Word: bertrande
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...from dockside, New Yorkers Tom Rich and Scott Vogel struggled 60 ft. above the deck to cut away the faulty strut. The damage was repaired 12 min. before the start, but Liberty still had to raise a jib, and its crew, according to Conner, was "close to exhaustion." Then Bertrand once again muffed the start; by the time he recovered he trailed Conner by 37 sec. Well behind, he shifted to starboard and ran for the far left side of the course...
...opening day, in 20-knot winds that were considered slightly favorable to Liberty, Skipper Bertrand got Australia II off to a lead of a few seconds and held it into the third leg as the boats headed off into Rhode Island Sound. But then Bertrand let the U.S.'s Conner sneak up on his tail. Liberty slipped in front and never let up. Before rounding the last mark to sail home against the wind, Conner surprised his opponent by jibing suddenly to change course. As Bertrand wheeled his boat to follow, part of Australia II's steering gear...
...winds were again around 20 knots for the second race. Just before the start, as Australia II jibed to block Liberty, a 24.6-knot gust smacked the challenger, snapping a pin that holds the mainsail to the halyard and dropping the sail 18 in. Despite this handicap, Bertrand beat the U.S. yacht on the first upwind leg by 50 sec., a remarkable margin that displayed his boat's inherent speed. Unable to match his opponent in tacking duels, Bertrand decided to go off in search of a breeze. Left alone, it was Conner who found the wind...
...left the score unchanged at U.S. 2, Australia 0. In very light winds Australia II simply wiped out Liberty. As the yachts rounded the last mark for the beat to the finish, Australia led by more than 5 min., a colossal margin in a race of 24.3 miles. Bertrand was sitting half a mile ahead of Conner when the wind died. There is a time limit of 5 hr. 15 min. on the race, which ran out, and the result did not count. That was bad luck for the Aussies, but their mooted victory came as a needed adrenaline shot...
...knots, while Australia II was the faster boat either below or above that range. For the fourth race the breeze was made to order for Liberty. And Dennis Conner, who is probably the world's finest 12-meter skipper, handled his boat masterfully. He won the start from Bertrand by 6 sec. and never let up, skillfully covering the Australian, repeatedly pouncing on the wind shifts he needed to carry him ahead. After two shifts on the first leg, Conner declared, "God works on Tuesdays." Bertrand admitted his error in losing the start: "It was a mistake...