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SCUTTLEBUTT 3450 - Tuesday, October 18, 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: North Sails, APS, and Southern Spars. IT'S GOOD TO BE KING. When the Oracle Racing team outlined their defense plans for the 34th America's Cup in 2010, there was 'shock and awe' with all the changes. The theme as presented was to instill new interest and excitement in the event, and to make the event affordable again. While the change to catamarans has definitely attracted the 'wow' factor, the reality of cost containment has been disputed. One of the measures to manage the cost to compete are in limiting the training time in the America's Cup boats, or in boats similar to those being used for the America' Cup. But considering that the defender helped to write the rules, this might have given them an advantage on how to leverage them too. While every challenger has one AC 45 to use in the America's Cup World Series events, the Oracle Racing team now has four AC 45s. So what are these rules helping to contain costs for the teams entered in the 34th America's Cup? Currently there are no limits in place. Hamish Ross, rules guru for America's Cup Race Management (ACRW), explains the limits that will become active as of January 1, 2012: "ACRM does not control other teams. There are rules and any breach is protestable by any competitor (as well as ACRM) to the Jury, who then determine if a breach has occurred and if so, the penalty to be applied. "The surrogate rule in article 29.4 (and definition of "surrogate yacht" in art 1.1(xx)) is an attempt to control R&D expenditure. The definition in article 1.1 limits use of yachts more than 10m LOA, but with a carve out for the AC45's which are intended to also provide a development platform on which to test scale model wings and boards, in addition to their use in the ACWS. "The surrogate rule takes effect only after January 1, 2012, and limits the use of yachts greater than 10m LOA for testing or training. However, if a competitor wishes to race a surrogate yacht in a bona fide regatta (such as an Extreme 40), it can do so with the Race Director's approval. "The Race Director will be concerned to ensure the regatta is for a class yacht, and is not a testing program "in drag" for an AC72 yacht. A competitor can apply for permission from the Race Director to sail a surrogate yacht for promotional purposes, who must be satisfied sailing will not provide a competitor with design data for an AC72 yacht." In fairness, leading challengers Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) and Artemis Racing (SWE) have been actively training in boats that fit within the cost containment limits. Why didn't they get AC45s too? Maybe it was the one million dollar price tag per boat... which is the fee being charged by the builder... which is owned by the defender. It is good to be king. Here is the link to the protocol governing the 34th America's Cup: http://noticeboard.americascup.com/governing-documents/protocol COACHES HAVE THEIR PLACE By Gary Jobson, Sailing World Thirty years ago, the only places you'd ever see sailing coaches were in junior clubhouses, college boathouses, and sailing schools. I know from years of experience that coaching is effective, which is why, for the past decade there's been a tremendous growth in the use of coaching. It's mostly happening at opposite ends of the sport's spectrum: competitive youth sailing and the Olympics. The bulk of amateur sailors - from one-design to club-racing PHRF teams - have yet to catch on. Competitive sports such as tennis and golf thrive on teaching professionals and coaches. They're fundamental to their sports. Sailing pros should be just as integral to ours. Lessons can take place on an individual boat, or with an entire fleet sharing the expense and learning together. Many sailors spend freely on sails, boats, equipment, and professional crew, but miss the opportunity to really improve by having someone else evaluate their performance. Self-analysis is always difficult, and a coach that joins a team and watches from off the boat can offer insight you can't get any other way. There has to be a balance though. Coaching is now standard in a few one-design classes, especially grand-prix classes, and it's here where excessive coaching creates tension. This is where the "haves-and-have-nots" issue comes to a head. With coaching to be encouraged, class managers must regulate it with the class's longevity in mind. -- Read on: http://www.sailingworld.com/racing/coaches-have-their-place NORTH ONE-DESIGN SAILS: SAVE 15% NOW! When performance counts, North Sails is the choice in one-design sailing and NOW is the time to head North! Through October 31st, you will SAVE 15% on the world's fastest one-design sails and we'll also throw in FREE SHIPPING! This offer is valid in North America only. Class Sail Development, North 3DL and North 3Di sails are not included. Call your closest North rep today or place your order online at http://www.onedesign.com WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN The difference between good and great in racing has a lot to do with anticipation. Looking ahead, seeing how boats are coming together, and positioning oneself to take advantage of the situation is how the great sailors take control of the good sailors. With the growth of high performance sailing, whether it is on an International Moth or the AC 45, the value of anticipation remains the same. It just gets harder when the boats get faster. And when our brain lags behind the actions of the boats around us, bad things happen. An example of this occurred at the Extreme Sailing Series Act 8 in Almeria, Spain this past weekend. With Extreme 40 catamarans converging on an upwind leg, a boat stopping crash involved Emirates Team New Zealand, Luna Rossa and Gitane. International Judge/Umpire Jos Spijkerman was working the event, and has created an animation to detail the incident and the rules involved. Here is the link: http://rrsstudy.blogspot.com/2011/10/ess-act-8-almeria-crash.html Here is a video of the incident: http://youtu.be/1rQBDJMXz2Q COOL RIGGING BITS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT By Ryan Scott, West Marine Rigging After the Newport and Annapolis boat shows, we have talked to a TON of people in the last month. One thing that we found is that there are a lot of products that we talked to cruisers and racers alike about, and they were not aware of them. They were not only surprised that they had not heard about them, but they were really excited about how they could help them on their boat. So, here is a short list of products we think the sailing community could use to know are out there.... http://tinyurl.com/Cool-Rigging-Bits LET THE GAMES BEGIN The sailing events for the XVI Pan American Games are being held at the Vallarta Yacht Club in Puerto Vallarta, with racing scheduled for October 17-23. Laser (Men), Laser Radial (Women) and RS:X (Men and Women) - and five non-Olympic, open classes - Hobie 16, J/24, Lightning, Snipe and Sunfish. Here is an update from USA team Manager Dave Johnson: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (October 17, 2011) - Today was a great start to the PAG for Team USA. All three courses sailed today in 6-12kts breeze and lots of sun. On the far course Charlie (J/24, Lightning, Snipe) got the first race off with consistently more breeze. The J/24 team of Mollicone, Rabin, Becker, and Abdullah went 1-1 as their boatspeed proved superior on the long course. "We really used speed to our advantage," said John Mollicone, skipper for the J/24. "The races are really long, even longer than Worlds." With a much smaller fleet of boats in the Pan Am Games, John pointed out that keeping your competition in check is critical in the long races. And what John said makes sense because one boat going out on a flyer could be a hero or a zero, as they say. In their 7-boat fleet, one boat is nearly 15% of the fleet. Our Lightning Team of the Lutz brothers (Jody - skipper, Jay - crew) and Greg Thomas also sailed a top performance today, going 1-3 and tied for the lead with Brazil. They too had long races today but their fleet was intense. With teams not leaving any good 'lanes' open, having clear air and a clean lane is important. Other good performances include four-time Olympian, Paul Foerster, sitting atop the Sunfish fleet with a 1-2. Augie Diaz and Kathleen Tocke finished 2-4 in the Snipe class while Paige Railey went 5-1 in the Radial. -- Read on: http://usstag.blogspot.com/2011/10/pag-day-1-little-room-for-error.html Canada team: http://tinyurl.com/CYA-Pan-Am-2011 USA team: http://tinyurl.com/USSTAG-Pan-Am-2011 Event website: http://www.guadalajara2011.org.mx/ENG/01_inicio Results: http://tinyurl.com/PAG-2011-results THE SEAS ARE KICKING UP ...And the temperatures are cooling down. Are you ready for Fall sailing? APS, the World Leader in Outfitting Performance Sailors, stocks the transitional pieces of gear you've been looking for: Find Patagonia Capilene base layers, the Brand New Gill i5 Headwind Jacket (which features an intelligent thermoregulation system), and the Atlantis Aegis Jacket with ventilating zippered underarms. You'll be able to pull from your kit just what you need whether combatting serious chill or de-layering thanks to sunshine. Prepare yourself. Click here to view a collection of hard and soft goods that is second to none: http://bit.ly/FallFoulies WHO WAS THE BEST IN 2011? Who do you think are the best American sailors of 2011? Nominations are now being submitted for the 2011 Rolex Yachtsman & Yachtswoman of the Year Awards. These prestigious awards recognize one male sailor and one female sailor for their outstanding achievements within the calendar year and are viewed as the nation's top sailing honors. Here are some of the World Champion winners this year: Ed Baird - TP52 World Champion Deneen Demourkas - Farr 30 World Champion William Douglass - Melges 32 World Champion Bill Hardesty - Etchells World Champion Johnny Heineken - Kiteboard Course Racing World Champion Rob Johnston - J/22 World Champion These winners are all possible nominees. Who else should be included? US SAILING members can submit their nominations online. Deadline is November 30, 2011. Here is the link: http://about.ussailing.org/Awards/Rolex.htm If you are not a US SAILING member, please email to Scuttlebutt who you think is worthy and why, and we will consider making the submission on your behalf. Remember that your nominee must be a United States citizen and have won a national or international event in the 2011 calendar year. Send your email to editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com SAILING SHORTS * Sailmaker Des McWilliam (62), who is based in Crosshaven, Co Cork, is to become president of UK-Halsey. McWilliam's appointment was sanctioned at the company's annual meeting in New York last week. He will replace company founder and former US marine Butch Ulmer, who is retiring. -- Full story: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/1017/1224305921704.html * Rye, NY (October 16, 2011) - American Yacht Club hosted the 2011 International 505 Class North American Championship, where 27 teams completed 4 races per day on the first two days and 2 good races in a building south westerly on the last day before sending the fleet in as conditions worsened. Tyler Moore and Geoff Ewenson of Hampton Yacht Club crushed the fleet with 6 wins and only a drop of 4 from the 10 races sailed. -- Complete report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12782 * The Student Yachting World Cup has been organized since 1979 by students at the École Polytechnique in France. Each year, the best sailing teams from universities all around the world come together, with the 2011 event in La Trinité-sur-Mer to be raced in the 9.54 m Grand Surprise on October 21-28. Among the 15 teams are Dalhousie University (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and Maine Maritime Academy (Castine, Maine). Event website: http://www.sywoc.org/ FREE CLASSIFIED ADS The Scuttlebutt Classified Ads provide a marketplace for private parties to buy and sell, or for businesses to post job openings. Here are recent ads: * Wanted FINN * Raymarine E120 Chartplotter & GPS for sale * Instructors needed in south central Wisconsin View/post ads here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/classified_ads EIGHT BELLS Captain William J. Hurst, United States Navy (Retired), age 93, passed away Tuesday, October 4, 2011, after a short period of declining health. He was a member of the class of 1942 at the United States Naval Academy, having served as captain of their sailing team, and was commissioned as an Ensign on December 19, 1941. During WWII he served on three destroyers: Gunnery Officer USS Talbot, Gunnery Officer USS John Hood, and Executive Officer USS Stoddard. His ships took part in campaigns in the Aleutians, Solomon Islands, Okinawa, and the Third Fleet operations off of Japan. His last active duty was as Professor of Naval Science, Dartmouth College, retiring in 1972 after 30 1/2 years of Naval service. From 1968-1993 he was the volunteer head coach of the Dartmouth Sailing Teams, and was largely responsible for the existence of Varsity Sailing as a sport at Dartmouth College. During his tenure as coach, he brought four national championships home to Hanover, and had a profound influence on the many college sailors who sailed for him during those 26 years. He left John Storck with a great quote: "More than results, they should remember to do their best and always try to have fun. Sailing is the greatest thing in the world. May you always have fair winds and following seas." In 1999 he was inducted into the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association of North America Hall of Fame. -- Justin Assad, Dartmouth College Sailing Team, full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12781 2011 METS Southern Spars is set to bring their passion, design, technology and performance to the 2011 METS, stand 108. Our sales team will be on-hand for any inquiries you have about Southern Spars' products and services, from the new and now proven-in-competition TPT technology to our EC6 composite rigging. Please contact info@southernspars.com 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 Jim Gardiner I was crew for Tom Grossman delivering his maxi trimaran Kriter VII across the Atlantic to England for the 1980 OSTAR. It was just the two of us, but as it was a singlehander most sail and course changes were a one man operation. You often reefed by tacking the boat, backing the jib and then putting the helm down to hove to the boat. While Tom was sleeping, I was shaking out a reef but the helm released and jibed the boat with my back to the boom. I was swatted across the boat like a baseball, and only just caught the lifelines as I was looking at the water upside down. Tom never woke and I never told him. I am sure to get an email about this now. Later in 1988 I raced with someone in England who made a cap that had a skull plate inside. I bought one and still have it somewhere. It was discounted because it was not a good seller. I rather thought it was a good idea. * From Lynne Shore, Olympic gold medalist: In response to Margaret Herzog comments about her son's head injury and wearing a helmet for safety - I am a believer in wearing one after a freaky accident occurred while I was racing Lasers this summer. In avoiding a collision with a sailor after rounding the weather mark in a windy 18-20 knot breeze with big seas, another sailor tacked in front of me on port tack. Even though I was on starboard, my Laser was hooked into a large wave going fast, and my maneuverability was minimal. The choice I had was my bow hitting the other sailor square in the head - and possibly killing him - or healing very far to weather to get the boat to bear down hard and try to avoid a dangerous situation. In a split second, boats collided, I avoided injuring the other sailor, but I got pinned between the two boats and my boom hit me in the head. The boats then twisted together, flipped back and I was clocked in the head with the boom again. Down I went under. Extremely dazed and confused, I was lucky that a line was tangled around me and I surfaced. I have to commend highly Hyannis Yacht Club for their excellent strong execution of rescuing me. Within minutes, they were on top of me, they accompanied me in, had a team take my boat, and I went in the rescue wagon to the hospital. This head injury - a massive sub-dermal hematoma extending from my left eye to the back of my head 5 inches wide and an internal rattling of the brain - was a major concussion which put me out of commission from work for two weeks, sailing for eight weeks, and included many doctor's visits, CT scans and a black face that my kids had a good time chuckling at my expense. -- Forum, read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=12784#12784 * From Gary E. Benner: Thanks for linking to the article ('In Too Deep - Behind The Race To Mackinac Tragedy', Sbutt 3449) but you need to get your facts straight concerning the longest annual freshwater race. It is in fact the Lake Ontario 300 at just over 300 Nautical Miles. The Chicago Mac is 333 Statute Miles which is only 289 Nautical Miles. COMMENT: The tag line - "The world's longest annual freshwater distance race" - is what the Chi-Mac race had used for years. Now Chicago Yacht Club calls the Chi-Mac the "oldest annual freshwater distance race in the world". There was a post in Scuttleblog (July 13, 2009) about the mileage discrepancy: http://sailingscuttlebutt.blogspot.com/2009/07/mileage-counter.html CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - Napoleon Bonaparte, French military and political leader SPONSORS THIS WEEK BIC Sport - Hall Spars & Rigging - North Sails - IYRS - Southern Spars Point Loma Outfitting - Quantum Sails - LaserPerformance Ullman Sails - APS - US Sailing - Salt Harbor Studio Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
