The warm-up races for the 36th America’s Cup kicked off last week in Auckland, New Zealand, with barely a whimper despite Team New Zealand defending the cup it won in Bermuda in 2017 in the familiar surrounds of the Hauraki Gulf.
Only three challengers in Luna Rossa (Italy), Team Ineos (UK) and America Magic have made the long trip to the Land of the Long White Cloud to challenge for the Auld Mug.
With the cup being held in our neighbour’s backyard, it beggars the question: where are the Aussies?
Australia is steeped in America’s Cup tradition. The first Australian boat to challenge the powerful New York Yacht Club for the Cup in 1962 was a 12-metre boat named Gretel. Soundly defeated by the Americans 4-1, the Aussies returned in 1967 (Dame Pattie), 1970 (Gretel II), 1975 (Southern Cross) 1977 (Australia) and 1980 (Australia) suffering successive defeats to the Americans.
Australia’s persistence in repeatedly challenging for the cup finally paid off in the early hours of 27 September 1983 when Australia II crossed the finish line to defeat Liberty USA 4-3. Then Prime Minister Bob Hawke famously declared on national TV that anyone who sacked their staff for being late to work that day was a bum!
Since then Australia’s presence at America’s Cup has been in gradual decline. Kookaburra III meekly surrendered to Stars and Stripes USA off the coast of Fremantle in 1987. Worse was to come in 1995 when John Bertram’s One Australia infamously capsized while racing Team New Zealand.
Increasing costs of participation along with the relaxing of eligibility rules that allow sailors to represent a syndicate outside of their country of nationality have made an Australian bid for the cup financially unviable. The last Australian challenger was Sid Fischer’s Young Australia in 2000, which failed to make the finals.
While there’s no Australian entry at this year’s competition, there’s still the possibility of getting one over our Kiwi neighbours. Jimmy Spithill, the two-time Olympic gold medal winner for Australia, who skippered Young Australia in 2000, returns for his seventh America’s Cup campaign as skipper of Italy’s Luna Rossa.
Spithill famously skippered BMW Oracle Racing (2010) and Team Oracle USA (2013) to America’s Cup victory only to lose to the Kiwis in 2017. Known as the ‘Pitbull’ for his aggressive racing, Spithill will be keen to upset the Kiwis in their own backyard.
Sam
Guest
One Australia did not capsize in 1995, the boat broke in half and sank.
Tezza
Guest
It’s sad where journalism has ended up these days. You’d think if they were writing about specific people they’d at least check their background facts and make sure they spell the individual’s name correctly. Like China manufacturing these days, journalists seem to choose quantity over quality. Sadly the “pursuit of excellence” seems to be missing in the general psyche these days. It takes events like the America’s Cup to demonstrate that it does thankfully still exist... Here’s to an exciting series...
Simoc
Guest
There are no outstanding entrepreneurs in Australia at present with the money and drive to do the job. We do have the sailors though. It's interesting that Ineos can match top speeds but isn't coping in light air. The races change dramatically when the hull touches the water wiping knots off your speed. It changes the whole sailing sport when you have a 7.5 tonne yacht coming at you at 90kmh in 12knots of breeze. Not even white caps about (white caps waves mostly come in around 15knts). And this close to a shoreline in front of crowds. It would work well on the Swan in Perth and in Sydney harbour. I've gotten to like short fast races.
Damian Christie
Guest
Australia is no longer in the America's Cup not because Australian entrepreneurs can't afford to compete - but because they are apathetic and unambitious. It's a disgrace that with the Cup so close by and with a very talented sailing pool to draw from, we can't muster a challenge. It's a massive opportunity wasted. ????
Mark
Guest
Thanks for the article on the America's Cup. When these boats get up to speed on their foils they are a sight to see. However, your research skills need a little bit of work. John Bertrand is the famous Aussie skipper, not John Bertram. Jimmy Spithill has not won any Olympic medals, let alone 2 as you suggest. He has won 2 World Championships. And Southern Cross was in the 1974 America's Cup (there was no Cup in 1975).