Nautical fans are in for a treat in Britain, as the annual Cowes regatta is under way. And the highlight of the week was the America’s Cup Jubilee, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the world-famous race. Vessels of all shapes and sizes took part in a drama-packed dash around the Isle of Wight on Tuesday, including previous winners of this most prestigious of sailing challenges.
The rich and the famous came in their droves to watch Tuesday’s re-enactment of the 1851 race. The Aga Khan, Giovanni Agnelli and Robert Miller all turned out in their yachts to wave the boats home, and other illustrious visitors to the Solent included Giorgio Armani, Prince Henrik of Denmark, the Duke of Edinburgh and King Juan Carlos of Spain.
Over 200 boats took part in the circuit, a good sight more than the original competition, when just 16 English vessels pitted themselves against a solitary American craft - which won. In fact, the New York Yacht Club carried off the trophy in every one of the 22 finals of the competition’s first 132 years.
The US stranglehold on the America’s Cup was finally broken in 1983. Australia’s Royal Perth Yacht Club’s Australia II, financed by now-disgraced tycoon Alan Bond, won the cup that year, breathing new life into the race. And although the yacht club may have banned him from the jubilee celebrations, the boat’s crew refused to sail for Britain without him on board.
Two decades on, the protagonists have changed – although America reasserted its dominance within a decade of Australia’s victory, it was pipped in the last two races by Kiwi challenger Team New Zealand. The two boats to watch now are Luna Rossa, an Italian entry owned by Patrizio Bertorelli, the man behind Italian fashion label Prada, and the current holder of the cup, the English entry GBR 52, helmed by Ian Walker, a double Olympic silver medallist.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
