|
SCUTTLEBUTT 3158 - Wednesday, August 18, 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: JK3 Nautical Enterprises, USSTAG, and LaserPerformance. TWO MONTHS AND COUNTING The Velux 5 Oceans race starts on October 17, 2010. Run every four years since 1982, the solo race is a series of five high-pressure ocean sprints that uses the ECO 60 boat. Here is an update from the two North American entries: * BRAD VAN LIEW, USA: American sailor Brad Van Liew and his devoted shore support team are currently motoring a sleek, bright yellow, racing yacht down the Cooper River, heading to the Seabreeze Marina on the Charleston, SC peninsula. The race boat is impeccably prepared following six months of intense work reconditioning and replacing everything but the structural components of the boat and redesigning the layout to suit Van Liew's preferences. "I've always had faith we could get this boat ready, but it certainly has been more challenging than I anticipated." Van Liew is referring not only to the intense heat and humidity of the last few months working outdoors and the incredible detail that goes into refitting a high tech, carbon fiber racing machine, but also to the immense challenge of securing title sponsorship support that has eluded the project thus far. "We've relied on friends, family, a devoted group of companies, and a group of individuals, both sailors and nonsailors, that see the importance of ensuring a US entry in the world's oldest and toughest race of its kind," said Van Liew. "We remain hopeful that we can enlist more commercial support, but one way or another, we're going to see this race completed, and it's all due to the hundreds of people that have thrown themselves into this project." -- http://www.oceanracing.org * DEREK HATFIELD, CANADA: The summer months are flying by as we continue with our offshore training sessions and preparations for the Velux 5 Oceans this October. I now have almost 10,000 nm and six training sessions on Spirit of Canada ECO 60 and I am very impressed with the performance of the boat. As you can imagine, sailing with 3 or 4 other sailors on a boat designed to accommodate one person has created some interesting scenarios but I will keep those stories for the book. Each session has taught me valuable lessons about the performance of the boat and how it can be pushed. I feel very confident about our preparations at this point. -- Read on: http://spiritofcanada.net/wordpress2/2010/08/status-report-12th-august-2010/ PLAYING THE GAME HE LOVED Early last week, event organizer Justin Assad, was hoping to match last year's total of 24 entries at the Club 420 Junior Team Race Championship. But, come race day, 32 teams from all over greater New England, as well as Minnesota, Texas, and the US Virgin Islands were ready to embark on three days of exciting racing at the CJ Buckley Team Race. For all those involved, it was an exciting sight to behold; almost 200 competitors were putting their boats together on the beach at Goddard Park in East Greenwich, RI. In a summer already overloaded with big regattas in the area, this huge turnout shows that team racing is really growing on the junior level and there is now a bridge between 4 v 4 Optimist team racing and the organized efforts seen in high school and college. CJ Buckley was a junior sailor at Greenwich Bay Sailing Association and Tabor Academy, who lost a valiant battle with cancer in 2002 at the age of 17. CJ was passionate about sailing, and most enjoyed team racing, where he was a spirited and fierce competitor. The CJ Buckley Regatta began in 2003, and became a team race in 2004. In 2009 and 2010, the event has also crowned the Club 420 National Junior Team Race Champions. Parents and sailors from GBSA, Tabor, and elsewhere come out to celebrate the life of an individual who touched so many people, and to remember him by playing the game he loved. Thirty-two teams were randomly split into four groups of eight and sent out on to two courses to complete a round robin. From there the groups were reshuffled into Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron, and 3 more rounds were completed. At the conclusion of each round the teams with the best record moved up and the teams with the worst record moved down. For an event of this scope, the modified Swiss-league system is super because it allows teams of similar skill and knowledge to continually race each other, the result is close, action-packed racing fun for all. -- Scuttlebutt Forum, read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10285 J/65 AT THE NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW If you have a passion for speed and comfort, the J/65 BRAND NEW DAY is in a league of its own. The J/65 has exceptional performance, luxurious accommodations, stunning aesthetics, and great value. Finishing 2nd in IRC in the 2010 Newport-Bermuda Race, sailing with air conditioning and wine with each meal, the J/65 is a yacht that performs exceptionally well and in style and comfort. For more on the race experience, visit: http://tinyurl.com/Jim-Madden-tells-all. BRAND NEW DAY will be at the Newport International Boat Show September 16-19 in Newport, Rhode Island. To arrange a viewing, contact Jeff Brown at mailto:jeff@jk3yachts.com U.S. AIR FORCE IN SWITZERLAND By Chris Rast, 3-time Olympian Please no 4th race, please no 4th race, please no 4th race... Was going through my mind up the second beat of the third race. My legs were getting seriously tired and my arms were cramping up after the first two races. Temperatures were a bit more moderate today and we didn't have ANY rain!!! Soooo nice!!! Let's backtrack a bit to get everyone up to speed... We have three USA Moths here at the European Championship in Silvaplana, Switzerland, with Bora Gulari leading the charge. In addition we have Anthony Kotoun (US Virgin Islands) who has been training hard in Newport, RI for this event. Myself, I haven't exactly had a decent build up for this event. After the Coronado, CA event in the beginning of February, I haven't gotten any serious practice in. Fortunately I got some good sailing in Harbor Springs, MI before coming here. On the bright side I have stepped up my equipment program, chartering a Mach2 Moth for this event. It's amazing how much easier it is to get up to speed compared to the Bladerider. I had a huge smile on my face the first time I took it for a spin :-)))) The last couple of days have been cold and rainy and the mountains around have been getting whiter and whiter with new shades of snow. There were a couple of highlights from today's racing (did I mention it didn't rain already?). First imagine 85 Moths taking off on the same starting line with the odd port tack starters swerving through the pack. The amount of adrenaline pumping is ridiculous! -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/2e9cc45 After three spectacular races, Scott Babbage (AUS) leads the field, with current World Champ Simon Payne (GBR) in second and 2009 Worlds winner Bora Gulari (USA) in third. Daily reports: http://tinyurl.com/26vz4hc Results: http://tinyurl.com/2amkcbd MAYDAY PROTOCOL A story in Scuttlebutt 3118 discussed how to make a mayday call, but what do you do when you hear one? The July 2010 issue of Seaworthy - a BoatUS Marine Insurance policy publication - provides the protocol on how to help when help is needed: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If you're careful, prudent and have a bit of luck, you'll probably spend a lifetime on the water and never have to send a mayday. But there's not much you can do about all those other mariners out there, whether they're the skipper of a tug with a tow half a mile long or two guys in a 15-foot bass boat. When someone develops a problem that is life-threatening, they'll send a mayday, and you might be the person who hears it. What to do? The first thing to do is . nothing, other than noting the location of the vessel broadcasting the mayday. If you have been on the radio, cease all transmissions and stand by. While you're waiting for the Coast Guard or a vessel that may be closer to respond, figure out your distance from and heading to the vessel in distress. This could be the first entry in your radio log if, like a lot of skippers, you don't routinely maintain a radio log. If you get involved with a mayday, whether as a rescuer, a relay vessel or the vessel in distress, a prudent mariner would note the channel, time and content of radio traffic in the logbook. While radio logs are only required for vessels larger than 65 feet, any involvement with matters related to safety at sea should be noted in the logbook. If you're the skipper of the 15-foot bass boat, the logbook might be any piece of paper available; the important thing is to have a record of your involvement, if at all possible. If, after the second mayday broadcast, you hear no radio traffic responding to the mayday, it is appropriate for you to respond. The first thing to do is establish contact with the troubled vessel, and just as with sending a mayday, there is a format for that, derived by the Coast Guard to avoid any possible confusion from having more than one vessel broadcasting the word "mayday." That word, laden with meaning and tradition, is only to be used by the originating vessel, i.e., the one in trouble. The correct identifying phrase is "Vessel in distress," and that is how you make contact. "Vessel in distress, this is (your boat's name)." Verify your reception of their location and the nature of their distress (sinking, fire .) and give your location, speed and your estimated time of arrival at their location (see "When You're the Rescuer"). -- Read on (page 6): http://www.boatus.com/seaworthy/magazine/SeaJul10.pdf SAILING SHORTS * San Diego, CA (August 17, 2010) - With two days of racing completed for the US SAILING's 2010 Chubb U.S. Junior Sailing Championship, Southern California sailors dominate the top two spots in all three events. The leaders all hail from San Diego and are now Nevin Snow in the Singlehanded (Laser), Kate Rakelly/ Colleen Hackett in the Doublehanded (Club 420), and Scott Hoffmann/ Evan Hoffmann/ Reece Bernet in the Triplehanded (Lightning). Racing concludes Wednesday. -- Current results: http://tinyurl.com/33tuca3 * Lake Geneva, WI (August 17, 2010) - The Inland Lake Yachting Association Championship, which highlights the ILYA classes, saw the A-Scow championship won by Buddy Melges at age 80. Buddy finished the five-race series with a grand total of 8 points. Four of the races were heavy air and the fifth race was light air. Second overall was Tom Freytag and third overall was the team of Andy Burdick/ Terry Blanchard. The C Scows wrap up the "Big Inlands" on August 18-21. -- Results: http://www.lgyc.com/content.aspx?page_id=86&club_id=813973&item_id=10634 * Malmo, Sweden (August 17, 2010) - Following two days of racing at the 2010 J/24 World Championship, 54 boats have completed four of the ten scheduled races. Italian Andrea Casale holds the earl lead with all top six scores, while Americans Mike Ingham (4th), Tony Parker (7th), and Tim Healy (13th) look to close the gap on Wednesday once a throw-out is initiated after the fifth completed race. Racing continues through Friday. --Event website: http://www.j24worlds2010.com/ * Chris Sands, the 2009 Junior Bahamian National Champion in the Sunfish Class, repeated as National Champion in the 2010 event held this past weekend in Montagu Bay, showing his dominance in all weather conditions. Last year's National Championship was held in heavy air while for this year's Championship the heaviest breeze seen was a gentle 7 knots. Due to often non-existent breezes and occasional heavy rain squalls Race Committee were only able to get off three races and these were all in held in winds of 5 knots or less. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10284 * (August 17, 2010) - Light airs in the morning caused a delayed start to racing on the first day of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games. However racing got underway shortly after noon in a seven knot breeze with two races held back to back as scheduled. Racing continues to August 25th. -- Full story: http://www.sailing.org/33763.php * Former Australian Farr 40 champion Marcus Blackmore has bought the 2009 Audi MedCup TP52 champion Emirates Team New Zealand and intends campaigning her seriously in the major Australian inshore regattas this coming season. He has the Botin and Carkeek design team working on modifications to optimise the boat for IRC handicap racing and will take delivery after the boat completes the current Audi MedCup circuit in September. Blackmore, who has been to the Mediterranean to sail with the ETNZ crew on the boat, hopes to have the boat in Australia in time to prepare for the Rolex Rating Series in Sydney in December. -- Full story: http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/marcus-blackmore-buys-etnz-tp52 * West Marine has launched its second annual "Green Product of the Year" contest. As part of West Marine's mission to reduce its impact on the environment, it continues to search for innovative, green products, and will award a grand prize of $10,000 to a designated official winner (void where prohibited by law) at the 2011 Miami International Boat Show. Details at http://westmarine.com/green ATLANTIS WEATHERGEAR CONGRATULATES USSTAG WOMEN MEDALISTS The world's best Olympic class sailors battled it out last week for medals at the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth, UK, site of the 2012 Olympic/Paralympic Sailing Regattas. The entire US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG) fought hard and finished with two bronze medals: Erin Maxwell and Isabelle Kinsolving Farrar in the Women's 470 and Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi in Women's Match Racing. Atlantis WeatherGear, USSTAG Gold Partner and Official Apparel Provider, salutes these extraordinary women. Check out Atlantis Aegis gear made especially for women at http://www.atlantisweathergear.com LETTERS AND FORUM Please email your comments to the Scuttlebutt editor (aka, 'The Curmudgeon'). Published letters must include writer's name and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). One letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Kevin Keogh: You have your Roman numerals wrong in the quote at the end of Scuttlebutt 3157. The Pope was not John Paul XI (the eleventh) but rather II- only the second one to use that name. * From Steve Old: (re, letter by Daniel Forster in Scuttlebutt 3157) Daniel, I couldn't agree more - BUT - Jessica Watson did NOT set the "youngest" record, or any other record for that matter! That distinction belongs to Jesse Martin, (who incidentally, achieved a PROPER circumnavigation in that he rounded his Antipodal point). Thanks to the wise decision taken by the World Sailing Speed Record Council to discontinue the category, and no doubt partly influenced by the Perhams, Watsons, Sunderlands, Dekkers etc, Jesse will retain the record indefinitely! => Curmudgeon's Comment: While the WSSRC, which acts under the guidance of the International Sailing Federation, has gotten out of the business of monitoring age records, the Guinness World Records group had still kept their doors open - until now. The GWR told Scuttlebutt that they now also follow the same guidelines and standards as the WSSRC, and will not endorse any attempt to set a new 'youngest' record to solo circumnavigate the world. * From Richard Spindler: I'd like to thank Doran Cushing, the former publisher of Southwinds, for saying such nice things about Latitude 38, and the publisher of Scuttlebutt for publishing them. But I hope you were both wearing PFDs, because you went way overboard with the praise. * From Geri Conser: Just a word to praise Latitude 38 as the best ever. But let's not forget a good word about Santana Magazine, the SoCal sailing rag. It put out many great stories and pics for 20 years. Upon interviewing Richard Spindler, founder of Lat 38, about the Publisher of Santana, Kitty James, he said, "When I came to San Francisco in 77 to start Lat 38 the person to go to for information on anything sailing was Kitty James. She knew all the sailors, races and scores. She was a great teacher and free with the information. She let us in on all the good things sailing was about. I'll miss her great spirit." Let's all give a cheer for Santana and Kitty James. * From Doran Cushing: Regarding the story in Scuttlebutt 3157, How To Eliminate General Recalls And Black Flags, the rabbit starts used in the 505 class are priceless, painless, and work without flaws. Why are they not used everywhere in huge fleets? * From Steve Pyatt, Auckland, NZL: I really like the article (regarding the starting system) and agree with most of the sentiments, especially the reason for using 'I' flag (that's why I use it against criticism that it is unfair to mid-line starters hence bunches the ends). I am, however, concerned by the contradictory comments: "...we dropped both start boats 'B' and 'C'... back about three feet." And "... the race committee had not one or two, but six sets of eyes watching different parts of the line, one spotter on each end and two spotters in the middle boats looking both ways". If B and C aren't on the line (and in the photo it is more like 3 yards (metres) than feet) then they can't call OCS. If I was starting on that line and having sighted the line, knew that B&C were behind it, I would start just in front of them. Behind the line but in front of the observers. They would probably call me over when I'm not. That would never stand up with the Jury by the RC's own admission that the line observers were behind the line. * From David Gill: Unfortunately the comments from Gregory Scott and Latitude 38 can be applied all the way up the ladder of government. But, the really sad part is that the general public has no one to blame but themselves. We sit around happily swallowing up the regurgitated refuse of he said, she said, two party politics, while nothing gets done and we all suffer economically. * From Terry D. Harper, VP of Race Operations, 1988 and 1992 America's Cups: David Redfern (in Scuttlebutt 3157) commented that the City of San Diego was not supportive of the first San Diego defense of the America's Cup. Let's not forget that that event was run on very short notice after the New York court ruled that SDYC had to defend by September 1988. But David may or may not know that, for the next defense in 1992, the San Diego Unified Port District (which controls the San Diego Bay waterfront property), stepped up and covered the entire multi-million dollar budget for the 5-month-plus race operations (for which those of us involved will forever thank them). They were great people with whom to work. * From Gary Bruner: Mr. Rosenaur's letter (in Scuttlebutt 3157) really misses the point! His simplistic comparison between private business and government suggests that government SHOULD ignore the 'public good' and should focus on something that is of interest to only a small minority of the population, even in a city as involved with the sea as San Francisco. If private businesses want to pony up and try to make money (their ultimate goal), then I support that and would love to see the AC in SF. But government has no place supporting this ever more 'rich man's game', especially in these economic times. His letter was really implying that even our current government was too 'conservative' for him! How ironic! TAKE A "SICK DAY" WITH SAILING WORLD AND LASERPERFORMANCE On August 25th LaserPerformance and Sailing World are urging all sailors to take a "Sick Day" and get out on the water. Post your "Sick Day" photos, stories and experiences to Sailing World's website for a chance to win cool prizes. For more information go to http://www.sailingworld.com/contests/announcing-i-sailing-world-i-s-sick-day or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138634772838533. Get out there and Sail!!! Sail Legendary LaserPerformance.com CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice. Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises, USSTAG, and LaserPerformance. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
