Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Prada Cup

I rudely interrupted another forum mentioning this, but if you have any interest in yachting these are fascinating machines, I know the race timing doesnt suit most of you -however you can stream them at any time on you tube or Americas Cup .com The turnaround in just three weeks of Ineos team UK must be one of the great comeback stories of the decade. From a team that could not buy a win and often finished over a leg behind to a smooth controlled thinking and fast outfit three wins in a row the only unbeaten team! Racing finished late yesterday with the most dramatic event yet about half a mile out from my home, hopefully the boat can be fixed two challengers only will take all the interest out of the cup.Next racing Friday afternoon (2am English time)

My main hobby is / was sailing and with some racing at that. But I cant convince myself that foiling boats like these have any relevance to or any link to my hobby. Sure they are interesting pieces of engineering but even more seperated from normal yachts than F1 cars are from the car you drive. IMO of course.

Howard, I totally agree. I used to do a lot of sailboat racing in my youth, inshore and offshore. What i enjoyed most was the tactics and strategy, how to place yourself relative to the opponents, the in-fighting at start, mark roundings, the finish. With the AC75 foilers it seems that it is all about speed, speed, speed. Most races are won with a huge lead achieved early in the race, so where is the exitement and suspense. And in light winds, what matters is keeping the boat foiling. The moment the boat falls down, it gets as exiting as car racing with the ignition switched off. I agree these are extremely fascinating machines, and I do follow the AC events. But I find it increasingly boring, and when I am watching I do not see the entire race any more, just skipping forward to see the roundings, finish etc.
I think match racing boats should be relatively simple, unforgiving all along the wind force range (so that any mistake really is something to avoid) and of equal speed potencial. One of the beauties of for instance tennis, is it's simplicity, all dependant on the athlete. AC75 racing is certainly not man vs. nature, more like man/electronics/computers/hydraulics/carbon fibre/titanium etc. vs. nature. I am all for development and progress, and some of the AC75 ideas might eventually sizzle down to more ordinary boats. But as a sports event, I much preferred the old 12 mR racing.

Bring back the J-class !

I agree ... they're great examples of technology and ingenuity but, like so many things on the mass media age, the sport has gone to the extreme edge to interest the viewers who have little understanding of the nuances of racing and the attention span of gnats .... and left the realities of what real sailing is about far behind ...... old-time racing was a celebration of the peak of the skills needed for sailing in the real world ..... not a completely unrelated skill set only of use for a few minutes in an artificial arena.

Perhaps if they acknowledged the unreality of it and didn't sell it as sailing, but a seperate sport of 'Foiling' it might work .... it's certainly spectacular enough to stand on its own .... and let the AC go back to hull-boats and the real sailing world


K

As product placement goes it seems a little mad to those of us not into Racing on water. I mean how do they stand on the fast moving deck in those tiny heels

Yes I’ve been following this too. Great comeback by team GB and tactical nouse from the skipper and assistant. As usual the USA team use ‘gamesmanship’ as their first choice for winning and I found myself, rather shamefully, cheering their capsize.

I agree with those who preferred the olden days with classic match racing in the 12m class. I can also understand that the organisers feel that this sort of glamorous Flying F1 boats circus will appeal to non-sailors; I imagine it does. The AC 75s are unquestionably exhilarating to watch, but the racing itself doesn't seem particularly interesting to me.

An amazing comeback indeed for Team Ineos. Those who were writing Ben Ainslie off back in December are clearly not people who have followed his career very closely. One of the greatest sporting competitors ever.

Unbelievable speeds and fantastic television but not a lot to do with yachting IMHO. I will stick to my gaff rig thank you.

Some of you guys probably teethed on tea clippers!