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SCUTTLEBUTT 3349 - Wednesday, May 25, 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: Team One Newport, New England Rope, and LaserPerformance. THE "DUMBING-DOWN" OF YOUTH SAILING At the age of 20, Allison Jolly became the youngest woman ever to win the U.S. Yachtswoman of the Year Award in 1976. And when the Olympics added the Women's Doublehanded event in 1988, Allison with teammate Lynne Jewell dominated the heavy air event in Pusan, South Korea to earn gold. When Allison began sailing at 10 years, youth sailing programs were much different. Now as the sailing coach for the University of South Florida Women's Varsity Team, she shares her observations on the changes: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As junior sailors 30 to 40 years ago, we were introduced to simple concepts about mast bend even in the prams we sailed. Our masts were laminated wood, and the selection of which timber(s) to use was based on your weight, the wind conditions you sailed in, and what mast bend characteristics you wanted. We were all expected to understand these concepts. Additionally, the easily adjusted vang and sprit control lines were led to the daggerboard trunk, so effecting sail shape was almost effortless. After leaving prams, I was exposed to many wonderful classes which promoted an even greater understanding of the diverse combination of sails, rigs, foils, hulls, and the physics of sailing. These included Snipes, Windmills, Lightnings, Thistles, Fireballs, I-420's (no Club 420's in those days), FD's, 5-O-5's, and yes, 470's. I competed in the inaugural US Youth Championships in 1973 in Wilmette, IL. Competition in the double-handed event was held in 470's, and I fell in love with the boat before I could even (legally) drive a car. Just imagine the top 20 youth double-handed sailors in the US competing in 470's today! Having lamented the "dumbing-down" of youth sailing, however, I acknowledge there is at least one significant positive result. Transferring the responsibility of boat ownership to clubs and other organizations has allowed for greater access and increased the opportunity for more widespread community involvement in youth sailing. The question is what happens to this influx of new competitive junior sailors once they attain a certain level. The sport of competitive sailing is generally associated with an elitist image, and unfortunately with fairly good reason. The inevitable costs associated with higher levels of competition make the sport prohibitively expensive for many of these sailors. But is the solution to continue "watering down" the sport for all juniors, putting U.S. sailors at a disadvantage on the international level? I don't think so, but I don't have the solution. TUCANA LEADING TO BERMUDA Charleston, South Carolina (May 24, 2011) - As of the mid afternoon position update today, it was evident that the lead boat - the Hofford-Ford team on board the Shipman 63 Tucana - was making a move to distance itself from race-long rival Spirit of Juno, the OnDeck Farr 65 that is under charter to the self-acclaimed "world's greatest sailor," comedian Stephen Colbert. The leader of Colbert Nation and his crewmates have hounded Tucana for the majority of the race, staying within six miles of them much of that time, but the situation began to shift after noon today. On board Tucana, it's likely that the two most avid racing sailors among the crew - Michael Miller and Dan Valoppe (both of Charleston) - are constantly trimming the sails and squeezing every ounce of performance they can out of this all-carbon-fiber machine. Miller is a professional sailor who once campaigned for the Olympics, and Valoppe is a professional yacht delivery captain. Together, they possess significant expertise in optimizing sailing performance. As of the most recent position reports from Yellowbrick, Tucana was nearly 15 miles ahead of her rival, and moving almost two knots faster. Back on shore in Charleston, David Browder has been watching the fleet's progress very closely. Browder, who founded this race in 1997 along with his friend Rick Hennigar, said earlier today: "It's been very interesting to watch. They're all right there together. I fully expect Juno to make a move and sail past Tucana any time now. She's capable of doing that, and should be able to pass." -- Event website: http://www.charlestonbermudarace.com/ GOPRO HI DEF CAMERAS ON SALE!! Be a HERO. Don't miss the chance to capture your active sporting lifestyle at up to 15% OFF regular retail. This is the only time you will get these amazing cameras on sale at Team One Newport or anywhere else! Get one to film your next race, training session, bike ride or family vacation. The GoPro camera is the best waterproof, Hi Def camera on the market. Sale ends May 30th. Visit http://www.team1newport.com or call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327) for more information. THE FLINTSTONES ARE BACK! It was on September 13, 2010 when the plan for the 34th America's Cup was revealed, and a "new era" was promised by the boss of the defending team, Russell Coutts. The boats will be "cool", he said as he showed an impression of a 72-foot catamaran with a wing sail. "This will be a competition for the Facebook generation, not the Flintstone generation," promised Coutts. The Facebook-Flintstone comment, which had innocent intentions to highlight the trend toward a younger competitor and audience, proved to be miscue. Not only was it a slap at the generation most connected to the Cup, but it failed to realize that Russell Coutts himself was in the largest Facebook age range (35-54), and that his parents were in the age range experiencing the greatest Facebook growth (55+). So much for cute comparisons. Love it or hate it, the America's Cup remains the most recognizable event for the sport, and it would be regrettable for the format to fail. But now there is cause for real concern. Is it possible that Sir Russell, the master tactician on the race course, is completely out of phase with his appeal to the younger generation? Guess what... The Flintstones are back! This animated, prime-time American television sitcom that ran from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, is back in production and is gearing for a 2013 premiere on the U.S. Fox network schedule. And if you're paying attention, its fall release will now be competing for the same television audience as the 34th America's Cup. The irony is overwhelming. Scuttleblog: http://sailingscuttlebutt.blogspot.com/2011/05/flintstones-are-back.html YALE LEADS AFTER DAY 1 ICSA WOMEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Cascade Locks, OR (May 24, 2011) - Today's racing began with the final races for the First Round Women's teams, who were competing to make it in the top nine to move on to race in the Final Round of the Sperry Top-Sider / ICSA Women's National Championships. A westerly breeze ranged 14-17 mph, making the current hard work on the downwind legs. The qualifying teams (in order) moving onto the Finals are: Yale, Brown, URI, Coast Guard, ODU, Harvard, University of South Florida, Eckerd and Georgetown. The Women's National Championships began in the afternoon in just 4-8 knots making for slow moving against the current. University of Rhode Island sailors in A-division finished the day first overall. "What helped us a lot was having sailed in the First Round yesterday and today. We knew what to do on the downwind, it was familiar racing," says URI's head coach Clinton Hayes. It certainly shows in the current scores that the teams who have already been sailing for a day are at a slight advantage with some practice under their belts. The top six teams are all teams who competed in the First Round. With only one set in each division completed the regatta is certainly still wide open for competition. -- Results and live coverage at: http://www.2011nationals.collegesailing.info * The Intercollegiate Sailing Association's three national championships, ICSA/Sperry Top-Sider Women's National Championship, ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship, and the ICSA/Gill Dinghy National Championship commenced Monday, May 23 with the Women's event, which will last for four days immediately followed by the Team Race Championship and the Dinghy Championship consecutively each lasting for three days. All of the events will be sailed in Club Flying Juniors (CFJs), in Cascade Locks, OR. CAMELS BEGIN CHASE FOR TITLE (May 24, 2011) - Every year Jeff Bresnahan sets lofty goals for his Connecticut College sailing program. Win a national championship. The Camels have a realistic shot to finally accomplish that feat this week, competing in the Inter Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA)/Sperry Top Side women's national championship this week. Conn College begins the 18-team competition as the No. 3 ranked team in the country. "Our goal is to win a national championship," Bresnahan said. "We've had All-Americans and Olympians come to Conn. From Day One, we (talk about) what can we do to win a national championship. We've come close a couple of times. With student dedication and resources that we have at Connecticut College, that's a possibility." Bresnahan has a busy two weeks ahead as his coed team also qualified for nationals. Competition in the ICSA/Gill Dinghy national championship begins next Monday and runs through Wednesday, June 1. The young Camels are ranked 15th. It is the third time in the sailing program's history that two teams qualified for nationals in the same year. The Camels also did it in 1993 and 1998. -- Full story: http://www.theday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011305249911 ENDURA BRAID - PRACTICAL SAILOR BEST CHOICE New England Ropes Endura Braid provides the perfect combination of strength, durability, and performance for the competitive sailor. Its intricate design and construction results in a high strength-to-weight ratio with low-stretch that size for size outperforms the competition. And now it's available in 4 new stylish colors with the same great benefits: Endura Braid Euro Style! Endura Braid outperformed comparable products tested by Practical Sailor and that it's the best category choice for their readers. Endura braid is available at leading riggers. For more information, visit our website at http://www.neropes.com SAILING SHORTS * Nominations for the 2011 induction into the U.S. National Sailing Hall of Fame are being accepted from the general public until June 1st for candidates who are American citizens, 45 years of age and up, and who have made significant impact on the growth and development of the sport. The first class of inductees will be recognized on October 23, 2011, during ceremonies scheduled to take place at the San Diego Yacht Club in California. -- Details here: http://tinyurl.com/3hgmxyy * The Virginia Interscholastic Sailing Association held the 2011 Interscholastic Sailing Association Baker National Team Race Championship on May 20, 2011 and May 21, 2011 at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club in Norfolk, Virginia, with 12 teams competing in the qualifying round. Tabor Academy is the 2011 National Team Race Champion, with a 10-1 record. Newport Harbor finished 2nd with a 9-2 record, winning a tiebreaker race over The Hotchkiss School (also 9-2) and moving it to 3rd place. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3sxgepw * Istanbul, Turkey (May 24, 2011) - The Extreme Sailing Series kicks off Wednesday in the teeming city of Istanbul, for Act 3 of the nine-stop global Extreme Sailing Series tour. The eleven international teams are now busy assembling their Extreme 40 racing machines in the technical area on the Halic estuary, after the containers were unloaded overnight. Weather reports indicate some generous north to north-easterly wind conditions over the coming days with 8-10 knots forecast tomorrow and up to 16 knots by Saturday. -- Event website: http://www.extremesailingseries.com/ * Medemblik, Holland (May 24, 2011) - Day 1 of the Delta Lloyd regatta, fifth event on the ISAf Sailing World Cup circuit saw the Croatian teams master strong winds to take top spots in the 470 men, the Laser and the Finn. Canadian 49er team Gordon Cook and Hunter Lowden sit in 2nd overall with a 6-8-3 on the day while in the Star, Canadians Clarke and Bjorn, after long delays on shore put in some good work with a 5-2 for 3rd overall. Canadian Greg Douglas sits in 3rd in the Finn class, while USA's Brad Funk took a second and seventh for 8th overall in a 122-strong fleet in the Laser. -- Live updates, videos, and full results on event website: http://www.deltalloydregatta.org * (May 24, 2011; Day 11) - At yesterday's 1800 UTC position report of the VELUX 5 OCEANS, the last schedule where all four boats were polled, overall race leader Brad Van Liew (USA) had a lead of just over 60 miles on his race rivals, with 1082 nm to finish. Choosing to seek out stronger winds to up his speeds towards La Rochelle Brad sailed close to the eye of a depression. He was rewarded with boat speeds hitting more than 25 knots but also paid the price for the move encountering howling 47-knot winds and crashing seas. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3cuy8bl * Langenargen, Germany (May 24, 2011) - Stage 2 of the World Match Racing Tour (WMRT), Match Race Germany, will begin on Wednesday with the first Qualifying Session after the teams finished honing their skills on the new fleet of Bavaria 40S yachts on Lake Constance. Conditions for the Qualifying Sessions are forecast to be light and shifty which will present the teams with a considerable test on board the Bavaria 40S boats. Heading the WMRT charge after Stage 1 is Damien Iehl/French Match Racing Team with 25 pts. -- Event website: http://www.wmrt.com/ ATTENTION MARINE INDUSTRY: "GET GUARANTEED EXPOSURE" Scuttlebutt World Headquarters is on every mailing list, so we get all forms of email press releases about marine industry updates. Most go in the trash. The Marine Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum was created so companies could get guaranteed exposure by posting their own personnel, product and service updates online. In addition to website traffic, Scuttlebutt editors randomly select updates each week to include in the Thursday edition of the Scuttlebutt newsletter. Here is the link to post Industry News updates: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news LASERPERFORMANCE AND ICSA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Eighteen new LaserPerformance CFJ's will be sailed over 10 days in the Women's, Dinghy and Team Race National Championships @ Cascade Locks, Oregon. As a long term sponsor of ISCA, we are proud to be able to provide the best boats for the best College sailors in the country. Good Luck to all from the team @ LaserPerformance, largest collegiate sailboat manufacturer in North America. -- http://www.LaserPerformance.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Bob Johnstone (re, Scuttlebutt 3348): Andrew Campbell is on the right track with the Laser providing the bridge to all-age competition, providing the independence and motivation to youth to learn from and compete with more experienced older sailors. But, the Laser (and 29er) addresses a fairly small percentage of future sailors....the more athletic and serious racers. I look back in the 1950s when as Juniors, during the week we raced Lightnings, took them out on moonlight cruises and cookouts on distant beaches, then raced against the old folks on Saturday. What that boat, J/22s, J/24s, Flying Scots and other larger "sit-in" one-designs accomplish is to open up the broad vista and joy of local sailing activities to a wider range of youth...activities that don't require a high level of athleticism or wet suits to survive. Much of the US population is located on cold water, even in summer: the Northeast, Great Lakes and West Coast. * From Henry Filter: Andrew Campbell is really on to something about youth sailors sailing with and against the adults. That is the essence of our sport! Back in the late 70's, when I turned 16, I grabbed the car keys, threw the Laser on the roof and never looked backed! I was fortunate to grow up in Laser District 7 in New England, where a local regatta had guys like Ed Adams, Peter Isler and Dave Perry just to name a few. These guys were the young adults at the time, helping to inspire the youth coming up behind them. The independence and life lessons learned were priceless. Today, my 13 year old son sails snipes with me, as he has for the last 5 years. The adults in the class treat him as an equal and he is learning so much about sailing and life just through osmosis. I know he will ditch me in the upcoming years (as he should), as he is already talking of younger sailing partners and sailing Lasers when he gets big enough. When he drives off solo to his first Laser regatta, there will be a tear in my eye and a smile on my face knowing that my mission has been accomplished! * From Chris Bulger: With the never ending debate on ISAF classification heating up, I am reminded that the issue of professional vs. amateur in our sport means very different things to different people. For some it is an issue of maintaining a level playing field where we separate part time sailors from full time sailors in the interest of fair play. To me this has always been an absurd goal. First, we have a sport that attracts the affluent and some are much more affluent than others. The notion that we can level the playing field by excluding yacht brokers but including Larry Ellison is ridiculous. Another goal of "labeling" professionals that I am much more sympathetic to is separating the sailors who participate to "sail" from those who participate to "sell". The corrosive effect of professionals that I have witnessed over my 45 years in the sport doesn't stem for great performance on the race course - it comes from the commercialization of the social events that surround our sports. 25 years ago, major club and regatta parties were populated with amateurs who were committed to escaping the rat-race of retail culture. The few maritime professionals who made the scene were largely passionate starving engineers who couldn't sell to save their lives. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/3e3p4t8 CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Better living through denial. 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