World Yachting Grand Prix

It was a concept ahead of its time – a world circuit for extreme 52-foot race boats that would be transported by container ships to in-port race sites around the world. During a three-year season, John Bertrand raced as skipper and tactician aboard Dennis Conner’s Stars & Stripes Formula One 52-footer. He also successfully campaigned his own U.S. Racing Group Formula One for sponsors that included Hewlett Packard, Omega and Serengeti. World class skippers on this circuit included Dennis Conner (USA), Chris Dickson (New Zealand), Harold Cudmore (Ireland), Marc Pajot (France) and J.J. Isler (USA). The teams raced in cities as far afield as Perth, Australia, Glasgow, Scotland, Kiel, Germany and San Diego in the United States.