from SA...

pump up the cup


While the mainstream media and even the sailing world remain more or less blissfully unaware of what will be the most exciting and engrossing sailing race of 2010, we keep trucking with our promotion of next month's Little America's Cup in the awesome wing-sailed C-Class catamaran. We frankly cannot understand how those so-called "Cup Journalists" can be so moronic and clueless, with only a few of them even mentioning it now, just 6 weeks from the first start. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised, but with worldwide excitement in hard sails peaking just a few months ago in Valencia, the very real prospect of the 34th America's Cup being sailed in 70 foot versions of this very boat, and the chance for people to see exactly what it is that so many establishment players say is inappropriate - match racing in super-fast multihulls - isn't it time for the same Cup writers at the Times, the Independent, the Herald-Tribune, the Post, the Free Press to wake the hell up?

To hell with 'em. Sailing Anarchy has been THE place to go for C-Class info for a long, long time, and it's about to get a hell of a lot more interesting. We learned a secret this weekend that's been itching to come out, and maybe that will make the difference.

America's Cup winning helmsman Jimmy Spithill has confirmed that he will be competing in the 2010 Little America's Cup in Newport, Rhode Island, along with perhaps the winningest cat sailor in history, Glenn Ashby, fresh off his 7th World Championship victory in the A-Class. Gashby and Spittie make up the ultimate Aussie team for a match-racing multihull event, and they'll be competing aboard one of current Little AC Defender Fred Eaton's rides - obviously, not the fastest one! This move - Fredo giving one of his babies to guys the likes of the Aussie super-duo - is an example of why we are so in love with this class; it is ALL about love and passion for these incredible machines, with egos checked at the door. And it's been this way since the very beginning.

Brains vs Brawn
Given the likelihood of Fredo's platform being his fastest, the LAC will provide a stellar opportunity for sailing fans to learn not only what match racing in super-fast multihulls can be (the format is fleet races to determine match race seeds, then match races for the Cup), but we'll also be able to figure out just how important the design competition is compared to the skill of the sailors. None of the C-Class guys has the kind of winning record that Gashby has (and we don't think any of them would claim to be the cat racer he is), and none will claim to be even on the same planet as Spithill when it comes to match racing. So, assuming that the Canadians and Aussies make it to the final, expect Eaton and Clarke to run away and rely on a faster boat just as they explained they did in 2007 while the Aussies engage as aggressively as they can...will it be enough? Of course we're leaving out Steve Clark, who, despite claiming that his LAC contender is just evolution, could easily have found a silver bullet to once again leapfrog the design curve as Cogito did enroute to a decade-long domination of the Class. And then there are the wild cards; the Pommies on Invictus, the Canadian B-Team, and a few more surprises...

One thing is for sure; those of you who love catamarans, those of you who love speed, and those of you who agree that this stuff is the future will get as much Little America's Cup as you want during On-The-Water Anarchy's live coveage of the week long event from August 22-28th. We've got a sick team of expert commentators, videographers, photographers, and bikini babes slated to attend, and we expect upwards of a million views of our live feed, if not more. Stay tuned to the thread for breaking news, and look for more of it coming soon.

UPDATE: At press time, Gashby and Spithill are having a rough time of it after three races. at the F-18 Worlds against 159 other boats. Minutes after clinching his 7th A-Cat World Championship victory over 100 others in a light air Cesenatico, Italy event last week, Glenn high-tailed it to France to see if he could back-to-back it in the 2010 Formula 18 World Championship, in the Bay of Erquy, We haven't been able to get it to work, but you should be able to track 'em here live.

07/06/10