|
SCUTTLEBUTT 3609 - Monday, June 11, 2012Scuttlebutt 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: BIC Sport North America and Team One Newport. STAYING OUT TROUBLE Randy Smith is old enough. Old enough to know how to play the sailing game at a high level, and old enough to know that it is only a game. Here Randy reflects on how he stays out of trouble when heading offshore... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I have grown up sailing, cruising, racing and delivering boats up and down the California and Mexican coastlines, along with racing to Hawaii numerous times. Even on my early trips as a kid with my parents on the family Cal 29, we encountered ships on the way to Catalina Island. I was always taught by my dad to know where the shipping lanes were on the chart and what VHF Channel 16 was for. Fast forward 40 years, experience has made me a huge proponent of safety procedures: talking about them, practicing for them, writing down notes and most importantly, asking the questions that nobody wants to hear. Having everyone on board know how to use the GPS in an MOB situation, how to start the engine, where the ditch bag is, where the flares are, how to light one off, etc. People who I have sailed with know that I have become a bit of a fanatic in this regard, sort of a safety nerd. But the good news is, it is starting to become cool to be a nerd. Just like the movie Revenge of the Nerds. With regard to protocol on commercial traffic, it is simple. The watch captain on deck has the ultimate responsibility to keep track of the surroundings. Ships are quite easy to see in day or night, and if you don't have people on board with the knowledge of what a ship looks like in all conditions, you probably shouldn't be out there. I have sailed on boats with and without AIS (Automatic Identification System). For offshore and coastal racing, my experience with AIS is the same as radar. AIS is a very nice convenience, but we usually use it to confirm what we are already seeing with our eyes. I have had some interesting close calls, including a large aircraft carrier off San Clemente Island, oil tankers in the shipping lane between Anacapa Island and Santa Barbara, and even large unlit commercial fishing vessels in Mexico with very confusing lights. Even in last year's Transpac Race, we encountered a very large container ship coming up from astern at a steady collision course bearing. We heated up our course by 15 degrees well in advance, and it was as if he was trying to get close to us just to see us. When they were within 1/2 mile or so, they hit us with a giant spotlight and then turned right by about 45 degrees. Our next step would have been to call on VHF 16 and ask "WTF?" -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13964 PERFECT PRACTICE Weymouth and Portland, U.K. (June 9, 2012; Day 6) - One storm had passed, but another was brewing - it was Saturday and it was medal race day at Skandia Sail for Gold and the drama was just beginning. There were ten classes and thirty medals to decide, and not one of them was a certainty. Perfect practice for the Olympic sailing events that begin July 28th. After a week of tumultuous weather, the sun finally came out and the wind moderated to a perfect 15 knots for the opening races, building to a fresh 20-22 knots for the final medals. The action took place on two courses, one inside the harbour and the other under the Olympic spectator site on the Nothe. Tops for the North Americans were Amanda Clark and Sarah Lihan (USA) in the Women's 470, who won the final medal race to move up from 6th to second overall. "Sarah and I have worked really hard for this," said Clark. "We're psyched to take this into the Olympics." Although the team has only been together for 15 months, they have seen their performance advance. "I think we're the strongest we've ever been," said Lihan. "Amanda is one of the most talented skippers in the world and I'm honored to sail with her." The other medal came in the Women's Match Racing, where Anna Tunnicliffe with her 'Team Maclaren' of Molly Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi overcame a slow start to their regatta to win the bronze medal. "We didn't have the smoothest regatta and sometimes you have those regattas," said Tunnicliffe. "We learned a lot about ourselves this week and had a great debrief this evening figuring it all." Next up for Team Maclaren is to defend their ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championships at the end of the month. Other medal highlights came in the Paralympic classes, with John McRoberts, Stacie Louttit (CAN) getting silver in the SKUD 18 and Bruce Miller, Logan Campbell, Scott Lutes (CAN) getting bronze in the Sonar. Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/SS4G-2012 Event website: http://www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk Video highlights: http://www.youtube.com/user/sailforgoldregatta Canadian team: http://www.canadiansailingteam.ca/ USA team: http://olympics.ussailing.org/2012/06/09/sail-for-gold-final/ BACKGROUND: Skandia Sail for Gold was held at the same venue as will be the sailing events for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which begin July 28th. This is the sixth of seven 2011-2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas, which are open to the sailing events chosen for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. -- http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/home.php NEW AGE SAILING Sailing Programs and parents world-wide are discovering something modern and cool to keep the You Tube Generation excited about sailing. Find the kids' choice at 'Energized Sailing' (video link below), and see why fleets and events are happening all over. The O'Pen BIC uses new-age design and recyclable materials in a rocket-ship hull and contemporary rig. Just two minutes to rig, completely self-bailing, no maintenance, and less expensive. Capsizing is part of the fun! The bottom line? Kids love O'Pen BICs. Check out http://www.OpenBIC.com and contact info@bicsportna.com for junior program packages. BIC Sport also offers great Stand Up Paddleboard programs! Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9_botWb8KU COLLEGE SPRING NATIONALS Austin, Texas. (June 8, 2012) - Light winds plagued the final day of the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship, co-hosted by the University of Texas Sailing Team and the Austin Yacht Club on Lake Travis. Despite the difficult conditions, Georgetown University continued the domination that began on day one to win the dinghy title and the Henry A. Morss Memorial Trophy. A total of 13 in each division for the regatta. This is the second time Georgetown has won the dinghy title and the fifth time they have placed in it in the last nine years. Georgetown won A division with Chris Barnard '13 (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Hilary Kenyon '13 (Wayzata, Minn.), while their B division team of Evan Aras '12 (Annapolis, Md.) and Katherine Canty '12 (Vero Beach, Fla.) finished second. Winning B division was Yale's Graham Landy '15 (Norfolk, Va.) and Heather May '13 (Newport Beach, Calif.). Final Results - Top 5 of 18 1. Georgetown University, 137 2. Roger Williams University, 169 3. Yale University, 171 4. College of Charleston, 207 5. Harvard University, 213 Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13962#13962 HONORS: Georgetown University's Chris Barnard '13 (Newport Beach, Calif.) was selected as the College Sailor of the Year for outstanding performance this past collegiate year. The winner of the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy for best overall team performance was the College of Charleston. This is from the compiled results of the ICSA Women's Singlehanded, Men's Singlehanded, Match Racing, Women's Dinghy, Team Racing, and Coed Dinghy National Championships. The complete list of honorees, which also includes Coed and Crew ICSA All-Americans, and Robert H. Hobbs Sportsmanship Award, is here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13963#13963 SPOUSAL MEMBERSHIP... NOT By Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt I recently learned I was not a yacht club member. Or at least, not a member of the yacht club I thought I was. A bit of a shock, really. It came on Opening Day, when I did not receive an award I would have been eligible for... if I had been a member. You see, it is my wife that is the member. To back up, after I got married, my wife wanted to rejoin the club she had been a member of as a youth. I was a member of another club at the time, but once the kids came along, and household expenses increased, paying monthly dues at two clubs became a strain. So we dropped the club I had joined, and proceeded along as a happy family. I never thought of reading her club by-laws. I assumed I was a 'spousal member'. But after the Opening Day incident, I got curious and opened the membership book, and found the club extended no rights to the spouse. I immediately thought back to the regattas I had entered under this club. I then thought of the club's adult pram fleet where many of the spouses compete. Did they know they had no right to list this club when entering a regatta? I also got curious how many other clubs in the U.S. excluded rights to spouses. There were more. My guess is there was a time, ages ago, when it was the man that became the member, and the wife was much less active. Excluding women from club bars was not uncommon. As time marched on, some clubs have updated their by-laws to be more inclusive, while others have not. To enter a race under the rules of sailing (75.1), the boat must be entered by (a) a member of a club or other organization affiliated to an ISAF member national authority, (b) such a club or organization, or (c) a member of an ISAF member national authority. In fairness, my wife's club was surprised by this revelation, and has indicated they are looking into it. Until then, I can still enter races as a member of US Sailing or Scuttlebutt Sailing Club. That, and I need to keep my wife happy or risk having her revoke my guest privileges. Do you know how your club handles the spousal issue? GET READY TO GET SIDETRACKED The Great Texas Catamaran Race is one of the premier long distance beach cat races in the country. Offering 300 miles of extreme sailing at its best, extending from South Padre Island to Galveston, this is distance racing at its best. In its 10th year, ten teams are vying for the title. June 13, South Padre Island to Mustang Island (91 nm) June 14, Mustang Island to Matagorda Island (91 nm) June 15, Matagorda Island to Surfside Beach (50 nm) June 16, Surfside Beach to Galveston (40 nm) The race will be streamed live, with John Williams and Jeremy Leonard providing commentary. Here is the schedule (all times central): Monday, June 11, 8-9 pm: Pre-Race Interviews and Analysis Wednesday, June 13, 9:30 am - 10:15: Leg 1 Analysis and Start at 10 am Wednesday, June 13, TBD (est 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm): Leg 1 Finish Thursday, June 14, 9:30 am - 10:15: Leg 2 Analysis and Start at 10 am Thursday, June 14, TBD (est 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm): Leg 2 Finish Friday, June 15, 9:30 am - 10:15: Leg 3 Analysis and Start at 10 am Friday, June 15, TBD (est 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm): Leg 3 Finish Friday, June 15, 8:00 pm, Race Analysis Saturday, June 16, 8:45 am - 10:15: Leg 4 Analysis, Dash Start at 9 am and GT Start at 10 am Saturday, June 16, TBD (est 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm): Leg 4 Finish Saturday, June 16, TBD (est 8:30 pm): Awards Broadcast channel: http://www.justin.tv/greattexas300 Finish time broadcasts are estimated; actual time of broadcasts is subject to weather conditions. Updates during the day of each leg at https://www.facebook.com/GreatTexas300 AMERICA'S CUP WORLD SERIES IS COMING TO NEWPORT And Team One Newport has the Official America's Cup merchandise online and in our store. So plan to visit Fort Adams to view the awesome racing and stop by the world's best sailing gear store, Team One Newport. For the Bermuda race sailors, the store will have extended hours this week. Visit http://www.team1newport.com or call 800-VIP-GEAR or 401-847-4327. The foul weather gear experts since 1985. DOWN TO THE SHORT STROKES For the six Volvo Ocean Race teams that began the global tour on October 29th in Alicante, Spain, there are precious few points still on the table. Entering the weekend, only two short offshore legs and three inshore races remain. But with the top seeds so close, the value of the remaining points will decide the champion when the race concludes in Galway, Ireland next month. Here's an update from the weekend: * (June 9, 2012) - Front-running Groupama stamped their authority on the Volvo Ocean Race today with a crucial win in the Oeiras In-Port Race, extending their overall lead to eight points with just four more scoring opportunities left. After knocking Telefonica off the top spot at the end of Leg 7, Franck Cammas' men dealt another blow to their rivals with a stellar performance on the waters of Lisbon's River Tagus. PUMA,stuck in fourth, made a late decision for the alternative gate which moved them to second. Remaining finishing order was Camper, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, and Telefonica. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-060912 * (June 10, 2012) - PUMA lead the fleet from the Tagus River today to begin this penultimate offshore race between Lisbon and Lorient, France, which will first take a course northwest to round the island of Sao Miguel. With the wind just forward of the beam, the fleet will need the wind to veer to aim their bows at their target. Once they reach the Azores, the fleet is expected to compress before the sprint back toward the coast and across the Bay of Biscay. For this return leg, a low pressure system is expected to deliver a westerly breeze of up to 40 knots and a huge sea state. The finish is scheduled for Friday night or Saturday. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-061012 Leg 8 - Lisbon, Portugal to Lorient, France (1,940 nm) Standings as of Monday, 11 June 2012, 0:01:00 UTC 1. Telefonica (ESP), Iker Martinez (ESP), 1789.9 nm Distance to Finish 2. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE), Ian Walker (GBR), 0.6 nm Distance to Lead 3. PUMA Ocean Racing (USA), Ken Read (USA), 1.4 nm DTL 4. Groupama 4 (FRA), Frank Cammas (FRA), 2.9 nm DTL 5. CAMPER (NZL), Chris Nicholson (AUS), 3.7 nm DTL 6. Team Sanya (CHN), Mike Sanderson (NZL), 7.7 nm DTL Tracker/Standings: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/racetracker/rdc.html Schedule: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-2011-12-schedule Video reports: http://www.youtube.com/user/volvooceanracevideos SAILING SHORTS * Newport, RI (June 10, 2012) - After a rousing 19-mile Around the Island Race on Friday, sailors at the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) 158th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex had to face light winds on Saturday and Sunday and a subsequently abbreviated race schedule where every move counted as critical to final results. With 104 boats entered in Friday's race (separately scored and optional) and 133 entered in weekend racing, this 2012 edition of what is revered as America's oldest regatta will go down in sailing history as having its biggest fleet ever...and, for some, the most intriguing last-minute victories. -- Read on: http://nyyc.org/archives_public/article_1204/ * Immediately following the Bayview Mackinac Race, finishing on Mackinac Island, Mackinac Island Yacht Club will be hosting two events for racers seeking to extend their stay. The fifth Annual Round the Island Race starts on July 18, while the Mackinac Island to Manitoulin Island International Yacht Race is on July 19-21. Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13958 * (June 10, 2012) - The 2012 Sperry-Top Sider Chicago NOOD, held by Chicago Yacht Club, hosted 129 entrants among 15 classes. The Tarten Ten class was the largest with 31 boats, and won by Arthur Strilky and his Wombat team. Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/NOOD-061012 * (June 10, 2012) - In the closest finish this season, British Olympian Leigh McMillan and his crew onboard The Wave, Muscat won Act 3 of the Extreme Sailing Series in Istanbul, after four days and 29 races. Roman Hagara and his Austrian Red Bull Sailing Team led going into the final day, but tumbled to third behind Pierre Pennec and his all-French team on Groupe Edmond de Rothschild. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/ESS-061012 * (June 8, 2012) - The Alpari World Match Racing Tour and Sun Sailing Team, the organisers of the Portimao Portugal Match Cup, have announced the regatta has been removed from the 2012 Tour calendar. Funding for the event has been severely impacted by the current economic situation in Portugal and some of the key funding partners were unable to commit their support to the regatta this year. The Portimao Portugal Match Cup was to have been the fifth tour event on July 24-29, but the tour will now be reduced to an eight event schedule. -- http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/ SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Brian Morris: It is interesting that ISAF votes to keep the windsurfing in the Youth Olympics and also the ISAF Youth Worlds. ISAF constantly sends out two messages. The Chair of the ISAF Youth World Championship sub-committee also sits on the ISAF Council. She represents the Women's Forum, so in theory, not under instruction from her MNA on how to vote. As the Women's Forum did not meet at Mid-Year meeting, maybe the Council member voted on what she thought is best. Yet, as the Chair of the ISAF Youth World Championship sub-committee, she wants Neil Pryde to supply free sailboards. And then she voted on the Council for kiteboards over windsurfers for the 2016 Olympics. Confused? Not really... it is ISAF and they constantly send out two messages. Voting information here: http://tinyurl.com/Scuttlebutt-061012 * From Ceri Williams: In regard to the 'Knock, Knock' article in Scuttlebutt 3608, on this occasion you have your facts wrong. The events for Youth Olympic Games (YOG) were decided before the ISAF Mid-Year meeting; the only thing the Mid-Year meeting approved was equipment for the single handed dinghy (ie, Byte C2). Additionally, I do not think the Youth Olympics is seen as pathway to Olympics - just happens to share a name. The 15/16 years old participating in YOG are highly unlikely to be sailing in either a singlehanded dinghy or on a windsurf board if they ever make it to the Olympics. I think they are best viewed as totally different and unconnected events. What is important is that decisions are not made last minute and 2012 for 2014 is last minute - I think the decision should have been finalized in 2010 or latest early 2011. COMMENT: The problem is the ISAF regulations (23.1.8) require the events and equipment choices for the Youth Olympic Games to be reviewed following any change of Olympic Events or Equipment to ensure that there remains a clear, pathway from youth sailing to the Olympics. How can ISAF fulfill its own regulations when it makes these decisions out of order? With so many events to choose from, it does not seem logical to choose an event for the YOG that is no longer in the Olympics. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt * From D.D. McNicoll, Sydney, Australia: You ask why sailing keeps reinventing itself (in Scuttlebutt 3608), so boats that finish first can win the race? Anyone old enough to remember the quarter, half, three-quarter and one tonners of 40 years ago has the answer. By the time the designers had twisted the rating rules to the Nth degree, these boats were the ugliest, most difficult to sail and the slowest bloody vessels ever lumped on their hapless owners. Rating modern yachts might still be a nightmare but at least they sail faster than six knots. THEY CALL IT MARKETING The Scuttlebutt website allows marine companies to post their personnel, product and service updates. For free. As a bonus, each week the Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent updates. Are you in the marine industry? Post your updates in the Industry News section of the Forum. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION It's easier to stay out than it is to get out. SPONSORS THIS WEEK BIC Sport North America - Team One Newport - Atlantis WeatherGear Gowrie Group - Pure Yachting - APS - North Sails - Soft Deck Ullman Sails - The Pirates Lair - Harken Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
