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SCUTTLEBUTT 3604 - Monday, June 4, 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: Kaenon Polarized and KO Sailing. HELPING THE (OTHER) RED, WHITE, AND BLUE America's Cup defender and Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill spent time at the Olympic sailing venue in Weymouth, UK last week working with US Olympic women's match racing representative Anna Tunnicliffe and crew. Spithill and Tunnicliffe met up in San Francisco at the team base at Pier 80 last February when she was in town to accept the US Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year award. Tunnicliffe and her crew, including Debbie Capozzi and Molly Vandemoer, are the world's No. 1-ranked women's match racing crew heading into the Olympic Regatta, which begins in eight weeks on July 27. "Anna called out of the blue one day and asked if I could come and watch their practice session this week," said Spithill. "Their coach had a prior commitment, and she felt it would be good to have someone else come in and have a look. "I walked away bloody impressed," Spithill said. "They're a good team in women's match racing. I think they're bench mark. To be honest, I couldn't help them much at all, they're such high caliber. There's always something to sharpen up, but their fundamentals are there. They've won a lot of regattas and Anna won a gold in the last games (Laser Radial, Beijing 2008), and they're a very good team. "The thing I noticed is they're very open-minded. There are no egos, they're willing to listen and take feedback. Off the water they have a good time and respect each other. They have good management and setup." As for the Olympic venue, Spithill found it also a very impressive setup. He noted that not only were Olympians on site preparing for the Games, but also youth sailors and paddleboarders. "I was pretty excited to see the Weymouth venue," Spithill said. "It's an impressive facility, a huge area and the racing should be close enough to shore so people can watch. Every single day there, you get all sorts of people training and racing, down to kids doing learn to sail, paddleboards." -- http://tinyurl.com/OR-060312 * Anna's team will be competing at Sail for Gold Regatta in Weymouth on June 4-9, the same site as the 2012 Olympic Games. Event website: http://www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk COMMENT: Oracle Team USA is often criticized for not being very patriotic, with John Kostecki as the only American among the crew. But Jimmy is getting closer. The Australian married an American, has a house in America, and is now helping the American Olympic efforts. Lucky for him his sister Katie, who is a top ranked match racer, won't be competing at the 2012 Games. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt CLOSE, REALLY CLOSE Never in the 39-year history of the Volvo Ocean Race have four boats been in with a realistic chance of winning with just around 10 days of offshore sailing left to go. After usurping long-term leaders Telefónica following Leg 7, Groupama top the overall standings with just two offshore legs and three In-Port races left. Telefónica's six-month stronghold came to an end with Groupama taking second in the 3,590-nautical mile race from Miami to Lisbon while Iker Martínez's crew had to settle for fourth. Although delighted to be in front, Groupama skipper Franck Cammas knows there's plenty more racing lying between his team and the Volvo Ocean Race trophy. "We didn't expect this when we started in Alicante, so to be in this position with just two legs to go is a dream for us as we are a new entry team," said Cammas, skippering the first French entry in the race since Eric Tabarly's La Poste back in 1993-94. With two wins, a second and a third from the last four offshore legs, PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG are also serious contenders. Coupled with consistent results in the in-port races, they have scored more points than any other team in the last two months. Had PUMA not lost their mast during Leg 1, they would most likely be topping the leaderboard at this crucial stage. If they are to win overall, they will need to overcome history. No team has ever won the race without completing every leg. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-060312 Overall Standings (after Leg 7) 1. Groupama 4 (FRA), Frank Cammas (FRA), 183 pts 2. Telefonica (ESP), Iker Martinez (ESP), 180 pts 3. PUMA Ocean Racing (USA), Ken Read (USA), 171 pts 4. CAMPER (NZL), Chris Nicholson (AUS), 162 pts 5. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE),Ian Walker(GBR), 104 pts 6. Team Sanya (CHN), Mike Sanderson (NZL), 32 pts SCHEDULE: Racing in Lisbon, Portugal begins again with the Pro-Am Race on June 8, the In-Port Race on June 9, and the start of the 1940nm Leg 8 from Lisbon to Lorient, France on June 10: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-2011-12-schedule Tracker/Standings: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/racetracker/rdc.html Video reports: http://www.youtube.com/user/volvooceanracevideos 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 READING THE BREEZE Wind. The single most important element to understand and master in sailboat racing. Can you read it? The subtle pressure and angle detail via color and movement on the water? Kaenon's patented SR-91 polarized lenses are the visual enhancements for your eyeballs that will allow you to read the breeze, to pick up the subtle details of wind. Whether it's Kaenon's line of Kore Performance sunglasses, or the Lifestyle Performance collection, each Kaenon Polarized sunglass is equipped with the best breeze reading tool in the business, our patented SR-91 polarized lenses. Available in prescription. Kaenon Polarized. Evolve Optically. http://www.kaenon.com COLLEGE SPRING NATIONALS Austin, Texas (June 2, 2012) - Today was the last day of racing for the Sperry Top-Sider/ICSA Women's National Championship on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas, co-hosted by the University of Texas Sailing Team and the Austin Yacht Club. Eighteen women's collegiate teams raced for the Gerald C. Miller Trophy and Boston College came away with the victory. It was close to the end, with Boston College starting the final day just one point ahead of Georgetown University, and going into the last race of the day, were only one point ahead of the University of Rhode Island, the defending champions. Closely behind Boston and Rhode Island were Yale University and Georgetown - all four teams were within ten points of each other. Winning the Women's Championship title and the Gerald C. Miller Trophy for Boston College was Anne Haeger '12, Laura McKenna '13 and Kelly Roy '13 in A-division and Briana Provancha '12 and Beth Barnard '15 in B-division. Winning the Madeleine Trophy for A division was Sydney Bolger '12 and Rebecca Evans '12 for Georgetown. In B division, Yale's Morgan Kiss '15 with Urska Kosir '15 and Emily Billing '13 with Amanda Salvesen '14 won the Judy Lawson Trophy as the low point team. Final Overall Results - Top 5 of 18 1. Boston College, 142 2. Yale University, 146 3. University of Rhode Island, 150 4. Georgetown University, 156 5. Connecticut College, 187 Full report/results: http://tinyurl.com/Womens-060312 * Austin, Texas (June 3, 2012) - Today was the first day of racing for the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championships on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. After a qualifying round robin series, the top 8 of 14 advanced to the Gold double round robin series. The early leaders at 5-2 are College of Charleston, St. Mary's College, and Brown University. The top four from the Gold round will sail a single round robin, or a "final four," to determine the final top teams. -- Complete report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13935#13935 AWARDS: The finalists for the Quantum Women's College Sailor of the Year award, given annually to an individual who has performed at the highest level of competition in district and national championships, were Sydney Bolger (Georgetown University) and Anne Haeger (Boston College), both graduated seniors. Bolger came out on top having stronger finishes in women's regattas. She won A-division in nearly every women's regatta she sailed this year. Bolger is a four-time ICSA Women's All-American skipper and an accomplished international competitor. She has been named to the 2012 U.S. Sailing Olympic Development Team for the Women's 470 Class. Full list of the ICSA Women's All-American Team: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13932#13932 WORLD MATCH RACING TOUR - STAGE 2 OF 9 Gyeonggi, South Korea (June 3, 2012) - Defending Champion Bjorn Hansen (SWE) fought off stiff competition from reigning Tour title-holder Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar in the final to win the Korea Match Cup, the second event of the 2012 Alpari World Match Racing Tour. After Hansen established a 2-0 lead, Williams leveled the score at 2-2 to set up the winner-take-all fifth match. After the teams split tacks off the line, Williams built a lead to almost 50 meters before rounding the top mark for the final time. However, after a shocking spinnaker hoist by Williams early on the final leg, Hansen was able to gain the leverage needed, using better winds to pass just before the finish. Both skippers came into the final on good form, Ian Williams powering through his Semi-Final 3-0 against Torvar Mirsky (AUS) Team Korea, while Bjorn Hansen's Semi-Final against Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing went 3-2. Robertson won the Petit-Final against Torvar Mirsky. -- Full story: http://tinyurl.com/WMRT-060312 Final Standings (Skipper, Team, Prize money) 1. Bjorn Hansen, Mekonomen Sailing Team, 63,669.94 USD 2. Ian Williams, Team GAC Pindar, 43,295.56 USD 3. Phil Robertson, WAKA Racing Team, 35,655.17 USD 4. Torvar Mirsky, Team Korea, 25,467.98 USD 5. Simone Ferrarese, Ferrarese Racing Team, 20,374.38 USD 6. William Tiller, Full Metal Jacket Racing, 17,827.58 USD 7. Pierre-Antoine Morvan, Vannes Agglo Sailing Team, 15,280.79 USD 8. Peter Gilmour, YANMAR Racing , 12,733.99 USD 9. Laurie Jury, Kiwi Match Sailing, 8,489.33 USD 10. Johnie Berntsson, Berntsson Sailing Team, 5,093.60 USD 11. Byeong-Ki Park, Geoje City, 3,385.73 USD 12. Tae-Jung Kim, Gyeonggi-do, 2,539.30 USD Note: Prize money converted from the South Korea Won on June 3, 2012 Video highlights: http://new.livestream.com/WorldMRT BACKGROUND: The nine event World Match Racing Tour (WMRT) is the leading professional sailing series, and is sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) with "Special Event" status. Prize money is awarded for each event, with event points culminating in the crowning of the "ISAF Match Racing World Champion". -- http://www.wmrt.com SCUTTLEBUTT SAILING CALENDAR Events listed at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar SAILING SHORTS * Challenged America co-founder and well-known San Diego blind racing sailor and instructor, Urban Miyares, will be doing a free, online, internationally-accessible seminar presentation on Sailing Blind with the Chicago-based Hadley School for the Blind's "Seminars @ Hadley" this Tuesday, June 6, 2012, at 12 noon Pacific Coast Time. -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13933 * Chicago, IL (June 3, 2012) - Under sunny skies but extremely shifty conditions at Chicago's world-famous Navy Pier, the teams exhibiting the most patience and tenacity prevailed at the Chicago Match Race Center's June Grade 2 Invitational presented by Eurex. Winning was 23-year old Taylor Canfield from the US Virgin Islands, and his team of Matt Clark, Dan Morris and Tommy Loughborough. Joining Canfield at the only U.S. stop on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour (July 11-15) is runner-up Jordan Reece from Australia. -- Full report: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/12/0603/ * The teams have been announced for Balboa Yacht Club's 46th annual Governor's Cup International Junior Match Racing Championship, which will take place July 18 to 22, 2012. Nevin Snow, the skipper of the 2011 winning team from San Diego Yacht Club and the youngest ever winner of the Cup, will return to race again together with his 2011 crew. Nevin will try to become the eighth two-time winner in Cup history. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13929 * (June 3, 2012) - With only one race for the 12-boat field on the final day of the RC44 Austria Cup, the 11 point lead by Torbjorn Tornqvist's Artemis was enough to overcome their eighth place finish was enough to secure the Swedish team's overall victory. Although Artemis won the RC44 World Championship in 2011, this was their first circuit event win since 2009. Next up for the RC44s, over 18-22 July, is the event in Marstrand, Sweden on Torbjorn Tornqvist's home waters. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/RC44-060312 * Pwlhelli, Wales (June 1, 2012) - Michael Maier (CZE) won his fourth Finn World Masters title on Friday with no more races sailed after the wind failed to stabilise in time to get the final races in before the time limit. Allen Burrell (GBR) won the silver and Laurent Hay (FRA) won the bronze in the 133-boat fleet. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/Finn-060312 NO AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED Whether you're a newbie, pro or in between, you'll find all your performance sailing needs at KO Sailing - parts, gear, charters and boats. We've even got the fisherman's dream for you avid anglers. Save 10% off any online order of $75 or more with code SB612 at checkout (exclusions apply). http://kosailing.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 Mark Chew Is it just me or are kite boarding shots REALLY BORING? Having the power source separated from the athlete by a few hundred meters of string is going to be a hard one for the (Olympic) media machines to glamorise. COMMENT: While dinghy photography tends to require tight framing on the subject, kiting mandates it. I have yet to see a distant photo of kite course racing that captures the intensity of the moment. - Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt * From Julian Hatherell: It was hard not to cheer for Azzam battling to stay in front of the Volvo 70 fleet into Lisbon Thursday night. What an outstanding performance! But then to read Mike Sanderson's Dock Talk interview after he trailed the fleet into yet another port is even more inspirational. The race viewer showed that these guys didn't give up pushing Sanya until they finished. They could be forgiven for being dejected or negative; in the right boat they could be mixing it up at the head of the fleet and have done so in the past - but not a chance of it. They are as motivated and focused as the day they left Alicante so many months ago. We put up with a lot of arrogant and petulant so-called professionals in this and other sports; what an outstanding example these folks set. How much better would this sport be if more junior (and senior) sailors adopted some of their attitudes? I'll be pasting the crew list (http://tinyurl.com/Sanya-crew) in some corner of my digital life and hope one day to congratulate one or more of the crew members in person, and cheer them on in another race. * From Donald Street: Hurricane season is upon us. I have pulled together all the articles and sections in my guides that I have written over the last 20 years regarding hurricanes and put them on my website: http://www.street-iolaire.com/ There you will find 12 articles on all aspects of hurricanes: securing for afloat and ashore, dodging them, cruising during hurricane season and more. Basically there is nothing to be said regarding hurricanes that is not in those 12 articles. * From Moose McClintock: In response to Alex Arnold's comment about the greatest American sailor (in Scuttlebutt 3603), I was under the assumption when I was contacted about being on the list that this was the greatest 'living' American sailor. I might be wrong if that is not the intent of the poll, but it's all in good fun anyhow. On another view of the whole thing, I think the recognition of all these great sailors is an honor, one which I don't fully understand includes me. My primary contribution to sailing has been as crew; almost every one of the people listed is a very deserving skipper. The fact that I have sailed with over half the people the list indicates that I was very lucky and had the opportunity to sail with some very talented sailors. There are hundreds of other sailors out there who deserve to be on this list, all of whom I respect for their accomplishments. I'm not sure if it's possible, but I would prefer voters put in their own pick in my place when they vote; I truly am not deserving of being included with this level of sailor. * From Jake Fish, US Sailing: In response to some of the comments published in Scuttlebutt 3603, I'd like to further explain the method behind our "madness" for the Greatest American Sailor. First of all, the primary goal for this virtual online tournament is to have fun and celebrate the racing sailor in this country. While creating this tournament, we at US Sailing found this to be educational and believe that participants of the game/sweepstakes will learn more about all these great sailors. How will fans vote on each match-up? That depends on the fans. It's up to you! Ideally, racing resumes will play a big role, but I'm sure some fans will vote on popularity, familiarity, or personal preference on what type of sailing they participate in. How were the four divisions created? We elected to mix sailors of different backgrounds in the divisions. We pondered separating sailors by specialty such as, Olympic medalists, America's Cup greats, Ocean racing icons, World Champions, etc. We came to realization that so many of these sailors have had success in multiple areas and it would have been too difficult to designate them to one specialty. We thought that these divisions might lack competitive balance this way as well. Also, in order to streamline the selection process, we decided to limit the field of 64 to living sailors only. We are excited for the start of the Greatest American Sailor tournament, beginning on Monday at 12 p.m. ET. Register, play, spread the word and have fun at http://membership.ussailing.org/sweeps.htm THEY CALL IT MARKETING The Industry News Forum allows marine companies to post their personnel, product and service updates. For free. As a bonus, each week the Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent updates. Are you in the marine industry? Post your updates here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/industry_news CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION Going to college won't guarantee you a job, but it'll give you four more years to worry about getting one. SPONSORS THIS WEEK North Sails - APS - Pure Yachting - IYRS Gowrie Group - Sailor's Night Vision Cap Ullman Sails - Camet - Soft Deck - Allen Insurance Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
