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SCUTTLEBUTT 1816 - April 13, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. REICHEL/PUGH It was revealed that the Spanish (America's Cup) syndicate has commissioned John Reichel and Jim Pugh to design a craft for them for the upcoming races, and yesterday an agreement was signed between the Spanish Challenge and Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design. It still remains an open question as to whether Phil Kaiko will join the other two designers, as it was Mr. Kaiko that was the first design choice of the syndicate. It was Reichel/Pugh who designed America 3 that won the Americas Cup in 1992. - Valencia Life Network, www.valencialife.net/ MANI FRERS Victory Challenge announced that the team has signed German Frers Jr. as the boat designer for its participation in the 32nd America's Cup. Mani, as he is known, was the designer behind the syndicate's boats Örn (SWE 63) and Orm (SWE 73) for the last America's Cup in Auckland. Mani Frers is responsible for the design of the two race yachts for the 2007 America's Cup as well for the re-design of Örn and Orm to make them eligible for the participation in this year's pre regattas in Valencia, Spain, Malmö, Sweden and Trapani, Sicily. "We will have a boat ready for Act 4 & 5 in Valencia in June," said Sam Murch, shore manager for Victory Challenge. Mani Frers was, prior to his involvement with Victory Challenge, which started five years ago, one of Prada's head designers of the boat that took the Italian syndicate to final in the America's Cup 2000. The first time he was involved in the America's Cup was in 1992 when he worked for his father German Frers Sr. who designed the Il Moro di Venezia yacht which became Italy´s first America's Cup finalist. AMERICA'S CUP BRIEFS * The Valencian Town Hall was packed when Mayoress Rita Barbera and President of the Valencia Region Francisco Camps welcomed the 104 members of Team Alinghi to Valencia on the April 12. The 120 journalists and 14 TV channels crammed into the Town Hall showed that Alinghi has outgrown its pure sportive origin. Brad Butterworth, three-time America's Cup winner, Alinghi tactician and vice-president of the board, explained that the team relocation has been motivated by a strong desire to train hard and efficiently as a whole. He added: "But, we also came here to take part in the Valencia social life." - www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0504/S00072.htm * BMW Oracle Racing, Luna Rossa and Team Alinghi are now practicing regularly out of Valencia as is the Spanish Challenger, whilst the Italian +39 team is the first to come to the Darsena interior of the port (pictured above) and K-Challenge is also practicing in the waters off Gandia. The Emirates Team New Zealand and Team Shosholoza are also in training, but in the waters of the Southern hemisphere, whilst Team Capitalia are training in the waters off Elba. - Valencia Life Network * The America's Cup activity has definitely heated up in Valencia … and it will only take one visit to the Valencia Sailing blogsite to get up to date. The site is crammed with photos of the America's Cup boats, bases and AC construction activity. This is a must see for AC fans: http://valenciasailing.blogspot.com/ IDEAS THAT CLICK You hear them on every race course, telling you competitors are trimming sheets and adjusting controls. But ratchet blocks are more than noisy psychological weapons, they're indispensable pieces of hardware that let you hold moderate loads with little effort and ease high loads with control. For more on understanding ratchet blocks and how to design them into your hardware systems: http://www.harken.com/blocks/ratchetoverview.php US SAILING TEAM US Sailing, announced the members of the 2005 US Sailing Team. The Team annually recognizes the top-five ranked sailors in each of the boat-classes selected for the next Olympic competition. Due to unavailability of the newly selected Neil Pryde RS:X, no Team-members have been determined for this class (Men and Women). More information on the RS:X will be made available this spring. Rankings on the US Sailing Team are based on attendance and performance at qualifying events. Athletes who have qualified for the US Sailing Team are identified as strong contenders for an Olympic berth and, as members of the Team, they will be assisted with coaching, training, and other benefits. - www.ussailing.org 49er 1. Morgan Larson (Capitola, Calif.) and Pete Spaulding (Miami Beach, Fla.) 2. Dalton Bergan (Seattle, Wash.) and Zack Maxam (Coronado, Calif.) 3. Ty Reed (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Bora Gulari (Detroit, Mich.) 4. David Fagen (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Ned Goss (Madison, Conn.) 5. Sam Kahn (Aptos, Calif.) and Paul Allen (Santa Cruz, Calif.) 470 Men 1. Mike Anderson-Mitterling (Coronado, Calif.) and David Hughes (San Diego, Calif.) 2. Stu McNay (Boston, Mass.) and Graham Biehl (Point Loma, Calif.) 3. Seth Siegler (Charleston, S.C.) and Michael Miller (Charleston, S.C.) 4. David Dabney (Charleston, S.C.) and Hunter Stunzi (Marblehead, Mass.) 5. Aubrey Mayer (Orient, N.Y.) and Cotton Kelley (Annapolis, Md.) 470 Women 1. Amanda Clark (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Sarah Mergenthaler (Harvey Cedars, N.J.) 2. Erin Maxwell (Stonington, Conn.) and Alice Manard (New Orleans, La.) 3. Allison Jolly (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Isabelle Kinsolving (New York, N.Y.) 4. Molly Carapiet (Belvedere, Calif.) and Whitney Besse (Guilford, Conn.) 5. Genny Tulloch (Houston, TX) and Lauren Maxam (Coronado, Calif.) Finn 1. Kevin Hall (Ventura, Calif.) 2. Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) 3. Bryan Boyd (Annapolis, Md.) 4. Darrell Peck (Gresham, Ore.) 5. Andrew Casey (Mill Valley, Calif.) Laser 1. Brad Funk (Belleair Bluffs, Fla.) 2. Andrew Campbell (San Diego, Calif.) 3. John Pearce (Ithaca, N.Y.) 4. Ryan Minth (New York, N.Y.) 5. Matthew Sterett (Corpus Christi, TX) Laser Radial 1. Paige Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) 2. Anna Tunnicliffe (Norfolk, Va.) 3. Leah Hoepfner (Corpus Christi, TX) 4. Lindsay Buchan (Seattle, Wash.) 5. Stephanie Roble (East Troy, Wis.) Star 1. Andy Horton (Newport, R.I.) and Brad Nichol (Hanover, N.H.) 2. Mark Mendelblatt (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and no qualified crew 3. Mark Reynolds (San Diego, Calif.) and Phil Trinter (Lorain, OH) 4. John MacCausland (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Brian Fatih (Miami, Fla.) 5. Eric Doyle (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Brian Sharp (Franklin, Mass.) Tornado 1. John Lovell (New Orleans, La.) and Charlie Ogletree (Kemah, TX) 2. Rob Parrish (Brunswick, ME) and Lars Guck (Bristol, R.I.) 3. Robbie Daniel (Clearwater, Fla.) and Enrique Rodriguez (Key Largo, Fla.) 4. Don Thinschmidt (Holland, Mich.) and Andrew Wierda (Miami, Fla.) 5. Michael Grandfield (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) and Mike Kuschner (Coon Rapids, Minn.) Yngling 1. Sally Barkow (Chenequa, Wis.), Deb Capozzi (Bayport, N.Y.), and Carrie Howe (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) 2. Carol Cronin (Jamestown, R.I.), Kate Fears (Ocean City, Md.), and Jaime Haines (Jamestown, R.I.) 3. JJ Isler (San Diego, Calif.), Pease Glaser (Long Beach. Calif.), and Laura Schmidt (Chicago, Ill.) 4. Liz Baylis (San Rafael, Calif.), Nancy Haberland (Annapolis, Md.), and Katie Pettibone (Port Huron, Mich.) 5. No qualified team CHRIS DICKSON LEADS CONGRESSIONAL CUP It was like old times with everybody chasing Chris Dickson after opening day of the 41st Congressional Cup, presented by Acura. Fourteen years after he won the granddaddy event of match racing for the second time, he returned with a crew from the BMW Oracle America's Cup team he leads to sweep five races for a narrow lead over a real granddaddy, England's Chris Law, 52, and France's Mathieu Richard, each 4-1. Russell Coutts? He's tied with Dean Barker, his successor at Emirates Team New Zealand, at 3-2. His day started slowly when he missed the skippers' meeting and then launched the completion in a slugfest with Law in which he drew four penalties but was still in the fight to the finish. It was a memorable race but a forgettable start for the three-time America's Cup winner who said at the evening press conference, to all-round laughter, "I can't remember anything about the day." It ended with a loss to Dickson's younger brother Scott, who caught a puff in the dying breeze to slip past and win handily. "It's a tricky place to sail," said Coutts, who won an Olympic gold medal in the Finn class on these waters in 1984. The wind was a soft but satisfactory 8-11 knots for the first four rounds of 18 in the double round robin schedule. Prospects were for more of the same Wednesday, when Coutts will meet Dickson, Barker, Richard and winless Chris Larson to wrap up the first round. All told, in the day's 25 races there were 41 protest flags waved by the sailors and 14 penalties imposed by the umpires---about average. Racing continues through Saturday. - Rich Roberts, full story, www.lbyc.org Standings: 1. Chris Dickson, 5 points, 2. Chris Law, 4 pts; 2. Mathieu Richard, 4 pts; 4. Russell Coutts, 3 pts; 4. Dean Barker, 3 pts; 6. Staffan Lindberg, 2 pts; 6. Scott Dickson, 2 pts; 8. Lars Nordbjerg, 1 pts; 8. Philippe Presti, 1 pts; 10. Chris Larson, 0 pts. NEWS BRIEFS * AMN Amro's second boat for the 2005/2006 Volvo Ocean Race just completed a transatlantic voyage from Portimao, Portugal to Newport, R.I. The boat spent 11 days crossing the Atlantic with 10 crew members on board. While coming across, the team had only a couple of minor structural issues, including a bent bow pulpit, caused by a rogue wave and a small chunk taken out of the bow after hitting some debris. While in Newport, AMN Amro 2 will undergo some repairs and will be refitted for its voyage back to the team's base camp in Portugal. * Jim Bowers and Bridgid Murphy bested a 40-boat fleet to win the Quantum One Design Interclub National Championships. Bowers won an impressive fourth IC National title over a fleet which included Collegiate All-Americans, former Olympians, Olympic hopefuls, coaches, and past IC national champions. Chad Atkins with crew Bryon Eichorn, had the best Sunday races to pull within three points to finish in a close second. Ed Adams, sailing with his son Luke finished third - just ahead of Steve Benjamin/ James Whitcomb and Ben & Kim Cesare. Event Website & Full Results: www.cpyc.org/wfsc/wfsc-sy2005/nationals/2005/index.shtml * Those of you attending the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show on Thursday should be sure to stop by Dry Creek Vineyard-sponsored party at the Bitter End Yacht Club's booth (#208) at 5:00 PM. Say hello to the curmudgeon and learn all of the details of the BEYC's 19th Annual Pro Am Regatta, and 4th Annual Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Championship. (There will be a lot of 'Buttheads participating in both events.) Also, there will be an opportunity to win a 4 day/ 3 night vacation for two, that can be used during the Pro Am Regatta. - www.beyc.com * While the Hobie Tiger Worlds finished up a couple weeks ago, photographer Sharon Green brings back the energy of the event through her images. A Hobie Day was never this much fun. Enjoy: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/05/htworlds/ * Elizabeth Kratzig (Miami Beach, Fla./ Corpus Christi, Texas) won the Rolex Women's Match, hosted by the St. Petersburg YC, April 7-10. Sailing with Kratzig in the ISAF Grade 4 match racing event were 2004 Olympic Silver Medallist Lenka Smidova (Czech Republic), Carrie Howe and Liz Hall. Ten teams completed 79 matches in two and one half days of round robin racing in Sonar keelboats. Kratzig and second-place finisher Chafee Emory (Newport, R.I.) gain automatic invitations to the Rolex Osprey Cup, an ISAF Grade 1 match racing event scheduled for October 27 - November 1. - www.spyc.org * Don Opatrny's Swan 82RS Moondance smashed what was thought to be an unbeatable course record for the 26 miles Around Virgin Gorda Race. - the final race of the 3rd Annual ClubSwan Caribbean Rendezvous, hosted by the Bitter End YC in the BVI. The old record, set two years ago by a Swan 112, was lowered by Moondance to 3 hours, 9 minutes, 12 seconds. Using the Caribbean Sailing Association handicap rule, Moondance slipped to second on corrected time, behind the Swan 51 Delawana, skippered by John Cumming. Taking third was the Bruce Robinson-helmed Swan 44, Lizika. Complete results: www.nautorgroup.com/ WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND? The new 40ft. Raider Weekender with enclosed galley, head, shower and room enough for 6 is coming to San Diego! This go anywhere, anytime 40ft Raider Rib set the new bar for performance RIBS with twin 300hp outboards, giving you 40+ knots of pure power. The Raider 1200 Hull #2 will be arriving in North America at the end of this month. Come by and see what Raider Rib performance is all about or check out the other Raider models at http://www.Raiderboat.com or call 877-RAIDER for more information. 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 not 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.) * From Carol Hogan (Re: Ellen's comments): With so much whining and moaning about the America's Cup and all the discussions about how to give sailing a better face and draw more people in, Ellen's comments and attitude are a breath of fresh air. She "just did it," and with just a few words speaks volumes on what sailing is all about. Good for her. * From Helen Johnson: It is extremely refreshing to read about Ellen MacArthur and the instant fame she has gained by achieving a passion she possesses that is not motivated by money but is motivated by the beauty and the challenges that Mother Nature provides for all of us. Let's share this experience of Ellen's with the non-sailors in the world and in turn sell them a boat. * From Michael Millard: While I think Rob Ball's observations are accurate and indeed, the amateur's interest in offshore racing has declined with the ascent of 'professionals', interest and participation in offshore double-handed racing is on the increase. Personally, I decided that double-handed sailing offers me the perfect solution that suits my budget , time and 'fun meter'. By definition, double-handed ocean racing is less expensive, less time consuming in terms of planning and more fun. I have found, even when double-handed racing with people in the "industry", that the emphasis is on the sailing, on the seamanship and all egos are left at the dock. The sense of accomplishment is immense and rewarding...and all finishers are considered winners. The few industry professionals with who I've taken double-handed racing, seem to love the purity of the experience and they also begin to understand that it is a delightful way to race ... in some respects, contrary to popular belief, it is easier than fully crewed racing. When one laments the decline in interest in offshore racing, one needs to look at the number of races now offering double-handed classes and the participation in these classes to realize that there is a segment of Offshore racing that is growing. * From Manfred C. Schreiber: Pablo Godel suggested that people lacked interest in the America's Cup. I do not think that this is the case though my point of view comes from the other side of the pond and my observations might be wrong. But I know exactly what happened in the year of 1983, when Liberty and Australia II were down to the wire with 3:3 and I had been in Chicago at the Marine Trade Show and asked around but nobody in the trade knew about the Cup. To their excuse, they were mostly in electronics not in sail-making but I was amazed by the ignorance of not knowing about the America´s Cup at all and the chance to loose it in their home country. Actually there was not much going on in the radio, TV or such outside Newport but you can correct me. I called Australian friends, with whom I stayed during the first four races in Newport and immediately booked a flight just to arrive in time to see the last race on a big screen with an amazing audience, celebrating afterwards and seeing the wings. Still today I have not figured out why, a couple hundred miles away, the Cup was a non existing. Has definitely nothing to do with lack of interest through "legal litigations", those were the same with the winged keel. Things might have changed, but only a little, I guess. * From Jim Thompson: I would like to wholeheartedly support Pablo Godel's comments regarding what is happening with the America's Cup. The bigger issue, however, is the rock that the sailors he overheard have been living under. How anyone who claims to be a sailor could be that clueless is a mystery to me. * From Gene McCarthy: Clark Chapin's explanation of the proposed by-law changes for US Sailing to be voted upon in October in Phoenix, AZ, was first class. His is a compelling argument. The need for change, I believe, is caused by the inaction of the directors to actions of the Executive Committee. When revealed by the treasurer that the departed (by resignation) executive director received a departure fee of $34,000 and will receive a bonus of between $2,000 and $50,000 when the audit of 2004 is completed, only three of 35 directors made inquiry. It was apparent most directors did not care as the matter was after the fact. Had the information of the executive director's employment contract been given to the board before being signed I am sure the directors would not have approved. It ended up being approved by the generic motion of the board, "All actions of the executive committee are approved". The board's failure to act responsibly on fiscal matters keeps US Sailing running deficits each year. * From Peter Hinrichsen, hinrichsen@videotron.ca (re lee-bow effect): "Physics is the same in all frames of reference in uniform motion relative to each other, according to a sailor called Albert Einstein. When sailing in a constant current, you can look at this from the land and conclude that the water is moving, or you can look at it from the water and conclude that the land is moving. The boat and sails do not care which view you take, what determines the forces on them is the motion of the air relative to the water. It makes no difference whether this relative motion is due to the air moving or the water moving. The forces on the boat are not influenced by the motion of the bottom of a deep river relative to the water. Peter Barrett pointed out that to plan your strategy in a current you should sail as if there was no current, and imagine that the mark is a boat moving at the speed of the current but in the opposite direction. Then estimate, just as when crossing another boat, where the mark will be when you get there. When the current is on your lee bow, then the mark is moving to leeward, which gives the impression that you are sailing closer to the wind. When starting, the committee boat will also be moving in the opposite direction to the current and their apparent wind will not be the same as yours. Space precludes answers to all the comments on lbe so e-mail me." * From Ted Jones: Only a fool would argue with the likes of Lowell North, Peter Barrett, Peter Isler, and Dave Perry, so I will agree with their textbook debunking of the lee bow effect, But these esteemed gentlemen have been primarily interested in round the cans racing where, over a relatively short windward leg, every boat almost always has to sail an equal time on both tacks. On long distance races, lee bowing a current can make a difference. I can cite several examples, but the most dramatic was a race from New London, CT 100 miles around Nantucket Lightship and back to Newport, RI which was won in the first 5 or 10 miles by the single boat which chose to tack across the 3-knot current rather than sail with it. One of the smallest, she was first around the lightship and second home. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Cats regard people as warm-blooded furniture. |
