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SCUTTLEBUTT 3643 - Monday, July 30, 2012Scuttlebutt 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: Dieball Sailing and Melges Performance Sailboats. DAY 1 OLYMPIC SAILING Weymouth and Portland, U.K. (July 29, 2012) - The 2012 Olympic Sailing Regatta began in Weymouth and Portland, U.K. with racing in the Finn and Star classes, and in Women’s Match Racing. It was a photo finish in Race 2 of the Star class as Robert Scheidt and Bruno Prada (BRA) overcame Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson (GBR) by the narrowest of margins. Both teams finished in a time of 73:39 but the race win was awarded to the Brazilians as they took the overall lead having finished fourth in Race 1. In the Women's Match Racing there is a three way tie after all the teams completed two races each. Tamara Echegoyen (ESP), Ekaterina Skudina (RUS) and Olivia Price (AUS) all have a 100% record having won both of their races on the opening day. The Spaniard arguably caused the biggest stir of the day defeating World #1 Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) and World #2 Lucy Macgregor. Denmark's Jonas Hogh Christensen owned the day in the Finn class. With two race wins the Dane dominated the proceedings from the start of Race 1 in front of the Nothe spectator area and led from start to finish. He was equally as dominant in the second race on Weymouth Bay West, again leading from the start. Ben Ainslie (GBR) and Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) were the personification of consistency as the Brit finished second twice whilst the Croatian ended up in third place in both races. The U.S. Olympic Sailing Team’s overall results after two races count Zach Railey in 15th (Finn) and Mark Mendelblatt & Brian Fatih in 10th (Star). Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly O’Bryan Vandemoer and Debbie Capozzi finished their first two round robin matches with one win, one loss. Racing continues in all three events on July 30, along with Laser, Laser Radial and 49er. Full report: http://www.sailing.org/olympics/london2012/home.php Results/schedule: http://www.sailing.org/olympics/london2012/results_centre.php Canada broadcast: http://tinyurl.com/c7y8n5pl USA broadcast: http://www.nbcolympics.com/sailing/index.html * For Day 2 in Weymouth, the breeze is expected to swing further west and increase a little in strength. By Tuesday and Wednesday, conditions should return to the more familiar south, south West direction, gusting over 20 knots in the afternoon. TEAM MACLAREN HAPPY WITH DAY 1 From the Team Maclaren blog: We sat out the first two races and then rotated in and started racing shortly after 3:30pm on the Nothe course, right under the noses of the spectators. Our first race was against Team Denmark. We had a tight race with them all around the course in the very shifty conditions but were able to extend a little right out from the second windward mark and went on to win the race to score our first point of the series. Our second race was the last race of the day starting at 4:40pm. We were up against Team Spain. We had a great pre-start with them, giving them a penalty. We started to windward and ahead of them, controlling them for the first half of the beat. Half way up, we let them slip a little too far out to the right side of us and they got a shift and around us. We held close and were right behind them as we approached the top mark. We got in a little luffing match as they tried to pin us while looking for an opportunity to spin their penalty. The chance wasn't there and both boats tacked to port and bore away to round the mark and continue the race. Somehow, despite following their line around the mark, we caught the anchor line for the mark causing it to drift into us and cancelling the penalty. And now with us stopped, she sailed away. We gave our best effort to catch up, and gained back a few lengths, but we couldn't catch up and we ended up losing the race. It was frustrating to lose in that way (there were two races in that flight in which this happened). But overall we are happy with how we are sailing and we are looking forward to sailing tomorrow. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/d4bhsw8 DIEBALL SAILING - MORE THAN JUST A SAILMAKER 2012 is already shaping up to be the best yet for Dieball Sailing customers, and we’ve only just begun! This year, we have had many customers step up to our D-CUT line of Membrane and One Design sails. The results have been impressive with podium finishes in many prestigious events like the Bayview One Design, Port Huron to Mackinac, Mills Trophy Race and many of the One Design National Championships. But delivering quality sails is only 1/2 of what we do. We also deliver a level of support that you deserve. Nice guys do finish first! You can too! Check us out: http://www.dieballsailing.com/scuttlebutt AMERICA’S CUP DAY COMING UP San Francisco, CA (July 27, 2012) - The San Francisco Giants and ORACLE TEAM USA brought home two of the most iconic trophies in world sport in 2010 - Major League Baseball’s World Series and sailboat racing’s America’s Cup. On August 25 they’ll join forces and celebrate their success with their fans while looking forward to repeating this success in 2013. “America’s Cup Day” at AT&T Park will see a full day of activities built around the Giants’ third of four home games against the Atlanta Braves. Highlights of the day will include: • ORACLE TEAM USA’s wingsail AC45 catamarans moored in McCovey Cove • First pitch by ORACLE TEAM USA’s Jimmy Spithill, the youngest winning skipper in the 161 years of America’s Cup history, winner of the 33rd America’s Cup. • Giants’ owner Larry Baer and skipper Bruce Bochy presenting to the sailors on the field • America’s Cup trophy on display at Triples’ Alley, Pitcher’s Mound & Community Clubhouse • Pre-Game sail past by the America’s Cup World Series teams’ AC45 race boats from the U.S., Europe, Australasia and Asia San Francisco is the host city for the 2013 America’s Cup, and the city’s home teams will focus attention on this summer’s and next summer’s racing action on the Bay. The day coincides with the penultimate day of competition at the ACWS San Francisco, taking place August 21-26, featuring racing right off the city front between Marina Green and Piers 27/29. The Giants’ legendary skipper Bochy has already trained with ORACLE TEAM USA’s CEO Russell Coutts, the most successful skipper in America’s Cup history. “Awesome,” was Bochy’s reaction after experiencing the athletic crew work on a high-speed, next-generation AC45 race boat. “The crew would make great infielders.” -- Story at: http://media.oracleracing.com/pressreleases/?id=491 FAST TRIP TO HAWAII FOR J/125 DOUBLE TROUBLE (July 29, 2012) - For more than a third of the 2012 Pac Cup fleet, the race is over and recovery underway at the Kaneohe Yacht Club. While results are not yet official, the clear winner this year is Andy Costello’s J125 Double Trouble, finishing in 7 days, 23:42:44. The victory is particularly sweet for Costello as it’s his first-ever Pac Cup. He was stoked to reap the benefits of two+ years he’s put into optimizing his boat. Costello also hand-picked a crew with the right chemistry to get the job done - fast. “We sailed to Hawaii in under 8 days on a 40-footer,” Costello said, “That’s pretty good! I know it’s an extremely fast time for the size boat. It was really windy and the conditions were really suited for the boat and of course Skip (McCormack) called a perfect navigational race. We had five extremely good drivers - at night there was no horizon, no moon and plenty of clouds so you’re not driving by sight - it’s all feel and you had better know what you are doing. We didn’t have to slow down; we just went as fast as we could possibly go during the night. We were changing our drivers out every two hours so there was always someone driving the boat at full capacity. It keeps the pace on. We got to the point about 2-3 days before the end of the race where we felt good enough that we could put it into a slower gear or we could have probably finished the race 8-9 hours faster. But there was no need to break anything or blow the boat up before we got here.” Costello said they had breeze in the lower 20s for most of the race, and for them, that was based on putting the boat in the right position on the course. “I think a lot of the guys who stayed higher than us didn’t get as much breeze as we did because we dove south and because of that we were able to stay in the pressure and get around everybody. We sailed a lot more miles than everybody else but we still got here faster. It was awesome. Warrior is another J/125; we beat him by 250 miles - just shows that we’ve done everything to get the boat going like this. Trevor (Baylis) has designed the sails for the boat - the spinnaker is not like a normal sail - we really developed everything to make the boat faster and faster over the past few years. It’s a whole other level and I think we can win some more races with it.” The other two crew on board Double Trouble are Jody McCormack and Matt Noble. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/bpwo9xc VICTORY FOR LOCAL SKIPPERS AT NOODS Marblehead, MA (July29, 2012) - At long last favorable winds arrived for the final day of the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta resulting in the most action-packed day of the entire 123rd Annual Marblehead Race Week. With each class completing multiple final day races, Bight Me from the Rhodes 19 class, executed masterful nautical tactics on the Massachusetts Bay course, impressing judges enough to secure the title of Overall Winner. Led by Co-Skippers Charlie Pendleton and Jim Raisides, Bight Me produced a 20-point total in seven races over the course of the entire event to take top honors. “It’s been a long week with the weather not always cooperating. We faced all types of conditions; light air, heavy air and waves” said the Marblehead-based co-skippers. “With four days of racing in our class this is one of the hardest regattas to win. We faced a lot of depth and well-round crews and had to overcome very stiff competition.” As the overall winner in Marblehead, both skippers will be invited to participate in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Championship Regatta in the British Virgin Islands to compete in the season-ending event aboard Sunsail 44i’s against the other overall winners in the 2012 series. Also receiving prestigious recognition in Marblehead were Boat of the Day winners: Mohotta Mobetta (Rhodes 19, Kim Pandapas), Gypsy (IOD, Bruce Dyson/Norm Cressy) and Circe’s Cup (J/105, Ric Dexter). The distinction is awarded to the top-performing boat each day with the skippers from the boats receiving a pair of 7 x 50 binoculars, from industry-leading manufacturer Steiner, for their outstanding performance. -- Results at: http://tinyurl.com/cqr8xbt MARINE INDUSTRY WINS ON BACK OF TEAM NZ CAMPAIGN Auckland, New Zealand (29 July 2012) - The Emirates Team New Zealand campaign for the 34th America's Cup, which takes another huge step forward this week with the inaugural sailing of the world's first AC72, New Zealand, will deliver a substantial and measurable boost in the export of New Zealand manufactured boats and equipment, according to NZ Marine executive director, Peter Busfield. "We know from past experience that high profile America's Cup campaigns help attract lucrative new contracts and create new jobs in our industry," he says. "We estimate that over $30 million worth of New Zealand boats and equipment has already been supplied in the build up to next year's America's Cup regatta. "Every time ETNZ unveils an innovative new vessel, like New Zealand, or competes well in an international regatta, they help remind the world's boating markets just how innovative and highly skilled New Zealand boat builders are. "We are already enjoying a substantial increase in the number of visiting yachts and superyachts from the Northern Hemisphere. While they are choosing to explore a new destination, most of them are also choosing to have either maintenance work or a major refit completed by our skilled workforce. "In addition, America's Cup holders, Oracle, chose the New Zealand marine industry to build their technologically very challenging fleet of AC45 catamarans, because they knew we had both the expertise and the properly trained staff to complete the job." -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/d3yju4b RECORD FLEET The start of the Melges 24 World Championship begins Monday on Lake Garda in Italy, where a record fleet of 129 boats are coming from 22 countries and 4 continents. The combination of an outstanding boat and premier venue has clearly been endorsed by Melges 24 class members. This will be one of those "you should have been there" events. Follow the racing all week with video, photos and updates here: http://www.melges24worldchampionship.com SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * (July 28, 2012) - The 29ers finished their world championships in a cracking final in the 123rd Travemunde Woche. On the sixth and final day of the regatta, fierce gusts of wind swept across the field of skiff sailors for the first time during the championships. The new world champions are Carlos Robles/Florian Trittel (Spain), reaching first place in the three races. They triumphed over Lucas Rual/Kevin Fischer (France) and Mateo Majdalani/Klaus Lange (Argentina). Americans Christopher Williford and Kai Frieseche finished 9th overall in the 50+ fleet. -- Results at: http://tinyurl.com/c3uowhr * Newport, RI (July 28, 2012) - After three more races at the 2012 Melges 32 U.S. National Championship hosted by Sail Newport, reigning North American Champion Ryan DeVos (Macatawa, MI) with tactician Ed Baird on Volpe steps into the overall lead. In second place is Gold Cup Champion Steve Howe (San Diego, CA) and tactician Morgan Larson on Warpath, tied with equal points. Jason Carroll's (New York, NY) Argo with Cameron Appleton on tactics is third, only three points behind. Final results were not available at press time. -- Daily reports and results: http://www.melges32.com/?p=news&id=933 * La Rochelle, France (July 27, 2012) - On the 6th and final day of the 2012 SAP 5O5 World Championship race results it was Denmark’s Jan Saugmann/Martin Gorge who defeated fellow countrymen Jorgen Bojsen-Moller/Jacob Bojsen-Moller. Germans Christian Kellner/Martin Schoeler took third. Americans Edward Conrads/Brian Haines finished 11th overall in the 185-strong fleet. -- Full results: http://tinyurl.com/clgrq38 * Lake Garda, Italy (July 28, 2012) - After five days of competition, the World RS 500 Championships and RS 200 and 400 Eurocup came to close. In the RS 500, Tim Wilkins and Heather Martin (GBR) once again claimed the title they won in 2010. They even had the luxury of being able to sit out the last two races (discarded), to finish tied on points with Americans Carolyn Howe (7th on the Yngling at Beijing Olympics) and Mischa Heemskerk on the bow who took a 2-1. Brits Gregory and Paul Barlett confirmed their third place with a 1-5ß. -- Results at: http://tinyurl.com/d2xyxyx * Torbole, Italy (July 29, 2012) - Sunday saw the last practice and official training for the 2012 Melges 24 World Championship, organised by Circolo Vela Torbole and the International Melges 24 Class Association. The 129 boats, representing 22 Countries and 4 Continents familiarized themselves with the race course and the unique features of Garda Trentino. Americans competing include Don Jesberg (SFYC), Bora Gulari (CNS SCIEZ), and Robert Harf (DTYC - BYC). Racing begins Monday. -- Event website: http://www.melges24worldchampionship.com/ * The International One-Design Class has released The Saga of the International One-Design, a history of the first ISAF designated Classic Class. The major sections include an overall history of the creation and development of the class; a section on each of the eleven individual fleets from Sweden to San Francisco; a technical discussion of the evolution of the boats from the first 30 years when they were all constructed of wood in Frederikstad Norway to the conversion to fiberglass; and more. -- Info at: http://tinyurl.com/clctxhm * (July 27, 2012) - West Marine’s net revenue increased 3.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the prior year as the boating accessories retailer continued its store optimization strategy and worked to tweak its merchandise strategy. West Marine made about $243.6 million in the quarter, while net income decreased 50 percent year over year to $22.6 million due to a large tax benefit recorded during the second quarter in 2011. Sales increased in the company’s core categories, as well as electronics, fishing and soft good categories, according to the company’s earnings release. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/c3njljg * Long Beach, Calif. (July 27, 2012) - More than 140 young sailors ranging in age from 6-18 ventured into the waters of Long Beach Harbor Thursday in the 25th annual Jessica Uniack Memorial Beach to Bay Race. This is the only junior sailing event of the year where the eight-foot-long Sabots ever venture out on the ocean racing from the east end of Shoreline Marina to Alamitos Bay. Sean Ayale of Alamitos Bay Yacht Club finished first in the Sabot C3 class winning the perpetual Jessica Uniack Memorial Trophy for taking first place in the largest class. -- Full results: http://www.lbyc.org GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Brian Bracken, Cowes, UK: If you like sport and can’t find it on your TV, the BBC has a great web player for all the Olympic sports and you can choose which live feed to watch. It also has optimised versions for PC, mobile and tablet: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport * From David Munge (re, Scuttlebut 3641): Did you know... the San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile U.S. National Monuments. What about Dennis Connors? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Keep looking around; there's always something you've missed. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Dieball Sailing - Melges Performance Sailboats - Doyle Sails Atlantis WeatherGear - Allen Insurance and Financial - North Sails Southern Spars - Gladstone's Long Beach - Ullman Sails - Summit Yachts Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
