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SCUTTLEBUTT 2613 – June 9, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. PROPOSED US SAILING PRESCRIPTION TO RULE 46 by Jim Capron, US SAILING President Over the last two months, the US SAILING President and Board of Directors have received many comments and questions from sailors and volunteers all over the country. I have replied to many directly, but I also promised to collate the questions into a Q&A on the US SAILING website. Here is the link to the website that provides answers to those questions. Most of the questions concern the proposed US SAILING Prescription to rule 46 (i.e., Mandatory Membership), but there are also questions about US SAILING in general. This page also contains the draft wording of the proposed new rule, as of May 23, 2008. This draft WILL change in the coming weeks, and we will update the web page accordingly. -- http://www2.ussailing.org/Universal_Membership___Questions_and_Answers.htm Please also see the following link to answer the often asked question "what does US SAILING do for me and the sport of sailing?" For all those who said that US SAILING does not add enough value for you (or sailors in general), I would appreciate comments on what we can add to the list in this second link to provide that value. -- http://www2.ussailing.org/What_US_SAILING_Does.htm * The Lake Michigan Sail Racing Federation (LMSRF), one of 36 regional sailing associations in the United States, is the latest to denounce the US SAILING Mandatory Membership proposal. A recent poll of its members finds that 70% of the respondents believe the proposal will decrease participation at their club, and 85% of the respondents do no support then current proposal. -- http://www.lmsrf.org WON AND DONE FOR ELLISON-LED TP52 TEAM Marseille, France (June 7, 2008) I came, I saw, I conquered - then I left. USA-17, the American boat owned by Larry Ellison and skippered by three times America’s Cup winner Russell Coutts (NZL), the current MedCup Circuit champion skipper, won on her first and only outing planned for the 2008 series. The brand new all white TP52 missed the opening regatta of the season three weeks ago in Alicante and will take no further part in the six regatta international Audi MedCup Circuit as the BMW Oracle race crew focus on their main goal, winning the 33rd America’s Cup. The boat is now reported to be for sale to the highest bidder. The City of Marseille Trophy Regatta came to a premature end on Saturday afternoon with the famous Mistral wind still blowing strong. At more than 28 knots on the Rade Sud race area, racing was abandoned without anyone even leaving the Vieux Port of Marseille, and USA-17, the overnight leaders, ended their one and only regatta Audi MedCup Circuit with a win. Just behind them was the Swedish boat Artemis with BMW Oracle Racing team-mates on the identical Reichel/Pugh-designed hull. Artemis was six points adrift of the lead after eight races including one 40-miles coastal race. -- Read on: http://2008.medcup.org/news/?id=214 Final Results (top 10 of 14) 1. USA-17 (6, 5, 1, 1, 3*, 3, 2, 4, 1 - 26) 2. Artemis, SWE (12, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 2, 5 - 32) 3. Bribón, ESP (4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 4, 5, 4.2*, 3 - 38.2) 4. Platoon by Team Germany, GER (7, 9, 5, 3, 6, 1, 1, 5, 4 - 41) 5. Quantum Racing, USA (3, 6, 12, 6, 1, 11, 8, 1, 2 - 46) 6. Matador, ARG (2, 2, 7, 7, 12, 4*, 4*, 6*, 6* - 50) 7. CxG Caixa Galicia, ESP (9, 11, 6, 4, 2, 6.4*, 6.4*, 6.4*, 6.4* - 57.6) 8. El Desafío, ESP (11, 10, 9, 8, 8, 5, 4, 6, 9 - 70) 9. Audi by Q8, ITA (8, 7, 8, 13, 9, 6, 7, 9, 6 - 73) 10. Cristabella, GBR (15, 3, 13, 12, 7, 7, 8, 3, 10 - 78) * - Redress Given Complete results: http://2008.medcup.org/results/venue.php?trophy=2 >> Following the first two Audi MedCup Circuit events, the new leader is Jose Cusi’s Bribón, steered by Dean Barker (NZL) with double Olympic medallist Ross MacDonald (CAN) on tactics, who holds a seven point lead over the 2007 circuit champion Torbjorn Tornqvist, with tactician John Kostecki onboard Artemis. Thanks to photos from Carlo Borlenghi, Thierry Martinez, and Claire Matches: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0607/ SR-91 IS ALL WRAPPED UP In brand spanking new Luxury Performance frame designs and colors from Kaenon Polarized, for both men and women. Lewi, Burny and Kabin for men. Leila, Zaza and Baton for women. And the latest lightweight metal to join the family, the Spindle Series. Every frame features Kaenon’s patented and proprietary SR-91 polarized lens - the safest, sharpest, breeze reading tool in the business. And each frame is adaptable with SR-91 prescription lenses - Single Vision or Freestyle Progressive. Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. View the new 2008 Collection and locate an authorized retailer nearest you at http://www.kaenon.com ITALIAN DOMINATION AT MELGES 24 WOLRDS Porto Cervo, Italy (June 6, 2008) - The final day of racing at the Volvo Melges 24 World Championship brought high drama and great celebration as the Italian Uka Uka Racing team claimed victory over the 114 strong, 16 nation fleet in one of the most hotly contested events in the sailing calendar. Lorzeno Bressani, whose six world championships include a J24 title and is a veteran of world class campaigns in Mumm 30, Farr 40 and many other classes, teamed up with owner and Mumm 30 World Champion Lorenzo Santini and trimmer and team manager Federico Michetti, already a Melges 24 European Champion in his own right, last year specifically to challenge for this event. Adding America’s Cup veteran, Italian Olympic 49er and highly experienced Melges 24 sailor Francesco Bruni as tactician and Women’s World and UFO22 European Champion Francesca Prina as bow completed this formidable team. In the Volvo Melges 24 Corinthian World Championship, for the all amateur crews, competition was equally fierce with Oyvind Peder Jahre, helming NOR554 Terra Eindomsmeglng and crewed by owner Stian Briseid, Sivert Denneche, Marius Falch Orvin and Taja Zaikova, ultimately taking the title by 14 points from reigning Melges 24 Corinthian North American Champion Bruce Ayres of Newport Beach, CA, sailing USA637 Monsoon. Looking ahead, the 2008 Melges 24 North American Championship (Oct 26-Nov 2) and the 2009 Melges 24 World Championship (Oct 27-Nov 7) will be hosted by the Eastport Yacht Club, Annapolis, Maryland, USA. Final report: http://www.melges24.com/displayarticles.asp?year=2008&id=1411 Full results: http://www.melges24worlds2008.com/results08/m_24_w.htm Paul Todd photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0607a/ REFLOATING A MARBLEHEAD ICON In Issue 2514 it was reported that after 50 plus years of operation, Maddie's in Marblehead, MA closed their doors on January 18, 2008. Famous for providing a hub for the local yachties (and for their super-sized cocktails), the demise of the establishment was era-ending stuff. However, as is now being reported in The Salem News, Maddies will be reopening June 16th under new ownership. Read on: The way Loretta Lang describes it, it sounds like love at first sight. The daughter of a restaurateur, sister of two brothers who both operate their own bars, she had been working in Boston as an accountant in the bar business when she decided to buy a place of her own. But this establishment had to be perfect. "My father looked for (a place for) me in Michigan," she said. She'd grown up in Michigan, but since coming to Boston nine years ago she had fallen in love with this area and wanted to stay. Thus, the search went on for six years until a former boss gave her a tip about a bar called Maddie's Sail Loft which had come on the block in Marblehead. -- More: http://www.salemnews.com/archivesearch/local_story_154203006.html DISASTER IN GULF OF MEXICO RACE (June 8, 2008) The U.S. Coast Guard was searching Saturday for six regatta competitors in the Gulf of Mexico after the boat they were sailing was found capsized. The emergency contact person for the Cynthia Woods, a Cape Fear 38R, called the Coast Guard after communication with the boat was lost around midnight Friday and the boat missed an 8 a.m. radio check, authorities said. The boat was competing in the 40th annual Regata de Amigos. The race, which covers 610 nautical miles from Galveston to Veracruz, Mexico, started Friday and continues into next week. Coast Guard officials said the keel of the overturned vessel was ripped off, indicating the sailboat may have hit something in the water, according to the school. The boat went missing 11 miles south of Matagorda, which is about 110 miles down the coast from Galveston. -- Full story: http://abe5.com/4u0 * At approximately 2:00 a.m., Sunday, June 08, 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard located five of the six missing crew members of the Cynthia Woods sailboat from Texas A&M University at Galveston. Those five are students Joe Savana, Steven Guy, Ross Busby, and Travis Wright and safety officer Steven Conway. At this time, the U.S. Coast Guard is continuing to search for the sixth member of the Cynthia Woods crew, Roger Stone, the vessel’s second safety officer. After being taking to University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, the rescued crew had no apparent major health problems, though they were dehydrated and hypothermia had set in and they were found. -- http://www.veracruzregatta.com * The U.S. Coast Guard continued Sunday morning to search for Webster resident Roger Stone, 53, believed to have been below deck on the Cynthia Woods when its keel snapped and the 38-foot sailboat capsized in seconds. Stone’s five other crewmates clung to four life vests for 26 hours until rescue crews in a helicopter spotted signals from their flashlight about 1 a.m. today about 23 miles south of Freeport. The crewmates were about five miles from the sailboat, which has sunk. The Cynthia Woods is named for the wife of island native, billionaire and philanthropist George Mitchell’s wife. Mitchell, a graduate and longtime supporter of the Texas A&M University system, donated the Cynthia Woods and another sailboat, the George Phydias, to the island campus in 2006. -- http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=0f3111888cf320cc STEP UP YOUR GAME WITH TEAM MCLUBE’S NEW HULLKOTE We all know that preparation is the key to success in our sport. Team McLube’s new citrus-based Hullkote Speed Polish is designed specifically to help you better prepare. Hullkote applies in half the time and effort it takes for older petroleum based polishes. Just wipe on and wipe away excess. No buffing or heavy polishing required. Hullkote is eco-friendly, safe and easy to apply, seals all surfaces completely and leaves a very fast high-gloss protective coating. New Team McLube Hullkote Speed Polish is now available coast to coast everywhere McLube and Harken products are sold. http://www.harken.com/dealers/dealers.php SAILING SHORTS * The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association announced their year-end awards, wherein 53 skippers and crews were recognized for achieving either All-American or Honorable Mention status. Among the top award winners was Chris Behm '08, Georgetown, earning the Everett B. Morris Trophy (Sailor of the Year); Kaitlin Storck '08, Tufts University, for winning the Quantum Women's Sailor of the Year; Paul Kleinschrodt '08, University of South Alabama, honored with the Robert H. Hobbs Trophy (Sportsman of the Year); and Boston College for the Leonard M. Fowle Trophy (Team of the Year). The school with the most recognized sailors was St. Mary's College with nine honorees. -- http://www.collegesailing.org/news/2008allamerica.asp * The huge Antonov 124 touched down safely at Alicante’s international airport last week, carrying the hopes of the Spanish bid to win the Volvo Ocean Race for the first time. After a three-day odyssey from New Zealand, one of the world’s largest planes, with its very special cargo, the Farr-designed hull of Telefonica Black emerged from its Antonov cocoon to be carefully lifted on to a truck for the nine km journey to the Telefonica base at the harbour in Alicante, host for the start of the 2008-09 race on 4 October. -- Images: http://images.volvooceanrace.org/asset-bank/action/viewHome * The 2nd annual U.S. Kiteboard Racing Championship will be held at Crissy Field in San Francisco, California from Tuesday, June 10 through Sunday, June 15, 2008. The St. Francis Yacht Club will be the organizing authority for the free family-friendly event. -- Details: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0606a * The World Sailing Speed Record Council announced the ratification of a new outright world record from Taipei to Hong Kong by skipper Lionel Lemonchois (FRA) on the full crewed maxi catamaran Gitana 13. Traveling the distance of 465 nm on May 30-31, 2008, the team covered the distance in 24 hours 45 minutes 59 seconds for an average speed of 18.8 kts. The previous record, which will remain as the Monohull record was "Johan II" Philippe Grelon, FRA, Dec 06, 2d 15h 40m 42s. -- http://www.sailspeedrecords.com * Split, Croatia -The 2008 Star Eastern European Championships last week was a final battle of the Titans, as current and former world champions dueled amid the thirty-six competitors. Likely to be one of the final events leading into the 2008 Summer Olympics, it was Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) that won a close event over Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) in second and Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL) in third. -- Event reports: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_346.shtml CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar EIGHT BELLS Helen C. Johnstone, 47, a Scuttlebutt contributor and an outgoing, caring and much loved member of the J Boats sailing family from Newport RI, died during an outing on the Potomac River the morning of June 4, 2008 in Washington DC where she resided. Helen was born in Cali, Colombia on September 7, 1960 and was a graduate of Choate and URI. She served as instructor at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School and J World. Sailing accomplishments included 1st in the 1976 Interscholastics, 3rd in 470s at the 1975 US Youth Champs and a 6th in the 1985 International Women's Keelboat Championships. In 2007, she was a key member of the winning J/105 in the Newport Regatta and on her dad's J/100 in winning the Maine Retired Skipper's Race. "Heli" will be greatly missed by her friends and family which include parents, the Rev. Mary and Bob Johnstone; brothers Stuart, Drake and Peter; plus 4 Opti and 29er sailing nephews and niece, Nick, India, Hunter & Ford of whom she was very fond. A memorial service is scheduled for Trinity Church, Newport RI at 2 PM, Monday, June 16, 2008. FATHER'S DAY SALE A framed photograph from the van der Wal Gallery will make a great Father’s Day gift this year. Get your dad the picture he has always wanted. Our Father’s Day Sale offering 10% off runs through June 15th and includes everything in the gallery! Stop by our Newport Gallery or shop online: http://www.vanderwal.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Steve Pyatt: Are you sure about the first answer to your starting rule quiz? I think the answer to part B is "depends" (whether flag 'I' was displayed or not). The rule (29.1) says "...on the course side of the starting line or she must comply with rule 30.1, the race committee shall promptly display flag X" and as 30.1 applies from 1 minute before the start it can be either! * From John Fox Melbourne Yacht Club: Unfortunately, the answer given to question 1 of your rules quiz is not correct if the race is starting under the I flag. The rule 29.1 includes the phrase, "or when she must comply with rule 30.1 the race committee shall promptly display flag X with one sound." The X flag should be displayed if a boat is on the course side of the extensions on an I-flag start. At least that's what we were taught at US Sailing's advanced race management seminar. I do personally agree that a more simple set of rules would be better. How about eliminating both the I flag and the black flag? With a big fleet and a long line, the I flag is counterproductive as it discourages the fleet from spreading out along the entire line. The black flag is unfair to competitors and often windward boats will not respond to hails from leeward boats. A 720 keeps you in the race and a luff to keep clear gets you thrown out. Not a good situation. The Z-flag is a good deterrent if you can keep the fleet aware of where the line is and is an equal penalty regardless of where on the line you start. It also keeps people racing. I think that's important when people are taking their vacation time and spending a good deal of money to attend a big regatta. At the Laser Masters Midwinter's East, with 66 boats on a 900+ foot line, we used a 3 boat starting system with signals and horns coming from a moving boat to windward of the line center. We used a mid-line guide ball and also used the V-flag to signal that a boat was over the line in the two minutes before the starting gun. Competitors knew where the line was and could always see the flags. We only had 2 general recalls in the entire series in spite of very shifty winds. We went to the Z-flag after the general recalls and never flew the I or Black flags. * From Eric Gonzalez: (re, Butch Ulmer's response in #2612 to rule 18 change story in #2610) The fact that racing sailors don't often know the most current rules is as much their fault (the individual sailors) as it is the national authorities'. More effort should be put forth in disseminating changes to the rules immediately as these come out every four years. This can be done, for starters, with a more aggressive campaign of seminars. This should perhaps be the most important task of every national authority, the same way education should be for any government. Extending the time between rules changes to accommodate sailor's laziness or national authorities' deficiencies is the wrong approach and undermines the work for simplifying the rules. This suggestion is simply appalling. Ultimately, sailors need to take responsibility and find what works best for them to get up to date on the rules quickly. The resources are out there if you take the time to look. It just does not take 6 to 8 years for this. * From Paul Hewitt: (re, story in #2611) With regard to the sinking of Making Waves, Jim Praley's Beneteau 40.7, which sank quickly off the Hamptons after the rudder shaft broke cleanly off - In the linked article Jim said that a lesson learned was that he would think of ways to block the rudder pipe if it were to happen again. I attended this year's Safety at Sea seminar at Newport, given by US Sailing, and this potential catastrophe was specifically addressed. Those miniature sized toy nerf footballs work well for this task. You can stuff them down a shaft and they will compress and effectively seal a pipe that is gushing water. Keep a couple on your boat. * From George Sechrist: (re, photo of cartopped Yngling) What’s up with this very fuel inefficient rig? I’m searching my mind for a reason why someone would cartop a boat and trailer, with the inherent loss of fuel economy, versus trailing it. Please enlighten us as to the reasoning behind this setup. -- Photo: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0606 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: The Yngling belonged to Team Seven, which will be representing the US at the Summer Olympics. We emailed team member Carrie Howe, who explained the reason for the car topping. “Thankfully, Rick Peters was able to take our Yngling cross country at such short notice,” said Carrie. “He organized to pull a Star behind as well as the Yngling on top to split the cost between two teams. Both boats needed the identical transport from Miami to LA. This also gave him time to work on our trailer bearings and axle to get it ready for the flight and trucking on ground from Beijing to Qingdao. Two boats at once, splitting the gas and excellent services . . . pretty good!! Thanks Rick, Air China, Schenker, US SAILING . . . the boat made it to Yinhai Yacht Club in Qingdao on time!” CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Every morning is the dawn of a new error. Special thanks to Kaenon Polarized, Team McLube, and Onne van der Wal Gallery. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
