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SCUTTLEBUTT #482 - January 14, 2000A FRIENDLY COMPETITION AMONG NATIONS* America True beat Stars & Stripes today to eliminate Team Dennis Conner from the Louis Vuitton Cup. Ken Read, on Stars & Stripes was in a must-win position, needing a point to tie Luna Rossa and force a sail-off for the second berth in the Finals. But Read fell behind early when after a split start, John Cutler found new pressure and a favourable shift on the right side of the course. Stars & Stripes could never recover from the big loss it suffered in the early going, as Cutler shut down the passing lanes by covering strongly. With the results of this race, Luna Rossa advances to the Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup where it will meet AmericaOne in a best of nine format. The two finalists must declare the boat they will use for racing no later than 20 January and the next day, the boats will be unveiled to the press. Racing in the Finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup starts on 25 January. The winner will meet Team New Zealand in the America's Cup on 19 February. -- Peter Rusch, Louis Vuitton Cup website, Full story: http://www.louisvuittoncup.com/ * "One shift, the first shift," lamented tactician Tom Whidden as Stars & Stripes crossed the finish line today, one minute and 32 seconds behind America True. Today's race was over, literally, before it started. In the pre-start, the America True afterguard wanted the right and got it. The veteran Stars & Stripes afterguard wanted the left and got it. It was a split-tack start, the blue boat on starboard at the pin end, the yellow boat on port at the committee boat end. America True was right, Stars & Stripes was wrong. Three minutes and 35 seconds into the race, America True tacked to starboard in the big right-hand wind shift. The rest, as they say, is history. America True rounded the first weather mark with a stunning 1:32 lead. The delta at the finish was identical. The two and a half hour interval was a slow agonising death for the Stars & Stripes crew as the race became a parade. Team DC lost on the water today, but gained something of a victory off the water. Prada asked to withdraw the protest it filed yesterday with the Louis Vuitton Cup International Jury. The Italian team had challenged the legality of one of Stars & Stripes' mainsails. Team DC agreed that the protest should be withdrawn. However, jury chairman Bryan Willis said that "the jury was concerned that the very serious allegations contained within the statement will not now be addressed." But Team DC's political battles aren't over. This morning Prada asked the America's Cup Arbitration Panel to rule that Team DC would be ineligible to compete in the Louis Vuitton Cup final if it had qualified to do so. It's unknown whether Prada will seek to withdraw this petition as well, now that Stars & Stripes has been eliminated. -- Larry Edwards, Quokka Sports Full story: http://www.americascup.org/ TESTING - 1, 2, 3 Testing means different things to different manufacturers of foul weather gear. And you can be assured there aren't many of them testing their products in the Southern Ocean. But that's exactly what Douglas Gill did. Working with the crew of Chessie Racing in the last Whitbread Race, they pushed their products to the limits, and then listened to the sailors about modifications. As a result of this interaction, Gill has increased the comfort and protection for everyone who sails. For the full story: http://www.douglasgill.com MTN CAPE TO RIO RACE "We heard that Portugal-Brasil 500 has started chasing us, but they will not catch us," Mark Rudiger, navigator on the American maxi Sagamore, said yesterday. Zephyrus IV increased their lead in the MTN Cape to Rio by covering 314 nautical miles yesterday. Rudiger sent his message before he heard that Ludde Ingvall and his Portugese crew on board Portugal-Brasil 500 sailed a new record of 372.3 nm in a 24 hours. The previous record was Zephyrus IV's 371 nm earlier this week. The American maxi Sagamore (Jim Dolan), currently in second place, did not give their position yesterday, but Rudiger said Sagamore's course further south may cost them dearly. Rudiger expects that Zephyrus IV will increase her lead over fellow New Yorkers, Sagamore, during the next few days. Portugal-Brasil 500 is still more than 400 nautical miles behind them after they had to turn back for repairwork early in the race. The Portuguese crew will have to average 70 nautical miles per day in order to catch up. If they do manage the almost impossible task of winning, they will surely be heroes in all Portuguese-speaking countries. -- Eben Human, Die Burger. Full story: http://www.capetorio.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net) Letters selected to be printed are routinely edited for clarity, space (250 words max) or to exclude personal attacks. But only one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if people disagree. -- From Lance Berc -- Some friends were disappointed that they didn't have ESPN2, but now they can get in-depth America's Cup coverage from the usual place - CourtTV. -- From Guy Gurney -- Please advise Doug Holthaus that the Down Under equivalent for "whine" is spelled "whinge," not "windge." In the Macquarie Dictionary (the Australian equivalent of Webster's) there is an entry for "Whingeing Pom," defined as "An Englishman who continually complains about life in Australia." John Roberson can tell you all about that. -- From Bill Buchan -- In response to Mr. Roberson's comment that Paul Elvstrom invented the suction bailer, I would like to say that it was in fact invented by Duarte Bello. -- From Bruce B. Nairn -- Unfortunately the America's Cup relys on philanthropy to survive. That it does has no relation to the actual event itself. The overall character of the America's Cup seems to have changed little in it's long history and frankly that doesn't seem all bad to me. It's a huge bag of money filled with all of the intrigue, deceit, surprise, danger, manipulation, and great competition in truly majestic machines. Where can you find all of these elements so neatly gift wrapped in one event? Hollywood couldn't write this script. All of the winching and whinning for what? To make it fair? Hey yacht racing has never been fair. -- From Don Becker -- Regarding Craig Leweck's comment about the NYYC's "straw hat" selection procedure, remember this was the selection for the defender. When there became a need for a challenger selection it has always been conducted by agreement between the challengers, each with their own interest at heart. Craig is right, the America's Cup has not started yet! -- From Mark Gaudio -- Is it me or is obvious to every 'butthead' that America One would rather race against TDC than Prada by their 'subtle' manuevers is yesterdays race. I'm sure it is by mere coincidence that Cayard was a litle late to the start. That first tack was also cute with the headsail not comming in quite so quickly...Hmmm, makes you wonder. I did enjoy the downwind comebacks just to keep it interesting. Was Cayard trying something different out there to experiment with their pace against TDC or was it just a kind gesture of grand patriotism? The obvious train of thought must be that as the wind lightens (like is guess it is supposed to do over the next 60 days)TDC will be more of a pushover boatspeed-wise that Prada. Great job guys we love a little drama... -- From Dave Millett -- To those who think Cayard tossed the race, America True should have finished the round or any other competitor or team didn't give his or her or their all... I know none of us has ever seen a Football or Baseball or Basketball or Hockey or Soccer or you name it team "Mail one In" when the game didn't really count for anything. Steve Young, Paul O'Neill and others don't get nearly as hurt at the end of the season when their team standings are well established; the coaches dial them back. None of these sports would play the second or third string late in the season to save their assets for the playoffs, would they? Ever see a Drag Racer shut down early or a Cart or Formula One guy finish in the top 10 but not try to win because they only needed the season points. No, didn't think so. Get serious. This isn't a "Gentleman's Sport" at this level. Careers and reputations are on the line, not to mention a few million dollars per campaign. I don't know who you work for but if one of my employees were wasting my assets for zero gain they wouldn't be one of my employees. So chill on the lack of sportsmanship whining and realize that people are doing there jobs and that they don't have jobs unless they are around to finish the job. I hope this puts this thread to rest. -- From Bruce Golison -- To describe the America's Cup as "A Friendly Competition Among Nations", is a joke. What it is, is a great regatta featuring some of the best sailors in the world, sailing for some country regardless of their own "true" country. Don't get me wrong, it's a big time regatta, however the real story is which sailing rock star is going to win. The primary residence requirements are purely in name only and mean nothing. I cannot get too excited about the Japanese effort when Australian Peter Gilmore runs the show, or in 1995 when Rod Davis was an "Austria lain", or in 1992 when Paul Cayard was an Italian or now on Italy's Prada, tactician Torbin Grael is suddenly an Italian. It is a great regatta featuring big name sailors, but lets face it, each of these sailors would race for any other country if more money was on the table - how about an Egyptian America's Cup effort sailed by one of these guys next time? Lets back off the overly nationalistic viewpoint of the America's Cup and watch ESPN 2's coverage of a great regatta - or lets have some residence rules that make some sense! -- From Raymond Wulff -- Over the last couple of months, I've been reading the Cumdges' letters to the editor stating how, "The America's Cup is going down hill and isn't what it used to be." Thank God!!! Let's just review: OLD AMERICA'S CUP 12 Meters made of Aluminum Wouldn't Allow Fiberglass until 1987 Only could be seen on your private yacht in Newport Subjective Selection Series 2 maybe 3 Challengers Reading it in the Newspaper the next day Two months of coverage in Sail or YR&C NEW AMERICA CUP Play Commentary Space Age Materials On air coverage from the World-Wide Leader in Sports Setting the alarm at night to watch the races Clearly planned elimination series More than seven syndicates with multiple boat campaigns IACC Boats made of Carbon Live Play - by - play and on-board microphones And this whole controversy over whether or not AmericaOne threw the race against Stars & Stripes. Who cares!!! I think it's great Cayard went out for the TV coverage. Haven't you ever seen a football team or baseball team pull their best players after they have made the playoffs to save them from injury. Well, what's wrong with America One doing that. Heck I'd go out with the other boat just to save USA 61 if I could. Get over it. The America's Cup is ten times better than it used to be. More access, on board microphones, and Peter Montgomery's color commentary (We really need one of his tirades coming into the finish) SYNDICATE SPONSORSHIP Xpedior Incorporated (Nasdaq: XPDR) a leading provider of eBusiness solutions has become a corporate sponsor of America True, the San Francisco Yacht Club challenge for America's Cup 2000. Xpedior's corporate sponsorship will support America True's continuing racing efforts and non-profit community service programs year-round. -- Grace Kim, http://www.americatrue.org SPEED RECORDS 38 Hours 35 Minutes 53 Seconds after leaving the rough waters of Newport Harbour in Rhode Island, USA in 35 kts of wind, Skipper Steve Fossett and his crew of 7 aboard the maxi-catamaran PlayStation arrived in Bermuda in even tougher conditions to set a new World Record (pending World Speed Sailing Record Council approval) for the classic Newport-Bermuda run. Thje new record chops over 2 hours off of the previous mark - Fossett's own solo record of 40 Hours 51 Minutes. Steve Fossett said, "What a ride. This was an excellent test of boat and crew. We hit very high winds throughout the last 12 hours - generally over 40 kts - accompanied by very rough seas. We reduced sail to the 3rd reef with no jib - the next step would have been to take down the main completely and sail on the bare poles (wing mast and boom) alone." -- http://www.fossettchallenge.com/ EXPERIENCE COUNTS Lots of companies say they have an experienced staff. Perhaps you should ask, experienced at what? When you do business with Sailing Supply you're dealing with Brian Tehaar and Bill Bennett who have experience crewing for Star Class World Champion Eric Doyle. The staff at Sailing Supply also includes Laser sailors, 505 racers, and guys who race Melges 24s, Lido 14s and Etchells. The boss, Dick Roberts, won the Pacific Ocean Racing Conference in his new J/125, Snoopy. Give them a call -- you'll be dealing with people whose experiences will help you: (800) 532-3831 / http://www.sailingsupply.com/ COMMENTARY -- Chris Law Although the red, white and blue-clad crew lost its final match today against America True, it can be congratulated on sailing an excellent series and showing just how far a well-run one-boat campaign can go. Dennis Conner, the oft-talked-about central figure in America's Cup racing, is no longer in the competition. But he has shown how a famous figure can move on to being a central and dominant management guru in these programmes that require so much expertise, so much experience and the ability to present their message in corporate boardrooms. The programme has been run well, right from the beginning. Beginning late and able to build just one new boat, Team Dennis Conner didn't even have time for a long-drawn-out research and development programme. Designers John Reichel and Jim Pugh were only given about six weeks to produce a boat. Instead, Conner focused on assembling a team strong on skill, both shoreside and waterborne. It had one of the best records of all the challengers in terms of points lost to breakdowns. The team showed remarkable crew work and its afterguard is clearly one of the best. Perhaps for the future the organisers will consider restricting the capabilities of some of these well-funded programmes. Perhaps they should only be allowed one new boat, no more than two masts, and Etchells Class-type sail restrictions that would further tighten the sail limitations. That would support the one-boat programmes. Congratulations, once again, to Stars & Stripes. It's a real pleasure to watch you race. Now let's look forward to a fascinating final, which will be intriguing. I don't think anyone can argue the strongest teams will be going head to head. What a battle it will be. See you there. Full commentary: http://www.americascup.org/ THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the OTHERS here for? |
