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SCUTTLEBUTT 2637 - Monday, July 14, 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. WADLOW’S PATH TO CHINA If you were a lifelong sailboat racer, it's a little hard to explain why you'd trade life in San Diego (a year-round sailing paradise) for life in Boston. The answer is simple, said Tim Wadlow, the 34-year-old Boston University alumnus who will represent the United States at the Olympics next month as skipper in the 49er Class. "Skiing," Wadlow said. "When I got here a lot of my friends were into it, and I found out there's a whole new season with other sports. I came here when I was around 18 and never left." But San Diego, home waters of the 1992 and 1995 America's Cups, was good practice for Wadlow as he prepares for the Chinese venue of Qingdao, on the coast of the Yellow Sea, where conditions are similar. Just back from his second practice session in Qingdao with crew Chris Rast, Wadlow spoke of quiet but very challenging waters to sail. "China's a real unique and different place to sail," he said. "The average winds are very light. But that is a minor challenge compared to the current, which is huge - 1.2 knots or something. And it's also pretty wavy, with a combination of off-axis swells from aside or behind you, and then there can be a lot of surface chop from a different direction. So you end up with a pretty confused racecourse with lots of waves and current." To make matters more challenging as he and Rast tried to keep a perfect balance in the lightweight dinghy, the humidity can wreak havoc. "It might not seem like a big deal but it's so hazy all the time that you can't really see the difference between the horizon and the water. It just makes the place very disorienting, especially when the sky and water are the same color, and you can't really see wind shifts that well, or see anything to reference on. "It's not pollution," said Wadlow, who saw none of the green algae that has been making headlines recently. "If you look at the weather buoys, the humidity is pegged at 100 percent every day. Some days it's hazy, some it's foggy. Only about one day in a week does it burn off enough so you see the sun." -- Boston Globe, read on: http://xrl.us/kktju COVILLE ENJOYING RECORD PACE (July 13, 2008 – 22:00 UT) Thomas Coville and his 105-foot maxi trimaran Sodeb’O remain on a record pace to break the single-handed North Atlantic record. Since leaving Wednesday, July 9th at 0747 hours local time (11:47 UT), Coville has built a lead of 340 miles, which is between 15 and 20 hours ahead of current record holder Francis Joyon’s time. In order to beat the solo North Atlantic record held by Joyon since 2005, Coville must round Lizard Point (SW tip of England) before Tuesday 17:47 UT. With nearly 44 hours to go, Coville must cover the final 504 miles, and is currently at a pace of 440 miles per 24 hour period. The sailing conditions will be very light at the finish with a zone of high pressure building. For this reason, Coville had gybed tonight and is hooking to the north in order to remain in a stronger current of wind, this time blowing due west, which for a time kept him at right angles to the direct course. As a result, Coville is likely to lose some of his lead as Joyon enjoyed a direct course with good pace for the final stretch. However, Coville’s choice is enabling him to maintain a good speed (25.5 knots) and should enable him a better angle in relation to the wind and therefore more speed over the final miles. -- Team website: http://www.sodebo-voile.com/actu/news-eng.html * Mike Sanderson and his team aboard the Juan Kouyoumdjian designed 100 foot 'SPEEDBOAT' are currently on standby in Newport, RI for their attempt to beat the current crewed monohull transatlantic record set by Mari Cha IV that stands at 6 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. They first attempted the record on June 29th, but were forced to return during the first day when one of their daggerboards broke. The team is now seeking a suitable weather forecast to begin their attempt again, which likely won’t be until after July 17th or so, unless Hurricane Bertha decides to start rumbling up the Atlantic Coast. -- Updates: http://www.mike-sanderson.com EUROPEAN VACATION Following her inaugural Newport-Bermuda race, the Goetz-built Judel-Vrolijk IRC 66’ Numbers is in Ireland for ACC Bank’s Cork Week, competing in a tight IRC 0 class along with Formidable, a Lutra 56’ also from the GCB shed. Meanwhile, the new German TP52 Platoon is enjoying its first season on the MedCup circuit, heading to Majorca at the end of the month for the Breitling Regatta. Visit http://www.goetzboats.com for race results, as well as information on the ongoing builds of an 82 foot European racer by Reichel-Pugh and an 82-foot fast cruiser from Rogers Yacht Design. STORMY START FOR BAYVIEW MACKINAC RACE Detroit, MI (July 13, 2008) - The Chrysler Jeep Superstores Bayview Mackinac Race had a stormy beginning Saturday, with most of the 234 entrants starting the 214-mile race in a driving rainstorm and 25 knots of wind. "You couldn't see both ends of the" starting line, said Brian Geraghty of Grosse Pointe Shores, owner of the C&C 35 Siochail. But the storm moved through quickly and by midafternoon, most crews were settling in for a fast spinnaker run in about 15 knots of wind. Stars and Stripes, the catamaran build for the 1988 America's Cup defense, lost its mast less than 50 miles and 2 hours from Mackinac Island at 1 a.m. today. A carbon fiber strut failed and in less than 30 seconds, the entire rig fell off the stern of the boat. The crew was able to attach a buoy before the $700,000 rig sank in 475 feet of water. Fortunately, the buoy will enable the rig to be salvaged, but not in time for the 100th sailing of the Chicago to Mackinac race next weekend. Seventy-one boats had finished as of Sunday, July 13th @ 09:17pm, with six retirees among them. -- Detroit Free Press, full story: http://xrl.us/kktjw Race website: http://www.byc.com/mack/index.cfm STRONG WINDS FOR ISAF YOUTH WORLDS Arhus, Denmark (July 13, 2008) - The first day of the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship on Saturday, July 12th saw lots of action on the water, with capsizes and breakages as afternoon rain squalls brought gusts of wind up to 30 knots. Strong winds continued for the second day of racing today, with the 29ers now having completed five races with all other fleets finishing four. While the North Americans are seemingly off the pace in the RS:X windsurfer and SL16 multihull, the other classes are doing well. Laser Radial: 2. Isabella Bertold (CAN); 9. Anne Haeger (USA). Laser: 2. Luke Lawrence (USA); 6. Robert Davis (CAN). 29er Men: 3. Judge Ryan/ Hans Henken (USA). 29er Women: 10. Julia Paxton/ Karoline Gurdal (USA). -- Story and results: http://www.sailing.org/24355.php?PHPSESSID=050e5e472370aba9b2a77d8c676e1bec * The Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship 2008 is utilizing the services of the Sportcasting 2.0 system which allows viewers to watch online in real time all seven fleets race around the track. There are GPS units on every competitor’s boat which link to the site where visitors can view and replay the races, and comments can be made on an online chat as the races progress. -- http://sportcasting.org/home * Daily video highlights from the 38th Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Championship are available at http://www.sailing-tv.tv/2008isafyouthworlds.html WOMEN ON THE WATER * Detroit, MI - America's Cup sailor Dawn Riley will present a women's sailing clinic Friday, August 1 at Bayview Yacht Club (BYC). The clinic, part of the 5th Annual BYC Women's Invitational Regatta, is designed to maximize the time on the water with intensive 'real time coaching' during drills, practice and racing. Along with Riley, clinic instructors include two-time Key West Race Week winner Deneen Demourkas, owner of the Mumm30 Groovederci, successful J120 owner Nicole Weaver of Annapolis, MD, as well as Michigan sailors Cynthia Best of Beverly Hills, World Match Racing Tour participant Lynn Kotwicki of Royal Oak, and international sailing umpire Debi Schoenherr of Grosse Pointe Park. One-design racing will take place Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 2 - 3 and Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) racing will take place on Sunday, Aug. 3. -- Full details: http://www.byc.com/inthenews.cfm?NewsType=1&NewsID=196 * Annapolis, MD - Women who sail--skippers or crew--may register now for the 2008 Chesapeake Bay Women's Challenge Regatta July 26. Classes of 22-feet or greater LOA may participate in One Design or PHRF and PHRF non-spinnaker. A minimum of four entries are required for a One Design start. Boats will be crewed by all women skippers and crew. The regatta will benefit CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a private, non-profit program that recruits, screens, trains, and supervises community volunteers as they become advocates for victims of child abuse and neglect. -- Full details: http://chesapeakewomenschallenge.org/ => Post additional events here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/calendar DON’T MISS THE MORRIS YACHTS BOAT SHOW, JULY 18-20TH! Morris Yachts will host the fourth annual Morris Boat Show at their Northeast Harbor yard, July 18-20. This year’s fleet includes the M36, M42 plus Morris 28s, Justine 36s, Morris 38s, a Hinckley 43, Alden 45, a Morris 46RS and more. Morris Service reps will also be on hand to answer any questions about a service projects. This weekend is a unique opportunity to board the largest variety of Morris Yachts. Please check the website for more details http://www.morrisyachts.com/Morris-Yachts-Boat-Show Show hours: Friday and Saturday 10-6pm; Sunday 10-4pm. For more information, please call James Allen at 207-276-5344. AUSSIE SWEEP AT MOTH WORLDS Weymouth, UK (July 11, 2008) - Australian John Harris has sailed away with the 2008 title as World Champion in the Moth Class with one race to spare. With third being his worst result, he has come away the clear winner. After having a go on fellow skiff crew member Scott Babbage's Foiler Moth 18 months ago, he decided he had to take it on. Thirteen months after purchasing his own boat, and competing at the 2007 Moth World Championships at Lake Garda, Italy, he has made it to the top of the foiling game. John Harris is a past 18 Foot Skiff World Champion, and has secured numerous Australian Championships on Sydney Harbour. Fellow Australians Andrew McDougall and Mathew Belcher finished second and third respectively, with top North American and pre-event favorite Bora Gulari (USA) unable to complete the series due to other sailing commitments, finishing in 20th spot. -- Results: http://www.wpnsa.org.uk/results/entriessofar/Mothworlds1.htm * Photog and Moth fanatic Thierry Martinez was onsite to provide the ‘buttheads with images: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0711a * The 2009 Moth Worlds will be held at The Gorge in Portland, OR, USA on August 5-14. This is bound to be another heavy air event, with John Payne providing some wild images from the 2nd Annual Gorge Freestyle Frenzy, a windsurfing event that was held at the site last week: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/photos/08/0712 BAYLIS BLITZES FLEET TO DEFEND MATCH RACE TITLE Long Beach, CA (July 13, 2008) - Liz Baylis, San Rafael, Calif., became the first undefeated and first two-time winner Saturday in the 2008 Mayor’s Cup presented by St. Mary Medical Center and part of the 2008 City of Long Beach Sea Festival presented by Charter Communications. Eight skippers representing the United States, New Zealand, Brasil and Sweden sailed the ISAF Grade 2 match race in identically prepared Catalina 37s owned and managed by the Long Beach Yacht Club Sailing Foundation, which performed perfectly under sunny skies and a consistent breeze of 10-12 knots. Baylis dominated the three days of double round-robins, semi-finals and finals… a total of 18 races in which rarely was there a chink in their armor. -- Read on: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/08/0713 THIRD TIME’S A CHARM FOR BOLGER Sausalito, CA (July 13, 2008) - Sydney Bolger (Long Beach, Calif.) and her crew Caitlin Beavers (Santa Ana, Calif.) dominated US SAILING's 33-boat U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship for the Ida Lewis Trophy, which wrapped up Saturday evening at host club Sausalito Yacht Club, Calif. The two 18-year-olds came out of the gates strong on the first day of racing, winning all three races that day. They continued their dominance throughout the regatta, finishing 30 points ahead of the second-place team of Eliza Richartz (Old Lyme, Conn.) and Morgan Russom (Springfield, Penn.). For Bolger, this was her third consecutive year competing in the event, each year improving her final standing (finishing third in the event last year and 14th in 2006). This year was the first time she teamed up with Beavers for the U.S. Junior Women's Doublehanded Championship. For both sailors, this was their last time competing in this national Championship, as they will age out to compete in the event again next year (the event is open to female sailors between the ages of 13 and 18). -- Complete results: http://xrl.us/kktjy SAILING SHORTS * Kiel, Germany (July 12, 2008) Spanish sailor Ignacio Camino Rodriguez and his "Nextel engineering" crew beat out 62 other teams to win the J/80 World Championship despite being black flagged in the last race. The Spanish team led the rankings from the beginning, but American Jeff Johnstone substantially narrowed the gap, finishing only two points back in second. – Final report: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6055 * Malcesine, Italy (July 13, 2008) - The famous Lake Garda thermal breeze didn’t show up today, forcing Race Director Peter Reggio to put an end to the RC 44 Malcesine SLAM Cup at 2:45 PM. The fleet regatta is however valid, with four races completed including Saturday’s long distance DHL Trophy. Giulietti’s Team Hiroshi – Città di Milano conquers the title of Continental Champion and increases its lead in the RC 44 Championship Tour. Two more events will take place before the end of the Championship Tour: the Trieste Cup, on October 7-11 and the Puerto Calero RC 44 Gold Cup, in Lanzarote, on December 10-14. -- Complete report: http://www.rc44.com/en/regattas/news/index.php?idContent=1029 * Valencia, Spain (July 13, 2008) - The TP52 CAM quickly sank while racing in the Trofeo de la Reina Rolex Cup, reportedly when the boat incurred a structural failure in the bow area while racing on an upwind leg. A significantly sized hole extending below the waterline made rescue efforts futile, and within ten minutes the bow was sinking. The boat now rests on the sea floor, with only the top section of its mast breaking the water surface. Incredible photos at Valencia Sailing: http://xrl.us/kktj4 SB3’S: READY. SET. LAUNCH! LaserPerformance’s SB3 continues to excite the sailing world. We have boats stationed in the North East, Annapolis, California and Seattle. Get in touch with us to experience why Sailing World named the SB3 its 2008 Boat of the Year. Contact mailto:SB3info.NorthAmerica@LaserPerformance.com to schedule a demo, or for more info go to http://www.laserperformance.com GAUDIO IS NO LIGHTWEIGHT IN THE CAL 20 CLASS Long Beach, CA (July 13, 2008) - Any competent sailor can make a hot boat go fast, but Mark Gaudio's affinity for old, slow boats is becoming the stuff of West Coast legend. The 51-year-old Newport Beach institutional bonds trader completed a triple crown of sorts Sunday with a strong finish in big winds to win the 47th Cal 20 Class Championship, hosted by Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. It was his third class title in the past year following similar successes in Lido 14s and Naples Sabots---neither known for speed---and now he is the Cal 20s' first four-time champion, all four in the last eight years. "I feel pretty good about that," he said. "This is a tough class." He felt especially good about winning in winds 12 knots building to 16 through the afternoon. He didn't relish sailing with a combined crew weight of a mere 450 pounds to ballast the boat among himself, crew Erik Heim, 27, and the hastily recruited Brian Bissel, 28. "We're very light," he said. "The other top guys are [a total of] 550 or more. We sailed well for a windy regatta." Bissel, it turns out, is no slouch. He's a former J/24 world champion who grew up in Newport Beach and just returned home this summer after living in Annapolis for 10 years. Gaudio grabbed him off the dock before casting off Saturday morning. -- For complete reports from all three days: http://forum.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=6056 CALENDAR OF MAJOR EVENTS (Sponsored by West Marine) Events listed 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 may be edited for clarity or simplicity (letters shall be no longer than 250 words). 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 John Lambert: The July 11, 2008 Scuttlebutt story on the US team to the ISAF Youth World Championship included the information from US SAILING that in prior years, the selection of team members was based on results of class regattas, but that in 2008 US SAILING held its own event in January that “attracted 82 sailors from around the Country.” The implication of substantial participation by youth sailors in this new event is incorrect. In 2005 and 2006, the women’s and men’s double-handed teams were chosen at the C420 Midwinters. In contrast to the 82 sailors at this year’s regatta for the five youth world events, there were 84 boats (168 sailors) in 2005 and 98 boats (196 sailors) in 2006 for just the 2 youth world double-handed events (men and women). Despite the substantial number of children who competed at these 2005 and 2006 class selection events for just the 2 double-handed youth world spots, US SAILING dropped class events as the selection regattas in favor of its own event. The implication of success at this year’s selection regatta cannot be reconciled with the facts. This year only nine Laser Radials sailed; 23 Lasers, 10 multihulls and 16 29ers for the 2 double-handed youth world berths. The choice to create this new regatta was a step backward in the effort to attract and involve kids in chasing high end sailing goals. CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION A fool and his money stabilize the economy. Special thanks to Goetz Custom Boats, Morris Yachts, and LaserPerformance. A complete list of preferred suppliers is at http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/ssc/suppliers |
