Kinda makes you wonder who would win if they were to use identical boat with identical rigging with skill, talent and luck as the only determining factors.

As a Brit who loves sailing, I just don’t find the America’s cup interesting to watch and I know a lot of people with the same view. Don’t get me wrong, it is spectacular watching the boats fly around and I have watched the recent racing. But in all honesty, I would rather watch/do something else entirely. But if there is a J-class regatta I will watch every single race!

@@ehall9149 horses for courses, I get what you are saying. I think though the AC has made efforts to be entertaining to the television and therefore the armchair audience if they would give it a try. J class 👌

While I marvel at the science and technology, these vessels spend more time out of the water than in...does that make them aquaplanes? And thanks for remembering our great naval architect designer Ben.

I'm trying to like this high tech "flying" stuff but i just can't do it. Bring back an actual sailing vessel where the hull is in the water, not these weird stick insects hopping from foot to foot trying not to get wet.

These boats still sail in displacement. The old yachts go slow under any wind range

For sure, shame I bet it's far to dangerous to even be on the cards 🔥

Yeah me too. I had both the live and VE streams open at once in the end.

And Ineos gas company destroying our planet. Let's all celebrate!

@Seawolf Owned and operated by the State.

How can you call it the city of sails when there's no wind for boats to sail in smh

And it’s merry Christmas.

It was within the wind limits at the start.

@@Secretlyanothername Apparently.

Yeah, the only place the Kiwis are last is in PR whenever Burling is on the mic... He might be a great sailor, but he's a robot, a boring one at that, when interviewed. Yep, go ahead and hate on me;). I have to say, I am really surprised with how aggressive Barker is and how good his starts have been as Spithill and Outteridge used to pretty much own him in previous years.

@@AntiVaganza I'm enjoying seeing Barker do well. The situation with Team NZ never sat well with me.

@@kwerk2011 that was his own undoing in the end. ETNZ could have handled it better behind closed doors but ultimately Barker decided not to take the offer and stay.

At least the clipper ships were actually sailing ! and not flying on foil wings... i just do not get how we can consider this the same sport ? yes it looks fun and fast but is it the sailing as we know it... for me its a no.. no hull touching the water only fins is not sailing.....L.A Rob

@@intsccents I feel for you but I still think it is awesome. I used to make small sailboats ⛵ and I knew how to draw clipper ships. I think that those ship makers would have loved to see these vessels. I think they're great! 😁 Someone is going to have to sail around the world in one of those.

@@JungleJargon I do not think they are capable ! they are not supper stable and could not make a crossing and on top of it due to the foils and they way they work on these yachts it would require a big crew and these boats do not have any crew quarters. .L.A Rob

@@JungleJargon Impossible to do, simple drop of wind, and they're stranded, as we saw here.

@@intsccents Right, it could be unless they made another version. It would have to be some kind of fixed keel and a smaller crew.

You mean literally a ton.

I've literally witnessed the impossible happen many times throughout the years of watching the AC. I wouldn't count it out from happening in this one.

Seems they achieved a fair bit! Or they were sandbagging!

Ben Ainslie is at his most dangerous when against the ropes, I believe they will be competitive........

it's mostly a foil issue which is a manageable fix, not like the whole boat is a dog

Hope so , however Pete Burling on hell of a sailor, so's Ben Ainslie...should be good racing.....

www.stuff.co.nz/sport/americas-cup/300192163/americas-cup-italian-sail-experts-suggest-fix-to-ailing-british-yacht

I don't get why they needed to declare their foils 5 days before racing.

False

They have not had spinnakers in the AC for almost 20 years I think you are a bit out of touch

@@rustyone7299 I grew up with sail boats and spinnakers...I also just watched a 2007 AC race...with Spinnakers. Knowing when to set the pole, get the spinnaker up, the job down takes experience. They have sacrificed skill and experience for speed and have lost lots.

A lot of people have this feeling, but the America's Cup has never been about traditional sailing races. The deed of gift states that the holder determines the rules for the challenge. That ensured that the Cup was always going to be more about pushing technological advances than adhering to a standard, traditional race setup. We can go back over 30 years and look at Australia II's winged keel. It's always been about inventing new things, and finding an edge. It's Formula 1 vs track day. Yes, they may not race in a lack of breeze, but they'll do 50 knots in a 15 knot breeze.

@@barbaralucero2772 Do you think that sailing a boat that is basically flying and can travel at 50+ knots doesn't take any skill and/or experience? Or trimming and setting the foils and sails for the wind and coordinating it all properly to make a tack? I'm sure the crews of world-class athletes and skippers have nothing to do with it.

@@connorjohnson4402 lol. When you miscalculated at any speed in a boat it can be deadly. Ask a pilot. My gripe is these "boats" are more like airplanes than sail boats. I grew up with actual sailboats, and a catamaran and of them all, the catamaran was quickest and most dangerous. BUT, they were sailboats, patterned after history...not an airplane. This is personal preference...I would rather watch a sailboat under full sail, with spinnakers full that these "boats". A skipper that has been sailing for 25 years, in all types of wind, all types of sea, to me, is more interesting and has more historic value! Remember where the America's Cup originated from!!

The must have started paying the competitors again then because they are currently 4-0 in the Prada cup

Just because no cases detected. That doesn't free of the virus. Not every person in NZ has been tested.

@Seawolf nobody suggested testing had stopped.

DolFINNS???

I don't often watch videos that I find boring, but when I do, I complain about it.

not necessary in NZ at the moment

Yes, it did.

Wrong. AC racing was always a rich men sport. You live in a lulu land.

Wrong Les. I guess I didn’t write it properly. Big gigantic difference between boats that any hard working person can afford and sail compared to what we see today! Lala land? Grow up

I doubt many ordinary people could have afforded a J-Class in the 1930s...

AC boats were never, ever intended to represent boats that can be purchased by regular people.

Please forgive me if I’m wrong? Years ago, I remember reading an article that was saying they only used boats for the America’s Cup that could also be built/purchased by regular people if they had the resources to do so? This was my intention for my comment. I absolutely understand that a very high percentage of the population cannot afford these high caliber boats, including myself! I personally know two sailors who raced for Canada in America’s cup events and they both confirm to me that the purist part of racing sailboats is long long long gone. The boats that are racing today are not boats that anyone can actually use in the real world? Guess I’m getting old. Merry Christmas everyone 🎄

Were you not paying attention? Racing in New Zealand which is one of few countries which have the pandemic under relatively close control.

Even sports held in countries under lockdown go through weeks of quarantine and maintain separation from public and therefore do not require masks. How do you not understand how this works yet?

With Rudi hanging his arse over the back and providing some jet propulsion.

@@flamingfrancis Wonder if he knows any good lawyers...

Mankind might not have gone to the Moon if it wasn't for the Wright Bros and other "aviators" of that time and you'd still be using an abacus or slide rule instead of a computer.

@@flamingfrancis that's not sailing in the same way that space Travel is not the same as flying. Still don't like em

@@shoesmercant Ice-sailing is also nothing else but sailing - and there you don't even have a boatin the firs place ;) This is defiunitely 100% sailing, if you like it or not ;)

​@@florianN132 is as much of a sailing such as a transvestite is a real woman ..

To me it's real sailing. It took humans thousands of years to finally master wind. It is also real excitement and this sport will never be bigger. Go watch your old low resolution, grainy footage of archaic boats that had little advancement in concept. Everyone profits here.

Viewership is high and growing due to the new tech. There are lots of sailing races. This is top performance like Formula 1 racing. Yet, dinosaurs still exist that say those cars aren't real cars, even though they have been around for over 50 years.