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Pounding around Gage Roads in 25-ton yachts is more than just physically punishing. It is perilous. The blinding glare of the sun and the continual shower of salt spray are so forceful that both skippers have had serious trouble with their eyes. Conner was forced to consult a Perth specialist. Says ( Murray: "In the early races I was coming in every day with double vision. It's like having a saltwater hose going flat out into your face." Murray and crew now wear sunglasses, which must constantly be cleared of caked salt with squeeze bottles of fresh water. Kookaburra Mainsheet Trimmer Peter Gilmour, known as "Crash" for his aggressive tactics as Murray's starting helmsman, sometimes wears an industrial dust mask to protect his face from sunburns and windburns.
Boat design has been critical in Fremantle. Murray and his co-designer, John Swarbrick, relied on hours of tank-testing models with Dutch Wizard Peter van Oossanen, who helped develop Australia II. As for Conner, he and his syndicate president, San Diego Businessman Malin Burnham, put together what Burnham calls a "mini-NASA" of more than 20, including aerospace scientists and hydrodynamics researchers. "Having the wrong fit between boat and local weather would have been fatal," explains Design Manager John Marshall. In search of the ideal hull, the team used a computer analysis of wind and wave conditions on the Indian Ocean while turning out four prototypes, the last of which was Stars & Stripes. As for the keel, Marshall allows that it has a "shorter set of wings than Kookaburra, which means that there is less drag downwind." The U.S. boat is also extremely fast when headed into the wind -- an important advantage given that four of the eight legs of the 24.1-mile triangular course are sailed in that direction. Just to be extra sure, there is also one no-tech installation in the bow: a bag of garlic, an old Portuguese sailor's good-luck charm.
Not all the planning has been invariably on target. The winds have been particularly tough to gauge. Meteorologists on both teams have been double- checking their computers because the steady high drafts of the antipodal summer begin to fade in February. The big blows alternate with periods of gentle breezes. The day after Conner won the challengers' finals two weeks ago, the wind dropped from 25 knots to 15. That was unfortunate for Stars & Stripes, which Conner has likened to a "fuel dragster" since it was specifically built to excel in winds above 18 knots. The more maneuverable Kookaburra was expected to gain an edge in lighter breezes. But that prediction too may not hold in the water. Subdued winds marked the boats' first confrontation, but did not help Kookaburra.
A winning campaign does not come cheap. Two weeks ago the San Diego tax- exempt foundation formed to raise $15 million from individuals and sponsoring companies found itself $4 million short. That is about the same amount that the New York Yacht Club syndicate spent on its entire 1983 defense. Burnham appealed to the press, and the stories have helped bring in $1.3 million, including an additional $250,000 from an early backer, Budweiser.