PHOTOGRAPH: XXXXXXPHOTOGRAPH: XXXXXXhere’s a ranch in Kansas
where the land rolls like waves and the grass that grows
on it, called bluestem, is five feet tall. A young boy sits
up on one of those grassy hills one hot summer’s day
pretending to be a pirate or the captain of a ship,
watching the wind puffs, studying the shape and
colours of them as they fall among the ever moving,
ever changing landscape.
He is in his own private world, where he is
happiest. More comfortable in his own company than
that of others, recalcitrant some might even say. He’s
often being told by those closest to him that he isn’t
very smart, that he’s clumsy, but he knows that’s not
true. He knows one day he’ll prove them all wrong.
Now that young boy is all grown up, an adult. He
is powerful, successful, has three degrees from MIT
and more money than Croesus. What would you do
if you were him?
What Bill Koch did is defy his critics, thumb his
nose at the establishment and do what he always
dreamed of: become the captain of his own boat. Not
just any boat, but America³, the boat that, against the
odds, won the 1992 America’s Cup with her owner, the
self-proclaimed “hick from Kansas”, at the helm.
I first met Koch after the 2013 America’s Cup with
my husband, Ben, in West Palm Beach. We were
sailing on a mutual friend’s yacht and afterwards Koch
invited us to have lunch at his home. While there, we
toured his extraordinary and extensive collections of
wine, art and, of course, America’s Cup memorabilia.
He has the largest private collection of half models and
models outside of the New York Yacht Club.
Yet years later, as we sit across from one another
once again at the home he shares with his family a few
doors down from The Donald’s Mar-a-Lago Country
Club, he tells me: “Initially I hated the idea of the
America’s Cup. On the maxi circuit I could have a few
drinks with the crew and the opposition and it was
a friendly environment.” So why do it in 1992? “Because
I’m a contrarian. I like to prove a point and I get great
satisfaction out of accomplishing what other peopleThis page, clockwise
from top right: Koch and
Georgie Ainslie; on board
Mighty Mary, his entry in
the 1995 America’s Cup;
the Auld Mug itself;
Koch’s Florida home
town of West Palm Beach;
the largely female crew
of Mighty Mary; Koch
in 1992; the Aspen ranch
bought by Koch in 2007This page, clockwise
from top left: Bill Koch
with the America’s Cup;
Koch’s America^3 in action
and under spinnaker;
Koch’s crew celebrate
victory; Dennis Conner
with President Reagan
in 1987; Conner’s Stars
and Stripes triumphs in
Fremantle; Dennis Conner;
Koch at the helm in 1992 PHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES; ALAMYPHOTOGRAPHS: GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY; EYE VINE; FREDERIC PINET0123456789 0123456789BLACKYELLOWMAGENTACYAN 91BOIJUN17173.pgs 26.04.2017 11:55ART
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