She made Cup history. Because the ship was significantly faster than the defender - the "Weatherly" designed by Philip Rhodes. And so in 1962, for the first time since the historic race between "Endeavour" and "Rainbow" in 1934, a challenger won an AC race. And yet the jug remained overseas: all in all, the Americans with the crew around Emil "Bus" Mosbacher were simply the better sailors.
After the 1962 Cup races, the fast "Gretel" served as a sparring partner for a number of later teams. She was later sold to Europe and sailed in Italy. Here she was found by the Robbe & Berking Classics yacht shipyard and is now being transported to the shipyard in Flensburg for a complete refurbishment. "We want to restore the ship to its original condition from 1962," says shipyard manager Oliver Berking. "It is a piece of yachting history and must be preserved at all costs!"
Lasse Johannsen
Deputy Editor in Chief YACHT
