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SCUTTLEBUTT 1939 -- October 6, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.AN EVANGELICAL EXERCISE (Tim Jeffery, shares his views on the America's Cup - Italian style in a story posted on the Daily Sail subscription website. Here's an excerpt.) Gauge the vox pop in Trapani and the near universal sentiment would be let's keep America's Cup racing here: The town is terrific. Local interest runs high. Gear failures and a man overboard mean there's been plenty of action in the races while Saturday's BMW Oracle versus Emirates Team New Zealand match was as climatic as the memorable 1992 America v Il Moro di Venezia or AmericaOne v Prada clashes from 2000. All this is taking place not just at the toe of Italy, but one of the last toeholds of Europe on its southern flank. It was little more than a month ago that the Cup was at Europe's northern edge, in Malmo, Sweden, and the contrast between the restrained Scandinavian support and the sheer exuberance of the Latin spirit could not be greater. Want to know when an Italian boat is round a mark or crossing the finish line? Strain your ears and you might just hear the horns and cheers for Luna Rosa, +39 or Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia Team from where you are. As an evangelical exercise, taking the Cup to different locations and cultures has been a terrific success. Adding extra hours to the school day before the Louis Vuitton Acts 8 and 9 so that children could take time off during the racing and 20,000 people in the Cup village are emblematic of just how wholeheartedly the Tranpanese have embraced the America's Cup. -- www.thedailysail.com CHANGED FOREVER From the first of these warm-up regattas in Marseille last year, which felt more like a massive junket for sponsors, the teams have changed their approach. Race pressure sharpens both shore and race team management more effectively than any in-house training. No one wants to lose. Even if there is an obvious top quartet, the racing has been enthralling. The America's Cup, on the road to Sweden as well as Italy, has changed forever and the successes of 2005 could lead to a rolling international programme of structured competition. The base for the 2007 defense in Valencia offers a place to watch the racing on a big screen during the day, or for families to stroll in the evening. Thousands poured through the turnstiles there, but 101,200 are reported to have crowded the race village in Trapani last Sunday. A previous rather snooty aloofness and obsessive secrecy can no longer prevail. Not that all the paranoia has gone and nor has the spying. Teams due to build new boats and develop go-faster gear are reluctant to put everything on show early for fear of it being copied by their rivals. -- Excerpt from a story by Stuart Alexander in the Independent, full story: http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article317173.ece THE BIG STORY IN TRAPANI Throughout the course of Act 8, a subtle story was developing as the French team, K-Challenge, was quietly having its best regatta of the 32nd America's Cup. The French announced themselves by beating Emirates Team New Zealand on the first day of racing in tricky conditions. Then, on the final day, K-Challenge stood up to write the story of the 2005 season. On the last day of match racing in Trapani, the French minnow, sailing the second oldest boat in the fleet, became the first team to defeat Alinghi this season. K-Challenge went on to finish in fifth place, with seven victories. It's the most wins by any fifth place finisher this year. And after earning three wins in Valencia in June, and four in Malmö in September, K-Challenge has increased its win total in each match racing Act this year, and done so whilst every other team is getting better. The big story in Trapani for Louis Vuitton Act 8 is K-Challenge. -- - Peter Rusch, www.americascup.com QUOTE / UNQUOTE "It's a regret that will stay with me for the rest of my life, that we lost that race (against Emirates)," It's hard to imagine how much it would have meant for the people here in Trapani." -- Charlie McKee, Luna Rossa tactician CHALLENGER RANKINGS AFTER ACT 8 1. BMW Oracle Racing, 52 pts, 4 bonus pts 2. Emirates Team New Zealand, 51 pts, 3 bonus pts 3. Luna Rosa, 51 pts, 3 bonus pts 4. Desafio Espanol, 36 pts, 3 bonus pts 5. K-Challenge, 31 pts, 2 bonus pts 6. +39, 30 pts, 2 bonus pts 7. Victory Challenge, 29 pts, 2 bonus pts 8. Mascalsone Latino Capitalia, 28 pts, 1 bonus pt 9. United Internet Team Germany, 17 pts, 1 bonus pt 10. Team Shosholoza 13 pts, 1 bonus pt 11. China Team, 7 pts, 1 bonus pt WINNERS CONTINUE TO DEPEND ON ULLMAN SAILS The 2005 J-Fest in San Diego, Oct 1-2 was no exception. Scott Birnberg and his crew on "Indigo 3" won the highly competitive J/105 class. Ullman customers clinched 9 of the top 10 J/105 slots! In the J/120 class John Laun and his team on "Caper" took the honors, which follows Caper's win in the 221nm "Bishop Rock" race, Aug 19-21. Time and again, the top performing teams turn to Ullman Sails for the competitive edge. If you and your crew are ready for the "Fastest Sails on the Planet," contact your nearest Ullman Sails loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com SECOND CAREER Russell Coutts has translated his long-standing passion for yacht design into a new light-displacement 44-foot boat, the Russell Coutts 44, which will be officially launched on October 8 at the Genoa International Boat Show. An engineering graduate of the University of Auckland, Coutts co-designed the boat with Andrej Justin, who has designed several racing boats, including a 33-foot match race JustinTen and an 80-foot carbon, canting keel MaxiJena. They undertook first testing on Garda Lake in August with members of the Danish crew Coutts has been racing with during the 2005 season. While the new boats have some distinctive America's Cup features, says Coutts, they are light-displacement, high performance racers and designed to sail with seven person crew, or for a professional match racing format they could be sailed by just five crew. "The trim tab on the keel was an example of that thinking, to reduce keel area and yet still achieve good upwind performance and maneuverability," Coutts said. "It adds to the complexity of the boat, but the racing enthusiast will enjoy exploring the different tab angles and the resulting benefits in performance. The testing we have done so far has confirmed that we've exceeded expectations. The boat is huge fun to sail and we had it sailing downwind at 18.5 knots on Lake Garda in about 22 knots of breeze." With a powerful sail plan, the new boat is intended strictly for racing, either match racing or day sailing fleet races. Four boats have been produced in carbon fibre using the infusion method of construction in very precise NC cut female moulds. It features a carbon mast with PBO rigging and a carbon boom and retractable gennaker strut. "We have put a lot of effort into reducing weight and windage in the mast and rigging," Coutts says. "In conjunction with one of the companies on the project, we are now developing and testing a solid carbon head stay which incorporates a single head foil." The engine also features a hydraulically controlled retractable prop. The specially designed canting trailer, easy detachable stern scoop and simple keel to hull attachment with a conical joint/coupling makes the boat very easy to transport and store. The mast is also built in two structural parts making the boat easy to transport on the road with no oversize restrictions. -- www.russellcoutts.net IMPORTANT TEST The crew of the Volvo Open 70 movistar was given a full medical check in Sanxenso, to certify their fitness just over a month before the start of the Volvo Ocean Race 2005-2006. "This race is so physically demanding that it is essential to know the state of fitness of the crew," remarked Ruth McIlruth, the team doctor. "These tests are an exhaustive health check on each of the boys, from blood tests to stress tests so that we know exactly where they are before the race starts, to find out if they may have a problem during the race and, hence anticipate it." "Maybe the most demanding of all the tests that we do on the crew members, and at the same time, the most indicative for us, is the stress test. Basically, what we do is put them on an exercise bicycle and measure their response to tiredness and their capacity for making a continued effort with a set of electrodes that we connect to a computer. I am accustomed to working with Olympic athletes, and I must admit that the crew has surprised me -- they are much stronger and endure far more than I had expected." "To tell you the truth, the stereo-type of Round the World sailor has changed enormously with these new boats," adds movistar fitness traineer Sam Brovender. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar BLACK PEARL UPDATE This is tedious work, sailing for 10 minutes at a given angle and recording the performance of the boat with a given sail. After you do all the appropriate angles in that windspeed for that sail, you put up another one and do some more. Easy to burn 6 hours doing it and of course you slow your progress to the barn as you sail off course. But it has to be done. I think we are all pretty tired. It has been another big push for eight days. Sail up to Holland, work on the mast, get it in, and sail back. Testing and working all the way. That is close to another 2000 miles for the Pearl. Our shore team is waiting for us tomorrow and the work list that we generated during the 2000 miler is going to get attacked. We won't sail for at least a week. -- Paul Cayard, VO 70 Black Pearl skipper. NEWS BRIEFS * Virtual Spectator will be the 2005 Title Sponsor of the Virtual Spectator ISAF Women's World Championship to be held in Hamilton, Bermuda. Action begins on Saturday, October 15th with the World Championship sailed in J24's and the unseeded Grade 3 Gold Cup Qualifying match racing event being sailed in classic IODs. Eleven of the thirteen top ranked ISAF women in match race sailing, according to June 22, 2005 rankings, will contend for the World Championship Title, a share in the $25,000 prize money, and the opportunity to compete in the prestigious, King Edward VII Gold Cup on Hamilton Harbour. -- www.vssailing.com * Nanny Cay Marina, host and presenting sponsor of the BVI Spring Regatta since 2002, signed a five-year contract to continue its support of the British Virgin Islands' largest sporting event. Held annually on the first weekend of April, the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival is celebrating its 35th anniversary next year. The seven-day event with two events back-to-back attract an average of 135 yachts with eighty percent of the competitors from overseas. In 2004 Nanny Cay dredged its entrance channel and expanded its seawall and for 2006 a new permanent stage will be built next to the swimming pool. -- www.bvispringregatta.org * In the second year of the four-year process that is the modern America's Cup, Alfa Romeo has announced they will be an Official Supplier of the Italian Luna Rossa 'Prada' boat. * Jay Stockmann has been named vice president of sales and marketing for Lewmar, Inc., the international marine equipment manufacturer. Stockmann, who joined Lewmar in 2002, most recently held the position of aftermarket sales manager and also directed aftermarket customer communication and support programs. With this appointment, Stockmann will assume responsibility for all sales and marketing activities, helping Lewmar better position itself in the aftermarket and OEM sectors. -- www.lewmar.com * The Bermuda Sloop Foundation has raised almost $5 million to build and endow an 85 foot, three masted schooner based on an historic vessel that sailed out of Bermuda in the early to mid-19th Century. The boat, which will be called "Spirit of Bermuda" is being constructed at Rockport Marine, in Maine, and will be launched next summer. Although traditional in appearance, modern materials and methods are being used in the construction, which is to American Bureau of Shipping standards, with a hull in a wood/epoxy construction and carbon fibre spars. -- http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/18002/57/ * North Sails has partnered with expert meteorologist Chris Bedford and his team at Sailing Weather Services to provide one free weather forecast for the Baja Ha-Ha Cruisers Rally on October 30, 2005, the day before the race begins. Anyone who is interested in receiving this detailed, long-range forecast via email, should sign up at North Sails' online weather center: http://na.northsails.com/ew/ew_main.taf EASY TO TRAILER - SIMPLE TO RIG - EXCITING TO SAIL Melges Performance Sailboats view their boats from all sides. They need to stand out from the crowd and be cool in appearance. They must be trailerable behind most vehicles to make regatta transport a breeze. They know you want to go sailing, so plan on being rigged and race ready in under an hour's time. Melges Boats are built around simplicity, which makes sailing more fun. Once you get behind the helm, the decision is made. Melges creates the ultimate sailing experience. For the latest in performance sailing, race to the Melges website. -- http://www.melges.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, and personal attacks for elsewhere.) * From Curt Barnes: Clarification -- Dick Tillman should have said that Mike Ingham is/was a past J/24 North American champ - not this years. * From Bob Harden: Ditto, Mr. Tillman. Mike Ingham is an excellent candidate. Mike and Team Brain Cramp are indeed past J/24 North American Champions. I know all too well, as in 2003, they beat us on the last day of the regatta down in Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Rather than recognize someone sailing multi-million dollar boats in the ocean, let's award someone who sails boats costing a couple of thousand dollars, in many different venues. Someone who is really supporting the sport of sailing available to the masses. * From Adrian Morgan (re AC syndicate clothing). Does Magnus Wheatley really want to pose about The Solent looking like one of your heroes? That's much like tooling around the streets with a David Beckham shirt (he's a charismatic British footballer, by the way). Heaven spare our sport. By wearing a jacket that Chris Dickson wears don't make us better sailors, just look like prats. There is one (acceptable) exception: for a long time after the Volvo Race some years ago you'd see sailors walking around the South Coast yachting centers in gear with "Lawrie Smith", or "Lightning" on their backs, courtesy of a second hand sailing gear shop in Hamble village where the Volvo sailors dumped their old oilies (to help pay the mortgage, no doubt). One day these will become collectors' items. As for team gear, the team will always be wearing something ever so slightly different. Who wants to look like a punter? * From Brad Russell: In response to 'Who Pays The Bill?' you pose the question 'should government resources be a complimentary service for such adventurers, or should those taking the risks pay the bill?' yet your poll solicits the opinion of using such resources for ocean passage. While I am of the opinion that if adventurers want to attempt such feats as rowing a non-seaworthy vessel across the ocean or under kite, all the more power to them for what I deem reckless. However, I do not feel that the taxpayer should shoulder the burden of rescue and should someone require such services such as Dom did then he should get a bill. Next time sign a sponsor that would help foot the bill or an insurance policy. The random 'adventurer' is where I draw the line though. I do not believe that a properly prepared ocean voyage or crossing in a seaworthy vessel experiencing an emergency and requiring assistance such as lost rudder and taking on water should be stuck with a bill for the rescue. To me that is one of the many functions the service is for and your poll should distinguish between the 'adventurer' and an ocean passage. * From Matt Holmes: With all the comments going around I think that what Dom has attempted is more than I will ever be able to achieve. Let's start a fund and ask all the people who have made comments to give a donation to the Cannadian Coast Guard. * From Cory E. Friedman: Although the reckless should pay for their rescue, rather than having taxpayers foot the bill, those that point out that the alternative is even worse have the better of the argument. Perhaps one way to discourage reckless behavior would be to withhold official recognition, including Guinness Book recognition, for such reckless behavior, even if successful. I suspect that the number of individuals willing to risk getting themselves killed for personal satisfaction is smaller than the number who will to do so for a shot at a record of some dubious, but lucrative, sort. Those seeking such records should be required to seek pre-approval from the sanctioning authority, which then could determine if it wishes to encourage the effort, or require some minimum safety level. Race organizers require appropriate minimum safety levels all the time in order to qualify for a trophy. * From John Brooks: Every time a leisure sailor - as distinct from a professional fisherman, merchant or military sailor, or downed airman - gets rescued, a debate on the cost of it all begins. Why should we pay the cost? The idiots had no right to be there! How dare they put others at risk? The Dom Mee incident has raised this tiresome and ill-conceived matter again; tiresome because refusing to carry out the rescue is not an option, and ill conceived because cost is not really an issue. The cost of rescue? It's a fixed cost, although the media loves to come up with some outrageously hyped figure and present it as if it is somehow coming out of our pockets right then and there. It's fixed because the total cost is the same whether there is a rescue or not: the operating cost - flying or steaming hours - are part of the budget and are used up either in a real rescue or in training. As for putting others at risk, Search and Rescue units prefer the real thing to training exercises any day. Just try putting the argument to them that: "this guy is an idiot; don't bother rescuing him." You'll get the type of response the argument deserves. * From Gary P. Joyce: I believe self-rescue is the only alternative, and if it can be affected, so be it. This goes for climbing, solo sailing, rowing, kiting, etc., et al. At the serious levels of any of these activities where federally funded rescue may be required, there has to be responsibility for putting oneself in the predicament. Most (dare I say all?) of those who participate in these activities are drawn to them because the activities are performed out on that "thin red line" where the difference between a successful operation is dependent on the correct execution of a number of variables (and yes, luck). If you are willing to acknowledge that what you're doing falls in the "extreme" venue (no matter the size or scope of the operation), then be ready to accept the outcome. If you want to press the limits of the possible, then be prepared to accept the consequences sans help from those who don't "live life to its fullest." You want a real extreme sport, join the military and go to combat. CURMUDGEON'S OXYMORON Free rent |
