The 34th America's Cup racing commenced in San Francisco with the Louis Vuitton Cup semi-finals. We had an amazing opportunity to attend the first day of racing ~ Lizz & Michele went to the America's Cup Park while Charlie & Mark were on the water sailing on the Mod70.
All of the AC72 boats were on the water this day, as they were every day possible to practice and refine these 72 foot racing catamarans.
Seeing these boats up close with their wing mainsails brings to mind flying airplanes.
In fact, they literally do fly off of the water, which led to the design of foils for the daggerboards and rudders.
From the waterfront right off of Fisherman's wharf you can watch the boats heading out for a practice or race day.
These are incredible machines and the sailors are breaking new ground every day to learn how to sail them optimally. At boat speeds in the 40-50 kt range in 15-18 kts of wind, the apparent wind is always forward of the beam.
The key move that each team was learning as we watched them practice every day on the bay was the foil-to-foil jibe, a downwind maneuver to keep the boats out of the water reducing drag, while still keeping the apparent wind forward.
Teams that can not do this well will easily lose 10 or more boat-lengths in a a few seconds.
We have been dismayed to hear predominately negative sentiments about the America's Cup, from locals and local media. Much of it is from traditionalists who prefer monohull racing. For our part, we have seen this cup as an exciting, next-generation achievement, starting with the AC45 World Series races where we watched Charlie compete live on YouTube.
Now the Red Bull Youth teams will race the AC45s and the America's Cup will be defended on the AC72s described above. For a sport combining technology and athleticism, these catamarans and sailors are meeting every definition of "cutting-edge" and we respect and appreciate the forward-looking event.
Public access to the races on the first day was impressive as the Italian team Luna Rossa competed against the Swedish team Artemis for the semi-finals.
The AC Park had live broadcasts, large-screen viewing areas with bean bags and "grass" and a long pier from which to watch the boats go out for the day and cross the finish line.
The athletes walked by as they prepared for the race. International venues and spectators were made to feel right at home with home brews and whole restaurants transported to the Park ~ the overall setting was very well done.
Luna Rossa and Artemis were both winners on this day. The Italian team crossed the finish-line first, yet the Swedish team pulled together despite the loss of one of their own to compete in the Cup.
View from the Finish Line:
Stay tuned for the LV Finals with Luna Rossa vying for the challenger spot against Emirates New Zealand starting today. We are anxiously awaiting the RBYAC match races Sept 1-4th, followed by the AC Finals.