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SCUTTLEBUTT 3664 - Tuesday, August 28, 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: Gowrie Group, North Sails, and KO Sailing. "WE SHOULD DO THIS BECAUSE IT IS FUN" It's an occasional rant fueled by the editorial staff at Scuttlebutt that our sport suffers from its pursuit of the perfect race course. This quest has delivered us to the Windward-Leeward course where we now fear to leave. While the sausage course does prove to provide a quality test of skill, it does not leave much to the imagination. And without some variety, in our humble opinion, our sport becomes stale. So it was with excitement that we received this correspondence distributed to college sailors and race managers by Ken Legler, long time sailing coach at Tufts University and principle race officer extraordinaire. Read on... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After running this idea by a number of agreeable people, here is an idea worth trying. At any event other than championships and intersectionals, make one race per division a longer race with some interesting legs. Such courses could include a long windward leg or long reach leg to create a more interesting race. Here are some possible examples depending upon wind direction and strength: Maine Maritime: a long downwind leg around the rotation dock. Bowdoin: a long beat out toward the ocean and back. Vermont: a long leg out into the middle of Lake Champlain. Tufts: zig-zag reaches in heavy air. MIT or Harvard: a bridge to bridge leg. Roger Williams: a course through the bridge at slack tide. Salve Regina: lots of possibilities. Yale: out into the Sound or up the shoreline and back. Fordham: part way across to Long Island and back. Navy: up to the Severn River bridge in a NW or SE wind. St. Marys: going well up river or down river. Old Dominion: a giant triangle. Charleston: under the bridge at slack tide. On a river: a really long W-L if winds parallel the river; a wide butterfly course in cross winds with three shorts beats and two long reaches. At any site: the usual W-L but then turning toward the rotation site and going as far as a fair wind allows. And so on, you get the idea. Yes, it should count. Reaching on a long leg is a good test of sailing skill, not a parade. Most important, we should do this because it is fun. It is also a challenge for the race committee to pick a great course and diagram it in the morning so sailors can figure it out without any confusion. It is also a challenge to pick a course that is fair, challenging and about 20-30 minutes long instead of the exact same standard W-L of 15-18 minutes every single race at every single regatta. In short, setting and sailing long reaches is becoming a lost skill. Racing on a long reach once in awhile can be really challenging and fun in any wind speed. There is some reaching in the Olympics and plenty in distance racing. HURRICANE PREPARATION GUIDELINES FOR BOAT & HOMEOWNERS The peak of the hurricane and tropical storm season is upon us. Now is the time to review your storm plans, prepare your hurricane kit, and focus on active preparation. We invite you to take advantage of the interactive and helpful resources that Gowrie Group, the leading marine insurance agency, offers on their Hurricane and Severe Storm Information Center. Materials include check lists, guidelines, preparation templates, and videos on how to proactively protect your boats, homes, business, and family. Visit Gowrie's Severe Storm Center: http://www.gowrie.com/stormcenter FALLING OVERBOARD In Scuttlebutt 3663, Derek Bower asked of those who question the wearing of a life preserver while sailing: How long can you tread water? When wearing sea boots and foul weather gear, he said the answer is not very long, though the good thing is it only takes 5 minutes to drown. This prompted two interesting reader responses... * From Rich Hayes: If you fall overboard in sea boots and foul weather gear, don't try to tread water. Turn onto your back and float; you are more buoyant than you think. * From Roger Marshall: The things I learned, while jumping into the ocean during the research for my book, Rough Weather Seamanship, are: 1. You can't swim in a lifejacket unless you are good at backstroke. The Coast Guard suggests you lie on your back and wait to be rescued. Not an approach for a self-reliant sailor. A half-inflated lifejacket allows you to swim breast stroke. I use a Stormy Seas vest/jacket for precisely this reason. 2. Getting back onboard is a lot harder than virtually anybody realizes. All my cruising designs now feature steps on the transom to facilitate getting back aboard. Unless you have amazing arm strength, you cannot pull yourself back aboard without help wearing a lifejacket and wet clothes. 3. You can't get into a liferaft wearing a lifejacket without help. I tried, hard. I figured the easiest way is to semi-deflate the lifejacket (not to be recommended) and kick hard to slide into the liferaft. 4. Liferafts turn over easily when you try to get into them. 5. It is very hard to see anybody in the water. If you drop anybody over the side, leave a debris trail - cushions and anything that will float. This serves two purposes. It gives the MOB something to swim toward and it gives the boat a trail to the MOB. Plus it shows the helmsman where the debris and the swimmer might have been carried by wind and current. 6. If you put on a survival suit and go into the water, getting out requires a crane or ladder. The suit is super heavy when it is waterlogged and it takes a strong person to climb out of the water. 7. Finally, wear a harness but you need a quick release. We found that a swimmer towed at more than 4 knots could not keep their head above water and would drown if the boat was not slowed down. KNOWLEDGE OF THE RULES IS ESSENTIAL By Jordan Spencer, Australian Sailing + Yachting Sailing is a unique sport, in that generally, we are self regulating. Of course there is on-water umpiring, but at most events participants rely on their competitors to act fairly and if they don't, we can protest them. However, this system can cause frustration. Some push the rules, relying on peoples' lack of desire to go to the room. Others insist on enforcing the rules no matter what, causing frustration because of a lack of common sense. So let me lay it out nice and simply. First read your rules - people are still out there calling mast abeam. There are only 23 rules that affect the interaction of boats whilst racing. That's about six pages and it will take you 15 minutes to read them. However, you must read the definitions and you must read the pre-amble for each section which tells you when each set of rules apply. Second, plan ahead! This is all part of race management. Racing requires a focus on what is happening now, (the micro) and what will happen in the future, (the macro). By planning ahead, you can recognise potential threats and plan to avoid them, because avoiding them is always faster than forcing your rights. Avoiding an incident can be as simple as communicating with a competitor ahead of time. If you receive a negative response, it gives you a chance to eyeball a witness should your competitor try their luck. Third, don't force a rule just because it is there. Just because you have rights doesn't mean you will benefit from using them. -- Read on: http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/go-on-protest EIGHT BELLS The local Bermuda sailing community is mourning the death of pioneer sailor Howard Lee, 77, who passed away earlier last week after a long bout with illness. During a distinguished career, Lee set the benchmark for black sailors to strive for after representing Bermuda in the Finn dinghy at the 1976 Montreal Games. "Representing your country is one of the greatest things a man can ever get involved in because first of all you have to fight to get there," Lee told The Royal Gazette during an interview in 2006. "When I got to the Olympics and walked into that big arena it was a hell of an experience for me. Travelling overseas to compete in the Finn class enabled me to broaden my horizons and experience many wonderful things." Lee's success inspired other black sailors such as Glenn Astwood to take to the sport. Astwood later went on to represent Bermuda at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea in the Tornado catamaran. "I am so sorry to hear that Howard has passed because we always used to chat whenever I saw him whether it be at the yacht club or in the street," he added. Alan Burland, who also represented Bermuda at the Olympics in the Tornado, described Lee as a good sailor and wonderful ambassador for Bermuda. "I had an awful amount of respect for Howard Lee who was a tremendous man," he said. "He was a hard worker in an era when things were not easy for blacks in the sailing world. -- Full story: http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20120825/SPORT03/708259987 SUMMER SAVINGS FROM NORTH SAILS NOW is the time to SAVE on North sails...! Check with your local sail loft to ask how you can take advantage of our summer savings program. North offers an extensive line of products designed to meet the needs and budgets of all sailors. Whether you race in your local Yacht Club's weekday regattas or cruise with your family, North Sails has got you covered. North Sails also offers one year of Free Sail Care & Repair on all new North sails (some restrictions apply). When performance counts, the choice is clear: http://na.northsails.com SAILING SHORTS * (August 27, 2012) - Tropical Storm Isaac is gaining strength as it gets closer to predicted landfall along the northern Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center reported Isaac's top sustained winds had reached 70 mph, up from about 65 mph the evening before, and nearing the strength of a Category 1 hurricane (74 mph). A hurricane warning is in effect from Morgan City, La., to the Alabama-Florida line. Isaac was expected to make landfall as early as Tuesday, possibly in Louisiana south of New Orleans. A state of emergency has been declared in Louisiana to prepare for Isaac. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/CBS-082712 * Detroit, MI (August 26, 2012) - In an exciting first-to-three point Final, Josh Junior and his team of Matt Steven and James Sandall won the Detroit Cup, second stop on the ISAF Grade 2 US Grand Slam Series. The Wellington, New Zealand-based team defeated runner-up Taylor Canfield (USVI) only in the fifth and final match after first leading 2-0 in the series. In Petit Final action, David Gilmour from Australia beat American Stephanie Roble. -- Full report: http://www.detroitcup.com/detroitcup/dcupnews.cfm?newsID=28 * San Francisco, CA (August 26, 2012) - Twenty teams competed at the 2012 Melges 24 North American Championship, all getting an early look at the venue for the 2013 World Championship. Winning with a race to spare was Warwick Rooklyn and his team from Australia sailing Bandit of tactician Jeremy Wilmot, bow Daniel Nixon, spinnaker trimmer Doug McGain and jib trimmer Sean O'Rourk. In second was Australian Nathan Wilmot helming Embarr for Ireland's Connor Clarke with Alan Field (USA) on WTF in third. -- Full report: http://tinyurl.com/M24-082712 * Hyannis Port, MA (August 26, 2012) - 2004 Athens Olympian Carol Cronin and her crew Kim Couranz from Jamestown, RI dominated a fleet of 20 teams to win the 2012 Snipe Women's U.S. National Championship. In 9 races over three days, they finished with 7 firsts, a seventh and a third. Cronin and Couranz have now qualified for the Western Hemisphere and Orient Championship to be held in Argentina in November. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14397 * White Lake, MI (August 26, 2012) - Jamie Kimball won one of the largest U.S. one-design championships of 2012 sailing season when he conquered the 94-boat MC Scow National Championship. At an event where consistency was a challenge, Kimball was so solid that he won with a race to spare. In second was Bill Colburn with Andy Burdick in third. -- Full report: http://www.mcscow.org/cgi-bin/display_regatta_results.cgi?20120822 * (August 27, 2012) - Following a win at ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy Nationals this Spring, Georgetown starts out the Fall 2012 season at the top of the preseason coed rankings. After winning Sperry Top-Sider/ICSA Women's Nationals, Boston College starts off the season ranked second behind Yale, and followed closely by third-ranked Dartmouth. Complete ranking here: http://tinyurl.com/SW-082712 * The International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) has made a submission to the ISAF annual conference regarding the selection of equipment for the kiteboarding events of the next Olympic Games. The proposal is based on a box rule that defines the design parameters for the board and the number of boards and kites allowed. It is the belief that this approach, versus strict one design standards, would insure the engagement of the top sailors to compete in the Olympic Games. Full report here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=14401#14401 GET FREE ZINKA NOSECOAT Over on KO Sailing's Facebook page, you'll find sailing news, sale updates, photos and more. And right now, we're giving new 'likers' a FREE sample of Zinka Sunscreen Colored Nosecoat with any purchase, plus FREE GROUND SHIPPING on your entire order! 'Like' us today. http://facebook.com/kosailing 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 Bruce Munro: The AC World Series in San Francisco has been a huge success, even better than most of us expected. It raised the bar to a new level and brought the non sailing public into the arena like never before. But Paul Cayard is right (Scuttlebutt 3663); sailing is mostly a participation sport with skippers and crews from around the country getting up and going racing or cruising in their local venues. It is also about so many yacht clubs -- large and small -- that promote sailing at the local level and create interest in future generations with active junior programs. These are the core elements of sailing that should always be nurtured. * From Olof Hult: I was there! With apologies to Larry Ellison, I take back everything I've said about turning the America's Cup into NASCAR. It works, or at least it works on the water when it blows. I was in San Francisco last Friday for the AC World Series, standing on the tip of the breakwater, with the AC45s passing just "inches" away both up and down wind. The fleet racing was more exciting than the match racing, but the crowds were cheering and hollering for both. Fun, fun, fun. There was plenty of free parking and plenty of spots to view. What could have been improved? There needs to be a means to hear what the commentators say and for there to be real concession stands out there. Can't wait for the next ACWS event in October. * From Richard Jepsen, OCSC Sailing: Regarding Peter Swanson's letter in Scuttlebutt 3663 about training to be self reliant without technology, as an owner of a commercial sailing school and a volunteer leader for education and training at US Sailing, I'd like to amplify the remarks and answer the Peter's questions of regarding how sailors are trained in this country. At US Sailing certifying schools: commercial/non-profit, small boat/keelboat, basic sailing students are learning the techniques that have kept sailors self-reliant for decades. Good boat handling and sail trim, understanding of the forces at work, marlinspike seamanship, chart reading, reefing, heaving to, person overboard recovery and rescue, capsizing recovery, hypothermia prevention, etc., etc. We are VERY focused on the foundation of our novice sailors' skills so they see technology as simply one more set of assets rather than the first and only option to prevent or recover from an emergency. Furthermore, Safety at Sea seminars, given around the country, are LOADED with education and training that helps improve the self-reliance of offshore sailors at the top end of sailing's experience levels. * From Marc Jacobi: Regarding Bill Schanen's post on self-reliant sailing (Scuttlebutt 3663), I am flabbergasted that people would call the marine equivalent of 911 for something as petty as a fouled prop. When I was 16, my family was awoken by our Columbia 36 banging against another boat due to the anchor dragging. In Dad's haste to extricate us from the situation, the prop got fouled by a line. With the boat still bumping its neighbor in the lumpy mooring field, I was tasked with clearing the prop. Was pretty scratched up and tired after the experience, but otherwise fine, and you can darn well bet I check for lines all the time before motoring now. In addition, there was a satisfaction with knowing I helped in a tense situation, and that I had/have the ability to rise to a task even though I might be scared and uncertain. Lessons like these were once the desired and expected consequence of going to sea, but they are lost on people who can just call or buy their way out of them. It's a societal trend for individuals to be increasingly less willing (and therefore able) to take responsibility for themselves. We would be wise, however, to remember the sea could give a damn about societal trends. * From Rich Hayes: I thought I would take a look at the actual figures in the PFD issue, with a surprising result. These figures are the latest available for the UK (2010, published Feb 2012) and come from the National Water Safety Forum, whose members include the Maritime Coastguard Agency, RNLI, Fire Service, and other organisations in the front line of pulling people out of the water. In 2010, there were 420 drownings in all UK waters, of which six (1.43%) were classified under 'sailing'. There were 17 drownings from 'manually powered boats' in coastal waters, including harbours. To put this into perspective, there were 20 drownings from scuba diving, 15 in a vehicle of which 1 was a suspected suicide, and 24 in a bath, hot tub or jacuzzi. Therefore it should be compulsory to wear a PFD in the bath or hot tub at home; you are four times more likely to drown there than when you go sailing. I hope I have interpreted the figures correctly, but if anyone wants to check the detailed report, here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/NWS-082712 SELLING. BUYING. HIRING. The Scuttlebutt website provides a marketplace for private parties to buy and sell, or for businesses to post job openings. For free. As a bonus, each week the Scuttlebutt newsletter includes some of the recent ad postings. Have an ad? Post it in the Classified Ad section of the Forum. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION A couple of months in the lab can often save a couple of hours in the library. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Samson Rope - Dieball Sailing - Gowrie Group - North Sails KO Sailing - Summit Yachts - US Sailing - Allen Insurance and Financial Melges Performance Sailboats - Ullman Sails - Doyle Sails - Pure Yachting Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
