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SCUTTLEBUTT 2401 - August 1, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday with the support of its sponsors. GUEST COMMENTARY Team WHishbone, the two-time defending ISAF World Champions of Team Racing, will not be allowed to represent the United States and defend its titles. This news reported by US Sailing Secretary Fred Hagedorn. His committee has selected Larchmont YC and Team Silver Panda. Oddly, both teams have also been granted replacement helmsmen and crewmembers since their acceptance. Disappointed is an understatement. During the last six years, Team WHishbone has been a constant seed in the grass roots of US Team Racing. Based out of the Boston, Cape Cod, and the Newport region, this team has been privy to some of the slickest team racing moves and plays. No single team in the history of USTRA has had more success, winning every Team Racing Championship on the planet. Core founders of this incredible Team WHishbone include: Ery Wadlow, Karen Renzuli, Leigh Woodworth, Graeme Woodworth, Tim Wadlow and Tim Fallon. The team has winning ties to: AC veteran Kevin Hall, Brian Doyle, Matt Lindblad, Genny Tulloch, Karl Ziiegler and a special “Confidence Coach.” On behalf of the thousands of team racers out there trying to figure out how to perform a “bob and weave.” Thank you for opening the floodgates of team racing to sailors in the US. You have laid a foundation for future generations to aspire to: Regatta preparation, practice weekends with friends and no committee boats and most importantly: on and off the water etiquette where rules are honored, good times are mandatory, and the best team wins. -- Mark Ivey, member of 2005 World Champion Boners. BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN -- Stuart Alexander So, the battle lines are drawn. Whatever happens, there will be blood on the carpet as Larry Ellison, boss of the California-based Oracle software house, says he cannot accept the terms of the next America’s Cup as drawn up by the pharmceuticals billionaire from Switzerland, Ernesto Bertarelli. This is no longer a contest on the water, it is only peripherally about yachting. It is a battle of wills and Ellison has taken the big risk of throwing down, very publicly, a legal gauntlet. He didn’t even do that very well, as the technicalities of serving the petition in the New York Supreme Court ran into problems. But the Golden Gate Yacht Club, which does his bidding, will get it right and then the Société Nautique de Geneve will have 30 days to respond. The first hurdle that Ellison’s lawyers will have to clear is that the deal with the challenger of record, the recently-formed Club Nautico Espanol de Vela, is invalid, though the court could find this is ok and still rule that the GGYC challenge in 90×90 catamarans should go ahead. As Team New Zealand has joined CNEV, South Africa’s Shosholoza and the UK’s Origin in challenging under the protocol which Ellison finds so objectionable, the divide and rule principle seems to be working. At the shambolic press conference organized to announce that the €105m bid from Valencia (40% Madrid, 40% region, 20% city) was successful, so the rallying calls of support for the CNEV and Spain’s national governing body which spawned it, the Desafio Espanol, were thumped onto the table by regional president Francesco Camps, Valencia mayor Rita Barberá, and national government minister of public administration Elena Salgado. One curious precursor was a stone-faced Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth asking the Luna Rossa lawyer Luis Saenz to leave. “We are on different sides,” he said. America’s Cup Management CEO Michel Bonnefous was on hand to say he hoped to organize the best America’s Cup ever and remind Salgado, when she said that only a preliminary agreement had been signed, that this was a binding agreement. As the Madrid parliament is in summer recess it cannot be formalized until September. -- Complete commentary: http://stuartalexander.wordpress.com/2007/07/25/battle-lines-are-drawn/ PROFESSIONAL SAILING (The Daily Sail subscription website has a story posted that lists many of the professional sailors who have flocked to the Palma to sail on the 22 TP52s at Copa del Rey Camper Audi. Here are just a couple of excerpts.) With the America's Cup done and dusted in Valencia (on the water at least), so a large number of over-qualified crew are kicking around, many of whom have now pitched up here in Palma for Breitling MedCup component of the Copa del Rey Audi Camper. Emirates Team New Zealand's tactician Terry Hutchinson was racing with Windquest in Porto Portals but has now leapt on board the King of Spain's Bribon in place of Ross MacDonald. After this, Hutchinson told us, he plans to return to the States - briefly - before resuming his duties on board Jim Richardson's Barking Mad for the Farr 40 Worlds. Bribon have also roped in Desafio Espanol's American mainsheet trimmer Hartwell Jordan to perform the same duty on board. A boat bristling with Cup stardom is the new Siemens (formerly Alexia) of Argentinian former IMS maxi boat owner Alberto Roemmers, where for this regatta they have shipped in none other than Paul Cayard who is taking the place of Alinghi's Murray Jones in the tactician's role. Mike Mottl, Peter Gilmour's match racing crewman, also with United Internet Team Germany, is trimming. Torbjorn Torqnvist's Artemis has a whole roster of heavyweights starting with the man Russell Coutts. Navigating on board is Alinghi's Juan Vila, with Luna Rossa's Andrew 'Raw Meat' Taylor grinding, BMW Oracle Racing sailmaking supremo Ross Halcrow trimming alongside Emirates Team NZ's James Dagg and bowmen Jero Lomas and Dick Meacham. In short we reckon around one quarter of the crew here in Palma come from Cup teams. -- http://www.thedailysail.com * So how’s it going? With a 1-2 record on first day of racing in the TP52 Breitling MedCup division of the 26th Copa del Rey, Vasco Vascotto's team on Mutua Madrilena (ESP) holds a one point lead over Siemens (ESP), with Paul Cayard calling tactics. They are followed in the standings by Platoon (GER) steered by Jochen Schuemann, 8 points; Briton (ESP), 12 points and Stay Calm (GBR), 13 points. -- http://www.medcup.org SAN DIEGO SUMMER BOAT SHOW A great opportunity to explore the energy and excitement of the summer boating season is occurring this weekend at the San Diego Summer Boat Show! The show is August 2-5 at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina on Harbor Island, and the JK3 Nautical Enterprises team will be there with the Delphia 40, Hunt Harrier 25, J/109, and Cross Current 33. Come by to meet the team and check out these great boats. For more information on these boats or similar lines, give our office a call at 619.224.6200 or visit online at http://www.jk3yachts.com Hope to see you all there! SAILING THE ATLANTIC ON ICE-LOLLY STICKS The replica Viking ship that American Rob McDonald has built isn't his first ship made out of recycled ice-lolly sticks. But it's certainly his biggest. Now the former stuntman and his crew have set out to cross the Atlantic in the vessel. The Sea Heart was built by children from schools across Europe, using 15 million ice-lolly sticks. It was launched on 13 July in Lelystad harbour, the Netherlands. As a little boy, McDonald spent a long time in hospital after suffering burns on over 70 percent of his body as a result of a gas explosion at home. Doctors told him he would never be able to use his badly injured arm again. It was then that McDonald decided to delete the word 'impossible' from his dictionary. He became a prize-winning Hollywood stuntman. According to his website, Captain Rob's Sea Heart Foundation is all about realising creative solutions to challenges. At the same time it's an international project for children and their parents, in order to 'generate publicity and fun'. The open ship will follow ancient Viking sea routes, sailing from Europe to America. Along the way it will visit, among other places, London (England), Grinda (Iceland), Tasiioq (Greenland), Halifax (Canada), New York and Jacksonville (USA). -- Story source: http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/ned070717 -- McDonald’s website: http://www.obvikingship.com OPTIMIST WORLDS Day Five of the Optimist Worlds delivered perfect winds of 16-18 knots rising later to 20 enabled the race committee to run four races today. An outstanding 1/1/2/3 from Adonis Tsiboukelis of Greece sent him shooting up the leader board to a single point behind the current leader Benjamin Grez of Chile, and both Adonis and Chris Steele (NZL) have better second discards which will be taken after the first race tomorrow. But with the possibility of two or more races tomorrow the competititon is wide open. Alexandra Maloney (NZL) also had a splendid day but is still vulnerable to a fight-back for the girls' prize by Lara Vadlau (AUT) with bronze almost certainly in the hands of 2006 silver medallist Stephanie Zimmermann (PER). The championship ends on Wednesday. Robert Wilkes, http://www.optiworld.org/ioda-news.html GETTING ORGANIZED AC Management (ACM) has nominated the individuals who will serve on the Arbitration Panel that will resolve disputes in the frame of the 33rd America's Cup, except sporting and technical issues which will be solved by a separate Sailing Jury to be established by the end of the year. The Arbitration Panel will also act as an appeal body for decisions of the Sailing Jury. The nominees are Professor Henry Peter, from Switzerland, who will chair the Panel, Graham McKenzie, from New Zealand and Luis María Cazorla Prieto, from Spain. Both McKenzie and Peter served on the Jury of the 32nd America's Cup and Professor Peter was also a member of the 31st America's Cup Arbitration Panel. Profiles of the nominees are posted at: http://33rd.americascup.com/en/ SAILING SHORTS * Melges 24 World Champion Dave Ullman has confirmed that he will run a pre-Nationals racing clinic on September 20. The U.S. National Championship is set for Sept. 21 23, 2007, at Detroit’s Bayview Yacht Club. -- http://www.melges24racing.com/nationals * The 35th annual Buzzards Bay Regatta (BBR) will be held in South Dartmouth, MA, on August 3-5, 2007. The BBR is the largest mixed boat regatta in the Northeast, regularly attracting over 400 boats and 1200+ sailors. Classes include PHRF, multihulls, and one designs such as the Club 420, Vanguard 15, Laser Standard, Laser Masters, Laser Radial, International 14, Rhodes 19, J/24, J/80, J/105, J/109, PHRF Race, PHRF Cruise, IRC and Multihulls. Additionally, the event will be used as the Etchells' Atlantic Coast Championship and the International 505 East Coast Championship. Entry fees are discounted prior to July 22nd. -- http:// www.BuzzardsBayRegatta.com MORRIS YACHTS AT 35 YEARS! IT’S ALL ABOUT SAILING! Founder Tom Morris launched the company in Southwest Harbor, Maine in 1972, and it has been growing steadily and purposefully since. Record sales of the company’s Ocean Series and M-Series sailing yachts have been posted for the past 3 years in spite of mixed economic conditions. Morris will mark its 35th anniversary with an expanded presence at major boat shows around the world including Düsseldorf and IJmuiden, Holland. In addition, Morris is planning a 35th anniversary rendezvous in Bass Harbor August 17-19. More than 60 Morris Yachts and 300 guests are expected to participate. Details at http://www.morrisyachts.com/35th LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Adrian Morgan (re Larry Ellison’s new motor yacht): With all that dosh and Larry doesn't know the basic truth that the smaller the boat the greater the fun? So who's going to buy Rising Sun now the cat's out the bag. Could trigger a flood of downshifting. * From Laurie Fullerton: As a freelance yachting journalist, it is always a challenge to find US newspapers interested in covering sailing but I must personally commend the Miami Herald. They have remained consistently interested in running stories on the America's Cup, Acura Miami Race Week and other events and they have come through when most national newspapers could care less. I think they have made an effort where other newspapers don't because they have an individual sports editor who is willing to do better. * From Carol Ewing: The word is out! The sailing community of Miami is alive and well – and, although paid supporters, (writers, photographers, etc.) do much to promote the sport of sailing in Miami, our vast volunteer network cannot be overlooked as a huge factor in making our Biscayne Bay venue one of (if not the) most desirable competition locales, often referred to by the international sailing community as the “Sailing Capital of the World.” And we have we something very valuable to us all -- a huge group of people who gives countless hours to staff the many regattas hosted here each year. It is powerful synergy which makes our efforts even more successful. Five Miami Clubs along with the U.S. Sailing Center and Shake-A-Leg Miami open their doors to literally thousands of competitors annually, providing landside and waterside support for the international sport of sailboat racing. In addition to Coconut Grove Sailing Club mentioned in ‘Butt #2400, our support group includes Key Biscayne Yacht Club, Miami Yacht Club on Watson Island, along with Biscayne Bay YC, and Coral Reef YC which together, annually provide over 500 volunteer persons who spend thousands of unpaid hours on land and water to support the organized activities of national and international competitive sailing. Because? I can only conclude we love the sport, and want to share our good fortune with the rest of the sailing world. The competitors are our greatest promoters! No whining here – just come on down and sail, you’ll see for yourselves! * From Ray Tostado: Just out of personal curiosity; some of the unspecified cost estimates for the ACC 32rd running have suggested $3B as a reasonable total. This may seem a bit extreme, but conversations with friends included what Spain spent in it's preparation as well. I was a low baller on this guesstimate at $1.75B. The point of our conversation was to try and find a benefit to any junior sailing program; world wide or just national, to any nation. Was there an agency within the defender, or the challenger group, management body that set aside as a gift to the sport any such funding? With several of the projects going well over the $100M mark, 6 years of salaries, development, and the regatta period, it would be fair to 2X that for the big pockets. Anything for the no pocket change people? The next decades crew list aspirants. * From Mike Walbolt:I wonder if it's been considered that Alinghi, sailing in the Challenger series could purposely loose to weak teams and sail their best against strong teams, hoping to influence who the eventual challenger would be. * From Jeremy McGeary (In reference to the Sail-World article by Lynn Fitzpatrick - edited to our 250-word limit): I spoke with Barbara Lloyd, when she was the yachting correspondent to the New York Times, about that paper's paltry coverage of sailing. She said the Times considered yachting elitist and not of interest to its readers. A later incident had me wondering if maybe the writers were missing the stories. When the Russian entry in the 1992 (or was it 1993?) Whitbread Race limped in to Ocean Village, late for the start. In a fairy-tale coincidence, my brother's boss's wife was on the phone the next day with the publisher of the Moscow Times and, as an aside, mentioned the Russians' dilemma. He happened to be in Amsterdam. He immediately caught a plane to Southampton, where he started writing checks so the Russians could fix the boat, buy food, and head for the starting line. I called Barbara, told her a scoop for the Times was unfolding around me complete with an American angle—the Russians had sailed from Tampa where locals had adopted them while they fitted out the boat. I gave her the names of the actors and their phone numbers—I could touch most of them from where I stood. Barbara said, "I think I'll wait to get the story off the wire." The NY Times later redeemed itself by hiring Herb McCormick to write a weekly column, but way too soon had a relapse, let its stringers go for "economic" reasons, but not before Herb had deservedly won the Southam Prize for his efforts. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald, they don't recognize you. Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises and Morris Yachts. |
