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SCUTTLEBUTT 2716 - Monday, November 3, 2008Scuttlebutt 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. Today's sponsors are Doyle, Team McLube, and Speed & Smarts. “THIS RACE WILL GO TO THE WIRE” (Nov. 2, 2008; Day 23) Ericsson 4 skipper Torben Grael was in no mood for brash statements after winning the first leg on Sunday morning. “Is this race over?” he asked. “No chance whatsoever. It is impossible to say who will win at this stage.” It flies in the face of the stat which shows that the winner of the first leg in the last five races has gone on to win overall. “It was such a close race,” he added. “Our speeds between the boats are so close. We had visual contact with PUMA for maybe 70% of the race, maybe 80% - this race will go to the wire.” It could be argued that Ericsson 4 had to be tougher than anyone else in the 21 days, 17 hours and 54 minutes they took to sail from Alicante to Cape Town. Just six days in Tony Mutter had to be evacuated from the boat at Cape Verde, which saw the team concede their early lead and fall 50 miles off the pace. However, by day eight they were back in third position, 56 miles behind PUMA, and rounding the scoring gate at Fernando de Noronha they took the points for second. Thereafter the fleet raced south with Ericsson 4 neck-and-neck with PUMA before turning east and smashing the world record for distance covered in 24 hours. Grael said: “A lot of the reason for the record is due to our training base in Lanzarote. We sailed in conditions close to that for one year. That was important for our performance in those conditions. It wasn’t too windy, it was about 30 knots, quite steady, and good wave conditions, (just like for the record).” PUMA skipper Ken Read, regarding his second place finish, “The best team won, but we have more in the locker room. This yacht has a few more gears. Ericsson raced like a team that has had two years' preparation, and absolute credit to them, they did a superb job. But a year and half ago there was no such thing as PUMA Ocean Racing - our learning curve was so steep in this leg - and soon we will feel as comfortable pushing hard as they do, and then we’ll reach their speeds. We have a lot to build on and a lot to learn.” The length of Leg One is 6500nm; Current standings (as of Nov. 3, 1:00am GMT): 1. Ericsson 4, Torben Grael, Finished Nov. 2, 05:54:00 GMT 2. Puma, Ken Read, Finished Nov. 2, 17:44:50 GMT 3. Ericsson 3, Anders Lewander, 36 nm Distance to Finish 4. Green Dragon, Ian Walker, 40 nm DTF 5. Telefonica Blue, Bouwe Bekking, 123 nm DTF 6. Team Russia, Andreas Hanakamp, 176 nm DTF 7. Delta Lloyd, Ger O'Rourke, 254 nm DTF 8. Telefonica Black, Fernando Echavarri, 353 nm DTF Race website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org * The 4,450nm Leg 2 from Cape Town to Cochin, India begins November 15th. * Hosted by world renowned sailor Gary Jobson, there are 39 half-hour weekly episodes that chronicle the race to be aired on public television stations nationwide. -- Details: http://www.vortv.org/Home.html A MASSIVE CHINESE GYBE By Simon Fisher, Telefónica Blue navigator I know this race now has a new Asian flavour to it - what with visiting China and Singapore, but I wasn't expecting a taste of the orient quite so soon in the form of a massive Chinese gybe last night. The guys on deck were pushing hard to keep the miles up when they got caught by a nasty wave a wham! There we were, over on our side. I was downstairs at the time, having checked the weather and gone a few rounds with an intermittent Sat C. I had just climbed into my sleeping bag and was getting ready for a nice snooze before the next position report was due in. However aspirations of that were to be short lived when the boat listed one way then the other. I groaned to myself knowing full well what was about to happen, and before I knew it, I was standing on the side of the hull still half in the sleeping bag, the bunk having tipped up as we had gone over. Probably not the nicest way to have to get up! Inside the boat was relatively tranquil, albeit a little disorienting with the boat being so far over the wrong way. Still standing on the side of the hull I pulled my boots on then literally climbed into the navstation on my way to getting on deck. -- http://tinyurl.com/5luotg BEST PRICING AVAILABLE NOW! Fall is discount season at your local Doyle loft. So call now to lock in the best pricing of the season. Looking for an even sweeter deal? Check out our Internet Specials. Inventory changes daily, so check back frequently. Fall is also the perfect time to bring your sails in for a wash and check over. Contact your local DOYLE loft, 800-94-DOYLE, http://www.doylesails.com VENDEE GLOBE: SIX DAYS TO GO Among the thirty entrants in this non-stop, solo around the world race is veteran Mike Golding sailing his Open 60 Ecover. Here are some of Mike’s thoughts with less than a week before the November 9th start. * Regarding the boat: "This boat has been a bit of a bugger since the beginning. Someone asked me the other day: do you treat your boat like a person or a tool? I had to admit it was more like a tool. This boat is definitely in the tool department but hopefully it will do a good job for me and I suppose I might grow to like it more as time goes on. I don't think I'll ever fall in love with her but hopefully we can make friends. Right now we're not hitting it off, at all." * Regarding the race forecast for downwind conditions: "This, I have to say, I wouldn't mind at all because I think we are quite well placed for those conditions and she'll [Ecover] do a good job. The strengths of the Owen Clark designs are upwind and downwind. Reaching is our weakest point of sailing so I know I'll have to work hard to hold my own reaching, harder than others I think." Regarding his appraisal of the fleet: "I think from a total fleet angle you'd have to look at Loick Peyron as having the most recent good track record. Also Mich [Desjoyeaux], Vincent Riou, Seb Josse are all pretty strong contenders. And from the UK I would say it's still, despite his problems, Alex [Thomson], and of course Brian [Thompson]. I think Brian is probably sitting on the fastest boat. The general consensus is that boat's got more potential than any other; with a two metre bigger rig she's certainly the most powerful, but the question is, can he fulfil her potential? “ Complete report: http://www.mikegolding.com/news.asp?sid=18153 BACK TO THE FUTURE A nervous week of waiting comes to a welcome end for the British solo ocean racer Alex Thomson when his IMOCA Open 60 Hugo Boss emerged from the boat shed last Friday ready to be slipped back into the water of Les Sables d'Olonne's Port Olona early Saturday morning. To the untrained eye there is no obvious sign of the substantial damage inflicted in a collision with a local fishing boat two weeks ago, in the very early hours of Friday 17th October at the entrance to the start port of the Vendée Globe, Les Sables d'Olonne. A team of nearly 30, comprising specialist engineers, boat builders, riggers and mast builders have completed the repairs to the mast of Hugo Boss which was broken in two by the impact of the collision, and to a three metres by two metres gash in the high tech carbon fibre laminate hull and the deck of the Open 60, have collectively worked more than 1000 man hours to ensure that the perfectly repaired boat left the Alliaura Marine boatshed on schedule. The carefully planned operation required a replacement sleeve to be manufactured for the mast in Auckland, New Zealand where the mast was originally built, a complete new set of standing rigging from Valencia in Spain, and a perfect facsimile sections of the hull and deck to be manufactured in Vannes, three hours north of Les Sables. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/5p6bgu TERRY HUTCHINSON WINS MELGES 24 NORTH AMERICANS Annapolis, MD (Nov. 1, 2008) - At the end of four days of racing and with a total of eleven races sailed in the widest possible range of conditions, Terry Hutchinson and his crew aboard USA 751 Quantum Racing, are the new at the 2008 Melges 24 North American Champions. After crossing the finish line in fourth place in the second of two extremely nervy races in Annapolis today, a delighted Hutchinson immediately praised the performance of his crew which comprised tactician Scott Nixon, Brian Janney, George Peet and Amy Ironmonger. "Seriously, you cannot underestimate the significance of the team effort that has gone on here this regatta. I have been the weak link on the boat and these guys have pulled us through." The Corinthian division for the all amateur crews competing at the championship was dominated by Othmar von Blumencron USA 679 Gannet, adding the Corinthian North American Championship to his 2007 Corinthian World Championship victory. -- Complete reports from each day: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6615 Final results (Top 10 of 49; eleven races) 1. Terry Hutchinson - 4, 2, 4, [9], 2, 6, 1,4, 1, 6, 4 = 35 2. Gabrio Zandona - 9, 6, 2, 1, [12], 8, 1, 3, 12, 4, 10 = 56 3. Flavio Favini - 2, 7, 1,2, 29, 3, [50/DNF], 7, 4, 2, 9 = 66 4. Dave Ullman- 1, 3, 3, 12, 4, 17, [50/DCS], 21, 5, 5, 1= 72 5. Chris Larson - 8, 8, 7, 6, 1, 7, 6, 9 [24], 7, 16 = 75 6. Morgan Reeser - 10, 4, 17, 8, 15, 12, [50/OCS], 2, 3, 1, 8 = 80 7. Bruce Ayres - 5, 9, 8, 4, 10, [15], 5, 6, 15, 8, 14 = 84 8. Brian Porter - 6, 10, 6, 10, 5, 24, [25], 1, 2, 9, 18 = 91 9. Alan Field - 18, [21], 5, 15, 9, 21, 9, 10, 11, 3, 2 = 103.00 10. Othmar Blumencron - 13, 12, 9, 7, 3, [14], 10, 12, 16, [21], 13 = 109 Complete results: http://tinyurl.com/SButt102908c Photo gallery with images from Paul Todd and Stefano Gattinin: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/1101 Video interviews and race coverage: SailGroove: http://tinyurl.com/SButt103008c SailRev: http://tinyurl.com/SButt103008d * With $1,000 in cash on the line, Melges 24 teams competed in the Velocitek Speed Challenge to see who would attain the highest 10 second average speed on Oct. 30th, the second day of the Melges 24 North Americans. Chris Larson and West Marine Rigging/New England Ropes won with a 14.9 knot speed average. -- Full report: http://www.velocitek.com/community/news/speed-challenge-results LARGE OR SMALL, TEAM MCLUBE HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Most of us care about our on the water performance as well as properly maintaining our equipment. Team McLube has some great new solutions for you. Hullkote Citrus-Based Speed Polish for everything that shines. OneDrop Ball Bearing Conditioner for everything that rolls. Sailkote Dry Lube for everything that slides. From Optis to Supermaxis, from the talent-laden Melges 24 Class to super speedy VOR 70s, they all rave about these Team McLube products. We’ll help you to finish your season strong, or start your next season fresh. Learn more at: http://www.mclubemarine.com HOBSON’S BOAT DISCOVERED IN THE BAHAMAS Two years and two thousand miles separate the dramatic mid Atlantic wipe out suffered by NE yachtsman, Ross Hobson, and the sad but exciting news that his boat, the trimaran "Mollymawk", has found refuge on a beach in the Bahamas. It was on the 8th November 2006 that Ross Hobson's leading position in his class during the 3,550 mile Route du Rhum yacht race (St. Malo, France to Guadeloupe, French Caribbean) came to a wet and dangerous end. Mollymawk (renamed Ideal Stelrad for the race after the major sponsor) capsized in horrendous weather, 2000 miles from land in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Ross endured eight hours alone in the darkness in the upturned hull, unaware of the major search and rescue events taking place to save him. At 2am on 9th November 2006 the freighter Carmen homed in on Mollymawk's EPIRB and after a skilful demonstration of ship handling took Ross onboard and delivered him safely back home. The saddest part of the recovery was the fact that Ross had to leave behind his beloved boat and give her up to the mercy of the Atlantic Ocean. Now Mollymawk has been found! Last week she was discovered nestling on Eleuthera Island beach in the Bahamas; 250 miles east of Miami, Florida and 2000 miles west of her near tragic capsize. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/1102 SAILING SHORTS * (Nov. 2, 2008) - Zack Railey scored an unbroken string of bullets in the Laser class of the preliminaries of the Musto Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Championship Regatta, and Ed Baird was similarly overpowering in the Hobie Wave class. But guess what? The pros attending the event -- which is held in conjunction with the Bitter End YC’s Pro Am Regatta in the BVI -- are not eligible to move up to the SSC finals. The six finalists who will race for the crown in Hunter 215s on Thursday are Steve Rossini, Jim Durden, Marlene and Mick Schlens, Gib Rachleff, Joseph Motil and Tom Storey. -- http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6626 * A bailout plan offered to the troubled German yard guarantees that production can continue. For now. The government of the German state of North Rhine-Westfalia offered a bank guarantee to the ailing sailboat builder Dehler Yachts, the German magazine YACHT reported. This move came on the heels of an audit of Germany’s third-largest builder of sailing yachts (behind Bavaria and Hanse AG). Only last January, Dehler went on expansion course when it acquired the Belgian Etap yard. How this development influences Dehler’s North American business remains to be seen. -- Complete report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6625 * Emirates Team New Zealand’s move back into the accepted America’s Cup Challengers’ fold may not be without penalty. Alinghi skipper, Brad Butterworth, said that they (Team New Zealand) 'have their problems with the Arbitration Panel, and still have, when they sued Ernesto and the Yacht Club when they realised the Cup was not going to be in 2009.' The implication is that Team New Zealand may still get hauled in front of the Arbitration Panel as a result of breaching the 33rd America’s Cup Protocol because they had taken legal action, and did not accept the prescribed adjudication process. -- Sail World, full report: http://tinyurl.com/6qfx3b * Miami Beach, FL. (Oct. 31, 2008) - An aging, rusty boat carrying up to 42 people, including some migrants, ran ashore early Friday, killing at least three people and sending Coast Guard rescue crews frantically searching for an untold number of missing. The U.S. Coast Guard said it planned to search until dusk, and had found 24 people by midday. As many as 18 people still could be lost, and authorities weren’t sure if some of the passengers had made it safely to land. -- Orlando Sentinel, read on: http://tinyurl.com/575rrm * The Australian yachting federation, Yachting Australia, along with the Australian Olympic Committee, have agreed to withdraw the sailing events from Australian Youth Olympic Festival, scheduled to take place from January 14-18. Last week, three of the six confirmed international teams have withdrawn, with a further two stating that they do not intend to bring full teams. Most of the teams have indicated that the current economic situation has been a major factor in the decision to withdraw. -- Full report: http://yachte.com.au/news/story.asp?story=14593 * The Royal Yachting Association has announced that it is to build a multi-purpose sailing facility in Portland Harbour, Dorset, that will be a hub for the sport in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games and beyond. The $6.4 million (U.S.) RYA Portland House project, located at the Castle Court development in Portland, will provide accommodation and conference facilities for the RYA, and, it is hoped, a competitive advantage for the British sailors in the lead up to and during the 2012 Games. --Yachting Monthly, read on: http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/auto/newsdesk/20080931122409ymnews.html * Today more than 25 nations from all the continents have fleets of 25 or more IRC boats. More than 7 000 yachts are IRC rated, which is a major part of the international fleet using a rating system for racing. Moreover, this figure is increasing each year (increase of 5 % so far this year). -- http://rorcrating.com/ir2000/IRC/Press/IIOA%20Press%20release%2031_10_08.pdf * Amsterdam, Netherlands - The Design Award METS (DAME) jury has short listed 53 products out of the 136 entered to win this year's competition at the Marine Equipment Trade Show, which is the most prestigious marine products competition in the world. A total of 136 products entered the DAME competition from 110 companies in 21 different countries. The winners will be announced prior to the start of METS on November 18th. List of nominees: http://www.metstrade.com/dame2008 * On a delivery from Rhode Island to South Carolina, a 44-foot sailboat was overturned about 100 miles southeast of Atlantic City, N.J. when it was hit by a rogue wave, injuring three and killing one person. Coast Guard rescue efforts were hindered by the 40-mph winds and roughly 50-foot seas. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/5qerky * (Oct. 31, 2008) Alain Thébault and his crew on l’Hydroptère have established two new records: an average of 43,09 knots over one nautical mile and an average of 46.146 knots over 500 meters (pending ratification). -- http://www.hydroptere.com/_en/actu_detail.php?id_actu=50#centre * CORRECTION: Last week it was stated that Francis Joyon was attempting to break the singlehanded Discovery Route record, a 3,884 nautical mile couse between Cadiz, Spain and San Salvador, El Salvador. Actually, the route is from Cadiz to San Salvador in the Bahamas. Thanks to William Howe for his help. GET 100 BEST RACING TIPS FREE! Speed & Smarts is a bi-monthly newsletter full of race-winning advice on boatspeed, tactics, strategy, rules and more! Subscribe today and get a FREE copy of our special 16-page issue with David Dellenbaugh’s 100 best racing tips. You’ll also get our next issue explaining the new 2009-2012 racing rules. http://www.SpeedandSmarts.com TIM KERNAN: DESIGNING FOR VARIOUS NEEDS By Bill Springer, SAIL I took advantage of the week after the Annapolis Boat Show to test a wide variety of new boats. And no one designer of any of the new boats at this year's fall shows illustrates variety better than Tim Kernan. Two of his designs--the stiff, light, fast, Santa Cruz 37, AND the big, sturdy, offshore ready, Outbound 52 debuted this year. Kernan was on board during my test sail of the Santa Cruz 37, so I got to ask a few questions while we sailed out into a building breeze off Annapolis. I wanted to learn what it's like to design two very different boats as well as the design philosophy behind the Santa Cruz 37. He provides insights on both boats: http://billspringer.blogspot.com/2008/10/video-tim-kernan-interview.html CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. Special thanks to Doyle, Team McLube, and Speed & Smarts. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
