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SCUTTLEBUTT 2006 - January 11, 2006
Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,
features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.
NEW ERA
The World Match Racing Tour, the successor to the Swedish Match Tour, and
the International Sailing Federation, ISAF, the world governing body for
the sport of sailing, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU),
marking the first phase in the achievement of a long-term partnership to
create a new World Match Racing Tour. The World Match Racing Tour features
10 of the premier ISAF-graded match-racing events. Competitors earn points
towards the championship based on their finish at the individual events.
Another component of the MOU is the creation of the World Tour Committee,
including representatives of ISAF and the World Tour. The five-member
committee will be responsible for reviewing existing events, agreeing on
the invitation process and the use of other graded regattas as qualifying
events, providing input into the ISAF World Match Race Rankings, and
exploring the formation of women's and youth match-racing tours.
Currently in the midst of its seventh racing season, the World Tour last
month conducted its 50th event at the ISAF-graded Monsoon Cup in Kuala
Terengganu, Malaysia. Other ISAF-graded events on the World Tour include
the Brazil Sailing Cup (Angra dos Reis, Brazil), ACI H1 Match Race Cup
(Split, Croatia), Match Race Germany (Langenargen, Germany), Toscana Elba
Cup (Porto Azzurro, Elba Island, Italy), Swedish Match Cup (Marstrand,
Sweden), Portugal Match Cup (Cascais, Portugal), Danish Open (Skovshoved,
Denmark) and St. Moritz Match Race (St. Moritz, Switzerland). Two other
events, the King Edward VII Gold Cup (Bermuda) and the Oresund Match Race
(Malmo, Sweden) are expected to be part of the 2006-'07 World Tour
schedule. Plans call for the World Tour schedule to move to a full calendar
year beginning in 2008. - Sean McNeill, www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
It wasn't so long ago that Scott MacLeod's professional match racing
tour-the Swedish Match Tour until just recently-and the International
Sailing Federation seemed like two sharks hunting a dwindling supply of
seals. Both had the same objective, but each felt the other stood squarely
in his way. However, whatever animosity once existed between the two groups
was quickly swept away this fall and now they have officially entered into
a partnership that will combine ISAF's World Match Racing Championship with
the richest professional sailing circuit in the world.
Since Swedish Match has had to bow out due to a new rule limiting the
sponsorship of sporting events by tobacco companies, MacLeod is actively
searching for a new title sponsor. The association with ISAF will give him
added credibility and should help deliver more return to a sponsor. ISAF
meanwhile gets a premier tour to promote the sport and provide significant
boost to the prestige associated with winning the match racing world
championship. Sailing World caught up with MacLeod, a former Finn sailor
who's been promoting match racing for nearly two decades, over in London to
get a picture of this new tour.
Sailing World: You and ISAF haven't exactly been on friendly terms in
recent years. Were you surprised they were so receptive?
Scott McLoed: Yes and no. It was sort of individuals that were the catalyst
for making it happen. But no, in that it's a new administration and they're
looking at the sport and people like ourselves differently. - There's lots
more to this insightful story by Stuart Streuli posted on the Sailing World
magazine website, full story:
http://www.sailingworld.com/article.jsp?ID=40850&typeID=102&catID=0
POURING IT ON
ABN Amro One (Mike Sanderson) passed through the first scoring gate on leg
two of the Volvo Ocean Race, and added another 3.5 points to their event
leading race total. The 'kids' on their sistership, ABN 2 were the next
boat through the gate, collecting three points, which moves them into
second place overall as they leap-frogged over Brasil 1. Pirates of the
Caribbean (Paul Cayard) although being threatened by movistar (Bouwe
Bekking), looks set to round the gate, in third place. Both ABN Amro Two
and the Pirates have had a thrilling ride over the last six hours,
achieving top speeds of 29 knots or more, giving them a taste of real
Southern Ocean weather at last.
The addition of the ice waypoints has changed the tactics and the boats are
sailing at a significantly more northerly latitude. This has led to much
less wind and they are sailing in an area where weather systems are born
and not where they are rolling uninterrupted around the bottom of the
earth. Paul Cayard on Pirates of the Caribbean is happy about this new era
of Southern Ocean sailing. "It is a good thing not to run through all the
ice like we did in 2002, but staying this far north is really changing the
game. In some ways it is more challenging because if we were not up here we
would be screaming along in the south westerlies just making hay towards
Melbourne and having a blast. Instead, we are up here trying to figure out
if we are going to get hit by a secondary low getting spun out of this old
decaying front. I was thinking that it may not be too far from here to go
to the Seychelles which is a place I have always wanted to go!"
Brasil 1 restarted this leg at 0948 GMT Tuesday, and although they are more
than 2000 miles behind the leader, they expect to be in Melbourne before
the end of the month.
Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Tuesday
1. Team ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 3327 miles to finish
2. Team ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +249 miles
3. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +296 miles
4. Movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +355 miles
5. ING Real Estate Brunel, Grant Wharington, +809 miles
6. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +2286 miles
7. Ericsson Racing Team Neal McDonald, retired
Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/
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COMMENTARY -- MIKE SANDERSON
"Every Volvo 70 that has had a problem so far, since the first boat was
launched in January last year has got back into port without assistance. In
the Open 60 solo race that I did last year, three boats had to receive aid
from rescue boats, one guy was picked up by a container ship as his carbon
keel had snapped and two with broken masts had to be rescued from the mid
Atlantic by chartered support craft. Now, we are not allowed carbon keels
in the Volvo and the rig weight is adequate that unless you break something
- the rig should stay up. With the Open 60's there is a massive rating
advantage in having a high modulus mast, in fact their rigs are more Grand
Prix then an America's Cup boat. But still like the Volvo 70, the Open 60
is just an amazing high tech race yacht and is the fastest growing offshore
class out there at the moment.
"Everyone called for a more exciting boat, both the public and the sailors
and guess what … we got it! To think that these boats have gone out at just
70 feet long and have on three occasions broken the 24 hr record that was
set by Mari Cha IV (a boat very dear to my heart since I was involved with
it from conception), which was built for the purpose of beating records,
just blows me away. Volvo has supplied us with a rule that makes fantastic
boats. The fact that they we are having a not such a high attrition rate is
only the fault of the teams and designers. The breakages are all from
weight reduction decisions that have been made by either the design team or
the racing team and we all knew the whole time that we needed a big bulb on
the keel to win the race. We also knew that we needed to finish the legs to
win the race and it will be he who has walked that fine line correctly at
the end of the day that will come out on top - and we wont know who that is
for another seven months yet…" -- Mike Sanderson, ABN Amro One skipper,
www.abnamro.com/team
NEWS BRIEFS
* More than 260 boats have already registered for the upcoming US Sailing
Rolex Miami OCR, including the reigning world champions in six classes.
Organized by US Sailing to prepare sailors in the classes chosen for the
Olympic and Paralympic Regattas, the Rolex Miami OCR kicks off with opening
ceremonies on Sunday, January 22, followed by five days of racing through
January 27. Registrations are still being accepted through January 22. For
more details including online registration, the Notice of Race, and the
most recent list of entries: www.ussailing.org/olympics/RolexMiamiOCR
* Photographer Glennon Stratton sent us images from the 21st annual Rose
Bowl Regatta in Long Beach, CA, where 23 colleges and 61 high schools were
competing last weekend. View images and post event comments at
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/rosebowl
* Both Durban and westernaustralia.com have recorded decent 12 hour runs of
91 and 84 miles respectively in the Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht
Race. This is substantially more than the rest of the fleet where Victoria
covered 56 miles and Jersey only managed 32. In this situation it is a
clear case of the rich getting richer whilst those at the back of the fleet
struggle to pick up the better winds. The leaders: 1. Durban 882 from
finish; 2. westernaustralia.com, +23 miles; 3. Victoria, +123; 4. New York,
+126; 5. Liverpool 08, +138. -- http://www.clipper-ventures.co.uk/2006/
* North Sails has partnered with expert meteorologist Chris Bedford and his
team at Sailing Weather Services to provide free weather forecasts for Key
West Race Week 2006, presented by Acura, from January 16-20, with a week's
overview forecast on Sunday, January 15. Hard copies will also be available
each morning at the North Sails hospitality tent. Sailors can sign up for
forecasts by logging on to the North Sails Weather Center at
http://na.northsails.com/ew/ew_main.taf
FROM THE FORUMS
Below are excerpts from some of the postings on the Scuttlebutt Forums:
* VOR 70's as X-Games: The sport needs more controversy, more excitement,
and way more young people! The VOR is attractive because it dangerous,,,
the stakes are as high as the risks, … seeing a yacht like ABN-AMRO
smashing through a wave at high speed with crew holding on tight praying
for the best... in fact that makes me wanna get out there and go for a
sail, and it makes your average Joe Soap take a bit off interest and maybe
even inspire!
* Professional Sailing (re how to get into the pro sailing ranks): "As the
Nike slogan says ... 'Just Do It' ... Get your safety at sea training and
certificate ... Turn up in Hong Kong in October ... thru the RHKYC get a
ride for the China Coast Cup and the Race to Hainan ... then do a delivery
w/ out pay to Malaysia / Thailand for Raja Muda Cup / Kings Cup in November
and December.... see where you end up from there ... arrive in Sydney pre
Xmas ... thru the CYC try to find a ride for Sydney to Hobart ... this
could be tough ... but a return delivery from Hobart w/ out pay should be
possible ... by the time you get back from Hobart you will have some real
sailing miles and probably made some good friends along the way ... failing
that you would have had a great four to six months off during the Nth
Winter and you can go back and get a job."
* Need Some Recommendations: "Our Yacht Club is in the process of expanding
it's fleet of club boats for use in training junior sailors. We have a
fleet of Optis, but have nothing for the larger kids or for two person
sailing. We've discussed the Club 420 and the JY15. Can anyone recommend
other good double-handed dinghies for club use? This club is on an inland
lake, Southeastern US."
To post your comments at the Scuttlebutt Forums:
http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=5
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LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON
(Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be
edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. You only get one letter per
subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And
please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those
that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website:
http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi)
* From Chris Ericksen: At the risk of belaboring a point 'way off topic, it
is most likely that Columbus' navigational instrument of choice was the
quadrant. Simpler and more robust than a mariner's astrolabe--which was, in
1492, a recently developed derivation of the ancient astronomer's
astrolabe--a quadrant was built for a specific range of latitudes and
required no calculation for use. It was used to measure the height of
Polaris--a relatively stationary point in space--above the horizon; a plumb
line would show the latitude of a known European landmark for reference.
Columbus evidently carried both a quadrant and an astrolabe on his first
voyage, at least, and used the astrolabe once with no success due to poor
weather; however, his logs report regular of the quadrant on his voyages,
and modern reviewers of the logs suggest that Columbus got pretty accurate
readings of his position and the latitude of landfalls in the New World.
Curmudgeon's Comment: Now that we've heard from Chris, I feel comfortable
killing this thread in the newsletter and directing all future comments on
this subject to the Scuttlebutt forum. - www.sailingscuttlebutt.com
* From Bill Leary: It is no surprise to me that canting keels have been the
cause of a majority of the problems thus far in this edition of the Volvo
Ocean Race. Merlin was one of the first boats in the up to be competitive
with the newer sleds in Transpac. We were on the wind in 15 knots of breeze
3 miles off the California coast on our first shakedown sail after the
retrofit when the bolts connecting the ram mechanism to the keel failed.
Gravity kept the keel hanging straight down, but with no hydraulics there
was nothing to keep the hull stable above it. We were very lucky to make it
back into Santa Cruz that afternoon without sinking the boat. Thankfully
the failure occurred in relatively benign weather and close to shelter. Had
it happened in rough weather or well offshore and Merlin certainly would
have been lost.
Canting keels don't belong on ocean going sailboats. Sailing is dangerous
enough as it is without adding the unnecessary additional risk associated
with canting keels. One of these days, perhaps in this edition of the
Volvo, perhaps later, there is going to be a loss of life due to a canting
keel failure. Perhaps then our sport's attitude about canting keels will
change. Do canting keels make a boat faster? Certainly. Do canting keels
make a boat better? Nope.
* From Gunther E.Hering: Obviously the V 70 boats are designed for ultimate
performance and thus try to balance speed with safety. The balance has also
been tilted towards speed. It is also obvious that the apparent weak point
in all of them is the canting keel and its associated mechanics and
hydraulics. All of this is known to designers, skippers and crews. Maybe
the promoters did not realize it, but they just want the publicity. For
them this adds to the excitement.
So now it is up to the Race Committee and the skippers to decide how to
proceed. One option is to order all to center lock the keel. Otherwise it
will be up to the skippers to slow the boats down sufficiently to stay
together in one piece. Also the prudent skippers will be staying in close
touch with their competitors to be able to assist each other in case of
need. Another option is to neutralize this leg 2 for all and just to
proceed to Australia. It is simply too late to cancel this leg and return
all to Cape Town.
So much for the Volvo Ocean Race. As for the advanced design of these boats
it would be better if such design experiments not be used on the open
ocean, but restricted to inshore racing. The America's Cup boats could use
a dose of fresh thinking since they are not even seaworthy.
* From Sergi Sikorshy (re simpler rules): We have had a successful racing
series based on a vastly simplified set of rules. It was the Prosail series
sailed in formula 40s back in the late 80s. If I remember correctly we
reduced the rulebook to eight rules. Granted, it was level racing, so we
did not have to adress the handicap can of worms. But as far as the simpler
rules go, it worked great and produced some of the most exciting (and fun)
racing any of the participants had ever experienced. Incidentally, we had
senior USYRU judges cooking up the new rules and tuning up the system as
the series went along. The best part of "simple rules racing" was the total
absence of water lawyers, it was just plain racing, the faster boat won.
* From Stevan Johnson (In response to Bruce Thompson's ideas about
aggressive control of over-early starters - he suggested lasers or
bullets): Some years ago, the Larchmont YC race committee inadvertently
applied Mr. Thompson's ideas to the Star fleet at Larchmont Race Week.
Their "prototype design" proved a failure when the shot from the starter's
shotgun only penetrated the first three mainsails of the over-early boats.
The fourth boat down the line got something of an advantaged start. I don't
recall if there was a redress hearing, but the bar conversation was pretty
lively. The unanimous opinion was that the "system" should not be further
refined.
* From Barby MacGowen (In response to the note from Denise Paige in
yesterday's S'butt --"I really enjoy tracking the big ocean races and
single hand achievements on a daily basis..."): Denise should know about
the Volvo Ocean Race Mobile Channel that has been set up by VOR and
Ericsson, the sponsor of race entry Ericsson Racing Team. Race fans can get
the latest position updates and news sent to their phones. They can also
get the mobile portal pushed to their phones for an enriched experience.
I've been using it for several weeks now. It's a terrific way to follow the
race without having to be at your computer 24/7!
P.S. VOR organizers have reported that in December, the mobile channel
celebrated its 100,000th download and approximately 155,000 people each day
were picking up the news stories and a further 4,000 phone users were
receiving SMS news alerts.
Curmudgeon's Comment: We should undoubtedly send PR person Barby McGowen an
ad bill for this shameless promotion … but what are friends for?
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of
policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
Special thanks to Yale Cordage and Sailing Pro Shop
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