Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sailing Into the Future

It's a lazy day off Monday. I kept the web surfing down to a slow simmer. No hi-tech maintenance today, no ossified computer clean-up over at the SturgeUrge Compound.

I was up at the usual time. I got out of bed an hour earlier than I have been and enjoyed a nice pot of fresh ground French Roast. I finished going through the Sunday paper and scanned the Sunday circulars and the Fry's Electronics ad on the back page of the front section of the daily broadsheet.

There it was! The multi-function EPSON printer I've been waiting on...for half-off of retail! It's the current top of the line Artisan Series multi. Printer/copier/scanner/fax all rolled into one.

Like I've always boasted, the price will come to me. Score one for TruckeeDave.

Sunday night before I turned in, I saw a tweet announcing that the Golden Gate Yacht Club and the 34th America's Cup Defender Syndicate press conference to announce the plans for the 34th America's Cup, was streaming LIVE in just a couple of hours. 1:00PM Valencia, Spain time. 0400 here.

Monday afternoon, after I snatched up my killer deal on the EPSON, I surfed the 'net over to the 34th America's Cup website, to see what they're proposing for the America's Cup and Challengers' Regattas, the year of the Regattas, and the Boat Design. All the info is on their website.

Today's presser laid out three of the four corners of the Cup going forward. The only unknown is Where the regattas will be contested. The Golden Gate Yacht Club and BMW/Oracle Racing will bid to hold the regattas on San Francisco Bay.

Lots of words are generated in media around the Bay in anticipation of the America's Cup Bid. Now that there's a plan for the next Defense of the Cup, and a whole Ecosystem of racing, boat designs, feeder series, and timelines, Syndicates around the world will pitch their ideas to the local governments and business comunities and bid for the right to host the 34th America's Cup.

Since I first saw 12 Meter America's Cup Racers racing to determine who would be the Challenger in Australia in 1986, it's been my dream to see the big boats race on The Bay.

The Protocol announced today in Valencia calls for very Space-Age (or rather, Internet Age) 72 foot catamarans powered by a Wingsail. There's some nice video of BMW/Oracle Racing's yacht online here.

I favored a monohull, or more traditional boat. But I can see the wisdom of sailing into the 22nd Century, on San Francisco Bay, aside Silicon Valley, on Super Cutting Edge racing yachts, with television cameramen on each yacht to showcase America's Cup Racing to the world.

Combined with an annual World Series for the class, a Youth Series feeding the Top of the Card from races in smaller but similar hi-tech racing yachts, in your face TV, and agreement from America's Cup Racing Syndicates across the World, America's Cup could eke out a spot in the burgeoning Internet/Television audience.

Several Syndicates are vying to host the next Cup. The Host will be announced in December.

It would be great if you, dear readers want to see this dream come true, it would be great if you let your State and Local political and business leaders know how much you want to see this happen on San Francisco Bay.

Here's some resources of like mind to help you see what's planned, and who needs to hear from us so it will happen on The Bay:

Latitude 38 Local SF Bay Sailing Magazine
34th America's Cup on SF Bay Facebook Page
eMail SF Mayor Gavin Newsom

1 comment:

  1. Holy FN shamollie what the heck is that vesseL?

    ReplyDelete