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quinta-feira, 20 de dezembro de 2012
quinta-feira, 22 de novembro de 2012
America's Cup boat's capsizing sparks questions, fears
Fonte: mercurynews.com
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Oracle Team USA capsizes boat
In this photo taken Tuesday Oct. 16, 2012 and provided by Oracle Team USA, crew members hang from the mesh netting after the Oracle Team USA AC72 boat capsized on San Francisco Bay in San Francisco. The America's Cup champion syndicate is assessing the damage to its 72-foot (22-meter) catamaran, after it capsized and was swept by a strong current more than four miles (six kilometers) past the Golden Gate Bridge before rescue boats could control it.(AP Photo/Oracle Team USA, Guilain Grenier)
SAN FRANCISCO -- When Larry Ellison's new 72-foot America's Cup boat capsized on a practice run and was sucked through the Golden Gate in a crippled mess, the second-guessing and doubts among the sailing community began: Has Ellison's plan to turn the world's most famous yacht race into a high-tech white-knuckle NASCAR of the sea gone too far for speed?
"Everyone wants the fastest boat," said Richard Spindler, founder and publisher of Latitude 38, a sailing magazine based in Mill Valley. "But you can't win the race unless you finish."
Now, a month after Oracle Racing's new, custom-made USA 17 cartwheeled into San Francisco Bay, hurled its hotshot crew into the cold waters and crumpled the main sail structure, Ellison's pride is on the line as the sailing syndicate races against the clock to perform repairs and be ready to compete by September's America's Cup finals.
After winning the last Cup, Ellison was allowed to dictate the size and basic design of the boats for all the entries in this year's race. But some doubters are wondering whether the towering catamarans are too unwieldy and expensive and should follow the lead of Howard Hughes' giant flying boat, the "Spruce Goose" -- which was shelved for good after one flight.
Even America's Cup officials are talking about downsizing the catamaran for future races. But there's no time to turn back for this race.
"It's definitely a setback," Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill
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said of the newly built boat's capsize Oct. 16. He was at the helm and blames his risky maneuvers in especially rough conditions, not the boat design, for the catastrophe. "But it's not one that will stop us from winning the Cup," he said.
The boat's wreck on only its eighth practice run has focused scrutiny on the fundamental design of the so-called AC72 -- a new class of America's Cup boat built for excitement and speed. All three challengers have launched their customized versions, and at least one competitor is already complaining that the rigid wing serving as a mast and sail is too big.
If Ellison's team loses, the event he won in Spain in 2010 and brought for the first time to San Francisco -- promising millions of dollars in economic development and a thrilling spectator experience -- would move to the winning boat's home port.
Stephen Barclay, CEO of the America's Cup Event Authority, said the 72-footers are not too dangerous for the bay, but they are being reconsidered for future races because they are so expensive and big, requiring upward of 30 people to get them in and out of the water by crane. Only three teams, New Zealand, Sweden and Italy, could afford to challenge Oracle for the trophy next
he Oracle Team USA AC72 catamaran is capsized Oct. 16, 2012, on San Francisco Bay. (Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA)summer, compared with roughly a dozen challengers in past years.
Still, the capsize exposed the fundamental dilemma of the America's Cup: How extreme can a boat design be when it is racing in the bay's already extreme conditions with the most competitive sailors on the planet intent on going as fast as possible?
Along with wearing crash helmets and sharp knives strapped to body suits, Spithill's crew will now tuck into their chest pockets mini oxygen canisters. If sailors end up trapped underwater, they'll have 10 to 15 breaths to cut their way out from beneath the netted trampoline that spans the twin hulls.
"We have to plan for the worst," Spithill said. Still, "I think the boat has to be a challenge. It needs to have all the horsepower and risk. If you can only race to the top of first gear, it's boring. You need to be pushed."
He was pushing the limits a month ago in 30-knot winds clashing with the strongest ebb tide of the year. No one was injured when the boat pitch-poled end over end. But the rigid wing became a battering ram on the helpless hulls as it was flushed through the rough waters of the Golden Gate and then collapsed. Pieces of the wing are still washing up at beaches.
Spithill received a call from Ellison, his billionaire boss who founded Oracle, the next morning. —‰'Champions get through this. I have no doubt you'll get through it,' " Spithill recalls Ellison saying. "It's what I needed," Spithill said, "that outlook and attitude."
But the capsize spooked competitors. So far, Team New Zealand has had little trouble navigating its AC72 in strong winds, but when it heard the news of the capsize while out sailing off the New Zealand coast, it immediately "buttoned back," said Richard Gladwell, who covers the team for Sail-World.com in Auckland.
When Sweden's Artemis Racing launched its 72-footer out of Alameda last week in similar tidal conditions, "we didn't go anywhere near that part of the bay," said CEO Paul Cayard.
There is no fatal flaw to the AC72, Barclay said. But he acknowledges that "decisions were made early to make these boats exciting," including choosing a larger, faster 38-meter wing sail over a slower 32-meter one.
Cayard is already questioning the wisdom of that decision: "We would have been better off with a small wing."
The America's Cup has always been as much a test of sailing skills as a design competition -- and the history of the Cup is littered with examples of teams pushing the limit. . In 1995, One Australia cracked like an egg during a challenger series and sank in seconds.
"If nobody takes risks there will be no progress. Howard Hughes did that. So did Boeing," said Dirk Kramers, Oracle's chief engineer who led the design of the AC72. "Whatever lessons are learned from one cycle will be applied to the other. That's what's kept this game alive for 100-and-some-odd years."
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Oracle Team USA capsizes boat
In this photo taken Tuesday Oct. 16, 2012 and provided by Oracle Team USA, crew members hang from the mesh netting after the Oracle Team USA AC72 boat capsized on San Francisco Bay in San Francisco. The America's Cup champion syndicate is assessing the damage to its 72-foot (22-meter) catamaran, after it capsized and was swept by a strong current more than four miles (six kilometers) past the Golden Gate Bridge before rescue boats could control it.(AP Photo/Oracle Team USA, Guilain Grenier)
SAN FRANCISCO -- When Larry Ellison's new 72-foot America's Cup boat capsized on a practice run and was sucked through the Golden Gate in a crippled mess, the second-guessing and doubts among the sailing community began: Has Ellison's plan to turn the world's most famous yacht race into a high-tech white-knuckle NASCAR of the sea gone too far for speed?
"Everyone wants the fastest boat," said Richard Spindler, founder and publisher of Latitude 38, a sailing magazine based in Mill Valley. "But you can't win the race unless you finish."
Now, a month after Oracle Racing's new, custom-made USA 17 cartwheeled into San Francisco Bay, hurled its hotshot crew into the cold waters and crumpled the main sail structure, Ellison's pride is on the line as the sailing syndicate races against the clock to perform repairs and be ready to compete by September's America's Cup finals.
After winning the last Cup, Ellison was allowed to dictate the size and basic design of the boats for all the entries in this year's race. But some doubters are wondering whether the towering catamarans are too unwieldy and expensive and should follow the lead of Howard Hughes' giant flying boat, the "Spruce Goose" -- which was shelved for good after one flight.
Even America's Cup officials are talking about downsizing the catamaran for future races. But there's no time to turn back for this race.
"It's definitely a setback," Oracle Team USA skipper Jimmy Spithill
Advertisement
said of the newly built boat's capsize Oct. 16. He was at the helm and blames his risky maneuvers in especially rough conditions, not the boat design, for the catastrophe. "But it's not one that will stop us from winning the Cup," he said.
The boat's wreck on only its eighth practice run has focused scrutiny on the fundamental design of the so-called AC72 -- a new class of America's Cup boat built for excitement and speed. All three challengers have launched their customized versions, and at least one competitor is already complaining that the rigid wing serving as a mast and sail is too big.
If Ellison's team loses, the event he won in Spain in 2010 and brought for the first time to San Francisco -- promising millions of dollars in economic development and a thrilling spectator experience -- would move to the winning boat's home port.
Stephen Barclay, CEO of the America's Cup Event Authority, said the 72-footers are not too dangerous for the bay, but they are being reconsidered for future races because they are so expensive and big, requiring upward of 30 people to get them in and out of the water by crane. Only three teams, New Zealand, Sweden and Italy, could afford to challenge Oracle for the trophy next
he Oracle Team USA AC72 catamaran is capsized Oct. 16, 2012, on San Francisco Bay. (Guilain Grenier/Oracle Team USA)summer, compared with roughly a dozen challengers in past years.
Still, the capsize exposed the fundamental dilemma of the America's Cup: How extreme can a boat design be when it is racing in the bay's already extreme conditions with the most competitive sailors on the planet intent on going as fast as possible?
Along with wearing crash helmets and sharp knives strapped to body suits, Spithill's crew will now tuck into their chest pockets mini oxygen canisters. If sailors end up trapped underwater, they'll have 10 to 15 breaths to cut their way out from beneath the netted trampoline that spans the twin hulls.
"We have to plan for the worst," Spithill said. Still, "I think the boat has to be a challenge. It needs to have all the horsepower and risk. If you can only race to the top of first gear, it's boring. You need to be pushed."
He was pushing the limits a month ago in 30-knot winds clashing with the strongest ebb tide of the year. No one was injured when the boat pitch-poled end over end. But the rigid wing became a battering ram on the helpless hulls as it was flushed through the rough waters of the Golden Gate and then collapsed. Pieces of the wing are still washing up at beaches.
Spithill received a call from Ellison, his billionaire boss who founded Oracle, the next morning. —‰'Champions get through this. I have no doubt you'll get through it,' " Spithill recalls Ellison saying. "It's what I needed," Spithill said, "that outlook and attitude."
But the capsize spooked competitors. So far, Team New Zealand has had little trouble navigating its AC72 in strong winds, but when it heard the news of the capsize while out sailing off the New Zealand coast, it immediately "buttoned back," said Richard Gladwell, who covers the team for Sail-World.com in Auckland.
When Sweden's Artemis Racing launched its 72-footer out of Alameda last week in similar tidal conditions, "we didn't go anywhere near that part of the bay," said CEO Paul Cayard.
There is no fatal flaw to the AC72, Barclay said. But he acknowledges that "decisions were made early to make these boats exciting," including choosing a larger, faster 38-meter wing sail over a slower 32-meter one.
Cayard is already questioning the wisdom of that decision: "We would have been better off with a small wing."
The America's Cup has always been as much a test of sailing skills as a design competition -- and the history of the Cup is littered with examples of teams pushing the limit. . In 1995, One Australia cracked like an egg during a challenger series and sank in seconds.
"If nobody takes risks there will be no progress. Howard Hughes did that. So did Boeing," said Dirk Kramers, Oracle's chief engineer who led the design of the AC72. "Whatever lessons are learned from one cycle will be applied to the other. That's what's kept this game alive for 100-and-some-odd years."
terça-feira, 23 de outubro de 2012
domingo, 7 de outubro de 2012
ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL wins second consecutive America’s Cup World Series San Francisco
© ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA/Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget Download
ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL (Jimmy Spithill) rebounded from last place at the first turning mark of the “Super Sunday” fleet race finale to win the America’s Cup World Series San Francisco Championship.
Spithill and crew Dirk de Ridder, John Kostecki, Jono MacBeth and Joe Newton were “dead last” off the start line, but fought their way back through the fleet. They rounded the last windward gate first and held on for a 17-second win over teammates ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS (Russell Coutts).
Spithill won 40 points for the race and totaled 79 points for the series. That put the crew in a tie with J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) for the series championship, which placed fourth in the final race. Spithill won the championship based on the final race finishes.
“The difference is the four guys on the front of the boat,” said Spithill, referencing his crew. “We were dead last off the start line but it didn’t faze these guys. We have a real team of fighters here. We’re really, really happy.”
ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL put an emphatic stamp on this regatta. Yesterday the crew won the Match Racing Championship after capsizing and breaking frames in the wingsail during a fleet race. The crew also won the August AC World Series San Francisco Championship by 1 point, previously the closest finish at an AC World Series event. The tiebreaker surpasses that mark.
“We’ve always said we need to be able to come from behind and overcome adversity,” said Spithill, who skippered the team to victory in the 2010 America’s Cup. “I thought I gave them that yesterday with the capsize, but it's really a sign of a strong team. The shore crew, our coaches, it's been a fantastic team effort.”
Artemis Racing – White (Terry Hutchinson) placed third in today’s race and finished third overall. Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) placed fourth overall and ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS fifth.
AC World Series San Francisco Fleet Racing Championship (After 7 of 7 races)
1. ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL (Jimmy Spithill) 8-1-6-5-DNF-2-1 – 79
2. J.P. Morgan BAR (Ben Ainslie) 1-3-1-2-4-1-4 – 79 points
3. Artemis Racing – White (Terry Hutchinson) 10-2-2-1-3-3-3 – 72
4. Emirates Team New Zealand (Dean Barker) 2-8-5-6-1-4-7 – 57
5. ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS (Russell Coutts) 3-5-8-7-8-10-2 – 56
6. Artemis Racing – Red (Nathan Outteridge) 4-4-4-4-9-8-5 – 52
7. Energy Team (Loick Peyron) 6-7-7-3-6-7-6 – 47
8. Team Korea (Peter Burling) 5-9-10-8-2-5-10 – 40
9. Luna Rossa Piranha (Chris Draper) 9-6-3-10-10-6-9 – 36
10. China Team (Phil Robertson) 7-10-11-9-5-11-8 – 28
11. Luna Rossa Swordfish (Iker Martinez) 11-11-9-11-7-9-11 – 20
(Scoring, Races 1-6: 1st = 12 points, 2nd = 10, 3rd = 9, 4th = 8, 5th = 7, 6th = 6, 7th = 5, 8th = 4, 9th = 3, 10th = 2, 11th = 1; Race 7: 1st = 40 points, 2nd = 25, 3rd = 20, 4th = 16, 5th = 13, 6th = 11, 7th = 10, 8th = 9, 9th = 8, 10th = 7, 11th = 6)
AC World Series San Francisco Match Racing Championship
1. ORACLE TEAM USA SPITHILL,
2. Emirates Team New Zealand,
3. Artemis Racing – White,
4. Artemis Racing – Red,
5. ORACLE TEAM USA COUTTS,
6. Energy Team,
7. J.P. Morgan BAR,
8. Team Korea,
9.China Team,
10. Luna Rossa Piranha,
11. Luna Rossa Swordfish
sábado, 6 de outubro de 2012
domingo, 15 de abril de 2012
quinta-feira, 12 de abril de 2012
ACWS - Dia 2
Emirates Team New Zealand dominates on day two with Luna Rossa performing well in front of large crowds in Naples
Naples, Italy, 12/04/2012
America’s Cup World Series leading skipper Dean Barker showed his Emirates Team New Zealand remains the class of the fleet by winning both fleet races on Thursday. In scoring two victories, Barker now sits clear ahead of his rival James Spithill by a whopping 9 points on the Naples leaderboard.
© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download
The local favorites, the two Luna Rossa Challenge crews, also had a good afternoon in the beautiful sea breeze conditions just off the sea front of Naples, with each crew earning a second place finish.
“That’s more like what we prepared for. The boys sailed awesomely today, the boat handling was epic,” said Chris Draper, the helmsman on Luna Rossa Piranha, who scored a 2-3 this afternoon. “We’re really pleased.”
Crowds lined the waterfront on this sunny afternoon to watch the racing, with the finish line just meters from the shore.
“The people of Naples are really turning out in force to support us,” Barker said, as he and his crew saluted the crowd after finishing. “If this is what happens on Thursday, I can only imagine what we’ll see on the weekend.”
Before the fleet races today, three matches were sailed, one of which pitted the two ORACLE Racing teams against each other. On this day, it was Bundock winning over Spithill, an upset of the form guide.
“We were up against the winner of the America’s Cup, so to walk away with his scalp was great,” skipper Darren Bundock said with enthusiasm. “It pushes us straight through to the semi finals, so we’re looking good in the match racing.”
Artemis Racing and Luna Rossa Piranha were the other match race winners and both will advance to the next stage of the competition; the losers in each match have been knocked out and assigned a final finishing position.
The teams also completed the ‘spare’ race on Thursday afternoon. This fleet race will only be scored if there is no racing on Sunday. In that case, the race will be broadcast on Sunday afternoon and reported on at that time.
The program for Friday starts with Match Racing followed by two Fleet Races. The start of the first match is scheduled for 1330 CEST.
Fleet Racing Championship - Provisional Standings Day Two (after four races):
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (Skipper: Dean Barker); 38 points
2. ORACLE Racing - Spithill (Skipper: James Spithill); 29 points
3. Luna Rossa - Piranha (Helmsman: Chris Draper); 27 points
4. Team Korea (Skipper: Nathan Outteridge); 27 points
5. Energy Team (Skipper: Yann Guichard); 25 points
6. Luna Rossa - Swordfish (Helmsman: Paul Campbell-James); 24 points
7. ORACLE Racing - Bundock (Skipper: Darren Bundock); 16 points
8. Artemis Racing (Skipper: Terry Hutchinson); 12 points
9. China Team (Skipper: Fred Le Peutrec); 4 points
Match Racing Championship – Provisional Results:
Q1 - Artemis Racing beat China Team
QF1 - ORACLE Racing Bundock beat ORACLE Racing Spithill
QF2 - Luna Rossa Piranha beat Team Korea
China Team finishes ninth in the Match Racing Championship; Artemis Racing advances to QF3.
ORACLE Racing Spithill finishes seventh in the Match Racing Championship; ORACLE Racing Bundock advances to SF2.
Team Korea finishes sixth in the Match Racing Championship; Luna Rossa Piranha advances to SF2.
See full results and format here.
Naples, Italy, 12/04/2012
America’s Cup World Series leading skipper Dean Barker showed his Emirates Team New Zealand remains the class of the fleet by winning both fleet races on Thursday. In scoring two victories, Barker now sits clear ahead of his rival James Spithill by a whopping 9 points on the Naples leaderboard.
© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download
© ACEA 2012/ Photo Gilles Martin-Raget Download
The local favorites, the two Luna Rossa Challenge crews, also had a good afternoon in the beautiful sea breeze conditions just off the sea front of Naples, with each crew earning a second place finish.
“That’s more like what we prepared for. The boys sailed awesomely today, the boat handling was epic,” said Chris Draper, the helmsman on Luna Rossa Piranha, who scored a 2-3 this afternoon. “We’re really pleased.”
Crowds lined the waterfront on this sunny afternoon to watch the racing, with the finish line just meters from the shore.
“The people of Naples are really turning out in force to support us,” Barker said, as he and his crew saluted the crowd after finishing. “If this is what happens on Thursday, I can only imagine what we’ll see on the weekend.”
Before the fleet races today, three matches were sailed, one of which pitted the two ORACLE Racing teams against each other. On this day, it was Bundock winning over Spithill, an upset of the form guide.
“We were up against the winner of the America’s Cup, so to walk away with his scalp was great,” skipper Darren Bundock said with enthusiasm. “It pushes us straight through to the semi finals, so we’re looking good in the match racing.”
Artemis Racing and Luna Rossa Piranha were the other match race winners and both will advance to the next stage of the competition; the losers in each match have been knocked out and assigned a final finishing position.
The teams also completed the ‘spare’ race on Thursday afternoon. This fleet race will only be scored if there is no racing on Sunday. In that case, the race will be broadcast on Sunday afternoon and reported on at that time.
The program for Friday starts with Match Racing followed by two Fleet Races. The start of the first match is scheduled for 1330 CEST.
Fleet Racing Championship - Provisional Standings Day Two (after four races):
1. Emirates Team New Zealand (Skipper: Dean Barker); 38 points
2. ORACLE Racing - Spithill (Skipper: James Spithill); 29 points
3. Luna Rossa - Piranha (Helmsman: Chris Draper); 27 points
4. Team Korea (Skipper: Nathan Outteridge); 27 points
5. Energy Team (Skipper: Yann Guichard); 25 points
6. Luna Rossa - Swordfish (Helmsman: Paul Campbell-James); 24 points
7. ORACLE Racing - Bundock (Skipper: Darren Bundock); 16 points
8. Artemis Racing (Skipper: Terry Hutchinson); 12 points
9. China Team (Skipper: Fred Le Peutrec); 4 points
Match Racing Championship – Provisional Results:
Q1 - Artemis Racing beat China Team
QF1 - ORACLE Racing Bundock beat ORACLE Racing Spithill
QF2 - Luna Rossa Piranha beat Team Korea
China Team finishes ninth in the Match Racing Championship; Artemis Racing advances to QF3.
ORACLE Racing Spithill finishes seventh in the Match Racing Championship; ORACLE Racing Bundock advances to SF2.
Team Korea finishes sixth in the Match Racing Championship; Luna Rossa Piranha advances to SF2.
See full results and format here.
quarta-feira, 11 de abril de 2012
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