Americas Cup - thrilling racing at last

flaming said:
I've said elsewhere, but starting a race in light winds with a 40min time limit and NOT moving the marks slightly closer together was crazy. From the moment the start gun went it was impossible to finish the race.

Yes, the same to both teams... Except that the Kiwis are stronger in the light....
Click to expand...

If it isn't "light" today, might the Kiwis play their card and decline to race? Could they postpone it by a day? Would they?????
 
A1Sailor said:
If it isn't "light" today, might the Kiwis play their card and decline to race? Could they postpone it by a day? Would they?????
Click to expand...

No they cant do that; they can only play their card after the first race of a day and before the second..... of which there isnt one.

A race tonight is not 100% guaranteed if the wind mucks around again.
 
The FT this morning have a Yachts & Marinas section and a full page on Ellison and AC. It goes on to say that "Ellison's grip on the cup is finally loosening" and "Barring a miracle, the prestigious trophy will be heading to Auckland" and "Losing will be painful for Ellison" and much more in a similar vein. Ellison comes in for a lot of criticism.

The FT sees everything through a narrow prism these days, Kiwis lefty socialists and good, Oracle right wing and bad is but one example ....
 
ParaHandy said:
The FT this morning have a Yachts & Marinas section and a full page on Ellison and AC. It goes on to say that "Ellison's grip on the cup is finally loosening" and "Barring a miracle, the prestigious trophy will be heading to Auckland" and "Losing will be painful for Ellison" and much more in a similar vein. Ellison comes in for a lot of criticism.

The FT sees everything through a narrow prism these days, Kiwis lefty socialists and good, Oracle right wing and bad is but one example ....
Click to expand...

Either that or the supplement was written a week ago.
 
flaming said:
right, but I bet your club doesn't set a course that is impossible to complete within the time limit. Especially when the time limit is short and the wind conditions pretty consistent!
Click to expand...

Bearing in mind that occasionally we do hit the time limit the the answer is " yes we have set courses that ran out of time"
Plus it is not " impossible "to complete the course in time as it has been done on a number of times. In consistent winds.
Time limits are there for a reason & it was agreed by all concerned before the series began
 
Buck Turgidson said:
Magnificent come back. Lucky Ben made the difference ;-)
Click to expand...

Both boats have a helmsman and a tactician; however Oracle has a strategist as well. That must be what makes the difference : Slingsby. ...!!

I need to be thinking of one for my boat. By the way what does a strategist do that a tactician cant?
 
Daydream believer said:
Bearing in mind that occasionally we do hit the time limit the the answer is " yes we have set courses that ran out of time"
Plus it is not " impossible "to complete the course in time as it has been done on a number of times. In consistent winds.
Time limits are there for a reason & it was agreed by all concerned before the series began
Click to expand...

Yes.... Except they must have known when they fired the gun that there was absolutely no chance of the boats finishing in time. Unlike a club race.
And they could have fixed that problem by moving the marks closer together.
But the rules forbade that. Unlike a club race.
So the rules say you can race in 8 knots of wind or more.
But the course has to be this, and you can't finish it inside 40min in less than 10 knots.
So why bother starting races in 8 knots?

Mental....
 
It looks to me as though the Kiwis had got a better handle on the boat through the LV series while the Yanks are just getting up to speed and we're now seeing the true relative performance of the two boats & crews.
 
moodyNick said:
Its the same set of rules for both sides, which were agreed in advance. Unlucky due to the wind maybe, but its not because of the rules.
Click to expand...
Yes - silly rules bring too much luck into the process. Even though the rules are the same for both sides, Oracle has been lucky twice because the rules are silly
 
Twister_Ken said:
Either that or the supplement was written a week ago.
Click to expand...
Yes, probably, but why should we excuse dreadful journalism ...

The Beeb are now describing it thus "Briton Sir Ben Ainslie and his Oracle Team USA are one win away from one of the great sporting comebacks ..." so it's his boat

Sorry, grumpy day even though its sunny Oxford ... Fer twa days running
 
So...congratulations to Benny and his jets!?
I think this one can really claim the accolade of the greatest come back since Lazarus! (Acknowledgements to Sid Waddell...RIP).
:)
 
I can't add anything to what the, rather good, commentators have said.

One exception. Russell Coutts, a visionary Nav Arch who persuaded a hard-headed businessmen to back a design that most would have been scared to try to deliver. He did it, and spectacularly.

I used to have one engineer that I would like to have dinner with. An evening with Adrian Newey and Russell Coutts. That'd do me.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top