Growing up in San Francisco and used to live in Cow Hollow, Fleet Week was quite the spectacle with the city flooded with sailors. On a given day, we will hear the Blue Angels and be able to see them on our deck multiple times a week. Great if you are a tourist, locals in actual houses, actually felt a bit of nervous.
The America's Cup is the Super Bowl for sailors, and this year, it is dubbed the Louis Vuitton for obvious ease of obtaining sponsor ship. Nevertheless, it is hardly a thing that we locals talk about, except if you are already a sailor and a fan of the local Yacht Club. For local schools, sailing class is actually a real possibility as are kayaking thanks to the SF Bay.
But many say it is not an easy race. The waters here are not easy to navigate. I don't know the details, so I shall not comment. I am not into sailing, and hence I wasn't into the Cup.
Yet, Bloomberg's article has completely changed my view: mentioning of sudden death from accidents, cutting edge technologies sponsored by Tech tycoons, teams that are in intense practice, potential for broadcasting spectacle that is at the level of F1 racing. Suddenly, this is a Silicon Valley lifestyle and business event, making it the right content for this blog.
Oracle's Ellison won't be the last Tech tycoon / founder to dabble in this power trip. Lipton, the tea tycoon and Vanderbilt's descendants have all being "guilty" of building powerful man toys and exhibiting their showmanship by exerting millions of dollars - even a chunk o their fortune. In return, they get racing that is so fast and dangerous that the thrills will spill to those who aren't always interested in sailing. They get armored soldiers, oops I meant sailors, who get to watch their training again and again with high tech filming and get their results analyzed by the top talents.
Races are the modern warfares without smokes but not without injuries and deaths. And the rich and powerful cannot help but be mesmerized by the routes to glory, the pursuit of top speed and the crown as its byproduct. #richmanstoy
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