''Australia'' (KA–5) is an Australian 12-metre-class America's Cup racing yacht that twice challenged unsuccessfully for the America's Cup in 1977 and 1980. Designed by

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 ...

in association with the Dutch designer Johan Valentijn for Alan Bond, ''Australia'' failed to win a single race against the 1977 defender, '' Courageous'' (US-26), but won one race against the 1980 defender, '' Freedom'' (US-30). ''Australia'' resides in Sydney, Australia.

Design and Construction

''Australia'' was designed during 1976 by

in association with the Dutch designer Johan Valentijn. Both men spent seven months experimenting with 1/9th scale models in the University of Delft test tank in the Netherlands. ''Australia'' is a conventional design and has been described as a "Courageous-style boat". It has v-shaped mid-ship sections, a low

freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...

, large bustle and a low aft run finishing in a wide U-shaped transom. Its fore overhang is very narrow and round shaped in its lowest part. The cockpits are shallow, keel is thin and the

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship ...

is placed very low. The elliptical mast is made in extruded aluminium. ''Australia'' was approximately lighter than '' Courageous'' and it was hoped that by lowering the freeboard and taking a penalty on length, ''Australia'' would prove faster than the US boat. ''Australia'' was built by Steve Ward in Perth and launched in February 1977. ''Australia'' then sailed in sea trials against Alan Bond's 1974 challenger, ''

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 ...

'' (KA-4), off

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 ...

in Western Australia. The older boat remained a trial horse for ''Australia'' during the 1977 America's Cup series.

1977 America's Cup 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 ...

, ''Australia'' went to Newport and raced against the 1970 Australian challenger, '' Gretel II'' (KA-3), the Swedish entrant, '' Sverige'' (S-3), and the French challenger, ''

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

'' (F-1), led by Baron Bich. Eventually, ''Australia'' won the right to challenge for the Cup by defeating ''Sverige'' 4–0. However ''Australia'' lost to the US defender, ''Courageous'', 4–0.

, who initially stayed in Australia during the challenge, went to Newport and was disappointed to find that ''Australia'' had a poor-quality mast from ''Southern Cross'' and that ''Australias sails were flat, heavy and of poor quality. ''Australia'' was never competitive and ''Courageous'' won the series easily.

1980 America's Cup challenge

Initially, Alan Bond suggested dropping ''Australia'' and designing a new boat for the 1980 series. Ben Lexcen, however, was convinced that ''Australias hull – with a few modifications – was a good design and that its performance would improve with a new rig and sails. The hull had its keel made sharper at the bottom, and the bustle was lowered slightly and made larger to help improve the steering. ''Australias competitors for challenging the Americans were: ''Sverige'', back for a second time; '' France III'' (F-3), a new yacht for Baron Bich, and the British challenger ''Lionheart'' (K-18). ''Lionheart'' was a fast boat, partly because it was fitted with a "bendy" mast which hooked aft several feet at its tip giving it 10 per cent extra unmeasured sail area on its main sail. In light winds, that gave the British boat a strong advantage. Seeing the British boat's speed, the ''Australia'' camp decided to copy the mast. The "bendy" rig added to Australia's speed and it became a very competitive boat defeating the US defender '' Freedom'' (US-30) in the second race of the series. However, the late adoption of the "bendy" mast meant that the crew of ''Australia'' were experimenting with the newly cut sails and lacked the necessary confidence in them to win. In any case, the "bendy" mast was only effective in light winds. In the final two races, the wind blew hard enough to cancel out whatever advantage it gave ''Australia'' and ''Freedom'' won the series convincingly 4–1.

After 1980

Following the 1980 challenge, ''Australia'' was sold to the British "Victory" syndicate headed by

Peter de Savary Peter John de Savary (11 July 1944 – 30 October 2022) was a British businessman. The bulk of his business career was spent in the shipping, oil and property sectors. He once owned or managed 13 shipyards around the globe and had global oil-tr ...

. Renamed ''Temeraire'', the boat became a trial-horse for '' Victory 82'' (K-21) and '' Victory 83'' (K-22) for the 1983 America's Cup that was ultimately won by '' Australia II'' (KA-6). In 1985, ''Australia'' returned to Sydney after being bought by Syd Fisher in 1985 to be the trail horse for Fisher's "East Australia America's Cup Defence" syndicate defender, '' Steak and Kidney'' (KA-14). ''Australia'', as with '' Steak and Kidney'', was eventually refitted, passing survey, as a day sailing charter boat in 2004 and was acquired, along with ''Steak N Kidney'', by the Australia 12m Historic Trust in 2011. Today, ''Australia'' is located near Drummoyne, in Sydney, alongside Steak N Kidney.

References

{{Australian 12-metre class yachts 12-metre class yachts America's Cup challengers Ships of Australia Sailing yachts designed by Ben Lexcen 1970s sailing yachts Sailing yachts built in Australia Louis Vuitton Cup yachts 1977 America's Cup 1980 America's Cup 1977 ships