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SCUTTLEBUTT 2110- June 7, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.THE NIGHTMARE No matter how responsible you are about developing and practicing an overboard drill for your boat, you can never escape the nagging and probably correct suspicion that the real thing won't be like that. I have twice participated in crew-overboard seminars and recovery- equipment tests conducted on San Francisco Bay by West Marine and Modern Sailing Academy. They were informative and useful, and much to be encouraged, but they smelled like the laboratory, not the real thing. I really had nothing to offer when reader Tom Watkins wrote to say, "What did you learn (what should we know) when the boat is off the wind? Or has a cruising chute up? Normally I have only 2-3 others aboard, not a race crew." One thought, and it's purely mine, is that if I found myself under spinnaker, leaving someone behind, and I lacked either the manpower or the organization for a controlled douse, I would regard that sail as an agent of the devil and cut it loose from three points, and I would go back for my people. But even that is easier said than done. And by the time I turned around I would be lucky to still have visual contact. Here is what UK Halsey has to say about a textbook downwind recovery. "The key to the quick stop is stay within in 5-10 boatlengths of the crew overboard. As soon as someone goes overboard, the person who saw the victim go over yells 'Man Overboard!' and becomes the spotter who does nothing but point at the victim in the water with an outstretched arm, while calling out the range and bearing to the MOB. Next: five things happen simultaneously: Someone hits the MOB button on the GPS to mark the position, cushions or the Life Sling (or both, or all; everything) are thrown over the side, the boat turns into the wind, the spinnaker afterguy is released enough to move the spinnaker pole to the forestay, and the spinnaker halyard is dropped. As the boat rounds up, the chute falls onto the deck so that the crew can pull it in." [Editor's note: Anyone who has dropped spinnakers on short notice will recognize that things can go wrong at this point.] The text continues: "Turning immediately keeps the boat close. This is important since a boat is moving quickly with the chute up. Even if the drop is slowed by a fouled halyard, turning the boat up toward the wind keeps the boat near the victim." -- Excerpts from a story by Kimball Livingston, Sail magazine Senior Editor West Coast, full story: http://sailmag.com/overboarddownwind/ IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THE OTHERS (The Daily Sail subscription website has the first images of Frank Pong's new TP52 and comments by her designer Juan Kouyoumdjian on the class rule. Here are some excerpts.) At present however the new boat, built by Compania de Barcos in Argentina and now out in Hong Kong, is not a TP 52 according to the class association. "The only argument they could find was over the backstay and it doesn't infringe any of the written rules, but it infringes the rule that it doesn't look like the others," complains Juan K. Kouyoumdjian is critical of the TP 52 rule itself but far from believing it should be opened up, thinks a new tighter rule should be purpose-written for the class. "Right now it is a rule which has bits and pieces borrowed from different rules and this class deserves better than that. There are a few written pages - there is a borrowed piece from the ABS and the IMS, the wanding, you have to measure the offset file of the hull and then do an inclining and the accommodation, etc. Then there is a TP 52 box rule which limits the maximums and minimums, like mast height and boom height and you need to stick to that, but as far as I understood if you stick to that then you are a TP 52 and that's what we did with the boat we designed except that sticking to the written rule was not enough. On top of that you need to make a boat that looks the same as the others. That is when I come in and say 'I have a little problem here because I need more clarification than that'. " -- http://www.thedailysail.com BERMUDA BOUND??? Team One Newport is ready to help all of you who are racing to Bermuda. Be sure to visit our expanded store at 561 Thames Street in Newport or go to our website to get layered up so you are warm and dry. We have the best gear from Henri-Lloyd, Musto, Gill, Gul, Dubarry, Slam, Railriders, Suunto, Camet, Magic Marine, Spinlock, and Ronstan. We also have the new Reef Flip Flops with the bottle opener, plus some great new cool Caribbean wear from Hiho. Call us at 800-VIP-GEAR (ask for our excellent catalog) or online at http://www.team1newport.com CODE FLAG "S" Leg eight of the Volvo Ocean Race is already taking longer than it should. With an in-port race planned for Rotterdam on Saturday, the Race Committee has shortened the course by 76 miles, which could, at the current pace, make the leg half a day quicker. The change of course will occur at the northern tip of Scotland, by changing the rounding mark of Fair Isle to Duncansby Head. The fleet was informed of the proposed change late Tuesday afternoon, and once agreement from each boat had been sought, the change of course was confirmed officially. The fleet will now leave Duncansby Head, which is a lighthouse situated at ˚38'.65N 03˚ 01'.50W, approximately 175 miles to the north of the fleet, to starboard. With the little increase in breeze this morning, ABN Amro One is back in her customary position: at the head of the fleet, and Ericsson is now in second position on leg eight of the Volvo Ocean Race, the slowest leg of the race so far. "All she needs is a little breeze," said ABN Amro One skipper Mike Sanderson. "In the last 24 hrs we have gone from last place to first, not sure how long we will stay here, as the breeze is due to crump out again in the next few hours, but we have had some fun getting here." "I was hoping that ABN Amro One was holding back, because it was the fabled 'not ABN weather' or anything. But here they come. A little breeze is all they need," wrote Kenny Read from Ericsson Racing. "Clearly they have done their homework and have little to no offshore holes. Don't know what we can do to stop them at this point, which is a bummer. But, we are expecting at least three more park-ups in this race. There will be many, many more changes in order of the fleet if I were to guess and no lead is ever safe in a race this fickle," he added. --http://www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 on Monday: 1. ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 642 miles to finish 2. Ericsson Racing Team, Neal McDonald, +2 miles 3. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, + 5 miles 4. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +11 miles 4. ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +11 miles 6. Brunel, Matt Humphries, + 23 miles QUOTE / UNQUOTE "We have been struggling all leg with our speed. On Sunday, the three Farr boats were side by side, drifting. As the breeze slowly filled to 6 knots, Brasil was the fastest, Ericsson second fastest and we were down right slow. We were sailing upwind. Brasil stretched out to a 6 mile advantage over us in 4 hours. We stopped to send Anthony Merrington over the side to look at the foils as we have forgotten our endoscope. It was very frustrating to watch these two sail away from us and then to have the slow light air boats¡± the ABN¡¯s and Brunel, sail right up to us. The ABN's have upwind Code 0's and they have worked on this leg because the sea has been so flat." -- Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean skipper DID YOU KNOW? The original Deed of Gift of the America's Cup was handwritten by George Schuyler to the NYYC on May 15th 1852. The date was subsequently altered (in the same hand) to July 8th 1857, the date when it was accepted by the club. The original is safely kept under temperature and humitity controlled conditions in the 'Rare Books and Archives Room' in the Library of the New York Yacht Club at 37 West 44th Street, Manhattan. - Bob Fisher, as posted on the BMW Oracle Racing blog, http://bmworacleracing.twoday.net/ NEW WEBSITE Sail California-San Diego and JK3 Nautical Enterprises is pleased to announce the launch of their new website! View all their latest boat lines and brokerage listings for the summer sailing and boating season. Looking for something new or used? Let their expert team provide the guidance and assistance needed to make the right decision. Their current listings include 5 J/105's, 2 J/120's, J/109, J/46, J/92, J/160, J/130, and many other makes and models. Also see online Renzo Yachts, Delphia Yachts, Raider Boats, J/Boats, and Salona Yachts. Visit their new website at http://www.jk3yachts.com SAILING SHORTS * Newport RI -- More than $165,000 was raised for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute during the weekend at Sail Newport's Jimmy Fund Regatta presented by Northern Trust -- and the final tally expected to grow this week. There were nearly 60 boats and sailors from eight U.S. states and Norway. The boat that raised the highest amount of donations was awarded the Frank McCaffrey Trophy. McCaffrey's brother Mike, and wife Elizabeth Meyer of Newport took home the award after raising over $10,000 through their classic yawl "Seminole." -- http://www.jimmyfund.org/regatta * The 49er World Championships began Tuesday on the Lac du Bourget at the foot of the Alps, with 92 teams from 24 nations contesting the regatta. The days leading up to the six day championship have seen winds ranging from zero to 25 knots, with big wind shifts a regular occurrence. On Tuesday, after four very nice races in the morning with a north wind (8-10 knots) and some beautiful weather, the wind dropped around noon. -- Complete results: http://www.cnva.com/world49er/index.php?page=resultats * The Victory America's Cup syndicated has added their female sailor. Her name is Alicia Ageno, she is 38 years old and is a navigator for Victory Challenge. She has been recruited ahead of the two-boat training that will take place after the Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 12, but also to support Johan Barne on land, with data analysis and systems development. Before arriving on Victory Challenge she was with the Spanish IMS boat, Azur de Puig, which won World Championship gold last year. -- http://victorychallenge.com * In her West-to-East trans-Pacific record-setting attempt, the Cap Gemini and Schneider Electric trimaran Geronimo is now two-thirds of the way from Yokohama to San Francisco. She's covering the sea miles "quietly" while being pushed by a weak Pacific depression. At 13:00 French time on Tuesday, Geronimo had only 1494 nautical miles left to run, and was 2 days, 9 hours ahead of the existing record. Mat Bryant, a sales representative for North Sails Long Beach is a member of the nine person crew on Geronimo. -- http://www.superyachting.com * Nancy Erley, a Seattle-based sailing instructor and two-time circumnavigator, was presented with the Leadership in Women's Sailing Award this weekend at the fifth annual Women's Sailing Conference held at the Corinthian YC in Marblehead, MA. Sponsored BoatU.S. and the National Women's Sailing Association (NWSA), the award honors a male or female who has built a record of achievement in inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of women through sailing. Erley teaches women beginning sailing up to captaining skills, either on learning cruises or individually. She's a Ham operator as well as advanced SCUBA diver, and delivery captain. -- http://www.BoatUS.com/women RACING TO BERMUDA? In less than two weeks, the Centennial Newport to Bermuda Race starts. Will you be part of this historic race? The oil painting "100 Years of the Bermuda Race" was commissioned by Cruising Club of America to commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Remember your trip with a limited-edition print. Details: http://www.johnmacgowan.com 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. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thought at the Scuttlebutt website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Andrew Campbell (2006 College Sailor of the Year): In response to the thread about female skippers, it's interesting to note that there was no interest in the lack of male crews. And, not just for argument's sake. My roommate/ teammate/ close friend Nick Deane (GTN '07) was this year's only male crew All American, and would probably laugh at notion about how women should be angry about not driving. Why aren't men angry they can't contribute from the front of the boat? The argument is therein proved unsound, because the skipper and crew have equal parts in making the boat go fast around the racecourse and in the decisions of a teamrace. That is the beauty of double-handed sailing. The point is taken that there are few women driving in coed events, but shall we go further and say that those women are driving at "Women's Nationals." Should there be a "Men's Nationals?" Absolutely not. Coed is the way that college sailing should and will be, and in all cases for the better, without restrictions or stigma for the crew or skipper's gender. I'm proud of Nick to be standing up there at the All American banquet among 19 women! * From Tom McLaughlin; From Scott Truesdell stated that UC Irvine became the first team to field a varsity boat in the PCICYRA with a female skipper." Really? I joined San Diego State's sailing team as a "hot" freshman (1965) and tried for a spot in the starting line-up. Judy Dingle was a starting skipper for the Aztecs, and gave us young men thrashings for almost two years. She graduated, and we took the lessons on to win two NA champs. * From H. P. "Sandy" Purdon (former Executive Director, 1987 Stars & Stripes America's Cup Challenge): Under you "Maturing Gracefully" comments in Scuttlebutt #2109, you referred to ETNX and BMW Oracle America's Cup Racing teams getting together in Valencia for an adult beverage or two. That reminds me of the time in January 1987 when Alan Bond and his Australia team invited our Stars and Stripes team to their compound to watch the Super Bowl. It was very early in the morning as I remember but the friendships were evident despite the keen rivalry. That's what sailboat racing is all about! The controversies you refer to were real but the guys on the boats and those working in the compound knew each other pretty well inside and outside the Cup and those friendships never were really challenged. So what you saw in the press in those years of 1984-1995 maybe was not reality. There was no real wall as you mentioned ... maybe just a "paper curtain". * From James Stevralia, It was interesting to read about the inter-team socializing between ETNZ and Oracle/BMW. I think the approach is perhaps a result of the the present format of the America's Cup. The current event is radically different from previous ones in that it is no longer a spot event occuring in random years and lasting for a defined period. Instead it has matured into an ongoing program similar to a scheduled league. It is now a livelihood for a great many people. There are many people on the teams who grew up with, sailed with and became lifelong friends with players from the other teams. There is even team trading. Is it good or bad??? Who knows? Just different. The teams will continue to compete against against each other and try very hard to beat the opposition. Will they hate them? It is the Wade Boggs syndrome (followed by Roger Clemens and recently by Johnny Damon) -- your foe becomes your teammate and your teammate becomes your foe -- but you stay friends. * From Chris Ericksen: David Chivers is dead-on when he says in 'Butt 2106 that "there are not enough protests" and that "clubs must stop treating protests as dirty and unfriendly." He is also unfortunately correct when he says that many sailors have "no confidence in the protest committee." While I am lucky that I live in an area where we have a strong cadre of US SAILING-certified Judges and pretty good protest committees (one does not automatically ensure the other, by the way...), I know that in some areas being on the protest committee is considered the yacht-club equivalent of jury duty: something distasteful and well worth getting out of. But the real solution is for every sailor, be they a certified Judge or not, to vow to serve their turn on the protest committee: they'll learn something, and I'll bet the protest committee will be better for their being there. * From Jon Alvord: Geoff Brieden wrote, ¡°For multi-hulls, you can't find decent mooring for anything other than a beach cat, they are harder to control and can be more dangerous in the wrong hands, you can't take the young family (or the big, sedentary customer) out cruising on it, and there is more risk of catastrophic failure (capsize) when the 'stuff' hits the fan.¡± You must be kidding! I find probably the best mooring for my Trimaran when I go out cruising with my young family. We are blessed with the shallow draft, and even back the boat up to the beach so that it floats 1 foot from the shore line, does it get any better. I have a dingy and don't need the outboard as we usually look for anchorages that are 2ft deep. My family has cruised, and raced (and yes through all conditions) on this boat for the last 8 years and my kids are 10 and 7. There is only risk for capsize if you are willing to push the boat hard, and not willing to sail conservatively! * From Doran Cushing: The myths and misconceptions about multihulls (note: it is not a hyphenated word) is alive and thriving on this forum. To suggest that modern multihulls (which are not necessarily "cats") can only be sailed "off a beach or in straight lines" is ignoring any number of recent high performance designs with two or three hulls. Look how they jazz up the Volvo Ocean Race while in port ... racing Volvo Extreme 40s. Mooring and dock space (and bottom maintenance) are not issues for Farrier and Corsair owners who can trailer our boats with upwind speeds of 65 mph. "Practical?" What boat is? But a $500K racer/cruiser is limited in its cruising grounds while a $100K folding tri can cruise thousands of miles of coastline, trailering instead of "delivering" to the best sailing areas at far less cost and needing far less crew. Every boat is a trade-off between cost, convenience, and performance. But cruising cats are the fastest growing sector of production sailboat sales, keeping people in the life-style longer and generating a sizeable amount of new business in the marine industry. * From Bill Menninger: Close racing is what match racing is all about. Catamarans are fast but the racing is not as close with the rapid acceleration and deceleration. The current boats are fantastic. I would say the Volvo 40 catamarans are fun to watch, but that is a different story and a different venue from the Americas Cup. * From Martha Henderson: Great that you included the results from the Canadian Etchells Regatta - You should know that Dirk Kneulman's crew's name is Mike Wolfs - 2004 Olympic Silver Medalist in the Star Class. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS We were born with two ears but only one mouth. Some people say that's because we're supposed to spend twice as much time listening as talking. Others claim it's because listening is twice as hard. Thanks to Team One Newport, JK3 Nautical Enterprises, and John MacGowan. |
