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SCUTTLEBUTT 2297 – March 9, 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). ACURA MIAMI GRAND PRIX Miami Beach, Fla. – (March 8, 2007) While early forecasts called for lighter winds, a sea breeze came on faster and stronger than predicted, allowing Principal Race Officer Dave Brennan and his team to get in three races on the opening day of the grand prix regatta. One of the teams on a roll was Simon Williams’ team on the Melges 32 Fresh Guidance, from Newport, R.I. with a 2-3-1. Williams, formerly a Farr 40 owner, made his debut in the Melges 32 class at Acura Key West 2007 and finished a respectable fourth. Claudio Recchi and Let’s Roll won that regatta in convincing fashion and Williams felt the Italians were the team to beat here. “Let’s Roll is a great boat with a great crew. They are a formidable opponent, but we were faster than them today,” Williams said. “We learned a ton at Key West and that time in the boat has really improved our performance.” Bill Hardesty, former College Sailor of the Year at the Merchant Marine Academy, is calling tactics for Williams. -- Full report: http://www.premiere-racing.com/07_AMGP_Results/miami_2007_news.htm Preliminary Results Melges 32 1. Fresh Guidance, Simon Williams (USA), 2-3-1, 6 points 2. Star, Jeff Ecklund (USA), 4-1-2, 7 3. Let's Roll, Claudio Recchi (ITA), 3-2-3, 8 IRC class 1. Magic Glove, Colin Barrington (IRL), Ker 50, 1-3-2, 6 points 2. Windquest, Doug Devos (USA), TP52, 4-2-1, 7 3. Samba Pa Ti, John Kilroy (USA), TP52, 3-1-3, 7 Farr 40 1. Twins, Erik Maris (FRA), 6-1-2, 9 points 2. Nerone, Massimo Mezzaroma (ITA), 9-3-1, 13 3. Norwegian Steam, Eivind Astrup (NOR), 7-2-4, 13 Mumm 30 1. Mean Machine, Peter De Ridder (MON), 1-2-1, 4 points 2. Groovederci, Deneen Demourkas (USA), 3-1-2, 6 3. Kaizen, S. Baker/M.Solomon (USA), 2-4-4, 10 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/2t3u7h * A reminder that there will be both a video highlights show each evening after the races on the Jobson Sailing website (after 8pm ET), and a GPS tracking replay by Kattack for every race in every fleet. If you download the free Kattack Player, the playback (after 5pm ET) includes detailed information from each boat. If you don’t download the Kattack Player, a video replay should be up on the Kattack website by 9pm ET. -- Jobson video: http://www.jobsonsailing.com -- Kattack playback: http://tinyurl.com/3akgfo THE FAN CLUB With a little bit of imagination - the gentle breeze, the sky-blue ceiling, and sea-blue base - Auckland University's wind tunnel can become the Mediterranean. On occasions it probably has for Emirates Team New Zealand's sail designers and trimmers who have spent endless hours in the facility trying to create perfect sails for the fickle conditions off the coast of Valencia. Since sails and rigs are expected to be the main areas of development in this year's America's Cup, the university's wind tunnel - the first of its kind in the world - has been a crucial part of Team New Zealand's preparation. The tunnel allows designers to test ideas and establish which sails make the boat go faster, the differences between designs, which sails perform best in which conditions and each sail's stability. It operates by simulating the wind as experienced by a yacht moving through the water. Two giant fans blow through twisting vanes, which resemble vertical blinds, on to a scale-model yacht on a turntable. Team New Zealand have spent a lot of time at the Auckland facility - on average they test 10 new sail designs every six weeks - but BMW Oracle, Alinghi and South Africa's Shosholoza have also used it, as have a number of round-the-world teams. -- New Zealand Herald, full story: http://tinyurl.com/2rbzff LIGHTNING SOUTHERN CIRCUIT Part road-rally, part party/reunion, the International Lightning Class Association’s Southern Circuit has been running continuously since 1964. It’ s big, it’s fun, and begins this weekend in Savannah, GA. From there, the traveling circus goes to Miami, and finishes at what will be the 60th Annual Winter Championship in St. Petersburg, FL. Over 50 boats have signed up for the Circuit, which is typically full of stories and lore, most of which get retold around the modern campfire of the clubhouse bar. I hope to draw on the innate story-telling and blogging talents of people across the class to tell this year’s adventures. Thanks for joining us online, and thanks to Scuttlebutt for letting us share this year’s Southern Circuit. -- Amy Smith Linton, VP Southern Circuit, http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/lightningcircuit WINTER “WHITE” LASERS ARE BACK For a limited time Winter “White” Lasers are available for purchase at your local Vanguard dealer. Throughout the month of March, Lasers are available that feature a white hull with a fog grey deck. Don’t miss out on this limited opportunity to purchase a White Laser. Complete details at http://www.teamvanguard.com DROP RACE HELPS PEPPER (March 8, 2007) Poland’s Mateusz Kusznierewicz, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist in the Finn Class, and crew Dominik Zycki won day five at the 2007 Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta on the waters of Biscayne Bay Thursday. They finished only two boat lengths ahead of new Zealand’s Hamish Pepper, the reigning World and North American Star Class champion, who finished second today with crew and coach David Giles of Australia. The two teams had been tied for the overall lead heading into Thursday’s race. However, because sailors drop their worst of five finishes today, Kusznierewicz and Zycki now find themselves second in the overall standings, six points behind Pepper and Giles. The final race is scheduled for Friday. – Janet Maizner, full story: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_258.shtml Preliminary results after five races (top ten of 77 boats) 1. NZL, Hamish Pepper/ David Giles, 2-3-1-(16)-2, 8 points 2. POL, Mateusz Kusznierewicz / Dominik Zycki, 4-(9)-7-2-1, 14 3. SWE, Fredrik Loof/ Anders Ekstrom, 8-2-2-(18)-3, 15 4. AUS, Ian Murray / Andrew Palfrey, 6-5-6-8-(76/OCS), 25 5. BER, Peter Bromby / Bill McNiven, 5-11-10-5-(76/OCS), 31 6. GER, Marc Pickel/ Ingo Borkowski, 10-(48)-8-10-6, 34 7. GER, Matthias Miller/ Manuel Voigt, 7-7-(17)-11-11, 36 8. NOR, Eivind Melleby/ Petter Morland Pedersen, 12-14-(20)-4-10, 40 9. SUI, Henrik Dannesboe/ Eki Heinonen, 20-(46)-5-14-5, 44 10. USA, John Dane/ Austin Sperry, 9-(41)-30-1-9, 49 -- Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/3278pr -- Today’s post in Lynn Fitzpatrick’s Bacardi Cup diary discusses the effort needed to maintain an Olympic-level Star campaign: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/StarBacardiCup VIDEO OF THE WEEK Some publications spend countless hours reviewing products, providing their readership with the kind of advice some folks need to help them make their purchasing decisions. But for other consumers, they like to check things out for themselves, and perhaps initiate what this week’s video describes as “The Bubba Test.” Click here to view: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/07/0305 BUBBA TESTING Bubba won’t know what to test unless he hears about it, so Scuttlebutt has now added a section called ‘New Product Announcements’. This will be the place for companies to post their product news, and for the Scuttlebutt reader to stay in touch with what’s soon to come to the stores. Here is the link: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/products CARS AND BOATS (The March Issue of the BYM Magazine includes an interview with Thomas Hahn, a BMW engineer and member of the BMW Oracle Racing design team, where he talks about the challenges his team has faced.) BYM: You are an engineer with BMW and a member of the 38-person BMW ORACLE Racing design team for the past three years. What is the main difference between building an automobile and a high-tech yacht? Hahn: Our two racing yachts USA 87 and USA 98 were essentially constructed on the basis of computer simulations. In order to save time, amongst other reasons, we did not use prototypes, as is customary in the field of automotive construction. Building a car is a step-by-step development which involves upgrading the respective forerunner model. In the case of yachts, we move from computer models and one third scale tow tank models straight to full scale. The construction of a yacht truly is a thrilling challenge for engineers. BYM: What was the biggest challenge for you when you were constructing the yacht? Hahn: Gaining control of the extremely powerful forces. If the boat is sailing close hauled at an angle of approximately 30-35 degrees to the wind, for example, the keel fin is subjected to a weight of around 12 tonnes from the sides alone. This weight must be borne. You need to be aware of the maximum forces that may come into play, whether you are dealing with a car or an America’s Cup yacht. That is the prerequisite, which will enable you to take full advantage of the maximum capacity when it comes to the structural design. – Complete interview: http://www.bymnews.com/march/challenger.html JUAN’S WORLD Juan Kouyoumdjian - designer of the two ABN AMRO VO70s in the last Volvo Ocean Race, co-designer of BMW Oracle America's Cup yachts this time round, and designer of the new Ericsson VOR yacht - has been commissioned to design a new 6-Metre ready for the 2009 World Championship in Newport, Rhode Island. Kouyoumdjian was approached by a Swiss 6-Metre owner two years ago requesting if he would consider the possibility of a total re-design to create a modern-day 6-Metre. With no former design knowledge of the metre classes Kouyoumdjian agreed seeing the project as a challenge which would allow him the freedom to exploit his creative skills and develop a totally new look 6m within the constraints of the strict 6m class rule. Although Kouyoumdjian's design is still in it early stages he says has spent six months working on research and development that will be applied to the final design once it gets underway. Kouyoumdjian's current America's Cup commitments means that the new 6-Metre is on the back-burner until the end of this year but he says he plans to be in Cowes for the world championship in July this year. -- Yachting World, full story: http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20070208132616ywnews.html * More than fifty boats are expected to compete in the International Six-Metre World Championship in Cowes, UK on 16th - 23rd July, marking the 100 year anniversary since the Metre Rule was first established. Entries are coming from the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and North America, with the fleet including both beautifully prepared Classic yachts from the early 1900s as well as Modern yachts. -- http://www.6mr.org.uk A COACH FOR YOUR TEAM You can spend a lifetime learning to be a better racer, or you can accelerate the process with NorthU On-Board Coaching. Have North U come on your boat, because there is no boat like your own. Rig tuning, spinnaker handling, mainsail shape, helming - we will answer all your questions. And for your crew too. After all you have put into your boat and equipment, get North U for your crew. Learn More: Our training covers every facet of racing trim, tactics, and boathandling. NorthU: Turning sailors into racers…and racers into winners since 1980. Call 800-347-2457 or visit http://www.NorthU.com SAILING SHORTS * The security measures for the Americas Cup races were announced Wednesday, and these envisage some 2,000 policemen on almost constant watch. 1,500 of these will be from the national police, The Guardia Civil and the Maritime Security services, whilst the remaining five hundred would be from the Municipal police force. The new force will have 24 boats, five helicopters and over two hundred CCTV cameras that will serve to create a security area around Valencia Port. The Socialist government has called the operation ‘the biggest security presence ever realised for this sort of event’. -- Valencia Life Network, mailto:publisher@valencialife.net * US Sailing has now officially named the 2007 US Sailing Team, which amounts to the top three ranked teams in each of the eleven Olympic classes. The top ranked team in each class will be provided the opportunity to represent the US in the 2007 Olympic Test Event, aka the Qingdao International Regatta, where racing will take place on Fushan Bay August 15-23. -- http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/2007/team.asp * LaPorte, TX (March 8, 2007) - The Notice of Race for the 12th running of US Sailing's Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship (Rolex IWKC) is now available online. This world-class event, one of the highest profile women's keelboat regattas in the world, will be held November 12-17, 2007 at the Houston Yacht Club in LaPorte, Texas. The Rolex IWKC is part of the US Sailing Adult National Championships program. -- http://www.ussailing.org/riwkc * A radical loop keel design by Howes Macnaughten Technology could change the way we sail in the future. Yachting World’s Matthew Sheahan provides this podcast to reveal the details: http://www.yachtingworld.com/yw/podcast/loop_keel.mp3 * Not sure about the rest of the world, but for those in the U.S., don't forget to "spring ahead" this Saturday and switch to Daylight Saving Time, which is being done three weeks early this year. EVENTS IN PROCESS Here are the websites providing information on the following events: -- J/24 Worlds: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/J24Worlds -- Newport Beach to Cabo Race: http://www.07caborace.org 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 Nick Jako (response to Mike Levesque/John Potter’s comments) There are classes that simply don’t respond to anything other than black flags. Despite square lines that are sufficiently long, an inordinate number of recalls can occur. I don’t believe that the “I” flag will deter aggressive fleets. Mid-line boats and bow numbers help identify premature starters but will not “tame” the fleet. You want a deterrent? Always bet on black. Going black is a sign of RC weakness only if used to overcome RC error (skewed, short line, etc.) or incompetence. At one Finn Gold Cup you were DSQ’d under black for “being on the course side of the starting line or its extensions in the 5 minutes prior to the start”. Now, this was a deterrent and I don’t recall many being overly aggressive. I remember the black flag but not if there was an “I” flag provision, mid-line boat or bow numbers. None of these carries the same weight as the Black flag. I’ve also been on the RC side many times and if controlling the fleet was paramount, then the only solution is the black flag. As a competitor, no starting restrictions are preferable. This simply makes for better racing and starting is a skill like any other aspect of racing. Allowing competitors to utilize their skill raises the level of racing and makes our sport better. Set a square line and give us a chance. If we don’t want to co-operate, forget the 5 additional practice starts – go black! * From Eric Feigel: (regarding letters in Issue 2296) Tell me which regatta's Mark Heer is going to be R.C. for - those I'm going to do. Tell me which regatta's Bruce Thompson is going to R.C. for - those I'm NOT going to do. I'm not an owner, but I see the thousands of dollars that owners spend (and the hundreds I spend) to attend a regatta; nobody wants it ruined by a black flag. Use an I flag, use a Z flag, reset the line, but don't black flag those of us using our vacation time to race boats. Unlike a 100-meter dash, you can't stay in your lane during the start of a sailboat race. I've been black flagged before, one of 14 boats in a 60 plus boat fleet - that says to me it isn't the racers, but the R.C. The black flag took all the fun out of that regatta. When was the last time you saw Premier Racing use a black flag - they know how to set a good line. * From George Bailey: (re; Adrian Morgan letter in Issue 2296) I have long had a similar attitude towards the topics on which letter writers concentrate. But, I long ago recognized that Scuttlebutt is not at all like the Cruising World web site, were the topic is yachting generally, not racing (and more and more, pro racing) specifically. Scuttlebutt is a racing site. It tends towards high-end racing, where the national/ international glory is, though sometimes info on a local club scene is published as well. The topics tend to be those on which very competitive people who take winning very seriously concentrate. Hence the strength of feeling in the cheat/don't cheat debate (putting it in those terms, rather than "Kinetics or not: reveals my own bias). It is not wrong to wish a web site were more to one's own liking and to try to change it. In this case, however, it is more practical to change to another sailing site than to try to change the serious racing orientation of Scuttlebutt. The serious racers need somewhere to go to do what they do on Scuttlebutt and somewhere to go to get a digest of what's happening around the racing world. Scuttlebutt has evolved to be what they want and need. Since no one is forced to visit any site for her sailing info or discussion, and especially since the Cruising World site exist, it is not practical to criticize Scuttlebutt for being what it is. Curmudgeon’s Comment: This is a good conversation. Scuttlebutt feeds off what we see as the relevant stories available in the media, which quite often is flush with information on the top end of the sport. However, we actively seek balance, and are always open to contributions from our readers that are of sufficient interest to our broad audience. Perhaps we are due to survey our readers to better hone in on where this range of interests lies. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION "Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is." Barbara Bush, Former US First Lady Special thanks to Vanguard Sailboats and North U. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
