ORIGINAL: yachtie2k4
are you scared of techonology or something? if you had control we would still be sailing rafts with square sails and no upwind ability
As regards technological advance, fore and aft rigs have been around a long time (I do believe the ancient Egyptians had the arrangement running up and down the Nile).
If the boat will not work without a squad of computers on board, it has stopped being a sport where people are properly involved. Like I said, a glorified Wii. If the technology assistance gets out of hand, you cease to have a sport where human skill and effort is needed. You just dial in the instructions and watch it do its thing. You could probably dispense with the crew. Taking that one step further, you dont bother with the boat either, just let it all happen on a Sim program and watch it on screen.
As a showcase for a freaky boat going fast, this was a success.
As a sporting event to capture the interest and imagination of the viewing public, it was a disaster. There was a grand total of about ten minutes in the entire week, involving the penalty manoeuvre, and up to the point where Oracle overtook.
Media coverage does not come cheap, and the cost differential between setting up and running for a month and a half is probably not that much more than doing the same for a week. The media companies want a big return for their outlay, and they see this in viewing figures. Lose viewing figures, lose revenue, lose the show.