DEFENDER, US33  is an aluminum twelve metre yacht that was designed and built in Newport, RI.  DEFENDER was one of three candidates for the right to represent the New York Yacht Club in the 1983 America’s Cup.  She was sailed by the late Tom Blackhaller and Gary Jobson with a crew that included Paul Cayard, Mike Toppa, and Rod Davis.  Ultimately she was unsuccessful in her efforts.  She served as a trial horse for the COURAGEOUS and HEART of AMERICA Challenges for the 1987 America’s Cup.  She later entered private ownership and was fitting with an engine. She was laid up in 1994 and remained inactive until 2017.  She has been refitted and modernized under the direction of Jim Gretzky of Sail Spars Design, who was her original project designer and Kim Roberts, her original build manager.  She started racing again in 2017 with good success in the local Modern Division fleet.