America's Cup... This aint Yacht racing!

[strider]

This would indeed be a great come back story if Oracle had not been penalized for cheating and if so much of the entire AC had not been fought in the courts.  In many ways, NZ deserved this win a bit more than the US did.  But in the end, the fastest, higher tech boat sailed by superb sailors came out on top. Luck of the draw as well as Oracle is a bit of a condition boat so it could have just as easily gone the other way.

I hope they DO NOT sail again in these boats.  While awesome to watch, they are just too expensive and temperamental.  If you enjoy the idea of sailboat racing, check out videos of some of the match racing as that will give you an idea of what it is really like and is certainly more interesting all the time than the AC was.  A simple, one design type format for the AC would net many, many more teams for both the challengers (them) and the defenders (us) and that would be a spectacle worth spending money to go see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l0uRrasHOw

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Oracle Team USA Won and Congratulations to the Team!

WTF are you talking about?

Whatever... did ya watch the damn video? I did one better bridgetroll I watched it live on TV! So I didn't have to watch your DAMN VIDEO! And I hope Team New Zealand Wins the America's Cup in 2013!

]Larry Ellison/Oracle has been the worst thing that has happen to the America's Cup in years! So if you Cheat and get caught like Team Oracle has done. Why in the World would I put my support behind them just because they are the American's Team? I love America but this isn't what America should be teaching anyone "If you can't Win Cheat?" BS!

[simms3]

I hope they DO NOT sail again in these boats.  While awesome to watch, they are just too expensive and temperamental.  If you enjoy the idea of sailboat racing, check out videos of some of the match racing as that will give you an idea of what it is really like and is certainly more interesting all the time than the AC was.

The matches are more fun in some ways (more boats), but they have actually used similar boats as this year's AC boats for a few years now - the new sail, hull, and rigging aren't entirely novel to this year (last year's fleet week in SF Bay had a regatta with 15 smaller but very similar boats)...but the enhancements and the size of the boats and the number of boats each team had to build (plus # crew and new training) were new and what drove up the price.

Watching these in person can't be paralleled - they are so large and move at 35-45 kts on the water (up to 50+ mph for the unwashed boaters ).  Smaller traditional keelboats or catamarans are now so boring to watch, even in person, in comparison.  There are regattas nearly every weekend in SF Bay...I see many in person and nothing compares to the "just 2" AC boats out there racing each other...it's the difference between car racing on TV and car racing in person; no comparison.  There are also regattas with many smaller versions of these larger AC boats, too, and those are fun!  Jax as a waterfront city completely misses out on being a destination for yachting, sailing, and general boating...it's so depressing when I come home and never see any boats out on the water.

I will post pics later when I get home.

edit: I should clarify, there are AC45 boats that have been used in the AC World Series over the past few years, leading up to this year's AC.  Artemis Racing, New Zealand, and all of the typical countries' best teams competed using basically the same boats, just smaller.

The actual AC with just 2 challengers and 1 defender used larger "AC72" boats.  SF has already hosted AC World Series regattas with this class of boat and those who watch sailing have already been exposed since 2010-2011.  Question is, will this high tech boat continue to be used?  Sailing over the past few years has become more similar to car racing, where engineering is half of the battle/cool factor, and racing is the other half...but who knows?  It's up to the defender, which is the GG Yacht Club again and likely Larry Ellison and Team Oracle again - and they love their home turf and these boat designs (they chose them back in 2010 to begin with).

[simms3]

I finally got home  Pics from today.  I promised a view from high up in a condo, but since the condo is set back from the waterfront so far, we decided to go to the Marina Green right near the host yacht club...Golden Gate Yacht Club.  We got a good "spectator" view in a comfortable neighborhood (most folks I was with live in the Marina and took rest of day off to go party).  I had to walk to a relatively nearby destination for a meeting afterward, so I caught a few cityscape pics of the surrounding neighbs.

Pics from the neighborhood - the Marina/Cow Hollow.















THE WATERFRONT





(Before it got crowded)







Berkeley in the distance.





Belvedere Island where the median household price exceeds $6.7mm 









THE RACE





For perspective/scale:































BONUS: CITYSCAPE SHOTS OF SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS

Single family neighborhood of Pacific/Presidio Heights where homes routinely cost $20-30mm for something less "large" as an oceanfront home in PVB or waterfront home in San Marco or Ortega.  Larry Ellison (Oracle founder, Team Oracle leader) lives in this neighborhood on "Billionaire's Row" where I believe a couple dozen billionaires live.     Their kids all end up living in the Marina where we were for race.










I was going to be in the condo in the dead center with the 2-floor PH level (it's about 30-35 floors and only tippy top shows).  Former secretary of state under Reagan George Schultz lives in there just above the residents I know...security is very tight, yet it's such an old dated building (as is everything in the city).  It's like the old Beau Rivage condos in Avondale, except no air conditioning and prices starting at $2mm, LoL.



Looking over the marina district.







Looking towards the dead center of town.



Fort Mason.



Palace of Fine Arts, featured prominently in the movie I Think I Married an Axe Murderer





Ships docked in the bay, from my office.  2 large Post Panamax container ships joined them later today...was a lot of ships in queue to berth at either Richmond (tankers) or Oakland (containers).

[BridgeTroll]

Awesome pix Simms... Thanx!  Looks to me like SF figured out how to make Yacht Racing a spectator sport! 

[BridgeTroll]

This would indeed be a great come back story if Oracle had not been penalized for cheating and if so much of the entire AC had not been fought in the courts.  In many ways, NZ deserved this win a bit more than the US did.  But in the end, the fastest, higher tech boat sailed by superb sailors came out on top. Luck of the draw as well as Oracle is a bit of a condition boat so it could have just as easily gone the other way.

I hope they DO NOT sail again in these boats.  While awesome to watch, they are just too expensive and temperamental.  If you enjoy the idea of sailboat racing, check out videos of some of the match racing as that will give you an idea of what it is really like and is certainly more interesting all the time than the AC was.  A simple, one design type format for the AC would net many, many more teams for both the challengers (them) and the defenders (us) and that would be a spectacle worth spending money to go see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l0uRrasHOw

The whole cheating angle is overblown... and Oracle WAS penalized 2 races.  The Kiwi's had an unprecedented lead... and lost it.  Unless there was cheating during those races... it is irrelevant.

As for the boats... When one enters the world of racing and speed... innovation is the name of the game.  While these boats may be "expensive and temperamental"... that is the nature of racing.  Indy cars... formula1, NASCAR, horses, power boats, aircraft are ALL "expensive and temperamental".  Pushing and extending the envelope is what racing is all about.  New technology is ALWAYS more expensive initially... but boy is it exciting.

The traditional style boats will keep the traditional fans... but these new boats are the future... IMHO...

[strider]

Yes, other forms of extreme racing are expensive and the cars, boats, planes are temperamental.  The difference, as I see it, is this.  22 Formula One cars on the grid from 11 teams.  13 F! Hydro teams.   Something like 50 cars from 30 odd owners for Nascar. For the Americas Cup, 1 defender team and 3 challenger teams.  Also compare this to the AC45's.  There were ten youth teams and 8 regular teams.  Frankly, I found the AC45's more fun to watch.

As someone who has raced sailboats, who has experienced the fun and the spills and the pain, I found the entire AC a bit wasteful.  Perhaps I am showing my age but it seemed more of an accomplishment when the team members were all from the country of origin, when the boats were far better matched and when there were several defenders and many challengers. I think that regardless of the boat type, catamaran or other, if it is more affordable, there will be more entrants and that would make for a better show for everyone.

[If_I_Loved_you]

Oracle Team USA Won and Congratulations to the Team!

WTF are you talking about?

Whatever... did ya watch the damn video? I did one better bridgetroll I watched it live on TV! So I didn't have to watch your DAMN VIDEO! And I hope Team New Zealand Wins the America's Cup in 2013!

]Larry Ellison/Oracle has been the worst thing that has happen to the America's Cup in years! So if you Cheat and get caught like Team Oracle has done. Why in the World would I put my support behind them just because they are the American's Team? I love America but this isn't what America should be teaching anyone "If you can't Win Cheat?" BS!

(WTF are you talking about?) WTF do you care? Larry Ellison still got caught CHEATING! "And I hope Team New Zealand Wins the America's Cup in 2013!" Yes I still wished that Team New Zealand would have won they sure had a lot of chances and blew them? So wants wrong with me saying "Oracle Team USA Won and Congratulations to the Team!" It's the right thing to do!

[If_I_Loved_you]

This would indeed be a great come back story if Oracle had not been penalized for cheating and if so much of the entire AC had not been fought in the courts.  In many ways, NZ deserved this win a bit more than the US did.  But in the end, the fastest, higher tech boat sailed by superb sailors came out on top. Luck of the draw as well as Oracle is a bit of a condition boat so it could have just as easily gone the other way.

I hope they DO NOT sail again in these boats.  While awesome to watch, they are just too expensive and temperamental.  If you enjoy the idea of sailboat racing, check out videos of some of the match racing as that will give you an idea of what it is really like and is certainly more interesting all the time than the AC was.  A simple, one design type format for the AC would net many, many more teams for both the challengers (them) and the defenders (us) and that would be a spectacle worth spending money to go see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l0uRrasHOw

The whole cheating angle is overblown... and Oracle WAS penalized 2 races.  The Kiwi's had an unprecedented lead... and lost it.  Unless there was cheating during those races... it is irrelevant.

As for the boats... When one enters the world of racing and speed... innovation is the name of the game.  While these boats may be "expensive and temperamental"... that is the nature of racing.  Indy cars... formula1, NASCAR, horses, power boats, aircraft are ALL "expensive and temperamental".  Pushing and extending the envelope is what racing is all about.  New technology is ALWAYS more expensive initially... but boy is it exciting.

The traditional style boats will keep the traditional fans... but these new boats are the future... IMHO...

(The whole cheating angle is overblown.)  boy I really love your ethics!

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

(WTF are you talking about?) WTF do you care? Larry Ellison still got caught CHEATING! "And I hope Team New Zealand Wins the America's Cup in 2013!" Yes I still wished that Team New Zealand would have won they sure had a lot of chances and blew them? So wants wrong with me saying "Oracle Team USA Won and Congratulations to the Team!" It's the right thing to do!

Nah.  If you believe they cheated to get there, then there's no way in hell you should offer congratulations.  Barry Bonds to the HOF - Nope.  Alex Rodriguez - Nope.  Lance Armstrong - Stripped of all of his titles. 

You don't congratulate them, you ignore them and their 'achievements' - if you think they ended up there through nefarious means. 

I guess that's a difference that I'm completely willing to accept - I stand by my convictions - right, wrong or indifferent.  You?   You get all up in arms about past transgressions and then the line starts behind you to kowtow when you opponent wins. 

IILY - Try standing up for yourself.  If more people did, then the world would be a better place. ;-)

[If_I_Loved_you]

(WTF are you talking about?) WTF do you care? Larry Ellison still got caught CHEATING! "And I hope Team New Zealand Wins the America's Cup in 2013!" Yes I still wished that Team New Zealand would have won they sure had a lot of chances and blew them? So wants wrong with me saying "Oracle Team USA Won and Congratulations to the Team!" It's the right thing to do!

Nah.  If you believe they cheated to get there, then there's no way in hell you should offer congratulations.  Barry Bonds to the HOF - Nope.  Alex Rodriguez - Nope.  Lance Armstrong - Stripped of all of his titles. 

You don't congratulate them, you ignore them and their 'achievements' - if you think they ended up there through nefarious means. 

I guess that's a difference that I'm completely willing to accept - I stand by my convictions - right, wrong or indifferent.  You?   You get all up in arms about past transgressions and then the line starts behind you to kowtow when you opponent wins. 

IILY - Try standing up for yourself.  If more people did, then the world would be a better place. ;-)

NRNW 

[JaxByDefault]

AWESOME PHOTOS!

One bad turn in a short course race is all you need to lose  and that certainly happened to NZ yesterday. Part of AC is that the previous winner gets to set up a race that plays to their best advantage.

AC has been boat innovation arms-race since 1983, which is fine. It's a race to build the lithest, fastest, lightest, thinest-hulled, most dangerous  hydro-foiling machines. The fast short course races with two legs on a reach or beat makes for interesting TV (especially for casual watchers who do not sail.) It's now speed boat racing with mylar sails. 40+kts is amazing --patently ridiculous-- speed out of a sailboat. 

If you're into speed/velocity made good issues and sailing physics, AC type races are fun. Those boats allow for such close hauled points of sail that they've all but eliminated the tacking dual to upwind marks and reduced downwind speed loss by magnitudes.

There are still plenty of  long course, traditional, tacking duel sailing races run by single-hulled vessels out there to enjoy -- they just don't have the hyped-up TV coverage.

[simms3]

Yes, other forms of extreme racing are expensive and the cars, boats, planes are temperamental.  The difference, as I see it, is this.  22 Formula One cars on the grid from 11 teams.  13 F! Hydro teams.   Something like 50 cars from 30 odd owners for Nascar. For the Americas Cup, 1 defender team and 3 challenger teams.  Also compare this to the AC45's.  There were ten youth teams and 8 regular teams.  Frankly, I found the AC45's more fun to watch.

As someone who has raced sailboats, who has experienced the fun and the spills and the pain, I found the entire AC a bit wasteful.  Perhaps I am showing my age but it seemed more of an accomplishment when the team members were all from the country of origin, when the boats were far better matched and when there were several defenders and many challengers. I think that regardless of the boat type, catamaran or other, if it is more affordable, there will be more entrants and that would make for a better show for everyone.

As I mentioned earlier, the only major difference between the AC45s (which I've seen in SF Bay racing in person) and the AC72s (the AC boats) is size.  10 teams chose to participate in AC World Series with the 45s and only 3 chose to compete at the 72 level for the Cup.  Ok, so lesson learned we all move on, but I can promise you that in person the AC races and the matches and practice that led up to yesterday's moment (for the past 4+ months) was spectacular to watch in person.  I also used to sail (competitively for a while, and leisurely on my J15 growing up at home), and I can appreciate the engineering aspect of AC (perhaps it's the civil engineer in me...which was my major for part of undergrad before transferring).

The title went back to the defender, which is the GG Yacht Club, and I can all but guarantee you Larry Ellison and Team Oracle will be the representative defending team once again.  They chose the 45 and 72 design and have so much money invested in each (as do lots of teams now).  Be prepared for the same setup, but perhaps smaller boats (all 45s) in the future.  Larry was roasted by his fellow San Franciscans for making the most expensive race ever and city officials were roasted for giving in and spending a good bit of money on what has been a questionable turnout/"ROI", but at the end of the day, as someone who lives 2 blocks from the waterfront...I've definitely noticed tens of thousands of foreign and US spectators coming just for the sailing over the past couple months.  It's been pretty exciting for those of us with easy access to the piers, to rooftops (my building has 23rd floor rooftop parties for each event), to the Marina Green, so I can understand the complaints from those who are just not able to be present as much, but poo paa come out for the next race.

Also, there's been no better TV coverage for sailing than this race...these boats are designed for TV (though having watched a regatta from a distance practically every weekend somewhere on the bay, I have to say AC is by far the only exciting one to watch as a spectator due to the sheer size of the boats and their speed and agility).

Maybe Jacksonville can learn to be a good waterfront city?  Wide river and ocean setting with a nice backdrop and yet there are never any boats on the water any more.  Growing up, I used to take the boat out a lot, and I feel like more people did, and now it's just a few Mastercraft type wakeboard boats tucked away in calmer waters...not much happening downtown and no masses of sailboats or powerboats in the main part of the SJR south of DT.

[BridgeTroll]

Yes, other forms of extreme racing are expensive and the cars, boats, planes are temperamental.  The difference, as I see it, is this.  22 Formula One cars on the grid from 11 teams.  13 F! Hydro teams.   Something like 50 cars from 30 odd owners for Nascar. For the Americas Cup, 1 defender team and 3 challenger teams.  Also compare this to the AC45's.  There were ten youth teams and 8 regular teams.  Frankly, I found the AC45's more fun to watch.

As someone who has raced sailboats, who has experienced the fun and the spills and the pain, I found the entire AC a bit wasteful.  Perhaps I am showing my age but it seemed more of an accomplishment when the team members were all from the country of origin, when the boats were far better matched and when there were several defenders and many challengers. I think that regardless of the boat type, catamaran or other, if it is more affordable, there will be more entrants and that would make for a better show for everyone.

As I mentioned earlier, the only major difference between the AC45s (which I've seen in SF Bay racing in person) and the AC72s (the AC boats) is size.  10 teams chose to participate in AC World Series with the 45s and only 3 chose to compete at the 72 level for the Cup.  Ok, so lesson learned we all move on, but I can promise you that in person the AC races and the matches and practice that led up to yesterday's moment (for the past 4+ months) was spectacular to watch in person.  I also used to sail (competitively for a while, and leisurely on my J15 growing up at home), and I can appreciate the engineering aspect of AC (perhaps it's the civil engineer in me...which was my major for part of undergrad before transferring).

The title went back to the defender, which is the GG Yacht Club, and I can all but guarantee you Larry Ellison and Team Oracle will be the representative defending team once again.  They chose the 45 and 72 design and have so much money invested in each (as do lots of teams now).  Be prepared for the same setup, but perhaps smaller boats (all 45s) in the future.  Larry was roasted by his fellow San Franciscans for making the most expensive race ever and city officials were roasted for giving in and spending a good bit of money on what has been a questionable turnout/"ROI", but at the end of the day, as someone who lives 2 blocks from the waterfront...I've definitely noticed tens of thousands of foreign and US spectators coming just for the sailing over the past couple months.  It's been pretty exciting for those of us with easy access to the piers, to rooftops (my building has 23rd floor rooftop parties for each event), to the Marina Green, so I can understand the complaints from those who are just not able to be present as much, but poo paa come out for the next race.

Also, there's been no better TV coverage for sailing than this race...these boats are designed for TV (though having watched a regatta from a distance practically every weekend somewhere on the bay, I have to say AC is by far the only exciting one to watch as a spectator due to the sheer size of the boats and their speed and agility).

Maybe Jacksonville can learn to be a good waterfront city?  Wide river and ocean setting with a nice backdrop and yet there are never any boats on the water any more.  Growing up, I used to take the boat out a lot, and I feel like more people did, and now it's just a few Mastercraft type wakeboard boats tucked away in calmer waters...not much happening downtown and no masses of sailboats or powerboats in the main part of the SJR south of DT.

I appreciated your reports and pix from San Francisco!

[billy]

Didn't Charlie Morgan design and build a challenger and bring it up the Intracoastal en route to Newport one year?
Caught the last four minutes on NBCSports.

PS: Great pics, made me think of Vertigo.