| Stars and Stripes 87 (US 55) | |
|---|---|
| Helmsman | Dennis Conner |
| Syndicate | Sail America Foundation |
| Nation | United States |
| Event | 1987 America's Cup |
| Representing | San Diego Yacht Club |
Stars & Stripes 87 (US 55) was the 12 Meter challenge boat sailed by Dennis Conner in his bid to reclaim the America’s Cup from the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Australia in 1987.
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Stars and Stripes 87 was built in 1986[1] at the Derecktar Shipyards in Manaroneck, NY.[2] She was the culmination of the team’s 12 Meter design advances, the fifth boat in the Sail America Foundation stable, and the third of the new boat designs by Britton Chance, Bruce Nelson and David Pedrick.[2][3] John Marshall, Conner's mainsheet trimmer on board Liberty in the '83 campaign, acted as the design team coordinator. The boat was created to excel in the heavy seas and strong winds expected in Gage Roads off Fremantle. The radical hull shape with its snub nose entry was not the most aesthetic of designs, but she was fast. Her keel design had a prominent bulb forward entry and keel wings extending off the aft-most third of the keel. The boat was competitive in 10 to 12 knots of wind, but excelled in winds of 16 knots and more.[4]
Dennis Conner sea trialed the boats against each other in the Pacific waters of Hawaii, taking advantage of the steady 18 to 25 knot trade winds off Waikiki. The three new hull designs made the trip down to Perth, where his syndicate was the last to arrive. The in-house competition between boats was intense, particularly between the 86 and 87 boats, with Stars and Stripes 87 receiving the nod just a few days prior to the start of the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger round robin series.[5][6]
Stars and Stripes 87 was a clear contender from the start of the 1987 Louis Vuitton Cup regatta, winning 11 of 12 races in the first rounds robin, including the only rounds robin victory of any boat over Kiwi Magic (KZ 7). The second round was a period of concern. Conner's boat was optimized for heavy airs, and suffered from a shortage of sails for lighter breezes. When a spell of Easterlies settled over Western Australia she was caught out of her element and dropped a disappointing four races. She lost to Tom Blackaller and USA in 5 to 10 knot winds, and the following day to the Kiwis, even though the breeze had picked up to 22 knots. On the ninth day she lost again to the British team White Crusader in 4 to 6 knots breeze, and the following day to Canada II, whom she had led around the final mark but was caught out when the breeze died away.[7] Aided by between rounds changes to her keel wing-lets and the more consistent presence of the "Fremantle Doctor" in late summer, the third round saw her come to form, with significant improvement in her upwind performance. The final rounds robin she lost only to the top boat, Kiwi Magic and the always competitive USA. Coming into the Louis Vuitton Cup finals she was the second highest point scorer, and was set on a collision with longtime rival Tom Blackaller, and USA.[8]
Dennis Conner believed his effort with Liberty reached her maximum speed potential too early during the 1983 Cup defense.[9] One of the goals of the Stars and Stripes camp was to increase boat speed throughout the campaign to peak going into the finals.
All boats competing underwent changes during the challenger and defender series, some successful, some not.[10] Changes made on Stars and Stripes 87 consistently resulted in steps forward in boat speed.[11] This was largely thanks to Marshall, whose technical, sailmaking and organizational skills allowed Stars and Stripes to coordinate an enormous amount of technical assistance, resulting in boat changes that were consistently successful.[12] The greatest increase occurred with the re-working of the boat's keel between the second and third round robins.[13] Close competitor Tom Blackaller felt the boat had found two tenths of a knot increase in Vmg (Velocity made good) when sailing to windward as she entered the third rounds robin.[14] The final tweak to her hull was the application of a space age shark skin like riblet covering applied prior to the Challenger finals to reduce the hull's drag.[15]
KZ 7 was the top qualifier of the round robins, followed in the points competition by Stars & Stripes 87, USA and French Kiss. In the Challenger semi-finals KZ 7 easily defeated French Kiss 4-0, with none of the races closely contested. Meanwhile, a far more spirited competition between Stars and Stripes 87 and USA ensued, with USA leading all of the first race till the final mark. In the end though Tom Blackaller couldn't quite find the speed he was looking for, and the result was Stars and Stripes 87 winning the semi 4-0. Tactitician Tom Whidden offered the following on the team's progress:
"The low point was when we lost those four races in November and we really didn't set our boat up very well for that. The high point was beating Blackaller, four-zip. That was quite an accomplishment because he was extremely fast."[16]
Going into the Louis Vuitton Finals, Kiwi Magic was the favorite. She was clearly a fast boat in both light and heavy air, had beaten Stars and Stripes 87 twice, and had won an incredible thirty-seven of thirty-eight match races. But Stars & Stripes 87 was showing her best form of the regatta, particularly in heavy winds above 20 knots.
The first two races were similar, with Stars & Stipes going out to an early lead in the opening beat to the first windward mark, and then holding that lead throughout the remainder of the rest, holding ground on the downwind legs and extending it on the beats. The third race started out much as the previous two, with both boats taking a long tack out to the left hand side of the course in what Dennis Conner termed a "speed test". Stars & Stripes 87 rounded the first windward mark 26 seconds ahead, and that is when trouble started. The snap shackle failed causing the spinnaker to drop into the sea. The Kiwis closed the gap, gibing back and forth across Conner's stern until they achieved what they were looking for, an inside overlap on the bottom mark. With right of way the Kiwis were able to slide ahead on the turn about the mark. Once there the Kiwis proved a very difficult boat to get past. On the second beat to windward they covered every move of the gunsmoke blue boat, keeping Conner at bay with a tight cover. The two reaching legs never allowed room to get around a competitor, which brought the boats to the third beat to windward. This was one for the record book. Conner threw 55 tacks at the Kiwis and two false tacks in an effort to break free. The New Zealanders covered them all in one of the most exhausting and tense beats to windward in America's Cup history.[17] The result was a win for the Kiwis, and a match now close with Stars & Stripes up by a race, 2-1.
The fourth race saw a complete turn in fortune. Now it was KZ 7s turn to experience a number of uncommon structural failures, all of which snowballed due to the actions of the skipper and crew, culminating in Kiwi Magic blowing her backstay in an abrupt gibe. The race was lost to Stars & Stripes by 3 minutes 38 seconds.[18]
The fifth race was extremely competitive, with Stars & Stripes taking the initial lead on the first windward leg as she did in the first four races, but on the second beat to windward her Number 6 genoa blew to pieces and the Kiwis closed the gap. All hands went forward to clear the wreckage and hoist the Number 7 genoa before Kiwi Magic could get by. Stars & Stripes held on to the slimest of leads throughout the next four legs. Rounding the final mark she held a six second lead, but here Dickson made one of the rare mistakes of his summer when he struck the mark while rounding. The error required KZ 7 to come about and round the mark again, and the resulting time loss ended all hope the New Zealanders had of winning the race. Stars & Stripes 87 took the series, four wins to one.[19]
Perhaps Michael Fay summed up the New Zealander's effort best:
"We did the best we could. We couldn't beat the other guy on the day, and we've got to shake his hand and say 'Well done' because that's what happened. They did a very good job and they beat us." [5]
Added Chris Dickson: "The best boat won. Thirteen years beat thirteen months experience. Congratulations guys."[5]
Following the completion of the race, Gianfranco Alberini, Commodore, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, the Challenge Club of Record responsible for organizing the challenger selection process had at last completed his responsibilities.
"We have concluded today two hundred and twenty three races. It was quite an historic performances, and I think it will go down in the Guinness records. Two hundred twenty three races, very successful for sure, selecting the two best yachts for the finals of the Louis Vuitton Cup, and the best challenger for the America's Cup 87." [5]
The America's Cup was entered into with much hope for the Kookaburra squad, who had raced intensely for months, beating out Australia IV and the Alan Bond syndicate with the help of a late round keel modification that finally gave Kookaburra III a clear edge in speed. The first race was in light airs, thought to be the Kookaburra's best conditions. The defenders hopes were dashed, as Stars & Stripes led throughout and was never seriously threatened. After this first race it was well apparent that Stars & Stripes 87 had the edge in sailing to windward, and held her own on the downwind legs. The reminder of the Cup races saw the return of the Fremantle Doctor, and with it an ever greater difference in boat speed. The Aussies gave a great effort, but they simply lacked the boat speed to stay with Stars & Stripes, which showed a consistent twenty second advantage on each beat to windward. She won the series four races to nil.[20]
Stars & Stripes 87 was not a light weather boat, nor was she as quick in stays as either Kiwi Magic or Kookaburra III, but in the heavier winds off Fremantle she could outpace any challenger in straight-line sailing to windward. She was equally able to foot for pace to escape a windward cover, or point higher to power away from an opponent on her windward quarter.[12] Though both Kiwi Magic in the Challenger Finals and Kookaburra III in the America’s Cup were sailed aggressively, the edge in boat speed held by Conner allowed him to overpower his competitors in a series of long drag races to the first windward mark. The challenger finalists and cup defenders were unable to engage him in a tactical race, where the slightly quicker Kiwis and Kookaburras held the advantage. Said Conner:
"It's a difficult problem when you have a boat like Stars and Stripes that won't play the match racing game. When we don't tack and we don't cover, it's pretty hard for them to be aggressive and exploit the fact that they do tack better and maneuver better."[21]
Conner believed his Stars & Stripes 87 held a 0.3 knot increase in up-wind speed over Liberty, the 12 Meter he had sailed in defense of the cup in 1983.[21] This represented a remarkable increase in boat speed, and enabled Conner and his team aboard Stars and Stripes 87 to re-capture the America’s Cup Trophy.[15]
Stars & Stripes 87 was the final 12 Meter to win the America's Cup,[22] and as such she represented the zenith in 12 Meter design.[11] She is currently berthed on St Maarten in the Caribbean, where she can be sailed for hire as a 12 Meter match race boat.[6]