Australia II
 The Australia II as an exhibit
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The Australia II is an Australian 12mR regatta yacht that, under the command of skipper John Bertrand, was the first successful challenger in the America's Cup to beat the Americans after 132 years and won the Cup ( Auld mug ) for Australia.
Design features
The challenger yacht Australia II in the 25th America's Cup was designed by Australian yacht designer Ben Lexcen and built from aluminum at Stephan Ward's shipyard in Perth . The yacht was owned by the Australian America's Cup Challenge 1983 consortium led by Alan Bond , an Australian businessman. The helmsman and skipper of the Australia II was the Australian bronze medalist in the 1976 Finn dinghy , John Bertrand .
The outstanding design feature of the Australia II was an innovative winged keel (winged keel), which had not been used on yachts of this size so far. This design idea, which Ben Lexcen had optimized with the help of towing tank tests in the Netherlands, gave the yacht impressive sailing characteristics. She was very fast on the wind and her maneuverability was excellent, as she could turn and turn faster than traditional long keelers. The design of the keel sparked controversy over its admissibility. Those in charge of the organizing New York Yacht Club (NYYC) particularly criticized the help from the Netherlands in developing the optimal keel profile, although the NYYC had previously given its consent to the tow tank tests in Wageningen .
At the beginning of 1981, Ben Lexcen spent four months in Holland in order to carry out extensive tow tank tests with the Dutch engineers Peter van Oossanen and Joop W. Sloff. After over 400 tests with hundreds of hours of simulations, they had found a hull profile that was significantly faster than a conventional 12-meter hull. Ben Lexcen had developed a design with a low displacement and a very short waterline.
Until the start of the America's Cup regatta series, it remained unclear whether the new keel design was compatible with the strict rules of the 12-meter class. The wing keel was eventually classified as legal, especially since the Australia II was not the first boat with such a keel. The great success in the America's Cup made the wing keel very popular worldwide. Dennis Conner, for example, also started with a winged keel to recapture the Cup off Fremantle in 1987.
The second Australian America's Cup Challenge 1983 campaign was not only based on the revolutionary new wing keel technology, but also used a new sailing technology with laminated Kevlar / Mylar sails in cooperation with the companies North-Sails , Hood and Sobstad Australia with sailmaker Tom Schnackenberg from New Zealand , who was later inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame as an honorary member in 2000 for his services to sail development . Schnackenberg designed 40 genoas , 10 mainsails and 50 spinnakers , which were not only on a par with American sails, but in some cases also superior. Furthermore, the skipper John Bertrand made sure that his crew not only acted at the highest level physically, but was also mentally able to withstand the enormous pressure of such an emotional regatta. John Bertrand selected Australia's best sailors: Olympic medalists and participants in previous America's Cup challenges. This mixture made it possible for Australia II to come off very successfully in the preparatory season 1983 with 48 wins from 55 starts.
25th America's Cup 1983
Australia II started under the stander of the Royal Perth Yacht Club for Australia under the sail number KA 6 as a challenger under the command of John Bertrand.
The defender yacht was the 12mR yacht Liberty (US 40) under the stand of the New York Yacht Club with the very experienced skipper and Olympic bronze medalist Dennis Conner. The Americans have successfully defended the America's Cup for 132 years without any precedent in sporting history.
The regatta was designed by the organizing NYYC for seven races in the waters off Newport (Rhode Island) . Whoever won four races first was the winner. The regatta series gained national importance through the media, despite the marginal sport of sailing, with the challenger having slight advantages with the press and the public. One sensed that a sensation might be imminent. After a quick initial success of the Liberty with changing leadership, Bertrand was finally able to equalize with the Australia II in the decisive sixth race with a lead of 1 minute and 21 seconds to the score of 3: 3.
The Americans realized that their winning streak could end after 132 years. The big papers covered the America's Cup on the front pages and called the regatta "The Race of the Century" . Never before in the history of the America's Cup had there been six or seven races to determine the winner. In the last race, John Bertrand and his young team were able to beat the American Dennis Conner with Liberty after a tough fight with 47 turns by 41 seconds.
There was a delay in handing over the trophy , as craftsmen first had to unscrew the trophy, which was screwed into the New York Yacht Club building, from its pedestal.
Winning the America's Cup for the first time was a landmark success for Australia, and Australia II was named 1983 Athlete of the Year by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) on the US television series "Wide World of Sports".
Effects on popular culture
The boxing kangaroo Boxing kangaroo was the official mascot of the successful 1983 Americas Cup challenge by Alan Bond and his Australia II team. Winning the cup caused a lot of enthusiasm in Australia, the song Down Under ( synonymous for Australia) by the band Men at Work became the official anthem of the team of Australia II .
In the feature film " Wind ", which is about the competitions for the America's Cup, Australia II is portrayed as a boomerang .
Later use
In 1986 Australia II was used as a sparring partner in the America's Cup defense campaign for 1987. Dennis Conner won the 26th America's Cup and brought the trophy back to the USA.
After that, Australia II was exhibited at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney . To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the America's Cup in 2001, Australia II left the museum and was transported to the Isle of Wight in the English Channel by ship deck load in order to actively participate in commemorative regattas for several days with the winning team from 1983. The yacht achieved second place in the 12-meter class in the historic race around the Isle of Wight ("Round the Island Race"). The Australia II was given the honor of being named the yacht that brought the greatest success to sailing through its participation in the America's Cup Jubilee Regatta. The yacht then returned to Fremantle , Western Australia , where it is constantly on display in the Western Australian Maritime Museum as a prominent exhibit.
Awards
The Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport voted Australia II 1983 “ World Team of the Year ”.
literature
- John Bertrand: Born to win: a lifelong struggle to capture the America's Cup (as told to Patrick Robinson). Bantam Books, Sydney 1985, ISBN 0-553-05118-0 . Also published by: Hearst Marine Books, New York 1985.
Web links
- Photo: Half model of the Australia II
- Photo: Australia II in Cowes 2001
- America's Cup - CLOPAEDIA (English)
Footnotes
- ↑ AC Clopedia - Australia II Retrieved on 3 February 2009
- ↑ Dave Anderson: SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Yachting's Crocodile Dundee . In: The New York Times , May 5, 1988.
- ↑ a b AC Clopaedia - Australia II Retrieved on 3 February 2009
- ↑ America's Cup Hall of Fame ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 30, 2009
- ↑ Photos: Australia II at Cowes 2001. Retrieved February 4, 2009
- ↑ AC Clopaedia Retrieved on 3 February 2009
