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SCUTTLEBUTT 2072 - April 13, 2006Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus.WINDY CITY (Thedailysail subscription website visits BMW Oracle Racing's wind tunnel and talks to its proprietor Dave le Pelley. Here's an excerpt.) So what is the point of a wind tunnel? When it comes to R&D, be it into sails or aspects of hull shape or deck gear, etc etc these items can obviously be tested full size but this is both costly, takes time and is generally inefficient. Thus much testing takes place in 'model form' - generally within the virtual world in instances where conditions can be simulated accurately in a computer and in instances where they can't physical devices such as wind tunnels and towing tanks get brought into play. A good example of this is sails: Upwind sails, where the flow is attached and things behave according to fairly straightforward (and programmable) rules of physics, is carried out numerically in the computer whereas R&D into downwind sails, where the flow characteristics are a whole lot more complicated, are carried out in the real world, built to scale and then put through their paces in the wind tunnel. Thus minute changes can be made with relatively ease and minimal cost to a model sail compared to its full scale equivalent, this is then tested in le Pelley's tunnel and if it performs well then the odds are very good that it will work full scale. A feature of the BMW Oracle Racing wind tunnel is that it can create a 'twisted flow', mimicking the often dramatic vertical wind sheer profiles found in different venues. The BMW Oracle Racing wind tunnel - a development of the University of Auckland's tunnel - is driven by two 45kW fans, each driving giant 3m diameter blades. -- http://www.thedailysail.com CHINA It is hard to believe that a country the size of China, which has an ancient tradition of seafaring and a vast coastline with some 700 million people living within its reach, has no contemporary sailing culture. Amazingly, there are almost no sailing boats at all and as few as 1,000 pleasure boats on the entire Chinese coast. Living a tough life in a closed society, the Chinese have in recent decades turned their backs on the sea and even now it is difficult for anyone, apart from fishermen and navy personnel, to get out on the water. But as in so many areas of contemporary Chinese life, all that is changing and, like mountaineering, sailing is now on the agenda for an albeit tiny fraction of this huge nation, and youngsters such as Xu are among the first to benefit. The sprawling industrial city of Qingdao, about 600 miles north of Shanghai, is in the vanguard of the sailing revolution through its status as the designated site for the 2008 Olympic regatta. (Ellen) MacArthur has come here as part of an extensive Asian tour that she and her four-strong crew on the trimaran are completing to promote B & Q's rapidly developing business in the region. --Excerpt from a story by Edward Gorman, The Times, full story: http://tinyurl.com/gsnru CONGRESSIONAL CUP Light air continues to plague the Congressional Cup presented by Acura -- but Mathieu Richard is obviously enjoying it. He breezed through the first ten rounds of the round robin undefeated. But rather than head back to the yacht cub after round 10, the Long Beach YC race committee decided to squeeze in one more round. Denmark's Peter Wibroe was pretty happy about that call. It set the stage for his 16 second win over Richard, and moved Wibroe out of last place. Racing continues on Thursday with the match race finals scheduled for Saturday. Round Robin Standings: 1. Mathieu Richard, 10-1 2. Ian Williams, 9-2 3. Gavin Brady, 8-3 4. Staffan Lindberg, 6-5 5. Johnie Berntsson, 5-6 5. Simon Minoprio, 5-6 7. Scott Dickson, 4-7 8. Peter Wibroe, 3-8 8. Brian Angel, 3-8 10. Cameron Appleton, 2-9 Event website: http:www.lbyc.org/concup/ DO YOU "ONE DESIGN?" WE DO! Tornado, Melges 24, Sabot, Martin 242, Yngling, 470, J/105, Beneteau 40.7, Etchells, Acat, Farr 40, 505, Cal 20, Coronado 15, Fireball, J/24, CFJ, 420, Europe Dinghy, Harbor 20, International 14, J/22, Holder 20, Flying Scot, Lido 14, Lehman 12, Lightning, Optimist, Snipe, Thistle, Cal 25, Soling, Sonar, Santana 20, Santana 30/30, Capri 14.2, Melges 32, El Toro, Ultimate 20, Flying Junior, J/80, Hobie 21, San Juan 24, Nacra, Prindle, J/120, Antrim 27, Olson 30, Mumm 30, J/109. Ullman Sails has been one designing 35+ years - give your local loft a call or visit us at http://www.ullmansails.com EXCEPTIONAL LIFE EXPERIENCE Today the Volvo Ocean Race fleet has been literally crossing the Caribbean. In a boat like the Volvo Open 70, it is possible to sail across the eastern side of the entire West Indies (500 nautical miles) in 24 hours. "Every once in a while you have to take a deep breath and look outside the race and realise how special this experience is," writes Pirate Paul Cayard from The Black Pearl. "These days it is the idyllic Caribbean cruise. I think that it is the benefit of being older, realizing that these races are more than races, they are exceptional life experiences," he adds. They might be in the lead, but for ABN Amro One (Mike Sanderson) there are testing times ahead as they prepare to run into a wall and see their lead decrease to almost nothing. Movistar (Bouwe Bekking) is preparing to attack once again and will possibly be within eyesight of the black boat very shortly. Skipper Mike Sanderson is preparing for the worst: "I have been warning you for a couple of days now that we are going to lose a lot of miles as we approach a massive occluded front. Part of the reason I have been talking about it a lot is so that both you and us are as mentally ready for the bad position reports as possible, but deep down inside, it doesn't seem to make it any easier. - http://www.volvooceanrace.org Volvo Ocean Race Positions at 2200 GMT Wednesday 1. ABN Amro One, Mike Sanderson, 1613 miles to finish 2. movistar, Bouwe Bekking, +29 miles 3. Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul Cayard, +57 miles 4. Brasil 1, Torben Grael, +79 miles 5. Ericsson Racing Team, John Kostecki, +100 miles 6. ABN Amro Two, Sebastien Josse, +159 miles THAT DARN WATERMAKER The watermaker is still giving Dee Caffari fits as she continues her attempt to become the first woman to sail solo and non-stop westwards round the world. "As for my current dilemma that faces Aviva and I, the water maker," she explained. "After bypassing a faulty relay in the control box I had powered the low-pressure side of the system to find my high-pressure pump was leaking water quite badly. Having taken it apart and put it back together a couple of times I established that I had seated it squarely and it was actually the seals that needed replacing. Defeated, I managed some rest last night, but even more determined to do battle this morning. There was a constant communication with the shore team today and we are so close. After all we have overcome I know that they are as determined as I am not to be beaten by the water maker so close to the end." With 4924 miles still to go on this voyage that began on November 20, Caffari advanced 146 miles in the last 24 hours, and needs a shower. ~ www.avivachallenge.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar HISTORY COMES TO LIFE A new feature has been added to the America's Cup website, the Circling Galaxy, which is a graphic relational database featuring stories on the people, events and boats that make the America's Cup the singular event that it is. A collection of stories by renowned Cup historian Jacques Taglang along with photos and sketches of people and boats, the Circling Galaxy is a fun way to enter into the rich history of the oldest sporting trophy in the world. The Circling Galaxy is a work in progress, with 128 personalities profiled, along with the stories behind 136 boats which were built to compete for the America's Cup. More of each will be added as time goes by so that this becomes the most complete online archive of America's Cup history. -- http://www.americascup.com/en/ NEWS BRIEFS * At 07:40:42 local time Wednesday, Geronimo crossed the start line under the Golden Gate Bridge under grey skies with a light south-westerly breeze between 5 and 10 knots in an attempt to set a new record from San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan. "It's a complex course, and therefore an interesting one," explained Olivier de Kersauson. "The Pacific is governed by three or four different weather systems, making some passages rather challenging. Unlike the Atlantic, we aren't very familiar with these waters." The maxi trimaran will have to clear San Francisco Bay before she finds more favorable weather. -- Images: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0412g/, event website: http://www.superyachting.com * These are busy times for the World Sailing Speed Records Council. The latest addition to their ever-growing website is a whole new section for Kite Sailing records. -- http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/kitesailing.html * With just four weeks left till the next Louis Vuitton Acts in Valencia the Valencia Sailing website has created a very easy to use calendar, conveniently placed on the top of the right hand column of their webpage, where it will stay till the end of the Louis Vuitton Act 10 and be replaced with the corresponding calendar of Louis Vuitton Act 11. All you have to do is just move your mouse over the date you are interested in and the corresponding day's racing schedule will just pop up in front of your eyes. -- http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ * Frenchman Gildas Iauch has a dream to sail around the world. As an insulin-dependent diabetic (type 1) since the age of 16, he has set his heart on the round the world Velux 5 Oceans yacht race that starts in October 2006. With his Open 60 grand prix racing yacht, Dynamic-Diabetic, ready for the challenge, Gildas -- like others -- is seeking sponsorship to fulfill his dream. -- http://www.velux5oceans.com * Photographer Onne van der Wal just returned from a trip to visit family in South Africa, and has provided the Scuttlebutt website with a handful of images that he took during the Interschool Dinghy Championships. The boats sailing are a Dabchick - a South African designed and built youth boat that has been used to teach kids sailing and has been around since before the Optimist and Laser. Enjoy: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/06/0412 * In the light winds of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, Asian sailors continue to dominate the Opti South American Championship with Singapore 1-2-6 and Malaysia 3 & 4. With eight of twelve races sailed Timothy Seet (SIN) and his compatriot Sean Lee are battling it out for the lead separated by 5 points. But the two Malaysians Rufina Tan and Faizani bin Yahaya have moved into 3rd and 4th as the early leader Griselda Khng (SIN) had a poor day ending with an OCS. -- www.suropti2006.com/diaadia/resultados.asp * Panerai has become the name sponsor of this year's 12-Metre Regatta in Newport, RI, on July 28-30, produced by The Museum of Yachting. They will also be the Official Time Keeper of the event. -- http://www.museumofyachting.org * BoatU.S would like to know more about how women got started in recreational boating. To do this, a new 15-question survey for women boaters is posted online that asks them about their boat training and educational experience. The survey aims to find out more about how women learn and acquire skills -- what works best and why when it comes to any watersports such as powerboating, sailing, canoeing and kayaking. The information learned in the survey would be shared in an effort to improve teaching techniques and spur more women to take up boating. -- http://www.BoatUS.com/women * Edson International recently promoted Maurice King to the position of Vice President of Manufacturing. A member of the Edson team since 1999, Maurice had previously held the position of Plant Manager. In his new position, Maurice will oversee the production facility, welding shop and inventory control. Additionally, Peter Burlinson has been promoted to the position of Vice President of the company's Pump Division. A member of the Edson team since 1992, Peter previously held the position of Pump Sales Manager. Peter will oversee the overall direction of Edson's Industrial and Marine pump product lines and sales force -- http://www.edsonmarine.com THE FUTURE OF THE SPORT At Kaenon Polarized, we like to see what's coming. If you're a teenager with skills and a ton of desire, you were attending the CISA Advanced Racing Clinic in Long Beach, CA this past weekend - the annual gathering of America's future sailing stars. Congratulations to class victors: (29er- Cameron Biehl, Pike Harris; C420- Oliver Toole, Cody Shevitz; CFJ- Greg Dair, Kelsey Cooper; I420- Megan Magill, Marla Menninger; Laser Full-rig- Kyle Rogachencko; Laser Radial- Colin Smith). Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically.View the new 2006 Luxury Performance Collection and locate a dealer nearest you at http://www.kaenon.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK Volvo Ocean Race team ABN Amro has done a stellar job with video during the race, and we have chosen a 2:28 minute session wherein ABN Amro One and Two are training in the North Sea. If you liked the helicopter footage of Pirate's of the Caribbean that Scuttlebutt showed in February, you won't want to miss this one. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week's Video of the Week. Click here for the video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/#media 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 Ray Tostado: Let us be a bit existential and drop the association that all gas canisters as being simple devices to inflate life saving devices. These are canisters which can contain anything the carrier wants to insert. Therefore, they can contain toxins, explosives, or bioweapons. This is a fact that no one wants to confront. With one of these I can offer you a weapon, as a rifle or single shot device, that can penetrate an aluminum aircraft skin. I can fill the canister with cooling gases that would make any cockpit lock penetrable with the smack of a galley cooking pot. I, like most others, hate these damned regulations. But they are in place for a reason. A simple deck crew ditty bag is no longer allowed as carry on: line, shackles, knife, rope splice awl. Sure, it's hysteria that has driven us to this level. Find your own causee. * From Cam Lewis: Jeez, enough already about CO2 cartridges and air travel. Just buy yourself a Type-II and problems solved. There are so many types and styles, I'm sure you could find one that you like. Sure, it takes up a little more room in your luggage but you never have to worry that someone is going to confiscate the one component that's essential to its function. I wouldn't trade in my Extra-Sport for all the inflatable in the word. Plus there are lots of pockets to hide your GPS which you can't use on a plane either. * From Chris Ericksen: I'm sure you're shocked at my chiming in on the nautical-terminology thread, but I do remember my time as a Sea Scout, trying to explain the difference among aft, abaft and astern. I won't insult the intelligence of the average 'Butthead whom I am sure understands this, but these are subtle distinctions to be learned by a landsman. And, I love the fact that many terms vary from country to country. I was tickled to hear that a term from sailing-ship days lives on in some parts of the English-speaking world: what we in North America call an "afterguy" is referred to as a "brace" in some parts of the globe, the latter term the one for the line that controls the adjustment of yardarms on square-riggers. Huzzah! * From Bill Trenkle: For all those nautical jargon challenged readers, this should help them understand that they have it easy on modern sailboats: http://www.nationallampoon.com/nl/02_fb/impers/02_rigging.asp * From Tom Fischbeck: I would like to note on Ted Pike's gracious note on Bill Lapworth's passing, I feel George Griffith who Commissioned "Persephone" Cal 40 hull # 1 deserves a kudo for his persistency to demand Bill to use a "fin" keel and a "spade" rudder for the Cal 40. With out George, the production Cal 40's would have been a "Full Keel Slugs" and would have not made the history it did. It is an end to an awsome era, where Fiberglass was thought not to last and turn into powder and sink. These guys knew their fiberglass and did fiberglass well! * From Sally Collison: Why oh why oh why, do sailors insist on sending back a collection of the most boring photographs? Or maybe it's the website designers/administrators fault for publishing them? When having photographs from onboard high profile races was almost an unknown entity, the ones that did come back were astounding, or at least the ones that we saw were. Now we get pictures such as the recent one on the home page of the VOR website - Torben Greal's teddy bear sat at the computer, typing the latest newsletter to come from the boat from the point of view of the bear. Please. And then the following photograph is one of the most boring I have laid my eyes on. Three guys sitting in the cockpit in shorts and spray jackets. Didn't this boat win the media award once upon a time? Please please please can those in charge of the picture choice, stop publishing these awful photographs. These are not ones we want to see. If the great photos don't exist, then don't use the second best. Fill the space with something else. * From Ralph Taylor: Though a day late, I just read -- and was struck by -- Steve Johnson's letter in 'Butt #2070. I hope we realize how rare it is to hear someone actually saying publicly that their PHRF committee is doing a good job in rating boat performance. No, I don't attribute that rarity to generally poor PHRF ratings, but to human tendency to complain more than compliment. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION When a person with money meets a person with experience, the person with experience gains money, and the person with money gains experience. Special thanks to Ullman Sails and Kaenon Polarized. |
