Hail to the Kiwis

[Rick West]

NZL wins the Louie Vuitton series 7-1 over Italy today. There could not have been a more popular win here to move forward to challenge for the America's Cup beginning on September 7th. Congratulations to a country with sailing the national sport.

Congratulations to all our friends there and their support of the EC12.

[Merv49]

I sure hope the AC is not as one sided as the LV Cup was. You only had to watch the start and another three minutes of the race to determine the winner. It's a shame that a two second mistake in operating the boat results in loosing hundreds of meters to your opponent with no chance in hell of making it up. NZL just had way more power and Luna Rossa never had any hope of winning other than a breakdown on NZL. Don't know why they have moved the AC in the direction they have but it's more of a drag race now than sailing. The guy with the bigger engine is always going to win. Sailing tactics had very little to do with any of the LV Cup races I watched.

[Capt. Flak]

I agree. This is not racing, it is all about the design of the boat and wing and foils. Maybe in five or ten years they will find a design envelope that everyone fits into and then it is back to sailing vs technology. But right now it is a matter of who has the best design and the most money. Of course the AC has always been about design and pushing the envelope, but with 12 meters and even the AC class, there was only so far you could go. There was maybe a half a knot of speed difference between boats. Good tactics and boat handling could win over pure speed. With these foiling cats, we are talking up to 6 or even 8 knots faster and better designed foils allow you to get up faster and just roll over your opponent in seconds.

Plus the design of the course and the new rules have completely messed up match racing tactics. The staggered timed entry (for safety) is silly. Then the reaching start is nothing more than a drag race as Merv49 points out. I do not know why they can't still do a traditional pre-start and then race upwind? And the rules at the gates has also changed tactics (not that anyone was even close enough to ETNZ to bring tactics into play). Also the boundary, while great for the spectators, completely takes away choices and any hope of making a comeback. It is follow the leader right after the first mark.

Hats off to ETNZ for getting it right and having the skills to do it. I sure hope the other "New Zealand" team can match them or this thing is dead.

I would like to see them get back to 12-meters with carbon fiber hulls and rigs and the latest sail tech. If not 12-meters, how about a modernized formula rule based on the 12-meter. Or even a one-design class.

They have completely taken the nationality out of it. Most of the boats are built in NZ and sailed by New Zealanders. I say go to a one-design monohull with a max budget and every member of the crew must come from the country of origin. Oracle has a US flag on the boat, but it only has about two US sailors on the boat, if that.

I am rooting for this to work. I am on the edge of my chair for the first race. But if it is just a drag race, I will tune out.

Sorry to ramble.

[Merv49]

Another thought I had was when watching chase boats with four 300 hp engines trying to keep up with the sailboats. Are you kidding me??? LOL Sailing? One design and spending limits would bring the AC back to earth. For goodness sake there were only three LV Cup contenders from the whole planet......what does that tell ya?

[yachtie]

As much as I enjoy seeing ETNZ going hard out and blitzing there will be a new game next week that we will all probably be able to gues the outcome after the - if not before the first "race" ends.

Grant Dalton (ETNZ) has had many comments in media about the ludicrous amount of $$$$ - upwards of US 100 million for the ETNZ challenge and Mr Ellison probably twice as much.

Dalts has said that should (when) ETNZ win that a much cheaper option will be for the next generation - what that will be we don't know yet. Likeiwse Auckland does not have the sme sort of venue as SFO so that also comes into play - bring back monos and tactics and we get true match racing again The Cats do provide a spectacle which has evolved like motorsport - the media want crashes and drama.

[greerdr]

I agree with Joe.
These are amazing boats but almost all the skill has been removed.
Another reason I respect our class.
Bet any top skipper in EC-12, given 30 min to work on any other boat, could sail her into top 5 or 10 position in almost any race.
But BZ to the Kiwis anyway.

[Chuck's Brother]

Hail to the Kiwi's is right! My 2 cents: The cup has always who can build the fastes boat within the rules set fourth by the defender and because of this the technological inovations trickle down into our favorite sport. Carbon Fiber, Mylar, winged keels, wings (sails) etc. That said, if the next defender continues to try to make it a huge blockbuster for TV and shore bound spectators, we can expect what we have this go around. The boundarys on the race course mak it a parade to me because of them. Can you imagine those AC 72's racing without boundarys? I think a different game. I am really looking forward to the Cup, and I am rooting for___________________!

[Capt. Flak]

I guess I am fine with an open rule which allows for pushing the tech, but these new rules for match racing these boats and the boundaries are just plain dumb.

As for whom to root for, both teams are 85% Kiwis, both boats are built in NZ and both were designed by Kiwis. Anyway you slice it, this is a win for the Kiwis. Good on them.

So do you root for your favorite skipper? Favorite sponsor? Or just the flag at the top of the wing?

I am really rooting for it to b a good match and not a snooze fest.

[deafsail]

Am Cup jury decision out: Oracle will start Cup match on -2, and fined $250K for as penalty for cheating during AC World Series

[Capt. Flak]

Kind of a shame. At least no Americans were cheating!

I still don't really get what was so bad in this thing. Yes, they broke the rules about modifying the boats, but from what I saw, they are talking about a few pounds of extra weight in some very odd places. As a percentage of the overall weight of the boat and crew, it is less than a half of one percent. Maybe I am wrong on that, but that is what I remember reading. One crew member could shift his butt two inches and it would have a bigger effect than this tiny amount of weight.

I got that they withdrew from the other events. They should have, they broke the rules by modifying the boats, but being down 2 points in a different series before it even starts is kind of silly. Besides, all the committee has done is reduce the time the event will take, which will hurt the city of San Fran as well as the sponsors. Dumb thing to do.

Oh well. It will be won by a Kiwi team anyway, the question is which country will it be in next time?

[Capt. Flak]

On a happier note. The Youth America's Cup is far more interesting and much more exciting to watch. I still do not like the way they start and finish though. It needs to be a tradition upwind start and downwind finish. Not these drag races to the first mark and snooze fest reach to the finish line.

NZL2 opened up a big lead today, but NZL1 and USA1 are tied for second place.

They are really screwing up with not putting this on real TV here in the States.

[Capt. Flak]

So I just read that Oracle are -2 points which means NZL still have to win 9 but Oracle will need to win 11. So they may even be making the event longer, not shorter. Oh well. Still going to be boring.

[Capt. Flak]

I have a math question on the AC. If after 17 races, it is USA 9 and NZL 8, do they keep racing until NZL gets one more or USA gets two more? I would think so, but it does not explain it anywhere.

[yachtie]

I think that would be a win to Oracle then Joe as they start at negative 2 and have to win 11 to make 9 positive wins.

[Capt. Flak]

they said that USA has to dig their way out of the hole and then win 9 for total of 11, but they are only scheduled for 17 races. It is still the first to win 9. So if USA wins the first two races it is back to square one, but are they going to add 2 more races to the total? In theory, it could be 10 to 9 in favor of Oracle, but NZL still wins.