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SCUTTLEBUTT 3159 - Thursday, August 19, 2010Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors,providing a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Harken and Ullman Sails. WILL IT BE A MULTIHULL MATCH IN EUROPE? While there has been no official announcement from the America's Cup defender BMW Oracle Racing as to where the 34th Match will be hosted and in what type of design will be used, Radio Sport in New Zealand posted the following information on August 19, 2010: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Oracle is set to take the next America's Cup to Europe; Yachting commentator Peter Montgomery says it will be raced in Italy and using multi-hull boats. Oracle is set to shun the United States and hold the next America's Cup in Europe. It's understood there isn't the financial willpower in the U.S. to stage the regatta with the State of California broke. Commentator PJ Montgomery says Larry Ellison is also poised to announce the Cup will not be raced in mono-hulls. He says we should know in the next couple of months that the America's Cup will be raced in multi-hulls in La Maddalena in Italy. Montgomery says there could be a small revolution from challengers on Oracle's hands. He says Team Origin (GBR) has already indicated it is not interested in multi-hulls. -- http://www.radiosport.co.nz/SportsNews/spyac/Detail.aspx?id=180821 FINN WORLD DESCENDS ON SAN FRANCISCO For the next three weeks San Francisco Bay will be the centre of the Finn world. On August 27th the Finn Gold Cup (aka World Championship with 95 entrants) will start but this Friday, August 20, the Finn Silver Cup for the Jorg Bruder Cup - the Junior World Championship - will get underway. For many years the Junior Worlds was held as part of the Finn Gold Cup but increasing numbers of Juniors in Europe forced the event to be held independently and for the last few years has attracted in excess of 50 boats. This year it will be sailed out of St Francis Yacht Club, USA with sailors from 10 countries competing for the Jorg Bruder Cup, which was first presented in 2004 by the Brazilian Olympic Committee in memory of the popular, three time Gold Cup winner. The defending champion is in fact also Brazilian. Young Jorge Zarif (BRA) won a close fought series last year on Lake Balaton in Hungary, and though he hasn't had as much international experience this year as some of his main rivals, is expected to be a firm favourite. Perhaps the main favourite is the twice crowned Junior European Champion Ioannis Mitakis (GRE), who not only retained his Junior European title in Split this year but also presented himself very well in the senior fleet, finishing 12th overall. The home fleet is also putting on a strong challenge with both Luke Lawrence (USA) and Caleb Paine (USA) competing. This pair won the silver and bronze medals in the Juniors at Split and are improving all the time. Lawrence is coached by former Finn crack John Bertrand (USA) and it will be interesting to see how much he has progressed since May. Racing commences on Friday August 20 with nine races scheduled. The medal race for top ten is scheduled for Tuesday August 24 and all races for the Silver Cup are being held from St Francis Yacht Club, before the fleet moves across the bay to Richmond for the Gold Cup, so the boats are closer to the Berkeley Circle, where the world championship racing will be held. -- Event website: http://www.finngoldcup.com/article/2184-Finn-class-heads-to-San-Francisco GET INSTANT UV PROTECTION - MEN'S & WOMEN'S STYLES When you escape the icy grip of the AC this summer for some outdoor fun, just throw on a Harken UV shirt and those hard-to-reach spots are good to go! Since the quick-drying 50+UPF protection doesn't wash off or make you greasy, wear yours sailing, snorkeling or just working outdoors. And don't forget your stylish Harken sunglasses - for half the cost of the other brands, you'll effortlessly spot shoals, wind patterns and distant buoys with Harken's sailing-optimized lenses. Get the gear to protect yourself at http://www.harkensport.com/cat/uv.html THE AMERICAN EAGLE RULES THE ALPS! Amid the 80 boat fleet at the International Moth European Championship in Silvaplana, Switzerland is American-born and Swiss-bred Olympian Chris Rast, who is seeking to raise his Moth game near to the level of Bora Gulari (USA), 2009 class world champion and U.S. Rolex Sailor of the Year. Here is his report from a clearly epic Wednesday: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bora Gulari turned in a stellar day with two bullets and a second. THAT is why the US Airforce rules the sky baby! Breeze was up in 20 knot zone when we launched and on the way down to race course I swear I hit at least 28 knots of boatspeed! Needlessly to say the conditions were a bit too challenging for guys like me (not enough time in the boat). But on the other hand Bora just couldn't stop smiling every time another gust came through. He knew it was his time to shine, and man, he did shine! Anthony Kotoun (USVI) and I looked pretty good at times. We both actually led the second race until the windward mark, when I decided to check out the water temperature (also known as capsizing). Anthony kept charging until his downhaul broke, which made the boat really difficult to sail. At least we were both able to play with the big boys for a change. In the third race I unfortunately missed the start by a couple of minutes after again checking the water temperature, so I just had to keep working myself through the pack. On the bright side it's worth mentioning that I had blistering upwind speed, which was really nice! Now I just have to stop being such a chicken downwind and freaking send it! -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/3xhzu5t A drop race has now launched Australian Nathan Outteridge into the lead, with Gulari just three points back in second position. Racing continues through Saturday. Daily reports: http://tinyurl.com/26vz4hc Day 2 results: http://tinyurl.com/2vjbsya TWENTY-ONE COUNTRIES IN CONTENTION The ISAF World Sailing Rankings for August 18, 2010 have been released, which account for a team's best results over the previous two years. Events are weighted according to relevance, with the next ranking release to be on September 22nd so to include the Finn Gold Cup in the USA, Laser World Standard Senior Championships in Great Britain, and the RS:X World Championships in Denmark. These are the North American teams that are currently ranked within the top five of their respective Olympic event: Finn - Zach Railey (USA), 3rd Laser - Michael Leigh (CAN), 3rd Laser Radial - Paige Railey (USA), 3rd Star - Mark Mendelblatt/ John Von Schwarz (USA), 4th WMR - Anna Tunnicliffe/ Deborah Capozzi/ Molly Vandemoer (USA), 3rd There are 21 countries that have at least one team ranked in the top five of an event, with Great Britain leading with six events, France with five events, and USA and Spain with four events. Complete rankings: http://www.sailing.org/news/33784.php LIGHTNING SAFETY TIPS FOR BOATERS Sudden squalls are a common hazard for boaters. Lightning-producing thunderstorms can occur at any time, but are most likely from July through mid-September. Storms can trap boaters on the water too far from shore to seek safe shelter, placing them at risk of being struck by lightning. Every year, thousands of boaters are struck by lightning. Usually the tallest object on an open body of water, boats are apt to attract lightning during a storm. Tall-masted sailboats are particularly vulnerable. A direct lightning strike can severely damage or destroy a boat, cause serious onboard fires, overload electronic and navigation equipment, and electrocute, even kill, passengers. To stay safe while boating, remember the slogan: "If you can see it, flee it; if you can hear it, clear it." At the first sign of a developing thunderstorm, boaters should head for shore and seek shelter in a building or car. Lightning can travel up to 10 miles from storm centers. A blue sky overhead is no guarantee that danger isn't lurking. Many lightning deaths occur ahead of storm systems before rain reaches the area. Follow the 30-30 rule to decrease your risk of being struck by lightning: -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/37rbgbr A FLURRY OF CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES In the height of summer, Ullman Sails customers are winning when it counts! Last weekend, Bob Cadranell and his team on "Arunga" won the 2010 6 Meter North American Championship & U.S. National Trophy in Port Townsend, WA. In Southern California, Chris Raab and Kenny Dair claimed their fourth straight Mercury Class Championship title. And last Thursday, Riley Gibbs won the 2010 Junior Sabot Nationals in San Diego in a 140-boat fleet! Last year's champion Connor Kelter took second place and Robert Rice finished third overall. Each podium finish was powered by Ullman Sails! Invest in your performance. http://www.ullmansails.com SAILBOAT PROPELLERS Standard props supplied with many production boats are just enough to do the job. They will propel the boat under power, but will not give optimum performance across a range of conditions. The reason for this of course is cost. The best propellers cost quite a bit more than a standard or fixed prop. If you were to choose the optimum prop for your boat you would consider factors like: Drag under sail Speed & Power in forward Stopping power Power in reverse Maintenance Vibration Cost Some of the more high tech propellers can cost several thousand dollars. For the racer you are primarily looking for a low drag propeller, for the cruiser however a small increase in drag is well worth the better handling under power. The latest posting by the MyBoatsGear.com website discusses propeller terminology and provides the pros and cons for: Fixed blade propellers Folding propellers Feathering propellers Autoprop Full report: http://www.myboatsgear.com/newsletter/2010815.asp SAILING SHORTS * San Diego, CA (August 18, 2010) - After three days of competition at the US SAILING's 2010 Chubb U.S. Junior Sailing Championship, the final results found Southern California sailors at the top in all three events. The winners are Nevin Snow (San Diego, CA) in the Singlehanded (Laser), Jack Jorgensen/ Samantha Gebb (Long Beach, CA) in the Doublehanded (Club 420), and Scott Hoffmann/ Evan Hoffmann/ Reece Bernet (San Diego, CA) in the Triplehanded (Lightning). -- Event website: http://championships.ussailing.org/Youth/ChubbJrChampionships.htm * Malmo, Sweden (August 18, 2010) - After three days of racing at the 2010 J/24 World Championship, Principal Race Officer Peter Reggio (USA) has kept the 54 boat fleet on schedule with six of the ten scheduled races completed. With a drop race now recorded, and as American Tim Healy successfully gained redress on a starting line penalty, Healy holds an 11 point lead over countryman Tony Parker in second. Racing continues through Friday. --Event website: http://www.j24worlds2010.com/ * Singapore (August 18, 2010) - Storm clouds blew in on the second day of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, prompting a postponement for a couple of hours. At 13:30, teams were sent to the course, only to be sent back in again as the wind died to nothing. Racing finally got underway at around 15:00, with two races completed in a light five knot breeze and slowly strengthening current. Leading the North American charge amid the four events and 100 teams is Owen Siese (BER), who is fourth in the Byte CII. Racing continues to August 25th. -- Full story: http://www.sailing.org/news/33782.php * Etobicoke, Ontario (August 17, 2010) - The North American Eight Metre Association (NAEMA) is pleased to announce that Alan Manuel, Skipper of Lafayette has won the Sodus Bay Cup of the 2010 Eight Metre Class North American Championship. This cup is awarded to the yacht with the best overall score in the regatta. Lafayette from Scotland is only the second yacht, not from North America, to win the North American Championship. The event leads up to the International Eight Metre Association's World Championships being held at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club in Toronto form August 22-27. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10296 * Des Brennan, Chief Executive of Yachting New Zealand, has announced that he will be leaving at the end of September. Des joined Yachting New Zealand early in 2005, and has now taken the position of Marketing Director at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. The process of finding a new Chief Executive for Yachting New Zealand is now underway. -- http://www.yachtingnz.org.nz CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Is your event listed on the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar? This free, self-serve tool is the easiest way to communicate to both sailors and sailing media. These are some of the events listed on the calendar for this weekend: Aug 20-21 - Ida Lewis Distance Race - Newport, RI, USA Aug 20-22 - Dennis Conner International YC Challenge - New York, NY, USA Aug 20-22 - Melges 24 Gold Cup - San Francisco, CA, USA Aug 20-22 - U.S. O'pen BIC Cup - New Bedford, MA, USA Aug 20-22 - Verve Cup Offshore Regatta - Chicago, IL, USA Aug 22-28 - Optimist Canadian Championships - Hamilton, Ontario, CAN View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Jim Mahaffy: I am so glad that the WSSRC and Guinness World Records has decided to drop this madness about the "YOUNGEST". It was getting ridiculous. I think it would have never ended otherwise. On another not I got to know Kitty James well over the years; she was a godsend to the boating public. A real loss. * From Richard Hazelton, Editor, 48 degrees North Sailing Magazine: Just think of what the history and record books would look like if the old clipper ships, et al could have taken a shortcut through the Panama Canal. * From Ken Bertino: Regarding Terry Harper's letter in Scuttlebutt 3158, his comments are spot on. The Port of San Diego stepped up, while the City fell on its face as usual (see current news). San Diego continues to see revenue from the years of the Cup being here (22 & counting). We have become, for instance, an important stop over for mega yachts, outfitting and repairs. The Port District sees it to some extent. The City of San Diego continues to be HUA. Larry Ellison with his boat & crew seemed to have found a perfect venue in San Diego when they were testing & training here for the Cup. Of course that is another Letter to the Curmudgeon. * From George Morris, Inverness, UK: (re, Mayday protocol in #3158) Coast Guards and other marine professionals seem to have a compulsive desire to make radio communications more complicated than they need be. If you hear a Mayday call the first thing you should do is acknowledge it. The format used in the Nimrod patrol plane fleet is '(callsign) Roger Mayday Out' unless you got the callsign of the transmitting station, in which case you could say '(her callsign) this is Nimrod Aircraft (your callsign), Roger Mayday, Out.' You would then relay the message to the rescue coordination centre on another frequency. Published advice always assumes that the sinking ship wishes to talk to the Coast Guard rather than yourself, but this depends on where he is. In the open ocean you may be the only person to receive the call. Certainly you would not wish to trample on any reply by a more capable station, but the transmitter of the Mayday may delay getting into his liferaft until he knows he has been heard - radio operators going down with their ships are the stuff of legend. A Mayday is not usually addressed to a specific station and unless there are reasons to believe that someone more capable has received it, you should acknowledge it. A more complicated scenario is if you only get part of the message due to being almost out of range and miss (say) the ships callsign and position. Do you ask for the message to be repeated and risk jamming a clearer conversation with someone nearer or do you sit back and wait for it to be repeated, which it probably will be if the sender is still afloat? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Law of Probability: The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act. Special thanks to Harken and Ullman Sails. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
