Americas Cup

I was supposed to be taking part in my new toy

Feckin COVID-19

 

Feckin knob.....

 

Crazy how the boats now 'hover' over the water on the hydrofoils. I wonder when we will see masts replaced with high kites off of shorter masts or helium balloons.

 

Allegedly it will be shown on BBC and iPlayer later this month.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000r66y

Alfie

 

Emirates Team New Zealand were out on the Gulf last week and I think they were clocked at around 54 and a bit knots - just a tad over 100 km/hr.
Scary stuff...

 

I like to watch it, currently following the Vendee, lots of stuff on YouTube for anyone interested. Watching a guy sailing the southern ocean single handed doing 30+ knots last week!

 

Took part in a charity raft race once, does that count

 

Don't follow it, but have to admit that the guy's and gal's have some bottle crewing those things.

 

See above

 

I’m not so sure it takes bottle. A considerable amount of skill, training, trust and teamwork. This reduces the bottle required but I’m sure it’s a fun ride (60 mph at 10 feet across the water from 20 mph of wind). From what I can work out the crew is split into sections. Grinders, trimmers, the flyer and the helm team. Each also can do other tasks as well. The grinders provide hydraulic and winch power, the sail trimmers use that power. The flyer flies the hydrofoils ands the helm steers and thinks about where they should be next.

The series is truly a spectacle. Currently Rita is being walloped as she hasn’t won a race. Hopefully they have a few things to tweak otherwise we’ll have to pray for strong winds where she’ll be more “equal”.

 

Nah,,,those yachts with sails ain’t for me.

I’d rather travel on the yacht owned by my eldest daughters boss

 

I doubt you would like the fuel bill though!

 

Good start for Team Ineos and Ben Ainsley

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sailing/55677433

Alfie

 

I just watched the video on this, boat certainly ended up with some damage I was in Auckland a good few years ago, must be a great spectacle to see live.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/sailing/55777982

GB through to the Challenger final

Alfie

 

Being from Wichita, Kansas which is about as far from the ocean as you can get, sailing WTF is that?

https://www.boatinternational.com/y...-hick-from-kansas-won-the-americas-cup--33817

Kansas wind meter is similar but links keep snapping off


Makes riding interesting

 

Well, that didn't go so well for Ineos Team UK but well done Luna Rosso winners 7-1. It will be an interesting set of races against the New Zealand Boat.

Alfie