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Team Korea!!! .... just kidding. Well, if they do have a secret campaign, I'll take a hard look for sure. I'm already sitting on a fence right now and I like all the teams. Honestly, I do wish the French teams could have combined their interests and provided a challenge. China Team and Team Korea both could be a dark horse I think.

I'm tending to be an OR fan so far. Although I'll admit I like the idea of a nationality rule being implemented in some form or another,  I'm not sure what impact that will have ... should ETNZ win the Cup and thus probably hold onto it - for years!? Having raced on my own boats in my youth on San Francisco Bay doesn't hurt. Plus I love the grandness of sailing in general ... which only seems to me is enhanced and amplified to the max in this cycle in this venue already. Wow!

This is something many bay area sailors have longed for since we first began sailing here. I'd hate to see us lose the Cup ... since it has only just arrived here three years ago! Yet, I like ETNZ because I have a deep respect for the spirit and the grass roots effort they embody to a great degree. When I toured NZ, I felt a tremendous love for the country and have always felt I'd like to move there and make lots of sailing friends. I loved everything about it. Thus, I'm a bit torn. I'd be equally thrilled if ETNZ won the Cup. It would give me both an excuse and the motivation to move there!

I think it is fitting that the natural amphitheatre of the Bay be used to foster some of the greatest advancements that sailing has ever known ... with as yet undeveloped technical achievements (such as LiveLine graphics ... and more foiling and wing masts for the sailing masses?) If I could do magic, I'd make sure the winning team continues to push the envelope in large foiling wingsailed multis. My greatest magic trick would then be to make sure OR wins and remains in the Bay for many years to come.  Indeed, I believe the potential worldwide exposure this venue offers will likely draw many youth ...  it's just plain amazingly fun to play with large cats on the water.

There is just nothing to compare these flying boats with. We definitely could use more young people to help ensure sailing becomes a more viable sport ... in terms of being greener, more affordable (ie. economy of scale - boat building worldwide) and more fun than ever. If any particular team can promote the popularity of wing sails and foils, I believe Oracle brings a lot to the table.

All on it's own, the AC Youth Cup ... well, it's just going to be brilliant! The excitement of seeing the AC45s from the Marina Green last year has rekindled some of the thrill I felt when witnessing the maxi era of the Big Boat Series first hand. In addition, there has never been anything in my life quite like the feeling of match racing ... which I learned working the foredeck on a Columbia 5.5  ... yeah way back when. I raced on my MacGregor 65 and surfed down the coast at 18 knots ... but that now seems slow by comparison! Maybe the French will see the potential market for affordable foiling machines? If so, I'd vote for Energy Team (or whomever the French teams are next cycle) hands down.

I can't decide. In the end, I know it's off topic but I'd like to see something really radical come out of this. Will we ever have foil borne cruising yachts? Someday, it would be awesome if the technology did actually trickle down to the point where fossil fueled ships became a thing of the past. FedEx better start building smaller but much faster freight wing sailed catamarans!

Doug I think you will find the block system that was on nicks computer screen and someone called a( Mechanical sheep anus)
controls the raising and lowering of the daggerboard
I was told that once they are up on the foils the force required to alter the angle of attack is minimal,the raise and lower system locks it in place(up & down) and it pivots on it,like you say 2 or 3 degs...if you go further then the pressures ramp up and shit happens

My impression (could be wrong) is that the daggerboards are interconnected (especially when foiling) by hydraulics (or other means ... perhaps a tackle system?) ... such that as one board goes up ... the other board goes down. Would this create more stability with regard to fore and aft pitch ... as well as a means of controlling ride height when coupled (not physically coupled however) with the angled rudders (ala Bonanza aircraft rudder) system?

Great thread MrSurly! There have been a few postings elsewhere regarding putting up a webcam somewhere in Marin and/or the East Bay ... to allow some sort of triangulation of course/speed runs over the next few months. Has there been any progress? I had thought of a couple of friends with Bay views that might be willing to "host" a webcam location if there is sufficient interest and of course funding for a high quality steerable webcam. This thread seems a good place to restart.

In the one case, it's probably too far away from the AC course without the aid of a sizable telescope (or at the very least a high powered spotting scope), but I know someone (actually a close relative) who lives high on Mount Tam with a nearly 360 degree view of the Bay ... which includes sweeps from San Rafael all the way through Berkeley, Oakland, SF, Chrissy Field, the deck of the Golden Gate Bridge and clear out to the Farallon Islands. (elevation is about 550 feet i think) If an SA Bay area native with a good telephoto camera (or better yet, an HD high powered webcam) wanted to test that location, I could easily be persuaded to check into the feasibility first myself. Wouldn't it be awesome if we could get something set up by the end of April?

Wherever a new webcam might soon be accommodated, whether semi-permanently at a friends residence or at a temporary spot in southern Marin (or Angel Island somehow perhaps?), I'd hope that MrSurly will have earned the right to have exclusive use of it at certain times. BTW, I've hiked to the top of Angel Island a few times ... and during my hike last fall, I finally noticed there was a small utility connection and possibly a live 110 volt outlet up there (near one lonely little picnic table). I definitely think this electrical outlet must be used for the Christmas tree lights! Anyone hazard a guess as to how it might be used for other purposes ... like an AC Anarchy non-profit temporary webcam? (the weather gets pretty intense up there so I doubt a permanent webcam would even be reliable)

Thinking out loud for a moment ... I wonder if NBC is considering using that spot for one of it's camera angles? But i also wonder when the August and September afternoon breezes are clocking at a steady 20 knots through the Gate, whether it is smoking closer to a steady 30 knots at the top of Angel Island? Anyone know?

But what if it also has no legs?

Are you "pulling my leg"? I have no idea-r

Steering a boat and filming is hard going! They did a mock start this is the top reach, the most interesting thing was after the top mark they sailed the whole downwind with no gennaker....

Loving the footage.

If you want to reduce camera shake you need to increase the moment of inertia (ie inertial resistance to rotation) of the camera. Attach to a tripod, or tape some long sticks optionally with weights on their ends to the camera (like a crucifix with the camera in the middle).

Actually, if you want to reduce camera shake, the best way would be to snag a ride on a photo boat that rides stably and ever so smoothly ... as well as at the same or greater speeds than what you are shooting .... so it's rather obvious that Deer with no eyes should snag a ride on .... a foiling wingsail maxi cat (or tri) such as another AC72 (or better yet DogZilla)