1987

Excerpt from THE ADMIRAL'S CUP by Bob Fisher

Eh' is a key word in the Kiwi vocabulary. Its one syllable and two letters are full of meaning and can be used in every conceivable circumstance. So when Brad Butterworth muttered 'We won, didn't we, eh?' from behind mirrored sunglasses and underneath a baseball cap, you knew he was over the moon. For 1987 was the year when the New Zealanders achieved what they had long threatened since their firs challenge in 1971; the double - the Cup and the top-boat slot with Propaganda, sailed by 'Billy' Butterworth and his boys.

Their effort was uncommonly like the German bids of 1983 and 1985 - a home grown-effort based around a small group who had all the right skills. New Zealand yachting was, and remains, an illusion. Although in the 1980s the Kiwis won virtually everything worth winning, t his giant in sailing is actually a country of only three million people. And while the Kiwis are boat-crazy, having one of the highest per capita ownership rates in the world, there is scarcely any grand-prix IOR sailing at home to speak of.

On a roller-coaster of success, the Kiwis had won the World Youth Championships, five medals at the Los Angeles Olympics, had made the Whitbread Round the World Race their own, won the Kenwood Cup and made an indecently impressive debut at the America's Cup.

In 1987 at Cowes, they beat the Germans and twelve other nations at their own game. They came with the best-prepared team; their boats had excellent speed and the sailors were good enough to sail a textbook series which minimised risk and maximised points. Only Propaganda seemed to have an extra cutting edge with her phenomenal upwind form.

Don Booke, the team manager from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, was not exaggerating when he said: 'We believe we won the cup twenty-four months ago. We sat down and got contributions from everyone who had been involved in the Champagne Mumm Admiral's Cup and had monthly meetings at the Squadron. Our big job was to change the triallists from enemies into friends.'

So the Kiwis put in a full twenty days practice in Auckland's Waitemata Harbour before coming to the UK, and then had another twelve days sailing in British waters, with video analysis to bring crew technique and sail shapes to race-readiness. They even sailed a practice overnight race in the Channel, something few teams had contemplated before. The squad were coached by Californian Rod Davis, who by then had put his roots down in New Zealand through marrying the sister of ace sail designer Tom Schnackenberg. He prepared their programme, advised on sails, suggested new gear and moved crew around. John Clinton, the sail designer for the KZ-7 12-metre, came over to England to re-cut the sails, though Rick Dodson thought the Kiwis had anticipated British conditions pretty well. Dodson, who had been Swuzzlebubble's mainsheet trimmer when she'd been top AC boat in 19081, was now skippering Mal Canning's Laurie Davidson-designed one tonner Goldcorp (ex Mad Max).

No mean sailor himself, with five America's Cups and an Olympic gold and silver medal to his name, Davis was worth listening to. 'I am the catalyst to help them figure out how to do things. You win the AC by putting three boats in the top ten or twelve places in every race. You do that by not breaking anything, by not doing anything stupid and by staying outside the protest room - no bogies, no double bogies, no sand traps!' Admittedly, Davis had good ingredients with which to work. Goldcorp had been re-vamped stripped out by Dodson and Davidson, to be turned into the winner of the New Zealand trials.

RESULTS

Country	Boat Name	Owner	Total (Overall Points)	Over Total (By Country)
New Zealand	Goldcorp	M Canning	425
	Propaganda	A Burr	527
	Kiwi	P Walker	413	1365
Britain	Jamarella	A Gray	497
	Juno	M Peacock	391
	Indulgence	G Walker	393	1281
Australia	Swan Premium I	L Abrahams	349
	Swan Premium II	P Kurts	365
	Swan Premium III	G Appleby	391	1105
Ireland	Jameson Whiskey	B Butkus	275
	Turkish Delight	H Bezman	336
	Irish Independent Pelt	S Fein	427	1038
Germany	Container	U Schutz	388
	Saudade	A Bull	344
	Diva	P Westphal-Langloh	270	1002
USA	Sidewinder	R Short	452
	Blue Yankee	R Towse	221
	Insatiable	B Krehbiel/D Tank	299	972
Denmark	Original Beckmann Plefjemer	P Jespersen	457
	Andelsbanken	V Greulich	261
	Stockbroker Lief	J Host	229	947
France	Xeryus	B Trouble	281
	Centurion-Musclor	J P Dick	347
	Corum	Beneteau	298	926
Austria	Pinta	W Illburck	387
	Ritec	T Vinke	80
	I-Punkt	T Friese	292	759
Spain	Anquin's Too	A Quinteiro	157
	Mayurca	G Cryns	293
	Vento	M Fernandez	282	759
Netherlands	Mean Machine	P de Ridder	239
	Caiman	G Jeelof	216
	Pro-Motion V	B Dolk	188	640
Italy	Merope	Marine Militare	102
	Marisa-Konica	U Lucarelli	255
	Mandrake-Krizia	G Carriero	274	631
Sweden	Royal Blue	R Gustafson	202
	Civic	J Norman	172
	Eurocard	S Ball	120	494
Belgium	CGI	TFV/B Decre	237
	REF Val Maubuee	J Dumon	28
	Port du Crouesty	Port du Crouesty	76	341