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SCUTTLEBUTT 2317 – April 6, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). ACT 13: SKUNKED ON DAY 3 Valencia, 05 April, 2007 - At 16:20, the Race Committee postponed racing for the day at the 32nd America’s Cup, after the fleet was held at sea on a cold, wet spring day. When the 12 Cup teams left Port America’s Cup for racing, they were faced with a cold, light Northerly breeze and a heavy swell. Rainsqualls soon blew down the race area and at the scheduled start time of 14:05, racing was postponed. The Race Committee kept the boats at sea from nearly two and a half hours, but it was in vain; the weather never improved and the wind never consistently held over 5 knots. Two races are now scheduled for each of Friday and Saturday, the reserve day. +39 Challenge, who were dismasted during racing on Wednesday, spent the day working on their old mast and have indicated they will be ready to race on Friday. -- Event website: http://tinyurl.com/2n7vun Standings after 3 races 1. Alinghi (SUI 91) 4-1-1, 33 pts 2. BMW Oracle Racing (USA 87) 1-4-7, 27 3. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 84) 5-3-4, 27 4. Desafío Español 2007 (ESP 97) 8-2-3, 26 5. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA 94) 7-5-2, 25 6. Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia (ITA 99) 3-6-5, 25 7. Team Shosholoza (RSA 83) 2-8-10, 19 8. Areva Challenge (FRA 93) 9-10-8, 12 9. United Internet Team Germany (GER 89) 6-9-DNF, 11 10. Victory Challenge (SWE 96) 12-11-6, 10 11. +39 Challenge (ITA 85) 10-7-DNF, 9 12. China Team (CHN 95) 11-12-9, 7 Note: Points for each race equal the number of entered boats beaten plus 1. PROTEST DECIDED Valencia, 05 April, 2007 - The Jury has ruled in the protest between +39 Challenge and United Internet Team Germany and awarded redress to the Italian team. In terms of the incident on the water (from Wednesday when Germany tried to duck +39 upwind and clipped rigs), the Jury ruled that the German team broke Rule 10 (opposite tacks) and Rule 14 (avoiding contact) of the Racing Rules of Sailing. Areva Challenge, originally protested by United Internet Team Germany, was absolved of any blame in the incident. For Redress, the Jury awarded +39 Challenge a fifth place finish in Race Three of Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13 (no other positions in the race are affected). In addition, +39 Challenge will hold on to the two bonus points it would earn from its current position on the Louis Vuitton Ranking table, regardless of its result in Act 13. Further, the Jury ruled that the fairest solution for all boats was to allow +39 to accept the offer of the use of a Version 5 mast from United Internet Team Germany. The Jury acknowledges that this would require a Protocol amendment (because the mast was not designed by +39), which it recommends. Full costs have been directed against United Internet Team Germany (approx 600,000 USD). -- Event website: http://tinyurl.com/376r63 * Curmudgeon’s Comment: It is our understanding that to change the Protocol (the rules under which the Cup is run), an agreement must be reached between the Defender (Alinghi) and the Challenger of Record (BMW Oracle Racing). While we believe that both parties have agreed to the use of a V5 mast from Germany for +39, the Challenger of Record has a policy of agreeing to changes only if the other challengers support the change. At the time that this issue was published, no official word had yet been made. Additionally, there is the issue of feasibility. Masts for each team are rather unique, and not easily interchangeable (ie, we’re not swapping Lightning spars here). * Photos of the dismasting: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/0404 WEATHER REPORT Jack Katzfey from the Alinghi weather team comments on the conditions: “The forecast (for Thursday) was for a bit more wind but the showers came over and killed all hope of any decent breeze. It was very shifty out there and all over the place – no condition for racing.” As for whether these conditions are typical for Valencia in April, Katzfey replied, “Spring in Europe is generally quite variable. These conditions are not atypical but when you compare it to the last two years, we haven’t had conditions like this. These are fairly untypical especially for such a long period of time. It’s very cold and rainy for sunny Valencia!” As for the Friday’s forecast, Katzfey thought that it “looks like it could be breezy, north-easterly breeze 16 to 18 knots and it looks like there could be some quite big waves coming. Right now it looks like it’s going to be sailable unless the waves get too big.” NEW ENGLAND ROPES SETS SAIL IN CYBERSPACE New England Ropes recently launched their new website! The new website illustrates the company’s command of rope design and manufacturing across all industries. In the sailing area, visitors can learn about rope design, fiber types, and characteristics, and the vast array of products for every level of sailing NER offers. And visitors to the Marine Community Page can read all about New Products, the NER Team (including members of the United States Sailing Team and Kenny Read) as well as upcoming events and regattas like this month’s Strictly Sail Pacific show in Oakland April 18-22. For more information, log on to http://www.neropes.com 38 TROFEO SAR PRINCESA SOFIA Palma de Mallorca, Spain (April 5, 2007) - Today’s heavy showers in the Bay of Palma left the eight racing areas of the 38 Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia – Mapfre without wind. The Star, Finn, 49er, and Tornado were able to complete only one race, the Yngling fleet sailed two races, but the Laser, Laser Racial, 470 and RS:X fleets were left without any racing. On this final day of fleet racing before Friday’s medal race, the challenge to run races was considerable as the conditions deteriorated. As Laser sailor Andrew Campbell (USA) commented, “When there is ice falling from the sky, heavy black clouds pressing down the mountains towards the course area, and fickle wind, if any, then it is usually time to go in.” For those fleets that did get in a race, life wasn’t much better. Says Star crew Brad Nichol (USA), “I went on the record (in ‘butt 2314) saying it was not that cold here in Palma… Well, I changed my mind. The mix of cold cloudy skies, HAIL, and cold water made for a very unpleasant day. Top it off with difficult, shifty conditions and poor race committee work, and we finished the day feeling a bit sour.” Of the eleven classes, 8 of them will have North American representatives in the final medal race on Friday, where only the top 10 in the standings can participate. Canadian Finn sailor Christopher Cook managed to stay in the top ten despite not racing on Thursday, American 49er sailors Wadlow/ Rast pulled themselves up from 12th to 10th on Thursday’s single race, and American 470 Men McNay/ Biehl dropped down from 15th to 32nd after getting disqualified from a race on Wednesday. -- Event website: http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/dinghy/index.html Overall Positions of Top North Americans (over total entrants): Yngling - Sally Barkow/ Carrie Howe/ Debbie Capozzi (USA, 1/33) Laser Radial - Tanias Elias Calles Wolf (MEX, 4/91) Star - Hamish Pepper/ Brad Nichol (NZL/ USA, 5/41) 470 Women - Erin Maxwell/ Isabelle Kinsolving (USA, 6/68) Tornado - Oskar Johansson/ Kevin Stittle (CAN, 6/58) Finn - Christopher Cook (CAN, 9/55) Laser - Andrew Campbell (USA, 9/138) 49er - Tim Wadlow/ Chris Rast (USA, 10/80) RS:X Women - Nikola Girke (CAN, 30/67) RS:X Men - Alain Bolduc (CAN, 31/112) 470 Men - Stuart McNay/ Graham Biehl (USA, 32/116) L’HYDROPTÈRE CLAIMS SPEED RECORDS On Wednesday 4th April 2007, in the South of Lorient (France), l’Hydroptère, helmed by Alain Thébault, was sailing in 25-knot North-East winds and quiet sea conditions when they claimed speeds of 44.5 knots over 500 meters and 41.5 knots over one nautical mile. These are the exceptional speeds, which were done so in the presence of Michael Ellison - official timekeeper at the WSSRC - that have enabled l’Hydroptère to beat two world records, subject to official ratification by ISAF/ World Sailing Speed Record Council. The Crew of the Catamaran “Techniques Avancées” were the original holders of the amazing speed record in category D since 1997, together with Bjorn Dunkerbeck, who beat the absolute speed record on one nautical mile in 2006. -- For photos and video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/0405 MULTIHULL MOVEMENT (The following letter was sent to Scuttlebutt by Arthur J Stevens, and marks the announcement of a new group dedicated to the support of youth multihull sailing in North America.) Way back in 2001 the US Sailing Multihull Committee put forward the idea of starting a national regatta for youth multihull sailors. The purpose was to generate enthusiasm with our children by introducing them to the concept they could be successful sailing catamarans. Our 7th annual US Youth Multihull Championship was sailed last week at ABYC in Long Beach, California. What a real success story. Someone recently asked if we need the Tornado in the Olympics to be successful. Take a look at these names: Anders Straume, Hunter Stunzi, Tom & Jerry Tullo, Marc Kennedy, Todd Riccardi, Brett Sullivan, Chris Batchelor, Laura Young, Harry Newkirk, Tom Fruitticher, Marie Appel, Tim Wallace, Mike Iames, Frank Burns, Jennifer Innwood, Jack Field, Tyler Burd, Duncan Padura, Andy Warwick, Tyler Faust, Allen Michael, Cameron Biehl, Pike Harris, Kyler Hast, Mike Siau, Sam Ingham, Evan Miller, Sarah & Elizabeth Newberry, Eric Raybon, Jason Bilow, Luke Lawrence, Alex Sachs, Kaitlan Yasher, and Sierra Manno. Please think about who these people are for a minute. I bet you know several of these fine young sailors. These kids and many more are the direct result of efforts put forward by so many volunteers within our Multihull Community all across the country. They are our friends and our competitors in today’s real world of Catamaran sailing. We have an opportunity now to take control of our own destiny. A new group is forming called North American Youth Multihull Association (NAYMA) and along with Performance Catamaran, Sl16 Class Association and the Jacksonville Sailing Foundation, a massive effort to bring youth Multihull sailing to the next level will be achieved. Performance Catamaran has announced their support by offering 6 new SL16 Catamarans to NAYMA for their use. This is a huge financial commitment to children. The first year plan is to bring these new SL16’s to venues across the US and provide round robin racing and clinic opportunities to local children already acquainted with sailing. -- Complete letter at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0405 SPRING SAIL Spring is here... and now is a great time to put superior North Sails performance, quality, and durability on your boat. North Sails designs and manufactures its own premium NorDac, NorLam, NorLon and NorLite sail fabrics to outperform and outlast any other sailcloth in their category. Call your North Sails representative today for North's surprisingly competitive pricing on many North fabric styles. It's one more reason why more sailors rely on North than any other sailmaker in the world. http://www.northsails.com MACKINAC MEMORIES To everyone who has sailed the 333 statute miles from Chicago to Mackinac Island - in one or more of the 98 Mac races since 1898 - let us hear your stories! In a spirit of preservation and celebration of the best ”Mackinac Memories,” Chicago Yacht Club and Lands’ End are sponsoring an essay contest. One lucky winner’s story will be published in the 2007 Official Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Program and the top three essay authors will also receive prizes. Most importantly, each essay will help contribute to building a deeper and richer history of this great race. Entrants may submit an essay of up to 2,000 words, describing his or her best narrative from any single running of “The Mac”- the world’s longest annual freshwater race. The essay will be judged on the individual’s originality and his or her ability to best capture the humor, adventure, camaraderie, and spirit of the Race. The First Place winner will receive a $500 Lands’ End gift card. Second Place wins Lands’ End foul weather gear, complete with jacket, bibs, and gloves, and the Third Place winner receives free polo shirts to outfit his or her crew. -- Full details: http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/index.cfm?menu=899&openitem=899# US-IRC OWNER'S ASSOCIATION AND CONSTITUTION From the outset, direction of US-IRC has come from a handful of dedicated offshore sailors representing their clubs or events. These self-appointed volunteers did a tremendous amount of work, and accomplished a great deal under sometimes difficult circumstances. We all owe them our thanks. 2007 finds IRC firmly established in the United States with almost all of the major big boat events offering IRC. Two major season championships, the Northern Ocean racing Trophy, and the Gulf Stream Series are sailed under IRC. The 2007 Rolex IRC National Championship will be an international event. IRC is second only to PHRF in the number of events and boats racing. It is the only international rule in use in North America. Now, it is time to involve American IRC Owners in the direct control of US-IRC. With that in mind, the US-IRC Owners Association has been formed. The Constitution and the list of members of the Association and its Technical Advisory Committee are listed on this site, as are excerpts from the minutes of their monthly meetings. The sailing community is encouraged to send questions and comments to: mailto:info@us-irc.org - for the full story go to http://www.us-irc.org VIDEO OF THE WEEK The British Virgin Islands is a treasure in the Caribbean, which last week enjoyed a record 45-boat fleet during the 2007 BVI Spring Regatta. This week ’s video celebrates some of the other activities in the BVI, and is filmed by a group of fun-loving twenty-somethings that are on a vacation they’re clearly enjoying. From their bareboat charter, follow along with their kiteboarding, surfing, and snorkeling expeditions… and do it all in this 3:39 minute video. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/07/0402 SAILING SHORTS * Tampa, FL (April 5, 2007) Light winds on the fourth day of the Star Western Hemisphere Championship forced the abandonment of the one race attempted, and with conditions further deteriorating, racing was called with the final results standing from the previous 6 races held. Winners Freddy Loof and Anders Ekstrom (SWE) finished with a 10-point lead over Bermudians Peter Bromby and Bill McNiven in second. -- Full report and results: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_262.shtml * Team Tsunami, which is the program in Annapolis that provides juniors between the ages of 10-18 with the opportunity to participate in J/105 racing, has grown a new head. Over the winter another J/105 has become available in the Annapolis area to race as a junior boat with Team Tsunami. This boat will be called Team Storm Trysail, and both teams will now become part of Chessie Jr. Racing. A management team of volunteers from Storm Trysail, Tsunami Syndicate, and the Annapolis community will work with the juniors, coaches, safety officers, and parents to make the 2007 season fun and productive. -- http://www.team-tsunami.org/news_article.php?news_id=17 WHERE TO FIND IT The Scuttlebutt website is the source for many recent reader questions: * AC television schedule: The Versus network show schedule for the U.S is listed on the Event Calendar (under Show Listings). * Classified Ads: All advertisements are free for your gear, job, or boats. * New Products Announcements: Companies are encouraged to post the details on their product updates here. * Eight Bells: For the recent passing of Jake Wood, Gary Clifford, and Shorty Trimingham, there are threads in the Forum where comments are encouraged. LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Guy Doran, Newport Beach, CA: In the summer of 1970 I had the privilege of sailing the 1970 Tahiti Race with Jake Wood aboard a Columbia 57 named Aries. Jake was an odd sort but a good mate throughout the 19-day race and for several weeks of cruising French Polynesia afterward. He tolerated the shenanigans of me and 2 other college kids on the crew rather well that summer. The attached photo was taken during that 1970 Tahiti Race. It shows Jake (in the hat) next to skipper Danny Elliott, who many know from the Ticonderoga campaigns. -- Additional comments encouraged on the Forum: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/07/JW * From Bob Richards: Could there have been a worse America’s Cup team to lose their rig than +39? The boys haven’t been paid for four months, did some all-nighters to get the new stick in before the first race, got a tease of what their chances were by nearly winning the first race, then got it all taken away with the dismasting. They have no competitive spares, can’t get a new rig built in time, and any rig they borrow won’t fit right either. However, for skipper Iain Percy, this might be a fitting way for this campaign to end; going out early rather than suffering thru the challenger series, and letting him get on with his Star Olympic campaign. * From Steve Gregory: ACT 13 in Valencia is how to make sailing exciting… breaking masts, breaking spin poles, strong and fickle winds, etc. Fleets getting turned inside out is exactly what the viewer wants. We don’t want anything predictable, for why watch? We want the unpredictable, the “that’s why they play the game” kind of stuff. While the whacky spring winds will likely be replaced soon with the boring, steady stuff, maybe the planners for the next Cup will realize that the event either needs a site with bashing big winds, or totally squirrelly stuff. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs. (Happy Easter!) Special thanks to New England Ropes and North Sails. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
