SunSurfer Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) The America's Cup is coming down to the pointy end. It could all be over in one more day. The USA is in danger of having its' butt whipped by Team New Zealand, which the Canadians here might enjoy savouring. Current score in the first to win 9 races is 7-1 favouring the New Zealanders. But all the engineers here will be salivating at the design and technology on show. 76 foot long catamarans, 7 tons each, wing sails, hydrofoiling upwind and downwind and even through the tacks, dicing, passing, and match racing at speeds of up to 45 knots. Race 10 has been called the most exciting race ever in the America's Cup, where the lead changed 4 times in less than 35 minutes of racing. After USA struggled in the first few races upwind, they seem now to have found another gear, and now the cats are very evenly matched. A range of TV sites are carrying coverage. http://tvnz.co.nz/americas-cup-2013/s2013-eprace-10-video-5584972 http://www.redbull.com/en/stories/1331611546542/video-34th-america-s-cup-story-of-races-9-10 It ain't over till its' over. The Americans could still come back and win this. A major capsize or gear failure could doom the Kiwi challenge. Edited September 16, 2013 by SunSurfer typo correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 WOW crazy stuff there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) Those Catamaran's are technologically amazing. Edited September 17, 2013 by Gcarve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 The most intense moment of the 2013 America's Cup so far................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonbordin Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 It will be great to see some real racing soon. http://theflyingboats.com/ PS- Canceling races due to 22 knots of wind is weak. WEAK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 The most intense moment of the 2013 America's Cup so far................... I liked the wag who captioned this photo "That's not a mistake. It's ETNZ showing Oracle who's the dog, and who's the lamp post". Seriously, though, those things are amazing. I know how much fun small race cats like Tornados and A-Classes are, I can't even imagine what it must be like on board one of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted September 17, 2013 Report Share Posted September 17, 2013 For the Oracle Group out in San Francisco... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted September 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 8-1. Match point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted September 19, 2013 Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 Go Kiwies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted September 23, 2013 Report Share Posted September 23, 2013 Holy smokes! There's something really strange going on out there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted September 24, 2013 Report Share Posted September 24, 2013 Holy smokes! There's something really strange going on out there... Yeah, there is. Team America finally figured out how to sail their AC72:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted September 24, 2013 Report Share Posted September 24, 2013 Yes, sure. But, there seems to be a bit more to it... Today, NZ won the start... to lose the start by not accelerating? There were more crazy things yesterday... Just an example: NZ trailing quite a bit, then coming with some crazy speed on one d/wind tack and completely closing the gap, just to tack away to other very unfavorable tack (almost going away from the mark) and sailing into a hole. It's a thing that a weekend sailor, or a head case like me :D would do, but not those guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted September 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2013 Not sure how this is all going to end, but it's one hell of a contest! This is going to be an Americas Cup event that yachties will talk about for years. Yeah, somethings clicked on board Oracle, they have made significant performance gains. I'm starting to wonder if this is going to go to 8-8, and then .............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted September 24, 2013 Report Share Posted September 24, 2013 It has turned from a thorough beating by Team NZ, into one of the greatest comeback rallies in the history of the America's Cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softbootsurfer Posted September 24, 2013 Report Share Posted September 24, 2013 Innuendo from above post aside...that was and is Fantastic that it is now all even... 8 to 8 just Incredible Racing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gcarve Posted September 24, 2013 Report Share Posted September 24, 2013 Team USA wins both races today! And now it has all come down to one final race, winner takes the 34th America's Cup! What an amazing comeback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adas Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 Oh well Alan, we had it in our hands...but full credit to OTUSA, that is just unbelievable to be getting their a$$es handed to them on a plate to then come back and win 7 straight - and it will be 8 straight tomorrow morning (NZT). Quite gutting, especially after having that huge lead on Friday and having both hands firmly on the Cup to only be called off because we 'ran out of time'! Plus, this warm, wet weather we've had means that all our snow here in NZ is being washed away, looking like it's going to be a premature end to the season. I might have to start planning and focusing on SES14 to break me out of these doldrums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunSurfer Posted September 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 To finish first, first you must finish. One race to go, and anything could happen. There have been enough surprises so far to know that the result is far from guaranteed. Two amazing boats. Two incredibly skilled crews. Changes of fortune. Spithill's race deferment looks like it saved their bacon now. 19 races. And it all comes down to the very last race, the very last throw of the dice. Whoever wins tomorrow, no dishonour to the loser, and all credit to the winner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigwavedave Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 Great racing, surrealistic boats, most dramatic cup finals I've ever seen, but New Zealand vs USA it really ain't. Only one US guy aboard the US boat, skipped by an Aussie, both boats built in New Zealand by a company owned by Larry Ellison's company, Oracle. Team new Zealand's major sponsor is? Go United Arab Emirates? But, it is the best sailboat racing show money can buy. Hats off to Ellison and Coutts for proving all the sceptics wrong about match racing multihulls on SF bay! By the way, I am rooting for team "USA" tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonbordin Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 Sailing sure needs a shot in the arm... not sure this will be it but hey every little bit helps. Haven't seen any uptick in local participation. Last weekend our regatta has a decent attendance... I know I enjoyed the weekend on my E-scow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allee Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 "sigh" if NZ wins today, and I'm not at all convinced they will, the 34th Americas Cup will only end in a protracted court battle as Oracle try and have their cheating penalty overturned. The entire thing is a farce, really. The only people who make money out of it are the boat builders and the lawyers. Or, as the Civilian put it "The multi million dollar airline vs the multi million dollar software company in today's round of Moneyboat". It'sstill amazing to watch though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingbat Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 "sigh" if NZ wins today, and I'm not at all convinced they will, the 34th Americas Cup will only end in a protracted court battle as Oracle try and have their cheating penalty overturned. The entire thing is a farce, really. The only people who make money out of it are the boat builders and the lawyers.Or, as the Civilian put it "The multi million dollar airline vs the multi million dollar software company in today's round of Moneyboat". It'sstill amazing to watch though. Don't get too discouraged, for the last quarter of a century through the courts is how USA and NZ have been doing it, and I'm willing to bet that eventually, the tech. they are developing filters down to benefit the masses in everyday type stuff too. People say the same thing about F1 racing, but reality is, private entities spend gobs of money to develop tech that eventually gives us safer and more fuel efficient econ-boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 "sigh" if NZ wins today, and I'm not at all convinced they will, the 34th Americas Cup will only end in a protracted court battle as Oracle try and have their cheating penalty overturned. The entire thing is a farce, really. The only people who make money out of it are the boat builders and the lawyers. No, no courtroom this time. When Oracle and chellenger of record wrote the Protocol, they named the International AC Jury as the supreme jurisdiction, that has the final word. In the past it was the court. Interesting point about the boatbuilders... They were both built in NZ in boatyard owned by Ellison (Oracle). Yeah, the whole thing is a farse :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingbat Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 Interesting point about the boatbuilders... They were both built in NZ in boatyard owned by Ellison (Oracle). Yeah, the whole thing is a farse :( Who cares? It's still exciting sailing and exciting to see this threshold being crossed. We are seeing the culmination of design efforts in sailing craft that have been going on since the '50s. We are seeing it in a class of competing boats, with huge resources behind them, that will continue to improve and become more versitile. Not just one-off freak shows, dingies, and experimental military craft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted September 25, 2013 Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 Does any of this design goodness make its way back to powered boats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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