Joe, Having seen J Class boats, 12meter boats, IAC class, non-foiling and foiling AC catamarans race, I can attest to the excitement that ALL of them present to spectators when watching in person. I don’t think it truly matters if you thought you could put yourself on board as a participant. Regardless of the class yacht being used, I still view the America’s Cup as my all time favorite competition in sports.
I grew up fantasizing about the 12 meters, followed the race coverage in the New York Times, and thought that the yacht Intrepid was the absolute pinnacle of yacht design. Mind you, I was sailing Sunfish and FJ dinghies at the time. As the IAC boats came to pass, I still had the passion to follow the Cup races and took a special trip to San Diego right while all the yacht syndicates from Japan, Russia, Italy, New Zeeland, and Australia prepared for the regatta. So cool! When the Cup finally returned to the US, I took my whole family to San Francisco to watch the AC72 Cats fly up and down the bay at breathtaking speeds. It was a thrill to see them in action and Yes, there were tacking duels and thrilling crosses. I didn’t get down to Bermuda, but I did see the smaller AC Cats race in Newport, and thought the fleet racing was spectacular. So maybe I will never sail on a foiler, but after watching several new Cup races, my 17 year old son is absolutely psyched up to sail on one of the new UFO 10’ foiling cats that our yacht club bought this year for the youth sailing program. He couldn’t be bothered by sailing my Laser, but can’t wait to get out on something that flies across the water! In my mind, that’s what the inspiration of the Cup should be. Chuck Gilchrest S/V Half Magic 1983 35 Landfall Padanaram, MA From: CnC-List <cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> On Behalf Of Della Barba, Joe via CnC-List Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2019 9:11 AM To: 'cnc-list@cnc-list.com' <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: Della Barba, Joe <joe.della.ba...@ssa.gov> Subject: Re: Stus-List [EXTERNAL] Re: AC75 boats Not really the same thing. Going from J-Class to 12s was needed because no one could afford to race a J anymore. Both of them sail pretty much like any other boat. If you know how to sail at all, you could sail either one more or less. If you raced at all, everything they did was like something you did every day. I don’t see any reason you couldn’t grab people from a C&C rendezvous and put them on a 12 and get one around a race course in a reasonable fashion. J class multi-ton sheet loads are perhaps another story, but still a tack is a tack and port still has to duck starboard. Foiling cats running around at 30-50 knots are an entirely different universe. Racing them is a sport of some kind, but it does not resemble what we think of as sailboat racing whatsoever to me. Among all the other reasons, the traditional AC race was between boats that were very close in speed. Absolutely superb tactics and boat handling were required to keep ahead of the other boat. It was pretty rare for there to be enough speed difference for a good crew to lose to an average one. 6.9 knots losing to 7.1 knots is one thing, the 7.1 knot boat is just one mistake away from losing. 45 vs. 55 knots, well you can still crash but it isn’t at all the same. Joe Coquina From: CnC-List [ <mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com> mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Don Kern via CnC-List Sent: Monday, January 28, 2019 4:43 PM To: Della Barba, Joe via CnC-List Cc: Don Kern Subject: Re: Stus-List [EXTERNAL] Re: AC75 boats I bet that is similar to what was said 1900's when the America Cup boats went to cross cut sails and the Marconi rig. Then again when they went from the 12 meters to the IACC boats, never mind the foiling cats. "just saying" own Fireball for 39 years Don Kern Docent, Herreshoff Marine Museum Fireball C&C35 Mk2 Bristol, RI
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