Anybody Watching America's Cup?

[sneuman]

It's just an upwind drag race. Of course, they tack like a wolly mammoth!

YouTube - AmericasCup's Channel

[sneuman]

It's a rout, as predicted. Thank goodness for high f-stop tv lenses!

[hummingway]

Elegant on the down wind run. Amazing speeds from both craft.

[sec906]

BMW Oracle won by 15:28 in the first race. Alinghi had some trouble with their penalty turn at the end of the race, otherwise the win would have been in single digits. Alinghi had a 1:27 lead at the start, behind by 3:21 at the mark.

[speedoo]

I noticed in some of the pictures that Alinghi had considerably more headstay sag than BWW Oracle. And it appeared there was pretty good wind so that had to hurt Alinghi's speed and pointing upwind.

edit: where is it on TV?

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by sec906

BMW Oracle won by 15:28 in the first race. Alinghi had some trouble with their penalty turn at the end of the race, otherwise the win would have been in single digits. Alinghi had a 1:27 lead at the start, behind by 3:21 at the mark.

Even without the penalty turn, it would have been very close to 10 minutes at the finish.

In other words, a blowout.

[Joli]

Yea, pretty amazing wow.

[barnakiel]

It looks like US has better lawyers and the faster boat. Does not look like Allinghi can beat them.

What if conditions change? What would it take (weather-wise), for the Allinghi boat to match or win?

b.

[sneuman]

Conventional wisdom, if there's such a thing here, would seem to indicate that stronger, not lighter wind would favor Alinghi. After all, the hard wing, with its preformed shape, would be better in light air and harder to depower in heavy air, I would think.

But, Alinghi was angling hard for a light air race, which would indicate the opposite.

The real surprise is that USA seemed to average about 5 knots better than Alinghi downwind, which was where the Swiss boat was supposed to have the advantage.

The next race includes a reaching leg, so there's some unknown there, but for the most part, I think Alinghi's only hope is for USA's mast to come crashing down.

[CharlieCobra]

Alinghi was supposed to have an advantage in light air... The wind was 4-5 with gusts to 8 so obviously, they have no advantage. BMWO has been sailed in as much as 25 knots without issue. Alinghi cannot sail in more than 10-15 without digging the hulls in. BMWO can also point higher and is faster. The Swiss have no shot at all....

[sneuman]

USA apparently can point better downwind.

brave new world, eh?

also, Alinghi's sail handling - such as was required when you've got everything roller-furled -- was a bit sloppy.

[sv-Mystique]

Anyone have a URL to an actual video of the race?

[sneuman]

You can see it on ESPN:

Watch Live Sports Online, Sports Video Streaming - ESPN360.com

[Sailndive345]

Originally Posted by sv-Mystique

Anyone have a URL to an actual video of the race?

I was not able to get ESPN, but could watch the show live on teh BMWO site via www.cupinfo.com

Pretty good coverage - incredible technology - not really what a sailor would call a sailboat race...

Sailndive

[Bash]

Let me see if I've got this straight. The GGYC boat is 87 seconds late over the start line--in a match race, of all things--and still beats the other boat to the windward mark by a delta of 201 seconds.

Are they really calling this a race?