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SCUTTLEBUTT 3108 - Tuesday, June 8, 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 KINDLE: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/kindle RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Atlantis WeatherGear, JK3 Nautical Enterprises, and LaserPerformance. SIX MONTHS OF TRAINING OR INSTANT CHEMISTRY By Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt editor The Etchells North American Championships begin in San Diego on Wednesday, but for a lot of teams the preparation began over the winter. Amid an intensive renovation of San Diego Yacht Club, the local Etchells fleet has hosted out of town boats for practice and the monthly one design regatta. While best laid plans would have allowed for hugely competitive training events, Southern California chose to have an actual winter that saw most every storm synched with the regatta schedule. The end result was cancelled races or conditions atypical of June sailing. What has given the North Americans additional drawing power is that the class World Championship is one year away at the same venue. Committed sailing programs from Jud Smith of Doyle Sails, Dave Ullman of Ullman Sails, and Vince Brun of North Sails have also heightened the interest. The entry list now numbers 43, and includes local heavy hitters like Bruce Nelson, Chris Busch, and Brian Camet. One team that also hopes to have an impact will be led by 2008 World Champion Bill Hardesty, who called me four weeks ago to join him. Bill reminded me that it had only been 20 years since we had sailed Snipes together, which was preceded by a cross-country drive and a towing accident that involved Mark Reynold's Star boat (sorry again Mark!). Fortunately we are joined by Mandi Markee, who Bill has teamed with in match racing, and Tyler Sinks who arrives home after helping his Boston College team win the Coed Dinghy Nationals. We all will meet for the first time Tuesday to find our boat 'Line Honors' with her rig down and in need of a bit of work to get her going. We will soon find out what is better: six months of training or instant chemistry. In this era where the cost and effort to remain competitive may be be slipping out of reach for some people, I know I will be rooting for us. -- Scuttleblog, http://tinyurl.com/249adux BIG BREEZE AT 2010 LASER ATLANTIC COAST CHAMPIONSHIP Blue Point, NY (June 6, 2010) - The 2010 Laser Atlantic Coast Championship, sailed over the weekend and hosted by Sayville Yacht Club, attracted 98 competitors from as far away as Texas, Michigan and Puerto Rico. On Saturday, sailors were blessed with the usual 12-18 knot SW breezes, and an international sized trapezoid course with inner and outer loops were set for the competitors. The first Laser finished after an hour and 10 minutes, and despite the rather large distance, the leaders were still sailing in a relatively tight pack, making for exciting racing. The beats were "long", but the reaches and runs were "fast" so it seemed to all balance out. There was a pack of six 4.7's that all got lost in Race 1, claiming, "We couldn't see the mark!" PRO Steve Kelley shortened the course for the benefit of the competitors in hopes of getting more races in. Race #3 was abandoned near its conclusion as a squall moved in and the official boats near the top of the course saw lightning. Sunday provided some exceptional conditions with Race 1 held in 18 to 22 knots from the SW. Race 1 went off on time and the breeze just continued to build. Boats capsized all over the course, but sailors all got their boats up and were able to finish. One 4.7 sailor said, "I capsized like, 10 times probably." By the time Race 2 went off, the breeze was a steady 22 knots with gusts to 28, yet there was a pack of sailors raring to go. But all mark boats reported capsized boats pretty much all over the course - yes, this is Laser sailing so expected to an extent. Newport's Peter Shope was the sailor of the day, with a 1st and a 2nd, making good work of the conditions and sailing exceptionally fast. It was a pleasure watching Pete sail and if not for a couple of unfortunate OCS', he may have won the regatta. Racing was postponed after the conclusion of Race 2 because of the conditions associated with an approaching cold front, and because of the battered and weary support boats that had to tow in multiple broken boats . . . sailors, always remember to tie in your masts. -- Full report at: http://tinyurl.com/2e36wpz DISCOVER: A FREE VEST WITH YOUR NEW GEAR If you're racing to Bermuda, you need gear that will keep you dry when it matters without cooking you south of the Stream. You need the Aegis Jacket and Hybrid Bib from Atlantis. And now you can get a free G3 crew vest with your new gear at Team One Newport. Stop by the store or visit http://www.team1newport.com and type "ATLPRO10" in the search box to take advantage of this smoking deal. No matter what conditions Mother Nature has in store for this year's race, Atlantis and Team One have you covered. http://www.AtlantisWeatherGear.com DISCOVER: Your Atlantis JOHN MCROBERTS WINS ROBIE PIERCE REGATTA Larchmont, CT (June 6, 2010) - After a terrific clinic/practice race day Friday run by North Sails' Brian Hayes, competitors were anxious to race Saturday and Sunday in the Robie Pierce Regatta for disabled sailors. Fortunately the weather was perfect and the tornado watch posted for Sunday afternoon encouraged competitors to get their work done in a timely fashion. And they did. John McRoberts, Canadian Bronze Medalist at Beijing Paralympics, and his crew, Brenda Hopkin, set the stage on Saturday for a real contest going into Sunday. They faced tough competition from Andrew Fisher and Maureen McKinnon-Tucker (Maureen was crew for Nick Scandone in Beijing when they won gold), as well as Jen French, Ted King and Carl Olsson who finished 3rd in last year's Robie Pierce. Anything could happen, and a lot did between Saturday and Sunday. With the tornado watch and threat of thunderstorms with possibly damaging hail, the LYC Race Committee used caution and set shorter courses which allowed four races today, and plenty of time to get everyone to the LYC Veranda for Heineken and hot dogs before the skies turned dark. Several newcomers to the disabled sailing fleet included Ted King's crew, 28 year old Jim, who had never sailed until Friday practice day. Jim admitted sailing is much more athletic than it looks, but after the final race he said he was anxious to come back and keep learning. Also new to racing were Steve Mintz from the Lake George NY area, and William Lehr from NYC who grinned and said he'd never been to a regatta like this but just loved to go sailing. Peter O'Hara, a deaf sailor from Larchmont Yacht Club, joined the disabled sailors for the first time this year. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/24g2nlw LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY NEEDS A TUNE-UP When the 33rd America's Cup was stuck in the New York Supreme Court, professional sports teams were stuck on the sideline. Pink slips replaced paychecks. Out of the darkness came the Louis Vuitton Trophy series, which was designed to be a cost-effective format for match racing competition in Version 5 America's Cup Class boats that are loaned for the event. In just over a year there have been four events, with the most recent in La Maddalena (Sardinia, Italy). They have provided new and existing teams with a vital opportunity to learn and advance. Bringing together a crew of 17 to compete on unfamiliar boats with incredible loads is not to be underestimated. However, the format now needs a tune-up. A two week race schedule is too long. While the racing is close, and the video coverage is advanced, expecting people to closely follow the event for two weeks is a huge assumption. Major tennis tournaments are two weeks; the Soccer World Cup is four weeks. The LVT is neither. If there is an interest to engage the sporting public in the Louis Vuitton Trophy series, the events need to either be shorter or more relevant, and there can be no question as to the equality of the boats. The next event is not until November 13-28 in Dubai, UAE. Plenty of time for review. Until then, photographers Chris Cameron, Stefano Gattini, and Sander van der Borch provide images that demonstrate the power and beauty of this racing format: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0607/ TVNZ'S MARTIN TASKER TALKS LV TROPHY LA MADDALENA (June 5, 2010) - Even by weirdo America's Cup-style racing standards this second week at the Louis Vuitton Trophy in La Maddalena has been strange. And if variety is the spice of life this has run the gamut of an Indian restaurant menu from the vindaloo right down to the korma. (Sorry about the curry analogy; it's an indication of how desperate some of us addicts are for a hot fix, this being one of the few places where there's no Indian eating house). Let's start with the wind. It really has boxed the compass but the primary blast has come from the north or north west. There are tell-tale signs in the sky which the locals read keenly when the Mistral is coming and all of sudden it howls in way above any level for sensible sailing. At a small boat regatta last year the wind speed went from 5 knots to 50 in half an hour with a number of sailors injured and boats battered as they tried to sail to shelter. On a different scale are these big Version 5 America's Cup yachts and when it starts pumping over 25 knots it's time to run for cover. This week I was 18th man on the French boat Aleph and we just got our race in before it blew hard enough to call it a day, the sound and feeling of the strain in the boats absolutely terrifying. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/29le2f5 JK3 NAUTICAL ENTERPRISES, INC IS SELLING BOATS! The first half of the 2010 has shown a large increase in boat sales... up over 30% from last year! People are buying boats and living their dream of spending more time on the water with family and friends. From J/160s to Back Cove 29's, JK3 has been moving inventory. Have a boat you'd like to sell? List it with JK3 today! We are always looking for high quality and performance oriented boats to sell. Offices in Newport Beach (949-675-8053) and San Diego (619-224-6200) -- http://www.jk3yachts.com NEVER GIVE UP The 2005-6 Volvo Ocean Race was the initiation of the Volvo Open 70 design rule, and it didn't go well for most boats. Countless structural and design failures took teams off the track, with pitstops and rebuilds becoming the theme for the race. No boat suffered more than Movistar, which nearly sank off Cape Horn and finally did sink on the leg across the Atlanic. The skipper of Movistar was Bouwe Bekking. Bekking was back again for the 2008-9 Volvo Ocean Race - his sixth - as skipper of Telefonica Blue. Also back again was Bekking's bad luck. While the Volvo Open 70 rule had evolved to provide a fairly reliable ride, Bekking remained a lightning rod for adversity. T-Blue proved speedy in some conditions, but a disaster in others. Then there were the breakdowns and collisions. Simply stated, no team had more highs and lows than T-Blue. To share his story of the 08-9 VOR, Bekking has co-authored 'Never Give Up!', a 153-page book providing an onboard and behind the scenes look at the Telefonica team. While the official race book 'Spanish Castle to White Night' (authored by Mark Chisnell) provides a recap of the race, Bekking's book (written with Riath Al-Samarrai) offers a more personal perspective. And given the rollercoaster ride of T-Blue, his team had the best tale to tell. Their third place finish was a tribute to Bekking's leadership and his crew's tenacity. The book was an easy and enjoyable read, with great photos and handy diagrams to support the story. Race commentary from the crew is blended into the narrative, and the tight competition between T-Blue and second place PUMA Ocean Racing seeps in between the lines. If you are looking for summer reading, here are the details: http://www.bouwebekking.com/book/book.asp AMAZON: No luck searching for this book on Amazon.com, but you will see the other 312 titles that share the same book name. KIWI DESIGNER IN FAVOR OF MONO HULL FOR NEXT CUP Marcelino Botin, the Spanish head designer of Emirates Team New Zealand, talked to Valencia Sailing about his ideas on the future America's Cup yacht, the TP52's and, of course, the brand new Volvo Ocean Race campaign the kiwis will run for the Spanish footwear group Camper. Botin and Emirates Team NZ are strong advocates of the monohull option for the 34th America's Cup. Having interviewed three of the 19 designers present in the recent design meeting in Valencia, Botin is convinced that, at least, the conception of the new yacht rule is indeed an open, democratic consultative process. He stated, "If it's indeed true, as Paul Cayard stated in his interview yesterday, that we will "end up with a monohull", then it will be a clear sign the Defender really gave up one of its major prerogatives." VALENCIA SAILING: Let's first start with the Designers Meeting in Valencia two weeks ago. Did you attend it on behalf of Emirates Team New Zealand or as an independent designer? MARCELINO BOTIN: Well, the invitation sent by Ian Burns was personally to me but he obviously knows I work for Team NZ, so I would say that I was in that meeting as a representative of Team NZ. VALENCIA SAILING: Can you tell us what you and the rest of Emirates Team NZ want? MARCELINO BOTIN: First of all, what we want is a monohull yacht. We don't want the America's Cup to be raced on multihulls, for a very simple reason. The America's Cup is a match race and at least in its current format, we believe it isn't suitable for multihulls. It could be different if you envision some other format of match racing but in our opinion, and in particular mine, the biggest attraction of the America's Cup it the match racing itself and the close and tight races it offers. Even before the start of the race you have close action and all those aspects would be lost with a multihull. Take for example the 2nd race of the 33rd America's Cup last February in Valencia. It would have been completely different had the two boats been monohulls. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2dxkmkn SAILING SHORTS * (June 7, 2010) - BMW ORACLE Racing, the American winners of the 33rd America's Cup, will bring the oldest trophy in international sport to Newport, Rhode Island, on Thursday, July 1, 2010. The trophy will be on show at open-to-the-public events, and on public display in downtown Newport in the morning and Fort Adams State Park in the afternoon. Viewing is free of charge. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/oapdlw * Watsonville, Calif. (June 7, 2010) - West Marine, Inc., the world's largest retailer of boating supplies and accessories, will demonstrate its continued focus on, and interest in, marine conservation by offering up to $30,000 in grants with the 2010 Marine Conservation Grants program. The announcement will occur on "World Ocean's Day" June 8, 2010 and the formal application process to begin that day. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/2499gbh * Sail America opened registration for its 2010 Sailing Industry Conference, set for June 14-16 at St. John's College in Annapolis, Md. The two-day conference, titled "Adjusting to the New Economy," features a schedule of expert speakers, breakout sessions and interactive peer discussions, plus a mix of social activities including a barbecue at Port Annapolis and a Sailing Industry Regatta at J World Annapolis. -- Soundings, read on: http://www.tradeonlytoday.com LASERPERFORMANCE WORLD OPEN REGATTA The World Open Regatta is fast approaching and we want everyone to join in the fun. Race your Laser, Radial or Sunfish, or sail a Bug or Pico in our "Fun Race". June 26-27 will be a great weekend in Newport with plenty of on water and on shore activities. For more details: http://na.laserperformance.com/special-events/worldopen Sail Legendary LaserPerformance.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 Charles J. Doane (re, story in Scuttlebutt 3106): Thanks very much, as always, for sharing Kimball's musings on the fate of AC34. This whole gambit of selecting a venue based on a competitive bidding process, which began, I believe, during Alinghi's tenure, raises an important question. Whose money is it? Certainly not the Defender's. As a fiduciary trustee the Defender has an affirmative obligation to spend this money in a manner that benefits the trust beneficiaries. Mr. Ellison should bear this in mind. As for Mr. Bertarelli, I'd be very curious to see what an audit of his handling of AC finances revealed. * From Dan Knox, San Francisco (re, Scuttlebutt 3106): Kimball sure posted a great scoop, 500 MILLION EUROS AND ITALY? I have been lucky enough to live in San Francisco since 1975 and I have to say I just love the place. It is a great place to sail and I think it would make a fine venue for AC34. However even with all the wonderful things San Francisco can put on the table anyone that has ever tried to put together any type of project or event here knows just how hard that is to work with The City. Projects don't take years here, they take generations. It took 30 years to get approval for the Yerba Buena project; it has taken longer than that to do anything on Treasure Island (one of the most desirable pieces of real estate in the known universe) and The Presidio is another area going on multiple decades of planning. Ever seen the Piers on SF Bay? They are falling down; many are condemned. Even the Bay Bridge which originally took only three years to build in the very high tech years of the 1930's is going on 20 years to build a half a replacement. So I think we all need to cut Larry and Co. a bit of a break on this one. Frankly I think it would be irresponsible of him not to look at other venues. As much as I am hopeful for seeing AC34 in San Francisco Bay I would never bet on it. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "Airplanes may kill you, but they ain't likely to hurt you." - Satchel Paige Special thanks to Atlantis WeatherGear, JK3 Nautical Enterprises, and LaserPerformance. 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