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| America One with Cayard at the helm. (Daniel Forster) |
Although only mounting it's second challenge, the St Francis Yacht Club and it's members have had a long association with the Cup.
The first challenge mounted by St Francis was in 1986-87. Tom Blackaller led the Golden Gate Challenge with Paul Cayard as his tactician on the radical 12-meter USA. The team was eliminated in the semi-finals by the eventual winner Stars & Stripes
The current challenge is in association with the America One syndicate, headed by George "Fritz" Jewett Jnr, who is vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the Potlatch Corporation and world champion skipper and San Francisco native, Paul Cayard.
This will be Cayards fifth America's Cup and with the skills and knowledge learned and the backing of the America One syndicate, it is hoped they can bring back the famous trophy back to America and have the right to hold the 2003 America's Cup in the beautiful but challenging waters of San Francisco Bay.