33rd America’s Cup Race 1 Open Thread
by Jonny Dub on Feb 12, 2010 1:38 AM EST
28 comments
Author's Note: Because the first race was delayed for a second time on Wednesday, Race 1 will begin Tonight/Early Morning Friday 3am Pacific (This is yet another postponement of 2 hours from the 1am start time). The best coverage state side is espn360.com
Today the Vince Lombardi Trophy will be hoisted by the greatest professional football team in the world. But the Lombardi Trophy is nothing compared to the oldest sporting trophy in the history of mankind.
History has shown what those will go through and sacrifice to capture the cup. Yachtsmen have failed and even died in attempts to win. It defies logic to dedicate so much time, money and livelihood to just a sport. The Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, British royalty are the type of characters who chase this holy grail. The 2010 America’s cup is undboubtably the most maddening edition of a yacht race that spans three centuries.
In one corner you have a team that hails from Switzerland… Team Alinghi. Alinghi is backed by gizllionaire drug lord Ernesto Bertarelli. Team BMW Oracle, now known as USA-17 is headed by yet another gizllionaire Larry Ellison.
In short only these two teams, rather than the more than ten we are used to, are foolish enough and egotistical enough to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a single event that could be realistically decided in the first 10 minutes. The technology being applied to these two boats is ridiculous. These boats move more than three times the speed of the wind… defying all traditional science. USA-17 doesn’t even have a mainsail, it uses a wing! A wing so massive it dwarfs that of a Boeing 747
We’ve never seen, nor will we ever see again in our lifetimes such infuriated amounts of research, time and money being thrown at a sailing race. The next edition of the America’s cup will most likely turn back the clock to traditional monohauls and sails. So this is it! If you don’t follow the America’s Cup there is no better time to start. And if you do, this is the race you tell your grandchildren about. The resources dedicated, along with the ludicrous soap opera between these two team makes this perhaps the most single important sporting event of all time. And the 33rd America’s Cup Starts Tonight!
This FanPost was written by a member of the Uncommon Sportsman community and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Uncommon Sportsman managers or SB Nation.
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USA win the coin toss
so looks like they’ll get the starboard tack at the start… The Swiss are sooo done!
Race 1
Looks like the wind built up too late in the day…. not sure why they are starting these races at 10am anyway. So Race 1 will start Wednesday (Tuesday Night).
Is this on TV?
how does one go about watching it?
by Stephen (shaynes41) on Feb 8, 2010 3:47 PM EST reply actions
espn360.com
has the best coverage in the US… you can watch it live there, they take the feed from americascup.com and have their own play by play. There isn’t enough interest to show it on TV. In the past I remember the VS Network showing it, and before that ESPN had it. I would have thought they’d show it on TV, becuase of the time of day it’s on; what would generate more at 1am anyway?
Almost made it…
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Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
Check back in three hours!
This time the waves are too big! They’re saying 1300 CET??? What the hell time is that?
Friday 1AM PST
to try yet again for the first race. Looks like waves and wind were just too much for these delicate boats to handle last night. Will this ever happen?!
Good god. Maybe they should move to a lake.
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you? ◔ヮ◔
Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
Both Boats are out there in light wind waiting...
Light wind favors the Swiss, so they’re showing off some speed, while USA tries their best to go as slow as possible. USA doing their best to show the committee boat it’s too light to start just yet.
Swiss in a bad position here....
USA is forcing them away with the right away rule, and the swiss already have a penalty to make up now when the race starts.
USA is dead in the water trying to hard to push the swiss around
they stall the boat and still haven’t make it to the starting line. USA blew it big time there, they are starting a good 3 mins. late.
USA gaining
they’ve cut into Alinghi’s lead a ton….. few minutes more and the swiss will have to make a move.
It's all but over...
These conditions favor the swiss yet…
USA is faster, USA has slowed down on purpose just to be safe, and USA has now even taken down it’s jib and they are still smoking Alinghi!
Might as well start packing up the Ol’ Cup to bring it back home!
Alinghi tacks
a bit early perhaps… maybe hoping for a bit of a wind shift?… they gotta try something. Although they have sped up after switching jibs, but still not as fast as USA.
Rounding the top mark
Both boats now around the windward mark for the downwind. Swiss need to make up some serious ground…
Doesn't look like it's even going to be close
USA is even faster than Alinghi on the downwind… where the Swiss were to have an advantage…it’s over!
Lucky for you
we’ve preserved that tradition here in every Open Thread, guaranteed.
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Uncommon Sportsman :: Absurdity in play
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