June 06, 2007

New Zealand Wins LV Cup

The New Zealand entry in the Louis Vuitton cup, "Emirates", swept the finals of the challenger series today, defeating "Luna Nova", from Italy, 5-0.

New Zealand is the boat I was rooting for, but the whole thing was a little disappointing, with Italy never really being a factor, and the races being a bit, well, boring.

And this is from someone who is accepting of the, err, subtleness, of the sport. But these races had no real lead changes, no penalties, no crew screwups, no equipment failures. Nothing really active happening. It seemed that whoever got the lead in the beginning of the first leg, was uncatchable.

Too bad. I remember the times when the winds and waves would bash the boats and crews around. The close sailing would produce rules penalties and even the occasional collision. And the battering would lead to spectacular equipment failures like sails blowing out, and once or twice a dismasting.

I don't know what's really changed. But I'm hoping the America's Cup races, which begin on June 23, will be more competitive and active.

Posted by jackhodgson at June 6, 2007 01:33 PM