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SCUTTLEBUTT 1749 - January 7, 2005Powered 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, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. PREVIEW (The Daily Sail subscription website has posted photos of the new Volvo 70 ABN AMRO along with comments from skipper Mike Sanderson and designer Juan Kouyoumdjian. Here's a brief excerpt.) Far from being skinny along the lines of a Reichel-Pugh canting keeler, the boat has a lot of volume in the hull. This has pleased skipper Mike Sanderson: "I was always worried when I saw artists' impressions of what everyone thought a Volvo 70 was. I couldn't work out why they were so far in towards the minimum beam because to me the rig seemed oversized and you were basically looking for all the righting moment in the world that you could get. I was amazed to see these narrow boats because you have got so much horsepower on tap and the Volvo is largely a reaching race." Unusual for an ocean race boat is that the boat is very slab sided with near vertical topsides. Designer Juan Kouyoumdjian has a simple explanation: "It is related to the chine. In fact what happens, if you imagine having a boat that is much wider and suddenly you make a vertical cut down the sides - that is what you end up with." The boat is fully designed to be sailed with heel as Juan K says it will rarely ever sail upright. Below the water, as we predicted some months ago, the boat has a canting keel and twin asymmetric daggerboards, which we suspect is the configuration most of VO70s will have. What we weren't excepting was for the boat to have twin rudders like an Open 60. "Basically the twin rudder thing comes from the beam," explains Sanderson. - The Daily Sail, www.thedailysail.com STILL GROWING Sixteen new TP52's will be sailing by the end of 2005, reports Tom Pollack, the TP52's volunteer executive director for the past three years. "By spring of 2006, the class will have 28 TP52's from 12 countries and four continents," he reports. "This number includes nine designers, at least 12 builders and tons of business for the sailmakers, equipment manufacturers and spar builders. And The TP52 class is looking forward to hosting its first Global Championship in 2006, and that seems to be getting people in the door. We can't update the class website fast enough," Pollack concluded. - www.transpac52.org ALL STAR LINEUP The fourth Yacht Vision design symposium in Auckland NZ on March 9-13 has already attracted a very impressive lineup of speakers, which includes: * Olin Stephens - changes within the superyacht industry * Skip Novak - trend towards more exploration yachts * Ed Dubois - trends toward faster performance oriented superyachts * Luca Basani - Fashion over function * Neville Crighton - Having a race syndicate and a superyacht * Grant Dalton - ETNZ update plus a look at the future of the AC The overall theme is "future vision" - where is the industry going, what key influences are affecting the yachting industry and how are we as industry leaders responding. - www.yachtvision.co.nz OCKAM'S DECEMBER VICTORIES Congratulations to Ludde Ingvall and the crew of Nicorette, conquering brutal conditions to win Line Honors in the 60th Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race. Also to Gordon Ettie and crew on the Swan 40 Sazerac, Overall Winner of the 48th Ft. Lauderdale-Palm Beach Race. Class winners also include Tom Hill's R/P 75, Titan XII & Michael Brennan's Farr TP 52, Sjambok. What do these winning yachts have in common? Ockam Instruments' superior Tryad processing and Matryx display technology for that distinct competitive advantage. Ockam. Not only for Americas Cup and Grand Prix yachts, we have solutions for everyone. Contact mailto:lat@ockam.com ELLEN Ellen MacArthur's lead over Francis Joyon's solo round the world record now extends to over four days, but don't be misled by the time advantage - Joyon was slow on this stage of the course which is why Ellen's gains are so big as she heads on a good course at 22 knots [wind speed now up to 36 knots]. But soon he found favorable conditions, picked up the pace and was heading fast towards Cape Horn turning in 500+ mile days. In the mean time, Commander's Weather is forecasting big winds for Ellen Thursday night - 35-45 kts with some gusts to 50+ kts [Force 10]. In a story posted on the website of The Daily Telegraph, Ellen is quoted as saying, "I'll never be able to get across what it's been like for the past four days. Ever. Beyond the frazzled edge of fatigue in changeable conditions, I have again had issues with the generator, tried to outrun a fierce depression that was catching up behind and had an out-of-control crash gybe when it hit. "It's impossible to stand up anywhere. When you're moving around on deck you're on all fours, as it's very easy to get thrown over. You never know where the next lurch, crash, stop, surge or shudder is going to come from, particularly at night when you can't see the waves. Just five minutes ago I was trying to pour boiling water from the kettle into the freeze-dried food and that was a challenge. You pause, think and take time before you do that kind of thing. You have to be securely wedged in and have somewhere safe to put a container with boiling water." - Ellen MacArthur was talking to Tim Jeffery, full interview: http://tinyurl.com/4pl4r * In an email MacArthur said: "I managed to burn my arm quite badly on the exhaust of the air-cooled generator - it was bad so I took my shirt off straight away to check it and it had immediately blistered. I've got some burns cream in my kit here so I've smeared on the burns cream and it's hurting less." - Daily Mail, full story: http://tinyurl.com/6opn3 Ellen's website: - www.teamellen.com RACING UP THE ATLANTIC The Vendée Globe leaders passed the Falkland Islands with difficulty Thursday night. After spending a good ten hours struggling to lose as few miles as possible in the whirlwinds created by the Andes, Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle), Vincent Riou (PRB) and Mike Golding (Ecover) are still in a 15 to 20 knot West North-Westerly wind making over 13 knot averages. Behind them the Cape Horn is verging on an obsession, Sébastien Josse (VMI) set to round it tonight before sunset local time. He will be followed in 24 hours' time by Dominique Wavre (Temenos). Josse is just 54 miles away at 1900 GMT. This deliverance is not in line just yet for Nick Moloney (Skandia), as he and Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque), are likely to suffer what is potentially the most powerful depression of the race from lunch time tomorrow, GMT, with gusts measuring as much as 80 knots. Fortunately the Australian skipper is situated fairly North, the bulk of the storm passing under him. Leaders at 1900 GMT January 6: 1. Bonduelle, Jean Le Cam, 6306 miles to finish 2. PRB, Vincent Riou, 36 miles to leader 3. Ecover, Mike Golding, 87 mtl 4. VMI, Sébastien Josse, 767 mtl 5. Temenos, Dominique Wavre, 1124 mtl 6. Virbac-Paprec, Jean-Pierre Dick 1858 mtl 7. Skandia, Nick Moloney, 2890 mtl 8. Arcelor Dunkerque, Joé Seeten, 3480 mtl 9. Ocean Planet, Bruce Schwab, 3777 mtl 10. Hellomoto, Conrad Humphreys, 3790 mtl Complete standings: www.vendeeglobe.fr/uk/ QUOTE / UNQUOTE "I haven't had any sleep for 24 hours, and it's enjoyable as it can be … given those circumstances. I've just been finding it rather defeating. Every time I've made a change it's gone the other way. If I see a gain on this sked, they've had a much worse night than me, which I somewhat doubt."- Mike Golding, Ecover "Trying to describe the ordeal I went through, 80 feet up the rig of Hellomoto this morning, will hopefully go some way to relieving the pain and frustration I'm still suffering. If fear is supposed to help focus the mind, then at 0600 local time my situation suddenly became critically clear. I was pretty damn stuck and I needed a clear head to work out exactly what I had to do to get down safely onto the deck." - Conrad Humphreys, Hellomoto NEWS BRIEFS * The early weather predictions for the 2008 Olympic Sailing venue in Qingdao, China is for light winds. How light? Well, take a look at the graphs posted now on the Scuttlebutt website: www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/04/qingdao/ * As the official supplier of SMS and mobile services to Ellen Macarthur, iTAGG.com will insure that all action is captured and then beamed directly to the phones of her fans across the UK. Fans will be able to use their phones to request race information, video clips, pictures, and Java and WAP content. MacArthur's trimaran, B&Q, is equipped with four Sony web cams and a satellite broadband system so that news, race and boat data are constantly fed back to the Offshore Challenges. This information is then reformatted for use via the various iTAGG.com services. * Sixteen skippers will be invited to contest the crown, including Sally Barkow, as the defending Champion, and a skipper nominated by the host nation. The remaining 14 skippers will be invited based on their position on the ISAF Women's Match Racing World Rankings as at 14 January 2005. If a skipper is unable to accept the invitation, the next skipper on the rankings will be invited. The ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship is taking place from 12-18 June 2005, hosted by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, Hamilton, Bermuda. - http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j19FhtzCC SIXTY YEARS OF PERFORMANCE BOAT BUILDING AT MELGES Melges Performance Sailboats in Zenda, Wisconsin is celebrating 60 years of performance sailboat production. To mark this sailing milestone, Melges has introduced 2 brand new performance sailboats to the marketplace - the all new Melges 32 and the Melges 17. These boats are added to an all-star line up of one-design classes produced and supported by Melges, many of which are among the most active and strongest sailing classes in the country. Unique, exciting, high-quality boats has kept the Melges name so strong in the sailing arena. For a view of this all-star line up, race to http://www.melges.com 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. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Paul Hewitt: To Roger Shaw's "simple solution" that all offshore yachts be insured and his reasonable sounding formula that the insurance companies won't insure more than they pay out: Sorry Roger, please understand that what was surely unsaid was that the reason Skandia was uninsured is that the insurance companies are already following your suggested formula, and insurance on such a yacht is simply not available. Nor is it available on ocean racing yachts of a much less cutting edge technology if the owners choose to enter such events. Or, even more unfairly, it is not available if the owners choose to own such type of boats that the insurance companies deem could enter such events whether they do or not. Then again one of the lessons we learn from our wonderful sport is that when we test the limits of men and their machines against nature is that that is exactly what we are doing; And when you are out on the open ocean there is no one to fix what breaks but you. Follow the daily narrative in Scuttlebutt of Ellen MacArthur's adventure for a more lucid explanation. * From Chris Ericksen: God forbid that ISAF adopts the suggestion posed by Roger Shaw ('Butt 1748) that they promulgate "an inflexible rule that all boats ocean racing must be insured, for both liability and for loss and damage to the vessel." It seems to me that it is an inflexible rule that an owner should decide for himself whether to insure his yacht for loss and damage. Many regattas, notably international championships, do require liability insurance in their NOR and SI's, and that I embrace; but adding yet another ISAF regulation seems to me to be an undue intrusion into the personal management of one's private property. * From John Roberson: Well done Jim Stone for putting into words what I'm sure everyone who read Ed Muesch's story, would also have felt. I have read many of the harrowing stories in the newspapers, but this first hand account of survival, and the instant and agonizing decisions that had to be made, really bought it all home on a very personal basis. Well done Ed Muesch to having the courage to tell this story. Curmudgeon's Comment: Ed Muesch's story is at: http://tinyurl.com/43hyo * From Mark Eustis: Equating race-boat building with aerospace construction is a fallacy. Marine constructors can only dream about the resources aerospace companies devote to engineering scrutiny, component prototyping and test cycling. Before they ever connect wing one to a fuselage, Boeing spends man-decades simulating, analyzing, building and testing, testing, testing. There's a huge amount of factual discovery involved before, during and after a composite structure (much less an entire airframe) is released to manufacturing. Buy a big custom boat like those that broke in the Sydney-Hobart and you'll get a well-engineered, super-strong, one-off prototype that's built to the best of the abilities of the construction team. But you're not getting a "flight tested" product. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you. Those who choose to play at this level are pretty good about accepting the consequences. As the old saying goes: it is what it is. It's just that racing sailors can be a more immediate part of the empiric process. * From Eric Matus: Guest Editorialist Dr. Jacobs touches on a serious safety subject. The newer materials trade off greater tensile strength for less sheer strength while newer construction methods trade off increase stiffness and decreased weight for less resistance to deflection or point loads. Industry and government need to compile the characteristics of these new materials and construction methods into a source of data that can be used to determine what the margins should be between safe working loads and peak loads for a given material and a specific construction method. These new tables should reduce the guess factor for designers and engineers working on the leading edge of technology. * From David G. Houck: You have Dunkerbeck's speed at 34.44 knots - I don't know what the right number is, but I suspect you have a typo - gotta be 44.44 knots instead! I'm a sailor and a windsurfer - and 34.44 knots is fast, but nowhere near the world record! Curmudgeon's Comment: The record applies to "The Outright Nautical Mile Record" which was completed by Bjorn Dunkerbeck in 1 minute 44.52 seconds: www.sailspeedrecords.com/news.html * From John C. Wade: I'd like to respond to Ralph Taylor's proposal to handicap skippers rather than boats. In skiing, auto racing, and even one-design sailing the equipment is equal. In sailing handicap we are trying the equalize different equipment. Our sport is one where we attempt to be the best, not get a fake trophy for showing up. I'm a 68 year old duffer, and I will not give up the opportunity whip some 18~20 year old hotshot, or even a "professional". It may never happen, but at least I'll always have a fair shot at it. If you don't like the boats being handicapped, go into the one design classes; but if a sailor is so insecure about his ability to progress, using the same equipment as the other sailors, he should go skiing, but don't propose these insecurities on the rest of us. I can't afford a 60-footer, but I sure do like beating them in my 27 footer. It doesn't happen often, but, it's like gambling, if you place well once out 10 times, you keep going back. And, really fellows, it's not about winning, it's about sailing and having fun. If you're in it to win, you're in the wrong sport. If you're on the water, in boat you are proud of, with friends you're happy with, you've already won. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog." - Franklin P. Jones |
