America's Cup - Fremantle - celebrating 30 years since the best ever

by David Allan-Petale, WA Today on 1 Feb 2017 A man in shorts, singlet and thongs stands at the side of the road. He juts out his thumb for a lift; in his other hand, he holds half an old beer carton.

Mark Reid has been dropped off at the edge of Perth by his parents so he can hitchhike north and get a job on a crayfish boat. “He looked like some bloody bushman,” recalls his mother Jackie Reid, now a regal 85-year-old full of salty good humour.

“The next time I saw him he was wearing beautiful cream-coloured silk trousers with Italian leather shoes, a tailor-cut buttoned shirt and a navy blue blazer. He was immaculate head to toe.”

The sleek, sophisticated change that came over Mark was the same kind of change that would make over Perth in 1987.

Mark had fallen in with the America’s Cup crowd.

“Alan Bond gave him a job driving one of the tender boats,” says Jackie. “They all got that kind of clothing. It changed his life. He left the crayfishing behind and became a yachtsman.”

In 1983, the 12-metre racing yacht Australia II crossed the finish line off Newport, Rhode Island ahead of US contender Liberty. For the first time, Australia had won the America’s Cup.

Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s quip that “any boss who sacks a worker for not turning up today is a bum” summed up the drink-sodden joy of the moment as the nation toasted the victory of West Australian business tycoon Alan Bond, the crew led by skipper John Bertrand – and that top-secret winged keel.

Then, when the hangovers subsided, a sobering realisation crept in.

Australia was to defend the Cup in 1987. This meant hosting the internationally renowned sporting event in Perth and Fremantle – a stubby provincial city and a shabby port far from the glamour of Sydney or the culture of Melbourne.

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If you were in Fremantle this will bring back some fantastic memories. If you weren't there, then this story will give you an insight into what it was like to be at the greatest ever America's Cup.