Life Altering Experience

More than 200 boats and nearly 800 yachties went up to Tinsley Island in the Sacramento Delta this past weekend on the St. Francis Yacht Club’s 50th Annual Stag Cruise. While this amazing gathering included some of our sport’s biggest names, the high spot of this four-day outing for the Curmudgeon was the 20 minutes I spent talking with Tom Norris, retired US Navy SEAL, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

A day earlier, Norris and Dick Couch -- his colleague, his friend and also a retired US Navy SEAL -- held a standing room only audience absolutely captivated as they candidly and understatedly talked about some of their missions … and about the bravery and heroics of the warriors currently on duty with the United States armed forces. To hear their stories about insurgency -- then and now -- could only be described as an inspirational, life-altering experience for the attendees who listened in awed silence with enormous respect.

St. Francis Yacht Club Commodore Ray Lotto asked Cruise Chair Charlie Hart and the 28-person committee to make the 50th Anniversary Stag Cruise the best one ever. “Mission Accomplished” was the overwhelming consensus of the members and distinguished guests privileged to attend this event.

Where else in the world would you find a collection of speakers like Tom Ehman, Dyer Jones, Malin Burnham, Bill Ficker, and Kimball Livingston assembled together in one place? But it was much more than the gathering of these leaders that made the Stag Cruise so special -- it’s the informal environment that made it very easy to break bread with any these gentlemen … or gather candid insight over late evening libation.

Marvelous food? Oh Yea! Adult beverages? Plentiful! And all of this was intermixed with Laser races, Bocce Ball, horseshoe and domino tournaments, enthusiastically appreciated Las Vegas entertainment, and elements of patriotism that made you feel good about being an American. It’s a unique experience, that takes place in a unique setting -- StFYC’s private island -- miles away from outside disturbances. -- The Curmudgeon

Note: Photos not taken by the Curmudgeon

Making it fun

Here's a report from Toby Reiley who shares a side story from the Sonar Worlds in Marblehead, MA that finished up this weekend: "On the topic of how to make regattas fun, here are some shots of our latest attempt: the Sam Adams Beer Boat at the Sperry Top-Sider Sonar ’07 Worlds. At the end of each day, the 209 competitors on 51 boats traded-in their KATTACK race tracker GPS for ice cold Sam Adams. It turns out that some of the best boat handling was jockeying for position to get the frosty Sam Adams! The beer boat was so popular that Regatta Chairs Roger and Janet Drumm had more beer brought in for the last day.

"Adorned in the regatta sponsor logos of Sperry Top-Sider, Sam Adams, Atlantis, and Kattack, the 1957 antique lobster boat owned by myself and my boat partner Peter Craig (of Premiere Racing fame) drew lots of attention from the boating public at the mouth of Marblehead Harbor."




The smile on Past EYC Commodore Martha Altreuter’s face says it all.

Here is a picture of the screen showing 51 boats rounding the leeward mark with the leaders well up the final leg. Fascinating to watch and very well received by all competitors, Race Committee, spectators, and sponsors.

Bringing it to the people

With the first season of the iShares Cup Extreme 40 Sailing Series being deemed a great success, this ‘crash-and-burn’ circuit is already planning for 2008. Subject to final agreements being concluded, OC Events, the circuit owner, with the support of title partner iShares, plans to take the European series to the four existing countries of the UK, France, Germany, and Holland, and add two new venues in Italy and Switzerland. With nine Extreme 40 boats already in existence, TornadoSport, builders of the 40-ft catamarans has strong interest for up to another six new builds and the teams from 2007 have already expressed their desire to compete again.

American Cam Lewis was in Amsterdam for the final event on September 14-16, with his images below profile both the racing and the great spectating that the proximity of the event provided.

Star studded launch

The Barcelona World Race is a new two-handed, non-stop round the world race for Open 60 class yachts starting on the 11th November, 2007 [and to be held every four years]. Alex Thomson has recently been testing his new HUGO BOSS, but when you are sponsored by a high-end German fashion house, your “official launch” parties can get high-end too. We’ll let Alex tell the story:

“We brought the boat up the Elbe right into the centre of Hamburg early on Tuesday morning where a 400 tonne crane was waiting to lift her out of the water. The weather forecast was 'changeable' and so we were all keeping our fingers crossed that the rain would stop and the wind wouldn't pick up. We had been liaising for months with the event organizers and crane company to try and ensure that everything would run smoothly and that the pressure new from the new boat could be hoisted safely 30m into the air. As with all big jobs, there were one or two last minute challenges to overcome, but after lots of initiative, head scratching and careful translation, everyone was finally ready.

“At 9pm the guests started to arrive, including legions of 6ft tall blond supermodels and German TV celebrities. I was quite overwhelmed by all the photographers and camera crews when I arrived accompanied by Lady Maureen Mills and my girlfriend Kate Denham, but it was great to see so many familiar faces. By 10pm almost 1000 guests and VIPs were ushered out to the riverside, and given gold blankets (more usually sported by marathon runners at the end of their races!) to keep everyone warm. And then the show started. Hugo Boss had employed one of Germany's top lighting companies to lend some glitz to the event and it really worked. The HUGO BOSS yacht looked extraordinary, suspended 30m in the air, lit by more than 40 enormous searchlights and lasers and then she glided slowly towards a raised platform to some haunting classic music. I was joined on the platform by Ukrainian boxing world champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko who were invited to officially christen the boat. Sadly, no doubt due to the McLaren F1 team's recent fining of £46 million for alleged spying, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, also recipients of Hugo Boss sponsorship, were no shows.

“And then it was time to party!”

Baby Steps

There was a Bill Murray movie in 1991, “What About Bob,” that had a line where Murray’s character Bob Wiley said the line, “Baby steps, get on the elevator...baby steps get on the elevator...” Wiley was working with a psychiatrist on some issues he had, and “baby steps” was his way of making progress. Kind of like, you must first learn how to walk before you can run. Maybe that is also what is happening with the Alinghi team.

On Thursday, Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) and Alinghi announced that changes had been made to the Protocol for the 33rd America's Cup, with the result of this being that the "majority of BMW Oracle Racing’s (BOR) concerns" had been addressed and that the Defender was making a final appeal to the American team to drop their legal actions and join the competition.

A review of their announcement harkens the line “baby steps” as this amendment is not likely going to cancel any of the legal proceedings in New York. Their proclamation of addressing the majority of BOR's concerns is a bit of a stretch, but it is worth noting the conciliatory tone of their announcement, and that Alinghi is interested in making some changes to the Protocol based on their meetings with the current challengers and with the event’s Arbitration Panel. Matthew Sheahan provides additional commentary on the Protocol ammendment at Yachting World. Here is Alinghi's complete announcement:


SNG and Alinghi announce Protocol amendment and make a final appeal to BMW Oracle Racing - 2007-09-20
Today the Société Nautique de Genève (SNG) and Alinghi announced that after a series of successful Competitor Commission meetings and discussions with the legitimately entered challengers, the Protocol has been amended in agreement with the Challenger of Record, Club Náutico Español de Vela (CNEV). As a result of this, the majority of BMW Oracle Racing’s concerns have been addressed and the Defender issues a final appeal to the American team to drop their legal actions and join the competition.

These developments continue the progress of planning the 33rd America’s Cup, as Brad Butterworth, Alinghi skipper, explains: “The Competitor Commission meetings were set up as a forum to shape the 33rd America’s Cup and this avenue of dialogue is really working for the better of the event. With this and the ongoing design consultation period, which will define the new class rule and competition regulations, we are making good progress towards the 33rd.”
These amendments, as a result of Competitor Commission meetings, also reflect many of the desired changes brought forward by BMW Oracle Racing and discussed between Brad Butterworth and Russell Coutts, BOR skipper, over the last few weeks, in an attempt to resolve their concerns over the 33rd America’s Cup Protocol.

As a result and following these changes, Ernesto Bertarelli, Alinghi syndicate head, appeals to the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC): “I would again appeal to BMW Oracle Racing to enter the 33rd America’s Cup as a legitimate challenger. It has been demonstrated that dialogue is possible for the better of this event and it should be noted by them that many areas of their concerns have been addressed.”
And finally he added: “We would also like BMW Oracle Racing to consider that their action is hindering the opportunity for other teams to enter the competition, and harming the ability of existing competitors to generate sponsorship income and properly plan their challenge.”

The Protocol amendments are as follows:
With regards America’s Cup Management’s (ACM) power to disqualify a competitor, this has been clarified to say that, should a competitor refuse to be bound by the Protocol, then they will have recourse to the Arbitration Panel without risk of disqualification until the Panel rules.

Secondly with regards ACM’s right to refuse an entry. The amendment is a restriction of ACM’s ‘ability to reject’ to an ability only on very specific grounds, which are: failure to comply with the Deed of Gift, a capacity issue within Port America’s Cup or a need to provide an equitable balance of competing nations. The SNG has made it clear that, should the GGYC abandon their legal action, they would be welcomed as a competitor for the 33rd edition and could shape the event along with the other challengers and the Defender during the ongoing Competitor Commission meetings.

A further suggested amendment point, on recommendation from the Arbitration Panel, regards the power of ACM to amend the Protocol and other rules. This has been changed to state that ‘any proposal to make any Protocol changes, related to the way in which the Arbitration Panel works, must be subject to its prior approval.’

In addition to this amendment, the SNG and CNEV have deleted the power of ACM to remove members of the Arbitration Panel.

Finally, the concern regarding ‘neutral management’ has been amended to extend the Fair Sailing rule to apply to all matters directly related to the regatta.

Houston or Bust

Over the years, Scuttlebutt has fostered a wonderful relationship with the Bitter End Yacht Club, a dandy resort in the British Virgin Islands that annually hosts each fall the Scuttlebutt Sailing Club Championship and the Pro Am Regatta Week. Among the sailors currently on the hook this year are Russell Coutts, Paul Cayard, Ken Read, Butch Ulmer, Rod Johnstone, and Ben Ainslie, with the Curmudgeon also slated to attend.

Besides the BEYC being a true jewel of the BVI, they are also a big supporter of the sport, and are seeking to help some of their own sailors get to “the show.” The BVI Women's Team of Emma Paull, Rebecca Paull Roulette, Clair Burke and Linda Phillips, three-time winners of the Caribbean Women's Keel Boat Championship, have their sights on competing at this year’s Rolex International Women's Keelboat Championship in Houston on November 12-17. BEYC is helping in a big way by donating a week for two at the resort, which the team is selling to help fund their trip.

The week long Admiral Package is worth anywhere between $4400 and $6100 depending on the season, but is being offered in support of the BVI Women's Team Challenge for $4999.00. Two people will enjoy accommodations for seven nights/ eight days in paradise at the world's premier sailing resort, along with three meals daily, unlimited use of Club boats, an introduction to sailing course, fresh water pool, vita course, walking/ hiking trails, Monday night guest cocktail party, Sunday regatta and party, bluewater excursions, snorkeling trips, sunset sail, champagne cruises, and dinner cruises.

Booking must be done through Bitter End Yacht Club and is subject to availability. Some blackout dates apply. For more information about the Bitter End Yacht Club check out beyc.com. Tto find out more about this specific package, contact Linda Phillips at linda@doylecaribbean.com or (284) 494-2569.

Good Karma

We get a lot of stuff sent to us, and most of it is great and has to do with sailing, but some are email chain threats that demand action to get good luck or avoid bad luck. We don't buy into it, and would prefer not to be among the 10 people that someone had to send it to.

Making the best of a situation, though, is the one below. Hopefully we have neutered the threat, allowing you to gain from these thoughts, which are actually pretty good:


Click here to see all 19 points.

Big… Really, Really Big

Global BSI, which is a Danish firm that specializes in the engineering and manufacture of premium rod rigging systems for large sailing vessels, has announced that it has ordered the world's largest cold-heading press for Superyacht rigging applications. The new press, scheduled to be ready by November, is capable of heading larger than dash eleven hundred (-1100) rod.

For those that don’t know what that means, which includes the Curmudgeon, dash eleven hundred rod exceeds three inches in diameter and has a breaking load of 1,100,000 pounds. While they don’t say how heavy it is, you got to think it is pretty heavy. Their website lists that dash 540 (-540), which is two inches in diameter, weighs 10.73 pounds per foot. This is all pretty big stuff, and opens our eyes a bit more to the world of superyachting.

Following on the heels of the Global BSI announcment was another by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS) in Porto Cervo, Italy, who have teamed up with Boat International Group and Rolex to organize a new event for sailing superyachts. The Rolex Boat International Superyacht Regatta will see the world’s biggest sailing yachts coming together to compete on the beautiful waters off of Porto Cervo on June 23rd to 26th 2008. The racing format will be pursuit-style using IRC handicaps, with participating yachts having a minimum LOA of approximately 28 metres. We thinks that the Curmudgeon has space in his calendar for this one.

Curmudgeon's Observation

Welcome to the 21st Century

Some of the realities of dinghy sailing have kept time standing still in this genre of the sport. Any modern keelboat sailor might be shocked at the lack of support a dinghy sailor has onboard, where most class rules limit the assistance of electronic instruments, forcing them to rely on “the seat of their pants” to sail the boat. Restrictions are generally in place for practical reasons – the boats are too wet – or are there to limit spending.

One popular dinghy class, however, is bucking tradition and has opened its doors to the 21st century. Due to the quality and relative low cost of waterproof, handheld VHF radios, the Lightning class now permits the option of using radio communication for its events. Some of the events this summer that used radios were the 2007 Lightning World Championship in Athens, Greece in July, and more recently, at the 2007 North Americans in August on the Chesapeake Bay.

Speaking to class champion Greg Fisher, he noted that the class has made this option available to the PRO of the event, and it is up to the event organizer if they want to utilize the tool. Fisher was exceedingly pleased with how NA’s PRO Jeff Borland
used the radio, where its value went well beyond notifying the fleet of OCS starters, but also was used to keep the competitors in the loop during all pre-start decisions. And while the communication was largely one-way from the committee to the fleet, Fisher recalled that some competitors did use the radio to notify the committee of breakdowns.

Will VHF radios soon be as common in dinghy sailing as hiking boots? For recommendations on which radios are up to the rigors of dinghy sailing, West Marine’s John McGinnis of their Electronics & Navigation Team recommends the following three radios:

Icom M34 floating radio (8678641)
West Marine VHF 55 (7642358)
West Marine VHF 150 (7567019)

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A good side story

Tragedy is no basis for sports spectating, but it happens in most sports, and the possibility of it is one of many features that attract the avid fan. A good side story works well too, like doping to gain an athletic advantage, or as the revelation last week of the storied New England Patriots football team and their propensity of illegally video taping the opposing coach’s player signals. Sailing seems to be getting into the act too, as the Chinese government and the British sailing team have gotten into a bit of scrap regarding some surveillance equipment.

With recent press releases announcing how the mayors of Miami and Qingdao were getting together this Tuesday at Coral Reef Yacht Club (Miami, FL) for some breakfast and to reaffirm their brotherly relationship as great sailing cities, ‘butthead John Browning wonders if the American mayor might also discuss the problems of the Brits. In a letter to Miami’s Mayor Diaz, he says, “I hope that you will mention to your Chinese guests on September 18, that abuse of power gets wide publicity in the West, and if they expect to create any 'respect for their City' from sailors, they need to change, and to do it now.

“I refer to: The British Olympic sailors gear that was taken, when their police officers raided the team's flat, removing two 5ft tall weather stations, worth US$16,000 [£8,000], from the apartment in March 2006. The U.K., team was in China preparing for the 2008 Olympics, and had been using the equipment to download data on temperatures and wave and wind directions.

“Stephen Park, the Royal Yachting Association's Olympic manager, said September 7, 2007: ‘We have been told by friends and sources in China that the authorities thought our equipment could be used for spying. In fact, it is purely so we know the precise weather conditions we will encounter.’ He added: ‘We'd like the equipment back.’ The raid took place in March last year and the equipment has not yet been returned.

“Of course keeping other Sailing Teams from knowledge of the weather at the Olympic site, will give an advantage to their National Team. Possibly if enough US sailors e-mailed the Mayors Office, a 'hint' at the breakfast could help not just the Brit's get their equipment back, but prevent similar happenings to our US Team (and other teams). Isabel M. de Quesada is the Executive Director, of the Mayor's International Council. Her e-mail address is: idequesada@ci.miami.fl.us"

Thanks Dr. Bub

We have likely spent too much time this season bemoaning the struggles of getting timely event reports, and not enough time celebrating the people that have helped. One of those people that came through in a big way this summer was Dr. Ernest "Bub" Kovacs, who provided the ‘buttheads with the scoop on the 2007 Sunfish World Championship in Brant Beach, New Jersey. He wrote tight daily updates that needed very little tuning before publication, and submitted them as promptly as possible. To Dr. Bub, and all those that support events by spreading the word… thanks!

Here were his reports:

* Brant Beach, New Jersey (August 20, 2007) -- The Sunfish World Championship got underway at the Brant Beach Yacht Club with some 100 competitors from 12 countries attending the event. First day sailing conditions found the sailors dealing with winds of 12-18 knots with intermittent rain. The highlight of the first race was a very large banner at the finish line that read: "Judy, Will You Marry Me?" It was from sailor Arthur Littleton to sailor Judy Lazo, who replied with a resounding "Yes." After three races, Paul-Jon Patin (USA) is leading by 7 points over Malcolm Smith (Bermuda). Full results at: http://bbyc.net/SunfishWorlds/index.htm

* Brant Beach, New Jersey (August 21, 2007) -- Day two of the Sunfish World Championship left the fleet on land as a result of high winds and limited visibility. With wind in the 15-20 knot range and gusts well over 25, the decision was to wait for day three after several postponements. The sailors were treated to a six hour feeding buffet: a full breakfast, followed by fruit and granola bars that led into roast beef sandwiches, hot dogs, and tacos. A heavier fleet looks forward to getting the racing started again. From the three races on Monday, Paul-Jon Patin (USA) is leading by 7 points over Malcolm Smith (Bermuda). Full results at: http://bbyc.net/SunfishWorlds/index.htm

* Brant Beach, New Jersey (August 22, 2007) -- Day three of the Sunfish World Championships had the fleet back on the water after a day on land because of weather conditions. The sailors were greeted by more Nor'easter weather with a light rain, winds in the 12-15 mph range, and record setting low temperatures in the upper 50's. Sebastian Mera of the Dominican Republic rolled a 2-1-1-2 for the day, and now with a drop race, leads the fleet with only 9 points. He is followed by Jon-Paul Patin (USA) and Malcolm Smith (Bermuda) who are second and third, both with 24 points. Full results at: http://bbyc.net/SunfishWorlds/index.htm

* Brant Beach, New Jersey (August 23, 2007) -- The last day of the Sunfish World Championship saw Sebastian Mera of the Dominican Republic begin with a solid first place finish to create an almost insurmountable lead. He finished the 10-race series with a total of 26 points to claim the World Champion title. Malcolm Smith of Bermuda was second with 60 points, closely followed by Jon-Paul Patin (USA) with 63. Top Junior was Alexander Zimmerman of Peru, with Lee Parks (USA) as the top female competitor. The weather finally turned to the favor of regatta organizers with the last race being completed in the first sun of the entire week. Complete results: http://bbyc.net/SunfishWorlds/index.htm

Winter is for football

Sailing in really cold weather isn’t much fun, and usually is good reason to put one’s passion on hold until the forecast improves. This happens each winter, and we thought this was what made many parts of the US, not least of all the mid-Atlantic region, such thriving areas during the warmer months. You know, lots of demand, but due to the cruddy weather, minimal supply.

However, with the grace of a sailor’s memory, and perhaps a boost from global warming, the IRC East Coast Championship returns to Annapolis, MD November 2-4 to hopefully get a break from the pending doom of winter. Last year’s event was dealt decent winds on only one of the three days, and endured temperatures that never rose above 50 degrees. That is the fate of this region, which has average November temperatures of 56.0° F (high) and 36.0° F (low). Anyone who has ever attended Annapolis’ famous US Sailboat Show in early October can attest to the fact that fall weather can be, and often is, wet and cold.

Maybe folks that race in areas that have “real” winters are just tougher than those who don’t. That list likely includes Dan Meyers (Boston, Mass.), who won last year with his Farr 60 Numbers, commenting that it “was so cold it could have been called the Icicle Regatta." But Meyers will be returning again this year with his new Judel/Vrolijk 66 Numbers that will debut at this event. He will be joined by Edgar Cato's (Miami, Fla.) Farr 60 Hissar, John Brim's (New York, N.Y.) Reichel/Pugh 55 Rima 2, Michael Brennan's (Potomac, Md.) R/P 45 Sjambok, and Larry Bulman/Jeff Scholz/Dick D'Amato's (Bethesda, MD) Farr 40 Yellow Jacket.

For the good of the IRC East Coast Championship, we will be praying for a delayed winter… or at least until we hop on our return flight to the west coast after the US Sailboat Show.

Tweaking the balance

If you noticed that the Thursday and Friday issues were all about the America’s Cup or some other realm of pro-glam sailing, it was because they were. Or darn close. We had a guest editor those days, and he gets really into that stuff, and figures everyone else should too. If you enjoyed it… great. If you thought it was too much, look for a better balance next week.

Too Much Ernesto

After editing Issue 2424, we had this feeling the balance of the newsletter was not right. This is not always under our control. News is news, and we are more the tail than the dog. After doing a word count, we found that Ernesto Bertarelli was named in the newsletter nine times. While it remains a pretty small fraction of the 3200 words, it might be too much. Near as we can tell, Tom Ehman was second with five mentions, and Brad Butterworth was third with three mentions.

Maybe the problem is that these three gentlemen were frequently being discussed in relation to each other, which would have everything to do with the drama that surrounds the America’s Cup. Some love this soap opera, and others are running for the hills.

We will try to appease both sides, along with anyone in the middle. Like always, Scuttlebutt is a long buffet table, where you pick what you want to put on your plate as you work your way down to the guy slicing up that big chunk of meat. With fourteen stories and a sampling of letters in Issue 2424, we hope that no one went home hungry.