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SCUTTLEBUTT 2797 - Tuesday, March 10, 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.Today's sponsors are Camet, North U, and LaserPerformance. BASIC RULES THAT EVERY RACER SHOULD KNOW by Ken Quant In Scuttlebutt 2794, Jim Mahaffy mentioned the rules of golf and baseball as examples of confusing rules, but failed to point out that few of the people enjoying these sports everyday knows or cares about the details of these rules. I certainly don't remember any rules seminars to go play Little League. The devil is in the detail and the detail is meant for those competing at the top level. If we want to encourage new people to try racing, we have to nurture them along by keeping it as simple as possible. A project we've been working on this winter for a Friday evening social JAM fleet here in Milwaukee, WI is creating a "Basic Rules that Every Racer Should Know" document. It covers only the most basic terms and situations and was created to encourage a bit of confidence in anyone thinking about trying their first race. It uses plain language descriptions, simple diagrams, and is designed to make sure anyone willing to try racing can have fun and be safe. We are requiring every skipper to read and sign it this season before racing. It's far from perfect, but it's a good start and I'm sure it will be refined as we go along. Think of it this way. If a novice racer unknowingly gets into a situation that leads a veteran racer to rightfully start shouting rules at him, do you think they are coming back for another race? My guess is no. Nobody wants to feel embarrassed by their lack of knowledge. It should be the responsibility of all social fleet organizers to offer a little basic rules knowledge to anyone willing to try racing. Remember the first time you played baseball? I'm sure your Little League coach pointed towards first base and told you to run after the first time you hit the ball. I'm also sure he didn't reference rule A, appendix B of the baseball rule book. - K.I.S.S.. * Here is the 'Basic Rules that Every Racer Should Know' document: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0309 ERICSSON 3 LOOKS SMARTER WITH EVERY SKED (Mar. 9, 2009; Day 24) - Ericsson 3 is stretching out a substantial lead in leg five of the Volvo Ocean Race as the team rides a weather system, which is sweeping them quickly towards Cape Horn and maximum points at the next scoring gate. Their 24 hour mileage was 546 nm (as of Mar. 10, 01:15 GMT), and when compared to 426 nm for E4, the growth of their leading margin becomes easily explained...they are simply going faster. The fleet is clearly split with Green Dragon and Telefonica Blue both down at 45 degrees south, while Ericsson 3 is at 43S and Ericsson 4 and PUMA at 42S. Green Dragon and Telefonica Blue are both in a position with big breeze and the right angles to cash in and regain some of the massive losses they have suffered to the leading trio. Bekking says there is a long way yet to go and, because his team is in different breeze from the leaders, they have a different set of options open to them as they approach the second ice gate. While the downwind angles now allow T-Blue to effectively compete despite their broken forestay, Bekking has now reported a small crack in the mast, but believes that it can be managed. -- Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Crewed around the world race in VO 70's, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Leg Five from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janiero, Brazil is 12,300 nm, with the finish estimated on March 20th. Current positions (as of Mar. 10, 1:15 am GMT): 1. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 5,027 nm Distance to Finish 2. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 272 nm Distance to Leader 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 307 nm DTL 4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 431 nm DTL 5. Telefonica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 641 nm DTL Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, Did Not Start Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, DNS Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, DNS Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com WAHINE FOR WOMEN! Introducing the new Camet Wahine Women's Sailing Shorts! Developed with our female customers in mind....low rise, flat front, well shaped, and good looking! The Wahine meets a woman's needs and more. Designed by women for women, these shorts not only work, but look good on and off the water. Available in limited production. Check out the Wahine at http://www.camet.com/?Click=1129 HELL HAS FROZEN OVER The Optimist class has enormous popularity worldwide, but a few areas had held onto their own junior trainers. For the west coast of the United States, Northern California used El Toros, but now the Opti has nearly squeezed out the youth class. Working down the coast, the Opti has infiltrated SoCal sailing sites such as Marina del Rey and Los Angeles Harbor. However, further south from Long Beach to San Diego, the Naples Sabot is the dominant class. Now I wonder how long that will last, with the 2009 US Optimist National Championship being hosted by none other than Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club in the heart of Southern California. -- Scuttleblog, post comments here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/03/hell-has-frozen-over.html SAILING WITHOUT SEEING Despite losing his vision, Jason Wallenstein never stopped sailing. This past weekend, the Sharon, MA native left for the Bay of Plenty in Rotorua, New Zealand, for the 2 1/2-week Blind Sailing World Championships. Wallenstein's team of four visually impaired sailors from the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, MA will represent the United States along with a team from California. I've been sailing all my life, since I was 4 years old," said Wallenstein, who began losing his vision in 2001 because of diabetes. When Wallenstein began going to the Carroll Center for rehabilitation in 2004, he discovered the center's recreational and competitive sailing programs. "I never raced in my life until I got to the Carroll Center," he said. "It came quite easily, actually." He is racing in the B3 division, for those who are least visually impaired. Wallenstein's crew will compete in Noelex 25 sailboats, which Wallenstein described as "little Lamborghinis on the water. They're fast, very agile and they really do move," he said. "They just accelerate so quickly. If you're not paying attention, they can get out of control." Sailing without seeing the waves, land or other boats can be difficult, Wallenstein said. "Getting disoriented is easy, but knowing where the wind is coming from is not so easy, because you can't see telltales (wind indicators)," he said. -- Read on: http://linkbee.com/IR05 * The World Blind Sailing Championship will be held in Rotorua, New Zealand on March 14-21, 2009: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7099 STANDINGS SHUFFLED ON SECOND DAY Miami, FL (Mar. 9, 2009) - The second race of the Star class 2009 Bacardi Cup got off to a late start today after puffy 8 to 10 knot winds caused a 20-minute postponement followed by a general recall. The Italian team of Lucio Boggi and crew Manuele La Porta led at the start and played cat and mouse with three-time Bacardi Cup champion Peter Wright and crew Nathan Quist, both of Chicago, IL, through most of the 10.5 mile race on Biscayne Bay. The Italian duo are now in 8th place overall and the Chicagoans are in third. Wright who took 10 years off since his last Bacardi Cup win in 1993, said he had good speed from the start and was in a jibing duel with the Italians from the second mark on. "We weren't watching Bromby at all. He got between us at the end," said Wright. The powerhouse team of Peter Bromby and Magnus Liljedhal, both Olympians and Bacardi Cup champions, slid into second place on the run to the finish and move up to first place overall. Racing continues through Friday. -- Full story and results: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_390.shtml Results (top 10 of 63) 1. BER, Peter Bromby/ Magnus Liljedahl, 2-2, 4 points 2. USA, Rodney Hagebols/ William Finlay, 7-7, 14 3. USA, Peter Wright/ Nathan Quist, 13-3, 16 4. USA, Jon Vandermolen/ Goeff Ewenson, 2-16, 18 5. USA, Augie Diaz/ Mark Strube, 15-5, 20 6. USA, George Szabo/ Rick Peters, 1-20, 21 7. USA, Paul Cayard/ Austin Sperry, 11-10, 21 8. ITA, Lucio Boggi/ Manuele LaPorta, 21-1, 22 9. USA, Mark Mendelblatt/ Bruno Prada, 3-23, 26 10. USA, Mark Reynolds/ Hal Haenel, 12-15, 27 Note: Six races are planned and three races are needed to constitute a series; when three to six races have been completed, each boat's worst score will be excluded. KNOW YOUR RIGHTS There are only four right of way rules, four limiting rules, and rules governing mark-room and obstructions. US Sailing Rules Seminars take the myth and mystery out of the rules so racers understand their rights (and obligations) in any situation. Presented by North U, the seminars cover all the rules - new and old - and include a Racing Rules Workbook created by Dave Perry. US Sailing members save $40. Check the schedule and sign up by calling North U at 800-347-2457 or 203-245-0727, or by visiting http://www.NorthU.com A NEW SEASON BEGINS THIS WEEK IN MARSEILLE The newest event of the ten-stage 2009 World Match Racing Tour will also be its first as 12 teams prepare for next week's Marseille International Match Race, held over March 10-15 and hosted by the Yachting Club Pointe Rouge (YCPR). The assembled field is one of the strongest yet seen, lured by the opportunity to compete against the best talent in the sport, valuable Tour points earned towards the World Championship, and a piece of the €50,000 prize purse. "It's only fitting that the first battlefield of the 2009 Tour is here in France, where so many of our competing teams hail from and there is such a rich tradition of excellence in match race sailing," says Tour Director Craig Mitchell. "But we're also very pleased to have this first event of the 2009 Tour attract such a strong international field from among non-French teams as well." Leading the non-French field will be last year's Tour winner and reigning World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) and his Bahrain Team Pindar. However, this two-time Tour winner will likely see a strong challenge by local-based Sebastian Col (FRA) and his French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge crew, who not only finished as close runners-up to Williams, but are currently ranked 1st in the ISAF ranking list. -- Read on: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/95377 TORVAR MIRSKY: "SPONSORSHIP WOULD HELP US WIN TITLE" Torvar Mirsky and his team are looking forward to the 2009 World Match Racing Tour. Ranked 6th at the end of the 2008 series, the team is hoping to use their new 'tour card' status to concentrate on winning the World Championship title. But while they have the skill to do it, they lack the backing of some of the other teams. Well funded teams like America's Cup defender Alinghi and sailing 'super-team' Bahrain Team Pindar provide their skippers (Ed Baird and Ian Williams) with logistical support enabling them to focus on sailing. Currently without a major sponsor, Mirsky Racing Team (MRT) share roles like organising travel, managing websites and press and training, amongst themselves. * What are you looking forward to most in 09? MRT: In the past two years, our focus has been solely on securing a spot on the World Match Racing Tour, and now that we have achieved our goal we are able to shift our focus onto the exciting prospect of winning the Tour and being crowned World Champions. * How does the new tour card system affect you? MRT: We managed to secure a tour card for the 2009 season, which has given us guaranteed entry into all of the events on this year's tour. Among other things, this will help in our search for sponsorship as we can guarantee exposure throughout the entire year. In the previous years we had to put a lot of effort into gaining entries into the Tour's events, which often came at very short notice. We would very rarely be able to train prior to an event, which put us on the back foot throughout the season. However we now have the ability to train before all of the events, giving us the edge needed to win this year's Tour. -- Yacht Sponsorship, read on: http://linkbee.com/IR06 AUDI ETCHELLS WORLDS 2009 Melbourne, AUS (Mar. 9, 2009) - John Bertrand and his crew of Ben Ainslie and Andrew Palfrey (AUS) have lived up to their 'race favourites' tag, taking the Day 1 lead of the Audi Etchells World Championship following two light and shifty races being sailed on Port Phillip today. Hosted by Royal Brighton Yacht Club in Victoria, racing on the two lap windward/leeward course was delayed until winds finally filled in, finally getting underway shortly before 3.30pm after a general recall, which was repeated in Race 2. Sailing on his home turf, Bertrand, and his crew placed third in Race 1 and 11th in Race 2, enough to give them a one point lead over Brisbane's Jason Muir/Matthew Chew/Paul Wyatt (AUS) with a further four points to a second Melbourne crew, Damien King/Simon Cunnington/James Ware/Andrew Butler (AUS). -- Event website: http://www.audietchellsworlds2009.com.au/2009/03 * For North American fans, two of the top three teams at the 2008 Worlds had mixed results after the first day. Second a year ago was Chris Busch, who with Chad Hough/Chuck Sinks/David Hughes are now in 28th with a 2-60. Third last year was perennial favorite Judd Smith, who with Mark Johnson and Nik Burfoot are in tenth with an 18-13. -- Complete results: http://www.rbyc.org.au/site/yachting/event/18897 EXPERIENCE THE BUZZ, GET ON AN SB3 IN CHARLESTON Fresh from Miami's OCR, the SB3 will be on the water at Charleston's Race Week. Come see why Sailing World named the SB3 their Boat of the Year Overall for 2008. Charters are limited so e-mail mailto:sb3info.northamerica@laserperformance.com to book your spot today or to find out more. -- http://www.laserperformance.com SAILING SHORTS * (Mar. 9, 2009; Day 120) - In ninth place, Rich Wilson (USA) has 160 miles direct to the Vendee Globe finish in Les Sables d’Olonne, in fact closer to 180 miles as he is sailing downwind, and is now expected to be the next finisher in the early afternoon of Tuesday. Tide times are such that he would be unable to enter the channel until about 1330hrs in the afternoon. Having taken 43 days from Cape Horn, Wilson will be hugely relieved to get finished and has been dealt a very difficult set of cards by the weather, virtually since Cape Horn. -- Event website: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en * Eric Goetz has retained ownership of his Rhode Island-based yacht building company after it filed for receivership in January. The company went into bankruptcy after a Scottish client stopped making payments on a multimillion-dollar contract for a racing yacht. In a Rhode Island court last Friday, Goetz bid US$540,000 for the holdings of Goetz Custom Sailboats. The payment will be used to clear a US$1.9m loan that Citizens Bank made to the company. The bank also holds a US$4.3m mortgage on two properties used by Goetz, but he had not defaulted on those loans. -- IBI Magazine, read on: http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090209140526ibinews.html * Hanuman, the replica new build of the J Class Endeavour II, was launched over the weekend at the Royal Huisman yard in The Netherlands. She was launched alongside the shipyard to step the mast and check all the rigging systems, prior to moving the yacht to the North Sea for commissioning and sea trials. In 1937 the original Endeavour II was built in steel at Camper & Nicholson's yard in Gosport, for T.O.M. Sopwith, to designs by Charles E Nicholson. She was built to challenge for the America's Cup, against the defender 'Ranger'. Click here to view images: http://jclassyachts.blogspot.com/2009/03/hanuman-launched.html * (Long Beach, CA) - Six one design dinghy classes with 120 entrants participated in the Southern California Yachting Association's annual E.E. Manning Regatta, organized and hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club last weekend, an event that dates back to 1935. Nevin Snow and crew Marly Isler of San Diego, each 15, won the 41-boat CFJ fleet to capture the E.E. Manning Cup for winning the largest fleet. -- Full details: http://www.abyc.org/event.cfm?id=328 * As the Portimão Global Ocean Race moves into its second week in the Pacific Ocean (Feb 28-Mar 6), the mandatory southern limit at 45-degree S becomes a major feature, sandwiching the fleet between high winds to the south, and a windless, high pressure zone to the north. Dramatic compression occurs as the fleet try numerous options to escape light airs and the four boats bunch together before lining up for the scoring gate at 130-degree W as the wind builds for the first Southern Ocean storm. -- Read on: http://www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com/?page=news&news_id=221&lang=en * Grant Frautschi notched another National Championship over two days of exciting and challenging conditions during the International Nite Ice Yacht Class Championship regatta on Lake Geneva February 28 & March 1, 2009. Grant, who last won the regatta in 2006, overcame 27 other entrants, with Scott Brown in second and Terry Erwin in third. -- Complete story and results: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7155 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, 'The Curmudgeon'. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Randy Johnston, The Gorge, OR: In reference to Steve Crane's experience (in SBUTT 2796), I too, though a member for years, was charged the 7.95 price for each of the copies I ordered plus around eight bucks for postage. And this is the second time I've tried to get the guides with my "member" discount. The first time was shortly after the first of year, and I thought perhaps my renewal hadn't gone through the system yet. Though it's snowing here on the first work day of daylight savings, spring is close, and I'd really like to brush up on the new rules. Not the way to promote the organization... => Curmudgeon's Comment: I contacted US SAILING about this problem, and according to US SAILING Training Director Janine Connelly, they are aware of the situation with their webstore. Until they can fix the way postage is being charged for the item at the store, the Handy Guide orders will be shipped at no cost. -- US SAILING store: http://linkbee.com/IR1P CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Sailing is not the answer. Sailing is the question. "Yes" is the answer. Special thanks to Camet, North U, and LaserPerformance. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
