Wow, talking about reading what you want to read, look at the rest of the sentence "the Volvo 40's were just too small when you see the size of the Volvo 70's" [color:"red"] [/color]

You are all still thinking too small, think bigger <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I think the aft-sweep makes it hard to judge if they are canted this way or the other.

/Martin

After the divorce Nicole Kidman was on Letterman. he asked her what had changed in her life and she replied, "I can wear heels again."

I'll tell you what...these boats would be AWESOME to watch in the SF Bay!!! There would be thousands of "spectators."

Hey Coast Guard! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

One advantage that the VX40s had was that they raced in some really tight places in order for folks to view them from shore. I don't see that happening with a 70 footer.

SF is great venue for any boat, great view of the bay from many places.

Ed

At first I thought, Why 70 feet? Why not stick with the Volvo Extreme 40 platforms? Then I read their Bio's and it started to make some sense. We all know they are both America's Cup veterans. But neither one is currently attached to an AC team, and Russel was basicaly fired or quit, don't know about Cayard but they are two of the top tallents and they are not even in the AC event. So I think they both have a bit of an "Axe to grind" whith the AC program. They might have made sugestions on how to improve it but were dismessed, etc. I don't know but they are not in the race right now and there must be a reason.

So they get together and say, "What would make for a more exciting event?" More speed. Well, you have that with the Vovo 40's. But they want to be able to say, "See, this boat is just as big as a Volvo Open 70 and the current America's Cup boats, but it's 3 times as fast!! And look at all the room for sponsors to ride along, and look at all that sail area for logos!"

So in a way, I think they are tying to "Pre-empt" the America's Cup event, by bringing boats that are just as big, 3 times faster and they can also structure the races any way THEY want to, THEY make the rules, since it's their event.

I applaude their efforts! Ever since Dennis Connor stomped Mr. Fey with his 60' cat, I (and many of you) have been asking WHY doesn't the America's Cup switch to Cats??!!

Well, here it is. If this event gets off the ground, it could make the America's Cup a Non-event. It's already a snore fest.

Ding ding ding! Win-na!

There are a gizzillionmore mono sailors and less cat sailors to go around. So the dilution affect is important.
What we need is investment in making these boats visable. I suppose BIGGER boats are easier to see from shore but if we cannot get them to be TV friendly it will just be rich people spending money.
I wonder why these people who invest in the new class don't also invest in a film crew on ribs and the boats themselves to create DVDs that at least we could buy and watch. With well placed cams and music I would buy. I am tired of short streaming video and print.

60 X 70 foot cats!.... now you are just being a bloody worry.

They are helping "develop" an "new" hyped up competition. They are in it for thier fees. These two do nothing for nothing for the fun of it.
Russell Coutts was funded and mentored as much as possible by NZ up to his Olympic medal. He repayed that by not helping the Kiwi up and comings and was payed by the US Olympic team to train young sailors against where his debt actuall lay. His AC defection is legendary. DOSH baby.. that is all it is. He missed just how onto it the Alingi management where and is now out in the widerness looking for a new gravy train.

Mr Fey??? He went to a tired event with the beginning of the big boat revolution, a stunning 90 foot sloop which sailed an AC course faster than any sloop before it. He dared the conservatives to think out into a giant new vision! The New York yacht club were too gutless to face up to his challenge honestly, with respect, daring, good will and a sporting ethic. What flowed was the sailing equivelent of an underarm bowl. But that 'big"boat challenge showed that the platform must be changed and got the AC out of those old 12 metre tubs.
Monos are great and will always be a more poetic ride. It is just that cats are so much faster.
You have touched on something very important though. Why not match race big cats??? Fleet racing will never be as dramatic. The two proven best man to man, that is where it is at. Include a reaching leg just so we can get the vision of intense speed and let's race the countries against each other.
Let's also see a strict "state of origin" ethic.
Who would win?
The Aussies, the Swiss and the French would have the early running.

YES!! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

YES YES! (it seems that the people that run and race in these are the only ones that disagree).

I knew when they changed the AC rules away from the state of origin, it would eventualy turn into just another big boat regatta, which it has.

Download the video from the Daily sail, Coutts explains their reason for fleet racing. Question for us all: how often do you match race?

Just out of curiosity, is there a site where I can get a "non-engineer's" description of the 12 meter formula, and how you can create all the different permutations?

Every time during a fleet race that the situation calls for it. If we are ahead of our closest competitor then its loose cover to finish. If we are behind, then we look to split when an advantage presents itself.

Capt'n Keith, the very same that posts out here on Catsailor, likes to "dog" us in the pre-pre-start of our Tuesday night races. It is really a fun way to get both teams some boat handling practice. I usually end up on the losing end of these exchanges, but they are worth it. It has only come out as a draw if I can scrape him off on someone else or a moored boat. He doesn’t fall for “oh look an eagle” anymore. Hmmm, I bet he will cease his pursuit for a beer floating in the water if it happens to make its way overboard.

We need to do more of this pre-pre-start match racing.

I match race with a mate here all of the time. Don't under rate it.
Try it. Best out of three with the guy who thinks he's better than you who you think you are better than. No place to hide Baby... loser is the LOSER. And if you think there is a better pace to watch the form of someone who you want to learn to beat....

As i recall, the actual old meter formula was relatively simple. Figuring out a couple of the variables to plug into the formula is where it got pretty complex. It was not as simple as the newer style box rules or anything using a VPP. I think one of the variables in the formula measured the hull depth at various locations. Try googling 12 meter class and see what you find. There are still some of them racing on the East coast so they must have some set of rules. Also try looking up the 6 meter class and 8 meter class. These are both still actively raced.

The boats were pig slow, but they had a certain elegence in their hull forms that I alwasy liked. Cheers.

TB