America's Cup on the Web

My friend Jeff Davis has an interesting article in his blog about how the America's Cup, once the province of the sailing elite (you know, those upper-crust Northeasterner's with names like "Buffy" and "Milton"), is going all high-tech with its coverage of the race.

For the uninitiated, the America's Cup is a REALLY LONG yacht race, in which people with way too much time on their hands compete for a trophy (and, prestige and all the other good stuff that comes with winning anything). Apparently, the U.S. had the cup for a long time and then other countries like New Zealand and Australia started hogging it. Whoever has the cup doesn't get to keep it long. Anyone can challenge the current holder of the cup, who must defend it. This time around, the challenge is from Switzerland which, last time I checked, is a land-locked country (although I will grant you there are a number of lakes).

To me, online coverage of the cup represents the ultimate in how people use technology to engage in what they truly care about. Interested parties aren't actually sailing. No are they actually physically watching the race. They're not even watching a traditional broadcast image of the race. No, they're watching a 3D/virtual representation of the race based on the images that are coming from the yachts involved. Plus, the technology provides the user with "courselines, markers and laylines" (whatever those are) that are viewable from every angle.

America's Cup coverage BETTER THAN REAL LIFE! And you don't have to leave the safety of your couch. It doesn't get more engagist than that. Now quick -- use the word regatta in a sentence