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SCUTTLEBUTT 3671 - Friday, September 7, 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: Ribcraft, Summit Yachts, and Premiere Racing. SAILING AND TEAM WORK Albert Wenger graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in economics and computer science and holds a Ph.D. in Information Technology from MIT. He also occasionally sails, and based on his comparison of boating and business, we might all want to tune up our resume. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Last Friday to Saturday I had the good fortune of being invited to crew on my friend Mark Hansen's boat Sweet Lorraine (a beautiful J-145) in the 2012 Vineyard race. The course starts near the Stamford Harbor, goes up to the Buzzard's Bay Light Tower and then returns south of Block Island all the way to Stamford for a total length of about 238 nautical miles. The crew consisted of extremely experienced and successful sailors including several national/world champions in their respective boat classes. I on the other hand have very little race experience and even my total sailing experience was a tiny fraction of that of the rest of the crew. Everyone on board was super generous explaining things to me and being patient when I took a bit longer to get the hang of something or outright screwed up (e.g., overtrimming the spinnaker). As a result I learned a ton! I also really came to appreciate the many lessons about team work from sailing with such a great group. First, it is tremendously useful to check your ego at the gate (the opening in the lifelines for getting aboard). Despite their tremendous individual accomplishments everyone did whatever was needed at the moment to help move the boat forward. On a boat that often includes cleanup, such as coiling lines so that they don't obstruct movement and also can run out easily when needed. High performing teams at work take a similar approach where every team member takes responsibility for the quality of the operation (and isn't above picking up trash in the office when that's needed). Second, a clear division of labor makes everyone on the team effective. On a crew everyone has a position at any one time (positions may rotate). The responsibilities for each position are well defined. I have encountered many teams in the workplace where people were not sure what they should be working on which results either in duplication or in gaps with work that doesn't get done. Third, communication is the lifeblood of a team. There is a nearly constant flow of information on the boat that enables team members to make the right local decisions. For instance at one point the wind was quite gusty and one team member announced incoming gusts letting both the helm and the sail trimmers adjust accordingly. I think too often in work teams there is an assumption that others have the information already when that's not in fact the case. -- Read on: http://continuations.com/post/30934037724/sailing-and-team-work YOU SAW THEM ALL SUMMER LONG From Chicago to London and San Francisco to Newport, you saw them on the race course setting marks, on the water coaching your children, or just hovering around the races. RIBCRAFT RIBs were everywhere this summer proving themselves day in and day out. It's hard to believe, but with Labor Day behind us, it's already time to start thinking about next summer. Whether you're in charge of your club's sailing program or race committee or looking for the ultimate race tender for yourself, now's the time to contact RIBCRAFT to make your 2013 plans. Military Tough. Proven. Time Tested. Reliable. http://www.ribcraftusa.com 2012 PARALYMPIC GAMES - SAILING EVENTS Weymouth, UK (September 6, 2012) - With the forecast on the final day of the 2012 Paralympic Sailing Regatta offering little chance for suitable winds, the lack of breeze in Portland Harbour ultimately scuppered racing for the day. All three events completed 10 of the 11 scheduled races. The only change in the overnight standings occurred in the Three-Person Keelboat, where the Norwegian team moved up to the bronze medal after a measurement protest against the British team was upheld, dropping them from third to fifth. The protest dealt with an incident wherein the British team was granted permission to haul their Sonar for keel repairs, but their repairs were found to have gone beyond the limited provisions that were granted. The jury's discretionary scoring penalty to the team was 30% of boats, i.e. 4 points in race 7, the race closest in time to the incident. Final Results Single-Person Keelboat (2.4mR) - Top 5 of 16 1. Helena Lucas (GBR) - 26pts 2. Heiko Kroger (GER) - 35pts 3. Thierry Schmitter (NED) - 37pts 4. Damien Seguin (FRA) - 44pts 5. Paul Tingley (CAN) - 47pts Two-Person Keelboat (SKUD18) - Top 5 of 11 1. Dan Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch (AUS) - 14pts 2. Jen French and JP Creignou (USA) - 20pts 3. Alexandra Rickham and Niki Birrell (GBR) - 22pts 4. John McRoberts and Stacie Louttit (CAN) - 34pts 5. Marco Gualandris and Marta Zanetti (ITA) - 46pts Three-Person Keelboat (Sonar) - Top 5 of 14 1. Udo Hessels, Marcel van de Veen & Mischa Rossen (NED) - 20pts 2. Jens Kroker, Siegmund Mainka & Robert Prem (GER) - 40pts 3. Aleksander Wang-Hansen, Marie Solberg and Per Eugen Kristiansen (NOR) - 42pts 4. Bruno Jourdren, Nicolas Vimont-Vicary & Eric Flageul (FRA) - 42pts 5. John Robertson, Hannah Stodel & Stephen Thomas (GBR) - 45pts Event details: http://www.sailing.org/paralympics/london2012/home.php Canada report: http://www.canadiansailingteam.ca/ USA report: http://tinyurl.com/USST-090612 BOOK RELEASE: American Nick Scandone died soon after winning the gold medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games. Remarkably, Nick's diagnosis for ALS had him dying much earlier, but his will to live proved to be a formidable foe. His victory at the Games was not only a triumph over his competitors, but also a demonstration of how powerful it can be to purse a goal. And now his wife, Mary Kate Scandone, tells the story of this journey in a book titled 'Nick of Time: The Nick Scandone Story'. Details here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14468 MEET THE NEW BOSS; NOT THE SAME AS THE OLD BOSS? By Stuart Streuli, Sailing World With seven years as a member of US Sailing's Olympic Sailing Committee, and double that as an industry insider, many see former Olympic hopeful Josh Adams as ideally qualified to take over leadership of the U.S. Olympic Sailing program. Others feel his appointment will perpetuate the philosophies that left the U.S. Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider without a medal in the 2012 Olympics. On the surface, it may look like Josh Adams is walking into a hornet's nest. The incoming managing director of U.S. Olympic Sailing inherits a team that, for the first time since 1936, returned home from an Olympic regatta without a single medal. The performance has made the team - and Adams' hiring - the subject of significant scrutiny on the home front. But a deeper look reveals the situation to be much less perilous for Adams, a former All-American sailor at Tufts University who comes to the team after a career at Sail magazine, including the last seven as publisher. Title sponsor Sperry Top-Sider, which signed on last spring, is committed through the next four years. Top athletes such as Paige Railey and Anna Tunnicliffe are already looking toward the 2016 Olympics in Rio, and the likely lineup for that regatta features four new classes, including kiteboard racing, a sport where the United States has proven to be quite competitive on the world circuit, albeit in a sport very much in its infancy. And with no medals in 2012, there's nowhere for the team to go but up. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/SW-090612 CHAMPIONSHIP FLEET NOW CONFIRMED Newport, RI (September 6, 2012) - The story of day two at the U.S. Qualifying Series was not the dominant performances put in by The Florida Yacht Club and Seattle Yacht Club but more the way the last Championship series qualifiers clawed their way back from poor starts and bad breaks to maintain a chance at attending the 2013 Invitational Cup, an elite international amateur competition hosted by New York Yacht Club and raced in NYYC Swan 42s. Today's results split the teams into a Championship and Consolation series, and the name of the game for the 24 teams was to finish in the top six of their 12-boat fleet to advance. With the championship fleet now confirmed, they all start even again on points, and will sail in the J/70s for the final two days to determine the top three teams to advance to the 2013 Invitational Cup. Top Six in each fleet (after 11 races and one throw-out): Red Fleet 1. Seattle Yacht Club, 27 pts 2. San Francisco Yacht Club, 32 pts 3. Newport Harbor Yacht Club, 46 pts 4. California Yacht Club, 55 pts 5. Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, 55 pts 6. Larchmont Yacht Club, 57 pts Blue Fleet 1. The Florida Yacht Club, 32 pts 2. Eastern Yacht Club, 36 pts 3. Carolina Yacht Club, 41 pts 4. Ft. Worth Boat Club, 52 pts 5. Indian Harbor Yacht Club, 54 pts 6. Saint Francis Yacht Club, 54 pts Event details: http://www.usqs.org/news.html A LINE OF BOATS THAT CAN MEET YOUR NEEDS Whether your focus is racing at the ultimate level, club racing with some light cruising thrown in, or anything in between, the Summit Yacht's line of sail boats can meet your needs. The Summit 35 and 40 have won international events throughout the world in both distance and around the buoys events. The Summit 45 will compete at the highest level against production and custom designs. All of our models are built in the USA, and all are designed by Mark Mills. Check out all of our models online at http://www.summit-yachts.com Choose the best. Choose Summit GIVING THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT San Francisco, CA (September 6, 2012) - Traffic was heavy today on San Francisco Bay, with the usual suspects--cargo ships, kite surfers and AC 45s - joined by 66 boats taking on their first day of competition at the Rolex Big Boat Series. The 48th edition of the annual four-day tradition kicked off in conditions that blended sunshine and 60-degree temperatures with chilly winds of 16-20 knots, and as well blended its new class for catamaran racing with its traditional classes for monohulls. "Everyone should be very happy with what they got," said Event Chair Kevin Reeds about the two hour-and-a-half long races held for each of the event's eight classes (four IRC, three one-design and one for the catamarans). "There was plenty for them to work with." And for spectators, the sight of a half dozen catamarans slicing through the water was especially gratifying at the end of the day when all classes converged at a finish line within 50 feet of the upper Race Deck at St. Francis Yacht Club. Winning the cat class for the day with finishes of 1-2 was St. Francis Yacht Club Commodore Peter Stoneberg's (Tiburon, Calif.) ProSail 40 Shadow, while Tom Sieble's (Felton, Calif.) Sig 45 Vamonos, with a crew made up of Tom Blackaller's 1988 ProSail Series team, took second place with a 4-1. "I just wanted to have a blast today, and our expectations were exceeded in every way," said Sieble, explaining that Vamonos was launched this spring and the Rolex Big Boat Series is the first serious race that the catamaran has done. -- Read on: http://www.rbbs2012.regattalive.com/Files/RBBSDAY1.pdf SAILING SHORTS * Bermudian residents were urged to "prepare for the worst" as Hurricane Leslie headed toward the British territory, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain.Meanwhile, the Category 1 storm's effects were already being felt as far away as the U.S. East Coast, where forecasters issued warnings for life-threatening rip currents spawned by the distant storm. The agency said the storm is expected to pass close by the island early Sunday, though its path was uncertain. The territory's weather service expects Leslie's winds to exceed 90 mph at that point. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/CNN-090612 * Cleveland, OH (September 6, 2012) - The first day of the 2012 Beneteau First 36.7 North American Championship completed three races for the 19-boat fleet. Quick to gain control of the event was Charles Bayer's team from Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, posting all bullets to hold an early nine point lead. Details: http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=597 * Marblehead, MA (September 6, 2012) - After an early postponement, the 44 teams at the Viper 640 North American Championship completed two races on the opening day of the event. Tied at the top of the standings with a 1-2 is Pieter Taselaar of Newport, RI along with the overseas team of Glyn Locke, David Chapman, Ian Nicholson from the UK. Racing continues through Sunday. Details: http://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=640 * Porto Cervo, Italy (September 6, 2012) - Sunshine, blue skies and a fresh mistral breeze provided near perfect sailing conditions for the 34 maxi sailing boats competing in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Sardinia. With two more race days remaining, at the conclusion of racing today Bella Mente (Mini Maxi), Magic Carpet 2 (Wally), Aegir (Racing), Velsheda (Racing/Cruising) and Nilaya (Super Maxi) hold the top spots in their respective groups. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/YCCS-090612 * Nice, France (September 6, 2012) - After three days of competition at the ISAF Grade 3 World University Match Racing Championship, the pecking order is being defined. In female competition, both Brazilian crews continue to dominate the competition and occupy at present the first two places at the end of the first round-robin. In the male competition, the British and Australian teams lead the field into the quarterfinals. -- Full report: http://www.wucmatchracing2012.com/actualites-details.php?actualite=54 PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include poor people, kite is king, September calendar, road kill, fleet growth, good year, and scow sightings. Here are this week's photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0907/ Bonus Photos: * The synergy of Maxi boats, Rolex, and photographer Carlo Borlenghi makes life worth living. Photos from the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0906b/ * The 18ft Skiff International Regatta on San Francisco Bay is the ideal mix of rocket and fuel, and photographers Christophe Favreau and Erik Simonson were there to capture the combustion. Be sure to check out the pitchpole sequence on page two: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0906 * From photographer Christophe Launay "Like a wild animal circling the territory waiting to pounce on its prey, l'Hydroptere DCNS is in San Francisco training on the Bay while they wait for the ideal weather window to attack the Transpac record from Los Angeles to Honolulu. These Northern California sessions have been extremely beneficial for the team and allowed Alain Thebault to share his incredible magic carpet with colleagues, media representatives, and members of the SF sailing community." And Scuttlebutt too: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0906a/ 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 Popular in the 1930's, the J Class Association has seen a rebirth over the past decade. This video shows the build of the new Frank C Paine 'A' design yacht named "ATLANTIS". This yacht has been commissioned for a Dutch owner from original lines plans for a 'Super J', designed by Frank C Paine in the 1930's. Click here for this week's video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/MEDIA/12/0907/ Bonus Videos: * Renowned yachting commentators Martin Tasker and Peter Lester were given a prime view of the Emirates Team New Zealand AC72 in full action. Very rarely are they lost for words, but they were this time though liked what they saw. You should too: http://youtu.be/2_dBbb9-R50 * This week on America's Cup Discovered unearth the rivalry between young gun Jimmy Spithill and America's Cup legend Russell Coutts as the 'Coutts Crash' from AC World Series San Francisco gets re-examined this week by the AC Discovered team. Determined to get the true uncensored version of events from the sailors perspective, we learn that although teammates and friends on shore - all niceties between the pair disappear once on the water. Tension in the team or potential trouble in the camp? Tune in on Saturday September 8 at approx 0800 PDT 1600 BSTand draw your own conclusions: http://www.youtube.com/americascup * The Omani team wins the ExSS Act 5 in Cardiff in the Sept 7.12 World on Water Global Sailing Weekly News Show. Also the world's fastest boat is stes a record in San Francisco, Foncia wins the MOD70 inshore races in Kiel, Another Aussie wins the AWMRT St Moritz Match Cup, the Flying 15's battle in Italy and the magnificent Moths dance and crash on Lake Garda in the moth worlds in "Fresh to Frightening". See it only here http://tinyurl.com/bq73z2m 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 KEY WEST ENTRIES LOOKING STRONG! It's too early to predict the final scratch sheet, but it's a sure bet there will be top-tier competition and plenty of grand-prix action at Quantum Key West 2013. Plan your winter escape to Florida where warm sunshine and dependable breezes are yours all week! January 20-25, 2013. http://www.premiere-racing.com 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 Scott Mason: Continuing a theme directed towards keeping kids in the sport ("Always leave them wanting more") earlier in edition #3670, I advocate handing out awards at the earliest opportunity. The winners want to be recognized while their peers are still around, well-mannered sailors want to support their buddies on the podium, but the drive home always lurks. Hand out all the awards you can as soon as you can. If a class or two is help up by protest, let them wait but don't punish the rest. Vann is one of the classiest sailors I know and raises a very valid point (in #3670). Keep it fun! * From George Morris: I agree 100% with the Vann Wilson's sentiments concerning prize givings (in Scuttlebutt 3670). You wait around for hours, the usual people win, and the same platitudes are spoken. Sometimes you return to the regatta venue after taking your boat home only to find that the person who understands the results program has had to go to the hospital and there are no results - tomorrow perhaps. I have a similar dislike of regatta briefings, which are usually scheduled for one hour before the first start of the day - just when you should be staring at the course, thinking, getting into race mode, getting dressed etc. "I am the rear commodore and I'd like to welcome you to (fill in the blank). Please do come to the barbeque after the event. In a minute I'll hand you over to the Race Officer but please bear with me for a few moments while I describe the social programme for the week." I don't attend regatta briefings and will only wait after the regatta for the length of time it takes to put the boat on its trailer, get changed and have a cup of tea and a sandwich and a short chat with my fellow competitors. A particularly pernicious practice is for the race committee to withhold the results until the prizegiving so that you have to attend to find out how well you did. I don't think that you have any moral obligation to stay for the prizegiving if it occurs more than an hour and a half after the last race of the day. FIVE DOLLAR FRIDAY The morning coffee and Scuttlebutt sailing news just got better... and cheaper. The price of the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club mug has been reduced to $5.00, and for the international reader it's only $10.00. Offer expires 12:00pm PDT on Friday. While supplies last. http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/store/ CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Today I will look reality straight in the eye and deny it. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Atlantis WeatherGear - Team One Newport Soft Deck - APS - North Sails - e-Sailing - Ullman Sails Ribcraft - Summit Yachts - Premiere Racing Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
