I have an interesting take on the round robin tactics for this year's Louis Vuitton Cup.

It's the lose to win theory.

If you push your boat to its fullest during round robin 1 and 2 you will end up in the top half, the double chance half. However you will end up racing against the other 3 fastest teams. Each series you will have to race to maximum potential against a likely equal or faster team.

If you race your boat just hard enough to remain in the top 8, you will advance to the bottom half and race only against the slower teams and the losers from the top half. This will allow your R&D to learn from the other top teams on the top half without ever racing at full speed. At this point, most of the boat's potentials have been seen on the water with leg timing and laser speed analysis. If your team has been careful not to tip their full hand and speed potential, the top half will not be ready when you kick your boatspeed up a notch in the Louis Vuitton Finals. Up to that point, you would have never raced against the fastest boat at full speed.

It is a crazy gamble, but if your team is not as fast as you think they will be in a month, it is by far the best bet. This has always been the craziest Regatta in a normally insane sport that is as likely to be won off the court as on. i.e.: The Cat vs. the Monster K Boat.

--Steve Steiner, Managing Editor