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SCUTTLEBUTT 2318 - April 9, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). FOLLOWING THE FINAL ACT Valencia, 07 April, 2007 - On a day that dawned with torrential downpours and fickle winds, by race time the skies had cleared and the wind soon stabilised to the point where the Race Committee could start the races after only a short delay. On the water, Alinghi continued its dominant performance in Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13, posting a second place to go with a fourth race victory, to win its fourth consecutive fleet racing Act. -- Full story at http://www.americascup.com//en/news/detail.php?idContent=15556 Final Standings – Act 13 1. Alinghi (SUI 91) 4-1-1-1-3-2-1, 78 pts 2. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL 84) 5-3-4-5-1-3-6, 64 3. Mascalzone Latino-Capitalia (ITA 99) 3-6-5-2-4-5-3, 63 4. Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA 94) 7-5-2-3-2-8-4, 60 5. BMW Oracle Racing (USA 87) 1-4-7-4-10-6-2, 57 6. Desafío Español 2007 (ESP 97) 8-2-3-9-6-1-7, 55 7. Team Shosholoza (RSA 83) 2-8-10-7-5-7-9, 43 8. Victory Challenge (SWE 96) 12-11-6-8-7-4-8, 35 9. Areva Challenge (FRA 93) 9-10-8-10-8-10-5, 31 10. United Internet Team Germany (GER 89) 6-9-DSQ-6-9-9-10, 29 11. +39 Challenge (ITA 85) 10-7-5-DNS-DNS-DNS-DNS, 17 12. China Team (CHN 95) 11-12-9-11-11-11-11, 15 Note: Points for each race equal the number of entered boats beaten plus 1. There were eleven boats competing in Races 1-3, and ten boats in Races 4-7. In the 3rd race, +39 Challenge was DNF but was awarded 5th place by the protest committee. * With Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13 completed, the final opening act has been sailed, and the Louis Vuitton Ranking for challengers is complete. Based on this ranking, the challengers have been assigned bonus points that they’ll carry with them into the Louis Vuitton Cup. This ranking will also be used to complete the pairing list for the challengers and determine who sails whom on which day, including start line entry. At the top of the table is Emirates Team New Zealand who won the ranking by 11 points over BMW ORACLE Racing. The Kiwis will now take four bonus points with them into the Round Robin portion of the Louis Vuitton Cup. Luna Rossa Challenge, BMW ORACLE Racing and Desafío Español have earned three bonus points. -- Full story at http://www.americascup.com//en/news/detail.php?idContent=15680 * In the racing on the water last week, the 11 challengers had an opportunity to take a final look at the Defender, Alinghi, who won’t race again before the first race of the 32nd America’s Cup Match on June 23rd. They may not have liked what they saw; Alinghi dominated the regatta, winning four of the seven races, and claiming Valencia Louis Vuitton Act 13 by a 14 point margin. -- Read on for a team-by-team analysis: http://www.americascup.com//en/news/detail.php?idContent=15737 PERMISSION DENIED When the +39 Challenge lost their rig in the second day of ACT 13 last week, the noise of the mast breaking was nearly simultaneous with the sound of their balloon popping. For a team that has so much talent but so little money, they had been walking a tight-rope for months, and it now appears that they have fallen off as they approached the weather mark on that breezy Wednesday afternoon. When United Internet Team Germany misjudged their port/ starboard duck with +39 - and their rigs clipped - it led to the destruction of the Italians only competitive mast. Following the foul, the Germans have done everything possible to right their wrong, including the gift of a replacement mast to the +39 team. When masts cost more than a half million dollars, and take months to build to the very custom standards of each team, this gift was the only means to keep +39 on pace with the field. However, true to the rules of the Cup, this was a breach of the Protocol that requires all equipment to be designed by the team. Changes of the Protocol occur all the time, and to get +39 back on the start line, a Protocol change would be required. However, when the Challenger Commission met this past weekend to decide on this change, the graciousness that had been implied prior to the meeting whistled clear nearly as fast as the breaking of the mast. Self-interest won out on this day, and with the Protocol change denied, the group found a way to narrow the field of challengers from eleven to ten even before the first race of the Louis Vuitton challenger series. The +39 Challenge will step an old, out-dated mast in the boat for the beginning of the trials - the one that helmsman Iain Percy claimed to be half the speed of the mast they broke - and will attempt to repair their fractured spar. And for those of you following the action, the America’s Cup has now officially begun. -- Scuttleblog, http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2007/04/permission-denied.html GET YOUR TECH TEES, POLOS, AND REGATTA APPAREL Log on to the Pirate’s Lair website for the official Mount Gay Rum gear and to have a look at what Pirate’s Lair supplied regattas will look like in 2007. Check out the new Pirate’s Lair inshore foulie jacket or sign-up for your free catalog. View it all at http://www.pirateslair.com/store/index.html 38 TROFEO SAR PRINCESA SOFIA Palma de Mallorca, Spain (April 6, 2007) - The excellent weather conditions of the Bay of Palma were finally present on the last day of competition, where the 12-14 knots of wind offered spectacular racing in the medal race of the 38 Trofeo SAR Princesa Sofia – Mapfre. Only the top ten sailors of each Olympic class sailed in the Medal Race, with 8 of the eleven classes claiming North American entrants in the finale. Finishing any event strongly is a key to victory, and North Americans proved dominant in the double-point final medal race. The most prevailing examples were the leading American Yngling team of Barkow, Capozzi, and Howe, holding off the only team that could beat them, Mexican Laser Radial sailor Tanias Elias Calles Wolf winning the final race to move up to second overall, with the 470 Womens team of Maxwell and Kinsolving rolling a second place to also garner second overall. This event was the first of several major European regattas for top Olympic contenders this spring, where the challenging conditions and wicked weather proved to be the theme for most of the week. Of the entrants that were surprisingly outside of the winner’s circle, Laser Radial sailor Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) said, “Sure, I’m disappointed, but I’m taking a lot away from this event in experience and lessons learned. Everyone agrees that this was an impossibly difficult week for weather. I know I have the same raw boat speed as the others and I’ll be practicing and then applying those lessons in Hyères, at the Semaine Olympique Française, two weeks from now.” -- Event website: http://www.trofeoprincesasofia.org/dinghy/index.html Final Positions of Top North Americans: => Yngling (33 boats) Sally Barkow/ Carrie Howe/ Debbie Capozzi (USA, 1st); Sarah Bury/ Martha Henderson/ Katie Abbot (CAN, 27th) => Laser Radial (91 boats) Tanias Elias Calles Wolf (MEX, 2nd); Lisa Ross (CAN, 13th); Anna Tunnicliffe (USA, 17th) => 470 Women (68 boats) Erin Maxwell/ Isabelle Kinsolving (USA, 2nd); Amanda Clark/ Sara Mergenthaler (USA, 15th) => Star (41 boats) Hamish Pepper/ Brad Nichol (NZL/ USA, 3rd) => Laser (138 boats) Andrew Campbell (USA, 8th); David Wright (CAN, 13th); Michael Leigh (CAN, 16th); Brad Funk (USA, 19th) => Tornado (58 boats) Oskar Johansson/ Kevin Stittle (CAN, 8th); Johnny Lovell/ Charlie Ogletree (USA, 22nd) => Finn (55 boats) Christopher Cook (CAN, 10th); Zack Railey (USA, 12th) => 49er (80 boats) Tim Wadlow/ Chris Rast (USA, 10th); Dalton Bergen/ Zack Maxam (USA, 19th) => RS:X Women (67 boats) Nikola Girke (CAN, 30th) => RS:X Men (112 boats) Alain Bolduc (CAN, 31st) => 470 Men (116 boats) Stuart McNay/ Graham Biehl (USA, 32nd Gold flight); Mikee Anderson-Mitterling/ Dave Hughes (USA, 9th Silver flight) Great photos from Palma: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/07/palma STRONG NA SHOWING AT OPTI CHAMPS (Niteroi, Brasil) Raul Rios of Puerto Rico did just enough in the final race to fend off a strong late challenge by Antoine Screve (USA) and take the open title by just two points in the 185-boat/ 17 nation IODA South American Championship. Russell Kan, the youngest member of last year's world-beating Singaporean team was third. For the South American Champs title, an OCS in the final race by Lucas Swan (BRA) gave the prize to the pre-regatta favourite Bennie Grez (CHI), who was 8th at last year's Worlds. Among the girls, Rachel Lee of Singapore retained the crown won last year by her compatriot Griselda Khng. A much-improved Marlena Fauer (USA) took silver. -- Robert Wilkes, IODA Secretary Optimist South Americans, full results at http://www.cncharitas.com.br/sulamericano.html GEARHEADS WILL NEVER LEARN Sailing is a sport/ passion/ lifestyle whatever that lends itself to tremendous amounts of thought. That thought manifests itself in many different ways, one of which being this blog. On the water, one of the more common expressions of sailing thought comes in the form tricking ones boat out, be it a racing boat or cruising boat. It is always nice to have a boat that people remember and admire. You can make sure you have the loveliest varnish work, the coolest electronics, the nicest sails, or simply the nicest boat. Lots of folks like to have the most far out gadgets. Most of the time these gadgets make for some pretty ugly boats. Marine photographer Matthew Cohen from Newport, RI sent along these images of a uniquely strange, ugly and apparently faulty boom vang/ sheet system on a large yacht over in Falmouth, England. -- Eli Boat blog, full report and photos: http://www.eliboat.com/?p=574 THE AMERICA’S CUP = INNOVATION, DESIGN, PERSONALITY And that’s exactly why the greatest talent on board virtually each boat rely on Kaenon Polarized. They’re choosing the new Hard Kore and Jetty from the just-released ’07 Collection. Our innovative SR-91 polarized lens provides the visual difference. And our collection of Luxury Performance styles represent levels of design and personality required by the likes of Butterworth, Brady, and Hutchinson, or Isler and Bank wearing Rx. Innovation, design, and personality. Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. For women and men. Prescription-ready. View the entire collection online or locate an authorized dealer nearest you at http://www.kaenon.com CLOSE... BUT NO CIGAR (April 7, 2007 - Here’s an update on Sailrocket, the outright world speed sailing record contender that is now based at the Walvis Bay speed-strip in Namibia.) So we hit the course again today and everything was perfect. The boat was in great shape, the tide was right and the wind was perfect for our development i.e. 17-18 knots. When we got up to the top of the course we discovered that our mooring anchor had gone...god knows where! This large anchor is vital in our starting procedure as it virtually enables me to launch myself whilst sitting in the cockpit. The line is tied on to the transom of Sailrocket and the rest of the team jump in the RIB and take off down the course in order to get in position for filming. Once everyone is in position my bow gerts pushed away from the wind and I sheet on hard to stall the wing. Sailrocket is now straining against the anchor line and rotating away from the beach in a sideways manner. When she is pointing in a safe direction I simply slip the knot. It works really well, is very safe and frees up alot of people. We were pretty stuffed without it. Helena and Brad went back to the Walvis Bay yacht club to find another. Once again we recieved alot of enthusiastic support on shore but by the time they got back the wind was up once again to the familiar 22 knots and gusting. We sat and waited until dark for it to drop... but it didn't. -- Sailrocket website, full report: http://sailrocket.blogspot.com/2007/04/close-but-no-cigar.html A SORDID TALE OF ADDICTION My name is Lincoln Rowley, and I am an A-Cat addict. There I said it. The first step to recovery is to admit there is a problem – and I have a problem. It all started out so simply. One day I was sitting on the rail with 12 or 15 of my crewmates footing off toward a 3 degree header at about 6.7453 knots and feeling really good about how my extra hard hiking was eeking out almost a hundredth of a knot above target. I was looking back for an update on the continued screaming in the back of the boat, when I saw something flash by out of the corner of my eye. I had no idea what it was. I thought for a second that some kind of plane was crashing, but when I looked closer there was a guy standing on the side of it. He was suspended there, and it took a little while to see that there was some kind of fishing line or something tied to his … oh my god! How is that possible! It sailed past, higher, and much faster, and then bore away across our bow. The guy jumped in off the wire, to the low side, with a hull in the air, and doubled his speed as he disappeared behind our genoa. The last thing I saw was the sun reflecting off his … teeth. -- Read on: http://www.usaca.info/editor/addict.htm SAILING SHORTS * Coming up on ESPN Classic on Friday, April 13 at 7:00pm ET is “Allianz Presents The America's Cup 1851 – 2007”. Winning America's Cup tactician and Emmy award winning television producer Gary Jobson has been collecting film and photographic material of this historical event over the past 30 years. For the first time, the long history of the America's Cup will be presented on ESPN Classic. Exclusive interviews and considerable new, never before broadcast material will highlight this one-hour program. The program is hosted by Walter Cronkite and Gary Jobson. Here is a preview: http://jobsonsailing.com/reports/38 * Hobart, Tasmania - April 6 2007 - A change in the predicted weather patterns for this weekend has led to Tony Bullimore standing down from setting out on the Blue Ocean solo round the world challenge. Instead, the British circumnavigator and his team are looking to pick up a fresh weather pattern that could develop over the Tasman on April 15. Tony remains on ‘Orange Alert’ ready to hoist sail on his 102ft catamaran Doha, at the first opportunity. -- Full report: http://www.teambullimore.com/content/view/99/50/ SAIL FASTER AND SMARTER If you want to improve your results on the racecourse, you should read Speed & Smarts. This bi-monthly newsletter, written by winning America's Cup tactician Dave Dellenbaugh, is full of race-winning tips on boatspeed, tactics, strategy, rules, and more! To see a sample issue or sign up for a subscription, visit http://www.SpeedandSmarts.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Mike Nash: While I applaud the efforts of those volunteers associated with the IRC in their work to help grow our sport, I resent the marketing machine that they have created and the propaganda it spews forth. Friday’s Scuttlebutt #2317 posted a claim from the IRC machine that said “2007 finds IRC firmly established in the United States with almost all of the major big boat events offering IRC.” What? Almost all major big boat events are IRC, pure hogwash. On the West Coast, almost all major big boat regattas are not IRC, but rather the other subjective rating system - PHRF - which by the way lists over 900 valid certificates in So. Cal alone. Yachting Cup, Ahmanson, Long Beach Race Week, Long Point, and SCYA Midwinters are all PHRF. Cabo Race, Transpac, Hoag Regatta, and Cal Cup use ORR. Personally, I don’t really care what rating system I race under, they all have pros and cons; I just like a big competitive fleet. So please don’t try to sell me on your latest and greatest with false statements about owning the market; it makes you look silly. * From Bill Michaels: The US-IRC looks to be just another East-centric organization, making claims based on their rose-colored glasses. News bulletin: IRC is building momentum, but has not taken over the country yet, and to overstate the facts is a journey taken by only the naive or the ignorant. Maybe you can build it, and maybe they will come, but keep your finger off the microphone until the stadium is full. * From Rick Mathews: Wouldn’t it be fun if the weather was fully haywire in Valencia this year? What an equalizer for those syndicates who were not sufficiently funded in weather study and boat optimization. Shuffle the deck each day, and force the teams to go sailing based on what they see that day. Now there’s a concept. * From John Wells: From the report (in ‘butt 2317) announcing the North American Youth Multihull Association, it would seem that the inmates have taken over the asylum. Good for them, as it seemed like too much moaning of late from the multihull ranks, and not enough doing. Their commitment toward youth development will go a long ways toward being taken seriously, rather than looking to be saved in the Olympic by some dinghy sailor who decides to cross over. * From Eric A Sorensen: I am pleased to see there are Butt heads out there who are enthralled with the spectacle in Valencia. The loss of the +39 mast was a huge set back to one of the better if under funded teams. Whoa! Who’d a thunk the mast would be 600,000k! Alinghi will defend and win and the Cup will be in Valencia for 2009. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION If life deals you lemons, make lemonade; if it deals you tomatoes, make Bloody Marys. Special thanks to The Pirate’s Lair, Kaenon Polarized, and Speed & Smarts. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
