Oh my. Crash! Carnage! Destruction! 😦
When things don’t go according to plan there’s a popular two word expression that sums things up perfectly where the second world is ….’happens’. Following a spectacular nosedive at speed that resulted in a serious structural failure aboard their AC40, that seems to be the phlegmatic approach taken by Emirates Team New Zealand. Until then it had all been going so well.
So what happened?
We find out plus, a quick update on what the other Cup teams are up to.
Video credit: Recon Photographer / America’s Cup
Stills: Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli / Guilain Grenier Oracle Team USA
Me, I’m pretty much disappointed. Since long years already. In recent America’s Cup renditions the organizers have lost nearly all of the spectators, marketing power and significance in the race sailing world. Now they’re killing the Cup completely, once and for all.
Let me try to get it: America’s Cup is sailed in match races, one boat vs another boat. Not big fleets but just duels. In this kind of racing it’s all about sailing smart, outmaneuvering the competitor. In the good old times the race was often already won or lost before one of the boats even crossed the startline.
So, following all logic of match racing nobody would need a hitec, hispeed, highly breakable race machine but we could place the two skippers in Optis, have them fight it out and call it a day. Because all these new speed monsters are only good for driving in a straight line, and are hardly maneuverable.
Yes, I see the good old 12m class is too oldfashioned and slow for fun but the new space age boats aren’t good for match racing either.
Sailors of SL, what do you people think?
Thar She Blows! 
I’m not a follower of the America’s Cup, but from your description it seems to be heading in the same direction as Formula 1 motor racing. Private battles between the world’s elite.
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The AC has always been a millionaire’s sport, since it’s first installment in the late 1800s. For long years said millionaires skippered their boats themselves with voluntary crew. Nowadays he boats are still owned by multi-millionaires and rich enterprises and the crews are completely made up from professional race sailors. This has nothing to do with your ordinary club regatta after work or at the weekend. And real sailors always largely ignored the AC coz no resemblence and not significance for real sailing.
But it used to be kinda exciting to watch. Not even that exists anymore. The new foiling boats are like dragsters. Just too bad they are abused as close range fighting vehicles on a curvy race track. 😦
One guy tried to establish an AC like event series in Second Life. Failed spectacularly. When logged into SL we wanna sail ourselves, not just watch 2 boats fight it out.
Yes, same as F1, it’s not even half as much fun to watch as i.e. ralley or touring car races.
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My dad used to watch the 12m boats in the America’s cup, so of course I watched with him. We rooted for the Kiwis and sometimes it was very exciting 🙂 When they switched from boats to monstrosities I never watched again. Now I love sailboat racing in SL, but only small boats under 30 ft.
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Mhm. My fave from when I was still active was Qyv’s M24, now it’s Ana’s B22. Shit, I should get my act together and start sailing again.
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