Ted Turner, known to all as “Mr. CNN,” passed away last night at the age of 87 after a long illness, leaving behind a huge legacy in the world of media, sports and sailing. Visionary, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Turner was above all a man capable of turning every challenge into an opportunity to make his mark. And among his most iconic feats surely remains the one he accomplished in 1977 in the waters of Newport, when he led the United States to victory in the25th America’s Cup at the helm of the 12-meter “Courageous.”
Who was Ted Turner
Born in Cincinnati in 1938, Robert Edward Turner III, simply known to everyone as Ted, was the founder of CNN, the first 24-hour all-news channel, launched in 1980 and destined to revolutionize the way television news was done around the world. Before that, he had built his own media empire from a small station purchased in Atlanta in 1970.
Throughout his life he also devoted himself to professional sports, supporting the Atlanta Braves, and promoted initiatives such as the Goodwill Games, created to counter political boycotts in international sports. A staunch environmentalist, he also contributed to the reintroduction of bison to the American Great Plains and advocated for nuclear disarmament through the United Nations Foundation.
It is no coincidence that in 1991, Turner was named “Man of the Year” by Time magazine.
His passion for sailing
Despite success in business and a public life always in the spotlight-including three celebrity marriages, including one to Jane Fonda-Turner always regarded sailing as something deeply intimate and personal.
For him, the sea represented competition, freedom, challenge, team spirit. A passion lived intensely, long before glory in the America’s Cup. In fact, as early as 1974 he had attempted the assault on the “silver jug” with the “Mariner,” without succeeding.
Three years later, however, he returned to the post, attracting the perplexity of the New York Yacht Club, which looked askance at the maverick Southern tycoon, nicknamed “The Mouth of the South” for his directness and overflowing personality.
The triumph of “Courageous”
Turner, however, was not a man to let judgment hold him back. So he decided to purchase the “Courageous,” the 12-meter boat that had already won the Cup in 1974. The choice could not have been more apt.
At the American selections he dominated the scene and in the final against Alan Bond’s Australians he inflicted a heavy 4-0 victory, one of the clearest wins in the competition’s history. It was also a historic triumph because Turner became the first amateur skipper to win the America’s Cup.
That success always remained among the most precious memories of his life. On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the victory, celebrated in Newport, he had written words that perfectly told of his connection with the sea:
“Winning the America’s Cup was one of the most memorable events of my life. But sailing is above all a team sport. Coming back here 45 years later with my family, children and close friends is something special.”
M.C.
