China Aims to Make Run for America's Cup

[sneuman]

Hope no one will mind a little self promotion:

ABC News: China Aims to Make Run for America's Cup

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha Sneuman,
Could you explain how this is self promotion?
I find it very interesting and wish the Chinese crew and sponsors the best of luck. Is it the "peoples money" that has purchased the boat and is supporting the crew? They will become the world leader in nearly everything soon so why not maxi sailing as well.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[rtbates]

Originally Posted by SkiprJohn

Aloha Sneuman,
Could you explain how this is self promotion?
I find it very interesting and wish the Chinese crew and sponsors the best of luck. Is it the "peoples money" that has purchased the boat and is supporting the crew? They will become the world leader in nearly everything soon so why not maxi sailing as well.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

'cause he wrote the story?

Which, by the way I enjoyed reading. Talk about an uphill battle. Hope they can stick around long enough to get competitive.

tks

randy

[Sunspot Baby]

I kind of miss the days when the boat from any given country was built in that country and sailed by a crew from that country. Now, BMW sponsors an American boat. Kiwi, Ausie, and Yank sailors skipper boats from anywhere.

We Yanks spend tons of time and effort, splitting our talent among several challengers and work on beating each other rather than focusing on fielding our best of best in an attempt to recapture the cup.

I reveal myself as an old fart reminiscing about the "good old days."

George

[Weyalan]

A good read, thanks. I hope that they don't get "schooled" so bad so as to lose the enthusiasm & drive to compete in subsequent ACs.

[GordMay]

George reveals himself "...as an old fart reminiscing about the "good old days."
When the New York Yacht Club "owned" the cup?

[SkiprJohn]

Scott,
I guess I should read by lines a little closer. Congrats on a good story.
Kind Regards,
JohnL

[Charlie]

Oh come on
"When the New York Yacht Club "owned" the cup?"

That is far too nice a word. We know you are a polite Canadain but could you reach into that rich vocabulary of yours and use a word that is more accurate. Nefariously held title to the cup. I'm sure you have a better word.

[Sunspot Baby]

Sure, I wish we Yanks held the cup, bit of national pride that. I think the competition format and loss of national identity are what I lament. It is no longer country against country it is now consortium against consortium. Examples, USA boat with German sponsor, Swiss boat with American skipper, etc.

There are many yacht races where you match the best boat money can buy against the best crew you can assemble regardless of where technology is developed, vessel is constructed, or national origin of the crew. The Americas cup had a little something special. Boats used to have names like Intrepid or Reliant, now they are floating billboards; damned fast and expensive billboards I grant you, but floating advertisements none the less.

I welcome the Chinese (I’m sure they were hoping I would) but will it be a Chinese at the helm? Not initially. They do have a lot of pride and will undoubtedly develop great racing talents as they have done in so many other endeavors.

George

[Tnflakbait]

I welcome the Chinese as well and hope they can pull something off.

I wish that the formula for the boats would change for some more exciting racing!

...But thats another topic...

[Alan Wheeler]

"NYC Owened the cup?" Nah Gord. We Kiwis just let them borrow it for a while ;-) :-)

[David M]

Its a team sport. Just like baseball, it does not matter where the players come from or where the boats are built.

If they are going to spend millions of dollars per boat then they may as well sail boats that are truly the fastest boats out there and thrilling for anyone to watch...even people who know nothing about sailing.

I would like to see some sort of class boat...all of which come out of the same mold and have very tight class restrictions...how about a 90 foot monohull with a very deep weighted keel and a huge amount of sail area? How about 90 foot catamarans? Why not?....enough of these boring ACR's that are not even faster than most 80' plus maxi racers!

If they want a world audience then they need to create truly tight competition with class racers and sail boats that are truly thrilling to watch. For most people, watching the Americas Cup is BORING!....Olympic curling is more exciting to watch.

Make the defender have to compete against everyone...not just the winning challenger...it's pure BS the way it is now. Would YOU enter a race like that?...hell no. It gives the defender an unfair advantage. Start the race from the beginning on an equal footing.

Also, anyone who goes to court gets points added to their score! The sea lawyers need to be banned. How do sea lawyers make sailing better?..they don't...ever.

Drop all the snooty crap as well. The general public already thinks people with sailboats are wealthy. This needs to become a sport that the Bud Light swillers and blue collar people can take an interest in. If there are a few crashes that is okay. They crash in NASCAR all the time without many problems. Drop the Rolex and the BMW sponsorships and start getting Tide Detergent and Viagra to take up sponsorships. This sport could use a few rednecks!

Only allow races in places that are historically windy. Winds under 15 knots cancel a race and there is no upper limit to canceling a race because of high winds.

Put ALL the Americas Cup boats on the start line and make it a short line in which they can all barely fit.....two boats starting is BORING!

The Americas Cup need tight competition and truly thrilling boats...anything else and forget it.

The Americas Cup is not going anywhere until they start thinking outside the box.