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SCUTTLEBUTT 1891 - July 29, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. RAISING THE BAR (Following an excerpt from a story just posted on the UK's Daily Sail subscription website.) All sailors are aware that a little effort in the gym can reap rewards on the race course - be it being able to hike harder, pull harder, last longer or be the optimum weight. It is the domain of the Olympic sailor where this area of the sport is being taken to new heights of professionalism. The RYA has long been involved in the sports science of sailing and we spoke to Pete Cunningham, their Senior Sports Science Officer, about current programmes being implemented for Olympic and near-Olympic level sailors. Cunningham is no stranger to the world of graphs, blood tests, diet and Gold medals, having been involved in this area of the sport for 12 years. In fact his PhD was on the physiological demands of single handed dinghy sailing. While the technology is fairly generic across different countries Cunningham believes that the UK has a broader understanding of the data produced. "I would say we have a pretty good grip on how fit you need to be; whether it is aerobic fitness, whether it is strength, or whether it is power development," he says. Cunningham is part of a three physiologist team, while he concentrates on the Olympic Performance Squad his colleagues look after the broader Olympic Development Squad. In addition to this they draw on the expertise of strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists to what he believes is, in sports science terms, as professional as any other sport. - The Daily Sail, the rest of the story: www.thedailysail.com QUOTE - UNQUOTE (Following are some of the quotes attributed to John Kostecki from an interview with Jan Pehrson published in the Marin Independent Journal) "Larry Ellison did not sideline me. I have a good relationship with the team, I remain on the team, it is just that I will not be as hands on as I have been in the past. (Syndicate CEO) Chris Dickson and I have a good relationship and we all believe that my change in role is the best thing for the team for now. I am very fortunate to have many options at this time. I will most likely be involved in the next Volvo Ocean Race. "I am not surprised, the America's Cup is a tricky game. Not sure about other changes, except that a few other sailing team members will be racing in the Volvo Ocean Race." -- Full interview: http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_2895797 NZ BOAT BUILDING INDUSTRY (The following quotes from designer Brett Bakewell-White are from a story by Adam Fricker posted on the crew.org.nz website.) "New Zealand's boat building industry's current slump can also be attributed to an "over spec'ing" of sorts. The America's Cup generated a lot of overseas interest in local yards during its stay downunder. The yard owners ramped up their capabilities and quality to cater for lucrative superyacht contracts-contracts that largely left when the Cup did, leaving an industry geared to building "excellent" boats, but that struggles to produce a "good" boat at a good price, says Bakewell-White. Now we're all hoping Dalton's going to win the Cup back," he says. "There's no real reason for people to come all the way down here to build the big boats-our reputation is not enough, we're too far from the market and we're not the cheapest." -- Complete story: http://www.crew.org.nz/page/502/brett%20bakewell-white.html HAPPY FEET BY DUBARRY "Money can't buy you happiness, but it does bring you a more pleasant form of misery" - Spike Milligan. Damp, wet feet make your life miserable. Dubarry shoes and boots are the footwear of choice for the world's leading sailors in events ranging from the Volvo Ocean Race, America's Cup, and Vendee Globe for a reason. Whether going round the world or round the cans, treat yourself to Gore-Tex® lined, warm, dry, and breathable Dubarry boots. For happy feet, visit http://www.dubarryna.com TRANSPAC His Transpac peers listened in awe as Peter Pendleton, boat captain on Hasso Plattner's record-busting maxZ86 Morning Glory, told how despite the light winds in the Centennial Race this month, "We never had single digits . . . always 10 knots [of speed] or better. "Coming into Molokai, Hasso said to Russell Coutts, 'OK, you've got 10 minutes on the helm, but if you get the [boat's] record speed you're through.' About three minutes later we hit 29 knots and Hasso said, 'OK, that's it,' and took the wheel back." Plattner left town soon after last weekend's pre-dawn finish, so Pendleton represented the team at the Transpacific Yacht Race's annual post-race press conference for the eight class winners. Roger Sturgeon, who sailed his Transpac 52, Rosebud, to first place in Division II and overall, said, "I got so much sleep on the way that I'm afraid I'm going to wake up. The top speed I saw was 23 [knots] plus and on this boat it was very stable, not scary at all." Sturgeon also had words of wisdom for all Transpac competitors: "You don't necessarily win if you prepare, but you lose if you don't prepare." Transpac Commodore Jerry Montgomery introduced Scott Self as skipper of "the new hot boat in ocean racing, the Hobie 33." Self, who sailed Soap Opera with Nigel Brown to an amazing first to finish and overall in Division V, plus the doublehanded sub-class, said, "We're just Texas lake sailors. Our whole program budget was $20,000, [which is] less than most of you spend for a new spinnaker. "We're talking to the Hobie people about getting a fleet of Hobie 33s out to do the race [in 2007]." Among the 75 starters---second highest total in 43 Transpacs---three were still at sea Thursday. Two retired early in the race. -- Rich Roberts, full story and complete standings: http://www.transpacificyc.org/ FASTEST RACE ON RECORD Though it was a slow beginning, with officials having to delay the Saturday (July 23) mid-day start off Port Huron, Mich., by almost an hour due to light winds, the 2005 Bacardi Bayview Mackinac Race became the fastest on record for its 81 years of existence. Proof was in the performance of Bill Alcott's (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) Andrews 68 Equation, which--with an elapsed time of 25:29:46--broke the 2001 course monohull record of Houla (30:32:13) by more than five hours. Equation sailed in IRC Class B on the 254 nautical mile Southampton Course, one of two courses offered in the race and, for the first time, devoted solely to IRC-rated boats and Open Class multihulls. Houla's record also was beaten by 10 of 11 Santa Cruz 70s that sailed in IRC Class A (the 11th yacht retired after running aground) and by two more of Equation's nine other classmates. A total of 267 boats competed in 21 classes. A squall, with 30-knot breezes, hit the fleet during Sunday's early morning hours and caused some equipment mishaps; however, Equation was far enough ahead to miss the brunt of it. The damage, including one demasting and several torn sails, fell mostly upon the PHRF Racing and Cruising Class boats sailing the shorter (204 nm) Shore Course, which ran along Lake Huron's Michigan coastline. When the wind finally clocked to become more westerly, it served Equation an "on-the-nose" course, but not for long, and certainly not for as long as for those boats following behind. The overall winner among all IRC-rated boats on the Southampton Course was the IRC A class winner Colt 45, owned by Allan Fletcher (Alpena, Mich.).The overall PHRF winner among racing classes on the Shore Course was PHRF L class winner Bantu, owned by Thomas Kuber (Menominee, Mich.), while the overall PHRF winner among the cruising classes was Cruising Class A winner Insatiable, owned by Norman Silverman (Grosse Pointe, Mich.). Winning the Open Class was Nice Pair, owned by Bruce Geffen (Ann Arbor, Mich.). -- Media Pro Int'l, all elapsed and corrected times are available at www.byc.com/mack05/ COMMUTING Since going to work for Emirates Team New Zealand in late November, Terry Hutchinson has been home in Harwood a total of six weeks. A five-month training stint at the syndicate's main base in Auckland has been followed by a steady stream of match racing regattas or Louis Vuitton Acts in such countries as Sweden, Italy and Spain. "Basically, I've been commuting to and from Europe since June," Hutchinson said yesterday over coffee at Maryland Hall. Hutchinson, a 37-year-old St. Mary's High graduate, is enjoying his longest visit home since May. Fresh off helping Quantum Racing capture the Breitling Cup (a stop on the European Transpac 52 circuit), he has two weeks off before heading to Malmo, Sweden for Acts 6 and 7. "By far the greatest downside of chasing this obsession is that I don't get to enjoy my family nearly enough," said Hutchinson, who has dreamed of winning the America's Cup since deciding he was going to become a professional sailor at age 10. Hutchinson is preparing to move to Auckland in October and this time will bring the entire family. Elias and Katherine will attend primary school at Freeman's Bay for a few months, but will require a tutor from February through April since that is the New Zealand summer vacation.While Hutchinson hates to uproot his family from their longtime home in Harwood, he is anxious to return to a more normal lifestyle - if only for six months. "It will be nice to be able to go home to the wife and kids after work," he said. -- Excerpts from a story by Bill Wagner, The Annapolis Capital, full story: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2005/07_28-03/SAL NEWS BRIEFS * After 2 days of postponement due to Typhoon Banyun, races began today in 8-12 knots of breeze and moderate chop. George/ Stacy Szabo-USA led off the Championship winning the first race on the last beat. Alexandre & Roberto Paradeda-BRA won race 2 wire-to-wire, with Ernesto Rodriguez/Leandro Spina of USA winning the 3rd race. 2004 World Champ Augie Diaz/ Pam Kelly-USA sits in second overall with a 4-4-9, four points out of the lead. -- http://www.jsaf.or.jp/expo2005/snipeworld/english/index.html * Ventura California provided the best wind of the week for the Hobie 16 North Americans on Thursday at the Hobie 16 North Americans topping out at about twenty knots. Four races were sailed ending the Semi-Finals. Going into the last day it is a foregone conclusion that the event winner will come from Hobie Division 13 which includes Puerto Rico, Mexico and Guatemala. -- Robert Merrick, Complete results, pictures and updates are available at: www.HCA-NA.org * It's official - the World Sailing Speed Record Council has ratified Thomas Coville's (FRA) single handed outright record for the run from Miami to New York on the 60-foot trimaran Sodebo. Elapsed time: 3 days 5 hours 00 minutes 12 seconds Average speed: 12.3 kts (course length is 947nm). * A perfect day's racing on Narragansett Bay with steady 12 to 14 knot northeasterly winds and blazing sunshine provided a welcome contrast to the fog-bound long-distance race of yesterday. In three of the four classes competing in this week's Rolex Swan American Regatta, leaders consolidated scores, but in Class B, a new leader emerged. Vixen, owned by John Wayt (Jamestown, R.I.) is now winning the battle of the Swan 44s, after winning both races. Other Class leaders are Jim Swartz's Swan 601 Moneypenny, William Douglass's Goombay Smash and Joseph Huber's Reef Points. -- www.nyyc.org * Take one extraordinarily beautiful Alpine lake, bright sunshine, 14-18 knots of wind and 260 young people at day one of the IODA World Championship. This is as good as it gets. The promised Majola wind blew straight down the lake. Winds at 1,800 metres have less weight than elsewhere so race 1 was sailed in the equivalent of 12 knots and races 2 and 3 in maybe 14. The fleet, divided into six divisions to give three successive starts, had to come to terms with thermal effects and subtle shifts but ocean sailors seemed to have had no difficulty adapting. -- http://www.optiworld.org/ * The 2005 edition of the US Sailing Appeals and ISAF Cases 2005-2008 is now available. All appeals have been reviewed and conformed to the current racing rules. Future changes in the book, including new appeals and notices of deletions, will appear on the US Sailing website. -- www.ussailing.org/appeals FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE Congratulations to David Verdier and the crew of his Alden 52 ketch "Retriever" on their overall victory in the 2005 Chicago to Mackinac Race. Their great performance deserves uncompromized precision and that's why they chose the Ockam Instrument system. Retriever utilizes Ockam's superior Tryad processing power and autocal capabilities in conjunction with the functionality, ease and control of the Expedition tactical/navigation software to produce the most accurate, stable data in all conditions. Known around the world for performance, accuracy and reliability, Ockam offers instrument solutions for a distinct competitive advantage. Improve your results, Contact: mailto:lat@ockam.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. This is neither 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. And please save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere.) * From David Tommela: Yes OLN has expanded its audience substantially by broadcasting the Tour de Lance. However, let's not get too excited about America's Cup coverage just yet. The recently concluded Tour de France seemed to set new records for frequency of commercials. Three minutes of ads for every 5 minutes of race coverage by my estimation. I skeptically await Cup coverage. Curmudgeon's Comment: TiVo lessens the pain dramatically. * From Bob Austin: PHRF had its origins with the Little Ships Fleet of Long Beach Calif in the 1930's. Each boat had to race three races to establish its handcap basis, then the handicap was re-calculated after each race. Around 1959 a number of clubs formed a committee to establish a common handicap system. "Of the clubs experimenting with performance handicapping, none had as many participants as Little Ships Fleet. The fact that 40 of their boats held both the Arbitrary Handicap Fleet Rating and the Little Ships Fleet Rating made it possible to correlate the two ratings, to extrapolate the ratings of other yachts, and to rate them all under one system." This was the birth of what we know as PHRF. Perhaps with the computerization of virtually all race results it is time to return to the recalculation of handicap after each race--and thus bring PHRF back to a more equitable system. See the history of PHRF of Southern California: http://www.phrfsocal.org/history.htm * From Bob Wylie: Please note Rosebud was not in Transpac 52 class trim. They elected not to be in the TP 52 box for the race and hence the time that Pegasus owed them, if inside the box they where 2nd as the results showed on the water. * From Quentin Walsh: Henry Brauer's comment in # 1890 - "have a downwind start" - rustled the cockles of my heart. The challenge of having the kite, pulling and hitting the line exactly is great satisfaction. Even better than port tacking the entire fleet at a start. The old Edgartown Regatta always used an Edgartown lighthouse start for the big boats that generally provided a downwind start in a prevailing "dusty" sou'wester - great action it was, watching or participating. Even similar downwind starts of the one designs on the long ago "inside line" of Marblehead were exciting. How I miss the good old days. * From John Kilroy, Jr.: I've just returned from 3 weeks abroad to read about Bill Lawhorn. I was a student of his at Newport High School in the '60s. He didn't like my constant unexplained absences from class (sailing Kialoa) and put me on the mat. When I finally came clean and explained I was racing sailboats his attitude changed to "try to do your best in class, but whatever you do, make certain you sail as much as possible." Needless to say he became one of my favorite teachers. * From Norris McNamara, Co-Chair, Chicago Yacht Club Sponsorship Committee: Much discussion has been posited on Scuttlebutt about the public's lack of involvement in the sport of sailboat racing. Yet, according to our IT provider and Web hoster Flagship, as of Tuesday, July 19, our Web site with its new and improved race tracking, had eight million visitors. Not hits, or page turns, but distinct visits. Pretty amazing. * From Cory E. Friedman: I don't play golf, so I am probably revealing my ignorance about yet another topic. If the handicaps were really correct, wouldn't everyone tie for first place? If that is correct, then why not just score everyone as a tie for first place and the system will work perfectly. Everyone goes away a winner and happy. Isn't the point of handicap racing in the first place? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS It alcohol was served at work it would encourage car pooling. |
