Australia II wins the America’s Cup: ending the longest winning-streak in sporting history

The crew of the Australia II celebrate after a victory in the 1983 America's Cup off the coast of Newport, Rhode-Island. (Photo: Larry Moran, courtesy of National Museum of Australia).

In 1983, Australians from all walks of life were drawn together to witness a remarkable sporting achievement, when the John Betrand skippered, Australia II, won race seven in a best-of-seven series to claim the America’s Cup.

The America’s Cup was, as the Canberra Times wrote in 1983, “…the world’s most important sailing prize,” and it remains so to this day.

It was a victory that not only ended the United States unbeaten run of 132-years, but seemed to transcend sport itself, and act as a unifier of the respective populations. Broadcasters in the U.S. had labelled that now famous race seven, as: the race of the century, indicating the public and commercial interest, and the historical significance of the race.

Wild celebrations began in Australia and amongst Australians in Newport (USA) as soon as the Ben Lexen designed “winged-keeled” Australia II crossed the line in the final race, with the then Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, famously remarking live on television, that:

“Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today, is a bum.”

For a country like Australia in the 1980s, when some might argue that the world seemed a much bigger place compared to the technologically connected world of 2025, the feat of taking on a country like the USA, in a contest that they had dominated for over a century, appeared insurmountable.

In fact, Australia had challenged for the cup many times before, only to come home from Newport Rhode Island (the New York Yacht Club’s home waters) with their tails between their legs.

The euphoria that surrounded the Alan Bond led, Australia II, victory was no doubt a release of emotion, fuelled, but trapped within the Australian sporting conscience from all the previous attempts, beginning with the 1962 Challenge by Sir Frank Packers, Gretel.

Personally, I remember the day clearly. Like so many other Australians, our family had watched the race in the early hours, willing Australia II home with all of our new-found sailing expertise.

Walking into the school playground that day, in the Sydney suburb of Manly, I remember feeling a great sense of pride as I noticed a huge Australian flag draped from a second storey window; its bold colours standing out vividly against the mud-brown brick, and weather-worn timber-sash windows.

For the Americans, the defeat, after leading 3-1 was taken hard, but in the case of the defeated skipper, Dennis Conner, it was handled with dignity.

The same could not be said for his New York Yacht Club (NYYC) bosses, who after regaling in decades of domination, failed to be beside their captain at the post-race-seven press conference.

This slight would add extra motivation to Conner’s mission to win back the America’s Cup, which he did in 1987 off the coast of Fremantle, Western Australia; but this time, for the San Diego Yacht Club.

A Brief History

Created in 1851, The America's Cup is the oldest continuing sporting contest in the world. (Image: Wiki Commons).

The America’s Cup was made in 1851, and an invitation was sent by the NYYC welcoming challengers from international yacht clubs, promising: “…a liberal, hearty welcome and the strictest of fair play.” The British were the first challengers in 1851 and were defeated, with the American Civil War causing a pause to competition in the 1860s.

America’s Cup sailing would not resume until 1870, again against Britain, who would dominate the challenges until the late 1950’s, with the exception being challenges from the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (1876), and the Bay of Quinte (1881), also from Canada.

The first challenge by an Australian yacht was previously mentioned as the Sir Frank Packer owned Gretel, who was named after the media-tycoons late wife. The 12-metre Gretel and her crew hit the waters off Newport on 15 September 1962, with president John F. Kennedy and his wife among the spectator fleet.

Gretel lost 4-1 to the Jock Sturrock skippered, Weatherby, but that first challenge by an Australian yacht lit a fire amongst its nation’s sailors, with Emil Christensen’s Dame Pattie returning in 1967 to take on the Americans after the British had challenged with Sovereign in 1964.

Packer would return to Newport in 1970 with a new yacht named Gretel II. The year 1970 was also significant in that it saw the introduction of the challenger series of races. Prior to this the NYYC had accepted a single challenge from a yacht club, but in 1962 the NYYC stated in a memorandum that if multiple challengers were received within 30-days of a successful defence, those challengers would be accepted simultaneously.

A gentleman’s agreement between the Australians and British in 1964, saw the aforementioned Sovereign challenge, while in 1967 the French did not move forward with their challenge, while only one (Dame Pattie) of the two Australian entries arrived in Newport, leaving 1970 as the first time a challenger race-series would commence.

Gretel II won the first challenger series, and despite eventually going down 4-1 to Intrepid, a star of the future was among her crew. A young John Bertrand was in the position of jib-trimmer. The 1970 series was also known for the tension between the rival teams, with Packer being famously quoted after a protest hearing:

“Protesting to the New York Yacht Club is like complaining to your mother-in-law about our wife.”

Western Australian businessman, Alan Bond, entered the America’s Cup fray in 1974 with Southern Cross flying the flag for the Royal Perth Yacht Squadron. The Jim Hardie skippered Southern Cross was soundly defeated 4-0 by Courageous, with Dennis Conner aboard as starting helmsman.

Bond returned in 1977 with Hardie and a new boat named Australia. Once again, the Australians were soundly beaten 4-0, but in 1980, Bond and his team were to leave Newport, beaten, but with confidence, as Australia had taken a race (4-1) from the Americans.

The more professional and technically advanced Australia II campaign of 1983 started brilliantly in the challenger series, with Bond’s team making everyone, including the NYYC, sit up and take notice of the Lexcen designed 12-metre yacht.

However, the race for the cup against Conners Liberty, did not go plan initially, with a gear malfunction on Australia II seeing the U.S. team win race one. Liberty took race two, and the Australians could have been forgiven for thinking that 1983 was going to be a repeat of their previous campaigns.

A margin of 3 minutes and 14 seconds was seen as a promising change in luck, as Australia defeated the Americans in race three, but Dennis Conner used all of his skill and guile to take out race four of the series.

That result left the best-of-seven series at 3-1, and Liberty just one win away from a successful defence of the America’s Cup.

In terms of the series score, the pressure was certainly on Betrand and his crew, but it is probably hard to fully appreciate the scrutiny and weight-of-expectation that Conner was under.

Defeat was a word that the NYYC would not entertain, with the exclusive club even going to the lengths of ordering an investigation into whether Lexcen was in fact the designer of Australia II. There was no basis to the allegations, but the act clearly indicated how far the NYYC was prepared to go to keep their cup.

The patent for the Ben Lexcen designed winged-keel, an intergral part of Australia II success in the 1983 America's Cup. (Image courtesy of National Museum of Australia).

Race five saw a narrow win by Australia II and the closest America’s Cup Regatta since 1934. Race six was a more comfortable win by the Australians, with over three-minutes to spare, but momentum was on their side, and as history has shown, race seven saw another dramatic Australia II victory, resulting in the America’s Cup leaving the NYYC for the first time in its history.

After the celebrations had subsided, the official handover of the America’s Cup was conducted at the White House (Rose Garden), with President Ronald Reagan congratulating both the Australian and United States crews, and commenting that Americans “…are proud to have Australians as their very dear friends…we salute you in your hour of triumph…”

Reagan also gave a friendly warning to Australia that the Americans would be back better than ever.

The Cup Today

From Schooners and 65ft Sloops in the nineteenth century to the J-Class and the 12-metre yachts of the 20^th century, the Americas Cup has moved into a new era of high-tech catamaran sailing with the AC 50 and AC 75.

The win by Australia II in 1983 paved the way for a fresh wave of investment into America’s Cup challenges from a host of nations, with teams from New Zealand specifically making their mark in the competition’s recent history.

After winning for the first time with Black Magic in 1995, the Kiwis successfully defended the cup in 2000, before the Swiss had their first cup victory in 2003, followed by a successful cup defence against the New Zealanders in 2007.

Wins by the U.S. in 2010 and 2013 were a prelude to recent New Zealand dominance, with victory over the Oracle Team from the U.S. in 2017 seeing the Kiwis hold the America’s Cup until the present day.

After successful defences by New Zealand in 2021 and 2024, the next America’s Cup is scheduled for Naples, Italy in 2026. At the time of writing, the challenger had not been decided.