Yes, it’s been that way for at least 80 years now through the various racing rules. These are pure racing boats. They’re not useful for anything other than racing in “normal” conditions between about 7 and 30 knots of wind. The original boats actually sailed on their own bottom from NY to the UK to race. Those days are long gone.
I’m fine with it, myself, as long as the rule is applied equally to all teams. It’s not like modern bobsleds are useful for crossing the arctic, or modern F1 cars are useful for driving cross-country. All these race vehicles are built to some rule or other.
I watch it on Youtube. No commercials. I hooked up a spare computer to the TV so we can watch it in full HD. 17,811 watching. You get ten times that on Tiktok for some teenage girl dancing.
I have decided to get my ROC(M) which is the Canadian Maritime Radio Certification for pleasureboats. I have a summary class on March 18 (a few days from now) and my exam is on the 31st. The test looks hard and if I took it today, I would certainly fail. Hopefully I can digest and retain enough information to change that by the 31st of the month. I have no idea why I’m doing this but I am. If I fail, I’ll admit it here.