America's Cup Kicks-Off Today (1 Viewer)

Cheers fella's, yeah just 3x races to win now, the Kiwi's are making it look easy but it's not over yet.

It's probably hard to imagine, but the cup is BIG news here, with it featuring heavily on TV & is often the top news item. The first race runs live at 8:10am, so lots of folks are either heading to work early to watch it on the job or staying home and going in late. You can even see a difference in peak hour traffic on race days, like today. It doesn't seem to matter if you're into sailing or not, people just love it here. ^&grin

The next few days will be interesting to see what Team Oracle come up with........
 
If it was not for this thread it would be hard to know this competition is even on. I saw a glimpse on TV the other night but hardly getting any coverage at all on TV or in papers. Surprising when it looks more like an ANZAC event.

For those who may be interested here are the top ten crew members from the American team (perhaps it should be called the ANZAC's ?!) taken from Americas Cup web page :

Jimmy Spithill Skipper Australian
Ben Ainslie Helmsman British
Darren Bundock Coach/ Tactics Australian
Simon Daubney Trimmer/ Grinder NZ
Dirk de Ridder Trimmer/ Grinder Dutch
Shannon Falcone Grinder Antigua
Kinley Fowler Trimmer/ Grinder NZ/Oz/Ireland
Murray Jones Trimmer/Tactics NZ
Rome Kirby Trimmer USA
John Kostecki Trimmer USA

The next 14 crew are : Aussie, NZ, Canadian, NZ, Aussie, NZ, Aussie, Aussie, Italian, French, Aus/USA, NZ, Dutch, NZ

So to summarise :
NZ 7
Brit 1
Aussie 6.5
USA 2.5
Dutch 2
and a confused ANZAC Irishman.

As you will notice you get down to the 9th crew member before find a US team member^&confuse. To call it an American team is a bit much. Key positions held by Aussies, a Brit and Kiwis. The dollars are American. Pretty much a team of mercenaries. A bit like if held the World Athletics competition and Team America sprint team was Jamaicans paid for by Bill Gates.

Must be interesting when the Australian skipper says to the British helmsman and his Aussie and Kiwi tacticians come on guys we need to win for America (or does he just say American $'s ?).

NZ team actually made up of Kiwis. Based on crew make up for both teams the Kiwis clearly have the best sailors anyway.

Go the Kiwis :salute::

Brett
 
Desertkiwi said:
Cheers fella's, yeah just 3x races to win now, the Kiwi's are making it look easy but it's not over yet.

It's probably hard to imagine, but the cup is BIG news here, with it featuring heavily on TV & is often the top news item. The first race runs live at 8:10am, so lots of folks are either heading to work early to watch it on the job or staying home and going in late. You can even see a difference in peak hour traffic on race days, like today. It doesn't seem to matter if you're into sailing or not, people just love it here. ^&grin

The next few days will be interesting to see what Team Oracle come up with........
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It really is a matter of nationality with this race. As Brett says, without this thread, it would be hard to know there is a race being held if one was going by US coverage. I can't speak for west coast coverage but the Cup is getting NO coverage on the east coast, not on TV, the papers, anywhere. Kind of strange. There has not even been more than a mention or two in the sports pages of the Washington Post, prior to today's edition which has a very short update. The Cup used to get more coverage in the old days, when the Cup was held by Newport RI, with the races being more local. Bad timing for the Cup races to be held right as the US football season gets underway and the baseball season in the middle of pennant races because that is where ALL the sports coverage goes. -- Al
 
Desertkiwi said:
I don't necessarily disagree with you, I'm just happy to see some sailing for a change. As for choosing the 'cats' that was Team Oracles decision, they made the rules, chose the venue and the design of the boats and have done everything they can to discourage and eliminate challengers both on and off the water.

I'm probably being hugely biased here, but I think the best thing for the future of the regatta, would be for Oracle to lose the cup. Since winning it, they have done little to encourage an international flavour to the competition, instead choosing to stack the deck and cheat.

As an island nation Kiwi's are passionate about sailing and as a nation, love the cup. I've no doubt they would flick the cats and go back to some real boats if they won.
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If you want to see real sailing and truely spectacular boats look at the J class yachts. The Americas Cup is never ever going to live up to its global sporting potential when a few are allowed to hijack it by continuously changing the rules to suit their own means. I agree - get rid of the cats, stick to one set of rules that are set in stone, and make it about the crews abilities - not the boats differentiating factors. And as I mentioned before, if you want a spectators sport and a standardised boat - bring back the J Boats!! 135ft Length Over All; 22ft Beam; 160 odd tons..and fast! Like a race horse on steroids. Expensive? Yes. Decadent? Extremely. Classy? Absolutely. Will the world watch it? You bet. What a formula.

Kiwi
 
Kiwi said:
If you want to see real sailing and truely spectacular boats look at the J class yachts. The Americas Cup is never ever going to live up to its global sporting potential when a few are allowed to hijack it by continuously changing the rules to suit their own means. I agree - get rid of the cats, stick to one set of rules that are set in stone, and make it about the crews abilities - not the boats differentiating factors. And as I mentioned before, if you want a spectators sport and a standardised boat - bring back the J Boats!! 135ft Length Over All; 22ft Beam; 160 odd tons..and fast! Like a race horse on steroids. Expensive? Yes. Decadent? Extremely. Classy? Absolutely. Will the world watch it? You bet. What a formula.

Kiwi
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That would certainly get my vote. Now how do we sell the Americas Cup directors on this or is it a hopeless cause?
 
Yachting itself is fantastic but To be honest I think this event is close to jumping the shark , bored billionaires [and NZ]
in a game of one up manship and rule bending . If Don king gets involved the circle will be complete :smile2:.
You probably need a better team of lawyers than sailors .
 
Yeah it's a real shame to hear the Cup's not getting more air-time on the sports channels or in the news else where. Although I can understand why.

Over here it's a bit different, with it competing head-on with the big Rugby Test this weekend between the Alblacks & the Spring-Boks, which will be a huge clash, probably the biggest challenge the AB's have faced since World-Cup.

If we do manage to bring the cup down-under, I'm sure there will be a number of key changes in an effort to broaden it's appeal to both spectators and competitors......Team NZ has indicated as such in the past, time will tell eh.....fingers crossed^&grin
 
Desertkiwi said:
Yeah it's a real shame to hear the Cup's not getting more air-time on the sports channels or in the news else where. Although I can understand why.

Over here it's a bit different, with it competing head-on with the big Rugby Test this weekend between the Alblacks & the Spring-Boks, which will be a huge clash, probably the biggest challenge the AB's have faced since World-Cup.

If we do manage to bring the cup down-under, I'm sure there will be a number of key changes in an effort to broaden it's appeal to both spectators and competitors......Team NZ has indicated as such in the past, time will tell eh.....fingers crossed^&grin
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I'm for anything that will return the Cup racing to single hull boats and a slower, more enjoyable pace. There is something just wrong about a 'sailboat' being able to move at almost 3x the speed of the wind.:wink2: -- Al
 
High drama on the water during the first race of the day, with Team NZ nearly flipping their cat, during a tight tac.......phew{eek3}
 
Second race cancelled because wind was 1 knot too high. Really? In a sailboat race that needs wind to move the boats, I don't get it even though I know it is a rule. At least Oracle got out of minus territory.:rolleyes2: -- Al
 
lancer said:
Second race cancelled because wind was 1 knot too high. Really? In a sailboat race that needs wind to move the boats, I don't get it even though I know it is a rule. At least Oracle got out of minus territory.:rolleyes2: -- Al
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Yeah disappointing to see the second race canned, especially when they had already started to race. A good chunk of the NZ population will be glued to the TV again this morning......kick off 8:10am Monday morning.
 
First race was a complete reversal of fortune. Has Oracle figured it out? Now waiting for the second race to answer that. -- Al
 
lancer said:
First race was a complete reversal of fortune. Has Oracle figured it out? Now waiting for the second race to answer that. -- Al
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Oracle makes a tactical error and the Kiwis win the 2nd race. It was a decently competitive race for a change. Score is 7-1. Seems a forgone conclusion at this point as NZ only needs to win 2 more races and I think Oracle needs 9. -- Al
 
Yes things got a bit more interesting today, with Oracle stepping up and taking the first race. There's been a great deal of debate over what Oracle has done to improve it's speed on the upwind leg, however a quick glance at the cat reveals very little, other than cutting their 'bowsprit'??

With two races to go the Kiwi's should take the regatta out, but it's never over till the fat lady sings. It of course could all be over by the end of the next race day?!^&grin
 
Folks here are getting excited about tomorrows scheduled two races, however predicted strong winds could sink any thoughts of sailing.{eek3}
 
If the wind cooperates, the Cup will go to NZ this afternoon. It has been an interesting education in Cat racing for me. So, congratulations to the Kiwis. Please go back to real sail boats for your defense. It will be more fun and a lot more traditional and classy.:wink2:^&cool -- Al
 
lancer said:
If the wind cooperates, the Cup will go to NZ this afternoon. It has been an interesting education in Cat racing for me. So, congratulations to the Kiwis. Please go back to real sail boats for your defense. It will be more fun and a lot more traditional and classy.:wink2:^&cool -- Al
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Thanks Al, yeah big day today, Kiwi's both here & in SF are very excited. The cup's been the lead story on the news here all week....go TNZ{sm4}
 
Oracle takes race 1 today, extending the series for another race. Can they take #2 as well? History of this series says no. We'll see. -- Al
 
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