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SCUTTLEBUTT No. 975 - December 31, 2001Scuttlebutt is a digest of yacht racing news of major significance; commentary, opinions, features and dock talk . . . with a North American emphasis. Corrections, contributions, press releases, constructive criticism and contrasting viewpoints are always welcome, but save your bashing and personal attacks for elsewhere.
ADMIRAL'S CUP The Admiral's Cup has been firmly rooted in Cowes since 1957, giving visiting yachtsmen a variety of racing, combining round the cans day races with longer offshore races. The Irish Times report said the new Dun Laoghaire Marina would be a critical factor in deciding to stage the event in Ireland. The region can offer other advantages, including modern facilities for the high-tech boats, proximity to ports, airports and a capital city, four large yacht clubs and experienced race management teams. The Admiral's Cup was once a "must do" regatta, attracting the top sailors from around the world to Cowes every other year. At the height of its success, the event attracted 23, 3-boat teams from around the world. Over the last 10 years, the event has lost touch with the desires and needs of its competitors, resulting in the 2001 series being cancelled. The RORC website makes no mention of an Admiral's Cup event in its 2002 schedule. - Boating Industry International Online. Full story: www.boating-industry.com
SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE Bumblebee 5, John Kahlbetzer's Sydney 62 designed by skipper Iain Murray and his design team of Andy Dovell and Ian Burns and re-launched last month with a new "turbo" keel, was confirmed Overall Winner of the Race and winner of the historic Tattersall's Cup as the first placed yacht in the IMS handicap division. Polaris of Belmont, a Cole 43 built in 1970 and owned and skippered by John Quinn, was named as Overall Winner of the IRC handicap division, the yacht's fourth division win in the six starts since being owned by Quinn. With the winds dying away in Southern Tasmania over the past eighteen hours, larger yachts dominated overall IMS results, with the tiny sloop Zeus II losing all chance of causing an upset. Bumblebee 5 won by a commanding three hours on corrected time from Graham Gibson's Farr 47, Ninety Seven, which took line honours in the 1993 Sydney to Hobart race, a gale-battered race which saw all the bigger boats retiring with damage. Third overall went to the Farr 50, Ragamuffin,, owned and skippered by the veteran ocean racing yachtsman Syd Fischer, completing his 33rd Sydney Hobart Race. A six time CYCA Blue water champion, Syd was inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions this year for his near life contribution to yachting. The little 30-footer Zeus II, which yesterday had been predicted as a threat to Bumblebee 5, suffered from lack of wind overnight and is now expected to arrive late this afternoon, well outside the time allowance that might have given her victory. However, Zeus II still has a strong chance of winning IMS Division C, but results for this division will not be announced until later today or tomorrow. IMS Division B went to the Beneteau 40.7, Shipping Central, owned by Ashley Reed and Michael Spies from Sydney in a close race with Chutzpah, the Sydney 36 owned by Melbourne yachtsman Bruce Taylor, and the 1998 Overall winner, AFR Midnight Rambler, the Hick 35 owned by Ed Psaltis and Bob Thomas. Polaris of Belmont took the IRC Division overall narrowly from Lodka Bols, the first Polish maxi to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race. Although skippered by an English yachtsman, Gordon Kay, 60% of the crew were Polish nationals, half of the 25 being chosen by a national competition in Poland. Third overall was another veteran yacht, Bacardi, owned by Melbourne yachtsmen Graeme Ainley and John Williams, the yacht sailing in her 19th Hobart Race. Polaris of Belmont's owner/skipper John Quinn is remembered as the survivor of the gale-ravaged 1993 Sydney Hobart, when he dog-paddled for five hours at night in the Tasman Sea after being washed overboard from his previous yacht. Polaris won IRC Division A from Bacardi and Wahoo, Brian Emerson's Prestige 40 whose crew included Bill Ratcliff, sailing in his 36th Sydney Hobart. Lodka Bols won IRC Division A from the American cruiser/racer, Icon, skippered by Brian Roser, and Line 7, the original Volvo 60 now owned by Ian Treleaven. Results of the PHS division will not announced until tomorrow as many of the tailender boats still racing are in this division. - Peter Campbell, as posted on the Sail-world website, www.sail-world.com/sydneytohobart/ Official race website: www.s2h@tas.gov.au
VOLVO OCEAN RACE Assa Abloy was first into the pit stop in Hobart by only five minutes from Amer Sports One, with the next five Volvo boats finishing within 47 minutes at the finish of the Sydney-Hobart race. On clearing Storm Bay, after restarting 3.5 hours later, Assa Abloy gybed away from the other five, taking a losing leg under spinnaker to the north while the others sped on before a fresh south-westerly breeze, on course for Cape Reinga at the northern tip of New Zealand. Assa Abloy, anticipating a shift in wind direction to the north, gained a separation of 37 miles to the north of the others that has paid off. At 15.54 GMT yesterday it held a 17-mile lead over Amer Sports One, with another 41 miles to Tyco, skippered by Kevin Shoebridge. Assa Abloy and Amer Sports One were doing 9.9 knots and 8.2 knots respectively, sailing in a wind of around 12 knots. The southern-most yacht in the group, djuice, was averaging 6.6 knots while Illbruck, News Corp and Tyco were almost becalmed in the middle of the bunch and losing distance to Assa Abloy and Amer Sports One. ." - Bob Ross, The telegraph, UK, sport.telegraph.co.uk/ * The predicted northerly winds have set in at midnight for Assa Abloy and shortly later for Amer Sports One, swinging constantly to the northwest and increasing to 16 knots. At the first sign of the shift, both yachts tacked and are cracking off the sheets to pick up speed. This leaves them looking pretty smart, as the leverage to the north converted into real lead. News Corp and illbruck are within a mile of each other, with Tyco leading them by two miles straight ahead. All three yachts are still on starboard tack, heading north hard on the wind. The recent development had its worst effects on djuice south leaving them almost 100 miles behind the leaders. With 756 miles to Cape Reinga it remains to be seen, if their southerly position is part of a long-term strategy.
STANDINGS at 0358 GMT on December 31:
THERE'S A RUN ON OUR NYLONS!
QUOTES FROM THE BOATS
ON THE HAURAKI GULF The pros and cons of racing against the defender have always been a hot topic among the challengers. Nippon took plenty of heat for lining up against Team NZ before the last cup but that was in their new boats, whereas the recent racing has been in what are now old ones. OneWorld, GBR Challenge and Victory Challenge will get to race the black boats in the New Year in the International Regatta in Auckland in February. - Julie Ash, NZ Herald, www.nzherald.co.nz/sports/
RECYCLED IACC and begins with a limited schedule of events for the 2002 season with goals of growing the fleet and encouraging sponsors to participate. The first race is the Corinthian Yacht Club Midwinters, February 16-17 - Hauraki News website, www.hauraki-news.com IACC San Francisco website: www.iaccsf.com/
NICE
BUSY SHORE CREWS To keep within the race schedule, they restarted and then returned to the dock to carry out the work with the back up of their shore team, to ensure that the stop was short and effective. All this was following a stop earlier in the day, at Triabunna on the east coast of Tasmania, on their way into Hobart, to pick up spares to repair the forestay, which had failed in the Bass Strait. Meanwhile, at exactly the same time the first six V.O.60s were arriving at the finish in Hobart, SEB had just managed to limp her way in to Eden. The boat was lifted to assess the damage, which was more serious than the crew originally thought. However, they carried out the major part of the work in record time even though there were some structural repairs to be done to the rudder quadrant and the framework at the back of the boat. SEB has retired and is now sailing for Auckland for the start of Leg Four. - www.volvooceanrace.com
THESE #^%&*ING INSTRUMENTS NEVER WORK!
AMERICA'S CUP The base is located on next to the old Keroman submarine bases. "This facility is a dream base for the Challenge," said Pierre Mas, Director of the Le Defi team. "All of our needs have been accounted for, and it provides everything we need." The base features full sea access at any tidal state for launching America's Cup Class boats and a giant boat shed for boat building and modification. Additionally, one of the biggest sail lofts in Europe will provide the ideal platform for sail development and repair. The sailing crew will be kept happy with gym facilities, a physiotherapy area and a number of private briefing rooms. And perhaps most importantly, there is a canteen capable of feeding 80 hungry sailors at a sitting. The base also features a press briefing room and a reception area for entertaining sponsors and dignitaries. "We don't want to lose sight of the fact that to be competitive in New Zealand for the Louis Vuitton Cup, we need to excel in all areas. To be able to work with the entire team in the same facility is a critical advantage. We must be able to bond as a team, and this facility allows us to do that," Pierre Mas concluded. - Louis Vuitton Cup website Full story: www.lvcup.com/default.asp?m=displayarticle&id=4230
AWARDS
JUST ANOTHER DAY "We had a good run after leaving Hobart for the first few hours, the breeze was slowly lifting and building, everything was going well. As I was about to go off-watch last night at midnight, we did a sail change to a bigger sail, no sooner had we done this the wind lifted us another 20 degrees, and it was time to change again to another bigger sail. So we changed to an asymmetric spinnaker, the conditions were nice 25 knots of wind and we were on course. There was a line of black clouds approaching us from behind; we were prepared for the wind to build, as the clouds were getting closer. "What we weren't prepared for was the cloud line to be a southerly buster. The wind went from 25 knots to 35 knots and also lifted about 40 degrees all in about two seconds. We put the bow down and accelerated into left turn. This was what I would call the biggest wipe out of I have ever been apart of. We layed the boat over. The movement was so violent. I was on top of the sail stack trimming the sail at the time, I was thrown off, sending me into a front flip towards the leeward side of the boat (and the ocean), on my way down I hit the mainsheet winch with the backside of my hip bone (fully swollen now, and I am now hobbling around the boat). "I managed to grab a hold of one of the leeward rope tail bags on my way past, to stop my self from continuing on to go through the life lines, Tony also got a hold of my ankle as I went past him. All in all it was a little too close for comfort, the last thing I wanted was a swim. We blew out the sail, and yes it was a real good blow out, to say the least. I guess that it took us a good 20 minutes to get it all under control, and get going again with another spinnaker up and back on course. We ended up coming out of the night without loosing to the other boats, so I assume that they had their share of action as well. We had a blown out spinnaker on our hands, every full-length batten in the main was broken, and a few bruise. Hence today has been a day of repair." - Ross Halcrow, illbruck, www.illbruck-challenge.com/en/
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