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SCUTTLEBUTT 3516 - Monday, January 30, 2012Scuttlebutt 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. Website: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/scuttbutt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sailingscuttlebutt RSS: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/rss/index.xml Today's sponsors: Camet and Summit Yachts. HIGH-POWERED RADIO WAVES COULD ATTACK GPS By Bill Schanen, Sailing magazine We knew it was too good to be true, right? I'm referring to GPS, a phenomenon so utterly amazing that decades after its invention it still seems more fantasy than reality. After wandering the seas for millennia never quite sure of where in the watery world they were, sailors were given the gift of precise knowledge of their boat's position on command. When this gift first arrived, some of the skeptics among us really did say it was too good to be true. Don't depend on it, they warned. The satellites could go haywire or fall out of the sky. Well, the satellites are doing just fine and GPS remains reliable and accurate, not to mention cheap and available in all kinds of mundane electronic gizmos, but the prophecy that the gift could be taken away is starting to seem credible. Thanks to an odd pairing of ruthless capitalism and weak-kneed government regulation, GPS navigation could be rendered untrustworthy and, as an auxiliary disaster, the millions of GPS receivers now in use could be made obsolete. I wouldn't blame readers who don't know about this for thinking I'm writing science fiction. Why would anyone do anything to undermine one of the greatest inventions of the space age and why would the government approve it? Read on. A company funded by a hedge-fund billionaire proposes to build a broadband cell-phone communications network it calls LightSquared. To do that, the firm needs a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission because its license is limited to low-power satellite communication and its plan calls for high-power land-based signals. The FCC granted the waiver. That news was received with shock and horror by the makers and users of GPS devices and organizations that represent them, and for good reason. The LightSquared network has the potential to destroy GPS as we know it. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/BoatU-S-012912 MIAMI DELIVERS FOR SAILING WORLD CUP Miami, FL (January 28, 2012) - The final two days at US Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR, where 529 sailors from 41 countries were competing, proved to be pivotal. Friday saw the three Paralympic classes (Skud-18, Sonar and 2.4mR) conclude their events, with the standings being used by many countries to select representatives for the 2012 Games in Weymouth, England, this summer. And for the nine Olympic fleet events, Friday was the final day of open racing, with the top ten advancing to the final medal races on Saturday. In the US Paralympic Team Trials, Jen French and JP Creignou (both St. Petersburg, Fla.) secured the bronze in the SKUD-18 and with it the Team Trials. They'll be joined by Mark LeBlanc (New Orleans, La.) in the 2.4mR, and Paul Callahan (Cape Coral, Fla./Newport R.I.), Tom Brown (Castine, Me.) and Bradley Johnson (Pompano Beach, Fla.) in the Sonar. The final races on Saturday would see the lightest breezes yet over six days of sailing on Biscayne Bay. Amid the podium celebrations, the strength for the North American contingent would be found in the Finn and RS:X Women where five of the six medals were won by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Additionally, the Miami results finalized that the Canadian representatives in Laser and Laser Radial events at the 2012 Olympics would be David Wright and Danielle Dube, respectively. Friday report: http://tinyurl.com/RMOCR-012712 Saturday report: http://tinyurl.com/RMOCR-012812 Results: http://rmocr.ussailing.org/index.php/results/ BACKGROUND: The six-day Rolex Miami OCR was the second of seven 2011-2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas. The circuit now moves to Europe for the Trofeo S.A.R. Princesa Sofia - MAPFRE, to be held in Majorca, Spain on March 31 - April 7. The ISAF Sailing World Cup is open to the sailing classes (equipment) chosen for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. -- http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/home.php LIFE IS BETTER I sit here staring at the computer screen in my four by three cubicle under the flickering fluorescent lights wearing pants and a sweater. My mind starts to wander to the dog days of summer when the wind and the temperature are just right. The main and jib are full and so is the cooler as I lean back, take a deep breath and look down at my Camet Sailing shorts. I think to myself. that sales person was right! Life is better in Camet Shorts. Feel life again at http://www.camet.com/?Click=2076 GOD HELP OLYMPIC SAILING Before Ben Ainslie was Britain's sailing star, Rodney Pattisson brought fame to the country. During his tear as a three-time Flying Dutchman World Champion (69, 70, 71), Pattisson accrued two gold medals and one silver medal in the three successive Olympic Games (68, 72, 76). However, in his position now as a spectator for sailing's elite events, Pattisson isn't happy with what he sees. Here is an excerpt of a column he wrote in the February 2012 issue of Seahorse Magazine: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For years now ISAF have submitted to the continuing demands of the IOC, that all Olympic sports must change to become a true TV spectacle. The fact is Olympic sailing is on the whole boring and uninteresting to watch, even to the initiated, and so never will be a spectacle; participation, of course, is a very different matter. Firstly, ISAF agreed to more races with shorter courses. This immediately put more emphasis on the need for a good start and the chance of being black-flagged, however careful, increasingly likely. In my day, a 12-mile course meant a windward leg of some two miles, making it often impossible to see the weather mark at the start, but at least one could make a safe start with time to clear your air, use the shifts, generate boat speed, and then the fastest sailor invariably won the race. This is not the case today. To add further to the wound, ISAF's previous president came up with the micky-mouse 'Medal Race'. Why should one race, run in an unsuitable area chosen primarily for the press and shore spectators, count for double points on the last day - and so be non-discardable? The reason, apparently, is to prevent the very best sailor amassing sufficient points that they do not need to sail on the final day. Frankly, any sailor that good deserves this privilege and shouldn't be obliged to sail in what can only be described as no better than a sailing lottery. In reality this final race often involves the leading points scorer simply sitting on his nearest rival and pushing him back - nothing very spectacular to watch there. God help Olympic sailing. It is unforgivable that such an uncaring sporting authority has allowed Olympic sailing to develop in this way. We need to turn the clock back, to say NO to some of the demands of the IOC and to tailor the sport to the sailors, to revert to decent courses and most definitely to say NO to the Medal Race. Sadly it is already probably too late. -- Complete column: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13208 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This column came from the February 2012 issue of Seahorse Magazine. Here is a dedicated link which offers a discounted subscription rate to the Scuttlebutt family: http://tinyurl.com/6s2ehwh COMMENT: The 2012 Olympics won't be the first Games with the medal race, but it will be the first Games where the course location is so close to shore that bleachers will be erected and tickets will be sold. What this also means is the course conditions will be a lottery if the wind comes from the wrong direction. For young sailors who are considering a run at Olympic glory, it may make them think twice if their investment of time and money for a medal will be obscured by a final race where the value of luck in the equation has been increased. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt NO SURPRISES IN THE MALACCA STRAIT (January 29, 2012; Day 8) - While following the Volvo Ocean Race this past weekend, we are reminded of a Monday Night Football game on October 16, 2006. After the Arizona Cardinals lost a 20-point lead over the Chicago Bears in less than twenty minutes, the post-game media conference saw the Cardinal coach Dennis Green provide what remains a memorable tirade. "The Bears are what we thought they were. They're what we thought they were. ... That's why we took the damn field. Now if you want to crown them, then crown their ass! But they are who we thought they were! And we let 'em off the hook!" (video: http://youtu.be/m_N1OjGhIFc) Much of the same can be said about the Volvo Ocean Race fleet that is now transiting the Malacca Strait toward Singapore. This section of the course is proving to be exactly what everyone thought it would be like. The wind has been light, the current has been ripping, and the amount of trash and traffic has been epic. "We have probably 40 or 50 echoes on the radar at any one time and a number of them are unlit fishing boats with nets joined between them," commented CAMPER navigator Will Oxley. "I wouldn't call it safe." "It's an incredible place to sail but the sad part is how much stuff is in the water, how much junk there is in the water,'' said PUMA skipper Ken Read. "How people in the world can't treat the ocean with more respect is just fully beyond me." PUMA's MAR Mostro has already hit a tree and took a chunk out of their dagger board. "The night time is scary because it's all still there, but you can't see any of it," PUMA bowman Casey Smith said. "We went through a patch of shallow water and there were logs in the water 20ft long and a couple of feet wide. If you hit one of those you're going to knock a rudder off." Leg 3 - Abu Dhabi, UAE to Sanya, China Standings as of Monday, 30 January 2012, 0:01:22 UTC 1. Telefonica (ESP), Iker Martinez (ESP), 1181.5 nm Distance to Finish 2. Groupama (FRA), Frank Cammas (FRA), 0.1 nm Distance to Lead 3. PUMA Ocean Racing (USA), Ken Read (USA), 2.5 nm DTL 4. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE), Ian Walker (GBR), 44.5 nm DTL 5. CAMPER (NZL), Chris Nicholson (AUS), 45.0 nm DTL 6. Team Sanya (CHN), Mike Sanderson (NZL), 131.5 nm DTL Tracking/Standings: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/racetracker/rdc.html Video reports: http://www.youtube.com/user/volvooceanracevideos Race schedule: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-2011-12-schedule BACKGROUND: During the nine months of the Volvo Ocean Race, which started in Alicante, Spain (Oct. 29) and concludes in Galway, Ireland during early July 2012, six professional teams will sail over 39,000 nautical miles around the world via Cape Town, Abu Dhabi, Sanya, Auckland, around Cape Horn to Itajai, Miami, Lisbon, and Lorient. Teams accumulate points through nine distance legs and ten In-Port races. - http://www.volvooceanrace.com CHI-MAC REVISIONS ANNOUNCED After two sailors' lives were lost during the 2011 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, event organizers planning for this year's edition sought the advice of industry experts in safety and naval architecture, and worked with the offshore office of US Sailing in determining what changes were needed. The result of this process has seen the committee make some modifications that are now reflected in the recently released Notice and Conditions of Race (NOR) and the Mackinac Safety Regulations (MSR) for the 104th Running of the annual event. "The changes we have instituted compliment the approach to organizing a quality and safe race that have always been a part of the rich tradition of the Race to Mackinac," said race chairman Lou Sandoval. Among the changes implemented for 2012 is the issuing of a minimum stability for a boat's eligibility to compete in the race. The handicapping rule used for the Race to Mackinac (Offshore Racing Rule-ORR) has adopted a new version of the Stability Index, as discussed in the US Sailing report of the 2011 Race. The committee established a minimum Stability Index of 103, with additional changes made in personal and boat safety equipment, continuing sailor education and the vessel inspection process. Full report: http://tinyurl.com/ChiMac-012912 SUMMIT YACHTS ANNOUNCES THE NEW SUMMIT 45 With the numerous rating systems in the world of international racing, the challenge is to create a design which can compete anywhere. The Mark Mills designed S-45 addresses them all with ultra-light, carbon fiber/epoxy construction. No concessions have been made toward cruising amenities; this is a boat for serious competitors only. To make this an even more inviting package, Summit has enlisted New England Boatworks as the builder. Whether competing in the Sydney Hobart, the Transpac, or around the buoys, the Summit 45 will be in the winner's circle. Check out the 45 and the other great models at http://www.summit-yachts.com COMMENT: I am exceedingly proud of the list of companies that choose to advertise in Scuttlebutt. They are an elite group - the finest in each division of the marine industry. This alliance by two of our advertisers, New England Boatworks and Summit Yachts, is bound to lead to an impressive new racing boat. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt TSUNAMI DEBRIS HEADED FOR U.S. A massive field of debris washed into the Pacific Ocean by the tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011 is on track to wash up on the North American West Coast sometime in 2014. For a month after the tsunami, NOAA satellites picked up the mass of building materials, boats, trash, and anything else that would float, but as the debris field became more widespread it could no longer be seen on the satellites. University of Hawaii scientists developed a computer model to predict the field's position based on ocean currents, but without being able to see it, their model was untested. In September, though, the Russian sail training ship Pallada set out to find the debris field while on a trip to commemorate the 270th anniversary of Russia's colonization of Alaska. The 300-foot, three-masted frigate, owned by a university in Vladivostok, sighted scattered debris along its course between the Midway Islands and the coast of Japan, with the highest concentration halfway between the two. The Pallada picked up a 20-foot Japanese fishing boat, according to Natalia Borodina, the information and education mate aboard the ship, who noted on September 21 that "we also sighted a TV set, fridge, and a couple of home appliances," according to a University of Hawaii press release. A week later, Borodina listed "wooden boards, plastic bottles, buoys from fishing nets (small and big ones), an object resembling a wash basin, drums, boots, other wastes." -- BoatU.S., read on: http://www.boatusmagazine.com/boatus/20120102#pg18 SAILING SHORTS * North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue announced that Gunboat Company, a maker of high-end cruising catamarans, will locate a new shipyard into the state. The company plans to create 71 jobs and invest more than $1.8 million over the next three years. The project was made possible in part by a $213,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Gunboat had been producing overseas in lower labor cost markets for more than a decade. The new facility will allow the company to increase production and meet the growing demand for Gunboats. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/Gunboat-012912 * (January 29, 2012) - The double-handed Global Ocean Race (GOR) fleet of five Class40s started Leg 3 today from Wellington, New Zealand, to Punta del Este, Uruguay, with a 6,200-mile course across the Pacific Ocean, around Cape Horn and through the South Atlantic. Ross and Campbell Field (NZL/NZL) onboard Buckley Systems are the current overall GOR points leader. -- Full story: http://globaloceanrace.com/index.php?page=news&news_id=623&lang=en * The tenth annual Warren Jones International Youth Regatta starts on Tuesday 31st January, which has grown to become one of the most prestigious youth match racing events in the world. Part of the allure is the size of boats sailed, Bakewell-White designed Foundation 36s, more akin the size of boat used on the senior circuit, and therefore an ideal step up the ladder for aspiring young sailors. In fact, three of the past seven winning skippers have made it into the top ten on the world rankings, with two going on to be no. 1 in the world. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13207 * Some frank discussions over the direction of the next America's Cup will take place in Auckland on Monday when the competitors gather for the first time this year. America's Cup Race Management (ACRM) chief executive Iain Murray is in town to meet representatives from the defender and each of the challengers. Held every two months or so, the competitor forums are an opportunity for the teams to voice any concerns that have arisen and vote on issues affecting the event. -- NZ Herald, read on: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10782073 SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar GUEST COMMENTARY Scuttlebutt strongly encourages feedback from the Scuttlebutt community. Either submit comments by email or post them on the Forum. Submitted comments chosen to be published in the newsletter may be limited to 250 words. Authors may have one published submission per subject, and should save their bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. Email: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Gregory Scott: What a wonderful story by Chris Caswell (in Scuttlebutt 3514).Sailing was brought to the pinnacle it once held in thousands of basements and backyard sheds by people building simple vessels. Backyard builders sprung up after the development of high quality plywood, Resorcinol glue and Bakelite in WW2. These simple durable materials allowed people to combine some moderate skill, mail order plans (or backyard genius) and a bit of time combined with the desire to have some fun on any puddle they could find. These materials "democratized" boat building and it is wonderful to hear it carries on today. Interestingly, I just learned of the news that "snow shoeing" has seen a twenty two percent increase in sales of equipment and activity in the past two years. Could be a trend here. * From Ritchie MacDonald: I find that it isn't all that difficult to understand why sailing participation has been falling, just look at what the America's Cup has turned into. A circus! Back in the day, most everyone who sailed believed that they could, if asked, participate and do reasonably well enough. Now it's crash helmets, wired microphones, four years prep... all unrealistic. This means the bottom of the pyramid is thinning and it will soon topple over and crumble. To be honest, all professional sports are turning this way; the "average Joe or Jane" had something in common with the pro's. Not anymore. Must be progress for the sake of progress. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION "The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid." -- Richard Braunstein SPONSORS THIS WEEK Camet - Summit Yachts - North Sails - North U. - Z Blok - USSTAG Doyle Sails - Power Plug-In - Ullman Sails - Ribcraft - Dieball Sailing Need stuff? 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