WHERE THE HELL ARE THE AUSSIES??????

being australian i have to ask this question,

where the bloody hell are all the aussies??

considering we already won it in 1983  unleke the british( ) no offence but you win some you loose some...

most teams that win it stick around........ what's going on?

... split between every other team?

Originally posted by rudderlesslaser considering we already won it in 1983

That's a bygone era, when winning teams could spend a few million US$. Depending on which accounts you read, it seems winning teams are now spending in excess of $US100M. It seems there aren't Australian sponsors with that kind of money to throw around. Not entirely an Aussie problem either. Remember when there used to be half a dozen USA teams every time? Not lately. Blame Dennis Conner for the ever-lasting campaign and the costs that have come with it. Ironically he's one of the casualities who can no longer raise the money to compete.

Edited by Stefan Lloyd

Trouble is as people are saying it has become too expensive but then in the past it was just the same. The only difference then was that the 12 metre boats had some residual value.

The present boats are; excuse the phrase- bonkers.

If you study these things you have to realise that events get out of control from time to time. They get taken over by 'the prodigies and promoters' and if at all possible you have to wrest control away from these types or the thing will destroy itself.

As you can tell I am an unashamed reactionary and the same sort of thing was happening in sailing 100 years ago. Eventually those footing the bill got fed up with the whole thing and came up with the Metre boats in Europe and International rule in the USA.

The Kaiser who was as we all know, a meglomaniac, branched off into A class schooner racing. At least these were seaworthy and could be used for cadet training when obsolete. The present Americas cup boats- Designer/Builder paradise.

Personally I'd bin the lot and start again. In fact the whole modern keelboat scene has got off track if you ask me.

Which is the boring one, modern Rap or Mozart? I know my opinion on both that and the AC boats, but it might not be shared by everyone!