Weekend at the Americas Cup



One of the advantages of being out west while Terrapin is being repaired is that Salt Lake City is, what seems like, 10 hours from anywhere. 

I took off work early Friday and we headed to San Francisco for the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup.  Here is a quick history of the America's Cup, for your reading pleasure.  Basically, whoever wins the Louis Vuitton Cup (New Zealand vs Italy) will challenge Oracle (the Defender), to claim the Americas Cup.  Oracle, being the Defender got to pick the type of boat to be raced and the location of the race. Larry Ellison chose high performance catamarans racing in San Francisco bay. These boats are incredible and have top speeds over 55mph!

The technology of this boat design and crew is amazing.  These 72-foot catamarans not only "foil" downwind, but have also been flying on water upwind as well.  Anyone who has been in a boat on water understands the magnitude of that type of speed on a boat that large. Here is a GREAT video about  how foiling occurs. We have this video at the bottom of the page too. Well worth 4 minutes.

Originally two races were scheduled between NZ (Emirates) and Italy (Luna Rossa) on Saturday, but due to high winds in the afternoon, the last race was postponed until Sunday - when NZ finally claimed their victory of the 2013 Louis Vuitton Cup.  We took that opportunity to get a beer(s) and explore the America's Cup park.  Larry Ellison and billionaire friends moored their boats along the dock and we played the game and chose the one we would like if money were no object.  Oh, Adele...

The experience of watching the AC72s was well worth the trip to San Francisco and depending on when Terrapin will be repaired, we may be back for the America's Cup finals...

AC 45, the smaller of the AC boats.

Kiwis kicking some Italian butt on the start

Oracle foiling downwind at over 45kts.

Adele, a 180' ketch in the AC Park. If money were no object...

Larry Ellison's big yacht in the AC Park

Celebrating on the Louis Vuitton Cup Podium... Beer!!!, we win!!!

Oracle tacking slowly upwind while the Emirates and Luna Rosa prep for start.

One more very cool video that we linked to in the text. This is worth 4 minutes of your time...

Projecting

The term “projecting” (pronounced “project-ing”) is a climbing term that describes the process by which a climber works on a climb, usually climbing small sections at a time, until they are able to climb the entire route without falling, Some climbs go quickly with a few tries or few days and some can take years to complete. The idea is obviously not unique to climbing and I’m sure that anyone tackling a complex project that requires many steps, extended periods of work or skill building to master can understand.

Sailing has been a great lesson in projecting but in our case the goal is a moving target.   Every time we get one process refined and arrive at what we think is the end of one adventure, the experience takes a turn and we continue farther down the rabbit hole. Our “project” initially started as day-sailing in San Diego, expanded to passage-making, then living aboard to professional licenses and now selling-up to run away to sea… or at least to the coast. Seems like for us projecting has become an addiction that we can't quit.

Video: Steve sailing his Valiant 40 "S/V Chandara" on the way to the Chesapeake.