America's Cup

"Here nobody even knows what the americas cup is about." Very true, but they sure know about important stuff like the latest gossip out of Hollywood.
 
I read that in Auckland they even closed the schools to celebrate the victory. Imagine that.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Arnold

I read that in Auckland they even closed the schools to celebrate the victory. Imagine that.

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In lots of countrys sailing is a really big deal. No doubt much of that popularity is due to very expensive fuel in the rest of the world compared to the US where fuel is dirt cheap & people can afford to run boats with huge engines to get their thrills.

Sailing is also a huge international sport. In the US, not so much. Sports that are a big deal in the US are little known across much of the world though some worldwide big deal sports like soccer are gaining popularity in the US.
 
The media in the Tampa area have been unaware it was happening. I can appreciate the technology of the new boats but after sailing for many decades including spectator fleets in newport I just dont have the interest in those boats.
The J class is a very different story for me.
 
A few years back the Volvo round the world race stopped in Miami. It was an embarrassment. We went out for the arrival of the first couple of boats and there were maybe 20 boats out there to welcome them and a few hundred spectator on the docks.

Needless to say they never selected Miami as a stop again.
 
From a spectator boat perspective the AC was a very big deal here. If you were at windward or leeward gates looking the other way it was nothing but a wall of boats at anchor. Big ones. Little ones. Something like 80 superyachts of various types showed up & could be found at various anchorages around the Island on rest days. They had their own area for watching the racing. Keeping all of these boats outside of racebox lines was interesting however most Bermuda boaters are better than average & there were few "anchoring follies" even on the breezy days. No jetskis allowed anywhere near the spectator areas. A very good thing. Always had our marine police not far away to back up Course Spectator Marshals. Not sure if they were ever called upon for enforcement. More than 20 days on the water for me & only twice needed to threaten to involve the police to get racebox encroachment dealt with.
 
Veebyes, thanks for your reports. Do you have pictures of the general racing area to share with us?
 
Thats what it looked like on TV - Spectator boats could see race, but no one else
SF had the better Venue for both shore and boats
 
quote:
Originally posted by Arnold

Veebyes, thanks for your reports. Do you have pictures of the general racing area to share with us?

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Best source for that would be a browse through the AC35 website. Best views were on a big screen somewhere. When you are dealing with a 'stadium' so big it does not really matter where you view it from. Without viewing from a good elevation you really can't see much.

http://i.imgur.com/9LjHha5.jpg target=new
1jtQSid
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One of these was my ride for at least 20 days on the water

http://i.imgur.com/in4vEGL.jpg target=new
1jtQSid
Click For Full-Size Image.

Ever wonder how those lines get painted on the water? That little white floaty thing is the answer. Inside the squarish top is a GPS/transponder. At least 10 of these are located around the racebox boundary plus more on the gates on the course. All are linked via ipads onboard course marshal boats so that we can move them with wind shifts between races & all is seen realtime.

Magic how it all works
 
I beg to differ on the view onto big stadium from shore. In SF, some of the shore views (no elevation) were better than all but the VIP spectator boats. I was in both places for many races
 
I really don't know how the race box was setup for SF. This year the organisers really made an effort to get spectators as close as possible. Sometimes boundary marks were moved as often as 6 times during a day depending on wind speed & direction. Boats were permitted to anchor right up to the line between marks with only a narrow branding lane between spectator area & active race box. Official spectator boats had front row on the line. Small private boats were placed wherever there was room between. An area was reserved for the very large motor & sailing yachts. The VIP area was near the bottom gate & finish line. Loads of space for all others above top mark & around the sides.

From shore views varied. It is sailboat racing so the race box configuration varied depending on wind direction. Where was really good one day could be terrible the next. For most days with the wind from the S or SW elevated property to the S & SW was close enough to the race box to have pretty good views.

No matter anymore. AC36 will NOT be in SF & it will NOT be in BDA, as pretty & warm as the water is. Aukland Harbour it will be. Like it or not.
 
Th action was very close to shore in San Francisco. Too bad unions and regulations drove th cup away.
 
IMO the organizers didn't do much to attract attention. Perhaps they really don't care about spectator interest.
 
And, I am afraid, it is going to stay there for a long time.
 
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