CONNER , STARS & STRIPES ' 8 7 , WIN AMERICA ' S CUP BACK

This was the date , twenty years ago , of the decisive AMERICA ' S CUP

Race , concluding the 1 9 8 6 - - 8 7 Regatta . For the first time since

1 8 5 1 , American yachts and their syndicates were challengers ;

the competition was held south of the Equator , also a first .

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No American defender had ever lost an America ' s Cup until

2 6 September of 1 9 8 3 ( a Monday ) , when LIBERTY was

bested in the seventh race by the Australian boat AUSTRALIA I I .

The memory is poignant for this typist : I was in NEWPORT ,

RHODE ISLAND the afternoon of the rubber match .



As a teen , I had hoped to be present for a successful

America ' s Cup defense . To the considerable credit of the

LIBERTY crew and their skipper , DENNIS CONNER , they

very nearly defeated Australia I I in the final race , holding

the lead until the fifth leg .



AUSTRALIA I I , financed by ALAN BOND and skippered by

JOHN BERTRAND , assumed the lead on the fifth leg and

weathered LIBERTY ' s desperate series of sixth - leg tacks

to achieve the unprecedented : a challenger ' s victory

over an American defender in the America ' s Cup .

Prior to 1 9 8 3 , no foreign boat had ever taken more than

two races from an American defender .



The Australian yacht was admittedly faster and more

manuverable , helped by the unusual design of ' winged keel '

created by Australia I I ' s nautical architect , the late

BEN LEXCEN . Only the expertise of Liberty ' s crew prevented

a decisive Aussie win ; the Americans managed to win three of

the first four races before losing the latter three .

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Liberty ' s defeat meant the NEW YORK YACHT CLUB , whose

boat AMERICA won the original " Hundred Guineas ' Cup "

race around Britain ' s ISLE OF WIGHT back in 1 8 5 1 , would

have to relinquish the Cup after one - hundred - thirty - two

years of ownership . Members of the N . Y . Y . C . had long

claimed the losing American skipper would replace the

America ' s Cup with his own head ( ! )



The Cup had been bolted inside a display case at the New York

Yacht Club ' s headquarters , at 3 7 West 4 4 t h Street in Manhattan .

On my lone visit to the lobby of the Club , on 2 4 October of 1 9 8 6

( a Friday ) , I saw the case minus its prized silver chalice .

I rather wished the N . Y . Y . C . could retrieve the Cup from

its new owner , the ROYAL PERTH YACHT SQUADRON , butt

sensed it was unlikely as the Club and Dennis Conner had

parted ways . ( Conner , a member of the SAN DIEGO YACHT

CLUB , formed a new syndicate with his home club . )



Conner and crew prepared for the 1 9 8 6 - - 8 7 Regatta in

Hawaii , where they were spied upon by the former Australia I I

skipper , John Bertrand himself . Conner later said the Stars &

Stripes syndicate was aware of Bertrand ' s presence , and that

Bertrand had duly reported to Royal Perth and Alan Bond

that the boats favored by Conner were massive and slow .



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All part of the plan , said Conner after the fact . Well aware that

the new America ' s Cup course , in the INDIAN OCEAN off of

Australia ' s West Coast , would have far gustier winds than did

Newport , the Stars & Stripes syndicate built yachts that would

be fastest in a strong breeze . Aussies have a fond slang term for

the Westerley winds that buffett the Coast , " The Doctor " .



The toughest competition for Stars & Stripes ' 8 7 actually

involved the other challengers , particularly U . S . A . ( the

representative of the ST . FRANCIS YACHT CLUB of San

Francisco , skippered by one of Dennis Conner ' s most

detested rivals , the late TOM BLACKALLER ) and the

boat alternately known as " KIWI MAGIC " , " PLASTIQUE

FANTASTIC " or simply NEW ZEALAND . Conner and crew

dispatched U . S . A . in the quarterfinal round , four races

to none , and eliminated New Zealand in five races .



ALAN BOND ' s defender AUSTRALIA I V did not reach the

championship round , defeated by KOOKABURRA I I I .

Tha latter was soundly beaten by STARS & STRIPES ' 8 7

in the final , four races to none .



I was at work very early on the morning of 4 February 1 9 8 7

( a Wednesday ) , obligated as I was to start most shifts at

4 : 0 0 A . M . , E . S . T . On the opposite side of the International

date Line - - in Western Australia , at least - - it was still

nominally the Fourth of February , and interested listeners

could ascertain the outcome of the race via the radio .

Long an admirer of Dennis Conner - - I was amongst the people

who applauded him and his Wife as they walked along THAMES

STREET in Newport following the final race of the fateful

1 9 8 3 Regatta - - I ' d hoped he and his crew would return

the Cup to America , and savored the win .



ADDENDA : The America ' s Cup was relinquished by the

San Diego Yacht Club to a New Zealand challenge in 1 9 9 5 .

A Swiss challenger - - Switzerland ? A country sans seacoast ? ! - -

took the Cup four years ago , and will host a Mediterranean

competition in 2 0 0 7 , the first European venue since 1 8 5 1 .



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