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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 786 - April 3, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome. THE FAT LADY HAS SUNG So, the RORC is living the answer to that old question, what if you gave a party and (almost) nobody came? The RORC is also forced to see in harshest terms that the Admiral's Cup is a victim of changing times. Like the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit in Florida, it enjoyed a heyday in the 1980s under the International Offshore Rule, when it was still popular to have a series that mixed day racing with serious ocean racing. Now the Southern Ocean Racing Circuit has been through a cycle of death and resuscitation as four days of buoy racing out of Miami Beach. It's billed under the familiar acronym, SORC, but the ocean racing circuit is gone, and the forces that killed it include some of the same forces that undermined the Admiral's Cup. There's no truly vital, global measurement rule. The vital one-design classes are not globally distributed. And, given a wealth of options, the many yachting countries that had wanted and planned to field an Admiral's Cup team found it perfectly thinkable to skip it. Time waits for no format. Now comes the race to find a new one. - Sail Magazine website, www.sailmag.com * Here's the text of the announcement as found at http://www.rorc.org: "It is with great regret that the Management Committee of the Admiral's Cup have decided not to run the 2001 series. The Management Committee had agreed that for the event to continue there had to be at least four national teams plus one recognized country grouping team. The Notice of Race called for Challenges to be logged by April 2, 2001, and on this date only France and the UK were confirmed entries. The Committee therefore had little option but to cancel the series. "There has been a tremendous amount of effort behind the scenes to produce the required level of participation, and a number of initiatives were explored to see if there were ways of saving the 2001 series. However, the Management Committee felt that the format as laid down in the Notice of Race gave a commitment to the three selected classes and conformed to the Trust deed. They did not feel it was right to disregard these two central elements of the series. "Peter Rutter, Chairman of the Management Committee said 'I am very sad that we have had to take this decision. I am sure it is right in the long-term interest of the Admiral's Cup to make a clean break and to return in 2003 with a new event that will put the Admiral's Cup back at the forefront of international keelboat racing. I would particularly like to thank those people in the racing community who tried so hard to preserve the 2001 event. We plan a wide ranging international review of the series with the aim of announcing the form of the 2003 Admiral's Cup by the end of the year.' " There'll still be a party. The RORC plans to run an inshore regatta for one designs July 19-22 out of Cowes. Details to be arranged. According to the RORC, "The present intention is to provide racing for Farr 52s, IC45s, Sydney 40s, Farr 40s, Mumm 30s and other classes if they wish and have sufficient numbers." ADMIRAL'S CUP ADDENDUM * RORC's David Minords told madforsailing: "It's very sad and upsetting, but we must accept that all formats come to an end. We look forward to resurrecting an Admiral's Cup that is relevant to today's market. All these things are cyclical. But one of the upside of this situation is that we can undertake a root-and-branch overhaul of the Admiral's Cup. It is the advantage of having a clear break, because there can be no expectations about what we should do next time. The original intent of the Cup states that it should 'encourage racing between nations', and if we hold to that then we should have a successful event in the future." Minords said the first step would be to get back to the Admiral's Cup Management Committee, and come up with some proposals that could be then taken out to various interested parties for their views. "We will ensure that owners are heavily involved in the consultation process," he promised. - Peter Bentley & Andy Rice, madforsailing website, Full story: www.madforsailing.com THE RACE * Mast manufacturer Carbospars, which has recently relocated to Palma, Majorca, has gone straight into action, working around the clock to prepare the new part and have it flown to Las Palmas on Tuesday evening. Barry Pickthall, Team Legato's support manager, will also fly out to the Atlantic island to arrange a crane for the repair operation, as well as to ensure the job is completed with utmost speed. Pickthall said: "Time is of the essence. We have got to turn the boat round just as quickly as possible and try to keep them ahead of the Poles. * Team Legato holds a lead of 370 nautical miles, but the time lost in the Canaries, even at Bullimore's optimistic estimate of eight hours, will see the advantage crumble away. That will leave the two battered boats to fight their way through the Mediterranean in close proximity, as they finally complete their slow, and at times controversial, participation in The Race. - Martin Cross, NOW Sports website. Full story: www.now.com POSITIONS on April 2 @ 1500 GMT: Team Legato, 1842nm to finish, Warta Polpharma, 2128.nm - www.therace.org OPPORTUNITIES VOLVO OCEAN RACE The new race boat will be shipped to Charleston later in April where the team will launch illbruck and tune it up against the winner of the last Whitbread Round the World Race (now the Volvo Ocean Race), the former EF Language. The team will optimize the boat and train on the East Coast of the U.S. In July, the team will sail across the Atlantic to compete in the Fastnet Race in England and make final preparations for the start of the Volvo Ocean Race September 23 in Southampton. - Jane Eagleson, www.illbruckChallenge.com DOWN UNDER The Australian Yachting Federation (AYF) has been lobbying, on behalf of the sailing and broader community, for more than four years for a legacy from the Olympic Games, in the form of a marina, to remain at Rushcutters Bay. There is an acute shortage of marina berths in Sydney. There is no venue from which major national or international keelboat events can be run. The removal of the marina means that these events, and the significant economic benefits associated with them, are now lost. - BoatingOz website Full story: www.boatingoz.com.au LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON leweck@earthlink.net * From: Kingfisher designer Rob Humphreys * From: Stephen Wells wells@optonline.net * From: Rick Hatch rhatch@telus.net The 2001-2004 Rules themselves and Appendices have been on the ISAF website since mid-February, so with today's publication of US Sailing's prescriptions, now all sailors in the US with Internet access have access to all the rules applicable in the United States and in effect as of April 1. So no more whinging, eh? For those 'Buttheads who are not members of US Sailing, you can pre-order the new rule book over the Internet (via the following link: www.ussailing.org/merchandise). In the meantime, I await publication of the Canadian Yachting Association's prescriptions to the Rules! * From: Bruce Lines BLines@stevedoringservices.bm * From Brent Perkins bperkins365@excite.com Let me see if I have this straight - once US Sailing buries a piece on one of the back alleys of their complex website, they have satisfied all of their communications obligations. So now it's up to the race committees to read the instructions for starting a race from the Internet because the new rulebooks haven't arrived yet, and the new starting system is not in the old rulebook. And the racers have no idea what's going on, for all of the same reasons. And the president of the National Governing Body proudly declaring that communicating with the members is the Association's top priority. What's wrong with this picture? * From: Jennifer Lucia jen_lucia@yahoo.com OUTTA CONTROL As originally proposed, the bill would have made it 'unlawful to operate any vessel in the waters of the state, other than a canoe, surfboard or paddleboard, unless the vessel is equipped with a properly functioning emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).' The bill's rationale was that if every boat had an EPIRB, it would significantly reduce the time and effort involved in a search-and-rescue mission and increase the probability of its success. It was also seen as a way to reduce the costs of such a mission. On the surface, the bill appeared to have good intentions. But, according to the testimony of many in the maritime community - including both the potential rescuers and victims - the bill was flawed by its simplicity. First, it was requiring all boat owners, no matter how small their boat, to purchase a devise they may never need and that costs between $600 and $1,000. It wasn't until the bill was finally being reviewed by the House of Representatives last week that Mossman and HOST, whose members include representatives from the Coast Guard, the state's Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, and the Honolulu Fire Department, found a sympathetic ear. The bill is now designated SB 216, HD1, and has been amended to address the concerns of HOST and numerous other commercial and recreational boaters. As amended, the bill now specifies that a marine VHF radio may serve as an alternative to an EPIRB, and it exempts vessels that operate less than one mile from shore. It also exempts 'certain non-mechanical vessels' - canoes, kayaks, etc. - provided they are 'continuously escorted by a mechanically-powered vessel that is equipped with a marine VHF radio or an EPIRB while operating more than one mile from shore.' If passed by the full legislature and signed into law, this measure would certainly be historic, as there is nothing like it anywhere. - Ray Pendleton, Honolulu Star-Bulletin PROVEN SUCCESS. TRAINING FOR THE BIG ONE More than a dozen sailing communities in the U.S. are organizing coaches and dates for clinics. They include Chicago, Annapolis, Minnetonka, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Marina del Rey, Oklahoma, Rochester, Seattle, and Youngstown. Additionally, the national J/22 fleets in Holland, South Africa and Italy are hoping to organize Road to Rolex clinics. Dates and locations will be announced in the upcoming weeks. - www.ussailing.org/ IMS UPDATE A continuing effort to make the office self-sufficient necessitated an increase in the cost of services. An investment is being made in the upgrading of the measuring machines and computers. An electronic inclinometer has been purchased. A survey of owners indicated that reasonable increases in cost were to be expected. The rate of revalidations is slower than in '00. A marketing and PR consultant is on board part time. Certificate and fleet data will be available electronically for a fee to be determined. A spreadsheet program for measurer input data has been developed. Advertising on boats sailing in handicap fleet (Reg. 20) is allowed for those fleets designated by the National Authority. The default is Cat A. Race Organizers can select A or C. A press release with full explanation is due for release. Full report: www.ussailing.org/ THE CURMUDGEON'S CONUNDRUM Why do we drive on parkways but park on driveways? |
