hum . . .

"I hope like hell that whoever survives this thing and wins it changes the boat class to anything safer than these God-forsaken death traps."

So the unidentified sailor is willing to risk his life to be a boat whore, and then whine about it.All about the money. Maybe Darwin should cash the check on this douche. Yep, it's dangerous ,and YOU CHOSE to do it, nobody forced you. No wonder you want to be anonymous. I "hope like hell" that person isn't anybody I ever had any respect for.

I am pretty disappointed but not surprised by the reaction to all of this. I guess it's impossible to consider thy the crew on these boats has a choice, most of them I have seen on videos seemed pretty thrilled to be on the 72s. All athletes take a risk of some kind, you are the only one responsible for deciding when to call it quits.

Is this general opinion of the AC72 in similar fashion to the opinion of Open 70s when they all got destroyed, or all the canting keel boats which keep breaking?

Are we supposed to hate all cutting edge innovation because it's not "bomb proof"?

What AC designs have lasted beyond a single attempt at the Cup?

More good stuff to read.

" . . . In the week previous people were bidding in excess of $20,000 for a ride in an AC72 . . ."

"This correspondent sailed at speeds of 43 knots on Emirates Team NZ's AC72 in 25kts of breeze, for around three hours"

" . . . only option was to take shelter behind an island as wait for the wind to abate, or take a risky sail ride downwind– which they did . . . "

See the video here.

http://www.sail-world.com/USA/Ameri...dge---It-folded-like-a-taco-shell/109405

‘The next thing he heard a cracking noise and the boat went on its side. Before it capsized it snapped in half, Nathan described it as folding like a taco shell.’

Sounds like that may not be accurate.
http://artemis-racing.americascup.com/news/4528

Looks like Sail World, who published the above link, has pulled that article and replace with this statement.

My guess is that is EXACTLY what happened but they're trying to get things sorted/damage control before the actual story gets out. It'll be interesting to see what the concluded cause was.

Yep, and SA just added a blurb about it on their homepage.

Meanwhile, other international media outlets not mentioned here are continuing to report the original quote as I type this.

I imagine we will hear some official statements tomorrow after Tuesday's planned events.

It's a liability spiral now.

I watched the TV interview with N.O. Dad. He was repeating what his son told him and it's exactly that.

If you look through this page you will see a picture of the boat with 2x4's lashed to the front beam to support it while lifting.

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php?showtopic=129683&page=68

This boat had problems and they knew it.

Presser 2pm PST. http://www.youtube.com/americascup

If the countdown timer is correct, it will start at 4PM EST, 1PM PST, but the press release did say 2PM PST. Might want to check in just in case.

It is saying 2:45 from now...which is 5pm EST / 2pm PST.

And....?

What did they have to say about it in the press conference?

I missed it but according to a couple of news reports I skimmed through...in a nut shell:

the race will continue as scheduled
They will be performing a detailed and expedited review of the incident, conditions, and boat designs.

Well, there is this:

http://www.americascup.com/en/news/...that-this-summers-events-remain-on-track

They provide links to the bios of the review committee members, as well as the terms of reference that the committee will work under.

What I can't find (and find rather disturbing, bordering on disgusting) is any sort of reaction from Uncle Larry.

The naysayers are having a field day. We need leadership at a time like this, and the only voice I want to hear right now is Larry Ellison.

I do appreciate that the teams are either staying quiet, or posting condolences out of respect for Bart, his family, friends and team. God bless them all during this horrific time.

Mike