America's Cup

**trevor** · 09-17-13

Originally Posted by richarde1605

You did, for one. We designed our boat for the LV, they designed for the lighter winds of September, or some such. Interesting how close it has become, they missed out on racing, training is a different mindset....

Peace all...

Bugger you remember

**trevor** · 09-17-13

Originally Posted by Richard230

Plus, apparently there is only one American left on the crew of his boat.

Not anymore he was replaced by "Sir Ben". Looked like desperation when they did it, take off the boat somebody whose home waters are SF bay and replace him with a guy from the UK. But bugger me it's worked Ben and Jimmy seem to work together much better.

**richarde1605** · 09-17-13

No language barrier... hahaha

**richarde1605** · 09-17-13

Originally Posted by trevor

Bugger you remember

Massive RAID in my head, dumb operating system.........

Redundant need to dust trophy cabinet for Oracle...

**IanA** · 09-17-13

Yes!! They don't come more competitive than Sean Langman and his NZ contemporary.
There will be much mutterings in the senior yacht club's boardrooms if he pulls off the Hobart trick. Fantastic!
Some of my friends sailed against the ORMAs in the Whitsundays last year and said it was like being stuck in the middle of a runway with a 747 taking off past them.

**richarde1605** · 09-17-13

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/national/n...lery_id=137867

A diverse country......

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/national/n...lery_id=137886

What a place Un Zud is?????? And this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britten_V1000. It is a bike forum after all

**richarde1605** · 09-17-13

Who cares if ORMA's don't self right? According to the French, they don't sink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mad boats, mad guys, mad spectacle.

**richarde1605** · 09-17-13

I vividly remember a colonel blimp type yacht club member saying " Every time I see a multihull I have the urge to beat it to death with a stick".

Did he sound like this Ian?

**richarde1605** · 09-17-13

This is the type of thinking the world has to compete against the Kiwis.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM_aNwaodd4

Vale John

**stephen** · 09-17-13

9:30 AM and there is good breeze off the Bay. Looks like a good sailing day. Do sailors prefer overcast or sunny for vision? It is clear at the moment.

Stephen

**stephen** · 09-17-13

1:10 PM local time and the wind is very strong. There is a very good chance that there will be no racing today. I will keep posting.

Stephen

**stephen** · 09-17-13

Racing is cancelled. Try again Wednesday.

Stephen

**IanA** · 09-17-13

Stay of execution? maybe, maybe not. Aaargh, the suspense!!! Who is directing this movie .... Alfred Hitchcock?

**richarde1605** · 09-18-13

My 'precious' hahaha, hands rubbing gleefully, it's mine, oh it's mine

**trevor** · 09-18-13

Nah I think there is a bigger director than him.

Look at the fun he had the other day with our boat. Dean said so.

**richarde1605** · 09-18-13

"Nah I think there is a bigger director than him."
Who?
Spielburg
Or are you talking about 'the mighty director'?

**richarde1605** · 09-18-13

praps, the 'all mighty director'

**richarde1605** · 09-18-13

I'd love to have a beer with Duncan (Trevor, Stephan, Ian) cause Duncan's my mate....... I loves yoooose all

ps.

a lot of posts, not many participants....

**trevor** · 09-18-13

Been watching about JB (R.I.P)

Having read his biography it was great to see him.

What other bike builder would "have to get more water from the swimming pool" when producing the world's faster twin?

How how about this I've actually sat on the bike.

We had a computer show at TePapa where one of them is now on display. I walked past it a couple of mornings (before the museum opened) and then on the last day couldn't resist sitting on it as there was nobody about. Later in the day a security guard (who I met most mornings) asked if I enjoyed myself, they had seem me on the camera and had a good laugh. In what other country would that happen?

Amazing video of the bike http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MbvMqNAFVY

**richarde1605** · 09-18-13

EFFFFinn Blooddy Kiwis.

JB would have loved the AC, umm, it could be faster, if we tried this, or that.....

**richarde1605** · 09-18-13

He designed and built the house 'himself' worked as as a glassmaker in the early days, family buisness..

**richarde1605** · 09-18-13

I have yet to 'sea' a better thinker than Brittten.................................

**richarde1605** · 09-18-13

What other bike builder would "have to get more water from the swimming pool" when producing the world's faster twin?

Ok, Bert Munro. Another Kiwi... pom ex pat

**stephen** · 09-18-13

10:00 AM and light winds on the Bay today. I am pretty sure they will race today.

Stephen

**stephen** · 09-18-13

ETNZ is leading race 1 on leg 4 and would have to really mess up to lose at this point. One more win for ETNZ and the AC will move to the Southern Hemisphere.

2nd race has been called off for wind. They are trying to have a 2nd race today. The race was called off 30 seconds before the start with ETNZ dominating the start.

Racing is done for the day, tune in Thursday.

Stephen

**trevor** · 09-18-13

That's how you win the start from Starboard.

MATCH POINT.

Come back tomorrow.....

**LytteltonKen** · 09-19-13

Originally Posted by trevor

<snip>

How how about this I've actually sat on the bike.

snip>

I've raced against it - once at Assen, once at Ruapuna, with Andrew Stroud on board (he could make the thing talk). Or rather, I've been on the same start line and watched it disappear on the back wheel.

Bragging rights?

**LytteltonKen** · 09-19-13

Will be on the interweb for an update first thing tomorrow morning - can't manage the suspense much longer.

**richarde1605** · 09-19-13

Ken, you win...

And then we are one up........

**richarde1605** · 09-19-13

And I thought this was a pissing comp about boats. Hahahaha

**stephen** · 09-19-13

Thursday's race 1 to Oracle. It looks good for a second race. ETNZ just needs the one victory.

The 2nd race is in doubt, the wind has jumped to 21 knots. Time is 2:10 PM. There are no more layover days. They will race every day until the outcome is settled.

Race 2 postponed to Friday. They were in the start box when it was canceled.

Stephen

**trevor** · 09-19-13

Freck they sailed well today. Would have like to see VMG* figures they are foiling upwind but I not sure their VMG is any better.

We clearly set-up for a lower wind day than it turned out.

Roll on tomorrow at least we get to see it end at the weekend (hopefully).

*VMG:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AAly...4WVQ7tyGgjTmqA

**stephen** · 09-19-13

With 7 races to go, you would expect ETNZ to win the start 3-4 times. Oracle is looking at needing to pass ETNZ 3-4 times to stay in. Oracle also can not have any equipment problems. They need to be perfect from here on in, not very likely. Oracle appears to be "slightly" faster at this stage. We are getting the VMG's on our telecast.

Stephen

**trevor** · 09-19-13

Yeah but not all the time.

Seeing Oracle doing 30kts upwind is pointless (the little digits above the mast). I want that to be VMG not actual speed. Occasionally they show VMG and other stats in the top corners of the screen, but outright speed not very useful. So they do stupid speeds as they bear away as the top mark - who cares? Probably those who don't understand sailing which is probably most watching.

As I said, I expect the Port starter to win now the boats are so close. So Oracle may well win the next one.

**stephen** · 09-19-13

The stats they post after the race tell me a lot. In the last race, Oracle was .5MPH faster and sailed 200 meters less. The 200 meters might just be an extra tack by ETNZ to split the course. It looks like Oracle is sailing tighter to the mark pretty consistently. Still the lead boat seems to dictate strategy to the trailing boat.

At this point, I am pulling for Oracle to extend the racing. I can not conceive of Oracle winning the series.

Stephen

**IanA** · 09-20-13

I had the extraordinary good fortune last night to meet, dine and talk with( actually mostly listen intently to) Simon McKeon. Who? Google his bio, ya igrunt mob! Simon is of course, Australian of the Year 2011, banker, philanthropist, etc., etc., but most importantly, probably the most allround multihull achiever in the country, even counting guys like Bundock et al. He was the holder of the outright speed record with Yellow Pages Endeavour and MacQuarie Innovation for years, Skipper of the first sailboat to hit 50 knots, successful defender of the C Class catamaran challenge for years, and so on. And, a genuine nice guy who was quite happy to speak freely with us mere mortals in the multihull scene.
A few of the things he brought up: While we are all going ga-ga over the AC, we should have a peek at what is happening right this moment with the C-Class cats. Woddayaknow! they are just like miniature AC 72's! Except , according to Simon, their actual wing structure and controls are even more sophisticated, and he ought to know. The C-Class champs are starting this weekend in Falmouth UK, so we will have something to taper off with after San Fran, if that is possible.
Also, the current vertical trajectory improvements in both AC teams performance would not have been possible without the Aus and NZ fellas. Oracle apparently tried some of the French Orma 60 rockstars in their crews but it didn't work, and the US talent pool was not there. If(when) the AC goes back to NZ, he thinks it will be still in multis but obviously with some form of expenditure limitations and probably smaller boats. Simon gave us heaps of other insights into the game, some not repeatable in an open forum. What a night!
looking at the current show in a slightly different light now. Roll on Saturday (our time).

**LytteltonKen** · 09-20-13

Originally Posted by stephen

With 7 races to go, you would expect ETNZ to win the start 3-4 times. Oracle is looking at needing to pass ETNZ 3-4 times to stay in. Oracle also can not have any equipment problems. They need to be perfect from here on in, not very likely. Oracle appears to be "slightly" faster at this stage. We are getting the VMG's on our telecast.

Stephen

Yep, like my dog chasing rabbits - Oracle need to be lucky all the time, ETNZ need to be lucky only once. Don't expect Spithill to give up that easily though...

**stephen** · 09-20-13

I will not be able to watch the racing live today. Drat!

Stephen

**stephen** · 09-20-13

Just back from my bicycle ride. There is a pretty good breeze off the bay at 9:30 AM.

Stephen

**richarde1605** · 09-20-13

@ Trevor

Australia Diamonds beat New Zealand 47-45 to level Constellation Cup series at 1-1

**trevor** · 09-20-13

This is a frecking circus!

So the effective wind speed is 10-20 knots because if the wind is less than 10 knots you can't make the time limit.

Larry die you bastard you have destroyed the America's cup. F off and die!

**trevor** · 09-20-13

And now I've calmed down this means if ETNZ did not work out how to foil then nobody would ever have finished.

These things are still doing 20-25 knots!

And all so it would fit into a 2 hour time slot for USA TV. Who have ignored it.

I think from day one I've said CIRCUS, and that's what it is.

The wind always picks up lets f'king rub their noses in it.

**IanA** · 09-20-13

Share your frustration,Trev. The original 30 Knot upper limit was very wrong and unfortunately took a fatality to get it reviewed. The current 20-something variable upper limit will be debated forever but at least it got the show going and just maybe prevented another disaster. The max time limit purely for commercial reasons is bizarre. While we have all come to relish the spectacle of boats dicing at 35 knots, it is just as rewarding and relevant watching the tactical catfight at a mere 20 knots boatspeeds. As you say, if foiling hadn't got into the equation, it is hard to see how we would ever have had a result for races run in under 12knots windspeed.
Oh well, it looks like I'm getting my (tongue in cheek) wish, of Whoracle stretching the series out a bit - still bloody exciting.

**trevor** · 09-20-13

Thanks Ian.

I really enjoyed the first race today because it was more about the sailors less the boats. You needed good crew work to use the code 0, not quite as exciting as a big asymmetric spinnaker and pole, but at least they have more to do than just pump oil.

You could also see from the tracks that Dean would go more broad to get the speed up before trying to bear away once the apparent wind came up. A great tactical race.

We won't mention the re-run, Rod Davies must have been asleep if he thought we could get away with a port/starboard. If there was ever a chance for Jimmy to ram us that was it. But he would not do that despite what the press think, because whatever the outcome this time, he will be on the helm of a boat in the next one and earning big dollars, there is no way he would put all that at risk just to win this time. And then the second gybe at the bottom mark - oh my god why? I know he wanted a split, but surely it would have been quicker to take the right hand gate and then tack away with speed. As we saw in a previous race these things just don't sail straight down wind, unlike a boomed sail there seems no way to just "let it all out" and run downwind for a bit.

BTW: it sound like listening to Simon was interesting. I've had the pleasure of listening to One Australia (because my old employer Sun Microsystem sponsored them) tell their side of the infamous sinking. And then the next year Sun got Jim Lovell to speak, which makes anything at sea pale into insignificance compared to what those three guys went through on Apollo 13.

Oh and there is a minimum boat length from memory for the AC cup so not sure you could go down to AC45s or C-Class. Although I can't find this so perhaps there is not.

Oh well roll on tomorrow....

**stephen** · 09-21-13

I just watched yesterdays races, should that even be plural. Tough luck for ETNZ after 40 minutes of excellent sailing. I will be watching today.

10:47 AM, it is raining here for today's racing with strong wind off the bay.

Stephen

**trevor** · 09-21-13

CIRCUS!!!

So the wind is now blowing in the wrong direction WTF!!!

I've never sailed in any event in my life where you don't just swing the course around (like they did yesterday for the start box).

Jesus we sail on a runway that we can't move. We just re-arrange the course to get a windward course as best we can by moving the marks (road cones).

**trevor** · 09-21-13

Originally Posted by stephen

I just watched yesterdays races, should that even be plural.

[SARCASM = ON]

No there was one race the first one was abandoned so the millions of USA based TV viewers wouldn't miss their ad breaks. Just like the game you call football.

[SARCASM = OFF]

**stephen** · 09-21-13

I was shocked that they do not sail anyway. Is there a problem sailing if the wind is not blowing from the correct direction?

2:40 PM and racing is postponed until Sunday. They have cancelled races for too much wind, too little wind and, now, wind direction. Are they trying to take wind out of sailing? How much did Larry Ellison have to spend to hold the Cup 1 more day?

Stephen

**stephen** · 09-22-13

10:00 AM and light winds off the Bay. After the rain on Saturday the air is breathable, a good day to be outside.

Stephen

**stephen** · 09-22-13

Oracle looks to survive another race with a 300 meter lead on leg 4. This was a really good race. I thought ETNZ had them on leg 3. More to come.

ETNZ has almost closed on Oracle on leg 4, hit light wind and now Oracle has a big lead. Now ETNZ is coming strong. Totally crazy wind conditions. What a race! Oracle wins.

Stephen

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