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379 Posts
Has the America's Cup lost its sheer sailing appeal to anyone else? First, let me say that I am a cruiser through and through and that I don't mean to start a negative thread (or antagonize any multi-hullers out there) but the Cup does not hold the same significance for me that it once did. The last Cup was mired in courtroom hearings that left a sour taste and this Cup features these new 72-foot multi-hulls moving 1.5 times the true wind speed downwind.
I know that the boats have evolved since the beginning and that technology will continue to improve and boats will become faster, more manuverable and generally capable of doing things that were impossible in the past but, when I look back at the Cups of the 80's (excluding '88), 90's and 00's I see more pure racing than todays events--more focus on the sailing and crew than the boats and politics.
Are we past the point of no return? Can we get back to the basics and infuse the old enthusiasm into the sport? I was in New Zealand in 2007 while the Louis Vuitton was going on and there were crowds in every pub and TVs set up on milk crates on street corners airing the races. A Kiwi friend tells me that it's not the same anymore. That's the excitement I want back in the sport. Is it gone for good?
I know that the boats have evolved since the beginning and that technology will continue to improve and boats will become faster, more manuverable and generally capable of doing things that were impossible in the past but, when I look back at the Cups of the 80's (excluding '88), 90's and 00's I see more pure racing than todays events--more focus on the sailing and crew than the boats and politics.
Are we past the point of no return? Can we get back to the basics and infuse the old enthusiasm into the sport? I was in New Zealand in 2007 while the Louis Vuitton was going on and there were crowds in every pub and TVs set up on milk crates on street corners airing the races. A Kiwi friend tells me that it's not the same anymore. That's the excitement I want back in the sport. Is it gone for good?