Unless they rigged up something for propulsion ,they are just those fun islands(Big kids water toy/lounge tube) with a teepee on top. Saw a closeup of one and you could see the writing on the side. I thought it was pretty creative and frugal considering the way they shovel money around.

Other than a lead-time issue, I'm surprised that they didn't get them with proper logos, or bare (no logos).

Losing the mark boats was definitely necessary. Not sure how widely reported this was, or how many of you remember this, but on one of the practice days in Newport, ETNZ was out of control, in traffic that wasn't well-controlled, on the way back to the harbor, and wiped out on one of the VIP (larger) mark boats. No one was hurt, but there was a good deal of damage to both boats.

Mike

Round Robin Race 2 starts at 12:00 PT on the YouTube channel.
Artemis has confirmed not competing.
http://www.youtube.com/americascup

Is anyone competing? LR?

Race 2 is ETNZ vs Artemis

Kinda funny and sad at the same time but the only racing is OR1 vs OR2

Aaa...I see that NZ is going to tool around the course on their own again today. Is LR going to do that on Thursday when they are slated to go up against Artemis? This is going to get boring relatively quickly.

Reminds me of that line in Jurassic Park (Jeff Goldblum's character):

"Now, eventually you do plan to have dinosaurs on your dinosaur tour, right?"

The whole thought of one of the challengers winning this and returning to monohulls reminds me of a much darker scene from "Wind."

Mike

I feel bad for the announcers who are trying to explain the lack of any competitors in this competition.

I was on the edge of my seat on Sunday wondering who was going to win. That one really came down to the wire.

It does make me wonder how conservative they are being sailing the boat. Are they giving it 100%? I kinda doubt it, tough to justify taking any risks when it's all yours to lose.

Does this round even matter? I forget how the scoring works, but I get the sense this doesn't really matter, otherwise LR is taking an insane risk.

Mike

New top speed of 43.26 knots.
Here's the replay.

It would matter if there were enough competitors that they were fighting for position in the semi-finals...but with three it's meaningless beyond the spectacle.

That's what I thought...

Obviously, these guys haven't sailed at a Hobie NAs. NEVER win the practice race!!! Of course, no one ever said, translate that into staying in bed...

Mike

Stunning shot from Oracle... (hopefully the forum doesn't resize it...)

Big Blue taking shape.

http://artemis-racing.americascup.com/photos/72157634567749867

Certainly looks sexy. Let us hope that they can ramp up quickly on the new boat and get on the line.

As fun as it is to watch ETNZ parade around the course, I want to see some action damnit.

Couple of Comments:
Andy Green and commentary is much better, and since there is not another boat racing, they are doing a great job to educate what is happening with these new boats, and having team member guests is excellent. A+

Arial camera views are awesome, especially with the close ups. You can see the foot buttons in the ****, and other fine details we never saw before. ETNZ really does have a slick rig.

The foiling gybe. The Kiwi's are looking good. Slowest speed through a foiling gybe was 28 knots, versus 14 knots when loosing the foil. If competitors are similar in upwind speed, looks like the best execution of foiling gybes will win.

The dial up. Imagine closing speeds of 100 mph! This is a completely different animal and is insane. This is extreme sailing at its best. Bring it!

Highlights.

Damned if we do, damned if we don't.