Holiday Party

There was a time when the Lido 14 class in SoCal was an absolute whos-who of the top racers in the region. But time marches on, and the class has struggled to maintain the enthusiasm.

The success of local fleets rests firmly on the shoulders of its members, and the Lido 14 fleet in Long Beach, CA has recently found some sparkplugs to carry the load. The boats are back on the water, and the energy is packed into their weekly email updates.

This communiqué had us laughing out load and needed to be shared. While the names may not be familiar, we suspect your sailing area has these types too:

For the final race of the 2011 Fleet Six Twilite Season (otherwise know as Mark Ryan's Date Nights), any skipper who attends this year's Holiday Extravaganza will be allowed to start the second race 3 seconds early without penalty. As you know this will send all other sailors who did not see fit to attend the Holiday Party right out the back end of the fleet, sucking your stale gas.

Additionally, we have asked Chris Ericksen, ABYC Historian and Orator Extraordinaire, to give a small talk entitled "Sexual Misadventures of Those Not In Attendance". You won't want to miss this one! (It's a small club and an even smaller Fleet, and Chris has an memory like an elephant)

Contact Lori VanSkyhock to RSVP (ask her about her new lingerie).

Chris Ericksen with two ladies who will definitely be at the Holiday Party!

Forty Little Children

To present his formal position on the junior sailing debate, Saving Sailing author Nicholas Hayes was compelled to poetry:

Forty Little Children
By Nicholas Hayes

Forty little children,
all in a row
Doing what daddy didn't,
but look dear what a show!

Twenty kids in team shirts,
awesomely prepared.

Half go for the fauxhawk,

the rest get Bieber hair.

Twelve ready tweeners,
hit the line on time.
Starboard looks favored,
but port!, dad yells, is fine.

Six near grownup ducklings,
quack, quack, quack.
Saying, "take to the air, sis,
and
don't
look
back."

Gram and Grandpa wonder,
where did they go?
Our kids?
And theirs, the ones like ducks
who lived to be the show?

The bay need not be empty.
It's fun from spring to fall.
But to share it,
really share it.
We need not some, but all.

Ice Cup in Sweden

If people live in areas that get a real winter, are they more apt to get on the water in sketchy conditions? Like these below:

Attached are some images from the 10th edition of Ice Cup in Sweden. Minus 10 degrees C and snow was not a big problem for the 120 Vikings who turned up for the start. The 25 teams raced in J/92, however, spinnakers were not allowed due to too much ice on foredeck; winch handles were used to hack ice off deck.


Regards,


Oskar Kihlborg
Kihlborg Film AB
www.kihlborg.se

Rules conundrum

There was commentary last week in Scuttlebutt regarding how certain one design classes include a crew weight rule. The intent of such a rule is to allow boat owners to sail with the same crew regardless of the wind conditions. A classic example is the Etchells class, which had allowed crew weight to be unrestricted. But when Dennis Conner dominated the 1991 Worlds in San Francisco with a combined crew weight of 818 pounds (818/ 3 crew = 273 average), they soon instilled a 285 kilo maximum (628.3 lb).

It was noted how competing teams in the Melges 32 class might diet before the crew weigh in, and then gain the body weight back during the regatta. Since the performance of a Melges 32 is closely connected to its crew’s hiking ability, being a heavy crew is a bonus. On the surface this practice of sailing over the class crew weight maximum would seem unethical. But what last week’s report did not note was how the class rules do not deem this practice illegal. Here are the two relevant sections in the Melges 32 class rules:

---------------------------------------

Section C - Conditions For Racing

The crew and the boat shall comply with the rules in this section before the preparatory signal and, when applicable, whilst racing. These rules may not be checked as part of fundamental measurement. It is the Owners responsibility to see that his boat complies with the class rules and relevant RRS at all times and that alteration, replacement or repairs to the boat do not invalidate the measurement certificate.

C.7.2. Weights

The total crew weight on board while racing shall not exceed 629kgs. This weight shall be taken with the crew dressed in normal underclothes only. Crews shall only be weighed during the registration period prior to racing. Re-weighing shall only take place if a valid protest shows that the pre-race weights were false. The Owner shall be allocated a weight of 104kgs., the Owner may choose to weigh in.

---------------------------------------

As was noted last week, the 2010 Melges 32 World Championship allowed for crew weight to be measured as far as nine days before the first race, allowing teams with the opportunity to increase their crew weight before racing began. However, based on the rule, as long as the crew weight information was accurately recorded, and the scale equipment was not found to be faulty, the time of weigh in was the ONLY time a crew had to weigh no more than 629kg.

There does seem to be a conundrum in the rules, as on one hand the class says there is a crew weight maximum, but on the other hand it states that it is in place only when the crew is weighed. As to one design regattas without a weigh-in, perhaps this rule is amended in the NOR or Sis. How PHRF handles it is less clear, as a Melges 32 using a class handicap would be expected to follow its class rules.

Thoughts?

Anglo - French Conflict

It was in Scuttlebutt 3208 (Oct. 28, 2010) when Sailing World blogger Tim Zimmermann pronounced that the Route Du Rhum, the 3542 nm solo race from France to West Indies, would be “hands-down be the most exciting sailboat race of the year”. Speaking to his American audience (though the Internet knows no limits) that lacks the same passion as its western European ally, his words were equal parts information and persuasion.

Hopefully his words had some impact for those who witnessed them. The Route Du Rhum only happens once every four years, and it always delivers intense sailing action (which sometimes reaches the level of serious carnage). The last edition drew 1.2 million visitors to the race village and 250,000 people thronging to the coast to view the start. With 1,000 accredited journalists at the start, the event received over 88 hours of TV broadcasts, 5,200 press articles and 60 radio hours. Clearly, the event has an audience.

This year, the RDR had 87 registered skippers, and the event website brought us onboard with reports, photos, video, and tracking. The five divisions were filled with the elites of this realm. The maxi multihulls, famous for their speed records, shared the spot light with the IMOCA Open 60, clearly the dominant player in professional shorthanded competition. But it was the new kid on the block, the Class 40 with its 44 entries, which also warranted space on the stage.

WARNING: A Scuttlebutt rant is approaching...

So given the depth of competition presented by the Class 40, why would an event that had made a significant investment to share the action of this contest to a global online audience, stop providing event updates before the first Class 40 crossed the finish line? The final story - “Here come the roaring 40's!” - would report how the Class 40 fleet would start arriving in a day or two.

Funny thing happened in the world of this French produced event... they stopped translating the stories to English. The website has a French and English language option, and the English version of the website stops on November 16th (as of press time) while the French version continues on. So for any Anglo interested in the six Class 40 entries yet to finish, better luck next time. And we wonder why the Americans don’t follow this foreign affair.

Event website: http://www.routedurhum-labanquepostale.com/

Accident at da Harken factory...

Olaf vas vorking on the die cutter machine at da plant las veek vhen he accidentally cut off all ten of his finkers.

So Peter (left in photo) took him to da emergency room in the Clinik and vhen he got dar Dr. Norsky looked at Olaf and said, "Okie dokie, let's have da finkers and I'll see vhat I can do."

Olaf said, "I haven't got da finkers."

"Vhat do you mean, you hafen't got da finkers?" he said. "Lordy - it's 2010 and Ive's got microsurgery and all kinds of incredible surgery techniques. I could hafe put dem back on and made you like new! Vhy didn't you brink da finkers?"

Olaf says........."How da fock vas I suppose to pick dem up?"

No good deed goes unpunished

The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association has a mailing list system that allows for the communication of events and other ICSA information. But sometimes lists like this get messy with communication that, while well intended, gets presented to a larger audience than desired.

Here is a series of emails that were focused on the Match Race Nationals, or specifically, the event’s website. To protect the parties involved, we will use the names of the original Beatles lineup: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best.

JOHN
Not sure who is the creator/ designer/ decision maker behind collegematchrace.com but it is unfortunate that it looks like a pro-match racing web page that only has the skippers names and bio's and one needs to dig down to find the crews. Good effort with not much thought.

PAUL
JOHN wins the Unconstructive Criticism of the Day Award! Similarly, you did not give sending an email like this out to the list much thought either. In the future if anyone would like to give constructive criticism, please contact myself or someone on the ICSA board directly and we can pass it along to the appropriate recipients. If you want to give unconstructive criticism, just send those to me directly.

GEORGE
I think it was a perfectly fair point to raise. Every college sailing press release and results list makes it clear to list all the players, and for good reason. That we are dealing with match racing doesn't change anything.

JOHN
I thought if I put in the part about a good effort and using a soft word like unfortunate it would have been constructive criticism. Constructive criticism is criticism kindly meant that has a goal of improving some area of another's person's life or work.

STUART
It would be great to have JOHN’s email sent to you alone or a board member as it could be an easy fix rather than embarrassing the hosts or people who have worked so hard to get this event going. This is a great event and a great site I applaud the creators of the site and I know I'm glued to the coverage. What a great thing for ICSA!

PETER
No good deed goes unpunished these days.

Is this a POS 13?

This is pretty funny. An email exchange between Matthew and Lisa was forwarded to me, which details how Matthew was trying to help Lisa with an ad she had placed. Enjoy:

Matthew: “Do you realize the boat you are selling in the pictures is not a Laser?”

Lisa: “No I don't. LOL! Thanks. Can you give me info on it please? I'm supposed to sell it.”

Matthew: “Most sailors would call it a POS 13.”

Lisa: “Thanks! Now I'll have to do some research and see what that means! Thanks much.”

Matthew: “No worries - hope you sell it.”

UPDATE: Lisa has updated the ad, which had first listed the boat as a Laser. She is now calling it a Banshee, but remains uncertain as to what it really is, and still considers that it could be a POS.

Dennis Conner Store

A new 'must-see' stop in San Diego. I attended a launch party last night for the new Dennis Conner Store in San Diego. Part store, part museum with loads of DC's personal items on display. Very nice! Store and website to open next week: http://www.dennisconner.com/

R u a NYC 'butthead?

Here is some information for all the New York City 'buttheads:



Come Race the Radio-Controlled Sailboats at Dennis Conner's North Cove


The summer season is always busy and exciting with great yachts stopping by. But when summer turns into winter, the yachts all fly south and we are left here in New York City with dreams and memories.

We also have a little bit of extra water with nothing happening.

Dennis Conner looked out over the marina and said, "Why don't we do something to liven up the marina and the community this winter."

So beginning this weekend and continuing through the winter, North Cove will be sponsoring radio-controlled sailboat races every weekend. If you live in or near Manhattan, we invite you to come down to the marina for some fun.

Now these are not bathtub-type boats. These are full sailing machines. The boats are over 4 feet high and they are super responsive. If there is wind, you will be thrilled by their performance.

There will be 2 sessions every Saturday and Sunday. The first session from 1 to 2 p.m. will be for beginners and practice sailing.

Then there will be a race series from 2 to 3 p.m. Scores will be kept and posted on the internet. There will be a series for November, December and as long as the sailing continues.

The cost will be minimal, $5 rental per hour (to help pay for batteries).

Reserve your boat today at http://www.thenorthcove.com/rc%20lasers.htm. Or if the boats are already filled, then just come down and sail on a stand-by basis.

When you get to North Cove, come to the south side of the marina and look for the dock master or a crowd of people playing with radio controls.

- Commodore Michael Fortenbaugh

Smaller is better

They want to add lanes of traffic to Interstate 5 in San Diego to better handle commuter demands. Early estimates is that it will cost $4.1 billion, take nearly 20 years of construction, and require the condemnation of dozens of houses and businesses.

How about we all get smaller cars?

Henderson said

Scuttlebutt founder Tom Leweck, who was one of the keynote speakers this past weekend at the U.S. SAILING One Design Sailing Symposium, shared an observation that he had gained from past ISAF President Paul Henderson about good club racing.

Henderson said:

 “Unfortunately…we have taken the fun out of the game and made it too technical--too much emphasis on boat speed. Sailboats should be no more expensive than the cost of a second car…and the time spent fixing them should be one hour for every ten hours on the water. In my opinion it is the pro's desire to win at all cost without respect for the sport that has caused our problems.”

Henderson felt boats should be:

- Gender-equal

- Last a long time

- Keep their value

- Be tactical - not technical

- No trapezes

- Heavy one-designs--not sensitive to crew weight

- Sails that last at least a season

- Sailmakers should not be allowed to use their own sails

Henderson felt races should be:

- Geared to new reality of two income family & need for quality family time

- Races start from front of YC not requiring 10-mile sail for upwind start

- Should race on week nights, leaving weekends free

Henderson said:

“We all seem to have forgotten what sailing is all about. It should be fun--good racing, good food …and a drink at the yacht club. The best day you can have in your life is two great races, back to the club to smile a lot, rehash the races and join together with other sailors who will become your lifelong friends.”

Not so smooth sailing

There is a growing development of yacht racing in the Middle East with the Louis Vuitton Trophy regatta, the RC44 circuit and the Moth Worlds, all taking place in the warm azure blue waters around the desert city of Dubai.

But with the real threat of piracy in the adjacent Arabian Sea, the threat of just about anything in neighboring Iran, and the occasional concerning news within the United Arab Emirates (recently considered banning Blackberry mobile phones because they were unable to monitor communications), smooth sailing remains a challenge in the Gulf region.

* November 2009: Five British yachtsmen and their Volvo 60 yacht ‘The Kingdom of Bahrain’ were held by Iran's Revolutionary Guard for a week after they drifted into Iranian waters mistakenly while sailing from Bahrain to Dubai to take part in the 360-nautical mile Dubai to Muscat Race. Muscat is the capital and largest city of Oman.

* November 2010: Last week the Sultanate, which sponsors two Extreme 40s and the 105-foot triamaran recently damaged in the Route du Rhum, banned competitors in the 2010 Dubai to Muscat Race from sailing through Omani waters. The race course was to be revised with a finish outside of Oman.

* February 2011: The first Extreme 40 regatta of the 2011 Extreme Sailing Series, which is expected to attract a number of high profile teams using the series to train for the America’s Cup, is expected to be in Oman in February.

* January 2012: The second leg of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race will take the fleet from Cape Town, South Africa, north through the Indian Ocean, past the threat of piracy that extends off of Somalia and the Gulf of Arden, along the Omani coast, and turning the corner into the Persian Gulf to Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Virtual sailing

I avoid Virtual Regattas like I avoid my kids teaching me how to use their PlayStation. While I prefer sticking with only the real thing, clearly there are a lot of other people that enjoy couch sports. Hopefully, that will not become their permanent sporting preference, but to each their own.

Here is the latest Virtual Regatta announcement:

BOLKI, winner of the virtual Route du Rhum La Banque Postale!

The virtual Route du Rhum La Banque Postale, which started on 31 October in St. Malo at the same time as the real race, has its winner! After a decisive last night during which he took advantage of a wind change to the west, BOLKI snatched the victory from more than 240,000 contenders! On his multihull, he was ahead of his follower DIOUCK56, by just under a minute. Story of a race full of suspense.

While Franck Cammas was celebrating his winning of the Rhum in Guadeloupe, BOLKI won the virtual version of the Route du Rhum La Banque Postale. This was a particularly enjoyable victory, since it was achieved with some pain and indecision after 8 days and 21 hours at sea and 4,257miles.

For his 16th virtual race, BOLKI went looking for his first honours in the Virtual Regatta after a dazzling comeback. In the last miles of the race, when the leader SECE RKN was forced to break tacks on the wind, between the islands to reach the finishing line, BOLKI and DIOUCK snatched the race lead from SECE RKN, with the help of a wind change to the West.

BOLKI’s exploit was then to set a layline more than 100 miles from the finish and to reach the south point of Marigot by tacking. At the same time, DIOUCK56, positioned further ahead, but a few miles leeward, had to tack to reposition his boat on the line, leaving the victory to BOLKI.

An experienced virtual sailor, BOLKI has regularly been ranked in the Top 100 of the competitions organized by Many Players these last few years. He achieved a very fine 4th place in the Transat Jacques Vabre and a 12th place in the Trophée Jules Verne in 2009. He will be a man to watch out for in the overall Virtual Regatta 2010 ranking!

Sailing Events Association San Diego (SEA SD)

A slumping economy, compounded by a sport that struggles for commercial viability, has made large scale sailing events a hard sell in the United States. But a new initiative in San Diego - Sailing Events Association San Diego - hopes to serve the sport, while also benefiting a city that relies heavily on tourism. The first test will come in March when the professional RC 44 class launches its 2011 Championship season in San Diego.