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SCUTTLEBUTT 2674 - Thursday, September 4, 2008Scuttlebutt is a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions,features and dock talk . . . with a North American focus. Scuttlebutt is published each weekday with the support of its sponsors. SEA TRIALS CONTINUE IN ANACORTES It’s early days with the new BMW ORACLE Racing 90 but first impressions are positive from the sailors who have been sea-trialing the new trimaran on Puget Sound in Anacortes, WA. “We’re not even at 50 percent yet and it’s already pretty impressive,” said James Spithill (AUS), one of the team’s helmsmen. Franck Cammas (FRA), long-time crew from the Groupama multihull program, is the helmsman for the Anacortes testing session. “The important part is to take it slow as we continue to learn about the boat. Most of us have not done anything like it. It’s a huge credit to the designers and boat builders that everything is working so well at this early stage.” The sea trials are a progression as the team slowly ramps up the boat and its systems. On Monday, the team sailed the massive multihull for the first time ever. The first day, the boat was sailed with two reefs in the mainsail to reduce the sail area and the power. On Tuesday, the boat sailed without any reefs and with a Solent headsail. Progressively the loads on the boat will be increased. “Today is another step forward and we will continue refining the systems, “ Spithill said before dock out for Day Two of the Anacortes shakedown. “Each day we will push things a little bit harder and harder,” said team tactician John Kostecki (USA). “This boat is testing the limits. We are like test pilots and we’re taking it gently and carefully so we don’t have any majors. We’re quite happy with the initial performance of the boat.” -- http://tinyurl.com/SButt0903a * A recent exchange on August 22nd between the Société Nautique Genève (SNG) and Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) concerned an unresolved dispute, wherein the Swiss club wants the Americans to submit to them the Custom House Registry, as is required by the Deed of Gift. The certificate would provide the basic design parameters of the 90-foot trimaran, and the Americans do not appear to be in a hurry to provide such information. Their exchange of letters are posted here: http://www.ggyc.com/acnews.php => Curmudgeon’s Comment: Scuttlebutt publisher Craig Leweck will be in Anacortes this Monday to join the team, meet with the sailors, and see this Deed of Gift challenger up close. If you have any specific questions for Craig to ask the sailors and designers, post them here: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6344 RANKINGS UPDATED FOR OLYMPIC EVENTS (September 3, 2008) Following on from the sailing events at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games there are some major changes amongst the leaders in this release of the International Sailing Federation World Rankings. While there are many detractors to the ISAF system, this could be one time every four years that the rankings get closest to the on-the-water performance of each sailor. Rankings rate skippers based on their performances over the last two years, with more prominent events earning bonus points, and events which have taken place within the last twelve months holding an additional bonus. Because the rankings are a formula system, there is no subjective mechanism to sufficiently boost top sailors who do not sail enough ranking events, and thus many top sailors remain poorly ranked. While the latest rankings list was not posted at press time, this is likely the case with Gold Medalists Ben Ainslie (GBR) and Jian Yin (CHN), who in July were ranked 28th and 25th in the Finn and RS:X, respectively. Regardless, Australia holds on to their top nation standing in this Ranking release, though losing one of their three world #1 spots after their Laser star Tom Slingsby (AUS) endured a very difficult Olympic debut. Just behind them Great Britain climbs up from fourth to second in the national standings after topping the medal tally with one of the best-ever national performances at the Olympic Sailing Competition, winning four gold, one silver and one bronze medal. Here are the current top ranked sailors in each Olympic event: Finn: Jonas Hoegh-Christensen (DEN) Laser Radial: Anna Tunnicliffe (USA) Laser : Paul Goodison (GBR) 470 Men: Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page (AUS) 470 Women: Giulia Conti and Giovanna Micol (ITA); 49er: Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez (ESP) Star: Mateusz Kusznierewicz and Dominik Zycki (POL) Yngling: Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson (GBR) Tornado: Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS) RS:X Men: Przemyslaw Miarczynski (POL) RS:X Women: Marina Alabau (ESP) Complete report: http://tinyurl.com/SButt0903b Rankings by event: http://www.sailing.org/rankings PARALYMPIC GAMES COUNTDOWN: 4 DAYS TO GO * British Columbia will provide the anchor for Canada's sailing team at the 2008 Paralympic Games with the first races set to begin Monday, September 8th in Qingdao, China. Of the team's six sailors, five are Victoria residents who train out of the Royal Victoria Yacht Club. Crews aboard three boats will hoist the Canadian sail in a bid to reach the podium, something the team failed to do at the 2004 Athens Games. A good bet for a medal is the tandem team of crew Stacie Louttit and helmsman John McRoberts, both of Victoria. The pair, who sail in the two-person SKUD keelboat, finished fourth at a test regatta in Qingdao in May. -- The Vancouver Sun, read on: http://tinyurl.com/SButt0903c * The 2008 US Paralympic Sailing Team arrived in Qingdao, China on August 30th. After two days of Team Processing at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and an overnight in San Francisco, the Team was China bound. Despite the lengthy travel across the globe the athletes are settling in nicely. Our first full day in Qingdao together as a Team consisted of unpacking bags and unloading containers. Many of the athletes made it a priority to sneak a nap in to help adjust to the time difference. We are staying in the same Athlete Village that the Olympic Sailing Team lived in. It is absolutely wonderful. Many of you have most likely read that the Village will be turned into a five star hotel after the Games are over. There are more hotel staff members here than we can count, and all are eager to meet our requests from special dietary needs to extra bath towels to handing us water bottles in the gym after a workout. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/SButt0903d * Universal Sports will be providing online broadcast coverage of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games to the American audience. UniversalSports.com is offering 3 separate Live segments each day, for users to watch for FREE online. Additionally, these segments will be offered On-Demand for viewing at any point after the Live broadcast. While they are unsure at this time how much coverage will be extended to the sailing events, they do intend to report on the events that occur each day on the highlight shows that are to run at 4 a.m. & 12 p.m. ET. -- http://tinyurl.com/SButt0903e YOU SAW THEM ALL SUMMER LONG From California to New Jersey and Wisconsin to Texas, 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. The same versatility, safety, and performance that make a RIBCRAFT an excellent asset for any yacht club or sailing program has made them a favorite among sailors, parents, and boaters. Whether you're in charge of your club's sailing program or race committee or are looking for the ultimate race tender for yourself, now's the time to contact RIBCRAFT to make your plans for 2009. http://www.ribcraftusa.com SAILING COMMUNITY RALLIES TO HELP WEARY SAILOR Newport, RI - After spending over than seven weeks at sea and sailing more than 3,000 miles - alone - a storm just off of Bermuda nearly killed Alexei Fedoruk. Somehow, though, he managed to find his way into Newport Harbor. There, the helping hands of Newport’s tight-knit sailing community rallied to give him new life. His journey to Newport began in June for the start of the Jester Azores Challenge, a single-handed race from Plymouth, England to Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel for vessels under 30 feet. After finishing the race in just over 11 days, seven hours, Mr. Fedoruk set out to prepare himself for his next challenge: The 2010 Jester Challenge from Plymouth to Newport. A sail from the Azores to Bermuda proved to be a relatively easy one, he recalled. Then, on the morning of July 16, trouble struck. For over 12 hours, Mr. Fedoruk, a sailing instructor in his home country of Russia, endured 64-knot winds and F12 conditions. A 360 degree capsize roll broke his mast in three pieces, split his antenna and damaged his rudder beyond repair. He spent the next 600 miles riding a southwest breeze and the Gulf Stream. With no rudder and little more than a stub left for a mast, he sailed under jury rig, steering with his sail, until remarkably finding his way to the waters just off of Nantucket. Then, for five days, he floated. With no wind, he drifted 100 miles in the Nantucket Shoals, circling aimlessly until a fishing crew happened upon the battered craft. -- Read on: http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/77499.html => Curmudgeon’s Comment: The rest of the story provides a wonderful tribute to the sailing community of Newport as it details how they rallied to help Fedoruk and his boat. VERSATILITY KEY FOR MATCH RACERS IN ST. MORITZ St Moritz, Switzerland (September 3, 2008) – The World Match Racing Tour is in St. Moritz this week, one of the most prestigious ski resorts in the world. The event is raced on Lake St. Moritz, in the Engadin region of the southeastern Swiss Alps. The lake is at an elevation of 5,624 feet (1,856 meters) above sea level, making it possibly the highest-elevated match race regatta in the world. The lake is surrounded by peaks surpassing 10,000 feet. This year the event is using a newly designed boat called the Blu26, which is a boat designed for the lake with low freeboard and a big rig. The St Moritz Match Race got under way today, where among the 12 entrants are eight of the top ten ISAF ranked teams vying for the $135,000 prize pool. The format for this regatta sees the teams split in to two groups for the Round Robins, where each team races each other once, with the top three teams from each group proceeding to the quarter-finals. The bottom three teams from each group will compete together in a repechage Round Robin to decide the final two quarter final places. Group A completed their Round Robin, with Sebastien Col (4-1), Eric Monnin (3-2), and Mathieu Richard (3-2) automatically advancing to the quarterfinals. Group B did not complete their Round Robin, but is currently led by Adam Minoprio with a 3-0 record. -- Daily recap: http://www.worldmatchracingtour.com/da/86991 BOUWE BEKKING TALKS ABOUT TELEFONICA'S VOR CAMPAIGN Bouwe Bekking is one of the ‘brains’ behind the ambitious project that is the Telefónica team, which is fielding two boats for the Volvo Ocean Race. Joining the Spanish team for the second time, Bouwe Bekking’s five previous participations make him one of the most experienced sailors in this edition of the race. * One team, two boats and two shipyards: Why the decision to build “Telefónica blue” and “Telefónica black” in different places? BEKKING: Initially the plan was to build only one new boat and to use the former Brasil 1 for going around the world, but then fortunately Pedro Campos found the funding to build two new boats. Unfortunately, by the time we decided to build the boats, the yard in Alginet didn’t have enough space available, as they already had new bookings, so we had to find a new space and that is why we went to Southern Ocean Marine in New Zealand. * The question lots of people will ask is: ‘is there any difference between the “Telefónica blue” and “Telefónica black” builds? BEKKING: The boats are exactly equal, using the same lines. The only difference is in slightly different materials, but that’s just because by the time we started building the boat in New Zealand there was only one supplier available at that stage. That’s the only difference, just different materials. Complete interview: http://tinyurl.com/ValenciaSailing THE “GRAPHIX” SUMMER WINNING STREAK Tom Gilbert and his crew on Soverel 33 “Grafix” have continued their winning streak with Ullman Sails this season, claiming two huge wins in the Pacific Northwest. Last weekend, “Graphix” was first in class and first overall at the 35th Annual Mercedes Benz PITCH regatta in Bellingham, Washington, August 30-31. And on August 9th, the “Grafix” team took first in class at the 2008 SJIYC Shaw Island Classic, the fifth straight year that “Grafix” has won the Shaw Island event with 100% Ullman Sails onboard. Choose the “Fastest Sails on the Planet.” Contact a local loft and visit http://www.ullmansails.com SAILING SHORTS * A celebration to honor the 30th Anniversary of the “Evergreen” victory in the 1978 Canada's Cup is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008 at Royal Hamilton Yacht Club (1430 hours). Join owner Don Green, members of the crew, the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club “Evergreen” Committee, family and friends in a walkthrough of an important part of the RHYC history. -- Full details: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2008/09/evergreen-anniversary.html * Porto Cervo, Italy (September 3, 2008) - Light air on Day Two of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup 2008 caused a two hour delay before a 5 knot thermal breeze filled in for the first starting signal just before 1.30 p.m. A 25 mile course was set for the Racing and Wally divisions while the Cruising and Mini Maxi divisions were set a 17 mile course. Overall leaders in their respective divisions are Ernesto Bertarelli’s Numbers (USA) for the Mini Maxi Division, George David’s Rambler (USA) in the Racing division, Magic Carpet 2 (GBR) in the Wally division and Ranger (USA) among the maxis of the Cruising division. Racing continues through Saturday, September 6th. Daily report: http://www.regattanews.com/pressrelease.asp?pid=1975&lang=1 Results: http://www.yccsresults.com/maxi08/results1.htm Audio interviews: http://tinyurl.com/Pro-Sight-Sailing * (September 3, 2008) Mobility Cup 2008, hosted by the Association québécoise de voile adaptée (AQVA) and the Pointe Claire Yacht Club has wrapped up after a very successful week of racing. 42 athletes with disabilities from around North America, as well as Great Britain and even New Zealand were treated to PCYC’s warm hospitality over the five day event. In Gold, Merle Hickey of Calgary finished first overall of the 23 participants, while the 19-boat Silver fleet was won by Richard Dionne, of Shediac, NB. -- Complete report: http://www.sailing.ca/feature/2008/09/mobility.html CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Here are a few of the events that are coming up: Sept 6-7 - Cornish Hen Regatta - Hamilton, Ontario, Canada Sept 6-8 - Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta - Larchmont, NY, USA Sept 8-12 - Hobie 16 North American Championship - Clear Lake, IA, USA Sept 8-12 – J/24 North American Championship - Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA View all the events at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar LETTERS TO THE CURMUDGEON Reader commentary is encouraged, with letters to be submitted to the Scuttlebutt editor, aka, ‘The Curmudgeon’. Letters selected for publication must include the writer's name, and be no longer than 250 words (letter might be edited for clarity or simplicity). You only get one letter per subject, and save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere. As an alternative, a more open environment for discussion is available on the Scuttlebutt Forum. -- To submit a Letter: editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com -- To post on the Forum: http://sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum * From Toby Cooper: In Scuttlebutt 2673, there was a short story on Sailors for the Sea and their Clean Regattas program. Next week is the annual Rolex Big Boat Series at the St. Francis, and I hope David Rockefeller and others will join in asking Rolex to withhold the plastic bow-stickers, a lot of which peel off and litter the Bay every day of the regatta. Some seem to stick and others don't; something to do with hull coats. The support from Rolex has elevated BBS to world class standing and we are all totally grateful and supportive. But these pesky stickers stand in the way. I am sure the Rolex branding will enhanced, not lost, as a result. * From Dennis Deisinger, San Francisco: (re, story in ‘butt 2673) You hit the nail on the head with your comment about needing a Hook to attract more sit-down sailors into competitive boardsailing. While there are a number of competitive boardsailors in North America - they need to travel overseas to get big fleet experience and to test their metal against the world’s best. There aren't many events in the US/CAN/MEX that brings the best in NA together, let alone attracts the best from elsewhere to come here. Here is no hype. Some of us on the left coast are trying to change that. The St. Francis Yacht Club initiated a boardsailing element into their summer Jr. program this year, with the kids loving it and asking for more. This fall, the Club will offer a full Jr. boardsailing program separate from the normal opti/Laser format. The kids are already racing each other. What's next? Where's the Hook? Hopefully it’s a case of "Build It And They Will Come." The STFYC has applied to host the 2010 RS:X Youth Worlds and Bic Techno Worlds. I believe that by having a regatta of this magnitude within the reach of NA sailors, we will see an increase in competitive boardsailing programs and sailors from this hemisphere. The more competition, the better we (NA sailors) get. The better we get, the more the international sailors will come and then the bar will rise for all. We have to have world class events in North America before our boys (and girls!) can head off to places like Thailand and be competitive. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION To successfully start on port tack at the favored pin end is mostly luck; two in a row is all luck; three in a row is prevarication. Special thanks to Ribcraft RIBs and Ullman Sails. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
