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America's Cup

Just watched. I hope the US come back and we see a proper fight but at this rate it’ll be all over tomorrow.
 
Indeed. However, just getting back on the water has been a major success. If they could make a better start and put some pressure on Prada would make for an interesting race.
It’s great for us insomniacs.
 
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Putting pressure on Jimmy Spithill is a bit of an oxymoron. I'm more worried about the Prada final. Especially as we have run out of foil design iterations. Nervous......

But on the other hand, could this be it? Has the Brits' time come ?
 
Didn't look good for the US. LR looking really smooth and in control.

53 knots - that's just mental. 60mph. No seatbelts or airbags here...
 
The American boat was looking skittish and difficult to sail when changing direction but was fast at 50 knots + .The fact they lost the rudder again does not bode well but hopefully they are able to put up more of a challenge tomorrow . Prada seem to have improved unfortunately !
 
Arriverderci, American Magic.

My opinion is that the key design flaw was the one that allowed a capsize to rip a hole out of the boat, after which despite their valiant efforts, there was not enough time to not only put Patriot back together again, but tune her & get everything back up to speed. LR ripped a wounded boat & her crew to pieces: a sad end to a $100m+ campaign.

The real racing begins in 2 weeks...
 
A bit of a whimper, but that LR team look well-oiled. No real mistakes, but to be fair, they weren't under pressure. Bring on the finals!

I still can't get my head around 53 knots on the water. Those chase boats must have dual 400hp outboards. It's bad enough when you come off the trapeze at 15 knots. It fairly flushes your orifices.
 
A bit of a whimper, but that LR team look well-oiled. No real mistakes, but to be fair, they weren't under pressure. Bring on the finals!

I still can't get my head around 53 knots on the water. Those chase boats must have dual 400hp outboards. It's bad enough when you come off the trapeze at 15 knots. It fairly flushes your orifices.

On a trip to Little Rock in the mid-80s, my business partner & I were taken out on the Arkansas River in a mid-size speedboat with a ridiculously large jet drive engine (can't remember how many hundreds of horsepower). We hurtled along the flat calm river at 60mph, so just over 52 knots, & I'll never forget the feeling of sheer terror that we might hit a submerged log at what felt like a mind-boggling speed to be traveling over the water. Never again....
 
It’s a shame the US couldn’t get the boat tuned for the semis.

Ainslie vs Spithill. Should be good!
 
Big disappointment today with the Americans not really in either race and foil problems in the 2nd consigned them to last place . when the boats have been working well racing has been close and interesting so hoping for a good Prada Cup hopefully with a British win
 
I still can't get my head around 53 knots on the water. Those chase boats must have dual 400hp outboards. It's bad enough when you come off the trapeze at 15 knots. It fairly flushes your orifices.

Funny you should say that, a couple of weeks ago I had the same thought and went poking-about the web a bit - you're exactly right, depending on which team / boats you're looking for, they are all 2-3 outboards totally >750+hp.

Incredible tech to sail at those speeds, utterly spectacular. And with that, I'm about to watch the replay of the semi-finals (yes I know how it ends... but this stuff, and the quality of coverage and commentary on the live and other allied sailing Youtube channels is a rare treat; I'd recommend PlanetSail for some good insight for those who haven't already found it)
 
I remember seeing a 400hp on the Mercury stand at Southampton Boat Show a couple of years ago (remember, we used to go to shows?). It was bigger than me, and the salesguy said he could do a deal on that one, for £90k. I didn't know if he was taking the p1ss or not, or if that included the rib it sat on.
 
The lighter winds didn't do the Brits any favours today. The first race was over before it got started, when Ainslie and crew could not get their boat up on foils for the start. The second was much closer, but the Italians put on a masterclass of tactical sailing that was perfectly executed from start to finish.

Let's see if Sir Ainslie can pull something out of the bag tomorrow. I now worry that Team New Zealand has not had much match racing practice, and might not do so well for the Cup races.
 
Luna Rossa looks slick. But Ben’s not known as the comeback king for nothing. Maybe they did a tweak too far in the shed
 
I think Rita’s got to find another 5-10 seconds a leg to stand a chance. Starts being equal, Luna still looks quicker
 


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