I have been wearing Kaenon Polarized eyewear, partly because company owner Steve Rosenberg is a friend, and partly because Kaenon is an advertiser. But I also like them, and I know I wouldn't wear them if I didn't. I am sure the same goes for all the top sailors that wear them too.
Since the Kaenon website has so many choices, Steve has provided a list of what the pros are wearing now to help us with our choices:
Russell Coutts wears Lewi G12 Brad Butterworth, Hard Kore C12 Anna Tunnicliffe, Beacon C12 / Georgia C12 Genny Tulluch, Georgia G12 John Kostecki, Hard Kore C12 Jimmy Spithill, Lewi G12 Ben Ainslie, Rhino G12 Iain Percy, Baton G12 Cam Lewis, Lewi G12 Rx Freestyle Peter Isler, Burny G12 Rx Freestyle Shirley Robertson, Georgia G12 Mark Mendelblatt, Hard Kore G12 Andrew Campbell, Hard Kore G12 Pete Melvin, Jetty G12 Chris Larson, Hard Kore C12 Terry Hutchinson, Kore C12
Paul Cayard is very good at sailing, and also very good at providing media reports from his various activities. Paul’s reports are occasionally included in Scuttlebutt to add to our event coverage, while other sailing media will print whatever Paul says - regardless of its news-worthiness (heh Paul, no offense intended).
This week Paul is in Dubai, competing in the Sea Dubai RC44 Gold Cup. Here is section from Paul’s report on the day before the event starts:
“We had Bob Little ("Peaches" as he was nicknamed by his mother) on the helm. Bob is a very good sailor who decided to get a real job a number of years ago. As the fleet racing is an amateur driver competition, Bob enjoyed the opportunity to get some starting practice in. He did a great job working with our bowman Morgan Gutenkunst getting their time-on-distance judgment down.”
Now, Bob Little is a very old friend of mine, and maybe he told Paul that his mom gave him that nickname. However, I am here to correct the facts.
About 30 years ago I was helping deliver a 45-foot IOR boat from Los Angeles to San Francisco, and was joined by Bob Little and Kimo Worthington. About mid trip, I suspect our poor food planning became evident, and Bob got hungry. We seemed to have a lot of canned fruit, so one day Bob started consuming the cans of peaches. One after another. Needless to say, he ate enough for Kimo and I to nickname him “Peaches”.
Regardless, Bob is a great guy, and I am pleased to see him having the opportunity to compete with Paul.
In contrast to the current absurdity of the Americas Cup, I thought your readers might like to here of a genuinely Corinthian adventure which is due to get under way in December.
Two Australian Classic Yachts, "Wraith of Odin" and "Fair Winds" are planning to sail 1200 nm across the Tasman from Brisbane to Auckland to compete in a four day series called the Southern Trust Regatta for Classic Yachts. Despite both yachts having highly experienced crews there are no professionals on board, there is no sponsorship involved and the only motivation is a bit of adventure and the chance to challenge the Kiwis in their own back yard.
Even though this is an Australian Challenge the connections with the USA are strong. "Wraith of Odin" is an immaculately restored 57 ft Alden Malabar XIII built in 1950 with a long record of offshore racing. "Fair Winds" is a 1956 43ft Philip Rhodes design (no 633) built by Abeking Rassmussen.
In your recent threads you have often discussed where sailing losing the plot in regards to popular appeal. Here is a formula for success. Take two stunningly beautiful 50+year old yachts.......adventure across 1200 miles of ocean with a bunch of mates. Race then HARD when you get there. Don't care too much about the result.
The Leucadia Open Invitational Match Race Event was founded in 1999 by organizer Ken Redler, who nearly annually transforms his home into Queludia Yacht Club to hold this radio control sailing contest in the sparkling azure waters of his backyard pool.
While the BMW Oracle Racing team tested their 90-foot trimaran on San Diego Bay in hopes of competing in a match race event, the 2009 Leucadia Open was actually having an event just 30 minutes to the north. Organizer Redler and Star World Champion overcame the other 20 entrants to meet in the finals, with Redler winning his third open.
Ken Redler in the tie-die shirt leading the skipper's meeting.
The Leucadia Open rules.
Spectatators are kept a safe distance from the action.
Nearly as technical as the America's Cup.
Pre-race action... this is real match racing.
Follow the eyes... are these two skippers even on the same leg?
Photographer in dangerous position to get this shot.
Spectators surround the event "stadium".
Redler (left) and Szabo in the best of three finals.
Big breeze at the top of the course... from the electric fans.
No photographers were harmed in getting this photo.
Heading to the leeward mark, with the spectators literally on top of the action.
Follow the eyes...who is ahead?
These might only be two servo cheapo boats, but wing-and-wing still looks cool.
"Hotel California" is the title song from the Eagles' album of the same name and was released as a single in early 1977. These lyrics came to mind when I was thinking about the America's Cup today.
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell And I was thinking to myself, “this could be heaven or this could be hell” Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say...
Welcome to the hotel california Such a lovely place Such a lovely face Plenty of room at the hotel california Any time of year, you can find it here
Her mind is tiffany-twisted, she got the mercedes bends She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat. Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the captain, “please bring me my wine” He said, “we haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine” And still those voices are calling from far away, Wake you up in the middle of the night Just to hear them say...
Welcome to the hotel california Such a lovely place Such a lovely face They livin’ it up at the hotel california What a nice surprise, bring your alibis
Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said “we are all just prisoners here, of our own device” And in the master’s chambers, They gathered for the feast The stab it with their steely knives, But they just can’t kill the beast
Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back To the place I was before “relax,” said the night man, We are programmed to receive. You can checkout any time you like, But you can never leave!
The American Challenger of Record for the 33rd America’s Cup left the dock with its giant wing sail attached for the first time, marking a major milestone in the campaign. A wing of this scale has never been built for a boat. In terms of size, the wing on the BOR 90 dwarfs those on modern aircraft. Towering nearly 190 ft (57 m) above the deck, it is 80 percent bigger than a wing on a 747 airplane (102 ft / 31 m). Photo by Gilles Martin-Raget.
America's Cup challenger BMW Oracle Racing team confirmed today that they have a wing for their 90-foot triamaran, and that it will begin being tested this week as an option to the traditional soft sail rig as previously sea-trialed on the BOR 90 for the 33rd America’s Cup. Considering that they broke their largest soft sail rig last week, I am not sure what other options they have unless they have another rig being build or plan to repair the broken mast.
Scuttlebutt is an english publication, and its editor was subject to the American educational system that spent very little time motivating its students to learn other languages. So when it comes to French yachting, where the communications typically are only in the French language, I am subject to the choppy translation tools available online (read: I'm screwed).
This email today caught my eye:
The Race Organisation of the Global Ocean Race 2011-12 can now confirm that the French language side of the event's website is fully operational. Over the next few weeks, important announcements regarding the Global Ocean Race will be uploaded to the site in English and French.
Maybe this is a sign for the French... call it an olive branch... and that there will be more cooperation in the future.
When it comes to running the races at major yachting events across the globe, one name is consistently at the top of the list of people to call. Peter ‘Luigi’ Reggio has ticked the boxes on all of the big regattas - America’s Cup, Olympics, TP52 MedCup, RC44 European Circuit, Farr 40 Worlds, Melges 24 Worlds….and so the list goes on. His unique expertise reputation for fairness and open dialogue with the competitors makes him a popular choice with regatta organisers and sailors alike. Peter is not a blue blazer, straw hat kind of guy, and his friends had some fun at his expense when he recently turned 60.
We received this email Friday morning:
"I mean not to offend but, for the moment, I have taken Luigi's 60th birthday video and made it private on YouTube. I did not anticipate the video becoming viral within the sailing community and appreciate the compliment in your posting a link to it. However, for the moment, I had to make it non-public while I make sure that those involved are okay with their faces going from a one-time birthday surprise to public personas for the day. My apologies and, again, thank you for complimenting my "creative talent" and Luigi's need for embarrassment."
Later Friday morning, the video went back online with some very minor editing:
The BMW Oracle Racing base showed little urgency today, which might be surprising given that the team broke their mast nearly 24 hours earlier, a sum rumored to be $10 million (see photos).
During my visit mid-morning, the focus of the team was not on the boat, which showed no appearance of obvious damage. Neither was the focus on the mast, which was placed on supports with the broken end available for public viewing.
The two large tents were quiet, though they were undoubtedly full of staff busily preparing the next mast. On the team’s newly launched blog, Peter Rusch notes, “Somewhat surprisingly, it might not be as difficult as it would first appear. This is because we were already scheduled to move ahead with testing of a new rig platform next week (more on that later).”
The 33rd America's Cup challenger, BMW Oracle Racing, took one on the chin today when the rig on their 90-foot trimaran dropped while they were going upwind in approximately 9 knots. This all took place about 9 miles south of the Coronado Islands at about 12:30pm while training from their San Diego base. No injuries occurred, and the cause of the failure is still under investigation.
It was on Monday, September 8, 2008 when I was in Anacortes, WA during the first day that the BMW Oracle Racing team opened their construction base to the media. They had been trialing the BOR 90 trimaran for a week, and were now ready to reveal some details on their Deed of Gift challenger.
A lot on the boat has changed since then, and I went to the team's San Diego base on Friday, October 30, 2009 to get an update. The most evident change is the removal of the coffee-grinder pedestals above deck, and the addition of the new BMW diesel engine below deck. The 33rd America’s Cup will use engines for the first time to power the winches and hydraulics, and while the boat may not appear too different, it absolutely sounds different. And when the entire boat shudders during load testing, with an intense rev to the engine, well, if you have ever seen a top fuel dragster burn out prior to a start to warm its tires, then you know what I mean.
Here are some of the other observations: • Removal of main hull rudder • Removal of main hull daggerboard • Removal of helmsman safety cage • Longer bow sprit • Greatly reduced netting between main hull and amas • Addition of ama daggerboard lifts to aid in raising and lowering • Addition of water ballast • Newly raised and relocated mast base • Deeper ama rudders
Other changes around the BOR training base include a new second tent for sail work, and an enlargement of the main tent. While the sail tent is open for viewing, the main tent is not, and it is in there that the team works on their special modifications, which some suspect may include the construction of a hard wing rig.
Here are some photos of the boat:
Without the netting, John Kostecki now has to walk the back beam to get on the boat.
Cameraman showing how there is now little room for error.
Helm Jimmy Spithill is alone and elevated, and with no safety cage, he is literally holding on to the wheel to stay onboard. Also see the removal of main hull rudder and daggerboard.
New ama daggerboard lifts to help with raising and lowering.
Two of the BOR support boats discussing the boat in the background that has been shadowing the team.
Could this be an innocent spectator, or an employed observer of the Alinghi team?
