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SCUTTLEBUTT 3539 - Friday, March 2, 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: New York Yacht Club and North U. SOLID ENOUGH TO SURVIVE THE FRENCH QUARTER The New Orleans Yacht Club hosted the Mardi Gras Race Week on Feb 23-26, which annually proves to be three days of hard core racing and four nights of partying New Orleans style. And with Fat Tuesday beforehand, the seasoned competitors likely started the premier one design regatta in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast with a hangover too. Proving that Midwest sailors are well suited to this format, the event's largest fleet (Viper 640) was won by three guys who grew up together in Milwaukee, WI. Tom Peterson (owner/skipper), Mike Blackwood and Mike Sabinash all sailed together in the junior sailing programs at South Shore Yacht Club, which apparently provided a foundation solid enough to survive the French Quarter. Here's an excerpt of an interview on NOYC.org: * Tell us the story about how you learned to sail. Did growing up with your family on a sailboat influence you to stick with the sport? Mike Sabinash: Well - 100% yes, it was pretty much what our family (dad, mom, brother Bob, sister Ellen, grandpa and a few close friends) did and I was along for the ride starting at age 3. I mainly sailed on the family boat and also owned a laser along with the SSYC club junior FJ boats. I have been driving the family boat since 16-17 years old (because I never gave up the tiller once I had it in my hands) and when we jumped into a J/35 this was one of the hottest boats and one design fleets in the country at the time and we would see 15-20+ boats in many one design regattas. It was a good 10 year ride doing one design and PHRF on the family J/35 - Chicago Mac's, 100 Milers, Harbor Springs, Chicago NOODs, North Americans, etc. We won our share of regattas and in very similar fashion to the Viper victory for Tommy this last weekend; we jumped onto the scene with an unlikely Chicago NOOD victory in our first ever one design regatta with the boat. There were probably 5 professionally sailed J/35 programs that were scratching their heads at our rag tag crew from Milwaukee. It's a great feeling to win a regatta when you're just hoping to be competitive. This last weekend all three of us talked about just being competitive and that was our focus not knowing how well we would sail together. * You mentioned you've been sailing with the same group of guys and family since you were 7-8 years old. Are you seeing this being repeated in today's junior groups? What can we do to facilitate this type of development? Mike Sabinash: It's tough. More choices than ever for kids and getting them to choose sailing over sports with their local neighborhood friends is harder now than ever. I don't have great solutions for this cause I struggle with getting my kids to participate in sailing. For me, I made friends sailing right away so that may be the key - the social aspect is just huge! Full interview: http://tinyurl.com/NOYC-030112 Regatta results: http://mardigrasracing.org/2012_MGRW_results.htm MIDWEST: Furthering this regional theory, the winner of the new VX One class was Skip Dieball of Dieball Sailing with roots in Michigan and Ohio. READY TO DO SOME ISLAND HOPPING? (March 1, 2012; Day 11) - The tight reaching continues for the Volvo Ocean Race, and while positions have remained relatively static over the past few days, it will be worth tracking the fleet during this coming weekend. Stuff is going to happen. "We haven't yet hit the Doldrums, which will be a zone where the tradewinds are lighter and the squalls are more developed," said Groupama 4 skipper Franck Cammas. "It's impossible to anticipate such phenomena: some of the clouds which are crossing our path contain strong squalls of over thirty knots and others less than ten knots. In any case, right now you just have to focus on going straight: we can't avoid them and there is likely to be some concertinaing of the boats according to the cloud mass." Groupama 4 should cross the equator on Friday morning (European time). In contrast to the Atlantic, where it is situated between 3-8 degrees north, the Pacific Doldrums is more centered around 3 to 7 degrees south, which is just before the passage through the Melanesian Islands. For the time being, all the navigators appear to be aiming to carve out a passage between the archipelagos of the Solomon Islands. It was three years ago when the 2008-9 fleet was making a similar passage from Qingdao, China to Rio de Janiero, Brazil and was confronted by a complete obstacle on their route: the island nation of Fiji. The wind was similarly coming from the east, and the smart money was to go to windward of the island. That was the report in the Friday edition of Scuttlebutt. But when the Monday edition came out (Mar. 2, 2009), the story was how two teams - PUMA among them - turned right and decided to pass between the largest of the two islands, and take on what PUMA skipper Kenny Read described as "a million living reefs growing to the surface everywhere." Fiji is no longer an obstacle with the 2011-12 edition heading to New Zealand, but expect the Solomon Islands (San Cristobal, Malaita, Santa Isabel, etc.) , Vanuatu , or some of the other nearly thousand islands in the region to be among the Monday recap. And since the region's income is largely derived from the sea, perhaps the story will include a 'catch and release' fishing net incident too. Story from Scuttlebutt 2791: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/archived_Detail.asp?key=4128 Leg 4 - Sanya, China to Auckland, NZL (5,220 nm) Standings as of Friday, 02 March 2012, 1:05:22 UTC 1. Groupama 4 (FRA), Frank Cammas (FRA), 2426.8 nm Distance to Finish 2. PUMA Ocean Racing (USA), Ken Read (USA), 68.6 nm Distance to Lead 3. Telefonica (ESP), Iker Martinez (ESP), 102.2 nm DTL 4. Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing (UAE), Ian Walker (GBR), 112.5 nm DTL 5. CAMPER (NZL), Chris Nicholson (AUS), 128.7 nm DTL 6. Team Sanya (CHN), Mike Sanderson (NZL), 186.0 nm DTL Tracking/Standings: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/racetracker/rdc.html Video reports: http://www.youtube.com/user/volvooceanracevideos Race schedule: http://tinyurl.com/VOR-2011-12-schedule 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 HISTORY IN THE MAKING - - JUNE 8-10, 2012 First raced in 1845 off Hoboken, NJ, the New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta presented by Rolex is the longest running regatta in the U.S. The 158th Regatta will be held June 8-10, 2012 in Newport, RI. Racing starts on Friday with the Around-the-Island Race. A separate two-day series will be held Saturday and Sunday for IRC, PHRF, One-Design, Classics and Metre classes. Join in the post-race activities each day at the Harbour Court clubhouse. Contact: sailingoffice@nyyc.org. Details: http://www.nyyc.org. SAVE THE DATES: NYYC Race Week presented by Rolex (July 14-22); Melges 32 Worlds (Sept. 22-29). AMERICANS KEEP PRESSURE ON FAVORED FRENCH (March 1, 2012) - The penultimate day of the Extreme Sailing Series, Act 1 in Muscat, Oman saw the wind speed ratchet up a few knots, as did the competition. The intense head to head between the Pierre Pennec (FRA) skippered Groupe Edmond de Rothschild and the American led new team on Oman Air continued unabated and, once again, only one point separates these two teams going into the final day of Act 1, in favour of the French favourites. "Radical! It was an entertaining day definitely," noted Oman Air skipper Morgan Larson (USA). "We knew we might struggle a bit when the breeze came up with me and my timing, mainly it was the starting as I didn't have any training on the reaching starts and I need a lot! I guess when you go out there and do 8 races, you can some practice, and finally in the last race I got it. It's a challenge, there's a lot of teams pushing hard and it can go either way on the start if you get it one second wrong you get shot out the back or over early. Today has tightened the field up a lot with Red Bull and Pindar, and The Wave who had an awesome day, are right on our heels and anyone can still win this one." The finale on Friday has at least five teams in contention for the podium. Racing will start an hour earlier than scheduled at 0900 GMT (1300 local time) to take advantage of the good winds forecast with the live streaming starting at 1030 GMT (0530 EST). Full report: http://tinyurl.com/ESS-030112 Live Race Console: http://www.extremesailingseries.com/console Video: http://www.youtube.com/extremesailingseries BACKGROUND: The Extreme Sailing Season is in its sixth season, with this year's eight event tour travelling through Asia, Europe, and South America. The platform used is the one design Extreme 40 catamaran, with the format for event including both ocean and 'stadium' short-course racing in front of the public. Interest in the ESS has grown in part due to the multihull format planned for the 34th America's Cup in 2013. -- http://www.extremesailingseries.com/ NBC ACQUIRES AMERICA'S CUP RIGHTS America's Cup will be on network TV for the first time in two decades when NBC broadcasts the first two races of sailing's marquee regatta on San Francisco Bay in September 2013. Officials told The Associated Press that the deal with the NBC Sports Group also includes three broadcasts on NBC this year from the America's Cup World Series. The remaining races in the America's Cup match will be on cable on NBC Sports Network. The deal is big for regatta organizers who hope to showcase the modernized America's Cup to mainstream fans. Racing will be on a short course close to shore rather than miles out to sea, and in fast, wing-sailed catamarans rather than plodding sloops. With the exception of ABC showing Race 1 of the 1992 America's Cup in San Diego, every other race shown live since the epic Race 7 in 1983 has been on cable. "It's fantastic because it's obviously mainstream TV and a lot of people are going to see the racing as a result," said Russell Coutts, who sailed undefeated through three straight America's Cup matches as a skipper for two different countries, and added a fourth title in 2010 as CEO of Oracle Racing. "Frankly, I think it's the best TV result for sailing, certainly in my experience with the America's Cup. This is going to be great for sailing and really, really good for the America's Cup." The NBC Sports Group also acquired rights to the Louis Vuitton Cup in the summer of 2013 in San Francisco, which will determine which foreign syndicate meets Oracle Racing, owned by Silicon Valley maverick Larry Ellison, for the oldest trophy in international sports. Richard Worth, the chairman of the America's Cup Event Authority, said NBC will televise the final day of racing from three stops on the America's Cup World Series this summer as well as the opening two races of the 34th America's Cup match on Sept. 7 and 8, 2013. NBC Sports Group is not paying a rights fee. Worth said America's Cup officials will acquire air time and offer commercial time first to their own sponsors. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/AP-030112 * This agreement provides American viewers with access on both television and the internet. Additional details here: http://tinyurl.com/ACUP-030112 SAILING SHORTS * The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association Hall of Fame Selection Committee is requesting nominations for 2012 honorees in these four categories: Student leadership, Lifetime service, Outstanding service by a college professional and by a volunteer. The deadline for submission of nominations is April 15, 2012. Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13352 * On April 12-15, 2012, an F16 training camp is being hosted by Miami Yacht Club. There will be two all-day practice days with two back-to-back distance races for a one-of-a-kind training session. The distance races will be held in conjunction with the Miami to Key Largo Race. Details: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13354 * The BACARDI Miami Sailing Week (BMSW) returns to Coconut Grove in Miami, Fla., from March 4-10, 2012. The third annual running of the event will mark several milestones starting with the 150th anniversary of the BACARDI Company, as well as the 50th year that the BACARDI Cup is being held in Miami for the storied Star class which just celebrated its own 100th anniversary. Racing for the Stars gets underway on Monday, March 5. Starting on Thursday, March 8, the Stars will be joined by the Viper 640, Audi Melges 20, Melges 24, and J/80. -- Full report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=13355 * Derecktor Shipyards, the yacht builder that has gone bankrupt twice in Connecticut and now also in New York as its shipyard there seeks Chapter 11 protection, is finished in Bridgeport, according to a city official. Derecktor is the builder of the 281-foot Cakewalk V, which at the time of her 2010 launching was the largest private yacht built in the United States in 80 years. It was evicted from its Bridgeport facility, there is a $1.77 million lien on its equipment, and on Monday the Mamaroneck, N.Y.-based company's shipyard joined Derecktor Connecticut in bankruptcy. -- Trade Only Today, read on: http://tinyurl.com/TOT-030112 * CORRECTION: In Scuttlebutt 3537, there was an error with an email address for Gordon Ettie. Email Gordon at powerpluginbook@gmail.com to book him for your meeting or conference; his book Power Plug-In is available wherever books are sold or visit http://www.powerplug-in.com MATCHING TRIM TO CONDITIONS For a given wind speed optimum sail shape changes with sea state. In smooth water a flat shape with little twist provides high pointing and excellent speed; but a narrow groove and poor acceleration. In chop a deeper more twisted shape provides a wider steering groove and better acceleration; but lower pointing and speed. Learn how to achieve full power, get the best mix of power, balance power between the main and jib, and how to evaluate your performance at a North U TRIM Seminar or Webinar. And then we turn downwind. Full info at http://www.northu.com PHOTOS OF THE WEEK Some of the random photos from the sport received this week at Scuttlebutt include an easy way to compete in the Olympics, an oldie but still popular, winter weather, crew weight, spring kiting, and disabled sailing. Here are this week's photos: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/12/0302/ SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: If you have images to share for the Photos of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com VIDEO OF THE WEEK Three and a half years after being launched in August 2008 and after her second attempt, the 131-foot maxi trimaran Banque Populaire V entered records' history on January 6, 2012 by taking the Jules Verne Trophy at the end of a navigation of 45 days 13 hours 42 minutes 53 seconds around the globe. Emblematic of the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht with no restrictions on the size of the crew, skipper Loick Peyron (FRA) and his crew completed this unprecedented exploit, covering 29,002 miles at an average speed of 26.51 knots. And as amazing as this accomplishment was, condensing 45 days of the fastest sailing in the world into a three minute video is equally remarkable. Click here for this week's video: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/media/12/0302/ Bonus Videos: * This week on Episode 28 of 'America's Cup Uncovered' we are back in San Francisco as ORACLE Racing host the media at Pier 80. We meet Emirates Team New Zealand designer Pete Melvin. Then we talk to America's Cup Event Authority Chairman and CEO Richard Worth. We then uncover one of America's Cup Healthy Ocean Project partners, the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. Tune in on Saturday March 3 approx 0800 PDT 1600 BST at http://www.youtube.com/americascup#p/c/915CDC8233C7B14E * In the March 2, Week 9 World on Water Global Boating News Report see the finals of the Etchells World Championships off Sydney, Australia, the RORC Caribbean 600 in Antigua, the finish of Sailing Arabia-the Tour in Muscat, Marco Nannini's picture blog during the Global Ocean Race, Punta del Este, Uruguay, JJ Giltinan Championships for 18 Foot Skiffs in Sydney, Australia and in our regular "action" feature "Fresh to Frightening" see the awesome boats crashes, collisions and sinkings in our video action packed segment. See it on http://www.boatson.tv approx 1200 GMT, 0700 EST. SEND US YOUR VIDEOS: If you have clips to share for the Video of the Week, send them to the Scuttlebutt editor: mailto:editor@sailingscuttlebutt.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 Margaret Bonds Podlich: As a freshman on the Tulane Sailing Team when Nelson Roltsch died, I vividly remember the stark realization that a fellow sailor - one that we'd just seen at practice a day ago - was lost at sea. As college students, most of us had a youthful lack of realization about the fragility of life. We got a heavy dose of reality when vivacious Nelson did not return from that race. It was natural to rename the regatta in his honor, and it's great to see his memory still alive (in Scuttlebutt 3537), in the spirit of great racing. I'd like to think that he has helped a whole bunch of his college team-mates - many of us active racers and/or involved in the boating industry around the country 25 years later - understand the value of having fun every day. Thank you Nelson! * From David Sprague: (Regarding the request for suggestions for a good handheld GPS for use on mark boats), I used Garmin MAP76Cs at the 2008 Olympics as mark boat and it was great. OK battery life, excellent data capture (was very useful in redress hearing to be able to show where start finish and marks as well as boat track and times we were moving and still for finish). Easy to download data to computer and floats and waterproof. West was clearing them at less than $200 last year. If you can find one snap it up. Don't go straight 76 as you need the data download USB for function. MAP76C or better. I love my 2 and I also use them flying. CURMUDGEON'S OBSERVATION In the fight between you and the world, back the world. SPONSORS THIS WEEK Quantum Sails - Samson Rope - North U - North Sails International Yacht Restoration School - Doyle Sailmakers Power Plug-In - Team One Newport - Ullman Sails - NYYC Need stuff? Look here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
