"gretel ii" served as a trial horse for alan bond’s "southern cross" in the 1974 america's cup. in the 1977 america's cup "gretel ii", skippered by gordon ingate, was one of four yachts vying to challenge for the cup. her wooden decking was replaced with aluminium for the new campaign. ingate had a veteran crew which earned them the nickname 'dad's navy'. the yacht was eliminated by their swedish rival "sverige" during the challenger selection trials. the new alan bond yacht "australia" won the right to challenge but lost to the americans.