Auld Mug Opportunity

If your cup runneth over

IF you long for the days of America's Cup excitement, you could try your sailing skills with a pair of international America's Cup class yachts on the market. The yachts, AUS 29 and AUS 31, aren't exactly new. They were built for the 1995 America's Cup challenge (as oneAustralia and Sydney 95) and last raced in the 2000 challenger elimination series in Auckland when they were both, at different times, known as Young Australia.

Veteran ocean racer and four-time America's Cup challenger Syd Fischer sold them after they were eliminated from that regatta, and in recent years they have been used for tourist outings in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. But with the latest IACC yachts costing more than $10 million each, the asking price of $350,000 for both yachts appears a bargain. Yacht broker Vicsail says the pair come complete with four masts, 30 sails and three shipping containers of spares.