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SCUTTLEBUTT 1781 - February 23, 2005Scuttlebutt is a digest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. GUEST EDITORIAL Regarding the recent ISAF position to not give endorsement to recognizing kite powered crafts as holders of the World Sailing Speed Record, Dave Culp, President, KiteShip Corporation, provided his viewpoint, of which excerpts are below and the editorial in its entirety is available on the Scuttlebutt website: Is it really ISAF's (and WSSRC's) desire to ban ALL kites from ALL speed record attempts, including inshore, 500 meter speed attempts, offshore and round-the-world sailing? Does ISAF truly mean to take this sweeping action despite a complete absence of safety data for ANY form of kites and kite sailing other than those typically used for pulling "kitesurfers" across inshore protected waters? Does this action properly meet ISAF's own stated goal of, "focusing on what really matters in the sport and developing a strategy for sailing"? I believe this to be wrong, for at least 3 reasons: 1) Banning a hopelessly broadly-defined sector of the sport of sailing isn't right. To my knowledge, there has never been a serious injury accident, let alone a death in kitesailing, outside of kite surfing. If the intent of this issue is to ban kitesurfers, far more specificity is needed. Clear reasoning. Our industry is being "tarred" with an extremely broad brush. 2) Even an effective ban on a more narrowly-defined sector of sailors (ie.: "kitesurfers") cannot effect the desired actions. Kitesurfers will simply form their own class of speed sailing and ignore the WSSRC--and the ISAF. Let's work to fix the problem, not seek to marginalize yet another broad sector of sailors from ISAF participation. (In 2003 more than 125,000 kitesurf kites and boards were sold worldwide. I don't yet have data for 2004) 3) How can one effectively define the devices one wishes to ban? Any definition simply cries out for "designing around" the ruling, as we well know. Most importantly, why does ISAF (and WSSRC?) fail to gain the perspective of the actual sailors they desire to "control" via a ban? I have never been approached for statistical data in kite sailing, despite 27 years of putting kites onto boats. No major rule maker has ever asked me or anyone of my distributors for a kite sailing demonstration, nor asked my opinion as to how kiting might be made safer. Surely there is a better way? The complete editorial is available at: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/05/kite0222 BENEATH THE SURFACE (Paul Foerster, 2004 Olympic gold medalist and Rolex Yachtsman of the Year winner, an honor he shares with his 470 crew Kevin Burnham, provided Sail Magazine with the following interview) Sail: What thing(s) have you discovered in your last year of sailing that weren't there for you, or weren't fully there, before? Foerster: We got a little more confident in our speed, during the year before the Olympics. We changed to a new Kiwi CB and a new North Jib, and we won the Spa Regatta. Then, during the month of training before the Olympics, we got even more confidence with our tactics. I started paying more attention in light air, and Kevin and I really got in tune with the shifts in Greece. We also improved in the windy stuff by trying out some of the suggestions of our coach, Skip Whyte. Sail: Have you made any diet or exercise changes that worked (or didn't)? Foerster: No. I probably ignored that too much. I got injured at Kiel week in June and the injury lasted through the Olympics. I also had tendonitis in my elbow, and the physical therapists really helped me get through the training and the Olympic games. Sail: What's different about Olympic sailing now compared to Barcelona (in '92)? Foerster: Now the Course is much shorter and you finish downwind. That makes the start and boathandling very important. But the biggest jump you have to make is downwind. You can make huge gains downwind, whereas in Barcelona it was mainly an upwind game. Kevin and I had one race where we rounded the weather mark in the teens and were in second at the bottom mark. This was in a six-knot breeze with not many shifts to speak of. Complete interview at the Sail Magazine website: http://sailmag.com/foersterInterview MADE FOR TELEVISION Two of Australasia's most successful businessmen and high profile yachtsmen, supermaxi owner Neville Crichton and Farr 40 campaigner Lang Walker, have joined forces to back the world's richest professional sailing tour, which will be launched next year. It will cost more than $US3 million annually to stage and offer at least $US150,000 in prize money. Designed as a television event that capitalises on the high speed and high drama associated with 18ft skiff racing, the F1Sail circuit will feature the 15 best crews from 15 different nations competing in a 26-race series. Each team will be backed by commercial sponsorship and the event will carry a naming rights sponsor. Seven regattas will be staged each year, four in Europe and three in the Asia/Pacific region. The schedule is for racing to start in Europe in June next year, with venue selection directed toward high wind regions around the world with guaranteed winds of 15-knots or more. - F1 Sail website, full story, http://www.f1sail.com/news.asp?ID=17 REGULAR GUYS CAN KICK BUTT, TOO! What the...? Hey, who are those guys? That's what the hotshots and hired guns were saying as Wade Edwards, Hank Lammens, and Tom Piper, three "regular guys" (otherwise known as amateur competitors) with non-pro, "regular guy" crews took three of the top nine spots at the star-studded 68-boat Etchells Midwinters. The fact that Wade, Hank, and Tom used Doyle sails exclusively tells us three things: 1. Doyle sails are fast; 2. Doyle sails are easy to go fast with; 3. Regular guys rule. When you're ready to start kicking butt on a regular basis, call us at 1-800-94-Doyle; http://www.doylesails.com ORANGE II No less than 626 nautical miles have been made over the last 24 hours, at an average of 26.1 knots and Bruno Peyron's crew is clearly still on the attack in fairly manageable seas and a wind enabling them to make high speed in the right direction. The boat is barrelling towards Cape Horn which it may reach by Friday. After one more day in these latitudes on the lookout for the danger of icebergs, Orange II will begin to distance itself from this ice convergence zone. For the time being the whole team is concentrated on the quest for pure speed, the key to which may be a new record for the Southern Pacific crossing in a few days time. Extracts from this morning's radio session with Bruno Peyron: 'The wind and sea conditions that we are encountering at the moment are enabling us to make pure speed and continue to attack the Southern Pacific. We haven't got a big swell enabling us to make long surfs, but the seas are very manageable and the waves are such that our giant can easily make 33-35 knots of boat speed. The conditions are allowing us to permanently exploit between 90 and 100% of the boat's potential.' Wednesday at 03:54 GMT, the distance covered in the previous 24 hours was 675 nm, with 8,658.20 nm to go. Orange II is 3,026 ahead of the Jules Verne record, and 2,526 ahead of the absolute record held by Cheyenne. - http://www.maxicatamaran-orange.com ORYX QUEST 2005 At daybreak on Tuesday morning, Geronimo, the massive Capgemini/Schneider Electric trimaran was slowly limping toward Fremantle in Western Australia. They hope to berth in Australia later today (Tuesday) and start work right away. It will be a race against time as the rest of the Oryx Quest yachts are romping across the Southern Ocean at full speed. At the front of the pack Doha 2006 was continuing her high speed transit of the deep south with the speed only occasionally dropping below 22 knots. At the 07:00 GMT poll on Tuesday they were sailing at 26.6 knots and had already eaten up most of the Great Australian Bight. Their closest rival, Cheyenne, had dropped to 600 miles astern with Tony Bullimore on Daedalus now more than a 1,000 miles behind the leader. - Event website, full story, http://tinyurl.com/4jhcf NEWS BRIEFS * 84 boats competed during the recent three-day holiday weekend at the Club 420 Midwinters, held at the US Sailing Center in Martin County, Stuart FL. After twelve races in winds ranging from 8 to 20 knots, San Diego, CA sailors Adam Roberts/ Nick Martin and Meagan Magill/ Briana Provancha were first and second respectively, followed in third by Charlie Buckingham/ Chase Ayres of Newport Beach, CA. The top two qualify for the 2005 ISAF Volvo Youth World Championship to be held in Pusan, Korea in July. Full results: http://www.usscmc.org/regattas/Final%20420.txt * The anticipated duel for line honors between Randall Pittman's Dubois 90, Genuine Risk and Roy Disney's maxZ86 Pyewacket in Del Rey Yacht Club's 18th biennial Corum International Yacht Race to Puerto Vallarta has now completely ended. First, Pittman pulled out before the start last Friday due to crew issues, and now Disney's team is dropping out of the race after discovering a crack in the top section of the carbon fiber rig during a routine daily inspection Tuesday morning. Daily position reports, including latitude and longitude, and standings are posted at http://www.delreyyachtclub.org * The Show Listings section of the Scuttlebutt website has added the newly introduced AdventureOnline TV. AO TV contains a number of different "channels" with programming on catsailing, kiteboarding, monohull sailing and more. View the footage of AO TV and several other entries at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar/shows * The fourth annual Sail Newport Advanced Racing Clinic will be held June 16-19, 2005 in Newport, RI just before the Youth Championships. This clinic is by resume only and for advanced sailors ages 14-19 in Club 420s, Lasers, and Laser Radials. Coaches include Zack Leonard, Brad Read, Isabelle Kinsolving, Peter Alarie, Elizabeth Kratzig, Mike Kalin, and Bern Noack. Application can be found on-line at the Sail Newport website (scroll down to Youth Programs for information and application). Applications are due by April 1. - http://www.sailnewport.org CONGRATULATIONS ELLEN - THE FASTEST SAILOR ON THE PLANET Ellen's preference for Musto goes back to 1994, when she announced her intention to sail round the British Isles single handed in her 21ft Corribee Iduna. Musto offered her a full set of foul weather clothing and all the components of the 3-Layer System. Ever since, race after race, boat after boat, and achievement after achievement, Musto has continued to be Ellen's choice of foul weather gear. You don't need to be the fastest sailor on the planet to experience Musto. Give it a try next time: http://www.musto.com CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar IN MEMORIAM We lost an old salt Friday, February 18 to stomach cancer. Lorenzo "Plazi" Miller of Newport Beach, CA, skippered many legendary racing yachts throughout the '50's & '60's. "Morning Star", "Mir", "Sirius II", and "Endless Summer". I was with him aboard "Mir" in the '69 Transpac. We still hold the dubious honor of being the only yacht to finish stern first! Services are pending in Newport Beach, CA. - Kirk Elliott LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Andrew Bray, Editor, Yachting World: Rick Van Mell questions the need for the half hitch on a cleat. Like him I was taught never to use one but there was a very good reason. With natural fibre ropes when they get wet they swell which completely locks up a half hitched line. When synthetics came into use they were much more slippery and so came undone more easily. Hence the half hitch. And talking of being old fashioned how many boats do you see being made fast with bowlines? If you sail in tidal waters it's a habit you rapidly lose - have you ever tried undoing one when it's well loaded? The correct one, I was taught, is the round turn and two half hitches. * From Chris Ericksen: Regarding Rick Van Mell's "old-fashioned way" of belaying a line ('Butt 1780): I, too, learned to belay a line "a long time ago" as a Sea Scout, not as a yacht-club junior. The method I learned was the same as Rick's--right up to the "final round turn." The key to this process is the initial round turn: with that, the load is completely held by the turn. If the initial round turn is made before the figure eight, the half hitch should not jamb. The problem with a final round turn is that, if it does work loose, the entire knot can slip; the round turn holds the figure eight that holds the initial round turn. It was not until I became a racing sailor and started sailing boats with "modern" cleats made of plastic that I was introduced to the final-round-turn method. These cleats were often different than traditional cleats in that the clearance between the deck and the horn of the cleat was small enough that the final round turn would presumably jamb and hold the knot. Finally, I have more than once had to put the tail of a final-round-turn style of belaying onto a winch to release a load-induced jamb; I have never had a problem with a round-turn, figure-eight, half-hitch knot. * From Dave Ellis, Sailing Instructor: Fifty years ago and longer we used the extra round turn on a cleated line to hold the crossed line in place. Nobody used hitches because the cotton, hemp or manila line would shrink and be difficult to remove even when not under strain. Today at pro sailing schools we teach to make a round turn and then the hitch, the correct direction, as was noted. However, experienced instructors also counsel to instead use the finishing round turn for lines that must be removed under strain and in a hurry. A halyard on a smaller vessel, a dock line when ready to be removed or an anchor line come to mind. Incidentally, it is the first turn that holds the line. The passes over the top holds the first round turn. The final hitch, or round turn holds the 'X' pattern. * From Woody Glenn: (re: "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." -Robert A. Heinlein) Yes, but the feline pair were created to be chased and this should not be denied. * From Scott Corder, Class Commodore, S2 9.1 Meter North American One Design Class Association: I have been sailing solo deliveries across Lake Michigan for over ten years now, which typically takes about 9-14 hours motor sailing. Because I most often cross in July and August, I prefer to do this at night because the temperatures and water conditions are the most pleasant. I have a full complement of up-to-date, redundant navigational and electronic systems. I have a registered and regularly tested EPIRB, a radar reflector and always wear a harness and PFD. I use a NMEA interfaced GPS and auto-pilot with remote control that allow me to leave the helm with confidence to take 3-4 one-hour "naps" while underway. In spite of all my "systems", I find it much easier to monitor weather, water conditions, my boat's performance and nearby traffic while "napping" with my ear resting on a bunk below decks. I, and others like me will tell you that this technique gives us a very heightened sense of our own boat and any change of conditions long before they are a problem - and to hear the drone of a freighter's engines long before we can see them. Furthermore, I set multiple alarms to awake me when I approach each of the official shipping lanes I cross on Lake Michigan. Quite frankly, I am convinced my solo outings (even with short periods of sleep) are much safer than trying to avoid dozens of irresponsible power boaters and personal watercraft on a summer day sail near shore. * From Christian Kurtén: Commenting on Ken Appleby's comment on solo race participants not being able to keep proper lookout: This subject surfaces every now and then and obviously it is true that the competitors are not able to adhere strictly to the regulations. But a much greater concern is related to the frequent reported sightings of 200,000 ton tankers at sea without anyone on the bridge (and not responding to VHF calls). While someone else breaking the rules is never a good defense for doing it yourself, it seems this is a much greater threat to safety at sea than the solo sailing. To put it simply, even in a 75 ft sailing boat the sailor is risking his/her own life and the boat, but the large ship is a danger to all other traffic. * From Giancarlo Basile: I followed every day with great enthusiasm Ellen MacArthur's solo voyage and I really think she did something great. But I do agree with Captain Ken Appleby: ocean solo sailing is not a demonstration of good seamanship, because the ship cannot be left sailing alone, no matter how many electronic gadgets are on board. It has been a basic rule for professional sailors of all times and countries, and it still is. What happens in case of collision at sea if no one was on deck of the vessel that should have maneuvred to avoid it? OK, it didn't happen, but everybody knows the most probable end of many solo sailors who disappeared at sea, Joshua Slocum to begin with. Years ago I was asked what I thought of a 500 miles solo race in the Tirrenian Sea: I answered that it was a crazy idea! Luckily the race (Roma X 2) was organized for a crew of two that is to be considered the minimum to have a "lookout at all times by sight and hearing." CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM If the weather man says "it's a 50% chance of rain" does that mean he has no idea if its going to rain or not? |
