FLASHBACK


A


final in 1987. It was the last ever outing in the America’s Cup for the majestic 12-metre class – but on the racecourse it was as brutal as ever. Four years previously Dennis Conner – known as Mr America’s Cup with two successful defences already under his belt – was charged with defending the Cup but was stung badly, beaten by Alan Bond’s Australia II. For the first time since 1851 the Cup left American hands.


Clash of the Titans – the Day the Cup Came Home


By 1987, Conner was back with a vengeance in Stars and Stripes 87 and made it clear early on that he would be taking no prisoners. During the early stage of 1987, Conner had destroyed the competition – made up of 25 boats from six countries – in the Louis Vuitton Cup to win the right to race in the final of the Americ a’s Cup. Fremantle, Australia, was the setting for the big clash against Iain Murray’s Kookaburra III and what a clash it was. The notorious ‘Fremantle Doctor’ breeze blew strong in the afternoons creating testing conditions for man and boat but it was Conner who triumphed with a 4-0 shut-out victory.


Already a legend in America’s Cup history, Conner further secured his place by becoming the first skipper ever to win the Cup, lose it and win it back again.


s classic match races go, it doesn’t get any more so than the America’s Cup


Photos: Gilles Martin-Raget / www.americascup.com


MATCH RACING 360° | AUGUST 2011


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