02 | Bondy | An ulterior motive

As his yacht crosses the finish line of The America’s Cup and sails into history, the world holds its breath, but does Alan Bond have an ulterior motive when he enters this race? Bondy infuriates the Yanks with his radical boat design and brazen attitude. But combined with a crack crew and heaps of underdog energy, the Aussies' are in Newport Rhode Island to win. This is episode 2 of a 6-part history podcast series from ABC Rewind for Radio National and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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  It's a blisteringly hot summer's day in the early 1970s. And sailor John Longley is standing high on a hill overlooking Yanship, just north of Perth, Western Australia. This is where businessman Alan Bond wants to build a whole new city, with shopping malls, a golf course, a Grand Prix circuit, even a new Disneyland, from scratch.

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  The bush, the scrub had all been knocked down. A place that had just been a crayfishing base. There were virtually no trees.

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  Bondi calls it Sun City, but others are a little more reserved.

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  I can only describe it as a shithole. It was like the Sahara Desert.

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  This shithole is where Alan Bond has built the Sun City Yacht Club.

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  It was a tin shed that when the wind blew from the south would get covered in sand. It was pretty bleak.

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  John Longley's spending a lot of time in this shed because he's been handpicked by Bondi to join a crack team of Australian sailors to challenge for the America's Cup, the most prestigious yachting competition in the world.

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  I expect to win the America's Cup confidently. Western Australia needs something big in the eyes of the world now.

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  Well, you heard it here first.

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  The US has held the cup since 1857. It's yachting's holy grail. Some of the world's best sailors have tried and failed to wrest it from them. It's been said that trying to win it is like trying to climb Mount Everest in a pair of thongs backwards.

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  The America's Cup became this unclimbable mountain. No one has been able to break the winning streak for 120, 130 years. So it's quite ironical to think that we were challenging the America's Cup from a tin shed.

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  Alan really does want to win the cup. He's genuinely fallen in love with sailing. But like always, he has an ulterior motive. Now, what could that be?

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  If, against all the odds, he wins the cup and brings it home, future racers would be sailed out of his harbour at Yanship. The trick, of course, is to win the cup.

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  There is nowhere in Australia better to sail a yacht than at Yanship. People are going to come from all over the world just to visit Yanship.

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  And that would make the whole huge property to develop a vast success.

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  Ah, there it is. Yes, winning the America's Cup would be marketing gold. If Bondi can pull this off, the payoff will be huge.

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  The pure bravado of it is extraordinary.

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  Alan is just 36 years old and he's made millions developing property all over Perth. But now, he's staking his fortune on winning the America's Cup and catapulting himself onto the world stage. I'm Mark Humphreys and from ABC Rewind, this is Bondi: From Hero to Zero. Episode two, An Ulterior Motive.

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  Alan Bond and his crew have spent years building, testing and sailing their yacht, Southern Cross, from their base amidst the sand hills of Yanship's Sun City.

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  The cream of Australia's yachting technicians have put their best into this proud and graceful million-dollar challenger.

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  The million-dollar challenger, built in the glorified tin shed. A young John Bertrand is part of the team.

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  We basically completed the construction of this boat in the huge aircraft-type hangar. But the closest telephone was about seven kilometres away at the local store. Looking back on it, it was the Wild West.

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  In May 1974, this boat, built on dreams and sand, makes her way from the Wild West dunes of Yanship to the home of the America's Cup, Newport, Rhode Island. She's out to wrest the world's most prized yachting trophy from its seemingly secure place in the New York Yacht Club. It's a goal which has eluded all challengers for 123 years. Quick vibe check, Newport is about as far away from shithole as you can get. It's luxe, establishment, uber-rich. John Longley is intoxicated by it.

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  Newport was just this incredible place. I mean, it oozed wealth, it oozed style. It was Gatsby on steroids. In the evenings, the breeze used to die out and there are all these incredible historic yachts sailing around the place and the jazz and the bars.

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  Think Hermes, Louis Vuitton, huge diamonds twinkling on fingers, and Moet being popped with abandon. Even the sailing crews are decked out all fancy. The most stylish, of course, are the French, especially the tycoon bankrolling their challenge.

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  Marcel Bich of the Bich Bureau Fortune. And he used to dress beautifully, in red trousers and a white silk coat and gloves.

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  Fun fact, the name Bich is actually spelt B-I-C-H, but Monsieur Bich decided to drop the H when naming the pen because, well, say it out loud and I think you'll work it out. But while the French are putting the style and stylography, the Aussies, they're rocking bogan couture.

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  Meanwhile, Alan was running around with us, all in our little 1970s football shorts, stubbies, I think they were, and a t-shirt, and that was us. Slightly different look.

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  If this were a contest of fashions, it'd be fair to say that the man with the pen was mightier than the man with the shorts.

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  But when it comes to the sailing contest, the Americans clearly think they're the best. And to be honest, that's because they are. They've held the cup title for 123 years. And heck, it is called the America's Cup. The cup itself sits in a glass box, bolted to the floor of the yacht club's HQ in New York City, which Longley says is quite something.

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  The New York Yacht Club is the ultimate New York establishment. It has an incredible bizarre, quite frankly, clubhouse on 44th Street that was built in the early part of the 19th century with railway money. And it is the most elaborate exotic place.

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  It's the epitome of old money. And Alan, well...

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  Alan was not of that ilk.

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  Bondi is brash, uncultured, what the establishment likes to call nouveau riche.

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  And I think they found him confrontational, shall we say. Of course, Alan Bond is regarded in yachting circles here

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  as something of a Johnny come lately, a man who has brought himself into the top ranks. Ouch. And as journalist Paul Barry says, Bondi does nothing to help his cause when he arrives in Newport with all guns blazing. He was incredibly unpopular when he went over there the first time. They hated him. He said, you know, "We're going to smash you. We're going to smash the French, then we're going to smash the Americans. You know, we're going to kill you." Turns out, the man from a shithole can also be an asshole.

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  But as unpopular as he may be, Bondi is unfazed and keeps his eye on the prize, getting the Yanks out on the water and beating them at their own game.

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  If you don't know how the America's Cup actually works, consider this your cheat sheet. Contenders from different countries battle it out in a series of heats, over months, for the right to be the official challenger. The challenger then takes on the defending team, the Americans, in the finals. And the first to win four races, well, they win the America's Cup.

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  Despite the shabby facilities, the Aussie team has trained phenomenally hard in Yanship. And in Newport, it pays off. For a first-time challenger, the crew of Bondi's Southern Cross does incredibly well. They beat those fashionable French and make it to the finals. But when they face off against the Americans, they get a rude shock.

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  We got thrashed.

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  We weren't in the hunt, we're just, we're not competitive.

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  And they lost 4-0.

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  It's a disaster. And the Aussie crew retreats with their tails between their stubbies. But not Bondi.

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  Typical Alan, he simply said, "Well, that's the starter. We'll come back again and have another go."

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  Things haven't gone to plan in Newport. And Paul Barry says they're not going to plan for the property tycoon back home in Perth either. Everything back home was just going to shit. Property prices had crashed, interest rates were rising. He couldn't afford to pay the interest on his borrowings. So basically, his empire was worth half what he'd borrowed, or something like that. But, you know, it's the banker's problem is what his attitude was.

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  Bond's hovering on the brink of bankruptcy. Desperate to stay afloat, he argues he's, quote, "too important to the country to go under." The ball's on this guy. First up, he calls on WA Premier Charles Court and begs for a bailout. Court says Bond is arrogant, aggressive and demanding. And strangely enough, that doesn't win him over. Not one to give up easily, Bondi flies across the Nullarbor to ask the same of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. But Whitlam isn't buying it either. And once again, Alan Bond leaves empty-handed. When all this leaks to the media, Bond Corporation's share price tanks. Bondi is summoned to the bank and forced to answer to his lenders.

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  But journalist Paul Barry says Bondi bites back. Basically, he had to go to the bankers and say, "Look, I can fix this better than you can." And at one point, he said, "Okay, well, if you want to kick me out, fine, here's the keys." Threw the keys on the table and walked to the door. By the time he got to the door, they said, no, hold on, Mr Bond, hold on, Mr Bond. No, no, please come back. So, you know, they, they didn't want the mess. The mess would have been appalling. Alan Bond hangs on by the skin of his teeth, enough so that he can afford to come back for another crack at the Americas Cup in 1977.

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  It takes you a, a long time to, uh, uh, build up the expertise and the equipment necessary to mount a challenge. And this is why, once you've done it once, you know that you can do better the second time.

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  Indeed. So this is the part where I'm supposed to tell you how much better he did the second time. But at the risk of spoiling the results of something that happened 49 years ago, he kind of didn't do better the second time. In fact, he kind of did exactly the same, losing in the finals 4-0. Soz. But it's not all bad news because in recognition of his patriotic efforts, Bondi is named the 1978 Australian of the Year. Must have been slim pickings if we're giving out prizes for not winning things and people wonder where participation certificates came from. But if Australian of the Year wasn't enough, in 1980, on the eve of his third attempt

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  at the Cup, Alan Bond receives the highest honour that Australian television can bestow. A logie? Oh, God, no. Even better.

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  Welcome to television's great surprise tribute. This is Your Life. And now our host, Roger Clemson. This is the Australia, the boat carrying our hopes to win the Americas Cup, the most coveted sporting trophy in the world of sailing. This is Your Life was compulsory viewing back in the day. If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere. Well, anywhere in Australia at least. And when Alan Bond is surprised with the honour, he is overwhelmed.

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  I want to say to you, Alan Bond, this is your life.

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  Bondi's whole family gathers to celebrate him, including his wife, Eileen.

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  Eileen, you and Alan not only married young, you virtually grew up together. You met at your sister's school of dancing and you've been married for 24 years. Now, what can you say about that marriage?

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  Well, many ups and downs.

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  Hasn't been boring.

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  Many ups and downs. Eileen, it's only 1980. Wait till you see what's coming.

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  Just months after This is Your Life airs in September 1980, after two attempts and two defeats, it's back to Newport for Bondi's third go at the Americas Cup. But this time, things really are different. Gone are the days of losing to the Americans 4-0. This time, they lose 4-1. At this point, after three unsuccessful attempts, the team is now seriously worried. Bondi's invested a huge amount of energy and millions of dollars into these three challenges and they know he's desperate for a win. So when Alan jumps on board right after losing the final race, crewman John Longley is expecting the worst.

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  And I thought, uh-oh, he's not going to be very happy. Alan immediately said, that was fantastic. We actually want to race this time. Okay, this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna go home, we're gonna build a couple of new boats and we're gonna come back in 83 and we're gonna win this time. Let's go. So at the height of our loss, he was just fully upbeat and raring to go for the next time around. He was simply determined to keep going back to Newport and racing until he won.

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  The next Americas Cup is three years away in 1983. It'll be Bondi's fourth crack at the Cup and this time, everything is on the line. But they have plenty of time to take stock, gear up and come back fiercer than ever.

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  Bondi decides to shake things up. He makes John Bertrand the new skipper. It's an inspired choice. Not only is he an Olympic medalist in sailing, Bertrand wrote an academic thesis on the Americas Cup.

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  Well, I had a couple of theses, but one was the optimum angle of attack of Americas Cup sails.

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  The optimum angle of attack of Americas Cup sails. And I thought my interest in dodgy 80s businessmen was niche.

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  And there's another nerd on the crew. His name is Ben Lexon, Benny.

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  Benny was an orphan, went to school at nine and left at 12 effectively. So he had three years of formal education.

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  John Bertrand says Benny has that special something that formal education just can't teach.

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  Benny was, in my opinion, the Leonardo da Vinci of this country, of Australia. So we're sitting on the beach down at Bondi and Benny's saying to me, John, look at the flight of these seagulls. Look at the way they come in to land. These seagulls never make a crash landing. That flight control system in one wing, that is more advanced aerodynamic control system than any military jet aircraft known to mankind.

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  This is exactly the kind of out of the box thinking the Aussies need. The kind of genius that might just build a yacht that'll blow the Americans out of the water. Ben Lexon is the master of reinvention. He's already reinvented himself, having changed his name from Bob Miller. And while Lexon can't reinvent the wheel, he certainly can reinvent the keel.

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  And as Benny said, a keel is like a wing of an airplane to give lift so the boat doesn't go sideways. And in addition, it's full of lead, made of lead, so the boat doesn't tip over.

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  Benny's got a radical idea. He wants to flip the keel in the opposite direction.

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  Instead of going delta shape, which is typical of those shapes then, moved into what we call a reverse clog shape. And then maybe adding these crazy things called winglets.

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  Winglets are what you usually see on aeroplanes or in a bucket of KFC. Benny tells Bondi about his winged keel idea and Alan says, go for it.

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  Alan's greatest strengths were his faith in people to just say, I think that person can do this. And he just got them to do it.

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  Once Benny's built his keel, John Longley takes one look at it and thinks.

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  My gosh, we've got Mickey Mouse upside down on the boat. And this is, does it actually work? It was so radical and so different.

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  It's a huge risk. But if there's one person who's up for taking a risk, it's Bondi. He decides to go for it. The yacht with the winged keel, called Australia Two, will be Alan Bond's fourth attempt to win the Cup. And he's as confident as ever, once again announcing to the world that the Aussies have got it in the bag.

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  It's quite obvious that we are the best challenger. We have the best chance of winning. There's no question of that.

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  By now, people are invested. It's the world versus the USA and everyone's waiting to see if this cocky underdog can finally unseat the Yanks.

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  Already 400 million people have been watching this round the world on television. That will increase to some 600 million people. And I think all Australians are proud of their country, should be proud to be part of this challenge.

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  Yes, I'm sure it's national pride that's the big motivator for Alan. But if he pulls this off, Alan will earn himself a place at the big boy's table. And from there, the sky's the limit.

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  In May 1983, the Australia Two crew arrives in Newport, ready for the months of qualifying heats before the final challenge. Their first mission, how to keep their secret weapon, the winged keel, a secret. John Longley is on black ops duty.

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  I had to organise a sort of a security skirt around it.

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  Yes, a green canvas modesty skirt to keep the boat's private bits hidden from prying eyes. Getting all flustered just thinking about it. But Bond's worried that won't be sufficient. He tells Longley.

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  It's not good enough, John. We've got to absolutely make sure they can't see anything. And we had these big screens that as the boat came up, this skirt came up with it. And we actually kept it from them for the whole summer, which quite frankly is quite extraordinary.

• 20:08Speaker 02

  When Australia Two hits the water, it's immediately apparent. Ben Lexon's winged keel is a winner. The yacht is incredibly fast, running rings around its competitors. It's so fast, it starts raising eyebrows. There are whispers spreading around Newport about what the Aussies are hiding under their skirt, and the Americans are desperate to find out what it is.

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  There was a guy called Phil Judge who drove Tender, the boat that tows the boat out to the course. There was a classic morning when he woke up at 5.30 in the morning and saw some bubbles heading off away from our boat and realised, uh-uh. So Phil leapt in the water, swam over and saw a diver on an aqua lung down below. So he duck-died down, grabbed him by the demand valve and encouraged him, shall we say, to come to the surface, where he was duly arrested and taken up to the local courthouse in his wet suit and had to hand over his camera.

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  But the winged keel isn't the only new feature on Australia Two. It needs a symbol, something to make the yacht recognisable, something patriotic, something to show that the Aussies have arrived.

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  So we created a battle flag called the Boxing Kangaroo Flag.

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  That's right. The mighty green flag with the yellow kangaroo, standing with its paws in red boxing gloves, ready to fight, was created for the America's Cup Challenge.

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  Red gloves for aggression, taking on the world, pumped up chest for the pride of our nation.

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  Each morning as they leave the dock, the Aussies hoist the Boxing Kangaroo. And there's a song they embrace as their anthem, one they blast through speakers on the dock every time they set sail, a song that could practically be our national anthem if it didn't feature the word chunder.

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  A battle hymn was meant at work down under, played out all over Newport, Rhode Island, to at least neutralise the sense of confidence and maybe arrogance of the United States team.

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  It's flat-out psychological warfare. The flag, the song, the secret skirt around the winged keel that's keeping everyone guessing, and it works. With the keel and its world-class sailing team, Australia Two beats all the other contenders to make the final. Once again, it'll face the American yacht Liberty with the legendary Dennis Connor at its helm.

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  Dennis was a very confident individual with the horsepower of the US and New York Yacht Club behind him, and a very, very tough competitor.

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  Dennis had beaten the Australians in 1980. He's brilliant, intimidating and ruthless.

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  The most Machiavellian competitor I've ever come across, both on the land and on the water, endeavouring to use every rule interpretation, every nuance to be successful.

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  And he does. Hard-fought match races. The Connor philosophy is brutally simple. Eliminate all possible excuses for defeat. Right on cue, the Machiavellian antics begin. For the first time in 132 years, the Americans are facing the unthinkable: defeat. And so, there's no other way around it. Australia Two must be stopped.

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  The Americans are not in the business of losing. They will eat their grandmother if required.

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  The New York Yacht Club has kept a very tight rein over the America's Cup rulebook. It's been openly accused of skullduggery and cheating, of rewriting rules to suit themselves. And now, they're trying again.

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  The Americans were endeavouring to find any way that they could disqualify us so that they didn't have to take us out on the high seas.

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  The Americans declare war, claiming the Aussies are cheating, that the winged keel is not legal, and that it was actually designed by Dutch engineers. They even threatened to not sail in the first race. But these attempts go nowhere, so the Americans have no choice but to buckle down and face the Aussies on the water.

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  As the excitement mounts on the ocean, the social scene on land is heating up too. This time, Alan's brought along his PR queen to manage the team's image. Her name is Lesley Green. I knew nothing about America's Cup at that stage. I knew nothing much about boats, to tell you the truth. You and me both, Lesley. What Lesley does know about is PR, and she realises pretty quickly that Alan's rubbed the Newport establishment up the wrong way. Could be those super short shorts. Whatever it is, Lesley's there to save Bondi from himself, to create some positive spin. And she's got a secret weapon of her own: Alan's wife, Eileen.

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  She was a sort of human headline wherever she went because she had no filters. She would say and do whatever she wanted to do at the time, but she was a terrific woman, and she was a heck of a lot of fun. The Americans adore Eileen, or Big Red, for her exuberance and that flaming red hair. Eileen's in charge of the parties, of buttering up the VIPs invited onto the Bond's luxury yacht to watch the races. People like the Australian treasurer at the time, Paul Keating. Must have been the reception he had to have. But it seems Mr. Bond has added a few of his own guests to the list too.

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  A young lady, very attractive young lady, walked in, wearing a pair of the shortest shorts you've ever seen in your life. Honestly, they were very, very tight shorts. And she said, Alan's invited me to go out to see the racing today. And Eileen looks at her and says, you can't wear shorts like that on board Southern Cross because they're a safety issue. But I'll give you a pair of shorts that you can wear. So she picks out this dark green, huge pair of sailing shorts that were meant for a big,

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  tall man, and she says, you'll have to put these on to go on the boat. It was hysterically funny to see the look on this girl's face. Talk about embarrassing. Big Red handing out some big greens to avoid a big blue. Besides, Alan's the one who wears the short shorts around here.

• 26:52Speaker 02

  Before you know it, it's September 1983, the moment everyone has been waiting for: the final of the America's Cup. Nearly a decade after their first attempt, Bondi's crew marches onto the Newport dock to take on its rivals for the fourth time. There's no room for error against Dennis Connor and his crew. Secret keel or no, this is going to be tight. They need to be the first to win four races. If they can do that, they'll win the America's Cup.

• 27:23Speaker 03

  We were very confident when race one started. We knew the boat was good, we knew the crew was good. Went out the first race, and the steering broke. Went out the second race, and the headboard broke. So straight away, we were two down in a best-of-seven race.

• 27:42Speaker 02

  You can bet this won't be the last time we hear the word 'broke' in this podcast. In race three, the Aussies smash it and cross the line more than three minutes ahead of the Americans. But the wind is quickly taken out of their sails when the fourth race is another win for the US yacht Liberty.

• 28:01Speaker 03

  We were three-one down. We were on match point. If Dennis wins another race, all this effort, incredible effort, all the four challengers was all for naught.

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  The Americans are so sure they've got the next race, and therefore the series, in the bag, that John Bertrand says they started decorating Newport's main drag with victory flags.

• 28:24Speaker 06

  The champagne was ready to be popped, there were banners ready to be unfilled. Well done Dennis and the USA, USA, because all they had to do is win one more race.

• 28:34Speaker 02

  On the morning of the fifth race, the score at 3-1, the Aussie team is on tenterhooks. They know if they screw this next race up, it's all over. So they head to the dock, hoist their battle flag, and gee themselves up by blasting men at work. Then, out on the water, with their backs against the wall, the Aussies make a miraculous comeback and win, bringing the score to 3-2. They re-energised, and this energy follows them into the next race, when, despite an early setback, they smash the Americans to level the score.

• 29:12Speaker 04

  There's the gun, Australia Two has won. This fantastic sixth race. It's a win for Australia Two of monumental proportions. There's never been anything like this before in America's Cup history. Certainly, the whole of Australia will be holding its breath, hoping that Australia Two can do it in the seventh and final race.

• 29:31Speaker 02

  It's three all, and now the Americans are shit scared. They try to copy the winged keel, then try again to have the Australians disqualified for the keel, for Bondi's shorts, for anything they can think of, really. Again, it doesn't work. The US has no choice but to go to battle and give it everything it's got to hold on to the cup. May the best team win.

• 30:02Speaker 02

  On the 25th of September, 1983, the sun rises early in Newport, and there's a sharpness in the coastal breeze. As the Aussie team eats breakfast, there's a tense silence in the dining room, just the clanking of cutlery on plates. The crew of Australia Two is laser focused. After lining their stomachs, they stand up and head to the dock to fight it out in the seventh and final race.

• 30:28Speaker 06

  The environment at three all was intense, and that's an understatement. No one had ever done this before.

• 30:37Speaker 03

  The race of the century. Whoever wins, wins the America's Cup.

• 30:43Speaker 02

  As the Australia Two crew heads onto the yacht, the streets and seas of Newport are swarming with people.

• 30:49Speaker 03

  There's 1,500 spectator boats, there's hundreds of fixed aircraft, helicopters, the blimp, everything going around.

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  Boxing kangaroo flag breakout, men at work down under, blaring out on the massive loudspeakers.

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  Back home in Australia, virtually the whole country is glued to the telly or the radio.

• 31:08Speaker 03

  It wasn't about sailing. It was Australia versus America, and we were the underdogs, and it fascinated everybody, even if you'd never sailed on a yacht in your life.

• 31:23Speaker 02

  Both teams sail their yachts to the starting line, the Aussies on Australia Two and the Americans on their yacht, Liberty. The countdown to the final race begins.

• 31:34Speaker 04

  Three, two, one, gun. There's the smoke and... They're racing, they are racing, and Australia Two got a magnificent start here.

• 31:42Speaker 02

  It's a strong start, but it doesn't take long for the wind and the Aussies' luck to turn.

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  They got ahead of us just after the start and literally sailed away from us.

• 31:51Speaker 04

  Liberty is very close to the mark now, still with a commanding lead over Australia Two.

• 31:56Speaker 02

  The gap between Australia Two and Liberty widens and widens.

• 32:00Speaker 04

  I think the gap between them is still quite big. It looks more than 23 seconds to me, but... Oh, gosh, the motions oscillate like this breeze on Rhode Island Sound. We're up one minute and down the next.

• 32:12Speaker 02

  It looks like all is lost for Australia Two.

• 32:15Speaker 04

  Well, gosh, I don't know what to say. We're jumping up and down here, wishing willing Australia Two to get back in this boat race and perhaps do something a little more aggressive than simply hanging on.

• 32:27Speaker 02

  But then Dennis Connor, the American skipper, does something which changes the course not only of his yacht, but of history.

• 32:34Speaker 03

  He went off to the right because in a light sea breeze, the right is always, nearly always, favoured in Newport. We went off to the left.

• 32:44Speaker 02

  On this day, at this time, turning to the right is the wrong decision. The wind changes, and John Bertrand's decision to turn left thrusts Australia Two forward.

• 32:56Speaker 06

  That allowed us to play our own game. We were able to get new wind shift.

• 32:59Speaker 04

  Australia Two is cutting across the face of the wind and on a much faster angle, and she really is rocketing. Look at that thing go.

• 33:06Speaker 02

  The gap between the Americans and the Australians is shrinking.

• 33:09Speaker 04

  This is unbelievable, now Australia's turned us around. Unbelievable is right, and now all the photographers on board sense what's happening too, because they all rush over to the port side with their cameras.

• 33:19Speaker 02

  Australia Two is back in the race, but if it's going to catch up and overtake the Americans, the crew's going to have to give it everything it's got. So John Bertrand yells out...

• 33:30Speaker 06

  Words to the effect of, guys, if we don't keep at this, we may lose this race. And that lifted the team. We sailed the boat as close to perfection than we'd ever been for the whole summer.

• 33:43Speaker 02

  The Aussies close the gap between Australia Two and Liberty. Now they're literally neck and neck.

• 33:50Speaker 03

  We had this amazing moment where the two boats crossed. Liberty jived just out the weather of us, so she was most likely only 50 metres away. And I looked over, looked at the crew of Liberty, and I said, we got them.

• 34:04Speaker 02

  Australia Two shoots out in front, slicing through the water. It's now got a significant lead, and it's racing to the finishing line.

• 34:12Speaker 04

  Five boat lengths separating them now. Australia Two, very, very close to the finishing line. 30 seconds to the line, 30 seconds to history.

• 34:22Speaker 03

  Finally, we got right over to where all the spectator were, 1,500 spectator boats. And we sailed down this wall of boats with this cacophony of noise, but on board the boat, there was almost complete silence, because quite frankly, at that stage, we knew we couldn't lose.

• 34:40Speaker 04

  10 seconds, one boat length.

• 34:42Speaker 03

  And a few seconds later, we crossed the line, and the whole world collapsed in on top of us.

• 34:48Speaker 04

  She's shooting up into the wind, she's going head to head. She's won, she's won the cup. Australia Two has won the America's Cup. Australia Two has won the America's Cup. How fantastic this sight is. I never thought in a million years that I'd live to see this. How great this is, this moment of history. Australia Two has won the America's Cup by 41 seconds. What a fantastic win for Australia.

• 35:14Speaker 02

  Australia has done the unthinkable. It's won the unwinnable race, and in a single moment, the pressure on skipper John Bertrand, the weight of a nation's hopes and of Bondi's massive financial investment lifts.

• 35:30Speaker 06

  I then felt this incredible sense of relief that we had got the job done.

• 35:36Speaker 02

  Newport erupts, and Bondi's PR queen, Lesley Green, is loving it.

• 35:42Speaker 07

  There was just absolute madness on the ocean. There were hundreds and hundreds of boats no longer following the rules. They were just all surging forward to get as close as possible to Australia Two. Big boats and ships and little boats and crazy people, drunk people. They were hanging off light fittings. There were guys filming from the top of lamp poles. It was a scene that you could never forget.

• 36:08Speaker 02

  The celebrations are just as chaotic back home in Australia.

• 36:12Speaker 04

  As Australia and yacht crossed the finish line, sealing victory, people danced and sang, and flares lit up the Perth skyline. It was pandemonium.

• 36:20Speaker 02

  Prime Minister Bob Hawke is one of thousands reveling in the celebrations.

• 36:25Speaker 04

  The America's Cup was well and truly out by the time Bob Hawke reached the Royal Perth Yacht Club just after dawn. They get a clear public holiday. Yes, everyone. No one would want to work today anyway, would they? They'd been up all night, so too had the Prime Minister. The day for all Australians, isn't it?

• 36:43Speaker 02

  The day brings us all together. Marvelous, absolutely marvelous. And in front of a media pack flanked by Aussies shaking beer bottles, a champagne-soaked Bob Hawke delivers this iconic line to the country.

• 36:58Speaker 04

  I tell you what, any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up to die is a bum.

• 37:04Speaker 02

  And Bondi, well, he's on cloud nine, though, like John Bertrand, he also sounds more relieved than elated.

• 37:13Speaker 05

  I was so pleased to win for all the people of Australia, and as a matter of fact, all the people in the free world. The impossible can be done. It makes them, for the first time since the last war, proud of their flag.

• 37:24Speaker 02

  Is it a victory for the free world? Oh, who cares? Bondi and his crew have achieved something nobody thought possible: unbolting that trophy from the floor of the New York Yacht Club after 132 years and bringing it home to Perth.

• 37:41Speaker 03

  Because they always used to say jokingly that if they ever lose the America's Cup, they'll replace the America's Cup with the skull of the helmsman who lost it. And in a way, they almost did.

• 37:52Speaker 02

  US skipper Dennis Connor is crucified at the same time as Bondi and his crew are deified. Almost immediately, business calls for Alan Bond start flooding in from all around the world. Everyone wants in on his success. After all this time, his multi-multi-million dollar investment is paying off.

• 38:19Speaker 02

  A few months after the cup win, Bondi's invited to France to march in a celebration parade. Being feted by the French, now that's right up Bondi's alley. He extends the invite to John Longley, another crew member, Warren Jones, and their wives. But Bondi's wife, Eileen, she's not invited. And why? Well, that's about to become clear.

• 38:43Speaker 07

  Eileen's at home in Perth. She had no idea this event was taking place, and she was just watching the television news this particular night, and she saw Alan standing in front of the Arc de Triomphe with John Longley, Warren Jones, and their wives, and Alan's friend from London.

• 39:09Speaker 02

  Alan's female friend.

• 39:11Speaker 07

  A former air hostess. His girlfriend...

• 39:17Speaker 02

  Uh-oh.

• 39:19Speaker 07

  Didn't imagine for a minute that he would appear on television in Australia when he was in France.

• 39:27Speaker 02

  Oops, Bondi's been busted, big time, and Big Red is seeing, well, red.

• 39:36Speaker 07

  And she absolutely spat the dummy.

• 39:39Speaker 02

  Who is this mystery woman? Spoiler alert, it's not the young woman in the very short shorts. And how long has this been going on?

• 39:50Speaker 02

  All this and more in the next episode of Bondi: From Hero to Zero.

• 39:56Speaker 03

  Bondi saw that the America's Cup would give you montré into the rich and the famous, and of course it did. His £10 pal became a billionaire. He became an icon.

• 40:08Speaker 04

  He was immediately an international figure, respected and duchessed by business leaders around the world.

• 40:15Speaker 02

  But Bondi's true nature, both professional and personal, is about to reveal itself. Will his recklessness start catching up with him?

• 40:24Speaker 06

  When we won the America's Cup, in hindsight, it may be the beginning of the end for Alan.

• 40:29Speaker 02

  Bondi: From Hero to Zero is an ABC Rewind production for ABC Radio National, produced on the lands of the Naloma, Gadigal, and the Jodhuk Warring people. I'm Mark Humphries, catch you next time.

• 40:50Speaker 02

  You've been listening to an ABC podcast. You can discover more ABC podcasts, live radio and exclusives on the ABC listener.