P15-D24 Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 I have been racing sailboats for over 35 years and the America's Cup (AC) is the equivalent to the Superbowl, Stanley Cup or World Cup for sailors. It is the oldest active trophy in sport. While it has been a "specialty' sport mostly watched by only sailors, (they say watching sailboat racing is like watching paint dry) the 2013 AC competition is rewriting the book on sailboat racing and is pretty amazing. Racing along the city front of San Francisco so spectators can watch from the shoreline the boats in 2013 are technology marvels equal to a Formula 1 race car. This year the AC72 class uses 72 foot catamarans weighting 13,000 pounds. They are equipped with hydro foils which enable them to literally lift both hulls out of the water and just ride on a single foil (foiling) going both up and downwind. They use a "wing" instead of a sail, basically with the same controls an airplane pilot has to control the shape. What is especially amazing is the speeds they are reaching. When up on the foils they are getting over 50 mph in less than 20 mph of wind. That's right, they are traveling over twice as fast as the wind propelling them! Imagine falling overboard and hitting the water at over 50 mph! The crews wear full protective gear including helmets. (And unfortunately they had a fatality earlier in the year during an on the water accident) This competition only occurs once every 3-5 years and the broadcast technology being used to report the event is amazing. Races 3-4 are tomorrow (Either NBC or NBC Sports channel) starting around 1 pm PST live from San Francisco. Might want to check it out and see sail boat racing in the 21st century! (The upset today was when the U.S. boat Oracle, and heavy favorite, lost both races to the New Zealand team.) This regatta could be over by the end of next week if the Kiwis keep going and the the "Auld Mug" will move back down under. Check out Americas Cup website for pics and info here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plymouthy Adams Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 I read where the Oracle team was penalized for a cheating incident unaware to the owner/sponsor or however it was setup..shame that a disloyal member can screw the whole thing up for everyone.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P15-D24 Posted September 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 Oracle got a two race penalty for that action so they are already down 4-0 in the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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