True North 12 KC 87

Design & Construction

True North (KC-87) was a Third Rule International Twelve Metre constructed in Nova Scotia in 1985–1986 specifically for Canada’s Challenge for the 1987 America’s Cup. She was built by Crockett-McConnell, one of Canada’s premier yacht-building firms of the period. The yacht was notable for her aluminum hull, reflecting the experimental, performance-driven—and cost-conscious—approaches explored by several late-era Twelve Metre challengers as design and construction budgets escalated dramatically during the final Cup cycles.

Campaign & Ownership

From 1985 to 1987, the yacht was owned and campaigned by True North Yachting Challenges, Inc., sailing under the banner of Canada’s Challenge 87. Her recorded home port during this period was Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). The program represented a determined Canadian effort to field a domestically built Twelve Metre for the Fremantle America’s Cup.

Racing Career

In February 1986, True North competed in the 12 Metre World Championship held in Fremantle. This event functioned as a key benchmark regatta for Third Rule Twelve Metres preparing for the 1987 Cup cycle, placing True North alongside the most advanced international competition of the era.

Campaign Merger & Program Decision

Following the 1986 season, the True North Challenge merged its America’s Cup effort with the Secret Cove Challenge, another Canadian syndicate pursuing a Fremantle entry. After technical evaluation, resource consolidation, and budgetary review, the combined campaign elected not to continue with True North, choosing instead to compete with Canada II, which was assessed as offering a stronger development platform under the intense competitive conditions of late Third Rule racing. This decision effectively ended True North’s America’s Cup campaign before the 1987 Match.

Later Career & Charter Use

By the early 1990s, True North had transitioned from elite competition to commercial sailing operations. From circa 1993 onward, she was operated by Colin Percy under the 12 Metre Challenge, with St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, listed as her home port. Alongside several former America’s Cup Twelve Metres, she entered the day-charter fleet, extending her active sailing life and introducing the Twelve Metre experience to a broader public audience.

Historical Significance

True North (KC-87) represents a distinctive and transitional chapter in Canadian Twelve Metre history. As a domestically built, aluminum-hulled challenger, she illustrates both the technical ambition and the financial pressures facing smaller syndicates during the final years of the Twelve Metre Class in the America’s Cup. Although she never competed in the Cup itself, her role within Canada’s Challenge 87, her participation at Fremantle in 1986, and her later charter career secure her place in the broader narrative of late Third Rule innovation and transition, immediately preceding the shift to the IACC yachts.