SmallCraftAdvisor.com

I was watching the Louis Vuitton Finals yesterday. I have a couple of questions.
1. When did it become necessary to wear crash helmets in a sailboat race?
2. Can a boat sail twice the wind speed upwind be considered a sailboat?
3. Why do these boats look more like Starwar's Tie Fighters than sailboats?

These boats were hitting almost 40 mph in a 17 kt wind. Other than capsizing in a 17 kt wind on the Lusty Slogger I would be hard pushed to go a tenth of that speed at any wind speed. I will have to admit the last time I watched an America's Cup was when Dennis Conner lost to the Aussies. I think that was 1983. I realize that was 30 years ago and there has been a lot of changes since then but for 137 years the racers looked like boats, not kites.

Boat

"noun: a small vessel for travelling over water, propelled by oars, sails, or an engine: a fishing boat"

From Oxford Dictionary on-line.

Technically, my bathtub with a plug in it is a boat.

The America's Cup has now become a sanctioned drag race. Fun for a little while, but not the most exciting thing I've ever watched.

To take a stab at your questions:

1. You only wear helmets when you think you might die. A drop dead stop and going headfirst into a carbon fibre mast will do that to you.
2. Yes only if you squint really hard.
3. I'm guessing someone at America's Cup loved the movie.


Cheers,

Greg