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SCUTTLEBUTT 3209 - Friday, October 29, 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: Sailors Night Vision Cap. NEW OUTRIGHT RECORD HOLDER The Luderitz Speed Challenge 2010 is being held October 4 to 31 in Luderitz, Namibia, just over 1100 miles north of Cape Town, SA along the western African continent. This is the 4th edition of the event, which is held under the scrutiny of the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). A custom trench has been dug along the shoreline to create a smooth water surface. The trench is roughly 10m wide and 50-100cm deep, with the challenge to see who will set the fastest average speed over a 500-meter distance. Here is the latest update: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (October 28, 2010) - While middling conditions during the week provided for adequate training, they did not provide the atomic conditions needed to go faster than anyone had ever gone before. But there remained a carrot at the end of the stick for the sailors, as the forecast for Thursday believed the stars would be lined up for record setting conditions. And this time, the prognosticators were right. With the wind blowing up to 45 knots, the organizers today built a retaining wall after the finish of the speed strip to keep the water in the lagoon at low tide. Ensuring that the race track stayed near the minimum depth as prescribed by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC), this move paid huge dividends and the kiters proceeded to smash the clock. These record times remain subject to the official ratification by ISAF/WSSRC: * Rob Douglas (USA) with 55.65 knots - new Outright World Speed Record * Sebastien Cattelan (FRA) with 55.49 knots. This is the new record holder of France and Europe. He held the outright record for one hour before Rob improved upon it. * Charlotte Consorti (FRA) with 50.43 knots - new Womens Record (and first womens time over 50 knots) On being the top women, Consorti observed, "I never thought to spend the mythical 50 knots but it's done! Legendary boys there not long ago; it seemed unreachable for girls. The day began with this knot in my stomach that you feel each day when we know it will blow and that is the day to record. The conditions were extreme today with very little water and strong wind." While the speed set by Alex Caizergues (FRA) on October 12, 2010 of 54.10 was still subject to WSSRC ratification, it was the target as it had surpassed the official record held by the foiling trimaran Hydroptere with skipper Alain Thebault (FRA), which in 2009 set a speed of 51.36 knots in Hyeres, France. Caizergues bettered that time today to 54.93 knots, but now Douglas' mark of 55.65 knots sets the new bar height as the unofficial Outright World Speed Sailing Record. Once the event closes on October 31st, the top times will be verified for accuracy and only then will they become official. Luderitz Speed Challenge: http://www.luderitz-speed.com World Sailing Speed Record Council: http://www.sailspeedrecords.com Rob Douglas/NASSP: http://nassp.net/nassp/ Charlotte Consorti: http://charlotteconsorti.fr/ ARE YOU A FLINTSTONER OR A FACEBOOKER? During the legal impasse following the 2007 America's Cup, The Louis Vuitton Trophy series began in 2009 to help sustain those teams seeking a stage for their sponsors, and to provide them a platform to maintain their skills. It also offered Louis Vuitton the means to connect again with the America's Cup brand, a relationship they began in 1983 by awarding the Louis Vuitton Cup to the top challenging syndicate, but had ended after the 2007 Match amid concerns over the increased event commercialization. The LVT thrived through four events in New Zealand, France, and Italy, but by this summer it became clear the event had entered 'lame duck' status. With the February 2010 Deed of Gift match win by the Russell Coutts led BMW Oracle Racing team over defender Alinghi in the 33rd America's Cup, promises of a new and improved Cup plan flowed. Teams that had looked to the LVT for shelter and salvation would, they were told, could soon come home again to the America's Cup. With the pendulum ball now swinging, the LVT cancelled their January 2011 event in Hong Kong, but likely received sufficient team guarantees to hold onto what likely is a very well funded final event in Dubai beginning November 14. And the locals are excited. "There is a huge amount of activity surrounding the Louis Vuitton Trophy at DIMC and the arrival of the four America's Cup Class boats certainly increased the enthusiasm of everyone involved," said Saeed Hareb, CEO of Dubai International Marine Club. "We have installed a very large, two-storey chalet between the clubhouse and the race department, which will house the event media, TV, VIP lounge, offices, shops and reception and forms a focal point of the village," notes Hareb. "Watching it all take shape has been fascinating, especially as every day someone new is arriving on site from either the teams, the organisation or press and the scene is being set for a really exceptional event." And the locals should be excited. "We're really looking forward to bringing top level sailing to Dubai and enjoying the great racing conditions on offer there at this time of year," said Paul Cayard, the Chairman of the World Sailing Team Association, co-organiser of the event, as well as the skipper of the Swedish Artemis team. Joining the Artemis team is America's Cup defender BMW Oracle Racing as well as Mascalzone Latino, the current challenger of record. Rounding out the field is the Russian Synergy team, the French-German team All4One, and of course, Emirates Team New Zealand. So while the locals will enjoy this two week party, will the global audience be sufficiently interested? Now that the organizers of the next Match have decidedly moved away from a monohull format they deemed unmarketable, going instead to wing propelled multihulls, the relevancy of this event is clearly on display. Or is it? Guess it depends if you are a Flintstoner or a Facebooker. Scuttleblog: http://sailingscuttlebutt.blogspot.com/2010/10/relevance.html Louis Vuitton Trophy: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/ SAILORS NIGHT VISION CAP Navigating at night on the water, it is critical to maintain your night vision. (2) red LEDs under the cap brim angled downwards to light up your task lighting area without having to crane our head and neck down while maintaining night vision. (2) white lights under the cap brim useful for task lighting below deck. (1) powerful LED light on the cap brim can project over 60 ft. Very useful for Sail trim checks or spotting buoys. All these lighting needs with a simple button under the baseball cap brim. http://www.SailorsNightVisionCap.com VIDEO: The Scuttlebutt editor test drove the cap, and provides this video demonstration of its features: http://sailingscuttlebutt.blogspot.com/2010/10/sailors-night-vision-cap.html SCUTTLEBUTT TRIVIA It was on September 13, 2010 when BMW Oracle Racing CEO Russell Coutts, when describing their plans for the 34th America's Cup would include a 72-foot catamaran with a wing sail, uttered the phrase, "This will be a competition for the Facebook generation, not the Flintstone generation." While it was clear that he was metaphorically speaking of a more modern and exciting event, have you stopped to think about what that statement literally meant? Answer below. BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE By Peter Danks I note with interest the quote below attributed to Richard Worth (in Scuttlebutt 3208), who it is stated, as the 'newly appointed to the role of Chairman, Management Board America's Cup Event Authority, heads the body charged with the marketing and media aspects of the 34th Match and its supporting events: "It is our view that whatever changes we make to the event and television coverage, the sailing audience is going to watch it anyway. They 'get' the sport and they understand what is going on. The sailing fans will be there because it is important to them and they want to watch the America's Cup." With all due respect to Richard, I have never heard anything so off the mark. Certainly the 'sailing audience' I know, all of whom have been life time sailors and many of whom make their living from the sailing industry, have never been so dis-engaged with and un-interested in the America's Cup as they are today. Most don't even know (or care) a new format is proposed. Rather than take the event's core market (foundations) for granted, the very first thing Richard and his team needs to do in his new role is to try to re-engage with the totally dis-enfranchised sailing market! ONE-DESIGN IS REALLY ABOUT PEOPLE By Will Harris, Waterline Systems We are always talking about how we like one-design racing. Sometimes it's easy to forget what one-design is all about. Sure, we build fast boats and help make old boats faster, but really, it's not about the boats. One-design is really about people. We are really lucky to be the builder for a bunch of people who really share a passion for one-design sailing and get off the couch, hook up the trailer and actually go and do some one-design racing. 'Saving Sailing' is a big topic lately and lots of classes are getting pretty disappointing turnouts. Our classes seem to buck the trend: 50+ J/80s in Marion, 50+ J/24s at Marblehead, 40 J/22s at Lake George, 60+ J/80s in Newport and almost 70 J/24s at Lake George. J/105s are a big tougher to hook up to the family car, but they had 20 boats in Chicago and 24 in San Fransisco basically on the same weekend! That's a pretty impressive month or so! The whole point is to get a bunch of like-minded, fun folks together and go out and have some fun. Then come back in and have some more fun! We consider ourselves very lucky to have such a great bunch of sailors in our classes! NOTE: Waterline Systems is located in Portsmouth, RI, and is a licensed builder of the J/22, J/24, J/80, J/105, Farr 30 and Farr 40 One Designs. SAILING SHORTS * La Rochelle, France (October 28, 2010) - On the second to last day of the Student Yachting World Cup, the morning race had to be canceled as there was little wind before 1PM. At 2PM, all crews left the harbour for two races, the first being a windward leeward course with the second being a 28 mile night race. Team Canada rolled a 1-7 while Team USA earned a 6-3. Racing for the fourteen schools concludes Friday. -- Event website: http://www.sywoc.org * (October 28, 2010; Day 12) - The Velux 5 Oceans fleet is nearing the Equator and their first timed run of the race. Brad Van Liew (USA) maintains a lead of 79 nm over Zbigniew Gutkowski (POL) with 3860 nm to the finish of leg 1 from La Rochelle to Cape Town. The first 'timed run' gate of the race is between the latitudes 5N and 5S the skippers, with the fastest boat to sail through this section to be awarded bonus points. -- http://www.velux5oceans.com/ * Valletta, Malta (October 28, 2010) - If the early miles of the 606 nm Rolex Middle Sea Race were a test of patience, the latter miles were a true test of endurance. A strong mistral of up to 40+ knots helped push the fleet homeward to the finish in Malta. Bryon Ehrhart's TP52 Lucky (USA) was confirmed as the overall wommer on corrected time in IRC. -- Event website: http://www.regattanews.com/event.asp?id=235 * Terengganu, Malaysia (October 28, 2010) - Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing defeated the emerging talent of David Gilmour (AUS) Team Gilmour to win the Asian Match Racing Championship (AMRC) and book his place in the 2010 World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) finale event, the Monsoon Cup. Robertson will now join the top eight skippers in the WMRT standings along with Jeremy Koo (MAS) Koo Racing Team-Evernew - winner of the Malaysian Match Racing Championship (MMRC), the upcoming winner of the Sunseeker Australia Cup and one wildcard entry for the Monsoon Cup on Nov. 30-Dec. 5. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/28w9cgm * America's Cup winner and world champion helmsman Ed Baird (USA) has joined the Quantum Racing team as helmsman for the 2011 Audi MedCup TP52 Circuit. Baird assumes the position following the decision by Terry Hutchinson, helmsman since 2008, to compete in the 34th America's Cup. Details here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10723 SAILORS NIGHT VISION CAP Navigating at night on the water, it is critical to maintain your night vision. (2) red LEDs under the cap brim angled downwards to light up your task lighting area without having to crane our head and neck down while maintaining night vision. (2) white lights under the cap brim useful for task lighting below deck. (1) powerful LED light on the cap brim can project over 60 ft. Very useful for Sail trim checks or spotting buoys. All these lighting needs with a simple button under the baseball cap brim. http://www.SailorsNightVisionCap.com VIDEO: The Scuttlebutt editor test drove the cap, and provides this video demonstration of its features: http://sailingscuttlebutt.blogspot.com/2010/10/sailors-night-vision-cap.html TRIVIA ANSWER The Flintstones was an animated American television sitcom that ran from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, and can still be viewed today. A brief internet search did not reveal any statistics on the average age of a Flintstone viewer, but there has been plenty of effort to determine who are the users of social network sites. Recent research shows the average age of a Facebook user is 38 years old. Even more interesting is that 61% of Facebook users are now older than 38. As for the entire social media sphere, the 35 to 44 age group amasses the largest segment at 25%, with 57% of social media users now 35 years or older. Sources: http://www.flowtown.com/blog/older-people-flocking-to-social-networks http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/02/16/study-ages-of-social-network-users/ PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include the wizard, onboard sunset, glowing rock, summer ending, Flintstone sailing, Facebook sailing, pimp my ride, and crossing tacks. Here are this week's photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/1029/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK Powered sailing in virtually no wind? What if you could fly across a surface of mirror flat water? Have you ever been first up the mountain, enjoying a pure alpine experience, your skis or snowboard glide unhindered atop the new layer of snow? Without the chop, your boat glides along to enjoy pure speed, with no compromise. Dreamy, right? The International Kiteboarding Association is exceedling eager to raise the profile of their sport, and are tirelessly presenting its virtues as the future of Olympic Sailing, that they are now guaranteeing spectacular sailig even when there is almost no wind. And if you watch this video, you could become a believer. Click here for this week's video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/10/1029/ BONUS 1: Produced by t2p.tv, Lindsay Foster sits down with Terry Hutchinson who talks about his defeat in the 32nd America's Cup, his plans for the next AC, and sailing with his family at home in Annapolis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoPIXNM9MTs BONUS 2: The Canada's Cup has seen Great Lakes sailing supremacy formally contested since 1896. And this year's running of the Canada's Cup sent the trophy south in yet another addition of this storied match race. Highlights courtesy of t2p.tv: http://www.t2p.tv/guide/freeviewers/canadascup10b.php BONUS 3: The 2010 Snipe US Nationals were held in Annapolis, MD this past summer, with the fleet experiencing six days of sun and one day or rain, five days of light but sailable breeze, and mostly t-shirt and shorts weather. Videographer Vince Casalaina was there too, and has produced this 4+ minute segment to tell the story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5-fcPl6jOo BONUS 4: Harry Manko is the Seinfeld of sailing filmmakers, where he can take nothing and make something. Maybe it is the overly theatrical symphony music that creates a pulse where there is none. Here is Harry's recap of the Greenport Ocean Race: http://vimeo.com/15772485 SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter are limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Gregory Scott: Watching the US Sailing election results and comments from an arms length position here in Canada, I see the age old problem that faces sailing and that is "cat herding". Sailors are a diverse and independent cross section of the population. Getting them to agree on many things is hard. My experiences with the people wanting to govern sailing breaks down two lanes: The group who generously give up almost every weekend of their lives because they love sailing and all it offers - and the group who want to herd cats. The cat herders generally get their way. * From Scuttleblog Comments: Sad day when we as sailors put the geographic region ahead of the quality of the candidate. Good for the life style, right? -- http://tinyurl.com/Scuttleblog-102810a The US SAILING Board of Directors is supposed to be a leadership team rather than a "house of representatives". To say that the Board isn't diverse enough (it is much more diverse than most corporate boards) is just taking an irrelevant and temporal geographic distribution of addresses and slinging it like mud. Mr. Adams and Ms. McKinnon Tucker are fresh blood, not in the old boy's network. BTW, I'm from California. -- http://tinyurl.com/Scuttleblog-102810b * From John Cole: (re, America's Cup marketing toward Facebook generation) LMAO! The America's Cup doesn't even have a Facebook page that I can find in the top listings except for a Wikipedia page. And none of the non-official others that are up have over 9,000 likes. I am in the Flintstone generation - 50 years old. Richard Worth has a long way to go. I couldn't find him on Facebook either. => Curmudgeon's Comment: The most populated Facebook page I found for the AC event had 8,396 followers, but it does not appear to be administered by the new regime: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt#!/pages/AMERICAS-CUP/51747724496 CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Marriage is like a deck of cards. In the beginning all you need is two hearts and a diamond. But play long the game long enough, you may be looking for a club and a spade. Special thanks to Sailors Night Vision Cap. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
