34th America's Cup: multihulls!

[philSweet]

I wonder when they are going to add 2 more boxes to the scorebox graphic, or is that not in the budget. A little sign of hopefulness is the order of the day.

 

[SteveMellet]

Wow ... we now have an ignorant noise to signal ratio that rivals sailing anarchy. Well done.

For all of you that are spouting off about SF conditions and the AC34 courses beeing bad and losing races because of it. I invite you to look at AC matches starting in 1925 and see how many races have been abandon for time limits or postponed due to unsuitable conditions.

You have been spoiled by how reliable the venue and course has been all through the LVC an the AC match. As soon as SF has any of the problems that have plagued other venues in the past you cry and whinge like little girls. It is sort of funny to watch.

HTFU

Perhaps it is just that the event management has not read the Ellison Coutts marketing drive :
These boats will race in anything from 6knots to 33 knots, unless by 6 knots we mean not less than 10knots, and by 33 knots we mean nothing more than 23knots, and then if the tide is going out, 23knots can be interpreted as 19knots.
I'm all for the upper limits to make it safe, I just think that when boats are averaging 15knots boatspeed and flying a hull 90% of the race, then the time limit was perhaps badly considered, as it creates a very narrow wind range in which the event can be run.

 

[champ0815]

@RHough
I know next to nothing about AC races before this one (not interested in following the waste of millions of dollars in an event which centres 90% of time around the legal terms of racing and 10% around sailing in sluggish outdated monohulls round the buoys) and my comments just express my disappointment about the lost potential of promoting multihull sailing to the wider public.

 

[waynemarlow]

Wow ... we now have an ignorant noise to signal ratio that rivals sailing anarchy. Well done.

For all of you that are spouting off about SF conditions and the AC34 courses beeing bad and losing races because of it. I invite you to look at AC matches starting in 1925 and see how many races have been abandon for time limits or postponed due to unsuitable conditions.

You have been spoiled by how reliable the venue and course has been all through the LVC an the AC match. As soon as SF has any of the problems that have plagued other venues in the past you cry and whinge like little girls. It is sort of funny to watch.

HTFU

Yeah but look at how many people are now dialled in to watching this now marathon around the world, eventually the no racing because of really strange wind direction and speed limits will turn off these new visitors. These are boats built to withstand these conditions,it was only a lack of skill and understanding by predominantly monohull crew that caused the problems, which now with the input of genuine multihull trained crew, has been largely rectified, so lets get on with it and get racing.

Watching Ainslee telling Spittall to concentrate on his steering rather than go on about how well he just jibed says it all.

The next big problem is for NZers when they do win it, is where do you hold the next series. Holding the races in the Southern Hemisphere will be financial suicide, the bar of expectation has been set, the sponsors are going to expect huge amounts of air time and yet all the races will be held when the majority of the audience will be fast asleep.:?:

 

[Jenny Giles]

Thank you groper. I haven't laughed so much at an internet video for a long time. I can see another of these being made after the regatta. There is a lot material to work with, from cheating to wind speed limits to the failures to get audience numbers. And now wind direction!


@RHough If you don't like the noise here you should see other forums. Sailnet is quiet. Scuttlebutt has good news but not much live as the race is being run.
It is noisy here but it is funny like a football grand final forum with people shouting and laughing and throwing trash talk around. At least it is not viscious like sailinganachy.

I will give one more race a try but I will give up if they can't get their act together soon.

 

[rwatson]

Wow ... we now have an ignorant noise to signal ratio that rivals sailing anarchy. ....

Oh, sorry sir - stupid of us to have an opinion. I don't know why you hang around us unworthy nuff nuffs.

Please, do start an AC thread of your own, so we can come and be instructed on the true ways. Sorry to disturb you.

ITS ALL NOISE !!!! From the smooth, graphic enhanced 'computer games' with the bay as a graphic, all the way to Larry Ellison's shiny wooden desk with the marketing lads standing around it.

Don't try to make like this is 'real' sailing. This AC series is all 'boys in a bathtub' stuff, for the Youtube generation in their padded LaZ-E-Boys.

Larry Ellison tried the Sydney to Hobart one year. It was so rough he swore he would never get below Sydney in his yacht for the rest of the world.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/ellison-says-never-again/story-e6freon6-1111118408085

The Vendee Globe dont stop with a 'no wind' situation. Sure, outright gales dont make safety or comfort sense, but least have at least the best part of a working day to 'play'

 

[Doug Lord]

34th AC

I started this thread and I agree 100% with Randy Hough! The most spectacular Americas Cup racing in the history of the planet is worth waiting for.
As to the uninformed minority: there have been wind limits, time limits in the AC at least since it was first televised and probably even further back. The wind direction limitation appears to me to be unique to San Francisco but was mandated and agreed upon by the competitors. If you go back to the begining of the event there has not been a day lost to wind direction not one lost to the time limit. So all the uninformed BS about conspiracy theories is just trash and should be put in it's proper place. And,of course, if you don't like it-don't turn it on.
------
Hopefully, today we'll have great racing with Team USA winning-but no matter who wins this is extraordinary stuff! But I don't want it to be over.

PS Live coverage of the Little Americas Cup starting today thru next Saturday-see that thread. No wind today so far but 20 knots+ forecast for tomorrow.

 

[CutOnce]

One thing that amazes me about Americans in general is how polarized you are. There is never any middle ground or concession that there is merit in the points made on the opposing side of the discussion. It is amazing that 50 Shades of Grey is a best seller, because I don't think grey exists in America.

No one is willing to wait for the facts to become clear - they'll argue to the death in absence of facts. Guns, politics, rules, sailboat racing, foils, venues, nationality of entrants - everything is black and white in the US.

The other observation from outside the fence is that it once was entirely possible for people within a group to have different opinions and still get along well. I know the current US political situation doesn't agree with this, but it was a founding principle of the country.

Randy Hough's diatribe is counter-intuitive. Discussion forums are for discussion. If you only want discussion that agrees with you, start a private blog for like-thinking people. One man's ideal forum is another man's worst possible nightmare.

I personally do not like discussions that are biased or skewed and where objectivity is shunned. I don't like people taking "sides" before the complete data is in. I hate people assuming that I even have a "side" in a discussion.

Sailboat races have been around long before television existed, and they will be around long after television has been rendered a quaint curiosity. Changing the rules and expectations of sailboat racing because of television seems questionable - even if competitors were arm-twisted into agreeing.

I have to agree with Doug in that the spectacle we've watched has been .... well .... unbelievably spectacular (when all the stars line up). I'm not so certain it has been a good fit for what people have come to know as traditional sailboat racing. This America's Cup certainly changes the paradigm in uncomfortable ways for many.

I'm perfectly capable of ignoring posts I don't like. And I think that a public forum should respect everyone's interest in posting within the forum rules. I've looked around and this particular forum brings occasional commentary I feel very worthwhile, so until there is a better place I'll continue to participate here.

Before any hyperpartisan xenophobic good old boy decides to lay a beating on the foreigner here, please note I was born a US citizen and said the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school as a child. I call another country home now.

--
CutOnce

 

[Leo Lazauskas]

I guess it could be worse, e.g. if a whale held up the start.

 

[petereng]

Mt Watson - The quote in this is slightly out of context. I saw the original interview. That particular Syd-Hob is the one where several people died. The context of his statement was he couldn't do that sort of thing again because of his responsibilites to his family and other things. But I'm still going for the Kiwis. Larrys put his money where his mouth is and he must be commended for that. The rules of engagement were set up along time ago unfortunaetly the weather and technology don't stop for mere mortals. Cheers Peter S

 

[Blackburn]

...

Half an hour until the next scheduled AC34 start!

Scuttlebutt tweeted this... is it the projected wind strength?

24.4 knots for Race 14 and 23.3 knots for Race 15. @OracleTeamUSA has port tack in prestart for both races.


GO ORACLE!




.....

Two links which I mistakenly posted on the AC Live Today thread:

Latest New York Times article:

In America's Cup, Rivalry Starts at Helm


Amazing headline at Bloomberg TV:

America's Cup Trumps NFL for Sexiest Sport on TV

 

[Doug Lord]

34th AC

Channel 102 on Brighthouse in Florida. NBC Sports


Oracle just speeding away-300m lead! incredible...did I say incredible?



Go 17ers!!!

 

[SteveMellet]

I'm starting to believe NZ can't win this thing..

 

[Doug Lord]

34th AC

I'm starting to believe NZ can't win this thing..

==========
Geez, don't give up yet-they just made up 200m!
UPDATE: -Team USA just gained back 200m! And USA just lost them-fluky wind!

Go 17ers!

 

[SteveMellet]

Yeah, But Oracle has ridiculous boatspeed on them..