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SCUTTLEBUTT 3315 - Thursday, April 7, 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: Atlantis WeatherGear and Ullman Sails. DOING IT ON THE CHEAP Newport Beach, CA (April 5, 2011) - The Newport Harbor Yacht Club will be hosting 11 teams from around the country, plus one from the UK, for their 4th annual Baldwin Cup Team Race on April 8-10. Sailed in Harbor 20's, the event clears the adjacent bay of the mooring field, allowing teams of four boats to compete just off the front dock. Given the close proximity to the club, and how beer sales are twenty-five cents all weekend, this has proven to be a super fun event for the teams as well as the spectators. And this year, maybe the online viewers too, or at least that's the hope of club member Mike Nash: "Over the past couple of years I have complained about our coverage of the event so I got volunteered to do something about it. This year we are going to be trying many new ideas (at least to us) to attempt to bring the event to the people. This is a grassroots effort lacking any sponsorship funds. I had a budget of about a grand to figure this out. My thought was to turn to the younger members of our Club and use social media to produce the event. What we have ended up with is a new website that combines Twitter, Facebook, Flicker for photos and video, a new Hi-Def race cam, Kattack, current heat scoring, etc. to make the event as live as possible with limited dollars. Anyway, with the hard work of a bunch of volunteers we are going to try and bring the racing to the folks that can't make it in person. We may have great success or fall flat on our face, either way we are going to try and learn something about how to do this on the cheap." The event website is now live: http://baldwincup.com SOUTH KOREA CONFIRMS CHALLENGE FOR AC34 (April 6, 2011) - For the first time in its 160-year history, a challenge has been made by a South Korean Yacht Club for the America's Cup, the oldest trophy in international sports. The Sail Korea Yacht Club, represented by Team Korea, has been officially accepted as a challenger for the 34th America's Cup. Team Korea will be known as the 'White Tiger Challenge'. The White Tiger, or 'Baekho' in Korean, is one of the revered ancient guardian gods in Korean mythology, ferocious and potent, a fitting image for a team from one of the world's major industrial nations with long term America's Cup ambitions. Founder of Team Korea is Dong Young-Kim, an accomplished sailor and the organizer of one of the biggest prize money sailing events in the world, The Korea Match Cup. In launching Team Korea, he intends to boost public interest and knowledge of the America's Cup and hopes to attract new people to take up sailing as their support for the team grows. "As a new team we do not have the experience and legacy of others involved, and so we are realistic about building together a group of people for this challenge, and setting ourselves sensible targets with our first competitive challenge. We see this America's Cup campaign as a learning experience which we can build on for the future, while improving through the regatta series this year. We have discussions ongoing presently which we hope will provide the necessary resources, sponsorships and long-lasting commitments we desire, and aim to make more announcements shortly in what is proving to be a very exciting time in the ongoing evolution of the America's Cup.'' -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/3fchobg DISCOVER: AWG AT THE NEW SPERRY TOP-SIDER RETAIL STORES Yeah, we know. Sounds a bit funny, but when you think about it, the Sperry performance sailing section is a pretty natural place to find Atlantis. After all, both brands represent the ultimate combination of performance and style - one for your feet and the other for the rest of you. So go try on the new Ventis boot. We're pretty sure you'll love it as much as we do, and you'll find that it pairs nicely with the 2011 Atlantis Grand Prix and Aegis gear. http://www.AtlantisWeatherGear.com Discover life on the water. Discover your Atlantis. DAY 3 ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP Palma de Mallorca, Spain (April 6, 2011) - The third day of the Trofeo Princesa Sofia MAPFRE was not the easiest one. Opposite winds and unsettled conditions made life difficult for sailors and race committees and the day ended with a jury room busy with requests for redress. But with five races completed at least in each class, all sailors can now discard their worse race result which will become handy for the leaders who have for most collected a bad race in the last two days' shifty conditions. Scores are very tight at the top, half way through the regatta. In the Laser, the top three are within two points with Olympic champion Paul Goodison (GBR) leading by one point over World Champion Tom Slingsby (AUS), and two over team mate Nick Thompson. Both British won a race today. Other tight results are in the 470 men competition where the top four are within two points. Olympic champions Matt Belcher and Malcolm Page (AUS) have won a race and are in the lead despite collecting 20 points in the day's last race. They are on equal points with French Charbonnier/Meyer-Dieu who had a good day with a third and a fifth. Third and fourth place overall are early leaders Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell (GBR) on equal points with Palma defending champions and Sail for Gold winners Pierre Leboucher and Vincent Garos (FRA) collecting the best scores today with a first and a third. In North American highlights, Paige Railey consolidated her overall lead in the 78-boat Laser Radial class, despite dying winds that prevented her from finishing race 5 within the time limit, while Zach Railey dominated a tricky racecourse in the Finn, winning race 5, and collecting a 5th in race 6. He now sits in 5th overall. It was another day undefeated for Team Tunnicliffe (Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi, in the Gold Round women's match racing teams in the Elliott 6m. Racing concludes with the medal race on Saturday, April 9 in nine of the 10 Olympic Classes. The final matches for the Women's Match Racing are scheduled on Saturday, April 9. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3w2blm7 Results: http://tinyurl.com/4ysjhn6 Canadian team report: http://tinyurl.com/CYA-040511 USA team report: http://tinyurl.com/USSTAG-040411 MEMBERSHIP: American IAIN WOOLWARD is competing in the Finn event under the flag of the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club. As the official club of the Scuttlebutt newsletter, Scuttlebutt Sailing Club has been officially sanctioned by US SAILING since 2001, and is officially available to all Scuttlebutt readers (for free!). Details: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/ * Follow US Olympic sailors competing in the Princesa Sofia MAPFRE: Brad Funk: http://www.funksailing.com Erin Maxwell/Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar: http://www.470teamusa.com Team Tunnicliffe: http://www.teamtunnicliffe.com Storck Moore Sailing: http://www.storckmooresailing.com/ Campbell Sailing: http://www.campbellsailing.com/ NOW FROM THE WINDWARD SIDE A video is posted on the ORACLE Racing blog of the team nearly sending their AC45 "down the mine" during a practice sail. Down the mine is sailors' parlance for digging the bow in a wave and sending the stern overhead. It's a messy situation that's best left for post-race banter. Wednesday's video was shot by coach Philippe Presti on the chase boat, which was following to leeward. Today's video presents the windward-side perspective, shot by Revelin Minihane. While yesterday's video is full of white water, today's video shows just how close the crew was to sending the AC45 down the mine. "We were swapping crews back and forth," said Dirk de Ridder, the wing trimmer. "We'd been practicing heavy-air boathandling, running two or three laps around a course we set up before switching the crews. We were sailing under North Head at the time when a good puff came in, 30 or 32 knots, and the crew basically just stuck it in," de Ridder said. "Happily, it didn't go down the mine. The bow popped up like it's supposed to." ORACLE Racing has been training with two AC45s (the team's plus one chartered from Mascalzone Latino) for the past two weeks. De Ridder says the days have been productive, but the work list is still quite long. "We've got quite a lot more to do," says the Dutchman. "We've gotten through most of the work list. But it's still early days in terms of how to trim the wing, how to deal with it. The boathandling side is going to be massive. That's going to have a big impact on the racing. We haven't figured anything out yet." -- Check out the video: http://www.oracleracing.com/news/now-from-the-windward-side_96 SAILING TO BERMUDA AND PROBLEM TOILETS By Ruth O'Kelly-Lynch (April 6, 2011) - American comedian Stephen Colbert has talked about his upcoming sailing race to Bermuda in the latest edition of 'Outside Magazine' - and why he wants to do it a second time. Mr Colbert, who hosts the popular satirical news show 'The Colbert Report' on Comedy Central, will be participating in the biennial Charleston Bermuda Race this May. It will be the second time the comedian has raced to Bermuda. The last time was in 2005 when he joined a group of friends for the race, which is hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. "Though I grew up in a sailing community - Charleston, South Carolina - I am not a sailor. I wasn't allowed to sail because I'm not waterproof. I have no eardrum in my right ear. As a child, I imagined that if the boat capsized, my skull would fill with water and down I'd go, bow first," he told the magazine. In the magazine, which hits newsstands on April 12, he also talks about his first race to Bermuda and a problematic toilet. "Boat toilets...are floating Porta-Potties. Ours through an understandable oversight had not been emptied since the Carter administration. We tried opening a relief valve (provocatively called an "ocean cock") - no go. It had to be pumped by hand. As a father of three, I was used to dealing with other people's waste, so I volunteered, as did two other crew members... I now knew that I would not drown. I would die from amoebic dysentery." When asked why he wanted to do it again, he said: "What endures is what I can't rightly describe: Looking up at night to see the masts unmoving in your eyes but the stars dancing in synchronized figure eights...Flying fish slapping against the sail...Two ounces of gritty cowboy coffee. Eight friends together in a 45ft world and alone at the centre of a referenceless horizon. I can't explain what that all feels like. I just know I want to feel it again." -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/3ep2p7m SLAM ETCHELLS MIDWINTERS WEST COMPETITION BUILDS San Diego, CA (April 6, 2011) - Competition in the local Etchells racing continues to surge with the recent entry of Philippe Kahn from Waikiki Yacht Club. Kahn is the owner and founder of Pegasus Racing, and world champion in the Melges 24, and founder of numerous high tech companies, including Fullpower-MotionX. The SLAM Etchells Midwinters West Regatta is hosted by San Diego Yacht Club on April 8-10, and is the San Diego Etchells Fleet 13 annual sanctioned regatta. The Regatta, sponsored by SLAM and Point Loma Outfitting, now includes Kahn and the following sailing icons: 2008 Etchells Worlds winner Bill Hardesty; 2010 North American Etchells Champion Bruce Golison sailing with former 2006 World Champion Judd Smith; 2000 World Champion Vince Brun of North Sails; Aussie Rupert Henry sailing with former world champion Dirk Kneulman. This group is joined by Dave Ullman, founder and owner of Ullman Sails and although Ullman has never won an Etchells World championship, he has claimed titles in numerous other regattas. Always an important stand-alone regatta, the SLAM Etchells Midwinters West has additional significance because the Midwinters precedes the upcoming Sailing Supply Orca Bowl, May 21-22, followed by the 2011 Etchells World Championship, hosted June 2-11 at San Diego Yacht Club. In addition to some of the most recognized icons in competitive sailing, the SLAM Midwinters is drawing crews from France, Australia, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, San Francisco and Bellingham, Washington. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3btty8h CORINTHIAN M24 "VALKYRIE" REIGNS IN SAN DIEGO Ullman Sails customer Andy Rasdal and his Corinthian crew on Melges 24 "Valkyrie" clinched first place overall last week at San Diego YC's Melges Race Week! The local team mastered the racecourse and 13-boat fleet sailing in San Diego's South Bay. Powered by Ullman inventory, the "Valkyrie" team beat out professional and Corinthian teams with no worse than a 4th place finish over three days and eight races. In the first annual Melges RW, the fleet raced in breeze between 8-20 knots. Andy credits his win with great boat speed throughout the wind range. Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com/ TURNAROUND: Now in its second year, it's great to see the energy surrounding the four event Melges California Cup series. Back In 1993, I won the Melges 24 Pacific Coast Champs and was second in the 1994 U.S. Nationals. The class was new then, and filled with people eager to sample this new sprit boat revolution. Active fleets dotted the west coast of the U.S. Soon the racing got more serious, professionals got involved, and ... local participation died. Keep it fun people. There's a lesson in there somewhere. -- Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt editor CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend: Apr 8-10 - PCSA Utah SkiGatta - Park City, UT, USA Apr 9-10 - San Diego Leukemia Cup Regatta - San Diego, CA, USA Apr 9-10 - The Border Run - Newport Beach/San Diego, CA, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum provides an opportunity for companies to announce new products and services. Here are some of recent postings: * Baltic Yachts first company to gain certification * BlooSee.com offering free live wind conditions/forecasts * Brad Kauffman joins Annapolis Yacht Sales * Intrepid Marine Electronics joins Brewer Yacht Haven in Stamford, CT * McConaghy to launch new range of high-performance catamarans View and/or post Industry News updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news SAILING SHORTS *(April 6, 2011) - Ten international sailors have been appointed to the Clipper 2011-2012 Race following a rigorous selection process. Each will skipper one of the ten stripped down, 68-foot racing yachts which are preparing to compete in the 40,000-mile challenge, the only global ocean race open to everyone, regardless of background and sailing ability, and the longest in the world. Established by legendary yachtsman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the Clipper Race celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Knox-Johnston in 1969 became the first man to sail solo and non-stop around the world. Since that first race almost 3,000 ordinary people have taken the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone and do something truly extraordinary by taking on nature in the raw and racing around the world under sail. -- Full story: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/race_news/?item=12467 * (April 5, 2011) - The U.S. Senate has passed the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act (H.R. 4) that repeals the 1099 tax reporting requirement established in the health care overhaul passed last year. An identical bill was passed by the House of Representatives in March. The National Marine Manufacturers Association strongly supported its elimination which would have required businesses to send a 1099 tax form and collect W-9 information from every vendor that purchased more than $600 worth of goods or services each year. According to the NMMA, the concern was that, in order to comply with the requirement, businesses would have had to employ additional accounting staff to meet the large new burden of tax paperwork. According to the Small Business Administration, 97.4 percent of boat builders are considered small businesses under the SBA definition, and 94.8 percent of boat dealers have annual receipts of less than $10 million dollars. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/447oaqn 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 Paul Kaplan, Tiburon, California (re, S'butt 3314): The article written by John Bauby about how to select a bottom paint was very well written but there was one notable omission regarding the harmful effects of cuprous oxide to marine organisms. In short, many bottom paints contain 70% copper. This copper has a proven detrimental effect on marine life, such as salmon. Copper impacts a salmon's sense of smell with results in their inability to return to their spawning grounds. In both California and Washington state there is legislation pending that will ban or phase out the use of copper in anti-fouling paints. Other countries have adopted similar laws as well. With the development of effective surrogate products there are very few reasons why a vessel owner should be reluctant to make the change to a less toxic and harmful product to marine life. It is possible to have a clean bottom without causing greater harm to our environment. * From Leslie Valmadre (re, Vernon Brickly, S'Butt 3314): Surely no-one in the sailing world can seriously believe that the billions of dollars being spent on AC34 are in any way intended to garner 'sailors' support'. The AC is no longer a sailor's race (if it ever was). It is about promotion and marketing to the moneyed world as it mostly always has been. Why else would BMW or any of the large sponsoring corporations be involved, certainly not to only sell cars to sailors. And Oracle even with a serious sailor at the empire's helm is still only in it for the exposure. Understanding this may also help those who keep expecting to see stories about the AC in the sports sections of newspapers and are disappointed when they appear in the news, business and social sections which in fact is the best place for them as far as the sponsors are concerned and most probably the sections pitched to by the PR organizations for the various sponsors and syndicates. Why sell to a limited group of sailors when you can market to the entire world? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere! SPONSORS THIS WEEK Quantum Sails - West Marine - IYRS - Morris Yachts Atlantis WeatherGear - North U - North Sails - Gowrie Group Ullman Sails - Melges Performance Sailboats - Point Loma Outfitting Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
