Youth AC - UK team?
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=9407
Printed Date: 25 Jun 25 at 1:54pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.665y - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Youth AC - UK team?
Posted By: pondscum
Subject: Youth AC - UK team?
Date Posted: 23 May 12 at 9:19pm
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The first Youth America’s Cup will be staged simultaneously in San Francisco during the running of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger elimination trials in July and August 2013 to find the single challenger to the locally-based defender, Oracle. In the youth event, there are 10 contestant places, with no more than one per country, and the crews must be between 19 and 23 and hold a passport of the country for which they are sailing. San Francisco would be able to enter its own team in addition to any U.S. team. The races will be in the same 45-foot wing-powered catamarans that have been used in the America’s Cup World Series of regattas, one of which is currently underway in Venice, the number of crew will be increased from five to six, giving extra chances for women race alongside the men, and the costs are modest. Apparently Ben Ainslie has first dibs at setting up a UK Team. I'm sure the RYA could provide some excellent team members ... any suggestions? The faster than wind sailors 49er and cat sailors like Chris Draper seem to be well suited.. |
Replies:
Posted By: Ralph T
Date Posted: 23 Jan 13 at 1:52pm
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It's great news to see that there will be a Team GBR entry, but I was quite surprised to see the make up of the team http://www.gbryouthac.com/ - http://www.gbryouthac.com/
Nothing against the guys who have been chosen & I am sure that they are top class sailors, but the team is predominantly from the keel boat scene & only one has real multihull experience with another having high level match racing experience.
When the cup went over to multihull, the teams were mainly made up of very experienced keelboat sailors but with the advent of the AC45 & Extreme Sailing series, the value of having top class dinghy & multihull sailors in the team has proved to be very beneficial.
Am I missing something or is it just that the GBR youth team web site has chosen not to give us the full sailing background of the team? ------------- Rumour is that race officers are human like everyone else, but then ......... |
Posted By: Quagers
Date Posted: 23 Jan 13 at 6:52pm
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No it is very yachty focused, some of them have been active on the match racing circuit and most are involved in the Keelboat academy. Again nothing against the sailors themselves, I have raced against a lot of them. However it seems that the Solent mafia was very much at work with this squad, the organisers were from the keelboat scene so naturally they went for people that are known to them. This group has very much come from the 'traditional' professional (Farr 45, RC44, TP) pathways and definitely will all have known each other before this came together. It may work, it may not, I would not be surprised to see them bringing some more multi-hull experience in as they progress.
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Posted By: alstorer
Date Posted: 23 Jan 13 at 9:45pm
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sigh- you'd have thought that a better approach would have taken a couple of them and mixed them with the brightest and best of this country's yoof multihullers.
------------- -_ Al |
Posted By: themeaningoflife
Date Posted: 23 Jan 13 at 10:39pm
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Or someone like Chris Rashley? I'm fairly sure he's 24, so within limit, and is Moth European Champion which is where a lot of the other AC45 guys are at the minute. ------------- Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club RS800 1128 kindly sponsored by http://www.rwo-marine.com" rel="nofollow - RWO Marine |
Posted By: aardvark_issues
Date Posted: 23 Jan 13 at 11:18pm
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And he's got multihull experience...
------------- http://www.aardvarkracing.co.uk" rel="nofollow - Home of Rocket Racing |
Posted By: Jamesd
Date Posted: 24 Jan 13 at 9:50am
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give them a break! I think you will find they put the team together off their initiative, found the sponsors themselves etc. A group of mates forming a team! All very good sailors.
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Posted By: tgruitt
Date Posted: 24 Jan 13 at 9:52am
Me and my mates play football but it doesn't mean we're any good!  ------------- Needs to sail more... |
Posted By: Jamesd
Date Posted: 24 Jan 13 at 10:03am
Maybe you should scrap all the crap players and get pros in then! ........but then it defeats the point of you and your mates playing football!
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Posted By: Quagers
Date Posted: 24 Jan 13 at 10:05am
| The analogy only really works if tgruitt and his mates are playing football in the premier league. In which case getting pros in seems sensible! |
Posted By: Jamesd
Date Posted: 24 Jan 13 at 10:22am
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Oh i didnt realise the youth AC was a professional event. I presumed as long as you met the criteria (age), represented a country and came up with the dollar you could put forward an entry, professional or not. much like nearly every other international sailing event in the world |
Posted By: Quagers
Date Posted: 24 Jan 13 at 10:48am
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Ohh im sure that's true, but putting up the money requires sponsors (in 99.99% cases) and at the level this is at I'd be very surprised if the sailors aren't pros. Whatever the marketing bumf says the youth AC is going to be a pro event, just for younger pros. You cant give AC45's to a bunch of amateurs without a lot of carnage resulting. |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 24 Jan 13 at 12:13pm
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I sure I remember reading (in Bob Fisher's column?) that they were struggling to put a team together because all the dinghy squaddies were on the Olympic treadmill, and didn't want to know. It may well be that it is only the young yacht pro's who are interested in entering. I wish them all the best, and I'm sure they will be practicing on cats a lot. Skills are transferable.
------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: Ralph T
Date Posted: 24 Jan 13 at 1:39pm
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I did not appreciate that the guys put the team together themselves. With the name Team GBR, I just assumed that they had been selected by a 'higher authority'.
A major part of sport consists of like minded people who form a team to compete, whatever their level, so it's not really fair to criticise them. If no-one else is prepared to go for it, then all credit to these six guys, finding sponsorship is so difficult these days.
Only time will tell if they are good enough so good luck to them & I for one will be cheering them on.
------------- Rumour is that race officers are human like everyone else, but then ......... |