America’s Cup 37

Maybe a bit niche…but anyone else watching?  Looking forward to it even tho it’s hard to see past NZ for the win

I tend to watch in retrospect on Youtube.

When the races are good, they’re great. Otherwise they can be a bit mediocre IMV.

Amazing bits of kit.

Yeah…hope it’s not too much of “first to first mark” wins

Will be watching highlights later…don’t spoil it.

NZ do look good, but I have to root for UK in it….

I don’t understand why NZ are allowed to race in the challenger series.

They write the rules? (they’re only in the first part, they and and one other drop out after the round robin. I think).

Amazing bits of kit.

They certainly are, but the boats from the early part of last century are magnificent.

Brittania – oh dear.

I know the America’s Cup is match racing, but i don’t think the format works with this generation of boat.  The SailGP format works much better. At least at the last AC, the boats and sailors weren’t this good so there was some sense of jeopardy.  Now, it seems if you win the start you win the race by min 30s (so far at least).

Also, GB seem to have built a slow boat.  The US boat looked tiny in comparison, and at 40knts wind resistance must make a big difference?

Once you get used to the sight of a bloody massive boat foiling being a thing it’s crushingly meh. To me it’s just like all the F1 issues but magnified – take a sport that’s fun at amateur and (relatively) low cost level then  professionalise the concept and throw stupendous amounts of money at it until you’ve wrung most of the initial joy from the thing and all that’s left is a tech nerd fest. AC has always been a willy waving competition though I guess so it’s the natural culmination of things.

Honestly, I reckon it’s more interesting watching a Sunday morning lads “n dad’s mirror race.

The Kiwis aren’t in the challenger series. This is just a shake down. Nothing counts going forward.

Yesterday we did have some good start line action

My main complaint is the slightly weird power rules. 2 guys peddling like mad to run the sails. But everything under the water is run from shore charged battery. At least it’s better than the ocean race where you can’t tack with a 75 hp engine running

Off topic a bit, but I have been aboard two America’s Cup challengers and helmed one of them for two or more hours. Not modern ones though. I went on board Endeavour when she was in a mud berth on the Medina river above Cowes before her restoration. The size of her was mind boggling to an impressionable teenager. I sailed in Gretel, the first Australian 12 metre, in the Whitsunday Islands in 1995. At the time she was doing day charter work and I spent a full day. The highlight was helming on a shy spinnaker reach- she was so well balanced.

Agreed with a few comments here.

Britannia looking rather chubby and ponderous compared to sleek and nippy…. Maybe a change if we see stronger winds?

NZ, US and Italy (despite glitches) have to be the strong contenders here.

@jimw – much envy…

I Found some photos

I am the one in the Hong Kong Teeshirt with the grin. The skipper is the one behind my right shoulder hanging onto the backstay keeping a very close eye on what I was doing… don’t blame him!

To me it’s just like all the F1 issues but magnified – take a sport that’s fun at amateur and (relatively) low cost level then  professionalise the concept and throw stupendous amounts of money at it until you’ve wrung most of the initial joy from the thing and all that’s left is a tech nerd fest.

Yeah but it’s not as simple as that…SailGP is ultra hi tech, expensive, but it manages to create spectacular, exciting racing…..10 big foiling cats going at up to 100km/h in touching distance of each other

Yeah but it’s not as simple as that…

I’d say sailgp is a perfect example of why it is that simple. For me it’s the perfect top end inshore series leaving the AC looking expensive and irrelevant. Yes, it’s professional but per race it’s vastly cheaper. Each boat gets plenty of outings before becoming obsolete. It’s proper one design racing…just with very expensive boats. It doesn’t have the stupid politics of the AC and it’s a relatively level playing field. And the actual spectacle of 10 boats charging about is just more interesting than match racing of two boats, one of which is just always going to win bar incident.

Er…which is my point.

Spent a day on Valsheda whilst at the Douarnenez festival in 1986

I’m inspired to watch more sail gp

I’m also impressed that you can fit on in 3 40ft shopping containers

I am watching it and am amazed at the technology and speed, they also look very difficult to sail. I watched some of the SailGP off St. Tropez last year and I have to say the racing was much better.

Whilst I spent many years campaigning a Class 1 boat in the 90s, I’m currently enjoying racing a 55 year old Squib with my wife – which somewhat less advanced than the current AC75s!

I’d say sailgp is a perfect example of why it is that simple. For me it’s the perfect top end inshore series leaving the AC looking expensive and irrelevant

Maybe, but if it wasn’t for the AC then SailGP wouldn’t even exist as that’s the source of basically all the technology!

I’m currently enjoying racing a 55 year old Squib with my wife

Haha, nothing wrong with a Squib – and the older ones are some of the quickest!

I used to race them heavily in the 70’s before moving on to J24’s.  We still get around15 Squibs out on a regular basis and our club has one of the strongest fleets in the country.

Personally I much prefer the Corby 37 I race now.  Here we are doing a whole 16 knots downwind last week… and yes I know it doesn’t look it!!

I thought the racing got better as the regatta progressed. Initially I was just watching the start and 1st beat as there were no lead changes or close racing. Races on the last day were much more exciting and ‘involved some actual match racing. Might be because they are learning how to race the AC75s or maybe conditions were more conducive to close racing. The manoeuvrability of something so big and fast is impressive.

Question: sure I heard that the crew all need to come from the boat/team country? How come Jimmy Spithall (AUS) is one of the helms on Luna Rossa (ITA).

All a long way away from the sailing I do now (Gaff rigged Crabber 26) and even the time I did race (crew on Sigma 33). Those days there was an obvious difference in mainsail position upwind & downwind, none of this apparent wind boatspeed = 3x wind speed stuff !

 I heard that the crew all need to come from the boat/team country?

As in be born there or have a passport? Let’s face it, if you have a billionaire sponsor, getting a passport won’t be an issue.

Found the answer to my own Q

100% of the race crew be either a passport holder of the country that the team’s yacht club represented as of March 19, 2021, or have been in that country for two of the previous three years before March 18, 2021

I love sail GP and was looking forward to AC37, but find it a bit meh with just 2 boats racing.

AC would be far better with a big fleet competition then 2x4boat semis leading to a 4 boat race-off series!!

To me Americas Cup has and should be a match racing competition. A boat on boat competition, preferably where a good helm could overcome some difference in boat speed. There did seem to be some signs that the current boats might be going back to this backed up with the virtual box so the protests didn’t need to involve actual damage.

For fast paced fleet racing the Sail GP series is a good watch agreed.  I find the IMOCA and Vendee Globe to be the most impressive from a technological and human perspective.  Looking forward to that starting later in the year.

AC would be far better with a big fleet competition

It’s never been that. It’s a match racing competition, always has been.

AC would be far better with a big fleet competition

And which point it just becomes like any other series but with higher speeds – which in itself becomes a bit pointless anyway.  I’m kinda looking forward to a winner maybe one day winding the technology clock back to simpler times.

Much better day today. Lots of lead changes and boats interacting

Well,well, Ineos coming good at a crucial time…..

 I find the IMOCA and Vendee Globe to be the most impressive from a technological and human perspective.  Looking forward to that starting later in the year.

I find it bonkers watching the foiling IMOCA boats.  Seems like yesterday that DSS was a novelty being retrofitted to Wild Oats and now it’s evolved into something that’ll keep a 60ft singlehander out of the water for days at a time.

But heck that must be exhausting, it’s not exactly the rocking to sleep motion of a displacement boat!

But heck that must be exhausting, it’s not exactly the rocking to sleep motion of a displacement boat!

Watch some of the latest interviews with skippers. Some have designed padded ‘cells’ to sleep in and others are going to wear body armour and helmets for most of the trip….

Well,well, Ineos coming good at a crucial time…..

Yep, pretty amazing really.  Although their crew work sounds really slick my money is also on Mercedes having come up with some very clever foils …. Cos they are quick!

GBR teamwork has improved so much.  Now able to sail well in strong and light winds.   Potential LV final against Italy could be amazing.

I was convinced GBR and swiss where going to collide today

That first INEOS start was amazing!

Delighted to see the team coming together.

There are definitely two classes in the semis are there.. Ineos and Luna Rossa. USA and Alinghi RB. Although USA kept fighting in race 2 today to make it quite close.

Alinghi RB looks like a harder boat to sail or maybe a less experienced crew? Ainsley not taking prisoners in the pre start though. I keep having to remind myself how big these boats are.

I think it’s a shame American Magic lost Paul Goodison to injury. All that expertise not to mention years of preparation and practice to perfection and money out the window in an instant. Effectively replaced by a rookie who’s then thrown into a match with Luna Rosa.

You’d have to be gutted if you were a member/supporter of the American syndicate.

It is a shame but they probably have bigger issues than the loss of PG… The boat design is turning out to be not really right (I’m looking at you recumbent cyclors).

LR don’t really seem to have taken much of a step forward since the start of the RR and aren’t looking as potent as they were.

We’ll see come the finals.

Agreed. I’ve seen those in boat shots of the recumbent cyclists on AM.  It just looks really awkward and frankly not very powerful. Maybe SRAM will want to take their stickers down?  I’ve also read stuff about their struggles for a happy medium in their flight control.