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Too many times we have heard the phrase "rain stops play" at the annual Wimbledon tennis tournament from London, England, and given the climate in the UK and the fact that the championships began back in 1877, it must have been uttered many times.
However, there aren't many sporting events that need specific and precise weather conditions in order to be able to proceed.
Sailing, and in particular the America's Cup, is one such event where the direction and strength of the wind is a key factor in determining the success of this regatta.
[...] Since the beginning, the weather, and in particular the winds, have taken their toll on the teams participating, with strong, gusting winds capsizing the New Zealand team on Tuesday, June 6. The following day's racing planned for June 7 was postponed due to the high winds.
[...] And now sailing experts are saying the light air pattern currently in place across Bermuda could be a game changer, and if the winds stay below 12 knots, the teams have to change equipment and tactics once again.
-- submitted from IRC
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(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Tuesday June 13 2017, @05:26PM (4 children)
The poor poor billionaires can't play with their toys, because the wind is too strong for the human toys to control the mechanical toys in the proper elegant patterns!
Keep delaying the end of the races, gods of the winds, for the engineers are learning, the peons are being paid, the suppliers are selling, and the Great Minds are distracted from much more harmful activities.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ah.clem on Tuesday June 13 2017, @06:25PM (2 children)
So, you have a distaste for all International sports, American Football, English/Aussie rules Football, Baseball, Cricket, etc., teams owned by billionaires, played by millionaires? The America's Cup is the pinnacle of of circuit sailing racing. The ultimate Test Match, Superbowl, World Series, etc. of the sport. If you follow the money on the design and construction of a typical 12 metre, I think you'd see an awful lot of income created for the "peons" for a lot of years. Even software peons. Or Engineer peons. It's possibly OK to sit at a local pub with a pint and cheer on the local team, but somehow 12 metre yachting is shite? You can buy a bat, ball and glove for 100, a basket ball for 50, a soccer ball for 50, a cricket bat for 70 and a used, trailerable. competitive racing dink for under 1000. You can participate in any of these sports, pickup or organized, including club sailboat circuit racing. You don't need to be a billionaire to participate at the club level, and the World Cup gives you an appreciation of what bleeding edge engineering can accomplish given the resources. I don't get the venom, man, unless it's directed at that cheating bastard Conner :0). But, to each his own. Quite a few people started fabrication shops years ago, based on building 12 metre parts, that are still running successfully, employing folks. Old 12s get sold to individuals that then use them as "head boats" to take punters out for a fast ride on a "12" (with a considerably shortened mast and small foresail). Some are just put on loan for exhibition to raise money for charities. That's a win from my perspective.
There have always been upper and lower classes. The rich do as they will, the poor try to get by. The middle class got pinched, agreed, but also are somewhat responsible for our own situation by living above means. Just my opinion and experience being somewhat caught out, of course (learned my hard lesson and did my best to fight back to where I was when it fell apart). But man, you seem really pissed about something. Sorry.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday June 13 2017, @07:36PM (1 child)
It's possibly OK to sit at a local pub with a pint and cheer on the local team, but somehow 12 metre yachting is shite?
No, they're all shite: going to local bars, cheering local teams, and billionaire yachting are all a waste of time. Same with the Superbowl, World Series, etc.
If you like sports, do what you said before: buy a bat, ball, etc. and go find a few friends and play. Watching other people play sports while you sit on your fat ass is sheer laziness, and alcohol rots your brain [nih.gov].
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 13 2017, @09:29PM
Can't we all just get along?
And by get along I mean everyone should be productive during any hours not spent asleep. Fun is a waste of time, and any benefits required by human physiology should be handled with chemical substitutes. We can even increase productive hour totals by reducing the need for humans to sleep! We can also encourage a higher birth rate with mandatory life retirement when productivity drops below the lower bounds.
If you're not improving the bottom line you should be executed POST HASTE!
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday June 13 2017, @11:34PM
Yes, well, I'm a Kiwi, so $30 million or so of my tax money went into funding Team NZ.
I hope we lose, because I'm sick of paying for these rich pricks toys.