|
SCUTTLEBUTT 3445 - Tuesday, October 11, 2011Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Summit Yachts, Gowrie Group, and Salt Harbor Studio. KILL THE CURTAIN, ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET Of the notable events in the sport, the Volvo Ocean Race has arguably the broadest appeal for both sailors and non-sailors. Mixing adventure and competition, for 39,000 miles, around the world. Stops in ten countries. Seventy foot high performance boats. But despite this eager audience, Chris Nicholson (AUS), skipper of CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, doesn't believe enough is being done amongst the competing teams to take advantage of this interest. "I believe all the teams need to be more open to help push our sport within the greater field of other major sports," commented Nicholson. "Our team made the decision to be completely open, providing access to our boat, including below decks. For the people that have toured our boat, we have had nothing but positive responses from them. "At the end of the day, we are not giving anything away in terms of secrecy or boat performance. There's no downside for us, and hopefully we reach more of an audience doing it. I am certain if all of the teams did this, the success that we have seen would be significantly multiplied. "At this stage, we are aiming our attention at things that will help us win the race, and limiting access to our boat is not one of them. There really is nothing to hide. It would seem to be only to gain a psychological advantage. I am extremely confident that there are no secret ideas that will win other teams the race. It's just not out there given the consideration of the design rule. We are very limited with what we can do. "We have literally had thousands of people through our boat, and it is a thrill for them to experience the kind of boat that does this type of race. If this was done by all the teams, just imagine how many people we could reach." Professional sports teams often provide tours of their facilities. Is being in the locker room akin to being down below on a VO 70? "Absolutely! We are heightening the connection we have with our audience. And it is also quite enjoyable for our crew. The people that have toured the boat have gotten so much out of it, that it's been a pleasure to do it. While it obviously takes time away from our efforts to prepare for the race, we feel we have been able to achieve all our training goals and still do it. Now, as we are getting closer to the start, we need to focus more toward the race, but it certainly has been a good experience to date. "There should be no fear of disclosing your technology from the other teams. The reality is that there is so little time from when each boat gets launched to when the race starts. Even if there was a design or structural breakthrough on one of the boats, the opportunity to adapt that idea to your boat doesn't exist." The six competing teams are now in Alicante, Spain in preparation for the first In-Port Race on October 29. The 6,500 nm race from Alicante through the Atlantic to Cape Town, South Africa on November 5th is the first of the nine offshore legs. During the race, the multimedia team will be producing daily news updates, a weekly 3-minute news round-up and highlights from each of the 9 legs and 10 in-port races -- all available online at the VOR YouTube Channel: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/home.html WILL HELMETS BECOME AS COMMON AS LIFEJACKETS? By Elaine Bunting, Yachting World A helmet saved me the weekend before last. If it didn't save my life - and quite possibly it did - it definitely saved me from a serious head injury and very likely a brain injury. Most people don't make a 100% recovery from a brain injury. I took a major hit while cycling, but more of that in a bit. Helmets are so well adopted by cyclists and horseriders that it seems slightly shocking to see someone riding bareheaded. They are fast becoming accepted in other high risk sports, such as skiing, and are beginning to be seen in sailing. Think of the Extreme 40 circuit, or the new America's Cup AC45s: everyone has to wear a helmet to protect themselves on these fast-paced, capsize-prone multihulls. There's a good argument for wearing a helmet on a smaller boat as well. According to the Coastguard and RNLI, being hit by the boom is one of the most frequent causes of injuries on board. The problem with wearing a helmet, though, is that in normal civilian sailing circles no-one else does. Let's face it, if you turned out for weekend racing looking like Wallace from Wallace & Gromit you'd get some funny looks. One sailor has come up with a great answer. This is Tom Tait, and he has produced a sailing helmet that looks like a yachting cap. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/YW-101011 NEXT: How often did we see lifejackets worn on keelboats 20 years ago? Now they are common. Will helmets soon be too? KARASU STORMS JAPAN CUP The Summit 40 Karasu has won Japan's major inshore regatta, The Japan Cup. Interrupted by Typhoon Roke, which brought wind speeds of 130 miles per hour, Karasu returned strongly to win the event with less than half the points of the second place finisher, including a win in the offshore race. Karasu has been the most successful IRC race boat in Japan since her arrival in Japan. Check out the Summit 40 and our other great Mark Mills designs at http://www.summit-yachts.com TAKEN BY PIRATES "It wasn't really a pretty night," Rachel Chandler recalled. Small, sloshing waves were coming from the southeast, and a trickle of wind blew from the southwest. There was no moon, and the stars were shrouded by clouds. The boat was slowly edging away from Mahé, the main island in the Seychelles archipelago, for Tanga, Tanzania, the beginning of a two-week passage across the Indian Ocean. The wind was pushing them farther north than they'd planned to be. With no ships or land in sight, the Chandlers' 38-foot sailboat, the Lynn Rival, bobbed along all alone. Rachel, who is 57, was on watch - it was her turn to do the four-hour shift - and her husband, Paul, was asleep below deck. It was about 2:30 a.m., and she sat in a T-shirt and light trousers at the stern, feeling seasick. Because the wind was so faint, Rachel turned on the sailboat's small engine, which chugged along at five knots, just loud enough to drown out other noise. By the time she heard the high-pitched whine of outboard motors at full throttle, she had only seconds to react. Two skiffs suddenly materialized out of the murk, and when she swung the flashlight's beam onto the water, two gunshots rang out. "No guns! No guns!" she screamed. The crack of assault rifles jarred Paul awake. He had been sleeping naked - as he often does on tropical nights - and hesitated before jumping out of the cabin. "The first thing I thought," said Paul, who is 61, "was pirates." Within seconds, eight scruffy Somali men hoisted themselves aboard, their assault rifles and rocket-propelled-grenade launchers clanging against the hull. Paul activated an emergency beacon, which immediately started emitting an S.O.S., and then went up on deck. The men stank of the sea and nervous musk, and they jabbed their guns at the Chandlers. "Stop engine!" they shouted. "Crew, crew! How many crew number?" One pirate was particularly concerned about anything flashing, and Paul's heart sank when the pirate stomped below deck and discovered the emergency beacon, blinking like a strobe, and promptly switched it off. The pirates ordered the Chandlers not to touch anything else, and then they demanded a shower. This was Oct. 23, 2009. The Chandlers would be held for the next 388 days. -- NY Times, read on: http://tinyurl.com/NY-Times-101011 FOCUS ON SUCCESS No two races are won the same way, but sticking to this six-point plan will help you win regattas. By Andy Horton with Dave Powlison from the Sailing World October 2011 issue. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Good coaches in any sport usually advise their charges to focus on just a handful of ideas when they compete. This advice is especially potent in sailing because there are so many variables. Try to focus on them all, and it's easy to get overwhelmed. Putting your emphasis on what's important will keep you at the front of the fleet. Here are six general rules I keep in mind whenever I compete. 1. Stay in line at the start Generally, the worst starts are a result of getting to the line too early. All of the other boats are just behind you, and when you slow down to avoid being over early, the trailing boats overlap you and steal your speed and maneuverability. At the gun, you're in the front row, but going nowhere, and everyone else leaves you in the dust. Conversely, if you get behind the line of boats that set up 50 to 20 seconds before the start, you may never get through - especially in light air - and find yourself sucking bad air off the line. Try this: When everyone starts to line up, get in there and keep your bow even with the other boats. Focus half of your energy on staying in line with the other boats and the other half on determining whether the line of boats is early or late. If you can't determine where the line of boats stands relative to the starting line, when the guy next to you sheets on, do the same. Nine times out of 10, if you're in the line of boats and sheet on at the right time, you'll be in better shape than if you try something else. 2. Develop an anti-pack mentality Packs of boats go slow. This is especially true in light air. On the starting line, stay to the edges of the packs: maybe it's just to leeward of a group of boats fighting for position at the committee boat, just to windward of a pack trying to win the pin, or on either side of a pack in the middle of the line. Staying on the edge keeps your options open and, more importantly, keeps you from being controlled by other boats. Plus, it usually keeps you in clean air at a very crucial time. The same principle applies on upwind and downwind legs. When you see a pack forming, get to one side or the other. Tactical issues, such as trying to hold the inside position at an upcoming mark rounding, may determine the side you choose. Regardless, avoid running with the herd. Read on for the final four tips: http://www.sailingworld.com/experts/focus-on-success?page=0,0 WHEN APPROACHING AN OBSTRUCTION By Jos Spijkerman, International Umpire/Judge This is an installment in a series of blogposts about the ISAF Call book 2009-2012 with amendments for 2010. All calls are official interpretations by the ISAF committees on how the Racing Rules of Sailing should be used or interpreted. The calls are copied from the Call book; only the comments are written by me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Case 54 - Summary of the Facts A and B, close-hauled on starboard tack, were approaching the shore, with A a hull length ahead and one length-and-a-half to leeward. A hailed for room to tack but B did not hear the hail. After waiting for a short interval, during which time there was no response from B, A tacked onto port. Then, in spite of bearing away as rapidly as possible with her sheets free, A hit B's leeward side. A protested B under rule 20.1(b) and B protested A under rule 10. At the hearing, B acknowledged that she was aware of the position of A before A tacked, but B's helmsman and crew had not observed A during the thirty seconds before the collision. The protest committee dismissed A's protest and disqualified her on the grounds that she had hailed for room to tack when not in imminent danger of running aground and that her hail was inadequate, since B had not heard the hail or responded. A appealed, claiming that the protest committee had improperly substituted its own judgment for A's as to her safety. In addition, she argued that when two close-hauled boats are approaching an obstruction, the boat to windward is obligated to expect and be prepared for a hail. Read on for the decision: http://rrsstudy.blogspot.com/2011/10/pillowcase-of-week-411-54.html Rule 10 - When boats are on opposite tacks, a port-tack boat shall keep clear of a starboard-tack boat. Rule 20.1(b) - When approaching an obstruction, a boat sailing close-hauled or above may hail for room to tack and avoid another boat on the same tack. After a boat hails, the hailed boat shall respond either by tacking as soon as possible, or by immediately replying 'You tack' and then giving the hailing boat room to tack and avid her. GOWRIE GROUP GOES WAY BEYOND MARINE We know your life is complicated - whether you're at home, managing your company, or out on the water. No matter where you are, no matter how complex the risks you face, Gowrie Group is ready to protect you and your homes, vehicles, boats, businesses, and interests. Gowrie Group is the leading independent marine insurance specialist in the US, and is one of the top providers of personal and commercial insurance solutions in the country. Let Gowrie insure your lifestyle. Request a complete insurance review now at: 800.262.8911, http://tinyurl.com/gowriemore (use code: Scuttlebutt). NOAA TALLIES IRENE'S STATISTICS The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a by-the-numbers look at Hurricane Irene, which hit the Northeast on August 28. - Irene was the first hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Ike struck Texas in September 2008. - Irene was the first storm to threaten the New York City area since Hurricane Gloria in September 1985. - On August 27, Irene's hurricane-force winds extended outward as much as 90 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extended outward as much as 290 miles. Irene was similar in size to Hurricane Katrina nearly six years ago to the date. Katrina's hurricane-force winds extended about 104 miles outward, and tropical storm-force winds were felt 230 miles outward. - Flooding records were broken in 26 rivers: eight in New Jersey, 14 in New York and four in Vermont. - An estimated 40 people died as a result of the storm. - Approximately 3.5 million customers (about 9 million people) were without electricity. - 2.3 million people were under mandatory evacuation orders. - 10,000 flights were canceled August 27 & 28. - Irene will be the 10th U.S. billion-dollar disaster in 2011, breaking the annual record, which dates from 1980. WindCheck, read on: http://tinyurl.com/WindCheck-101011 FREE CLASSIFIED ADS The Scuttlebutt Classified Ads provide a marketplace for private parties to buy and sell, or for businesses to post job openings. Here are recent for sale ads: * Forespar Spin Pole End Fitting * Folding prop for saildrive * Espar D5LC 24V Heaters for sale View/post ads here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/classified_ads EIGHT BELLS A Personal Message From Richard Schwartz, Chairman and Founder of BoatU.S; and Bill Oakerson, CEO of BoatU.S. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- On October 7, 2011, we lost an important member of our BoatUS family. BoatUS President and the Publisher of our magazines, Nancy Michelman, 60, lost her courageous battle with cancer. This loss is a poignant one for our Association and for the Members whom she loved and worked for. Many of you have known Nancy through her letters to you, through meeting her at boat shows, and through our magazine, where she wrote a personal message to you in the front of every issue. We'd like to tell you a little more about Nancy as the vibrant person whom we have been proud to call our colleague and friend. She was a rising star at the American Automobile Association (AAA) before she burst into our lives two decades ago, in the spring of 1989. From that moment on, Nancy became a vital part of an energetic team of young idealists who built BoatU.S. into the great boaters' advocacy organization we're all so proud of today, managing the growth of membership from 350,000 to 650,000, as we created the largest group of boaters in the world. Nancy personified passion in everything she did - sailing and boats, theater, music, golf, writing, her family and friends, all things Spanish (she was fluent), and especially in her devotion to her adored husband, Laurence. Nowhere, it seemed, was she more passionate than here at BoatUS, where she was a magnificent leader and mentor. In her role as President of BoatUS, she oversaw our Membership and Government Affairs Divisions, our magazines, and our website. -- Read on: http://www.boatus.com/eightbells/nancy-michelman.asp NAUTICAL HOLIDAY CARDS FROM SALT HARBOR STUDIO Create your own Holiday or Christmas card this Season! Choose your design and then select your favorite verse for inside. Personalize your cards by adding your own special message and/or name. Request our catalog with the finest nautical Holiday cards available anywhere. Mention "Scuttlebutt" and receive free ground shipping. http://www.SaltHarborStudio.com CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION You know you're getting older when your idea of weight lifting is standing up. SPONSORS THIS WEEK IYRS - Harken - North Sails - Gowrie Group - Salt Harbor Studio Doyle Sails - Team One Newport - LaserPerformance - Ullman Sails JK3 Nautical Enterprises - Summit Yachts - New England Ropes Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
