4 Days Til Barcelona, And We Sail!

Far too many denizens of Leviathan and Bahamut know Cele is a junkie for competitive yachting, and in particular for The America's Cup. And while New Zealand is 2-time defender (a shocker of its own right!), the Kiwis have chosen to Defend this cycle from the waters of the Mediterranean and Barcelona!

Truly a lovely venue and wonderful waters to defend from, even though it typically is seen as a massive advantage to defend from one's own shores and compete on familiar waters. But one thing I have learned in the past decade, don't question The Kiwis because they've become what we Americans feared of the Aussies back in the 80s! :D

The truly great thing is we have 5 teams all competing among The Challengers, which compete in their own Cup just for the right to challenge the Defender, which translates into a helluva lot of water time.....and its not a sure thing The Americans push thru. My biggest concern among the other challengers is no question from Italy's Team Luna Rossa/Prada. These guys sail like madmen, and that's what it takes to beat teams from Auckland or NYC- you can't be normal. Sadly, I see the Brits as having just wasting money and time yet again- never able to mount a proper challenge yet always thinking they're "almost there!"

...but at the end of the day, everyone will always be worried about us Americans- there is a reason the damn thing is named for us! And I gotta say design-wise, there are 3 teams infinitely ahead of the other 3, so if you're not with The Kiwis, The Italians, or The Americans....enjoy your short-term visit to Barcelona and buy a t-shirt.


https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vvDEW7s5E8Y?feature=share

Last I heard the cup was named for a boat not the country (or actually the contenents.)

Please correct me if I am wrong.

Ok

Yes and yes^^

The name of the first boat to win the Race Around the Isle of Wight was America, a representative of the New York Yacht Club. The challenge had no name for a good 30-40 years, and because of the dominance, it was decided to name it for that first boat.

So yes- named for the first winner....but only got to get that name because of the dominance ;)