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Thoughts from the Blue
Peter Lester’s Blog – Louis Vuitton Cup – America’s Cup – Yachting in General
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- NZ Herald Yachting
- Yachting: Wind limits likely to be lowered for Cup racing
- Yachting: Safety increases recommended for America's Cup
- Yachting: Team Jolly lead at European regatta
- Yachting: Artemis crew 'back to work' after sailor's death
- Yachting: Dalton worried rivals may cash in on tragedy
- Yachting: Eyes on water with Cup plan up in the air
Go Oracle! Give them the final blow! And bring the circus back to Auckland.
But to Larry: please build an *actual sailing boat* for the next America’s cup. The America’s Cup has never been about breaking speed records, I believe that it must be men driving these things not electronics and engines and buttons and lasers reading the wind speed to the infinitesimal.
Actually, I found the races to be more exciting than a technology demonstration like that had any right being. If they made a new America’s Cup class that had wing sails, canting keels, etc such that the boats got up to ~30 knots, I’d say that would be a good thing, provided the boats are still reasonably competitive and the costs weren’t so high to make it impossible to enter.
Oh, and nice to see your blog back, Peter.
Carl, we are all entitled to an opinion and while I respect yours, I am a conservative guy, not old, just conservative and I LOVE the sport of sailing, not this ‘wing-ing’, that would be another sport, a new exciting one maybe, but one I will not follow, since I have a passion for an activity that men have performed and enjoyed for thousands of years, which is based on a hull, some kind of mast and SAILS, not wings. I am not against technology at all but let’s make clear that there will always in favour of the latest trick, such as a mast that swivels, a new material that could only be used in rockets and America’s Cup boats, but… trimaran an a wing… not a boat, just a speed device which i admire and I’m very glad it was produced, because that thing shattered Ernesto’s wishes to own the fate of the oldest sports trophy in the history of humanity. Let’s hope for a new improved, technologically advanced AC class, with sails grinders, and decent match racing to prove, hopefully, that Adam Minoprio or Dean Barker are better helmsmen that Jimmy Spithill, mind you he’s bloody good though.
Sounds like a scaled-up RC44 might be the basis for the new AC Rule. That sounds pretty exciting to me.
Although I enjoyed this last multi-hull challenge (as did the sailors) I don’t see those giants ‘mixing it up’ in close combat the way we have seen it with designed to rule mono-hulls in past regattas.
At the same time, I also welcome the technological developments. It’s hard to imagine sailing these days without composite or carbon fibre for example.
Hi Peter,
A little off the beaten track of usual sailing events, but this year is the 4th Luderitz Speed Challange held in the remote coastal town of Luderitz, Namibia from 4 October to 31 October 2010. The event typically attracts kiteboarders and windsurfers and is accredited as a World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC)and International Sailing Federation (ISF) competition.
This year we will have a New Zealand competitor (kiteboarding) at the event, currently ranked 8th overall on the GPS record site reaching speeds over 50kts. As there is not yet an official national kiteboarding organisation and it doesn’t quite fall in with the windsurfers or with yachting either, I am making contact with you, partly for your own interest, and also for any suggestions you have for gaining some media interest for our entry to this event.
I look forward to hearing from you.
The event website is http://www.luderitz-speed.com, the GPS website is http://www.gps-kitesurfing.com.
Regards,
Charlotte
HI Peter
Hey I have lost all my contacts for you but wanted to talk to you about Doha.
I am going there for a sport and environment forum and have a couple of days to play tourist – do you have an recommendations?
I leave on Thursday so any hints would be great.
Hope you are doing great
Barbara