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Lambone
Big Wall climber
Ashland, Or
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 16, 2013 - 12:10pm PT
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Anyone else anticipating this!? Coming to San Francisco Bay this September! The boats they are sailing these days are crazy, a 72 foot catamaran that hydrofoils at 40 knots!
Capsizing these things at speed is very dangerous for the crew, last month a Brit died on their boat in a tragic accident.
I'm going to be in SF in August and plan to watch some of the qualifying races.
Check it out![Click to View YouTube Video]
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mcolombo
Trad climber
Heidelberg, Germany
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Jun 16, 2013 - 01:23pm PT
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Andrew "Bart" Simpson, the guy who was killed I met few times sailing Stars in Europe. Good guy and really sad. Still all the guys on the boats know the risks and are pros. The teams are all very safty concisous.
It was not a capsize but an catasrophic failure of the main beam due to faulty build/design which killed him. The boats are fast and on the edge but New Zealand, Lunna Rossa, and the new Oracle seem to be at least somewhat under control. Any very high performance sailbot is scary in a bearaway.
Any time you go out on the water on any boat things can happen. I guy I used to sail for, pro skipper and multiple class world champion was lost on SF bay when the hiking rack of a test boat failed and dumped the crew in the water. One of my best friends and sailing partners was lost at sea off Hawaii. I will never forget watching them bring in the body of top Austrian Torndo Cat sailor who died in a capsize in 2002 at the Princess Sophia Regatta on Malloca.
Looking forward to the racing!!! Wish there were a few more boats. I hope Artimis gets their boat together and sails well in memory of Bart. They have been through a lot. Lots of people are giving Paul Cayard a hrd time- seems to be made a target. Still he was alwys cool to me and I am sure he is deeply saddend by the accident.
Kind of hoping for a bit scaled down maybe 60 foot version for the next go.
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mcolombo
Trad climber
Heidelberg, Germany
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Jun 16, 2013 - 02:40pm PT
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The boat did not upend it folded. "like a taco" was the description. traping Bart under tons of broken Carbon Fibre. He had air and the crew tried to get more to him. They could see him struggeling but to no avail. In a nomal capsize you have some time but this was a sudden unexpected failure of the forward main beam.
The delay is for Artimis, their second boat was already built but not rigged/finished after the accident their operations came to a stop for investigation and testing. Should be sailing soon
We will see what comes next go, depending on who wins roumours are about of scaled down less expensive 60 foot versions, or 90 foot Monos but that is pure roumour.
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Bill Mc Kirgan
Trad climber
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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Jun 16, 2013 - 03:12pm PT
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Woah hEAVY man...7+ ton on that foil and it be bending.
STARBOARD BOAT GETTHELLOUTTAMYWAY!!!!!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 10, 2013 - 12:05am PT
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no much of a race, but the two first races of the Louis Vuitton Cup (to determine the challenger) have been run by a single boat... Emirates Team New Zealand... pretty amazing to see in video, I'm going to have to try to get a peak out on the bay...
[Click to View YouTube Video]
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 10, 2013 - 02:03pm PT
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hahaha, Billionaires, well, when I was on a team racing in Long Island Sound (instead of writing my thesis) the yachts were owned by mere Millionaires.. I lucked out and knew the son of one (who was also a graduate student in physics) a Catalina 38, a cruising version of the Sparkman & Stevens sloop designed for the Marblehead-Bermuda race (I think Ted Turner won that race in the original)...
we actually took line honors one year in the 'Round Long Island race sponsored by News Day (the local Long Island rag at that time) and came in 2nd in our class (handicapped).
When we showed up at the front gate of the Stamford Yacht Club, which was hosting the awards banquet, the gate keeper informed us (there were 5 of us stuffed into a small car) that the "help's" entrance was around the back... we told them we were there to accept our award for the race and drove on by... our table was setup quite a ways back from the "main table" and we weren't wearing the blueblazer/redbrickpants uniform, but had time anyway with another "working class crew" who'd also placed.
I don't recall the food being all that good (but it was free) and the beer was definitely pre-microbrew era pilsner...
Anyway, what's new?
The basic rule of thumb as I recall is that you "race your age" at 59 I'm to old for an AC45 (and not rich enough anyway!!).
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command error
Trad climber
Colorado
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Jul 10, 2013 - 03:02pm PT
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I want to see boats going fast,
close calls, right of way crashes,
sailors bobbing in the water like corks,
boats slashed and taking on water by AC72 razor sharp foils.
I want to see fist fights on the pier.
I want to see real sailors with their hands raised in victory!
Don't want to watch no pussy saying they are going to be safe.
There is nothing safe about sailing at 40knots on a 7 ton floating knife blade.
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command error
Trad climber
Colorado
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Jul 10, 2013 - 03:25pm PT
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to reach port we must sail - sometimes with the wind
and sometimes against it - but we must sail,
and not drift, nor lie at anchor
-Oliver Wendall Holmes
imagine
flying on the water
the best sailors on the planet
the fastest boats ever raced
34th Americas Cup
San Francisco Bay July-Sept 2013
http://www.americascup.com/
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jul 10, 2013 - 04:59pm PT
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America's cup racing has always been a 'pockett book' race for the most part.
Just like the comment that two nations at war aught to pit their best single representatives, be it physical, intillectual or both, to represent their nation in a battle...
America's Cup comp really aught to be sailed in Lasers.
Either way, it will never happen, to idealistic.
Re yacht racing: that is not the name of the game or how radical advances in design and construction take place !
I do find the fact that there really is no 'home team' to root for any more a little distubing. Design, construction and even crew rosters are often a multinational organization(s).
Imagine what it would be like if China joined the game?
Posted from Marblehead Ma. ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A sad PS:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/Ted Hood sailing innovator and champion yachtsman dies at 86
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Jul 10, 2013 - 07:50pm PT
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Always has been a charade with more time spent in the courtroom than on the water. Great sailors, often way way outdated designs and almost always jerkass owners like Larry F*#kin Ellison that epitomizes the lot. What they should be racing are Mod70s and junk these monster machines they have developed to "their" forever changing rules and aren't safe enough to sail out the friggin Golden Gate.
Christ, I am starting to sound like Reilly on a bad day.
You want to see exciting racing you have to tune into the European scene which is light years ahead of old Americaca.
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Lambone
Big Wall climber
Ashland, Or
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 10, 2013 - 09:04pm PT
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God damn, break out the whambulance....
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Gene
climber
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Jul 10, 2013 - 09:20pm PT
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May the best funded team win.
g
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jul 19, 2013 - 05:40pm PT
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You said it Gene:
"Pocket Book Racing"
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Jul 19, 2013 - 06:02pm PT
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Although an avid sailor, and sailing instructor, the AC has passed away from my interest as a race, and the real basics of what racing is about, most of the time.
By that, I mean that most sailing is "one design", where everyone sails the same basic boat, the contest is between the skill of different sailors, or sailing teams.
The AC has now devolved down to who has the most money to "buy" the race. The race is also not set up fairly. Virtually all other sporting contests, world wide, have abandoned the concept of challengers vying to fight the previous champion in the finals. Think how many Nicklaus or Federer would have if they had that system. Or Armstrong.
And the Champion gets to choose a location that gives them an advantage.
But no one wants to give up an unfair advantage. What an example of sportsmanship!
How about a million dollars maximum spent on a boat? How about you can have only one boat? How about an independent body set the location?
Unfair competitions that are not competitive, turn people off. They've destroyed this competition, and I doubt that it will be revived.
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Jul 19, 2013 - 06:47pm PT
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The America's Cup used to be a really big deal. The races were main stream sports and got a lot of press and TV time.
It was a beautiful race, with the boats all being long, skinny, displacement ships that carried a ton of sail.
That O'Connor guy blew it. After the Kiwi's beat us for the first time, using a winged keel (winged keels have been around for a while). During the next race he trotted out a catamaran, which looked silly competing with the other traditional boats.
To have a really good race, they should be one designs. There are tons of one design classes that are inspected down to the last square inch, and Nationals is a big deal. Believe it or not, Oklahoma has a great sailing lake for the smaller one designs and usually hosts a national every year or so. They hosted the J-24 nationals a while back.
So what would it look like if somebody trotted out a Tornado (a very fast catamaran) and threw it into the J-24 fleet?
The new boats are super high tech and ultra fast, but I think that they should have stuck by their guns and still raced the older and very beautiful boats of the past. Good luck putting that one into a hat, though.
I got an MC Scow to play on after work a couple of months ago. Crazy fast they are...but they are also a very closely watched boat that has had different builders over the years. Everyone has the same boat, so it comes down to seamanship.
Somehow these high tech anything goes boats have ruined the stately beauty of the old race.
My two cents.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jul 19, 2013 - 09:12pm PT
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those AC72's are amazing boats... it will be fun to watch actual match races when all the teams are representing...
in the past, the NY Yacht Club established rules that heavily favored their defense... including the requirements that the boat and crew had to be completely supplied the challenging country, including the sails, the design, etc...
this certainly put the challengers at a disadvantage... once the Kiwis won, it opened up the race... but it has always been an event for rather wealthy sponsors.
Match racing is great to watch with the modern technologies, but being there, especially at the start, and the course tactics, like climbing, is much more exciting...
...being able to sail any America's Cup boat is pretty much outside the possibility for most of us, watching is what we get to do... and the boats out on the bay are exciting to watch.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Jul 19, 2013 - 10:56pm PT
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but it has always been an event for rather wealthy sponsors.
Now too expensive for most BILLIONAIRES.
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Jul 22, 2013 - 02:33pm PT
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Some very tired ground crew from Artemis
Susan
Edit....ahhhh not the lady in purple, that's me : )
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jul 23, 2013 - 03:58pm PT
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How about a million dollars maximum spent on a boat? How about you can have only one boat? How about an independent body set the location?
How about going back to Twelve metres and having two identical boats built and the races sailed 'round robin' where crews and skippers alternate each boat each race ?
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jul 23, 2013 - 04:16pm PT
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@ Ed:
Match racing is great to watch with the modern technologies, but...
I love the tech and power of the AC's, but...
I as well feel a little something is lost when racing cats.
Cats go real fast (in a straight line) but don't tack for crap.
That simple fact makes cat racing (from Hobie's to AC 70's) much more of a drag race than a traditional, tactical, match race.
The possibility of a serious, up wind, tacking duel becomes very limited in the Cats. You don't play shifts nearly as aggressively because a tack cost time so dearly.
With the size, complexity and speed/loading of the AC's you will never see a seriously aggressive, off wind, luffing match on a reach/run.
etc...
I sail cats fairly often these days.
Two days ago I completely buried the lee hull of a Hobie 18 doing 20+ knots on a reach. That's pretty puckering.
But when it comes to racing, I find cat racing down right boring strategically.
Of course the start is critical in any race and particularly in a match race. However after that cat racing becomes primarily a drag race !
Along these lines I absolutely love this video.
The strategy and the athleticism involved is just so RAW.
And the battle continues at it's ferved pace off wind.
You can pretty much just skip to about 10 mins into it before the action starts.
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Jul 23, 2013 - 06:10pm PT
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Trundle, about 5 y ago, I skippered the first markset boat in the Laser Radial world championships at Santa Monica.
Amazing to watch the race from that position. Guy from Turkey won the Jr. Worlds....and won each race by a lot. I'm talking 8 boat lengths in front of 80 other boats. I would not have thought Turkey, he really had outstanding skills.
In that kind of race, you can really admire the sailor involved....it was just him that was superior.
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Jul 28, 2013 - 03:57pm PT
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Now THIS is racing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/26/sports/77-years-later-yacht-repeats-win-in-transpacific-race.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
77 Years Later, Yacht Repeats Win in Trans-Pacific Race
It took a thousand or so miles of sailing with the long, powerful waves of the Pacific Ocean for Hannah Jenner, a rising star in ocean racing, to get comfortable in this years Transpacific Yacht Race. Jenner, a 31-year-old from Britain, is used to racing ultralight 40-footers across oceans. But in the Transpac this month, Jenner was sailing Dorade, a 52-foot wooden sailboat from 1930 that is trimmed in varnished mahogany and adorned with polished bronze hardware.
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Nohea
Trad climber
Living Outside the Statist Quo
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Jul 28, 2013 - 05:26pm PT
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There's been some nice boats in town lately. I heard 9 boats hit debris along the transpacific route.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Jul 28, 2013 - 10:30pm PT
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Regarding Dorade and her Transpac win:
77 Years Later, Yacht Repeats Win in Trans-Pacific Race
First in class, First overall winner !
That ^ needs a little qualification
for the non, offshore, racing sailors perhaps ?
Dorade handily won her class and overall honors.
That does not mean she had the fastest elapsed time by any means.
She did not win 'Line Honors', she was not first across the line.
She won on 'corrected time'. Corrected time being the modified time when calculated using the handicap system.
Not to (by any means) diminish her achievement.
Dorade is a Stately Lady, as with most all yachts of the 'Olin Stevens' pedigree.
If I were to do the (uphill, up wind) delivery back to California and had a choice of which yacht to be a delivery crew on...
It would be Dorade over any number of the high tech, modern ULDB's (ultra light displacement boat).
Sure Some of these modern Farr designs, even the older Bill Lee designed 'Santa Cruz' yachts are incomparable down wind sleds compared with the likes of Dorade. But going to weather or dealing with some big water... gimme a deep draft S+S design any day ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of America's Cup and Olin Stevens:
Here is a shot of my all time favorite America's Cup, 12 meter defenders
"Intrepid" and she was an Olin Stevens Beauty as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A brief story if you wish to indulge me:
I basically 'grew up' in what was at the time 'The World's Largest Sail loft', Hood's Marblehead.
My dad was the 'hand work' specialist and on call rigger in the Service Dept. One of my first 9-5 jobs was doing hand work in production.
My dad used to tell me that if I wanted to really learn sail making I should do a stint in the Service Dept. His rationale was that in production you only work on new designs and never really see them after a few seasons when they would come back into the Service Dept for repairs. As well in the service dept you got to see all manner of sails from various sail makers and boats from all over the world. I got this. There was many a time that I would sit beside my dad on his sail maker's bench and watch him do a hand fell, French seam repair on sails for vessels the likes of the U.S.C.G's, square rigger the 'Eagle'
Most of the workers in the service dept with the exception of the (machine) sewers and my dad were younger people with some strong association with off shore racing or traditional sailing craft.
It was when I was there on a stint, perhaps very late 70's/early 80's that I met a lady working on the floor in the Service Dept. She was very unassuming. Unless you got to know her you would have no idea of her intelligence, drive and opulent back ground.
One day while talking with her she told me she was forming a syndicate to buy and restore a grand ole, America's Cup 'J' boat. I thought this was borderline preposterous. 'Where there any 'J' boats left that would be worthy of the cost and effort? She assured me there was and said that one day we might just see a small fleet of them sail again !
The 'J' Boats were so huge, so elegant, I was told by an old timer that BITD when they would come to Marblehead on the New York Yacht Club Cruise, that their masts could be seen from Crocker Park, above the Neck across the harbor.
Recently I came across these videos on Utoob...
and my eyes watered as my heart soared.
Wanna talk 'buckett list' ?
You can have the helm... I want lead, fore deck position!
Then:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
[Click to View YouTube Video]
And Now!
(this one is a very professionally done promo)
[Click to View YouTube Video]
Fantastic, with some good insights
[Click to View YouTube Video]
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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STEEVEE
Social climber
HUMBOLDT, CA
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Yaa for Dorade! I have a S&S Yankee Dolphin 24 and she can take me anywhere. Proven.
Olin Stephens was a master designer, as is shown by Dorade's TransPac win. His designs were built to be seaworthy yet fast.
The AC was traditionally an ocean race, but they changed the venue to attract a larger audience, so they move it to inland waters (easier for spectators) and as a result built AC design boats for speed not stability. These boats are not seaworthy. Ask any of the crew on Oracle and they'll tell you the same, AC 72's are built for speed.
The positive result of all this is design innovation that can change how we do things. Facing the reality of climate change due to our dependence on fossil fuels, the prospect of a stable seaworthy vessel that can sail at 50 knots in 20 knots of wind and can deliver trade goods across oceans sounds good to me. Innovation that comes out of sportsmanship, not war.
The AC rocks!
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
who gave up and just goes sailing now!
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Dingus, being out on the ocean in 25 to 30 knots of breeze with the spray everywhere feels a lot like being high in the mountains in the middle of a big storm. Except that of course it took way less effort to get there. And as a climber you would be great on the foredeck, which is where I sail on our Santa Cruz 37.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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the freedom of going anywhere on your own power and guile is shared by a number of sporting activities and is deeply rooted in history
sailing represents the domestication of a natural force to propel humans into an otherwise hostile expanse
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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I don't think I could watch that Redford movie. As an off shore sailor hitting a floating shipping container is a real possibility and a major fear. Last year sailing from Hawaii to Alaska we had to go through the tsunami debris field but we didn't see anything. We did hit two large logs that looked more like dock pilings. Luckily straight on, no damage, having a metal boat helps.
I did make the BIG mistake of reading about the Hobart to Sydney disaster race while on that passage. Why I read about a sailing disaster while out to sea is beyond me...
I do love it though...it never stops calling me...no matter which latitutdes (although I am partial to high latituides)
I'd have to say the America's cup is something, while I enjoy to a certain degree, because it's so outside my range of experience and knowledge it's hard to get my head around it.
Susan
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
who gave up and just goes sailing now!
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Last weekend we were racing from Santa Barbara to Redondo Beach and snapped the rudder off 50 miles into the race while surfing along at 15 knots. That was a long wait for the tow boat to arrive and a much longer tow home to Oxnard and the whole time you are hoping nothing starts leaking as that rudder shaft is a big hole right into the boat. The bummer was we were crushing our class and were probably close to the top overall as well. Oh well, thank god for insurance as a new rudder is over $15,000!
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command error
Trad climber
Colorado
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Aug 19, 2013 - 07:15pm PT
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Splash! 2 NZ grinders were swept overboard and left to bob like corks in San Francisco bay.
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SalNichols
Big Wall climber
Richmond, CA
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Aug 19, 2013 - 09:16pm PT
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To begin with, the 12 M and IACC series boats were built to design rules that comprised a three dimensional "box". That box gave designers room to optimize designs, but still race "level"..I.e. without handicaps. Thus, there are NO 12 meter boats that are exactly alike in ANY dimension.
Next, Connor didn't screw the game by sailing an 80' cat. The Aussies tried to game him y entering a 147' three masted schooner or something like that. His answer was a relatively cheap, and insanely fast, comparatively speaking, cat. That's the kind of crap that can happen in a deed of gift challenge (when no one can agree on the terms and conditions).
The AC72 is as much airplane as it is boat. Technologically they're bloody amazing to see up close. They're frighteningly fast when fully up on foils, in a way that you'd just love to try it, even though your testes would be in the shadow of your tonsils the entire time.
This is a quantum jump in sailing...it ain't going to be perfect or pretty all of the time.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Aug 19, 2013 - 09:21pm PT
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This one is for you Captain Dingus, best of both worlds. Mallorca no less!
And Sal it was the Kiwis not the Aussies!
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Aug 19, 2013 - 09:33pm PT
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I saw some of the antics in the bay on practice days.....Contrived at best and I'm going to bed. Get a real sport. These folks think they are the elite of racing and yet they don't even come close to formula one and drag racing expenses... Get on with it.....F*#king Salt water lover at oracle is a self indulgent bitch.
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SalNichols
Big Wall climber
Richmond, CA
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Aug 19, 2013 - 09:58pm PT
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Really? Team Artemis dropped over $100M for four races. At an amortized cost of $25M/race,that kind of blows F1 out of the water.
Guido, f me, yeah, that Michael Fay thing.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Sep 12, 2013 - 01:36pm PT
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LMAO:
Guido that shiite is rich !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next race soon, tune in on youtube ;)
Day 4 of the 34th America's Cup is here - Races start at 1:15pm PT. Watch live on NBC Sports Network in the US or on the America's Cup YouTube internationally.
https://www.facebook.com/OracleRacingTeam?hc_location=timeline
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Gene
climber
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Sep 24, 2013 - 07:29pm PT
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It's a whole new ball game. All tied up with one race to go.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Sep 24, 2013 - 07:32pm PT
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It's pretty lame that they don't race when the winds are too light, too strong,
or from the wrong direction. Course, that's kinda me climbing-wise so I'll shut up.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Sep 24, 2013 - 11:07pm PT
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Today's second match was mind boggling, and I'm quite confused about my loyalties.
Larry Ellison has to be a cosmic force of evil, but both crews and especially Spithill is as engaging and apparently good as ... I don't know what. Then there is that gut feeling that somehow Oracle is cheating.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Sep 24, 2013 - 11:21pm PT
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sh#t
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monolith
climber
SF bay area
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Sep 24, 2013 - 11:32pm PT
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If NZ loses, their syndicate may collapse. That would be sad, cuz they are the only ones who can challenge for the cup.
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bergbryce
Mountain climber
California
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Sep 24, 2013 - 11:52pm PT
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How is the Flying Wasp doing?
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command error
Trad climber
Colorado
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Sep 25, 2013 - 12:43am PT
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Always be America's Cup no matter who wins.
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mcolombo
Trad climber
Heidelberg, Germany
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Sep 25, 2013 - 05:27am PT
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Team OR sure seem to have gotten there foil controls dialed. They seem to be better able to adjust mode to sitution and have mastered upwind foiling.
Still it seems the races are being won and lost on tactical decisions and avoiding mistakes and the boats are pretty well matched.
Sir Ben, Slingsby and Spithill appear to really click together. Listening to their onboard conversation is amazing.
Lots of respect to both teams! The Kiwis re no slouches.
Sure it is big money game but so what, that is what we have billionares for- so a bunch of poor blokes can sail cool boats.
I will keep to racing my Finn.
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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Sep 25, 2013 - 08:56am PT
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I hope the kiwis can pull it off today!
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Nilepoc
Big Wall climber
Tx
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Sep 25, 2013 - 09:50am PT
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One week ago I gave up on Oracle. Here they are in a sudden death situation. I have never seen a more engaging cup race than this seasons. I want NZ to win because I hear their team will fold if they don't win but I really want the "underdog" (not really an underdog, but what a comeback) to win as well. What an amazing and well run race it has been. Whoever wins, I hope they keep the format similar. It is a very engaging sport with the foiling catamarans and the coarse layout. It would seem that some rule changes related to time and wind speeds should be considered but otherwise it has been so interesting that my wife is even watching it.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Sep 25, 2013 - 11:34am PT
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Go to America's Cup Virtual Eye and you will get a better perspective than TV and just as exciting or frustrating as it has been the past few races.
Kick ass NZ and stuff Larry and his "boys", please!
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Sep 25, 2013 - 04:48pm PT
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sh#t, BUMMER.
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michaeld
Sport climber
Sacramento
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Sep 25, 2013 - 04:51pm PT
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Woohoooo!
Hopefully they drop the double-hull design and switch back to single-hull.
But, being Murican's (Lol, Aussies and Kiwi's) Being owned by Murican's They'll probably make it a six-hull boat next Cup.
I had the pleasure to watch it on 3 separate weekends, watched the LV cup between Italy and New Zealand, saw the epic race where the Kiwi's lost two guys overboard from dipping, and watched the Americans win the first race of the winning streak which took them to the lead.
[Sorry if my grammar sucks, I have to take a sh#t and the same dude has been holding up the stall for 3 hours. I hear fruit-ninja. F*#ker. ]
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mcolombo
Trad climber
Heidelberg, Germany
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Sep 25, 2013 - 04:52pm PT
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Sir Ben, Slingsby and Spithill take it!!!!!!!!!!!!
Donīt care whos paying the bills.
Why would anyone want Monoslugs back? And I am a mono sailer.
Well perhaps a foiling Mono like a giant Moth would be ok ;-)
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John Mac
Trad climber
Littleton, CO
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Sep 25, 2013 - 05:30pm PT
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Oracle just had too much boat speed and technology in the end.
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dave729
Trad climber
Western America
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Sep 25, 2013 - 07:17pm PT
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Oracle! Clutching victory from the jaws of defeat. How sweet it is!
Saw this hugely detailed history of how the 1st race almost never happened in England back in 1851.
http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924029947649/cu31924029947649_djvu.txt
The British yachtsmen took one look at the America and f^cking hid. No one would race her. The English press and public shamed them into hoisting sail.
"This failure of British yachtsmen to take up
the gauntlet flung down by their American vis-
itors was not viewed favorably by the English
people at large, and the London " Times " com-
mented upon it as follows:
" Most of us have seen the agitation which the
appearance of a sparrow-hawk on the horizon
creates among a flock of wood-pigeons or sky-
larks when, unsuspecting all danger and en-
gaged in airy flights or playing about over the
fallows, they all at once come down to the ground
THE "AMERICA" IN ENGLAND 37
and are rendered almost motionless for fear of
the disagreeable visitor. Although the gentle-
men whose business is on the waters of the So-
lent are neither wood-pigeons nor skylarks, and
although the America is not a sparrow-hawk, the
effect produced by her apparition off West
Cowes among (English)yachtsmen seems to have been
completely paralyzing. I use the word ' seems,'
because it cannot be imagined that some of
those that took such pride in the position of
England as not only being at the head of the
whole race of aquatic sportsmen, but as furnish-
ing almost the only men who sought pleasure
and health upon the ocean, will allow the illus-
trious stranger to return with the proud boast
to the New World that she had flung down the
gauntlet to England, Ireland and Scotland, and
that not one had been found there to take it
up."
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cIeo
Social climber
vermont
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Sep 26, 2013 - 12:15am PT
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Everyone over here in NZ is quite depressed :(...
Rumor has it they won't have another go - too expensive. Larry will have to fund 2 Oracle Team NZ (cough) I mean 1 Team USA and 1 Team NZ. Have to say, watching those boats was quite fun.
The Kiwi tv commentators have been quite entertaining... highly partisan, of course. But today, they couldn't stop complaining about Oracle's Foiling Control, which apparently is run hydraulically (vs TNZ, which is manual). Apparently it was challenged and the judges allowed it. I've no idea if it matters or the TV guys are just sore losers.
It is obvious that Oracle learned how to sail their boat during the course of the finals, and they are now the better team! Poor Kiwis!
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