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SCUTTLEBUTT 1269 - February 23, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, 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. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Lighter winds plagued the Hauraki Gulf again on Sunday, and although both teams went to the race area, Race Four was eventually postponed for the third consecutive time. The wind was fairly soft and shifty at the scheduled start time of 13:15, but as the afternoon wore on, a light Northeasterly began to build. At 14:00, Alinghi started sailing, and Team New Zealand began it's preparations about 30-minutes later. The Race Committee however, couldn't set a race course. With the 15:30 time limit for a warning signal approaching, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's Principal Race Officer Harold Bennett was forced to consult with both teams to see whether they'd agree to wait longer to see if a race could start. America's Cup Condition 13.1 states that, "No warning signal shall be made after 15:30, unless otherwise agreed by both Race Committee Boat Representatives." The Swiss Alinghi Team, leading the best of nine series 3 - 0, immediately told Bennett they would be happy to start. Team New Zealand consulted for several minutes with its weather team before navigator Mike Drummond responded, "We don't think it's suitable to race." A few moments later he told the Race Committee that Team New Zealand would be willing to wait until 16:00 to see whether conditions improved. But under Condition 13.1, starting the race was no longer at the discretion of the Race Committee, but at the discretion of the teams. Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts was clearly eager to race, and at 15:45, SUI-64, the race boat, and SUI-75, the tune-up boat, staged a mock start, complete with Code 0 masthead headsails and a dial-up. Neither Bennett, nor Team New Zealand were persuaded however, and at 16:00, the Race Committee called it off for the day. Race Four will now be attempted on Monday (previously scheduled as an off day), with the start at 13:15. The forecast for the Hauraki Gulf at 13:00 Monday calls for Easterly winds backing Northeasterly, 5 - 13 knots. - America's Cup website, http://americascup.yahoo.com/ KIWI AFTERGUARD - ADAM BEASHEL Adam Beashel may have been a barefoot kid running around the Australia II base in Newport in 1983, but he learned a valuable lesson he's putting to use at Team New Zealand today. Beashel was 13 when his brother, Colin, was mainsheet trimmer on Australia II, and his dad, Ken, was head boatbuilder for the history-breaking campaign in Newport. The Australians knew they had a faster boat than Dennis Conner's Stars & Stripes, but were staring defeat in the face with the score 3-1 to the New York Yacht Club in the best-of-seven series. Twenty years on, Team New Zealand afterguard member Beashel is calling on his memories of those days to turn Team New Zealand's fortunes around. "I remember it was pretty hard on the whole Australia II team back then too," he says. "They all knew, just as we know, that they were capable of winning races. There wasn't a lot in it between the two boats. "Back then was the beginning of the old cliche that we stick to now: 'We've got to win five races and forget about the others.' There's a lot of merit and truth in that. "I still believe in not looking at the score. My goal, and I think one of the primary goals of Team New Zealand, is to go out there and show how we are capable of beating the best challenger the Louis Vuitton Cup could produce. "Boat-for-boat, man-for-man we can do it, just as Australia II did." TNZ website, full story: http://xtramsn.co.nz/teamnewzealand/0,,7136-2162303,00.html KOSTECKI, BUTTERWORTH, REYNOLDS, NICHOLSON, CAMPBELL John Kostecki, Brad Butterworth, Mark Reynolds, Chris Nicholson, Andrew Campbell, Warwick Fleury, Simon Daubney, John Barnit, Peter Evans, Mike Drummond, Barry McKay, Pete Melvin, Howie Hamlin, Mike Martin, Iain Murray, Buddy Melges, Paul Foerster, Kevin Burnham, Cam Lewis, Ken Read, Iain Percy. This is only part of our team. Kaenon Polarized. Advanced technololgy for the human element. Evolve Optically. Available at TeamOne Newport, Sailing Supply San Diego, West Marine, Solstice and Alain Mikli New York City. Or, visit our website for an authorized dealer or link. http://www.kaenon.com PRIZE GIVING CEREMONY The official presentation of the America's Cup will take place at the Viaduct Harbour just a couple of hours after the final race. The runner-up in the racing is due at the Viaduct about 90 minutes after the race and the winner will arrive at the presentation pontoon in front of the Loaded Hog bar about 15 minutes later for the trophy presentation. The trophy will be presented by the commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Bill Endean. It is not known which dignitaries might attend. A spokesman for Helen Clark said yesterday that her attendance at the presentation ceremony had not even been considered yet. Security is expected to be tight for the presentation. When Alinghi won the challenger series police were clearly evident as Russell Coutts and his team collected the Louis Vuitton Cup. Three years ago tens of thousands of New Zealanders packed into central Auckland after Team New Zealand beat Prada to hold the cup, and for some the party lasted until the following morning. NZ Herald, www.nzherald.co.nz/americascup/ ANTARCTICA CUP (Rob Kothe written a comprehensive update for the Sail-World website on the proposed Fremantle, Australia based Antarctica Cup race - a Round the world non-stop south ocean circumnavigation race of 14,600 miles in one-design boats. Following are some of the quotes from race organizer and West Australian businessman and yachtsman, Bob Williams about how plans are going.) "There have been well over 200 downloads of the notice of race. Since then a good spread of enquiries have come forward. Seven syndicates have reserved race entry slots Roy Heiner, Paul Cayard, John Quigley's BritXL, and the Californian Greybeard Syndicate headed by Buzz Boettcher. Now there are three Australian groups, Grant Wharington who campaign's the Wild Thing's, Mark Rodereda from Western Australia and the two circumnavigators Jon Sanders and David Dicks, both Perth locals. "I think there are a lot of people sitting on the fence, waiting to see what is going to happen with the race and that is fairly standard. It is a question of us identifying the 8-10 or even 20 groups who are really serious about our race and want to be involved. Then sitting with them and closing the deal, so to speak. That is the mode we are in right now. We are capitalising on the great interest in the race and wanting final commitment so that we can get the process rolling. "Our original concept was that we'd build the boats here in Western Australia; using the magnificent boat building facilities we have here. But in reality with the build time we have left, we have 22 months; the boat building yards here are too busy to be able to deliver for the 2005 race. However there are number of major boat builders around the world, who do have the capacity to deliver the number of boats we need by December 2004. "By the end of March 2003 we want to be close to our 5 minimum entrants. If we can achieve that then our production slots will be practical. By the end of March, we need to see deposits from entrants." - Bob Williams quotes from a story by Rob Kothe on the Sail-World website. Full story: http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=8882 CARNAGE Two of the Open 60 competitors in Class 1 of the Around Alone Race are sailing toward Cape Horn under jib only - both have broken booms. Hexagon skipper Graham Dalton reported that his boom had snapped during a gybe. A carbon fibre sleeve, essentially a splint', is currently being built for Hezagon in New Zealand and this will be riveted and glued onto the existing boom to pull it back together. Richard Bearda, Hexagon's shore manager, commented, "Dave Peterson and I will be in Argentina 24 hours from now where we will rendezvous with Graham at Cape Horn. Our aim is to affect the repair in under 12 hours. We know we can fix the boom, but our biggest concern is getting the glue to dry as conditions out there are very cold and wet." Bruce Schwab's Ocean Planet suffered even more damage when his 'autopilot lost its marbles' and the boat crash jibed in 40 knots of wind. The boom broke when it hit the runner, but not before it ripped the jammer out of the deck, leaving a sizable hole. A fair amount of water came in through that hole. In e-mail from the boat Schwab wrote, "Now the challenge is to see if I can fix the boat at Cape Horn or the Falklands, and somehow manage to finish this leg and the race."- www.aroundalone.com RUSSELL COUTTS For the second time in two days the New Zealand Herald has carried a major story about Alinghi skipper Russell Coutts. The last one by Jan Corbett examines the man more than the man's accomplishments. It's long - about 2/3 the size of a normal issue of Scuttlebutt - but it's definitely interesting: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/americascup/acstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3197170&thesection=sport&thesubsection=americascup FOR THE RECORD Steve Fossett and his international crew of 12 came through a testing Day 8 (Saturday) - covering 427nm over the past 24 hours - despite the breakage and subsequent repair of the mainsheet - a short piece of carbon-composite rope bearing up to 15 tonnes of load and controlling almost 600 sq m of mainsail. The beginning of Day 9 thus sees the 125' (38m) maxi-catamaran just 616 nm from her destination - the same landfall as Columbus' in 1492. This time the target is not the presumed riches of a new world - but the June 2000 East - West Transatlantic sailing record set by Club Med, co-skippered by Grant Dalton and Bruno Peyron. To break Club Med's record, PlayStation will need to arrive at the Bahamian island of San Salvador before Tuesday at 14:53 GMT (09:53 local time) - www.fossettchallenge.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Ken Guyer: The fact that New Zealand turns out talented sailors is not debated, they do. But I question the country when it comes to having the proper handle on sportsmanship. We have heard all the whining about Coutts and Butterworth being traitors. No mention of the other TNZ sailors and design team members who did the same thing, doesn't matter, they are not on teams that are kicking their teams butt. This is from a team and country that touts so-called innovations such as the "hula", designed by an American and boots their Kiwi Tactician in favor of a Frenchman. All the while running a campaign saying they are "Loyal". Now Auckland City councilor Scott Milne announces no parade in Auckland for Alinghi if they should win, perhaps understandable, and also no parade for TNZ should they lose. He is quoted, "And I am afraid there will be no parade for losers." I got news for Scott Milne. With a prevailing attitude like that, Auckland is a city of losers. "Win or lose" is the call when supporting your team and being loyal. This "tude" certainly goes along way in supporting Coutts and Butterworth's version of how they became frustrated and went with the Swiss. Grow up Auckland, give your team the recognition they deserve. They worked hard and had less money available to them. They have a young skipper and a talented crew. Winning a regatta is not everything in life, but showing your true loyalty to the team "win or lose" is. * From Kevin Dibley: Having lived in Auckland for a number of years and being involved in the Marine Industry both as a sailor and yacht designer, I can tell you that the majority of the 'yachties' down here are as proud of the boys on the 'Black Boat' as they are of all the kiwi's on the other boats including Allinghi. Yes we want The Cup to stay, but we also want this to be a yacht race between two of the best. Kiwi's have a lot to be proud of regardless of who wins or loses. * From David Polacek, Czech Republic: Barker outclassed? Think twice! I am tired of reading all those "qualified" analyses on Barker and co. being outclassed by the infallible Swisskiwi duo. While Barker's body language may seem to be the one of devastation, reflecting the contradiction between his countrymen expectations and the unfortunate scoreline, he shows no trace of it in his on water performance. The actual comparison? The starts: even, Barker getting favoured side in R1, Coutts in R2, both getting their goals in R3. The errors: Coutts 1 (letting Barker pass him on the first run of R2) Barker 1 (last run costly blunder, no time left to undo it). With the boatspeed and boat handling also too close to call, the difference in fact was weather team confusion and gear failure, neither likely to happen again. Bottom line: whatever the scoreline, the performance level is actually quite even, and the momentum can easily swing to the other side. Unprecedented? Just June last year Barker came back to win a 50 footer Matchrace regatta in Italy after losing the two opening encounters, against - guess who - Alinghi. He won three in a row to come back there, and added another five in a row against Coutts a month later in Sweden. Let's not write him off, just sit back and treat yourself to some great racing. * From: Stephen Swope: I agree totally with Kelly Young that the professionalism of Gary Jobson and Paul Page is a refreshing change from the hyperbole of Peter Montgomery. It is also refreshing to have an America's Cup decided on the water by sailors rather than on land by designers or lawyers. To the extent that professional sailors' incomes are related to the audiences they deliver to sponsors, I am sure that there are many more of us who identify with monohulls than with catamarans. Finally, I am not aware of any information regarding whether or not Bertarelli has locked up Coutts and Butterworth for a defense campaign. Is it possible that they could still sell themselves to one of the other 'multi-national' syndicates (Oracle, OneWorld) for next time? * From Roland Schulz: (re: Butt 1267): I must say I laughed out loud at Kelly Young's description of Peter Montgomery's commentary although I think he does a great job of presenting sailing to the general public. Over-hearing the banter of the world's foremost sailors in the act of competing for the Holy Grail of yacht racing is certainly a treat for any amateur of the sport. However it is a treat at the expense of those who make televised coverage of the America's Cup possible. For the pros, the sponsors, the commentators and the mass audience to whom yacht races are supposed to appeal, the fine points of yacht racing are fairly irrelevant. The spectacle is the thing baby! The louder, the more simplistic the better. (Deed of Gift?? who needs it? ... just an historical artifact standing in the way of sponsorship dollars! ) Of course in the old days the only way to overhear the comments of the world's foremost sailors competing for the America's Cup was to be on board next to them. So if you want your SailTV I guess you got to expect a few changes and compromises. * From Marceline Therrien (re Joe Sircely's letter in 'Butt): It is no small thing to accuse someone of committing treason. I know that there are many who are disappointed that Mssrs. Coutts and Butterworth left Team New Zealand for Alinghi, but accusing these individuals of "treason" for making a career decision is just plain ignorant. How would any of us feel if we similarly harangued by perfect strangers? I have never met Coutts and Butterworth, but I am relatively certain that they are indeed human beings, and there is no excuse for the vicious slander--culminating in threats--that they have been subjected to over the last few years. It should not be part of our sport. Coutts/ Butterworth and Team New Zealand had a parting of the ways. I'm sure it was painful for everyone and there is plenty of blame to spread around for everyone. Mr. Sircely's personal attack on Coutts should have had no place Scuttlebutt and I am sick of reading similar comments elsewhere. And TNZ's own "Loyal" campaign, which points an accusing finger directly at Coutts /Butterworth comes pretty close to "a gross breach … of good manners or sportsmanship" (Rule 69). Not to mention the disgusting "Black Heart" campaign. This bad-mouthing reflects badly on the Cup and TNZ in particular, and after cheering for the Kiwis the last time around, this time I hope that TNZ receives the ultimate sanction for their spiteful behavior--losing the trophy. * From Peter McColl: In response to Bob Longpre's concern that the Americas Cup is not about racing but about big business! Yep Bob, think about it - everyone who has "sailboat" in this race is "Big Business". Once this is over we can go back to watching those events that are not big business such as, NFL, NHL, Nascar, F1 and Baseball. And Bob, I'm a Kiwi and I reckon if we can keep delaying the races maybe the Swiss will get tired and give up! Could you imagine how good we could get at this if we kept the Cup for 100 years or so.... * From Ed Crouch: It seems to me that the real heroes of this America's Cup, so far, are the folks at ESPN2. Bravo to them for hanging in for all of the delays and postponements and working so hard with so little to make things as interesting as possible to viewers. * From Anne Jaeschke: As a huge America's cup fan and an avid racer myself I am absolutely appalled with the race committee. I cannot believe they did not start a race today (the 22nd here 23rd there). To have Russell and company sailing at 9 knots right in front of the race committee should have proven that there was plenty of wind to race. The fact that it was shifty is what racing is all about sometimes - who can play those shifts better. I look at how many races I have done in 5 knots of shifty wind and I can come up with a big number. Look at big regattas like the NOODS and you will see them start without hesitation in conditions like we saw today. I think it is way too convenient for Team New Zealand who is known not to do good in light air to be able to have the decision made up to them whether or not to race. It is ridiculous and we should have had a race. If this is the highest level of racing then let's see them race in all conditions not just the convenient conditions. * From Dick Johnson: At this point it seems obvious that whatever support and respect the world yachting community might have had for the Kiwis is rapidly vanishing because of the games they are playing on the Hauraki Gulf. While antics of this sort may have been acceptable when the Cup was a quaint summer happening in New England, in this era of live world-wide television coverage, they certainly send the wrong message to the public. I'm sure the yachting community will be well pleased to see this event leave the control of the RNZYS. Let's hope the new holders of the Cup learn from the mistakes of 2003. THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM If swimming is good for your shape, why do the whales look the way they do? |
