Word: gretel
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
During its 119-year history, the America's Cup challenge has been spectacularly one-sided. Last week, though the U.S. yacht Intrepid held a 3-1 lead over Australia's Gretel II on the scoreboard, the action on the water was the closest, most hard fought in years. Plagued by fog, riddled with protests and jolted by a collision, the best-of-seven series was also one of the most bizarre and controversial in Cup annals. Said the Sydney Sun: "The name of the race committee boat sums up the whole shebang-Incredible...
...controversy was unfortunate if only because it tended to obscure the fact that Gretel II was the most formidable foreign challenger since the Cup switched from giant J-class boats to 12-meter sloops in 1958. When Intrepid scored her easy victory over Valiant in the U.S. trials a month ago, it was generally conceded that she had all but clinched the Cup. In 20 previous attempts, few challengers had even come close to wresting the trophy from America, and the preliminaries off Newport gave no indication that this year's races would break any precedents. The Aussies, scuttled...
...confidence is what it takes to defeat the Australian challenger Gretel II when the America's Cup begins this week, Brit Chance obviously has enough to spare. Indeed, some old salts find him downright arrogant. Defeating Valiant was one thing, they say, but criticizing the boat's designer. Olin Stephens, 62, the man who practically invented the 12-meter sloop, is akin to lèse-majesté. But Chance isn't listening; he is too busy explaining why Stephens, after designing three of the last four Cup winners, was all but swamped by the new Intrepid...
...Bich arrived in Newport last June, he had spent upwards of $2,000,000. The only thing lacking was what money could not buy-experience. That was something the Australians had in abundance. Sir Frank Packer and Designer Alan Payne had been the 1962 challengers and, though they lost, Gretel I did win a race from the Americans. This time they were on hand with an obviously much improved Gretel II and a crew of towering hearties headed by Veteran Blue-water Skipper James Hardy...
Nevertheless, at the start of the best four-out-of-seven series, it seemed as if France might give Gretel II a real run for her money. In the first two races in light, fluky airs, France stood right up to the Australian boat and at times even pointed higher into the wind. Bich's crews were sharp and in both cases challenged closely until the final stages, when the Australians went on to win. But then in the third race, Gretel II's superiority-and that of her crew-became more marked. The Aussies...