Watch This! You bet I will!
by Jake on May.17, 2011, under America's Cup
I only wish they had given us just a little more of some of this spectacular footage! But, I guess that’s the point. I can’t wait for the first AC45 event.
While We’re Waiting
by Jake on May.02, 2011, under Composite Works
While we’re waiting for me to have a Garage Mahal update (I’ve had record months at “both” jobs and haven’t done anything to the garage lately), here’s a cool project underway by Ian Lindahl and his dad. They’ve scratch built several A-cats and dubbed them “LR”. This one, being fourth in the series, is the “LR4″. I haven’t been a big fan of the shape of the LR2 and LR3 boats as they were a bit un-traditional looking…but having seem them in person, the quality of the workmanship and the home build method is undeniably outstanding. They’ve made very simple solutions to the mechanical fittings and build process that has resulted in a very robust, relatively low cost, and well performing a-cat built at the minimum class weight (165lbs). They’ve gone back to the drawing board and are well underway with construction of the LR4 – which has a more traditional bow shape and looks awesome so far. Check out Ian’s project at http://lindahlcompositedesign.weebly.com.
High Speed Judging
by Jake on May.01, 2011, under America's Cup
So how do you provide live (and fair/accurate) on the water judging for a sailboat race when the boats are as fast as the RIB’s that would carry the judges? Consider also that the judges will need kidney belts, goggles, and snorkels to withstand the jarring and spray through the chop as their power boats try to keep up. How do you do it? You do it with technology! Check out this Sail-World.com inside view of an early test of the electronic “control room” judging software being developed for the next America’s cup. There will be racing perimeters setup for the course and about mid-way in this video you will see Oracle White sail beyond the perimeter and get penalized immediately. This is cool stuff.
Bow Sizzle!
by Jake on Apr.07, 2011, under America's Cup
вик услугиBack in the old pointied-bowed days of catamaran sailing (Nacras), there was a thing known as “bow sizzle”. It happened when you pushed the boat just hard enough that the deck of the bow dipped just below the surface of the water and made a sizzling noise as it’s motion through the water ripped the surface and threw water up. Watch this on a AC45 as they struggle to depower….BOW SIZZLE.
Risk and Reward
by Jake on Mar.30, 2011, under America's Cup
It’s all about risk and reward. Some of the most elite sports carry the most risk. Bicycling, Formula 1, etc. We’re finally there with sailing. Several of the new AC45 catamarans (a one design class for the most part) have been constructed and are now on the water in New Zealand. These are the predecessor to the custom team-designed AC72 catamaran big brothers we’ll see for the main event. I can’t wait! Even these 45′s are going to be exhilarating to watch!
