Team Seacats

Discovered over at the Mr. Boat Blog (caution though, there is an autoplaying video in that link with audio that is of some slightly questionable content).  This following video is completely harmless – at least for those not IN it.

I really should have started a category for the America’s Cup. For the time being, here’s the deal; Bertarelli has come out with a public letter about his “vision” for a new cup – he basically is asking for the entire thing to be re-written and changed to a format similar to … well … a big weekend regatta. What is lost in his “vision” is the one on one Defender vs. Challenger. True, the modern event has strayed from this somewhat but there is still an element of this even in the last several events. Apparently this public letter is all the GGYC / BMW Oracle team has heard from Alinghi with respect to the next running of the cup and I don’t think anyone is buying into Bertarelli’s “vision” much less that the dramatic changes might take place before the next event. This man has lost his marbles and it’s time to bail or abandon ship…no sense standing knee deep in flooding water talking about something on the horizon.

GGYC issued this Letter today asking Alinghi to choose; event in 2009 similar to the last event with their list of changes to the rules or a DoG match (multihulls!).

That’s right folks, die-hard Laser sailor and internet blogger, Tillerman, favors catamaran sailboats because they are “faster and more exciting than big monohulls”. Great post by Tillerman about why the America’s Cup sailed in a DoG (Deed of Gift) match would be a good thing.

Seriously though, I COMPLETELY agree with the exception for item 3…why does everyone think that because your class of boat is fast that the tactics become simpler? Does it happen this way with race cars? (I think not). I can relate that if there is a big difference in speed between the racing vessels the tactics are simple. However, if you are racing a boat that you constantly meet on crosses and is equally fast, you have to think that much faster. Disaster comes much more readily and mistakes are magnified by speed – not the other way around. Faster racing brings more of the human element to play as the tactics start to catch up with the speed with which we can think.

I sat out the Key Largo Steeplechase this year but Frank continued the Team Seacats tradition and sailed with Mike Ferrara at the helm. Mike is an avid Nacra 20 sailor, has several Tybee 500′s under his belt, and sailed one of them with Frank. I made sure the Team Seacats blue boat was ready for them and a couple of other New England sailors picked it and my double stack trailer up (with their boat in tow) and headed for the keys.

Frank reports that the event was marvelous. Reports that they dropped out on the second day due to Frank being sick are false … although Frank WAS sick, they did sail. The winds were apparently a beautiful 18 to 20 and our boys finished well and without any damage. I don’t have any results…or pictures for that matter…so here is one from last year.

I’m beginning to think that we may end up in court again before any boats hit the water. Alinghi has gone silent and is not talking to BMW-Oracle. There’s a lot of talk about having a DoG match in multihulls. I never did understand why so many teams, particularly New Zealand, seemed so silent about the new protocol. Turns out that Bertarelli had cut deals with at least the New Zealand camp that Team New Zealand would receive about $24 Million U.S. if the cup was postponed to 2010 and about $37 Million U.S. if it was postponed to 2011. Reference Article HERE. Had they bought off the other challengers as well? Wow, that’s dirty.