SCUTTLEBUTT No. 620 - August 7, 2000
KENWOOD CUP
With the Trades slightly eased to between 14 and 16 knots and the sun warm
on the Hawaiian seas, Australia re-gained control - though not yet
ownership - of the Millennial series with a second solid performance
against New Zealand to go eight points up at the end of the day's racing.
With only the triple-scoring Molokai Race left to conclude the regatta,
eight points is a cushion of three places: like most cushions it is
comfortable - but not something you could use a collateral. The converse
of the arithmetic is that the Kiwis have only to beat the Australians boat
for boat in the 148-mile Molokai Race to wrest the Cup from the Aussies
grasp and put it back in the cabinet at the Royal New Zealand Yacht
Squadron - alongside the other one.
Meanwhile, in the individual points table, New Zealand's Sea Hawk (Farr
47, Naohiko Sera, NZL, Ray Davis steering) is running away with the Racer
division but the IMS Cruiser/Racer Division is less than settled. Simon
Whiston's Beneteau 40.7 should have had things wrapped-up by now, but four
firsts in a row has brought Kenny Read and his team aboard Makato Uematsu's
Farr 50 Esmeralda back into the frame, just four points adrift of the
title. The beach ball must stay no more than one place away from the lady
through tomorrow night to make sure of the prize.
Esmeralda won again this afternoon, with Smile again second, while Philippe
Kahn's Orion had her revenge on John Kilroy Jnr's Samba Pa Ti in the Farr
40 division, winning her class while finishing 10th overall (6th in Racer
division). Kilroy, however, looks good in the overall table because Orion
lost two races after her collision with Liberte Express. Orion can at
least keep racing, but it looks like Doug Taylor's Zamboni is out of the
regatta for good.
As the pictures on the Kenwood Cup website show (www.kenwoodcup.com)
Zamboni has a classically Vee-shape gash in her port side from deck almost
to waterline, and another from deck edge across the deck almost to the
cockpit, between the cabin top and the sheet winch. The Sydney 41 Glama!
(Seth Radow, USA), T-boned the Zamboni in what appears to have been a
classic port-and-starboard-gone-wrong. Glama! apparently saw Zamboni and
tried, but failed, to bear away, hitting the Farr just where the cabin and
cockpit join and bashing a considerable hole in both topsides and deck.
More seriously Zamboni's owner Doug Taylor, steering, was flung from the
wheel to the front end of the cockpit and suffered a bad gash to the head.
He was taken off and delivered to a waiting ambulance, but was reported in
satisfactory condition on arrival at hospital.
In the J105's the only European entry in this year's regatta, Chris Brown's
chartered Puff, had her best result so far with a third this morning, but
slipped again to fourth in the second race. Thomas Coates' Charade is in
an almost impregnable position in this class, with a 12-point lead - not
quite enough to be able to sit-out the 150-miler. - Susan McKeag
Kenwood Cup team scores after 9 races. 1 AUS 391, 2 NZL 383, USA RED 302, 4
JPN 208, 5 USA WHITE 173, 6 USA BLUE 67.
For full results, photos and latest news: http://www.kenwoodcup.com
A REALLY FAST DELIVERY
A pair of Kenwood Cup-bound J/105s - Sam Hock's 'Jose Cuervo' and Jaren
Leet's 'Irrational Again' - had an excellent adventure on Saturday, July
29. After the two boats failed to roll off the container ship in Honolulu
last Wednesday (oops! someone left them in a back corner of the Matson yard
in Oakland), things looked pretty bleak for the two boats' chances of
participating in the already small (30 boats) Kenwood Cup, which began on
Tuesday, August 1. After almost a year of planning and who knows how many
dollars, the skippers and crews of both 105s were devastated. The four
J/105s remaining in the Kenwood Cup weren't exactly thrilled either, as
they were now faced with losing their one design start.
After a bunch of presumably heated phone calls (and the threat of a rather
large lawsuit), Matson - to their everlasting credit - quickly came up with
an alternative arrangement. For something like $225,000, they contacted
HeavyLift Cargo Airlines and chartered a gigantic Russian-built Antonov
AN-124 plane - one of just three in the world - to 'airmail' the two boats
to Hawaii. 'Jose' and 'Irrational' were the only cargo, hardly denting the
plane's 120-ton carrying capacity. The only people on board were 16
Russians (9 pilots and 7 crew), an English representative from HeavyLift,
and two local J/105 sailors ('Jose' crew Erik Schumann, who was meant to
accompany the delinquent sisterships, and a spur-of-the-moment 'stowaway',
Karen Rosenbaum).
The story ends happily, with the two boats arriving safely in Hawaii and
being reassembled in time for the regatta. Kind of gives a whole new
meaning to the expression 'planing to Hawaii', doesn't it? - Latitude 38,
http://www.latitude38.com/LectronicLat/LectronicLat.html
SOLUTIONS
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COURTENAY BECKER-DEY
(Courtenay Becker-Dey felt sad about losing for the Olympic 470 trials for
about a week. Then she jumped back into her accustomed Europe dinghy and
now is headed to her second Olympiad. Following is an excerpt from Cynthia
Goss's piece on the Quokka website about this Olympian.)
When Courtenay Becker-Dey lost the 470 Olympic Trials in October 1999, she
was left - for the first time in a while - without a clear goal. After that
regatta was over, a family friend's home in the Bahamas was where she went
with her husband, Jim, to regain her bearings.
"We just took time to think about what we wanted to do next. We were on an
island, and I'd look out over the water and I'd say, 'You know, I kind of
want to go sailing,'" said Becker-Dey. There was a Sunfish on the island,
so she and her husband - who is also her coach - sailed every day. "It was
easy to realize, once I stepped away from it, that I should just keep
sailing."
For Becker-Dey, second chances came in the form of the Europe Dinghy. At
that time, the Olympic Trials in the Europe class were some six months
away. Becker-Dey won a Bronze medal at the '96 Games in the Europe, so she
knew what it took to win in this single-handed dinghy. For one thing, she
would need to radically change her physique in a short period of time.
"When I'm training in the Europe, I go to the gym two hours a day and try
to get as big and as strong as I can. In the 470, I am on a diet all the
time. I am either eating everything in sight, or eating lettuce. It's a
pretty radical change in your body," said Becker-Dey of the schizophrenic
training regime for these two different boats. For the Europe Trials, she
needed to gain at least 20 pounds and focus on building strength in her
legs, abdomen and back.
She went to the Europe Worlds in Brazil and used that regatta as a test, a
last-chance opportunity to change her mind. "I went to check it out and to
ask myself, is this something I really want to do? Do I want to go through
the pain again, the body pain? Because the Europe is a pretty painful boat."
She finished the Worlds in 14th place, out of 107 boats. An American named
Meg Gaillard was third, but that didn't faze Becker-Dey. "I was pleased
that an American was doing well internationally. I figured if I could beat
her, I was probably up to par internationally."
After the Worlds, she didn't look back. In April 2000, Becker-Dey won the
U.S. Europe Dinghy Trials in San Francisco. Gaillard, who'd been on the
circuit for four years, finished second. Becker-Dey launched her point
scores so far ahead in her early races in the 23-boat fleet that she didn't
have to sail the last two races. - Cynthia Goss for Quokka Sports
Full story:
http://sailing.quokka.com/stories/08/SLQ__0804_s_courtenay_WFC.html
LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (leweck@earthlink.net)
Letters selected to be printed are edited for clarity, space (250 words
max) and to exclude unfounded speculation or personal attacks. This is not
a chat room - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best
shot and don't whine if others disagree.
--From Jesse Falsone - Jim Teeters account of the IMS was excellent. With
all the harsh criticism that the IMS receives, it's a wonder what drives
Jim and many others to continually refine the rule, especially when much of
the work is done pro bono. Many of these guys don't design racing
sailboats for a living, yet their love of sailing and superior technical
knowledge drive them to seek a more equitable solution. IMS racers should
be applauding the efforts of the ITC and other professionals and students
working to make handicap racing better. I would also submit that many
people have been leaving handicap racing for one-design because they grew
weary of hearing or using the excuse "our boat doesn't rate well under
IMS". If you keep blaming poor performance on the rating, I suspect you
really haven't scratched the surface yet on boat preparation and teamwork.
-- From Russ Lenarz - I have been fallowing the discussion on the IMS Rule
very closely and feel that many good points have been brought out. I also
feel that IMS is sitll one of the best rating systems there is. It has gone
through an evolution over the past few years that has helped improve the
rule. There is no way one will ever be able to satisfy everyone and no
rating rule is perfect, but IMS has allowed boats to compete at the top
level of our sport on a fairly equal basis. However it is not for the weak
at heart.
I disagree with Mark Gaudio and Ron Baerwits in there suggesstion that we
should all race one design. If we take away handicapp racing from the sport
we reduce a whole aspect of sailing which limits the sport and reduces
participation. The sport does not need that IMS is not for everyone and
there will always be those who complain and are critical of the rule, but
for now I feel it will continue to be the Grand Prix level rating system
here at least for the near future.
-- From Robert Wilkes - Top sailors - are they born or made? Recent
preliminary research by the Optimist Class shows that well over 30% of
dinghy skippers at the upcomimg Olympics had gained selection for their
countries by the age of 16, and some as young as 12. For details see
http://www.optiworld.org/exop2000.html
DOCK TALK
Malcolm McKeag, sometime yachting scribe and now Chief Sailing Officer at
the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London, England, is here in Hawaii helping
Susan run the Kenwood Cup press office. He tells me that later this year,
possibly in September, the Royal Thames Yacht Club are going to be
announcing a new match racing series for Twelve Metres. The initial idea
was to give some early practice for Twelves going to the great Heritage
regatta, but since its inception the idea has had such a warm reception
from British Twelve owners (more or less all of whom are members of RTYC)
and from several of the European Twelves that the plan has grown and the
series is likely to become a permanent fixture. Sadly for them, the US
Twelves are on such a tight shipping schedule (so as to lose as little as
possible of their Newport charter income) they will probably miss this one.
Two enormous pots have been unearthed from the Thames's cavernous cellars:
they comprise a pair of superb German turn-of-the-century cups, practically
four feet high, each with lids and the de rigeur German Imperial spike and
each embellished with a picture of Kaiser Willhelm IV. The plan is to
re-name them the Royal Thames Yacht Club Imperial Trophies, and use one for
Twelve Metre match racing and one for fleet racing. The first RTYC
Imperial Trophy will be incorporated in the Bethon Source Regatta (both
Brian May and Don Wood, the promoters of that regatta, are RTYC members),
and with the present revival of interest in Twelves it seems that the
event, originally conceived as a one-off, could become a bi-ennial event.
British 12s that McKeag knows of: Ecosse (ex-Tom Blackaller's USA [the
Geek]) - Irvine Laidlaw RTYC - refurb almost complete; Italia - Don Wood -
RTYC - sailing; Crusader - Richard Matthews - RTYC - sailing and rumour is
Richard will put it back in class for next year; Victory 83 - owner unknown
- lying ashore at Burnham marina.
PRAMS TO PROAS, MAXI'S TO MINI'S
Whatever it is you may race, Optimist Prams off the beach to Maxi Sleds
offshore, Ullman Sails have proven time and again they can accelerate you
into the winner's circle. Check out http://www.ullmansails.com and find
out what many already know - Ullman Sails can help you dive into the silver.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I want the best Category One amateurs money can buy." Anonymous Farr 40 owner
THE RACE
A silent benefactor of Cam Lewis' Team Adventure project has challenged the
project's fans to match his $500,000 donation. Every tax deductible dollar
the team receives will be matched, up to a limit of half a million dollars.
Cam Lewis, CEO/Skipper and team leader of the project that is building a
110-foot catamaran to win The Race, announced the challenge grant this
week. Donors have only until August 15 to leverage their contributions.
As news comes in that Team Adventure's competition - Grant Dalton's
110-foot Club Med, and Steve Fossett's 105-foot Playstation - are both
scheduled for repairs and modification, Lewis reports that construction of
his new boat is on schedule in the JMV Shipyard in Cherbourg, France.
"Both hulls are complete and upright and the crossbeams are out of the
oven, ready to be joined to the hulls," Lewis said today. "We are now
completing the curing of the longeron/gennaker pole in the oven. The daily
grind of fairing the hulls to a smooth, winning finish continues. It looks
fantastic. We are on track for our scheduled launching in late September,
less than two months from now."
Team Adventure's sister ship Club Med returned to Newport, RI, yesterday
morning with damage to her collision box just aft of the razor sharp port
bow. Lewis and his partner, Larry Rosenfeld, Co-Navigator and Executive
Director of Team Adventure, inspected the bow. "After conferring in Newport
with the designer, Gilles Ollier, we are confident he has a solution for
our boat," Lewis said. "One of the advantages of being the third boat in a
one-design program is that we should be able to avoid teething problems
like this." - Keith Taylor
NEW TOYS
If you act quickly, you can be the first on your block to own a
radio-controlled sailing hydrofoil trimaran. The builder claims the
55-inch boat will fly in winds of just of five mph, at about twice the wind
speed. It looks neat: http://www.microsail.com
ADVERTISING CODE
The new ISAF Advertising Code, effective from 1st January 2001 has been
published in its finished form. View the full version at:
http://www.sailing.org/meetings/2000november/finaladcode.html
INDUSTRY NEWS
The merger between New Zealand-based Southern Spars and US-based Omohundro
was formalised on the 26th of July, 2000, linking two of the world's top
sparmakers. The new company will be called The Southern Group. Simon
Allsopp, formerly of Southern Spars, will be the general manager of the new
partnership. Both companies will retain their present facilities and
personnel. Southern NZ in Auckland employs 79 people, while Southern
Nevada has 49 people working at its Minden Nevada site.
NO 'BUTT TOMORROW
Instead of putting out Scuttlebutt tomorrow, the curmudgeon will be sailing
around the island of Molokai on the Kenwood Cup's 150-mile distance race.
We should be back in time to get out Wednesday's issue on schedule, but you
never know.
THE CURMUDGEON'S COUNSEL
Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the
same night.
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