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SCUTTLEBUTT 1602 - June 11, 2004Powered 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, whining and personal attacks for elsewhere. IS IT POSSIBLE THE FAT LADY HASN'T SUNG? Pascual Maragall, the President of Catalunia has been in secret negotiations with Michel Bonnefous, the President of the Americas Cup management Committee in order to try and persuade him to stage the competition in Barcelona and not Valencia. He has allegedly used as an excuse the failure by the Socialist government in Madrid to support the event, which would tie in with the fact that the Socialist government has been dragging its heels over making decisions that directly affect Valencia and the Americas Cup. This has been in order to give Pascual Maragall and his team time to try and persuade Mr Bonnefous. It has also been revealed that Mr Bonnefous apparently is not against the idea, and is also pressuring the Valencians to advance the necessary works as fast as possible. However, despite the obvious insult to Valencia, sources at the Valencia 2007 Consortium have stated that they have been contacted by the Americas Cup Management team who told then that the alleged negotiations had not taken place. In the meantime, and as if to confirm the secret negotiations, a 90-minute meeting between Valencia Mayoress Rita Barbera, Valencian Economy Conseller Gerardo Camps and Socialist Finance Minister has failed to make any sort of progress over the financing of the Americas Cup. As the meeting ended, a statement from the Ministry alluded to the meeting and stated that in a few weeks, decisions would be made with regards to the Cup and its necessary infrastructure in Valencia. Many political analysts have stated that the Socialists are attempting to try and bring down the Partido Popular Government in the Valencian Community, and the heel dragging over the Cup by the central Government would appear to be a part of a continued effort by Madrid to sink one of the lynchpins of the Aznar Government. Commenting on the alleged contacts between Mr Maragall and the Americas Cup Committee, Mr. Camps stated that he found it 'surprising', particularly as Barcelona had been passed over in the competition to stage the Cup. He added: "When Barcelona won the competition to stage the Olympic Games, the Valencian Community congratulated Catalunia and respected the decision. This is the least that we should expect from Mr. Maragall and his team." - www.valencialife.net WOMEN'S MATCH RACING WORLDS Annapolis, Maryland, USA - Poor wind on the Chesapeake Bay today meant little racing in the BoatU.S. 2004 ISAF Women's Match Racing World Championship. The Race Committee from host Eastport Yacht Club had hoped to finish up the second full round robin among the 16 top-ranked international women match racers on hand for the event, but with only 24 more matches sailed today, they remain 20 contests short of the full rotation. Because the regatta will end on Saturday, at this time organizers are planning to complete the round robin, hopefully tomorrow, then switch to a best-two-of-three "knock out" quarter final series in place of the previously scheduled double round robin among the top eight sailors in the double round of 16. Standings after Round Robin 1 and 100 matches of Round Robin 2 (Ties not Broken) - Sally Barkow (ISAF ranked #27), USA, (11-4), (10-3), 21 pts. - Lotte Meldgaard Pedersen (#4), Denmark, (12-3), (9-3), 21 pts. - Betsy Alison (#8), USA, (10-5), (8-4), 18 pts. - Paula Lewin (#9), Bermuda, (9-6), (8-6), 17 pts. - Elizabeth Kratzig (#23), USA, (6-9), (10-3), 16 pts. - Claire Leroy (#7), France, (8-7), (8-4), 16 pts. - Katie Spithill (#16), Australia, (8-7), (8-4), 16 pts. - Liz Baylis (#5), USA, (8-7), (7-5), 15 pts. - Jenny Axhede (#12), Sweden, (8-7), (6-7), 14 pts. - Deb Willits (#20), USA, (8-7), (6-7), 14 pts. - Christelle Philippe (#15), France, (7-8), (6-6), 13 pts. - Carol Cronin (#18), USA, (10-5), (3-9), 13 pts. - Sabrina Gurioli (#10), Italy, (7-8), (2-10), 9 pts. - Linda Rahm (#19), Sweden, (5-10), (3-8), 8 pts. - Nina Braestrup (#3), Denmark, (3-12), (4-9), 7 pts. - Marie Faure (#6), France, (0-15), (2-11), 2 pts. Event website: www.santamariacup.org BATTLING THE GULF STREAM SQUALLS… …or bobbing in the Bermuda High, the 635+ nautical miles of the upcoming Newport Bermuda Race can be trying. Trying on your boat, your patience and your body from head to toe. Eliminate one from the list. Treat your feet to a pair of Dubarry's. World-renowned for durability and comfort, Dubarry sea boots are handmade from the highest quality water-resistant leather featuring Gore-Tex lining and patented non-slip soles. If you're only allowed to bring one pair, you better make them Dubarry. In stock at APS, it's not too late to get your Seaquests or Ultimas… http://www.apsltd.com/scuttlebutt THE TRANSAT Major and disappointing news came from Kiwi Open 60 skipper, Mike Sanderson, this morning who admitted live on Transat Radio that he had a broken daggerboard on board Pindar AlphaGraphics. The starboard daggerboard was "shattered" during the 45 knots that hit the fleet last Friday night. As soon as the breakage occurred, Sanderson tacked onto starboard which enabled him to keep the pace with the leader Mike Golding. But in the last couple of days, Pindar AlphaGraphics was forced to tack back on to port and since then Sanderson has fallen back into third place, 47 miles off the pace. Standings @ 0300 GMT on June 11: ORMA 60 Multis: 1. Geant, Michel Desjoyeaux, finished; 2. Sodebo, Thomas Coville, finished. 3. Groupama, Franck Cammas, finished IMOCA Open 60 Monohulls: 1. Ecover, Mike Golding, 408 miles to finish. 2. Temenos, Dominique Wavre, 46nm distance to leader 3. Pindar Alphagraphics, Mike Sanderson, 47nm dtl; Open 50 Multihulls: 1. Trilogic, Eric Bruneel, 705 mtf; 2. Gifi, Dominique Demachy, 206 nm dtl Open 50 Monohulls: 1. Artforms, Kip Stone 879 mtf; 2. Wells Fargo - American Pioneer, Joe Harris, 50nm dtl Event website: http://www.thetransat.com/ SWEDISH MATCH TOUR - MATCH RACE GERMANY Langenargen, Germany - Another day with only very light air, but three skippers still remain alive in the chase for the Mercedes Benz SLK 200 that will be awarded to the first skipper to win 10 straight races at Match Race Germany: Jes Gram-Hansen, (5-0), Peter Gilmour (3-0) and Gavin Brady (3-0). "I imagine the conditions are as testing for the organizers as they are for the sailors," said Brady, referring to the sweltering, 80-degree-plus temperatures and nearly non-existent wind. Chief umpire Jan Stage (DEN) related how the International Jury deducted three-quarters of a point from Brady's total due to unsportsmanlike conduct. Stage said an unidentified crewmember from Brady's crew took two umpire flags off the umpire boat during the boat swap from Group B to Group A. The incident occurred during a boat swap late in the day, just prior to the race committee canceling the remaining races. "We thought it was a serious infringement," said Stage, a member of the jury. "A race might've been started and we wouldn't have had the flags." Brady downplayed the incident. "They were taken as a joke," he said. - Sean McNeill, www.SwedishMatchTour.com Round Robin Standings - Group A (After 3 of 5 flights): 1. Peter Gilmour/AUS, Pizza-La Sailing Team, 3-0 2. Gavin Brady/NZL, BMW Oracle Racing, 3-0 (2.25 points, due to Jury penalty) 3. Bertrand Pacé/FRA, Team France, 1-2 = Lars Nordbjaerg/DEN, 1-2 = Tino Ellegast/GER, 1-2 6. Karol Jablonski/POL, Toscana Challenge, 0-3 Group B (After 5 of 5 flights): 1. Jes Gram-Hansen/DEN, Team Denmark, 5-0 2. Eric Monin/SUI, 3-2 3. Luc Pillot/FRA, 3-2 4. Mathieu Richard (FRA), 3-2 5. Michael Dunstan/AUS, OzBoyz Challenge, 2-3 6. Ray Davies/NZL, Team New Zealand, 0-5 "MAN OVERBOARD!" How fast do you surf downwind…14, 16kts? At 16kts, you travel 260 yards in just the first 30 seconds after a man-overboard! SeaMarshall automatic beacons and onboard receivers can mean the difference between successful recovery and tragedy. For detailed information on SeaMarshall safety gear, contact Chip Barber: admin@chbarber.com; http://www.seamarshall-us.com PICKING UP THE PIECES After a dramatic rescue of Bernard Stamm from the up-turned hull of his Open 60 (Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux), Stamm's team have lost no time organising a salvage operation. Last night the Swiss skipper arrived at the port of St. Johns on Newfoundland's southern extremity, The Avalon Peninsular. He has now boarded the offshore tug, Alex Gordon, and is planning to set out and locate Cheminees Poujoulat-Armor Lux. Finding the 60ft monohull will demand extremes of skill and judgement as the yacht's distress beacon has ceased transmitting a satellite fix - a knowledge of drift patterns and an accurate assessment of wave and wind conditions will now become crucial. Should the Alex Gordon discover Stamm's yacht, it is likely that a diver will be sent to cut away the mast, sails and rigging. French PRB Open 60 skipper, Vincent Riou, has erected a jury rig using his retracted daggerboard as a 1.5 metre mast and is making 4 knots in the direction of Europe. Riou hopes to rendezvous with the motorised trimaran, Ocean Alchimiste, late tomorrow and will spend an estimated six days under tow on the return trip to Brittany where a spare mast is awaiting PRB. Meanwhile, Jean Pierre Dick's only option (after his Open 60 Virbac dismasted and the entire rig was lost) is to continue his drift eastwards and wait for his shore crew to arrive on the converted fishing vessel, Hatherleigh. NEWS BRIEFS * Mike Kalin (Boston, Mass.) has joined US Sailing's coaching program as the new Laser Youth Development He will be responsible for creating and coordinating a development program for advanced U.S. youth sailors in the Laser and Laser Radial. He will organize and conduct Advanced Training Camps at select junior championships, including the U.S. Junior Singlehanded Championship (Smythe Trophy) and U.S. Junior Women's Singlehanded Championship (Leiter Trophy), as well as the qualifying events to determine competitors for the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship. He will also attend the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship as the Coach/ Team Leader. * New Zealand America's Cup skipper Dean Barker will make his Olympic debut in Athens after being confirmed in the Finn Class. Barker confirmed his spot in the team after finishing fourth at the European Finn championships in a world class fleet and 11th at the Princess Sofia regatta. Barker missed selection for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta in the Finn Class. - www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2936908a1823,00.html * Several new Amendments to the Newport Bermuda Race Notice of Race have been posted on the website. Two of these pertain to minor adjustments to the Upper Speed Limit for some IMS Divisions. A third Amendment deals with changing between IMS Divisions. The remainder of the Amendments posted today deal largely with the IMS Big Boat Demonstration Division. They are all available on the web site under the "Official Documents" menu or by going directly to: www.bermudarace.com/2004/amendments.php * There's just over one week left for you and your crew to sign up for Summer Sailstice 2004 and to have a chance at winning one of the over 100 great prizes awarded by random drawing. No matter how, where or why you're out there sailing on June 19/20 you can sign up, sail, celebrate and win. - http://www.summersailstice.com IT'S ONLY MONEY At Hall Spars & Rigging, we always try to give you more for that hard-earned cash. That's why every June is Harken month, when you save an additional 5% on Harken hardware. Hall is one of the largest Harken dealers in the U.S., so our prices are already as competitive as you are. Buy one block or twenty -- every one saves an additional 5%. Call, email, fax or order online. But do it before midnight on June 30, only at Hall Spars & Rigging. http://www.hallspars.com CLARIFICATION Yesterday's issue of Scuttlebutt said that the 2004 Olsen 30 Nationals were won by Trevor Hayward and his crew on "M.O.F." Actually, Hayward was deemed co-champion with Michael Goldfarb aboard "War Canoe." - http://www.olson30.org/regional/pnw/nat2004/results.html 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 nor a bulletin board - you only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot and don't whine if others disagree.) * From Mark Reynolds: I've seen some discussion in 'Butt suggesting that the definition of a sailor athlete is not broad enough. We've worked hand in hand with the US Olympic Committee to design a definition of a sailor athlete that is as broad as possible, while still viable under the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act and USOC guidelines. While no definition will be perfect in our sport, we feel the current definition is broad enough to include nearly all sailors who compete on a national or international level. I helped write the definition and it seems to be working. Our first council was primary Olympic sailing athletes but now both the council and registered athletes are becoming more representative of all of sailings athletes. * From Jon Turvey: I found it interesting but not surprising to read Ian Walker's discussion on the cost of campaigning and its consequent effects on participation. Any amateur who has sailed in the more competitive classes is quite familiar with this phenomenon. Janet Baxter, newly elected President of US Sailing started her term of office focusing on participation. I believe that sailing is at a cross roads; there are a very few who are earning their living as professionals, a great majority who sail recreationally, and a group in between that are trying to figure out how to climb from one group to the other. The time is fast approaching when sailing will go the way of golf - professional events, a PSA (ala PGA, ya gotta get your "card" to sail in the events), and only a few Pro-AM events where the two universes collide. We'll have lost something, but maybe it'll be more fun (and less expensive). * From Jim Bungener: I have just read your issue 1601's article on the Olympic windsurfing's future. Whatever do they mean by "the Formula boards are not suitable for racing in the range of wind strengths required for an Olympic sailing event"? This is exactly what they are designed for. What is so special about an Olympic event that makes a board type already used in every possible wind condition not suitable? * From Magnus Wheatley: The Transat Race has been totally electric to follow both by the excellent website and the Richard Simmonds inspired radio broadcasts. This race is how all offshore races should be run with first class, sorry upper first class, media relations, tracking systems, skipper interviews and, wait for it, sponsor return on investment. Who cares if the boats are named Skandia, Hellomoto, Ecover, Mum's washing up liquid or whatever? It's the very least the sponsors can expect for the massive sums of money they inject. Furthermore, this kind of high speed ocean racing has a long way to go in the media, both print and multi-media and beats hands-down the 'one boat against the elements' rubbish and petty politics of the Jules Verne trophy. Boats dismasting, calamities all round, sleep deprivation, big seas, bigger winds, skippers on the limits of endurance and nail-biting finishes. Wow, that's sailing! Offshore Challenges has grabbed the Transat by the scruff of the neck, shaken it to its core and their brilliant shore team should be roundly congratulated for giving us the best race on the planet to date. On the basis of the Transat, just how good is the Vendee going to be! * From Clifford Bradford (In response to Jim Kelly in 1601): I find it strange that the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" has more coverage of poker, cheerleading and "fitness" competitions than it does of several other more recognized sports (sailing included). Jim referred to coverage of America's Cups and a few other sailing events but that amount is relatively small. There is so much more high level racing around the world that America's Cup and a few other events represent only a tiny fraction of what's out there. Also many sailing fans aren't necessarily big fans of match racing (I'm a bigger fan of distance racing and ESPN's not had much coverage of that recently). I find it hard to believe that it is difficult to get sailing on TV considering that almost anywhere you go in this country with an appreciable body of water you'll find sailors on it. Not to mention that sailors represent a relatively wealthy demographic. * From Graham Kelly: In S'butt 1601 Ken Quant said: "Who is sailing's Warren Miller?" Actually, it is, or was, Warren Miller. Back in the late '60's, he made movie about the Finn class Zellerbach Series, which was sailed in big breeze on the San Francisco cityfront. The film, which featured Bob Andre, Henry Sprague, Ed Miller, and many other expert Finn sailors of that day, had the usual Warren Miller mix of guys sleeping in the parking lot, technical knowledge, wry humor, and hairy wipe-outs. It was a great and entertaining effort, and led me to buy a Finn so I could test my skills against the guys in the movie. * From George Albaugh: In response to Steve Johnson's comments about the term "yachting", I would like to point out that opinions as to the appropriateness of this term as a descriptor for our sport are divided. My eleven foot Moth Boat is a yacht. I am a member of a yacht club. I enjoy yacht racing. I see no reason to dumb things down in an effort to "popularize" our sport. Near as I can tell, there's too #$&*!@$ guys out on the water as it is. Besides, it's taken me the better part of 50 years just to learn how to spell yacht. You can bet I'm not going to give it up now! * From Bob Harden: The high cost of winning - hmm. Extreme care must be exercised by "rule makers" to constrain human commitment. This is a tricky area differentiating costs from the desire to achieve. On the other hand, if boat designers, sailmakers, regatta chairs, and us the sailors work to control costs voluntarily, we can, and we can still have the opportunity to commit ourselves and our teams with greater numbers of others. It is unfortunate the high level of commitment noted - the Olympics, America's Cup, Farr 40, that these sailing commitments do not always translate well or are not obvious to the Nintendo crowd, or the typical professional sports fan. This causes the lack of true professional dollars to support some of the commitments being exercised at even greater levels and with greater numbers. If the high cost of commitment reduces the playing field, give it a little time, the interested sailors, those that want to sail will resurface in another form. This is very much like the natural predator-prey cycle of so many endeavors. But do not equate the lack of sustainment or rising professional costs with only the negative. I say congratulations to the participants, let's recognize and honor what has occurred, for raising the bar of achievement. This is what makes the world go around for so many, and for the masses, less economically blessed, there are plenty of boats for us to get organized, to get together and race. THE CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked? |
