red haired step child

[Donn]

Where were the throngs of spectators? With a free venue and a beautiful day, seems like there would have been actual crowds. From the heli shot after the finish it looked like 1,000 max at the Embarcadero. Oh, I forgot. We're not in France.

 

[Foiling Optimist]

I watched the last twenty minutes with my 9 year old. I had to explain what "a real shellacking" which is interesting because of course we don't really use shellac these days, but he does know about Varathane so that was a starting point. Of course in context, he immediately understood that "shellac" means the same as "owned" or "pwned" as the kids would have it. Or as in this case, "comprehensively pwned".

By the way in Canada I couldn't click through the youtube link from SA, or find on on the AC website, so searched AC RR2 R1 or something and got it. It might just be a temporary technicality but I see the LV and AC finals are on Sportsnet in Canada which sounds like a good excuse to cause access problems for the whole series!

RC

 

[Guitar]

Good on ETNZ. Smokin hot boat and crew. Well done, very impressed and somewhat worried. Great viewing, boring race, but what AC race hasn't been boring at some point.

 

[idontwan2know]

LR got exposed for what they are today. A joke of a challenge whose sole purpose was to give TNZ another vote in protocol matters and to poke a stick in the eye of Oracle.

Other observations:

1) The speed difference between the boats was significant. Yes, ETNZ gained in the maneuvers, but they didn't build a 2km lead on maneuvers.

2) LR drags the windward board a TON upwind.

3) I think 18 knots steady is as much as ETNZ wants to see on the course. Whether they can handle more safely is neither here nor there, but the boat clearly seemed overpowered and squirrelly in the puffs.

4) Whoever it was who said there wouldn't be significant speed differences upwind could not have been more wrong.

5) The idea that the course would keep the boats close if one is faster is also clearly disproven.

As I've said all along, in the first cycle of a new rule, there will big significant speed differences between the boats and the faster boat will win.

 

[Daimond]

Where were the throngs of spectators? With a free venue and a beautiful day, seems like there would have been actual crowds. From the heli shot after the finish it looked like 1,000 max at the Embarcadero. Oh, I forgot. We're not in France.

Not sure about the rest of the course but the area between StFYC and GGYC was standng room only. Admitadly it seemed to be mostly the local racing crowd and teams familys but still impressive. TENZ got ovations for flybes, LR got sympathatic encouragements.

It was a blow out from the sea wall.

 

[eric e]

AR have been exposed for what they. A joke of a challenge whose sole purpose was to give OR control of the LVC and to poke a stick in the eye of the deed.

>2) LR drags the windward board a TON upwind.

LR's most recent L boards seem to have a double kink in them the lower bearing can't cope with

meaning when fully retracted the board is a few feet lower than the hull

this means the windward hull needs to be higher to avoid dragging the blade

 

[idontwan2know]

AR have been exposed for what they. A joke of a challenge whose sole purpose was to give OR control of the LVC and to poke a stick in the eye of the deed.

At least AR designed and built their own boats. They may have fucked it up, but they made the attempt.

LR bought a design for another team's B boat.

 

[NZK]

Comment of the race for me - "Yes... The foils work like a water ski"

See! All the $$$ spent could have been saved. Just stick a fuckin water ski on it, and let's get racing...

Along with "there goes Team NZ, jumping out of the water like a whale" and "now she's dancing along more like a dolphin" I think we can chalk that commentary up as a resounding success.

Apparently the next broadcast will have Brick from Anchorman as the special guest....

 

[eric e]

they made the attempt, they fucked up, someone died

i prefer the LR method

 

[Qman]

Comment of the race for me - "Yes... The foils work like a water ski"

See! All the $$$ spent could have been saved. Just stick a fuckin water ski on it, and let's get racing...

Surely the best quote was the one about crashing back to the water like a whale and sailing off like a dolphin, the other commentator was gving him heaps about it.

 

[jaysper]

Boats are incredible.

But once race underway and novelty of the huge speed numbers wore off, I got adjusted to time/distances being different - took about 1 leg each way - wasn't so very different to the monohull ACs for me.

The issue is that without liveline showing numbers, there really is no indication on tv that they are going that fast.

so, might as well have lead mines that are actually good for match racing and are generally in the same patch of water, even in races with big margins

 

[Dougefresh]

Tucker Thompson appeals to the people who haven't spent most of their adult lives criticizing other sailors and boats, but who in the fuck is that other guy, and why would anyone choose to make him the spokesman for a tractor pull let alone an amazing display of a tractor smoking everyones expectations??

 

[jaysper]

The speed difference between the boats was not as significant as the boat handling. ETNZ gained on every gybe, tack and rounding.

It looked to me like the VMG differences were very significant. Of course, ETNZ also gained on all the maneuvers. I'm still enjoying watching the boats and admiring the skill, but competition it ain't.

from the liveline graphics it looked like the boats lose about 80 - 100 metres in a tack.

couldnt see for a gybe, but presumably similar?

 

[jaysper]

All the talk about the importance of being able to flybe well adds to the argument that, overall, you need to be able to do everything well because just one or two weaknesses will be killers.

With ETNZ performing almost everything flawlessly the bar is set very, very high. LR has a long way to go but may have time close the gap; the bar probably can't go too much higher.

I'm still not 100% convinced that ETNZ are going "balls to the wall" and we might see a decent improvement when it counts

 

[jaysper]

LR clipped a boundary and got a 2 boat length penalty

but as etnz were ahead by about a km at that stage i think they umpires just erased the penalty when it appeared that LR were not powering out of the gybe? as quickly as they could have

but the killer for LR was the pre-start, the 15sec late that DB pinned on them seems to have cost them the point

AR should at once celebrate and despair

Yeah. Great start by DB, but honestly, even if LR had won that start, I'd doubt seriously they'd have stayed in front. A couple of out-of-phase flybys would have seen ETNZ ahead.

agree

LR never would have won

but they would have gotten a point

if murry jones was leading forward in his chair the other day to watch the heli-shot of the etnz flybe

i guess the team will be carefully reviewing each of the many flybes seen in this race

is etnz going for a shock and awe campaign?

should they have left a little in the tank?

will JS focus even more intently now on trying to pin something on DB in the start box?

will he be the first to stall an ac72 trying to do so?

all these questions will be answered this fall...

I think ETNZ DID leave something in the tank

 

[jaysper]

Where were the throngs of spectators? With a free venue and a beautiful day, seems like there would have been actual crowds. From the heli shot after the finish it looked like 1,000 max at the Embarcadero. Oh, I forgot. We're not in France.

Not sure about the rest of the course but the area between StFYC and GGYC was standng room only. Admitadly it seemed to be mostly the local racing crowd and teams familys but still impressive. TENZ got ovations for flybes, LR got sympathatic encouragements.

It was a blow out from the sea wall.

Well, the tv coverage of the crowd I saw was excellent. It looked elbow to elbow in the village and despite how awry this AC has gone, would still love to be there

 

[snaerk]

It did look strange when their run to the finnish slowed to an IACC 'crawl' but I guess there must either have been a serious lull or they caugt someth on their foil or both

I m sure some wonderd for a moment if they planned to anchor for a nespresso so thay cd sail across the line togehter

 

[Sailbydate]

All the talk about the importance of being able to flybe well adds to the argument that, overall, you need to be able to do everything well because just one or two weaknesses will be killers.

With ETNZ performing almost everything flawlessly the bar is set very, very high. LR has a long way to go but may have time close the gap; the bar probably can't go too much higher.

Maybe, Stinger. But then again, what developments has ETNZ got to roll out still? Could be a third foil package and I'm not sure we've seen W3 yet.

Maybe ETNZ should retire NZL 5 for the rest of the LVC and roll out boat one again. It might keep the racing closer and therefore beneficial for both teams - or all three, if AR ever splash.

 

[hhn92]

The Bro got there next to StFYC at about 12pm and said it was wide open. As the start came along he said it had filled-in. Stayed on the phone with him during the race, but the delay from live to online was about 30-45 secs. Good commentary from him on things that were not shown in the video feed though.

This obviously has a lot of work left to do, and LR needs to get on it to make things interesting.

On the start it was just plain an experienced match race skipper on a multihull against a skiff sailor. DB and JS are going to be the masters of this thing, helm-wise. All they have had to do was transfer their monohull experience onto the multi. Learning the match racing game takes quite a while and I do not think CD or NO have very much at all, other than the ACWS.

 

[Somebody Else]

agree

LR never would have won

but they would have gotten a point

if murry jones was leading forward in his chair the other day to watch the heli-shot of the etnz flybe

i guess the team will be carefully reviewing each of the many flybes seen in this race

is etnz going for a shock and awe campaign?

should they have left a little in the tank?

will JS focus even more intently now on trying to pin something on DB in the start box?

will he be the first to stall an ac72 trying to do so?

all these questions will be answered this fall...

This is a most awesome post!

How much did you pay Da Woody to get his software that skips every other line and obfuscates the rest?