Keepers of the Cup

Newport's Cameo Cafe was awash with wassailing sailors. Broken beer glasses littered the floor, and a steady stream of fresh pitchers was passed precariously back over the heads of the yelling, singing crowd. Atop the bar, the most incongruous chorus line in Newport memory clumped groggily to the strains of Waltzing Matilda, with Sir Frank Packer, the doughty "Big Daddy" whose money built Australia's Gretel, in the lead. Weatherly crewmen, hugging their Aussie counterparts, poured drinks down their necks with fraternal abandon. Just as a huge mirror crashed from the wall, the police barged in to urge the celebrating yachtsmen out into the streets and on to less public premises.

The occasion for this beery bedlam was the end of the 18th America's Cup competition. Once more, as it has for 111 years, the battered silver trophy remained securely in the U.S. Going into the week with a 3-to-1 edge, the U.S.'s brilliant Bus Mosbacher swiftly closed out the best 4-of-7 series. In the kind of breezy (10 to 17 knots) but not blowy day that Weatherly likes best, he beat Gretel's Jock Sturrock to the start, soon had a healthy lead and increased it with every mark of the 24-mile, windward-leeward course. The game Aussie skipper hounded Mosbacher like a hound after a fox (cracked one spectator: "Sturrock ought to know how to spell Weatherly by now; he's seen the name on her stern enough"), but at the finish a wide 3 min. 40 sec. and half a mile of open water separated the defender from the challenger.

As Gretel finally sailed across the line, her crew hoisted a wry salute to Mosbacher and Weatherly. Up ran their checkered flag, meaning "I am not prepared to race tomorrow." The Aussies had already done, a good bit of sailing. In their first attempt at building a 12-meter yacht, they designed a boat that in some ways was faster than the U.S.'s best. With out much experience, either in the class or in U.S. waters, Sturrock sailed her well enough to win one race, lose another by the barest of 26-sec. margins. As Sturrock said: "The best bloke won." But Newport had cheers enough for everyone, and as the Australians prepared to take Gretel home for more practice, they left little doubt that they would be back.

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