|
SCUTTLEBUTT No. 888 - August 27, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
MONEY US Sailing recognizes the need to conduct a development feasibility study to assess the opportunities for fundraising by the organization and invites qualified individuals and firms to obtain the Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Development Feasibility Study from Bill Placke: WilliamPlacke@ussailing.org. Proposals shall be submitted by close of business on Monday, September 10, 2001. To train and develop athletes with the goal of competing in the Olympic or Paralympic Games, the Olympic Sailing Committee currently spends approximately $1.2 million per annum. By contrast, Great Britain spent an average of $8 million per year leading up to the 2000 Olympic Games and won five medals to the USA's four. Although the U.S.A. is the undisputed leader in Olympic sailing, that position is increasingly jeopardized as better funded foreign teams raise the bar. To apply to head the Fund-Raising Campaign to benefit the Olympic Sailing Committee, interested individuals should contact Olympic Director Jonathan Harley: olympics@ussailing.org, no later than Monday, September 10, 2001. - Jan Harley
JUBILEE ART
SMOKE ON THE WATER
EDS ATLANTIC CHALLENGE For hours before the finish all three boats bobbed around in light conditions within a solid layer of fog. Visibility was so bad that spectators were only able to see Sill the last second before she broke out of the fog and crossed the line. Aboard Kingfisher the team said they navigated to the line solely on instruments, GPS and radar. Nursing a badly damaged mainsail, FILA crossed the line in fourth place at 22:23:05 GMT, more than five hours behind Kingfisher. Now only Gartmore and AlphaGraphics remain at sea. - Stephen Pizzo & Susan Colby For detailed coverage of each team's finish: www.edsatlanticchallenge.com/en/
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON * From Keith Mackeown: I forwarded Alice Leahey's letter about skin cancer to a consultant histopathologist friend and this was his comment: "Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are both invasive, in that they invade deeper gradually, though squamous carcinoma commonly has a pre-invasive state called squamous carcinoma in situ or Bowen's disease. Basal cell carcinoma almost never spreads (which is what you are confusing with invasion), or metastasises (i.e. go to lymph nodes or more distantly to any other organ). Squamous cell carcinoma on sun-exposed sites spreads to other areas in about 1% of cases. Malignant melanoma is cured by surgery in about 50% or slightly more of cases and is almost always cured if caught very early (when it's very thin). BCC and SCC are definitely related to sunlight, and melanoma almost definitely. It is thought that the first two relate to number of hours sun in a lifetime, but melanoma is PROBABLY bad burn related." * From Jeff Hooper (edited to our 250-word limit): I cruised in Thailand and Indonesia back in the 70s and had a few close encounters with "part time" pirates. (They don't all quit their day jobs.) However, no one ever attempted to board us. One reason was that we maintained a 24-hour watch ESPECIALLY while at anchor in remote areas. At night any boat approaching us was met with the most powerful searchlight on board. That's right, I violated the rules by shining a big sealed beam right in their eyes. They would have a hard time determining how big we were or how many people were on board, what arms, etc. but most important, the element of surprise was gone. Many of the fishermen were content to remain fisherman if it was obvious they were in for a fight. All of the incidents I heard about were surprise attacks. Ships waiting for dock space in Singapore were boarded by one or two guys at night. They would come alongside in a small boat, throw a grapple up and make their way to the bridge with a knife in their teeth and steal the payroll. A small yacht is easy prey if no one is on watch. Maintaining a proper watch means proper anchor watch in some places. * From Chris Dutton: Thank you Roger Vaughan! And please Volvo, mandate a generous minimum amount of food that must be carried in each leg... I, and all the children of the world, should not be reading of sailors going hungry do to light winds or broken boats. And the hiking thing, besides some of the ridiculous positions some meats put themselves in, it's illegal in the State of Florida to have legs overboard... Hummm, wouldn't it be interesting to see the Marine Patrol hit some regatta and write-up a couple of boats... Heck, just make it illegal to risk the health and safety of crew and do away with these silly antics.... * From Malcolm McKeag: Roger Vaughan's plea for rules to make V60s habitable etc is, I am afraid, wishing in the wind. It first invites the question 'why bother?' If V60 sailors are prepared to put up with it, who are we to wax indignant on their behalf? Dogs don't have a choice - professional sailors do. And if the question can be answered sufficiently satisfactorily to convince us all we do need rules to ensure that race boats are genuinely habitable, there is only one rule that needs to be written, and enforced: require the crew to live aboard the boat for the duration of the event, including stop-overs. I can well remember the late Bruce Banks and his crew sailing his Half Tonner - a Scampi, I think - to the Half Ton Cup in La Rochelle, living aboard throughout the event, and sailing home to England when it was over. The Scampi, and boats of her generation, were the last properly habitable race boats - true racer/ cruisers. After them came only shells, with vestigal nods to whatever accommodation rules were the flavor of the day. This was not, of course, a new trend. The International Rule once required 8 Metres and 12 Metres to have minimum headrooms, beds, loos and cookers: the boats did - but only just. The V60s are but the latest in a long-standing tradition. If you want live aboard race boats, there is but one way to get them. Make the racers live aboard them. * From Craig Fletcher: A message to the people who expect comfort and safety on a VO 60. The around the planet race is extreme, the Southern Ocean is extreme and expectedly the people who race these boat are extreme. If you want to win the X Games of our sport, do not show up with a Barka Lounger, TV remote and a six pack. Extreme is that Extreme. * From Jesse Falsone,: In response to Mike O'Sullivan's comments on illegal kinetics at dinghy regattas, I would like to say that I share his frustrations. There are certain dinghies which are very sensitive to kinetics. This is certainly the case in the InterClub class which is used extensively as a frostbite boat in the Northeast US. My personal opinion is that a championship regatta should be held in "championship conditions". That is to say that for these kinetically driven boats, it's reasonable to stipulate a minimum average wind speed for big events in the SI's. If the conditions do not meet that criterion before the start (e.g. 4 knots average over a certain duration), or if the conditions deteriorate during a given race, the RC should abandon. Most classes do not include such minimum wind velocities in the SI's, and most RC's are reluctant to blow off racing unless the time limit has expired. Unfortunately, there are times in sailboat racing where the conditions do not warrant the crowning of a champion, and it's best to decide the "victor" on the volleyball court or at the bar. * From P Dreyfuss: My suggestion to combat rampant light-air kinetics is to impose a minimum windspeed for racing. Something around 5 knots maybe? I'll guess this would best be imposed in the individual class rules. While better patrolling of the racing and imposing penalties helps, I think taking away the need to break the rules is better for racing. * From CDR Eric Wallischeck (In response to Mike O'Sullivan's comments on kinetics): Isn't it about time that we let our sailor athletes be athletic! I don't think retraining judges or juries to police the current rule is the answer. Instead, use class-specific rules and sailing instructions to better control it. Besides, if someone competing at a "major dinghy regatta" doesn't like ooching, rocking, and pumping, maybe a Laser isn't the right boat for them. * From Dallas Johnson: Placing NZL32 in a theme park would cause the boat to be seen and appreciated by thousands of young people every day who might want to someday grow up and race on a similar boat. It would also show that sailboats are cool and part of the mainstream culture; which I suppose they already are in NZ. Instead of hiding the boat in some maritime museum, I suggest they place hydraulics under the boat and charge admission for a simulated sailboat ride! * From Eric Wynsma: Douglas Messer's letter states that there will be 'inequities in the system as long as PHRF committees rate sisterships identically.' If we have two (very nearly) identical boats but rate them differently, what could be more 'inequitable' than that? At the Mumm 30 Worlds last year, a 20+ boat fleet weighed within 50 pounds of each other after several years of sailing, which is a testament to the fact that they were created quite equally. Having sailed several Mumm 30 regattas last year, I am convinced that assigning the same rating to all of these boats would be fair in a PHRF environment. The process of trying to demonstrate that one boat can go faster than the next is difficult and is also the purpose for the whole exercise! The simplicity of not having to clutter your mind with handicaps, expensive modifications and the resulting political BS is a worthy experience and is overall a much fairer means of racing ... despite inconsistencies between boats which I consider to be very minor at most! CURMUDGEON'S COMMENT: Douglas Messer's letter in 'Butt 887 also generated a flood of new letters about PHRF handicapping. Sorry, but it's waaaaaay too early to reopen that thread again
VOLVO OCEAN RACE * Illbruck Challenge-two-plus years of prep time should give this team the most advanced sail designs and the most fluid crew dynamics-5 to 1. * Nautor Challenge Amer Sports One-Two words: Grant Dalton. Two more words: Roger Nilson. They've got a late start, but perhaps the most experience-7 to 1. * Assa Abloy-Heiner and Rudiger have the collective talent to lead the field, but if not, they're sure to be in the hunt (barring breakdowns)-8 to 1. * SEB-Kranz narrowly missed placing second in the last go round. After some initial snafus in this month's Fastnet Race, you know he's hungry for redemption-8 to 1. * Team News Corp-Fanstone and his crew have strong experience and good chemistry, and veteran Ross Field will be on board for some legs-9 to 1. * Team Tyco-If navigator Hayles can put the boat in the right spots, skipper Shoebridge and his crew have the know-how to keep it at pace-9 to 1. * djuice dragons-with one of two non-Farr designs in the race, skipper Frostad and crew could be a dark horse, particularly on the shorter legs with Erle Williams involved-10 to 1. * Nautor Challenge Amer Sports Too-lack of prep time, relatively less experience, and a Frers design puts Lisa MacDonald and her team at the bottom of our list, but we hope they prove us wrong-15 to 1 To read Dickison's complete story on the SailNet website: www.sailnet.com
WEEKEND WARRIORS
ISAF TEAM RACING WORLDS
FINAL RESULTS:
SEARS CUP
DAY SAILER NAs
THE CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL |
