Anybody watching the America's Cup?

[gerti]

Cool technology! Catamarans, 90x70', 130' tall wing sails. Foils on the dagger boards lift the hulls clear out of the water! 40+ knots downwind, 30 knots upwind. Crazy stuff!

[LCHIEN]

yeah, I've been watching pretty closely. Its been up and down - the challenge cup races were a joke, but the AC finals have finally become very competitive but the Kiwis have a commanding lead right now over Oracle. Looks like its probably over. with Team New Zealand leading Oracle USA 8-1 needing 9 total to win. The last 4-5 races have been decided by about 20 seconds or less in a ~20-minute ~15-mile race.

The technology is really exciting: 72 foot carbon fiber catamarans with rigid wing sails (like a vertical airplane wing) instead of floppy sails. Capable of 50 mph in 20 mph cross winds. Hydrofoils lift the 7 ton hulls out of the water for very low drag. Not to mention very, very expensive and fairly fragile. Always in danger of pitch-poling (digging the nose in and flipping end-over-end) while flying at 50 mph which would probably break the wingsail and destroy the boat.

The course is in San Fran bay where its accessible to shore viewers and the guys who invented the yellow first down line for TV have created virtual reality from gyrostabilized helo cameras, GPS and cameras on the boat and ulitmate computer power showing virtual boundaries, start and finish lines, course, speed direction winds, current etc overlaid on a real time live video display.

Basicas of foiling or flying the boats:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzbZ53cSGPE

One of the challenge cup losers but some nice footage and music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=cQHGi8LO51I


this pair of matches last weekend were really exciting. You can see the virtual graphics in this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI23d...&feature=share

I have to say this: the way the challenge is done, all the challengers must race against each other for a chance to take on the defender, Oracle. New Zealand beat all the challengers and got match tough. Oracle then had to defend in a first to 9 series without having raced competitively. They came out poorly from the beginning but sharpened up so the last four races like I said were decided by 15-20 seconds. This means that no slouching is allowed, both teams are sailing to the very edge of their capabilities. IN match 8 I think, New Zealand's boat very nearly capsized - they lost control for a second and it heeled over 45 degrees before they brought it back but lost momentum in the process and lost the race. If they had gone over the wing sail might have broken and they would be out having to forfeit races unitl they got it fixed, if at all. So either team could be at risk of sailing too close to the edge and losing everything.
Oracles actually won 3 races but had to forfeit 2 for infractions way back before New Zealand even became the challenger.

Here the ETNZ boat almost flips as the Oracle USA boat sails by:

[TB Roye]

I used to watch but the last few time the have had AC, I was either busy of forgot. The Cats are great and high speed but I think I would prefer the old 12 meter boats more. I am older (71) and while I love technology I prefer tradition in some sporting things. I haven't been to the Bay Area for at least 4 years when my sister and I gave up the Apartment Sausalito we used on the weekend. There is so much sports on TV now that I forget to watch. If I can find the Channel I may watch this weekend if it isn't over.

Tom

[LCHIEN]

The races are shown afterwards in their entirety on You tube. In my post I have a link to races 9&10 which were both quite close and exciting.

just watched race 12 and now viewing 13 as I type this...

[TB Roye]

Watched race 13 on you tube this morning using my new Google Chromecast dongel. It was interesting they do haul the mail couldn't believe how noisy they are with all the creaking. The rich guys toy have sure gotten expensive.

Tom

[LCHIEN]

in addition to the GPS instrumentation, each boat also has several remotely operated pan tilt and zoom cameras transmitting in real time, they can look at operations on the boat they're on as well as get shots of the other boat in the background. The chase boats and chase helicopters are also well equipped. With the speed and distance overlays this is the most easy to follow America's cup yet,

For the last two-three days they are held up by wind conditions - they are at 8-3 for New Zealand needing to win one more and Oracle USA needing 6 in a row to win... Oracle has won the last 2 in a row. They'll try again SUnday afternoon to do two races #14 and 15, usually at 1:15 and 2:15 PT. But like I said, AC racing is often dramatic. THe very expensive and very high tech fragile carbon fiber hulls and wing sail can break as both boats now closely matched and increasingly desperate and are pushing to the limit. Anything can happen. Two boats were damaged or destroyed in the practices prior to the start of official racing.

[Whaler]

I just can't get with it, the cats are fantastic to watch but the elegance of the conventional boats is gone. I am the same way with the unlimited hydros, I started watching the races live in Seattle late 40s early 50s and the piston powered boats were awesome and then came the turbine powered boats.
Progress is great but in some ways it's hard to see the old way go away.

[LCHIEN]

I just can't get with it, the cats are fantastic to watch but the elegance of the conventional boats is gone. I am the same way with the unlimited hydros, I started watching the races live in Seattle late 40s early 50s and the piston powered boats were awesome and then came the turbine powered boats.
Progress is great but in some ways it's hard to see the old way go away.

longing for some floppy main sails, Dick?

I have to say I've ridden in the 12-meter classic yachts and they are thrilling, seem fast and very elegant. But I'd love to get a foiling ride in the AC72 cats!

[TB Roye]

i am with Dick like the old boats better same with the Hydros and the Allison's. Indy should be Roadsters, Offy's and American midget and sprint car drivers. They could have made the Roadsters safer by now. Now it is a spec car and engine. Guess I am getting old oh well.

Tom

[LCHIEN]

Oracle Team USA won two more matches Sunday making it 8-5 and having the momentum but are still one loss away from losing the Cup to Emirates Team New Zealand.

[gerti]

And one more on Monday! What's that, five in a row now? Impressive! If it wouldn't be for the 2 penalty points they'd be even no.

And I can't quite agree with Dick on the boats (sorry), to me the AC72s look extremely elegant. My favorite part is when they round the windward gate, jump on their foils and accelerate like there is no tomorrow! Just awesome.

[LCHIEN]

Oracle has won Two races on Tuesday to have won 7 in a row to tie the score at 8 points to 8 points in a best of 17.

Wednesday 1:15 PM Pacific time they will be racing one more race - weather permitting - winner take all.
New Zealand must be beating themselves in the head having blown an 8-1 lead.

[gerti]

That was unbelievable! I got to find a way to see the final race live (no cable), too afraid that even a youtube search would be giving away the result. Next time they should use "Day xx" instead of "Race xx & yy", those titles were dead give aways for the first race!

At this point it almost doesn't matter who wins anymore, this is the most exciting America's Cup in history. I am going to feel bad for whoever loses it: the Kiwi's who were the ones coming up with the foiling idea in the first place, giving us some of the coolest sailing action ever, and starting out with so much better boat handling. Team Oracle for beating such seemingly unsurmountable odds.

I wish they'd call it a draw and have the next one sooner and somewhere in the middle. Hawaii? Fiji?

It does seem odd though how almost over night Oracle improved both boat speed and boat handling so dramatically, something they failed to do in months of practice?

[LCHIEN]

That was unbelievable! I got to find a way to see the final race live (no cable), too afraid that even a youtube search would be giving away the result. Next time they should use "Day xx" instead of "Race xx & yy", those titles were dead give aways for the first race!

At this point it almost doesn't matter who wins anymore, this is the most exciting America's Cup in history. I am going to feel bad for whoever loses it: the Kiwi's who were the ones coming up with the foiling idea in the first place, giving us some of the coolest sailing action ever, and starting out with so much better boat handling. Team Oracle for beating such seemingly unsurmountable odds.

I wish they'd call it a draw and have the next one sooner and somewhere in the middle. Hawaii? Fiji?

It does seem odd though how almost over night Oracle improved both boat speed and boat handling so dramatically, something they failed to do in months of practice?

the winner sets the next venue. Be interesting what Ellison does if he wins.

In months of practice, Oracle never lost! The fact that ETNZ had full match racing with two opponents gave it match experience that was evidently quite valuable. Its a weakness of the AC format that the defender is so isolated until the match-toughened challenger takes them on - particularly when a completely new boat technology is involved.

[TB Roye]

Will be watching today Found out what time and Channel could be very windy today over there, supposed to be wind on this side of the Coast Range. Worse tomorrow. In fact I am going to recored it.

Tom