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2007 32nd America's Cup

Discussion in 'Boat Shows & Yacht Watching' started by Yacht News, Feb 4, 2007.

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  1. Yacht News, Jul 3, 2007
    #61
    Yacht News

    Yacht News YF News Editor

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    And The America's Cup Goes To????

    ETNZ92 VS SUI100

    Off the start the ETNZ started marginally ahead of the Swiss boat on their was towards the first mark. The Swiss took the right hand side and the Kiwis the left. The duel was on upwind with both boats on startboard tack, then suddenly they splitways. The first cross resulted in Alinghi gaining the advantage followed by another cross and a third, trying to force each other to the laylines. Te race to the mark 1 was exciting both boats slowed to 0 knots to see who could pass who to the first mark. ETNZ slammed into a wave and then stalled as a result. The Alinghi ran away and rounded.

    Mark 1: The Alinghi rounded and were 7 seconds ahead, still very close. Even though the ETNZ were behind, they set spinnaker perfectly and followed. The Swiss were the first to gybe away. The ETNZ then moved on top of the clear air of Alinghi forcing them to slow and amazingly the Kiwis taook back the lead towards the Leeward mark (Mark 2).

    Mark 2: They rounded the 2nd mark and then made an advantage of 14 seconds and almost immediately, she switched tack, just to make sure the wind was guaranteed. Several gybes and tacks resulted in gains to the Alinghi and then right on the doorstep of mark Three, the biggest and worst monster appeared out of the water for team NZ. A penalty was given to them because in the Umpire's mind they moved too close acoss Alinghi's bow.

    Mark 3: With the lead now changed again, Alinghi powered away around the final buoy 12 seconds ahead. With the penalty ensured for the ETNZ and being behind by some 100M it surely was death to them. Just when everyone thought the Race totally and comfortably was gone to Alinghi. Then the wind unexpectedly fell away due to a 120 degree windshift. The boats slowed down. With the unexpected shift in the wind, the carbon spinnaker pole became disattached from the mast of Alinghi and left them in a near stalled situation. ETNZ saw some chance and dropped thieir spinnaker way out and raised the jib because they had to complete the penalty. The ETNZ nearly took back the race but they were very slow from the penalty turn and resulted in the Alinghi amazingly able to come back and beat them by 1 or 2 seconds.

    What does this mean? The Alinghi are now 5 and ETNZ 2 and gives the America's Cup to Alinghi once more. Once more, here is a summary of the Delta times for the last time.

    START :0 seconds
    MARK 1 :+7 seconds to Alinghi
    MARK 2 :+14 seconds to ETNZ
    MARK 3 :+12 seconds to Alinghi
    FINISH :+2 seconds to Alinghi
  2. Hawk, Jul 3, 2007
    #62
    Hawk

    Hawk Senior Member

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    I was hoping that TNZ would pull it out in the end but alas it wasn't to be. If only they hadn't drawn a penalty we would be going to race 8.

    I'm kinda torn between my countrymen winning and the increase in exposure generated by having the cup in Europe. I guess in the long run having the cup in Europe will be better for all concerned and we'll have to wait and see if the tournament continues to increase in popularity with a more even and nuetral playing field.

    Alinghi did a remarkable job in not only winning the cup agian but changing the way the series is played out with all the differents acts they set up to rank the challengers.

    Good job by all concerned on the water and great job by "yachtluver" in keeping us up to date on the races.
  3. Kevin, Jul 3, 2007
    #63
    Kevin

    Kevin YF Moderator

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    Like you said Hawk, any and all national preferences aside, Alinghi successfully defending the Cup is by far the best thing that could have happened in terms of elevating the sport. A lot of Challengers (and potential Challengers) would not be part of AC33 if it were being held in Auckland next time. The exposure they are assured in a European venue far outweighs anything they could get in NZ... wrong hemisphere, wrong target market, wrong time-zones even.
  4. MBACH, Jul 3, 2007
    #64
    MBACH

    MBACH Senior Member

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    Now the question will be is if the Swiss wish to defend in Valencia? What about Palma for more sea breeze? What about Dubai as has been rumoured in the med?
  5. Yacht News, Jul 3, 2007
    #65
    Yacht News

    Yacht News YF News Editor

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    Hey thanks alot Hawk, it is kind of sad for me, I will miss the having to get up early to report on the races, not that I had to get up and report like if anyone told me to but I thought that it would be a nice addition to the site and maybe in the wings so to speak, draw some of the lurkers out there to the site. It was a thrill to me and I learnt tremendously from the races. Previous to this I never really knew anything about the America's Cup racing and the intracacies about the boats. I learnt about it in full detail just prior to my first reporting from the Semis. Even then I had some of the terms wrong such as Gybe which I spelt "Jive", lol, corrected by Kevin. I learnt tremendously and the sport actually sucked me in and now I am a fan of it in such a short period of time.

    Thanks for the encouragement by everyone...
  6. Kevin, Jul 3, 2007
    #66
    Kevin

    Kevin YF Moderator

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    If I was a betting man I'd say Dubai will get an Act, no doubt about that.

    I think the "homebase" of the Cup will stay in Valencia though. They've already got the infrastructure established. Despite some flukey winds, this Match has been the most exciting ever. Not to mention that Desafio Espanol will likely be the Challenger Of Record for AC33. A Yacht Club has already been established in Valencia for just this purpose, in the Desafio base even.... or so I've read.

    Edit: I should have checked out yesterday's Oracle blog... it confirms what I mentioned.
  7. gigaflopper, Jul 4, 2007
    #67
    gigaflopper

    gigaflopper New Member

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    Why didn't Team New Zealand CROSS OVER on the third leg, instead of the lee bow maneuver and continuing to defend the left? It looked like they had enough of a lead to do it. Every time in the last few matches they were caught in a tacking duel with Alinghi while protecting the left, they lost. Even in the first leg on this race. That decision, in my opinion, was the deciding factor in ending their hopes of winning the cup.

    No trip to New Zealand for me in 2010, although Valencia does seem like a nice place to visit.
  8. Yacht News, Jul 4, 2007
    #68
    Yacht News

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    I agree with you on that.

    Welcome to YF gigaflopper. I am going to bed now....
  9. Yacht News, Jul 5, 2007
    #69
    Yacht News

    Yacht News YF News Editor

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    Looks like America's Cup racing will be held in Valencia, Spain once again in 2009.
  10. Hawk, Jul 5, 2007
    #70
    Hawk

    Hawk Senior Member

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    I think for all concerned this is a good choice, the increase in exposure of this event grew exponentially this year and sponsors will be more inclined to spend or continue to spend money when they know they will be reaching the huge European market rather than just the Southern hemisphere or the US.

    Valencia put a lot of money towards infrastructure and hopefully they will add a little more to upgrade the harbor and the shore bases even further. Maybe an investment in some really really big friggin’ fans on the shore to help the breeze on the race course
  11. YachtForums, Jul 12, 2007
    #71
    YachtForums

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  12. brian eiland, Aug 9, 2007
    #72
    brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

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    Billionaires To Battle In Giant High Tech Cats

    ...courtesy of Scuttlebutt

    Imagine this:
    It is now late June 2008. The Spanish challenge was ruled invalid. Alinghi was forced to accept Oracle's challenge. Negotiations on a new protocol failed. Both teams have designed giant multihulls for the 40-mile windward leeward and 39 mile triangle courses specified in the Deed of Trust. The first race will be in a few days, on the 4th of July....

    No, not a replay of 1988's lopsided "Mismatch" of Big Boat vs Cat, but high stakes racing in the fastest, all out high tech designs that money and big egos can buy.

    It's more likely than you think. And, while it would be hell for the other challengers and their sponsors, it sure would be entertaining for the media and public, not to mention the designers and sailors.

    Now posted on the Scuttlebutt Forum is a detailed analysis of the current legal situation, with links to the relevant documents, including the NY Court of Appeals ruling on the catamaran defense from the 27th AC. After reading the Forum post, the Curmudgeon notes, "This is as good a read as there has been on the subject, with all the details in one place. Very well written, incorporating facts, forecasts, and humor. Definitely worth a read by even the most indifferent Cup followers."

    -- Read on, with all comments welcome to be posted in the Forum:
    http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=5224

    Attached Files:

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