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Oracle Team USA WINS AMERICAS CUP!

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Wow! What a comeback and a great day for sailing! Congrats to the teams and San Francisco!
 

ref_123

Member III
I was there watching. Man, this was one heck of the spectacle. I have a ton of photos.

My 8-year old wants to sail like that (me too!) :). Trouble is - daddy does not have $20 mil to spare and Larry Ellison is unlikely to give her a ride...

BTW, still unclear what they will do with AC72s now.

Regards,
Stan
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
I was there watching. Man, this was one heck of the spectacle. I have a ton of photos. My 8-year old wants to sail like that (me too!) :). Trouble is - daddy does not have $20 mil to spare and Larry Ellison is unlikely to give her a ride...BTW, still unclear what they will do with AC72s now.Regards,Stan
Wish I could have been there. We were there last Oct and saw the AC Park. They are saying that they now have to find a way to make it affordable so more than four teams can enter next time. Hope they do. Please share some photos!Rick
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I watched the trials one day from a charter boat. I was reminded how bleedin' chilly SF Bay is blowing 20 knots in August even with the sun out. And the boats looked like water spiders and the sense of speed in the distance was a shrug.

After telling everybody this class was going nowhere, could be accurately compared to Nascar at 50 mph, and was unrelated to the yachting tradition and essentially the work of Capitalist devils as opposed to my old heroes of the working classes such as Commodore Vanderbilt, I then watched a race on TV.

Electro-shock therapy for the narrow minded! Holy crap!

I was then pinned to the TV for about eight straight races at 1 pm almost daily, nerve wracked by the groaning carbon fiber and the tantalizing slow tacks and the incredible starts--hitting the line within seconds in hard-to-maneuver cats meanwhile trying to kill each other?--and the sheer amazement of the foiling at 45 knots through chop with freeway-level closing speeds.

Now, duh, I think we will never go back to hulls in the water and television has discovered how to cover yacht racing as only television can--for a profit, which means a future.

OK, I'm a convert.

But they've gotta do something in the way of a nationality rule.

Pretty absurd, by standard standards, that every voice among the American winners is from somewhere Down Under, that only one guy on Oracle's 11-man crew is a US citizen, and that there's a huge digital American flag on the finish line that these hired hands crossed to the chant of USA! USA!

Here's a brief video of what it looked like from the spectator fleet, as opposed to the sophisticated TV coverage:

http://vimeo.com/72752312
 
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ref_123

Member III
While I agree in principal it is really weird that USA team had 1 USA citizen on board... Thing is - name at least 5 top-shelf ACTIVE american racers involved in match racing? Or big boat professional racing? Can you? I can't. Google brings up a number of great dinghy sailors, but for most it's a hobby, not a profession.

Competitive sailing in USA is perceived by most as either elitist or weird. Big boats are a subject of class warfare. How many comments did I see in local press about billionaires and their toys? Way too many to count. Many SF "taxpayers" actually want Ellison to move AC35 somewhere else.

All this is not encouraging youngsters to get into sailing, much less - top competitive one. So, local talent pool is - hmm - quite thin. Thus, OTUSA used hired guns :)

BTW, Spithill probably will get a USA passport soon.

Regards,
Stan
 

Fparry

Member II
I watched a crew member on tv this morning talking about how this come from behind win was destined to save sailing by injecting a whole new generation with the bug. Considering I didn't know who he was and I never watched a race I kind of doubt it.
 

ref_123

Member III
Seriously??? Not a single race? Youtube has them all. Do watch race #18 - it was a really good one, with NZ tactician making one - but crucial - mistake on the upwind leg.

On the other hand, given how addictive this stuff is, may be it's not a good idea :). Seriously, now I am looking for a super-fast sailing craft for myself (can't afford one :(), and my daughter cannot wait till she can try out Moth dinghy...
 

Slick470

Member III
I watched the whole series between live coverage and youtube in the evenings and I was very surprised how close and exciting a lot of the racing was. I have had friends who don't sail watch it and they are completely surprised at how interesting sailing can be. On the other hand, I have had sailing friends who weren't paying any attention at all which I find to be absolutely dissapointing.

Yes the boats don't translate to what "normal" sailors do on the water, but it is a high profile way of showing our non-sailing friends what the sport can be. Racing much slower boats can be exciting too, it just doesn't translate to TV well. This did and while the commentary can be dumbed down for the masses most of the time, the production values were amazing.

If you haven't watched any of the races, please, ignore the legal battles, the politics, and go to youtube and at least watch the highlight reels from some of the days races. If you like what you see, go back and watch the replay broadcasts and the press conferences. It really is worth it.

This article really sort of sums up the event prior to the final race: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-caen/a-cup-of-caen-yelling-at-_b_3975975.html
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
I've only raced sailboats twice (ours) and it was exciting. I spent the last 10 years racing dirtbikes in grueling 100 mile enduros, 24 hour races and hare scrambles. I haven't mx raced in the two years since we bought our boat. The around the globe races and Trans ocean races have been very interesting but no sailboat racing has captivated me like this series. I never thought it could be this close and exciting. There is nothing like seeing those things FLY on their foils. I truly liked the crew aspect of it all. Ben Anslie saying, "This is it guys work your asses off".... I do agree that it should be Americans on the USA boat even though that means we won't win another one for a generation...lol
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
I've only raced sailboats twice (ours) and it was exciting. I spent the last 10 years racing dirtbikes in grueling 100 mile enduros, 24 hour races and hare scrambles. I haven't mx raced in the two years since we bought our boat. The around the globe races and Trans ocean races have been very interesting but no sailboat racing has captivated me like this series. I never thought it could be this close and exciting. There is nothing like seeing those things FLY on their foils. I truly liked the crew aspect of it all. Ben Anslie saying, "This is it guys work your asses off".... I do agree that it should be Americans on the USA boat even though that means we won't win another one for a generation...lol
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
The grinding is work, all right. The rest of the boat is supertech, the wing is a science project, but actually, grinding is obsolete--any big cruiser now has power winches, push the button with your toe.

Not telegenic, I guess. The grinders are about all that's left from the 12 Meter days.

Most boats I raced were not all that athletic, even big ocean racers with constant sail changes. But a Laser in 20 knots+ , oh man that used to hurt.

It's almost like an enduro, because you're so numb tired while planing into the jibe that it's like "slow down if you want to live!" And like after a few enduro crashes, every capsize makes it harder to get back on....
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
I hear you Christian. I wish I had gotten into competitive sailing as a kid. Heck, I wish any of my three sons would have gotten into it. Oh well. I love cruising and the constant vigilance it takes to keep the Admiral from freaking out when we heel......now that's competitive.
 

exoduse35

Sustaining Member
Coming from decades of off road racing I can attest to the fraise " rubbing is racing" but we always waited to get passed the start line! Races 17 1nd 18 are the best if you are a disbeliever watch those two starts and you will stay for the whole race! I just wish it was the best of 51 not 19!
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Coming from decades of off road racing I can attest to the fraise " rubbing is racing" but we always waited to get passed the start line! Races 17 1nd 18 are the best if you are a disbeliever watch those two starts and you will stay for the whole race! I just wish it was the best of 51 not 19!
I thought I heard a NASCARism out of Spithill yesterday. The starts were very exciting.
 

Matey

Member III
While I agree in principal it is really weird that USA team had 1 USA citizen on board... Thing is - name at least 5 top-shelf ACTIVE american racers involved in match racing? Or big boat professional racing? Can you? I can't. Google brings up a number of great dinghy sailors, but for most it's a hobby, not a profession.

Competitive sailing in USA is perceived by most as either elitist or weird. Big boats are a subject of class warfare. How many comments did I see in local press about billionaires and their toys? Way too many to count. Many SF "taxpayers" actually want Ellison to move AC35 somewhere else.

All this is not encouraging youngsters to get into sailing, much less - top competitive one. So, local talent pool is - hmm - quite thin. Thus, OTUSA used hired guns :)

BTW, Spithill probably will get a USA passport soon.

Regards,
Stan

Many great American sailors just don't want to deal with the AC Cup Bull Crap

There are plenty of Top Shelf American racers. I could name 500, but here's a sampling.
Staring with USone, the top Match Racing Team in the World. Taylor Canfield, the Skipper is from the USVI and all but 1 of the crew is from US. Trimmer Dan Morris lives and works in Pt Richmond. http://www.usonesailing.com/
In Big Boat professional Racing, Roy Disney's Andrews 70 Pyewacket crew won the California Cup, took 1st in class in the Cabo Race and 1st in Class, 2nd overall in this years TranPac. Most of the crew lives, races and works in California. Again, 2 of them in the Bay Area and have experience in Olympic, AC, Maxi, Med Cup and Volvo Ocean Races. The King 40 Soozal has not lost a Big Boat IRC event in over 3 years. They added Long Beach Race week to that this year. All their crew is from California, 2 are under 25 and most sail out of the Bay Area including my Son.
These guys want to race all year, all over and get paid & have fun. AC racing is a 3 year commitment and only a small fraction of their sailors do any racing. That can wreck your sailing career. These guys mentioned who have done Cup Campaign's are over it and all the politics surrounding it. It's not due to a lack of experience more Cup guys aren't from the US. It's just not as professionally cool and life long as other high end professional sailing gigs for many of these guys. Our sailing culture is not like Europe's or down under i readily admit. But the lack of local talent remark is incorrect. I have much respect for these young guys, love the opportunity to race and spend time with them and do so as often as possible

Regards, Greg

* The last shot, my kid and his co-worker both Yacht Riggers racing on the Santa Cruz 52 Medusa took 2nd in their Division in this year's TransPac.

IMG_2543.jpg1009449_10151690140224235_853213774_o.jpgScreen shot 2013-05-07 at 12.03.48 PM.jpg1003031_10151837539242448_1851448144_n.jpg
 

Matey

Member III
AC picture file

Where is a good place to put some AC34 pictures ? I took some on the water, at the Marina Grandstands and the Village. I would be happy to share them if you guys have an interest

Cheers, Greg

IMG_3058.jpgIMG_3073.jpg
 

ref_123

Member III
Good for your kid!

And good for you that you know of these folks. However - you were the only one who replied, and it took a while... But - I stand corrected.

So, as you said, while the talent pool may be thick, it's hard to sign someone up - did I get it right?

Back to square one?

Meanwhile, my daughter really wants to do AC... But she is only 8 :). And girls seems to be not allowed these days...

Again, thanks for the information.

Regards,
Stan
 

G Kiba

Sustaining Member
IMG_7895.jpgIMG_7778-1.jpgIMG_7750-1.jpg
I caught one day of the AC72s to take these pictures. I was at Chrissy Fields near the first mark after the start. The boats had to head straight for the beach then downwind. These were shot with a 200mm lens.
 
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