Should Americans represent the USA ?
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: Keelboat classes
Forum Name: America's Cup
Forum Discription: Your thoughts on challenges to win the 'Auld Mug'
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6450
Printed Date: 25 Jun 25 at 4:39pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Should Americans represent the USA ?
Posted By: kiwi66
Subject: Should Americans represent the USA ?
Date Posted: 14 Feb 10 at 10:47pm
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It is amusing to see the BMW Oracle boat being called a boat that represents the USA, yet both the CEO and the helmsman were both non Americans. If Yachting is a sport where a boat is flying a country's ensign should it not have that country's citizens as crew and shore crew ? Strange to see the USA media giving Coutts his full title, we Kiwis tend to have long memories when loyalty to country seems to be forgotten |
Replies:
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 14 Feb 10 at 11:32pm
| Its a long standing tradition in the US. Apparently the early 20th century Americas Cuppers were mostly crewed by Scandinavian Fishermen. |
Posted By: mongrel
Date Posted: 15 Feb 10 at 6:50am
Didn't the Kiwis' hire Ben Ainslie?
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Posted By: Contender443
Date Posted: 15 Feb 10 at 12:47pm
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BMW Oracle had 2 American nationals on board (out of 12) and Alinghi had 3 Swiss (out of 14) so the crews nationalities had little to do with it. Top nation represented was New Zealand, admittedly spread across the 2 boats. |
Posted By: GraemeB
Date Posted: 15 Feb 10 at 1:24pm
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.....who cares. This was the sailing eqivalent to the Jim Rose Circus pay your dollar and gawp. |
Posted By: JohnW
Date Posted: 15 Feb 10 at 6:01pm
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And sponsored by that well known American car company: Bayerische Motoren Werke |
Posted By: FreshScum
Date Posted: 15 Feb 10 at 7:46pm
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kiwi66, maybe it should go the nationality route, but then the kiwis would
have all the sailors, and none of the money, if you took it all the way through to sponsors and funding. The AC is supposed to be a competition between Yacht Clubs, and as far as I am concerned, if you didn't let someone be a member of a YC because of their nationality, that would make you a xenophobe/racist, and not someone I'd want to sail against. |
Posted By: kiwi66
Date Posted: 16 Feb 10 at 6:48am
Maybe some Americans do not get it, the vast majority of Kiwis dislike people whom we consider to be disloyal. No nationalism,you must be kidding, each boat was flying it's country's ensign in the Auckland basin. A race between Yacht Clubs true, and one would hope that the each yacht club would develop it's own sailors, not buy them in like some have done. xenophobe/racist hardly, but like other sports a five year stand down between clubs from different countries would not go amiss. |
Posted By: FreshScum
Date Posted: 16 Feb 10 at 7:47am
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I remember 'Loyal' as a motto, the government support of it, and the death
threats that the kiwis who went to Alinghi received. Did you miss the bit where I (and the DoG) said Yacht Clubs? Of course a YC comes from a country. In AC 32 though, there were several YCs from Italy, who gets to be the Italian team, or is it all of them? I'd also say the vast majority of kiwis who know the conditions that were presented to RC and BB after AC 31 would understand how the situation was not acceptable to them, and would not have allowed them to make a successful defense. It might not be acceptable behaviour to you, but you can understand why it was not just the money that took them away from TNZ. |
Posted By: Laser 173312
Date Posted: 16 Feb 10 at 9:45am
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I have an admission to make here. 7 years ago today My wife and I flew out to Auckland for the 2003 cup. When we got there we were so disgusted with the ‘Loyal’ campaign we supported Alinghi. I’m better now though. Russell and Brad were put in an impossible position by TNZ. They had to agree to take on debts from the previous cup without being told the size of the debt. However it’s all irrelevant as reading the DoG it is only the vessel that has to be constructed in country, not the crew. ------------- |