When Australia II, skippered by John Bertrand, won the America's Cup in 1983, it was one of Australia's proudest moments, at a time when Australia was in recession and in need of heroes.
The New York Yacht Club had been winning the Cup for 132 years in a row.
"To come back with a boxing kangaroo flag and the Men at Work Down Under battle hymn, it captured this country's imagination I guess," said Australia II skipper John Bertrand.
Since 1962, Australians had been chasing it.
Frank Packer's boats Gretle and Gretle II both mounted unsuccessful challenges. Then, Flamboyant businessman Alan Bond mounted three failed attempts in 1974, 1977 and 1980.
But in 1983, Mr Bond returned with a new boat: Australia II featured a reduced waterline length and a short chord winged keel which gave the boat a significant advantage in manoeuverability and heeling moment.
The series against came down to the wire. Then Australia II beat the US by 41 seconds at the finish.
"We broke 132 years of American domination in winning the America's Cup - we're proud of that!" said Mr Bertrand, who is now chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
With victory, came an unforgettable quote by a then prime minister. "Any boss who sacks someone for not turning up today is a bum," said Bob Hawke.
"Well, first of all, have you ever raced a race-horse in a race that had a blanket around its legs? I mean it's hard not to be in the dark," said New York Yacht Club skipper Dennis Connor.
The winged keel was the most radical breakthrough in yacht design at the time. It was controversial but the design's defence came from the highest levels of the US administration.
"When we won that Cup back in 1851 there were numerous comments about the America's unique design. We had every innovation of the day except a winged keel of course," said then US president Ronald Regan.
That piece of innovation opened the flood-gates and tradition was thrown out the window. Three decades on, this is still regarded as Australia's greatest ever sporting achievement.
But John Bertrand says there's no reason why this couldn't happen again, with more Australians taking part in the current race than any other nationality.
"There are multi-billionaires, entrepreneurs in this country who want to move from being a regional trader to a global trader and the America's Cup can be the vehicle," said Mr Bertrand. "It's still the most prestigious sporting event in the world".
Australia II is still on display in the Maritime Museum in Freemantle. It's a piece of history, but if the country wants to challenge for the Cup again, we're going to need a bigger boat.
