Category: 12 meter class

1983 America’s Cup, when the right thing happened

going to the finish

rounding the first leeward mark

liberty

australia II

before the start

the morning after

Marble House

the CUP in 1983

1983, a date in America’s Cup history that will forever be remembered. The unthinkable happened. the New York Yacht Club and the United States lost a cup that they had held since 1851 (having won it as an upstart nation)
   For me, the right thing happened for all the wrong reasons. As hard as it was to see then, the America’s Cup had outgrown the New York Yacht Club. This forced change breathed new life into the competition. People can think that it was the cause of the problems we have seen since, I do not believe this to be true. It would have happened anyway. It is the world we live in. Change always comes difficultly.
   Newport, oddly was routing for the underdog, Australia,. This was spiting your face by cutting off your nose. Tourism in Newport was closely tied to the America’s Cup.
   Another thought, “Liberty” led the seventh and final race for five of the six legs. sailing brilliantly against a clearly strong rival. “Liberty” was not a slow boat, just not a faster boat. The Australian boat was using Ian Howlett’s bendy mast, giving them “free” sail area. The wing keel was probably more a psychological weapon than an effective design improvement. It was long from being understood. It did make a stiffer boat allowing a lower lead package.
  Curiously, the C-class may be facing the same sort of challenge to change, For so long being the step-sister, they may now find themselves in the center of significant changes, namely the America’s Cup in multihulls.

   Where is “LIberty” today??

America’s Cup 1980

1980 brings ever increasing interest in the America’s Cup. Ian Howlett, who has had an abiding interest in the meter rule since he was young, designs “Lionheart”; named after a contest in England. He had explored the rule extensively and came up with the bendy mast. This added unrated sail area.
    “France III” has her best showing ever, making to the Defender finals, losing to” Australia.”
      “Clipper” designed by David Pedrick for Russell Long, probably needed more time to get the boat going fast. “Freedom” the last Successful Sparkman&Stephens 12 meter, again with small incremental changes, sailed by Dennis Connor. Dennis, with this challenge brought the America’s Cup to a new level. He logged more hours of sailing in more conditions than anyone had previously done, leaving no part of the 12 meter rule unexplored. Truly a well prepared defense. “Freedom” almost unbeatable in the trials; becoming the defender against “Australia” designed by Ben Lexan and Johan Valentijn  winning 4 to 1 in the races themselves.
      A new benchmark was set, and the course to where the America’s Cup is today was launched.
    My involvement in the America’s Cup finished in 1979 after Gerry Driscoll could not raise money to bring “Intrepid” back again. I was fully involved in Lirakis Safety Harness, and in fact stopped sailing altogether in 1980 until 2001, for the America’s Cup Jubilee.

AMERICA’S CUP 1978-1979

   The 1977 America’s Cup was done and dusted. Already plans for the 1980 cup were underway.  Baron Bic built “France III”, designed by Johan Valentin. (who would co-design “Australia” with Ben Lexan for 1980)
     Bic also owned “Intrepid”, which was being used as a trial horse against “France III.” In the summer of 1978 “Intrepid” had a host of skippers: Bill Ficker, Lowell North, Gerry Driscoll. “France III”also had a series of tryouts for skipper, including Bruno Trouble.
  Gerry Driscoll arrived at an agreement with Baron Bic, who agreed to lease “Intrepid” to Gerry for the 1980 America’s Cup if he could find financing for the program.
    1979, I was crew boss, downwind helmsman, and tactician. I was also responsible for maintenance of the boat; the actual work being carried out by the French shore crew.
   In over 100 starts, we lost one. Gerry owned the starting line, and was the most consistent helmsman I ever sailed with, every tack was the same, which meant the crew could always have the same timing.
     Many good stories came from this season, but no money was found for Intrepid’s comeback.

  

Enterprise 1977

The new Sparkman&Stephens 12 meter, arriving in Newport with Lowell North as skipper, and a great crew.( any of the crews on each boat were capable of defending the cup)  Lowell, while exceedingly talented, could not stop tinkering which led to his being replaced as skipper.
Enterprise arrived in Newport with a very short “J” measurement, in order to achieve a more vertical forestay. In sharp contrast, on “Independence” had our headstay as far forward as could be. While the science might have predicted a more vertical headstay as good, there was simply no substitute for the additional sail area.
In the last photo “Enterprise is using a mylar genoa. The use of mylar was revolutionary in 1977. We followed shortly thereafter with one of our own, which the crew dubbed the garbage bag.
“Enterprise” was probably a faster boat than she demonstrated that summer, she was however the first boat excused from the trials.
Once again the color photos here are credited to Marshall Lawson

MEASURING IN 1977

ted and tenacious
measuring the twelves
The 12 meters must meet the criteria set in the international 12 meter rule in order to sail officially in the class; which was the chosen class since 1958 until 1987 to compete for the America’s Cup.  Bob Blumenstock was the official measurer for the New York Yacht Club and the America’s Cup.
Preparation for measurement was always an involved process. The design process is the beginning. The 12 meter rule conceived in 1906 is a very sound rule. It allows changes and innovations, but if you take from one area, you must give up something in another area. Changes are therefore subtle.
But here we are at Bannister’s Wharf, our syndicate headquarters, being measured. Still water is essential. The boats are built and assumed to be within the rule. There were things we able, within the rule, to make sure we “measured in.” In our time, measuring in, while serious, was a far cry from the process today.

June 1977

   In May, it was still quite cold. Peter Lawson one day motored from Newport to Marblehead, with “Nanny” a Holmatro powerboat, an attractive stylized boat that was capable of only 8 knots at full speed.
This meant that the trip was much longer than we anticipated. It also meant that this boat could not keep up with the twelves. Sailing upwind exchanging sails was often a problem with “Nanny”.

coageous and independence at bannister’s wharf
dredging bannister’s
independence in lift
ted hood, scott perry,teddy

 Preparation of Bannister’s Wharf(where the Candy Store is located) which would be our base for the summer. included a lift which “Independence”would share with “Courageous”. There was not enough water, so dredging was done in a very original way. If you click on the photo of the tugboat, you will see the crew, something I had never  paid attention to until this posting.
     Each of the crew had assigned responsibilities for boat maintenance, in addition to our jobs as crew. Official measuring the boats, and the June Trials, in the next post.

AMERICA’S CUP 1977

jim taylor measuring

The 1977 America’s Cup began at the finish of the 1974 campaign. Ted Hood acquired “Courageous”. She was the benchmark boat, a new design would have to be better than the last winner.  Jim Taylor was the designer for Ted Hood, and the one who discovered in measuring “Courageous” that the boat in fact did not measure as a twelve meter. She had sailed the 1974 series illegally. As one can imagine this revelation caused concern and the consequences could have been interesting. Put this in today’s context and the law suit might still be ongoing. All the parties agreed that the outcome would have remained the same, and moved on.
    My involvement was a random encounter. I was in Marblehead looking at the new “Independence” and “Courageous” in the spring of 1977 or the fall of 1976, I actually do not recall now. Jeff Neuberth the Project Manager asked me who I was sailing with. I replied “no one” He said that he had been told I was sailing with “Enterprise”. Now knowing I was available asked if I would join the new boat.

jeff neuberth tailing

    I began my four day commute to Marblehead from Newport. As with each of us who sailed in the America’s Cup, how we got there and what we did is for each of us unique. Bernadette, my wife, and I were rehabbing a house in Newport. So in order to do both I was living on little sleep. Working night and day on the house, then driving to Marblehead and sailing long hours and working on the boat. What I remember about those early sailing sessions was how cold it was.
    Ted Hood chartered “Courageous” and was to be our trial horse. This assumed that the new design was a faster boat.

congressional cup at long beach

     In April we went to Long Beach for the Congressional Cup, which in those days was really the only match racing event outside the America’s Cup. Ted Turner won. (I think that might be Dennis Connor on the dock in the photo at Long Beach Yacht Club.)

wsl on independence

   Back to Marblehead and more training and sail testing at the conclusion of the regatta. We had not faired well, not last, but not winners. The end of May was the date we would tow to Newport. We had a final “regatta” in Marblehead between “Courageous” and Independence” in which we were beaten handily by “Courageous” Reggie Pierce looked up from the grinder handles and said”This is going to be a long summer.” We all had a collective sense that we did not have the faster boat.

jibing duel courageous and independence

Many of the photos including this last one, are thanks to Marshall Lawson who worked as shore support during the 1977 America’s Cup summer.
   The next installment will deal with our arrival in Newport and the June trials.

MORE 1974 AMERICA’S CUP

The Bermuda Race is now history, prizes awarded, boats already on their way back. In 1970 when we won on “Carina” we arrived at Montauk the morning of the 4th of July, to the sight of a whale sounding. That night we were entertained by the fireworks at every club and town on each shore all the way to our destination, Greenwich, Ct.
“Courageous” was launched in May. History would show just how good she was. Still today a benchmark boat. The Australians arrived in Newport with “Southern Cross” a Bob Miller aka Ben Lexan design, full of progressive ideas. Her fatal flaw was probably too much wetted surface. She had long overhangs, the theory being that when heeled, waterline length increased. All the foreign boats suffered from inferior sails. It is one area where the United States excelled.
One of the stories that merits mention is the one of the helmsman of “Courageous”. Bob Bavier the skipper of name, had replaced Eric Ridder as helmsman in 1964 and was credited with the remarkable turnaround in the success of “Constellation”.  By 1974 he was no longer up to the task, “Courageous” the clearly faster boat was struggling to beat “Intrepid” a better sailed boat. Bob Bavier was replaced by Ted Hood and Dennis Connor came aboard from “Mariner” to start the boat.
Bob McCollough, close friend of Bob Bavier was the one who had to speak to his friend. This remained a bitter moment for Bob Bavier the rest of his life.

Courageous 1974

The memories are still vivid thanks to the photographs. When we received the plans from S&S by courier,(this is a story itself) The courier arrived at the yard not knowing where to go, fell on me and asked if I would sign for the package, which I did. I always wondered what might have happened if the plans had been delivered somewhere else. It was the drawings for what would be “Courageous”.
We had been preparing the loft and the space where she would be lofted and built, all in the same building.  When we started lofting, we could not make the transitional areas, near the rudder post, fair. When we broke the battens, it worked. As you can see from the filler in front of the rudder, there was no way we were going to wrap the aluminum that tightly. Two different shapes fit together at the rudder post. The centerline of the rudder post was also the end of the waterline.
This would be the first aluminum 12 meter ever built, It was a big transition at the time. Looking back for someone who had not lived through that era, they certainly would scoff; given what is now capable with carbon. I also felt that it was the first time I saw efforts to make the boats user friendly, big turning blocks. The twin steering wheels with trim tab wheel and lock were the next step from “Intrepid’s” trim tab and steering.
“Courageous” would sport a “c” stay, “Mariner” a twinstay, and “Intrepid” hanks. There was still so much room for improvement.

I have already mentioned

12 meter era reunion

I will keep the thought alive. I should very much like to see all of those who walked the same path as I did. With extra pleasure in seeing all those who when before me. The text is from Jerome Brooks, written in 1958 shortly before the start of the first 12 meter defense of the America’s Cup.

An addendum, “Leopard of London” while not yet finished lost the window to eclipse the record set by “Mari Cha” . The weather was not as co-operative as they had hoped.