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SCUTTLEBUTT 2073 - April 14, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.IT'S ALL A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE (Forbes writer Thomas Jackson spent a day racing as the 18th man BMW Oracle's USA 76. When it was all over, he challenged Damon Runyon's oft-quoted assertion that watching an America's Cup race "is like watching grass grow." Here are a few excerpts.) The 25-meter hull is all carbon fiber, molded and baked--like a loaf of bread--in a 90 by 30-foot oven back in Anacortes, Washington. The sails are made from carbon-fiber thread, the $80,000 mainsail containing 13 kilometers of the stuff. The foresails cost a bit less ($30,000 each), but take a bigger beating during races. Each one is retired after just 60 tacks, which breaks down to $500 every time the boat comes about. But there was a lot more to the operation than the ship and its crew--a fact betrayed by the tablet PC tucked under the navigator's arm. That device, I later learned, was his portal to a secure wireless network broadcasting from BMW Oracle's mothership, a 60-foot converted fishing trawler anchored nearby. Packed with enough meteorological instruments, computer hardware and communications equipment to launch a naval assault, the tender, as it's also called, could relay all manner of strategic data to the navigator, including up-to-the-minute reports from smaller support boats zipping around the course. And as if that weren't enough information to go on, the navigator could also tap live data from a series of weather buoys--accessible to all participating boats--placed at strategic points by the America's Cup committee. The countdown to the start of an America's Cup-class regatta can be more exciting than the race itself. The 12 yachts converged on the start box, a 275-meter-long, 300-meter-deep rectangle of space directly behind the starting line. The trick, of course, is to stay within the box's boundaries, then cross the line at the moment the clock hits zero. If a boat breaches too soon, it must complete a penalty turn. It's a wonder there were no collisions as all 12 craft, collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars, executed a dizzying series of jibes and tacks this way and that. It was reminiscent of Monty Python's famous skit, the 100-meter dash for people with no sense of direction. Then we were off, and suddenly, everything became...calm. Of course there was that moment when we passed within what seemed like five feet astern of the South African boat, Shosholoza, but compared to the frenetic prestart, the atmosphere was positively officelike. No histrionics whatsoever. When the navigator wanted to tack, he calmly said, "Let's tack." I'd been expecting something out of a Patrick O'Brian novel--"Bring us about, Bonden!" Not here. The tactician was equally nonchalant. When he saw the ripples of an approaching gust, he would quietly remark, "Looks like some good pressure over there." Still, there was a majesty to the cool precision with which the sailors worked. When they raised the spinnaker as we rounded the windward mark -- a complicated maneuver -- it was like watching major leaguers turn a flawless double play. And I was in the middle of the infield watching them do it. For me, 90 minutes of racing had passed in what seemed like 5. Damon Runyon would have felt the same, I'm sure. -- Brief excerpts from a story by Thomas Jackson in Forbes. Full story: http://www.forbes.com/fyi/2006/0424/130.html TRIVIA QUESTION In 1923, the forty-foot yacht 'Memory' entered the Newport to Bermuda Race with something very new for that era. What was it? (Answer below) NEW LEADERS AT CONGRESSIONAL CUP Long Beach, Calif. -- The breeze returned to Long Beach Harbor for the third day of the Congressional Cup Regatta presented by Acura, and the changed condition produced very different results. Regatta leader Mathieu Richard, who had won each his first 10 matches, lost three straight before picking up his only win of the day in the fourth and final race - moving him out of the lead into third place. Meanwhile, Gavin Brady was enjoying the 9-12 knots southwesterlies. He won all four of his matches, including those against Richard and Ian Williams. Williams' loss to Brady was his only loss of the day, and he is now tied with Brady at the top of the leaderboard with just three races left to determine who will race in the Semifinals and finals on Saturday. Round Robin Standings: 1. Ian Williams, 12-3 1. Gavin Brady, 12-3 3. Mathieu Richard, 11-4 4. Johnie Berntsson, 7-8 4. Scott Dickson, 7-8 4. Simon Minoprio, 7-8 7. Brian Angel, 6-9 7. Staffan Lindberg, 6-9 9. Cameron Appleton, 4-11 10. Peter Wibroe, 3-12 Event website: http:www.lbyc.org/concup/ JUST A SMATTERING OF HAPPINESS: UK-Halsey has some bragging to do for our happy owners. Here are three: Nicolas Petria took seven firsts in the nine-race Massilia Cup with his Beneteau 31.7 Aquarius. Same event, Walter Radulic bagged three bullets with his Beneteau 36.7 Kalinka. Both won their divisions, handily. John Storck, fresh from a family-sailed second at Key West, won the St. Pete NOOD (overall champion, too) by winning every race in the J/80 class with Rumor. How are you doing with your "class" boat? Maybe it's time to call UK-Halsey: 800.253.2002. You can still have UK-Halsey in your corner this summer. http://www.ukhalsey.com SNAKES AND LADDERS As the Volvo Ocean race fleet exit the trade winds and head into unpredictable and potentially stormy waters, the teams are all in agreement that west is best. After days of sailing north west on one gybe, all the yachts gybed on Thursday to set themselves up for the changeable conditions. These temporary course changes didn't last long, some for under an hour before they gybed back. Leg leader ABN Amro One (Mike Sanderson) decided to play out some sneaky tactics this afternoon, hoping to conceal his gybe from his rivals. He explained his plan before this position report. "Right now we are in the middle of this massive stationary front, and so very changeable conditions are to be expected, that makes sched time all that more stressful as you really have no idea how you have been going. A pretty classic example of that was just in this last report where movistar and us are only 30 miles apart and we had wind directions that where 60 degrees different! There will be some big games of snakes and ladders going on while we are in this stuff. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Thursday 1. ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 1206 miles to finish 2. movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +48 miles 3. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +105 miles 4. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +145 miles 5. Ericsson Racing Team, John Kostecki, +149 miles 6. ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +210 miles SAIL INVENTORY "It seems that we are very slippery under 9 knots, and one of the reasons is the two sails specially developed for these conditions and actually for this leg. From Baltimore on we still have 6 slots left for new sails, from 24 allowed for the race. The planning has worked well. For example the main we are using now has done only all the in port races up to Melbourne, so it is brand-new. In Rio we got another new main, which we will use for the remainder of the in port races, and when conditions are right for some of the short legs. For the transatlantic we will use the same mainsail as in the Southern Ocean, no damage a still in very good shape. Sails are our engine; we nearly have a complete new wardrobe for this leg so in good shape for the rest of the race." -- Bouwe Bekking, movistar skipper "Sometimes it is "Horses for courses" out here with everyone having slightly different sails and each having their "sweet spot" and each inventory having its "holes" or areas that aren't covered so well. These sails are designed knowing the course and how many hours you will sail in all the conditions. You try to build your sails to achieve the best results in the conditions you expect to see most often and accept that you will be weak in some conditions. Of course you alter your course to minimize the damage when you don't have the right sail for the "ideal course". -- Paul Cayard, Pirates of the Caribbean skipper RACING RULES QUIZ True or False? If a boat breaks a right-of-way rule near the finishing line, she must take her Two Turns Penalty on the course side of the finishing line and then finish. (See answer later in this issue.) LOOKING GOOD On Wednesday afternoon, Emirates Team New Zealand took their new boat, NZL 84, out for a sail on Valencia waters for the first time. The team had sailed NZL 82 earlier this week. The Emirates crew have previously spent several weeks training and testing the new boat at home on the Hauraki Gulf this winter. After the New Zealand training sessions, the team was pleased with the new boat. "NZL 84, relative to NZL 81 and NZL 82, appears to be a pretty good boat," confirmed Terry Hutchinson, tactician for Emirates Team New Zealand, before leaving the dock. "Knowing where we stood with the rest of the fleet it needed to be a much better boat. I think we've made some good steps and it'll be interesting to see how it lines up against the others. The initial impression is pretty good." The team plans to sail the boat a lot this month, ahead of the Valencia Louis Vuitton Acts 10 & 11, which begin on 11 May. Hutchinson says while no final decision has been made, he expects to be racing NZL 84 in the Acts this year. "I'd be surprised if we didn't race it. Of all the teams right now we're the most shy on time at the venue and learning all the conditions here. So I'd be hesitant not to put our best foot forward. But I might be speaking prematurely." -- http://www.americascup.com/en/ CELEBRATION Dee Caffari and her team are celebrating after making successful repairs to her broken watermaker. The failure had left Dee with less than 150 litres of fresh water in Aviva's tanks, which was not enough to last until the finish so a solution was vital. The successful repairs were the result of a joint effort and three days of extensive communication between Dee and the team ashore. "There have been a lot of emails and descriptions back and forth, but in end what happened was a four way job with input from our engineer Peter Pierce, electronics engineer Keith Baxter and Matthew Ratsey," explains Aviva Challenge Project Director Andrew Roberts. "It has taken three days of perseverance and patience . They didn't cry or have a tantrum in frustration; they just smoothly moved onto the next possibility," Caffari added. Caffari is attempting to become the first woman to sail solo and non-stop westwards round the world. With 4800 miles still to go on this voyage that began on November 20, Caffari advanced 122 miles in the last 24 hours. ~ www.avivachallenge.com ONLY THE TOP TEN Palma de Mallorca, Spain - The top ten sailors of each class competing in Friday's final medal race at Spain's Princess Sofia Trophy may not be getting a lot of sleep tonight because the winners in most classes have not yet been determined. Six U.S. teams have made the cut and finished in the top ten of their respective fleets: 470 Women: 6. Amanda Clark/Sarah Mergenthaler; Laser Radial: 4. Anna Tunnicliffe, 5. Paige Railey; Laser: 7. Brad Funk; 1. Sally Barkow/Carrie Howe/Debbie Capozzi, 6. Hannah Swett/Melissa Purdy/Liz Filter. Canadian Finn sailor Christopher Cook will also be there. He presently is third in the 41-boat Finn flee, while Zack Railey (USA) missed the cut in the Finn fleet by just six points. For USA's Yngling skipper Sally Barkow and her crew Carrie Howe and Debbie Capozzi, Friday will be an especially big day: they've been the leaders in their fleet throughout most of the regatta but are closely followed by the British team skippered by Sarah Ayton, who's just two points behind. -- http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/dinghy/index.html "THIRSTY" FOR MOUNT GAYŽ RUM GEAR???? Quench that thirst by calling Lands' End Business Outfitters at 800-490-6402 for Mount Gay Rum jackets, polos, bags, fleece items and more - for the boat and beyond. All with the legendary Mount Gay Rum logo! With the sailing season getting into full swing throughout the country, check out the line of Mount Gay Rum gear that Lands' End Business Outfitters offers. Don't forget if you're looking for that special gift for a sailor, Mount Gay Rum gear is what you need. Look for information on the Mount Gay Rum Brand at http://www.mountgay.com TRIVIA ANSWER In 1923, the forty-foot yacht 'Memory' had the best elapsed time in the Newport to Bermuda Race using the Marconi Rig. This new idea, which did away with the top gaff and created a triangular sail, is now what most resembles the modern sail plan in use today - though fat head mainsails like used in the America's Cup are creeping back toward the Gaff Rig days of old. (This trivia question came courtesy of the book, "Name That Boat" by Carol Lea Mueller. Book details are available at http://tinyurl.com/jbjeh) NEWS BRIEFS * This Sunday the B&Q trimaran will leave Shanghai to start Leg 5 out of 10, signifying the half way stage of the 4505-mile Asian Record circuit, as Ellen MacArthur and the team go for record number 6 - 580 miles from Shanghai to Taipei. For more information 10 record legs, 6 countries, establishing 12 new records: http://www.asianrecordcircuit.com * Join Kimo Worthington, General Manager of The Pirates of the Caribbean for a virtual tour of The Black Pearl. Kimo swaps his mobile phone for a microphone, to take you on a tour of our team's impressive VO70 through The Black Pearl website. Kimo will take you down below to see the sailors' sleeping quarters, the 'galley', nav station and the even the head! To tour The Black Pearl, visit the website and click on 'The Boat.' -- http://www.blackpearlracing.com * SARS (Secure Asset Reporting Services) is supplying its technology to SYCE (Superyachting Challenge Events) -- a unique combination of onboard hardware and software -- to provide up-to-the-minute real-time reporting of the pace and location of maxi trimaran, Geronimo, as she attempts her world record run from San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan. SARS is tracking the progress of Geronimo across the Pacific using position reports from a Skywave DMR200D communicator transmitting over the Inmarsat D+ network. The position reports are displayed on SARS' proprietary web application, IntelitracsR, along with vessel speed and bearing data. -- http://www.superyachting.com * Friday 14 April is expected to see a new record for the number of Optimist sailors racing on the same day -- but not in the same place. Entry figures from the Lake Garda meeting are now confirmed at 673. Additionally, 238 Optis are already entered in Portoroz, Slovenia and 194 at the South American Championship in Colombia. So if the Magic Marine Easter regatta in Braassemermeer, Holland hits its quota of 270 sailors and the New Zealand Open Nationals attracts at least 125 (160 last year) a new record will be set. The previous record from 2004 was 1,493 * Francis Joyon is saying very little and Patrice Lafargue, CEO of his main sponsor IDEC, is saying even less, but the indications are that the trans-Atlantic solo record holder will have a new trimaran in 2007. Last year, Francis Joyon broke the west-east solo transatlantic record by 22 hours, 33 minutes and 5 seconds setting a new time of 6 days, 4 hours, 1 minutes and 37 seconds on board his 90ft trimaran 'IDEC' at an average speed of 19.75 knot. During that crossing he also covered 543 miles in 24 hours, setting a new solo record. -- http://www.bymnews.com/new/content/view/27527/48/ ANSWER TO RACING RULES QUIZ False. When a boat breaks a right-of-way rule near the finishing line, she can take her Two Turns Penalty anywhere (as long as she stays clear of other boats). Once her penalty is done, she must sail completely to the course side of the line before finishing (rule 44.2). For 99 more questions like this, check out the Racing Rules IQ Test at www.SpeedandSmarts.com. See how well you really know the new 2005-2008 racing rules! 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. 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. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Richard Clark, Masterton New Zealand: I have a photographic assignment to help Sally Collison, can all the crews of the Volvo drop their gear and take a crew portrait for a Volvo Buck Naked Calendar. Butt Naked, sounds good! Can't be too hard? Can it? All these testosterone blown blokes out on the rail and the wind blowing free. Smile Sally and offer a prize. I am sure it would take the interest in sailing where no one dreamed or dare to go. Next, who gets to be first in sailing around the world starkers! * From Hugh Elliot: While comfortable to wear, I have [almost] given up using my inflatable PFD. Here is the issue: how do you know if it will work? That's easy: test it and you have now proved that it does or does not leak. Repack it and install a new CO2 cartridge. Having gone through that exercise, now, how do you know that it will work? My ExtraSport is bulkier and a nuisance to pack but does allow TSA to get their knickers in a twist over my two prosthetic legs without being distracted by CO2 cartridges. * From Mike Kennedy: The passing of Bill Lapworth should include recognition that 14 Cal 40s competed in last year's Transpac, the most since 1969. I think there may be even more next year. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandment's would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress." -- Ronald Reagan Special thanks UK-Halsey Sails and Mount Gay Rum. |
