What about the Cup?

I recently put up a poll on the homepage to see what readers thought of the current situation with the America's Cup. The results are I think telling, with 59% of readers saying that the America's Cup has become bad for the sport. Granted this is a small sample size, but 20 years ago I would be surprised if 10% of people felt this way.

Personally, I have mixed emotions. Vast sums of money being poured into research and development, and some of those developments are bound to trickle their way down into the part of the food chain that most of us occupy. In the end though, I agree with most of our readers.

The America's Cup should in the end be decided by skill in design and skill in sailing. The current state would have it decided by the skill of lawyers and whims of the courts. That is not healthy for the sport. I find it hard to believe that the spectacle we are witnessing is going to draw new people into the sport. Instead it is likely to turn people off.

What we need are more events like the Volvo Ocean Race. It does not have to be a round the world race, but a series that borrows some of the format and lessons learned from the Volvo Ocean Race series I think could really succeed. A series of short one week ocean races, complete with on board media, could be the recipe for pulling people in. The boats should be exciting, and would require a new class rule that would offer enough latitude in design to see some real innovation in design. If done right, it could draw television viewers along with an active online following. If people watch crab fisherman in Alaska just doing their jobs, than a highly competitive ocean race has to be able to draw viewers, right?

The bottom line is that ocean racing is exciting, court rooms are not. So for me, as long as any part of the Cup competition is taking place in courtrooms, I have no interest in it. So what do you think? If you have not already, add your vote here. And don't forget to add your comments. Let us know what you think.