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SCUTTLEBUTT 2951 - Thursday, October 15, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are The Pirate's Lair and Ullman Sails. SPOTLIGHT ON SPORTSMANSHIP It had been a grueling regatta on Lake Michigan last weekend, with freezing temperatures on the water off Milwaukee. On Sunday, the second day of the women's Midwest qualifier for the collegiate single-handed national regatta next month, winds were 10 to 15 knots. Lauren Knoles, 20, a junior from Grosse Ile sailing for Michigan State, was in first place. Knoles had won this regatta her freshman and sophomore years, placing 12th and fifth at nationals. She was hoping to do better at nationals this year but first needed to place in the top two in the qualifying regatta.The gun sounded, and Knoles was busy working the controls on her radial rig Laser, trying to get more bend in her mast to depower her boat in the mounting winds. The cold air was making everyone's equipment brittle. Suddenly, a loud metallic snap rang out over the course. Knoles looked up and saw her mast had broken nearly in half. Her boat was crippled. She was out of the regatta and had lost her chance for nationals. "As soon as I heard that sound, I knew it was over," Knoles said. "I was crying. It was like everything was torn from me. I just lost it all." But all was not lost. Christine Porter of Wisconsin was in second place and saw Knoles' broken mast. Porter muttered that someone should lend Knoles a boat, and Porter's friend and teammate, Meghan Six, was close enough to hear. Six promptly sailed to Knoles and the two traded on the water, climbing over the sides of each other's boats. "I did it because MCSA" -- Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association -- "is underrepresented, and I wanted to make sure we could send our best sailors out to nationals," said Six, a sophomore. -- Detroit Free Press, read on: http://tinyurl.com/yfe2jab * Meghan's act of sportsmanship has also been recognized by US SAILING: http://media.ussailing.org/US_SAILING_Media_Home/Sailor_of_the_Week.htm SPREADING LIKE WILDFIRE In Scuttlebutt 2940 (Sept. 30, 2009), the article SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT from American trade magazine Professional Boatbuilder provided what is known to be the first interview with Dutch Naval Architect Peter van Oossanen where he declared that it was him, and not Australian Ben Lexcen, that was responsible for the innovative wing keel design of the 1983 America's Cup winner Australia II. Back then, the America's Cup rules required each team's principle designer to be a national of the club's country, a rule that has since been changed. The rumors of van Oossanen's involvement had long existed, but this was the first time that he had gone on the record with this information. It appears that the Australian press has picked up the story this week, with both sides defending their position. When the story appeared in Scuttlebutt, there were critics who felt it was unfair for the issue to be raised after Lexcen's death, with only one side of the story now available. As for the reasoning behind van Oossanen's declaration 26 years later, he said he had grown tired of the Dutch design team not being credited for the concept, particularly after key members of the Australian team - especially Sir James Hardy - continually credit only Lexcen. Mr van Oossanen says he and his Dutch team, and Dutch aerodynamics expert Joop Slooff, were the main designers of the famous winged keel, and that Lexcen played only a minor role - perhaps 10 per cent. Was New York Yacht Club asleep at the wheel on this issue? Not so, said author Rob Mundle. "This is an old story - (van Oossanen's) done it before and is just reviving the claims," Mundle said. "It's now 26 years later. It's a bit like the older someone gets, the more famous they become in their own eyes. The New York Yacht Club did everything they could, they went to unbelievable lengths to try and prove that Ben didn't design that keel. They went to Holland using fair means and foul to prove it wasn't Benny's idea. Oossanen could have stood up then but he didn't, and one has to ask whether he would be doing this if Ben was still alive today." The Australia II syndicate was given permission from the New York Yacht Club to use Holland as a base to design the keel, as Australia didn't have the facilities in 1983. Sources: Professional Boatbuilder: http://proboat.com/winged-victory.html The Age: http://tinyurl.com/yf6rvuq Nine MSN: http://tinyurl.com/yzq9wzw Audio interview of John Bertrand and Peter van Oossanen: http://bit.ly/FjUnk MOUNT GAY RUM WATERPROOF SOFT-SHELL JACKET "Wet", "Cold", "Dismal", "Horrid". All winter sailing adjectives that you will leave on the dock with the Mount Gay Rum waterproof soft-shell. At $125.00, it's half the price and all the quality. For excellent holiday deals, go to http://www.pirateslair.com/store/index.html IFDS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Athens, Greece (October 14, 2009) - The 43 entrants at the 2009 International Foundation for Disabled Sailing (IFDS) World Championship completed only one race on the first day in an 8-10 knot NWly breeze, with unstable winds from the north fighting with the sea breeze to force an abandonment of additional racing for the day. Representing North America, Scott Whitman/Julia Dorsett (USA) won the SKUD-18 race, while Rick Doerr/Brad Kendall/Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (USA) were third in the Sonar. Bruce Miller (CAN) was 13th in the Single-Person Keelboat - 2.4mR. Despite being entered in the 2.4mR and Sonar respectively, Mark Bryant (USA) and Paul Callahan/David Burdette/Michael Hersey (USA) were scratched from the event. Racing continues Thursday through Sunday, with a preliminary forecast tomorrow for light northerly winds turning into a possible sea breeze. -- http://tinyurl.com/ykl38kv QUOTE / UNQUOTE Wayne Burdick, president of Beneteau USA, after the US Sailboat Show which concluded Monday in Annapolis, "It appears the doom and gloom is over. The tide is rising, the current is changing, and we're starting to get some wind in our sails." - Soundings, full story: http://tinyurl.com/yfn8l7t ICSA NAMES 2009 ALL ACADEMIC SAILING TEAM Norfolk, VA (October 14, 2009) - The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) has recognized 20 outstanding scholar athletes by their selection to the 2009 ICSA All Academic Sailing Team. The honor acknowledges the success at the highest levels - both on the water and in the classroom - of these men and women who were nominated by their respective schools for academic and athletic performance during the 2008-2009 academic year. The 2009 ICSA All Academic Team recognizes ten First Team and ten Second Team student-athletes who maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a scale of 4.00, were a key starter or reserve member of their school's sailing team, and who had reached junior standing at his or her institution of learning in order to be considered eligible for this distinction. "Selection to the First Team acknowledges an emphasis on academic achievement," said ICSA President Mitch Brindley. "These individuals have met a certain balance between sailing on a competitive team and academic excellence." -- Read on: http://www.collegesailing.org/news/2009allacademic.pdf US SAILING ANNOUNCEMENTS * US SAILING's Olympic Sailing Committee (OSC) seeks nominations from the public for the 2009 Coach of the Year Awards in Sailing. The awards are a part of the United States Olympic Committee's (USOC) Coach Recognition Program which highlights the accomplishments and contributions of coaches who train athletes at all levels of sailing. The OSC will nominate sailing coaches in five categories: National Coach of the Year, Developmental Coach of the Year, Volunteer Coach of the Year, Paralympic Coach of the Year and the "Doc" Counsilman Science Award. -- Details here: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/News/2009_Coach_of_the_Year.htm * Online voting for the US SAILING Board of Directors election will close Oct. 15 at midnight. Nominees are John Craig, Tom Hubbell, Patty Lawrence, Danielle Richards, and Walter Chamberlain. -- Details here: http://about.ussailing.org/Directory/BOD/Board_Election.htm * The U.S. Olympic Sailing Program has announced the ranking system and qualifying events for the 2010 US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics in the Olympic and Paralympic classes. Details here: Olympic team: http://tinyurl.com/2010-Olympic Paralympic team: http://tinyurl.com/2010-Paralympic SAILING SHORTS * The 2010 National Sailing Programs Symposium, in Houston Texas, has included a special section on educating junior sailors about the college recruiting process. A do's and don'ts list has been compiled from professionals within the field, i.e. college coaches and US Sailing reps, and is now online. Additional tips can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/ylnhsxe * OC Events, organisers of the award winning iShares Cup, the European Extreme 40 Sailing Series, has announced today the creation of the inaugural Extreme Sailing Series Asia to be staged between November 2009 and March 2010. The first year of the Asian series will include events in Hong Kong, Singapore and Oman with the possibility of a fourth venue to be confirmed, and with a plan to grow this to a six-event series by 2011/12. Bids have already been received for the future series from a number of other venues across Asia. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/yhmfhkc * The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) announced nine winners of the Innovation Awards. The awards, judged by Boating Writers International (BWI), were presented this morning at the International BoatBuilders' Exhibition & Conference (IBEX) in Miami Beach. Forty-three new products were entered in the competition. -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090914163400ibinews.html WEHRHEIM TAKES J/22 NORTH AMERICAN TITLE WITH ULLMAN SAILS J/22 skipper Flip Wehrheim and his crew of Max Skelley and Greg Koski claimed the J/22 North American Championship title earlier this month in a 37-boat fleet at Rush Creek YC in Austin, TX. Fully powered by Ullman Sails, the team paired excellent boat speed with smart tactical decisions and coordinated teamwork to win 4 of the 7 races. The 2009 North American win comes after the team's third place finish at the 2008 World Championship in Rochester, NY. Ullman Sails - Committed to building quality performance sails for over 40 years. Invest in your performance. Visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com EIGHT BELLS WIB Crealock, yacht designer, sailor and sailing author, has died at home in Carlsbad, California, having broken his hip in a fall at the age of 89. Crealock was key in the 'golden age' of fibreglass boat design in the 1960s. In 2002, the Pacific Seacraft 36, designed by Crealock, entered the American Sailboat Hall of Fame, 'a classic American sailboat with an honesty of design that, combined with the highest standards of boatbuilding.has shown the sailing industry that there is a place in the hearts and budgets of sailors for a boat created expressly to go to sea and bring the crew back safely.' William Ion Belton Crealock was born 23 August 1920 in Westcliff-on-Sea, around 35 miles east of London. Crealock studied naval architecture at Glasgow University. During World War II he worked in the Glasgow shipyard. In the 1970s, he emigrated to California and ran a boatyard, later working from his home. His ashes are to be scattered at sea. -- IBI Magazine, http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090914152954ibinews.html ALL THIS FOR THREE DAYS OF RACING? The Valencia Sailing website has posted the second part of their interview with Juan Kouyoumdjian, the Argentinean naval architect whose designs won the Volvo Ocean Races in 2005-6 with ABN AMRO 1 and then with Eircsson 4 in 2008-9. Here are Juan's comments regarding the America's Cup: "It seems to me a bit of a shame to find ourselves in the current situation after more than 2 years since the end of the last Cup in Valencia. It seems to me a shame that all this legal process was started under the basis of one team thinking the other was not being fair with the rules and after all that mess, legal procedures and long fights we find ourselves in a situation that is worse in terms of fairness, in terms of what the Defender can impose on the Challenger, compared to what it was 2 years ago. I wonder what they are doing this for, was it worth it for 3 days of racing? "I don't know all the details but I will tell you two things that best describe what I think of the situation. First, I think that the protocol Alinghi initially put forward wasn't a good one. I do think that one was right to contest it and ask Alinghi to modify it. I think the way by which BMW Oracle tried to do that isn't the right way. I think that filing a lawsuit and trying to be on the negative side all the time is wrong. I also think that it's wrong for the general public to think the challengers that committed to challenge back in 2007 were in agreement with Alinghi and accepted the protocol. That wasn't the case and being part of it I can tell you that those of us that believed that challenging was the right option did indeed recognize Alinghi was the legitimate defender but we all made them fully aware that there were some issues in the protocol that needed to be adjusted. The difference is that among all the people that didn't agree with the protocol only one decided to take it to court. We now know the consequences. "I think that during these 2 years, and under the risk of being wrong, there was a moment in the whole process, around March 2008, when there was a clear chance to settle things for the good of the event and the sport in general. It will remain in the consciousness of both Alinghi and BMW Oracle to explain why they didn't do that." -- Full interview: http://tinyurl.com/yh7cmfu => Curmudgeon's Comment: Juan also discusses in this interview the TP52 rule, and his involvement with Team Origin. While he does not confirm the following, it is widely suspected that he will be designing for Team Origin a new entry for the 2010 TP52 MedCup Series. perhaps the only new entry. IN SUPPORT OF THE DEFENSE The defending yacht club has filed its opposition brief regarding BMW Oracle's latest legal challenge (the seventh from the American team; this time against the venue). The papers state the absolute legitimacy for Ras Al Khaimah to be the venue as per the Order and Judgement of 7 April 2009 ("[...] the location of the match shall be Valencia or any other location selected by SNG [...]"). The papers also demonstrate the capacity of the Emirate to host the 33rd America's Cup in terms of infrastructure and security. In addition to the Societe Nautique de Geneve papers, the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven that form the United Arab Emirates, submitted an amicus brief informing the Court of the safety and suitability of Ras Al Khaimah to host the 33rd America's Cup in February 2010. The Emirate was surprised and offended by Golden Gate Yacht Club and BMW Oracle's statements as there is absolutely no basis for the assertion that RAK is an unsafe or otherwise unfit venue for the America's Cup. To read the documents: http://www.alinghi.com/en/news/news/index.php?idIndex=200&idContent=20617 120 MILLION DOLLARS Ras al-Khaimah has spent more than $120m so far on infrastructure in preparation for its hosting of the America's Cup sailing race in 2010, a senior official in the UAE emirate has said. The investment total was revealed in a court filing in a New York court by Khater Massaad, the CEO of the Ras al-Khaimah Investment Authority. He filed a brief in the US to counter claims by US America's Cup challenger BMW Oracle Racing that the emirate was not a safe venue for the race because of its proximity to Iran. In the document, Massaad said the emirate had spent more than $120m on infrastructure, much of it since the August 5 venue announcement. -- Read on: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/570494-raks-americas-cup-spending-put-at-120m CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar: Oct 17-18 - Linda Elias Memorial Women's One Design - Long Beach, CA, USA Oct 21-24 - Rolex Osprey Cup - St. Petersburg, FL, USA Oct 30-Nov 1 - Storm Trysail Club IRC East Coast Champs - Annapolis, MD, USA Oct 31-Nov 7 - The Bitter End Pro Am Regatta - North Sound, Virgin Gorda, BVI View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 T.J. Perrotti (re, 'Hull Coatings' story in Scuttlebutt 2950): In research/tank testing that I've seen, I concur that there's the potential for significant boundary layer/drag reduction benefit with nanotechnology-coatings. The guys at Seashell Technologies in San Diego have been fiddling with this for some time, with some success. Check out: http://www.seashelltech.com * From Jesse Falsone: The US Navy has been interested in potential drag reduction technologies for years for efficiency (hull coatings), and for burst speeds (pumping air bubbles into the boundary layer). Of course, the inherent roughness of steel construction makes these technologies less attractive, as does the magnitude and difficulty in applying it to a ship. I think it should be noted here that the 8% figure given by Stu was for one particular boat in one condition presumably. I would assume that results for any coating would vary depending on the vessel, its configuration, point of sail, and environment. An 8% increase in performance infers that the actual reduction in frictional resistance is much larger - perhaps more than double that number - since the boat is also affected by wave-making drag. This is a very interesting topic with broad applications to the marine industry. Drag reduction had been identified by senior navy officials as a major technical challenge => Additional comments on this topic are on the Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=8414 * From Campbell Jenkins, Changi, Singapore: Just an observation about what could happen (with the America's Cup). now that there are powered hydraulics, how about an all girl crew? * From John Rumsey: Since engines are now allowed to replace man power in the America's Cup, why stop there and allow the engine to replace the wind power. I am sure that BMW and Ferrari could put together a great package for the boats and cheaper than mast and sails. * From Edward Trevelyan: Regarding the recent announcement that engines would replace winches and human grinders on AC multi-hulls, Earth to Ernesto and Larry: - Remove the mast to save unneeded weight. Re-direct the engine to twin props. Similar racing performance at considerably lower cost could be achieved by leasing a pair of evenly matched San Diego all-day sport fishing boats. - This farce (which can no longer claim "America's Cup" legitimacy) should be boycotted by the sailing public and any media organizations planning to cover the event. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5 - I am pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood. Special thanks to The Pirate's Lair and Ullman Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
