1988 America's Cup
Defender  United States
|
|
|---|---|
| Defender club: |
San Diego Yacht Club 
|
| Yacht: | Stars & Stripes H3 |
Challenger  New Zealand
|
|
| Challenger club: | Mercury Bay Boating Club |
| Yacht: | KZ-1 |
| Competition | |
| Location: | San Diego, United States |
| Dates: | September 7, 1988– September 9, 1988 |
| Rule: | Deed of Gift |
| Winner: | San Diego Yacht Club |
| Score: | 2–0 |
The 1988 America's Cup was the 27th America's Cup regatta, and was contested between the defender, San Diego Yacht Club represented by Stars & Stripes H3, and the challenger, the Mercury Bay Boating Club represented by New Zealand Challenge's KZ-1. Run under strict Deed of Gift rules, the regatta was won by the San Diego Yacht club, two races to none.
The 1988 America's Cup was the first hostile Deed of Gift challenge. Dennis Conner had won the America's Cup for the San Diego Yacht Club on 4 February 1987 at the 1987 America's Cup. In July, New Zealand banker Michael Fay went to the San Diego Yacht Club and issued a Notice of Challenge from the Mercury Bay Boating Club of New Zealand, which was based on a strict reading of the Deed of Gift. The Fay challenge stipulated that the boats to be sailed would be defined only by the details of the Deed, namely single masted yachts no more than 90 feet (27 m) at the waterline and that the race would be held the following year in 1988. He proposed to bring a 90-foot racing yacht for his challenge boat.
The San Diego Yacht Club, who wanted to continue running the Cup regatta in 12-metre class yachts, initially rejected Fay's challenge out of hand. Fay then took the dispute to the New York State Supreme Court, which on 25 November 1987 declared the challenge valid and instructed the San Diego Yacht Club to meet the challenge on the water, brushing aside the twenty-one 12 Meter syndicates that had declared their intention of racing in a 1991 America's Cup regatta.
The unconventional challenge was met with an unconventional response. As the challenge used the original Deed of Gift as its basis, there were no explicit class or design requirements other than that the boat was to be 90 feet (27 m) or less at the waterline if it had one mast. Thus the San Diego Yacht Club and the Sail America Foundation chose the assuredly faster multi-hull design.
...
Wikipedia