Senate Change, Submarines, and the America’s Cup
4 Comments Published by Dr. Beyster February 9th, 2010 in Government, Politics.Being a Republican, I was very pleased to see Scott Brown win the Senate seat in Massachusetts. One of the things that makes this country great is the fact that new superstars pop up from time to time within both the Democrat and Republican parties. In this case, Senator Brown shocked the nation and the President into realizing that there is a real need for compromise if we are to dig our way out of the current economic troubles. I watched his debates on C-SPAN and he clearly had a commonsense message for the American public. Although many of the people and politics of the Republican party are not to my liking, Brown is a breath of fresh air.
I kept pretty busy last week. On Tuesday I spoke on the phone with Admiral Bruce DeMars, who served as Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion from 1988 to 1996. Admiral Demars is chairman of the Naval Historical Foundation, which is located in the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. We talked about an exhibit on U.S. Navy submarine activities he is helping put together at the Navy Museum. I found his idea interesting and I plan to support it. That is if they’re not snowed in too much.
On Friday we weren’t able to motor to Oceanside because the weather was bad. We instead went to the Loews Resort in Coronado. I’m keeping an eye on the America’s Cup. The first race was to take place yesterday, but it was postponed until Wednesday due to light winds. We’ll soon see if Larry Ellison’s boat and crew are up to the task of bringing the Cup back home to the United States. I hope they are.
– Bob
I certainly agree with your celebrating new blood in the national leadership. When some of my friends comment that our president and congress have been spending like drunken sailors, I must object: When I was a drunken sailor, I had to stop spending when i ran out of money.
Bob:
It sure was great to see the America’s Cup finally get underway, and it was even more gratifying to see Berterelli and Butterworth get creamed by what was obviously a technologically superior boat. Larry Ellison and Tom Ehman may not have been perfect in their approach to this race, but the fact is that none of the other syndicates, who depend on sponsor support, could ever have stood up to Berterelli and his team, who were setting up a protocol that was obviously aimed at keeping control of the Cup forever. I think they have done more damage to the Cup than anyone in its history. It was interesting that today, the Providence Journal, who used to send their reporter, Dave Phillips to Australia and New Zealand, didn’t even mention the Cup in their Sports section.
The technology of BMW Oracle, especially the wing, was very impressive and I knew from the moment they came around the committee boat, flying both hulls and heading straight for Alinghi that it was all over. Even though the entry mark for the port side was 200 meters below the starting line, the acceleration of Oracle was so fast that Alinghi was unprepared and unable to get out of the way. Then, after they blew the start, Oracle just sailed right over the top of them. It was pretty neat that after they caught up and were alongside Alinghi, they dropped their jib, and just using the wing, pointed higher and sailed away. That was a great way to rub it in.
I’m looking forward to the second race, although we have to get up at 4:30 in the morning to watch it here on the east coast. Let’s hope that when this series is over, Ellison does as he says he will, and gets the Cup back to a more reasonable regatta. Although these boats are very unique, two tacks upwind and one jibe, with no spinnaker, downwind, don’t make for very exciting races. I would like to see them go back to monohulls and re-instate the nationality rules. Things have sure come a long way from the first time we watched the Cup here in Newport in 1983.
Rob
Bob: Nice to hear from you. I still feel that one mistake Obama is making is being vulnerable to pressures to spend. — Bob
Rob: Indeed, things have changed. Although I’m not a big fan of Ellison, I think he did the country a great service in bringing the Cup back home at great personal expense. Maybe I’ll think about liking him a little better now. — Bob