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SCUTTLEBUTT 3246 - Thursday, December 23, 2010Scuttlebutt 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: Ullman Sails. WHAT IS YOUR CHRISTMAS WISH? This week Scuttlebutt readers have been telling the Curmudgeon what they want for Christmas. While we make no promises that the Curmudgeon can fulfill your wish, we will publish the best requests (read: creative, novel, ridiculous, etc.) in the Friday edition of Scuttlebutt. As a preview we feature below the most creative so far - and longest - from Paul Fleming titled ‘Santa Baby’. Email your Christmas wish to the Curmudgeon at editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com SANTA BABY Santa baby, just slip a GPS under the tree, for me Been an awful good girl Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight Santa baby, a super fast sled too, light blue I'll wait up for you dear Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight Think of all the fun that I've missed Think of all the sailors I haven't kissed Next year I could be just as good If you'd check off my Christmas list Boo doo bee doo Santa baby, I want a mega yacht and really that's Not a lot Been an angel all year Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight Santa honey, one thing I really do need, the deed To the America’s Cup, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight Santa cutie and fill my stocking with bar chits, and blank checks Sign your 'X' on the line Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight Come and trim my Christmas tree With some decorations from the chandlery I really do believe in you Let's see if you believe in me Boo doo bee doo Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring I mean with wind shift calls on my cell Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight Hurry down the chimney tonight Hurry ... tonight Scuttleblog: http://sailingscuttlebutt.blogspot.com/2010/12/santa-baby.html WISHING YOU A BREEZY HOLIDAY The Ullman Sails group would like to wish you, your family and your crew a very happy and safe holiday season. Whether we’re covered in snow in Russia or enjoying the summer sun in Melbourne, our sail lofts worldwide provide the best customer service and the highest quality sails all year long. As you say goodbye to 2010 and prepare for a new year on the water, remember that Ullman Sails offers comprehensive sail services, including inventory evaluation, repairs and the latest in sail technology for both cruisers and racers. Happy holidays! Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FEEL WHEN IT COMES TO DRIVING There is nothing quite like driving a yacht when it settles into the groove. The heel of the hull feels just right, the helm is firm, not too light, not too heavy, and the sails set at just the right angle and the sweetest shape. It eases the pain of the last big bill wondrously. Too often though, it is all so fleeting. The wind shifts, something distracts you, and it’s gone. On a racing yacht in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, the challenge for the helmsperson is to keep in that grove for 628 nautical miles, be it a glorious sunny reach down the New South Wales coast or beating across Bass Strait on a cold, soaking night. So how do they do it? Loki’s helmsman Gordon Maguire is one of the best in the business. He has a feel for driving a boat that allows him to react to changes in boat speed instantly, long before the instruments tell him the Reichel Pugh 62 has slowed that fraction of a knot. There is no substitute for feel, he says. “The information from the instruments is all historical. It takes four to five seconds for the instruments to do the calculations from when the cause of the drop in speed occurred. People who drive on the instruments are always four or five seconds behind. They are reactive and the boat is slow. The brain is so much faster at processing all the information coming in at once than the onboard computers. “Reacting early is as important going down wind as up. People tend to get carried away as the boat accelerates down a wave, but you should already be looking at the exit and how you will catch the next wave. I never look at the dials going down wind.” Maguire says that another problem with focussing too much on the dials is that they are more likely to engage the front half of the brain, and the key to driving fast is the subconscious. “You have to get the intellect out of the way. We drive for long stretches at a time but doing very precise things over and over. If you consciously concentrated for that long you would go mad in half an hour. I switch my mind off. I am not really concentrating. Sometimes I don’t know what has happened in the last 30 minutes. “It is like driving a car through an intersection that you go through all the time. When you are through it you think, was there a green light? Did I just drive through a red light? But subconsciously you saw a green light and you did what you usually do without thinking.” Yet while it is all about feeling the boat under you, Maguire doesn’t believe that there is any such thing as a natural boat driver. “Steering a yacht is totally unnatural, just like it is totally unnatural to hit a golf ball. It is only natural if you practice teeing off thousands of times. After a hundred thousand miles you know a boat is going to slow down when it hits a wave and what to do about it.” -- Read on: http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/news.asp?key=5080 WHEN: A fleet of 89 yachts will go head to head this Sunday December 26th, when the Rolex Sydney Hobart ocean classic starts in all its glory from Sydney Harbour at 1pm local time (+1100 UTC). To follow the fleet go to the race website and click on Yacht Tracker: http://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com WEATHER: This year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet can anticipate a more traditional upwind ride with the long range weather outlook forecasting winds on Sunday will build to 20-30 knots, then strengthen further on Monday to 30-40 knots with 4-5m seas in the Bass Strait. “The real challenge I think is [going to be] the first couple of nights and keeping the boat together,” said Wild Oats XI’s co-navigator Ian Burns. “We’ll be slowing down rather than trying to break any record, or even necessarily breaking our competition.” Winds should moderate on Tuesday as the lead pack makes its way down the east coast of Tasmania to the finish line of the 628 nautical mile ocean classic. -- Full report: http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/news.asp?key=5082 "WE ARE IN THE RED ZONE" San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is working around the clock in a last-ditch effort to keep the city's bid for the America's Cup alive - even as Larry Ellison openly courts Newport, R.I. "We are in the red zone," Newsom said Tuesday evening. San Francisco's bid for the 2012 race took a sudden dive last week when Team Ellison began talking very publicly with Newport about holding the race there. "I would like to believe that our deal was not used as a negotiating strategy to leverage a deal in Rhode Island," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, a key backer of San Francisco's bid. That's exactly what is happening, however. Although everyone is trying to keep on the high road, the folks at City Hall are anything but smiles as they try to deal with Ellison's group. According to Newsom, the negotiations are not over what piers to use or how much public money to spend, but rather about tax increment financing and other financial details. "This is a billion-dollar economics package, with thousands of jobs and a big investment by their organization. I can understand their need for certainty," Newsom said. "I've been on the phone steadily for the past five days," the mayor said. "The one thing we can't afford to do is get petulant and throw up our hands or start pointing fingers." Besides, there will be plenty of time for that if Ellison raises the anchor and heads east. -- SF Chronicle, http://tinyurl.com/SFC-122210 METAPHORS: San Francisco supporters should be concerned about Newsom’s comment of being “in the red zone.” This phrase, which references a football team’s ability to score inside the 20 yard line, has not been a strength of his town’s team. As of December 23rd, the San Francisco 49ers ranked 23rd out of 32 NFL teams in red zone scoring percentage. As for Newport, which typically cheers for the New England Patriots, their team is ranked third overall. MORE NEWSOM: “They (GGYC) seemed dissatisfied with some key components of our bid,” said Newsom. “We’ve been working aggressively behind the scenes to address those concerns.” Newsom would not say what specifically changed, but the Board of Supervisors has given the Mayor’s Office the power to make amendments as long as the major components of the agreement remain intact. -- SF Examiner: http://tinyurl.com/SFE-122210 RHODE ISLAND RALLY: Supporter came out for a Rally to Host the 2013 America's Cup on Wednesday morning at the Marriott in Newport, RI, where Sail Newport Executive Director Brad Read encouraged the crowd to embrace this opportunity. “We believe in Narragansett Bay as the premier tourist attraction that Rhode Island has,” said Read. “We want to make sure that we run the best events, the most worldwide recognizable events that we can. I think Narragansett Bay is the perfect backdrop for the America’s Cup.” Watch video from the event here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF2drHLbkSQ MORE READ: Sailing World magazine’s Stuart Streuli caught up with Brad after the rally to grill him on the details. Here is the interview: http://tinyurl.com/SW-122210 TICK TOCK: The America’s Cup defender Golden Gate Yacht Club is required by the Protocol for the 34th America’s Cup to declare the venue location by December 31st. While there are provisions to amend the Protocol so as to extend this deadline, it would not be a popular move. GGYC is already considered to have a technical advantage, thus challenging teams are eager to focus their design strategy on the selected venue. Additionally, the selected venue will determine whether prospective challengers can seek suitable sponsorship for them to enter the event. -- http://tinyurl.com/AC-122210 SOLO KING TO TAKE ON DUO RACE This will be Michel Desjoyeaux’s (FRA) first round the world race sailing as duo. The double Vendee Globe (solo, non-stop round the world in Open 60) winner is partnered by François Gabart, who is jointly the Barcelona World Race’s youngest skipper. Desjoyeaux has been up against a demanding schedule since the spring, building the new IMOCA Open 60 Foncia in record time, then competing in the solo Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale (France to Caribbean) and now working the new VPLP/Verdier design to be ready for the start of the Barcelona World Race on 31st December. On the strategy to start with: “We are going to make a short watch, only 3 hours, because four hours for me is too long and two hours too short. Then we’ll manage all the stuff together. We will dispatch the weather job while we are in front of the computer while the other is at the helm or on deck, so it’s already done.” On who he thinks is closest rivals will be? “I never speak about my rivals in a race, because it’s a way for them to know if they are the wrong place or not!” On the Barcelona World Race: “It’s nice that we will be 15 boats, for sure the first race three years ago was not in a good timing regarding the Vendee Globe, it was too close to the start, that’s why I didn’t want to compete. But this time it’s a different situation because for me it’s after the Vendee and for Francois it’s two years before the VG so it’s long enough for him to gain the motivation to enter the VG, and for me it’s a good way.” Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2fg2oxc WISHING YOU A BREEZY HOLIDAY The Ullman Sails group would like to wish you, your family and your crew a very happy and safe holiday season. Whether we’re covered in snow in Russia or enjoying the summer sun in Melbourne, our sail lofts worldwide provide the best customer service and the highest quality sails all year long. As you say goodbye to 2010 and prepare for a new year on the water, remember that Ullman Sails offers comprehensive sail services, including inventory evaluation, repairs and the latest in sail technology for both cruisers and racers. Happy holidays! Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com SAILING SHORTS * (December 22, 2010; Day 7) - Zbigniew Gutkowski (POL) continues to lead the second leg of the VELUX 5 OCEANS from Cape Town to Wellington, NZL, with a 37 nm edge over American Brad Van Liew with 6043 nm to the finish. Belgium skipper Christophe Bullens is returning to Cape Town again following problems with the boat's mast track. This is the second time Christophe has returned to port since the second ocean sprint started from Cape Town on December 16. Initially he was forced to head back after developing problems with the rudders and the electrics on Five Oceans of Smiles too. -- Event website: http://www.velux5oceans.com * (December 22, 2010) - Today a Syndicate of Australians including legendary yachtsman Ludde Ingvall, skipper of the YuuZoo Big Boat Racing Team, has submitted a Notice of Challenge to the defending Golden Gate Yacht Club of San Francisco. The Syndicate aims to bring together nationwide resources and skills in a true people's challenge. Lodging the application reserves a place for Australia to return to competition for the world's oldest international sporting trophy. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/PR-122210 * Miami’s 2010 Orange Bowl International Youth Regatta will combine 665 sailors on 562 boats in 6 classes racing on 4 circles into one of the most popular youth sailing events in the USA. The sailors, ranging from age 8 to 18, come from 21 countries and 23 states. The regatta, with racing Dec. 27-30, is hosted by Coral Reef Yacht Club and co-hosted by Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, Shake-A-Leg Miami and the US Sailing Center - Miami. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=11011 BOAT VS. AUTOMOTIVE GRADE WIRE By Ed Sherman, Boats.com Is all wire the same for a given size, no matter whether it's intended for marine or land use? A friend and I have been arguing about whether there is a difference between automotive wire and marine grade wire. I’m planning on doing some major re-wiring on my boat over the winter. I think 10 gauge wire is 10 gauge wire, period. My buddy says he thinks there are distinct differences. Who’s right? Answer here: http://www.boats.com/blog/2010/12/boat-vs-automotive-grade-wire/ 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: * Name change from Pearson Composites to Pearson Marine Group * New website to provide info for Marine Professionals * Sailing info for Lake Simcoe View and/or post Industry News updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news 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 Matt Flood: Back during the multihull cup, I mentioned to a friend that I guess that I was glad that our Megalomaniac “Larry” had beaten their Megalomaniac “Ernesto”. We could only hope that things would be different under this new regime. Guess what... MEGALOMANIA wins again and the CUP continues to lose. * From Rick Viggiano: With all the discussions about AC venues, I wonder if anyone has considered the Super Yacht infrastructure side of things. The next AC will draw numerous large yachts, just like Valencia did, so what is available in SF to berth and support these yachts or is that another hidden cost that the taxpayers will need to bear? Newport (and RI in general) has some of the best facilities in world, not to mention the trades to support them, and annually has hundreds of large yachts transit through so it would be a non issue. Just a thought, and yes, I am biased since I live in RI and work in the marine industry. But I do travel around the world working on large yachts and speak from experience. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION “The only blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart.” - Helen Keller SPONSORS THIS WEEK APS - Henri Lloyd Interlux - Southern Spars North Sails - Ullman Sails Need stuff? 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