Americas Cup!

[Zeida]

Sailors! In case you are not yet tuned into it, the most spectacular sailboat racing will take place starting this Monday Feb. 8.

BMW Oracle's USA Trimaran and Alinghi's Catamaran wildly exceed everything that anyone has ever seen on the water so far. They are AWSOME!... and beautiful. The racing will be seen LIVE on the web.
Extraordinary coverage is being streamed live by Oracle (who else?) and the technology involved in the creation, design and construction of these two boats as well as the effort involved in broadcasting the race live via the web is worthy of the incredible achievements of our 21st. century.

The starting gun is at 10 am Valencia time... 4 am USA. Lots of information and videos already available on cupinfo.com... americascup.com and on the Oracle website. Enjoy! There will be nothing else like it!

[henry hey]

Hi Zelda,

I understand your excitement about sail racing, but this America's Cup competition has devolved into an ugly legal pissing contest. These 'boats' are so far from the spec of any traditional sailing that they can't even operate in fairly benign sea conditions. Wednesday, the race was cancelled due to 4-6' swells. This is absurd. Give me a CD Typhoon and I'll weather 4-6' swells. The legal one-upsmanship and attorney movements have really taken all of the fun out of it.

I say that we bring back traditional hulls and work towards a sportsman-like healthy competition. Perhaps there should be a spending cap or a materials cap on this race. We once had beautiful maritime tradition in the cup, and it now appears to have completely vanished.

my 2 cents.

-henry

[Sea Hunt]

Henry:

I agree 100% with your post. I used to love watching/reading about the America's Cup races - even before I got into sailing. I used to dream of someday being able to own a sailboat something like the graceful beauties I saw competing. Ted Turner, Alan Bond, Dennis Conner and most of the other skippers were great sailors, great characters, and nice guys. Not so the owners today.

I now have zero interest. It is now all legal battles, deceitful trickery, etc. What they are racing may technically still be called "sailboats" but they are nothing I would ever want to own, race or sail. They are ugly.

I also much preferred the America's Cup when a sailboat sailing under the flag of the US had US citizens; an Italian flagged vessel had Italians; an Australian flagged vessel had Aussies. Now, skippers and crew go to the highest bidder regardless of nationality.

Today's owners and their lawyers have tarnished, almost beyond recognition, a once great and noble competition; one with history, tradition, long established rules, sportsmanship and fair play. To paraphrase Mercutio "A pox on all their houses (and boats)."

[JWSutcliffe]

It is my recollection that the likes of Ted Turner and Dennis Conner started (what is in my mind) the end of the America's Cup. Good sportsmanship and tactics were replaced by techno-trickery.

For those of you that long for a return of the 12 Meter days, many of the old Cup contenders are based in Newport and are out sailing as tourist boats each summer. For as little as $800 you can day-charter one.

[Joe Myerson]

Henry and Richard,

I've got to agree with both of you. (BTW, have you seen this week's -- Tuesday's -- Science Times section in the NYTimes?)

When I was a kid, the America's Cup trials would venture from Newport into Buzzards Bay. I can remember sailing out in the middle of the bay in my little catboat to watch Nefertiti (the local favorite) trying to earn the right to compete.

There's a fleet of those lovely 12-meters in Newport, and ordinary folks can get to sail them, for a fee. I had a chance to crew aboard the Weatherly during a squally, rainy day at Newport. It was quite an experience. Not rocket science, just solid sailing.

--Joe

[Dean Abramson]

While I agree that this version of the America's Cup is a natural result of the sick direction the America's Cup has gone in recent decades...

...I nonetheless really want to see these creations in action!

Zeida, do you know if there any plans to re-air the races on television? I surely would like to see those suckers on a hi-def TV.

Thanks for alerting us. I knew it was coming up, but it fell off my radar.

By the way, the "Americans" are now one race up. And there are only three races total. Sunday could be a historic day in the annals of American Nautical Spending! Watch now, or forever hold your peace.

[okawbow]

29 knots in 10 knots wind. over 20 knots upwind in 8 knots true. Amazing what millions and millions of dollars can do.

Maybe someday some of that technology will be usefull in bringing back commercial sailing vessels.

[Warren Kaplan]

From 1975 to 1980 I lived in San Diego. Home of Dennis Connor when he was the face of the USA's America's Cup organization. There was an event that I shall remember as long as I live. Connor wanted to thank the locals (San Diegans) for their support during the Cup campaigns. So they let it be known that they were going to sail two of their 12 meters in an informal race up and down San Diego Bay past Shelter Island for all to see. The boats were the magnificent Liberty and Freedom.

There were literally hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the roads of Shelter Island. What nautical nobility sailed by us all that day! What class! What incredible beauty! Everyone was overwhelmed by what passed before their eyes! Those of us who were consumed with the passion of sailing were awe struck!! What majesty sailed by on starboard tack!

Alas, the contest of class has inexorably evolved from that sunlit day in San Diego Bay down into the dregs in the dank corridors of Foley Square and the Federal Courthouse in New York. Where once the heavy weights aboard ground massive genoa winches, today the heavies grind legal minutia ashore until our hair hurts.

There are days when I sail out of Oyster Bay and I see the local fleet of Shields One Designs racing. I sometimes stop to watch them. Their incredible simple beauty and grace moving through the water keeps me mesmerized....and it summons up that day along San Diego Bay some 35 years ago.

[M. R. Bober]

I have never had the urge to race, but I do enjoy watching the Optis. The kids settle things out on the creek and seem to have fun.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (where Optimists float), VA

[tartansailor]

Watched the race; what a horizon job!
Did you see the deltas
And the 2nd press conference was almost
too embarrassing to watch.

I strongly support the previous posts about a
longing for tradition.

Dick

[Neil Gordon]

Maybe someday some of that technology will be usefull in bringing back commercial sailing vessels.

Except that what makes them go so fast, aside from their designs, is that they're all gram freaks. Add extra weight over and above the boat and the crew and they slow down. I prefer racing a Cape Dory 28, where the motivation provided by carrying a bottle of single malt does not compromise sailing speed.

I sailed on Northern Light once, when Shawmut Bank chartered NL and Gleam for the week and I was in most-favored customer status. (I got one day's worth, as there were lots of other most-favored customers.) Was quite a joy.

[Warren Kaplan]

Feast your eyes on the twelve meter Freedom.

[Steve Laume]

It sure isn't your Daddy's cup race.

Those boats are pretty amazing in almost every aspect of their design and performance. Weather they are moving in a direction the sport should be going is questionable. They are such frail creatures. I am usually able to see beauty in function but these creations are not what you would call pretty.

I looking at some of the close ups I have not seen any winch handles. Are they power driven winches??? It would be a truely sad day when hydrolic fluid or electricity replaced able bodied sailors. At that point you could have computer controlled yachts.

Maybe the future of the sport is to build virtual boats and race them from a keyboard.

They are probably already doing that, in preparation for the actual races. Gone are the days when a syndicate would campaign two boats to practice match racing and sort out the best boat for the challenge.

It might be about time for a one design cup race with all crew being nationals of the competing country.

Why have match racing when the boats are not evenly matched, Steve.

[Dean Abramson]

It looks like Ellison is going to win.

Once he does, IF HE WANTED TO (and if his lawyers are good, which they must be), he COULD then decree that the next defense is going to involve a huge leap back towards tradition.

Think he'll do that? Nah.

I do hope I get to see these monsters on a big TV, though. Did anyone notice if there was any footage on ESPN's SportsCenter?

Dean

[Dalton]

The crew look tiny on these monsters.

http://www.americascup.com/en/regate/re ... /show.html

GD