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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 530 - March 20, 2000LASER WORLDSCancun, Mexico, Day Four - Competitors were greeted with testing conditions on the fourth day of the Cancun Laser World Championships. The sun still shone and the wind still blew but a shift in direction to an offshore southerly made for bigger shifts and more significant changes in pressure from one side of the course to the other. It mattered not a lot to Robert Scheidt who continued to make the championships his own taking two more first places. Behind him, Michael Blackburn moved to second, while a premature start in race eight moved defending champion, Ben Ainslie, down to third. As the regatta passes the halfway stage Scheidt appears to be in a class of his own. "I am really surprised because normally it is really hard to have all the races in the top ten" he said. "I am finishing all the races in the top three so I am really happy". He is however aware that with six more races still to go things could change markedly before the medals are presented. "It is still too soon to say what will happen. We have to remember that there are two discards in this regatta so it is still pretty open." Ainslie too is well aware of how well Scheidt is sailing. "He is sailing very well. He is just not making as many mistakes as the rest of us". Like Scheidt he is aware how things might change. "It's only half way through so you never know what might happen." -- Peter Bentley Racing continues with one more day of preliminary rounds tomorrow (Monday) followed by two days of finals. Results after eight races (provisional and subject to protest).
Event website: http://www.laserinternational.org/wor2000.htm 49ER WORLDS BAHIA DE SAN CARLOS, MEXICO - Day 2 of the 2000 49er World Champs was Unreal! Once again Club Med hosted the 57 teams to another day of great racing. 3 races were sailed for both groups as the wild North Westely kicked hard and it became a litte too much for a 4th race. A drifting mark led to a few redress hearings tonight but aside from that protests were at a minimum and good sailing in warm windy conditions made the day perfect. FinlaNd and Spain both are on top with each country having two teams in the top 5. Germany grabbed the other top 5 spot with Chris Nicholson and Daniel Philips of Australia in 6th. A big jump by the American's, Jonathan and Charlie McKee today after some great finishes. Breakage was the word of the day with a few rudders, a centerboard or two and several masts as the high winds were too much of a challenge for some. - Morgan Larson Standings: 1. DEN MICHAEL HESTBAEK / J.PERSSON (25 points) 2. FIN THOMAS JOHANSON / J.JARVI (27pts) 3. ESP SANTIAGO LOPEZ-VAZQUEZ / J.DE LA PLATA (34 pts) 4. NOR CHRISTOFFER SUNDBY / V.ARNHOFF (38pts) 5. GER MARCUS BAUR / P.BARTH (38pts) 6. FRA MARC AUDINEAU / J.FARNARIER (42pts) 7. USA JONATHAN MCKEE / C.MCKEE (48pts) 13. USA ANDY MACK / A.LOWRY (66pts). Event website - http://www.49erworlds2000.org/ OLYMPICS * SYDNEY, March 16 - In a move believed to be unprecedented in Australian Olympic sports the majority of the Olympic sailing team has gone against its governing body, the Australian Yachting Federation, and voiced support for 49er sailors Adam Beashel and Teague Czislowski. Despite winning the crucial on-the-water part of the team selection process, Beashel and Czislowski were overlooked by the Federation in favor of reigning 49er world champion Chris Nicholson and his crew Daniel Phillips, who won world titles in 1997 and 1998 with Nicholson. All other Australian team members that were selected won their qualification regattas. Documents sighted this week reveal written confirmation of support for Beashel and Czislowski from the majority of the crews in the 10 other Olympic classes. "I think you guys got shafted," was one written comment. -- Rob Mundle, Grand Prix Sailor, http://www.sailingworld.com/gps/2000/0316/ * 18 March 2000 - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE: The Board of the Australian Yachting Federation (AYF) today announced that they intend to nominate Chris Nicholson and Daniel Phillips to the AOC for selection to the 2000 Australian Olympic Team in the 49er Class. The announcement follows a resolution of the AYF Board at their meeting in Sydney yesterday. The decision was made in accordance with the Nomination Criteria, agreed to by all competitors vying for Olympic nomination. These Criteria state that "the AYF will nominate to the AOC for selection the Competitors who, in the opinion of the AYF, have the best prospects of winning medals in their Class at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games." And that "performance in the nomination regattas will be a significant, but not necessarily determinative factor." The AYF Nomination Panel and Board were required to make a further decision regarding the nomination of athletes in the 49er class after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) by Adam Beashel and Teague Czislowski was upheld. CAS remitted the matter of nomination back to the AYF to make a further decision. The AYF Board yesterday considered the nomination again. In reaching their decision, the Board considered the recommendations of the AYF Nomination Panel, and received written submissions from the two crews. The Board were bound by the decision of CAS. "It was the opinion of the AYF Board that Chris Nicholson and Daniel Phillips are the best medal prospects for the 2000 Olympic Games," said AYF President Bruce Dickson. "During their deliberations, they acknowledged that we have two of the best 49er crews in the World and recognised the high achievements of both crews." According to the Nomination Criteria, in the case of an appeal the appellants must give written notice of their appeal to the AYF within 48 hours of the announcement (made at 1pm today). An appeal has been received from Adam Beashel and Teague Czislowski. Within 5 working days of submitting their written notice of appeal, the appellants must submit the grounds of that appeal. -- Peter Campbell LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Larry Law -- With all due respect to Ed Baird, Dawn Reilly and all the other AC players who are significantly better than most of us at this AC game, it is time for a major reality check. One of the greatest problems we face as challengers is spreading ourselves and our assets too thin. The thought that the "individual" is more important that the whole is what cancer in a society is fueled by. Egos being what they are, until we are ready to face the fact that the Kiwi's have developed the strongest match racing brain trust the world has seen in decades, that they have depth to that group and perform together like a symphony, we are just kidding ourselves that we will be able to wrestle the "Auld Mug" away from them. I suggest that we stop acting like a bunch of primadona's and decide we, the United States, want the Cup back and are willing to approach this pursuit from a national perspective. As a famous sailmaker and friend of mine stated recently, "...even if we pooled all the best resources available to us for the next challenge, we will still have a tough time beating the Kiwi's, now eight year old powerhouse". Our new challenge(s) needs to be on the water in a matter of months, not a year from now. Worst case, we need one East Coast and one West Coast challenge - maybe even a sail off to pool resources into one super challenge. -- From Mark Chisnell -- I think Bill Koch's article is the first shot in his campaign for the 2003 Cup. What could be more in the traditions of a Cup campaign than trying to stir the dirt in your opponent's camp? -- From Chris Bouzaid, MBE, -- I am very distressed to read the article written by Bill Koch. Team New Zealand, Black Magic or whomever else you wish to call them did a fantastic job; they showed the rest of the world HOW TO DO IT with a little STYLE attached. They also did it on less money than most other syndicates and certainly far less than you spent when you bought the cup in 1992. Prada did a great job challenging and they lost gracefully and with dignity. Why should the New Zealand organizations have to answer your questions especially after they discovered you had hired Private Detectives and lawyers to distract them before and during the America's Cup? Why haven't the details come out? Why should they? I live in Newport, I belong to the NYYC but I am not asking where all the money went in Young America. Bill, do you know why? Because it is none of my business. Bill, this type of rhetoric is bad for the sport, it is bad for the America's Cup and it is not necessary. If you want to challenge for the America's Cup go ahead and do it. If you don't then leave yachting to those people who enjoy it for the sake of enjoyment and relaxation. --Neil W. Humphrey -- From I read with great interest the comments or investigative work of Bill Koch and his hired sleuths. I must commend him on his concern and unbasis view of the America's Cup (AC) inside goings on that few of us ever hear about. He has some very unique and maybe if true shocking comments about the America's Cup 2000 & TNZ organization that most of us had never known about. Seems that there are some very big financial rewards to be gained by winning then hosting The Match. The current senario is full of unanswered questions of Olympic proportions that as a sport we all should be concerned about what is going on. Sounds like we are in our infancy as a sport where the league owners make huge hidden profits and the players make squat. Shades of the National Hockey League before Ted Lindsey started to organize the players into now what is the NHLPA (Players Assoc.)....think in our sport we call it a Crew's Union. Maybe it's time to insure that the AC does not further the hole sailing is in with the public by building into the AC paperwork the legalize to insure that the AC defending organization discloses their operating and team budgets. Better still would be that any left over revenue would be carried forward with the cup so the event is always making money and even some of those winnings could be used to promote junior sailing and the sport beyond the AC. -- From Gerry Bloomfield New Zealand -- It is a pity to see the race for the 2004 Americas Cup has started already in the way that only Americans like Bill Koch know. To compare the way this last America's cup regatta was run to previous efforts on the Eastern seaboard of the USA is as insulting as it was intended to be. Mr Koch needs to realise, to now win the Americas cup on the level playing field we have, you need to become better designers, better sailors, better boat builders and preferably better sports. 150 year old, off the water tactics, won't work. -- From Michelle Master Orr -- Although I am no expert on Kiwi Law or culture, I disagree with Koch's statements that it is Blake's obligation to disclose funding, profits, etc, to the public at large. While I can understand the frustration that we have not knowing the secrets of TNZC, if Blake has wrongly duped the tax paying public, then let their country settle the issue themselves. The crux of Koch's argument centers on whether TNZC is a for-profit or non-profit organization. The last time I looked, I wasn't paying taxes in New Zealand, and thus, I don't feel that Blake owes me, or any other foreigner an answer. Just because all other teams supposedly discloses their funding (so how much did Bertelli actually spend? Estimates Have ranged from $$60 Mill to $120 Mil) doesn't mean that TNZC is morally obligated to do the same. If the crew is upset they made their own lunches while Blake is basking in prosperity, then let the team have their own private mutiny. -- Bill Menninger -- All of the comments regarding Doug Peterson's comments regarding NZ miss the point. I believe Doug was merely doing his little bit in trying to play psychological warfare with the NZ camp. Remember the statements by Rod Davis how they won the mind game with America One? -- From Scott Spurlin -- I applaud the NSL concept. I think this type of racing can do more then anything else to promote our great sport. I would personally love to tune into an OD48 fleet race with the same level of coverage as the America's Cup. I hope that the organizers consider a franchising concept to bring in the "local" fan support. If people in a city, state, or region have a specific boat/team to root for it will foster much more interest. Attach the boats and teams to the people. Then we will have interest. If I had the wherewithal I would put together a team that represents Austin or maybe Texas! -- From Brad Wheeler -- To retain the integrity of our 'real' amateur sport, I hope that the NSL does not attempt to integrate into or around the core amateur regattas like San Francisco Big Boat or Key West Race Week. Don't get me wrong, if Paul and Russell can figure out a way to make sailing pay, go for it. But I sure don't want to see amateur and professional leagues to cross. Just think what would happen: A pro on port would offer bribes to cross an amateur on starboard since it may be a net gain to him in overall dollars. Amateur races would be delayed for TV commercial break for the pro starts. Parties would be for the haves and have nots. The amateurs entry fees might be funding the pro circuit. The list is end-less. No, if the Pros want a circuit, it should be on their own buck and in their own waters. Don't try and ride the coat tails of some very successful amateur regattas, and screw that up anymore than they have (why do you think the owner-driver classes started in the first place). -- From Mark Michaelsen -- You asked how did a fool and his money get together in the first place. From my observations, it's frequently 'Inbreeding followed by inheritance ' -- From Tom Donlan -- How did a fool and his money get together in the first place? A1 His daddy was no fool, except where women are concerned. A2 His daddy was a lucky bum who drilled for oil in the right place. A3 Somebody hired him to make salad in the cafeteria at Microsoft. A4 His mommy told him to buy AOL at $7. SAN DIEGO NOOD The San Diego NOOD, the second stop on a nine-event national circuit organized by Sailing World magazine, drew 151 competitors from 15 states and Canada. Thirteen classes were hosted by the San Diego Yacht Club. Eleven classes sailed a three-day series, and Schock 35s and Santana 20s joined the racing on Saturday for two days of racing. The regatta opened in teen-strength breezes on Friday, March 17. Winds lightened on Day 2, with 8- to 10-knots wind blowing for most of the day. Flukey, light-air conditions blew on the final day of racing. Winds shifted through an arc of some 90 degrees on the outermost ocean courses, and two breezes seemed to fight with each other--but neither won. "It was a three-Excedrin, four-Tylenol kind of day," said Melges 24 skipper Jeff Brizes of San Diego. "It was like sailing in Swiss cheese--except the holes kept moving." * Etchells sailor Andy LaDow (San Diego) won the 42-boat Etchells class, the largest class in the fleet. LaDow entered the final race five points ahead of Dennis Conner (San Diego), and he managed to keep that leading edge with some room to spare. * Melges 24 skipper Bruce Ayres (Newport Beach, Calif.) never dropped below a third-place finish in the 17-boat Melges 24 class. * The J/24 class was won by Chris Snow of San Diego; he won this 11-boat class by six points. * Scott Birnberg (Long Beach, Calif.) and his crew on INDIGO topped the seven-boat J/120 class. * Twelve Santana 20s elected to make this series a two-day weekend event, and they completed three races. Tom Schock (Newport Beach) edged Rick Harris (Coronado) out in the final standings by one point. * The 1D35 class sailed the opening event of the class' Southern California Series at the NOOD. Bud Stratton (San Diego) and the crew of KT's CHOICE tied with Doug Ament (San Diego) on his just-launched KOINONIA; Stratton won the class on the tie-breaker. * Drama in the Schock 35 class came on at series' end for this 12-boat division. Three skippers--David Voss (Marina del Rey), Dennis and Sharon Case (San Diego), and Peter Johnstone (Corona del Mar)--were in a three-way tie for the lead as the fleet entered the last race. None of those three skippers, however, took the class lead. Class winner Oscar Karinsky (Long Beach) and the crew on CHAYAH took a third in the final race for a two-point edge over Fred Kirschner's KATHMANDU. -- Cynthia Goss Complete story and results: http://www.sailingworld.com STEINLAGER/LINE 7 CUP AUCKLAND, New Zealand - Two New Zealanders and a Briton share the top of the scoreboard at the end of the first day of the Steinlager/Line 7 Cup, the opening event on the Swedish Match Tour 2000. Team New Zealand's Dean Barker, fellow Kiwi Gavin Brady and Andy Green of Britain are all undefeated at this early stage of the regatta, which is being sailed on the Waitemata Harbour. Others looking strong at this stage, after three races, are Cameron Appleton, also of Team New Zealand, Germany's Marcus Weiser, Frenchman Bertrand Pace and veteran Kiwi Chris Dickson, all with two wins on the board. On a day of clear blue skies and a light, shifty north easterly breeze, the crews had to use subtle skills to gain the upper hand, particularly with the strong tides having a big influence. At the end of the morning session Gavin Brady, who represents Paul Cayard's AmericaOne team from San Francisco, was the clear leader in group one, being the only undefeated skipper. The young Kiwi, who lives in America, beat Bertrand Pace, Marcus Weiser and Denmark's Jes Gram-Hansen, to chalk up his three points on the board. When group two went on the water in the afternoon, the breeze had firmed a little in strength, but was still shifty and a bit patchy. Barker, the new "golden boy" of sailing, quickly gained control in his first two encounters, against Australia's James Spithill and Swede Bjorn Hansen, but had a fight on his hands before defeating fellow Team New Zealand skipper Cameron Appleton. Commenting on his day, Barker said, "we're just pretty happy to come away with three wins. It was pretty tricky conditions and it was very hard before the start to say this is the side we have to have, and quite often things would change in the pre-start and we would basically change our call on that." Britain's Andy Green and his Colour Craft Team, got the better of Bjorn Hansen, James Spithill and New Zealander Phil Douglas. Languishing well down the scoreboard, with only one win, is former match racing world champion, and Nippon America's Cup skipper Peter Gilmour and his Pizza LA team. The series continues until Saturday, with the top four teams at the end of two round robins progressing to the semi-finals on Friday, with the best of seven race finals on Saturday. -- John Roberson TORNADO NATIONALS John Lovell and Charlie Ogletree won the 2000 Tornado U.S. Nationals sailed in Cabrillo Beach,CA with a 1,1,1,4,6,1 series. Lars Guck and PJ Schaeffer finished second, Robbie Daniels third and Santiago Lange and Cole from Argentina finished fourth. This is the sixth US Nationals championship for Lovell and Ogletree. The first two days were a beautiful 14 to 18 knot sea breeze. The final two days looked beautiful in the morning, but both days the fog filled too thick to race. PRESS RELEASE Boats.com today announced two acquisitions expanding the company's content offerings to the sailing community - SailingSource.com (http://www.sailingsource.com) and Scuttlebutt. SailingSource.com is one of the oldest and most comprehensive online destinations dedicated to providing website hosting and services to the performance sailing and racing community. Boasting a 50,000 audience following, SailingSource.com vests sailors with timely news, weather, classes and events. SailingSource.com will continue to be managed by Dave McCreary, its founder, and other boats.com staff and writers. The business will operate from boats.com headquarters in San Francisco and remain focused on expanding the SailingSource.com traffic and product offerings. Scuttlebutt was created by Tom Leweck of Marina del Rey, CA as a forum to communicate with friends in the Southern California sailing community. Over the past two and a half years, it has evolved into the world's most recognized online sailboat racing newsletter with readers and contributors scattered around the globe. A collection of yacht racing news, commentary, gossip and opinions, Scuttlebutt reaches more than 4,500 sailing enthusiasts on a daily basis. Boats.com is building the premier online hub for the boating community and the marine industry. The boats.com site will enable boat users, manufacturers and resellers - including yacht brokers, boat dealers, marinas, boatyards, and other marine service businesses - to participate in a thriving online marketplace, opening up new commercial opportunities for the industry while enhancing the consumer's boating experience. CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: Not to worry -- there won't be any major changes to 'Butt because of this alliance. The real significance is that I now have help with the clerical and administrative chores so I can focus on the editorial content of each issue. This transition has been going on since September, and was actually fully implemented in January. It's been a big plus for me and for the newsletter. Without question, the folks at Boats.com have played a huge role in the very gratifying growth we've experienced during that period. THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION There is a very fine line between a "hobby" and "mental illness." |
