America's Cup Update

[Dan Johnson]

Awesome!

Fifty years of watching AC racing and today's races have to be the most exciting ones I've ever witnessed!

Go Big or Go Home tomorrow! Go Big Oracle!

 

[capta]

How about shame on us American sailing fans that we let the sport we love decline to that point.

Ellison simply hired the best. Rewarding merit is the most American thing you can do. Putting Americans on the team that are less skilled than other sailors is just plain wrong

Nobody was "the best" at AC72 sailing a year or so back. Nobody had any idea how to sail these boats. They were not even designed to foil; the Kiwis found out quite by accident that it was possible, let alone manageable.
It's not an American crew; it's an American boat, with just one yank on the team. If the cup does stay here I sincerely hope somebody puts together an American team to challenge Ellison and his Antipodean crew. Really it was Aussies and Kiwis against Aussies and Kiwis, just different bank-rollers.
I have supreme confidence that there are a dozen or so sailors from this country that could prove their skills if somebody with a bit of nationalistic pride would give them an opportunity. Money should not be the motivator in these races, national pride should be, for the sailors, at least. As it stands, the only reason to care which boat wins is to keep the racing venue in the Bay, one of the greatest places to sail in the world. Certainly not because very many Americans had anything to do with the win.

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Non-national crews is nothing new to this event. In 1899 Charlie Barr, a Scott, was the skipper for the American Columbia. This has been going on for almost as long as the cup has existed.

This race has always been about rich guys wanting bragging rights over other rich guys. The result is you get incredibly cool boats that cost millions beyond what most of us can imagine.

And today was really exciting and fun to watch because of all the money spent by rich guys in a bragging rights contest. The best boats in the world being raced by the best sailors. But there is really no "national pride" on the line here.

By the way, if you do want national crews, route for NZL tomorrow. They said that would be one of their rule changes if they win.

 

[StinkBug]

Nobody was "the best" at AC72 sailing a year or so back. Nobody had any idea how to sail these boats. They were not even designed to foil; the Kiwis found out quite by accident that it was possible, let alone manageable.
It's not an American crew; it's an American boat, with just one yank on the team. If the cup does stay here I sincerely hope somebody puts together an American team to challenge Ellison and his Antipodean crew. Really it was Aussies and Kiwis against Aussies and Kiwis, just different bank-rollers.
I have supreme confidence that there are a dozen or so sailors from this country that could prove their skills if somebody with a bit of nationalistic pride would give them an opportunity. Money should not be the motivator in these races, national pride should be, for the sailors, at least. As it stands, the only reason to care which boat wins is to keep the racing venue in the Bay, one of the greatest places to sail in the world. Certainly not because very many Americans had anything to do with the win.

Here's the dig, nobody knew how to race an AC72, so they chose the crew based on their results in other boats. How many olympic medals are floating on that big black cat? Quite a few, not to mention Americas cup wins. I'd love to see more americans on the american team too, but we'd have to actually find american sailors that can stack up. At the moment the guys on these 2 boats are the best sailors in the world, regardless of boat. You dont gamble hundreds of millions of dollars on a crew just because they are a certain nationality. At this point in time if you were to field an all american team, the cup would be going to New Zealand.

 

[hewebb]

I'm pissed AT&T Uverse stopped broadcasting the race.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Guys,

I have a newfound respect to all of you who sail SF bay. The changing conditions, stronger average winds & ripping tides & seas make even a calm day's sail rather spirited.

I have watched almost every race, & had all but written off Oracle. In the beginning, I felt that John Kostecki the tactician, was not the guy for the job, as this showed for the first six. I know now, that he did not know the boat's capabilities. Didn't it look early on that it wasn't as fast windward and in 16 KTS or lower seemed slower than NZ overall. If you looked at the race tracker, the sail lines wriggled, while NZ held steady courses. Jibing was erratic, the blundering tactics a formula for losing.

On the upside, after Ben Ainslie took over tactics, coupled with the VERY short learning curve for the crew, they quickly discovered the boat's potential , as confirmed by the string of wins. Look at replays & you can see the difference with sail tracker.

About the 2 point penalty. There should have been a better way to punish Oracle. The penalty was assessed for the infraction over a year ago & on the C45', not the 72. It should have been handled with a high fine & some crew omitted. A final should begin at "0 to 0", not minus 2. Punish the guilty, not the innocent.

I can't wait for this afternoon's sudden death match, Go USA.

CR

Penalty Link:

http://www.yachtingworld.com/blogs/matthew-sheahan/535187/americas-cup-oracle-racing-guilty

 

[betzhunter]

I'm pissed AT&T Uverse stopped broadcasting the race.

hewebb, AT&T Uverse still carries the race, its on channel 1640 NBC Sports live extra. Been watching them everyday.
Bub

 

[jibes138]

What has always been the rule is that the design of the boat, the construction of the boat, and the sails had to be from the country campaigning the boat. In recent years with the advent of finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics and so forth, many high tech companies have contributed these resources to the design of the boats and with the wings much was applied from wing designs on airplanes with contribution from the likes of Boeing. So this is a lot about competing a country's technology against another country's. I'm not sure if this is still in the rules or not with these boats (in country design, build, etc) but the racing is thrilling.

The 'frisco venue is great as the winds seem incredibly consistent day to day. I think back to Newport and in September the temperature differential between the water and land would be small so winds were always fluky and playing the puffs was a big part of the game. Sometimes they would be drifting around almost becalmed. Then there was the regular fog to deal with.

 

[JoyRide28]

You can also watch the races, either Live or Replay, on the America's Cup YouTube Channel. Great coverage with no commercials!

 

[Anonymous 121765]

Way to put it Jibes,

It's no longer a sail competition, but rather one country's technology over another.
However, The Emirates are a Dubai based conglomerate not from NZ. How many Arabs have you met while sailing/cruising? I don't have a problem with sponsorship, but what & who they represent. It's no longer purely one country competing against another.

I feel that in pure international competition, sponsors along with crew, should also be representing that country. Only ONE US crewmember among Oracle's eleven.
Alas, we've evolved into an international community.


This should be held like the Olympics does it. Each country has it's citizens competing, not by conglomerate, but nationality. Nothing against Jimmy Spithill, as he has brought the patient back from death, however he is not a US citizen. I believe his wife & children are, but the bloodlines have been tainted. Still, that being said, we would not be here if it wasn't for him.

The rules need to be changed. Two classes should be held, one for monohulls, & one for multihulls. The lead up racing coverage this time around has been the worst I've seen in years. Remember, the same thing happened with tennis. Remember when it was growing in popularity from the '70's thru the '90's?

CR

 

[Gunni]

Regarding the 2 - race penalty assessed against OTUSA: The team owner, Mr. Ellison is worth an estimated $40,000,000,000. He could easily have paid any fine and not gotten the message that his hold on the cup was in danger if he did not properly manage his team. The 2 race penalty delivered the message.

AC 34 will be an inflection point for the America's cup. Especially if it stays in San Francisco with OTUSA. The close-in racing, short-course, the speeds, Virtual Eye race graphics, on-board cameras, etc. opens the sport to millions who have no idea how sailboats work. Ellison has said that he has been shocked by the cost and wants to make changes to lower cost-of-entry. What we see here could be the start of a new America's Cup format.

Last week my wife asked me to get her a ride on an AC72. Who wouldn't want to ride the wind on one of these machines?

 

[jviss]

But joking aside, I'm sure ESPN is thrilled. This is better than they should have expected.

This is being carried by NBC Sports, not ESPN.

 

[jviss]

Team Nationality

The GGYC team is actually quite diverse. Sure, it is dominated by Aussies and Kiwis, at 7 each, depending on how you count; but there is representation from France, the Netherlands, Antigua, Ireland, Italy, Canada, the UK, and the US.

I reviewed the entire starting team roster, which includes coaches, and also Dirk de Ridder, who was kicked out. Slingsby has dual US and Australian citizenship. One claims three countries, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.

So, not all Kiwis, more than one American, and a few surprises. Granted, not all of these guys are on the "A"-team, but important, nonetheless.

Oh, and who were the cheaters who garnered the 2 point penalty for TOUS? Two Kiwis, one Aussie, and one Dutchman.

 

[RECESS]

This is being carried by NBC Sports, not ESPN.

It is not on their listings for 4pm eastern today, so I had to block out two hours of shows on that channel on my DVR today.

What a comeback.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h2o3--uOA8

 

[bletso]

Regarding the 2 - race penalty assessed against OTUSA: The team owner, Mr. Ellison is worth an estimated $40,000,000,000. He could easily have paid any fine and not gotten the message that his hold on the cup was in danger if he did not properly manage his team. The 2 race penalty delivered the message.

Spot on!! There is no place for cheating in any sport. Penalties need to be severe. In this case I think it was appropriate. The team, underwritten by Mr. Ellison, could have been banned from the racing scene.

 

[sailinmike]

Usa Wins By 44 Seconds! Amazing.

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

What a race! What an event!

 

[JK_Boston_Catalina310]

Anyone who thought this was a bag job just needs to see the shot they just showed of the NZL team on their way back to the dock. Those guys look devastated. I really feel bad for them.

 

[Anonymous 121765]

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Oracle has pulled out WHAT I FEEL is the greatest international upset by a whooping 44 seconds over NZ.

Being down 8-to-one, then penalized 2 points (meaning they had to win 3), & still overcame a nonsensical ruling to win.

I'm sure this thread will balloon, however, there is only one winner.

ps: not trying to gloat, but they told me I can keep the cup at my house for the next 4 years. So, everyone's invited.............

CR