|
SCUTTLEBUTT 1836 - May 11, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. KITE TRIM Too many times have I been racing on a boat where someone says "The clews aren't even- raise the pole." Well, yes, this is true - the clews should be even - if you are using the right sail in the right conditions at the optimum wind angle, which is not always the case. When I ask a lot of people how the break looks, more often than not they are not, they are not so sure what I am talking about; the usual response is "fine". The correct response is "even". What that person is not aware of is that I am asking him if the pole height is right. Here are my tips for getting the pole position right when trimming the spinnaker. Let's start out with a few truths and untruths. 1. The pole position largely affects sail shape - True. 2. The height of the pole is strictly determined by the height of the leeward clew - False. 3. The pole height controls the break of the leech, which helps induce the correct, designed sail shape when set right - True. Now, let's establish a few important design aspects. Many of you have heard the term "a profile like a beetle's back" when describing spinnaker shape - starting round at the top and getting straight and vertical as you go down (see photo above). In order to achieve this modern shape, your spinnaker, when folded in half and laid on the loft floor, is cut with a distinct "S" curve along the luffs (see below). Providing the correct pole height enables this curve to 'set' properly when being flown, thus giving us that desired shape. - Excerpt from a story by Dave Campaniello on the UK Sailmakers website, full story: www.uksailmakers.com/learningcenter/poleheight.html MAYBE - MAYBE NOT Tom Whidden, one of the world's top racing yacht tacticians, was elected to the America's Cup Hall of Fame in Bristol, R.I., last year. "This is probably a good time to give it up, " he told the Pictorial Gazette this week. But he won't close the door completely. If one of the teams participating in the next America's Cup races, scheduled for 2007 off the coast of Valencia, Spain, should run into trouble and need him, Whidden may reconsider. He hopes, however, that won't happen. Retirement from America's Cup racing, Whidden stresses, will not mean retirement from competitive sailing - or from his post as president and CEO of Milford-based North Marine Group, which manufactured the sails for all of the yachts that took part in the last America's Cup races. Whidden himself has been a key member as tactician, second in command, of eight America's Cup racing teams, all of them headed by veteran racing skipper Dennis Conner. Together, they made it to the finals five times, winning three of those times, beginning with the yacht Freedom in races sailed off the coast of Newport, R.I., in 1980. They sailed there again, aboard Liberty, in 1983, but lost to an Australian team that year, then went "down under" in 1987 with the first of several yachts named Stars & Stripes and won the cup back from the Aussies. The Conner-Whidden team, with the coveted cup, were welcomed back to America by thousands of ocean racing fans, including then President Ronald Reagan. They won a final time the next year. - Henry E. Josten, Pictorial Gazette, full story: http://tinyurl.com/7tb5k BITS OF ONION AND OIL AND GREASE Having been stuck on a broken down onion ship in the mid Pacific during Antigua Sailing Week Maximus, the 100ft Greg Elliott-designed supermaxi owned by Charles St Clair Brown and Bill Buckley finally turned up at the regatta the day after everyone had gone home! Covered in bits of onion and oil and grease from the stricken ship, the 20 or so Maximus crew - including the owners - spent most of the following day, early last week, scrubbing the decks in an attempt to make the 10-million dollar superyacht ready to take on the world. Not surprisingly, Brown and Buckley were itching to get out on the water with their new machine and a spin around Antigua was on the cards. But like all well-laid plans however, things didn't quite go as smoothly as the crew had hoped, and any chances they had of blasting off in the afternoon sun round the island diminished as the day wore on. The key problem the crew faced was reattaching the 3m carbonfibre prodder. According to Buckley, during her shipping ordeal the bolts, exposed to salt and heat, had welded themselves together and there was simply not enough time to carry out the job and sail round the island that day. - Sue Pelling, Yachting World. To read Ms. Pelling's story of the crew's prodder-less sail, www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20050410122033antiguaweek05.html TEAM NEW ENGLAND ROPES - UPCOMING EVENT LIST New England Ropes, the leading manufacturer and marketer of performance sailing lines, announces its upcoming 2005 regatta season. The company's commitment to the racing sailor is evident from their tireless product development efforts to their sponsorship of important racing events including: J/24 NA's, Long Beach RW, Block Island RW, Whidbey Island RW, Jimmy Fund Regatta, J/Fest, Etchells NA's, Laser World's and the USODA Midwest Championships. For more information on the company or these upcoming events, contact New England Ropes at 1-800-333-6679. Others Make Line. We Make Line Perform. http://www.neropes.com BEN IS COMPLETELY HAPPY Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton is miffed by suggestions that double Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie is unhappy with his role in the syndicate. Ainslie has chosen to forfeit his position as strategist on the race boat in favour of developing his skills as a helmsman on the B boat - a position he shares with New Zealander Kelvin Harrap. It is a move that seems to have surprised some sectors of the British media, who are now sceptical about whether Ainslie is happy at Team New Zealand. It has even been implied that he may now wish he had followed the same path as his good mate Iain Percy, who is the skipper and helmsman of the low-budget and less-fancied Italian syndicate +39. "The slant that the English media put on it is that Ben is somehow a victim. The fact is that it couldn't be more the opposite," Dalton said. "I have a good relationship with Ben, we talk pretty straight with each other. Ben is following the path that he wants to follow. He has been given an immense opportunity here to be paid by us to become a top-line match racer. "I note with interest the comment about Iain Percy skippering +39 and I use the analogy of Formula One, where it is best to be Minardi's driver or Pedro de La Rosa, who was cast into McLaren's A seat following an injury to their top driver Juan Pablo Montoya. "Where would you rather be? "That is the call Ben made when he joined here." "We are putting a huge investment in Ben in terms of him being on the circuit doing something like eight regattas this year with an Emirates Team New Zealand crew to enhance his ability as a match racer," Dalton said. "It would be ridiculous for us to go into the next Cup with no one that could take over if something happened to Dean. Ben is completely happy with all of this." - Excerpts from a story by Julie Ash in the NZ Herald. Full story: www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=4&ObjectID=10124867 PEPPER IS HAPPY TOO Sailor Hamish Pepper, dropped as tactician midway through Team New Zealand's failed America's Cup defense two years ago, says he is having more fun in his latest campaign. Pepper has joined Italian syndicate Mascalzone Latino, who will be among the challengers when the Auld Mug comes up for grabs again off Valencia in 2007. Pepper, a high-profile casualty during Team NZ's 5-0 whitewash by the Coutts-skippered Swiss entry Alinghi at the last America's Cup, described his new syndicate as "a really fun team to be a part of". "When a team is fun, you tend to get more out of the individuals, because they don't mind staying on the base until late," he said in an interview on Mascalzone Latino's website. "I think the atmosphere here is far and away more enjoyable than what I experienced with Team NZ." The series of regattas building up to 2007 continues at Valencia next month and Pepper said his syndicate were looking for improvements in a range of areas. "We are a younger campaign than some of the others," he said. "But I think that we can arrive in Valencia with reasonable boats and good clean crew work, and hopefully take some wins." - Excerpts from a story in the NZ Herald, full story: www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=4&ObjectID=10124776 DID YOU KNOW? - February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon. - If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction. - If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights. - It's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. - Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors. JUST IN TIME Raider RIBs has a perfect yacht club tender. This 22-foot Raider 665 is the ultimate tender for a yacht club, a sailing program, or a sail coach. The 665 has a center console, deep V hull with a 115 horsepower 4-stroke Yamaha engine, a galvanized trailer, towing post, and it even has an enclosed head. The Raider 665 is available for immediate delivery with special financing for a non-profit or yacht club junior program. Call for details at 1-877-7RAIDER, or check out the Raider 665 at our website. http://www.raiderboat.com NEWS BRIEFS * Olympic Gold medallists Henrik Blakskjær and Thomas Jacobsen will sail for the first ever German America's Cup challenge. They won Olympic gold crewing for Jesper Bank at 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Three years later, they were sailing with Bank again on the Swedish AC syndicate Victory Challenge. And once again, they will be on board with him for United Internet Team Germany skippered by Jesper Bank at the 32nd AC in Valencia, Spain in 2007. www.United-Internet-Team-Germany.de * The fourth annual women's Sailing Conference sponsored by BoatU.S. and organized by the National Women's Sailing Association (NWSA) will once again bring together women sailors of all abilities for a great learning and networking experience Saturday, June 4 at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA. The all-day series of women-only workshops includes on-the-water sessions on spinnakers, moorings, crew overboard tactics and an introduction to racing, plus land-based classes on navigation, diesel engines, jury-rigging at sea, first aid, heavy weather and gunk holing, to name a few. For information: www.BoatUS.com/women and click on "Training/Seminars * The Global Challenge fleet is averaging some eight knots as they make their way from Cape Town to Boston - which is now just under 5000 miles away. VAIO holds a thin five mile lead over SAIC La Jolla with PB Explorer two miles further back. - www.globalchallenge2004.com/en/default.asp * More than two hundred Olympic class boats are on Garda Trentino, Italy for a week of international sailing in the ISAF Grade 2 Expert Olympic Garda - Eurolymp. Sally Barkow's Yngling team appears to be the only North American in the event. They won the first two races in their six boat class. www.fragliavelariva.com/default.asp * 14 months after having pulverized the non-stop singlehanded westabout round the world record, Jean-Luc van den Heede on Adrien is to set out on a new attempt, this time to break the non-stop round Britain and Ireland record. The former math teacher and Vendee Globe skipper will start his attempt on Wednesday late afternoon/ early evening. VDH and top French meteorologist/ router Pierre Lasner of Météomer believe this will be the optimum time to set out on the record. - The Daily Sail subscription website, www.thedailysail.com * With a winning bid of $30,000 on behalf of his company LNR Property, David Team has won the right to skipper the Newport Sea Base's Reichel/ Pugh 78 Scout Spirit in the inaugural First Team Real Estate Invitational Regatta May 19-22. The event's chief beneficiary, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, will receive a $25,000 share and the Newport Sea Base the other $5,000. Newport Harbor and Balboa Yacht Clubs are managing the event, which will feature a lineup of 20 boats from 48 to 90 feet unique to Southern California. CHEYENNE FOR SALE Record-breaking catamaran for sale. Dismasted March 2005, now at Belgrano Naval Base, Argentina. Lost mast, mainsail, solent, staysail, plus broken compression tube. Successfully compete again with new updated rig, or resell for profit. Appraised $3.5 million in December 2004. Priced as is at $650,000. Contact owner rep: mailto:brspaeth@aol.com or 1-312-786-5057. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Andrew Hurst, editor Seahorse magazine: Thanks for lighting up Issue 1835 with the excerpt from Dave Perry's great book. Winning in One Designs is the best book I have ever read about sailboat racing; period. It is as relevant today as when it was first written 'quite' a few years back (sorry Dave!). As the saying goes, if you only buy one book then this is the one. And if you buy a second then grab the original Paul Elvstrøm tome; that will teach you all you ever need to know about how to behave ashore and afloat. That's it - you don't need anything else, who says sailing is expensive. * From Dave Ruiter: Your story about the sailors who left their foundering boat off the coast of Virginia in favor of a life raft brought to mind a maxim I took away from a US Sailing safety-at-sea seminar. It goes "never get into a life raft unless your have to step UP to do so." Fortunately, I have not had occasion to apply it to any situation I have been in, but the tragic story reminded me of how important it is for all of us who go forth on the sea in small boats to keep this adage someplace in our brains where it is handy for ready reference in a crisis. * From Graham Kelly: In response to the plug in S'butt 1834, I registered and reviewed the UK Rule Quiz, which is now at #19. The setup for Quiz #19 is "a race in the America's Cup." The animated sequence shows two boats approaching a weather mark, going through various convolutions, and colliding as they round the mark to port. The answer correctly identifies the rule in issue (18.3), but then suggests that the burdened vessel do a two-turn penalty. First, most seasoned America's Cup watchers will recall that in the AC and other races under the match racing rules, marks are left to starboard. Second, the penalty under the Match Racing Rules (Appendix C) is a one-turn penalty.So the sophomore from NY Maritime might have done fine by relying on the UK Sails Rules quiz as the basis for his position in a protest, but most of us would probably do well to carefully review "the rules" before going to "the room." * From Doug Paine, Commodore, International Naples Sabot Association: Over 95% of the junior sailors in the country will never go overseas for a regatta or win a national championship in any class. If international racing success is tool by which we measure our juniors, then the best thing we can do is to eliminate the 2/3 of the kids that do not have the talent and drive to be at the top. Then we can then concentrate on the few who might vicariously make us feel good with their victories. There exists a culture of involvement, support, and tradition in Southern California with respect to the Sabot that produces a life long love of sailing. The proof of this is the very active Senior Sabot fleet, some of whom are in their 80's. Many have been sailing Sabots for 40 or more years. Their Sabots are passed from generation to generation as heirlooms and parents spend hours with their kids working on and refining the boats they sailed, or sailed against, as kids. The two most fertile regions in the world for top sailors are Southern California and New Zealand. Juniors in each area sail their prams in small, local fleets. Small fleets promote life long friendships and also allow more kids to be winners. These kids develop an enduring love of sailing because they have good friends who sail, parents who are involved, a sense of tradition, and a feeling of success. Sailing then continues to enrich their lives as they age. Some even win championships. * From Marc Hollerbach: I must agree with Ken Voss. Having a 13 year old currently in the Opti circuit, I have a pretty good idea about what this costs. Frankly, a much higher number is attached to my own comforts like nice hotels, dinners, RIB for watching the little darling, etc. than to his coach's fees. And I really appreciate having a dedicated professional working with him rather than a cantankerous, old dad (with all of that emotional baggage). There is a cadre of coaches in the program who have chosen this as a career and devote considerable time to developing their own skills and credentials, up to and including a Masters in child psych. We do them a disservice to minimize their value. What is their value? Since coming under the wing of a professional coach about a year ago, our son's grades have risen dramatically, his teachers compliment him on his organization and work ethic, he runs 3 miles in under 30 minutes and can do 300 situps without resting. He sails in 30 knots or 34 degrees and snow without whining and comes off the water feeling like he has tested himself against the elements and won. What is their value? Priceless! * From Jerry Moulton (re the results of the Opti Team Trials): None of the scoring programs that I have used in any regatta have a category that gives the result (girl). What the heck are they thinking of? I thought we were beyond this. * From Barry Carroll (edited to our 250-word limit): I am sorry that Kris had an unpleasant experience measuring his J130. With a rating of about 24 PHRF, he will need an endorsed certificate for some events. The certificate fee will be about $256 (including endorsement fee), not $675. Perhaps there was an error in converting from meters and pounds sterling in Kris' estimate. Most of the information necessary for the IRC certificate is on file with IRC, and his boat should just need sails measured and overhangs taken to get a certificate. The additional cost will vary with his location and the measurer he uses, but it is very reasonable for a "Measurement rule". The point is not whether or not Kris' information might have been flawed, the point is that he had such an unpleasant experience. We need to change that for all sailors, not just Kris. US IRC in cooperation with US Sailing has trained over 80 certified IRC measurers throughout the US, with more on the way. They are there not just to measure boats, but to be a local resource for IRC information. They will answer questions and help guide individual boat owners through the measurement process. Every measurer I have talked to understands that the ultimate success of this or any rule is making it accessible, cost effective, fair, and fun. They aren't there to run up the costs. Their primary goal is to get the appropriate rating at the lowest possible cost to the owner. * From Tony Bridgewater (Re: Peter Huston's comments in 'Butt 1835): The goal of medals in both Winter and Summer Olympics has already been achieved, by Clara Hughes of Canada - bronze in speed skating in 2002 at Salt Lake City, and double bronze for cycling in 1996 in Atlanta. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The more crap you put up with, the more crap you are going to get. |
