AC36 is over.

I think INEOS could have won at this second try, they just got stuff wrong. Also not being CoR or Defender with a new rule is a bit of a back foot. 

I also think what this cup lacked, but with a retention of class may be possible, is more second tier teams. Those who either want to enter on a lower budget with hopes of securing more funding for a future tilt or those hoping to just get the required exposure from being part of the event and associated with it, rather than winning. 

This cup had four well funded, out to win teams. Which is about as many as we ever really get. But with a new class and no hand me downs in design packages or actual hardware it just wasn't possible to do. Plus the class was totally unproven. So there was a real chance of teams just not getting a working boat made. 

Course C was great for racing. I think there were many more than two interesting or close races. Pretty much all of the round robin was good to watch. Unfortunately the semi finals was a walkover with AM limping round. And then the light and predictable sea breezes kicked in. 

The first four races of the Match were a bit of a tactical stalemate after the start, and I think the courses could have been a bit wider. However, they did keep the racing close and allowed racing to continue into this week, which has then provided us with some of the best racing of the cup. 

For me there has always been a fundamental mismatch in the whole concept of the AC, in that match racing should be between matched boats - if either boat has any speed advantage at all it stops being a match race and becomes a boring procession.

We saw this in both the RR and the Challenger Finals, but by good design or by chance the AC did deliver some decent tactical sailing. As a whole I think it was streets ahead of the last round, and with a few tweaks the next event could be fantastic.

My suggested few tweaks:
1. Make the boats closer to being a one design. How about the foil package being part of the class rules, perhaps with large foils for < 10kts and smaller foils for above, with the race committee declaring which are to be used before each day's racing? Closer racing and cheaper boats might encourage other teams to enter - a challenger series of just 3 boats was a bit disappointing.
2. Wider race course and starting area
3. Return to more normal rules on fouls. Unlike cats these boats are able to do turns instead of the arbitrary slowing down which seems inconsistent and unfair.
4. Allow competitors to carry and offset penalties, then we get some match racing.

My partner and friends said that, but then where is the fun in that