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Born to Win: A Lifelong Struggle to Capture the America's Cup
The author, helmsman for the Australia II, recounts the 1983 America's Cup yachting match, and discusses the controversies and strategies of the race
- GenresBiography
385 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 4, 2007
HOLD-YOUR-BREATH READING
There's a saying in sailboat racing: nothing makes you look smarter than a fast boat. Yet John Bertrand and the crew of Australia II, despite having the demonstrably superior yacht, nearly failed to win the 1983 regatta that ended the longest winning streak in the history of sport.
Bertrand begins at the low point. Down three races to one in the best of seven series, Australia II is on her way out for the fifth race. One more loss and it's over.
What follows makes blow by blow, hold-your-breath reading. Bertrand opens with a major blunder. Australia II is over early - on the course before the starting signal - and has to go back and start correctly, thus handing the Americans and Dennis Conner a one minute advantage.
In match racing, such an error is almost always fatal. Once again, however, when you have the fast boat, mistakes tend not to be as costly. Eventually, Australia II makes up the lost time and sails to a wide margin of victory to remain alive in the series.
So, if they had the faster boat, how did Bertrand and crew manage to lose those three races? From the reading, I see two answers; in the "slow" boat, the American team sailed a series of unsurpassed magnificence, and the Australian team committed mistake after mistake. Race one - steering failure; race two - mainsail headboard broke; race five the major blunder described above. Fact is, from Bertrand's telling the charismatic Aussies were poorly organized in general. To complicate matters, syndicate owner Alan Bond's hatchet man Warren Jones seemed to enjoy putting the screws to Bertrand at every opportunity. Given these pressures, it's a miracle Bertrand could function on the water at all.
Born to Win stands out for its wonderful race descriptions and inside knowledge but sags when the author delves into the underlying personal issues - where maybe he sounds a little too self-serving. But what would you expect, it is his side of things he's telling.
Art Tirrell is an experienced racing sailor with a background in Lightnings, Lasers, and J-24s. His novel, "the Secret Ever Keeps" is set on and under the waters of Lake Ontario, and contains (according to one reviewer) "...simply the best underwater scenes I've ever read...". http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601...
There's a saying in sailboat racing: nothing makes you look smarter than a fast boat. Yet John Bertrand and the crew of Australia II, despite having the demonstrably superior yacht, nearly failed to win the 1983 regatta that ended the longest winning streak in the history of sport.
Bertrand begins at the low point. Down three races to one in the best of seven series, Australia II is on her way out for the fifth race. One more loss and it's over.
What follows makes blow by blow, hold-your-breath reading. Bertrand opens with a major blunder. Australia II is over early - on the course before the starting signal - and has to go back and start correctly, thus handing the Americans and Dennis Conner a one minute advantage.
In match racing, such an error is almost always fatal. Once again, however, when you have the fast boat, mistakes tend not to be as costly. Eventually, Australia II makes up the lost time and sails to a wide margin of victory to remain alive in the series.
So, if they had the faster boat, how did Bertrand and crew manage to lose those three races? From the reading, I see two answers; in the "slow" boat, the American team sailed a series of unsurpassed magnificence, and the Australian team committed mistake after mistake. Race one - steering failure; race two - mainsail headboard broke; race five the major blunder described above. Fact is, from Bertrand's telling the charismatic Aussies were poorly organized in general. To complicate matters, syndicate owner Alan Bond's hatchet man Warren Jones seemed to enjoy putting the screws to Bertrand at every opportunity. Given these pressures, it's a miracle Bertrand could function on the water at all.
Born to Win stands out for its wonderful race descriptions and inside knowledge but sags when the author delves into the underlying personal issues - where maybe he sounds a little too self-serving. But what would you expect, it is his side of things he's telling.
Art Tirrell is an experienced racing sailor with a background in Lightnings, Lasers, and J-24s. His novel, "the Secret Ever Keeps" is set on and under the waters of Lake Ontario, and contains (according to one reviewer) "...simply the best underwater scenes I've ever read...". http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1601...
November 7, 2019
Every moment of this book was drenched in drama: I absolutely loved it, and it's a must for sailing fans.
April 3, 2014
This is one of the luckiest used book finds I've ever had. John Bertrand was the skipper of the 12-meter racing yacht, Australia II, and the first foreigner to ever win the America's cup away from the Americans in 1983. As I suspect with many armchair America's Cup fans like me, this was the event that got me started. 1983 was the year much of the world outside of yachting became aware of the America's Cup competition.
This is the story of how he was key to that win. It's a fabulous read as Bertrand takes us through his early sailing successes and failures (he was involved in 3 previous losing challenges from Australia in 1970, 1974, and 1980) and his meticulous planning and training for the 1983 challenge.
Much of Bertrand's focus of the book (other than each of the 7 individual races that made up the 1983 series) is on his crew and the psychological aspect of their training. Although, he talks about the technology of the boat (the first competitor to use a "winged" keel), Bertrand makes a convincing argument that Australia II was not substantially faster then her competitors; that it was the tireless efforts of the sail cutters and the incredible focus of the crew that allowed them to win. I was very impressed with the detail that Bertrand shows to his crew. He talks about each of them individually, their personalities, their strengths and how each contributed to the team. He brings each of them alive and gets the reader inside their heads as much as his own. More than any other book I've read, this one really highlights the contributions each crew member makes to the whole team; both on and off the water. This was the first America's cup team that employed a sports psychologist to help the Aussies overcome the aura of the unbeatable Americans and convince themselves that they are the best in the world.
Finally, there is the inevitable comparison between Bertrand and his American counterpart, the legendary Dennis Conner. Whether it was real or not, the author plays up the "destiny" aspect of their competition (both being considered the finest match-racers of their generation, both being Bronze medal winners in the 1976 Montreal Olympics). As with the rest of the book, Bertrand has a (somewhat) complex view of Conner. He talks about Conner's ego and arrogance but also puts in perspective with himself (another self-admitted big ego) and the pressure Conner was under.
This is a book for any reader of sports memoirs, but especially for sailing enthusiasts.
Favorite Quotes
[sailing with Dennis Conner in the 1978, 5 years before the Australia II challenge]:
"I somehow felt an inevitability about our futures, sensing that we would become implacable enemies on the only mutual battleground available to us, the waters of Rhode Island Sound, each sailing a 12-Meter for the America's Cup. Dennis knew it too. ... One afternoon, very casually, almost too casually, he said to me, "John, I don't think the Australians are ever going to be competitive in the America's Cup until you are steering the boat".
[final race, final leg, Australia II in a tacking duel with Liberty and barely leading]:
But right now that big red son of a bitch [the American boat] is right behind us, and I can hear them shouting. I glance around and see that Liberty has about halved our lead. They are now within about 1 1/2 boat lengths, nipping at our heels. I can hear their winches going now as clearly as I can hear our own.
"Suddenly a voice from Liberty shouts, "We're getting closer, guys!" All the boys hear that American voice, but it is Chink who decides to reply. He swings around from his grinder, sweat pouring down his face, and bellows, "COME AND GET US! COME AND BLOODY GET US!"
[In New York with family after having won the cup]:
"Then we all walked down to the New York Yacht Club. I introduced myself to the doorman and told him I wanted to take my children and navigator to experience the enormous tradition that dwelled behind our victory. ... At last they asked us if we would like to walk down to the hallowed room where the America's Cup had stood for so many years. And there we saw the empty space. The carpet was worn where so many people had walked to examine the "Auld Mug" over the years. And now it was gone. I had taken it away. In the place where it had once rested in splendor, there was just a gap. It would soon have to be re-covered. Unaccountably, I felt embarrassed at the mess I had made of the carpet."
This is the story of how he was key to that win. It's a fabulous read as Bertrand takes us through his early sailing successes and failures (he was involved in 3 previous losing challenges from Australia in 1970, 1974, and 1980) and his meticulous planning and training for the 1983 challenge.
Much of Bertrand's focus of the book (other than each of the 7 individual races that made up the 1983 series) is on his crew and the psychological aspect of their training. Although, he talks about the technology of the boat (the first competitor to use a "winged" keel), Bertrand makes a convincing argument that Australia II was not substantially faster then her competitors; that it was the tireless efforts of the sail cutters and the incredible focus of the crew that allowed them to win. I was very impressed with the detail that Bertrand shows to his crew. He talks about each of them individually, their personalities, their strengths and how each contributed to the team. He brings each of them alive and gets the reader inside their heads as much as his own. More than any other book I've read, this one really highlights the contributions each crew member makes to the whole team; both on and off the water. This was the first America's cup team that employed a sports psychologist to help the Aussies overcome the aura of the unbeatable Americans and convince themselves that they are the best in the world.
Finally, there is the inevitable comparison between Bertrand and his American counterpart, the legendary Dennis Conner. Whether it was real or not, the author plays up the "destiny" aspect of their competition (both being considered the finest match-racers of their generation, both being Bronze medal winners in the 1976 Montreal Olympics). As with the rest of the book, Bertrand has a (somewhat) complex view of Conner. He talks about Conner's ego and arrogance but also puts in perspective with himself (another self-admitted big ego) and the pressure Conner was under.
This is a book for any reader of sports memoirs, but especially for sailing enthusiasts.
Favorite Quotes
[sailing with Dennis Conner in the 1978, 5 years before the Australia II challenge]:
"I somehow felt an inevitability about our futures, sensing that we would become implacable enemies on the only mutual battleground available to us, the waters of Rhode Island Sound, each sailing a 12-Meter for the America's Cup. Dennis knew it too. ... One afternoon, very casually, almost too casually, he said to me, "John, I don't think the Australians are ever going to be competitive in the America's Cup until you are steering the boat".
[final race, final leg, Australia II in a tacking duel with Liberty and barely leading]:
But right now that big red son of a bitch [the American boat] is right behind us, and I can hear them shouting. I glance around and see that Liberty has about halved our lead. They are now within about 1 1/2 boat lengths, nipping at our heels. I can hear their winches going now as clearly as I can hear our own.
"Suddenly a voice from Liberty shouts, "We're getting closer, guys!" All the boys hear that American voice, but it is Chink who decides to reply. He swings around from his grinder, sweat pouring down his face, and bellows, "COME AND GET US! COME AND BLOODY GET US!"
[In New York with family after having won the cup]:
"Then we all walked down to the New York Yacht Club. I introduced myself to the doorman and told him I wanted to take my children and navigator to experience the enormous tradition that dwelled behind our victory. ... At last they asked us if we would like to walk down to the hallowed room where the America's Cup had stood for so many years. And there we saw the empty space. The carpet was worn where so many people had walked to examine the "Auld Mug" over the years. And now it was gone. I had taken it away. In the place where it had once rested in splendor, there was just a gap. It would soon have to be re-covered. Unaccountably, I felt embarrassed at the mess I had made of the carpet."
May 18, 2008
This is the story of the Last America's Cup race in Newport. This was a wild time because the Americans had never lost before. John Bertrand skippered the Australian boat, famous for its shrouded "winged keel" design.
Much has been said that the faster boat won and that is true. But Bertrand did a great job as Skipper and deserves equal credit. If you know sailing, and can follow the terms, you'll find this a well-written account.
Much has been said that the faster boat won and that is true. But Bertrand did a great job as Skipper and deserves equal credit. If you know sailing, and can follow the terms, you'll find this a well-written account.
March 25, 2021
I loved reading this book. Excellent story telling, and what a story it is!
Favourite book.
Whenever I return to Australia, I did it out of the box in the cupboard and read it before going to sleep.
One of the crew members was my Phys-ed teacher "splash".
Favourite book.
Whenever I return to Australia, I did it out of the box in the cupboard and read it before going to sleep.
One of the crew members was my Phys-ed teacher "splash".
December 12, 2009
the best book about sailing i ever read... a must read for anyone who races! i love it and have recommended it more than any other book i have ever read
Read
April 26, 2015A reread, lost my copy found it at a 2nd hand book store. Love this book full of insight and thought.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews