Land Rover BAR, can this AC35 tech partnership “bring the Cup home”?

Ben Ellison

Ben Ellison

Panbo editor, publisher & chief bottlewasher from 4/2005 until 8/2018, and now pleased to have Ben Stein as a very able publisher, webmaster, and editing colleague. Please don't regard him as an "expert"; he's getting quite old and thinks that "fadiddling fumble-putz" is a more accurate description.

6 Responses

  1. Ben Ellison Ben Ellison says:

    I don’t know if foils or wing sails will ever make sense for normal sailboats, but they are catching on with racers. Chec k out GC32 action on gorgeous Lake Garda:
    https://youtu.be/Oimjym2FRtg

  2. Sheldon.haynie says:

    Great article, but British technology ain’t what it used to be. When the crews are professionals sailing for the team that makes best offer, an appeal to romance may not be sufficient.
    Aisle is a good dinghy racer, whether he can skipper an AC campaign ?

  3. Ben Ellison Ben Ellison says:

    Thanks, Sheldon, but you need to catch up on Sir Ben’s AC history:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Ainslie#America.27s_Cup
    He’s been involved for a while, and perhaps most notably became tactician aboard Oracle USA starting with AC34 Race 6. He was part of the “greatest comeback”:
    http://www.bbc.com/sport/sailing/24285864

  4. Sheldon Haynie says:

    Involved with, is not skipper. Not slanging the man, as an Olympic helmsman he had to do all of it for himself. As tactician, he advised helmsman. Even if a great helmsman, he is not neccessarily best “skipper” just as best quarterback is not coach or GM
    Think Spithill, Coutts, Ellison.
    Jimmy Drives, Russell coaches& manages and Larry writes big numbers on checks.
    All neccessary, all competing for share of mind, if you lose one, the deficit impacts.
    The technology base needed in design & build is matched by the control systems and data analysis. (My day job is making technology to support semiconductors, we process terabytes now with Lisa’s, radar, sonar warning and sell to all major auto and auto systems vendors..tc). Neither Jaguar nor LandRover have scope in those areas, especially after Tata bought them,and Tata has no intrinsic resources to share. Compare BMW as Technology sponsor with Oracle team, they have control and composite fabrication, Oracle is world class in data.
    If Daimler & SAP joined a team, you would have equivalent.

  5. Sheldon Haynie says:

    Lidar. Not Lisa.

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