Fast Dame on the Make

For sheer futility, frustration and fiscal irresponsibility, nothing in sport can match the attempts of non-American sailors to capture the America's Cup--the $500 trophy that has remained in U.S. hands for 115 years. The British have tried 16 times, the Canadians twice, the Australians once--all have failed. Hope still springs, as long as somebody springs for the price (upwards of $300,000) of a sleek 12-meter yacht. Next September Australia will go again. After trial races in Sydney last week, Top Skipper Jock Sturrock, 51, was eager to boast that "we've got a boat that can win the America's Cup."

The Aussies actually have two boats: Sir Frank Packer's four-year-old Gretel and Dame Pattie, a new twelve that is owned by a Melbourne syndicate headed by Emil Christensen, 71, a food processor. Gretel is not the same boat that lost to the U.S.'s Weatherly in 1962. Three feet have been lopped off her stern; her cockpit, deck equipment and keel have all been greatly altered. To win the challenger's role, however, Gretel will have to beat Dame Pattie--and that may be quite a chore.

Not Yet Near the Water. Designer Warwick Hood devoted twelve months to tank tests before he drew the lines of Dame Pattie's 69-ft. 2-in. hull, and insiders contend that he has achieved a "major breakthrough" in hull design. Built at a cost of $500,000, the Dame has a radical rudder (broad at the top, tapering sharply at the foot) and a 92-ft. aluminum mast that is built in sections for extra flexibility--to keep the mainsail flatter while beating to windward. She also has Jock Sturrock at the helm. In unofficial competition with Gretel, Dame Pattie has been spectacular. Last week Skipper Sturrock spotted Gretel a full minute, was ahead by 6 min. 45 sec. after 15 miles.

In a testing sense, the Aussies are well ahead of the Americans, who now have no 12-meter boats in the water, although they have nominated two possible cup defenders. One, the 1958 winner Columbia, is undergoing "extreme alterations" in San Diego. The other: Intrepid, which will be skippered by Emil ("Bus") Mosbacher, the victorious pilot of 1962, will not be launched until April. Intrepid was designed by Olin Stephens, creator of Columbia and of the 1964 winner Constellation. In a pinch, Constellation might get a second call. Though she is now owned by The Netherlands' Pierre Goemans, she has been leased as a "trial horse" by the Intrepid syndicate, and can thus fly the U.S. flag. The Aussies may have the jump on U.S. yachtsmen, but it is still a long reach from here to September.

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