AC 34 ~ What’s the Future?

I’ve had the very fortunate experience of watching the amazing multihull face-off in Valencia for AC33 and only a few weeks later being ringside for some of the Louis Vuitton Series racing in the Hauraki Gulf, Auckland.  A half dozen experienced AC teams sharing two of the V5 AC boats, minus the AC mainsail logos for this event, interesting!  Great support obvious from Team New Zealand running that many races, sharing boats, replacing spinnaker poles, chutes, and patching the occasional bow and keeping it all running!

A tip from some locals on Sailing Anarchy led us to watch the LV racing from North Head in Auckland.  This is a great park setting, old cannons, grass, a few benches, and a super view of Waitemata Harbour and the Hauraki Gulf.  It was also an easy walk from our lodging in Devonport.

We had no idea what to expect when we first hiked up the hill.  But just as we crested the top of the point, we spotted two big square top mainsails heeled over and headed our way.  Wow!  The windward mark was about ½ mile offshore directly in front of us.  There were a scattering of folks already watching the race.  Several had transistor radios, remember those, and were happy to let another visitor listen in to the announcer calling out the race progress.  It was beautiful, warm, sunny, and best of all windy.  You could see the boats working in the puffs off the point and gauging the current coming out of the harbor.

Flashback to Valencia in February.  Two amazing boats, the Darsena and AC headquarters, the beach nearby, and all the charm of Valencia and Spain.  But of course it was frickin cold in February on the Med!  The racing took place well off shore and the courses did not lend themselves to easy spectating.  Certainly not the fault of the Spanish hosts or the boats, but difficult conditions to watch.

Whenever I get to talk to someone about the America’s Cup, the discussion always comes to where will the next race be, what kind of boats, when?  And the answer, no one knows yet.

Here’s my thoughts:

The boats almost don’t matter.  You could run it in TP52s and it would be a blast to watch.  Or ORMA 60 Tris would be pretty exciting too.  But the boats should reflect the latest state of the art technology.  They should be similar to floating Formula One cars pushing the limits of the box rule that defines them.  But not so far out that only two crazy guys can afford to build them.

The venue really needs one major element, wind!  Consistent, predictable wind.  Racing in 5 to 10 knots of breeze is not very fun to watch unless you have 100 foot long multis with 200 foot high wing masts.  And even then the pictures don’t show a lot happening.  And you spend a lot of time explaining why they can’t go racing in that vicious 15 knot wind.  Watching the AC monohulls dicing in 20 plus knots of wind in Auckland, heeled over, struggling to get kites up and down, is fun to watch even with 70 odd foot lead mines!  And if people can sit on a hillside, for free, and be up close and watching and hearing the boats, that is a huge plus.

San Francisco would be great.  It sure has wind, you can sit on the beach or the grass and almost touch the boats, it’s not what you call warm, but the sun comes out sometimes.  I love San Diego, but there’s rarely much wind in Summer, and the racing is far offshore.  Newport, RI suffers the same in both cases and throws fog in to boot.  After that it’s far off to New Zealand or Australia for breeze, sun, great sailing and spectating, and people who really want to go down and watch the action.  

Sounds like it has to be on the Bay up North if it’s going to be held in the USA and really provide the kind of spectacle that it should be.  I’ll be there for sure.  Cats, Tris, or fast light leadmines.  Oh, and I’d like it much better if they would leave the snowmobile/tractor engines off again.  Sailboats guys, please!  My 2 cents.

The suffering never ends

Just so you know how rough it was out there spectating on the yacht "Snapper".  See the Nowlan Report at US Sailing:  Nowlan Cup Report 

America's Cup to SFO Friday!

After this momentary lapse, BMWO Kicked Butt as everyone now knows!  The trophy will arrive in San Francisco and be at the Golden Gate YC this Friday!  We're on the handsome Blue and Yellow cat in the background.

Our nominee for PRO of the century:  Harold Bennett of NZ!

BMW/Oracle Wins The America's Cup!!!!!

 And so it ended.

As the sun was setting on our last afternoon in Valencia, BMW/Oracle won the second and deciding race to win the Ameraica's Cup.  The race did not start until 1625 today.  I was sure they were not going to get a race off as the Race Committee waited for steady winds across the triangle course.  Alinghi drew a penalty at the start again, but both boats headed off on the first upwind leg with Alinghi ahead at the first cross.  USA 17 tacked away, and was almost up to Alinghi near the top mark.  When they got to the windward mark BMW/Oracle was ahead and never looked back.  A nail biter first leg, but an amazing race!

We managed to sneak in to the hottest ticket in town at BMW/Oracle HQ after a very cool Prize Giving with patented Valencia fireworks at the Veles y Vents building.  Well after dark.

Up at 0400 to catch the plane home tomorrow.  Midnight now, better pack.

Large Cheers for Our Team! 

Day Last ~~ For Me

37f outside at 0700 today.  Forecast is for clear skies and 8 to 10 SE.  Will AC33 wrap up on the water today?  Or will it continue after we are gone?  Rght now I would guess Harold Bennett will run a race today.  I really, really hope so!  And then a party??????

Off to see, and frickin cold, on the Mediterrean Sea!

Gray and Rainy Morning in Valencia

Nothing scheduled this Saturday, but much anticipation after yesterday's exciting race.  Can the Race Committee again pull the rabbit froim the hat and run race 2?  Will the tri show her turn of speed again, driving the wing mast past Alinghi and her "soft sails"?

Kimball Livingston has again said it better than we could Kimball Livingston Blue Planet Times for a great explanation of the race and some super pictures.

It will be cold and gray again Sunday, tomorrow.  Maybe rain, maybe snow????  North winds around 10 kts????  A 36 mile triangle course.  Everyone still here in Valencia wants another race tomorrow.

Here's a pic of our cheering section yesterday.  Some of the BMWO contingent, cheering.  Courtesy of Kimball Livingston.  Dan Nowlan in gray in the middle, front row.  Me behind standing in his lee!

And of course, the impressive Rising Sun in the background.

I'm still trying to find the crew interviews after yesterday's race online.  They played them at BMWO team base but in the very happy throng it was very hard to hear anything.

A Great AC Day off Valencia!

Very tired here, and just starting to thaw out.  Here's some pics that tell the story.  Watching the start was a blast.  Did someone say they would not do a dial-up????

Charging at Alinghi on Starboard

Playing Catchup

Crossing the Finish Line

Cheers and Horns at the Finish!  USA 17 Wins her first race!