show of hands, who can piss while on the wire? (this DOES NOT include pissing in a wet suit or drysuit!)

You kidding? He wouldn't slow down for anything trivial like urination. Sailing with him is the only time I've ever considered peeing in a drysuit.

Numerous times, even buoy racing. Just whip it out and let er' rip. Sometimes I'm a little too effective at staying hydrated.

Well there you go setting the bar all high and everything. I suppose you want a full team of commentators with current, relevant experience too?

Mike

Is this really considered a skill?

I think so, requires all sorts of ability. Can't call a downwind layline pretty much ever, but I got some other skills!

Our boy Spithill will be on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno at 11:30p ET/PT on NBC.

How 'bout dat . . .

Nice, thanks for the heads up! I just hope Jay can ask him something funny.

**** no way

Huh. That's not what the freaking desktop background at my sailing club public computer indicated. "Hey Karl, I'm going to take a leak...you drive for a minute and make sure we stay on THIS side of the camera boat".

he didn't really set any boundaries for that skill did he?

Timbo and Jake, you're going to love this.
Oracles's 'Stability Augmentation Systems' (SAS)

"Half way through the series it was acknowledged that Oracle had fitted an automatic control to their hydrofoil trim, and that this modification was approved by the measurement authorities."

"The 'legality' of this device has been justified and accepted on the basis that it does not actually 'drive' the trim of the foils.....this is still performed by the muscle power of the crew, via hydraulic linkages."

"The Racing Rules on the matter are very clear RRS42 Propulsion states: A yacht shall compete only by using the wind and water to increase, maintain or decrease her speed. Her crew may adjust the trim of the wing, sails, rudders, daggerboards and hulls, and perform other acts of seamanship."

"The vital words are at the opening of the second sentence 'her crew' - meaning that an automated adjustment which works independently of crew intervention is illegal."

"Even under the current America's Cup rules such a system is quite legal, and it is hard not to believe that such systems were not used again in the 2013 America's Cup. The key point being that there must be a crew intervention between the computer and the sail or other control named in RRS42."

That's a great article Philip, thanks for finding and posting that! It sure didn't take long for that to come out! I wonder why ETNZ didn't protest asap, when Oracle had won 3-4 in a row?

From 1996-2000 I flew the MD11, (an updated DC 10). It also has a SAS, it helped to control the pitch with the elevator. The MD 11 is known to be a squirly airplane to hand fly, due to it's small elevator and the SAS system you are using to fly it with. Pete Melvin started out as an Aeronautical Engineer for McDonald Douglas, I think he may have worked on the MD11 as well.

http://photos.plane-mad.com/0/large/610.jpg

I wonder why ETNZ didn't also have a SAS installed?

So....where/how was there "crew intervention", between the computer and the foil controls??

That kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Why have automation if you are then going to run it through a human?

That may sound good for the Press, but I'm betting that's not -really- how it works!

ABC's Good Morning America

CNN The final showdown

Jay just opened the show by referring to the Americas Cup!!!

Then immediately proceeded to delivered a joke that bombed miserably (something about the yachting spectators flipping their Bentleys and throwing Grey Poupon?). At least he admitted it sucked. "Well, so much for that joke..."

Mike

The always informative Richard Gladwell

Some thought provoking cartoons
Monsta's view of the key moments of the 34th Match

The "stability augmentation system" has been public knowledge since August 8. Here's the schematic:
AC 34 Measurement Committee Public Interpretation 49
ETNZ protested the measurement committee's interpretation in early September, but the jury ruled the protest invalid because ETNZ filed too late (they had 14 days to file). In an unusual move, the jury opined in that decision that they would not have ruled in ETNZ's favor anyway.

Spithill spitting on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno