America's Cup - Reflections 30 years on from Fremantle

by America's Cup Media|Compiled by Sail-World on 6 Feb 2017 It’s been 30 years since Dennis Conner cemented his legacy as Mr. America’s Cup, winning back the trophy he lost in 1983 to the Australians.

The 1983 upset marked the first time the America’s Cup had been won by a challenger in 132-years. Conner was devastated and immediately set about putting a plan in place to win it back.

His campaign was nearly flawless. The result, some narrow wins in the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger selection series, before pouring it on in a 4-0 sweep over Australia in the final Match, meant the America’s Cup would return to the United States. Its sojourn in Australia was short-lived, but is far from forgotten.

Current America’s Cup Regatta Director Iain Murray played a large role in the 1987 match. He was the designer and skipper for the Australian businessman Kevin Parry’s Kookaburra syndicate, which won the defender trials before falling to Conner in the America’s Cup.

“We were very focused on winning the defender trials. It was a really tough battle with the Alan Bond guys. It was day in, day out, very aggressive competition,” Murray recalls.

“We won the trials, we beat them in the final 9-0, but in hindsight, we were too focused on that and by the time we got to the Cup we were done, we were burned out. We hadn’t watched the progression of Dennis Conner and we ended up going into the America’s Cup with a boat that wasn’t as fast.

“Dennis ran his campaign to perfection. He might have only squeaked through the early part of the challenger series, but then his boat found another gear. The Kiwis had no answer and we could see it coming, but there was nothing we could do.

“We tried to race him, we tried to be aggressive, but at the end of the day he could just sail around us.”

Murray says the impact of that experience still resonates, both in Australia and personally.

“It was a wonderful period in our lives,” he says. “We were young kids given a free hand to go and defend the America’s Cup. It really doesn’t get any better. It was a gift.

“Australia really took the America’s Cup on. It was incredible. Every single commercial television station was broadcasting the same event! It was a huge event in a little sleepy fishing town in Fremantle, Western Australia. Talk about big fish in a small pond!

“Unfortunately we didn’t succeed in keeping it there. Dennis Conner and Stars & Stripes turned the heat up, came on strong late over the Kiwis and then overran us and the Cup went back to the States.”

Murray says the 1987 event set the course of his life in a way he couldn’t have imagined.

“When we left Fremantle, there was a real sense that we had unfinished business. I would walk around Perth or Sydney and it would take hours because everyone wanted to stop and encourage you to go and get it back. There was tremendous support.

“But the 1988 (deed of gift) Cup happened and then when we came back in 1995 and sunk the boat and then times changed. I had children and needed to get a real job!

“I never really expected to be back doing what I’m doing now, but times have changed and here we are.”

Murray has been in Bermuda for the last two weeks conducting racing for the Bermuda based teams and he says the racing he’s seeing here is like another sport altogether compared to 1987, but some of the basics remain.

“Everyone has been working on their pre-starts the past couple of weeks, the match racing moves. It’s a complex thing at these speeds. I think we’re going to see a lot of aggression at the start because it’s such a vital part of the race. They’re going to be pushing hard to get that hook in and the breakaway acceleration at the start. In these boats, hitting the line at 40-knots, takes quite a bit of skill.

“What we’re seeing with these boats passing within inches at speed, the coming together, the violent luffs, the skill of these guys is unbelievable. The ingredients are all there and I think you’re going to see some pretty aggressive racing.”

Thirty years on from his home America’s Cup in 1987, it’s clear that Murray’s passion for racing remains and the America’s Cup is still where the top of the game is played.

Race 1 - 1987 America's Cup :



Race 2 - 1987 America's Cup :



Race 3 - 1987 America's Cup :



Race 4 - 1987 America's Cup :