Born To Win – John Bertrand
The most exciting boat book ever?
Books written around boats and sailing can be many things, informative, inspiring perhaps, part of a broad education even, but they are rarely edge-of-the-seat stuff. This book about John Bertrand and how he and his team won the America’s Cup in 1983 is gripping stuff – it reads like a thriller.
John Bertrand lead the Australian team that broke America’s 132 year winning streak – the longest in sporting history.
The boat, Australia II, of the 12 meter class, was revolutionary with it’s winged keel, the politics were nasty and the sailing intense.
It was all a long time ago but at the time it was a near seismic event on a global scale. Yacht racing was far from mainstream until Bertrand and his team worked their magic. A wonderful book suitable for a non-specialist audience.
It is out of print but available on Kindle and also secondhand. A brilliant read.