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SCUTTLEBUTT 2418 - August 24, 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 the support of its sponsors. ONLY ONE MEDAL FOR NORTH AMERICA Qingdao, China (August 23, 2007) With 11 Olympic events and 24 medals available, the North American contingent came up thin at the Qingdao International Regatta with only Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) standing on the podium, albeit wearing gold. Racing concluded on Thursday with the final three classes to host their medal race – the Laser, Laser Radial, and Yngling. The only other medal opportunity was foiled when the American Yngling team pulled an OCS, and despite Canadian Laser sailor Michael Leigh winning the medal race, he was only able to move up to eighth overall. Mexican Laser Radial sailor Tania Elias-Calles’ ninth on Thursday dropped her one place to eighth for the series. On her tactics, Anna Tunnicliffe commented, “Based on the scores going into the Medal Race, my only competition for the Gold was Jo Aleh from New Zealand. We were match racing before the start, which then enabled me to cover her up the first beat, putting her last and me second to last at the first mark. By the end of the race, Jo caught a couple of boats, but it wasn’t sufficient to gain the points she needed.” Regarding the start of American Sally Barkow’s Yngling team, she said, “The tide was pushing us upwind, but we had an excellent position approaching the line. Off the line, we weren’t certain about our situation, but thought we had it right. At that point it was a lose/lose proposition. Rather than restart and concede the medal to Sarah, we chose to press on. It was the only call we could make.” One year before the 2008 Olympic Games, the event provided sailors with an opportunity to test the local conditions and to see where they stand against the best in the world. The event was held at the location of the 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition, the Qingdao International Marina in Qingdao, China, a coastal city located 430 miles east of Beijing. -- Complete daily report: http://www.sailing.org/default.asp?ID=j6~Fniu/B&format=popup FINAL RESULTS – Top Three plus top North American(s)* RS:X Women 1. GBR - Bryony Shaw, 1-2-1-3-(9)-4-[4], 19 2. ITA - Alessandra Sensini, 2-7-4-(8)-4.6/RDG-2-[2], 23.6 3. AUS - Jessia CRISP, 5-(10)-6-2-3-5-[3], 27 ---------- 17. CAN - Nikola Girke, (18)-17-16-15-10-16, 74 RS:X Men 1. NZL - Tom Ashley, 3-2-3-2-(6)-4-[1], 16 2. CHN - Yuan Guo Zhou, 1-(6)-1-1-3-1-[9], 25 3. FRA - Julien Bontemps, 2-(8)-4-7-5-6-[2], 28 ---------- 15. MEX - David Mier Y Teran, 9-13-11-14-(17)-13, 60 Finn 1. GBR - Ben Ainslie, 1-2-1-2-1-(6)-5-[7], 26 2. NED - Pieter Jan Postma, (15)-1-3-7-12-8-1-[1], 34 3. NOR - Peer Moberg, 5-5-(18)-10-9-2-10-[2], 36 8. USA - Zack Railey, (20)-18-2-11-6-11-9-[5], 67 470 Men 1. AUS - Mathan Wilmot/Malcolm Page, (13)-1-6-1-13-3-2-2-[1], 30 2. GBR - Nicholas Rogers/Joe Glanield, 4-5-5-9-2-(17)-3-3-[2], 35 3. POR - Alvaro Marinho/Miguel Nunes, (22)-7-10-6-5-13-1-6-[5], 58 ---------- 14. USA -Mikee Anderson-Mitterling/David Hughes, 14-14-13-2-17-8-10-(19), 78 470 Women 1. AUS - Elsie Rechichi/Tessa Parkinson, 1-5-8-3-1-12-8-8-(14)-[3], 52 2. JPN - Ai Kondo/Naoko Kamata, 9-2-1-4-2-11-12-1-(15)-[5], 52 3. FRA - Ingrid Petitjean/Nadege Douroux, 7-3-6-5-8-1-17-(20)-5-[1], 54 10.USA -Amanda Clark/Sara Mergenthaler, 5-12-(18)-10-12-8-10-13-13-[10], 103 Star 1. BRA - Robert Scheidt/Bruno Prada, 5-2-(13)-3-4-1-[2], 19 2. NZL - Hamish Pepper/Carl Williams, 4-6-2-1-2-(9)-[4], 23 3. FRA - Xavier Rohart/Pascal Rambeau, 3-3-4-(5)-1-2-[7], 27 ---------- 12. USA - John Dane/Austin Sperry, 6-10-14-7-(15)-13, 50 Tornado 1. AUT - Roman Hagara/Han Peter Steinacher, 3-2-1-1-(6)-1-[3], 14 2. AUS - Darren Bundock/Glenn Ashby, 1-(9)-2-3-5-2-[4], 21 3. FRA - Xavier Revil/Christophe Espagnon, (12)-1-5-6-7-3-[2], 26 9. CAN - Oskar Johansson/Kevin Stittle, 8-11-(13)-10-2-5-[7], 50 10. USA - John Lovell/Charlie Ogletree, (13)-13-4-7-8-7-[10], 59 49er 1. GBR - Stevie Morrison/Ben Rhodes, 6-(19)-4-16-2-7-4-1-2-[4], 50 2. ESP - Iker Martinez/Xabier Fernandez, 1-2-2-(15)-1-8-15-9-11-[1], 51 3. DEN - Peter Hansen/Soren Hansen, 10-1-7-10-3-5-1-(12)-5-[8], 58 4. USA - Morgan Larson/Peter Spaulding, (15)-3-5-2-5-3-8-10-12-[6], 60 Laser 1. GBR - Paul Goodison, 3-4-1-10-7-(26)-8-1-3-11-[7], 62 2. SWE - Rasmus Myrgren, 8-3-6-(14)-5-9-2-11-6-3-[5], 63 3. POL - Maciej Grabowski, 1-8-22-8-6-3-4-5-1-(RAF)-[8], 74 8. CAN - Michael Leigh, 4-6-18-11-(24)-8-17-6-16-4-[1], 92 Laser Radial 1. USA - Anna Tunnicliffe, 7-(19)-1-3-6-1-1-1-2-6-[10], 48 2. NZL - Jo Aleh, (9)-1-3-1-7-4-8-4-6-5-[7], 53 3. BEL - Evi VAN ACKER, 1-2-8-8-5-(17)-11-7-5-13-[3], 65 8. MEX - Tania Elias-Calles, 4-13-7-4-8-5-15-12-(20)-9-[9], 95 Yngling 1. GBR - Sarah Ayton/Sarah Webb/Pippa Wilson, 2-1-1-(7)-2-3-5-4-1-2-[2], 25 2. NED - Renee Groeneveld/A.Bes/M. Kampen, 4-2-(11)-3-7-2-2-2-3-3-[3], 34 3. RUS - Ekaterina Skudina/D. Krutskikh/N. Ivanova, 5-4-4-2-1-5-(9)-1-9-8-[1], 41 4. USA - Sally Barkow/C. Howe/D. Capozzi, 1-3-2-(5)-3-1-4-3-2-1-[OCS], 42 * NOTE: For the results above, those finishers in the top ten competed in the medal race, which is denoted by the final race position in brackets. Because each position in the medal race receives double-points, their placing is then doubled for the cumulative score. Complete results: http://www.2007qdregatta.com/node/node_8874.htm HANDBAGS AT DAWN (August 23, 2007) An undignified response from America’s Cup Management (ACM) today, after the Golden Gate Yacht Club's shot across their bows on Wednesday. Sometimes it really is better to say nothing. Here's one to start with. Michel Bonnefous (ACM President) claims the protocol is not "an attempt to control everything", although we've been offered no evidence to the contrary. Interesting that there is no mention of the yacht club of convenience, Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV), in ACM's response, despite the CNEV's questionable status as a bone fide yacht club being one of the central tenets of the Americans' objections. You would have thought ACM might have taken this opportunity to leap to the Challenger of Record's defence. Because they're going to have to do that when they go to the New York Supreme Court. I hope BMW Oracle's lawyers have forgotten about that Optimist regatta from a couple of months back. Very embarrassing. Also, an intriguing choice of words by Brad Butterworth in his concluding sentence, suggesting that BMW Oracle's "underhand tactics... shows disregards for all the legitimate competitors." Legitimate competitors. Hmmmm... Does this mean ACM will be invoking Clause 4.4 of the Protocol? "Acceptance of Challenging Competitors: ACM may, at its sole and entire discretion, accept or reject any entry received." This is all getting very nasty. Can someone - maybe Peter Reggio, now that he's completed his tour of duty in Qingdao - organise a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (sponsored by Louis Vuitton, for old time's sake) between Larry and Ernesto? It would save an awful lot of lawyers' fees, not to mention the dirty laundry that will be aired in public once this case hits New York. -- SailJuice, read on for the ACM response in full: http://sailjuice.blogspot.com/2007/08/handbags-at-dawn.html * Curmudgeon’s Comment: Given that Mr. Michel Hodara, ACM Chief Operating Officer, had sent their latest position to Scuttlebutt as well, we hoped that he would be kind enough to reply to several of our questions, a couple of which are mentioned above. We hope to be able to share his response next week. DISCOVER THE BEST BOATING GEAR/EQUIPMENT MyBoatsGear.com: the boating equipment, news & review site. From safety to electronics to deck gear and 18 other categories, we show you what’s new and what’s the best, with almost 1,000 links to manufacturers. Not only do we bring you news and information on the best new gear, but we also offer how-to newsletters and you will learn what equipment is available to fulfill a particular need like communications. What are the latest developments in electronics? How can I solve my anchor dragging issue? We can help answer questions like these at http://www.MyBoatsGear.com KITING JOINS THE MAINSTREAM If you know a few tricks, you can fell the giants. Once upon a time, according to the Bible, the Israelite shepherd boy David defeated Goliath, a giant warrior with a stone and a slingshot. This summer history repeated itself on the San Francisco Bay last month, when nearly thirty paid professional kite surfers from around the world came to San Francisco to compete against the locals in the first national championship in the fast-growing sport of kite course racing. Harnessing kites to boards, sixty riders raced around a course, governed by the rules of sailboat racing. Before thousands of spectators on the Marina Green near the host St. Francis Yacht Club, Tiburon native Anthony Chavez, a self-taught kiter who learned the sport by trial and error, won the event and sent the pros packing back to their world tour. What giant-slaying trick did Chavez, now living in San Francisco's Marina District, have up his wetsuit sleeve? "I watched the birds to see what they were doing," he said. What have we here, Son of Birdman of Alcatraz? "Going upwind the birds are going to take the path of least resistance," Chavez said. "If they are going in close to shore and making a lot of headway, chances are the wind may be lighter near shore than where you are." Getting clues from birds might not be conventional sailboat racing strategy, but skimming over the surface of the waves pulled by a kite 100 feet out in front of your body isn't exactly classic yachting either. But conventional or not, the sport is now official. Kiteboarding is the newest fleet to be recognized by the U.S. Sailing Association, and momentum is building to include it in future Olympic Games. -- Jan Pehrson, Marin Independent, full story: http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_6693832 BLIND SAILING NATIONALS (August 23, 2007) Matt Chao of Newton, Mass. won his sixth national championship as the winner of the 16th Annual US Blind National Championships at Sail Newport, held August 21-22. Chao and his team picked up the Bank Newport First Place trophy after winning half of the series’ ten races. The blind sailing teams are comprised of a fully blind helmsman, a sighted guide, and two seeing-impaired jib trimmers. The sighted guides, who are also experienced racers, talk the blind skippers though maneuvers and only take the helm to avoid contact with another boat. The winning crew included Nina Kagan, Mary McKinnon and Peter Frisch, all from the Boston area. The group sails together weekly from the Courageous Sailing Center in Charlestown, Mass. with the SailBlind Program. The next big event for the seeing-impaired sailors is 2008 blind National Championships in Newport ant the 2009 World Championships in New Zealand. -- Event site: http://www.sailnewport.org/npt/m/_general/blindnationals.asp GILMOUR BESTOWED HONOUR OF TITLE IN MALAYSIA Kuala Lumpur, 23rd August 2007 – Peter Gilmour, Monsoon Cup Race Advisor and four time Match Racing World Champion, has been conferred the title of Darjah Dato' Paduka Mahkota Terengganu (DPMT) which carries the title Dato’. The title of Dato' conferred only by a state ruler in Malaysia, was awarded by His Majesty Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, the 16th Sultan of the state of Terengganu and the 13th King of Malaysia in conjunction with his 45th birthday. The investiture was presented on behalf of His Majesty by his son Tengku Muhammad Ismail, the Regent of Terengganu, at the Istana Maziah (Royal Palace) Terengganu, on 18 August 2007. Dato’ Peter Gilmour receives this honour in line with the key role he played in developing the Monsoon Cup in Terengganu, Malaysia and for inspiring international relations in the sport of sailing. His continuous efforts to promote and boost tourism to the eastern state during a traditionally quiet period were also recognized. The Monsoon Cup has successfully created a significant platform to showcase tourism investment opportunities. Last year alone, the event achieved a brand valuation of RM295million and drew new tourism spend of RM 2.97 million over the five-day period. CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Aug 24-26 - 2007 Moore 24 Nationals - Hood River, OR, USA Aug 24-26 - Windy City Match Race Chicago, IL, USA Aug 25-26 - Melges 17 National Championship - Crystal Lake, MI, USA Aug 25-26 - YRALIS Championship Regatta - Greenwich, CT, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * Fifty-two Lido 14 Class competitors completed the 50th anniversary of their National Championships in Newport Harbor on August 20-22. Mark Gaudio of Newport Beach, CA finished first in the Championships series in the Gold flight with 13 total points. After Gaudio's nearest rival, Stu Robertson, triple defending champion, was disqualified from all four of the final day for sailing with an illegal transom in violation of Class rules, second place went to Bob Little of Marina del Rey, CA. Bob and Lisa Little also won as the top husband and wife team. -- Complete story and results: http://www.lido14.org/2007Regattas/2007SrCCR/2007L14CCRIndex.htm * Portimao, Algarve, Portugal (August 23, 2007) -- The Mean Machine mojo is back. Peter de Ridder and the crew of Valle Romano Mean Machine this season may have tasted the depths of frustration when they were disqualified after the coastal race at the Breitling Regatta in Portals last month, but they made no mistakes today when they comprehensively won both legs of the coastal race at the Portugal Trophy off Portimao to extend their lead to 15 points over Russell Coutts and the crew of Artemis at this fourth event of the 2007 Breitling MedCup Circuit. Eamon Conneely's Patches second place finish moved them up to third overall. -- Daily report: http://2007.medcup.org/news/?langPost=EN&id=3040 * Brant Beach, New Jersey (August 23, 2007) -- The last day of the Sunfish World Championship saw Sebastian Mera of the Dominican Republic begin with a solid first place finish to create an almost insurmountable lead. He finished the 10-race series with a total of 26 points to claim the World Champion title. Malcolm Smith of Bermuda was second with 60 points, closely followed by Jon-Paul Patin (USA) with 63. Top Junior was Alexander Zimmerman of Peru, with Lee Parks (USA) as the top female competitor. The weather finally turned to the favor of regatta organizers with the last race being completed in the first sun of the entire week. Complete results: http://bbyc.net/SunfishWorlds/index.htm * Port Washington, NY (August 23, 2007) -- John Loe (USA) from the Southern Yacht Club and his team of Val Smith, Bartosz Zienda and Baker Potts lead after the first day of racing at the 25th Anniversary of the Knickerbocker Cup. With a solid score of 5-0, the Loe team, ranked 240 by the ISAF, beat last year’s winner Martin Angsell (SWE), ranked 36; they also handed a loss to Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA) with a ranking of 9 by the ISAF. Close on their heels is Keith Swinton (AUS) with a 4-1 score by end of day. -- Complete story and results: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/kc JANUARY FORECAST: WARM AND SUNNY IN KEY WEST Don’t miss winter’s premiere regatta – Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica. Warm winds and sunshine beckon IRC, One Design, and PHRF sailors. Great competition, professional management, and unique shoreside fun await you. January 21- 25, 2008. Notice of Race: http://www.Premiere-Racing.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received at Scuttlebutt include a mother humpback whale giving birth amidst the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week fleet in Australia, the French invasion of O’pen BIC’ in Newport, RI for the “Un-Regatta”, a creative sailmaking solution to a problem with the Swan 45 headsail class rules, and a couple photos of the “anti-Valencia,” and how the lack of Lake Geneva’s clean air might be the cause for some of the Alinghi team’s actions.. 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/07/0824 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 Brett Larson: (referencing Saturday’s CYC Verve Cup race as "this skewed upwind, downwind, reaching around everywhere race" in Scuttlebutt 2417) We happened to enjoy this race. We did the long course - 34+ nm total. First leg was upwind 4.5 miles, then a couple of downwind type legs, back upwind, then a couple reaching legs, then upwind, then a reach to finish - all the while with winds going from 15 kts, down to 3 kts and back to 18 kts, and shifting 40 degrees. It was very challenging, anticipating the proper sails to use and leg reaching strategies of go high early or low early, etc. Plenty of passing opportunities. Almost no time for lunch during the 5-hour race. Bring it back we say. For those wanting more details, go to chicagoyachtclub.org - Verve cup info - see the Supplemental racing instructions for Saturday’s race - the courses that day were #7 (short) and #8 (long) - and you draw the leg lines with the first mark(s) set at 145 degrees 3.0 and 4.5 miles. Curmudgeon’s Comment: Chicago's Bénéteau First 40.7 Fleet has posted a race story on their website: http://first407.com/verve2007 * From Nick Carraway: (regarding a story in Issue 2416; edited to the 250-word limit) Peter Isler is pretty much on target - the AC is a unique event and surely better off with its current governance. The basic rule is: as long as the holder and a valid challenger can mutually consent, then they get to make the rules. They can make the rules suit the century in which they live. Pretty simple governance. Easy to understand. Peter is also right that the AC has always been about more than sailing - in fact, from its origins, it has mostly been about design, technology and campaign management. But I take issue with Peter's reverence for the Interpretive Resolutions. One of several things Ernesto and Larry got right for AC32 was tossing the IR's overboard. Many of the IR's were attempts "to fix" the AC. Texts available at http://www.a3.org/ac2000_Resolutions.html Interesting reading. Take the 1980 Resolutions and 1982 Amendments, which try "to fix" the nationality rules and "interpret" what it means for a yacht to be "constructed" (the word in the Deed of Gift) in the country of the challenging or holding club. This appears to be the first time the nationality of the crew is mentioned in any governing documents. If my name were Ernesto and I lived in Switzerland, I would rather negotiate with the devil I know named Larry than have the devils I don't know in the NY courts interpret where I had to "construct" (design and build?) my hull, appendages, sails, rig, etc. * From Tom Coleman: (RE 2416 letter from Paul Tara about the story ‘Evolve or Die’ in Issue 2413) I loved Paul Tara’s letter about sailing El Toros with his son. No doubt generations of Sabot and El Toro sailors have similar stories to share. Some of my fondest memories are of sailing with my son on Lasers and Sunfish. I do know for a fact though, the bulk of his (my son’s) fondest memories would be about his years racing the Optimist with all his childhood friends. Yes, he had coaches (wonderful role models and warm human beings). Yes, he traveled throughout the US as part of the Chesapeake Bay Opti Team and then as a member of the Opti National Team. I count those years and experiences as key to his being the fine young man he is today. I point this out not to take anything away from Paul and the wonderful experiences of parents and grandparents who have enjoyed sailing on different levels, in different boats and in other regions, but rather to celebrate the diversity sailing offers us all. Paul’s letter helps me to understand some of the resistance of the West Coast to receiving the Opti. The Optimist has been and is a huge part of my life and I believe it can, should, and will be able to co-exist with the Sabot and El Toro classes. * From Nelson Stephenson: I think the ISAF postings about scoring in Quingdao and the lack of current scoring due to "testing" fits into the category of "I'm from ISAF and I am here to help". Pretty clearly, the Chinese don't "get" the concept of open and informed reporting and the type of journalism typical in the "free world". "Advanced" means many things in a sociological sense but clearly an advanced society has freedom of information at the center of its assets and is always promoting more access to data and information from any and all sources. That may be decades away in China, if ever. ISAF motivation is clear...protect their access to Olympic funds which make up the lions share of ISAF revenues. Take away the funds from the Olympics and ISAF would have very, very small amounts of revenue, indeed. * From Barrie Harmsworth, ISAF Youth and Development Committee: With respect to the sailing venue in China, ISAF does not have much choice. The host country decides on it with a more or less take it or leave it proviso. ISAF oft merits strong criticism, and from time to time I am in the vanguard. But to set the record straight, ISAF was aware of the limitations of Qingdoa ever since the Oppy Worlds were held there in 2001. In all fairness, they have done their best. A silk purse out of a sow's ear? If you really want to gripe, start on promoting sailing! * From Robert Thuss: As a boater who enjoys being both a "ragbagger" and a "stinkpotter," I was struck by the "approaching douchebaggery" of "A Guide to Stinkpots". WTF is a stupid excerpt from a raunchy blog doing in my fine Scuttlebutt? Curmudgeon’s Comment: We load, we aim, we fire, and for some, we occasionally miss the mark by a mile. We declare this thread dead. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION To keep a healthy level of insanity, try putting decaf in the office coffee maker for three weeks, then switch to espresso. Special thanks to MyBoatsGear.com and Premiere Racing. |
