America's Cup

Yes I saw that, embarrasingly I suppose I don’t understand the scoring 😳

USA get a point because they won the challengers round robin stage. (I guess because they didn’t have to take part in that bit, as defenders, but it made it a bit more interesting.)

3-0 up…. looking good.

We’ve been here before though 🙁 I suppose this time there is perhaps less scope for any miracle comeback

Warched it in the pub yesterday before an evening ride. Very entertaining.

Very entertaining. [list]

To be honest, the racing has been better in previous rounds.

So – Lets say TNZ hold it together and win.
They are the only team that has not signed up to the proposed new rules ( Basically the same boats again – AC competitions every two years with some world series type racing beforehand – much like this time).
However, they would have the right as winners to decide the rules of the next cup, they could decide to race it in Optimists in Alaska if they wished or back to big slow mono-hulls in 5 years time. (which would kill the commercial and technical momentum making it much harder to get sponsorship)
Does anyone know what it was they did not like about the proposed rules? do they just want them tweaked or are they going to junk them completely?

It always the winners privilige to decide the format. NZ are not going to take the event backwards imo, what they may do is try and avoid the historical issue of the team with the most money winning (eg last cup Oracle $400-500m, NZ $250m)

A NZ win would be a massive step forward for the Cup

Hopefully they’ll ditch the 5 day break we’re currently on during which the US team disappear off and spends millions copying designing/producing new kit based on the work that the other teams have done.

….. bunch of

Suppose they got rid of almost all the rules on boat design, just requiring the boats to be wind powered and only human power for sail trimming etc. (and maybe a limit on the number of crew). What would the boats look like – very similar to what we have now, but a bit bigger?

What would the boats look like

It would be boat, not boats. Only Oracle would be able to afford it, nobody else would turn up.

Doubt they’d be a lot different at all seeing as they’re hitting 40 knots now – the AC72 didn’t go any quicker.
It would probably depend on the sailing venue and wind expected.

Hopefully they’ll ditch the 5 day break we’re currently on during which the US team disappear off and spends millions copying designing/producing new kit based on the work that the other teams have done.

From what the resident experts were saying yesterday on BT Sport the rules prevent them making major changes to their design.

Suppose they got rid of almost all the rules on boat design, just requiring the boats to be wind powered and only human power for sail trimming. What would the boats look like?

Not consistently and def not in 10 knots of wind BigJohn.

Well that was kind of where I was coming from-
The Hulls and the wing size and sail size is a fixed design. The stated aim of that is to reduce budgets – surely that is a good thing that you would vote to keep.
The only thing that can be changed is the foils and rudders
but when foiling they are the only bits in the water so in that sense the design is unrestricted.

There is a big difference in the performance of the foils and it is obviously not easy to get right bearing in mind that Martin Whitmarsh who did all the aero for Redbull F1 was working for BAR and they did not get it right.

These work well in light winds.

And go round corners

Mind you, You wouldn’t get much change out of £5,000 for a board/sail/foil combo that would compete with Oracle.

Martin Whitmarsh who did all the aero for Redbull F1

No, he didn’t…that was Adrian Newey

To be fair, this would give Oracle a run for its money at the moment 🙂

🙂

My 2 cents. Someone (no matter how talented) working for an F1 team has no experience of hydro foils with different dynamics amd requirements amd operating at very dofferwmt soeeds amd in a different fluid. You wouldn’t expect a top hydrofoil soealist to jump into F1 and be competitve first time round.

Want. Even though I hated Oppies I still want.

Interesting read I thought, second half maybe less so as its speculation on the future events

https://www.sailingillustrated.com/single-post/2017/06/20/AC35-Match-The-latest-scoop-from-Bermuda-–-and-the-AC36-rumor-mill

Martin Whitmarsh who did all the aero for Redbull F1 was working for BAR

Whitmarsh was team principle for Mclaren, you’re thinking of Adrian Newey who was with Red Bull and then BAR. He was also at Williams and Mclaren at times too. Usually when an f1 team is successful it’s because he works for them.

Though it should be mentioned that Newey has also worked with LR-BAR. I’m not sure how much and clearly he still has his day job, but he has supposedly had some input.

Oracle out on The Great Sound this afternoon. We got a flyby too. About 20m away, full noise (literally) and liking good. But, they were still landing significantly often…

Our guests had a private tour around the Oracle team base, where amongst other things, Soft Bank was being cannibalised for their parts!!

It’ll be interesting to see what happens on Saturday. It’d be awesome to see the Kiwis win before leaving!

Well it’s getting late in the day for significant changes to Oracles boat now, so speculative guesswork could suggest an increase in boat speed by 5% … but that’s still falling short of ETNZ all round skill level and speed.

My punt would be that Oracle win the first race on Saturday, then ETNZ win all the others.

Larry Ellison will be quite annoyed at the moment.

Lets hope the design rules have stopped LE from throwing another massive cheque at the problem.
I’m not sure I can see Oracle coming back from this but we’ll find out on Saturday.
I suspect that they’ll close the gap a bit and win the starts but ultimately ETNZ will just sail round them upwind as that seems to be where they have a biggest advantage.

Sounds good Jerry…. another perk of the job 😉
If they’re touching down I wonder if they’ve tried altering the wing trimming system as this seems to be one of the major differences to ETNZ – or they could just be trying some new foil design.

I’d love to see how that wind trimming system works seeing as it’s controlled 100% digitally. I bet this could be the biggest factor in the speed difference – I know a lot has been made of the foils but that might just be because they’re actually visible while the control system is basically hidden.
How ironic it would be if Oracle was beaten by software!

You’ve also got to wonder if ETNZ were sandbagging during the RR – I really hope so 🙂

😯

Emphatically ETNZ…

Should we say “finally” a boat race ?

Nice boat on boat action, OTUSA win 1 !! 😯

Ohhhh that were grand 😀

Yup. Apart for the result, obviously…

Apart from the wrong winner….grand.

😯

5:1 up !!

Septics are making a baboons arse of it today.

6:1

Did you see OTUSA’s gybe set at the bottom mark ? Someone ought to tell Mr Spitt’s that there ain’t no kite on these things. Stuffed up at the start, hooked good and proper.. Pete was given all the time in the world to bear off.. nobody gives anyone that much time.. and then.. to cap it.. a boundary infringement ?? Flapping all over the course, short tacking, loosing speed, gaining speed to then throw another short tack in ? Ok, it’s match racing Jimmy but not as we know it.

More emphatic wins by ETNZ you simply can not find.

Not watched the races yet (only just back from daughters athletics comp) but jim spit does seem to have lost his touch.
Great results though. Shame it’s got to end.

forgot….
So, the Oracle win yesterday….. was that a ETNZ marketing ploy? Keep the racing going, more earnings and exposure for the sponsors.
They built a 250m lead fairly easily in one leg and then ‘lost’ it…. today though, two bullets.
hmm, fishy.

They did’nt cover Oracle yesterday and got got caught on the wrong side of a shift/pressure in changeable conditions.Which then put them on a port crossing of Oracle to round the windward mark and had to dip hard.And that was Jenga.
A bit naive/over confident of Burling…..he does’nt make the same mistake twice!!

What would the boats look like – very similar to what we have now, but a bit bigger?

This?