Living in the Scuttlebutt World

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
The eating season is on in the USA. It began October 31 when Halloween candy got consumed, and accelerates on the fourth Thursday of November when all forms of food is eaten on Thanksgiving. That’s this week.

Over-consumption continues through Christmas, New Years Eve, and pretty much any event that gets us through winter. Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, March Madness. I’ve eaten a lot on Easter, but then it’s time to focus on the skin season. Bathing suits tell no lies.

The staff at Scuttlebutt HQ will be over-consuming this week, opting to work less, which means no Friday newsletter. Sorry, but we figured you’d be in a food coma too. Let’s rest up from family overload. and work on gift lists. Buying stuff from Scuttlebutt sponsors pays my bills.

In other news, the Vendée Globe is now in its third week with 39 of the 40 starters still in the game, southbound in the south Atlantic. I was looking forward to the weather forecasting service PredictWind providing a routing service for race fans, but I’ve learned race organizers nixed the plan. Onward!

If you missed the SailGP event in Dubai, the light winds of the Middle East had the F50s crawling around the course. While the speeds were still faster than most of us go, they look slow which is not a foundational element of the league. I had previously reported how the boats would soon have propulsion assist to get them up on the foils, and this video goes into more detail. Try not to be offended.

I hope by now my scathing opinion of utilizing public vote to recognize athletic accomplishment is known, though I thought it was appropriate for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Popular people tend to have good personalities, but the award is actually to recognize achievement. A glam distance runner and a teenage dart thrower are ahead of America’s Cup skipper Ben Ainslie. Followers and ‘friends’ are today’s currency.

This has been the 27th year for Scuttlebutt Sailing News, which was my age when I got married. I’ve never connected the two, nor how I hold a lucky feeling for the numbers 27 or 72. But since I am still married and Scuttlebutt is still here, I’ll call this a good year. I hope it is going well for you too.