|
SCUTTLEBUTT 2320 - April 11, 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). FULL AND BY (Excerpted from editor Bill Schanen’s column in the April 2007 issue of Sailing magazine titled, “Let’s raise a mug of seawater to our sailing Don Quixotes.”) I admit to feeling a twinge of irritation when I watched a failed around-the-world sailor experiencing his 15 minutes of fame on a television news program with what I judged to be unseemly enjoyment. He had been rescued at great expense by the Chilean Navy and a fishing trawler after he got himself in trouble in the Southern Ocean, and now he was in front of the cameras, all jaunty and telegenic. I had seen photos of him being taken from his 44-foot steel yawl, which seemed in no danger of sinking, by a small inflatable boat in calm seas. This is not one, I said to myself, for the annals of sterling seamanship. Well, I got over it. The poor guy had sold his swimming pool business in California to fund his dream of sailing around the world. He was approaching Cape Horn when he sailed into a nasty low-pressure system, was rolled 360 degrees and dismasted in the ensuing storm, and ultimately lost his boat. Presumably he lost his dream too, unless he wants to try again, which probably shouldn’t be ruled out. There’s something about the sea that triggers some remarkably strange human behavior. After thinking about it, I reminded myself that we need to cut those who are afflicted some extra slack. The human race would not only be a lot duller, but probably constitutionally flabbier as well without these adventure addicts in the gene pool. -- Complete editorial: http://www.sailingmagazine.net/fullby0407.html INTERDENOMINATIONAL BOAT DENAMING CEREMONY (John Vigor, author of the book “Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Started Sailing” provided this article some time ago for the 48° North publication. Enjoy the excerpt below – renaming boats is not as simple as it would seem.) I once knew a man in Florida who told me he'd owned 24 different yachts and renamed every single one of them. "Did it bring you bad luck?" I asked. "Not that I'm aware of," he said. "You don't believe in those old superstitions, do you?" Well, yes. Matter of fact, I do. And I'm not alone. Actually, it's not so much being superstitious as being v-e-r-y careful. It's an essential part of good seamanship. Some years ago, when I wanted to change the name of my newly purchased 31-foot sloop from ‘Our Way’ to ‘Freelance’, I searched for a formal "de-naming ceremony" to wipe the slate clean in preparation for the renaming. I read all the books, but I couldn't find one. What I did learn, though, was that such a ceremony should consist of five parts: an invocation, an expression of gratitude, a supplication, a re-dedication, and a libation. So I wrote my own short ceremony. Vigor's inter-denominational de-naming ceremony. It worked perfectly. ‘Freelance’ carried me and my family many thousands of deep-sea miles both north and south of the equator, and we enjoyed good luck all the way. I used the same ceremony recently to change the name of my newly acquired Santana 22 from ‘Zephyr’ to ‘Tagati’, a Zulu word that means "magic," or "bewitched." We're hoping she'll sail like a witch when I finally get her in the water this summer after an extensive refit. -- Read on for the exact wording of Vigor's de-naming ceremony: http://www.48north.com/mr_offline/denaming.htm DEFIANT After 21 days in the Brazilian port of Fortaleza, Kiwi skipper, Graham Dalton, restarted racing in the Velux 5 Oceans six days ago having overcome technical problems and poor health that would have broken weaker men. Since Dalton's entire onboard electronic equipment inventory was ransacked as he lay unconscious due to a violent stomach infection shortly after making landfall in Brazil on 14th March, A Southern Man - AGD is being raced with minimal weather and navigational aids: "I've got absolutely nothing," he explained when asked if he was receiving any weather data. "All I have is a hand held GPS and some large scale paper charts," he continued before the satellite link was severed. Effectively, Dalton is sailing by instinct, drawing on his considerable knowledge of deep ocean racing at a time when all his skills and endurance will be critical. The tough skipper is pushing his Open 50 hard in an attempt to finish Leg 2 by the cut-off date of 19th April in order to qualify for racing in the final leg of the Velux 5 Oceans from America to Spain. The race rules stipulate that a competitor must spend a minimum of 72 hours in a stop-over port between legs. In addition, A Southern Man - AGD must start the final leg by the 22nd April, within a week of the official start of Leg 3 on Sunday 15th. On Tuesday, he was still 1656 miles from the Leg 2 finish line in Norfolk, Virginia. http://www.velux5oceans.com/page/NewsDetail/0,,12345~1009029,00.html NEW YACHTS AT STRICTLY SAIL BOAT SHOW JK3 Nautical Enterprises, Inc. would like to personally invite you to start out 2007 at the Strictly Sail Boat Show April 18-22, where we’ll be unveiling Delphia Yachts - our newest line of quality valued sailboats. Step aboard the new Delphia 40 GT, a production performance cruiser/ racer which has had great success in Europe and the USA with over 148 sold to date. Features include a deep draft lead keel, Lewmar winches, Selden Spar/ boom, Yanmar saildrive, with North Sails for a base price of 199K. For information on the boat show or our boats lines: 619.224.6200, http://www.jk3yachts.com DO THEY HAVE A CHANCE? In an interview posted on the America’s Cup website, Alinghi skipper Brad Butterworth was asked if he rated any of the challengers? Do they have a chance? “Yes, they have a chance,” he replied with a smile. “There were two teams that didn’t have their second boats out there. There’s some good equipment out there and it’s not easy to win and we’re going to have to sail well. They are going to develop throughout the Louis Vuitton and we are going to have to develop outside it and that’s going to be the battle.” -- http://tinyurl.com/3btala MY ROAD TRIP TO THE WORLDS (American Mike Ingham finished 2nd at the J/24 World Champs last month, and his daily Forum reports provided the ‘buttheads with a lifeline to the event. Now posted on the Scuttlebutt website is his complete review of the event.) Looking back on the Mexican worlds, I have to say we are impressed with the show the Mexicans put on for us. I had been talking to Peter Wiegandt, the event chairman, and all along he said it was going to be sponsored beyond what we had seen before. He was right, with events organized with a sponsor every night; they spent their $600,000 well. Though the promise of GPS real time tracking fell short of expectations, it was a great concept and I hope to see it up and working at events in the future. How cool it would be for our friends and sponsors at home to track our progress real time? -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/07/0409 SAILING SHORTS * Stepping aboard an America's Cup boat is not for the faint-hearted and as a means of experiencing life afloat is about as far removed as it can be from the luxury lifestyle that is normally multimillion dollar yachting. Taking a budget of $120m (£61m) and dividing it by the maximum 54 races which a challenger could race this year that works out at $2.2m a race, which lasts 90 minutes. For $24,444 a minute you can have an awful lot of superyacht fun. -- Stuart Alexander, The Independent, http://sport.independent.co.uk/general/article2434992.ece * Summer Sailstice, the global holiday celebrating sailing, has announced a new strategic partnership with the Ocean Conservancy aimed at supporting the Ocean Conservancy’s mission of ocean preservation. Says Summer Sailstice founder John Arndt, “The Ocean Conservancy has worked for over 30 years to protect the environment sailors enjoy every day making this important organization an ideal partner in our continued efforts to support a clean and healthy sailing environment for all sailors.” -- Full report: http://www.summersailstice.com/content1.php?id=325 * Tony Bullimore who was preparing to commence his solo world record attempt at the weekend was forced to postpone once again. Bullimore has been on standby in Hobart for four months awaiting a decent weather window for the start of his Blue Ocean solo round the world challenge attempt. The latest weather forecast shows a good weather situation in the next week or so, so expect to see some action between 18-23 April. – Yachting World, http://tinyurl.com/ * The California International Sailing Association's 30th annual Advanced Racing Clinic begins this Thursday at Alamitos Bay YC for 118 of the country's best young sailors. Clinic Director, Robbie Dean has assembled a faculty that includes Zack Maxam, Andy Mack and Cameron Biehl, Billy Uniack, Casey Hogan, Nick Adamson, John Pierce, Chris Wenner, Carisa Harris-Adamson, Richard Feeney, Adam Deermount, Lauren Maxam, 2004 Olympian Peter Wells, Jamie Malm, John Farrar, David Hughes, 2000 Olympic silver medalist Pease Glaser, Paralympic campaigner Nick Scandone, Brian Doyle and Mikee Anderson. Instruction will be given the 29er, CFJ, Laser, Laser Radial, C-420 and the I-420. -- http://www.cisasailing.org * Ken Read will skipper George David’s Count Rambler, the Reichel/Pugh 90-footer formerly known as Shockwave, in this summer’s 3600-nautical mile HSH Nordbank blue race from Newport, Rhode Island to Hamburg, Germany. Read was recently named to lead a Puma-sponsored syndicate in the next Volvo Ocean Race, and he will be using the boat in this and several other races for crew evaluation and team-building. – http://www.hsh-nordbank-blue-race.com * Party time --In anticipation of the 6th Annual Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Championships and the 21st Annual Pro Am Regatta, the Bitter End Yacht Club is having a party at their Booth (Tent A #208) at the Strictly Sail Pacific Boat Show (formerly Pacific Sail Expo). The gathering will be on Thursday April 19th at 6:00 pm. Scuttlebutt readers are invited stop by the Bitter End booth for refreshments, snacks and to meet the curmudgeon. There will be an opportunity to win a 4 day/3 night vacation for two, which can be used during the Pro Am. -- http://www.beyc.com/ * The opening boat parade for the 32nd America's Cup takes place this coming Saturday. The boats will sail along the Port America's Cup canal in a unique display of color, light, music and fireworks. Open to the general public, the presentation will last around 45 minutes. The final stages of the event will begin two days later with the first racing of the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner will face Alinghi in the 32nd America's Cup Match starting on June 23. -- http://www.americascup.com 21st CENTURY FINALLY ARRIVES FOR JUNIOR SAILING!! Many 'Butt Heads have been writing in, yearning for a modern dinghy that will excite the younger generation and provide alternative fun for those kids who aren't into the traditional Opti/ Sabot racing track. Finally there is the O'Pen BIC - a modern planing hull with contemporary rig, quick 'n easy set-up, low maintenance, affordable, and completely self-bailing. The O'Pen BIC gets kids just messing around in boats and enjoying the game. Tipping over is part of the fun! Contact info@BicSportNA.com for information on Fleet Pricing, Dealer Inquiries, Industry Insider Offers, or to join the 2007 Demo Tour. Energize your kid today! http://www.OpenBIC.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 Chris Ericksen: Rich Roberts, not only a truly excellent yachting writer but also a thoughtful observer of the international yachting scene, crystallized what so many of us feel about the America's Cup in his commentary in 'Butt 2319. He says "the America's Cup will be defended...by a...Swiss team led by New Zealanders with American helmsmen"--so much for George L. Schuyler's "friendly competition between foreign countries." Lord Dunraven took the "friendly" out in the Nineteenth Century, although Sir Thomas Lipton restored that for a time; the Twentieth Century saw the end of the "countries" part. I wonder if the event will survive the 21st Century. Speaking for myself, I really don't care. * From Tom Priest: I gotta say, I agree with Rich's assessment regarding +39's predicament. The protocol 'lines-in-the-sand' seem pretty damn arbitrary to me too. Country boundaries take precedence 'here' but not 'there'....all very fuzzy logic. (Dare I say self-serving?) What happened to “Sportsmanship?” Under very distressing circumstances such as this, can't they waive this item? Thru no fault of +39's (other than bad timing) they're out? Whoever is enforcing this mast ruling should be ashamed of themselves. * From David Risch (re the decision that the German syndicate can not give the +39 team one of their spars because, "this was a breach of the Protocol that requires all equipment to be designed by the team."): An therein lies the crux why I am not following the Americas Cup in its modern iteration. I could give a fig where the boat is designed, masts built, sails cut etc...but give me a boat with an all-American (or all Kiwi crew etc...) and I will loudly cheer our boys on. Helloooo ... it’s the crew we care about not the origins of a damned spar! * From Steve Gregory: (regarding the Palma coverage) While Scuttlebutt is an American publication, they do claim to serve North America, and I appreciate it when they give attention to all the sailors within the continent. To see Canada and Mexico excelling in Olympic classes is very exciting, along with the achievement last week at the Optimist South Americans by Puerto Rico and the USVI. The better all North American countries partner up, the better they can compete against the Europeans, who have partnered up for years. With news of American Laser Radial sailor Anna Tunnicliffe training with the Canadian National team in the Dominican Republic, and a USVI team winning the 2006 High School dinghy and team race nationals, perhaps the pendulum is getting ready to swing back toward North America. * From Richard du Moulin (edited to our 250-word limit): Nothing brings out letters like handicap rules! As Chairman of the US-IRC Owners Committee, I guess I have to jump into the pig-pen once again. PHRF is the building block for U.S. handicap racing, but has limitations for larger, national, and international events. A complex measurement rule like IMS turned out to be a failure, therefore we imported a proven simpler measurement rule already established worldwide -- Fastnet, Middle Sea, Sydney Hobart . In the Sydney-Hobart, it was encouraging to see a nice balance of new and old -- the winner an old 47 foot S&S ; runner-up a new IRC 55. We hear complaints about measurement cost, but IOR, IMS or full ORR is more expensive. No measurement rule is as cheap as PHRF. Importantly, IRC is an owner -driven rule, not designer. Our Owners Committee is in touch with others worldwide, and provide input (like spinoas) to the IRC Rating office. Over time we believe IRC will be accepted in more and more U.S. locations than its present active areas -- Florida, East Coast, Lake Erie , San Francisco. Many new boats --stable, fast, fun -- are under construction to race under IRC. 2006 was the second year of US-IRC racing, and every one of the 624 IRC boats had to be measured from scratch -- no carryover from previous systems. We will continue to work hard to encourage big boat racing with PHRF as a key building block. Please visit US-IRC.org. * From John Mendez, Executive Director, US-IRC: I have read the comments made in Scuttlebutt 2319 and I would ask that you please make it clear that Paul Kueffner has misquoted the 2007 IRC handbook as it reads on page 4 as follows; “At the end of 2005, the total number of boats rated under IRC was 7078, an increase of nearly 18% over 2004’s 6004. 2006 has seen continued growth in most existing IRC fleets, and also the adoption of IRC in not just Argentina but also Greece, Japan, New Zealand and Russia. Counter to this, the number of IRC rated boats in Spain fell significantly during 2006 following the introduction of a Spanish national rule, RN. We hope that owners will return to IRC in due course. Using just data from everywhere else, ie ignoring the decline in Spain and looking at underlying growth elsewhere, the number of IRC rated boats at the end of August 2006 had grown by 5.5% over that of a year earlier; continued satisfactory growth.“ I believe that, for the record, the facts should be understood by all of your readers * From Bear Myers: Jake Wood’s funeral was this last Saturday, April 7th in Westlake, CA. We had several hundred sailors there to say goodbye to Jake as he was laid to rest. I took several pictures of the gravesite as I felt it was very unique and celebrates Jakes life at sea. The bench next to his grave reads "Port of Last Call" as you can see in the attached picture. Rest well Jake from all of us who have sailed with you. -- Photo posted in the Forum: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/07/JW CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION Bumper sticker on a car: "Driver carries no cash - he's married". O'Pen BIC joins Scuttlebutt as a new supporter, and special thanks as always to longtime partner JK3 Nautical Enterprises. Scuttlebutt is also supported by UBS, main partner of Alinghi, the Defender of the 32nd America's Cup. |
