ENTER THE AUSTRALIANS
The 1958 America’s Cup took the wind out of Britain’s sails in the competition. So comprehensive was the defeat of Sceptre by Columbia, and so wide reaching were the ramifications with regards design decisions and the resultant internal politics at the Royal Yacht Squadron, that participation going forward was in serious doubt. Concerted momentum had been lost in Britain but down under, in Australia, things were really starting to happen with the emergence of Sir Frank Packer in the sailing world. As one of the richest, and most high-profile entrepreneurs in the world, part of a new breed of media moguls, Packer’s dictatorial style was the marker of a no-nonsense campaign that was almost railroaded before it started by the British establishment.
The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron was selected as the club through which Packer’s syndicate would challenge from and before any formal challenge was issued, the Australians chartered the 12-Metre ‘Vim’ from John Mathews for a period of four years to gain the valuable insight and the tank-testing data as a benchmark for a new challenger. As news of the impetus building in Australia filtered through the British yachting scene, Lord Craigmyle a recovering alcoholic who campaigned for the cause in later life, formed what was to become the ‘Red Duster’ syndicate, purchasing the aged 12-Metre ‘Norsaga’ as a trial horse. Flying the flag of the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, London, Lord Craigmyle called on friends in high places, most notably His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, to try and persuade the New York Yacht Club to defer the Australian challenge.
In the late 1950’s the accepted protocol of the America’s Cup as a ‘friendly competition between foreign nations,’ was unchallenged with no stipulation for the contest to be an Anglo-American regatta. That it had been so in all but the Match in 1876 when a challenge from the Royal Canadian Yacht Club was met, was of little concern to the New York Yacht Club who accepted the challenge from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron with dates set for late summer 1962. Commodore Hinman of the NYYC was instrumental in seeing off the usurping and somewhat chancing challenge of the ‘Red Duster’ syndicate that included such luminaries as Owen Aisher, but it was Sir Frank Packer who delivered the killer blow saying in a cabled telegram: “As you are aware His Royal Highness Prince Philip is Patron of the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron so no doubt our challenge will carry his blessing.” He was and he did. The British aimed for a ‘Commonwealth Challenge’ after 1962, a lofty ambition, and sat out the 1962 America’s Cup.
Alan Payne, the English borne but Australian resident, was selected as the designer for the nascent Australian challenge and as soon as the 12 Metre ‘Vim’ arrived in Sydney in early 1960 Payne and his design partner Warwick Hood pored over the 1939-built yacht that had proven so rapid in the 1958 trials. The search for more speed in the design and most notably the build was all-encompassing with Payne travelling to the United States to examine tank testing results and to glean as much information from the Americans on modern thinking in 12-Metre design. What he and Hood arrived on was a yacht that was more than capable of beating the Americans, and in essence mismanagement caused their ultimate defeat.
Building of what would become ‘Gretel’ named after Frank Packer’s first wife, Gretel Joyce Packer who died of heart disease in 1960 aged just 53, begun in February 1961 at the Halverson, Mawson and Gowland shipyard in Sydney. It was completed just over a year later and launched on 28th February 1961. The build was meticulous. Payne even ordered for the first layer of fibreglass that had been layered over the Queensland cedar deck be removed and re-applied when it was discovered that too much resin had been applied and the resultant 50lb weight increase was considered too much to bear. The lines of Gretel resembled those of ‘Columbia’ and ‘Vim’ but the boat was optimised for all conditions rather than specifically for one and in terms of deck hardware, much focus was put on the winches whilst every exposed area of metal was drilled for weight saving. The American yachting media quickly sat up to the challenge being posed and acres were written in the journals and mainstream press about this antipodean upstart challenge that might just wrest the Cup from American clutches.
However, to meet the challenge came two notable syndicates vying for the defender nomination in the form of Ted Hood and Don MacNamara’s ‘Nefertiti’ and the Henry Mercer led syndicate with Bus Mosbacher steering a re-vamped and re-built Weatherly. Meanwhile, Columbia and Easterner were brought in as cannon-fodder performance markers for the defence trials. Nefertiti was built at pace, in just 96 days, to the design of Hood and the young naval architect Britton Chance Jr, who extensively tank-tested at the Stevens Institute in Hoboken. The result was a beamy 12-Metre with a radical sail-plan built in-house by Hood Sails, Hood’s company, alongside a minimum weight aluminium mast and aerofoil shaped rod rigging. When the boat took to the water, crew members were assigned shirts with numbers on the back and video tape was taken from both the chase boat and, innovative at the time, from a helicopter above. Hood’s idea for helming was that he would sail upwind and then hand over to MacNamara downwind but a clash of personality between MacNamara and the crew saw Hood’s long-time friend and sparring partner depart in acrimony before the trials had even begun.
Bus Mosbacher meanwhile was taking a different approach with ‘Weatherly’ having taken advice from the yacht’s builder Bill Luders and designer Phil Rhodes to strip out weight, reduce wetted surface area and even to re-model the stern counter. All savings were put back into the keel as ballast and the result was a solid boat across the ranges with a tendency towards lighter conditions as were expected during the summer in Newport.
As racing began, Nefertiti, Columbia nor Easterner could do anything to stop the march of Weatherly to the defence nomination. Over a series of trials, time and again and in a variety of conditions, she was almost unbeatable, suffering only one loss to Nefertiti when the wind blew at 25 knots, and she lost two spinnaker guys and blew out two spinnakers. Even then it was close. After Columbia and Easterner had been excused from the trials, Weatherly stormed to a 3-0 victory over Nefertiti and Commodore Henry Morgan of the NYYC duly conveyed that she would become the defending boat for the 18th defence of the America’s Cup.
Gretel’s tune-up for the America’s Cup Match was dominated by the presence of Sir Frank Packer who had installed himself in charge of the sailing programme and rather than bedding down a settled crew capable of galvanising to win the Cup, he preferred a more unsettling approach. Day after day, crews were rotated out and the afterguard changed on a whim whilst training was more a series of runs rather than competitive racing. It was a curious approach to many in both the Australian and American yachting press with much criticism being levelled at what was perceived as Packer’s business practices being brought into sport – whether that was true is somewhat debatable. Here was a man whose sporting competitiveness extended to boxing, golf and polo and whose media empire had grown from newspapers to broadcast networks. He wasn’t used to losing but the America’s Cup was to prove a chastening experience. Gretel, under the helmsmanship of Jock Sturrock, proved faster than her trial horse 12-Metre ‘Vim’ but in Weatherly she faced a fierce campaigner in Bus Mosbacher, undoubtedly one of the greatest tactical sailors in the history of the Cup, and a boat that had been well optimised that summer.
Day one of the 1962 Match was held on Saturday September 15th, 1962, with President Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis watching on from a US Navy Destroyer and a large spectator fleet that had to be cleared from the racecourse by the US Coastguard before racing could begin. The delay of over an hour raised tensions aboard both boats and in the final approach to the start-line, it was Mosbacher who held the upper hand forcing the Australians over the line before the gun.
Jock Sturrock was able to just about dial Gretel away and duck under at the pin end of the line to start on starboard tack, but the Australians were rattled, whilst Weatherly peeled away to the committee boat end to start on port tack at full speed. As they came back together a quarter of the way up the first beat, it was Weatherly that held a small advantage in the 10 knot west-north-westerly. As the two boats came together in the final third of the beat, the Americans tacked under Gretel’s lee bow and as a temporary windshift bent the two towards the mark, it was Mosbacher who had control, forcing the Australians off to clear their air and, by the top mark, stole a lead of over a minute and a half.
With the wind freshening to 18 knots on the first run, Gretel was able to benefit and cut the deficit by some 23 seconds but once Weatherly had turned into the wind, it was one-way traffic. The Americans extended on the next two legs to come across the finish line a resounding 3 minutes 46 seconds ahead. Sturrock called for an immediate lay-day as the Australians sought to decipher where their deficiencies lay. For the Americans, and in particular the astute Mosbacher, they knew that the Australian design was potent downwind and when sailed correctly, had real hull-speed upwind. What they couldn’t factor into the equation was the negative effect that Sir Frank Packer was having on the team and the Australian afterguard – some of whom were sailing in new roles such as Archie Robertson being installed in the unfamiliar position of navigator.
Race day two of the America’s Cup Match of 1962 was held on the 18th September on short, sharp seas and white caps whipped up on a lively 20 knot breeze. The course was triangular, and the conditions certainly looked to favour the Australian crew who were largely drawn from the emerging Sydney Harbour 19 foot skiff scene but it was Weatherly that held an early advantage on the first beat through clever positioning by Mosbacher. With the top mark approaching, the Gretel afterguard threw everything at Weatherly, initiating an 11-tack tacking duel and with superior grinding power courtesy of the inter-linked grinding pedastals driving the winch drums, the Australians rounded just 12 seconds adrift and very much in the race.
The reach down to the gybe mark was uneventful with Weatherly eking out a further two seconds but the action was all about to happen and one of the ‘moments of the Cup’ about to unfold.
As both boats gybed around the wing mark, almost in unison, it was Gretel that was first to launch their all-white spinnaker with it filling before it had reached full height. Weatherly was slower to launch, their genoa blanketing the spinnaker as the crew struggled in the conditions. Then, amidst a plume of foamy spray, Gretel caught what was perhaps a rogue wave set from the spectator fleet that lifted her stern at the perfect angle and catapulted her through to windward with the Australian crew hollering and yelling at the sheer excitement of passing the Americans clean.
Once through, Weatherly tried to come back by angling up towards the stern of Gretel and in doing so, with the spinnaker pole forward, snapped the spar around the headstay. There was little the Americans could do other than to keep the gap from being an embarrassment and as the challenger came to the finish line it was a slender victory margin of some 47 seconds. It was also the first time a challenging boat had won a race in the America’s Cup since Endeavour won the first two races against Rainbow in 1934. Mosbacher was nonchalant when asked about whether the team were disheartened by the defeat saying afterwards: “No, we have been beaten before…”
Spirits were high in the Australian camp, buoyed by such a dramatic victory and accepting plaudits from all around the world for how they had displayed such remarkable sail and boat handling in the big conditions. Jock Sturrock had called a lay-day wanting to thoroughly check the boat over whilst also implementing new hardware onboard. In hindsight it may have been a poor decision as the wind abated throughout the day on Wednesday 19th September 1962 and by the time the boats met on the 20th September, it was traditional Newport summer weather filtering down unsteadily from the north-east.
Gretel made the best of the start but within six minutes, Mosbacher had driven under the lee of Gretel who was attempting a close cover, forcing the Australians to tack away and despite a tense tacking duel towards the end of the first beat that resulted in both boats overstanding the top mark, it was the Americans who rounded with an advantage of just under a minute. From there, it was one-way traffic again, and with the wind dropping off considerably to under 10 knots after an early period of close reaching on this triangular course, where Weatherly was able to stay in more breeze for longer, at the America’s Cup buoy she held an astonishing advantage of some 23 minutes and 17 seconds.
The final port tack close fetch to the finish line was slightly agonising for the Americans though as the breeze began to fill in behind, allowing Gretel to cut the deficit in half but by the finish it was still a resounding 8 minutes and 40 second victory to Weatherly and 2-1 in the series. The deflation the Australians felt was palpable and Jock Sturrock called for yet another lay-day, determined to try and regain momentum.
Newport was buzzing with weekenders determined to catch a glimpse of the racing and Saturday September 22nd, 1962, saw a huge spectator fleet out on the racecourse that were treated to a Mosbacher masterclass in tactical prowess. After an aggressive start, the Americans held the lead with very little to choose between the two boats. Weatherly was in its usual high-mode whilst the Australians were beginning to feel more comfortable slightly footed. What changed everything was a call from the Gretel afterguard to change genoas, opting for a flat cut ‘overlapper’ with the draft well aft, and not only did the change drop them back but the sail underperformed. Weatherly rounded the top mark 1 minute and 26 seconds up – quite a margin in the light conditions.
The tight reach to the spreader mark certainly favoured Gretel and by the buoy she had closed the gap to just under a minute and it was on the next leg where Mosbacher, perhaps feeling that the writing was on the wall in the face of the relentless Australian downwind performance, pulled a masterstroke that had all the hallmarks of Sherman Hoyt and Zenas Bliss’s cute tactics when guiding Rainbow to victory against Endeavour in two races in 1934.
Then, the Hoyt/Bliss genius was to set Rainbow on a course that suited the downwind characteristics of the boat but far away from the actual course to the line and then relied on the English racing spirit to follow suit in an attempt to cover. Here in 1962, on a final reach to the finish, Mosbacher did the same dropping his spinnaker and launching a genoa whilst heading far above the course for the finish line. The Australians were spooked and quickly followed suit but as they did, some expert foredeck work on Weatherly, saw the spinnaker re-launched and set, the genoa dropped to the deck and a large bear-away back on course for the finish line. Panic ensued on the Australian boat and the attempt to re-launch the spinnaker was slow. In just eight knots of wind, Mosbacher brought Weatherly across the finish line 26 seconds ahead with the Australians, and their three-time Olympian helmsman Jock Sturrock, ruing their decision to get suckered into the drop. 3-1 to the Americans and Match point.
As was now customary with the Challenger, Sturrock called a further lay-day, determined still to find the speed to match Mosbacher. Much attention was paid to the rig and sails with some notable speed increases noted for the higher wind range. If the breeze came, Gretel found that by grinding on the backstay aggressively and bending the aluminium mast far more than they had done previously, gave the Australian boat increased point and balance. It was certainly worth a try if the expected afternoon breezes arrived.
A 10-16 knot breeze greeted the two yachts for what was to be the deciding race in 1962 over the traditional 24 mile windward / leeward course and again the American afterguard’s tactical nous came to the fore much to the delight of the Newport spectators. After a solid start where Mosbacher controlled the pre-start circling, Gretel was forced over the line a fraction early whilst the Americans could hold a powerful position out on a long starboard tack from the pin end. As the boats came back together, Sturrock’s only option was to try and force a tacking duel, a bête noir of the Americans so far in the series, but one that Mosbacher and his crew had worked hard to eradicate.
What the Americans had noticed was that although Gretel was faster through the tack, she was slower to get up to speed post tack. This called for the tactic of ignoring the down-speed close cover once ahead so often used in match-racing in favour of Weatherly getting fully up to speed before coming back on the cover tack. Weatherly therefore could travel through the water better whilst Gretel was getting up to speed, and being forced to initiate the duel whilst losing ground. Winch problems also were the undoing of the Australians in the race and by the top mark, Mosbacher had established a lead of over two minutes.
The run down to the leeward mark was uneventful other than the wind increasing and the Americans stretching out to a 2 minute 20 second lead. Sturrock was in last chance saloon and instructed the crew to replicate the flattened off mainsail that had worked so well on the lay-day. The mast was cranked back by the coffee grinders and Gretel came alive, cutting the deficit of 600 yards to just 400 yards in half a mile. With the wind freeing into the finish but detected earlier and more pronounced ahead on Weatherly (being the leading boat), again Mosbacher and George O’Day, Weatherly’s tactician, threw a move that dumfounded everyone watching. They tacked.
Gretel’s afterguard, having no way of knowing the size of the shift ahead, followed suit and with the trimmers unable to replicate the trim and the mast setting, by the time both boats came back onto the course for the finish line they were fetching with Gretel way over-stood. Another masterstroke from Mosbacher who cleverly recognised what was happening boatspeed-wise behind, had a first-rate tactician who knew exactly what the cyclical breeze from the southwest would do, and the sheer brilliance to upset the rhythm of the Challenger just at the right moment. Crossing the line with a solid 3 minutes and 40 second victory, the Cup was assuredly defended on behalf of the New York Yacht Club.
America won the America’s Cup as much as Australia lost it in 1962 and the flag of the tournament – the ‘N’ flag which indicated that the other boat wished to call a lay-day and didn’t wish to sail tomorrow – was duly and rather ironically hoisted by the Australians in recognition of a defence that was as unlikely as it was brilliant. The faster boat perhaps didn’t win but the Australians would be back and more determined than ever to lift the Auld Mug.