America’s Cup Stays in S.D. as Koch Bests Italy : Sailing: U.S. maintains dominance of yachting’s top prize with America 3 win over Il Moro di Venezia.
SAN DIEGO — America 3 defeated Italy’s Il Moro di Venezia by 44 seconds Saturday to successfully defend America’s Cup and maintain possession for the San Diego Yacht Club.
Bill Koch’s boat led on all eight legs Saturday en route to a 4-1 win in the best-of-seven series.
America 3’s victory continued U.S. dominance of yachting’s greatest prize, first earned by its namesake, the yacht America, in 1851. The United States has won 27 of 28 America’s Cup regattas and 89 out of 101 races.
“We’re proud to be American,” said Koch, 52, who is from West Palm Beach, Fla. “This was a triumph for American technology and American teamwork.”
Il Moro salvaged only one race in this final series, a three-second victory last Sunday in the closest race in the history of the Cup. America 3 won the first race by 30 seconds, the third by 1:58 and the fourth by 1:04 before wrapping it up Saturday. America 3’s average margin, 50.6 seconds, was the smallest in Cup history.
“We’re disappointed we didn’t win,” Il Moro skipper Paul Cayard said, “but I thought we were beaten by the better boat and the better crew. It’s not like it came down to the seventh race. It was pretty convincing.”
The race concluded four months of racing, America 3 defeating San Diegan Dennis Conner in the defender finals and Il Moro defeating New Zealand in the challenger finals. Challengers from France, Japan, Australia, Spain and Sweden were defeated during the lengthy trials process.
Conner had brought the America’s Cup to San Diego in 1987 when he defeated Kookaburra off Fremantle, Australia, keeping the Cup in 1988 in the controversial “catamaran” defense against New Zealand. He had suffered the only U.S. loss when he was defeated by Australia II off Newport, R.I., in 1983.
The Cup was thought to be in peril this time as well, since there were multiple challengers and only Koch and Conner among the defenders.
However, Koch’s America 3 got the best of the Italians in all but that narrow loss last Sunday.
Satu race was a microcosm of the series, as far as Americac,63 victories were concerned. After an even start, Buddy Melges skippered the U.S. boat to an 18-second lead at the first mark and it was never any closer than that. Koch, the president of Oxbow Corp., shared the helm with Melges. A third helmsman, Dave Dellenbaugh, handled pre-start maneuvers.
On the last downwind leg to the finish, with Cayard desperately trying to position Il Moro for a last-ditch challenge, Koch was heard on the on-board microphone to say: “We’re slipping away from him.”
As America 3 crossed the finish line to a blaring greeting from a spectator fleet estimated at 800 boats, Koch and Melges symbolically tugged at the helm. A quest that began only eight years ago for Koch had ended successfully. Melges, an Olympic gold medalist in 1972, merely added to his trophy case.
America 3’s first stop was at the San Diego Yacht Club, the trustee of the Cup. A fireboat sprayed an arc of water in its wake and chase boats served as tugs, escorting the victorious yacht past spectator boats into the SDYC basin.
As the boat neared the club, crew members started jumping from its spreaders into the water. Others followed from the deck and soon the water was filled with America 3 sailors, including Koch, swimming ashore to where an overflow crowd--and the America’s Cup--awaited.
To chants of “U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.,” Koch and his crew soaked up the excitement of the moment.
Lacking neither athleticism nor stamina, Koch and Co. swam back to the boat and continued the triumphant voyage to their compound. En route, they accepted congratulations from Il Moro as the crews exchanged shirts, Il Moro’s sailors getting the wet ones.
Not long after the race ended, the 1995 campaign, which will again be in San Diego as a result of America 3’s victory, began. The Spanish and French syndicates who competed in this regatta submitted the first official challenges to the SDYC.
