Ian Vickers was/ is a heavy IOM influence in that team! Looks like OR boat #2 is performing well too. I'd say that certain members of that team are breathing a sigh of relief, and hope to be somewhere close to the performance of TNZ... The jungle drums have been very quiet of late as the main event looms ever closer... Now I have Internet again, I might have to do some fishing!
indeed not much information released and don't expect very much until the main event. Looking forward to see ETNZ in SF water but wonder what they're gonna do once there cos surely they won't want OR getting too much info on them on the water... interesting times ahead until 4th July anyway ! ETNZ sailed well in Naples and I was raging for my team (Team Energy) with Yann Guichard of spindrift racing Who were in the lead of the last race and in the fluky condition saw OR and and LR move to the from in the last beat up... After their technical issue which forced them to miss out on one of the fleet race they were unlucky despite good results and great pace... Pity teams like ETNZ, OR and Artemis would put their first boat up for grab for other teams to take part but the cost may not be worth it !!! As for Ian Vickers - wouldn't mind getting my hands on his latest V8 design as I think it is probably the only boat able to take on Brad's Britpop. Looking forward to see what he will do in those championships - I presume he'll talke part cos it in OR homeland and he'll want to do well with his V8 to fill his order book ... can't wait to see results and pics...
Ian Vickers (NZ) won the US IOM championship with Brad Gibson (AUS) 2nd ...appears BG had few electrical problems during the event ...even happens to the best ! A well timed new movie about AC 33 has been released
For a second, I thought the movie had kind of spaceflight theme, because the sailors looked like they were wearing spacesuits. What are the white suits for?
well with the amount of money that was spent, you proably could have funded a trip to outer space....
Re: water skier At a charity event held in Auckland this week attended by Russel Coutts & Grant Dalton. A ride on Oracle's AC 72 was up for graps with some spirited bidding selling for just over $20,000, then Wussell put up a second ride which went for the same price. Grant Dalton immediately followed with two rides on Emirates Team NZ's AC 72 which went for just over $20,000 for a total of $80,000 + all up... a great AC effort for charity. Marc.. would you pay $20k ? or still scrafice your left nut ! Would have loved to be there to watch the war of words between Wussel & Grant on stage, this review was very interesting. GD last comment about AC 72's was the most interesting "they're expensive, we'll never see them again, so enjoy it" ...So there, if ETNZ win this AC ...the next AC in NZ will not be AC 72's !!!! Fingers crossed it is back to mono's :bouncy:
Re: water skier There is a fleet race of the AC72s scheduled for July 5th. That ought to be something to watch.
Re: water skier Just to give you sense of basis for the roasting RC got in Auckland last week, this was the video that was played to the audience http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7288043 when the vid finished GD brought the house down with one question to RC ..."Mate, what the hell went wrong?" Larry's vision in the vid was quite clear at the end of last AC ...how much things have changed since is slowly beginning to be brought down on the influence of one person ... Sir RC. For my money whether OR maintain or lose this cup, this guy is done and dusted !
Re: water skier I doubt there will be much "hard racing" as no one will want to risk damage or risk showing their cards/performance
Re: water skier Disaster for Artemis - piece from BBC News: A British Olympic sailor has died after a Swedish catamaran capsized during a training session for the America's Cup in San Francisco Bay. Andrew "Bart" Simpson - a double Olympic medallist - was one of an 11-man crew on board the Artemis Racing catamaran, the team website said. It said Mr Simpson, 36, from Sherborne in Dorset, was trapped under the boat and efforts to revive him failed. Artemis is a Swedish team due to take part in the America's Cup. On its website, Artemis Racing said: "It is with immense sadness that Artemis Racing confirms the tragic death of crewmember Andrew "Bart" Simpson today in San Francisco." At a news conference by the Bay, Artemis chief executive Paul Cayard said it was a "tragic day" for the crew. "We have a lot to deal with in the next few days in terms of assuring everybody's wellbeing," Mr Cayard said, as he offered his thoughts and prayers to Mr Simpson's wife and family. Full report here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22476320 and from Artemis web site: http://artemis-racing.americascup.com/news/4511 A sad day indeed. Thoughts with his family, friends and the Artemis team. Row
Re: water skier Thoughts with family of Andrew Simpson, another early report here indicates the accident was not due to sailor error this time.
Re: water skier Preliminary reports indicate Artemis’s boat didn’t capsize because the sailors were pushing too hard or made a mistake, as was the case with Team Oracle. The problem was with the boat itself, either faulty engineering or faulty construction. The boat simply broke apart under sail, folded, then flipped. The Artemis boat has had a history of cracking and problems with the carbon fiber used in the twin “beams” — the two girders that lash the two narrow hulls together. The boat had been in and out of the shed numerous times in an attempt to correct those problems. Today, however, the forward beam — the girder in front of the sail — gave way during a practice run. The two hulls, no longer connected, began sailing in slightly different directions. This caused one hull to snap just forward of the aft beam, and the mast, held up by high-tension rigging connected to the front of the hulls, simply fell over. The boat began to cartwheel, ultimately trapping Simpson underneath and drowning him.
Re: water skier The only positive thought is that Mr.simpson quit that life doing what he loves the best.Life is so fragile.
Re: water skier Very sad that the fanatic research for speed of some rich peoples resulted today with the actual lost of one great sport man. My deep sympathy to Simpson family. ClaudioD
Re: water skier sawz-all the 72's pack up the 45's send them all to SF Bay... three boats to vie for the cup defense. 9 boats to vie for the challenge...The 45's seem to have handled the conditions very well and have been durable and with many more races under their belt no catastrophic losses.... more boats= more fun for the racers and spectators... this way we find out who the best team is..... 8 Bells Mr Simpson......
Re: water skier Everybody knows that multi hulls are dangerous and even more dangerous when used for speed as certain AC Cup responsible leaders decided to use them for their own pleasure !!!!! ClaudioD.