America Cup?!!?

Pink Flamingo · Aug 19, 2013

When a crash helmet is required gear,survival equipment etc.sailing becomes a chore,not a relaxing time on the water anymore.But I don't race,so don't shoot the messenger.
With the new format the winner becomes the one with one less mistake and the least amount of broken gear.Too much wind?race is cancelled!

25yearslater · Aug 19, 2013

I am fully enjoying this. The olden days of fat guys drinking Hennesey had their moment but the athleticism involved in these things makes sailing not only a past time but a great way to get some excercise. Couple that with the speeds they are acheiving and suddenly sailing isn't so boring after all. Hopefully this will inspire a whole new generation to consider what we already know. It's a whole lot of fun no matter what type of boat you sail.

Steve Dion · Aug 19, 2013

Don:

I hate beating around the bush. I think the AC72's suck!

We were down in the bay for the 45's and they are fun to watch. These new boats are just test tracks and it may be that the boat that does not break will win.

Personally I would much rather see fast mono hulls racing too.

DJN51 · Aug 19, 2013

Thought whatever crew number you started with they all had to finish the race with same number!! Ah for a spinnaker set and douse.Is there anything on these boats you can relate to having on yours.The speed and tech is unbelievable but bring back the monos

RichH · Aug 19, 2013

The 'tech' that will 'trickle down' from THIS AC will be simply outstanding.

Already the simple Laser's are being offered foiling boards that can boost the speed of this simple boat to over 20kts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxb6BRe7Weo&feature=player_embedded

Actually this little 'bugger' is what started it all, in spades: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQH1CxbAxCY

If you want to lay down and stream your fingers in the water, lay on a beach at the tide line.

Ken Prichard · Aug 19, 2013

Exciting at times, yes - but I think it's crap.
Sail in boats I can identify with! I'll never have a wing for a main or the zillion dollars required to raise it.
Bring back Dennis Connor, when at least some talent and not just all $$$ was involved. ( I couldn't afford that either but at least I could identify ).
Multihulls, wings , body armour, helmets and foils suck!
Just my opinion.

Stu Jackson · Aug 19, 2013

Going out on The Bay to see these guys during one of the races is like sailing during Fleet Week or driving on New Years Eve. Never!

It has been more fun to have them buzz us during their practices on "normal" days out sailing.

Just remember, kids, that the wind limit was only imposed after the Artemis tragedy.

Benny17441 · Aug 19, 2013

It is exiting to see this new technology fly , but the boats are so untested and the crews so inexperienced in handling them that the racing boils down to who can reach the finish line without making a major mistake or breaking down. I wonder what is going throrough the minds of the Tacticians. So far in the LV finals it is NZ one breakdown and Italy one breakdown. I mean getting Stadium Racing and showing this new technologly is cool but did they have to kill the Americas Cup to do it.

Allan12210 · Aug 20, 2013

I really liked the fleet racing with the AC45s. Too bad the America's Cup isn't raced that way (or at least the Louis Vuitton series). The best thing about this is the fact that is finally a spectator sport and can be seen by so many. Maybe there wouldn't be the interest if the boats were the "old fashioned" mono hulls. Its sort of like NASCAR... how many people only go because they want to see a big crash. Never the less, I'm partial to mono hulls, crews on each boat all actually from the country the boat is sailing from and some fleet racing. Remember when there were multiple syndicates from the US? Now that doesn't even happen because its so expensive. Regardless of who wins, have future races always in proximity to spectators on shore. Stan Honey's advanced graphics have made the television experience phenomenal.

Warren Milberg · Aug 20, 2013

I stopped being interested in the America's Cup when it stopped being about sailboats and sailing....

sailingseadragon · Aug 20, 2013

Well - I must agree with Webb Chiles on this one:

http://www.inthepresentsea.com/the_.../8/19_Evanston__GANNET_Wins_Americas_Cup.html

Garner

25yearslater · Aug 20, 2013

I suspect some have forgotten the AC is a development class. Remember the early eighties when the 12 meter boat America cubed broke in half? Those of us who favor the monohull and purist sailing have our races. Of these are the Volvo Ocean, Vendee Globe, Fastnet, Sydney Hobart and many more. Sure it isn't our usual fare but damn ya gonna turn down a chance to sail on one of these things?

Rick D · Aug 20, 2013

Viewing Louis Vitton Series

I have to agree I too was lukewarm about the AC but the media, graphics & spectator arrangements were interesting. However, I joined 30-ish yacht club members last weekend for the Louis Vitton challenger series in SFO. We stayed in Pleasanton, about an hour out of the city and took BART in and out, saving a couple of hundred a night in rates and taxes. The AC Village was terrific, public access good and media professional. We watched the prep and race from grandstands at Marina Green, near Fishermans' Village. It was amazing to watch the AC 72's in the practice time. Those are some major race platforms! When they get up on foils, it is as if the turbos kicked in. Amazing and engaging.

The race itself revealed some issues: the wind limits are too low at 20 knots. Results in too many cancellations and delays. The boats are delicate and break too easily. To have people spend a lot for seats and maybe $1K for a total weekend, they need to have something reliable to see.

IMHO, the boats should be replaced, maybe with the 70' Tris as per Latitude 38's suggestion. The 45's were great racing and sticking with them might have been better. I think the 72's are basically a generation too early. If they are going to foil, they should be set to foil properly, not as a rule tweak. That would be safer and more reliable.

However, despite the breakdowns and MOB's I have to admit, it was exciting to watch.

Stu Jackson · Aug 20, 2013

I, too, like the graphics, except for one piddling little thing. If you've ever raced, you KNOW that what happens at the start and the (in most cases, but not these, except for the first) marks is very important.

The best way to see this is from the aerial views that the coverage is very good at EXCEPT what they seem to repeatedly do, just as the boats are getting to the start line, is switch to a close up of the helmeted guys IN the boats at those critical moments.

I find myself yelling at the screen: "Show the aerial view, show the aerial view!!!" I could care less about seeing Dopey, Grumpy, Sleepy, Happy or Doc tailing or grinding winches or hopping from one side to the other. I wanna see the boats and the RACE, no closeups of the crew in Prada outfits.

Just sayin'...

Johnb · Aug 20, 2013

As a San Francisco Bay sailor I think it is a great pity that combinations of factors have up till now resulted in this AC not being the spectacle it could have been. Oracle/Ellison has brought a world class event to our back yard and so far it has just not worked out.

I was out sailing last Sunday couldn't see anything through the fog from where I was - South East of Angel Island. I chickened out of going into the packed viewing area.

If we were to compare these AC boats with formula one cars, both are supposed to be the pinnacle of technology and performance. The cars have been brought to where they are by decades of incremental development and experience and for what they are, are very reliable. Perhaps it was just not realistic to expect that these AC boats can be created from concept in the time that was allotted.

I hope this turns around and we get some good racing. The event deserves it. When those boats are working, they are spectacular and maybe it is good to see the racing happening in vessels that can't get dusted by a windsurfer.

Butch23065 · Aug 20, 2013

I like watching the AC 72's sail. It is exciting to see them come up on their foils and attain speeds greater than the true wind speed.

Comparing this racing to NASCAR is a valid comparison. The cars are not stock cars any more. A lot of the spectators just watch to see the spectacular wrecks. Watching at the track is usually uncomfortable, noisy, hot, cold, wet, etc. However, the race usually is completed.

The AC races, being match races, are over if one boat has a problem. Maybe they should be fleet races? And as far as being a spectator sport, I'm sorry, I'll watch on TV. Even a 2 mile leg puts the boats so far away you can not see the action at the mark.

I don't know that I could do any better putting a show like this together, no, I know I couldn't. But I do like to see those big boats get up and go.

By the way, there were foiling boats in the 60's. There is a member of our sailing club that is making fixed wing sails for small boats like sun fish. Watch out purists, they're sneaking up on you.

Benny17441 · Aug 20, 2013

If they are going to go High-Tech why don't they do it all the way. Hydraulic systems have been been around since the Romans. To see foils being controlled by hydraulics and lines and blocks does not make sense in this day and age. How about some computer controlled servo motors to trim the wing and operate the foils. The reliability of the boats has been poor and most of the problems have had to deal with hydraulics. Why try to match an old system when we have now Fly by Wire. We want to see the tacticians win races and it just now seems they are going along for the ride. So far the "A" crew is the one working on the boat at night.

Big Windy · Aug 23, 2013

Warren Milberg said:
I stopped being interested in the America's Cup when it stopped being about sailboats and sailing....

America's Cup...are we doing that again??

Scotty C-M · Aug 25, 2013

I'm enjoying the racing. America Cup has always been about innovation and going fast, and there certainly has been a lot of that. The TV coverage is interesting, including the crew shots. They give a face to the competition. The biggest problems for me are that there aren't enough participants in the Louis Vittan Cup, and the boats are too fragile. Big money. In my opinion, all the bickering detracts from the event, but it's still quite a show.