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SCUTTLEBUTT 3632 - Friday, July 13, 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: APS, Vineyard Race, and New England Boatworks. IMPROVING YACHT CLUB SAFETY As the Associate Executive Director of US Sailing and Rear Commodore of the Beverly Yacht Club (BYC; Marion MA), Dan Cooney sees safety issues through multiple lenses - what more can US Sailing do to help clubs and sailors become more educated about the issues and what practical steps can his club take to leverage US Sailing resources. This was the case when US Sailing organized an independent review panel to research a tragic accident that occurred on Severn River with a junior sailing program participant in 2011. Cooney took the US Sailing recommendations to the BYC with the goal of implementing new and revised procedures in safety planning. In this Q&A with US Sailing, Cooney discusses how the Beverly Yacht Club put these safety recommendations in motion. Here is an excerpt: US Sailing: What did you look at first? Dan Cooney: The US Sailing investigation of the SSA tragedy put 420 trapeze harnesses at the top of our list. We also were committed to do something to support PRO decision-making on GO/NO-GO calls. US Sailing: How did you end up on the harness issue? Dan Cooney: Our Junior Sailing representatives on the Committee looked at all the options, but we ended up retrofitting 17 harnesses with a quick release hook system. We are also going to require every 420 sailor to go through drills where, under controlled circumstances, they will capsize to windward with their harnesses on. We will have US Sailing-certified instructors on scene and a rescue diver in the water that happens to be an MD. The idea is to simulate a situation that young sailors may encounter and to help them to understand how to self-rescue if necessary. The thing that got me personally about the SSA incident was that at first people were saying that this was a freak accident and what the investigation found out was that while the tragic consequence was rare, entrapment itself was not uncommon. I should have known that but I didn't. Full interview: http://ussailing.blogspot.com/2012/07/improving-yacht-club-safety.html SCUTTLEBUTT TRIVIA What will be the average age of the Finn competitors at the 2012 Olympic Games? (Answer below) GO TIME BEGINS MONDAY Forty-six boats racing in the 17th edition of the Pacific Cup will leave from the San Francisco city front (off the St Francis Yacht Club) at noon on Monday July 16, sailing under the famed Golden Gate Bridge to Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The 2070 nautical mile race runs every even year. A staggered start from July 16 through July 20 will see the slower boats take the line first, followed by the rest of the fleet throughout the week. Even so, an early start may not be enough of an advantage for the slower boats. Andy Costello, skipper and owner of the very competitive J/125 Double Trouble, is racing Pac Cup for the first time and has taken a glimpse at the long range forecast, "We've started to look at the weather and it's looking better for our start later in the week than it is for the earlier starts, so that may help us get to Hawaii faster." Like Costello's going to need much help, stacked as his boat is with accomplished Hawaii racers, including Skip and Jody McCormack, Matt Noble and Trevor Baylis. Nonetheless, Costello's playing it cautious after a disappointing experience in last year's Trans Pac race. After months of ocean prepping Double Trouble, just three days into that race something broke that he never thought would break. They had to turn back. "The issue was totally unexpected so we decided it was best to go through the whole structure of the boat this time to make sure it won't happen again," Costello said. As for most Pac Cup racers, the preparation - both boat and crew - is daunting. "It's been a six month project," Costello said. "We've double checked, modified, strengthened the boat, found new ways to get weight off the boat - we've done a lot but when you sail with crew like mine, they really prepare." -- SailFast, read on: http://tinyurl.com/Pac-Cup-071212 SUPPORT THE TEAM IN STYLE WITH APS The Olympics are just two short weeks away and APS is getting into the spirit with gear from the US Sailing Team Sponsor Sperry. They have been working with US athletes to develop a range of performance apparel. We're super excited about items like the new Sperry Tech Shirt. It's a great on and off the water shirt for men and women, in three different styles and plenty of colors. Want more info? Check out our Blog review where we put it into action. Wear what the athletes wear and support the US team in style with APS here: http://bit.ly/Sperry2. MOST SUCCESSFUL RACE YET The Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 was not only the closest race in the 39-year history of the event but also the most successful, CEO Knut Frostad said on Thursday, with hundreds of thousands of fans visiting Galway in Ireland for a buoyant finale and outstanding growth across media platforms set to be confirmed once final data is in. "Despite the tough economic climate globally, the threat of piracy in the Indian Ocean and more damage to the boats than we would have liked, we delivered the most successful Race in our history. Millions of fans visited our Race Villages and we also had huge increases in news coverage of the race, with everything pointing to double the number of online articles about the Race and double the number of page views to our site once the final figures are in. The racing was also incredibly close, with four teams still challenging for victory a matter of days before the finish." Organisers of the Galway Stopover, Let's Do It Global, said in a press release this week that 900,000 people had visited the event's Race Village and Global Village over a nine-day period. Frostad unveiled in Lorient last month plans for a new one-design boat that will be considerably less expensive than the Volvo Open 70s used in the last three editions and should enable teams to put together competitive campaigns for 12-15 million euros. The start port will again be Alicante, where the Race HQ and newly opened Museum are housed. "Being able to announce plans for the next two editions puts us in a stronger position than ever," said Frostad. "We have dozens of cities interested in hosting the Race and the backing we have from Volvo means I'm very confident we will have at least eight boats on the start line for the next two races." Timetable for 2014-15 edition: August 2012: New boat mould construction starts December 2012: Notice of Race published December 2012: New route for 2014-15 edition to be announced June 2013: First boat launched. A new boat will be completed every seven weeks thereafter Late 2014: 12th edition of the Volvo Ocean Race to start from Alicante, Spain Full report: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-071212 SUCCESSFUL INAUGURAL EVENT Yann Guichard and the five men aboard Spindrift racing, Pascal Bidegorry, Leo Lucet, Jean-Baptiste Levaillant, Jacques Guichard and Kevin Escoffier, have just won the Krys Ocean Race, the first transatlantic race between New York and Brest (France) opened to 70 feet One Design Multihulls (MOD70 Class). Spindrift racing crossed the finish line today Thursday July 12th at 14:00 hours, 08 minutes and 37 seconds, French local time. They covered the 2,950 miles theoretical course in 4 days, 21 hours, 8 minutes and 37 seconds, averaging 25.3 knots. Their actual course was 3,284 miles long, at 28.04 knots. Sebastien Josse (Groupe Edmond de Rothschird) finished 1h 11m 12s behind the winner, with double Vendee Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux and the crew of FONCIA finishing third, 28 minutes 8 seconds behind them. "There are not that many boats this size that can cross the Atlantic in so few days," said Bidegorry. "It is really nice to get the feeling of the old 60 footers; I think we had all forgotten just how wet it is on board and that we live like dogs. There are no comforts. Sometimes you are at the helm on a one and a half hour watch and the last fifteen minutes can be really tough. It is not easy keeping your eyes open with the bucket loads of water constantly spaying in your face. My eyes are knackered!" Next on the MOD70 schedule is their 2012 European Tour. Starting on August 29, five weeks of intensive racing will see the MOD70s race nearly 5,000 miles in a mix of offshore competition, and races in the heart of five cities in five countries: Germany, Ireland, Portugal, France and Italy. Race website: http://www.krys-oceanrace.com/en/ MOD70 website: http://www.multionedesign.com/en/ SAILING SHORTS * An effort is progressing to launch the first 'round-the-world race that starts and ends on San Francisco Bay. The race, named SF2SF, will use a new 60 foot monohull, is scheduled for Fall 2015 with a course around Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope. It is essentially a non-stop race, though boats will be allowed to stop as needed, with the clock continuing to tick. -- Full report: http://sf2sfoceanrace.com/news/initial-news-release * Newport, RI (July 12, 2012) - The Technical Committee of the High Performance Rule (HPR) has issued its latest draft - Version 3A - of the HPR Rule Book and Rating Calculator. HPR is a single number spreadsheet development rule intended to rate fast type-formed planing racing boat designs between 26 and 72 feet. The rule does not presently have provision for course or wind content, nor does it use a VPP for rating calculation or utilize assigned factors. Comments for improvement are solicited from owners, designers, brokers, sailors, boat builders, rulemakers, and everyone interested in the new rule. Details here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/12/0712/ * Chicago, IL (July 12, 2012) - After two days of racing, current World Match Racing Tour leader Bjorn Hansen (SWE) has now finished the round robins at Chicago Match Cup at the top of the leaderboard. Hansen, Ian Williams (GBR), Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA), and Jordan Reece (AUS) have all confirmed their berth in the quarterfinals, while the repechage round on Friday will determine the remaining four quarterfinal slots. -- Tour website: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/news.html * The Newport Regatta featuring BACARDI Newport Sailing Week Presented by EFG is set to take place from July 13-15, 2012. At press time over 200 boats had entered the regatta which will provide competition in 19 one-design classes. Among them are the J/80, Star and Viper 640 classes which will race for both the Newport Regatta and BACARDI Newport Sailing Week trophies. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14141 * (July 12, 2012; Day 13) - A clocking wind finds Brian VanderZanden's Hobie 33 'Turbo Camper' lifting above the finish of the 2120nm Singlehanded TransPac Race, so a critical gybe will be needed to get to the Mai Tais that are waiting in Kauai, Hawaii. With 149.8nm miles to go, VanderZanden will be the second boat to finish, and is currently leading his class and is third overall behind a Cal 40 and a Tarten Ten. Race website: http://singlehandedtranspac.com * Emirates Team New Zealand is scheduled to launch its AC72 in a public ceremony at the Viaduct Harbour on Saturday, July 21 at around 6.00pm. The event will be screened live on the prime TV news, and will be attended by John Key, the New Zealand Prime Minister. First sailing day is expected the following week. -- Sail-World, http://tinyurl.com/SW-071212 WHY SHOULD YOU ENTER THIS YEAR'S VINEYARD RACE? Take part in an East Coast classic. Three courses; huge awards party; cruising division; multihull division; race tracking; Corinthian challenge; NORT qualifier and much more. Join Bruce Nelson at our skippers' meeting. Start date: August 31. Register today: http://www.stamfordyc.com. Follow us @vineyardrace PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include kids hiking, record crushing, duo masting, Rolex giving, Formula 18 showcasing, problem solving, bottom revealing, presidential spectating, and stern mounting. Here are this week's photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0713/ * The C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Clinic and Regatta is North America's premier event for sailors with disabilities, with the 10 year anniversary of this event hosted on July 6-9 in Newport, RI. The Clagett utilizes the same boats as the Paralympic Games - the three-person Sonar, the two-person SKUD-18 and the singlehanded 2.4 Metre. Photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0712/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK This week's video takes onboard with Snipe World Champions Alexandre Tinoco and Gabriel Borges (BRA) as they train in Talamone, Italy. Curious what it takes to compete at the very top of this Pan American class? Get ready to get athletic: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/12/0713/ Bonus Videos: * Daily highlights were produced by T2PTV of the four day Rolex Farr 40 North American Championship (July 4-7) in Newport, Rhode Island: http://www.t2p.tv/cms/p8Brz01bcvg.html * This week on America's Cup Uncovered Episode 47, we are in Newport reviewing the Match Racing Finals against the Oracle Team USA boats: Spithill v Coutts. All sailors know a good start is essential in match racing; Russell powers off the line ahead of Jimmy....and victory is award to Oracle Team USA Coutts. Then we get the latest AC72 news from the teams, including asking Terry what happened to Artemis Racing's AC72 wing earlier this year. Are you superstitious? Tune in on Saturday July 14 at approx 0800 PDT 1600 BST and learn about the color green, bananas onboard, shaving to reset the clock, and more: http://www.youtube.com/americascup * The biggest yacht race in the world leads out the July 13th "World on Water" sailing news Report. The JP Morgan Asset Management "Round the Island Race" record is missed by 1 minute 28 seconds, the MOD70 Trimarans race from Newport, R.I to New York and on to Brest, a local wins the Alpari Match Race Sweden, the beautiful J Class yachts race at Falmouth, UK, the Farr40's North Americans are also in Newport and in "Fresh to Frightening" we say farewell to the VO70's under a wall of water. What a beast! See it on http://www.boatson.tv or download our "boatsontv" app and download it onto your phone or tablet to watch anywhere anytime. SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com TRIVIA ANSWER The average age of the Finn competitors at the 2012 Olympic Games will be 30 years (Trivia courtesy of David Munge). NEW ENGLAND BOATWORKS: NEW CONSTRUCTION, REFITS, REPAIRS Now is the time to start thinking about Fall and Winter projects. Our extensive facility and long list of in-house trades-people enable us to tackle any project. Call NEB to schedule work after your summer racing and cruising. From bottom jobs, keel and rudder upgrades, interior and deck modifications, autoclaved carbon components, refinishing, system checks to major refits and new builds, NEB is THE New England yard to service your yacht or build your next dream. If excellence in service work or new construction is your goal, call 401-683-4000 or visit http://www.NEBoatworks.com NEB: A Nautor's Swan authorized repair yard. 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 Howard Paul: The fact is anyone with a coach/support boat has an unfair advantage if there is any communication after the boats leave the docks until the finish of the first race (Scuttlebutt 3631). My rationale is that as the boats are going out to the start line the coach boat can go upwind, they can check last minute weather forecasts. By giving the "fair" advantage which they already have with professional coaches it only adds to the arms race that can exist. Not so long ago in a one-design fleet I sailed in, we had a discussion about sail purchase limitations and some of our more affluent owners wanted to be able to purchase as many sails as they wanted. Their rationale was that if one member bought a sail that was significantly faster they would be at a disadvantage for the rest of the year. The fleet voted for the sail limitations. One of the votes for limiting sails came from one of the most affluent members in the name of the more fair things are, the better the racing! * From Peter L. Wilson: I think there is fair balance in the "Coach and Support Boat" rules based on many years helping to manage this in USODA. However, I would offer a couple of suggestions to 'tighten up' these rules (listed in Scuttlebutt 3631). #2 should require that only OA provided identification is allowed to be displayed. This prevents a coach flying a large team flag that can be seen by his sailor(s) going up the favored side of the race course. #4 allows voice communication by coaches between races, but #7 disallows 'going alongside'. So 'alongside' needs to be clarified, e.g. within a certain distance or with no boat or personal contact. Since only a competitor can break rule 41 (not a coach), there should be a clear statement that goes something like; 'a competitor attached to a coach that breaks any of the coach and support boat rules may break rule 41. This changes rule 41.' * From Chris Zaleski: I was flabbergasted reading the story in Scuttlebutt 3630 regarding the penalized boat "Carina" in the Newport Bermuda Race. In my opinion, the story was an insult to the intelligence of sailors. Here are a few examples of what I mean: 1. Two days before the race start, Will applied to ISAF and was classified as a Category 3 professional sailor. NOR says very clearly that there is a crew documentation deadline 14 days before the start. 2. Will did not inform Potts that he had been reclassified as a Category 3 until after Carina finished the race in Bermuda. It is not responsibility of the crew to inform the captain, but rather the captain's responsibility to know his crew and their status!!! 3. "During the race Mr. Will steered the boat on two occasions for brief periods amounting to several minutes." The Jury imposed the 15-minute penalty. This is what I really cannot understand! How did the Jury get these facts? Was the witness also the accused? And if the rules were broken, then how can they be considered broken only for several minutes and not for the duration of the race? I understand that there were fathers and sons on board. As a father I think that we should be very careful what we teach our youngsters! Maybe the citation by Paul Elvstrom will summarize the point: "You haven't won the race, if in winning the race you have lost the respect of your competitors." * From Fred Roswold: The assumption that allowing three pro crew aboard a 48' boat trashes the ethos of amateur competition is rather harsh (letter in Scuttlebutt 3631). Given that some of one's friends among the sailing community might make their living working in the industry and be categorized as pros, not to allow them to go racing seems unfair. Pros like sailing too, otherwise they would probably have other jobs. The conditions imposed for the amateur division in the Newport Bermuda race make sense to me. Sure, some owners might abuse the right, but it seems like this owner, who returned the trophy when he learned of the change in status of his crew member, is not one of these. Is anyone saying that this person was paid by the owner, in any way, to sail the boat? CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION The only thing worse than a captain who never flew as copilot is a copilot who once was a captain. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Kaenon Polarized - Vineyard Race - North Sails J Boats - Point Loma Outfitting - Pure Yachting Ullman Sails - APS - New England Boatworks Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
