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SCUTTLEBUTT 3367 - Tuesday, June 21, 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: Hall Spars & Rigging, North Sails, and J Boats. SAILING CAN FOSTER SELF-RELIANCE WITHOUT THE MOMMY BOAT By Chris Caswell, SAILING Magazine I had agreed to join a friend on a chase boat for an Optimist regatta, adding another set of eyes for the starts of the 100-boat fleet that were, well, really pushy. After the mark setting, we were idling around the start area and, off to one side, there was a huge flotilla of rigid-bottomed inflatables of all sizes. “What’s going on over there?” I asked, with all innocence. “Ah,” he said with scorn, “those are the Mommy boats.” Well, let’s cut to the chase here. More than one out of every four of these little kids sailing 8-foot prams had a support team with a coach, parents, spare parts, cold drinks, lunch, a change of clothing, and probably a tissue to wipe away tears if anything awful happened during the race. I was embarrassed. I’m not going down the in-my-day-we-walked-to-school-in-the-snow route, but what happened to the joy of sailing with and against your friends? About independence? About self-reliance? Gone, apparently. I learned to sail in a pram similar to an Optimist, but I would have slit my wrists if my parents had followed me onto the race course. It was bad enough being dropped at the yacht club in the morning by your parent, and as soon as I figured out how to carry mast and sails on my bike, that ended too. Any kid who had a Mommy boat on the water would have been a wuss. It’s one thing for all these Mommy boats churning up the waters, but I started seeing some of the parents’ antics that would put a third base coach to shame. They weren’t actually pointing to the side of the course where there was more wind, but it was almost funny to see everyone on a Mommy boat with the bills on their caps turned to the right. Or to see Dad always scratching that itch on his right elbow. Or for the whole Mommy boat to be pointing right and then going up that side of the course after the start. I mean, really! The rules are very clear about outside assistance after the starting sequence. It’s bad enough that the Mommy boats, which have gone out on the course early to check the weather, give the kiddies a full briefing on conditions and tactics before the start, but trying to sneak in some late tips during the race is just cheating. These helicopter parents (so-named because they’re always hovering) are the ones who drive their kids three blocks to school, who “help” them with their homework, and who are ruining everything for kids from Little League (which earned them the scornful title of Little League Parents) to soccer. Later, I was talking to one of the parents who gave me a well-polished spiel about how Mommy boats add confidence and mental support at regattas. This parent had so many justifications for not just letting kids go off and be kids that I genuinely felt sorry for his child. Out in the real world, Mommy’s boat isn’t always there for you. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/3t96qg5 *To Chris’ point re the independence kids gain doing activities - like sailing - on their own. It was quite something to witness Optis racing out of the St Francis Yacht Club last week while the AC45s were training on San Francisco Bay in pretty challenging conditions. The AC45s blasted through the Opti fleet, which I am sure was a huge thrill for the kids, right about the same time I saw one kid calmly bailing his Opti, all the while rocking up and down furiously in the strong breeze and relatively big waves. Not a mommy boat in sight, but probably because it was blowing a good 20! -- Michelle Slade DAY 3 KIELER WOCHE Kiel, Germany (June 20, 2011) - Conditions again brought moderate to strong winds with 12-17 knots, cloudy skies and more tough racing for Day 3 Kiel Week, the last stop of the International Sailing Federation’s (ISAF) World Cup series. Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving (USA) continue to lead the way in the Women’s 470. With double bullets and a third place they have extended their lead to five points over Tina Lutz and Susann Beucke (GER), and a pack of three German teams trail Lutz and Beucke in third, fourth and fifth place. Zach Railey (USA) trailed Jonathan Lobert (FRA) by five points after the opening day. The American reduced the deficit to one point at the end of the second day and after recording double bullets on the third day the American has taken a two point lead over the Frenchman. Ed Wright (GBR) sits in third on 24 points. Railey said, “The weather was better today with only a little bit of rain and the wind was still strong but shifty coming from the land. Today I had a great back and forth race with both the French sailors in the first race. I think the lead must have changed ten times and we all finished within two boat lengths of each other. It was a great race between all of us." Paige Railey (USA) in the Laser Radial finished fifth, fourth and third in her three races retaining her leads on the fleet by 14 points. Croatias Tina Mihelic had an excellent day to close the gap on Railey, with two second place finishes and a bullet she sits second on 19 points. The Quarter Final spots in the Women’s Match Racing competition were decided: Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) will face Nicky Souter (AUS), Ekaterina Skudina goes up against Anna Kjellberg (SWE), Silke Hahlbrock (GER) meets Genny Tulloch (USA), and Olivia Price (AUS) will race Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (DEN). -- Full results: http://race-results.kielerwoche.de/ HALL SPARS 1-2 AGAIN Congratulations to the Hall-rigged Container (TP52) for their first-place finish at the Marseille Trophy. Quantum finished second, giving Hall Spars another 1-2 finish. In offshore racing, the Hall-rigged Tonnerre de Breskens (Ker 46) won the North Sea Race, and in Superyachts Indio (Wally 101) won the Wally division at the Loro Piana and Nostromo (Dubois 30m) finished second at the Dubois Cup. If you want to win, too, Hall can build you a spectacular carbon mast or refit your current rig with our extraordinary SCR Airfoil rigging. Or choose both for a 1-2 punch. http://www.hallspars.com ISAF WORLD CUP IN A CRISIS (June 20, 2011) - The World Cup is going through a crisis. The International Sailing Federation ISAF had created the series by three years ago to draw athletes and the media to all of the most important events throughout the year. In 2011, the success curve of the concept seems to be on the decline. In this pre-Olympic year, Kiel is the final stage of the World Cup series, and ISAF World President Göran Petersson will be here to honour the winners live on stage and in the focus of public attention. However, only a mere handful of the 30 crews who are currently placed among the top three in the World Cup ranking are at the starting line in Kiel. The Kieler Woche organizers are annoyed, especially with the women’s match racing. “We had 22 entries, so we arranged to have as many as eight boats, and now, there are just eleven crews,” said Kieler Woche Chairman Jobst Richter. He thinks that the tight ISAF calender is main cause for the apparent lack of interest. “Having the World Cup events in Medemblik, Weymouth and Kiel in close succession with the European Championships in Helsinki in July on top is just too much.” Despite the fact that the EHEC virus raging in Germany may be responsible for keeping a few athletes away, the more important reason seems to be that many sailors are strictly focusing on the trials for the 2012 Olympics and therefore see no reason to show up in Kiel. By now, a number of countries are already through with their Olympic trials, so athletes are taking a break to back in the race at the Europeans, reports Star class sailor Alexander Schlonski (Rostock). His rival Joannes Polgar (Hamburg) has no understanding for the ISAF politics, “Athletes and regatta organizers are in the same boat, but we seem to be coming up against a brick wall with them.” -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3lkka2z SHARKS INVADE LAC ST LOUIS (June 19, 2011) - From June 11 to June 17, 54 Sharks invaded the waters of Lac St. Louis and Beaconsfield Yacht Club. BYC hosted the 2011 Shark World Championships which saw boats from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, United States and Canada. During the five days of intense racing the International Race Committee were able to get off eight races which included one long distance race of 17 nautical miles. The championship was closely contested between two Ottawa boats Crazy Ivan (David Foy, Jamie Foy, David O'Sullivan) from Britannia Yacht Club, Ottawa, Canada, and Shark Poop (Johan Koppernaes, Doug Brown, Michael Lee) from the Nepean Sailing Club, Ottawa, Canada. In the end it was Crazy Ivan taking the win by a single point. Crazy Ivan, powered by North Sails, had "boat speed and point to burn" as stated by helmsman David Foy. 2nd place team Shark Poop sailed a brilliant regatta by not winning a single race, only finishing out of the top 10 once and they still managed a 2nd place finish. "If it wasn't for the crew of Shark Poop with their knowledge transfer and constant competition, Crazy Ivan would not be where they are today... we would have got there, but the process would have been much slower…thank you Johan, Doug and Michael!” said David O'Sullivan. Full results: http://tinyurl.com/3orqdu3 DON’T SAY WE DIDN’T WARN YOU (June 20, 2011) - The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) and the Coast Guard (USCG) are initiating a campaign to alert and educate the public about Operation Dry Water (ODW) and the dangers of drinking while boating. While there are arrests made on the water year-round, all 50 states and 6 territories will be participating in increased enforcement the weekend of June 24-26. The campaign will take place the weekend before the 4th of July holiday (which typically sees the most recreational boating fatalities of the year) as a reminder to those who might be planning to drink and boat. Nationwide there will be nearly 5,000 marine law enforcement officers on the lookout for boaters and their guests who drink, as well as providing education and awareness materials to all about how to remain safe on the water. Many on-land law enforcement officers will also be joining in this effort, since drunk boaters too often become drunk drivers. Eighty percent of recreational boats arrive at lakes, rivers, and coastal marinas by trailer. For the first time in all the years of enforcing Boating Under the Influence (BUI) laws, a standardized Seated Sobriety Test is being rolled out nationwide. This new test, which has been validated by the same organization that validates the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) DUI tests, will not only give officers greater confidence in making arrest decisions based on their observations but also provide courtroom credibility to an officer's evaluation of impairment. Be warned: NASBLA and the Coast Guard are currently seeking a national proclamation to raise awareness of boating and drinking in an effort to reduce recreational boating fatalities. Spread the word. For info: http://www.operationdrywater.org REDRUM ‘KILLS’ THE COMPETITION AT CHICAGO NOOD North Sails-powered REDRUM, owned by Scott Bruesewitz and Bernie Reinhard, ‘killed’ the competition at the Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD Regatta from June 10-12, 2011. Racing with a complete North Sails inventory, including a brand-new 3Di main, REDRUM not only won their class but also won the overall trophy and an invitation to compete at the NOOD championship regatta in the BVI in November - congrats to the REDRUM team! North-powered boats won 10 out of 16 classes at the three-day regatta. When performance counts, the choice is clear: http://na.northsails.com 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: For Sale - * 50' Nelson/Marek "Goblin" (ex Idler) * 1978 28' Ranger 28 Now Hiring - * Need: Head Youth Sailing Instructor - Port Townsend, WA * Experienced Sailmaker Needed - Doyle Sails View/post ads here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/classified_ads SAILING SHORTS * Ocean Springs, MS (June 19, 2011) - On Day 1 of the Hobie Cat 17/18 North American Championships, heat, humidity, wind and boat traffic were defining points of the day in the Hobie 17 (28 boats) and Hobie 18 (14 boats) competition. The North American Championships are part of the “Hobie Mini-Mega” event that continues at Ocean Springs Yacht Club through June 26. Matt Bounds sits atop the competitive Hobie 17 class and in the Hobie 18s, Jim Sohn/Becca Krause lead. Racing continues Monday through Thursday (June 20-23). -- Full results: http://tinyurl.com/43554ct * Porto Cervo, Italy (June 19, 2011) - Mistral winds of up to 55 knots hit Porto Cervo on the final day of the 2011 Melges 32 Audi Sailing Series made sailing impossible, forcing PRO Peter Reggio to abandon the final two scheduled races early in the morning. The cancellation of racing meant that overnight regatta leader Joe Woods on GBR 700 Red was confirmed as the overall winner by two clear points from Filippo Pacinotti on ITA 667 Brontolo in second, and John Kilroy on USA 13131 Samba Pa Ti in third. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3nab726 * Newport, RI (June 20, 2011) - With Friday's race of the Newport J Class Regatta postponed, two were held on Saturday, under bright skies with a strong 15 knot SE’ly into the Newport harbor entrance. The first race got away with Ranger holding a short, five boat length lead and the distance never really changed on the subsequent top spinnaker reach and run to the finish. With a small time correction factor, RANGER won by 25 seconds, winning the event overall at that point with a 3:0 score. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/447zmjn * Curacao, (June 18, 2011) - The Sunfish World Championship 2011 concluded on Saturday, with top Brazilian sailor Matheus Dellagnelo becoming the new World Champion after winning both morning races. He wasn’t required to sail the last race, because his steady series guaranteed him the title. In final results, Peruvian Alexander Zimmerman, took second place, with Francisco Renna (ARG) in third overall. Former multiple World Champions David Loring and P.J. Patin from the USA took 5th and 11th place respectively. -- Full report: http://www.sunfishworlds2011.com/news_article.asp?i=170 * Cleveland, OH (June 20, 2011) - Racers from throughout the Great Lakes region participated in the annual Cleveland Race Week 1-D weekend on June 18-19. With 26 teams making up the J/22 fleet, local competitors Lee Sackett, Dave Kerr and John Zelli raced Free Energy to victory with 18 points overall, winning three of the seven races. Chris Doyle on OPB also won three races, but trailed Free Energy by 5 points at the conclusion of the regatta. Travis Odenbach on Instigator rounded out the top three with 32 points. -- Full results: http://www.ewyc.net/CRW2011/Results/OneDesign/CRWOD.html *(June 17, 2011) - The Chicago Yacht Club announced that the 103rd Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac has reached 361 boats and entries are now closed. "We are delighted that interest in the race remains so high and we look forward to welcoming back many old friends and to welcoming many new friends,” said Greg Freeman, Race Chair. Event website: http://www.cycracetomackinac.com SAIL ALMOST ANYWHERE ON THE J/108 The new J/108 is an offshore capable 35' performance cruising yacht with a comfortable interior, a spacious cockpit and easy-to-handle furling Code Zero on a fixed sprit. She draws only 4' with board up and her twin rudders provide exceptional control, whether exploring secluded coves or sailing at sea. http://www.jboats.com/j108 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 Eric Ellis (re, Thanks Dennis, Scuttlebutt 3365): I think it is really cool that after all the hard work, time, effort and energy that Team Line Honors put in, y'all were able to adjust and adapt a new approach that resulted in your ultimate success. Cheers to learning the most important take away... Always strive to improve what you do, regardless of how much you know- because you only know as much as you know. * From Gary Bruner (re, Scuttlebutt 3366): Why you had to publish the info on Silicon Valley CEO salaries is beyond me. Of course I know that Ellison and Oracle are big money behind the America's Cup, but 'sailing news? Hardly. To be reminded of all these guys, who in some cases make (off with) more money in one month than I have made in 40 years of teaching, is beyond me. When considering the fact that the 'stock options' that many of them were given will result in them paying only 15% in capital gains when the folks I hang with pay about twice that in income tax only serves to demoralize me. It's the disparity between these folks' salaries and those who do the work that has given rise to a monumental political divide in this country. If you don't like my political views, and I'm positive you don't, then don't bait us poorer middle class sailors with this sort of 'news'. I'll keep sailing my 1971 Yankee 30 sailboat and try to ignore all the rich folks who can afford to sail faster while smirking all the way to their favorite corrupt financial institution while also blaming the middle class and unions for the mess we're in. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they’re not out to get me. 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