No Racing today

[Paul J]

Looks like no cup race today again. This is getting very old quickly.

Hey Buck aren't you guys starting to run out of time here. The cup by rule has to be over by the 1st of March this year and you guys set the rules didn't you. So what happens if you can't get the cup races in before the deadline. Do you start making up your own new rules on the rules you already made.

Every day I begin to back Russell more and more. Oh and if he can't go back to New Zealand he is more than welcome here. Your loss could very well be our gain.

But you can keep Team New Zealand we have plenty of pompous jerks, don't need any more. Thank You. :wink:

[Gordy Hill]

There's still plenty of time for the black boat to win five races.

[Guest buckblake]

I can't really understand why they don't race. Surely a few shifting winds would add alot of interest to the race and do no one any harm. After all yacht racing is pitting yourself against nature isn't it? We're all getting pretty sick of it too. Race and be damned I say! Besides today I didn't bother watching I went sailing myself!

[Gordy Hill]

Any time any one of the six legs takes over 45 minutes the race has to be abandoned. It would be rather stupid to start a race when conditions are such that there is little hope the FIRST leg will be completed in time.

[Paul J]

Gordy at the speed these boats sail they would have to do less than 4 knots. Alinghi was sailing on the course during the delay making 7 knots upwind and 8 to 9 off the wind. That's more than enough boat speed to run a race.

But the New Zealand race committee does not want to sail unless conditions are just what they want. What that is no one really knows.

They are running out of time. It's the 24th there, monday and it's a lay day. They are going to have to extend the time limit [race period] to sail 6 more races if need be. After March 1st there will be no more TV coverage as the contract runs out.

But we will just have to wait and see what they do now. The idea of stretching out the cup racing for as long as possible may not have been the soundest of plans.

I will have to check and see what the conditions are there today.

[Gordy Hill]

You certainly have a point Paul. I'm a bit biased. I have a number of friends who are Kiwis and think they're a great bunch of guys. I think it's a shame the rules allow crews to be made up with so many members from other countries. If that were the case in the Olympics we could just hire the best in the world and always win everything.

The cup has meant a lot to New Zealand, financially as well as pride. Loosing it is one thing, having their team bought out from under them seems to change things a bit.

It looks like the Kiwi boat is a bit faster, but the second string isn't quite up to beating the best in the world.

[Paul J]

Gordy,

Now I get your backing of TNZL, you are being influenced by a bunch of Kiwi's. They are pulling the wool over your eye's so to speak here.

Just to get a few things straight here, Russell was no bought out from under TNZL by any means. TNZL in it's great wisdom decided they would not pay him or several other members of the past TNZL defenders along with quite a few of the designers who worked on the prior boats. So you see these people where unemployed. So they all went out and got a job doing what they do for a living, which happens to be the America's Cup. TNZL blew it big time when they decided to cut costs and go for profit, hey they where touting Barker as the next coming. So good so far!

TNzL went with the bean counters and it's costing them big time, the average Kiwi is now showing themselves to what I would call less than worthy of support in this matter. They are being guided by a bunch of corperate types under the name of a "National Team" and they buy it hook line and sinker. The fools, they are going to learn the hard way that 'you don't know what you have till you lose it" it's just starting to dawn on them that they blew it.

And Russell and all the others who where swept aside and became unemployed did what any unemployed person in the free world has the right to do, they went out and got a job. That's pretty plain and simply ain't it. Ya gotta make a living in this world, being loved by the masses don't pay the bills or put food in your mouth. Just ask Joe Louis.

But the Kiwi's just don't get it, they would rather turn their anger at Russell and the others than face the fact their own cherished team where the ones who shunned them for a few dollars. I have no pity nor support for them, it was of their own making this position they find themselves in. No one plundered them by any means. Oh and for those who pay some attention to the cup, other than when the racing starts, knew this was happening two years ago it was no big surprise.

Look at it this way Gordy. Russell was put on waivers and got picked up by another team. It should be no great surprise he is now back haunting his old team that put him on waivers. Happens all the time. :wink:

[buck]

Paul how dare you expose all our inner insecurities for all to see! We're all wondering what will happen now? Will we head back to primoidal soup never to be heard off again? This could be serious stuff for New Zealand. We might not get back into the American media for another 20 years after this. Still at least we don't suffer from 'Coast envy' like the Swiss!

[Paul J]

Sorry Buck, next time I will sugar coat it. :wink: No offense of course I have nothing against New Zealand. But there is just to much talk about this subject with out any facts or any history.

Back to the primoidal soup, I don't think so. It may seem like that for a while but I doubt that will happen. But one thing that did happen that few have mentioned or even given any thought to is that in the quest for and defense of the cup New Zealand dropped out of many of the other major sailing events that where going on. Most of New Zealands top sailors made their marks in ocean racing like the Whitbread [now Volvo] round the world race and others. Now they are few and far between in those races. Maybe if you can't challenge right away you can build back up with those races. I know they are not the cup, but it's still pretty high profile racing.

A kiwi friend who is a sail maker and I where chatting back when you guys won the cup about what it would mean for your country. He was telling me many kiwi boat builders, designers, sail makers, and other parts of the industry in your country felt they where going to open up the American market, Americans where just going to stampede to buy their stuff. He advised them that was a fools plan, the Americans where not going to do that. And he was quite right, it never did happen. New Zealand has about the same market in the US it had before and that will more than likely not change in the future.

What you did get by wining was respect and lots of free advertising for tourism. But other than that not a whole lot. Oh and some movies and TV shows where made there. I don't think you will lose that much is tourism, but you may not get that big inflow every couple of years you have seen because of the cup races. But with proper planning that can be made to even out.

So I would not fear of dropping of the face of the earth just yet.

[buck]

You're probaly right Paul, Right now we're experiencing a coastal property boom, were every bit of coastal land gets snapped up and has houses put on it. Even way down here in the cooler south. Even the property between my shed and the beach has sold and will have some large monstrousity built there. I just hope it does'nt change the place too much. Alot of the buying is fuelled from overseas. We're a 'safe' place to live with old fashioned values in many ways.

As for the America's cup, lots of Kiwis will always be involved, but I think we'll struggle to even mount a challenge for it again.