Living in a perfect world

What if there was an owner-driven class of dual-purpose racer/ cruisers between 41 and 45 feet that maintains identical sets of sails that must be used for their one-design events? You’d think that the arms race was over, that the inmates had returned control of the asylum to the warden, and a perfect world was restored. That would, of course, be what you thought before waking up from your dream. Or maybe Dorothy was wrong, and we are in Kansas after all. Or rather, living amid the J/44 class. Having the benefit of a membership largely based in the Northeast, the J/44 sailors organize a regional one-design race schedule that includes Long Island Sound and Newport, RI. They maintain and periodically upgrade 16 sets of identical sails that are rotated from regatta to regatta so that in the one-design events, which are all owner-driven, the boats are pretty much dead even. No arms race, no measurement discrepancies, just sailing… in a perfect world.

Mini 6.50 – Coming To America

It was in 2003 when American Jonathan McKee’s Team McLube introduced many in North America to the Mini 6.5, the 21-foot boat that has helped launch the careers of many of today’s top solo and offshore sailors. McKee was on the verge of doing the unheard – to win the Mini Transat as a rookie. This 4240-mile singlehanded race starts in La Rochelle, France, stopping in the Canary Islands and finishing in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. With a 100-mile lead, Mckee broke his mast just 500 miles from the finish.

Fast forward to 2007, and with the Mini Transat to start in September (it is held every four years), there is now an organized group in the US planning to blast into the racing scene. On 9 June 2007 the Newport Yacht Club, in conjunction with the Goat Island Yacht Club, will fire a gun to mark the start of the Bermuda 1-2 Yacht Race. Over 35 yachts will cross the line to begin the single-handed portion of the 635 nautical mile Leg 1 to St. Georges, Bermuda, and it’s to be recognized as the first time these radical Mini 6.50’s will come head to head in North America. With 8 Minis expected to participate, the US class (the governing body of the Mini 6.50 in the United States) and its members will use this long-awaited platform to showcase an established international trend toward offshore adventure sailing for the first time in the USA.

After 4 to 6 days navigating complex spring weather patterns, dodging ships and fishing vessels in busy shipping lanes at night, and battling the ever changing Gulf Stream, the solo sailors will cross the finish line to be welcomed by the St. Georges Dingy Club. After a few days of rest and repair, the yachts, this time with a crew of two, will set out for Leg 2, racing back to Newport on 22 June 2007. As for the Mini Transat, which is an exceedingly hard event to qualify for, and one where an entry limit far exceeds the numbers interested, there will be two Americans competing -Clay Burkhalter and Andy Abel.

US class website: www.miniclassus.com

Scuttlebutt - the Band

Here is the NJ based band 'Scuttlebutt' in action somewhere in the foothills of Vermont, razin' a ruckus as they render sweetly, Little Feat's "Let It Roll"



Check out www.scuttlebutt15.com for more info.

One reason to cheer for ETNZ

If you are American (or any other nationality but British), you might start cheering for the Emirates Team New Zealand’s America’s Cup challenge, as their success can have Olympic implications. Britain still considers their strongest Finn sailor to be Ben Ainslie, but he is busy right now helming the reserve boat for ETNZ. Looking at the schedule of the America’s Cup and the Finn Worlds, Ainslie’s participation in the Olympics may require the Royal Yachting Association to bend their qualification rules in order to get him to Beijing. If ETNZ goes all the way to the finals, they can conceivably be sailing through to the first week of July. As for the Finn Worlds, they are folded this year into the ISAF Sailing World Championship where measurement for the Finn begins July 2 and racing starts July 5. Unfortunately, if Ainslie is shut out from the Olympics, the British back-up plan is still pretty good, as Ed Wright is presently ranked third in the ISAF standings.

* The ying and yang of this is one of America’s top Star sailors, Mark Mendelblatt, is also on the ETNZ crew.

2012 Olympic Events

Taking a bite of the apple, the US Olympic Sailing Committee has accepted the offer by ISAF to submit their suggestions for what events they would like to see participate in the 2012 Games. Thus far, what is known by everybody is that the number of events is shrinking from the current line-up of eleven down to ten. What is not known is what these ten events will be. So, to provide ISAF with a suggestion, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the USOSC has submitted a list of classes that they see as representing their country’s strengths, while also lending an ear to what the international sailing community might accept.

They have identified 8 of the 10 events that they feel most strongly about. As for the other 2 events, perhaps they will cash in some political capital to help those countries that agree to help them. The glaring omissions from the list are a multihulls and windsurfers. Also missing from the list is a Team Racing event, though it is likely that the USOSC wants to stick with battles that they see as winnable, and not burn up too much energy fighting for an event that might still be a quadrennium away.

The current preferences of the USOSC, as of February 17, 2007 are:

2012 OLYMPIC EVENTS
A Submission from US SAILING

Proposal:
That, in accordance with Regulation 16.1.1 (b), the following Events are eligible for selection for the 2012 Olympic Regatta:

Single - Handed Dinghy - Men
Single - Handed Dinghy - Women
Skiff - Men
Skiff - Women
Double - Handed Dinghy - Men
Double - Handed Dinghy - Women
Keelboat - Men
Keelboat - Women *

* match racing or fleet racing

Current Position:
No current position.

Reason:
1. These Events provide a natural progression for sailors as they age, broaden their skills and move on to new challenges.

2. Skiffs are exciting and generate media interest and buzz.

3. Keelboats will attract well-known sailors, including World Champions from other classes and America’s Cup sailors. These “heroes” will appeal to the media and spectators.

4. The symmetry of Events will increase participation by women.

5. This slate of Events will appeal to a wide range of athletes.

6. This slate of Events is representative of the sport as it is practiced around the World. As a result, it is likely that this slate will increase the number of countries competing in the Olympic Regatta.

NOTE: This Submission is not intended to propose reducing the number of Events to eight. It is envisioned that Council will add two other Events to the list of Events eligible for selection.

Click here to view the submission, which is included in the US SAILING Board of Directors minutes from the Feb 2007 meeting.

Not sailing the last race

When Mauricio Santa Cruz recently won the 2007 J/24 Worlds, he did so by not having to sail in the last race. Because the regatta was scored with a drop race, and because no one could beat him if he used the final race as his drop, Santa Cruz and his team opted not to race, and headed in for an early celebration. I also had this option after leading a National Championship, and I chose to do the same. After battling through the strain of a major regatta, it felt so good to have some calm, to be by ourselves, and to enjoy the moment.

Wondering how others would handle the situation, this week’s Scuttlebutt Poll asked “When leading a regatta with a drop race, do you sail in the final race if you have already mathematically won the event?” I must admit that the Scuttlebutt readers caught me off guard with their response, which said that 64% would sail in the last race. The comments submitted defend both positions, but the majority of the voters say to stay. When I sat out of the last race, I felt that I had earned it, and that my heart wouldn’t be into sailing the final race. When any boat sits out of a race, the standings are conceivably affected, as they are now a lost point that might have changed the score totals within the fleet. Would I do it again? Not if I sensed it would offend others, but it does seem like a lose-lose decision, as by sailing the final race, you are also affecting it. - Craig Leweck, Scuttleblog

The Good and the Bad

History will look back at last week being the reason why Scuttlebutt began a new tradition. Because of a couple events that the newsletter was trying to follow, Scuttlebutt will now grab a clean piece of paper at the start of each year, and throughout the year we will keep tabs on the regatta websites that do a good job communicating to the internet audience, and also those events that do a crummy job. At the end of the year, we will award those that should be commended, and scold those that deserve it. So what were the events that ticked us off enough to get this ball rolling? Guess you’ll have to wait for December.

A Mid-Fleet Perspective

If you were not interested in last week’s Scuttlebutt newsletter reports on the Star class Bacardi Cup in Miami, perhaps it’s because you’re not a fan of Olympic sailing, or 22-foot keelboats that were designed nearly a hundred years ago and cost about $65k. However, the class must be doing something right, as it still attracts elite sailors and huge fleets. As so often is the case, the event reports from last week did not tell the whole story. Beyond the glory of the top ten was the rest of the fleet, a group I affectionately call the “entry fees.” Without this group, there would be little glory, and it would be hard to budget any of the event perks. One such team was Canadians William Hendershot and Alain Vranderick, who competed against the other “entry fees” in route to their 47th place finish. They have posted some great reports on the ‘Montreal Sailing’ blog, from where I have culled their Lessons of the Day:

* When trading tacks at the windward mark, in a fleet of 75 boats, if you drop your cigarette in the bottom of the boat, let it be. The water will extinguish it. It’s a lot more prudent to keep your head out of the boat than to reach for that last half of Marlboro.

* Luck is your friend. Embrace her. Nurture her. You never know when you might need her.

* If you going to try to intimidate me on the starting line, better bring a bat, a gun, or a drill. I’m sorry but screaming will not do it. We’ve been through this too many times, and are not impressed by it anymore. Oh, and by the way, all that screaming only led you to an OCS. So there, don’t mess with Karma, she’s a bitch!

* Repeat after me EXECUTION IS KEY. To explain my point, here’s a little synopsis of what we went through. You plan this 6 months ahead of time, you make the condo reservations, you drive 30 hours to get there, you make it out to the race course an hour in advance to figure out the wind, you figure out a great strategy, and once the gun goes off you forget everything and get sucked into riding the clean air train. Come on guys, get with the program.

* The great thing about the Star is that it’s tweakable in every which way you can imagine. The bad thing about the Star is that it’s tweakable in every which way you can imagine. This ability to tune the boat can sometimes mess with your mind. You rationalize it by thinking, ‘It must be the boat. It can’t be us sailing poorly, we’re the f-ing fleet champions.’ But never underestimate your own capacity to sail badly. So, Willy, LEAVE THE GOD DAMN BOAT ALONE ALREADY!!! It’s not the boat; it’s the dummies in the hiking straps. There, I said it. I feel better now.

For all their Bacardi Cup Reports:
March 7 - March 8 - March 9 - March 10

New Product Announcements

Every publication receives New Product Announcements, which are informing the media of the latest gadgets now available to the sporting public. In the interest of keeping the Scuttlebutt newsletter at a manageable length, the Curmudgeon has generally tossed these announcements – until now. A new category has been created on the Forum called – you guessed it – New Product Announcements. This will be the place for companies to post their product news, and for the ‘buttheads to stay in touch with what’s soon to come to the stores. So, listen up companies: If you have something to say, say it here: http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/forum/products

Winter snorkeling

Dear Curmudgeon:

It has been a long winter and I'm getting somewhat weary of people describing how wonderful it is frolicking in Florida or the Caribbean.

Please find the picture below of my friend Rick Van Tongerin snorkeling in Lake Macatawa (Holland, Michigan) last week.

Sincerely,
David Sligh

Warning … don’t do this in public.

In Issue 2291, the Curmudgeon’s Observation came under heavy fire.

CURMUDGEON’S OBSERVATION
If you find yourself sitting next to someone who irritates you, follow these
instructions:
1. Quietly and calmly open up your laptop case.
2. Remove your laptop and start it up.
3. Make sure the person who is annoying you, can see the screen.
4. Close your eyes, tilt your head up to the sky, and hit this link:
http://boortz.com/mp3/archive/countdown.swf

All the letters we received that day were very critical, with this one being typical of the others:

“You must be crazy. Open up your laptop and display that screen and you run a high risk of being arrested. I can only assume that the arrest will be the best part of the experience that you will have. In case you have not heard, even joking about a bomb is a federal offense and is taken very seriously. It is likely that they will not treat this lightly. If you are lucky, perhaps the worst of it will be getting placed on the no fly lists, the worst, I shudder to think about. This is not a knee jerk reaction but a hard look of the reality of today. Given how so many of your readers depend on commercial travel, better safe than sorry for life!”

While we thought the Observation was very funny, we agreed that these instructions could be very dangerous if done in public to an unsuspecting person. We printed some of the critical letters in Issue 2292, which than caused another barrage of letters today, all in support of the Observation. Here is a sample:

“Isn't it depressing as hell when a great joke gets taken as seriously as it seems to have been. I sent it to a dozen cronies, and they all loved it. My kid, an airline pilot, only said that when he does it, he would be in uniform. C'mon, guys, relax and enjoy the jokes. We should all have brains and be able to differentiate between a good chuckle and serious dialog.”

Next time we will add this label: “Warning… don’t do this in public." Btw, we didn't have room in the newsletter to print all the letters we received, so here are a few more:

* From Reynald Neron: I am not sure what is more funny: the countdown with a few "pretend" arabic words," or the reactions of your readers. Indeed it is a very sad world when people forget than life should be fun!


* From Jeff Cannon: Isn't it depressing as hell that what is a great joke gets taken as seriously as it seems to have been. I sent it to a dozen cronies, and they all loved it. My kid, an airline pilot, only said that when he does it, he would be in uniform. C'mon, guys, relax and enjoy the jokes. We should all have brains and be able to differentiate between a good chuckle and serious dialog.


* From Jon Guth: Lighten up! Regarding the comments from Michael D. Ewing, Jim Gretzky, and Thomas Priest about the Curmudeon's joke in Scuttlebutt 2291, c'mon guys, lighten up! Do you really think any of the Scuttlebutt readers are dumb enough to actually do that in an airport or on a plane? I, for one, thought it was hilarious, as did several of my co-workers. Keep 'em coming Currmudeon....cuz' some of us still have a sense of humor.


* From Skip Ely: (re Michael D. Ewing comments in 2291) Which of the following definitions from From Webster describe the Curmudgeon and his observation?

1. xenophobic Adj.- suffering from xenophobia; having abnormal fear or hatred of the strange or foreign
afraid - filled with fear or apprehension;

2. bigoted Adj.- blindly and obstinately attached to some creed or opinion and intolerant toward others; intolerant - unwilling to tolerate difference of opinion

3. sense of humor Noun - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous;

Everyone thinks they have a sense of humor, only their friends know the truth. Anyone who took offense at the above observation is likely suffering from 1 and 2 above, plus a lack of 3. Lighten up it was funny. Although you would have to be an idiot to use it as described, that's what makes it so funny. By the way I think the Curmudgeon has none of 1 or 2 but does suffer from 3.