YOU CHEATED MORE THAN A YEAR AGO IN A DIFFERENT REGATTA, SO YOU ARE PENALIZED 2 RACES IN THIS REGATTA.
Let your Ostrich Killer explain the latest idiocy to come from the rules committee.
Some years ago, it was decided that this latest America's Cup would be held in San Francisco Bay with high-speed 72-foot catamarans. But no one knew for sure how to build them to go real fast, sail them competitively, and survive them.
So it was decided to build scale model versions of the actual boats to be used, and race these boats in a series of events and in many places around the world, and thereby learn to race them and also learn about design tweaks that would help the larger, America'sCup 72-footers to be used in San Francisco Bay. These were 45-footers that weighed about 4,000 pounds. To help defray the costs of this venture, this series of racing regattas was called the America's Cup World Series, and spectators and advertisers would pay to watch or have their product logos on those boats.
In other words, there were to be two SEPARATE major events: the America's Cup World Series using the 45-foot sub-scale boats to help train crews and serve as technology refinement and springboards and a means to reduce net costs, and the America's Cup itself to be held at a later date in San Francisco Bay, using 72-foot full scale boats.
One of the rules was that all the 45-foot boats were to be identical except for paint jobs and advertising logos, etc. Every potential America's Cup contender built and raced at least one of these 45-foot catamarans in the America's Cup World Series.
There came a time when an American crew member decided that his 45-foot boat needed a near microscopic tweak to go faster. So this crew member put a 3-kilogram (7 pound) bag of lead shot in the bow of his 4,000 pound boat. To put this in perspective, that 7-pound bag of shot weighed the same as 9 cans of Bud Light.
The judges found that bag of shot, notified the rules committee, and the rules committee ruled that the 45-foot boat had to forfeit all its races and, subsequently, an international jury ruled just days before the beginning of the America's Cup races that the team's 72-foot America's Cup boat would have to suffer a 2-race penalty.
Oracle USA would have to win 2 races in order to have won zero races, in an event where the first boat to win 9 races would be the winner.
A different boat in a different race regatta to be held a year after the infractions must suffer the death penalty for 9 cans of Bud Light in the earlier race regatta. Huh?
Well, we all know how it turned out. The penalized America's Cup boat and crew - Oracle USA - won anyway. And rightfully so.
Why the severe penalty, you ask? What's the big deal about 9 cans of Bud Light?
Only the Rules Committee and the international jury knows for sure. Your Ostrich Killer suspects that there was more than a little Ellison hatred lurking in the backs of the minds of some of those folks.
Your Ostrich Killer also suspects that the only reason that Oracle USA wasn't completely disqualified is that they were the defender of the cup, and without them there would be no America's Cup event. That would mean, of course, the loss of about a billion dollars, all for finding the equivalent of 9 cans of Bud Light on a boat that was NOT GOING TO RACE IN THE AMERICA'S CUP REGATTA!
Are your eyes glazed over now? Mine too. Another cup of coffee will help that, but there is no understanding of the thinking of that jury.
Obviously hindsight tells us that crew member should have brought along a 12-pack of Amstel Light (a Netherland beer) or Foster's (Australian) or Steinlager (New Zealand), placed it strategically, and if asked about it declare that it's for on-the-water celebration purposes after a hard race.
One has to wonder what the rules committee would have done with that.
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