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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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 .
==================================================
==================================================
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 .
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
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 .
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
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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