I've just learned the news that the charismatic
businessman - Alan Bond died today - 5th June 2015
from complications of the heart operation he had earlier
in the week (open heart surgery - 2nd June 2015).

I can still recall the joy that his team's winning the
1983 America's Cup brought to many of us when the New
York Yacht Club lost for the first time in its 132 year
history to us - Australians.

I don't know that much about Mr Bond's financial dealings -
I do know that he was a very colourful character - and
I wish his family and loved ones my deepest sympathy.
May he Rest In Peace.

How do the rest of you remember him?

Yes it was a pretty momentous occasion for us yachties.

I was pretty friendly with Bob Miller, who changed his name to Ben Lexcen, after a falling out with a business partner. He's the guy who came up with the Australia 2 winged keel. He actually thought other factors of his design were more important than the keel, but also thought the hoo-ha about it gave them a psychological edge.

It was a very smart move by Bond to see how far ahead Bob & some other people were with their work on 18 Ft skiffs in Sydney. I doubt any other syndicate sponsor than Bond would have taken a chance with them.

That footage of him unveiling the keel after that last race is a classic in Oz sporting history, & typical Bond showmanship.

It is a pity his gambling on some wild business ventures was to cost so many their life savings.

Yes Foxy, I , like many West Australians, remember exactly where I was the day we won the America's Cup. I was working in Geraldton at the time and was staying in Perth with a friend for the weekend of the race.

I was helping her paint her unit, and we were sooo excited about us beating the yanks at anything! I loved the crestfallen look on the Yankee sailor's faces as Australia won after so many years.

Another friend of ours had taken us out on her father's large power boat several times from the Royal Perth Yacht Club, so we all ended up there for drinks that night.
A fun time had by all.

RIP Bondy, even if you were a naughty bloke at times!

I think I was the most patriotic I have ever been in my life that weekend.
I also enjoyed all the wonderful tourist places in Fremantle that resulted from the incredible growth of Freo after the Cup was won.
A new vibrant city was born...

Dear Hasbeen and Suse,

It definitely was a day to remember - and part of our
glorious sporting history. Imagine you Hassie knowing
the designer of that winged-keel - that's awesome!
My family all cheered on our winning
team - and we all became a great Bondy admirer from that day
on.

I know a lot of people lost their life savings
through some of Bondy's business ventures - but I can't judge
him on that as I don't know enough about his business
dealings. He did go to prison. However, despite all
of his money and fame the bloke did have a sad personal
life. I believe that his second wife committed suicide.
Which must have affected him dreadfully.

In my mind Bondy remains the man who sponsored the
winning team that beat the Yanks for the first time -
in their 132 year history.

RIP Bondy!

Dear Hasbeen and Suse,

It definitely was a day to remember - and part of our
glorious sporting history. We all cheered on our winning
team - and I became a great Bondy admirer from that day
on. I know a lot of people lost their life savings
through some of his business ventures - but I can't judge
him on that as I don't know enough about his business
dealings. He did go to prison - and he had a sad personal
life. I believe that his second wife committed suicide.
Still in my mind he remains the man who sponsored the
winning team that beat the Yanks in their 132 year history.

In those days Foxy, I had access to the Ciba-Geigy lab at the time, & organised them doing a lot of work on adhesives, sheathing & waterproofing materials for Frank Bethwaite, a brilliant small boat designer, who was working on hydrofoil shapes with Bob/Ben Lexcen.

Frank designed the windvane self steering gear that guided my yacht for 50,000 miles around the Pacific.

On that morning we were on the yacht moored in front of our shack on Russell Island, in Moreton bay. The race ended very late, & we were worried we'd miss the morning ferry to the mainland. The moment the race finished we jumped into our little one ton table top truck we kept on the island. All the way to the jetty we found people running for the ferry. We ended up with the truck fully loaded, & others still coming.

We held the ferry, & it left 15 minutes late. The bus on the mainland waited, & left late, & 40 or more people were late for work/appointments. I gather that was situation normal that morning all over Australia, & everyone was so happy, no one cared.

Isn't it amazing how one event can grab a whole nation. We could win the next one, & few would even notice, but that one meant so much to so many. Thank You Mr Bond.

It's good to see some of that 80's spirit is still alive, when we were all keen to have a crack at the Yanks and take them down a peg or two, whether actively in business or sport or simply by barracking for our olympians, tennis players, yachtsmen or even our favourite bands. How times have changed eh?

Sure miss Alan Bond, Christopher Skase and other members of the merry band. NOT

Alan Bond dies.

Nobody cares.

Stop presses!

Love him or loathe him -
I still find it interesting that Alan Bond is
best remembered for owning a boat that won a
yacht race and made him a national hero.
Whatever else hid did pales in comparison to that.
STypically Australian!

//I still find it interesting that Alan Bond is
best remembered for owning a boat that won a
yacht race and made him a national hero.//

Rob Rob Bobbity Bobbity James Lee Hawke M.P.
Took great care of his image because he was quick to see
That if you are photographed standing with blokes
Whose boats do well on the sea,
Millions of voters will fail to notice
The blokes will be charging a fee.
- R.A.C.V. Milne (AKA John Clarke)

I don't find it interesting that a criminal is remembered as a national hero. I find it disturbing. Ned Kelly was a thug and robber, and I've worked under a chef who has a tattoo of the dodgy bastard. As if he is some sort of hero.

Aussies just seem to love their crooks. Doesn't matter if they're blue collar and violent, like 'our Ned', or if they're white collar and destroy countless more lives in a less dramatic manner, like 'our Bond'.

Anybody want to take bets on how long it is before we see some stupid bogan with a Bond tattoo?

Toni Lavis, "Anybody want to take bets on how long it is before we see some stupid bogan with a Bond tattoo?"

LOL, good one :)

You are too late though because there are plenty of sagging and fading 'boxing kangaroo' and Oz flag tatts around.

However there could be a revival among the 'Houso' set who want to display their creativity and independence by picking some crude Bondie theme from a ragged exercise book of someone else's designs. Something to talk about in the Centrelink queue, or in the back of the Paddy Wagon.

Alan Bond's financial failings came much later
in his life.

Most Australians are
sports-loving and have a strong desire to see
their compariots achieve. Most will
remember Bondy's sporting achievement - winning
against the Americans and breaking their 132 year
yachting history. Consequently Australians support
their tax dollars being spent to fund training
programs, furthermore they pay money to enter
stadiums where they can cheer encouragement.
All this is part and parcel of the Australian identity.

But of course if individuals lack affinity with other
people in their country, they will not have any desire
to support anyone except themselves.

The 'affinity' that Alan Bond and Labor PM Bob Hawke who cozied up to him had for the investors who lost their life savings?

Bond didn't win the Cup, rather he rode that wagon as frauds do to win credibility, using and risking other people's money to do so.

Full credit to the designers and yachtsmen. Commiserations to the sad old folk whose nest eggs were lost in Bond's failures. I wonder how many of them lived impoverished retirements and could not contribute to the education and care of their grandchildren either.

Fox, does your Googling provide any credible explanation for how Bond could show up in Court with that bevvy of Silks to defend his 'bankrupted' self and how he was able to continue that lavish lifestyle?

You might also Google 'WA Inc'. While you are at it, reflect on the sad reality that it took private individuals, NOT the 'fact-finding' media (what a joke that is!) or politicians to have anything done about WA Inc.

Bond University was a good idea and it is successful. Quite properly, Bond is remembered for that.

Bond University was bitterly resisted, sledged and defamed by leftists who bridled at the very mention of any education that isn't centralist and State controlled (and being public and taxpayer-funded, also lacking in performance measures for the teaching staff of course).

Alan Bond's support of Australia's America Cup
Dream made him a public hero and saw him
awarded the honour of Australian of the Year in
1978.

Mr Bond helped bankroll Australia's bid to break the
US stranglehold on the prestigious America's
Cup. His syndicate made history winning the Cup in
1983 with yacht Australia II. The win ended the hosts'
132 year winning streak - the longest in the history of
sport.

The victory transcended sailing, becoming the symbol
of a time when Australia came of age and made its
mark on the international stage.

Whatever else Bondy may have done later - this
win is something that he shall be associated with
in the history of the America's Cup. It was a first
and possibly the last win by an outside challenger.
And those who love sport and sailing will not forget
the event.

//Bond University was a good idea and it is successful. Quite properly, Bond is remembered for that.//

//Whatever else Bondy may have done later - this
win is something that he shall be associated with
in the history of the America's Cup. It was a first
and possibly the last win by an outside challenger.
And those who love sport and sailing will not forget
the event.//

I like universities. I like sport, and sailing.

I do not like crooks. Are we just going to forget the fact that man was as straight as a boomerang because he invested in somebody else's ingenuity and had a university named after him? Such convenient amnesia...

Bond was a thieving lowlife, and the achievements of other sailors and other engineers do not absolve him of his guilt.

Dear Toni,

Thank You for sharing your opinion with us.

You say it so eloquently (and precisely too).

I doubt that most Americans are even aware of the Americas Cup. I am an American who now lives in Australia. Shortly after I came here a woman asked me, "What do they do in the US when the Melbourne Cup is held?"

Since elections are held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November we usually have elections.

Bond was a crook. We have many of those in the US. Many US crooks are also interested in sport.

Like Australia the US also overemphasises sport.

In Modern English Usage by Fowler p. 547.

“The writers most of all addicted to it [sobriquets] are the sporting reporters; games and contests are exciting to take part in, interesting or even exciting also to watch, but essentially (i. e. as bare facts) dull to read about; insomuch that most intelligent people abandon such reading; the reporter conscious that his matter & his audience are both dull enough to require enlivening thinks that the needful fillip may be given if he calls fishing the gentle craft, a ball the pill or the leather, a captain the skipper, or a saddle the pigskin, & so makes his description a series of momentary puzzles that shall pleasantly titillate inactive minds.”

Dear David F.,

We have to take things in context.

At the time of Alan Bond's team winning the
America's Cup - sailing's greatest trophy -
it was a pretty big deal - both in the United
States and across the Pacific.

However, things changed since then as the following
website explains:

http://thediplomat.com/2013/09/americas-cup-what-happened-to-sailings-greatest-trophy/

As far as sports fans are concerned?

Forbes Magazine tells us that some people take being sports
fans to the extreme. They attend games, they buy apparel, they
live and die with each pitch, pass, shot. English soccer fans
travel with their teams. They sing at the top of their lungs,
and sometimes cause mayhem on the streets and in stadiums.

American sports fans are just as enthusiastic. Lighting up
internet fan sites, travelling huge distances to see games,
buying merchandise, and even brawling at the ballpark.

Just look at the fans all over the country who follow every
pitch of their Boston Red Sox.

No matter what Bondy did - and was charged with - he will
be remembered by many - for the America's Cup win!

This is yacht racing,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsJewTrY5v0&list=RDTsJewTrY5v0#t=47

Dear Foxy,

Although I am old and crotchety I am not an athletic supporter.

david f, "I am not an athletic supporter"

Heh, heh, there are some who are and strapping fellows, all.

As an ex-pat American I was in Fiji when Australia won the Cup. I wasn't aware the event was being held and upon meeting some Australians, they all began to tease me about beating the Yanks and now Australia had the Cup.

I honestly never even heard of the Americas Cup before that day. And I believe at the time not many Americans really cared. You see, the word yacht in America means a lot more than a sail boat. Yachts and yachting are the domain of the very rich, the snobbishly rich, and the average American can't stand these people. Like myself, most Americans were probably happy for Australia. For me the name Alan Bond just resonates another rich crook with so much money (in this case other people's money) he could blow multi-millions on essentially a party. The sailors deserve the praise, not Alan Bond.

Dear ConservativeHippie,

Of course the sailors and the keel designer all deserve
the praise. But if it hadn't been for Alan Bond
helping to bank-roll Australia's bid to break the
US stranglehold on the America's Cup - Australia would
never have had the chance to even compete let alone win.
Sailing has always been the sport of the rich. So -
you've got to give credit where credit is due.
Plus as stated earlier - the vitory transcended sailing,
becoming the symbol of a time when Australia came of age
and made its mark on the international stage.