January 2004
| Back In The Day As Advertised A few weeks back I ran the story Eat My What? about a funny incident from way back. One of the antagonists, Petey Formica, wrote me and asked if I remembered our Bruce Nelson story from back then also. Of course I did! Petey and I had just pulled up to the parking lot at Newport Harbor Yacht Club for a big IOR Series called The Ahmanson Cup - this had to be late eighties. It was Saturday morning, and I was sailing Ron Kuntz' N/M 44 Travieso. Petey and I were sitting in my car when Nelson pulled up next to us in his BMW. Not in the space next to me, but way over the line, like three inches from my car so that I couldn't even open my door. He then got out of his car, laughed at us, and simply walked away. What a prick! Petey said let's get even, so we grabbed some white duct tape, and wrote I AM GAY on the front spoiler of his car. It seemed like exactly the thing to do for someone who had presented himself to be such a douchebag. We put I AM GAY well under the bumper and he wouldn't have known it was there unless someone told him, but you could clearly see it from the front. Who knows how long he drove around with it like that, but drive it he did.I think he got the message because he didn't fuck with me again until like 15 years later when he pushed me in the water. Hey good times Nelson! 01/30/2004
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| Find the MaxZ86
See it in in the top pic? It's the new Pyewacket arriving in Florida via Australia. Nothing particularly earth shattering here, just kind of an amusing look at how the big boys move their toys around.
The word is that its much easier to just leave the canting keel attached for shipping. Must be interesting in a big seaway!
01/29/2004 |
| Good From Bad Most of you know that there was a loss of life at Key West recently, and we received the following story from a paramedic who was on the scene. Perhaps this can be of use in the future. -Ed. The number one greatest responsibility onboard a racing vessel is not to win, but to insure the safety of the crew. On Sunday, Jan 18, while practicing for the Key West race week, the crew of the swan 68' Chippewa & I witnessed a medical emergency on a J-24. Being a Paramedic and CPR/1st instructor for the American Red Cross, we offered our assistance. Upon examination the 45 year-old male, Marty Dwinell, was in Full Cardiac Arrest. Despite 15 minutes of CPR, the 45 year-old sailor was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at the hospital. Later that day I felt a great sadness - such a young man to be passing. Earlier last year we discussed Purchasing an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) for Chippewa. How sad I thought for $3000, a fraction of our annual sail budget, this sailor could have been up and sailing in months. Statistics have proven you can increase the chance of surviving a heart attack by 90% with early AED intervention. AED's are now no bigger than a large cigar box, self contained, no charging need. The units can only administer a shock when the right rhythm is present, and anyone can use them. So as of March 5th, at the upcoming Heineken Regatta, Both Chippewa & Equation will have AED's aboard. Since the announcement of this I have had dozens of other yachts interested, and I can think of no better way to remember a fallen sailor than this. Marty Dwinell was not known for being a great sailor, but he is making a difference now. I think it's just great. Marty's passing is going to save lives in the future. And I'm glad his passing was not in vain. Michael
B. Hoey 01/29/2004 |
| Why We Hate Power Boaters
One
story from Key West that is a complete bummer is this one. After
finishing one of their best races of the regatta, coming from well
back to take first place in the second race, KINCSEM was on her
way back to the Historic Seaport when she was struck by a rental
powerboat in the area of the shrouds. The powerboat was being driven
by a young woman who was not paying attention and was traveling
at a speed of about 30 knots
01/28/2004 |
| J/100
From one of our clever readers comes this drawing of the new J/100 (33'). Conceived as a modern daysailor, it certainly has the looks. Two problems immediately come to mind: no carbon rig, and incredibly, no sprit!! This from the company that made sprits acceptable to the sailing public? A big mistake, in our way of thinking. And no doubt it will have the usual J premium price attached to it as well - we are hearing around $120k. Still, J looks to have mostly hit their marks again. 01/27/2004 |
| All
in the Family?
Sure they are. Skandia Wild Thing and the flighty Moth - both radical, advanced, quick and very righteous. Can we get an Amen? Photo from SA friend Andrea Francoloini 01/26/2004 |
| Hangin'
Samuel Kahn hangin' tough at KWRW. Two bullets Thursday and a bullet Friday, left him just short of the win, which went to Philippe Ligot in the Melges 24 Class. The finals in all classes can be found here. And again, big thanks to Rick Tomlinson for the great photos. 01/23/2004 |
| Ducks in a Row
Mumm 30's in a row actually, from KWRW which is happening now. Damn, that Doyle D4 mainsail sure looks like a 3DL, don't it? The 13 boat Mumm fleet is having a decent battle, as are most of the other classes. Check it out here. Photo courtesy of Rick Tomlinson. 01/22/2004 |
| Ice, Ice Baby
The 2004 DN World Championships are under way in Lake Balaton, Hungary. That sounds cold. Results and some great pics can be found here. 01/20/2004 |
| Game On
Key West Race Week, one of the best events anywhere, is under way in Florida. Here is a Swan 45 proving that racer cruisers don't have to be butt ugly. Or slow. More info on the series can be found here. Photo courtesy of Rick Tomlinson. 01/20/2004 |
| Chicks Dig It This from a reader and clearly something we didn't expect. Grant
Wharington is letting a bunch of chicks sail his Sydney-Hobart
winning yacht on an offshore race...... What the hell is the world
coming to?? ..You can bet that we chicks aren't complaining and
are copping a severe amount of Flak around the Cruising Yacht
Club from the guys we sail with - they're all jealous!. I'll probably
be one of the "all-girl" crew on Skandia Wild Thing
(the latest one!) for the Adelaide-Port Lincoln offshore race
next month. Btw, Grant was in Adelaide (south Australia) for the
Etchells Nationals last week where many onlookers were feasting
on the duel between he and John Bertrand. In the end they were
both beaten by fellow Victorian Mark Bulka (with Grant getting
a 2nd and John taking 3rd). - Traci A. |
| Happy Birthday It
doesn't seem possible, but the great 505 dinghy just celebrated
its 50th birthday. Amazing. |
| Red and Shiny
Here's a shot of the Backman 21 at the London Boat Show. Response to the boat was good, and it is great to see the boat become a reality. Of course they are an advertiser, so click on their banner ad, upper left, for more information. 01/19/2004 |
| Phil's Foils
01/14/2004 |
| Good PR
It is understood that marketing is often as important as any other function of a successful venture, and Derek Hatfield is on his marketing game with this rendering of his yet to be built Open 60. Hatfield's goal is to fund and build the boat to compete in the 5-Oceans Solo Round the World Yacht Race (formerly Around Alone), and given his credentials and previous solo experience, odds are that he'll get it done. More info on the effort can be found here. 01/13/2004
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| Not Enough The 2004 1120 mile San Diego to Manzanillo Race, which starts Feb 21 has a paltry 10 entries to date, just two turbo sleds (although good ones) and the rest a bit of a mixed assortment. Rumored to have more entries, but the hour is getting late. This is a sad commentary on the state of West Coast distance racing, something that once flourished. The fact is that few want to take on this rather large effort these days. I know I wouldn't do it anymore. 01/13/2004 |
| String Sail Comparo A couple weeks ago we sent out requests to all the sailmakers that offer fiber-specific oriented sails to provide price and product quotes for a particular boat, in the is case, a Sydney 38. The idea is to see what each of them would build and how much they'd charge for such a product, and of course share it with all of you. The recipients of the request were North and 3DL; UK with Ultra and Tape Drive; Doyle and D4; Quantum with whatever their new product line is going to be called; and Sobstad with Genesis. The responses have been interesting and in our way of thinking, quite telling. Doyle and UK were quick to respond and seemingly glad to participate. Quantum wants to play, but felt they do not have their pricing quite established, so they have deferred until they do. Sobstad has not even bothered with a response, even though requests were sent to three different "agents" and this was done even before we named them worst sailmaker for the '03 SA awards. Talk about an obtuse organization - here's a chance to look good, and instead they simply confirm what everybody already suspects. It is North however that perplexes. Apparently North is vacillating because that while some of them want to provide the info, here are those within the organization who don't want their price and product information to be made public. Huh? Do they not think that we could obtain this info through any number of avenues? I would think that North would gladly step up and show what they've got and how much it costs. After all, aren't they they biggest and the baddest? That's the message their ads convey. We'll see how this plays out and give the final tally when all have stood up to be counted. Additionally, we will be requesting similar information out of those who offer their best product in panel layout sails. If you have a sailmaker that you feel makes a great product, post it in the forum and we'll contact them. 01/12/2004 |
| The Last of a Breed? Let's face it, IMS boats make almost no sense. Typecast to a fault, artificially slow, a short life span, butt ugly, and hideously expensive, it would be hard to imagine, at least here in the states, that anyone would bother building a custom one of these things right? Wrong. We present you what might be the last IMS boat ever built in the US: Good Times. 01/12/2004 |
Power Up Admittedly this deal isn't for everyone, but it might be for the right one. Raider RIBs has this slick Raider 900 Cabin available for charter at Key West Race Week. As an added bonus, renown photographer Bob Grieser will come along with the boat as well. So anyone needing to get out on the water and have the added bonus of getting some awesome photography as well, here's your deal. Send an e-mail for more info, or click on their banner ad just to the right. 01/09/2004 |
| Ellen's New Ride
Ellen MacArthur's brand new 75' Nigel Irens designed trimaran built at Boatspeed in Sydney on their first sail. Ellen and the boat have some pretty ambitious plans including the 24-hour record, trans-Atlantic record and more. Click on her site for more info. Thanks. to Andrea Francolini for the shots. 01/09/2004 |
| Big Winners Augie Diaz and Hannah Swett have just been named 2003 Rolex Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year. Great honors to both. We won't drone on with the ususal pr prattle, other than to say congratulations to both. If you wish to read more, additional info should be be found here.
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| Ice Water Only in Canada? A Toronto indoor ice hockey arena is being melted this week for the city's international boat show. The Ricoh Coliseum will accommodate 50 of the 1,000 boats on display at Canada's largest boat show. The
2,600 sq m (28,000 sq ft) indoor Lake measures 248 ft by 114 ft,
which makes it larger than the indoor water sports arena. Boats
on the 1m (3ft)-deep "lake" will range in length from
15ft-38ft and will be moored at floating docks, supplied by the
lake's official sponsor EZ Dock, which no doubt had lots to do
with the concept. At 3 feet of depth, our guess is not too many
sailboats in this display...... 01/09/2004 |
| Fat Head
That's Howie Hamlin and his West Marine 18 Foot Skiff Racing Team smoking along at the world's with their square top mainsail. They are using a No. 2 rig - used above about 16 knots is 60% aluminium and 40% for the top can be carbon - the talk is they are going full carbon for the No.2 (often called second rig) after April this year. The No.1 rig is full carbon and has been like that for 3-4 years. What a world that is. Info on the class and event can be found here. 01/06/2004 |
| PlayStation is No More Well at least in name anyway. Steve Fossett's big cat is still around, it is just now called by its original name, Cheyenne. It of course was called PlayStation because of the sponsorship with Sony Europe, but that deal expired after the TransAtlantic so now the boat is being called by its original name. Speaking of the boat, they are poised to go after the Jules Verne Trophy, which is the nonstop around the world sailing record. Paul Van Dyke from Halsey Lidgard will be part of the crew, and he just wrote an article for us about preparing for such a huge undertaking. We'll have it to you in the next few days. 01/02/2004 |