A Faster Yacht, Trading Sails For a Wing

Well, what's the point of racing then? It takes skill out of the competition. It just becomes a matter of which competitor has the better technology. Kinda lame really. The America's Cup deserves better...

correct me if I'm wrong, but any race that involves equipment beyond the human body is going to be primarily about the technology at the highest levels of competition. I can assure you that the boats in the last race before the rules were changed were a far cry from the boats in the first race.

Personaly, I think things like this are great. they spur innovation in materials and engeneering. it may take time, but such pioneering does tend to work its way into everyday life eventualy, and we are all better off for it.

another thought; by doing away with strict rules, the competition is opened up to new and creative ideas, like using a giant wing instead of a sail. competition has always spurred humanity to innovate and evolve the way we do things. It's a big part of what sets us apart from animals.

I was gonna say the same thing ABREMMS. The competition might stir up some innovative technology on sail boats that we have never seen. A little healthy competition never hurt anyone. If it were up to people like FROSTTTY we would still b living in the dark ages.

Having better equipment (carbon fibre, titanium alloys, etc..) is one thing, having a computer to control it and make decisions for you is another.
I'm all for better helmets, lighter bicycles, faster engines, etc... but when you put the equipment in the hands of a computer, then it's just "the best programmer wins".

regarding the computer system, from how i understand the article people still steer the ship, the computer just makes minor adjustments to make the most of the wind, not unlike the fly-by-fire systems used in modern jet fighters. no one doubts the skill involved in flying a jet, but thanks to the computer making small adjustments here and there, the plane is able to perform much better than it otherwise would.

even if it is a case of who has the best programmer, how is that any less of a competition? you still have skilled humans raising the bar ever higher.

Not really what this race was about. It was about the human spirit, now it will be about which boat has the most tech, and who can push buttons fast enough.

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Finally, outdated rules are changed. No one would enter a boat from the 1800’s or 1930’s etc. Outdated rules and laws hold up Technology and freedom. “Change comes slow in America”, Just look at our justice system, it goes back to the Middle ages or further! We need to speed things up so, fore example, in space we can get out of our front yard and get to the nearest star. Thank you Americas Cup for letting us all think freely.

So fuel costs for shipping are rather high, I wonder if wind powered container ships might come back in fashion, I have already seen one use a kite.

Funny how one would complain of the use of a computer while using one.

In fact, the America’s Cup has been a technology fight for many years now. Back when it was still limited to 12 Metre yachts, the cost of just developing a single hull was well over $1,000,000. Now, they have just really opened the rules.

I find it a bit sad that they have eliminated the “people power” principle, though. It used to be that all the power had to be supplied by the crew themselves. Some exceptions crept in with the use of computers (they have been on the yachts for years), but the tactics and sail handling skills were still human.

Now it appears that only tactics are going to be left in the human realm. It will become no different, fundamentally, than motor racing – and that is a shame for the worlds most visible, if not premier, yacht race.

I agree with Abremm. And in response to seamountie, innovation wise, you would want the most premier yacht race push the bounds of technology, because it will have the most profound effect on the industry.

This does not change the rules of smaller races that can enforce more traditional sets of rules, encouraging the spirit and triumph of human skill as others of you speak of.

This is not, and will never be, the only yacht race out there. It is the most well known, and the fruits that it bears should be the most rewarding.

The art of sailing is very romantic - the high seas, man against the ocean, the ropes, the wheel, the shouting commands to the crew. Not so much anymore. I wonder if this technology could be adapted for cargo ships. Biiiiiig sail obviously but would be interesting to see how we could harness the wind once again for doing something other than moving rich people around the ocean for a few days.

I agree with BeanyBoy... What's the point of having a sailing competition if a computer is sailing??? I can understand using better equipment to give an edge to the sailors, but, really, a computer who's sailing has nothing to do with sailing skill... I can even understand a computer analyzing data and telling the sailors information about the stress and everything, or even using a giant wing as a sail, but a computer that sails is about the skill of the computer programmer, not the skill of the sailing team...

The Interested Science Student Who Wants To Know More...

I like seeing innovation AND human-power-only competitions, isn't that the whole idea behind having different classes or types of races? Who knows that this won't in some way help drive wind generators to become more affordable and efficient? The world is competing for oil and gas, indeed we're fighting resource wars as we speak, anything that will help prevent wars for energy is a very very good think, imo. So bring on the wings, bring on the computers, and bring on the only thing that makes either of them accomplish anything at all, bring on the human minds.