AMERICA'S CUP - Editorial

Three days from today it will be 25 years since the radical wing-keeled Australia II won the Americas Cup. It was a unique event based around the fact that no other country had won it in 132 years, that the yacht was shrouded in mystery with its truly ingenious wing keel and that the 13 crew had fought back from a 3 - 1 race situation to win the cup 4 races to 3. I recall the day well. I was there. A pimply little reporter for the then Macquarie network working out of 2GB as fill in host for the Australia Overnight program. I convinced the bosses to send me over to Newport, Rhode Island to follow the races... probably another loss as the Americans had won every series in 32 events since 1867. To our surprise we fought back against impossible odds. There we were, a new flag with a boxing kangaroo, the sound system on the support boat belting out the anthem ' Men from the Land Downunder', the bad boy Dennis Conner steering the American yacht Liberty and 132 years of sporting history about to topple. As our anchorman John Raedlar said at the time..... 'the old fogies in the red jackets from the New York Yacht Club will be choking on their cigars today.' And so it was, a race, the final out of a seven race series that truly captured the imagination and aspirations of Australia in 1983. The headlines of the time said it all. From the Sydney Morning Herald....

The Biggest Thing Since Peace in 1945”: Triumph Unique

From the local papers....

'We've done it' and 'Australia brings home the Cup'.

Sadly I have been unable to locate any of the original broadcast.... would love to find out if anyone has any of the amazing commentary from John Raedlar at the time but it was the best radio commentary that has ever gone to air in this country for any sporting event. It was rivetting, it was electric, colorful, intense and so, so dramatic. I was standing right next to him on the bows of the New Englander II only 150 m from the yachts as they crossed the finish line and had no idea how big the whole thing was back home. From the Sydney dailies....

'Sydney, and the rest of Australia, went on a patriotic frenzy yesterday. The Australia II victory at Newport brought smiles to the weary faces of a nation who had stayed up all night to watch the historic event in bars, clubs and lounge rooms. In Sydney, one of the lunchtime revellers at the Hilton’s America’s Cup Bar said he had not seen anything like it since victory was declared over Japan in World War Two.'

Some of John Raedlar's famous words were 'stand up Australia, stand up and cheer. Stand up Australia. This is the proudest moment in your history. Stand up for this brave crew that have come to a foriegn country, climbed the sporting equivalent of Mount Everest and can now deservedly enjoy the view beyond.'

The rhetoric kept flowing when then PM Bob Hawke got all caught up in the moment on national TV when he exclaimed...'Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum'. Sadly, we just don't stuff like that from our PM's anymore.