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Match 3 Review / Match 4 Preview:

Posted 1 year, 2 months ago

Match 3 Review / Match 4 Preview:
OK, so that was a cool race, if only because there were two if not three real lead changes, and arguably a handful more virtual (pun intended) lead changes And, yes, it was by all accounts one of the more entertaining matches in the modern if not the entire history of the Cup. But, as a lifelong racing sailor, your Ed. would rather see a race where the two yachts are never more than a few boat lengths apart the entire race, with or without lead changes, than a race where at one point one of the teams is nearly 350m (14 boat lengths) in front, and on two occasions the side-to-side separation grows to more than one kilometer. In fact, the split at one point yesterday was nearly 1.3km! The media had a field day with Alinghi's splits -- the last of which resulted in ETNZ going ahead for the win on the last leg -- same as the media did when Dennis and Tom split away from Aus II on the final run in '83. All I can say is, ladies and gentlemen of the press, get your heads out of your cockpits. Brad didn't go undefeated in 16 successive AC matches, and win three Cups, by taking unnecessary risks. Ask yourselves why he split yesterday. Think carefully about what was going on out there yesterday, and over the past three races. And they are not racing Optimist Dinghies. These are enormously twitchy 24-ton vessels that are extremely difficult to steer, let alone turn (gybe), especially in yesterday's light bumpy conditions. Brad is not Torben. Nor is Terry Hutchinson. These are two brilliant tacticians, fronting amazingly good yacht racing teams, picking their way through a minefield of headers and holes called the Bay of Valencia. ETNZ sailed a great race yesterday. Dr "Clouds" Badham (AUS), ETNZ's weather guru, once again proved why many consider him the best in the biz. Depsite being 14 bl behind, Brad & Co. never gave up, and did a spectacular job of getting themselves back into the race, and ahead of ETNZ, on the second weather leg. (Hmmm... as I type this (1245) ESP 97 has just hoisted their main in the basin and is towing out to the race course to the horns and cheers of the thousands lining the PAC canal.) I hope we see more of the same entertainment today, but with close quarters combat, not big splits. That can be tough on the crotch. And while we are at it, let's stop roughing up Dyer and Luigi. those gentlemen have also been at the top of their games, and made a good call to go with the 1700 warning signal and get that race off. A little casino goes a long way. Full Story »

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