If this was a boxing match, the ref would stop the fight.
Yup. US got smoked in both races today. USA -1 / NZL 6. (USA needs 10 wins to claim cup... NZL only 3) That aside... I'm annoyed that the "USA" yacht has a whopping 1 American on board.
7th wasn't even a race. If NZ can dial it in over the next few years on the downwind legs, they'll be even more merciless on their home turf.
Picture from the start of the second race yesterday. One of the few where NZ is actually out front on the first turn. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I suspect we wont see this class of boat again (72' foiling cats). Too expensive. Only 4 teams showed up (3 challengers + team USA). Perhaps that can be explained by the state of the US / European / Australlian economies in 2010/2011 when funds needed to be committed. But I think there is little doubt that the turnout is disappointing.
Kiwis starting to get more confident! Saw this today on an NZ site. Q. What does ORACLE stand for? A. Overly Rich American Called Larry Ellison
I have to say with respect to the 72s, IMHO it was a good attempt to pull sailing out of the 19th century. Agree that it priced a few teams out of the market, but the way these boats moved across the water is like something I've never seen before. I have to admit, watching the races live, and having the boats move so incredibly fast, has piqued my interest in sailing.
Saturday: 1st race: USA keeping it really close. NZL nearly capsize giving USA the lead / win. Race 2for the day. NZL ahead on leg 3 when race called off for wind above the limit. As it stands: USA 0 : NZL 6. (USA has 2 wins,... but 0 points due to 2 point penalty)
As far as I know, these are the only cruising cats that are lightning fast: Gunboat 90 Made by the same family that runs J Boats.
Fantastic race. Best race of the regatta. USA finally on the board with 1 point. NZL 7. Would be exciting if it weren't for the 2 point penalty.
Very cool technology. I read an article (NYT, I think) that described the NZ boat's advantage as the ability to sail into the wind faster than the Oracle boat. Thanks for posting the links to the videos. Philip
The AC boats are 72 feet, go 40 knots, and cost many hundreds (?) of millions. They got the technology from here, just scaled up: Foilborne: The Wing which are 11 feet long, go 30 knots and cost about $25,000............ When you're going at 40 knots, a gap of a few seconds looks a lot.......with the old 12-metre 'leadmines' of the 1980s a gap that looked small was quite long. Have the AC organisers/owners got the right balance? I don't think so. Paul M
Excellent documentary portraying the Australia II's successful 1983 AC challenge: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-L3L_3dyOE]America's Cup 1983 - Full Story on Australian Story - YouTube[/ame]
Holy crap... wind limit postponement called as the boats cross the start line! NZL was ahead,... but perhaps with a foul... (judges ruled no foul).
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah-Yeah-Yeah! NO! That start wasn't pretty by any stretch, was it? Oooh - replay . . . Pretty [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43S-gNRw1Ag[/ame]
I was out there on Sunday and got to snap a few pictures. This whole cup may not have been the best, from a competition standpoint, but since Oracle's finally found some speed on the 3rd leg, it's been much more interesting. I do say that these boats are quite an engineering marvel to watch on the water! I probably won't ever get to see the AC in person again, so I'm glad I've gotten to see a few races in such an up close manner without actually being on a boat. If there's one thing I can thank Larry for, it'd probably be that. Image Unavailable, Please Login