36th America's Cup!

[functionoverfashion]

For those of you who follow this stuff, there will be some real racing starting tomorrow... timing is all weird though because New Zealand. You might be able to watch it on youtube for free like in 2013, though! Because of course, people aren't traveling from all over the world to see this like normal.

Quick aside, we went to AC35 in 2017 in Bermuda, it was awesome.

But I was watching the opening press conference earlier and was struck by people all sitting next to each other in a room, not a mask in sight. Then I remembered, NZ is awesome and also a small island nation and they kind of kicked COVID-19 in the ass. A Ministry of Health update from today states "4 new cases of COVID-19" in the country today, and then it goes into detail about the locations, sources, actions, and status of each of those FOUR people.

Oh, New Zealand. It almost makes me want to cry. I'm so impressed and yet so depressed. This week we had 7 new cases in my teeny tiny town that's had only 13 TOTAL cases so far this whole time. I mean, shit. That's almost twice the total for the entire country of NZ? Ugh.

But go watch the America's Cup, it's totally amazing.

[ttyymmnn]

@functionoverfashion Those boats are insane, if you can even call them boats in the classic sense any more. Do they still race proper yachts, as opposed to these radical unlimited sort of things?

[functionoverfashion]

@ttyymmnn The boats are amazing. I'm sure there are countless races of "normal" boats all over the place, but the America's Cup specifically allows the winner to decide the rules of the next race, and NZ decided to go back to monohulls but keep the foils. I loved the catamarans but there were downsides for sure. I can't wait to watch this round, it's nice to have this to look forward to, honestly!

[bison78]

Another race with amazing boats is taking place at the moment: The Vendee Globe. It's a single-handed around the world race with boats capable of 30 knots.

I read one story where the boat skipper had to slow down the boat, because it was only rated for 30 knots and, in the conditions, would have gone faster.

[pip bip]

@functionoverfashion to make you more depressed we have about 60 active cases here in Australia with a population of approximately 25million people. Our government has been good dealing with it too
Most if not all are from returning travellers in hotel quarantine

[functionoverfashion]

@pip-bip said in 36th America's Cup!:

@functionoverfashion to make you more depressed we have about 60 active cases here in Australia with a population of approximately 25million people. Our government has been good dealing with it too
Most if not all are from returning travellers in hotel quarantine

I mean, you guys deserve a lot of credit, as does NZ. To be perfectly honest, 2020 has been a great year for me personally, and for my immediate family for the most part. Weird, but true. So I'm not super down on the whole thing it's just upsetting that it seems like we could have avoided it being as bad as it is.

I'm psyched to have the America's Cup to watch though! I didn't think we'd get to NZ for it even in normal times, so whatever. Bermuda was super-accessible for us from the east coast of the US. Man it was cool to see those flying cats up close.

[HammerheadFistpunch]

@functionoverfashion looking forward to this. It won't be all in racing at first because it's not the cup challenge but it's going to be exciting. The boats look small but theyre massive

[ttyymmnn]

@pip-bip It helps when you live on an island.

[pip bip]

@ttyymmnn true, but so is the United Kingdom and it’s not going well for them (Boris is to blame for their issues)

[іди на хуй Влад - formerly known as Distraxi]

@ttyymmnn said in 36th America's Cup!:

@pip-bip It helps when you live on an island.

There's a bit more to it than that though - ask the Brits. Or the Irish, the Singaporeans, the Maltese. You also need to have money, a competent government and a compliant population....

[іди на хуй Влад - formerly known as Distraxi]

@functionoverfashion I've got my afternoon in front of the TV booked and the beers lined up. There's going to be a lot of sandbagging going on since there's nothing of consequence at stake, so it won't tell us a thing about who's going to win, but it'll be the first chance to see whether it's going to be exciting racing from a spectator perspective.

I have high hopes - these things are looking like combining all the speed and spectacle of the cats with the tactical-maneuvering interest of the old-school monohulls. I suspect I may find myself investing in some in-person spectating come the actual Cup.

[barnie]

This is the stupidest, most ill conceived boating race I've ever not watched. What this great race has degenerated to is so sad. Money-no-object racing can be interesting but not in these boats. They are tiny, fragile, finicky little boats that bring money to only a few privileged sailors. Why have 30-man crews on 100 foot boats with miles of sail when you can pay 5 guys a mil or 2 to putter around a very select course on select Wednesdays.

To see some real racing go watch the Vendee Globe (https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en) (tracker: https://tracking2020.vendeeglobe.org/en/) or the Talisker rowboat race: https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/2020-leaderboard/.

[barnie]

@ttyymmnn These boats are not unlimited. They can only sail in a small area with flat seas and a very limited wind range. They are too specific to be real sailboats.

[ttyymmnn]

@barnie Is "unlimited" a thing? I was using it in the sense of them just being so whacked out technologically that they bore little resemblance to a real boat.

[іди на хуй Влад - formerly known as Distraxi]

@barnie Seriously? You’re basically comparing Formula 1 with Rally Raid and saying an F1 car’s not a real car because you can’t launch it off the top of a dune.

Might as well say Vendée Globe isn’t real sailing because 95% of the time the crew’s not actually operating the boat, the autopilot is.

Vendee’s great (as is Volvo and all the other forms of offshore racing), but on an inshore course in reasonable weather - which lets face it are the conditions that 99%+ of the world’s sailors actually sail in - the current generation of AC boats would absolutely murder any other sailboat in existence.

[barnie]

@Distraxi @ttyymmnn I'd suggest that the Cup boats are more one-off rich-guy toys than actual practical boats. Sure they fly but only in the most base and small conditions. Look at how many delay days the last Cup had. Very narrow conditions that these guys can sail in. This is way above F1. This race has always been a playground for the rich to see whose wallet and dick is bigger. SailGP was more interesting as an inshore race series. And it was annual, not quadrennial. Even the M24/M32 races were more interesting.

F1 boats would be the Mini Protos, methinks. All the new and fast stuff comes to them before it gets to the bigger boats.

And I challenge the premise that sailing with an autopilot is easy. Having a lot of experience sailing, I can tell you that helming is the easiest and most boring job on a boat. I have 3 pilots on Sparrow. When you are solo, you have to have autopilots. The task of adjusting sails, fixing stuff that breaks, watching the weather, cooking and eating, and resting are the real work. Check out this 4-minute vid by Boris:

for a taste of simply shaking out a reef on his mainsail. Takes a lot of effort and many minutes (vid doesn't show his time on deck removing reef lines).

Links to a few English VG boats: https://www.borisherrmannracing.com/ , https://www.piphare.com/,
google miranda-merron+vendee+globe+video
My 2 favorites are already out: https://www.alexthomsonracing.com/the-hub/, https://www.initiatives-coeur.fr/en dang it!

[ttyymmnn]

@barnie Thanks. The art/science/craft of sailing has always fascinated me, though I’ve never had any desire to learn it. As a language guy, though, I was interested to learn that the saying “by and large” actually came from sailing.

[functionoverfashion]

@barnie said in 36th America's Cup!:

This is the stupidest, most ill conceived boating race I've ever not watched. What this great race has degenerated to is so sad. Money-no-object racing can be interesting but not in these boats. They are tiny, fragile, finicky little boats that bring money to only a few privileged sailors. Why have 30-man crews on 100 foot boats with miles of sail when you can pay 5 guys a mil or 2 to putter around a very select course on select Wednesdays.

To see some real racing go watch the Vendee Globe (https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en) (tracker: https://tracking2020.vendeeglobe.org/en/) or the Talisker rowboat race: https://www.taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com/2020-leaderboard/.

I think all the foiling AC boats have been pretty incredible to watch. Finicky, fragile, yeah, but certainly they're entertaining. They're pushing the limits of what's possible with a "sailboat" with some pretty incredible results.

I mean, the "cars" that compete for top speed on the salt flats aren't exactly realistic daily drivers, either. Nor would they be good at much of anything else. But they're amazing in their own ways, no?

[barnie]

@ttyymmnn Oh, aye. It's normal to use boat jargon amongst ourselves as the words are so strict in interpretation and context. There are, at most, only 4 "ropes" on a sailboat. All 4 are only used on the old square-riggers. Only 1 is in common use - the boltrope which is sewn into the leading edge of the mainsail. All the rest have a specific name - line, sheet, halyard, rode, etc. And things are always described from the perspective of the wind and/or the boat, never the person speaking. Sails on the right or starboard side of the boat is a "port tack" because the wind is coming from that direction. To talk such with non-sailors can be confusing, in, to me, a funny way.

When I watch rock crawlers holler to turn "driver" or "passenger", I wonder why they don't use "port" or "starboard".

[barnie]

@functionoverfashion Sorry, but to me they aren't interesting to watch. Getting up on the foil and staying there easily thru turns brings no excitement. The chance that they will fall off is so rare. Watch some SailGP (RIP) to see what I mean. Yes, they are the fastest things out there (excepting SailRocket and it's ilk) but they are just not stirring my blood. Realize, though, that I'm an offshore guy who likes the days at sea and not much for buoy racing.

[Tripper]

Hey neeto! Assuming sportsurge.net will have this available, I'm watching. Here is another good use of hydrofoil tech.

[functionoverfashion]

@tripper, yeah it may be there, but I think it's supposed to just be on youtube as well. We shall see. And holy hell, foil surfing and/or windsurfing is bonkers too. Have you checked out Kai Lenny?

@barnie - yeah, if you want big ocean racing, this ain't it. I totally hear your points, and from your perspective, I think I may feel the same. I've been almost all inland sailing and buoy racing so this is up my alley. Cheers

[functionoverfashion]

@barnie said in 36th America's Cup!:

When I watch rock crawlers holler to turn "driver" or "passenger", I wonder why they don't use "port" or "starboard".

related: I spent many summers totally immersed in boats (small boats) and would find myself saying port or starboard to refer to left and right sides of a car or something. I still label things "P" and Star (I draw a star) when I'm building something in my shop, even if it's a step stool or something.

[Tripper]

@functionoverfashion Yes, I'm all about big wave surfing, it's my favorite sport to watch.

[functionoverfashion]

@tripper That's right, I think we've talked about this before, in an alternate Oppoverse... me too, or it's up there anyway.