Oatleys bank on wave of cup fever Cup challenger Bob Oatley. Winemaker Bob Oatley cannot believe how quickly the America's Cup has returned as an event of interest in Australia in the aftermath of this year's 34th edition. And now he's bracing himself for that interest to soar after he and his son, Sandy, formally challenged the American defenders, the Golden Gate Yacht Club, for the 35th running of the cup. Australian interest in this year's tussle for the Auld Mug was scarce because there was no Australian crew. But that changed as the series turned into a nail-biting affair in the last week of competition between the defender, Larry Ellison's Oracle Team USA, and the challenger, Team New Zealand. It helped that Oracle Team USA, which fought back from an 8-1 deficit to seal a 9-8 victory on Thursday, had an Australian skipper and helmsman in James Spithill. With every outing in their AC72 wingsail catamarans, both crews became better at handling their boats and foil racing at speeds of up to 44 knots on San Francisco Bay. Interest was also high because the 25-minute races were covered live on television, with stunning close-ups and computerised data and graphics that enabled viewers to feel they were on board. On Tuesday, after the Oatleys confirmed that the Hamilton Island Yacht Club had been accepted by the Golden Gate Yacht Club as the "challenger of record" for the next Cup, Oatley recalled how sceptics believed that flying catamarans would prove to be "a flop." Oatley counted himself among the sceptics. The Oatleys now believe the catamaran will be the way to go when the next America's Cup is next held - probably in three years. "The whole program is moving so fast," Bob Oatley said. [During] the last week of racing in San Francisco, the world's opinion of these boats [was that] they were so successful. It's changed completely in the last week, which has made a big difference to everybody's thinking, an enormous difference. I wasn't very happy with the boat a fortnight ago because I thought they were too dangerous. They were 'cats' going 50mph, 60mph, even more - that is very fast. When they are trying to get in front of the other boat they take risks and that is a danger to lives. You have to have crews specialise in these boats. It's easy to make mistakes. Sandy Oatley revealed that inspiration for the decision to launch a cup campaign did not come only from what they saw on the water. Besides being winemakers, the Oatleys have cattle interests. And the excitement of their farmers who watched the America's Cup helped convince them of the potential for widespread appeal. "They said, 'Why didn't you tell me it was like this, Sandy?"' Oatley said. As challenger of record, the Hamilton Island Yacht Club will work with the Golden Gate Yacht Club on the race laws for the 35th America's Cup. There is the possibility of a world series that would visit the country of each challenger.