I may be a traditionalist when it comes to racing sailboats — I like them wooden, leaky and gaff-rigged — and I have bitched about how the America’s Cup needs to come back to Newport, Rhode Island and be raced in those oh-so-elegant 12-meters of my youth. But after spending a rapt half hour on the couch with my tablet and a half-hour of coverage from San Francisco Bay I take it all back. AC-72 catamarans are amazing things.
Catamarans have the reputation of being the jet-skis of the sailing world. The people who sail them tend to be adrenaline freaks who zip back and forth looking for speed and little else. The boats point into the wind like square-riggers, require elbow and knee pads and a crash helmet, and beg to be sailed while yelling “yee-hah.” They entered the America’s Cup under desperate circumstances in 1988 when Dennis Conner showed up in one to kick New Zealand’s ass after they showed up in a 90-foot mega yacht and convinced a judge to uphold the move away from 12-meters as perfectly legal under the terms of the “Deed of Gift” — the rules that govern the strange and venerable competition. Dennis and his catamaran sailed circles around the New Zealanders, the credibility of the America’s Cup hit an all-time low, and all semblance of dignity went out the window. But catamarans were in.
Not that the America’s Cup was ever a fair fight. As my buddy Charlie points out, the name of the game has been getting a technical edge from the very beginning when the American’s sent an overpowered schooner over to England to kick the best butts in the Royal British Yacht Squadron. Half the battles have been in the courts, with challengers and defenders contesting the ambiguous rules every chance they get and giving full credence to the cliche of the “sea lawyer.” Winged-keels, crews of ringers from foreign countries, billionaires with more bucks than brains … what’s not to love?
Whatever. I tip my hat to Larry Ellison for making it a total tech fest on Silicon Valley’s home waters. These boats represent the cutting edge of aquatic technology, use nothing but the wind to scream along at more than 35 mph, and thanks to overlaid graphics, helicopters, onboard Go-Pro helmet cams, and crazy color commentary that would be more in place in a UFC cage match, finally putting to rest Mark Twain’s old tired complaint that watching yacht racing is less exciting than watching paint dry or grass grow.
The US is behind — docked two races for cheating — and it’s do-or-die with them needing to win all of the remaining race to stay in the game.
I can’t get on board (sorry) with these boats. Seems to me that once you rise up out of the water and start foiling, you have taken the sea out of seamanship. It’s just a novelty act to me now, but my 4-year-old thinks they are super-cool.
The coverage of these races is excellent. Really great with the city and Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop. Sailing is sailing regardless of the boat. It’s still about mastering the wind and current.
Since I currently have no cable or satellite dish – I head to the website daily to check on race status. I recall watching the Cup on ESPN back in 1987 when the coverage would be interrupted while the helicopter with the camera would have to go back and refuel.
Not sure what attracts me to the Cup but maybe having been born in North Dakota sailing is somehow our blood (see prairie schooner).
I’m new to the America’s Cup, but isn’t it messed up that only one crew member on Team USA is from the USA?