|
''Gretel II'' is an Australian International 12-metre class racing yacht built for the America's Cup challenge series in 1970. She was designed by Alan Payne and built by W.H. Barnett for Australian media tycoon Sir Frank Packer. Packer had first challenged for the America's Cup in 1962 with the yacht ''Gretel'', which was named after his wife. ''Gretel'' was competitive but lost that challenge 4–1. ==1970 America's Cup== In 1970 Packer returned to Newport, Rhode Island to challenge again for the 'Auld Mug' with his new 12-metre yacht ''Gretel II'' representing the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. This yacht was the last of the wooden-hulled America's Cup yachts.〔'A star reborn' - Sails (magazine) - October 2011 - Author: Peter Campbell〕 ''Gretel II'' was skippered by Jim Hardy with Martin Visser as tactician and starting helmsman and Bill Fesq as navigator. The crew included future Olympic Star class gold medallists David Forbes and John Anderson and future America's Cup–winning skipper John Bertrand as port trimmer.〔'Born to win: a lifelong struggle to capture the America's Cup' - John Bertrand and Patrick Robinson (Hearst Marine Books, 1985) - pg 271〕 After defeating Baron Marcel Bich’s ''France'' in the challenger selection series 4–0, the Australian yacht took on the American defender ''Intrepid'', skippered by Bill Ficker in a best-of-seven race series. ''Intrepid'' won the first race when ''Gretel II''s David Forbes was swept overboard but managed to hang on to the sail and scramble back on board.〔'About the America's Cup' - Vernon Hines – (Bookcliff Publishing Company, 1986) – pg 82〕 Then in a controversial second race, ''Gretel II'' crossed the finish line 1 minute 7 seconds ahead, but due to a collision at the start the Australian challenger was disqualified. ''Intrepid'' won the third race but ''Gretel II'' recorded a win in the fourth race by a margin of 1 minute 2 seconds. ''Intrepid'' then took out the fifth race to win the America's Cup 4–1. Many observers, such as 1977 America's Cup winning skipper Ted Turner, believed that ''Gretel II'' was a faster boat than ''Intrepid'' but that the tactical cunning of Bill Ficker and Steve Van Dyke and the performance of the American crew were the deciding factors in the Americans' victory.〔'The America's Cup Yachts: The Rhode Island Connection' - Richard V. Simpson - (Arcadia Publishing, 1999) - pg 119〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gretel II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|