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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 568 - May 12, 2000AMERICA'S CUPTeam New Zealand's drubbing of Italy's Prada in the America's Cup match last February seems to be drawing in new players and ones with funds in hand rather than budgets to be raised. Watch Out is the name of a newly created Swiss team headed by Geneva banker Pierre Essig, who is expected to outline his plans to enter the race in Berne today. The team have nothing to do with the Marc Pajot-led FAST 2000, whose Be hAPpy yacht withdrew early from the trials after her only mast broke, the last in a three-year line of set-backs and shortfalls. Neither is it connected with the Swiss-based Italian pharmaceutical billionaire, Ernesto Berterelli, though he is a committed sailor and has shown interest in the cup. Watch Out is in the market for yachts and personnel. Hiring experienced sailors, designers and managers is the fastest short-cut for a new syndicate to make up for lack of time in the sport. One deal talked about by European rival teams is that Watch Out may charter the Kiwis' 1995 cup-winning NZL 32, a seemingly unthinkable move for such a national icon but one made more palatable by the unexpected recent sale of her stablemate, NZL 38, to Sweden's Jan Steinbeck, another new America's Cup player. - Tim Jeffery, Daily Telegraph, UK. Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001648423620749&rtmo=qXdxtX99&atmo=99999999 &pg=/et/00/5/11/soyots11.html WORRELL 1000 Sitting at the pole in the Northern most starting slot the Dutch team of Gerard Loos and Mischa Heemskerk savored the spotlight after their huge victory yesterday. Loos joked with TV reporters and flashed surfer salutes to bikini clad spectators. But his lead in leg 4 was short lived. The fleet pushed off the beach into a light Westerly wind blowing straight off the beach. Like yesterday, the sailors had to choose either to run away from the shore into potentially better wind, or to reach along the beach in puffy, inconsistent breeze. Loos made huge gains yesterday by reaching close to shore while the rest of the fleet tried to get offshore. Today he chose to reach again, jumping out to a nice lead with clear air. The Dutch duo angled away from the beach under spinnaker oblivious of Smyth, who was about to pull an unbelievable hole-shot out of the fourth starting slot. Smyth sailed off the beach under spinnaker, caught a puff that lifted his windward hull, sailed right through the bad air of Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston of Alexander's on the Bay, then doused his chute and tight reached right over Team Rudee's and Team Holland. He and Struble were in the lead 30 seconds after the start! A savy fan on the beach set off a cannonade of firecrackers just as Team Blockade Runner rolled into first and the crowd of 400 on the beach oohed with awe. Light winds dogged the fleet on the 4th leg of the Worrell 1000. The race began in a light westerly. But the sea-breeze fought all day with the obstinate land breeze making for some tough sailing conditions. After the start Smyth and Struble of Team Blockade Runner led the inshore group, Lambert and Livingston of Alexander's on the Bay led the deep ocean group and Loos and Heemskerk of Holland played the middle. Several times the sea-breeze attempted to fill but backed off when the land breeze punched back in. When the land breeze held sway the inshore group took the lead, when the sea-breeze filled the ocean group took the lead. When the race was over the Dutch had the lead. Loos and Heemskerk won today's leg by 41 seconds over Brett Dryland and Rod Waterhouse of Rudee's Restaurant, extending their overall lead to 17 minutes and 42 seconds over second place Blockade Runner. Smyth finished third, 2 minutes and 23 seconds off the pace, followed by Steve Lohmayer and Kenny Pierce of Team Tybee in 4th and Alexander's on the Bay, sailed by Brian Lambert and Jamie Livingston. Many of the sailors were frustrated after the see-saw battle. Brett Dryland felt lucky to finish second, "we were back in 8th at one point. The breeze filled, then it didn't fill, it couldn't make up it's mind, but Gerard [Loos] sailed really well." - Zack Leonard OVERALL STANDINGS: 1. Gerard Loos & Mischa Heemskerk 2. Randy Smyth & Matt Struble (17:42 behind) 3. Brett A. Dryland & Rod J. Waterhouse (22:14 behind) Full story and results: http://www.worrell1000.com/ ISAF MID-TERM MEETING (Although the ISAF website still has not posted a summary of their recently completed Mid-Term meeting, Bob Fisher has a report in the new issue Grand Prix Sailor. Here is a brief excerpt from Fisher's story.) The Events Committee discussed the classes for the 2004 Olympic Regatta in Athens at length. It was generally agreed that all the dinghy classes must stay-the Finn for bigger athletes and the Laser for lighter sailors in the singlehanded divisions; the Men's 470 for the sailors from Asian nations and other smaller athletes, and the Women's 470 as being the best possible class for the purpose. Only the 49er's place was in dispute, but only if two men's keelboats are considered necessary. The big battle, with the definite introduction of a Women's Keelboat, looks therefore to be between the 49er and the Star. The Soling has a heavy lobby in its favor and the added advantage of providing both fleet and match racing, and seems a likely class for 2004. However, for a class designed in 1911, albeit with 125 boats at its worlds next week in Annapolis, to stand in the way of progress of a modern two-man skiff with its high profile and charismatic appeal, may be too much even for the established supporters of the Star. It will be a tough battle, one that promises to be one of the highlights of the Edinburgh meetings. - Bob Fisher, Grand Prix Sailor Full story: http://www.sailingworld.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) and to exclude personal attacks or irresponsible statements. This is not a chat room. You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Harry Anderson (Re Graham Kelly's opening statement) - While challenges under the Deed of Gift for the America's Cup must come from yacht clubs, the Deed also specifies that the Cup is for "friendly competition among nations". Hence losing constitutes a blow to national pride as severe as losing the Davis Cup. We barely escaped so suffering on behalf of the Club and Nation as Commodore of the NYYC in 1980. -- From E. Eric Johnson, Secretary, International Sonar Class Association (Regarding James Nichols' comment about women and one-design keelboats, "Is there a one-design keelboat class that can be raced competitively by a crew of women?") - As Rick Myers pointed out, the Sonar is being used as a quick, highly tactical boat for a number of women's match racing events. (Please see prior 'Butts about events at St. Petersburg Yacht Club and in Marblehead, MA.) The open cockpit and the ability to rapidly change the ratios for a number of controls makes the boat highly adaptable to a wide range of crew weights and strengths. Dru Slattery is one of the top guns in the Sonar Class and an internationally ranked sailor. Her all woman crew wins and finishes in the top of the fleet in a wide spread of conditions. Beth Danilek has a mixed crew, is one of the best helmspersons in the class and has scored consistent wins for over ten years in the class. The Sonar will be used in a number of this year's Women's Match Racing Class 1 Events: the Thompson Trophy at Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Oyster Bay, New York, the Women's Match Race Championship at Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, and the Osprey Cup at St. Petersburg, Florida. The International Sonar Class Association is committed to supporting Women's Match Racing around the world and in the Olympics. -- From Skip Allan - On behalf of Willem Van Tuiyl, and his parents Jacco and Janni, I wish to thank all 'Buttheads who contributed so generously to his fund. 13 year old Willem, shot and paralyzed by unknown assailants while cruising aboard the family cutter HAYAT near Honduras, is making a good recovery in Dallas, Texas. Though not without bouts of pain, Willem is undergoing rehab at Baylor University and is excited about his new, painted-to-order, wheelchair in which he is now highly mobile. This young sailor also receives regular visits from similarly paralyzed pro-athletes, and looks forward to "being like a regular kid." -- Scott H. Dinhofer - It is a shame that someone with the money does not try and spend it in a patriotic manner. Granted the US is a much larger country than New Zealand or others that challenge. Butt to win the cup and mount an appropriate defense it is clear that the US needs to have more of a unified effort or efforts. It would be great to see the TDC/America One/Seattle challenges combine. If they won the event they could take Paul Cayard's "commissioner" idea one step further. Create a common facility for AC yachts in San Diego, San Francisco & Puget Sound, Have round 1 in one locale, pack it up and go to another locale for round 2, semi, finals, and finals, etc. Have a draw to determine the best final location. If we could combine our efforts we could not only bring the cup back to the states but make the event something the world will really want to see. -- From Frank Whitton - The editorial comment regarding Admirals Cup going all one design is sad news for those that want a measurement system that would equate dissimilar boats. The world needs a USER FRIENDLY measurement rule for the serious racer who wants to play close to the technological edge. It's also needed for one design boats that are in local areas and cannot field enough entries to make a class. US Sailing, specifically through the time and effort of Dan Nowlan, is working on a measurement rule called Americap. It is not new but the "Rule" is being modified and streamlined to fit today's database and is being renamed Americap II. We are currently using it in the Los Angeles area and are starting to double score selected events to analyze the data and introduce it to the racing community. -- From Andrew Brigg - For all those "Web Junkies" following the Worrell 1000 race waiting for the next media fix the snoops at droidnet.com have delivered the bio on the events main writer "Zack Leonard" Zack began sailing at age four, and spent a lot of his early years racing Lasers on Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. While an undergraduate student at Yale University, he was named to the list of All-American Sailors. Since then he has tackled a myriad of sailing challenges. From 1989 to 1993, he served as the head coach of the number-one ranked Brown University Sailing Team. While working at Brown he began a Tornado Olympic campaign and became the founder of the US Team Racing Association. After leaving Brown to pursue a job in advertising, he kept working toward a future appearance in the Olympic Games. Highlights on his resume include garnering two Tornado National Championships, a top-10 finish at the Tornado Worlds, and five National Team Race Championships. In 1992, he was selected as a tuning partner in the Tornado Class to prepare the US team for the Barcelona Olympics. For the past four years Leonard has been working as a freelance sailing journalist and coaching US Olympic aspirants. His articles have appeared in Sailing World, Sail, and several non-marine magazines. -- From Stephen Orosz USCG Master #763460 - Mr. Clyde's characterizing as "archaic" the laws that prevent the use of foreign built vessels for carrying passengers misses the point entirely. They exist for good reason. It is to prevent companies from using foreign hulls at the expense of US Shipyards and seamen. The US once had the greatest merchant marine in the world and the shipyards to match. Now Runaway Flag vessels have become an increasing problem as companies use foreign flags of convenience (such as Panama and Liberia) to avoid safety regulations, paying taxes, and paying competitive wages to highly skilled seamen. Business interests and lawmakers have been steadily chipping away at these laws in recent years, but fortunately they worked in America True's case - they chose to buy American. -- From Lazslo Toth (re: the archaic laws about using foreign made vessels for charter purposes or for PR, etc.) - The law is the Jones Act. It was designed to protect the American ship building industry from foreign competition (in the 1930's) and like many well intentioned legislation has now outlived it's initial purpose and usefulness. The 'Seattle Syndicate' can, however, have their congressman propose an Act of Congress that will exempt the boat from the Jones Act. I tried to get my congressman to do so for a Dutch built 50' wooden ketch my sailing school purchased (we were given an exemption by Customs for sailing school use, but not for charter use). I neglected to contribute substantially to my congressman's election fund, so my request was ignored. There are half a dozen of these Jones Act exemption Acts of Congress passed every year. Presumably the Seattle Syndicate would have ample funds to grease the wheels of congress and get it passed. CODE YELLOW New York, USA 11 May 2000 An unexpected weather window has appeared on both sides of the Atlantic, providing the 105 foot (32 m) maxi cat PlayStation with a possible chance to attempt the TransAtlantic speed sailing record between New York and England early next week. Skipper Steve Fossett plus a crew of 12 - including Atlantic hot air balloon and powerboat record setter Sir Richard Branson - plan a departure from New York's Chelsea Piers between Sunday and Tuesday (May 14-16). Website: http://www.fossettchallenge.com/ HANDICAP RACING In 1841, time allowances were given to yachts according to their tonnage. All entries started together with one second per mile given for every ton of difference between them. Eleven yachts raced from 31 to 393 tons, and the system worked well - the first prize being awarded to the sixth boat home. By 1843, this had been fine-tuned to give a time-allowance calculated on tonnage and the distance to be covered in a race. This was known as the Ackers Graduated Scale after the Squadron member G H Ackers. In 1858, seven years after America won the L100 Cup, a new American system of handicapping was used. The Royal Yacht Squadron sought the advice of the New York Yacht Club on the matter. The American system was to take the middle cloth of each sail as an average of the rest and multiply it's length in feet by the number of cloths. The allowance was three-quarters of a second for each square foot of difference of sail area between vessels. To make them competitive with yawls and cutters, schooners were allowed to deduct 10 percent of their total sail area. (Source: 'The Royal Yacht Squadron 1815-1985'- Ian Dear) - America's Cup Jubilee News Notes No. 6 STAR BOATS The International Governing Committee (IGC) of the Star Class has selected the California Yacht Club to host the 2002 Star World Championships. The event is planned for the July / August time frame of that year. CYC member Hal Haenel presented the proposal on behalf of CYC and the Los Angeles Harbor Star Fleet to the IGC in Annapolis, MD on Wednesday. CYC last hosted the Star Worlds in 1983. - Dean D. Dierks, 2002 CYC Commodore WEATHER WATCHERS If you're into tracking hurricanes, you'll love this website: http://hurricanes.noaa.gov/ CALENDAR May 27 & 28, Cal Race Week, PHRF (-60 to +174), ULDB 70, Farr 40, J/120, J/105, Schock 35, 1D35, Melges 24, Santana 20 and Star. Very informative website: http://www.calyachtclub.com/racing/raceweek/ June 3, 2000, Cadillac Van Isle 360 - this 580 nm race circumnavigates Vancouver Island, B.C. in a series of 10 point to point legs, both inshore and offshore and stops at ten different communities. http://www.vanisle360.nisa.com June 16-18, Long Beach Race Week for PHRF, 50 foot +/-, Farr 40s, J-120s, J-105s, Catalina 37s, Shock 35s and Olson 30s. http://www.lbyc.org THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Why are they called 'apartments' when they're all stuck together? |
