Planning to be in San Francisco the weekend of September 13th. When I found it that the finals of the America's Cup where being held at that time I was elated but then started looking at the boats and the competition and was deeply disappointed. It looks like somebody purchased the America's Cup event and threw out tradition to put together a flamboyant circus act. Crewmen wearing helmets and riding in 50 knot multihull hydrofoil boats around and around San Francisco Bay in front of spectator stadium seating. Are they trying to compete with Nascar? There are no fiery crashes in the water just deadly ones. I hope them crewmen are being adequately compensated because the sport has been turned into a blood sport. I now feel is going to be a nuisance having all those people in the City while we are there competing for space and services. I gather the majority will be there for a weekend of concerts and partying with the boat races just being the excuse . I would not be so adamant if they would have started an X-Sailing Series but why take something that has been working for all these years just to destroy it?
America's Cup
- Thread starter Benny17441
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Benny: you just found out now that the America's Cup is being raced on high speed catamarans? They announced the new format years ago, and they have been racing the AC45's (the smaller versions) of the new cats for at least a year, and big cats have been trialing and racing each other for months.
You aren't the first person to bemoan the break with tradition, but I think that ship sailed (no pun intended) a long, long time ago; at least as far back as when Oracle's enormous cat beat the Swiss team's gigantic trimaran in the last America's Cup in the Challenge match (no defender or challenger trials, no Louis Vuitton Cup; just one boat against another).
I for one applaud their efforts to make the event more user friendly; I really like the idea of having the races close to shore so that people can actually watch them, and to make them short enough and exciting enough to hold people's interest. Like you, I miss the tradition, but let's face it: not enough people were interested in races so far out to sea that no one could see them, on boats so slow that most people could jog faster. It costs way too much to have these races unless you have sponsors, and the sponsers aren't interested unless the audience is there. The 12's and the ACC boats in the old race format just wasn't cutting it anymore.
You aren't the first person to bemoan the break with tradition, but I think that ship sailed (no pun intended) a long, long time ago; at least as far back as when Oracle's enormous cat beat the Swiss team's gigantic trimaran in the last America's Cup in the Challenge match (no defender or challenger trials, no Louis Vuitton Cup; just one boat against another).
I for one applaud their efforts to make the event more user friendly; I really like the idea of having the races close to shore so that people can actually watch them, and to make them short enough and exciting enough to hold people's interest. Like you, I miss the tradition, but let's face it: not enough people were interested in races so far out to sea that no one could see them, on boats so slow that most people could jog faster. It costs way too much to have these races unless you have sponsors, and the sponsers aren't interested unless the audience is there. The 12's and the ACC boats in the old race format just wasn't cutting it anymore.
For the. record, the event wasn't bought it was won. Won with a lot of money for sure but that's always been the case. The winner gets to write the Rulebook, also nothing new. This time they wrote it to try and attract and entertain the general public and not just the old school sailing community, which is small.
Also oracle was the one on the trimaran last time,not alinghi. The cat lost.
The fact that you are just learning of this just shows that even among sailors they didn't have an active enough crowd base to justify keeping with the old formats. Plain and simple nobody was watching and in today's corporate sponsored world that's a massive failure
Also oracle was the one on the trimaran last time,not alinghi. The cat lost.
The fact that you are just learning of this just shows that even among sailors they didn't have an active enough crowd base to justify keeping with the old formats. Plain and simple nobody was watching and in today's corporate sponsored world that's a massive failure
Yeah all that, but I agree with Benny. Today I was watching the boats on video as I will be in the Bay Area this weekend and thought I might stop by and see what is going on. It is hard to imagine any of these high tech boats on any ocean or unprotected waters outside of San Francisco Bay. Hard to be "Walter Mitty" and enjoy the experience.
I have to admit the racing hasn't been very exciting.
Having said that its still pretty amazing to see these big cats flying down the bay at more than double the speed of the wind! I think the finals between New Zealand and Oracle will be pretty entertaining. Benny, I hope you get out on the water and at least get some good sailing in and enjoy San Francisco bay.
Having said that its still pretty amazing to see these big cats flying down the bay at more than double the speed of the wind! I think the finals between New Zealand and Oracle will be pretty entertaining. Benny, I hope you get out on the water and at least get some good sailing in and enjoy San Francisco bay.
The REAL fun is getting buzzed by these guys. Even when they're practicing, they're hauling...
My experience, from being on a stake boat at the AC45 races is that it's better to watch the races on TV or the web.
It's still fun getting buzzed by these guys, though.
My experience, from being on a stake boat at the AC45 races is that it's better to watch the races on TV or the web.
It's still fun getting buzzed by these guys, though.
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Rub it in guys. The restoration killed the travel budget to see these things. I'm gonna burn for eternity for the sin of envy. That's OK though I will keep patrolling Lake Ontario to keep the Canadians at bay for you.
***** all you like but this event has changed sailing. No one anticipated the foiling phenomenon. The original design parameters didn't even include foiling. Now in the heat of the event foiling is the the center of the competition. I was watching a catamaran sailing last evening and I was struck by how slow they seemed. They weren't on foils. I think in the performance end of our sport foiling is here to stay. I am looking forward to my first high speed ride on a foiling boat.
Benny, I understand where you are coming from. That was my thought a few years ago when I saw it for the first time. I couldn't relate to that type of sailing. I saw it as one of those extreme sports. But I have to admit, after following it I came around to enjoying the fast sailing and the technology involved. I don’t see the technology trickling down to us in the near future but anything is possible.
Speaking of foiling
I know this is off topic (perhaps a new thread), but did anyone else see the foil they have now to retrofit Lasers/Torchs? I may just have to pick me up a Laser just to try it out. Too bad I can fit one to my 310.
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Since when were racing boats built to do anything but race in very specific conditions? Or race cars or bikes or anything else for that matter. AC boats haven't been very seaworthy for a long time now. Hell I still remember the Aussie boat breaking in half and sinking off san diego almost 20 years ago simply because the conditions were rougher than expected. Just cause the old boats looked more traditional doesn't mean they were any more suited to open water.
Sorry I brought this apparently dead horse back to life. Ever since they quit showing the races on TV I kind of lost interest and I knew they were racing multi-hulls but never figured hydrofoils. I was looking for hotels and ran into a link about the Cup. It is true the rights to host and coreograph the event was won and not purchased but the end result is the same. I may have been wrong in using the term purchased but they have surely hijacked the sportsmanship intent of the competition. The big looser here will be the prestige of the America's Cup even it morphes into a Stadium Rcing Series. I guess we will not be seeing close quarter racing at those speeds. I will look at the boats and be marvelled at their design and speed but as far as the competition I'm not interested in watching sailboat drag races.
It's all perspective..
I race on the bay, and am amazed when the big cats come out to play. They are like water bugs scurrying amongst the liliy pads (the rest of us sailing)....They can cover more of the bay in 15 minutes than the Islander I race on can in an hour or more...
30 years ago, the thought of owning a "super computer" for the home was unheard of. I now have a android phone with more computing power than the Crays of the 80's in the palm of my hand.
Some of what is learned by the AC 72's will trickle down, it will just take time.
I race on the bay, and am amazed when the big cats come out to play. They are like water bugs scurrying amongst the liliy pads (the rest of us sailing)....They can cover more of the bay in 15 minutes than the Islander I race on can in an hour or more...
30 years ago, the thought of owning a "super computer" for the home was unheard of. I now have a android phone with more computing power than the Crays of the 80's in the palm of my hand.
Some of what is learned by the AC 72's will trickle down, it will just take time.
I, for one, welcome our new AC overlord, Larry Ellison, and his high-tech multi-hull minion! What an event, what a venue!
FYI, the foiling 18 meter L'Hydrotere is sailing oceans and hitting +50kts.
Benny, the TeeVee people at NBC are too busy documenting the real lives of bored housewives or some fat guy eating burgers in Bugtussle, OK. But good news! There is an America's Cup channel on You Tube (here) where you can watch the action live, get updates and see re-runs of AC racing! TV coverage begins with the AC finals.
I'm counting the days till I get down to the Marina and see it live! Can't wait!
FYI, the foiling 18 meter L'Hydrotere is sailing oceans and hitting +50kts.
Benny, the TeeVee people at NBC are too busy documenting the real lives of bored housewives or some fat guy eating burgers in Bugtussle, OK. But good news! There is an America's Cup channel on You Tube (here) where you can watch the action live, get updates and see re-runs of AC racing! TV coverage begins with the AC finals.
I'm counting the days till I get down to the Marina and see it live! Can't wait!
I don't object to the advancements made in Americas Cup and I'm not that knowledgable about it but doesn't it make sense to segment the race into Traditional and Advanced categories? By doing this, not only could more people relate to the race but traditional monohull design (which, let's face it, will be what we continue to use for years) would benefit from the innovation that inevitably results.
I'm not a luddite but as a sailor, I'm more interested in watching people race boats that look something like mine, using skills that I can aspire to.
I'm not a luddite but as a sailor, I'm more interested in watching people race boats that look something like mine, using skills that I can aspire to.
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