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SCUTTLEBUTT 1904 - August 17, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.90-FOOT WAVES Last year's Hurricane Ivan generated an ocean wave that towered higher than 90 feet at one point, says a study that also suggests such giants may be more common than once thought. Research indicates these are not "rogue waves but actually fairly common during hurricanes," said David Wang of the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. The giant wave was detected 75 miles south of Gulfport, Mississippi, by instruments on the ocean floor that measure the pressure of water above them. Using those readings, scientists can calculate the height of waves from trough to crest. Last September 15, as Hurricane Ivan passed through the area, the instruments measured 146 large waves, including 24 higher than 50 feet and one at 91 feet, Wang and his colleagues report in Friday's issue of the journal Science. The giant wave did not reach land. Unlike a tsunami, which reaches down to the sea floor, this was a wind wave, generated on the ocean surface by the powerful forces of the storm. Because shipping tends to try to avoid hurricanes, many large waves are unseen by humans, let alone measured. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have a different way of calculating wave heights, using buoys at sea. Hendrik Tolman, an ocean wave expert at the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, said a wave such as the giant one measured during Ivan is within expected limits. Ocean researchers generally focus on "significant wave height," which is the average of the highest one-third of waves, he said. Within that average, there can be a much larger waves. The highest significant wave height in Ivan was 52 feet as calculated by the NOAA buoys and 58 feet as calculated by Wang's group. -- AP, full story: http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/science/08/04/giant.wave.ap/index.html FOR THE RECORD Dom Mee is an ex-Royal Marine with 15 years service to his name. With two Commendations under his belt it almost goes without saying that Dom has always driven himself to the limits in terms of body and mind, in turn developing the inner self and necessary skills to work alone or as part of a team to achieve life's goals. Mee's latest venture will aim to be the world's first crossing of an ocean by a specially designed ocean going kite vessel. The port of departure will be St Johns New Foundland crossing the North Atlantic aiming to finish in Exmouth in Devon. His vessel 'Little Murka' is 14 feet long and will have to endure hurricane force winds and mountainous seas. The vessel has 60 days worth of supplies for the trip and Mee will be taking on this epic voyage alone and totally unsupported -- www.dommee.co.uk WISDOM FROM BEFORE THE MAST "Anybody can do the mechanics of putting sails up and down, but the best guys in the front of the boat have come from the back of the boat. On bigger boats it gets a little more athletic, but the tough part is anticipating the next move. You're saying to yourself, 'You know what -- it's not straight in; we're going to do a jibe and a float drop.' So you start preparing for that halfway down the leg. You set the boat up so you have all your options open. You only get that from racing around the buoys and looking down the course tactically -- not waiting for the back of the boat to tell you." -- Jerry Kirby, from a story posted on the Sailing World magazine website, full story: http://tinyurl.com/7aqng SO WHAT IS IT GOING TO TAKE? {THIS OUGHT TO DO IT} So what's it going to take for you to finally pick-up the phone and order some new gear? We both know you've been putting off buying for way too long, so now we'll make you a deal today like never before. Call us toll-free and we'll either find you a closeout from one of the leading manufacturers or make you a deal on some of the brand new '05-'06 products. Get a jump on Fall sailing or just get ready for that winter cruise you've been planning forever but are finally going to take. 800-354-7245 (US), 562-594-8749 (International), http://www.sailingproshop.com LIKE DUCKS IN A ROW The 12 teams of the 32nd America's Cup are all established at their syndicate bases now, the 'syndicate row' making for quite a sight, with a dozen America's Cup Class boats lined up on their cradles. Cup historians may argue whether the 12 boats side by side represent the most 'dense' collection of America's Cup yachts ever assembled … regardless, it's a very impressive sight. The transformation on shore over the past few days is amazing. Tents for a Media Centre and Foredeck Club have gone up, all of the regatta organisation boats have hit the water, and the Race Committee has been out on the race course learning about the local conditions. The team base compound represents the biggest change. 12 boats lined up out of the water. 12 team bases assembled from containers, and shore crews working feverishly to get into the water as soon as possible, with most looking to Thursday or Friday as a date for their first sail. Racing is just over a week away, but the Malmö-Skåne Louis Vuitton Acts have already started! Curmudgeon's Comment: Malmö is almost due north of Berlin and east and a bit south of Copenhagen, just 20 minutes across the Oresund Bridge -- Europe's longest combined road and rail bridge. Tom Ehman has posted some Google Earth shots of the area on the website of the Challenger Commission: http://www.challengercommission.com/ CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar UNDER CONSTRUCTION The first 2007 generation (America's Cup) black boat is now being built at Cookson's boatyard in Auckland. Team New Zealand will build two boats for the 2007 America's Cup, the first of which will be launched early next year. By then teams are allowed to skirt their boats, hiding their shape and appendages. Cookson's have an association with Team New Zealand which dates back to 1992, when they managed the appendage programme for the New Zealand Challenge. They built Cup winner NZL60 and sister yacht NZL57, and the yachts used in the 2003 defence, NZL81 and 82. -- Julie Ash, NZ Herald, full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=10340570 NEWS BRIEFS * Matt Burridge and Dan and Tobi Moriarty dominated the 66-boat Lightning North American Championship Regatta - claiming the title with a race to spare with just 13 points in the six race, one discard event help in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Bill Fastiggi, Suzy Coburn and Jeff Linton were 2nd with 34 points. Last year's Champion, Jody Swanson, with crew Skip Dieball and Matty Schon, was third with 35 points. The story behind the story: in 1976, at age 17, Matt sailed his first NAs here in Sheboygan and was one of the five boats lost during that event. - http://www.2005lightningnas.org * The 470 North American Championship on San Francisco Bay took an interesting turn Monday with unusually light winds (average 8 knots), a virtual five-way tie for first in the men's and mixed division, and the pullout of the Japanese team to prepare for the Worlds to begin this weekend. Current leaders Anderson-Mitterling/ Hughes (USA) are well-positioned with no over-early penalties among their finishes. The Argentinean women's team Sesto/ Monsegur continues to dominate with Clark/ Mergenthaler (USA), who now stand solidly with Jolly/O'Bryan (USA)and Vogle/ Flatscher (AUT) tied for third place among the women eight points further back. -- http://www.470classnachampionship.org/results.htm Complimentary link for weather forecasting and updates: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/weather/sf * The 470 NAs now underway are for many a tune-up for the 470 Worlds that start next Monday at St. Francis YC. The event has attracted 198 sailors from more than 25 countries, and will showcase some of the world's best male and female small boat sailors including past and present world champions as well as 2004 Olympic Silver Medalists Nick Rogers and Joe Glan (GBR) and Natalia Via-Dufresne and Sandra Azon (ESP). The course will be set along the San Francisco city front from Alcatraz to Crissy Field, with up to six races daily through Sunday, August 28th. -- www.stfyc.org * The Ericsson Racing Team has successfully completed its 2000 nautical mile Volvo Ocean Race qualifying sail arriving into Gothenburg, Sweden on 15 August, after seven days at sea. It is compulsory for all teams entered for the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-06 to complete a non-stop ocean qualification passage of approximately 2000 nm, to prove themselves seaworthy before the race starts in November. Ericsson, the third VO 70 yacht to complete the voyage, did so with eight of her ten crewmembers onboard. -- www.ericssonracingteam.com * The boat park at the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, California has been busy place this past week as fifty plus boats get ready for the Keane 2005 Star Class North American Championship. The regatta starts on Wednesday and the field is laced with former Star Olympic medallists, North American, Hemisphere and World Champions. Six races are planed for the championship which ends on Sunday. -- www.calyachtclub.com * Next Saturday, August 20th, Torben Grael and the Brasil 1 crew will sail their 70-ft Volvo Ocean Race boat to Europe. On the Old Continent, the first Brazilian boat to take part in the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race will be docked in Cascais, Portugal. The Portuguese training season will start in September, shortly after the crew completes the 20-day crossing between Rio de Janeiro and the mouth of the Tagus river. - http://www.brasil1.com.br SEEN AT THE TRANSPAC START: The new Raider 1200 Cabin Rib was unveiled on the Transpac start line. This new Raider Cabin model from Raider Ribs USA acted as the official media boat, catching all the action of the Transpac start. Built to the highest of standards, cruise at 40 knots with twin 250hp Evinrude E-TEC engines. The luxurious interior has berths sleeping 4-6, full galley, refrigerators in the galley and cockpit, and showers in the interior head and transom. A new standard for Cabin Ribs is now at Raider Ribs USA. Call 1-877-7RAIDER for info, and view the Raider 1200 photos at http://www.raiderboat.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. This is neither a chat room nor a bulletin board - 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, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere.) * From Ron Wall, Commodore ('96) Lahaina Yacht Club, "I second that emotion...!" I'm probably only one of about a few thousand(s) or more folks who couldn't agree more with Roy Disney's assessment of Honolulu's Ala Wai situation. He's spot on. Fortunately for me and the countless others who've been saying the same thing for years - he's likely to get someone (our fine Politicians) to not only listen, but get up off their land-locked back sides, and do something about it. Hey Roy, would you care to put in a similar word for Lahaina Harbor? * From Paul Kaplan: Mr. Disney's comments regarding the conditions at Ala Wai harbor are indeed tragic but far from unique. There are other marinas, such as the San Francisco municipal harbor, in similar disrepair. A common thread; they're both owned and managed by the public sector. The government owns many assets such as parking garages and golf courses that are operated by "concessionaires". These companies are experts in their field and offer us, the taxpayers the highest return on our investment. In addition, these companies are held responsible for properly maintaining and insuring our property. Unlike a private marina, government doesn't have any insurance so there are no worries about increased premiums or litigation. If someone falls through a dilapidated dock, too bad, just get in line with all the other folks who are suing the government and be prepared for a long battle. While they don't spend much on dock maintenance they do spend money on attorneys! I applaud Mr. Disney's plea for the repair of Ala Wai, yet I fear that until there's a wholesale change in how this and other similar marinas are managed, history will only repeat itself. The taxpayers will fund the repairs, the marina deteriorate again and so on. Finally, if you're in the marine industry, the sport can't survive without providing attractive, safe and functional marinas that can be enjoyed by all participants. If you do not make your voice heard on this issue it will only serve to accelerate the decline of our sport. * From Edith Collins, US Sailing Judge: I find the current discussion on what to call the person in the water quite amusing. Last week, at the Santana 20 Nationals at Cascade Locks, we had a couple of occasions of MOB incidents. On the last race a boat took a huge broach right in front of the judge's boat knocking a female crew into the water. After calling "man overboard" to the rescue boats, a spectator corrected the judge who called in telling him to call her a "woman overboard", not a "man overboard". I commented to the spectator that if I were in the water, I would not care if I were called a man or a woman, I would just want to be rescued. Enough of this PC foolishness! * From Harold Hoffman: Please advise John Harwood-Bee that the term "wo person" is not suitable for the female gender. The word "person" includes the root word "son", obviously sexist. Note that the word "female" also includes the root word "male". The only proper solution is to use the word "being", as in "wobeing"... * From Rich du Moulin, Commodore Storm Trysail Club, Please stop all the gibberish regarding a gender-correct version of MOB (Man Overboard)! Storm Trysail Club is pleased to have male and female members, and our goal in publishing a draft prescription for "Rendering Assistance" was to receive constructive and meaningful input, not a discussion of the semantics associated with the acronym MOB. Curmudgeon's Comment: I think this thread has undoubtedly run its course and can now be appropriately terminated. * From Jack Robbie: In 'Butt 1903, Don Ferguson's letter picked apart Brad Read's editorial "Tack or Cross" (in 'Butt 1900) like some alley surgeon. It is not about the port tack boat intimidating the starboard tack boat "with the threat of the 'lee bow,'" it is about cooperation on the race course. The port tack boat wants to stay on port, and they assume that the starboard tack boat would like the same. The conversation is simply about providing that opportunity, but the starboard tack boat still remains in charge. I make a point of looking out for guys like Don when racing, as they are the type that will luff you up on the offwind leg to protect their position against you while not watching as the fleet sails away. In fleet racing, it is not always about winning the battle… it is about winning the war. * From Adam Kline: In response to Don Ferguson: I think it is common courtesy to ask cross or tack? This sport has a gentleman's history and it is unfortunate that anyone has to intimidate their opponents. I have noticed in some one designs S-20, J-24 that once in a while a boat that is not normally in the top of the fleet will make a great run with the top boats and they are always shocked at how much the top teams are communicating with each other. * From Jim Cobbs (Re: John Merrifield - edited to our 250-word limit): In 1978 I was a recent college grad wanting to learn boatbuilding so I applied for a job at Minneford Yacht Yard on City Island, NY . After Chuck Sadler (yard boss) gave me a geometry quiz and judged I could "stand a day's work", I found myself on the loft floor working alongside John. He was a good teacher and very patient (he worked at a NY bank before boatbuilding so he knew about steep learning curves). Maybe it was his Derektor's background or his natural intensity, but John could work all day at an astounding pace and there was not a single job he would not jump into when he felt it needed a jump start. Two memories in particular: When we were pouring the lead keel for the 12 meter "Freedom", John asked to borrow my fairly new ski parka when I left at midnight. Big mistake! When I got my parka back it was well "ventilated" with holes from the hot lead splattering during the pour. By the way, there was a great photograph in the City Island Library of a 12 meter keel pour at night. We built a new S&S 46 foot "Obsession" and it was decided to participate in a local race as part of the sea trials. Who steered? John, of course, and I don't think any of the rock stars on board felt they could have done a better job. He was an excellent helmsman and we easily won the race. CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to? |
