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SCUTTLEBUTT 3122 - Monday, June 28, 2010
Scuttlebutt 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.
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Today's sponsors: Doyle Sails and Webb Institute.
FORMATS AND FOULS
By Mark Chisnell, yachting journalist
So, the America's Cup has begun a new era in the stewardship of Larry
Ellison, Russell Coutts and BMW Oracle. And the hope for those involved in
professional sailboat racing is for a brave new world of media friendly
sport - in which television will play an integral part.
For the dedicated fan, the cognoscenti, this may well mean wall-to-wall
television coverage, every minute of every race, regardless of its
importance or relevance. But personally, I think we need to look at making
the majority of the racing we put on tv a little bit more special.
There's lots that could be done to improve the coverage - Formula 1's model
of a statistical, onboard-audio-and-camera-fest is the obvious one, but I
think we need to look at something more fundamental first.
The thought comes out of the latest Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta in
Sardinia. The point was raised in a recent Scuttlebutt that there was just
too much of it - that two weeks racing, with the days sometimes extending
from 10 in the morning to late in the evening was just too much. I wouldn't
disagree, but I think that the more important conclusion is that too little
of the racing was meaningful.
The second biggest sporting event on the planet is underway in South Africa,
FIFA's World Cup. It starts with a group stage, where the 32 teams are split
into groups of four - everyone plays everyone else, before the top two in
each group go forward, and the bottom two go home. It's generally reckoned
that you need to win one and draw one of those first three games to proceed
to the last sixteen - at which point the competition changes to a
win-or-go-home format.
The consequence is that from the sixth or seventh day of a month long,
once-every-four-years competition, spectators are seeing do-or-die games.
And that's what most spectators want - sport that counts. In contrast, how
long was it before some must-win action developed in La Maddelena? It was
well into the second week. -- Read on:
http://markchisnell.blogspot.com/2010/06/formats-and-fouls.html
SPOTLIGHT ON AUSSIES AS GILMOUR WINS STAGE 4 IN PORTIMAO
Portimao, Portugal (June 27, 2010) - Finals day for Stage 4 of the ISAF
World Match Racing Tour produced an all Australian final with Torvar Mirsky
(AUS) Mirsky Racing Team yet again taking on the icon of match racing, Peter
Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing.
The 'Perth Prodigy', 24 year old Mirsky, did not defend his Portugal Match
Cup title from last year as the Master, Gilmour, taught his apprentice a few
new lessons and stepped into the spotlight as the 2010 Portimão Portugal
Match Cup Champion. A glowing Gilmour was almost lost for words, "It was all
about the starts out there, we managed to win the last two starts giving us
a good lead on both finals races".
The Semi Finals greeted eager teams with an oscillating 8-10 knot wind,
conditions suited Mirsky who slam dunked Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar
3-0, and Gilmour grasped the glory from current ISAF Match Racing World
Champion, Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, also gliding through
on 3-0. Minoprio then went on to take 3rd overall much to the disappointment
of Williams. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/28h9v72
Day 5 Overall Standings
1. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 25 pts
2. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 20 pts
3. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing 15 pts
4. Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 12 pts
5. Francesco Bruni (ITA) Azzurra 10 pts
6. Magnus Holmberg (SWE) Victory Challenge 8 pts
7. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team 6 pts
8. Manuel Weiller (ESP) Team Iberdrola 4 pts
9. Bertrand Pacé (FRA) Aleph Sailing Team
10. Bjorn Hansen (SWE) Gill Global Team
11. Alvaro Marinho (POR) Seth Sailing Team
12. Eugeny Neugodnikov (RUS) Team Synergy
Pairings and Results: http://tinyurl.com/2ftz9hq
Tour Standings - Top Five after 4 of 10 tour events
1. Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Team 71 pts
2. Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch 54 pts
3. Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 48 pts
4. Peter Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing 43 pts
5. Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar 42 pts
Complete tour standings: http://www.wmrt.com/2010-scoreboards.html
BACKGROUND: The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) is the leading professional
sailing series featuring 10 World Championship events across the globe,
sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).
HUGO BOSS SAILS OFF LANDS END
British solo sailor Alex Thomson's new HUGO BOSS IMOCA 60 is the most
powerful boat in the IMOCA 60 fleet and is equipped with all Doyle Stratis
sails. Thomson has one dream: to be the first non-Frenchman to win the
Vendée Globe. Over the next few months, Thomson will undertake a rigorous
testing and training schedule, which will involve a transatlantic and
Mediterranean sailing program before heading to Spain for the start of the
Barcelona World Race in December. Watch the video of HUGO BOSS departing
Lands End on route to New York. http://www.doylesails.com/news
BERMUDA RACE WRAP
John Rousmaniere, Media Editor for the Newport Bermuda Race website looks at
the race conditions, lists tactics that worked, introduces some valuable
people, and discusses editorial policy:
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Champagne conditions. Ran's blog had this representative rave: "We have a
calm sea and an endless horizon. Nothing else in sight, just blue water,
perfect temperature, beautiful sunshine. What else could we ask for?" Adding
to the enjoyment was the spectacular wildlife. Navy midshipmen in Invictus
counted a tuna, some sharks, many dolphin, lots of Portuguese men of war,
and a sea turtle. Other boats saw whales, sometimes in pairs.
Turning point 1. A hole on Day 2 left boats in the middle doing doughnuts
while a few crews on the sides found new breeze. Carina improvised a quick
escape that navigator Patricia Young must have had in mind when she told
Thursday's Navigator's Forum, "Carina's iBoattrack's movie file looks a
great deal more even than what we experienced." The boat's navigator for
many years of high finishes, Young is the first woman to win the race's
George W. Mixter Trophy as navigator of the winning boat.
Turning point 2. Did everybody sail in the same Gulf Stream? "We didn't see
as much of a boost as we expected," said many navigators, yet Aurora carried
favorable current for 100 miles. The big boats had easy weather through the
Stream, with no need to reef, yet smaller ones had heavy squalls (Rives
Potts in Carina counted seven.) No wonder oceanographer Frank Bohlen
describes the Stream as "more variable than neatly deterministic."
Turning point 3. Oceanographer Jennifer Clark hit the nail on the head when
she opened her pre-race briefing, "The 2010 Newport Bermuda Race should be a
dynamic event this year with respect to ocean currents." The area between
the Stream and the island has acquired the ironic nickname "Happy Valley"
because so many dreams of glory have been shattered there. Dorsey Beard of
Esmeralde described its currents: "Some from the east, some from the south,
but foul every which way." There was less chaos near the rhumb line. --
Full story: http://www.covarimail.com/view.lasso?id1=722&id2=509629
OPTI SAILORS GATHER FOR NA CHAMPIONSHIP
Kingston, ON (June 26, 2010) - Kingston welcomes 200 sailors from 21
countries who are participating in the IODA 2010 Optimist Dinghy North
American Championships. Sailing from the CORK (Canadian Olympic Regatta
Kingston) centre at Portsmouth Harbour, the regatta brings together some of
the best Optimist sailors from Canada, USA, Mexico, South America, the
Caribbean as well as Japan and New Zealand. CORK provides an excellent
sailing venue for the Opti sailors, aged 10-15 with sailing conditions that
will challenge their technical sailing skills.
The fleet includes the reigning North American Champion, Christopher
Williford from Florida, USA and the team that will be representing USA at
the World Championships later this year in Malaysia. Also participating are
several national champions, including Canadian National Champion Meredith
Megarry of Ontario.
The schedule of events, starting with the opening ceremonies on Saturday
June 26, followed by a practice race on Sunday, includes 4 days of racing
with a Team Racing day on Wednesday and concludes with closing ceremonies on
Saturday July 3. All races will be covered and available using Trac Trac
Live Race Tracking, powered by Rogers Wireless. The event website provides a
link to follow the individuals, teams, mark roundings and race analysis
live. Daily reports and Twitter updates will also be provided. -- Full
story: http://tinyurl.com/25zspka
Event website: http://www.optinam2010.org
* The Optimist North American Championship begins on Monday and just a few
days later, another even larger fleet will gather in Kamien-Pomorski, Poland
for the Optimist Europeans. This year, both events will feature live
tracking. Available on the internet, it will feature race analysis, mark
roundings and real time standings. You can follow specific sailors or teams
- easy to use with replays of all races also available.
There has been much discussion recently, particularly following the ISAF
Olympic Commission report, about the need for sailing to embrace technology
and to present sailing to a wider audience. It seems particularly
appropriate for the Optimist class, the worldwide pathway for young sailors,
to take the initiative and run live tracking at four championships this year
- the North Americans, Europeans, European Team Racing and the Worlds. --
Tracking info: http://www.optiworld.org/tracking.html
SINGLEHANDED TRANSPAC IN SLOW MODE
(June 25, 2010) - For the last couple of days, most of the sailors in the
Singlehanded TransPac have been bemoaning their fate: "Are we racing yet?
Way too peaceful and soothing in these quiet seas," wrote Paul Nielsen of
the Olson 34 Culebra, while AJ Goldman of the Cascade 36 Second Verse said,
"I'm barely moving along, the sea is flat all around me, miles and miles.
This morning it looked like I was in the middle of the largest pond on
earth, just me in the middle."
The slow-down gave Sam Burns, who was forced to delay his start for 24 hours
due to a non-functioning SSB, on the Catalina 309 Southernaire time to catch
up, at least to the last boat in the fleet, Adam Correa's International
Folkboat Blue Moon. Meanwhile, Al Germain on the WylieCat 30 Bandicoot, who
had to return to the Bay because of similar problems as Sam, is back in the
race and is chugging along on a rhumbline course. Ben Mewes aboard the Black
Soo Mirage, on the other hand, retired from the race on Wednesday just hours
after starting for the third time. While his electrical issues seemed to
have been worked out, Mirage was taking on too much water for Ben's comfort.
According to this morning's positions reports, many have started moving
again, and if they wait till the end of the weekend, the wind should pick up
dramatically, thanks to the after-effects of Hurricane Celia, which is
currently stirring things up in the waters off Mexico. -- Read on:
http://tinyurl.com/23gmeul
* Event website:
http://sfbaysss.org/TransPac/transpac2010/transpac_2010_index.html
LIGHT AIR PLAGUES 2010 LASER NORTH AMERICANS
Kemah, TX (June 26, 2010) - At the 2010 Laser North Americans being held at
Texas Corinthian YC (TCYC) from June 24-27, the regatta is two in with two
more to go. 67 Standard, 21 4.7s and 94 Radial sailors are competing.
Day 1 of racing on Galveston Bay was abandoned due to no breezes, and the
second day of racing greeted the sailors with the same. Once again there was
a lot of sitting around until 115pm and all left the dock with enough breeze
to get to the race course. Racing started at 215pm and, this is the best
part, concluded at 845pm. Sunset was 823pm and it was a full moon. A setting
that was perfect for sailing but probably something a lot of these sailors
don't race under.
Due to many black flags the results are a bit scrambled, however the cream
always rises. In the Radial fleet, which is the largest, the RC pushed them
for four races to get a split to Gold and Silver for Saturday and Sunday
racing due to the lost day. -- Complete results at:
http://tinyurl.com/2f4ztgo
WHAT FLOATS YOUR BOAT?
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SAILING SHORTS
* (June 25, 2010) - Grant Simmer, CEO of TEAMORIGIN, commented on the draft
Protocol document for the 34th America's Cup: "We are very pleased to have
received the draft form of the Protocol for the 34th America's Cup last
night. It is a very detailed document and so will take us some days to
digest and discuss internally. TEAMORIGIN very much wants to be involved in
the process of moving this draft forward into a final Protocol document by
the 31st August 2010 and therefore we will collate our thoughts and feedback
over the next week and input our comments." -- Read on:
http://tinyurl.com/2fzx5fl
* Solomons Island, MD (June 25, 2010) - Spira/Martinelli Three-peat! The
40th Buccaneer 18 North American Championship (BNAC) was won by David Spira
(CO) and crew Dennis Martinelli (AZ). It was their 3rd in a row together and
Spira's 6th overall. It took only a 6th in the final race to give the pair a
2-point victory over local sailors Jeff Moore and Shawn Stanley and the rest
of the 33 boat fleet that raced 12 races over 4 days on the Pautuxent River
in Southern Maryland. -- Read on: http://buccaneer18.org/
* Kinsale, Co Cork, Ireland (June 27, 2010) - At times during the last nine
months the crew of Cork might have thought this moment would never arrive
but on Sunday evening at 1947 local time (1847 GMT) they crossed the finish
line at Kinsale; an emotional moment as they led the Clipper 09-10 Round the
World Yacht Race fleet into their home port at the end of the final
transatlantic crossing of the 35,000-mile contest. -- Read on:
http://tinyurl.com/2e879x4
* Long Beach, CA (June 26, 2010) - On day 2 of the Ullman Sails Long Beach
Race Week, two new names stole the spotlight in the marquee classes of the
West Coast's largest keelboat regatta - Jeff Janov of California YC and Ed
Feo, leading the Farr 40 and Fast 40 fleets, respectively, into the last two
races Sunday after dominating Saturday's three races. Tricky conditions
prevailed, with the moderate, shifting breeze from the south stirred few
whitecaps, but the racing remained competitive. -- Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/29ngl8t
* The International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) has announced
the selection of Charlotte Harbor, Fla., as the site of the 2012 IFDS
Combined World Disabled Sailing Championships. Said IFDS President Linda
Merkle, "Charlotte Harbor was named by SAIL magazine as one of the 'Top 10
greatest places to sail in the United States,' and we are fortunate to be
going there." The 10-day event is expected to attract some 350 sailors,
coaches, family members, race officials and media from all over the world.
-- Full story: http://www.charlotteharborregatta.com/wordpress/
* Sheboygan, WI (June 25, 2010) - The U.S. Women's Match Racing
Championship, a US SAILING National Championship event, for the Allegra
Knapp Mertz Trophy and the Mrs. C.F. Adams Memorial Trophy, will be sailed
July 7-11, at the US Sailing Center Sheboygan, WI. 8 skippers are
registered, including last year's winner, Genny Tulloch (Sausalito, CA), a
member of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG). Also returning this
year is skipper and former USSTAG member, Katie Pilley-Lovel (New Orleans,
LA). -- Report at: http://ussailingcentersheboygan.org/USWMRC_2010.php
SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR
Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar
LETTERS AND FORUM
Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The
Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer
than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One
letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for
elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is
available on the Scuttlebutt Forum.
-- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com
-- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum
* From Jim Champ:
Re, from Ken Legg (Scuttlebutt 3121), "Sailing is too technical and the
rules too complex to ever be a good spectator sport for the masses - except
for team racing."
Hey man, can I have a hit on what he's smoking? What is it about team racing
afficionados? They are involved in by far the most abstruse and
"detail-of-rules-dependant" aspect of the sport (not that there's anything
wrong with that per se). The winner is not so much the
highest/fastest/strongest but who can stuff up the opposition most. Being in
the lead can be a bad idea, and if you get there you may well have to slow
down to let the others catch up, and they suggest it will be a good
spectator sport for the masses? (Man that must be good stuff:-)
* From Howard Bentley (re, Scuttlebutt 3118):
A premature MAYDAY is better than a premature funeral.
* From Jim Fulton (re, Scuttlebutt 3121):
I couldn't believe the account of Bella Mente's Bermuda Race the first time
I read it. Don't these clowns know that it's illegal to dump plastic in the
ocean? A boat that size is required to have a waste management plan and a
placard posted prominently where all crew can read it. It doesn't matter
whether the bags are biodegradable or not, or what they're filled with.
Behavior like this is irresponsible, and gives all of us a bad name.
* From Geoff Newbury:
Re: Curmudgeon's Observation, "In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is
freedom, in water there is bacteria." - Ben Franklin.
Are you sure that Franklin actually said/wrote this? Although it was well
known at his time, that there were bacteria in water (discovered by some
Dutchman in the 1670's or so), it was not until at least the 1830's the any
link with disease was posited (Semmelweiss) and another 40 years before this
was accepted by most doctors.
Interestingly the Royal Navy knew that 'something' was causing infection as
far back as 1805, when the use of alcohol (rum) to sterilize surgical tools
and wounds was strongly recommended by the fleet surgeon. This knowledge
seems to have been lost to most surgeons by the time of the US Civil War! (I
have no idea why or how I remember this arcane crap, but I do anyway!).
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse.
Special thanks to Doyle Sails and Webb Institute.
Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
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