A Vote For New Zealand Against U.S. Cheaters Conner, Americans Manipulated Way Into Cup Finals That Begin Today
When the America’s Cup finals begin today in San Diego, we’re rooting for the New Zealanders. That’s because the team from the United States, skippered by Dennis Conner, got into the finals purely through the auspices of their sponsors and the greed of their club.
Not sporting enough to accept being fairly beaten by both a boatload of women and a crew of upstarts, Conner convinced the host San Diego Yacht Club, of which he once was commodore, to change the rules in order to give his boat, Stars & Stripes, another chance to beat the women of America3 and Young America, probably the best boat in prelims.
Conner’s crew was a loss away from being eliminated in the Defender series by the women, who then would have been entered in the Defender finals against Young America. But just before what would have been the deciding race, the rules were changed to let all three boats into the final.
Conner, admitting the absence of his name would upset sponsors, won the skewed final.
Wait, there’s more. It turns out that Conner and Co. will not sail Stars & Stripes in the finals because, they say, it is too slow to compete with New Zealand’s Black Magic 1. So Conner will switch to Young America. The San Diego Yacht Club changed the rules March 30 to allow the winner of the Defenders series to choose from among the three defender boats for the Cup final. The Kiwis are incensed and are protesting. Good luck.
All of this is why we’re rooting for Team New Zealand. Of course, we’re not rooting all that hard. Hey, it’s basketball and hockey playoff time. Baseball’s in its second week. These silly boat races, which few Americans understand and even fewer care about, are, in all actuality, little more than filler for when the real sports go to commercial.
The race dates are today, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, May 13 and, if necessary, May 14, 16, 18 and 20.
The boats race from a starting line out to a point 3.275 nautical miles (or, about 3 and three-quarters landlubber miles) away and then back. Then they turn around and race in the same direction, but only go out 3 nautical miles (a bit less than 3 and a half landlubber miles) and return. They repeat this action, and that’s it. You have a winner. It’s a best-of-nine series. First team with five wins, wins.
Every time the boats head away from the starting line, they’ll go upwind, or into the wind. When they return, they’ll come downwind, or … you get it.
Unlike with speedboat racing, these sailboats won’t be able to go in a straight line. It would be better if they could, of course, because then the races would be over much more quickly. But these sailboats must zigzag, or “tack,” to catch the wind. They try to zigzag as little as possible to draw as straight a line to the turning points, or “marks,” as possible.
We figure if Conner and Co. get too far behind against the Kiwis, the host club will create a rule allowing all tubby, cheating American skippers to use motors.
Much of the race’s tactics take place before the starting gun. If one boats starts early, it has to go back and start again while the other boat cruises. This, in nautical terms, “stinks.”
When they’re on the course, they must yield right of way so they don’t hit each other. If the wind comes from the right, or “starboard,” side of the boat, that boat has the right of way. If the wind comes from the left, or “port,” side, that boat has no right of way.