First America's Cup race postponed

[ttweed]

For those who follow such things, the initial match race between the huge multihulls of the Alinghi and BMW Oracle teams was postponed today due to light and shifty breezes off Valencia, Spain. The first start will take place Wed. morning now, if conditions allow.

I don't think there will be any live TV coverage, but it will be webcast from several sites:
http://33rd.americascup.com/en/regate/regarder-la-course/show.php
http://bmworacleracing.com/en/news/livestream/?track.refer=/en/index.html&track.type=home&fr=580
http://espn.go.com/broadband/espn360/channels?channel=3578779&

After all the legal battles and bickering, the race should be exciting, with the latest technology in sailing showcased, and cubic dollars flushed down the drain by billionaire sportsmen. The racing may not end the battle, though, as the court case against Alinghi's sails will not be heard until the 25th in NY.

TT

[Greg Phillips]

I must admit these boats are a long way from the Hobie & Prindle cats that I learned to sail on

The articles in the UT gave a good indication of how large they really are, and how fast.

Greg

[Steve Grosekemper]

Check out the BMW Oracle video page
This is the specs video (That thing is huge!)
http://bmworacleracing.com/en/interacti ... ck.type=hn

Here are the others
http://bmworacleracing.com/en/interacti ... ck.type=sn

We had some of there guys in to service their (You guessed it BMW's) and told some pretty interesting stories. The level of technology is just mind blowing.

[LUCKY DAVE]

The ridiculous last minute rules changes and legal bickering in recent years -and the fact that "sportsmanship" is long gone from the series- has killed my interest. Not to mention the engines this time...WTF???
(this from the guy who skippered the finish line committee boat for the San Diego Yacht Club the last time the cup races were in San Diego.)

If I were the Czar of Americas Cup, the rules would read as follows:

1) All crew must be legal citizens and residents of the challengers country of record (and members of good standing in the challenging yacht club), and all equipment must be sourced from that country.
2) Crew shall number 15 souls.
3) Maximum boat length 100'.
4) All equipment with the exception of electronics is to human powered only. Electronics are limited to navigation and shall be battery powered.
5) Only wind power shall be used to drive the boat through the water, rowing, sculling, etc is not allowed.
6) There are no other rules. Any number and type of hulls, ballast, beam, draft, sail area and type, rig design, total weight, etc are allowed.

[JERRY B]

And you must not spend more than 10 billion dollars

[ttweed]

Larry Ellison is halfway to his billion-dollar dream after his trimaran absolutely waxed the Swiss catamaran of the Alinghi team today off Valencia. In light conditions (6-8 knot breeze, 2-3 ft. seas) that were supposed to favor the catamaran, BMW-Oracle showed superior power on all points of sail, came from behind off a poor start (although they inflicted a tactical penalty on Alinghi in pre-start manuvering) and took the race by a wide margin on pure boat speed, upwind and down. These boats are incredible to watch, making speeds of 15-20 knots in a light breeze, but the wing sail on the trimaran appears to develop far more power than the more conventional rig on Alinghi. Unless they break or commit some heinous mistake, the America's Cup should be coming back to the USA on Sunday, if the second race goes off as scheduled.

TT

[Gary Burch]

Watched the race last night. 28 knots in an 8 knot wind. That's just not right...

[ronaldtrotter]

Maybe not right but what a ride. I'd love to be on that boat.

[ttweed]

The second race is underway at this moment after a 6-hour delay for the breeze to settle. Alinghi has already suffered another penalty before the start, so things are looking good for BMW Oracle to bring the Cup home.

[ttweed]

And BMW-Oracle wins race two by 5:26, leading at all marks. Unless the results change in the protest room (Alinghi was flying a protest flag for unknown reasons) or in the courtroom, the America's Cup will be returning to USA, specifically the Golden Gate Yacht Club in SF bay. While these hi-tech boats are amazingly fast and exciting to watch, I hope that we see a return to the traditional multi-national regatta in one-design boats for the next challenge.

TT

[SDGT3]

I don't follow this, but correct me if I'm wrong, Tom. The winner of the cup makes the rules for the next challenge? Including boat design/dimensions?

[ttweed]

I don't follow this, but correct me if I'm wrong, Tom. The winner of the cup makes the rules for the next challenge? Including boat design/dimensions?

The winner of the Cup hosts the next regatta, which gives them great latitude, but it must take place under the original "Deed of Gift" specifications. These have been changed over the years, by amending the Deed, and racing has taken place in J-boats, 12-Metre Rule yachts, and International America's Cup Class boats over the years. The terms of the original Deed are subject to interpretation, and much legal wrangling has taken place in the courts over time.

Usually, there is a group of challengers from different nations who compete for the right to sail against the defending club in monohull boats of similar design, but with no mutual consent on the rules for the regatta, the Deed of Gift provides a default set of conditions for the race and a very open design brief for the boats, which resulted in the 1988 Stars and Stripes catamaran sailing against the 100' New Zealand monohull of Michael Fay, as well as this challenge by Larry Ellison against the Swiss Alinghi team. Ellison has previously stated his intention to take the Cup back to the more inclusive traditional format, but if agreement cannot be reached on the terms of the next regatta, we could see another repeat of this type of one-on-one match race in extreme designs. Only time will tell...

TT

[Carl Scragg]

Lacking mutual agreement between the "Challenger of Record" and the Defender, the match is governed by the "Deed of Gift", a document most remarkable for how little it says. Under the Deed, almost any foreign yacht club may issue a challenge. The Challenger must state the overall dimensions of their boat (limits being 44-90 feet on the waterline for single mast vessels, 80-115 feet for multi-mast vessels). The Defender is free to build any boat within the same overall limits. Nothing in the Deed requires the defending club to design/build a vessel of design similar to the Challenger's - thus the Kiwi Big Boat vs. the Stars and Stripes catamaran.

The Challenger stipulates when the next event will occur, the Defender names the location. The Deed also specifies that once a valid challenge has been received, no other challenge may be considered. All of the multi-national challenges have been conduced under mutual agreement between the "Challenger of Record" and the Defender. All of the races between boats of a particular design class (e.g. J-boats, 12 meter yachts, IACC boats) were conducted under mutual agreement. Lacking an agreeable Challenger, Ellison is not able to dictate all that much about the next event other than location.

[SDGT3]

Yikes!!! The F1 circus look like Boy Scouts compared to these guys. I never thought I'd say that