Warren Jones, 65; Led Australian Unit That Won America’s Cup

Warren Jones, 65, who led the Australia II syndicate that snapped the United States’ 132-year winning streak in the America’s Cup yachting competition, died Friday in Perth, Australia, of complications from a stroke.

Jones was the director of the Alan Bond-backed campaign that won the Cup from the New York Yacht Club in 1983, when skipper John Bertrand beat American Dennis Conner in the deciding race at Newport, R.I.

Bertrand said Australia would not have won the world’s oldest sporting trophy without Jones’ tenacity in dealing with the New York Yacht Club.

“Warren was instrumental in the America’s Cup win in that he brought so much knowledge and focus to the table,” Bertrand said. “It was his third America’s Cup challenge.”