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SCUTTLEBUTT 2870 - Monday, June 22, 2009Scuttlebutt 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. Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Today's sponsors are JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Kaenon Polarized, and LaserPerformance. PREPARING FOR THE FARR 40 WORLDS The Farr 40 class is a head turner, attracting elite competitors and finely tuned race teams. When the class gathers this week in Porto Cervo, Sardinia for the 2009 Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, there will be two predominant story lines: Will Italian Vincenzo Onorato and his Mascalzone Latino team win a fourth straight title, and can the class overcome the controversy that ended the 2008 event. At last year’s Worlds in Miami, FL, the final day lined up Mascalzone Latino, the leader of the series since the first race, against Giovanni Maspero's Joe Fly (ITA), close on their heels in second. The pivotal moment came early at the first weather mark rounding when Joe Fly closely lee-bowed Jim Richardson’s Barking Mad (USA). Mascalzone Latino witnessed what they believed to be a foul, but when Barking Mad did not protest, ML did, putting the final results of the event in the judge’s hands. The ruling went against the Joe Fly team, dropping them to second as Onorato earned his third title. What followed were hard feelings and strong words, with Maspero claiming a jury conspiracy and a threat to leave the class. A year later, all three teams have returned, and Scuttlebutt checked in with Joe Fly tactician Franceso Bruni (ITA) about the incident last year, and what he expects for this year’s championship: SBUTT: What lessons have been learned from the 2008 World Championship which will help your team capture the 2009 title? FRANCESO BRUNI : “Last year’s World Championship has been a very tough experience for me, Giovanni, and our team. We still believe that we deserved that title, and it took us one year to digest it. But life still goes on, and one thing is sure: our team is today even more amalgamated and the Joe Fly spirit has increased.” -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0621a * Porto Cervo, Italy (June 21, 2009) - The prevailing mistral wind failed to cooperate for the Audi Invitational, the third leg of the Farr 40 European Circuit 2009. Racing was abandoned on Saturday due to sustained winds of 30 knots and more, with a storm front on Sunday passing across Italy, bringing torrential rain, thunder and lightning. PRO Peter Reggio sent the fleet back to the docks and at 1pm racing was abandoned for the day. The first race for the Farr 40 Worlds is on June 24th. -- http://www.farr40worldchampionship.com TELEFONICA BLUE RETURNS TO IN-PORT DOMINANCE Stockholm, Sweden (June 21, 2009) - After an extremely disappointing leg nine, which saw second overall in the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 slip away when Telefónica Blue ran aground and had to return to Marstrand for emergency repairs, Bouwe Bekking and his men made a remarkable comeback today, to snatch the in-port race in Stockholm from nearest rival PUMA. Telefónica Black was third. The rocks and islands surrounding the course set today for the final of the in-port race series in the Volvo Ocean Race were black with thousands of spectators, while out on the water, in the Stockholm Archipelago, spectator boats lined both sides of the course and masts could be seen as far as the eye could see. The well-behaved spectator fleet was expertly marshalled by the Swedish Navy. It was the perfect day for racing. -- Full story and scores: http://tinyurl.com/m5rndw * SCOREBOARD: With Ericsson 4 having locked up the top overall place following the Leg 9 from Marstrand to Stockholm, Sweden, the question as to who would finish second overall between PUMA and Telefonica Blue is a little clearer now. With PUMA’s 6.5 point advantage on T-Blue, the shoe need only finish Leg 10 to claim the second rung on the podium. If T-Blue wins Leg 10, her overall total of 100 points would not supplant PUMA, who will hold 100.5 points. Neither boat can fall below third overall. -- Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4 * VOLVO OCEAN RACE: Began in Alicante, Spain on Oct. 4, 2008, crewed around the world race in VO 70’s, with ten distance legs and seven In-Port races. The final event will be Leg 10 from Stockholm, Sweden to St Petersburg, Russia (400 nm), starting on June 25th with the finish expected to be on June 27th. -- http://www.volvooceanrace.org/schedule Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com BROKERAGE BONANZA Have you checked out JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Inc and their latest brokerage boats? We have the largest selection of used J/Boats on the market. Give our team a call and make an appointment to see these high quality listings. We currently have listed a J/65, a J/160, a J/124, a J/125, a J/122, 2 x J/120’s, a J/105, 2 x J/109’s, 2 x J/32’s, a J/80, and a J/29 along with numerous other makes and models. Our team of Jeff Brown, Roy Bream and John Zagorski look forward to helping you find the boat that fits your needs. Give us a call at our San Diego office 619-224-6200, our Newport Beach office 949-675-8053, 866-376-7761 (toll free) or take a look at our website at http://www.jk3yachts.com THE WINNING TEMPLATE Torben Grael is reclined on a couch in the Ericsson pavilion, a big smile on his face. He has been repeating the same lines to journalists for over two hours now but he doesn't seem to mind. He is not always like this. "It's not my favourite part of the job," he says. "It's important. But you have to repeat things maybe five or six times. You know, you can be focused, have things on your mind but you have to go and speak to media. It's a distraction. "If I am not always in a good mood I apologise for that." He is not being prickly, just answering a question on how he normally feels about dealing with the press. Today he is in a good mood, just like every day since the mathematics of the leaderboard confirmed he will be holding the Fighting Finish trophy in St Petersburg. "I feel happy," he continues. "The pressure has gone." He sits back in his chair, his smile fixed in place. "This is a nice time." He talks about maybe doing just one more Volvo Ocean Race ("I don't want to be like Magnus Olsson and do it every time!"), and is ambiguous about how this win ranks against his five Olympic medals, six world titles and Louis Vuitton Cup triumph ("all achievements are nice, but separate; hard to compare"). -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/lxtpsj WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR: TROIA PORTUGAL MATCH CUP Troia, Portugal (June 21, 2009; Day 5) - In only their second full season on the World Match Racing Tour, Torvar Mirsky (AUS) and his Mirsky Racing Team of Kinley Fowler, Kyle Langford, Tudur Owen, and Graeme Spence have claimed their first win at the Troia Portugal Match Cup. Victory here for the 24-year old skipper puts him in company with other world-famous match racing legends who have been champions at this event, including Peter Gilmour, Chris Dickson, Peter Holmberg, and Ed Baird. And for their efforts, Mirsky and team have won 10,000 Euros of the 50,000 Euro prize money purse. “It’s been six years in the making, but we’re finally here,” said an exuberant Mirsky. “So many times we’ve been so close, but just unable to get through, and today everything just came together for us. I’m still a bit stunned we’re here!” Mirsky took his fellow antipodean Adam Minoprio (NZL) and his Emirates Team New Zealand/BlackMatch team in just two matches of the first-to-two point Final, displaying a smooth sailing style and impeccable sense of timing both in the pre-starts and around the track. -- Full report: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/TPMCDay5 Overall Results 1. Torvar Mirsky (AUS), Mirsky Racing 2. Adam Minoprio (NZL), ETNZ/BlackMatch 3. Ian Williams (GBR), Bahrain Team Pindar 4. Mathieu Richard (FRA), French Match Racing Team 5. Philippe Presti (FRA), French Match Racing Team 6. Peter Gilmour (AUS), YANMAR Racing 7. Sebastien Col (FRA), French Match Racing Team/K-Challenge 8. Bjorn Hansen (SWE), Team Onboard 9. Phil Robertson (NZL), WAKA Racing 10. Alvaro Marinho (POR), Seth Sailing Team 11. Ian Ainslie (RSA), Team Proximo 12. Andrew Arbuzov (RUS) Match results: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/PMC09Results * TOUR SCOREBOARD: The four semi-finalists in the Troia Portugal Match Cup now hold the top four positions in the World Match Racing Tour after four of ten events: 1. Adam Minoprio (61 pts); 2. Ian Williams (49 pts); 3. Mathieu Richard (48 pts); and 4. Torvar Mirsky (46 pts). The next event is the Match Cup Sweden in Marstrand, Sweden on June 29-July 5, 2009. -- http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/sitedata/Misc/WMRT-2009-results.xls ISAF SAILING WORLD CUP Kiel, Germany (June 21, 2009; Day 2) - The sixth event of the 2008-09 ISAF Sailing World Cup began on Saturday, but with two days of the 127th Kieler Woche completed, the race schedule for this Olympic event is far behind as fickle winds on day one were followed by no wind/ no races on all courses today but the women’s match racing event. Kieler Woche is the first appearance of the brand new Elliott 6m, the boat selected for the Women’s Match Race event at the 2012 Olympic Games in Weymouth, UK. There are 24 teams that qualified for the match racing event, and after the first round robin, American Genny Tulloch has joined to top six to have advanced to the quarterfinal round. The remaining teams will compete in a second round robin for the final two quarterfinal slots. The Laser (153 boats) and Laser Radial (75 boats) fleets are divided into smaller groups for qualifying, with Charlie Buckingham (USA) and Paige Railey (USA) currently positioned as the top North Americans, respectively. -- http://www.kielerwoche.de/eng/englishdefault.php ALL POLARIZED LENSES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL Kaenon Polarized. * Exclusively Featuring Patented SR-91 polarized lens material. * The only polarized lens that does not compromise. * Sharpest clarity, lightest weight, and impact resistant. * Purpose-built lens tints to further customize and enhance your vision. * Every Kaenon frame is available with SR-91 in prescription. Kaenon Polarized - designed with you and your sport in mind. Read about the advantages of the Kaenon Polarized SR-91 lens here: http://kaenon.com/polarization/myth_vs_reality.html Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. SAILING SHORTS * Edgewater Yacht Club commenced the annual Cleveland Race Week with the One Design weekend, which precedes a weeklong schedule of womens, juniors, and handicap class events. Getting the party started this weekend were 75 boats divided into fleets of J/22s, J/24s, J/105s, T10s, Ensigns, Jet 14s, and Highlanders. Big winds on Saturday’s racing kicked up some serious Lake Erie chop (the short/steep kind) and allowed only one of the three race circles to get in their scheduled races. On Sunday, it was about warm temps but light winds. -- Skip Dieball, full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7682 * Tom Petrus and the crew of the J/105 Vytis were selected as the overall champions of the 2009 Sperry Top-Sider Chicago NOOD. Hosted by Chicago Yacht Club June 19 - 21, 186 entrants competed amid 17 classes, with Petrus besting 16 other team to earn the title. -- Full results: http://tinyurl.com/l4wo63 * The annual JPMorgan Asset Management Round the Island Race, organised by the Island Sailing Club, is one of the most popular fixtures on the Solent racing calendar. There were 1,779 entrants from Europe and the USA, as well as all over the UK, to follow the 50 mile course round the Isle of Wight. Starting on the famous Royal Yacht Squadron line in Cowes, the fleet races westabout, to The Needles, round St Catherine's Point and Bembridge Ledge buoy back into the Solent. Photog Thierry Martinez has provided the ‘buttheads with some samples of this spectacle: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/09/0621 * (June 21, 2009) - Taking second place in Leg 5 of the Portimão Global Ocean Race (from Charleston, SC to Portimão, Portugal), Boris Herrmann and Felix Oehme on Beluga Racer crossed the finish line of the final leg of the race at 08:04:42 UTC on Sunday morning, winning first place overall for the double-handed class in this inaugural round the world event with a total of 55.5 points to the second place Chilean team of Felipe Cubillos and José Muñoz on Desafio Cabo de Hornos with a total of 51 points. -- Read on: http://www.portimaoglobaloceanrace.com/?page=news&news_id=330&lang=en CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar BIG WIND IN STORE FOR BIRW KICKOFF Block Island, R.I., USA (June 21, 2009) - All eyes are on the weather for tomorrow’s start of the Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week presented by Rolex. For its 23rd biennial running, the five- day event is hosting 153 boats and over 1500 sailors who will no doubt be donning their foulies for the expected 15-20 knots of breeze with gusts up to 40 and seas of 4-6 feet. The forecast prompted the Race Committee to move the around-the-island race up from its traditional mid-week schedule. “We’ll send the fleet clockwise around the island,” said On-the-Water Co-Chair Dick Neville (Annapolis, Md.) about the 18-mile course that typically enables crews to enjoy Block Island’s stunning vistas – such as towering North Light and the 250-foot Mohegan Bluffs. “With such a significant breeze due out of the Northeast, we think this will be easier on the boats and the crews.” -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7683 WHAT IS YOUR ‘MUST DO’ EVENT? Each sailing region has its “must do” events. But what is it that elevates an event to this status? Scuttlebutt was reading about the Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge in Solomons, MD (July 19-21), where it said, “This is a season highlight for most southern Bay racers. This is where racing and party-ing skills are honed to the finest point. It is a Chesapeake Bay signature regatta! It is where legends are made! it is a racing and regatta experience every southern Bay racer (along with family and friends) will enjoy!” Drawing a respectable 135 competitors in 2008, and with the event Headquarters based in a Holiday Inn Select (which are nicer than a mere Holiday Inn), Scuttlebutt checked in with ‘Southern Bay Racing News You Can Use’ editor Lin McCarthy for some background on the Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge: “The main thing is that the event is a great three days of racing among boats and crew from the Northern Chesapeake Bay (Annapolis) and the Southern Chesapeake Bay (Hampton Roads, York River, Rappahannock River areas) and, of course, the southern Maryland area (Solomons, St Mary's etc.) And, among the southern Bay boats are usually some North Carolina boats that do plenty of racing on the southern Bay during the season. So, it is a Bay-wide showdown for significant braggin' rights.” -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7675 * What is your ‘must do’ event? Post your event in the forum thread (above) to qualify for the raffle. 25% OFF SELECT SUNFISH, OPTI, LASER PARTS AND MORE! Check out LaserPerformance’s on-line store http://shop.laserperformance.com for more info. While you are there, pre-order your new Laser blocks on-line. Made by Harken, these blocks are now class approved and a great upgrade for any Laser sailor’s rig. To find out more about LaserPerformance and all their products, visit http://www.LaserPerformance.com LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get 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 Mark Grosby: (re, youth coaching thread) From my perspective, the limits that should be placed on coaches is not to keep them from the racing area, but to keep them from providing information or coaching during the on the water portion of an event. Part of learning the sport is the experience of leaving the dock early to see what is happening with the wind, current, tuning with other boats, etc. To have a coach at the weather mark calling the first shift or the need to change the boat setup is not learning, it is outside assistance, plain and simple. I would, also, object to having coaches tow solely their charges out to the racing area and home. It is an unfair advantage particularly in a multi-day regatta where physical and mental endurance becomes an issue. * From Michael H. Koster: (re, youth coaching thread) I find the comments from the coaches advocating on the water presence during a regatta to be somewhat amusing. Kids need to learn that there is a time when handholding and skirt clinging needs to end. When it comes to sailing competitions, the coaches job should be finished before the start of the regatta and resumed at the end of the regatta. After reading some of the comments by coaches, there is no doubt in my mind that some of these folks would consider it appropriate to have coaches in an SAT testing room. * From Richard Clark: (re, youth coaching thread) Coaches on a course have always made me shake my head, surely a coach prepares his individual/team to perform at their best on the day, without riding, like a parrot on their shoulder. Race day is race day and time to let go and let . . . I can only imagine at how my life would have turned out years ago in cross country running with my coach running in the pack, think of the the life experience moments I would have missed out on. i remember coming second last at the National Championships, it taught me to never give up and I never have. I love the concept of baseball that making mistakes is part and parcel of the game. We need to allow competitors the glory of failure so they can learn that it's okay to screw up. => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Original story and all comments are posted here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/06/youth-coaching.html * From Dave Few: Regarding John McLaughlin's letter in Scuttlebutt 2869 on the Thistle events, I was once told by Peter Szasz, one of SF bay area's best sailors, that if you are winning and not sharing your knowledge to make your competitors better, you will sink to their level and fail to progress. A simple philosophy that is both benevolent and self-serving at the same time. * From Eric Hall: (re, Big Man on Campus - Scuttlebutt 2869) Correction… it is the Everett B. Morris Trophy (and not the Robert B. Morris Trophy as stated in the Sailing World story). Those of us who have been around for a while remember Ev fondly. He reported on sailboat racing for the New York Herald Tribune and did so with great style and color. Our family was privileged to regularly have him on board racing with us on Nimrod V. In person he was even more colorful with a leftover Scottish brogue that livened up his conversation as well as his great stories, many of which had to do with sports and personalities outside the sailing world. On the New York Yacht Club Cruise, he would even bring his typewriter (remember them?), clattering out his reports right after the finish. He was always interested in youth sailing and made a special point to cover it perhaps even more than his editors appreciated. Every time I hear of the award named after him, I remember him with a smile. I am sure I am not alone. * From Keith Taylor, Auckland, NZ: (re, Big Man on Campus - Scuttlebutt 2869) I hope many, many old hands and not a few collegiate sailors have chimed in about the reference to "Robert" B. Morris”. Secure in Fiddler's Green, yachting writer and booster Ev Morris must be smiling his trademark cheerful, relaxed smile at Sailing World's reference to the Robert B. Morris Memorial Trophy. Yachting writer for the NY Herald-Tribune until it folded, writer of numerous works on sailing, President of the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound and a founder with Commodore Jakob Isbrandsen of Block Island Race Week, Everett B. Morris left his indelible mark on the sport he loved. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION The test of a salesman is in his ability to convince his wife she'd look fat in mink. Special thanks to JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Kaenon Polarized, and LaserPerformance. 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