From a review today in the Miami New Times about Ralph Steadman's new book called "The Joke's Over: Bruised Memories: Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Me" (some title!), which chronicles Steadman's exploits with the late Hunter S. Thompson in the 1970's....

One of the book's most memorable chapters chronicles the pair covering the 1970 America's Cup for Scanlan's Monthly before the publication went belly-up. Steadman calls the experience a dress rehearsal for the seminal drawings he later contributed to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Thompson had rented a boat, where the twosome stayed with a rock band during the week-long event, and Steadman, inspired by his first encounter with pot, wailed nonstop on a set of bongos, attracting crowds and annoying his partner.

Near the end of their stay, without a story to file and having heard from their editors that the magazine was folding, Steadman asked Thompson for one of the little pills the writer had been popping all week.

Thompson handed over one of the hallucinogens. Steadman ate it and then asked, "What happens now?"

"Nothing," Thompson replied, "for about an hour. Then you may feel a little weird."

Before the night was over, the duo tried to spray-paint "f*ck the pope" on a million-dollar racing yacht and nearly got nabbed by security. To distract the guards during their getaway, Thompson fired a flare, which landed on a nearby boat, nearly setting it ablaze.

Fearing arrest, Thompson later ditched a shoeless and incoherent Steadman at the airport.

The barefoot, broke, and blathering artist was rescued by a friend. A doctor was summoned, and he tranquilized Steadman with a shot of Librium.

Full story

And you thought the Cup was tame in the era of "Ficker is Quicker"? Perhaps Dyer Jones or Dick Enersen can fill us in on the exploits in Newport that year of Messrs Thompson and Steadman. While we are sure they were not involved, one hears they do have recollections.

Certainly today's Cup is more, er, calm and professional, save for one or two members of other teams who might be deserving of a "Hunter S Thompson Award" for their acts at certain Acts.