America's Cup

[awa355]

Up untill the start of the racing I had been quite dismissive of this ' sport ' . The politics, and lack of teams reinforced my impression of a rich mans sport ( and it is ).

But having watched the four races to date, I'm loving it. These 'Cats' are fantastic to watch compared to the monohulls of the past.

They are sailing right on the edge. The manouvering is amazing considering it is only wind power pushing them.

Grant Dalton had talked of going back to monohulls if NZ wins. I hope they dont.

[Paul in NZ]

If they keep the AC72's (whatever) then no one else will be able to afford to race..

How about a fleet race demo derby on a figure 8 course?

Nah - they are bloody exciting things but very expensive...

[Maha]

I doubt they will go back to mono hulls now, it's a bit like the evolvement of cricket when ODI's were introduced...now the more popular aspect of the sport, thought the purists would disagree.

What gives me a giggle is the talk of the next Cup being held in NZ already, and how Auckland needs to start acting on it. Dubai seems the logical place where the next America's Cup will be held IF Emirates team New Zealand win it (Note the main sponor?)

[Gremlin]

I love watching footage of the AC72's foiling, and I don't follow yatching at all. What amazes me is in the pre-start, going slow, right, race is on, boats pop out of the water and accelerate away... Uh? Accelerate? Wind speed is wind speed, but apparently not.

Nearly reaching triple the wind speed at times, don't ask me what Newton thinks of that

[awa355]

I love watching footage of the AC72's foiling, and I don't follow yatching at all. What amazes me is in the pre-start, going slow, right, race is on, boats pop out of the water and accelerate away... Uh? Accelerate? Wind speed is wind speed, but apparently not.

Nearly reaching triple the wind speed at times, don't ask me what Newton thinks of that

Thats what I find amazing to watch, the skimming across the water and the tight turns. I keep looking for the prop wake out the back of the hulls.

Unfortunately, after the actual racing stops, ( and if TNZ win ), all the bullshit will start again. We will hear about all the millions of dollars that are going to flood into NZ. How ' ALL' of NZ will benefit. It will be 95/96 and 2011 all over again.

Meantime, I'll just enjoy the action on the water.

[Paul in NZ]

I love watching footage of the AC72's foiling, and I don't follow yatching at all. What amazes me is in the pre-start, going slow, right, race is on, boats pop out of the water and accelerate away... Uh? Accelerate? Wind speed is wind speed, but apparently not.

Nearly reaching triple the wind speed at times, don't ask me what Newton thinks of that

Even a crappy old Hobie 16 generates an awesome amount of power in the right conditions. The feeling when it suddenly goes 'twang' and accelerates is something to behold. Gawd knows what it must feel like on those monsters....

[98tls]

Whens the next race?

[Banditbandit]

Yeah .. they are fast .. and looks fucking fun as well ... it's a rich man's sport but the cats are definitely a good spectator sport as well ....

[MisterD]

Nearly reaching triple the wind speed at times, don't ask me what Newton thinks of that

He thinks a = F/m

HTH

[onearmedbandit]

Whens the next race?

Tomorrow morning I think.

[wysper]

I love watching footage of the AC72's foiling, and I don't follow yatching at all. What amazes me is in the pre-start, going slow, right, race is on, boats pop out of the water and accelerate away... Uh? Accelerate? Wind speed is wind speed, but apparently not.

Nearly reaching triple the wind speed at times, don't ask me what Newton thinks of that

I believe once they are up on the foils, drag from the two hulls is now gone hence the acceleration.

[Brian d marge]

Yes , once on foils drag is gone , lots of it, they don't ARF scoot along
Personally I don't think it's sailing, you need albatrosses and bare feet and Roger the cabin boy ,,,now that's sailing

Stephen

PS , if ever there is something to show that NZ can punch above its weight ,,,the cup is it , not only is it expensive ,,,but right up there tech wise

[awa355]

Yes , once on foils drag is gone , lots of it, they don't ARF scoot along
Personally I don't think it's sailing, you need albatrosses and bare feet and Roger the cabin boy ,,,now that's sailing

Stephen

PS , if ever there is something to show that NZ can punch above its weight ,,,the cup is it , not only is it expensive ,,,but right up there tech wise

I bet Roger the cabin boy is pleased that sailing has moved on.

[Gremlin]

I believe once they are up on the foils, drag from the two hulls is now gone hence the acceleration.

Correct, even ferries rely on this for speed etc.

Now explain how on earth you make the boat pop out of the water at will

[300weatherby]

Up untill the start of the racing I had been quite dismissive of this ' sport ' . The politics, and lack of teams reinforced my impression of a rich mans sport ( and it is ).

But having watched the four races to date, I'm loving it. These 'Cats' are fantastic to watch compared to the monohulls of the past.

They are sailing right on the edge. The manouvering is amazing considering it is only wind power pushing them.

Grant Dalton had talked of going back to monohulls if NZ wins. I hope they dont.

Couldn't care less about stupid Americas cup, long and drawn out, takes forever and then you get to sailing, even slower, long and drawn out.

And then came the big cats and their nutty as foiling tricks, races that don't take all day and boats that keep you watching in case you miss something!

Boats that actually drag race, do wheelies, pull silly fast turns with just a couple of bits of carbon fibre in the water, boats that threaten to do something dramatic any second- Now I am watching the "stupid" Americas cup, cause it rocks in this format , if they go back to how it was, I'll stop watching weather it's in NZ or not:cause it will be zzzz: