|
SCUTTLEBUTT 3141 - Monday, July 26, 2010Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Doyle Sails, Hall Spars & Rigging, and Vineyard Race. REINEKE WINS LASER RADIAL YOUTH WORLDS Largs, Scotland (July 25, 2010) - After a highly charged day’s racing on the Clyde in some of the trickiest conditions of the week, Erika Reineke (USA) has been crowned the new Laser Radial World Youth Girls Champions. In tricky, shifty, light to moderate winds reaching no more than 8-15kts, 16-year-old Reineke from Fort Lauderdale, FL won the event with a race to spare, which is exactly what she set out to do when she left the shore this morning. In what turned out to be her last race, she had a fairly conservative first beat but this bubbly, determined yet incredibly cool young sailor kept her head when the going was tough and worked her way to the top of the fleet finishing in fourth place, which was enough to secure the overall world championship title. Winning the boy division is Giovanni Coccoluto (ITA), fresh from winning bronze at the recent ISAF Youth World Championship in Turkey, and winner of the 2009 Laser 4.7 European championship in Helsinki. Dropping to fifth on the final day was American Mitchell Kiss (Holland, Mich.), who had recently won bronze at the Laser Radial World Championship at the same venue. Erika Reineke comments, “It feels amazing because I’ve never won a world championship. I think it’s a good start. I won the bronze at the ISAF Worlds, I finished second at the Youth Europeans in Copenhagen. I started sailing in Optimists from Lauderdale YC. Actually I was hoping to win in Turkey but got the bronze so I came here all fired up to win. I knew I had to fight even harder to do well because I really wanted the gold. “When I return home I’ll take a couple of weeks off but then I’ll start training again with an aim of doing the US Olympic trials. Paige Railey is an amazing sailor and I aspire to be like her, and Anna Tunnicliffe of course, so I hope to give them both a good trials. My ultimate aim is to race the Olympics. “I have a great coach back home - Brad Funk - he has been working and training with me and he has really brought me a long way. As far as day to day training goes, I go to the gym three or four times a week, Saturdays and Sundays I sail Lasers, and Wednesdays after school. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays I sail for High School. So, basically I sail every day except Friday when I’m usually travelling to regattas.” Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/365a86c PERFORMANCE CRUISING SAILS Want performance cruising sails that are engineered to last longer than 3 years? Consider Doyle Sailmakers alternatives to laminates. No longer does performance come at the expense of durability. Doyle Performance Cruising sails deliver value. Contact your local Doyle loft at 800-94-DOYLE to learn more about Doyle's Performance Cruising sails or visit http://www.doylesails.com/cruising GOING TO EUROPE TO GET A JUMP ON THE USA By Chris Rast, 3-time Olympian (July 25, 2010) - Together with the owner, Michael Kiss from Holland Michigan, Alain Stettler and I represented the USA at the unofficial World Championships (aka Gold Cup) of the Melges 20 class at Malcesine on Lake Garda, Italy. A brand new Melges 20 (Hull #190) was waiting for us in Malcesine on Monday morning and my good friend Alain Stettler and I spent most of the day putting our sweet little new toy together. (Kudos go out to Federico and his team at Melges Europe for excellent service and always lending a hand if something wasn’t quite as it should.) After some more boat work and two days of practice we started racing on Thursday. At Charleston Race Week this year we won the Melges 20 event, so the expectations from owner Michael Kiss were understandably high! But looking at the line-up at this event I knew it was going to be WAY harder. First of all we had all of the top Italian teams and they have been sailing these boats hard, REALLY hard and are way ahead of everyone else in terms of boat handling and tuning. Secondly, the tacticians and crews were more or less the crema de la crema in Italy and internationally. Names like Gabrio Zandono, Roberto Benematti, Matteo Ivaldi, Flavio Favini, Nathan Wilmot, Juan de la Fuente, Branko Brzkin, Chicco Fonda were starring down at me. Hmmm, this was going to be interesting and challenging to say the least. A sixth place in the first race put us on the right track but our hopes for a top finish evaporated when our bow sprit unexpectedly broke in the second race and we limped into the finish in 23rd. To make things worse the fleet sailed another race and we’d have to score a DNC. Arrghhh! Again Federico and his Melges Europe team pulled through and the next morning we magically had another bowsprit installed when we arrived at the boat. Which other class provides that kind of service… hello! For the rest of the regatta we now had to play it safe as we were already counting a 23rd and were using the DNC as our discard. We sailed a good series of single digit finishes which put us in 6th place overall in the end. Oh and did I mention that almost all races were sailed in 15-20 knots and sunshine? For our team this was mainly a good event to learn more about the tuning and for Michael to get more comfortable in boat-on-boat situations and managing tight lanes. We did a lot of spy work on the top Italian teams and were on par with them at the end of the regatta. So overall this has been an excellent opportunity for us to improve our skills and hopefully get a little jump on the US Fleet at the upcoming Nationals in Holland, MI in about a month’s time. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/37ho94z PARADISE: Located in Northern Italy, Lake Garda is the country’s largest lake, and is home to major championships in Europe. Last week American Sam Rogers was training there with John Kilroy’s Melges 32 Samba Pa Ti team, and referred to the site as “a sailor’s paradise…with really good food and wine. Other than the dramatic landscape and mountains that drop steeply into the lake, what was most impressive about Lake Garda is it felt like you had traveled to a place purpose built for going fast in sailboats, and whoever you talked to was there to do the same thing.” -- Full report: http://42marine.com/samba-wrap-up-from-garda/ A MADE-FOR-TV AMERICA’S CUP Valencia, Spain (25 July 2010) - Over the past four days, America’s Cup defender BMW Oracle Racing has loaded two high-performance monohulls and multihulls with a plethora of cameras and microphones and put through match racing maneuvers to help find new camera angles and test surround sound format. Racecourses were also modified by changing the percentages of upwind and downwind work to see if it helped keep the yachts engaged at close quarters. “I’d have to rate the trials an unqualified success,” said BMW Oracle Racing CEO Russell Coutts. “We plan to do this again in the coming weeks and months, but I think we found some things that work that we’d like to explore again down the road.” The trials were also used to test monohulls versus multihulls and the excitement they lend to television. A new yacht design is being created for the 34th America’s Cup, and concept papers have been issued to rule writers to create a monohull and multihull design. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/32tpeva Daily rushes from the trials can be viewed on the 34th America’s Cup YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/34thac SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar QUOTE / UNQUOTE Regarding America’s Cup defender BMW Oracle Racing’s choice of boat for the 34th America’s Cup, Dean Barker, skipper of Emirates Team New Zealand, which lost to Alinghi in the 32nd America’s Cup Match in 2007, is concerned they might not use a monohull. "If they go down the multi-hulls road, they are giving themselves a massive head start. They are experienced in multi-hulls now and with things like hard wing sails and it is a lot of ground to make up - they could put themselves in a position where they could be almost unbeatable. “That doesn't feel, at this stage, like it is quite right. You'd hope for an even playing field. It's a decision which could make it very hard for us to compete. The good thing that most people bought into with Oracle was that they sounded committed to a multi-challenger event which suggested that even playing field. But if they go for a multi-hull, it will put other teams in a position where it will be very, very hard to combat them. It's the prerogative of the defenders to set the rules, of course, but you hope, from a PR point of view, that speculation regarding multihulls isn't right." -- NZ Herald, full story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10661030 MID-SEASON SALE Back by popular demand - all Hall-made products for one-designs are 15% off. This includes standing rigging, carbon-fiber spinnaker poles, lifelines, running rigging (sheets or halyards that require splicing), and QuikVangs (sorry, masts not included). Don't sail one-design? We have incredible savings on select high-tech sheets and halyards for every boat. If you broke it, lost it overboard, or you're just plain tired of it, buy a new one from Hall and you'll save big. The quality of our products is unparalleled and we stand behind everything we sell. Visit our web store for complete details. http://www.store.hallspars.com SAILING SHORTS * Deltaville, VA (July 24, 2010) - The four day 2010 U.S. Optimist Fleet National Championship proved to be a light air event for the 261 competitors, with two days of qualifying (one cancelled due to insufficient wind) and two days of championship racing. In Gold Fleet, Nic Muller of US Sailing Center of Martin Co. came in first place, Richard Schuurmans of Houston Yacht Club was second and Harry Koeppel of Larchmont Yacht Club finished in third place. Eliot Caple of Naples Sailing Center was fourth overall and the top girls winner. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10156 * Miami, FL (July 23, 2010) - The final day of racing was canceled at the U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship (USJWSC) on Friday with Tropical Storm Bonnie approaching Miami. Winning the event was Miami's Arielle deLisser, who posted three bullets out of the four races on Thursday to help capture her second USJWSC in three years with a come from behind win. In second is 2009 champion Molly McKinney (Sarasota, Fla.), with Sky Adams (Santa Barbara, Calif.) finishing third in the 46 boat fleet. -- Full story: http://media.ussailing.org/Latest_News/2010_USJWSC_Final_Recap.htm * Newport, RI (July 24, 2010) - After four days of racing in a variety of conditions across a mix of around-the-buoys and distance, New York Yacht Club’s seventh biennial Race Week at Newport presented by Rolex came to an end this afternoon. Light winds threatened to cancel the last day of racing for the 35 competing boats, but by 2pm Newport’s classic southerly sea breeze filled in against a stubborn northerly and offered suitable conditions for racing. Richard Oland’s (St. John, New Brunswick, CAN) Southern Cross 52 Vela Veloce was determined the best performing boat and was named the 2010 Rolex US-IRC National Champion. -- Full report: http://nyyc.org/archives_public/article_810/ * Barcelona, Spain (July 25, 2010) - Paul Cayard (USA) and the crew of Torbjorn Tornqvist’s (SWE) Artemis (SWE) won the Camper Regatta - Conde de Godo Trophy - Barcelona TP52 Series in considerable style, after a fantastic finale, coming from eighth at the first windward mark to finish second behind Bribon (ESP) on the finish line of the last race, to clinch the Swedish flagged team’s first MedCup Circuit regatta win since 2007. Emirates Team New Zealand finished second, and continues to lead the TP52 2010 Audi MedCup circuit after three of the five events. -- Full report: http://www.medcup.org/news/?id=3656 * (July 25, 2010) - The 102nd Running of the 333 mile Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac kicked off Saturday despite the torrential rain that plagued the Chicagoland area for the last 12 hours. Many of the 353 boats had to register last minute crew changes with race officials, as sailors were trapped due to the havoc of the weather. By Sunday 17:00 CST, the race tracker had Karl Kwok’s Farr 80 Beau Geste leading the fleet 30 nm from the finish. -- Race website: http://www.cycracetomackinac.com/ * Brant Beach, NJ (July 23, 2010) - One hundred nine competitors at the C420 North American Championship were tested in winds ranging from 5 to 22 during the four day event. After 14 races, Pearson Potts (LA) and Caitlin Connerney (RI) were the overall winners followed by Graham Landy (VA) and Colin Murphy (NY) in second and Connor Brady (SC) and Dillon Paiva (SC). Ally Donahue (NJ) and Maddie Widmeier (PA) were the top female team in 6th overall. Complete results can be found at: http://www.bbyc.net/Results/show.php?rgtID=193 * (July 22, 2010) - Bruce Golison, with fellow Etchells sailor Willem Van Waay and Andrew Kerr crewing, sailed to a convincing victory at the 2010 Santana 20 Class Championhip, held at Huntington Lake, CA this week. This year marked the class' 33rd championship and Golison's fourth title overall. Second place went to Ron Fish (Eugene, OR) with 27 points and third was Eric Kownacki (San Diego, CA) with 32 points. -- Full report: http://www.s20.org/2010/2010S20CCR/2010S20CCRIndex.htm * (July 24, 2010) For the 28 teams that began the Tour de France à la Voile in Dunkerque on June 26, the fleet toured 10 ports and had their two last races today in La Seyne sur Mer to bring some changes to the overall ranking. While the top three remained unchanged, with skipper Bertrand Pace of Nouvelle Caledonie winning a seventh title, the American boat Groovederci with skipper Deneen Demourkas sailed two steady races to secure fourth place. This was the 33rd Tour, and the last one to use the Farr 30. The new M34 built by Archambault will be used for the 2011 edition. -- Event website: http://www.tourvoile.fr/en/2010/accueil-tfv-2010.html * Lelystad, NED (July 23, 2010) - Fifty two teams completed the 2010 Yngling Open World Championship, which was won by the American crew of John Ingalls, Bruce Chafee and Torey Pellegrini. The week before Torey Pellegrini secured a Silver medal at the 19-boat Youth European Championship that was won by the Danish crew Lucas Leir, Emil Max Moller and Konrad Floryan.-- http://www.yngling.org/index1.html * Corona del Mar, CA (July 25, 2010) - Thirteen international teams competed in Balboa Yacht Club’s 44th annual Governor’s Cup International Junior Match Racing Championship, which was won by the defending champion Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron team of William Tiller, Harry Thurston and Shaun Mason. Runnerup in the Finals was the Newport Harbor Yacht Club team of Chris Segerblom, Connor Bathen and Kieran Chung. -- Complete report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10150 * Eighteen year old Mike Perham (GBR), who successfully undertook a solo round the world sailing voyage in 2008/9, has announced plans to become the youngest person to fly solo around the world. If successful in this latest challenge, Mike Perham will also become the first person to both sail and fly solo around the world. The authorized record route will take Perham across 18 countries during the 3-month long record attempt. The current record holder, Barrington Irving (USA), flew solo around the world at the age of 23. -- http://www.covarimail.com/view.lasso?id1=766&id2=522366 MAKE THE VINEYARD RACE PART OF YOUR LABOR DAY WEEKEND Take part in this East Coast classic, presented by Thomson Reuters and hosted by Stamford Yacht Club. Three courses to choose from; cruising division; multihull division; race tracking and post-race arrival party. Join Dawn Riley at our skippers meeting. Start date: Sept. 3rd. Register today at http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=336 LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Bill Reilly: (re, story in Scuttlebutt 3140) I just want to congratulate Alessandro Di Benedetto on completing his solo, non-stop and unassisted round-the-world sail today (Thursday)... His circumnavigation, which involved sailing a Mini-Transat 6.50m around the world via the Southern Ocean, is even more remarkable considering he broke his mast before rounding Cape Horn and sailed the rest of the way back to France under jury-rig... The whole voyage took him 269 days, covering 28,360 miles... It's quite refreshing to see a real sailor take up such a challenge and succeed, using nothing but experience, proper planning, good seamanship and ingenuity, unlike Abby Sunderland's ill-conceived publicity stunt... * From John McNeill: With all the chat about the sport and the participation of youth, perhaps it would be worthwhile to encourage some thinking beyond the rather myopic view that racing is the sport. Sailing, if one would consider for a moment, is much more that racing, and kids often just want to sail without necessarily competing, just like real sailors. The emphasis on organized competition and training may be actually taking the fun out of sailing for many. * From Robert Wilkes: May I respectfully question the statistics presented by Nicholas Hayes (in Scuttlebutt 3140) and the conclusions he draws from them. He writes “The key underserved groups are kids under 13, where sailors under-represent the population by 70%” and “For example, 8% of sailors are under 13, but 27% of population is under 13.” Firstly according to http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/age/age_sex_2008.html, only 21.4% of the US population is under 15 which suggests that the under 13s are 17.8% of the population not 27%. Secondly it must be questioned how many under 5s (7% of the population) or even under 10s (6.7% of the population) can reasonably be expected to sail. If we assume that kids start sailing at an average age of 9 then the age group 9-12 is 5.4% of the population. On this basis if 8% of all sailors are under 13, then those of them who might reasonably be expected to sail are over-represented by 48%. Of course this assumes that Nicholas’s 8% which is based on a survey of 1,185 “respondents” are acceptable as a statistical database for his wide-ranging conclusions. To me Amy Gross-Kehoe’s explanation of the pressures on young adults is far more convincing. => Nick Hayes offered this response to the letter above by Robert Wilkes: Robert is right. I was looking at two tables while writing and I missed a typo. I meant to say that 27% of population is under 17. That leads to the larger point: it is much more effective to talk about this in terms of 17 and less; that is where the essential "under-represented" conclusion carries most weight. There is a lot of over-thinking being done regarding whether we lose kids at 9 or 13 (after Optis) or 17 (after 420s). In my view, the "next boat" argument is blind to the central fact that the boat doesn't create passion, the people do. I think it's safe to say that Amy Gross-Kehoe (in Scuttlebutt 3138) is offering something similar in her vision for long term engagement. As far as I am concerned, any idea for how to share something as fantastic as sailing with people of any age deserves highest consideration. Active sailors data comes not just from my research for the book, but from multiple sources: the research Trends in Outdoor Research, Bonnier, US SAILING and others. Thanks to Robert for catching my typo. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Life isn't fair, but it's still good. Special thanks to Doyle Sails, Hall Spars & Rigging, and Vineyard Race. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
