Feb
16
Written by:
WaterplayUSA
2/16/2010 3:13 PM
After months and months of bickering in and out of the court, weather delays, and a medley of other obstacles, the America’s Cup race finally happened…and the Cup is coming back to the United States!
While it looked like the winds favored the Swiss Alinghi in the beginning, they later had to go far past the race lines to avoid a collision with the American USA 17. By the first mark, USA was ahead by 22 seconds and was already hitting 33 knots by the second leg. When they hit the second mark, they were already 2:44 ahead of the Alinghi. The USA sailed to the finish 5:26 ahead of the Alinghi. Victory!
Despite the success, many sailing enthusiasts are disappointed in the race. They feel as though the advanced technology has made the race less exciting, since the sailors rely so heavily on their gadgets to win. And while the sailors maneuvered in the Valencia waters like the pros they are, the true winners here are the engineers.
But wait! The American team shouldn’t feel safe just yet…it’s been announced that the Yacht Club Roma with Mascalzone Latino is the new challenger of the 34th America's Cup. Let’s just hope that the next race will be more swift than the last.