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SCUTTLEBUTT 2017 - January 26, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.THE NEW STANDARD - Paul Cayard The VO 70s are technologically advanced boats, which produce record setting 24 hour runs of 565 miles that everyone in the media is so happy to write about. What goes with that is potential to break things. Two things will happen as we go forward; 1) the sailors will learn to manage "the edge" better, and 2) we will improve the reliability of the equipment. Another point is that this event is going to give much more to the sailing community that other premier events in our sport. Canting keel technology is smart technology. It allows you to keep a boat light (which is fast) yet have high stability which translates into horsepower and speed. This technology will be the standard for the entire marine industry, racing and cruising, in 10 years time. The America's Cup for example, spend 100's of millions of $'s on antiquated technology and will be changing to canting keel technology in the future. In the near term, we will get our boats sorted out and we will produce a good competition by Baltimore if not sooner. What the event will be left with at that point is great competition from incredibly fast boats that are spectacular to watch and which the average Joe, and even many top level sailors, can only dream of getting a ride on. I for one, as a professional, am very happy to be part of this learning curve.... to ride on the crest of the wave. I don't feel there is any real damager of a serious catastrophe. If I did, I would not take my boat and crew out there. There is still a chance that things will break and this will limit a competitor's ability to go full speed. But these issues are getting fewer and fewer as we sail the boats more and more and we find the weak spots. The future is clear...look at ABN Amro 1. She is the only second generation boat out here and she is holding up just fine. By June, this period will be a forgotten blip on the radar screen. People have to learn to suck it up in the valleys. I have to tell my teenagers this but it seems you have to tell some adults too. If life was all smooth sailing, it would not be worth living. We need some challenges in order to feel like we are conquering something. I am proud to be the skipper of the Black Pearl, I am proud to be part of developing this technology and I am honored to have great partners like Disney and Pescanova. I would not want to be sitting behind some desk somewhere criticizing people who are willing to "dig deep" to cross into new territory. As far as I can remember, there aren't a lot of points of land or holidays named after people who sat at home and criticized Christopher Columbus. - Paul Cayard, skipper of The Black Pearl IT'S BUSINESS AS USUAL -- Glenn Bourke (Volvo Ocean Race CEO Glenn Bourke candidly discusses the meeting held in Melbourne, Australia with the race skippers, key crew members and designers. Here are some his conclusions.) After a lot of constructive discussion, there was consensus on a lot of issues, several positive ideas came out and an agreement that it's very much business as usual. The teams have looked at their own issues relating to breakage and they've decided that it's their responsibility to do something about it. The message from the skippers was loud and clear. What they said was that "nobody knows what's happening to us out there better than what we know so please leave it in our hands. If you want to talk to us about the technical detail and the loads that we are experiencing and the speeds of the boats by all means do so but don't ponder great ideas for moving forward when you're not actually out there on the coal face, in the 60 ft seas and in the 45 knot winds". The teams have looked at their own issues in terms of the structures of the boats and they've decided that it's their responsibility to do something about it. They unanimously agreed that the rule was fine in its current iteration and they don't believe there is anything that significantly requires change. What everyone has to understand is that the Volvo Open 70 is a development formula. It's at the cutting edge of the sport and we are learning all the time. The crews are learning the limits of the boats, learning just how much they can push and how much they have to back off. And some of the breakdowns have come as a result of that learning process. These boats are designed to go fast there's no denying that. But I guess the crews have to be mindful of how fast they can push this Formula One of ocean racing in certain conditions. As I heard Paul Cayard say recently "it's a bit like driving a Ferrari on a dirt road. You wouldn't do it". - www.volvooceanrace.org HIATUS Grant Wharington is to forsake the next long legs of the Volvo Ocean Race so that, in Formula One terms, he can supercharge his Australian boat with two goals in mind - to win a grand prix towards the end of the season and to set a speed record. Brunel, as his boat will now be known, will take part in the Melbourne in-port race on February 4 but is likely to miss the third, short leg to Wellington and will definitely skip the long Southern Ocean haul from Wellington to Rio de Janeiro and the next leg to Baltimore. After Baltimore, the VO 70 fleet races to New York, Portsmouth, Rotterdam and Gothenburg. Wharington and Brunel, a Dutch provider of professional specialists, are buying time to try to lift the Wharington boat on to a podium finish later in this round-the-world race. "I don't want to continue in the race as an also-ran," Wharington said. "I would rather win a leg than be in the fives, sixes or sevens (to finish)." He said the VO 70s were so fast that, with the aid of the Gulf Stream current in the Atlantic, he believed they could travel more than 600 nautical miles in a day. Wharington said that without making major modifications, they would be changing and updating the boat so that she would be "fully cocked" for the goals he has set. The six-week trip by ship means it will have to leave Melbourne or New Zealand in early March. -- http://tinyurl.com/adyzh ULLMAN'S MELGES 24 SAILS WIN KEY WEST RACE WEEK Dave Ullman's "Pegasus 505" captured 1st place with Franco Rossini's "Blu Moon" a close 2nd (using an Ullman main and jib) at this year's Acura Key West Race Week. With 60 highly competitive Melges 24 teams competing for top honors, fast sails were essential. Three of the top five teams at both the recent Melges 24 Worlds and in Key West chose Ullman Sails to deliver the speed and reliability needed to compete for top honors. Are you ready for a set of the "Fastest Sails on the Planet?" Contact your local Ullman sails loft or visit http://www.ullmansails.com SHIFTY CONDITIONS - TACTICAL RACING Miami, Fla. (January 25, 2006)-As expected, a front came through last evening and 610 sailors from 40 countries at the Rolex Miami OCR woke up to a shifty northerly that promised a tactical day. "In the 470 men's class, a dramatic wind shift in the second race separated the fleet by a half mile on a one mile beat," said US Sailing Team Coach Skip Whyte. "We were a long way behind, but we got back okay," said Asher, "and we won our last race, which put us back where we needed to be. All the top guys had one bad race today." Asher and Willis count their eighth in that second race as a throwout, which keeps them at the top of the scoreboard for the third straight day. The Star class has had three different leaders in as many days of racing, with current world champions from France, Xavier Rohart and Pascal Rambeau, moving to the top of the scoreboard after three races today. The top American team is now that of defending champions Andrew Horton and Brad Nichol in second overall. USA's Paige Railey had a fairly good day today, starting off with an OCS for starting early, but recovering with two wins to extend her lead over the rest of the fleet. As solid as Railey are two other USA teams at the top of the scoreboard. They are defending champions John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree leading the Tornado class by 15 points, and reigning Yngling world champions Sally Barkow, Carrie Howe and Deborah Capozzi, who hold a 12-point lead. In the Finn class, a new leader, Christopher Cook (Toronto, Canada), has emerged. - Media Pro Int'l, complete rosters, photos and results: www.ussailing.org/Olympics/RolexMiamiOCR AUCKLAND MATCH RACING CUP FLASH: Dean Barker has the outright lead midway through day two of the Auckland Match Racing Cup on the Waitemata Harbour. Barker has seven wins, with four skippers back on five wins, including Chris Dickson and Cameron Appleton. The boats are racing in 10 knot winds, proving a real challenge for the skippers. -- http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=88503 Standings from racing on Day 1 (website was not current at press time): Dean Barker (NZL), Emirates Team New Zealand, 5-1 Cameron Appleton (NZL), 5-1 Chris Dickson (NZL), BMW Oracle Racing, 4-2 Mathieu Richard (FRA), 4-2 Bertrand Pace (FRA), BMW Oracle Racing, 3-3 Ian Williams (GBR), 3-3 Sebastian Col (FRA), K-Challenge, 3-3 Magnus Holmberg (SWE), Victory Challenge, 2-4 Ed Baird (USA), Alinghi, 1-5 Staffan Lindberg (FIN), 0-6 Event website: http://www.aucklandmatchracingcup.co.nz/home.html DISABLED WORLDS Royal Perth YC -- Britain's John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Stephen Thomas have won the Sonar class, and German skipper Heiko Kroeger the 2.4 Metre class at the 2006 Alcoa IFDS World Disabled Sailing Championships, hosted by the Royal Perth Yacht Club. The two countries also took second places, with Jens Kroker and his crew second in the Sonars, while British skipper Helena Lucas was second in the 2.4 Metres. Norway was third in both classes, Bjornar Erikstad slipping from first place overnight in the 2.4 Metres, while Jostein Stordahl overtook the Australian Sonar crew on the last day. The fifth place finish by U.S. sailor Nick Scandone has qualified the U.S.A. to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games in the singlehanded 2.4mR class. While Scandone qualified the U.S.A., he may not be the ultimate representative at the 2008 Paralympics. The U.S. Paralympic Team Trials for sailing will be hosted by the Rhode Island Sailing Foundation in the fall of 2007. - www.2006ifdsworlds.com.au Final Results: (10 races with 2 discards) - Sonars (16 boats): 1. John Robertson/Stodel/Thomas (GBR) 15pts 2. Jens Kroker/Schoenberg/Schuetz (GER) 27pts 3. Jostein Stordahl/Hansen/Kristiansen (NOR) 27pts 9. Ken Kelly (CAN) 62pts 14. Jen French (USA) 92pts 2.4 Metres (19 boats) 1. Heiko Kroeger (GER) 17pts 2. Helena Lucas (GBR) 20.5pts 3. Bjornar Erikstad (NOR) 30pts 4. Bruce Millar (CAN) 42 pts 5. Nick Scandone (USA) 46 pts NEWS BRIEFS * The Notice of Race for the April Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia in Palma de Mallorca has modified to adapt the new Olympic Classes competition format recently approved by ISAF. Therefore, Olympic classes will start sailing a day earlier to complete an 11 races series (16 for the 49er). For Olympic classes only, the Grand Final will be sailed in which only the top 10 boats participate. There will be one discard for the races before the Grand Finale. The Grand Final cannot be discarded. In total, the event is expected to attract some 800 boats in 14 classes. -- www.trofeoprincesasofia.org * Correction -- In a story from Yachting World carried in Scuttlebutt 2015, it was mentioned that Steve Fossett is awaiting a weather window to attempt his first solo, non-stop, non-refueled circumnavigation of the world by an airplane in his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer. It's actually his second attempt. This time he intends to attempt 'The Ultimate Flight', which targets the longest distance flight in aviation history (farther than any airplane or balloon has flown) taking off from Florida, completing first a full RTW before carrying on across the North Atlantic a second time to land in England. -- http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20060024134801ywnews.html CAUGHT AT THE CROSSROADS Our latest poll catches the Melges 24 class during a time of evolution, wherein the advent of aggressive hiking has folks wondering: Is this a good thing? One reader felt that this was a class issue, and asking the Scuttlebutt readers was taking the risk of getting an uninformed result. Possibly yes, but it is also very likely that all the voters are either M24 sailors or potential customers, and we thought that was good enough for us. As for the comments submitted to the Scuttlebutt Forum, they provide some nice insight into how folks feel about hiking and performance boats. As Bill Hardesty said in the forums, who won the class title at the 2005 Key West event, "Until the rule changes you will need to wear a hiking pad … and have a nice big bottle of Advil onboard." For the final poll result and comments: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/06/0125 EIGHT BELLS We are saddened by news of the death of Desmond Nicholson who passed away in Antigua, January 24, 2006. He was the son of Commander V.E.B. Nicholson. The Commander along with his wife, Desmond & their younger son Rodney, sailed into English Harbor, Antigua, in 1949. Soon they were introducing friends from England to the island's beautiful waters and splendid sailing - and the business of chartering was born. Desmond was passionately interested in the history of Nelson's Dockyard and instrumental in preserving its buildings and naval structures. He was a respected amateur archaeologist and a guiding force in the creation of The Dockyard Museum and Library. All of us who enjoy English Harbor, an unequalled site of British maritime heritage, are the beneficiaries of Desmond Nicholson's lifelong dedication. YOU CAN SPEND A LIFETIME LEARNING TO BE A BETTER SAILOR NorthU accelerates the process with Seminars, Books, CDs, Race Weeks and an Online Quiz. Injury, illness or crew overboard can leave a shorthanded crew "Suddenly Alone." Learn how to prepare and how to respond at the NorthU Suddenly Alone or Cruising & Seamanship Seminars. Performance Software allows you to integrate instrument, navigation, performance, weather, and race information. Learn how at Performance Software Seminars featuring Expedition. Learn more about NorthU Racing, Cruising, Weather, Performance Software, and Suddenly Alone Seminars and take the quiz at http://www.NorthU.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. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree. And please save your bashing, and personal attacks for elsewhere. For those that prefer a Forum, you can post your thoughts at the Scuttlebutt website: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi) * From Magnus Wheatley: For what it's worth I roundly salute Glenn Bourke for getting the designers, sailors, Chief Measurer and those at the 'coal face' together in Melbourne to address the slight but critical tweaks that will be made to the Volvo fleet before they head out again. It's very reassuring that steel rams will be used, that the super-structures will be beefed up and that kilos will be shaved from the keels. Now we will have a yacht race, position changes and a thriller on our hands and I want to see just how fast Movistar, POC and Ericsson really are. I apologize to fellow 'Butt readers for stirring the hornet's nest and upsetting some delicate sensibilities but would this meeting and a string of safety measures ever have taken place without the debate that began on these pages? I agree that sitting behind a computer and raising what I believe to be valid points is no substitute for being out there scorching down waves but perhaps sometimes the obvious needs to be highlighted in the haze of such a commercial endeavour. All I didn't want to see is nine crew bodies floating away in icy waters when something could have been done to prevent it - anyone got a problem with that? This is not Christopher Columbus, this is not Amundsen or Scott, this is not Armstrong and Aldrin - this is a sports race. Glenn you've reacted admirably, let's get some proper racing on now... * From Pete Hoffmann: I believe that the VOR is one of the most exciting and amazing events I have ever been aware of. Araminta Smith and Freddie Lapin are right to be concerned about the negativity promoted by some well meaning concerned sailors. By its nature this is a very traditional sport and change is a difficult process. As noted sometime ago: "It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions and lukewarm defenders among those who may due well under the new." -- Machiavelli, The Prince * From Tom Donlan: Freddie Lapin complained in Scuttlebutt 2015 that some contributors are belittling "our" sponsors. He said our expensive sport may not survive people "openly, publicly using negative talk in the context of sponsorship and major elite Yacht Racing events." He asked what it achieves. So far, not much. But some of us hope that sponsors will hear us and quit sponsoring. We don't want more advertising; we don't want more commercialism; we don't want more professionalism in a sport that's becoming theirs rather than ours. Some of us even like wood boats and full keels. * From Hans Voorn, Amsterdam: I am bored and even tired of reading about VOR boats being too breakable. Here in The Netherlands we are very proud of the Dutch participation in the VOR, which is a first at this magnitude. We have had Dutch drivers in Formula 1 racing who never made it to the end of the race, so we are used to fast thing breaking down. And when I sail in the minor league (X-99) things break as well… Please let's just enjoy the great race. * From Steven Levy: (Melges 24 hiking): In project management, you start by asking, what's the goal? What's the class goal? To build a fabulous boat that challenges super-serious racers, or to build a class that's fun and competitive for a wide range of amateur through pro sailors? If the latter, keep the lifelines tight. If the former, by all means loosen them. (You might also want to consider racing only in warmer waters, however; a bunch of crew falling into 50-degrees-in-summer Puget Sound should a hiking line break might well result in fatalities.) And what if the class can't agree on the goal? Then shelve the lifeline argument as a distraction and instead figure out what the majority of owners want their ride to become. * From Jacob Ellestad: I am 16 and an avid dinghy sailor and own a Laser. Having introduced a lot of my friends to dinghy sailing I quickly noticed that for a lot of them getting the courage to hike hard when you get hit by a big puff instead of just letting out the mainsheet takes time and you have to have the guts and take the risk of getting dumped or getting hurt but that's part of what makes it so exciting for me when, I'm getting hit by 20 knot gusts with a full rig and just barely congaing it. If the crews on the Melges 24 have the guts to do it and put themselves out their. No one should be able to tell them they can't do that. The fact that people are making a fuss about it just seems crazy to me. This also applies to the fuss about the Volvo 70 boats, those boats are pushing sailing to the edge and beyond. And I would give anything to be one of the crew and being part of this sailing revolution. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Pharmacist: A helper on the farm. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and North U. |
