Her 90-ft. aluminum mast unstepped, her Honduras mahogany hull swathed in protective padding, Australia's sleek, 12-meter challenger for the America's Cup was ready last week for her voyage to the U.S.as deck cargo aboard the freighter City of Sydney. For two months, Gretel (pronounced Great-ul) had been testing herself against her American trial horse, Vim, and stories about her speed were flying like loose sheets in a gale. Though the Aussies carefully tut-tutted the report, one story had it that Gretel had beaten Vim by 16 minutes over a 16-mile coursea fantastic margin....
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