red haired step child

[Somebody Else]

On the start it was just plain an experienced match race skipper on a multihull against a skiff sailor.

I think Francesco Bruni brings a little more to the game than that...

 

[WetHog]

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

ETNZ was balls to the wall for the 1st downwind and upwind legs. They came down a peg after the apparent small issue with the port foil.

If they went all out for the entire race they would of had ETNZ-LR by 15 min

WetHog

 

[Indio]

The realisation has suddenly dawned on Coutts that all the bravado of the last year or so personified by Jiminy's legendary "It's not about how much time you spend on the water!!" boils down to this: Jiminy has at most 6 weeks to mould his crew into a semblance of ETNZ's while at the same time coming to grips with a boat & new rudders they haven't spent 6 weeks with.

Keep an eye on NYSC boys...GGYC needs a plan C.

 

[Daimond]

ETNZ was balls to the wall for the 1st downwind and upwind legs

Agree 100%

I didn't see any of this mythical upwind foilng. Bueler?

 

[pominfrance]

The realisation has suddenly dawned on Coutts that all the bravado of the last year or so personified by Jiminy's legendary "It's not about how much time you spend on the water!!" boils down to this: Jiminy has at most 6 weeks to mould his crew into a semblance of ETNZ's while at the same time coming to grips with a boat & new rudders they haven't spent 6 weeks with.

Keep an eye on NYSC boys...GGYC needs a plan C.

I think this might be quite a prophetic comment. I liked it today. Its early days

 

[Rohanoz]

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.

If we want to be critical coaches, I could pick at least a dozen places where they had losses of more than a few boatlengths due to either trim, crewwork, handling or tactics.

The bar is high, but no where near it needs to be if OR brings their A game.

ORs problem will be water time doing the full course. They MUST start getting out there doing the full course at full intensity without stopping - even if there are mishaps along the way. Stay out long enough for a full race distance, then go back up the course and work on the bits identified during the course of the 'race'.

Anything else is holding hands with your mother.

 

[Mark K]

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.

Looked to me LR has about the same point, but more leeway.

I see no reason for NZ to work up a 5 minute gap and then "leave something in the tank". They aren't going to change LR's thinking process by making it a 6 minute gap, it's well past, "tweek", and up to "something fucking majorly wrong" already. Might have "left something in the tank" for the whole race though.

It's gotta get better?

http://youtu.be/9MiO-2Qnm8M

No it doesn't. In fact, LR may try something radical and go backwards.

 

[Kaihoe]

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.

DB said in a Mix Zone interview that TNZ only have 2 wings - there is no 3rd Wing.

 

[Kaihoe]

The realisation has suddenly dawned on Coutts that all the bravado of the last year or so personified by Jiminy's legendary "It's not about how much time you spend on the water!!" boils down to this: Jiminy has at most 6 weeks to mould his crew into a semblance of ETNZ's while at the same time coming to grips with a boat & new rudders they haven't spent 6 weeks with.

Keep an eye on NYSC boys...GGYC needs a plan C.

Yeah i think jimny will be regretting those comments, as we can all see it is about the time on water that counts in controlling these beasts at the speeds they are travelling at.

 

[maxmini]

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

Couldn't agree more and with the exception of this forum this opinion is growing . Days like this are only going to encourage and support the next change for AC 35 .

 

[maxmini]

The realisation has suddenly dawned on Coutts that all the bravado of the last year or so personified by Jiminy's legendary "It's not about how much time you spend on the water!!" boils down to this: Jiminy has at most 6 weeks to mould his crew into a semblance of ETNZ's while at the same time coming to grips with a boat & new rudders they haven't spent 6 weeks with.

Keep an eye on NYSC boys...GGYC needs a plan C.

Six weeks with two boats equals twelve weeks training time if you want to be accurate

 

[axolotl]

A typical early LV race when a new class is introduced. Back in the San Diego days, finish differentials approached 15 minutes in some races. LR looks like a slow boat with less than stellar boathandling. We shall see as the summer progresses.

 

[RHough]

I was surprised that Youtube could handle the massive numbers of people tuning in to see the brave new world of the AC! There were over 12,000 viewers at one point!

Wow

I was so wound up and emotionally drained I had to take a nap ...



^ (sarcasm)

 

[zvikingz]

ETNZ is the only team that seems to have taken actual sailing serious. They got started early and have been practicing while other teams have played politics so are behind at start time.

 

[K38BOB]

Max>

“I am obviously not happy with this result, but the positive aspect is that a significant part of our gap can be attributed to factors that we can easily improve such as maneuvers and boat handling. We certainly have to also improve the performance of the boat, especially upwind, but also for this we have a series of new technical developments that will soon be ready. We have always said that the Round Robins are a necessary phase in our learning and technical development process, all of which are necessary to be competitive in the Semi Finals.”

 

[PeterHuston]

Max>

“I am obviously not happy with this result, but the positive aspect is that a significant part of our gap can be attributed to factors that we can easily improve such as maneuvers and boat handling. We certainly have to also improve the performance of the boat, especially upwind, but also for this we have a series of new technical developments that will soon be ready. We have always said that the Round Robins are a necessary phase in our learning and technical development process, all of which are necessary to be competitive in the Semi Finals.”

Notice he didn't say "win the Semi-Finals"

 

[eric e]

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?

hey

i was the original lower caste, double spacer!

 

[Enzedel92]

While the boats are spectacular, the match racing SUCKS. Its boring.

I would love to see 90 ft monos in Auckland in 2016!!

 

[weightless]

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?

MrSurly posted a polar on the unscientific thread. ETNZ did better at everything. Even ignoring the turns LR didn't have competitive straight line VMG.

 

[dacarls]

For the unimpressed naysayers here- Just think back to the old days of dragging lead:

Crossing the start line at 31 knots!

Hauling a** to weather at 21 knots- in 16 knots of wind..

Great Flybing- nearly faultlessly too, with little loss of speed. 36 knots to 35 knots in a few seconds.

Note that US.Sailing's only recent comments distinguishing catamarans from other sailing boats is: "they tack slowly". At least Mr. Jobson is not in evidence.