Racing yachts weaving through boat traffic - GIF

[Altair]

Racing yachts weaving through boat traffic.




Previously:

Sailing yacht capsized by strong gust - GIF
Yacht crashes into bridge - GIF
Yacht burns then sinks off the coast of Sardinia - GIF
Transporting a yacht through a canal - GIF
Foiler Flying Yacht hydrofoil boat - GIF

[nova_robotics]

What a dirty maneuver. Someone should take their flare gun shoot it right into that rich arsehole's sail.

[hemmjo]

That looks like an organized boat race. The whole fleet of racers is on the same tack, so closely spaced this may very well be the start of the race. The start is often the most visually stimulating for spectators and the most intense for the sailors as everyone wants to be at the same spot at the sometime, going full speed, and not arriving at that spot a split second too soon. Observation fleets often congregate at the start or the various marks where all of the boats once again converge to turn.

All of the racers are on starboard tack. The boat that was forced to do the weave was trapped. They could not "steer" to starboard, as the sails are set, they were already sailing a "close to the wind" as possible. They could not tack as that would put them on port tack, in front of all the other racers, not an accepted maneuver. It would be like making a right turn from the left lane in front of cars following you in the other lanes, that would for sure cause a crash. They could not fall off to port as the boat on the port side was ahead and had the right away. Any of those moves would make that skipper the arsehole.

At big races, there should to be a boat positioned at key places to show observers where it is safe watch. As I see the situation, the "observation fleet" may have been positioned to watch the start, or perhaps they were stationed at one of the marks, as there is always exciting action there as boats round the marks. Very possibly there was a wind shift, that altered the preferred racing line. It is apparent that the observers became aware of their bad viewing location as you can see turbulence in the water where other boats had realized the bad situation and vacated their spot. You can also see the little boat on the Starboard side of the racer throttle hard in reverse to give room.

It is a bit like going to a baseball or hockey game, you HAVE to WATCH the action and be prepared to take action to avoid being struck by a baseball, puck, or... a racing yacht. I am promise you the sailor did NOT want to crash that boat into anyone!!!

I really did not see any "arseholes" in the video. Just a close call where everyone became aware of the situation, seemed to know the rules and dealt with them properly.

I am sure everyone involved got a thrill and a fun story to tell.

[hemmjo]

Here is a video with 12:30 of drone footage of the whole race. The observation boats were clearly in the wrong, especially the big "party boat" that probably have high paying customers on board.

[Beserkleyboy]

Yup, That's the start of the Sydney - Hobart race on Boxing Day. The yachts were in the right, the tourists in the wrong...the Harbour gets clogged with fools watching the boats go out between the heads of Sydney Harbour. cheers

[TrickieDickie]

Those sailors are haulin arse! I have always thought learning to sail would be fun.

[hemmjo]

Those sailors are haulin arse! I have always thought learning to sail would be fun.

Sailing is a very fun sport. Like anything it is not for everyone, and you cannot start at this level. Sailing any size of boat is a great feeling, for me anyway. I used to race Hobie 16's.

I did not want to post a bunch YouTube links here as they take up so much space on screen. If you are interested, search for the topics in BOLD for some relevant videos. (Just be careful you do not fall down the rabbit hole)

The guys in the original video are doing ok. NowTHESE GUYS are "hauling arse"!!!!! Search for "36th America's Cup Day 7 Highlights" on YouTube. If you are not familiar with sailing and tactics, this video shows a great race start. The boats jocking for position, each wanting to be at the "best" spot when the start clock gets to zero, but there is only room for one boat at that spot.

This video shows design concepts for the class of America's Cup Boats shown in the 36th Cup Series. Search YouTube for "Latest America's Cup boats explained".

This one shows how the boats "fly". Search YouTube for, "How the new AC75 will fly"

This one shows some of the 179 year history of the America's Cup race. Search YouTube for, "America's Cup Chronicles:- The History of the America's Cup"

For those not familiar with the America's Cup Series, this is an explanation of the 37th series protocols which will result in even more advanced boats. To be raced in 2024. Search YouTube for, "Blueprint for the next America's Cup"

This last one shows some scary moments over the years. Search YouTube for, "10 Most DANGEROUS America’s Cup Moments"

[Nick79]

Under sail they should have the right-away. Whoever organized this race should have cleared the start better - I give those sail captains a lot of credit to compete under those conditions