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SCUTTLEBUTT 2832 - Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Scuttlebutt 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 Morris Yachts, Summit Yachts, and LaserPerformance.
A BITTERSWEET HOMECOMING
(Apr. 27, 2009) - It was not the homecoming he wanted, but PUMA skipper Ken
Read put on a brave face when il mostro returned to Boston Sunday evening. "I
just think everybody is happy to be here in what we call home," he said.
"Eleven days short of one year ago, this boat was christened by Salma Hayek at
the Institute of Contemporary Art next door to us right now. In our Boston to
Boston journey round the world since then, we have sailed exactly 48,182 miles
on il mostro."
The huge number of hollering spectators, native to the city of PUMA's
headquarters, suggested it was a welcome arrival. But the slow shake of Read's
head a few minutes later suggested there was something else on his mind. He
admitted before the leg began that he was desperately keen to win this of all
stages, hoping the victory that had until then eluded his team would come in
the town where it all began.
But they were the fourth fastest boat to complete the 4,900-nautical mile
course from Rio de Janeiro. The fact they did not win is no huge surprise; his
team have proven themselves to be superb contenders in this race, taking
podiums at 11 of the 14 scoring opportunities before this leg, but they have
never won a leg, in-port race or scoring gate. -- Read on:
http://tinyurl.com/chwdzf
Crewed around the world race in VO 70's, with ten distance legs and seven
In-Port races. Leg Six from Rio de Janiero, Brazil to Boston, MA, USA was
4,900 nm; final finishing order:
1. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, Finished April 26, 21:05:10 GMT
2. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, Finished April 26, 21:17:58 GMT
3. Telefonica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, Finished April 26, 21:23:02 GMT
4. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, Finished April 26, 23:12:42 GMT
5. Telefonica Black (ESP),Fernando Echavarri/ESP,Finished April 27, 09:48:15 GMT
6. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, Finished April 27, 10:10:29 GMT
7. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, Finished April 27, 16:08:10 GMT
Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, Did Not Start
Current standings:
1. Ericsson 4 (SWE), Torben Grael/BRA, 77.5 points
2. Telefonica Blue (ESP), Bouwe Bekking/NED, 64.5
3. PUMA (USA), Ken Read/USA, 64.0
4. Ericsson 3 (SWE), Magnus Olsson/SWE, 53.0
5. Green Dragon (IRL/CHN), Ian Walker/GBR, 44.0
6. Telefonica Black (ESP), Fernando Echavarri/ESP, 29.0
7. Delta Lloyd (IRL), Roberto Bermudez/ESP, 21.0
8. Team Russia (RUS), Andreas Hanakamp/AUT, 10.5
Event website: http://www.volvooceanrace.org
Race tracking: http://volvooceanrace.geovoile.com
Overall scores: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/rdc/#tab4
* Regarding the finishing times, GMT is four hours ahead of local Eastern
Time.
* The godmother of PUMA, Mexican actress Salma Hayek, and French billionaire
Francois-Henri Pinault, whose company PPR holds a controlling stake in Puma
AG, married for a second time on April 25th, this time in a romantic Italian
wedding. The 42-year-old actress originally married Pinault, 46, in Paris on
Valentine's Day in a civil ceremony.
* Riding high on record media and spectator numbers in the current event,
Volvo Event Management UK (VEMUK), event organiser of the Volvo Ocean Race,
announced that it has received 71 formal Expressions of Interest from 37
different countries to host one of a maximum of 8 "Stopovers" in the Volvo
Ocean Race 2011-12. The Expressions of Interest were received in response to a
formal request sent out last month by The Sports Consultancy, the specialist
agency managing the bidding process on VEMUK's behalf. -- Read on:
http://tinyurl.com/cqvoqk
NEW ENGLAND BOATWORKS FIRE UPDATE
by Scott Murray, New England Boatworks
Just a quick note on some of the details of last Thursday's Fire (on April
23, 2009). New England Boatworks, Inc. had a very serious fire that broke out
very early in the morning. We lost three of the buildings on the southern end
of our property - engineering, stockroom and repair. This fire very quickly
went from one building to a three buildings scenario. While this is tragic, we
were extremely fortunate that no one was hurt and all of our boats remained
safely tied at the docks out of harms' way. Thanks to the quick actions of
our security guard, Steve Lecuyer, we were able to contain the fire in a
timely manner.
New England Boatworks would like to thank the Portsmouth Fire Department and
all of the other fire and police departments for all of their help in
containing the fire here at our facility in Portsmouth. The loss could have
been much greater without their dedicated efforts. We also send our best to
all the injured firefighters and are very thankful that they have no sustained
side effects. -- Read on:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7374
COME SEE THE M29 IN ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND!
The M29 is ushering in spring as she makes her way north. Next stop is
Annapolis, MD. We invite you to view the new M29 from Friday, May 1 to Sunday,
May 3 (10am-5pm) at the National Sailing Hall of Fame docks. To RSVP please
email mailto:sales1@morrisyachts.com or call us at 1-207-244-5509 to let us
know you will be attending.
Next Stop: Morris Yachts will attend the Greenwich Yacht Showcase May 8-10 at
the Greenwich, CT Delamar Hotel. The M29, M36, and M42 will be showcased at
this exclusive event. Please call to receive an invitation. Also available:
M29 and M36 screensavers: http://www.morrisyachts.com/Screensavers
MULTI-HULL CONTROVERSY REPEATS ITSELF
by Steve Dashew
We noticed a recent item in Scuttlebutt and then several racing buddies sent
us the recent LA Times story about the Newport to Ensenada Race multi-hull
controversy (in So. Calif.). Since we were once caught up in this ourselves -
and it changed our lives forever - we thought some history might be of
interest.
Back in the early days of cat racing - we are talking late 1950s here - the
center of gravity on the planet for multihulls was the Pacific Multihull
Association (PMA). The Brits were at it with small boats, but PMA had big and
small contingents.
The big boats were almost exclusively Rudy Choy (later Rudy, Warren Seaman,
and Al Kumalie) designs. These ranged from the 46' Aikane (still his best
design in our opinion) to the 24' x 10' Foamy class boats, and included
Patty Cat, a 27-footer with about 11' beam. These were all designed
asymmetric hulls.
Small boats were dominated by Wildcats (of which we had #4) and Malibu
Outriggers (a lovely Warren Seaman design), then P Cats, and eventually Sharks
(this was all before Hobie did the 14).
It was one big happy family, racing and socializing together, and trying to
get some respect from the lead mine establishment. Both the Foamies and Patty
Cat were deemed large enough and safe enough to do the Ensenada Race.
Then Bob Reese came up with a breakthrough design which upset the status quo.
Wildwind was 32' x 16', had symmetrical hulls, daggerboards, and was very
clean structurally being held together with aluminum extrusions rather than
the plywood box beams of the Choy boats. She was also significantly faster
than anything else.
Seeing a threat to his livelihood, Rudy, together with the big boat owners,
set up Ocean Racing Catamaran Association (ORCA) and got the Newport Ocean
Sailing Association (NOSA) to make ORCA the arbiter of who could race to
Ensenada. And guess what? Wildwind was deemed unfit (where the Foamies and
Patty Cat were OK). -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/c33kkh
GUEST COMMENTARY
We attended Charleston Race Week as "observers" rather than competitors (on
Circle 1). Our respective boats were there, sailing without us, but we wanted
to be there in person, not just in spirit. While it was difficult to watch and
not be out there competing with our friends we still enjoyed the spectacle and
even got a vicarious thrill on the windier days watching the Vipers, Melges
20's and Laser SB3's planning towards the leeward gate.
From our perspective it was a great regatta, good competition, good wind and
best of all a great race committee whose goal seemed to be to provide the best
racing possible for the participants. The first thing we noticed was that the
race management team kept everyone informed via VHF of what was happening
prior to the starts. They told us what they were thinking relative to the
placement of marks, what they were seeing regarding wind oscillations, and
walked us through every starting countdown. And when the competitors got too
aggressive, they called every premature starter's bow number quickly and
efficiently. -- by Winn Story and Doug Kessle, read on:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7375#7375
SHIPPING COSTS
I contend that one of the problems with sailing as a sport for Canada and the
U.S. is that the continent is too big. It is nice to travel and experience
various sites, but when your options to cross these countries are the Panama
Canal, the Northwest Passage, or 2+ days of straight driving, you are not
going to see too many coasties taking the journey. Dinghy sailors have created
multi-boat trailers to tackle the problem, but bigger boats face big bills to
take the trek.
Out of curiosity, I read an email sent to me about an online tool for
determining shipping cost for boats. I have no idea how good this service is,
but it was fun to try uShip's online Shipping Price Estimator (SPE), which
supposedly estimates boat transport cost based not only on distance and boat
dimensions, but also on trucking routes and availability. -- Scuttleblog, read
on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/04/shipping-costs.html
THE LINE IS FORMING FOR SUMMIT YACHTS
Interest continues to grow for the new Summit 35 Racer/Cruiser. After its
recent west coast introduction at the Strictly Sail Pacific boat show in
Oakland, CA, inquiries are on the rise. Hull number one is due to start
production in early May, and will hit the water in time for the Newport
International Boat Show. Several of the Mark Mills designed boats have been
sold specifically to compete in the 2010 Key West Race Week, and two more are
available to complete in time for this great event. Visit our web site at
http://www.summit-yachts.com for more information.
SAILING SHORTS
* (Apr. 27, 2009) - A Hong Kong-registered Chinese sailing junk, Princess
Taiping, sank off the northeastern Taiwan fishing port of Suao early yesterday
(Sunday) after it was struck by an unknown foreign freighter, the Coast Guard
Administration (CGA) reported. The Princess Taiping is a rebuilt Ming Dynasty
sailing junk that set sail from the northeastern Taiwan harbor of Keelung last
June on an ambitious, engineless cross-Pacific voyage. When it sank, it was
only a few hours, or roughly 42 nautical miles, from completing the 10-month
round trip challenge, as it was scheduled to pull into Keelung's Bisha Fishing
Port later in the day. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/chrkjc
* (Apr. 27, 2009) A man died last night (Monday) trying to put out a blaze at
a $4 million Central Otago home owned by America's Cup skipper Russell Coutts.
The Fire Service was called to the isolated property near Arrowtown, north of
Queenstown, at 7.15pm. Ambulance spokeswoman Jan Wills said a 48-year-old
neighbour trying to extinguish the flames suffered a fatal heart attack. The
home was reportedly being renovated, and no one was living there. -- NZ
Herald, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10569030
* Sail Newport and the PUMA Ocean Racing Team want to put one of the
"buttheads" on "il mostro" for the Volvo Ocean Race In-Port "practice racing
day" on Friday, May 8th 2009. This is the day prior to the Boston In Port Race
which is scheduled for May 9th, 2009. Ken Read, Skipper of il mostro says:
"These practice days are actually the most fun days of sailing we get to do.
There are a ton of starts and short course races that day. The raffle winner
will be grinning ear to ear after this day of sailing... Guaranteed....." --
Details: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/04/to-sail-on-puma.html
* According to a first-quarter boat registration report published by Spanish
marine trade association ANEN, the downturn on the Spanish market has further
deteriorated as indicated by a 50 per cent decrease in the total number of
registrations between January and March to reach 1,172 units, as compared with
a total of 2,343 boats registered over the same period in 2008 under the
Spanish flag. -- IBI Magazine, read on:
http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20090327160025ibinews.html
A BOAT FOR A BUCK
There is a boat whose owner is willing to sell her for the very reasonable
price of $1.00. Yes, a buck. This story comes courtesy of SpinSheet, who is
hopeful that there is a 'butthead that will save this mystery boat at
Washington Sailing Marina from demolition later this month. Here are the
details:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
There is one in every marina--that mysterious boat that sits aging at its slip
or on a cradle in a dark corner of the boatyard. While rumors and stories
abound, nobody seems to know what, exactly, she is, or where she came from.
Until last week, Washington Sailing Marina's version of this boat was a long,
narrow sloop with a strangely modified deck. Maybe a Shields or a Dragon hull,
I thought. My kids nicknamed her "The Submarine Boat" the first time they saw
her. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/0424
EIGHT BELLS
Robert G. Scharf, a resident of Annapolis since 1982, died Saturday, April 18,
at Anne Arundel Medical Center. He was 83. Mr. Scharf was an early member of
Eastport Yacht Club, joining the club when he first moved to Annapolis. He
served the club in many capacities, including as Commodore in 1993, and as
chairman of the Race Committee for several years. He devoted hundreds of hours
to the Building Committee in 1989-91, helping to plan the development of the
club's new property on Sycamore Point, and he volunteered as a fleet leader
for many years in the EYC Parade of Lights.
He was very active in regatta management, serving on race committees not only
for the Eastport club, but also for Severn Sailing Association and the Naval
Academy Sailing Association, and for the Columbus Cup match racing series in
Baltimore in the early 1990s. In one year during this period, he served more
than 200 days of race committee duty at various events. He and his Alura 30
Cormorant were well-known fixtures on local race courses, but he also traveled
in pursuit of this interest, serving on the race committees for Key West Race
Week and the 1996 Olympic Games in Savannah, Georgia. In the Annapolis area,
he served as a key player or Principal Race Officer for a wide range of events
including the Leukemia Cup, of which he took charge in its second year, the
Solomons Island Invitational, and numerous regional, national, and world
championship events, and he was valued for sharing his knowledge and
experience with many of the current generation of area race officials. --
Excerpt from full obituary on Scuttlebutt Forum:
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7378
GET READY FOR SUMMER WITH LASERPERFORMANCE
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today.
A MULTI-CHALLENGER AMERICA'S CUP IN MULTIHULLS?
GGYC/BMW Oracle has been absolutely consistent on wanting America's Cup 33 to
be a multi-challenger event. Since this saga began, almost immediately after
SNG/Alinghi had won the 32nd America's Cup, Tom Ehman has said, over and over
again, that - even though it challenged SNG to a Deed of Gift match - BMW
Oracle did not want to exclude other challengers.
Indeed, in its November 13, 2008 filing to the New York Appeals Court, GGYC
said, "We are in no way fighting to exclude other challengers from the
America's Cup, as today's SNG court brief falsely alleges. In fact, we were
compelled to begin preparations for a default match in a multi-hull solely
because of Alinghi's refusal to negotiate with us toward an AC 32-type
protocol. As we have consistently and publicly stated - and made abundantly
clear to Ernesto Bertarelli - it has always been our intent to negotiate a
conventional multi-challenger regatta with fair and competitive rules".
GGYC is now free to do exactly that, for SNG has already expressed its
willingness for the challenger selection to be open to other teams and has
encouraged GGYC to offer would be challengers more time to prepare if
necessary. So, which French multihull teams want to compete? Understandably,
nobody wants to go public until they have more details of the calendar and
format that BMW Oracle has in mind for a multihull Challenger Selection
Series. It is not, however, hard to identify a number of potential
challengers. -- BYM News, read on:
http://www.bymnews.com/americas-cup-33/wishes-come-true.php
=> Curmudgeon's Comment: Everyone seems to agree that since the current crop
of maxi-multihulls are designed for ocean crossings, they would not be
competitive on the Deed of Gift course. Therefore, the key element now is the
timeline, as GGYC believes the NY Supreme Court is requiring a February 2010
match while SNG is calling for a May 2010 match. The build time for BMW Oracle
trimaran was eight months, and the team has so far used four months to test
and tune the boat. So the question then becomes, should the event be held as
soon as possible between GGYC and SNG (and per the court's order), or delayed
further for the inclusion of possible challengers (but per mutual consent)?
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 Robert Hughes, Heartbreaker Sailing Team: So sad to read the passing of
Kay Baxter and my thoughts and prayers go to her wonderful sailing family.
When we first started racing big boats over 20 years ago, she was one of the
first to welcome us and help me with my always near train wreck registration
for the Chicago Mac race. One of the highlights of any Chicago regatta or big
event in Florida was knowing you would see Kay and how she would make you feel
right at home wherever you saw her.
If you had a great regatta, she congratulated you and when you did bad she
helped you keep things in perspective. Whatever place you walked off the dock,
Kay always made us all happier. People like Kay have allowed us to race in
well organized regattas due to her limitless dedication. Her commitment to the
sport and race committee cannot be matched. The same goes for her personality.
Thank you for all you did Kay and you will never be forgotten. You are the
face of Great Lakes Race committee to so many. --
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7372
* From Derek Paterson: After 40+ years of sailing I have a number of basel
cells burnt off and several melanomas surgically removed. Best Dermatologist
advice now is to use sunblock every day - not just race days. I use a
moisturiser SPF45 daily and sunblock SPF75 on the boat or if outside for any
length of time. Even small doses of sunlight can damage the skin, particularly
in NZ where UV is extreme.
* From JAB/Forum: (re, letter in Scuttlebutt 2831) It is not my place, or
anyone else's to tell Ernesto Bertarelli or Larry Ellison how to spend their
money. This is not a government program, or any sort of mandated spending.
This is what these two do for fun. It's not how I might choose to spend my
money, but I don't have the resources to put together the types of campaigns
that are needed today to play the game. I would suggest that as soon as you
can afford a campaign at this level, you can do whatever you would like to
keep "80% of the America's Cup teams viable" - charity is almost always
appreciated. This is one of the problems we have with the US Government today
- everyone feels entitled to someone else's money. I'm sure there are people
who work for UBS or Oracle that are currently out of work as well, that feel
like Larry or Ernesto somehow owe them a job, but the fact is that they don't,
and to imply anything else is just plain silly. --
http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=7373#7373
CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION
These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart says, "For fast relief."
Special thanks to Morris Yachts, Summit Yachts, and LaserPerformance.
Preferred supplier list: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers
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