Now that the Louis Vuitton Semifinals have started, Versus has full coverage of the races each day. I missed the races Monday, but yesterday I sat down to watch day 2 of the semifinals.
Though I've been following the lead up to the America's Cup on the excellent Valencia Sailing blog, I haven't spent 2 hours watching a yacht race since 2003 (the last America's Cup). To be honest, I was a little worried that I would be bored. I remember enjoying watching the races 4 years ago with my roommates in college, but that seems like a long time ago. Really? We watched 2 hours of freaking yacht racing every night?
The Emirates Team New Zealand v. Desafio Espanol race was a snoozer from the start, but luckily the second race, BMW Oracle v. Luna Rossa was anything but. The race was of key importance to BMW Oracle (the lone American entry). Down 1-0 already in the best of 9 series, the Americans couldn't afford to spot the Italians any more of a lead. Luna Rossa absolutely embarrassed BMW Oracle in the pre-start and staked out a 58 second lead in the first leg of the race (that's a very, very big lead in sailing). Starting in the first downwind leg, the Americans mounted an amazing comeback that had me on the edge of my seat. I actually put down my laptop to focus on watching the last leg. Keep in mind that these boats are going around 10 knots downwind. That's slower than a good marathon runner. But watching the strategy, the back and forth of the two boats is riveting.
If you have a couple hours to spend, check out one of the America's Cup races. If you give it a chance, you just might be surprised at how much fun it is to watch.
May 16, 2007
Watching America's Cup
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3 Responses:
I thought I was going to have been the only one who watched the racing yesterday. Thanks for holding up the banner, Bri.
Am I the only one who thinks the US is completely fucked in terms of winning our cup back? again?
I'm not sure. BMWO looked great in the first round robin, losing only once. Then they lost to China (a fluke) and ETNZ in the second round robin to finish behind ETNZ in the final standings. So they've gone from looking unbeatable to being out-maneuvered in 3 straight races. But for the incredible comeback, they would be on a 4 race losing streak.
With that said, if they can actually start with the lead in a few races, I like their chances of making the finals.
The boat is clearly faster than Luna Rossa, especially downwind, but Dickson has made some awful moves at the start and some boneheaded decisions on the course. How many times do we have to watch the Italians go to the fast side of the course while Dickson moves to the slow side and hopes for a miraculous wind shift.
If BMWO can make it to the finals, I worry about their chances against ETNZ and then Alinghi.
If we don't win back the cup, it will probably be due to poor tactics, not boat speed.
I don't disagree at all, but we're getting to the point where the boat speed differences are too small to make up for boneheaded decision making. The America's Cup Class yachts have never had the speed differences that the old Open class had.
Anybody remember DC's 140' Catamaran flat outpowering everybody else out there 10 years ago?
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