|
SCUTTLEBUTT 1384 - August 1, 2003Powered by SAIC (www.saic.com), an employee-owned company. Scuttlebutt is adigest of major yacht racing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. HONORED Sailing's wizard of boat repair, Carl Eichenlaub (San Diego, Calif.), will have a prominent role in the opening ceremonies of the XIV Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Eichenlaub was elected to represent the entire U.S. delegation -- 640 athletes competing in 36 sports -- and will carry the U.S. flag into Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium on Friday evening, August 1, 2003. The 73-year young boat builder, who has been a mainstay of the U.S. Olympic Sailing program for 27 years, made his first trip to the Pan Am Games in 1979 as the team's Official Boatwright. While the trip to Santo Domingo marks the seventh time he has accompanied sailors to the Pan Am Games, Eichenlaub has also supported the U.S.A.'s Olympic Team-Sailing onsite at six Olympic Regattas ('76, '84, '88, '92, '96 and 2000). His dedication to the athletes was never more apparent than in 2000 when he suffered a broken hip at the Athlete's Village in Sydney and maintained his duties while on crutches. After a week of R&R at home in California, he returned to Sydney to assist the athletes of the U.S.A.'s 2000 Paralympic Sailing Team. Recognizing Eichenlaub's outstanding contributions, US SAILING, national governing body for the sport, awarded him its most prestigious award, the Nathanael G. Herreshoff Trophy, in 2000. Eichenlaub typically travels to each event with a specially outfitted 40' container that holds, among other things, a swedging machine, drill press, compressors, as well as a microwave for curing resin. Frequently approached by foreign athletes with damaged equipment, Eichenlaub seldom refuses a request for assistance once his work for the U.S. team is complete. -Jan Harley, Media Pro, http://www.ussailing.org/Olympics/PanAm TEAM FRANCE Last May, Loďck Peyron and Bertrand Pacé presented the project "Team France" for the next America's Cup. At the time, they stated that it would be necessary for them to have 50% of their budget in hand by July. While acknowledging that nothing has been signed to date, Peyron believes that things are advancing in the right direction. While he would not name his prospective partner, he said "I hope to have good news during the Figaro." For Peyron, the urgency is in contracting the right people: "Some are being queried by other syndicates, if I don't find the money, I will lose men. For the Cup, it is necessary to decide early on one's team." The total proposed budget for Team France is 75 million Euros, "at a rate of 10 million Euros each year over four years. Ten million Euros, that's what it costs to maintain a large cyclist team..." (Sail-World Editor: yes, I know that doesn't really add up, but one has to presume that he's calculating ongoing expenses, leaving 35 million for design and build). http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=10583 OPTI WORLDS Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain- Thursday had three races sailed in a great 15-18 knot breeze. With ten of the scheduled fifteen races now completed, everything is to play for, especially with a second discard to be taken after race eleven. Creeping up in the rankings is Hannah Mills (GBR), who claimed two firsts today. Having to still count one of her two over-early penalties (BFD and OCS), she is currently in 19th but will move up to the top five with the inclusion of the second discard (but can not survive there with a poor race or penalty). Results through Thursday: 1. ARG, Sebastian Peri Brusa, 17 pts 2. GBR, Greg Carey, 18 3. CRO, Matika Filip, 41 4. JPN, Ryutaro Kawai , 33 5. POL, Tomasz Januszewski, 57 6. BER, Jesse Kirkland, 62 7. SWE, Nicklas Dackhammar, 63 8. ITA, Paolo Cattaneo, 85 9. GRE, Spanomanolis Jason, 90 10. ESP, Joaquin Blanco, 91 Top Canadian: 102. CAN, Evert Mclaughlin, 288 Top American: 111. USA, Steven Barbano, 310 Complete reports and results at http://www.optiworld.org/ioda-news.html CALLING ALL AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHERS Announcing our Weekly Amateur Photo Contest! Layline customers, do you have some great regatta photos, pics of your kids sailing, a boat decked out with Layline gear/rigging? Send us your Latest and Best "works of photographic art," and enter to win free merchandise. Your 15 minutes of fame await! All photos meeting submission requirements will be displayed in the Layline Photo Gallery online. Plus, cast your vote for the Customers' Choice Award. Prizes will be awarded weekly! Check out the details: http://www.layline.com/llf/photo/photo_contest.htm CRUISING HAWAII When the Hawaiian Department of Agriculture announced new and shortened quarantine requirements for pets coming to Hawaii, offshore sailors with companion pets rejoiced at the improvement. A closer look at the new regulations reveals a detailed procedure of documentation and exact timing. Basic requirements include 1) a minimum of two rabies vaccinations in the pet's lifetime, 2) a vaccination as recent as 12-months for one-year or 18-months for three-year vaccine, 3) and vaccination not less than 90-days prior to arrival. In addition, the pet must have a microchip implanted before the rabies blood test is performed. This provides secure identification for the pet. The chip must be a standard US issue that can be read by an AVIDR scanner. A pet without a microchip will automatically be assigned to 120-day quarantine. A rabies blood test must be performed by one of two approved laboratories, Kansas State University or the Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory in Texas, not more than 18 months and not less than 120 days prior to the date of arrival in Hawaii. Your pet's microchip number must identify the blood test. The waiting period begins on the day after the laboratory receives the blood sample for the test. The test must have a result >0.5 IU/ml. Finally, and most difficult for cruising sailors, is tick treatment with a product containing Fipronil or an equivalent long-acting product (RevolutionR is not acceptable) within 14 days of arrival and the product name and date of treatment is recorded on the pet's health certificate. Information on how to qualify a pet for the 5-day-or-less quarantine option is available on the department's website. - Diana Jessie, http://www.hawaiiag.org/hdoa/ai_aqs_info.htm" SWAN AMERICAN REGATTA Newport, RI- In a change of fortunes, Class B dominated the ClubSwan Race Day by taking seven of the top placings in the overall fleet results for the day. It was Martin Jacobson's Swan 44 Crescendo that eventually won the day by winning a solid ten minutes ahead of his next competitor, Swan 44 Lightwave, owned by David Ford. Today saw the fifty strong Swan fleet test their skills on the long race day. All three classes were given a different course ranging from 51.7 nm for Class A to 25 nm for Class C, taking them from Newport Harbour out to the Rhode Island Sound and into the Atlantic Ocean. With variable conditions ranging from 14 knots at the start to light and fluky winds after a full day's racing, the fleet was exposed to a completely different format compared to the standard windward/leeward of the past two days. Results-Total Points After Thursday Racing- A 1. VIM, Craig Speck (Swan 45) 11 pts 2. Lolita, Frank Savage (Swan 56) 19 3. Goombay Smash, Doug Douglas (Swan 45) 23 Racing- B 1. Crescendo, Martin Jacobson (Swan 44 MKII) 9 pts 2. Lightwave, David Ford (Swan 44) 11 3. Vixen, John & Bunny Wayt (Swan 44) 13 Cruising- C 1. Ciao Bella, Robert Jellen (Swan 60) 15 pts 2. Alianza, Bruce and Robin Cleveland (Swan 56) 18 3. Ariel, Jaffery Associates (Swan 36) 19 Overall 1. VIM, Craig Speck (Swan 45) 19 pts 2. Lolita, Frank Savage (Swan 56) 30 3. Strabo, Martin Fisher (Swan 70) 35 Complete report and results at http://www.nyyc.org/index.cfm?menu=263 HINDSIGHT Team New Zealand sailors and boats missed out on three months of crucial on-water training because they wanted to keep their boats' technology secret. Departing board member Ralph Norris tonight said the team was "under-cooked" when it was thrashed by Swiss challenger Alinghi. He admitted a wrong decision was made to keep the boats squirreled away to hide their technology from rivals. Neither the boats nor the crew were fully tuned when they met Alinghi. "With the benefit of hindsight, two to three months earlier would have made a difference," he said. "We probably got a little too clever with technology and the fact that we held off so as not to give them a sniff of it. We needed to be in the water earlier. I think the boats were quick boats but not tuned to their potential." Norris resigned from the board last Friday, as did fellow members Peter Menzies, Kevin Roberts and John Risley, but they will help the new board settle accounts. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/americascup/acstorydisplay.cfm?storyID=3515207&thesection=sport&thesubsection=americascup THE FUTURE IS YOUNG By reading some of the world's top sailor's résumés you'll notice most started in Opti's. Looking at some of the best boats in the world these people now sail, you'll notice Quantum sails. Put these together and you won't be surprised Quantum's Toni Tio Opti sails are on top too. Placing 1, 2, and 3 at the 2003 European Champs, Quantum's Toni Tio sails dominated the boy's class. Radial or cross cut, expect increased performance through the wind range. The future is young and likes to win. Help them. Available now at Annapolis Performance Sailing. http://www.apsltd.com/depts/dept3263.asp 505 WORLDS Malmö, Sweden- Beautiful weather and a steady breeze allowed Hunger/ Jess to post two well-performed races, helping them win the World Championship title without needing to compete in the final race on Friday. Also, the Swedish team of Bergström /Barne will finish second overall regardless of Friday's race. However, points are close thereafter, and '99 World Champion Hamlin/Alarie will need to sail well to retain their current third place position. Results after 8 of 9 races: 1. GER, Wolfgang Hunger/ Holger Jess, 8 pts 2. SWE, Krister Bergström/ Johan Barne, 14 3. USA, Howard Hamlin/ Peter Alarie, 29 4. GBR Ian Pinnell/ Steve Hunt, 30 5. DEN, Jörgen Riber/ Henrik Buhl, 32 8. USA, Daniel Thompson/ Andrew Zinn, 45 11. USA, Andy Beeckman/ Ben Benjamin, 57 10. USA, Alexander Meller/ Jesse Falsone, 53 21. USA, Macy Nelson/ Nick Nelson, 129 Complete results: http://mss.m.se/vm505%202003.htm WORLD SAILING SPEED RECORD COUNCIL A new record course has been recognized: "Around the Big Island of Hawaii" - a distance of 251 nm. Subject to ratification the inaugural record has been claimed as follows: "Fast Company" - an Olson 30' monohull, skipper Mitch Green USA and a crew of four. Elapsed time - 2 days, 7 hours, 10 minutes, 58 seconds. We have had several queries whether the recent time set up in the Round Britain and Ireland race has set a new WSSR record. The answer, regretfully, is no, as the start and finish line were not the same. As there was only a few miles difference, we suggested to the organisers that they arrange for the winning boat to sail on the short distance to the finish line to establish a time which we could recognise. However this proved impossible for various reasons including a night time finish.- John Reed, Secretary to the WSSR Council, http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/news.html LASER EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP Split, Croatia - No report from Thursday. Racing continues through Saturday Results after Thursday: 1. GBR, Paul Goodison, 18 pts 2. CRO, Mate Arapov, 24 3. SLO, Vasilij ZBOGAR, 24 4. SWE, Karl SUNESON, 25 5. AUS, Michael BLACKBURN, 25 20. USA, Andrew Campbell, 78 30. USA, Mark Mendelblatt, 100 34. CAN, Andrew Childs, 109 35. USA, Zachary Railey, 110 Complete results: http://www.jk-mornar.hr/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=89&op=page&SubMenu= CLIPPER 2002 RACE Salvador, Brasil to New York, USA (14th of 16 races)- Southeasterly winds, up and down but mostly around the force 4 to 5 mark, are providing fairly straightforward reaching conditions as the Clipper 2002 fleet sail up the Brazilian coast towards Recife. With no tactical alternatives, the first few days of the race are a bit of a drag race with all the teams white sail reaching as fast as they can. For the new leg 6 crews who joined in Salvador this is a useful settling in period as they re-find their sea legs and push through any initial sea sickness. The Glasgow Clipper crew certainly seem to have found their groove. With the highest day's run they have slowly extended their lead since yesterday morning and are already looking ahead to the point at Recife and their eventual strategy for heading up towards New York. This will bring them all back into contact with their old friend the ITCZ (the doldrums) and the trick, as always, will be to find the point where this band of fickle wind is narrowest. Race 14 Positions (03:00, 31 July 2003) 1. Glasgow- 3,725 distance to finish (nautical miles) 2. Jersey- 3,727 3. New York- 3,728 4. London- 3,730 5. Bristol- 3,734 6. Hong Kong- 3,735 7. Liverpool- 3,743 8. Cape Town- 3,751 Event website: http://www.clipper-ventures.com/home/index.htm NEWS BRIEFS * The 2003 Trans-Atlantic Arctic Expedition departs from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, today (July 31st) on its quest to cross the North Atlantic. Expedition leader, Bear Grylls, famous for being the youngest Briton ever to scale and reach the summit of Everest, will be joined by a crew of four to spend thirty days crossing the icy waters of the North Atlantic in an open, purpose built Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20030631141343ibinews.html * 31 July 2003 - Ely, Nevada, USA - On a good but less than perfect Nevada day, the record-smashing duo of Terry Delore and Steve Fossett have beaten the old record set by Hans Werner Grosse for the 1250 km triangle speed. They have just landed, clocking in at 146.1 kph, beating the old record of 143.46 kph.- http://www.fossettchallenge.com * The Moore 24 National Championships were held last week at California's 7,000-foot Huntington Lake in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. The majority of the fleet was from the San Francisco and Monterey Bays, but some traveled from Washington, Nevada and Idaho to enjoy the splendid beauty and shifty alpine lake conditions. In the end, Point Richmond's Bart Hackworth prevailed. For complete results see: http://www.moore24.org/ LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON (editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com) (Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name and may be edited for clarity or space - 250 words max. This is not a chat room or a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Robbie Doyle: I would like to reply to John Doerr's comment in regards to protesting. I have sailed many regattas in many countries and it is my experience that even if one is dead right, if they go into the protest room they can lose. And regardless of the facts, if there is a collision the chances are 50/50. Thus, the safest path is to avoid the protest room at all cost, even if one knows they are right. This perhaps sounds cynical, but I feel there is substance to it. As John is referring to a fleet of 200+ boats the chances are its young people involved and their understanding or experience with the rules is minimal so they are probably exercising good judgment. It is most likely somewhat better at the front of the pack where the experience is higher and the consequences for a foul greater. I do not feel more judge involvement in such events is the solution. Most likely the kids are enjoying it as is and it should be left alone (think about how much fun an NBA or NHL game would be if every foul or penalty was called). * From Joern Richter: I can only support John Doerr's thoughts (I am the chairman for the Kieler Woche and also for the Pfingstbusch in Germany; I sail OK-Dinghy and others). The judges are there to ensure fair sailing. Having the judge hat on, when I see the big infringements (and they are there), I always felt the judges should have a tool to use other than to lodge a protest. The protest hearing is usually with two parties way after the incident. But acting on the water will be seen by all of those who are sailing there. It will give a strong sign. It will definitely change the jury habits, but that's already changing by showing the yellow flag. And the yellow flag has helped a lot. Let's take the next step forward. The jury belongs on the water, not in a room. At least that's my personal view from sunny, hot Hamburg, Germany. * From Steve Foster: Interesting concept for the Clipper Race. Build eight one-design offshore boats, fill them with people who care enough that they would pay their own way, provide them with sufficient crew training to insure a good competition, and then set them loose around the world. I am sure that most of the Volvo Ocean Race competitors are mocking such an amateur arrangement, but since I am no joe-pro sailor, it's nice to have a global race that I can relate to. CURMUDGEON'S OXYMORON Military intelligence |
