The Publisher
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Sep 2, 2009, 9:55 AM
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America's Cup: Weather forecast for RAK
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There is age-old strategy that if you say something often enough, it gains credibility. Over a hundred years ago, William James, the father of modern Psychology, once said, “There's nothing so absurd that if you repeat it often enough, people will believe it.” Such could be the thinking behind statements being made about the announced venue of the 33rd America’s Cup, Ras al-Khaimah (RAK) in the United Arab Emirates. If you ask the Challenging team, BMW Oracle Racing, the RAK is not a hospitable venue as it is both dangerous and offers only light winds.
Dangerous? Not sure, but definitely different. On land, within the bubble of ‘America’s Cup Land’ (like Disneyland but with higher ticket prices), can it be any more dangerous than Valencia, Spain during the 2007 Match? Can it smell any worse?. And on water, there is not much history of how Iran deals with yachties that bang the northern corner of the course. Hopefully the emirates will explain to them how embarrassing it would be if one of the teams were 'detained'.
How about light air? Again, not much history here. An hour down the street, the 2008 Dubai RC 44 Cup (the RC stands for Russell Coutts) enjoyed winds of 6 to 18 knots during their March event. It is pretty evident from photos that the Defender’s catamaran won’t be crossing any oceans, so why not choose a venue that could exploit their strengths? But the Alinghi team said the venue choice was not about seeking a light air site, but rather one with suitable conditions and local support for the February 2010 event.
Curious about the predicted weather, Scuttlebutt reached out to two of its advertisers - Jon Bilger at PredictWind.com and Chris Bedford at Sailing Weather Service - for local RAK information. Unfortunately, they are both under contract with the Defender and Challenger, respectively, and were understandably unable to provide any help. So the question about wind conditions rages on.
If there are any weather services that would like some publicity, and provide anticipated information for RAK in February, the doors at the Scuttlebutt Forum are wide open. Post your report in this thread.
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