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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 908 - September 25, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
VOLVO OCEAN RACE Sailing in their wake around 20 nautical miles astern, but at times up to two knots faster, are a trio of yachts including djuice, Amer Sports Too and Team News Corp. Pace is slow with still only 5-6 knots of breeze on the nose, but the yachts vast sail wardrobes with powerful Code O (zero) upwind sails still pull them along at a similar speed. The intensity of the racing and need for every ounce of boat speed can be demonstrated by the lack of on-board communication. None of the crews seem willing to give away any information or be distracted from their specialist role on board.
STANDINGS (September 25 0400 GMT):
ROLEX INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S KEELBOAT CHAMPIONSHIP It was a drama-packed day, with 16-20 knots chopping up the Bay into a vicious washing machine. Defending champion Pat Connerney of Middletown, R.I. made life hard for herself by crossing the starting line early in the first race and having to return to restart. "It wasn't really the way I would have liked to begin this regatta, but when the fleet is this tough you have to be pushing the starts," said Connerney. "We were about 60th round the first mark but we pulled up to 10th so I'm pretty happy." She went on to score a third and a first, and currently lies in fourth place overall. Rochester, N.Y.'s Cory Sertl, with 2000 Olympic Silver Medallist Pease Glaser as one of her three crew, hasn't won a race yet, but with a 2-6-2 scoreline she lies in second place just one point behind Haberland. "We got T-boned by a boat on port tack soon after the first start, so we were forced out to the right to find clear air," said Glaser. "But it worked out okay for us and we pulled up to second in that race." The Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship continues Tuesday with two scheduled races and concludes Friday. Daily reports and photos are posted at www.ussailing.org. A link with the Annapolis Yacht Club web site will take viewers to more regatta info, including live mark rounding positions and individual race finishes as they occur: www.annapolisyc.org/rolexkeelboats.
Standings after three races:
AROUND THE WORLD
505 WORLDS Krister Bergstrom and his crew Thomas Moss won today's second race and redeemed themselves from the tenth place that finished the first one. With this results, the Swedish team continues in the front position, with one point less than the Germans Wolfgang Hunger / Holger Jess and three less than the British team Ian Pinnell / Tim Hancock. The Americans Barney Harris and Clayton James came second on today's second race, followed by their fellow-countrymen Howard Hamlin e Mike Martin, that are fifth on the overall.
Standings after four races (105 boats):
STARTING DRILL Being able to accelerate is a fundamental aspect of good starting. Even the best sailors spend time working on sail trim, steering, and crew positioning as ways to achieve fast acceleration from a luffing position. For practice, I like to begin with the boat head to wind, and then back the jib to bring the bow down to slightly below close hauled. Then I'll sheet the jib and ease the main until the telltales show that both sails are properly trimmed for a tight-reach. As the water begins to flow over the keel and rudder, the boat will accelerate and cease slipping sideways. This is when I begin to bring the boat up to a close-hauled course, gradually trimming the main and jib. In this situation, the mainsail can be slightly over-trimmed to help the boat head up, but it is very important not to over-trim the jib. The jib should remain slightly under-trimmed to help the boat head up and continue accelerating. To practice, try accelerating from a dead stop. Once up to speed, stop the boat by pushing out the boom all the way to leeward as you head up. (I don't recommend this for large keelboats.) You can back the mainsail until your boat comes to a stop, and then bear away again to accelerate, tack, and repeat the process. Remember that all boats get up to top speed more quickly when they are sailing slightly below a close-hauled course. - Zack Leonard, SailNet website. Full story: www.sailnet.com/collections/racing/index.cfm?articleid=leonar017&tfr=fp
CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS * October 12-14: J/Fest, San Diego YC, San Diego, CA. www.jflash.net/
QUOTE / UNQUOTE * "It s raining and we are sitting in a very light patch of wind. The Code 0 and the main are up, just filling with the four to five knots of breeze. We expect the wind to pick up later tonight or early morning. Life is good, we are settled in and had some proper food." - Team News Corp Skipper Jez Fanstone
THE KEELS WERE DIFFERENT BUT THE CLOTH WAS THE SAME
J/105 NAs
Final results (30 boats):
IMAGES
FICKER CUP Rounding out the regatta, which was sailed in the Long Beach Sailing Foundations Catalina 37's, were: 5. Jon Pinckney (NHYC), 6 Colin Campbell (KHYC), 7. Doug McLean (ABYC), 8. Mark Noble (LBYC). Mike Van Dyke, www.lbyc.org/
FINN GOLD CUP
THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION |
