Monthly Archives: September 2012

Flags on the 49-Mile Drive

So I have my country flags, and historical flags, and for sports seasons — I have my Giants flag . . . I have my 49ers flag . . . And of course my favorite, my America’s Cup flag. But wait! What’s wrong with this picture . . . Hallooo, marketing department. Hallooo. WHILE WE’RE [...]

Posted in Sailboat Racing | Leave a comment

Teenage Mutant Daggerboards

It have been easier, wouldn’t it, to have allowed trimmable winglets on AC72s? The prospect of flying two AC72 hulls clear of water resistance—and under control—has been keeping the engineers up late. The recently-released Interpretation Number 21 of the AC72 rule by the Measurement Committee is a response to some innovative noodling on how the [...]

Posted in Sailboat Racing | Leave a comment

The Other Match Races on SF Bay

2012 US Women’s Match Racing Champions. Photo © Chris Ray First there was women’s match racing in the U.S., and it was doing just fine, a showcase for the camaraderie and friendly competition that our sport is all about. Then there was the Olympic cycle, with medals for the taking at Weymouth 2012. Entries rose, [...]

Posted in Destinations, Sailboat Racing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

George Griffith: 1921-2012

REMEMBERING GEORGE “I’LL GUARANTEE YOU TEN BOATS” GRIFFITH George Griffith rocked my world. The man had a vision for a next boat, and he didn’t care about the doubters. The result was the Cal 40, arguably the most influential raceboat of the second half of the 20th century, and I have it on good authority [...]

Posted in People & Profiles, Sailboat Racing, Sailboats | Tagged , | 8 Comments

WIND: The First Twenty Years

Twenty-five years ago, Dennis Conner’s comeback win at the America’s Cup in Australia inspired a Japanese movie producer to make a feature film about sailboat racing – WIND. Quite a few of the usual suspects of the sailing scene got involved, and I was one of them. Amid the fustigation, stress and associated smoke approaching [...]

Posted in People & Profiles, Sailboat Racing, Sailboats | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

One Standing

When Emirates Team New Zealand launched its first AC72, observers allowed she was built for stout. By lightweight, carbon fiber standards, anyhow. When the boat went full-foil on sailing day five, it fulfilled a lot of expectations (Luna Rossa’s Matteo Plazzi: “We’ll all have to try it”) and promised a bit more, considering that ETNZ [...]

Posted in Sailboat Racing | Tagged , | 1 Comment