2017 America's Cup Day 1

The first full day of racing is finally one for the record books after high winds on May 26 caused the first race day to be cancelled.  You might ask why cancel the race because of high winds because sail boats need wind to race.  Well the reason is the fact that these racing boats were designed for a specific wind speed range.  On Friday, the wind speed exceeded the design criteria of these racing sail boats.  Racing them in these high winds would have been very unsafe.  

One amazing fact that helps allow these high tech racing sail boats to perform at the level they do is the Internet of Things (IoT).  Take the Oracle Team USA boat.  This racing boat has hundreds of sensors collecting data from 1,000 data points using Blue Tooth, WiFi and fiber optic cable. The data is collected in real time.  After the data is collected it is analyzed to adjust the boat and to better prepare the crew for each race.  Click HERE to read more about how Oracle Team USA use the IoT.

The Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series (LVACWS) started in July 2015 and will end at the end of June 2017.  The series is made up of nine (9) races. These races were held in Portsmouth, GBR - Gothenberg, SWE - Bermuda, BAR - Muscat, OMA - New York, USA - Chicago, USA - Portsmouth, GBR - Toulon, FR and Fukuoka, JPN.  Following the 9 race series, the six teams gather back in Bermuda for the qualifier and challenger playoffs which started yesterday on May 27.  When the qualifier and challenger playoffs are completed the  America's Cup Match between the two top teams will end the 2017 Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series with a new America's Cup champion being crowned.  This year, Team USA is defending the Cup it won back in 2013.

NBC Sports Network is doing a great job covering the 2017 Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series.  Click HERE to watch the 2nd day of race online at 1:00 PM EST.

At the end of the first day of the qualifier and challenger playoffs, Oracle Team USA and Land Rover BAR were tied with 3 point each.  This is because even  though Land Rover BAR lost one race, they came into the qualifier and challenger playoffs with 2 points for winning the 9 race series where Oracle Team USA had 1 point for coming in second.  The second day of racing should be just as exciting as Day 1.

Until next time, be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great out doors.