More exciting????

[wheels 543]

I'm sorry, but these big multi's don't make the racing look anymore eciting. In fact, they are so big and so smooth, they look effortless. I am coming at this froma spectator point of view of course. The only exciting thing about them is if you are a spectator on the water and opne comes past you. It's awesom to see the size and speed. But from TV point of view, they are boring. You just do not get a real perspective. I think they need to step up the visual side dramaticaly. I am not quite sure how you do that with these big machines.

What I enjoyed about the mono's was the close racing, the tactics and when it was upper limts in the weather, it was a real spectacle. The big multi's make the upper weather limit still look lame, and they are so fast, the tactics are more luck of who gets the breeze first is off and they are never close.

Just my thoughts.

Oh and I thought it was funny the TV was calling these big things, "Multi Hull Catamarans". Never seen a mono cat or more than two hulled cats.

[Guest]

If they are able(as stated)to be sailed in 30 knots of wind......and...a venue that will give a few days at least of these types of conditions ,yes it will be excitng.

Now the really big question is,...where will the venue be.

Hopefully it will be somewhere with big wind and not a spot that results only in flat water and 5 or 6 knots.A flat/light venue will not be exciting at all for most.

[Adrianp 119]

Look up 'ishares cup' in youtube wheels and you may change your tune!

[SloopJohnB 323]

http://www.thedailysail.com/#ooid=xoY29 ... i1Qda-418R

 

Love the 6 coffee grinders

 

What about the viewing platform in the middle of the aft beam.

[Clipper 343]

I'm not convinced the wings are a good idea, as I see there may be:

-Logistics issues - transport and storage

-Too much of an advantage to BMWO, but thats the game I guess

-less trickle down to us 'normal sailors'

-Less connection for the public to 'normal sailing'

 

But all round, jolly excited by it all.

The dream scenario, of course, is Bertarelli flying through the air and smacking into something very hard after a cartwheel in the top mark bear away. Yeehaaa!

[SloopJohnB 323]

-less trickle down to us 'normal sailors

 

Come on clipper, an 8.5 fleet with wing masts, where's your imagination.

[Guest]

The boat choice is irrelevant to everyone bar a few yachties.

What they do with the boats will be the make it or break it of the event.

[smithy09 50]

From Stuff:

Team New Zealand expect to mount a challenge at the next America's Cup, but will make a final decision after studying the details of the changes announced today to the yachting regatta.

 

New holders Oracle Racing of the United States and an Italian syndicate representing the challengers confirmed that the next event would be in 2013 and be sailed in AC72s, a new class of 72-foot catamaran with a wing sail.

 

The venue will be decided later this year.

 

Team NZ managing director Grant Dalton said his syndicate were encouraged by the 2013 date rather than the other suggested possibility of 2014.

 

The last multi-team event was in 2007, before a bitter court battle between Oracle and then-holders Alinghi of Switzerland led to a head-to-head battle in giant multihulls this year from which other challengers were locked out.

 

As to where Team NZ stood at the moment, Dalton said they would need time to consider the protocol unveiled today and consult with other challengers to see if it created a fair playing field.

 

"We are in there now in the America's Cup," he said.

 

"We need to consider where we sit in terms of our ability to win."

 

Dalton said the budget was a consideration, but he had no doubts in Team NZ's ability to design, build and sail an AC72.

 

If the decision was made to challenge, Team NZ would have to start work on a campaign within the next month.

 

The America's Cup has traditionally been sailed in monohulls, and Oracle chief executive Russell Coutts said the change to a fast catamaran would lead to "racing that meets the expectations of the Facebook generation, not the Flintstones generation".

 

"We need to have the best sailors in the world racing the coolest and fastest boats in the world."

 

New Zealander Coutts said the AC72 would be a boat that young sailors would look at and get excited about.

 

"When you look at the state of the America's Cup before today, you really had quite a few sailors that were in their 40s and 50s," he said.

 

"It really had the appearance of a senior tour more than a pinnacle event. I think this will bring a lot more of the sailors that have been brought up sailing skiffs and high performance boats, people who like speed and also like to race."

 

Among other details in the protocol, a neutral, independent race management would be set up.

 

When a switch to catamarans was mooted, the idea wasn't universally well received, with Britain's Team Origin saying it might not compete if that were the case.

 

Ad Feedback Coutts believed a lot of concerns and questions had been answered.

 

"No doubt some of the existing monohull teams prefer we stay in monohulls, but it's our belief that good monohull teams can become good multihull teams if they wish."

 

The key to Oracle's victory over Alinghi was the wing sail, which resembled an aeroplane wing, on its giant trimaran.

 

The AC72s will have crews of 11, compared with 17 on the previous ACC sloops, and are expected to be able to be sailed in a wide wind range of three to 33 knots.

[ScottiE 174]

-less trickle down to us 'normal sailors

 

Come on clipper, an 8.5 fleet with wing masts, where's your imagination.

 

In fact arguably the 'trickle' was actually the other way - the C-class boys have been mucking about with these things for 30years.

 

At this level and this budget size - I don't thnk logistics are really a problem - hell - they 'flew' a TNZ boat from one side of the world to the other!

 

As for 'normal sailing' - I can see a time where foiling moths might end up reintroducing a more advanced version of the old CI windsurf sails. It's old hat in C-class cats and (to a lesser extent) w/surfing. No reason why some other multi classes - f18 for example couldn't do this on a reasonable budget. Matty might even have started one for his PT - but I accept he's not quite normal!

[BelowPAR 0]

Question: Why did BMWO win the AC in a tri, and are now choosing to race in a cat??

[ScottiE 174]

cost

[Guest]

It's kind of obvious now why Glenn Ashby and James Spithall raced in the C Class worlds... catamarans and wing masts!

 

James Spithill, helmsman of BMW Oracle’s 90-foot catamaran, and winner of the 33rd America’s Cup, will ramp up the focus with fellow Australian Glenn Ashby, an Olympic Silver medallist in multihulls and nine-time, A-Class, world champion.

from sailingworld.com

 

Also, Glenn Ashby is BMW Oracles sailing coach.

[Guest]

Was in the car a few minutes ago listening to the radio, seems a bit of mudslinging is going on between Rod davis and Russell, something about being to old to sail these boats and you're no spring chicken yourself.

[BelowPAR 0]

I doubt it would be cost. When your budget is hundreds of million, an extra couple doesnt matter.

[Guest]

The boat talk is just to try and stop every one yawning and falling totally asleep due to the last 10 plus years of waiting.... waiting.... waiting, only to get 'Oh, was that it???'

[MrWolf 0]

Question: Why did BMWO win the AC in a tri, and are now choosing to race in a cat??

 

I'm a huge tri fan and when ever they say the next AC will be in the fastest multis on the planet, ra ra ra.... etc

 

I will just cringe.

 

The last AC was won in a tri, lots of recent rules have been dominated by tri's, and of course I believe in the platform of a tri !

 

But, cost would have been the main factor in choosing a cat over a tri. They also take up a lot less space in the marina complex and they can be rafted together better. They also moor better facing backwards with a wing mast up !

 

Its still much better to any multi fan that its in Cats, the next best thing to a tri, than any other possible alternative !

[PaulR 3]

. . . the next best thing to a tri, than any other possible alternative !

 

Proas or Quads?

 

Cats fit into 747's easier as well.

[Guest]

Question: Why did BMWO win the AC in a tri, and are now choosing to race in a cat??

Can't get insurance For a Tri

[SloopJohnB 323]

From Daily Sail Letters to the editor.

 

This guy raises some interesting points.

 

 

After the first flush of mainly positive reaction to the new AC format, it was salutary to listen to Grant Dalton's intelligent and typically measured response in a recent interview on TVNZ. It'll be interesting to see who can actually front up for this - the commitment in terms of finance, box-ticking and compulsory participation is huge, given the timescale concerned. Outstanding project management will be the first priority.

In terms of moving the game on - well something had to be done, but did it have to be quite so antagonistic to existing interests and institutions - not just in the mono-hull establishment (which admittedly need a good boot up the backside from time to time) but also in relation to the long established, but perpetually vulnerable, community who seek to race big multi-hulls?

The AC 72 goes head-to-head with the new MOD 70 trimaran, which occupies a similar performance envelope, and the plans for that circuit, which includes both oceanic and round the cans events is well advanced. The stop-gap AC45 goes head-to-head with the successful eXtreme 40, but will lack numbers and the all-important fleet racing format that spectators prefer. Only the use of wing-sails differentiates a format niche. And is that even a good idea?

The ballsy upper-end wind limit of 33kts (top end of Force 7) at 6 metres means that potentially these boats could be sailing with Force 8 at the masthead; and yet wing sails (in terms of current and immediate technology) just aren't up to that. Look to the fraught history of managing big wings ashore and afloat: in particular, consider the just completed 'Little AC' and the surprising capsize of Aethon - reportedly due to "turbulence left by a passing freighter" (that looked to be a mile away). Then there is the perpetual problem for multi-hulls of managing longitudinal stability in broken water, exacerbated with heavy wing rigs. So that top end wind limit is just PR.

The additional self conferred 'world titles' on offer - 'America's Cup World Champion' (not the winner of the America's Cup!) and the mooted 'Junior America's Cup' (oxymoron?) don't make any sense at all and looks like yet another gratuitous move to muscle in on the existing healthy diversity of grand prix sailing.

So let's see who will in fact signs up for this new travelling circus. Certainly the colourful, low-budget campaigns and two boats teams (which provided a career pathway for aspiring AC sailors) are gone, at least for this cycle. Dalton envisages just a handful of entries, and only a minority of these prospects look to have the right stuff. If Alinghi doesn't enter, only TNZ seem to be a threat to the holders.

[Guest]

... If Alinghi doesn't enter, only TNZ seem to be a threat to the holders.

 

Yay.....then ETNZ can bring it home and change the rules (again) to a different design........................ [insert Len Brown head slap smilie icon here]