Online Yacht Club

Some great pix of Prada and Emirates racing on San Francisco Bay. This is what the Louis Vuitton will look like. As Bob Fisher pointed out in his history of the America's Cup, the main advantage the challengers have is the challenger's race series which raises their skill level with real racing.

A great explanation on how the foils work to fly the AC72's by Dario Valenza on Carbonic Boats Blog Spot. Dario builds and sells Paradox A-Class Catamarans so he knows all as well as tells all. Shame the Ozzies didn't hire him to design and build an Australian challenger for AC34.

Pics from AC34 of USA 17 and Emirates/New Zealand (does it have a number?) practicing on the bay. The likely America's Cup racers on parade.



In other news, looks like Artemis will be get back in the race in their 2nd AC72 providing a three way Louis Vuitton Race series. Hard to see Luna Rosa beating Emirates using second hand version of Emirates American's designed AC72. Artemis likely still has design issues and will be present but not a probable contender.

It's shaping up very much as a traditional America's Cup before it was high jacked by the awful 12 meter era of numbing slowness. In a way the Emirates boat is playing the role of America, a challenge by syndicate of people out to make money winning a boat race vs. the US as the wealthy royalty defending against the upstart sailing professional gamblers.

Of course we still have to put...

Prada capo Patrizio Bertelli's Luna Rosa makes its Golden Gate premier run...and looks fantastic. Easily the best graphics of the four AC72's. A sunny contrast to the grim faces and complaints of the previous day about the wind speed racing limits, too high in Bertelli's view following the Artemis fatal crash, for the safety of the crew and the boats.



Pix by Carlo Borlenghi.

All the controversies over the transition of the America's Cup into the 21st century and back to the original intent of Cup being the pinnacle of competition between nation's in the unlimited and most advanced sailing machines possible, all the controversies seem to fade every time the boats get on the water and remind everyone how fantastic the AC45's and AC72's are....

David Glenn in Yachting World argue for shutting down the multi-hulls as too fast, too dangerous. But Glenn misstates several facts.

The reason for the multihulls was not some ""idea" that Oracle had. It grew out of a classic America's Cup of AC33, run by the basic unlimited rules of the...