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SCUTTLEBUTT 2800 - Friday, March 13, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Today's sponsors are the 2009 Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race and Hall Spars & Rigging. SKIP DIEBALL: ONE DESIGN ROAD WARRIOR Skip Dieball of Quantum Sails One Design sailed in the Thistle Midwinter's East last week in St Petersburg, FL, and discusses the event, the class, one-designs, preferred cocktails, etc… enjoy: Stern Scoop blog (SS): Congrats on the third place - were you happy with your regatta overall? Skip Dieball (SD): Thanks. When you come into a regatta like MWE, you want to do as well as you can. Certainly we were hoping to win this event, but finishing in the top 5 was our secondary goal and we are happy with how the event played out. SS: That OCS in the second race made it tough for you guys - what happened there? SD: I’ve got tons of excuses! Actually, it was one of those races where there wasn’t a clear line sight and we got tangled with some boats. Jordan Gourash (Middle), Ryanne Gallagher (Forward) and I had a conversation on the way in whether we felt we might have been OCS. My response was, “…who knows…”. You are essentially racing the boats next to you inside of 20 seconds. Without a clear line sight, the risk goes up. It is a bummer that it happened. It seems to be a chronic problem for many at MWE. This isn’t my first MWE with an OCS, unfortunately. SS: Did the OCS make you more conservative on later starts? Obviously a second one would have made it tough to stay in the top 5 – what did you do to minimize risk but still get off the line well? SD: I don’t think it changed our “approach” to the starts at all. We still tried to get clear and safe line sights and tried to throttle back, but only a little. In a few of the starts, we were actually 2nd row and had to clear out right away…I guess that’s the other extreme, which I had hoped we would try to avoid! We’ve got this rule on our boat that we complement each other on a nice start. Sometimes the “nice start” has a sarcastic tone to it!!! -- Read on: http://blog.apsltd.com/2009/03/interview-skip-dieball.html VOLVO OCEAN RACE: A RESTART FROM THE GATE TO THE HORN by Gustav Morin, Ericsson 3 media crewmember (Mar. 12, 2009; Day 27) - This is a tough leg, for sure. It is so complex. All aspects of yacht racing play a big part and if one doesn't flow, it drags other parts down with it. It's about endurance, both physically and psychologically, about routines with food, sleep and hygiene and above all it's about the knowledge of sailing. How much you can push your crew and the boat. Also of course, skills in strategy, weather and navigation plays a huge part. We have been doing well so far and are very happy to be where we are. At first we were not sure if we would manage to get to the start, but we put all the effort we could in making the boat ready to go, we sailed it shorthanded to China and started seven hours after the signal. And now, here we are working our guts out not to lose the lead we have been working so hard to get. Our navigator’s choice to go north and catch on to a low pressure after the first scoring-gate paid off and today we passed the (second) ice-gate a couple of hours before the second and third boat. Unfortunately being first to this gate doesn't give us any points and from here to the scoring-gate at Cape Horn it seems to be a bit of a restart. -- Read on: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/news/article/2009/March/EMAIL-ERT3-L5-D27-1049/ Crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. Leg Five from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janiero, Brazil is 12,300 nm, with the finish estimated on March 20th. Current positions (as of Mar. 13, 1:15 am GMT): 1. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 3,914 nm Distance to Finish 2. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 112 nm Distance to Leader 3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 143 nm DTL 4. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 295 nm DTL 5. Telefónica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 777 nm DTL Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, Did Not Start Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, DNS Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, DNS Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com MARION BERMUDA RACE SAFETY AT SEA SEMINAR The 2009 Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race “Safety at Sea” symposium will be taking place on Saturday, March 28th, in the Kresge Auditorium at MIT in Cambridge, MA. Capt. John Bonds, USN (Ret), an acknowledged expert on safety at sea will be the moderator. The symposium will now be complemented by a NEW and exciting second day (Sunday, March 29) of practical training sessions, including: Medical Emergencies, Weather and CPR training. If you’re planning on racing to Bermuda or Halifax this summer, you won’t want to miss this educational weekend, where you’ll find more enlightening content and demonstrations than ever before! For additional information and registration: http://marionbermuda.com/symposium1.shtml NEWBIE SHINES WHILE SCORES TIGHTEN Miami, FL (Mar. 12, 2009; Day 5) It was a perfect sailing day on Biscayne Bay with 10-12 knots of wind from the northeast, sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s. It was also the perfect day for Star newcomer Andy Campbell of San Diego and crew Brad Nichol of Miami who edged out Olympians Marc Pickel of Germany and crew Steve Mitchell of Great Britain on the approach to the finish line to win the fifth race in the 82nd Annual Bacardi Cup being sailed on Biscayne Bay, Miami. Campbell was in the top dozen off the start line, moved up to second at the third mark, and never let go. "We made nice gains downwind and hung tough,” said Campbell, a 2008 Olympian in the Laser Class and 2006 College Sailor of the Year. “Truth is my legs fell asleep as we never let up." The two teams went bow to bow on the last upwind leg and Campbell and Nichol kept their speed up through the finish line beating Pickel and Mitchell by seconds. -- Full story and results: http://www.starclass.org/artman/publish/article_390.shtml One race remains in the six race series, to be held on Friday. Preliminary results (top 10 of 63): 1. BER, Peter Bromby/ Magnus Liljedahl, 7.3/AVG-2-2-1-(24), 12.3 points 2. USA, Mark Mendelblatt/ Bruno Prada, 3-(23)-1-10-3, 17 3. USA, Jon Vandermolen/ Goeff Ewenson, 2-16-6-2-(20), 26 4. IRL, Peter O'Leary/ Tim Goodbody, 4-(29)-17-4-4, 29 5. USA, Rick Merriman/ Brian Sharp, 6-(44)-7-6-12, 31 6. SUI, Flavio Marazzi/ Petter Pedersen, (65/OCS)-12-13-3-5, 33 7. USA, Paul Cayard/ Austin Sperry, (11)-10-8-5-11, 34 8. USA, Andy Macdonald/ Brian Fatih, (65/DNF)-13-3-11-8, 35 9. GER, Marc Pickel/ Steve Mitchell, 5-26-(45)-8-2, 41 10. USA, Peter Wright/ Nathan Quist, 13-3-(19)-13-13, 42 KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY AT THE BACARDI CUP When the Karahanas family moved to Toronto they joined Queens City Yacht Club and purchased a Star, because the Star fleet was the popular Wednesday night racing fleet. Tony’s crew was his 17-year old daughter, Amanda. After Tony and his only child did not do very well in their first father and daughter Wednesday night race, Amanda suggested that she have a try in the skipper’s seat during their next outing. Father Tony’s response, “Okay. If you win you get to steer from now on.” Thirteen years have passed and the registration list for the 82nd Annual Bacardi Cup lists Amanda as the skipper and Tony as the crew. Both Amanda and Tony can’t speak highly enough about their experience in the Star, the ideal boat for Toronto’s light summer breezes. “It’s unusual for a father and a daughter to bond this way, but it’s been great.” Amanda then confided, “When I was younger, he was my soccer coach, and that didn’t work out, so I’m glad that we found something that we could do together.” -- World Regattas, read on: http://www.worldregattas.com/ViewInfo.php?ContentID=197 AUDI ETCHELLS WORLDS 2009 Melbourne, AUS (Mar. 12, 2009; Day 4) - John Bertrand and his crew of Ben Ainslie and Andrew Palfrey (AUS) have reclaimed the 2009 Audi Etchells World Championship lead today on Port Phillip in a thrilling Race 6 finish with Graeme Taylor/Ben Morrison-Jack/Grant Wharington (AUS), who won the race, Bertrand having to tack to lay the finish and having no alternative but to follow Taylor’s stern over the finish line. Taylor led around every mark in big 16-24 knot winds, until just before the final leeward mark, when Bertrand gained control of the race. However, coming up the beat to the finish on the windward leeward course, Bertrand was to the left of the course, Taylor closer to the middle. It was not until the final seconds that a clear picture of who would win emerged, such was the closeness of the race. -- Read on: http://linkbee.com/I2A7 Three races remain in the nine race series, with two races scheduled for Friday and one for Saturday. Preliminary results (top 6 of 85): 1. AUS, John Bertrand/Andrew Palfrey/Ben Ainslie, 3-11-1-(86/BFD)-4-2, 21 pts 2. AUS, Jason Muir/Matthew Chew/Paul Wyatt/Bucky Smith, (10)-5-5-7-5-4, 26 3. GBR, Stuart Childerley/Robert Elliott/Sam Richmond, 4-(59)-3-11-15-3, 36 4. GBR, Laurence Mead/Phil Lawrence/Andrew Yates, 7-(53)-9-2-12-14, 44 5. USA, Judd Smith/Mark Johnson/Nik Burfoot, (18)-13-4-13-1-16, 47 6. USA, Chris Busch/Chad Hough/Chuck Sinks/David Hughes, 2-(60)-2-6-32-7, 49 Complete results: http://www.audietchellsworlds2009.com.au/results/ DOES ICE SPEED SAILING NEED TO COME OF AGE? For sailing, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) authorized the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) to administrate any claims of sailing speed records. However, for ice sailing, there is no international authority to oversee speed records on ice. But that does not stop people from making claims of speed. This week, Windsurfing magazine’s website posted a story about how Jeff Brown set a new GPS World Speed Record on his iceboard Freeskate (essentially a windsurf rig attached to a board with runners/skates). Jeff goes further as to say that he is now ranked #1 in the world for a "Freestanding rig ice-sled class" which covers all handheld windsurfer type craft on ice. Personally, I don’t dispute anything he is claiming. All the data is based on sophisticated GPS devices, with the data uploaded and analyzed, with the results then posted to a newly established website called GPS Icesailing. But shouldn’t somebody be in charge? -- Scuttleblog, read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/03/ice-speed-sailing_11.html * If you are interested in this arm of the sport, which includes freeskate, wingsurfing, kitewing, icesailing, etc., an event is planned for this weekend at Lake Sunapee, N.H. For newcomers, there will be some demo wings, a Snowfer for windsurfers, and a Uniboard for kite sailors interested in something very cool & different. Full details: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0312 SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION Sleuthing for the lowest hardware prices on the web? You won't need Sherlock Holmes to uncover a 7% savings on Lewmar hardware during the month of March. From March 1 to March 31, Hall Spars & Rigging has Lewmar winches, blocks, rope clutches - even the award-winning OneTouch winch handle - at 7% below our already great prices. The OneTouch handle can be removed with one hand, so you spend more time sailing and less time fiddling. Put together these clues, grab Dr. Watson, and visit Hall before March 31 to save an additional 7% on Lewmar. -- http://www.hallspars.com CIAN UNDEFEATED IN MARSEILLE Marseille, FRA (Mar. 12, 2009; Day 2) - Showing great mastery of the light air conditions of the day, Paolo Cian (ITA) and his Team Shosholoza have exploded out of the blocks, winning all of their seven matches in the first day of racing in Stage One of the Marseille International Match Race. Sailing in J/80s, nine flights remain in Round Robin action of Stage One for the 12 teams assembled for this first event on the 2009 World Match Racing Tour. Cian won the first event of last year’s Tour, the Brasil Sailing Cup, but makes no predictions for this first event of this year. “This was only the first day. Our goal for this stage was to just get to the Quarter-Finals, so with seven wins I think we’ve achieved that now.” Round Robin racing in Stage One resumes Friday in Marseilles, with slightly more gradient pressure in the forecast. The finals are slated for Sunday. -- Complete report: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/95653 Current Standings: Paolo Cian (ITA) Team Shosholoza 7-0 Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team/French Spirit 4-2 Ed Baird (USA) Alinghi 3-0 Philippe Presti (FRA) French Match Racing Team/French Spirit 3-2 Pierre Antoine Morvan (FRA) French Match Racing Team 2-2 Sebastien Col (FRA) French Match Racing Team 2-2 Adam Minoprio (NZL) ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing Team 2-3 Ian Williams (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar 2-3 Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Mirsky Racing Team 2-3 Damien Iehl (FRA) French Match Racing Team 1-4 Ian Ainslie (RSA) Team Proximo 1-4 Bjorn Hansen (SWE) 1-5 Results and race schedule: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/95409 2009 SOUTHERN CIRCUIT BEGINS TO START by Amy Smith Linton Step right up, the show is about to—well, it is about to begin, but THIS show starts on the road. The International Lightning Class Southern Circuit takes place across two weekends and a week, and moves from Savannah ,Georgia to Miami, Florida to St. Petersburg, Florida. The Circuit involves a minimum of 730-some driving miles –– plus however long it take to arrive in Savannah and to return home again. For the North Americans among us there’s at least 1,000 miles of road. That’s a lot of empty calories from Doritos, Mountain Dew, beef jerky, and Yoohoo. Still, the Lightning –– an Olin-Stephens-designed sloop that celebrated its 70th anniversary last summer - is suited to a series of regattas that includes plenty of highway miles between venues. It’s a 19-foot centerboard dinghy that sits low behind the car and only rarely decides to throw a shoe or shy under tow. And chances are, we’ll work off those empty calories one way or another: if not hiking, then playing whiffleball with paddles or hoola-hooping somewhere along the line. -- Scuttlebutt Forum read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7178 => Curmudgeon’s Comment: For the fourth year in a row, Scuttlebutt will be following the Lightning Circuit that begins this weekend in Savannah, GA. The accounts from this three event circus will be posted on the Forum, and while Amy is signed on to provide regular updates, everybody is welcome to contribute on the thread link above. SAILING SHORTS * The US Coast Guard spent $1.6 million searching for four men lost in the Gulf of Mexico last month when their boat capsized on a boating trip. The men did not have an EPIRB on board. The Coast Guard was quoted as saying the three-day search over more than 20,000 square miles of water required 230 combined hours of Coast Guard aircraft and boats. -- Sail World, read on: http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=54729&rid=11 * Cruising sailors wishing to transit the Panama Canal knew the Panama Yacht Club almost as an institution, their home from home while waiting to transit the canal, or a welcome respite when reaching the Atlantic. But it was all history in a matter of minutes at midnight last week when the Panama authorities staged their surprise raid. -- Sail World, read on: http://www.sail-world.com/cruising/index.cfm?nid=54602&rid=11 WE NEED TO RACE…WE ARE THE DEFENDER Here is an excerpt from an interview on the Daily Sail (subscription) website with key members of the America’s Cup defender Alinghi team regarding the highly anticipated decision from the State of New York, Court of Appeals that is expected when the court reconvenes on March 24-April 3. * When the next decision is made in New York, how much do you expect that to be the final decision of the New York Supreme Court? Ernesto Bertarelli: "I really hope that the decision is one in favour of CNEV, because it is a simpler decision. What worries me most is not so much having to race BMW Oracle as a Challenger of Record, it is the uncertainty of a decision in their favour: From the standpoint of their certificate, the boat, the date of the regatta and all those things that haven’t been fully debated in the previous instances in the Appelate Division. That is my biggest worry - that we end up with a decision that carries another set of question marks. Because honestly from a very selfish point of view - and that is not our role as Defender and Trustee of the Cup - but if I am selfish for a second - multihull or monohull? Actually from a cost point of view, since we already have the multihull, that is cheaper for Alinghi! So if I am really selfish, if there is a clear decision… We need to race. We are the Defender, we have to come to the line and race someone." * If you were forced into the DoG match how soon could you have your boat on the water? Grant Simmer: "A couple of months." Brad Butterworth: "That is to put it in the water and not to race it. It will take a bit of time to get it ready." -- Complete interview: http://linkbee.com/I2A8 VIDEO OF THE WEEK Thirty-five kiteboarders, lined up for a race start, with all their kites and strings up there in the sky, rocking around and ready for some kind of chicken fight in the sky. Videographer Vince Casalaina provides a highlight reel from the first Kiteboard U.S. National Championship that was held in San Francisco, CA. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/09/0313 * If you have a video you like, please send your suggestion for next week’s Video of the Week to mailto:craig@sailingscuttlebutt.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include pool photos, winner photos, spring photos, 7-masted photos, big boat photos, dinghy photos, and Indian boat photos. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0313 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Cory E. Friedman: The letters in Scuttlebutt 2799, and Paul Cayard's comment in Scuttlebutt 2798, do a pretty good job of substantiating USOC's conclusion that Rule 64 needs a thorough overhaul. You cannot expect to "make as fair an arrangement as possible for all boats affected," if you do not, among other things, provide that everyone who might be affected be brought into the Room for one global resolution, rather than having to file their own individual request for redress, counter-redress, counter-counter-redress, ad nauseum. I do not know the details, but the committee seems to have been oblivious to the problem raised by the USOC, which could have been solved within the existing rule, which is what USOC decided must be made mandatory. Clearly, Rule 64, like every rule, needs to be foolproof, rather than a trap for the non-sea lawyer. It obviously is not. An easy solution would be to require that notice be posted that redress will be considered and that any potentially affected sailor has the opportunity to have his or her views heard regarding what will be a "fair arrangement." That does not mean that Laser sailors get to kibitz at a Bacardi redress hearing. Due process is defined as "notice and an opportunity to be heard." Rule 64 should reflect that basic principle. * From Glenn McCarthy: It is great that this Redress example at Bacardi came up. 2-1/2 weeks ago, the USOC finished sorting out the 2008 Women's Windsurfing Trials where a request for Redress in the final race, switched the 1st and 2nd places around, where the previous winner was not involved in the Redress hearing at all. As a result USOC has made it clear that anyone that may be affected by a redress is entitled to be at a redress hearing and even if they didn't file the paperwork still be eligible to be granted redress (link: http://olympics.ussailing.org/AssetFactory.aspx?vid=2792). While USOC has given US SAILING until September 1, 2009 to comply with their edict, it appears that sailors (via judges) would be better served today by inviting all effected competitors to Redress hearings, rather than waiting for an arbitrary deadline. The rules require it. The Bacardi judges do have the option of re-opening the hearing and complying with the USOC requirement. CURMUDGEON’S AIRCRAFT OBSERVATION If it's unattractive, it's British. If it's unusual, it's French. If it's unattractive and unusual, it's Russian. Special thanks to the 2009 Marion Bermuda Cruising Yacht Race and Hall Spars & Rigging. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
