The 1987 America's Cup was the twenty-sixth challenge for the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

. The American challenger '' Stars & Stripes 87'', sailed by

Dennis Conner Dennis Walter Conner (born September 16, 1942) is an American yachtsman. He is noted for winning a bronze medal at the 1976 Olympics, two Star World Championships, and three wins in the America's Cup. Sailing career Conner was born September ...

, beat the Australian defender '' Kookaburra III'', sailed by Iain Murray, in a four-race sweep in the best of seven series. Conner thus became the first person both to lose the America's Cup and then to win it back. The series was held in

Gage Roads Gage Roads is an area in the outer harbour area of Fremantle Harbour in the Indian Ocean offshore from Fremantle, Western Australia. It incorporates a deep water sea channel as part of its function. Gage Roads serves as a shipping lane and ...

off

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

during the Australian summer months between October 1986 and February 1987. 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.

was the defending club and the organiser of the defence series.

Yacht Club Costa Smeralda Yacht Club Costa Smeralda was established by the Aga Khan in 1967. It is situated at Porto Cervo in Costa Smeralda, northern Sardinia and provides services for recreational sailors. The club challenged for the 1983 America's Cup with ''Azzurra' ...

Porto Cervo Porto Cervo (; ) is an Italian seaside resort in northern Sardinia. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Arzachena, in the province of Sassari. Created by Prince Karim Aga Khan and various other investors, Porto Cervo is the main centre of Co ...

, Sardinia was appointed the challenger of record and hence the organiser of the challenger series. This was the last time that

12-metre class The 12 Metre class is a rating class for racing sailboats that are designed to the International rule. It enables fair competition between boats that rate in the class whilst retaining the freedom to experiment with the details of their designs. ...

yachts were used in the America's Cup and the first time for 132 years that it had not been defended by the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

Background

The 1983 America's Cup off

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, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

was the most significant America's Cup regatta since the first event off the Isle of Wight. Alan Bond's ''

Australia II ''Australia II'' (KA 6) is an Australian 12-metre-class America's Cup challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Skippered by John Bertrand, she was the first successful ...

'' pulled off a major upset by winning the series from Conner's ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

'' to become the first success in twenty-five challenges for the Cup. The

had previously built the longest

winning streak A winning streak, also known as a win streak or hot streak, is an uninterrupted sequence of success in games or competitions, commonly measured by at least 4 wins that are uninterrupted by losses or ties/draws. Although sometimes claimed as a ...

in international sporting history, having successfully defended the trophy over 132 years. Most previous challenges had been from the United Kingdom – notably by Scotsman Sir

Thomas Lipton Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet (10 May 18482 October 1931) was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, as company founder of Lipton Tea, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman who lost 5 straight America's Cup ...

who had challenged five times between 1899 and 1930 in his ''

Shamrock A shamrock is a young sprig, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of ...

sloops A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

. Australia mounted its first challenge in 1962 with

yachts when Sir

Frank Packer Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer (3 December 19061 May 1974), was an Australian media proprietor who controlled Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine Network. He was a patriarch of the Packer family. Early life Frank Packer was born in K ...

and his '' Gretel'' were beaten 4–1. Packer made more challenges, with ''

Dame Pattie ''Dame Pattie'' is an International 12-metre class racing yacht built for the America's Cup challenge series in 1967. She was designed by Warwick Hood and built by W.H. Barnett in New South Wales, Australia. The 1967 challenge cost $2 million ...

'' and ''

Gretel II ''Gretel II'' (KA-3) is an International 12-metre class racing yacht built for the America's Cup challenge series in 1970. She was designed by Alan Payne and built by W.H. Barnett for Australian media tycoon Sir Frank Packer. Packer had fir ...

''.

Alan Bond Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s, and what was at the time ...

mounted his first challenge in 1974 with ''

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

'', followed by ''

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

'' in 1977 and 1980 and ultimately had success with ''

'' in 1983. It was in this context that the 1987 America's Cup was seen as the best opportunity yet for a successful challenge, as the event was now outside the control of the NYYC and held in a location with strong but variable breezes, unlike the predictable and placid winds off

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. The regatta therefore attracted enormous additional interest over previous series.

The venue

Selection

Following the 1983 win, there was speculation over the likely location of the defence, with three main candidates potentially under consideration. In the late 1970s, Alan Bond had developed a marina and a large associated housing development north of

Yanchep Yanchep is an outer coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia, north of the Perth CBD. It is a part of the City of Wanneroo local government area. Originally a small crayfishing settlement, it was developed by entrepreneur Alan Bond in the 1 ...

called "Yanchep Sun City" (now known as

Two Rocks Two Rocks is an outer suburb at the northern edge of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia, located northwest of the city's central business district. It is part of the City of Wanneroo local authority and represents the furthest nor ...

), about one hour's drive north of Perth. The marina was built with an expectation of success from earlier America's Cup challenges. The second candidate was the town of

Mandurah Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...

, a coastal township a similar distance south of Perth. The last, and ultimately successful location considered was

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

as the required infrastructure at the other two locations were considered inadequate by the Royal Perth Yacht Club as defender. Also, the proximity to the major population centre of Perth and its international airport were seen as an important factor.

Development

For most of its life until 1985, Fremantle had been a port city with a population of less than 24,000. Private investment and public infrastructure redevelopment commenced on a massive scale in anticipation of a large influx of visitors arriving to watch the event. This expectation proved over-ambitious, but 13 challenging syndicates from six countries and four defence syndicates arrived with a fleet of 29 12-metre yachts. In 1985, an "Office of America's Cup Defence" was set up to coordinate the state government's involvement in the staging of the event. The government embarked on a number of projects such as

Hillarys Boat Harbour Hillarys Boat Harbour is a marina and tourist precinct located in Hillarys, north of Perth, Western Australia and on the Indian Ocean. History Hillarys Boat Harbour was the first such major marina in the north metropolitan region of Perth. Co ...

and extensions to the Perth to Fremantle railway line. A new marina, Challenger Harbour was built alongside the existing

Fishing Boat Harbour Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour is a marina in Fremantle, Western Australia adjacent to the more recently constructed Challenger Harbour. It provides large sheltered mooring areas and wharf space for vessels up to 60 metres, refuelling fac ...

, and the state government received funding from each defence syndicate, a total of $2.3 million, to offset costs associated with the harbour works of $8 million.,Dale, Anthony ''In Quest of the Holy Grail: W.A. and the America's Cup'' pp. 171–185 in O'Brien, Patrick (editor) ''The Burke Ambush'' Nedlands, W.A. Apollo Press

Vehicle registration plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...

slogans in Western Australia changed from ''The Wildflower State'' and ''the State of Excitement'' to ''W.A. Home of the America's Cup'' In 1985 and 1986 changes in liquor laws and trading hours regulations were made to expand services for visitors.The Executive Director of the Royal Perth Yacht Club's America's Cup Defence Committee was

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 ...

, a skipper and crew member in previous America's Cups, and later a Paralympic gold medallist. A Festival of Sport was conducted in late 1986 and early 1987 which included a

cricket Test The cricket test, also known as the Tebbit test, was a controversial phrase coined in April 1990 by the British Conservative politician Norman Tebbit in reference to the perceived lack of loyalty to the England cricket team among South Asian and ...

and One Day International tournament, athletics, hockey, basketball, squash, golf, racing, trotting, cycling, football, baseball, fishing (MAAC Blue Water Fishing Classic), lawn bowls, karate and kick-boxing competitions. A heavy-weight boxing title fight and a World

Sprint Car Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New ...

Championship were held in early January. The cruise ship ''Achille Lauro'' was chartered by a private group for the duration of the series, to act as a viewing platform and accommodation for 1,400 visitors. It also housed the international jury which oversaw the races. Other cruise ships which visited the port for the races included ' and several Royal Viking vessels.

12-metre 'world championship' races

In January and February 1986, a series styled as the '12-metre world championship' was staged off Fremantle as a precursor to the America's Cup event scheduled for January 1987. A dozen syndicates competed, mainly as a shakedown series to determine their relative competitiveness and to train crews for the anticipated heavy conditions. Strong winds throughout most of the regatta resulted in four masts, a dozen booms and numerous sails being destroyed. Five crewmen were washed overboard during the races. Gary Jobson, of the 'Heart of America' syndicate declared that the Fremantle waters were "unsuitable for racing." ''Australia III'', the heavy-weather

Ben Lexcen Benjamin Lexcen AM (born Robert Clyde Miller, 19 March 1936 – 1 May 1988) was an Australian yachtsman and marine architect. He is famous for the winged keel design applied to ''Australia II'' which, in 1983, became the first non-American ya ...

designed successor to ''

'' won the series comfortably. The New Zealand challenge boat '' KZ 5'', a fibreglass-hull

Bruce Farr Bruce Kenneth Farr (born 1949 in Auckland) is a New Zealand designer of racing and cruising yachts. Farrdesigned boats have won, challenged for, or placed highly in the Whitbread Round the World Race, America's Cup, and Sydney to Hobart Yacht Ra ...

design, came in second, with the

entrant '' America II'' third.

Course

The Fremantle

Fairway Buoy Examples of Safe Water Marks A safe water mark, as defined by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities, is a sea mark used in maritime pilotage to indicate the end of a channel. They usually imply that open, deep and safe water li ...

was renamed the "America's Cup Buoy" for the duration of the event and marked one end of the start and finish lines for each America's Cup race. The buoy is a permanent navigation marker used for shipping in and out of Fremantle harbour and is located west-north-west of the harbour, in

or due west of City Beach. Races in the challenge and defence elimination trials used other markers in the general vicinity. The orientation of the course was set such that the starting line was square to the prevailing wind 20 minutes before each race start. Races were long, consisting of beats into the wind in legs 1, 3, 6 and 8;

downwind Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

runs on legs 2 and 7; and reaches on legs 4 and 5.

Contestants

Challengers

Thirteen syndicates from six countries (Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States) competed, bringing 25 boats for the right to challenge. '' Stars & Stripes 87'' was the winner of the

1987 Louis Vuitton Cup The 2nd Louis Vuitton Cup was held in Fremantle, Western Australia in 1987. The winner, Stars & Stripes, went on to challenge for and win the 1987 America's Cup. Teams Twelve syndicates from six countries (Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand ...

and earned the right to sail for the

Defenders

Four syndicates competed for the right to represent the

as the defender of the America's Cup. After a series of round robin races, a Defender Finals contest was sailed between

's '' Australia IV'' and '' Kookaburra III'' of

Kevin Parry Kevin John Parry (1933 – 26 November 2010) was a businessman from Western Australia, most noted for his backing of the Taskforce '87 syndicate which unsuccessfully defended the 1987 America's Cup in Fremantle, Western Australia. The defence c ...

's Taskforce 87 syndicate, with ''Kookaburra III'' sweeping the finals five races to nil to win the Defender selection process. In doing so she placed Alan Bond's syndicate on the outside of an America's Cup regatta for the first time in thirteen years.

Races for the Cup

The best-of-seven final series were scheduled to be held between 31 January and 15 February 1987. There being a four-race sweep result, the final race was held on 4 February.

Newsletters

(Held in

Battye Library The J S Battye Library (more properly known as the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History) is an arm of the State Library of Western Australia. It stores much of the state's historical records and original publications including books, ...

) * ''Defence Downunder : official newsletter of the America's Cup Defence 1987 Ltd''. Perth, W.A. : America's Cup Defence 1987 Ltd., 1984–1986. ** Issues: Vol. 1, no. 1 ( une 1984-v. 3, no. 3 (Dec. 1986) * ''Kookaburra : Taskforce 1987 America's Cup Defence''. North Fremantle, W.A : Taskforce 1987, 1985–1987. ** Issues: Vol. 1, no. 1 (June 1985)-v. 1, no. 6 (Jan. 1987)

Maps

* Roberts, N and D. (1986) ''America's Cup course, Fremantle W.A. artographic materialFremantle, W.A. : Postcard Factory at Down Under Press, Reduced facsimile of "Approaches to Fremantle", Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic Service (Chart No. AUS 112m), America's Cup Race Edition.