The 36th Americas Cup

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Indeed Jeff, but the world is full of luddites, I'm afraid. Taking up the relevance to developments that flow on though. Just think of how great the hydrofoil ferries were in terms of time saved. However, they tended to be killed off by the costs of fuel used by the very powerful engines required to drive them up onto those foils, and the mechanical challenge of getting the drive down into the water when up out of it. It is quite possible these foiling monohulls, and the tech involved, may present a way of getting back to affordable foil-assisted travel, using free wind power..? :popcorn:
 
Certain irony that paying a basketball player $100m is cheered. Spending $10m on a sailboat is elitist and exotic.

Perception is reality I suppose.

Peter
 
"The entire system will not be in place for the America's Cup race in January 1987 off Perth, Australia, but parts of it will be, and a contestant in the event can, by doing a little planning, make use of it. He can erect fixed-position transmitters, or pseudolites, near Perth and equip his 12-meter with G.P.S. This will permit him, while competing, to know his exact location. He can then calculate the earliest moment when his boat should head toward a mark to make certain to fetch it. True, it will cost him about $250,000, but that is a negligible amount by the standards of the affluent contenders of the Cup (syndicates are thinking in terms of $10 million-plus). And consider the advantage: If one, and only one, of the boats has G.P.S., that boat, assuming it can also float, will win the race."

PRECISION SAILING https://nyti.ms/29BHI3E
 
mvweebles said:
Certain irony that paying a basketball player $100m is cheered. Spending $10m on a sailboat is elitist and exotic.



One hundred million dollars! Cripes, i wish I was a bit taller.
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catalinajack said:
I could not think of anything more irrelevant and elitist than the America's Cup.
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The current America`s Cup boats are an abomination. How those things could "improve the breed" of cruising sailboats eludes me.Ugly and impractical.
 
BruceK said:
The current America`s Cup boats are an abomination. How those things could "improve the breed" of cruising sailboats eludes me.Ugly and impractical.
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Bruce, did you not read my post #91 above..? :)
 
Peter B said:
Bruce, did you not read my post #91 above..? :)
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I did,but with respect didn`t think it made much sense. I cannot envisage a couple on their cruising monohull sailboat(yacht in Oz speak) sailing on foils at high speed necessarily crewed like an Americas Cup competitor. It ain`t going to happen.
 
BruceK said:
I did,but with respect didn`t think it made much sense. I cannot envisage a couple on their cruising monohull sailboat(yacht in Oz speak) sailing on foils at high speed necessarily crewed like an Americas Cup competitor. It ain`t going to happen.
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You sound just like my grandfather talking about the communicators on Star Trek in 1969. It not a question of will it happen, only a question of when.

Most people think the America’s Cup is about racing sail boats. It is not. It is about building the fastest sailboat and sailing it.
 
Thanks. He sounds a great guy.
 
BruceK said:
I did,but with respect didn`t think it made much sense. I cannot envisage a couple on their cruising monohull sailboat(yacht in Oz speak) sailing on foils at high speed necessarily crewed like an Americas Cup competitor. It ain`t going to happen.
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Bruce, Bruce, think outside the square man. You're still obsessed with the cruising couple. I was thinking...(Paper headline).
'Sydney Harbour Gets New Sail Powered Hydrofoil..!'
(Back story) "Finally fast trips across to Manly from the Quays like we used to have back in the hydrofoil days, are once again viable, thanks to trickle down technology from those amazing Americas Cup boats of the 2020/21 era..!"

Get the picture now..? :D
 
Peter B said:
(Back story) [I]"Finally fast trips across to Manly from the Quays like we used to have back in the hydrofoil days, are once again viable, thanks to trickle down technology from those amazing Americas Cup boats of the 2020/21 era..!"[/I]


Noooo! Those dam noisy, smelly & claustrophobic hydrofoils that could be hard pressed to hold three men and a dog at a pinch.They could not handle the slightest of swells across the heads, they should have changed course at South head and kept going.

Peter, they were not trickle down technology, they were the maritime version of the P76, a design by committee.

Now the Manly ferries, those are boats that deserve to ply the waterways of the magnificent Sydney harbour. Even though our vision less state government wants to do away with them. :facepalm:

You know there's a lot to be said for Luddites.
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I'm an avid sailor and racer. I'm also an Engineer. I love the Americas Cup, but but not necessarily the actual racing. I enjoy seeing how the box rules form out, then seeing how the teams push against the walls of those rules to try to be just a little faster than the other guys. When you get a bunch of bazillionaires and countries fighting for bragging rights with unlimited budgets, incredible technology gets developed, some of which eventually finds its way into mainstream boating.

But ... I don't really consider this "sailing". Case in point, teams in the last couple AC's hired professional cyclists for their crews. Didn't matter that these guys wouldn't know a sheet from a halyard, their only job was to peddle like hell through the whole race to keep the hydraulic pressure up. The Skipper did all control and trimming from his iPad. Nope, that's not sailing, but what incredible technology.
 
Andy G said:
Peter B said:
(Back story) [I]"Finally fast trips across to Manly from the Quays like we used to have back in the hydrofoil days, are once again viable, thanks to trickle down technology from those amazing Americas Cup boats of the 2020/21 era..!"[/I]


Noooo! Those dam noisy, smelly & claustrophobic hydrofoils that could be hard pressed to hold three men and a dog at a pinch.They could not handle the slightest of swells across the heads, they should have changed course at South head and kept going.

Peter, they were not trickle down technology, they were the maritime version of the P76, a design by committee.

Now the Manly ferries, those are boats that deserve to ply the waterways of the magnificent Sydney harbour. Even though our vision less state government wants to do away with them. :facepalm:

You know there's a lot to be said for Luddites.
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Right on Andy! I still regret the best Manly ferry of all, South Steyne, was not retained and refitted by Govt after the fire onboard. There will be way more "Ferry Replacement Bus Services" when the crappy catamaran ferries replace the Freshwater class ferries. Imagine those catamaran ferries self delivering on their own bottoms, not as deck cargo, from wherever they were built in Asia, they`d never have made it. Unlike the "real" Manly ferries which came from the UK on their own bottoms?
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Round Robin is done. Team Inios UK 5, Prada IT 2, American Magic US 0
Prada v Magic next weekend.
Today's race was close. The lead changed every (?) leg. The "flying" of these boats was magnificent. With ailerons on the foils, the pilot could, and did keep the boat level once up on foils, maintaining high speed throughout the race.

exciting sailing? Yes, yes, yes.
I watched the Sui v NZ (mid 90s) race 2 a couple of days ago, just to see if the older, slow racing and the newer, very fast racing was better.
Some features of the bigger, slower boats, with way more people on board were better, but the overall sailing and the high tech stuff on the newer boats allowed this to be a more exciting experience overall.
Next weekend, semi finals between US and IT. Be there!
 
Andy G said:
Peter B said:
(Back story) [I]"Finally fast trips across to Manly from the Quays like we used to have back in the hydrofoil days, are once again viable, thanks to trickle down technology from those amazing Americas Cup boats of the 2020/21 era..!"[/I]


Noooo! Those dam noisy, smelly & claustrophobic hydrofoils that could be hard pressed to hold three men and a dog at a pinch.....
Peter, they were not trickle down technology, they were the maritime version of the P76, a design by committee.
:facepalm:
You know there's a lot to be said for Luddites.
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Andy, you just committed the unforgivable. You leaped in where angels...you know how it goes...

Show me where I ever said the original hydrofoils were trickle down technology. I was suggesting a new type of wind powered foiling craft might allow for fast foil assisted trips to once again be made over Sydney harbour due to trickle down tech from there A/C boats. Completely different concept, surely..? ?
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Peter B said:
Andy G said:
Andy, you just committed the unforgivable. You leaped in where angels...you know how it goes...

Show me where I ever said the original hydrofoils were trickle down technology. I was suggesting a new type of wind powered foiling craft might allow for fast foil assisted trips to once again be made over Sydney harbour due to trickle down tech from there A/C boats. Completely different concept, surely..? ?
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Yes, you are right, apologies.........still you must admit the Manly ferry is a fine sea going vessel, whereas the hydrofoil was, ummm- less inspiring.
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mvweebles said:
25 min YouTube of day 4 racing.

Anyone who thinks the AC is no longer about sailing but now a battle of exotic design and software engineers should watch this.

https://youtu.be/QCJxLRAGTE4

Peter
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Peter
Thanks for that replay. The commentators there are better than the You Tube live feed commentators.
That last leg, approaching the finish with shouts of "Starboard!...Starboard!" from Prada!
You want an exciting finish? That was as good as they get!
All that fancy high tech stuff just gets your sailing drama at a much higher speed.
The Americas Cup will never be going back to hull speed sailing!
 
What a race. Nine lead changes and a fairly close port starboard to finish.
While Prada were well inside the safety zone they did go bow down to achieve that so probably the umpires got it right.
American Magic should make it back in the water in time for the semis it seems.
 
darkside said:
American Magic should make it back in the water in time for the semis it seems.
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I heard the announcer say USA has retired. Is that not correct?
 
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Retired for this series. It's an odd format. Sort of like NHL hockey where they play 8 months to eliminate 2 teams (slight exaggeration). US still has a shot. They'd have to really step up.

Maybe someone knows the format.
 
OldDan1943 said:
I heard the announcer say USA has retired. Is that correct?
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They actually have to formally retire from each scheduled race. The race committee starts the race, one competitor crosses the line, and they cancel the race and score it as a RET for the no show.

An improvised solution to satisfy an overly arcane set of rules NBD.

I thought yesterday's racing was about as good as any I've seen ever. This racing is just as much about the humans as the machines.
 
Jeff F said:
They actually have to formally retire from each scheduled race. The race committee starts the race, one competitor crosses the line, and they cancel the race and score it as a RET for the no show.

An improvised solution to satisfy an overly arcane set of rules NBD.

I thought yesterday's racing was about as good as any I've seen ever. This racing is just as much about the humans as the machines.
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2013 in SF had me taking time off from work to watch. Incredible competition.

But today was a damn fine race. Same sport. Different gear but same sport. As someone else said, reaction time is faster.

Peter
 
Just watched the race from Saturday. That was pretty exciting with plenty of lead changes. This is the first AC in years that's held my attention. Too bad for the US boat, I'd be surprised if they get the boat back to the level to win a race. Would be great to see the UK bring back the cup after such a slow start.
 
I had a peek at the USA base yesterday, they say that they are on track to splash it back in the drink on Wednesday so they can have a skid around the harbour before racing in the weekend.

Don't right them off yet, down wind that boat is a rocket.

They have made a lot of friends here after their "set back" I don't think those guys will have to pay for a coffee or a pizza for the rest of the regatta.
 
Who determines the rules for the America Cup boat?

Does the defender choose the rules for the boats that compete in the America's Cup? If thats the case, whats stopping the defender to demand that
J Class boats race in the America's. I think seeing 120 foot J Class boats would be a lot more classy, and elitist then those crazy foiling catermarans.
 
OldDan1943 said:
I heard the announcer say USA has retired. Is that not correct?
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They are holding what they are calling a repechage, rather like they do in rowing. This will allow Patriot to sail off against the boat that comes second out of the current two - they being Ineos Britannia, and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli. Try saying that last one rapidly with dry lips..!
The winner of that repechage will then sail off against the winner of the current round robin, which on the face of it is going to be Ineos Britannia.
 
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