..."These are exotic multi million dollar America’s Cup boats that take you back in time and in place while never leaving the warm Caribbean waters of St. Maarten. You are taken back to 1987 to the western waters of Australia only to feel the victory that Dennis Conner felt once he took the cup back to America on his Stars & Stripes."...
Click on the picture to watch the video about St. Maarten
If you ever find yourself in St. Maarten, a beautiful Caribbean island, I have just the right adventure for you – to sail and race on one of the five 1987 American’s Cup Regatta boats. If you ever wondered what happens to these type of boats after competitions, now you know the answer for these particular boats. They have 'retired' on the beautiful Caribbean waters of St. Maarten and they are there for the visitors all over the world to enjoy them. And if adventure runs through your blood and you want to relive a historical moment, you could be one of these lucky visitors taking park of St Maarten 12-meter America’s Cup Regatta while sailing on these historical boats.
These are exotic multi million dollar America’s Cup boats that make the time stop and transition you to year 1987 and you can’t help but feel the victory moment that Dennis Conner felt once he won the competition with his cup winning, Stars & Stripes. And that is exactly the exhilarating moment that I felt during my time on board of Stars & Stripes competing against one of Conner’s original contender Canada II, another stunning piece of history boat.
The 1987 America’s Cup was the twenty-sixth challenge for the American’s Cup. The series was held in Gage Roads off Fremantle, Western Australia during the Australian summer months between October 1986 and February 1987. And to give you a perspective of what these boats have been through, I will describe another event that took place just few months prior. This prior event was staged there just to give an opportunity for the crew of the upcoming American Cup to train and practice its competitiveness.
"During that event a very heavy weather conditions were experienced. Strong wind destroyed numerous sails, booms and 90ft masts. Five crew members were washed overboard during the race declaring one of the hardest conditions to race. And yet the very same race boats are still gracefully racing."
During that event a very heavy weather conditions were experienced. Strong wind destroyed numerous sails, booms and 90ft masts. Five crew members were washed overboard during the race declaring one of the hardest conditions to race. And yet the very same race boats are still gracefully racing. Stars & Stripes, the very same boat that was ‘beaten’ by the Western Australian waters manage to declare a victory once and in my opinion declared a victory once again when forced to face Category 5 Hurricane Irma’s impact in 2017, exactly 40 years later since her big win.
Today, the boats have been updated and Stars & Stripes is as splendid as ever and it is my pleasure to experience and write about one of the most exclusive sporting event perhaps in the world. So if you even find yourself in the Caribbean waters of beautiful St. Maarten, you know just the right event for you, an adventure that takes you to a glorious moment in history, Stars & Stripes win of 1987.
~Lady Captain