The 1983 America's Cup was a

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. ...

yacht race which pitted the defending

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. ...

's ''Liberty'' against 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.

's challenger, ''

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 C ...

''. The September 1983 match race was won by ''Australia II'' in the first successful challenge of the

's 132-year defense of the

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cl ...

. The

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndicat ...

's boat, skippered by John Bertrand, fought back from a 3–1 deficit to best the

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 ...

-helmed defender, ending both the longest winning streak in

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

ing history and U.S. domination of the racing series.

The defender: ''Liberty''

''Liberty'' won all the Defender trials and on 2 September 1983, the

confirmed that ''Liberty'' was to represent the club as defender of the America's Cup. The crew included team principal

as skipper,

Tom Whidden Thomas A. Whidden is one of the most-acclaimed sailors of all-time. He is a member of both the America's Cup Hall of Fame and the National Sailing Hall of Fame. Whidden joined North Sails, the world's largest sailmaker, in 1986, just before being ...

, navigator

Halsey Chase Herreshoff Halsey Chase Herreshoff (born 1933) is a naval architect of production and custom yachts, sailor and former president of Herreshoff Marine Museum. At the museum he and Edward duMoulin founded the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1992. Halsey is son ...

, Scott Vogel, and mainsheet trimmer

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

. During the summer preceding the trials Conner had been the focus of extensive media attention in the U.S., including an appearance on the cover of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' magazine, a rare recognition for a sailor. Liberty had competed with

John Kolius John Waldrip Kolius (born April 1, 1951) is an American sailor. He won a silver medal in the Soling class with Walter Glasgow and Richard Hoepfner at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In 1987 and 2000 he competed at the Louis Vuitton Cu ...

' '' Courageous'', and

Tom Blackaller Thomas David Blackaller, Jr. (January 6, 1940 – September 7, 1989) was a world-champion American yachtsman, America's Cup helmsman, sailmaker, and racecar competitor. He was a two-time world champion in the Star class keelboat, a world champio ...

's Defender (sail no. US–33), in a defender series before being selected by the New York Yacht Club.

Gary Jobson Gary Jobson is a sailor, television commentator and author based in Annapolis, Maryland. He is a Vice President of the International Sailing Federation. Gary has authored 19 sailing books and is Editor at Large of ''Sailing World'' and ''Cruising ...

was the founder and tactician of the Courageous/Defender syndicate.

The challenger: ''Australia II''

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 ...

arrived at Newport with ''

'', billed as one of the biggest threats to American dominance of the 12 Metre class. The boat was 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 ...

and skippered by John Bertrand. The revolutionary " winged keel" of the Australian yacht was a subject of controversy from the outset of the challenger series, with the New York Yacht club alleging that the winged keel boat was not a legal 12 Meter, and that the keel design itself was the result of Dutch engineers, and not by Lexcen. This second point would have made ''Australia II'' illegal under the requirement that the boat be "designed and constructed in country" as the Deed of Gift that governed the competition stipulated. The boat was ruled a legal 12 Meter, and she was allowed to participate in the regatta. The speed of the new contender, along with the controversy and protests intensified international media attention to the series. ''Australia II'' dominated the challenger series and entered the America's Cup finals as the most promising contender to date.

The races

The U.S. yacht won the first and second races by margins of more than a minute when the Australian yacht suffered equipment failure, but the ''Australia II'' took the third race, and came back to win the fifth and sixth races after ''Liberty'' won the fourth. This was the first time the America's Cup had needed a sixth race, let alone a seventh. The cup title came down to the seventh and final race. For the seventh and deciding race on 26 September 1983 the wind was light at around eight knots. The pre-start was not a typical match race start. "Neither party wanted to make a mistake and end up in the protest room," Conner would explain later."32nd America's Cup - Print - An Anniversary of Legendary Proportions." 32nd America's Cup Official Website. Web. 20 February 2011. ''Liberty'' won the start by eight seconds ahead of ''

'' on paper but the Australians held a controlling position at the favoured end sailing toward the favoured side which gave them the early lead. ''Australia II'' was subsequently overtaken by Conner who built up what seemed to be an unassailable margin. At the start of the penultimate leg (a square run) the America's Cup looked like it would stay in Newport. Conner failed to cover ''Australia II'' which allowed them to run deeper and faster assisted by breeze and windshifts allowing ''Australia II'' to overtake the Americans by the leeward mark. Conner then engaged ''Australia II'' in a spectacular tacking duel with nearly 50 tacks including a number of faked "dummy" tacks trying to break the Australians' cover. ''Australia II'' held on until both boats reached the starboard layline in amongst the spectator fleet and tacked several boat lengths ahead of ''Liberty'' and sailed to the finish to take the race. ''Australia II'' crossed the finish line with a winning margin of 41 seconds, becoming the first successful challenger in the 132 years "since the schooner ''

America 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 ...

'' won it in a race around England's

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

in 1851".Bob Fisher and Bob Ross (1987). The America's Cup 1987: The Official Record. Pierson.

Aftermath

The final race was

televised Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

in Australia in the early hours of 27 September 1983 (Australian time) just before dawn, and the victory was celebrated in public venues across Australia.

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...

was interviewed at the dawn celebration at

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. After humorously fending off repeated questioning by journalists about whether he would declare a public holiday he admitted this was a state matter and outside his power as Prime Minister. He joked that he thought it should be and that any state Premiers who disagreed with him might "find themselves in a spot of bother". To rapturous laughter and applause, he said with finality: "Any boss who sacks a worker for not turning up today is a bum". In stark contrast to Australia, the loss of the 1983 America's Cup was considered a time of shame in U.S. sailing, as the U.S. had been able to defend the Cup for 132 years in a row. Dennis Conner took the loss hard. Asked about how he felt initially after losing the Cup, Conner said: "It was awful. I just did not want to get out of bed in the morning. I am usually full of life and energy... I just wanted to hide". The America's Cup was transferred from the

to the

located in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, which subsequently hosted its first, but unsuccessful, defense in the

1987 America's Cup The 1987 America's Cup was the twenty-sixth challenge for the America's Cup. The American challenger ''Stars & Stripes 87'', sailed by Dennis Conner, beat the Australian defender ''Kookaburra III'', sailed by Iain Murray, in a four-race sweep ...

. After losing the Cup, the U.S. had been determined to bring it back. Conner went to work on the next US America's Cup Campaign. With the help of designers

Britton Chance, Jr. Britton Chance Jr. or Britt Chance (June 12, 1940 – October 12, 2012) was an American naval architect who developed core elements of three yachts that won the America's Cup and won the World Championship six times. '' The New York Times'' sa ...

, Bruce Nelson and

David Pedrick David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, the boat '' Stars and Stripes 87'' was created which, after progressively gaining speed in a grueling challenger series, became the 1987 challenger. Stars and Stripes sailed against Kookaburra, the Australian defender, with Conner winning the

and returning it to the U.S. The 1992 film ''

Wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...

'' portrays in large part the loss of the 1983 Cup and the journey to regain it at the 1987 Challenge. While parts of the film take some creative license with the actual events, ''Wind'' has generally been acclaimed as the single most accurate and realistic sailing film ever made, capturing not only the technical and physical challenges of sailing, but also the realistic and daily culture and lifestyle of professional yachtsmen and yachtswomen.Interviews with Dennis Conner, Australian experts and many critics and others In retrospect, Conner said that losing the Cup in 1983 had been good for the sport of sailing and the Cup itself: "Me losing after 132 years was the best thing that ever happened to the America's Cup and the best thing that ever happened to Dennis Conner...Before the win by the Australians, the America's Cup was only big in the minds of the yachties, but the rest of the world didn't know or care about it at all. But when we lost it... it was a little bit like losing the Panama Canal - suddenly everyone appreciated it. If I hadn't lost it, there never would have been the national effort... without that there never would have been the ticker-tape parade up Fifth Avenue in New York, lunch with the President at the White House and all the doors of opportunity that it opened".

References

External links

Alan Bond and John Bertrand at America's Cup celebrations, The Esplanade, Perth

''Australia II'' KA 6
{{America'sCup

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

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 ...