Australian Story

Down by the Sea (1) (18x10)

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If you are a certain age chances are you remember exactly where you were in the early hours of September 27 thirty years ago. It was the day an Australian yacht ended the longest winning streak in sporting history, grabbing the legendary America's Cup from the grandees of the New York Yacht Club. Unprecedented and spontaneous celebrations broke out all around the nation from the coastal fringe and deep into the Outback. In this thirtieth anniversary year, with many of the key players now advanced in age, Australian Story revisits those euphoric and nation defining events. There are surprising and entertaining new insights from all the main players, including then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Alan Bond and his former wife Eileen and skipper John Bertrand. Also interviewed are Australia II crew member Grant Simmer, London Olympics gold medallist Tom Slingsby and Sydney born 2010 America's Cup winning skipper James Spithill. The story, over two weeks on April 8 and 15, strongly evokes the eighties with a newly elected Hawke Government, economic adversity, drought and bushfires and the infectious music of Men at Work, Midnight Oil and Australian Crawl. There is also priceless and rarely seen archival footage with cameos from US Presidents Reagan and John F Kennedy and early film of Alan Bond and Ben Lexcen.