Pinnacle of another sport - Sailing

[Lycoming]

I also do not understand how a foil about the size of a small towel can generate enough lift to raise an 8000 lb boat out of the water. But I've seen it with my own eyes so it has to be true. The also say the bumble bee can't fly........

A person said that the bumblebee could not fly based on calculations derived from a flawed model. Then a bunch of people who didn't care to know that started talking about it and it snowballed.

Back to the yachts... think of it this way.

L = 1/2 * rho * Cl * A * v^2

Is the equation for lift force. For those foils, the product of Cl and A will be rather small, and v will be small-ish, but what happens to density, rho? water is (roughly) 800 times denser than air. Since speeds are not exactly miniscule... you can generate 1g of lift force with much smaller foils than you would need in air.

[rjsa]

I studied naval architecture. Once we were lectured by SGI on how their workstations were used by the american team. The hot subject were flexing keels. There are no more keels!

Ohhh lord I'm old!

[MOWOG]

The America's Cup racing has been far and away more exciting and dramatic than anything Formula One has offered the fans in the last 3 seasons.

If you are not watching the AC competition, you are missing out on some of the best racing anywhere!

[strad]

It has been interesting to say the least. The odds are way long I know, but then they were a lot longer a few days ago.

[MOWOG]

WOW! Oracle has come from an 8 - 1 deficit to tie the series. Unbelievable!

Both boats have 8 wins. 9 wins gets the Cup. Tomorrow should be one of the most exciting sailboat races in history.

[notsofast]

Sorry F1, but you've been totally outclassed by two catamarans. Best racing I've seen in a long, long time. Unbelievable racing machines.

The kiwis were able to optimize their strategy, their boat, and their team during the challenger races, so perhaps it was to be expected that they would have the early advantage. Oracle optimized their strategy, boat, and team during the first few races, so perhaps it was to be expected that they would come back. In the end, Oracle had the fastest boat, so perhaps it's no surprise they ended up defending the cup successfully. But what is amazing is that the comeback happened at just the right time so that we got to experience the maximum of 19 races.

I suppose one good thing about this outcome is that in about three years we'll get to see these racing machines again. The winner gets to dictate the format of the next contest. I'm not so sure the kiwis would have the stomach to spend this kind of money again if it were their choice.

For those who missed it, here's that link again. Today's race will probably be posted there shortly.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AmericasCup

[strad]

Congrats to Team U.S.A.

[MOWOG]

notsofast is correct. It was an epic duel. Oracle came back from a two race penalty, which meant they had to win 11 races to only 9 for the Kiwis. For the past 5 races, New Zealand had been at match point needing just one more victory to win out. In one race, they were in the lead by over 1000 meters when time ran our and the race was called off with the Kiwi's in sight of the finish line.

To put this in perspective, it would be like McLaren suddenly being 2 seconds a lap faster than all the other cars, storming to 1-2 race wins for the rest of the season, capturing the Constructor's Championship AND the Driver's Championship with Perez the runner up. During the series, Oracle improved their boat speed upwind by more than 30%!

The winning team gets to set the rules for the next challenge. This year's 72' hydrofoils were the invention of the mind of Larry Ellison and Russell Coutts. Boats like this have never been seen before. But the cost of the campaign kept the competitors to a minimum. There will be a lot of heavy thinking about now to keep the racing as fast and furious but bring the costs down to attract more contestants. The boats in their present form may never be seen again.

For those watching, it was fabulous racing. And Formula One could learn a lot about creating a hi tech series that is actually FUN to watch. Are you following this, Bernie?