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Up late at night on YouTube and relived that amazing victory in 1983. Not a bad time with no sport on to look back at one of the most amazing sporting moments in Australian history.

The quality isn't the best, i watched it on my laptop, loses quality when you go full screen. I clicked through it a bit to shorten the viewing.

I was on afternoon shift and when I got home, I decided to watch the race. Got through most of the race, but fell asleep towards the end. Got woken by the commentators yelling stand up Australia and everyone on tv screaming. What a great day. Walking on air.

58shark wrote: I was on afternoon shift and when I got home, I decided to watch the race. Got through most of the race, but fell asleep towards the end. Got woken by the commentators yelling stand up Australia and everyone on tv screaming. What a great day. Walking on air.

Still gives me goose bumps. As an aside, anyone know who the commentator was? Actually sounds a lot like our own Peter Kennedy I thought. It was probably covered by the ABC back then.

That was a big month September 1983 watching Australia II make history in winning the Americas Cup of the Yanks for the first time in the 132 year history of the regatta and then watching SD come from 3rd to win the WAFL Premiership.
Good days shoving it up that cocky Yank Skipper of Liberty Dennis Connor, although he had the last laugh 4 years later off Fremantle winning it back against Kevi Parry's Kookaburra Syndicate.
Apparently the commentators of that final race were Norrie Hoyt and Jack Gale DD.

Beasley Hutton wrote: That was a big month September 1983 watching Australia II make history in winning the Americas Cup of the Yanks for the first time in the 132 year history of the regatta and then watching SD come from 3rd to win the WAFL Premiership.
Good days shoving it up that cocky Yank Skipper of Liberty Dennis Connor, although he had the last laugh 4 years later off Fremantle winning it back against Kevi Parry's Kookaburra Syndicate.
Apparently the commentators of that final race were Norrie Hoyt and Jack Gale DD.

Thanks BH, googled Jack Gale America’s Cup and found this. Sounds like a real character with extensive sailing experience and was on Grettel II in 1977. Died in 2017 aged 91. Will forever be in Australian sporting folklore with his commentary in that famous series and those magnificent words, “ Will you stand up Australia”? Hair raising stuff.

www.pittwateronlinenews.com/Pittwater-Ya...Legend-Jack-Gale.php

I remember it being the talk of the primary school playground the next morning, I didn’t watch it it was on at 2am or something, but even though I was a youngster I can remember the feeling of the whole nation hanging on it.
Four years later I really got into it, knew the name of every boat and every skipper, and religiously watched “Cupdate” at 6 30 every night. Also went down to the packed South Mole to wave off Kookaburra ll in one of those finals races against that Great villain of the time, the late Dennis Connor and Stars and Stripes. I thought Dennis Connor turned out to be a really quality bloke in the end. Apparently he was absolutely smashed in America for losing in 83 and then had to wait four years for redemption, which was clinical, and brutal. He saw off a really good NZ challenger, the plastic fantastic, to make the final and then Destroyed our Kookaburra ll. I remember him being a very humble winner at the end.
I haven’t had the slightest interest in sailing since.

Exactly the same as above for me TOO we must be around the same vintage.

Little bit older than you TOO but we also went down to watch the yachts go out for the final race, huge crowds. The cup was the making of Fremantle town and the saving of so many lovely old buildings especially in the west end.

Dennis did a great PR job while down under. Loved his description of his boat compared to Kooka and Aust III, he described the australian boats as formula 1 boats, very manouverable, very fast tacking etc while Stars was more of a dragster, turns like a freight ship but super fast in a straight line. he absolutely read the west coast conditions perfectly with strong consistent winds from the SW on 75% of occassions so tacking jibing etc was far less important than straight line speed, unlike dealing with the flukey conditions off Long Island. He rarely won a starting line duel but by the first marker he was well in front.

Jeez, what chance did we have in 1987 against the weight of NASA and corporate USA?

www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Riblets.html

Devonleigh wrote: Jeez, what chance did we have in 1987 against the weight of NASA and corporate USA?

www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Riblets.html

We lost the cup before the series started when Alan Bonds empire was falling apart and he was unable to build Australia IV from memory and Australia III was easily beaten by Kevin Parry’s Kookaburra. The furniture salesman’s budget was no match for the Yanks.

Also pretty sure John Bertrand didn’t skipper Alan Bonds defence, Ian Murray skippered Kookaburra.