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SCUTTLEBUTT 3606 - Wednesday, June 6, 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: Point Loma Outfitting, North Sails, and Allen Insurance and Financial. VERY BRITISH WEATHER Weymouth and Portland, U.K. (June 5, 2012; Day 2) - If all you see of Olympic sailing is the final medal race, it would be easy to believe the sport is intense, dramatic and short - and while it has those features, it's also about endurance. And it was endurance that was tested at Skandia Sail for Gold today. The British weather turned it on for the Queen's 60th Jubilee celebrations with steady and occasionally torrential rain, cold temperatures and a steadily increasing breeze. It was a day to test the focus and commitment of even the toughest of athletes. "Now that was an epic day on the water - pouring rain, crazy confused seas, low visibility and very cold," said Richard Clarke, Canadian Star skipper. "We sailed 3 races today in these tough conditions placing 10, 2 and 2 to sit in 3rd overall. One of challenging things today was finding the marks; that's how hard it was raining at times. We got lucky a few times by tacking out of the right side with the purpose to consolidate against the boats to our left - only to find the mark straight ahead of us." Clearly relishing the stiff winds were Americans Amanda Clark and Sarah Lihan, posting a 5-1 to move up to third overall in the 32-boat Women's 470 fleet."We know that this is our advantage condition, when it's big waves and windy, we're one of the fastest teams out there," explained Lihan. "Our game plan was to go out and dominate. It's a great feeling to say that and do that and have it done. Our speed is very good, both upwind and downwind." The conditions on Wednesday are expected to be similar as today, although the rain should ease by morning and the sun is rumoured to make an appearance. Event website: http://www.skandiasailforgoldregatta.co.uk Video highlights: http://www.sailing.org/matchdaytv/?play=media&id=12109 Canadian team: http://tinyurl.com/CST-060512 USA team: http://olympics.ussailing.org/2012/06/05/2383/ BACKGROUND: Skandia Sail for Gold is the sixth of seven 2011-2012 ISAF Sailing World Cup regattas. The ISAF Sailing World Cup is open to the sailing events chosen for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Sailing Competitions. -- http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/home.php QUOTE / UNQUOTE "Despite being asked to submit boats that were considered to have 'universality' (worldwide availability), ISAF decided not to support the universality they agreed to with the Olympic Commission Report. One ISAF Council member said that the Olympics is for the elite not one to achieve universality. ISAF seem to be sending out two messages that are opposite. They (Hobie manufacturers) offered the universality that ISAF said they wanted in their reports but in the end, ISAF chose to deny their own criteria." - International Hobie Class Association, after a prototype Nacra 17 was selected for the 2016 Olympics over their established Hobie 16 and Hobie Tiger. LEAVE LAND MORE… In the Resolute line from Atlantis. 99% of the sailing that 99% of us do is near land and in conditions that don't require Southern Ocean-style foulies. But there are always days when it's a bit cooler or there's some water coming from above or below, and those are the conditions Atlantis designed the Resolute jacket and race pant for. Made from a high-quality stretch 3-layer laminate and designed to deliver the ultimate combination of performance, fit and race boat style, the Resolute line is our new go-to sailing gear. We're betting it becomes yours, too. Join the lightweight sailing gear revolution. Discover Atlantis at Point Loma Outfitting: http://www.pointlomaoutfitting.com/c/atlantisresolute.html TAKING A LEAVE FROM THE STORE Growing up in Bayport, N.Y., on Long Island's South Shore, American Debbie Capozzi remembers going out for Italian ice on summer nights with her parents, brother and two sisters. Four years ago, her family opened its own shop in Patchogue, N.Y., named Tina's Italian Ices after Capozzi's younger sister, Christina. When she's not helping dish up summertime treats, Capozzi, 30, is part of the USA's most successful sailing team. Competing in the new Olympic discipline of women's match racing, Capozzi, skipper Anna Tunnicliffe (who won a national championship with Capozzi at Old Dominion) and crewmate Molly Vandemoer, won the 2011 world title. They will try to defend that title June 25-20 at the 2012 worlds in Gothenburg, Sweden, before heading to London. Capozzi, who sailed at the 2008 Olympics in the Yngling class, recently spoke to reporters at the U.S. Olympic Committee media summit in Dallas. "I used to be really involved (in the shop), years 1 and 2. But as the (Olympic) quad progresses, it's a bit harder to be involved. This summer I really don't have a huge role in it, and I'm very lucky to have the family members able to take up the slack of what I haven't been able to do. "There is a rainbow Italian ice, and when I look at it, I think of the American flag, and that's pretty cool. We don't have a flavor (referring to Capozzi's Olympic status) yet, but maybe after this summer we can make one. "My favorite flavor is chocolate. There's nothing better than a really good chocolate ice cream or Italian ice. "I was just really lucky as a kid. My parents just put me into sailing lessons. It was great. I did sailing and swimming lessons, and I was never a good swimmer so I wound up sailing a lot. "Sailing as a kid is an experience that can either go really bad or really good. There's a lot of kids that are afraid to go sailing, because the boat heels over, you're really close to the water, there's a chance the boat could flip. My sailing instructors always made it fun. I was around kids that were part of great families that, when we went to races, one set of parents would take all the kids to the race. It was just a really easy environment to succeed in." -- USA Today, read on: http://tinyurl.com/USA-Today-060512 * Capozzi's team, ranked #1 in the world, is struggling this week at Skandia Sail for Gold. They have two races remaining on Wednesday in the qualifying round robin series, which advance the top six to the quarterfinals. The Americans may need to win both races to advance, or be relegated to the repechage round to vie for one of the two remaining quarterfinal slots. -- http://www.teamtunnicliffe.com/home COLLEGE SPRING NATIONALS Austin, Texas (June 5, 2012) - Today was the third and final day of the ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas. The final four of College of Charleston, St. Mary's, Boston College and Hobart and William Smith began this morning for the championship single round robin series. Light winds prevailed for most of the day, allowing for limited racing in the morning before a two-hour mid day delay was needed to resume the schedule. Charleston and St. Mary's was the last match up of the day and determined the National title. St. Mary's had a good start and an advantage over Charleston up the first windward leg, but Charleston took the lead by the leeward mark. Charleston was able to hold onto their winning combination moving up the last beat, ultimately winning with a 1,2,3 combination. This is the College of Charleston's first ever ICSA/APS Team Race National Championship title. The winning team members were: Mac Mace '13 with Perry Emsiek '12, Zeke Horowitz '12 with Cory DeCollibus '13 and Ben Spector '13 with Alyssa Aitken '12. Racing continues Tuesday with the first day of the ICSA/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. The top eighteen collegiate teams in the nation have qualified to compete in this stellar event. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13943#13943 BEING CLEVERER The 34th America's Cup has a lot of rules. Most are to minimize the cost to compete. But anytime you have a lot of rules, and the stakes are high enough, you have a lot of effort to find ways around the rules. Or, as Artemis Racing CEO Paul Cayard describes, the focus is "to be cleverer than our opponents". Cayard's team took the first scalp in the 'cleverer' contest when they retained an ORMA 60-foot trimaran for training. The rules preclude training on catamarans over 10 meters (other than the AC45 or AC72), but say nothing about trimarans. The rules also preclude training on AC72s before July 1, but say nothing about putting an AC72 wing on their 60-foot trimaran. So Artemis Racing did just that, and began sailing with the AC72 wing on March 15. A big head start by anyone's measure. But after accruing valuable hours of load testing and 12 days of sailing time, Artemis Racing's AC72 wing suffered significant damage while training off Valencia on May 25th. So what happened? Journalist Bob Fisher reports... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- What actually happened was that the wing snapped in two and the whole structure fell on to the boat - "nothing got wet," said Paul Cayard, the team supremo. "One minute after it happened, Terry [Hutchinson] was able to call for a bow tow and 20 minutes later the trimaran and its broken wing were on their way back to the shore." "Yes, it's a set-back," admitted Cayard, "but better it happened in May 2012 than in May 2013. We have time on our side now that we wouldn't have had if this had happened later. We were the first team to have an AC-72 wing up for testing (and we carefully read the Protocol to see if what we proposed doing was within the rules) and in the 12 days of sailing we learned an awful lot. Even the breakage can be construed as part of that learning curve." The break has been across the main spar, around which the wing elements pivot, and as such requires a great deal of repair work. "We haven't even started wing No.2 yet," said Cayard. He did say that there was "a pile of work" caused by the breakage, but that it had provided the opportunity for the internal engineering staff and external consultants to add to the requisite technical knowledge before completing the repair and building the next wing. (There would, incidentally, be at least three wings constructed - "You wouldn't go to San Francisco Bay with any less.") -- Sail-World, read on: http://tinyurl.com/SW-060512 COASTAL CRUISER? CLUB RACER? AROUND-THE-WORLD COMPETITOR? Are you looking for an edge while on the race course or taking a coastal cruise with your family and friends? North Sails has got you covered. It's true North designs and builds sails for many of the top competitors in our sport, but we also make sails for boat owners who want to race at their local yacht club, day sail with their family or cruise to an island for the weekend. With a wide range of upwind and downwind sails, North is sure to have a product that fits your style & budget! To see our full range of sails, visit: http://www.na.northsails.com/tabid/22064/Default.aspx BRUISED EGOS AND STRAINED WALLETS To drive from San Diego to Seattle, Interstate 5 extends the full length of the western United States. Its route cuts inland through rural towns and farming lifestyles. And as you reach northern California, with San Francisco far to the west, you come across the city of Stockton. In the February 2, 2011 issue of Forbes, the magazine gave Stockton the dubious distinction of being the "most miserable" U.S. city, largely as a result of the steep drop in home values. But the city is also home to Stockton Sailing Club, or specifically, the finish line of the Delta Ditch Run race. The racetrack for the Delta Ditch Run is the California Delta, an expansive inland river delta and estuary that encompasses around 1,100 square miles. With over 100 boats competing on June 2, this year's 65nm race was greeted with a perfect storm of weather conditions that made it possibly the most exciting edition in its 21 year history. An approaching late season low pressure system offshore combined with inland temperatures earlier in the week hitting the 90's... just the recipe for the delta to fire off. With offshore winds pumping inland, the course would prove to be a downwind test. And with gusts to 40 knots, boats were finding the mud, rigs were breaking, and general carnage littered the track. Photos and Race Reports: Race website: http://www.stocktonsc.org/ditch/ Pressure Drop: http://tinyurl.com/PD-060512 Sail Revolution: http://www.sailrevolution.com/race-it/delta-dished SAILING SHORTS * (June 5, 2012) The damaged Farr 80 Beau Geste, which was participating in the Auckland to Noumea yacht race, is now safely anchored off Norfolk Island's capital Kingston after suffering hull and decking damage 100 nautical miles east of the island. Skipper Gavin Brady describes the incident as the "boat had effectively broke in half." Audio interview: http://tinyurl.com/GB-060512 * (Bristol, RI) - The Herreshoff Marine Museum is proud to announce that it has received a grant from the McCarthey Family Foundation, of Salt Lake City, Utah. The grant is intended to support offering full and or partial scholarships to at least 10 students this summer. Awards will be based on need, and named the "McCarthey Family Foundation Sailorship Award". -- Read on: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13942 * Elaine Dickinson, of Davidsonville, MD was honored Saturday with the National Women's Sailing Association/BoatUS 2012 Leadership in Women's Sailing Award at the 11th Women's Sailing Conference held in Marblehead, MA, and hosted by the Corinthian Yacht Club. This award is given to an individual who had built up a record of achievement in inspiring, educating and enriching the lives of women through sailing. -- Full report: http://www.boatus.com/pressroom/release.asp?id=798 EIGHT BELLS The South Jersey sailing community suffered a huge loss this week with the death of Frank McBride on June 5. Frank, a nationally-known physiotherapist, lost his fight with colon cancer. He was 49. Frank never sailed on a national champion boat, never even sailed in a major regatta. The best he did as an active crewman was a few firsts on Friday night beer can races. But Frank was known on the racing circuit from Key West to Block Island as the World's Best Shore Crew...and he was. When horrendous injuries from an old accident prevented the former rugby and baseball star from crewing effectively on the Evelyn 32 "Bloody Hell", he decided to stick with the boat and take the job of shore crew to a new level. At every regatta Frank got up, sometimes before a cold dawn, and cleaned the bottom. During the day he would shop for food and suitable beverages for the crew house before greeting the crew at the dock with hot food and cold drinks. Big regattas or local races, Frank was always there, charming the socks of the PHRF crews and making "Bloody Hell" the envy of the fleet. Frank left Cheryl, his wife of six months, and hundreds of friends who will never forget him. -- Mike Perry, skipper "Bloody Hell". COVERAGE THE WORLD OVER Do you sail professionally or cruise or race internationally? Are you an Olympic team member, instructor, coach or US SAILING team member? US SAILING is proud to offer all members a creditable health insurance plan with coverage at home and abroad. 24/7 assistance in your language. http://www.AllenInsuranceAndFinancial.com/ussailing 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 Leslie Ehman: In Scuttlebutt 3605, Craig's comment to keep the "focus on the fun" is the key phrase here for mentoring your child in all aspects of life; the earlier the better. Focus on the fun and encourage them to make their best effort towards any subject and any goal. Help the child to own - "his/her best" not your judgment of what "best" is. I believe this atmosphere creates confidence, independence and can lead a child to find/feel passion in life. Passion equates to happiness and fulfillment and as parents we dearly hope that brings success, as well. Success without passion can still be okay ... it pays the bills. When asked of parents: "What do you want for your child?" ...many, most respond with: "I want my child to be happy" (and of course successful). How do we mentor them in happiness? Find the fun in every task. * From Johnny Heineken, Kite Course World Champion: I'm not sure the "Olympic" media does a good job of glamorizing any sailing, but let's pretend for a moment they do. I have a hard time believing anyone is getting excited over another white sailed slow-boat shot and not at all intrigued by kite racing photos. Yes, framing the shots is important, and since the Olympics is all about being media friendly, there will have to be some learning on the photographer's side about how to best capture the action. As for distant shots capturing the intensity of the moment...hard to do, since they're a lot more intense than any other starts I've ever been in :) PS: Lines are generally ~ 25m long, not a few hundred meters (as Mark Chew said in Scuttlebutt 3605). I can understand how that would seem impossible to frame. EDITOR'S NOTE: Johnny has shared some examples of kiting photos for the white sail shooters to study: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/12/0605/ * From Harrison Hine: Richard Clarke may well have a good chance in the Olympics this year. Unlike the Star Worlds, where he finished 18th, the Olympic regatta is more like a club race with a small fleet and lots of opportunity to move up and down in the standings. In 1984 Bill Buchan and Steve Erickson were able to pull off a Gold Medal in a fleet of 19 Stars by winning the last race after rounding the last leeward mark in 6th position. They had to win the final race to take home the gold after they nearly broke their mast due to an equipment failure in the third race. That's what is so great about a tactical boat like the Star compared to the hot rods like the 49er. By playing each small shift Buchan was able to pick off boat after boat in a 1 ½ mile beat; it was pure poetry to watch it happen! Too bad the International sailing community misses the point about the Star and that there is more than speed to REAL sailing; after 70 years it will be sad to see the Star eliminated from the Olympic Fleet. FREE CLASSIFIED ADS The Scuttlebutt Classified Ads provide a marketplace for private parties to buy and sell, or for businesses to post job openings. Here are recent ads: For Sale - * J/105 sails * 1988 J/24 #4468 Now Hiring - * Schaefer Marine seeks Engineering Candidate * Associate Editor - SAIL Magazine View/post ads here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/classified_ads CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION It's especially hard to work for money you've already spent for something you didn't need. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Kaenon Polarized - KO Sailing - Doyle Sailmakers Atlantis WeatherGear - J Boats - Point Loma Outfitting North Sails - Allen Insurance and Financial - Ullman Sails JK3 Nautical Enterprises - Dieball Sailing Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
