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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 814 - May 14, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
AMERICA'S CUP Staying with the team's distinctive presentation style, SAP will be featured alongside Steinlager, Telecom, Lotto and Toyota; sharing sponsorship signage on the hull and mainsail of Team New Zealand's black boats. However, for the first time in Team New Zealand's history a single sponsor will feature on all of it's racing spinnakers. The SAP logo will be displayed exclusively on the Team New Zealand spinnakers during all of the down wind legs of the 31st America's Cup Match. The partnership with Team New Zealand is the latest in a series of sports marketing sponsorship projects undertaken by SAP. The world's third largest software company serves as the title sponsor of the SAP United States Grand Prix, held each year at the Indianapolis Motorspeedway in September - the only US visit by the Formula One series each year. They are also a corporate partner of the McLaren Formula One team and a co-title sponsor of the Deutsche Bank - SAP Open, the European championship of the golf professionals held in Germany each May. - Murray Taylor
WORRELL 1000 - By Zack Leonard The start went off in a 10 knot easterly. The fleet pushed off the beach and sheeted in to an upwind course. The boats fell into line in an orderly fashion with yesterday's winners jumping out to an early lead with their upwind starting position. Alexander's and Castrol in the 1st and 2nd starting positions were the first boats to tack to starboard and parallel the beach. The rest of the fleet kept sailing away from the beach on port for about a mile. The forecast calls for the wind to diminish and shift back to the North. Most of the teams plan to stay close to shore in case the wind shifts to the North. Reigh North of Dinghy Shop had other ideas. "The pressure map shows better wind off-shore," said North, "we may head out a bit for the breeze." OVERALL STANDING: 1. Alexander's on the Bay, 2. Guidant, 03:35:39 (behind leader) 3. Dinghy Shop, 04:24:25 (bl) 4. Fully Involved, 05:01:28 (bl) 5. Tybee Island, 05:22:32. - www.worrell1000.com
A DIFFERENT ASPECT ON SAILCLOTH?
BT GLOBAL CHALLENGE As the fleet awaited the start gun to fire, the fickle breeze had picked up offering a north-westerly gusting up to 15 knots. Hundreds of spectator boats, jet-skis and kayaks crowded the start corridor to see Save the Children make a well-timed start to cross the line first. Close behind in a chasing pack were Olympic Group, TeamSpirIT and LG FLATRON with Quadstone making ground after a flying start. At the back of the fleet Norwich Union and Isle of Man made a slower start. But, with 5,820-miles of racing, the good start would represent little more than a deserved morale boost to crews before clever tactics dictate where teams will cross The Doldrums en-route to France. Quadstone was leading a tight pack of yachts which sailed north past Robben Island before tacking west into the Atlantic Ocean. As the sun sank towards the horizon, the wind continued to shift and fade. The yachts doused their staysails and traded yankees for genoas. The Challenge teams are expected to be at sea for a month, before arriving in La Rochelle mid-June. Event website: www.btchallenge.com
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Larry Pierce (edited to our 250-word limit): Is the celestial navigation requirement really a safety issue or is it a bit of technology envy? C-Nav is about as relevant as an RDF. It is difficult to learn and grasp conceptually and is terribly inaccurate compared to GPS. It is far more likely that there will be nothing visible to take a sight than for all of the satellites to stop transmitting. As a competitor in the Bermuda 1-2, I was required to learn C-Nav and it was one of the greatest hurdles to being in compliance. Once learned it was very rewarding and satisfying to know... and pretty darned useless. My best sight put me 3 miles from my actual position and lots of time to get it. GPS has never failed me in 9 years and for the price of an inaccurate plastic sextant I have two spare GPS units that put me 50 feet from actual position in seconds. This year's Bermuda 1-2 brought the same lively discussion on whether C-Nav should be required. My initial reaction was yes, of course it should be require for safety and backup. After much discussion it became clear to me that the motivation for requirement was so that new competitors should have to overcome the same hurdles I did. It really has nothing to do with safety or navigation. Is tradition used as an excuse for the older generation to stick it to the younger? Let's check ourselves to see what our real motivations are for this requirement. * From John Arndt: In response to the letter from George Butler in your #809 - I'd agree with other responses, it's terrific to require celestial navigation in the Transpac. Yes, we're in an age when GPS is cheaper and more accurate than a sextant. However, you should also consider it's cheaper and easier to get to Hawaii by jet so why would you take a sailboat? * George Bailey: I personally learned a lot from the exchanges over the membership requirement and over the reasons for drug testing. I cannot help but think that the interest shown in the membership requirement influenced the modification in the rule. Disagreement is the life-blood of democracy! - * From Jim Cohen: After 40 plus years of sailing, my guess is that most Butheads have their sailing roots firmly planted in the competitive recreational enjoyment garden. I would welcome a reduction in the negative fertilizer. Thanks for addressing the issue, and thanks for Scuttlebutt * From Giles Anderson: As a 'Butt reader since somewhere around Issue 100 I too have noticed the change in tone and in the last few weeks have been skipping the letter section entirely. Last weekend when I was sailing Etchells in Cowes in 25 knots of breeze and glorious sunshine (it does happen occasionally in the UK) all the whining that has been in 'Butt for the last few weeks was the last thing on my mind. Instead I remembered why this is such a great sport - everything from the competitive sailing to the camaraderie in the Pier View afterwards. And a huge amount of that enjoyment is due to the race committee (who are not perfect but get the job done) and the rules framework from ISAF (who, like your mother, you may not always agree with but is there trying to help you as best as possible) and all the other countless people and organisations who made it such a great day for me and the other twenty-five boatloads of sailors out there having an awesome time. So here's to all those who make sailing the best way to enjoy the weekend (and the rest of the week if you can manage it). * From Seth A. Radow: Great decision!!! The negative attacks were becoming punishing to read. For those that are unwilling to place themselves in the "battlefield" of our sport and want only to write about it... S'butt should not be their venue. Your readers are, in part, some of the best and brightest in our sport. We need their intelligence, experience and wisdom to continue to make the sport grow. I doubt that they will remain to read some of the drivel that is being written. They have better things to do with their time. I recall a speed from Teddy Roosevelt about the "battlefield". If those that spend so much time bashing other used that energy to improve the sport we would all be better for it. Thanks for bring the 'butt back to it's roots! * From Randy Smith: Great news about the "negativity letters". I must confess, I have been fast forwarding through Scuttlebutt a lot lately. I hate negativity as well, so I certainly don't want to waste my time reading about it. Scuttlebutt has changed the yacht racing community. Great to see it is going back to its "roots". * From Art LeVasseur: The reason I started to read Scuttlebutt was because it seemed to be a forum for open and honest debate about matters related to sailboat racing. I have no problem with you excluding items that amount to personal attacks, but if you are going to limit opinions to those that are "positive" you have eliminated any real debate and devalued the newsletter. If the emperor has no clothes we should be able to point that out. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENTS: I've now received more than 100 e-mails on this subject. Obviously, I can't print them all - although I have published every letter that thought I'd made a mistake. With these letters, I'm killing this thread, because from this point forward it's just rhetoric - my decision will not change. But that doesn't mean that 'if the emperor has no clothes' we have to look the other way. While thoughtless bashing and personal attacks are history as far as this publication is concerned, constructive criticism will always have a place in 'Butt. But remember, the operative word is constructive. * From Ken Guyer: The America's Cup was created as an event to pit the design and sailing talent of one nation Vs another. While the "friendly competition between nations" is often quoted, it doesn't totally represent the stated purpose behind the creation of the event. In my mind it seems the original deed is very simplistic in its goal, encourage innovation in yacht design and then prove that design through competition. Since nothing remains the same forever, we need to allow some room for adaptation. One way is to keep the core of a challenge in adherence to the original purpose of the Cup. Design, and management of the syndicate should remain based in national origin. The skipper and afterguard should remain a nationality issue. In a perfect world, the entire operation would be national, but that can cause some countries not to participate due to a lack of not only qualified, but available talent. And, it IS good to see some of the more talented crewmembers finally getting some financial reward. Total abandonment of the nationality aspect of the Cup basically forgoes the history and tradition of the event. That is going too far. If change is to be made, it needs to be done very carefully and in a well thought out plan which takes into consideration the original purpose for creating the America's Cup competition. * From Richard Hazelton: The America's Cup was never a "friendly competition" and the only nationality that mattered was the owner's. I agree let's make a NEW rule that makes it either national or not and move on. * Richard Collins (re the dredging issue): There is a Harbor Maintenance Tax placed on the value of all imports brought into the U.S. by vessel (along with a myriad of other taxes, duties and fees) and collected by U.S. Customs. This same tax was also placed on our U.S. exports but was this portion found unconstitutional and is now being slowly refunded. However, the import tax has been collected for 10-15 years and sits in a fund waiting for the political process to dole it out. Prior to that government attempt to take and reallocate our money for us, the funds used to come out of general revenues collected by the Treasury. With such a surplus in both coffers, there would appear to be no excuse why harbors aren't being dredged.
NEWS BRIEFS * This summer the Alinghi (Swiss challenge) team are also running a series of match racing events across Switzerland. Local yacht clubs can run their own championship in eight metres or the local Surprise class and the winner gets to race against a boat crewed by members of the America's Cup team. In the unfortunate situation that the local team beats Russell Coutts or Jochen Schueman then tactician Brad Butterworth says they may be in danger of getting signed up. "We're trying to find some Swiss sailors. There's five or six already on the team and we probably need another four or five. There's always guys getting broken." - James Boyd, madforsailing website, www.madforsailing.com/SAIL/ * Through its partnership with US Sailing, West Marine will continue its presenting sponsorship of the USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival events, which will take place in various states throughout the country May through December 2001, as well as the USA Junior Olympic National Sailing Championship.
HALL SPARS & RIGGING IS HIRING
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS
QUOTE / UNQUOTE
PLAYSTATION Fossett told his crew "Our hopes have vanished for a Tuesday 15 May departure from Miami. The model forecasts have changed radically giving North and North East winds over much of the course instead of the South West shown yesterday. We will remain testing out of West Palm for the next few days and hope to receive an acceptable forecast for next week." - www.fossettchallenge.com
A-CAT NORTH AMERICANS FINAL STADINGS: 1) Pete Melvin, 9; 2) Charlie Ogletree, 31; 3) Goran Marstrom, SWE, 31; 4) Egidio Babbi, ITA, 40; 4) Pease Glaser, 42; 5) Skip Elliot, 43 Full results: www.geocities.com/naaca/2001nas.html
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS |
