The 1977 Herbert Pell Cup was held in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1977. The winner, Australia, was awarded the Herbert Pell Cup and went on to challenge for the

1977 America's Cup The 1977 America's Cup was held in September 1977 at Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender, '' Courageous'', skippered by Ted Turner, defeated the Australian challenger, ''Australia'', skippered by Noel Robins, in a four-race sweep. ''Courageous ...

. In a defenders selection series that was held simultaneously, three boats competed for the right to defend the America's Cup.

Teams

''Australia'' (AUS)

Representing the Sun City Yacht Club, ''Australia'' was owned by Alan Bond in his second challenge for the America's Cup. The boat was skippered by

Noel Robins David Noel Robins, OAM (3 September 1935 – 22 May 2003) was an Australian sailor. He began sailing as a child, and became partially quadriplegic after receiving a spinal fracture from a car crash at the age of 21. He was the sk ...

and the crew included John Bertrand, David Forbes,

Michael Fletcher Michael Edward Fletcher (born February 17, 1977) is a former professional Canadian football linebacker. On February 16, 2009, he became a free agent. As of May 9, 2011, Fletcher is a defensive co-ordinator for Paramount High School's football t ...

, Jack Baxter, John Longley, Scott McAllister and

Kenneth Judge Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

''Gretel II'' (AUS)

Representing the

Royal Perth Yacht Club The Royal Perth Yacht Club (RPYC) is a yacht club in Perth, Western Australia. It is the third oldest yacht club in Australia after the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.

, ''Gretel II'' had originally challenged for the

1970 America's Cup The 1970 America's Cup was held in September 1970 at Newport, Rhode Island. The US defender, ''Intrepid (yacht), Intrepid'', skippered by William P. Ficker, Bill Ficker, defeated the Australian challenger, ''Gretel II'', skippered by James Hardy ( ...

. The boat was skippered by Gordon Ingate.

''France'' (FRA)

''France'' was owned by Marcel Bich in his third consecutive challenge for the Cup. Bich had originally built a new boat, ''France II'', however it proved slow in trials and Bich reverted to his original entry. The boat represented the Yacht Club of Hyéres and the afterguard included Bruno Trouble.

''Sverige'' (SWE)

''Sverige'' represented the

Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club ( sv, Göteborgs Kungliga Segelsällskap, ''GKSS'') is a yacht club in Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and c ...

and was sponsored by

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

. The team was skippered by Olympic silver medalist

Pelle Petterson Pelle Helmer Petterson (born 31 July 1932) is a Swedish sailor and yacht designer. He is the son of Helmer Petterson and Norwegian-born Borgny Petterson (born Holm), and studied design at the leading Pratt Institute in New York from 1955 thr ...

. The team replaced traditional grinder stations with bicycle grinding stations below deck.

Matches

References

{{America'sCup Challenger Selection Series

Herbert Pell Herbert Claiborne Pell Jr. (February 16, 1884 – July 17, 1961) was a United States representative from New York, U.S. Minister to Portugal, U.S. Minister to Hungary, and a creator and member of the United Nations War Crimes Commission. A ...

12-metre class 1977 America's Cup