Racin'!

[bamamick]

Anyone want to talk about the AC or the Princess Sophia Regatta in Palma?

How about that dismasting, eh? What do we think of Big Ben driving ETNZ? Looks like Luna Rosa is for real. Looks like the South Africans have really improved, and it looks like Oracle hasn't! I wonder how the crash with +39 is going to affect my favorite team (the Germans)?

How about that Croatian Finn sailor? Robert Scheidt? The US Yngling girls? How about all of those Russian Dragons (16!)?

How about that Freddie Loof in the Star Springs?

Anyone? Anyone at all?

Mickey Lake

[The Bigfella]

Its started has it? Haven't heard much - must look it up.

[Ocean Spray]

Mickey,
As some one who has been sailing for over fifty years and followed the AC when it was in Newport RI and on the west coast against Australia and New Zealand, it now interests me as much as the world tiddily winks championship.
For something that I used to follow and was broadcast live here in Boston, it has lost all following with not only me, and probably anyone in my yacht club. And my club is a very active one design racing club, with Stars, PHRF, lasers, IC's, Rhodes 19's and winter frostbitters.
I think NASCAR has more interest than the AC and I don't have a clue how that works. And I also think that the NASCAR cars have less advertising on them than the AC boats.

[bamamick]

Germany, South Africa, and Sweden. The US doesn't have a team any more than do the Swiss, but the boats are big awesome machines. I sailed beside one last year in my Finn and couldn't believe how big the thing was. Television does not do them justice.

I haven't kept up with the Cup up until now but I will start paying attention. I wish that it was all fleet racing, but the one-on-one aspect of it certainly creates high drama from time to time.

When you say that you have IC's do you mean Interclubs or International Canoes? I have been dieing to try a Canoe. I was invited to come down to Sarasota for their Midwinters and give one a go, but I was sailing Finns that week. If I can scratch up an extra $1500 from somewhere (not easy with the fleet I have) I have my eye on a glass-hulled, mahogony decked IC. It'll be slow and antiquated, sort of like myself, but I'd like to give it a go. But you probably mean those frostbite boats, don't you?


Mickey Lake

[Thad]

I'm watching I'm watching! er reading, when it shows up. No Scuttlebutt today.

[MarkC]

Anyone want to talk about the AC

Last week I watched on tv how the German A team practice raced against the German B team.

fantastic day - good light winds (10knts?) with very calm seas -

Start-line dial-up and Team B goes underneath team A - and then - "BANG"

2 foot (1/5 meter) of team A's stern is snapped and smashed. Not just 'clipped' the boat but mis-judged by 2 feet.

The American stand-in skipper was embarrassed. Back at the dock Jesper Bank (team A skipper) tried to make it look funny by saying to Team B skipper "was it something due to age?" - he was real pissed.

Then they collide with Italians 39 - they have to pay for the Italian's mast with their insurance.

WHAT are the Germans doing?

Last time round they grabbed the wooden spoon. I still cant see them 'flowing with it'. :(

Todays fleet-race saw them 10th out of 11.

But at least they have an entry - not like Australia:mad:

As some one who has been sailing for over fifty years and followed the AC when it was in Newport RI and on the west coast against Australia and New Zealand, it now interests me as much as the world tiddily winks championship.
For something that I used to follow and was broadcast live here in Boston, it has lost all following with not only me, and probably anyone in my yacht club.

Get over it!!!

Look at all the plusses. The fleet-starts have been the best thing that ever happened to the cup.

It is now more of an internation sport than when the STates had its iron grip on it. OK - it is not so much of a country vs country battle as it was before.

If you wanted to be pissed with the AC, then the time to do that was when NZ and USA were in court.

[bamamick]

Germany) last year and really liked the guy. He is one of the better tacticians around in this kind of thing (based on his work with some of the earlier Cups and things like E22's and their like). It was remarked that there have been several close shaves in these fleet races because the sailors are underestimating the amount of rig that they have hanging up there while they are heeled over. I have seen Stars do this first hand, and I have seen photos of Dragons mixing up the rigs. It's not as uncommon as we think. As far as guys hitting one another, well, we are always hitting each other, as well, there just aren't always dozens of cameras floating about to show it to everyone.

If it weren't close it wouldn't be interesting. imo, the closer the better.

Mickey Lake

[John B]

We got third in our easter rally yesterday.. thats sort of racing isn't it.LOL.
beat by an etchells and Tawera( the 50 ft Logan)
We narrowly survived a protest against outside assistance when Sorceress( the Dyarchy) came alongside to cadge a cigarette from one of my guys.We ( bad people that we are) then walked her boom aft and got ourselves a slingshot into yet more glass.
It was very intense

[bamamick]

The last time I got a third was in Palm Beach last year, and there were three boats! I have honestly forgotten what it is like to win. It's very strange. I feel more in tune with sailing than I have in a long time, but the struggles are the same they've always been, or even tougher.

One of the reasons that I insist upon buying a newer Dragon next year is that I just want to put myself in the best position that I can to win. I have never been obsessed with winning (which, I suppose, is a very good reason that I don't win), but I just want to sail a boat that is at least as fast as the other guys, and in which my weight won't make much of a difference.

I had a very fine Star once, and at least in my case, it made a difference in how I sailed races. In the Finn, unless it's blowing, I have to approach every race knowing that I am slower than almost everyone else, so I HAVE to have a good start. I HAVE to stay in clear air all of the time. I HAVE to minimize mistakes and take advantage of other's mistakes everywhere possible. And then, when I finish 13th of 18 I can not beat myself up because I lose two boats per race off the wind, etc.

In the Dragon, I have to hope for the exact opposite: light air. Or at least no chop. Same thing in the Star that I have now.

So John, who's going to win the thing in Spain? Will the Arab New Zealanders wrest it away from the Swiss New Zealanders, or will the American New Zealander drive his team to victory? I only wish someone from W.A. would emerge so that they could take those beasts to Fremantle. Now, THAT, I'd love to see!

Mickey Lake

[Ocean Spray]

Mickey, IC's are Interclubs. And Mark, I'm not pissed at anything to do with the AC. I'll give it another look.
Question for those who might know: If I'm here in Boston, hooked up to cable(Comcast), what station would I watch to view America's Cup or any kind of sailing?

[Russ Manheimer]

Mick,

Have you signed up for the Alcatel-Lucent virtual viewer? Got mine this week in time for Flight 13, the site's called americascupanywhere.com/ (http://www.americascupanywhere.com/). It shows the position of the boats and their sails in 3-D with the ability to show any camera angle, all in real time. You can also replay prior races.

It's cool to watch situations from over-head that you've experienced in actual racing conditions. (I helped Tom Beaton campaign the A-Cat Wasp for a few years at the end of the last Century. It feels that long ago.)

As far as TV goes, ESPN and Gary Jobson used to carry the last Challenger races and the Cup itself, but now the coverage is on the Versus Network (used to be OLN, Outdoor Life Network.) Here's the link (http://www.versus.com/findversus/) to determine availability.

I agree a certain elegance in the America's Cup competition was lost when the Cup left Newport but it's still sailing, with crews and boats pushed to their absolute limits.

As far as who to root for in an age of divided loyalties, Peter Isler, Navigator for the San Francisco based OracleBMW, is as good a candidate as any.

Check out the virtual software, I can see it cutting into my productivity over the next few months.

Russ

[bamamick]

for such an event. I know Eric Doyle of Oracle personally. He grew up down the road and went to the same college I did. We sailed Stars againstg one another twenty years ago and we have always been friendly. Scanning through the crew lists I see several names around that I know.

The reasons that I root for Germany are several and simple. For one thing Jesper Bank is a past Dragon Gold Cup winner. Of course I like that about him. Dave Dellenbaugh I met last year and he was courteous and went out of his way to answer a couple of racing questions for me. And this was after the seminar that I was attending was over. I will always like a guy who will do something like that. Another thing that I like about the Germans is that the boat was designed by a German team, built in Germany, and sailed by a very largely German team. I like that. These guys knew going in that they did not have the ACC experience. They are getting it the right way, by sailing. That's my kind of attitude and I like that. And of course, I have spent about 6 months working at different times in Germany and I just like the place.

As far as OLN goes, I don't have it at home, but I do have it at my little cabin 20 miles away. I look forward to seeing some of this stuff on the telly. It's racin'. I have spent my entire adult life doing it. Sometimes it boring to watch, but it sure beats the heck out of home decorating or some game show.

Mickey Lake

[MarkC]

Another thing that I like about the Germans is that the boat was designed by a German team, built in Germany, and sailed by a very largely German team. I like that. These guys knew going in that they did not have the ACC experience. They are getting it the right way, by sailing.

Absolutely - I was just venting my frustration at racing - sometimes those who are doing the right thing and deserve the results fail.

The team behind the German entry have been trying to field a team for 15 or more years - some have their houses on the line for it - really battled for it.

[Wild Wassa]

Ocean Spray, the last Louis Vuitton/Americas Cup was on ESPN, they had the best coverage here in Australia.

BBC World has 'Mainsail'.

International CNN has 'The Spirit of Yachting'.

... but the best coverage of the Louis Vuiton/Americas Cup (I feel) is the internet subscription from the Kiwi company 'Virtual Spectator', it is just fantastic. You can set all of the tactical parameters and visual aids like a route history, the actual weather and weather forcasts for the races on the screen, all that you want, to enhance the coverage and you're able to replay all races at will and have an infinite range of picture angles ... and you don't have to put up with inept commentary.

So many races so little time on Virtual Spectator. You can also download from virtual Spectator past yacht races, like the 'Volvo' to get a feel of how it works, prior to purchasing a subscription. It is a cool service.

Warren.