The "No Longer" America's Cup thread

[DanOregon]

Nice going Larry.
We suck again.


New Zealand win America's Cup with overwhelming victory over Oracle USA

I hope the Kiwis go back to sailboats.

 

[Starman]

New Zealand WINS.

God damn it.

 

[CD Boogie]

Didn't even know it was going on. Has become a joke of an event

 

[Songbird]

Where's that Dennis guy with white stuff all over his nose?

 

[poindexter]

I honestly don't feel bad about this.

 

[da man]

We need Ted Turner back at the helm.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Oh, fiddlesticks!

When's the next horse race?

 

[I Should Coco]

Where's that Dennis guy with white stuff all over his nose?

I believe he fell off the boat and drowned.

 

[Neutral Corner]

I bet that thing is an absolute blast.

 

[typefitter]

The new boats are insane machines. All the teams use the same hulls and wings. New Zealand took a leap and was the only one that strapped the grinders, traditionally hand winched, to bicycles. Legs are stronger than arms.

When I was down there a couple of months ago, and I imagine this still holds true, Team Oracle said the only team that hadn't agreed to keep these boats in subsequent races was New Zealand. The Kiwis were the only team that might take it back to yachts, which would ruin Larry Ellison's plans for an F1-type series with these same boats.

It will be very interesting to see what the Kiwis decide to do.

 

[JohnHammond]

The Kiwis must realize the commercial appeal of a regatta in Auckland is low, especially since it isn't bankrolled by billionaires like the Italians and Oracle are.

 

[typefitter]

At risk of being accused of self-promotion, if you want to learn more about these boats:

The Boats of the America's Cup Don't Sail. They Fly.

Watch the video. They go so fast.

 

[typefitter]

Kiwis must realize the commercial appeal of a regatta in Auckland is low.

Ellison has been trying to build toward making sailing a TV sport. So, faster boats, that complete the races in half the time, in spectator-accessible venues, near shore. He wants to use these same boats each time, so that you're not building from scratch every single time, and you don't have weird races where one team shows up with an invincible boat.

But, by the rules of the trophy, New Zealand can make the next boats whatever they want.

Usually the defender and the challengers negotiate, so that one doesn't show up with a trimaran and one with a traditional yacht, but if they don't, things just revert back to the Deed of Gift: Boats no more than 90 feet long or 90 feet wide, racing on salt water. Those are the only guidelines. Which is kind of how we got here.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

The TV coverage of this is incredible. The first-down line on an NFL telecast looks sophomoric compared to all the things they put on the screen.

 

[JohnHammond]

Ellison has been trying to build toward making sailing a TV sport. So, faster boats, that complete the races in half the time, in spectator-accessible venues, near shore. He wants to use these same boats each time, so that you're not building from scratch every single time, and you don't have weird races where one team shows up with an invincible boat.

But, by the rules of the trophy, New Zealand can make the next boats whatever they want.

Usually the defender and the challengers negotiate, so that one doesn't show up with a trimaran and one with a traditional yacht, but if they don't, things just revert back to the Deed of Gift: Boats no more than 90 feet long or 90 feet wide, racing on salt water. Those are the only guidelines. Which is kind of how we got here.

Right, which is why the Italians are the challengers. They have been cooperating with the Kiwis and share their vision regarding which type of boats to use. Basically, the defender handpicks a challenger, as a challenge is filed moments after the end of the final Cup race.

Watched a few races from 1992 and 1995. While a geek like me enjoyed watching yachts, they are slow and races took too long.

 

[typefitter]

Right, which is why the Italians are the challengers. They have been cooperating with the Kiwis and share their vision regarding which type of boats to use. Basically, the defender handpicks a challenger, as a challenge is filed moments after the end of the final Cup race.

Watched a few races from 1992 and 1995. While a geek like me enjoyed watching yachts, they are slow and races took too long.

It will be kind of amazing if they do gear down. Going from 50 knots to 15 knots... It would be like tuning into an F1 race, expecting today's cars, and seeing them racing around in Fiats from 1922. My guess is Ellison, at least, would not participate.

 

[User 11148]

Remember staying up late and watching the '87 cup and being fascinated by how quickly those guys can do sailboat things. I recall Stars and Stripes blowing out a mainsail and them getting it down and another one up in almost no time. My little tub has a mainsail area of about 80 ft^2 and I have a helluva time wrestling that thing out on the water. Stars and Stripes, its main area was 1,000+ ft^2 ...

 

[PCLoadLetter]

Watching some of this year's racing I was struck by how much more spectator-friendly it has become. In Bermuda they were practically sailing in a stadium -- there were grandstands right at the finish line.

Back in the old days in Newport, Rhode Island, I don't think you could even see the boats from the shore.

 

[typefitter]

Watching some of this year's racing I was struck by how much more spectator-friendly it has become. In Bermuda they were practically sailing in a stadium -- there were grandstands right at the finish line.

Back in the old days in Newport, Rhode Island, I don't think you could even see the boats from the shore.

This is part of Ellison's master plan to make sailing more like NASCAR for the upper crust.

 

[Huggy]

The one-hour doc NBC ran a couple weeks back on Ted Turner's America's Cup run was pretty good, even though I have no interest in the sport.