VIDEO: Controversy at 1988 Americas Cup

Do you remember the 1980s? It was a decade of big hair, neon-bright clothing, and consumerism. Music Television, or MTV, was launched while changing global politics brought down the Berlin Wall. And the America’s Cup went from international interest to sporting embarrassment.

Australia ended New York Yacht Club’s 132-year defense of the Cup in 1983, with increased participation for the 1987 edition setting the stage for Dennis Conner to become the first man in history to lose the America’s Cup and win it back again. The sport of sailing was front page news.

But when New Zealand banker Michael Fay went to the San Diego Yacht Club and issued a Notice of Challenge from the Mercury Bay Boating Club of New Zealand, it would require the New York courts to sort through the mess. The shine on the oldest trophy in international sport was gone.

This video retells the story…