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SCUTTLEBUTT 2553 – March 14, 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. ABOUT MORE THAN JUST WINNING by Urban Miyares, Challenged America: The tragic sinking of One Australia in 1995 (Scuttlebutt #2552 Video Of The Week) brought back vivid memories of a side to the story that few knew about. On that day in 1995, John Bertrand, One Australia skipper, was hosting a fundraising event for the San Diego-based Challenged America program, to benefit sailors with disabilities. During that infamous day, many of us at Challenged America watched the race with the One Australia shore crew team in their compound, when the television broadcast came through of the boat sinking. We were all in shock, numb, in utter silence as we listened to the One Australia chase boat give a constant report to the compound. Being there was a different story from what others saw on television, as plans were being made instantly over the radio. Then One Australian said, "Let's get to it, we got work to do," and immediately, like a dress rehearsal, the One Australia team rushed into the adjoining tent to urgently make ready their back-up boat, with others on the Team heading to the dock to wait for the crew to return from their MOB experience. Work on their second boat continued throughout the day and into the early evening when we at Challenged America, with invitations already distributed and the front gate to the compound lining up with the media, were concerned our major fundraising effort for the year was going to be canceled, and justifiably so -- especially with security closing the compound’s front gate to the public. But before the Challenged America event was suppose to begin, Mr. Bertrand came out and told us everything would be fine and the event must go on, despite the work in the tent adjoining our fundraising event. And the event was held, with John Bertrand and some of the One Australia crew taking a break to socialize with the Challenged America guests and do a brief speech. All of us at Challenged America will forever be indebted to John Bertrand and the One Australia Team for their genuine support of sailors with disabilities and Challenged America, in spite of some very tragic and extenuating circumstances. As everyone knows, the Australians were able to get their second boat ready and continue racing. One Australia might not have won the America's Cup that year, but they definitely are winners in our eyes and hearts. Thank you John Bertrand. -- Urban Miyares * Video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/08/0310 * Challenged America http://www.challengedamerica.org/ LEMIEUX INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME (March 13, 2008) Edmonton's Lawrence Lemieux is among 12 inductees into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame today. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Lemieux was sailing in second place when he gave up his pursuit of a medal to rescue two sailors on the Singapore team that was competing in a separate event. With winds gusting to 35 knots, churning the water with high waves, Lemieux rescued the two sailors - one who was bobbing, nearly drowning, the other who was clinging to his overturned boat. Lemieux, who started sailing at the Edmonton Yacht Club, pulled the men onto his boat and then waited until an official patrol boat reached them. Afterwards, International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch awarded Lemieux the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship. "By your sportsmanship, self-sacrifice and courage you embody all that is right with the Olympic ideal," said Samaranch. -- Edmonton Journal, full story: http://tinyurl.com/3dnrf6 ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST The Clipper 07-08 Round The World Yacht Race started from the maritime city of Liverpool in the North West of England back in September 2007, with ten identical 68-foot yachts led by a professional skipper and crewed by individuals who paid for the opportunity to compete in the event. Scheduled to compete a seven-leg route, the fleet is presently on the fifth leg from Qingdao, China to Santa Cruz, CA, with a brief pitstop in Hawaii. All has gone smoothly except for this 4,400-nautical mile leg, where two boats have now been dismasted. The first casualty was westernaustralia2011.com on March 5th, which had its mast snapped approximately in half whilst sailing in approximately 10-15 knots of wind under spinnaker. The second occurred on Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 0610 GMT on the 19th day of the leg, when Durban 2010 and Beyond was dismasted at deck level whilst sailing in approximately 20 knots of wind. The yacht, currently 780 miles from the finish line in Honolulu, Hawaii, will proceed by motor. The two dismastings are not thought to have been caused in the same manner, but with 85 percent of the leg completed and as a precautionary measure in the interest of the safety for the remaining crews, event organizer Clipper Ventures Plc, headed by renowned yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, has told the rest of the fleet to stop racing and to proceed to Honolulu. The Clipper Race Committee decided to shorten the course in accordance with the Clipper Sailing Instructions, and thus finished the current leg at 0600 GMT, March 13, 2008. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/35al3d ACURA/ULLMAN SAILS LBRW STEPS UP GAME WITH CATALINA 37S If you’re a sailor who aspires to represent your club by racing the same boat that Gavin Brady, Dean Barker, and Ed Baird sailed to victory in recent years, you don’t have to do the America’s Cup. Just charter one of the Congressional Cup boats, a Catalina 37, when Acura presents Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week June 27-29. As usual, the Yacht Club Challenge competition will include three boats from either a single club or a geographic region---but this year one must be a Catalina 37 chartered from the Long Beach YC. Information: http://www.lbrw.org A VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE More than 600 participants from 116 different countries were in Jordan for the fourth IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, which was held under the theme of “Sport as a vehicle for social change”. Concluding this past Monday, Luissa Smith, Head of the Training and Development Department at the ISAF Secretariat, represented ISAF at the Conference, whilst Fiona Kidd (CAN), chair of the ISAF Women’s Forum, and ISAF Council Member Nazli Imre (TUR) were also both in attendance as part of delegations from their National Olympic Committees. Another sailing representative in Jordan was triple Olympic medallist Barbara KENDALL (NZL), who attended in her role as a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission. By the end of the conference the participants agreed unanimously and committed themselves to a future strategy which focuses on actions in five specific areas: - Seize upcoming opportunities to promote gender equality - Governance - Empowerment through Education and Development - Women, Sport and the Media - Women, Sport and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Full report: http://tinyurl.com/2vng2d * Racing begins on Saturday, March 15th for the 2008 Women’s Laser Radial World Championship, with 120 entries are already confirmed with representatives from 40 countries attending the event in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. Not only is the 2008 World title up for grabs, but also the six remaining Olympic berths (of 26 total) will be contested at the Worlds. Of the 23 nations entered who have yet to qualify, they are Brazil, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Greece, India, Ireland, Virgin Islands, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Serbia, Sweden, Chinese Taipei, Turkey and Venezuela. -- Full report: http://www.sailing.org/22442.php * This weekend, the battle begins for the final qualification place at the 2008 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship. To date, 13 of the 14 teams for the 2008 Worlds have been decided, with the final skipper to qualify at the ISAF Grade 2 Harken Women's International Match Racing Regatta, taking place in Sydney, Australia from March 16-19. The 2008 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship will be hosted by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, with racing scheduled from April 1-6. -- http://www.sailing.org/22452.php AND THE BEAT GOES ON Mirko Groeschner of United Internet Team Germany is very hopeful that the America’s Cup Grand Prix series that he working on will take place this year. Groeschner said that he could confirm they were in very positive talks with four European cities: A northern Europe city that does not want to be named at present; Kiel in Germany, Trieste in Italy and Valencia in Spain. If negotiations reach a successful conclusion the first event would be held at the unnamed northern European city on July 13 and each city involved would host a Grand Prix event for about a week. “We area small organisation,” said Groeschner “so we are focusing on cities that have a connection with one of the teams that would take part, so that the team is in a position to undertake the lobbying and logistics. I am really optimistic because of the positive reactions from potential host cities, teams and international sponsors. There is great interest out there in America’s Cup style racing.” -- BYM News, full story: http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=23686 * A presentation by Marc Pajot, President and Team Manager of the new French America’s Cup challenger French Spirit, will be held in Paris on March 20, 2008. -- http://www.frenchspirit.net/index_english.html SAILING SHORTS * The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety has made it a little easier for Spanish-speaking boaters to check the "rules of the road" with a new Boat Handling Guide decal in Spanish that can be affixed on the helm. The decal is free to boat clubs, marinas or other groups in quantities up to 200. The weatherproof decal gives examples of the most common types of navigational markers, rules of the road and right of way illustrations, and an explanation of horn signals. -- Complete details: http://www.boatus.com/news/releases/2008/march/spanish.asp * The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a two-day public hearing as part of its ongoing investigation into the accident in which the 901-foot container ship M/V Cosco Busan spilled about 55,000 gallons of fuel oil after striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The hearing will convene at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at the NTSB's Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, D.C. -- Complete details: http://www.ntsb.gov/pressrel/2008/080306.html * The 2008 Discover Boating advertising campaign kicked into high gear recently with new components specifically designed to help interested consumers order the Discover Boating DVD and, ultimately, drive these potential buyers to manufacturers and dealers, Grow Boating organizers reported. The campaign is national in scope, meaning it reaches every home across the United States via cable television, magazines, the Internet and now, mobile technology. The campaign started the last week of February and will run through the first week of June for a total of 15 weeks. -- Full report: http://www.boating-industry.com/output.cfm?id=1508527 * William H. Constable, a Nantucket contractor and high school sailing coach, could receive up to 30 years for each of seven counts of sexual exploitation and up to 10 years for one count of possession of child pornography, stemming from his arrest October 19, 2007 (as reported in Issue 2460). A plea deal reached with federal prosecutors calls for Constable, 54, to serve 25 years at most. U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. will announce June 10 whether he will accept the deal. -- Boston Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2wcc7m LEARN TO CIRCLE, DIAL UP, SHIFT LEFT,... ... Lead Push and other match racing techniques at a North U Match Racing Clinic. Never mind the America’s Cup – learn to match race yourself. Check the line up for 2008 North American Match Racing Clinics, or inquire to host. The series is derived from the WIMRA (WIMRA.org) clinics offered worldwide in 2007 using a curriculum created by Dave Perry and Liz Baylis. Your club or fleet can host a 2 or 3 day clinic. To host (or attend), contact Bill Gladstone at North U: mailto:Bill@NorthU.NorthSails.com, 800-347-2457, or visit http://www.NorthU.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include images by international shooters Onne van der Wal, Thierry Martinez, Bob Grieser, and Gilles Martin-Raget, with photos from France, Dubai, St. Maarten, Australia, along with San Francisco and Miami. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0314/ * ‘Butthead Ralph Godkin sent in photo’s from last week’s MEXORC, which was hosted by Vallarta Yacht Club with help from San Diego Yacht Club, and sailed on the beautiful waters of Banderas Bay in Mexico. Bill Turpin’s Akela, a 77’ Reichel Pugh from San Francisco won Class A, and was first overall. Winning in Class B, and second overall, was Jim Gregory’s 50' Morpheus, also from San Francisco. The winner of Class C, and third overall was Ernesto Amtmann’s 43’ Bandido, from Acapulco, Mexico. See photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0312 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 Chip Croft: Sailboat images have always been equated with serenity and beauty not ugliness. The beauty of sail will certainly endure. As for "ugly" wind farms, this is a design problem. Today's windmills will eventually give way to safer (for birds, bats, etc), visually pleasing, nearly invisible wind generators. Meanwhile, current windmills are urgently needed to minimize our addiction to fossil fuels. As the great visionary and lover of sailing, Buckminster Fuller, put it, our only salvation is "... by employing only our daily energy income from Sun and gravity ... in time to permit the healthy continuance of humans on plant Earth." How true! * From Douglass Sisk: (re: AUS35 video calamity in ‘Butt 2551) Whether or not you are disgusted with the current state of America's Cup affairs matters not, it's just not every day that you get to see a sailing yacht sink. And since we all know that nobody got hurt, it can't help but bring a smile to my face. An apt metaphor, perhaps? * From T.J. Perrotti: (regarding Video of the Week in Issue 2551) With a minor word substitution, Peter Montgomery's commentary on the sinking of One Australia might be sadly prophetic: "The America's Cup is sinking and sinking fast. This is terminal ... Raise your arm above your head, bring it down at a steady pace, and that's how quickly the America's Cup is sinking. Going, going, going, gone." Sad ... very sad... * From Annie Hauer: Regarding the Video of the Week, One Australia's sponsor Fosters Lager missed an opportunity for a classic sales pitch: "Fosters...Goes Down Smooth!" * From Eric White: Bravo to Dan Dickison for cutting through the humor to lead the recycling crusade in his letter in 'butt 2552. Drinking lots of beer and putting the cans in landfills is totally irresponsible. Too bad he didn't take it one better and ban beer drinking on boats altogether. Rum is the traditional sailor's drink! Best of all, an entire crew can get blind drunk while needing do dispose of only one empty half gallon bottle - responsibly, of course. * From Simon Morgan: Regarding your comment in Scuttlebutt 2551 concerning US Sailing's voting position, Article 41 of ISAF regulations is quite specific as to how Councillors should vote. According to Article 41, “they shall have regard to the interest of the sport of yachting throughout the world as a whole” and according to Article 29, “The word ‘shall' is mandatory”. As Paul Henderson, Previous President of ISAF stated in Scuttlebutt (#2482 and 2522), “The most interesting observation is to see how many MNA's are now saying that their delegates were instructed to vote in the best interest of their specific country winning medals - not in the best interest of our beloved sport. Surprise! Surprise! Holier than thou pontifications are quite hollow methinks.” Later he added, “Multihulls should be in the Olympics.” The United Kingdom Catamaran Racing Association warned ISAF that this was likely before the ISAF Annual General Meeting in November 2007, but this warning was ignored (Appendix 1). To my knowledge, ISAF has now received submissions from AUS, DEN, FRA, RUS and UK concerning the selection of events. Within Australia’s submission, they state 'As an example, in the men's vote, the US delegates voted against their own submission choosing to vote against the Multihull rather than the Board.' and suggested tactical voting was the reason for a change in voting procedure promoted by Charley Cooke to the Council, the effects of which it seems, may not have been apparent to all Councillors voting. Paul Henderson's excellent advice that IOC should be lobbied to retain the eleventh event should perhaps be seriously considered * From Nick Dewhirst, General Secretary, International Multihull Council: (regarding the interest to re-open the event selection at the ISAF mid-year meeting in May) ISAF Minutes for the February Executive Meeting only record three letters of concern being received. In an interview with Sailjuice, ISAF Secretary General Jerome Pels suggested that the only MNA to be concerned was the RYA. We believe a variety of submissions have now been made to ISAF about its Selection of Olympic Events in November last year. These include Australia, Denmark, France, Russia and UK. These include the host nation for the 2012 Games and the two top sailing nations, who won 7 of the 11 Gold medals in the pre-Olympics in China. Reportedly Canada has also made a submission and there may be others that we cannot confirm at this stage. This is in addition to various submissions from multihull classes. When they are all counted, they may exceed the record 11 submissions on Women's Match Racing before the November 2007 Conference. * From Richard Johnson: I truly wish that Scuttlebutt would stop defending US SAILING'S decision to vote against having multihulls in the 2012 Olympics because of the USA's perceived lack of medal potential. It's a crying shame that our National Governing Body puts the interests of Olympic sponsors ahead of the interests of our sport. It will be fascinating to see what group US SAILING will disenfranchise next, but I'll watch that from the sidelines, as a non-member. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION You know you're a redneck when a tornado hits your neighborhood and does $100,000 worth of improvements. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: This ends a full week of redneck observations, of which we received one complaint. If you can handle it, we also have a redneck video with some guys wakeboarding behind a four-wheeler. Have a great weekend! Video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/03/tribute-to-rednecks.html Special thanks to Acura/Ullman Sails Long Beach Race Week and North U. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
