Really? How many times did he have to say it was better with the 2007 (and older) boats/format. He also seems to have forgotten that nationalism effectively disappeared long before that when they allowed sailors to change/add passports to switch teams. ... Mike
He also discuss how great it was to be part of several AC campaigns (all of which he was on because they didn't have strict nationality rules).
Jake Kohl
-- Have You Seen This? --
Re: AC62 Oracle Team USA Spaceship has landed
[Re: P.M.]
#274596 08/11/1401:23 PM08/11/1401:23 PM
ORACLE TEAM USA (USA), the defending champion Artemis Racing (SWE) Ben Ainslie Racing (GBR) Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) Luna Rossa Challenge (ITA) Team France (FRA)
Philip USA #1006
Re: AC72 Oracle Team USA Spaceship has landed
[Re: P.M.]
#274890 08/21/1409:19 AM08/21/1409:19 AM
'I had some good talks with Team New Zealand after the last Cup in December. We knew we were going to part ways at that point. The split has been very amicable. I got a note of congratulations from Shoebs (ETNZ's Kevin Shoebridge) this morning. We’re all good mates, but it is time for a change.'
'Money didn’t have anything to do with it. It is good for me to have new challenges. It is good for Team New Zealand to have a new voice, telling them a new way of looking at it. Ten years is a long time.'
Philip USA #1006
Re: AC72 Oracle Team USA Spaceship has landed
[Re: P.M.]
#274892 08/21/1411:09 AM08/21/1411:09 AM
"San Diego has revealed the pressure it is under from America's Cup officials, who want 10,000 free hotel room nights in the lead-up to the 2017 event.
They also want an additional 7500 room nights at half-price. Estimates put that cost alone at US$2.75 million (NZ$3.29m) in room nights."
"Possibly the greatest comeback in sports history did not occur on the gridiron, or on the court, or anywhere near a field, but at sea. In September 2013, in the San Francisco Bay, Oracle Team USA overcame disastrously dire odds to achieve, statistically, the grandest comeback in the history of international sport. Having had three of their team members expelled for cheating in warmups, been fined $250,000, and docked a pre-final two-race deficit, Oracle had to win 11 races in order to defend the oldest international sporting trophy, while challenger Emirates Team New Zealand needed only to win nine. Having taken six of the first seven races, Emirates had a commanding lead, and a new champion was widely predicted. In Race 6, Oracle replaced American tactician John Kostecki with the most successful sailor in Olympic history, Sir Ben Ainslie of Great Britain. Teamed with Oracle Skipper, Australian yachtsman Jimmy Spithill, Ainslie improved Oracle’s approach to their upwind lengths. Race 9, which almost saw a disastrous capsize by Emirates, went to Oracle, but when the Kiwis took races 10 and 11, Emirates was within one win of claiming the Cup. At this point, despite the fact that Oracle had managed to win three races, they officially trailed Emirates 8-1, due to the pre-series two-race penalty. The following six days would see unparalleled seamanship, audacious tactics and a hardened will overcome the most overwhelming odds ever seen in the history of the America’s Cup. Spithill consistently managed to sail his vessel up on its hydrofoils for maximum speed. Having taken the next seven straight races, the 34th America’s Cup would be decided on September 25, 2013, in a winner-takes-all match. Oracle had won eight straight races to stun Emirates, the sailing community, and the sports world. Never before had a player or team overcome such odds. Emirates had the advantage early on, earning the favored leeward position out of the start line, which led to a lead around the reach mark. After Oracle dipped both their bows into the water, they were slowed down considerably. It began to look like the comeback was noble, but forlorn. After Emirates took a lead into the third leg, Oracle’s discovered upwind foiling skills took control, passing Emirates. While Oracle tried to extend their lead, another mistake would almost certainly mean disaster. They took the cup by 44 seconds, achieving what no team had done before."
Philip USA #1006
Re: AC62 Oracle Team USA Spaceship has landed
[Re: P.M.]
#275108 08/31/1411:56 AM08/31/1411:56 AM
"I had a massive falling out with the owner of the team and the CEO about the safety of our yacht so they decided to terminate me. Ten weeks after my argument with the owner about the safety of the Artemis boat, the boat capsized in the San Francisco bay and one of the sailors was killed. It was a known thing that the boat was not safe. "
"On Friday, Hutchinson said on his Facebook page that the Maxim interview "included some untrue statements and inaccurate remarks I made about Artemis Racing."
"To be clear, Artemis Racing is a well-organized and responsible professional sailing team that considers safety an absolute priority," Hutchinson wrote. "My departure from the team more than five months prior to the tragedy of May 9, 2013 was on agreeable terms with the owner and my teammates. No one could have anticipated what occurred, and I meant no disrespect to the memory of Andrew "Bart" Simpson or to any current or past members of the Artemis Racing team. I deeply regret any misunderstanding that was drawn from the Maxim interview."
Hutchinson didn't immediately return a phone call and email seeking further comment on why he recanted his earlier statement."