3:00am – Well I dragged myself out of bed to watch what likely will be the most boring Americas Cup of all time. An ostentatious example of too much money and no sense. In the grand tradition of the AC the first race is under a postponement. Of course one might be tempted to ask why on earth would they schedule a race for 10am local time? It would have made more sense to pick 1pm when the sea breeze had likely settled in.
4:00am – Still waiting. Even the cameramen have got bored. The live feed has now shifted to a static camera showing the Americas Cup Park – yawn.
We did get to see both boats in the water, and from a technology standpoint they are state of the art. Does that equate to great sailing though? It still bothers me that the AC seems to have thrown the ‘deed of gift’ out of the window. Sure there is an argument that the AC is about innovation, and certainly over the years there have been inovations that have trickled down to the general sailing community. For me though, I feel the AC is more about the skill of the crew. I would like to see the battle fought on either a one design or a tightly controlled formula. Both the 12 meter and IACC boats fit that criteria.
4:40am – The Race Committee is moving the course NE where they feel that the breeze is more stable, an appendage wrecking 10 knots! This will put the course approximately 32 miles offshore. In the earlier live video it was clear that the spectator fleet was thin to say the least, and now with the course so far from shore it is unlikely that many pleasure boaters will go out to watch.
5:20am – The wind is a roaring 3-4 knots. I can’t see this race starting anytime soon. Damn I could have stayed in bed.
6:00 am – Still patiently waiting……
6:10am – Well they are reporting that there is wind in 11-12 knot range on part of the course, however the start line only has 2-3 knots. It is not clear what wind strength head official Harold Bennett will settle for.
7:00am Looks like the Race Committee has called it a day. Race one should be happening Feb/10 at 10am local (Dark thirty here in the US).
This kid is going back to bed.
Simon Barrett
9 users commented in " Americas Cup 33 – Race One "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackThanks for the great coverage. I can’t stand the excitement any longer. I’m going back to bed.
Thank you for your diligence, at least sombody is watching
Thanks for the report, pity about the day (night).
I am so glad I slept past the 3:00AM alarm today to watch the live feed. You have my greatest respect for hanging in there as it must have been painful. Having raced the cup in light unpredictable air in Newport and San Diego — this 33/cup has been and is playing out to be sooo painful for everyone!
cupveteran – was involved with the San Diego debacle, at least they started the races at a decent time. I could roll out of bed and know that the biggest decision of the day was deciding on watching the races on CCTV or on the water! Mostly I chose the internal feed on the TV, with two courses active, being on the water resulted in missing something important.
I will be up again at 3am on the 10th, just because I am a sadist!
so much money, so much ego, and at the end of the day – no wind – just two guys having a go.
What’s the point?
Love sailing Love this race Thank you Simon
Simon sleep in a little later Wed. morning — and as we used to say (DC) “It’s just a hobby”
Just proves that Alinghi knew what they were talking about when they chose Ras-Al-Khaimah.
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