John Bertrand is still approached every day on the streets of Melbourne about Australia’s America’s Cup glory in 1983.
“People come up and want to shake my hand and thank me for what I did all those years ago,” he said.
“It’s just amazing. It’s a privilege.”
More than 40 years later, the skipper of Australia II believes a long-awaited new challenger for world sport’s oldest international trophy can also secure a place in the Australian consciousness.
The Team Australia bid, backed by Sydney’s wealthy Winning family, will be unveiled on Thursday at the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club in exclusive Point Piper, confirming the country’s first America’s Cup campaign in decades.
Much has changed since Bertrand and his crew came from behind to break the United States’ 132-year grip on the famed silverware.
A triumph of Australian exceptionalism and innovation, it has been the subject of endless fascination, from books to museum exhibitions and most recently a Netflix documentary.
It also made household names of those involved in the victory, from skipper Bertrand to yacht designer Ben Lexcen, whose winged keel was Australia II’s secret weapon.
America’s Cup racing is now much faster and the races are far shorter, and Australia has not come close to regaining it since then. Not since 2000 has Australia even been represented.
But Bernard believes another Australian victory could captivate the nation again.
“With our project, no one had ever done it. That was the Everest that had never been climbed, and we came from 3-1 down against the odds in a major recession and with bushfires and floods in the country. The country had its backs to the wall,” Bertrand said.
“Fast forward to next year, if this project is highly successful, I think it would be a big deal. It’s one of those mystical sporting events that just won’t go away.”
Australia has contributed sailors to winning America’s Cup syndicates from other nations in the years since the country has mounted a challenge of its own, among them Olympic gold medallist Tom Slingsby, world champion and Sydney to Hobart yacht race winner Jimmy Spithill and Olympic silver medallist Glenn Ashby.
As a further reminder of the talent that’s been deployed elsewhere, holders Team New Zealand have announced Australian Olympic gold medal winner Nathan Outteridge as its skipper while fellow London 2012 champion Iain Jensen will also be part of their defence in Italy next year.
But with a golden generation having excelled on the global stage, Team Australia could assemble a very well-credentialed crew. Slingsby has been rumoured to be the skipper.
“To represent their country would a big deal,” Bertrand said. “Most of these people would literally cut off their right arm to be involved.”
As for the Australian boat, there won’t be the same degree of subterfuge as 43 years ago.
The challengers in next year’s America’s Cup and the defenders will use hulls from the last staging of the competition Barcelona in 2024, although limited modifications are permitted.
It means team designers can still attempt to gain an edge in the control of the vessels and with aerodynamics even though the fleet will all be competing with the same AC75 yachts.
An Australian technology partnership with New Zealand is said to be key to the challenger’s hopes of success.
The deployment of existing hulls is part of a shift towards more of a franchise-like model, with the America’s Cup to take place every two years from 2027 rather than once every four years as it has traditionally been staged.
It is also about making the Formula 1 of sailing less financially burdensome and sustainable for those putting the money up. The British challenger in Italy next year is being bankrolled by private equity.
It remains an exceedingly expensive exercise, though, even with a newly introduced 75 million euro ($121 million) spending cap per team.
“The reality is, as we say in the world of America’s Cup, ‘no cash, no splash’,” Bertrand said.
“I’ve always felt it would require a new generation of entrepreneurs to say this is worth giving it a crack, Australia taking on the world.”
Enter John Winning Jr, whose family made its fortune in whitegoods over multiple generations, and who founded retail sites Appliances Online and Andoo.
Known as “Herman” in sailing circles, Winning Jr and his father John “Woody” Winning are long-time members of the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club, which they chose to officially lodge the America’s Cup challenge.
Winning Jr, who is in early 40s, is a top-class racing sailor himself. He is currently in the US competing in the world championships in the Etchells class off the coast of San Diego and is a line-honours winning skipper of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and 18-foot skiff world champion.
Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club Commodore Sven Runow told club members the Winning family’s “decision to embark upon an America’s Cup campaign of this magnitude reflects a genuine desire to advance sailing in Australia, inspire future generations and once again place our nation at the forefront of the international stage”.
There was also a nod to Bertrand’s generation, who demonstrated what was possible.
“As we now step forward with our own challenge, we do so mindful of that legacy and inspired by it.”
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
