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SCUTTLEBUTT 1383 - July 31, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. SELF-POLICING? The following observations are courtesy of John Doerr (GBR), an ISAF International Judge and International Umpire, Chairman of the ISAF International Umpires Sub-Committee, Vice-Chairman of the ISAF Match Racing Sub-Committee and member of the ISAF Match Racing Committee and ISAF Race Officials Committee: I was recently a member of the Jury for a World Championship with over 200 boats. Rule 42 observance was great, in contrast to previous events in this class. We briefed the competitors, used the ISAF interpretations and so far have had a total of 25 yellow flags in 18 races in wind speed varying from 4 to 14 knots. However, observance of Part 2 has been atrocious and we have to say this is quite similar to many events at which we have judged in the last few years (which is why we did not name the current event - it is not just a problem with this particular class). There have been blatant port-starboards with serious contact, there have been boats parked on marks, there have been multiple pile-ups around marks. Often boats that have not broken rules have lost 20-30 places yet there have been almost no penalties taken and no protests. We guess they do not protest as we are sailing 4 races a day. Few want to spend the evening waiting for hearings and social pressures do not encourage protesting. Even if a protest is won, you do not get the 20 places you lost back, so what is the point? All you do is make an enemy! The jury has observed many of these incidents but we adopted the common policy of not acting when competitors could act themselves. The result is that we spend many hours on the water watching one gross infringement after another. Self-policing may work in some events but not this one or many others. While we understand some of the reluctance for jury members to act directly under Part 2 there are lessons we can learn from the success of rule 42. If we applied a similar procedure, we would protest at the time and require a penalty to be taken immediately on the water or the boat would risk greater penalty. Protesting and creating hearings is not so effective and re-creates the problems of late hearings. Also, competitors seldom feel jury versus competitor protests are "fair." It is the whistle and flag on the water that make all competitors realize the risk of breaking the rules. Complete reports at http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=5054 LASER EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Split, Croatia - The competitors are divided into fleets for qualifications that carry on through Thursday. After a long day waiting for wind with no success, the fleets went out to the Adriatic Sea to try to sail three scheduled races. All fleets sailed their first race in a West South Westerly breeze (Mistral) of about 10 to 12 knots. During the second race, the fleets struggled to finish in the dying wind. After some time waiting the Mistral became a Tramontana, clearing out the sky and changing to a North Easterly direction. Finally the Tramontana became a Bura, blowing from North North East. The Race Committee could again set up a new racecourse and both fleets sailed their races under an increasing wind speed up to 30 knots in the last part of the last start. Complete results after Wednesday: 1. CRO, Mate Arapov, 1-2-2-1, 6 2. GBR, Paul Goodison, 1-1-2-6, 10 3. ITA, Diego Negri, 13-5-4-7, 29 4. SLO, Vasilij Zbogar, 9-3-14-4, 30 5. RSA, Gareth Blanckenberg, 4-14-7-5, 30 9. USA, Andrew Campbell, 7-24-4-3, 38 16. USA, Zachary Railey, 6-10-10-25, 51 17. USA, Mark Mendelblatt, 34-5-9-8, 56 30. CAN, Andrew Childs, 23-9-18-35, 85 56. CAN, Brendan Piovesan 5-51-32-30, 118 73. CAN, John Haverstock 28-41-39-31, 139 75. CAN, Trevor Hamilton 33-30-48-29, 140 88. CAN, Andrew Lea, 45-17-51-53, 166 Complete story and results: http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=5052 PROBLEMS WITH CONTROL? Spinlock's line of tiller extensions will put you in control. Whether around the buoys or around the world Spinlock, is the #1 choice of extensions. Two handle options and five different lengths to choose from. Spares and support at spinlock@maritimetrading.net or visit The Experts in Rope Holding at http://www.spinlock.co.uk SWAN AMERICAN REGATTA Newport, RI- After a day of light winds and general recalls, Craig Speck's Swan 45, Vim sailed to victory in the ClubSwan Race Day to take overall winner of the day. The second day of the Swan American Regatta saw two windward/leeward races completed in winds ranging from 6 -10 knots, in Rhode Island Sound. The first race for Class A saw light conditions and a double general recall for Class A, and it soon became clear that the relatively short 8.5 nm course did not give Roel Pieper's Swan 80 Favonius chance to spread her wings, giving the Swan 45's and Swan 56's the opportunity to take the advantage. However, it was Martin Fisher's brand new Swan 70 Strabo that reached the windward mark first despite a minor collision on the start line. Strabo managed to keep Craig Speck's Swan 45 Vim and yesterday's overall winner, Andrjez Rojeck's Swan 45 Better Than, at bay to win the first race. Fisher commented on the rivalry between him and the tightly matched Favonius: " Our main goal for the week is to keep the Swan 80 behind us, because it is a scratch boat and is faster upwind. We are faster downwind, so if we can keep it behind us we have a shot at line honours. We are getting to understand the boat, it's a quick boat. I am fortunate that a lot of the crew have been sailing with me in the past. And having Chris Larson doing tactics has really helped." Race Two belonged to the bigger boats on the water, thanks to a longer course and a stronger breeze. Yet again, the Swan 45's and Swan 56's provided most of the pressure, with Doug Douglas' Swan 45 Goombay Smash winning the race on corrected time. In Class B, competition continued until the very end of the day between the Swan 44's with Samuel Fortenbaugh's Syrocco leading the whole fleet from the start in the first race after a general recall. Despite being one of the oldest boats in the fleet, John Wayt's Swan 44 Vixen took the honours on corrected time for both race one and two, raising the game for the other competitive Swan 44's, including yesterday's Class winner Lightwave, owned by David Ford. Wayt commented on his successful day: "We had two objectives today - to beat Aura and to stay with Lightwave as much as possible. We felt if we could stay with them, Fierce Pride and Crescendo, we would be doing well. We made no mistakes and stayed clean, thanks to our tactician John Gadorow - a Rhode Island State Trooper!" There was a four-way tie in Class C between Swan 36 Ariel, Swan 56 Allianza, Swan 44 Intermezzo and Swan 47 Black Tie. Eventually class honours were presented to local sailor Clem Napolitano, owner of Black Tie based on the racing rules tiebreak procedure. Provisional Results: Racing- A 1. VIM, Craig Speck (Swan 45) 7 pts 2. Goombay Smash, Doug Douglas (Swan 45) 9 3. Better Than, Andrzej Rojec (Swan 45) 11 Racing- B 1. Crescendo, Martin Jacobson (Swan 44 MKII) 8 2. Lightwave, David Ford (Swan 44 MKII) 9 3. Vixen, John & Bunny Wayt (Swan 44) 10 Cruising- C 1. Ariel, Jaffery Associates (Swan 36) 11 2. Ciao Bella, Robert Jellen (Swan 60) 13 3. Allianza, Bruce and Robin Cleveland (Swan 56) 15 Overall 1. VIM, Craig Speck (Swan 45) 2. Goombay Smash, Doug Douglas (Swan 45) 3. Better Than, Andrzej Rojec (Swan 45) Curmudgeon's comment- We have seen results from a few sources that don't completely match, so we are hoping we guessed right above. Complete report and results at http://www.nyyc.org/index.cfm?menu=263 THE BEST PART The best part of the sailing season starts tomorrow…late summer rocks for the number of regattas coming up. If you're on for the PHRF New Englands, or the San Francisco, Texas or Larchmont NOODs, Big Boat Series, J/80 Worlds or wrapping up your club's season championship, rely on Hall Spars & Rigging for your high-performance rigging needs. Try our Maffioli Swiftcord spinnaker sheets - they're super light and the handling is unbelievable. Your crew will think you rock. Shop online, 24/7. http://www.hallspars.com 505 WORLDS Malmö, Sweden- Another hot and sunny day in Limhamn, with no wind at lunchtime. After a postponement of four hours waiting, a gentle northwesterly breeze settled with sufficient time for the 505 fleet to start the sixth race. The US-boat with Hamlin and Alarie held on to lead. The Championship leaders, however, remain Hunger and Jess of Germany, who although finishing outside the top ten places still retain a commanding lead over their closest. Scores are now computed with a throw-out. Results after 6 of 9 races: 1. GER, Wolfgang Hunger/ Holger Jess, 6 pts 2. SWE, Krister Bergström/ Johan Barne, 13 3. GBR Ian Pinnell/ Steve Hunt, 23 4. USA, Howard Hamlin/ Peter Alarie, 27 5. DEN, Jörgen Riber/ Henrik Buhl, 31 8. USA, Daniel Thompson/ Andrew Zinn, 45 12. USA, Andy Beeckman/ Ben Benjamin, 50 13. USA, Alexander Meller/ Jesse Falsone, 53 18. USA, Macy Nelson/ Nick Nelson, 101 Complete results: http://mss.m.se/vm505%202003.htm CLIPPER 2002 RACE Light, fluky winds and a strong tidal stream provided for an interesting start for the Clipper 2002 race fleet setting sail from Salvador! Some time after the boats had crossed the Race 14 start line, the Clipper shore team were tidying the race office and clearing up the usual loose ends when someone asked why the yachts were coming back. Sure enough several teams were actually drifting backwards, giving the impression that they were returning to their berths. Even the boats that had tried to creep inshore to escape the worst of the current had lost the wind and found themselves in the glue. Rupert Parkhouse on Glasgow Clipper reports, "Quite an interesting start really as I am sure you could see from the boats' movements after the gun. The fireworks were great, if a bit distracting for the crew who stopped trimming to stare at the pretty display. We found ourselves 3rd over the line; OK really, even though everyone was late. The line was very hard to time because of the fluky/gusty winds. After this we went out into the bay a bit, only to find that in the shifty conditions and 1-2 knots of foul tide progress was impossible." Rupert continued: "A rain cloud/squall came over, wind headed us and then died. We spent the next 2 hours holed up alongside Liverpool and London, off the Punta Itapua. During this time Bristol, Jersey and HK caught up the 3-4 miles that they were behind. We bobbed about for a while then the wind filled in from offshore, picking up Cape Town first, then New York, then someone else (not sure who) and then us, before the inshore boats at that time. Currently all boats are very similarly positioned in a little pack, reaching with whites and slowly working our way out a bit." Race 14 Positions (03:00, 30 July 2003) 1. Cape Town- 3,913.3 distance to finish (nautical miles) 2. Jersey- 3,913.5 2. Liverpool- 3,913.5 4. Glasgow- 3,913.6 4. London- 3,913.6 6. Bristol- 3,914.2 7. Hong Kong- 3,916.5 8. New York- 3,916.7 Event website: http://www.clipper-ventures.com/home/index.htm IN MEMORIUM Hawaii says "Aloha" to one of her finest sailors, Capt. Robert T. Leary U.S.C.G. Ret., who passed away July 29th at the age of 83 years. Bob sailed as Mate with Irving Johnson around the world in 1939 on "Yankee" and crewed in nine Transpac races and was weatherman on the winning boat "Staghound" in 1953 and '55 and with a 2nd on her in 1951. He was also aboard the schooner Flying Cloud in the famous rudderless finish with everything flying in 1949. Bob did his wartime service mostly in Alaska commanding LST operations. After the war he sailed his CSY cutter "Kanaloa" throughout the Pacific on two different occasions and another cruise in 1985 from Hawaii to Sitka, Alaska and throughout Alaska's inland waters and down the coast to Mexico and back to Hawaii. During all of these cruises he invited many friends to join as crew during various parts of the cruise passing on his great knowledge of the sea. - Bud Thompson KONTROLS… THE PERFORMANCE GLOVE! Kontrol gloves: Zeptep™, Sailing Angle's new aggressive basketball-textured, non-skid palm, helps you maintain maximum line control with minimum grip. Zeptep's grip works even better when wetter. Our Zeptep™ palm wrap offers both padding and protection on the heel of your palm for intense line tweaking, completely unique, completely Sailing Angles! Gear up today for that next race. Color: black palm/off white with royal blue back nylon mesh. Sizes: jrs, xxs-xxxl. Price: cut-off is $32.50 and three finger is $35.00. Available at Annapolis Performance Sailing & http://www.sailingangles.com NEWS BRIEFS * The Opti Worlds in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain had a rest day on Wednesday, with the individual championship resuming on Thursday. Previous reports and results at http://www.optiworld.org/ioda-news.html * The Notice of Race for the USA's 2004 Olympic Team Trials is now available at http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/2004Trials. Of particular interest to Laser sailors are the details of the qualification system in use to determine the entrants for the Olympic Trials (in this class only). The Notice of Race for the Last Chance Regatta, the final event at which Laser sailors may qualify to compete in the Trials, is available online at http://www.ussailing.org/olympics/2004Trials/Last%20Chance%20NOR.pdf * The Round Britain and Ireland Challenge, planned for later this year, has been rescheduled until Summer 2004. The second race was launched after the huge success of the Round Britain Challenge held in Easter and the many requests to repeat the event, from those unable to get a place the first time around. To date there have been over 400 enquires from people wishing to take part. The move to 2004 is aimed to help those who cannot get the time off this year when they have already used much of their 2003 leave allocation on other holidays. - http://www.challengebusiness.com/rbc * July 29, 2003, Ely Nevada, USA - Pilots Steve Fossett (USA) and Terry Delore (NZL), on their fifth attempt over the past two weeks, finally succeeded in breaking the world glider speed record for a 750 Kilometer Triangle. Their average speed was 171.5 km/h (106.57 mph) compared to the previous record of 163.75 km/h (101.75 mph) set by Gerrit Kurstjens of the Netherlands in July 2001. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * August 10-15: The Interlake Sailing Class Association National Championship will be held at Portage Lake near Pinckney, Michigan. 35-40 boats are expected. Additional information available at http://www.interlakesailing.org LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Don Radcliffe: I'm surprised that both you and Ray Tostado don't know that the diesel engines used in racing sailboats don't emit enough carbon monoxide to be detected or to be a health hazard. See http://www.kele.com/Tech/Monitor/Gases/Diesel.html for a discussion on diesels and CO sensors. Diesels put out some pretty noxious fumes and particulates, which will alert you to exhaust leaks, but they are not a deadly source of CO. * From James H. Stevralia: I definitely agree with Bill Crane of Noroton regarding the Corinthian spirit still being very prominent in the sailing and yacht racing arena. The information in yesterday's Scuttlebutt regarding the practice sessions which Bob Hughes has organized illustrates that the prominent international sailors are reachable and generous when time allows to unselfishly advance the sport. At Seawanhaka, we see it every weekend with the class-racing program. The more successful crews are always offering assistance to the lesser in the form of post racing analysis, boat tuning and even crew lending. Having observed the local area Leiter Cup racing as a part of the race committee recently, there is no doubt to me based on the spirit and attitude of everyone of the competitors that Corinthian sailing is alive and has been communicated and embraced by our young sailors as well. * From Bruce Campbell: I have just returned from Paris and finally am catching up on past Scuttlebutts. The thread on the spirit of the Tour de France was interesting. Yes, Jan waited out of respect. Yes, he was returning a gesture that Lance had made previously. And while I hate to rain on the parade, he made the gesture out of self-interest. He is well aware of the fact that since they race in such close proximity to the fans, any leader could find himself bumped "accidentally" by an over zealous fan, if they thought it would help their rider. And the way that this incident relates to sailing is that if those who break rules and don't retire or take their circles were treated as a cyclist would be if he failed to observe the ethics of the peloton, we would have a sport that more people would enjoy. Moral? Win by out-sailing your opponent, not gaining advantage by ignoring your fouls and you will have won not only the race but also the respect of your competitors. BTW: No greater thrill than to hear the Star Spangled Banner played in the streets of Paris with thousands (many thousands) singing and cheering a great athlete. Curmudgeon's note- While the thread on this subject remains closed, I thought you might enjoy Bruce's first hand account. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up in our life we could press "Ctrl-Alt-Delete" and start over? |
