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SCUTTLEBUTT 2273 – February 2, 2007Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is distributed each weekday, with support provided by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, Defender of the 32nd America's Cup (http://www.ubs.com/sailing). TWENTY YEARS ON Like my good friend Bill Center, we in Fremantle remember this week 20 years ago, and I think most of us here are big enough to admit that we just about gave the Cup back to Dennis, without in anyway belittling his achievements. However we take great pride in having been a part of what many still describe as “the best America’s Cup ever.” Having the Cup here has left us some priceless legacies, fantastic memories and some wonderful friendships, as well as giving Fremantle the facelift it was so desperately waiting for. It was Kiwi journalist Alan Sefton, who commented on the way to the airport when it was all over, “those of us who lived through the America’s Cup in Fremantle are privileged people.” It is a good coincidence that we are marking the twentieth anniversary of that unfortunate loss with a regatta in memory of the man who masterminded our victory in ’83, Warren Jones. Now in its fifth year, the Warren Jones International Youth Regatta, hosted this year by the Royal Perth Yacht Club, and sailed on the Swan River, is a match racing series for sailors under 25 years of age, and is a great legacy for coming generations of sailors, giving them the chance to experience international competition on their home waters. It is a little scary for those of us who were part of that America’s Cup to think that the young sailors contesting this year’s Warren Jones Regatta can barely remember the event, and certainly have no concept of the euphoria Australia experience in 1983 when we won the Cup. However it is now a great privilege for me to be involved with this regatta in memory of a great man, and to be working with such a bunch of great young people, some of whom will hopefully go on to be the Peter Gilmours and Skip Lissimans and James Spithills of the future. Maybe they’ll even bring the Cup back to Fremantle and we can have another battle on Gage Roads. -- John Roberson * Curmudgeon’s Comment: In the just concluded 2007 Warren Jones Regatta in Perth, Australia, Torvar Mirsky of the Royal Perth Yacht club won a cliff-hanger final series, to become the first Western Australian skipper to take the International Warren Jones Youth Regatta. He beat fellow West Australian Keith Swinton, South of Perth Yacht Club, 2 1 in the best of three final, coming from behind in both the heats he won, and taking the gun in the final courtesy of two penalties against his rival. The sail off for third and fourth place was a battle of the Sydneysides, with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Evan Walker scoring a 2 1 victory over Murray Gordon of Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. -- http://www.wayachting.com.au/warrenjones.asp CHANGING TIMES “This game has changed. There is much more emphasis on technology and what it can provide and you are now as good as your technical support or have sufficient electronic knowledge to understand how this stuff works. With neither system available for downloading weather, I am having to play catch up when conditions permit but am unable to choose the best tactical solution, or take action to avoid calms like to-day and will lose out whenever the weather becomes light and fluky. I ought to be out sailing them, not this.” -- Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, currently competing aboard Saga Insurance in the Velux 5 Oceans race. Sir Robin was the first person to sail around the world without stopping in 1969 the voyage took 312 days. If he succeeds in his current adventure he will also be the oldest person to do so. -- http://www.velux5oceans.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK Enjoy the footage of the British Virgin Islands atop Mirabella V - the world's largest single-masted sloop at 247-feet. At a mast height of 295-feet, the video appears to be taken from an aircraft rather than from the top of the spar. Also, if you have a video you like, please send us your suggestions for next week’s Video of the Week. Click here for this week’s video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/07/0129 THE CHOICE IS YOURS: You can spend a lifetime learning to be a better racer, or you can come to North U and accelerate the process. Seminar season is here, with North U TRIM and Tactics seminars offered throughout North America. Top instructors - not just great sailors - so the emphasis is on your sailing, not their sea stories. Multi-Media content. Exclusive interactive Sail Shaper and Wind Shift Simulators. Books and CDs to take home. Tools and techniques to make you a better racer. Learn Fast (& Smart). Visit http://www.NorthU.com MATCH RACE RANKINGS The Women's ISAF World Match Race Rankings hit 200 skippers in the latest release on 1 February. Claire Leroy (FRA) remains a clear leader as the Women's Rankings reach a new landmark, whilst Sébastien Col (FRA) stays top in the Open Rankings to make it a French clean sweep for the fifth Ranking release in a row. Open Rankings: 1. Sebastien Col, FRA; 2. Ian Williams, GBR; 3. Mathieu Richard, FRA; 4. Paolo Cian, ITA; 5. Peter Gilmour, AUS; 6. Chris Dickson, NZL; 7. Eugeniy Neugodnikov, RUS; 8. Bjorn Hansen, SWE; 9. Jesper Bank, DEN; 10. Staffan Lindberg, FIN; 15. Ed Baird, USA; 34. Brian Angel, USA. Women’s rankings: 1. Claire Leroy, FRA; 2. Lotte Meldgaared Pedersen, DEN; 3. Klaartje Zuiderbaan, NED; 4. Silke Hahlbrock, GER; 5. Marie Bjorling, SWE; 20. Sandy Hayes, USA; 22. Sally Barkow, USA. Complete rankings: http://tinyurl.com/2k82gx HEAVY ARTILLERY There are a record 14 countries represented at the 2007 Tornado North American Championship at Key Biscayne. All of the top 10 in the ISAF World Rankings are at the event; and 20 of the top 30. There was great racing on day three of the championship; three races were completed and sunny skies have returned to Miami. Standings after five races with no discards (35 boats): 1. Darren Bundock, AUS, 14pts 2. Fernando Echavarri, ESP, 17pts 3. Oskar Johansson, CAN, 31pts 4. Tino Mittelmeier, GER, 36pts 5. Roman Hagara, AUT, 39pts 6. Leigh McMillan, GBR, 44pts 7. Johannes Polgar, GER, 45pts 8. Andrey Kirilyuk, RUS, 45pts 9. Toni Rivas, ESP, 46pts 10. John Lovell, USA, 49pts * Curmudgeon’s Comment: This regatta ended hours before our distribution, but unfortunately the final results had not yet been posted. Perhaps they will be online by the time you are reading this. Perhaps not: http://www.tornado.org/html/news_article.asp?ArticleID=199 ‘SUPER DANES’ WIN SAP 505 WORLDS Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club, Adelaide, Australia -- The Super Danes, Jan Saugmann and Morten Ramsbaek, have won the SAP 505 Worlds with a race to spare. These guys have just not made a mistake this regatta. They have been sailing together for a while and have done 10 of the last 12 Worlds, nearly always in the top 10, but have never even won a Worlds heat before. A jinx they have well and truly broken now, at what many are saying has been the toughest, (to win) 505 Worlds in a while. Thursday performance means that the Super Danes cannot be beaten and they don’t have to sail the last race, but also, there is a ding dong battle for second, with two point separating three boats. Mike Martin and Jeff Nelson of the US are second, Howie Hamlin and Fritz Lanzinger of the US are third and local boat Sandy Higgins and Paul Marsh are fourth. One race remains. The forecast is the same as today, so it seems likely we will have another light sea breeze. Standings after eight races with one discard (92 boats): 1. Jan Saugmann/ Morten Ramsbaek, DEN, 17pts 2. Mike Martin/Jeff Nelson, USA, 30pts 3. Howie Hamlin/Fritz Lanzinger, USA, 31pts 4. Sandy Higgins/Paul Marsh,AUS/SA, 32pts 5. Ian Pinnell/Steve Hunt, GBR, 39pts 6. Nick Adamson/Steve Bourdow USA 51pts Event website: http://www.505worlds2007.com THE BIG FOUR OOOOOOH Forty Years ago today (February 1st) Peter and Olaf Harken officially hung out their shingle and started both Vanguard Sailboats and Harken Yacht Equipment. In Pewaukee, we celebrated as a company today, complete with presents and cake for Peter and Olaf and some of our dear employees that were also celebrating anniversaries. To “keep the party rolling” we want to invite anyone attending the Strictly Sail Chicago Show this Friday, Feb 2nd, to join us at 4:30 at Navy Pier. Sit in on a special presentation with Peter and Olaf and their three legendary employees Art Mitchel, Rose Sorensen (first hire) and Linda Otzelberger. The event is going to have Jack Patterson from Lands End fame as the MC and promises to be worth many laughs. The subject is “Harken looking back at 40 years and looking forward.” If you’re in Chicago, it will be an event you will not want to miss. -- Bill Goggins SAILING SHORTS * Two more races were held in UBS Dubai Defender Trials in 9-15 knots, with each of Alinghi’s America’s Cup boats winning one of match races. After four races in Round one of this series, Peter Holmberg’s SUI 91 holds a 3-1 edge over SUI 64 steered by Ed Baird. “We’re pushing the old girl just as much as we can,” laughed Ed Baird. Racing continues on Friday. -- http://www.alinghi.com * Scuttlebutt Sailing Club members (that’s you) who visit the Strictly Sail Chicago Boat Show or the Miami Boat Show will get the eighth night free when they sign up for a seven-night stay at the Bitter End YC’s Pro Am Regatta … which runs in conjunction with the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Championship Regatta. Equally important – the BEYC folks will be serving “tropical cheer” at their Strictly Sail booth on Friday, February 2 from 6 pm to 8 pm (Booth #182). That would also be a good time to learn about their new and very attractive rates for singles. -- http://www.beyc.com NEW ENGLAND ROPES SHINES IN KEY WEST New England Ropes believes the ultimate test lab is on the racecourse. Over the past couple of years, we have worked closely with leading riggers worldwide such as Annapolis Rigging, Florida Rigging & Hydraulics, West Marine Rigging, Hall Spars & Rigging, Easom Rigging & Racing, Rig Pro and countless others on how best to refine the performance of our products for a specific application. This collaboration has allowed us to put their feedback into products such as Endura Braid, V100, ARC, and Pro-PBO. Thanks to all our partners - look for NER at Acura Miami Grand Prix in March. http://www.neropes.com 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 Craig Davis: Tyler Carder thinks the Texas female sailors look too provocative. He should travel to Europe? You see much more skin lying on the beach in France than the UT calendar. If you think that girls in bathing suits are too provocative or pin ups, I think you need to take a look at yourself after you have looked at the calendar. So I hope after you have looked at the calendar and decided not to buy it that you have written them a check to support their program, so that they do not have to resort to such to showing themselves for a couple of bucks! * From Jim Lyle (Re: the University of Texas calendar): I have to admit that I was taken aback by the University of Texas calendar and the way it was presented in Scuttlebutt. I have always been proud of sailing as a sport where, especially at the junior level, young women can compete head to head with the guys. If this calendar is a good idea then where are the pictures of the guys on the team? Last year my club, Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle, awarded the club's 2005 outstanding junior sailor of the year award to Katy Cenname. To be a part of nominating her and then having the opportunity to tell her that her name is the first girls name on that trophy was one of the highlights of my sailing experiences. And if she has the chance to be in a calendar picture, I hope its hanging from a trap doing 20 knots on a skiff - if that's the case I'll buy a lot of copies. * From Derek Snow (Regarding kinetics and rule 42): I do not understand why pushing the limits of the rule is considered so onerous that a second infringement entails withdrawing from a race and a third withdrawal from a series, while you can routinely break rules from Part 2 and exonerate yourself with 720 turns. Perhaps this was considered necessary when rule 42 was first enacted, but now days most sailors know the rules and try to abide by them , while of course trying to obtain as much benefit as possible from kinetics. There is obviously some degree of subjectivity in interpreting the limits of the rule, otherwise ISAF would not have to publish guidelines and most regattas would not need to require two judges to agree before penalising a sailor. If a 720 turn is considered sufficient punishment for a sailor who barges into the top mark on port, no matter how many times he/she does it in a regatta, it would seem to be sufficient punishment for any rule 42 infraction. * From Cory E. Friedman: As a 150 lb soon to be 60 year old Laser Grandmaster who has his hands full with a Radial in a big breeze and doesn't have the energy for a day of legal or illegal kinetics anymore, but still occasionally sails in Category 1 and 2 events for the fun of it, I simply can't understand why we need restrictions on kinetics in Category 1 events, or even Category 2 events. The fit kids should be able to use every muscle they built on the weight bench without being lectured about whether their kinetics are "legal" or "illegal" by a bunch of lead mine passengers who couldn't sail the kids' boats in any wind and whose only kinetic activity is 10 oz. curls. Give me a break. Why don't we award style points for artistic kinetics? Categories 1 and 2 are supposed to be athletic events, not artistic performances. Ballet dancers don't get DSQ'd for kinetics, why should Category 1 and 2 dinghy sailors? It's time to just suck it up. Otherwise, follow Paul Henderson's suggestion and stick to skiffs and catamarans at the Olympics, in which strength, endurance and agility work, but kinetics don't. It's a good thing non-sailors don't know what this controversy is about. They would think we are nuts. * From Jon Rogers (Responding to Woodie Cobb): Sailing would be totally lame if we resorted to the old pump, ooooch fest that sailing used to be before the 1 pump per wave stuff was created. I remember sailing J24s in the 80's where you had one person pumping almost continually on the spinnaker sheet, another on the guy, another pumping the main pulling the boom aft with the boom vang and another ooching by facing backwards heaving forward on the shrouds. No fun for anyone but the monkeys who through sheer desperation to win would beat people just because they could out muscle others. In my opinion competitive sailing is for those who look at it as recreation and less for folks like me who make a living at it and can beat up on amateurs any day athletically. Anyone who wants to sail athletic boats have plenty to choose from. Lets also keep sailing tactical and strategically. * From David Doody: I agree with Chris Welsh's comments in reference to the "Magic Box" posting. All of the magical boxes we have these days are pretty terrific-I mean how many of us ever really got very close fixes with a sextant, compared to pushing a button on a GPS? Any yes, there's nothing like a good radar when the fog closes in etc. But perhaps there is a place-maybe at the higher levels of racing-where it comes down to the basics-not the latest in computational gadgetry. In the "old days" (I'm not sure about now) the windsurfing/ sailboarding class in the Olympics did not allow harnesses. I think all avid boardsailors would consider a harness to be standard operating equipment in all but the lightest breeze, but for the highest level of competition-it was you against your competitor-no gadgets allowed. Would the America's Cup be more interesting if the navigator/strategist/tactician team was sniffing the breeze for the next shift rather than frantically manipulating data on a weatherproof notebook computer? Technology is great but it is not the simple answer for everything-perhaps even at high levels of the sport there is a place for competition without technological advantage and disadvantage? * From Michael B. Hoey (In Reference to Brian Angel’s article: Empowering the port tacker): I believe the burden of proof is always on the Starboard tack boat to prove position without contact. But in this case the Starboard tack vessel should get the benefit of the doubt, especially, when two match racing competitors exchange what is a race determining maneuver. Unfortunately, match racing is beginning to resemble soccer, where competitors fish or "Hollywood it uf p" for the foul call. Perhaps there's a place for the yellow card in match racing. * From Chris Woods: Sailing is such a cool sport. I can think of no other that hosts - in just one day's Scuttlebutt! - the complexity of our never-ending and practical discussions about the impact of weight limits, kinetics, computer-aided decision making and completely "reinventing" the boat by using foils! Add strategy, tactics and the fact we still honor the basics of practice, preparation and playing by the rules and you have a wonderful activity that can captivate us for a lifetime. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Chickens may be the only animals we eat before they are born and after they are dead. Special thanks to North U and New England Ropes. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
