I detest the America's Cup thingie.
I don't think it's a choke either. Since the start of racing when emirates tnz were clearly a faster boat than oracle, oracle started working over time on making their boat faster. It took about 8-9 races before they got it right but since then they have been pretty much unbeatable. Rumours are that oracle observed emirates tnz's boat as it was put in and out of the water each day and figured out why etnz's foils worked better and then made new ones (thanks to Warkworth boat builders and at about 2 mil a pop) which now means they have foils for all conditions and etnz only have a couple of sets. They also watched etnz sail their boat and learned a few tricks off them. So all in all I think it's mostly a combination of boat improvements, improvements in the way they sail it, and Ben Ainslie coming in because he has been far smarter than Ray Davies. Its less of a choke and more of a comeback which could only be possible with the money available to oracle. Etnz don't have the same ability to make the changes oracle do which is exactly why they've been "blown out of the water" - sorry but very apt you have to admit!
Warkworth boat builders are traitors and un-NZers.
But probably very rich un-NZers
Didn't Dean Barker lose us the cup a few years back in the first place? They should have got Scott Watson to take the helm. That guy can sail!! He would have won the cup by now, made Jimmy Spittal disappear, repainted the boat a nice shade of sky blue and made sure all the Sailing Away cassettes were nice and clean.
Didn't Dean Barker lose us the cup a few years back in the first place? They should have got Scott Watson to take the helm. That guy can sail!! He would have won the cup by now, made Jimmy Spittal disappear, repainted the boat a nice shade of sky blue and made sure all the Sailing Away cassettes were nice and clean.
If it's speed you're after - Lundy as tactician
Far out, according to radiosport news, "flood tide" could make racing possible tmr. Whadda reckon?
Far out, according to radiosport news, "flood tide" could make racing possible tmr. Whadda reckon?
Can I just say that your contribution to this thread is outstanding!
The thing I hate the most is probably Hilary Barry's sappy coverage. "The hearts were in our mouths as a nation - the nation stopped". Continually referring to ETNZ as "we" or "us" drives me up the wall, so much for impartial journalism.
I don't mind watching a report on how we won or lost, and then have Barker or Dalton or Davies talking, but all these general news stories are just shocking.
And you've only just noticed this now? The NZ Media (with exception of people like Jason Pine) are a fucking disgrace! I can't wait to see how long it takes for Campbell Live to run a story on just who's fault this whole fuck about has been and who should have to pay for it!
At least Campbell Live occasionally highlights some interesting and significant world issues. Seven Sharp has to be the most pathetic excuse for what is supposed to be a news show. The content that is on that show is so meaningless words cannot comprehend.
Funniest thread.Nice work.
Far out, according to radiosport news, "flood tide" could make racing possible tmr. Whadda reckon?
Can I just say that your contribution to this thread is outstanding!
Cheers dude. Always enjoy ur views as well (even if u are a bit of a sailing mong). In fact I'd go as far to say, that your posts have been full of pulsating action, full of drama and excitement, of the likes that we've never seen before.
I'm just pleased to have contributed to literally the most important thread in the history of the internet
Didn't Dean Barker lose us the cup a few years back in the first place? They should have got Scott Watson to take the helm. That guy can sail!! He would have won the cup by now, made Jimmy Spittal disappear, repainted the boat a nice shade of sky blue and made sure all the Sailing Away cassettes were nice and clean.
0:25. LOL.
The start of our agonies. But I'll give the KZ7 campaign something - we were trying to get one over the Aussies (who did care at the time). So C-Diddy - you are kind of responsible in my mind for all this nonense, sadly.
But then, suddenly, everyone around the world simply stopped caring - meanwhile, to be a true NZer - the America's Cup became a pillar requirement for NZ DNA. To question that makes you...well...an un-NZer.
Because I was only 4yrs old in 1983 I feel I am still owed a Public Holiday!!!
How long do you have to be interested in something before you can get excited about it?
Is there a table? Is there a written guideline?
I was a bit taken by SthnJeff's comment. It started me thinking.
Randomly..
Who are we to say how involved someone should be? Emotion is not an exact science. That said, when a surge
like this comes pretty much out of nowhere I know I tend to be puzzled by it. Mind you if I took someone to a Phoenix game, for their very first match, and they were, say, weeping at full time I'd be a tad questioning...
How about these thoughts?
If this boat was just called the Matilda and was racing under plain white sails for, say, the Auckland Yacht Club, would people be so excited?
If the New Zealand flag was not in sight would people be so excited?
If a NZ flag is wrapped around something is that enough for people to get excited?
Is interest in this event top down or bottom up? That is, was there a groundswell of popular support that TV/Radio/Papers saw the need to cover? Or was it it top down and the media/marketing world created the hype?
Is this sincere interest (what is sincere?) or is simply driven by media messages and images? If TV/Radio/papers weren't covering the event would hundreds of NZers be pressuring them for coverage? If they weren't covering it how many NZers would pay any attention at all?
How much of this is simply just nationalism? Am emotive resonse garnered by putting the NZ flag on a yacht?
Good post and I don't really have many answers.
You are right about the wrapping it up in the flag and whipping up Nationalisim, and there are some parallels with this and the Penrose Warriors and Northcote Breakers. There has of course also been a fair amount of talk and probably more action (away home games) with our very own beloved New Zealand Phoenix.
I think if the boat was called the Auckland Matilda, there would still be a fair amount of hysteria generated given the Media being largely located in Auckland and the fact that Auckland sees itself as the City of Sails. There are actually a Shit load of people up there who do actually sail boats. That hysteria of course would probably not extend beyond the Bombays, but we would still be overloaded with it on our screens.
I guess the one thing it does show is that if you have a product that is good and you get the media onside, you can see these results. The All Blacks have been doing it for so long now it just goes unnoticed.
Anyway, I am going to watch and the boats, locked in my office all by myself and whatever happens I will not be having a cry!
Wawawawa they have automated foil technologies we have to do it manually Wawawawa it's not yachting it's aero technologies. Gtfo. If this wasn't on tv, no one would give a fuck.
The rumour from a work colleague who has just returned from San Fran, The reason Oracle have improved so much in the last 2 weeks. Is that when we were trashing them , Oracle got to see our foils, while the NZ boat was being taken out of the water, Oracle saw what the difference in the foils and Ellison immediately order new foils designed and improved and built at over $2m for a set.
They can change foils to meet the conditions of the day... hence why Oracle foil faster at the start (even when they don't a good one) and foil in a low breeze where NZ can't at the moment.
I think this has already been posted here but oh well
as the whole country is so invested in this event, do we get today off work on compassionate leave?
Lolz!
What a waste of money!
I don't think it's a choke either. Since the start of racing when emirates tnz were clearly a faster boat than oracle, oracle started working over time on making their boat faster. It took about 8-9 races before they got it right but since then they have been pretty much unbeatable. Rumours are that oracle observed emirates tnz's boat as it was put in and out of the water each day and figured out why etnz's foils worked better and then made new ones (thanks to Warkworth boat builders and at about 2 mil a pop) which now means they have foils for all conditions and etnz only have a couple of sets. They also watched etnz sail their boat and learned a few tricks off them. So all in all I think it's mostly a combination of boat improvements, improvements in the way they sail it, and Ben Ainslie coming in because he has been far smarter than Ray Davies. Its less of a choke and more of a comeback which could only be possible with the money available to oracle. Etnz don't have the same ability to make the changes oracle do which is exactly why they've been "blown out of the water" - sorry but very apt you have to admit!
Totally this.
I've actually enjoyed watching the racing when I could over the last few weeks, and was keeping an eye on the Louis Vuitton as well. Not because of all the hype, just because it's some pretty cutting edge competition. Kind of like watching the semis and finals of Wimbledon (without following every ATP event), because you know you're going to see the best going at it. And the boats have been pretty impressive to watch. If that makes me a fair-weather yachting fan, then meh.
Have avoided all the propoganda in the media though, and the commentators regularly make me want to throw up. The times I've watched it streaming have been far better, because you get the American commentators which are far less nauseating than the kiwis.
We won either way. Core Composites in Auckland built and designed the Oracle boat - its NZ tech behind it as was Prada, and to some extent Artemis, and the failed Korean challenge.
What we can do is thank Larry for making Auckland the centre for high performance boat building. Similar to the clustered F1 teams around Silverstone, or the supercar triangle in Italy.
Money well spent I say.
I don't think it's a choke either. Since the start of racing when emirates tnz were clearly a faster boat than oracle, oracle started working over time on making their boat faster. It took about 8-9 races before they got it right but since then they have been pretty much unbeatable. Rumours are that oracle observed emirates tnz's boat as it was put in and out of the water each day and figured out why etnz's foils worked better and then made new ones (thanks to Warkworth boat builders and at about 2 mil a pop) which now means they have foils for all conditions and etnz only have a couple of sets. They also watched etnz sail their boat and learned a few tricks off them. So all in all I think it's mostly a combination of boat improvements, improvements in the way they sail it, and Ben Ainslie coming in because he has been far smarter than Ray Davies. Its less of a choke and more of a comeback which could only be possible with the money available to oracle. Etnz don't have the same ability to make the changes oracle do which is exactly why they've been "blown out of the water" - sorry but very apt you have to admit!
It's on wiki as a choke. Thus it is a fact.
I don't think it's a choke either. Since the start of racing when emirates tnz were clearly a faster boat than oracle, oracle started working over time on making their boat faster. It took about 8-9 races before they got it right but since then they have been pretty much unbeatable. Rumours are that oracle observed emirates tnz's boat as it was put in and out of the water each day and figured out why etnz's foils worked better and then made new ones (thanks to Warkworth boat builders and at about 2 mil a pop) which now means they have foils for all conditions and etnz only have a couple of sets. They also watched etnz sail their boat and learned a few tricks off them. So all in all I think it's mostly a combination of boat improvements, improvements in the way they sail it, and Ben Ainslie coming in because he has been far smarter than Ray Davies. Its less of a choke and more of a comeback which could only be possible with the money available to oracle. Etnz don't have the same ability to make the changes oracle do which is exactly why they've been "blown out of the water" - sorry but very apt you have to admit!
Totally this.
I've actually enjoyed watching the racing when I could over the last few weeks, and was keeping an eye on the Louis Vuitton as well. Not because of all the hype, just because it's some pretty cutting edge competition. Kind of like watching the semis and finals of Wimbledon (without following every ATP event), because you know you're going to see the best going at it. And the boats have been pretty impressive to watch. If that makes me a fair-weather yachting fan, then meh.
Have avoided all the propoganda in the media though, and the commentators regularly make me want to throw up. The times I've watched it streaming have been far better, because you get the American commentators which are far less nauseating than the kiwis.
This.
I have sailed on on off for years from tiny P Class to Crewing on boats up to 11m. All the hype aside, the thing that has got my attention is the technology in these things that allows them to sail the speed they do. They have at times got very close to 90kph in winds of 40 kph which is nothing short of witchcraft.
According to the Guardian it was some British bloke Ben Ainslie who won it. So really it was a British victory.
Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves!!!
British Victory - This is my new fav sport!!!
Why does 'Team USA' have at least 2 aussies and a british guy ??
Why does 'Team USA' have at least 2 aussies and a british guy ??
To change the light bulbs?
Same reason Team NZ has 2 aussies.
I think its a bit of both. Barker got completely owned in the starting box by Spithall and the amount of penalties... that's a choke. However once into the race, they had the faster boat for sure and to that end, they came back well so they outsailed us.
A bit of both for me.
Why does 'Team USA' have at least 2 aussies and a british guy ??
Dunno, reckon the Aussie's would have done f all and just whined a lot.
The Brit would have taken control and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat whilst smoking a pipe.
His tactics would have been to make every man wear a big woolly polo neck jumper and drink lots of cocoa. At least half the crew would have to have wounds pick up in various military campaigns around the globe.
One crew member would have no legs, his name would be "Shorty". There would have to be a least one Scots sailor hopefully he would have red hair to fill 2 stereotypes and his name would be "Ginger McTavish".
At night they would put on little theatre shows to raise morale. Half the crew would dress as women.
This is what won it basically - thems the tactics used. Can I have several million dollars please?
Same reason Team NZ has 2 aussies.
Scapegoats?
We weren't prepared for the flood tide. Thoughts?
Our code zero should have been better too.
Fascinating reading reactions. -
and it seems the Stuff website ran the awful headline CHOKE. They hype it up and then they 'hype it down'.... it seems.
On the third leg, our jibes needed to sharper. What was Barker thinking?!?!
This is what won it basically - thems the tactics used. Can I have several million dollars please?
GENIUS!
hubris was the winner on the day
According to the Guardian it was some British bloke Ben Ainslie who won it. So really it was a British victory.
Rule Britannia! Britannia rules the waves!!!
British Victory - This is my new fav sport!!!
The skipper is an Aussie.
hubris was the winner on the day
German lad? Which team was he a crew member of?