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America’s Cup

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by Symon Moore, Dec 20, 2020.

  1. Is anyone watching the America’s cup? These things are no longer Yachts imo. There’s almost none of it ever actually in the water, rally style steering wheels & no use of spinnakers. Incredible tech but it was tougher in my day when we actually had the hull in the water! :D
     
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  2. They’re great looking boats though.
     
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  3. I am fascinated by what's happening in the Vendee Globe round the world single handed race and the America's cup.
    More high technology than a Nassa space mission. The AC75's are getting up to 49.5 knots ffs. The really tricky part apparently is when they transition from the hull in the water to flying , much more complex adjustments than flying an aircraft . Interesting part is, that this is just the beginning of whats possible with this technology.
    Well worth checking out the Sea Wolves analysis with Florian, much better than the alternatives imo.
    http://seawolvestv.com/
     
    #3 CRYSTALJOHN, Dec 20, 2020
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2020
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  4. i used to watch it, very clever stuff, how much are the boats ?? like 5 million to build or something??
     
  5. Yes the Vendee looks very interesting too, I have a peek occasionally

    https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en
     
  6. @DucatiScud I recommend the 'Sea Wolves programme' for following the Vendee, far far better than the official site.

    Did you see the incredible rescue of Escoffier by Jean Le Cam. He was very, very lucky that a highly skilled sailor was in the vicinity!

     
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  7. When you first watch the AC75s in action, if you didn't know better you'd think it was a sci-fi cartoon or video game.

    How they can control the transition from max power to create lift and back off to maintain flight is incredible to me. It all takes place over 5 seconds and then they fly on a constant knife edge.
     
  8. Maybe good analysis, but not one to watch if you want to watch the races or highlights on one of the many youtube videos. He tells you who has won and how they performed before showing any race footage.

    Incredible where sailing technology has gone in recent years. Essentially water is high drag and slow, so just use it as little as you need to balance other forces and maximise speed.
     
  9. Appear to defy all laws of physics when transitioning. Amazing machines
     
  10. Plus this is just the beginning. Soon there will be rental sailboats at med beaches which use some spin off from these designs. I used think I was cool sailing a hobie on one float...
     
  11. Vendée Globe is a hard core race. What these men and women go through, solo, for this long, is at the edge of what a human being can take, both physically and mentally.

    Truly amazing and respect inspiring. I think they are as tough as the first astronauts. Apex risk takers.

    And the speed and storm footage they provide us with is just out of this world.
     
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  12. Then Isabelle Autissier must be a familiar name to you?
     
  13. Agreed, I seem to recall reading that more people have been into space than sailed solo around the world.

    It’s a remarkable achievement no matter the technology you have to hand.
     
  14. Absolutely. She did most of her solo racing in the 90’s. I saw a tv documentary a while ago on this race, where she was interviewed. I remember her telling about a dramatic experience during one of her races, when she had just doubled Le Cap, sailing northeast up into the strait of Madagascar in a very big storm, 10-12m waves, when she ran into what sailors call a rogue wave. « Une vague scélérate », in French. She said she couldn’t tell how high or big it was. Like about double the size of what she had been facing that day. I remember feeling goose bumps on my arms when she described her experience as one of the most terrifying thing Mother Nature could ever throw at a human being.

    Can you imagine ? Plus their sailboats are super fragile. These sailors are nuts...
     
  15. At one point in her career she held the speed record from I think New York to Seattle. I'm fairly sure she was also the first woman to compete in the Vendee race when it was still called the BOC something or other. A really top sailor.
     
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