|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2598 - May 16, 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. A TOUCH OF HOLLYWOOD “Is she here yet?” In the headsets around the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the airwaves were crackling with just one question. Yes, the world’s third biggest sportswear and lifestyle company was about to unveil ‘il mostro’ - the Volvo 70 beast designed to look like a trainer and looking cooler than the fridge in Alaska, but ‘was she here yet?’ was the thought on everyone’s minds. The ‘she’ in question? Hollywood goddess Salma Hayek. And she is officially a goddess – just ask the Mexican film critics, who awarded her the Special Silver Goddess award in 2003. And then she was. Having braved the gale force winds in her private jet that had caused flights to be cancelled at Boston’s Logan Airport, the pint-sized siren arrived at the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art and prepared for her latest role – that of Godmother to the Puma boat. As she recovered from the journey flunkies flustered and bodyguards blustered. The waiting crowds chomped on their canapés and sipped their champagne. In the end, it took a Volvo Ocean Race veteran to cut through the Hollywood hullaballoo and ask the question “Are you a leftie or a righty?” It was an act of genius to give the role of Salma’s minder to Jerry Kirby. The only sailor cooler than the boat, Jerry decided to cut to the chase and just talk to the stunning star of ‘Desperado’, ‘Till Dusk to Dawn’ and the Oscar-nominated ‘Frieda’. And Salma responded in kind. Apparently, she shoots arrows with her left hand and writes with her right. She could crack champagne on a boat any which way. So the videos rolled, the guests braved the bitter cold and 50 mph wind, and the scene was set. With hair done and designer clothes in place, the star took to the catwalk down to the boat. Jerry was ready. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/6xmryg A SAILOR’S GUIDE TO ATTRACTING THE OPPOSITE SEX by David Schmidt, SAIL “Ooohhh, is that a Rambler shirt?” It was a female sailor cooing to the rest of her all-female crew at Antigua Sailing Week as I walked past their charter boat at Jolley Harbor. Tempting but - I glued my eyes to the dock and kept right on walking, pretending that I hadn’t heard her comment. Not only am I happily married, I’m also a sailing journalist and, sadly, not a legit crew member of George David’s masterfully sailed Reichel/ Pugh 90, Rambler. Ten minutes later, I’m standing at the dinghy-landing zone waiting for a water taxi to take me back to SAIL’s charter boat, a cold beer in hand, happily reliving my day’s experiences aboard Rambler. My mind drifts back to perfect A-sail sets and gybes, and the sheer thrill of rolling past mere 70-footers like they were standing still. I’m approached by a cute, 30-something female. “Excuse me,” she asks, a bit star struck. “Do you sail on Rambler? “Er, well, no,” I fess up. “I’m a sailing writer, and they were kind enough to have me aboard for the day. And they gave me the shirt.” “So you’re not part of the crew?” she asks, obviously dejected. “No,” I reply, “I’m just a journalist.” “Oh,” my new friend offhandedly says as she walks off, looking for the real McCoy. The shirt, which had felt fine before, suddenly starts burning against my chest, particularly beneath the section that displays the boat’s name and sail number. I sip my beer and hope the taxi will get here soon. Instead, a group of three “racer chasers” (yes, lads, they do exist) approach, staggering a bit from their night’s fun. -- Read on: http://sailmag.com/racecourse/0508shambler KEEPING UP WITH THE RISING STAKES At the 2008 Farr 40 Worlds, a top competitor believed that a conflict of interest within the jury led to his disqualification. This week, a Senior US Judge and Umpire questioned whether the standard of training was sufficient. Both of these topics were covered by John Doerr, Chairman of the ISAF Race Officials Committee, in a recent letter distributed to Race Officials. Here are some of his paraphrased comments: Regarding Training: At major Olympic and World championship events, the strength in depth of every fleet is amazing, with virtually all competitors having coaches. As the stakes for the sailors and their professionalism continues to grow, we have to find ways to match their demands. I do not think these developments are solely confined to Olympic classes. I am convinced this will be our major challenge in the next four-year cycle. Regarding Conflict of Interests: Recent articles have raised the issue of conflicts of interest. This is an issue that we are working on and plan to bring the fruits of our work to the November conference. It is a thorny subject as we are more often than not dealing with perception rather than reality, but we must tackle the problem none the less. Complete letter: http://www.matchdaychat.com/ezines/archive/15162.html * A recent high-profile event in the US questioning the decisions of race officials would be the US Olympic Trials, where women’s windsurfing entrant Farrah Hall is disputing a redress hearing that effectively awarded Nancy Rios the US Olympic slot. Hall brings her case in front of an arbitrator appointed by the US Olympic Committee on May 21-23. CONGRATS TO KEN READ AND TEAM PUMA! Now that the only US entrant for the Volvo Ocean Race is christened; they are off, running and looking cool in their PUMA gear. Team One Newport has new PUMA foul weather gear and the Volvo Ocean Race gear in stock, ready to ship!! PUMA is just one of the best sailing clothing and gear the experts at Team One Newport keep in stock, so visit http://www.team1newport.com to see all of the best gear to keep you warm, dry and comfortable sailing in any and all conditions. Or call 800-VIP-GEAR (800-847-4327) for an expert! AMERICAN MOTHIST PEGGED TO WIN WORLDS The 2008 International Moth Worlds Championship isn’t until July in Weymouth, England, but among the 40+ entrants vying for the foiling crown, a new continent is fielding a top-ranked representative that will be lining up in an event deep with Euro and Down Under history: North America. The class is gaining traction in the US, and while critical mass is mostly out west, Bora Gulari isn’t letting his station in Detroit, MI hold him back. He has winter trained in Australia, got third in their nationals, and now is breaking ice back home to keep up the pace. The class aficionados have taken notice, with at least one noted blogger providing evaluations on all the top contenders, and has predicted that Bora will win. Here are his comments: “One of the new breed of semi-pro Mothists, who has put in years worth of sailing in the last 12 months. His handling looks like the best I have seen, if not better. Again, as the US face of Bladerider, he’ll have first dibs on the box of tricks and spares. The same new KA sails as most contenders, the new foam-cored foils, and probably one of the only takers on the pro-model lightweight Bladerider hulls, Bora will be a very serious contender for the win. And that’s what he’s there to do.” -- http://scott.projectsomewhere.com/2008/05/14/the-form-2 NEW BOATS AT TOP OF TP 52 MEDCUP CIRCUIT OPENER Alicante, Spain (May 15, 2008) -- A long day on the water for the 16 TP52’s at the City of Alicante Trophy, the first regatta of the 2008 Audi MedCup Circuit as they took part in the 30 mile long coastal race around Tabarca Island. The ultimate reward was for 2006 MedCup Champion Peter de Ridder (NED) and his Mean Machine's crew - which include tactical duo Ray Davies (NZL) and Tom Dodson (NZL) - who collected the best points, after leading through the mid race scoring gate and taking the winning gun by a comfortable margin (to earn two first place finishes for the day). In a repeat of last year's coastal race conditions biggest reshuffle came in the final 40 minutes of the four and a half hour race, when the fleet closed up as the breeze faded and shifted through up to 60 degrees and rose and fell between five and eight knots. Vicente Tirado's CXG Ciaxa Galicia gained four places to finish third, just ahead of Cristabella who took six places between the scoring gate and the finish. Racing continues Friday and Saturday with at least three buoy races planned. Preliminary results 1. Mean Machine, MON (7, 16, 5, 1, 1, 1, 1) 32 2. Quantum, USA (4, 5, 9, 3, 2, 4, 6) 33 3. TAU Ceramica Andalucía, ESP (1, 1, 6, 9, 9, 3, 5) 34 4. Bribón, ESP (3, 3, 1, 4, 4, 12, 9) 36 5. Mutua Madrileña, ESP (2, 4, 8, 8, 3, 6, 12) 43 6. Artemis, SWE (12, 11, 4, 10, 7, 2, 2) 48 7. Platoon by Team Germany, GER (5, 9, 2, 5, 14, 8, 8) 51 8. Matador, ARG (10, 14, 3, 2, 10, 5, 10) 54 9. El Desafío, ESP (9, 6, 7, 11, 5, 11, 7) 56 10. Cristabella, GBR (11, 2, 15, 7, 12, 10, 4) 61 Event site: http://2008.medcup.org/home A CELEBRATION OF A LIFE OF ADVENTURE In what may be the final chapter following the mystery of his disappearance, Steve Fossett was remembered recently at a gathering in Chicago, IL. Friends, family and close associates of the renowned adventurer attended a private memorial to him entitled 'A Celebration of a Life of Adventure.' Over 100 people from across the globe met at Chicago's Adler Planetarium to honour and pay tribute to the man and his many achievements. The specially invited guests viewed an audio visual presentation recalling Fossett's life of adventure since his early years as an Eagle Scout in California. Eulogies from close friends and from his niece Geneva gave an insight into what motivated the quiet unassuming man who at one time held 116 world records (over 20 of them in sailing) in five different disciplines, At the time of his disappearance over Nevada in September 2007 he still held 70 of them. The guests numbered many who had shared some of those triumphs with him and included unar astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin and British entrepreneur Richard Branson. Also attending were representatives from the the worlds of gliding, flight,ballooning and mountaineering including from sailing, Brian Thompson. Peter Hogg, Ben Wright and Mark Featherstone all of whom had shared in record setting voyages with Steve aboard his Maxi Cat Playstation/Cheyenne. The presentation was followed by a reception hosted by Mrs Peggy Fossett. Guest John Harwood-Bee commenting on the moving and often amusing tribute said, " It gave those of us who knew Steve an opportunity to pay tribute to a man the like of whom we are unlikely to see again for many years if ever. He was an inspiration to us all." At the time of his disappearance Fossett was in the final stages of an assault on the world land speed record and was rumoured to be planning an extreme underwater project. LOOK NO FURTHER With the Sailing season upon us and your need for the best available sailing apparel, you need to check out the Mount Gay Rum apparel line that is at the forefront of sailing technology. The Mount Gay Rum Yacht Racing printed ProWik moisture t-shirts are comfortable, UPF 50+ and are superior to any other available t-shirt. They are what you want to wearing on the water this season. View the line of Mount Gay Rum gear and accessories from The Pirate’s Lair, the official Mount Gay Rum gear supplier, at http://www.pirateslair.com/store/index.html. For the list of Mount Gay Rum sponsored regattas go to http://www.mountgay.com SAILING SHORTS * The National Safe Boating Council, with the support of West Marine, Inc., is reminding students to submit entries for the 2008 Boating Safety Sidekicks Contest "I'm a Safe Boater, Are You?" as the deadline for entries approaches June 1, 2008. The third annual Boating Safety Sidekicks Contest asks for children between the ages of 4 and 15 to submit stories, posters, or videos that describe how they stay safe on the water. Full details at http://www.boatingsafetysidekicks.com *(May 15, 2008) In the Open 60 class of The Artemis Transat, Sébastien Josse was convinced he had made the right choice in the South, and the first position update indicates he was right - taking over the lead from Loick Peyron's Gitana Eighty just 30 minutes after the last position update. In the Class 40 fleet, overnight, Boris Herrmann on Beluga Racer overtook Yvan Noblet's Appart' City to clinch second place. The German skipper trails Telecom Italia by 17 miles and Noblet has dropped back to 31 miles behind the race leader and holds third place. -- Yachting World, full story: http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20080415102248ywnews.html * (May 15, 2008) The ten catamaran teams competing in the six leg 500-mile race from Key Largo, FL to Tybee Island, GA have completed their fifth leg from Daytona Beach, FL to Fernandina Beach, FL, with Team Tybee continuing their dominance on the leaderboard. This leg’s tough luck awards go to Team Seacats that flipped just before their jibe to the finish, and Team Cat in the Hat that also flipped near the finish and were dismasted. -- Event site: http://www.tybee500.com * Almost 20 Formula 18 catamaran teams from nine countries have already signed up for the 8th edition of the Archipelago Raid on June 13-18, a six day event that has the fleet navigating through the 100,000 islands that make up the Swedish, Aland, and Finnish Archipelagos. Joining the Raid this year will be Dame Ellen McArthur with Greg Homann from Australia crewing. This will be McArthur’s second try at the Raid, with her first in 2003 getting cut short due to a leg injury. -- http://www.archipelagoraid.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include The 2008 World Submarine Racing Championship, a pot of gold at the end of rainbow, TP 52 racing in the Med, solo racing in the Atlantic, new boat launching in Newport, big breeze racing in Long Island, and the next step beyond water ballast and canting keels. If you have images you would like to share, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor. Here are this week’s photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0516 * One of our favorite shooters is Carlo Borlenghi, and when he sends us images, we come up with any excuse to post them. Apparently he is working with the owners of the Orion, and while we don’t know too much about this boat, you will surely agree that it is one of the sweetest cruising sailboats that you have ever seen. Borlenghi catches up with Orion while they are cruising around the Mediterranean Islands, and with so many brilliant photos, we created a video and added the famous Artie Shaw playing … what else… “Scuttlebutt”: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0515 LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). You only get one letter per subject, so give it your best shot, don't whine if others disagree, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- Scuttlebutt Letters: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- Scuttlebutt Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Mar Brueggemann: To all of the readers out there that think that Biodiesel and ethanol are the same thing or that they should be abandoned because the only thing that they can be made from is corn taken from starving babies mouths, I have to say; Stop reading articles written by the esteemed think tanks in Colorado with names like “Concerned Scientists for the stock values of Exxon/Mobil”. Yes, making biofuels from corn is not efficient but developmentally we’re already past that. We are now developing fuels from plant waste and even algae that have 2 and 3 times the energy yield of corn and that are not far from the energyin/ energy out” ratio of petroleum. Even George Bush knows that now and has spoken about it. To suggest that we should stop developing alternate fuels because during the process we are finding things that work and things that don’t is like saying we should stop learning about sailboats and racing because sometimes we lose and sometimes we crash. I doubt that any Buttheads would agree with that logic. * From R. G. Newbury Regarding Cory Friedman’s analysis of the ACUP lawsuit, he is correct to call for mediation as the exact terms of Judge Cahn's Order can only be met by both sides if there is some compromise. I suggest that the parties request mediation by His Honor Justice Juan Torruella of the US Federal First Circuit Court of Appeals, who also is an ISAF IJ (and author of the Decision in Charles Jourdain v Enterprise). * From Bill McNaughton, Toronto: Interesting to read Ben Ainslie's somewhat snide comment about Florient in Scuttlebutt's item (in #2597) from the Times and his somewhat self righteous comments in the article itself about his earlier DSQ by a competitor "who was in contention to win himself", with the actual regatta race reports. Seems Ben was "hunting" (race report description) Florient before the start of the last race, fouled him and then cleared himself and went on to win. It appears that Ben is in the habit of "hunting" before the start but learned from his DSQ to clear himself. The race report seems clear that in the earlier race there were two separate incidents and Ben won his protest of the second incident. Still, regardless of what he says with regard to his DSQ, it must be a bit encouraging that the best Finn sailor in the world feels you are a serious enough threat to have him "hunt" you in the latter races of a regatta. * From Captain Michael J Dailey: (re, story in #2596) What happens when my crewed vessel comes across one of these robot vessels in a meeting, crossing, or worse yet close quarters situation? How does it meet the “proper lookout” rule? Let’s assume that it is even lit accordingly at night, for a manned vessel anyway. How does it know when it is operating in reduced visibility? For that matter, what signal does it sound in reduced visibility? I could go on but you get the point I’m sure! CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION First you forget names, then you forget faces. Then you forget to pull up your zipper, but it's really bad when you forget to pull it down. Special thanks to Team One Newport and Mount Gay Rum apparel. Thanks also to new website advertisers LaserPerformance and Line Honors Performance Sailing Supply. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
