Anybody is following the Prada America's Cup from NZ?
- Thread starter Pekelo
- Start date
And that is how it ended. Now we have to wait a couple of years again.
No, I haven't. I did do a bit of sailing, quite a number of years ago. Nowadays I'm only an armchair sailor: watching from the comfort of my home.
These boats are like the "Formula One of sailing" and it is impressive to see the technological progress being made. They are sailboats, propelled by the wind, but they move at a speed three times that of the wind.
There is a rumor that they are going to be challenged by the UK in a year around the Isle of Wight.
Pretty much nobody was. Those boats costs 100 MM or so, thus it is extremely unlikely for an average sailor to ever experience it.
Their theoretical max. speed is around 53 knots. They were doing close to 50 in 18 knots winds. At 53 knots cavitation occurrs at the end of the wings causing a sudden drop in speed.
Bottom line is, there won't be any faster sailing boats like these.
Similar but more racey boats (cheaper, thus more countries can afford them, more exciting too):
As an old, now retired, sailor, I kinda miss the 12-meters, but still enjoy watching.