Australia II

Australia II was designed by Ben Lexcen, built by Steve Ward, owned by Alan Bond and skippered by John Bertrand.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-22 |title=One America’s Cup was enough for John Bertrand |url=https://www.afr.com/companies/sport/one-america-s-cup-was-enough-for-john-bertrand-20230908-p5e34c |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=Australian Financial Review|language=en}} Lexcen's Australia II design featured a reduced waterline length and a short chord winged keel which gave the boat a significant advantage in manoeuvrability and heeling moment (lower ballast centre of gravity) but it was a significant disadvantage in choppy seas. The boat was also very quick in stays.{{cite news |first=Dave |last=Anderson |title=Sports of the Times; Yachting's Crocodile Dundee |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/05/sports/sports-of-the-times-yachting-s-crocodile-dundee.html?pagewanted=all |department=Sports |newspaper=New York Times |date=5 May 1988}} The winged keel was a major design advance, and its legality was questioned by the New York Yacht Club. During the summer of 1983, as selection trials took place for the Cup defence that autumn, the New York Yacht Club challenged the legality of the keel design. The controversy was decided in Australia II{{'}}s favour.

Australia II sported a number of other innovative features that contributed to her success, including radical vertical sail designs, all-kevlar running rigging and a lightweight carbon fibre boom.{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mge6wAfUMtsC&pg=PA70 |title=America's Cup 1983: Sailmaker's Laboratory |magazine=Yachting |volume=155 |issue=2 |pages=66–70 |date=February 1984}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/04/sports/liberty-sees-no-need-for-winged-keel.html |title=LIBERTY SEES NO NEED FOR WINGED KEEL |last=Fishman |first=Joanne A. |date=4 September 1983 |work=New York Times |access-date=24 September 2018 |language=en }}

File:Australia-II-keel (1).jpg

In 2009, more than two decades after Ben Lexcen's death, Dutch naval architect Peter van Oossanen claimed that the winged keel was actually designed by him and his group of Dutch designers, and not Lexcen.{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/winged-keel-not-lexcens-design-dutch-architect-claims-20091013-gvnr.html |location=Melbourne, Australia |work=The Age |title=Winged keel not Lexcen's design, Dutch architect claims |first=Rick |last=Feneley |date=14 October 2009}}{{cite web |url=http://www.proboat.com/winged-victory.html |title=Winged Victory |last=Spurr |first=Dan |date=October–November 2009 |work=Professional Boatbuilder |issue=121}} If true, this would have been reason to disqualify Australia II, since the rules then stated that challenging yachts were to be designed only by citizens of the nations they represented.

The controversy arose due to Cup rules allowing designers to use model basins for testing that were not located in the challenging country. Model testing was performed in the Netherlands and Peter van Oossanen and another Dutch engineer, Joop Sloof, performed measurements and analyses related to evaluation of winged keel designs.

The suggestion that the vessel was not designed by Australians has been refuted by both Bertrand and project manager John Longley.{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/14/2713480.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015211823/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/14/2713480.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 October 2009 |title=Dutchman Claims Australia II Keel Design |last=Donald |first=Timothy |date=14 October 2009 |work=ABC News}}{{cite web|url=http://archive.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1019/ |title=Scuttlebutt News |last=Longley |first=John |date=19 October 2009 |website=Scuttlebutt News |type=letter |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026060758/http://archive.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1019/ |archive-date=26 October 2013 }}{{unreliable source? |date=June 2013}} Furthermore, it is well established that Lexcen had been experimenting with wing adaptations to the undersurface appendages of boats before, including his 1958 skiffs Taipan and Venom, although in the latter application they were not determined to be effective and not further adopted.

In 1983, Lexcen commented on the design issue: "I have in mind to admit it all to the New York Yacht Club that I really owe the secret of the design to a Greek guy who helped me out and was invaluable. He's been dead for 2000 years. Bloody Archimedes..."{{cite web |url=http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/news/09/1002b/ |title=Ben Lexcen: A crazy, lovable rogue |last=Robinson |first=Blue |date=2 October 2009 |orig-year=2007 |work=Scuttlebutt News}}

In May 2024 after the release of the Netflix TV documentary 'Untold: The Race Of The Century' (2020), the Journal of Science Engineering Ethics published a paper claiming that Ben Lexcen should not have been named as the inventor or designer.{{Cite journal |last=van Oossanen |first=Peter |last2=Peterson |first2=Martin |date=2024-05-08 |title=Australia II: A Case Study in Engineering Ethics |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-024-00477-1 |journal=Science and Engineering Ethics |language=en |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=16 |doi=10.1007/s11948-024-00477-1 |issn=1471-5546 |pmc=11078783 |pmid=38717564}}

{{Main|1983 Louis Vuitton Cup}}

Australia II dominated the 1983 Louis Vuitton Cup before defeating Azzurra in the semi-finals and Victory {{'}}83 in the final to win the trophy and earn the right to challenge for the America's Cup.{{cite news |first= Dave |last= Anderson |title= SPORTS OF THE TIMES; Yachting's Crocodile Dundee |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/05/sports/sports-of-the-times-yachting-s-crocodile-dundee.html?pagewanted=all |work= Sports |publisher= New York Times |date= 5 May 1988 |access-date= 13 March 2008 }}

{{Main|1983 America's Cup}}

Australia II, bearing sail number KA6,{{Cite web |url=https://northsails.com/sailing/en/2017/05/1983-a-wing-for-the-books |title=1983 – A 'Wing' for the Books |date=19 May 2017 |website=North Sails |language=en-US |access-date=24 September 2018 }} represented the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Australia in its September 1983 challenge for the America's Cup.{{Cite web |url=http://www.rpyc.com.au/our-club/our-history/americas-cup/ |title=America's Cup |website=Royal Perth Yacht Club |language=en-US |access-date=24 September 2018 }} The defender, the New York Yacht Club, had held the cup since 1851,{{Cite web |url=https://www.americascup.com/en/defenders-and-challengers |title=Defenders & Challengers 1851–2017 |website=America's Cup |language=en-US |access-date=24 September 2018 }} dominating challengers and sustaining the longest winning streak in sport.{{Cite web |url=http://www.nma.gov.au/online_features/defining_moments/australian-sport/moments/americas-cup |title=Longest winning streak in sporting history – broken |work=Defining Moments in Australian History |publisher=National Museum of Australia |language=en-us |access-date=24 September 2018 }}

Australia II, skippered by John Bertrand, faced Dennis Conner sailing the 12-metre Liberty in the ocean off Newport, Rhode Island. Australia II came from behind to prevail 4 races to 3. The victory on 26 September 1983{{cite web |url=http://32nd.americascup.com/en/acclopaedia/boatdestiny/index.php?idIndex=0&idContent=1851|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701114442/http://32nd.americascup.com/en/acclopaedia/boatdestiny/index.php?idIndex=0&idContent=1851|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 July 2012|title=1983 – Australia II – KA 6|website=Ac-clopedia|publisher=AC Management S.A. Sucursal en España |date=25 September 2011 |access-date=24 April 2012}} was a landmark event for the nation of Australia, not to mention the Royal Perth Yacht Club. The achievement was underscored when Australia II was awarded the ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year for 1983.{{Cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/abcsports/wwos/athletesoftheyear.html |title=Wide World of Sports Athletes of the Year |website=ESPN |access-date=24 September 2018 }}

The crew of Australia II for the America's Cup races was John Bertrand (skipper), Will Baillieu, Colin Beashel, Rob Brown, Peter Costello, Damian Fewster, James Hardy (alternate helm), Ken Judge, Skip Lissiman, John Longley, Scott McAllister, Brian Richardson, Phil Smidmore, Grant Simmer, and Hugh Treharne.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/winged-keel-and-a-prayer/news-story/bef060756ed151586954e4cfdb816f13 |title=Winged keel and a prayer |last=King |first=Simon |date=26 September 2013 |work=The Australian |access-date=24 September 2018 }}{{Cite web |last=Naglazas |first=Mark |date=2023-09-21 |title=Bondy the bum: Why the crew of Australia II missed out on going to the White House |url=https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/bondy-the-bum-why-the-crew-of-australia-ii-missed-out-on-going-to-the-white-house-20230915-p5e50j.html |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=WAtoday |language=en}} Beashel was an Olympic medal winning sailor who competed at six Olympic games.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sail-world.com/32858 |title=Historic day for Colin Beashel and Alruth |last=Campbell |first=Peter |date=22 April 2007 |website=Sail World |access-date=24 September 2018 }} Richardson was a dual-Olympian oarsman who had stroked the Australian men's eight at the Moscow 1980 Olympics{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldrowing.com/athletes/athlete/17753/results/richardson-brian |title=Brian Richardson |website=World Rowing |access-date=24 September 2018 }} and Baillieu had also rowed for Australia, in a coxed four at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The Boxing Kangaroo was the official mascot of the Australia II effort.

The win was received with much enthusiasm in Australia, with the Men at Work song "Down Under" becoming the official anthem for the crew.{{Cite web |url=https://www.readex.com/blog/we-come-land-down-under-australia%E2%80%99s-thrilling-victory-1983-america%E2%80%99s-cup |title=We Come from a Land Down Under: Australia's Thrilling Victory in the 1983 America's Cup |last=Paolacci |first=Louise |date=12 September 2013 |website=Readex |language=en |access-date=24 September 2018 |publisher=NewsBank}}

In the mid-1980s, Australia II was sold by Alan Bond to the Australian government.{{cite news |title=Go west: Australia II heads for home |date=27 October 2000 |work=Sydney Morning Herald |page=3}} She was lent to the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney for display in 1991. In 2000, Australia II was removed from the National Maritime Museum and transferred to the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle. For the 150th anniversary celebrations of the America's Cup in 2001, she was removed from the museum and shipped to the Isle of Wight, sailing with the original crew for several days of commemorative regattas.{{cite news|last=McCormick|first=Herb|title=THE BOATING REPORT; Past and Present Toast America's Cup Together|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/19/sports/the-boating-report-past-and-present-toast-america-s-cup-together.html|access-date=10 February 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=19 August 2001}} Australia II was returned to the Western Australian Maritime Museum, where she is on permanent display.{{Cite web|url=https://museum.wa.gov.au/museums/maritime/tin-canoe-australia-ii-gallery|title=Tin Canoe to Australia II Gallery|website=WA Maritime Museum|access-date=2020-12-04}}

In 2017, the Team of Australia II were among the inaugural inductees to the Australian Sailing Hall of Fame.{{Cite web|url=https://sailinghalloffame.org.au/inductee/the-team-of-australia-ii/|title=The Team of Australia II|website=Australian Sailing Hall of Fame|access-date=2019-10-21}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Schmitt, Hugh. (1987) Australia II – details on the housing of the yacht The West Australian 28 May 1987, p. 16a-c b

{{Commons category|Australia II (ship, 1982)}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707134121/http://33rd.americascup.com/en/contexte/que-sont-ils-devenus/index.php?idIndex=25&idContent=680 33rd America's Cup: Where are they now: Australia II KA 6]

{{America's Cup Yachts}}

{{America'sCup}}

{{Australian 12-metre class yachts}}

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Category:America's Cup challengers

Category:Individual sailing vessels

Category:12-metre class yachts

Category:Sailing in Western Australia

Category:Ships of Western Australia

Category:Museum ships in Australia

Category:Ships preserved in museums

Category:Tourist attractions in Western Australia

Category:Sailing yachts designed by Ben Lexcen

Category:1980s sailing yachts

Category:Sailing yachts built in Australia

Category:Louis Vuitton Cup yachts

Category:1983 America's Cup

Category:1982 ships