#ac34

[jimstares]

I mentioned that I had a few (328 to be exact) pictures from the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco in 2013 so I thought I’d post a couple for my sailing friends. It was an unbelievable experience to be there in person, defiantly in my Top-5 sporting moments of all time. The top picture is my favorite and I have a print of it hanging in our family room.

[for-all-mankind]

Atlas Centaur #34 stands on LC-36B, November, 1973. AC-34 launched Mariner 10 on November 3, becoming the first spacecraft to visit Mercury.

[trancemoment]

beauty like this doesnt happen anywhere else...  happy anniversary.

[kevincostello]

Warming up for the 2014 Sailing Season!

Warming up for the 2014 Sailing Season!

Well, it’s been about 6 months since I’ve been out on the water and I am itching to go! Boat prep is underway everywhere, my gear is out and many of the boats I sail on splash in the next week. And there’s some big news ahead as well… Stay tuned!

In the meantime, here is some inspiration from last year that’s getting me ready for the 2014 season.

  Fond memories of the AC34and a miraculous…

View On WordPress

[boatporn]

And in the meantime while you're waiting for the Big America's Cup to start, check out the Little America's Cup, aka The International C-Class Catamaran Championship, aka the ICCCC, right here.

[emilyqualey]

 It's Time To Man Up And Watch The America's Cup

Say what you will about sailing being a rich man's sport, and put aside those visions of Buffy and Lance sipping martinis whilst peacocking in whale-and-lobster embroidered Vineyard Vines gear, because when you get right down to brass tacks, we're talking about a sport in which amazing machines guided by amazing humans harness the winds. Real, true man-against-nature-against-man stuff. Reaching potential top speeds of over 50 miles per hour, which may not sound all that fast until you're in the open ocean with little to no cover, salt spray stinging your face and your whole boat -- weighing in excess of 13,000 pounds -- lifted out of the water on a skinny hydrofoil, the whole thing balanced between victory and utter destruction by hundreds of hairs-breadth calculations and adjustments that must be made literally on the fly, it's as riveting to watch as any Tour de France or Daytona 500.

[dangriffey]

OTUSA speed mods

From Jack at Cup Experience:

Even in the midst of the competition, the teams continue to develop their boats with modifications to make them faster.

In Race 1 OTUSA used daggerboards with the winglets set at an acute angle to the main board. This makes foiling more stable but has more drag.

OTUSA in Race 1 with the longer bowsprit. Notice the kingpost below the corner of the jib, and the stay from the bottom of the kingpost to the end of the bowsprit.

By Race 8 OTUSA had made modifications to the boat including replacing the long bowsprit that could carry a gennaker with a shorter one. This eliminated the weight and drag of the bowsprit plus a kingpost and a stay. Different daggerboards have the winglets set at an obtuse angle to the main board. This gives less drag, making the boat faster, but it is less stable and harder to sail.

[post-adolescent-idealism-blog]

Oracle USA with their first winnnnn

i honestly might start rooting NZ now though i feel bad but like i want my team to win and i'm not exactly patriotic and i love kiwis so we'll see how it goes i'll let you know

if anybody wants to re-convince me that Spithill can pull off 11 wins in 13 races please go for it