/quote]
Lets not forget also that the 88 cup was a disgrace due to a the legal battle (such as here) and second the races where not even close. That cat walked all over Bonds boat like an A cat to an Island Packet. This race of course will be cat against cat, a much fairer fight. I too am routig for BMW for two reasons. One because Bertelli has deliberatly in my opinion screwed up the AC, and secondly because I support my country in any sporting event when competeing against other countries.
Wasn't Bond it was a Kiwi and the only disgrace was that the fat guy did not turn up in a sloop and race a match. The "Big Boat" was the fastest mono around an Americas Cup course ever and represented the beginning of all of the outrageous designs we attempt today. It was a great and outrageous dream that wimps just did not turn up to.
Of course the cat won....that is why we all sail them right?
The fat guy, as you so eloquently put it, showed up in a cat because based on the intel that they had, they thought NZ was bringing a cat also. My point as to why it was a disgrace, in my humble opinion, is because the TWO teams could not play by the spirit of the rules. While I am sure there are two sides to every story NZ certainly has some of the blame to shoulder. Having said all this, it is distant in the past where it should stay. I just hope history does not repeat itself. Also, my sincere apologies for mistakingly saying Bond instead of Fay. I meant no ill will as it was an accident. By the way, I thank NZ1 was a cool boat too. I still have a copy of a magazine with it on the cover. [/quote]
That's not what I understand. Fay's monster challenge was well known when the gauntlet was thrown and the American team, who had gotten lazy with establishing a challenger for the next cup, were purposely caught offguard with only 10 months to come up with a boat to rival Fay's monster mono-hull. I'm not real clear on the court battle about the date of the match but the Kiwi attempt was effectively an attempt to "ambush" the cup and the American team realized that, while they were cornered by the Deed, it also didn't exclude them from sailing a multihull.
Two sides to every story I suppose.
