America's Cup Lost by US
In September 1983, the Australian yacht Australia II defeated the American defender Liberty in the America's Cup, ending the longest winning streak in sporting history. The New York Yacht Club had held the trophy since the schooner America won it off the Isle of Wight in 1851, and for 132 years every challenger had failed. The result broke that run and changed how the competition was organized, funded, and followed around the world.
The America's Cup is a match race between a defending club and a challenger, sailed in boats built to a set formula. In 1983 the boats were 12-metre yachts, and the contest was held off Newport, Rhode Island, where it had been staged for decades. The challenger was backed by Alan Bond, an Australian businessman, and represented the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Australia II was designed by Ben Lexcen, and Liberty was skippered by Dennis Conner, an experienced American helmsman. Australia II was skippered by John Bertrand.
The most famous feature of Australia II was its winged keel, which was kept under a canvas skirt whenever the boat was out of the water. Its exact effect has been debated, but it is generally credited with making the boat more manoeuvrable and better at holding its course through turns. The Dutch ship-model basin at Wageningen had been used in testing, and this became part of a rules dispute. After the New York Yacht Club questioned the design's legality, the keel was ruled to comply with the rules of the class. Australia II had also dominated the challenger eliminations that preceded the final.
The final was a best-of-seven series. Liberty took a 3–1 lead, and one more win would have kept the Cup in American hands. Australia II then won three races in a row, the last on 26 September, to take the series 4–3. The decisive race was close, with Australia II overtaking Liberty on the final stretch after a series of tactical moves. Celebrations in Australia were enormous, and the prime minister, Bob Hawke, was widely reported to have said that any boss who sacked a worker for not turning up that day was a bum, though the precise wording is often disputed.
The consequences were lasting. The Cup went to Perth, and in 1987 Dennis Conner won it back in Fremantle, Western Australia. The event also encouraged challengers from many more countries, and it raised the importance of technology, secrecy, and design teams in the sport. For Australia, the win became a national symbol of confidence and sporting achievement. For the Cup itself, it ended the idea that the trophy belonged to one club and one nation by tradition.