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SCUTTLEBUTT 3222 - Wednesday, November 17, 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 RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Doyle Sails, Atlantis WeatherGear, and Lewmar. WHAT SHOW WOULD YOU WATCH? With so much discussion about improving the manner in how sailing events are produced for television, Scuttlebutt got curious about what people would prefer to watch. And to keep this simple, let’s consider the three sailing events with the highest international profile: * America’s Cup - match racing in 72-foot catamarans * Olympics - one design racing, 9 fleet race events and 1 match race event * Volvo Ocean Race - around the world race in 70-foot crewed keelboats But before you answer, let’s put some conditions on this question: First, all the events will provide well produced, highly watchable programming. How this is done may vary amongst the events, but let’s consider that it is done well. Next, let’s put this in the context of other reality shows. From September through May, on Wednesday night at 8:00 pm, each week these shows will provide an update to the story, with the final shows coinciding with the end of the event. Let’s also put this in the context of other sports. There is always a season series of games that precede the championship event, and it is during this initial series that builds an audience. For baseball’s 2010 World Series, interest outside of San Francisco, CA and Arlington, TX would have been dramatically less if baseball enthusiasts hadn’t followed their sport since spring. The same can be done for these three events. So this is what we know: we have watchable shows, they build on each other, and they seek to engage and interest us. Now we ask, if these three shows where on at the same time, which one would you watch? VOTE HERE: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/polls/10/1116 ISAF EXCLUDES MEN'S KEELBOAT FOR 2016 By Bill Allen, Star class President At the recent International Sailing Federation Annual Conference in Athens, Council voted to accept a slate of events that does not include a men’s keelboat. In a 19-16 vote, a 10 event slate was tentatively approved encompassing: - Men’s and women’s sail boards or kite boards - Men’s and women’s 1-person dinghy - Men’s and women’s 2-person skiffs - Mixed 2-person dinghy - Mixed 2-person multihull - Men’s heavyweight dinghy - Women’s keelboat A final vote to confirm these events will be taken in May, 2011 at the ISAF mid-year meeting. This slate of events was recommended by the Events Committee, which considered a list of events, including keelboats, developed by the ISAF Olympic Commission. From the discussion during the week in Athens, it was clear that the Olympic Commission and many Council representatives wanted to move toward increasing the number of high speed sport boats for better television and Internet coverage. The Star class fully supports the ISAF decision-making process and the eventual outcome. We understand and appreciate many of the challenges ISAF faces in making our sport more attractive to the media and we believe the Star can make unique and valuable contributions in this area. There are two arguments that seem most compelling. First and foremost, keelboats are where many of the heroes of our sport compete. Star Class champions are among the most recognizable names, and excluding them from Olympic competition is denying the media the established stars of the sport. Second, one of the objectives of the Olympic Commission is to have “diversity of physiques;” yet all of the other boats have very narrow weight ranges. Other than the Finn, all male competitors need to be less than 85 kilos (187 pounds). Over the next several months we'll continue to work closely with ISAF in a positive and constructive manner as we continue to attempt to convince ISAF Council members that keelboats should be represented in the 2016 Olympic Games. Regardless of the final outcome of the 2016 Olympic event selection process, we will continue to thrive as a class and move forward. The Star is the premier one-design racing keel boat in the world and for 100 years Star sailors have led the way in advancing the sport of competitive sailing. We possess more talent, resources, and commitment than ever before in our history. -- Scuttlebutt Forum, http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10821#10821 BEST PRICING AVAILABLE NOW! Fall is discount season at your local DOYLE loft. Call now to lock in the best pricing of the season! Fall is also the perfect time to extend the life and performance of your sails by bringing your sails to your local DOYLE loft to be inspected and washed. DOYLE offers the most experienced sail maintenance and repair services available. Let DOYLE help protect your investment! For new sails or service, call 800-94-DOYLE or visit us at the METS, stand 11.506. -- http://www.doylesails.com GOOD MEMORIES - GOOD TIMES The United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY will host the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Match Racing National Championship on November 19-21. This is the first year for the match race format, which had previously been held as a fleet racing event. Here famed naval architect Bruce Nelson (Univ. of Michigan '75) shares a report from the first championship: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In June 1972, the University of California of Irvine hosted the inaugural ICYRA North American Sloop Championships for the Cornelius Shields Trophy in their fleet of Shields Class sloops. The University of Michigan team of myself, Tom Ehman and Irene Dabanian represented the Midwest district in the event sailed on the Pacific Ocean off of Newport Beach, CA. It was our first time in California, and we were quite excited to just be there sailing for the Shields Trophy. The ten-boat fleet racing series consisted of seven races over three days. The first day featured light Catalina Eddy winds from the South, with long swells, and we quickly found our rhythm with the conditions and won the first three races, probably aided by our relatively light total crew weight. Tom worried constantly about what would happen if it turned windy, while I reassured him that it never blows in Newport Beach - even though I really knew nothing about the local conditions. But the next day brought a stronger westerly sea breeze, and Tom’s fears began to materialize as we struggled along mid-fleet in all three races. This created a virtual four-way tie for the lead between us, Yale, Washington and SUNY heading into the final race day. Fortunately for us, the final race was another light air affair in big swells and, with Irene softly singing a medley of popular Joni Mitchell songs to calm our nerves, we were able to break away up the first leg and secure our first North American Championship - to say we were thrilled is an understatement of epic proportions! College sailing provides many lessons and memories which last a lifetime, but for me this event was extra special. Not only the experience of travelling to California and winning a championship, but the many new friendships established and life lessons learned attending this event contributed greatly to my growth and development as both a sailor and a person. The new match-racing format for the Sloop Championships is an exciting development which would certainly be met with approval from the tactically brilliant Cornelius Shields, one of the truly great sailors of his generation. I wish each competitor fair winds and the best of luck (especially the Midwest College Sailing Association representatives) and urge everyone to remember to enjoy the competition and respect your competitors - you will probably see them again often throughout your lifetime. Event website: http://www.collegematchrace.com/ AMERICAN TEAM REMAINS UNDEFEATED Dubai, UAE (November 16, 2010) - BMW ORACLE Racing kept its winning streak intact on Day 3 of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai, but only just. Competing against Synergy Russian Sailing Team, BMW ORACLE Racing won the first race by 58 seconds. The team then had to scramble from behind in the second race to improve its record to 6-0. “It feels good to be 6-0, but our second race was quite tight,” said tactician John Kostecki of the U.S. “I called a bad layline and put the boat in a position we call ‘no man’s land’. “We ended up losing a lot and having to drop the spinnaker early. They carried theirs in and got the inside overlap and rounded ahead of us. But we managed to get them to tack away and incur a penalty, and out of that we got the starboard advantage and got ahead on the last beat. It was a good race.” Tomorrow (Wednesday) sees the two most experienced crews in the regatta - BMW ORACLE Racing and Emirates Team New Zealand - square off for two races. Looking forward to the showdown, Kostecki and the crew were happy to have a tough race against Synergy. “I think if we would’ve won that second race [without incident] we probably would’ve come out flat tomorrow,” Kostecki said. “Behind the scenes, it was good to have a tough race like that and make some mistakes.” Current standings (Team, Country, Helm, Tactician) 1. BMW Oracle Racing (USA), James Spithill/John Kostecki, 6-0, 6 pt 2. Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL), Dean Barker/Ray Davies, 3-2, 2.5 pt* 3. Artemis (SWE), Cameron Appleton/Iain Percy, 2-3, 2 pt 3. Synergy Russian Sailing Team (RUS), Francesco Bruni/Rod Dawson, 2-3, 2 pt 3. ALL4ONE (FRA/GER), Sebastien Col/John Cutler, 2-4, 2 pt 6. Mascalzone Latino Audi Team (ITA), Gavin Brady/Morgan Larson, 2-4, 1 pt* * Scoring penalty deducted by Umpires LIVE COVERAGE: ESPN3, the online member of the ESPN sports network, will be airing live the final three days (November 25-27) of the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai. Show time on the website is listed at 3:30 am ET. - http://espn.go.com/espn3/ BACKGROUND: The Louis Vuitton Trophy series was designed to be a cost-effective format for match racing competition in Version 5 America's Cup Class boats. Racing will continue to the November 27th. The event website will have live streaming coverage with VirtualEye for the entire regatta, with video highlights after racing. Look for enhanced live coverage of the final days of racing. Event website: http://www.louisvuittontrophy.com/home/ SAILING SHORTS * METS is the world’s largest trade exhibition for the international marine leisure industry, and this year’s prestigious DAME - Design Award METS competition - has chosen the winning entries from the 63 nominations. The Overall Winner of the DAME Award 2010 is the Seldén Reversible Winch of Seldén Mast AB. The Jury felt that this winch would have the largest impact on the leisure marine industry and would appear on many sailing boats in the future. Complete list of awards here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10820 * The International Lightning Class Association (ILCA) is accepting applications for the fifth year of the Lightning Boat Grant Program. The Boat Grant Program provides race-ready Lightnings for young sailors who might otherwise not have the opportunity to compete in the class. The deadline for the 2011 program is December 31, 2010. Details here: http://www.lightningclass.org/racing/boatGrant/2010/pressrelease.asp * (November 16, 2010; Day 31) - Polish ocean racer Zbigniew Gutkowski is set to claim second place in the first leg of the VELUX 5 OCEANS solo round the world race. The 36-year-old, known as Gutek, is expected to cross the finish line off Cape Town tomorrow (Wednesday November 14). Gutek’s arrival comes just a few days after American Brad Van claimed the top spot in the 7,400 nautical mile race from La Rochelle to Cape Town, the first of five ocean sprints which make up the VELUX 5 OCEANS. Canadian Derek Hatfield should be third to finish later in the week. -- Race website: http://www.velux5oceans.com * (November 16, 2010; Day 17) - It will soon be hectic for the 3542 nm Route du Rhum (France to West Indies) when the 41-boat Class 40 fleet start arriving late Wednesday or Thursday. The Class 40 race has race watchers twitching with anticipation as Thomas Ruyant closes to within 380 miles of the finish on Destination Dunkerque, with a lead now of only 59.8 miles ahead of Nico Troussel (Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne) who has closed back around 20 miles on the leader over the last two days. -- Event website: http://www.routedurhum-labanquepostale.com/en/s01_home/s01p01_home.php DISCOVER: THE CORPORATE GIFT THEY DON’T ALREADY HAVE Some of the top professional sailors in the world go to "work" wearing Atlantis Grand Prix softshells because they love the way our gear performs and they love the way it looks. When you take care of your partners and employees, give them something that makes a statement about your company - something that reeks of performance, creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. Give them real gear designed by real sailors. Visit http://www.AtlantisWeatherGear.com to find a dealer near you or ask your corporate apparel provider to call us at (877) 333-SAIL (7245). Discover Your Atlantis. 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 G.H.Oberbeck: I find the two stories in Scuttlebutt 3221 and the article about Mr. Paul Henderson's views to be a possible indicator of some reasons the sport of sailing and particularly sail racing may be suffering in participation. - ISAF Ban: A ban should be a 'Ban' in order for it to have the desired effect - not a partial ban. It is my opinion this organization has shown little in the way of responsible or even fair decision making and leadership in recent times. - Case 78: This is just a bad idea - if you are unable to beat the competitor fairly on the course by exhibiting greater skill, tactics and speed then you should not be able to restrain your competitor’s actions by impeding their sailing. This interpretation / ruling is not in the spirit of fair competition. I will not ever hold another boat back - I will do all I can within the balance of the rules to finish ahead of that boat - If I do not prevail - I was fairly beaten on the course by a better boat. I did not need to resort to a 'loophole-type' rule. I know there are others who disagree - they are 'ambulance chasing accident injury bankruptcy types' - yeah it may be the rule, but that is a weak way to win. - Boat type: We need not sail floating bricks, but let’s simplify and level the playing field - maybe newcomers will see fair and respectful competition in a sport that is still moderately complicated. This may lead to more involvement and keep people in the sport. * From Rob Dexter: While no boat is perfect, Mr. Henderson has perfectly described the Thistle Class to a tee. Not only are good used boats available for the price of a second car, they actually were designed to fit in your garage! However, we do allow sailmakers to use their own sails since they typically own their own boats. Class rules limit sail purchases to one set per year. We had 100 boats at last summer’s Nationals in Michigan, with many of the top boats being 20 to 30 years old or much older in the case of the still competitive wooden boats. There are fleets across the country with a network of regional regattas, both serious and fun. Thistle regattas are typically family affairs and we now officially have our first 4th generation Thistler. With or without a lot of national recognition, the class has remained strong for many reasons, not the least is that the boat is fun to sail and race. * From Bob Keim, Nashville, TN: Regarding Paul Henderson’s comments in Scuttlebutt 3221, he describes a Catalina 22 in virtually all respects. But neither Scuttlebutt, Sailing Anarchy, Sailing World, nor any other publication would give a Catalina 22 regatta the courtesy of one paragraph, even when we pull 45-60 boats. Key West Race Week told us "you are not the kind of boats we are interested in." That's OK. We have a lot of fun without all you hot shots. :-) => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Despite Scuttlebutt's best efforts, it remains a challenge to keep track of every event. While this one may have fallen through the cracks, it could have been prevented if someone in the Catalina 22 class had posted the 2010 National Championship on the Scuttlebutt Calendar - a database shared by the three publications Bob mentioned. It was not posted, and we certainly don't recall receiving an event report following the event (which would definitely have been published). For classes seeking publicity, I strongly suggest using these two links: Calendar: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar Media tips: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/pr * From Unruly blog, commenting on report in Scuttlebutt 3221 titled ‘Is It Still Fair Game To Drive Them Deep?’: >> In my PHRF experience, the fast boats always believe they own the course and deserve the right to do anything they want. I see nothing gained by the sport in letting a faster boat slam a slower boat for an extended period of time. How could it possibly be fair sailing if a faster boat slows down to drive away a slower boat? This can be resolved by a couple of simple questions. Do we want to increase participation in the sport? Do newbies compete in faster or slower boats? -- http://tinyurl.com/Unruly-comment-1 >> It's fair because the faster boat must sail EVEN FASTER to make up the time they've lost and keep their corrected score. In fact, I'll argue the reverse - it hurts a faster boat WORSE in handicap then One Design to slow a competitor, because they are not just sailing at the same speed as the competition (OD), but are EXPECTED to be FASTER by the nature of handicap racing. This is even more true if the boat would otherwise be at the front of the fleet in clear air, and has now put themselves in the middle of the fleet. Basically, there is enough that the fast boat must give up in position to relative to the fleet hurt a slower boat, that an argument for Rule 2 prosecution would be VERY hard to find, IMO. -- http://tinyurl.com/Unruly-comment-2 INDUSTRY NEWS UPDATES The Industry News category of the Scuttlebutt Forum encourages companies to post their new hirings, product and service updates. Scuttlebutt editors will select Industry update each week to include in the Thursday edition of the Scuttlebutt newsletter. Here is the link to post Industry News updates: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/INDUSTRY_NEWS_C15/ LEWMAR COUNTDOWN TO METS LAUNCH Lewmar are launching a host of new products at this week’s METS 2010, in Amsterdam. New ranges include the CPX windlass and the HTX collection of performance sailboat blocks and travellers. With the addition of the larger EVO winches, the Range now covers from Size 6 to Size 80, while the launch of the V9 Vertical Windlass complements the successful Lewmar V Range. Additional launches include stainless steel hatch furniture, a dual chain gypsy, and streamlined deck switches. Come and meet the Lewmar Team in Stand 11.101 for a preview, or click on http://www.lewmar.com CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION I used to worry about winning. Then I realized I can buy trophies. Now I’m good at everything. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Ultimate Sailing - Interlux - Summit Yachts - North Sails Ocean Racing - Doyle Sails - Atlantis WeatherGear - Lewmar Ullman Sails - Harken - The Pirates Lair - Team One Newport Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
