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SCUTTLEBUTT 3112 - Monday, June 14, 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: O'Pen BIC and Mount Gay Rum gear. NORTH AMERICANS DOMINATE STAR EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Viareggio, Italy (June 12, 2010) - US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics' (USSTAG) Star teams had a stronghold on a deep, 132-boat fleet this week at the 2010 Star European Championship in Viareggio, Italy, the biggest Star event in the class' history. USSTAG's Andrew Campbell/ Brad Nichol won a silver medal, while the American teams of George Szabo/ Mark Strube and Mark Mendelblatt/ John von Schwarz finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The German team of Johannes Polgar /Markus Koy led the regatta from the beginning, with Star Class Western Hemisphere Champion Richard Clarke/ Tyler Bjorn (CAN) finishing third. "We're very excited about this finish," said Campbell, who competed in the Laser at the 2008 Olympic Games in China. "We sailed conservatively, cautiously and consistently this week. We tried to avoid the traffic as much as we could. We had the best overall series if you count all six races, so that game plan ended up working out really well." Tying with Campbell but losing the tiebreaker, Clarke commented that "it was a little disappointing to lose one boat on the final run that resulted in a tie, and ultimately third overall...but if you had told me at the start of the week we would win the Bronze, I would have been thrilled." Results: http://www.stareuropean2010.it/classifica6.pdf Photos: http://photos.friedbits.com/2010stareuropeanchampionship Campbell/ Nichol blog: http://campbellnichol2012.blogspot.com CYA report: http://tinyurl.com/283k25s USSTAG report: http://tinyurl.com/283mqep GOLISON WINS ETCHELLS NORTH AMERICANS San Diego, CA (June 12, 2010) - With tough and fluky conditions on days 1 and 2 of the Etchells North American Championship, winds improved on day 3 and the fourth and final day started clear with beautiful skies and a steady 13 knots of breeze. Bruce Nelson took the opener, and with Race 7 in the books, competitors were able to drop their worst race from their scores. With Bruce Golison dropping a 20th place finish and earning 3rd in the race, and early regatta leader Argyle Campbell dropping a 27th place finish but getting a 19th, Golison took the lead from Campbell for the first time in the regatta. The eighth and final race started in about 15 knots of breeze, which saw Nelson win again to make a strong bid at the title. Bruce Golison needed to finish the last race with a 13th or better in order to win. Cutting it close with a 12th, Golison took the 2010 Etchells North American Championship. Sailing with Golison was Jud Smith, Bill Lynn, and Dina Corsi The full range of conditions at the North Americans showcased what teams may see next summer when the class hosts its 2011 World Championship at San Diego Yacht Club. -- Event website: http://etchellsna2010.com/ Final Results (top 5 of 42) 1. Bruce Golison, 12-8-3-(20)-2-9-3-12, 49 pts 2. Bruce Nelson, 14-6-13-11-5-(15)-1-1, 51 3. Brad Rodi, 5-9-(21)-18-13-1-6-2, 54 4. Will Stout, 4-11-(31)-1-9-11-12-6, 54 5. Bill Hardesty, (20)-19-18-9-1-7-7-3, 64 Event Results: http://www.sdyc.org/raceinfo/results10/etchellsNA_res.htm FIRED UP TO SAIL? How many 'Buttheads are frustrated when the kids don't share your passion for sailing? Share the fun with the boat your kids are fired up to sail. Give them joy they may not find with boats and formats designed fifty years ago. Find the kids' choice at Cool Kids (video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l6wIzg3SKI) and see why fleets and events are happening all over. The O'Pen BIC uses recyclable materials in a rocket-ship hull and new-age rig. Just two minutes to rig, completely self-bailing, no maintenance, and less expensive. Capsizing becomes fun! The bottom line? Kids can't wait to sail O'pen BICs. http://www.OpenBIC.com PUNDITS POUNCE ON SUNDERLAND'S FAILURE Sixteen-year-old sailor Abby Sunderland may not have circumnavigated the globe, but headlines of her ordeal certainly did. She's only the latest teenager to push herself to the limit while barely pushing puberty. And now her whole endeavor is being judged harshly by the self-appointed surrogate parents in the media. News swirled Thursday night that Sunderland had lost satellite contact and set off emergency rescue beacons after being battered by storms that whipped up 60-mph winds and 25-foot ocean swells. Finally spotted by aerial crews Friday (with boat upright but dismasted), Sunderland was picked up by a diverted French fishing vessel Saturday nearly 2,000 miles off the coast of Australia. But sighs of relief have given way almost immediately to clucks of concern, with the media questioning her age, her experience, and the lawfulness of her parents. Again and again (and again) the question is being asked: How young is too young? "Whether she was 16 or whether she was 40 the storms still would have happened," George Caras told me over the phone. The vice president and director of operations at Nashua, N.H.-based marine weather forecasting center Commander's Weather, Caras (and his colleague Ken Campbell) had worked closely with Sunderland leading up to and during her sail. To his knowledge, Sunderland "did everything she was supposed to do, and did it well," Caras said, adding that he was waiting on more specific details of exactly what had occurred. "A rogue wave or a squall - it could have been any number of things." Said Sunderland, "Within a few minutes of being on board the fishing boat, I was already getting calls from the press. I don't know how they got the number but it seems everybody is eager to pounce on my story now that something bad has happened." It's not surprising that Sunderland's age has become such an angle. She would have been the fourth teenager in less than a year to lap the globe on a sailboat, an odd spike considering that it's been 10 years since 18-year old Jesse Martin became the then-youngest to do so. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/29g7for * The American Sailing Association confirmed it had knocked back the teenager's appeal for help, fearing commercial endorsement might encourage her to take too many risks. "We chose not to be sponsors of Abigail because we did have concerns about the timing of her departure," said executive director Charlie Nobles. Abby's route placed her in the treacherous Indian Ocean during the notoriously tough winter months. "She had a lot of sponsors that were behind her and I think that puts pressure on her," Mr Nobles said. "We made a prudent decision not to contribute to that." -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/2cm7cnm * "If people are looking at age, they're looking at the wrong thing here," said Laurence Sunderland, Abby's father. "Age is not a criteria. Abby is a fine sailor," he added. "I've never advocated this for 16-year-olds. I've advocated this for experienced sailors." -- Full story: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2012095015_abby12.html * The parents of Abby Sunderland said that her journey was no more dangerous than other activities that teenagers do and that she proved to them that she was up to the challenge. "Let's face it, life is dangerous," said Laurence Sunderland. "How many teenagers die in car accident[s]?" -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/39olxkn * Abby's website: http://www.abbysunderland.com/ RICHARD IS 'KING OF KOREA MATCH CUP' Gyeonggi, Korea (June 13, 2010) - The island of Jebu sitting 2km off Jeongok Marina could once again be seen today as great weather set in for the ultimate day of Stage 3 in the ISAF World Match Racing Tour (WMRT). Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team is 'King of Korea Match Cup' after racing against the best pool of match racing skippers in the world and concluding Korea with a victory over double World Champion Ian Williams (GBR) Team GAC Pindar. To reach the finals, Williams won the round robin series, then beat Bertrand Pace (FRA) in the Quarter Finals and Bjorn Hansen (SWE) in the Semi Finals. For Richard, who is the current Tour leader, his team finished fourth in the round robin series, beating Francesco Bruni (ITA) in the Quarter Finals and Torvar Mirsky (AUS) in the Semi Finals. -- Complete story: http://tinyurl.com/2a7lhay Final Standings 1. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team, $60,180 USD 2. Ian Williams (GBR), Team GAC Pindar, $40,992 3. Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Gill Global Team, $33,701 4. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing Team, $24,072 5. Peter Gilmour (AUS), YANMAR Racing, $19,257 6. Francesco Bruni (ITA), Azzurra, $16,850 7. Adam Minoprio (NZL), ETNZ/BlackMatch Racing, $14,443 8. Bertrand Pace (FRA), Aleph Sailing Team, $12,036 9. Johnie Berntsson (SWE), Berntsson Sailing Team, $8,425 10. Paolo Cian (ITA), Team Italia, $4,814 11. Phil Robertson (NZL), WAKA Racing Team, $3,610 12. Park GunWoo (KOR), Busan Match, $2,407 Note: Prize winnings were converted from South Korea Won. Pairings and Results: http://tinyurl.com/2bwzmuh BACKGROUND: The World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) is the leading professional sailing series featuring 10 World Championship events across the globe, sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). STAY ON COURSE FOR PREMIER GEAR Sailors' focus is on outfitting their boats right now and for your personal sailing gear; check out the Mount Gay Rum line that is offered by Pirate's Lair. All with the legendary Mount Gay Rum logo. Due to popular demand, the J790 Softshell Jacket for men and women is back in the line. There are many great classic items on sale - right in time for Father's Day gifts. Order by calling The Pirates Lair, the official supplier of Mount Gay Rum gear, at 888-724-5286 or shop on-line, http://www.pirateslair.com/store/index.html Remember to visit the Mount Gay Rum website at http://www.mountgay.com KICKING OFF THE NEW ENGLAND SAILING SEASON Newport, RI (June 13, 2010) - Known as the longest running regatta in America, the New York Yacht Club's 156th Annual Regatta presented by Rolex also has the distinction of kicking off the sailing season in New England. This past weekend, June 11-13, over 1,000 sailors on 111 boats gathered from across the U.S. and Europe for three days of racing on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound. The start to the weekend was the Around the (Conanicut) Island Race on Friday, which is scored separately from the Saturday/Sunday races. The race has become a popular "add on" for competitors, especially those gearing up for the biennial Newport Bermuda Race the following week. George David's (Hartford, Conn.) Custom Maxi Rambler took line honors, finishing the 19-nautical mile distance in two hours, 10 minutes. However, Titan 15, a Reichel/Pugh 75 owned by Tom Hill (Puerto Rico) finished in first on corrected time with Hap Fauth (Minneapolis, MN) in second with his Mini Maxi Bella Mente. "We really love the competition," said Hill after racing. "We have been having so much fun racing Titan that to be that close to the other boats is really enjoyable." Rambler finished in third. The Rolex Cup - presented to the best performing two-boat team in the Around the Island Race - was won by Rush, a J/109 owned by Bill Sweetser (Annapolis, MD) and Spitfire, a J/122 owned by Pierre du Pont (Rockland, DE). Thirteen classes competed on Saturday and Sunday. Read on for their buoy racing report: http://www.nyyc.org/archives_public/article_764/ SAILING SHORTS * (June 11, 2010) - The Laser Standard and Laser Radial European Championships & Trophy 2010 in Tallinn, Estonia came to an end with Croatian sailors winning both Laser Standard and Laser Radial. Tonci Stipanovic won the 148-boat Laser Standard title while Tina Mihelic beat out 66 Laser Radials to claim the win. In 15th, Lee Parkhill (CAN) was the top North American in the Laser Standard, while Paige Railey (USA) was the top North American at 16th in the Laser Radial, suffering two black flag starting penalties and one DNS in the 11 race series. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/2c9vhp4 * The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) recently acknowledged the contributions of two individuals to the sport of college sailing by inducting them into the ICSA Hall of Fame. James Tod Reynolds (Summit, N.J.) received the Student Leadership Award and Holland C. 'Cappy' Capper (Wayzata, Minn.) was recognized with the Graham Hall Award for Outstanding Service by a College Sailing Professional. -- Full story: http://www.collegesailing.org/news/2010hof.asp * Copenhagen, Denmark (June 13, 2010) - The tricky conditions, strong and shifty wind, put one team after the other out of contention for the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup fleet race title. Separated by one point ahead of the last race, BMW ORACLE Racing finished ahead of No Way Back to win the fleet regatta. Combined with their second in the match race event, BMW ORACLE Racing conquers the RC 44 Copenhagen Cup - the combined fleet / match race ranking ahead of Chris Bake's Team Aqua. The next regatta will take place in Valencia on July 27-August 1. -- Full report: http://www.rc44.com/en/regattas/news/index.php?idContent=2373 * (June 11, 2010) - In a tense finale to Race 11 from New York to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, Hull & Humber crossed the finish line ahead of the rest of the fleet to secure their first line honours of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race. They beat Spirit of Australia by just 17 minutes and crossed the line 40 minutes ahead of Cape Breton Island who finished third. The next race begins June 19 from Cape Breton Island to Cork/Kinsale, Ireland. -- Event website: http://www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/home FROM THE WHOOPS DEPARTMENT In Scuttlebutt 3111, the Photos of the Week and Video of the Week were not fully inserted. Here they are as they should have been: * PHOTOS: Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include Mr America's Cup, sailing with disabilities, shoewear, classic new, sail graphics, horizon job, and spinnaker douse. Here are this week's photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/10/0611/ * VIDEO: Pterosail Trike Systems believes that the best way to showcase their green technology is by doing something truly historic: sailing and cycling across the United States! From early July through the end of August, they will take their sail powered bike from San Diego, California through the southern route of the U.S. and finish in St. Augustine, Florida - nearly 3100 miles in all. Click here for this week's video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/10/0611/ SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar 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 Cory E. Friedman: Now that Abby Sunderland has been plucked at great expense and near injury to her rescuer from her busted boat and is safely on her way to her 15 minutes of fame, we will have another argument about whether her parents were selflessly fostering a voyage to self-knowledge or self-aggrandizers exploiting her on a dangerous, vainglorious stunt. The corollary will be whether real mariners should risk life and limb rescuing self-destructive fools of all ages in addition to other real mariners in distress from the unavoidable perils of maritime pursuits. The only answer is that this exhibitionism will continue until some publicity seeking parent finally duct tapes a newborn to a computer guided sailboat like Odysseus lashed to the mast passing the Sirens and the competition to be the youngest will be over. This is all the fault of Pharaoh's daughter in Exodus. Had she not plucked little Moses from the bulrushes, he might have floated down the Nile and through the Straits of Gibraltar like Orr in Catch-22, but on his way to the first circumnavigation by a newborn rather than internment in Sweden. Instead of leading the children of Israel out of the house of bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land and nagging us for all time with those annoying Ten Commandments, he would have headed straight to Oprah and a book tour. The record would have been set thousands of years ago and adultery and coveting thy neighbor's ass would be OK. Who would have thunk? * From Howard Bentley: Well, I told you so, I told you so, I told you so. Except I said Abby would be "crying mommy" from the Southern Ocean instead of the Indian Ocean. I do certainly hope the Sunderlands are fully prepared to reimburse all parties involved with the rescue. A colossal waste of recourses to rescue them all from their hubris and egregious stupidity. Fame for all the wrong reasons. No doubt since they are glory seeking egomaniacs they will be likely be seeking financial rewards for the rights to this glorified act of ignorance. Can you say book, movie? They represent so much of what is wrong in the world. Clueless people trying to buy fame and ignoble glory despite the potential consequences for others interests and well being. * From Capt. Eric Wallischeck (re, Eight Bells: John Bonds): I had the honor and privilege to get to know John through my work as Sailing Master at Kings Point. He was already a legend within the service academy sailing community, and his professional mentorship was both invaluable and deeply appreciated. He was a great person, and someone I wanted to be around. John's gregarious personality, wit, musical talent, leadership, generous nature, formidable knowledge, and indomitable spirit infused the room, and were an inspiration to those around him. While we can't always choose when and how we cross the bar, I can only hope that his passage, while at sea, in the company of loved ones and friends, has taken him to a fertile sailing ground, and that he is in the perpetual company of other kindred seafarers. My thoughts and prayers go out to Beth and his family. Fair weather, my friend, Captain John Bonds, United States Navy. I think it appropriate that you print John's oft-quoted soliloquy on the merits of sail training. It has served as an inspiration for me, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy sailing program: "We teach sailing and seamanship in the Navy to make competent seamen of our personnel, who will be the naval leaders of the future. We aren't interested in making yachtsmen of them. We encourage them to enter races in order to find an atmosphere which, like combat, stretches ability and endurance to the limit and allows character to emerge which can reach for that extra margin required for victory. "We send our personnel to sea to learn that most basic characteristic of a professional seaman: a deep-seated sense of humility in the face of nature and her master. Our objective is simple - to produce the best possible sailor or officer for the fleet." -- Forum: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=10020#10020 => Curmudgeon's Comment: The families of CAPT John B. Bonds, USN (Retired) are welcoming all of John's friends in the area to New York Yacht Club's Harbour Court in Newport, RI on Thursday June 17 from 1-3 p.m. Attire: Jackets, ties and military uniforms welcomed but optional. Collared shirt required, no jeans. No flowers, but donations are encouraged to support local sailing programs, especially those endeavoring to improve the lives of wounded veterans and their families with the healing power of water. (ie, Shake-a-Leg Miami). * From Michael A. Rosenauer (re, Polars by Isler in SBUTT 3111): There is an equally strong and common misconception that all boats sail in salt water and at sea level. Those of us that sail in lakes have boats that float deeper in the water. Planing occurs later, lift on foils is delayed, etc., Moreover, the wind at Lake Tahoe, for example (elev. 6220) is markedly less dense (about 15%) than what we experience in our winter racing in San Francisco. As such, we have developed two sets of target speeds for our Farr 36 OD as well as modified our sail selection matrix. While Mr. Isler's conclusion focuses upon optimizing the routing from A to B, the underlying premise, that being that care must be applied to every detail of developing polars, includes being sensitive to the body of water in which one is sailing and air density. The latter applies to everybody who is interested in optimizing their boat's performance notwithstanding the particular environment. * From Suzanne Roberge, Britannia Yacht Club: In issue #3110 of Scuttlebutt, the article entitled "EBERT STILL HAS WIND IN HIS SAIL" contains an error in the name of the defending world champion skipper. In the fourth paragraph, Greg Foy should be David Foy. The error has been corrected in the online newspaper article in The Windsor Star. Would it be possible to post a correction in Scuttlebutt as well? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. Special thanks to O'Pen BIC and Mount Gay Rum gear. Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
