Americas cup gossip

With have at least four months to start construction and until the end of June to pay for $100 K entry fee for AC 72 boat, only three challenges have coughed up so far ETNZ, Artemis & Prada … time is running out fast :scared:

The AC34 planned calendar, starts opening ceremonies in San Francisco on Thursday, July 4, 2013, and a fleet racing round kicking off July 5. This is the first time in history that fleet racing has ever counted as part of the Louis Vuitton Cup itself. Then there will be two match racing Rounds Robin to rank the challenger candidates, and the top four RR finishers will compete in Semi-Finals and a Final match to determine the winner of the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup, who becomes the 34th Challenger for the America's Cup.



If there were only to be only three AC 72 challengers the fleet racing together with the LVC RR series becomes totally irrelevant, as the 3 boats would move directly into the semi finals, this means anything less than 5 AC 72 challengers would wipe out at least 5 weeks of the original AC 34 calendar.

Given this potential big hole (financial for many stake-holders) that will be created in the AC 72 2013 calendar with only 3 possible challengers ?? Surely it would benefit “all” under-funded teams that cannot afford to build AC 72’s in this cycle, to be present with their corporate sponsored 45’s.

What do you think ?

Cheers Alan

P.S Then when ETNZ win AC 34 and revert back to mono-hulls for AC 35, the ACWS 45 circus can continue as a surrogate multi-hull event !

 

AC Beat (down)

Courtesy of Sailing Anarchy forum (copy & paste) the latest low down of AC 34 event plans.


ac beat(down)
Pitchforks are starting to come out amongst critics of San Francisco’s plans for the 34th America’s Cup, and AC organizers are taking hits on multiple fronts from politicians and media alike, deep into the mainstream. ACRM boss Iain Murray’s told the NZ Herald last week that the organization would need to rethink the format for AC34 given the fact that just three challengers had paid the entry fee, and his admission provided fodder for those remembering Coutt’s confident projections of “ten good challengers” not more than a year ago.

Maybe four months remain until the real ‘drop-dead date’ for those building an AC-72, but if China and Korea (both rumored to be close to committing) can’t make the grade and a three-boat LVS is all we get, there will be no way to disguise Coutts’ – and by extension, the event’s - ultimate failure to deliver (though Louis Vuitton may have a new product so lucrative that it doesn’t need the Cup for marketing). Competitors are one thing – spectators are entirely another, and organizers’ recent, and massive reduction of spectator estimates for the 2013 event aren’t doing the AC’s public approval rating any favors. Less spectators means less revenue, and it also means that that >$1B ‘direct impact’ number that helped San Francisco swallow some of the more bitter pills in the Cup agreement might be nothing but vaporware.

That’s not the only attack ACRM has had to fend off this week. Yesterday, the San Fran Chron’s John Cote revealed that the America’s Cup Organizing Committee (ACOA) had fallen well short of its current-year fundraising commitments in the overall plan to bring the Cup to the Bay, with nearly all the money raised coming either from the AC (a/k/a Larry Ellison’s Wallet) or nonbinding pledges of financial support. The shortfall raised major hackles in the town, and with it going big on HuffPost, upcoming negotiations for the final, binding deal between SF and ACAlphabet are going to be under a hell of an international microscope.

The final big critique of the SF Cup may have more to do with the country’s current hatred for the super-rich than it does the details of the deal, though concerns are surely valid that an event that brings SF far less revenue than predicted should probably have consequences on the value of what Ellison receives for bringing the circus to town. In a scathing piece on CounterPunch entitled “Let Them Eat Yachts,” Don Santina writes that:

“In return for Ellison’s chump-change makeover of some of the waterfront for his event, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, the latest version of the Host City Agreement gives the ACEA Seawall Lot 330 and “the rights to leases of at least 10 years and rent credit on four piers depending on the money it spends improving port infrastructure.” For a minimum $55 million infrastructure investment by the ACEA, Ellison gets development rights and a 66-year-rent-free lease on Piers 30-32, and if he spends a little more pocket change, he gets reimbursement “ in the form of bond proceeds, then credit to lease Piers 26, 28, and, ultimately, 29, according to a draft of the deal.”

But fear and opposition to the plan is no doubt growing, aided in part by the 5-month break from racing, in part by the fear of the 99%, and in part by a political environment that has everyone ready for battle on every issue.

This is big business and a hell of a complicated project. Is AC34 a fantasy that’s on the ropes, or a visionary event that’s just attracting the kind of criticism that new thinking always does?

 

Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

First pictures of Artemis AC 72 wing coming out of the shed in Valencia ... where's Jim ?


http://www.riggingnews.blogspot.com/2012/02/out-of-shed.html

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

reminds me a when movers have to twist and tilt a sofa to get it through a door. They did not have much room to get it out. Any bigger they would have had to cut a new door...

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

Maybe not for you as your probarly tripping over it everyday, but for us bunnies on the outside it's first glimse of something equivalent to seeing the spaceshuttle for the first time .....fooking AWESOME man !!!! waiting for the erection

Cheers Alan

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

Yup, and if you spend too much time looking at those pics, so will Mrs K1W1 !!

(sorry, couldn't resist!!)

Regards,

Row

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

Yip! If you don't let a woman have her own way, things can get ugly!

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

Oracle plan to take their two AC72’s to New Zealand next January and train through to the end of April, ready for the America's Cup match to be sailed on San Francisco Harbour in September 2013.

With ETNZ & Prada already in NZ, wonder why they don’t shift AC 34 from SF to NZ.

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/6771328/Oracle-to-trial-Am-Cup-boats-off-Whangarei

Are these 72’s the “monsters” being touted in the press, compared to Godzilla NO WAY !

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

The AC World Series to me is a bit of exiting and disappointment. The speed and action is exciting, but the races and matches seem a little too short to really enjoy them. I'm used to spending a hour or so watching the AC boats go up & down the course.

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

The faster the race, the sooner you are back to shore for beer and food ! After all - it is called a "race".

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

Either that or somebody needs to use the toilet really bad.

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

Its a product of the series being run by marketing people rather than yachtsmen. The whole thing is geared towards the lowest common denominator with the outcome being 'bums on seats'. As the majority of the viewing public will know next to nothing about the finer details of yachting, never mind yacht racing, it's played out in a manner that will entertain and won't overly tax their abilities to concentrate. Some may think this is a rather cynical view, but having seen the racing in Plymouth, UK, unfortunately I was left in no doubt.
At the end of the day, it is exciting adrenalin filled action, but it's not racing as we traditionally think of it. Maybe I'm a dinosaur and the majority of international racing will go the same way - look to the Volvo, with its in-port racing, a marketing mans wet dream but hardly in the spirit of COLREGS.

Rant over!! Having a bad day...

Regards,

Row

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

The heats were over so fast, it reminded me of radio sailing, where we can get 4 heats (or more) into an hour.

Back in the day, we used to have a cookout and then gather inside to watch the Cup races on the TV, but the last time, we actually just sat in front of some computer screens (we had four computers set up in front of the sofa) with some cold beers, like the bums who watch NASCAR. At least now we have digital projectors and we each have portable computers and a high speed WiFi, so the setup is easier (as in none.)

Another thing that turned me off was when they said, "these boats are the F1 racers of the water" it immediately put up some doubts in my mind, because F1 racing isn't really racing. I could easily envision two boats colliding and becoming entangled by a small misjudgement of the tiller. Some of the commentators at last year's Goodwood Revival (Chichester, West Sussex) even mentioned how driving the F1 cars is more like video game than driving the real race cars.

Then there's that awfully short course. It's even entirely visible from shore- all three shorelines if you were in Frisco. If you could sit on a tall step-ladder, you'd probably have the best seat in the harbour. Have you noticed the absence of the spectator fleet? You don't need one when you just let people watch from the hotel room windows. :grumpy:

I would agree that the pier/AC village webcams and on-board video are "entertaining," the aerial video with the digital overlays are "informative" and the action is exciting, and it's wonderful to have all that so more of the World can see our wonderful sport. But if you make a mistake on the water, you might as well turn back to the pier. It even shocked me somewhat when a team got behind or lost a fleet race or a match, they didn't seem to care. If the crew is comprised of dumb robots, then why bother having them? Some high-torque servos and a good multi-channel digital radio system would suffice. You could sail the whole thing from some office cubicle in Pittsburgh.

All they would have to do to get back in to the real spirit of the AC (even though this is the 'World Series,' and not the real AC races) is to lengthen the course and get it a little more out into the open water. The new boats are certainly fast and maneuverable, but certainly not in the spirit of America or Ranger. Do we want to be watching yachtsmen, or "athletes?" If you want "athletes" then you will get your fill with an event called the Olympics..

I just noticed on the Americascup.com website that they have received the "Sports Emmy Award?" Aren't Emmy Awards for entertaining shows?

We haven't even seen the AC72s yet. Why not have one event with whatever big boats are ready so we can decide if we want to pursue the AC finals, or just stick with this "weekend stuff?" Fortunately, there is still a little time to wait to get enough of those together.

the Venice event starts on May 15th.

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

Hi TomoHawk,

I think your critique reflects my own opinions and those of many others from the world of 'real yachting'. Your closing comment about the Venice event starting later this month for me speaks volumes about the planning & implementation of the 'World Series'. Venice is hardly known as a yachting metropolis but it does afford maximum returns for those running the show.
I'm nothing like old enough to be a dinosaur (41) but I'm feeling more like one every day!! Whilst bemoaning the on-water action, as feats of engineering the boats are truly stunning. If you read previous entries to this thread, check out Astute Composites' (Jim) entries - I think I'm probably more in awe of his abilities (and those he works with) than the guys out on the water. As for the 'Sports Emmy Award' well, that just sums it up really.
It greatly saddens me to think how the AC has evolved over the last 15 - 20 years. As with many walks of life, the only real winners are the lawyers thrashing out the legalities of the finer points of any challenge and probably billing more per day that a top flight yachtsman could even hope to earn in a month.

God I'm having a bad day!! Seem to be having rather a lot of 'em lately - must get out more!!

Regards,

Row

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

i think the AC cup really "jumped the shark" when dennis connor campaigned the cameraman against the Michel Fays Zealand monstrosity... Gone were the heydays of the AC.

I don't discount the tech involved, or the crew and their ability to sail the new cats. And I can't discount the one design and the close competition. but I abhor the rules changes and the electronic monitoring... I know they are trying to make sailing more appealing to the masses, but it just isn't working. If it was working, then these races would be broadcast on major media networks on the TV, and not just relegated to live streaming online.

sailing will always be a niche sport/hobby

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

Is that the New America Cup ???
http://youtu.be/f_cU4jWYPHQ
ClaudioD

 

Re: Artemis AC 72 Wing comes out

I think there's a big misunderstanding about the new America's Cup
the world series with the ac45, are not the america's cup, then all were quiet, the new America's Cup will take place in open sea and the racing will be similar to those between alinghi cat and oracle tri.
The world series is just a publicity stunt to find sponsors, in fact no score and ranking will be considered for the real americas cup