Anyone watching the America's Cup?

[pb4uski]

I'm not so sure. I'm wondering if they will sprout a post AC business of sails on SF Bay like the Stars & Stripes charter in San Diego. I would be game to take a ride on an AC72. I think it would be a hoot.

What I really wonder is if Hobie or some other cat builder will add foils to their cats so the rest of us can have some fun. I could see a downsized AC45 in the 16-18' range that is trailerable as being popular and bringing a lot of young people into sailing.

Something like this:

first sailing test with 4 foils - YouTube

 

[clifp]

I guess I am watching America's cup today. I have a acquaintances that went to SF to watch the races, it sounds like it was worth the effort.

I do love one commentary's quip, "if you thought Larry Ellison was insufferable before this comeback...."

Almost makes want to root for the Kiwis.

 

[Midpack]

Larry E notwithstanding, if you follow the Americas Cup in sailing forums, you find there are hundreds of posts with equal measure of good sportsmanship and (sadly) worse than "insufferable" from Kiwis and Americans alike...

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Duesenberg's and Bugatti's are beautiful too, and they will probably always have their followers, but relatively few people care to watch them race compared to NASCAR.

In answer to the OP, no.

But I would watch a Bugatti doing nothing for hours.

 

[Dawg52]

USA wins. Only race I watched, but it was exciting.

 

[growing_older]

Description of the amazing result:

Oracle completes miracle comeback to retain America

 

[pb4uski]

I'm still waiting for today's race to be posted to YouTube since I don't get NBCSports channel.

 

[pb4uski]

Great team comeback but Oracle "Team USA" is a bit of a misnomer - one American on the boat and one Aussie/US dual citizen - so 2 out of 11.

No matter - still right up there in terms of sports come from behind victories.

 

[Midpack]

Great team comeback but Oracle "Team USA" is a bit of a misnomer - one American on the boat and one Aussie/US dual citizen - so 2 out of 11.

It's worth noting the nationality of the design, build, shore and othe non-sailing personnel, they play a very significant role as well. By all indications, the design and shore teams made Oracle competitive where they were not when the AC finals began. They would NOT have won with the boat/configuration they raced on day 1 of the AC finals, despite the tactician swap (a lesser factor).

The Americas Cup has always been a design contest first, the ability of the sailors is usually secondary. It's not like one-design or even handicap sail racing that most people know. The AC is a boat mismatch more often than not, this edition was unusual in history. The last AC was a total mismatch for example, as most have been.

The NYYC implemented a nationality clause in 1980 after the Australians started to improve by drafting an American tactician. Increasingly after 1980, sailors began moving to other countries and establishing legal citizenship between Americas Cup campaigns, IOW bending the nationality rules. It was the Kiwis who eliminated the nationality rules in 2003! A little irony?

Every team is multinational, some more than others, and the actual sailing "Team USA" is especially hard to reconcile as you note (and widely debated in sailing forums) along with this...

Winning the Cup was expensive. It is estimated that Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison spent $170-$200 million on his boat’s campaign while the Kiwi’s spent $84 million says Sailing World. “It was David vs. Goliath,” Gary Chapman, president of group services For Emirates in Dubai, told me.

Kind of takes some of the "USA pride" out of the win when the Kiwis came so close to taking The Cup with half the budget from a nation with 1/70th the population of the USA. Sailing is much more popular in NZ than the USA, IIRC the number of boats per capita is higher in NZ than any other country. I've even thought of moving there in retirement as a result...but they don't take expats without marketable skills for the most part.

 

[Birmanboy]

Thats what we thought...its all over ..no way they will come back but just goes to show that "it aint over till its over". general mourning over her of course but has been exciting.

Oh yeah. I've watched every race all the way back to the fleet racing on the AC45's, and all the AC72 LVC and AC races. They have all been on youtube live or delayed (lately), on NBC yesterday and today and NBCSports I think this coming week. Even for those who don't sail, it's worth a look. Just imagine

• a 72 foot catamaran,
• with a 130 foot rigid wing for a (main)sail,
• weighing 6.5 tons,
• going over 50 mph in 20 mph winds (propelled only by wind),
• with the entire boat out of the water foiling on a surface about the size of a surfboard.
• while maneuvering within inches of each other at times.

Sound unbelievable? Give it a look.

Doesn't look good for the USA if the first two races are any indication, the Cup may be going back to New Zealand...

 

[Texas Proud]

Every team is multinational, some more than others, and the actual sailing "Team USA" is especially hard to reconcile as you note (and widely debated in sailing forums) along with this...


Quote:
Winning the Cup was expensive. It is estimated that Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison spent $170-$200 million on his boat’s campaign while the Kiwi’s spent $84 million says Sailing World. “It was David vs. Goliath,” Gary Chapman, president of group services For Emirates in Dubai, told me.



Kind of takes some of the "USA pride" out of the win when the Kiwis came so close to taking The Cup with half the budget from a nation with 1/70th the population of the USA. Sailing is much more popular in NZ than the USA, IIRC the number of boats per capita is higher in NZ than any other country. I've even thought of moving there in retirement as a result...but they don't take expats without marketable skills for the most part.

Just wanted to make a comment on the cost side.... I remember one race where they were talking about possible damage to the boat.... they said that the US team had a backup boat but NZ did not.... since the big cost is in the boat, I can see where US spent twice as much if they have twice as many boats....

 

[Midpack]

Just wanted to make a comment on the cost side.... I remember one race where they were talking about possible damage to the boat.... they said that the US team had a backup boat but NZ did not.... since the big cost is in the boat, I can see where US spent twice as much if they have twice as many boats....

Believe it or not, the boats are not the big cost at all.

The boats cost a staggering $8-10 million each. Both Team New Zealand and Oracle Team USA built two boats (max allowed in the rules). Though I suspect Oracle spent more on boats & equipment, if both teams spent $16-20 million on their boats, and Oracle spent 170-$200 million on their campaign while the Kiwi’s spent $84 million as reported in Sailing World - the large difference in spending is not due to boats.

During the AC finals, both teams were asked if their second boat could be ready if their chosen race boat was severely damaged during the racing. Oracle said they could have their second boat ready within 24 hours, IOW in time for racing the next day. NZ said it would take them much longer, though I don't think they gave an estimate. I suspect that's what you're referring to. Presumably New Zealand cannibalized their second boat considerably and/or maintained their second boat to a much lesser extent than Oracle.

All reports I've seen suggest the big cost far and away for the campaigns was/is "labor" - sailing crew, design team, shore team, management/marketing/other support teams. Isn't that how it is with most professional sports?

Photos

And of course there's some controversy brewing about what modifications Oracle made during the series. The mod, a "stability augmentation system," was disclosed before the final series began and approved by the measurement officials, but it's not over quite yet. Sadly any event at the level of $ will have lots of attorneys involved...the sailing world has been abuzz since the "win."

 

[pb4uski]

So if Larry Ellison funded the whole thing ($200 million) personally, he lost 0.5% of his reported $41b net worth. During the two weeks of the AC finals, his ~1 billion shares of Oracle increased in value by ~$1/share or 5 times the total cost of the Oracle Team USA campaign.

Now those are hard to fathom numbers.