Points well taken, gentlemen!

I say unless there is no wind, or stormy weather, or lightning, let's race!

I feel sailing is more of an art than a sport, as it involves knowledge, understanding, and skill in utilizing varying water and weather conditions to the best advantage of a given boat, as well as directing and motivating crew members, and overcoming unexpected problems.

In real life, the wind is not always 15-20 knots blowing steadily from one direction. I'm sure many people sail in light, unpredictable winds, and/or high winds. I do. Are these crews unable to sail under these conditions? If ship's crews would not sail without perfect conditions, this continent may not have been colonized until steam ships were developed.

I think that sailing in light, changing winds could lead to an interesting tactical battle between the crews. I would have thought that Team NZ would have wanted to give light winds a try, as they haven't won under moderate or high winds. Maybe their boat is faster in light winds.

As for high winds, race one saw the results of sailing in that, with ripped out hardware, torn sails, and the end snapped off a boom for Team NZ. What I would like to see is all the crew leaning desperately off the windward side of the boat to prevent a capsize in heavy seas...now that would be a race!

With the races being so long anyway, and having so few periods of high drama, coupled with no US boat in the finals, I think most viewers are people with a hard-core interest in sailing. But with this extended delay, even I have been forgetting to check every day for race updates. Maybe they'll go today!

Mark Owens
1976 H16 sail# 19857