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Self-made Perth Millionaire Kevin Parry, whose Parry Corp. has assets of $180 million from gold mining, TV productions and real estate, has spent some $10 million on his three Kookaburras. But he did not decline a $66,000 check handed over last week by 1983 Winner Alan Bond, his rival Perth wheeler-dealer whose Australia IV was beaten in the defender trials. Before that peace offering, though, the two had exchanged a squall of nasty words following Australia's defeat.
So in a way it is still a game of toy boats played by millionaires. But no single millionaire, no superstar skipper, can dominate alone. "You have to delegate," says Whidden. "This is a team sport and not a single man's quest for victory." He believes Conner's greatest growth since 1983 has been in his ability to get good people and allow himself to rely on them. Will his team win? Or will Parry and Murray's Kookaburra mates refuse to yield the Cup? As the racing began, most experts favored Conner, but Australian Skipper John Bertrand, who won the Cup in 1983, loyally picked Kookaburra, 4-3. Ronald Reagan and Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke could not stay out of the guessing game. In a phone call two weeks ago, the President offered the PM a "proposition on a matter of importance and some common concern to the people of both our nations." He bet "my favorite cowboy hat" on the U.S. entry. Hawke responded by putting a wide-brimmed bush hat on the Kookaburra. Whoever wins, all hats will be off to the men of both teams. Then after a few weeks they can start revving up for the next Cup encounter.