 - October 31, 2006
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,
features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is
distributed each weekday, with America’s Cup coverage in Scuttlebutt brought
to you by UBS (http://www.ubs.com/sailing).
READER COMMENTARY - Tad Springer
(October 30, 2006) The Finn’s future was dramatically displayed at the
recent Olympic Pre-Trials, hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Newport
Beach, CA. The fact alone of being the largest fleet of all the Pre-Trials
classes is extraordinary, but a closer look reveals something equally
exceptional. Of the 38 sailors competing, 28 were from California, with
Newport Harbor Yacht Club currently having 23 Finns. The NHYC fleet now
represents the largest fleet in North America, and likely ranks as one of
the largest in the world.
The growth of this fleet didn’t just happen or evolve on its own; it was
built through a thoughtful and proven process. Nurturing enthusiasm,
educating, planning, and constant communication is the result of a vision
less then 12 months old. Certainly having the trials in our own backyard
helped with the vision, “it is always important to have a point to journey
towards, but in the end it’s the journey that counts.” The fleet represents
several generations, but the stability of growth in our fleet is in the more
mature versus the Olympic aspirant. A majority of our fleet spent their
youth in the Finn, but more importantly age has opened the door to a new
sector that wasn’t available in their youth, whereas “what you lose on top,
you tend to pick up around the middle and all of a sudden you’re Finn Size.”
On any Sunday you will find 5 to 10 boats rigging up for an informal
training secession, and while the competitive spirit is alive, friendship
and comradely are the binding substance of our fleet. The NHYC fleet is
planning to travel to Florida for several key regattas, which include the
Coaches Regatta in Clearwater, FL (December), Miami Olympic Classes Regatta
(January), and the class Midwinters in Ft. Lauderdale (February). Next year
also presents the opportunity for travel to Europe and sail the Masters Gold
Cup in Spain and hit part of the European Circuit prior to returning to
Newport for training leading up to the Trials.
Our fleet continues to grow, which I attribute to both the visible fun a
bunch of old guys are having along with the majesty of the boat itself. The
Finn has a complex simplicity that rewards the ability to solve simultaneous
multivariable situations, but beyond any aspect it rewards fitness. This has
been a life benefit to many members of our fleet; they are training in the
gym, cycling, indoor rowing, yoga, and incorporating nutrition programs.
Looking down the road after the Trials, Philippe Kahn is working on bringing
the Gold Cup to San Francisco in 2009, and the Olympic Trials for 2012 could
more than likely end up in the San Francisco Bay area to match the windy
venue in the UK. I bought a Finn for the pure joy of sailing it; the true
bonus is being able to do it with my friends. - Tad Springer,
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/06/1030
(RAMBLING) READER COMMENTARY - Cam Lewis
Just returned to my home in Maine last Wednesday after an incredible
experience racing on Alfa Romeo in the Rolex Middle Sea Race, where it was
warm and sunny, our top speeds in the 23-24 knot range on the first day, but
light air Med weather for most of the rest of the way. Great trip with a
great boat, owner and team (plus it was nice to finish first).
Flying past Iceland and Greenland on Virgin at 35,000 feet - clear below -
thinking, planning, and scheming on what my winter fun will soon be. While
Global Warming is real, it still gets mighty cold in Maine. Now settling
back into life at home with work, hockey season, ski, snowboarding, ice
boating season, and more outdoor activities here or on the horizon. Now
watching the leaves fall from the trees, the early morning cooling fog/smoke
rises off Lake Megunticook in front of my office and pondering my activities
for the coming winter season.
Then here is Scuttlebutt in my mailbox with their Video of the Week showing
one of the most diverse and fun wind tools in the world - the Skim Bat! Here
in winter, the black ice arrives in mid-December, my floating wood-fired
sauna is frozen static into the lake, a dip hole chain sawed out of the
ice - with smoke pouring out of the stack - 150 to 190 F inside and the
locals show up. Skim Batters are zipping around, DNs, kites, and other
contraptions scattered around the yard and lake, or speeding about with
bursts of joyous screams from the thrills. All good, clean, scary fast fun.
If anyone wants a go on a Skim Bat, contact me and come by for a rip-roaring
ride. Skis, hockey skates or long blades, or snowboards boards work well.
Just depends on surface conditions, but helmets required! – Cam Lewis
Here is the Skim Bat video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/06/1023
Here are photos from the Middle Sea Race:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/msr
UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
The ISAF Annual Conference is held this year in Helsinki, Finland on
November 2-12 to discuss, debate and decide on the major issues affecting
our sport. Around 600 delegates from 50-60 nations are expected in Helsinki,
with eleven days of meetings scheduled to cover a range of topics,
including:
* Last year the Medal Race format for the Olympic Sailing Competition took
centre stage, and in 2006 the topic is back on the agenda with Submission
089, which proposes to make further changes to the scoring system to
increase the importance of the Medal Race. Staying with the Olympic Games,
Submission 064 proposes a new media friendly course for the two windsurfing
events.
* For offshore sailors, Submission 101 will be of particular interest as it
proposes to tighten the regulations of classes meeting the definition of
Offshore Yachts. For match racers meanwhile, Submission 078 proposes match
racing to return to the Olympic Sailing Competition. Funding and sponsorship
is of vital importance to sailors worldwide and is an issue addressed at the
core of Submission 015. It proposes to allow a provision for advertising
space for class sponsors in the Class Rules.
* Away from the race course, Submissions 016, 030, 031 and 034 propose
methods of achieving a minimum of 20% women's representation on the Council.
With the eleven sailing events at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games showing a
massive 32% increase in participation by women athletes, the submissions aim
to ensure sailing's proud record of participation by women on the water in
its governance. Whilst ISAF does current achieve 20% women's representation,
the debate will focus on the regulations governing the process.
Full report: http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6,Fh?,vC&format=popup
ONE DESIGN SPEED ON SALE
That's right; order a new sail from the world’s leading one design
sailmaker - North Sails One Design - and save 10%! Choose from over 100
small one design classes and order before November 22nd to save, save,
save...! For full details, visit: http://www.OneDesign.com
BOAT IN A BOX
(Here are some excerpts from an interview that was on the North Sails One
Design website, where Chuck Allen interviews Curt Barnes about shipping
their boat in a container to the 2006 J/24 Worlds in Melbourne, Australia.)
The decision to ship vs. charter a boat is never easy, but we've learned
that a big part of doing well is in the details - no unnecessary
distractions and confidence in the equipment. The latest shipping containers
have door openings wide enough to better fit the boats. It's really pretty
easy…. these shipping companies do this container thing like clockwork- like
they don't understand why we call up months in advance and worry about all
the details. On the packup to return home the container arrived to the yacht
club an hour after we finished racing, they set it on the ground, we loaded
it up and they trucked it away an hour later…. you have a way to tip the
boat on its side for the container… a pretty simple dolly. The Japanese
teams have the dolly thing really figured out well. They are looking like
they are prepared to continue their presence at (J/24) worlds in the
future …
For photos and the full report:
http://www.northsailsod.com/class/j24/j24_whatsnew.html#36
START PLANNING NOW
The 2nd Annual US-IRC Gulf Stream Series schedule is complete, with events
extending along the east coast from Florida to the New England area, ocean
racing to Halifax and Jamaica, and racing in the Caribbean in a series of
prominent events. The series starts with the Ft Lauderdale-Key West Race and
the Acura Key West Regatta in January and concludes in Annapolis with the
Storm Trysail Club IRC East Coast Championship in early November. The 2007
US-IRC Gulf Stream Series will be scored under the IRC endorsed rating
system either in specific fleets, divisions or classes and events may be
dual scored along with other systems such as the CSA in the Caribbean.
Racing will be by individual entry and by two-boat teams representing
nations, yacht clubs, or other sailing associations for the Gulf Stream
Trophy and the Gulf Stream Team Trophy. -Talbot Wilson, event website:
http://www.us-irc.org/gss2007.cfm
RACES IN PROGRESS
* Velux 5 Oceans, a 30,000-mile race exclusively for the Grand Prix IMOCA
Open 60 and Open 50 classes, is now in its second week. The race begins and
ends in Bilbao, Spain with just two stops - in Perth, Western Australia and
Norfolk, Virginia on the east coast of the USA. -
http://www.velux5oceans.com
* Route du Rhum race, the 3,500-mile solo race for multi-hulls and monohulls
from France to Guadeloupe began last weekend, and already is reporting drama
amid the fleet. - http://www.routedurhum.org
SAILING SHORTS
* (Greenwich CT) Thirty-two High School sailors came to Indian Harbor YC
last weekend to race Lasers in the national high school single-handed
championship (Cressy Trophy). Three races were held on Saturday under
“changeable” conditions ranging from 10-22 knots, with racing called later
in the day when a frontal system brought with it 30+ knot breezes resulting
in numerous capsizes and abandonment. Strong winds continued on Sunday,
canceling any further racing with the results from Saturday sufficient to
constitute a regatta. Blake Warner of Calvary Chapel School won the full rig
division; Joe Morris of Severn School won the Radial fleet. Complete
results: http://www.indianharboryc.com/cressy07.htm
* The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has approved a
final version of the competition schedule for the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games. The Olympic Sailing Competition will take place in Qingdao on August
9-21, with the Medal Races taking place on August 16-21. August 22-23 are
scheduled as reserve days. - Full report:
http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j62Fh?,18&format=popup
* Thanks to photographers Rich Roberts and Glennon Stratton for providing
Scuttlebutt with images from the 470 and RS:X US Olympic Pre-Trials, held
last week in Long Beach, CA:
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/1029
* Sail.tv was onsite at the Allianz Cup in San Francisco, where they had
multiple cameras providing free live coverage of the match race event on
their website. Here is a link that was on the Valencia Sailing website, with
1:36 minutes of final race footage and an interview with event winner Ben
Ainslie: http://tinyurl.com/vn2wo
THERE'S A NEW ROPE IN TOWN: FSE ROBLINE
Driven by a dedication to engineering and construction designed to maximize
performance; FSE Robline, one of Europe's leading brands of cordage, is now
available in North America, Australia, and New Zealand exclusively
distributed by Ronstan. The range includes PBO, Vectran, and SK75 Dyneemas,
as well as high quality polyester and more - there is a rope from FSE
Robline for every application. Look for FSE Robline showing up on race
courses from Marina Del Rey to Newport, RI to Valencia. And more
importantly, FSE Robline is coming soon to the shelves of your local
chandlery. http://www.fse-robline.com to review the range.
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be
edited for clarity or space (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You
only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if
others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
As an alternative, there are no word or frequency limits on comments sent to
the Scuttlebutt Forums.
-- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com
-- Scuttlebutt Forums: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum
* From Berry Kurland: (regarding story in Issue 2212) I take issue with
Matthew Syed and Matthew Pinsent's conclusions about wealth in sport
presented in the Times. Using attendance at independent schools as evidence
of wealth is a faulty premise. It is natural that those with talent (i.e.
those who will attend future Olympic Games) will seek out schools with
strong programs for their particular sports. Schools with strong programs
will, in turn, reach out to talented athletes in order to further strengthen
their sporting specialties. This means that if an athlete can't pay for the
school, he or she will receive a scholarship. We see this on all different
levels here in the states. From tennis academies for high schoolers to
top-flight D1 football schools in college, talent will always be
concentrated in areas that help it flourish best. To Syed and Pinsent, this
is taken as a sign that only the wealthy (i.e. those who can afford
academies or college) will succeed. In fact, this high proportion of quality
athletes in a relatively small amount of schools has little to do with
wealth, but a lot to do with common sense.
* From Geoff Newbury: Matthew Syed's part of this 'Does not - Does too' pair
of articles is so tinged with jealousy disguised as egalitarianism that it
should have appeared in green print. His conclusion ('shocking indication')
that wealth is the driver, is a logical non-sequitor, both to the stated
assumption that talent is evenly spread and that ability is less important
than wealth. Those with true ability can obtain funding for Olympic
campaigns, but what they truly need, besides raw ability, is that which, in
general, independent schools value, and inculcate more than state schools:
independence and the ambition or desire to succeed. As the political
structure of most educational bureaucracies is to stomp on independence,
ambition and desire, it is not a surprise to me that students from schools,
which do not follow that path 'do better'. Although high country Kenyans and
Ethiopians may have some genetic advantage at distance racing, its takes the
desire to succeed to overcome the pain and monotony of training.
Unfortunately, he equates the number of medals with 'importance' and
denigrates the difference between the disciplines and even why there would
be vastly different numbers of competitors in different events. I've smelt
*that* claptrap. And I would be willing to make a small bet that, if he has
read it, he does not understand the theme of 'Harrison Bergeron'.
* From Ralph Taylor: (regarding ‘Curmudgeon’s Observation: Great minds
discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people’ in
Butt #2211) Ah, but many of the great ideas involve the nature of people and
what makes them tick. Ideas in economics, art, philosophy and psychology are
really about people. We may come to know all about quarks, the big bang,
methane-breathing organisms, etc. It won’t get us any closer to that
“perfect world” we dream about. For example, I have been carrying on a
correspondence about fleet building. It’s generally recognized that the key
to a strong fleet has to do with the people in it, not the performance of
the boat. So, the question becomes about people.
* From Brian May: (ref the conundrum in Issue 2212) They are called stands
because crowds used to stand - not sit!
* From Tom Anderson: (regarding storm story in Issue 2212) This same storm
came as no surprise for us late season sailors in Marblehead, MA. It was
forecasted for several days. Luckily it came from the ESE which protected
boats by Marblehead Neck, then gradually swung to SW for Sunday, and NW
today. I don't understand why so many boaters in Padanaram were caught
unprepared. I always keep my boat in late, and yes you have to be on top of
the weather at all times. At this time of year a late season Nor'easter,
which can last for several days, can be more brutal than a hurricane that
only affects us for a few hours.
* From Bob Merrick: If we truly want to increase participation in the sport
of sailing then why do you need two letters or recommendation from "the
right kind of people" to join a yacht club? Shouldn't just a passion for
sailing be enough?
* From Rick Hatch: The best part of growing up at the water's edge was
messing about in boats, of all kinds and shapes. After my older brother got
marooned while on a sailboat camping trip to Middle Bass Island in Lake Erie
during a storm that busted up the family's old Lightning (#7148) - and had
to be airlifted off of by the USCG, my Dad bought a Sunfish for our family,
to keep on the dock at the house. I spent many weekend days sailing in the
back eddies and up current (you'd have to be crazy to sail down current in a
Sunfish on that river!) to undeveloped Peche Island Provincial Park at the
head of the Detroit River. I remember one summer in Algonquin Park when we
had to unstep the masts in Camp's Ahmek's gaff rigged, lap strake cat boats
to get under the highway bridge at the bottom of Tea Lake in order to get to
our campsite on Smoke Lake. Those were way more fun adventures than most, if
not all of the light air racing on Canoe Lake I did for seven summers while
growing up.
* From Alex Watters: All this banter about kids and messing around in boats
brought back memories for me. As an early teen, I was always out goofin' in
my FJ.... I got in a spot of trouble when I was 'practicing' my capsizing
skills in front of the yacht club and a concerned adult assumed I was in
trouble, practically destroyed my mast when I rigged an I -4 chute and genny
to max out performance...and the list goes on!! A friend of mine with the
identical boat executed the best move. Excluding ice boats (Canadian
winters), there was an unwritten contest to see who would be the first guy
sailing in the spring. This particular year he pushed his boat out over the
ice 'till he reached open water and commenced yachting, much to the chagrin
of his parents, and easily won the early bird contest. It must have had a
significant impact on his sailing career as he went on to collect an Olympic
silver in Los Angeles, that being Evert Bastet...FD crew for Terry
Mclaughlin, with Evert and I having enjoyed our youth in Montreal.
CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.
Special thanks to North Sails and FSE Robline (distributed by Ronstan)
America’s Cup coverage in Scuttlebutt is brought to you by UBS.
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