America's Cup - Anybody Watching?

[mikebike]

Well overall the VLC and the AC provided some spectacular designs, racing and controversy! IMHO overall a very successful event. I hope they stick close to the current format for the AC35 - the best designers, shore crews, and sailors on the fastest most technologically advanced boats - what's not to like? I do see an opportunity for some enterprising promoter to develop an offshore monohull format regatta to appease the AC purists though...

[animatic]

I don't think there is one sailor on ANY of the boats that were in the LV and AC series

that would say there was less seamanship involved, if anything they have said there is more.

There are many single hull maxi, and double hull events on the oceans now,

no need to develop a new one, though fine if someone does.

I do agree there should be a 50% or more limit on Nationals on a team.

But it wasn't USA that opened that Pandora's Box in the rules.

American sailor, tactician Andy ,Rose had sailed with an Australian challenger

headed by Alan Bond during the 1977 America’s Cup season

“Being a national meant you were domiciled or owned a principal place of residence in a country

for a certain number of years,” said Tom Ehman, a longtime rules adviser for Cup teams.

That led to some administrative creativity and quite a few empty apartments in the name of

newly recruited sailors. Ernesto Bertarelli, a Swiss billionaire who is the head of the syndicate Alinghi,

hired Coutts and other key New Zealanders for his successful challenge in 2003.

He abolished the nationality restrictions for the 2007 Cup in Valencia, Spain.

Trustee Interpretative Resolution on March 9, 1982, permitting nationality to be attained

by holding a passport, having domicile, or by having a principal place of residence in the

country concerned for a period (usually about 18 months to two years) before the match.

The designer and sailor nationality rules were abolished after the 2003 match, after the

rules had lost credibility and only added an additional expense for competitors.

The America’s Cup then returned to the position in which it was prior to 1983,

when there were no restrictions on the nationality of crew or designers.

Historically, America had engaged six English sailors and an English pilot to win the Cup in 1851,

and American defenders routinely used Scandinavian crews. Use of an all-American crew on

Defender was headline news in 1895. Early challengers engaged local pilots to help them

navigate the tides and shoals of New York Harbour.

Edited September 28, 2013 by animatic

[xylophone]

Quote Animatic: "I don't think there is one sailor on ANY of the boats that were in the LV and AC series that would say there was less seamanship involved, if anything they have said there is more".

I think that's where we will have to agree to disagree, because I really cannot see that zipping round a course at a huge rate of knots in a super fast catamaran can match the tactical manoeuvring and seamanship that the old America's Cup cup yachts had to do throughout the whole race.

That's one of the reasons why the America's Cup was so poorly supported in the USA, because a couple of catamarans racing one another at very high speeds did not seem to fit the bill of what the America's Cup was supposed to be all about.

If this continues, then soon it will be just a case of two super fast catamarans lining up and zipping round the course in no time at all – – all over and done with in a matter of minutes and with new technology the boats will more or less be able to stay in a straight line!!

Far from being a Luddite, I was glued to the screen for the old America's Cup races, and this time I only watched a few shorts of the races.

Still, no matter what we say, as long as people like Larry Ellison are in charge, he can more or less dictate whatever he wants and others have to follow, and this was such a shame for this event, as only three challengers could afford to participate, making it a bit of a farce really.

[stevehaigh]

As both boats were built in NZ, I consider them the winner.

and with an Ozzy skipper, Brit tactician and only one American crew member, the USA boat was about as American as my Toyota Vigo