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Advances in sailboat technology
Jan. 16th, 2023 04:05 pmWhat with the recent interest in the age of sail and stuff... I checked in on the America's Cup. I do not, as a general rule, follow high dollar prestige international yachting. However, I, as an American, know the name of precisely one yacht captain, Dennis Conner, because when I was in high school, he won the fucking America's Cup three times and it was A Thing and he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and stuff. (Like I do not follow bike racing but I know who Lance Armstrong is. Same kind of a thing.)
When I was in high school, the boats in the America's Cup looked like boats and they sailed IN THE WATER. You know, LIKE BOATS DO at speeds of about 8.3 knots on a reach. (A "reach" is pretty much the fastest point of sail on a traditional sailboat. It's "Best conditions for going fast", if you will.) This was considered "quite good" for a 12 meter yacht.
Things have changed since then.
( The America's Cup yachts have gotten a good bit faster since 1987. )
When I was in high school, the boats in the America's Cup looked like boats and they sailed IN THE WATER. You know, LIKE BOATS DO at speeds of about 8.3 knots on a reach. (A "reach" is pretty much the fastest point of sail on a traditional sailboat. It's "Best conditions for going fast", if you will.) This was considered "quite good" for a 12 meter yacht.
Things have changed since then.
( The America's Cup yachts have gotten a good bit faster since 1987. )
