Conference unifix::sailing

382.0. "The Cup, from the other side!" by CASADM::THOMAS () Mon Aug 11 1986 10:47

Thanks to David Whitten, our resident Aussie correspondent....

To:	ED THOMAS @CHM,
	GEORGE MCINNIS @VRO
From:	NAME: David Whitten @MKO            
	FUNC: Electronic Mail Mktg.   
	TEL: 264-2933             <WHITTEN_DAVID AT A1@NUTMEG@MKO>
Date:	10-Jul-1884
Posted-date: 07-Aug-1986
Precedence: 1
Subject: AMERICA'S CUP F.Y.I.


From Week In Oz, July 20th and 27th editions.


                        "The Week in OZ" 


                Happenings in, and about, Australia... 

                        Issue # 83              20-Jul-86


A number of readers have asked about some more news about the 
America's Cup.  Well I've managed to locate a suitable article.  It 
is located at the end of the newsletter.  Due to its length, I'm 
going to break it up into 3 parts.  The first part is most 
interesting and I commend it to you even if you're not interested in 
sailing...


$130m fight for the cup
-----------------------         by Pat Hanning - Yachting writer for 
                                the Sydney Morning Herald

As the Japanese found after Pearl Harbour, the United States does 
not take defeat lightly, and it is setting out with the might that 
only Americans can muster to avenge its most bitter sporting loss.

The removal of the America's Cup was the destruction of a 
132-year-old institution, for that trophy represented historic 
historic supremacy by a nation that has few such symbols and has 
always been jealous of the centuries old traditions of Europe [make 
of that what you will! - ed].  All the more so because of the links 
between recreational sailing and the wealth and power of America.

It is in the tradition of such things that the present commodore of 
the New York Yacht Club, "Bus" Mosbacher, is the former Chief of 
Protocol at the White House, as well as having been a successful 
defender of the America's Cup.  To have a bunch of Australians thumb 
their noses at their tradition was more than this citadel of America 
could bear, so it is coming next month to get the cup back with such 
a fierce determination that Australia's defenders must be rated as 
underdogs.

The man who understands this best is the man who orchestrated the 
defeat.  Alan Bond is organising one of the best possible defences, 
yet still wishes he had wider national support.  To defend the cup, 
his team must first survive eliminations against three other 
Australian teams, at least one of them every bit as good as his own.

The Americans, with five separate teams, are not the only ones 
trying to remove the cup from the Royal Perth Yacht Club.  There are 
also teams from Italy, France, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.  
Competition between them - through 600 elimination races in 3 
months, from October 5 - will hone the skills of the crew that 
emerges to such a fine tune that Australia's selected defender faces 
an almost impossible task.  The days have long since gone when 
competing for the cup was the extravagant folly of a rich man - Sir 
Frank Packer, when asked why he had challenged, said: "Delusions of 
grandeur and too much after-dinner port."

The challenges are funded by syndicates, or by subscriptions from 
industry and, if there is sufficient nationalistic feeling - as in 
Britain and New Zealand - from the public.  Such is the 
international importance attached to this sporting event that $130m 
is being spent by challengers and defenders.  Some $50m of that will 
be spent in Western Australia, with associated tourism benefits to 
the State estimated at $600m.

After all the millions have been spent, the contest will come down 
in late January, to two men - one an Australian, possibly even a 
recently transplanted Englishman, the other very likely to be an 
American - facing each other over a body of water for an absorbing 
nautical chess match.  Two men backed up with the strength and 
skills of 10 crewmen and the best technology the world can provide, 
using just their wits against each other.

Those millions are being spent to ensure that one of those men does 
not have an inferior instrument.  The instruments will be 20-metre 
long hulls, extracting power from the wind with sails equal in area 
to a good-sized house, hung on masts 27 metres high.  The millions 
of dollars ensure that, within the confines of the rules and human 
knowledge, a 25-tone hull will move through the water with the 
utmost efficiency, and that no winged-keel like breakthrough has 
been overlooked.

Harnessing the forces that drive those 25 tonnes may only be done 
with manpower, transmitted through geared winches or hydraulic 
systems.  The dangerous and physically demanding stresses this 
involves will be revealed to TV audiences for the first time by 
cameras filming closer than ever before.  Television coverage of 
this America's Cup regatta is expected to do for sailing what 
similar coverage has done for Grand Prix racing.

[Next instalment:  The defenders - ed]

    {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} END OF WEEK IN OZ {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

                        "The Week in OZ" 


                Happenings in, and about, Australia... 

                        Issue # 84              27-Jul-86

Comments are always appreciated (even adverse!).  "Keep dem cards 'n 
letters rollin in..."



        Letterz
        ======= 

Remember... there are no postage charges...

From:      AKOV77::ASGMKB::EMERY 
 
Subject: Perspective on the Cup Race 

Dear Editor,

I enjoyed the recent Week in OZ, but I have some comments on the
America's Cup Race to get things into perspective.  1)  Despite all
the hoopla, most of us Yanks consider ALL yachtsmen to be rich snots
with nothing better to do than drive expensive toys to Bermuda and
back.  Most Americans don't give a goddam who has the cup.  We don't
even know what it looks like, and we don't care.  2) Most Yanks would
say that if the U.S. had to lose it (but note, we don't really care),
then we'd just as soon the Australians got it.  Americans like
Australia a lot for various reasons: it's like America in the Good
Old Days, Aussies like us, and their government hasn't condemned us
world-wide for imaginary atrocities. So let's keep Cup news where it
belongs -- in the Sports section of the Wall Street Journal. 

Clayton Emery of New England, one-time resident of Aspendale,
Victoria 

-- Well Clayton, I did indicate that the wording was a bit strong, 
but it does help our national pride to be a bit jingoistic from time 
to time!



$130m fight for the cup
-----------------------         by Pat Hanning - Yachting writer for 
                                the Sydney Morning Herald

[2nd instalment:  The defenders - ed]

Groups vying to defend the cup on behalf of the Royal Perth Yacht 
Club are:

America's Cup Defence 1987 Limited:  The Bond syndicate, with a 
budget of $13m.  It has entered two yachts in the defence trials, 
Australia III, the winner in the world 12 metre class championships 
off Perth in February, to be skippered by Gordon Lucas, and 
Australia IV (Colin Beashell).  A3 is a development of Ben Lexcen's 
ideas from the cup winner, Australia II.  A4 is still being built, 
to be launched later this month [possibly this week -ed].  Still 
secret, it embodies some of Lexcen's new ideas, and is designed to 
give the syndicate a "radical" element similar to that of the winged 
keel.  Obviously the most experienced Australian syndicate, it has 
had crews sailing continuously since 1984.  Beashell and Lucas 
recently took out the top placings in the Bacardi Cup championships 
in Bermuda, important successes because many of the America's Cup 
campaign helmsmen took part.

Taskforce 1987 Limited:  The Kevin Parry syndicate, equal favourite 
to win the defence role, mainly because of the dynamism of campaign 
manager Iain Murray.  Has also entered two yachts in the trial, the 
conventional Kookaburra II, and Kookaburra III.  [This syndicate is 
also sponsored by DIGITAL Australia (I think) - ed]  The latter 
yacht, designed by Murray along with John Swarwick and Alan Payne, 
who is still regarded as one of the world's most knowledgeable 12 
metre architects, will be launched in a month.  Kookaburra II, 
though officially untested against outsiders, is said to be fast.  
Murray has gathered some of the best sailing talent in the world, 
with a campaign budget of "whatever it takes" - thought to be $15m.
Six times world 18 footer champion and a former world Soling 
champion, he is the sentimental favourite of the Sydney sailing 
establishment.  But Murray admits he may have found someone better, 
and the syndicate is rushing to have Englishman Lawrie Smith 
naturalised as an Australian so he can become an additional 
helmsman.  Smith beat Murray six out of six in recent trial races.

Eastern Australian America's Cup Defence:  This group, designed to 
represent sailing interests on the east coast, is chaired by 
experienced ocean racer and businessman Syd Fischer, who ran the 
ill-fated Advance challenge for the cup in 1983 [DIGITAL sponsored 
this one in 1983 - ed].  This low-budget effort is the dark horse of 
the defence contenders, with a very fast and good-looking yacht 
designed by Peter Cole.  After the setback of a broken mast, the 
yacht has been sailing well under the helmsmanship of Fred Neil off 
Sydney for the past three weeks against the 1980 challenger 
Australia, which the syndicate bought as a trial horse.  The yacht 
is to be officially commissioned and named on Wednesday [it was, 
Wednesday 16th and named "Steak and Kidney" which was supposed to be 
rhyming slang for "Sydney".  The name was almost universally 
"canned" - ed] and will be shipped to Fremantle as soon as possible 
afterwards [as the syndicate attempted to raise the yacht into a 
container for shipment this week, the shroud covering the "secret" 
keel snagged and revealed all, much to the dismay of Syd Fischer.  
No winged keel on S&K, but apparently a non-standard keel none the 
less - ed]

The South Australian Challenge:  A group under the direction of 
Australia's most famous yachtsman, Sir James Hardy, it is campaigning 
the yacht South Australia, a near sister to Australia III.  Though 
regarded as an older generation yacht, South Australia has been 
given a new Ben Lexcen keel to improve her performance, and crew 
work is consolidating under helmsmen Phil Thomson of Sydney and John 
Savage of Melbourne.  She recently beat the British challenger, 
Crusader I, in a series of races.

[Last instalment:  The contenders - ed]

    {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} END OF WEEK IN OZ {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}



    

More from David.


                        "The Week in OZ" 


                Happenings in, and about, Australia... 

                        Issue # 86              10-Aug-86


-----

I have also received some more America's Cup articles from Rick
Hodges (MAGIC::HODGES)  I'll need to reformat them for inclusion in
next week's issue.  The last instalment of the Current America's Cup
article appears in this issue. 



$130m fight for the cup
-----------------------         by Pat Hanning - Yachting writer for 
                                the Sydney Morning Herald

[Last instalment:  The contenders.]

The contenders, in order of present favouritism, are:

San Diego Yacht Club:  Backed by Dennis Conner's Sail America 
Syndicate.  The man who lost the cup to John Bertrand is making a 
determined effort to win it back, and has trialled a flotilla of 
five yachts off Hawaii in a $23m campaign.

New York Yacht Club:  Backed by the America II Syndicate, which is 
just as determined as Conner to win the cup back.  The first foreign 
organisation to establish itself in Fremantle, it has the best 
organisation in the series, and unlimited resources.  Skipper John 
Kolius is widely respected in international competition, and their 
designers, Sparkmen and Stephens, have drawn more successful 
America's Cup yachts than any other.

Royal Thames yacht Club:  With a challenge being run by a commercial 
company, British America's Cup Challenges Ltd.  Gets this high in 
the betting because of all-round preparation, the best competitive 
helmsman in the business - Harold Cudmore - and the choice of two 
good yachts, the conventional Crusader I, and the radical Crusader 
II, whose hull form appears to be a breakthrough that eclipses Ben 
Lexcen's winged keel.

Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron:  backed by a business and public 
funded syndicate whose main sponsor is the Bank of New Zealand.  
Though New Zealand has the best yachtsmen in the world and has 
produced the most successful ocean racing yacht designers, it is 
without experience in America's Cup racing, and caused much surprise 
when one of its new yachts came second to Australian III in world 
12-metre class championships in February.  The Syndicate has been 
trialling two yachts built of glass reinforced plastic - most 
12-metre class yachts are built of aluminium - and a third embodying 
improvements has just been launched.

Societes des Regates Rochelaises:  Backed by the French Kiss 
Syndicate, has recently had a boost from a merger with the other 
French challenger Societe Nautique de Marseille, which ran out of 
money.

St Francis Yacht Club:  backed by the Golden Gate Syndicate.  Has 
much experience in 6-metre class campaigns, with the unbeaten 
champion in that class, Tom Blackaller as helmsman, for a 
well-funded campaign with a radical Gary Mull yacht named USA.

Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron:  Backed by the True North 
Syndicate and a syndicate set up to challenge for the Secret Cove 
Yacht Club of Calgary, which combined resources recently because of 
a funds crisis, but which now raised $8m to become a well-funded 
campaign.  They will campaign the yacht Canada II, skippered by 
Terry Neilson.

Newport Harbor Yacht Club:  Backed by the Eagle Syndicate, of 
California, with a high-tech yacht designed by Johan Valentijn.

Yacht Club Costa Smeralda:  Backed by a syndicate including the Aga 
Khan, with the yacht Azzurra III.  The syndicate is experienced, 
having been involved in three previous challenges, but the likely 
performance of the yacht is unknown.

Chicago Yacht Club:  Backed by the Heart of America Syndicate, which 
has been trialling two yachts under the direction of respected 
international yachtsman Buddy Melges.

Yacht Club Italiano:  Backed by the syndicate Consorzio Italia, 
based in Genoa, with extensive backing from Italian industry.  Its 
new yacht, Italia II, was extensively damaged while being launched 
in June, when the jib boom of the dockyard crane lifting it broke 
and smashed the hull, causing it to sink.


    {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} END OF WEEK IN OZ {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

More from David Whitten....
                        "The Week in OZ" 


                Happenings in, and about, Australia... 

                        Issue # 90              7-Sep-86

        Odz Pot...
        ==========

What amounts to a large blunder in our America's Cup defence occurred 
last week, and yachting aficionados are aghast.  The young, keen 
South Australians were practising off Fremantle when Dennis 
Connor, Mr America's Cup, took to the water in Stars And Stripes.  
Unable to resist the temptation, the South Australians took on 
Connor and crew in a six to eight knot breeze and won. A thrill for 
them, perhaps, but not for the folks at the Royal Perth Yacht Club.  
While unlikely to be the defender, South Australia will have to race 
against the more likely Australia IV [which took to the water this 
week -ed] and Kookaburra III, thereby allowing the shrewd Connor a 
good relative look at their capabilities.  [What odds Monsieur 
Connor "took a dive"? -ed]