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Around the World of Sailing
6 June 2001
This weeks features:
Finish Line
Finish Line Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/ju/0606/frw.htm
Final results at the ACI Runhill Cup match-racing event
1. Dean Barker NZL
2. Gavin Bradu ITL
3. Magnus Holmber SWE
4. Bertrand Pace NZL.
Note: Holmberg clinches year 2 Swedish Match Tour title Final Results at Match
Race Lake Constance
1. Marcus Weiser GER
2. Jochen Schumann SWISS
3. Phillippe Presti FRA
4. Rod Davis Prada
Water Level Update
Weekly Water Level Update Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/ju/0606/frw.htm
Here is an informative feature that used to appear in the
Friday edition of Sailing Daily. Below you'll find water level
info that pertains to Lake Michigan and Huron. For information
on other lakes see:
http://huron.lre.usace.army.mil/levels/weekly.html
Reference Point
Inches below Chart Datum - 0
Difference From 1 May 2001 +4
Difference from 1 June 2000 -2
Difference from long-term Avg. -23
Difference from Record High -52
Difference from Record Low +10
Forecast for 1 July 2001 +2
Rowing Reporter
Rowing Reporter Available on line at:
http://www.torresen.com/atwos/2001/ju/0606/frw.htm
The Rowing Reporter is a weekly column of commentary
and observations by Ike Stephenson, Marine Informationist. It
concentrates on the home waters of Around the World of Sailing,
Lake Michigan and Muskegon Lake.
************
Grosse Pointe
This past weekend was spent at the Detroit NOODS. Several
times I transited the various Grosse Point's. This got me to
wondering a question about Detroit/Lake St. Clair/Grosse Pointe
local knowledge. For one, is there an actual Grosse Pointe
that shows up on a chart? For another who was Grosse and why
is this point named after him? Several dockside interrogatories
to local sailors failed. After driving home I still wanted
answers.
I eventually found them at the Grosse Pointe Public library site.
I filled out a form with my questions in the evening and the
next morning my questions were answered.
There is a point of land in the Grosse Pointe area. However,
this is not named Grosse Pointe. So there is no Grosse Point
(as in Big or Little Point Sable) on your chart. Second, the
Pointe is not named for anyone in particular but rather Grosse
means large in French.
***************
Readers Write
And sometimes folks call, too.
Last week we received a call from someone wanting to know what
the large metal objects are near the Muskegon Light that ships
tie up to? The answer is a bollard, essentially a round post
that mooring lines can be attached to. The Muskegon light ones
are metal, painted and red and have a mushroom like round top.
Another reader emailed, "Can you inform me the e-mail of Slocum
Society?" This is a society that's main focus is the life of
sailor Joshua Slocum the first to circumnavigate the world
single handed.
Their web page is at:
http://www.mcallen.lib.tx.us/orgs/SLOCUM.htm and
contact email is: jone402@attglobal.net
***********
Rowing Reporter Interactive-
The Rowing reporter seeks comments, questions and suggestions.
Send email in a bottle to ike@torresen.com. If readers write
we can start a dialogue about rowing reporter writing. Send
challenges, remarks, queries and they will make you a part
of this column.
*********
Watery World News
Two stories are in the news affect our local waters. One has
to do with another attempt at regulating the ballast water of
commercial ships. A bill in the Michigan Senate would deny
state grants and loans to shipping companies if their ballast
water practices did not comply with a Shipping Federation of
Canada proposal.
Violating companies would not be fined. Rather they would be
posted on the Internet in a ballast water violator 'Hall of
Shame'. It is hoped that this market and opinion mechanism
would cause shipping interests to comply and reduce the
introduction of non native species such as zebra mussels and
Russian water fleas into the Great Lakes.
Also in Michigan the Perrier Group is proposing to withdraw
262 million gallons of water from the Muskegon River watershed
near Big Rapids. Perrier would use the water in its Ice
Mountain bottled water brand. The water would be pumped from
private land to a bottling plant which would employ 200.
In a time of low water levels and concern over the Great Lakes
as a commodity, an aide to Governor Engler wrote: "If it was
trees, natural gas, minerals, oil or even sand, they would
compensate the state." This among other rankling factors has
led to significant opposition to Perrier.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will accept
written comments on this issue until 15 June. With water as
the base of sailing we should always pay attention to all
aspects of the watery world.
***********
Volvo Ocean Race Testing
Recently the two Volvo Ocean Race 60's of the DJuice Dragons
team have been sailing across the Atlantic. Rather than
simply racing the whole way they are conducting sophisticated
tests as they sail.
In actuality each 30-50 miles the DJuice boats would stop and
line up. They would pick a waypoint down the track. Then they
would be off sailing. Via onboard telemetry they could
monitor each boat's performance. If necessary they could
change sailor, or weight distribution to further detail the
tests. Along with gathering data, DJuice is now fully
qualified for the race and has sailed the Miami to Baltimore
and Baltimore to La Rochelle legs of the course. They'll close
this phase of training by sailing from La Rochelle to
Gothenburg Sweden also a leg of the VOR course. More at:
http://djuice.com/en/dragons/