Personally, I would like to see the America's Cup races go back to the old 12 meter days. Not only were those vessels beautiful and graceful, but many of the design features that went into those boats, the wing keel being one of them showed up in production vessels that real world sailors buy. The over the top engineering in today's contestants results in boats that are too fragile, too complicated, and too dangerous to market to the public. I know that is wishful thinking, and is about as likely to happen as banning steroids in the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding contest.
Loved Moana. Flying one hull was cool. The story is true to the history of the Pacific Islands. Maui's hook is a favorite piece in the shops here on Maui.
That thought first entered my mind years ago, after seeing the sailing scene in the movie Thomas
There are a LOT of foiling boats available to the general public now, for as little as US$7,930 http://www.fulcrumspeedworks.com/UFO/buy-now/
Believe it or not, the twelve meter rule was enacted to lower the cost of entry. The J class boats of the early 20th century were over 100 feet long and cost a kings ransom
More to the point, there are races for keel boats. The AC, on the other hand, was conceived as a financial arm race between rich guys. Let it be unique. In any case, the race belongs to the advertisers, so we have no say in it, which is fine.
The foiling monohull AC75 class rule was also meant to reduce costs compared to the catamarans. It’s all relative.
I'm not with you on this one. Watching 12 meters sail was like watching paint dry.
Just thinking of that chase scene in SF with the hills can make me nauseous, still.
Perhaps, but it beats pedaling a 40 pound Schwinn Varsity up that same hill
