So that’s that for another three years. New Zealand retains the America’s Cup 7-3. Yet apart from the excruciating – and ultimately unfair – Race 8, and the desperately lucky (for NZ) Race 9, the contest tended towards the monotonous, predictable, even anticlimactic. The faster boat won, as it always has since 1970.
(“Unfair” because the Kiwi splashdown was a clear error of commission – they gybed into the backwind of the Italians while Luna Rossa came off their foils later in that race only because the breeze had momentarily disappeared. And “lucky” in Race 9 because textbook tactics from the Italians handed the Kiwis an undeserved winning 20% lift.)
The short, narrow courses with boundaries designed for television limited tactical options. There was no room to take a “flyer” or hang on to a favorable shift. Meanwhile, the Hauraki Gulf failed to deliver the expected stiff breezes, so the boats rarely hit anything approaching their maximum speeds.
For the most part, watching eight of these ten races provided little more than a quick sugar hit. There were, at best, 90 seconds of [...]
With downwind sails, strength to weight ratio is critical, which is why many top sailing teams ask their sailmaker to specify Contender spinnaker cloth. The Superkote, Powerkote and Maxikote series together constitute a complete range of spinnaker fabrics that contain the right cloth for every type of spinnaker. When Superkote fabric was launched in 1986, there was one weight of cloth. Now there are 12, ranging from 31 grams per square metre up to 150g/sqm. The Contender range of spinnaker fabrics is used in everything from dinghies up to J-Class yachts and superyachts.
Being a bunch of west coast tree-hugging liberals, we actually give a shit about the environment and as a result, we generally applaud any efforts made to make yacht racing a more green and environmentally friendly endeavor. 
An old towboat that the Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit was using as a temporary clubhouse while it renovates its permanent one sank Sunday afternoon in Connor Creek.
Two overboard location alert systems (OLAS) from Exposure Lights can make the difference between life and death. The first, OLAS Guardian, is a wireless kill switch for RIB drivers. It is designed to protect us from those times when we do the thing that we tell ourselves only “other people” ever do. It’s that moment when you unclip your kill cord to walk to the front or the back of the RIB and then forget to clip back on again.
Well, one thing’s for sure. After today’s racing we already have a winner – the betting industry. All those bets of 7-0; 7-1 and 7-2 are now safely in the pockets of the bookmakers. The whitewash of the loser only getting a compensating win or two on the Hauraki Gulf is behind us after just 3 days of racing.
After Day 1 and Luna Rossa’s narrow victory against Te Rehutai in Race 2, the myth of the Kiwi boat’s dramatically superior speed was exploded.
Alongside the names of Spark, SkyCity, McDonald’s, Toyota and Emirates, keen-eyed America’s Cup fans might see a less familiar name on display.
In case you weren’t aware, a select club of billionaires from around the world—with their superyachts in tow—have descended upon Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand to resume one of their favorite activities: watching a bunch of guys race big, fast boats back and forth across an invisible line. It’s a bit like NASCAR for rich people.
A no-compromise foiling 35ft yacht intended for European lake racing has driven a multinational group of sailors, designers and builders to the extreme edges of technology in a collaboration that has even stretched to what might be termed “positive deception” to achieve its objectives.
We know more about the Moon and Mars than we do about the deep ocean… but we know enough to do a better job of looking after it
