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SCUTTLEBUTT 2683 - Wednesday, September 17, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. WILL PIRATES ATTACK VOLVO OCEAN RACE FLEET? French commandos stormed a sailboat to free two French tourists who were being held hostage by heavily-armed Somali pirates, President Nicolas Sarkozy has said. A French tuna fishing boat came under rocket attack some 700 kilometres off the Somali coast on Saturday. Pirates are becoming increasingly emboldened, with approximately 50 ships, mainly merchant vessels, having been attacked by pirates off Somalia's 2,300 miles of coastline since the beginning of the year. According to Mr Sarkozy, Somali pirates are currently holding 150 people and at least 15 ships. The simple advice would be to avoid this area. That might be the suggestion of the Volvo Ocean Race navigators when they begin the 4,450 nm second leg of the race on November 15th, which takes the eight boat fleet from Cape Town, South Africa up the Indian Ocean to Kochi, India. Pre-race analysis notes that the goal on this leg is to seek out the south-east trades, but even if there is any inclination to stay left and work the coast line of the African continent, that option should still keep the fleet far enough offshore to avoid what has become the most dangerous section of ocean in the world. It is, however, concerning to think what would have happened if Leg 2 had gone to the Middle East, as originally planned… Alicante In-Port Race, October 4, 2008 Leg 1: Alicante - Cape Town, October 11, 2008 - 6,500Nm Leg 2: Cape Town – Kochi, November 15, 2008 - 4,450Nm Leg 3: Kochi – Singapore, December 13, 2008 - 1,950Nm Singapore In-Port Race, January 10, 2009 Leg 4: Singapore – Qingdao, January 18, 2009 - 2,500Nm Qingdao In-Port Race, February 7, 2009 Leg 5: Qingdao - Rio de Janeiro, February 14, 2009 - 12,300Nm Rio de Janeiro In-Port Race, April 4, 2009 Leg 6: Rio de Janeiro – Boston, April 11, 2009 - 4,900Nm Boston In-Port Race, May 9, 2009 Leg 7: Boston – Galway, May 16, 2009 - 2,550Nm Galway In-Port Race, May 30, 2009 Leg 8: Galway – Marstrand, June 6, 2009 - 950Nm Leg 9: Marstrand – Stockholm, June 14, 2009 - 525Nm Stockholm In-Port Race, June 21, 2009 Leg 10: Stockholm - St Petersburg, June 25, 2009 - 400Nm Race Schedule: http://www.volvooceanrace.org/schedule Pirate story: http://tinyurl.com/SButt0916a CHOOSING EQUIPMENT THAT SAILORS PREFER TO RACE ON by Svein Rasmussen, President, Starboard When the Formula windsurfing class asked us to work with them on a Formula One design concept for the 2012 Olympics, I had to think about it long and hard as I was believing that we needed a light wind alternative, a set of equipment that could also work in 2– 5 knots, thus energize all the light wind areas in the world. Then my mind turned to the International Mistral Class Organization (IMCO) class. This class had equipment that worked great in light winds. The IMCO class was very much marketed and heavily supported by the national federations for 12 years, yet the day it no longer had an Olympic medal, it was proved that the class was "artificial", as no one continued to participate in it. That proved to me that at this stage in time, the majority of windsurfers that wish to compete on an Olympic style course, are mainly interested in competing in planing conditions. The RSX was "artificially" born, the equipment style selected for the 2008 Olympics was never raced in large fleets, medals were made available, the national support was made available and a limited amount of sailors will participate until the class will be taken off the Olympic program and then most likely disappear just like IMCO did. This "artificial" participation is what we want to avoid, to stop the decline of participation in Olympic windsurfing classes. We want to propose racing on a style of equipment that has drawn more competitors than RSX or IMCO over the last 8 years, and still does. That would be the FW class. -- Read on: http://www.star-board.com/2009/pages/news/news.php?readmore=413 THREESOME TENTATIVELY ON HOLD For threesomes to work, everyone needs to get along… which we suspect is easier in concept than in reality. For the three America’s Cup teams currently paying New York legal firms to pitch their positions – Alinghi, BMW ORACLE Racing, and Emirates Team New Zealand – their threesome in the recently announced Louis Vuitton Pacific Series is tentatively on hold. Certainly ETNZ will be there, and Russell Coutts has said that BOR will be there, but Alinghi has stated that they will only compete if the New Zealand team drops its legal action against them. Considering that there aren’t too many active teams remaining, with most having been reduced to a box of stationary and a few administrators, it will be interesting to see who actually attends this event. Perhaps the smart money will be on the apparel outfitters who will be needed to create the sailing uniforms for the quickly assembled crews. If you are interested in participating, you can post your information on the crew board in the Scuttlebutt Event Calendar: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar/eventdescription.asp?ID=14339 * If you missed the Ernesto Bertarelli and Larry Ellison trivia quiz that was posted last week in the Wall Street Journal Magazine, with questions like who had Apple CEO Steve Jobs as his wedding photographer, you can take the challenge here: http://magazine.wsj.com/features/the-competition/collision-course/5/ LATEST RULE QUIZ POSTED New at the UK-Halsey website is the latest rules quiz. Quiz 25 poses an animated question involving Rule 16 (changing course). Our quiz series is a great tool that helps you see animated situations develop to make the applicable rules easy to understand and learn. Start/stop the action; read the hot linked rules. Stay tuned to our site to learn about the big changes to the rules in the next quadrennial. All our quizzes are free: just log on and it’s yours. UK-Halsey: Fast sails that last plus help that goes beyond winning. 800-253-2002. http://www.ukhalsey.com WELCOME TO HOUSTON YC Hurricane Ike made U.S. landfall at Galveston, Texas, on September 13, 2008 at 2:10am CDT (07:10 UTC), as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph. Among the sailing clubs based in Galveston Bay is Houston Yacht Club, where both the facility and local boaters are now cleaning up. Needless to say, the club might want to rethink the information currently on its home page: Welcome to Houston Yacht Club…what will you do this weekend? - Put your sails up just 50 yards from your slip? - Spend the evening at anchor in a protected cove with friends and family? - Snuggle into your berth after an evening of dining and dancing? - Visit with friends after a day of first-class racing? - Watch your children play in the pool and sail dinghies in the harbor? View photos here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/09/welcome-to-houston-yc.html * Due to damage caused by Hurricane Ike, the 2008 Sperry Top-Sider Houston NOOD, scheduled for September 19-21, has been canceled. -- http://www.sailingworld.com/nood_regatta.jsp FIFTY-FOUR DAYS TO THE START OF YACHTING’S EVEREST (September 16, 2008) Thirty solo skippers who will be setting out from Les Sables d’Olonne (FRA) on 9th November for the sixth edition of the Vendée Globe, representing seven nationalities ( 17 French, 7 British, 1 American, 2 Swiss, 1 Canadian, 1 Spaniard and 1 Austrian). The growth in participation is notable. Thirteen lined up at the start of the first edition of the Vendée Globe in 1989, while there were twenty in 2004. Looking beyond the simple number, it is the quality of the contenders that impresses most. Two former winners (Vincent Riou and Michel Desjoyeaux), five skippers who have already been on the podium in previous editions (Jean Le Cam, Mike Golding, Roland Jourdain, Loïck Peyron, Marc Thiercelin), and two round the world champions from other races (Jean-Pierre Dick in the Barcelona World Race and Bernard Stamm). Among the entrants, no fewer than 32 round the world voyages and 21 Vendée Globes have been completed. The latest race marks an unprecedented technological challenge, as 20 Open 60 boats have been specially designed and built for the 2008 Vendée Globe, which some estimate could improve on the record set by Vincent Riou (87 days, 10h and 47 mins) by five days of sailing. Other race features include course gates to avoid the ice, where the most southerly section of the course (the passage through the southern seas) has been moved north with the establishment of compulsory waypoints. The position of these gates will ensure that the competitors do not take any extreme options in the far south. Moreover, some of these gates are in place to allow boats to remain within reach of Australian and New Zealand rescue services, if they need to intervene. List of entries in the Vendée Globe 2009-2008: Norbert Sedlacek (AUT) / Nauticsport-Kapsch Derek Hatfield (CAN) / Spirit of Canada Unai Basurko (ESP) / Pakea Bizkaia Yannick Bestaven (FRA) / Energies Autour du Monde Jérémie Beyou (FRA) / Delta Dore Arnaud Boissieres (FRA) / Akena Verandas Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (FRA) / Maisonneuve Kito De Pavant (FRA) / Groupe Bel Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) / Foncia Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) / Paprec-Virbac Raphaël Dinelli (FRA) / Fondation Ocean Vital Yann Elies (FRA) / Generali Marc Guillemot (FRA) / Safran Sébastien Josse (FRA) / BT Roland Jourdain (FRA) / Veolia Environnement Jean Le Cam (FRA) / VM Matériaux Armel Le Cleac'h (FRA) / Brit Air Jonny Malbon (FRA) / Artemis Loïck Peyron (FRA) / Gitana Eighty Vincent Riou (FRA) / PRB Marc Thiercelin (FRA) / DCNS Bernard Stamm (SUI) / Cheminées Poujoulat Dominique Wavre (SUI) / Temenos II Dee Caffari (UK) / Aviva Samantha Davies (UK) / Roxy Mike Golding (UK) / Ecover Brian Thompson (UK) / Pindar Alex Thomson (UK) / Hugo Boss Steve White (UK) / Spirit of Weymouth Rich Wilson (USA) / Great American III Full report: http://tinyurl.com/SButt0916b * For a refresher course on Open 60 sailing, here is a video of Mike Golding and Ecover: http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1797752405 STEEL HULL FOR RHODE ISLAND'S TALL SHIP ON ITS WAY Newport, R.I. -- After announcing in July its intention to build a Tall Ship for Rhode Island, the non-profit organization Tall Ships Rhode Island (TSRI), Inc., closed September 2 on the purchase of a steel hull that gives it a substantial leg up on its mission. It will see through to completion the building of the Oliver Hazard Perry, a 207 ft., three-masted, full-rigged 19th Century warship replica with ties to Rhode Island's famous naval war hero of the same name. TSRI, a non-profit organization that has brought several magnificent Tall Ships events to Rhode Island over the past decade and a half, will then operate the Oliver Hazard Perry as a working sail training vessel out of historic Newport. According to Bart Dunbar, TSRI's Chairman who is also president of Bowen's Wharf Company in Newport, a Toronto-based tugboat has begun towing the hull across Lake Erie toward the New York State Barge Canal System. The hull is expected to arrive in Newport around mid-October and berth at Bowen’s Wharf, in the historic waterfront shopping district. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0916 DISCOVER: THE REAL SAILING SOFTSHELL Softshell jackets have taken the mountain world by storm, and they’re coming to a sailing store near you. But don’t settle for a glorified fleece – just because it says “softshell” doesn’t mean it’s the real deal. Real softshells are made from rugged waterproof/breathable laminates with stretch, providing freedom of movement, making them the ultimate sailing gear. Ask the Numbers, Rambler or Speedboat crews about their Atlantis softshells. We think you’ll get rave reviews. Find your Atlantis Grand Prix and Numbers softshells at your favorite local or online retailer. Visit http://www.AtlantisWeatherGear.com to find one near you. DISCOVER: Your Atlantis QUANTUM RACING WIDENS CIRCUIT LEAD Portimao, Portugal (September 16, 2008) - After the first three races of the Portugal Trophy off Portimao, the final regatta of the TP52 Audi MedCup Circuit, there may be a pair of new names making a late season challenge, lying in second and third, but leading the regatta it is the American boat Quantum Racing whose stock is still rising as they extend their overall hold on the overall title to more than 50 points with just four days left of the 2008 season’s competition. The Russian crew on Synergy became the 12th different team to take a winning gun on the Circuit this season, triumphing in Race 2 in fine style, and now sailing the fourth event with the boat they bought after Larry Ellison’s USA-17 won the only event it sailed this season, and after the Russians had severely damaged their own boat in the same event. Also Riccardo Simoneschi’s Audi Sailing Team powered by Q8 (ITA) came good with their best day yet, a possible result of keel bulb modifications, and an afterguard change to use double Olympic medallist Charlie McKee (USA) as tactician - who sailed with many of the core crew on the Luna Rossa America’s Cup programme. -- Daily report: http://2008.medcup.org/news/?id=432 Current standings (Top 5 of 15) Place, Boat name, Nationality, R1 R2 R3, Points 1. Quantum, USA (4,8,1) 13 2. Audi Q8, ITA(2,9,2) 13 3. Synergy, RUS (9,1,4) 14 4. El Desafio, ESP (10,2,3) 15 5. CXG Corporación Caixa Galicia, ESP (7,3,9) 19 Complete results: http://2008.medcup.org/results/venue.php?trophy=6 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Sept 18-21 - Melges 24 U.S. National Championship - Charleston, SC, USA Sept 19-21 - Canadian Albacore Championship - Kingston, Ontario, Canada Sept 19-21 - J 30 North American Championship - Bristol, RI, USA Sept 20-21 - American Yacht Club Fall Series - Milton Point, Rye, NY, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Also, ‘butthead Douglass “Bloody Roger Flint” Sisk reminds us that International Talk Like a Pirate Day is this Friday, September 19th. Said Sisk, “I think it’s a tossup between International Talk Like a Pirate Day and the founding of the Mount Gay distillery (1703) as the most important events in our beloved sport. Ok, maybe that yacht race back in 1851 makes the list… Arrrrr!” 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 Craig Dymock: Can it be true about the Daily Telegraph stopping its coverage of sailing? I feel there will be a huge number of people in the UK and elsewhere who would like to express their dissatisfaction with this decision. Could I suggest that your readers start writing to the editor to get the decision reversed. His address is The Editor, The Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT. Or email mailto:dtletters@telegraph.co.uk. If they don't know the sailing coverage is important to us and more importantly that it is being read, we are unlikely to get it back. Let us at least try. * From Skip Dieball: (re, story in Issue 2682) As host for the 1st Annual Bruce Goldsmith Memorial Regatta last weekend, the folks at Devil’s Lake Yacht Club (Bruce’s home) went above and beyond to celebrate the life of one of the most decorated (and colorful!) sailors. Bruce’s legacy includes World, Continental and National Championships in so many One Design Classes! All the accomplishments and championships didn’t measure to Bruce’s fun-loving attitude. He won the race and easily won the party! The memorial regatta wasn’t about the racing…though it was fun and very tough, just the way Bruce would have wanted it. No, it was about the camaraderie. Larry MacDonald summed it up best at the prize-giving when he said, “Bruce had the most fun at regattas. I approach every event the same way he did…to have as much fun as possible!” I sailed past Jeff Schmahl from Indiana. Jeff was sailing with his two sons and smiling every minute. I caught Jeff cracking open a beer between races and he shouted, “To Bruce!”! Unfortunately our sport is losing more heroes than we are gaining. Bruin, George Fisher, Olin Stephens, among many others. Their legacy helped mold the sport that we all love. I hope we all can continue their work and dedication to sportsmanship and fun for the next generation of racers. * From Reynald Neron: The America' Cup is dead. The self-interest of its lead participants has killed it. It is good to see that someone realized that the spot was available for such an event, and I am glad they made the move to do it. I am not exactly the target market for a Louis Vuitton bag, but if I was, I would get one just to show my support. * From Dave Poole: Anyone know what that black rubberised filler is that they put between the gaps in the wood on a teak deck? It has started crumbling on mine, so will need to be replaced. Also, any tips about said repair would be much appreciated! Please post your comments here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6399 * From W. Bostwick, St. Thomas, VI: (re, story in ‘butt 2682) I am so proud of your restraint in not putting the Transatlantic record attempt in the 3'10" boat under "Sailing Shorts". * From Tom Piper, Chairman, International Etchells Class Association: Congratulations to Jud Smith for returning, once again, the Etchells NA trophy to Marblehead. Jud, with Aussie based crew Mark Johnson and Nik Burfoot, did an admirable job in a regatta that had some fantastic talent. In addition, and thanks to a donation from Pat Stadel, the class began a Corinthian Cup in 2005 for the top all-amateur boat. This year it went to the 5th place team also from Marblehead, Wade Edwards, Justin Muller and Tim Platt. As I look through the crew list in the fleet for the NAs in Annapolis, I know these were hard won battles. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the time I leave, I look just fine. Special thanks to UK-Halsey and Atlantis WeatherGear. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
