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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 559 - May 1, 2000NEWPORT TO ENSENADA RACEENSENADA, Mexico--End runs by Magnitude and Cantata paid off with victories over boats that took more direct routes to Baja California in the 53rd Newport-to-Ensenada International Yacht Race. Magnitude, an Andrews 70 turbo sled owned by Doug Baker of Long Beach, was first among 441 entries to finish Saturday. Coming in second, four minutes back, was Roy Disney's Pyewacket, the record holder. Magnitude's elapsed time was 15 hours 57 minutes 50 seconds, well off Pyewacket's wind-blown record of 11:54:00 in 1998. Cantata, an Andrews 53 owned by Ron Kuntz, a service station operator from Oceanside, finished 32 minutes later but was the overall winner on corrected handicap time. That entailed sailing more than the straight-line 125 nautical miles to find stronger winds offshore. "I have no idea what happened," a joyous Kuntz said, joking. "There was a [pre-race] gale warning out to San Nicolas Island," he said. "We didn't want a gale, but it was one of those times when we had a game plan and stuck to it. To me, it looked like a sucker play to go down the beach." Cantata thrived in winds of 20-22 knots, while boats closer to shore--especially those that took the rhumb (direct) line inside the Coronado Islands past the border--suffered in a heavy swell with winds as light as three knots. Baker didn't take Magnitude as far out as Cantata but had steady 10-knot breezes that kept him close behind Pyewacket. "They're faster," Baker said. "It was dark and we couldn't see them most of the time, and when we got into the bay [the wind] got shifty. We caught a shift that they didn't." It was the first time Magnitude had beaten Pyewacket, although both broke the latter's record in the Transpacific Yacht Race to Hawaii last year. "They're the best," Baker said. "When you beat them, you've beaten somebody." Friday's start was delayed for an hour and 20 minutes while the race committee struggled to stabilize an inflatable marker buoy that was drifting in an eight-foot swell. - Rich Roberts, LA Times Full story: http://www.latimes.com/sports/times/20000430/t000040825.html Partial list of class winners: PHRF-A STARS & STRIPES, DENNIS CONNER; PHRF-B 1 STARFIRE, CHRIS/JILL GUILD PHRF-C PREDATOR, HOWARD SCHUTTER; PHRF-D NITRO, JOHN/JOEL MESSENGER; PHRF-H FAT CHANCE, STEVE BROWN; PHRF-K DAY TRIPPER, ANDY HORNING PHRF-F TRANQUILITY, MAX/ SHIRLEY LYNN; PHRF-I WHISPER, AL BERG; PHRF-E 4 SORCERER, BILL MCKEEVER/ DENNIS ROSE; PHRF-J CLASS ACTION, JOHN MONKVIC; PHRF-G FOGGY NOTION, TOM KENNEDY; PHRF-L VALKYRIE, DON ALBRECHT; ULDB-A 1 PENDRAGON IV, JOHN MACLAURIN; ULDB-B CANTATA RON KUNTZ; ULDB-C 1 BALLISTIC, BOB ROBERT PLANT; ULDB-D 1 CHEAP SUNGLAS, JOHN ELDREDGE; ANCIENT MARINER KELPIE, JAMES DOBROTT J120 INDIGO, SCOTT BIRNBERG; ORCA 1 FREESTYLE, JERRY WETZLER; Complete Results: http://www.nosa.org/ CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATIONS: Overall, this was a pretty good race once the RC figured out how to set up the starting line. There was great breeze at the scheduled noon start, which frustrated the fleet and resulted in some pretty outrageous banter on VHF radio. Dennis Conner had the best corrected time in PHRF sailing his new J/120 Stars & Stripes. The curmudgeon sailed on Jim Madden's J/160 Stark Raving Mad, which took second in that class - losing to DC by less than 11 minutes. Interestingly, Stars & Stripes was not the first J/120 to finish. Scott Birnberg's Indigo racing in the J/120 class beat DC to Ensenada boat-for-boat. The two classes were on different starting lines, but started at the same time. The dock talk was that Conner sailed in PHRF rather than the one-design class so he could use his entire PHRF sail inventory, which included a Code Zero. ANNAPOLIS NOOD Annapolis (Md.) April 30, 2000 - Brainpower, patience, and a bit of luck were the ticket to a class lead in the light-air conditions that opened the Sailing World NOOD regatta, hosted April 28 to 30 by Annapolis Yacht Club. But in the deciding races of this three-day event, the rules of the game radically changed. Heavy-air boat handling was key as this 225-boat fleet sailed their regatta finale in stiff northerly winds that ranged 14 to 20 knots. "In our last race, all we needed to do was not crash and burn. But we nearly did just that," said Annapolis skipper John Ebell, who won the Catalina 27 class on a tie-breaker. Ebell and his crew entered the final day with a comfortable leading margin. They won today's first race; but after a bad start in the second race, their trophy chances became much slimmer. This local crew, as Ebell said, "clawed their way back" to regain their leading edge and to take a class win on the slimest of margins. Class competition that escalated into a tight points situation was the rule at the second Annapolis NOOD: seven of 17 classes were decided by tie scores or by a single point. Dan Cheresh's One Design 35 Extreme (Holland, Mich.) and Robert Hughes' Heartbreaker (Ada, Mich.) entered the final race tied in points. But having Hughes--who has already won two class regattas this year--as his nemesis in the finale was something Cheresh could have predicted. "We knew it was going to be a tough battle," said Cheresh. "Right now, Bob [Hughes] is the class." Extreme, with tactician Terry Hutchinson, and Heartbreaker, with Chris Larson, sailed a close final race that ended in a tacking duel on the final windward leg. Cheresh took the class win by a one-point edge. In strong and light winds alike, playing the current was key to taking a win at the NOOD. "You had to know the current. . . The water level is about two feet above normal, so the tide is running very strong," said local sailor Mike Hobson, helmsman of the winning J/24 Meltemi, owned by Mike Datch. According to Hobson, sailors with local knowledge did not necessarily have an edge as the current is not running in its typical fashion. Mumm 30 skipper Tim McCarron of Winnetka (Ill.) and his crew on Mirage became the winner of the Lewmar Cup. McCarron topped a fleet of 21 Mumm 30s--a field that included many of this class' top players, including reigning World Champion Ed Collins (Fairfield, Conn.) The first Annapolis NOOD was held in May 1999. The event drew 208 boats, which was the largest-ever inaugural fleet in the 12-year history of the NOOD. A total of 225 boats and 17 classes competed this year, on four racing circles set up on the Chesapeake Bay and at the mouth of the Severn River. Skippers traveled from 22 States, the District of Columbia, and Canada to compete. - Cynthia Goss Complete results: http://www.sailingworld.com US SOLING CHAMPIONSHIP - Special report from Dean Brenner Another very good day for our team ... We scored a 2nd and a 3rd today in a light and shifty northerly breeze. These two scores, combined with the 1, 1, 1, 3 we had from the previous two days, give us an insurmountable lead and victory here at the US Championships. There is one race left tomorrow, but our lead will allow is to sit out tomorrow's race and watch our competitors from our coach boat. Once again, we had good speed and boathandling today, and we played our tactics by the book, staying between our nearest competitor, Rod Davis from New Zealand, and the next mark. The conditions were nor easy today, with the northerly dying out several times, and the sea breeze fighting to come in from the west. But the sea breeze never made it in, and ultimately a northeast wind dominated the day. This event has been a good, positive experience for our team. We are sailing well, are confident in our abilities, and we are having a lot of fun on the water. While we are very pleased with our performance here, the real goal remains the Fleet Racing Qualifier, which begins on Tuesday. That will be a four-day event, with nine races scheduled. The scores for the US Championship, through six races with one throwout: 1st place - Ed Baird, Tom Burnham and Dean Brenner 8 pts. 2nd place - Rod Davis (New Zealand) 10 pts. 3rd place - Jeff Madrigali (USA) 16 pts. 4th place - Mark Mendelblatt (USA) 18 pts. 5th place - Andy Horton (USA) 19 pts. Complete results: http://www.ussailing.org/News/solingnational00.htm 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 Cole Price - Judging from their letters, some of Scuttlebutt's readers have lost site of the point that Dave Rustigian was attempting to make in his letter. Dave was not saying that Asos are faster or slower than symmetrical spinnakers. PHRF allows you to race with Asos now, without paying a penalty . . . unless you use an Aso and a Symmetrical spinnaker during the same race. Dave doesn't want to see a change that would increase the cost of racing PHRF by compelling boats to carry both symmetrical and A-symmetrical spinnakers to be competitive. Lets end the debate over which type of spinnaker is "better". They each have their advantages in different conditions. Lets focus on whether permitting the use of both types of spinnakers during the same race without penalty would start an "arms race" that might reduce participation in PHRF racing. -- From Tom Wheatley (Regarding Dave Rustigian's comments about symmetrical vs. asymmetrical spinnakers) - for one certainly hope that the So Cal Regional PHRF has the wisdom to allow both to be carried on a boat during a race without a penalty. Why should one be punished for trying to make his or her boat go faster with a sail that may be a different shape but approximately the same size? After all PHRF still allows bloopers without a penalty. --From Paul Bishop - I think Craig Fletcher has it correct. Rate the area. If the A-Sail isn't any larger than the existing spinnaker it should not incur a penalty. Many PHRFers sail with Jib Tops in their inventories. These sails are faster on a particular point of sail and wind condition than a conventional genoa. No one seems to be carrying a rating penalty for having one. Similarly, when a J24 sailor buys a 0.5 oz kite he may have a speed advantage over his class-legal competitors in some wind conditions, yet he caries no penalty. Many top-level PHRF boats currently carry kites for light, heavy, and reaching conditions. They do not carry any penalty for this "quiver" of kites. Why not allow the reacher to be an A-Sail? Let's not even begin to discuss the advantages of a boat that carries light and heavy #1s versus his competitor who has to make do with his AP in all conditions. Again, no rating penalty. Many people might be wondering where the "extra performance" is when they fly their new A-Sail on their masthead cruiser/racer with standard pole lengths. Not to mention that 6 second penalty has to be dragged upwind as well. Let's be sure PHRF is rating PERFORMANCE, not published hype. Curmudgeon's comment: Enough already. The PHRF thread is once again officially dead. KEY WEST TO BALTIMORE RACE Bob Towse's 66' Reichel Pugh designed BLUE YANKEE was first to finish and was confirmed as the overall winner of the Storm Trysail Club's inaugural Key West to Baltimore Race for the Hemingway Cup. This new 1000 mile ocean race started from Key West on 23-Apr-00 and BLUE YANKEE set what is now the course record elapsed time of only 95 hours to finish at Baltimore's inner harbor just before noon on Thursday 27-Apr-00. The Race was extremely challenging and featured gale winds and severe squalls which caused the two fastest yachts - Zephyrus IV and Chessie Racing to be dismasted. The gale winds were caused by two developing low pressure systems which combined South of Cape Hatteras to create storm conditions. The thunderstorms spun off a warm front and battered the fleet with winds over 50 knots. Several hours later a cold frontal passage brought in strong and chilly North winds. - Steve Benjamin BALTIMORE RACE CARNAGE SIDEBAR "I was down below (on Zephyrus) packing the spinnaker with Bill Biewenga," said crew man Dobbs Davis of Annapolis. "We heard this loud bang. The rig jumped to leeward and came down through the deck. We watched the bottom of the mast sawing through the boat toward us, breaking everything in its path. Carbon fiber was flying everywhere." Davis said it landed in a walled-off section of cabin holding the head. The beefed-up structure there apparently kept it from poking through the hull and sinking the boat. "Luckily, no one was in the head at the time," Davis said. Still, all hands were ordered topsides with life vests on and life rafts readied. Davis said it took 20 to 30 minutes to cut away the rig and deep-six it in 8- to 10-foot seas and 35 to 40 knots of wind. Both boats then motored overnight to Morehead City. On Chessie, the mast snapped six to eight feet off the deck and damage was less severe. "We were hauling the mail," said crewman Rick Deppe of Annapolis, who was a crew member on another 60-footer, also called Chessie, in the 1998 Whitbread 'Round the World Race. "We'd just finished a 400-mile day and were neck and neck" with Zephyrus, which was favored to win."The breeze was building. We'd just taken the spinnaker down. We were sailing under mainsail alone in 35 knots of wind. The wind had the mainsail pinned against the rigging when the mast just folded and went over the side. - Angus Phillips, Washington Post Full story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23116-2000Apr26.html OLYMPICS (Following is an excerpt from Herb McCormick story in Sunday's NY Times about Olympians JJ Isler and Pease Glaser) Even though Isler (36) and Glaser (38) are well shy of retirement age, in Olympic terms they are certainly a seasoned duo. When it comes to the United States sailing squad, however, they are hardly alone. The men's 470 skipper, Paul Foerster, is also 36, while his counterpart in the 49er class, Charlie McKee, is 40. And earlier this month, in trials off San Francisco, the 44-year-old Star sailor Mark Reynolds and the Finn competitor Russ Silvestri, 38, also made the team. "I met someone competing this week who said we're all so old we should have our own day care," Isler said. "But actually, Mark's kids are old enough to baby-sit." Although Isler said jokingly that she hoped there was room in the sailing team's budget for post-racing physical therapy and muscle relaxers, she also knows she is part of a proven contingent. Reynolds and McKee have both won Olympic gold, and Foerster is a former silver medalist. The European dinghy sailor Courtenay Dey, 35, and the board sailor Mike Gephardt, 34, have also won medals in previous Olympics. - Herb McCormick, NY Times Complete story: http://www.nytimes.com/library/sports/outdoors/043000out-boating.html ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK Although no press release or story will be posted for the first day of Antigua Sailing until noon Antigua time, here are the race highlights: - Winds were steady 15+ knots - First Skirmish between Sagamore & Sayonara goes to latter. - One yacht dismated The results are online now: http://www.sailingweek.com/ THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM How do you get off a non-stop flight? |
