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SCUTTLEBUTT 1447 - October 30, 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. TURNING A LEMON INTO LEMONADE (It's not often that Sports Illustrated magazine does a feature on recreational sailing, but that happened in their July 14 issue. Here are a couple of excerpts from that piece.) With the loss of the America's Cup in 1983, local yachtsmen in Newport RI saw a chance to alter the destiny of the sport in one of the finest sailing environments in the world. After a failed attempt to attract 12-meter boats for a world championship regatta (a prelude to the America's Cup), Sail Newport focused instead on public sailing -- lessons, scholarships, reasonably priced rentals and events that would hardly get an old-line yacht club member to reach for his monocle. After all, why should Newport's deep water, reliable winds and sheltered harbor be reserved for the elite? Says Robin Wallace, a pediatrician who helped found Sail Newport's facility in Fort Adams State Park, "When the America's Cup left, it's almost as if the average person said, 'Maybe I could come to Newport to sail.'" Today almost 50 sailing events a year begin or end in Newport's waters, or circumnavigate them. But the Newport Regatta has held a special place since its founding in 1985. It's a populist festival-at-sea, open to 21 classes of boats, 15 of them manufactured in Rhode Island, from dinghies to wooden classics to champagne yachts. The racing is strictly "one design," i.e., no alterations allowed -- which means being well-heeled won't make your boat any better-keeled. Organizers accept entrants up to an hour before the race, so the exact start list depends on whether some couch-potato commodore in Westerly can line up a babysitter or a weak-stomached retiree in Warwick likes the look of that morning's weather forecast. "If you can get a boat in the water," says race director Kim Cooper, "you're in." "Looking back, losing the Cup was probably the best thing that could have happened for our sport," says Brad Read, Sail Newport's executive director. "Sailing here is more than alive and well, it's dynamic. That a certain silver mug is no longer bolted to a table in New York City means very little to someone who goes out sailing on a summer day." - Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated, full story: http://tinyurl.com/mv6q AMERICA'S CUP VENUE * A decision on where the 2007 America's Cup is to be held is expected within the next few weeks, the man leading Lisbon's bid to host the yachting regatta predicted. Organizers must make their choice by December 15 but Patrick Monteiro de Barros, heading Lisbon's candidature, believes it will come sooner than expected. "They've (organizers) let it be known that they'll give a definitive decision earlier than forecast, probably by the end of November," he told a press conference. "I reckon that'll be between November 15 and 20," he added. - Yahoo News, full story: http://tinyurl.com/sxno * "I think we have in Cascais the best race area in Europe and one of the five best one in the World", said Lisbon organizing committee president Patrick Monteiro de Barros. "Perhaps there is wind (in the other cities) but the lapse of time during which he breathes is shorter. There are thermal breezes related to heat. There is wind just during the summer". A vision that Bertrand Pacé doesn't share. On the contrary, "unforeseeable winds reinforce the interest in a competition. it is not because there are winds breathing somewhere that it is beautiful regatta there.In Cascais, races likely to be held in a wind range of 15 to 20 knots but they do not offer many things of interest", Bertrand said. On the same, "In Valencia, the thermal breeze is strong and stable. it will be monotonous". "As sailor, the place where one can have fun is Marseille", he concluded. "The bay is fantastic with three different modes of principal winds". - Cup in Europe website, full story: http://www.cupineurope.com/LatestNews/Where9.htm ROUND THE WORLD RACE Clipper Ventures PLC has today selected the port of Fremantle as the first-ever Australian stopover for the Clipper 2005 Round the World Yacht Race. The AIM listed company chaired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston also announced that the State of Western Australia will sponsor one of the ten yacht entries in the competitive event. Tourism Minister for Western Australia, Bob Kucera, said: "One of the ten 68-foot yachts will be known as 'Western Australia,' acting as something of a roving tourism ambassador across five continents. The Clipper 2005 event will start from Liverpool (UK) in September 2005 and follow the longest route of all round the world races. The sole Australasian stop is scheduled for late December 2005 in Fremantle, before the 10-strong racing fleet heads for the islands of Indonesia and then China. - www.clipper-ventures.com COOL FALL SAILING? STAY WARM AND FLEXIBLE! QuadroflexT, a 4-way stretch fleece, offers thin, thermal, water-friendly layering that is non-bulking, body conforming and stretches when you do. Perfect for the active sailor who does not want to be over bulked yet seeks warmth and breathability. Offered in farmer johns, pants and shirts. Ideal for drysuits! Ask us about our drop-seat farmer johns. Breaker Sailing Long pants are breathable Supplex sailing trousers with double knees and butts. Knee pads and bottom pads are optional and insertible. The perfect watch-pant and fall regatta gear. Find them all at Sailing Angles - Designers and Manufacturers: http://www.sailingangles.com KNOCK-ON EFFECT The design challenges facing Ron Holland and his team as naval architects and interior designers of the 245ft (75m) sloop Mirabella V, and those facing the engineering and other contractors involved in the project, will result in a positive 'knock-on effect' for the marine industry as a whole, claims the well known designer. Addressing the media last week at the latest media viewing of the project at VT Shipbuilding in Southampton, England, Holland said that the 'pioneering, performance oriented project' had afforded the opportunity to 'reach new limits' on the research and development front. 'This experience has already proven invaluable to us with our other current projects, which range from 46ft (14m) to 220ft (67m). In fact, I credit the recent nomination of our Discovery 55 design for the 2004 Cruising World Boat of the Year Awards to our being able to apply design and technology experience developed for superyacht designs to a wide range of our projects,' said Holland. Holland has just seen his design predictions confirmed in another project - the 210ft (64m) Felicita West. However, this elegant ketch, the first Perini Navi project involving independent designers, presented a different range of challenges than Mirabella V, which is a composite sloop. Felicita West is the largest aluminum sailing yacht built to date, carries the tallest mast afloat until Mirabella V is commissioned, and was the first sailing yacht to exceed the 500 tonnes limit for MCA classification. - Sailing online, full story: http://www.boating-online.com.au/welcome.cfm MELGES 24 At the Melges 24 class AGM in September the class voted on and decided to adopt Kevlar sails. The proposal, put forward by Nigel Young of North Sails UK, was principally aimed at increasing the life span of the sails, and in particular the jib. two years ago the class voted to use battens in the jib, which Young says, "Made a serious improvement in the life of the sails, the headsails on a Melges 24 get furled up and take a bit of a bashing." Two years on and Young has received plenty of feedback from his customers: "Comment from some of our regular customers that the Pentex sails weren't lasting as long as they had hoped. The serious guys and also the semi serious guys were considering whether they would need a new jib for each major regatta." Choosing to use Kevlar also has the added advantage from a marketing point of view as it helps to maintain the image of the class and make it look fresh and modern. For the mainsail, the change to Kevlar helps but the sail does not get the same amount of abuse as the jib, as Young explains, "There will be a real benefit for the mainsail, but because the sail is effectively fully battened, with the top two battens full length and the bottom two shorter, the mainsail doesn't suffer in quite the same way as the jib. Kevlar will definitely add life to the sail." - Daily Sail website, full story: http://www.thedailysail.com BOOK REVIEW Based on the title - "Maximum Sail Power" -and on the comprehensive list of subjects covered in this jumbo-format 300-pager, you'd think Brian Hancock's new book might read like a textbook. Not so. It's a very interesting read by an author who obviously has his stuff together. It's also a book that you do not have to read chapter by chapter. In fact, I suspect many readers will jump around a bit - going first to information that interests them most. But it's all there - from how to select what sails you should have; how sails are made; the pluses and minuses of the various types of sailcloth and of methods of manufacture; the important elements of a sail inventory; sail trim and sail handling; questions to ask your sailmaker, and even a look at the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic theory of how foils work. But more importantly, it's written and illustrated so well, and so interestingly, that you'll enjoy taking this trip with an author who has obviously 'been there and done that.' Apparently I'm not the only person who liked it - Hancock's new book carries impressive endorsements from the who's who of our sport, including Ellen MacArthur, Gary Jobson, Skip Novak, Tom Whidden, Cam Lewis, Herb McCormick and Brad Van Liew. Maximum Sail Power is published by the Nomad Press, and although the sticker price is $44.95, I found it on Amazon.com for $31.47. - The curmudgeon YOU ASKED FOR IT Yes, we know we have procrastinated too long, but this time we wanted to get it right. And we have - great quality Scuttlebutt Sailing Club polo shirts and baseball hats, at prices that really make sense. It's all on the new merchandise page of the Scuttlebutt website. Take a look at the terrific new schwag, and while your there, you can download your free SSC membership card. http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/merchandise/ ROLEX MIDDLE SEA RACE Four days after the start eight boats have now completed the 607-mile long Rolex Middle Sea Race, whilst another 25 are still at sea. Charles Dunstone's Nokia, the second boat to finish yesterday, currently has the best corrected time and looks likely to keep this honour. Skip Sheldon's Zarraffa is in second place and line honours victor Alfa Romeo lies in third. Fresh Westerly winds are sweeping the fleet still at sea, one of the smallest boats, Anton Valentino's First Ever, has been dismasted in 35 knots of wind near the Italian island of Pantelleria. A steady stream of finishers are expected over night as the current conditions are yielding fast downwind sailing for everyone still at sea. - www.regattanews.com ISAF YOUTH MULTIHULL EVALUATION With very cold weather yesterday morning, and a heavy fog covering the Ecole Nationale de Voile, the morning briefing took place with the sailors and manufacturers to set out the day's activities. Measurement continued in the morning, alongside two speed tests and a race planned for the morning. Crews were also assigned to their boats. The sailors were out on the water at about 1300 hours, and whilst the fog had given way to glorious sunshine, the breeze had decreased to 10 knots. Two speed tests were carried out successfully, but the decreasing breeze meant the cancellation of any racing. All of the ISAF Evaluation Panel had a good opportunity to look at the boats in a light breeze with a slight chop and all boats performed well in the conditions. Wednesday morning the wind was 15-20 knots from the west, which provides superbly flat conditions in the Bay. The forecast is for a steady 20 knots, with 30-35 knots this afternoon. The schedule is for more speed tests in the afternoon, followed by two races. Crews will be rotated throughout the fleet to ensure fairness of trials. The real test will be today, seeing how the boats perform in the heavier breeze. Over the next two days, the ISAF Evaluation Panel will be meeting with each manufacturer to discuss business plans, class association structure and other details. - http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=5709 NEWS BRIEFS * The Etchells class has just announced their new 'class rankings' - based on regattas up to and including the 2003 World Championship, and reflect race results over the last two years. Dennis Conner (USA) tops the list followed by Stuart Childerley (GBR) and John Bertrand (AUS). Ken Read, the run away winner of the 2003 Worlds did not make the top 30. - www.etchells.org * At the end of last week, the IOC President announced that THG will be tested at the 2004 Olympic Games. Since the release earlier last week of a statement outlining its position with regard to recent revelations that athletes tested positive for the designer anabolic steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), at the end of last week the IOC received the confirmation of the validity of the THG test. The IOC President welcomed this new development and announced that THG will be tested for during the next Olympic Games in Athens. - http://www.sailing.org/Article_content.asp?ArticleID=5710 * Auckland's Viaduct Harbour has been cleared of commercial naming rights and could be renamed Blake Harbour as early as next year. The Auckland City Council is developing a strategy for the marine events area, including ways to celebrate yachting icon Sir Peter Blake. Mayor John Banks said naming the harbour after the man who turned it from a neglected basin into a vibrant village for the America's Cup warranted consideration. - NZ Herald, http://tinyurl.com/sxn1 * The strong low pressure system forecast for the Jacques Vabre Transat kick-off has spiced up dockside conversation. The Race Director will take a decision on the multihull start this Friday morning as the forecast is still for a strong low pressure system to arrive on Sunday morning. The monohull start is not affected as there will be a small anticyclone to calm the conditions enough for their Saturday afternoon start. - http://www.jacques-vabre.com/pages_uk/accueil_uk2003.htm TROPHY BRAID UPGRADED For years Trophy Braid has been a staple at Samson Rope. Our customers love it for its soft, easy to grip hand, variety of colors and value. Look at the cruising boats at the dock and many will have Trophy Braid coiled around the winches. Now look again. We have improved Trophy Braid with new fiber that is stronger, more abrasion resistant, colorfast, and still supple in the hand - and the price hasn't changed. What a bonus! Enjoy. http://www.samsonrope.com/ 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 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 Chip Johns: Just to make sure all 'Butt readers have clear facts about Joshua Slocum. Joshua Slocum was from Nova Scotia. The Spray was located in Fairhaven, Mass. when she was given to him. Mr. Slocum rebuilt her in Fairhaven and then departed from New Bedford harbor on his voyage. He did stop in his home port of Nova Scotia on his way around. * From Roger Martin: Say Wha' ? Tim Patton doesn't follow the Cricket World Cup. He is not alone in the US, but tell Kiwis, Australians, South Africans, the British, Pakistanis, Indians, West Indians - I could go on - that cricket doesn't enjoy success Internationally, & they will wonder where you've been! Cricket & sailing are about equally difficult to televise, though. But have you seen the wicket-cam! CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL Think about everything you say, but don't say everything you think. |
