I know sailing anarchy is not always reliable and accurate press, but it looks as though the new IACC rule for the next challange actually narrows the rule and concentrates more on sailing skill and less on design . . . let alone new design! interesting. . . discuss.
www.sailinganarchy.com
~tb
Yeah ,it looks like they have snatched obsolescence from the jaws of innovation…
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
Looks to me as though they understand that match racing is a tactical game, and generally tactical yacht racing works best with lower performance boats.
It’s difficult enough to make it exciting for TV, and would be even harder if the first boat to the windward mark accelerates away, pushes the apparent forward so that covering by the boat behind becomes impossible and just sails away.
I don’t know Ed-match racing can certainly occur-and does- in high performance boats. If the boats’ performance doesn’t capture the public imagination then TV won’t work and if TV doesn’t work they’ve got a big problem. Match racing in slow boats can be exciting to watch for sailors but in fast boats could be exciting for everyone…But the die is cast: someone (in a position to know)said just recently the new boats with slightly more downwind area and a sightly deeper keel will “be a knot faster upwind and knots faster downwind”. We’ll see…
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
For the non-sailor, you could increase boat speed by 10 knots which you won’t do with CBTF and the boats will still appear slow to them. Keeping the racing close with fewer blowouts and making sure that the races are actually held instead of endless delays will do a lot more towards making the event interesting to watch for the non-sailor then increasing the speed of the boats.
The problem is not fast boats, but boats with significant discrepancies between upwind and downwind speeds. Say you are matchracing in downwind flyers. The first boat to arrive at the windward mark accelerates away and significantly extends her lead before the second boat arrives at the windward mark. A small lead on the beat is quickly extended at the windward mark. Unfortunately, this increase in separation makes it far harder for the second boat to try and cover the first boat, and this is exacerbated by one other thing: as the boat accelerates downwind, it pushes the apparent wind forward, and therefore the boat behind would have to be further forward in order to cover the leading boat - but because the first boat has accelerated away, it’s harder/impossible for the second boat to do this.
Compare this with boats that don’t plane downwind. The first boat doesn’t accelerate away after it rounds the windward mark, so it’s easier for the boat behind to attack. And secondly, because they aren’t pulling the apparent so far forward, again, it’s easier for the boat behind to get on the wind of the leading boat.
Check out Derek Clark?s comments on the latest version of the ACC rule on TheDailySail.
if what i read is true. it could meen more counties could compete for the cup. you could buy (say star and stripes us 77) and make a few modifaction to it and race it for your country. it could lower the cost to the company and get more boats invovled. i saw somewhere ,that the difference was 5% , a person could buy a “beaten boat” and change the bow or something and then win the cup
i think that would be a great idea , but first thing first. we have to make these boats safer. i cant remeber a good old 12 sinking, can anybody? but i remeber 1 austarlia sinking in 17 seconds and nzl 80 sinking in the first race, so much water coming on board that they could not get it out fast enough, maybe the should have name the boat titanic?
Brad Butterworth being quoted by Julie Ash in the New Zealand Herald: “…by the time four years roll around the boats I think will be a little bit outdated”. Story carried by Scuttlebutt Europe
I couldn’t agree more–non state of the art boats racing for the Cup! Amazing…
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
<blockquote id=“quote”><font size=“1” face=“Verdana, Arial, Helvetica” id=“quote”>quote:<hr height=“1” noshade id=“quote”>Originally posted by lorsail
non state of the art boats racing for the Cup! Amazing…
<hr height=“1” noshade id=“quote”></blockquote id=“quote”></font id=“quote”>
The same could be said for the venue change in the “Little America’s Cup” (aka: ICCT)
18 foot beach cats from production manufacturer’s in place of more open development, 25 foot, “C” Class cats - so following the change and theory of more boats = better event, … who won and how many people actually followed the series?
Merry Christmass ,Dick!
I’ve noticed in the sailing media particulary the Daily Sail and Seahorse that they are NOT referring to the ICCT as the Little America’s Cup anymore which is good news. Steve Clark and the guys from England and Australia are are planning on the Little America’s Cup this coming year I think.
The people at the Sea Cliff(?) Yacht Club who held the ICCT this past year did all of sailing a disservice by switching to the F18’s instead of the C class cats. Apparently, there was a close race between US team and the Italians for the ICCT but other than that I(and a lot of others) paid no attention…
Thats the danger faced with the America’s Cup: racing in slow leadbellies that aren’t even state of the art mono’s is going to be a hard sell I would think…
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
Thanks, Same to you.
Maybe we need to start referring to it (Americas Cup) as the ICC event (International Corporate Cup) since (as you pointed out last time) the sense and appeal of nationalizim has left the race course.
Pity
But then again, it isn’t the speed of racing, it is how close they are or can remain (as many are inclined to point out).
Some people do seem to have this odd idea that you can’t have fast boats match race-WRONG! And when the ICC guys make their case about tv coverage you gotta wonder where there brains are: who’s gona watch two outdated slow lead bellies plod around the course 4 years from now–I mean if two maxZ86’s held a match race you’d be seeing something or better yet two Libera 10 trapeze skiffs or 60’ tris but two leadbellies going 1knot faster upwind and 5 knots faster downwind-tsk,tsk…
Doug Lord
–High Technology Sailing/Racing
doug if you are talking about the americas cup. i watched every race this year. and taped most of them. we watch one of the races during our meetings to learn how the pro do it. i for one cant wait untill 2007.
cougar