|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2416 - August 22, 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. MEDAL RACES BEGIN WEDNESDAY Qingdao, China (August 21, 2007) The sun was bright and the wind ripples came early to Fushan Bay, providing the start for a day that was able to gather two races in all fleets except the Laser Radial (3) and the 49er (0). Commenting on the conditions, Dean Brenner US Team Leader said, �We finally had some good breeze today. The irony is that the breeze we had was about 5-8 knots, which for this event is like a 15 knot sea breeze!� For the RS:X, 49er, Tornado, 470, Finn and Star, the top ten is now finalized, and these fleets will have their Medal race on Wednesday. The highlight for the North American contingent in the first round of Medal Races will be the 49er contest. Morgan Larson and Pete Spaulding (USA) are firmly in the hunt for a spot on the podium. They are in fourth place, two points from third and six points from first. With Medal Race positions counting twice, their scoreline indicates that they have a great opportunity for advancement. The Laser, Radial, and Yngling, will host their Medal Race on Thursday, with racing on Wednesday providing the final opportunity to settle who would advance to the finals. Of these fleets, the American Yngling team continues to scrap with the British, remaining all even on points. However, it was Radial sailor Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) that put up the WebGem of the day with two bullets and a second place to storm to the top of the Laser Radial leaderboard. On her late charge, Tunnicliffe notes, �During the start of the regatta, I put too much pressure on myself. After a few rounds, I have started to get a hold on the conditions, and am now starting to have fun. Having fun is very important in this regatta.� -- Complete daily report: http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j1/Fniu7B&format=popup Preliminary Results � Top Three plus North Americans in Top 10 RS:X Women 1. FRA - Faustine Merret, (4)-1-3-1-1-1, 7 2. GBR - Bryony Shaw, 1-2-1-3-(9)-4, 11 3. CHN - Jian Yin, 3-3-2-4-(OCS)-3, 15 17. CAN - Nikola Girke, (18)-17-16-15-11-16, 75 RS:X Men 1. CHN - Yuan Guo Zhou, 1-(6)-1-1-3-1, 7 2. NZL - Tom Ashley, 3-2-3-2-(6)-4, 14 3. FRA - Julien Bontemps, 2-(8)-4-7-5-6, 24 15. MEX - David Mier Y Teran, 9-13-11-14-(17)-13, 60 Laser 1. GBR - Paul Goodison, 3-4-1-10-7-(26)-8-1, 34 2. POL - Maciej Grabowski, 1-8-(22) -8-6-3-4-5, 35 3. SWE - Rasmus Myrgren, 8-3-6-(14)-5-9-2-11, 44 11. CAN - Michael Leigh, 4-6-18-11-(24)-8-17-6, 70 Laser Radial 1. USA - Anna Tunnicliffe, 7-(19)-1-3-6-1-1-1-2, 22 2. NZL - Jo Aleh, (9)-1-3-1-7-4-8-4-6, 34 3. CRO - Tina Mihelic, 15-3-4-9-1-3-(20)-2-1, 38 7. MEX - Tania Elias-Calles, 4-13-7-4-8-5-15-12-(20), 68 Finn 1. GBR - Ben Ainslie, 1-2-1-2-1-(6)-5, 12 2. CRO - Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic, 3-3-7-3-2-5-(18), 23 3. NED - Pieter Jan Postma, (15)-1-3-7-12-8-1, 32 9. USA - Zack Railey, (20)-18-2-11-6-11-9, 57 470 Men 1. AUS - Mathan Wilmot/Malcolm Page, (13)-1-6-1-13-3-2-2, 28 2. GBR - Nicholas Rogers/Joe Glanield, 4-5-5-9-2-(17)-3-3, 31 3. ISR - Gidi Kliger/Udi Gal, 2-13-3-4-1-6-12-(17), 41 14. USA - Mikee Anderson-Mitterling/David Hughes, 14-14-13-2-17-8-10-(19), 78 470 Women 1. UKR - Ruslana Taran/Olena Pakholchyk, 10-(13)-4-1-5-2-4-7-7, 40 2. JPN - Ai Kondo/Naoko Kamata, 9-2-1-4-2-11-12-1-(17), 42 3. AUS - Elsie Rechichi/Tessa Parkinson, 1-5-8-3-1-12-8-8-(16), 46 11. USA - Amanda Clark/Sara Mergenthaler, 5-12-(18)-10-12-8-10-13-15, 85 Star 1. FRA - Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau, 3-3-4-(5)-1-2, 13 2. SUI - Flavio Marazzi/Christoph Christen, 7-1-1-(9)-3-3, 15 3. NZL - Hamish Pepper/Carl Williams, 4-6-2-1-2-(9), 15 12. USA - John Dane/Austin Sperry, 6-10-14-7-(15)-13, 50 Tornado 1. AUT - Roman Hagara/Han Peter Steinacher, 3-2-1-1-(6)-1, 8 2. AUS - Darren Bundock/Glenn Ashby, 1-(9)-2-3-5-2, 13 3. GER - Johannes Polgar/Flarian Spalteholz, 2-4-7-(8)-1-6, 20 8. CAN - Oskar Johansson/Kevin Stittle, 8-11-(13)-10-2-5, 36 9. USA - John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree, (13)-13-4-7-8-7, 39 49er 1. DEN - Peter Hansen/Soren Hansen, 10-1-7-10-3-5-1-(12)-5, 42 2. GBR - Stevie Morrison/Ben Rhodes, 6-(19)-4-16-2-7-4-1-2, 42 3. AUS - Nathan Outteridge/Ben Austin, (18)-6-6-1-4-2-2-16-9, 46 4. USA - Morgan Larson/Peter Spaulding, (15)-3-5-2-5-3-8-10-12, 48 Yngling 1. GBR - Sarah Ayton/Sarah Webb/Pippa Wilson, 2-1-1-(7)-2-3-5, 14 2. USA - Sally Barkow/Carrie Howe/Debbie Capozzi, 1-3-2-(5)-3-1-4, 14 3. NED - Renee Groeneveld/Annemieke Bes Marije Kampen, 4-2-(11)-3-7-2-2, 20 Complete results: http://www.2007qdregatta.com/node/node_8874.htm GROUND HOG DAY, EVERYDAY... The general rule of thumb is that a bad day of sailing is still better than a good day in the office. However, after seven �race days� in Qingdao, the weather conditions witnessed so far have been enough to challenge the principles of this long-held belief. American Star sailor Austin Sperry shares his typical daily schedule at the Olympic test event below, and it definitely lacks that �living the dream� aspect that one would hope for: 7:00am - Wake up 7:30am - Check scale (make sure I am under weight or I go to the gym) 9:00am - Catch bus to venue to make official weigh in (dont eat or drink anything before this 9am weigh-in) 9:15am - Catch taxi back to hotel after weigh-in for breakfast 10:00am - Catch bus back to venue after breakfast 12:00pm - Schedule start if there is any wind (Monday we stayed on the dock until 4pm, finally starting at 5:45pm) 7:00pm - Towed home (in the dark) 7:45pm - Bus back to hotel 8:15pm - Dinner 9:00pm - Bed While Sperry has found the event to be a great experience, and the venue to be amazing, he is in step with others when referring to the on-the-water aspect as �heinous.� MORRIS TO SHOW IN HOLLAND AND NEWPORT THIS SEPTEMBER! Continuing its push into Europe, Morris Yachts will show its M36 daysailer at the HISWA boat show September 4-9 in Ijmuidien, Holland. This is a first for the company, and Morris will be the only American builder at the show. The following week, the Morris team will head to Newport, RI with a selection of Ocean Series yachts in the Newport Brokerage Show and a M42 in the Newport International Show Sept 13-16. Morris Service will also be on the docks under the Big Green Morris tent at Oldport Marine. For more information: call 207-244-5509 or http://www.morrisyachts.com IS THE AMERICA'S CUP "BROKEN"? (A story on the America�s Cup in Issue 2415 made the comment that �until the deed is changed and the event gains a truly independent commissioner, the defender will always be guilty of playing with the advantages they are afforded.� Peter Isler, who held dual roles in the last Cup as both sailor and television commentator, chimes in with his perspective.) These days sailing fans are exasperated over the state of the America's Cup, only a few months after they enjoyed watching some spectacularly close racing in Valencia. But given that our sport possesses something very special - the oldest, continuously contested sporting event in world - it may be worth taking a step back before applying circa 2007 reasoning to "fixing" what is the oldest and therefore by that measure - the most successful sporting event in the world. Does the Cup really need an independent commissioner now - after "surviving" in three different centuries being governed by a simple piece of paper and the whims and dreams of those that pursued and defended it under the terms of the Deed? Certainly all the other "major" sporting events have one - and guys like David Stern (NBA) and Jacques Rogge (Olympics) face the challenge of balancing the pulls of past traditions with the financial and political realities of the present. In that light, the Cup's limited and non-continuous governance may seem anachronistic, out of step with the times. But ask yourself a couple of questions before jumping on the bandwagon to make the oldest trophy in sport just another global sporting event controlled by "expert" politicians and �marketeers�. Is the America's Cup "broken"? Does it need fixing? Didn't we just enjoy one of the closest and most exciting America's Cup matches in Cup history? -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0821 THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF MOTH-ING Even the staunchest keelboat devotee can't help but be intrigued by the foiling Moth. They don't have a trapeze, and they've only got one little sail, yet they sail at twice the true wind speed. They're monohulls, but they move faster than a Tornado cat, sailing upwind as fast as 13 knots, downwind close to 30 knots. Jumping out of the water on ultra-light carbon foils in a 5-knot breeze, they'll smoke almost anything else powered by sails. They're International Moths, and if Andrew "Amac" McDougall of Bladerider International has his way, they just may change the world of singlehanded dinghy sailing forever. -- Sailing World, full story: http://tinyurl.com/3xxv3h ROUGH WEATHER LEADS TO DISASTER (Here is an excerpt from a story on the Daily Sail subscription website) Neustadt, Germany (August 21, 2007) -- Rough weather with stormy gusts on the Bay of Neustadt caused spectacular sailing conditions for the 74 Melges 24 teams competing in the European Championship suffered material damages, but no major injuries. Among the professional crews were also some prominent victims. The 2006 World Champion Nicola Celon (Italy) on Bete Bessini� lost his keel. Speaking after sailing Nicola Celon said it was the fastest he had ever sailed in the boat and unfortunately, for as yet unknown reasons, the bulb broke off from the fin. The boat turned upside down and most of the crew found themselves in the water and fortunately were rescued and towed back to the harbour. Five other yachts lost their masts in manoeuvres � including Stuart Simpson�s Team Barbarians, one of the favourites. Prior to taking the decision whether to send the Melges 24s out, Walter Mielke consulted the International Melges 24 Chairman Henri Samuel, who is racing at the regatta. At that time the wind was 21-22 knots with gusts of no more than 26-27 knots and a decision to race was taken. By the time the boats were starting Walter Mielke reported after the race �We had an average wind speed of 25 to 28 knots, and up to 35 knots in gusts,�. After one of the windiest Melges 24 races ever sailed all boats were sent immediately back to the harbour and no attempt to start a second race was made. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/3a6gul SAILING SHORTS * Brant Beach, New Jersey (August 21, 2007) -- Day two of the Sunfish World Championship left the fleet on land as a result of high winds and limited visibility. With wind in the 15-20 knot range and gusts well over 25, the decision was to wait for day three after several postponements. The sailors were treated to a six hour feeding buffet: a full breakfast, followed by fruit and granola bars that led into roast beef sandwiches, hot dogs, and tacos. A heavier fleet looks forward to getting the racing started again. From the three races on Monday, Paul-Jon Patin (USA) is leading by 7 points over Malcolm Smith (Bermuda). Full results at: http://bbyc.net/SunfishWorlds/index.htm * Long Beach, CA (August 21, 2007) -- The breeze came in early for the final day of competition of the Club 420 North American Championship, which played to the strengths of the San Diego team of Adam Roberts and Nick Martin. Leading coming into the day, they survived a brief scare in the morning race, then reveled in the building breeze to cap off the series with a big win in the finale to earn the series title over 62 entrants. Stephanie Hudson and Laura McKenna of Chicago, IL won the women�s division, while Keven Laube and Jake Reynolds of San Diego, CA won the junior division. -- Daily reports and results: http://www.abyc.org/event.cfm?id=238 * Portimao, Algarve, Portugal (August 21, 2007) -- Peter de Ridder and his 2006 Breitling MedCup champion crew on Valle Romano Mean Machine proved the masters of the big breeze today as they opened the Trophy of Portugal regatta with a seventh and two wins in the 19-boat fleet, leading second place Russell Coutts and the crew of Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis by one point. Said Paul Cayard, �With winds of 16-28 knots, the fleet was hitting top speeds of 22 knots on the runs. Despite the flat sea due to the offshore direction, the gybes still proved to be a challenge, and almost everyone broached at least once.� -- Daily report: http://2007.medcup.org/news/?langPost=EN&id=2710 * Chicago, IL (August 21, 2007) -- World-renowned sailor Roy E. Disney has been named honorary chairman of the 100th running of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. Chicago Yacht Club has plans underway for a spectacular series of events marking the historic running of the 333-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac Island, Mich. The 100th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, better known as �The Mac,� will set sail for Mackinac Island on Saturday, July 19, 2008. -- http://www.chicagoyachtclub.org/racetomackinac/raceupdates.cfm * Correction: The information in Issue 2415 that Scuttlebutt was provided regarding the overall winner of Chicago Yacht Club�s fifteenth annual Verve Cup was in error. The actual winner was �Aftershock�, a J/35 owned by William Newman of Muskegon, MI PLAY WITH THE BEST OF THEM.... Team One Newport is looking for some great team players. If you love sailing and are energetic, fun, organized and enjoy working as a team, then consider working for the top performance sailing gear retailer and online company! Email your resume to mailto:[email protected] If you want to buy the best sailing clothing around from great companies like Henri-Lloyd, Musto, Gill, Slam, Harken, Camet, Ronstan, Patagonia, Railriders, Keanon, Extrasport, Native Eyewear, Hobie, and more, call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327) for a free catalog or visit http://www.team1newport.com 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: [email protected] -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Keith Taylor: Bravo, Jenny McAllister! (Scuttlebutt 2415) You've summed up the Qingdao web site's flaws with flair and restraint. It's never easy to build an event-reporting web site from scratch, even with the three-year head start enjoyed by the Chinese. Conflicting cultures, styles, attitudes, techniques and priorities all must be resolved. China has a big task ahead. The infrastructure is marvelous but the staffing skills are sadly lacking.. Auditing the Qingdao web site(s) has been akin to watching a train wreck in reverse slow motion. Pre-regatta, the site was a disaster. Now it's rapidly improving. Next jobs: prune the fluffy, self-congratulatory news reports and replace with current sailing news, accelerate the speed of reporting news and results, train those enthusiasts with fancy cameras who think they're sailing photographers. There's no time left for more Qingdao pre-regattas but ISAF can and should invite key Qingdao programmers, managers, writers, photographers to the Rolex OCR in Miami, or to World Champs in Australia and NZ next January through March to learn first-hand how the rest of the world does it. Few of us will see meaningful Olympic TV coverage next year. We must have an excellent web site. Get on it, ISAF. => Curmudgeon�s Comment: There is a story now on the ISAF website that discusses how the event organizers are in the midst of elaborate offline testing, and that the website for the 2007 Pre-Olympic event this week is not a reflection of the information that will be available during the 2008 Games. Let�s hope so. Link: http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?PID=21346 * From John Beery: I want to comment on the statement in Scuttlebutt 2415 regarding the Verve Cup's Sunday race cancellation for bad weather. This is not an accurate statement of the conditions on Sunday on the racecourse. The boat on which I race was unaware of the harbor postponement and went out to our appointed racing circle (Circle B), on time, to await the expected 10am start. We waited on the racing circle, alone, until 11:30am when it became clear that the Race Committee was not going to permit us to race (the Sailing Instructions forbid starting a race after 1pm). The conditions were great -- 6-12 knots, no rain, and bright sun for much of the time. There were no other boats on our racecourse -- not even a Race Committee boat checking conditions. I am a resident of Chicago, so I know that it rained for much of the afternoon, but I did not witness any extreme winds or hear any thunder. Like most of us, when I take time out of my "real" life to go sailing, I want to go sailing when the conditions permit, which was clearly the case on Sunday (at least on Circle B). As a member of the Chicago Yacht Club, I found the Race Committee's behavior to be an embarrassment to the club. => Curmudgeon�s Comment: Not to pile on, but we heard there were some participants not all that thrilled with the �Combined Fleet Course� on Saturday, which amounted to a single race of random legs that took all day to complete. One contestant was quoted, �that�ll be five hours that I will never get back.� * From Paul Tara: (Regarding the story �Evolve or Die� in Issue 2413) I won the 2006 El Toro NA�s by inches in the last race, but the high point in my El Toro career came a month earlier. My son, Patrick, had just turned 12, and we were sailing our boats together one evening in the harbor at Santa Cruz (CA). He was a little quicker running, as we headed under the bridges into the Upper Harbor, but I was confident old age and treachery would wear down his three-length lead. Didn�t happen; despite everything I tried, when I got back to the bridge he was heading for the dock on the far side. I�ve sailed everything from small dinghies to super-sled Merlin. But, as Patrick headed up the breeze, I thought, �This might be as good as it gets. My son just smoked me, in exactly the same spot where I sailed my first El Toro nearly 50 years before.� No professional coaches, no huge market driven sailing program, just a kid and his dad out for a sail. I suspect my experience was not that unique, as generations of past El Toro and Sabot sailors can probably testify. There are not many classes where this opportunity is available, and they are getting scarcer. In the long run, most people race sailboats because they love it; not because they want financial gain, to get into the right school, or an Olympic medal. Maybe the reason sailing�s losing ground lies closer to home. What�s the matter parents, too busy, or afraid your kids will beat you? * From Chuck Sinks: (regarding a story in Issue 2415) Steve Hunt is a phenomenal sailor, coach and role model. What PRO John Siegel didn't mention is that Nick Kaschak, Steve's crew at the V-15 Nationals, is a member of the Point Loma High School Sailing Team (Class of '08) - the same team Steve coaches. I think the "setting a good example, and earn the respect of your competitors" piece of the coaching manual is in good hands. Kudos Steve and congratulations to Nick. Well done. * From Howard Macken: I wouldn�t be too fast calling out the stinkpotters (in Issue 2415). Having been a sailmaker for 35 plus years, I have seen many a rag sailor who couldn�t sail their way out of a wet paper bag. Recalling my years on San Francisco Bay, the idea that some of my clients in their 40 and 50 footers were out in the strong winds was simply terrifying. * From Bob Bausch: I read with interest the excellent article by Eric Sharp that you linked to in Issue 2415 of Scuttlebutt, and loved what you said about Bertarelli. As far as I�m concerned, he deserves all the blame he can get! His arrogance may eventually get him in more trouble than even his riches can prevent. Larry Ellison isn�t a real nice guy either, but hey, maybe it would be a wild ride if the next Cup was sailed in cats! CURMUDGEON�S OBSERVATION The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them. Special thanks to Morris Yachts and Team One Newport. |
