America's Cup (spoiler alert)

I wouldn't have given a plug nickel for Oracle Team USA's chances last week, but here we are tied at 8 pts apiece, with tomorrows race for all the marbles!

Wow, sounds like maybe they finally got the hang of the team oracle boat. The early races were friggin embarrassing how bad they did I figured it would be over by now.

I liked it when the raced real boats.

I liked it when they put motors on them.

Pretty exciting stuff!

I haven't been watching the series, but I love the boats. I happened to catch the Oracle one practicing last year a day or two before it tripped, and it was astoundingly fast. And big.

iceracer wrote: I liked it when the raced real boats.

this ... while the super boats are incredible pieces of engineering ... I much prefer the mono-hull boats

these are sorta like F1 and I like IT

Plenty of other slow boats racing in the world. I'm glad they truly opened it up at this level. They're amazing machines.

but not on TV

It IS on tv. NBCSports Network, which used to be the old Versus channel.

racerfink wrote: It IS on tv. NBCSports Network, which used to be the old Versus channel.

Very good coverage too.

mazdeuce wrote: Plenty of other slow boats racing in the world. I'm glad they truly opened it up at this level. They're amazing machines.

wbjones wrote: but not on TV

racerfink wrote: It IS on tv. NBCSports Network, which used to be the old Versus channel.

actually it's not on tv ... anywhere that I can find (please note the bolded portion of his post ... I'm well aware that the America's Cup has coverage ... but the "complaint" was about the mono-hull "slower" boats

reading comprehension .... is fundamental

iceracer wrote: I liked it when the raced real boats.

It was fun to watch the dance and the Rules of the road fencing before a start. Now? Meh...

iceracer wrote: I liked it when the raced real boats.

Me too. I gave up when they went to the Cats.

racerfink wrote: It IS on tv. NBCSports Network, which used to be the old Versus channel.

I liked it better when it was streamed live on Youtube.

OK, I also like the monohulls and wish they had coverage too, but without the cup, there isn't really a world for the completely balls out cats that they're building, and I like these boats.

I had no interest in the sport until I saw this picture:

For me it’s yin & yang. My Dad brought us up racing Catamarans. He was a National Champion. I watch/record the matches every day. It is incredible and yet 3 things I don't care for:

1- I wish the race course would change every day.

2 - Sailors? Wear padded body armor, Crash Helmets? and carry Oxygen Tanks?

3 - I frown/grimace every time I hear a British National comment as helmsman of the US boat. It has been a long time, but I wish they represented their country and not simply as the best in the world "hired guns".

I don't usually pay much attention to sailing, but you can see the America's Cup course from the building I working in San Francisco.

Locally almost everyone is rooting for the Kiwi's. Larry Ellison so famous for being a complete shiny happy person that many would rather loose the cup than have him win.

On our visit to S.F. this summer, we went to the Academy of Sciences, and they had bits of one of the Oracle boats on the ceiling. It was impressive.

I left the docks of Put-in-Bay last Saturday at 9am with 8 of my closest friends for a full day of late season racing in 15 to 20 knots aboard the Schock 35. The after race festivities were a bbq at a friend's waterfront cottage where we watched the Am. Cup, played euchre and fired the potato cannon.
From there, in town for a night of live bands and being "over served". Crashed in the v-berth at midnight. Back on the water at 8:30am. Took 4th in our fleet.

The red Schock on Sunday

Am. Cup boats are to sailing as F1 is to getting to the office quickly.

Any more delays in Am.Cup racing and the schedule was going to overlap the SF Big Boat Series.
http://www.stfyc.com/default.aspx?p=v35EvtView&type=0&ID=3113040

Sort of a humorous name considering the Am.Cups would be bigger.

Gasoline wrote: For me it’s yin & yang. My Dad brought us up racing Catamarans. He was a National Champion. I watch/record the matches every day. It is incredible and yet 3 things I don't care for: 1- I wish the race course would change every day. 2 - Sailors? Wear padded body armor, Crash Helmets? and carry Oxygen Tanks? 3 - I frown/grimace every time I hear a British National comment as helmsman of the US boat. It has been a long time, but I wish they represented their country and not simply as the best in the world "hired guns".

Re:

1. i agree, it would make things interesting if the courses changed and could favor one boat over another in different races, challenging the captains to adapt.

2. I imagine they already had the helmets since they're about 30 feet off the water on a reach when standing on the windward side. the O2 tanks was probably after one of the team members was killed during a practice accident earlier this year when the boat nosed in and trapped a guy under the water.

3. we are a nation of immigrants

Gasoline..... Who is your Dad? What National Championship...

You monoslow guys are nutz! Old hobie cats are the GRM of the sailing world... These big badass versions are incredible!!!

And for youtube LIVE coverage download the AMerica's Cup app... You can get the live youtube feed that way... FREE... It also gives you options to watch the liveline... or data feeds... Or even streams right from either boat...

I have LOVED this event... Almost sad it is going to be over really soon....

The only thing I would change... In many ways the fleet racing of the AC 45 world series was more fun... But damn... with this kind of ending.. I ain't going to complain.

Listening to Ben on that one particular start was hilarious!!!!

I'm a windsurfer from way back. I've sailed small monohulls and catamarans occasionally. The former always left me cold, you could tell they simply weren't using the wind. Non-planing hulls are the worst, but even the planing ones felt draggy. The cats on the other hand - it's like the difference between a sports car and my diesel truck. And there's nothing like flying the hull, I can't imagine what the foiling feels like.

The performance is high enough that crash protection is required. That's stupendous for sailing.