America's Cup Fever: An Inside Look at 50 Years of America's Cup Competition.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn. FINE/NFINE.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,colour photographic illustrated dw/dj,blue+b/w lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - one tiny closed tear to head of spine/backstrip,with internal aged,sellotape repair - text unaffected.Top+fore-edges clean; contents bright,tight and pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners.Clean,pale blue paper-covered bds with white cloth blind spine and blue lettering and bright, clean,plain white eps.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,vi-xvpp+1-240pp [paginated] includes foreword by Rod Stephens,13 chapters,profuse contemporary b/w photographs throughout the text and the book, appendices(2),plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,b/w photographic frntis and contents list/table. The America's Cup! The one sailing event which captures the popular imagination, receives international press coverage,and has never been lost to any foreign challenger (then 1980!) Every three years,select boats from around the world compete against each other for the right to meet the American defender in the choppy seas off Newport,Rhode Island.No one is more qualified to trace the development of modern Cup competition than Bob Bavier,sailor extraordinaire, defending helmsman aboard 'Constellation' in 1964,and President of Yachting Magazine. Reaching back over 50 years,from his first sail on 'Weetamoe' as a teenager in 1930,through the early years of Twelve Meter matches after the War,up to the potentials for the latest duel,Bavier has drawn an exciting picture of the boats and men who have made the America's Cup the premier sailing race in the world. Here are all the colourful characters! The great designers: Olin Stephens, always calm and always learning; Alan Payne,the Australian draughtsman whose 'Gretel' was easily the fastest boat; Brit Chance,brilliant but arrogant; plus the current crew of whiz kids: Dave Pedrick,Johan Valentjin and Ian Howlett.The helmsmen: the "voice," Ted Turner; intuitive Ted Hood; Mr Clean himself - Bill Ficker; high-pressure Bus Mosbacher; and the men behind the new boats,Russell Long,Ted Turner,John Oakeley,Dennis Connor,Pelle Peterson,the ever-present Baron Bich. . . . only one will claim the silver for his country.There are only winners in the America's Cup,no second places.That's the way of match racing. Not only does Bavier cover the details of match racing,he goes into the intricacies of computers on board,why the early leader often loses,and the psychology of Twelve Meter racing.He goes into the controversies over the use of Twelve Meter boats,the famous protests and the role of the Selection Committee,often discussed and rarely understood. With great acumen,Bavier talks about the future of the America's Cup and the chances,domestic and foreign,for an eventual foreign win. Whether designer,builder,crew,helmsman,or syndicate head - Bavier has known them all,and knows the new faces too.He's either raced aboard or carefully examined all the new boats,talked to all the participants and has the added advantage of being on the New York Yacht Club Selection Committee.Nobody could give you a clearer view or more unexpected inside information.'America's Cup Fever' is the book for the race if the year! Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/ value of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!