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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 711 - December 15, 2000TEAM PHILIPS UPDATE(The skipper of the 120-foot catamaran Team Philips, Pete Goss, explains to Tim Jeffery the details of the storm that forced the crew to abandon ship last weekend in the North Atlantic Ocean. Here's an excerpt of the interview posted on the Quokka website.) Quokka: You've spoken of storm conditions. How bad was it? Pete Goss: This was a full-on Southern Ocean equivalent storm. One of the worst I've been in. Initially we were caught in a depression, a very, very deep one. The pressure had gone through the floor. As the thing paraded itself over the top of us it dropped a further 18mb in three hours. We had two conflicting swells: a huge one from the southwest as a result of the depression coming in from the west, and a big residue northerly swell. When the depression bombed, we had an easterly blow against this southwesterly swell. We were just caught in this cauldron of very confused seas leaping up with these rogue waves jumping around like trains. We were aware of these things come but couldn't see if they were a cloud or wave. It was only the fact that they were moving so fast that we knew they were waves. Q: How was Team Philips handling it? PG: During this confused period in the middle of the depression we took a real battering. There was nowhere we could turn because waves were coming from everywhere. That was when the boat took a real pounding. I tried to work my way south out of the right side of that depression, which we did. Then, that built up on top of the big depression that was on its way. So it was a steady Storm 11, gusting Hurricane 12. And we were in it for eight hours, with huge, huge seas, like great blocks of flats [apartments] rolling through. Q: Could you slow the boat down? PG: We got all the sea anchors out, all the ropes out of the back, took all the sails down and still we were getting speeds of 29 knots. Q: How frightening was it to be in a 120-foot wing-masted multihull? PG: The boat, without that, I don't think we would have pulled through. We would not have been here for sure. You know, the wave piercing worked. I had a bow wave off the pod. I had her over at a 45-degree angle with the rudders out of the water. The crew were down in the starboard hull. Andy [Hindley] was on deck. We battled away for eight hours. Q: How high is the pod out of the water? PG: Well your height of eye is 17 ? feet... No, that boat is fantastic. I'm going to buy Adrian [Thompson] a big beer. We all want to. Q: Are you any clearer if the design works? PG: The concept works. One of the things that's come out of this is that with all the speculation, some of it from within, as to the boat ... will she, won't she? Well, now I really know. We've seen her in every condition going from a flat calm to a Storm 12 and she was just brilliant. Yes, we took a battering but they were the sort of conditions you'd be concerned in a frigate. - Tim Jeffery, for Quokka Sports We strongly recommend that you go to the Quokka Sailing website to read the rest of this incredible story: http://www.quokkasailing.com/stories/12/SLQ_1214_goss_WFC.html THE RACE Thursday 14th December 2000 - All the challengers of The Race can at last benefit from a lull and this morning left the ports in which they had taken shelter these last few days from the very poor weather conditions. Club Med and Innovation Explorer, already in the Mediterranean, are getting set for a first duel. "The long awaited window in the weather has at last been confirmed for today" announced Meteo Consult: "Not only is the wind turning North-westerly but it is decreasing to force 5 with a sea that is still rough, but calming down during the day. December 15th should be a day offering the challengers some magnificent runs in the Bay of Biscay with the persistence of favourable conditions: a wind turning The whereabouts of the boats: - Team Legato of Briton Tony Bullimore entered Bristol Channel this morning at 0900. - PlayStation led by American Steve Fossett also left at 0900 this morning from Falmouth (UK) where he holed up last week. - Warta Polpharma of Polish skipper Roman Paszke, moored in front of the Multiplast yard for several days, also set sail today at midday, heading for the Bay of Biscay. - Team Adventure of American Cam Lewis took on stores and left the port of La Coruna at 1200 GMT today. Before joining the Catalonian capital, Grant Dalton (NZ), skipper of Club Med and Loick Peyron (Fra), skipper of Innovation Explorer really want a confrontation and are getting ready for a symbolic match by way of saluting Marseilles, the Phocaean city which is preparing to welcome the finish of The Race in the early days of March 2001. Keep step with the progress of boats heading towards Barcelona: http://www.therace.org ULTIMATE SAILING SCREEN SAVER 40 new, dynamic and colorful images from the camera of Sharon Green. $19.95. Other great Ultimate Sailing products include: the Ultimate Sailing Calendar, Ultimate Sailing Book, note cards, t-shirts, poster and custom prints. Purchase them all at our web site: http://www.ultimatesailing.com VENDEE GLOBE - By Philippe Jeantot While the bulk of the Vendee Globe fleet are struggling in frustratingly unstable wind conditions, Michel Desjoyeaux (PRB) & Roland Jourdain (Sill Matines La Potagere) have succeeded in catching a solid low pressure front, which has rewarded them with a strong 50 knot wind, often gusting to 60 knots. Desjoyeaux is now over 350 miles ahead of third placed Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations) and yet knows that he can't rest on his laurels. Yves Parlier (Aquitaine Innovations), still bordering on 50 degrees South, hasn't seen any doors open for him. Overnight he was heading Northwards at 3.5 knots, whilst his two rivals ahead were going 11 knots faster. Parlier will know that he is now 1 day behind the leading boat, and in the last week has lost 250 miles to Desjoyeaux. Equally tense is life amongst the second flank of boats still holding within 70 miles of each other. Ellen MacArthur (Kingfisher) expressed a great frustration to have lost her 4th place to Thomas Coville (Sodebo), putting it down to bad timing on a gybe. On the other hand Coville, perhaps looking more long term, admitted: "I missed the goal yesterday. Ellen gybed 1 hour earlier than me and she's 60 miles to the North now." - http://www.vendeeglobe.com Standings on December 14 at 15:00 UT 1. PRB (Desjoyeaux) 2. SILL Matines La Potagere (Jourdain) +128 miles 3. Aquitaine Innovations (Parlier) +404 miles 4 Sodebo (Coville) +483 miles 5. Kingfisher (MacArthur) +487 miles. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) (Letters selected to be printed may be edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not a bulletin board or a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. We don't publish anonymous letters, but will withhold your e-mail address on request.) * From Michael Silverman msilver2@tulane.edu While writing a response to scuttlebutt thinking about why the Team Philips incident should persuade sailors to think twice about racing in 'The RACE,' it dawned on me... Why is there really any more risk in this race than any others? The boats have been put through their sea trials. No crew in a round-the-world race, or a local race, would go on the boat if they had any concerns about it. Sailboat racing is suppose to be "Good clean fun." Having people get injured, or worse, is not in the brochures. Every time a sailor goes out on a boat they take a risk, but those risks can be minimized with careful planning. I think cancelling the prologue race was a good move, it gives the crews more time to triple check all gear, and to order safety supplies if necessary. I look forward to seeing these cutting-edge designs showing the world what we can do with technology today, with multiple speed records to be shattered. I wish the crews good luck, with the hopes that the Team Philips incident is the last breakdown that we hear of. * From Bruce Kirby brucekirby@compuserve.com John Alofsin has reiterated the often-heard suggestion that those who get into trouble when venturing out into the ocean in racing boats should be responsible for the expenses of anyone who might be involved in their rescue. The navies and coastal patrols of Australia - where most of the spectacular rescue action has taken place in the past few years, and of other nations as well - are on duty 100 percent of the time. When they are called upon to rescue a yachtsman in difficulty they do not design and build a destroyer and a helicopter and then recruit a crew to man them. These facilities already exist and are constantly on patrol and practice missions. The expenses of the men and equipment involved are fixed costs. This point has been made in the Australian Parliament on more than one occasion. The percentage difference between fuel costs for a real rescue and the mock rescues they are constantly carrying out would be very small. In many cases an exercise might even be more expensive than the real thing. There is no question that it would be a great tragedy if a serviceman were to lose his life in an effort to rescue a distressed sailor. But again, servicemen are also lost during practice sessions. We have seen exceptional heroism on the part of rescue teams - most of them off the southern coast of Australia - and when everyone is safely ashore and dry there is usually more pride of purpose among the rescuers than among the rescued. * From David Redfern Amcup2001@aol.com [Regarding the payment for the rescue Pete Goss] - It's foolish to keep pushing the argument in this way. The rescue services are there - the wages and fuel are paid for - the Nimrod would have been out there anyway. When I was involved in shore support with John Cabot's caravel replica on her crossing to commemorate the 500th anniversary of finding north America in 1997, I can tell you no one was more willing to keep an eye out and to help than the RAF Nimrods and the Canadian Coastguard aircraft. I went on one of the Nimrod fly-overs 1200 miles out and I know it was taken seriously - they saw it as a very useful training excersise. This wooden caravel with America's Cup, Whitbread and Jules Verne experienced David Alan-Williams as skipper proved a challenge to find that the Nimrod crews welcomed. The combination of being looked after by the RAF, the Canadians and Falmouth Maritime Rescue Centre was comforting. Leave it alone. It works. * From Kim Couranz, U.S. Naval Institute kcouranz@usni.org John Alofsin's letter and the recent articles on the Sydney-Hobart Race findings make us ask, just how much is one life worth? Nearly two years ago, catalyzed by the tragedies of the 1998 Sydney-Hobart Race and the events described in The Perfect Storm, the U.S. Naval Institute (a nonprofit membership organization for sea service professionals and others) pulled together a program with an address by Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral James Loy and a panel discussion on "How Much Is One Life Worth?" The sessions examined responsibility and search and rescue at sea. The address and excerpts from the discussion are at www.usni.org/Proceedings/Articles99/PROloy.htm. I came away from the sessions with an affirmation of the need for personal responsibility and preparedness by those heading out on the water and a greatly deepened respect for the professionals who comprise the U.S. Coast Guard and other rescue organizations who respond when things go wrong. We are incredibly lucky they are there and are outstanding at what they do (especially with their limited resources)--but we as sailors must do what we can to minimize the times they are needed--and to make it easier for them to succeed in their mission when they do need to respond. (Taking off the "work hat" for a moment...this does not mean I'm against events like The Race, I just hope we're walking the right line between safety and performance...heck knows I enjoy performance!) * From Rick Scott bownazi@yahoo.com I think if you are going to be in the business of rescuing people, you do it. You don't pick and choose certain individuals to charge fees. If you want to decide up front that "we will not provide emergency services for this event that we determine is inherently unsafe", that is something to consider and something to hash out. But either you are going to do it or you are not. You have to remember that these guys (Goss, Fossett, and friends) pay an awful lot of taxes too, to not receive services. They have an argument there. None of these guys are going to sea "planning" on getting rescued. Nobody does. Small scale rescues happen all the time because of people that go out (to sea or hiking into the backwoods) with a lot less preparation and forethought that Team Philips. I think it's a big can of worms to open. * From Mark Gaudio [re:Tyler Garett in ' BUTT' # 709] - First things first; this rebuttal is clearly not intended to re-open the validness of PHRF as a rating rule, but to comment on an issue mentioned. Generally speaking the various boats racing under this rule, are older one designs and one-offs. I can't remember the last new boat advertisement I read bragging about its PHRF capabilities. (and if they did shame on them!) Very few people out there will actually admit they acquired their new yacht to blister the club racer at his own game. Boats simply ended up in PHRF! PHRF is a melting pot of yachts (some good, some not so good at anything whatsoever) that compete on a seemingly level playing field. It is the forum for competition they fit into as a group. There is nothing wrong with this, just so long as it remains FUN. Don't fool yourself into believing the PHRF boats that you see racing started out with this in mind, it is a simple matter of attrition...THEY ENDED UP THEIR BY DEFAULT Some folks out there who are getting new 'quickie' yachts will go to the mat hoping that they never are forced into a PHRF class ... what are you going to do the next time the rest of your class doesn't show up because they are too busy changing their kids diapers, or taking them to the park? All of a sudden PHRF won't look so bad. It's all a matter of perception. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: Don't think for a moment that the publication of this letter opens the PHRF thread - that door is shut. * From June Kendrick jkendrick@compuserve.com I find yesterday's curmudgeon's observation highly offensive and demeaning. Most of the Curmudgeon's observations are pithy or cute or bring a laugh or a smile, but this one should not have seen the light of day. It is just plain mean. Maybe some women of 70 or 80 are forgetful, as are some men, but 50? CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: It was certainly not my intent to either offend or demean, but I've received enough negative comments to let me know that screwed up badly . . . for which I am profoundly sorry. :-( HOT IMAGES Gilles-Martin Raget has just posted some unbelievable photos of PlayStation. You must look at these: http://www.martin-raget.com/fr/actu/detail.cfm?numero=206 HEROES On January 12, 2001, the Crew on Vicki will be presented with the US SAILING Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medal. Skipper Al Schultz, Mark Olson, Steve Steiner, Jeff Littell, Dave Kurt, Ben Mitchell, Chris Peterson, Valerie Hoskins, Ron Hoskins, Tyler Prentiss, Rick Abbott and Tim "Tiny" Eyers will be honored during the Association of Santa Monica Bay Yacht Clubs Annual Installation Dinner On August 5, 2000 at dusk, in 25- to 30-knot winds and four-foot seas off the California coast, a 36-foot catamaran with three on board flipped upside-down. The victims, in their 50's and 60's, wore PFDs and dark stealth-like clothing while standing on the trampoline. They were partially submerged in the cold, 68-degree water. Vicki, an Andrews 70, was surfing downwind in the Santa Barbara to King Harbour Race and spotted the distressed boat and dropped her spinnaker. They worked back upwind, dropped the mainsail, and turned on the motor to control their ultra light displacement boat (ULDB). By making multiple passes past the overturned cat, Vicki was able to throw a line and pull the victims, one at a time, to their boat. While trying to keep the ULDB under control, a formidable task in itself, the rescuing crew brought one victim over the side and the other two were slid up the ramp of the sloped transom. They had been in and out of the water for 25 to 30 minutes. The crew provided the victims with blankets and hot coffee, notified the U.S. Coast Guard of the hazard to navigation, and then contacted a commercial salvage vessel. - Penny Piva Rego, www.ussailing.org
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