Alan Payne

1921-1995

Australia

Alan Payne, a brilliant naval architect, designed ‘Gretel’ and ‘Gretel II’ which were the two of Australia’s first America’s Cup challengers. When Australians decided to venture into the America’s Cup there were few Australian naval architects capable of designing 12 Meters. No boat of this type had ever been designed and built in that country. Payne had studied naval architecture at Sydney Technical College and the University of New South Wales, and in 1945 was the only Australian naval architect to devote all of his business to yacht building, both sail and power. His 55-foot ‘Solo’ won the Sydney Hobart race in 1956.

Alan Payne, having created fast lines for numerous racing craft, was the logical person to elevate Australia to competitive Cup status. He set to work on a four-year project in which he analyzed the lines of ‘Vim’, America’s best trial horse brought over by Sir Frank Packer. Payne proceeded to test a total of 30 models toward developing ‘Gretel’s’ design. In the 1962 America’s Cup, ‘Gretel’ gave ‘Weatherly’ a run for her money. ‘Gretel’ was hugely admired for her superiority in fast downwind sailing. This quality won a race for Australia and nearly a second race in a tight series in which Bus Mosbacher and ‘Weatherly’ defended the Cup for the New York Yacht Club.

In 1970, Payne designed ‘Gretel II’ for Packer and Skipper James Hardy. The new design proved to be an even more dangerous challenger. Racing against ‘Intrepid’, which had won the Cup three years earlier, ‘Gretel II’ was in contention in the first race until a crewmember fell overboard. The Australian boat won the second race on the water, but lost it in the protest room. After ‘Intrepid’ won the third race, ‘Gretel II’ took the fourth before losing the series in the fifth. Payne maintained his involvement with the Cup after 1970, designing the 1983 challenger ‘Advance’ and consulting for a defence syndicate in 1987.

For his tremendous dedication to America’s Cup designs Alan Payne is selected for membership in the America’s Cup Hall of Fame.

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