SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Recalling the old Beach Boy's tune, I felt like taking a bit of a break from
motorsports this week. With the craziness
of NASCAR surrounding Michael Waltrip and gang, and with the near flawless performance
of S. Vettel and the Red Bull crew in F1, I thought a peaceful review of the
serenity of yacht sailing would be in order.
Serenity! If you have not had a
chance to watch some of the America’s Cup Finals sailing races in San Francisco
Bay, do yourself a favor and either catch it on TV or watch 1 or 2 races online
at http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericasCup
.
For a motorsports fan, sailing may seem to be a dull sport recalling
images of oxford shirts and top siders sipping a cocktail while sailing at 15
or 20 mph in an “ultra-light.” Well, get
ready for seeing an amazing event. Today’s
America’s Cup boats are like nothing you have ever seen. From the glistening carbon-fiber hulls, to 13-story
carbon-fiber wing sails and hydraulically powered foils that lift these 72 foot
catamarans several feet out of the water, to the 11 athlete sailors shod in the
latest dry-suit technology, these America’s Cup regattas are a site for even a
hardened gear-head.
Since 1851, when the schooner named America claimed the
coveted 100 Pound Cup from England’s Royal Cup Squadron and successfully
defended it for over 100 years, the renamed America’s Cup has become the oldest
trophy in sporting history and “a perpetual challenge cup for friendly
competition between nations.”. The
America’s Cup is the most difficult trophy in sport and has only been held by
four countries in its history. America lost
the Cup in 1983 when the Australians used a secret, innovatively designed
winged-keel, beat the New York Yacht club entry skippered by Dennis Conner.
The rules of the race have changed over the years and have
ranged from wooden schooners, to 12-meter sloops and multihull boats like this
year’s AC72-class boats. When Dennis
Conner challenged the Cup in 1987, he won the Cup back in a small,
multi-hulled, wing-sailed catamaran.
Legal battles ensued as to whether or not the American boat met the
rules of competition, but the victory stood the battle in court as well.
Since 1987, various boat designs have been run, and after
numerous legal battles, the multi-hulled concept of Dennis Conner has
prevailed. This year, the multi-hulled
concept has been taken to a new level with the use of “foils which lift these
mammoth boats out of the water giving them speeds in excess of 55 mph. The boats travel so fast, that the course referees
follow the boats in a twin-engined, off-shore speedboat making over 1200
hp. The 72’ foot, twin-hulled boats have a maximum
beam of almost 45 feet and though built of carbon-fiber, weigh over 12,000
pounds. The “main-sail” is actually two
fixed profile wings that can be positioned to provide varying amounts of “lift”
to propel the boats. The wings are as
long as that of a 737!
The boats are crewed by 11 men, each with specific jobs on
the boats including a helmsman and a tactician who call the maneuvers during
the race. The boats are also equipped
with two retractable foils which in the case of the American, Team ORACLE boat,
are controlled by hydraulics, with pressure provided by the human “grinders.” The boats are designed to literally fly over
the water on the tips of retractable foils, a fixed rudder and a winged shaped
section connecting the hulls.
The race format for
this year is a best of 13 races. Prior
to the race, the American Team ORACLE was penalized for infractions in the
Americas Cup World Series, resulting in a two win deficit and the suspension of
one of their key sailors. To win, the
American’s must win 11 races to Challenger New Zealand’s 9 wins. After the first 4 races last weekend, Team
ORACLE only managed to win 1 race out of 4.
The American team was simply out sailed in almost every race. On Tuesday, the American team experienced a
humiliating defeat in race 5 forcing them to take a one-time postponement of
race 6. Before Thursday’s race, Team
ORACLE announced a new crew with the hopes of changing their luck.
We hope that the American team can make a good show in the
remaining races.
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